Political Campaign Emails
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A week ago, I was at a Pakistani community event in Orlando. The host tapped me on the shoulder, and whispered, “tell them how you stopped the drones.”
So I told them. I’ll tell you, too.
On October 29, 2013, I hosted the first Congressional briefing with the testimony of drone warfare victims.
About a year prior to that hearing, a grandmother in her sixties was picking okra in her garden in a small village in South Waziristan, in Pakistan. Her nine-year-old granddaughter was with her. Neither one was an enemy of the United States. Neither one was a threat to any American. Neither one was any kind of militant. In fact, neither really had ever given much thought to the United States.
A U.S. military drone flew overhead. It bombed them. The grandmother screamed and died. Her body was so butchered that the villagers would not allow her own children to see it.
Her granddaughter was permanently injured. She can’t walk anymore.
The grandmother joined the 1000 innocent victims of American drone warfare in Pakistan. A list that includes almost 200 children. By most accounts, between 10 percent and 30 percent of drone victims were guilty of nothing but being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. “Collateral damage” is the bloodless term that’s used.
During that hearing, one broken family got to tell its sad story to Congress, to the world. The son of the victim, Rafiq ur Rehman, spoke first. He and his mother lived in a village with no utilities, far from any road. He is a teacher. His mother was the village storyteller. In the eyes of the villagers, he said in elegy and in eulogy, she was “the string that held the pearls on a necklace.” And now she is gone.
His two children also testified. His daughter, who was with her grandmother that fateful day, spoke about her injuries. One of the children said that they used to pray for blue skies, because they were so beautiful. Now they pray for gray skies, because the drones are absent – temporarily.
Momina Bibi’s family wanted to know why the United States had killed Grandma. I didn’t have an answer. And I still don’t know why we kill so many innocent people in the name of our own security. But at least I was able to listen to this family, and learn. I heard their story, every single word of it. I bore witness to this gross injustice, and the pain it brought them.
The hearing room was filled wall-to-wall with Pakistani media. U.S. media, not so much. At the end of the hearing, a Pakistani reporter told me that the Pakistani Government was telling the public that it had no way to stop the American drone attacks.
I said, “the Pakistani Government could stop the drone attacks tomorrow. There is no way that these attacks could take place at all without the permission of the Pakistani Government.”
Cameras clicked. Reporters scribbled notes, and started dialing on their phones. That was the headline in the next day’s newspapers, all over Pakistan.
For several years before our hearing, there had been a fatal drone attack in Pakistan every two weeks. Shortly after our hearing, they stopped for an entire year. An entire year where blue skies no longer signified danger. An entire year of peace.
I wish I could tell them that that was all over for good. But I can’t do that.
Today, the Republican nominee for President of the United States not only has advocated more drone attacks, but has openly demanded that they be used to kill the children and families of those we suspect to be terrorists. And within our own borders, we suspected that a child was a terrorist because he built a clock for a school project.
Momina Bibi is dead. She will not be telling any more grand, poetic, and lyrical stories to her fellow villagers. There is no way to bring her back to life, or even to reassemble what’s left of the parts of her body. But if we’re willing to recognize that what happened to Momina Bibi, what happened to her granddaughter, and what has happened to so many others was wrong, if we are willing to listen and bear witness to these atrocities, and if we are willing to dedicate our energy to stop this from happening ever again, then Momina Bibi will not have died in vain.
Momina Bibi’s family had the courage to come forward and tell their story. This election cycle, we need to have the courage to listen and do something about it. We need to vote and speak and spend against anyone who is in favor of, or stays silent on, drones. We need to come together and support champions for peace.
And if we don’t? Then more innocent people will die.
How do you feel about that?
Courage,
Alan Grayson
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Sixteen years ago today, we voted on the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force in the House of Representatives. We all knew it would probably pass, granting then-President George W. Bush much more power to declare war at will, and essentially giving him a blank check to fund it.
I remember thinking that surely at least a few of my colleagues would join me to stand up against endless war. But then the bells rang, votes were cast, and the board was full of green lights. There was only one red one.
I cast the lone vote against the Authorization for Use of Military Force. And yet, because of people like you coming together to stand up against endless war with me, I was never really alone.
Not all of you reading this now, or those of you who were watching the vote then, come from my home state of California. But no matter where your physical home is, if you come from a place of love and compassion and reason, I am honored to represent you in Congress.
Your support through the years is what made that lone vote possible -- that little red light in the sea of green stood not only for my vote, but for your voice too. We sent a strong message that day, and I promise we’re going to keep speaking truth to power for as long as it takes to achieve peace.
If you feel inspired to contribute to our campaign so we can keep up the work to stop endless war, you can do so here. But regardless of any donations, I want to thank each and every one of you for being a part of this movement -- for making sure I wasn’t alone that day, or any day.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
Onward,
Rep. Barbara Lee
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Hi. Before I say anything else, I want to say thank you – thank you very much – to the 3000+ supporters who contributed to our “Oh-My-God-it’s-the-end-of-the-quarter!!!!” campaign. We raised almost $200,000 in contributions and pledges. If you didn’t contribute, fear not – we can still accept your EOQ cash, as in right here.
But we still have campaign bills to pay, and we still need mucho dinero between now and Election Day. So Howie Klein at Blue America PAC has once again stepped forward to provide a little extra motivation to our donors this week: the chance to receive the RIAA-certified award for the B-52’s most beloved album, “Cosmic Thing.” (Hey, man, the B-52’s, as in “Love Shack.” Where were you in 1989?) Anyone who contributes here to our campaign this week has a chance to be selected. Oh, and the winner gets something else, too, but if you want to know what that is, you will have to click here to find out. (Which reminds me of an old joke: “How do we keep all of our awesome supporters in suspense? I’ll tell you later.”)
For avoidance of doubt, I want to make it perfectly clear (in the Nixonian sense) that this offer refers to the B-52s the singing group, not the B-52s the long-range bombers. Obviously, it’s very important to avoid confusion on this point, so let me offer this helpful guide as to how to distinguish one from the other:
The bomber delivers up to 70,000 pounds of weapons. The band delivers up to 70,000 pounds of fun.
The bomber’s nickname is BUFF, which stands for “Big Ugly Fat F***er.” The band is not known by that name.
The bomber was started in 1946. The band was started in 1976.
The bomber can fire air-launched cruise missiles. The band cannot.
On at least six different occasions, the bomber has crashed while carrying nuclear weapons. (I’m serious.) This has never happened to the band.
The bomber is made by Boeing. The band was made by their mothers and fathers. (Not to be confused with the Mamas and the Papas.)
Boeing charges $54 million for a single B-52. The B-52s charge considerably less than that for a single.
On the other hand, here is something that they have in common: The bomber is capable of carrying out its strategic mission without dependence on advanced and intermediate bases controlled by other countries. So can the band.
With that in mind, I hereby invite you to establish your eligibility to receive the RIAA-certified award for the B-52’s best album, “Cosmic Thing,” by making a contribution to our campaign.
Please do so willingly and voluntarily, without any fear of retribution or reprisal if you fail to do so, because neither the bombers nor the band are under my command.
Look, would you please lay a few drachmas on the table for a chance to win the thing? Thanks.
Courage,
Rep. Alan Grayson
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At the end of 2016, we recruited a candidate in New York’s 14th Congressional District, after her brother reached out and suggested she’d make a good representative.
She didn’t have any money, any support from large donors, or any fancy political connections. But what she did have was much more important to us: clear progressive values, a strong commitment to her community, and a fierce determination to create change.
And that’s the story of how Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the third endorsement ever for us at Justice Democrats.
In just a minute, I’m going to ask you to contribute to Justice Democrats so we can elect more progressive champions like Alexandria. But first, let me explain how all of us here at Justice Democrats -- you included! -- won this election, and how Justice Democrats can keep winning with this strategy:
1. With your support, we raised over $100,000 for Alexandria’s campaign.
2. With your support, we built a phonebanking tool so volunteers could connect with voters -- and together, over one thousand volunteers made over 192,000 calls to over 86,000 voters for Alexandria!
3. With your support, printed out campaign literature, recruited a ton of talented volunteers, and helped build her website.
4. And because she couldn’t afford a full staff, our Justice Dems leadership team stepped in. Corbin Trent handled press and communications, Alexandra Rojas ran the texting, calling, and volunteer recruitment, and Saikat Chakrabarti took charge on fundraising, data, and the election day strategy.
We can replicate this strategy for inspiring candidates in progressive races all across the country -- but we can’t do it alone. We need consistent resources to hire the staff necessary to build these programs, to cover the voter targeting software, and to fund the dialer for phonebanking. That’s why we’re asking:
Can you make a monthly contribution to Justice Democrats to support these programs for candidates like Alexandria in races across the country?
If not, can you make a one-time contribution today to help us grow this program?
At Justice Democrats, we’re doing things differently. While other Democratic organizations endorse candidates based on who will be easiest to elect to Congress, Justice Democrats endorses candidates based on who will be the best representative in Congress.
We don’t deny endorsements to long-shot campaigns, no matter what the polls or pundits say. Instead, we do everything we can to help them overcome the odds -- because we know that if we can pull it off (like we did with Alexandria on Tuesday!), they’ll be able to make a tremendous impact in Congress. And even when we come up short, we’re still building a progressive bench for the next cycle.
If you agree that this is the best path forward to elect progressives, can you help us keep up this work by chipping in to support Justice Democrats today?
Thank you for being a Justice Democrat, for supporting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from the beginning, and for everything you do in this movement. This victory belongs to all of us.
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I think that LeBron James should pay the same percentage of his income in Social Security taxes as everyone else does.
He doesn’t. Not by a long shot. In fact, not by a 90-footer.
Most Americans pay 6.20% of their incomes to Social Security taxes. LeBron James pays 0.03% of his income toward Social Security taxes. In fact, he is finished paying his Social Security taxes in the second quarter of his first game of his season. Then he’s done for the rest of the game, and the rest of the season – including the playoffs. Even the offseason.
“Wow,” you say. Yes, “wow” indeed.
I want to make this clear – this is nothing personal. I love to watch LeBron James play basketball. I forgive him for taking his talents to South Beach, but then taking them right back to Cleveland. I look forward to his becoming the all-time NBA scoring champion during the 2021-22 season.
But I think that he should have to pay the same percentage in Social Security taxes as others do.
The Social Security tax applies only to the first $118,500 of income (the “cap”). As soon as LeBron or anyone else reaches that limit, they’re done for the year.
Which is precisely why some people fret about the system going broke. The solution is obvious. No cap, no problem. In addition to making our tax system more fair, scrapping the cap would make Social Security solvent forever and ever. And ever. So I have introduced a bill to do that, and the Social Security Administration has confirmed that it solves the problem once and for all. Sure, some Republicans would be sad – they’d have no excuse to push sadistic cuts in Social Security benefits. But the rest of us would be thrilled.
I have introduced the Grayson bill to “scrap the cap,” and I’m ready to fight for that in the Senate – but I’ll need your help to get there. Chip in $10, or whatever you can afford, to help make sure YOUR Social Security will be there for you, no matter how long you live >>
Q. When does a teacher stop paying Social Security taxes? A. Never.
Q. When does a nurse stop paying Social Security taxes? A. Never.
Q. Why do only the rich get this huge tax break, threatening the solvency of the program? A. I wish I knew.
Help me make Social Security solvent forever and ever by chipping in $10 or more to help me get to the Senate >>
Courage,
Alan Grayson
“Cleveland, city of light, city of magic.
Cleveland, city of light, you’re calling me.
Cleveland, even now, I can remember.
‘Cause the Cuyahoga River
Goes smoking through my dreams.
Burn on, big river, burn on.
Burn on, big river, burn on!”- Randy Newman, “Burn On, Big River” (1972).
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As Ernest Hemingway once wrote, "The world breaks everyone, and afterwards, many are strong in the broken places."
I like to think I’m one of those people who is strong in the broken places -- and that’s something I know to be true of Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly. I’d even venture to say it’s true for a lot of you reading this now, too.If you’ve been a part of this fight with Gabby and Mark for a while now, you know what it’s like to be knocked down again and again. I remember watching the Senate vote on expanded background checks for gun purchases with Gabby back in 2013, and feeling like the wind had been knocked out of me when we came up short.
You might already know this -- but just in case you don’t -- the secret to surviving these terrible moments, these experiences meant to break you permanently, is to get right back up and keep going. That’s what we did that day -- we just put one foot in front of the other and kept going.
Last week, about two months after the deadliest mass shooting in modern United States history, our own House of Representatives voted to make it easier to allow almost anyone to carry a loaded, concealed firearm almost anywhere in the United States. Another moment meant to break those of us who have been hurt by gun violence.
But that won’t stop us -- because you and I and Mark and Gabby -- we’re all strong in the broken places. We’re going to get up and keep going, and this is how we’re going to do it:
That same bill, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, will come up for a vote in the Senate soon, and we need your help to prevent it from passing. Will you add your name to Gabby Giffords’ petition demanding the Senate vote no on this dangerous bill?
One foot in front of the other. And I can say with absolute conviction that because of you and your tireless dedication to our cause, I am very optimistic about our chances at defeating this bill in the Senate.
Here’s the truth: we have more grit and courage and determination than the gun lobby. Their only motivation is profit -- and our motivations are so much more powerful than that. We are motivated by our moral obligation to make our nation a better and safer place. We know we must do everything in our power to diminish the prospect of gun violence for our friends, our family, our neighbors, and everyone else in this country.
That’s what we’re still fighting for -- and why I’m asking you to join me and Gabby Giffords in demanding the Senate reject this troubling bill by adding your name to her petition now >>
Thank you for getting back up with us -- I promise all the work we’re doing together now will be worth it.
-- Vice President Joe Biden
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I respectfully submit that you should contribute to our campaign today, before the midnight FEC deadline.
However, to be perfectly honest, nothing terrible will happen if you do not.
The Earth will not tilt wildly off its axis.
We will not suffer any unusual number of earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes or other natural disasters.
Barack Obama still will be President of the United States. Vladimir Putin still will be managing the other team.
E still will equal mC2. Pi will remain pi.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that basic fabric of human existence will remain the same either way, I think that you should contribute to our campaign today.
If you do not contribute, it’s safe to say that fresh water will not turn to blood. There will be no plagues of frogs, lice, flies, diseased livestock, boils, hail or locust. The skies will not turn dark any earlier than dusk. And for sure, it will have no effect on the health and wellbeing of your firstborn child.
All of that is true. But nevertheless, you ought to donate, right now, to our campaign, ideally by clicking on this very sentence, before the period.
I cannot say for a fact that your contributing to our campaign will make you wiser, or wittier, or more beautiful. (As we both know, there is barely any room for improvement.) I can’t state for certain that a donation from you will mean that you will win the lottery next week, or that you will go to heaven at some indeterminate point thereafter.
Leaving that aside, here is what I can tell you, for sure: your hard-earned cash goes toward justice, equality and peace. And those things are priceless.
But wait! There actually is one thing that you are GUARANTEED to earn if you contribute today!! What’s that, you ask? Well, I’m glad you asked.
Will you earn a raise? Not necessarily.
Will you earn the adoration of your peers? Not necessarily.
Will you win the next election? Well, you won’t, but I will.
No, this is what you earn: my thanks.
Thanks. Now go ahead and do it.
Courage,
Rep. Alan Grayson
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In the Nicomachean Ethics, the Greek philosopher Aristotle suggested that virtue is its own reward. I’m hoping that that’s true, because I’m not seeing any other reward lately. For sure, the media couldn’t care less about all of the good things that we do.
Let me give you a few examples, and then explain why this means that I need your help.
Example No. 1. Last October and November, I convened impromptu hearings in Capitol Hill regarding the innocent victims of drone warfare in Pakistan and Yemen. Hundreds of children had been killed, among others. I pointed out at those hearings that if the Government of Pakistan wanted to stop the drone attacks, it could do so overnight. That statement was front-page news in Pakistan. And lo and behold, the drone attacks stopped for six months, as did the murder of the innocents. How do I know that our action made the attacks stop? Because someone very high up and very close to the situation told me so. (If I told you who it was, they’d have to kill you – and probably send a drone to do it.) The cessation of drone attacks was barely reported in the United States. As far as I could tell, not a single article linked what we did to that result. (Fox News did take the opportunity, however, to slam me for cavorting with terrorists, or some nonsense like that.) News media coverage: zero – except for some idiotic local reporter who repeated the Fox lie verbatim.
Example No. 2. For several years, the CIA has had a policy against using journalists as spies, because this leads to the assumption that all journalists are spies. This prevents them from performing their journalism thing, and puts them in great danger. Earlier this year, I wrote to the CIA, and suggested the same principle should apply to health professionals. Doctors and nurses whom we were sending to disease-ridden backwaters were unable to perform their function because they were misperceived as spies. That meant that fatal diseases were not being treated, vaccinations were not being given, and our billion-dollar efforts to eradicate TB and malaria were failing. A few weeks ago, “Intelligence” released a statement that health professionals would not be used in spying. As far as I could tell, not a single article linked what we did to that outcome. News media coverage: zero.
Example No. 3. Last year, it came to my attention that a political prisoner was being held in Benin on the hokey pretext that he had tried to poison the President of Benin. The charges were so absurd that a judge ordered them dismissed – and then the judge was arrested, while the prisoner remained in prison. I had a diplomatic and cordial discussion about this with the Beninese Ambassador, after which I provided him with a deadline. After that deadline passed without action, I introduced a bill to cut off all U.S. aid to Benin. At which point this political prisoner was released. As far as I could tell, not a single article linked what we did to the release. News media coverage: zero.
And don’t even get me started on the subject of my outspoken opposition to U.S. military intervention in Syria. The final reported chemical weapons in Syria were destroyed last week. News media coverage: close to zero.
I pass more amendments than any other Member of the House. Local media coverage: zero.
I write more bills and resolutions than any other Member of Congress. Local media coverage: zero.
I’m the only Member of the House to raise most of his campaign funds from small donors. Local media coverage: zero.
But there were over 100 local “news” reports on certain divorce proceedings.
Maybe if I voted naked …
Essentially, the only thing that our voters in Central Florida hear about my work in Congress is whatever lies gibberish and drivel that the Koch Brothers vomit up onto our local TV screens.
And the only way for us to change that is for us to hire the canvassers, buy the internet ads, send the mailers and run those TV and radio spots. Which is why I need your help.
For all practical purposes, the so-called “mainstream media” has forged an alliance with the Far Right to treat America like a giant mushroom farm: keep us in the dark, and spread fertilizer all over us. The “mainstream media” deploys its weapons of mass distraction (Kim Kardashian! College Football!), while the Far Right inundates us with propaganda.
We have to break through that Iron Curtain of Malignant Stupidity. And your contribution powers our breakthrough.
The clock is ticking down to the end of the quarter. Our Federal Election Commission cutoff time is Monday night at midnight. Would you please give our campaign the resources we need to inform our voters?
Every dollar counts, because every human being counts. I’m counting on you. So stand up, and be counted.
Courage,
Rep. Alan Grayson
“A prophet is honored everywhere, except in his own land.”
– Matthew 13:57.