I do believe, though, that we have to do something, and I am doing my best to try. What can we do but protest, at this point? How can we wage a coup (much less a war) against 2/3 of the country that has been brainwashed to believe that we are wrong and they are right?

That's why I proposed "outing" the pols using their own words. Again, there is a problem: how do you get the opposition to visit a web page, a book or an article that contains a refutation of their policies; and if you can get them there, how can you get them to read; and if they read, how can you break through the brainwashing they have received for the past umpty-odd years so that they can accept the truth?

The problem is that most people don't want to be bothered with the truth. Most are content to believe that everything is peachy-keen in the "land of the free, home of the brave," and few bother to question what is going on at all, much less listen to the rantings of those who know what is going on and are trying to stop it.

Letter-writing seems futile, writing articles seems pointless (they are generally read only by those who already agree; those who don't agree tune out the truth in order to stabilize their dreamworld mentalities), and holding demonstrations serves only to get people labeled as extremists, trouble-makers, and a general nuisance.

So, what can you do? I see only a few of options: (1) continue trying to work within the system and hope that somebody in there will wake up and begin to speak out on our behalf, (2) Have everyone who agrees with sanity move to a specified location and secede from the rest of the country, or (3) start a violent revolution. The problem with (1) is that it does not seem to work very well; the problem with (2) is that it would be difficult to decide on a location, and it would leave the rest of the country in the hands of tyrants; and the problem with (3) is that violence generally serves only to produce more violence. Heck, even if we move to another country, the U.S. has its dirty fingers in everyone else's business so much that you really can't fully escape its reach.

So, I am open to suggestions. Does anyone have a plan?

I think that 20 year Indian curse, coincidence or not, can be considered in effect. I can tell you this: that if Osama bin Laden had vowed to assassinate me I would ask Saddam Hussein for the plans for his 300-foot deep bunker in Baghdad and the cement trucks would be lining up early in the morning. Cheney will not serve four years either. Can't imagine what or who will show up next.

-Queensryche, "Operation Mindcrime"

Shrubya strings are controlled by mega BigWig entities,and bags of
letters will be filed in the circular file by the desk,or the row of
dumpsters behind the oval orifice....but that doesnt mean that it is
meaningless to supplie yet another letter,and make ones feelings
known,,and make work for the trashman...............after all,,at this
point,our options are limited.

And so we have Stage 1 of this rocket ship to Colombia complete: the House Appropriations Committee has decided to reject the facts, to reject the pleas of human rights organizations across the globe, and to reject the will of the Colombian people, choosing instead to further fund an escalation of that country's bloody civil war.

There is hope, slim as it is. First, this foreign aide package has to pass a vote by the entire House of Representatives, then it goes to the Senate. So, we have yet another round of seemingly useless letters to write to our so-called "representatives," and we will likely receive the same canned responses. You know, the ones that make little sense when sized up against our original arguments; the ones that circumvent any substantive debate regarding the issue by offering platitudes and poor rhetoric (if any actual rhetoric is involved at all) and that, worst of all, include the ever-present assumption that they have somehow satisfactorily addressed our concerns and now we must be pleased as punch that they took some of their precious time to have their clerical staff write such responses at all.

It isn't so much that our letters fall on deaf ears; it's that they rarely reach the ears of their attended addressees. So, who are we likely trying to convince when we send our letters? People who work for people in power, that's who.

Which begs the question: why write letters to our congresspersons at all?

Because the clerical staff DO read the letters, and if we are persistent and offer good arguments, some may actually begin to question the positions held by their employers.

Because the clerical staff DO have direct communication with their employers from time to time, and one may just be able to catch a congressperson's ear long enough get a sane viewpoint across.

Because, from time to time, a member of the clerical staff might have to show a letter to the congressperson in order to determine how to respond, and on these occasions a congressperson will likely come into contact with a reasonable argument.

And, perhaps most importantly, because we do get responses, and those responses can be used not only as ammunition for future letters, but for public display of attitudes held by congresspersons on important political issues.

I am currently writing a detailed response to some letters sent to me from the office of Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) for publication in narcosoft.com's Food and Drug Magazine. It is taking a while to write because I have many other things going on right now (I have just accepted a job as a visiting assistant professor of English, so I am quite busy making preparations for the upcoming Fall semester), and because I want this response to be as accurate, well-organized and detailed as possible. When it is finished, I can assure you that it will be worth the wait (I'll keep Cannabis News informed).

Many of you have web pages, and these can also be used to post the assertions and ideas expressed by our so-called "representatives." Let's use this medium to show how easy it is to poke holes in their arguments. Let's show them what a real debate looks like.

In order to do this, though, we need to take a first step and write some letters. As I said at the beginning of this post, I'm sure that nearly all of us have been writing letters for a long time now. This time, maybe we can infuse our arguments with a greater sense of purpose, knowing that we can put the letters we receive in response to good use doing something other than potty-training puppies or lining bird cages.