What have you done to educate the masses on the danger to our democracy?

[Liberty Belle]

I want to write an article about the role individual citizens are playing in spreading the word about the threats facing our democracy. Back when our nation was founded, TV had not yet been invented. Yet Thomas Paine's pamphlets and word of mouth helped spawn a revolution. Is the same thing happening today?

Some progressive activists are showing great creativity in devising ways to let the non-Internet crowd know of the need to clean up our electoral process--like the DU member who has been visiting a different church each Sunday, putting leaflets on parishioners' cars. Or the San Diego protesters who picketed the local newspaper's blackout of coverage. Or the elderly woman, with an invalid husband at home, who has vowed each day to convince at least three perfect strangers that Bush is a fascist.

So...what have you done to "be the media?"

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[icehenge]

3. I'ved tried...

I've tried to educate friends. Sometimes its possible
to get them to listen and to understand the dangers.
Sometimes all the work doesn't seem to make any
difference in some.

I think its necessary to realy talk in terms of what is
on peoples minds. I could tell a friend Bush stold the
election, but unless he is aware of the things Bush is
doing, the things that are indangered in our country, he
may not worry.

I suspect many people like to ignore the troubles of
the country. That why it doesn't effect them in their
bubble of existance.

How best do we get them worried? To care?

[Liberty Belle]

10. Show them the info on fascism (see political discussions section).

I started it a day or so ago. There are links to articles about conservatives and even an ex-moral majority leader who have turned on Bush because they fear his extremism and destruction of civil liberties.

The average person is also alarmed if you educate them about Bush's plan to demolish Social Security. It's true that keying in on issues that matter to the individual is a good tactic to gain their attention.

[bunny planet]

5. only this time who gets to be the jews, maybe liberals, or black people,

or Muslim Americans, or Democrats, or old people, or everybody else but the BFEE. Are you crazy, we should hit bottom like Nazi Germany did? Some of us have families with children to protect from these monsters, and you're tired of educating the masses. :wtf:


your new philosophy sucks.

[alittlelark]

7. bunny is spot-on.....

I have kids, and will fight to the end!

[HomerRamone]

12. Would "right-wing views" be "discredited" in Germany

unless we defeated them? Sometimes I worry that it's going to take the whole world ganging up on the U.S. for it to lose its increasingly Nazi-like nationalism and sense of superiority...

[Liberty Belle]

11. WE can't wait until they start building concentration camps

and we've all lost everything that matters to us and our children.
Indifference now is as dangerous as the right wing's aggressive extremism.

If you tried before to get the truth out, please try harder!

[flyarm]

18. lieberty the camps are already built!

sorry this is old article so it may not come up with link so i will post in full here..had it in my files...

Camps for Citizens: Ashcroft's Hellish Vision
Attorney general shows himself as a menace to liberty.
By Jonathan Turley
Jonathan Turley is a professor of constitutional law at
George Washington University.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/08.15B.ashcr.camps.htm

Los Angeles Times

Wednesday, 14 August, 2002

Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft's announced desire for camps for U.S. citizens he
deems to be "enemy combatants" has moved him from merely being a political
embarrassment to being a constitutional menace.

Ashcroft's plan, disclosed last week but little publicized, would allow him
to order the indefinite incarceration of U.S. citizens and summarily strip
them of their constitutional rights and access to the courts by declaring
them enemy combatants.

The proposed camp plan should trigger immediate congressional hearings and
reconsideration of Ashcroft's fitness for this important office. Whereas
Al Qaeda is a threat to the lives of our citizens, Ashcroft has become
clear and present threat to our liberties.

The camp plan was forged at an optimistic time for Ashcroft's small inner
circle, which has been carefully watching two test cases to see whether
this vision could become a reality. The cases of Jose Padilla and Yaser
Esam Hamdi will determine whether U.S. citizens can be held without charges
and subject to the arbitrary and unchecked authority of the government.

Hamdi has been held without charge even though the facts of his case are
virtually identical to those in the case of John Walker Lindh. Both Hamdi
and Lindh were captured in Afghanistan as foot soldiers in Taliban units.
Yet Lindh was given a lawyer and a trial, while Hamdi rots in a floating
Navy brig in Norfolk, Va.

This week, the government refused to comply with a federal judge who ordered
that he be given the underlying evidence justifying Hamdi's treatment. The
Justice Department has insisted that the judge must simply accept its
declaration and cannot interfere with the president's absolute authority
in "a time of war."

In Padilla's case, Ashcroft initially claimed that the arrest stopped a plan
to detonate a radioactive bomb in New York or Washington, D.C. The
administration later issued an embarrassing correction that there was
no evidence Padilla was on such a mission. What is clear is that Padilla
is an American citizen and was arrested in the United States--two facts
that should trigger the full application of constitutional rights.

Ashcroft hopes to use his self-made "enemy combatant" stamp for any citizen
whom he deems to be part of a wider terrorist conspiracy.

Perhaps because of his discredited claims of preventing radiological
terrorism, aides have indicated that a "high-level committee" will recommend
which citizens are to be stripped of their constitutional rights and sent
to Ashcroft's new camps.

Few would have imagined any attorney general seeking to reestablish such
camps for citizens. Of course, Ashcroft is not considering camps on the
order of the internment camps used to incarcerate Japanese American
citizens in World War II. But he can be credited only with thinking
smaller; we have learned from painful experience that unchecked authority,
once tasted, easily becomes insatiable.

We are only now getting a full vision of Ashcroft's America. Some of his
predecessors dreamed of creating a great society or a nation unfettered
by racism. Ashcroft seems to dream of a country secured from itself,
neatly contained and controlled by his judgment of loyalty.

For more than 200 years, security and liberty have been viewed as coexistent
values. Ashcroft and his aides appear to view this relationship as lineal,
where security must precede liberty.

Since the nation will never be entirely safe from terrorism, liberty has
become a mere rhetorical justification for increased security.

Ashcroft is a catalyst for constitutional devolution, encouraging citizens
to accept autocratic rule as their only way of avoiding massive terrorist
attacks.

His greatest problem has been preserving a level of panic and fear that would
induce a free people to surrender the rights so dearly won by their ancestors.

In "A Man for All Seasons," Sir Thomas More was confronted by a young lawyer,
Will Roper, who sought his daughter's hand. Roper proclaimed that he would
cut down every law in England to get after the devil.

More's response seems almost tailored for Ashcroft: "And when the last law was
down and the devil turned round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws
all being flat? ... This country's planted thick with laws from coast to
coast ... and if you cut them down--and you are just the man to do it--do
you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then?"

Every generation has had Ropers and Ashcrofts who view our laws and traditions
as mere obstructions rather than protections in times of peril. But before
we allow Ashcroft to denude our own constitutional landscape, we must take
a stand and have the courage to say, "Enough."

Every generation has its test of principle in which people of good faith can
no longer remain silent in the face of authoritarian ambition. If we cannot
join together to fight the abomination of American camps, we have already
lost what we are defending.

If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at
latimes.com/archives.

[Vinnie From Indy]

28. Amen! Time is not on our side! n/t

[thanatonautos]

21. No it will not good if we hit bottom like Nazi Germany did.

Unlike Nazi Germany, we have a great number of nuclear
weapons, as well as an absolutely unmatched conventional
military force.

If the Religionists take over and head in the direction
of trying to establish a `Thousand Year Kingdom of Christ
on Earth' by force, then the world is going to be in very
serious trouble.

We are probably talking about billions of dead
before things are over.

Let's try to avoid that, OK?

[NationalEnquirer]

27. Just talk to folks I guess.

I tell people what I've learned from here, and they just kinda shrug their shoulders as if I was some lunatic.
I think the Republicans have been successful at casting us as some kind of wing-nuts.
I think part of the problem is that MOST voters, or at least most that I know, just don't take their politics very seriously.
I mean, honestly, I was one of those voters until a few months ago.
You can lead a horse to water....

[knowbody0]

2. way excited

my daughter's senior project-the reality of the iraq war and the loss of constitutional rights via the patriot act.
i opened a doorway for her and she went deep. she completed it this weekend, turns it in tomorow, and has leaflets printed to hand to the kids going into the recruiting office on campus.
i am so proud of her.\

[Liberty Belle]

13. Like mother, like daughter. Great work!

[joevoter]

4. Next phase - in person - face to face - without pushing the "your stupid

button." It has been hard to figure out where to direct our efforts because there are many groups approaching the issue in different ways. I have come to the conclusion that most voters do not know what just happened. They watch TV (not C-span). Some are sticking their heads in the sand but I think that most are just not informed because they are conditioned to be fed information rather than digging for it. We now have two more powerful tools. The official Congressional document and the C-Span video. I am now focusing on getting that info to people in person. I encourage everybody to get that info out as fast as you can (especially to people at the J20 rallies) so that people speak in a unified voice that "we were wronged". The message is simple, crosses all boundaries of ideology, political party, social religious... blah blah blah... and gives us a chance to unite and seize another big opportunity when it arises. We can have an impact. We are free thinking individuals that come together forming a power that no strategy group can evaluate the strength of if we spread the word in person.

[Carolab]

6. I received an excellent homemade poster from a fellow activist.

He prints them out on legal paper. They give a list of what happened in the Ukraine down one side and then what happened here on the other side. There is a row of tear-off strips at the bottom with an election fraud website on it. He posts them on bulletin boards at coffee shops, grocery stores, etc. He said that people have been tearing off the strips. If you'd like me to e-mail a copy, PM me.

[Liberty Belle]

14. Excellent. Yes, I want one. I'll pm you.

[KaryninMiami]

8. Weekly newspapers to a few hundred people, handed mini-flyers out,

Plus I wrote and called the media as often as possible either through the various email blasters or directly, called and emailed every person in media that I know. I left "question the election" mini-flyers (with links to learn more and a few key facts) and posted them on message boards, almost never leaving the house without a stack in my pocketbook. But, most of all, I talked to strangers- in taxis, checking into hotels, waiting for coffee at Starbucks, on airplanes, in supermarkets- anywhere I could start a conversation about the election. For the most part, after every conversation, I either wound up with a new email address for my newsletter list or with handing them a mini flyer with a list of links to learn more about what really happened. This, I have to say, was (is) one of the most gratifying parts of this entire experience by the way, because it reminded me, over and over, that most people- ok many people, really did think something went wrong. Seeing the total relief in people's faces when I would tell them that their instincts were correct and that there are thousands of people working to tell this to the world was amazing- absolutely amazing.

I also alienated much of my family and a few friends who basically figured I had gone "over the deep end with this election stuff" and asked me repeatedly to just "get over it already", for which I was sad about but still believe that it was worth it. Nor will I ever get over "this election stuff" and yes perhaps, I am over the deep end but-- this is something worth going over the deep end for for God's sake- this is our democracy.

[Liberty Belle]

15. That's so inspiring!

Did the people you added to your e-mail list give you feedback later on about what they've done? Do you know if some of them actually contacted their legislators or the media? Were any of them people who voted for Bush?

[stillcool]

9. Fortunately for me...

I am unemployed, and have been for some time. Which means I get to read....alot. I started on this path just prior to the 2000 election, and am like a dog with a bone. Every discovery leads to more questions. Going through daily life I manage to impart my pearls to complete strangers...in the check-out line, at the bank, at the library. It oozes out of me like the smell of booze after an all-nighter. Sometimes I feel like Debbie-downer but ...I feel the need. Writing letters, emails,etc., gets old, and often feels like a waste of time but I still do it. I like to print out stuff and leave it in waiting rooms, restrooms, shopping carts, anywhere some soul might come along and take a gander.

[Liberty Belle]

16. Another leafletter. I sense that this is working.

I read an article recently about the White Rose Society, a group formed in Nazi Germany. Leafletters risked arrest and execution to spread the word about Hitler's real agenda, leaving flyers on trains, in bus stations, anywhere that people would read them.

Of course they were too late; Hitler's power was solidified. But we still have time to turn the tide, although the window may be closing.

What reactions did you get when you talked to those strangers in check out lines and banks? What's your opening line? I think a lot of folks, even some DUers, are reluctanct or fearful to try this tactic, but the people I've heard from who did this all seem to feel positively about it.

[stillcool]

23. Ya know there are so many openings....

For instance....once, while standing in line at the grocery store, I was looking at the Enquirer etal headlines, and started to laugh. The woman behind me, looked to see what was so funny...and she said 'unbelievable' to which I replied 'more believable than what comes out of our White House'. The printed material is a deliberate act, but what comes out of my mouth is not. I believe when people immerse themselves in ANYTHING its their point of reference. If I could get one persons curiosity peaked to want to know more, I'm done. I am often shocked when I come upon a ** supporter, but find their demeanor and mind-set fascinating. People who are hopelessly entrenched in their own belief systems with such a rigid mind-set, seem destined to self-propel in their own wall of reality. Planting seeds is all I can do.

[flyarm]

17. i have been writing a by weekly article in a local newspaper

and i have written all about the electronic voting machines and pnac and about jeb signing an executive order to put fla into marshall law 4 days before 9/11 ..it started as a one time article during the convention when i was a delegate..now it is a regular feature..with a he said /she said theme..i am the democratic voice..and the guy can't keep up with me..
i have been doing public speaking for 2 years now about both the eletronic voting and taking many periodicals and flyers with info about the voting machines..i have spoken to many diverse groups, in many public forums..including the university where i live..i was asked to be one of 15 in a round table at the university of tampa at a round table with a 9/11 commissioner...i was a speaker during
early vote with max cleland about 9/11 and the * complicity..i formed an internet group over 2 1/2 yrs ago to educate people =of whats going on, my friends and people in my group post daily on all internet message boards the truth of this admin..i do the primary research daily..and mostly nightly..all night so they can post the stuff daily...i have worked closely with some in the media trying to get info out there...but the most important thing i have seen and been part of is a huge network of people who now can pretty much do it on their own now, and have developed their own groups, and it has multiplied emensely. i am so proud and honored to call my friends , my internet family who have given of themselves and their lives to fight for the truth , fine people who work diligently for their nation, they are true patriots, and are relentless in their persuit of truth.
i worked hard to get my area a new wonderful woman to be our new dec chair who is honest and forhright and will work very hard to get our area straightened out..the last dec chairs were basically worthless.
i was a tester in our area of the voting machines in december...and fought from last spring to have poll watchers for the general election and early vote...
i went into a supervisor of elections press conference and was
dressed like a reporter and was admitted..and asked pivitol questions of the supervisor with all the media in attendance..( i tricked them ) they werent happy when they found out i wasnt media ..for an all media event..but i was trying to represent the people of my county!i was able to get the book she gave all the media of soe rules and rule changes for our democratic party here.

my co-workers were killed on 9/11..i have an agenda..and that is to see * out of office ..there is much to do, and nothing will stop me from getting the truth out there!!
but i will not play silly games...i see this as a life and death situation..for human lves and the life of our democracy.
fly

[Liberty Belle]

19. I commend you. You're a testimony to how much 1 person can accomplish.

Sneaking into the supervisor of elections press conference was a particularly bold and brilliant move.

Bravo! May you inspire many others to follow suit.

[Carolab]

20. I have also co-authored a bimonthly electronic newsletter

devoted strictly to election fraud with a fellow GOTV-er and we have a list of 450 now.

[flyarm]

22. wonderful!! carolab!!

i know first hand its alot of work..but very rewarding!! when i started my column for the local newspaper..i thought it would be over with the election, but from what the editor says he gets so much positive feed back that he doesn't want the articles to end...although it is sometimes like a tough homework assignment for a non professional writer!! and i feel like i get info to people and they are getting an education on their government..from what i understand now ..i have quite a following of readers...who would have thought it...not me!!
thank you carolab for writing your articles..i know you can make a difference!! who ever reads your articles is truely getting a valuable education!!
fly

[TexasLawyer]

24. My Election Fraud Action Items

1. Writing to congress members re the problem;

2. Writing the press re lack of coverage;

3. Writing the press when there IS coverage to tell them I appreciate it and to suggest new leads;

4. Writing LTTEs when the press gets it wrong;

5. Posting "BUSH CHEATED" signs all over town;

6. Ads in Thrifty Nickel Newspapers-- I bought a 4 week ad that says "Bush Stole the Election-- How he did it and what you can do about it. www.nov2truth.org" My ad covers a big part of east Texas and all 4 weeks were only $22.00. I kept waiting for the newspaper to reject my ad, but it is running!

7. Ads and stories that I've written about election fraud in other newspapers;

8. Kiosks-- I found lots of abandoned or seldom-used outside stands that were intended to house Pennysavers, Apartment listings, cars for sale, etc... and I have taken them over. Especially in potentially influential places like in front of colleges, courthouses, law schools, big offices, etc... I post a colorful print of a flyer on vote fraud in the front window of the kiosk (there is a clip for a display copy) then I have more copies inside. I've been re-stocking them too-- people are reading them.

9. Putting copies of the "20 Amazing Facts" flyer on tables in libraries, civic centers, and other places where people expect to find reading material. The flyer doesn't look too political at first glance, so people in charge of these places tend to leave it alone. (What could be objectionable about learning "Amazing Facts"?) (I also put flyers in post offices after 12 on Saturdays, since the buildings are open, but not staffed by people who will throw them away.)

10. E-mailing friends and relatives with info and asking that they do the same, getting people in other cities to do what I'm doing.


This isn't my complete list of action-items, but you get the drift. Keep at it! Nothing will change if other people don't know about the problem and if they do not get fired up to do something about it.

Peace

[icehenge]

29. kick

[Liberty Belle]

38. :kick:! I especially like #8. I hadn't thought of that.

[icehenge]

25. Great ideas!

I'd like to hear more peoples ideas and storys from people.

I'm listening :)

[Vinnie From Indy]

26. I and a few Others have done THIS

It is only a few weeks old, but it is a start.


http://www.indynewsblog.com

[masaka___]

30. Business Cards with a Message

I went over to http://vistaprint.com and had business cards made. However, unlike normal business cards, these cards have a message about electoral fraud. I carry a bunch in my back pocket and leave them all over the place. (ie. in the train, in library books, in newspapers, at atm machines, etc. etc..)

I also need to get around to making a "No Blood For Oil" business card for whenever I'm at the gas station.

It's fun and it's easy ;-)

[icehenge]

43. Great idea

Can you give me an example of what you wrote on the cards?
Or anyone else?

I'm looking for the card to be infomative but short
and to the point. Suggetions?

[EFerrari]

31. Mentioned in another thread, we began writing a political comedy

column for the oldest homeless paper in the United States. The inaugural column was "FOUR MORE YEARS OF THE WRONG PRESIDENT" and the stolen election is the subject of the first sentence. It was plastered all over the city by homeless vendors and sparked enough interest for us to be invited to speak to a mixer of one of the big journalists association this week!

(We'll try to be be good, lol)

[EFerrari]

32. Oh, also starting the political blog "fulldinnerjacket" in honor of

our misleader's military service. Am involving the whole comedy community as possible & putting up links to progressive orgs.

[EFerrari]

33. For those attending an event on 1/20: Are you taking flyers?

Just a thought.

We've put together a collection of comfort objects to sell at cost at our event, (audio cd "poetry of donald rumsfeld, sorryeverybody, the book, election deception dollars, t-shirts) plus we'll be distributing literature for some local progressive groups.

Anyone else distributing stuff that day?

[TexasLawyer]

36. Good idea

I'll bring some flyers.

[Liberty Belle]

40. Yes. VOTERR in San Diego bought a table at the local

Counter-Inaugural ball and we'll be passing out info on the need for election reform.

[Liberty Belle]

39. Oh, you're devious! I like it.

[EFerrari]

42. KR has no monopoly : ) nt

[tanyev]

34. All those pre-paid envelopes you get

with credit card applications, magazine subscriptions, etc.? Fill them with a flyer and send it back.

[EFerrari]

35. lol! is that legal? n/t

[tanyev]

37. Why not?

You didn't ask them to send you their solicitations. Don't send anything threatening, and it will be more effort than it's worth for them to try and figure out who sent it. I've heard lots of people say they stuff the envelopes with junk and send it back, just to repay the nuisance. This at least will be an educational experience for the person who opens the envelope.

[Liberty Belle]

41. Smart! I'm so impressed by the ingenuity here.