Obama on divestment; comments from Dave Parshall, Jeff Glasgow and Molly Janczyk; and a message you need to send NOW

From Dave Parshall, August 31, 2007

I just sent the Obama campaign an e-mail pointing out their lack of understanding with the divestiture issue and telling him he has lost a potential of 400,000 votes in Ohio. I will let you know if I get an answer. Dave Parshall

Jeff Glasgow to Molly Janczyk, August 31, 2007
Subject: RE: For Divestiture: Obama

I am beyond disappointed. I'm including a version of the e-mail I just sent to Obama. I edited out the things that make it personal to me. This is one time, I think a massive form response might get somebody's attention. I'm attaching it as a Word document and copying it into the message so that people who can't open it as an attachment can use it. I URGE EVERYONE TO COPY THIS AND PASTE INTO THE OBAMA WEBSITE COMMENT SCREEN. THE URL FOR THAT IS http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/contact2; THE DIRECT E-MAIL LINK IS info@barackobama.com I'm putting this in magenta again just like the sponsors of SB151 and SB161. I think the state sponsors backed off because they knew that this was coming in the U.S. Congress. I have not done any research, but I can only believe that you find the same fingerprints nationally as you do in Ohio. AGAIN, COPY THIS INTO OBAMA'S WEBSITE COMMENT SCREEN AND SEND IT TO EVERYONE THAT YOU CAN THINK OF. THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT PUBLIC EMPLOYEES ANY MORE-THIS IS ABOUT EVERYONE'S PENSION FUNDS.

HERE IS THE MESSAGE. SEND IT OUT!!!!

Senator Obama:

I read with dismay your "get tough with Iran" article. I would first observe that your rhetoric sounds so precisely like George Bush that I had to read it twice to make sure it hadn't been written by Karl Rove. You are going to "get tough" by looting my pension and the pensions of millions of Americans. Abrogating my right to expect fiduciary duty from my fund managers is unconstitutional, and even more importantly, grossly unfair. The idea of sacrificing someone else's future is something I thought was the sole province of right wing Republicans. What in the world are you thinking? Pension fund earnings pay for the health care of millions of elderly retirees. What do you say to them when they are told there is no money for health care?? Do you tell them to get a loan from the predatory lenders that you are "getting tough with" too? I promise you that unless you disavow this mean spirited and cruel attempt to loot the pension funds of all Americans, I will do everything in my power to assure that you are never elected to any office in the United States, let alone President. That may be a hollow threat from only one voter, but there are millions of us out there that you are cheating

And the word will spread.

From Molly Janczyk, August 31, 2007
Subject: For Divestiture: Obama

John Curry provided this copy of Obama's remarks re: divestiture.

I have been interested in Obama but now, I am disappointed in this stand. I cannot believe he is fully cognizant of this issue targeting pension systems. Divest your holdings! This is irresponsible for all those working innocently for Ford, Coca Cola, etc. >who will be displaced in countries just wanting to provide for their families. Pension money is our contributions and earnings, not the state's or government's to decide. It will cost pension >systems hundreds of millions of our money. It is shameful to target only one group punitively and its membership with little affect on Iran. There are many countries with terrorists throughout the world. This is not a way to stop >terrorism by targeting companies with shareholders dependent on their simple pensions. Disappointed.

Molly Janczyk

Hit Iran where it hurts
NY Daily News
August 30, 2007
By Barack Obama

Americans need to come together to confront the challenge posed by Iran. Yet the Bush administration and an anonymous senator are blocking a bill with bipartisan support that would ratchet up the pressure on the Iranian regime. It's time for this obstructionism to stop.

The decision to wage a misguided war in Iraq has substantially strengthened Iran, which now poses the greatest strategic challenge to U.S. interests in the Middle East in a generation. Iran supports violent groups and sectarian politics in Iraq, fuels terror and extremism across the Middle East and continues to make progress on its nuclear program in defiance of the international community. Meanwhile, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared that Israel must be "wiped off the map."

In response, the Bush administration's policy has been tough talk with little action and even fewer results. While conventional Washington thinking says we can only talk to people who agree with us, I believe that strong countries and strong Presidents shouldn't be afraid to talk directly to our adversaries to tell them where America stands. The Bush-Cheney diplomacy of not talking to Iran has not worked. As President, I will use all elements of American power to pressure the Iranian regime, including the power of tough, smart and principled diplomacy.

For diplomacy to work, we need to dial up our political and economic pressure - not just our tough talk. Iran's troubling behavior depends in large part on access to billions of dollars in oil and gas revenue. That is why I introduced the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act last May, to build on a movement across the country to divest from companies that do significant business with Iran. This would send a clear message about where America stands, increasing Iran's isolation and hitting the Iranian regime where it hurts.

The bill works in three ways. First, it would educate investors and pressure foreign companies to reconsider doing business with Iran by requiring the U.S. government to publish - every six months - a list of companies that invest more than $20 million in Iran's energy sector. Second, it would give explicit congressional authorization to state and local governments to divest the assets of their pension funds and other funds under their control from any company on the list. Third, it would give private fund managers who divest protection from lawsuits, while urging the government's own 401(k) fund to create "terror-free" and "genocide-free" investment options for government employees.

This common-sense approach enjoys broad support. Sam Brownback, a Republican senator and presidential candidate, joined me in introducing this bill. A companion bill passed the House of Representatives 408 to 6. The only obstacle now is a single senator who placed an anonymous "hold" on the bill, blocking it from coming to a vote.

This is exactly the kind of unaccountable obstruction that needs to change in Washington. Instead of having a debate in the open, a Bush administration ally is blocking the bill through a secret Washington maneuver - a maneuver that would be banned if a sweeping bipartisan ethics reform bill that I led the fight to pass is signed into law.

Talking tough and keeping our troops in the middle of Iraq's civil war has only served to strengthen Iran's position. It's time to turn the page on a failed foreign policy. It's time for strong diplomacy backed by common-sense measures that pressure the Iranian regime.

Obama, U.S. senator from Illinois, is running for the Democratic nomination for President.