General Strike! No school, no work, no shopping, no life as usual... Not for today. Not for this week. Not until we've won!
We all have different concerns, but we all have the same concern: we are being lied to and this government does not represent us. Join millions of Americans in demanding truth, justice, and accountability.
General Strike USA on Sept. 11, 2008
A general strike is called for September 11, 2008, the anniversary of the 9/11/2001 attacks on New York City and Arlington, Virginia.
General strikes shut down the normal operations of a city, state, or nation for a period of time. These strikes aim to force action on a single issue or broader set of concerns. The 9/11/08 General Strike has a central location - http://www.votestrike.org - on the Internet, which is linked to and reproduced on a variety of other internet sites. The site states the rationale for the effort:
The General Strike is a national call to action, from citizens to other citizens. It is not about a single issue. It is not an anti-war protest, a civil rights protest, an election fraud protest. It is not about torture, surveillance, corporate media, or the environment. This strike is about all these issues and more.
We all have different concerns, but we all have the same concern: we are being lied to and this government does not represent us. Join other Americans in demanding truth, justice, and accountability.
This is our country. And our world.
A National Call to Action: Thursday, September 11th, 2008 No school. No work. Buy nothing. Hit the streets!
LOCK DOWN USA
The strike targets key issues facing the American public, issues that have not been addressed in any meaningful way by any branch of government. Unions, corporations & the major parties have failed to deal with pressing matters of war & peace, income inequality, crime & punishment & the meaning of citizenship itself. It has fallen to the American people to set things right!
Citizen discontent & other concerns of the strike include massive violations of civil rights. The strike campaign argues that in our system of checks & balances when the judiciary & the Congress have failed it falls to the American people to protect our Constitution, Bill of Rights & our way of life.
Call to action:
No work, No school on September 11, 2008. It also includes “no shopping;” a suspension of all purchasing during the strike. 75% of our economy is consumer spending, when Bush says to shop, we must STOP!
The general strike calls for participants to “Hit the Streets.” But whyspend our time protesting in DC to be ignored? Unless we get in the streets outside our rep.s personal residences- who is going to care?
We need to mobilize locally- & demand national action. Few of us could go to Washington- but many of us- can go to our city halls or state legislatures- or local Congressional offices.
Tell the government that we're fed up with war, torture, corruption, & special interest funding our elections & our media.
Strikes have brought civil rights in the U.S. & around the world. Help make our voices louder than the mainstream media & corporate dollars.
"It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error".
U.S. Supreme Court, in American Communication Association v. Douds, 339 U.S. 382, 442
In order to get involved, here are the five best steps to take now:
1) Sign up with your email address HERE in order to get updates,
Sites for a protest must be on public property unless you have written permission to hold your event from the property owner. You can be arrested on any private property. Potential protest sites include:
Outside State, County, City, Town, or Federal buildings
State and County election commission offices
Town Halls, City Halls, State Capitols
National Media offices and studios (only on nearby public owned and maintained sidewalks, parks, and open spaces)
Protest outside local media. Local media will gladly cover your protest if you target them.
If you have a guest speaker, a PA system, or plan to plug something in get a permit.
Schedule Your Protest
Select a date and time when most people in the area can attend:
If picketing offices, the hour employees arrive and depart provides high visibility for your target audience: weekday mornings, lunch hour, quitin' time.
Give yourself enough lead time before the event to sufficiently publicize and prepare your event.
Once, announced, don't change the place, date, or time.
Plan Your Protest
Good planning makes a big difference. A Logistics Coordinator can really help. Here's a partial protest planning checklist:
Arrange for a permit (if needed) immediately. Many jurisdictions require a two-week notice or longer
Invite speakers early (local/national politicians, radio and television personalities, political activists, celebraties, and writers). If possible, arrange to meet your event speakers personally beforehand.
Rent or find someone to volunteer the use of a PA system (make sure you have access to electricity on site)
Notify the police and fire departments nearest your site the week prior to your event
Plan for set up, tear down, and clean up
Put together a Press Kit for the day of the event. Include:
A protest press release detailing the facts of the protest and describing the protest's purpose and goals
A list of guest speakers with short biographies of each
A list of online links providing background information on election reform, research and evidence of election irregularities, the dangers of digital voting systems, etc.
A list of upcoming local and national events. Don't forget any follow-on meetups or events you have planned.
Any protest contact information for follow-up and interviews
Plan for press interviews during and immediately after your protest. Designate who will be interviewed and what message will be delivered. During the protest, seek out the press and don't let them get away without an interview. Remember to "stay on message" when talking to the press.
Plan a post-protest "What's Next" meeting.
Publicize Your Protest
Communicating your protest is vital. Define who can get to your event. Research how to get to them. A Communications Coordinator comes in handy for managing your event communications. Here is a partial checklist:
Email people and organizations you know or who know you. Ask them to spread the word.
Compose and release a press release to all local media announcing your protest.
Post electronic protest announcements and requests for volunteers on community message boards, blogs, and usergroup forums
Make, print and distribute flyers announcing your protest (download our flyer template and modify it to suit your event). Put flyers only in permitted locations. Seek business's permission to post any flyers in or on their premises.
Call in to local radio and television talk shows.
Contact local political and activist organizations
Notify union halls, civic organizations, and college campus student groups and organizations
Post-Protest Planning
Don't leave your protesters hanging. Announce at your protest things people can do after the event . Announce and hold a post-protest "What's Next" meeting. Communicate other activities happening elsewhere and the need for continued action and involvement. Remind everyone to spread the word about the state of our country and the urgent need for effective reform.
PERMITS
Citizen protests seeking a redress of grievances from their government are constitutionally guaranteed provided any assembly is peaceful and law-abiding. Permits are not required.
However, public rallies involving PA systems, invited guest speakers, use of electic power, and the need to prepare a public space do require a permit. Without a permit, property can be confiscated and people arrested. So, if you plan music, speakers, and supporting equipment, get a permit. Remember, many jurisdictions require a two-week lead time or more for the issuance of public site use or street march permits.
PETITIONS
Consider composing a local or state petition calling for effective reform. Address the petition to your State Representatives and State Senators.
Before distributing the Petition to State Representatives, provide a copy of the petition document to the Secretary of State. Seek out any State Representatives you think may be supportive of the petition and ask them to accompany you in delivering it to other House and Senate members. If you have a sympathetic federal elected representative, ask them to endorse the petition before delivering it. Be sure you have a designated person to hand carry the signed document before collecting signatures.
THE PRESS
Remember, the local press will likely want to cover your protest. Conversely, don't waste a lot of time running after national media. I have reports of national producers being threatened with termination if they cover the general strike stories.
Well ahead of your protest, visit your local newspaper and ask to speak to the local or state news desk editor. Also, try to personally visit the local television stations and ask to speak to a reporter or news producer. If you have a progressive talk radio station, do likewise (This is why a Communications Coordinator would come in handy).
For those of you planning a media blitz for any protest or activity, be advised:
Do not send attachments. Most media outlets will refuse emails with any attachments
Place all text in the body of the email, not exceeding 500 words. Many media outlets refuse emails in excess of 500 words.
Do not send repeated emails with highly repetitious text or the same subject line. Most news outlets filter email for repetitious content or similar Subject Line text. If you plan an email blitz of local media, change the content of multiple emails going to one address by at least 40%. Otherwise, you are likely to just fill up a spam reject folders.
When emailing newspapers, be cognizant of deadlines. Sunday features deadlines (Living Section, Sunday magazine, etc.) usually occur on Thursday.
Email to a few email addresses (usually less than 50) at a time to avoid trouble with your ISP
FLYERS, POSTERS AND SIGNS
"Make a Sign and Show Up" worked for us and will work for you in your pre-protest promotion.
Include URL, date, time, place & reason for action/reform. Down load maps from Mapquest to insert in flyers. Give easy to follow directions to your protest.
by
chris rice (59 articles, 39 quicklinks, 15 diaries, 164 comments)
on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 3:30:57 PM
2 comments
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