Report from Cindy Sheehan's campaign headquarters

Cindy Sheehan's congressional campaign now has an office -- 1260 Mission Street, San Francisco. I went to the first organizer's meeting there last night -- there's a lot of work to be done, but I see a lot of promise! To give you an idea of how much dedication this woman inspires, some of her campaign volunteers followed her all the way from the 9th ward of New Orleans after she did so much to help their cause in after Hurricane Katrina.

There are a couple of quirky things that I choose to interpret as inspirational signs of things to come ... one is that the campaign office used to be a "massage parlor" (it's still painted red and black, but we'll be taking care of that this weekend) and another is that during the meeting we actually had an earthquake.

As Cindy explained her platform, which I'll take the liberty to distill into 3 words -- "People over Profit," she described a new and hopeful vision for the world, and it's going to start "right here, in San Francisco."

The way I see it, politics in this country has degenerated into a brothel ... and we're due for a tectonic shift in our way of thinking. Let's do it in a powerful, non-violent way! If you live in the San Francisco area, or even if you don't, check out Cindy's website at http://cindyforcongress.org/ for ways you can donate or volunteer for her campaign. I understand it will be going through a major upgrade this Tuesday, and you'll be able to contribute on-line.

Also, if you live in the Bay Area, please come to see William Rodriguez -- hero and last man out of the World Trade Center -- Thursday, November 1st at 7 pm at the Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Avenue in Oakland, California. Cindy Sheehan will be there and so will I. Meet us both and find out more about 9-11! http://www.communitycurrency.org/nov1.html

Truth Revolution

I'm very proud to say that I have stood with some of the people featured in this video. It's kind of like saying you rode with Paul Revere. Please join the truth revolution however you can. The future is in our hands.

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=1130776331460784908

More on the Code Pinker who confronted Condi Rice

[I got this letter in my email which did a lot to personalize the incident for me. BTW, Leslie is the Code Pinker who collapsed in Senator Joe Lieberman's office after a 24-day hunger strike and Jes is well-known amongst San Francisco activists for his 10-foot tall Gandhi statue featured in many peace marches. To find kinder, gentler people than these you'll have to visit heaven. As I said, I've met Desiree as well -- she's very brave, very tall, and an excellent cook. At an earlier action, she confronted John McCain by waving a sign and yelling "Don't Iraq Iran!"]

Dear Friends,

Condoleezza Rice was about to speak to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on a “two-state solution” in the Middle East when a policeman tapped me on the shoulder and said,"You can't have that backpack in here." Surprised, I asked him why. He knew my backpack had already been through a metal detector. "You just can't," he told me. I've learned that the capitol police often make up rules to suit their needs at the time.

I'm sure he knew I'd have to leave if I couldn't keep my backpack, because there was no place to put it outside, so I objected. When our conversation got lively, he said he'd be willing to discuss it, but outside the room. I was leery about leaving alone, so I asked Liz to join me. Liz is ALWAYS there for a friend. After much confusion and consternation, the officer finally received orders from higher up, giving me permission to keep my backpack. We returned, happy with this small victory ... and unaware that a world event was just seconds away.

Desiree had taken advantage of this unplanned distraction in the room. She'd dipped her hands into the fake blood and told the young man from Canada sitting next to her,"I'll need to move quickly." "Just tell me when," he said with a nod.

When Condoleezza Rice walked to the front of the room, Desiree took a deep breath and jumped to her feet. She approached the Secretary of State displaying her "blood" soaked hands. "The blood of millions of Iraqis is on your hands!" she said. As they took Desiree away, she kept shouting, "War Criminal!" Then, with one last burst of courage, she yelled,"Take her to the Hague!"

Tom Lantos (D-Calif), the chair of the committee hearing, told the capitol police to “Take them all out of here.” The police started grabbing people in pink. Liz was the first to go. They pulled her over the chairs, onto the floor, and then dragged her from the room. Lori was writing in her notebook when she was removed. Leslie heard Liz’s cries for help and left the hearing room. They had pushed Liz against the wall, breaking her glasses and cutting her face. She was screaming, ”You’re hurting me!” as she fell to the floor. Leslie was crying out “You’re hurting her! Stop hurting her!” Angry, an officer pointed at Leslie and shouted, “Take her!” A policewoman approached Leslie with handcuffs while another gently pushed her away from Liz and said,"Step back, I don’t want to have to arrest you.”

Approximately one hour later Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, and Zool were also arrested ... Zool for waving a sign that read "Liars" and Medea for holding up a peace sign. “What has become of the United States of America when you get arrested for holding up two fingers in the form of a peace sign?” Medea asked.

CODEPINK has been described as “the conscience of the nation”. Their antics on Capitol Hill often make people in Congress smile ... and sometimes they don't. "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." (Mahatma Gandhi). Many of us are frustrated with Congress and its unwillingness to hold the Bush Administration accountable for its war crimes. Thank you, Desiree, for having the courage to do what many of us wish we could do, but haven't done yet ...

Peace and Freedom,

Jes and Leslie


CNN clip of Desiree's encounter with Condoleezza Rice:

http://www.cnn. com/video/ #/video/politics /2007/10/ 25/moos.code. pink.cnn

One of the most challenging things I've ever done ... film my friend Liz as she was being manhandled by the police:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgkuYJnYP4U

Medea Benjamin arrested for holding up a peace sign:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm6x4pw6970

The CODEPINK DC House needs people ... please call 202-290-1301 if you can contribute a few days of your life ... YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE ... and have fun doing it!

In memorium ...

I just found out that today is the first anniversary of the death of Brad Will, and the 5th anniversary of the death of Paul Wellstone. Neither death has been properly investigated, in my opinion. You can't put Justice off forever ...

A couple of short clips on 9-11 Truth

Controlled demolition on the Twin Towers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDKa1Q1GwTQ
(9 minutes)

9-11 Justice
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-649993991751648213
(18 minutes)

As a reminder, here's a link with a lot of interesting video but no narration or dot-connecting -- a perfect invitation to figure things out for yourself.
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/07/362502.shtml

Iraqi blood is 'on your hands,' anti-war protester tells Condi

I know this lady from Code Pink in D.C. -- I'm glad someone has the guts to confront these people with the horror of what they've done.


http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Protester_removed_after_screaming_war_criminal_1024.html

Speaking of protesters confronting those who would ignore them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5BJzEshMes

Blackwater and the San Diego fires?

Air America radio host Randi Rhodes on the San Diego fires:

"I started just doing Google searches to try and figure out. You know, arson, arson, it was like crazy trying to figure out why is that being downplayed? Why is that, you know, just a small part of the story? And you know, every time I look for it what comes up, believe it or not, is that Blackwater wants to move to San Diego and build this giant complex in San Diego right where most of the evacuations are taking place and you know. You just know wherever there is fire, this administration will be out there doing what it does best and that is fanning the flames, you know. It just spooks me, I can’t explain to you how creepy this whole thing is that you know, you’ve got these fires. Some of them are thought to be the work of arsonists and in the same breath you’ve got a community that’s on fire that just recently protested Blackwater West. Just recently said no to Blackwater and apparently you don’t do that. I mean, I don’t even know what to think. You know, nobody is saying Blackwater set the fires, that is nobody that doesn’t want their house burned down. Nobody is saying that, but it is all so bizarre that this is America and you have to sort of sit there and wonder … arson, same place Blackwater West wants to be, people protesting. And then you find out that some of the guys that used to work for Blackwater are now in Schwarzenegger’s administration. It’s all so creepy."
http://ianschwartz.com/2007/10/24/audio-randi-rhodes-blackwater-started-the-fires/

(Old story from Democracy Now)
Blackwater Plans for New Military Facility Near San Diego Draws Fire From Residents, Peace Activists and Local Congressmember
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/19/1349211

Breaking News on local firesby FYI Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007 at 7:43 PM
The following events are currently unfolding in the fire zones and going largely unreported by corporate media:
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2007/10/208787_comment.php#208833
1. Forced evacuations by LA County Sheriffs: Homeowners are not being allowed to stay and defend their homes.
2. Much of Canyon Country is gridlocked with people fleeing the fire zones. Reports of fist fights at blocked intersections.
3. Fire fighters are unable to get to all the homes. Some homeowners in Canyon Country are watching their homes burn up with no fire fighters on scene to fight the fire. Homeowners are pleading with sheriffs to call fire fighters but the fire fighters are too few and too late for many homes to be saved.
4. Some of the fires in Malibu are confirmed arson. Witnesses report a car throwing liquid plastic bags out the window that burst into flames on ground impact. Other fires are of suspect origin.

10/30 Update --

I just read this intesting article.
A Town Beseiged: Potrero Residents Battling Blackwater Now Suffer Ravages of Wildfire
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2007/10/209030.php

Code Pink and Move America Forward Square Off in Berkeley

I was at this protest Wednesday:

Supporters, protesters wage a war of words over Berkeley recruiting station
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/18/BA54SRJLE.DTL

A Code Pink group in Berkeley has been working hard to shut down the Marine Recruiting Center there. I know they are saving lives and limbs by trying to stop young people from signing up for an illegal and immoral occupation. Nevertheless, I did feel a bit awkward because I have nothing against the Marines per se, I'd much rather see the Marines defend this country than outsourced rent-a-soldiers like Blackwater. I see what is happening, and the truth is that Bush and his cronies are deliberately setting out to break our military -- to privatize it the same way they've tried to privatize our communications, education, social security, transportation, voting system, and elected representatives. So this was a very interesting experience for me.

When we got there (Medea Benjamin drove me and one of my fellow Camp Pelosi fasters, Nancy Mancias) we were outnumbered in a sea of pro-war military families -- everyone was mixed together -- a potentially explosive situation. I guess Rush Limbaugh called for his dittoheads to support the counter-demonstration. I've heard that a faction of these guys, called the "Gathering of Eagles" actually beat up a peace protester (Carlos Arredondo, whose son was killed in Iraq) while in D.C.

I was holding up one end of a "Code Pink" banner while another guy tried to block it off with a Marines flag. The "Move America Forward" people yelled things like, "USA!" and we'd answer, "-- out of Iraq!" They'd yell "Support our troops!" and we'd answer, "-- bring them home!" Then they started chanting, "Support our troops AND the war!" And I started yelling, "Support our troops, END the war!" Which got me to strike up a conversation with a lady on the other side. She reminded me of the soldier's mother on Fahrenheit 911, Lila Lipscomb, before her son was killed. She was very proud of her son, who was a Marine. I told her I had nothing against the Marines, and I was in fact very concerned that this war was breaking our military. She asked me if I had any family in the military, I told her no but I was in the military myself once -- the Coast Guard. We took an oath to protect the constitution, not oil contracters. I liked that woman, frankly, and I hope her son returns home safe. It struck me that a lot of what divides us Americans is artificial and we're being used and lied to -- and many good people are getting killed and hurt in the process. I'd write more about this, but yet again, I'm running out of time so I'll end here for now.

Some good articles and websites

Again, unfortunately, I have little time to blog, but I wanted to make sure I recorded some of these really good URL's for my own and others' ready reference:

Dance to Heal the Earth
by Dee Smith
Native American wisdom about how we can heal the planet -- by dancing!
http://www.indians.org/welker/dance.htm

The Necessary Embrace of Conspiracy
by Robert Shetterly
"They have conspired to change reality. We must conspire to live in harmony with Reality."
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/31/3521/

We Are Wide Awake
(I haven't had time to check out the whole website, but I love the quotations she lists in the sidebars and whatnot ... here's one of my favorites: "May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world; So that you can do what others claim cannot be done.")
http://wearewideawake.org/

Ask and ye shall receive

I just finished a wonderful book called Expecting Adam by Martha Beck. Martha tells the true story of her overworked, stressed out life being transformed by the miracle of being pregnant with an angel disguised as a baby with Down's syndrome. In it, she tells how her stubborn refusal to slow down led to a potentially fatal situation -- a detached placenta. She was literally bleeding to death, when finally she thought to ask for the help that was available to her all along -- but she had to ask!

I have to tell you, my life has never been particularly "normal" (okay -- that's an understatement), but ever since, say, 9-11-01, things have really gotten pretty freaky for me. I don't think I'm alone:

BIZZARO WORLD
Post-9/11: Life as a comic book
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j021302.html

I May Have Gone Insane
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091907R.shtml

Paranoid Shift
http://www.onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_203.shtml

Small wonder, when the people who've seized power in this country truly believe what this Bush aide told New York Times journalist Ron Suskind:
“We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality – judiciously, as you will – we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors … and you, all of you, will be left to study what we do.”
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2004/101904.html

Speaking for myself, since 9-11 I've become increasingly aware of an influence that seems ... well, outside of the regular "rules" of how we expect the universe to work. Almost as if the world I grew up in is experiencing an increase in the amount of "extra-dimensional" influence that is allowed to "show its hand." I don't like using words like "ghosts", "the Supernatural" and terms that automatically label the person using them as some sort of a flake. Most people, for some reason, don't call physicists who believe in more than four dimensions (like string theorists) "flaky," and that's really what I'm talking about.

I've always been very aware that there are certain things many can't satisfactorally explain away as coincidence or mental illness. Things that end up on shows like "Unsolved Mysteries" and "Ripley's Believe it or Not." It seems like most people I know have experienced strong hunches that may have had a hand in saving their life or otherwise helped them tremendously. Many people I know have experienced beautiful coincidences that seem to be a form of communication with loved ones who have passed away. These are positive manifestations of what I like to think of as "extra-dimensional" influence. But since 9-11, it seems I've experienced a lot of "negative" influence from outside our normal plane of perception, as well.

I feel there's something demonic about how much power and influence George Bush, Dick Cheney and their ilk have gained over the American people in only a few short years. I would have *never* thought I'd see this country openly talk about about torturing people, getting rid of Habeus Corpus, unapologetically wiretapping its citizens, etc. Yet know one seems to care! People seem to walk around like zombies, oblivious to the loss of rights their ancestors gave their lives to preserve.

We've seen this kind of acquiescence to evil before. Most recently in the Western World, Nazi Germany comes to mind. It's no secret that Hitler and his "inner circle" were actively involved in the occult. We know that Bush (George W., George Sr., and granddaddy Prescott), John Kerry, and several other prominent officials are members of a strange, elite secret society called "Skull and Bones." Prescott Bush and many of his fellow bonesmen, were, in fact, instrumental towards funding the Nazis. I believe the members of Skull and Bones [also known as the "Order of Death"] actively engage in what might be called Satanic rituals, that draw upon a dark power beyond our normal 3-dimensional perceptions. Because most people aren't aware of this, they can be influenced by it -- though most entities with access to "higher dimensional technology" are benevolent.

I may have a streak of paranoia, but ultimately I'm an optimist with faith in the loving-kindness that dwells in people's hearts and the universe at large. Martha Beck quotes Albert Einstein in her book: "The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe." I believe that positive "extra-dimensional" help is always available to us. But we have to ask for it, because those "on the other side of the veil" cannot or will not violate our own free will.

So as flaky as this post may seem, please do me a favor today. Whatever your favored religious dogma [or lack thereof], if you would like to see more love and compassion expressed in our world today, please ask for help from whatever loving, compassionate, benevolent forces are out there that might want to help you and don't want to control you. You don't have to be specific about what you ask for (in fact it's better you're not) -- just be vigilent against allowing malevolent forces to start granting all your wishes without reading the "fine print". I like prayers from Saint Francis like, "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace" [ http://www.folsoms.net/peace.shtml ] and "God (Great Spirit, Buddha ... whatever loving, selfless power you believe in) please show me what it is I need to know today, even if I don't realize yet what that is ..."

Thanks.