While Congressman Dennis Kucinich was reading his Articles of Impeachment address on the floor of the house, I called John Conyers' D.C. number as VFP (veterans for Peace) mail asked, thinking I would get his voice mail, as it was already evening.
To my surprise, Conyers himself answered. So I just politely told him that I and millions of Americans have come to believe that he is more responsible than Bush or anyone else for all the loss of life in the continuing wars of occupation, because he, Conyers, is blocking the impeachment process, the only hope Americans have to use constitutional law to end the wars, and to prosecute the mass homicidal crimes of the Bush administration acquiesced to by Congress.
Conyers, speaking very slowly and deliberately, repeated each word of the accusation to me,
"Let me get this straight, you are saying that I am most responsible for the wars and the killing..."-
I elaborated the point politely but firmly and spoke out as I had originally planned to:
"... guilty for the continuing killing and suffering more than Bush and Pelosi because they are doing what they are expected to do, but John Conyers is protecting their continuing the wars, by blocking the impeachment process with your powerful Chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee. So many people go on dying because of John Conyers."
Conyers again repeated the "guilty" variation word for word and then as if defending himself, said,
"Aren't you going to let me hear what the man has to say, first?"
I countered with telling him that it is not a question of what he might consider at this moment but rather weeks and weeks of his blocking the bill of impeachment already filed and fluffing-off the Veterans For Peace trying to speak to him - told him its not just about what he is doing right now but what he has been doing and not doing for a long time now.
How the Progressive Caucus and the Black Caucus are disappointing the people they are supposed to represent, and how these members are never quoting Martin Luther King's condemnations of U.S. imperialist wars and foreign policy of international predatory capitalism on the floor of Congress; how no congressman ever speaks of the suffering of families of Iraqis and Afghanis killed by Americans, just as the Vietnamese deaths that King cried out about are never mentioned.
Conyers:
"I introduced the bill that made the King national holiday"
Amazed at that proud interjection, I stammered something about that being great, but what about King's condemnations not being used?
Conyers words were so carefully enunciated, the words spaced out - I got the impression he was easily handling listening to Kucinich and listening and talking to me at the same time, probably because nothing much of what Kucinich was putting into the Congressional Record that was not already well known by people as informed as the Chairman.
Conyers would listen to me go on about such talk as my having been in the occupation troops in Nazi Germany - that the Germans were indifferent to the foreign lives being taken - that now I am witnessing it here in the States all my life.
Naturally, all time I'm thinking that I better let him listen to Kucinich and was always expecting him to cut me off and end the call, but he just let me go on, repeating during the fifteen or twenty minute call, at intervals, the admonishment as to why I didn't let him hear what Kucinich was saying, but every time I tried to wrap it up, Conyers would seem to be intent on hearing more or dragging it out.
We talked back and forth, me mostly, as he kept saying, "why don't you let me listen to the man"... and I kept saying sure go ahead but Conyers seemed truly taken aback and therefore interested in what I was saying to him as a member of the Veterans For Peace, and he kept me on the line.
At one stage in the conversation, he quizzed me on why so much is directed at him, there being so many others involved besides himself. I told Conyers how many millions of Americans there were, honest Americans, not capitalists, certainly not communists who realize most of our elected officials are not worth talking to (I said this is a great line from Dancing With Wolves), and that was why we call him, as someone we hope is worth talking to.
He asked for my telephone number in quite a serious tone, and carefully repeated it twice slowly, and said two or three times with emphasis that he would call me. He got my name wrong and when I corrected him, Conyers said, "I'm sorry"-. Putting great intention in his voice, insisted. He asked me where I was and when I answered New York City, I apologized for not being in his Michigan constituency,
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