Thoughts On the #IranDeal & the #Vote4Peace quest

Today was "Community Action Friday" for me.    As part of this, I put together a number of email outreach efforts to three local members of the US House who have declared their oppostion to the Iran Deal.  Here is an excerpt of the email which I sent off to Congressman Lieu's Office earlier today:

I wanted to take this opportunity to reach out to share some thoughts on the Iran with your office.    It has been a whirlwind of a week as the deliberations over the Iran Deal continues on such a "fast and furious" pace.

I was glad to see the Congressman having spent a week in Israel under the auspices of AIPAC.   I have profound concerns, though, in that the view represented by AIPAC is an unfortuante and distorted view of the realities in the Middle East today.   This is underscored by how The current Israeli Prmie Minister has said for over 20 years that Iran is about to have a bomb..and he was an ardent advocate of the Iraq war lending credence to the neo-con position.   The legacy of such advocacy is ever so evident today.

I understand that your office has met with members of our organization: NIAC Action.  This is part of an on-going effort nationwide to advocate for peace.    This is also personal.    I was awestruck was when I saw the story on the Guardian (which I sent forth and also available here by clicking on this link ) on   leading Iranians  earlier this week who came out in support of the deal.  For me personally, it was quite moving when I saw Nasrin Soutodeh who spent three years in prison for simply being a lawyer and many of us did what we could to lend our voice to her plight.   It was heart wrenching to read the her  husband daily notations on Facebook .  It was also quite a feat for me to see the banned Director, Jafar Panahi (and many others) who came out in support of this deal too.   As a side note, his latest film (all taken in a Taxi in Tehran in a hidden camera) won the Berlin Award.    Here is a story on it from the BBC back in February of this year.  

Beyond these, it was also quite amazing as I saw Kohyar Goudarzhi (whose case I have also followed since the advent of the Green Movement) come out in support of the deal as reported in the conservative J-Post earlier this week:

http://m.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran/Ex-Iranian-prisoner-to-Jpost-413427#article=6017RkFCNDlFRjQ4NTFEMzg0QjM5OEUzQTNGOTdFQjNEMjE=

It was also interesting on the reporting this morning on two more folks who came out in support of the deal:

• Pat Buchanan Supporting the Deal: http://m.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran/Pat-Buchanan-comes-out-strongly-in-favor-of-Iran-nuclear-deal-413110#article=10373NzQxQjcyREZCQzYyM0Q2Qzg3NUU4QThFNkI5MjdFRTQ=
• Barney Frank comes out in Support of the deal: http://forward.com/news/breaking-news/319860/11-jewish-ex-lawmakers-back-iran-deal/

I personally found it quite surprising that Pat Buchanan came out in support of the deal--although I am not sure if he's welcome in the Republican Party of Today as epitomized by the rise of Mr. Trump

It was also of note as a Coalition of 25 Faith Based Organizations sponsored a conference call in which Marie Hart of the State Department was the featured speaker.  Some 600 People joined the call Thursday night.

NIAC Action put together this clip on the continued grass roots effort by Iranian-Americans Throughout the United States on this as the 30th US Senator, Tom Carper, came out in support of the #IranDeal:

Working Away.....

It has been a whirlwind of a day here in #Outsiders.    I caught a brief media availability with Donald Trump after a speech he gave in South Carolina as he continued his standard talking points on Iran and mocked the New York Times.   This is as he continues his battle with Fox and Univision's Jorge Ramos.

As I assessed how Jorge Ramos was handled, the reaction in conservative media such as  Fox News was remarkable.  The called Ramos an "Activist" and not a journalist.    What was even more disturbing was how a supporter of Trump told Jorge Ramos to leave America.    This is as the current GOP contingent seems to be in line with Trump.   Megyn Kelly asked Ted Cruz a simple question:  Would he deport a 12-year child born in the United States?   Cruz's response:  I won't play the game of the mainstream liberal media (and I am paraphrasing--for the record).   It seems to me that he has no vision of governing--only his perception of what conservatism is.    In the World of "Cruz", no one else counts unless you sign on to his brand of "conservatism".  

As I was reflecting upon this,  what was clear to me is that folks don't seem to realize the sway that Jorge Ramos has.     It was even  especially hilarious to hear it from Sean Hannity who may consider himself a journalist--but he has epitomized the meaning of activism with how he has conducted himself on the air with direct support from Fox News.  

It was also heartbreaking as the World was witness to two young journalists shot to death.  I sent out a note of condolence to Alison Parker's fiancee earlier today.     On the same day a Louisana Policy Officer was shot to death while responding to a domestic disturbance.    Although expressions of sympathy are welcome, there needs to be more.     The team will be on the prowl on this.   There are too many such stories--many of them that goes unreported.

On the Prowl w/a "View of the Week"

As I was tending to support @Daily Outsider  today, I ran across this from a friend which I wanted to share in my "Corner" as this "View of the Week":

This beautiful story has a simple, yet important message.  Sometimes it is the simplest of stories that make us  ponder the most….