GuvWurld
This blog has relocated to http://WeDoNotConsent.blogspot.com

AP Story (in GuvWurld archive, links to multiple originals)

On the one hand, it would be good to have an announced contingency...on the other, this is very ominous...more to come...

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The No Confidence Movement is branching out. In the past week I've talked to people in seven states outside of California, plus several people in different parts of the Bay Area. I've asked these folks to start sending me updates to post here. This will help us continue to develop a template for efforts in new towns. Plus, as I've been pleased and positively reinforced in discovering, the ideas generated in these collaborations are wonderfully illustrative of the strategies described in Advocacy Journalism, The Least You Can Do, and The No Confidence Movement.

I also had the excellent fortune of meeting James Suggett on Monday night. He was on the Arcata Plaza just prior to the meeting at RPJC and accepted my invitation to join us. It turns out he works for Cities For Peace.

"Cities for Peace is a rapidly growing coalition of local elected officials and concerned citizens working to get their City Councils and other civic bodies to pass resolutions against a war on Iraq."

Probably not coincidentally, I was referred to CFP last week and spoke briefly with Amy Quinn who asked me to e-mail Karen Dolan to whom James is an assistant. I have yet to hear back from Karen though I take James's word for it that I will. It looks like the way this group is set up may be the perfect infrastructure to really nurture the beginnings of the No Confidence movement in multiple places at once. On top of that, CFP is partnered very closely with the National Priorities Project whom I mention often. I am now starting to detect synergy.

Meghan Vogel at the Eureka Times-Standard called me today. She is working on a follow-up article to the June 5 piece. At the end of the day she sent a brief e-mail saying she hadn't been able to reach Mayor Ornelas and so she was going to put the story off a day in hopes of catching him tomorrow. If the story still isn't ready to run by Thursday, she said she would run a brief announcement about the Vets For Peace meeting at which they'll consider endorsing the No Confidence resolution.

I also recorded my interview with KBOO this morning. It will air in Portland on 90.7FM this Friday morning at 8:30am PST. Click the link to listen live online. Scott Silver was also very gracious in agreeing to set me up with an .mp3. I expect I won't have that until after it has aired. Also the Portland leaflet is now available for download.

Finally, in this past week I have seen that the general pitch on the No Confidence Movement can be delivered and understood in under a minute. Of course, the more I do it the easier it gets and the more comfortable I am adapting on the fly. There is also a growing emphasis on the novelty of our strategies. Unlike the way the talking points are organized in the No Confidence Campaign Primer, this is a version of the pitch where the big picture goals are described first and our specific strategies are laid out as means to an end. It fires me up intensely to see people agree with the goals and that they have heard no better plan to get there.

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I did some advance work on Portland today and the No Confidence Movement was very well received. I spoke with Scott Silver at KBOO and he agreed to air an interview with me on Friday morning, exact time TBA. This exposure is perfect to promote the appearance on "A Growing Concern," Jim Lockhart's public access TV show Friday night at 7pm. Both appearances allow me to promote the public meeting at Laughing Horse Books (3652 SE Division St.) Saturday at noon. I'll make a Portland specific leaflet available for download when the radio interview time solidifies.

Meanwhile, I've put my recent essay "Advocacy Journalism, The Least You Can Do, and The No Confidence Movement" on indymedia.org so that there is a reasonable URL to forward. Read it here: http://newswire.indymedia.org/en/newswire/2004/06/804953.shtml

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One of the "arguments" against withdrawing US troops from Iraq is that it would lead to Iraqi civil war. Yet the NY Times ran an article today called Biggest Task for U.S. General Is Training Iraqis to Fight Iraqis. Is this Orwellian or more of a Catch-22?

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Yesterday I lamented waiting so long to announce the No Confidence Movement has won the support of Arcata Mayor Bob Ornelas.

I wish I had also mentioned sooner that there is another community forum for the No Confidence Movement on Monday night (6/28) at 6pm at the Redwood Peace and Justice Center (1040 H St., Arcata, CA).

Also this week:

Thursday, July 1: Veterans For Peace 56 reconsiders endorsing No Confidence resolution. The meeting is open to the public. 101 H St., Arcata (aka Marsh Commons) - 7pm.

Friday, July 2: "A Growing Concern" - Award-winning Public Access TV program in Portland, OR. My visit with host Jim Lockhart will air live at 7pm on channel 11 (rebroadcast times).

NOTE: OTHER PORTLAND OUTREACH IS IN THE WORKS FOR NEXT WEEKEND. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU CAN HELP SPREAD THE WORD OR MAKE AN EVENT HAPPEN.

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Arcata Mayor Bob Ornelas has come out in favor of the No Confidence resolution to be considered by his City Council on July 7th. This is a substantial victory that I had hoped to share a week ago. The announcement is included in a new essay that was originally written as an "exclusive" for another website, leaving me at the mercy of their timetable for publication. Unfortunately, they have since reneged on their commitment to post the piece on their site. I can't do anything about the time that has been lost. However, as this essay covers new ground in the realm of strategy for social change, I am eager to share and it is now posted in the GuvWurld News Archive as I continue to seek other sites willing to provide exposure. Please check it out, pass it on, and post it to other sites that may permit you to do so.

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SF Chronicle Article (in GuvWurld archive, links to original)

Greg Palast has been a leader in exposing the illegal disenfranchisement of Florida voters in the 2000 election since shortly after the stillborn birth of the Bush administration. Now he's back with evidence showing the racial bent of spoiled (i.e. disregarded) votes is both dramatic and intentional. As addressed in another recent Palast-inspired GuvWurld entry, this injustice has been codified for perpetuation in the Help America Vote Act (as Orwellian a name as "Clear Skies" or "Healthy Forest").

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Last week Arcata City Councilman Michael Machi outlined for me the preferred protocol for getting a resolution considered by the Council. So, as recently posted in GuvWurld, on Monday I submitted a cover letter and a copy of the No Confidence resolution to the mail box of each Councilmember at City Hall. It was also recommended that I appear during last night's Council meeting to personally and publicly request a vote on the matter at the next meeting, to be held July 7.

Last night's Council meeting had a lengthy agenda and the segment during which I could make my request is towards the end. Fortunately I could periodically keep my eye on the meeting via the live public access broadcast and the agenda posted on the city website. By the time I headed over to City Hall, the meeting had been going for five hours already. When I arrived, I thought I would still have to wait a while longer. As it turns out, my timing was better than I realized. The Open Communications segment was in progress. As the gentleman speaking to the Council finished his presentation, Mayor Bob Ornelas quickly moved to close the segment of the meeting, without realizing I had arrived to speak, and without my knowing that the meeting had advanced to this portion of the agenda during my brief commute to City Hall. When I tried to approach the podium I was asked to return tonight (Thursday) since some of last night's agenda had been tabled to split the impossibly long meeting into two nights, and the Council would entertain more Open Communications during the meeting's continuation.

Well I was concerned that a timing conflict might now allow me to attend tonight's meeting. At 5:30 this afternoon there will be an action gathering for Humboldt residents who want to get comfortable with presenting the talking points of the No Confidence campaign. We'll be meeting at the home of another campaign volunteer so please contact me directly if you can attend and want directions.

So first thing this morning I called the Mayor to find out the start time for tonight's continued Council meeting, in the hopes I could attend both the action event and the Council meeting. I told him my missed opportunity last night was really only to make the very brief request. He said consider it done. Straight from the Mayor's mouth, THE NO CONFIDENCE RESOLUTION HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE ARCATA CITY COUNCIL AGENDA FOR JULY 7.

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June 14, 2004

Members of the Arcata City Council
736 F Street
Arcata, CA 95521

Dear Mayor Ornelas and Councilmembers,

This letter is to request that you consider passing the attached No Confidence resolution at your July 7th meeting. The resolution’s thesis is that we have no BASIS for confidence in the validity and legitimacy of the results reported in United States elections. The online version of the resolution contains nearly 50 links to document the claims warranting this statement (http://guvwurld.blogspot.com/2004/04/vote-of-no-confidence-resolution.html).

This resolution, as presented to you, is the culmination of two months of revisions based on consensus building efforts put forth in the community. Input has been solicited and awareness raised not only through my blog, but also through media exposure on KHUM, KMUD, the Arcata Eye and the Eureka Times-Standard, via leaflets, and through direct presentations to community groups. All efforts related to the No Confidence movement are transparent and prior drafts of the resolution may still be read at the blog.

So far, I have yet to encounter a single person claiming to be optimistic, let alone sure, that we will have a certain and unanimously agreed upon election outcome this fall. Confidence will no doubt plummet further as word spreads that Humboldt County itself has used election machines that were federally unqualified, state uncertified, and in some cases both (see: http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/ks_dre_papers/randgsummary.pdf). For many, confidence has already been completely lost. The No Confidence resolution demonstrates that the BASIS for confidence no longer even exists.

So, let us take responsibility for not allowing ourselves to be lied to anymore. Let us be the first to acknowledge that the Consent of the Governed, the self-evident truth from which Government derives just Powers, is not even being sought. Let us make this statement so that the rest of the world will know we do not approve of our democracy being made a myth. Let us set an example of how to think globally and act locally. Let us set in motion the cumulative impact of a series of resolutions to be passed in other communities. And let us initiate the national conversation so desperately needed about how to remake democracy around competition in the free market-place of ideas.

All of these amazingly powerful and positive things can come from your passage of the No Confidence resolution, all the while committing Arcata to nothing. The No Confidence resolution will be a symbolic statement of principle at first, and then grow in importance as other communities follow our lead. Codifying this vision will make Arcata the cornerstone in the foundation of change needed to put power back where it belongs, in the hands of We the People.

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Dear Editors:

Today's editorial, "Gambling on Voting," underscores the premise of the No Confidence resolution soon to come before the City Council in Arcata, CA. Your six-point list could stand on its own to support the thesis: "We have no BASIS for confidence in the validity and legitimacy of the results reported in United States elections." About more than just election fraud, the No Confidence movement aims to address the myth of democracy in America today. For more information, see: http://guvwurld.blogspot.com.

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Thursday's Eureka Times-Standard editorial has presented the No Confidence movement with its first real response-warranting challenge. Jane Allen of San Francisco submitted the following response to the paper and has given me permission to print it here (thanks Jane, and way to go!).

Your editorial states that there are no problems with Humboldt County elections. If you will read the April 16, 2004 report to the Secretary of State prepared by R&G Associates, you will see that Humboldt County does have potential problems:

"The precinct count optical scan equipment and firmware is federally qualified but is not State certified. The central count optical scan equipment and firmware is not federally qualified or State certified. The DRE equipment and firmware is not federally qualified and is State certified; however, records to date are unable to verify if the version number that is being used is the version that was certified."

A summary of this report is online at:
http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/ks_dre_papers/randgsummary.pdf

The entire R&G audit report for the 41 non-Diebold counties is online at:
http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/ks_dre_papers/rg_phase_II_revised_report.pdf

Please consider submitting your own letter, and feel free to cite this new information in conjunction with the talking points found in the No Confidence Campaign Primer. This reference will be included in the next update to the No Confidence resolution. I plan to publish that on Sunday night in advance of formally submitting the document to the Arcata City Council on Monday morning. This is by no means a final deadline to submit suggested changes but it is clearly an important milestone after which changes should really only be coming from the Councilmembers themselves.

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NYTimes Article (in GuvWurld archive, links to original)

Venezuelan Recall Is in Dispute Even Before the Vote
By JUAN FORERO and JOHN SCHWARTZ
Published: June 11, 2004

CARACAS, Venezuela, June 10 - Touch-screen voting machines, which have been plagued by security and reliability concerns in the United States, will be used in the recall vote on President Hugo Chávez, prompting his foes and foreign diplomats to contend that the left-leaning government may use the equipment to manipulate the vote.

A new touch-screen system here, bought earlier this year by Mr. Chávez's government, uses voting machines made by the Smartmatic Corporation of Boca Raton, Fla., and software produced by a related company, the Bizta Corporation, also of Florida. Neither company has experience in an actual election.

As the No Confidence movement continues to pick up momentum, it will become increasingly clear that there is a Duh! factor to it all. Are we really going to continue to allow ourselves to be lied to?

Venezuela is not the only place besides America where the citizens are demonstrating justified skepticism of their country's supposedly democratic elections. As AP reported on March 21, 2004:

Taiwan's High Court ordered all ballot boxes sealed Sunday as thousands of protesters demanded a recount of President Chen Shui-bian's re-election, saying it was marred by voting irregularities and an apparent assassination attempt that wounded the incumbent.

As the Washington Post noted on January 25, 2004:

ILHAM ALIYEV was inaugurated as president of the oil-rich Muslim country of Azerbaijan three months ago after an election condemned by international observers as blatantly fraudulent. When members of the opposition tried to protest, they were brutally beaten by police. There followed a massive, nationwide crackdown in which more than 1,000 people were arrested, including opposition leaders, activists from nongovernmental organizations, journalists and election officials who objected to the fraud. More than 100 remain in prison, including most of the senior opposition activists. A new report by Human Rights Watch documents numerous cases of torture, including severe beatings, electric shock, and threats of rape against the opposition leaders. Mr. Aliyev, who succeeded his strongman father, meanwhile has been consolidating dictatorial powers: Most recently he was named director of Azerbaijani radio and television.

Also in March 2004, El Salvador held national elections marred by controversy.

There have also been recent transfers of power clearly influenced by the US as an outside force. For example, in Georgia, where President Eduard Shevardnadze was driven from office amidst the prospect of civil war; and in Haiti, where President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was forced into exile at gunpoint, as he told CA Rep. Maxine Waters.

I suspect I am missing other relevant examples but the point is made: we must take responsibility for defining this as a bottoming out point from which We The People will turn things around. Can you really fathom letting it get worse?

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Thank you times infinity to the Eureka Times-Standard for introducing the No Confidence
campaign to the community, and by extension, to the internet, where the enlightened dialogue of Humboldt residents will guide a movement for genuine reform. The paper's own editorial (6/10/04) validates the many election-related problems that justify our assertion: "there is no BASIS for confidence in the validity and legitimacy of the results reported in United States elections." Without refutation, our premise continues to stand unchallenged.

The Times-Standard has not exactly come out in favor of the resolution, however, and it is important to determine why. The title of the editorial is "Confidently expressing fears of no confidence". Fear of an uncertain election outcome has been unanimously understandable at the public presentations I've made. Fear of doing nothing resonates with a lot of people. The Times-Standard is afraid of what, exactly? (our success?)

The editors also expressed "puzzlement," wondering if the No Confidence campaign can be
confident that the Arcata City Council is a legitimately elected body. With all due respect to my neighbors writing for the Times-Standard editorial page, this must be called a red herring. Having left our right to pursue change unquestioned, would the Times-Standard prefer we proceed with or without going through the officially recognized channels available to us? Surely pursuing an anarchic strategy would have yielded stronger disapproval so I say the paper can't have it both ways. We are playing the game, both by the local rules, and by the master change manual, The Declaration of Independence.

There are many classic sayings that convey the idea that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Concerned citizens, working together for a better community and world, would do well to incorporate this notion in their strategies for change. I have asked my community to join me in saying that we will not allow ourselves to be lied to anymore. Many passionate people are accepting responsibility for adding their voice to the chorus so that the City Council can hear us calling loudly enough for them to know that passing the No Confidence resolution means representing the views of their constituents. Passing it as written ensures that our single step will necessarily lead to a cumulative impact as other communities follow. This is what we mean by triggering a domino effect that will build to a tipping point. The more relevant debate is about what it looks like after the tipping point. We will not presume to speak for the entire country but we are offering suggestions to start that dialog. I thank the Times-Standard in advance for continuing to offer this forward-looking forum.

**

As a postscript, I know that newspapers have restrictions on how frequently they will publish submissions from community members. It is not clear that they will publish this response so it is vital that supporters of the No Confidence movement take a few minutes to write your own letter. In addition to drawing upon the ideas above, please see the No Confidence Campaign Primer for a detailed summary of talking points.

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On Tuesday I did my third radio interview (.mp3) on the No Confidence movement. This one was with Mike Dronkers on KHUM. At nearly 15 minutes, it was a pretty good exploration of the campaign though it never got into Consent of the Governed. The size of the .mp3 file may be the reason that it wants to make you wait for it to completely download before it will play. I am working on a solution so that it will automatically play right away like the two KMUD interviews. When I get that fixed I'll add the link to the nav bar here.

I have also found what I believe to be the first other blogger talking about the No Confidence movement. See The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul. Simon seems to generally favor the plan. Some of his comments warrant response and so indented segments below represent excerpts of Simon's writing.

"Personally I've grown tired of government's adamance that the only way to proceed is to just fix infractions of the law instead of trying to solve the systemic problems that cause those laws to be broken over and over again."

Yes, we must address root causes or continue to subject ourselves to futile efforts at change. The state of affairs in the US cannot be repaired with any one simple reform.

"At first glance the resolution looks like a simple appeal to express discontent with the ability of the government to accurately and fairly asses the will of its people...However as you get to the bottom of the "whereas" list you find...a much more substantial resolution" [includes reference to final resolve clause of the No Confidence resolution] "...Initially I felt like adding such a finale to a call to reform voting was somewhat disingenuous. While I am certainly in favour of all the suggested remedies - making voting a day a holiday seemed a particularly inspired celebration of peoples soveriengty [sic] - I didn't think it would help the cause to get reform by asking for abolotion [sic] of the government itself."

There are several important things to note here.

Before we can get to reform, We The People must demonstrate that we are organized enough to wield the power we inherently possess, rather than continuing to delegate it through bogus elections to those who pretend to be our representatives.

Smaller aspects of this campaign serve an overall strategy. It is heavy on means so that we may at last have a genuine chance to affect the ends.

When we eventually "trigger a domino effect that builds to a tipping point," the responsibility for remaking American democracy will be shared by all. The specific changes listed in our resolution appear at the behest of community members who felt it important to provide a starting point for the national dialog we must jump start.

Abolishing the government is not an overtly stated goal, but rather a possibility to which we must declare ourselves open. Simon's remarks, however, have pointed to an omission in the resolution that I will now correct: the final passage will now refer to "...the Right of the People to alter or abolish..." which is a more literal and complete reference to the Declaration of Independence.

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul appears to be a stenographer's account of the inner dialog in Simon's head. He wonders whether to support the No Confidence movement and if a cure to systemic problems can arise without completely replacing the system. But, he eventually realizes, the No Confidence movement is "an expression of a lack of faith in the system to heal itself voluntarily." This is a powerful realization, opening the door to recognizing the problems identified are not unintended consequences of leaders who can't clean up their own mess. We are confronting the myths of democracy and capitalism in America, illusions maintained at all costs by people in power.

In his conclusion, Simon cites the "one problem" he'd like addressed in the No Confidence resolution, requesting explanations for the suggested remedies in the form of more "whereas" clauses. It is certainly reasonable to seek justification for these proposed reforms: "The benefits of such things should be self evident but are clearly not and should be cited in support for the final reoslution [sic]. Otherwise they look like those pesky "riders" that get added to government bills at the last minute that have nothing to do with the original topic."

There are three aspects to my response. First, the resolution has been written in the language customary for the Arcata City Council. Councilmembers will have a chance to make any changes they want before voting. I doubt they will want more "whereas" clauses, especially given point #2: as mentioned above, this resolution is meant to be a trigger mechanism for a domino effect and relies heavily on strategizing the means to reach a tipping point, an end which will be much, much more like a new beginning. Finally, while elements may not appear self evident, they are couched in a context of "implement[ing] a new democracy in America which encourages competition in "the free market-place of ideas."" Perhaps the olive branch I can offer to Simon is embedding more links so this final passage can more readily educate readers.

**

On a related note, on Wednesday I spoke with Arcata City Councilman Dave Meserve about the protocol and timing for introducing resolutions. I was advised to submit the resolution with a cover letter to each of the Councilmembers next Monday. I can then use the "Open Communication" segment of the Council's agenda next Wednesday to formally and publicly request that the measure be added to the agenda for the following meeting, scheduled for July 7.

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It has come to my attention that VerifiedVoting.org has added the Times-Standard editorial to their newsfeed. This could be a very helpful break and I have taken steps to initiate a dialog with folks at the site.


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I'm writing this from San Francisco, CA where yesterday I handed out at least 500 leaflets for the No Confidence movement. Note that the leaflets are downloadable, four to a page. The leaflets do not mention a location so no matter where you are in the US, you can print these and use them to start working on the campaign in your town. Also, the leaflets are in Word (.doc) format which makes them customizable.

Back home, the Eureka Times-Standard has published both my editorial (today) and Meghan Vogel's news article (yesterday). The editorial was left intact, with the exception of removing capitalization from phrases like "Consent of the Governed" and "just Powers" which were submitted by me as shown in the Declaration of Independence. This is trivial and does not alter the meaning of the piece. In Vogel's news article, however, it appears she is implying that I am calling for the abolishment of the government. She notes that this is not an original idea but rather one that comes directly from the Declaration of Independence. On the latter she is correct. On the former she is close, but not quite accurate. From my own words in the editorial:

"No one person, nor even one community, could bear the burden of remaking American democracy."

And from the resolution itself:

"Be it ultimately resolved that when a sufficient number of No Confidence resolutions have passed, and the domino effect hereby triggered has reached its tipping point, the Right of the People to abolish its Government shall be accepted as decreed by our nation’s Founding Fathers."

The point is that as a national No Confidence consensus emerges, communities all over the country will have to work together to determine the answer to the GuvWurld mantra: "what would be better?" Yes, the scope of the needed changes is massive. And if the consensus is that the government should be abolished and completely replaced, our resolution allows us to contribute to such a discussion. But I am NOT directly calling for abolition of the government.

Aside from this, I am grateful that I live in a place where the local media will still allow me to put these ideas into the public domain for discussion. What would be better is living in a country where we can all take this for granted.

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The day didn't end on the high note I'd hoped for but overall today brought more progress for the No Confidence campaign.

I got the .mp3 of yesterday's KMUD interview posted well before noon. The interviewer, Estelle Fennel, really helped with the way she framed things so positively. She observed how much more clear and specific the resolution has become since she interviewed me on May 12. It seemed in several other ways as if she was affirming the exact impression I would ideally want to leave.

I spent an hour with Megan Vogel, a reporter for the Eureka Times-Standard. She was very curious and interested in the No Confidence movement. She really took a lot of time to understand that the local element is the immediate step but that there is an overarching strategy that will be triggered by the language we are proposing. She clearly needed her own complete context and prompted me for some background. Some people get what this is about quicker than others. It wasn't so much the speed for Megan but more the thoroughness. I am optimistic that she will write an article that will be, above all, enlightening.

Megan passed me off to Charles Winkler, the editor who said my editorial will run this Sunday. He challenged me a little bit by saying that there have been no reported irregularities with voting in Humboldt County. I pointed out that even if vote fraud was no where near as bad as it is, an election could still be thrown by a single precinct and we'd all be affected by whomever may take office. This should be of concern to people everywhere and it should be an issue at the forefront of our national consciousness. That said, the way we are addressing it is by calling for a series of local responses. After this he allowed that I would not need to revise my work to account for a local angle.

Finally, Veterans For Peace Chapter 56 allowed me to address their members again tonight. My staunchest ally thus far in this campaign has been Jim Sorter, Secretary of VFP56. He made a motion to endorse the No Confidence resolution as written. The motion was seconded and there was some discussion. The consensus was that people still weren't familiar enough with the language. I was not defeated but rather I was tabled. I have been asked to come back at next month's meeting when we will try it again. It is possible this was the best I could have hoped for but likely that is just something to comfort me. I had a goal that I did not achieve and I accept responsibility for that. If I did have a real chance at getting an endorsement tonight then the reason I didn't get it is because I blew it. And thinking about how my thoughts were organized and presented tonight, this is my self assessment. The upshot is that I learn a lot from a bad speaking engagement, and also that there is no fallout from this outcome.

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Democracy Now Transcript (in GuvWurld archive, links to original)

This is an interesting analysis though I caution you to sort fact and conjecture. The element I found most important:

"...US law actually, dated 1996 which makes it a crime punishable by death to rescind from or to ignore or to exempt people from the Geneva Conventions on prisoners of war."

This was in the context of Mr. Bush engaging a private attorney yesterday, just prior to Tenet's "Surprise Resignation". The assumption is then that this is desperation, and so deep that "I am more frightened now than at any time over the last three and a half years, that this administration will resort to extra-legal methods to do something to ensure that there are four more years for George Bush."

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Yesterday's interview is now permanently archived. Listen.


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I just recorded another radio interview with Estelle Fennel from KMUD regarding the No Confidence Movement and the upcoming endorsement vote of Vets For Peace. You can tune in online tonight (Wed) at 6pm PST or tomorrow morning at 8am PST. I will also get an .mp3 onto the blog within the next few days.




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This Thursday - June 3, 2004, 6:30pm
101 H St., Arcata (Marsh Commons)
Veterans For Peace Chapter 56

I will make another presentation and facilitate discussion that will be open to the public. Then the VFP members will vote on whether to endorse the No Confidence resolution.

Today the Eureka Times-Standard verbally agreed to run a 500-700 word editorial that I haven't yet written. I also spoke with reporter Megan Vogel who will interview me on Thursday morning.

The leaflets are getting around. Thanks to some of the VFP members I know are already on board, I've gotten some support spreading the word. Seeing other people doing this has made me infinitely more motivated. There is no question that we have serious momentum. People often perceive momentum as equivalent to potential. People invest in potential.

We need more volunteers to write letters and call radio stations, as well as hand out more leaflets (.doc). To make it as easy as possible for anyone to get involved, GuvWurld now features the No Confidence Campaign Primer.

This is a super distilled, bullet point presentation of all the talking points and the overarching strategy. It's everything necessary to help the community understand that "We have no BASIS for confidence in the validity and legitimacy of the results reported in United States elections." Once you read the Primer, you will be able to reason with your neighbor about why it makes sense for the Arcata City Council to pass this resolution. We are epitomizing Think Global, Act Local.

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