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November, 2004
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November 2004-The Media, The
Pollsters, And Takin' It To The Streets
By Carol Sterritt
"It's
the End of The World As I Know It and I Feel Fine"-REM
The Ring Wraiths come out while we are using the ring to gain invisibility.
Half of us are Frodo the RingBearer and Half of Us are Samwise. The ring must
be thrown back into the volcano of doom. It seems impossible, and we ask, how?
Thirty years ago, the media would have helped us out a little. But now the
media is corporate-controlled, if not out and out shilling for the CIA.
Furthermore, most of the media outlets considered to be among the elite of
publications do have massive corporate holdings. The New York Times, LA Times,
Chicago Tribune, etc., are such vast conglomerates that their corporate interests
alone dictate that George Dubya's re-election promotes their economic
interests. Dubya might not seem like a bright penny, but his tax break
strategies are getting him the right votes in the right places. Even those
newspapers that unexpectedly endorsed him still do NOT have front page news
headlines screaming out loud with the retraction of all the lies that these
liars have sold to us as we load our nation's youth onto planes to send them
off to kill Iraqi people for what?
Meanwhile Daily Polls inform us (most of the time) that Bush has a slight
edge, or Kerry is neck and neck with Bush. But we have no way of knowing the
truth and accuracy of these remarks.
The Zogby Poll, Field Poll, Chicago Tribune, ABC, CBS, they all report an
error margin from 1 to 5%. But if you dig a little bit, you realize that
according to a recent Associated Press report, not one of these polls contacts
anyone using a cell phone. For one thing, it is illegal to do any soliciting,
even polling, using cell phone numbers as a data base. Since five percent of
all Americans now have a cell phone as their principle phone communication
system, this could be significant. But even more troubling is that 15% of all
those Americans between the ages of 18 and 33 are using the cell phone as their
only phone. So an even larger error of margin has been created, but it is NOT
added in to the final count. And it is not reported to the public. Instead the
few times I've heard it commented on, the increase in error margin is dismissed
as unimportant.
This dismissal requires close examination. This generation, not wishing to
be cannon fodder, supports Kerry in larger percentages than any other group of
us. Older Americans using only cell phones are most likely to be split between
the party lines. The younger age bracket is exactly the group that has
registered to vote in record droves. Now they are espousing a philosophy that
if it was "way cool" to be apolitical four years ago, such an
attitude might lead to the deserts outside Fallujah this time around. There it
won't be cool at all, but deadly, deadly hot.
On the only two light notes to come through this week: Oprah endorsed Kerry.
Having her on our side also means we have her pulpit should push come to shove
after the election. She is worth four dozen Chicago Tribs. Also Nickelodeon
released the results of its poll taken among young viewers. The poll results:
Kerry 57% and Bush 43%. This poll is the ONLY poll to have predicted the winner
in every single presidential election since 1988.
Those of us working on the Black Box Voting Issue are aware that only
through continuing the mindset creation that the election is "too close to
call" can Bush re-take the White House through any and all means. At least
61 million of the votes will be counted on machinery that has no paper trail.
One of the three companies in charge of the vote tabulator count has already
promised George W his victory. So the polls must fall in line and make it look
as though it is conceivable that the Bush Crime Family really did capture the
hearts and minds of their fellow Americans. Yeah, right...
So after November 2nd, whatcha' gonna' do? Should Kerry out and out win,
despite all these obstacles stacked against him, even then, the Republicans
have a heavy card to deal against the Dems. There are at least a half dozen
ways that they can challenge a Kerry victory. Several of these scenarios would
bring the election back into the realm of the Supreme Court. Can we say "I
can't believe that this is happening all over again?"
Among the most likely of these, should a Colorado voter proposition pass
allowing its electoral college votes to be split proportionately between the
candidates, not winner take all as usual, then Bush supporters could legally
challenge the votes that Kerry receives from Colorado under the new
arrangement.
The Supreme Court contains the same nine justices that ensured that the Florida vote count stop and that handed George W his "victory" the first time
around.
Pretend Voter Registrations
As I write this, other things are of concern. A large voter registration
drive is occurring in several states, notably Nevada, where workers are
pretending to register new voters. This firm, Sproul and Associates, then
instructs its workers to destroy the registration applications for any voter
that indicates they will vote Democratic. (The information is asked for on the
front of the application.) The new Republican applicants do have their
application forms processed. And supposedly no one will be the wiser until Nov.
2nd when the newly registered Democrats will find out that they are not
registered at all... Meanwhile there is a short list of "swing
states" that seems to get longer: New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania and of course, Florida.
At least this time around, should the Black Caucus demand that the House of
Representatives sign off on its paperwork, there will be at least a half dozen
if not more Democrats willing to do so. Once this paperwork is signed, The
Black Caucus knows how to legally force the Senate and the House to fully
examine such issues as illegally eliminating blacks from voter rolls, and
denying provisional ballots to those at a polling place where machines fail to
work, etc. This could return a stolen election to its rightful owner.
Most important in my humble but revolutionary opinion is that we all commit
ourselves to "takin' it to the streets." I don't mean getting out
your old Doobie Brother records (though that is an okay idea with me too.) I
mean, things like massive civil disobedience. The middle and working classes
now earn the majority of the taxes handed over to Washington for its War
Profiteering Deficit Budget. Most of us pay about 90 to 95% of our income taxes
through our weekly or bimonthly paychecks. Stop going to work and the business
at hand in Washington shuts down quickly.
You can pledge to be part of this network. Contact your local Peace and
Justice Center. (locally 721 2844). Hit the website
http://www.nov3.us/stolenelection.php and pledge yourself body and mind to
stand with a nation of committed activists. We need to bring our country home
from its nightmare. When, speaking during a debate, Bush gave a quick answer in
response to a question critical of Iraq policy, "It takes time to turn a
tyranny into a democracy," he said. Well, it's taken less than four years
to turn our democracy into a tyranny. We must stop the NeoCons in their tracks.
I pledge my life and my soul to this effort, and I know that you will join me.
The week of November 2 and 3rd could be the greatest week that this nation has
experienced. It won't be great without our help, and perhaps our blood, sweat
and tears.