November 30, 2000
The Free View (Old Style) - 11-30-00

-The Free View-
November 30, 2000
413 weeks until election day

A note from Lance:

You are receiving this newsletter because you signed up from my
campaign website at http://freedom2008.com, sometime between
February and now.

I have been trying to develop a format for this newsletter for
some time now, and have delayed its debut until I felt confident
I could keep up with sending it out on a regular basis. I'm
still not sure I'm ready for that, but the amplified political
environment of the past month has moved me to start sending out
my newsletter.

That being said, the format of this newsletter will probably
shift as it develops, and I welcome any comments or suggestions
you all might have. I'd like it to be a combination of
information about my campaign and general freedom news. I read
an enormous number of newsletters and articles about
freedom-related issues, and I will try to pass the best of this
on to you. In the meantime, I will fill you in on various
details about me, my plans, and this campaign.

I hope, for at least a few of you, that this will be the
beginning of a long relationship, and I look forward to the
journey that lies ahead of us. There are less than a hundred of
you on this list right now; that number will grow into the
millions as the years go by.

My campaign has already had a lot of firsts and new beginnings-
the first flyer, public announcement, and media interview
(1994), the Internet debut of the campaign (1996), the first
T-shirt (2000), and others. In the past 6 years, this campaign
has grown in small leaps and bounds. And, as I've expected for
some time, the turn of the year 2000 has brought a heightened
level of interest in my candidacy.

Now, a new threshold is being crossed, and it signifies a shift
in gears for me and this campaign. It's time to get serious.
Most of the past 6 years has been spent planning, and testing
the political water. Well, I've tested the water, and it's fine!
It's time to put the plan into action, and bring it to fruition.

I thank you for your interest and enthusiasm, and I applaud the
patience and vision which has allowed you to have faith in my
campaign. :)

Welcome to the revolution.

Be Well, Be Free,
Lance Brown
Candidate for President - Year 2008
http://freedom2008.com

14204 Owl Creek Rd.
Nevada City, CA 95959
530-274-2474
lance@freedom2008.com

In This Issue:

-Defection 2000
-Part of the Plan: The List
-Campaign News: T-shirt, JSOnline article
-Questions and Answers
-How to Unsubscribe/Subscribe

Defection 2000
--------------

So much has already been said about Election 2000 that I will
try to keep my message brief. As you will learn if you stay on
this list, that isn't easy for me to do. :)

Most of my thoughts on the election are included in this article
by J.D. Tucille of About.com, called "In Praise of Election
Chaos":
http://civilliberty.about.com/newsissues/civilliberty/library/weekly/aa110900a.htm

He points out that the main positive result of the election is
that the two parties will be so evenly balanced that they
probably won't get anything done- which means they won't be
imposing government on us quite as efficiently. This is a good
thing. And, with all the talk from both sides- of needing to
"work together for the people"- we can see the true story
unfolding each day on the news, as Democrats and Republicans
claw each other's eyes out with one political maneuver after the
next- battling for the Presidency 'til the bitter end.

I hope it's a battle to the death, with two losers- and I expect
it will end up coming close. With each passing day, the American
people's confidence in Government is breaking up, and the bad
taste of uncertainty becomes more and more bitter. It seems as
though the "partisan" showdowns we've grown so used to- the
yearly budget standoff, the Impeachment staring contest, the
Elian Gonzales cockfight- all of these have been warmups. The
two opponents have been sizing each other up, riling up their
fan base, wearing each other down. All in preparation for the
big matchup- Election 2000. But it's a draw. Statistically, the
difference in the support each side got is negligible. Nobody
seems to have won convincingly, and it's up to the judges to
call the match.

The result, no matter who wins, will be this: The real fans of
the Two Parties will grow stronger in their convictions, and
their distaste of the "other side" will grow. Neither side will
accept the other's candidate as the legitimate winner, and the
election will be seen by historians as one of our most
questionable ever. Meanwhile, the vast majority of Americans,
who have no strong feelings for either party, will become even
more convinced that the system is not built to serve them, and
even more, that it isn't working either. This FoxNews article
seems to back up my theory: "Crisis of a House Divided"
http://www.foxnews.com/election_night/111300/divided_park.sml

On top of those trends is the fact that people are beginning to
believe that their vote does count, and surveys are showing that
people who didn't vote are regretting it. Which means that
Election '04 will probably have the highest voter turn out in
decades- and the greatest number of disgusted and disenchanted
voters ever. To me, this all means that '04 is a great year for
a solid 3rd Party candidate to do really well. The bad news is
that the prospects of one appearing are not that great.

I'll share with you the comment I posted on my discussion site,
PeoplesForum.com, on what this election shows me:

"What it shows me is how little attention and respect our
"leaders" have for our votes, and the elective process in
general. My guess is that there are as many problems with vote
counts and ballot intimidation in every state, and if we opened
up that can of worms, we would find that the lesson of this
election is not "your vote counts"- it just may show us how
little our votes really have been counted.

They keep saying "There are irregularities in every election-
it's just that it seldom makes a difference. This election, it
really matters." Give me a break. I wonder what the difference
would be if we did a recount in my state - California. I wonder
what the difference would be if they then did a hand recount.

Would anyone be surprised if we found that the original, the
recount, and the hand count, ended up being three different
numbers? And what if it was found out that voters in this county
were scared away from the polls, or the voters in that county
had ballot problems, or these other ballot places were closed
for lunch hour, or some ballot boxes were misplaced....I don't
think anyone would be surprised at all.

19,000 ballots thrown out in one county in Florida...one county!
Extrapolate that out to the rest of the counties in the country,
even using a much smaller number...then tell me our votes count.
I have doubts that our votes are countED, never mind whether
they count."

To join that discussion, go here:
http://peoplesforum.com/cgi-bin/forum?13@@.ee6cd49


Part of the Plan: The List
--------------------------

I hope to make this a regular feature, where I share with you
parts of the plan I have worked out, or at least things I have
tentatively planned.

With this being the first e-mail campaign update, it seems that
"the list" would be a good "part of the plan" to discuss.

"The list," any marketer will tell you, is the key to a
successful marketing campaign. By "the list," I mean the mailing
list. And in our case, the mailing list starts with the e-mail
list for campaign updates- the very list you're on right now.

Building this list is of vital importance to the success of this
campaign.

One of the major advantages of this campaign is time. We have 8
years ahead of us- and fully 5 or 6 of those years are "wide
open" as far as the presidential campaign goes. What I mean is
that we won't have to deal with direct competition, or lots of
painful and invasive media coverage, or any of the intense
grilling and catfighting of the "competitive campaign," which
starts about 2 years before the election itself.

This 5 or 6 years is the time when our campaign can build a
critical mass, so that when people start talking about the '08
race, they start talking about that renegade Libertarian who has
been running since 1994, and who is already showing up in the
polls. :)

In order for that dream to come true, this list will have to
grow almost a million times bigger than it is right now. That's
the bad news. The good news is that it can grow to ten times its
current size by the end of this year- and if that happens, then
we *still* have 5 years, and the list only has to grow a hundred
thousand times its size. :)

Daunting figures, no doubt. But not at all unattainable. The
exponential power of "viral marketing" has shown its strength
time and time again on the Internet. Hugely popular programs
spread quickly because satisfied users recommend them to
friends. Even the various myth letters and jokes that circulate
through e-mail are an example of how fast word can spread using
the Internet.

That's where you come in. You, the faithful early supporters of
my campaign. The faster word starts spreading, the faster it
will spread more. Each new person who is interested in this
campaign could hold the key to hundreds of other people who will
be interested. Each of those people holds the key to even more.

So, if you know any friends, family members, co-workers, or
anyone else close to you who might be interested in a campaign
to restore America to a land of Freedom, please forward this
update to them, and precede it with a personal note of
recommendation. Additionally, if you are involved in online
groups, clubs, or message boards, let them know about the
campaign, the website, and how to sign up for this update
(instructions are at the end).

Remember, each person whose interest you ignite is not just one
person- they are a person who could lead us to hundreds, even
thousands, of more people. And if we reach enough people in the
next 6 years (and there are surely enough interested people out
there), there will be nothing the establishment, or the
TwoParty, will be able to do to stop us.

So get started now! Forward this e-mail to all of your
freedom-loving, revolutionary-minded friends. Or even your
friends who like to see the "weird stuff" that is out there on
the 'net. You never know who might be intrigued and motivated by
an idea like this- ask around! Thanks for your help.

Campaign News: T-shirt, JSOnline article
----------------------------------------

--->Campaign T-Shirt available for purchase!

The very first campaign T-shirt is now for sale at the website.
I was prompted to develop a campaign T-shirt because I was going
to the 2000 Libertarian Party Convention, and I wanted a low-key
way to introduce the campaign, without intruding into the
pressing, current matters of the convention. The design, which is
black print on a white, cream or light grey shirt, is as
follows:

Front:

The Future of America is Freedom.
Freedom2008.com
It just might take a revolution.

Back:

Lance Brown
for
President
Year 2008
FREEDOM
IS STILL
AN OPTION
http://freedom2008.com

You can see the real pictures of the shirt, and purchase one if
you'd like, right here:
http://freedom2008.com/s-cart/product.phtml?ProdID=1

If you have any problems with the shopping cart, or purchasing,
please e-mail me and we will work it out.

--->Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Article!

Katrina Hull, of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, did an article
on future presidential candidates, and our campaign was
mentioned in it! The mention is somewhat brief, especially since
I talked with Katrina for a good half-hour or more, but it is
still greatly appreciated- and it has generated at least one
very enthusiastic supporter, who has e-mailed me with lots of
helpful comments and advice (Thanks Jon!). You can read the
article right here:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/nov00/prez06110500a.asp


Questions and Answers
---------------------

There's a new feature on the site, called Questions and Answers,
and it has been very successful. Often, I don't know exactly
what people are wondering when they encounter the campaign site,
so I've invited questions from visitors, and I'm trying to
respond to all of them as quickly as I can. There are 14
Questions and Answers posted right now, and there are a few more
on the way. You can take a look at them here:
http://www.freedom2008.com/qna.htm

This is only the beginning...there will be thousands of
questions before this is over, and I'll answer every one I can.
Eventually, this section of the site will grow into a massive
body of knowledge about me, the campaign, and my views on the
issues. I see this as a great way of providing our potential
voters with an in-depth, detailed, and comprehensive look at
what this campaign has to offer. With that in mind, feel free to
send in your questions! The more I get, the longer it will take
for me to reply, but I promise I will not dodge any serious
questions. I have nothing to hide and nothing to fear, and I
want everyone to know that. So, ask away! You can use the form
at the site (http://www.freedom2008.com/sendquestion.htm ), or
just e-mail me (lance@freedom2008.com).

Thanks for reading this installment. See you next time! And
again- welcome to the revolution.

Be Well, Be Free,
Lance Brown
Candidate for President - Year 2008
http://freedom2008.com

Posted by Lance Brown at 08:39 PM