INFORMATION IS NOT ENOUGH 9/11 ACTIVISTS MUST SHOW COURAGE

I'll take an optimistic stand, but not a determinist stance. We do have a real chance to bring the truth of 9/11 into the full light of day.

One reason we shouldn't count our chickens before they hatch is because there's political AND spiritual value in doing everything one can to expose the truth about 9/11.

Why is courage so important?

Those who attack us and dismiss our questions offhandedly are AFRAID TO LOOK AT THE ISSUE.

Those who haven't taken a stand are AFRAID TO LOOK AT THE ISSUE.

Those who are actually complicit in the crime know very well why they should be AFRAID TO LOOK AT THE ISSUES PUBLICLY.

BECAUSE COURAGE IS THE MAIN THING OUR ADVERSARIES LACK.

One is nonviolent civil disobedience. One of the beauties of nonviolence is that you can be as extreme as you want, BECAUSE YOU ARE THE ONE MAKING THE SACRIFICE. Your adversary is not asked to make the sacrifice. The activist is. This is how you prove yourself to those on the sidelines. You can't create collateral damage if you don't create any damage.

On Monday, November 13th, I will face a judge for the trespass charge from my leafletting at an early showing of Oliver Stone's movie "World Trade Center". I will be presenting the Gandhian plea, "If you believe in what you're doing, give me your stiffest sentence. If you don't, resign." (details at 911courage.org)

The other is whistleblower leafleting. There are thousands of federal civil servants who work closely with the machinery of power and who are NOT part of the cabal. We at 911courage.org have been leafleting the DOJ, the FBI, and State. This requires greater courage than civil disobedience. Those who have something to hide should be much more concerned about whistleblower leafletting than civil disobedience. One moment handing out a leaflet could eventually become the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back for some GS-14 potential whistleblower. Civil servants are not known for their courage. In fact, they're known for the opposite. However, Edmonds, Springmann, Shaffer, Chavez and corporate whistleblowers Ryan and Grove may have set in motion something that could actually become a juggernaut.

IF YOU WILL OPEN YOUR LIFE TO FULL SCRUTINY BY THE NATIONAL SECURITY APARATUS, YOU WILL BE SETTING A COURAGEOUS EXAMPLE FOR THOSE EVEN CLOSER TO THE EVIL.

My friend Gabriel Day has suggested that 9/11 activists do a mass whistleblower leafletting on Friday March 16, the day before the United for Peace and Justice antiwar rally in DC on Saturday March 17. I like it.

David Slesinger dslesinger@alum.mit.edu, (240) 221-3293, www.911courage.org

NEWS ADVISORY: November 9, 2006
CONTACT: Dan Nalven (914) 941-6488 or info@911courage.org

PRESS CONFERENCE CALL: Monday November 13th at 2:00PM EDT
CONFERENCE CALL DIAL-IN NUMBER: By Request

911COURAGE.ORG LEAFLETTER to PLEAD GUILTY to TRESSPASS CHARGE

9/11 Activist to Request Maximum Sentence

WHO:      David Slesinger, (240) 221-3293, (410) 499-5403,
             dslesinger@alum.mit.edu
WHAT:     Trespass charge trial
WHEN:     Interviews from 8:00AM Monday November 13, 2006
             Court session begins at 8:30AM
WHERE:    Interviews at Montgomery County Court House,
             50 Maryland Ave, Rockville, Md
             Trial across street at 27 Court House Square Room 304

(within walking distance of Rockville Metro station)
I-270 toward Frederick - go 4.5 mi
Exit #5/MD-189/Falls Rd onto Maryland Ave[MD-189] - go 2.1 mi
Arrive at 50 MARYLAND AVE, ROCKVILLE

Rockville, MD - On Wednesday August 9th, nationwide group 911Courage.org carried out leafletting in 14 states, some legal some not, at the opening of Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center". Two people risked arrest. Mia Hamel of Tampa was arrested but no one ever told group founder David Slesinger to stop leafletting at his Rockville, Maryland location, the Regal Rockville Stadium 13.

Montgomery County's finest obliged him with an arrest at about 9:30PM August 11th during his second day of leafletting. He received a ticket for trespass with a maximum fine of $500 and a maximum sentence of 6 months and is banned from the property for 3 years. At a recent hearing he was notified that the maximum sentence would be 90 days.

In Slesinger's proposed plea to the court (below) he gives the Gandhian plea,"If you believe in what you are doing give me your stiffest sentence. If you don't, resign."

He continues that he wants "to do penance on behalf of our misguided brothers George W. Bush and Dick Cheney" and " for every American who is afraid to ask all of the hard questions about 911."

He adds, "I am not afraid of the other guests of the county. There is more goodness in any cell block in this county than there is in the Oval office." Slesinger served 4 months in jail in 1982 for a nonviolent civil disobedience action.

More info on the continuing leafletting may be found at www.911courage.org or info@911courage.org .

Your Honor,

Thank you for the opportunity to address this Court. My plea is guilty. I leafletted on private property against the wishes of those responsible for the Rockville Stadium Cinemas, a short walk from here. The movie, "World Trade Center", had opened 2 days earlier. I leafletted there that day, August 9th, but no one ordered me to stop.

In Tampa on August 9th Mia Hamel was arrested for a similar trespass. We are part of an activist group, 911Courage.org.

We bring attention to the hardest questions surrounding the event that has become known world-wide as 9/11, and our administration's war on terror.

If I am correct, and 9/11 was an inside job, our nation imminently faces transformation into outright fascism.

In a democracy, most people consider the police to be their friends. This is as it should be. However, under fascism, the government is the primary source of terror. It intimidates, tortures and kills its adversaries with impunity. Under fascism, relatives of those in the justice system will be ashamed to admit their relationship.

I want to embellish my guilty plea to make it stronger, but allow me to first prepare you.

I'm obviously worried about our brothers and sisters who control the federal government. They have embraced evil so deeply. With the grace of Jesus Christ I will be able to forgive them.

I'm worried about the lack of courage shown by the leaders of all the major institutions of our society. I'm more worried about the American public. Too many people are unwilling to look closely enough at the situation to determine what the hardest questions are.

Please allow me to suggest 3:

Why did the Kean Commission, the official government investigation, not even mention that a third skyscraper collapsed that day at 5:20PM without being hit by a plane? Please note the Washington Post also did not mention this omission.

Why did the Commission omit Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta's testimony, given to the Commission itself, that Vice-President Cheney and others in the under-ground shelter were aware by 9:26 that morning that an aircraft was approaching the Pentagon?

Why did the commission ignore the existence of extensive war games on 9/11/01 which served as at least a defacto stand down?

I now delight in thanking God that I should have lived long enough to make a plea to you that I have wanted to make to a judge for 25 years. This plea was originally given by a hero of mine, Mohandas K. Gandhi. "If you believe in what you are doing, give me your stiffest sentence. If you don't, then resign."

Let me further suggest that if you should resign upon this plea, you secure yourself an important place in the history of lovers of freedom. This government has already thrown out the inviolate status of the right to habeas corpus, a right which has stood for almost 800 years. It is a direct attack on the most basic of rights in the history of our jurisprudence. It would also stand well for our system of jurisprudence that the judiciary took the moral lead in standing against fascism.

I'm sure you try to uphold the law every day. Now is your chance to stand with the Constitution in this, its hour of greatest need. I'm advised by those I respect that no judge in this very liberal county will give me a jail sentence at all for this very politely performed trespass. This could be seen as a form of praise for Montgomery County judicial compassion. I'm asking you to remember that besides being a judge, you are a free human being, free to choose what is best.

I ask to serve time in jail. A full 90 days is my preference. I am not afraid of the other guests of the county. There is more goodness in any cell block in this county than there is in the Oval office.

I want to serve time to show the depth of my concern. I want to do penance on behalf of our misguided brothers George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. I currently pray for both of them every day. I want to do penance for every American who is afraid to ask all of the hard questions about 9/11.

I have an admission to make. I'm not anywhere near as advanced as my hero Gandhi. I still get angry. He didn't. I mutter to myself how lacking in courage my countrymen are.

Then I remember all the times I've lacked courage.

But not today.

David Slesinger
(240) 221-3293
dslesinger@alum.mit.edu

We stood near where I had stood a couple of years ago with the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker vigil. It's an interesting spot. A certain significant minority of passersby have no connection to the Pentagon. They either switch from subway to bus or vice versa at the US war HQ.

For 50 minutes we stood outside the cordoned off zone for vigilers. They had parade style moveable metal fences. I thought they had decided not to allow vigilers and was waiting to be shooed away. It turned out they were not so draconian, they just needed to reinforce their right to establish protest zones. It's not nearly as unreasonable as when the president ventures out. He's not allowed to see any signs. Everybody could see ours.

There were dozens of positive responses to my joke at the secretary's expense. Sometimes you'd hear people laugh loudly. Sometimes just the thumbs up sign. Sometimes a big smile. Sometimes just a glimmer. Erin and I agreed that Mr. Rumsfeld could easily be able to be amused rather than threatened by the joke. A couple of years ago when I first had the idea, I met a fellow who claimed acquaintance of Rummy in his Illinois days. He, at least, felt that Rummy would be amused. You can't tell me a man of those long years has never had to bear the brunt of a surname so close to the great temptation, "demon rum."

I must compare this feat of dozens of smiling peole to my many years of guerilla theater activities. I chose the standard of getting the police to smile as the highest honor for street theater. Pentagon workers are not actually police, but as the old saying goes, "it's close enough for government work."

The main reason we were there was Erin's sign. Three people came over separately to speak to us.

One fellow wanted us to speculate. He asked why anyone in the government would want to commit such an act. I said it was possible they wanted an excuse to invade Iraq. He asked why. I said it's possible they wanted the oil. Then I urged him to look at the site. I said he didn't even know my background to know whether listening to my speculation was worth his time, I reminded him that the 51 former government officials listed at the site had significant credentials, some even from DOD. He seemed to accept that.

Another fellow asked for clarification, and then claimed that issue wasn't his responsibility. I noted that as a citizen he should have great cause for concern if the official story was a lie. He seemed to see my point.

Then there was the colonel who had written 2 books. He was polite enough, but saddened me greatly. His main point was that since the 51 former government officials was such a tiny percentage of retired government workers, it's hardly impressive enough to examine. He said he's seen other 911 websites and thus need not look at this one.

He reminded me of a feeling I sometimes have that some of my closest relatives, who deserve praise for being as good to me as they are, don't seem to see any difference between a terrorist and a nonviolent activist. Almost like lumping Gandhi and Bin laden together. Maybe I'm being unfair to my relatives, but I was not unfair when I suggested this historian colonel was afraid to look at the evidence. He denied it, of course. Nevertheless, any so called, "debunker" should be encouraged to make actual critiques of what we assert, rather than calling us names. It's better to make it easier for those sophisticated at obfuscation to deal with the evidence we present.

Ultimately our scholar colonel was easily polite enough and deserving of praise on that front. He involved himself in sophistry over the Minetta testimony, but he was nowhere near mean spirited.

Ultimately, his biggest weakness was that he spent 15 minutes with 2 people who have no claim to professional authority on the issue so he could justify ignoring the assertions of some who can claim to have professional authority.

He did raise a discussion of Pierre Salinger's involvement in the analysis of the mystery of flight 800. His point was that Salinger was outside his "pay grade"( my words) , suggesting that Salinger's misplaced involvement should give other nonprofessionals pause.

Here's a respectful challenge to any debunker. Go through the patriots listed at patriotsquestion911.com and make your case that each of them should not be heeded.

The lone guard carrying an automatic weapon came over a little before 9. He asked if we were staying all day. I said no, we'd leave soon. He noted concern for our safety if he left. Erin exclaimed how little tension seemed to surround our effort. The guard reiterated how committed he was to free speech. I responded that one of the implications of a position like mine that 911 was an inside job is that they could do it again, declare martial law and round up people like me and put us in camps, which are already built. These camps exist ostensibly for illegal immigrants, but could still be used to hold activists born in this country, like me.

I realize I want very much to go back and raise the following question:

Since the rubble pile from the towers was so small, what sort of weapon could have caused whatever wasn't in the rubble to be transformed into dust sized particles. These tiny particles have wreaked havoc with the lungs of so many first responders, not to mention everyday residents of Lower Manhattan. How can all the concrete on every floor become dust?

Dave Slesinger
Rockville, Maryland

The 3 personal accounts below kick off our campaign to leaflet federal whistleblowers. We urge people to repeat our efforts who are capable of distinguishing between the patriots who implement federal policy and those who committed treason on 911. Like our civil disobedience, this is a moral challenge, not a physical challenge. While leafleting has physical dimensions, that's not the level we challenge them on.

If you have any interest please contact David Slesinger at 240-221-3293 or dslesinger@alum.mit.edu or you may always sign up for an account and leave your comments, request or your own story below. Our current leaflet is below the personal accounts of the event.

After having leafleted deception dollars at the DOJ on a lark a few months ago, I thought there were four entrances for the four sides. First I went to the north door. It was too slow. I walked back toward Dan, on the west. I asked the people waiting for the bus near the north door if any of them worked for DOJ. There was only one. He took the leaflet. It seems people exited mainly east and west.

I walked around to check on Erin, who was fine. I walked back to Dan and decided to go to Staples to get more leaflets. As I walked north a DOJ official of East Asian ancestry was being interviewed for TV. I offered a leaflet and he took it.

When I got to Staples, I made a correction by eliminating the word surprise from the first leaflet. I made 200.

I had picked DOJ as our first focus because I thought the newer FBI building had no place to enter and exit except by car. On the way back to DOJ from Staples, I saw people exiting "the Bureau". What other bureau could be 'the" bureau? I started to leaflet and was immediately told I couldn't leaflet there because it was federal property. He suggested I leaflet across the street. I called my lawyer friend and left messages on both work and cell.

I went back to DOJ, in the next block, and spoke with Dan. I gave him more leaflets and walked around the building on the south side to find Erin walking back after having given out all of his. He was upbeat.

I walked back to the west side. Dan said they watched me carefully as I had walked toward Erin. I went over to the guards to introduce myself. They declined to shake my hand. I offered the DVD of my talk on nonviolence at the 911:Revealing the Truth Conference in Chicago in June. They said to just leave the DVD a few feet away from them. A fellow who had taken Dan's leaflet and was nearby explained that the guards couldn't accept anything. I said I wanted to have it get to their bosses. I explained my lawyer had advised me what I was doing was legal, but that the authorities would want to check me out. I wanted them to know I'm open to dialogue. The fellow who had taken the leaflet from Dan volunteered to give it to the right people. He was a dressed down barrel- chested guy who probably was undercover.

Because half the people exiting west were cutting across the street before getting to Dan, I stood where they would have to walk. My pitch was," Department of Justice workers are the bulwark of freedom." Half the people took them. It was the opposite of normal leafleting. Black folks didn't take them as much as white folks.

The fear federal workers would have of offending bosses is hardly irrelevant. This is why I didn't want media attention. If we took a picture while leafleting, it could be right when our best shot at a whistleblower was passing by.

My lawyer friend called from his cell and reiterated I could leaflet outside the Bureau. He agreed to take a call, if necessary.

I went north to the FBI and began leafletting those exiting the southwestern corner. The western exit I had stopped at earlier was not far from this one, but the corner exit was marked "Employees Only". It was about 5:30PM.

My pitch was," I'll bet you care about the Constitution even more than I do." One guy responded, "I carry it in my pocket." Only a couple people took leaflets. That was partly because there were knee high metal obstacles that workers exiting the building had to walk through. This is bad for leafleting since as soon as people left the building they spread out and didn't walk close enough to me. This might be remedied by having several leafleters spread in a semicircle at once.

One black officer immediately urged me to stop. I explained my lawyer had told me it was okay. I said that if they needed to arrest me, I promised to be completely polite. He insisted I should have my lawyer come here to talk to him. He said he wasn't going to arrest me. As I started leafleting again, he complained I wasn't listening to him. I responded that I was listening I just didn't agree.

Then higher ranking white guards came out. One blond guy said he'd distribute my leaflets inside for me. I said I wasn't sure he was sincere. He was the "good cop". The other dark haired guard asked why I was there. I handed him a leaflet, which he declined. He wanted me to explain. I said I was very worried about the country. I said that I respected the people who worked there. In particular I thought 9/11 was an inside job. He began yelling at me and standing increasingly close to me so I had to keep moving back. He yelled," We don't want you here. Nobody is interested in what you have to say." I corrected him saying a couple of people had taken the leaflet. I agreed most people weren't interested. I complemented him by saying he was being very effective standing in front of me since it was harder to leaflet. Then I gave out 3 leaflets really quick to workers exiting. Is it possible that my confrontation with the FBI guards made my leaflet more interesting?

The "good cop" asked for my license. I made sure he agreed to give it back. An important aspect of nonviolence is to not be afraid of what the police might know. He returned with it and said I was clean. I said I'd be willing to come talk to them if they were interested. They offered to give me a number to call. I said I didn't want to come down, but I would if they wanted me to. All I require is that we be able to tape any conversation. I said I'd given a DVD of my talk in Chicago to people at DOJ, and didn't have another. They were interested that we had people at DOJ and asked where. I told them.

The "bad cop" claimed that they don't want people standing at the FBI exit since even if I wasn't taking note of faces, others could do so after I set the precedent. I said there was some merit to that argument. They noted my bag, which he said was a source of fear. I said I had hundreds of American flags in it, that they were welcome to examine. They did. The "bad cop" kept saying I was harassing the workers. Considering how polite I was and how determined he was to intimidate me, I noted the irony to myself.

Dan called and said he was ready to eat. The "good cop" made a pitch that I give him all the leaflets in my hand. I had to admit it was a reasonable request. I gave him about 40. Dan arrived. I told the cops that none of them had crossed any reasonableness line. We left for the Hawk and Dove Pub.

Commentary:

Can you imagine the impact of the release of ONE of the 12 documents?

This can be done at all federal buildings in the US. If you do it, send us your story. If you can't be completely polite NO MATTER WHAT, don't do it.

We need people to come to DC and leaflet the bureau again. Contact 911courage.org or me at 240-221-3293 or at dslesinger@alum.mit.edu.

I'd like to leaflet State, the FAA, Commerce (NIST) and the White House. I'd consider doing the CIA and Pentagon and NSA, but it IS illegal to leaflet there.

Dave Slesinger
Rockville, Maryland
September 22, 2006

My name is Erin S. Myers. I'm nobody of any particular note save for what I fancy as a somewhat unpopular mindset in a climate of popular fear. A climate of fire, which I view as intentionally stoked more than rationality and reason should call for; For I do not fear this government, rather I suspect, this government fears me.... the way it should be.

The legal size download includes these instructions (and disclaimer) provided at the top as a tear off. If you have contacts (secretaries, mailroom, etc) with contacts (Mr Big or his underlings) you may wish to pass on the entire document with its instructions and plea.

It's legal to distribute it on a public sidewalk, but powerful people with something to hide can't be expected to look the other way.

If the current regime is so fortunate as to have the misfortune of a major "terrorist" attack before the November elections, they have detention facilities ready to accommodate those of us who worry them.

NOW IS YOUR CHANCE.

Because Prof. Naftali is thought to be the author of the Kean Commission's final report, and Philip Zelikow is also a UVA professor, this could have national ramifications with help from all of you.

Taking the concluding sentence of the report to heart, "We look forward to a national debate on the merits of what we have recommended, and we will participate vigorously in that debate.", our challenge to Professor Timothy Naftali together with correspondence between Prof. Naftali and David is available at 'read more':