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QUOTATION: People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote - a very different thing. - Walter H. Judd

2004-10-19 - 11:50 p.m. This is a Failed Administration Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud." - President Bush, Oct. 7, 2002 The president likes to say he made exactly the right decision on Iraq. Each new death of a soldier or a civilian, each child who loses a parent to the carnage, each healthy body that is broken or burned in this war that didn't have to happen, is a reminder of how horribly wrong he was. � Bob Herbert, Oct. 18, 2004 UC Davis Distinguished Speaker Series The following is a synopsis of staff writer Sharon Stello�s review article in tonight�s Davis Enterprise: �Forever is a long time in the Middle East,� said former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson. He participated Monday night in a panel discussion - the first in this year�s Distinguished Speakers Series - with acclaimed journalist Dr. Bob Arnot, who is a physician, author and television news correspondent with an undergraduate degree in Islamic studies and an ability to speak fluent Arabic. They agreed that Iraq had been a power on the wane before the war. Wilson noted that before troops invaded Iraq, there wee already no-fly zones over the north and south and economic sanctions that were essentially starving the military and a good share of the population, who were selling their jewels and heirlooms to buy the necessities of life. Wilson believes America is no safer now than it was the day after September 11th, but Arnot says, �Are we safe? No. Are we safer? I believe, yes.� However, he said that a successful September 11th probably regalvanized al-Qaia and that a small percentage of radical Muslims have deep-seated hatred against Americans and their ancestors, going back to the first crusades. �No matter what we do, they�re still going to hate us.� Arnot also said he believes the war in Iraq developed as a �neo-isolationist fantasy� that democracy could be recreated in Afghanistan and Iraq and would then spread to other neighboring countries. The both agreed that the administration did not sufficiently consider what it was they were doing before asking our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines to go and die in our name. Wilson suggested that with the presidential election only two weeks away, the public has a chance to stop the current chain of decisions and actions from continuing as they have been. �We fight these battles at the voting booth,� he said. �I find it amazing that the polls are as close as they are�This is a failed administration�I feel, as an American, we�ve been let down.� Sinclair Promoting Political Agenda on Prime-Time TV � Act Now! Join the boycott against the Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair has ordered its 62 local stations to broadcast an anti-Kerry film a few days before the November 2, 2004 general election. The broadcast will preempt normal prime-time programming on those outlets. We are boycotting the advertisers because it is the most effective way of persuading this media conglomerate, whose four founders control 90% of the voting stock. Write, phone or e-mail the advertisers to express your displeasure with the station's proposed plans. During the previous week, Sinclair's stock fell $.46. This represents a net loss in capitalization of nearly $40 million dollars. If I were a shareholder, I would be exercising my right to sue. ---------- Please, please, please be civil to the advertisers and their representatives. By promoting a political agenda over their customers' best interest, Sinclair has put these companies in a very difficult position. Threats are not the way to convince them of this. We want to help them; we have attorneys available to view their contracts. We will not publicize their departure. We simply want to show them, whatever their political leanings are, that this action sets a horrible precedent in our country, and it is time for all Americans to respond. Progress Update: As of right now, we have over 50 confirmed advertiser pullouts from Sinclair, including at least one large national advertiser. Although I have decided to hold fast to a position of not revealing the names of those who have pulled out, I will pass on the names of the companies who have specifically instructed me to do so. At this time, I have no such instructions. As you receive information on pullouts, please email them to me at [email protected]. Please do not assume that I already know. Progress Update 2: The folks at www.stopsinclair.com have gathered nearly 90,000 signatures for their petition. Our goal is to gather 10,000 more in the next 2 hours, so please pass this on to as many people as possible. So, did you miss me? We took a quick trip to Sea Ranch for a few days to get out of the smoke-filled Valley. It was overcast, a bit rainy off and on, white waves crashing against the rocks in front of the big windows of the Great Room of the house our friends had rented for the week. Ed got in a bit of hiking, while I enjoyed the solitude. I finished reading �What We�ve Lost� and am more than ever convinced that this is a failed Presidency. Bush sold himself in 2000 as a "compassionate conservative" with no interest in "nation building" � in short, a moderate, much like his father. Just enough voters and the Supreme Court bought that to put him in the White House. A moderate was not what we got. As Washington Post columnist David Broder, a longtime observer of presidents, warned early in Bush�s term: this administration is the most radical in the nation�s history. He was right. We MUST change that. There are still ways you can help � Volunteer Every hour you're able to volunteer makes a difference. You can help in your area, or travel to a battleground state before Election Day. John Kerry, John Edwards and Democrats nationwide can't win this election without our help. Vote � and remind your neighbors to vote, too. Drive someone to the polls on November 2nd. 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