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

Last week I posted a list of seven sites that had links to the transcript of my interview in the Lone Star Iconoclast. On September 16, VoteTrustUSA published commentary about the interview (GuvWurld archive), and the Voter Confidence Resolution in general:

Arcata, The Voter Confidence Resolution, and the Importance of Paying Attention

By Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy, VoteTrustUSA
September 16, 2005

The city council of Arcata in Humboldt County, California recently passed a "“Voter Confidence Resolution"” as reported in an article (link) that has been reprinted on many websites. The resolution, a year and a half in the making and promoted by Humboldt resident and Green Party Presidential candidate David Cobb, gained the support of a wide range of citizens and public interest groups. It establishes a specific platform of election reform measures aimed at encouraging participation, enhancing representation, and ensuring confidence in the accuracy and security of the election process.

One of the resolution'’s authors, Dave Berman, feels this type of initiative, if adopted by cities throughout the country, could have a decisive impact on voter confidence. It would also focus attention on the election process. The article quoted Berman pointing out that "”we must first change the national dialogue". Berman'’s call for a national dialogue of the election process seems both obvious and elusive. It also seems crucial to the cause of ensuring the integrity of our elections. The efforts of those supporting the resolution in Arcata also highlight the necessity of local action.

The resolution rests on a comprehensive eight-point platform that addresses clean money campaigns, election holiday, equal time provisions, more open presidential debates, and preferential voting. It also calls for publicly owned and operated voting processes, voter verified paper records, and public and local citizen oversight of vote counting.

The fact that one would expect such a resolution to emerge from a progressive college town like Arcata should in no way diminish the significance of its success. Not only is proactive election reform at the local, county, and municipal level the most promising avenue for change in terms of resources and influence, it is also the only venue that will really work.

(more...)

I love that it mentions "many websites" have reprinted the interview. Since posting last week's list, I have also found excerpts of the interview at Howie in Seattle and SeattleForDean.com. Jim Sorter told me he too is reprinting an excerpt from the interview in the next Vets For Peace newsletter, due around the start of the month. He has also pledged space in the November newsletter to publish the executive summary of my new white paper, A Blueprint For Peaceful Revolution. This Tuesday the Blueprint will be the basis for my guest lecture at College of the Redwoods. That's a warm-up for next weekend in Portland: National Summit to Save Our Elections.

I also want to recognize the Green Party of Humboldt County, CA which twice voted to endorse versions of the Voter Confidence Resolution. They now have the VCR posted on their site.
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When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another...they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. - United States Declaration of Independence
So be it: A Blueprint for Peaceful Revolution
By Dave Berman
9/22/05
This paper is archived at: http://tinyurl.com/au2pj

Executive Summary

We The People have been divided into a Cold Civil War*. This divide was intentionally created by a government that does not seek the Consent of the Governed. Unverifiable "“elections"” leave no basis for confidence in the results reported, and make this government'’s power illegitimate. This government benefits from being divisive, and from the inherent uncertainty it creates with Orwellian paradoxes. This paper describes consensus-building measures to heal the divide. It is recommended that communities across the U.S. support a Voter Confidence Resolution** (VCR), modeled after the template language already adopted in Arcata, CA. Part of this campaign involves contrasting proposed election reforms with current conditions to expose the myth of democracy. Other such myths are discussed in this paper and ideas for debunking them are presented as part of the process of consensus building and divide healing. Peaceful revolution is defined as a shift in the balance of power between the government and We The People. Therefore, going from having no say in elections, to having any say at all, is necessarily revolutionary. The essentials of the VCR lay out the parameters for defining success: we must ensure conclusive election outcomes, create a basis for confidence in the results reported, and establish an accountable government genuinely representing us with our Consent. No one single reform can achieve all this and so we must embrace both the notion of an election reform platform, and the broader paradigm of peaceful revolution.

* A Google search of "cold civil war" returns over 1000 hits. It is not clear who first used the phrase or when, though a German newspaper is cited from 1949 and Ayn Rand used it in the LA Times in 1962. References have been more frequent since the November 2000 U.S. presidential election and generally bear a surface level resemblance to the use in this paper.

** Voter Confidence Resolution, as adopted by Arcata, CA on 7/20/05: http://tinyurl.com/cr2va

Read the entire paper here: http://tinyurl.com/au2pj
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At least once a week I like to Google "Voter Confidence Resolution." On August 9, I posted a handful of links I found this way, including an endorsement by Bev Harris at Black Box Voting. Today I was amazed to discover how many sites have linked to the Lone Star Iconoclast's transcript of the interview I did with Editor-in-Chief W. Leon Smith. Check it out:

Fair Vote.org
VotersUnite!
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Voting Integrity Project
TrueVoteMD
nov2truth.org
CA Clean Money Campaign

In addition, I also discovered the Palo Alto, CA Human Relations Commission had the Voter Confidence Resolution on its agenda (.pdf) this past Wednesday, Sept 14. It is not clear if this is based upon the template language developed on the GuvWurld Blog and adopted (.pdf) by Arcata, CA but here I found contact info for the commission members who I will attempt to reach on Monday.
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The Lone Star Iconoclast is based in Crawford, TX, the little town where Mr. Bush keeps a ranch. Last year, the Iconoclast made news by not endorsing Mr. Bush. Back in July, the paper published a press release I circulated announcing Arcata's adoption of the Voter Confidence Resolution. And now they've printed a transcript of a lengthy interview I did with their Editor-in-Chief, W. Leon Smith. This is terrific coverage. Please pass it on. The direct link to the article is:

http://lonestaricon.com/2005/News/2005/37-38/37news02.htm.

The transcript is faithful except for Humboldt becoming Humble County and the Consent of the Governed being downsized from macro- to micro-frame. All in all, this is very, very good.


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Earlier tonight I had the privilege of being the guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Humboldt County Republican Party. Their meetings are held in a private room at OH's Town House in Eureka. People gathered gradually between 6-7pm, during which time salad and then a main course were served. I got the impression it was $20 per head but I'm not sure, partly because Chairwoman Lori Metheny had made a point of inviting me to join them for dinner. She specifically said that their speakers get to eat for free. Choices for entree included several kinds of steak, chicken cordon bleu, and a (chicken?) ceaser salad.

I arrived promptly at 6pm, mindful of the cliche about no such thing as a free meal, totally ready for my full-on Republican experience. Many people told me I was being brave. Pity I didn't experience it that way. Now I don't exactly light up a room and there was some time when I was poring over their agenda and a news article that had been left at my seat. But it wasn't awkward and I remember being conscious of smiling and making eye contact. There was some small talk, none of which was contentious in the least. Prior to being there I had given thought to what this would be like. In my idealized notion I managed to warm it up a bit. I didn't achieve that but I certainly wasn't failing.

During the latter part of the dinner hour Kay Backer gave a PowerPoint presentation about HELP, Humboldt Economic and Land Plan group. The Eureka Reporter quoted Kay in this article from last week. Coincidentally, Kay referenced Reagan's quote "Trust, but verify." I have been using that a lot lately in introducing the lack of verifiable voting.

After Kay's talk, Lori called the meeting to order. After an invocation and "The Pledge," there was a roll call, previous minutes were amended and adopted, and other routine things occurred. Before I knew it Lori was calling me to the podium.

I thanked them for having me and told them it was an honor. I mentioned that lots of people have reacted with shock and awe that I might actually do this. But it is important that it be done, I said, in light of the events of the last two weeks, I want more than ever to know that I can work with others in my community. I told them I wanted to have a dialog with them and work on building a bridge together.

As an example, I spoke about how doing follow up phone calls after the town hall forum on preferential voting led me to connect with Kevin Matlock, a man they all know as a former Executive Director of their group (he was current ED when we met). I repeated a challenge I had made to Kevin: the Republican Party of Humboldt County could widen its appeal if it would commit to the same principle as the Voter Confidence Committee, namely, systemic election reforms that benefit all voters equally.

At this point I called back to the Reagan quote and asked how "verify" should be defined in the context of elections. Several people commented about absentee ballots, particularly in Arcata and in houses where multiple students live. There was also support for requiring ID to vote. It is interesting to notice the common perspective focuses on who gets to vote as opposed to making sure votes are counted and counted accurately.

I don't recall exactly what caused the topic to really open up but there seemed to be consensus that I should read the eight reforms in the Voter Confidence Resolution adopted by Arcata. I did not discuss the Consent of the Governed aspect of the VCR, instead conveying the idea that these are systemic reforms that will benefit all voters equally, and that together, these changes are designed to ensure conclusive election results that will make sure we have unanimous agreement about who won. I mentioned that we are promoting the resolution to other communities with the idea that they should determine their own list of reforms capable of generating conclusive results and a basis for confidence. I didn't mention framing but clearly I was consciously promoting our frame by talking about promoting our frame.

The focus stayed primarily on preferential voting and proportional representation after that. One woman spoke of the Federalist Papers and the origins of the electoral college. She credited America's Founders with being far more steeped in and knowledgeable about history. Their wisdom was greater than us, she seemed to say, and we should leave it alone. In explaining how the electoral college is supposed to work, I pointed out, she had explained that the intention was to have proportional representation. Yet it is precisely because of this antiquated vestige of government that we do not have proportional representation. She disagreed, alleging that the Electoral College is working as intended.

An Arcata resident expressed her frustration at not having any hope of seeing a Republican on the City Council. This person would benefit most from proportional representation. I quickly pointed out that with five seats she would have to help a Republican candidate get just 20% to win a seat and get the representation she lacks. She waved me off and mumbled something about still not being able to win.

I don't remember exactly where some of these next things fit in but I recall mentioning the Utah Republican Party for its use of ranked choice voting. I also referred to Cambridge, MA where a Republican minority has long favored choice voting and its resultant proportional representation. I picked up on a comment about majority rule to connect to Eureka Mayor LaVallee being elected with 38%, an impossibility with the majority mandate of instant runoff voting.

There was also a gentleman who spoke about how Eureka's voting has changed in the past. He said we should go back to primaries and runoffs and that plurality is not good. Well if we don't have plurality we have to have majority and why should we pay extra money for a second election with historically lower turnout when we can get to the same place in a single ranked choice ballot? The response was a sincere but misguided pitch for the merits of the two party system. Another time and place and I would have demonstrated how the two party system perpetuates the myth of democracy.

I really could have done this for as long as they liked but I could see Lori indicating my time was nearly up. To bring it all together I mentioned that the VCC has been working with Registrar of Voting Carolyn Crnich on creating an Election Advisory Committee. I reminded them that I came to start building a bridge and this Advisory Committee is going to be a chance for us to continue working together. I announced that I had a sign up list for anyone interested in updates from the VCC. Nobody took me up on that. However, several people asked for copies of the Voter Confidence Resolution. I also presented Lori with one copy of Mythbreakers and one of the Conyers report on Ohio last November in hopes she'll let them be resources in their headquarters (I hope it isn't a tragic waste of paper).

Before I left, Lori thanked me for coming and praised my bravery. She sort of apologized if it felt rough at all but I sort of didn't let her apologize since I hadn't been ruffled at all. She then said (something like) "the 20 bucks to get you here was so worth it to see some of those guys have their thoughts challenged." There may be more than one way to read that but I heard it in a way that was a great compliment.

It is really unfortunate that there is no video of this event. Other than that, I can't really think of other negatives about this experience. I didn't get any of the tangible things I might have known better than to dream of, but I did raise awareness and get respect and hopefully set a good example. It is not a cliche or a talking point. We have to do this bridge building like society depends on it.

We must unite our communities if we are to protect ourselves from a federal government that provides no assistance to its people other than to aid and abet the deaths of thousands of poor people in a disaster area. Katrina changed everything. It wasn't just lack of assistance, it was denial of help and resources. The media is now being prevented from showing dead bodies. There are evacuee camps where media are forbidden and conditions resemble martial law. The Denver Post called one such location a concentration camp. If it seems like I've gone astray from my topic, remember that I'm trying to build a bridge and show you how important it is that you do the same.
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Editor and Publisher has the transcript of Tuesday's White House press briefing. All in all, it is vile and disgusting and shows Bush spokesman Scott McClellan in a very dark light. Throughout the exchange with reporters, who clearly were more untamed than in recent memory, McClellan is unwilling to identify any specific shortcoming in the response to hurricane Katrina and similarly refused to allow for any accountability. Most noteworthy for GuvWurld readers, Mr. Bush's confidence was questioned in a rather familiar way:

Q Does the President really believe we could respond to a terrorist attack with any -- amount of weeks, months?

MR. McCLELLAN: We've actually done a lot of exercises, David, to prepare for possible attacks, but --

Q Do you think most Americans agree, based on --

MR. McCLELLAN: But the most important thing we've got to do is focus on --

Q You mean exercises for Hurricane Katrina.

MR. McCLELLAN: We've got to focus on prevention, and that's what we're doing by staying on the offensive.

Q Well, let's talk about it. Are you saying the President is -- are you saying that the President is confident that his administration is prepared to adequately, confidently secure the American people in the event of a terrorist attack of a level that we have not seen? And based on what does he have that confidence?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, and that's what he made clear earlier today, that obviously we want to look and learn lessons from a major catastrophe of this nature.

Q Yes, but you're telling us today there will be time for that somewhere down the road. Well, what if it happens tomorrow?

MR. McCLELLAN: We can engage in this blame-gaming going on and I think that's what you're getting --

Q No, no. That's a talking point, Scott, and I think most people who are watching this --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, that's a fact. I mean, some are wanting to engage in that, and we're going to remain focused --

Q I'm asking a direct question. Is he confident --

MR. McCLELLAN: We're going to remain focused on the people.

Q -- that he can secure the American people in the event of a major terrorist attack?

MR. McCLELLAN: We are securing the American people by staying on the offensive abroad and working to spread freedom and democracy in the Middle East.

Q That's a talking point. That's a talking point.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, that's a fact.

That is no more a fact than fiction is a fact. "Basis" is a wonderful word that has been at the heart of the GuvWurld blog since very early on. Note the Voter Confidence Resolution citing "no basis for confidence in the results reported from U.S. federal elections." That is the top line in this blog's masthead.

Two other quick observations about this press briefing.

McClellan repeatedly refers to wanting to understand "what went wrong and what went right." Mr. Bush and probably others have used this in the past several days and it is clearly an attempt to frame the perception of the response as having some successful elements. It is a good example of how the administration deftly reacts to a defensive situation with offensive language.

After all these years of tortured language creating Orwellian paradoxes that feed the great divide among the American people, I see this particular line as suspect: "we've got to make sure that there aren't rules in place that are preventing assistance from getting to those who have been displaced." McClellan said this was a point Mr. Bush had emphasized in a recent Cabinet meeting. Given that aid and assistance was flatly rejected in many instances over several days, it is clear that such prevention was intentional. I am not in the habit of publishing my predictions, but I'll say that I won't be surprised when we learn that in fact there were rules in place that prevented assistance from getting to those in need. To state exactly the opposite is part of the Bush administration modus operandi, successfully followed, and an example of what they mean by "what went right."


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Now that some personal matters have subsided it is time to revitalize the GuvWurld blog. This will be a summary of recent announcements and upcoming events.

This Thursday, Sept. 8, I will be the guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Humboldt County Republican Party. Click here for background. Click here for details and a list of several other confirmed speaking engagements I have upcoming. The Republican meeting is an especially important bridge building opportunity and I am requesting the presence of all readers who can attend. It will be very helpful to show how many of us are on the other side of the bridge reaching out.

In this next week I will also be speaking at both the NoHum and SoHum events honoring Distrust Your Government Day.

The Humboldt Coalition for Community Rights is ramping up to launch their Campaign for Fair Elections & Local Democracy. This is a County-wide citizens' initiative to prohibit outside corporations from participating in Humboldt County elections. This group is highly organized and has a slew of events already planned. The Voter Confidence Committee will be working with this campaign.

Elections in Crisis! is an all-day event in Oakland, CA on 9/13. I was contacted about participating in this event but I can't attend in person. Instead, I spoke to Jerry Berkman, one of the organizers. He is a Berkeley resident who participated in the workshop I presented in San Francisco in March. I am helping him develop tabling materials and he says the Voter Confidence Resolution will receive promotion, along with the suggestion to locals that they follow up with their City Councils or Supervisors in light of my recent outreach.

It is with no fanfare nor mention on their site that Velvet Revolution has asked to be added to the list of endorsers for the Voter Confidence Resolution.

Alan Dechert of the Open Voting Consortium reported some good news out of Illinois recently. Governor Blagojevich signed a law requiring all records of election machine testing to be open and accessible to the public.

Last Friday I did a telephone interview with W. Leon Smith of the Lone Star Iconoclast in Crawford, TX. The paper previously published a press release I circulated announcing Arcata's adoption of the Voter Confidence Resolution. This interview was supposedly for an article due out this Wednesday.

Dennis Kyne--GuvWurld correspondent, Vet For Peace, Depleted Uranium expert, and now Katrina relief worker--has been sending me updates from Covington, LA where he is stationed with the Vets For Peace bus.

we are establishing a distribution line that has already proven to be functional

We have distributed thousands of tons of foods and supplies in the past two days,

We have only been here for two days. Thank you for the support, we have supplied baby formula to hungry infants, and we have provided basic human needs, to others.

We are upholding the United Declaration of Human Rights, the whole world should be here,

and if you can't come, support us by sending anything you can to

645 Kimbro Drive, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808 attn vfp chapter 116 c/o Ward Reilly

or donating diaper money at www.vfproadtrips.org

peace.

dennis

If you are going to contribute to the relief effort, consider the difference between sending a check into the bureaucratic ether and sending physical goods to a specific person with impeccable credentials.

I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that Katrina changed everything. The same was said after 9/11 and it is again true. This catastrophe is unprecedented in so many ways. Among the best things I have read in response is this Declaration of New Orleans.


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Thursday, Sept. 8 - Humboldt County Republican Party

• OH's Town House


• 206 W 6th St, Eureka, CA 95501 (map)


• 7pm meeting, open to the public

Sunday, Sept. 11 - Distrust Your Government Day (SoHum)

• Mateel Community Center


• 59 Rusk Ln, Redway, CA (map)


• 10am - 10pm (I'll be on a panel discussion at 11am)


• FREE EVENT

Tuesday, Sept. 13 - Distrust Your Government Day (NoHum)

• Humboldt State University, main quad


• Noon - 1pm about 10-12 speakers


• 1pm - 2pm informal discussions/workshops led by above speakers


• FREE EVENT

Friday, Sept. 30 through Sunday, Oct. 2 - National Summit To Save Our Elections

• Downtown Portland, OR (2 locations, see link above)


• 10/2 9am - workshop on Voter Confidence Resolution

Thursday, Oct. 6 - Vets For Peace Chapter 56

• 7pm, Marsh Commons, Arcata, CA (map)


• discussion relating Voter Confidence Resolution to broader civil disobedience challenging U.S. government's legitimacy


• FREE EVENT, open to public


• NOTE: VFP meets at the Marsh Commons at 7pm on the first Thursday of each month; membership is NOT limited to vets, nor is it required to attend VFP meetings

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http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/4095.php

Declaration of New Orleans
by Charles Montesquieu Saturday, Sep. 03, 2005 at 3:24 AM
charliemontesquieu@yahoo.com

A Declaration of The People of the United States of America Concerning the Present Crisis in the City of New Orleans.

In the name of the People of the United States of America, we declare:

That for the last four and a half years the President and his administration have served the interests of a few wealthy citizens and not the interests of the American People.

That he has acted with contempt for the People and for the Constitution and the laws of the United States.

That an edict of the Supreme Court made him President in 2000 and fraud made him President again in 2004.

That the President has pursued an unprecedented expansion of Executive powers that are a grave threat to the rights and liberties of the American People.

That he has made war on sovereign nations that are no threat to the American People.

That his "War on Terror" has cost billions of dollars and thousands of lives without bringing those responsible for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 to justice.

That the failure of his leadership in the present crisis in the City of New Orleans has resulted in the deaths of thousands more.

That he is derelict in every duty of his office.

Therefore, we resolve:

That President George W. Bush and his administration are illegitimate.

That he should resign from office and new elections should be held immediately.

That if he does not resign, the Congress of the United States should act to remove him from office.

That if the Congress should fail to act, the People will exercise their right to abolish this state and will establish a new government that will better secure their rights and liberties.

COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
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We have to acknowledge every small win and this may be bigger than it seems. I'm posting another verbatim announcement, this one from OVC president Alan Dechert.

**

Previously, we reported that Illinois Hourse Bill 1968 had passed the state legislature. As of AUG 22, it is law -- Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich (Dem) signed it into law!

The part of interest to Open Voting is a just a few lines -- but potentially very powerful.

See HB1968
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/94/HB/09400HB1968enr.htm

The relevant section is on page 186, lines 19 through 25, and it reads as follows:

19 All test plans, test results,
20 documentation, and other records used to plan, execute, and
21 record the results of the testing and verification, including
22 all material prepared or used by independent testing
23 authorities or other third parties, shall be made part of the
24 public record and shall be freely available via the Internet
25 and paper copy to anyone.

Thanks to Cook County consultant and friend of OVC, Kevin McDermott, for writing the text.

The new law is likely to be challenged in court to determine exactly what vendors and test authorities have to turn over. I think the text is reasonably comprehensive. A fair interpretation would mean that source code would have to be published since some aspects of testing done by the test labs require the source code.

I suggested slighly more detailed "OpenTest" language but too late for inclusion in the Illinois bill:

***** begin proposed expanded language for bill
Before a voting system is used in an election, all test plans, all automated and manual scripts, test results, and all information needed to reproduce these test results, documentation, bug tracking database, and other records used to plan, execute, and record the results of the testing and verification, including all material prepared or used by voting system testing laboratories or independent testing authorities or other third parties, shall be made part of the public record and shall be freely available via the Internet and paper copy to anyone.
****** end

The more states that get this into law, the more likely vendors and test labs will be forced to open up the whole process.

There is an educational process involved here. Recently, an OVC supporter in Ohio discussed OpenTest with Keith Cunningham, Director of the Allen County Board of Elections. Cunningham claimed that testing was already "public." I wrote Cunningham a letter:

http://www.openvotingconsortium.org/ad/cunningham815.pdf

People from about 20 states so far have expressed willingness to help get OpenTest introduced in their state legislature. Onward! We have nothing to lose but proprietary secret voting systems.

Thanks again.

Alan Dechert
President, Open Voting Consortium
http://openvoting.org
alan@openvoting.org
9560 Windrose Lane
Granite Bay, CA 95746
916-791-0456
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9-11 – DISTRUST YOUR GOVERNMENT DAY

When people are invited to take part in “Distrust Your Government Day,” a common response is “Isn’t that every day?” But on Sunday, Sept. 11 at the Mateel in Redway, we have a chance to do it together. A full twelve hours is planned from 10 in the morning til 10 in the evening and all are welcome to take part in all or part of the infamous anniversary of 9-11.

It begins at 10 am with a Sunday-style convocation and a Ceremony of Trust. There are, indeed, things in our lives we do trust. To provide an anchor for the rest of the day’s inquiries, we will hopefully produce a brainstormed list of what can be relied upon in these crisis times. This will be followed by a bit of “Choir Practice” - a sometimes satirical and sometimes sincere expression of songs of war and peace, of the rulers and the misled. Everyone can join in.

After that, we will continue until 10 PM to freely discuss our distrusts – not just with the Government, but with its relentless partners - the Media, the War Machine, Global Corporations, the Electoral System, Big Science, the Law, the War on Terror, the War on Drugs, not to mention Skulls, Bones and Bohos – a veritable feast of Distrust.

Following the Choir, at 11:00 am, our first panel on Distrust will include activists from Sonoma State’s Project Censored, Humboldt County’s Democracy Unlimited, Vet’s for Peace, Civil Liberties Monitoring Project, the Green Party in order to get our program rolling. Tables from these and other organizations will be on hand with information and to provide the sites for ongoing workshops during the day. Besides rapping from the stage, microphones will be set up on the floor of the Mateel to ensure maximum participation from all in attendance during the day.

Music will be a crucial part of “Distrust Your Government Day.” Singer-songwriters
Amy Sorrel, Jan True, Ellen Comp and the band Subconscious Revolt will be among the featured musicians to offer musical commentary through-out the afternoon and evening.

At 1:30 until 3:00, KMUD talk show hosts Jim and Manuel will broadcast their show live from the Mateel. It will be a call-in format as usual with special guests and questions from the hall. Music will follow at 3:00.

At 3:30, a War Crimes Tribunal will take place on stage. A short summary of the evidence and the charges of specific war crimes leveled against the President and other members of his entourage will be made. Two local lawyers, Ed Denson and Eric Kirk, will argue for the prosecution and the defense respectively. The audience will be given the opportunity for questions and then as a Community Jury, the people in attendance will be polled as to their verdict.

After music, a Panel of Resistance will be convened at 5:00 PM. This will feature speakers on stage and in the audience with stories on GI and War resistance, war tax resistance, lifestyle resistance and other ways to turn distrust into positive action.

At 6:00 the evening program will commence with music from our line-up of musicians, along with comedy provided by the Politically Correct Players (Tom, Emma and Paul.)

At 7:00 PM there will be a concluding panel – The Future of Distrust, offering us a concluding perspective to the day. The featured speakers will be Sheldon Wolin, world-class Professor of Political Science, Bart Gruzalski, tireless lecturer at universities and conferences on nonviolence and KMUD commentator, Jackie Pantaleo. Questions and discussion will follow each speaker.

Distrust Your Government Day will conclude with music into the evening.

Upstairs at the Mateel, the People’s Truth Commission will be screening an All Day Presentation of special Videos with themes ranging from Government incompetence to Government complicity surrounding 9-11 and the official War on Terror. Space for workshops and small group discussions will also be available upstairs.

Food and drink will be served during the event, including a dinner which will begin serving after 5:00 PM at a nominal cost. The event itself is free. Childcare will be provided, but kids are encouraged to take part.

Drop in or stay all day on Sunday Sept. 11 at the Mateel in Redway.

The event is sponsored by the Green Party, Greenfuse newspaper, Vet’s for Peace chapter 22 and others.

For more info call 540-9061 or 923 4488.


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Humboldt Coalition for Community Rights
P.O. Box 1334
Eureka, Ca 95502
(707) 444-0407
www.votelocalcontrol.org
info@VoteLocalControl.org

****** PLEASE FORWARD *******

Greetings Humboldt Neighbor,

Do you think that local citizens have the right (and responsibility) to protect our our community?

Do you think that campaign donations by large, out-of-county corporations are undermining the integrity of local elections?

Have we got an exciting campaign for you!!!!

The Humboldt County Ordinance to Protect Our Right to Fair Elections and Local Democracy

This campaign is a citizens' initiative to prohibit outside corporations from participating in Humboldt County elections. We are local citizens collecting signatures on a volunteer basis to place this initiative on the ballot for the June 2006 election. And we need your help!

We know that large outside corporations are targeting communities like ours. These companies are trying to rewrite local laws and elect people who will work for their corporate interests instead of what is best for our community. This ordinance is necessary to protect the integrity of Humboldt County's elections, our local democracy, and our community.

The core leadership of the Humboldt Coalition for Community Rights is a broad cross-section of your friends and neighbors. We come from diverse backgrounds, but we all share a common vision that only local money should determine who represents Humboldt residents in local government. (This initiative will not affect local residents or businesses).

We believe our community has the right to protect ourselves from outside interests with deep pockets that want to transform Humboldt County to suit the needs of large corporations. We have organized a series of events to formally launch the campaign for Fair Elections & Local Democracy.

Below is a listing of initial events and opportunities for you to get involved. Just give us a call at 444-0407 and we'll get you plugged in. Don't miss the opportunity to participate in this exciting campaign for local control and democracy!

Sept 13 at 6:00 pm
A work party to help create petition kits
HCCR office at 350 E Street Suite # 102 in Eureka
Please rsvp at 444-0407

Sept 15 at 6:00pm
Petition training and role playing
Free pizza and snacks provided
HCCR office at 350 E Street Suite # 102 in Eureka
Please rsvp at 444-0407

Sept 16-- SAVE THE DATE
Eureka House Party location to be announced soon
Call 444-0407 or check www.votelocalcontrol.org

Sept 17,18 all day
North Country Fair
We'll be tabling and petitioning and we need your help!
Please rsvp at 444-0407

Sept 22 12:15pm
Press Conference Officially Launching the Campaign
Humboldt County Court House Steps
825 5th Street in Eureka
Come join us and show local media that you support this important campaign!

Sept 23 at 12:00 pm
Speaking and tabling at the HSU University Center Quad
Campus Center for Appropriate Technology

Sept 24 Registration at 9:00am conference continues until 4:00pm
Speaking and tabling at the HSU Leadership Conference
http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/leadership

Sept 24 at 6:00pm
Speaking and tabling at Democracy Rocks Again
An event hosted by Local Solutions
Bayside Grange, 2297 Jacoby Creek Road
Music, Food, & Politics
http://localsolutions.org

Sept 25--SAVE THE DATE
Arcata BBQ & House Party location to be announced soon
Call 444-0407 or check www.votelocalcontrol.org

Oct 1 10:00am-2:00pm
Speaking and tabling at a Campaign Finance Reform Forum
The Wharfinger Building
1 Marina Way in Eureka (on the waterfront)
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"Elections in Crisis!"
"Who's Cheating and What We Can Do About It"
Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Avenue, Oakland

Tue., Sep. 13, 12:00 pm-5:00 pm Election Fraud Film Festival
Tue., Sep. 13, 7:00 pm Speakers including:
Bob Fitrakis, Free Press, who sued to overturn Ohio results
in Nov. 2004
Bev Harris, BlackBoxVoting.org
Wed., Sep. 14, 10:30 am-1:30 pm Tutorial by Bev Harris on
auditing elections (at library)

Full details are at HERE.
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