It is obvious that none of the major Presidential candidates of either the Democratic or Republican Parties are supporting the right approach to providing universal healthcare. Frankly, all the Republican candidates are going to be major obstacles to achieving this national goal. While the top Democratic candidates (Clinton, Edwards and Obama) do support the concept, they are all offering Band-Aid approaches for a life-threatening economic and health crisis in America.

A bill has already been introduced in The House by Congressman John Conyers that effectively addresses the issue. H.R. 676 expands Medicare to cover all citizens.

The scope of the healthcare crisis in America is huge. It has very serious economic and moral implications. It is crippling our nation in terms of protecting American manufacturing, competing in the global economy and undermines our national security. It reflects badly on us as a just and moral society. It is literally killing Americans in huge numbers.

Of course we've long since established that they do not hate us for the reasons they say they hate us. For example, our military bases in their countries have nothing to do with it. When I mention to people in the U.S. that Italians or Czechs or Germans or Koreans are protesting new U.S. bases, the response is usually along the lines of:

"What are we building a base in Italy for? Are we at war with Italy now?"

Therefore the bases we have already built all over Italy and in 80 percent of the nations on earth, most of which nations we are not at war with, do not exist. Mention them, and the billions of dollars U.S. taxpayers spend on them, and the response is usually:

"Oh, really? That's terrible. Hey, are you going to watch the game tonight?"

Therefore, the reason they hate us must be something else. But it is obviously not the financial or trade policies we impose on other countries making it harder for people to earn a living. We know this because when people flee these policies and come here to try to earn a living we can tell by looking at them that it's entirely their own fault.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Rebellious voters defied Thailand's 15-month-old military coup, and cast their ballots overwhelmingly for a politician who supports ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, despite the junta's tribunals which indicted Mr. Thaksin for alleged massive corruption.

By opposing the coup, this Buddhist-majority, U.S. ally in Southeast Asia has returned to the stark confrontational days of 2006 when Mr. Thaksin's impoverished, rural supporters challenged an authoritarian, urban elite and its military protectors.

Sunday's (Dec. 23) vote proved that the coup leaders failed in their impromptu, menacing effort to destroy Mr. Thaksin and his brand of tricky, monopolistic, usurping politics.

Mr. Thaksin's victorious, self-described "nominee" candidate, Samak Sundaravej, captured at least 228 seats in Sunday's (Dec. 23) nationwide election for parliament's 480 positions.

Mr. Samak spent Monday (Dec. 24) luring smaller parties to join his new People Power Party (PPP), amid hopes they could form a majority coalition with Mr. Samak as Thailand's new prime minister.

Sen. Hillary Clinton
4420 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203

Re: Seasons of Discontent; a Presidential Occupation Project

Dear Senator Clinton:

I am writing to announce a new initiative of Voices for Creative Nonviolence and several peace and justice groups in the earliest races of the presidential campaign, SODaPOP, or "Seasons of Discontent; a Presidential Occupation Project." We at the Washington Peace Center are joining VCNV in this campaign, and are inviting activists to come to Iowa and New Hampshire from around the nation "to bring nonviolent civil resistance and civil disobedience to the campaign offices and headquarters of Presidential candidates, both Republican and Democrat, who do not publicly declare that they will take the necessary concrete steps to end the Iraq war, to rebuild Iraq, to forswear military attacks on other countries such as Iran, and to fully fund the Common Good in the U.S."