The international wing

[zipplewrath]

I'm sensing a bit of domestic bias in the group. I think there is some international content to a populist position. Mostly having to do with peace, and the use of the State Department for diplomacy and to address international relations, instead of having them be the advocate for military intervention.

[F4lconF16]

1. I agree.

We should also advocate for foreign aid that works on small and local levels. My mother grew up overseas, and in her experience (and everything I've read backs it up) small projects that help foster local economies and empower women and girls have more effect than almost anything else in combating poverty and oppression.

[Eleanors38]

2. I noticed this as well when compiling everyone's

wish list. Please keep the discussion going.

[L0oniX]

3. War is easy. Peace is hard.

[Maedhros]

4. "If something is to hard to do, then it's not worth doing."

- Secretary of State Homer Simpson.

[demwing]

5. The Lesson is...

[KoKo]

6. And, there's so much going on Internationally that we don't see

in our Corporate MSM.

There are protests all over Europe about "Austerity" because their banks need bailing out as tail-end after effect of the Great Wall Street Banking Meltdown has spread (or was not addressed quickly enough) in the Eurozone. Fracking has become a huge issue and Environmental concerns are rising along with the high Unemployment of their youth.

Britain's National Health Service is being cut and Privatization of Government Services is on the rise. Italy and Greece have continual protests and even in Germany there are protests because the immigrant workers feel they are working for less pay and denied the health benefits and rights of their German counterparts.


We don't see CNN/FAUX/MSNBC connecting the dots that there are protests all over the world with people angry over Environmental Degradation, lack of Job Opportunities for the youth, Exploitation of Worker's and the attempted Privatization of Utilities, Water & land use.

[KoKo]

7. Kucinich's "Department of Peace"....

People laughed at it. But, given what's going on since he proposed it ...not crazy.

When did our State Department start to promote War instead of Diplomacy? There really isn't any counteraction to the powr of the Pentagon, NSA, CIA and even FBI (who apparently can now aid in foreign affairs).

Why are our National Guard being deployed overseas? And even to fight the so-called "War on Ebola."

[zipplewrath]

8. We need to reclaim diplomacy

The GOP literally has no use for diplomacy and have co-opted the State Department into a division of the Defense department. This goes beyond war, it goes into a wide variety of aspects including our treatment of people requesting passports, our use of the UN, our participation in various international initiatives. We don't aren't using the State Department to ENGAGE the world, we're using it to CONFRONT the world. We need to reclaim the State Department for diplomacy.

Truth is, we need to be engaging the "bad people" in the world not through our Defense department, but more generally through the DoJ. We need to be "arresting" and putting people on trial, even if that is in the Hague. We need to wage law enforcement vastly more than we are waging war.

If you plan for war and hope for peace, generally you'll get war. We need to start the long range planning for peace. That means starting the kinds of traditions the warriors have created. We need the diplomacy academy where young people can get a college education by committing to 6 years of service in the State Department. We need a section of Arlington for the people who lose their lives in service to their country WITHOUT gun on their shoulder. We need for politicians to wear their
State Department service on their sleeves, just as warriors do when running for public office.

The Peace Corp should be part of the State Department. Truth is, the Ebola crisis should be addressed through a State Department office that looks a bit like Doctors Without Borders. They should have a "policing" section that could go into countries immediately after revolutions and establish order and train an indigenous population to police themselves.

We need to engage our world through our State Department. The Defense Department needs to stay home more.

[sabrina 1]

9. I agree with that. The Group is new though and before we can do anything about Peace abroad, we

have to get people elected who will no longer support the Neocon policies that have been place for so long.

That is probably why there is so much focus on the national issue of rebuilding the Democratic Party. We alone can't do much, we certainly have tried over the years to stop the War Machine, to no avail.

First things first, get a real Democratic Congress who support the idea of International Peace, who support the Geneva Conventions, who oppose War Mongering for Profit, Drones, etc, and then we can begin to actually do something about it.

[zipplewrath]

11. International policy is domestic policy

International policy affects all manner of "domestic" issues including things like global warming, workers rights, gender equality, civil rights.....

A reduced international commitment of our military "footprint" will adjust expenditures and refocus us upon national infrastructure.

[demwing]

10. Kicked & Rec'd /nt