A Rather Good Plan For Citizen-Sponsored Investigations - 911 or Dallas or....

[Peter Lemkin]

Sen Gravel makes a convincing argument, and is well on his way [along with others], toward state by state and city by city initiatives that can lead to subpeana powers and putting people under oath.....well worth a listen, as the plan would work as well for 911 as for Dallas - or any other suspected SCAD [state crime against democracy].

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/17215280

[Ed Jewett]

I spent five hours last week making phone calls to the media about the certified initiative effort in my state, and then sent a small check to the national effort. Further work ensues.

[Ed Jewett]

From fellow DPF member Jonathan Mark's newsletter:

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"The evidence in hand points to the urgent need
for a citizens' investigation with grand jury powers."

- U.S. Senator Mike Gravel
(D-Alaska, 1969-1981)

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9/11 Initiative Campaign - Senator Mike Gravel
[URL="http://9-11cc.org/"]Citizens 9/11 Commission
[/URL]This is a new initiative that uses the prevailing ballot
box, to establish a truly independent commission to
pursue justice regarding the events of September 11.
An Actionable Plan for 9/11 Truth and Justice
Join with Flyby News and Valley 9/11 Truth
[URL="http://files.meetup.com/300645/An%20Actionable%20Plan%20for%209-11%20Truth.pdf"]Download article and support the campaign!

[/URL]13 September 2011 - Youtube - 9-11cc.org
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n3cKua07-0&NR=1"]Senator Mike Gravel at Boston Statehouse
[/URL][URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n3cKua07-0&NR=1"]Announcement of the Massachusetts Ballot
Initiative for a Citizens' 9/11 Commission[/URL]
Youtube
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioACnrPexQI"]Cynthia McKinney at Boston Statehouse
[/URL]Press Release
[URL="http://9-11cc.org/index.php/702-2/"]Launch of Massachusetts Initiative Campaign
Attorney General Martha Coakley certifies
controversial 9/11 measure for ballot access[/URL]
For events, actions in western Massachusetts
[URL="http://www.meetup.com/valley911truth/#"]Valley 9/11 Truth

[/URL]September 8-11, 2011 - Toronto Hearings - Video
[URL="http://torontohearings.org/schedule-and-live-coverage/"]International Hearings on 9/11
[/URL][URL="http://torontohearings.org/schedule-and-live-coverage/"]Click ustream.tv to view Hearings

[/URL]11 September 2011 - Youtube - Toronto Hearings
Senator Mike Gravel [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQDgp742bcQ&feature=related"]: State
Deception in the Past and Today

[/URL]14 September 2011 - Scoop World - Kyle Hence
[URL="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1109/S00293/cia-threats-of-federal-prosecution-delay-911-documentary.htma"]CIA Threats of Federal
Prosecution
Delay 9/11 Documentary
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[Peter Lemkin]

It is far from 'ideal', but a very good plan - and thus far the ONLY plan I've seen anyone work out that has any chance, at all within the USA. It goes around the usual political control which would stifle and control - if not can simply ignore any future investigations, if run through the system. A corrupt system is not going to investigate itself. Those who control the system will not allow any such thing. We have very little democracy left; this initiative processes makes full use of what little we do have. hutup: IMO, people should run with this plan for both 911 and Dallas!...before they close this loophole and make such initiatives illegal.

[Peter Lemkin]

An Actionable Plan for 9/11 Truth
By Senator Mike Gravel - June 3, 2011
As each anniversary of 9/11 rolls by, the import of this tragedy looms ever larger in our history. Especially looming
like storm clouds on the horizon of American politics are the unanswered questions about these events. And as new
evidence and new whistleblowers come forward seemingly every week, the import of the 9/11 truth movement
multiplies in historic significance. All of this points to the urgent need for a new, independent investigation with
subpoena and other grand jury powers--a citizen's commission that is truly free of partisan political interference.
As we approach 9/11's tenth anniversary, we are reminded each time we pick up a newspaper that the government's
"official 9/11 story" resulted in three interminable wars: Afghanistan, Iraq, and the War on Terror. The official line
also conveniently sets the stage for the Patriot Act that abridged so many of our liberties and civil rights, plus a
long list of other abuses such as egregious torture of "terror suspects" in the name of national security. Our
dilemma ten years later reminds me of a prescient statement made by James Madison: "If Tyranny and Oppression
come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
The U.S. government's investigations that culminated in the 9/11 Commission Report purported to set the record
straight about the perpetrators of terrorism on our soil and the mistakes made by those whose sacred task is to
defend our shores. But this 2004 report has since been called into question by a very long list of credible voices,
not only within the United States, but throughout the world. Even the co-chair of the Commission, Governor
Thomas Kean, admitted failure: "We think the Commission, in many ways, was set up to fail. Because we had not
enough money, we didn't have enough time, and we [were] appointed by the most partisan people in Washington."
Thousands of civic volunteers calling themselves the 9/11 truth movement have gone on to parse the events of that
fateful day, offering scientific and rational arguments for why the government's official account is inaccurate,
incomplete, implausible, and in fact constitutes a flimsy conspiracy theory. This body of new evidence and
argumentation, combined with the refusal of our political leaders to even countenance a new investigation--along
with the systematic marginalization of 9/11 truthers by mainstream media--adds to our suspicions that something
profound is amiss.
Direct Democracy: The Way Forward
Presently, our heroic 9/11 truth activists can continue to educate Americans and the world's people with the hope of
pressing the government to act; however, it is evident to me that the federal government simply won't act to change
the 9/11 equation--and the American people simply can't act, other than to continue to educate and agitate. That's
because of one obvious reality: the way to meaningful change is blocked by the elites now in control of the
mainstream media and of Washington (regardless of party), and by the fact that citizens lack any other recourse.
We lack access to the legislative procedures needed to implement the central power of government--lawmaking--at
the federal level. Indeed, this is true as well in most governmental jurisdictions of the United States. But
fortunately there are 24 states that have some form of initiative lawmaking process.
A new activist organization I founded, the citizen's 9/11 Commission Campaign, has been exploring the feasibility
of utilizing the state initiative process by filing state ballot propositions that would create an independent 9/11
commission funded by the citizens themselves. This effort launches on July 4 because of its extreme patriotic
import.
As my team and I begin this work, we are heartened by one unassailable fact: the 9/11 truth movement has grown
and prospered for nearly a decade, gaining millions of supporters through outreach and education in one of the
most remarkable grassroots movements in American history. Our effort builds upon the movement's innumerable
breakthroughs and hard-won lessons. We believe these lessons point to a new approach to our common goals based
on citizen power.
Of this I am certain: the 9/11 truth movement is grassroots; that sovereign power lies with the people; and
that our fellow citizens are now awakened to 9/11 truth in vast numbers. It is time for a winning approach to
change: the method of direct democracy--the state ballot initiative.
Direct Democracy for 9/11 Truth
The cause of direct democracy has been my principal passion since my two terms in the Senate (1969-1981). I
founded and served as president of the Democracy Foundation, Philadelphia II, and Direct Democracy, nonprofit
corporations dedicated to the establishment of direct democracy in the United States through the enactment of the
National Initiative for Democracy, that would, in essence, empower the American people themselves to be
lawmakers. We have not achieved this goal yet, but the process of direct democracy still thrives at the state level.
And that's why, at a gathering of 9/11 truth advocates in New York City in September 2010, I suggested a new path
to 9/11 truth and justice: that of using the initiative process in several states as a vehicle to enact a law creating a
new 9/11 citizen's commission that would investigate the intelligence failures prior to 9/11, the events of that day,
and the aftermath that resulted in wars and the disfigurement of America's cultural values. My suggestion was well
received at the meeting in New York and subsequently in talks with 9/11 truth activists across California, the state
most known for its initiatives. My idea was not original in that it followed upon a campaign for an initiative under
New York City law propounded by truth advocates, one that had garnered more than 80,000 petition signatures,
only to be thrown out by the New York State Supreme Court.
Building on the New York experience, I approached the California Legislative Counsel in October 2010 for
assistance in drafting a prospective law that would create a new investigative commission--independent of federal
and state governments--but with the necessary powers to get to the facts (i.e., subpoena and oath taking). The
vision of the commission would be to pursue an investigation wherever the evidence leads. No person would be
immune from criminal implication, regardless of political station in or out of government (domestic or foreign).
I am convinced that the independence of the new commission can only be guaranteed if the appointment of its
members is controlled by a 9/11 truth vision, rather than the customary commission-appointment process typically
conducted by governors and legislators. The California initiative text includes the use of a Joint Powers Agreement
whereby other government jurisdictions can endorse and participate by adding their powers to the powers of the
California commission--when and if it is approved by voters on November 2, 2012.
Key Considerations Point to Oregon, Massachusetts, and Alaska
California is, of course, a very large and complicated state. Additional legal investigations we are now pursuing
have led us to consider other states with simpler initiative laws that may present fewer challenges than California.
With respect to these states, we are especially interested in their statutes and constitutional provisions that govern
the following key issues:
their commission-appointment process
rules concerning a "Joint Powers Agreement"
the number of signatures needed to get on their ballots
rules governing timing for submission of signatures
We have since concluded that the initiative process in California is overly expensive and otherwise not ideal for a
number of reasons, and that we should prioritize our work in three states: Oregon, Massachusetts, and Alaska. You
will learn more about these considerations at our website, 911cc.org.
A primary objective is to build a nationwide grassroots movement in support of a new commission, especially once
a new 9/11 commission has been authorized in the first state to pass one of our initiatives. We are especially
focused on how to harmonize the powers granted to the new commission with the governmental powers of other
political jurisdictions across the U.S. Through this harmonization process, other states and local governments
would be able to geographically enlarge the jurisdiction of the new commission by passing Participation Initiatives
or Resolutions of Support. Such votes would extend the commission's authorized legal and financial powers to
their jurisdiction--including subpoena power.
The Challenge Ahead: Building an Effective Citizen's Campaign
The issues surrounding 9/11 are national and global in character. We can capitalize on that awareness by injecting
the creation of a new commission as a wedge issue in the presidential contest in 2012 and all the key political
races. This opportunity will not present itself again until 2016. Success or failure will be determined by the
resources that can be brought to bear on our organizational efforts, the additional research, and the petition
campaigns to qualify the initiatives, all culminating in the political drive to secure their enactment--but, of course,
it takes money to fund this huge effort.
If we are able to raise the necessary funds for this undertaking, I believe there is no possibility of failure even if no
initiative is enacted into law. A much bigger national debate on 9/11 advances our present goal--alerting more
Americans to the problem, and more importantly, pointing to a solution. Again, our plan will encompass an
exploratory effort in several initiative states, examining the legal possibilities of interrelating state (and local)
jurisdictions to establish and fund the new commission for a citizens' 9/11 investigation.
Fundraising will not be confined to the U.S. alone. This task will be pursued globally. Awareness of the need for a
new investigation of 9/11 is guaranteed regardless of whether any initiative is enacted into law or not. We are
adding an actionable goal to the existing mission of the 9/11 truth movement that may actually bring about the best
tool for truth and justice: a new citizens' investigation commission independent of federal and state governments.
Mike Gravel was a 2008 presidential candidate and U.S. Senator from Alaska (19691981),
during which time he was best known for his filibuster that ended the draft, and for reading the
Pentagon Papers into the Congressional Record, the legality of which was confirmed in an
historic Supreme Court case. Gravel later founded and served as president of the Democracy
Foundation, Philadelphia II, and Direct Democracy, nonprofit corporations dedicated to the
establishment of direct democracy in the United States through the enactment of the National
Initiative for Democracy. Gravel founded the citizens' 9/11 Commission Campaign in 2010.