THE AMERICAN ELECTION IS BULLSHIT!

[glarius]

Sorry to say this....and I hope I'm not comming across as anti-American, but the more I see on television, the more I realize that the whole thing is controlled by right wingers and it will be a big surprise if the corporate nterests do not prevail....I love the American people, but they are not represented in this whole scenerio.

[Indiana_Dem]

1. Thank you very much.

I wholeheartedly believe this today. Somedays I wake up and have some hope and other days I wake up and wonder what in the world is going on---so sad.

[cthrumatrix]

35. we can add Iraq &* Afghan election to above comments

[democrat in Tallahassee]

2. You are correct, sir or mam. Voting means nothing; the money speaks

and rules

[liberalmuse]

3. So it's not just our imagination?

Or a delusion shared by all the silly liberal Americans? You mean it really does appear as if our mainstream media is trying to reinstall Bush? Actually, you aren't coming across as anti-American. It's just nice to know that people from the outside looking in can see the same bullshit we're seeing.

[lightbulb]

19. footnote

You mean it really does appear as if our mainstream media is trying to reinstall Bush?

Ever notice how Bush is constantly referred to as "the future president" in recent stories discussing his Military past? A sneaky bit of opportunistic conditioning, me thinks.

[flordehinojos]

4. in my circle of friends we are all saying the election is rigged

the bushes are going to continue their power grab .... well, even jimmy carter wrote something about it today in the WP.

[CrispyQ]

5. We lost our democracy in 1886

...with corporate personhood. It took another hard blow in December 2000 when the Supreme Court selected our president.

[xray s]

21. sieg heil korporate amerika!

all must vote for the good of the korporation

http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110005669

Guess Who's a GOP Booster?
The CEO of CBS's parent company endorses President Bush.

Friday, September 24, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT

From The Asian Wall Street Journal

With the scandal at CBS still festering, questions are being raised about whether a felony was committed when the network broadcast apparently forged memos in an attempt to discredit George W. Bush. Yesterday, the chairman of CBS's parent company chose Hong Kong as a place to drop a little bomb. Sumner Redstone, who calls himself a "liberal Democrat," said he's supporting President Bush.

The chairman of the entertainment giant Viacom said the reason was simple: Republican values are what U.S. companies need. Speaking to some of America's and Asia's top executives gathered for Forbes magazine's annual Global CEO Conference, Mr. Redstone declared: "I look at the election from what's good for Viacom. I vote for what's good for Viacom. I vote, today, Viacom.

"I don't want to denigrate Kerry," he went on, "but from a Viacom standpoint, the election of a Republican administration is a better deal. Because the Republican administration has stood for many things we believe in, deregulation and so on. The Democrats are not bad people. . . . But from a Viacom standpoint, we believe the election of a Republican administration is better for our company."

[annabanana]

26. Is THAT when corporate personhood happened?

I was wondering how long it had been like that. It never made sense to me that corporations had "freedom of speech"...the individuals, yes, the company, no.

[rman]

36. history of corporate personhood

The Hijacking of the 14th Amendment
http://reclaimdemocracy.org/personhood/fourteenth_amendment_hammerstrom.pdf

Our Hidden Corporate History
http://reclaimdemocracy.org/pdf/primers/hidden_corporate_history.pdf

http://reclaimdemocracy.org/

====

the documentary "The Corporation" (www.thecorporation.com) shows a few legal successes in countering this abuse of justice.

[kayell]

6. We are living in one of those sad banana republics we used to make fun of.

:cry:

[sweetheart]

7. Its a plutocracy, 1 vote per dollar

And the corporations win. How the american democratic system became
an effective plutocracy, is a long winded story, but lets just say,
that until campaign finance controls are effective, and until liabel
law actually punishes abusing the media (veterans for truth, et alia),
then the election is pure plutocracy, with a small hint of
the democratic ideals that the constitution's framer's once had.

[whistle]

8. It's always been that way it seems, plus federal elections are on...

...the first Tuesday in November, a traditional working day and election day is never, I repeat never a holiday, so is it little wonder that fewer that 48% of eligible voters ever vote in federal elections? In the 2000 election about 105 million voters cast a vote fro a presidential candidate and I believe that something like 213 million adults 18+ actually live in the U.S. or work overseas and can vote. Let's hope that election and campaign reforms get placed before the congress and keep getting put there until democracy can be fully implemented in U.S. elections. That also means finding a way to reduce the enormous amount of money spent by the various candidates.

The agenda should include:

- easy voter registration
- simple foolproof voting and ballots
- national holiday for federal elections
- public financing of candidate campaigns and eliminate of special interest funding

[paulpaul]

9. Can we have international observes please?

We should have international observers to monitor the US elections so we don't get a repeat of 2000

[951]

10. I believe they are going to be there

although low-key and american

[Disturbed]

16. My view.

The American people are conditioned to the concept of winning. It's the only thing that matters. It doesn't matter how the winning is done. The Neo Fascists have cleverly fashioned this as a War On Terrorism. Any country can be invaded on that premise now. The winning takes time. It cannot be disputed that America cannot win in Iraq or Afghanistan because it's just a matter of time. If America just stays the course. Vietnam was lost because the politicians and the liberals wouldn't stay the course. They lost their will to win. Kerry/Edwards are painted as weak and not willing to win the War On Terror. Liberals and the Left Wingers are not tough enough to win the War On Terror and their weakness invites more terrorists to attack America.

This is the crux of the debate.

That is why the Kerry campaign went with the Kerry was a Hero in war. Unfortunately, the Neo Fascists put a dent into that with the Swiftboat Liars and the eroneous misperceptions of Kerry's votes in Congress. The Neo Fascists play down and dirty and consider any election as warfare where no rules apply. People keep saying that fear and smear shouldn't be used but then also say it is effective. If Dems go on the attack they are attacked for being negative and desperate. Sound bytes and perception win over complexity and facts. It's War!

[Karenina]

23. Yes, Disturbed

It's quite disturbing. :hi:

[HFishbine]

31. YOU can be an observer

http://www.electionprotectionvolunteer.org

[NightTrain]

11. You're not coming across as anti-American at all.

Though I wish it were different, I agree with what you said.

[geek tragedy]

12. Clinton was elected twice because he was good for big business.

Big business will keep Bush and his like in power until their crushing of the environment and working people actually hurts profits.

[nostamj]

13. "the more I see on television"

the LESS you know.

and, BTW, the air STINKS TO BUSHIE HELL on this thread. did you miss the memo? IT AIN'T OVER and no one needs your demoralizing BS.

register a voter, don't register your resignation.

:puke:

[Vox_Reason]

14. Carter fears more Florida vote corruption

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3693354.stm

[TexasSissy]

15. How different is it in Canada?

How do the politicians there raise $$$? Do they travel around the country campaigning, or just stick to TV, since your country is so large? Share a little, please. I haven't ever seen much about the details of other countries' elections.

[Minstrel Boy]

25. campaigns now receive public financing

Each vote a party receives gives it something like $1.50. And corporate and organized labour donations are now prohibited.

And yes, the leaders do travel the country, usually many times. Closer to Election Day they concentrate on whatever regions are of strategic importance for them. Pretty frantic pace, since the campaigns are just over a month long.

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

17. Bush politicized the Census Bureau

No one even knows who the American people are anymore, or where they live, let alone what kind of government they want.

[scarface2004]

18. thanks to the 'electoral' college..

we will soon be under the boot of a bunch of psychotic fascists!!

(sorry if i offended any psycho fascists)

[Braunschweiger Bone]

37. the electoral college isn't a bad thing, IMHO

it makes the whole country the playing field in elections. If no electoral college, candidates would only campaign in the 10 largest cities. Although that may benefit us in the current atmosphere, it may not always be the case. What if the large cities were one day full of right-wing nuts? Then we would be thanking our lucky stars for the electoral college.

It really was quite an ingenious concept by the founding fathers. But then again, I'm an history buff.

[mmonk]

20. Aye, glarius

[teach4life]

22. amen, brother

can I get a witness??

[Karenina]

24. Did a bona fide chimpanzee

REALLY SUCCEED at altering the code on a *corp voting machine?

In the famous words of Judy Tenuto, "IT COULD HAPPEN!" :silly:

[ghostsofgiants]

27. ...

I didn't know this until my poli-sci professor mentioned it today, but Americans have no nationwide independent organization to oversee their elections (we have Elections Canada here in Canuckistan). It's all regional oversight. For those of you who have never taken political science, that is one of the biggest qualifications for a democracy.

What the fuck is that shit? That absolutely blew me away.

[Octafish]

28. It's better than bowing to a Queen.

Sure, there's a battle between the plutocrats and the kleptocrats for control of the elections, which certainly have been fucked up by Corporate McPravda since Pruneface was presidunt. And since 22 November 1963, we've been under some kind of weird government by traitors, many of whom have been out-ed permanently. But I would prefer what little Democracy we have left to any kind of system where one person is deigned by God's chosen reps fit to rule and lord it over me and my country. And I got it in writing. With all DU respect.



George W Bush is related to a couple queens.

[glarius]

29. Who bows to the queen???,,,,,,She's just a nice old lady who comes

to visit occasionally and we have her picture on our money....We regard her with affection, but she has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with governing our country so you have wasted your time....

[Octafish]

30. No. I spent my time doing what I wanted to do.

And that was the point.

Have a nice day.

[glarius]

33. My...my...How profound!!!

:boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring:

[Octafish]

39. Laugh or snooze all you want. You need to rely on "emoticons."

Laugh my fucking ass off.

[glarius]

40. Realllllly?

Then how about this ... or this... and I end with this...:D

[JohnyCanuck]

32. It's all very Soviet.

Zbignew Zingh: 'Soviets 'r' us'

Take, for example, the hallmark "one party rule" that characterized the 20th Century SU (Soviet Union /jc). Here, in the United States of the 21st Century, do we now have anything different? The Republicans control all three branches of government and they are busy stocking the federal judiciary with life-time appointments who meet Republican litmus tests. Although one can argue that the Democrats and the Republicans are "different" parties, there is no dispute that the core power brokers in both parties closely resemble one another. Both parties' financial lifeblood come from the same corporate and upper class donors, both parties tread lightly around the same special interest groups. Neither party offers anything different than gradations of the same elite-oriented policies. It is not terribly novel to state that the Democrats and the Republicans are merely different shades of the same party.

Even within the context of the elections that are held in the United States, can we seriously contrast what we have today with what the Soviets had in their day? There are barely any contested elections at the local level in America, just like in the Soviet Union. And at the national level, the Republican and the Democrats do their level best to keep off the ballot anyone who is not vetted and approved by their think-alike national committees. Thus, in America, too, we can choose only from an approved list of candidates, just like Soviet citizens of yore. There, the voters' choices were restricted by the Party. Here, the parties restrict the candidates to the lesser of two similar evils. The quality of "choice" seems remarkably 'soviet'.

<snip>

As the dying Soviet Union collapsed on itself, its social systems, its very quality of life began to decay. What of us, America, in the early 21st Century? Our public schools collapse and we have no money for our teachers. Our libraries, our roads, our medical care system, our railroads, our inner cities, our social safety nets, our universities, all are slowly starving for lack of funds. Many countries top the U.S. now in the quality of education, child mortality, vacation time, medical care and social support systems. You can see America's decay just as you could see it in the waning days of the Soviet Empire. In the SU, life expectancy began to trend downward. It is trending downward in America too. You can feel it, you can see it, you can hear it in conversation everywhere.

<snip>

The Soviets developed a cult of heroes. Immense heroes of the Revolution. Larger than life political leaders. They had cults of adoration for the designated governmental figurehead. And what of America, vintage 2004? We have our strutting warrior hero president, our manly-jawed Terminator governor, our cultish, fawning legions of leader-worshipers who will brook no dissent and tolerate no slight of Our Rulers' reputations or intentions. It is all very Soviet, is it not?(my emphasis /jc)

www.smirkingchimp.com/print.php?sid=18022

[elehhhhna]

34. Condi ( Soviet Gov't EXPERT) is really advising Bush on DOMESTIC policy--

That's the only feasible explanation for her presence. And I must say she's doing a good job, once you know what her real duties are.

Just my opinion.



GLASNOST, NOW!

[SOS]

38. American "elections" include

corporate financing
rigged electronic voting machines
the electoral college
fake polling
voter intimidation
purged registration rolls
83% of ballots counted in secret by right-wing corporations
nearly 100% of television media purchased by right-wing corporations
crooked redistricting
smear campaigns
5-4 Republican Supreme Court
race-based disenfranchisement
And this years special: A total media blackout of John Edwards

It's one helluva sytem!