DEFIANCE: A new feature film coming soon to a theater near you

Dear Ironweed supporters,

As you may know, our December lineup of films focuses on homelessness and the Japanese American internment camps of the WWII era.

This holiday season, we came across another important film from the WWII period entitled Defiance, and it's based on a little-known, yet fascinating true story.

We recommend you see Defiance, which hits select theaters on December 31, 2008 and wider theatrical release on January 16, 2009.

This film is an epic tale of family, honor, vengeance and salvation. The year is 1941 and the Jews of Eastern Europe are being massacred by the thousands. Managing to escape certain death, three brothers take refuge in the dense surrounding woods they have known since childhood. There they begin their desperate battle against the Nazis.

Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell star as brothers who turn a primitive struggle to survive into something far more consequential – a way to avenge the deaths of their loved ones by saving thousands of others. At first it is all they can do to stay alive. But gradually, as whispers of their daring spreads, they begin to attract others – men and women, young and old – willing to risk everything for the sake of even a moment’s freedom.

Tuvia (CRAIG) is a reluctant leader and his decisions are challenged by his brother, Zus (SCHREIBER) who worries that Tuvia’s idealistic plans will doom them all. Asael (BELL) is the youngest – caught between his brothers’ fierce rivalry. As a brutal winter descends, they work to create a community, and to keep faith alive when all humanity appeared to be lost.

While we caution that Defiance is a gritty film with some elements of violence, we felt this true story should be heard. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on our blog.

The Team at Ironweed

PS- You can learn more at www.defiancemovie.com

Daughters of Wisdom & Women's Advancement by Bari Pearlman

In the Summer of 2004, I was invited by Lama Norlha Rinpoche, the abbot of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Upstate New York, to join him on his regular visit to his homeland of Nangchen, in remote northeastern Tibet. I was familiar with his humanitarian efforts in Nangchen, where he had been a young monk before his monastery was destroyed and he escaped to India in 1958. "Come make a film about how my people have lived for centuries, before it all changes," he said. So in July 2004, my bag full of protein bars and my veins full of hepatitis vaccine, off we went.

If we likened Tibet's most media-documented and commonly touristed city of Lhasa to Manhattan, Nangchen would be located somewhere in the mountains of Wyoming. It is a remote and rural area with an average altitude of 14,000 feet, situated along the source of the Mekong River. Since 1986, Lama Norlha Rinpoche has created schools for children and established medical clinics there, and rebuilt the Korche Monastery of his childhood. In 1990, he founded Kala Rongo Monastery exclusively for nuns, and later, one of the only monastic colleges for women in all of Tibet. These were the most radical of all his projects, and were met locally with great controversy and skepticism – Why did women need to be educated? Why did they need to practice Buddhism full time? What could a group of nuns possibly contribute to the community? And that was clearly the story I wanted to tell.

From my Western feminist viewpoint, the subservient role of Tibetan women was a travesty, though sadly not at all uncommon in the world. I was therefore eager to meet a group of empowered nuns who had broken free of their gender constraints and were taking their futures into their own hands. Instead, I found only the tiniest beginnings of anything resembling what we would define as a 'feminist revolution' at Kala Rongo. The nuns were much more reserved and shy than I had expected, more grateful and diligent about the opportunities given them than fierce or outspoken. But in their own way, they were completely fulfilled and liberated by their chosen path. So when I finally abandoned my pre-conceived notions about what radical social change should look like, I discovered the power of their transformation-in-progress in the subtleties of their personal stories.

This is how DAUGHTERS OF WISDOM came to be an experiential presentation of the nuns, told in their own words from their particular place of freedom and choice that they experience on their own terms.

As far as the filmmaking itself, we had a crew of three: cinematographer Gena Konstantinakos; local translator Tsering Yuldron, who got quick lessons in being a production assistant, and myself. We did not have official permits to film, but because we were traveling with Lama Norlha Rinpoche, who has high spiritual ranking and a pragmatic working relationship with the Nangchen authorities, we were mostly left to ourselves. Traveling with him was a lot like I imagine it would be like to travel with the Pope. People came out of their tents and houses, from over hills and up from valleys to greet his passing car and receive a blessing from him. Being part of his entourage, we were welcomed and granted intimate access to everyone we came in contact with.

At 14,000 feet, carrying a tripod up even a small staircase was a chore, and the nuns enjoyed teasing us about our huffing and puffing. Even with our fancy hiking boots, climbing up the steep mountains took us four hours of strenuous effort compared to the half hour the nuns (who I am sure are part mountain goat) take in their tennis shoes. Our first week, the headphone jack on our camera went dead and we could not monitor sound, though fortunately, there weren't the usual white noise and radio interferences to worry about in a place with no electricity. We had six 8-hour camera batteries which got charged about once a week when someone was going into the nearby town. Dust got inside the lens (and everywhere else) that wouldn't come out, and we became limited in our ability to shoot toward light.

There were mice crawling across us to get to the cheese storage room on the other side of our sleeping quarters. There was a lot of rice and sautéed green vegetables with no nutritional value, and rancid butter. There were sudden hail and snow storms. There was a lot of waiting, and waiting, and waiting. And an abundance of kindness and generosity and openness and patience on the part of our subjects as they got used to our question after question that forced them to reflect on their lives probably for the first time. (At first, the nuns were coy even at the request of their names, before they explained that "It’s weird to say our names. We never do it.") We always invited our subjects to ask us questions as well, which usually ran along the lines of "How many yaks does your family have?" and "How many of your family members do you live with?"
Upon our return home, the task of translating the 80 hours we had shot was monumental. Numerous local translators tried without success to understand the micro-micro-dialect the nuns spoke. Eventually, we sent the footage back to Tibet where we were helped by two fellow students of our field interpreter Tsering. Carla Ruff edited for five months, with a few follow-up 'tweak' sessions.

In the end, my intention is to present to audience members the direct experience of the lives of others being lived simultaneously but very differently from their own, and through that, to remind us that constructed social and political ideologies should always defer to the authenticity of humanity, and not visa-versa. I think that this is the single most powerful unifying force we have in this time of unrest and uncertainty throughout the world, and the nuns of Kala Rongo have much to teach us about it.

- By Bari Pearlman, Director, Daughters of Wisdom (Ironweed Films: Volume 36: November 2008) For more information, visit www.ironweedfilms.com/films.

Considering Democracy & Policy Solutions by Keya Lea Horiuchi

Thank you for the opportunity to blog with Ironweed Films and thank you for the opportunity to be included in your lineup of (fabulous!) films.

“Considering Democracy” is a film that I hope will continue to widen the scope of debate in the United States as we look toward solutions. I feel that we are at a tremendous and momentous time within the United States of America. We are at the threshold of it all. As we go forward, we must do so as a country. Yet it seems that as individuals in America, we are divided, based upon the sources of our information.

During the same time that the film went out on Ironweed Films, I was touring the country, driving to different communities, screening “Considering Democracy” and having questions and discussion afterward. I found that there is currently a lot of emotion, together with polarization, along with a tremendous desire to define and work towards policy solutions that work for the People in America. It’s quite a combination. I think that change does need to come from the People, and with that, I think that it is up to us, as regular people in society, to begin discussing issues and policy with one another.

“Considering Democracy” offers a comparison of the U.S. to other developed countries, along with points of view from abroad. As I worked on the editing process, there was an earlier edition of the film that showed just the foreign point of view. People who looked at the early edition said that while it was interesting, they didn’t know if any of what people said abroad, was true. Thus, the research began and currently appears as quick bits of information throughout the film. I also looked at why the U.S. is drastically different in its policy than all the other developed democracies. The introductory segments with the weaver and the questions at the end of each section were a way to structure the film so that each chapter began and ended in a similar way. People have asked me if I want people to ask the questions, verbatim, to representatives, and while I do want people to be actively engaged in the political process after representatives are elected, I really want people to think about the issues.

It is my hope that the film can act as a catalyst to get people thinking about possible solutions. We must also be aware of the current political structure and how the system interacts with it. Once we vote our representatives into office, the lobbying mechanism will swing into action. The policy solutions are out there, but there will be a resistance from people who listen exclusively to conservative media formats. We need to begin to build bridges to these people. Please consider sharing your Ironweed films with other friends who might have different informational sources. Thank you for taking a look at the film.

- by Keya Lea Horiuchi, Director, Considering Democracy: 8 Things to Ask Your Representative (Ironweed Films Volume 35: October 2008) For more information, visit http://www.ironweedfilms.com

Michael Moore's Free Film "Slacker Uprising"

You may have heard Michael Moore's new film "Slacker Uprising" is available for free to everyone in the United States and Canada. It is the first time ever that a major feature-length film is debuting as a free download on the internet -- legally.

Why did Michael Moore decide to do this? There are two reasons:
1. Next year it will be the 20th anniversary since his first film, "Roger & Me," so he wants to thank everyone who has supported his work.
2. Michael is hoping to motivate new voters to make it to the polls on November 4th.

"Slacker Uprising" takes place in the wake of "Fahrenheit 9/11," during the run-up to the 2004 election, as he traveled for 42 days across America, visiting 62 cities in an attempt to remove George W. Bush from office. His goal was to help turn out a record number of young voters and others who had never voted before. What follows is often surprising, funny, enlightening and frightening.

To stream, download, or burn a DVD of "Slacker Uprising" free of charge, visit here: www.slackeruprising.com.

[source: www.michaelmoore.com]

9/11 & Government Bureaucracy by Ray Nowosielski

Another October is upon us once again. Crisp winds are begining to blow, the leaves are commencing their seasonal showing of spectral radiance, and another 9/11 anniversary has come and gone, begging us to remember that repressive legislation and worldwide carnage are the only things that stand between us and an Al-Qaeda victory party.

Fortunately for us, we are in an election year, so the nationalistic hyperbole was able to ring extra loud and hollow. Speakers at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions attempted to drive home the notion that they and they alone could shield us from an otherwise certain death at the wrinkled hands of Osama Bin Laden.

Though politicians would love you to believe that expensive wars in far off lands can wipe out terrorism, unfortunately, it must be said that tactics and concepts are impervious to bullets and bombs. (Civilians who happen to be standing nearby to persons who might make use of such tactics or hold such ideas, are not however.) Likewise, it should be mentioned that laws giving more power to government and law enforcement, while stripping the dearly held rights of the citizenry, are also not the key to preventing the actions of a few determined souls.

In fact, I would argue that the US government had all of the power, money, and resources it needed to prevent 9/11, on 9/11. As evidence for this claim, I submit the fact that the CIA was monitoring future 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi, Khalid al-Midar, and Mohammed Atta for more than a year prior to the attacks. Not only were these would-be terrorists monitored, but the CIA was in posession of a copy Khalid al-Midar’s passport which included a multiple entry visa to the United States as far back as January 2000. Despite these facts, the FBI wasn’t warned about these characters until a few weeks before the attacks, and their names were never placed on terrorist watch lists.

All of this information comes straight from the Congressional “9/11 Report.” Mind you, most of it was buried in the footnotes. Perhaps you’re the type of person who would like to give the government the benefit of the doubt. Who wouldn’t? Consider then, that not only was the CIA aware of the movements of these Al-Qaeda terrorits, they were also aware of their associations to the embassy bombings in 1998 and the WTC bombing in 1993. On top of that, the CIA was monitoring a phone in Yemen which Nawaf al-Hazmi called from within the United States on several occasions using a phone that he had registered in his own name. Are we to believe that the big bad CIA couldn’t tell that these calls came from the U.S., thus demonstrating that Al-Qaeda was on our own soil?

Even after hijacker Khalid al-Midhar left the U.S. to assist with the bombing of the USS Cole in the port of Aden, the CIA refused to inform theFBI that terrorists were now operating out of our country. Of course, giant bureaucracies make mistakes, what with the magnitude of their work load, right? How then, are we supposed to make sense of internal cables being distributed within the CIA claiming the the FBI had been informed that these men were in the country, when in fact the FBI had not received one word that Al-Qaeda terrorists were within their jurisdiction?

How are we supposed to make sense of the fact that when an FBI agent tasked to the CIA tried to send on word of al-Hazmi’s and al-Midhar’s visas to enter the U.S., he was told by a CIA desk officer that, “This isn’t a matter for the FBI.”

Apparently, the CIA had everything they needed to locate terrorists, they only lacked the will to disrupt their plots. Though they weren’t up to sharing information with the FBI, they were very much inclined to make the President believe they had done so. On August 6th, 2001, when President Bush received his now famous PDB (Presidential Daily Briefing) entitled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike Within the US,” the FBI was given an advance copy to look over and approve. After they had done so, someone then inserted descriptions of over 70 active FBI field investigations into the terrorist threat. This doctored version would be the one that President Bush would see, thus giving the perpetually vacationing executive the notion that domestic law enforcement was alerted to and responding to the Al-Qaeda issue, though of course, they were not.

Over the course of this entire year, our filmmaking team has been seeking funding for a documentary about the preceding story, with no success. We think it's an important and intriguing tale that needs to be further explored. "A true-life espionage mystery thriller about a cat-and-mouse game between the CIA and FBI played over the fate of two future September 11th hijackers."

"9/11 is old news," we are told again and again. You can find this entire story for yourself in the 9/11 Commission Report and the FBI Inspector General's Report, provided that you know what to look for. However, thanks to a mainstream media that has not adequately educated us on the important issues involved here, most people who have read the report have not known what to look for or understood the ramifications of what the Commissioners have reported. Hopefully it won’t take too many more disasterous wars and a much further slide into bankruptcy for the public to wisen up, or next October might be a lot more bleak and dreary.

- by Ray Nowosielski, Director, 9/11 Press For Truth (Ironweed Films Volume 34: September 2008) For more information, visit http://www.ironweedfilms.com/films/past

A Day at Earthdance by musician Eric Iverson

In the midst of a dusty cloud I came upon what could be perceived as yet another wild and crazy California Summer Music Festival, but was soon and pleasantly surprised that the hippy dirt stomp at Black Oak Ranch, in Laytonville (also known as the Hog Farm) had a bigger and more important theme to it than most of the many festivals I have attended. Pulling up at the will-call to get my Earthdance pass, I was greeted by a singing and guitar playing parking volunteer that started strumming and serenading me as my tires rolled on to the dusty grounds. As disorganized as most festivals are at retrieving the will call passes I was amazed at how mellow and accommodating they were.

Right away I got my pass and was escorted over to a parking spot. From the second I opened my door the music from the main stage was resonating throughout the venue with the sounds of an African artist strumming his Kora. The dust in the air soon was absorbed into my being and I was transformed into one of the many. The temperature of the day soon took the place of the ever present dust cloud and my goal shifted to seeking cool beverages and shade.

As I entered the bowl at around 11:30am on Sunday morning, people where slowly trickling in from their camps to the venue with the look on their faces of just having gone through an all night escapade of thumping trance beats and twirling fire dancers. Amazingly most of the people still seemed very coherent and present in the festival’s theme of peace and unity. Having missed the big Prayer for Peace on Saturday afternoon, I could still feel the aura in the air from the residual effect of the many people around the world giving their intentions towards peace at the same time. I felt immediately welcomed into the circle of dust-dancing peace makers.

The vendor booths that created a horseshoe shape around the bowl were made up of fine crafted art, hemp clothing, odd paraphernalia, and incredibly delectable food. I stumbled upon some old friends-- I was amazed to find them amongst the thousands of heads-- and joined them on their blanket laid out in the middle of the crowd. Thus began our smorgasbord which included everything from tofu corn dogs and fries to crepes topped with bananas, strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Hours later with a tummy ache and the earth’s force pulling me toward its core, we made one last run for some iced coffee.

The music was in full tilt at that point and the crowd quickly formed into an organism moving, breathing and cheering as one. The ocean of people grew and grew until I finally realized that our safe little picnic area was now in the belly of this sea of synchronized dirt dancers. I gave my good byes to the old friends and headed back stage for some sanctuary.

The backstage hospitality was equipped with cold water, iced tea and hot dogs. Sitting down at a table where some indigenous elders were probably reasoning about something mystical, I saw to the right the African Kora player that had filled the air with his music when I first showed up. I feel that the festival did an amazing job of bringing many cultures together as one and the focus of peace was an obvious platform for people to come together. The music reflected that as well, with the multi-genre diversity of entertainers on the bill.

The day had cooled down to a reasonable temperature and the headliners were taking stage to wrap up this four day event. After checking out the second to last band I had said my goodbyes and prepared myself for the long drive back home. Getting into my car, I felt a sense of contentment and peace within myself. I think the festival’s main goal of interconnectedness made its imprint into my soul. I highly enjoyed myself and would recommend Eathdance to anyone, including those in the Ironweed community who were able to see the August volume about achieving peace.

- By Eric Iverson, Musician and Earthdance Participant (Ironweed Films Volume 33: August 2008)
For more information, visit http://www.ironweedfilms.com/films/past

Health, Money and Fear & Government Intervention by Dr. Paul Hochfeld

It was a great honor to have "Health, Money and Fear" included in the July edition of Ironweed Films. In the few months since I completed the film, I have been spending untold hours trying to distribute it with the goal of contributing to the debate.

Along the way, I have found a large number of sympathetic people. In my attempts to reach those who might not already be part of the choir, I have found a small but very vocal subset of apparently very bright people who have a violent reaction to any sense that our health care system calls for more government involvement which threatens "the magic of the marketplace."

To them I say that we have a health care non-system in which major business decisions are driven by the desire to maximize the profits gained from treating disease. There is relatively little money to be made from keeping people healthy. Accordingly, our current system will absolutely ensure that we have the most amount of disease from which we can profit. That's some kind of magic, eh?

As for more government involvement, that scares me too, but I don't think we have any choice. We are accelerating to the financial cliff and people are suffering because they don't have access to affordable health care. We need to develop a system in which somebody is leading the dialog about what medical services we can afford to provide to all our citizens.

I can almost guarantee that we will have a single payer system eventually... just like all our industrial competitors. It's the only way to control costs. Yes, "We are different", but what we have now isn't working.

-- Dr. Paul Hochfeld, Director, Health, Money and Fear (Ironweed Films Volume 32: July 2008)
For more information, visit http://www.ironweedfilms.com/films

Waiting to Inhale & Medical Marijuana Use by Oriana Iverson

In April of 2007 I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. When I received this diagnosis at the ripe age of 30 I could not believe it. I have always been a very natural person, and try to use herbs and vitamins to keep healthy. How could this happen? People kept trying to convince me that I could beat it through some alternative treatment, and as much as I wanted to go that route, I had a husband and two-year-old son and I did not want to take chances.

My doctors informed me that a mild (by comparison) regimen of chemotherapy and radiation would most likely cure my cancer. Hodgkins is apparently a form of lymphatic cancer that is actually 95% curable with three months of weekly chemotherapy followed by one month of daily radiation treatments. Done and cured within 6 months? The choice to me was clear.

I prepped myself for what I knew would be a severely difficult time on my new family, and would certainly wreak havoc on my body. When treatments started it was as bad as I imagined. I was immediately nauseous and had no appetite. When I managed to muscle something down, I had severe digestive issues including excruciating stomachaches. I had constant headaches, suffered depression, couldn’t sleep, had low self-esteem after losing my hair, and generally felt just crappy.

It was not a completely novel idea to me to use marijuana to combat the side effects that I experienced from chemo. I had smoked it recreationally prior to my illness, and had had it in my medicine chest for nausea for years, but until I began using it medicinally for a serious illness, I never really truly understood how powerful and necessary a medicine it could be. I would use a vaporizer to partake, which warms the herb to the point of melting the THC crystals and releasing the essence of the herb but not burning it. I figured in light of the fact that I had cancer I should probably try to limit the amount of carcinogens that I purposely introduced into my system. This method of self medication was far more effective than any of the ten different drugs the doctor had prescribed to me to combat my side effects. One anti nausea medicine that was prescribed to me cost something like $1000 for 15 tablets and was reported to be the only truly effective drug for that purpose. Fortunately for me, I never needed to try it.

A visit to my “medication station” could, within minutes, stimulate my appetite, lift my spirits, relieve my aches and pains, and help me get to sleep. I had resolved from the beginning to keep a positive attitude because I knew it was the only way I could give strength to the people who loved and supported me, and herb was a great facilitator in helping me to achieve this goal.
My understanding was that once chemo was over, I had braved the worst, and it was “all downhill” from there. Once radiation started my hair would begin to grow back, and I wouldn’t be as nauseous. Instead of insomniac, I would be fatigued and finally able to sleep for more than 4 hours. My main issue was supposed to be acid reflux. Antacids would be helpful for this. (In reality, because of the heartburn and reflux that I experienced even while I was still eating, it was very difficult to motivate to eat at all. When I took my herbal medicine, I was at least temporarily convinced that eating could be tolerable and was worth the discomfort.) However, though all the promises about what to expect during radiation were accurate, a new, unexpected set of symptoms arose in reaction to the chemotherapy--after I had actually finished.

I developed a condition called peripheral neuropathy which is not uncommon to people who have been administered my chemo regimen. The normal symptoms are numbness and tingling in the extremities and in severe cases, dizziness and a decrease in muscle mass and motor function. In acute cases like mine, these other symptoms were accompanied by intolerable pain of every imaginable sensation: stinging, burning, aching, etc. It was relentless and for 6 weeks I slept no more than 2 hours a night. During the day I would spend my time trying to focus on something other than the pain and most times could be found rocking back and forth, near tears.

During this period, my use of medical marijuana increased to the point that I really needed to smoke every hour or so to relieve the pain. At that point those in my family who were unaccustomed to this kind of blatant and unapologetic use of marijuana could have easily worried that I was involved in some sort of addiction. But instead, they were all incredibly supportive. They witnessed me taking painkillers like Vicodin and (for lack of any drug specifically designed to combat acute peripheral neuropathy) the maximum dosage of a seizure medicine called Neurontin, just to ease the pain. It quickly became clear to them that the only time I was even close to comfortable was when I had medicated with a natural herb.

With so many friends and family coming through our home to help, it would have been a mixed blessing had they not all been so tolerant of my choice to use marijuana as an integral part of my treatment and care. I used their openness as an opportunity to educate them about how marijuana can be safely accessed and consciously administered. There was so much growth that occurred within all those who were touched by this experience. My mother actually came with me to a clinic to purchase medical marijuana lawfully, and others in the family tolerated the two beautiful bushes in our backyard that I was, to their amazement, permitted to grow via my doctor’s prescription and subsequently procured “215 card”.

I am so thankful that I was able to include marijuana in my treatment and use the experience as platform to increase consciousness around its compassionate use. During the height of my affliction with peripheral neuropathy my band was asked to perform at a medical marijuana rally. I could barely walk and my singing voice had suddenly decided to ditch its middle register. It was tempting to turn down the gig, but the cause was too close to my own heart. I got up on stage with my bald, scarf wrapped head, and sang to the best of my ability, all the while dancing and holding on to the microphone stand for balance. After what I had been through, it really hit home how important it is to promote the legalization of medical marijuana.

With recent changes in mandates around the cultivation and use of medical marijuana, and the ever-present disparity between state and federal laws, it is as important as ever to stand up for this cause and inform the public about the value of marijuana as a safe and effective alternative to prescription drugs. When Ironweed recently decided to put out the film “Waiting to Inhale,” I knew I had to be involved some how. During my treatment my mother took over operations for Ironweed Film Club, and the film that was coming out at that time was the “Breast Cancer Diaries,” which was moving to me as I could relate to the experience. Once again they are putting out a film that speaks to this life-changing event in my life and I am honored to have been included in the process of creating and promoting it.

I have been deemed cancer free for nearly a year now and have returned to my occasional recreational use of marijuana. Though it still elevates my mood, and stimulates my appetite, I no longer find it absolutely necessary to use it in order to cope. My pain is gone and my strength, balance and motor coordination have returned. I feel normal once again. Through the blessings of the creator, the love and support of my friends and family, and recent medical advancements (albeit thoroughly non-holistic), I was able to make it through. With the meditation induced through the use of marijuana, I was able to make it a spiritual experience and use it as an opportunity for growth and self-reflection.

--Oriana Iverson, Cancer Survivor (Introduction/ Ironweed Films Volume 32: July 2008)
Visit www.ironweedfilms.com/films to learn more.

Voices of Dissent & Political Protest by Karil Daniels

It is perfect that Ironweed selected VOICES OF DISSENT for its mid-June 2008 DVD release, since July 4th follows as our country's birthday; a day to remember and celebrate the birth of democracy and freedom in the USA.

It is deplorable that our nation has strayed so far from the founders' concept of democracy. This is due in great part to the currently entrenched Bush administration which operates in their own self-interest, and often disregards the Congress and all other political parties, when it suits them to do so.

It is clear that they never learned the basis Kindergarten lessons of learning how to share and playing by the rules. Whether applying the concept of sharing to toys as children or political power as adults, we must all learn how to include everyone. Playing by the rules means that we are a nation of laws, not of people, and that those in power must respect and abide by the laws and the founding documents which describe what America truly is, rather than creating "signing statements" declaring that the laws don't apply to them, or ignoring Congressional subpoenas.

Looking at recent events, it is clear that the Bush administration is in violation of the Constitution on many counts and is doing everything possible to silence those who do not agree with them, even if it shreds our Constitution and Bill of Rights. They practice torture, lies, intimidation, arresting of their opponents, limiting the free speech of the public, outing of their own CIA operative as a vindictive act of political payback, and much more.

These actions are blatant violations of government "of the people, by the people and for the people." The Bush administration, which has been perverting our basic democratic values in myriad ways over the last 8 years, must be challenged and held accountable. As more and more people understand the extent of their crimes, the impeachment movement grows daily. Recently Dennis Kucinich bravely read into the Congressional Record a long list of Bush crimes against the Constitution and the American people.

VOICES OF DISSENT makes the argument that speaking out in opposition to those in power is one of our most basic and vital freedoms which must be protected, and it shows the many creative and inspirational ways that brave citizens are finding to express their anger and dissent against the erosion of our democracy and the hubris of the Bush cabal. Please visit http://www.voicesofdissent.us/

Bottom line is that if we do not protect and defend those who disagree with Bush, then we might as well have a dictator. Consider this: Bush, who describes himself as "the decider," said, on three separate occasions (and these are shown in the film), "things would be a lot easier in a dictatorship, if I'm the dictator." Some might say he was joking, others say that people often reveal their socially unacceptable and unpopular, yet real beliefs, in the form of a joke. Watch the film and decide for yourself. Which do you think it is?

-- Karil Daniels, Director, Voices of Dissent (Ironweed Films Volume 31: June 2008)
Visit www.ironweedfilms.com/films to learn more.

Call It Democracy & The Electoral College by Matt Kohn

Elections are serious. Since World War Two, the human race has had the opportunity to extinguish itself. And the person making at least some of the decision regarding whether or not to use nuclear weapons is a single individual chosen by a system we have not changed since 1800.

We may never again live in a time when life or death struggles of our species are decided slowly. So it’s with that in mind that we must look critically at the Electoral College.

The purpose of the college was to elect to the Presidency a human being of at least 35 years of age who has resided in the United States for no less than 14 years and is lucky enough to have been born here. Otherwise, the sky is the limit. In theory this person is quite immune from the effects of their own decisions. A treasonous act committed by you or I could become the most patriotic decision if mandated by the President. And in the winner-takes-all system of accruing votes of all kinds, essentially, we vote for whomever wins.

While campaigning, the candidate will look at the most recent polling data, trying to understand the citizens most likely to change their votes in the candidate’s favor in unique districts across wide swaths of American experience. The gold is in the small precincts which can cause an entire state to be won, and therefore, an avalanche of Electoral votes.

This is kind of like watching sand balancing on scales to determine weight.

What I learned investigating the results of the last two Presidential elections is that pretty much every national election is prone to rigging and ultimately the betrayal of the will of the people. Even “will” as expressed through the Electoral College itself.

Watching my film, you will learn how this came to be, why it’s not going away soon, and how it has effects in every election. Watching my film, you’ll discover the historical truth that it’s not the name of the party, or a set of principles that goes back to the early 1800s, but the sense of advantage which determines how any party will react when faced with the civil rights challenges inherent in deciding by what method people vote.

This film presents the best argument from all sides. I don’t want to be bored by politicians and neither do you. What I want is to explore the mental gymnastics, tactics, and justifications that are the basics before asking yourself if the results of an election are “fair.”

I’m not going to tell you outright that the Electoral College should be abolished. I’ll help you learn about why you probably already feel that way.

--Matt Kohn, Director, Call It Democracy (Ironweed Films Volume 30: May 2008)
Visit www.ironweedfilms.com/films to learn more.