Texas Longhorns with newborn calf in Bluebonnets

Texas Longhorns with newborn calf in Bluebonnets

Please note I have a new phone number...

512-517-2708

Alan Maki

Alan Maki
Doing research at the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas

It's time to claim our Peace Dividend

It's time to claim our Peace Dividend

We need to beat swords into plowshares.

We need to beat swords into plowshares.

A program for real change...

http://peaceandsocialjustice.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-progressive-program-for-real-change.html


What we need is a "21st Century Full Employment Act for Peace and Prosperity" which would make it a mandatory requirement that the president and Congress attain and maintain full employment.


"Voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct action by concerned citizens"

- Ben Franklin

Let's talk...

Let's talk...

Sunday, January 2, 2011

What to do about Israel... just cut off the money

Here is a letter to the editor for publication:

We need a president who has a constructive approach towards solving the problems in the Middle East. Barack Obama is not the President we need.

There have been a lot of reasons suggested to "Primary Obama;" I probably agree with most of the reasons but the situation in the Middle East if not resolved prevents us from solving many problems.

We should be funding job creation here in this country not supporting and subsidizing the Israeli killing machine.

We need to consider Obama as just one huge mistake not unlike George Bush.

Jimmy Carter and Hillary Clinton have suggested a concrete first step in solving the problems in the Middle East.

Hillary Clinton has stated regarding Israeli settlements in occupied lands:

"We want to see a stop to settlement construction, additions, natural growth -- any kind of settlement activity."


Former President Jimmy Carter has made similar suggestions.

On a "people level" we can enforce this by boycotting Israeli products; divesting all public investments by state, local governments their agencies and our universities. And by insisting that the U.S. government simply cuts off all further aid to Israel until all settlement activity is halted and the "occupied lands" returned to the Palestinian people--- we don't want to see a repeat in the Middle East like what happened here in the United States where armed force was used to steal the land from Native Americans and then "settlers" were brought in to occupy these stolen lands as Native Americans were shoved onto reservations.

Let's face it; the only reason Israel needs U.S. aid in the first place is to steal Palestinian land and push the Palestinian people onto reservations where they are forced to live in squalor and poverty.

As we are finding in Iraq and Afghanistan, occupation is an expensive process, not to mention contrary to everything most people consider decent.

Just cut off the money and let the Israelis figure out how to live in peace, friendship and cooperation with their Palestinian neighbors.