Not in my name…

I have been avoiding the war.

I haven’t looked because I don’t want to see. I don’t want to see the faces of the people who have died. I don’t want to feel the guilt or the shame or the sorrow. I don’t want to see this war.

I was one of the lucky few to have my ballot thrown in the trash. I say lucky because it gave me a focus, a way in which I can fight. It may be futile but I can fight, my war, my way. I can fight without the pictures or the shame. I can fight as a victim who refuses to be victimized. I can fight without a leader because I know one will come, when they see there are those who will follow, one will come.

I saw the pictures of the battle for Fallujah tonight. I saw the people dead, many lying in their beds and I don’t know what to say. I feel a need to ask why but I know there is no answer that can take away these images. It’s something I’ll have to live with now. This is why I didn’t want to see. This is why I have been avoiding the war.

Is there going to come a time when I am going to have to decide to fight, not just with words and passion but fight? I wonder. The stage is being set. I can smell it.

Have you ever been in a fight? A real life or death fight? It’s hard to describe. You have to go to a place inside of you where time stands still and as the moment spins out of control, you have to act, to hit, and to move, to hit and hit and hit until it’s over. You can’t stop; it’s as simple as that, you can’t stop.

I don’t want to fight. I walk unafraid through some of the worst sections in Cleveland, places respectable people don’t go. I’m not afraid at all. I’m ready, vigilant. I’m kind and decent but not a push-over. I helped an old man who was ashamed by his weakness, step up on a curb to go into a store yesterday. I smile at children and try to make them feel special. I give people respect even before it is earned. I don’t want to fight.

But I think the time is coming when I am going to have to. I can smell it, I can feel it in the air and read it on the faces of the people I meet and I know its coming. I’m not afraid to die. I have never been afraid to die. I don’t want to but I am not afraid.

I looked at the faces of the people that lay dead in their beds and wondered how this will stain my soul. In my land, I have the power. These deaths are as much my responsibility as the person who did the killing. Because I know, I am now responsible. Because I have seen I am responsible. I read the words from the past; they shout in my ears…

…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That 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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security…


when I read these words from the past, I know that I am responsible because I believe. And I say, not in my name.

Tell them a fights coming. Tell them. Tell them to stop I don’t want to fight. But what choice are they leaving. Tell Kerry or Edwards or whoever you think can stop this. Tell them I don’t want to fight but I will. I will hit them and hit them and not stop. It’s the way I was raised. It’s the way I live. They don’t understand people like me, you don’t understand people like me and there are a great many people like me. So tell them.

I'm going to go now and kiss my children while thier sleeping and then have a talk with Jesus. I don't know if he can hear me or what he can do, but I'm going to try anyway. I haven't tried in a long time, since I was a kid. Maybe he can help and maybe he can give those people peace. Maybe the promise of Heaven is true. I don't know. I hope so. I don't want salvation or forgiveness for my sins. They're mine and not something that I would put on any other. I can accept damnation and expect it. I just don't want to fight again.


Sincerely,
Michael Lewis

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2809350

I feel like we got Bush in the first place because the Democrats were too busy just living in 2000 and let themselves be bluffed down.

We raised the biggest GOTV effort that I have seen in my lifetime this time and they just plain old stole it.

If they could do it this time, we will NEVER have another free election, and our troops and all those nifty weapons that were supposed to be used by the good guys on the side of the people will be in the hands of Morons who think that the citizens of the US are here to die to enslave other peoples to serve THEM, with the MSM acting as a Pretorian Guard.

I really think that it is possible to stop them using the full force of a massive popular movement. We are part of it. I hope nothing else will be necessary in order to achieve our common goal.

Regards.

know what you're saying, and at the same time you stated the truth so eloquently.

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too. It's such a luxury to be an American...I mean, you really don't have to look at things like this if you don't want to. You don't have to be aware of them. You don't have to know the horror committed in the name of America, on behalf of Americans. Unless, you are a brave and caring soul who can put yourself in the shoes of those innocent Iraqi people. Any decent person ought to be able to do that. Any Christian especially.

Lately, I think of the atrocities we are committing there. I think of the war crimes that I hope to God we are tried for and found guilty of. What goes through my mind, well, many things, but mostly how did my government become so evil? And, how does a monster make amends?

So many of my fellow Americans, are buying into this war rhetoric, this Americans fighting for freedom bullshit. They either won't look or don't care about the Iraqi people. I find this so repulsive. From one human to another, how could we treat someone else this way? And America is such a bully here. Iraq is no competition to us really. We just pull out our big ugly war machines and weapons. Napalm, for instance. We are using Napalm for God's sake. The beautiful thing about living here is we don't have to know that...and we damn sure don't have to see it. I am so ashamed of my government, for this war, for our fake election, for what we are doing to the environment, for the our disregard for the animals, birds, fish...

I am so sickened that I am furious. I am close to believing that a fight is the only thing that will restore us to the better part of ourselves. Sometimes, I think, you have to take a stand and fight.You are one who knows what it means to fight and why it is necessary to fight and when.

I don't know mikelewis, I don't have an answer, yet. I have been hoping that soon I would be able to have that talk with Jesus. I will have to thaw some first I think. I have been frozen lately in the ice of this cold harsh reality called America.

It doesn't matter who we vote for, and it never did. The machines with out paper trails are what the hackers are using to control everything. the government will never let an election reform bill pass. they will keep using a computer to steal our voice forever. here is how I know this.

John Kerry won the election. the 14th amendment of the constitution clearly states that if a portion of the population is disenfranchised, each state will have it's electorate reduced proportionate to the amount of disenfranchisement. This applies to all 50 states. The People who have been disenfranchised is any one who used a paperless voting machine. the people who used machines that had a paper trail could have their votes recounted if necessary. The people who used Paperless machines could not have their votes recounted. Once the data is uploaded to the central tabulator, it is gone. there is just a select few people in control of the central tabulator. they have the liberty to decide the fate of every election. I'm talking Presidential, Senate, the house of representatives, the governors, even the mayors. in essence two or three people have taken the 14th amendment right to vote from the entire Human population.

If Kerry had any balls at all this is the argument he would use.

The Senator contends that the use of DRE voting without an audit-able paper record recording the intent of the voter denies these voters the right to vote and violates Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution and standards for fair and transparent elections. According to Section Two of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, the Senator argues that the representation for the states using DRE voting without audit-able paper records be reduced by the proportion of the population of these states.

*Using the proportion of counties using DRE voting (given by
http://www.thestandard.com/movabletype/datadigest/archives/000499.php),
rounding up to the nearest whole number, disqualifies the following numbers of electoral votes for the following states:

Alabama, 1;
Arkansas, 1;
Colorado, 1;
Delaware, 3;
Florida, 7;
Georgia, 15;
Indiana, 6;
Iowa, 2;
Kansas, 1;
Kentucky, 8;
Louisiana, 2;
Maryland, 10;
Michigan, 1;
Mississippi, 1;
New Jersey, 12;
New Mexico, 5;
North Carolina, 6;
Ohio, 2;
Pennsylvania, 3;
South Carolina, 7;
Tennessee, 6;
Texas, 2;
Virginia, 5;
West Virgina, 1;
Wyoming, 1

Note that California voters in counties using DRE voting had the right to alternatively use paper ballots. Since this does not deny any voters the right to have their votes counted, California retains all of its 55 electoral votes.

This disqualification of electoral votes reduces the total of qualified electoral votes by 109, leaving a total number of qualified electoral votes of 429. This number reduces the majority to 215 electoral votes.

Therefore, the presidential candidates receive the following qualified electoral votes:

Bush/Cheney... AL, 8; AK, 3; AZ, 10; AR, 5; CO, 8; FL, 20; ID, 4; IN, 5; IA,
5; KS, 5; LA, 7; MS, 5; MO, 11; MT, 3; NE, 5; NV, 5; NC, 9; ND, 3; OH, 18;
OK, 7; SC, 1; SD, 3; TN, 5; TX, 32; UT, 5; VA, 8; WV, 4; WY, 2

Kerry/Edwards... CA, 55; CT, 7; DC, 3; HI, 4; IL, 21; ME, 4; MA, 12; MI, 16;
MN, 10; NH, 4; NJ, 3; NY, 31; OR, 7; PA, 18; RI, 4; VT, 3; WA, 11; WI, 10

Thusly counted, the electoral college gives Bush/Cheney 206 electoral votes and gives Kerry/Edwards 223 electoral votes, giving Kerry/Edwards a majority and the presidency of the United States.

* The proportion of counties using DRE voting without a paper record to the total counties of each state does not necessarily reflect the true proportion of denied voters, but lacking data for the total votes cast for each state with DRE voting I had no alternative. I would suggest that using the actual proportion of votes cast with DRE to the total votes cast in each state for disqualifying electoral votes would result in the same winner.

My calculations were correct. If the representation in Congress falls, so do the number of electoral votes, according to Article Two, Section One.

"Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress..."
(emphasis added)


"But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state."


COMMON SENSE would tell you that equal protection means having all votes counted. BUT in Bush v. Gore the SC twisted the notion to suit its purposes just to install dubya in office. As Scalia bizarrely interpreted equal protection, it means having all votes counted in the same way with the same standards. It seems to me that Bush v. Gore actually supports your case since there are different standards for counting electronic votes and paper ballots.


The DRE machines without paper trails, when combined with the easily
compromised tabulation software, makes auditing the vote impossible. If you can't verify the votes when irregularities show problems with the tally, this effectively denies the right to vote of the portion of the population forced to use these machines. To this fact there is no argument.

Section Two of The Fourteenth Amendment is clear. Section One of Article Two of the Constitution is clear...

"...Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress..."

The Senate of the new Congress will count the votes. The DRE machines make a true count impossible, thereby effectively denying citizens of their right to vote. We haven't even figured in disproportionate number of voting machines, "lost" voter registrations, surreptitiously denied absentee ballots, voting place misdirection and a whole slew of other well-documented dirty tricks favoring the incumbent. Therefore, this situations changes the representation entitled to the States in the new Congress. Of course, I can't speak for the process by which the Congress would depose Representatives or how long this would take. However, the situation does change the number of electoral votes entitled to each State in this election.

I admit this is all a legal quagmire, but it has (constitutionally) legal merit. It also avoids issues involved in a recount which the DRE machines make impossible.

Would it fly? I don't know. I imagine it would cause quite the scene. Could the threat of losing seats lead the States to rectify obvious problems in the electoral process? Could the threat of giving up seats lead Senators and Representatives to pressure Pres. Bush to concede?

Difficulties aside, could this scenario offer the only true means for saving Democracy? You decide.


Please see full discussion here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=77190&mesg_id=77190

If Kerry does not jump on this issue, and use it to spear head election reform, we the Humans will never again have the right to vote. because the Main Stream Media is controlled by the Government, they do every thing they can to hide this information. they sing the population to sleep with stories of Scott Peterson, or a puppy down a well. they will never admit that they took our rights from us.

Arnold will be president in 08 and no matter how any one votes it will not matter. Arnold will continue Bush's pattern of global domination. he will continue dropping bombs on defenseless populations. the perpetual war will never stop.

Humans will never be able to truly explore their universe and science if we keep pumping our money into killing people. If there was ever an issue that needed to be on any ballot for any human to vote on, we need to have the right to vote yes or no on war.

Now you tell me, should I give up? should I forget this information?
should I accept the Machine as my ruler? I have figured out how to break their little game. Election reform is the only way to get our voice back but they won't let us talk about it.

EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE - Portion of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that prohibits discrimination by state government institutions. The clause grants all people "equal protection of the laws," which means that the states must apply the law equally and cannot give preference to one person or class of persons over another.

http://www.lectlaw.com/def/e027.htm

The Words of Dr. Martin L. King Jr.


I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed; we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.

I have a dream,

that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream,

that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream,

that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

The words of Dr. Martin L. King Jr.
for full text: http://www.toptags.com/aama/voices/speeches/speech1.htm

If we the Humans don't stand up now for election reform, this computer may control us forever. Should I give up????

This is the scope of what we are dealing with is it a battle that we can ever win? Do you ever want to have Kids? that is what this is about. I want our children to have a voice. I want our children to have an education. I don't want our children to be forced to kill Humans. if the elections are not reformed I don't want to bring children into this world at all. I suspect that there are a lot of people who feel this way.

This is why the administration is spending 3.5 million dollars to teach Abstinence only sex ed. this is why they are trying to outlaw abortion. this is why they are trying to out law homosexuality. They are farming us. farming fresh bodies to drive their war machine. this is why they produce violent video games they are programing our children to kill each other.

Should I give up??? Now that I have finally opened my eyes and Witnessed reality first hand should I give up????? You say the word, and I will forget this issue, but don't expect me to ever want children. I am sorry that this is the way I feel, but I can't bare the thought that my children will be slaves just as I am.

But I understand the feeling. It's like, all our lives I've heard about the words & actions & vision of the Revolutionary heroes. And I've always felt awed & humbled by their willingness & resolve to sacrifice their lives & fortunes -- these 13 raggedy colonies against powerful England.

"Give me liberty or give me death"? I've always taken it -- liberty -- so much for granted. Now I feel like for the first time I really understand.

and they were the Revolutionary heroes. I will do whatever is necessary for freedom from tyranny.

Not in my name. Not in theirs.