We need to catch up. A lot has happened since our last e-mail and because
I can't capture it all here, I ask that you -- and your friends -- log on
to http://www.groundswellsierra.org
for more information about our efforts to stop outside groups from trying
to commandeer the Sierra Club's agenda, assets and priorities.
These "takeover" efforts have made national news:
   CNN reported that the Club has "a particularly
   democratic system for voting and that could backfire
   for this organization," noting that the Sierra Club is
   facing a hostile takeover by anti-immigration groups.
   A Santa Fe New Mexican editorial worried: "Word
   would get around Capital Hill that this is no longer
   the Sierra Club of John Muir and its lobbyists may
   be ignored with little risk to one's political future... it
   could wash the Sierra Club down the drain."
   And from the Philadelphia Inquirer, "What's happening in
   the Sierra Club illustrates that members of an organization
   take for granted that the most venerable of groups
   cannot be diverted from a worthy mission. Clearly, they
   can. This is no time to lose the Sierra Club's voice. It's a
   time for people who care about the environment to
   pay more than dues. They need to pay attention."
   The Los Angeles Times editorialized, after their initial
   article breaking this story, cautioning Sierra Club
   members "to save their venerable organization" and to
   consider "a clear lesson in this turmoil for millions of
   Americans who consider themselves members of
   advocacy organizations. For these groups to play a
   constructive role in a democracy, members must pay
   attention to them. Discuss the issues. And vote."
Groundswell continues to gain ground and powerful allies
   Former Sierra Club Executive Directors Mike McCloskey
   and Michael Fischer have added their names to the ever
   expanding list of our supporters, which now number
   in the hundreds.
   Scores of Chapter activists have volunteered as part of the
   growing number of Groundswell Sierra Chapter spokespeople.
   Thirteen former Club Presidents and dozens of former and
   current Directors, Trustees, and Club leaders have offered
   their help and support.
   Sierra Student Coalition leaders have endorsed our efforts.
   Nathan Wyeth, SSC leader, observed, "Since only one of
   every ten Sierra Club members has voted in recent elections,
   it is extremely easy to finesse the Club's democracy into
   producing results that do not actually reflect the views
   of the majority of Sierra Club members."
Outside Groups Are Being Unmasked
   Groups that are urging their members to weigh-in on the Sierra Club
elections include a number of anti-immigration and white supremacist organizations
including: the Federation for American Immigration Reform, White Politics
Inc., the Center for American Unity, National Alliance, National Immigration
Alert which comes from NumbersUSA, Social Contract Press, White Politics
Inc.,and an ongoing string of articles on the VDARE.com and Overthrow.com
websites encourage their members to interfere in the Sierra Club's democratic
elections.
   The effort to use outsiders to takeover the Club's Board and impose
their agenda on the membership is best summarized by Sea Shepherd Society
Executive Director and self-styled "takeover" leader of the Sierra Club,
Paul Watson's own description of America's democracy in a New Internationalist
interview:
   "Democracy may or may not be a good idea.
   It really has never been tried. The real problem is
   that people can be controlled. The citizen is a crop
   to be cultivated and harvested for the money required
   to support the bureaucracy. All the citizen sheep
   require is a shepherd (leader) to provide bread
   and circuses..."
In Summary
   Groundswell Sierra is grateful to all those Club members who have no
doubt that democracy is a good idea and who don't want a "Shepherd" telling
them what their environmental issues must be.
   Thank you for taking time from your busy lives to participate in and
defend the Sierra Club's democracy. By working together, we can preserve
a Sierra Club that is directed and controlled by its members and protect
it and its resources from a take over by outsiders. Please see our website
at www.GroundswellSierra.org for more information and to learn how you can
help.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Downing
Groundswell Sierra
(If you're not interested in hearing from me about this external takeover
of the Sierra Club, please drop me a line and I'll make sure I don't send
you any further messages.)