John Conyers: New Goal on DSM: 500,000; Moveon joins the fray!

[paineinthearse]

http://www.conyersblog.us/

New Goal on DSM: Half a Million Signatures
Moveon.org Joins the Fray

Today, I am pleased to announce that Moveon.org, one of the pioneers in internet activism has joined our drive to demonstrate that the stonewalling of the White House on the Downing Street Minutes will not stand. We deserve answers and we deserve them now.

Given Moveon's involvement, I think we can go for half a million signatures, don't you?


Blogged by JC on 06.09.05 @ 11:32 AM ET

p.s. We are 34% of the way. Thanks to DU for all your support. We were there at the beginning and will be there as long as support is needed!!!!!!

See/kick related DU post (the Moveon announcement, contains many useful and informative links) - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3819361#

...and in case you have not yet read/signed the petition...

http://johnconyers.campaignoffice.com/index.asp?Type=SUPERFORMS&SEC={8B7B3A1E-B54B-47B6-B022-23EC345E4BEE}

Letter to Pres Bush Concerning the "Downing Street Minutes"

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005

Dear Mr. President:

We the undersigned write because of our concern regarding recent disclosures of a Downing Street Memo in the London Times, comprising the minutes of a meeting of Prime Minister Tony Blair and his top advisers. These minutes indicate that the United States and Great Britain agreed, by the summer of 2002, to attack Iraq, well before the invasion and before you even sought Congressional authority to engage in military action, and that U.S. officials were deliberately manipulating intelligence to justify the war.

Among other things, the British government document quotes a high-ranking British official as stating that by July, 2002, Bush had made up his mind to take military action. Yet, a month later, you stated you were still willing to "look at all options" and that there was "no timetable" for war. Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, flatly stated that "he president has made no such determination that we should go to war with Iraq."

In addition, the origins of the false contention that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction remain a serious and lingering question about the lead up to the war. There is an ongoing debate about whether this was the result of a "massive intelligence failure," in other words a mistake, or the result of intentional and deliberate manipulation of intelligence to justify the case for war. The memo appears to resolve that debate as well, quoting the head of British intelligence as indicating that in the United States "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

As a result of these concerns, we would ask that you respond to the following questions:

1)Do you or anyone in your administration dispute the accuracy of the leaked document?
2) Were arrangements being made, including the recruitment of allies, before you sought Congressional authorization to go to war? Did you or anyone in your Administration obtain Britain's commitment to invade prior to this time?
3) Was there an effort to create an ultimatum about weapons inspectors in order to help with the justification for the war as the minutes indicate?
4) At what point in time did you and Prime Minister Blair first agree it was necessary to invade Iraq?
5) Was there a coordinated effort with the U.S. intelligence community and/or British officials to "fix" the intelligence and facts around the policy as the leaked document states?

These are the same questions 89 Members of Congress, led by Rep. John Conyers, Jr., submitted to you on May 5, 2005. As citizens and taxpayers, we believe it is imperative that our people be able to trust our government and our commander in chief when you make representations and statements regarding our nation engaging in war. As a result, we would ask that you publicly respond to these questions as promptly as possible.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely (your name - go to http://johnconyers.campaignoffice.com/index.asp?Type=SUPERFORMS&SEC={8B7B3A1E-B54B-47B6-B022-23EC345E4BEE} to sign.

[Jo March]

1. Paine, has anyone sent this link to the various anti-war groups?

I think that we should start mass emailing this request.

I'll scurry out and find some good orgs to send this to.

Rock on, John! :yourock:

[paineinthearse]

4. I have no idea, but..........

I would guess so, but if you are a member of any, If I were you I would contact their headquarters by phone and make them aware.

[paineinthearse]

5. Absolutely

Print copies of this and the related post (see link in first).

Print copies of Conyers' letter to * - go to www.johnconyers.com, blog area.

Leaflet this weekend.

[johnaries]

6. And what about Veterans groups?

I'm sure there are a lot of Vets out there who want to know the truth. Especially since we've started seeing more and more speak out, and since the Repugs have not only screwed them on the war but now on their benefits, as well.

And I'm sure the families of our soldiers in Iraq would like some answers, as well.

[Jo March]

7. Excellent! Got any links?

I'm looking for good links. I don't mind going to sites and getting the information. I just need some good links.

[johnaries]

12. No, I was hoping someone else would. I'll try looking, though! n/t

[Jo March]

21. I'm finding a few anti-war groups but I know there are more

I'm posting them here as I contact them.

[johnaries]

22. try these:

http://www.veteransforpeace.org/about.htm

http://www.notinourname.net/contacts.html

Veterans Against the Iraq War - http://www.vaiw.org/vet/index.php
Contact Us
Email: [e-mail]
Telephone: [phone]

http://www.iraqwarveterans.org/contact_us.htm (not sure this would be a good one)

http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/sound/main.html


http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/index.cfm?&Page=Module&ModuleID=3

Operation Truth (this looks like a good one) - http://www.optruth.org/main.cfm?actionId=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=contactInfo&lnav=4

Is that a good start?

[Jo March]

24. That is a big help :)

I have sent emails to a few of them. I'll get the others.

Thanks!!

:yourock:

If you find any more, please post them here. I'll get to them. It just might take a few minutes, lol.

[Jo March]

29. Sent this to Veterans for Common Sense

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org

[chomskysright]

77. sent to Veterans for Peace: who started impeachment months ago

[e-mail]

http://www.veteransforpeace.org/impeachment/violations.doc

http://www.baltimorechronicle.com/033005VeteransForPeace.html

Laws violated by President George W. Bush, Vice-President Richard Cheney, public officials under their authority, and members of the U.S. military under their command, sufficient for impeachment



Veterans for Peace believes the following to be a partial, but sufficient, summary of relevant laws violated by President George W. Bush and Vice-President Richard Cheney, arising from their decision to invade and occupy Iraq, followed by documentation for each violation. Veterans for Peace will add additional violations to this summary as they are made known by eyewitness military personnel and other credible sources.
We believe these violations constitute impeachable offenses under the U.S. Constitution Article II, sec. 4, and that the U.S. Congress is therefore compelled to impeach President Bush and Vice-President Cheney.

[autorank]

2. I love this guy, I really do. A Democrat who makes me PROUD to be one.

I have not felt this type of pride as a Democrat for a long, long time. Conyers inspires me by his ability to zero in on the key targets and his willingness to act. This must be the time of his life, his energy certainly shows it as does his intuition.

I'm so grateful he is a Democrat.

I also see him as the intellectual leader and the conscience of our party.

Contact the DNC and Give 'em Hell About NOT Acting on Election Fraud

NEW LEADERS FOR A NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

[bornagainhuman]

85. he makes me proud to be an american

[MuseRider]

3. John Conyers

makes me smile.

Amazing. WTG JC, Way To Go.

[faithnotgreed]

8. now this is worth posting about! we love you john conyers

[Jo March]

9. Sent this to Veterans for Peace

If anyone has any additional links to Veterans or Anti-War groups, please post them here so I can send this to them.

Thanks.

Arnie

[katinmn]

10. Beautiful. MoveOn has about 3 million members receiving

emails.

[Jo March]

16. 3 million? Seriously?

Wow. I had no idea that they had that many members.

Well, my emailing campaign will be much smaller but I'm going to keep plugging.

[katinmn]

23. It may be 2 million but I know it's in the millions

One of my old "friends" asked me to take her off my email distribution list yesterday.

She used to be politically aware.

I was kind of hurt but whatever.

[Jo March]

25. I know how that feels, lol

The election fraud stuff really annoyed some of my "friends" too but I don't really care. They still get stuff but prefer to stick their fingers in their ears and say, "lalalalalalalala" instead of listening.

Well, falafel to them, dang it!

I got my email from MoveOn, BTW. That certainly was fast!!

[PearliePoo2]

37. yes, their membership is

in the millions and man, are they ever responding! moveonpac.org has a page that shows a graph of signatures received. It is literally jumping by the thousands every couple of minutes! 10,000 signed in just over an hour. Holy Shit Batman! This is taking off and not coming back down til it hits the freaking top.

[Jo March]

50. Most excellent. The hounds have been released.

This is just simply delicious.

[katinmn]

53. Just checked. MoveOn has more than 2 million

Yes, the sigs are growing by leaps and bounds. I'm so glad they are on board!

edit: Welcome to DU, PearliePoo2! :hi:

[AllyCat]

46. I'm so glad to see MoveOn getting on this.

Their last bit of delivering petitions to oust Tom Delay to Repuke HQ around the country just seemed...so...small... compared to what needs to be done. There was an SEIU protest at my state capitol on the same day to force Wal-Mart to pay their own damn healthcare instead of asking the taxpayers to do it. I went to that instead.

But this? This is a good one. Glad to see them support this!

[Norquist Nemesis]

11. Take your flame shots here...

Isn't this like the second time he's increased from the original goal? Can anyone tell me why increasing it in this way is a good thing (why not just start with 500,000 or 750,000 or 1,000,000 if that's where this is headed)?

I've signed and support it, but it just seems like they keep pushing the goal posts out further. When's the job going to get done?

*ducking for cover*

[paineinthearse]

14. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

John is either humble or a genious, perhaps both.

Remember, he is 70+/- years old, this "internets" thing is new to him.

He probably had no idea the support he would get from the blogosphere.

[Pacifist Patriot]

35. Damn I hope I look that good when I'm his age.

Going totally off topic here. lOL!

[Jo March]

15. I think that he saw the overwhelming response

and wanted to keep going. It's like a telethon. Once you've hit a goal, people are likely to stop giving - "Oh, they have all the money that they need now, right?"

So, no flames from me. I'm glad that he's energizing folks by setting these goals high. After all, half a million sounds better than one hundred thousand, right?

:)

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

26. Come on! He realizes the more the merrier! I don't think he ever

expected the response he received. There is a great deal of power in numbers. It was 3/4 of a million emails and faxes that convinced the senate to put the brakes on the FCC.

[suziedemocrat]

28. He's clearly surprised by the huge response.

Like when a sleeper movie takes off. I remember when "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was a slow to take off hit - at one point they said: "Gee - Do you think it's possible to do $100 million?" At the beginning, $100 million was way beyond their expectations.


edit - $100,000,000 - not $100,000.

[Pacifist Patriot]

34. No flames from me. I was just sitting here wishing he would...

just traipse on up to the White House every time he gets 100,000 signatures rather than waiting for a larger number. Hell, multiple trips might increase attention even more over time.

[K-W]

66. I dont really understand your logic.

The point of a petition is to show that a particular opinion is supported by a large number of people. Breaking up the petition into segments would only serve to obscure the overall size of the petition.

The point is to get so many people to sign that it cannot be ignored, which is exactly what would happen if he traipsed on up to the white house regularly with smaller petitions.

[Pacifist Patriot]

70. Not necessarily.

It would depend entirely upon how the PR is handled.

[K-W]

87. There is no way to handle PR that will get the corporate media

to cover small scale democratic publicity events. The point of petitions isnt to deliver them, it is to get people to sign them. What he is doing is completely normal and the right way to go about a petition.

He wrote a letter to Bush and setup a petition based on that letter and he has been setting new goals periodically to encourage participation. I dont know what you expect an internet petition drive to look like, but this is it.

His goal is to get as many signatures as possible. He is going about that in a perfectly reasonable way.

[Pacifist Patriot]

96. Oh I completely understand that.

My comments were based entirely on impatience.

[K-W]

65. Because he isnt a psychic.

He put up an internet petition and made the fairly ambitious goal of 100000 he was suprised that the petition rose as fast as it did, so he readjusted his goal. Now that both the memo and the petition are getting more exposure and moveon is getting involved he has readjusted his goal.

You dont seem to understand the point of a petition. There is no job to be done. There isnt some magical prize that we get when we hit our goal. The point of a petition is to get as many signatures as possible, the goals are just there for activists to aim for.

[bluebear200]

73. Looks loike it will be done next Thursday

See my post Go John Go below and

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/House_Judiciary_Democrats_to_hold_hearings_on_Downing_Street_mi_0609.html

[bluebear200]

74. oops - fat fingers n/t

[ObaMania]

82. That's exactly what I was thinking!

Wasn't the original goal 200K?

It's a great thing Conyers is doing, but we need him to act now! The longer he waits, he more this story gets watered down by M$M and discredited by the 'pukes.

[Laurab]

124. I think also

aside from possibly being surprised by the overwhelming support he's received, the longer this is out there, the more publicity it's receiving. I don't care how many he shoots for, as long as more and more people are becoming aware, and they ARE.

[Jo March]

13. Sent this to Iraq Veterans Against the War

http://www.ivaw.net/

[paineinthearse]

17. Thanks, admins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...for promoting this to the HOME PAGE so quickly

DU rocks! :yourock:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/

John Conyers: New Goal on DSM: 500,000 signatures
Posted by paineinthearse
Added to homepage Thu Jun 09th 2005, 12:06 PM ET

http://www.conyersblog.us

New Goal on DSM: Half a Million Signatures
Moveon.org Joins the Fray

[annabanana]

18. not on their homepage..

?:shrug: ?

[bluebear200]

76. Here's the link - 72% now

It was a little hard to find

http://www.moveonpac.org/tellthetruth/

[Jo March]

19. Sent this to Vietnam Veterans Against the War

http://www.vvaw.org/

[BigBearJohn]

40. I am so damn proud of you Arnheim. Keep up the great work!!!

:hug: :yourock: :woohoo:

[Jo March]

42. Aww...thanks

I just like to be all orderly and methodical and stuff.

:blush:

[Jo March]

20. Sent this to Bring Them Home Now

http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/

[Jo March]

27. Sent this to Not In Our Name

http://www.notinourname.net

[Jo March]

30. Sent this to Operation Truth

http://www.optruth.org

[Catrina]

44. Sent to

the website Project for the Old American Century. An excellent website, btw, imo.

http://oldamericancentury.org/

[Jo March]

48. Awesome! I didn't think of them.

:thumbsup:

[Jo March]

31. Sent this to Veterans for Common Sense

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org

[Pryderi]

32. I got my Moveon.org email!

The "Downing Street Memo" contains smoking gun evidence that the president knowingly lied to the country by "fixing" intelligence on Iraq's WMD's to justify a pre-planned rush to war. For weeks President Bush has refused to respond. Now Rep. Conyers is aiming to personally present Bush with 500,000 signatures demanding an explanation. Please sign today:


Dear MoveOn member,

Last month, the Times of London printed "smoking gun" evidence that long before the invasion of Iraq the Bush administration was determined to go to war, intentionally distorting intelligence, and lying to the American people.

The proof comes from the classified minutes of a British cabinet meeting, referred to as the "Downing Street Memo." So far President Bush has refused to explain or directly respond to the memo, but pressure is mounting daily from Congress and the public. This week Tony Blair visited Washington and the press finally started asking the obvious questions—creating a critical opportunity to turn up the heat.

One Congressman, John Conyers of Michigan, has started a citizens petition—demanding that Bush directly respond to the evidence of deception contained in the Downing Street Memo. When half a million Americans sign, Rep. Conyers will personally deliver the signatures to the gates of the White House.

If we can reach 500,000 signatures today we can bring this scandal to light while the story is still hot. Please add your voice today:

http://www.moveonpac.org/tellthetruth/?id=5653-5760773-Eh9nHO7RuZkfLwfQ2GM.Ew&t=3

The smoking gun memo quotes high level British officials during a July 23rd, 2002 cabinet meeting, discussing recent conversations with the Bush Administration on their decision to invade Iraq and the manipulation of intelligence to back it up. Below are two key excerpts:

Sir Richard Dearlove, Director of the British foreign intelligence service, (MI6) reported on his recent meetings in Washington:

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.<1>
Later British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw added:

It seemed clear that Bush had made up his mind to take military action, even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran.<2>
The British government has not disputed the authenticity or accuracy of the smoking gun memo, even in the few crucial days after the story broke before Tony Blair's re-election.<3>

What the Bush administration told these foreign officials is the exact opposite of what the President repeatedly told Congress and the American people about his decision before the invasion, and what he continues to claim - that he was trying to avoid a war America did not want, and that intelligence about the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction was clear and compelling.<4>

Why is it important to confront the Bush administration now and get this story out?

The Bush administration continues to peddle falsehoods about the rush to war and intelligence manipulation, despite overwhelming evidence from former administration officials, and now our closest allies. Two weeks ago, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told troops stationed in Iraq: "This war came to us, not the other way around."<5> And just yesterday Bush avoided a direct question about the Downing Street Memo by simply reiterating his claim that the war was a choice of last resort.<6>

We must make it clear that lying to the people and our representatives about the life and death choices we face must not go unaddressed. Democracy cannot function without truth from our leaders, and it's time for the deception to end.

With limited news coverage and an administration completely dismissive of any evidence it doesn't like, exposing the truth can feel like a daunting challenge. But we've been here before. Many of us joined MoveOn at a time when the White House and the press didn't believe there could be any real opposition to the President's war, and it took millions of us working together to prove them wrong. That time has come again.

Please help take the first crucial step by helping Representative Conyers directly confront President Bush with signatures and comments from 500,000 Americans demanding a real response to the Downing Street Memo—and the truth about the war.

Please sign today:

http://www.moveonpac.org/tellthetruth/?id=5653-5760773-Eh9nHO7RuZkfLwfQ2GM.Ew&t=4

Thanks for all that you do.

–Ben, Adam, Jennifer, Eli and the MoveOn PAC Team
Thursday, June 9, 2005

Notes:

For more information about the Downing Street Memo, including the full text, visit http://www.downingstreetmemo.com/

To read the full text of Representative Conyers' sign on letter, go to: http://www.moveonpac.org/tellthetruth/conyersletter.html?id=5653-5760773-Eh9nHO7RuZkfLwfQ2GM.Ew&t=5


<1> The Downing Street Memo, http://www.moveon.org/r?r=741

<2> The Downing Street Memo, http://www.moveon.org/r?r=741

<3> CNN, Bush asked to explain UK War Memo May 12, 2005 http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/11/britain.war.memo/

<4> There are dozens of quotes by Bush and senior administration officials containing false claims about invasion plans and WMD's compiled by the Center for American Progress, and searchable here: http://www.claimvfact.com/

Here are just a few directly from the President and the White House official statements, made before the war and after the time of the Downing Street Memo:

"Of course, I haven't made up my mind we're going to war with Iraq." <10/1/02>
"Hopefully, we can do this peacefully—don't get me wrong. And if the world were to collectively come together to do so, and to put pressure on Saddam Hussein and convince him to disarm, there's a chance he may decide to do that. And war is not my first choice, don't—it's my last choice." <11/7/02>
"This is our attempt to work with the world community to create peace. And the best way for peace is for Mr. Saddam Hussein to disarm. It's up to him to make his decision." <12/4/02>
"The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons...And according to the British government, the Iraqi regime could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes." <9/26/2002>
"I expected to find the weapons I based my decision on the best intelligence possible...The evidence I had was the best possible evidence that he had a weapon. <2/8/2004>
<5> CNN, "Rice makes surprise visit to Iraq" May 15, 2005 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=739

<6> New York Times, "Bush and Blair Deny 'Fixed' Iraq Reports" June 8th 2005 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=740



PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subscription Management:
This is a message from MoveOn PAC. To remove yourself (Paul Earl) from this list, please visit our subscription management page at:
http://moveon.org/s?i=5653-5760773-Eh9nHO7RuZkfLwfQ2GM.Ew

[Jo March]

33. Sent this to Gold Star Families for Peace

http://www.gsfp.org/

[Jo March]

36. Sent this to Military Families Speak Out

www.mfso.org

[Jo March]

38. Sent this to United for Peace and Justice

http://www.unitedforpeace.org

[paineinthearse]

39. Now that you've signed, what else can you do?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3820263

[Jo March]

41. Sent this to Cities for Peace

http://www.ips-dc.org/citiesforpeace

[Jo March]

43. Breaking for lunch - if you guys have any other links

Post them or PM them to me and I'll contact the groups.

Thanks.

[AllyCat]

45. Nice job Arnheim!

Just got my email from MoveOn and when I signed, there were 45% responding. Then a few minutes later, it was 46%

Made sure to send to friends and families I knew would support this.

500K!! Should be 50 million in my opinion, but we can't forget the somnolence of the sheeple. I'll take 500K (or even the 234K they have right now).

[Jo March]

47. I'll take that 50 million!!

Given enough time and volunteers, we can get 1 million, I know.

Surely there are at least 1 million folks who care about this issue.

[seemslikeadream]

49. I will be collecting signatures Friday night

at our street corner weekly protest.

[Jo March]

52. Woo hoo! Let us know how many you get

This thing is going to blow wide open!

[Jo March]

51. "We've achieved 52 % of our 500,000 goal (263,267)!"

That is what's posted on MoveOn.org!!

I literally have goosebumps!

Dare I start to dream of the disentigration of this regime?? Dare I dream that someone will now step up and tell about the election fraud too?

Dare I dream it?

I DU believe!!

[paineinthearse]

54. That is incredible!

Is that something like 150,000 IN JUST A FEW HOURS?

[Jo March]

57. It's unbelievable!

Wow. Could it be that the Progressives have the organization to get this type of stuff done? Could it be that all of these groups are working together?

This is most wonderful!!

[Shallah Kali]

55. I just signed on my Grandparent's behalf after calling them

I read them the letter and they gave me permission to sign for them as they don't go online.

[dalloway]

56. kick for JC!

[paineinthearse]

58. PDA joins the effort!!!!!

received by email

PDA Works with Conyers and Others to Push for Hearings and Hold Rally in DC

The pressure is on, and we need your support. You can help PDA and its allies continue to put heat on the Bush Administration based on the Downing Street Minutes and this immoral and illegal war.

The scandal surrounding the release of the Downing Street Minutes is reaching a crescendo, a tipping point, and Progressive Democrats of America needs your help right now to place this all-important issue at the forefront of discussion regarding the occupation of Iraq. PDA is working with our allies to organize a hearing and rally in Washington, DC on June 16th to focus attention on the Minutes, and we need your contributions to make it happen.

With grassroots support, PDA was a co-founder of a coalition of more than 50 groups to create www.AfterDowningStreet.org, a site dedicated to demand that Congress pass a formal Resolution of Inquiry and investigate the manner in which we were brought to war in Iraq. And today groups like MoveOn are joining this effort. As part of this effort, Rep. John Conyers has collected nearly 200,000 signatures on his letter demanding that Bush be accountable for the damning information contained in the Minutes. The combined efforts of activists all across the country, along with the work of Rep. Conyers and his House allies, is moving the pile.

You can help us push this issue over the top, and we need your help now. PDA is working with our allies to organize a hearing in Washington DC, as well as a rally in Lafayette Park, on June 16th, regarding the Minutes. We need your donations to help fund the rally, to mobilize our activists effectively, to help continue the collection of signatures for Rep. Conyers' letter, and to keep the heat on both the Bush administration and the news media.

The Minutes, as many of you already know, is an internal secret document from July of 2002 leaked by a British official at the beginning of May. The Minutes clearly state that the premise for invasion was illegal, but that Bush had already decided to make war and so "intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." This document exposes the reality behind this invasion, the deliberate lies and misdirection undertaken by the Bush administration to make the invasion happen, and has after the inexplicable passage of weeks without mention in the press, begun to burn hot and bright across the news and political spectrums.

The time is now, and we need your help. Please donate to the activism on this issue here. Go to PDA’s site at www.pdamerica.org, or visit AfterDowningStreet.org for the most recent information on our activities on this issue. Also, read PDA Political Advisor Steve Cobble's report on the Minutes in The Nation here.

This is the moment. Please join us and help make the Downing Street Minutes the 'Pentagon Papers' of our time. It can happen, and it will happen, with your help.




--
Paid for by Progressive Democrats of America and not authorized by any candidate.
Contributions to Progressive Democrats of America are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.

[Blue_In_AK]

59. I can't even get on Conyers blog with my new superfast computer

This is so great.

[Coexist]

60. 326,000 at 5:48 p.m.

[FrankieWVU]

61. http://www.conyersblog.us

Is this down for anyone else? I hope because of traffic?

Anyways, I signed it, and just about everyone I know

[Rainscents]

62. I just sign up 6 of my family members!!!!

They're all going to tell their friends to sign on!!!! Power of people is working!!! WoooHooo!!! :woohoo:

Go John Conyers Go!!! Power of People are speaking!!!

:yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[SpiralHawk]

63. E-mailed it far and wide. Kick

I signed that puppy already the day it came out. We are all owed some straight answers. Enough of the BushCo Propaganda.

eom

[wallwriter]

64. Go! Go! Go!

[stepnw1f]

67. We've achieved 70% of our 500,000 goal (350,868)!

Can you say "WOW"?

[tsuki]

68. This is so exciting! I cannot keep up.

[in_cog_ni_to]

69. I think we can go for a half a million signatures. Don't you? LOL!

HELL YES WE CAN! Conyers ROCKS! :loveya:

[Blue_In_AK]

71. 358,052 n/t

[bluebear200]

72. Go John Go

The letter is to be delivered next Thursday after a hearing on the Downing Street "Memo"
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/House_Judiciary_Democrats_to_hold_hearings_on_Downing_Street_mi_0609.html

[markam]

75. I did my .0002% of the 500,000

[chomskysright]

78. sent to Green Dogs; Canary Coalition, Rolling Thunder Review: Western NC

[Magic_Cookie]

79. Signed & forwarded to others! n/t

[IndyOp]

80. Awesome! I asked a colleague to log onto Conyers' site last week and he

said that he hadn't received anything from MoveOn.org -- as if it couldn't be real if it did not come from MoveOn.org. His response aggravated me. Now maybe he has signed. Maybe next time I mention an action he will listen.

:(

[IndyOp]

81. We've achieved 77 % of our 500,000 goal (387,389)!

I hope MoveOn and JC move that goal up to 1,000,000! Go, go, go!

:bounce:

[AceAlmighty82]

83. I Was....

number 367, 892...so i say pretty soon maybe early next week maybe we'll have 500,000 signatures

[bornagainhuman]

84. welcome ace

[jeff30997]

86. Welcome to DU bornagainhuman and AceAlmighty82 !

:toast:

[AceAlmighty82]

126. Thanks

Glad to be here...thanks jeff30997 and bornagainhuman

off the subject..if any of you haven't heard yet..the GOP walked out when both parties were trying to work out a deal on the Patriot Act...go figure that it got no where and they started insulting one another

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050611/ap_on_go_co/uncivil_hearing;_ylt=AhVqFsg_Z9Y_uttKsUspNjas0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2bW85OXIzBHNlYwNwbA--

[FrankieWVU]

88. 1 Million ???

I say they will hit 500,000 by the end of the week easy. 1 Million will be the next goal. :crazy:

[bornagainhuman]

89. hell yeah

Lets go for it i sent it to my parents but they are convinced that it is bull shit. they are so blind, glad i woke up

[tblue37]

97. They will hit 500,000 by today--but some of those sigs will be thrown out,

so we mustn't be complacent. We need to keep pushing it and making sure there are lots more than the 500,000.

[IndyOp]

116. We definitely need to keep pushing over 500,000 - I think they are

throwing out some signatures in real time. I saw the counter go backwards several times yesterday - so I figured that they have a program that can detect duplicate signatures and, perhaps 'impossible' signatures -- like ones from people named 'Go Fu--yourself'.

I doubt that Congressman Conyers' would deliver the petition on a weekend -- less chance of decent media coverage. So, maybe, if we push over the weekend we can add a 100,000 more.

:bounce:

[nittygritty]

90. We've achieved 80 % of our 500,000 goal (403,191)!

according to moveon's website...

wow. that fast.

just thinking about how many sigs if there were actually petitioners from many various org's on the streets/door to door...

[The Animator]

91. Better make that 403,192.

I just signed it today, don't know why I put it off for so long, not like it takes alot out of you. I also signed the Election Reform petition.

Conyers was on the Randi Rhodes show again today, so that might have something to do with the sinature jump.

Course the scary thing i, I've just identified myself to the Prezteldent as not bein' with him on the whar on terra!

Oh.. btw, how can you check the numbers on the petition?

[SittingBull]

92. Look here

http://www.moveonpac.org/tellthetruth/


We've achieved 82 % of our 500,000 goal (412,934)!

[myrna minx]

93. 413,141 as of now.

Hey Bush: I have your mandate right here.

Wow. This is quite incredible. Welcome to DU, SittingBull. :hi:

[kick-ass-bob]

94. 419,200 now!

:kick:

[Mnemosyne]

95. .

:kick:

[Ellipsis]

98. 432587

:bounce:

[Beam Me Up]

100. Averaging 6,000 to 7,000 signatures per hour. at 8:30 am: 436,067

[msscarlett_leadpipe]

99. I SIGNED IT

Son (U.S. Army) arrived in Kuwait today. I want some answers.

[Rainscents]

103. Msscarlett_leadpipe... Welcome to DU!!!

:hi:

[geckosfeet]

105. welcome msscarlet

Bestest forum on the internets ! Best wishes for your son.

[LifeDuringWartime]

106. You'll get your answers.

I'm sure of it. They can't hide forever.

[tex-wyo-dem]

107. Welcome, msscarlett_leadpipe!

We WILL get the truth, for your son and everyone else who has been affected by this war!

Keep the faith.

[SlipperySlope]

101. Censure and MoveOn

Kind of ironic that moveon.org is joining in. Their original purpose was to "censure and moveon" after the Clinton fiasco. Is that what we want now?

[JRob]

102. computers were originally meant for crunching and storing data...

is THAT what we want now?

sniff, sniff, sniff...

Hmmm?

[JRob]

104. Oh and KICK!

[StatGirl]

110. I want "impeach, convict, and move on"

[JRob]

114. you left out "imprison"...

[ima_sinnic]

117. yeah, gee, too bad about that danged MoveOn group, they

just don't know when to move on, now do they?

may you enjoy your stay here at DU no matter how brief.

[SlipperySlope]

120. I'm just calling a spade a spade...

No offense, but I'm still amused that moveon.org used to wear the "nonpartisan" button. We all know now exactly what side they are on.

[hamiltob]

108. This is great, but......................

nothing will come of it. With a Republi-tard controlled everything, I fear this will be a topic that will only get a small showing from the MSM and remain in the realm of the blogs. I want them to be sweating in the White House but I have a feeling they're laughing. Bastards!

[JRob]

109. read on my young padawan...

[AnotherMother4Peace]

118. Welcome to DU, Hamiltob, We try to stay optimistic here, 'cause

if you're pessimistic "nothing will come of it."

[IndyOp]

111. Over 90% at 450,000+ at 1:00 pm!! Go, go, go!

[lonestarnot]

113. Woooohooo Thanks IndyOp!

Got 4 more people from my office just now!

[lonestarnot]

112. ABSODAMNLUTELY! How bout a cool mil?

[IndyOp]

115. 92 % of our 500,000 goal (461,795) - 4:20 pm Friday

Okay - I'm completely obsessed with watching the counter. If you haven't signed yet, REMEMBER WHAT RANDI SAID: 'Imagine the pride you will feel when you watch the impeachment hearings and know that your signature helped get them started.'

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[WePurrsevere]

119. Signed and forwarded it....

Hi folks :)

First time I heard of the DSM was when I received an email Wednesday night from Democracy For America (the org Dean founded). Needless to say after reading it I signed theirs as well as Moveon.orgs (I think they may be different?) as well as forwarded it to a few folks I know would be interested.

Although I still hold on tightly to *hope* I must admit it's hard to believe that this will finally be enough to sway the American public to make more of an outcry but for the sake of this country I truly hope this, as well as all the other stifled info, finally gets out and through to all Americans and that they get on their gov reps about this.

[JRob]

121. whoops...

[cally]

122. Found another person to sign!

:bounce:

[IndyOp]

123. We've achieved 94 % of our 500,000 goal (472,995) - Friday, 9:30 pm

It won't go over the top tonight -- but it should tip over tomorrow. No further messages on JC's blog about delivery.

:-)

[WebeBlue]

125. MFSO, GSFfP, MFAW, VFP .... aware, Cindy Sheehan, GSFfP to

be a witness at Conyer's Hearing, June 16. Glad to see MoveOn get on board, also PDA and of course, afterdowningstreet.org. Daily Kos has carried front page recommended diaries about Cindy Sheehan, GSFfP mother for four consecutive days now + John Conyer's diary posted at Daily Kos.



GSFfP = Gold Star Families for Peace, Cindy Sheehan, co-founder and they were on this early this week. Cindy lost her son, Casey, killed in Iraq 2 weeks after arriving. She has been an active military family voice and will be among the witnesses at the Conyer's hearing on DSM, June 16. She and I have been emailing back and forth these last several days, me offering encouragment, support and prayers for her stamina and she is sending updates.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/7/154726/7985

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/8/173816/8836

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/9/232019/4125

and Congressman John Conyer's own diary at Daily Kos announcing the Hearing on Downing Street Memo/Minutes
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/9/164632/9662



MFAW = Military Families Against the War, Britain. I posted at DU on this as they have petition to open public investigations re: DSM.
sign this petition too at http://www.petitiononline.com/mfaw/petition.html


MFSO = Military Families Speak Out. I am a member family, representative and have been working, posting, networking on DSM all of this week.

VFP = Veterans for Peace. They are aware.

Thank you all for your support, emailing the military family organizations and we are all 'hopeful' regarding the upcoming hearing....and very proud of Cindy's courage.

Lietta Ruger, a member family of MFSO.


For Immediate Release: June 10, 2005

Memogate Hearings Scheduled for June 16

On Thursday June 16, 2005, Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of House Judiciary Committee, and other Democratic Members will hold a Democratic hearing to hear testimony concerning the Downing Street Minutes and the efforts to cook the books on pre-war intelligence.

On May 1, 2005 a Sunday London Times article disclosed the details of a classified memo, also known as the Downing Street Minutes, recounting the minutes of a July 2002 meeting of Prime Minister Tony Blair that describes an American President already committed to going to war in the summer of 2002, despite contrary assertions to the public and the Congress. The minutes also describe apparent efforts by the Administration to manipulate intelligence data to justify the war. The June 16th hearing will attempt to answer the serious constitutional questions raised by these revelations and will further investigate the Administration's actions in the lead up to war with new documents that further corroborate the Downing Street memo.

Directly following the hearing, Rep. Conyers, Members of Congress, and concerned citizens plan to hand deliver to the White House the petition and signatures of over a half million Americans that have joined Rep. Conyers in demanding that President Bush answer questions about his secret plan for the Iraq war.

WHAT: Democratic hearing on Downing Street Minutes and Pre-war intelligence

WHEN: Thursday, June 16, 2005, TIME TBD

WHERE: LOCATION TBD

WITNESSES: Joe Wilson, Former Ambassador and WMD Expert; Ray McGovern, 27-year CIA analyst who prepared regular Presidential briefings during the Reagan administration; Cindy Sheehan, mother of fallen American soldier; John Bonifaz, renowned constitutional lawyer and co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org.

For details on time and place and for downloadable flyers promoting the rally, please watch the top of this website: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org


AfterDowningStreet.org is a rapidly growing coalition of veterans' groups, peace groups, and political activist groups, which launched on May 26, 2005, a campaign to urge the U.S. Congress to begin a formal investigation into whether President Bush has committed impeachable offenses in connection with the Iraq war.

Contact: David Swanson [e-mail] 202-329-7847

[fearnobush]

127. We've achieved 95 % of our 500,000 goal (477,165)!

2:00 am. It's been a while since I posted, feels good again.