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Will Bush Cancel The 2008 Election?
It is time to think about the "unthinkable."
The Bush Administration has both the inclination and the power to cancel the 2008 election.
The GOP strategy for another electoral theft in 2008 has taken clear shape, though we must assume there is much more we don't know.
But we must also assume that if it appears to Team Bush/Cheney/Rove that the GOP will lose the 2008 election anyway (as it lost in Ohio 2006) we cannot ignore the possibility that they would simply cancel the election. Those who think this crew will quietly walk away from power are simply not paying attention.
The real question is not how or when they might do it. It's how, realistically, we can stop them.
In Florida 2000, Team Bush had a game plan involving a handful of tactics. With Jeb Bush in the governor's mansion, the GOP used a combination of disenfranchisement, intimidation, faulty ballots, electronic voting fraud, a rigged vote count and an aborted recount, courtesy of the US Supreme Court.
A compliant Democrat (Al Gore) allowed the coup to be completed.
In Ohio 2004, the arsenal of dirty tricks exploded. Based in Columbus, we have documented more than a hundred different tactics used to steal the 20 electoral votes that gave Bush a second term. More are still surfacing. As a result of the King-Lincoln-Bronzeville federal lawsuit (in which we are plaintiff and attorney) we have now been informed that 56 of the 88 counties in Ohio violated federal law by destroying election records, thus preventing a definitive historical recount.
As in 2000, a compliant Democrat (John Kerry) allowed the coup to proceed.
For 2008 we expect the list of vote theft maneuvers to escalate yet again. We are already witnessing a coordinated nationwide drive to destroy voter registration organizations and to disenfranchise millions of minority, poor and young voters.
This carefully choreographed campaign is complemented by the widespread use of electronic voting machines. As reported by the Government Accountability Office, Princeton University, the Brennan Center, the Carter-Baker Commission, US Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and others, these machines can be easily used to flip an election. They were integral to stealing both the 2000 and 2004 elections. Efforts to make their source codes transparent, or to require a usable paper trail on a federal level, have thus far failed. A discriminatory Voter ID requirement may also serve as the gateway to a national identification card.
Overall, the GOP will have at its command even more weapons of election theft in 2008 than it did in Ohio 2004, which jumped exponentially from Florida 2000. The Rovian GOP is nothing if not tightly organized to do this with ruthless efficiency. Expect everything that was used these past two presidential elections to surface again in 2008 in far more states, with far more efficiency, and many new dirty tricks added in.
But in Ohio 2006, the GOP learned a hard lesson. Its candidate for governor was J. Kenneth Blackwell. The Secretary of State was the essential on-the-ground operative in the theft of Ohio 2004.
When he announced for governor, many Ohioans joked that "Ken Blackwell will never lose an election where he counts the votes."
But lose he did....along with the GOP candidates for Secretary of State, Attorney-General and US Senate.
By our calculations, despite massive grassroots scrutiny, the Republicans stole in excess of 6% of the Ohio vote in 2006. But they still lost.
Why? Because they were so massively unpopular that even a 6% bump couldn't save them. Outgoing Governor Bob Taft, who pled guilty to four misdemeanors while in office, left town with a 7% approval rating (that's not a typo). Blackwell entered the last week of the campaign down 30% in some polls.
So while the GOP still had control of the electoral machinery here in 2006, the public tide against them was simply too great to hold back, even through the advanced art and science of modern Rovian election theft.
In traditional electoral terms, that may also be the case in 2008. Should things proceed as they are now, it's hard to imagine any Republican candidate going into the election within striking distance. The potential variations are many, but the graffiti on the wall is clear.
What's also clear is that this administration has a deep, profound and uncompromised contempt for democracy, for the rule of law, and for the US Constitution. When George W. Bush went on the record (twice) as saying he has nothing against dictatorship, as long as he can be dictator, it was a clear and present policy statement.
Who really believes this crew will walk quietly away from power? They have the motivation, the money and the method for doing away with the electoral process altogether. So why wouldn't they?
The groundwork for dismissal of both the legislative and judicial branch has been carefully laid. The litany is well-known, but worth a very partial listing:
The continuation of the drug war, and the Patriot Act, Homeland Security Act and other dictatorial laws prompted by the 9/11/2001 terror attacks, have decimated the Bill of Rights, and shredded the traditional American right to due process of law, freedom from official surveillance, arbitrary violence, and far more.
The current Attorney-General, Alberto Gonzales, has not backed away from his announcement to Congress that the Constitution does not guarantee habeas corpus. The administration continues to act on the assumption that it can arrest anyone at any time and hold them without notification or trial for as long as it wants.
The establishment of the Homeland Security Agency has given it additional hardware to decimate the basic human rights of our citizenry. Under the guise of dealing with the "immigration problem," large concentration camps are under construction around the US.
The administration has endorsed and is exercising its "right" to employ torture, contrary to the Eighth Amendment and to a wide range of international treaties, which Gonzales has labeled "quaint."
With more than 200 "signing statements" the administration acts on its belief that the "unitary executive" trumps the power of the legislative branch in any instance it chooses. This belief has been further enforced with the administration's use of a wide range of precedent-setting arguments to keep its functionaries from testifying before Congress.
There is much more. In all instances, the 109th Congress---and the public---have rolled over without significant resistance.
Most crucial now are Presidential Directive #51, Executive Orders #13303, #13315, #13350, #13364, #13422, #13438, and more, by which Bush has granted himself an immense arsenal of powers for which the term "dictatorial" is a modest understatement.
The Founders established our government with checks and balances. But executive orders have accumulated important precedent. The Emancipation Proclamation by which Lincoln declared an end to slavery in the South, was issued under the "military necessity" of adding blacks to the Union Army, a step without which the North might not have won the Civil War. Franklin Roosevelt's Executive Order #8802 established the Fair Employment Practices Commission. Harry Truman's Executive Order #9981 desegregated the military.
Most to the point, FDR's Executive Order #9066 ordered the forcible internment of 100,000 people of Japanese descent into the now infamous concentration camps of World War II.
There is also precedent for a president overriding the Supreme Court. In the 1830s Chief Justice John Marshall enshrined the right of the Cherokee Nation to sovereignty over its ancestral land in the Appalachian Mountains. But President Andrew Jackson scorned the decision. Some 14,000 native Americans were moved at gunpoint to Oklahoma. More than 3,000 died along the way.
All this will be relevant should Team Bush envision a defeat in the 2008 election and decide to call it off. It's well established that Richard Nixon---mentor to Karl Rove and Dick Cheney---commissioned the Huston Plan, which detailed how to cancel the 1972 election.
Today we must ask: who would stop this administration from taking dictatorial power in the instance of a "national emergency" such as a terror attack at a nuclear power plant or something similar?
Nothing in the behavior of this Congress indicates that it is capable of significant resistance. Impeachment seems beyond it. Nor does it seem Congress would actually remove Bush if it did put him on trial.
Short of that, Bush clearly does not view anything Congress might do as a meaningful impediment. After all, how many divisions does the Congress command?
The Supreme Court, as currently constituted, would almost certainly rubber stamp a Bush coup. If not, like Jackson, he could ignore it as easily as he would ignore Congress.
What does that leave? There is much idle speculation now about what the armed forces would do. We also hear loose talk about "90 million gun owners."
From the public side, the only conceivable counter-force might be a national strike or an effective long-term campaign of general non-cooperation.
But we can certainly assume the mainstream media will give lock-step support to whatever the regime says and does. It's also a given that those likely to lead the resistance will immediately land in those new prisons being built by Halliburton et. al.
So how do we cope with the harsh realities of such a Bush/Cheney/Rove dictatorial coup?
We may have about a year to prepare. Every possible scenario needs to be discussed in excruciating detail.
For only one thing is certain: denial will do nothing.
HARVEY WASSERMAN'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES is at www.solartopia.org, along with SOLARTOPIA! OUR GREEN-POWERED EARTH, A.D. 2030. The FITRAKIS FILES are at www.freepress.org (where this article was originally published), along with HOW THE GOP STOLE AMERICA'S 2004 ELECTION & IS RIGGING 2008, which Bob and Harvey co-wrote.
Comments
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208 Comments so far
Show AllWhy are "ninety million gun owners" dismissed so easily and cavalierly? An armed citizenry is a bulwark against tyranny.
It has been noted that Bush jr is overly optimistic, even under consistent failures around him. What is giving this misplaced confidence? Is it because he knows something is going to happen next year, just prior to elections, that will allow him to suspend elections and allow him longer stay in power? Even Cheney is not worried about all the pessimism around him. I would pay close attention to everything that is happening now and those that are about to happen. It is going to be a very interesting election year.
When I voted in the 2006 election I declared by standing as a Democrat, am registered as an independent. I received the appropiate ballot, voted, brought it to the electronic counter, went to the 'check off' list and was asked if I wanted to change my registration back to independent. I stated that yes I did, and, one of the 'overseers of the voting public' made this comment: You had better do just that. It has echoed in my mind ever since and now I can see why.......to be a registered Democrat is putting you promptly on 'the list', or at least that is appearing to be the case. I want to thank all of you for sharing your wisdom and insights for myself and others to read and contemplate and very often to confirm my belief that we are in such trouble here in our beautiful country.
Here's what I wrote about another article on this site (http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/27/2813/), but it seems an equally appropriate comment on this article.
And don't forget all of the Dear Leader's executive orders, such as the one he wrote a few months ago that gives him control over the entire U.S. government, state governments, and even industry in the event of virtually any kind of disruption, natural or man-made. Or the one he wrote a few days ago that permits him to seize the assets of virtually anyone by simply declaring that they are destabilizing Iraq, even if very indirectly.
The real question is whether the Dear Leader – or rather his boss, Darth Vader – intends to leave office in 2009. If not, then it's clear what to expect: a "terrorist" attack that will be blamed on Iran, followed by martial law, an attack on Iran, and indefinite "postponement" of the 2008 election until voting can be made "secure." All it would take is, say, a few grisly attacks on political offices throughout the country, accompanied by a government assertion, sans evidence, that terrorists have a plan to attack voting places throughout the country on election day. Given this scenario, who would demand that the election proceeds?
There is little doubt that Darth Vader was behind 9/11. Oh sure, they got a couple of fools willing to blow themselves up to participate, but the operation was supervised from start to finish by Darth himself, in order to make sure it was a smashing success. So if they were willing to do 9/11, then why not another phony "terrorist" attack. followed by martial law?
I'm not too sure that the military will come to our defense. After all, look at the barbarity of their actions in Iraq. You can't create killing machines and then simply switch them off. Moreover, if the Dear Leader commandeers the National Guard for the purpose of imposing martial law, he's not going to send the units back to their home states to maintain order, precisely because they would be sympathetic to their neighbors. No, he'd send the guard units to states to which they have no sympathy, and maybe even antipathy. In addition, the precedent has been well established now for the use of mercenaries. These people are cold blooded killers from all over the world who would enjoy killing a few uppity Americans who dared to protest against martial law. Martial law would probably need to be accompanied by conscription as well, and these inductees would be carefully trained to view Americans who protest and resist martial law as subhuman enemies of the country.
Dave
citizen,
I oppose violence. Besides, when in the pub, a Scots soldier calls out "F*** the Queen!" the British soldier replies: "YOU can't even APPROACH her!"
The problem is, only a small minority of the American people realize what is happening to them, because the media is owned and operated by guilty corporations that are part of the problem and don't dare reveal the truth. Lou Dobbs does well, but the absolute enormity of our American dilemma is so terrifyingly dangerous, it's no wonder so many are in denial.
It never ceases to amaze me that as the curtain is drawn back to reveal the agenda that began in 2000 and runs rampant today, no one publicly acknowledges that same agenda included September 11, 2001 as an essential plan in their pre-planned strategy.
For weeks following 9/11, the Bobblehead was making speeches that held veiled assaults on the Democrat's. Don't you remember the line "The terrorist's figured we'd just file a lawsuit against them after September 11th."
A clear talking point at the ready to label everyone but themselves as weak on defense.
With nation at a fever pitch for anything spewing from Bobbleheads mouth, he got instant and complete coverage for every speech and they all contained that line ad nauseum.
The coup is well under way and canceling the '08 election is their next chapter in the fall of democracy in America.
Curtsie!
"A compliant Democrat (Al Gore) allowed the coup to be completed."
"As in 2000, a compliant Democrat (John Kerry) allowed the coup to proceed."
What is not only scarier but just downright discraceful is the fact that we not only have a Republican administration that has no problem running the country into the ground but that we have an "opposition" party that fails to act.
Pardon me while I correct the author on an item. Lincolns soldiers were not fighting to end slavery, but to turn back the secession. When Lincoln gave his emancipation speech, there were 200,000 desertions.
The american system of government is interesting, and Bush doesn't appear to be doing this for himself and his administration. He's doing it for future republican presidents. Republicans are after all, monarchists, and I've been thinking recently they way they've been acting, their line of thought revolves around this. "If we can't have limited government, we won't have any government at all." We'll see.
citizen a July 31st, 2007 1:00 pm
There's always assass@#$#$%%^....
Mentioning or indirectly suggesting this activity is a felony under current federal statutes...
Ditto KEM PATRICK. Besides, it's the system that is the problem, and that will change when we all get off our fat asses. Americans don't know how powerful they are!
Also, anyone who thinks that a million .457 Magnum pistols is any match for the military is delusional! Look at Iraq and you will see what kind of home you will have left to enjoy after such a conflict.
The article states "[u]nder the guise of dealing with the "immigration problem," large concentration camps are under construction around the US."
Who is building these camps, and where? What is their projected capacity? Who is paying for them? Why didn't the article mention this information?
Plus, corporate America (who really calls the shots) doesn't have to cancel the election in order keep its surrogates in power. Wall Street has a pair of front-runner, business -friendly candidates: Clinton and Obama. They are, in my opinion, DINOs (Democrat In Name Only) without Bush's Christian dogma, both of them relying on Robert Rubin for guidance on economic policy.
The ruling cabal has more sophistication than to cancel elections. They are better at stealing them; not that there isn't anything they will not do to hold onto power either up front or behind the scenes, but they require a venner of plausible legality to justify their rule in a way that can be passed off as Democracy.
Harvey Wasserman's one of those "clean money" public financing people. Harvey, using campaign spending limits to get America better politicians is the only way to solve America's problems enough. If you think "clean money" public financing of our campaigns will bring us enough campaign finance reform, you're sadly mistaken.
Republicans- limited government? It seems to me that everytime a Republican is in the White House government gets bigger and more expensive. Who ever believes this crap still believes that the media is liberal. And, duh, who promotes these beliefs- the repubs do and America buys it lock, stock, and barrel so to speak.
Fact is that Bush - Cheney group are not going to allow an election- there will be a catastrophe and they will declare martial law, start another war and all the stupid bible reading christians will see dissaster in the middle east fulfilled and think nothing of it. America is too Chriatian-blind to think for itself.
Congress would most definitely order impeachment proceedings and the Senate would convict. I do not think that the military would stand for such an act, they are patriots that respect the Constitution and would not stand for a dictator.
Srelf,___ you are right on.
You did have a little typo there it's a a 357 Magnum. Many don't know this, but a thirty-thiry has twice the power of a 357 magnum and is normally far more accurate over fifty yards. Got off of the subect, sorry.
Meanwhile,___ Congressman Conyers IS violating the supreme law of the land by refusing to act on the HR-333 bill__ and NO ONE challenges him in court for that serious crime.
Cindy Sheehan went to his office with the petitions, because Conyers is the ONLY one now, who is preventing the impeachment process from proceding. Conyers is breaking constitutional law, Cindy is arrested and no one does anything about Conyers crime.
Nah. Pappy and Bill are best buds...and it's a twofer again in the Bush-Clinton dynasty. Shoot, she just claims she can do it all better--not that there is anything wrong with any of it.
Everything is right on que.
Jaded Prole,
The difference today is we are dealing with a madman who thinks Armageddon is a positive solution to the World's problems, because in that delusion, only his devout Christian religionists would be left to rule the World.
So, what is Cheney's delusion?
It may be that Hillary's running is the theatrical equivalent, long and drawn out surrogate if you will, of a cancelled election. If they cancelled the elections outright, they'd plunge the US into Civil War, and D.C. might find itself in the thick of it.
So they'd far, far, rather cancel the power of elections, without cancelling the positive spin they put on things. It's a baby/bathwater thing. So they'll put up someone who's highly divisive, disliked by several sectors, give them lots of money and air-time to create a paper tiger -- maybe even artificially boost the polls (Hillary). Then it'll come down to another 49%/49% orchestrated "dead-heat" on election night to increase TV ratings with some hanky-panky business in a Shrub-controlled state, and a Democrat who drops out before the last vote is counted.
It'll read like a formula, as it has for the past few elections.
sjc- dream on if you think this congress will do anything- they will buy into it because most of America still buys it. Not only that, they are part of the problem in that they are only interested in themselves and their careers.
As for the military- one benefit of lowering standards is that you get a military not used to thinking before acting. Besides- who runs the military but the commander and chief.
The world is out of control and unless impeachment happens now, it won't happen at all- try to impeach and you will be jailed- congressman or not. That is what is meant by a dictator and President with UNLIMITED War powers- which he viturally has not with no real war.
Everyone talks about the Iraq war when it is not a war- it was an invasion that removed Saddam and now has transformed into a nightmare with everyone fighting with and against each other.
Since Bush recinded Habeus Corpus, anyone in the USA can be picked up and placed under indefinate detention.
You can't vote while you are under detention.
Expect a mass detention of Democrats prior to the election.
THAT's what the new camps are for.
Looks like it's far too late for campaign finance reform.
I think the non-patrticipation or public strike is a good idea in theory. There will be many who suffer but we will have to deal with losses and inconvenience no matter what we decide to do, a strike would likely make it a short term issue, I hope.
I was just discussing the topic of the article with a university alum last evening.
It appears that as Desert Storm was a live action marketing tool for the military AND medical industrial complexes, this war is also a sales pitch. Look who's going to buy a bunch of upgraded weaponry... Saudi Arabia and China. China owns the US monetarily so we have to keep them happy.
But what is truly alarming is that the drugs the soldiers are "pumped up" with are similar to crystal meth, only pharmaceutical grade, and they will do what they are told to do if they are "jonesing" for more on a regular basis. I'm willing to wager that the meds are provided by Donald Rummsfeld's big pharma comapny.
And then there are the "more mercenaries than regular troops" in Iraq. We are in trouble indeed.
I'm storing food and supplies now, I don't expect that shopping for food etc. will be an option soon.
Logical thnking SJC. Hope you are correct, but don't bet on it. If Bush declares martial law, anthing may happen and most of the anythings would not be good.
> Under the guise of dealing with the "immigration problem,"
> large concentration camps are under construction around the US.
> It's also a given that those likely to lead the resistance will
> immediately land in those new prisons being built by Halliburton et. al.
You know, this is being bruited about quite a bit, but there are never any specifics. How many of these places are there? Where are they? If the camps are really so 'large', somebody must know details.
in V for Vendetta the despots used a biological weapon on their own people killing 80,000 and blamed it on terrorists. and then produced the cure making themselves appear as a godsend to the people. not to mention they owned the pharmaceutical company making each one of their gang very wealthy.
in GWB for WMD, the despots flew planes into two very large buildings in NYC and then blamed it on the terrorists. Oh by the way they sold alot of stock options the day prior and made themselves a nice piece of change. not to mention starting a war and contracting it out to, wait for it, themselves. and we can go on for about a year mentioning every broken law by the Bush crime family.
So where is our gun powder treason? Where is our revolutionary "V". I see 2 solutions. I advocate a peaceful non cooperation with the government like Ghandi did. Since money is their motive, boycotts, and strikes would bring them to their knees overnight. But I don't see any Ghandi type leaders taking the reigns on any of this. could it be we're just destined for doom, is this the end of the American Empire, has it been sold to China? Should I learn Cantonese?
Does anyone else remember that after the 2006 election President Bush publicly stated in a news conference that the American people should be pleased that we continue to hold elections even in a time of war? A chilling statement I thought. And how did such an idea even occur to him?
And to those who advocate violence of any kind: That is exactly what authoritarian regimes want and need in order to justify their powers. The only realistic means of resistance is peaceful resistance. There is no other way. Violence only creates more violence.
Two factors I didn't see mentioned above:
BLACKWATER--the private military force run by Eric Prince, rightwing Christian fanatic....currently active in Iraq; they also had a "practice run" in the US as a "security" force in New Orleans...how hard is it to imagine these thugs kicking in our doors and hauling us off to those afore-mentioned detention centers???
AND
The BBC just did a story on Prescott Bush (dubya's granddaddy) and the failed 1933 coup to bring down the administration of FDR and install a Mussolini (eg, fascist) form of government--oh yeah! The whistleblower was Smedley Butler (of "War is a Racket" fame) who this gang had tried to convince to lead the military against the government...If you have any doubt as to the truth of this story or what these folks are up to, see for yourself:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document_20070723.shtml
(if the link doesn't work, just google: bbc, prescott, coup )
You will not believe what you are reading--unfortunately, it's all true...and it goes way beyond any so-called tinfoil-hat type conspiracy theory...
So--WHAT are we gonna do about it???
What are Presidential Directive #51 and Executive Orders #13303, #13315, #13350, #13364, #13422, #13438?
Rudy was in on 9-11, they likely used his disaster headquarters in WTC7 that morning- and then of course demolished it. I believe the plan is in place to cancel elections/ martial law, only if they can't steal the election for Rudy and just keep this creeping fascism rolling steaily without any "real" opposition.
QUOTE:
sjc_1 July 31st, 2007 1:53 pm
Congress would most definitely order impeachment proceedings and the Senate would convict. I do not think that the military would stand for such an act, they are patriots that respect the Constitution and would not stand for a dictator.
END QUOTE
Your post implies to me that you think the Senate is not part of the Congress when it is.
Congress is comprised of two bodies:
The House
The Senate
The House ain't about to order impeachment proceedings and the Senate is not about to convict, no matter what happens. To me that's wishful-thinking because the Congress (House and Senate) have HELPED to CREATE the Bush dictatorship. And of course the military would go along with all this because they will be brainwashed with the "terra" threat (which could be cooked up to be Iran) and that "terrorists" are coming. Play that "terra" card and make people afraid of their own shadow.
I'm glad to see this article because I've been talking about this subject only to be ignored by most so-called "progressives" because they don't want to think about or "go there." Most prefer to pretend it can't happen or won't happen. Denial is a very comfortable place for most people.
I said after the 2000 "election," if they will do this (steal the 2000 "election), they will do literally anything. These people are not going anywhere in 2009. They didn't steal 2 presidential elections just so they could be in power for a mere 8 years.
There is no "opposition" party. The Dems are useless as far as working for "We, the People" and most Dems have gone along with all of this to begin with.
Newageartist wrote QUOTE:
What is not only scarier but just downright discraceful is the fact that we not only have a Republican administration that has no problem running the country into the ground but that we have an "opposition" party that fails to act.
END QUOTE
Well, really, we have a Repug regime that has no problem running the country into the ground and a supposed "opposition" party who has HELPED them run the country into the ground.
One needs to give up the illusion that the Dems are a so-called "opposition" party. They are not and haven't been since 2000. They have been a Bush-Enabling party with their "YES" votes for Bush, their complicity and their silence.
dwatkins9 July 31st, 2007 1:11 pm
Why are "ninety million gun owners" dismissed so easily and cavalierly? An armed citizenry is a bulwark against tyranny.
Because the ninety million gun owners mainly consist of Bush supporters. They would invite the boot boys in for apple pie and lemonade.
You guys sure like the Apocalyptic archetypal stories huh?
Bush and Cheney do not have brass balls big enough to call off elections in 2008.
The American people would be calling for their heads if they dared take such an action.
No amount of "terror alerts", actual terror attacks, a war with Iran (doubtful they can even achieve this), or other excuses could possibly convince the American public or the media.
How much praise did Bush heap on the Iraqi people for 'defying the terrorist threats of violence' and going to the polls to vote for their new government many months ago.
For him to now say that we Americans don't have the fortitude to carry out elections and safety is more important than voting would make an implication about American will compared to Iraqis that no American would let pass.
Calling off elections doesn't have a chance in hell of happening but in the highly improbably event that I am wrong I will be the first outside the gates to the White House with a torch and pitchfork.
QUOTE:
dwatkins9 July 31st, 2007 1:11 pm
Why are "ninety million gun owners" dismissed so easily and cavalierly? An armed citizenry is a bulwark against tyranny.
END QUOTE
I suspect that the "ninety million gun owners" don't have a clue what's going on, like most people in this nation. That crowd would be watching Faux News or CNN.
"Who's Libby? Who's Cindy Sheehan? What's the USAPATRIOT ACT? Oh Bush didn't steal any elections...where do you get this stuff from? "We" don't torture anybody and even if "we" do it's justified. Big Brother Surveillance? Sure. I have nothing to hide. Bush wants to stay longer than 2 terms, fine by me...what's the Constitution? I have my US flag that's what I go by. The flag is the law of the land.
Y'all worry too much. There will be no armed uprising because middle class jerks with high-speed internet don't start insurections. People who make $50,000 per year are happy with themselves and the status quo. It is only the working class schmos who scare the elites. Keep the working class relatively small, no uprising. It's simple math. Now, when the depression comes along, and we're all out of work, the elites and upper class will come correct, the companies who've been advertising on the corrupt media will go out of business and we can all get back to normal; The way it was in the 1800's.
QUOTE:
rfrancis@godisdead.com July 31st, 2007 3:47 pm
You guys sure like the Apocalypse archetypal stories huh?
Bush and Cheney do not have brass balls big enough to call off elections in 2008.
The American people would be calling for their heads if they dared take such an action.
END QUOTE
The "American people" don't have a clue what's going on to begin with. They're too busy with what job they do have, too busy watching mindless television shows, could care less about serious news, too busy going to the mall to buy crap to end up in the landfill, too busy with their status-SUV, too busy with their lattes and this gadget and that gadget and I could go on and on.
Did you see how upset the "American people" got over the 2000 stolen "election" followed by the 2004 stolen "election?"
What happened to show that the "American people" were upset?
NOTHING HAPPENED.
They didn't show any sign of being upset. Instead, people like me were told to "get over it" when I was out protesting with A FEW HUNDRED people.
Clearly, after all this time, you still don't have any clue as to who and what Cheney and Rove really are and the plans of the PNAC document (their blueprint). Dunce Bush is just their puppet.
When and if this happens, the "American people" will yawn and say "Oh that's happened? ...whatever."
You have got to be kidding me. So now we've turned this site into the home of conspiracy theories? Unbe-freakin-lievable!!!
I cannot believe that I just read a contributor to this site and 30 something members of this site warning that Bush might not leave office at the end of his term.
Are you kidding me? Really? Is this a joke? I thought you people were smarter and more logical than this.
bidelo-
It is quite obvious that you are not listening to the voices of many of the 90 million armed citzens. Take some time to listen to what used to be called 'Patriot Radio', and you will here as much critcism of the Bush bunch as you do here on CD. Freedom loving folks of all types despise this administration. Difference is, those on the 'Right' believe in preparing for catastrophy instead of just complaining about it on their favorite web sites...
I keep hearing about these concentration camps being built (by Haliburton), but does anyone know WHERE they are being built? If so, please post it. thanks.
It was not so long ago that records were opened that revealed that Western European governments, certainly with US aid and complicity, had staged a number of black ops in Europe during the 70s and 80s in which terrorist acts were committed by the governments and then blamed on communist or other leftist groups. I do not know whether 9/11 fits in that category, but certainly such an operation would not be unlikely in the US.
Maybe a black op or false flag operation of some sort would fail in removing resistance to assertion of dictatorial powers. But that does not mean the Bush-Cheney criminal gang will not try it. There were many who claimed the Iraq invasion would only lead to disaster. Did that dissuade them? They are as bold and reckless as they are power-hungry and stupid.
David B - Google for 'em - they're all there.
OSUgradstudent July 31st, 2007 3:59 pm,
Clearly you haven't been paying close attention either since 2000 and you're living under the illusion that we are pre-2000 of "politics as usual."
What signs or indications have you seen that Bush/Cheney have ANY intention of leaving in 2009?
Please name them and please be specific.
(Don't just say "according to the US Constitution" because that isn't an answer because the illegitimate Bush regime has already shredded the US Constitution, in part, with the USAPATRIOT ACT and injustice Alito whom the Dems voted "YES" for believes in the concept of the "unitary executive" (meaning above the law) and Bush "The Decider" has referred to the US government as "MY government" in his recent speeches.)
Think that a coup is the stuff of conspiracy theorists? Then go ahead and check out the historical FACT that granddaddy Prescott Bush ALREADY TRIED THIS in 1933!!! NOT a conspiracy THEORY--a REAL CONSPIRACY...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document_20070723.shtml
If you still think I'm a nutjob, conspiracy theorist after looking at this recent BBC documentary, then so be it...
I think that the truth of what's going on is really so terrifying that most of us can't even wrap our brains around it....
Just remember: it HAS happened before and it CAN happen again. In fact, it IS happening again....
I gather then that the Bush administration wants another Clinton in office as much as we all do???
perhaps I speak for myself.
Erma,
With all due respect suspending an election and vote rigging are magnitudes different.
I too read about the removal of 50,000 people from the voter rolls in Florida in Greg Palast's book and news articles.
This story got pretty much no air time in the U.S., one had to search out the news of the day in order to find it.
The American people would not have to search around to find info about a suspended election, even the mainstream media would be covering this event. It would be on all the news stations, no Americans could avoid the story.
It would not take long at all for anger to reach critical mass and the Keith Olbermann's of the media world would be calling for all Americans to march on the White House with torches and pitchforks.
I would not spend your time worrying about such an event.
the only possible scenario in which our elections will be canceled is a false-flag terrorist operation, and even that's problematic. the ruling elite in this country are very divided about this administration; many, many people in bizness, gov't, military, etc., loathe the cheney admin. elections at this point are a procedural formality with no substantive relationship to democracy. why rock the boat when george bush lite (hilary/obama) is waiting in the wings and the bizness of generating more wealth for the fabulously wealthy is running along quite smoothly?
but, having said that, who can deny how deeply irrational dumbya is? or how the american public will react if war is escalated in the middle east (iran or pakistan)?
there are a lot of ifs involved, and canceling elections is a very risky thing to do.
WUOTE:
rfrancis@godisdead.com July 31st, 2007 4:16 pm
Erma,
With all due respect suspending an election and vote rigging are magnitudes different.
END QUOTE
That's a given. But you completely missed my point and the point that I and others have made.
Bottom line: The rigging of elections was a way to grab hold of power in the first place with no intention of giving up power in the end. How does one refuse to give up power in the end? By cancelling an election in the name of another cooked up 9-11 type inside job (the first one has served as an excuse for most of what they have accomplished to date). Following that, they could declare martial law and end of nation.
As for congress, Rove/Cheney/Bush have already unofficially dissolved congress by ignoring them without suffering any consequences other than occasional posturing and theatre from some members of congress. Even Barbara Boxer about a week ago spoke of how close we are to a full-blown dictatorship. (Yet I don't see her trying to do anything about it and her "YES" vote for the USAPATRIOT ACT helped, in part, to create the dictatorship).
But if you don't want to spend much time worrying about such an event, then don't. I never said that I spend my time worrying about this because I really don't. But if it were to happen, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised where as others on here would be...for some reason. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised because I put **NOTHING** past these people based on what I've seen them do to date. Others think it can't possibly happen. Why? Denial. Because they don't want to think or believe that it could really happen.
A MACHIAVELLEIAN ANALYIS AND DEFENCE AGAINST IT
We should attempt to do a deeper and a more sustained Machiavellian analysis of the "unthinkable" so that progressives are not vulnerable and paralyzed by the shock and awe of the event or events that may likely occur. Of course, one should use Occam's razor in the science of inanimate things, but in human affairs, especially against evil, it should be "Game Theory" (i.e. Machiavelli dressed up in fancy math.)
Nevertheless, all should take courage from the fact that these are NOT supermen and women. They are just humans with overblown egos who have proved their ineptness so far. As the Buddha said:
ALL BEINGS TREMBLE BEFORE DEATH
That includes tyrants too. Old Harry Truman rendered the same wisdom in a folksier American idiom:
EVERYBODY GETS INTO THEIR PANTS ONE LEG AT A TIME.
That being said, here is my 2 cents.
1. The American military was not and has never been entirely crazy. Many people from privates to generals and admirals have been people of principle, highly educated, well read, and after retirement have voiced concerns similar to progressives. At the crucial time when the Martial Law is declared, these people will not be reliable for Herr Fuhrer. For example General Peter Pace, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has issued an order to all military personnel reminding their of their duty to the Constitution to not obey any order that commands use of WMD.
2. An unreliable military because of the sanity of many of its key people is possibly a major reason that the land military (army, marines and National Guard) has been sent as fodder to the killing fields of Iraq, and possibly Iran soon, to be "otherwise" occupied and "broken" so that they do not offer resistance to the Martial Law.
3. The pseudo-"military" that will actually put the ML in place is the mercenary, Judeo-Christian fundamentalist, psychopaths of Blackwater, and some of the top brass in the standard military who have remained behind and are deemed "reliable macho totalitarians".
4. To control 300 million people in a vast country is impossible. But progressives should not use that number to find solace. That number is NOT correct. The true progressive segment of the white population is SMALLER - - probably about 50 - 70 million strong. The rest of the progressives come from the traditional sources - - largely, African American, Hispanic and other visible minorities. That leaves about 150 million whites ( with token visible) who believe in the "manifest" destiny of the white peoples to civilize or annihilate non whites in the world, whose education and knowledge about the other cultures and peoples of the world in Asia, Africa and Latin America is pitiful or non-existent. These are the "let kick ass" yahoos of the Limbaugh-Hagee done species
5. The ML's enforcement on 300 million people will depend on these 150 million reptilian humanoids that have not an ounce of compassion or soul in them. They are pitiless, and that is a most important requirement for an SS foot soldier - - TRUE BELIEF and NO CONSCIENCE. They will be frenzied into a gun totting mob by the use of media and mind control techniques invented by Goebbels in the Third Reich, and refined ever since by all totalitarians. Here are the brown shirts of the regime, the Christian and Judeo Zionist zombies in their millions. Their mission would be to "Protect Jerusalem from the Anti-Christ Muslim hordes who are brown and black and hence untermenschen not worth the Rapture of the blonde white Christ." They will be let loose among the 70 million or so progressive or poor whites and about 60 million or so progressive or poor blacks and browns and other visibles with a conscience and humanism.
6. Coordinating these mobs will be the mafia-like kapi from Blackwater, the KKK, the Aryan Army and so forth as well as the loyal military and intelligence services. They will be the Black shirts or the SS Praetorian guard of the new Fuhrer. The goose-stepping generals will come from their ranks and not the standard military.
7. Since the control of the media is already theirs, the new Goebbels will have more mind control power than his 1940's counterpart.
8. Of course, every legitimate progressive, Jeffersonian democratic, American institution - - especially Universities and the academia - - will be closed down, silenced and many intellectuals disappeared to deprive progressives of a source of leadership to lead organised resistance.
9. Brave war vets who have become progressive and some retired military officers may (and most likely will) lead progressive resistance with their military skill and knowledge, but it will be a long haul.
This analysis will be shocking to many, but it is already happening now in full view. Observe that the white racists have been seething at the possibility of "President Obama" of the USA. The guy does not even have a Christian name such as "Jefferson" or "Washington". Thus the financiers of the permanent "War on Terror" have approached Hilary Clinton and Edwards to form the winning white ticket. Obama is now the "bête noir", despite being coffee and suited to the nines, with superb diction to be a great token in normal times. These times are far from being normal. Therefore he is being unceremoniously given the heave-ho. Hilary's recent attack on him as a foreign policy light weight(read not having the balls to order nuclear war or continue war against "Islamofascists" - - the new manifest destiny of the Judeo-Christian neo-cons)is a case in point.
Of course, there will be no election; but the charade of the primaries and debates will be kept up. At the time that Martial Law is actually declared, a "National Unity" government will be formed with the Clintons, Edwards and the DLC co-opted to be at the Emperor's side. This will further confuse the ignorant public and make them believe that everything that is happening is legit. and "good for the Republic."
OK so far, the neo-Nazis are winning in this Machiavellian analysis.
What could go wrong in this grand plan to give progressives hope?
Several things. I leave it to you to figure it out whether internal economic and natural events (extreme weather, earthquakes, disease) and external events will play along for the plan to go smoothly? This is where Chaos theory beats Game Theory (as anyone who is familiar with game theory knows). Progressives should take heart that Nature is with them on this one, and Nature has always made evil Machiavelli mush. But the Progressives will have to know Nature well (this I hope the Greens do) to use it to advantage in a vast country with a friendly northern neighbour in Canada
Also, if you think about it, how many major nations and groups in the world, including the European Union, will want this Fourth Reich to succeed and come into possession of the vast military arsenal of America? So what do you think they will do?
On this positive note, I will end. There may be tough, death and destructive times ahead, especially for millions of Muslims worldwide. But eventually the tyranny will run out of steam as a result of the confluence of the events internal and external I listed above.
But be prepared for some years of rough riding.
Peace
Aymon
I think this article's a little off. Nothing so far in the Bush presidency has been unthinkable. The Democrats always allow themselves to be bullied. Al Gore and John Kerry did as expected. And, of course, we gave the Bush Administration absolute power, knowing full well what that does to ordinary (the more so the more ordinary they are) human beings. Bush won't cancel the election because he won't have to.
hi all - guess what happened his morning? Inslee just put his bill to impeach Gonzales on the table. Here's more about what it says -
………….
House Democrats calling for Gonzales impeachment inquiry
Brett Murphy at 10:27 AM ET
[JURIST] A group of US House Democrats said Monday that they plan to pursue a resolution instructing the House Judiciary Committee [official website] to launch an investigation into whether to impeach Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile; JURIST news archive]. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) [official website], sponsor of the resolution, and six co-sponsors plan to introduce the measure to investigate whether Gonzales has been truthful about the Bush administration's expanding domestic surveillance program [JURIST report]. The White House has said that this is just another "partisan attack," but Inslee defended the move, saying that "it's indefensible to treat the truth with such cavalier disregard when talking to the American people and Congress."
And they've actually done it. There's a press conference about it on c-span, audio and video -
What happened to this person:
OSUgradstudent July 31st, 2007 3:59 pm
He/She never did answer my question:
What signs or indications have you seen that Bush/Cheney have ANY intention of leaving in 2009?
Please name them and please be specific.