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Editor: 

East Bay Congressional Representative Barbara Lee should be applauded, not chastised or threatened, for her courageous vote against the bill granting the president powers to wage war around the world. In this moment of crisis, when so many are beating the drum for war and vengeance, Lee had the wisdom to recognize that handing the president broad powers to engage us in an ill-defined and potentially long and bloody war will achieve little in the way of real justice. And she had the hindsight of history to recognize a host of possible unintended consequences in such a war – including the loss of many more innocent American and foreign lives. Please remember that only two members of Congress – including Lee’s predecessor Ron Dellums – had the courage to stand up against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964. With that courage, they planted the seed for a mass movement against another bloody and misguided war – that in Vietnam. For raising the voice of calm and reason in this most emotional period, Lee has done this country a great service. 

Eric Romann 

Oakland