Kucinich Reintroduces Department of Peace and Nonviolence Bill with 52 Cosponsors

[G_j]

http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/0206-07.htm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 6, 2007
2:09 PM

CONTACT: Dennis Kucinich
Natalie Laber 202-225-5871


Kucinich Reintroduces Department of Peace and Nonviolence Bill with 52 Cosponsors

WASHINGTON - February 6 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) gave the following speech on the floor of the House of Representatives today upon the reintroduction of the Department of Peace and Nonviolence bill.

“I have introduced legislation into the House of Representatives that gives the promise of transforming our country and the world. HR 808 creates a Department of Peace and Nonviolence. It is now supported by 52 Members of the House of Representatives.

“And it is supported by groups who yesterday came to Washington representing 45 states. Last night, nearly 1,000 people came to the George Washington University campus to hear about the Department of Peace and the hope that it brings for America.

“Mr. Speaker if you were to look at this clerk’s desk, just around the corner you’ll see engraved right into the desk of the Clerk of the House of Representatives the word peace.

“Peace is a foundational principle of this Congress and of this country and the bill gives it a chance to have an animating power in our civic life by addressing the issues of domestic violence, spousal abuse, child abuse, violence in the schools and racial violence.

“All of the concerns we have both domestically and internationally: peace.”

###

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

1. Here is the list of co-sponsors

http://www.thepeacealliance.org/content/view/275/


Co-Sponsors for 110th Congress
52 Initial Co-sponsors of the Department of Peace legislation in the 110th Congress. More to be updated soon.

Congress members:

Neil Abercrombie,
Robert Andrews,
Tammy Baldwin,
Corrine Brown,
Julia Carson,
Wm. Lacy Clay,
John Conyers, Jr.,
Elijah Cummings,
Danny Davis,
Susan Davis,
Peter DeFazio,
Keith Ellison,
Sam Farr,
Bob Filner,
Al Green,
Raul Grijalva,
Mazie Hirono,
Rush Holt,
Michael Honda,
Jesse Jackson, Jr.,
Sheila Jackson-Lee,
Eddie Bernice Johnson,
Stephanie Tubbs Jones,
Marcy Kaptur,
Carolyn Kilpatrick,
Barbara Lee,
John Lewis,
Carolyn Maloney,
Jim McDermott,
James McGovern,
Gregory Meeks,
George Miller,
Gwen Moore,
James Moran,
Jerrold Nadler,
Eleanor Holmes Norton,
Donald Payne,
Charles Rangel,
Steven Rothman,
Tim Ryan,
Jan Schakowsky,
Robert Scott (VA),
Jose Serrano,
Brad Sherman,
Ellen Tauscher,
Edolphus Towns,
Diane Watson,
Lynn Woolsey,
David Wu,
Albert Wynn

[Sherman A1]

10. Thanks for the list

My Congressman, Lacy Clay is on the it and I will have to send him an email supporting his co-sponsorship.

[nadinbrzezinski]

35. Woe time to thank my congress critter, what a pleasant

surprise

[bryant69]

2. The Department of Peace idea was the first time I heard of Kucinich

And has always struck me as the sort of proposal designed to make it easy for people to make fun of him.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[G_j]

3. of course that is something a reasonable and intelligent person would do

right?...make fun of the idea of a Dept. Of Peace (idea originally introduced by George Washington)

:shrug:

Dept of Peace= Bad
Dept of War (defense)= good

[bryant69]

4. Well i guess it depends on your definition of reasonable and intelligent

It sounds like a hippie idea. And it lends itself to joke after joke.

Bryant

[lonestarnot]

6. Let's hear yours.

[bryant69]

7. Somebody who already has my opinions?

No.

I would just say that the joke potential in proposing a "department of peace" should be obvious, and if you can't see that than you aren't reasonable. I could see seeing the joke potential and deciding to plow on through regardless (which is what i think Kucinich did).

Bryant

[G_j]

8. protecting the environment is a "hippie" idea also

let's make fun of that too

oh I forgot, the wingnuts already do


btw, anyone who makes jokes about peace is suspect IMO

[bryant69]

13. Well you'd hardly be the first person to suspect me

Usually of being a secret freeper.

Evidence here --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com/2003/04/new-cabinet-congressman-dennis-j.html

Bryant

[G_j]

22. no

I've read your posts here for years
I just think you may tend to resist genuinely progressive approaches to things

of course a freeper you are not
apologies if my post sounded otherwise

[bryant69]

25. I don't know what you mean by Progressive

But if it is synonymous with leftist than guilty as charged - I'm a moderate Democrat, not a leftist. I don't fit most definitions of Progressive either.

And you can take as read that the reason I'm not one of those things is because I think the things you want to do aren't ideal for America - probably a step up from what we have now, but still not great.

Bryant

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. Except a reasonable and intelligent person would realize...

we already have an agency that does all of those things. It's called the "Department of Justice".

[Benhurst]

9. Do you mean that department run by Gonzalez?

:rofl:

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

17. Uhm, you do realize it'd be another Gonzalez running this Dept. too, right?

[BayCityProgressive]

11. of course it will be turned into a joke

but anything even remotely progressive will be turned into a joke so it doesn't really matter. Did you see how Edwards was jumped on for saying he would raise taxes on the welathy? All the MSM left the "wealthy" part out and screeched that he would raise taxes. People in the MSM mock the Fairness Doctrine, single-payer healthcare ect. They do not support the working class in this country and will attack anything that would benefit them. The sooner we stop paying attention to the media the better. Our media is no better than the anti-Chavez media in Venezuela.

[G_j]

12. yea right

now there is a real joke

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

18. And you think this Department wouldn't be joke too under Bush?

The joke's on you if you think otherwise.

[Benhurst]

14. We don't really have a Department of Defense.

The Department of War should be restored, since its renaming was a bit of cold war hypocrisy no longer needed. Besides, we're reasonably good at war, at least the bombing part.

Then we should work to establish a real Department of Defense. 9/11 proved this nation has almost no defensive capabilities whatsoever. Even Castro's air force did a better job defending Cuba against pamphlet-dropping born-agains than The World's Only Superpower was able to provide the United States when attacked by 19 civilians brandishing box-cutters.

As for Washington's Department of Peace, all we are saying is give peace a chance. Hey, that has a nice ring to it. Might make a good song.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

19. I think they've called that the "Department of Homeland Security" (nt)

[Benhurst]

24. As long as the criminals who perpetrated the coup are in power,

everything about this government will be a joke, a sick one at that.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

28. No doubt. (nt)

[druidity33]

16. yeah...

"What's so funny 'bout Peace, Love and Understanding" anyway?

"All we are saying, is Give Peace a Chance"

We need good contemporary music that would embrace the current Peace Movement.

[Spider Jerusalem]

36. The idea wasn't introduced by George Washington...

it was introduced by Benjamin Rush. And the original proposal was at least in part a backdoor attempt to elevate Christianity to the status of state religion in spite of the Constitution (it called for the proposed "Peace Office" to be headed by a Christian, for the teaching of Christianity in schools, giving every American family a bible, and is in general highly questionable from the viewpoint of the secularist).

[habitual]

15. am i crazy

or am i not.. I just had a vision in my head that seemed like something that would not be so far fetched.

that the repubs would run with this idea and do like they have so much recently. Change the name of something to mean exactly what it isn't! I imagined them actually changing the name of the Dept. of War (Defense) to the Dept. of Peace. Of course it would function exactly the same.

:shrug:

[BayCityProgressive]

20. It doesn't have to be that way

if it says expressly in the bill thaqt the department supports only non-violence and conflict resolution without war or violence. If it passed, then the GOP would have to pass a bill through the house and senate changing that wording. Really the GOP could sabotage any program if they wanted.

[G_j]

23. non-violent conflict resolution

of course this is needed in the world today
how can people make a joke of this? They laughed at MLK too, I suppose.

[mikelgb]

21. the DOJ = DOP....lolz

yeah

tell that to Dr. King

[bryant69]

29. That is a non-sequitor

The fact that Department of Justice under Hoover acted badly and shamefully and shamefully is of course depressing. But that doesn't meant that a Department of Justice, properly organized and working as it should, couldn't serve the same position as the proposed Department of Peace.

Bryant

[Hun Joro]

26. Good for him.

I love Dennis! :loveya:

[Freddie Stubbs]

27. Now that Democrats runs Congress, this will likey be passed easily

[Flabbergasted]

30. Yeah K and R

[PhilipShore]

31. kick

:kick:

[Time4Peace]

32. Steven Tyler Supports the Department of Peace!

He showed up to play for a concert in DC...
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=66688


lead singer of the rock band AEROSMITH. Tyler explained how Peace Alliance Founder and Chair Marianne Williamson convinced him to perform at the event.

"I get a call from Marianne and she tells me what she is doing," said Tyler, who was vacationing in Maui, Hawaii, when he received the call. "She said, 'The road with no obstacles probably leads to nowhere.' That was the end of my vacation."

Tyler, who was accompanied by pianist and guitarist Russ Irwin, sang three of his hit songs including "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", "Pink", and "Dream On".

[upi402]

34. good, we need more troubadours of love and peace

one world

[cosmicdot]

33. link info

http://www.thepeacealliance.org/content/blogcategory/43/68/

http://www.thepeacealliance.org/

there's something to conflict resolution and management;
and, having a society with the skills, tools, knowledge, desire, etc.
to achieve peaceful solutions

http://www.thepeacealliance.org/content/blogcategory/80/181/

[G_j]

37. thanks and well said, nt