He was not famous. He never invented anything. He never created a great work of art. He never composed a symphony. But there was something special about him. He had lived a life of moral perfection.  He never told a lie. Never disappointed a friend. Never disrespected his parents.

On March 21, 2013, while sleeping in his stroller, someone fired a bullet into his head. In an instant Antonio Santiago was dead…just six weeks after his first birthday.  One more dead child in America’s war with itself. Another dead baby in a nation that celebrates violence.

Every human being has equal value, but somehow it seems different when a child is murdered.  Maybe it is the absolute innocence of children that makes any harm to them so extremely painful to all of us.  

But wait a minute – the USA has an official policy of killing children with Drones. This happens on a regular basis. Then we claim it was an accident – an unintended consequence – collateral damage. The claim is that this war on everyone, everywhere is justified because on 9/11 the US was a victim.   Maybe as the Trial of the accused murderer of Antonio gets underway, the Defense can use that same strategy. Will the Defense claim that the shooter was a victim. He had a hard life. Bad things happened to him. The fact is that he did grow up in a culture saturated in violence.

De’Marquise Elkins has been charged with the murder. The Trial will take place in Cobb County Court in Marietta, Georgia.  Superior Court Judge Stephen Kelley presides.  Elkins will not face the death penalty, because at the time of the crime he was only 17.  If convicted, he could be sentenced to Life in prison.  

In this case there is no silver lining. There is nothing of redeeming value. Nothing that can sooth the anguish.  Even if the accused is guilty and even if the jury convicts the accused, that does not compensate for the loss.  

But wait another minute…when the US kills those in other countries with Drones, a few thousand dollars of compensation is sometimes given to the family.  If that is Justice, maybe the accused should offer monetary compensation to the family of Antonio.  Justice served?   Most in the US would not find that acceptable, so why is it an acceptable US policy?  Why do we accept the killing of children in other countries? Are their lives less precious?

The killer of Antonio is no more innocent and no more guilty than those who kill unarmed civilians in other countries.  US citizens who support and enable the Drone killings are every bit as guilty as whoever murdered Antonio Santiago.  That includes voters, taxpayers, and those who design, manufacture, and operate the Drones.

Justice should not be doled out by geography.  The Drone killings in Afghanistan are crying out for Justice. Murder is murder.

Rosemarie Jackowski

dissent@sover.net  

Congratulations to all who benefit from this decision. BUT, one big problem that is now made worse is that an entire class of people is even more marginalized. Those who cannot marry because of circumstances other than LGBT issues. An entire class – hidden, marginalized, no one to speak for them, no one to lobby for them, no legal dream team to fight for them. They should not be denied the legal benefits of marriage.

This marginalized class of citizens includes those with medical issues, age, circumstances that make marriage unavailable. Imagine a disabled mother of 6 children widowed or abandoned by a spouse.

A ‘next-of-kin law’ would remedy this. Allow anyone to chose anyone else as their legal next of kin… a brother, sister, friend, neighbor. Get the government out of marriage. Give the legal/financial benefits to all, or to none. (A simple trip to a lawyer will not fix this.) Justice means giving all equal rights. This could happen only if the legal benefits of marriage were open to everyone. They are not.

This decision marginalizes the most disadvantaged among us. Who will speak for them?

Exposing the Real Ralph Nader

There are a lot of things people don’t know about Nader.

Any time the name ‘Ralph Nader’ comes up, it is sure to stir controversy.  It is like waving a red flag in front of the Democrats.

We’ve heard it all.  “He’s too old”.  Let’s look at that one. Would it be acceptable to say: “He’s too white, too Hispanic, too black, too short, too tall…”. Ageism is one of the most destructive prejudices that can exist in any culture. It devalues and trivializes an entire class of people – sometimes those with the most experience and wisdom.

Other cultures understand this. They value their elders. Only in the United States do we not ‘get it’.  The current trend would put Nader on an ice floe and replace him with a kid who just spent four years at a keg party.  That is the view promoted by the culture.  

Now is a time when we should celebrate all who contribute to our survival, young and old.  Age is irrelevant at a time when a 29 year-old and other relatively young men are making enormous contributions. Not only is age irrelevant, but also we need to take another look at the ‘paper chase’. Edward Snowden has taught us that being a high school drop-out is not necessarily a bad thing. Self education will be the way of the future.  

We also hear: “Nader can’t get enough votes.”  The right come-back for that one is: “No shit”. (Sorry for the less than creative language there. That’s the only response I can come up with for that old argument.)  A more polite answer would be, if the voters were capable of critical thinking NADER would win any election with a land slide.  Holding any candidate responsible for the actions of voters is fuzzy thinking.  

Voters – not candidates – are responsible for every vote they cast.  Voters have created the current conditions by consistently voting for the ‘lesser evil’.  Never, never, never let them off the hook.   Every ballot has a ‘write-in’ option. There is no requirement to vote only for candidates selected by a Party. Voters have unlimited choice. Our survival depends either on ballots or bullets.  Bullets have no conscience. Voters should.

There are a lot of things people don’t know about Nader.  He is smart.  Most people know that.  Even his critics admit that.   Most do not know that he is guided by a strong sense of justice and morality.

Nader is one of the most egoless Statesmen this war weary nation has ever seen.  I can prove that. Back in the 1970s the Electric Company had plans to build a floating Nuclear Power Plant off the coast of Atlantic City. A small group of citizens in Cape May, NJ fought this proposal. They were getting no where until Nader came from his home in Washington and helped. He came at his own expense. No fanfare. No publicity.  The floating Nuclear Plant was never built.

Nader is motivated by conscience. The list of Conscientious Objectors to USA policies is growing – Greenwald, Assange, Manning, Hammond, Snowden, and many others.  Nader was one of the original COs.  

We owe him a lot. He might never go down in history as President.  Instead he will always have an even higher status… that of Super Statesman.  He is honest. He is moral.  He is uncorruptable. He cannot be bought.  That is more than we can say about those we vote for and elect.

ROSEMARIE JACKOWSKI

Rosemarie Jackowski is an Advocacy Journalist, Peace Advocate, and author of BANNED IN VERMONT.

dissent@sover.net

From Ellsberg to Snowden – the best is yet to come…

Today is the anniversary of the publication of the Pentagon Papers in 1971. We could celebrate by signing petitions to free Jeremy Hammond. He has fallen between the cracks because so much is happening. We cannot abandon him or Manning or Assange.

About Snowden… Why can’t someone file a Federal False Claims Act Suit on his behalf. Imagine if he received 30% of all the money the government spent on the illegal activities he exposed. He is one of the people who would use the money wisely and compassionately.

Also – imagine if our schools taught about Snowden and used him as a role model, a defender of Democracy and Freedom of the Press – finally a REAL hero instead of those guys who slaughtered Native Americans. I know that most schools won’t allow the truth, but the contribution of Snowden must be incorporated into the schools and the Youth culture. They are the voters of the future.

When’s the movie coming out? Who will play the lead? How about a rock band named “EDDIE AND THE WHISTLEBLOWERS’.

To be continued……………

Memorial Day Mourning

“…My community service has been doing the duty that the courts shrink from – calling attention to war crimes and trying to stop war crimes…”— Elliott Adams.

It is Memorial Day again. Some will celebrate. Some will march in parades. Some will rally around the flag. Some will go shopping. Some will mourn. I am among the mourners.

I mourn the execution of Pvt Eddie Slovik – the gentle soldier who was too gentle to kill. He refused to fight. On January 31, 1945, the US executed him before a firing squad. He was the only soldier executed during WW2.

There are some other veterans who have earned our respect. Pfc Bradley Manning is a hero. He has not been convicted of any crime. His contribution to humanity will go down in history along with Thoreau and so many others. Through his imprisonment, Manning has exposed the dark side of the US Justice system. How long should any prisoner be held without trial? That is the question that Manning has exposed for all the world to see.

The results of the last election show that 98% of United States voters support the foreign policy of the Democratic/Republican Party. That includes support for war, torture, and imprisonment without due process. 98% of the people, as evidenced by their votes, are not with Manning – but many of us are. Being in a small minority is inconvenient. Supporting crimes against humanity is worse – not an option for people of conscience. More important – history will be on the side of Manning. Someday, Manning will be celebrated as the hero he is. It took many years for the film, The Execution of Private Slovik, to be produced. Someday there will be a film titled, The Imprisonment of Pfc Bradley Manning.

I mourn mostly for those we have killed – and I mourn for those we haven’t killed yet, but will in the days ahead. I mourn for all of the mothers and fathers who put their children to bed at night and wonder if this will be the night that they are killed by a drone attack.

As a nation, none can compare with the United States when it comes to the ability to slaughter innocent civilians. Now we can do it from the comfort of our own neighborhoods… at no risk to our own safety. Some believe that the use of drones is a cowardly approach to warfare. Others argue that the use of Drones is a war crime. No matter how one feels about drones, it is certain that drone-warfare has raised the killing of civilians to a new level. The slaughter of little girls walking to school is a crime against humanity.

Do the veterans who sit at a computer thousands of miles away from any danger deserve our respect? Their safety is not at risk. Should they be ‘thanked for their service’? Is killing-by-computer really an example of heroism? Does wearing a uniform make anyone a hero? Does wearing a uniform give the moral or legal right to kill unarmed civilians? Really, how can ‘heroism’ be defined. Heroism is the willingness to stand alone in opposition to evil and injustice.

When I think about heroes, I always think about my friend, Elliott Adams. During the 60s, Adams volunteered for the Army. He fought in Vietnam. He was a paratrooper. He was wounded. After hospitalization, he was redeployed to Korea, and then Alaska. All of those things might make Adams seem like a hero to most people, but that is not why I think of him as a hero. Adams is a former president of Veterans for Peace, but that also is not why he is a hero to me. More than anyone I have known, Adams has dedicated his life, since being discharged from the military, to working for global peace. He has gone to Gaza with Physicians for Social Responsibility. More recently Adams has been at the forefront of the protests against the use of drones at Hancock Air Base near Syracuse, NY. Adams has been arrested while participating in peaceful protest.

Below is Adams’ Sentencing Speech as he delivered it to the Court. This is one of the most articulate anti-war statements on record.

“I appreciate the bench’s effort to understand the arguments made – arguments involving local law, international law and, even the principles of civil disobedience.

I am proud to accept the consequences of my acts and any jail time. I do not want any suspended sentence. If you give me one, also please let me know how I can violate it before I leave the courtroom. I do not have money to pay a court; I spend what little money this old man has trying to bring about justice. My community service has been doing the duty that the courts shrink from – calling attention to war crimes and trying to stop war crimes. Standing in this court a community service, it is the little I can do for society.” Elliott Adams

Rosemarie Jackowski is a peace activist. She was arrested on March 20, 2003 in a peaceful protest against the war.                                              She is author of Banned in Vermont.

The “Assisted Suicide Bill” does exactly what it is designed NOT to do. It will eliminate choice for the most vulnerable. Unintended consequences are sure to follow. We need more, not fewer rights. Government approved suicide, as an end of life option, does not give more rights – in reality it takes them away.

Some legislators promise ‘safeguards’. There are no safeguards that can insure that there will not be abuse. Some of the most vulnerable will be pressured to end it all for the convenience and sometimes for the financial benefit of others. Patients will be unduly influenced into giving in to family members. Many elderly/disabled have loving supportive families. It is those who do not, who are at the highest risk. There is no way that abuse can be prevented. Imagine being isolated with care givers – Stockholm Syndrome.

The proposed Assisted Suicide Law will deprive many of choice. Recent history shows that more than 300 cases of reported abuse of the disabled/elderly have been ignored by the State. This is evidence that the State cannot protect the vulnerable. The Assisted Suicide Law will add another layer of risk. It will make things worse.

Prejudice cloaked in good intentions is still prejudice. Why is the law limited to the most vulnerable, the disabled, the elderly? If suicide is a movement that will benefit society, open it up to everyone. The devaluing of the elderly and disabled is now an accepted fact of life and death. If this law did not show prejudice against the most vulnerable, it would be written to include everyone – young and old, healthy and sick. Sometimes the young and healthy would chose to end it all.

For those pressured to die, there will be no choice. Behind closed doors in private, who will be there to protect them? Elder abuse is a major hidden problem. Talk to anyone in a nursing home – give them anonymity, and they will tell all.

Recently, a friend was searching for a way out… suicide. He was not in physical pain. He was not terminally ill. His problem was that he was in a nursing home and the conditions there were not good. What he needed was a Health Care Advocate – someone to advocate for him. The need for Health Care Advocates is one of the biggest issues of our time. Families are dispersed and distant. Often the elderly are abandoned. Friends die. Suddenly a nursing home is the only option. There have been two reported murders in local nursing homes in recent years. No one can estimate how many murders go unreported. Isolation, neglect, and poor living conditions are other important issues.

It can be argued that there are some justifications for suicide. That may be true, but belief in the infallibility of a diagnosis is not a valid reason. Some doctors and hospitals have already announced that they will not participate in this type death process.

The Assisted Suicide Bill is the wrong answer to the wrong question. The important question is not the length of time left. “…Over the years I’ve learned that my patients are people who can live an entire lifetime in six months or a year. What they do with this time represents a much higher quality of life than that enjoyed by ‘normal’ people who are caught up in the trivia of day-to-day, and not really focused on what is important…”. Keith Black, MD, author of Brain Surgeon.

The question that we should be asking is how can we improve life and death for all. There are three unmet needs that should be addressed by the legislature.

First – health care must be made available to all. Universal, comprehensive Single Payer which includes dental, vision, and long term care is the answer.

Second – the alleviation of pain must be considered. Ethics require that everything scientifically possible should be done to eliminate suffering. It is usually possible to do that without killing the patient.

Third – and most important of all, those at high risk must be protected. There is only one way to do that. We must set up a system of Heath Care Advocates. This does not have to cost tax payers a lot of money. A system based on volunteers could work. The main qualification would be compassion and the pledge to honor privacy.

Will we soon see Grandpa set adrift on an ice floe on the shore of Lake Champlain? There must be a better way.

Rosemarie Jackowski

10 Ideas That Could Transform the USA

1. Immediately close all US military bases on foreign soil. Author Chalmers Johnson reports that there are 737 US bases in 130 foreign countries.

2. Immediately discontinue the manufacture, export, and use of drones.  Cut the military budget by 99%. Cut the State Department budget by 90%. Eliminate the Black Budget which was authorized by the 1947 National Security Act of President Truman. Even if all uniformed members of the military were brought home, the killing would not end. It is clear that the State Department, CIA, and private contractors are more dangerous than the military.The uniformed military is only the tip of the iceberg. The real danger is with US forces that operate in secret.

3. Encourage the dissemination of information from whistleblowers such as Bradley Manning and Julian Assange. Any possibility of a democratic nation died with the adoption of the Black Budget which prevented citizens from having access to information; therefore, no informed vote has been cast in the USA since 1947. If you can’t follow the money, you don’t know what your government is doing. More whisleblowers are needed so that voters will have the information necessary to cast informed ballots.

4. Place a 100% tax on all income above $88,000-all income, earned and unearned.

5. Aim to close all nuclear power plants. Encourage green power – solar power – water power – wind power. A ridgeline with windmills is preferable to a ridgeline that has been contaminated.

6. Support small, local, organic family farms.  End all subsidies to large industrial farms.

7. End all secret boards. This can be accomplished by withholding public funds from organizations that use secret boards for decision-making purposes.

Hospital “ethics” boards meet in secret and make life and death decisions. Any decision to “pull the plug” should be made in the open. Patient confidentiality would not be violated if the identity of the patient was not disclosed.

Library boards sometimes meet behind closed doors and censor political books that could be considered “unpatriotic”. (Yes, it is now happening in the USA.)

8. The problems with the legal system could fill volumes but there are some simple improvements that could be made.

Limit the use of expert witnesses. With enough money testimony can be designed to fit any goal desired-no matter how unjust. Juries should always be told when testimony is purchased. Now, is the perfect time to examine the way juries work. Secret deliberations foster unjust verdicts. The deliberations should be open- the identities of the jurors could be withheld until after the verdict is rendered. Group deliberations are a problem. Anytime more than one person is in a room, one person will be dominant. A pecking order contaminates the process and can prevent a fair verdict. Is unanimity really a sacred concept-or should there be room for dissenting views within a jury? Even the Supreme Court allows for dissenting opinion.

End the death penalty. The state should never have the power to kill its citizens or anyone else. In addition, the death penalty can be a deterrent to justice. The first juror to speak publicly after the Casey Anthony trial stated that it was the death penalty that affected her verdict vote.

9. Adopt a national policy which assures food, shelter, and medical/dental care for all-with no regard to race, creed, citizenship, economic status, place of birth, or any other dehumanizing judgment.

10. Send a formal apology with an offer of reparations to all individual victims of unjust US imprisonment and torture. Also to all countries that have been victims of USA foreign policy. Start with the former inhabitants of Diego Garcia. The Chagossians were forcibly removed so that the island could be transformed into a military base for the US. It can be debated that the forced expulsion of the native population is evidence of genocide by the USA.

 

Voting for an incumbent is like going back to the same dentist who pulled the wrong tooth the last time.

Voting for an incumbent is like going back inside your camping tent even though you were just bitten by a snake there.

Voting for an incumbent is like re-marrying your former spouse even though she cheated on you the last time around.

Voting for an incumbent is like getting in a plane with a pilot who crashed his aircraft last time he went up.

Voting for the incumbent is like taking your computer back to the same repair shop, even though last time they told you that your computer needed a lube and an oil change.

Voting for an incumbent is a vote for “staying the course”.

Voting for the incumbent means that you believe that things can never get any better.

Voting for the incumbent signals the end of all hope for change.

Voting for the incumbent is like doing the same thing over and over and over and expecting a different result.  

Voting against all incumbents is the perfect way to achieve term limits.

 

“When Fascism came, it was not brought by uniformed troops.

It was not imposed at the point of a gun.

Fascism came because citizens were too distracted to pay attention.

Voters were too misinformed to cast intelligent ballots.

And the mass of people failed to recognize the inherent danger in the censoring of speech and the banning of books.”   RMJ

The moral implications of voting are too important to ignore.  It is a matter of life and death – correction, it is a matter of life and murder. The hand that controls the lever in the voting booth can be just as dangerous as the hand which controls a gun – even more so.  A person with a gun in a movie theater can kill a limited number. The voter has the power to kill thousands – simply by voting for the wrong candidate.  Pulling the lever in the voting booth has even greater moral implications than pulling the trigger of a gun.

The big issue is uninformed voting, and that old myth: “It doesn’t matter who you vote for. Just vote”.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  No vote at all is better than an uninformed vote. The vote of someone who has not studied the issues could cancel the vote of someone who has done their citizen’s homework.

Below is a list of simple topics. It was inspired by conversations with ordinary people on Main Street. This list is meant for the average voter.  Those who are not informed enough to discuss them, should refrain from voting.

Do you believe that Columbus discovered America?

Do you understand the difference between a Primary and a General Election?

Can you name the branches of government?

Do you know the location of the nearest Drone Base?

Can you estimate the number of people killed this week by Drone attacks?

Do you know how many military contractors are in your home town?

Have you ever gone to Court just as an observer?

Have you ever written a letter to the editor?

Do you support Statehood for the Palestinians?

Can you explain how the Black Budget fosters government secrecy? When was it authorized?

Do you know the difference between C-Span and CNN?

If the USA is willing to kill kids attending weddings in Afghanistan, does it really care about your kids?

Can you discuss the video “Collateral Murder”?

Do you know who Bradley Manning and Julian Assange are?

Do you support US policy on assassination?

Can you give an estimate of the number of US military bases in foreign countries?

There are many different kinds of voters. Perhaps the worse of the worse are the ‘excuse makers’ – those who refuse to take responsibility for their vote.  Within weeks after any election, they get ‘voters remorse’. They say the media misinformed them.  So why don’t they get their information from other sources?  They blame everyone else. They are still in ‘the-dog-ate-my-homework’ mindset.  Granted, honest information is sometimes hard to get. Just take a look at the textbooks used in most schools. They often are intended to misinform. Some schools are propaganda factories designed to instill blind patriotism in the youthful minds.  In order to really understand how things work, we first need to unlearn some of what we were taught in school. A class in ‘The History of US War Crimes’ would be nice, but that won’t happen anytime soon. The pendulum is swinging the other way. In a Vermont public middle school there now is a Cadet Program. It is managed by active duty and retired military.

Another category of voter includes those who say there is no one to vote for. Really?  On my ballot last time there were 8 candidates for president plus a write-in option. If you think there is no one to vote for, you are still thinking in the Democrat/Republican box.   The Democratic/Republican Party has been the biggest threat to democracy the world has ever known.  Just think about how they game the system to limit participation in debates… and how they limit candidate inclusion of other candidates on ballots. They have raised dirty tricks to a new art form. There are millions in the US who are qualified under the Constitution to be president.  Pick your favorite, but only after careful thought. Then use the write-in option. It’s fun.  And don’t forget that the real power is with the Congress. Only the Congress has the power to finance and declare war.  Your Congressional vote is the really serious one.

There is another group. Those who say that the most important issue is jobs. Economic justice is an important issue – but is it more important than protecting those who are being killed by Drone attacks?   Citizens need to prioritize.  Economic justice in the US is not the most important issue on the planet.  Think about it. Would you prefer that your loved ones be poor, or live under the daily threat of a Drone attack?  Not much of a choice. Sometimes we should put the safety of others above our own needs.  Prioritize – first things first.  Now, as I am writing this article, it is being reported that US Drones just killed at least 11 civilians,  3 of them children.  Reports of US caused Drone deaths are so common that they are usually ignored.  US Foreign Policy has succeeded in totally devaluing human life.

And let’s not forget that other group of voters. Those who openly admit that they are pro-war. There are more of them than we like to admit. At least they are honest. They support war because they think it produces jobs. Some support war because they believe the big lie that war will keep us safe.  I would challenge their logic and their moral view, but they are more honest than those who pretend to be for peace but continually vote for war candidates.  All D/R candidates support war. Repeating, all D/R candidates support war. Proof is in their support of a pro-war Party. History proves that both, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, support war.  Anyone opposed to war will not be aligned with a War Party.  Voting D/R will cost you your status as a peace advocate.  It also will cost you your right to complain after November 6.

Then there are those who are vigorously fighting to keep money out of the voting process. Is this a red herring type argument? Yes, money contaminates almost everything – BUT, if a voter is armed with accurate information no amount of money or political advertising would make any difference. A candidate with trillions of dollars would have no advantage over any other candidate, if voters were well informed. Imagine a trillion dollar advertising campaign designed to sell toothpaste which was known to contain dangerously high levels of arsenic. Would you buy that toothpaste? Some people would. That’s why some people should not vote.

Maybe all US residents should have the legal right to vote, even those who are not citizens. That would be the fair thing to do. After all if they live and work here, they are affected by the laws.  Maybe even those who are not US citizens and who do not live in the US should have the right to vote in US elections.  US foreign policy has a great impact on the lives of those around the world; therefore, they should have a say in our electoral process. Give everyone who is impacted the right to vote.  That’s what true democracy is all about. Now, that would bring real change.

There still is an amazingly large number of US citizens who do not believe that US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright admitted during a CBS Sixty Minutes interview with Leslie Stahl, on May 12,1996, that 500,000 Iraqi children died as a result of US policy.  Albright then went on to add that ”…we think the deaths of 500,000 children was worth it…”.  Any voter who is still in denial, and does not believe that Albright was expressing official US policy, should not vote.  Voting for the wrong candidate can be dangerous to children and other civilians around the world. The US has devised all sorts of ways to kill those in other countries. Drones, bombs, and bullets are not the only weapons.  Starvation, contaminated water supplies, and destruction of the infrastructure also kill.

It goes without saying that there should never be a poll tax or poll test. The right to vote should be guaranteed to all, but voters should use self-discipline and refrain from voting if they know they do not possess the information necessary to cast an informed ballot. This is a matter of honor. This is what is required of a good citizen. Remember, only you will know if you cast a blank ballot. It is OK to do that.

One side says vote for us because we are better at solving problems with the economy.  The other side says vote for us because we are better at assassinating unarmed men in their bedrooms.  Some voters are conned into voting for the lesser of the evils. That is the biggest mistake of all.  Instead of the lesser of the evils, for a change, let’s vote for the best of the best.  “No”, you say. “That candidate can’t win.”  To a moral voter that is irrelevant.  Voting your conscience is always the right thing to do.  No one is morally responsible for the vote of another.  Your vote is the only one that should matter to you.

Voting is serious business. The right to vote is a sacred trust.  It sometimes is the only way that an ordinary citizen gets to express his humanity across international borders.

In a perfect world we would have economic justice, Single Payer Health Care for all, and Peace on Earth.   After all the ballots are counted, I bet that there will be no change. More than 90% will have voted D/R.  Torture will go on. Guantanamo will not close. Bradley Manning, Lynne Stewart, and many others will still be political prisoners. Children will continue to die.  And the flag wavers will celebrate.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Rosemarie Jackowski is an Advocacy Journalist. She was arrested in a peaceful protest of the war on March 20, 2003. She was tried and convicted. After a four-year legal battle, the Vermont Supreme Court overturned the conviction.  Jackowski is author of BANNED IN VERMONT. Currently the book is being banned by at least one public tax supported Vermont library in violation of the First Amendment.  Rosemarie Jackowski is a candidate for the Office of Vermont Attorney General and is dedicated to restoring the First Amendment where it is under threat.

dissent@sover.net  

That Would Be Really Hard

I like Ann Romney. Actually, I like her as much as I like Michelle.  They are both nice ladies. They are just doing what Democrats/Republicans do all the time.  To expect anything different would be illogical.  Most D/Rs seem to have their own way of looking at the world.  Of course they do. They are in- the- box- thinkers. That explains why they are Democrats/Republicans.

When Ann gave her speech at the Republican Convention, I was not surprised to see that she could not really understand how so many of  the ‘other people’ live.   She talked about being home and raising her boys.  Many of the ‘other’ mothers thought about how lucky she was to have had that privilege.  She never had to go to work outside the home, and leave her boys when they were sick.  She had the privilege of staying home with them.  

Now Mrs. Romney makes the “Stop it. This is hard.” statement.   “This is hard”.  Really?   Actually it looks like fun to many of us – jetting around the countryside.  

No, Mrs. Romney, hard is not having enough money to feed your kids.

Hard is working 80 hours per week and still not making it.

Hard is watching your wife suffer with cancer, and not having access to good medical care.

Hard is going to bed every night wondering if you will be killed by a US drone.

Hard is being an 18 year-old boy with no front teeth – no dental care – and trying to get hired for a job.

Hard is missing your father’s funeral because your boss won’t give you the time off.

Hard is being a little kid working in a toxic farm field.

Hard is being in prison – tortured because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Hard is being Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, or Lynne Stewart.

Hard is living in a country that has no nuclear capability. Those are the ones on the list for US military intervention.

Hard is being stared at because you are homeless.

Hard is living in a country that is being occupied by US Military Forces.

Hard is being an unarmed man assassinated in his own bedroom.

Hard is being the mother of the little boy who died from a tooth abscess because his Mom did not have money for a dentist.

Hard is knowing that no one in power is on your side.

Hard is always being on the wrong side of the desk.

Hard is knowing that things will never get better.

So to Ann and Michelle, I say: “Please, understand that you just don’t get it. You never will. Maybe it’s not entirely your fault. You can’t help it. Your world is so different from the world that most people live in, and besides that, your views are reinforced by your Party and the media every day.  I don’t care if you donate a lot of money to charity, or not.  I don’t even care if you pay your taxes. I don’t care about your religious beliefs. I don’t care if you cheat on your husband – none of my business. I don’t care if you feed your kids Twinkies for breakfast.  I care only about the domestic and foreign policy that you support.  People die every day because of those policies. I might believe that you care about us, if you ever resign from the Republican/Democratic Party, but I know that that would be really hard. ”

Rosemarie Jackowski

Rosemarie Jackowski is author of BANNED IN VERMONT.