Wednesday, November 10, 2004

I didn't write this

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Fraud?

Probably, yeah, but as they say, "if an election can be rigged, it will be." In other words, yes there was probably fraud, and yes it may have been perpetrated on a scale we've never seen before (thank you, electronic voting. What was wrong with paper? Too inexpensive? Too effective? Too ...transparent?? how ironic), but there is always election fraud. So no, this fraud du jour will probably not be the un-doing of this administration. Coz we're dealing with something more insidious still.

What we're really dealing with is racketeering. Gang tactics, Godfather style. It goes like this:

Karl Rove has connections in organized religion and business. He tells them to do what you can to help us out. You scratch our back, and we'll scratch yours, he says, and those well-placed connections call up their connections and say, hey, do what you can to help out The Cause. Those connections in turn tell the ministers and managers, editors, priests, and pundits on their payrolls to do whatever it takes, or whatever you can do; win one for the Gipper, or whatever, and pretty soon we have hackers tinkering with voting-machine code because W has values,because Bill O'Reilly said so, and people who have never cared about politics their entire lives spending the day at the polls challenging other peoples' right to vote, because my minister said God loves Bush, etc.

I have no doubt -none- that this election was tampered with. Suspicious results in Florida, Ohio and New Mexico -all states which used electronic voting tabulation, often without a paper trail- and Republican party-sponsored activities designed to spread disinformation and confusion about the issues and polling dates, are enough evidence for me to cry "foul."

I'm sure there was fraud in some places (tell us, Governor Bush: why did you refuse to allow voting technology with a paper trail?); I'm sure there was voter intimidation, active disinformation campaigns, out-and-out lies, and fear-mongering. Overall, I'm sure most people were doing what they thought was 'right,' but they got those ideas from someone else because it's all so complicated. Unfortunately, those people whose ideas they're adopting, aren't looking out for their interests.

Think for yourself. Stay vigilant. Keep informed. Reach out.

Peace.