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Excuse any duplicate postings. Please consider the following Petition. Just copy-and-paste the following into a new message, add your name to the list, and send to all folks you know who would support this measure. THE PETITION: This is so important to the small independent bookseller, please take a moment to sign. If you are the 50th, 100th, 150th signature, please e-mail the petition to the AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION e-mail address: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> . PETITION TO BLOCK BARNES & NOBLE AQUISITION OF INGRAM This petition will be sent to the Congress, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission to block Barnes & Noble's proposed acquisition of the Ingram Book Company, the single largest supplier of books to small bookstores across the country. This acquisition, should it be allowed to take place, is just one more example of the large scale corporate consolidation that has infiltrated every corner of our culture. As the desire intensifies to increase bottom line profits, no matter what the other consequences so does the concentration of power in the book industry. Consumers are left with an environment in which fewer and fewer people are deciding which books published and ultimately, which books Americans can read and buy. Barnes & Noble has already entered into an alliance with the $14 billion media giant, German-owned Bertelsmann AG. Now with Barnes and Noble's proposed acquisition of the billion dollar Ingram Book Company, there can be little doubt that the book industry is falling prey to the same anti-competitive ills that currently plague computer software and other industries. This deal would make independent bookstores virtually dependent upon their largest competitor for their books. (It is as if Burger King and Wendy's had to buy their french fries from McDonald's). We need your help. As a patron of independent booksellers, please sign the petition to help us lobby the government to stop this proposed merger. Please exercise your right as a citizen and tell the government how you feel. We sincerely thank you for your support. 1. Meg Gouraud, Canon City, CO 2. Pat Wiles, Guffey, CO 3. Chris Rivers, Guffey, CO 4. Shiner Antiorio, Asheville. NC 5. Toba Spitzer, Watertown MA 6. Melissa Minkin, Los Angeles, CA 7. tova stabin, eugene, OR 8. Aurora Levins Morales, Berkeley, CA 9. Luz Guerra, Austin, TX 10. Marianne Bueno, San Antonio, TX 11. Louis Mendoza, San Antonio, Texas 12. Bryce Milligan, San Antonio, TX 13. Rose Catacalos, Stanford, CA 14. Perla Cavazos, Austin, TX 15. Tammy Gomez, Austin, TX 16. P. D. Jolley, Austin, TX 17. Richard Lyons, Austin, TX 18. Rosemarie Vardell, Efland, NC 19. Dan Bellm, San Francisco, CA 20. Nancy Halloran, San Francisco, CA 21. David Couch, San Francisco, CA 22. Susan Moon, Berkeley, CA 23. Taigen Dan Leighton, Fairfax, CA 24. Peter Coyote, Mill Valley, CA. 25. Paul Hawken, Sausalito, CA 26. Susan Burns, Oakland, CA 27. Gil Friend, Berkeley, CA 28. Bill Reed, CHevy Chase, MD 29. Diane R. Morrison, Altadena, CA 30. Ann Hempelmann, Hermosa Beach, CA 31. Mary Jo Reutter, Los Angeles, CA 32. Jo Adrienne Cheung, Big Bear Lake, CA 33. Fiona Bremner, Ventura, CA 34. Andrea Brewer, Los Angeles, CA 35. James Kyung-Jin Lee, Los Angeles, CA 36. Rafael Perez-Torres, Santa Barbara, CA 37. Elizabeth A. Marchant, Santa Barbara, CA 38. Mario A. Ascencio, Los Angeles, CA