Yesterday Seham posted about an appeal by Florida Congressman Alan Grayson at Huffpo to hear from the grassroots so as to reinvigorate the Democratic Party. Susie Kneedler sent Grayson, who was defeated last month, a letter.
Dear Representative Grayson,
Thanks for asking for ideas. As a life-long liberal Democrat, I ask you to defend liberal values and at long last rescue the Democratic Party from its ridiculous enslavement to the extremist right-wing government of Israel and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Otherwise, people of conscience will have no choice but to turn away from the "neo-conservative Dems" to form a truly progressive alternative, for propping up reactionary aims in one area perverts all. Two years ago, newly-elected President Barack Obama had a mandate to achieve an historic realignment of the United States against wars of aggression. Instead, he betrayed every campaign pledge by pursuing (neo-conservative, Pro-Israel) Bush-Cheney military and civic repression.
Please support equal rights and equal self-determination for the people of Palestine and Israel. Please cease your inexplicable support for Israeli-government Apartheid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel. Please introduce a resolution to stop the U.S. government's terrible donations of billions for illegal Israeli theft of Palestinian lands and water, as well as Obama's unconscionable offer of $3 billion in new fighter aircraft, a gift that would enable an Israeli nuclear first-strike.
Remember our U.S. Founders' cry: "No taxation without representation!" Please work for "one person, one vote" in all Palestine and Israel, rather than the current system in which Palestinians pay taxes not only without representation, but without services, and--most cruelly--for their own imprisonment.
Please stop catering to the Israel lobby's fetish with making the world safe for Israeli expansion through its targeting of Iran, Syria, and Lebanon--after destroying Iraq. Iran, unlike Israel, has not attacked its neighbors--or the U.S. Israel, however, has done both. Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress has disgraced itself and violated its oath of office by refusing to probe Israeli-government assaults on American citizens: the U.S.S. Liberty, Rachel Corrie, Tristan Anderson, Furkan Dogan, and Emily Henochowicz--as well as on countless Palestinian civilians.
Our representatives are obliged to defend our own people rather than the crimes of an alien nation. Rep. Grayson, while you remain in Congress--yet are free from the AIPAC puppeteers--you're uniquely able to press for Congressional hearings on Israeli-government breaches of International Law, including the findings of the Goldstone Report about Israel's bombardment of imprisoned Gaza.
Please ensure that representatives of Israel register as a agents of a foreign government, as required by law. Please investigate the Israeli government's repeated transgressions of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act. Please urge President Obama to push for Israeli compliance with International Law, rather than vetoing resolutions that properly condemn illegal Israeli aggression and human rights' violations. Defend Americans by making friends with the world rather than siding with the Israeli war-machine.
I tell you sadly, Rep. Grayson,--as a former admirer--that flattering yourself that you are a "person with a conscience," while defending Israeli ethnic cleansing under a mendacious claim of "security," is beyond hypocrisy. It is a lie.
Please stand up for peace and peace of mind for all--not just for one religio-ethnic group of a foreign country. Please do your duty to defend the United States by loving all people in all places, including Palestine. Thank you.
Sincerely, Susie Kneedler
Good luck. Seems to me Grayson is ideologically committed to Israel’s program of land theft and repression.
This is what I put up at Huff Po
Since you voted to block the Goldstone Report and Grivaja and Ellison did not. Maybe you should ask them for their advice.
Since you voted for sanctioning Iran even further based upon more inflammatory and unsubstantiated claims that the I lobby keeps repeating. Maybe you could talk to former Bush administration official and former CIA middle east analyst Flynt Leverett (at Race for Iran) and broaden your scope.
Congressman Grayson I would also advice you to take a trip to a Palestinian refugee camp, read the IAEA’s report on Iran being with in the Non proliferation guidelines for enriching uranium to a level within the NPT. You may want to consider that the latest NIE (national intelligence estimate) on Iran confirmed that Iran is not enriching uranium above the level that they are legally able.
Too bad you did not take the time to read these reports before you make your decisions to vote for inflammatory and unsubstantiated warmongering legislation as Grivalja and Ellison did
Also how about hosting Judge Goldstone on the hill to discuss his findings in the Goldstone Report. The report that you helped block
took two times posting and 46 minutes, along with challenges, to get this one through the post about Grayson over at Huff Po.
Grayson voted Aye on this warmongering legislation
How about a “quack” for the Goldstone Report. Invite Goldstone to speak on the hill instead of blocking the report.
Expand his knowledge of the situation with Iran by talking with the head of the NIE, the head of the IAEA, and Flynt Leverett. Expand his closed down and biased scope.
House Vote On Passage: H.R. 2194: Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment…
link to govtrack.us
Go read the text of this legislation. A great deal of inflammatory and unsubstantiated claims
link to govtrack.us
Aye FL-8 Grayson, Alan [D]
My above comments have not made it up yet over at Huff Po. Will see if they are blocking these types of comments
Just put this one up. In response to another commenter. Will watch to see if it makes it up
True Progressives were sickened and now see that you do not represent progressive American interest.
“Rep. Grayson will be leaving Congress in January, but it’s still important that we take this opportunity to let him know exactly where the rest of the progressive anti-war community that elected him stands on these issues and to let the new leaders of the Progressive Caucus know that Progressive Except for Palestine is not the direction we want them to take.”
link to mondoweiss.net
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DC: True Progressives were sickened and now see that you do
link to huffingtonpost.com
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cathleen 0 minute ago (12:48 PM)
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While Grayson took honorable and fact based stands on auditing the Fed, health care and other issues. He is terribly inconsistent. Especially when it comes to the I/P issue and Iran
Grayson voted to block the Goldstone Report, voted for more sanctions against Iran based on inflammatory and unsubstantiated claims repeated by the I lobby, voted for anti Palestinian legislation promoted by the rabid Ros Lehtinen. Grivalja and Ellison did not. He should be getting advice from them not giving.
Posting at Huff Po again:
Since you voted to block the Goldstone Report and Grivaja and Ellison did not. Maybe you should ask them for their advice.
Since you voted for sanctioning Iran even further based upon more inflammatory and unsubstantiated claims that the I lobby keeps repeating. Maybe you could talk to former Bush administration official and former CIA middle east analyst Flynt Leverett (at Race for Iran) and broaden your scope.
Congressman Grayson I would also advice you to take a trip to a Palestinian refugee camp, read the IAEA’s report on Iran being with in the Non proliferation guidelines for enriching uranium to a level within the NPT. You may want to consider that the latest NIE (national intelligence estimate) on Iran confirmed that Iran is not enriching uranium above the level that they are legally able.
Too bad you did not take the time to read these reports before you make your decisions to vote for inflammatory and unsubstantiated warmongering legislation as Grivalja and Ellison did
Also how about hosting Judge Goldstone on the hill to discuss his findings in the Goldstone Report. The report that you helped block
Time and all. Will see if it makes it up. Know some of the Mondoweiss crew was wondering about censorship over at Huff Po. This will be interesting
cathleen 0 minute ago (12:54 PM)
38 Fans
This comment is pending approval and won’t be displayed until it is approved.
Since you voted to block the Goldstone Report and Grivaja and Ellison did not. Maybe you should ask them for their advice.
Since you voted for sanctioning Iran even further based upon more inflammatory and unsubstantiated claims that the I lobby keeps repeating. Maybe you could talk to former Bush administration official and former CIA middle east analyst Flynt Leverett (at Race for Iran) and broaden your scope.
Congressman Grayson I would also advice you to take a trip to a Palestinian refugee camp, read the IAEA’s report on Iran being with in the Non proliferation guidelines for enriching uranium to a level within the NPT. You may want to consider that the latest NIE (national intelligence estimate) on Iran confirmed that Iran is not enriching uranium above the level that they are legally able.
Too bad you did not take the time to read these reports before you make your decisions to vote for inflammatory and unsubstantiated warmongering legislation as Grivalja and Ellison did
Also how about hosting Judge Goldstone on the hill to discuss his findings in the Goldstone Report. The report that you helped block
This one too. Not up yet
DC 8 hours ago (5:03 AM)
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True Progressives were sickened and now see that you do not represent progressive American interest.
“Rep. Grayson will be leaving Congress in January, but it’s still important that we take this opportunity to let him know exactly where the rest of the progressive anti-war community that elected him stands on these issues and to let the new leaders of the Progressive Caucus know that Progressive Except for Palestine is not the direction we want them to take.”
link to mondoweiss.net
Favorite (0) Flag as Abusive
DC: True Progressives were sickened and now see that you do
link to huffingtonpost.com
Permalink | Share it
cathleen 0 minute ago (12:48 PM)
38 Fans
This comment is pending approval and won’t be displayed until it is approved.
While Grayson took honorable and fact based stands on auditing the Fed, health care and other issues. He is terribly inconsistent. Especially when it comes to the I/P issue and Iran
Grayson voted to block the Goldstone Report, voted for more sanctions against Iran based on inflammatory and unsubstantiated claims repeated by the I lobby, voted for anti Palestinian legislation promoted by the rabid Ros Lehtinen. Grivalja and Ellison did not. He should be getting advice from them not giving.
Progressives need to start drawing a line in the sand on these issues
My comments still not up yet at Huff po. Totally reasonable comments
Can people post the comments they are sending to Grayson here on the comments section? I am nosy and curious.
Susie, great letter.
I did. Took a long time for them to come up at Huff Po. It may be because I challenged them about the reasonableness of my comments. There is a question as to how much Huff Po screens and censors.
I’d love that, Seham. And thanks for all your fine work, and Kathleen, too.
Corrie, Henochowicz and Dogan were/are U.S. citizens but this Grayson guy is a U.S. Congressman. Surely U.S. citizens are not his concern.