veiled4allah

good news

Kucinich came in second place in the Hawaii caucuses, taking 30% of the vote and leaving John Edwards in the dust. This is his best showing yet and first confirmed elected delegates. :invasion: In other news, Jonathan Edelstein got the 3200th comment at Al-Muhajabah's Islamic Blogs. I've been lax in keeping up with comment milestones but happened to notice that nice round number when I logged in to MT and saw Jonathan's name on the most recent comment. Congratulations, Jonathan :)

it's a Kucinich weekend

Maine caucus results are coming in and it looks like another third place finish for Kucinich! He's got 14% of the vote (not sure if this is total voters or total delegates), easily beating his finish here in Washington and giving him his first double-digit finish. Way to go, Maine!! Kucinich may be struggling in other parts of the country but in the top left corner (Washington) and the top right corner (Maine) he's coming on strong. Update: According to an estimate from the Washington Democratic party, Kucinich got 17% of the delegates in the 2nd congressional district. He needs to get at least 15% of the delegates at the congressional district level to win national delegates. Looks like the 2nd district may do it for him, inshallah. Update 2: With 80% of precincts now reporting (Maine is being really slow counting these things), Kucinich is up to 16% of the vote. He has 13.8% of the delegates statewide but is estimated to meet the 15% threshold in one or more congressional districts and to get 5 delegates. Again, way to go Washington and Maine!

quick report

Yesterday, Dennis Kucinich was in Seattle. He visited a mosque in north Seattle and I attended this event. Pics here, write-up to follow later today, inshallah. Update: See here. After the mosque visit was a reception downtown followed by a rally. Rally was 1300 strong, standing room only and people turned away at the door because of the building fire codes. The energy was terrific! Go, Dennis, go!

responding to 'I love Kucinich, but...'

I usually try to limit the amount of partisan political discussion that I post to veiled4allah. I know that I find it annoying sometimes when a person's blog seems to have been taken over by news about their favorite candidate and I don't want to cause annoyance to others that way. I have a separate blog devoted to Dennis Kucinich where I can post about him to my heart's content. If people are interested, they can visit that blog and if they're not they can skip it. Still, I do post about Kucinich here if there's some larger commentary I want to make. I've never been actively involved in a campaign before, so maybe this is actually a long-standing phenomenon. Nonetheless, I am simply baffled by the number of people who say "I like Kucinich but I don't think he can win, so I'm supporting Dean". You don't think he's got enough support so your answer is not to support him either? Hello? Where is the logic? To me, this kind of attitude is not "pragmatism" but defeatism. Giving up before you've even tried. It's also conformism. Go along with everyone else. Maybe people don't understand the primary process. There is no contradiction between voting for Kucinich in the primaries because you like what he says and voting for Dean in the general because you think he has a better chance of beating Bush. You can do both! They aren't mutually exclusive, people! What makes this so frustrating is the number of people who say this. Believe me, if every person that I have personally heard this from and every person that other Kucinich supporters have heard this from would just vote for Kucinich, he would be a front-runner. That's how many people are saying this. Seriously. In my earlier series of posts about bloc voting I tried to address this concern and present an argument why Muslims at least should vote for Kucinich anyway. Along the same lines is "I love Kucinich, but...", a list of ten reasons to vote for Kucinich anyway. Stop being a sheep and start standing up for what you believe in! If not you, who? If not now, when?

go, Dennis, go!!

One of the reasons that I support Dennis Kucinich for president is that the man is absolutely fearless. Take on Enron-wannabe First Energy? Not a problem. Take on Diebold? Not a problem. Take on ABC News? Not a problem. His latest plan is to take this Flash animation:
(click to view animation) and air it on TV in Iowa. Yes, that is a flag-draped coffin in the image. Watch the animation. Imagine that on TV in Iowa. Now do you see what I mean by fearless? There are people who consider it "treasonous" to say that our troops have died for nothing and some of them are willing to use threats and intimidation in their campaign against it (see next post). If you're an antiwar activist and wouldn't mind helping out Kucinich to have this message be heard, you can donate solely for the purpose of airing the ad. Go here. Remember, all you Deaniacs, if Dean has the nomination sewed up as you say, there's no harm in helping out the candidate at the bottom in the polls. Give generously. Note: Post edited after publication to clarify meaning Aside: Interesting Atrios comments thread from about a week ago about the Flash animation.

meetings and MeetUps and rallies, oh my!

This has been one very busy week. On Wednesday evening after work, I attended the meeting of the Democratic party in my legislative district. On Thursday evening, I attended a Kucinich MeetUp. And on Friday, I went to a rally and speech by Dennis Kucinich at the University of Washington in Seattle. I've written up an account of the rally and speech and posted it to my Muslims for Kucinich blog: Kucinich rallies Seattle. Enjoy! I sure did ;)

Kucinich in Seattle 7/19

I know that several of my readers are in the Seattle area. If you're interested in attending, Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich will be in Seattle on Saturday, July 19. He'll be at the University Temple United Methodist Church at 1415 NE 43rd St. in the U district from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The event is free and open to the public.

introducing Dennis Kucinich

I don't generally talk about politics in this blog, but an observant visitor can guess that I do have a Democratic presidential candidate that I support (I've got a number of sidebar links about him, if you hadn't noticed). At this point, Dennis Kucinich is about as long a shot as it's possible to get. He is, however, the candidate whose positions most closely reflect mine, and I'll support him as far as he goes, inshallah. I'm also looking at the other candidates to determine which of them I like and would vote for (right now, Dean is the clear second choice). Anyway, the Kucinich campaign sent out a message from the candidate in which he introduces himself and I wanted to post it up here so that those who are interested can learn more.

Dear Friends: With the June 30th second quarter fundraising deadline approaching, I need your help. My name is Dennis Kucinich, which is spelled Kucinich. For four months, I have been campaigning for President coast-to-coast. As journalists have reported, we are attracting the largest crowds, and the biggest audience responses. We have had 1,000-plus gatherings in Wisconsin, New Mexico, Northern and Southern California. Grassroots activists are flocking to our campaign In four months, we have built an insurgent campaign to challenge not only the Bush Administration and its climate of fear, but to shake the Democratic Party from its climate of fear. On the campaign trail, I continue to question this Administration's fraudulent war in Iraq and a reckless foreign policy that isolates our country more than the terrorists who seek to attack us. I am the candidate calling for cuts in a wasteful Pentagon budget that rivals the military spending of all other countries in the world combined. I propose not piecemeal, ineffective changes to our corporatized and crisis-ridden health care system, but a rational system of universal, single-payer national health insurance. Like other industrialized countries, we can afford that -- as well as quality education, environmental cleanup emphasizing clean energy, and secure retirement with the Social Security retirement age returned to 65. It's all affordable, but only if we end corporate welfare, challenge Pentagon spending that's more fit for empire than defense, and reverse the Administration's tax breaks for the wealthy -- all of them, not just some. On the campaign trail, I am meeting union workers, family farmers and environmentalists who support my pledge to withdraw from NAFTA and the WTO -- trade deals that benefit multinational corporations, not the public or planetary health. I am getting support from civil libertarians for my vow to repeal the misnamed "Patriot Act," which I proudly voted against in Congress. Only a frontal challenge to this Administration's policies, coupled with a serious alternative program, can defeat George Bush in 2004. Half-way challenges, where Democrats concede to him on war and defense policy, will lead to disaster -- like they did in November 2002. I'm waging a campaign that is a total challenge to this Administration's reckless policies at home and abroad. The only thing limiting our campaign is money. If you agree with me on the issues, take a leap of faith and make a donation. Get your friends to donate. Spread this email far and wide across the Internet. It's easy to donate -- and our campaign has already qualified for federal matching funds. Your donation of $50 means $100 to my campaign -- because all contributions up to $250 are matched. Of course, if you can give more than $250, please do. Your donation helps me amplify my message to new voters, young voters, disgruntled voters and 3rd-party voters. It helps us broaden the Democratic Party in a progressive direction. I hope to see you on the campaign trail. I'm Dennis Kucinich... you know how to spell it. Sincerely, Dennis

Do check out his website and the links I have on my sidebar. I've also posted some articles about him to my Clipboard blog, so you can do a search for them. Dennis Kucinich is a man who's not afraid to stand up and fight for what he believes in, however unpopular it may make him. Update: Right on! The Kucinich campaign blog is up and running!

A Prayer for America, from Dennis Kucinich

I thought Memorial Day was a good day to look back at this wonderful speech: A Prayer for America by Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who is a Democratic candidate for president. The speech was given over a year ago but still rings just as true today.

I offer these brief remarks today as a prayer for our country, with love of democracy, as a celebration of our country. With love for our country. With hope for our country. With a belief that the light of freedom cannot be extinguished as long as it is inside of us. With a belief that freedom rings resoundingly in a democracy each time we speak freely. With the understanding that freedom stirs the human heart and fear stills it. With the belief that a free people cannot walk in fear and faith at the same time. With the understanding that there is a deeper truth expressed in the unity of the United States. That implicit in the union of our country is the union of all people. That all people are essentially one. That the world is interconnected not only on the material level of economics, trade, communication, and transportation, but innerconnected through human consciousness, through the human heart, through the heart of the world, through the simply expressed impulse and yearning to be and to breathe free. I offer this prayer for America. Let us pray that our nation will remember that the unfolding of the promise of democracy in our nation paralleled the striving for civil rights. That is why we must challenge the rationale of the Patriot Act. We must ask why should America put aside guarantees of constitutional justice? How can we justify in effect canceling the First Amendment and the right of free speech, the right to peaceably assemble? How can we justify in effect canceling the Fourth Amendment, probable cause, the prohibitions against unreasonable search and seizure? How can we justify in effect canceling the Fifth Amendment, nullifying due process, and allowing for indefinite incarceration without a trial? How can we justify in effect canceling the Sixth Amendment, the right to prompt and public trial? How can we justify in effect canceling the Eighth Amendment which protects against cruel and unusual punishment? We cannot justify widespread wiretaps and internet surveillance without judicial supervision, let alone with it. We cannot justify secret searches without a warrant. We cannot justify giving the Attorney General the ability to designate domestic terror groups. We cannot justify giving the FBI total access to any type of data which may exist in any system anywhere such as medical records and financial records. We cannot justify giving the CIA the ability to target people in this country for intelligence surveillance. We cannot justify a government which takes from the people our right to privacy and then assumes for its own operations a right to total secrecy. The Attorney General recently covered up a statue of Lady Justice showing her bosom as if to underscore there is no danger of justice exposing herself at this time, before this administration. Let us pray that our nation's leaders will not be overcome with fear. Because today there is great fear in our great Capitol. And this must be understood before we can ask about the shortcomings of Congress in the current environment. The great fear began when we had to evacuate the Capitol on September 11. It continued when we had to leave the Capitol again when a bomb scare occurred as members were pressing the CIA during a secret briefing. It continued when we abandoned Washington when anthrax, possibly from a government lab, arrived in the mail. It continued when the Attorney General declared a nationwide terror alert and then the Administration brought the destructive Patriot Bill to the floor of the House. It continued in the release of the bin Laden tapes at the same time the President was announcing the withdrawal from the ABM treaty. It remains present in the cordoning off of the Capitol. It is present in the camouflaged armed national guardsmen who greet members of Congress each day we enter the Capitol campus. It is present in the labyrinth of concrete barriers through which we must pass each time we go to vote. The trappings of a state of siege trap us in a state of fear, ill-equipped to deal with the Patriot Games, the Mind Games, the War Games of an unelected President and his unelected Vice President. Let us pray that our country will stop this war. "To promote the common defense" is one of the formational principles of America. Our Congress gave the President the ability to respond to the tragedy of September 11. We licensed a response to those who helped bring the terror of September 11th. But we the people and our elected representatives must reserve the right to measure the response, to proportion the response, to challenge the response, and to correct the response. Because we did not authorize the invasion of Iraq. We did not authorize the invasion of Iran. We did not authorize the invasion of North Korea. We did not authorize the bombing of civilians in Afghanistan. We did not authorize permanent detainees in Guantanamo Bay. We did not authorize the withdrawal from the Geneva Convention. We did not authorize military tribunals suspending due process and habeas corpus. We did not authorize assassination squads. We did not authorize the resurrection of COINTELPRO. We did not authorize the repeal of the Bill of Rights. We did not authorize the revocation of the Constitution. We did not authorize national identity cards. We did not authorize the eye of Big Brother to peer from cameras throughout our cities. We did not authorize an eye for an eye. Nor did we ask that the blood of innocent people, who perished on September 11, be avenged with the blood of innocent villagers in Afghanistan. We did not authorize the administration to wage war anytime, anywhere, anyhow it pleases. We did not authorize war without end. We did not authorize a permanent war economy. Yet we are upon the threshold of a permanent war economy. The President has requested a $45.6 billion increase in military spending. All defense-related programs will cost close to $400 billion. Consider that the Department of Defense has never passed an independent audit. Consider that the Inspector General has notified Congress that the Pentagon cannot properly account for $1.2 trillion in transactions. Consider that in recent years the Dept. of Defense could not match $22 billion worth of expenditures to the items it purchased, wrote off, as lost, billions of dollars worth of in-transit inventory and stored nearly $30 billion worth of spare parts it did not need. Yet the defense budget grows with more money for weapons systems to fight a cold war which ended, weapon systems in search of new enemies to create new wars. This has nothing to do with fighting terror. This has everything to do with fueling a military industrial machine with the treasure of our nation, risking the future of our nation, risking democracy itself with the militarization of thought which follows the militarization of the budget. Let us pray for our children. Our children deserve a world without end. Not a war without end. Our children deserve a world free of the terror of hunger, free of the terror of poor health care, free of the terror of homelessness, free of the terror of ignorance, free of the terror of hopelessness, free of the terror of policies which are committed to a world view which is not appropriate for the survival of a free people, not appropriate for the survival of democratic values, not appropriate for the survival of our nation, and not appropriate for the survival of the world. Let us pray that we have the courage and the will as a people and as a nation to shore ourselves up, to reclaim from the ruins of September 11th our democratic traditions. Let us declare our love for democracy. Let us declare our intent for peace. Let us work to make nonviolence an organizing principle in our own society. Let us recommit ourselves to the slow and painstaking work of statecraft, which sees peace, not war as being inevitable. Let us work for a world where someday war becomes archaic. That is the vision which the proposal to create a Department of Peace envisions. Forty-three members of Congress are now cosponsoring the legislation. Let us work for a world where nuclear disarmament is an imperative. That is why we must begin by insisting on the commitments of the ABM treaty. That is why we must be steadfast for nonproliferation. Let us work for a world where America can lead the day in banning weapons of mass destruction not only from our land and sea and sky but from outer space itself. That is the vision of HR 3616: A universe free of fear. Where we can look up at God's creation in the stars and imagine infinite wisdom, infinite peace, infinite possibilities, not infinite war, because we are taught that the kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven. Let us pray that we have the courage to replace the images of death which haunt us, the layers of images of September 11th, faded into images of patriotism, spliced into images of military mobilization, jump-cut into images of our secular celebrations of the World Series, New Year's Eve, the Superbowl, the Olympics, the strobic flashes which touch our deepest fears, let us replace those images with the work of human relations, reaching out to people, helping our own citizens here at home, lifting the plight of the poor everywhere. That is the America which has the ability to rally the support of the world. That is the America which stands not in pursuit of an axis of evil, but which is itself at the axis of hope and faith and peace and freedom. America, America. God shed grace on thee. Crown thy good, America. Not with weapons of mass destruction. Not with invocations of an axis of evil. Not through breaking international treaties. Not through establishing America as king of a unipolar world. Crown thy good America. America, America. Let us pray for our country. Let us love our country. Let us defend our country not only from the threats without but from the threats within. Crown thy good, America. Crown thy good with brotherhood, and sisterhood. And crown thy good with compassion and restraint and forbearance and a commitment to peace, to democracy, to economic justice here at home and throughout the world. Crown thy good, America. Crown thy good America. Crown thy good. Thank you.

As we remember those who gave their lives, let us commit ourselves again to preserving and strengthening what they fought and died for. Let their sacrifice not be in vain. I love America. I love what it stands for. When I criticize America's policies, it's only because I want us to go back to living up to what we stand for. Let freedom ring.