Sick of Spin

So, our so-called "elite liberal" media is of course presenting the facts as they always do with bias to the elite religious right. They are reporting that President Bush received the highest number of votes ever. That sure sounds impressive, but do you know who received the second highest number of votes ever? John Kerry. It is like the housing statistic: "More people have houses than ever before". That happens to be true for every year since they started to keep track of housing.

What's my point? The media (probably through talking points provided by Karl Rove) is focusing on how clear a victory this is when, in fact, Bush's victory was the NARROWEST win for an incumbent president since Woodrow Wilson in 1916. That's not as impressive now, is it? Providing one statistic and not the other only leads to a minor deception. It makes the red voters feel powerful and the blue voters despair.

These minor deceptions add up though. For example, my favorite statistic about Fox News: "67% of Fox News watchers believe that the US has found a link between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeida". I don't think that Fox News ever blatantly said that, but Robert Murdoch certainly intended for minor deceptions to lead a viewer to that connection.



Here's why I voted against Bush:

1. I'm for stem cell research. Anyone against it is clearly an idiot.

2. I'm against preemptive wars.
a. If they invade a country (as before), then wiser people than me can make the decision to invade.
b. If they commit genocide, I'm all for going in.
Those were both good reasons to get rid of Saddam Hussein the first go around, but we had to keep a villain in place.
c. If they are an evil dictatorship or monarchy that rules over their people with an iron fist and horrible tyranny, then I think those people should rise up against their country in the form of revolution and the US should stay out, ie. not supply arms.
d. If they are suspect of having weapons that can potentially harm us, then again I think they should be left alone unless a clear plan has been formulated. Does that leave us open to attack? Yep, sure does, but the people of a country understand more why we are attacking them when they attack us first. Also, I never hit someone just because I think he might hit me...never. If it is good enough for me, it is good enough for my country.

3. 48,000 people have been detained in prisons in Iraq such as Abu Garib, around 600 of those might be legitimate. Not even considering Abu Garib-type torture and regardless of their treatment in the prisons (which include sleep deprivation and rough treatment), do you think we are making any friends over there? Do you think we are seen as a liberating force? Army men break into your house in the middle of the night yelling at you and take you or your husband away for unpleasant prison stay, I would freak. I know I would hate the country that came in.

4. Gay marriage: well, duh? It is not a religious issue, but is treated as such. They can't pass a law requiring a religon to marry two men so it can remain sanctimonious or whatever bullshit you want to call it. This is a legal issue involving tax breaks and the umbrella of protections afforded married couples. Kerry really wasn't for gay marriage, but he didn't try to pass an amendment to the constitution either. This alone was reason enough for me to vote against Bush. I dare anyone to argue with me on that.
OK, I have to make a note of the language used. Please look up sanctimony so you can have a little giggle when ever Bush says "preserve the sanctimony of marriage". I'm pretty sure that he now says "sanctity", but sanctimony sure does sound like a bigger, more impressive word.
Next, I think they will have homosexuals register and then put in camps and then given nice group showers where we all can sleep for a long time. Don't believe it could happen? In the early 1900's, Homosexuality was at its most acceptable in the 20's and in Berlin, need I say more. To learn of the mindset that leads people towards fascism, I suggest reading "The Authoritarian Personality". It was written in the 1950's in reaction to McCartyism and is a sociological study that happens to be my bible. More and more, I believe the american public is drifting toward this mindset. I've certainly seen it in some co-workers.

5. I'm pro-choice. Well hell, I'm for 40th trimester abortions even if you are just using it casually for some sort of tortuous, painful, inefficient, expensive form of birth control.

6. Minimum wage hasn't gone up in how long? I hate the spin around minimum wage. I heard it said that 50% of the minimum wage earners make their way to the top 10% within ten years. Ha, mathematically, that makes me laugh and usually math doesn't make me laugh. I know plenty of people making minimum wage or a little bit higher and their ten years are up.

7. Environmental issues: Truthfully, I haven't looked into this one. I have so much already, I feel I don't even need to argue this. There are sources that I trust that seem to argue that Bush's environmental policies are bad for our health. I tend to believe them. I could be wrong, but I don't really care. When I don't have all these other things to argue about, I'll look into it. For now, it is just a mere suggestion of a minor irritation, but a huge issue for many.

8. What? Have we given up on Osama Bin Laden? Our real terrorist is pretty much free to roam around getting his dialysis.

9. The worst flip-floppers of all. Bush and Cheney. Here is what Bush said in 2000: "I'm worried about an opponent who uses nation-building and the military in the same sentence," he told a rally. "My view of the military is for our military to be properly prepared to fight and win wars -- therefore, (to) prevent war from happening in the first place."
After 9/11: "The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our No. 1 priority, and we will not rest until we find him."
Six months later: "I don't know where he is. I have no idea and I really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."
That is just a sample. The list of flip-flops go on and on and on.

That's all I can think of right now off the top of my head. There is much, much more. I didn't even mention economics, but then again people always say that economics can not be blamed completely on the president....or the deficit. I've learned to operate without credit, can't my country do the same?

I can say some good that happened though. Afghanistan now has a more muted Taliban. They have a leader that was elected. Of course, he is the same guy that Bush appointed for the interim government and he happens to be an ex-Exxon consultant, but Sona, my friend from Afghanistan, says he seems like a really good leader. That's good, although I'm concerned that nothing good has happened in the States.