Grand Theft America. This is chilling.

Conspiracy Filter:
Bush Watch A very interesting website that helps track the abuses of the Bush Administration.
Info War A scary website that I hope if mostly bullcrap. But if it's not, we're all screwed.
Theocracy Watch. This is a real danger. And voter apathy is the cause.

I have a very bad feeling about the election coming up. The Bush people have already showed that they are willing to do very very dirty things to get power. And they are gleefully abusing that power. John Kerry is right. The Bush Whitehouse is full of crooks and liars. Let's not mince words. I was very willing to give Bush the benefit of the doubt after 9/11. But he has betrayed that trust. He has gotten us into a war for no apparent reason. He has stonewalled the congressional investigation into 9/11. He has not explained his connection with the Bin Laden family. He and his minions have behaved in very heavy handed and oppressive ways towards anyone who has questioned their motives.

Here are some things that I expect to happen soon. Look for Howard Stern to be out of work. Look for no further action to be taken on the illegal outing of a CIA agent by someone in the Administration. Look for government controls of media to be increased, despite Republican genuflection at the altar of Lesser Government. Look for the Republicans to use EVERY dirty trick to try to smear John Kerry. Look for a sudden miraculous capture of Bin Laden right before the election.

And here's what scares me. The same people behind the whole Iran/Contra affair, the same people who are now the center of power in the new Bush Whitehouse, have shown themselves to be contemptous of democracy, of decency, and of the rule of law. They are not above using dirty tricks.

The question is, how dirty are they willing to get?

Are we dangerously close to falling into a fascist regime? If there is another terrorist attack on American soil, will there be a move to suspend or delay the election? Will people who oppose this be declared enemy combatants?

I recently had a 'conversation' with a co-worker, named Virginia, about the upcoming election. I said that it was her civic duty to vote. She got very irate and admitted that she did not vote in the last election, as a protest. In that case, didn't she get exactly the type of government that she deserves? We must all fight to defeat this self-defeating defeatism. There are real differences between the Democrats and the Republicans. Yes, probably most of the Democratic politicians are very much in the pocket of Big Business. But, the differences between the parties are real. And important.

Please, if you get a chance, vote.

"I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." -Thomas Jefferson