The New York Times
June 13, 2005
One Nation, Uninsured
By Paul Krugman
Harry Truman tried to create a national health insurance system.
Public opinion was initially on his side: Jill Quadagno's book "One
Nation, Uninsured" tells us that in 1945, 75 percent of Americans
favored national health insurance. If Truman had succeeded, universal
coverage for everyone, not just the elderly, would today be an
accepted part of the social contract.
Go to the times to read complete article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/13/opinion/13krugman.html?hp
Poets Against War on the "The Downing Street Memo"
Poets Against War has a new, expanded web site. We hope you will find the Newsletter useful and will contribute to an expanding Poetry Matters section.
In the days immediately ahead, we urge you to inform yourselves and join with us in helping the American Civil Liberties Union bring an end to the pernicious Patriot Act. Bush wants to enlarge upon the Patriotic Act and make it permanent, in clear violation of our Constitutional rights. The vote comes next month.
Also, please take time to read and respond to Barbara Bowen's message below.
Namaste.
Sam Hamill
Director
from: Barbara Bowen, Poetry Matters Editor
Dear Friends:
On May 1, The Times of London printed the text of "The Downing Street Memo, " a document containing meeting minutes transcribed during a meeting
between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Pres. Bush on July 23, 2002—eight months PRIOR to the invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003.
These minutes indicate that Bush and Blair were determined to invade Iraq for the purpose of regime change, that they knew regime change was illegal, making manipulation of events and communications necessary. There
was an uproar in the UK in response to the release of the memo, but the media in the U.S. has been almost silent, and the Administration has refused
to respond to requests from Congress and citizens to account for the contents of the memo.
Rep. John Conyers, (D-MI), who stood up against the voting fraud in Ohio (and who supported us when we delivered 13,000 poems against this war to Congress two 1/2 years ago), is organizing a response to press the Administration on The Downing Street Memo. Conyers has called for at least 500,000 people to sign a petition that he will present to the White House this Thursday, June 16. *498,000
people have signed so far. Please add your name to help reach the goal of 500,000.*
REQUESTED ACTIONS:
• Please follow this link and add your name to the Conyers' petition:
http://www.downingstreetmemo.com
• Please contact your Congressional representatives and urge them to add their name to the 89 Congressional representatives who have already signed a petition demanding accountability from the White House.
"Downing Street Memo" - Action Alert
Action Alert: Organize July 23 “Downing Street Memo” Anniversary Events
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.
Saturday, July 23 is the three-year anniversary of the meeting between high-level U.S. and British officials that the Downing Street Memo summarizes. According to the memo, “Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.”
Is the U.S. public is ever to learn about the existence of the Downing Street Memo, it will be because we—the people who opposed the war from the very beginning—shine a spotlight on it through our actions and persistence. Please join United for Peace and Justice by taking action on July 23.
TAKE ACTION – ORGANIZE TOWN HALL MEETINGS AND HOUSE PARTIES ON SATURDAY, JULY 23
Several Congress Members have agreed to host events in their home districts on July 23, the third anniversary of the famous meeting on Downing Street. On that day, all over the country, there will be town hall meetings, dramatic readings of the Downing Street Minutes, study circles, and house parties. Congressman John Conyers and others will be on a conference call that people at house parties can call into from their events.
Please join UFPJ, the After Downing Street Coalition (which includes many UFPJ member groups), and others in hosting and attending events on July 23.
We hope you and your organization will work with other organizations to form a coalition and hold one large event in your area. Resources and tips for holding an effective town hall meeting are available at http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/526 . Be sure to invite your Congress Member and Senators, but there's no reason to make the event dependent on their coming. You should certainly hold it, even without them.
Where you cannot organize a large event, organize some friends and hold a house party. Please list your events at http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/526 .
We also encourage you to join the After Downing Street coalition, which is dedicated to pushing for a Congressional resolution of inquiry—the first step in the impeachment process—into the Downing Street Memo and related documents. According to a recent Zogby poll, 42 percent of voters polled said they would support impeaching President Bush if it were established that he lied about his reasons for the Iraq war. Let’s push for the inquiry that would get to the bottom of this issue once and for all.
United for Peace and Justice • http://www.unitedforpeace.org • 212-868-5545
