It's No Longer A Matter of What We Can Do To Stop It?

Received an email from another I.U. friend.

Her main concern was the resignation of Admiral Fallon, what it means and how impeachment is the only thing that will save us from WWIII. Good point in ordinary times, but these are not ordinary times. If impeachment is the only thing that will save us, we are all goners, because there will be no impeachment, no trial in the Senate and there will never be any accountability for the war criminals in the White House unless it is brought about by the people.

What do you think the chances of that are? My guess would be slim and none. It never occurs to average Americans, that as a Democracy (or so we are billed), we are responsible for the action of our government, unlike the citizens of, say, Iraq, who were under the heavy boot of a dictator, yet they were not spared when BushCo decided to shock and awe its way into Baghdad.

Perhaps it depends on how many people have lost their houses, lost their jobs, are without healthcare, have awakened to their own personal nightmares and realized the national one we all share, unless we are part of the the happy family on Wall Street or are corporate officers of corporate America's war profiteers, and who and what caused it our national nightmare.

One has to wonder, what it's going to take for Americans to really rise up and say, NO MORE! Replace the crooks in congress, every damn one of them, I don't give a damn whether they are Republicans, Democrats, Likuds, Nazis, Communists, whatever. replace them all and make damn sure that the person you're electing knows that we have had all we are going to take and if he or she isn't prepared to take some drastic measures, for the good of the ordinary people of America (which by it's very definition includes the Iraqi people, since Iraq is clearly our 51st state, now, and has managed to rack up more ear marks than Ted Stevens and Bob Byrd could ever imagine), don't even bother making the move to D.C, because if you go up there and have commerce with the real whores in D.C., the corporate lobbyists, instead of listening to "us, the people," we won't wait for the next election to run you out of town and we will burn K-street to the damn ground while we're at it.

We've seen what happens when the heads of corporate America are allowed to write policy:

Energy policy, for example: Kyoto is out, global warming/climate change is an evil myth made up by Al Gore because he lost the election which, by the way, he didn't. Never-ending war in the middle east to control and help deplete the oil supply, making the policy writers rich beyond anyone's wildest dreams.

How shocking! That's what happens when you allow people with a vested interest to make policy and law.

It is the people who are changing things now, not the government.

Admittedly, it sure as hell took a long time The people are buying Priuses faster than Toyota can make them and other hybrids. People who live in small towns are buying scooters and golf carts. I bought a scooter for my small town travel needs (86 miles to the gallon and environment friendly. I may need to fill it up next Christmas.) and I'm looking for a way to convert my Jeep Cherokee to diesel, since I can't afford to trade it, and I' not buying anything I can't afford to pay for in cash and I have friends who are learning how to use cooking oil for diesel. I only use it for trips into the city and necessary travel. I may have to fill it up three times a year, unless I have to travel out of town for any reason.

I want to see the oil companies get a kick in the solar plexus. Doesn't everybody? Well, Americans, make it happen. Change your fuel consumptions habits, ASAP.

It can be fun! I can attest to that. I'm 59 and am in remission from squamous cell carcinoma and am jetting around the island on a Honda metropolitan. One might ask, given that the type of cancer I have, why I give a damn about any of this. There are generations coming, long after I'm gone. Don't they deserve a chance? Being given a bad prognosis is no excuse for not caring about my beloved country and its ordinary folks. I can love my country and despise mt government. It's easy. I've been doing it for years, on and off.

Of course, I realize that that scooting around the island where I live may not seem like sound like much fun to a wealthy guy who already has three gas guzzlers, a Harley and a big ass boat, but it can for poor people and there are more of us than there are them. Furthermore, demand that your city or county leaders make laws that give right of way to small, environmentally friendly vehicles. That's the only way to get rid of the urban assault vehicles like the ones I encounter daily, so those of us who see the writing on the wall and give a damn about our environment and the robber barons of energy can feel a bit safer as we ride on our scooters, bicycles and in our golf carts, not to mention the much smaller cars that are coming out soon.

Can we prevent Bush and Cheney from nuking Iran and starting WWIII? No, we can't. Certainly not by impeachment.

Unless the people are ready to actually over-throw this illegitimate administration and a congress who are, apparently, either in on the war crimes and crimes against the constitution or who are scared stiff of BushCo.

But the people will have to be ready to suffer, because they will, if they take on this government. It's not the soldiers in Iraq who are really fighting for freedom and Democracy, it will be the people, right here on the ground, in America who will either fight the good fight or not.

It's up to us.

Are we really the scared, yellow-bellied cowards that the Bushites, other Rethugs and some Democrats think we are; so scared of some religious fanatic in a cave somewhere that we will watch our constitution shredded and not lift a finger, just to keep from wearing a burka (like anyone actually would)?

Much to the chagrin of some of my liberal friends, we are an armed-to-the-teeth people. Why should we be so scared of some nut case and his deluded followers. Are they all going to come here, invade us? With what man's Navy? Spectacular terrorist events? Not unless they are allowed in, while warning after warning after warning and red-flag intelligence is ignored by the White House.

I don't doubt that there are people out there who would really like to do Americans harm, especially after the last 5 years. But the Americans they want to hurt the most, are to be found on Wall Street, indicative of corporate America and in D.C.. I won't sacrifice my rights for them. They got themselves into this mess, or as my grandmother would say, they made their bed, let them lie in it.

Seems both our corporations (and I use the word, "our," very loosely) and our government have been misbehaving, to say the least, all over the planet for quite some time. Want to know why they hate some of us? Just do a few searches. Start with Bhopal, There are sites which are devoted to keeping up with corporate misbehavior. Give them a read. They aren't making this stuff up.

When it comes to the government, well, it's easy to list the horrors for which it has been responsible, and they have been committed by administrations of both Democrats and Republicans. The Nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was done by the Truman administration, even though Truman was being briefed that Japan was collapsing. There was no excuse for it, except to attempt to scare the pants off Joe Stalin. Mission accomplished. The Soviets just got their own atomic bomb and we were off to the races; for the moon and the militarization of space.

Thanks a lot, Harry!

But the military-industrial-complex was elated and the tax payers should have been cringing but they were too busy looking under their beds for commies and building bomb shelters that wouldn't have protected them from a nuclear cracker ball.

I know very well that there are some Americans who don't give a hoot what happens to anyone but themselves and their immediate family and believe that the USA is so strong that we can do any damn thing we please to just about anyone in that third world place, without consequences. They are living in the past. We have been weakened in just about every way imaginable since the 2000 election.

We might be able to commit the ultimate shock and awe in Tehran, as my friend is afraid will happen; the nuclear kind. But how will that really change anything except for putting more radiation in the environment for us all to enjoy, not to mention rid the world of god knows how many Iranians, 99.999999% of whom are just ordinary Joes (or Ahmeds or Mohammeds) trying to get a good education, find a good job, have a family and be able to give their kids the basics, perhaps a bit more, if they are lucky. Do I approve of everything their government does. Hell no. Not anymore than I approve of what our government has done. I don't approve of any government that has a human rights record like Iran does. Gay men shouldn't be hung, but I will tell you this, there are people right here in our own country that believe they should be and if they took over the government, gays and a number of other people would be executed. We are just one religious coup away from being Iran.

So what good would come of attacking Iran when such an act could very well set off a nuclear holocaust during which the USA would be target Making oil in short supply for China? Is that real bright, since China now owns us? Such an act may make Saudi Arabia and Israel happy, but who cares? Certainly not I.

Thanks to BushCo. we have horrendous problems over here, in our own country. As far as I'm concerned, everyone else should be on their own. It's time for the USA to pull back and begin to find solutions for our own mounting problems and leave the rest of the world alone.

I have been talking to ordinary people in quite a few countries in so-called enemy territory; you know all Arab/and or Muslim countries since around Dec., 2001. I wanted to hear directly from them about 9/11, because what my own government was saying wasn't making any sense and it still doesn't. What they said did make sense, especially after I spent some time reviewing the history of the world since WWI; not the history that's taught in American schools.

Do you know how brainwashed you are?

There are Muslims in Pakistan who know that there are many Americans who live in horrendous poverty. Other Muslims also know that many, many Americans live in abject poverty and that knowledge doesn't endear the American government to them and they don't understand it. How can a nation so wealthy care so little for so many of its citizens? Most of the Arab world was shocked by Katrina and the way the Bush administration handled it and is still handling it. They always ask about the people of NOLA when they email or chat with me. It's almost as if they have something deeply in common with them. They probably have more in common with the people of New Orleans than Bush and his ilk does.

Ordinary, every -day citizens from other nations, in what we humiliatingly refer to as the Third World, (I think I must have missed the Second World because I am clueless as to who they are.) want the same things we want, except that they also want our government to stop propping up sociopathic dictators in their own countries until it becomes inconvenient for whatever administration we elect (or don't elect but that has grabbed power anyway), when they can expect to be bombed to smithereens just to get the one guy, a guy they all despise, but don't want to die for.

Does anyone really believe that the women of Iraq grieve any less for their sons, daughters and husbands who have been killed by shock and awe and tortured by our military than the ones who were tortured and killed by Saddam and his insane sons?

Just ask yourself, how would you feel if it were you? If we were bombed, invaded and occupied by another power, would we fight back? What about a coup from within? Would we fight it? Apparently not, because that's already happened.

The Nazis, Fascists and Communists were political parties before they became enemies of liberty and mass murderers.

Is There Revolution In The Air?

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Call Out the Instigator; There's Something in the Air!

A revolution is justified! Since King John signed the Magna Carta, no monarch in our tradition has successfully assumed powers that are now claimed and assumed by the Bush/Cheney regime.

Revolutions often begin with an indictment of those in power, literally, a list of crimes or atrocities committed against the people themselves. Over a period of some centuries, essential principles were won and established. Kings have been deposed and executed for less flagrant abuses than those that must be charged to George W. Bush.

• Bush's 'unitary executive' doctrine places Bush above the law;
• Bush has decreed an end to habeas corpus
• Bush has denied other basic rights guaranteed the people in the Bill of Rights.

In effect, Bush has re-written the US Constitution. He has claimed dictatorial powers because the nation was at war but--significantly --the nation was and remains at war because Bush conducted an orchestrated campaign of bald-faced lies in order to begin the war. This is the case that must be made when Bush is compelled to stand trial for high treason, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Capital crimes.

It's not that they lied about justifications for war, but in their failure to allow oversight into the processes that produced those lies. It's not in the firing of federal attorneys and the refusal to substantiate the firings, but in the pure partisanship of their actions. It's not their countless refusals to comply with subpoenas from Congress or Freedom of Information Act from the people, but in their arrogated stance, setting themselves above the requirements themselves.Once when challenged for his unwillingness to submit to the rule of law in an obvious snub of the Constitution, Bush screamed, "Stop throwing the Constitution in my face. It's just a goddamned piece of paper!"And thus our Constitution has now become what Bush has made it. This annihilation of the foundational document of our republic was orchestrated by a president who swore an oath of honor to protect it, a devout Christian who promised to restore honor and integrity to the Oval Office.Congress, in its acquiescence and subservience, is equally culpable. When Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced, "impeachment is off the table," she not only absolved Bush of all previous transgressions but paved a figurative superhighway for any to come. There's a reason Congress's approval ratings are even lower than the administration's.

--Michael Abraham, Bush's legacy is the end of law

Until these issue are addressed, the primary process seems all but irrelevant. Those candidates daring to address these questions were all but ignored --victims of the media and an absurd primary process that is designed to weed out anyone wishing to conduct a real debate, anyone not controlled or given a wink and a nod by the MSM. But --there are signs that a 'revolution' of sorts may be afoot.

Voters in two Vermont towns approved measures Tuesday calling for the indictment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for what they consider violations of the Constitution.More symbolic than anything, the items sought to have police arrest Bush and Cheney if they ever visit Brattleboro or nearby Marlboro or to extradite them for prosecution elsewhere — if they're not impeached first.In Brattleboro, the vote was 2,012-1,795. In Marlboro, which held a town meeting on the issue, it was 43-25 with three abstentions."I hope the one thing that people take from this is, 'Hey, it can be done,'" said Kurt Daims, 54, who organized the petition drive that led to the Brattleboro vote.

--Vt. Towns Approve Bush 'Indictment'

One hopes these indictments address the fundamental treason from which all other administration crimes followed, that is, Bush put himself above the law of the land. The US Constitution, drafted by the 'founders' and duly ratified by the people of the United States affirms as a principle of law the very source of sovereignty: the people themselves.

In putting himself above the law, Bush claims absolute powers that even European monarchs dared not claim. Certainly, when those European Monarchs found themselves 'outside the law', they were often 'brought to book' for violating it. King John was literally forced to concede to the principles of Magna Carta. Later, Charles I, when he presumed to authority above that of Parliament, was prodded out a window in the Banqueting House in White Hall where, on a makeshift platform, his head was chopped off by a French swordsman imported for the occasion. Bush could not have placed himself above the law without help from Republicans of all stripes as well as timely betrayals and sellouts by key Democrats. Without effective opposition, Bush-Cheney were able to assume a "unitary executive", a dubious doctrine without precedent in either American history or English Common Law to which we are heir. This Republican-birthed 'doctrine' --utter claptrap --places Bush above regulation, above oversight or supervision, above the decisions of the courts, including the Supreme Court, above laws passed by Congress, above responsibility to the people. It is treasonous on its face. Tragically, I don't hear the candidates talking about this. All I hear from the 'candidates' is eyewash, focus group approved monkey chatter, platitudes and bullshit!

"[Since Watergate] I have repeatedly seen an erosion of the powers and the ability of the president of the United States to do his job. ... One of the things that I feel an obligation [to do] ... is to pass on our offices in better shape than we found them to our successors."

--VP Dick Cheney, [Interview with Cokie Roberts] New York Times, Recent Flexing of Presidential Powers Had Personal Roots in Ford White House, SCOTT SHANE. January 2002,

There exists now sufficient probable cause to formally charge Dick Cheney with the crime of mass murder in connection with his 'supervisory role' on 911. Even before 911 consolidated the powers of the Bush/Cheney 'administration', it was clear that real power in the US had accrued to an increasingly tiny elite, what had been called a "commercial class".

The wealthy have always used many methods to accumulate wealth, but it was not until the mid-1970s that these methods coalesced into a superbly organized, cohesive and efficient machine. After 1975, it became greater than the sum of its parts, a smooth flowing organization of advocacy groups, lobbyists, think tanks, conservative foundations, and PR firms that hurtled the richest 1 percent into the stratosphere.

--Steve Kangas, The Origins of the Overclass [as quoted here: How the CIA Created a Ruling, Corporate Overclass in America]

The trend is not new and history is, indeed, our guide. Throughout the sixteenth century, the grandfathers of the Parliamentarians, were the source of the monarchy’s strength. Parliament had supported efforts by Henry VII and Henry VIII and Elizabeth to police England. The specter of a foreign enemy was often raised. In our own time, the GOP has become, increasingly, a party of privilege thanks to inequitable tax cuts by Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Jobs have been exported, proverty has increased. Three GOP Presidents since 1989 have hollowed out American industry and subverted the dollar as they made the rich much richer and the poor much poorer.

These are reason enough to forever bar the GOP from positions of responsibility and that includes John McCain --the biggest political disappointment since Dan Quayle compared himself to JFK. Historically, revolutions are fought for considerably less than what is at stake now!

People must see clearly the futility of maintaining the fight for social goals within the framework of civil debate. When the forces of oppression come to maintain themselves in power against established law; peace is considered already broken.

--Che Guevara, General Principles of Guerilla Warfare

Thomas Jefferson had articulated the same principle in a document that is, supposedly, revered by Americans: the Declaration of Independence, in effect, an indictment of King George.

...whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

--Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence

Our own declaration of independence of the illegitimate regime of the liar and criminal that has seized the White House must include an indictment of both George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. A true revolution must include the impeachment, trial and removal of GWB and all his crooked henchmen. It must declare undone all the many harms done to the Constitution by Bush.

It is hoped that the actions taken in Vermont are but the beginning of a revolution.

Brattleboro, Vermont passes indictment of Bush and Cheney To be arrested in Brattleboro "if they are not duly impeached"

The courageous people of Brattleboro, Vermont have taken the lead! Frustrated that elected officials have refused to introduce articles of impeachment in defiance of their constituents' demands, the people of Brattelboro voted to direct town officials to draw up indictment papers against George Bush and Dick Cheney for violating their oath of office.

The Brattleboro vote took place during the Tuesday's Vermont primary election. Bush supporters launched a major campaign to discredit the referendum resolution and the organizers. Yet the resolution passed by a vote of 2012 in favor to 1795 against.

"Shall the Selectboard instruct the Town Attorney to draft indictments against President Bush and Vice President Cheney for crimes against our Constitution, and publish said indictments for consideration by other authorities and shall it be the law of the Town of Brattleboro that the Brattleboro Police, pursuant to the above-mentioned indictments, arrest and detain George Bush and Richard Cheney in Brattleboro if they are not duly impeached, and prosecute or extradite them to other authorities that may reasonably contend to prosecute them?" The people of Brattleboro answered, "yes!"

The indictment means that Bush and Cheney can be arrested for criminal acts should they ever enter Brattleboro. The indictment would go into effect after Bush and Cheney leave office.

The Brattleboro resolution is becoming a powerful organizing model for cities and towns around the country. The impeachment movement has sunk deep roots throughout this country. The people of the United States are demanding not only that the Constitution be restored, but that the President, Vice President and other officials be held accountable for committing high crimes and misdemeanors.

The Brattleboro resolution shows that even where Congressional representatives are refusing to follow the majority sentiment demanding impeachment, that the people themselves can take action.

Please make an urgently needed donation so that we can continue to build this momentum. The movement can't do it without your continuing support. Please click this link to make a generous donation online or to get information to write a check.
When Ramsey Clark launched the ImpeachBush / VoteToImpeach.org movement in January 2003 he sparked something entirely new. In the face of the aggression and arrogance of the Bush Administration, he launched a movement for the people to take back the Constitution. In Vermont, more than 40 town councils voted in favor of impeachment. Throughout California and in the other states of the union, the grassroots movement has put impeachment on the table through referendum, resolutions, demonstrations, rallies, newspaper ads and door-to-door petitioning.

In the next two weeks, ImpeachBush.org is joining with the anti-war movement for mass protests around the country. We are organizing buses, car caravans, printing placards and banners and making sure the call for Impeachment resounds on this coming 5th anniversary of the criminal war in Iraq. These will be locally and regionally coordinated mass actions in cities and towns throughout the country. Please click here to donate to this effort.

The movement is spreading because of the commitment and sacrifice of thousands of individuals who are engaged as volunteers in day-to-day organizing. Everyone should be proud of their work because this is a movement that belongs to all of us.

SUPPORT THE REVOLUTION:
Please make an urgently needed donation so that we can continue to build this momentum. The movement can't do it without your continuing support. Please click this link to make a generous donation online or to get information to write a check.

Another important beginning can be found in the text of an indictment of George W. Bush prepared by former Federal Prosecutor, Elizabeth de la Vega. All this indictment needs is a courageous Federal Judge and a Federal Grand Jury, which a Federal judge can convene upon his/her own motion. I found the following steps for taking back America on The Republican Party Offers A Choice: "Fascism Or Anarchy?":

• The key goal of "total anarchy" is to make the leadership of the Republican Party, and their supporters, so uncomfortable that they will run off and hide in fear for their bank accounts and their lives. This level of discomfort will make the GOP's key supporters want to stop supporting the Republican's fascist ideology and they will want to seek a new democratic ideology that can offer them a much more stable, secure, and friendly form of government.
  
• Bring world wide attention to our cause. This can be done through mass resignations by the Democrats in Congress, mass education efforts, by boycotting of all businesses and real estate owned by the GOP's key supporters, by lobbying local law enforcement to join the fight, and by staging mass protest and demonstrations. If this step is successful no other steps will be necessary.
  
  
• Hold mass protest in public, and at the private homes of the GOP's members and the private homes of their key financial backers. If they leave follow them. If they run, run after them. And if they fight then we must fight back even harder. The key is to make them extremely uncomfortable until they realize that their cause is no longer winnable because their risk/reward ratio has turned negative. If this step is successful no other steps will be necessary.
  
  
• Take control of key roads, businesses, homes, and government buildings. The purpose is not necessarily to destroy but to take control and begin to organize a new government, new businesses, and a new social structure. If this step is successful no other steps will be necessary.
If these three steps fail then it will be time for the final step and last hope of our democracy, REVOLUTION. Load your guns, dig in, and fight for your life and the lives of your family.

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. I.U. has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is I.U endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)


The Nazis, Fascists and Communists were political parties before they became enemies of liberty and mass murderers.

Boiling Americans; one way or the damn other

Are Americans Unready to Boil?
Written by Joel S. Hirschhorn
Published June 28, 2007

See also:» Americans Unready to Revolt, Despite Revolting Conditions» Ann the C's McCarthy Moment» An Open Letter to Congressman Ron Paul


The frog-in-boiling water model helps us understand political upheavals: how citizens wake up early enough (or too late) to respond to social and economic oppression. Sometimes the greed and arrogance of Ruling Classes makes them careless and social waters heat too quickly. Sensing doom, alert citizen-frogs escape or revolt. Or they stay complacent and boil.

The Bush Administration has turned the heat up on us, explaining why nearly 75 percent of Americans believe their country is on the wrong track and 70 percent think the economy is worsening.

Mexico is the richest Latin American country but has extreme economic inequality, which measures social temperature. Mexicans are jumping out of oppressive waters en masse, right into the U.S., exacerbating our rising inequality. The Chinese have learned to offset oppressive communist forces with materialistic capitalism - like our affordable materialism keeps Americans distracted and docile (with help from Chinese imports). In colonial America the greedy British motivated our Revolutionary War, but with oppression now coming from within, will Americans wait too long?

Some Americans keep warning us - people like Michael Moore, Cindy Sheehan, Aaron Russo, Dennis Kucinich, Lou Dobbs, Ralph Nader, Ron Paul, Bill Moyers, Jon Stewart, and Keith Olbermann. They entertain complacent "frogs" and preach to the choir of alert "frogs" that also know the temperature is rising dangerously. Many of the former keep hoping that putting better Democrats or Republicans in office will get us back on the right track. Many of the latter are ready to jump to what our Constitution offers us: an Article V convention.
And once you know that plutocratic elites from both major parties have for decades opposed the Article V convention to propose constitutional amendments, YOU should favor what THEY oppose.

We frequently see a knee-jerk fear reaction to an Article V convention. Such fear is misplaced and baseless. Only the rich and powerful elites running and ruining our nation should fear a convention.

It is fatalistic to fear that a convention could make things worse by removing valued parts of the Constitution or adding terrible things. Naturally, no one knows with certainty what a convention might propose. But we do know with certainty that whatever a convention proposes must satisfy the Constitution's rigorous ratification requirement. That two step process is part of the genius of the Constitution. Recall that a convention is the alternative to Congress proposing amendments. And what do Americans think of Congress?

A measly 23 percent view Congress positively. Expecting Congress to enact really good laws, spend our taxes wisely, and keep the president and executive branch agencies from abusing us is like a joke on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. It is laugh-at-loud funny to put trust and faith in Congress. It matters not whether Democrats or Republicans control Congress. Nearly all members are under the thrall of moneyed interests. Congress is a national embarrassment. Our misrepresentatives are partners in corruption, dishonesty and oppression. Over decades they have allowed the presidency to accumulate imperial powers. Do you really believe they are worth $165,200 a year, with generous health and pension benefits?

Still, we live in a great nation. But great nations rise and fall.

America is no longer close to what it should be - or once was. It no longer fairly serves and protects all Americans. Too many Americans are working poor, hungry, homeless, poorly educated, imprisoned, debt-ridden, crime victims, facing economic insecurity, nonvoters, and lacking health care.

What we have is a plutocracy run by and for the Upper Class that sucks up a huge fraction of the nation's wealth. Lobbyists ensure that public policy increases economic inequality and rewards corporate interests, even if it requires preemptive wars like the Iraq fiasco, sanctions massive illegal immigration, and sends good jobs overseas. That so many people escaping other nations (with hot or boiling water) want to come to the USA should not blind us to the creeping decline of our democracy and the heating of our social waters.

How much worse does American democracy have to get before public outrage demands what the Constitution's Framers gave us in case citizens lost confidence in the federal government? Haven't Americans lost enough trust to use what elites have fought and feared? Can't we trust ourselves to have a peaceful populist rebellion through an Article V convention before we boil?
If America's distracted citizen-frogs stay glued to their large plasma TVs, SUVs, electronic devices, and obese-friendly foods they may find themselves boiled. Our constitutionally protected freedoms will be gone. George W. Bush has shown how easily that is done. Our middle class will be gone. Our national sovereignty will be gone - sold out through globalization chicanery. For all but the rich, our quality of life and standard of living will be gone. The Upper Class will be richer and happier in their opulent gated McMansions and private entertainment and vacation spots, protected and pampered by their private police and servants.

If Congress finally obeys the Constitution some fear that convention delegates will be corrupted through special interest money just like current politicians. That is highly unlikely.

First, many Americans will actively watch and influence how state legislatures select one-time delegates. Second, the incredible novelty of the nation's first Article V convention will ensure intense coverage by domestic, foreign and Internet media. Third, that novelty will also engage enormous numbers of Americans - especially school and college students - now rightfully turned off by our political system, ensuring citizen oversight of delegates and the convention. Fourth, the only group working for the first convention - Friends of the Article V Convention - has committed itself to creating and ensuring strong oversight of the convention process.

Imagine our first Article V convention under intense scrutiny in today's techno-media world. It will be the ultimate reality show, enticing Americans to use their brains over shopping and mindless entertainment. Conversations about possible amendments will flourish. Surveys and polls will constantly determine what Americans support and oppose. The convention will remind Americans that citizenship requires civic engagement. Convention delegates will know that they are being scrutinized. They will know that their proposals must be ratified by three-fourths of the states. They will be listening to US. In sum, we have more than enough safety nets to prevent the convention harming our Constitution.

Why not dream about a restorative convention with hundreds of smart, patriotic Americans as delegates? We have enormous numbers of brilliant, wise and honest Americans - just not in politics anymore. If we can trust the lives of people to juries, we can trust carefully selected convention delegates to find intelligent ways to improve our government and political system through amendments. In the last part of the process, we can tell our state legislators whether we want them to ratify specific proposed amendments.

Will the first convention be mesmerizing and entertaining? Will it help educate and inform Americans about our Constitution and government? Will it put Ruling Class elites on notice that we the people are seriously pursuing governance we can trust? Yes, yes and yes.
Should we wait until 95 percent of Americans think the nation is on the wrong track? Until just 5 percent approve of Congress? Until we belatedly find ourselves boiled?

No, no and no.

Support the effort to get the nation's first Article V convention, especially if you sense our societal waters becoming hotter - sometimes faster, as under Bush. Sign up at www.foavc.org. Don't let self-delusion and false hope in Republicans or Democrats blind you. Let freedom ring. Make Thomas Jefferson proud.

Author of Delusional Democracy - Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. I.U. has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is I.U endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

The Nazis, Fascists and Communists were political parties before they became enemies of liberty and mass murderers.