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
http://www.facebook.com/BurnTheBallot2012

Join the FB event page
http://www.facebook.com/events/353448018078644/

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