Peter Myers for Congress

John McCain: We went to Iraq because of our dependence on oil

Peter — Sun, 04 May 2008 05:50:00 +0000

At a town hall event in Denver on Friday, John McCain said the following:

"My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East that will - that will then prevent us - that will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East."

Straight from the Republican nominee's mouth, that is our reason for going to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not terrorism. Not weapons of mass destruction. Not liberation and democracy. It comes down to oil.

Seen in this context, peace and environmentally friendly policies go hand in hand. If the U.S. puts even a fraction of the money it puts into war into researching sustainable alternative energy sources, we can stop our dependence on Middle Eastern oil. If politicians no longer feel that America needs to invade sovereign states in order to secure oil fields, we no longer need a massive military-industrial complex.

Of course, what no presidential candidate is saying is on the tips of nearly every American's tongue: we as a nation need to consume less. We need to drive less. We need to take public transportation. We need to walk three blocks to the grocery store rather than drive there. We, as a nation and as individuals, after eight years of being asked by our government to do nothing but shop, need to tighten our belts.

I have immense faith in Americans and in the 15th District that we can take these important steps toward personal responsibility. I just wonder why neither of the other two candidates in this race are saying anything like this.

Let's go on a shopping spree, America

Peter — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:34:00 +0000

The Iraq War has cost Americans $3 trillion, and if the Democrats and Republicans in Congress have their way, it won't end any time soon. Check out 3trillion.org to see what we could have spent that money on.

What's truly scary is that this is only with money spent on the Iraq War, let alone our needless and wasteful spending on other military expansion. How many schools could we build with each of the 700 military bases we have on foreign soil? How many people could we guarantee medical coverage for if we hadn't built each of our 9 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, which each cost $4.5 billion to construct and $160 million to operate.

I invite you to my town hall meetings in Campbell on May 8th and 15th, where we will discuss how we can reclaim America's priorities from the hands of the warmongering Democrats and Republicans. The events will be held at 6 p.m. at the Campbell Library, which is located at 77 Harrison Ave. in downtown Campbell.

Upcoming Town Hall Meetings in Campbell

Peter — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:55:00 +0000

Please join me on Thursday, May 8th and Thursday, May 15th at the Campbell Library for two town hall meetings. Both meetings will begin at 6 p.m.

The Campbell Library is located at 77 Harrison Ave.

Myself and other Greens at San Jose State

Peter — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:40:00 +0000

Here's the article from the San Jose State Spartan Daily, describing a forum that I participated in last week. Here's perhaps the most interesting part:

The event was supposed to include representatives from the Green Party, the Socialist and Liberation Party, the American Independent Party, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

Jerry Denim, the American Independent Party representative, didn't show up, and as the event was set up, the Democratic and Republican representatives were nowhere to be found either.

At an event for students and other locals about the importance of politics in life, officials from the Democratic and Republican parties didn't even bother showing up, leaving their party views to be represented by students. Jim Doyle, Drew Johnson and I were more than happy to talk to over 40 people about Green Party views. If the two major parties continue to ignore the American people, the American people will ignore them.

Pentagon fed talking points to TV stations' military analysts

Peter — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 07:04:00 +0000

Under the Bush administration, the Pentagon has recruited a group of former military men to repeat the administration's talking points on news networks, according to an article in today's New York Times:

Many [analysts] also shared with Mr. Bush’s national security team a belief that pessimistic war coverage broke the nation’s will to win in Vietnam, and there was a mutual resolve not to let that happen with this war.

This was a major theme, for example, with Paul E. Vallely, a Fox News analyst from 2001 to 2007. A retired Army general who had specialized in psychological warfare, Mr. Vallely co-authored a paper in 1980 that accused American news organizations of failing to defend the nation from “enemy” propaganda during Vietnam.

“We lost the war — not because we were outfought, but because we were out Psyoped,” he wrote. He urged a radically new approach to psychological operations in future wars — taking aim at not just foreign adversaries but domestic audiences, too. He called his approach “MindWar” — using network TV and radio to “strengthen our national will to victory.”

The Bush administration is not the first to use the media in order to affect Americans' perception of war, nor will it be the last. American citizens do not naturally desire war; the assumption that a military solution is the best option is a message that the Pentagon systematically sends out through as many media as possible.

The American people deserve a voice in Congress that stands up against the military propaganda, and the 15th District has a chance to elect that voice in November.

Bush approved torture, and Congress still does nothing

Peter — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 03:52:00 +0000

ABC and other news sources confirmed earlier this month that President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice and others approved specific instances of torture in the years since September 11, 2001. Congress has yet to punish the executive branch. Reactions on Keith Olberman's show from Jonathan Turley of George Washington University:

Money quote: "Congress is like a convention of Claude Rains actors.... No one is doing anything about it. And so what we have is the need for someone to get off the theater and move to the actual in going and trying to investigate these crimes."

The Democrats and Republicans both protect the military-industrial complex, and refuse to rein in the misuse of our military forces. The United States cannot afford to be a country that tortures, and neither of the two major parties seems to understand that. Ending torture is a principal part of what we need to do to redeem our reputation abroad, and when elected, I'll do more than just talk about it.

Town Hall and Movie Screening in Campbell this Saturday

Peter — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:58:00 +0000

Please join me at my first town hall meeting at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 22, at the Campbell Library. We will be watching Eugene Jarecki's outstanding documentary, Why We Fight, which exposes the military-industrial complex and its dangers. After the movie, we will be discussing the film and any other issues you'd like to bring up.

The Campbell Library is located at 77 Harrison Ave. Campbell, CA 95008.

Paperwork completed

Peter — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 06:16:00 +0000

It's official: I'm on the ballot.

Thanks to everyone who's helped get the campaign this far. Now comes the real work.

A YouTube introduction

Peter — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 07:09:00 +0000

My first YouTube campaign video:

The Three Trillion Dollar War

Peter — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:58:00 +0000

Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel-winning economist, has written a book, along with Linda Bilmes, looking at the true cost of the Iraq war. He's interviewed here in the Guardian. To permanently borrow the phrase from Andrew Sullivan, here's the money quote:

Combined with the war, whoever inherits the White House faces a crisis of epic proportions. Where do they go from here? "The way that shapes the debate," says Stiglitz, "is that Americans have to say, 'Even if we stay for another two years, just two years, and we're spending $12bn a month up front in Iraq, and it's costing us another 50% in healthcare, disability, bringing it up to $18bn a month in Iraq, and you look at that in another 24 months, we're talking about half a trillion dollars more for two years - forgetting about the economic cost, the ancillary costs, the social costs - just looking at the budgetary cost - not including the interest - you have to say, is this the way we want to spend a half a trillion dollars? Will it make America stronger? Will it make the Middle East safer? Is this the way we want to spend it?"

The answer to Stiglitz's four rhetorical questions is a resounding no, and it applies to the U.S. military's situation in many more places than just Iraq.

February Update

Peter — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 04:45:00 +0000

Greetings from the Campbell office, where we had a great first month of the campaign. We raised over $600 and gathered dozens of the signatures required to get on the ballot. But this is just the beginning. Our fundraising goal for February is $2,000, and we need to finish gathering 250 signatures in order to get on the ballot. More on that in a minute.

A BOOST TO THE CAMPAIGN STAFF
I'm happy to announce the addition of Ben Rubin as the campaign's online media coordinator. Ben has experience working on Dennis Kucinich's presidential campaign, and has already been instrumental in the campaign. Part of his work has been to create a new cause on Facebook called "Peter Myers for Congress" and a Peter Myers political candidate, to whom you can join in support, just as you would for your favorite presidential candidate. I encourage you to search for both the cause and the candidate profile on Facebook, support both, and tell your friends.

GETTING SIGNATURES: CHANGE YOUR PARTY AFTER THE PRIMARIES
If you are registered as something other than a Green, Tuesday, November 5 is the last day that it makes sense to stay that way. After the primary, you can change your registration to Green and support my campaign. If you live in the 15th district, you can meet me at any time, fill out a new voter registration form as a Green, and then sign the petition to put me on the ballot. E-mail me at peter@myersforcalifornia.com or call me at 408-242-4212 to arrange the best time for you. We need those signatures in the next two weeks, so don't delay.

SUPER TUESDAY SUPER PARTY
After you celebrate your right to vote on Tuesday, celebrate what the Beastie Boys would call your right to party. Join me at my apartment in Campbell starting at 7 p.m. to watch the results come in while surrounded by like-minded people. It's also a great time to switch your registration and sign the petition. Campaign contributions of any amount are highly encouraged. E-mail or call me to RSVP and get directions to my apartment.

VOLUNTEERS
It's not too early to start volunteering. We need people to spread the word, especially at college and community college campuses around the area. We also need people to spread the word on the internet, both through blogging and Facebook. E-mail or call me to discuss which is the best way for you to help.

THE STATE OF OUR CAMPAIGN
The state of our campaign is growing, and it will continue to grow. See you on Tuesday, and don't forget to vote.

The Push for Signatures

Peter — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:36:00 +0000

Last night, I met with Merriam and Edward, two active Greens; and Paul, my friend, roommate and webmaster who is becoming more and more active in politics. We went to one of the South Bay's ubiquitous Starbucks and strategized about the campaign for more than two hours. I started by giving them an update:

The campaign has raised $310 in its first two weeks of fundraising. I set the goal for January at $1,000, so we've got to push in the second half of the month to meet our goal.

The past week has been slow because I was starting a new job and moving to a new apartment. That turbulence has largely stopped, and I'm now able to focus again on my campaign.

We discussed some long-term and short-term strategic goals, and we all came away very excited about the next month. In the short term, our goal is to get 250 signatures from registered Green Party voters in the district, so that we can safely exceed the 150 necessary to waive the expensive filing fee. We will be concentrating in Los Gatos and Campbell, where we live, and we'll build our momentum from there.

We all came away from the table with a list of things to do, including getting in touch with some other congressional candidates in the area. One task on my to-do list is already done; you can now download this flyer, which describes my campaign platform and prominently features the web address. You can start helping the campaign by printing out the flyer and handing them out to your friends, neighbors and acquaintances. It's time to mobilize, and I can't do it without your support.

Taking the power back

Peter — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 18:17:00 +0000

California was an interesting place this weekend; it just wasn't very well illuminated. Storms and gusts of wind over 50 mph knocked over power lines up and down the entire West coast. My parents' house in Los Gatos was without power from Friday morning until early Saturday morning, and the internet stayed down longer than that. No power and the inability to go outside in the bad weather made the day a bust in general, but I gathered some friends together and we played Scrabble by candlelight.

Sunday, with the power back on, I went to church with my parents, and even did some fundraising at coffee hour. I'm happy to say that we've now raised $200 in just the first week of the new year, on our way to our $1,000 goal for the month of January. Remember to contribute by clicking on "Join the Campaign" and the Donate button. A contribution of $25 or even less will be a step forward, allowing us to spread the word about the dangerous military-industrial complex.

Meeting with the Greens, and our first contributions

Peter — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:55:00 +0000

Tonight I went to the Green Party of Santa Clara County's monthly meeting, held at the Peace Center in San Jose on the first Thursday of every month. At the beginning of the meeting, I took 10 minutes out of the agenda to update everyone on my campaign's progress and to talk about my platform. They had some suggestions for me, and they also gave me my first campaign contributions; the campaign is now $83 in the black. It's a start, and hopefully there will be a whole lot more support where that came from.

I also registered two more people today, both as Greens. That brings our total registration numbers up to four people. Once again, not numbers to brag about yet, but the key word there is "yet".