The Pentagon Papers Then and Now: Unitarian Universalists Confronting Government Secrecy

June 28th, 2007 by admin
The Pentagon Papers Then and Now: Unitarian Universalists Confronting Government Secrecy

Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman moderated a panel at General Assembly with Dan Ellsberg, Senator Mike Gravel and Former UUA President Bob West on the role of Beacon Press in publishing the Pentagon Papers.

 

 

Comments

Dig it

Submitted on July 4th, 2007 by insaniac

Digg this!!

http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Mike_Gravel_The_Pentagon_Papers

A lot of people don't know the significance of the Pentagon Papers and Mike Gravel's role in it. This is a HUGE attestation to his credibility.

If he could take on the Pentago Papers, Made the Fed too

Submitted on July 2nd, 2007 by akronsux

The Democracy now show with Amy Goodman is one of the greatest journalistic endeavors today. I think it was great coverage funny and riveting....can't go wrong with a story that recommends colostomy bags for senators.

My greatest hope is that the man who took on these giants as a freshman senator, can help move this country away from the debt based money, and out from underneath the control of the Federal Reserve Bank ( a privately held for profit institution not owned or even controlled by the federal govt.)

If he can move us to debt free money; I can think of no greater gift anyone could give this or any other country.

The video bellow explains why it takes a man with dignity, like Mr. Gravel , to make the changes we need to survive.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1583154561904832383&q=the+money+masters&total=1082&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=3

 

Pentagon Papers

Submitted on July 2nd, 2007 by ShelterBay

I've just finished watching Democracy Now and had no idea of Mike Gravel's history of service to our country. The media tries to portray him a out of step and some what of a joke; just another example of how corrupt the U.S. media has become.

I also didn't know the history of my Unitarian Universalist faith and am incredibly proud of their role in printing the Pentagon Papers. Too bad they've lost that level of spunk and spirit today.

I promise I'll take a closer look at Senator Gravels and will ask others to do likewise. As my 6 year old granddaughter Katy would say, "go get 'em."

 

TO BUY THIS

Submitted on July 2nd, 2007 by Audax

i received message back from the site admins of the UUA page and they tell me that we can in fact purchase this DVD. the site is a bit clustered though so follow these instructions.

go here: http://www.softconference.com/270621

hit ctrl+f and type in the number 4049

that should drop you right at this video. they are selling the DVD for $20 im going to let everyone i know borrow it and if it converts just one of them id say it was worth it.

 

All i want is the truth, why is it so hard to find?

Colostomy Bag

Submitted on July 1st, 2007 by Rydax

He strapped on a colostomy bag so he could speak for as long a necessary!! Who else would do that? What other candidate would do that? Without even thinking of the other risks involved, can anyone really see the others being involved enough to do that? I love the way he lays out the story, hilarious and awesome.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. -- Benjamin Franklin

Vote for Mike Gravel, anything else would be insanity!

DU Weapons - Geneva Convention Issue

Submitted on July 12th, 2007 by Brad G Burch
The freedom of speech and the press are so important in society. I feel sad about the many things that people do for love of power, etc. -  I do see that there are some who take the risks to speak up about injustice and the importance of living peacefully. Dr. Robert Anderson in New Zealand is one of those who's not afraid to speak up and is an activist and a concerned scientist. He wrote a book about the "Ultimate War Crime" as he calls it and is about the USA, UK and others using Depleted Uranium weapons over in Iraq and in other places in the last decade or nearly two. The health of civilians as well as the military people in the Middle East is under threat with long term health issues for generations to come. Babies are being born deformed - mothers don't ask if their babies are a boy or a girl - they ask if it is normal and without defects. Returning veterans will also have these same worries for their offsprings. Please have a read of an acticle that Dr. anderson wrote in the following site about this issue:  http://radio.weblogs.com/0128644/2006/07/index.html  -  May we all have the courage that some of these folks have to bring up the issues that are a break from Geneva and UN Conventions and is a Human Rights issue as well. Best Regards, Brad

Unbelievable courage!

Submitted on June 30th, 2007 by Donald Grbac

This is an unbelievable narative of courage given modestly by the people who did it!

Every American should hear what these three men had to go through to save our country from a war that should not have happened.

I hope this video will be broadcast on FSTV. We should all ask them for it.

DON

Only democracy will save us!

buying the video

Submitted on June 30th, 2007 by Audax

i sent an email to web@uua.org asking where ican buy a copy of this video... hopefully it will be available somehow :P

 

All i want is the truth, why is it so hard to find?

Senator Gravel can you

Submitted on June 29th, 2007 by Audax

Senator Gravel can you please release this video on youtube. it is great but they only give the option to stream the video and it freezes every 10 seconds to buffer.

 

All i want is the truth, why is it so hard to find?

this video is so

Submitted on June 29th, 2007 by Audax

this video is so unbelievably amazing.

 

 

All i want is the truth, why is it so hard to find?

The minority is running the country

Submitted on June 29th, 2007 by jfl

The minority is running the country.

There are 100 senators + 435 representatives + 9 supremes + 2 people in the executive = 546 people, 546 outsourced corporate employees, running the nation in defiance of the will of 300,000,000 Americans.

The enemies of the American people are truly in Washington DC. They look just like us, they are just like us... they're just not working for us. They're working for Corporate America and against our interests.

So how come 300.000.000 of us are still letting these people destroy our country?

Look at the numbers. We truly have the power. Let's us it!

Amen to that, jfl, couldn't

Submitted on June 30th, 2007 by pilgrimradio
Amen to that, jfl, couldn't have said it any better. We're allowing a minority to control us, therefore, we're actually part of the problem through our allowance.

Denegrating Congress, and some Good Supreme Court Justices

Submitted on June 29th, 2007 by John Keohane

I saw jfl's comments denegrating all members of the Congress of the United States, and every justice on the Supreme Court.

Those comments are both ignorant and unfair.

Justices Stevens, Souter, Bryer, and Ginsberg are doing admirable jobs on the Supreme Court.  Every senator running for the Democratic Presidential nomination is doing excellent work in the Senate.  Nancy Pelosi and others are doing excellent work in the Congress of the United States.

If citizens are to be active in their government, and I think they should be, they should act out of knowledge, and not from ignorance.

--John Keohane

Austin, Texas

Ok... I'll give you The 4 Supremes

Submitted on June 29th, 2007 by jfl

Ok... I'll give you The 4 Supremes. I was mindful of the fact that the Supreme Court appointed Bush XLIII and that it instructed the Congress, which is NOT on our side in how to craft the MCA (Military Commissions Act) in order to outlaw habeas corpus "legally", for starters.

But the four senators running against Mike Gravel for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008, Biden, Clinton, Dodd, and Obama are NOT on our side, and neither is Nancy Pelosi. If they were they would sponsor the US Armed Forces Withdrawal From Iraq Act. If they were they would not be taking instruction from the AIPAC with regard to the upcoming attack on Iran. If they were they would not have taken ownership of the Iraq war from the Neocons by pushing through the bill funding the war after the Bush veto. If they were they would not be pushing corporate interests over human interests in every area, from funding the military industrial complex, to health care, to education, to immigration, to... any area where money can be applied to politics.

I'll give you The 4 Supremes... maybe a handful of others among the 546. But in fact the 535 + 2 are directly responsible for the illegal and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq and for every violent death there since their joint War Crime began. They are not working for us 300,000,000 Americans, they are working for their American corporate and AIPAC owners.

How can it be that of 300,000,000 Americans we have allowed these 535 + 2 traitors, for that is what they are as a class, take over our nation and destroy it. For that is what they have done. It will be decades before we recover from the excesses of the opening years of the 21st Century, and the Demoblicans are just as complicit in the series of crimes that have led to our downfall as are the Republicrats.

It's well past time that we 300,000,000 Americans woke up to the betrayal of our interests by "our" political class and cleaned house in Washington DC.

Mike Gravel is the only one of those running for the Democratic nomination for whom I can vote. If he misses the nomination I'll vote for Ron Paul. If Paul misses his nomination I'll be looking for a third party to nurture as a replacement for the utterly corrupt duopoly we are presently faced with.

I've been through the "least worst" argument for the last time. I want representation, not a "protection" racket, and like paying for "protection" from the traditional mob, continuing to pony up for the Demoblicans can only ensure the continued subversion of our interests and the perpetual hegemony of that corrupt, blood-sucking, parasitical regime.

Ron Paul appeared on RealTime

Submitted on July 8th, 2007 by Marlyn
When Ron Paul appeared on RealTime, the Bill Maher show, he said that the American Civil War was a "mistake". Also he asked about global warming, "What are you going to do about the volcanoes?"

Gravel or Ron Paul??

Submitted on June 30th, 2007 by John Keohane

afl,

Help us all on this one.

You stated:

"Mike Gravel is the only one of those running for the Democratic nomination for whom I can vote. If he misses the nomination I'll vote for Ron Paul."

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) is a congressman.

The key vote in the House this year on Iraq was roll call #265 on April 25, tying funding through September to early withdraw.  The House vote was 218 to 208, hardly a 2/3 vote needed to override a veto.  The 218 in favor, included 216 Democrats and Republicans Gilchrest(MD) and Jones(NC).  The 208 against included 13 Democrats and 195 Republicans, including Paul(TX).

So, precisely why do you like Ron Paul?

By the way, there were 51 votes in the Senate for this resolution, hardly close to the requisite 2/3.  Do you really believe that senators Biden, Clinton, Dodd, and Obama should have expended Herculean amounts of energy for failure, when it was that far from getting 2/3 in either the Senate or the House?

By the way, you mention something called the "US Armed Forces Withdrawal From Iraq Act".  Is that a House bill, or a Senate bill, and who are the sponsors?  I looked it up on Thomas, found many bills on Iraq, including some for withdraw, but none with the title that you mention.

Best regards,

John Keohane

Austin, Texas 


 

The key vote in the House...

Submitted on July 8th, 2007 by jfl

The key vote in the House this year on Iraq was roll call #265 on April 25, tying funding through September to early withdraw.

I disagree John Keohane. That vote was a fraud. It "tied" funding for the war, over and above the funding requested!, to a house of smoke and mirrors signifying nothing. It was all show and no go.

If the Demoblicans had been serious in their "opposition" to the war they would not have voted to fund it. Period. They are not in opposition to the war, seriously or in any other sense. They would, perhaps, not have had the combination of chutzpah and disregard for the consequences of starting the war that the Neocon mob had, but they are perfectly content to see it continue while they try the "hey, don't blame us... they started it" routine. They are despicable.

The reason you cannot find the US Armed Forces Withdrawal From Iraq Act or its sponsors on Thomas is for the reasons outlined in the preceding paragraph : there are no sponsors among the bought up political class, only those of us 300,000,000 Americans who know of the existence of Mike Gravel's draft Act, such as those on this website, are actively sponsoring the Act.

I urge you to read it yourself, John, and then to get together with your Demoblican cronies and find some sponsors... if you can find a real opponent of the war among them.

As for the vote for Ron Paul, I disagree with his political philosophy but savor his consistent honesty. The number one priority right now is to end the war and remove the conditions that allowed it to go forward to begin with, primarily support for Israeli expropriation of Palestine. I think Ron Paul would do both those things.

yes

Submitted on July 3rd, 2007 by Audax

"Do you really believe that senators Biden, Clinton, Dodd, and Obama should have expended Herculean amounts of energy for failure, when it was that far from getting 2/3 in either the Senate or the House?"

yes, it would prove they cared about the issue. like the way gravel did about ending the draft.

 

 

All i want is the truth, why is it so hard to find?

Free and disciplined search for truth

Submitted on July 4th, 2007 by John Keohane

Audax,

When the UUs merged, one of the key principles was for a "Free and Disciplined Search for Truth".  Might be good for the UUs to return to these principles, which existed into the 1980s.

Everyone of your posts asks for the Truth.

A key in any of this is to recognize, I think, the importance of many issues, and the importance of those we elect to fight for many issues, and not to go after fall on your sword type causes.

I definitely disagree with your wish for Democrats to put Herculean efforts for your own special causes or legislation that is bound to fail.  Your comparision to what you say Sen. Gravel would have done is chimerical.  Sen. Gravel was last elected in 1974, and lost the Democratic primary for re-election six years later.

--John Keohane

Austin, Texas 

not sure who pays your bills.

Submitted on July 4th, 2007 by Rydax

Just want to say I do not think you will get far in trying to convince people on this page that the Do-Nothing Dems are good leaders or good elected officials. Any of them could have spoken out or filibustered at any time, but they are too afraid of their reputations. If one of them had done something before the war and it failed, they would be the shoe-in for pres. But none of them had the backbone so now they quibble over other things because they don't have a good history to fall back on.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. -- Benjamin Franklin

Vote for Mike Gravel, anything else would be insanity!

Ron Paul, please.....

Submitted on July 3rd, 2007 by biphenylene

Ron Paul looks good only when surrounded by neanderthals (neoconderthals).

The GOP mainstream wants to more efficiently funnel your tax dollars to the large corporations. Essentially, they want a government accountable to the corporations.

Ron Paul essentially wants to abolish government. He is kinder, gentler version of Pat Buchanan.

Mike Gravel wants a government accountable to the people.

Hillary (and Obama et al) wants a government more accountable to the people that it is currently.  Unfortunately, she (they) wants to leave the corporations with too much power in OUR government. 

Looking at all issues, if Gravel is 100 and the GOP mainstream is 0, then I'd give Ron Paul a 25 and Hillary a 37. She disappoints me but she's still significantly better than even the best republican (probably Paul).

Ron Paul makes a nice candidate only if you feel that you have to vote republican. I, for one, never will.

The number one priority in 2008 is to get the GOP out of power. The number two priority is to get the democrats to show some gonads.

Mike Gravel shares my views about virtually everything, and he has guts and therefore my support. However, I'll vote for any democrat winning the nomination. The GOP had the audacity to give us George W. Bush and his trillion dollar corporate free-for-all. They absolutely must be punished for what they have done.

We must transform the democratic party, not fracture it...

Wow, great assembly.

Submitted on June 29th, 2007 by Jlau

Does anyone in the current intelligence community, congress, or the media even come close to these guys?

People like this are a fractional minority within the world.

Hopefully, their efforts will not be in vain and people will not only remember their actions, but be persuaded to take part in patriotic dissent in the interests of protecting their country as well as the world.

Deepest respect and admiration for all those involved in this historic act of dissent.  

Gravel On the Drug War

Submitted on June 29th, 2007 by DH Michon

Stop The Drug War

I am buoyed to see what Sen. Gravel said in the Howard U debate last nite! Briefly, he said that, if elected Prez, he will end the Drug War. That makes two wars that must be stopped but note that the Drug War, so-called, is a war on Americans, primarily. 2.3 million Americans in prison! It must end or our society will soon go into the tank and our kids will be fighting in a vicious (and rightly so) revolution.

If you are new to the Drug War debate you should know that regulating drugs does not sanction their use and will result in a dramatic decline in drug use. We have to face this now. We will have to deal with 2 generations of addicts, created by decades of Drug Prohibition - and that is best done in a medical setting - but, after that, the underground allure of drugs will no longer pertain. There is nothing cool or rebelious about going to a government clinic twice a week. There are many great writers and websites that can get this said better than I; give them a look!