Send Your Congressmen & Sentators A Letter Objecting To A War Against Iran

Here's the letter suggested/shared by Jeremy Hier:

October 2, 2007

The Bush Administration is on track with its plans to attack Iran before George Bush Jr. leaves office in 18 months.

Unfortunately, few Americans think this is probable, let alone possible.

It is both.

I agree with Scott Ritter and Daniel Ellsberg (of "The Pentagon Papers" fame) that this attack will have negative consequences on the world and American citizens far in excess of 9/11 and the Iraq War.

It could very well be the final nail in the coffin of American democracy.

With that in mind...

Here are some facts to share with your friends and colleagues about the Iran situation to stop this war before it starts:

*** Reality check

The Bush propagandists are hard at work trying to draw a comparison between Nazi Germany and Iran.

There are a few major problems with their fairy tale.

For example:

1. Modern Iran has no history of military aggression

Fact: Iran has never invaded or attacked another country in the Middle East or elsewhere.

In contrast, the US has savaged Iraq causing the death of over 600,000 civilians since 2003 alone.

In the summer of 2006, Israel bombarded Lebanon in a "search for terrorists" killing over 1,000 civilians and causing billions of dollars in damage to the country's infrastructure (airport, ports, roadways, housing, and factories.)

In 1980, the US encouraged its ally Saddam Hussein to attack Iran and he did with terrible consequences for the Iranian people.

2. Who has nukes?

Facts:

a. Iran has no nuclear weapons
b. Iran lacks the ability to create nuclear weapons
c. Iran is permitted by international treaty to develop
a nuclear energy program.

In contrast, the US has the largest nuclear weapons stockpile on earth and has stated, under the Bush administration, its "right" to use them "pre-emptively" at President Bush's discretion. The US continues to develop new and "improved" nuclear weapons.

Israel has a well developed nuclear weapons program and is the only nuclear power in the Middle East.

3. The US attacked Iran in the 1980s using Iraq as a surrogate

Saddam Hussein, who was put in power by the US, was supported in his invasion of Iran with billions of dollars in US weapons shipped to him by Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. and coordinated
by people including Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney.

Over 300,000 Iranians were killed in this US-funded war and over 500,000 were wounded.

It was during the US supported-Iraq attack on Iran that the US transferred chemical and biological weapons technology to Iraq. There is evidence that the Bush family commercially
profited from these arms exports.

4. The US installed and maintained a tyranny in Iran that operated from 1953 to 1979.

In 1953, the US and CIA with help from the UK engineered a violent overthrow of the country's democratically elected government and then supported a brutal, anti-democratic dictator in Iran - the
so called "Shah of Iran" - who jailed thousands of dissidents and engaged in vicious torture.

*** Military considerations

1. Iran is the 18th largest country in the world by size - the area of the UK, France and German combined.

2. Iran has over 70 million people - three times the population of Iraq

3. The Iranian military

Unlike Iraq, which lost a war with the US in 1990 and was militarily attacked non-stop up to the US invasion in 2003, Iran has had approximately 20 uninterrupted years to build and refine it defense capacity

4. Iranians are as patriotic about their country as Americans are about theirs and will stand and fight
as they proved when attacked by Iraq in 1980.

When fighting Iraq, Iran used every human and material recourse it had including "human waves"
of poorly armed and equipped suicide troops who overcame the Iraqis with their sheer numbers.

We have 160,000 troops in the region. The Iranians have 70,000,000 people and they will be fighting
on their home turf for their homeland.

5. Invaders are always at a disadvantage no matter how technologically advanced.

Invaders who have a supply line many thousands of miles long are at an extreme disadvantage.

6. Iranian tactics and operations are up-to-date and formidable.

Iranian-trained militias in Lebanon were able to counter an all out attack on Lebanon by the
US-equipped Israel army and air force and compel the Israelis to retreat and agree to a cease-fire.

7. Potential Iranian responses to a US attack

Iran in a counterattack has the option of:

a. closing the Straits of Hormuz (through which over 20%
of the world's oil passes),
b. attacking Israel, and/or
c. attacking US military installations in Iraq

None of these operations would be difficult or expensive to carry out.

However, the financial and human consequences could be extreme.

Oil, already at $80 a barrel could, according to Wall Street analysts, hit $200 per barrel - or more - with a doubling of current gasoline prices.

Thousands of civilians and military personnel could be killed and wounded in a matter of days.

*** Is war with Iran possible?

Yes.

1. Bush has the legal authority

Bush secured the legal authority to attack any country any time for any reason post 9/11 and pre-Iraq invasion. Congress has never taken this power back from him.
They need to do it. NOW.

2. The troops, weapons and plans needed are already in place

The so called "surge" has put many extra thousands of US troops and equipment into the region. (For the geographically challenged Iran is right next to Iraq.)

3. The propaganda war has already started

A very well funded and well organized propaganda operation - Freedom's Watch - staffed by former
Bush administration officials has set up in Washington DC with a multi-million dollar budget to "sell" war with Iran to the American people.

Sadly, they are doing an excellent job and few Americans are aware of how they are being conned
(again.)

*** Who benefits from attacking Iran?

The people who will benefit from an attack on Iran are very same people who benefited - and continue to benefit - from the invasion of Iraq:

1. Oil companies - the price of their product will skyrocket

2. Weapons makers - including the Carlyle Group, which the Bush family owns a major stake in.

3. Virulent Anti-Muslim and Arab zealots in Israel and elsewhere - and the idiots in America who support them

4. Insiders with the financial resources place "bets" on the war: buy gold, buy oil, short the US dollar etc.

5. Anti-democratic forces in the United States

About this last point...

Starting with the Reagan administration and continuing unabated through the Clinton administration and accelerating after 9/11, the executive branch of the United States government has methodically been:

1. Destroying traditional rights and protections guaranteed to US citizens by the Constitution

2. Creating a police state apparatus designed to silence and suppress dissent with maximum force.

Simply by declaring you an "enemy combatant" or someone who "supports" a declared enemy, you can be arrested and held without charge indefinitely and without the right to counsel.

This means that should the Bush administration engage in a war of naked aggression against Iran openly killing thousands of innocent Iranian civilians with bombardment, including nuclear attacks, the very act of speaking out about the immorality of such an attack could land you in jail
for the rest of your life or until such time the President of the United States decides to release you.

Does this sound improbable?

It's not.

Imagine this possible scenario.

The US attacks Iran.

Iran counterattacks hitting Israel and US troops in Iraq.

Underestimating the capacity of the Iranians to defend themselves, the US finds its troops pinned
down in Iraq by a military that is capable of killing them by the thousands.

What would the US do if, in yet another Bush blunder, Bush put thousands of US troops at
the immediate risk of being killed?

How would the average uneducated American, coming late to the story, react to the news that
hundreds of US servicemen and women were being killed daily?

Would this give Bush the green light for what this administration has been creating the
military doctrine for: a unilateral, first strike nuclear attack?

You bet it would and in the perverse world of the Bush family and its allies, it's possible they
may welcome the chance to finally let that particular genie out of the bottle.

Bottom line:

Once a military attack against Iran gets started, there is no imaginable positive outcome and potential negative outcomes are worse than anything any of us have seen in our lifetime.

For example:

* The reputation and moral standing of the US, which has already been smeared by the blatant criminality of the Bush administration, will be ruined, perhaps beyond repair

* Thousands of civilians and troops - perhaps tens or even hundred of thousands - could be killed or
wounded. There could be casualties in ONE DAY that dwarf all the casualties in Iraq since the invasion.

* The world economy will be thrown into a tailspin and the US economy, the world's most dependent
on oil, will be hit especially hard.

* Underlying financial instability caused by a culture of corruption and fraud (Enron, WorldCom, sub-prime mortgages etc.) will be further strained perhaps to the breaking point.

* China and Russian, two very formidable potential enemies with human, natural and technological
resources equivalent to the US, may decide (if they already haven't) that they need to join forces
to "check" US power and may begin to do so in an aggressive way.

Again, this is all great news for the oil companies, the weapons makers, the anti-Muslim and Arab zealots, the opponents of civil rights and the Constitution and plugged in Wall Street operators.

It will be a disaster for American citizens.

Disasters for average Americans is what the Bush family has been about for four generations now:

1. The great grandfather *Samuel Bush* was Woodrow Wilson's liaison to the weapon's industry and profited mightily in that role. He was one of a handful of architects "present at creation" of the modern military-industrial complex which has steadily bled the US financially and morally for private
profit for decades.

2. The grandfather *Prescott Bush* was US banker to the Nazis, helping them before, during, and after World War II with their financial operations.

3. Bush Sr. was behind the Iran-Contra operation which illegally sent arms to Iran and siphoned
the profits for personal gain and to fund terrorist operations in Central America. He also worked
with the Bin Laden family and others to fund the so called Afghani resistance which became the Taliban and al Queda.

4. And finally, George W. Bush, who in seven years has done more lasting harm to to the United State than any group of external enemies, real or imagined, could ever do.

Undermining fundamental America values and strengthening US enemies been a lucrative business
for the Bush Family for four generations now.

*** Action items to stop the coming war

Let your friends and colleagues - and the media and your local representatives know that:

1. You don't buy the Bush administration's anti-Iranian propaganda

2. A war against Iran would be potentially catastrophic, much worse than the current disaster in Iraq

3. Advocacy for this war as practiced by Bush administration front groups like Freedom's Watch
is against American interests and needs to be exposed
4. Bush needs to have the war powers granted to him
post 9/11 taken away and taken away now.

Sincerely,

Name
Address

==================

Click here to visit WikiCongress to send this letter.

Union Leader Up To It's Old Tricks: Censoring Ron Paul Comments

A New Hampshire state Senator's rant against Ron Paul in the Union Leader has disappeared, leaving the odd spectacle of virtual firestorm of rebuttals to a comment that no longer exists.

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Editor's Note: We are saving the comments posted on the Union Leader's website for the benefit of We The People.

YOUR COMMENTS

The voices of UnionLeader.com readers: To join UnionLeader.com's discussion of the news, use the form below.

Ron Paul & Abortion: Dr. Paul is unequivocally prolife. His very own platform (see his web-site) indicates that he has "authored legislation (HR 1094) that seeks to define life as beginning at conception." He has also filed legislation that would remove federal court jurisdiction over state abortion laws. (HR300) Coupling these two pieces of legislation, Roe v. Wade would be obviated, and all unborn life protected. And to those who suggest that this contradicts libertarian principles, one might consider that life is a fundamental prerequisite for anyone to enjoy liberty!
- Joe Geiger, Merrimack

Michael, Wow, you are pretty good at throwing out wild accusations and pejoratives with no substantial backing to them. I've served 12 years active duty in the Air Force as a pilot and a Professor at the Air Force Academy (after getting my PhD). I flew combat operations in support of Iraq, Bosnia, and Somalia. I'm active in the NH GOP, and have been a Republican since I started voting. I wholeheartedly support Ron Paul after getting very familiar with his voting record, and meeting him several times. I think I'm a far cry from a loon (although there are some loons swimming on the lake I live on). Ron Paul was one of only four Congressmen to support Ronald Reagan's initial bid for the Presidency because he valued principle over party loyalty. He was right then, and he is right today. Bush has given us the biggest entitlement increase since LBJ. It's time to take the party back to the principles of Reagan, Goldwater, Taft, Jefferson, and Washington. The NH GOP got creamed because the National party strayed from these principles. It's time we return to them nationally, and here in NH.
- James R Forsythe, Strafford, NH

Jane in Bedford: Ron Paul is about as much of a legitimate Republican as Lyndon LaRouche was a legitimate Democrat. He's not. Like Lyndon, he's attempting to steal the party label for his own twisted philosophy. Libertarians are insidious in that they lie to Republicans by telling them they want a "smaller" government just like them when in fact they want to destroy the government. To be fair, Ron Paul probably wants to destroy just the federal government, but many of his followers - whom I've had the displeasure of speaking with - want ALL government to shrivel up and die. There's a word for that: ANARCHY. No, thanks, loons.
- Michael, Manchester

This man is is a real threat to the enemies of our Constitution. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
- Leonard Spade, Woodland Hills, CA

If you are going to change your party to Republican to vote for Ron Paul- the deadline is October 12th,2007. For both New Hampshire AND New York. Do It now people-it is only a week and 5days away! Doit-doit-doit. Now Now Now Great article by the way-
- LibertySilver, Buffalo NY

My wife and I brought our baby to see Dr. Paul in Manchester. My wife was a democrat, and I was a republican. But party lines are foolish. It's the message that's important. For those of us without political agendas who only seek to make America a place in which our children can be proud to live, Ron Paul is the only option. Being there with hundreds of New Hampshire residents was very powerful. I just hope more of us can learn about the message of Dr. Paul.
- Jim Carrigan, Barrington

Fred Thompson--A CONSERVATIVE?! Josh in Manchester, Ron Paul is the ONLY candidate to get an A+ rating from the NRA and an the GOA! Fred is "ok" by their standards, but doesn't hold a stick to Ron on gun advocacy. Oh, and what about when Fred lobbied for pro-abortion groups working at his former law firm? He's also be wishy-washy on his stance on same-sex marriage (just make up your mind, Fred). I honestly don't think Fred is a bad guy, but PLEASE don't refer to him as a "real conservative." His stint in Hollywood has obviously had quite an impact on his politics. Time and time again, Ron has been referred to (from outside of his own campaign) as "the most conservative member of Congress." And yet he balances that with a "live free or die" complimentary message as a Constitutionalist. I would think folks up in NH would be in TOTAL support of Ron, given this message!
- JeffnDallas, Dallas

Bob said, "Michael has it correct. this man would create chaos. Basically he is using the republican party as his spring board." Well my answer to this would be, yes, he's running as a republican because he's a republican in the truest sense. Have you checked the platform lately? Isn't every candidate, even the rinos using the GOP as a springboard? Do you oppose that? "Then he tries to bring together anti war folks with anti tax folks with anti government folks, have I left anyone out?" Traditionally republicans are for less government and taxation, why is that so strange? "No one like war, everyone hates taxes, but reasonable people know that sometimes you have to defend your country and some how you have to pay for government services that just about everyone demands. And governments first responsibility is police and fire proctection, support your first responders." And Ron does too. "Do you remember 9-11? these folks gave their very lives for the proctection of our citizens, good grief! There are other candidates in this race that have a reasonable approch to government pick one of them and move forward..." Yes, and if you want real change, pick someone who will give it to you. I don't know why you people love to trot out '911' like it was some magical pill against all that you oppose... FACTOID: Out of 29 republicans at the Luntz focus group on Sept. 5th, not ONE approved of the UN. Which candidate do you think would REALLY help us wean ourselves from this albatross? Why is there such a disconnect between what people know is wrong and who are the people that are really on their side?
- Jane Aitken, Bedford

I have to say that I was very impressed by the rally, and my wife I drove 6 hours to get there. I estimated the crowd at 1000-1500 based on the fact there were about 50 people in the front row, and about 30 rows. Anyway, I have been so disgusted by the neocon control of the Republican Party that I actually left the party a few years back. I am so pleased that Dr. Paul gives us TRUE CONSERVATIVES the opportunity to take our party (and our nation) back from the special interests and the oil powers.
- Steve Martin, Amity, Maine

First thank you to the Union Leader for it column it was great . I was also at the rally Saturday and also did the walk and was overwhelmed by the support of the people who's doors i canvassed.I must say the people of New Hampshire are the most passionate people i have meet thank you for for the kindness you have shown. Now a couple of facts about Ron Paul from all i have been told each quarter all fund raise are matched by the government but it has been said that Ron Paul has turn that down and continue to turn that down I would say Ron Paul shows the integrity of a true leader since he refuses to take advantage of tax payers money he is doing all this threw his own money and thru his supporter. As a matter of fact in one week Ron Paul was able to drum up a little over one million dollars true campaign dollars from his supporter this has to say allot for our next president .The revolution has start let freedom Raine
- J J Martin, Middletown CT

Ron Paul is the GOP's best chance to win next year because he takes a away the key issue -- the War in Iraq. Unlike any other presidential candidate, Republican or Democrat, he voted against the war. If it comes down to Ron Paul and Hillary, the American people will have choice between Small and Big Government.
- James Cooke, Brookfield, Mass

What I find the most facinating about Ron Paul's message is the fact that it is always morally right (it is never justified to initiate force) yet it always works. Everything that our government does that is based on coersive force always leads to unintended consequences that are worse than the problem it intended to solve. Prohibition, welfare, foreign interventionism, and drug wars are just the tip of the iceberg. The only unarguable, legitimate function of government is to protect people and their property from threat and aggression by others. Everything else is highly suspect because it means the government is the aggressor. What a breath of fresh air to hear Ron Paul's principled yet pragmatic stand spreading like wildfire.
- Steve Ryan, Newburyport

Methinks Mr. Paul is in for some tough sledding here in a state where the socialists have even managed to oultlaw smoking in privately owned drinking establisnments. The Live Free or Die motto has already been dead an buried here.
- rick b, nottingham

Michael, Bob, and other public SERVANTS I vote. I will be voting in NH. I live in the state of NH. I will make sure others vote. We will vote in ALL the races. Get it? ;) Ron Paul 2008 Who are YOUR constituents? Answer: We ALL are.
- Lou, Peterborough

Dear James in Amherst, if Paul had support in THIS state, he wouldn't need outsiders. Many Dems are doing this too, as is Rudy. That's not how it works here. I see the loons posted this article's link to a Libertarian chat board and they're dutifully marching over here to praise the Great Leader. These lemmings have no idea what the Constitution says, only what they THINK it says. They hope to turn the clock back to the 1800s, but the Constitution is a poor instrument for that task, and is not a document for Luddites. Bob Letourneau is right - this dangerous anarchist and his crew of provocateurs would be a disaster for the NH GOP. It's ironic that these 9/11 consipracy theorists are hijacking the Republican Party for their own purposes.
- Michael, Manchester

If I may address John Edward Mercier's post, Dr. Paul does not support Federal legislation opposing abortion. Though he personally is not in favor of abortion, he believes that each state should pass its own legislation with regard to this matter. This would, of course, be in keeping with the Constitution which advocated states' rights.
- Marilyn A. Guinnane, Sebastopol, CA

Michael from Manchester, the people from Connecticut, Mass, and Canada came to NH to knock on people's doors, and to spread the word. Since Ron Paul is a threat to the other candidates the mainstream media isn't giving him any attention. You are only one citizen in NH. You cannot possibly speak for the rest of the state. To label his supporters as "whacked out", "conspiracy theorists" who say that they "want to overthrow the government" is your own opinion, and it's an opinion that you're trying to push on other people. Most likely in an attempt to keep people from looking into Ron Paul's stances. Trying to discredit someone without any real facts (as you have) is the lowest form of ignorance.
- James, Amherst NH

Is there any one person who could say the quality of their life wouldn't be better if the IRS did not exist and a more "FAIR TAX" replaced it? Take a good look Dr Paul is not the only candidate on the side of good reason. Greg Barrett 65 West Merrimack St.
- Greg Barrett, Manchester

He wants limited government, but wants laws against abortion. Isn't this like a liberal saying I like the First Amendment, but want the Second subverted? And why is the IRS and Fed the scapegoats for a dysfunctional Congress? Does Dr. Paul understand the limits of Presidential powers, or does he intend to be all three branches at once?
- John Edward Mercier, Belmont

At last. Finally, in my 73rd year, there is a presidential candidate that makes sense, has values and is honest. Halleljah!
- Don Stacey, Beverly, MA

Finally!! A candidate that has captured my interest. Somebody saying something real. Somebody giving something more than lip service to the word freedom. For a change, somebody running for President that would represent the people rather than just big money! Sounds good so far. Now if he can become a household name?!
- T Porter, Raymond

In response to Bob Letourneau: Defending the country is one thing. What do the actions we've taken in Iraq have to do with defending our country? Did Congress ever make a declaration of this war? Were weapons of mass destruction ever found? Was any reason ever given for our invasion of Iraq found to be credible or verifiable? As well, correct me if I'm wrong, but police and fire departments are not paid for with federal money. To say that we would no longer have police and fire protection without the IRS is a fallacy. Let's face it. The IRS takes our money, and an absolutely astronomical percentage of that money is used to intervene in countries where we don't belong. People are tired of this. What's more, another huge chunk of cash goes every year to Israel, which with its own cache of weapons, including nukes, is quite capable of defending itself. But we continue to send OUR money to them, thereby putting OURSELVES in danger from those who are outraged at our obvious bias.
- Savannah, Chicago

Candidate Ron Paul’s support of the our Constitutional Republic and specifically the second amendment is why Gun Owners of New Hampshire awarded him a live membership. He is the right man to be the next president for all the right reasons.
- Ken Blevens, Bow

Wow, Bob, how do you deduce from this article that anyone is talking about not supporting police and firefighters? Way to follow Giuliani's lead and use 9/11 as political leverage even when it has nothing to do with the subject at hand. It's ok to think for yourself, you know. Do you honestly think getting rid of the income tax would cut services in this country? Here's a little economics for you- no income tax equals more disposable income per household, equals more consumption, equals a healthier economy, equals more corporate profits, equals more taxable corporate profits (the LEGAL taxes as intended), equals essentially the same government income. But, you just keep eating the bull they feed you. It's much easier to give them your money and not think about the real reasons why. And Michael from Manchchester- Are all Mitt supporters flip-flopping Mormons? Are all Hillary supporters gay? Are all Giuliani supporters tied to the mob? Ignorance of the type you've demonstrated in your response is the reason this country elects idiots like George W. or cronies like Hillary into office.
- Jay, Manchester NH

Mr. Bob Letourneau , who does not identify himself as the NH State Senator who has endorsed Mitt (Flip-Flopper) Romney, should surely know that the Income Tax does not pay for local Fire and Police protection. Either "Bob" is uneducated or is trying to mislead people. I would also like "Bob" to explain how invading a 3rd world country like Iraq was was somehow "defending" our country. Ron Paul is the strongest defender our our lliberties and our Great Constitution!!
- Jason Howard, Dover

I like to think of myself as a perfectly reasonable man, and I'll be voting for Dr. Paul. I think many of the other commenters underestimate both the power of Dr. Paul's message and the strength of his support. There's nothing wacko about limiting the federal government to the size outlined in the Constitution, and the vast majority of Americans want the US military out of Iraq pronto. Dr. Paul's appeal lies in the fact that he is a principled, reasonable man, who is running this campaign not for personal gain, but out of a sincere desire to see the people of America succeed.
- Ed Green, Manchester

Union Leader - thanks for the great coverage. I'm ready to renew my subscription now that you have started to cover Dr Paul. Senator Letourneau - Police and Fire are funded through local tax dollars, not through the federal government. To insinuate that Ron Paul would somehow get rid of this function of government is very misleading, and completely inaccurate. All Ron Paul wants to do is apply the NH brand of conservatism to Washington - limited government, fiscal responsibility, and following the Constitution. It's sad to see resistance to this in the NH GOP, since these adherence to these principles is what has made NH great.
- James Forsythe, Strafford, NH

I was in attendance and thought the rally was well organized and I had a great time meeting other Ron Paul supporters. I want to thank your paper for such an accurate account of the day.
- James Tsika, Bridgewater, Ma.

Bob, C'mon, let's be honest. There's nothing 'reasonable' about going with the status quo. It requires no reasoning to go with what already exists; indeed, it takes no thinking at all. If the dangerous downhill slide of the current status quo is what you want, then simply tell people to close their eyes and ears and vote for Puppet A, B or C. If you want real, positive change and improvement that is squarely based on honorable principles that founded this country, then the only choice you have is Ron Paul.
- Robert, Concord

The people of this country have been neoconned for more than 18 years now. If rudymcromney or hillobamaedwards are elected/selected then expect more of the same if not worse. Ron Paul is all about "live free or die" and he has my support.
- Russell Buote, Epsom

Ron Paul has thousands of supporters here in New Hampshire! Traditional Republican values are making a comeback here and it's only because of how far we have strayed from our principles in the GOP that we have lost so many recent elections. Advocating for the restoration of our liberty and restraining government actions is why Ron Paul is doing so well here. There were 700 people at this rally. I have to wonder why the Union Leader only quoted supporters from out of State.
- Andy, Manchester, NH

The founding fathers wrote the Constitution to protect citizens from being tyrannized by their government. Dr. Paul never votes for, nor proposes legislation, unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution. It is a horrific day when American citizens refer to supporters of the founding fathers as wackos. They must truly be turning in their graves.
- Maureen Karpf, Manchester, NH

I went to the event and the outpouring of energy and excitement was moving and the turnout was incredible - most people I talked to were estimating 500-600 people. Ending the IRS would bring the same economic advantage and boom we have seen in NH to the rest of the nation. Sales for businesses would rise, new businesses would open en masse, lowering unemployment and increasing wages for all. When we need to defend our nation as in WW2, people will do everything they can to help, as they did then. If that happens, Ron Paul would be the first to defend us.
- James Maynard, Temple

Ron Paul just took in over $1,000,000 in campaign donations in less than one week, and the donations are still pouring in. For his real-time donation meter, see his campaign website. http://www.ronpaul2008.com/ Ron Paul has supporters all over the world, and YES, he has MANY supporters all over the country. With what we've allowed our country to become, we're lucky there are any men like Ron Paul left to help get the country back on track.
- Paul, Tempe, AZ

Does anyone else think this guys a nut job?
- John, Manchester

Just look at Paul's past performance and you will see a man who means what he says! He will be the main ingredient in getting our nation back on it's feet and back to the people who are not the servants, but the owners of this land. We will perish in the mud of lies, theft, and power mongering if anyone else gets in. This is serious stuff folks, we need Ron Paul to lead us with the Constitution as was intended way back in the days of the birth of this land. May God be with us in the days ahead.
- Dan S, Holbrook, Massachusetts

I'm a New Hampshire Republican. I don't recall Ron Paul telling people to overthrow the government and police by force. Ron Paul believes in the right to bear arms. He believes the Jeffersonian ideal of government. Limited federal govt, strong state governments. Romney (as a mormon) believes that Adam/Eve lived in america. He believes Jesus Christ came back to the native americans. There is public video showing Rudy Giuliani cross-dressing. Do you think these our top two candidates are going to win the election? I will vote Ron Paul!
- David C. Graner, Manchester, NH

Dr. Paul is the only candidate who wants ro return us to the ideals of the Founding Fathers, and the principles enshrined in the Constitution. It is truly a sad time in our nation, when this position is equated with the "fringe" postions as stated by Bob and Michael.
- Sam, Manchester

First, thanks to the Union leader for allowing a forum for our expression. To those who say vote for anyone but Ron Paul, that is exactly what has happened at each election and now we are in the worst mess in our history.Other Candidates are just more of the same and the same is not good enough. This is becoming a totalitarian Government and Ron Pauls Ideas are right on. As for the socialist/Facist's that oppose him, I say, let them get a job and stop living off of the spoils the government steals from the working poor and the middle class. End the IRS. The Browns are Patriots, not kooks.
- Jean, Chester

If you're happy with the status quo, by all means, follow Rudy McRomney. They offer more of the same. Those who want to stop our decline should back Paul or a third party candidate.
- Morey, Manchester, NH

This is the first canidate to get me interested...he's REAL and for the majority of Americans. We need to focus on what this country was originally for...and that didn't include sticking our noses in other countries' business. Look...we did JUST fine before we started acting like nosey neighbors.
- TMG, Bedford

Thank you for an objective report. Ron Paul gives us a real choice. He is a man of integrity, honesty, humility and consistency. His devotion to the Constitution brings us together and removes any uncertainty as to how he would apply his presidential veto. He will not pander to special interests. If it's not in the Constitution, you can bet Ron Paul will veto.
- Albert Meyer, Plano TX

I don't think Bob understands freedom. What does "reasonable" mean? Giving almost 50% of everything you make to government selected groups of people, locking up more individuals than any other country, even china and north Korea, mostly for crimes with no victim? Or is reasonable paying more to educate a public school student then it costs to educate a child in a private school only with much worse results? You do know that our dollar is worth 96% less since the founding of the Fed, don't you? You must have also known that getting rid of the IRS would only reduce the federal budget to what it was in the year 2000, didn't you? Probably you do know this information but, collecting a government check is nice isn't it?
- John Perry, Manchester, NH

Michael and Bob, I am a regisetered NH republican and Ron Paul has my full support and my vote (along with many other people I know, republicans, democrats and independents alike, all from the 'live free or die' state). Ron Pauls message of freedom and limited, honest government is what this state and our country are supposed to be about, perhaps that is why his message resonates so well with NH voters (evidence of his support is everywhere in the form of lawn signs and bumper stickers and at every event where his supporters always outnumber all others by a wide margin). If you prefer to live in a totalitarian police state you should probably move to China (or back to massachusetts), there is no place for this type of government in America even if you've been brainwashed into thinking it's for your own good, and the Ron Paul Freedom Revolution is just beginning... ~ "It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men" -Samuel Adams
- Mark Tremblay, Milford

Ron Paul has taken an oath, at least 10 times, to support and defend the Constitution -- not just the physical document, but the fundamental liberty-protecting concepts expressed within it. He insists on being (uniquely, among major-party politicos) consistently faithful to that oath. This country's citizens have become as dependent on government as a newborn on its mother, and if those who prefer personal responsibility to an oppressive nanny state wish to retain control, in any substantive way, of their own lives and property, we must begin to wean the country from this unnatural and unintended dependence on servant government. Soon. If "just about everyone demands" something unauthorized to government, the market will provide. Gandhi said, "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." It took a while, but clearly Dr. Paul has now advanced to at least step 2. Ahh, progress...
- Bill, Weare

As a former NH resident now living in Minnesota, it's great to hear that Ron Paul is doing so well in the Granite State! I would just like to ask Bob Letourneau something. On 9/11, who actually prevented some of the terrorist attacks - Government 'first responders' that he advocates, or private citizens as Ron Paul advocates. IT seems that when Flight 93 went down in the PA field, it was all private citizens who took care of business. All the Government did (despite knowing about middle eastern people learning to fly planes without learning to land them before 9/11) was manage to get a lot of their own people killed. If it was not for private defense (ie the airplane passengers), the whole attack would have gone off without a hitch.
- Hal Cranmer, Lakeville, MN

Great rally! I cant remember the last time I actually believed a politician when he spoke. It was truly refreshing to hear him speak. He really does give us hope for the future of this great country.
- Bryan, Antrim, NH

I had the pleasure of meeting Dr Paul yesterday. A charming, down to earth guy. To those saying there were no one or few people from NH there they are wrong. The majority of the crowd/license plates were from NH. I would also like to congratulate Dr Paul in raising over a $1,000,000 in online donations in ONE WEEK!
- Samuel, Lebanon NH

"he tries to bring together anti war folks with anti tax folks with anti government folks" I think that is the best summation of Ron Paul's position except for "He reads and believes in and supports the Constitution." What a concept! A politician who has a plan to really shrink the federal government. Go Ron Paul!
- DenisL, Manchester

It's interesting how some people think the world will spin out of its orbit if we were to repeal the income tax. The income tax is less than one third of the federal budget, and taking that away would reduce the budget back to year 2000 level. Would world chaos ensue if we were to back the federal budget off to year 2000 spending levels? Would anarchy erupt if we were to leave Iraq? Or will we as Americans be safer in a post 9/11 world if we invaded Iran next month. Oh and maybe we should invade Myanmar too, and stop the military oppression there. And if China has a problem with that, we can just bomb them too and force them to stop polluting the planet while we're at it. (All sarcasm intended. Please use your brain and support Ron Paul, the only man that has deserved the presidency in decades.)
- Ben Peckham, Nashua

New World Order = One World Fascist Dictatorship

Hat Tip to Brits4RonPaul who wrote:

Let's get something straight. The reason people like Ron Paul and people like me don't want a "New World Order", is because it is IMPOSSIBLE, for a one world government to be anything but a fascist dictatorship. The power elite know this and they know that people would say no to it, if it was openly declared as such.

Even the smaller building blocks towards this NWO such as the European Union and North American Union, can not possibly be anything but a dictatorship. Democracy only works on a very small level. The founding fathers of the USA knew this, which is how the constitution came about.

Now maybe, just maybe if that same constitution was applied to the world, then it could work. That isn't what is on offer here though. Instead we have a clearly socialist plan to control and regulate every ones lives, right down the the most granular level.

Anything that has been build on deceit and lies, just as the NWO/EU/NAU/UN and all the other organisations that see to control our lives, will surely lead to the most corrupt government of all time. Will people learn from history? Will they look at how these fake empires (as the president of the EU likes to think of it as) have failed time and time again.

Let us stop the foolishness now. We the people do not want a power elite controlling our every move, keeping us in relative poverty while they live the life of Gods. They truly believe they are special and more deserving than the rest of us and are hell bent on making sure that happens.

Just look at what your political masters award themselves and ask the question, are your best interests their primary concern?

Of course they aren't. They have been corrupted by power and greed, just has always been the way. The only solution is to restrict size of government. Make sure it never has too much power and only does what it supposed to do. A network of smaller, free trading democracies around the world has much more chance of keeping a stable, free world, than some fake merged one world dictatorship. It's time we the people started to take our liberty BACK and end this game if deceit by the power elites now.


And if you still think this is a conspiracy theory, rather than a fact, then I have to ask what planet you are living on.

Ron Paul BIG Sign Walk After The 9/22/07 Rally

Post Ron Paul Chicago Rally BIG Sign Walk Part 1



Post Ron Paul Chicago Rally BIG Sign Walk Part 2



Post Ron Paul Chicago Rally BIG Sign Walk Part 3



Post Ron Paul Chicago Rally BIG Sign Walk Part 4



Post Ron Paul Chicago Rally BIG Sign Walk Part 5



Post Ron Paul Chicago Rally BIG Sign Walk Part 6



Post Ron Paul Chicago Rally BIG Sign Walk Part 7



Editor's Note: The sign cost $20 "off the truck" in Des Moines Iowa on June 30th. Parking in the Prudential Plaza parking garage was $14. We conservatively figure that our 30 minute "BIG Sign Walk" exposed at least 10,000+ individuals to the existence of Ron Paul. This is a very efficient and great way to get the word out about Ron Paul.

I/we did this "BIG Sign Walk" because I could not make the "Ron Paul Sign March" from Millenium Park prior to the rally. My boys play baseball and soccer and it's pretty crazy trying to fit everything in on the weekends.

911 Flatline: Because YOU CAN Handle The Truth!!

911 flatline part 1



911 flatline part 2



911 flatline part 3



911 flatline part 4

Now Forming: International Partners In Peace (IPP)

Hat Tip to soulmantim who wrote:

Now forming the International Partners in Peace (IPP).
Fellow Ron Paul supporters from other countries please watch this video.

We are attempting to form a collection of images and videos of worldwide supporters, but we need your help.

Here is what I'm looking for:
Pictures or Videos should include one or two supporters holding a Ron Paul sign or with clothing that says Ron Paul on it.

Please take the video or picture at one of your country's landmarks holding the sign up for proof you are there.

Please send me a private message if you have posted a video of you or other supporters from another country.
Include: If Youtube Video the URL, if picture I will give you my email to send it to, if there is a quote from a supporter give me your native language and then a rough translation.

The reason I bring this up is because there are skeptics out there that don't understand that the notion of peace, freedom, and liberty are universal.

And that because the world is smaller than before, that Ron Paul support has massed even in other countries!

Thank you,
Long live peace.

Ron Paul '08 (more)

Editor's Note: The Freedom Fellowship and The Ron Paul Peace Train - which was just formed yesterday - are proud sponsor/member/supporters of this effort!

The Message is the Same - Vote for Ron Paul

Hat Tip to soulmantin who wrote:

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Ron Paul

Simply by adhering to the constitution, both Dr. Paul and Dr.MLK Jr. spoke of equality and against unjust wars.

We shouldn't judge by the color of ones skin, but the content of their character.

We shouldn't be spreading democracy through the barrel of a gun.

Dr.MLK jr. was constantly monitored by the FBI. As an attack to dismantle the message he was preaching the IRS bankrupt Dr. MLK jr and they have for many civil rights leaders and those preaching free thought.

Dr. Ron Paul has had such an attack from those that claim he is a racist. All it took was a insider writing on Ron Paul's newsletter and a corrupt journalist (paid off by the GOP) intentionally misquoting Ron Paul.

Now, Ron Paul is fighting to abolish the IRS, take on the Federal Reserve, and destroy Income tax. He fights for our constitution and civil liberties granted within it.

Vote for Dr. Ron Paul '08

The Message is the Same
Income tax means the government stakes claim on your life, that the money you make doing work somehow belongs to the government. That the government grants you your liberties and freedom.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the greatest speakers in our American history. Few can claim similar conviction, emotion, and master of the word.

Again, like always, I invite all comments, questions, criticisms.
No Spam

Vote for Ron Paul '08

POLISH PUBLIC MEDIA LIES about RON PAUL!!!

Enjoy (before those socialists tell YouTube to delete this file - they don't let me use the things that I am paying for in taxes!!!)!
----------------------------------------
Translation (sorry for possible mistakes):

It's going to be not only the longest but also the most original campaign in the history of the United States. Mainly because of the candidates for the White House which have discovered a new way of getting to their electorate. Instead of TV - they post their spots on the Internet. About the effects of the fully multimedia and interactive campaign - Piotr Kraśko.

It's not the beginning of a carnival but the longest presidential campaign in the history of the United States and perhaps it is the first time that the Americans will vote one way not the other because of the things they will have found on the Internet.

0:45 In this debate, those who were asking the questions were not the journalists anymore, but the voters through the Internet. "Soon the journalists will not be needed. The voters will ask the candidates about everything themselves, on the Internet."

0:55 It turns out that the Americans have the same doubts about their politicians as the voters in other parts of the world. "During the election everybody promises a lot and when they rise to power they don't realize anything from it because they explain that someone prevents them from doing it. Why should we believe anyone of you that you'd be different?"

1:11 That is the question that the Internauts have considered the most interesting. "How will you explain the fact that 80% of the Californians have elected Arnold Schwarzenneger Governor because they'd believed that he - being a cyborg - would save them from a nuclear extermination?"

1:28 This is exactly how, since 200 years, all the presidential campaigns in America have been looking like. Perhaps this is one of the latest in which rallies like this one actually matter - and every next will take place not on the streets, not on TV - but on the Internet.

But for the candidates it may mean a lot of trouble since nothing is more popular on the Internet than videos which humiliate (ridicule) and discredit the candidates.

1:51 The most popular on the Internet is a video in which John Edwards - one of Democratic Party's candidates - for three minutes combs his hair before an interview. The majority of the internauts came to the conclusion that he more likely fits for a model (female model) than a president.

2:04 The most active supporters - on the streets as well as on the Web - has Barack Obama.

2:18 This is a video clip full of adoration for him which has been recorded by one of his admirers.

2:28 This is one of the oddest spots. This candidate has stood motionless for three minutes and merely looked into the camera. It was so weird that it became one of the most willingly watched spots on the Internet.

2:40 Enthusiastic voters will probably always dance on the streets but the influence that these demonstrations will have on the results of the elections is going to be lesser and lesser. The Americans are beginning to believe that you are not a proper voter - unless you
are a proper internaut... Piotr Kraśko, the News, South Carolina.

Hat Tip to TheSpinFactor.com for sharing this story!

read more | digg story

New Media Shines The Light of Truth On Ron Paul's Victory In NH and AL

Click here to confirme/check for yourself on the NH Strawpoll reports from the "New Media" - ie. independent blogs, etc.

Here's the report/result on Google's "New Media" search for "alabama straw poll" as follows: Click here to confirm for yourself this "New Media" search using google's blog search engine for "alabama straw poll".

Old Controlled Media Black Out On NH Straw Poll

Click here to confirm/check for yourself.

Ron Paul and the War on Terror

Ron Paul and the War on Terror

August 6, 2007

by Szandor Blestman

Nearly six years ago, on September 11th, 2001, a criminal act occurred in New York, New York. It was broadcast around the world. I remember that on that day I called my mother and told her to turn on the TV while I could only listen to the radio because I was at work. I remember telling her that we were at war. It was a very frightening day I’ll never forget. Many people will never forget that day. A couple of days later President Bush declared a war on terror. As of this moment, it looks like a war that will never end.

The question arose as to why these people would want to attack us. The answer, according to President Bush, was that they hate our freedoms. They are jealous of us. If we take President Bush at his word, then the terrorists are winning the war on terror. They have already managed to get us to relinquish some of the freedoms they so hated us having. What was one of the first things our legislature did after the terror attack? They passed the Patriot Act. Have you read the Patriot Act? Neither have I, because it’s so long and full of legalese. How anyone could have read and understood it in the short time our legislators had to do so is beyond me. I have read parts of it, though. I know that it infringes upon some of the rights that the constitution guarantees us will not be infringed upon. It tramples all over the fourth amendment which reads: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” The Patriot Act allows the FBI to come into your house without permission, while you’re not there, and go through your things without a warrant. I don’t know about you, but that sounds more like the KGB than the FBI to me. After the Patriot Act came a host of other laws granting the police power to violate our rights. The terrorists managed through a single criminal act to get us to turn our country into a police state.

Now there are warnings about another imminent terror attack. Secretary Chertoff has a “gut feeling” that another attack is about to take place. What would the purpose to such an attack be? Well, the purpose of any terror attack is to terrorize. It is to make the people scared. It is to frighten the populace. What would we do if such an attack took place? How would America react if a horrific event took place causing massive casualties? Would we allow even more of our freedoms that they hate so much to be taken from us? Would we allow the police to start putting people in jail because they protest or question the government? Would we let the current ruling class stay in power if they decided to suspend elections due to the emergency? Would we quiver and cower like scared little children and pray for the government to help us, allowing armed, militant police on every corner as they stop and check us and demand to see our papers anytime we want to go somewhere? Would we gladly submit to having chips implanted under our skin so that we could be easily identified as God fearing, good Americans if that is what was asked of us? Would that be the new freedom? Should such a thing come to pass, the terrorists would have nothing to be jealous of anymore. In fact, should this come to pass, the terrorists could end up having more freedom than us. After a few months of tyranny, government crackdowns and round ups, and having to ask for permission from the government for our most basic needs, we might be the ones that are jealous. At that point, the terrorists will have basically won the war. Our freedoms will be gone, and they will have nothing more to be jealous of. Or maybe I’m just paranoid, but should we really take such a chance?
Seems to me a better strategy would be to demand more freedom. If that’s what the terrorists are mad about, if that’s what they want to destroy, then we should stand tall and bravely demand we be allowed the freedom to forge our own destiny. Rather than cowering in fear and letting terror take over our lives, we should courageously demand that we not be looked after like little children while we go about our daily lives. We are adults that can take care of ourselves and we need to let our politicians know that. We need to stop living in fear. Aside from this, I don’t really believe that the terrorists fighting us are too worried about our freedoms. I doubt very much they are jealous of us. More likely they just want to be left alone. More likely they just want to go about their daily lives without being asked for their “papers” everywhere they go. More likely they don’t like foreign troops in their country telling them what to do.

Ron Paul understands this, as he has publicly stated, and so does the CIA. No other candidate wants to end the war on terror. They want to maintain the status quo and thus their power. Ron Paul wants to bring our troops home. He doesn’t want to commit them to a never ending war with no goals and unlimited casualties. Getting the troops home is how we win the war on terror. By doing so, we remove the terrorists’ reasons for attacking us. By doing so we start the process of restoring our freedoms. By doing so we open the door to once again doing business with the world in an honest fashion and not at the end of a barrel of a gun. By bringing the troops home we can also use them to patrol our borders and help minimize the threat posed by undocumented foreigners entering our land. We don’t need our own people spied upon. We don’t need our police milatarized. We need strong leadership that understands that freedom is a reward unto itself, and that free people should not cower in fear whenever criminals threaten our way of life. We need lawmakers that understand that the best way to lead is by example. We need to keep America a shining light of freedom for the world to see. That is Ron Paul’s message, and we should listen.

read more | digg story

Visit Sandor's blog here.

Click here to read Sandor's latest article, "Ron Paul Detractors Need a Wake Up Call."

A Letter We Can Write To The Mayor Of Ashville, NC

See the letter below.........



Two American citizens were assaulted and arrested on private property by an officer of the law for displaying an American flag in protest of the war and the state of the country. Witness and police accounts disagree on the actions taken during the incident.

read more | digg story


Can't you spend 2 minutes and $0.41 for a stamp? Just use my letter.

City of Asheville: Mayor
70 Court Plz
Asheville, NC 28801

Dear Mayor Bellamy,

I am writing regarding a recent situation in West Asheville that I read about which I believe was very poorly handled by the police.

The situation of which I am talking is written about in this article:
http://www.mountainx.com/news/2007/flagged_down_activists_arrested
_in_row_over_protest_flag_allege_abuse_by_bu

Police invaded two citizens' (Mark and Deborah Kuhn) home by breaking through glass inside a door, proceeded to assault Mark and Deborah Kuhn, and threatened to taser them. This all occurred because of a complaint about a flag hanging upside-down outside their house that had several political statements pinned to it.

I am shocked and appalled by how this situation was handled. The police had no right to try to arrest these citizens and break into their house; they had broken no law as far as I know.

You may think that the easy way to remedy this poorly-handled situation is to simply reprimand or lay off (temporarily or permanently) the officers involved in this case.

But I think the problem could run much deeper than just these two officers in this one case. The manner in which this situation was handled strongly suggests a complete disrespect of citizens' rights, freedoms, and privacy by your law enforcement branch.

I would like to request that you carefully reevaluate your training programs for the law enforcement branch in your city, ensuring that you are cover items of this manner so that poorly-handled cases like this one do not happen in the future.

Thank you,

Your name

"RonStock 2007 Ames Iowa" and A Special Message from Jim Condit, Jr. About The Need To DEMAND A Fair Count For Ron Paul In The 8/11 Straw Poll, etc.

Dear Friends of Freedom:

Please read this important message from Jim Condit, Jr. - see below - and be sure to share it with everyone you know who supports the restoration of freedom and liberty - and a return to the rule of law - in America.

Jim traveled from Cincinnati to be in Des Moines on June 30th for the Ron Paul rally. I was there with Jim and 1000+ other very enthusiastic Ron Paul supporters. Ron Paul's campaign predicts/expects 10,000 supporters to show up in Ames Iowa on August 11th for the Iowa Straw Poll.

I would like to go ONE better: WE THE PEOPLE MUST ENVISION AND BELIEVE THAT 100,000+ RON PAUL SUPPORTERS WILL SHOW UP IN AMES IOWA FOR THE IOWA STRAW POLL ON AUGUST 11TH!!!

LET'S ALL BE PART OF ENVISIONING AND ACTING THIS INTO REALITY!!

LET'S CALL IT "RONSTOCK 2007 AMES IOWA!!

We The People of America and the world are at a critical crossroads in the history of mankind. The forces of evil, fraud and corruption that have sought to enslave us through an endless series of wars and acts of terror have less and less darkness to operate in. The light of a New Divine Sun of truth and justice is dawning in our world. A perfect example of this new energy is the very humble servant example set by Ron Paul. Ron Paul admits that We The People are "the receivers" - thanks be to our creator - of this revolution of truth! He's just pleased to accept a very humble role in being a key "receiving servant" to this energy/cause that seeks to restore our Republic of America back to respect for the rule of law and the simple vision of our Founding Fathers.

From here on out we have an incredible opportunity to rise above any and all of these forces that have been trying to divide and polarize us from one another.

How is this going to happen?

Here's just one example of what's happening all across our great country - see below.

"2007 Summer of Freedom" is Manifesting!

I discovered this while reading the Chicago Tribune yesterday:

Peace marchers of the loneliest kind
Teens' 3,000-mile trek to D.C. is a rally of 2

By Colleen Mastony
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 9, 2007

LOVELAND, Colo. -- Against the majestic backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, in the far eastern corner of Colorado where the land begins to flatten into a vast golden prairie, two teenagers trudge along the weed-bitten edge of an isolated highway. Blistered and sunburned, they endure wind, rain and searing heat. But still, they slog forward in what has become a quixotic journey across the country in an effort to end the Iraq war. Read more here.


THIS RALLY WILL TAKE PLACE ON THE SAME DAY OF THE "LIVE FREE OR DIE CONCERT" IN SUPPORT OF ED AND ELAINE BROWN IN PLAINFIELD NH:







MAP DIRECTIONS WITH ZOOM

CHECK THIS PAGE DAILY FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Read more here.

Ed and Elaine Brown and these two high school graduates are part of this "New Energy" that's manifesting all around us! It's time for all of us to make similar stands in support of truth and justice in America. It's time for Peace to Reign in our world! It's time for reason, fun, laughter, forgiveness and song to resonate deep within our minds, hearts and souls!

"RonStock 2007 Ames IOWA" is really a vision for a restored humanity. And I firmly believe there are people on the ground in Iowa who are willing and working to make this happen. JUST BELIEVE THAT 100,000+ SUPPORTERS OF RON PAUL CAN AND WILL DESCEND UPON AMES IOWA IN THE FEW DAYS PRIOR TO AUGUST 11TH.

I will be there in Ames - just like I was in Des Moines - chanting "Who You Gonna Call???" against a thunderous response from the crowd...."RON PAUL!!!!"

But we need hundreds of other individuals to shout this chant out all across Ames Iowa while we're gathering to organize and celebrate prior to the Ames Iowa Straw Poll on August 11th. There can be dozens - if not hundreds - of parks and venues where bands, singers and dancers can gather to support Ron Paul's message of freedom, liberty and "Hope For America!!"

Imagine the same power and energy of Sturgis SD motorcycle rally - which attracts hundreds of thousands - descending upon Ames Iowa during the week of August 11th. We have to envision and believe this will happen! It's up to We The People! Now is the time!!

Please read and share Jim Condit, Jr's message below. And please share this vision with others. Together, We The People can take America BACK from the controllers who have sought to enslave and confuse and divert the flow of energy, truth, freedom and justice in our great country. Let's have fun! Let's sing! Let's dance! Rejoice and celebrate this New Sun of Truth/Energy that's spreading like a prairie brushfire across this great land.

One last word: If you'd like to share some of the energy and enthusiasm behind this vision please be sure to join us on our weekly national "Grassroots Support Ron Paul" conference call that takes place every Thursday evening beginning at 9 pm eastern time:

605-475-8500 Code-5092984 9pm eastern each Thursday night

We have been reaching out to Meet-up group leaders and supporters all across the country to build this call during the past 6+ weeks. A special guest from Ron Paul's campaign will be on the call this week and Jim Condit, Jr. will be back to answer any questions you may have about his proposal which you can read below.

There IS "Hope For America!" because We The People are ALL part of making this happen!!

Thanks for reading and sharing this message!

Peace and God Bless,

Fred Smart
The Freedom Fellowship
http://www.thefreedomfellowship.com
312-602-2568 w
847-878-8090 c

Our government's sick. Our country needs a doctor ... not a lawyer.

Ron Paul for President 2008!
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

================

http://votefraud.org/open_letter_straw_poll_part_1.htm

July 10, 2007 NA (Network America) e-wire


Open Letter to Hon Cong. Ron Paul, His Campaign,
and His Supporters – Part One: The Ames, Iowa Straw Poll


This "Open Letter" has ONE purpose: to make sure that Ron Paul supporters know how to get him a fair count at all stages in Presidential election 2008! We start – in this part ONE – by focusing on the Ames Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa, to be held August 11, 2007.

How serious the situation is! --- And how much our nation needs EVERY HONEST CITIZEN to do something – do as much as he or she can in the months ahead -- to insure a fair count for Ron Paul, for all the other candidates, and – most importantly of all – for the American people.

This is PART ONE of this Open Letter. After working on this e-wire for many hours, I realized that I would have to divide it into four parts – because it is just too much for one e-wire.

And right now, the urgent need is for all Ron Paul supporters to understand what must be done at the Ames, Iowa Straw Poll on August 11, 2007.


QUICK OVERVIEW: LIFTING THE VEIL

THIS PART ONE focuses on the ACTION we need to take for the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa on August 11, 2007. That date is barreling down upon us as this is written. – We have a CHANCE to get an open and fair count at Ames, Iowa, as explained herein.

At the Ames, Iowa Straw Poll -- we can definitely confront the Iowa State GOP, which takes its orders from New York and Washington D.C.

And we can definitely confront AND DEFEAT the five major TV Networks and the rest of the despicable major media which are suppressing the Presidential Campaign of Ron Paul – while issuing fraudulent and warped "public opinion polls" claiming that the GOP base supports their puppets Rudy Giuliani and John McCain – two Republican Quislings who have pulled OUT of the Ames, Iowa Straw poll because they realize they have virtually no support on the ground among the real people – and because they realize that they are going to be trounced by Ron Paul, as well as a few of the other candidates in Ames.

Part Two – the next ewire -- will be on how to get a fair count for Ron Paul in the actual Iowa Caucuses now scheduled for January 2008. (This is where we have absolute proof how the Iowa State GOP and the 4 Big TV Networks – FOX did not exist yet -- worked together to crassly and criminally cheat the Buchanan campaign and the American voters in the Iowa Caucus on February 12, 1996.) – We can definitely get a fair count in the Iowa Caucus of 2008 – if we have eyes and ears in every caucus gathering.

Part Three will be on how to get a fair count in the New Hampshire Primary, also moved up to January, 2008 as of this writing. -- Since one half of New Hampshire still uses paper ballots AND the neighborhood citizens count the ballots by hand immediately upon closing – we can assure a pretty fair count in the New Hampshire Primary, even if they continue to count (?) the areas around Manchester by secret computer codes.

And Part Four will be on how to get a fair count in the rest of the Primary states – and in the General Election on November 5, 2008. – All the other states which have primaries (as opposed to Caucuses or Conventions) are saddled with the computerized votefraud mechanisms. All 49 states, other than NH, are as of now saddled with the computerized votefraud systems for the November elections.


IF THE VOTES ARE NOT COUNTED IN THE OPEN – IT'S A "BLACK BOX" DISHONEST ELECTION

IF WE CANNOT FORCE AN OPEN AND FAIR COUNT in 2007/2008 at any level and – IF – IF -- the crooks behind the 5 Big TV Networks and the National Democratic and Republican Parties insist on – AGAIN -- counting all the votes in all those computerized states in secret again – then we can alert tens of millions of Americans that this is an ILLEGAL election, and that those claiming to be the government in the USA can no longer prove their legitimacy.

This is the ONE THING the New World Order boys fear – that in the United States of America – where a 2nd amendment defense is still an option – that the general population would realize that the current "elected" officials could not prove that they are elected; that the government can no longer prove it is legitmate.

A hard saying – but this is where we are. It's this serious.

WE want the peaceful, constitutional solution – that's why we're urging an honest, open count at every phase of this election, at all levels. But if those holding the levers of power continue to frustrate honest and openly counted elections, and continue to violate almost every facet of the rule of law and of the constitution in sensitive areas when it really counts, and continue to move towards ending the United States as a sovereign nation, and continue to instigate evil and unnecessary wars – WHAT CHOICE WILL THEY LEAVE US IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE?



WE DO NOT ACCEPT ELECTIONS "COUNTED" IN SECRET!

Furthermore, we will need to announce that we do NOT accept the results of such secretly "counted" computerized elections, counted behind police guard in the general election in every state (except ½ of NH) by the four mysterious mega-corporations (Diebold, ES & S, Sequoia, and Hart).

(I cut out a section here called, "How We Got To a Computerized Votefraud Monopoly counting 99% of our Votes in the USA" – because it was too much of a diversion of what we must do at the Iowa Straw Poll. That article, and much other documentation, can be found at this link on the votefraud.org website:

http://www.votefraud.org/ron_paul_stop_the_votefraud_page.htm

Next: In case you're wondering, --- citizens, candidates, newsmedia – anyone and everyone who requests a recount under current circumstances – must wait until three weeks AFTER the election to even see the paper ballots -- if any exist in that venue, -- by which time such paper ballots can easily be switched so that the computerized "results" which were announced on election night -- look true.

By snatching the actual ballots from public site before the neighborhood citizens in each precinct can count the votes – the legal chain of evidence is broken, and the true count can never again be proven for sure.

I can understand if people doubt that things are this bad when you're first hearing about it – but, if you live outside of New Hampshire, you can prove how bad things are to yourself by simply calling your local board of elections and asking the natural questions which flow from the above information.

If you, the reader, want further in depth explanations, go to votefraud.org and read "What's Relevant Right Now" near the top of the home page – and then "A House without Doors" by this writer and "Pandora's Black Box: Did it really count your vote?" by Dr. Phil O'Halloran – both of which are linked near the top of the page at this link:

http://www.votefraud.org/primer_archive_articles.html

Before we get into our challenge in the area of the vote count at the Ames Straw Poll, let's deal with a question that you, the reader, might reasonably be asking right now:


WHY SHOULD YOU LISTEN TO THIS GUY? WHY SHOULD YOU TAKE THE TIME TO READ THIS?

A reasonable question.

I'm the guy who organized the effort which PROVED, by the grace of God, that votefraud was perpetrated by the 5 Big TV Networks and the Iowa State GOP – against Pat Buchanan, his supporters, and all of America in Dubuque County, Iowa in the Iowa Presidential Caucuses of February 12, 1996. And . . .

* * * * * The same principles of vote-theft have been used by the crooks at the Ames, Iowa Straw Poll. And I believe they will try to use them again – against Ron Paul -- at the upcoming straw poll. * * * * *

While there's no time to go into it here, we are watching a re-run of 1996. A candidate is on the rise who the Ruling Elite doesn't even want on the stage. In 1996, I lived through the "Establishment" against Buchanan in Louisiana, in the Iowa Caucus, in New Hampshire, in Arizona, and in the Super Tuesday states.

I was there -- watching it all. Since then, I never dreamed that the experience we gained then would become relevant and useful again – because I never thought we would have another pro-American candidate "catch fire", as has Congressman Ron Paul in 2007.

My name is Jim Condit Jr. I have been "crying in the wilderness" since 1979 about the dangers of computerized votefraud, and why we need computer-free and machine free elections; why we need paper ballots, hand-counted by the local neighborhood citizens, in the open, immediately as the polls close.

To expand a little on the above, I am the guy who organized about 45 Buchanan supporters in Dubuque, Iowa at the Iowa Caucuses of 1996 to watch the vote count in Dubuque County on February 12, 1996. And, that is how we got the absolute eye-witness proof that the Buchanan campaign was votefrauded in Dubuque County, Iowa, -- as well as the all important HOW it was done, and WHO did it.

That story is told in an article published in "Chronicles Magazine" in November 1996 under the title, "A House Without Doors"; you can read find that article at a link on this page:

http://www.votefraud.org/ron_paul_stop_the_votefraud_page.htm

This discovery uncovered the KEY as to how the corrupt Ruling Elite commit votefraud against the people in any key election it wishes to do so – if the people are asleep, and not watching.

www.votefraud.org – the website of Citizens for a Fair Vote Count, of which I am the founder and Director, was the first website on the world wide web dealing with the "honest elections vs. computerized votefraud" issue. It appeared on the web in March of 1996, thanks to the expertise and zeal of Linda Muller of Virginia, who was also the webmaster of Buchanan.org, (which is how the two of us had met in that year).

Thanks to the proof of votefraud we found in Dubuque, Iowa – perpetrated by the (then) 4 Big TV Networks (FOX did not exist yet, but they are just as crooked) – concerned citizens got me onto over 60 major radio talk shows between March and October in 1996, and these radio shows were carried on over 700 radio station outlets. (The Chuck Harder Show, for instance, was then on the radio in over 325 medium sized cities, such as Middletown, Ohio, which is halfway between Cincinnati and Dayton.)

In 1981, my father, James J. Condit Sr., filed a public interest lawsuit for our group and the citizens of the United States at large against the Hamilton County Board of Elections in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1985 we won a ruling from Judge Richard Niehaus, who said that, "There is no safeguard to prevent the computers from being programmed to distort the election results." Despite that ruling, the crooks running Hamilton County have prevented a redress of grievances for the people to this day.

From 1985 to 1998, I worked with the late Collier brothers, Jim and Ken, who wrote the book, "Votescam: The Stealing of America." Chapter 12 of that book is a brief sketch of the first time we worked together around a court order we obtained for inspect the voting process in Cincinnati, Ohio in November, 1985.

On the new documentary, THE RIGHT TO COUNT, at www.TheRightToCount.com – I am one of the spokesman for the honest elections movement featured in the documentary. There is a free 4 minute trailer at that website, and I am the last person on the 4 minute trailer.

It is more than a little unseemly to "brag" this way – but I need to tell you why I am probably the only person who has this set of experiences, who has the conviction about what needs to be done which came from living through these things, and who has the time right now to work somewhat continuously, -- to tell all the Ron Paul supporters how we can and must act at Ames and beyond -- TO GET A FAIR COUNT FOR RON PAUL at all levels and in all contests in 2007 in 2008.


THE AMES STRAW POLL: A BRIEF HISTORY OF WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

The Ames Straw Poll takes place this year in Ames, Iowa on August 11, 2007. This is the first contest that has always gotten national attention in Presidential elections since the 1988 campaign.

In 1987, Pat Robertson was running for President as a pro-life and anti-New World Order candidate. He hired a lady by the name of Marlene Elwell, an expert and committed organizer, to bring out the pro-life Evangelical and Catholic vote for him at the Ames Straw poll.

President Reagan was coming to the end of his 8 years. Vice-President Bush (Bush 41) was running. And so was Senator Robert Dole of Kansas.

Marlene Elwell and Pat Robertson stunned the political world when he won the Ames Straw Poll, soundly defeating the sitting Vice-President and the Senator from neighboring Kansas. (The GOP then crassly and blatantly stole the Michigan primary from Robertson to stop his momentum. After New Hampshire, the computer-counted Super Tuesday states saw VP Bush bury all the others in landslides (?), even in all the southern states.)

Anyway, this is when the Ames Straw Poll was put "on the map."

In 1992, President Bush was the incumbent, and Pat Buchanan did not decide to challenge him in New Hampshire until late 1991, so there was no contest at the Ames Straw poll on the Republican side in 1991.

In August, 1995, those of us present witnessed some very odd happenings at the Ames Straw Poll. About 10 candidates were running and attended, including Senator Bob Dole, Senator Phil Graham, Patrick Buchanan, Congressman Robert Dornan, Lamar Alexander, Alan Keyes, and so on.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET TO THE AMES, IOWA STRAW POLL

When we got to the sprawling grounds of the Hilton Coliseum at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa on the morning of the Ames Straw Poll – activity was everywhere. Tents were up. Food was being served. Music was playing here and there. Campaigning was going on everywhere, mostly the candidate supporters. Al Franken of Saturday Night Live fame, now beginning to turn to politics as a reporter for somebody, was milling around the Buchanan tent, -- I guess trying to size up what kind of people don't live in New York City.

As we went inside (about 1:30 PM), the atmosphere was electric. The establishment Republicans were trying to hold the line against the Buchanan forces, and the Buchanan forces were excited to have a candidate they could get behind, but feeling behind the "eight ball" – because the national press had been telling them for months that they and their candidate WERE behind the 8 ball.

There was tremendous screaming and cheering when all the candidates came out on stage before the candidate talks began (each candidate would be allotted about 12 minutes). But then, when Senator Bob Dole spoke, -- the man the Big National Media had been telling us for months was the front runner in the race for the 1996 GOP nomination – there was absolute, dead silence. You could hear a pin drop. Dole droned on. No one was impolite. I think everyone was catching various phases of a quick nap after the exhausting screaming and cheering.

At the end, polite to robust applause. But then – when Buchanan, Keyes, Dornan took the stage – raucous, uncontrolled cheering and screaming again – when each speaker hit the "red meat" conservative and pro-freedom applause lines. (The reader may be getting an inkling of why the Iowa State GOP always wants to "count" the Ames Straw Poll vote in secret – but more on that soon.)

As an aside, there was candidate there who's only purpose was to be the left-leaning, counter-balance to Buchanan in the early going – and that was the despicable New World Order operative, Senator Arlen Specter – he who began his political rise in 1964 when he thought up the preposterous single-bullet theory to try and save the official version of the JFK assassination story. (The Ruling Elite has awarded him ever since THAT piece of fiction he came up with.)

Anyway, when Specter spoke – EVERYTHING he said was wrong, wrong, wrong from a Republican and American point of view. AND – with a little help from some of us scattered throughout the hall – the entire crowd began booing him at the top of their lungs every time he let loose with a Socialist-leftist line. This was great fun – and it showed the powers-that-be that the people in the heartland were American first, -- and Republican WAY second. (May no candidate get away with calling for police state measures in the USA, or calling for a "pre-emptive" strike on another nation – without being give the "Arlen Specter" treatment at the upcoming Ames Straw Poll.)

The Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa is a first class facility. While the candidate speeches were going on in the arena, the voting was taking place in the upper level of the coliseum – out where the refreshment stands were for basketball games. As I recall, there were about 100 voting booths set up, more or less evenly spaced, around the top level of the arena, which circled the main arena.

The voting, as I recall, took place between about 1 PM and 5 PM, but that time frame should be double-checked for this year's event. About 20,000 people paid and voted that year.

As I recall, ANYONE who paid $20 at that time could vote – you did not have to be from Iowa. THAT HAS NOW CHANGED. I believe anyone who pays the fee, which is now $35, can get in the arena – but only people with proof of an Iowa drivers license, or other form of state of Iowa ID – will be allowed to vote in the 2007 Ames Straw Poll.

HOW THEY "COUNTED" THE VOTE – AND THE IMPOSSIBLE "RESULT"

Even though I had been fighting unverifiable elections for 16 years at that point, it didn't occur to me to pay much attention to how the vote was being counted. The people of Iowa are very down to earth and friendly. I forgot that the GOP Iowa officials would be dancing to the tune of the dark financial and political forces in New York City and Washington D.C.

It turned out, even at this small event, -- where only about 200 voters were voting at each polling station – the state GOP officials were using a machine that registered (?) the votes on a little computer inside each voting station. THIS WAS SO UNNECESSARY – if you wanted an open and fair count.

There were NO PAPER BALLOTS. You marked or punched something on the machine – and the computer inside the machine supposedly prepared a ticker tape that would be printed out at the end. (This is straight out of the standard playbook for any election "counted" by the New World Order criminal computerized votefraud syndicate.)

When the voting period ended at 5 PM, a designated GOP official did something to the machine which caused a ticker tape (an adding machine tape) to print out. Then the official scurried amidst great solemnity to a room where only Iowa GOP officials were allowed. This meant that only (Senator) Bob Dole and (Senator) Phil Graham people were in that room. And they locked the door – so that all would go on -- in the ALL IMPORTANT counting phase -- completely out of public view. (This is ALSO straight out of the standard playbook for any election "counted" by the New World Order criminal computerized votefraud syndicate.)

A TIE? . . . DID YOU SAY A TIE? . . . YEP! THEY'RE CLAIMING IT'S A TIE!

One hour went by. Two hours went by. . . . Now keep in mind – all they had to do in that locked room was add up about 200 ticker tapes with the results for 10 candidates on each ticker tape. If you had ten guys with a calculator adding up twenty of the ticker tapes each – that should take about 45 minutes at most – including the double checking.

Anyway, two hours goes by. I was sitting in the quickly emptying out Ames arena with the Buchanan forces, still not imagining that the state of Iowa GOP crooks would try to pull anything -- stupid me! (Don't feel bad, Citizens of Iowa, at the state and national levels – my best guess is that EVERY GOP – and Democratic -- organization is crooked from top to bottom. Certainly such is the case in my state of Ohio.)

At this point, even I began to become suspicious as word reach us in the arena that candidate Alan Keyes was down at the locked room, knocking on the door and asking what was going on. And then . . .

And then, a number of minutes later, two Republican officials emerged and went up to the microphone to address the arena – now about only 10% full.

Sheepishly, one of them announced that – "believe it not" – we have an EXACT tie. Yes, it was, they told us, (as I recall) 4501 to 4501. Bob Dole and Phil Graham – the two "establishment" candidates – had TIED EXACTLY! Out of 20,000 votes cast – they had tied – exactly!

The others were announced. Pat Buchanan got about 3925 votes or so as I recall – and the rest far behind. The Buchanan campaign officials seemed to be happy, because it had been hammered for months by the national media that Buchanan was a "fringe candidate" with "no support."

After this almost-impossible announcement, my feeling was that the straw poll had been fixed. And I was not alone. On CNN the next morning – commentator Robert Novak challenged swarmy GOP operative Charlie Black, suggesting that the GOP had cooked the numbers of the Iowa Straw Poll to get that so-unlikely exact tie between Dole and Graham. Black flashed his plastic smile, and talked about something else.

WHAT COMMON SENSE TELLS ME ABOUT THE 1995 IOWA STAW POLL

There are two places the Iowa Straw Poll of 1995 could have been rigged. The first is in the little computers in the voting machines themselves. The computers could have been rigged to just tabulate how many votes were cast – and then divide them by a pre-programmed percentage, i.e., 28% for Dole, 25% for Graham, 16% for Buchanan, 3% for Keyes, etc.

Anybody under 25 years of age – my kids' generation – will guffaw uncontrollably if someone tries to tell them that computers cannot be easily rigged.

But this does not seem to be done in Ames in 1995 – or there wouldn't have been the two hour crisis behind the locked doors once the Iowa State GOP Poobas looked at the ticker tapes. (However, things could be fixed at this level in the 2007 Straw poll – so machines that "count" ? the votes in the dark – with no paper trail – are completely unacceptable.)

The fixing at the Iowa Straw Poll of 1995 – common sense dictates – happened behind the locked doors in the two hours that transpired between the end of the voting period and the announcement of the "results."

If the Iowa GOP officials were playing it straight – they would have added up the 100 ticker tapes with ten guys on calculators – double checked the results for each candidate – and been out in 45 minutes to an hour with the results.

No. Common sense tells us that something else was going on.

The only thing I can figure is that Buchanan won; that once the decision was made to suppress this result, that neither the Graham people nor the Dole people would give way to cede first place to the other --- so the whole rotten bunch came up with the preposterous first place "tie" scenario.

BUT – REMEMBER – if they had counted the votes right – no "black box" machines – and maneuvering behind locked doors – then we wouldn't have to be speculating on what the true vote count was way back there in the 1995 Iowa Straw Poll at Ames.


HOW THE VOTES SHOULD HAVE BEEN COUNTED THEN – AND NOW

Instead of having computerized machines at each of the 100 or so stations at the Iowa Straw Poll, the Iowa State GOP could have clear plastic boxes at each of these 100 stations.

As each voter casts his ballot, the paper ballot should go in the clear plastic box, and the clear plastic box should remain visible throughout the voting period, -- which, again, usually lasts from about 1 PM to 5 PM.

Each ballot will have about the name of each GOP Presidential candidate who is participating, with one candidate marked on each ballot by the voter.

As the voting period ends about 5 PM or so, then the ballots could be pulled out of the boxes to be counted immediately by two people pre-designated by the Iowa GOP at each voting station.

A representative from each Presidential campaign would be permitted to WITNESS the vote count at each of the 100 stations.

(This is the way they still count the votes in half of New Hampshire, Great Britain, much of France, India, etc. -- It's the way all Americans used to count the votes from the founding of our country to a few decades ago. This is the FAIR way to count the vote; the open way, the honest way.

With each two persno team counting about 200 or 300 votes at each of the 100 voting stations – each station would be done counting in 45 minutes or so. Then all of the counters AND WITNESSES FOR EACH CAMPAIGN could congregate in an UNLOCKED room in the Ames Stadium – such as on the stage where the candidates spoke – and hand their counts to several designated people, each armed with a calculator.

The vote for each candidate is then added up and double checked. All the campaigns could be doing the same thing – since each had a witness at every station.

Finally, the result would be announced to everyone in the coliseum.

That would be the honest and open way to count the Iowa Straw Poll vote.

When someone wants to count your votes on secret computer programs, in the dark, so that no one can see what's happening – it is a fair bet that such a "someone" wants to do that so they can FIX THE VOTE. What other reason would there be? (Any excuse that computers are easier to use may have flown in 1973 – but is completely discredited by now in 2007, especially at an event as manageable and straight-forward as the Iowa Straw Poll.

As stated above, EVERY person under 25 knows how easy it is to rig computer programs – and so do many of the rest of us.)


BUT WE GO TO AMES FIGHTING AN UPHILL BATTLE IN 2007 – BECAUSE THE IOWA GOP HAS ALREADY DECREED THEY ARE GOING TO USE THE COMPUTERIZED MACHINES AGAIN!

When in Des Moines last weekend, I was told by someone who was there, that the state GOP has already voted to use the "black box" computer machines again, without a paper ballot trail.

A Ron Paul supporter present expressed an objection to this – and he was told not to worry because a REPUBLICAN would be overseeing the machines.

The Ron Paul man appropriately responded, "I'd rather have a Democrat."

It is unconscionable for the Iowa GOP to take $35 from all participants – and then count the vote in the dark, where no one can see if the count is accurate or not.

However, it's not over yet.

We must go to Ames, Iowa to make sure that Ron Paul is not cheated at this year's Iowa Straw Poll.


WHAT MUST BE DONE AT THE AMES STRAW POLL BY RON PAUL SUPPORTERS ON AUGUST 11, 2007

* For those who have the time and energy, calls to the GOP state headquarters demanding an open count could be helpful; and calls to the news media in Iowa, especially radio talk shows, should ask why the GOP is not counting the vote in the open at the Straw Poll, where people are presumably paying $35 to participate in an HONEST event, not an easily rigged event. The more people that can put any Republican or newsmedia person on the spot – the better. (However, like letters to your congressman – we CANNOT count on this to force the Iowa GOP or the media to do anything.)

* A CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE CAN FORCE RADIO ADS ON THE BIG TALK RADIO STATIONS AND REACH MILLIONS OF PEOPLE. We desperately need a pro-Ron Paul congressional candidate to get on the ballot in Iowa. Any person over 25 years of age can get on the ballot as a congressional candidate in the Republican or Democratic primary by gathering only 50 valid signatures and paying a small fee.

A congressional candidate has the right to run radio ads on any FCC licensed station under the Reasonable Access Law. The station is NOT allowed to modify or change the content of the message. We need such a candidate to put on radio ads over WHO in Des Moines and other big talk radio stations. (We have used this strategy in Cincinnati, Ohio for years.) A radio ad to put the Iowa GOP on the spot before hundreds of thousands of Iowans regarding the vote count at the Ames straw poll -- could say something like this:

"Hello, my name is XXX XXXX. There is a sordid history associated with the vote count at the Iowa Straw Poll, which is coming up again in Ames on August 11th. The vote was counted in secret in 1995 and 1999. In 1995 things looked so bad that reporter Robert Novak suggested on CNN that the results had been cooked by the Iowa State GOP. I support Ron Paul for President, but I'm afraid the Iowa State GOP is counting the vote in secret so they can suppress Ron Paul's vote. Win or lose, honest citizens in Iowa want an open and fair count at the Ames Straw Poll. Get rid of the machines, and count paper ballots by hand, in the open -- where observers from each campaign can watch. Paid for by XXX XXXXX for Congress. (Then play a portion of "Hope for America" by Steve Dore as follows) "There's a great man we can count on, who stands far above the crowd, leading the cause for freedom, we have someone on our side now, in this time of great trouble, our nation really needs Ron Paul, He's Hope For America . . ." (And that would fill the 60 second radio ad.) (End of proposed radio ad text)

By the way, I've been listening to "Hope for America" by Steve Dore as I've been writing this e-wire, and I believe it is really an inspired song – especially the line, "We have someone on our side now." But all the words are right on target and get a comprehensive message across, hitting all the right notes, so to speak.

* About $7,000 to $10,000 would get saturation play on major Talk radio stations around Des Moines and a few other cities in the week preceding the Iowa Straw Poll on August 11, 2007.

This method of using radio ads to reach hundreds of thousands of people over the large AM Talk radio stations – over major AM talk shows like Hannity and Rush – gets the message outside of the dedicated internet and activist crowd – and gets the message to the less engaged Americans who are riding back and forth to work everyday.

Such radio ads over major stations serve to put those in positions of power on the spot – so they cannot work in the dark at the Straw Poll without looking real, real bad.

* At the Ames Straw Poll, we must have buttons and signs which Ron Paul supporters can wear and carry around. The signs could say: WHY is the GOP Counting the Ames Straw Poll in secret? I'm for Ron Paul, and I want an open count. (This same message would probably take two buttons.) We must also have business cards to pass out to everyone at the event, especially before the event, explaining how the vote is being counted in secret – and how we fear this is happening so that Ron Paul's vote can be suppressed. (Hopefully, downloadable PDF's for signs, buttons, and business cards will be made available on votefraud.org – or another website – which can be duplicated by individuals and brought to the Ames Straw Poll.)

* We need a website or a system on the internet whereby everyone going to Ames can communicate by email with anyone else who signs on. (Maybe the meet-up system already does this – I don't yet understand it well enough.)

* We must identify and organize at least 100 of us inside and outside the coliseum at Ames to be actively carrying the signs calling for an open count, and condemning the "black box" count – so that everyone at the event knows that the GOP of Iowa is not acting honorably.

* In a conference call last night, Fred Smart of Chicago said we need to have chants going outside and inside the coliseum which get the point across if the vote is still going to be counted in the dark, such as "Who's counting the vote?" "Let's count the vote in the open instead of in the dark." Etc. etc. – This is critical – we must have a visible and audible presence inside and outside of the Coliseum on the issue of a Fair Count for Ron Paul.

With these actions, we can make sure that, -- if the GOP doesn't change to an open, computer-free, machine-free count – then everyone in the hall will KNOW that they are conducting a secret count.

And – with YouTube – everyone in the USA will know that they conducted a secret count.

* The campaign itself should, and undoubtedly will, have all the Ron Paul voters also register with the campaign, so that we will at least have a double check on the minimum amount of votes that Ron Paul will get at the Ames Iowa Straw poll. Perhaps, the campaign could station someone at each voting station asking Ron Paul voters to also make their vote known to the campaign – which would provide, in effect, a double check on the minimum votes that Ron Paul should get that day.

* Hopefully, we will have many video cameras outside and inside the hall to capture any attempts by the GOP of Iowa to stop participants from wearing buttons, carrying signs, etc. And also the video cameras can capture what is happening at the voting stations, and what happens afterwards, such as the ticker tapes being taken behind locked doors for the final "count", if that happens again.

All this needs to go up on YouTube – if an open count is not held.

YOUTUBE NATION – REPORTING ON THE REPORTERS

* Also, citizen journalists should interview any and all big-time press people from the Big Media who come to the Iowa event. In times past, all the big media outlets were there.

These Big Media "reporters" should be asked – on camera -- why their stations never discuss Ron Paul as a serious candidate when they talk about the Presidential election; and why they never report on the secret computer vote counts that are giving us these funny, un-American leaders we now have in Washington D.C., and why they are comfortable with a secretive count at the Ames Straw Poll, if the current policy remains in place.

Get these "Reporters" on camera smirking and running away – and put it on YouTube. Or put there responses on, good or bad. – Let's either make these alleged reporters do their job – or be afraid to come to such events for the embarrassment they will suffer at the hands of the New Media.

MAY I SUGGEST A NATIONAL PRESS CONFERENCE RIGHT BEFORE THE AMES, IOWA STRAW POLL BEGINS -- LED BY RON PAUL – WITH THOUSANDS OF SUPPORTERS STANDING BEHIND HIM?

In this last section of this Open Letter, Part One – I wish to respectively address the Ron Paul campaign, and Congressman Ron Paul himself.

This is a suggestion, and in making it – let me say -- I believe in leaving the Point Man, the Candidate, room to do what is comfortable for his personality and for his strategy.

What I would like to suggest is that at the Ames Straw Poll, -- if the vote is still at that point going to be "counted" on the computerized machines and without paper ballots – that right before the event, maybe at 12 noon, Congressman Ron Paul hold a brief, national press conference on the subject of fair and open vote counts.

With thousands of supporters standing behind him, -- perhaps all holding signs calling for "paper ballots counted in the open" – we would altogether create a stunning visual image.

Congressman Paul could state that citizens across the nation are calling for open elections – for paper ballots counted immediately in the open – before the ballots leave the public sight. Congressman Paul could state that his campaign does not think it lends confidence to the final results when the votes are counted by "black box" methods, or without citizen participation. If he wishes, he could add that two major documentaries are now out on the honest election issue: HACKING DEMOCRACY which was aired on HBO last November and is now available on DVD; and The Right To Count, which is available on DVD.

This press conference could be filmed by us and put up immediately on YouTube – and on other pro-Ron Paul websites. If the Big TV Networks don't cover it – SHAME ON THEM – and they will pay with a further erosion of whatever credibility they have left – when people see what really happened on YouTube, and honest websites.

**** AND – if the GOP of Iowa is still stubbornly refusing by the time of this proposed press conference to have an open count – then we will have 30,000 pieces of white paper, 8 ½ x 11, and 100 boxes present at the press conference – so that even at that point the computerized machines with their "black box" count could be scrapped by the Iowa GOP leaders– and replaced with the white pieces of paper. Then each of the Straw Poll voters could simply writing their choice for President on a blank piece of paper – to be counted in the open, before witnesses from every campaign, right as the voting closes later that afternoon. Even at that late moment, we could offer the Iowa GOP the option of doing the right thing and counting the votes in the open.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

This is no longer a fringe issue. Just about everyone is aware that honest elections are a pre-requisite of a free society.

Remember the quote attributed to Communist Tyrant Joseph Stalin: "Those who CAST the votes decide nothing; those who COUNT the votes decide everything."

Millions of our fellow Americans have fought, and bled, and died over the last 235 years to secure your right, and my right to cast a ballot that COUNTS.

The Supreme Count ruled TWICE not so many years ago, that the right to vote includes the right to have your vote honestly counted. (United States v. Mosley, 1915: found in 238 US 383 at p. 384; and Reynolds v Sims, 1964; found at 377 US 533 at p. 534).

The Iowa Straw Poll on August 11, 2007 in Ames, Iowa is the first big confrontation of the 2008 Presidential election cycle.

At this event we have the chance to meaningfully do battle with the other campaigns, with the GOP of Iowa over how the votes are counted – and with the Big Media that has been suppressing the real support for the Ron Paul campaign, while hyping and inflating the non-existent support for the Giuliani campaign. (That's why Giuliani pulled out of the Straw Poll, obviously. The despicable, dishonest Big TV Networks, instead of saying that Giuliani looks bad because he can't find any warm bodies that support him in Iowa, they turned reality on its head and are trying to say that Giuliani's pull out is make the Iowa Straw Poll a less meaningful event. It already has communicated one meaning to sane people: Giuliani can't compete with Ron Paul on the ground in Iowa.)

The Founding Fathers went to GREAT inconvenience to "attend" many of the battles that led to the founding of our nation.

It will be a great inconvenience for many to make the trip to Ames, Iowa this August 11th. But now is the time. If you possibly can – get there. Whether we wish it or not, the first big battle is upon us.

See you at Ames, Iowa for the Iowa Straw Poll of 2007 – and for the "Hope for America": Presidential candidate Ron Paul.



Jim Condit Jr.

Director, Citizens for a Fair Vote Count
Network America E-wire