Re: RAT Fwd: ZNet Update / Arrestees in Philly, Action Urgently Needed

[Audie McCall <audiemccall@yahoo.com>]

Wow!  Thanks Gleaball!  I couldn't have said it
better.  



--- Gleaball@aol.com wrote:
> A Letter from Michael Moore to the
> > Non-Voters of America
> >
> >  Dear friends,
> >
> >  DISCLAIMER: If you are planning to
> >  vote for Al Gore in November, good for
> >  you. Don't let what I'm about to say
> >  change your mind because I've been
> >  told by all the experts that if you do
> >  change your mind based on what I'm
> >  about to say, George W. Bush might win
> >  the election and I certainly couldn't live
> >  with myself if that connoisseur of
> >  pharmaceuticals (the kind you snort up
> >  your nose or the kind you inject on
> >  death row) won, in part, because of a
> >  letter I spit out over the Internet.
> >
> >  So let's review -- you like Gore, you vote
> >  for Gore. He's a decent guy. I met him
> >  last year at some benefit, he came up to
> >  me, big hug -- whoa, this veep is no stiff,
> >  I thought -- and thanked me for this and
> >  that. He even quoted lines from "The
> >  Awful Truth" - whoa, scary, I thought,
> >  what's he doing watching cable
> >  channels above 40 on the box...not
> >  much to do on this veep gig, eh?
> >
> >  I told him I admired what he did when
> >  he came home to America as a Vietnam
> >  Vet and spoke out against the war. That
> >  took a lot of courage, I said (his dad lost
> >  his Senate seat for being an early
> >  opponent of the war).
> >
> >  So, if Al Gore is your man, go for it. In
> >  fact, I insist on it, even if you are just
> >  throwing your vote away.
> >
> >  What I am about to say, though, is not
> >  intended for any Al Gore (or George W.)
> >  voters. If you are one, please click off
> >  now.
> >
> >    To Whom It May Concern:
> >
> >  I address this letter to the largest
> >  political party in the United States - the
> >  55% of you in the voting public who are
> >  so disillusioned with politics and
> >  politicians, so sick and tired of all the
> >  broken promises, so disgusted with all
> >  the b.s. that you have absolutely no
> >  intention of voting in November.
> >
> >  You know who you are.
> >
> >  AND YOU ARE THE MAJORITY!
> >
> >  You rule. You are the Non-Voters, all
> >  100 million of you!
> >
> >  Until now, you have been the subject of
> >  scorn and ridicule. You've been called
> >  apathetic, lazy, ignorant. Your actions
> >  have been viewed as unAmerican (I
> >  mean, what kind of citizen in the World's
> >  Greatest Democracy would not exercise
> >  his or her most important and cherished
> >  right - the right to freely choose your
> >  leader!).
> >
> >  Well, may I be the first to tell you that,
> >  not only are you NOT stupid and
> >  apathetic, I believe you are smarter than
> >  all the rest of us combined. YOU figured
> >  it out. YOU uncovered the scam. And
> >  YOU had the guts to no longer
> >  participate in a lie. Way to go! In 1996,
> >  you helped set the all-time American
> >  record for lowest turnout ever at a
> >  presidential election.
> >
> >  The reason you, the majority, no longer
> >  vote in America is because you, the
> >  majority, realize there is no real choice
> >  on the ballot. The "two" parties both do
> >  the bidding of the wealthy and agree
> >  with each other on 90% of the issues.
> >  They take 90% of their money from
> >  people who make over a hundred-grand
> >  a year, and then enact over 90% of the
> >  laws those contributors want passed.
> >
> >  On the ballot this November, you
> >  already know there is no contest. The
> >  independent Cook Political Report in
> >  D.C. last week announced that, out of
> >  435 House seats up for election in
> >  November, there are only 47 seats
> >  where there is a "true race" between
> >  opponents - and, of those, only 14
> >  seats have a race that is even "close"
> >  between the two candidates. 14 out of
> >  435!
> >
> >  "Ninety-seven to ninety-nine percent of
> >  incumbents running for re-election will
> >  be returned to Congress in November,"
> >  according to the Cook Report.
> >
> >  The Non-Voters already understand
> >  this. And they are not going to waste
> >  one iota of their day on November 7
> >  driving to some smelly elementary
> >  school gymnasium to participate in a
> >  Soviet-style election with no friggin'
> >  choice on the ballot.
> >
> >  So, to you brave voter-resisters, I say
> >  congratulations on your act of civic
> >  disobedience! I joined you this primary
> >  season and refused to go along with
> >  this charade of "choice." Nearly 80% of
> >  those of us of voting age - over 160
> >  million Americans - staged a sit-in on our
> >  living room couches during this year's
> >  primaries. THAT is the great untold story
> >  of this election year. How much longer
> >  will the punditocracy be able to get
> >  away with dismissing this massive
> >  no-show as "a sign Americans are
> >  content with the booming economy?"
> >
> >  Now that we have made our presence
> >  known (you all don't mind me speaking
> >  for us, do you? Good. In fact, I'll just
> >  assume the currently-vacant mantle of
> >  this majority party and serve as your
> >  leader until you say otherwise...), it is
> >  time to find a way that says, loudly and
> >  clearly, just how mad as hell we are and
> >  how we are not going to take it
> >  anymore. We need to find a way where
> >  our vote screams "None of the Above!"
> >  A chance to act, like that Chinese guy in
> >  Tieneman Square, standing in front of a
> >  moving tank and stopping it in its path.
> >
> >  In November, we should find a way to
> >  follow in the footsteps of those
> >  intelligent Minnesotans who, even
> >  thought they could care less about
> >  professional wrestling (and even less,
> >  I'm sure, for Jesse "The Body"), proved
> >  to the world that they not only have a
> >  sense of humor, but they know how to
> >  stick it to the whole bloody system.
> >  Think of just how high their level of
> >  anger must have been against the
> >  One-Party-With-Two-Heads monopoly! I
> >  mean, state government is no joke -
> >  somebody's gotta build the roads, run
> >  the schools, catch the criminals. You
> >  don't want to turn the asylum over to the
> >  chief lunatic but, damn it, that's what the
> >  people of Minnesota did - just to send a
> >  message! Wow. That took some guts.
> >
> >  So, for those of you who weren't going
> >  to vote anyway, well...what if you
> >  actually did? What if you drove down to
> >  that stinky gym where the little shell
> >  game behind the pretend curtains is
> >  taking place ("Pay no attention to the
> >  voters behind the curtains!"), walk in,
> >  sign in, take the ballot they hand you,
> >  and toss yourselves inside the booth
> >  like a political molotov cocktail.
> >
> >  Boom!
> >
> >  "You wanna tell me there's a choice
> >  here between two guys who both
> >  support NAFTA, WTO, the death
> >  penalty, the Cuban embargo, increased
> >  Pentagon spending, sleazy HMOs,
> >  greedy hospital chains, 250 million guns
> >  in our homes, more bombing of Iraq, the
> >  rich getting richer and the rest of us
> >  declaring bankruptcy?"
> >
> >  Boom!
> >
> >  Not me.
> >
> >  Boom!
> >
> >  I'm voting for Ralph Nader.
> >
> >  KAAAABOOM!
> >
> >  Friends, we are losing our democratic
> >  control over our country. We may have
> >  already lost it. I hope not. But in the last
> >  20 years of the Reagan administration,
> >  Corporate America has merged and
> >  morphed itself to such an extent that
> >  just a handful of companies now call all
> >  the shots. They own Congress. They
> >  own us. In order to work for them, we
> >  have to take urine tests and lie
> >  detectors and wear bar codes on chains
> >  around our necks. In order to keep our
> >  jobs we have had to give up decent
> >  health care, the 8-hour day (and time
> >  with our kids), the security that we'll
> >  even have a job next year, and any
> >  unwillingness we may have to compete
> >  with a 14-year old Indonesian girl who
> >  gets a dollar a day.
> >
> >  And how frightening (and great) is it that
> >  the last place we can freely try to inform
> >  and communicate with each other is on
> >  this very Web? Six companies run by six
> >  men control the majority of the news we
> >  now get from newspapers, television,
> >  radio and the Internet. One out of every
> >  two books is bought at a bookstore
> >  owned by one of only two companies. Is
> >  it safe in a "free society" to have the
> >  sources of our information and mass
> >  communication in the hands of just a
> >  few wealthy men who have a VESTED
> >  interest in keeping us as stupid as
> >  possible - or at least in keeping us
> >  thinking like them so that we vote for
> >  THEIR candidates?
> >
> >  I fear the cement on this new oligarchy
> >  of power is quickly drying, and when it is
> >  finished hardening, we are finished. The
> >  democracy, the one that's supposed to
> >  be of, by, and for the people, will cease
> >  to exist.
> >
> >  We must not let this happen, no matter
> >  how cynical and disgusted we've
> >  become at the whole electoral process.
> >
> >  Ralph Nader, to me, represents a
> >  chance for us to at least temporarily
> >  stop the cement from drying. We need
> >  him in there kicking things up, stirring
> >  the pot and forcing a real debate about
> >  the issues. Whether it's Ralph as
> >  Candidate or Ralph as President, he
> >  may represent our last hope to get our
> >  country back from the clutches of the
> >  powerful few.
> >
> >  I am not writing these words lightly. I am
> >  hoping to sound a siren and rally the
> >  majority who, for good reason, have
> >  given up - but might just have it in them
> >  to find the will for one last fight against
> >  the bastards.
> >
> >  Can Ralph win? Well, stranger things
> >  have happened in the past decade.
> >  C'mon, think about it, not a single one
> >  of us ever thought we'd see the Berlin
> >  Wall come down or Nelson Mandela as
> >  President of South Africa. After those
> >  two things happened, I joined a new
> >  school of thought that said ANYTHING
> >  was possible. Jesse Ventura started
> >  with 3% in the polls and won. Ross
> >  Perot in '92 started with 6% and, after
> >  proving to everyone that he was
> >  certifiably insane, still got nearly 20% of
> >  the vote.
> >
> >  Ralph already has between 7% and
> >  10% in the polls - before he's done any
> >  serious campaigning. He's gone from
> >  3% to 8% in my home state of Michigan.
> >  These are amazing numbers and the
> >  pundits and lobbyists and Republicrats
> >  are running scared. Hey, you like to
> >  watch scared Republicrats running? Tell
> >  a pollster you're voting for Ralph.
> >
> >  Now, look, before you all send me a lot
> >  of mail about how weird Ralph is 'cause
> >  he doesn't own a car or is a "sell-out"
> >  'cause he's got a few million dollars, let
> >  me say this: I used to work out of his
> >  office, and Ralph is definitely one of a
> >  kind. In a future letter I will write of those
> >  experiences but, for now, let's just agree
> >  that Ralph is at least half as crazy as
> >  Jesse Ventura - and about a hundred
> >  times as smart. I'd say he's also saved
> >  about a million or so lives, thanks to the
> >  consumer and environmental legislation
> >  he has devoted his life to.
> >
> >  And between Gore, Bush, and himself,
> >  he's the only person running who would
> >  guarantee universal health care for all,
> >  the only candidate who would raise the
> >  minimum wage to a decent level, the
> >  only one who would get up each
> >  morning asking himself the question,
> >  "What can I do today to serve all the
> >  people of this country?"
> >
> >  The list goes on and on. You can read
> >  more about what Ralph stands for by
> >  going to his website
> >  (http://www.votenader.org). You'll agree,
> >  I'm sure, there's lots of common sense
> >  there, regardless of what political stripe
> >  you are.
> >
> >  But remember. If you are even
> >  THINKING of voting for Al Gore, vote for
> >  Al Gore. Ralph Nader does not need a
> >  single Gore vote. There are a hundred
> >  million of us out there who are
> >  uncommitted and currently not voting.
> >  Right now, Gore and Bush are each
> >  hoping to win by getting only 40 million
> >  votes.
> >
> >  If you are in the Non-Voting majority and
> >  want to let 'em all have it, if you want to
> >  get our country back in our hands...well,
> >  if even half of you show up and vote
> >  November 7 then you won't be held
> >  responsible for Bush winning the White
> >  House.
> >
> >  In fact, you won't be held responsible
> >  for putting Gore in the White House,
> >  either.
> >
> >  Rather, you will have made history by
> >  putting a true American hero at 1600
> >  Pennsylvania Avenue.
> >
> >  And you will have given every company,
> >  every boss who's done ya wrong, the
> >  worst nightmare of their lives.
> >
> >  November 7. Payback Time.
> >
> >  The revenge of the Non-Voters!
> >
> >  So sayeth their unappointed leader,
> >  yours truly,
> >  Michael Moore
> >  mmflint@aol.com
> >  http://www.theawfultruth.com
> >  http://www.michaelmoore.com
> >
> >  PS. Come to think of it, Democrats
> >  should be on their knees thanking
> >  Ralph for running. Rather than taking
> >  votes from Gore, Ralph's going to be
> >  the one responsible for turning the
> >  House back over to the Democrats.
> >
> >  When millions of these Non-Voters enter
> >  that booth to vote for Ralph, and they
> >  come across their local race for
> >  Congress, they will find no Green Party
> >  candidate in most of the 435
> >  Congressional districts. So who do you
> >  think Ralph's army of Non-Voters will
> >  plunk down for Congress? The
> >  Republican? I don't think so.
> >
> >  The Democrats are only six seats short
> >  of regaining control of the House. Ralph
> >  Nader will be the reason the Democrats
> >  get the House back for the first time
> >  since Newt's Contract on America in
> >  1994.
> >
> >  Democrats should send their checks to
> >  Nader 2000, P.O. Box 18002,
> >  Washington, DC 20035.
> >
> >  (Or, better yet, let's try to elect enough
> >  Greens to Congress -- a dozen or so --
> >  and they'll hold the deciding votes
> >  because neither the Democrats nor the
> >  Republicans will have the majority. It'll
> >  be a friggin' Knesset!)
> >  PPS. If you're still worried this letter
> 
> >  might convince a weak-kneed Gore
> >  voter to flip over to Nader - and thus
> >  lead to President George W. stacking
> >  the Supreme Court to make abortion
> >  illegal, well, it's all a bunch of hooey.
> >  Please read my latest grassroots.com
> >  column entitled, "I Ain't Fallin for That
> >  One Again" at:
> >  http://www.michaelmoore.com/aint.html
> > >
> >  PLEASE PASS THIS LETTER ON TO
> >  YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
> >  PERMISSION IS GRANTED TO
> >  REPRINT ANYWHERE.
> 
> 
> 


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