Michael Moore: "A Man in Tunisia, a Movement on Wall Street, and the Soldier Who Ignited the Fuse"

Michael Moore:

The Pentagon and the national security apparatus are hell-bent on setting an example with Bradley Manning. But we as Americans have a right to know what is being done in our name and with our tax dollars. If the government tries to cover up its malfeasance, then it is the duty of each and every one of us, should the situation arise, to drag the truth, kicking and screaming if necessary, into the light of day.

The American flag was lowered in Iraq this past Thursday as our war on them officially came to an end. If anyone should be on trial or in the brig right now, it should be those men who lied to the nation in order to start this war -- and in doing so sent nearly 4,500 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis to their deaths.

But it is not Bush or Rumsfeld or Cheney or Wolfowitz who sit in prison tonight. It is the hero who exposed them. It is Bradley Manning who has lost his freedom and that, in turn, becomes just one more crime being committed in our name.

I know, I know, c'mon Mike -- it's the holiday season, there's presents to buy and parties to go to! And yes, this really is one of my favorite weeks of the year. But in the spirit of the man whose birth will be celebrated next Sunday, please do something, anything, to help this young man who spends his birthday tonight behind bars. I say, enough. Let him go home and spend Christmas with his family. We've done enough violence to the world this decade while claiming to be a country that admires the Prince of Peace. The war is over. And a whole new movement has a lot to thank Bradley Manning for. MORE...

Daniel Ellsberg on Why He Demonstrated Saturday on Behalf of Bradley Manning @ the White House (with video)

Jane Hamsher (FDL) with video (10:02):

I’m on chauffeur duty again this weekend, driving Dan Ellsberg to the White House for a rally today at 12 noon. Dan, Kevin Zeese and Retired Col. Ann Wright are board members of the Bradley Manning Advocacy Fund, and they will be calling on President Obama to end Manning’s abusive conditions at Quantico.

Other speakers include Elliott Adams, Chantelle Bateman, Brian Becker, Medea Benjamin, Zachary Choate, Ryan Endicott, Ayesha Fleary, Chris Hedges, Kathy Kelly, Mike Malloy, Michael McPhearson, Caneisha Mills, Ralph Nader and Debra Sweet. I’m really looking forward to it, and if you’re in the area I hope you’ll come down and join us.

I’ll be live tweeting the event. You can follow me here.

Tomorrow we’ll be at Quantico for the demonstration, and FDL will be live streaming the event. You can find details about everything that is going on this weekend at Stop These Wars.org, and sign up for tomorrow’s Quantico rally here.

Howie P.S.: This talk by Ellsberg is not an easy sound bite, but well worth your time. Here's the video of Ellsberg getting arrested later @ the White House.

"Bradley Manning and the stench of US hypocrisy"

Bradley Manning was forced to sleep naked in his cell, according to his lawyers. Photograph: EPA

Ryan Gallagher (op-ed, GuardianUK):

The US condemns human rights abuses abroad yet appears to be allowing the psychological torture of Bradley Manning---One of the few people to have visited Manning, David House, spoke yesterday of how he had witnessed his friend go from a "bright-eyed intelligent young man" to someone who at times has appeared "catatonic" with "very high difficulty carrying on day to day conversation". House drew similarities with the case of Bobby Dellelo, an American prisoner who developed psychosis after a lengthy period in solitary confinement conditions similar to Manning's. "For me this has been like watching a really good friend succumb to an illness or something," he said. "I think that Bradley Manning is being punished this way because the US government wants him to crack ahead of his trial." MORE...

Howie P.S.: I'm thinking "we don't want anyone else to consider doing what he did" is another motive.