Rep. Jim McDermott
When asked why he was participating in this event, Jim McDermott answered, “I think this war will be brought to a halt by people making themselves heard. It is incumbent on us as public officials to support and encourage this sort of thing. Vietnam didn’t end because the government decided it wasn’t working. It ended because of people exercising their right to free speech.”

Tagged by war proponents “Baghdad Jim” after a pre-war trip to Iraq to assess the reality of the situation, McDermott has been an outspoken opponent of the invasion of Iraq from the beginning. McDermott spoke forcefully about the absolute necessity of winning back Democratic Congressional seats from all over the country. (Helping to illustrate the point, Darcy Burner, who is running to oppose Republican Dave Reichert in Washington’s 8th District, was in attendance. An advocate for Congress asking the hard questions in holding this administration responsible for the lies leading up to the Iraq war, Darcy is an excellent candidate who would be happy for the help of anyone reading this who resides in Bellevue, Mercer Island, and eastern Pierce and King counties.)

McDermott recalled being on Crossfire before the invasion began. He asked the general appearing with him what will happen if the war “goes bad.” The general answered that the military leadership would make “a quiet visit to the White House and say it was time to go.” According to McDermott, Congressman John Murtha’s call for withdrawal in late 2005 was the result of such a visit from the generals.

Dina: McDermott recalled that Jay Inslee had commented: "The apocalypse has arrived! You and Jack Murtha are in agreement!"

McDermott believes that, as big and as serious an issue as the war is, an even bigger issue is that freedom and democracy are at risk. This excessively secretive administration wants to silence all dissent. “They want one party, one country, one voice—THEIRS.” He feels we need two exit strategies—one for Iraq and one for getting rid of this administration. He believes that the only adequate response is to investigate the means of impeachment.

He concluded by saying that “there is a tide moving that will bring our people into Congress. That’s how we’ll prevail.”

Bert Sacks, an activist who has worked with Physicians for Social Responsibility, began bringing medicines to Iraq during the embargo started in 1991 under the Clinton administration. His efforts led to US government action against him and a $10,000 fine.

Dina: Bert showed footage of Leslie Stahl's TV report from the 90's, showing starving, dehydrated, very ill Iraqi children in every hospital she visited. It included a clip of Stahl telling Sec. of State Madelaine Albright that more children had died as a result of the sanctions than from the bombing of Hiroshima, and Albright famously responding "We think it's worth it."

Bert said that the Iraqi people have felt under attack by the US for 15 years. Over one-half million children died of hunger, dehydration, and preventable disease during the years of the embargo. For that reason, he believes that the changes we need to make must go beyond the removal of the Bush administration. It must go beyond electing Democrats to an awareness of what kind of country we truly want to be in the long term. We are horrified at dozens of death each day by suicide bombers, but where is the horror at the deaths of 195 children a day under a cruel embargo? Destruction of water and electric systems are in effect acts of biowarfare because of their known results.

Dina: Bert ended his talk (photo above) waving a bottle of aspirin, saying, "It's illegal to bring this to Iraq."

Jay Inslee
Asked the same question [why he was attending this event] Rep. Inslee answered, “We lost 11 of our best yesterday. Today we are here to demand action by Congress to return Iraq to the Iraqis.”

Dina: The Backbone Players presented a skit, which is pictured below. Then:

Stacy Bannerman, Board Member of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), author of When the War Came Home, made an impassioned appeal for advocacy for returning veterans and their families. An unprecedented percentage of National Guard and Reserve troops are in need of psychological counseling.

At least 50 percent have lost jobs due to their deployment and many must now deal with being deeply in debt. Rates of post-traumatic stress disorder are estimated to be as high as 90 percent.

Backbone Players
Dina: To give the audience a break from the serious stuff, the Backbone Players (Josh, Aaron, Dina) presented a brief satire. "Every year the Al-Qaeda Academy presents awards to the most creative, most destructive, most sinister, most dangerous and most prolific creators of martyrs in all the Umma."

As a Vanna White-type stage girl, only silent, Dina wore a glam burqa ensemble.

The "Golden Scimitar" award was "a tie between Irani leader Ayatollah Khameini and The Kansas State School Board for their success in eliminating the artificial barrier between Church and State."

Al Qaeda Recruiter of the Year is "the individual who has done the most to attract new members to the ranks of our international network of murder, mayhem, and anti-American violence." George Bush won the award for the third straight year, competing with Alberto Gonzales, Rush Limbaugh, and Donald Rumsfeld, whose pictures were displayed.

Above, Bush embarrasses himself with a clueless acceptance speech.

"Osama Bin Worthington III" presents Bush with his award.

Citizen Artiste, my new site for political art, theater and music.

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