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October 2, 2006
Topics:
1. Congress votes for America to become a totalitarian state Column for the October Aroostook Democrat Excerpted from a speech to Maine College Democrats Convention Bates College, Lewiston, Sept. 30, 2006 ...The reason I am in this race, the reason I am running to be one of 100 United States Senators, is that I want my country back. The country I grew up in, the country in which our Constitution was the gold standard for the world, a nation where human rights were paramount, where the rule of law protected each and every one of us, does not exist anymore. I'm talking about the Superman model of Truth, Justice, and the American way. The American Way of my childhood has been disappearing for some time. Five steel mills chugged away in Youngstown Ohio when I was growing up. None of those mills exist today. Maine's textile mills, our shoe factories, are gone and our paper industry is disappearing. It is no longer possible to get a good job out of high school with a local manufacturer, work hard, buy a home, send your kids to quality public schools, and retire in comfort with the knowledge of a life lived decently and well. What happened? Lots of things, including NAFTA, CAFTA, and laws that made it beneficial for corporations to outsource good jobs. Truth started to disappear when George Bush was appointed president in 2000 by the U.S. Supreme Court. It disappeared entirely with the start of the illegal, immoral, and horribly unjust war in Iraq that has killed thousands of our good military men and women, tens of thousands Iraqis, and made us hated around the world. And Justice disappeared Thursday, September 28, 2006, when the United States Congress voted to debase the Constitution, to deny habeas corpus rights to "enemy combatants," people designated as such on the President's word alone; when the U.S. Congress voted to allow the President to set the rules for what kinds of torture is acceptable for agents of the United States Government to inflict on our prisoners; when the U.S. Congress voted to allow hearsay evidence at military tribunals, to deny defendants the right to see what evidence is being used against them, and to deny defendants the right to face their accusers. And Justice disappeared when the United States Congress voted to pardon George Bush for his warrant-less wiretapping of American citizens, despite the fact that the Supreme Court had already declared such wiretapping not only illegal, a violation of a specific law, but outright unconstitutional. Olympia Snowe did not vote last Thursday, because she was here in Maine attending her aunt's funeral. She could have taken a pass. Instead, she issued a statement that, had she been in Washington, she would have voted in favor of all those bills. As for the bill to pardon the President for warrant-less wiretapping, Olympia Snowe helped write that bill. This is not the America I grew up in. But it is the world the Republican-controlled Congress wants us to live in. And it clearly is the world Olympia Snowe wants us to live in. When I started running for U.S. Senate a year and a half ago, I thought the American Way could be salvaged, that we just had to invoke the values embodied in our Constitution, that we had to remember and apply the standards of equality and justice and fairness and hard work on which our country was founded. But as the weeks and months have passed, I have noticed a change in people, in how they see what is going on, in their concerns. People are afraid, but they are not afraid of terrorists as much as they are afraid of their own government. I talk about my top three campaign goals in large groups stopping the war in Iraq, starting national health care, setting a national goal of renewable energy independence. But one on one, people talk to me about their fears for this country, about being afraid to speak out for fear of governmental retribution, of fear over losses of basic freedoms. They tell me they are making plans to move to Canada, or to Europe. And then, last Thursday, their fears were confirmed. Justice died in America, and the American dream died along with it. As of Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, the Congress of the United States of America turned our great nation into a totalitarian state. The 2006 election is just weeks away. I hope in the deepest reaches of my soul that the American people will rise up on Nov. 7 and take back our country. I pray that they, we, will throw out of office the people who have gotten us to this awful place in American history, including our own Senator from Maine, Olympia J. Snowe. Olympia Snowe's world view is the one coming out of Washington. My world view is one coming out of a working class family, homesteading in Maine, newspaper reporting, organic farming, and feeling a deep love for this great nation and the wonders of our remarkable Constitution. How Maine votes in this election will make a difference in what happens next in this country. Use your vote well, and vote for the America you want to live in. 2. Former Presidential Candidate Congressman Kucinich to stump for U.S. Senate candidate Hay Bright in Maine Former Presidential candidate and current progressive Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich will be the featured speaker at a campaign rally and fundraiser for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jean Hay Bright on Monday, Oct. 9, at South Portland High School, 637 Highland Ave., South Portland. To make this event available to as many people as possible, we are hoping that advance contributions will cover the costs of bringing Dennis and his wife Elizabeth to Maine. People who contribute $250 or more will be listed as hosts for the event, but other amounts will certainly be appreciated. Contributions at the door will be suggested, but optional. To contribute online to this event, click Here, and under either Occupation or Employer, add "Kucinich" to your personal data. Or send a check to our campaign office, made out to Jean Hay Bright U.S. Senate, with "Kucinich Host" in the memo line: See you on Oct. 9! 3. Help Frame the Debate One of the first debates with Olympia Snowe will be held on Sunday, Oct. 22, at Page Commons Room in Cotter Union on the Colby College campus at 6:30 p.m. The debate is being co-sponsored by the Waterville Sentinel and the Kennebec Journal. This debate will be held before a live audience so mark this date on your calendar and plan to attend. We need lots of good vibes coming from the audience. Also, YOU have a chance to ask one of the questions. So think of the question you've just been waiting to ask Olympia Snowe. Maybe about why she didn't know there were no WMDs in Iraq. Why she won't support universal single-payer health care. Why she voted for Alito. Or why she says she would have voted for the trashing of the U.S. Constitution had she been in Washington last Thursday. The more questions we send in, the more likely one of them will get asked. The news report announcing the taking of questions ran Sunday in the Kennebec Journal. Email your question to David Offer, the editor of the Sentinel, at doffer@centralmaine.com. Show the subject of the email as "debate question." You also can send questions by U.S. mail to David B. Offer, Morning Sentinel, 31 Front St., Waterville, ME 04901. 4. Bangor Anti-War Rally Great Success! Saturday's Bangor anti-war rally and march was a great success, drawing twice the number of concerned citizens as the Kennebunkport rally and march on Aug. 26. I am delighted that people -- of all ages -- are taking to the streets in protest of our government's policies. It gives me great hope for success this election Nov. 7, not just in my race, but in all races where peace and justice are the paramount issues. But while we were pleased with our numbers, and while the war was the primary focus, there was another, strong undercurrent that was not at the rally in August. The ranks of the marchers in Bangor were swelled, in part, by concern, even fear, over last Thursday's votes in Congress. Some people were vocal in their beliefs that, because of their activist politics, they could well become members of the "disappeared," designated by the President or his agents as an enemy of the state, thrown into prison without charges, access to a lawyer, or appearance before a judge. It has come to that in the United States of America. 5. Money Update -- Only Five Weeks Left Until the Nov. 7 Election
6. Volunteers needed NOW! We have immediate and pressing needs for volunteers, particularly for data processing in Dixmont. The campaign momentum is picking up, but that also means that the paperwork is picking up. We need to get all the data into our system, and quickly. But volunteers will have to come to our main office in Dixmont to do that. We have several computer stations all set up, and a few volunteers have been putting in some hours here, but we need more busy fingers on those keyboards. Our critical need is in the next two weeks. If you can travel to Dixmont, give us a call. We have access to a lovely cabin just around the corner where we can put people up overnight if you want to make a couple days out of it. Give us a call at 207-234-4224. 7. Calendar - Partial list of campaign events. (If you know of an event Jean should attend, please email us). Oct. 4, 2006 (Wednesday) - Candidates' Night, Lamoine Grange, 7 p.m. Oct. 6, 2006 (Friday) - Candidates' Night, Knox County Democrats, Rockport Boat Club, 5 p.m. Oct. 9, 2006 (Monday) - Fundraising event to support Jean's campaign, keynote speaker Congressman Dennis Kucinich, South Portland High School, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 11, 2006 (Wednesday) - Winthrop Chamber of Commerce Candidates Night, Winthrop High School, Rambler Road, 7 p.m. Oct. 16, 2006 (Monday) - Breakfast with the Candidates, Preble Street Resource Center, Portland, 8:30 a.m. Oct. 18, 2006 (Wednesday) - Piper Shores Senatorial Candidates Forum, Piper Road, Scarborough, 4 p.m. Oct. 19, 2006 (Thursday) - Cape Elizabeth High School government class, presentation by Jean or debate (no word yet from Snowe's office), 12 noon. October 22, 2006 (Sunday) - U.S. Senate candidate debate sponsored by the Colby College Goldfarb Center for Public affairs and Civic Engagement, in conjunction with The Morning Sentinel and the Kennebec Journal. Page Commons Room, Cotter Union Building, Colby College. Open to the public. Parking adjacent and across from the building. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., event runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. October 24, 2006 (Tuesday) - U.S. Senate and First District Congressional candidate forum. Temple Beth-El, 400 Deering Avenue, Portland, 7 p.m. October 25, 2006 (Wednesday) - Maine Public Television U.S. Senate candidate debate, 7:30-8:30 p.m. Oct. 26, 2006 (Thursday)- Channel 2 & 6 Senate Debate (WLBZ-TV & WCSH-TV), live broadcast, 7 to 8 p.m. October 27, 2006 (Friday) - Freeport Democrats Spaghetti Supper and Auction, 6:00 pm November 7, 2006 (Tuesday) - **ELECTION DAY** Election night festivities with the Bangor Democratic City Committee, Bangor Motor Inn, Bangor, starting at 8 p.m. :: back to top
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