a million monkeys typing

The Better Candidate, by my better half

Posted October 31st, 2004 at 09:41pm

Although my recent interest in the American elections has somewhat waned —with the exception of Jon Stewart’s appearances on Crossfire and C-SPAN, which were more about the media than the candidates— my wife Jenny has continued to be quite caught up in the whole song-and-dance show. I do share her concerns with all the potential negative repercussions of re-electing Bush, not only in the U.S., but the rest of the world (including Canada, where we live), and so I’d like to afford her the opportunity to share a few links and speak her mind. (Okay, darling, you can unlock the front door now. It’s cold sleeping in the Jeep….)

Jenny speaks:

I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do my best to help make the world a better place. Doug (who is also rooting for Kerry, smart man that he is) is letting me guest blog at the risk of losing some of his growing readership.

The amount of information can be overwhelming, but I’ve picked a few things to think about.

The New York Observer today endorsed John Kerry, in an editorial with one of the better summaries of why Americans should vote for John Kerry on November 2:

“John Kerry understands that disorder is dangerous in this world, that intelligence and rationality are the right partners to passion, resolve and principle. As he showed in his three focused and well-prepared debate performances with President Bush, he is a man of intensity and rationality, whose 30 years in public life have prepared him to restore America’s fundamental understanding of what it takes to be the “last, best hope on earth.” A soldier of freedom, an American idealist, a public man with a tested private soul, he seems to understand that leadership in a democracy entails eliciting the better angels of our nature, and that greatness begins with goodness and surmounts in strength.”

Link

Salon’s Eric Boehlert noted recently that Kerry’s endorsement lead is the exception rather than the norm for Democratic candidates:

“As the mountain of newspaper endorsements pile up in favor of Sen. John Kerry, including dozens from dailies that backed Bush in 2000, the Bush/Cheney campaign is dismissing the trend as no big deal. ‘Look, the Republican candidate will never win the contest for editorial board endorsements. The major dailies across the country tend to skew liberal,’ RNC chairman Ed Gillespie told CNN last week. That spin comes straight out of the GOP handbook that insists the mainstream press tilts to the left, so of course newspapers love Democrats come Election Day.

“Only problem is, it’s not accurate. In fact, the complete opposite is true. Since 1940 when industry trade magazine Editor & Publisher began tracking newspapers during presidential elections, only two Democratic candidates — Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and Bill Clinton in 1992 — have ever won more endorsements than their Republican opponent.”

I encourage you to visit the John Kerry website and blog to read reasons for the general endorsements and press endorsements from Republicans and Democrats alike.

The Daily Show on the missing explosives: Bush, Cheney and Guiliani blaming the troops! What would we do without the jester to tell the truth in the puppet-king’s court?

A must-see site: www.internetvetsfortruth.org. Its goal is “to present you with these clips to help you make an informed choice next Tuesday. We hope you enjoy, and draw your own conclusions. Please help spread the word. Tell a friend, a relative, a co-worker, or Ohio.”

From AriannaOnline:

Faith Abuse: When God Becomes A Campaign Ploy October 27, 2004 This is my last column before Election Day. With less than a week to go, I plan on doing everything in my power to defeat George W. Bush (need a ride to the polls?). Then I’m going to get down on my knees and pray to a higher power. Link

From the John Kerry blog (link):

“An Insult to All Self-Respecting Wolves

Wolves are fairly intelligent animals, but even the smartest wolf can make a mistake.

On a new website, Wolfpacks for Truth, the leader of the pack of wolves in George Bush’s recent commercial wails:

“We were tricked by George Bush.”

According to their spokeswolf, “They told us we were shooting a Greenpeace commercial! When the camera crew showed up, we wondered why they were all driving Hummers. Our agent assured us it was a Greenpeace commercial and they paid TWICE our hourly steak rate. Little did we know we were being tricked into this vicious campaign attack ad.”

Very funny, but also lots of important links with important information for all those that care about both the truth and the environment.

Bush is anything but a “good steward of the land”: link

Q: what is the difference between the war in Iraq and the war in Vietnam?

A: President Bush knew how to get out of the Vietnam War.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi civilian death count increases with each passing day:

New study puts civilian deaths in Iraq at 100,000 An estimated 100,000 civilians have died in Iraq as a direct or indirect consequence of last year’s US-led invasion, according to a new study by a research team at the Bloom-berg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Link

See Pro-life? Look at the fruits by Dr. Glen Harold Stassen for his take on why Pro-Life and pro-choice should both vote for Kerry on November 2.

I suggest you watch a Frontline documentary called “The Choice 2004″ from PBS, which I consider to be incredibly insightful, balanced, and well-made. It can be viewed online.

Canada’s premier investigative documentary and news program The Fifth Estate has produced a must-see documentary and companion website called The Unauthorized Biography of Dick Cheney. (Torrent) (In addition to its impact among viewers and on society, the Fifth Estate is also recognized by its peers. It has won a remarkable 227 awards, including an Oscar for best documentary, three international Emmy Awards, 28 Geminis, 20 awards and certificates for investigative reporting from the Canadian Association of Journalists and dozens of honours from The New York and Columbus International film and video festivals. The show’s credentials are almost beyond reproach.)

CBC has also aired the Canada-France co-production “The World According to Bush” (direct download and high-quality torrent), “a two-hour documentary about the inner workings of the Bush administration that will alarm even the most hardened Washington-watchers. Both fans and critics of the acclaimed Fahrenheit 9/11 will want to see this investigation of the U.S. administration.” Some choice quotes:

• “This administration has chosen to use the propaganda tools of Hitler, Goering, and Goebbels” — Robert Steele, CIA Covert Operations
• “It is starting to look like a third world republic – a banana republic that is.” — Robert Baer, CIA Covert operations
• “No administration ever allowed herself a single tenth of what has occurred under George W. Bush. None.” – Los Angeles Times.
• “This administration is behaving like pigs at a trough.” – Joseph Trento, historian.

Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels said, “The bigger the lie, the more it will be believed.” He also wrote, “The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly… it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.”

Does this sound familiar? All you have to do was listen to the way Bush reacted to Kerry in debates. In the face of reason, Bush kept repeating the same simplistic catch phrases which made no sense if you were listening with two ears and a brain.

Perhaps what Goebbels said it more true than ever in an age when quick sound-bites are caught, taken out of context, and served up to the public with their TV dinner. Trying to make sense of what I was seeing, I’m half ashamed to admit that I had the very same thoughts as Norman Mailer in the opening of “The World According to Bush”. It is shameful to see how this administration has cloaked itself under the name of faith, and in the guise of a government-induced “terror” used the Americans’ goodwill and true faith against themselves. But God is God, not Bush, not Cheney. To question people in power is not anti-patriotic, especially while the stink of hypocrisy grows stronger.

There is hope. With your vote, with your decision, you hold the fate of the world in your hands. Use it wisely.

(If you are an American living overseas and want more information about absentee voting (you can now use fax), see the site for Americans Overseas for Kerry.)