NYC CAN - David Ray Griffin
Dear Fellow Advocates for 9/11 Truth,
For nearly eight long years, the 9/11 Truth Movement has been seeking to discover and publicize the truth behind the events of September 11, 2001. Although the obstacles have been formidable, more than enough has been discovered to show the official story to be false, and the awareness of this fact, polls show, has been spread over much of the planet.
The time is now ripe to convert this awareness into tangible, political results.
Today, our best opportunity to take this step forward is represented in the efforts of NYC CAN (the New York City Coalition for Accountability Now). It has been working long and hard to get a referendum on the NYC ballot to authorize the City's own investigation into 9/11. A petition to put such a referendum on the ballot must be supported by 30,000 valid signatures.
On June 24, 2008, NYC CAN submitted a petition with 52,000 signatures. The 22,000 extra signatures were to provide a comfortable cushion in case some of them were deemed invalid.
Last week, however, the city clerk validated only 26,003 of them (calling 24,664 invalid and leaving 1,333 undetermined). This left NYC CAN 3,997 signatures short of what is needed to put the petition before the City Council.
Having anticipated that this would happen---that no matter how many signatures it submitted, the city clerk would declare a sufficient number of them invalid to prevent the 30,000 number from being reached---NYC CAN was prepared to go to court, if necessary.
NYC CAN will go to court this Monday, August 3, for its first hearing. But its formal plaintiffs---four 9/11 family members and one survivor---are proceeding without the aid of an experienced election lawyer.
It is essential that, as soon as possible after this first hearing, NYC CAN is able to enlist NYC's most experienced lawyer on referendums.
The good news here is that NYC CAN, I am told, has already raised almost enough to hire this lawyer. But several thousand dollars more are still needed.
Please consider donating right away to NYC CAN’s legal defense fund (http://nyccan.org/donate.php).
With outstanding legal representation, NYC CAN and its plaintiffs may be able to win, which would mean that on November 3, the voters of New York City would have the opportunity to vote for a new 9/11 investigation. And we know from polls that, if New Yorkers are given this chance, they almost certainly will vote for it.
This will mean that we will finally have that for which so many of us have worked so hard: a truly independent investigation with subpoena power.
So I would encourage everyone to donate what they can to NYC CAN, which has done such heroic work and deserves our support (http://nyccan.org/donate.php).
-David Ray Griffin
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"This left NYC CAN 3,997 signatures short of what is needed to put the petition before the City Council."
How brutally ironic that the shortfall is approximately the same number of people that were killed on 911.
Having little or no faith in the American justice system or indeed hierarchical systems of any kind, I have not spoken out about the NY ballot initiative. I favor grass roots outreach along the lines of the 11th Day actions -- which I only wish had received the kind of support by leaders in the 911 truth movement that NYCAN is currently receiving. However I feel that there is a real opportunity here to spread awareness, and have now donated to the campaign. Good luck to all involved and I hope you can find a good lawyer to challenge this assault on democracy.
I thought that was
I thought that was 2,997?
Still it's typical of them to invalidate signatures, and for what reasons exactly? Did they even mention why? I doubt it.
They are stalling this the only way they can and that's by continually scratching legitimate signatures on technicalities (I'd assume). Perhaps some signatures didn't comply with the new version of newspeak.
I thought that was
I thought that was 2,997"
There have been hundreds of deaths (so far) by virtue of "air quality".
Suggestion for Justin...
Re-format text you receive in the form of an email. So the margins are gone...
Do these people deserve to know how and why their loved ones were murdered? Do we deserve to know how and why 9/11 happened?
Will do.
Sorry about that!
Perhaps
http://lawyersfor911truth.blogspot.com can be of assistance?
They have not been helpful
The problem as I understand it also lies in how the petition was written, as many had expressed concern about over a year ago when Les Jaimeson was in charge. Their advice went unheeded.
William Pepper was involved in this, and I wonder how someone as experienced as him would have signed off on the petition given its known errors and problems?
LF911Truth have been silent on the issue.
________________________
“The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today -- my own government.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
http://www.ubuntu.com
So its OK to criticize everything
Except the tactics employed by the 9/11 truth movement?
________________________
“The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today -- my own government.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
http://www.ubuntu.com
black and white reasoning
where have i seen that sort of black and white reasoning before?
oh yes: "you are either with us - or you are with the terrorists."
ya know jonathan - although there has been a lot of debate on both sides of this issue - your posts stand out on almost every thread as particularly draconian in your inability to tolerate opposing viewpoints. it appears you consistently get voted down. so - i am not so sure you possess the moral authority to lecture and accuse others.
this is a TRUTH movement - and we are not all going to neatly get in line and blindly follow Les Jamieson or you or anyone else.
"We need to move beyond conspiracy theories and slogans - and return to our roots. 9/11 Truth is no less than a constitution battle to ensure our rights as citizens to demand full and honest answers from our appointed representatives in Washington." JA
I also want to hear from Pepper
If a lawyer with his background, who has been involved with this effort, won't clarify things for us non-lawyers, that to me is a red flag. A red flag signifying what, exactly, I don't know.
http://www.DemocracyABC.org
http://www.therealnews.com
http://www.pdamerica.org
Perhaps
...a public clarification might jeopardize chances in court? Anything you say can and will be used against you...
http://911truthburn.blogspot.
http://911truthburn.blogspot.com
Thanks Justin for reposting.
I donated
because I believe we must proceed by every means possible, and grassroots efforts will only go so far. Please donate whatever amount you can.
imperfect
This initiative was imperfect from the very start. Some of us refused to endorse it for that reason. Some still refuse to endorse it for that reason. I sympathize with their frustration.
but - i cannot in good conscience fail to support the victim's families on this. This may turn out to be largely a symbolic gesture - but it is a powerful one.
if members of the victim's families are going to court to demand their right to independently investigate 9/11 - i do not know how any self-respecting 9/11 truth advocate can fail to support their efforts.
what we need at this point is less debate - and more coordinated effort to saturate the media with press releases on this situation. lets get this damned story into the media - and turn the debate into the LARGER ISSUE at hand. 9/11 - NOT RESOLVED.
"We need to move beyond conspiracy theories and slogans - and return to our roots. 9/11 Truth is no less than a constitution battle to ensure our rights as citizens to demand full and honest answers from our appointed representatives in Washington." JA
Agreed
Oh, the intrigues of the truth movement!
So, the petition was flawed. The lesson here is that if there is to be a next time, that we do it right. Of course the system will fight us at every angle, but if we do it according to THEIR rules, at least we have a leg to stand on when the fight begins.
At this point, though the coalition seems like its a failure, the real victory here is that 70,000 New Yorkers have already voted in support of it. Its a victory because over 100 victims family members, survivors, and first responders are public in their support of a new investigation. This fact must be publicized and promoted.
And if the families want to keep fighting, then I will too. But the fight to get a new investigation via NYC CAN is over, apparently. The fight now is to show that despite all of the support I mentioned, the city of New York and the media are steadfast in their abuse of power and resources.
________________________
“The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today -- my own government.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
http://www.ubuntu.com
Big Thumbs Up
That sums it up quite well, JA. "...less debate- and more coordinated effort to saturate the media with press releases on this situation. let's get this damned story into the media."
Any thoughts on the best way to break this story open? Which media outlets might be most responsive? Or if a public demonstration of support might also be necessary to force the media's hand.
One caveat,
and I'm going to guess that you share this with me, is that if the ultimate story about this NYC CAN effort can be easily spun by the mainstream media as one of incompetence, then all the energy put into breaking into the msm will be used against us in classic msm spinning, kung fu fashion.
Tabloid headlines reading :
Inept Conspiracy Theorists Bamboozle Families of 9/11 Victims!
or
70,000 New Yorkers Sign Badly Flawed Petition
More likely they will just continue to ignore us and hope that we go away, which we won't.
I've sat on the fence 3,000 miles away, staying neutral and wishing it well, but with 70,000 petition signers and all the family endorsements I think we owe it to everyone to make the best of this situation. At the same time, we have to do a very careful cost/benefit analysis keeping in mind the battles to come.
The spinsters lose more influence every day.
Just keep making lemonade, brothers and sisters, truthing can be thirsty work.
The truth shall set us free. Love is the only way forward.
An Imperfect Initiative
I believe that I understand and appreciate the points being made (support of the families and related positive points). Furthermore, I have been very keen on and hopeful about this initiative, and I gave money to the endeavor.
However, if the media ignored the initiative as it was unfolding, it is difficult to believe that it will give voice to it and its concerns now that its flawed character is being acknowledged by us folks.
It is an extremely sad and very disappointing moment for me, and I know that it is for other signatories with whom I have spoken.