Fort Myers Peace Fair Report

The first ever Peace Fair in Ft Myers was held yesterday. Overall we had a good turn out. Our CODEPINK and Florida For Peace Booth was the busiest and most poupular there and we sold lots of t-shirts and CP stuff, handed out flyers, got petitions and Florida for Peace/Focus on Nelson post cards signed and talked with lots of folks during the day, many of whom never heard of CP.

Quite a few folks signed up to be on our mailing list and we handed out lots of printed material about CP and how to get involved etc. CP activist Faith Fippenger was a keynote speaker and had the whole crowd in tears when she spoke about the women in Iran. We will follow up soon with a CP get together.

I will post photos soon. Because the schedule ran late I got bumped from speaking and also missed the opportunity to be interviewed. But one of our young activists, Dana, did get interviewed by the Naples News. I wish a stronger message was spoken about the war in Iraq and stopping the next war in Iran, but at least we got some press.

Our own News Press did cover the event but did not mention CODEPINK at all.
Peaceful Pink,
Holley

Here is the copy from The Naples Daily News.

Peace was a fair topic at rally in south Lee County
By Elizabeth Wright Saturday, November 10, 2007

Row after row of weathered, white crosses lie flat on the grass at a Lee County park, filling the space between the goal posts of a football field.

Each one was hand-lettered with the name and age of a soldier who died in Iraq.

The man behind the display, Naples resident John Riccio, said his collection of about 800 crosses has long since stopped keeping pace with the death count.

This is the same set of markers he will set out on the beach near the Naples Pier on Sunday.

He’s anticipating some won’t be too happy to see the crosses there on Veterans Day.

But Saturday, at a Peace Fair at Rutenberg Community Park in South Fort Myers, he only heard appreciation for the sprawling anti-war statement he usually keeps housed in borrowed trailers and sheds. It was his chance to encourage other peace activists -- a group that at Saturday’s fair included volunteers from a varied collection of environmental, political and religious groups.

“It’s to let them know they’re not alone in their thinking,” Riccio said.

Across the field, standing near a “Women for Peace” sign, Fort Myers resident Dana Foglesong, 25, who supports anti-war efforts but is still discovering her place in the movement, was among those who surveyed the display.

To her, it was a powerful sight.

“I’m not sure what it proves. But it shows we have responsibilities for what has happened and what is happening,” she said.

As an activist with the Fort Myers chapter of Code Pink, a national group that agitates to end the war in Iraq, Foglesong hasn’t hesitated to say what she thinks those responsibilities are: She’s the woman who held a flaming pink peace sign at a protest along U.S. 41 in Fort Myers two months ago.

She said she kept standing there as a driver suggested her kind ought to just move to Iraq.

Yet Foglesong still described herself as an unlikely activist. Or at least, as she put it, she’s not the “good hippy” the way some others appear to her. She has eaten chicken, and she has bought jeans that may or may not have been made in a sweatshop. She gladly voted for Bush in the 2000 elections.

And while she may understand why, across the park, other groups at the peace fair were talking about the link between environmental sustainability and peace, oil and war -- selling T-shirts that blended the arrows of a recycling symbol with a peace sign -- that’s not her passion.

More often, she’s talking about war in the context of conversations she has with friends in the military and their families, talking about their sense of duty, talking about her views on Iraq, and still trying not to offend.

“People think that people who are pro-peace are anti-soldier, but we’re not,” she said.

Those are conversations that don’t easily reduce to the lettering on a piece of poster board.

Looking over the signs Riccio had set up alongside his display, some seemed over-the-top to her, but she agreed with most of them.

“Save lives,” she said. “Yes.”

“Bring them home. ... Yes.”

“Our troops are sitting ducks. ... Hmm. Yeah, probably.”

She plans to continue attending peace events. She said she worries about the cost of the war, about the day-to-day conditions for Iraqi citizens, and she worries about the lives lost. She wonders if people have forgotten to want peace, and instead view it as “something that’s not pertinent anymore.”

But her goal isn’t necessarily to convince others she’s right that it’s time to pack up and leave Iraq -- or even that war ought to be avoided.

Her activism is more about persuading others to at least take notice of her anti-war views.

“There’s a difference between convincing someone of your beliefs and convincing someone to do something about your beliefs,” she said.

Mukasey Confirmed 53-40 - Nelson votes NAY

Senate confirms Mukasey as attorney general
Bush nominee wins backing for post despite waterboarding flap
updated 12:56 a.m. ET, Fri., Nov. 9, 2007
WASHINGTON - The Senate confirmed retired judge Michael Mukasey as attorney general Thursday night to replace Alberto Gonzales, who was forced from office in a scandal over his handling of the Justice Department.

Mukasey was confirmed as the nation’s 81st attorney general after a sharp debate over his refusal to say whether the waterboarding interrogation technique is torture.

President Bush thanked the Senate, even though the margin had been whittled down from nearly unanimous by a sharp debate over Mukasey’s refusal to say whether the waterboarding interrogation technique is torture.....

Roll Call Vote...

I guess this means no waterboarding simulations in front of Bill Nelson's offices!

Perhaps calls of support on this one vote are in order?

Washington, D.C.
United States Senate
716 Senate Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-5274
Fax: 202-228-2183

Orlando
Landmark Two
225 East Robinson Street, Ste 410
Orlando, Florida 32801
Phone: 407-872-7161
Toll Free in Florida: 1-888-671-4091
Fax: 407-872-7165

Miami-Dade
2925 Salzedo Street
Coral Gables, FL 33134
Phone: 305-536-5999 Telephone
Fax: 305-536-5991

Tampa
Sam Gibbons Federal Court House
801 N. Florida Ave., 4th Floor
Tampa, Florida 33602
Phone: 813-225-7040
Fax: 813-225-7050

West Palm Beach
500 Australian Avenue Suite 125
West Palm Beach, Florida 33401
Phone: 561-514-0189
Fax: 561-514-4078

Tallahassee
US Court House Annex
111 North Adams Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32301
Phone: 850-942-8415
Fax: 850-942-8450

Jacksonville
1301 Riverplace Blvd, Suite 2218
Jacksonville, Florida 32207
Phone: 904-346-4500
Fax: 904-346-4506

Broward
3416 South University Drive
Davie, FL 33328
Phone: 954-693-4851
Fax: 954-693-4862

Fort Myers
Justice Center Annex Building
2000 Main Street, Suite 801
Fort Myers, FL 33901
Phone: 239-334-7760
Fax: 239-334-7710

My Encounter With Senator Bill Nelson

My encounter with Senator Bill Nelson Wednesday, October 31 2007 by Samm Simpson
Last Saturday I happened to see Senator Bill Nelson in the hallway at the Democratic convention in Orlando. The Saturday night dinner - which I didn't attend - had been in progress for fifteen minutes and Senator Nelson was in a side hallway, looking for an open door. Here's the exchange - to the best of my memory.

The Senator is pulling on a locked side door. I begin to speak.

"Senator Nelson, you know our occupation in Iraq has led to the death of over one million Iraqis. What are you going to do about this? We are controlled by what General Eisenhower told us about, the Military Industrial Complex. . . . it's here!"

The Senator says, "Yes it is." He walks away from the door. I follow.

"What are you going to do about it, and what about nuclear weapons in space? We have criminals running our country, Senator Nelson, they should be impeached!

The Senator smiles, begins to walk down the hall and replies, "We can't impeach the President, look who'd we get."

"I'm not talking about impeaching the President, Dennis Kucinich has a bill, H.R. 333 that will impeach Vice President Cheney. Why won't you support that?

The Senator chuckles. He does not stand still for one moment during this discourse.

I say, "Why are you laughing, this nation is in trouble!"

He dismisses my concern, does a 180 in the opposite direction and while walking away, remarks, "We're on the same side."

He speeds away, still looking for a back door entrance into the Democratic party dinner. I raised my voice as he leaves the area.

"We are not on the same side, you signed the Military Commissions Act last October, you took away the writ of habeas corpus!

The senior Florida Senator disappears. I'm assuming he found an open door leading to the Saturday night dinner at the Democratic State Convention. I'll bet they praised his presence.

Meanwhile, Baghdad burns. The Constitution lies forgotten.

"We the People" are discounted.

Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Focus on Nelson Update

Why did Senator Bill Nelson join 22 other Senate "Democrats" to "vote in favor of denouncing MoveOn.Org for its advertisement questioning the credibility of General (Betrayus) Petreaus"?

Senator Nelson Votes to Denounce MoveOn Ad

Florida's Joe Leiberman, aka Senator Bill Nelson, joined with twenty-two other candy-assed Democrats to condemn MoveOn.org's ad. Check the roll call vote here....

Senate Approves Resolution Denouncing MoveOn.org Ad
By David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times
WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 — The Senate approved a resolution on Thursday denouncing the liberal antiwar group MoveOn.org over an advertisement that questioned the credibility of Gen. David H. Petraeus, the American commander in Iraq.

MoveOn.org, with 3.2 million members, has become a powerful force in Democratic politics and the advertisement it paid for, which appeared in The New York Times, has come under sharp attack from Congressional Republicans and others as unpatriotic and impugning the integrity of General Petraeus.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, both Democratic candidates for president, voted against the resolution, which passed 72 to 25.

But curiously absent from the vote was Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, also a Democratic candidate for president, who had canceled a campaign appearance in South Carolina so he could be in Washington for votes.

Mr. Obama issued a statement calling the resolution, put forward by Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, “a stunt.” Mr. Obama said, “By not casting a vote, I registered my protest against these empty politics.”

Mr. Obama had voted minutes earlier in favor of an extremely similar resolution proposed by Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California.

Ms. Boxer’s proposal, which failed, called for the Senate to “strongly condemn all attacks on the honor, integrity and patriotism” of anyone in the United States armed forces. It did not mention the MoveOn.org ad. Mr. Dodd and Mrs. Clinton also voted in favor of Ms. Boxer’s proposal.

Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination, was in Iowa and did not vote.

At a White House news conference, President Bush called the advertisement disgusting and said it was an attack not only on General Petraeus but also on the entire American military.

“And I was disappointed that not more leaders in the Democrat Party spoke out strongly against that kind of ad,” Mr. Bush said. “And that leads me to come to this conclusion: that most Democrats are afraid of irritating a left-wing group like MoveOn.org — or more afraid of irritating them than they are of irritating the United States military.”

Representative Thomas M. Davis III, Republican of Virginia, has urged the House to hold hearings on the MoveOn.org ad and to investigate whether The Times gave the group an improper discount. A New York Times Company spokeswoman has said that the group paid a standard “standby” rate.

MoveOn.org lashed out at Mr. Bush’s comments and pledged to double its spending on ads criticizing Republican lawmakers for blocking efforts by Democrats to change the war strategy. Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action, said, “What’s disgusting is that the president has more interest in political attacks than developing an exit strategy to get our troops out of Iraq and end this awful war.”

Nelson Votes Don't Add Up

After having voted for the Webb Amendment to reduce deployment periods and to resore Habeus Corpus, Senator Bill Nelson then voted against the Feingold Amendment to re-dploy troops out of Iraq.

Bill Nelson's Rreason for Voting to Invade Iraq

Dig this Nelson quote about his reason for voting to invade Iraq - "...Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., told Kay last week that he voted for a resolution authorizing force against Iraq precisely because of the administration's UAV evidence.

"I was told not only that (Saddam had weapons of mass destruction) and that he had the means to deliver them through unmanned aerial vehicles, but that he had the capability of transporting those UAVs outside of Iraq and threatening the homeland here in America, specifically by putting them on ships off the eastern seaboard," Nelson said.

Kay responded that the UAV program was active, but the Iraqis did not have "the existing deployment capability at that point for any sort of systematic military attack..."

Snagged from a Google cache of an old February 01, 2004 WaPo/ Seattle Times piece.

Remember, these were the balsa wood and duck tape specials of the Iraqi AF.....

As the CIA ISG report generously put it -

"Iraq’s small UAV programs had demonstrated some success, including an autonomous 500-km flight, and given time most likely would have produced larger UAVs with greater payload capabilities. The evidence uncovered by ISG suggests that the UAV programs active at the onset of OIF were intended for reconnaissance or electronic warfare." - from the CIA Inspector General's Report "Iraq WMD 2004"

Bill Nelson Campaign Finance/Money Contributions

Bill Nelson: Campaign Finance/Money - Contributions - Senate 2006

2001-2006 Total Receipts: $18,031,681
2001-2006 Total Spent: $16,718,881
Cash on Hand: $1,316,224
Debts: $0
Date of last report: December 31, 2006
First elected: 2000
Next election: 2006

No info since 12/06, but a good page for future reference....

Senator Bill Nelson's Staff Blocking Access to the Senator

FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY TO THE SENATOR'S DESK

August 28, 2007

FAX TO: Senator Bill Nelson
All District Offices and
Washington, D. C.

FAX FROM: Lydia Vickers, CODEPINK
Florida For Peace/Focus on Nelson
Phone: 850-385-5322

Dear Senator Nelson,

Thank you again for welcoming Pat, Mary and I to your Lafayette County town halls August 22nd.. We met some very nice people, lots of true "Nelson" supporters. Unfortunately it wasn't easy finding where you would be.

Senator Nelson, we believe that it's important for you to hear what Floridians are thinking and talking about regarding the war in Iraq. Staff in 3 of your district offices refused to give Florida For Peace members any information about where you were going to be and told us to call your Washington, D.C. office. The D.C. office was completely surprised and we were told that we should, indeed, be getting the
local meeting schedules from the district offices.

I felt we should have been informed about the lasagna dinner at the Spirit of the Suwannee. We were embarrassed to have eaten before we arrived when such a nice meal had been prepared. I spoke with Lynn Bannister just one day earlier and she made the decision not to tell me anything about the meal.

This is such a disservice to you senator. I say this because I feel sure that you would never tell your staff to dodge a constituent's questions. I feel sure you would never allow your staff to stand between you and a constituent.

I say that "this is a disservice to you" for three reasons:

1. Surely your sense of what is happening with this war today, and your feelings on what should be done tomorrow, needs to be expressed to your constituents.

2. Your answers to Iraq war questions show compassion and concern for our troops and your constituents need to hear that too.

3. You will never know how Floridians really feel about the war if no one brings the subject up. The war in Iraq is the gorilla in the room. No good can come of your isolation from Floridians' passions and opinions regarding Iraq.


I'll say here that Florida For Peace members don't agree one bit with pulling out SOME of the troops and leaving others there, for any reason. We want those military bases closed. We don't want our soldiers losing there lives in Iraq to protect Haliburton and Black Water employees. And, if the Iraqi army can't stand on their own now, well, they may never stand on their own. Our troops have given their all, and that is more than enough. The majority of Florida Democrats and Independents want the troops home now.

I am encouraged to hear you begin talking about taking the first steps to end this war. I disagree with a plan to leave Americans on the ground in Iraq. What is more important, we are both talking about bring our troops home. Senator Nelson, the finest part of democracy in action, to me, is when we are talking.

When Florida For Peace members attend your town halls they can open the door for questions on Iraq. Our members know that not every Floridian wants to leave Iraq. Fortunately, a majority of Floridians do want to leave Iraq and soon. We also know that you are not hearing much from those who do want our troops to leave Iraq. We are trying to get this message to you. You aren't hearing our voices because you aren't visiting the groups who want to talk about this issue.

Florida For Peace members had to drive hundreds of miles to meet you in Kissimmee on August 7th. Many of us had to take a day off from our jobs. If you are in our area and your staff refuses to let us know where you are the door to a conversation may stay closed and YOU are left in the dark.

Your staff should be ashamed of themselves trying to distract and mislead anyone from Florida who wants to meet with you. They might not agree with my description of their actions but they should know there is no doubt in our minds that we were being put off. If you truly want to stay in touch with your constituents you simply must be able to talk to them. I personally wonder if it is even legal for your staff to refuse to give out information about public meetings?

Senator Nelson, Florida For Peace members will continue to try and meet with you. We will continue to drop in on meetings and town halls. Many of us will be in Washington, D. C. during the month of September. We will stop by your offices and will be sitting in on many of your meetings and activities. Please, open your doors to us. Don't allow your staff to isolate you.

The November election was a "Mandate for Peace" from the American people, and it was all about Iraq. Florida For Peace is dedicated to meeting with every single Florida representative and to meeting with you, often. Thank you again for your time in Lafayette last week. I look forward to seeing you in Washington next month.

Peace,

Lydia Vickers
Florida For Peace, Co Founder
CODEPINK Tallahassee
CODEPINK Florida

Florida For Peace Meets Senator Bill Nelson

Florida For Peace Meets Senator Bill Nelson
Boasts, Prevarications, and a Rattlesnake

On Tuesday August 7th ten members of Florida For Peace traveled to Kissimmee, FL to meet with Senator Bill Nelson at the public library. They represented over fifty groups from from all parts of Florida.

When the group arrived a staff member directed us to a conference room where the senator was waiting. A local news crew had a camera set up. After shaking hands and sitting down, Senator Nelson mentioned how he was having town meetings, three just yesterday in Jefferson, Pinellas and Pasco counties.

Lydia Vickers - CODEPINK Tallahassee, Co-Founder/Florida For Peace - began by stating she had traveled to all eight of his offices around the state and had meetings with his staff and thanking the Senator for meeting with us.

Senator Nelson began by thanking us for coming from all over the state to see him. He then talked about what he termed as townhall meetings, two of which he had the previous day in the Tampa Bay area. He said that 150 people had attended one meeting and 130 had attended the other one and that no one had brought up the issue of the Iraq War.

Lydia Vickers then had the group introduce ourselves and briefly say who we represented.

Lydia then talked to the senator about his voting record in the Senate and how this group, which represents maybe 7000 people on email lists, were disappointed with his vote on the FISA bill (S1927). She then brought up a speech he had made in 2002 on this subject in which he had said that it was important not to adopt the total information awareness program. She went on saying "although he had supported the no confidence vote on the Attorney General, he had then voted for the FISA bill."

Nelson responded saying "that's not what it says", that they (the Democrats) had changed the bill, an approval process has to be gone through, the Director of Intelligence and the Attorney General must sign off. Nelson went on by saying that he was ONE senator out of 100 who was on all THREE National Security committees and that no one was privy to more of the nation's classified information than he. He also mentioned his trust for the Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell.

He continued, "that the White House wanted a permanent solution where this was only for 6 months and that it doesn't effect citizens domestically." Adding it was important that they (gov't spies) don't have to go to the FISA court as technology had changed. It used to be mainly by phone but now with the internet, some foreign communications is coming through the United States. With the old law intelligence agencies had to go to FISA for a court order, now when a foreign terrorist was targeted, some may be going through a person in the USA, he continued... At this point the local news camera crew packed up and left the room.

Senator Nelson said as the door shut, "I wouldn't trust the Attorney General", (looking over his shoulder, asking if the media was gone) "anymore than I would trust a rattlesnake."

He continued on about how they would set up a process for FISA and was interrupted by Cactus Pat, Tallahassee Network for Justice and Peace (TNJP) saying, "Senator Nelson, yesterday morning the big news on the blogs said Mr. Bush had signed the FISA bill, the Protect America Act, with a signing statement demanding immunity for '...those who are alleged to have assisted our Nation following the attacks of September 11, 2001', in other words demanding immunity for his own six years of criminality".

Nelson responded that signing statements from the President has huge problems, as well as the President misleading us and the FISA bill didn't cover what Bush wants i.e.: 6 years of illegal wire tapping protected. He then said he was elected to exercise his best judgment.

Lydia pointed out that Republicans didn't vote for him and that we as Democrats were the ones who voted for him and he should represent our interests, adding that former Senator Graham had voted no on the Authorization to go to war.

Nelson replied that "in his position he had to exercise his best judgment, that he represents sixteen million Floridians, and that he has to represent everyone, Republicans and everybody else".

Deidra Lynch - CODEPINK Orlando, Food Not Bombs, Orlando Progressive Alliance, Florida For Peace, Military Families Speak Out, Artists for Peace - then interjected, "Senator, we're here to say how we feel while we have you eye to eye with us."

Nelson replied "I want to straighten this out" then said that Graham had voted no because he thought AUMF did not go far enough.

Deidra then began by thanking the Senator for voting for monies for education and protecting the Everglades. She went on saying she hoped he would listen to our concerns about stopping the war, continuing with "I'm sure we can agree that this debt has got to stop".

Nelson added that childcare and healthcare was losing out with the cost for war.

Deirdre pointed out that cost estimates for the war had been in the hundreds of billions and the cost estimate as of now was $1.27 trillion, with the total cost to the state of Florida approaching $25,000,000,000, according to the National Priorities Project. She also spoke of the additional cost to our soldiers being trained in violence and sent home with no shut off valve, which affects military families with many women suffering rape and abuse. She then passed paperwork to Nelson to provide him the statistics.

Next Hillary Keyes - CODEPINK South Florida, Florida For Peace, Boca Peace Corner, Palm Beach County Peace & Justice Coalition - brought up the worsening conditions for the people of Iraq. Saying that that's it's gotten so bad that the US has stopped issuing Baghdad electricity reports because there is only one to two hrs. of electricity per day and 130 degrees and no water. She said we need to try to help the Iraqi people, bringing up how Post Traumatic Stress was affecting children in Iraq and that according to Center for Disease Control (from John Hopkins study) 650,000 Iraqis had been killed as of a year ago, and that 70% of Iraqi children suffer from symptoms of PTSD. She then talked about how CodePINK had brought 5 Iraqi women to the USA, showed him pictures and read part of a personal statement from the Faiza Alaraji. She then passed the Senator the women's pictures and bios.

Mary - CODEPINK Tallahassee, Tallahassee Network for Justice and Peace, Florida For Peace said as she had written her statements in a letter and as time was short, she would just pass him the letter.

Cactus Pat - Tallahassee Network for Justice and Peace, Florida For Peace - then talked about the fourteen permanent military bases in Iraq and how Congress has repeatedly passed legislation banning such bases and how it has been ignored. He said he believed Congress had the authority to enforce the legislation banning permanent bases in Iraq and demanded that Congress do so. He then talked about how US Foreign Policy needs to be shifted from one of military domination and use of the military for diplomacy to one of Peace and cooperation.

Carol Stachurski - CODEPINK Tallahassee, Veterans for Peace, Florida For Peace, Progressive Democrats of America - talked about how she felt his job was to represent us pointing out that polls in Florida were saying the majority wanted the war to end.

Nelson responded saying his position on the Iraq war was "evolving", and that she should look at his Senate speech on the Levin-Reed amendment, which he claimed was on his website. (NOT found, only this statement on Iraq on his website). That it was the most important speech he had ever given.

Scott Camil - Gainesville Veterans for Peace, GI Rights Hotline, Veterans for Peace - next talked about 32,000 calls the GI Rights Hotline had received from active duty FL soldiers and veterans with their concerns. He also had a written statement and documents which were passed to Senator Nelson.

Nelson said "I'm a veteran", he again brought up Levin-Reed Amendment and his speech.

Leslie - CODEPINK Orlando, Florida For Peace, Orlando Progressive Alliance, Seminole Democrats - talked about torture, saying how we know it's wrong and how it lowers morale. "We used to be the good guys and we know it's wrong."

Holly Rauen - CODEPINK South West Florida, Florida For Peace, Fort Myers Social Action Committee, EPEC/Board Member - talked about how war undermined our safety and the preservation of our civil rights and how our National Guard was not here to aid the public in times of disaster. She continued by talking about how our Bill of Rights had been negated by executive order. Adding her personal experience by telling the senator how she had been shot with rubber bullets by Miami police at the FTAA protest, how the police had surrounded a group of citizens and fired on them. She also spoke of how her ex-husband had been run over by a military train shipping arms to Vietnam and lost both his legs. She said what's going on now reminded her of Kent State and how the government was chipping away our rights and we were becoming like Hitler Germany.

Nelson responded saying we had a system of checks and balances.

Tom Guelcher - President, Environmental & Peace Education Center of SW Florida, Florida For Peace - talked about terrorism and how there is no military solution to it and how our actions in Iraq are causing more terrorism and how the only way to defeat it was by respecting other people and allowing them to make their own decisions about what is best for them.

Beverley Wiskow - State Coordinator/Military Families Speak Out, Peace NOW Citrus County, Florida For Peace - began by telling the senator how she had a son-in-law fighting in Iraq under terrible conditions, how Iraqis had no air conditioning or water and how we could learn by spending time in our Florida heat with no a/c or water. She went on about how this group before him had probably taken 50,000 hours of labor to bring him this information. Adding that we needed 67 senators. On a personal note she implored him to be "Our Hero" and spoke of meeting him last year in Ocala when she urged him to be a leader and if he would do the right thing the grassroots would rise up to support him. But if he continued to allow the war to continue, we would replace him. She then directly asked him if he would vote for the Levin-Reed amendment.

Nelson replied it would be the first issue in September and how the Democrats all supported the amendment with the exception of Lieberman (the irony of Florida's Lieberman saying this elicited subdued laughter and chuckles all around the table) and there were a few Republicans supporting as well. He said 53 senators had already voted for the amendment and they needed 7 more.

Deidra asked him as he got up to leave, "who we can work on?"

Nelson mentioned John Warner of VA, John Sununu of NH, Martinez of FL, Susan Collins of Maine, John Voinovich of OH, and Norm Coleman of MN.

Senator Nelson then rushed off to a meeting with 25 local Seminole County officials.

The Florida For Peace group then held a brief after-action meeting to discuss the events and concluded with a photo-op while the local TV media conducted interviews outside with various members.

Consensus was reached on finding out who contributes money to Nelson by checking www.opensecrets.org and www.fec.gov before exiting for more photos outside.

For more info see -
FFP Florida For Peace Yahoo Group and
TNJP coverage of the Focus on Nelson campaign

Senator Nelson’s PR spin on “Town Hall” meetings

Senator Nelson’s PR spin on “Town Hall” meetings
by Deidra Lynch -- Orlando, FL August 10, 2007 -- Florida’s Senator Bill Nelson's office is falsely reporting that he is touring the state doing "Town Hall" meetings yet his meetings are not being announced publicly until just hours before he arrives and most of them have only been with city and county officials, not the public. These "invitation-only" audiences with selected press only are costing Florida taxpayers and lulling them into believing the he is concerned about public sentiment. His office has refused to even announce his travel schedule or place any requested alternative press members on the pre-notification list. This is open government? NO, this is a PR spin!...

Senator Nelson, who is on vacation from Congress was pressured in June by leaders in the Peace communities across the state to hold true "Town Hall" meetings in August to meet with his constitutents about the 25 billion dollars of the Iraq debt that Florida now owns. Enough is enough, it’s time to come up with a plan to get us out of this endless war and the only way that's going to happen is to stop the funding. Florida For Peace members said they feel like Senator Nelson has been supporting the war sine the beginning and they want him to be one of 67 senators to override a presidential veto and bring the troops home now.

After occupying all eight of his offices with representatives of over 50 different peace organizations including Vets for Peace, Military Families Speak Out, Grannies for Peace and CODEPINK to name a few, Senator Nelson finally agreed to meet with Florida for Peace, "We were ecstatic about the opportunity to speak with him and discuss the costs of war, the needs of Floridians, the treatment of our returning veterans and the horrendous rate of female soldiers returning as victims of sexual and physical assault by their own comrades which is 20% to 2/3 depending on the source" said Lydia Vickers of Florida for Peace. We had hoped for true “Town Hall” meetings in August but apparently Senator Nelson doesn’t understand the true meaning of the term.

Originating in New England when everybody in town showed up to speak their piece and then vote on an issue, today's "Town Hall" meetings are now held so people can influence elected officials in their decision-making process, often in large conference centers where people from every part of the community attend to express their opinions. No point of view is excluded or censored which is the very “Essence of Democracy” in action.

When Governor Schwarzenegger made this mistake, he was called on the carpet in "Governor corrupts 'town hall'" by Dennis M. Clausen:

"In his classic essay, "Politics and the English Language," George Orwell warns us that such abuses of language involve more than just semantic differences. "If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought," Orwell writes. "A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation even among people who should and do know better."

According to Orwell, politicians corrupt language, and then a corrupted language corrupts the culture ---- which in turn makes it easier for politicians to further corrupt the language. The vicious cycle feeds off itself like a hurricane gathering strength over warm tropical waters.

When we reverse the meanings of certain bedrock democratic institutions and traditions like town hall meetings, and these corruptions of language go unchallenged, we are well on our way to a total corruption of our political culture."

I know it's hurricane season and we face this with half of our disaster equipment still in Iraq with many of our national guard but Senator Nelson's corruption of the "Town Hall" meeting strikes deeply into the center of my heart and raises my radar even more. This week’s PR spin by Nelson gives me even more to worry about then what’s brewing over our very warm waters right now.

*Dennis M. Clausen is a professor of American literature at the University of San Diego. dclausen(at)SanDiego.edu

Florida For Peace Push Nelson For End To Iraq War

Florida Groups Push For End To War POSTED: 3:03 pm EDT August 7, 2007
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Florida For Peace pushed for a meeting with Sen. Bill Nelson at the Kissimmee library on Tuesday.

Members said they want Nelson to stand against President George W. Bush and end the war in Iraq.

Many groups congregated at the library to meet with Nelson, including Code Pink: Women For Peace.

Members said they feel Nelson has been supporting the war and want him to be one of 67 senators to override a presidential veto and bring troops home.

"I think he needs to realize he's hurting these troops more by not saying, 'Enough is enough' it's time to come home, and let's come up with a plan,' so the only way that's going to happen is to stop funding," Deidra Lynch of Florida For Peace said.

"We need to start phasing down, but keeping troops there to train the Iraqi army, to go after al Qaida and to provide protection for our troops there, but start removing our troops," Nelson said.

Nelson will meet with Osceola County leaders next, one of more than a dozen town hall meetings being held in Central Florida in the coming days.

To comment on this story, send an e-mail to Kendra Oestreich.

For more info see the
FFP Florida For Peace Yahoo Group and TNJP coverage of the Focus on Nelson campaign

Florida For Peace Representatives Scheduled to Meet With Senator Bill Nelson

August 1, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Lydia Vickers
850-241-3191 or 850-385-5322

Deidra Lynch
codepinkorlando@gmail.com

FLORIDA FOR PEACE MEMBER GROUPS Scheduled to meet with Florida’s Senior Senator

11:00AM – August 7, 2007 – Kissimmee, Florida

A coalition of Florida peace and social action groups joined forces in May, 2007 to begin a state-wide campaign. Their goal was to ask for meetings with Senator Bill Nelson, Florida’s senior senator, in every district where he has an office.

Senator Nelson has agreed to meet with 10 Florida For Peace members in Kissimmee, Florida at 11:00AM on August 7, 2007. Request for meetings in additional Florida locations will be made at this meeting. “We feel that it is his responsibility to meet with us rather than having his constituents drive all over the state to meet him” said Florida For Peace co-founder Deidra Lynch. Request for Town Hall meeting dates around the state will also be requested.

Florida For Peace member groups include: CODEPINK, Military Families Speak Out/Florida, Veterans for Peace, Vietnam Veterans for Peace, Environmental and Peace Education Center, Tallahassee Network for Justice and Peace, Food Not Bombs, Democracy For America and others.

“I met peace activists all over the state of Florida in June when I traveled from one district office to another, eight offices in seven days.

Florida For Peace has almost 50 member groups. We joined forces and went to every office, in person, in numbers, to request that Senator Nelson meet with us to discuss his voting record on:

1. the war in Iraq,


2. a June, 2007 vote that would allow the President and the CIA to disregard the Army Field Manual regarding torture, and


3. his continued support of the Republican agenda on the war in Iraq.

The November, 2006 election was a “Mandate for Peace” from the American People. Florida For Peace is committed to helping remind Senator Nelson that he is a Democrat, with a capital “D” and that he must vote the way we’ve asked him to vote. In our minds Senator Nelson had become Florida’s Joe Lieberman,” said Florida for Peace co-founder Lydia Vickers.

“I am delighted that Senator Nelson is meeting with us after just three months of actions around the state of Florida. This group is determined to help get 67 senators (2/3rds of the Senate is needed to override a presidential veto) to stand strong against the Bush administration and end the war in Iraq. Senator Nelson simply must be one of those 67 senators,” continued Florida For Peace co-founder Vickers.

Phase I of the Florida For Peace - FocusOn Nelson Campaign involved letter writing, e-mails and Faxes.

Phase II of the Focus On Nelson Campaign involved traveling the state and meeting with other Florida For Peace members in their districts. These groups met with Senator Nelson’s staff and expressed their concerns. Activists from all over the state called into the offices during these meetings to support the people who could attend.

During Phase III, which has been extended until August 31, 2007, the groups worked together through conference calls, e-mails and meetings to plan what to do if the senator would not meet with us. Activists continued to telephone and Fax his Washington D.C. office and his district offices in Florida.

“Most of us have at least one of his offices on speed dial” said Deidra Lynch. Deidra also helped create an awesome, “postcard” campaign that was launched with the help of Dana Balcki, CODEPINK NYC.




The national CODEPINK offices have helped Florida For Peace organize and strategize from the beginning including allowing time on national, weekly conference calls to discuss what we are doing and to offer suggestions and support. The Focus On Nelson Campaign can be found at www.codepinkalert.org, and is also heavily supported by Florida Action at www.flaction.org and Tallahassee Network for Justice and Peace at www.tnjp.org. CODEPINK women at the CODEPINK House in Washington, D. C. make a point to check on Senator Nelson’s activities regularly.

“Meeting with my representative is the highest form of democracy in action” said Ms. Vickers. I know this meeting will be informed, passionate and empowering for all of the groups and especially for Senator Nelson.

Focus on Nelson postcards

Focus on Nelson postcards

Save and Print!

Please DISTRIBUTE WIDELY to all Florida residents! It's imperative that we let Senator Nelson know right now that we want this war stopped!

Front


Back



FOCUS on NELSON down loadable postcards:

Black & White Postcard or Color for printing at your home

Black & White Postcard OR Color Postcard to send to a KINKOS-type printer (with print/bleed marks). Print a bunch of these and pass them out to your friends & community!

WARNING! It has come to our attention that it is taking 2 months or more for mail to get through the postal systems in DC to Congress due to Anthrax check points. We are having constituents put their return address and comments on the card, then return the card to us.

Focus on Nelson Postcards
c/o
4630 South Kirkman Road #723
Orlando, LF 32811-2802


We will then mail the cards in one package to the CODEPINK house in DC to have them hand delivered to Senator Nelson's office. Please consider doing this in your own local area.

Florida For Peace & CODEPINK Florida

FOCUS ON NELSON - Turn the HEAT UP on NELSON

FOCUS ON NELSON - Let's turn up the HEAT

DATES: 6-11-2007 through 6-19-2007

DESCRIPTION: Announcing the first of 8 meetings at Senator Nelson's offices in Florida. Help us put the HEAT on NELSON this summer. He needs to explain to us WHY he is voting for continued funding for illegal torture. We want to know WHY Senator Nelson gave Bush billions more to fund the war we told him to STOP in November! Visits are scheduled at Nelson's offices beginning Monday, June 11th and continuing through Tuesday, June 19th. If you can't meet at the office, can you commit to calling the office for 2 hours during the visit? Tell the Senator's aides that Lydia and the other people visiting represent YOU!

The schedule is as follows:

Date of Visit Office Location Times Telephone #'s
Mon, June 11, 2007 Tampa 2:00-4:00pm 813-225-7040
Tues, June 12, 2007 Fort Myers 2:00-4:00pm 239-334-7760
Wed, June 13, 2007 Coral Gables 9:00-11:00am 305-536-5999
Wed, June 13, 2007 Davie 2:00-4:00pm 954-693-4851
Thurs, June 14, 2007 West Palm Bch 2:00-4:00pm 561-514-0189
Fri, June 15, 2007 Orlando 2:00-4:00pm 407-872-7161
Mon, June 18, 2007 Jacksonville 2:00-4:00pm 904-346-4506
Tues, June 19, 2007 Tallahassee - this meeting is scheduled with an aide in Senator Nelson's office. To join this meeting contact codepinktally(at)yahoo.com

Please Distribute This Widely!

For more information about the plan to "Focus on Nelson" go to:
www.groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridaForPeace and sign on to join the effort.

Lydia Vickers, CodePINK Tallahassee
codepinktally(at)yahoo.com

CodePINK Tallahassee joins Florida For Peace Focus on Nelson

Update 04-06: Join the state wide conference call on Wednesday, June 6th at 8:30 PM. Dial 1-712-945-0210 then dial 26337465# (codepink#) to enter the call. You can press 6 to "mute" and just listen, if you'd like. There are no additional charges for this call. Just the cost of a long distance call. Please join us. We NEED everyone on this!

Dear Peace Makers,
Please join a new, state wide action in Florida. Senator Nelson has missed two recent opportunities to vote to bring our troops home from Iraq. This action will focus on educating Senator Nelson and Florida constituents about the true costs of war to our State. The goal is to change Senator Nelson's mind and his votes.

Phase I begins today, June 1, 2007. Please join any Phase at any time. This phase involves writing a letter and sending an e-mail to each of Senator Nelson's offices, every day, for 10 days. The purpose of the letter is to: 1) express your misgivings about his recent votes to continue funding the war and 2) to ask for an appointment. Many of us will use the same letter over and over. Senator Nelson's office addresses and phone/FAX numbers can be found at http://billnelson.senate.gov

Phase II is from June 11th - June 20th. During this period we will visit each of Senator Nelson's Florida office locations and his office in Washington, D.C. We hope to have people from many dirrerent peace groups innvolved in these visits. The purpose of these visits is to personally request an appointment time. We will be assisted during these visits by CodePINK Central and a call in campaign that will happen exactly at the time we are in each office.

Phase III is from June 21st - July 1st. During this phase we will ramp up our letters and FAXes to Senator Nelson's offices and include daily phone calls to every office as many times a day as one can call. At the CodePINK House in D.C. we put our representatives' numbers on speed dial - makes it that much easier.

During Phase III the group will work together through conference calls, e-mails and the Florida For Peace Yahoo Group to organize street actions.

To join Florida For Peace please go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridaForPeace

Street actions will begin after the July 4th holiday week.

The last part of Phase III is from July 9th - July 20th. This portion involves loud street actions, props and banners, Home for the Holidays balloting boxes and phone-a-thons outside of every office.

I am willing to come to your town/city to help with office visits and actions. I can bring props and ideas. It only takes 2 or 3 people to do a great action. And, of course, the more the merrier.

A crucial vote comes to Congress right before the August break. The August break begins August 4th. The action hopes to focus intense pressure on Senator Nelson to start voting us out of Iraq. It is quite probable that he wants the troops home as soon as possible and we will show him that we are here to support him should he agree to step out on a limb and end the war.

The final Phase of this action is to camp out at Senator Nelson's house and bring as much media to the issue as we can. Polls show that Floridans want to end the war and bring the troops home.

To join this action go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridaForPeace

We will have another conference call on Wednesday June 6th. More information about the next conference call will be posted at the yahoo group site.

Thank you for all that you do.

Peace, Always Lydia Vickers

Senator Bill Nelson Votes for Torture

Senator Bill Nelson Votes for Torture by Cenk Uygur Posted June 1, 2007
Bill Nelson sold us out. So much for the Democratic majority. It doesn't mean much when you have "conservative" Democrats who are consistently willing to make deals with the Bush administration to allow them to continue their hideous practices.

The Democrats are in the majority in the Senate Intelligence Committee and all they needed was all of their party members on the committee to vote the right way to end torture by the US government. But Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) wouldn't have it. He likes torture too much. I'm sorry, let me use the Orwellian language they use - he found value in the enhanced interrogation techniques used against detainees in the war on terror...

As conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan pointed out recently, "enhanced interrogation" is literally what the Gestapo called torture in 1937 Germany. But even they didn't approve of waterboarding. I'm not kidding. They thought it was too cruel. But Senator Bill Nelson thought it was just a-okay. To be fair to Senator Nelson, the Gestapo later changed their mind and agreed that further torture was necessary.

Since "Democratic" Senator Bill Nelson wouldn't agree to cut off funding for torture, the committee had to approve a watered down version of the report instead (waterboarding pun not intended, but enjoyed once realized).

Let me pause here to say that the original proposal co-sponsored by Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said that funding would be cut off if the US government didn't abide by the Army field manual on detainee treatment. Not a human rights manual. Not a hippie, tree-hugger manual. The Army field manual!

Apparently, the Army field manual is not tough enough for Senator Bill Nelson and all of the Republicans on the committee. Not enough torture in there. But to go out of their way, the original Democratic proposal even had a provision that allowed the president to authorize torture under "dire emergencies." I think that's absolutely ridiculous, but even that wasn't good enough for Nelson. He had to have torture, all of it. Not just in emergencies, but at all times. One can't have enough torture.

Now, let me give credit to the other Democrats on the committee. This issue would have never even brought up under a Republican reign in Congress. How do I know? They had five years and they didn't bring it up at all. Case closed. But in case we were confused on where they stood on the issue, the Republicans made it clearer by all voting for torture in this instance as well (the famous maverick Chuck Hagel (R-NE) is on the Intelligence Committee and once again, for the two hundreth time in a row, voted with the administration here and allowed torture to continue).

I have been critical of Senator Feinstein in the past because she seems to lean a little too close to the Bush administration on some "defense" issues, but credit where credit is due, she came through here by co-sponsoring this proposal.

And Sheldon Whitehouse is a walking testament to why you have to throw all of the so-called moderate Republicans out of Congress. Some people made the case that it was better to have Lincoln Chafee challenging the Republican Party from the inside instead of another Democrat in the Senate. Ridiculous. Senator Whitehouse has been a smart, effective and moral leader in the Senate since he took office and he has blocked the Republicans from rubberstamping all of the administrations hideous programs with their majority in the Senate.

Look at what so-called moderate Republicans do, they always vote to cover for Bush. Always! Even for horrific programs like torture that sully the good name of the United States of America.

We fight against torture because we love America, we believe in America. These senators betray our faith with their callous political calculations and their gross moral indifference.

Some make the argument that it is better to have people like Senator Bill Nelson in office serving as a Democrat then to have a Republican in there instead. So, we have to put up with their occasional votes for torture and senseless wars against countries that didn't attack us.

Senator Nelson won his re-election campaign by 22 points. If we had run a real moderate with moral convictions instead of the conservative Democrat Nelson what would have happened? We would have beat Katherine Harris by only 12 points?

Senators like Bill Nelson are not a necessary evil. They need to be challenged in primaries. If they have no concern about a challenge from the left or the center, they will only appease the right more. If they think they only have to worry about a challenge from the right, they will only lean in that direction to guard against that challenge. At the very least, challenges from the left help to balance these representatives and make them actually represent the interest of the majority of their electorate.

In the end, what we got instead in this case was a report that says Congress will evaluate whether the benefits of torture (the CIA claims they stopped terrorist plots by torturing people, they have never shown any proof of this and I don't believe it for a second) outweigh the negative consequences. Great, evaluate away.

By the way, three Republicans even voted against evaluating the program. They don't even want to know what we do with our prisoners. See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil. As long as we don't know what horrible things our government is doing, then we're okay. That's real responsible. Remember when the Republican Party claimed to be the party of personal responsibility?

So, this final proposal that the Democrats pushed through is definitely slightly better than what the Republicans would have done. But I'm so tired of slightly better than these Republicans. Slightly better than the guys who support Dick Cheney lock-step.

Frankly, I don't care about the Democrats. The fact that someone who calls himself a Democrat wins is of no consequence to me. I care about results. I care about policy. If they lead us away from the disaster of the Bush administration, I am ecstatic. If they move to appease them, mollify them and meet them halfway or often times let them get their way completely, then I am not interested.

You don't have to waste your breath telling me about the consequences of opposing Democrats who do terrible things. What if the Republicans win instead?! I know how bad they are and I know that democracy is often a choice between the lesser of two evils. But it doesn't always have to be. That's why there are primaries.

Conservative challengers to Republicans in Congress are usually slightly to the right of Atilla the Hun. Progressive challengers to Democrats in Congress these days are the most reasonable people I have ever met. I used to be a Republican and the average Democratic incumbent is way to the right of me. This country has tilted so far to the right we have no idea where the center is anymore.

In the short term, it is imperative to remove all of these rubberstamping, pro-torture, pro-war Republicans. In the long term, the Democrats have to clear their own house.

The fact that Senator Bill Nelson calls himself a Democrat is useless if he doesn't vote that way. A vote for torture is a dark stain that should mark the legislative career of any politician who ever casts it. I hope it haunts Senator Nelson for the rest of his career. If he is going to smear the name of our country by endorsing torture, then at least his name should be smeared, too.

Watch The Young Turks - www.theyoungturks.com

Contact Senator Bill Nelson

Welcome to Florida For Peace

Welcome to Florida For Peace!

Our main goal is to pressure Senator Bill Nelson (D) of Florida to take effective steps in the Senate to bring an end to the military occupation of Iraq.

We are spearheading that initiative through our Florida For Peace Yahoo group

also see TNJP's coverage of our Focus on Nelson.

More to come....