We are pagan and we vote! (explanation)

Order of Whiteoak ( Ord Na Darach Gile )

For Immediate Release
Please Forward Widely

Contact: Whiteoak [at] ziplip.com
Web: http://geocities.com/ordnadarachgile/

February 26, 2004

From: The Order of Whiteoak (Ord na Darach Gile)

"We Are Pagan and We Vote"

In the memory of all those who will be casting their votes
in November of 2004, there has been no administration
whose policies and actions have been more antithetical to
the tenets of Druidic faith than those of George W. Bush.
He has failed our nation in all matters of governance, including
environmental issues, civil and human rights, education,
health care, domestic and international economics and
trade policy and, most tragically, in sending our troops to Iraq
in an unjustifiable war.

The Pagan community has not been quiescent in response
to his actions, and it is encouraging to see the measures
that so many have taken in the continuing effort to increase
public awareness of the dangers this administration presents
not only to ourselves but to the entire world. There is still
much more to do, but a singular opportunity to help repair
some of the damage is soon to present itself to each one of
us.

Every four years, The Constitution of the United States
provides each registered voter with an opportunity to make
a genuinely pro-active and practical act of dissent or support
with the right to vote in the presidential election process.
In the election of 2004, in Florida and in other regions of
the country, we all saw how vulnerable this most basic
right is to improper manipulation and tampering.
The temptation is to assume that the vote of the individual
has lost its usefulness, but we must not allow ourselves to
be kept away from the polls out of a sense of futility. We must
use the opportunity that will arrive in November of this year
to correct this injustice by asserting our right to vote in such
numbers that they will be impossible to negate.

As a religious minority in this country, Pagans are especially
obliged to contribute to the number of votes that will remove
an administration that, at best, marginalizes and disregards
our opinions. At worst, this administration has stated publicly
that our various Pagan denominations are invalid as religions,
in an attempt to disenfranchise our beliefs and violate another
of our rights as citizens of this country.

This year, your vote is more important than ever before.
The members of The Order of Whiteoak urge you to first
register to vote if you have not, and then exercise your right
in the remaining State caucuses and primaries, then again
in the crucial November election.

We also ask that you consider the following in choosing your
candidate, preparing to cast your vote and in planning
additional support that you may wish to give beyond the
gift of your vote.

1. The following URLs will take you to sites that will
facilitate registration and provide state and local information
about how to best participate in this election.

The Interfaith Alliance has partnered with Working Assets
to register and inform voters:
https://www.workingforchange.com/vote/index.cfm?ms=INT001

National Mail Voters Registration:
http://www.fec.gov/votregis/vr.htm

Information on procedures for all fifty states and support
links:
http://www.register-to-vote.net

The League of Women Voters. These sites include a large
variety of links that cover a wide range of election related
topics.
http://www.lwv.org (national site)
http://www.lwv.org/about/state.html (local link page)


2. The votes for this election must be properly counted.

We urge each of you to contact NAACP
( http://www.naacp.org/contact/ )
and the Southern Poverty Law Center
( http://www.splcenter.org )
and urge them to help assure that poll watchers are at every
high-risk polling place in Florida and in any other state where
questionable election oversight has been noted.

3. There is growing concern that the electronic
voting machines by Diebold Corporation are insecure
from tampering. Read more about this issue at:
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/
http://www.lawrenceimc.org/newswire/display/211/index.php
http://www.blackboxvoting.com/

Please contact your members of Congress regarding
this issue.

4. If we succeed in electing a candidate more in line
with our beliefs and goals, it is imperative that the new
president be supported with a Congress that is capable
of the necessary change in direction. In November, we
will have an opportunity to vote for all of the seats in the
House of Representatives and one third of the Senate
seats. Please consider you choices carefully, and support
local candidates who will serve with wisdom.

To find your current members of Congress and lots
of additional voter information quickly and easily:
http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm

Highly detailed and current information can
also be found at the Federal Election Commission site:
http://www.fec.gov/elections.html

5. The current administration has already raised campaign
funds that amount to the largest war-chest in history. As of
this writing, the amount is $150,550,000.00. Keep track
of campaign contributions for all declared candidates as
the figures change at:
http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/

We urge you to give what you can in campaign
contributions to your candidate of choice. Money will be
critical in this election. Please help where and when you can.

Please vote.


The Order of Whiteoak
( Ord na Darach Gile )

Permission is granted to repost as long as nothing is
altered or removed.