1 September
There's a grass roots boycott being touted around the email circuit for tomorrow, advocating that no one buy any gasoline for the day. It seems we're moving backwards faster than I'd thought, returning to the Carter era, except only in the sense of malaise that was so evident then, with none of the can-do spirit that had us patiently enduring alternating days for fill-ups and switching off our cars at red lights lasting longer than 30 seconds. For many people a day without petrol is just going to mean hitting the bowsers on the 31st for more than they'd have purchased, so I don't believe for a minute that it's actually going to hurt anyone who deserves it if people stay away from filling stations for the day. I'd still do it, if I had a car, because if enough people join in, even if the net effect is nearer zero than not, the blip would be noticable. And because corporate interests drive the present national administrations of the CoW countries (and others), registering a protest there is almost sure to be more effective than camping outside Crawford or the White House or the Lodge or 10 Downing or wherever.

I read a short story in the latest Griffith Review that attempted to creatively summarize the conditions these efforts are trying to achieve: ordinary, individually powerless people, reaching critical mass to effect change. The story was moderately successful, but the concept is one that those of us who oppose the Bush Administration's abuse of power need to keep in mind. We can't let up the pressure; we must increase it. No more rolling over by the Democrats, no more votes without debate, no more lies.