Serious Biz

We've reached a critical turning point in America and if our course is not changed now it will be too late to shift directions. The coming Congressional elections will decide if one-party rule headed by the Republicans is set in stone or just an aberration. Unfortunately, since the party in power controls the voting machines and key Secretary of State positions, the people will again have no real voice. Our only hope is to expose deceptions as they occur, and even then our chances of publicizing the truth are limited by the mainstream media also controlled by corporations beholden to the White House. If we're not vigilant, the Republicans might not only retain both Houses of Congress, but gain the five seats in the Senate that they need to shut off all debate. That's the direction we're heading and quickly; they're looking for a way to solidify their complete stranglehold on government, now tantalizingly within reach. It's inconceivable that they would allow this opportunity to go unexploited.

Congress has just approved giving President Bush all the power he needs to finish shredding what remains of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. We're on the proverbial slippery slope where another attack on the U. S. would give the administration all the excuse it needs to impose its will on the people. The failure to protect us wouldn't matter at that point: they already know they can do whatever they want. It's not sheer incompetence guiding all of this, but a carefully calculated plan crafted back in the 1990's called the Project for a New American Century (PNAC). It includes the infamous report that proclaimed that it would be difficult to achieve their objectives "absent some catastrophic and catalysing event--like a new Pearl Harbor." Most of the architects of the project are currently members of the Bush administration; chiefly Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. The fiasco in Iraq isn't a mistake, but part of the plan to establish permanent bases on the way to dominating the Middle East, and thus the worldwide oil markets. They are setting the stage for an overthrow of the democratically elected government of Iran that has been their goal from the beginning.

Our last chance to stop this cabal that has taken over our government is upon us. It's hard to feel confident considering three straight stolen elections nationwide: 2000, 2003, and 2004. All of the decisions affecting the world to such a dangerous degree were made by officials that can't prove they were legitimately elected. The machines 80% of Americans are voting on have been proven to be easily hackable, and are being approved without independent certification. Paper ballots, at least as back-ups in case of the inevitable machine malfunction, or to provide a paper-trail in the unlikely event of a recount, have not yet been upheld as mandatory. Consequently, since this year's election is bound to be in doubt because of the lack of basic protections built into the system, we must be prepared to challenge the results; it would be even better if we could expose the ruse once and for all. Barring that, we are in for a rough ride the next few years as we are forced to submit to a right-wing dictatorship in sheep's clothing that wasn't democratically elected.

National mail-in elections are the best solution to all of this; it has worked in Oregon for many years without a glitch. Instead, Republicans are attempting to institute a requirement that voters present an I.D. card at the voting place as proof of citizenship that would place even Oregon's method in jeopardy. It is claimed that we need Voter I.D. to prevent illegal immigrants from voting, when such cases are so few as to be practically non-existent. This is just another red herring to distract us from the fraud they are perpetuating on the American people to keep themselves in office. Many citizens don't have the I.D. that would be mandated and would be effectively disenfranchised. Even if people had the right I.D., imagine this wrinkle added to the long lines in Ohio in 2004 that benefited the party in power, and it's obvious why they support this further obstacle. This wouldn't go into effect until 2008, but we can count on every other form of voter intimidation to occur in the meantime. It will actually be a surprise if the election goes smoothly in November and the Democrats win big as the media so far claims they should. However, it's imperative for the sake of the country and the rest of the world that a semblance of balance is finally restored.


Sources:

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0928-27.htm

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0925-35.htm

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0928-20.htm

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0930-21.htm

http://itpolicy.princeton.edu/voting/

http://itpolicy.princeton.edu/voting/videos.html

http://www.newamericancentury.org/

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092106R.shtml

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060106R.shtml