We Will Not Forget

One of the lessons that we have learned from this recent era is that cowardice comes in small pieces, concessions that might seem insignificant at the time but that cumulatively have a devastating consequence. We believe, too, that courage also comes slowly at first, when individuals begin to stand up for what’s right -- and that courage, too, can gain a powerful momentum - The Consortium

Home Of
BU$H'S HOUSE OF HORRORS
Your Daily Dose of Arsenic

"This is the key to history. Terrific energy is expended; civilizations are built up; excellent institutions devised; but each time something goes wrong. Some fatal flaw always brings back the selfish and cruel people to the top and it all slides back into misery and ruin." - C.S. Lewis, "Mere Christianity"

So let us press forward. Let us resolve to conduct ourselves in such a way that our children's children will read about the "Spirit of Kyoto" and remember well the place and the time where humankind first chose to embark together on a long-term sustainable relationship between our civilization and the Earth's environment. In that spirit, let us transcend our differences and commit to secure our common destiny: a planet whole and healthy, whose nations are at peace, prosperous and free; and whose people everywhere are able to reach for their God-given potential. - Vice President Albert Gore,  Dec.8, 1997, Kyoto, Japan

Click here for an image of our New America, born Jan 20, 2001

 Republicans click here

637 Law Professors Protest the Bush v Gore Supreme Court Decision
It's the Rule of Law, Stupid

Democracy is not well served by our pretending that this was an election-as- usual. Indeed, there is something unworthy of the democratic principle of one- person-one-vote to ask that we ignore the special circumstances that produced the outcome we witnessed on January 20. The far greater danger is that we forget just how much "eternal vigilance is the price of freedom." San Fransisco Chronicle

(image by Darrias)

Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the law." - Justice John Paul Stevens

"I heard you - and I will not forget." - President "de facto" Albert Gore

"They are ugly people, and they behave in ugly ways." -Mario Cuomo on the GOP, December 17, 2000

"We will promote peace by redefining the way wars will be fought." - Resident Bush, Jan 26, 2001

"We have the House, we have the Senate, we have the White House.. the things we dreamed about we can now do unfettered." - Tom DeLay

"When Tom DeLay's right-wing dreams come true, your nightmares and mine have just begun". - Ellen Malcolm

We are a broad-based multicultural coailition that is slowly but surely coming together. No one among us, no matter what our ethnic composition, has a monopoly on the pain and suffering caused by injustice or oppression. Today is the time to take all the barriers away and come together remembering who we are and the greatest truth we share...that we are all children of God.  It's time for us to take names, clean house, and kick butt.

Essays and Commentary

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent,a part of the main. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. - John Donne Meditation XVII

My President
Albert Gore, Jr.

"I’ve seen America in this campaign and I like what I see. It's worth fighting for and that’s a fight I’ll never stop. As for the battle that ends tonight, I do believe as my father once said, that no matter how hard the loss, defeat might serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out. Some have asked whether I have any regrets and I do have one regret: that I didn’t get the chance to stay and fight for the American people over the next four years, especially for those who need burdens lifted and barriers removed, especially for those who feel their voices have not been heard. I heard you and I will not forget. " -Dec. 13, 2000

We will not forget either, Mr. President.

Things we can do that will make a difference

January 21 will mark the end of our period of mourning and the kickoff of a grass-roots movement to take back the Congress and the Presidency of our country. We must secure the pledges of our Democratic congressional representatives to stand firm in protecting our democratic freedoms and institutions from the assaults of the Republican Right. We must pledge ourselves to be vigilant in our watchdog efforts on behalf of those freedoms and protections during the next four years. We must pledge to organize across the country to register new Democratic voters, form active coalitions with the Greens and other liberal activists, identify vulnerable Republican congressional seats and campaign tirelessly to elect Democrats to those slots in 2002. We must pledge ourselves to strengthen the Democratic Party at the precinct level across this country and re-connect the party with its populist, liberal traditions and it's role as protector of the politically and economically disenfranchised in our society. We must form a grass-roots information network, pledged to disseminating the truth and counteracting the slanted media images paid for by the wealthy Right in their efforts to co-opt the minds of Americans. We must pledge ourselves to be tireless in our efforts to preserve our freedoms, our institutions, our environment, and our citizenry. Above all - stay informed ! Ignorance is the opiate of the masses.  Links to anti-Bush sites.

Courtesy of American Politics Online

1. Boycot any and all media coverage of Bush.
2. Boycot products and companies that support the Republican Party (such as coke, pepsi, any Florida juice products, Penneys, Shell Oil and AT&T)  - Boycott Republicans
3. Make and wear a "GORE IS MY PRESIDENT" T-Shirt!
4. Tell everyone the truth about what happened!  If you have a web page, include your protest on it.
5. Pledge to take 10 unregistered voters to register. Take cameras to document their signing up!
6. Pledge to take those ten newly registered voters plus ten registered voters to the polls to vote.
7. Take tape recorders to the polls to tape any injustices!
8. For any local offices that have only a Republican candidate running, seek out a candidate to run against them! If no candidate can be found use a single write in candidate.! This is just the beginning! We will not stop until there is not one Republican left in office.
9. Mark all currency on the BACK with messages such as "Gore Won", "In Gore We Trust", etc.
10. Order or make your own t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc. with your own favorite slogans/pictures.  Give them to your friends.  Order them in bulk so you can pass them out.  Wear these to the grocery store, shopping, etc.. encourage local merchants to stock them.  
11. Watch the Repugnant talking heads.  Take names.  Take notes.  (dont worry, they'll always say something idiotic).  Send their names and what they said to 300 of your closest friends on the net.  Have them  protest their remarks by flooding their mailboxes and government phone banks with emails, faxes and phone calls.  
12.  Contact people in your neighborhood who contributed to Gore's Campaign.  Organize a local effort. To find people in your zip code who contributed, go to Money in Politics and enter your zip.
13.  Make the Media Accountable !  Register your complaints.  Do NOT automatically believe they are "fair and nonbiased".  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Watch C-Span.
14.  Keep a close eye on your community for "redistricting" (a.k.a. gerrymandering).  Do not let this happen behind closed doors and without protest !  Check your chance of being redistricted here:  Introduction to Redistricting.
15.  Listen to Progressive Talk Radio - tune out the brainwashing of the right and the media spin.
16.  Make your own "news" - become a reporter for the resistance !
17.  Pray.  

Courtesy of Banana Republic

For the more Radical of Heart ( rude but legal)

1. First of all, no matter what happens, we must push to have an independent organization count the votes in Florida. We cannot allow those ballots to be sealed away. Even though this recount will not have any practical purpose, it has moral purpose. Any counting of Florida ballots, by scholars, by the New York Times, ECT, will do nothing but cast a shadow over George W Bush and more importantly, expose the truth we all know, that President "de facto" Gore won.
2. Secondly, refer to Al Gore as President "de facto" Gore. *Never* call Dubya, President Bush. Call him Thief, Governor,  Mr. Bush, Dubya, Shrub, etc..
3. Third, during all public speeches and appearances by the Thief; we must encourage our supporters present to respectfully interrupt, "Boo"; make notice of our discontent, or otherwise taunt our new Commander and Thief when possible. When the cameras are rolling, we must show the world that there is still illegitimacy surrounding his presidency.
4. Next, we must "organize." There are many more Democrats than Republicans in this nation. Our failure is one of organization.Republicans consistently organize better than we do. We must accept this, and fix it. We must organize and fight for 2002. Lets send "W" a clear message at the polls. If we can get the House and Senate, then Bush's life will be a living hell.
5. Fifthly, we must target Jeb Bush, and the Republican members of the Florida legislature (insert the names of your Republican officials here). There is usually small turnout at midterm elections. We must remove these people from office.
6. We need legitimate Public Protests,  like the Oral Majority has done so well.  Many leaders in the Democratic Party have been afraid to publicly come out and claim election fraud. Many Democratic leaders are rolling over and playing dead.  We must take to the streets of the United States in peaceful protests, and act as an organizational force to make our message clear and strong. Many have protested on a small scale, its now time for massive organization in a timely manner. Support Jessee Jackson and the Rainbow Coilition if your own town has no formal organization.
7. Finally, we must never forget. In a few months from now, the news media is going to be talking about something else, and it will be on to the next scandal or crisis. Too many people fail to remember... and we must never forget, and always fight on! Although these methods are devious, political, rough, and maybe a bit rude, they are legitimate. Today, our constitution was set ablaze, and only a scorched outline of democracy remains. We must restore our constitution and democracy to its true splendor, piece-by-piece, protest-by-protest, and vote-by-vote!

Future Goals ( thanks to Linda in Hawaii )

I think we need to focus on "It's the voters, stupid" or "Leave no vote behind" or "make democracy count" We need to focus on Campaign Finance reform & Election reform - these should be our guides. I feel it is imperative we get CFR passed. The repugs raised many, many time more money than we did, most of it from Corporations we can notify of our displeasure. We need a level playing field.

Election reform - this must be accomplished before the 2002 election. Action now would be the most beneficial. It is on everyone's mind. Ideally we could have someone with some writing experience craft several "form" letter that we could make available to send to our Senators & Congressmen. We have to make this something they will address. I would like to see a ban of punch card systems & money available from the surplus to assist the counties who need it. Optiscan scanning equipment that checks the ballot for errors is a good start, the touch screen equipment is also very nice. Investigation into Internet voting needs to be conducted. I'd like to see a 24 hour voting period, nationwide. We all vote during the same 24 hours. Solicit the networks to not release any exit poll information until after the polls close (a media blackout) They do it for sports games - why not the election? A 24 hour voting period would allow everyone the opportunity to vote.  National standard that all Presidential Candidates be listed first, on a single page, with the top of the ballot help by the current party in the White House. This would ensure that we could tell people anywhere in the country - vote for #1 or #2 or whatever. Yes, the states are responsible not as the Supreme Court pointed out - these are "national" elections, so it would not be unreasonable for Congress to set the standard for the Presidential candidates. Outlaw butterfly ballots or multiple page ballots for the Presidential race. People should not be limited to 5 minutes to vote, this disadvantages the disabled, elderly, non-English speaking, first timers, etc, etc. It's just not fair.

There must be a national standard for overseas/absentee ballots - a 10 day deadline after the election is crazy. There should be certain, specific information required & it should be mandatory (including the Military)

Congress needs to approve funding for Voter Education for groups that help the disadvantaged voters. We need to concentrate on not only getting out the vote but getting the vote to actually count. All of us may be very busy in the next election volunteering to assist voters! They need to know their rights.

I would like to see Election day changed to a weekend day, but if Election day remains on a Tuesday Congress should consider making this a National Holiday. The States need to have access to software verification for the tabulating equipment or something needs to be done in this area. Software is vulnerable to being hacked & therefore open to fraud. I'm not sure what could be done in this area, but it needs to be looked at.

Organizing

Ideally we can get some kind of an integrated network set up. I would like to see a Bulletin Board like the Ultimate Bulletin Board software http://www.infopop.com/ Bulletin Boards are much easier to handle that numerous mail lists. I think the DNC, along with each State Democratic Committee would be the ideal means of setting up & maintaining informational lists. Each State could collect people's e-mail addresses. The DNC would disseminate info to the states, they would send it out to the people on their e-mail lists. There needs to be a lot of work done in making use of e-mail & the Internet for the future. Perhaps we could encourage people to get one of those free internet e-mail addresses specifically for political purposes. That way there would be less maintenance & less undeliverable or lost names. Once these things are set up, they are very inexpensive to maintain. E-mail is cheap & fast. We need to get ahead of the repugs on this.

I'd also like to see a centralized web site that has information we can access to rebut any false claims the repugs are making. We were at a severe disadvantage this time. Hughes was out there calling Vice President Gore a liar & we were slow to respond, to knock the wind out of those claims, so they took hold. This in itself did a lot of damage because it made people wonder. A web site we could access with premade letters to send the media, or just talking points so we can be as informative as possible would be very useful.

Call for a National Strike

Voting irregularities in Tennessee? * George W Bush  * Democrats Online Community
* CounterCoup *  Al Gore Won *  Ballot Box - Deception of Democracy
BushWatch * Banana Republic * Online Journal
Contact your Representatives

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