Les Roberts speaks at the Fire Hall
Dr. Les Roberts, at one time a candidate for Congress from the 24th District, gave a wonderful talk Friday night, and then took questions (great questions from a group of about 40 bright people) for about an hour. Les is a co-author of two studies from Johns Hopkins on Iraq Mortality. These scientific studies report far higher casualties than does George Bush. He spoke about the contrast between the way the media reacted to the 2006 study vs the 2004 study. Some of the same problems occurred. The study grabbed the headlines on the day that the Lancet released it but then was knocked from the top spot by the news of a private plane hitting a building in Manhattan. Despite that, overall the 2006 study has had more of an impact. Learn more about the study at http://informationclearinghouse.info/article15267.htm
Bush was asked at a press conference if he thought it was a credible study, and he said no. Les said that was a tremendous boost to his standing among his piers. Howard Engelskirchen asked him to describe how he was convinced to drop out of the race. Les said that was he was not a fan of Sherwood Boehlert and was considering running against him about a year ago, when he heard rumors to the effect that Boehlert was about to retire. He asked for a meeting with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). They were very receptive, and encouraged him to run. Inside sources told Les later that after he left they immediately starting scheming to find a more typical centrist democratic candidate.
(This from me not Les – Rahm Emanuel is a power hungry player who wants to recruit new members that will advance his agenda.)
Les Roberts has a strong empathy towards the oppressed in this country and around the world – he doesn’t fit the mold. So, they recruited Arcuri, the perfect candidate. A tough district attorney, easily manipulated to follow their orders. ( This may have included instructions from the DCCC that he should his endorse the Military Commissions Act to avoid being called “soft on terrorism” )
The DCCC started pouring money into Arcuri’s campaign. They wouldn’t return Les’s phone calls. They contacted the county democratic committees and lobbied for Arcuri and against Roberts. They contacted major donors and steered them towards Arcuri. They eventually called Les and convinced him that Arcuri had the best shot and that if he continued to run that he would weaken Arcuri, and the seat and possible control of the House, would go to the Republicans. Not having a crystal ball, Les couldn’t see the Tsunami approaching, so, worried about the country, he decided to drop out. I think I would have done the same thing. Les hasn’t decided if he will run again. It would be much harder to unseat an incumbent, than to win an open seat. I don’t know how hard it would be to get his name on the primary ballet for the Democratic Party. I’d like to know that. I’ll bet he could get the Working Families Party and the Green Party nominations though.
I’ve heard that Rahm Emanuel is stepping down from the DCCC chairmanship. I don’t know who will replace him, but I think they need to hear from the people that they should stay out of local Congressional races until after the primaries. Allow the grassroots to pick a candidate.
Let’s get Les to run and then host a debate between him and Arcuri.
Cris McConkey http://cmprovideo.com/ and http://cmprovideo.com/videoblog/ videotaped the whole event pro bono. He has a very professional operation and went to a great deal of trouble. A link to the video should be up on his video blog site soon. (by the way, he is looking for paid work)
On-line video (requires broadband connection) now available:
Video from Les Roberts talk
Dr. Les Roberts, co-author of a John Hopkins study on civilian mortality in Iraq since the invasion, spoke at the monthly meeting of ‘Back to Democracy’, in Trumansburg N.Y. on November 17, 2006. The study was conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Al Mustansiriya University in Baghdad.
He contrasted the media coverage of their recent study estimating 650,000 violent deaths in Iraq due to the war with the coverage of a similar study in 2004. Both studies were published in the British medical journal The Lancet, but the earlier study which found 100,000 deaths statistically the most probable number, did not gain the attention by the media that the recent study did.
Many in the audience supported Les Robert’s campaign to represent New York’s 24th Congressional District and wanted to know what had happened to cause him to drop out of the primary race. He revealed quite a bit about the machinations that denied him a primary run but he remains upbeat about the Democratic party taking both House and Senate, in large measure because it allows the Democrats to call hearings.
The video of the meeting is 1 hr : 36 minutes total but is broken down into five segments. Les Roberts’ talk proper is thirteen minutes. The Q&A, which represents the bulk of the meeting, has been summarized by question and indexed by time-code to allow easy access to the parts. A DVD will be available soon. Please email Cris McConkey if you’d like one (voluntary sliding scale contribution requested). If you are interested in footage for public access television, please contact me.
Back to Democracy normally meets the last Friday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Trumansburg Fire Hall. The group also screens videos and has other special events. To be notified of upcoming events and activities, contact Margo Alexander