Great job guys! Though I'm surprised his house didn't look more like this:

From the event.

Also, if you like this video, please vote it up. Thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfyEr-gsD0U

The "media's" coverage of this for the most part has been horrendous. However, WaPo posted some nice pics.

to going to the most putrid places on earth...the CIA and Dick Cheney's house. All we can say is thanks. We are so sickened by these people and organizations, and their lawless, despicable actions.

Nice work Jon. Next time try to include his infamous answer to the question "Do the Orders Still Stand?" which was of course asked of Dick Cheney on 9/11 in the bunker beneath the White House. As I am sure you know, Cheney was directing the US military response to the hijackings and was receiving regular reports on the approach of American Airlines Flight 77 to the Pentagon during its last 50 miles. As reported to the 9/11 Commission by Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, Cheney said yes, the orders still stand, and Flight 77 slammed into the Pentagon without any meaningful response from the military. That Cheney was never questioned about this is a disgrace. The 9/11 Commission let him off the hook totally, which was as much an act of betrayal as Cheney's failure to act.

JAIL IS MORE POWERFUL THAN ARREST
Anyone wishing a copy of Gandhi’s writings about jail should contact me.
dslesinger@alum.mit.edu 410-499-5403

My message here is that the American peace movement does not deserve to achieve its goals. I want us to. The innocent people my country slaughters deserve to live, but we peace activists don’t deserve success.

It pains me to have to protest this event, but it is NOT acceptable to suppress discussion of Gandhian style resistance. I have been trying for months to engage Cindy Sheehan on the finer aspects of nonviolence to no avail. Because Cindy is organizing both POTA in March and this anti-drone action today, I choose to make this stand now. I attended this past Wednesday’s presentation with Ray McGovern at Busboys and Poets in DC. I held a sign quietly and raised my hand during Q & A to no avail. Robbie Diesu agreed to let me join the monthly POTA call. He deserves praise for that.

I don’t mind if people I do politics with disagree with me, and I don’t mind deferring to others on important issues, as long as I get a real chance to offer my view of the truth. I still would be VERY hesitant to protest an action if the suppression wasn’t of the ideas of Mohandas K Gandhi.

I am a veteran of the mass direct actions against the Seabrook NH nuclear power station 1977-80. It involved terrible infighting, but in contrast to POTA, all major views were represented. Also, I will never hear me criticize Cindy, or anyone, without giving some praise.

The action Peace of the Action that Cindy has called has the potential to be the most daring protest in decades.

I‘m hesitant to allow it to proceed without showing how it can be stronger.There isn't intrinsically wrong with putting one’s body in the way. However,if the organizers sanction efforts to avoid arrest, IT WILL BE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO ASSURE NONVIOLENT DISCIPLINE. If on the other hand, POTA were to see its goal as filling the jails, success is much easier to attain.

I’ll bet most people in attendance today do not even believe they are ignoring Gandhi’s ideas.

There are some very impressive people speaking today. I wonder if one of them will agree with me that the people who work at the CIA are to be seen as brothers and sisters, profoundly misguided brothers and sisters, but brothers and sisters nonetheless. Gandhi was actually concerned with the spiritual advancement of his adversaries. You can imagine that this could be too much for most activists. However, if understanding of Gandhian resistance is kept from POTA participants, our most daring activists will never see how they can be more daring.

Please note: from the perspective of the average non-activist citizen, the difference between Gandhian resistance and POTA sanctioned civil resistance is insignificant. Practitioners of nonviolent resistance should know better and make more thoughtful choices.

Practitioners of civil resistance are polite to everyone (no small feat) but try ONLY to appeal to their supporters. Practitioners of Gandhian resistance appeal to neutrals and adversaries as misguided brothers and sisters.

Civil resisters do show up in court when arrested and do serve their time if sentenced, but they believe they should minimize their suffering usually by pleading not guilty and seeking mercy. Gandhian resistance sees value in serving time to touch the hearts of their adversaries.

Civil resisters believe that they deserve to minimize or avoid sentence because their message is a service to the community. This is not as fairly described as holding oneself above the law as those who give phony names or do not appear for trial. Nevertheless, it is closer to holding oneself above the law than Gandhians, who believe that the power of nonviolence has something to do with suffering to touch the hearts of the adversaries rather that simply risking making a personal sacrifice.

Civil resisters resent the time they serve in jail. Gandhian resisters know they are duty bound to serve their time cheerfully, where the issue focused on is not THEIR suffering but the issue at hand.

Civil resisters seek victory rather than truth. I saw those who were arrested with Cindy at the White House in September 2005 say in court that they had not been protesting. A legal ploy was made to claim to be only asserting their first amendment rights. I consider that less than fully truthful. They could exercise those rights lots of places. The feds have rules, which when analyzed can be openly and nonviolently broken. Gandhian resisters use satyagraha which is best defined as holding fast to the truth or putting their whole weight on the truth.

It is important that our resistance minimize the heat and maximize the light. No one, even those who anonymously support our adversaries, and especially those who are neutrals, should be personally afraid of us. Protesting at someone’s house might be done with love, but is harder to achieve than at a public building. Our challenge is moral more than physical. Since strong nonviolence requires sacrifice, we should consider serving time to avoid being lame.

I believe advocates of civil resistance CAN work with advocates of Gandhian resistance. I’ve recently heard Cindy herself assert that POTA does not see itself as being above the law, a very good sign. I’ve also heard Cindy recently say she may have to serve a longer sentence, another excellent sign. There are likely to be fewer adherents to Gandhian resistance than to civil resistance, at least in the beginning, but POTA should make it possible for the most daring form of resistance to arise from its deliberations, even if it arises at some later action.

American peace activists in general have differed from Gandhian approaches for decades. One of the foremost Gandhian advocates, Narayan Desai, son of Mahadev Desai, Gandhi’s secretary, recounts a Vietnam War era experience. He was at a peace event in the US when it was announced someone had gotten a multiyear jail sentence for burning his draft card. Narayan Desai was going to applaud when he was surprised to hear the Americans boo and hiss. He also has recounted that when his father would leave to serve jail time his family would say,” Maybe next time you’ll get a longer sentence.”

Americans love to quote Gandhi while ignoring his real wisdom. Let me leave you with my favorite Gandhi quote,” The satyagrahi enters the jail cell as the bridegroom enters the bridal chamber.”

©David Slesinger 2010
David Slesinger dslesinger@alum.mit.edu
911courage.org
911courage.blogspot.com
Stop-Martial-Law.com
JenningsMystery.com
YourCowardiceIsBelowYou.com
443-682-8725

Apathy Supports the Status Quo

I think we citizens need to do what the corporate media is afraid to do, and that is just what Jon Gold and Sheehan did, get in Cheney's face, so to speak. The so called bringer of democracy to Iraq is afraid to meet the people. As far as questions, I'd ask him why it was so important to him to keep his energy task for so secret. I'd ask him what he thought the meaning of conflict of interest is in the context of the energy task force meeting lawsuit going to the Supreme Court and him going hunting with Opus Dei Anton Scalia while the case was before the Supreme Court. I'd ask him about conflict of interest in the context of his relationship with Halliburton and direct awarding contracts and seizing Caspian Sea oil and gas routes and Iraq oil fields.

I think we need to send a message to these cretins that there is no place to hide in this world. Dick Cheney also has a house near Teton Village, in Jackson, Wyoming, the locals know where it is. This would be another good place to march for truth and leave some information papers and placards. I suppose everybody here has already seen the video about the guy yelling at GW Bush in the Pizza Parlor, last week, called him a murderer and was still cussing a streak when he was shown the door by the secret service, that we pay for, by the way. People need to get in the faces of these criminals just like the paparazi gets in the face of celebrities even though they are only guily of being celebrities, not for mass murder and for lying us into war and for stealing natural resources to sell on the global market.

Anybody know where Zalamy Khalizad lives, look up his bio on Wikkipedia, he's central to this 9-11 issue.

Good job Jon.