It's a shame that Americans no longer have a free press. If we did, the "average American" would understand that our Presidential elections are worthless, and the Mainstream News Media is choosing our next President, not the people. (When the average American does not possess the facts and understand the true situation that are country is in, their votes are skewed by lack of knowledge and are influenced by propaganda - not facts.) The issues being "debated" by Presidential candidates do not reach into the core of the corruption that affect the survivability of The United States as a free and democratic republic. Timothy Gatto covered some of the many issues that the Presidential candidates refuse to debate and/or even comment upon - even though the issues which are being avoided affect the ability of the Untied States to remain a free and democratic republic. While Mr. Gatto's article was insightful - and the points he presents are spot-on, however are not specific enough to shock the conscience of those who still don't understand the candidates are carefully side-stepping issues that are at the core of our problems, some which could result in the death of freedom in America!
The Issues The Candidates Won't Touch (Part I)
Excerpts:
1. The corporate hold on the American political system.
While some candidates decry the way that corporations have managed to control who gets nominated and thus elected, there is no candidate that speaks about how this nation can rid itself from corporate influence. Some candidates allude to the fact that corporate forces including the mainstream media that is owned by a small number of individuals and corporations including General Electric and Westinghouse as well as individuals such as Rupert Murdock and corporatists such as Mitt Romney (Whose company owns a controlling interest in Clear Channel Communications), they have not proposed anything to rectify the situation. The corporate PAC’s and the corporate donations through “bundling” have a stranglehold on Congress that has become accustomed to relying on this money to fund their multi-million dollar campaigns. Between controlling the media and the purse strings for campaign money, they have effectively become the deciding arbiter of who runs for office and who doesn’t. Meanwhile there isn’t a candidate that has proposed anything to stop the corporate excesses from continuing.
2. The erosion of our civil liberties.
In this particular area of American life, nothing has been as dramatic as our loss of civil liberties. We have had a President in office that has thought nothing of using electronic surveillance on American citizens without going through a secret FISA Court that was expressly set up so that the Federal Government could monitor conversations that could affect our national security as long as the government requested a warrant 90 days after the fact! Yet this President could not even do that and Congress still has failed to address this issue. Not one of the candidates has decried the use of electronic “eavesdropping” on American citizens. This isn’t the only case of our civil liberties being usurped. A National ID Card is scheduled to be implemented in May of this year. Now, as Americans we must prove to any government official that we are American citizens and that we have a right to be here. The Military Commissions Act of 2006 takes away the writ of Habeas Corpus from any individual suspected of being a terrorist. The Patriot Act allows the home of anyone suspected of being a terrorist to be searched without the presence of the occupant and without even telling the occupant that their home was searched. The Warner Defense Bill (The revamped Insurrection Act) takes the power of the States National Guards away from the Governors of the States by the President to be used as law enforcement in violation of posse comitatus, thereby letting the National Guards of each State to be used against the people in the event of martial law. Presidential Signing Statements in which the President has the ability to only follow those bills in which he signs into law that he agrees with. First Amendment Zones that are roped of or fenced areas that people are allowed to demonstrate in that are mostly away from sight of the media or the participants of the event that is being demonstrated against, effectively muzzling Americans First Amendment rights.
3. The Military Industrial ComplexThe point here is not to blame everything on the MIC, but to take a good look at how much this nation chooses to spend on its military. When we spend 51% of our budget on military expenditures (this does not include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan), we must also look at what we are sacrificing in other areas to compete with the two closest nations as it comes to military spending, Russia and China that spend 6% of the money that we do on their defense capabilities.* *http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/ArmsTrade/Spending.asp
The only candidates that address this issue are Paul, Gravel and Kucinich. Where are the other candidates on this issue? If you listen to the Republican field of Presidential contenders, they call for more spending on our military. How can the candidates fund health insurance for all and better schools and better pay for teachers when fully half of our budget goes to military procurement? Who are we defending this nation from that we would sacrifice 50 cents out of every dollar? This is happening as the number of people in uniform gets smaller every year. How do we defend this massive spending to the other nations on earth? Since when is the way we manage our budget not part of the election rhetoric?
4. The Crimes committed by the Bush Administration.
This is not an attack section of this article. The facts are that President Bush and Vice-President Cheney have repeatedly lied about issues that led us into a war with Iraq. They have engaged in illegal surveillance of American citizens, they have condoned the use of torture on suspected terrorists and they have engaged in a practice called “extraordinary rendition” in which suspected terrorists have been put on an aircraft and delivered to countries that practice torture to gain information. Where is the outrage on this issue by any of the leading candidates? I could go on at length but I choose only to bring up those things that have been proven. Before I leave this particular subject however, I would also like to hear any of the candidates’ views on Administration officials that expose a covert CIA Officer’s cover.
5. The Truth about September 11th, 2001.Some polls show that over 50% of the American people do not believe that the official report by the 9/11 Commission answered all the questions that have been asked about 9/11. There are many engineers and other professional people that believe that the timeline and the consequences of two jetliners crashing into The World Trade Center are flawed. There are many unsolved puzzles as to why people took out “puts” on the airlines the next day and made extraordinary amounts of money. There are also questions as to why the Bin Laden family was given preferential treatment to get them out of the country when all other aircraft were grounded. I will not get into any conspiracy theories but only wonder why these things that are known facts were not investigated. The Presidential candidates ask none of these questions and I wonder if when one of them takes office will these questions remain forever unanswered? MUCH MORE
The core issues the candidates refuse to debate or even comment upon are those the Bush administration and a complicit MSM have kept hidden from the American people, and if the candidates themselves are not honest or courageous enough to address those serious items that threaten our existence as a free society, then what good are any of the frontrunner's if they refuse to acknowledge the real problems that are destroying our democracy and literally affect the nations ability to survive in a world that has changed beyond anyone's wildest imagination? If we elect a President under the present environment that has been created by the Bush administration, the winner won't be a President, but a King - something that most people simply refuse to comprehend.
How many of our Presidential candidates have advocated impeachment hearings on President Bush and Darth Cheney? Except for Dennis Kucinich, the answer is zero! If another President is elected, the concept(s) and underpinnings of a Unitary Executive are still in place; we know that power corrupts, and absolute power can corrupt even the most well-intentioned of individuals. Without impeachment hearings to hold Bush and Cheney accountable for their crimes against America and the world, our next President will know that if they follow Bush's style of governance, they too will remain above the law - and our constitution, the rule of law, and especially our system of checks and balances will be compromised until America wakes-up to the fact that our Presidents only provide lip-service to the people, and corporations will still be making the laws and decisions that should be decided by the people.
To make matters worse, there's evidence of major election fraud in New Hampshire, and it wasn't just the Republicans who benefited for the alleged missing and/or miscounted votes:
Clear Evidence Of Widespread Vote Fraud In New Hampshire
Paul and Obama cheated out of 3rd and 1st by voting machines, hand count fraud
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Wednesday, January 9, 2008There were several major vote fraud issues to arise out of the New Hampshire primary revolving mainly around Ron Paul and Barack Obama, who were both seemingly cheated out of third and first places respectively as a result of rigged Diebold voting machines and deliberate malfeasance in the counting of hand-written paper ballots.
- Obama had a 13 to 15 point lead over Hillary Clinton heading into the primary. Nothing occured that boosted Hillary's numbers immediately before the election, in fact immediately after the staged crying incident, many pundits argued it could only have harmed her chances. And yet Hillary somehow managed to instigate a near 20 point swing to defeat Obama by three per cent. If not for her 7% swing as a result of Diebold voting machines, Hillary would have lost to Obama. If Obama was struggling he would probably contest this bizarre outcome, but he is likely to accept the results simply to save face.
- The New Hampshire town of Sutton admits that it voided every vote Ron Paul received. The Congressman got 31 votes and yet due to a "human error," Sutton reported zero votes for Ron Paul. How "human error" can explain not counting 31 votes in succession for one single candidate is beyond the pale and Ron Paul's campaign should ask for a recount across New Hampshire immediately. MORE
At first glance, I inadvertently thought of disgruntled Ron Paul supporters, and even though that's part of the issue, his story alone may lead to a recount of the entire state. Prison Planet also published this article, which demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that something is foul in New Hampshire:
New Hampshire District Admits Ron Paul Votes Not CountedSutton township reported Congressman had zero votes, actual number was 31
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Wednesday, January 9, 2008The head clerk of the New Hampshire town of Sutton has been forced to admit that Ron Paul received 31 votes yet when the final amount was transferred to a summary sheet and sent out to the media, the total was listed as zero. The fiasco throws the entire primary into doubt and could lead to a re-count.
As we reported earlier today, an entire family voted for Ron Paul in Sutton, yet when the voting map on the Politico website was posted, the total votes for Ron Paul were zero.
Vote fraud expert Bev Harris contacted the head clerk in Sutton, Jennifer Call, who was forced to admit that the 31 votes Ron Paul received were completely omitted from the final report sheet, claiming "human error" was responsible for the mistake. MORE
Without fair and honest elections, democracy in America is dead. The situation in New Hampshire is dire, and this nation needs to know that we're going to have an honest election this year. The MSM may bury this story, but it's being read far and wide on the Internet, and Ron Paul supporters are being extremely vocal opponents of the recent results.
I have a deep fear that is manifesting itself at a speed I didn't believe possible. America, the country at large, appears to be waking-up, and what worries me is those who are awakening are doing it with a vengeance, and apparently they are mad as hell! Fox News has been exposed for the liars and propagandists they are; instead of organizing massive crowds of protesters to bring it out in the open and let the other channels provide news coverage that Fox News is under virtual siege for this bias and dishonesty, Ron Paul supporters chased Sean Hannity, a Faux News Propagandist, another story I haven't seen on the MSM.
It's obvious this is an angry crowd, and while I always stand-up for free speech, I can't help but believing that those who demonstrate in small numbers are dooming themselves to be branded as radicals and eventually swept-up whenever Bush declares martial law. True strength lies in numbers, and as these allegations of election fraud become public knowledge and more people begin demanding answers, it is then when we can band together and force Washington to listen to the people. The anger that was exhibited was justified, and I believe that in our hearts, we'd all like to shout-out our disapproval of a Major News Source that doesn't even attempt to hide their unparalleled bias to everything that is leading us into fascism. I believe that knowingly misleading millions of people and refusing to report the truth should be a crime, just as other flim-flam artists are treated.
Faux News has abandoned any hint of being "fair and balanced", and even when they are aware that what they are reporting upon is false - they continue with reports that are branded as "news" when they knew they were broadcasting false information. Why isn't Fox News subject to fraud charges when they knowingly air false reports? Again, truth and honesty are being distorted by Fox News, and in this case, the allegation of falsely reporting facts they know to be incorrect further indicates that Fox believes they are an entity that does not believe in honest reporting.
Fox News: We Report -- Even if We Know It's False
I've been dealing with the media and politics for 25 years, but I've never had a more surrealistic day than January 8. Several times that day Fox News reported that I was joining Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign. It was a big story - at least until the stunning election returns.
After I told Fox it wasn't true -- and this is the surreal part -- they kept reporting it anyway. In fact, Fox's Garrett told me he'd "take it under advisement." Take it under advisement? (Emphasis added.) I realize I'm generally seen as just another liberal with an opinion, but this was not a matter of opinion, it was a matter of fact. Fox now knew their story was flatly, factually wrong, and they took it "under advisement." MORE
Fox News, much like the Bush administration, has propped-up their existence based on politics, spin, an unwavering bias toward anything that supports fascist America, and as I stated in another piece, Fox News and Rupert Murdoch, as long as they still choose to disseminate lies and propaganda, are beginning to become enemies of freedom and democracy - and branding both of them as "enemies of the state" seem appropriate and correct when describing Murdoch and his host of propagandists. Freedom of speech is vital to freedom, however, when a major "news" network has proven over and over that facts and truth are secondary to their political goals - the only word that serves as a realistic descriptor is fraud! The out to be a law against deceiving the public, and to hide behind free speech in justifying their lies and spin is nothing more than another perversion of our constitutional values.
In my opinion, Bush and Cheney are looking for any excuse to declare martial law,and this belief is bolstered by recent developments in the Middle-East Between Iran and the US Navy. Two BuzzFlash headlines sum it up, and evidently, Pakistan collapsing into anarchy isn't enough for the chicken-hawks that inhabit our highest offices:
Iranians Deny Threatening U.S. Vessels, As Cheney and Bush Salivate Over Their Potential Gulf of Tonkin Excuse to Bomb Iran
Today, The Huffington Post strongly asserted that the alleged incident was extremely suspicious, if not a total fake: It's a Fake Hot on the heels of that allegation, Iran released a video of the event that helped to substantiate that Bush and Cheney might be at it again, spinning events to suit their own desire to vilify Iran, even though in this case the incident was minor at best:
Iran airs video of navy stand-off
Iranian state-run TV has broadcast video it says shows a controversial naval stand-off between Revolutionary Guards patrols and US warships.
There is no sign of threatening behaviour by the Iranian boats, as alleged by US officials who said their actions were dangerous and provocative.
However, the four-minute clip does not appear to show the whole incident in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.
Iran accuses the US of faking video and audio evidence to support its claims. BBC NEWS MUCH MORE
It's obvious that our mainstream new media has been compromised beyond salvation, and when our Presidential candidates ignore core issues that go to the heart of our democratic process, and ignore other issues that are necessary for Americans to survive the global water shortage that is becoming a harsh reality rather than speculation - we as a nation hover ever more closely to the brink of total fascism. Congress has been barraged with emails and phone calls in regard S 1959, yet no "front runner" has addressed this issue, and there's still a press blackout on the entire matter. Drought is affecting huge sections of the United States, our agriculture in the Mid-West is being threatened and subjected to lower crop yields due to catastrophic drought conditions, however none of the candidates have addressed this issue. Why? Of importance to many Americans is whether the Bush Presidency will be thoroughly investigated upon the winner taking office - yet no candidate has had the courage to inform the American people what justice these criminals will receive, if any, after we have a new President. These are vital questions and issues - all ignored by the Presidential candidates.
The coming election is proving to be a farce, viable candidates are marginalized and refused entry into Presidential debates by the MSM, and now we have evidence of election fraud in New Hampshire. I have never been an advocate of violence, but wouldn't it be nice if "tar and feathers" were still an acceptable method in which to show our increasing disapproval with those who choose fascism over democracy? If impeachment is not carried-out in a timely fashion, beginning now, the coming Presidential elections will accomplish nothing of value for America, and when it comes inauguration time, we might as well crown the winner as King, because that's the power the next President of the United States will inherit - and a sleeping America doesn't even see it coming...
William Cormier
__________________________
"The whisper becomes louder, then a voice is heard, and then crowds of voices, and eventually the whisper becomes the roar of change!" wjc
"Some candidates allude to
"Some candidates allude to the fact that the corporate forces including the mainstream media that is owned by a small number of individuals and corporations including General Electric and Westinghouse as well as individuals such as Rupert Murdock and corporatists such as Mitt Romney (Whose company owns a controlling interest in Clear Channel Communications), they have not proposed anything to rectify the situation".
So, I have Mitt Romney to thank for changing my favorite radio stations from classic rock and roll to Spanish speaking formats? (The Clear Channel staions did this in in Florida and New Mexico)! Silly me, I think that people who come here from other countries should learn English. Governor Anorld of California agrees. I guess Governor Romney does not hold the same belief.
"When we spend 51% of our budget on military expenditures (this does not include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan), we must also look at what we are sacrificing in other areas to compete with the two closest nations as it comes to military spending, Russia and China that spend 6% of the money that we do on their defense capabilities).*
Well, let’s not forget the cost of all those prisons that KBR built here in American and all those acres of plastic coffins that had to be purchased for the “American Insurgents” (look on Google) when it comes to the cost of the war on terror. Who would be, of course, for thee an me I presume. We can’t have the costs and prices of schools and prison camps for Liberals as well, now can we? And local prisons will cut down on the cost of of renditions, right? The Europeon Union is getting “uncomfortable” with the legality of rendition in their countries.
Also, I don’t know about your state but in mine if you participate in early voting you use a paper ballot. If your state uses a machine I suggest that you try this avenue. And, if any has the inclination of going through old Diatribes I mentioned voter caging which really should be read, especially for new voters and persons of color.
I concur with your concerns about martial law and am very worried about martial law being used using Iran and the “war on terror” as an excuses. King George may have it no other way perhaps.
Thank you for your posts, they are always important and informational to read. And please, keep covering the HR 1995/S 1959 bills. It needs to keep getting attention. I’ve not heard anything from my state representatives regarding my emails to them. So we have to keep pounding this crap until the mainstream media deems to give it scrutiny. My letters to them go unanswered as well. Thank you for continuing the “good fight”. We’re reading it and appreciate it.