[The original of this commentary is a letter sent to Senator James Inhofe. It has been formatted in the style of a commentary.]
While Biden is pushing our country in the wrong direction, we won’t let him win.” Senator James Inhofe, May 31, 2021.
The Ethiopian Government wants nothing more than peaceful resolution of the conflict in Tigray… The [U.S. sanction] action puts the terrorist organization, the TPLF, that is a terrorist organization, on equal status with our Ethiopian Government. That is unacceptable. It is wrong. It is outrageous.” Senator Jim Inhofe, May 26, 2021
While the Susan Rice-Joe Biden administration is pushing Ethiopia in the wrong direction, we won’t let him win because in 2022 we’re gonna chase them Democ-RATs outta Congress.” Alemayehu G. Mariam
A preliminary 10-point plan to create common cause with the Republican Party and chase the Democ-RATs out of Congress in 2022 is presented herein.
A speech for the ages to be preserved in the annals of Ethiopian history.
No American leader ever stood up and defended Ethiopia when the chips were down and the Susan Rice-Joe Biden Administration put Ethiopia in its crosshairs and pulled the sanctions trigger.
When the TPLF lobbyists lobbed their lies, damned lies and disinformation on Capitol Hill, 99 U.S. Senators abandoned Ethiopia and took cover in silence.
But you Jim, you stood by Ethiopia and did right by Ethiopia.
You told them like it is.
The Ethiopian Government wants nothing more than peaceful resolution of the conflict in Tigray… The [U.S. sanction] action puts the terrorist organization, the TPLF, that is a terrorist organization, on equal status with our Ethiopian Government. That is unacceptable. It is wrong. It is outrageous.
When the chips were down and Ethiopia’s fair-weather friends in the Senate circled their wagons around the TPLF terrorists, you stood alone in the Senate chamber holding the red, white and blue and the green, yellow, red, telling it like it is:
Since 2005, I have been to Ethiopia 19 different times, developing relationships with prime ministers, cabinet ministers, legislators, businesspeople, aid workers and everyone in between…
Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey was first elected in 2013. He has not set foot in Ethiopia even once! Now, he pretends to be a defender of Ethiopian human rights.
You stood up to defend struggling Ethiopia to stand on its own feet. Cory Booker is working in concert to Ethiopia at its knees.
Cory Booker did not stand with you to defend Ethiopia in the Senate.
Cory stood against Ethiopia and with the TPLF terrorists inside and outside the Senate chamber.
Cory was one of the chief persecutors of Ethiopia and foremost champion of the TPLF terrorists.
Cory Booker co-sponsored S. Res 97.
Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia did not stand with you.
For Raphael Warnock, “it is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.”
Warnock preached to Ethiopian Americans in Georgia he would stand by and do right by Ethiopia. So, we voted for him.
Warnock betrayed us. Like him who “betrayed the Son of Man with a kiss.”
But that’s alright, Jim.
We Ethiopian Americans forgive our enemies but we will remember their names in November 2022.
Jim, you were born in America but your heart came from Ethiopia.
Let me tell ya, after hearing your speech there are today 115 million Ethiopians singing a version of “I am an Okie from Muskogee.”
Yeah! We Ethiopians at home and in America also “like livin’ right, and bein’ free.”
To be Ethiopian is to be born free and die fighting to stay free.
Like you said, “Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in all of Africa but one that is newly democratic.”
That is how Ethiopia was never colonized. Ethiopia has remained independent and free since time immemorial.
That is how Ethiopians sent packing twice Caesar’s mighty army that marched into Ethiopia and proclaimed, “We came, we saw, we conquered.”
True, Caesar’s mighty army came and saw beautiful Ethiopia.
But Caesar’s mighty army was conquered, defeated at the Battle of Adwa in less than 24 hours. Caesar’s mighty army was defeated again in 1941.
Ethiopia is your country just as much as it is mine. I am Ethiopian American. You are American Ethiopian.
You have proven beyond a shadow of doubt you have a special place in your heart and in your family for Ethiopia.
You are a grandfather of a child born in Ethiopia.
It is written, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.”
Today, 115 million Ethiopians adopt your family.
Ethiopians now know your love for Ethiopia.
Your love for the Ethiopian people. Your appreciation of Ethiopian history and culture. Your confidence in Ethiopia’s commitment to peace and diplomacy.
Jim Inhofe, Ethiopians love you and your family back.
For your love of Ethiopia, we thank you but not enough because our cup runneth over.
You have an Ethiopian granddaughter but you are Ethiopia’s American son.
It is true America is a land of immigrants.
I along with hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians who immigrated to America over the past five decades did so for the very same reasons and hopes expressed by George Washington:
The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respected Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges… I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong.
How true. America is today an asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of Ethiopia.
My generation of Ethiopians remained exiled fearing persecution by the dreaded Derg. The generation after mine by the terrorist TPLF.
Jim, you know better than any member of the U.S. Senate that Ethiopian American’s love for America is second to none.
We make our contributions in all fields of American society and life.
It has been said there are more Ethiopian doctors in Chicago than in all of Ethiopia. They were pushed out by oppressive regimes.
Countless Ethiopian Americans today contribute to American society by running small businesses, serving in the military, in the civil service, in education as well as in hospitality and transportation sectors.
I love America so much I made defense of the U.S. Constitution my life’s mission.
I have made my contributions teaching the Constitution in the classroom for over three decades.
I have made my contributions defending the constitutional rights in the courtroom for almost three decades.
I have explained the Constitution in the pressroom and newsroom.
I first came across the U.S. constitution in 1967 at the U.S. Information Service in Addis Ababa. I did not understand much of it then but certain phrases and ideas captured my imagination, especially in the Bill of Rights.
Even as a teenager, it did not take me long to realize the Constitution was fundamentally a law the people had drafted for the government and secured their natural liberties. The Constitution tells government what it can and cannot do and marks big redlines for government not to cross in its relations with citizens.
That was my introduction to the principle of the rule of law.
So, why I am so passionate about the U.S. Constitution?
You may remember the words of the 19th century British Prime Minister William Gladstone who once proclaimed, “The Constitution of the United States of America is the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man”.
I believe that despite the fact that the Constitution is not perfect, indeed quite imperfect in its conception and execution. But nothing that is struck off by the brain and purpose of man is perfect.
Perfection is an attribute of only the Almighty.
I would update Gladstone.
America is great not because of its economic might, scientific discoveries, diplomatic reach or military power.
America is great because it has the most wonderful Constitution ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man and there are Americans who are committed to support and defend it.
As immigrants, I and the hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian Americans took solemn oaths to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution.
As a constitutional lawyer, I have lived out the solemn oath I took in state and federal courts.
In my legal career spanning nearly three decades, I have been staunchly on the side of the defense.
The defense of the United States Constitution.
The defense of American civil liberties and civil rights.
The defense of the downtrodden, the tired and poor.
The defense of the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
Yes, I was one of the wretched refuses, tempest-tossed from Africa that teemed the American shore.
I came to America guided by the lamp beside the golden door I saw on the Statue of Liberty.
That is who I am.
Jim, it is said that “Once a people have tasted freedom, they will never be content to be a slave.” The Susan Rice-Joe Biden administration wants to return the people of Ethiopia who have tasted freedom over the past three years to TPLF slavery of the last quarter century.
We Ethiopian Americans have blindly voted for and supported the Democratic Party for decades, as have most immigrants.
We supported the Democratic Party because we swallowed hook, line and sinker their lies and demonizing propaganda.
Today, they demonize Ethiopia in much the same way as they have demonized Republicans and continue to brainwash people using their fake liberal media that Ethiopia is the land of human rights crimes and genocide.
We Ethiopian Americans have been hoodwinked and bamboozled by the Obama Internationalist New World Order global elites.
The Democratic Party has used us as chips and pawns in the election game.
They have played us like a cheap fiddle.
What I am trying to say, Jim, is this: The Democratic Party has been pimping not only Ethiopian Americans but also immigrants for decades to cling to power, exploit America’s divisions and usher in their New World Order.
Barack Obama preached, “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is the United States of America. There is not a black America, a white America, a Latino America, an Asian America. There’s the United States of America.”
Today Joe Biden Obama and Susan Rice Obama preach, “There is an Oromo Ethiopia, an Amhara Ethiopia, Tigray Ethiopia… There is no United Ethiopia.”
The Obama-Biden-Rice America is founded on the maxim, “a divided America will stand for the Democratic Party, a united America will fall.”
By the same token, the Obama-Biden-Rice Ethiopia is founded on the maxim, “A divided Ethiopia is good for the terrorist TPLF and Ethiopia’s enemies intent on preventing her from completing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam; a united Ethiopia must fall and remain in the abyss of poverty, disease and war.”
I supported Senator Obama when he ran for the presidency.
Obama and his campaign made strong efforts to reach out to first, second and third generation Africans to hop on the Obama merry-go-round with fogged up mind about a young black president who would help Africa achieve its potential.
The Obama-Biden-Rice Democratic Party wants to prolong itself in power by employing tactics of coordinated demonization, lies and damned lies and use the same tactics to remove the Ethiopian government out of power.
Jim, are we going to stand idle against the dark forces of the Obama-Biden-Rice New World Order?
Brother Jim: Can you and the Republican Party make a Covenant with Ethiopian Americans?
Brother Jim, Ethiopian Americans offer you a deal you and the Republican Party cannot refuse.
It is actually an offer of solemn Covenant, not a deal.
Of course, you know more about Covenant than I do.
It is in the best sense of the word when I talk about a Covenant between Ethiopian Americans and the Republican Party.
By Covenant I mean a chosen relationship, a partnership in which Ethiopian Americans and the Republican Party make solemn and binding promises to each other to work together to reach a common goal.
It is a Covenant of defined obligations and commitments.
If the Republican Party Covenants with us, Ethiopian Americans will do their darndest to help the Republican Party chase them Democ-RATs outta Congress in 2022.
Ethiopian Americans are fired up and ready to go!
Our terms for a Covenant are simple.
1. Do no harm to Ethiopia. We do not want the U.S. to bully, harass and intimidate Ethiopia into negotiating with a terrorist group or impose a terrorist government on the Ethiopian people. We want lifting of all sanctions and restoration of trust and faith between the people of Ethiopia and America that has lasted for over 120 years.
2. Strengthen and bolster the bilateral relations between the U.S. and Ethiopia. Ethiopia and the U.S. established diplomatic relations over 120 years ago. When the U.S. signed a treaty of commerce with Ethiopia in 1903, the two nations agreed to receive representatives “in order to perpetuate and strengthen the friendly relations which exist between Ethiopia and the United States of America.” We want to perpetuate, strengthen, enlarge and transform the bilateral relations of the two countries to a new and higher level. We want to strengthen the bonds of commerce, trade, business and technology.
3. Work collaboratively to increase and expand American investments in Ethiopia. For an emerging economy like Ethiopia, foreign direct investment (FDI) in infrastructure, energy, water, transportation, telecommunications are critical drivers of economic growth. FDI helps to increases better and higher paying jobs, transfer of new technologies and know-how, enhance work force skills, increase productivity, generating business for local firms, etc. Ethiopian Americans want U.S. policy that significantly expands investments in Ethiopia.
4. Cutoff U.S. handouts (aid) to Ethiopia. I have always opposed so-called foreign aid to Ethiopia. Foreign aid, perhaps with the exception of humanitarian aid in the most extreme circumstances, is harmful. No country ever won the war against poverty by panhandling or taking handouts. They defeated poverty by putting their shoulders to the wheel and noses to the grindstone. PM Abiy with his homegrown economic reform is taking Ethiopia away from the abysmal path of poverty to the high road of prosperity. I reject foreign aid because handouts disempower Ethiopians from pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. I believe Ethiopians are born free, not beggars. Ethiopians want to live free, not like beggars. Ethiopians want to die free, not like beggars. Begging is for losers. Ethiopians are victors. That is how they remained without ever being colonized and free. Economic freedom is the foundation of true freedom. That means the right to create and maintain a free market, the right to own private property, the maintenance of a legal structure and a judicial system to protect economic rights, fair enforcement of contracts and a war on corruption.
5. Help Ethiopia build strong democratic institutions that thrive on the rule of law, accountability and transparency. Democrat Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Bob Menendez and Democrat Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Gregory Meeks have already determined the June 21 election in Ethiopia is already stolen. In their joint op-ed piece they declared, “Few believe Ethiopia’s upcoming national elections stand a real chance of being free or fair.” Of course, it is not free and fair because their darling TPLF terrorists are not in it or running it. In 2015, Obama went to Ethiopia and declared the election “won” by 100 percent by the TPLF “democratic” as Susan Rice laughed the whole thing off. We want the U.S. to help Ethiopia build strong electoral institutions, legislative institutions, an independent judiciary and an executive branch that operates in strict compliance with the rule of law. We want the U.S. help Ethiopia to cultivate a democratic culture with an active and engaged citizenry by supporting a free press and civic society institutions. We want to see better training for Ethiopian law enforcement officials, prosecutorial authorities and advanced technical and legal training for judges. We want a civil service that is professional, ethical and committed to the public interest. Most importantly, we want Ethiopia to develop capacity to protect the human rights of its citizens and go after human rights violators and criminals with the full force of the law.
6. Increase American tourism in Ethiopia. I have sung “America, the Beautiful” many times. Yes indeed: “God done shed his grace on thee/ He crowned thy good, yes he did, in brotherhood/From sea to shining sea…” What can I say of Ethiopia, the Beautiful? I don’t want to be accused of bragging. Let Conde Nast Traveler, the famous luxury and lifestyle travel magazine, speak for me. In its “21 Best Places to Go in 2021” Conde Nast put Ethiopia at the very, very top of the list. Travel and Leisure in its 2020 “The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2020”, listed Ethiopia at number one. We want American tourists to visit Ethiopia by the millions. Ethiopia has the best airlines in all of Africa. American tourism in Ethiopia will be the coming together of two beautiful and divinely graced peoples. We want the U.S. to help Ethiopia’s tourism sector with American investments.
7. Strengthen antiterrorism cooperation. Ethiopian Americans do not want the Horn of Africa to be a haven for terrorists. Hundreds of Ethiopian Defense Force troops have died fighting terrorists in Somalia. Thousands of Ethiopian troops are deployed in the Horn region keeping the peace and fighting terrorists. Today, we have the TPLF terrorists who are being coddled by the democrats who insist the Ethiopian government must negotiate with them. Of course, the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists. Neither will Ethiopia. However, U.S.-Ethiopian counterterrorism cooperation is needed for the peace and stability of the Horn region. Because the Susan Rice-Biden administration is soft on terrorism, indeed coddles the TPLF terrorists, it is vitally important that the U.S. work with the Ethiopian Government to ensure the Al Shabab, OLF and TPLF terrorists do not destabilize the region.
8. Support the current reform in Ethiopia. Since April 2018, extraordinary reforms and changes have taken place in Ethiopia. The political and economic space is wide open. Tens of thousands of political prisoners held by the TPLF regime have been released. Press freedom is widely practiced. The judiciary functions with independence and free of political pressure. State-run/owned monopolies including telecommunications and air transport are in the process of being opened to private domestic and foreign investment. Other privatization programs are also underway. General elections are scheduled for June 21, 2021 under international and local observation. Ethiopian Americans want the U.S. to support these political and economic reforms and not thwart and block them through sanctions and pressure on international lending institutions.
9. Strengthen intercultural, interinstitutional relationships between the U.S. and Ethiopia
Strong and dynamic intercultural and interinstitutional relationships should undergird the bilateral relations of Ethiopia and the U.S. To that end, Ethiopian Americans want the U.S. to do its part by creating opportunities for American educators, artists, literary figures and others engaged in the creative field to travel to Ethiopia and share their talents and know ledge with the people, particularly the younger generation. Such programs cold also offer educational and training programs to help women, underserved populations and increase awareness of environmental issues in society. An exchange program that facilitates such intercultural relations could significantly enhance the goodwill of peoples in both countries. Interinstitutional relations could be strengthened by programs aimed at bringing American political leaders, legislators, judges, prosecutors, civil servants, experts, lawyers, etc. to share their experiences and provide educational and training programs. Ethiopians Americans want our two peoples to harmonize and work together in the service of the mutual interests of the two peoples.
10. Let Ethiopia be Ethiopia. The complete disrespect and contempt the Susan Rice-Joe Biden administration has shown to the Ethiopian people and government not only angers me but also troubles me a great deal. Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa with 115 million people. Over 70 percent of them are under 40 years of age. The median age is 19.5 years and 60 percent of them are under the age of 24! We Ethiopian Americans do not want to see a generation of Ethiopians growing up hating America. Just a couple of days ago, hundreds of thousands of youth activists throughout Ethiopia held demonstrations demanding an end to “U.S. interference in Ethiopia.” In the capital Addis alone some ten thousand youth activists got together to condemn American and Western interference. The message of sanctions, etc. makes young Ethiopians hate America. We do not want the Ethiopian youth energy to be converted into a “hate U.S.A.” campaign because the Susan Rice-Joe Biden Administration’s policy of coddling TPLF terrorists and assistance to Ethiopia’s enemies toiling to prevent completion of the GERD. The young people are stoked. Today, they say “Stop interference.” How long before they start chanting, “Down, down…!”
Abe Lincoln in his Message to Congress in 1862 said, “We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just — a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless.”
Jim, the last best of hope on earth is today viewed by the Ethiopian people as the defender of terrorists, bringer of death, destruction, gloom and doom.
Ethiopian American Republicans?: Make a Covenant with Ethiopian Americans and we will help you drive the Democ-Rats out of Congress in 2022
Jim, reading the tea leaves, it is clear the Democrats are on the defense in Georgia, Arizona, New Hampshire and Nevada in the 2022 election.
Republicans may have weak spots in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Florida.
The Democrats believe they can snag Missouri and Ohio but looking at the data from 2016 and 2020, that looks like a pipedream.
In 2020, the Rice-Biden-Harris ticket won Georgia by 11,779.
In 2015, in Nevada Catherine Cortez Masto won by 26,915 votes.
Mark Kelley in Arizona is weak and his New World Order message will not resonate much in 2022.
The Democrats think they could snag the newly opened seats in Missouri and Ohio but given the historical trend in these states, the Democrats may be grasping at straws.
The Democrats calculate they could snag Pennsylvania with Senator Pat Toomey’s retirement. Given the historical trend, especially 2016 and the small margin in 2020, and with a little help from the Ethiopian American friends the Republicans can snag Pennsylvania.
Here is the bottom line, Jim.
In Georgia, there are tens of thousands of well to do Ethiopian Americans who are ready, willing and able to do what needs to be done to chase the Democ-RATs out of power in Congress.
I cannot guarantee anything but a fired up Ethiopian American community in Georgia can give Warnock a run for his money and knock him out in 2022.
In Nevada, there are thousands of Ethiopian Americans who are ready, willing and able to do what needs to be done to make Catherine Cortez Masto history.
Mark Kelly in Arizona is hanging on the coattails of his wife Gabby Giffords. Kelly is weak and a New World Order acolyte. He can be easily defeated. Ethiopian Americans can help and make that happen.
Jim, you and the Republican Party now have the opportunity to reach out and bring into the Republican Part a large number of immigrant voters, specifically Ethiopian Americans, who are turned off and will no doubt drop out of the Democratic Party base.
While the Susan Rice-Joe Biden administration is pushing Ethiopia in the wrong direction, we won’t let him win because in 2022 we’re gonna chase them Democ-RATs outta Congress.
But the way things are, Ethiopian Americans are outraged. They will not vote for the Democratic Party. What choice do they have left?
For the Republican Party, that is like leaving money on the table!
It is not the size of the dog in the fight that determines the outcome; it is the size of the fight in the dog
Mark Twain, from just northeast of Oklahoma in Missouri memorably said, “It is not the size of the dog in the fight that determines the outcome; it is the size of the fight in the dog.”
Well, the size of the fight in Ethiopian Americans to kick the Democ-RATs outta power in Congress in 2022 is just about to bust loose.
We are ready to donate (until it hurts), do grassroots work (until our feet ache), mobilize communities of color (by speaking truth to them about Democrat’s hypocrisy) and energize and galvanize the broader African diaspora immigrant community who have given their voices to the Democratic party only to lose it after the democrats were elected to power.
Try us. You’ve got nothing to lose.
Get your party to welcome Ethiopian Americans into Republican Party and we will help you chase the Democ-RATs out of Congress!
We will not only vote and donate until it hurts but also become force multipliers. We will energize, mobilize and galvanize the Ethiopian American community.
We will get to work NOW, not in 2022.
We have an Ethiopian saying you which you probably know. “If the silk of the spiders could be bundled together, it can tie up a lion.”
Well, Ethiopian Americans are like the silk of the spiders in America. We can come together and tie down and drive out the democrat donkey and have a hoe-down in 2022.
President John Kennedy said, “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.”
Ethiopians may forgive but will not forget the names Barack Obama, Susan Rice, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Samantha Power …
I say always keep your dear friends close to your heart and always remember their names.
You are a dear friend of Ethiopia, Jim.
You are an American Ethiopian. We will always remember your name fondly.
So, here we are.
Ethiopian Americans are raring to go just like them NASCAR drivers in flying start at the Talladega Superspeedway.
Jim, y’all ready to race the Democ-RATs outta Congress in 2022?
Let’s make Democ-RATs history in 2022.
With GOP-E. The Grand Old (Ancient) People of Ethiopia!
BROTHER JIM INHOFE: WE ARE WITH YOU AND WE GONNA CHASE THEM DEMOC-RATS OUTTA CONGRESS IN 2022!
Posted in Al Mariam's Commentaries By almariam On May 31, 2021A preliminary 10-point plan to create common cause with the Republican Party and chase the Democ-RATs out of Congress in 2022 is presented herein.
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Dear Jim:
My phone is ringing off the hook.
Why?
Your passionate speech in defense of Ethiopia on the floor of the Senate on May 26, 2021.
It is a historic speech.
A speech for the ages to be preserved in the annals of Ethiopian history.
No American leader ever stood up and defended Ethiopia when the chips were down and the Susan Rice-Joe Biden Administration put Ethiopia in its crosshairs and pulled the sanctions trigger.
When the TPLF lobbyists lobbed their lies, damned lies and disinformation on Capitol Hill, 99 U.S. Senators abandoned Ethiopia and took cover in silence.
But you Jim, you stood by Ethiopia and did right by Ethiopia.
You told them like it is.
When the chips were down and Ethiopia’s fair-weather friends in the Senate circled their wagons around the TPLF terrorists, you stood alone in the Senate chamber holding the red, white and blue and the green, yellow, red, telling it like it is:
Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey was first elected in 2013. He has not set foot in Ethiopia even once! Now, he pretends to be a defender of Ethiopian human rights.
You stood up to defend struggling Ethiopia to stand on its own feet. Cory Booker is working in concert to Ethiopia at its knees.
Cory Booker did not stand with you to defend Ethiopia in the Senate.
Cory stood against Ethiopia and with the TPLF terrorists inside and outside the Senate chamber.
Cory was one of the chief persecutors of Ethiopia and foremost champion of the TPLF terrorists.
Cory Booker co-sponsored S. Res 97.
Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia did not stand with you.
For Raphael Warnock, “it is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.”
Warnock preached to Ethiopian Americans in Georgia he would stand by and do right by Ethiopia. So, we voted for him.
Warnock betrayed us. Like him who “betrayed the Son of Man with a kiss.”
But that’s alright, Jim.
We Ethiopian Americans forgive our enemies but we will remember their names in November 2022.
Jim, you were born in America but your heart came from Ethiopia.
Let me tell ya, after hearing your speech there are today 115 million Ethiopians singing a version of “I am an Okie from Muskogee.”
Yeah! We Ethiopians at home and in America also “like livin’ right, and bein’ free.”
To be Ethiopian is to be born free and die fighting to stay free.
Like you said, “Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in all of Africa but one that is newly democratic.”
That is how Ethiopia was never colonized. Ethiopia has remained independent and free since time immemorial.
That is how Ethiopians sent packing twice Caesar’s mighty army that marched into Ethiopia and proclaimed, “We came, we saw, we conquered.”
True, Caesar’s mighty army came and saw beautiful Ethiopia.
But Caesar’s mighty army was conquered, defeated at the Battle of Adwa in less than 24 hours. Caesar’s mighty army was defeated again in 1941.
Ethiopia is your country just as much as it is mine. I am Ethiopian American. You are American Ethiopian.
You have proven beyond a shadow of doubt you have a special place in your heart and in your family for Ethiopia.
You are a grandfather of a child born in Ethiopia.
It is written, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.”
Today, 115 million Ethiopians adopt your family.
Ethiopians now know your love for Ethiopia.
Your love for the Ethiopian people. Your appreciation of Ethiopian history and culture. Your confidence in Ethiopia’s commitment to peace and diplomacy.
Jim Inhofe, Ethiopians love you and your family back.
For your love of Ethiopia, we thank you but not enough because our cup runneth over.
You have an Ethiopian granddaughter but you are Ethiopia’s American son.
It is true America is a land of immigrants.
I along with hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians who immigrated to America over the past five decades did so for the very same reasons and hopes expressed by George Washington:
How true. America is today an asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of Ethiopia.
My generation of Ethiopians remained exiled fearing persecution by the dreaded Derg. The generation after mine by the terrorist TPLF.
Jim, you know better than any member of the U.S. Senate that Ethiopian American’s love for America is second to none.
We make our contributions in all fields of American society and life.
It has been said there are more Ethiopian doctors in Chicago than in all of Ethiopia. They were pushed out by oppressive regimes.
Countless Ethiopian Americans today contribute to American society by running small businesses, serving in the military, in the civil service, in education as well as in hospitality and transportation sectors.
I love America so much I made defense of the U.S. Constitution my life’s mission.
I have made my contributions teaching the Constitution in the classroom for over three decades.
I have made my contributions defending the constitutional rights in the courtroom for almost three decades.
I have explained the Constitution in the pressroom and newsroom.
I first came across the U.S. constitution in 1967 at the U.S. Information Service in Addis Ababa. I did not understand much of it then but certain phrases and ideas captured my imagination, especially in the Bill of Rights.
Even as a teenager, it did not take me long to realize the Constitution was fundamentally a law the people had drafted for the government and secured their natural liberties. The Constitution tells government what it can and cannot do and marks big redlines for government not to cross in its relations with citizens.
That was my introduction to the principle of the rule of law.
So, why I am so passionate about the U.S. Constitution?
You may remember the words of the 19th century British Prime Minister William Gladstone who once proclaimed, “The Constitution of the United States of America is the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man”.
I believe that despite the fact that the Constitution is not perfect, indeed quite imperfect in its conception and execution. But nothing that is struck off by the brain and purpose of man is perfect.
Perfection is an attribute of only the Almighty.
I would update Gladstone.
America is great not because of its economic might, scientific discoveries, diplomatic reach or military power.
America is great because it has the most wonderful Constitution ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man and there are Americans who are committed to support and defend it.
As immigrants, I and the hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian Americans took solemn oaths to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution.
As a constitutional lawyer, I have lived out the solemn oath I took in state and federal courts.
In my legal career spanning nearly three decades, I have been staunchly on the side of the defense.
The defense of the United States Constitution.
The defense of American civil liberties and civil rights.
The defense of the downtrodden, the tired and poor.
The defense of the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
Yes, I was one of the wretched refuses, tempest-tossed from Africa that teemed the American shore.
I came to America guided by the lamp beside the golden door I saw on the Statue of Liberty.
That is who I am.
Jim, it is said that “Once a people have tasted freedom, they will never be content to be a slave.”
The Susan Rice-Joe Biden administration wants to return the people of Ethiopia who have tasted freedom over the past three years to TPLF slavery of the last quarter century.
We Ethiopian Americans have blindly voted for and supported the Democratic Party for decades, as have most immigrants.
We supported the Democratic Party because we swallowed hook, line and sinker their lies and demonizing propaganda.
Today, they demonize Ethiopia in much the same way as they have demonized Republicans and continue to brainwash people using their fake liberal media that Ethiopia is the land of human rights crimes and genocide.
We Ethiopian Americans have been hoodwinked and bamboozled by the Obama Internationalist New World Order global elites.
The Democratic Party has used us as chips and pawns in the election game.
They have played us like a cheap fiddle.
What I am trying to say, Jim, is this: The Democratic Party has been pimping not only Ethiopian Americans but also immigrants for decades to cling to power, exploit America’s divisions and usher in their New World Order.
Barack Obama preached, “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is the United States of America. There is not a black America, a white America, a Latino America, an Asian America. There’s the United States of America.”
Today Joe Biden Obama and Susan Rice Obama preach, “There is an Oromo Ethiopia, an Amhara Ethiopia, Tigray Ethiopia… There is no United Ethiopia.”
The Obama-Biden-Rice America is founded on the maxim, “a divided America will stand for the Democratic Party, a united America will fall.”
By the same token, the Obama-Biden-Rice Ethiopia is founded on the maxim, “A divided Ethiopia is good for the terrorist TPLF and Ethiopia’s enemies intent on preventing her from completing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam; a united Ethiopia must fall and remain in the abyss of poverty, disease and war.”
I supported Senator Obama when he ran for the presidency.
Obama and his campaign made strong efforts to reach out to first, second and third generation Africans to hop on the Obama merry-go-round with fogged up mind about a young black president who would help Africa achieve its potential.
The Obama-Biden-Rice Democratic Party wants to prolong itself in power by employing tactics of coordinated demonization, lies and damned lies and use the same tactics to remove the Ethiopian government out of power.
Jim, are we going to stand idle against the dark forces of the Obama-Biden-Rice New World Order?
Brother Jim: Can you and the Republican Party make a Covenant with Ethiopian Americans?
Brother Jim, Ethiopian Americans offer you a deal you and the Republican Party cannot refuse.
It is actually an offer of solemn Covenant, not a deal.
Of course, you know more about Covenant than I do.
It is in the best sense of the word when I talk about a Covenant between Ethiopian Americans and the Republican Party.
By Covenant I mean a chosen relationship, a partnership in which Ethiopian Americans and the Republican Party make solemn and binding promises to each other to work together to reach a common goal.
It is a Covenant of defined obligations and commitments.
If the Republican Party Covenants with us, Ethiopian Americans will do their darndest to help the Republican Party chase them Democ-RATs outta Congress in 2022.
Ethiopian Americans are fired up and ready to go!
Our terms for a Covenant are simple.
1. Do no harm to Ethiopia. We do not want the U.S. to bully, harass and intimidate Ethiopia into negotiating with a terrorist group or impose a terrorist government on the Ethiopian people. We want lifting of all sanctions and restoration of trust and faith between the people of Ethiopia and America that has lasted for over 120 years.
2. Strengthen and bolster the bilateral relations between the U.S. and Ethiopia. Ethiopia and the U.S. established diplomatic relations over 120 years ago. When the U.S. signed a treaty of commerce with Ethiopia in 1903, the two nations agreed to receive representatives “in order to perpetuate and strengthen the friendly relations which exist between Ethiopia and the United States of America.” We want to perpetuate, strengthen, enlarge and transform the bilateral relations of the two countries to a new and higher level. We want to strengthen the bonds of commerce, trade, business and technology.
3. Work collaboratively to increase and expand American investments in Ethiopia. For an emerging economy like Ethiopia, foreign direct investment (FDI) in infrastructure, energy, water, transportation, telecommunications are critical drivers of economic growth. FDI helps to increases better and higher paying jobs, transfer of new technologies and know-how, enhance work force skills, increase productivity, generating business for local firms, etc. Ethiopian Americans want U.S. policy that significantly expands investments in Ethiopia.
4. Cutoff U.S. handouts (aid) to Ethiopia. I have always opposed so-called foreign aid to Ethiopia. Foreign aid, perhaps with the exception of humanitarian aid in the most extreme circumstances, is harmful. No country ever won the war against poverty by panhandling or taking handouts. They defeated poverty by putting their shoulders to the wheel and noses to the grindstone. PM Abiy with his homegrown economic reform is taking Ethiopia away from the abysmal path of poverty to the high road of prosperity. I reject foreign aid because handouts disempower Ethiopians from pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. I believe Ethiopians are born free, not beggars. Ethiopians want to live free, not like beggars. Ethiopians want to die free, not like beggars. Begging is for losers. Ethiopians are victors. That is how they remained without ever being colonized and free. Economic freedom is the foundation of true freedom. That means the right to create and maintain a free market, the right to own private property, the maintenance of a legal structure and a judicial system to protect economic rights, fair enforcement of contracts and a war on corruption.
5. Help Ethiopia build strong democratic institutions that thrive on the rule of law, accountability and transparency. Democrat Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Bob Menendez and Democrat Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Gregory Meeks have already determined the June 21 election in Ethiopia is already stolen. In their joint op-ed piece they declared, “Few believe Ethiopia’s upcoming national elections stand a real chance of being free or fair.” Of course, it is not free and fair because their darling TPLF terrorists are not in it or running it. In 2015, Obama went to Ethiopia and declared the election “won” by 100 percent by the TPLF “democratic” as Susan Rice laughed the whole thing off. We want the U.S. to help Ethiopia build strong electoral institutions, legislative institutions, an independent judiciary and an executive branch that operates in strict compliance with the rule of law. We want the U.S. help Ethiopia to cultivate a democratic culture with an active and engaged citizenry by supporting a free press and civic society institutions. We want to see better training for Ethiopian law enforcement officials, prosecutorial authorities and advanced technical and legal training for judges. We want a civil service that is professional, ethical and committed to the public interest. Most importantly, we want Ethiopia to develop capacity to protect the human rights of its citizens and go after human rights violators and criminals with the full force of the law.
6. Increase American tourism in Ethiopia. I have sung “America, the Beautiful” many times. Yes indeed: “God done shed his grace on thee/ He crowned thy good, yes he did, in brotherhood/From sea to shining sea…” What can I say of Ethiopia, the Beautiful? I don’t want to be accused of bragging. Let Conde Nast Traveler, the famous luxury and lifestyle travel magazine, speak for me. In its “21 Best Places to Go in 2021” Conde Nast put Ethiopia at the very, very top of the list. Travel and Leisure in its 2020 “The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2020”, listed Ethiopia at number one. We want American tourists to visit Ethiopia by the millions. Ethiopia has the best airlines in all of Africa. American tourism in Ethiopia will be the coming together of two beautiful and divinely graced peoples. We want the U.S. to help Ethiopia’s tourism sector with American investments.
7. Strengthen antiterrorism cooperation. Ethiopian Americans do not want the Horn of Africa to be a haven for terrorists. Hundreds of Ethiopian Defense Force troops have died fighting terrorists in Somalia. Thousands of Ethiopian troops are deployed in the Horn region keeping the peace and fighting terrorists. Today, we have the TPLF terrorists who are being coddled by the democrats who insist the Ethiopian government must negotiate with them. Of course, the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists. Neither will Ethiopia. However, U.S.-Ethiopian counterterrorism cooperation is needed for the peace and stability of the Horn region. Because the Susan Rice-Biden administration is soft on terrorism, indeed coddles the TPLF terrorists, it is vitally important that the U.S. work with the Ethiopian Government to ensure the Al Shabab, OLF and TPLF terrorists do not destabilize the region.
8. Support the current reform in Ethiopia. Since April 2018, extraordinary reforms and changes have taken place in Ethiopia. The political and economic space is wide open. Tens of thousands of political prisoners held by the TPLF regime have been released. Press freedom is widely practiced. The judiciary functions with independence and free of political pressure. State-run/owned monopolies including telecommunications and air transport are in the process of being opened to private domestic and foreign investment. Other privatization programs are also underway. General elections are scheduled for June 21, 2021 under international and local observation. Ethiopian Americans want the U.S. to support these political and economic reforms and not thwart and block them through sanctions and pressure on international lending institutions.
9. Strengthen intercultural, interinstitutional relationships between the U.S. and Ethiopia
Strong and dynamic intercultural and interinstitutional relationships should undergird the bilateral relations of Ethiopia and the U.S. To that end, Ethiopian Americans want the U.S. to do its part by creating opportunities for American educators, artists, literary figures and others engaged in the creative field to travel to Ethiopia and share their talents and know ledge with the people, particularly the younger generation. Such programs cold also offer educational and training programs to help women, underserved populations and increase awareness of environmental issues in society. An exchange program that facilitates such intercultural relations could significantly enhance the goodwill of peoples in both countries. Interinstitutional relations could be strengthened by programs aimed at bringing American political leaders, legislators, judges, prosecutors, civil servants, experts, lawyers, etc. to share their experiences and provide educational and training programs. Ethiopians Americans want our two peoples to harmonize and work together in the service of the mutual interests of the two peoples.
10. Let Ethiopia be Ethiopia. The complete disrespect and contempt the Susan Rice-Joe Biden administration has shown to the Ethiopian people and government not only angers me but also troubles me a great deal. Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa with 115 million people. Over 70 percent of them are under 40 years of age. The median age is 19.5 years and 60 percent of them are under the age of 24! We Ethiopian Americans do not want to see a generation of Ethiopians growing up hating America. Just a couple of days ago, hundreds of thousands of youth activists throughout Ethiopia held demonstrations demanding an end to “U.S. interference in Ethiopia.” In the capital Addis alone some ten thousand youth activists got together to condemn American and Western interference. The message of sanctions, etc. makes young Ethiopians hate America. We do not want the Ethiopian youth energy to be converted into a “hate U.S.A.” campaign because the Susan Rice-Joe Biden Administration’s policy of coddling TPLF terrorists and assistance to Ethiopia’s enemies toiling to prevent completion of the GERD. The young people are stoked. Today, they say “Stop interference.” How long before they start chanting, “Down, down…!”
Abe Lincoln in his Message to Congress in 1862 said, “We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just — a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless.”
Jim, the last best of hope on earth is today viewed by the Ethiopian people as the defender of terrorists, bringer of death, destruction, gloom and doom.
Ethiopian American Republicans?: Make a Covenant with Ethiopian Americans and we will help you drive the Democ-Rats out of Congress in 2022
Jim, reading the tea leaves, it is clear the Democrats are on the defense in Georgia, Arizona, New Hampshire and Nevada in the 2022 election.
Republicans may have weak spots in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Florida.
The Democrats believe they can snag Missouri and Ohio but looking at the data from 2016 and 2020, that looks like a pipedream.
In 2020, the Rice-Biden-Harris ticket won Georgia by 11,779.
In 2015, in Nevada Catherine Cortez Masto won by 26,915 votes.
Mark Kelley in Arizona is weak and his New World Order message will not resonate much in 2022.
The Democrats think they could snag the newly opened seats in Missouri and Ohio but given the historical trend in these states, the Democrats may be grasping at straws.
The Democrats calculate they could snag Pennsylvania with Senator Pat Toomey’s retirement. Given the historical trend, especially 2016 and the small margin in 2020, and with a little help from the Ethiopian American friends the Republicans can snag Pennsylvania.
Here is the bottom line, Jim.
In Georgia, there are tens of thousands of well to do Ethiopian Americans who are ready, willing and able to do what needs to be done to chase the Democ-RATs out of power in Congress.
I cannot guarantee anything but a fired up Ethiopian American community in Georgia can give Warnock a run for his money and knock him out in 2022.
In Nevada, there are thousands of Ethiopian Americans who are ready, willing and able to do what needs to be done to make Catherine Cortez Masto history.
Mark Kelly in Arizona is hanging on the coattails of his wife Gabby Giffords. Kelly is weak and a New World Order acolyte. He can be easily defeated. Ethiopian Americans can help and make that happen.
Jim, you and the Republican Party now have the opportunity to reach out and bring into the Republican Part a large number of immigrant voters, specifically Ethiopian Americans, who are turned off and will no doubt drop out of the Democratic Party base.
While the Susan Rice-Joe Biden administration is pushing Ethiopia in the wrong direction, we won’t let him win because in 2022 we’re gonna chase them Democ-RATs outta Congress.
But the way things are, Ethiopian Americans are outraged. They will not vote for the Democratic Party. What choice do they have left?
For the Republican Party, that is like leaving money on the table!
It is not the size of the dog in the fight that determines the outcome; it is the size of the fight in the dog
Mark Twain, from just northeast of Oklahoma in Missouri memorably said, “It is not the size of the dog in the fight that determines the outcome; it is the size of the fight in the dog.”
Well, the size of the fight in Ethiopian Americans to kick the Democ-RATs outta power in Congress in 2022 is just about to bust loose.
We are ready to donate (until it hurts), do grassroots work (until our feet ache), mobilize communities of color (by speaking truth to them about Democrat’s hypocrisy) and energize and galvanize the broader African diaspora immigrant community who have given their voices to the Democratic party only to lose it after the democrats were elected to power.
Try us. You’ve got nothing to lose.
Get your party to welcome Ethiopian Americans into Republican Party and we will help you chase the Democ-RATs out of Congress!
We will not only vote and donate until it hurts but also become force multipliers. We will energize, mobilize and galvanize the Ethiopian American community.
We will get to work NOW, not in 2022.
We have an Ethiopian saying you which you probably know. “If the silk of the spiders could be bundled together, it can tie up a lion.”
Well, Ethiopian Americans are like the silk of the spiders in America. We can come together and tie down and drive out the democrat donkey and have a hoe-down in 2022.
President John Kennedy said, “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.”
Ethiopians may forgive but will not forget the names Barack Obama, Susan Rice, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Samantha Power …
I say always keep your dear friends close to your heart and always remember their names.
You are a dear friend of Ethiopia, Jim.
You are an American Ethiopian. We will always remember your name fondly.
So, here we are.
Ethiopian Americans are raring to go just like them NASCAR drivers in flying start at the Talladega Superspeedway.
Jim, y’all ready to race the Democ-RATs outta Congress in 2022?
Let’s make Democ-RATs history in 2022.
With GOP-E. The Grand Old (Ancient) People of Ethiopia!
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