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Peace Is Not Just The Absence Of War, It Is The Active Presence Of A Capacity For Love And Compassion, And Reciprocity. It Is An Awareness That Our Lives Are Not To Be Lived Simply For Ourselves Through Expressing Our Individuality, But We Confirm The Purpose Of Our Lives Through The Work Of Expressing Our Shared Sense Of Community In A Purposeful And Practical Way; To Sustain Our Own Lives We Sustain The Lives Of Others - In Family, In A Community Of Neighborhoods Called A City, And In A Community Of Nations Called The World.

-Dennis Kucinich

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Peace Is Not Just

Dennis Kucinich

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Peace Is Not Just The Absence Of War, It Is The Active Presence Of A Capacity For Love And Compassion, And Reciprocity. It Is An Awareness That Our Lives Are Not To Be Lived Simply For Ourselves Through Expressing Our Individuality, But We Confirm The Purpose Of Our Lives Through The Work Of Expressing Our Shared Sense Of Community In A Purposeful And Practical Way; To Sustain Our Own Lives We Sustain The Lives Of Others - In Family, In A Community Of Neighborhoods Called A City, And In A Community Of Nations Called The World.

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The Only Way To Meet Pressing Social Needs And Be Fiscally Responsible Is To Cut The Runaway Pentagon Budget, Which Now Almost Equals The Military Spending Of All Other Countries In The World Combined.

The Tax Code Is Not The Only Area Where The Administration Is Helping The Rich Get Richer And The Poor Get Poorer. It Has Spent $155 Billion For An Unnecessary War Driven By Fear.

We Are On The Path Toward Becoming The Sparta Of The 21st Century, Armed To The Teeth And Without The Capacity To Care For Our Own People.

Peace Is A Civil Right Which Makes Other Human Rights Possible. Peace Is A Precondition For Our Existence. Peace Permits Our Continued Existence.

In The Cleveland Area, I Have Been Instrumental In Helping To Save Or Create Thousands Of Jobs. People Know Me There As A Person Who Gets Involved.

If There Was An Olympics For Misleading, Mismanaging And Misappropriating, This Administration Would Take The Gold. World Records For Violations Of National And International Laws. They Want Another Four-year Term To Continue To Alienate Our Allies, Spend Our Children's Inheritance And Hollow Out Our Economy. We Can't Afford Another Republican Administration.

Citizens Across The United States Are Now Uniting In A Great Cause To Establish A Department Of Peace, Seeking Nothing Less Than The Transformation Of Our Society, To Make Non-violence An Organizing Principle, To Make War Archaic Through Creating A Paradigm Shift In Our Culture For Human Development, For Economic And Political Justice And For Violence Control.

We Tried War, We Tried Aggression, We Tried Intervention. None Of It Works. Why Don't We Try Peace, As A Science Of Human Relations, Not As Some Vague Notion - As Everyday Work.

We Cannot Take The President Off The Hook For An Illegal War That Was Based On Lies.

When Any One Of Us Is Aligned With Our Purpose, There Is An Inexhaustible Source Of Energy. Once You're Aligned With Your Purpose, The Energy Is Always There To Do Whatever You Need. You Never Get Tired, And You Do Everything With A Sense Of Joy. It's Actually Effortless - It's A Flow.

Iraq Does Not Pose An Imminent Threat To The United States Of Any Of Its Neighboring Nations.

It Is Fear Which Leads Us To War, ... It Is Fear Which Leads Us To Believe That We Must Kill Or Be Killed. Fear Which Leads Us To Attack Those Who Have Not Attacked Us. Fear Which Leads Us To Ring Our Nation In The Very Heavens With Weapons Of Mass Destruction.

Mass Destruction

Active Citizenship Begins With An Envisioning Of The Desired Outcome And A Conscious Application Of Spiritual Principles.

When You Consider That A Steelworker Who's Making $40,000 A Year Has Virtually The Same Tax Burden As Someone Who's Making $400,000 A Year, You See That There Are Inequities. This Administration Has Used The Tax Code To Accelerate Wealth To The Top. Most Of The Tax Breaks Have Gone To People In The Top Bracket.

My Philosophy Comes From A Worldview That Looks At The World As One. It's A Holistic View That Sees The World As Interconnected And Interdependent And Integrated In So Many Different Ways, Which Informs My Politics.

I Think We're In A New Era Where The Advancing Tide Is Towards Human Unity, Where People All Around The World Want To Come Together. The United States Is In A Position Where It Can Lead The Way Towards That And It Can Do It In Practical Ways By Affirming The Power Of The United Nations So That The International Process Makes Decisions On International Security.

We Must Work To Repeal Trade Agreements That Impede Access To Affordable Generic Drugs. We Must Work To Cause The Imf And The World Bank To Reduce And Eventually Eliminate The Debt That Takes Poor Nations' Resources Away From Crises Like Aids. We Must Focus America's Leadership On Addressing And Ending This Epidemic.

I Take Issue With Many People's Description Of People Being Illegal Immigrants. There Aren't Any Illegal Human Beings As Far As I'm Concerned.

First Of All, The Social Security Money Belongs To Main Street, Not To Wall Street. It Needs To Be Said Very Clearly Here That Privatization Is Off The Table... Social Security, As A Matter Of Fact, Is A Better Investment Now Than The Stock Market. There's A Higher Return. There's Guaranteed Cost-of-living Increases. Privatization You Have To Worry About The Value Of Your Account.

There Is A Deeper Truth Expressed In The Unity Of The United States. Implicate In The Union Of Our Country Is The Union Of All People. All People Are Essentially One. The World Is Interconnected Not Only On The Material Level Of Economics, Trade, Communication, And Transportation, But Innerconnected Through Human Consciousness, Through The Human Heart, Through The Heart Of The World, Through The Simply Expressed Impulse And Yearning To Be And To Breathe Free.

Dialogue Is Good, America Used To Talk To Iraq All The Time. Members Of Congress Don't Have Any Special Skill In Weapons Inspection. However, If Members Could Be Accompanied By Weapons Inspection Experts, That Could Be A Step In The Right Direction.

The Energy Of The Stars Becomes Us. We Become The Energy Of The Stars. Stardust And Spirit Unite And We Begin: One With The Universe, Whole And Holy. From One Source, Endless Creative Energy, Bursting Forth, Kinetic, Elemental; We, The Earth, Air, Water And Fire-source Of Nearly Fifteen Billion Years Of Cosmic Spiraling.

Reclaim Our Environment From Those Who Would Destroy It With Their Predatory Economic Behavior.

Because Of My Life Experience And Because Of My Public Life Experience, I Have The Ability To Lead This Nation And To Bring All People Together And To Lift Up The Cause Of This Nation So That We Once Again Become A Nation That Comes From The Heart And Reconnect With Our Optimism To Really Create A Nation That We Can All Be Proud Of.

We Have To Make Education A Priority, But All This Debate About Education And Testing Is Almost Beside The Point. We Only Spend A Fraction Of The Money On Education That We Spend On Arms Buildups. Under A Kucinich Administration, Education Becomes One Of The Top Domestic Priorities. We Put Money Into It. We Cause The Government To Be Vitally Involved In It. And We Make Sure Our Children Have The Love Of Knowledge.

The Patriot Act Allows Federal Agents To Look At Public And University Library Patron Circulation Records, Books Checked Out, Magazines Consulted, All Subject To Government Scrutiny. There Used To Be A Time In This Country When We Were Worried Whether Our Young People Knew How To Read. Now Some In Our Government Are More Worried That Government Agents Be Able To Find Out What People Are Reading.

Oh, My Family Lived In 21 Places Before I Was 17.

If You Want To Rock The Vote, You Have To Rock The Boat.

Peace Is A Condition Of The Heart. It's A State Of Mind, Of Tranquility, Of Calmness, And Of Centeredness. It's An Understanding Of The Reciprocal Nature Of Love, A Presence, A Journey. It's All Of Our Aspirations. Peace Is Not A Luxury Or Merely The Absence Of War, It's A Kind Of Grace - Which We're All Entitled To As People Who Are Alive. Peace Is An Active Presence Of The Capacity For A Higher Evolution Of Human Awareness.

I Don't Want To Bash Bill And Hillary, Because They're Friends Of Mine, But I Do Have A Difference Of Opinion About How To Take Back The House And The Senate.

I Think We Need To Look For Any Opening We Can To Avoid A War And We Shouldn't Pass Up Any Opportunity For Resolution.

The Fda Has Received Over A Million Comments From Citizens Demanding Labeling Of Gmos. 90 Percent Of Americans Agree. So, Why No Labeling?

I Am For Police Function That Protects Citizens Of This Great Nation, Not A Police Function That Is Used To Terrorize Them.

As Citizen-activists The World Over Merge, They Can Become An Irresistible Force To Create Peace And Protect The Planet. From Here Will Come A New Movement To Abolish Nuclear Weapons And All Weapons Of Mass Destruction. From Here Will Come The Demand For Sustainable Communities, For New Systems Of Energy, Transportation And Commerce. From Here Comes The Future Rushing In On Us. How Does One Acquire The Capacity For Active Citizenship? The Opportunities Exist Every Day...active Citizenship Begins With An Envisioning Of The Desired Outcome And A Conscious Application Of Spiritual Principles.

People Are Fed Up With The Politics Where Candidates Just Rip Each Other Apart And Then The Voters Lose In The End Because No One Really Knows What Anybody Stands For.

If We Can Change Ourselves, We Can Change The World. We're Not The Victims Of The World We See, We're The Victims Of The Way We See The World. This Is The Essence Of Compassionate Listening: Seeing The Person Next To You As A Part Of Yourself.

The Problems That Exist On Wall Street Today Go To The Center Of A Debate In This Country About Wealth And Democracy. We Cannot Keep Our Democracy If Those Who Are In Charge Of Handling The Engines Of Our Economy Are Not Honest With Their Shareholders. That's Why There Is A Role For Government Regulation Here. That Role For Government Is Breaking Up The Monopolies, Insisting On Public Disclosure, Insisting On Public Audits, Insisting On Restitution Whenever Someone Has Been Cheated.

He (george W. Bush) Is Going In The Wrong Way. And I Dare Say, That Is What The Strategy Of His Administration Is, Is Just To Wipe Out Government's Purpose For Any Social And Economic Justice At All.

We Must Work Toward The Elimination Of All Nuclear Weapons, And An End To Policies Which Cause This Country To Move Toward The Weaponization Of Space.

Lies Are Weapons Of Mass Destruction.

Mass Destruction

It's Time For Us To Review The Circumstances Under Which Corporations Gain Rights Superior To That Of Individuals In Our Society. It's Time For Us To Look At The Practices Of Corporations And Holding Them Accountable For Violations Of Law Which Often Go Unnoticed Because There Is Very Little Regulation.

We're Not Going To Have Medicare For All.if We At Least We Can Take A Step In That Direction By Giving People 50 - Age 55 To 64 A Chance To Buy In, Then We're Reconnecting With Some Of Those Ideals That Go Back To The Great Days Of Fdr.

This Country Was Taken Into War Based On Lies About Weapons Of Mass Destruction And Al Qaeda's Role With Respect To Iraq, Which There Wasn't One At The Time We Went In. I Want To State That Mr. Cheney Must Be Held Accountable. He Is Already Ginning Up A Cause For War Against Iran. Now, We Have To Stand For This Constitution, We Have To Protect And Defend This Constitution.

My Aspirations For This Country Would Be On The Scope Of What Franklin Roosevelt Brought To This Country In 1932 When He Saw A Nation That Was Broken Economically.

Public Control Of The Political Process Requires Public Financing. The Restoration Of Our American Democracy Depends Upon Public Financing.

I Think There Are People In This Congress Who Actually Believe That Government Does Not Have A Benign Role In The Lives Of The People, Except As An Engine To Redistribute The Wealth Of The Nation Upwards.

First Off, I Never Favored A Constitutional Amendment To Criminalize Abortion Or To Overturn Roe V. Wade.

But Beyond All That, The Question That Is Continually Begged Is Why Isn't America Leading The Way Toward Total Abolition Of Nuclear Weapons.

Let's Help People In This Country With The Resources We Have.

I Hold In My Heart That Rebellious Spirit Of Youth That Demands Change.

We Show Our Support And Love The Troops, Whatever Our Opinion.

Support And Love

Genetic Engineering Is Having A Serious Impact On The Food We Eat, On The Environment, And On Farmers. To Ensure We Can Maximize Benefits And Minimize Hazards, Congress Must Provide A Comprehensive Regulatory Framework For All Genetically Engineered Products.

We Cannot Avert Our Eyes Without Staining Our Souls.

The Belief In The Inevitability Of War Is A Self-fulfilling Prophecy... We Need An Alternative Vision, To See The World As One, As Interconnected.

Poverty Is A Weapon Of Mass Destruction. Joblessness Is A Weapon Of Mass Destruction, Homelessness, A Weapon Of Mass Destruction... Racism, A Weapon Of Mass Destruction, Fear, A Weapon Of Mass Destruction. We Must Disarm These Weapons And Renew Our Commitment To Quality Public Schools And Dedicated Teachers And Good Housing And Quality Health Care And Decent Jobs And Stronger Neighborhoods.

And My Approach Has Always Been To Stand Up And Speak Out On Behalf Of The Economic Rights Of People.

There's A Type Of Freedom That Occurs When Everything That You've Believed In And Worked For Is Shattered, Because Then You Have The Opportunity To Rebuild And To Put Yourself Back Together In A New Way.

I Am Running For President Of The United States To Enable The Goddess Of Peace To Encircle Within Her Arms All The Children Of This Country And All The Children Of The World.

We Have Weapons Of Mass Destruction We Have To Address Here At Home. Poverty Is A Weapon Of Mass Destruction. Homelessness Is A Weapon Of Mass Destruction. Unemployment Is A Weapon Of Mass Destruction.

Mass Destruction

Spirit Merges With Matter To Sanctify The Universe. Matter Transcends To Return To Spirit. The Interchangeability Of Matter And Spirit Means The Starlit Magic Of The Outermost Life Of Our Universe Becomes The Soul-light Magic Of The Innermost Life Of Our Self.

I Took The Position Of Organizing 126 Democrats Who Voted Against The Iraq War Resolution. And I Happen To Think It Was The Right Position. Today We're Faced With Over 500 Casualties, A Cost Of Over $200 Billion, And It Could Rise The Casualties Could Go Into The Thousands And The Costs Could Go Over A Half Trillion If We Stay There For Years, As A Number Of People On This Stage Intend To See Happen.

America Stands Strongest In Challenging Terrorism When We Do Not Give Up An Inch Of Our Civil Liberties.

We're Not Locked In To These Conditions That Degrade The Environment, And Jeopardize The Future Of Our Children.

America As A Nation Cannot Walk In Faith And Fear At The Same Time.

War Can Be So Impersonal Yet When We Put A Name, A Face, A Place And Match It To Families, Then War Is Not Impersonal.

Anyone Who Really Studies Catholicism Deeply Is Aware Of The Mystical Nature Of Our Faith. Even References To Christ's Mystical Body Has Connections To That Principle.

Crimes Against Humanity In Gaza: Is It Really A 'buffer Zone' - Or A Bigger Plan? -- It's Time To Step Back And Ask If We Want To Support Israel If It Wants To Eject All Palestinians From Their Land.

Corporations Are Reneging On Pension Obligations. Social Security Is Under Attack.

Everyone Has A Right To A Job, Everyone Has A Right To An Education, Everyone Has A Right To Health Care, Everyone Has A Right To Retirement Security, Everyone Has A Right To Housing, And Everyone Has A Right To Peace.

Economic Inequality

If You Drill, There's Going To Be A Spill. It's Axiomatic.

Fear Is A Weapon Of Mass Destruction.

Mass Destruction

Utilities Used Deregulation To Effect A Series Of Mergers Limiting Competition. In Order To Accelerate Profits, Cost Cutting Ensued, Involving The Layoff Of Thousands Of Utility Company Employees, Including Some Who Were Responsible For Maintenance Of Generation, Transmission, And Distribution Systems. A Number Of Investor-owned Utilities Stopped Investing In The Maintenance And Repair Of Their Own Equipment, And, Instead, Cut Costs To Enhance The Value Of Their Stock Rather Than Spending Money To Enhance The Value Of Their Service.

Peace Is Not Just The Absence Of War, It Is The Active Presence Of A Capacity For Love And Compassion, And Reciprocity. It Is An Awareness That Our Lives Are Not To Be Lived Simply For Ourselves Through Expressing Our Individuality, But We Confirm The Purpose Of Our Lives Through The Work Of Expressing Our Shared Sense Of Community In A Purposeful And Practical Way; To Sustain Our Own Lives We Sustain The Lives Of Others - In Family, In A Community Of Neighborhoods Called A City, And In A Community Of Nations Called The World.

My Political Career Goes Back To The '60s And Those Were Times Of Vigorous Debates.

I Said In October Of 2008 That There Was No Proof That Iraq Had Weapons Of Mass Destruction Or Had The Intention Or Capability Of Attacking The United States. Here We Are. Almost 4,700 Troops Died, Tens Of Thousands Injured, Over A Million Iraqis Dead. It Will Cost $5 Trillion In The End For The War.

Mass Destruction

I Live In The Same House I Purchased In 1971 For $22,500. I Think We Need To Increase The Minimum Wage And So All My Neighbors Can Get An Increase In Their Wages.

I Could Hear Your Heart And Soul Come Through Your Voice!

You Know, I Started My Career In Politics In 1967. I'm Not New To This. I Did Not Just Fall Off The Christmas Tree. I Understand The World Is Complex. I Know That There Are People Out There Who Want To Hurt Other People.

There Is No Reason Why Anyone In This Country Should Be Lacking Health Care When America Has The Resources Right Now. It Would Not Cost Much More Than What We Are Paying Right Now. As A Matter Of Fact, Americans Are Paying For A Universal Standard Of Care. They Are Just Not Getting It Because It Is All About Corporations Making A Profit. It Is Not About People. Support Medicare For All.

I Think It's Inconsistent To Tell The American People That You Oppose The War And, Yet, You Continue To Vote To Fund The War. Because Every Time You Vote To Fund The War, You're Reauthorizing The War All Over Again.

In The Past Week It Has Become Clear That The Vote On The Final Healthcare Bill Will Be Very Close. I Take This Vote With The Utmost Seriousness. I Am Quite Aware Of The Historic Fight That Has Lasted The Better Part Of The Last Century To Bring America In Line With Other Modern Democracies In Providing Single Payer Health Care.

There Are Many People Making A Difference. I Mean, Dr. King Never Held An Office. Gandhi Never Held An Office. There Are People Who Are Archetypes In Our Society Who Have Never Held Office And Made A Difference.

Look, I've Lost Before. And There's Always A Tomorrow.

We Need To See The Connection Between Global Warring And Global Warming, And It's Oil. Sustainability Is The Path To Peace.

Wake Up, America. The Insurance Companies Took Over Health Care. Wake Up, America. The Pharmaceutical Companies Took Over Drug Pricing. Wake Up, America. The Speculators Took Over Wall Street. Wake Up, America. They Want To Take Your Social Security. Wake Up, America. Multinational Corporations Took Over Our Trade Policies, Factories Are Closing, Good Paying Jobs Lost. Wake Up, America. We Went Into Iraq For Oil.

It Is Time For A Sustainable Energy Policy Which Puts Consumers, The Environment, Human Health, And Peace First.

Sustainable Energy

The United States Must Reach Out To The World Community With A New Plan To Stabilize Iraq, Bring U.n. Peacekeepers In, And Bring U.s. Troops Home.

That Is The America Which Stands Not In Pursuit Of An Axis Of Evil, But Which Is Itself At The Axis Of Hope And Faith And Peace And Freedom.

When You're Talking About Iraq And Oil, You're Talking About A Mess, No Matter Who's In Charge.

Everyone Should Have Health Insurance? I Say Everyone Should Have Health Care. I'm Not Selling Insurance.

Let Us Today Seek To Find That Place Within Each Of Us Where Dreams Are Made, Where Our Highest Aspirations Take Shape. Let Us Confirm The Power Of Our Humanity By Giving Architecture And Substance To The Dreams We Have For Our Nation, So That The Promised Land Of Social And Economic Justice That Is Within Our Dreams Will Soon Be Within Our Sight.

I Have Worked To Expand The Health Care Debate Beyond The Current For-profit System, To Include A Public Option And An Amendment To Free The States To Pursue Single Payer.

People Have A Right To Know What Is In The Food They Are Eating, And That The Food Is Safe.

When You Have Real Power You Don't Threaten. People Know What Your Capabilities Are.

The Scriptures Bid Us To Send Forth Our Light And Our Truth And When Children Carry Within Their Hearts The Torch Of Hope, They Learn The Darkness Yields Not Only To Man-made Fire, But To Starlight, To The Rising Sun, And To The Light Of The Soul.

Dominating All Earth From Outer Space Will Have An Out-of-this-world Price Tag, Perhaps More Than $1 Trillion. A Question: Why Reach For The Stars With Guns In Our Hands? Are There Weapons Of Mass Destruction On Mars?

Mass Destruction

We Have A Right To Defend Ourselves, But We Don't Have A Right To Aggress.

You Can Blow The World To Pieces, But You Can't Blow The World To Peace.

Republican Leaders Have Made Clear They Have No Plans To Use The Power Of Government To Stimulate The Economy, Invest In Job Creation And Spur Job Growth. The Fed's Plan Is To Give Banks More Money To Finance The Private Sector Job Creation. But Banks Have Ample Cash Now; They Aren't Lending, And The Private Sector Is Not Creating The Jobs. That Is Why We Have 15 Million People Unemployed.

Joblessness Is A Weapon Of Mass Destruction. Poverty Is A Weapon Of Mass Destruction. Hunger Is A Weapon Of Mass Destruction. Poor Health Care Is A Weapon Of Mass Destruction. Poor Education Is A Weapon Of Mass Destruction. Discrimination Is A Weapon Of Mass Destruction. Let Us Abolish Such Weapons Of Mass Destruction Here At Home.

I Think The Lord's Prayer Is A Very Powerful Prayer. And The Prayer Of St. Francis.

We Are Spending Millions, If Not Billions Of Dollars Every Year On Programs To Fight The Childhood Obesity Epidemic While Giving Almost $2 Billion Of Taxpayer Money To The Junk Food And Fast Food Industries To Make The Epidemic Worse.

Every Year At This Time, An Important Phrase Marks The Season: Peace On Earth And Goodwill Towards Men. It's So Common We Sometimes Forget About What It Really Means - That We Strive For A World Without War, A Society Where We Respect And Help Our Neighbors, A Place Where We Protect And Uplift Our Most In Need. This Isn't A Phrase We Should Live By For One Day Or One Month. It's A Set Of Values That Must Bond And Motivate Us Every Day.

2,074 Pages Isn't Nearly Enough To Cover Health Care For America.

Challege The Underlying Concepts Of Corporate Personhood.

Our Vision Of Interconnectedness Resonates With New Networks Of World Citizens In Nongovernmental Organizations Linking From Numberless Centers Of Energy, Expressing The Emergence Of A New Organic Whole, Seeking Unity Within And Across National Lines... If Governments And Their Leaders, Bound By Hierarchy And Patriarchy, Wedded To Military Might For Legitimacy, Fail To Grasp The Implications Of An Emerging World Consciousness For Cooperation, For Peace And For Sustainability, They May Become Irrelevant.

I Believe Health Care Is A Civil Right.

What I'd Do Is Not Have Usaid And The National Endowment For Democracy Working With U.s. Taxpayers' Money To Knock Off An Elected Government In Ukraine, Which Is What They Did. I Wouldn't Try To Force The People Of Ukraine Into A Deal With Nato Against Their Interest Or Into A Deal With The European Union, Which Is Against Their Economic Interest.

So Actually War Is Politically Profitable, Financially Profitable, Morally Depraved.

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