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	Rex Ballard
	http://cnj.digex.net/~rballard

> From: Larry 
> Thom, may be a little early with his suggestion, but don't discount it.
> 
> Thomas Jefferson, 13 Nov 1787:
> God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion...If they remain quiet
> under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty...
> And what country can preserve its liberties, if it's rulers are not warned from time to 
> time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistence?  Let them take arms.  The 
> rememdy is to set the right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them.  What signify a few
> lives lost in a century or two?  The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time,
> with the blood of patriots and tyrants.  It is its natural manure.

In the 200 years since this was written, there has only been one armed
rebellion.  We have as structure for mobilizing political opinion, for
altering the government from the inside.  In recent history:
	- The riots in Watts and Harlem made very little difference, and
		even polarized the opposition.  The spectacle of hundreds
		of unarmed men and woman, dressed in their sunday best,
		being shot with rubber bullets and knocked over with
		fire-hoses, punctuated by Martin Luther King's "I have a
		Dream" (that included everybody), altered history.  What
		ultimately turned the tide was the death of Dr. King.

	- The Vietnam riots.  When SDS engaged in violent protests
		and threatened revolt, the opposition was polarized
		against them.  When they walked through the streets,
		unarmed, carrying flowers, and had their heads beaten in
		with nightsticks as they sat-in,   When six children at
		Kent State (who weren't even in the demonstration) were
		killed, President Nixon stopped shooting and started
		listening.

	- In the 1950's, blacklisted teachers, writers, and entertainers
		were subjected to public "tribunal by inference".  When
		Michael Douglas had Zero Mostel as a guest, people saw
		that these "Communists" were innocent people, like
		themselves, who had been economically executed by a
		corrupt political system that was subsequently dismantled.

	- In the 1920's, prohibition gave rise to armed gangsters,
		speak-easys and paramilitary Thugs.  By the mid 30's, 
		these gangsters united and created an international
		organization.  Their part in Roosevelt's election
		is still unclear.  What was clear was that the
		government's attempt to legislate morality had been
		a dismal failure.  Prohibition was repealed.

	- In the 1890's, the Women's movement, led by Carrie Nation and
		Susan B. Anthony, engaged in violent protests.  Ms. Nation
		would break up an entire brewery or still before being
		carted off to jail.  When a silent movie, called
		 "The Drunkard" was released to theaters, public opinion
		shifted and both Prohibition, and the Women's movement
		were Popularized.

	- In the 1850's, John Brown was killed trying to lead the slaves
		into an open revolt.  When Uncle Thom's Cabin was
		published, the Abolishonist movement had widespread
		support.  Even the south had become more humane in
		their treatment of slaves.

Ghandi was the first great leader to realize that wars and countries were
not won with weapons and death, but by capturing the hearts and minds of
it's people.  He even threatened to become the country's first martyr,
in order to promote peaceful coexistance between Hindus and Muslims.

> Larry
> > From: Richard Hague 
> > >From: JLSTMF 
> > >
> > >I'm ready to take the ultimate plunge! Maybe its time for all of us
> > >to realize that the only way Natural Law ( the sweet Godly intent of
> > >our worthy Constitution) will be reestablished in this God forsaken
> > >land, is to establish a militia wing of our Men's organizations.

There have been two demonstrations.  In each case, the press didn't even
cover the issues involved.  They were merely described by the media as a
bunch of militant fanatics barrocading themselves inside a compound.

> > >Some of us have been so disenfranchised from our  children's  lives
> > >that we have little or nothing to loose.

I have seen my children for 8 hours in 5 years.  I call and they're not
home, I talk and they don't respond.  I don't even recognize my son's
voice.

 I know there is little to gain by being "John Brown", but perhaps
we can write our own versions of "Uncle Tom's Cabin".  The Father's
Manefesto pages are a good start.  Having every horror story, and inviting
members of the media to review them, may ultimately strike a chord in
the hearts of many men and women.  For 100 years, divorce has been
dramatized as a selfish act, caused by man's adultery, abuse, or
negligence.

 Kramer vs. Kramer was the first major event to show
a woman who just wanted "Out", not because he was a creep, or because he
was a bad person, but because she wanted to pursue other goals.  Mrs.
Doubtfire is another example of a "Hero Father" who loses his kids.
Public opinion is shifted gradually, through a network of conversations,
and through media events, staged or real, that shift perceptions of who is
the victim and who is the perpetrator.


> > > This nation once trained me
> > >for combat. I have not forgotten my training nor the Constitution
> > >for which I once offered my life to uphold. I am far wiser now and
> > >my cause dearer beyond words. Maybe its time for action to speak.

I was ineligible.  I just drew circuits which turned into the "smart
bombs" and "drone missles" that place napalm within less than 100 feet
of the desired targets.  The drawings were taken from my locker while I
was still in school.

> > >What say you my honorable brothers?
> > >Give me liberty or give me death...

> > Call me chicken, but I say death sucks.  Civil war is serious and probably
> > something I'll bet that even you don't really want. There isn't a whole
> > lot of support for it either.  Personally, I have no desire to shoot these
> > idiots.

Want to be another one of those "Whacko's from Waco"?  Want to be another
"Montana Freemen -Crackpot Society"?, how about being a "Dead-Beat
Drop-out gone Postal?".   The first thing the FBI does in a situation like
that is cut off all communication.  They even jam radio frequencies and
block cellular phones.

> > Like if you don't like something that has difficulty breathing
> > without severe concentration, then why would you shoot it?  Just walk away
> > from it.  I say use your energy and talent to be a manager of the rats on
> > the treadmill instead of being on of the rats.  Don't worry, the rats will
> > eventaully gravitate to the bottom of the wheel that will be between your
> > hands above a pond of sewage.

I keep feeling like the rat stuck in the wheel.  but you are right.  The
best way to impact it is to expose every abuse, publish it in every
possible form of the media, and make sure that people's perception shifts
from "Dead-Beat-Dad" to "Child-Support-Hooker".



From rballard@cnj.digex.net Thu May 30 12:44:07 1996