JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED

The Downing Street Minutes Hearings

By Grace Reid

This one is pretty hard to write. The title comes from Martin Luther King’s 1963, "Why We Can’t Wait." That, and his "Letter from a Birmhingam Jail" also 1963 are the sources for the quotes here.

It has probably occurred to very few that the struggle to seek justice in the matter of the illegal war in Iraq, and the seeking of a Resolution of Inquiry into the impeachable offenses of GWB in the illegal war Iraq, have any correllaries with the Civil Rights movement of the late 1950’s and 1960’s. There are more correlaries than you might imagine.

"There is a right side and a wrong side in this conflict (civil rights)and the government does not belong in the middle." -Why We Can’t Wait 1963

"For years now I have heard the word, ’Wait!’ It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This ’Wait’ has almost always meant ’Never’. . .justice too long delayed is justice denied." -Letter from a Birmingham Jail 1963

Now the hearing on Thursday, June 16 of the Democratic House Judiciary Committee on the Downing Street Minutes was denied by Republicans a proper meeting room. They thought to meet in the Democratic Headquarters Building, but decided on a basement room in the House, instead. That was the only room they were given, although other rooms were available. This was yet another show of profound disrespect for those who seek justice and an end to the illegal war in Iraq. The scheduling was made enormously difficult because of so many last hour votes, that all members of the Democratic House Judiciary Committee could not attend, or if they were able, they had to run in and out of the hearing. This, too, one could only interpret as a Republican attempt to hamper proceedings.

"The conservatives who say, ’Let us not move so fast,’ and the extremists who say, ’Let’s go out and whip the world,’ would tell you that they are as far apart as the poles. But there is a striking parallel: They accomplish nothing; for they do not reach the people who have a crying need to be free." Why We Can’t Wait 1963

Now, every time the subject of seeking a Resolution of Inquiry comes up, there is a chorus who shout, "Wait! We can’t do anything until we have a Democratic Congress!! This is a waste of time, while the Republicans are the majority there is no hope. You will only divide the forces by pushing this issue."

Well, I think the people who are arguing this point are dead wrong. And I don’t think they understand what it means to be a minority in America. Democrats, no matter how large their numbers, are the minority in their representation in this current government. Arguing that we cannot address justice issues until we have enough Democrats in the House and in Congress is like arguing that we won’t be able to sit down to any lunch counter we choose until their is enough black or minority ownership of lunch counters. It is patently false that democracy works only for the majority power holders. It is just wrong.

(Students from North Carolina A&T State University during a sit-in at the Greensboro Woolworth’s lunch counter)

So, here is what I propose to you as my compromise, my offer. I work 16 hours a day on justice issues — mainly to stop the illegal war in Iraq, to rid the White House of its rat infestation and illegal squatters, and the restoration of a democratic Constitutional republic, which means to me in great part the restoration of the Bill of Rights. Now out of those 16 hours a day, I will give to anyone who wants to bring about a Democratic win in 2006 one fourth of my working time and energy. I will give you folks four hours a day. I will do anything — write letters, send out literature, write articles, etc. That’s the best I can offer you.

But on my part, I am absolutely committed and absolutely unshakeable in my resolve that no matter who is in the house, justice must be served. There is a great dignity to being in the minority. There is great power in being on the right side of justice.

"The brutality with which officials would have quelled the black individual became impotent when it could not be pursued with stealth and remain unobserved." Why We Can’t Wait 1963

"The enemy the Negro faced became not the individual who had oppressed him but the evil system which permitted that individual to do so." Why We Can’t Wait 1963

"I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends." -Letter from a Birmingham Jail 1963

"The ultimate tragedy of Birmingham was not the brutality of the bad people, but the silence of the good people." Why We Can’t Wait 1963

The Washington Post should print a retraction to "Democrats Play House to Rally Against the War." And Dana Milbank should be fired.

Sincerely,

Grace Reid

American Overseas

Farnanes, Co. Cork

(IRL)021-733-5994

Congressman John Conyers Diary About the Millbank Article in the Washington Post is here:

Accountablility in the Media

Dana Milbank’s Article in the Washington Post is here:

Democrats Play House to Rally Against the War

Anyone who wants to read the rules about how hearings are convened and what the procedure is for hearings can read them here.