End the Crisis in Gaza

By David Gibson and Dr. Janet Amighi,
7/20/14

While Israel claims it is under threat, its own actions and policies are actually the driving force of Palestinian resistance.  It is most extreme in Gaza.

Gaza is kept shut off by land, sea and air from the rest of the world and even from their relatives in the West Bank. They cannot export their products or import needed supplies to rebuild after each Israeli incursion or bombing. They are locked in an overcrowded prison with undrinkable water and worse and then condemned as terrorists if they protest.  Gaza is permanently under siege- who can live like that?

Now as Israel attacks, Gazans run terrorized in the streets or cower in their homes with nowhere to flee. (Warning leaflets dropped from the air have no use when there is no place to evacuate to.) They have no shelters, they cannot become refugees. They can’t even get ambulances through to collect the wounded and the many dead. Even on the beach a group of boys are not safe.  They are trapped victims of an unbelievable horror. No one comes to their aid.

What is the cause of this brutal attack?  Israel says it is self-defense, against rockets, against kidnappers, against tunnels.  Palestinian leaders in Gaza say they will not accept a ceasefire until the blockade is lifted, that they will not stop resisting until they can lead tolerable lives.

According to Nathan Thrall writing in the New York Times, the trigger of this most recent Israeli attack against Gaza was the Reconciliation Agreement under which Hamas agreed to turn over leadership of Gaza to President Abbas and his Fattah party and create a unity government.  The West at first supported this move, but Israel resisted and her allies fell into line. Thrall calls it, “Gaza and Israel: The Road to War, Paved by the West, (July 17, 2014).  He claims that Israel is trying to preserve the status quo- keeping control over Palestinian land, water, and lives.

The US is Israeli’s willing ally to the tune of 3 billion dollars a year in military aid, not because it is in our national interest, but because our politicians are afraid to confront right wing actions by the Israeli government.

The United States can help save both Israeli and Palestinian lives by demanding a lasting ceasefire, lifting the blockade on Gaza, ending U.S. military aid to Israel (or at least withholding such aid until a ceasefire begins and lasts for, say six months), hold all sides accountable for human rights violations, and engage with all Palestinian factions (including Hamas).

Peace, Shalom, and Salam to all

Please take action for peace in Palestine and Israel.

Call the White House comment line:

202.456.1111

Demand a ceasefire and suspension of U.S.  weapons and military aid to Israel.

To call your Member of Congress:

US Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121

To locate your Member on-line:
U.S. House of Representatives: www.house.gov
U.S. Senate: www.senate.gov

White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Demand a ceasefire and suspension of U.S. weapons and military aid to Israel.

No Deal is Better Than a Bad Deal

I went to a rally on Saturday.  It was held in front of the local office of Representative Jim Gerlach (R).  He represents the Pennsylvania 6th Congressional District.  Of course, neither Jim nor his staff were there as they don’t work on weekends.  The Republicans in Congress want us to work until we are 70 years old before we can collect our Social Security retirement money.  On the other hand, they only want to work 1/3 of the year and still collect full pay and full benefits.

Rep. Jim Gerlach was re-elected in November and that is because he tells his constituents that he is a “moderate”.  That’s bullsh*t.  He is a placeholder for Republican votes and he votes as he is told to vote by the House Speaker, John Boehner.  Gerlach voted to dismantle Medicare and Medicaid yet the local press was silent about his vote.  His opponent didn’t have much money and he had a large territory to cover to get name recognition.  The media area is the greater Philadelphia area which makes it expensive to advertise.  Rep. Jim Gerlach refused to debate his opponent because he didn’t want anyone to know anything about his opponent, Manan Trivedi.  As for town hall meetings, they are held via the telephone because Gerlach does not want to be confronted by unhappy constituents.  Yeah, I’ll say it.  Rep. Jim Gerlach is a coward.

Enough of my rambling.  Here is a picture of the poster that I was holding.  H/T to Outstandinginthefield for the wording and thank you to everyone else for your good ideas.  I will hold onto those for possible use at another time.

Live in your strength!

Republicans Privatize Social Security

Yes, in their own words, they will privatize Social Security.  This is what the voters of Pennsylvania voted for when they elected Toomey.  Yes, Tea Party members and Patriots, you will have to hand over your Social Security to the thieves on Wall Street and you can kiss your Medicare good-bye.  And you voted for this because there is a black man in the white house.  Sorry to say that racism is alive and well in the “guns and Jesus” parts of Pennsylvania.

One more thing, Tea Party members and Patriots, you better start bottling your water because once the gas drillers come into your neighborhood, your water will not be safe to drink.  This is what will happen because you voted for Republicans to control Harrisburg and they support the rights of the gas drillers and NOT your rights.  Fools.

Pat Toomey’s book

Let’s Hold Them Accountable

Now that the tea party and Republicans have taken back the House and control Harrisburg, let’s hold them accountable.

We want jobs, jobs, and more jobs.  We want jobs in Pennsylvania that employ Pennsylvanians.

Maloney promised to finally get rid of our property taxes.  We want no more property taxes. 

Toomey promised American jobs.  We want jobs in Pennsylvania and not jobs off shored to another country.

Gerlach promised jobs.  We want jobs in Pennsylvania and not jobs off shored to another country.

Corbett promised to not raise taxes.  We don’t want any more money taken out of our pay checks to bail out the State.

Republicans promised that they will reduce the deficit without touching our Social Security.  We will hold them to that.

Republicans promised to lower taxes for EVERYONE.  We will hold them to that.

They have two years to deliver:

• Jobs, jobs and more jobs
• No more property taxes
• Deficit reduction
• Lower taxes

We don’t want to dismantle the health care reform.  We want either single payer or public option health care to replace mandatory private insurance.

We don’t want to spend two years wasting tax payers money on frivolous investigations.  We want Congress to work on jobs and more jobs.

We don’t want our Social Security handed over to Wall Street.  We want the Government to honor their promise to our seniors and to not use Social Security to reduce the deficit.

We don’t want endless wars.  We want our troops home NOW.

We don’t want bank bailouts.  We want responsible bank and Wall Street regulations.

We don’t want to keep drilling deeper and deeper for oil and gas which destroys our environment.  We want renewable energy like wind power and solar power.

We don’t want to keep supporting big agriculture which sends us dangerous foods.  We want safe food, produced by local farms.

Two years… that’s all they have.

Democrats Stand For…

Protecting us.  Republicans stand for protecting corporations and to hell with us.

Economic Treason

Americans are hurting. Pennsylvanians are hurting. WE NEED JOBS, HERE. Our country has lost too many jobs to off shoring or outsourcing.

Here’s some information about who supported and continues to support sending our good paying jobs overseas.

MR. WALL STREET IS ALSO MR. OFFSHORING

– Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania voted in 2004 to give a multi-billion dollar Homeland Security contract to an offshore tax dodger. Toomey also voted to give and protect benefits and tax breaks to corporations dodging U.S. taxes by locating offshore, and opposed penalties for corporations laying off more U.S. workers than they do in foreign countries.

Get the full list of the Republican Economic Traitors here.

But Are They Willing

The Republicans presented the “Pledge to America” which is similar to the “Contract on America” that Newt Gingrich campioned during the Clinton Administration.  Republicans are good with words and bad with actions.  Their latest scam promises job creation, tax reduction (for the very rich) and spending cuts.  Since the Republicans are so gung-ho with spending cuts, are they willing to take a reduction in pay?  Are they willing to pay more for their benefits?  How do they plan to put more money in our pockets?  By busting Unions?  By dismantling Social Security?  They plan on repealing Obama’s health care bill.  How does that help us?  By allowing insurance companies to drop us when we get sick?  By allowing insurance companies to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions?

The Republicans plan on shutting down the Government.  This means that no one will receive their Social Security checks, veterans won’t receive their deserved benefits, and Government employees won’t get paid.

Face the facts, people.  Republicans are mean, selfish, and nasty.

If the Tea Party whiners think that things are bad now, just wait until the Republicans take control.  They can kiss their unemployment, Social Security and Medicare good-bye because these are some of the spending cuts that Republicans are talking about.

Save our freedoms and protect our Constitution by voting for Democrats in November.

A Vote For A Republican Means

What does a vote for a Republican mean in November?  Three things:

1. A vote for the interest of the wealthiest Americans at the expense of everyone else.
2. A vote for putting the power in the hands of a few wealthy fringe Republicans.
3. A vote for the politics of fear.

From Mitchell Bard:

There was a time when a principled Republican could fairly and accurately reply that he or she was voting for smaller government and lower taxes as a way of improving the fortunes of the middle class. (I personally disagree with that policy position, but it is a fair argument to make.)

But in the current Tea Party- and Beck-Palin-Limbaugh-dominated GOP, such an assertion is completely untenable. Recent news has shined a clear spotlight on exactly what the GOP is actually supporting. As I pointed out last month, odds are, the Republicans are not looking out for you.

Read the further details of the results from these three things here.

It is the wealthiest Americans that are supporting the Tea Party Republicans and other Republican candidates because they want to make America a third world country.

If you are proud to be an American, then you will vote for a Democrat on November 2, 2010.  This election is about saving the soul of our nation.  Let’s not give it to the wealthy.

O’Donnell Supports Creationism

Looks like the Delaware GOP has a Tea Party candidate on the ballot in November.  Her name is Christine O’Donnell and she wants creationism to be taught in schools because she says “evolution is just a theory”.

Here’s the facts, Ms. “prissy pants” O’Donnell:

Evolution may be a theory, but Creationism is a myth.

Does Ms. O’Donnell want the  “purity police” to be checking up on people to make sure that no one is masturbating?  After watching this video, I wonder?

And, O’Donnell believes that you can legislate morality, her religious beliefs regarding morality.

Take Aim and Shoot

These are the Republican targets: