Common Sense for a New Century- Howard Dean

[Rose Siding]

addressed to the Citizens of America by
Gov. Howard Dean,M.D

“We have it in our power to begin the world over again.”
Thomas Paine

Over two hundred years ago, Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet that would light the fire that forged our nation. He called it “Common Sense.” Passed from hand to hand, patriot to patriot, it was a call to action for those Americans who believed their government had to change. It spelled out the values of a new republic. And King George III—who had forgotten his own people in favor of special interests—was replaced by a government of, by and for the people. America was born.

Like those early patriots, we face a growing threat to our liberty and justice in America today. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison spoke of the fear that economic power would one day seize political power.

That fear is now being realized—under the Bush administration, pharmaceutical companies draft our Medicare laws. Oil executives sit in the Vice President’s office and write energy bills. A majority of the reconstruction contracts in Iraq goes to corporations headed by campaign contributors to the president.

In the last six years, despite massive corporate scandals and the crash of the NASDAQ, the financial services industry managed to find almost $168 million to influence the political process. A pharmaceutical and health products industry that can’t afford to sell our seniors cheaper prescription drugs did manage to find $60 million to influence our elections. And the national debt has exploded to the point where it will cost the median American family $26,000—because the president ran up the largest deficit in the history of our country in order to pass $3 trillion worth of tax cuts tilted toward his campaign contributors.

In the matter of war and peace, there was virtually no debate by either party before the invasion of Iraq. The Bush administration uses fear to rally people to its causes. Our nation, once looked to as a beacon of hope from around the globe, now is looked at with suspicion and distrust.

Most alarming, our political process is in crisis, as the majority of Americans turns away from the most fundamental duty of citizenship—voting.

America is better than this. The time has come once again to take our country back. This pamphlet, like Thomas Paine’s, is a declaration of values and a call to action for a new generation of American patriots -- Common Sense for a New Century.

the pamphlet text-

http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=commonsense

They'll be passed out at tonight's meet ups, signed by 10 people and returned by the 10th person. These guys blow me away.

[Fleshdancer]

1. The list of things the bush admin has done to this country is painful

It seems too bad to be true and yet it never ends! What the hell is happening here? How did we get to this point in such a short amount of time??

[no name no slogan]

2. Good for Howard

Too bad his record of accepting $$$ from corporate bigwigs in energy and pharma belie his statements.

[LuminousX]

4. LOL

Stuff like this cracks me up.

[ebw]

3. Like those early patriots ...

Like those early patriots ...

A company of Abenakis traveled to Cambridge to join General Washington's army, the British then occupying Boston.

A company of Abenakis joined General Arnold's army attempting to invade Lower Canada.

Oh well, wrapped-in-flag and hokum-as-history is par for the course.