[WB-Discuss] Jim Hall/don't vote for him

[David Rolde]

Jim Hall is on the ballot as an Independent candidate for US Congress 
in the 7th district (which includes Watertown and Belmont) against 
incumbent Ed Markey. Hall claims to be a peace candidate. I found out 
he was running this year when he had a letter published in the Weston 
Town Crier last month. I was very pleased to find out there would be 
an alternative candidate to vote for ... until I checked out Hall's 
website and found out that he supported the US invasion of 
Afghanistan. I emailed him about this. Hall replied. He still thinks 
the invasion of Afghanistan was justified. And he offered several bad 
reasons for his position on this issue. Hall said that the Afghan 
government refused to turn over Bin Laden - which is false - the 
Afghan government actually offered to turn over Bin Laden but Bush 
refused and went straight to war.  Hall also justifies the invasion 
of Afghanistan as revenge ("... the attainment of some limited 
measure of justice for unspeakable mass murder required the 
international military operations that were undertaken.") ignoring 
the fact that tens of thousands of innocent Afghans were killed.  And 
Hall justifies the invasion of Afghanistan as part of the defense 
against terrorists who have "declared war not just on America but on 
civilization itself". This sounds like the whole Bush "war on 
terror"/"pre-emptive invasions" line.  You can read my correspondence 
with Hall below.

Anyway I'm sending this email out to encourage voters in the 7th 
Massachusetts US Congressional District to NOT vote for Jim Hall.  If 
you want to lodge a protest vote against Markey, I would suggest 
writing someone else in or writing yourself in or leaving the US 
Congress spot blank.  Any of these actions will not count as a vote 
for Markey. So you would be lowering Markey's vote total and vote 
percentage without voting for another war candidate.

I will be writing in Daniel Melnechuk, 100 Hardy Pond Rd., Waltham. 
Dan is the Treasurer of the Green-Rainbow Party. Dan campaigned as a 
write-in candidate for this congressional seat in 2002 and received 
over 800 votes but has not been campaigning this year. I have talked 
with Dan. Dan is concerned about Jim Hall's support for the US 
invasion of Afghanistan, and Dan at this point is planning to write 
himself in.  So I think Dan is a good choice to write in for US 
Congress tomorrow.

I think it is important not to support Jim Hall tomorrow because Hall 
ran against Markey in the Democratic primary in 2002.  If 
war-criminal Kerry is elected president, Ed Markey may be elected to 
replace Kerry as senator in a special election. Hall could switch 
back to Democratic Party and end up becoming our Congressperson.  We 
could end up with a congressperson who claims to be a peace activist 
but who votes to authorize additional wars.

- David

>Date: Mon, 1 Nov 2004 15:22:16 -0500
>To: "Jim Hall" <jimhallforcongress at hotmail.com>
>From: David Rolde <davidrolde at comcast.net>
>Subject: RE: Afghanistan/I can't vote for you
>Cc:
>Bcc:
>X-Attachments:
>
>Jim, Thanks for writing back to me.
>
>the Afghan Taliban government offered to put Bin Laden on trial in 
>Afghanistan or even to turn Bin Laden over to the US if the US would 
>provide some evidence that Bin Laden or Al Qaeda were responsible 
>for the 9/11 attacks.  This was reported by the New York Times and 
>other mainstream media.  Bush went straight to bombing and invading 
>Afghanistan, saying he would not "negotiate", i.e., he would not 
>allow the Afghan Taliban government to surrender the alleged 
>terrorists in order to avoid war.
>
>  The proper response to "horrifying criminal transgressions of 
>international norms of law and justice" (to use your own words) is a 
>proper investigation and adherence to international law in the 
>apprehension and trial of suspects. Immediate invasion of an entire 
>country, and the use of daisy-cutter bombs and large numbers of 
>cluster bombs killing tens of thousands of innocent people, and 
>disruption of the infrastructure of a country facing winter famine, 
>is not a proper response. Vigilanteism is not a proper response.
>
>Aghanistan is a mess in the aftermath of the US invasion.
>
>Even three years later, there has still been no proper investigation 
>of the 9/11 attacks. Many people throughout the world, including 50% 
>of New York City residents polled this past summer, believe that 
>elements within the US government were complicit in carrying out the 
>9/11 attacks.
>
>I hope you will investigate further the US attack against 
>Afghanistan and why it happened. I hope you will continue to think 
>about these issues. And I hope that if you ever become a US 
>Congressperson that you will not be fooled by whatever bogus 
>justifications the president and other warmongers come up with when 
>they are trying to sell you on their imperialist wars.
>
>I haven't been directly involved with Arlington UJP beyond going to 
>a couple of their events. But a perusal of their website, 
>arlingtonujp.org, leads me to believe that the group was founded on 
>opposition to the US military attack against Afghanistan.
>
>- David
>
>
>
>
>
>>Hi David,
>>
>>     Thanks for your e-mail and your interest in the Congressional 
>>race in our District.  I'm glad you're involved with UJP.  I 
>>participate with the UJP group in Arlington.
>>
>>     I do believe the military action we took in Afghanistan was 
>>necessary.  Here's how I wrote about it in August, 2002 (in my "The 
>>speech the President should give to the world," which is on my 
>>campaign website as part of the papers from my 2002 campaign):
>>.
>>           "I should also acknowledge that some citizens of my 
>>country opposed, honorably and honestly, any military action in 
>>Afghanistan.  But most of us in the United States, and, indeed, 
>>around the world, recognized that the Al Qaeda terrorists had 
>>declared war not just on America but on civilization itself.  There 
>>was never a thought that the attacks of September 11 were anything 
>>but horrifying criminal transgressions of international norms of 
>>law and justice.  It was broadly accepted, after the effort to 
>>achieve a peaceful surrender of those responsible for the September 
>>11 attacks failed, that self-defense to prevent further certain 
>>assaults as well as the attainment of some limited measure of 
>>justice for unspeakable mass murder required the international 
>>military operations that were undertaken."
>>
>>     Dan Melnechuk is a great guy and I was pleased he ran a 
>>write-in campaign in the general election two years ago.  Say hello 
>>to him for me for me when you see him.
>>
>>             -- Jim Hall
>>
>>>From: David Rolde <davidrolde at comcast.net>
>>>To: jimhallforcongress at hotmail.com
>>>Subject: Afghanistan/I can't vote for you
>>>Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 13:53:58 -0400
>>>
>>>Hello. I live in the district, in Weston.  I am a peace & justice 
>>>activist.  I serve on the Green-Rainbow Party State Committee and 
>>>on the Coordinating Committee of UJP (United for Justice with 
>>>Peace, a coalition of peace & justice groups in the Boston area.) 
>>>I was pleased when I saw your letter about a month ago in the 
>>>Weston Town Crier about your candidacy for US Congress as a "peace 
>>>candidate". But then I checked out your website and saw that you 
>>>unrepentedly supported Bush's brutal and unjustified invasion of 
>>>Afghanistan. You are not a real peace candidate. I will be writing 
>>>in Dan Melnechuk of Waltham for US Congress next Tuesday.  Dan ran 
>>>a write-in campaign for this office in 2002 and received over 800 
>>>votes. He is not campaigning this time.  But I don't see any 
>>>alternative to writing him in anyway since there is no acceptable 
>>>alternative candidate on the ballot.
>>>
>>>- David Rolde
>>
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