Wish Daniel Ellsberg a (Surprise) Happy 80th Birthday!

Dear Mr. Ellsberg,
I was in high school when you were arrested, and I have never forgotten. God bless you, sir, for your example of activism and patriotism.

Greetings, Daniel
I researched and wrote a paper in 1972 about the Pentagan Papers. I was forever altered. I’m grateful for the risks you took for this country then. In my naiveté in believed then, that when my generation reached the age to hold office, there would no longer be secrets from the American people. I figured my generation would insist on full transparency in our democracy. I figured the people needed to know the whole truth in order to make informed votes. I’m so disappointed with US today. How do you mange to hang on?

Here’s to you for being a part of a new age of peace and love! Happy Birthday!

Happy 80th Daniel!! I still remember with fondness our ride to the Denver airport in my 1972 Fiat 124 sport coupe after the Rocky Flats action in 1979…

cheers, Phil F>

With great appreciation for all that you’ve done for our country and continue to do, I wish you a very happy 80th birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! thank you for your bravery.

Happy Birthday. If only we had more people like you, this would be a far better country. Thank yo for all you’ve done for America.

Thank you for all you have done in your eight decades Dr. Ellsberg and happy birthday! You are a true inspiration for all who wish to make a difference in their country!

Happy Birthday Mr. Ellsberg!
Thank you for your courage… you are a true hero.
Sincerely
Anja Bull

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. ELLSBERG! You are an American hero! Thank you for all you’ve done for our country in the name of truth, peace and justice. Keep standing up for what is right – it keeps you young!

Happy Birthday Daniel Ellsberg,
Thank you for your contributions to peace in the world, and transparency in government. Have a great year.

jon wood

Happy Happy Day Daniel Elllsberg!

Dear Dan,

We share the same birthday, which is lucky because you’re one of my heroes — on a very short list. I have framed on my wall the pull sheet from the New York Times of the night of August 9, 1974 with 96-pt. type (the last time they used that size was for the Apollo moon landing): NIXON TO RESIGN, along with the bar of lead type used to print it — he hadn’t done it yet. The columns are slugged and the photos are For Position Only. Of course by that morning the banner read slightly differently, minus TO and with the addition of S; here is a frozen moment in time, caught, on my wall, that I examine and dwell on almost every single day. None of this would have been possible, these invisible inevitable pressings and alignments, stresses and fracturing of what we now know as our history, without that one decision you made at a precipitous, extraordinary instant. Thank you, from the boy then, and thank you, from me now.

Happy birthday, Dr. Ellsberg. Your courage and conviction to speak truth to power will forever inspire me o do the same. Thank you andenjoy your day!

Happy Happy Birthday to you May God bless you in the coming year~

Congratulation on the big 80 – Thanks for being both an inspiration and one of the rare Americans that speak the truth to power.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Ellsburg! Thank you so much for all you have done! I hope 80 is the best year yet!

Happy 80th to a true hero!

Listen: It is the sound of many whistles blowing around the world today, celebrating you, inspired by you. These whistleblowers share the sweet music composed by you — with the melody of integrity, lyrics of courage, rhythms of peace, and harmony of hope.
Best wishes for a very happy birthday.
(P.S. It was a great honor to hear you and Patricia speak in Honolulu and then share my mom’s (Rosalie Ritz) trial drawings of you. She introduced me to the hero you are when she covered you for AP at the Pentagon Papers trial 40 years ago. You and Patricia are still my heroes today. Thank you.)

Happy Birthday! You’re an American hero, and you’re right about Bradley Manning, if he is in fact the person who blew the whistle on the violations of Article 3 of the Geneva Convention of 1949, to which both the US and Iraq are signatories, as depicted in the Collateral Murder video – he’s a hero too. Obama reminds me so very much of Richard Nixon, it seems that history is repeating itself. In 1971, the US had had military presence in Vietnam for 8 years, since 1963, the war was resulting in massive atrocities being committed by US troops (such as My Lai), and the DoD and White House were busily trying to cover things up – just like Obama in 2011. John Mitchell in 1971, Eric Holder in 2011, the difference is that Nixon was a white Republican and Obama is a black Democrat, otherwise there’s no difference at all. Thanks for being brave enough to take a stand at Obama’s White House – you are appreciated far more than you could know.

Aloha Dan –
Bonne chance et meilleurs voeux @ 80!

It’s not just what you’ve done – but what you CONTINUE to do – that’s important and inspiring.

Spring 2007, I mentioned a friend’s book, just published, which described some important whistleblowers. You immediately bought it, read it, liked it.
I said the author would be on a book tour, including Berkeley, in two weeks. I was going to hear him.

“Let’s go together, you said.

Early morning of the author’s talk, you left a voice message, “Hi, It’s Dan, I can’t go to the book talk tonight. I’ll be in jail and I won’t get out in time.
So go ahead without me.”

Stunned, I called back and said, “No one’s ever left me a message saying they can’t meet because they’ll be in jail! How do you know you’ll be in jail today? What are you going to do?”

“It’s the anniversary of the war in Iraq, so of course we’re going to picket at Nancy Pelosi’s in San Francisco. Then we’ll get arrested – and from years of experience, knowing how long it takes to get out of jail – plus get back over the Bay Bridge at rush hour – I can’t go.”

“Fine,” I said evenly. “I’ll let you know how the book talk is.” But I was thinking, ‘I don’t know anyone who knows they’re going to spend the day in jail!’

At 6:30 that night, as I was leaving the house for the author’s talk at Cody’s Books, my phone rang,

“Hi, it’s Dan. I’m out of jail. Let’s go to the book talk.”

And we did and enjoyed it thoroughly.

You never said, “Should I bother going to this protest? Will it make any difference? Am I wasting my time?”

You know the odds. You understand resistance to change. But you never “don’t bother”. At 60, 70, 80.

You always make a difference. I hope you do for many decades more.

Thank you for your acts of courage and conviction.
Thank you for your integrity and transparency!
Thank you for your kindness and consideration!
Thank you for being a good neighbor and a spectacular friend!
Happy Birthday dear one.

First, congrats for reading through so many birthday wishes!

The way you’ve lived–and continue to live–your life gives me strength, hope, a little taste of sublime connection with that unspeakable something. Thank you.

Not long ago, at a time when I had lost the will to keep up with the good fight, I was lucky enough to hear a story about you from Michael Nagler. It called me back to a belief in the good and true and right in the world. These days, I am trying again. I return to your story often…and share it with many.

These words truly can’t express. Happy birthday. You are a gem.

It was such an inspiration to be part of the nonviolent occupation of the the CIA in the late 1980s during the time of Nicaragua and El Salvador as a support person. If I remember about 150,000 people marching in Washington. And he is speaking and inspiring us. Thank you! Already a hero and still a hero. Peace be with you!

Your courage in exposing egregious lies of life and death importance has been an inspiration for me throughout my adult life.