PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Recall November 2004
by Fred Pohlmann Saturday, Jul. 24, 2004 at 5:35 PM
pohlmann@ihwy.com

The White House is too important to renew the rental agreement with the Bush administration.

To the citizens of Pennsylvania

Your state is among those few whose election outcome in November seems uncertain. Your vote could determine who will occupy the White House next year. That is why in the coming months those from other states who want to influence your choice will bombard you with leaflets, phone calls, T.V. ads, and newspaper editorials. This open letter is such an attempt.
It is a plea to Democrats, Greens, Naderites, and independents.


Not since the early 70’s have the people of the world held our foreign policy in such contempt, and never have they been so angry with our overseas business strategies. The Bush Administration has disregarded popular international agreements and organizations such as the Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, International Criminal Court, and Convention on the Rights of the Child. The environmental and civil liberties gains of the past 40 years are being systematically dismantled. By the means of both partisan legislation and the rulings of Republican appointed judges, the erosion of the triad balance of power that our forefathers envisioned has accelerated the dangerous drift toward a monoculture government. In all fairness, one could easily argue that the weak resistance, even complicity, on the part of Democrats in our Congress has contributed to this process. The White House pressures organizations like the EPA to slant its findings. The veil of secrecy that envelops this administration’s operations is unprecedented. Its conflicts of interest as a result of its intimate relations with big business have been well documented. We are engaged in an illegal war that the citizens of the world did not want (witness 2/15/03) and do not support. How much more damage will be done if Bush and his neo-conservative policy makers are granted another four years? We are witnessing nothing less than the undoing of democracy.


Enough! Our nation, other nations, and the planet cannot afford another four years of this administration. Normon Solomon has said that it is an historical imperative to remove Bush. So let’s evict him. Vote for John Kerry, the only the candidate who can defeat Bush.
Some of the concerns of progressives are that a Kerry administration will not satisfactorily resolve the turmoil in Iraq, or alter our pattern of militarizing the world, or meaningfully modify the WTO, or significantly address the conditions abroad that breed terrorism and hatred of Americans. These concerns are legitimate. But those progressives who are busy attempting to protect our environment and to instill democratic values and safeguards back into our government, our media, and our culture will likely not encounter so vehement a resistance as that from the Bush administration. They will be better able to work their magic. Yes, Kerry seems committed to American empire (this election, unfortunately, will not bring our economic and militaristic tyranny to an end), but his foreign policy will likely not alienate so many governments and their people. Human rights may once again be a consideration within the walls of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And the next major war is less likely to be pre-meditated or preventive.
Let November be a message from the people of the United States that if our leaders go this far to the right, we will impeach them, not through weak-willed elected officials but through a show of force at the ballot box.

Fred Pohlmann
Boulder Creek, California

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