OG.. the article title "Kucinich heads anti-war coalition in U.S. Congress" was from a Reuters article and was quoted in the NY times, Yahoo news and many other news organisations at the time. It doesnt mean that he is the head of the anti-war movement. ! There are many leaders of the anti-war movement !!
Nadia, will PM you with the details when I have the time, but if you told me he was with the Raellians looking for cloned aliens it WOULD not suprise me!
Here on Gupshup we have gone from quoting David Duke to Kucinich. I have not laughed so much in a year......
Sometimes you need to take American politics with a grain of salt. Look up James Traficant. Dennis is way wierder than Jimmy!
How is it that you guys in Ohio manage to breed so many oddball politicians?! :)
[Traficant, Springer (ha!), Kucinich, etc?]
not to mention Klinger
I escaped!
Received the PM. It makes sense. Thank you for taking the time to explain it, OG.
Just for the rest of the viewers here, I will post a speech by “Congressman Moonbeam”. Trust me folks, this guy has been crouching under large metal pyramids and gazing at crystals way too long…
Words of Cosmic Consciousness - from a Politician and Member of Congress
Praxis Peace Institute Conference
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Sunday, June 9, 2002
" S p i r i t a n d S t a r d u s t "
As one studies the images of the Eagle Nebula, brought back by the Hubble Telescope from that place in deep space where stars are born, one can imagine the interplay of cosmic forces across space and time, of matter and spirit dancing to the music of the spheres, atop an infinite sea of numbers.
Spirit merges with matter to sanctify the universe. Matter transcends to return to spirit. The interchangeability of matter and spirit means the starlit magic of the outermost life of our universe becomes the soul-light magic of the innermost life of our self. The energy of the stars becomes us. We become the energy of the stars. Stardust and spirit unite and we begin: One with the universe. Whole and holy. From one source, endless creative energy, bursting forth, kinetic, elemental. We, the earth, air, water and fire-source of nearly fifteen billion years of cosmic spiraling.
We begin as a perfect union of matter and spirit. We receive the blessings of the Eternal from sky and earth. In our outstretched hands we can feel the energy of the universe. We receive the blessings of the Eternal from water, which nourishes and sanctifies life. We receive the blessings of the Eternal from the primal fire, the pulsating heart of creation. We experience the wonder of life multidimensional and transcendent.
We extend our hands upwards and we are showered with abundance. We ask and we receive. A universe of plenty flows to us, through us. It is in us. We become filled with endless possibilities. We need to remember where we came from; to know that we are one. To understand that we are of an undivided whole: race, color, nationality,creed, gender are beams of light, refracted through one great prism. We begin as perfect and journey through life to become more perfect in the singularity of “I” and in the multiplicity of “we”; a more perfect union of matter and spirit. - - This is
human striving. This is where, in Shelley’s words, " . . . hope creates from its own wreck the thing it contemplates."
This is what Browning spoke of: Our ‘reach exceeding [our]grasp’. This is a search for heaven within, a quest for our eternal home. In our soul’s Magnificat, we become conscious of the cosmos within us. We hear the music of peace, we hear the music of cooperation, we hear music of love. We hear harmony, a celestial symphony. In our soul’s forgetting, we become unconscious of our cosmic birthright, plighted with disharmony, disunity, torn asunder from the stars in a disaster
well-described by Matthew Arnold in Dover Beach:
" . . . the world, which seems to lie before us like a land of dreams, so various, so beautiful, so new, hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, nor certitude nor peace, nor help for pain. And we are here, as on a darkling plain, swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, where ignorant armies clash by night."
Today Dover Beach is upon the shores of the Potomac River in Washington,D.C. Our leaders think the unthinkable and speak of the Unspeakable inevitability of nuclear war; of a nuclear attack on New York City, of terrorist attacks throughout our nation; of war against Iraq using nuclear weapons; of biological and chemical weapon attacks on civilian populations; of catastrophic global climate change; of war in outer space.
When death (not life) becomes inevitable, we are presented with an opportunity for great clarity, for a great awakening, to rescue the human spirit from the arms of Morpheus through love, through compassion and through integrating spiritual vision and active citizenship to restore peace to our world. The moment that one world is about to end, a new world is about to begin. We need to remember where we came from.
Because the path home is also the way to the future.
In the city I represent in the United States Congress, there is a memorial to Peace, named by its sculptor, Marshall A. Fredericks the “Fountain of Eternal Life”. A figure rises from the flames, his gaze fixed to the stars, his hands positioned sextant-like, as if measuring the distance. Though flames of war from the millions of hearts and the dozens of places wherein it rages, may lick at our consciousness, our gaze must be fixed upward to invoke universal principles of unity, of co-operation, of compassion, to infuse our world with peace, to ask for the active presence of peace, to expand our capacity to receive it and to express it in our everyday life. We must do this fearlessly and courageously and not breathe in the poison gas of terror. As we receive, so shall we give.
As citizen-diplomats of the world, we send peace as conscious expression where ever, whenever and to whomever it is needed: to the Middle East, to the Israelis and the Palestinians, to the Pakistanis and the Indians, to Americans and Al Queda, and to the people of Iraq, and to all those locked in deadly combat. And we fly to be with the bereft, with those on the brink, to listen compassionately, setting aside judgment and malice to become peacemakers, to intervene, to mediate, to bring ourselves back from the abyss, to bind up the world’s wounds.
As we aspire to universal brotherhood and sisterhood, we harken to the cry from the heart of the world and respond affirmatively to address through thought, word and deed conditions which give rise to conflict: Economic exploitation, empire building, political oppression, religious intolerance, poverty, disease, famine, homelessness, struggles over control of water, land, minerals, and oil.
We realize that what affects anyone, anywhere affects everyone, everywhere. As we help others to heal, we heal ourselves. Our vision of interconnectedness resonates with new networks of world citizens in nongovernmental organizations linking from numberless centers of energy, expressing the emergence of a new organic whole, seeking unity within and across national lines. New transnational web-based email and telecommunications systems transcend governments and carry within them the power of qualitative transformation of social and political structures and a new sense of creative intelligence.
If governments and their leaders, bound by hierarchy and patriarchy, wedded to military might for legitimacy, fail to grasp the implications of an emerging world consciousness for cooperation, for peace and for sustainability, they may become irrelevant. As citizen-activists the world over merge, they can become an irresistible force to create peace and protect the planet. From here will come a new movement to abolish nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction. From here will come the demand for sustainable communities, for new systems of energy, transportation and commerce. From here comes the future rushing in on us.
How does one acquire the capacity for active citizenship?
The opportunities exist every day. In Cleveland, citizens have developed the ability to intercede when schools are scheduled to be closed, and have kept the schools open; to rally to keep hospitals open; to save industries which provide jobs; to protect neighborhood libraries from curtailment of service, to improve community policing; to meet racial, ethnic and religious intolerance openly and directly. Active citizenship begins with an envisioning of the desired outcome and a conscious application of spiritual principles. I know. I have worked with the people in my own community. I have seen the dynamic of faith in self, faith in one’s ability to change things, faith in one’s ability to prevail against the odds through an appeal to the spirit of the world for help, through an appeal to the spirit of community for participation, through an appeal to the spirit of cooperation, which multiplies energy. I have seen citizens challenge conditions without condemning anyone, while invoking principles of non-opposition and inclusion of those who disagree. I have seen groups of people overcome incredible odds as they become aware they are participating in a cause beyond self and sense the movement of the inexorable which comes from unity. When you feel this principle at work, when you see spiritual principles form the basis of active citizenship, you are reminded once again of the merging of stardust and spirit. There is creativity. There is magic. There is alchemy.
Citizens across the United States are now uniting in a great cause to establish a Department of Peace, seeking nothing less than the transformation of our society, to make non-violence an organizing principle, to make war archaic through creating a paradigm shift in our culture for human development, for economic and political justice and for violence control. Its work in violence control will be to support disarmament, treaties, peaceful coexistence and peaceful consensus building. Its focus on economic and political justice will examine and enhance resource distribution, human and economic rights and strengthen democratic values. Domestically, the Department of Peace would address violence in the home, spousal abuse, child abuse, gangs, police-community relations conflicts and work with individuals and groups to achieve changes in attitudes that examine the mythologies of cherished world views, such as `violence is inevitable’ or ‘war is inevitable’. Thus it will help with the discovery of new selves and new paths toward peaceful consensus.
http://www.globenet.free-online.co.uk/articles/spiritandstardust.htm
sigh :~(
i'll just repeat for emphasis' sake - thankfully not ALL anti-war politicians in the US are like this.
Here is another one! I just love the meeting Shirley MacLaine in a prior life part! So Sorry Nadia!
hahahahahah
Kucinich Selected as One of Ten Worst Mayors in History
In his new book, The American Mayor, Melvin Holli reports that Dennis J. Kucinich has been selected as one of the worst big-city mayors in American history. For this exhaustive study, Holli surveyed various experts and ranked the best and worst mayors based on certain criteria. Order the book from Amazon by clicking here.
The survey was conducted over a five-month period in 1993 and consists of the answers of 69 experts in municipal government ranging from biographers, social scientists and urban historians as well as others. The results of the tabulation show that the experts chose Dennis Kucinich, who served as Cleveland’s mayor from 1977 to 1979, as the seventh worst mayor in the period studied, 1820 to 1993. On the best mayor list, Cleveland’s Tom L. Johnson (1901 to 1909) was chosen as the second best mayor.
An excerpt follows:
Only thirty-one years old when elected, Cleveland’s “boy mayor” had failings that were not the sins of venality or graft for personal gain, but rather matters of style, temperament, and bad judgement in office. Kucinich earned seventh place the hard way: by his abrasive, intemperate, and chaotic administration. He barely survived a recall vote just ten months in office, then disappeared for five weeks, reportedly recuperating from an ulcer. When he got back into the political fray, his demagogic rhetoric and slash-and-burn political style got him into serious trouble when he stubbornly refused to compromise and led Cleveland into financial default in late 1978 - the first major city to default since the Great Depression. That led also to Kucinich’s defeat and exit from executive office. Out of office, he dabbled in a Hollywoodesque spirit world and once believed that he had met Shirley MacLaine in a previous life, seemingly confirming his critics’ charges that he was a “nutcake.” After that, he experienced downward mobility, losing races for several other offices and finally ending up with a council seat; but more recently, he climbed back up to a seat in Congress. Bad judgement, demagoguery, and default also spelled political failure in the eyes of twenty-five of our experts, who ranked Dennis, whom the press called “Dennis the Menace”, as seventh-worst.
The guy who made that website obviously has some chip on his shoulder vis-a-vis Kucinich. i admit meeting Shirley MacLaine in a prior life part is a bit....... challenging to believe. Then again, view it from this angle - many people around the world genuinely believe in reincarnation as it forms a legitimate aspect of their particular religious beliefs. i am not certain which religions do and do not adhere to this, but i know for particular individuals - reincarnation IS a valid form of their religious beliefs. Maybe it does for K. as well, so he believes in it. Sounds bizarre to us, but not to those for whom their religion's tenets are as dear to them as ours are to us.
Correct me if i'm wrong but if the bloke has a few screws loose - this does not in any way whatsoever reflect upon other American politicians who have also adopted a stance opposing a war against Iraq. Right?
I think nadia is right, the vast majority of politicians who are against war DO NOT share the same views as congressman moonbeam.
Going back to the topic this thread, what do you guys think will happen if America does go to war.. do you think the Democrats will continue their anti-war stance or will they start to rally behind Bush?
OG:
I just don't think it is right for Kucinich to try to steal the moniker "Moonbeam" from Jerry "Governor Moonbeam" Brown. I would hope that the people of Ohio could come up with some new and original descriptive label for their kooks rather than recycle California's waste products.
I delight in seeing who the democratic alternative and the so-called anti-war movement embrace as their leaders and spokespersons. Pelosi. Kucinich. Sharpton.
I hope this developing trend is a precursor of who the Dems choose as their presidential candidate. Does anyone remember George McGovern??? Dare we hope???
[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Dil he Pakistani: *
...what do you **guys* think will happen if America does go to war.. do you think the Democrats will continue their anti-war stance or will they start to rally behind Bush?
[/QUOTE]
:D You mean gals too. DhP, i think they will continue their adopted stance but - depending upon the climate within the country during the war itself (increased feelings of patriotism?), they might couch their anti-war statements with comments such as 'Although i remain steadfastly opposed to this war, our main priority remains with our fellow countrymen and our President'. Something to that effect. What is your opinion?
As you have already pointed out via your numerous threads and posts on this issue, there are quite a few Americans opposed to this war - more than the media have given them credit. Insha'Allah this will not be a repeat of the 1991 'Gulf War' - this time, i hope, there will be greater effective and united opposition to the war particularly from North America-based organizations and individuals.
myvoice, contrary to your views, they ARE NOT leaders of the anti-war movement. In my books there are millions of peace campaigners around the world who are the real leaders. They dont need to follow any individual to express their pacifist views.
Nadia,
I am more than happy to listen to well developed arguements regarding peace and non-violence. From a very practical standpoint a war with Iraq may well futher alienate extremeists and increase our possibilities of terrorism. I am simply hoping that this view will be represented by someone with a little more credibility than Dennis!
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Dil he Pakistani: *
myvoice, contrary to your views, they ARE NOT leaders of the anti-war movement.
[/QUOTE]
Of course they are. They may not be the ONLY leaders, but they are leaders and high profile spokespersons. And they are steadily dragging the democratic party further and further to the left on a whole host of issues, not just the war. Throw in the Sean Pennsky Hollywood types, a few tree huggers, professional hooligans of the type that invaded Seattle, and the usual array of suspects from the educational fraternity and you've got the seeds for a monumental GOP victory in 2004.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Nadia_H: *
:D You mean gals too. DhP, i think they will continue their adopted stance but - depending upon the climate within the country during the war itself (increased feelings of patriotism?), they might couch their anti-war statements with comments such as 'Although i remain steadfastly opposed to this war, our main priority remains with our fellow countrymen and our President'. Something to that effect. What is your opinion?
As you have already pointed out via your numerous threads and posts on this issue, there are quite a few Americans opposed to this war - more than the media have given them credit. Insha'Allah this will not be a repeat of the 1991 'Gulf War' - this time, i hope, there will be greater effective and united opposition to the war particularly from North America-based organizations and individuals.
[/QUOTE]
:) oops I meant gals as well. hehe.. Nadia, thank you very much for your kind comments. I think you are correct, they most likely will have mixed feelings about the war, opinions could be swayed either way.. the UN has made a study which predicts thousands of civilian casualties, so there could be an increase in opposition to war. I hope that peace prevails and the UN is allowed to persue its goal of inspecting Iraq and disarming it peacefully if any WMD is found. There is NO reason whatsoever for war, yet the Bush Adminstration is trying to portray a situation that Iraq is a threat to world peace.. this is a farce. Many analysts have stated that Iraq has already been torn apart by war and sanctions. The economy has collapsed, it has been forced like a beggar to sell a small amount of Oil under the auspices of the UN but ultimately sanctioned by the US.
MV,
Now that I have stopped laughing so hard.....
I think that the Democrats have been terribly ineffective at any type of opposition to Bush. Frankly I am a little disappointed in the lack of debate. Kennedy stood up and denounced the effort, and then some sharp TV types wnet back and looked at his comments before the 1991 Gulf War, and they were identical, almost virtually word for word.
America should not go to war lightly. I think the entire country is worried and on edge. No one really wants this, and one of the reasons for ambivilence is that no one has come forward with any type of alternative that addresses the issue of Saddams' reign while treading gently on the innocents in Iraq. I think for the American people the worst thing that has happened is that we have addressed this as vilification of an individual, rather than the exportation of democracy and justice. I am truely disappointed at the lack of discussion about alternatives for post-Saddam Iraq. I hope that Bush addresses this tonight.
If indeed we are turning a corner to advocate for democracy and liberty then we indeed ought to do it with all regimes, and in all regards. It IS NOT enough to simply take the worst cases out to the wood shed, beat them and tell them to leave, when lesser bullies still roam the scool yard. The Democrats at this point are so demoralized and rudderless that scum like Dennis floats to the top of a rather putrid pool of leadership. Where are the JFK's? Why is there no effective voice of dissent to Bush. Myvoice is right. Assuming a relatively good outcome in Iraq and a recovering economy Bush will steamroll to office in 2004.
If Dennis is the cream rising to the top of the Democratic Party, they are REALLY in trouble.....
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Ohioguy: *
I am simply hoping that this view will be represented by someone with a little more credibility than Dennis!
[/QUOTE]
OG, i think it will be.
DhP,
>> I hope that peace prevails and the UN is allowed to persue its goal of inspecting Iraq and disarming it peacefully if any WMD is found.<<
Thanks for your kind reply.
i agree with the above but would just add a footnote - 687 calls for regional, not Iraqi, disarmament. IMHO, i think it would be wiser to implement 687 in its entirety; otherwise, the message sent out caters very well to general Muslim feelings towards the US admin - that it is very selective in its implementation of int'l. laws.
Thats a very good point nadia. Regional means also including Israel which is known by everyone to have a stockpile of nuclear weapons. Yet there is NO action whatsoever taken by the world community against it.