... "harvey@haveyouthought.com" <harvey@haveyouthought.com>...Sunday, May 3, 2009 9:18:23 PM
To:Harvey Arden <harveyarden@starpower.net>
From the desk of Harvey Arden Founder: ~The Wisdomkeepers Collective ~ "Bringing the Elders to the World & the World to the Elders" Author: WISDOMKEEPERS: Meetings with Native American Spiritual Elders DREAMKEEPERS: A Spirit-Journey into Aboriginal Australia NOBLE RED MAN: Lakota Wisdomkeeper Mathew King TRAVELS IN A STONE CANOE: The Return to the Wisdomkeepers ~HAVE YOU THOUGHT of LEONARD PELTIER LATELY?~ Editor: PRISON WRITINGS: MY LIFE IS MY SUN DANCE by Leonard Peltier WHITE BUFFALO TEACHINGS by Chief Arvol Looking Horse VOICE OF THE HAWK ELDER by Seneca Wisdomkeeper Edna Gordon *<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*+>* ~*~Open Letter to President Obama on Leonard Peltier~*~ Dear President Obama,On behalf of myself, friends, family and literally millions of people all across the United States and the world, I am writing you today concerning an urgent and heartfelt request: to consider the case of Leonard Peltier. For thirty-three years Mr. Peltier has been incarcerated in various American prisons for a crime that there is ample evidence to substantiate he did not commit. For thirty-three years Mr. Peltier, his lawyers and supporters have appealed to the powers that be in Washington to re-open, to re-try the case of the U.S. vs. Leonard Peltier. For thirty-three years these pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Now, at age 64, Leonard Peltier is approaching the end of his life and is in poor health, and those of us who are interested in Native American issues of social justice are trying one last time, when hope has returned to the American spirit and we have a president who espouses transparency and equanimity of policy and practice, to appeal to your sense of compassion and justice in a case that for many represents an opportunity to finally bridge the gap of broken treaties and broken trust between the First Nation peoples of this country and their government. We truly hope that with your new administration and its progressively positive attitudes of equal rights for all peoples, races, religions and economic status, that a time of reconciliation has finally arrived and some of the injustices of the past can be put right, with critical bridges crossed and war wounds healed. Rather than laying out the long history of the case of the U.S. vs. Leonard Peltier, I prefer to point you in the direction of Mr. Peltier’s book My Life Is My Sun Dance, a book he has written that was published in 1999 to universal acclaim and rave reviews (see enclosure), and which I had the great honor to edit. This book contains his full account of the events surrounding his arrest, his trial, his incarceration and the more than twenty-three years that followed. Also, you might want to consult your colleagues Senator Inouye and Gov. Bill Richardson on this case, as they are familiar with it and are supporters of the world-wide movement to reconsider, re-try and release Leonard Peltier from his incarceration as a political prisoner, wrongly convicted. To this end I would like to ask of you a favor by granting an audience to Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th-Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Pipe of the Great Lakota Nation, and myself, that we may deliver a message to you on behalf of all those concerned people around the world who have worked--by marching in protest, by contacting their representatives in government, by signing petitions, by writing letters, by working for his legal defense--so hard for Mr. Peltier’s freedom. We would be happy to meet with you, Vice President Biden, Sec. Hillary Clinton, Gov. Bill Richardson, Sen. Inouye, Jodi Archambault Gillette from the Office of Inter-governmental Affairs and anyone else you feel would appropriately need to be involved in such a meeting and any discussions that might occur to shed a brighter light on this matter. Such a meeting, we believe, would not only be a true sign of your willingness to begin a dialogue with Native peoples on issues of overlooked urgency and importance, but would go a long way, in good faith, to showing us that Democracy and Justice still have a meaning in America. Mr. President, it is with great hope and great expectations that my colleagues and I await your word in response to this letter of inquiry and appeal. Not only does the future of Leonard Peltier depend upon it, but also our hopes for a greater nation where there is truly liberty and justice for all peoples, including First Nation peoples. Respectfully yours,Harvey ArdenWashington, DCwith assistance from Thomas Rain Crow newnativepress@hotmail.com ~ Please send a copy of this to http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ ~ and FWD to folks on your personal email list We need to widen our Community of Souls!*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>* *************************************************************************
Founder: ~The Wisdomkeepers Collective ~ "Bringing the Elders to the World & the World to the Elders"
Author: WISDOMKEEPERS: Meetings with Native American Spiritual Elders
DREAMKEEPERS: A Spirit-Journey into Aboriginal Australia
NOBLE RED MAN: Lakota Wisdomkeeper Mathew King
TRAVELS IN A STONE CANOE: The Return to the Wisdomkeepers
~HAVE YOU THOUGHT of LEONARD PELTIER LATELY?~
Editor: PRISON WRITINGS: MY LIFE IS MY SUN DANCE by Leonard Peltier
WHITE BUFFALO TEACHINGS by Chief Arvol Looking Horse
VOICE OF THE HAWK ELDER by Seneca Wisdomkeeper Edna Gordon
*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*+>* ~*~Open Letter to President Obama on Leonard Peltier~*~ Dear President Obama,On behalf of myself, friends, family and literally millions of people all across the United States and the world, I am writing you today concerning an urgent and heartfelt request: to consider the case of Leonard Peltier. For thirty-three years Mr. Peltier has been incarcerated in various American prisons for a crime that there is ample evidence to substantiate he did not commit. For thirty-three years Mr. Peltier, his lawyers and supporters have appealed to the powers that be in Washington to re-open, to re-try the case of the U.S. vs. Leonard Peltier. For thirty-three years these pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Now, at age 64, Leonard Peltier is approaching the end of his life and is in poor health, and those of us who are interested in Native American issues of social justice are trying one last time, when hope has returned to the American spirit and we have a president who espouses transparency and equanimity of policy and practice, to appeal to your sense of compassion and justice in a case that for many represents an opportunity to finally bridge the gap of broken treaties and broken trust between the First Nation peoples of this country and their government. We truly hope that with your new administration and its progressively positive attitudes of equal rights for all peoples, races, religions and economic status, that a time of reconciliation has finally arrived and some of the injustices of the past can be put right, with critical bridges crossed and war wounds healed. Rather than laying out the long history of the case of the U.S. vs. Leonard Peltier, I prefer to point you in the direction of Mr. Peltier’s book My Life Is My Sun Dance, a book he has written that was published in 1999 to universal acclaim and rave reviews (see enclosure), and which I had the great honor to edit. This book contains his full account of the events surrounding his arrest, his trial, his incarceration and the more than twenty-three years that followed. Also, you might want to consult your colleagues Senator Inouye and Gov. Bill Richardson on this case, as they are familiar with it and are supporters of the world-wide movement to reconsider, re-try and release Leonard Peltier from his incarceration as a political prisoner, wrongly convicted. To this end I would like to ask of you a favor by granting an audience to Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th-Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Pipe of the Great Lakota Nation, and myself, that we may deliver a message to you on behalf of all those concerned people around the world who have worked--by marching in protest, by contacting their representatives in government, by signing petitions, by writing letters, by working for his legal defense--so hard for Mr. Peltier’s freedom. We would be happy to meet with you, Vice President Biden, Sec. Hillary Clinton, Gov. Bill Richardson, Sen. Inouye, Jodi Archambault Gillette from the Office of Inter-governmental Affairs and anyone else you feel would appropriately need to be involved in such a meeting and any discussions that might occur to shed a brighter light on this matter. Such a meeting, we believe, would not only be a true sign of your willingness to begin a dialogue with Native peoples on issues of overlooked urgency and importance, but would go a long way, in good faith, to showing us that Democracy and Justice still have a meaning in America. Mr. President, it is with great hope and great expectations that my colleagues and I await your word in response to this letter of inquiry and appeal. Not only does the future of Leonard Peltier depend upon it, but also our hopes for a greater nation where there is truly liberty and justice for all peoples, including First Nation peoples.
Respectfully yours,Harvey ArdenWashington, DCwith assistance from Thomas Rain Crow newnativepress@hotmail.com ~
Please send a copy of this to http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ ~ and FWD to folks on your personal email list We need to widen our Community of Souls!*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*<+>*
*************************************************************************
Check this out for yourself and come to your own conclusions ~ as to whether it is true or not, whether what it claims is valid or not ~ you exercise your own intelligence. Certainly all of us need to keep open minds and see that it is true that there are a lot of global maneuvers and manipulations going on in these troubled times!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw
2-22-2009 @7:04 AM ~ PSTPresident Obama has done a remarkable job so far as our New President. I am not under any false illusions about his being President, am glad that he was elected and believe that so far he is the best President that United States has ever had, especially in terms of his general progressive positions on issues of the times, although, not being in a perfect world, there are some serious drawbacks.
I am so glad that the Bush Regime is no longer in power with its Oval Office Cabal and President Obama looks like the knight in shining armor who has come to rescue us in comparison. After Fuhrer Bush just about anyone could be a better President because Fuhrer Bush was so disastrous and appalling as a mean villain who possibly had and has learning disabilities and psychological issues he needed to address but never did.
To me, there are two major areas that Obama is failing in: namely the continued U.S. role in the Middle East in Afghanistan and Iraq and still having no humane immigration policy towards undocumented so-called alien workers inside the United States. These are his Achilles Hells!Why must the U.S.A. and it's failed policies be repeated and go unlearned decades after the Vietnam War?!?! By many estimates there are from 15-20 million technically illegal immigrants inside the continental United States. What line does the U.S. government propose to put them in?!? How far has the apparently liberal voting U.S. general population evolved beyond the racist-nationalist Go Back To Mexico mentality of past decades?!?!United States: Can The Obama Administration Achieve Immigration Reform? Yes It Can! (Maybe)20 February 2009 ~ Article by Declan P. Mumford and Peter A. YostLink: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=74798
Yes, Obama becoming President has been a great quantum improvement over the failed state of the rogue Bush Regime, but let us not be under any false illusions or like children believe in fairy tales. The people's basic survival needs still need to be address by positive progressive elements inside and outside the United States, that is, core survival issues of food, clothing, shelter, medical care and basic education need to be discussed. Plus, U.S. policy needs to be re-analyzed and changed in positive directions that promote construcftive communications with all governments, organizations and special interest groups. Who determines who are our enemies and who are our friends? Each of us must make up our own minds as humane independent thinkers, not fascist parrots of whoever is 'in power and secure'.The present situation in the nation and from a global overview mandates that we all see and come to know that the real truth is in the center of connected reality, neither left nor right-wing. Clearly we must learn to understand the role of mass media, the positive aspecfts of purpose-driven propaganda and the power of the word without subconscious prejudice or narrow minded mentalities.
Do we genuinely love the people or not? If we are motivated by an unconditional love for the people what can we do on the local, regional and global level to help the people in their quest for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? We cannot look for political parties or great leaders to lead us out of this mess of madness the world is in. We must look within ourselves, resolve our own character issues, eliminate our own character defects and strive to be true humane beings with an undying love for all poor and oppressed-repressed peoples.
There is a lot of chaos and confusion in the world today. Many seek false escape through drugs (prescribed or not), alcohol and other intoxicants. Others escape through idle distractions of no significance via empty entertainment. Many of us are so busy living hand-to-mouth that we are just trying to survive with a semblance of sanity intact and make it through the day. Some people suffer from information overload that leaves their minds befuddled and others literally die for lack of real knowledge!!!What are you doing to make the world a better safer place to be for all of us? The whole world needs a lot of serious spiritual healing and redemption. Let us begin in our own homes (if you even have one), let us start with our own often neglected family members, in our own local communities among our neighbors who may be total strangers living right ned door and have a heart open for helping others in whatever ways we can that are basic, practical and meaningful. On the cosmic and quantum levels we should comprehend that we are all in this life together, that each of us is a drop in the ocean of humanity, a gene strand in the global gene pool and intrinsically interconnected with each other at one level or another of life existence.
President Obama alone cannot save us, but when we come together we can be one and do what we can to save all of humanity and help make this a better, safer cleaner world in our lifetime!Join Up! Join a meaningful movement! Galvanize your own group! Get involved with a relevant political party! If need be, start your own matrix, use your native intelligence and higher imagination with bold courage ! Above all, come to love yourself with purity, love and accept all people with whom you share common dreams!Come Together and Create!Peter S. LopezEmail: peter.lopez51@yahoo.comSacramento, California, Aztlanc/s
Update:9:52 AM
I am glad this blog of mine is still here. I am wondering what the Obama people will do with this website and the whole system of individual blogs. I suppose this is a good way for certain staff members and volunteers to review what is going on in people's minds in terms of their thoughts, ideas and opinions.
I work at an Emergency Shelter for the Salvation Army in Sacramento and I am glad I was able to actually see on TV President Obama's taking the Oath of Office and his Inauguration Speech. We will see what we will see.
I am an online moderator for several progressive groups and know about the power and potential power of the Internet. Blessings to All Eyes Who Read These Lines~ Peter S. Lopez aka: Peta-de-Aztlan
To: info@barackobama.com CC: "H-R-A GROUP" , "GROUP" , "Net-Aztlan-News GROUP" , "Group" , "San-Francisco PSL" , "GROUP" From: "Peter S. Lopez de-Aztlan" Add Mobile Alert Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 20:20:27 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Humane-Rights-Agenda Response to Obama Campaign About: John Edwards Wednesday, May 14, 2008 @8:01 PM To tell the truth ~ At first during the early weeks of the Democratic Primary Campaign I was in support of John Edwards, as opposed to Senator Hillary Clinton and the whole Clinton Clique, though I related to the daringness of Obama ~ the audacity of Obama! I really did not think that Senator Obama would get as far as he got and do as well as he was beginning to do ~ not in White racist dominated Amerika ~ but then I bought and read his book The Audacity of Hope and realized that he truly saw himself as an American, not necessarily an African-American but a true American of the best kind. I relate to the term Aztlan ~ Our Land ~ which is an ancient indigenous term for the U.S. Southwest. The term America came from an Italian mapmaker! It is not even native to these lands! It is from a European man and we can see what a mess Europe has become! Nevertheless, after reading The Audacity of Hope I recognized that Obama is a genius of these times. Now a genius does not simply mean that one is really smart in an intellectual sense, but rather a genius is someone who exemplifies and embodies the quintessence of the times. Obama belong to these times! He is running as a true American and know that he was a Constitutional professor! Relevant Link=http://www.law. uchicago. edu/media/ index.html Hillary Clinton is a liberal racist, even if she is not a conscious racist, her behavior and stance endangers the tangible possibility of Sen. Obama becoming the next Democratic President of the United States. Look at the behavior, not only listen to the liberal rhetoric, but observe the behavior! She shamelessly plays the race card ~ White Vs. Black ~ and even if she appeals to racists against Blacks for political gain she is still objectively being a racist and toying with racist minds. Minus, Mrs. Clinton is a reactionary egomaniac who is exploiting her role in history for her own petty vanity, playing the 'sex gender card' and could even foul up the whole Democratic Party efforts in its quest for the next President Election! Progressive women should not vote for Mrs. Clinton simply because she is a woman, the same as Black people should not for Obama simply because he is of African-American heritagte, though he is actually of mixed Black-and-White blood! The Obama Campaign for the Presidency has energized millions of people to actually be aware of what is going on, to actually register to vote and hopefully will result in many millions coming out to actually VOTE ON ELECTION DAY! Of course, the ultra-left wing in Amerika, as splintered and scattered as it is, will oppose Obama and as typical divorce itself from the common consciousness of the masses of the people. We have to look at who is the best candidate who is running who can actually win! In these times we should all come to see that CONNECTED REALITY is more complex that the lesser of two evils equation. We have one man in the person of Senator Barack Obama who would be the best President to bring about urgent needed changes inside the United States of Amnesia in a way that would be good for White people, Third World peoples and all of us in general. We can always debate, disagree and dialogue with a progressive new Presidential Administartion after it is 'in power and secure'. There will always be conflicts, confusions and contradictions in Amerikan politics and this will continue and intensify as time goes on... and it will. The Left-Wing must grasp the fact that the Truth is in the center. The whole Left WIng vs. Right-Wing is another European import that first came out of France and England. Recall: Historically, during the 1800s the liberals in European parliaments sat on the left side of the president's chair, a habit that began in 1789 in the French Estates General, where the nobility sat on the King's right side. Thus the name "left wing." The expressions left wing and right wing come from the British Parliament in the 1700's, when the Liberal party sat on the left and the Tory (conservative) party sat on the right. The whole Left-Wing Vs. Right-Wing schizophrenia was originally a mere seating arrangement! Happenstance! Get a grip on connected reality! Relevant Link= http://www.progress .org/fold64. htm Independent Third Parties are still important and relevant in the context of Amerikan electoral politics, especially to high light issues of vital important, such as, the need for humane immigration legislation, new energy policies and helping homeless people who are actually Amerika's domestic refugees, but no Third Party will have a substantial impact on the next Presidential Election. In the future, perhaps, but not in this first decade of the new Millenium! Recall: most sane historians recognize that Fuhrer Bush stole the 2000 Election in a legal coup-d'-etat. The whole Electoral College needs to be dismissed and we should go strictly by the popular vote! So the race goes on for the White House. The Obama Candidacy is a key indicator of the state of race relations inisde the United States, though we should all do the math and remember that Third World people of Latin America, Africa and Asia together constitute the majority of the world's peoples: the Third World is the numerical majority worldiwde! Will the American people be able to overcome their racism and actually VOTE FOR A BLACK MAN FOR PRESIDENT, namely, BARACK OBAMA! Will those who are eligible to VOTE actually VOTE for the BEST CANDIDATE for the Office of the PRESIDENCY REGARDLESS OF ANY SUPERFICIAL RACIAL OR SEXUAL CATEOGRY? WILL YOU?! Si Se Puede Con Obama! Peter S. Lopez ~aka Peta Yahoo Email: sacranative@ yahoo.com Sacramento, California, U.S.A. Relevant Links= http://www.presiden tialelection. com/ http://edition. cnn.com/2008/ POLITICS/ 05/14/edwards. obama/?imw= Y&iref=mpstoryemail http://edition. cnn.com/2008/ POLITICS/ 05/14/edwards. obama/?imw= Y&iref=mpstoryemail# cnnSTCVideo ++++++++++++ +++++++++ +++++++++ +++++++++ +++ Barack Obama wrote: Peter -- I have some very exciting news. My good friend John Edwards is endorsing our campaign and joining our movement for change. We're here in Grand Rapids, Michigan -- and if you receive this message in time, you can probably turn on your TV and be part of the moment. I'm deeply honored by John's support. He is a true leader who dedicated his career to improving the lives of ordinary Americans.
John ran a strong, principled campaign for president, focusing on a number of important issues where we share common ground -- universal health care, bringing our troops home from Iraq, and eliminating poverty in America. The way he ran his campaign was also important. He ran in a way that reflected our shared conviction that we need to fundamentally change politics. Like our campaign, John's campaign never accepted donations from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. Let's welcome John Edwards to the campaign with an outpouring of the kind of grassroots support that is bringing our political process back to the people. Make a donation of whatever you can afford now, and if you choose, include your own note to Senator Edwards. I'll make sure he gets them: https://donate. barackobama. com/johnedwards Thank you for all that you're doing, Barack Paid for by Obama for America This email was sent to: sacranative@ yahoo.com ++++++++++++ +++++++++ Come Together and Create! Peter S. Lopez ~aka:Peta Sacramento, California, Aztlan Email: sacranative@ yahoo.com http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/Humane- Rights-Agenda/ http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/NetworkAzt lan_News/ http://www.networkaztlan.com/ C/S
Monday, April 28, 2008 ~ I was going through my Yahoo Emails and clicked open this Email:Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:35:08 -0400To: sacranative@yahoo.comFrom:"Barack Obama" info@barackobama.com Subject:Update: An important battleground
Friend --
I wanted to take a moment to let you know where we stand in Oregon, one of the biggest remaining battleground states.
As I've traveled across Oregon, I've spoken to veterans, students, and hard-working families about the challenges middle-class America is facing -- and about how we're going to start solving them.
I see the excitement on the ground, and I truly believe Oregon is ready to stand up for a different kind of politics. But only if people like you get involved and take ownership of this effort.
In the coming days, supporters from nearby states will be coming to Oregon to knock on doors, make phone calls, and reach out to as many voters as possible before the primary -- and they need your help.
I know this is a big decision. But what's brought our campaign where we are today is that so many people -- including many who never thought they'd get involved in politics in their lifetime -- have taken that leap to help us succeed.
We need to build our movement in Oregon, so I hope you'll sign up to take the trip this weekend:
http://my.barackobama.com/volunteerOR
People are paying attention to what's happening in Oregon.
They know how far we've traveled together, but they want to know whether we can close this race, secure the nomination, and finally bring about the change our country so desperately needs.
We can bring jobs back to communities across America, reduce the price of gas, and put an end to the war in Iraq -- but we need to finish strongly in Oregon.
We have just three weeks.
I hope you'll join us.
Barack+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Well I cannot make it to Oregon, though if I had the resources I would for a time, but my job and general situation in Sacramento kere me here. I will try to do what I can, manage my time better and actually get involved in doing Voter Registration/Education work in a local community instead of merely talking about what I want to do and just do it!
Action speaks louder than vocal words, though we must utilize the power of the word too in ur collecdtive struggles for peace, justice and true democracy.
Obama For President! Si Se Puede Con Obama!Peter S. Lopez ~aka PetaSacramento, CaliforniaEmail: peter.lopez51@yahoo.comc/s
