We worked to elect John Kerry, and they stole Ohio anyway.
We marched in DC and around the country and were ignored by the US news media.
We watched New Orleans drown, watched Kanye West eviscerate Bush’s racist response to helping its victims on national TV, and watched as all the anger at the Republicans disaster capitalism approach to rebuilding the white sections of that great city while poor, black people were shuffled off to rotting, stinking, toxic FEMA trailers dissipated in the utter failure of our media to cover this continuing flawed and evil conservative social experiment which is destroying lives while a few wealthy individuals and corporations (Halliburton, Blackwater, Bechtel) make a killing.
We did what we were told and voted in a Democratic Congress in 2006, and our esteemed Dem Leaders, now nominally in charge, have sat on their hands, to afraid to take a stand against Bush’s War, which he escalated with their tacit approval, despite all their rhetoric to the contrary.
We’ve watched as our economy spirals into crisis, gas prices soar, and our friends and neighbors lose their homes to foreclosures while Congress spends all of its time preening for face time with David Petraeus.
We need to try something else. Something new. A movement not tied to the political fortunes of one party, or one candidate. A movement that can tap into the underlying dissatisfaction with our corrupt and failed political situation. I don’t know what that something should be, but maybe these people do:
In other words we need a General Strike.
(cont.)
It seems that our pleas for an end to the Iraq war, universal health care, and trying to stop the permitting of Mexican truckers free reign of our nations highways has fallen on deaf ears. So what can we do? We can organize and start a nationwide work stoppage. It seems to work in other countries of the “free” world. It would require first the support of the Longshoremen’s union and the Teamsters union and any other unions that would want to give support. Any others would be more than welcome to join the protest. No riots in the street. No civil disobedience. Just don’t go to work. Call in sick if you must, but just don’t be there.
…
We’ve marched by the millions across this country to stop the Iraq War since 2002, and the Administration and Congress will not listen; We’ve petitioned for universal health care, and yet our President vetoed a Bipartisan Bill expanding the sCHIP program, which would have ensured health care for millions of America’s less advantaged children; This Administration has let the Post-Katrina Gulf Coast, particularly New Orleans, to fend for itself and/or rot away; We asked for our ports and borders to be secure, and yet the President vetoed a bill that would fully fund the 9/11 Commission recommendations, and offered to sell our ports to Dubai; They oversaw the biggest Real Estate and Credit Scam in the History of the Free Market System, and have bankrupted the Country. The list goes on and on. It’s time we put a stop to the insanity, and since they don’t listen when we take to the streets by the millions on a weekend, we believe that it is time that we leave our workplaces on a Wednesday. If we stop the wheels of their Industry, maybe they’ll start paying attention and listening to us.
This is one protest that truly requires no effort– just call in sick and stay home. Truckers, Teachers, Professors, Garbage Men, Engineers, Stagehands, Electricians, Plumbers, Landscapers, Laborers, Welders, Autowokers, Government Servants, Cashiers, Housekeepers, Hospitality Workers, Grocery Employees, Security Officers, Linemen, Longshoremen, everyone.
Write letters to your Local Unions. Talk about it at your local bar/pub, at the gym, at the barbecue, anywhere and everywhere appropriate, and get buzz rolling. Organize. It starts down here with us, not some monied org with a sidebar agenda. We don’t need to go anywhere. We don’t need to spend anything. Just stay home. We believe that October 17th would be a great day. The 25th Anniversary of The Solidarity Movement protests and strikes that shut down Poland, and brought down Communist/Soviet rule. We all need a day off… why not take it off together?
Pass the Word. Email your family and friends and anyone on your email list. Send them this link. And here’s something else you can do on the third Friday of every month beginning September 21st:
The THIRD FRIDAY of every month beginning Friday September 21st
Join with millions to:
* Wear and distribute black ribbons and armbands
* Buy no gas on Moratorium days
* Pressure politicians and the media
* Hold vigils, pickets, rallies, and teach-ins
* Hold special religious services
* Coordinate events in music, art, and culture
* Host film showings, talks, and educational events
* Organize student actions: Teach-ins, school closings, etc.The slow motion train wreck that is the occupation of Iraq grows more nightmarish by the day. In 2006 the American people voted to bring it to an end. But the political process is moving glacially at best. We must force the media and the politicians to recognize just how angry and how massive anti-war sentiment in this country has grown.
It’s time for the Iraq Moratorium.
The Iraq Moratorium will be an escalating, monthly series of actions demanding an end to the war. Commencing Friday, September 21st and continuing the Third Friday of every month thereafter, we will make a break with business as usual.
Time to stop pretending our “leaders” will lead us out of this disaster. Time to get involved and take direct action, whether that’s wearing an armband, calling in sick to work on October 17th, or something more. Do whatever you can. Because unless we lead the way, the politicians will stay happily wrapped in their Beltway cocoon, blissfully debating measure that never get anywhere, telling us to be patient, and allowing Bush to ignite the next war with Iran, all while our country and its people suffer.
Enough is enough.
Ps. Please feel free to reprint/republish this blog post wherever, whenever and however you wish.
