Activism

By MoveOn.org

Tonight Karl Rove will be the keynote speaker at a fundraiser in downtown Washington for Republican Congressman Jim Gerlach (PA-6th). Gerlach’s election next year will be one of the toughest in the country so you’d think he’d be smart enough to keep his distance from Rove—who betrayed the identity of an undercover CIA operative. But Gerlach is sucking up to the Karl Rove cash cow. We need to draw attention to Gerlach’s failure to put his patriotism before his political ambition.

So, here is the plan. Tonight we’ll gather at 6:15 PM (or a little early) at 1700 Pennsylvania Ave NW for a peaceful protest (signs will be provided). The media is expected to attend and we especially expect media from Gerlach’s hometown to attend. We’ll have a peaceful picket for about 45 minutes with some chants while Rove is upstairs at the fundraiser, the media will get their pictures and footage and then we’ll go home.

Democracy for Montgomery County (Maryland), a chapter of www.democracyforamerica.com, wil hold a Community Cookout on Saturday, July 23rd, and will discuss the Downing Street Minutes and related documents.

AfterDowningStreet.org Co-Founder David Swanson will speak at the event at 2 p.m. ET

The cookout will run from noon to 5 p.m. at the Doe Shelter, Seneca Creek State Park
11950 Clopper Road, Gaithersburg - Near Clopper Lake
Directions: http://tinyurl.com/7vse4
Parking near by.
Email Sharon to RSVP, volunteer or for more info:
sepolidoro@yahoo.com

$2 each to enter the park. Total Capacity 150 people.

San Diego activists will be dressed for success next Saturday!

See Photos:
One, Two, Three, Four.

Get your own gear here.

You are cordially invited to a Mad Hatters Tea Party

Date: Saturday 23rd July

Place: Whitehall - opposite Downing Street

Time: 2pm

Please come dressed as a character from Alice in Wonderland and bring a picnic

To mark the third anniversary of a crucial meeting of Blair's war cabinet on July 23rd, 2002, at which the head of MI6 said the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.

Supporting the call for an enquiry into whether Bush should be impeached - a dramatic recreation of the "Downing Street Minutes" 23rd July 2002

ANTI-BUSH/WAR PROTEST RALLY!
- JULY 23rd, 2005 -Saturday @ 7:00 PM

Downtown Phoenix @ Patriot's Square
Address: 1 W. Washington St @ Central Ave.

This is the 3-year anniversary of the Downing Street Memo.

These minutes & related documents made it clear that British Intelligence believed that President George W Bush had decided on going to war MONTHS even before telling the public or asking Congress. He decided to deceive the public & Congress with lies about weapons of mass destruction & ties to terrorism, and that Tony Blair had in fact, begun the war that summer by drastically escalating bombings of Iraq with NO Congressional approval!

On July 23rd, bloggers from around the country are invited to post reports and links on the homepage of AfterDowningStreet.org. To find an event near you to report from, see: http://heh.pl/&tm To get a username and password that you'll need, contact us here Please send us your name, URL, Email address, and the location of the event you'll be reporting on. Your posts will have to be approved before they show up, but on the 23rd someone will be watching the site at all times and approving post

testing

How to Write a Letter to your Editor:

1- Locate your local news outlet.

This includes all newspapers, newsletters, radio shows and television stations in your area.

2- Find out how the news source accepts submissions.

• Is it better to email the letters or mail them?
•
• For radio and television, is there a specific program to submit your opinion to? Is there a call-in show where you can voice your opinion?
•
3- Get a contact.

• A newspaper’s public editor, also sometimes called the opinions editor, is the person who accepts letters to the editor.
•
• When you send your letter, make sure it is marked to the attention of this editor. Most news outlets have instructions on their website, if so, follow those directions.

"After Downing Street!"
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Woolman Hill Conference Center
Keets Road, Deerfield, Mass.

This month we observe the third Anniversary of the infamous Downing Street meeting. The British Intelligence memo on this meeting gives proof that the US and UK were lying about Iraq's WMD programs in order to make their case for war. Consider with Atty. John Bonifaz, (MacArthur Fellow, national voting rights advocate, and co-founder of www.afterdowningstreet.org) what is to be done about President Bush ordering intelligence to be manufactured.

John Bonifaz says, “Was there a deliberate deception campaign? … That is a question of the highest magnitude for this Congress to consider.

Resolution charges high crimes and misdemeanors
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

The San Diego County Democratic Party Central Committee passed a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld for "high crimes and misdemeanors."

The committee, in a vote Tuesday, asks Congress to immediately begin impeachment proceedings based on "evidence" that the administration lied to the American people and created a false justification for going to war in Iraq.

The resolution refers to the so-called Downing Street Memo – official minutes of a meeting between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and members of the Bush administration – and "new leaks of British documents."

How Comcast Censors Political Content
Or Why My Comcast Horror Story Is Better Than Yours
By David Swanson

Most Comcast internet customers seem to have horror stories, but in my humble opinion this one is a doozie and may even suggest threats to freedom of speech more significant than the jailing of a court stenographer.

I'm working on a campaign headquartered at www.afterdowningstreet.org that seeks to draw attention to the Downing Street Minutes and to lobby Congress to open an investigation into whether the President has committed impeachable offenses. According to a recent Zogby poll, 42 percent of Americans favor impeachment proceedings if the President lied about the reasons for war, and according to a recent ABC News / Washington Post poll, 52 percent think he did. But this story is nowhere to be found in the corporate media. So, our website attracts a lot of traffic.

UPDATE (8:05 p.m. ET): AfterDowningStreet.org Co-Founder and Democrats.com President Bob Fertik contacted a number of people this evening in the corporate communications office of Symantec, and they fixed the problem. Fertik issued this statement:

"I want to thank the Symantec Corporation for responding in real time upon being notified that their Bright Mail product was the source of the problem."
___________________________

UPDATE: (6:45 p.m. ET): The manager of Comcast's abuse department now claims that they have a contract with Bright Mail (part of Symantec)and that Bright Mail controls the filter and refuses to lift the blog (claiming to have received 46,000 spam messages with the ADS url in them; but refusing to show us a single such message). Bright Mail also serves OTHER large ISPs, not just Comcast.
___________________________

Any Emails you've sent in the past week that included "www.afterdowningstreet.org" did not reach a lot of people. And the problem is not fixed. You can work around this by leaving the initial www. off the address afterdowningstreet.org.

Plan peaceful protests:

Thursday July 14, 2005
MEHLMAN in Milwaukee, WI * 9:30 AM: Republican National Committee (RNC)Chairman Ken Mehlman will address the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) 96th Annual Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday July 14, 2005. Chairman Mehlman's remarks will reflect the Party's on-going commitment to reaching out to the African American community. [RNC, 7/12/05]

UPDATED* BUSH in Indianapolis, Indiana - 12:45 PM EDT: Bush goes to Indianapolis to address the Indiana Black Expo Corporate Luncheon. Roughly 3,200 will attend the event in the RCA Dome, the largest event of its kind in North America. Bush is expected to discuss economic security, home ownership and ensuring opportunity. The speech is available live at 12:45 p.m. EDT. The group is expected to present the president with a lifetime achievement award. [CNN.com, 7/14/05]

Congressional Town Hall Meetings, Public Forums, Dramatic Recreations, House Parties, Rallies, and Study Circles on July 23, 2005

LINK TO EVENTS PAGE

On July 23, 2005, events around the United States will mark the three-year anniversary of the meeting at #10 Downing Street in London, England, that was recorded in the now infamous minutes known as the "Downing Street Memo."

At least eight events will be hosted by or participated in by Members of Congress, including John Conyers in Detroit, Jim McDermott in Seattle, Barbara Lee in Oakland, Maxine Waters in Los Angeles, and Maurice Hinchey in New York. Congressman Charles Rangel will host an electronic town-hall meeting, answering questions from his New York constituents on the internet, from noon to 1 p.m., July 22. Congressman Xavier Becerra will host an event in Los Angeles on July 30, and Congressman Barney Frank in Boston on July 31.

By United for Peace and Justice

Millions of people in the United States still don’t know about the Downing Street Memo, a secret British government document that provides new and compelling evidence that the Bush Administration deceived and misled the U.S. Congress and the American people about the basis for going to war against Iraq. If true, this conduct constitutes a High Crime under the U.S. Constitution and could provide grounds for the impeachment of the president.

We must insist that our Congressional representatives and the U.S. media investigate and report the truth about the Downing Street Memo and hold the Bush administration accountable for its actions.

Oh, what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what'll you do now, my darling young one?
I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin',
I'll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest,
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty,
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters,
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison,
Where the executioner's face is always well hidden,
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten,
Where black is the color, where none is the number,
And I'll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it,
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it,
Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin',
But I'll know my song well before I start singin',
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Stop the War Coalition London Solidarity Gathering,
2pm, Sunday 17th July, Russell Square London

Jointly organised by Stop the War Coalition and the Muslim Association of Britain. In solidarity with the families of the dead and injured and in opposition to the racism and Islamophobia which have resulted since Thursday's attacks. Please bring flowers and tell others.

Peter Brierley lost his son Shaun in Iraq in 2003
Peter spoke at the vigil held in the gardens of Friends meeting house last Saturday. More than 1000 people attended. This is what he said, “I really empathise with the victims and their families.

Plan a peaceful protest:

Wednesday July 13, 2005
BUSH in Washington, DC - 9:55 AM: President Bush meets with his Cabinet
with focus on budget (mid-session review coming out same day). [White
House, 7/8/05]

NEW* BOLTEN in Washington DC * 11:30 AM: On camera and on the record
briefing by Director of the Office of Management and Budget Joshua
Bolten on the mid-session review of the FY 2006 budget in Room 450,
EEOB. [White House, 7/13/05]

NEW* McCLELLAN in Washington, DC - 12:30 pm: Briefing by the Press
Secretary in the Brady Briefing Room.

NEW* CHERTOFF: Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff speaks on

You're invited to come speak out against Karl Rove's abuse of power and demand that President Bush fire Rove. Join other MoveOn members and members of the community at a peaceful protest and picket, Thursday July 14, at 2:30 PM on Pennsylvania Avenue outside The White House.

Rove betrayed the identity of an undercover CIA operative forcing her to end a decade of important national security work. He did it to protect the Bush political agenda. Now, the White House is covering up this betrayal of our national security. The media is ready to report on public outrage about Rove. Will you show up and speak out?

Fox's Cameron parsed Bush's past statements on the fate of the CIA leaker: Bush "never actually said the word 'fired' "
By Media Matters

Rather than presenting the facts about President Bush's past statements on the fate of administration officials found to have leaked the identity of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame, Fox News chief White House correspondent Carl Cameron claimed that Bush "never actually said the word 'fired.' " In fact, both Bush and White House press secretary Scott McClellan have clearly indicated that if found, the leaker would be fired. But Cameron attributed to "reporters and Democrats" suggestions that senior White House adviser Karl Rove could be fired for his role in outing Plame.

On July 21, Bonifaz will be speaking at Traprock Peace Center in Deerfield, MA. The event, which includes dinner, starts at 5:30 pm ET. Traprock intends on videotaping the talk and featuring it on its website.

On July 22, Bonifaz will give a talk in Great Barrington, MA., at 7:30 p.m. ET in the sanctuary of the First Congregational Church, 251 Main Street. The event is being organized by peace activists in that area. They have also arranged for Bonifaz to do a short interview with WAMC Radio in Albany for July 18 at 9:45 am.

On July 23, Bonifaz will speak at a DSM Day event at 4 pm in Northampton, MA. This event is sponsored by Western Massachusetts members of Progressive Democrats of America. It will be held at the Media Education Foundation, which is housed in the former Northampton fire station.

Back on March 30, a national veterans' organization, Veterans For Peace (VFP), called for the removal of President George W. Bush and Vice-President Richard Cheney for crimes the group charges were committed during the invasion and occupation of Iraq. As more information such as the Downing Street Memo comes forth VFP continues to push for impeachment.

In a letter sent to each member of the U.S. House and Senate, VFP stated that “...This administration’s war on Iraq, in addition to being increasingly unpopular among Americans, is an unmistakable violation of our Constitution and federal law which you have sworn to uphold. In our system, the remedy for such high crimes is clear: this administration must be impeached.

Letter to Bush Sent Today --- President Must Keep National Security a Priority

Washington, DC – Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sent a letter today to President George Bush requesting that he immediately direct Karl Rove’s security clearances be suspended pending the outcome of the government’s investigation into the leak of Valerie Plame’s identity as an undercover agent for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

As reported today in Newsweek, Karl Rove was a confidential source for Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper on the identification of a covert CIA agent. Rove disclosed that Ambassador Joseph Wilson’s trip to Iraq to investigate charges that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Niger was authorized by Mr. Wilson’s wife, a CIA employee working on issues related to weapons of mass destruction. At that time, Valerie Plame, Ambassador Wilson’s wife, was a covert operative with the CIA whose identity as such had not yet been publicly revealed.

Please plan peaceful protests for the following events, and in the meantime ask the White House when Bush will reply to Congressman John Conyers' letter.

president@whitehouse.gov
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461

Tuesday July 12, 2005
NEW* BUSH in Washington, DC - 7:00 AM: Bush meets with Senate leaders
from both parties (Frist/Reid/Specter/Leahy) to discuss SCOTUS.
[CNN.com, 7/11/05; ABCNews.com, 7/11/05]

BUSH in Washington, DC - 9:10 AM: President Bush will welcome Prime

Forty Events on July 23rd

Mourn the Losses, Learn the Truth, and Investigate the Lies

There are currently 40 events planned around the country for Saturday, July 23, the three-year anniversary of the famous meeting on Downing Street. It's definitely not too late to make it 41. Early next week we'll announce these events to the media.

Sign Up to Attend an Event

Sign Up to Host an Event

By Fox 40

Congressman Maurice Hinchey, D-NY, spoke out against the war in Iraq at a community forum last night. The forum was held at Binghamton’s Christ Episcopal Church and focused on a recently leaked Downing Street memo. Hinchey said the memo, printed in Britain’s The Sunday Times, seemed to reveal that American intelligence was manipulated in order to gain public support for the invasion of Iraq. Hinchey fielded questions about the memo and allegations that the Bush administration was intent on war, disregarding the potential consequences. Hinchey avoided questions about whether Bush should be impeached over the issue, but said there is rapidly growing dissent in Congress over the war.

Earlier we posted a guide to doing a dramatic recreation that included a bit of humor. Here's a version that plays it completely straight. Both can be found with additional materials at
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/526

Dramatic Recreation of the Downing Street Meeting

A One Act Play

The Players:
Prime Minister Tony Blair
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
Then Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon
Attorney General Lord Goldsmith
Sir Richard Dearlove, the Chief of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)
Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee John Scarlett
Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, Chief of Defence Staff, head of Britain’s armed forces

In talking about the Downing Street Minutes these days, you may be asked for an opinion about the attacks in London on July 7, 2005. Here are some suggested points to make:

The bombings are completely regrettable and inexcusable. The comments of Fox News commentator Brian Kilmeade that these bombings work to the advantage of the West by focusing us on terrorism as an important issue are disgraceful. It is to no one's advantage for this cycle of violence to spiral further out of control.

But the bombings do remind us that the Bush administration took the focus off Al Qaeda before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and then as quickly as possible took the focus off Al Qaeda again in order to put it on Saddam Hussein, who had no ties to Al Quaeda and played no role in the 9-11 attacks.

Groups around the country will perform this dramatic recreation on July 23. If your group records a good version, please send us the audio.

ACT I

The Players:
Prime Minister Tony Blair – (not much of a speaking role, can be played by a moderately well-behaved poodle)
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
Then Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon
Attorney General Lord Goldsmith
Sir Richard Dearlove, the Chief of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)
Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee John Scarlett

Thursday July 7, 2005

BUSH in Auchterarder, Scotland: President Bush participates in a Working Breakfast with the Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom. [White House, 7/5/05]

BUSH in Auchterarder, Scotland: President Bush attends G-8 summit. [ABC News, 6/22/05, White House, 7/5/05]

ALLEN in Columbia and Greenville County, South Carolina: Sen. George Allen (R-VA) will make his 2nd trip to SC this year. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) will host a fundraising event for him in Columbia and he will headline an event for Wilson afterwards. Allen will also appear at the Greenville County GOPers' "Bronze Elephant" dinner in the evening. [National Journal, 6/29/05]