We need to work together... with all we have... to unseat the current administration... www.MoveOn.org is mobilizing to spearhead this effort. I am hoping to be of some help. Here's what I got in an email from MoveOn... Above the line is a request to look into this... below the line is a brief outline of the current situation. I've signed on already. (sorry this is sooooo long, but I wanted to post their entire message.)

Friends,

I thought you'd like to see this. MoveOn.org is starting to get a campaign organized to defeat Bush and the Republicans in 2004. The Republicans are already well under way in their re-election effort, we need to get started too.

Read their email below and consider signing on to the campaign.

To sign up, click here:

http://www.moveon.org/pac/newpres/

MoveOn will keep you updated when opportunities for action come up.

_____________________

Dear MoveOn Member,

The war in Iraq is over; the U.S. occupation of Iraq has now begun. In an unnecessary war, victory is never sweet: American soldiers, Iraqi civilians, and Iraqi soldiers lost their lives in a conflict that never should have happened. That's not victory, that's tragedy.

The hawks in the Bush Administration see this as a vindication of their belligerent world view. Never mind that we haven't found any weapons of mass destruction; never mind that Iraqi democracy (or even security) is nowhere in sight. The hotter heads have prevailed: pre-emptive unilateralism is now the official policy of the U.S.. Vice President Cheney, Secretary Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and Richard
Perle are now thinking even bigger about the "projection of American power." In the chilling words of a senior official close to the Bush administration, "Anyone can go to Baghdad. Real men go to Tehran."

Folks, we just have to stop this madness, and there's really only one way to do that: We need to throw these bums out. The good news is that over the last few months, we've built a base that just may be large enough to succeed. MoveOn's total membership is now over 1.3 million. We've taken out ads, written letters, delivered mountains of petition signatures, and taken action in hundreds of cities. And now we need to turn our attention toward one goal: regime change in the USA, the best way to repudiate Bush's policy of war.

Are you in? If you're willing to help show Bush the door in 2004, just click below. We'll count you among the participants in this next phase of the peace movement.
http://www.moveon.org/pac/newpres

We'll throw out Bush and the Republicans using every means available: by registering a wave of new voters, by organizing to make sure they get to the polls on election day, by raising enough money to compete with the President's mountain of special interest money, and by volunteering for political campaigns. We'll make it easy for you to play a part.

President Bush believes he doesn't have to listen to the American public -- which, even during war, has overwhelmingly been skeptical or strongly resistant to the idea of an American empire. He has decided that his faith in the military takes precedence over his faith in democracy. The election in 2004 is our chance to take our democracy back.

Polls show overwhelmingly that American's do not trust President Bush to revive the failing economy. They're just as concerned with the Administration's assault on civil rights, civil liberties and the environment. Last week in New Orleans, Presidential advisor Karl Rove said that this will be a "close, competitive" race. If all of us get involved, it won't just be tight. We'll win.

And that will go down in history. It will demonstrate that we mean what we say -- that we have the passion and the commitment to see our approach to foreign policy through. It will demonstrate that politicians who seek to curry favor through belligerence face political consequences, and that those who advocate a reasonable, multilateral foreign policy will be rewarded. And it will set the stage for an American policy that leads the world into a cooperative
and safe future.

Let's elect a new President in 2004, and put an end to the politics of unnecessary war.

Sincerely,

--Carrie, Eli, Joan, Peter, Wes, and Zack
The MoveOn Team
April 24th, 2003

I'm getting pessimistic early. Maybe it's cause I'm sick. Did I mention that I'm really sick? Anyway, since I was home I was watching CNN and there was something about how Bush having this late convention was going to give him an even huger financial advantage. You can spend more soft money when you're just the candidate for the nomination or something, which he will be for months longer than the Democratic nominee. Well, anything can happen, of course, and it usually does, so I guess we'll see. Saw Ralph Nader on TV today, too. I wish he'd join up with the Dems without needing to have it all his way. I'd love it to be all his way, but that's not going to happen, but I really don't know what Bush will do if he's actually elected. On the bright side, Rummy seems to be sending out Newt to bite Colin Powell on the ankles. That can't be a good thing from Bush's perspective no matter how you slice it. And any time Newt's in play our side has a chance, I figure. He's more self destructive than any Democrat.

I guess that's enough aimless rambling from me for now.

I've been feeling the pessimism too, haven't been able to shake it yet. The Dems need to get behind their strongest man early, and that will mean that the others will have to let their egos go before the convention. I hope they have a good and convincing candidate.

Pat, I hope Ralph helps too. Did he give any indication on running? I'd love to see the Greens join the Dems, but again, that would mean the Dems would have to at least pretend to listen to their concerns for 5 minutes, which they weren't willing to do last time.

I just can't understand how 3/4 of this country support the current Republican agenda. I do.....not......get it. How is it possible that so many people could just go simultaneously brain dead?

Thanks for posting this Wlyd, you know I'm with you.

I guess it's up to me & the Wiz to keep Dub in office. <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/peace.gif" width=16 height=16>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lcj:

I've been feeling the pessimism too, haven't been able to shake it yet. The Dems need to get behind their strongest man early, and that will mean that the others will have to let their egos go before the convention. I hope they have a good and convincing candidate.

Pat, I hope Ralph helps too. Did he give any indication on running? I'd love to see the Greens join the Dems, but again, that would mean the Dems would have to at least pretend to listen to their concerns for 5 minutes, which they weren't willing to do last time.

I just can't understand how 3/4 of this country support the current Republican agenda. I do.....not......get it. How is it possible that so many people could just go simultaneously brain dead?

Thanks for posting this Wlyd, you know I'm with you.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

He didn't say anything about running, but it was a panel discussion about the economy/tax cut and not an interview.

I wouldn't be so worried about the approval ratings now. His father had better ones after the Gulf War and the country was in less of a mess if anything. But there was Ross Perot to help out, taking some votes from each side, but many more from the Republicans, I'm sure. And GW's team does seem to have learned something from what happened to his father. I think that what it would take is a truly concerted effort. Not only cooperation between the real left and the moderates and everyone in between, but also for the candidates to care more about defeating Bush than trashing each other, so that people who are voting for Republicans against their own interests might possibly hear a message instead of hearing just a lot of ugly noise for a few months. All of this is not likely to happen on this planet until Starfleet is up and running, however.

I believe in Miracles...

I also believe in making the effort to make miracles happen.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by pat:
...All of this is not likely to happen on this planet until Starfleet is up and running, however.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Okay, then HomerJ, as our resident physicist, you need to get to work on that warp drive. I have Simplicity patterns for the uniforms (really). Anyone got a piece of land in San Francisco to donate for the academy?

I'm also a MoveOn member. I wonder if a letter-writing campaign to all the Dem and
Green candidates saying what Pat said would help? Pat, if you wouldn't mind being quoted, I'd send that in as a suggestion to MoveOn. Or you could, or we all could...(?)

Ceashel, I don't think I said anything worth quoting, but if you think that a campaign to get ask these people to think about the welfare of the country as a whole instead of their own careers or even their personal vision might help, I'm all for it. I belong to moveon.org, too. I read various boards and see the faithful for one candidate or another trashing each other, usually because of what seems like a relatively minor philosophical difference when you consider the chasm between them and the neoconservative Republicans. We really need to understand that for the moment they're in the catbird seat and we're all behind the eightball. So, I don't care if Howard Dean likes guns, or if John Kerry initially voted for the president's war powers or if any of them can bring us all the way to where we want to be. I want to get the hell out of where we are right now.


Right now, China has been asked to speak at this G8 summit. Not as a full member, but that'll probably come. Not that there's really anything wrong with that, but coming at this time it seems clear that the rest of the world is doing the natural thing and that's getting some ducks in a row to restore a balance of power, now that the US seems to be out of control.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ceashel:

Okay, then HomerJ, as our resident physicist, you need to get to work on that warp drive. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

... last I heard, HomerJ (aka Scotty) went to get some more dilithium crystals...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Wyldflower:

... last I heard, HomerJ (aka Scotty) went to get some more dilithium crystals...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Scotty Here

Working to unseat the current lame-ass administration is great, and we should, but this article about futility has at least some shades of truth to it:
http://adbusters.org/magazine/47/articles/choiceless_democracy.html

lcj... the logic of this argument is strong...

So what do people like you or me do? There are really only a couple of possibilities...

First, yes, we do need to work together to uproot the shrub... and other politicians of his ilk.

Second... we would have to boycott Corporate America en masse... but realistically, I don't see that happening. I'll try to do my part (and I acknowledge that I could be doing much more than I am) - but there is a great multitude of people out there who accept what they see on TV as the whole truth will continue to feed their consumer habits. It will take a massive education campaign (and who can take this on?) to persuade the vast majority that it is in their best interest to stop supporting corporate interests and to unseat the ultra-right-wing politicians who support (and are supported by) Big Business.

So what is a simple individual to do... except work at changing the small things s/he can?

Wyld, you're right on. That article was a bummer, I read too much of that shit! Drives me crazy, but what can I say, I'm a junkie for that stuff.

The little things are important, like you, I do the best I can with that stuff and try to enlighten others about consumerism, pollution, capitalism, etc.. That's all that people will tackle in our generation, our attention spans have been successfully reduced, our critical thinking diverted by pop culture and religion.

I'm a pessimist, but I see things going steadily downhill this century. And someday, maybe 50-100 years from now, when the wealth gap is so wide and deep, I think we may see a real revolution. I'll be gone by then, but I'll be cheering em on from the grave

You have to try and anything really could happen. Someone a lot lefter than I reminded me that while the center has moved to the right in the last 20 years, it's still moved way to the left over the longer haul, and even compared to the fifties we have made progress and very important progress that has stuck at that. So, while I'm not exactly holding my breath, it's still worth a shot. Right now, unseating Bush has to be the number one priority. That alone would feel very good.

What Pat said (over time, that has come to feel so easy to type, but it's also so true, every time!). A lot of the things we believed/promoted/fought for/whatever... in the 60s are now mainstream. A lot more aren't, but some of those things are. It can/does make a difference.