<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">It's "old politics" and "business as usual" if it's two-party politics.<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"><DIV>Forget trying to find people to dump tea in the harbor. Just see if you can find people who will pledge to vote third party and not back down as we in the GP did in both of the last two elections. (The old boys and the wise guys are still snickering over that coup.)</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Andrea<DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On Sep 2, 2007, at 9:52 AM, <A href="mailto:alexcathy@aol.com">alexcathy@aol.com</A> wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Dear Friends, <BR> <BR> </FONT> <DIV>I do not necessarily agree with all the far-out stuff posted on Alex Cockburn's web site, <A href="http://www.counterpunch.com" title="www.counterpunch.com">www.counterpunch.com</A>, and I do not necessarily agree with everything </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV>that Jeff Gibbs says in this essay. But I sho' nuff do understand how he feels when he says: "I am tired of protests." Already my e-mail inbox is filling up with a new round of announcements from International A.N.S.W.E.R. gushing about "all out' for a fresh round of protests this fall.<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Please! <BR> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT><BR> <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG>Posted on CounterPunch, August 31, 2007</STRONG><BR> <A href="http://www.counterpunch.com/gibbs08312007.html"><STRONG>Why I am Not Going to the Protest</STRONG></A><BR> <STRONG>by Jeff Gibbs</STRONG> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>I am not going to the protest. I am tired of protests: they don't stop wars. Not protests that are mostly about sign waving and hooking up with friends and strangers and feeling the solidarity and then going back to work or school on Monday. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.</DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>Sure it FEELS rebellious, these government-permitted, media-ignored, totally predictable rituals-but come on, going to an anti-war protest hasn't been rebellious since Abbie Hoffman coughed up a fur ball at one in 1968. And in the context of the war on our civil liberties envisioned by Clinton/Reno and executed by your nemesis George W. Bush, they are very, very happy to have you protest and take your name and number. Or force you into a field, or a waiting pen to be locked away until they decide to let you out.</DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>Personally I am tired of marching alongside people wearing masks and carrying signs about stupid Bush when we and everyone we know put together have not been smart enough to stop him. And the Bush bashing only makes the whole parade, err, protest look juvenile to the rest of the world.</DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>Here is what I propose: let's stop messing around. No more anti-war. Let's stop the war. No more protest, unless it is part of some huge thing that doesn't involve business as usual the next day. How do you stop the war? Shut 'er down. No more business as usual. . . </DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>One of the reasons why I joined the Green Party was because going Green represented a public declaration of my refusal to participate in "business as usual," that is, lobbying, begging, and pleading with corporate Democrats to give us fifteen minutes of their precious time. I think part of the reason why the GP has not taken off as much as we migth have expected is that a lot of Greens still think of the GP as another "protest" group instead of a political party and a surprising number of Greens still have a sentimental soft spot for their friendly local neighborhood Democratic Party Hack. I see this a lot in inner-city neighborhoods when it's the friendly local neighborhood Democratic Party Hack of Color.</DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>I say: No More of Old Politics and the Old Business as Usual! </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>In the cities; in the suburbs; in the little towns; in the rural counties; in the 'Blue' states; and in the 'Red' states.<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">My rant has also been posted at: <A href="http://www.greencommons.org/node/776">http://www.greencommons.org/node/776</A> <BR> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><BR> <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT> </DIV> <BR> <DIV class="AOLPromoFooter"> <HR style="margin-top:10px;"> Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free <A href="http://o.aolcdn.com/cdn.webmail.aol.com/mailtour/aol/en-us/index.htm?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000970" target="_blank">AOL Mail</A>!<BR> </DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">_______________________________________________</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">sosfbay-discuss mailing list</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="mailto:sosfbay-discuss@cagreens.org">sosfbay-discuss@cagreens.org</A></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="http://lists.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/sosfbay-discuss">http://lists.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/sosfbay-discuss</A></DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>