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Letter to Madam Speaker

by ericforbes on April 6, 2009

This is the letter I wrote and sent to Congresswoman and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this morning via her website:

Dear Madam Speaker,

I ask for your attention in the case of Tim DeChristopher, a University of Utah student who was recently indicted by a grand jury last Wednesday for his actions to block oil leases to public land by participating in an auction in December 2008.

In my opinion, Mr. DeChristopher’s actions were an an example of non-violent civil disobedience and should be recognized as such. The penalty of 10 years in prison with up to $750,000 in fines for his non-violent and environmentally-sensitive actions is unfair.

http://www.bidder70.org/news/view/136540/

Please also consider that Secretary of the Interior Salazar recently found these auctioned leases to be invalid:

http://www.bidder70.org/news/view/137452/

Furthermore in the midst of an economic recession, President Obama recently signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 saving millions of acres and thousands of miles of coastline for future enjoyment. Your direct involvement in this Act makes me think that you’re the right person to help Mr. DeChristopher get the just treatment he deserves.

I am a proud California resident and small business owner and applaud the actions taken by Mr. DeChristopher last December. In my mind, his actions signaled the end of “business as usual” in the Bush administration and plainly stood as an advocate for the environment.

I hope that you give this matter a moment of your time.

With warmest regards and best wishes,

=Eric Forbes

I’m not sure what moved me to take action on this. I had heard about DeChristopher’s ruse last December as he was interviewed outside the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) auction and remembered his notion about waiting for someone to step up and do something. 

In a personal statement, he writes:

“What I did no doubt puts me at significant risk, including prison. But my future was already at significant risk. As we get closer and closer to the point of too late, we have less and less to lose from resisting. Accepting the true depth of the climate crisis is extremely scary, but the purpose of fear is to motivate us to action. Many of us have sat around countless times saying how much we needed someone to do something. If I am not willing to take a stand for my generation, then who will? This year I have come to terms with the idea that I might be my own best hope to defend my future. Hopefully all of us will realize that we are the ones we have been waiting for.”

After all of this analysis is said and done, I like Tim DeChristopher. He’s a man who has the courage to stand up for his beliefs and back them with action. This inspires me. When I saw a news blip about him this morning, I paused and dug a little deeper and the more I learned, the better I felt about what I could do about the things I passionately believe in. 

 

I wrote a letter to Madam Speaker this morning asking her to look into the matter of Tim DeChristopher.

 

I donated some money to his legal defense fund.

 

I wrote about what I did in my blog.

 

Writing is fun, and sharing it is even better – once you get over the fear.

 

Have a great week…

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One Comment
  1. michael Fierman permalink

    thanks for sharing this guys story-i don’t think i would have heard of it otherwise. there aren’t many people idealistic enough these days to risk what he did. a man of great character. it’s unfortunate that the legal system in this country is so polluted with right wing judges from the last 8 years.

    yes, it is fun to write–i was a bit intimidated when i started writing my blog – i wasn’t sure what im wanted to say or write about. to be honest i had completely gotten out of the habit of organizing my thoughts in writing.

    I hope you wiull be sharing some of your music soon
    michael

    Reply

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