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Dear friends in activism:
In my article yesterday, titled "Back to the Land and the Fishing Pole?", in which I discussed a concern about the possibility of The Great Depression Revisited, I got an overwhelming response from Opednews readers posting to the article, contacting me in my Opednews inbox, etc. People posted excellent survival tips, such as how to make a camp stove out of catfood tins, a community power co-op powered by diesel fuel, instructions for starting your own fish farm in your backyard pool, and other things which should give us all hope and empowerment. The article and the very interesting comments can be seen here:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Back-to-the-Land-and-the-F-by-Kathryn-Smith-080706-597.html
Above all, though, people voiced much more than just deep concerns about horrible things which, though cognitive distortions would tell us would be on a mass scale, the truth is also probably could and would happen on a medium scale. One such thing was the spine-chilling thought of cannibalism-related murders as starved city residents become desparate for survival. A number of people posted that our society has become more violent, due to desensitization thanks to the TV and video games. Thus, with such increased violence in our society, it becomes more likely that violence would be on the upswing during a revisited Depression, which in the words of several concerned Opednews members, would "make the Great Depression look tame".
And one thought was posted which is absolutely key:
"The best way to survive this is not to let it happen".
Boy, how right that person was, and how right those who echoed that response were in so saying.
Having so said, let me hereby post some ideas for how to stop the upcoming attack on Iran, the offshoot of which likely would be another Depression. Let's make this an open discussion thread: Please post your own solutions! THere is a tremendous power in group brainstorming, and the pool of ideas leads to much more fruit than any one person acting alone! Thank you for helping out.
Meanwhile, here a few thoughts, just to get the discussion going:
a) Arm ourselves with articles to back up our position before implementing any further strategies below. Show this to the public, letters to the editor and members of Congress:
http://www.coastalpost.com/08/06/01.html Top Source Says Bush to Strike Iran by August Asia Times says Senator Diane Feinstein, Democrat of California, and Senator Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, were informed of the attack plan.
Israel Radio also announced Bush’s plans to attack Iran:
http://www.coastalpost.com/08/06/01a.html
Thank goodness and thanks to Seymore Hersch, the information now has gone to the mainstream American press. The New Yorker reports on 6-29-08, in an article by Seymore Hersch titled “Preparing the Battlefield: The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran” that another war based on yet more lies is coming to you soon:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20203.htm
To prove that this war really is based on a lie, read what Hersch has to say.
B) Let's organize citizen's meetings with our members of Congress.
Armed with the articles above to back up our information, let's meet face-to-face with our Senators, Representatives or their Aides. There is a power in talking face-to-face: No getting drowned out in the sea of letters which come in. More ability to impress on the politician's mind what the real, key concerns are. The ability to hear them out and what their position is, and why. Based on what they say, the chance to rebut their concerns/positions, directly and in person.
To organize a citizen's meeting, call the Congressperson's office and arrange with the appropriate Aide for a time to meet, in person, in their office. Citizen's meetings can be done in groups or one-on-one. I suggest groups, because that is more powerful and makes a better impression. Last but not least, if you come in with your local Democratic, Republican, Green or Independent Party Club, you are more likely to succeed in getting a meeting nailed down. It can be hard to successfully get a calendar date: Coming in with a group gives you a better chance. But that also doesn't mean that citizens acting alone, or as an independent group, cannot also do it. Give it a try!
When you meet with them, show them the concerns posted by Opednews writers to my article above. They represent more people than only themselves, and please remind the politician that OPednews is non-partisan. So this represents a greater cross-sector of concerns.
C) Whether in the citizen's meeting or in letters to the editor, let the Congressperson know that your intention is to expose their voting record on a public level, urging readers to vote violators of the Constitution out of office, and to spread word.
Make sure you let the Senator or Representative know (and the public, if writing a letter to the editor) that it is not the Official's position which matters, but yours and that of the general populace. Their job is to implement the public will, not to be "leaders" (wrong concept, folks!) or "deciders". They are elected and PAID by the public to implement the public will. Period, end! So....no asking what *their* position is about striking Iran (or anything else). No asking "can we count on you for a No vote?" etc....TELL them what the thing is to do. TELL Them that their job is to implement the public will, and that's it! No foolin' around. Anybody who masquerades as a representative of the people, but actually fulfills their own and their contributors' agendas, is violating their oath of office to uphold, protect and defend the COnstitution. And you will expose that fact to the public, urging readers to vote them out of office!
You will do that, right? You will live that pledge of allegiance, right? Commitment? Thank you for your help.
D) How to succeed in getting your letter to the editor printed: I have more than 150 letters printed in my name since the year 2000. Not on the Internet, but in hard newspaper copies. My tips are:
~FACT: the mainstream newspapers sometimes DO print controversial opinions. Contrary to the concerns of Opednews members, it is my experience that major newspapers don't censor letters to the editor as much as they do articles. Because the point of LTE's is to represent a varied cross-sector of public opinions.
~Mainstream newspapers want sole copyright of letters. Therefore, write a separate version of your letter to the larger papers, and a separate one to the smaller ones. In my experience, at least the smaller newspapers in my own area don't mind being carbon-copied the same letter and yes, they do print them, all the time. But never carbon copy a letter to a larger newspaper: They will just delete it without reading it, told me a San Francisco Chronicle editor.
~If the mainstream paper rejects your letter, go to the local papers and college newsletter editors. Remember: Word will travel much farther and wider than to your direct readers. People post to the Internet, especially college students. People talk. And all it takes is ONE reader who has pro-active outreach: A Board member of Moveon.org or the ACLU or another entity, a movie maker, a politician...you never know who your letter is going to reach. Don't worry about the small numbers of readers and remember that word spreads! You can even ask readers to pass word along, posting your message to the Internet et al, at the end of your letter. Give very specific permission to reprint.
~In your letter, expose the voting record of YOUR Senator or Representative, urging readers to vote them out of office if they are violators. Ask readers to spread word, post to the Internet, etc. And tell the politician in your public letter, that if they vote "YES" to fund war based on lies, starting yet another one in Iran, they will be held legally and morally responsible as war criminals by the public! Urge the public to get involved in that act. REPEAT: YES, the San Francisco Chronicle and other mainstream papers in my area HAVE Printed such messages I have written. Take heart! If censored, go to the local papers. It will work!
~Meet with and ask local officials to draft resolutions against war crimes in Federal office, and any war criminals who vote "YES" to wars based on lies. (WHile you are at it, ask them to draft pro-impeachment resolutions, to put pressure on Congress. Show them Hersch' s article above, stress the outcomes of such a war, show them impeachment polls by MSNBC, AOL and the USA Today, etc which overwhelmingly favor impeachment!)
Please post your own ideas below about how to stop the war with Iran. Perhaps the system of checks and balances has to come from overseas: What about politicians overseas issuing arrest warrants for Bush and war cirminals in Congress? Write to them! Thank you for your help and for posting your ideas!
