Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant writes Obama, condemning attack on Gaza

[ellenrr]

http://jewishsound.org/seattle-city-councilmember-kshama-sawants-letter-to-the-president/

[King_David]

1. Someone well known ?

[Scootaloo]

4. if you're in Seattle, yes

She's a member of Socialist Alternative, and was a major pusher for the increase of Seattle's minimum wage.

[oberliner]

2. Good that the Seattle City Council is on that

I know making foreign policy statements is among their top priorities.

[kjones]

5. Ad hominem. It would be one thing to disagree with the content of her letter

but if you're going to make a deal about it, what exactly are your
foreign policy credentials?

Then again, I'm not someone to make a deal of that.

[oberliner]

6. I'm not rejecting their claim or argument - nor disagreeing with the content of the letter

I just think it's odd that the Seattle City Council is taking this up and wondering if they do that with respect to other international conflicts.

[kjones]

7. Well, everyone's got an opinion, why wouldn't people share it?

It's hard to believe, but even politicians are people. No, serious!


But for serious, serious, it makes sense for people to share there
opinions. Probably, many other people have written similar letters,
op-eds, etc. Higher chance of it to be heard though, it you are
"somebody."

Nobody can speak out about everything, so I kind of see whether
they speak out on other international conflicts to be irrelevant in
the context of this letter. Even if it's the only time they've done so,
I usually judge things by their own merit. In this case, I don't see
anything in the letter objectionable.

[oberliner]

8. Fair enough

I'd be curious to know what response is received, if any.

[kjones]

10. None most likely

but it's not about getting a response (well, unless it's a
figurative "response"...meaning action)
It's about sending a message.

[Ken Burch]

12. They do...and so do a lot of municipal councils, here and around the world.

Local governments everywhere have spoken out, for decades, on issues such as apartheid, the Contra War, the nuclear arms race, the Vietnam War, the exploitation of workers and municipal investment in companies that engage in it, and as many other international issues as you can think of.

Nothing new here, and I'm surprised you haven't heard of this.

[Ken Burch]

11. It's part of being progressive and humane.

You don't just deal with your own back yard. You remember that you're part of the world.

How is that a bad thing?

[Dems to Win]

3. I look forward to supporting Kshama Sawant's campaign for President in a few years

The Bernie Sanders of a new generation, unafraid of the S-word (socialism).

A powerful voice for worker rights and a livable minimum wage. I was thrilled when she won her seat on the council.

Sawant's been a guest on Thom Hartmann's show a couple of times. She's good people.

[Jefferson23]

9. More:

Councilmember Kshama Sawant shared a link.
August 6 · Edited
TONIGHT 7:30PM - Ron Dermer, Israel's Ambassador to the US, responds to my open letter to Obama condemning the violence in Gaza. I go live at 8pm to discuss the need for elected officials to take a stand and publicly speak out against this humanitarian crisis.

Live stream at http://player.liquidcompass.net/KIROFM

Councilmember Kshama Sawant shared a link.
August 7
Today, the Seattle chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace wrote to Seattle City Councilmembers asking them to join me in calling on Obama and Congress to issue a formal statement denouncing Israel’s siege and blockade of Gaza, along with the occupation of the West Bank, and calling for an end to all U.S. government military aid for Israel.

I am very grateful for their activism, and for taking this courageous moral stand against violence. This shows that people who care about social justice can stand together against it, regardless of ethnicity, race, creed and culture.
Letter of Support from Jewish Voice for Peace
sawant.seattle.gov
As the Seattle chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), we want to express support for Councilmember Sawant’s letter calling on Obama and Congress to condemn both Israel’s ongoing collective punishment of the people of Gaza and

https://www.facebook.com/cmkshama