POPULAR EMPOWERMENT
Tennessee Citizen Action believes in the power of citizens acting from the grassroots level.  Our efforts range from the successful campaign to derail attempts to privatize Social Security to the ongoing movement to end the occupation of Iraq.  We work in a variety of coalitions to support social justice and advance the rights of the disabled, the economically disadvantaged, ethnic minorities, and working Americans.

Senior Retired Military Officers in Seven State Tour
Urge Congress to Oppose Escalation and Implement

              Date Certain to Redeploy Troops Out of Iraq

 

NASHVILLE—Retired top military officers held a press conference today in Nashville as part of a seven state fly around tour calling on Congress and President Bush to begin redeploying U.S. troops out of Iraq instead of sending more into harm’s way. The tour has included press conferences in Washington DC, Raleigh, Atlanta, Tallahassee, Birmingham, Nashville, Little Rock, and Kansas City.

 

Participating in the fly around tour press conferences are Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard, Jr. (USA, Ret.), former head of the National Defense University; Major General Mel Montano (USANG, Ret.)former Adjutant General of the New Mexico National Guard; and Captain Lawrence Korb (USNR, Ret.), a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress Action Fund and former Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan.

 

The officers expressed their opposition to President Bush’s Iraq policy and urged Congress to implement a new strategy in Iraq. They released a letter they sent to Congress expressing support for Congressional action that would begin redeployment of troops out of Iraq and assure protections for U.S. armed forces. In their letter, the officers wrote “The situation in Iraq, grave and deteriorating, is troubling to us both as former military commanders and as American citizens.”

President Bush’s escalation strategy to send more than 20,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq has been met with deep criticism from senior military leaders, the Iraq Study Group, Governors, our troops and the American public. The officers said that President Bush’s Iraq strategy has failed and called for a new strategy that protects our troops and implements responsible redeployment out of Iraq.

 

With the active Army under severe strain, National Guard and Reserve readiness at its lowest level in 35 years, and 90 percent of Guard Units not ready to go to Iraq, but being sent anyway, escalation is an irresponsible strategy.

The overextension of troops is leaving America more vulnerable and unable to respond with full capacity to other crises. The President’s escalation compounds these readiness problems, placing further strain on our troops. Many brigades have served multiple tours in Iraq and the exhaustion has been so severe that the Administration has violated commitments made to the troops. In order to execute his escalation plan, the President is now sending American military personnel back to Iraq who were so badly injured during previous deployments that they cannot wear body armor. Despite these clear pitfalls, the Bush administration continues to increase the number of troops involved in the escalation.

 

As former Assistant Secretary of Defense Korb has stated, "Our Army, the nation's Army, is in bad shape, and the surge will only make it worse for the Army and the country…We're about to undo 30 years of building the best all-volunteer Army we've had."

 

The officers stressed that Congress has a choice: open-ended war without end in Iraq or voting to protect our troops and set a date certain for redeploying troops. As military officers, they urged immediate and decisive action to change course. “We must redeploy, rebuild and reequip our troops for our own security, and reestablish our credibility in the world,” said Major General Mel Montano (USANG, Ret.).

 

In their letter to Congress, the officers urged a political solution. They asked Congress to use clear and definite timelines to hold the Iraqi government accountable to take control of their own country. “The recent change in strategy, coupled with the so-called surge, is too little and too late. It is time for the U.S. to change course and start redeploying our troops out of Iraq,” said General Gard.

 

The officers also advocated troop protections, “We urge you to ensure that our troops meet the readiness standards required to protect Americans both at home and abroad. We urge you to ensure that those who serve in the name of this country receive the health care and support they need when they return to us.”

 

President Bush has threatened to veto legislation that would implement these accountability measures, protect the troops and America’s security, and set a time frame for the safe redeployment of troops.

 

“The choice for Members of Congress is clear: vote to endorse the Bush Administration’s escalation policy of open-ended, permanent war in Iraq or vote to protect America's troops and implement a new policy for Iraq by setting a clear and definite timeline for redeploying U.S. troops from Iraq,” said Bill Mason of Tennessee Citizen Action.

 

The officers sign on letter is available online at:  http://www.nsnetwork.org/node/129

 

Americans Against Escalation in Iraq is a national campaign comprised of a variety of groups from across the political spectrum committed to stopping the Bush-McCain plan to send as many as 48,000 additional troops into a civil war in Iraq. Instead of escalation, Americans Against Escalation in Iraq urges a date certain for the responsible and safe redeployment of American forces out of Iraq.

Representatives of local social groups spoke out against Pres. George W. Bush's policies Tuesday in preparation for the State of the Union Address.

Christopher Clark, of Tennesseans for the Constitution, said Bush's initiatives have nice sounding names, but in reality the initiatives are not as good as they sound.

"George Bush you can put your boots in the oven, but that don't make them biscuits," Clark said.

Tennessee Citizen Action, a consumer advocacy organization based in Nashville, organized the event.

"Our focus is on economic justice," said Bill Mason, executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action.

The event highlighted ways various groups can fall through the cracks in the system.

Christina Kretchik, representative of Manna, said the problem is the cuts being made to many programs that will affect people who need the programs.

Kretchik said the new requirement to show a birth certificate or passport could keep Katrina survivors from getting aid if they don't have those documents available to them.

Karen Franklin, of the Tennessee chapter of the National Association of Social Worker, said the new budget would reduce funding to enforce child support collection.

Donna DeStefano of the Tennessee Disability Coalition, said as the baby boomers age their needs to be funding for disabled. She also said the Veterans Association needs to be improved in order to meet the needs of disabled veterans.

New Report: “Death Tax” is False Advertising

Tennessee Citizen Action Will Conduct a Press Conference Call to Release

a New Report Revealing That Very Few Tennesseans Pay the Estate Tax, but Hidden Costs of Repeal Would Harm Many

 

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Citizen Action will be releasing a new USAction/Emergency Campaign for America’s Priorities report titled “Protecting Tennessee's Priorities: The Hidden Costs of Repeal or Drastic Reduction of the Federal Estate Tax”. The report reveals the great cost estate tax repeal or reduction would have on Tennessee and how very few Tennesseans are actually taxed.

 

Congress is expected to vote on the estate tax issue this week. Tennessee Citizen Action is joining with the Emergency Campaign for America’s Priorities (ECAP) to urge Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) to vote “NO” on the drastic reduction or repeal of the estate tax which would only benefit a small number of multimillionaires. 

 

Eighteen families worth almost $200 billion, including the Walton family, founders of Wal-Mart, have mounted a relentless, years-long campaign to repeal the estate tax.

 

Repeal would give multimillion dollar tax handouts to the extremely wealthy while pushing a larger tax burden on middle class families and forcing cuts to vital public services. Senator Kyl’s proposal – repeal in reform’s clothing – would have a similar impact.

 

Tennessee Citizen Action, ECAP and other opponents of the repeal argue that Head Start, Medicaid, and education funding would be dramatically reduced in Tennessee if the estate tax is repealed or drastically reduced. They will remind Senator Frist that he/she was elected to look out for the interests of working families—not a small group of heirs and heiresses to the super wealthy.

Americans Against Escalation in Iraq

Tennessee Citizen Action

President Bush’s plan to escalate the war in Iraq, by putting more than twenty thousand additional U.S. troops in harms way in the midst of a civil war, represents no fundamental shift in strategy and is simply “Stay to Course” on steroids. The President’s decision is at odds with the views of his Generals, with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and with the American people who in November expressed their strong opposition to the current failed policy – a policy which the President is simply proposing to expand.

Nothing the President has proposed is new as escalations of troop levels have been tried before at least twice since June and failed. Also, a host of previous economic and diplomatic incentives for the Iraqis and the Iraqi government to end the civil war between the Sunnis and the Shiites have been unsuccessful and promises made by the Iraqi Prime Minister to quell the violence with an even hand have repeatedly been broken or ignored. The President is proposing to put more American lives in harms way and to put more American prestige, credibility, resources and materiel on the line to beef up a policy and approach to the sectarian violence in Iraq which has already failed.

With the President’s failure to protect the American people and our troops from further losses, the responsibility falls to Congress and the American people to stand up to the Bush-McCain Iraq Escalation Doctrine. Congress must protect our troops and continue to exercise its Constitutional authority to hold the President accountable for a change of course that turns Iraq over to the Iraqi people and allows for our troops to come home. The American people are proud of the bravery and courage our troops have shown in the face of tremendous challenges on the ground and a failed policy at home. However, Americans and Congressional leaders have made it clear that enough is enough – escalating the war in Iraq is the wrong policy and instead it is time for the responsible redeployment of troops from Iraq.

Americans Against Escalation in Iraq is a national campaign comprised of a variety groups from across the political spectrum – including Tennessee Citizen Action – that are committed to opposing the Bush-McCain plan to escalate the war in Iraq and to work for the responsible redeployment of American forces. Americans Against Escalation in Iraq includes Veterans, students, some of the nation’s leading anti-war voices, and progressive organizations which traditionally confine their activity to domestic issues. Many of the organizations coming together to lead Americans Against Escalation in Iraq include those which successfully mounted a national campaign in 2005 to defeat President Bush’s effort to privatize Social Security. Using that same campaign model, these organizations are joining with more traditional anti-war forces, Veterans and students to mount this campaign because the stakes are so high and because the future of a generation of Americans is on the line.

Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, which includes the Service Employees International Union, Tennessee Citizen Action, MoveOn.org Political Action, VoteVets.org, Center for American Progress Action Fund, USAction, Win Without War, Campaign for America’s Future, True Majority, Progressive States Network, Working Assets, Campus Progress and the United States Student Association, has banded together to launch a multi million dollar effort in twenty to twenty five states to apply pressure through paid advertising and a firestorm of grassroots mobilization opposing President Bush on his plan for escalating the war and on Members of Congress who must stand up to the President and insist on a policy which responsibly brings our troops home.

Americans Against Escalation in Iraq is employing all the facets of a traditional national campaign to oppose the escalation of the war– including paid advertising, massive grassroots mobilization and direct contact with Members of Congress. Americans Against Escalation in Iraq is holding thousands of events across the country in states and Congressional Districts targeting key members of the House and Senate and is employing the use of emails, text messaging, phone calls and the Internet to channel the opposition of Americans to the President’s plan towards a policy to bring our troops our home.

After nearly four years of combat, tens of thousands of U.S. casualties, and over $300 billion dollars diverted from unmet needs of Americans here at home, we believe America and our troops have sacrificed enough. It is time to bring the war to a close. Rather than escalating the crisis in Iraq, we believe the way forward is to begin the responsible redeployment of our troops out of Iraq.