Whether
Herr Bush was actually re-elected remains in serious
doubt to those of us who rely on sources other
than the television as an unbiased source of news
in the US. I truly believe that the US networks
have been told not to cover this story and to
the only network reporter who has (Keith Oberman
on MSNBC, now on vacation at a secure, undisclosed
location), God bless you. There are recounts scheduled
in NH, thanks to Ralph Nader and it's a pretty
sure bet there will be not only a recount in Ohio,
but also violations of the Voting Rights Act filed
and perhaps in FL as well. Last I heard, NM was
still counting. All of this is being funded by
'we the people' by the way......those of us who
care about having our votes counted accurately
and openly. I mean for God's sake........people
waiting online for 8-10 hours for ANYTHING in
the US, as happened in Ohio and Florida? THAT
in and of itself is a story during a US election,
yet NONE of the major networks have said a word
about it. 'Minor inconveniences' is what they
reported. People stood out in the rain and cold
in Ohio for 8-10 hours, some with small children
in tow. In Florida, it was elderly people waiting
on line for 6-8 hours in 90 degree heat...........to
vote for the status quo??? Not in my lifetime!
There were hearings held in Columbus, Ohio on
Saturday and this evening, asking anyone who witnessed
or experienced any voter suppression, exceedingly
long lines, people being forced to use provisional
ballots when they shouldn't have had to, any sort
of voting irregularities. Gosh, I didn't see or
hear anything about that on any of the major networks.
Wonder why? Haven't heard about the hearings this
evening but the ones Saturday? Went WAAAAY over
the time they had allotted, there were that many
people who felt they were left out of the democratic
process and that my friend, is the problem. It's
not black or white, it's not red or blue or all
of the purple maps in between. It's about people,
of whatever political persuasion feeling like
no one cares what they think or what their experiences
are and I think ALL politicos in the US had better
wake up and smell the regular coffee, not the
latte, because the regular blend is all most of
us can afford.
Be
that as it may and just by the way, at this stage
I don't care how it falls.......well, I *do* care
but mainly, I just want ALL the votes counted,
as we were assured they would be. Here in GA,
we voted into the void, no paper trail, no way
to verify that the way I intended to vote was
really how my vote was counted. I do know that
the elderly gentleman who was on line ahead of
me and my girls was horrified and very upset when
he called a poll worker over to complain that
although he'd cast his vote for Kerry-Edwards,
the review screen showed him casting his vote
for Bush-Cheney. We in GA are in a very 'Red'
state and County BTW. If that sort of thing happened
here (with NO verifiable paper trail) how are
any of us to have confidence in the supposed result
in the states that were in question?
All
that aside 'anyone but
Kerry??' What could be worse than going from
a record budget surplus to a record deficit? Getting
us into a war that there was/is quite obviously
now, no plan to get out of? Our boys and girls
coming home in boxes, again.........not that we're
allowed to actually look this time round, might
be an unpleasant reminder of the human cost of
W's war. Record numbers of Americans living at
poverty level? Record numbers of Americans with
NO health care? Meanwhile the Furer continues
giving his rich pals record tax breaks while doing
his naueating one-of-the-guys- aw shucks routine
and people like you are buying it. It beggers
belief, truly it does.
And
just by the way, Kerry actually had a position on
peace in Northern Ireland and a way to move it forward.
What a concept, eh? What's W's 'plan' again? Oh
yeah, like Iraq, he hasn't got one.
