Posted on 11/02/2005 7:21:07 PM PST by doug from upland
The Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime |
Your government, on the basis of outrageous lies, is waging a murderous and utterly illegitimate war in Iraq, with other countries in their sights. Your government is openly torturing people, and justifying it. Your government puts people in jail on the merest suspicion, refusing them lawyers, and either holding them indefinitely or deporting them in the dead of night.
Your government is moving each day closer to a theocracy, where a narrow and hateful brand of Christian fundamentalism will rule. Your government suppresses the science that doesn't fit its religious, political and economic agenda, forcing present and future generations to pay a terrible price.
Your government is moving to deny women here, and all over the world, the right to birth control and abortion. Your government enforces a culture of greed, bigotry, intolerance and ignorance. People look at all this and think of Hitler — and they are right to do so. The Bush regime is setting out to radically remake society very quickly, in a fascist way, and for generations to come. We must act now; the future is in the balance. |
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Drats, no chance then that she'll pay politically for it.
Pretty much she could say almost anything insane and she'd stay in her officee.
Not only stay, but encouraged to speak socialist propaganda all the more. : (
Yeah, I noticed the differnce.
She is calling for violent overthrow.
And she will stay in office more than liekly.
All Al D'amato said was 'Putz', and they were "Oh, that's HORRIBLE!" and he was out of office..
Grassroots organization working to educate Muslims and non-Muslims, fight against injustice, and benefit communities.
My husband called a little while ago, after jumpseating on a flight back to the state where his base is located. He said that right after takeoff, the Captain of the flight turned to the First Officer and said something like..."So...how many more days do you think George Bush will be in office?"
My husband said to me that unfortunately for both pilots, dh had a good amount of coffee which added plenty to the lively discussion. And fyi (surprise), the crew was based out of SFO.
What's in the water down there, darks? It is like it's not part of the United States of America, founded by George Washington and all those other patriots with spines.
Mmm... radon bearing granite substrate?
Could be.....with all the skyscrapers....wonder if it's also due, in part, to lack of sunshine? Oregon's that way to, ya know....lots of rain, little sun...they're really bad over there. : )
Maybe in the Progressive Boy Scouts, with NAMBLA members as scoutmasters.
Could be the hamster cage effect too as you mentioned.
Closed in, running in small wheels, hectic and frenzied.
Wish we could just lock 'em all in!
nite darks. see ya later. sleep well.
"Wish we could just lock 'em all in!"
Sopmeone woudl still have to clean it..
*yick*
Have a good evening as well.
See you tomorrow.
"Sopmeone woudl "
Wow.. typos got me.
"Someone would"..
*sigh*
Casey Kasem is about the only name that surprised me.
Add another one to the list of losers.
Do leftists have jobs, or do they just give themselves titles like "humorist, philosopher, actor?"
Only if it was someone that they thought was weaker and then they'd send their bodygaurd and their lawyer.
Damn I'm out of gun oil.
Frequently Asked Questions
F.A.Q. (frequently asked questions)
Note: Please note that new additions have been made within the text - 10/20
> Q: Okay, I've read your call. And I sure don't like Bush. But is it really as bad as you say?
A: No. It's probably worse. There is no doubt that there are crimes being done and plans being hatched that are beyond the ones listed in our call and beyond your imagination. On top of this, way too many people are letting themselves get lulled into a gradual acceptance of the outrages that are going on, and allowing themselves to be blinded to the actual direction of things. So it is as bad as we say and it's getting worse.
> Q: But it's not fascism yet, is it?
A: No it's not. But what's your point? That we should wait 'til it is, when it'll be much much harder to defeat? And look if all this is not bad enough for you already, if you can look at Abu Ghraib or the indefinite solitary detention of Jose Padilla solely on Bush's say-so, if you can watch the debate over whether Harriet Miers is "Christian" enough to sit on the Supreme Court, if you can do all that and more without puking and still console yourself that at least it's not fascist then something's wrong. You know it and we know it.
> Q: I don't like those things either, but it seems as if Bush is actually losing power. First there was Cindy Sheehan and falling public support for the war in Iraq, then all the anger around his handling of Katrina, and now even people in his own party are attacking him about Harriet Miers. Isn't the Bush presidency really on the rocks? Won't it just sink of its own accord?
A: No. While the Bush Regime has suffered some important political setbacks, it is like a wounded animal, most dangerous when cornered. So long as he is president, there are many ways that Bush and his regime can bounce back and re-seize the initiative. For instance, Daniel Ellsberg, the man who exposed the Pentagon Papers in the 70's and who knows quite a bit about the inner workings of the U.S. government, has warned that the Bush administration is counting on another 911 type incident to change public opinion and enable the regime to bring in a draft and a clampdown "that will make the Patriot Act look like the Bill of Rights."
On the other hand, Bush is hurting and if we don't seize the initiative now, if we don't press our advantage, if we don't all throw in and demand his ouster, if we are stupid and passive enough to allow him to regroup . . . then SHAME ON US.
> Q: But who will replace Bush? Won't it just be worse?
A: To answer the second question first, no, it won't be worse; it will be much, much better, it will be like removing a forty-pound tumor from your gut. We will be a hell of a lot closer to ending this obscene war in Iraq, to ending the American torture camps at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Bagram and who know where else, to stopping religious fanatics from deciding who makes the laws, to the right to abortion not being under imminent threat, etc. How in the world will that be worse?
And, by the way, there won't be a "President Cheney" either this movement is going to send Bush, Cheney and the rest of those fascists packing, and they can take their whole damn program with them.
What there will be is a people that have driven out a monstrous clique and are newly energized and organized and ready to take society in a much much better direction.
> Q: Yes, but what does come next?
A: Again, the first thing that "comes next" will be an energized people, in their millions, that have lifted their heads and are finally acting for basic social justice. After that, there are people in "World Can't Wait" who are working for everything from impeachment to communist revolution. And isn't debating that out a hell of a lot better than talking about "how much more can we take before we move to Canada?"
> Q: But aren't there communists in World Can't Wait?
A: Yeah, there are. Supporters of the Revolutionary Communist Party helped initiate it. They're in it because they think it's absolutely urgent to get rid of this regime, that it would both lift a huge burden from the world and would also give people a sense of their own potential power, and they think all that would open up avenues to get to the society they want. Same as a whole lot of other people in World Can't Wait which, by the way, includes Greens, Christians, Republicans, anarchists, Muslims, Jews, feminists, Democrats, pacifists, and people who claim no affiliation who also think it's urgent to drive out the Bush Regime and who also think it can help lead to bigger changes that they want in society, coming from their own viewpoints.
But to turn the question around, if you refuse to pitch in to November 2, when you know that this is what has to be done, just because there are communists in it, then you need to think about how well that worked back in Nazi Germany (when the many forces opposed to Hitler could not find the ways to unite). And how exactly would you explain your particular brand of "abstinence only" policy to a prisoner at Abu Ghraib or a teenager in Tennessee who desperately needs an abortion or someone whose mother was killed at a checkpoint near Falluja? And then after you think about that, you need to actually start working on November 2. To stand aside at this point is really unconscionable.
> Q:I've heard rumors that there'll be Anarchy in the streets on November 2. What about that?
A: This is definitely a loaded question, and barely deserves an answer. The fact is that November 2 will be a day of mass political action demonstrations and marches that reflect the gravity of the situation, the determination of the people to stop it, and the hope this action represents. People will politically express their determination to drive out this regime, coming (as the Call states) "to the downtowns and town squares and set out from there, going through the streets and calling on many more to JOIN US." As one can see from reading through the call to drive out the Bush Regime, World Can=t Wait and the events of November 2nd are NOT calling for violence and they are definitely not calling to remove the Bush regime from office by any means other than the truly massive societal rejection it will take to do so. Any attempts to say otherwise are not what November 2nd is about.
We should realize that over the past several years and as a crucial part of what must be resisted and reversed the people's right to political expression has been drastically curtailed. In New York, for example that supposed bastion of liberalism the police have, in the past few years, attacked demonstrators, penned them in, illegally held hundreds in jail for several nights before they were either acquitted or had their charges dismissed, illegally interrogated and/or otherwise intimidated them, called them "terrorists", and prevented them from gaining legal permits to rally and demonstrate.
To those spreading groundless rumors about November 2: do you realize that you're aiding that very process of criminalizing dissent? Let's be blunt here. Do you agree with the Bush Regime's push to criminalize and suppress protest? And tell us what is it that you find so objectionable in people rising to resist the whole fascist package of this regime? Do you have some love for the Patriot Act, with its measures of surveillance and spying and breakins, and with its lumping of protest and terrorism? Do you support the White House commands that people "watch what they say?"
Are you for the purging of radical and even liberal professors who speak out from the campus? And what do you think about the jailing of Jose Padilla for over three years and counting, without any charges whatsoever, on the basis that the president thinks he might be a terrorist? (Bush's words, as we remember, were, "trust me he's a bad guy.")
Enough, okay? Stop the rumor-mongering and do something to support people who are actually trying to stop this monster.
> Q: But what about the Democrats? Why can't we make them fight harder, and then vote Bush out in 2006? That sounds more realistic.
A: If you're trying to actually stop the Bush program and reverse the direction he's taking society, that's the most unrealistic plan possible. First of all, the Democrats won't win. And second, even if somehow they did win, a) they agree with the Republicans on the war and repression and many other major issues, and b) they won't challenge them on the ones they don't agree on.
And besides let's stop being like Charlie Brown, eternally hoping that Lucy won't pull the football away as we run up to kick it. Face it: if you asked this question, you've been pouring your hopes, money and energy into the Democrats for years now. And how's that been working for you?
> Q: What if this polarizes people?
A: Good. You need argument and debate in order to change people's minds. You need lines to be drawn sharply for people to get up and act and make change. You need all this to get society to move. Name any progressive change that didn't polarize people. The problem right now is that people are finding too many ways to live in the moral shadows of this regime.
The people in power right now are wreaking terrible suffering on the world and they are attempting to bring down even worse. Anyone who supports them is WRONG, and they need to learn that. The people trying to drive out this regime are doing a great thing, and they are RIGHT, and they need to start acting like it. And the people sitting on the fence are. . . well, they need to get off it. Now. To refuse to take a stand when the fate of the world is at stake is morally bankrupt and unacceptable.
> Q: Maybe you're right. But it seems so hard to take on a whole regime. Wouldn't it be better to take on one thing like the war, or torture?
A: People should righteously fight against every outrage, and we should all support such resistance. But all these outrages are part of an entire program, an entire direction, that is right now represented by these people in power and unless they are stopped, that program will not be deterred. Again, without taking anything away from those fights, we don't want to fight over deckchairs or even lifeboats on the Titanic, when we need to change the whole direction of the ship.
> Q: But you're talking about hundreds of thousands and eventually millions. Can we really get all those people mobilized? Can we really realize the vision in the Call?
A: There are millions of people who not only voted against Bush, they poured their money and time into working against him. They didn't do that because they loved John Kerry, they didn't do it because there was this or that part of Bush's agenda that they objected to they did it because they were sickened by the whole direction of this country under Bush. If anything, more people feel that way today than ever. Our Call speaks to these people; our demand is their demand. The more we've gotten this messabe out there in radio ads, with the Call, and so on the more that people have responded and stepped forward. And yes we have a lot more to do to reach the goal a hell of a lot. But if we spread the word fast enough and far enough, if we really organize with all we've got in these next two weeks, if we reach into their hearts, if we work and think and struggle like we never have before. . . then we can do it. The potential exists. It has to be realized.
And it can be. If you help make it happen. November 2 can and must be a real beginning the day that marks the beginning of the end of the Bush Regime. This CAN be done if you join in.
> Q: But "regime change" is scary.
A: Not as scary as "regime staying in power."
> Q: I just don't know. There's too much tradition in this country, too many good people, too many safeguards, for fascism to get established. I just think that it can't happen here.
A: I wonder what the good German people in 1932 thought about fascism, and then I look at what it meant to be a good German by 1935. A good German in 1935 kept his mouth shut and didn't dare say a word against the Nazi Regime. They closed their eyes as Jews, Communists, and homosexuals where dragged of to concentration camps. Are we there yet? No, but we're moving in that direction quickly and quietly. What has changed over the past five years that indicates a fascist trajectory?
We have a president that was selected rather than elected.
We are aggressively waging war on a country based on lies.
We are ignoring international laws and torturing people who may be guilty of nothing more than defending themselves.
The president select has given himself the right to detain anyone, on the merest suspicion, with no right to due process.
The president select uses medieval religious fundamentalism to determine policies on birth control, abortion, and basic rights of gays and lesbians.
A mouthpiece of Bush, David Horowitz, has spies in Universities across the country shutting down progressive teaching in the classrooms.
A mouthpiece of Bush, William Bennett, makes racist public statements that "crime would decrease if we aborted all black babies" and Bush only stated that the comment was "inappropriate."
Replacing a day of rescue after Katrina with a day of prayer, as the military hijacked all the rescue buses to "secure the territory."
Replacing AIDS education and condoms with prayer and abstanence only programs which is nothing less than genocide. This is clearly a new direction and it's moving quickly. Hitler's fascism was based on nationalism and "racial purity" Bush's fascism is based on biblical law and obedience. Even Catherine Crier, a former republican Judge in Texas, states in her book exposing the religious elements in government, "Be afraid, be very afraid." Theocrats are infiltrating some of the highest positions in government, generally through appointments made by Bush. Those in positions of power that aren't theocrats are doing nothing to stop this trajectory.
Q: But isn't your organization too negative? Don't we need to be motivating people with a positive vision and isn't saying: no torture, no lies, no theocracy, etc. too negative and won't inspire anyone?
Anyone who isn't inspired by the vision of forcing Bush to step down and take his whole theocratic global empire agenda with him has learned to accept the unconscionable. I mean really, I can just picture these people sitting on the sidelines of the abolitionist movement complaining, "Those people are so negative. All they do is talk about how bad slavery is."
WAKE UP! There is no positive vision that any of us would want to be part of that does not include driving out this criminal regime. There is no sidestepping that. That is not "negative" it is reality.
>
Certainly while we are driving this regime from power, we need to be talking about what we want to replace this regime with, and we need people with different perspectives involved in this effort. But we're not going to replace this regime with something better until we drive it from power.
* * * * *
from 9/29:
From the organizers: We think it's a great thing that the most common question is not whether we should drive out the Bush regime, but whether it's possible, how we're going to do it, and what will replace it. We appreciate your feedback as we continue this conversation.
Is this possible? How do you drive out a regime? What will November 2nd look like?
If we drive out the Bush regime, what will replace it?
> Is this possible? How do you drive out a regime? What will November 2nd look like?
In recent years, millions have spoken out, protested, refused to comply with outrageous new repressive measures, given money, voted, and more. Still, the Bush juggernaut of war, repression and hurtful fundamentalist morality has rolled ahead. All this has shown two things:
1. There are indeed tens of millions who are deeply disturbed by and opposed to the whole direction that the Bush administration is dragging our world into.
2. The will of the people means nothing to the Bush regime. The people's will must be forged into an organized political resistance which repudiates and reverses the whole direction of society, and forces Bush himself from office.
Of course, everyone wants to know exactly what steps will be taken to create a political situation where these things happen. But setting out to drive out a regime, in particular this regime, in this country has never been done before and it is not possible to say exactly what steps will be required or what its final days will look like.
The future is unwritten. Right now, we need very urgently to start writing a new chapter.
Think about this: When four young people sat in at a lunch counter in the South, they didn't know exactly what forms of struggle the Civil Rights movement would develop or how many and who would join them. When women and doctors developed networks to provide abortions and held speak-outs to make it legal, they didn't know exactly what court ruling or piece of legislation would codify this right.
They did these things because living one more day without resistance was intolerable. And, by doing what was right and not compromising, they set new terms for society, changed what was deemed possible and realistic and were able to galvanize and activate many thousands more in ways that couldn't have been predicted.
Today we are facing an unprecedented situation. The challenge is bigger, the stakes are higher, and the window of opportunity is being hammered shut rapidly. There is a moment to seize right now while public support for Bush is at its lowest and millions are seething with anger and aching with desire to affect things. The world cannot wait. The Bush regime must be driven from power. But, we must leave the comfortable ruts of familiar territory and politics-as-usual if we are to stand a chance.
Think of how many people were inspired by the uncompromising and courageous stand of Cindy Sheehan. We are in a moment when one person stepping boldly forward, pointing out that the emperor not only has no clothes, but is a lying, callous brute, can change the whole national discourse. Imagine what can happen when hundreds of thousands, on one day, refuse to bite their tongues or stay at home.
November 2nd, 2005 will be a launch of a new kind of movement, a society-wide resistance. It holds the potential to break open new space and possibilities for the struggle going forward.
November 2nd, 2005 must be a day when history starts to turn.
November 2nd will be a day when those who hate and fear the future Bush is creating will pour into the streets together, out from beneath the suffocating mandate Bush claimed last November 2nd, out of the acceptable political framework that forces people to speak in reasoned tones about compromise positions, out of the dynamic of fighting Bush's outrages one at a time constantly losing ground to the whole onslaught, out of the logic of waiting
and waiting
and waiting for someone somewhere else to say what must be said and do what must be done, while each day people grow accustomed to unspeakable crimes.
On November 2nd, in society-wide outpourings in large cities and small towns, emptying high schools and colleges and lining the highways in rural areas, buzzing through the media and provoking frank debates among families, friends and coworkers we will say: NO MORE! WE REFUSE TO BE RULED IN THIS WAY! BUSH DOES NOT REPRESENT US AND WE WILL DRIVE HIM OUT! THE WORLD CAN'T WAIT!
Everyone will be clear this outpouring is just the beginning of a new kind of movement which takes the offensive in society and really wages a pitched political battle for the whole direction of the future. The gatherings will bring together the impatience of the youth who walk out of school, with the experience of those from the 60's generation, with the stature and voices of prominent artists and intellectuals, together with the anger and perspective of those who have been hardest hit by the Bush program of repression and heightened poverty and racism. The organizers will direct participants to trade phone numbers and emails with other protesters, to start up discussion groups and book-clubs about fascism and resistance movements, building communities of resistance going forward.
By bringing together hundreds of thousands nationwide in outpourings of many sizes which become the lead story in small towns and large cities on the news that night, this day will give heart and inspiration to millions of others who are looking for a way to stop this direction and will very quickly draw them into an organized resistance. It will put a challenge to many who still support Bush, causing them to question and, for some, begin to break with a program that is not in their interests. It will also give notice to the regime and its die-hard supporters that they will not have a free-hand in reshaping the world, leaving them further exposed in the eyes of millions.
This day alone will not stop the regime, but it will introduce a whole new dynamic and will enable millions to make a big leap towards a movement that can stop it. This day will embolden individuals and groups everywhere to speak up, to defend others who come under attack, to challenge the Bushian mentality and program everywhere it pops up from the local school boards pushing intelligent design and Abstinence Only, to the pulpits promoting hurtful intolerance of gays and non-Christians, to the unjust war and continuing torture, and beyond.
November 2nd is a day for which thousands must immediately throw in all their energies and time, creativity and critical thought, connections, skills and finances to pull off on a scale that accomplishes this important beginning.
From there, further organization and planning will be required, but all of it will be in a new context and with new strength. As organizers of the World Can't Wait Drive Out the Bush Regime, we pledge to take responsibility for leading and broadening the core of those leading this all the way through. We will hold a national summit to chart our next steps, bringing to bear all the strength and momentum and lessons we have gathered and surge ahead on a higher level which impacts the terrain again nationally and internationally.
Years from now, when children want to know the character of their parents -- as they lived in a country that was normalizing torture, moving to condemn half the population to enforced motherhood or back-alley dangers, attacking science and critical thought, waging wars of preemption based on outrageous lies, snatching people off the street without lawyers or charges, and no major office-holder was making a stink they will ask, Were you in the streets that day, on November 2nd, 2005?
> If we drive out the Bush regime, what will replace it?
Our government's agenda, actions and direction are intolerable. We must act now; the future is in the balance.
What the world needs most at this moment is massive and broad political resistance to the Bush regime. We can and must bring millions of people into motion to stop and reverse the political direction the Bush regime is dragging the country and the world. We must drive the Bush regime from office.
The question of what will replace the Bush regime should be discussed and debated as we join together and work shoulder-to-shoulder toward our common political goal. There are, there will be, and there should be many diverse views on this question among us. Our unity is embodied in the Call and our main slogan, The world can't waitDrive out the Bush regime!
Answered from another angle by the World Can't Wait Youth & Students:
What is the point of the question? Are you saying that if we don't have a full vision of where society needs to ultimately go that we should not go anywhere? Are you saying that people should not unite broadly on a great need that desperately calls out to be done, by millions of people all around the planet, because people disagree about what to do once that need is met?
Let's take this outlook into other realms. Imagine being in a prison, and knowing that everyone in there, or the vast majority of people, were unwillingly there and wanted to get out. Now imagine you had a plan to break through the walls. You had a vehicle that could bust the wall open and free the prisoners, but you heard that it would take all of the people, or the majority of the inmates, to unite to operate the vehicle in order to bust through the wall, and, in order to do that, people needed to first escape their assigned duties that the guards were telling them they needed to stay within.
If you heard this plan, saw its viability, and saw, while difficult, it was reasonable, and achievable, in fact the only way to actually get out of the prison, would you say, well, f- this plan, I am not getting down if you don't know what we are going to do once we get past the walls.
THAT'S CRAZY! When the walls come down, a whole new world of possibility will open up, and we need to have talked about what we should do with the potential that does open up. But as we do so, let's not lose sight of where we are, and where we will be. And let's not lose sight of the fact that a more appropriate analogy may not be a prison, or even a plantation. A more appropriate analogy may be a ghetto, or a concentration camp. The World Can't Wait, Drive Out the Bush Regime.
Battle over Nov. 2 high school walkouts in LA
Hear from students, a school board member, and WCW organizers standing up for the right of high school students to walk-out and join protests Nov. 2nd without being harrassed or arrested by police, and without punishment from school.
From LA high school students:
RESIST OR DIE!
November 2nd marks Bushs reelection, but after 2005, it will be remembered as the beginning of the end of the Bush regime. On November 2nd thousands of people will be leaving jobs, leaving schools, and taking to the streets. This is a time to take action. What else needs to happen before we act? Go back to segregation? New Orleans, the war in Iraq, and these Supreme Court nominations are proof enough that this regime must go.
Bush is a threat to society. He is drifting society towards fascist theocracy with its roots in the Bible. Bush is letting people die in Iraq. Hes against abortion. He wants to take womens rights away. He hasnt said anything about the minutemen on the border. Hes a threat to our future.
We as high school students not only have the right to join this movement, but responsibility to do so. We are going to have high school walkouts all over the country on November 2nd.
In Los Angeles, principals and administrators are trying to stop us from doing this. At Locke, the principal threatened to expel a student because she was passing out posters telling about the genocidal comments of William Bennett and how this is part of why we have to drive out the Bush regime. At Banning, the principal forced a student to walk around the school and take down all the stickers and posters about November 2nd. Then he cancelled the speakout she was working on, which she had permission to schedule at the school. At Reseda, school police told a student she would get a $700 ticket if she walked out of school on November 2nd. And at Fairfax, some teachers started scheduling tests for November 2nd and telling students their grades would be lowered if they missed the test.
Our answer to all this is: F*ck their threats, were changing the world!
The administrators are using the same tactics as the Bush administration: fear. They are trying to scare us so well back off and not walk out or go against Bush. What are these threats compared to what Bush is doing? They are nothing.
On top of this, their own policy says we students have the right to walk out of school and the administrators are not allowed to try to stop us! This was in a memo from the Los Angeles Unified School District that was sent to all the principals on October 26, 2005. That memo should be made public to all students and parents. People should support the high school students and make sure these administrators dont try to punish any students for walking out on November 2nd.
We owe it to the millions of people that are getting tortured, getting murdered, and suffering around the world to do this. Resist or Die - it has come down to that slogan. If we dont resist right now we wont have a chance to again. Right now the future is in everybodys hands. It is up to us. The question is what kind of world do you want to live in? Will you accept everything this regime stands for? If you dont, then you must join this movement. Join the school walkouts. Join us on Wilshire Blvd. at 12 noon on November 2nd and in Westwood at the Federal Building at 5pm.
-Sara Escudero from Reseda High School and LJ from Los Angeles High School
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