Special to IFP from Kristin Rafferty
On Nov 27, 2007 10:14 AM, [st. paul city council member] dave thune
Kristin I love your style!
Yes, the city council of st. paul will be talking about this. we’re a little close to the recent election to get our arms around it yet, but for sure I am in the impeach corner. For those who argue that it is not a local matter, please realize that the tools we’ve used to take on poverty, bad housing and yes, high property taxes have been hijacked because of lies and fear tactics which have diverted money away from local issues and sent them to fight a war of adventure for profit in iraq.
And this is to say nothing of the loyal americans who willingly trust and serve their country as soldiers. They deserve more for their willingness to fight and die for us.
dave thune
st. paul city council
—– Original Message —–
From: Kristin Rafferty
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 5:29 AM
Subject: Come senators, congressmen – Please heed the call – Don’t stand in the doorway – Don’t block up the hall (Bob Dylan)
Dear various politicians who represent me (and a at least one who represents my neighborhing city),
First of all, I would like to point out that many of you go out of your way to not publish your actual e-mail addresses. (There are a few exceptions, and you know who you are if you are in fact approachable.) I would like to commend my Councilmember David Thune for always being approachable and accessible by phone and/or e-mail. I would also like to thank of all people, Norm Coleman who at least sends a generic response form letter whenever I write. I of course 99% of the time disagree with him, but at LEAST he responds, albeit generically. I would also like to thank Betty McCollum, who always sends a generic e-mail form letter followed by an eventual snail mail letter response. I also would like to thank Mayor Chris Coleman’s office for always being kind and courteous on the telephone. I also have a great deal of respect for Carlos Mariani who I have recently become aquainted with in an anti-racism dialogue circle. I would like to point out that I am pretty disappointed that Amy Klobuchar in particular, a politician who I volunteered for ironically, has yet to ever respond to any letters I’ve written or petititions I’ve signed. I don’t think I even got a thank you note or a tee-shirt for helping with her campaign. (When I volunteered for Wellstone on the other hand, I did get a tee-shirt, which I still have and still wear 11 years later.) I also am quite disappointed that Klobuchar had the gall to chew out MoveOn.org for the “General Betray Us” advertisement.
I also would like to point out to ALL of you that IF you do not support impeachment efforts, regardless of whether or not I am a fan or yours, I am disappointed about that. If you are still undecided or silent on the issue, I urge you to please represent your contituents and support Dennis Kucinich and the impeachment efforts. If you happen to be a local level politician and think this issue does not concern your office, please realize that MANY cities across America have already passed impeachment resolutions and remember that YOU promised under oath to defend the Constitution . Defending the Constution INCLUDES impeaching Dick Cheney (and I would argue George Bush as well) for a long laundry list of impeachable offenses. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about his sex life. While that was pretty pathetic of him to do and pretty rude to Hillary, the country and world were not at all in danger. However, I am not asking you to support impeachment efforts as some sort of revenge against the Clinton impeachment. I do not take impeachment lightly and I believe it should only be used in rare and necessary situations. For example, I think the impeachment of Richard Nixon was absolutely necessary. There is absolutely no excuse NOT to impeach Cheney and also Bush. Rather then cowardly hide in the corner silently or throwing out insults that Kucinich allegedly might have seen a UFO (as did Reagan and Carter…and Hillary talked to Eleanor Roosevelt; and hell, Nixon talked to paintings), let’s get to the point and cut through the B.S. excuses already. If you are a Democrat and reading this, it’s time to dare to be liberal. Follow the brave lead of Kucinich and stand up for what’s right. Stand up for the people. Stand up for the Constitution. Stand up for peace. If you are a Democrat, you were elected for a reason; for change, and to end the war. Impeachment is mentioned SEVERAL times in the Constitution and Cheney committed impeachable offenses. There IS time to impeach Cheney. Stop stalling! If you are worried about getting re-elected if you DO favor impeachment; trust me, you won’t be getting MY support if you DON’T. At the very least, don’t ask me for one penny of campaign contributions or one second of my volunteer time if you won’t represent your constituents and support impeachment AND stop funding this illegal war! (If you do the honorable thing and get behind the impeachment efforts, I’ll get a tattoo of your name! Okay, kidding, and also testing to see if you’re actually still reading along. Seriously though, I will feel honored to have you represent me and will do anything I can to help get you re-elected!) If Cheney is not worth being impeached, then who in the hell is? And why bother HAVING impeachment mentioned in the Constitution? Remember, you promised under oath to defend the Constitution. PLEASE uphold your promise! Your country depends on it!
The Democrats in congress have completely failed to represent their contituents. This includes their loyal base of consistent Democrat voters as well as some probably disgruntled and frustrated Republicans who are sick and tired of Bush who is hardly “conservative” with his ridiculous spending of our tax dollars on an illegal dishonest war, and I think it’s pretty obvious he is also nowhere near “compassionate”. As for his rhetoric regarding “spreading freedom”, he ought to ask the Iraqis how truly “free” they feel. Actually, he ought to ask the Americans how “free” WE feel! I sure don’t feel “free” when my phone calls and e-mails are being illegally spied on without a warrent, when my votes are not counted, when my voice is not heard, when the press has no freedom, when MoveOn is scolded for a perfectly legal paid for by members ad, when politicians are bought by Corporations, when Corporations have more freedom than ACTUAL people, when Corporations control the planet, and when absolute power corrupts ABSOLUTELY!
In fact, I am so fed up with the way Democrats have been lazy AND spineless, that IF Ron Paul, a Republican were to win the Republican nomination AND choose Dennis Kucinich as his running mate, I would actually consider voting for a Republican, and I NEVER thought I would say that. (And yes, I realize I disagree with Ron Paul on many issues.) Seriously, the Democrats in congress MUST stop alienating their own loyal base already, and for the love of God, when Senator Klobuchar chews out MoveOn.org AND fails to write back to her constituent who volunteered for her campaign, it becomes quite evident that a great number of politicans are quite phony, lazy, and/or wishy-washy. One of my good friends recently left the Democratic Party for the Socialist Party and is traveling to D.C. to protest and to Venezuela to distribute literature. I kind of don’t blame her for getting fed up with the Democratic Party.
If you are a politician, I dare you to respond to my e-mail. I triple dog dare you to send a personalized response! If you are still unconvinced on either the impeachment issue or ending funding for the war, contact me and I would gladly treat you to a cup of coffee at the coffee shop of your choice and plead my case with you.
My final request is for you to watch this video clip of how the innocent Iraqi children are being affected by the war:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/11/09/iraq.children/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — The head of Iraq’s main humanitarian group said an 18-year-old approached him with a baby suffering from leukemia. The desperate mother said she’d do “anything” for treatment for her child — and then offered herself up for sex.
Is there REALLY a need to continue unnecessarily bombing this country until AT LEAST 2013? How many more children need to be blinded by flying shrapnel from U.S. soldiers? How many detainees need to be tortured and sexually abused in prisons for endless amounts of time without even having the right to defend themselves? How many people must be beheaded? How many children must die? How many solidiers must die? How many soldiers must come home without any limbs (meanwhile being forced to pay back their 30K sign on bonuses for having no choice but to leave the military for lost limbs)? How many female soldiers must be sexually harassed or raped? How many Blackwater merceneries will be overpaid while our actual soldiers get paid a fraction of that? How many soldiers must suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? How long until we find Osama Bin Laden? How long before our questions about Building 7 are answered? How long before our votes are actually counted in elections? How many people must die not in the name of freedom, but in the name of oil? How many Constitutional amendments must be stolen from the people? How many CIA agents must be outed? How many times will we be lied to about WMDs or yellowcake? How many citizens will be tasered, pepper sprayed, or arrested for speaking the truth? How many mothers of dead soldiers must camp out at Bush’s ranch like Cindy Sheehan did? How many marches will it take? How many letters must we write? How many phone calls must we make? How many bodies of innocent Iraqis must be disprespectfully thrown into horrid black plastic sacks and buried in masses; unidentified and never seen by loved ones? How is this any better than Saddam Hussein’s former regime? How many of our soldiers have died in comparison to lives lost in 9/11? How long will it be before the Hurricane Katrina victims are out of poverty? Why were so many Katrina victims completely ignored and left to die? How many Enron scandels will it take?
Sincerely,
Kristin Rafferty
St. Paul, MN; 55107
P.S.
Anyone happen to know the ACTUAL e-mail addresses of Rep. Conyers and Pelosi? Thanks in advance if you send it to me!
P.S.S.
I am also sending this to some of my more politically active and liberal friends/family.
Bob Dylan said it best:
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, ‘n’ how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, ‘n’ how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, ‘n’ how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ‘n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
How many years can a mountain exist
Before it’s washed to the sea?
Yes, ‘n’ how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, ‘n’ how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn’t see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
ALSO….
Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who
That it’s namin’.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’.
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside
And it is ragin’.
It’ll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’.
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin’.
Please get out of the new one
If you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’.
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin’.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’.