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20 Jan. 01
Pershing Square Inaugural Day Demonstration
Join us in downtown L.A. at Sixth and Hill Streets.
We thank the members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the California senators (and others) who tried to stand up to the Bush cabinet nominations. We regret that these people will probably be confirmed, thus creating further divide in the raging culture war.
Affirmation for
FEDERAL AND STATE LAWMAKERS
We vote to elect men and women to government office who will make their decisions with steady consciousness of the highest good for all. Politicians represent and respect the people.
January 2001
Find out how you may take part in the nationwide Inauguration Day Love In. Click here for more information. Live in a country where everyone counts!
The word bipartisan usually means some larger-than-usual deception is being carried out. - George Carlin
15 Dec. 2000
Election Reflections
I've thought about it long enough. It's over. Here are my final reflections.
1. The U.S. Supreme Court had a conflict of interest and should have stayed out of it. And even once in it, they could have suggested a simple solution such as, "Use the Texas standard for counting the votes and finish it asap."
I hope that when the votes are counted, they do it fairly and tell us who got more votes. We deserve at least that much. However, for the next four years I will go along with what Gore said this week: "I disagree with the high court's decision, but I accept it."
2. I hope that Bush makes a good president. However, in case he turns out to be a poor president, remember that Great Britain has survived bad kings and queens for centuries, and they are probably better off for it. For examples, see Edward VI, Mary I, George IV and William IV.
3. I will vote for the Gore ticket again in '04 if they decide to run. A headline on the front page of today's L.A. Times says, "A Gore in '04 Run May See Funds Shrivel." I'm sick of people trying to predict what will happen in the coming years. As far as funding, he didn't get anything from me in 2000, but if he runs again, you bet I'll make a contribution.
4. It's just an excuse to say Gore lost because he ran a "lousy" campaign or has a "stiff" personality. There were other factors working against Gore that made it such a close race. First, people underestimated the right wing's strength and their desire to bring back the Bush pack. Second, the left had a third party spoiler that drew votes away from Gore. In the 1992 and 1996 races, it was Perot and Buchanan who provided right wing spoilers, thus swinging the race to the left. And third, maybe the experience makes Gore a better person. It certainly makes him a more aware person. He and Lieberman handled the situation in the best way possible when the fateful verdict came down from the High Court.
07 Dec. 2000
PFPF Supports Gore's Legal Efforts
At Pray for Peace News we believe it is best for Gore to use all the legal avenues that are available to him to have the under counted votes counted. Rather than conceding prematurely and then walking away covertly angry as the Loser who actually won, Gore needs to stand up for what is being taken away from him. He will go down in history as a martyr and all of us suffered a little bit because of the way the Florida Republicans have ram rodded through their governor's brother.
Richard Nixon may have conceded easily in 1960, despite suspected irregularities in Illinois, but have Republicans ever let go of the grudge? It's better to learn from history that it's difficult to just sweep things like this under the carpet and pretend everything is okay.
07 Dec. 2000
Election Feedback from a Fellow Webmaster
Life goes along balancing itself out, in the course of which in fact breakdowns precede breakthroughs. We can take heart from what heroism now will be spurred to enter the world stage.
Vision: A birth. A new understanding being born. Voices from everywhere. A chance for us to define ourselves. To go to a higher octave. We, the people, working as a whole.
-Suzanne Taylor
06 Dec. 2000
Clinton: Pot Smoking Should Not Be Prison Offense
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - President Clinton, who tried to avoid the stigma of smoking marijuana by saying he never "inhaled," tells Rolling Stone magazine that people should not be jailed for using or selling small amounts of the drug. In an interview with the rock magazine released on Wednesday, Clinton was asked if he thought that "people should go to jail for using or even selling small amounts of marijuana?" Clinton, who raised eyebrows in the 1992 presidential primary campaign when he admitted trying the drug but adding he didn't inhale, told the magazine, "I think that most small amounts of marijuana have been decriminalized in some places, and should be." He added, "We really need a reexamination of our entire policy on imprisonment. Some people deliberately hurt other people and they ought to be in jail because they can't be trusted to be on the streets. Some people do things that are so serious that that they have to be put in jail to discourage other people from doing similar things. But a lot of people are in prison because they have drug problems or alcohol problems and too many of them are getting out -- particularly out of state systems -- without treatment, without education, without skills, without serious efforts at job placement." The interview, to be published on Friday, only weeks before Clinton leaves office, was conducted during the presidential campaign...."
25 Nov. 2000
Opinion from a Hindu Astrologer
Dear Ed Viswanathan,
How have you been? How is your new book going? I've been thinking about you a lot, especially over the last several days as this election thing continues.
Do the stars say anything about this situation, if so, would you please tell me? I keep trying to think positive, in the sense that things happen for a reason; also that God can take any broken thing and fix it better than it was before. Is America heading into a dark period or will this situation be resolved?
-nori
Dear Nori:
How are you? I have not finished with my book yet. What are you up to?
amazing - I have strange dreams of this election since last Jan 2000 - I have told this to many - I have seen Al Gore winning . . . at the same time, I also dreamt an America in total chaos.
I am certain Al Gore has won this election and only reason why he cannot become president is due to the karmic state of USA which may require a person like Bush to deal with all kind of problems and a country in total diassray.
Anyway all announcement regarding this election will come on a day when you can add and get no. 9 such as November 27, or Dec 9th, or Dec 18, or Dec 27th or Jan 9th or Jan 18th
I see strangely the number-9 in the destiny of America...which is the numerical sign of Mother Goddess of India.
(Ed Viswanathan is the author of "Am I a Hindu?" available through Amazon.com.)
23 Nov. 2000 - Thanksgiving
Attitude of Gratitude
Is this a great country, or what? Click here to read commentary about election 2000 circulated on the Internet.
19 Nov. 00
It could go on forever
Steamboats.com and Pray for Peace News have founded a Prayer Circle for a Peaceful Society. We invite you to replace your anger and sense of betrayal with positive thoughts for the planet, the plants, animals and people, and freedom now.
Election 2000
for another week
09 Nov. 00
Instead of focusing your valuable and kind energy on "anger" and "fear" for the next week or so, please join our affirmation circle: We envision a better future and the highest good. We maintain a fair supreme court. Natural areas of the Earth are saved for future generations. Through diligent work, we maintain a strong economy. We learn to save energy and repair damage from the industrial picean age. We enter the Aquarian age with determination and courage. All beings are welcomed into the new age.
Election 2000
Al Gore is struggling with his shadow this year, manifest as Ralph Nader, a candidate who can acknowledge the issues Democrats are afraid to face. The L.A. Times and other media have been following this conflict offering fact, opinion and feedback. Here are some excerpts from the L.A. Times Letters to the Editor section, to give an idea of what people are saying about Gore, Nader and the war on drugs (one of the major issues that divides them):
L.A. Times 31 Oct. 00 - 01 Nov. 00 ~ Letters to the Ed. (excerpts)
". . . Nader has finally caught the attention of both major parties. We have a chance to upset the strangle hold that the major parties and their moneyed partners have on the American political process . . ." -Charles H., Pacific Palisades
"If Naderites throw the election to Bush in the hope of building a 'new progressive coalition that outflanks the Democratic Party' . . . I certainly hope they aren't expecting Democrats to join them. Members of any group who are willing to subject the nation to the irreversible changes in the environment and civil rights that a Bush administration would bring . . . exemplify 'politicians' in their most reprehensible form." -Barbara S., Huntington Beach
"In 2000, the Naderites can help pull or push the next president to their desires. A weak Nader showing will allow his views to be ignored. A Bush or Gore dead heat means neither will have a mandate. Nader can achieve much by a strong showing." -Allan H., Irvine
"By placing ego over common sense, [Nader] is not only harming his country but is losing future support for any beneficial changes that he might have made. A practical reformer backs the candidate who comes closest to his beliefs and who can realistically be elected, then works within the system to improve it." -Jean S., Sherman Oaks
"President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman, on tape, were celebrating that they had maneuvered William Rehnquist onto the Supreme Court. They were laughing that he was to the right of Pat Buchanan. Thirty years later we are still living with that mistake. Bush said he most admires Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, who are to the right of Rehnquist. . ." -Alex M., Camarillo
". . . the Republican ads compare Vice President Gore with President Clinton and make no mention of Bush. The republicans are even paying for ads supporting Nader to pull votes away from Gore. Are the Bush record and the Bush platform so bad that not even Republicans will try to sell them on their merits?" -Jody R., Culver City
"That the Republican Party is using Nader in its TV ads to peel away support from Gore . . . comes as no surprise. What I find disappointing is that Nader doesn't seem to mind." -Jeffery S., Monterey Park
"I'm getting tired of Gore supporters indicting Green Party candidate Nader for Gore's possible electoral defeat. If Gore loses, he will have done so without Nader's help . . ." -Clifford T., Valley Village
"Wouldn't it be exhilarating if the presidential race were so tight because the major candidates were so good?" -Susan S., Marina del Rey
"Our government's efforts to enact repressive drug laws have caused law enforcement officials to become paramilitary wings of the federal government and have caused the death and incarceration of innocents. It's time to get a policy that rehabilitates addicts while avoiding costly incarceration and leads our country away from a policy of direct interaction and dirty South American civil wars we have no business financing." -Christian H., Burbank
"In the beginning the war on drugs focused on rehabilitation and it was working. The focus was changed and lots and lots of prisons were built and filled. In the process the Bill of Rights was trampled into dust. After 30 years of this crazy nonsense it is time for a change. Rehabilitation works. It is 70% effective. Jail is not effective; it doesn't work." Gary G., Cambria
"In justifying his probable vote for Nader, Clancy Sigal is 'into a long-term struggle' for a 'progressive coalition that outflanks the Democratic Party.' It so happens that the religious right and corporate America are masters of the long-term struggle, and if Bush is elected president, they will be rewarded for their patience . . ." -Bill B., Woodland Hills
These are all great opinions. It pays to write letters to the editor, if you want your voice to be heard. Visit our Activist's Workshop for inspiration.
Barry McCaffrey No Big Demon
18 Oct. 2000
The news came two days ago that Barry McCaffrey, the military dude who has overseen President Clinton's war on drugs, plans to retire in early January. He's considering teaching offers, including a return to West Point. Pray for Peace News bids farewell to McCaffrey and wishes him well in his next chapter of life.
Although nothing good has come from the drug war, including the five years McCaffrey's been in charge, we consider him better than some who could have been assigned to that position. Here's a toast of a joint to McCaffrey along with a prayer that we get someone as good or better than him in the next administration. (That will never happen.) Our highest holiday wish for the drug problem: Legalize and normalize soft drugs, help families avoid addiction and codependency, retire the criminal/military war like approach.
P.S. One more reason not to lay the abuses at McCaffrey's feet, the drug war has been the legacy of our last four presidents: Nixon, Reagan, Bush and Clinton.
Holiday Greetings
Fall 2000
We would like to offer holiday greetings to all our readers and wish you a happy Diwali. What a year it's been. Click here to view your greeting card.
Bye Bye Babies
16 Oct. 00
PFPF News ed. is glad to be getting out of the country for a week, especially during this highly uncomfortable political season. Besides the election, the issues we're wrestling with are gasoline prices and Round-up.
We're thinking of gasoline prices because there are hybrid cars around now that run on electricity and gasoline, that recharge their own batteries, so you never have to plug them in. These cars get about 60 mph. We're pondering the challenge, "If the technology is there, then somebody should find a way to use it in more cars. Like, all cars, for example." It would be great if Americans would conserve fuel and cut back on our gasoline addiction. There will still be problems and sin in the world, but at least we could step back and be a little bit detached. We would all breathe a little easier, too.
Second, Round-up. With all this miraculous genetic engineering that the big corporations like Monsonto have told us they're doing, what have they produced so far? Vegetables that can withstand more Round-up. (This is as opposed to Organic food, which is grown without any chemicals, for just a little bit more money and trouble.)
PFPF sci fi thought for the day: Maybe this is the big master plan of some alien race to "round up" the human race -- and do what with us? What is Round-up, anyway? It's poison. So, we're eating it? We're wallowing in it, babies.
Let's just pray that if there are good people left in the corporations, who have not yet surrendered to the aliens, that they put more thought into engineering hybrid cars and less into engineering Round-up ready food.
Letter to the Editor
13 Oct. 00 (Friday the 13th)
Subj: No Global Warming?????
George Bush Jr. lost my vote with his lunatic attitudes about the environment. This year Texas and Oklahoma had an epidemic of the worst tornadoes on record. Clusters of super storms never seen in known history raged across both states causing billions in damages. And now we know that the Arctic ice cap has been getting thinner for the last 30 years and we hear that there is open water at the North Pole.
Nevertheless, Gov. Bush has the nerve to deny that global warming and environmental changes of enormous magnitude are happening right now. But what should we expect from an oilman who made Texas safe for polluters?
Global warming, the ozone hole, monster storms, melting glaciers around the world, rising sea levels and a huge body of scientific research indicate that disastrous climatic changes are already knocking at the door. Only Al Gore has anything to say about stopping it. Al Gore gets my vote.
Redford Givens
[Ed. replies: Say a prayer for the environment, hold your nose & vote for the Bore.]
PFPF Endorses Gore
12 Oct. 00
PFPF News editors have done another flip-flop, this time out of fear after watching the second debate. We definitely represent the "undecided" voters. However, we're wavering between Nader and Gore, not Bush and Gore. Because of this 3rd party phenomenon, we actually have three shells, with Bush under two of those shells and Gore is only under one shell.
Yeah, he's a bore, yeah he embellishes, but hey! With Bush as the alternative??? The choice is clear: vote for the lesser evil. Therefore, as of today, PFPF News is endorsing Gore for President.
We will continue to support the Green Party on the local level, cheering for Greens whenever they run for state or city office. We also want Nader to stick around, to keep an eye on whoever wins next month.
PBS Frontline "War on Drugs" Review
12 Oct. 00
On Monday and Tuesday nights of this week, PBS broadcast a tremendous two-part, four-hour documentary about the history of the War on Drugs. They begin with President Nixon, when heroin became a problem in New York and with GIs returning from Vietnam. Nixon's aids recommended methadone treatment and it worked. However, when he ran for reelection in 1972, he changed his strategy to interdiction and law enforcement to please voters.
The parents' movement further fueled the War on Drugs and the program traced the evolution of the War. It's an incredibly complex and fascinating history. Other highlights of the Frontline report were the Colombian cartels, the money-laundering business, the epidemic of crack and the contributions of Reagan - "Just Say No" and a barrage of new drug laws in 1986 that included asset forfeiture and no-knock search and seizure.
After watching this show, we realize what a deep-rooted problem this war is. In the final analysis, treatment and education are the only viable answers, yet politicians cannot choose those options, due to their reluctance to appear soft on crime.
If you want to buy the $99 two-part (four tape) documentary from PBS, call toll-free 1-877-PBS-SHOP (1-877-727-7467) and have the name of your school or educational organization ready for the operator. The tape is only available for non-profit audiences. Pray for Peace News has obtained a copy and will rent it free for showings or sell you our copy for $99 (cost) plus shipping. Contact us click here.
Nader Pro-Peace
03 Oct. 00
Nader's stand on the War on Drugs is that it unfairly targets the poor; that drug abusers do not need to be incarcerated - they need opportunity and treatment. He opposes the criminalization of drugs and the incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders.
We support Nader's views and we support Nader. However, we've shifted a little bit on whether to vote for him or vote against Bush. There's also some virtue in voting against Bush, because somebody's gotta do it. Of course, we would all like to vote for Nader, but even if we did, Nader himself has said that he cannot win.
Whoever wins the election, we can only hope and pray that Nader will still be there fighting for the cause, putting his views out there to influence the political process. We like you Nader!!
Gore may have lost my vote
28 Sept. 00
Ever since 1976, I've voted for the Democrat. This year I was going to do the same. Lesser of two evils. He even admits to smoking pot! Unfortunately, this week on MTV Gore said that he is against legalizing marijuana for medical use because "thus far, there is absolutely no evidence" it is medically effective. So is he really the lesser of two evils? His approach to the drug war lacks any creativity at all. Ralph Nader has said that he's in favor of legalizing pot and hemp. So what to do? It's going to be difficult to decide this time.
[Ed note: As of End of October. Glub, glub, blub - still undecided - leaning toward Gore.]
Affirmation to cancel out the 'culture war': We participate in a peaceful social discourse, free from any connotations of war. Ours is a country of neighbors with a common dream of equality, freedom and prosperity.
End the War on Drugs
Why Our Drug
Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It: A Judicial Indictment of the War on
Drugs, by James P. Gray
index
