Democracy

There is more at stake this year than just the White House. The Republicans have mismanaged just about every state they have been running...and have turned American democracy into an embarassment with fraud, intimidation and, quite probably, outright stealing of elections.

Given the probably stolen elections in FL in 2000, GA Senate in 2002, Ohio in 2004, and Florida and North Carolina in 2006 (Congressional races), it seems our election system has some pretty serious problems and/or corruption in it. Even a Republican cybersecurity expert has said that it is probable that some of these elections were fraudulent. Florida's elections are so inadequate that the Carter Center, which monitors elections worldwide, refused to monitor Florida in 2004 because it didn't meet the minimum standards for democratic elections.

I AM SURPRISED, in all honesty, that this is not linked in more places. In my opinion, people who believe in the Democratic process (and I'm not even sure how much I do, anymore, especially given events like this which seem to happen over and over) would be incensed that the Registrar in charge of Los Angeles County would acknowledge that 94,000 votes, thats NINETY-FOUR THOUSAND VOTES will not be counted. Votes that were cast. By humans! Who thought their will would factor into the Democratic process! Who the hell is this person to assert that their votes are meaningless?

Perhaps you remember the recent post I did on this voting trouble in Califas. Here's the follow-up.

A BLOG POST exclusive to MTV (as it must be, contractually) can be read by clicking the image above. No video this week. But a specially-crafted Non-Super Wednesday message instead.

Crossposted to The Unapologetic Mexican, Jesus' General, and OpEdNews.

I just received an email alert saying that Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, was assassinated today. Bhutto had returned to Pakistan after eight years of a self-imposed exile in Dubai, with the hope to becoming Prime Minister for a third time and with the election, restore democracy in Pakistan.

Bhutto was killed after a suicide bomber opened fire and then blew himself up at a rally. This was the second suicide bombing attack on Bhutto since her return to the country of her birth.

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday outside a large gathering of her supporters where a suicide bomber also killed at least 14, doctors and a spokesman for her party said.

While Bhutto appeared to have died from bullet wounds, it was not immediately clear if she was shot or if her wounds were caused by bomb shrapnel.

President Pervez Musharraf held an emergency meeting in the hours after the death, according to state media.

Police warned citizens to stay home as they expected rioting to break out in city streets in reaction to the death.

During the 1980s I had a roommate whose boyfriend at the time was a "renegade" of the Pakistani elite. It was incredibly interesting and enlightening to talk about Pakistani politics with my roommates boyfriend because it gave me a "real life" insight to the folly that was even then Pakistani politics.

Hugo Chavez has become one of those controversial figures that brings out strong reactions in many. Personally I have considered him a good thing for Venezuela but have been concerned by his choice of friends, some of his rhetoric, and what could be interpreted as an excessive hunger for power.

First of all, no one has been able to convince me that he is a dictator. Every election in Venezuela under Hugo Chavez has been democratic and fair according to all impartial observers. What ever the controversy over Chavez and his policies, it has all been done within the law and within a democratic system. This alone belies the claims that he is a dictator.

Second, there is no question that Venezuela, like much of South and Central America, needs to address the poverty and sharp economic divisions it suffers. Hugo Chavez is doing that. Needless to say, this pisses off many wealthy people around the world who hate to see poor people get uppity. But many of his programs are simply the right thing to do, the fair thing to do and the smart thing to do for the stability of his nation. Sharp economic divisions and high poverty lead to instability.

Simply put, Hugo Chavez is the democratically elected leader of Venezuela and has been overall good for Venezuela.

But...

As with Ecuador and Bolivia, my overall sympathy for left wing leaders who are helping correct economic disparities is a bit hindered by two things. First, I am not fundamentally a socialist and I know that if the socialist reforms of these leaders go too far, the economies of their nations could be ruined. Second, some of their rhetoric DOES make me wonder if their desire for power could lead to dictatorship. Understand that on this second front I worry about the USA under Bush as well. Excessive concentration of power in the hands of one person is not good.

Okay, sometimes you gotta help even lawyers. This worthy event comes from the NY Bar Assn.:

As an expression of solidarity with our beleaguered colleagues at the Pakistani bar, the New York City Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the New York County Lawyers' Association, in conjunction with other organizations, invite you to attend a public rally in front of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street on Tuesday, November 13, from 1:00-1:30 p.m.

The crude and brutal suspension of law and the legal system in Pakistan, and the repression of judges and lawyers there, require that we take a moment from our own busy schedules and demonstrate our concern.

Because the images from Pakistan show the violent repression of Pakistani lawyers wearing their customary dark suit and white shirt, we request that you appear on Tuesday in similar attire, though this is not required. What is important is a strong show of support.

We hope to see you there.

As Burma lays low, hoping the world quickly forgets its brutal massacre and internment of Buddhist monks and democracy supporters, I for one intend to keep reminding people what they did.

So, here is a reminder of just what Burma's military junta is so scared of. This is Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize winner, the leader of the democracy movement of Burma and the woman who would be President of Burma had the junta allowed free and democratic elections:

The number one action you can take is to contact your Congress Critters, asking them to increase pressure on Burma to allow democracy to FINALLY take hold, and contact Chevron, America's #1 company doing business with the military dictators of Burma, and tell them to use their influence to stop the dictatorship in Burma. Many are calling for a boycott of Chevron.

Chevron:
6001 Bollinger Canyon Road
San Ramon, CA 94583, USA
Tel. +1 925-842-1000
comment@chevron.com

And sup

Today is the Blogger Day of Action for Burma. This is posted in solidarity with the students, monks and citizens of Burma. Click on the picture to learn more from Burmese Bloggers without Borders.

Many people have been discussing the recent FISA fiasco which has taken America one further step away from democracy and torn yet another hole in the doncument that DEFINES America, our Constitution. I can practically hear Patrick Henry's rage and George Washington's sad disapproval.

Let's keep one fact firmly in mind before we discuss the Democrats: the erosion of American civil liberties, the destruction of our defining document, the Constitution, and the betrayal of our founding fathers' dream for America, has been led by Bush, the bulk of the Republican Party, and that Benidict Arnold, Joe Lieberman. Most of the blame for this crap is squarely on the Republicans.

Most...

But not all.

And therein is a massive problem for those of us who want to fight against the destruction of American democracy. We don't have too many choices in how to fight. As I recently outlined, the Republicans are actively attacking America's very foundations: the Constitution, our economy, our national security. Being an independent or Green or whatever other nobody flash in the pan is tantamount to having no role in how our nation is run whatsoever. Political insignificance, the path of the independent, the Libertarian, the Green, the apathetic...that is doing nothing but abandoning American democracy to destruction at the hands of the Republicans. Like it or not, that is what it is.

[Note from the blogdiva : This was first posted in June. I just saw it and decided it needed rescuing from the forums for your cynical enjoyment.]

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According to a report not yet released, the Council on Science and Public Health of the American Medical Association has recommended that a chronic and widespread affliction of Americans be officially declared a psychiatric disorder. It has been named the Political Attention Deficit Disorder (PADD). It is recommended that the disorder be included in a widely used mental illness manual created and published by the American Psychiatric Association. The current manual was published in 1994; the next edition is to be completed in 2012. The benefit to people of an official classification is coverage by health insurance.

“The symptoms of PADD are all around us and treating it professionally can do more for our country than any election,” said Dr. Mable Wank in the report’s introduction; she is chairwoman of the Council and a professor at UCLA.

Here are the Council’s main findings on PADD:

Nearly 80 percent of adult American citizens are unable to pay sustained attention to issues and problems associated with their government. They are unable to accept their responsibility as citizens, including their obligation to vote, read in-depth articles and books on political issues, become active members of politically oriented groups, and initiate discussions on current events with friends and family. “The decades-old decline in voter turnout is a direct result of a national epidemic of PADD,” said the report.