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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 12/21/09

Resolutions, Not Hopes

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I resolve to do everything in my ability, while preserving my power to continue in future years, to reverse the destruction of the environment, the proliferation of weapons and wars, and the concentration of wealth.

I resolve neither to panic nor to behave as if we have a moment to lose.

I resolve neither to be gratuitously rude nor to value politeness above life-saving actions.

I resolve not to discriminate for or against elected officials or candidates on the basis of political party.

I resolve not to support or participate in any activist organization that is not internally democratic or which takes its agenda from public servants rather than from the public.

I resolve not to support corporate media outlets in any way, including through organizations or election campaigns, but to invest my time and money in independent media.

I resolve to work at the local, state, national, and international levels to create better communications systems, equality of access to media, the elimination of war propaganda, free media for elections, public media, independent community media, and variety of viewpoints rather than complicity in the pretense that the corporate viewpoint is no viewpoint at all.

I resolve to work at the local, state, national, and international levels to create public funding of elections and to prohibit bribery in any form, to limit protected speech to speech not spending, to limit first amendment and other personal rights to persons not corporations, and to significantly defund political parties.

I resolve to end bipartisan gerrymandering, bipartisan ballot access restrictions, bipartisan candidate debates, and all credibility for claims that bipartisanship is beneficial.

I resolve not to fantasize about secret good intentions, friendship, or super-human powers in elected officials.

I resolve to press elected officials who might do something useful harder than those for whom there is little hope.

I resolve to focus my national lobbying efforts on my representative in the House of Representatives, without wasting energy on presidents or senators, until we compel the House to defund the wars, block the corporate bailouts, and hold high officials accountable.

I resolve to recognize the concentration of power in the hands of presidents as a ticking bomb that must be rapidly defused through public pressure that forces Congress to take back powers it does not want.

I resolve that in 2010 one or more members or former members of the executive branch will be subpoenaed and that a congressional committee will enforce its subpoenas.

I resolve that in 2010 one or more members or former members of the executive branch will be impeached.

I resolve to work at the local, state, national, and international levels to establish the right to vote in verifiable elections on paper ballots publicly counted at each polling place, with voter registration automatic at age 18 and never removed from anyone, even in Washington, D.C.

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David Swanson is the author of "When the World Outlawed War," "War Is A Lie" and "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union." He blogs at http://davidswanson.org and http://warisacrime.org and works for the online (more...)
 
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