Wisconsin Green Party Resolution calling on Governor Doyle to exercise state control over the Wisconsin Guard, to veto the April 22, 2006 deployment of 430 Wisconsin soldiers to Iraq and surrounding areas, and to take additional action to keep the guard home.
WHEREAS the Wisconsin Constitution in article V, section 4 empowers the governor to act as commander in chief of the military and naval forces of the state; and
WHEREAS the 1986 US Congress’ Montgomery Amendment permits governors to veto federal military missions which interfere with the State Guard’s capacity to respond to local emergencies; and
WHEREAS rescue and recovery efforts in Louisiana and other gulf states were severely impaired due to excessive amounts of State Guard and equipment stationed in Iraq; and
WHEREAS roughly three-fourths of Wisconsin Guard’s 9,700-members have served on active duty since 2001, including 430 deployed on Saturday, April 22 for a one year tour in Iraq and surrounding areas; and
WHEREAS the excessive deployment of the Wisconsin Guard places an unfair burden on their families, negatively affects the state’s economy, and makes the state less able to handle local emergencies; and
WHEREAS on April 4th citizens in 24 communities across Wisconsin voted yes to bringing our troops home from Iraq;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that that Wisconsin Green Party demands that Governor Jim Doyle veto the deployment of the 430 soldiers sent overseas on April 22; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Governor Doyle use his veto power on future deployments of the Wisconsin Guard that threaten our state security; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Governor Doyle exercise his State Constitutional authority to bring the Wisconsin Guard home now; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be sent to Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation, Senators Kohl and Feingold, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and President George W. Bush.
17 comments:
Good for the Green Party. Someone needs to take action to bring this travesty to an end. I offered part of this comment at the end of the life of a previous posting. I ask indulgence from those who have read it but feel it is in the spirit of this discussion.
Unfortunately boot camp is brain-washing and most young people, especially in these days of the volunteer military, do not resist the instruction. If they survive they become elders who, most probably, bask is former glory and tell their stories of heroism to themselves and to the next generation.
But sometimes someone sees the experience in a different light. The circumstances of the present war makes that easier, it seems. Read Stars and Stripes on-line. There are letters there written in grief and pain about the dawning awareness that lies have been told and, sweeping away all the platitudes, good hearted men and women are being spent like pennies in an arcade where all the games are rigged.
Somehow, to some, the architects of this engagement seem to have taken Henry Kissinger to heart when he said in the seventies:
“American soldiers are dumb animals to be used in the furtherance of ‘our’ foreign policy."
That is a quote that should be burned into the soul of every person before they say the first word about all the glory of war and the good faith of the men who send our children into the inferno. .
Copied from the other thread...
I reread Monte's comments after reading Citizen's. I do not believe either is far from the other in opinion. Neither glorifies war. Monte thinks we need to support the troops who are there and from the words of Citizen, the troops need all the support, prayers, and well wishes we can send them. Monte also seems to think pulling out isn't a bad idea, but it does require planning and can't be done all at once or the lives of our men and women will be in greater jeopardy.
We are so quick to look at the differences in words we choose that we are failing to see the similarities in ideas being expressed. Both Citizen and Monte are speaking from differing perspectives and seem to share some opinions.
s.b. If you are not a soldier, Monte does know better than you what is going on for the soldiers. That is not presumptious. Presumptuous would be if he had said he knows more than EVERYONE. Just as, I am sure, you have experiences you know more about than Monte. That is not presumptuous. Lets not get so touchy about this issue, we forget we are, mostly, on the same side
Citizen - you may have mocked me before and if so the praise I am about to give you pains me. But then it's hard for me to keep all the pissin' matches straight.
But Dude (or Dudette), I'm diggin' your rhetoric. Nicely done.
Citizen and New Voice,
I guess I have a different interpretation of what Citizen is saying. I have another outlook on the conflict/war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I think that we are at war with terrorism and I would prefer that war to stay in the Middle East than to have to fight it here on my doorstep. If New Voice is correct, I will concede. But if my take is correct, I disagree with it completely. I read both postings and the other is touching and I am truly sorry for your loss, but know that not all soldiers suffer the same fate. My Father served during WWII and his best friend served in Korea. I also have close friends that served in Vietnam. There are horror stories, but not all the stories are bad. Just like not all the letters are bad. Most with a postitive view don't bother to write. If you take a letter bag and dump it out, 80% of it will be negative. Not because it is so bad, but because the positive just isn't getting written. Positive is not news. Turn on CNN. That should say it all. It is the horror that boosts ratings, not glory. Not the reopening of schools, or building of a democracy. Let's look at the positive for a while and not the negative. That will help us FEEL better anyway.
Since we are using famous quotes, John Dickinson once sang, "United We Stand, Divided We Fall".
God Bless America
Have a nice evening,
K Monte
Thank you, Jody, for the kindness of your words. I find them so touching...
SB,
You aren't making any sense. There aren't any anonymous postings on this thread. At least not yet.
K Monte
Here is the thing that totally blows my mind in these discussions: the powers in government USE us and disrespect us and hold us in contempt yet we give them our allegiance.
It is as disturbing to contemplate as "the battered wife syndrome". WHY DON"T WE CARE that one of the men who formulated policy for the war in Vietnam is on record with his hateful quote? Are we so lost in our NEED to believe in our value as citizens that we pay no attention to scorn when it is heaped upon us? Nixon said in the transcript of his tapes, addressing Haldemann "You don't have to worry about my people. You can tell them anything and they will believe it..."
And so we do. It can be shown that George Bush and his crony government LIE to us and we line up with our tin cups for more! We buy the terror talk at the high price of our children dying in the dirt and blood of Iraq. At the mere mention of 9/11 we tremble and allow our government to inflict more terror on us than the ignorant pilots who, for some other leader, rammed their planes into our buildings.
How is it that we do these things to ourselves or allow them to be done to us? When did we lose sight of the value of truth? When did we become "children, afraid of the night" lost in this haunted wood? When did it become okay for our president to disregard laws and treat us with contempt? When did snake oil first make an appearance on our food pyramid?
I have lived through hot wars and cold wars, the tail end of the great depression, police actions and low level conflict encounters. The present situation transcends them all. It might have been possible following the attack on the towers to turn the world tide against "the terrorists" but we have, by now, so stirred the pot and empowered new generations of Islamic furor that that seems a lost opportunity. Now we can do little, it seems, but cower within our borders while our freedoms are eroded by leaders who, demonstrably, lack honor.
AND WE DON"T CARE! We just don't care. We make excuses for those that delude us. We equivocate. On blogs like this we parse words and offer "reasons". But, in the end, we just don't give a damn how we are used.
These are odd times. We are a strange, and strangely sad, people.
As sad and pathetic as you say we are as a people and country, you still choose to live here. Hmmmm. We were hated long before 9/11. Did you forget the previous attempt on the Twin Towers, or the other bombings. The Iran hostage situation. This war against us started decades ago. We first pulled our heads out of the sand and acknowledged it after 9/11.
Anonymous 10:42
Are you saying "love it or leave it"?
If that were a solution I would go and go tonight. Truth is, I am a native born American and, as un-cool as it may sound, I love this country.
What I rage against is our complacency and our immense capacity to delude ourselves. We pick apart trees with unending patience and never catch sight of the forest. We are so ego inflated that it has become nearly an act of treason to ask WHY we are hated...unless we conclude it is because of our "freedom".
This malaise is beyond politics. It is NOT a matter of Democrat or Republican. We are in the hands of an outlaw regime that considers us fools and fodder...and very, very few of us seem to mind.
That is the sorrow and the tragedy of the times.
Why are we hated by Muslims? It started decades ago. I only go back as far as Carter. We were hated then. Therer were many attacks under Clinton. They finally got us under Bush. As for arrogance, it comes with being a super power. Would you rather us sit quietly and let the radical Muslim nations become the super powers. If we sit back it will happen. Did you hear Iran's leader say he will eliminate Israel? We are dealing with irrational people much like Hitler was. Being kind and understanding is not an option with someone who wants to eliminate the existance of the U.S.A.
You must go back much further than Carter.
Go back to 1916. Go back to 1953. Trace the history of betrayal and lies toward the Arabic people; of criminal acts in "our interest". Trace carefully with an open mind and you might catch a glimpse why this is not a new problem and why we do not come to the table with clean hands.
I do believe we can solve the issues that confront us but not with belligerence and not with the thunder of guns. Somewhere along the line we MUST look ourselves squarely in the eye and face up to the facts of our own behavior. Until we are willing to accept where we have been we can never find the path toward where we so desperately need to go.
SB,
The bottom line in this situation is that some anonymous posters have been posting over and over. Sometimes 2 or 3 times in a row in order to provoke others. At least New Voice and Citizen are using monikers that can be followed and I know that they are not afraid to put some kind of name to it. This is no different than "S.B." is. I use my name, and will not be ashamed of anything that I say. If I am wrong, so be it. I will still sign my name. I will not allow a nameless anonymous poster to take pot shots at me anymore. I thought I was clear about that. As a matter of fact, I was. I said I will not respond to ANONYMOUS postings. I haven't.
Good night all.
K Monte
He seems angry S.B. because he IS angry.
He has also pointed out in the past as he just did again how some anonymouses have posted over and over again to "provoke people". Among his talents must be psychology and the technical prowess to get into other people's blog sites to track where comments are coming from.
He also thinks some created moniker is different from being anonymous. Does he not think someone can use a moniker to post one minute and then become anonymous with the next comment?
Jeesh is right. Ignore his anger. It's not worth getting upset over.
Ive known who S.B. is for quite some time now. She wasn't hiding.
I also was confused why Kent M. is mad at Stephanie. I can't pretend to catch every post but what I have seen from her is always very diplomatic. She's much younger than I am and yet - so much more mature.
Citizen, you are on a roll. I suspect your "touching" remark held a wee bit o' sarcasm and yet I compliment you again.
Not to be know-it-all b ut have you seen anything on stage development theory? Not so much Piaget, but erikson and Kohlberg and some other guy I forget. A nice summary of this is found in a book I love called "Beyond the Writer's Workshop" which is less about writing than it is about our insane society.
I think that gets near an answer as to why various people react the way they do. Support the things they support - which often seems so deluded to others. The older I get the more aware I am that HUGE perceptual differences divide us all and they are quite sincere.
In my worst moments I think that nothing ever changes throughout human history - just the names and the stage settings.
There - how was that for touching?
(probably typos, but TFB)
Jody, there wasn't a teaspoon full of sarcasm in my remark, not even a nickel's worth. I was touched by your kindness about my words. It is so seldom that we actually connect in these forums, that we speak to anyone but ourselves.
I know you to be witty and "tough" from your writing. I consider it a feather in my cap that you noticed what I wrote and do sincerely appreciate your opinion of it.
I am not familiar with the authors you mentioned, but will investigate. Sounds interesting. I have a "beat generation" mindset but am always interested in new information.
I am convinced you are correct in the "never changing" aspects of our society. In the fifties it was "the organization man", pink appliances and little ruffled aprons against which (among other things) I raged. Scatter-brained girls at the state university elevating their voices so high only dogs could hear in conversations about tickets for an Elvis concert. Women walking like zombies toward shopworn destinations.
In 1956 I took a night train for Chicago hoping to catch a glimpse of deBeauvoir.
And now more than midway through the first decade of a new century little has changed. People are restless and bury themselves in NASCAR and football. We have a born again president fit more for a tent revival than the Oval Office. Wild-eyed zealots seek to destroy us because we are "free". The organization man has gone global and owes his allegiance to the multi-national corporation.
I would tear my hair if it would help.
Jody there was no sarcasm. I was touched
Beyond the Writer's Workshop is by Carol Bly -
Lots of great observations on human nature, not just about writing. Makes you feel good about being pissed off. Really.
Then you should write, if you don't already - probably do.
In my better moments I think we're creeping forward by unmeasurably small increments which are in no way proportional to the effort expended. Nor do the people who push it forward get any satisfaction out of the deal, just one ass-ache after another. There's just no other option. Heores inmovies always get that momnet of realization and recognition with a nice swell of music and a close-up shot. Real heroes likely look around their empty living room, move a pile of newspapers to a different chair, throw in a load of laundry and go to bed with a headache.
Hey! anytime I can cheer y'all up like this, just let me know....
Jody,
I am not nor have I been mad at Stephanie. I would have written it sooner but an anonymous put their 2 cents worth on it. Instead, Stephanie and I have exchanged a couple of emails. All is well.
I told her the biggest problem with these sites is that it is very difficult to sense the mood of the person writing. Something is lost with the written word that you can sense in verbal conversation. Oh well, what can you do?
Have a great day.
K Monte
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