Via MCS
- 24. Jun, 2010
By Keith Johnson
With very few exceptions, the current crop of Armani suited sycophants who occupy seats in both houses of Congress must go!
Topping the list are those who pledge their allegiance to a certain foreign power in the Middle East. Israel and her supporters have proven to be nothing less than an embarrassment to our country and quite arguably our greatest liability.
Foreign policy experts agree that Israel’s government has threatened American interests worldwide. The latest raid on a Gaza peace flotilla has strained relations between the United States and its key Muslim ally, Turkey. Israel’s refusal to stop housing construction in Arab East Jerusalem has chilled relations with other Arab nations and has jeopardized moves to reach a peace deal, which is critical to America’s greater international interests.
General David Petraeus, who oversees America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has made links in recent months between long-running Arab-Israeli conflicts and American security interests. In March, Petraeus told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee:
“Israeli-Palestinian tensions often flare into violence and large-scale armed confrontations…The conflict foments anti-American sentiment, due to a perception of U.S. favouritism for Israel.”
In April, President Obama himself declared that conflicts in the Middle East were “costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure” and connected the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the jeopardized safety of American soldiers embroiled in battle with Islamic nations.
A government that claims to be concerned about ensuring its people’s safety cannot do so while turning a blind eye to Israel’s atrocities and providing her with unconditional support. So why does this unholy alliance persist?
In terms of foreign policy, the United States and Israel have a relationship similar to a character from the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Israel is the diminutive “Master” who is harnessed to the shoulders of its enormously strong, but dim-witted bodyguard known as “Blaster,” or (for purposes of this analogy) the United States government. Together they form “Master Blaster”, an uneasy power-truce that ultimateley benefits the brains over the brawn.
Its one big money laundering scheme. As I pointed out in a previous article, approximately 1/3 of the total foreign aid budget of the United States is annually sent to Israel even though they comprise less than .001 of the world’s population and has one of the world’s highest per capita incomes. Former Congressman James Traficant rightly pointed out recently that between the direct foreign aid grants to Israel, along with all of the other benefits including trade compacts, economic and military assistance, “Israel gets approximately $15 billion a year from the American taxpayers. That $15 billion is $30,000 for every man, woman and child in Israel.”
In a recent interview with Russia Today, Cynthia McKinney, a former US Presidential candidate stated that Pro-Israel lobbying has bought both congress and the executive branch. Here is a list of the top AIPAC contribution recipients:
Top Senate Recipients Funded
Joseph Lieberman $1,226,956
John McCain $750,368
Benjamin Cardin $487,572
Mitch McConnell $415,710
Richard Durbin $376,387
Carl Levin $366,378
Arlen Specter $338,080
Debbie Ann Stabenow $329,053
Bill Nelson $324,691
Jon Kyl $312,358
Mary Landrieu $291,609
Frank Lautenberg $260,333
Robert Menéndez $219,135
Daniel Inouye $197,750
Harry Reid $179,640
Sheldon Whitehouse $170,421
Ron Wyden $163,771
Maria Cantwell $162,598
Mark Udall $161,173
Christopher Dodd $158,132
Barbara Mikulski $152,050
Kent Conrad $150,410
Susan Collins $139,518
Mark Pryor $138,250
Jeff Merkley $136,130
Top House Recipients Funded
Mark Kirk $458,979
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen $141,507
Howard Berman $122,600
Eric Cantor $119,350
Ted Deutch $104,031
Steny Hoyer $100,050
Shelley Berkley $98,501
Gary Peters $94,522
Ron Klein $88,550
Nancy Pelosi $83,400
Steve Israel $77,000
Nita Lowey $68,600
Paul Hodes $65,950
Ike Skelton $64,049
Kendrick Meek $57,601
Deborah Halvorson $56,622
Gabrielle Giffords $56,000
Eliot Engel $54,600
Brad Sherman $53,500
Janice Schakowsky $53,195
Roy Blunt $47,550
Dan Burton $47,350
Alcee Hastings $46,150
Mary Jo Kilroy $46,135
Bill Foster $45,550
Debbie Wasserman Schultz $45,060
Robert Andrews $43,825
Patrick Murphy $41,000
Gary Ackerman $39,950
Brad Ellsworth $38,850
Silvestre Reyes $38,750
Lincoln Diaz-Balart $35,775
Steven LaTourette $35,325
Allyson Schwartz $33,625
Jerry Moran $33,300
Melissa Bean $33,150
Mike Pence $31,700
FULL LIST
http://maplight.org/us-congress/interest/J5100/view/all
Shaking these compromised criminals from their lofty posts and kicking them to the curb may seem like a monumental task, but the sea tide of change is definitely turning in our favor.
This week, a group of liberal progressives heckled Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during a convention speech in Washington D.C. An angry crowd screamed, “Stop funding Israeli Terror!” Some held banners, several flipped her the bird and many more threw trash. At one point, one of her aids broke into her speech and warned “Ma’am, they’re throwing stuff…we have to leave.”
In April, during the California Democratic Party Convention, Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA) got into a little tryst with insurgent Democratic challenger, Marcy Winograd. Harman was practically booed off the stage by a hostile caucus of liberal progressives who were more than displeased with her authorization of the Iraq War and other pro-Israel stances.
That same month, Senator Mike Pence (R-IND) received a similar reception at the latest Southern Republican Leadership Conference. After coming out in support of the construction of illegal Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem, Pence pledged, “America stands with Israel,” which drew just about as many jeers as it did cheers. This sort of outcry at a GOP function is unprecedented and would have been considered unthinkable less than ten years ago.
As we are starting to see, candidates who show unwavering and unconditional support for Israel are becoming pariahs on the campaign trail. Support for Israel among Democrats has taken a 13-point drop over the last year from 55% in 2009 to 42% in 2010. In contrast, support for Israel among the GOP has remained relatively the same, dropping only one point.
It will be interesting to see what transpires from now till November following last week’s brutal terrorist attack on humanitarian aid ships, collectively known as “The Freedom Flotilla, by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). At least nine people were killed, including one American who was shot, execution style, with four bullets to the head. Others were beaten and tased.
The international community has almost unanimously condemned Israel for this criminal act. But, in true form, the United States came to her defense. Over the past week, more than a dozen Senators and 60 members of the House of Representatives gave statements in support of Israel’s terrorism and the assassination of one of our citizens.
The most disturbing statement came from Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) who recently told reporters that he intends to seek the prosecution of any U.S. citizens who were aboard or involved with the Freedom Flotilla.
“The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 makes it absolutely illegal for any American to give food, money, school supplies, paper clips, concrete or weapons to Hamas or any of its officials,”“And so I will be asking the Attorney General to prosecute any American involved in what was clearly an effort to give items of value to a terrorist organization.” Sherman said on the Israel Project call conflating Hamas and Gaza’s civilian population.
Sherman also said that he plans on working with the Department of Homeland Security to make sure that any non-U.S. citizen involved with or aboard the Flotilla are excluded from entering the U.S.
One of the American’s who may be subject to Sherman’s persecution is retired US Navy veteran Joe Meadors, who was not only a victim of the assault on the Freedom Flotilla, but was also a victim of a previous Israeli assault some 43 years ago.
On June 8, 1967, Israeli warplanes attacked the USS Liberty off the coast of Egypt, where it was surreptitiously positioned to intercept radio communications. Joe Meadors was serving on board that ship. The attacks were deliberate and in broad daylight, involving many flyovers that dropped napalm and continuous strafing on a clearly marked American ship. There was a torpedo hole near the boiler room and thousands of bullet holes throughout the ship. Napalm lingered in the air. Almost three-dozen men died and over 170 more were wounded. Israel intended to sink the ship and blame the attack on Egypt in order to draw America into the Six Day War. Their attempt failed. Though the ship sustained massive damage, Captain William McGonagle was able to bring the vessel within a few miles of the coast of Israel. The ship stayed afloat, with the American flag still flying off its mast.
Joe Meadors is a man who twice suffered at the hands of Israel’s brutality and now is expected to suffer at the hands of her servants in the United States government…a government that he gallantly served.
I would urge all of those who consider this to be unacceptable to contact Brad Sherman and let him know how inappropriate his actions are. You may also want to remind him that US financial support for Israel is itself a criminal act. The State of Israel has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and have illegally pursued a nuclear weapons program. The 1976 Symington Amendment to the Foreign Appropriations Bill of 1961 forbids the United States from giving foreign aid to any nation that is developing nuclear technology outside the NNPT.
Washington D.C.
Brad Sherman 2242 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5911 (202) 225-5911
Fax: (202) 225-5879
San Fernando Valley
Brad Sherman 5000 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite 420
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Phone: (818) 501-9200 (818) 501-9200
Fax: (818) 501-1554
It should be clear by now that those who serve Israel cannot effectively serve the people of the United States. With the severe economic crisis that we face here at home, coupled with an environmental disaster of epic proportions brewing in the Gulf, we need politicians that will put America first, second and last.
Please copy the above list of AIPAC recipients and get them out to everyone you know. Let’s substitute Israeli loyalists in Washington DC with American Patriots who will stand up to their replacements and declare “This town isn’t big enough for the both of us!”
This article was taken from: Revolt of the Plebs
http://revoltoftheplebs.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/tel-aviv-on-the-potomac/
Uprooted Palestinian
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