On Monday, November 5th, the day before the Presidential election,

members of the Burn The Ballot Caucus of Movement for a Democratic

Society (MDS), other activists and disgruntled voters, will burn

presidential ballots in protest against what we consider to be a false

choice in a fake electoral system of a pretend democracy. There will

be ballot flames from Oakland, California to New York City to draw

attention to the fact that there is no democracy in the United States

and that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are two corporate puppet

candidates representing the two corporate puppet parties that are the

two faces of the United States Empire.

We acknowledge the historic struggles for suffrage. We acknowledge

that some people believe the vote to be "sacred." However, this

election is anything but sacred. It is, in fact, profane for many

reasons. For some of us, it makes sense to vote on ballot

propositions and candidates for local offices. Others of us, refuse

to vote based on the beliefs that the US electoral system is beyond

redemption and that voting in a bogus anti-democratic system is a vote of confidence

in that system. Whatever your perspective, we invite you to burn your

real or replica presidential ballots.

The "leadership" of neither party is sufficient on the urgent issues

of US imperialism, the environment, and nuclear proliferation. That is

because they are beholden to the greedy capitalist corporations who

have always put gross profit before people, health, safety, and the

environment. What passes for an electoral process in this country is

neither democratic nor representative of the will, needs or desires of

the people. With the signing of the 2012 National Defense

Authorization Act (NDAA), the pretense of democracy is more

transparent than ever before. And the mass media system of

communications is but a mockery of the idea of a society of free

discussion. The mass media is a tool of the corporations who own it.

We believe that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan would serve the interest of

the 1%, the wealthiest citizens. They would expand American military

aggression around the globe. Barack Obama is a proven war criminal,

assassin, perpetrator of torture and rendition, violator of human

rights and civil liberties and prosecutor of whistleblowers. Either

party will give us more endless war and poverty. This election

guarantees only continued death and destruction for a global

population already under the boot of a murderous US empire.

Forty-eight years ago, Mario Savio said, "There's a time when the

operation of the machine becomes so odious--makes you so sick at

heart--that you can't take part. You can't even passively take part.

And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels,

upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it

stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the

people who own it that unless you're free, the machine will be

prevented from working at all."

We find those words applicable today. We will not consent to empire

or fascism under Obama or Romney.

Join us in burning presidential ballots. We do not expect Congress or anyone to

fix the system.

We are pledged to no business as usual for the empire.

We are pledged to working for real participatory democracy!



BURN THE BALLOT CAUCUS, Movement for a Democratic Society (MDS)

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Check out Burn The Ballot 2012 statement

http://www.movementforademocraticsociety.org/

"Like" our FB page

https://www.facebook.com/BurnTheBallot2012

Join the FB event page

https://www.facebook.com/events/353448018078644/

To sign the Burn The Ballot pledge and to join our discussion list, email us at mdsburntheballot@gmail.com