Letter from Ed Asner
Dear Friend,
Had Enough? I have. I'm talking about George Bush. What I see of his presidency makes me sick at heart and fearful for the future of our nation.
His war in Iraq is an abomination. Thousands of our young men and women are dead. Tens, possibly hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed. Our country is more vulnerable to terrorism now than ever before. Our civil liberties are being dismantled. Bush has usurped unprecedented power for the presidency, rewritten our tax laws to favor his rich friends, and left hundreds of thousands of Americans in Louisiana and Mississippi living in shelters a year after Hurricane Katrina.
What happened to us? Suddenly, we live in a country led by a belligerent, religious zealot bent on serving the interests of the rich and powerful and tone deaf to the needs of everyone else. His foreign policy has only one objective: to increase the wealth and power of corporate America.
We have to fight back. We have to do everything in our power to limit Bush's ability to further his goals in the remaining two and a half years of his presidency.
Not only are our democracy and our future at stake; the future of Cuba and its people hang in the balance, as well, as Bush escalates his attacks on the island nation.
For years, the people of Cuba have depended upon us, their friends in the U.S., to prevent the worst American outrages against their country. But, today, in my view, there has never been a time when the danger has been as great as it is now.
Bush has a special section of the State Department actively preparing for immediate American intervention as soon as Fidel Castro dies or shows signs of transferring power. A step-by-step plan has been developed and $80 million has been allocated.
Bush has already intensified the 40-year-old trade embargo of Cuba. He's increased Radio Marti propaganda broadcasts into the country. He's reduced the visits that Cuban Americans can make to relatives on the island from once a year to once every three years, even if death or serious illness is involved. He's limited university exchange programs and drastically curtailed the ability of U.S. charities to work in Cuba, even religious charities.
In March, Church World Service, the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, and nine other groups said in a letter to Bush, "To hinder this activity is to strike at the heart of our religious identity and freedom." Apparently Bush being "born again" doesn't apply to Cuba.
Even his minor acts reveal Bush's pettiness and cruelty. For example, a group in Washington has been sending people to Cuba to build playgrounds. Bush's Treasury Department just amended their travel license. Now they have to complete their projects in four days instead of two weeks, and they can only bring three volunteers per playground instead of twenty-five.
Think that's ridiculous? Try this one. A group in New York has been sending donated pianos and piano parts, along with piano tuners, to Cuba since 1995. They're called, Send A Piana To Havana. They want to expand their activities, but the Treasury Department has informed them that if they do, they will face up to ten years in prison and fines of $1 million.
But along with these smaller projects, all the larger ones are being strangled, as well. The Wildlife Conservation Society, Oxfam America, The Cuban-American Jewish Mission, Madre, Operation USA, Pastors For Peace, all have had their activities in Cuba curtailed by the Bush administration. Indeed, Bush is drawing his noose around Cuba ever tighter.
So, what can we do to prevent these outrages? We must step up our public opposition, and convince more people and more organizations, religious, educational and charitable, to join us.
Disarm is already doing that. We are lobbying Congress, helping to write legislation, organizing broad coalitions that include business leaders and even some Republicans, putting together prestigious delegations to Cuba, and keeping the pressure on the Bush administration through the placement of favorable stories in the press.
Disarm will not stop sending lifesaving medical supplies to Cuba, as we have for twelve years. We remain one of the few organizations licensed to send medical teams to Cuba, and we have two more going later this year.
But this is the time for more forceful opposition to Bush and his policies. We must make it very clear that we are not going to sit idly by as he tries to strangle Cuba. We are not passive people, and we will not wait for a disastrous policy to get even worse.
I hope you will stand with me. There are three simple steps Disarm is asking you to take, immediately. I've spelled them out in the enclosed leaflet. First, call Bush and let him know how you feel, and be as forceful as you can. Second, help us organize more opposition to his policies in the Congress. Third, make a generous contribution today so Disarm can effectively escalate its opposition, while maintaining our lifesaving medical support for the people of Cuba.
Had enough? I have, too. These are extraordinary times and they require of all of us an extraordinary commitment. Please help, with your participation and a generous contribution.
Gratefully yours,
![Edward Asner [signature]](images/asner_sig.gif)
Edward Asner
P.S. If you've had enough of George Bush, please look at the leaflet I have enclosed. It will tell you exactly what you can do to oppose Bush and help the people of Cuba. Thank you.
