Col. Morris Davis @ Coffee Party Convention
http://bit.ly/btuJHY Colonel Morris Davis is a retired Air Force officer and attorney. He was the chief prosecutor for the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for two years, but resigned over the issues of torture and political interference in the trials. After retiring from the military he worked for Congress as a senior specialist in national security. He is now the executive director of the Crimes of War Project, a collaborative effort among journalists, academics, and attorneys to raise awareness of the laws of war.
Convention Builds Relationships, Momentum for Coffee Party
(LOUISVILLE, KY) Sept. 28, 2010 — Participants in the first Coffee Party Convention arrived home to 40 different states on Sunday and Monday, energized and determined to pursue electoral and legislative goals outlined during the three-day event.
Meredith Diamond drove six hours from Oberlin College with classmate Xenna Goh, and was struck by the agreement she witnessed across party lines. “It made me see a real hope for the sort of engagement the Coffee Party is pushing for, something I hadn’t thought possible until this weekend.”
Coffee Party members take group photo following “World Cafe” discussion session. (photo by Dan Damman)
Nearly 350 participants unified behind immediate actions and long-term commitments, such as supporting the Fair Elections Now legislation currently before the U.S. House and organizing for Coffee Vote, a voter engagement initiative that includes crafting voter guides. The Coffee Party also decided to send representatives to the “March to Restore Sanity” on October 30th, presenting the set piece of the convention — a gigantic Preamble to the Constitution commissioned by convention speaker Bill Moyer, and signed by this weekend’s conventioneers.
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Moe–Thank you for …
Moe–Thank you for what what you do and what you stand for. I must disagree with voyeurdug and xander7ful because A. The government does very little efficiently–your 25 years in the Air Force and my 39 years in the Navy are witness to much that is inefficient in government. If government is so efficient–why must it keep growing? And as to xander7ful’s comment that his/her vote doesn’t count has forgotten that an ocean starts with one drop of water at a time. Good work Moe!
Would take issue …
Would take issue with just one part of one example: the Base Realignment And Closure (BRAC) commission did its work very well… but the overall effect was to in the service of downsizing the civilian component of the DoD, and to privatize their functions. The stated objective was cost-savings – which were seldom realized – and the result was corporations getting paid for doing work inefficiently the government was doing efficiently.
This is a wonderful …
This is a wonderful speech. However, I take issue with his statement that people who don’t vote are lazy. It’s not a matter of being too lazy. At least for me, it’s realizing that no matter which party you vote for, you get the same results and no reform. I think that’s the conclusion most Americans are reaching.