"I think the puppet on the left represents my views"

As told by that great American prophet, Bill Hicks

Tomorrow is election day in America. And like about 80% of the rest of world, I am fervently hoping that George is kicked out. Sadly, I don't think that's going to happen. For the same reason that Ahnold got elected, there is simply too much money at stake for those who hold the real power.

There is a natural knee-jerk tendency to dismiss certain types of stories (especially when found on the internet) as mere "conspiracy theories". Which is a shame, especially when this reaction prevents one from looking at evidence objectively. When it comes to electronic voting, particularly by Diebold, I think anyone who looked at the evidence knows that the potential for extreme chicanery exists, whether or not it will actually be used.

There have also been many verified stories of potential voter disenfranchisement. Greg Palast, award winning journalist, has been a major figure in bringing this to the attention of the main stream media, albeit outside the U.S.

So it should be obvious to the most objective viewers, that there are factions of Republicans who want desperately to win, and will fight any sort of dirty fight to do it. And those individuals clearly do not have as much to lose, as the segments of society (with true wealth and power) who have benefitted hugely from Bush's theocracy.

The rather depressing part, is that I'm not entirely convinced that Bush would have to steal the election. CNN's poll shows that 2/3rds of people think Kerry will win the election, even though most other major media polls show that it's too close to call.

The UK news paper, The Guardian, was one of a few non-US places which tried to bring a foreign perspective to the attention of the US voter. The responses followed a general trend: Republicans were outraged and extremely aggressive and offensive in their responses. They also displayed a remarkable ignorance of history and foreigners, relying on stereotypes, racism, and in the case of England, various references to the revolutionary war.

As unlikely as it might seem, I think it's very likely that Bush will carry enough votes to take the election. The cognitive dissonance of his followers is just a part of it. The savage enslavement to religion is a larger part. But I'm also afraid that the US is now more clearly than ever on a path towards a facist hegemony, and that that movement has too much momentum to be stopped now.
posted by Manchild at 8:31 PM