I'm posting these links--I read them and sort of tuned them out with the typical Gen X response to such news: whatever!--because it's better to know things than to merely suspect them. Since The Earl of Pembroke took the trouble to send these to me today I figure I may as well put them up. Strange to find myself--the King of Bush Conspiracy Theories (a title I assumed in the late '80s, BTW)--unable to generate enthusiasm for such information, but I'm overloaded, overjaded, and pooped. I haven't read the newspapers or The Nation in weeks. Today's Nation had a great black cover and I put it in the recycling pile without even opening it, on top of the previous eight issues.
Truthout article.
Another Truthout article, but read the Morris one as well lest you misinterpret their selective quoting (as I initially did).
Finally, the Earl also sent this link, which I had not seen (thanks! very interesting), and which breaks down a lot of extremely fishy information in an enlightening manner.
I'm not surprised at all by any of this; indeed, I expected it. But without a paper trail, what can be done? Even more important--what are YOU going to do about it? (I switch to 2nd person here to generalize--I include ME in this YOU, and YOU is not aimed at any specific person, but includes the couple dozen goodhearted folks I know who note all these irregularities and pass them on). Are you prepared to do what it would actually take to overturn this? My professeur de francais had a suggestion for what needs to be done: REVOLUTION. That would seriously eat into our preferred time-passing activities: web surfing, video game playing, DVD reviewing, book reading, fucking, porn downloading, beer swilling. I haven't been tear-gassed, nor filmed at a protest by the National Guard, nor menaced by a cop in full body armour, since the anti-war rally in DC a couple years ago, and before that it was Bush's inauguration--am I willing to do so without results again? It's going to take a lot of us hitting the streets and facing arrest (and getting arrested) to get the complacent media to even acknowledge any questions about the result (note that after 2000 the BBC and London newspapers like the Observer found substantial evidence of appalling election fraud during that election in Fla--NONE of our media picked it up), and I guarantee that if they do acknowledge anything they'll couch it as the maudlin plaints of "kookoo" conspiracy nuts or poor losers who can't accept defeat.
So don't agonize--organize. DO something. Chain yourself to the front door of WBAL. Go pour your own blood on the White House lawn a la Father Berrigan. Start a movement, organize a protest, start a petition, lead a march on DC demanding an investigation. Move to Canada, or New Zealand, or Australia, or France.
The result will remain the same, but at least you'll have tried.
8 comments:
Touche' - but there's still time for Kerry to act (I'm sure he's having his ear massively bent, and according to Mark Crispin Miller, Theresa was very concerned about the possibility of electronic fraud).
It's only 6 days after election day - a lot can happen, and I suspect that by the end of this week the story will have gained 20 times the steam!!
The great thing about the Morris article is that the man KNOWS polling. He KNOWS that exit polls done to current standards are THE most accurate polls available. He has the credentials to make this point, and the fact that he pushes a left wing media conspiracy theory seems to be a sort of smokescreen. His bread and butter now is Republican writing, so if he came out and said that there was massive electronic voting fraud, he's out of work. So, he's done everyone the favor of stating that the parties involved know how to conduct VERY accurate exit polls, and if the results don't jibe with the election counts, SOMETHING IS WRONG.
And he keeps his job. It's for the main man (Kerry) to act.
Maybe you're right--if those numbers on the mysterious Fla counties turn out to be representative (and factual) we might generate enough of a head of steam to cause turmoil. But if it doesn't happen quickly, and get a lot of major media coverage, we're fucked anyway. I'm sure Kerry and his handlers know about this stuff, and for some reason they determined the fight wasn't worth it--a daunting legal battle might, in their minds, hurt the Dems more than help? Who knows?
Maybe some Diebold whistleblower will emerge. Maybe the Attorney General of NY will step up here--he seems willing to tackle anyone.
For now nothing changes.
Busy here at work, so don't have time to digest what I missed on your blog for the past 4 days. I was down in Louisiana for my sister's wedding. Which is, of course, home to many Bush supporters. You're observations are on the money, as usual. What more could I add?
They're now saying there were EXIT POLL frauds.
Picasso fled, Braque stayed and enlisted.
Duchamp lived in New York, Man Ray in LAMeanwhile I'm preparing for the revolution by training hard:
0TMGod, it is so busy this flippin' post took me over an hour to compose!!!
Hey--hope the wedding was fun, at least. Good to hear from you again.
Strange you mention Duchamp--I'm reading a novel by a former prof of mine that deals rather interestingly with the collection of MD at the Philly Museum. I'll probably write about it after I finish.
Ha ha! Chain yourself to WBAL. They would all be so confused. Then Deborah Weiner would, like, have a baby on your head or something. Jayne Miller's baby.
Em
A startling image! Were I ever to ever experience someone having a baby on my head, I'd hope for an ex-WBAL-er like Sade Bedouenwa. Why? I'm not sure. Deborah Wiener simply doesn't cut the mustard. Though I've always kind of had a crush on Jayne Miller in the same way I had a teenage crush on Martina Navratilova.
You said "Weiner" and mustard.
HAHAHAHA!
Also, I read the Morris article after you told me about it yesterday.
Hateful man. I thought only the losers were supposed to revel in sour grapes.
About moving to another country - the next election is 2006. Bush has been quoted as saying he knows "I'm going to start quacking after 2 years". His lame-duck status could begin WELL before that, if the house of cards begins to fall before then. The situation in Iraq can ONLY go south, the Abu Gharaib and Haliburton investigations continue and the continuing huge deficits WILL have negative affects (possibly including a severe crisis in value of the dollar and stocks). Bush and the Repulso party OWN THESE DISASTERS!! They can't run, or hide.
AND even if (or maybe ESPECIALLY if) Kerry doesn't raise a stink over the electronic fraud, the story could gain such momentum that it will be a big influence in 2006 and 2008. After all, if there is no official investigation, the fraud allegations WON'T HAVE BEEN DISPROVED, but the evidence is extremely strong!!! This story has legs, and can only gain power (like JFK and Illinois in 1960).
AND Kerry (unlike Cheshire-Cat Gore in 2000) is NOT going away. Gore's disappearance after his defeat created a power vacumn which did much to validate Bush's presidency.
AND the high evangelical turnout might spur an even higher secular backlash next time. After all, how much higher can the sheeple turnout be? Their issues are extremely unpopular with much of the electorate.
People ought to hang tight and really stick it to the Repulsicans in 2006. I'm hoping 2004 represents the high-water mark of the conservative movement.
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