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56% opposed it from the beginning (Feb. '03). 56% is a significant majority. It would be a landslide in a presidential election (and believe me, it was). And while most of us--the people and voters of the USA--believed the deliberately-created delusion that the majority supported this insane and illegal war, our political establishment had taken the correct measure of it, and, when they passed the Iraq War Resolution (IWR), in October 2002, also passed the "Help America Vote Act" (HAVA), which transformed our election system from one in which the vote counting was visible to one in which it is not visible. HAVA provided $3.9 billion to fast-track electronic voting all over the country, during the 2002 to 2004 period, with e-voting machines and central tabulators run on 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code, owned and controlled by rightwing Bushite corporations, with virtually no audit/recount controls.
It was to defeat the great, peace-minded, justice-minded, progressive American majority--which bucked relentless, 24/7 warmongering and fascist propaganda, at the beginning of the war, for a 56% antiwar majority, now grown to a staggering, epochal 70% antiwar majority--that "trade secret" vote counting was devised, and was spread like a plague to almost every state.
We, the majority, have been DEFEATED. And the "trade secret" vote counting system is still in place, and still at work, having helped to shape a so-called 'Democratic' Congress that holds the opposite views on the war from the American people. 70% of the American people opposed to the war; 30% still nuts. 60% to 70% of Congress either nuts, frightened or bloody-minded war profiteers; with 30% to 40% of the Congress--the antiwar votes--trying to represent 70% of the people.
You do the math. How do democratic elections produce such an imbalance? Answer: By means of a Stalinist vote counting system. "Those who vote decide nothing; those who COUNT the votes decide everything." (--attributed to Josef Stalin, the ultimate 'Big Brother'). Those who voted in the '06 elections (and in '04) decided nothing; those who COUNTED the votes--or, rather, DIDN'T COUNT them--that is, Diebold and ES&S (two rightwing Bushite corporations, which together tabulated 80% of the nation's votes, using "trade secret" programming code) decided everything.
So, the crap you see in the NYT, and on TV, and in Congress, is a sort of dumbshow. It has nothing to do with you and me and democracy. It is a shadow play, a fantasy, an imitation of the real thing. It is the pre-written, feasible-sounding, delusionary cover story or NARRATIVE that is being presented, for pre-determined events: the continued occupation of Iraq, and killing and torture in Iraq, forever. The U.S. is not going to "withdraw" from Iraq. The war profiteers and world dominators have built an embassy the size the Vatican in Baghdad! And some 15 permanent military bases! They have hijacked our military, our National Guard, our treasury and our future for PERMANENT U.S. occupation of the Middle East. They will never give up the foothold they have gained in Iraq, no matter how many Iraqis "we" have to kill, torture, unjustly imprison or lockdown in militarized neighborhoods, and no matter how great the objection of the American people becomes, even if it grows to 100% opposed to this illegal, unjust war and occupation. They don't have to worry about us any more--because they have also hijacked our election system, and now have DIRECT control of election outcomes. And that foothold in Iraq WILL be expanded. And the huge erosion of our rights under the Constitution WILL continue until the fascist boot comes down on our heads as well. Our political establishment has sold us out. They have turned traitor. We have lost control of our country.
The rightwing fascists have successfully pulled the fraudulent political "debate" way, way over to the fascist end of the spectrum, so that we have to witness tedious arguments about how best to bludgeon the Iraqis into signing over their oil rights, and obscene, mind-boggling discussion of what constitutes "organ failure" in torturing prisoners. The fascist enablers--the 'Democrats'--play their part by taking the slightly less fascist "position" of suggesting a "timetable" for "withdrawal" from Iraq--an event that will never occur, and simply turning a blind eye on stunning crimes like torture and domestic spying, if not outright endorsing them and providing the war criminals with impunity.
This political establishment cannot control all events, and, indeed, has less and less power in the world, the more this fascist coup proceeds, so they may be forced to re-write their scenarios (and their "bread and circus" political entertainments at home). We might see some troop pullouts in Iraq. They will be cosmetic. The U.S. military is in the Middle East to stay. With billions and billions of our tax dollars having been diverted from Iraq "reconstruction," which was supposed to help the civilian population, to U.S. military infrastructure, that infrastructure is NOT going to be abandoned. The diversion of funds has been DELIBERATE.
We can waste our time following these phony "debates"--and expecting something to come of them (what? WHAT?!)--or we can wise up, analyze this situation strategically and practically, as to POWER, and start fighting--or continue fighting--for the restoration of transparent vote counts, concentrating our efforts at the state/local level, where it still might be possible to achieve them. Jefferson, Madison et al invested the states with power over election systems. That is our strength--and just about our only option left for restoring American democracy.
Without transparent vote counting--vote counting that everyone can see and understand--there is no hope of reforming this political system. WITH transparent vote counting, anything is possible. "Trade secret" vote counting is not the only thing wrong with our election system. But it is the democracy-killer. It is why we cannot move Congress. It is why Bush and Cheney are still in office. It is why we are being insulted by this phony "debate" on the war. And it is why the war still goes on, and will continue and be expanded, in the teeth of 70% opposition among the American people.
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