Urge your Senator to VOTE NO on Gonzales!

[RaulVB]

"Human Rights First" is doing a great job and they want, at least, the same 43 votes NO that Ashcroft got before he was selected.

They think that some Democratic senators may be thinking in vothing YES!

One of them is "our" Nebraska Senator (I forgot his name).

Please, help with this.

Thanks

http://humanrightsfirst.org/

[Pam-Moby]

1. Just called them and left a message again..thanks n/t

[genius]

13. Not good enough. We need a filibuster.

[RaulVB]

15. We'll, let's turn the heat on! (n/t)

[Pam-Moby]

20. Yes we need a filibuster!

Can you get us one please...! :bounce:

[RaulVB]

2. I just called Senator Wyden's office

Left a message. Will call until the day of the vote.

[icehenge]

4. When do they vote?

[RaulVB]

5. Next Tuesday

Is my understanding, at least.

[RaulVB]

3. Kick (n/t)

[Pooka Fey]

6. Done - Senate Blaster in link. Is the vote tomorrow Thurs 1/27?

I thought they said that on Majority Report. Does anybody know for sure when they are voting on Gonzales? Whoo-Hooo this is post #500 for me, and it was something productive. Somebody tell Arnheim! :P

[RaulVB]

7. They have said next week (n/t)

[AlwaysDemocrat]

8. Just wrote to Bayh (n/t)

[Peace Patriot]

9. Senate DEMOCRATS tel, fax, email in DC AND in state offices...

For Republican Senators, go here - middle of the thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x302077

Here's the list of 13 Senators who voted against Condoleeza Rice yesterday:

Boxer (leader of the Heroic 13, absolutely brilliant strategist)
Kennedy (great speech)
Levin (speech)
Byrd (great speech)
Kerry
Reed (RI) (speech)
Durbin (speech)
Dayton (the greatest speech of the day, will live in history)
Akaka
Bayh (speech)
Lautenberg
Harkin
Jeffords (Independent)

Note: Biden, and Harry Reid (NV -minority leader), voted for Rice but did speak eloquently in defense of the Heroic 13, AND in defense of what they said about Rice's lying.

----------

Senate DEMOCRATS of the 109th Congress

(NOTE: Area code 202 is Washington DC; all other tel/fax nos. are the Senator's state offices.)


Akaka, Daniel - (D - HI)
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Honolulu Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Hilo Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

Baucus, Max - (D - MT)
[phone]
[phone] (Fax)
[phone] (from MT)
[phone] (TDD)
(call for other fax nos.)
Billings [phone]
Bozeman [phone]
Butte [phone]
Great Falls [phone]
[phone] (TDD)
Helena [phone]
Kalispell [phone]
Missoula [phone]
Web Form: baucus.senate.gov/emailmax.html


Bayh, Evan - (D - IN)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
http://bayh.senate.gov/LegForm.htm
Web Form: bayh.senate.gov/WebMail1.htm


Biden, Joseph - (D - DE)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]


Bingaman, Jeff - (D - NM)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]


Boxer, Barbara - (D - CA)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
Sacramento [phone]
[phone] fax
San Francisco [phone]
[phone] fax
Los Angeles [phone]
[phone] fax
Fresno [phone] fax
San Diego [phone]
[phone] fax
Inland Empire [phone]
[phone] fax
http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm
Web Form: boxer.senate.gov/contact


Byrd, Robert C. - (D - WV)
[phone]
fax [phone]
West Virginia: 304-342-5855
Web Form: byrd.senate.gov/byrd_email.html
http://byrd.senate.gov/byrd_email.html


Cantwell, Maria - (D - WA)
[phone]
202-228-0514 - FAX
State Offices Toll-free: 1-888-648-7328
Seattle 206-220-6400
206-220-6404 – FAX
Spokane 509-353-2507
509-353-2547 – FAX
Vancouver 360-696-7838
360-696-7844 – FAX
Richland [phone]
[phone] – FAX
Tacoma 253-572-2281
253-572-5879 FAX
Everett 425-303-0114
425-303-8351 FAX
Web Form: cantwell.senate.gov/contact/index.html
http://cantwell.senate.gov


Carper, Thomas - (D - DE)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
Web Form: carper.senate.gov/email-form.html


Clinton, Hillary - (D - NY)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
TTY/TDD: [phone]
New York
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
Albany [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Buffalo [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Rochester [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Lowville [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Hartsdale [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Long Island-Melville [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Web Form: clinton.senate.gov/email_form.html


Conrad, Kent - (D - ND)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
Web Form: conrad.senate.gov/webform.html


Corzine, Jon - (D - NJ)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
FAX: [phone]
(TDD/TTY) (202) 2241984
Newark, New Jersey 07102
[phone]
FAX:[phone]
Barrington, New Jersey 08007
[phone]
FAX: [phone]
Web Form: corzine.senate.gov/contact.cfm


Dayton, Mark - (D - MN)
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
Fort Snelling 612-727-5220
Toll free: 888-224-9043
Fax: [phone]
East Grand Forks 218-773-1110
Fax: [phone]
Biwabik 218-865-4480
Fax: [phone]
Mobile Office 320-905-3007
Web Form: dayton.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm


Dodd, Christopher - (D - CT)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
http://dodd.senate.gov/webmail/form-opinion.html
Web Form: dodd.senate.gov/webmail/


Dorgan, Byron - (D - ND)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
Bismarck, ND 58502
701-250-4618 (phone)
701-250-4484 (fax)
Fargo, ND 58106
701-239-5389 (phone)
701-239-5112 (fax)
Grand Forks, ND 58201
701-746-8972 (phone)
701-746-9122 (fax)
Minot, ND 58701
701-852-0703 (phone)
701-838-8196 (fax)
E-mail: [e-mail]


Durbin, Richard - (D - IL)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
Chicago, IL 60604
[phone]
[phone] - fax
Springfield, IL 62703
(217 ) 492-4062
[phone] - fax
Marion, IL 62959
[phone]
[phone] - fax
http://durbin.senate.gov/sitepages/contact.cfm
Web Form: durbin.senate.gov/sitepages/contact.htm


Feingold, Russell - (D - WI)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
TDD [phone]
(call for other fax nos.)
Middleton [phone]
TDD [phone]
Milwaukee [phone]
La Crosse [phone]
Wausau [phone]
Green Bay [phone]
Web form: http://feingold.senate.gov/contact.html
E-mail: [e-mail]
[e-mail]


Feinstein, Dianne - (D - CA)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
San Diego 619-231-9712
FAX: [phone]
Fresno 559-485-7430
FAX: [phone]
San Francisco 415-393-0707
FAX: [phone]
Los Angeles 310-914-7300
FAX: [phone]
Web Form: feinstein.senate.gov/email.html
http://feinstein.senate.gov/email.html
http://feinstein.senate.gov/

Feinstein Chief of Staff: Mark Kadesh
Feinstein Legislative Director: Peter Cleveland,
Feinstein Communications Director: Howard Gantman


Harkin, Tom - (D - IA)
[phone]
[phone] Fax
[phone] TDD
DES MOINES [phone] Phone
Fax [phone]
DAVENPORT [phone] Phone
Fax [phone]
CEDAR RAPIDS [phone] Phone
Fax [phone]
DUBUQUE [phone] Phone
Fax [phone]
SIOUX CITY [phone] Phone
Fax [phone]
Web Form: harkin.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm


Inouye, Daniel - (D - HI)
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
Honolulu 808-541-2542
Fax: [phone]
Maui- Ryther Barbin, Field Representative
808-242-9702 Fax: [phone]
Hilo -William Kikuchi, Field Representative
808-935-0844 Fax: [phone]
Molokai -William Akutagawa, Field Representative
808-642-0203 Fax: [phone]
Kona -Wayne Tanaka, Field Representative
808-935-0844 Fax: [phone]
Kauai -Ronald Sakoda, Field Representative
808-245-4611 Fax: [phone]
Web Form: inouye.senate.gov/webform.html


Johnson, Tim - (D - SD)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
TDD [phone]
Aberdeen, SD 57401
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
Rapid City, SD 57701
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
*Toll Free from anywhere in South Dakota*:
1-800-537-0025
Web site: http://johnson.senate.gov
Web form: http://johnson.senate.gov/emailform.html


Kennedy, Edward - (D - MA)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
Boston: Tel. [phone]
Web Form: kennedy.senate.gov/contact.html


Kerry, John - (D - MA)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
Boston [phone] - Phone
[phone] – Fax
Springfield 413) 785-4610 - Phone
[phone] – Fax
Fall River [phone] - Phone
[phone] – Fax
Worcester, MA 01608
[phone] – Phone (no fax listed)
http://kerry.senate.gov/low/contact_email.html
Web Form: kerry.senate.gov/bandwidth/contact/email.html


Kohl, Herb - (D - WI)
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
Milwaukee [phone] or
1-800-247-5645 (toll free in Wisconsin)
Fax: [phone]
Madison [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Eau Claire [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Appleton [phone]
Fax: [phone]
La Crosse [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Web Form: kohl.senate.gov/gen_contact.html


Landrieu, Mary - (D - LA)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
New Orleans, LA 70130
Voice: [phone]
Fax:[phone]
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
Voice: [phone]
Fax:[phone]
Shreveport, LA 71101
Voice: [phone]
Fax:[phone]
Lake Charles, LA 70629
Voice: [phone]
Fax:[phone]
Web Form: landrieu.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm


Lautenberg, Frank - (D - NJ)
[phone]
TTY: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Newark [phone]
1-888-398-1642
Fax: [phone]
Camden [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Web Form: lautenberg.senate.gov/webform.html


Leahy, Patrick - (D - VT)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
(call for other fax nos.)
Burlington, VT 05401
Tel [phone]
Montpelier, VT 05602
Tel [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]


Levin, Carl - (D - MI)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
DETROIT [phone]
Fax [phone]
TTY [phone]
TRAVERSE CITY [phone]
Fax [phone]
ESCANABA [phone]
Fax [phone]
SAGINAW [phone]
Fax [phone]
GRAND RAPIDS [phone]
Fax [phone]
WARREN [phone]
Fax [phone]
LANSING [phone]
Fax [phone]
Web Form: levin.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm


Lieberman, Joseph - (D - CT)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
Web Form: lieberman.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm?regarding=issue


Lincoln, Blanche - (D - AR)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
Web Form: lincoln.senate.gov/webform.html


Mikulski, Barbara - (D - MD)
[phone]
202-224-8858 (fax)
202-224-5223 (TDD)
Baltimore 410-962-4510 (phone)
410-962-4760 (fax)
410-962-4512 (TDD)
Annapolis 410-263-1805 (phone)
410-269-1650 (Balt. line)
410-263-5949 (fax)
Greenbelt 301-345-5517 (phone)
301-345-7573 (fax)
Hagerstown 301-797-2826 (phone)
301-797-2241 (fax)
Salisbury410-546-7711 (phone)
410-546-9324 (fax)
Web form: http://mikulski.senate.gov/contactme/mailform.html


Murray, Patty - (D - WA)
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
Seattle [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Everett [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Spokane [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Vancouver [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Tacoma [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Yakima [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Web Form: murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm
http://murray.senate.gov


Nelson, Bill - (D - FL)
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
OrlandoPhone: 407-872-7161
Toll Free in Fla : 1-888-671-4091
Fax: [phone]
Tampa 813-225-7040
Fax: [phone]
Miami-Dade 305-536-5999 Telephone
305-536-5991 Fax
Tallahassee 850-942-8415
Fax: [phone]
West Palm Beach: 561-514-0189
Fax: [phone]
Jacksonville: 904-346-4500
Fax: [phone]
Broward954-693-4851
Fax: [phone]
Fort Myers: 239-334-7760
Fax: [phone]
Web Form: billnelson.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm#email


Nelson, Ben - (D - NE)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
Omaha, NE 68114
T: [phone]
F: [phone]
Lincoln, NE 68508
T: [phone]
F: [phone]
Web Form: bennelson.senate.gov/email.html

Obama, Barack - (D - IL)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
Chicago [phone]
[phone] fax
Springfield [phone]
[phone] fax
Marion [phone]
[phone] fax
Web Form: obama.senate.gov/contact/


Pryor, Mark - (D - AR)
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
Little Rock [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Toll Free from AR:
[phone]
http://pryor.senate.gov/contact/


Reed, Jack - (D - RI)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
Providence, RI 02903-1173
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
TDD [phone]
Cranston, RI 02920-5602
Tel: [phone]
Toll free from in Rhode Island: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Web Form: reed.senate.gov/form-opinion.htm


Reid, Harry - (D - NV)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
Carson City, NV 89701
Phone: [phone] / Fax: [phone]
Las Vegas, NV 89101
Phone: [phone] / Fax: [phone]
Reno, NV 89501
Phone: [phone] / Fax: [phone]
Toll Free for Nevadans: 1-866-SEN-REID (736-7343) -Restricted to from area codes 775 and 702-
Web Form: reid.senate.gov/email_form.cfm


Rockefeller, John - (D - WV)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
(call for other fax nos.)
Beckley WV [phone]
Charleston [phone]
Fairmont [phone]
Martinsburg [phone]
Email: [e-mail]


Salazar, Ken - (D - CO)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
campaign: http://www.salazarforcolorado.com/get_involved/contact_us.html
[e-mail],
[e-mail],
[e-mail],
[e-mail],


Sarbanes, Paul - (D - MD)
[phone]
FAX: [phone]
Baltimore [phone]
FAX: [phone]
TDD: [phone]
Eastern Shore [phone]
FAX: [phone]
Silver Spring [phone]
FAX: [phone]
Bryans Road [phone]
FAX: [phone]
Cumberland [phone]
FAX: [phone]
Web Form: sarbanes.senate.gov/pages/email.html


Schumer, Charles - (D - NY)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
TDD: 202-224-0420
New York, NY 10017
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
TDD: 212-486-7803
Albany, NY 12207
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Long Island - Melville, NY 11747
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Buffalo, NY 14202
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Rochester, NY 14614
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Syracuse, NY 13261-7318
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Hudson Valley - Red Hook, NY 12571
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Web Form: schumer.senate.gov/webform.html


Stabenow, Debbie - (D - MI)(Michigan)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
TTY: [phone]
(call for other fax nos.)
East Lansing [phone]
Detroit [phone]
Grand Rapids [phone]
Flint [phone]
Marquette [phone]
Traverse [phone]
Web Form: stabenow.senate.gov/email.htm
e-mail: [e-mail]


Wyden, Ron - (D - OR)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
(call for other fax nos.)
Portland 503-326-7525
Eugene 541-431-0229
http://wyden.senate.gov/contact/
Web Form: wyden.senate.gov/contact.html
(Note: Web form limits address to ORE; just put your state in after your town)

---000

(Jeffords voted against Rice yesterday. Dole and Snowe did not, and, though they do not balk at 100,000 Iraqis slaughtered, they might balk at the torture of prisoners and the danger of torture for captured US troops)

Jeffords, James - (I - VT)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
(call for other fax nos.)
Montpelier [phone] (Vermont only: 800-835-5500)
Burlington 658-6001 (Vermont only 800-835-5500
Rutland [phone] (Vermont only 800-835-5500)
http://jeffords.senate.gov/contact-form.html
Web Form: jeffords.senate.gov/contact-form.html


Dole, Elizabeth - (R - NC)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
Web Form: dole.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactInformation.ContactForm


Snowe, Olympia - (R - ME)
[phone]
Fax [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

----

TOOLS
Congress contact info. (click on each state, all Sen's & House, tel/fax/web site)
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress /

Congress direct send email (only to YOUR reps):
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/cgi-bin/mailform2.cgi?site=ctc

Senate (has list of all, email webform, DC tel, & snail mail address)
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Media Blaster
http://www.independentmediasource.com/voteintegrity2_12.htm

Re: Media Blaster. Just cut and paste each set of media emails into your email program, and compose your own message. Don't need to use the given message at that page.

[darkworkz]

14. *RUMOR!* Take this with a grain of salt!! Grain of SALT!!

I heard today that Feinstein was voting against Gonzales. Apparently some powerful coalition of unions in California are quite upset with her over the Rice issue. They've ALLEGEDLY contacted her office and declared their intent to withdraw support in her upcoming election.

As I've stated, take the above with a grain of salt.

If she does come out against Gonzales it's really a 'johnny come lately' move that's "safe" to make. She's already shown which side of the punch bowl she's drinking out of. Ask Condo'lieza.

[Helga Scow Stern]

21. She already voted against him in Senate Judiciary Committee,

but she said there shouldn't be a filibuster against him.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6871426/

[Helga Scow Stern]

22. Some have already voted against him in Senate Judiciary comittee

It was 8 Dems no to 10 Repubs (all?) yes.

Among these were Feinstein and Biden.

Who else was there?

[RaulVB]

10. Kick (n/t)

[RaulVB]

11. Kick (n/t)

[RaulVB]

12. Kick (n/t)

[RaulVB]

16. Maria Cantwell (Washington St.) WILL VOTE NO (n/t)

[suffragette]

54. Sen. Patty Murray from WA state is also voting no

She just put a letter about it up on her website today:
http://murray.senate.gov/news.cfm?id=231221

[minorjive]

17. more reasons to object to Gonzales - voting rights

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x305320

[BernieBear]

18. Kick

[Catamount]

19. Kick!

[RaulVB]

23. Kick (n/t)

[RaulVB]

24. Kick (n/t)

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[googly]

26. Gonzales will be voted in with democratic senators help because

they are afraid of a backlash from hispanic voters. It is the same
reason 32 democratic senators voted for Condi....did not want to
upset black voters.

This Bush person is very cunning. He is nominating minority people
left and right, which is undercutting our base. I can almost bet the
nominee for the next supreme court justice will be a minority person.

[RaulVB]

27. I'm Hispanic

You don't have a clue about what you're saying.

WE ARE NOT PROUD OF HAVING A TORTURE ENABLER AS US AG.

[googly]

29. Just look at the 2004 election data for hispanics

Bush garnered a lot higher percentage of hispanic votes.
I am guessing every hispanic does not think like you.

[RaulVB]

30. You're looking at the WRONG DATA (if any at all)

"*" "Hispanic magic" has been debunked, completely.

Nice try.

G'day

[googly]

31. Thank you and good day to you too. Actually, I did have

Actually I had a wonderful day today, played 9 holes of golf
with my wife, since it was her day off, and then we had lunch
at out favorite restaurant. The sun came out a few times which is
always nice here in Washington state, and can't bitch about 50 deg
weather in January.

[Peace Patriot]

47. There is no question they are playing the race card...

...I saw them trot out Andy Young--of all people, what a disgrace!--and black women's promotion activist C. Dolores Tucker, in support of Rice, and I heard Republicans mention her African American rags to riches story, and her African American heritage, dozens of times last week--the bloody hypocrites! (You see this morning where CBC asked Bush about the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and he said he didn't know anything about it?)

It's clear that neither African Americans nor Hispanics buy this crap. They are the smartest voters in the country (that's why Pukes work so hard to suppress their vote!). But that doesn't mean the Bush Cartel isn't trying.

I think the criminal Oil Cartel has gone to some trouble to recruit and mentor a few minority front people (Kenneth Blackwell comes to mind as well), just as southern slave owners recruited certain slaves to live in the big house, wear nice clothes, eat well, and work as house servants (as opposed to working in the back-breaking cotton fields), so that the house slaves would identify with their Masters, not only to have free labor for pampering lazy white southern aristocrats, but to help keep the field slaves in line.

Condoleeza Rice was mentored by none other than George Schultz, Grand Dragon of the Bush Coup. (He's the one who met with Schwarzenegger and Ken Lay to plan installation of Schwarzenegger as governor of CA, partly to prevent CA A.G. Bill Lockyer from continuing lawsuit against Enron et al, to get CA's $10 billion back from these thieves.) I don't know who Gonzales and Blackwell were mentored by, but I'm sure it was quite deliberate grooming to establish a few minority figures as the BushCon minions and enforcers.

I was just disgusted to see Andy Young going along with this. I risked my privileged white hide to help insure HIS and other blacks' safety and right to full citizenship in the civil rights struggle in Georgia and Alabama in 1965, and to see him toadying up to Bush now makes me extremely unhappy.

The tack that Young and Tucker took (Bill Frist (!) had them in tow, in a media interview during the Rice debate!) was that Condoleeza Rice should be approved BECAUSE SHE IS A BLACK WOMAN, and this was the highest office a BLACK WOMAN had achieved in the US!

The architect of the deaths of over 100,000 innocent Iraqis! And all that matters to them is that she is a black woman?

Andy, what have you become?

[RaulVB]

28. Kick (n/t)

[mousie]

32. done... kick!

[feelthebreeze]

33. just got this terrific activism email

==================================================

URGENT ALERT: Torture Issue: Our calls might turn Senate around

==================================================



http://www.actionstudio.org/public/page_view_all.cfm?option=begin&pageid=5871&tmode=0

Dear Friends,

I met yesterday with a couple of people in Washington who have been
working with religious and
human rights organizations on the issue of torture, and its bearing
on whether the Senate should
confirm Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General.

As things stand, there will be a day of floor debate next week and
the vote of the Senate as a whole
will come on Thursday NEXT WEEK. So action is URGENTLY needed.

The Washington folks (and I) were greatly encouraged by the 10-8 vote
of the Senate Judiciary
Committee in favor of confirming Mr. Gonzales. We were encouraged
because when the President
first nominated Mr. Gonzales, it looked as if there might be no No
votes at all. Just a few weeks
ago, when the hearings began, it looked as if there would just three
Noes. Getting a floor debate is
itself a big victory; originally the Administration's hope was a
speedy, costless OK.

Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, chair of the Judiciary Committee,
voted for the nomination
despite the visit by and earnest discussion he had with eight
Philadelphia rabbis, and a letter from
21 Philadelphia rabbis. Had he voted No, the committee would have
been tied and no
recommendation would have come from it to the Senate.

Senator Specter's Yes was an unfortunate and saddening abdication of
his own role as guardian of
the law and the Constitution, in favor of partisan considerations of
backing the President.

Yet there is still a chance, I was told, to give Senator Specter an
out for moving in a new direction -
and not only him, but a number of other Republican Senators (not just
the so-called "moderates")
who are very uneasy about Mr. Gonzales' views.

That out is insisting that Mr. Gonzales' nomination not be voted on
by the Senate but returned to
Committee until crucial documents are supplied to the Senate about
how he decided to recommend
to the President that he has the authority to abandon the rule of
law, annul the Geneva Conventions,
shield lawbreakers from prosecution, and authorize the use of torture
by US forces and even worse,
the "rendition" of US prisoners to other countries known to use the
most brutal conceivable forms
of torture.

Those documents are necessary to make an objective, not partisan,
decision, about Mr. Gonzales.

So I urge that we all do ONE of the following:

1) Call Senator Specter's office in Washington at 202/224-4254
and urge him to vote to return
the Gonzales nomination to the Judiciary Committee until those
documents behind the pro-torture,
pro-unconstitutional expansion of Presidential power are supplied to
the Committee;

OR

2) FAX or Email Senator Specter at 202/228-1229 or
[e-mail] your
own letter expressing your sadness that he voted to confirm Mr.
Gonzales and urging that he vote to
return the nomination to Committee until these crucial documents can
be secured from the
Administration.
Click here:
http://www.actionstudio.org/public/page_view_all.cfm?option=begin&pageid=5871&tmode=0

OR

3) Call or write your own Senator to urge him or her to oppose
confirming Mr. Gonzales and
insist that this crucial information be made available to the Senate.
You can call 202/ 224-3121 and
ask for your own Senator, or click here:
http://www.actionstudio.org/public/page_view_all.cfm?option=begin&pageid=5871&tmode=0


If your Senator is a Democrat, urge an outright vote to reject Mr.
Gonzales' nomination. If your
Senator is a Republican, tangled in party politics, urge s/he demand
the documents and hold up the
nomination till they are produced.

We are offering brief model letters you can modify to make your own.
We also suggest drawing on
a powerful letter that Rabbis for Human Rights/ North America has
sent every Senator, drawing on
Jewish teachings. It is now the lead story on our Website Click here:

http://www.shalomctr.org

Two questions that people have raised: --

First: Shouldn't we avoid focusing on a person and focus on the issue
of torture instead? Isn't
focusing on a person partisan? Wasn't the vote by eight Democrats
against the nomination a
partisan act?

Two answers:

a) The specific people who make up a government matter. Remember
the furor in 1999 over
whether the far-right Austrian politician Joerg Haider should be
invited to join the Austrian
cabinet? The government of Israel threatened to cut diplomatic ties
with Austria if Mr Haider
joined the cabinet, and the European Union threatened sanctions
against Austria. Abstract
opposition to anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism was of course not enough.
The person mattered. Here
also.

b) If the Democrats had been responding out of partisanship, they
would have voted to confirm
Mr. Gonzales because they have been anxiously courting the Hispanic
vote. It is those Senators
who suppressed their own qualms to vote FOR the nomination in order
to support their party's
President who were voting for partisan reasons.

Second question: Why take on what is sure to be a losing battle?

Also two answers:

a) It's no longer so certain (though still probable) that it will
be a losing battle. Already we have
won much more than seemed possible a few weeks ago: eight No votes in
Committee, and a
reluctant agreement by the Senate leadership to a real debate about
Mr. Gonzales that will be the
first Congressional debate about torture.

b) Even if we cannot totally derail the nomination, we can build
support for the future, just as the
religious right spent years campaigning around their issues, only to
be defeated time after time --
building their defeats into a long-range mass movement.

Religious and spiritual communities ought to be especially able to
stand firm for what is right, even
when defeated. Think of the histories of Judaism, Christianity,
Islam. Think of the history of
abolitionism, Black struggles in the South, the struggles of women
for equality.

The Roman general Pyrrhus said after a bloody victory in battle, "One
more such victory, and I am
undone!" Such "triumphs" became known as "Pyrrhic victories." I am
suggesting we should with
care and courage be taking on issues that are profoundly in touch
with the Spirit - like the abolition
of torture. We should accept momentary "Pyrrhic defeats"; and we
should say, "One more, two
more, ten more such defeats, and we will transform our country to the good!"

Aside from the original memo, has Gonzales done anything wrong? His
responses to Judiciary
Committee questions about the actuality of torture were evasive, full
of "I don't remember" in
regard to a very important and unprecedented memo he gave the
President (a surprising thing to
forget) and in regard to memos he received about torture from lawyers
in the Justice Department.

And in the hearings he explicitly repeated the Bush Administration's
assertion that the Geneva
Conventions do not apply to people the Administration unilaterally
labels "enemy combatants"
rather than POW's

Even worse, he has not been willing to repudiate the definition of
torture that was so extreme that
most forms of torture would be permitted.

The torture carried out by US soldiers was not only at Abu Ghraib but
also at Guantanamo, in
Afghanistan, and in many Iraqi locations - plus foreign prisons to
which the US has "rendered"
prisoners for the worst forms of torture. And the methods used were
not "only" the humiliations we
saw at Abu Ghraib, but beatings to death, near drownings (repeated on
the same prisoners again
and again), inserting burning matches into prisoners' ears, and the
use of electric shock.

FBI agents who witnessed what was happening at Guantanamo were
horrified, and called it illegal.
So did the International Red Cross.

Enough. No one who was willing to permit all this is worthy to become Attorney
General. PLEASE SAY SO.

Shalom, Arthur



******************************************************
We draw on the spiritual wisdom of Jewish and other traditions
to challenge the pharaohs of our generation ñ-
unaccountable corporate and governmental power,
and our own blind habits, overwork, arrogance, and envy --
and to seek peace, justice, compassion, and healing of the earth.

Our postal address is
6711 Lincoln Drive
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19119
United States

[RaulVB]

34. I hope you don't mind, I'll use your post to open a more visible thread

Thanks.

[RaulVB]

35. Kick (n/t)

[RaulVB]

36. Kick (n/t)

[drummer55]

37. What to expect from our elected federal officals

This has been my mantra for a while.
It was nice to see this posting from someone else dealing with a senator and I wanted to share it.





"GOVERNMENT OF, FOR, AND BY THE PEOPLE"
by Don Barletta http://tinyurl.com/4ojd9

1/27/05, Thursday, 11am ET:

I just completed a 10 minute phone call with Senator
Rick Santorum's office. I phoned to ask if they keep
a tally of the amount of calls they receive on any
particular issue, and I was specifically interested in
any constituent input his office had received
regarding the vote to confirm the nomination of Condi
Rice. She told me that they did have that information,
but it could not be released to me, as it was for
their internal use only. After she put me on hold
three times when she would not answer my simple
repeated question, my call was transferred to a
Santorum staffer named Josh.

First Josh told me that yes, they do keep a tally.
Then Josh told me that they keep a tally, but they
only do so after the fact, after the vote. Then Josh
told me that they have a good idea as to how much
constituent input they receive, and which way the
constituent input is leaning, either for or against.
But then Josh told me that they discount a lot of the
constituent input, if they believe that it was
generated by any activism organization of any type.
Then Josh told me that while the Senator does ask him
(Josh) which way the will of the people is leaning, he
told me that that does not determine the Senator's
vote. He told me that the Senator votes "his"
conscience, "his" opinion, and "his" will, and not the
will of the people.

So I again asked him if he would tell me if he knew
whether the will of the people was in favor of, or
against, voting for the confirmation of Condi Rice. He
told me that the constituent input that the Senator's
office received; that the people were strongly in
favor of voting against her confirmation.

Of course Senator Santorum voted in favor of her
confirmation.

So I switched the topic slightly, and asked Josh for
his opinion of government of, for, and by the people.
I told him that I thought that the Senator was
supposed to represent the will of the people. I asked
him what quantity of input or preponderance of demand
on one side of an issue would encourage the Senator to
vote accordingly. I asked "what if the Senator had
received one million requests, and that 90% of them
were against her confirmation?"

Josh told me that while that would be significant,
that the Senator would still vote his own conscience.
I again asked about the part of representation being
"of, for, and by the people." Josh told me that if I
were to ask the Senator that personally, that the
Senator would tell me that the U.S. is not a
democracy, but rather a Republic, and while the will
of the people might be of consideration, it is
subordinate to the will of the Senator. Then he told
me that if I don't like that, too bad, and that my
only option is at the voting booth in the next
election.

Having written letters, sending emails, and
telephoning my and other Senators, my Congressman, the
President, and the Vice President - and those contacts
totaling well over 1,000 in just the last 8 months
alone - I can tell you that Senator Santorum is
endemic of a much larger problem.

And that is, with VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS, no one in
government is listening to the people. No one. They
are just doing what they want. And if you don't know
by now that our government is taking America down the
toilet, then you are either a victim of government
psyops brainwashing, media collusion, or you are
simply disinterested or uninformed.

If you are aware of what our government is up to, and
you are doing nothing, then get up off your ass, and
do something. It doesn't take much time, very little
effort, and certainly no cost to email or toll-free
phone a politician. If you know better, and are doing
nothing, it is inexcusable.

It is time for all of us to rise up, start screaming,
and bombard the government and media with our demands.
Will that achieve anything? I don't know. But I hope
so. So excuse me while I go write yet another letter,
and make another phone call.

C2005 -- Don Barletta 1/27/05

[RaulVB]

38. Kick (n/t)

[RaulVB]

39. Kick (n/t)

[GetTheRightVote]

40. Thank you for the posting, sent NO message to senators

If they are righteous human beings they should not, will not vote yes for Gonzales.

:kick:

[Proud_Lefty]

41. Isn't this the time to recruit our republican senators?

How many "high moral" senators want to be labelled as enforcers of torture? Last week was the first time I sent emails to our Republican senators, upon hearing their attacks on the senators asking for accountability of Condoleezza Rice. I fought hard to reach a conscience in those emails, if they actually might own one. I think we'll have all democratic votes against Gonzalez. We need to encourage our Republican senators to see the advantage of an against vote and save their careers.

[Lugnut]

42. Sen Specter heard from me

I might be spitting in the wind but he can't say nobody urged him to oppose the appointment.

[andyg]

53. Specters vote!

He is expected to vote for it because of his relaxed feelings with regard to bush. While he has at times stood up against bushs plans he regularly loves with the party and many people expect him to this time too.

[RaulVB]

43. Kick (n/t)

[RaulVB]

44. Vote is tomorrow, apparently (n/t)

[Vadem]

46. Vote is 10:45 am tomorrow on Gonzales....I called both my

Repub Senators, Warner and Allen, and urged them to vote no on the torture man, stating that it will take centuries to get our reputation back from the actions of this man.

[RaulVB]

45. Kick (n/t)

[Peace Patriot]

48. Arlen Specter on C-Span2 right now in the Senate...

http://www.c-span.org/watch/cspan2_rm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS2

...not sure what this is. Confirmation hearing? He seems to be speaking in the Senate. This may be the main debate. Not sure. Anybody know?

It says:

C-SPAN2
Attorney General Confirmation Hearing Part 1

[SaveAmerica]

49. thanks for that info, should it be a thread of its own? nt

[Peace Patriot]

50. Yup, this is it. Leahy speaking now. Feinstein next.

Looks like Leahy is voting against.

[electropop]

51. Just wrote both of mine.

"I am writing to urge Senator _____ to vote against Alberto Gonzales. This man has disgraced America by providing legal advice which led to the atrocities at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. We cannot afford to have a pro-torture Attorney General."

[Peace Patriot]

52. GO HERE for new thread on Gonzales debate...

...occurring in the Senate NOW:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=312298

TO WATCH THE DEBATE:

http://www.c-span.org/watch/cspan2_rm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS2

[Peace Patriot]

55. GO HERE for ACTION INFO as of TODAY (end of 1st day of debate):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x312962