Peace...the issue that dares not speak its name

For the 8th straight election since America embarked on perpetual criminal war around the planet, the peace issue was not on the ballot Tuesday. Not a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent, Green or fringe party candidate dare raised the most important issue in our polity. They all realize perpetual war exists outside the political arena. They know there are no votes to be gained by talking peace when no one outside the less than 1% that fight these wars are directly impacted by them. They know that our economy depends on millions of jobs connected to funding the wars with hundreds of billions in weapons of civilian destruction (WCD) both used by our military and sold to our fellow warmongering nations like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The know that preaching peace is viewed with the suspicion of being disloyal to the venerated few we send to fight these wars. They ignore the staggering rates of suicide, homelessness, mental illness and yes, mass murder (Thousand Oaks?), perpetrated by the vets that come home damaged in mind, if not body. The first question I ask any congressman I happen across in my political work is "What are you doing to end America's senseless wars in the eight countries we know of?" The look I get is something like "Why are you wasting my time?" Alas, nothing will change till a groundswell of the 250 million American voters ask the same question.

Walt Zlotow

Glen Ellyn

Blue Wave turns DuPage Blue

It's been three days since Tuesday's election ,but it's still resonating in my mind, and I'm sure in most Milton Township Democrats as well. November 6, 2018, will long be remembered as the day we achieved the challenge laid down by local Democratic leadership 14 years earlier to turn DuPage Blue. With several close races still undecided, Democratic gains in Milton and DuPage were so dramatic both the media and the state Republican party have acknowledged the seismic shift in DuPage from overwhelmingly Republican to majority Democratic. Democratic gains here were top to bottom on the ballot from governor through Congress, the state legislature, the county board and the judiciary. The Blue Wave we hoped and worked so hard for spilled over into neighboring Republican majority counties Will , Kane, and Lake as well. Many reasons contributed to the Dupage Blue Wave. Trump? Yes. Changing demographics? Yes. But both of these would have been for naught if we hadn't fielded the largest and best candidate field ever in DuPage. Once set, countless volunteers stepped up to work passionately for over a year to end one party rule in DuPage, allowing many new Democrats to serve and promote the values we cherish. Time to kick back and celebrate, as Milton Dems will be doing this Thursday at our Candidate Celebratory Fest at Cozymels. For 14 years some said it could not be done. On November 6 we did it. And in two years, with your support, we'll do it again.

The Bard on Roskam, Hultgren defeats

The Bard on Roskam, Hultgren defeats

The Trib editorial 'Was Trump the undoing of Roskam and Hultgren?' tries to lay the blame for the ouster of these two previously bullet proof Republican warhorses in west suburban Chicago to Donald Trump instead of the real cause. What might that be? Let us count the ways. Both oppose reproductive choice for women. Both take money from the gun lobby while America's shooting gallery gets bloodier. Both deny global warming which most normal folks understand poses near imminent threat to our survival. Both oppose providing what every industrial country on the planet provides their citizenry; decent health care. Both offer nothing to solve the GOP manufactured immigration crisis. Both support endless tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, greatly expanding the worst income inequality in US history. Both ignore the impending deficit explosion to fund those tax cuts for the rich after previously using the deficit to oppose any help to the needy.

It took 12 years of Roskam and 8 years of Hultgren espousing these views to the detriment of their constituents for those constituents to rise up and boot them out. Yes, Trump was a factor, but nowhere near the factor of two shills for regressive Republican policies that prevented them from even engaging with their voters in a public forum. The Trib, which is in lockstep with those regressive policies, is incapable in admitting the truth of those bankrupt polices.

If Hultgren and Roskam were dissect their similar fate I can imagine this quote, paraphrasing the Bard, if they were honest:

"The fault, dear Roskam, is not in our Trump,
But in ourselves, that we lost Tuesday."

A good night; an historic night

The Blue Wave which swept the Trump Republicans from US House leadership washed ashore in DuPage County and Milton Township as well. Three Milton Democrats won elective office: Mary Ozog was top votegetter in a 4 candidate field for County Board 4, most of which is in Milton. Linda Davenport won the first DuPage County Circuit Court Judgeship in DuPage history. Jean Kaczmarek capped a decade of good citizenship as watchdog over County Clerk and Election Commission shenanigans by decisively winning the County Clerk post. In DuPage, five and possibly a sixth Democrat will join formerly sole County Board Democrat Liz Chaplin who won her re-election bid in a walk. On a federal level the Blue Wave swept two of the most regressive congressmen ever in DuPage from office: Peter Roskam in the Sixth and Randy Hultgren in the 14th. DuPage voted decisively for Sean Casten over Roskam 54% to 46%, while Lauren Underwood trounced Hultgren 63% to 37% in the small slice of DuPage in the 14th. Every statewide Democratic candidate won DuPage, In Milton and York Townships Terra Costa Howard, dedicated to serving ALL her constituents, ousted religious zealot Peter Breen from the state house in the Illinois 48th District.

Excellent candidates and thousands of volunteers made this possible. Much difficult work ahead....but today is a day to kick back and celebrate. Onward.

New Iran sanctions simply protecting our biggest war crimes ally

Most of the industrialized world is repulsed by our draconian new sanctions imposed Nov. 4 on Iran. Intended to devastate the Iranian economy and cause regime change there, they have nothing to do with Iran's adherence to the 2015 5+1 nuclear agreement. They have everything to do with destroying Iran as a rival to our biggest buyer of weapons of civilian destruction (WCD) and Yemen war crime ally Saudi Arabia. Let's see...the Saudis chop up a pesky journalist at the Saudi consulate in Turkey while dropping thousands of US bombs from US made warplanes on the hapless Yemenis, causing death, disease and starvation to millions. What does Trump do? He says the hundreds of thousands of US jobs the Saudis create buying our death stuff is worth it. Then, he pivots to our real bete noir Iran, ratcheting up new self destructive sanctions the rest of the world will ignore or work around to keep Iranian oil flowing. One tactic will be to move away from the US dollar as the major currency of world commerce.

While Trump is busy imposing sanctions on all of his imaginary enemies round he world, we need to impose our sanctions against the madness of his administration with our vote.

Senseless death must galvanize opposition to Afghan war

Major Brent Taylor, 39 year old mayor of North Ogden, UT, was murdered in Afghanistan Saturday by one of the Afghan commandos he was training. Taylor, father of seven, died there as a member of the Army National Guard. According to Utah governor Gary Herbert, colleagues of Taylor discouraged him from volunteering for a fourth tour saying "You've done enough". But Taylor "thought he could do some good in Afghanistan, to help the people be liberated."

Bunk. Taylor was simply cannon fodder for the US war party which wants America to continue its senseless, criminal war in Afghanistan forever to bring endless riches, power and glory to the Military-Industrial Complex. Insider attacks by Afghan forces are so common that the Pentagon discourages contact with Afghan forces. But since our primary mission there is training, such dangerous contact is unavoidable. The Afghans want to be liberated all right...from America's criminal intervention. That is why they try, and sometime succeed, in killing our trainers. Taylor is US coalition death number 3,509. Afghan deaths are in the tens, maybe hundreds of thousands. Squandered treasure may exceed a $trillion. We can honor Taylor's misguided service to the war party by demanding our congressmen and president end our Afghan mis-adventure. We pay for it...we can stop it.

Walt Zlotow

Glen Ellyn

Senseless death must galvanize opposition to Afghan war

Major Brent Taylor, 39 year old mayor of North Ogden, UT, was murdered in Afghanistan Saturday by one of the Afghan commandos he was training. Taylor, father of seven, died there as a member of the Army National Guard. According to Utah governor Gary Herbert, colleagues of Taylor discouraged him from volunteering for a fourth tour saying "You've done enough". But Taylor "thought he could do some good in Afghanistan, to help the people be liberated."

Bunk. Taylor was simply cannon fodder for the US war party which wants America to continue its senseless, criminal war in Afghanistan forever to bring endless riches, power and glory to the Military-Industrial Complex. Insider attacks by Afghan forces are so common that the Pentagon discourages contact with Afghan forces. But since our primary mission there is training, such dangerous contact is unavoidable. The Afghans want to be liberated all right...from America's criminal intervention. That is why they try, and sometime succeed, in killing our trainers. Taylor is US coalition death number 3,509. Afghan deaths are in the tens, maybe hundreds of thousands. Squandered treasure may exceed a $trillion. We can honor Taylor's misguided service to the war party by demanding our congressmen and president end our Afghan mis-adventure. We pay for it...we can stop it.