marjorie says...
"Amnesty International considers Leonard Peltier to be a political prisoner whose avenues of redress have long been exhausted.... Amnesty International recognizes that a retrial is no longer a feasible option and believes that Leonard Peltier should be immediately and unconditionally released."
-- Amnesty International, April 6, 1999
You can find the Leonard Peltier case here. The fact is that the federal government targeted the American Indian Movement as well as the Black Panthers, not to mention the anti-war
movement and other left political formations, during the 60s and 70s...through a program called Cointelpro. These movements were infiltrated and disrupted from within, and harrassed, intimidated, and sometimes simply murdered from without. They were criminalized, many of their members ended up behind bars, and ultimately they were decimated to the point of extinction. Leonard Peltier is one such political prisoner in this country.
Who knew that David Geffen is a supporter of and an advocate for the release of Leonard Peltier from prison? I didn't. Apparently, one reason at least for his disaffection from the Clintons, and his financial support of Obama, is the failure of Bill Clinton to pardon Peltier in the final days of his presidency. Clinton could have easily done so, especially given the widespread support for Peltier's release among the core Democrat constituency.
From an interview with Maureen Dowd of the New York Times:''Marc Rich getting pardoned? An oil-profiteer expatriate who left the country rather than pay taxes or face justice?'' Geffen told Times' columnist Maureen Dowd.
And then, referring to the Peltier case, Geffen continued, ''Yet another time when the Clintons were unwilling to stand for the things that they genuinely believe in.
"Everybody in politics lies, but they do it with such ease, it's troubling," Geffen said.
|