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05 Nov 04 - 04:20 PM (#1318179) Subject: BS: interesting statistics on voting *grin* From: Bill D the things you learn! Who is NOT surprised?
(yes, yes...I know statistics don't tell you everything...but...) |
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05 Nov 04 - 04:53 PM (#1318210) Subject: RE: BS: interesting statistics on voting *grin* From: Little Hawk Yes, and it's only too obvious from the perspective of outside the USA. The neocons play on the ignorance and fear of people. They aim at the lowest common denominator. Their vote is in the rural and small-town environment, where people's horizons are more limited and their exposure to different ideas and cultures is equally limited. Americans who vote conservative are clearly afraid of voting for someone who appears to be more intelligent, more cosmopolitan, and better educated than themselves. Hence, the longstanding voter prejudice against "intellectuals" in the USA. Intellectuals have always proven to be almost unelectable there. It is the political kiss of death in the USA to be labelled an intellectual, in fact. That happened to Adlai Stevenson, remember? In John Kerry's case, the Democrats tried to play the "war hero" card to counteract the anti-intellectual bias of mainstream America, but it didn't work very well, due to Karl Rove's very clever counterattacks on Kerry's "patriotism" (as seen from a certain twisted point of view best articulated by lying bastards like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth). Now....this is NOT to say that there are not some very well educated AND intellectual people IN the neo-con ranks. There are. But that is not the image they market to the average voter. Hell no! They market a "dumb as you are" image...a "just regular guy who can't pronounce 'nuclear' any better than you can"..."you can depend on this goofball, because he's just like you are. He puts his pants on one leg at a time, he barbecues, he doesn't speak pussy languages like French, and he basically dislikes intellectuals and foreigners because he, like you, knows that they are seriously unamerican and devious. Vote for this bozo! He won't do anything you wouldn't do." And it works! Yup, there are some very clever people indeed in the neo-con establishment. Pity that they are completely lacking in scruples of any sort. This kind of approach to politics does not work nearly so well in Canada, where intellectuals are respected, and it's a dead duck in Europe. The last guy in Europe who did really well in politics with such an approach, I believe, was Hitler. Call it the romantic ideal of "the uncultured primitive", the man who knows "in his heart what is right", and doesn't have to apply any critical thinking or analysis to complex situations in order to reach a decision. Voters who are primitive fools fall for that sort of thing, because it's so much easier than thinking, and it really feels good! Worked for Hitler. Worked for Mussolini. Why not here? |
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05 Nov 04 - 05:03 PM (#1318220) Subject: RE: BS: interesting statistics on voting *grin* From: Richard Bridge Antiintellectualism works in the UK too. It is sometimes confused with class warfare. |
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05 Nov 04 - 05:10 PM (#1318225) Subject: RE: BS: interesting statistics on voting *grin* From: Little Hawk Ah-hah! Good point, Richard. Yes, one can always turn a large number of voters against a candidate by giving them the idea that he grew up with privileges and luxuries they didn't have. That breeds resentment. This is kind of silly, though, because how many modern politicians do NOT come from the ranks of the wealthy? In the USA the vital thing is simply to be seen as a regular guy. You mustn't look or sound too upper class. This calls for professional actors...like Ronald Reagan, for example. The fact is, they are virtually all rich guys with fancy lawyers to advise them. Most of them ARE lawyers. |
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05 Nov 04 - 05:30 PM (#1318245) Subject: RE: BS: interesting statistics on voting *grin* From: Janie And? Feeling a little elitist are we? Janie :>) |
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05 Nov 04 - 05:34 PM (#1318250) Subject: RE: BS: interesting statistics on voting *grin* From: GUEST Apparently, BillD, you don't get out of the US much. Believe me, there is no shortage of politicians around the world that aren't currently using class warfare and anti-elitism/intellectualism to manipulate the herd to go their way. |
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05 Nov 04 - 06:02 PM (#1318285) Subject: RE: BS: interesting statistics on voting *grin* From: Wolfgang Bill, (only among us, for I'd not like to go public with that) that's exactly why more than 100 years ago in the Golden Age of Germany women were not allowed to vote and workers had only one third of the vote of a house owner. But then came the suffragettes and the socialists and everybody was allowed to vote. This way we first got the socialists, then Hitler, then the communists and now the Green in the government. Now, if only those with an IQ above average would be allowed to vote in Germany, oh shit, then we'd even have more of the Greens in the parliament. (Something seems to be wrong with my argument, I'll rethink it.) Wolfgang |
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05 Nov 04 - 08:06 PM (#1318404) Subject: RE: BS: interesting statistics on voting *grin* From: Bill D well, Wolfgang, it seems like a reasonable argument to me! ;>) Perhaps we need "rethink" together over a beer and work out a plan to bus IQs over 100 to states where they're needed! ...seriously, the ability of the Republicans to play to the fears and prejudices of the common folk had a lot to do with the way this election went. I am old enough to remember when educated folks were admired and respected a lot more. |
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05 Nov 04 - 08:38 PM (#1318425) Subject: RE: BS: interesting statistics on voting *grin* From: JennyO The neocons play on the ignorance and fear of people. They aim at the lowest common denominator. Little Hawk has it right, as usual. Looking at those graphs just says it all, doesn't it! It's made my day actually! Now I'd love to see some similar figures on IQ's in electorates that voted little Johnnie Howard in, here in Oz. I suspect that would tell a similar story. I reckon little Johnnie knew Dubya was going to win (he likes sucking up to whoever is in power). Don't ask me how he knew. I get more and more cynical about politics all the time. Jenny |
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05 Nov 04 - 09:33 PM (#1318478) Subject: RE: BS: interesting statistics on voting *grin* From: Little Hawk Heh! If you want to get elected in the USA you've gotta... Talk like just plain folks. Walk like a man (study John Wayne movies for this). Spout fuzzy platitudes that sound great and don't mean shit. Make it clear how deeply you love God, and make sure to be seen going to church on Sundays. Get a tear in your eye when talking about "our flag". Refer to it as "Old Glory". (Indians call it "Old Gory") Don't act too clever or Ivy League! People hate that. Talk about how much you love your wife and kids, and get them to talk about how much they love you...this alone can win you the presidency if you handle it right. Get all grim and determined when it comes to confronting "evil" in the world, especially if it's evil that emanates from countries with people who don't dress or talk like Americans, and REALLY especially if they're not Christians! Treat the French with total disgust and contempt, except when trying to persuade them to join a "coalition of the willing". After they've refused, make rude jokes about them and kick a poodle. Keep using catch phrases in your speeches like, "this is the greatest country on Earth", "we believe in freedom", "we stand for justice", "I am not a quitter", "we are at the crossroads" (What? Again???), "my opponent is well-meaning, but mistaken" (code for: my opponent is a total asshole!), and so on... It's really quite simple. Just act like you've never been more than 5 miles out of El Paso in any direction and you have an IQ under 80 but a really BIG heart. It beats me why the Democrats have so much trouble mastering this concept. :-) |
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05 Nov 04 - 09:54 PM (#1318497) Subject: RE: BS: interesting statistics on voting *grin* From: mack/misophist Although I yield to no one in my dislike of the shrub and the republican agenda, the list doesn't tell it all. As well as educational level, it's a good map of the poorest and most traditionally backward states. Put the spurs to a poor, ignorant peasant and he's going to vote for the man on the white horse, not the thinker and planner. |
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05 Nov 04 - 09:54 PM (#1318499) Subject: RE: BS: interesting statistics on voting *grin* From: dianavan ...and the neocons would never have been able to get away with if the population were truly educated. The educational system has been turning out good little consumers for quite awhile now. Even the so-called educated have little or no critical consciousness. Too bad your schools have been neglected for so long. What do you expect? d |
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16 Aug 06 - 09:49 AM (#1811138) Subject: RE: BS: interesting statistics on voting *grin* From: Amos 23 amazing facts about US voting Did you know.... 1. 80% of all votes in America are counted by only two companies: Diebold and ES&S. (http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diebold) 2. The vice-president of Diebold and the president of ES&SÂ are brothers. (http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/private_company.html) (http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html) 3. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel used to be chairman of ES&S. He became Senator based on votes counted by ES&S machines. (http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2004/03/03_200.html) (http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/031004Fitrakis/031004fitrakis.html) 4. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, long-connected with the Bush family, was recently caught lying about his ownership of ES&S by the Senate Ethics Committee. http://www.blackboxvoting.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=26 http://www.hillnews.com/news/012903/hagel.aspx http://www.onlisareinsradar.com/archives/000896.php 5. Senator Chuck Hagel was on a short list of George W. Bush's vice-presidential candidates. http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_28/b3689130.htm http://theindependent.com/stories/052700/new_hagel27.html 6.There is no federal agency with regulatory authority oversight of the U.S. voting machine industry. (http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0916-04.htm) (http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html) 7. ES&S is the largest voting machine manufacturer in the U.S. and counts almost 60% of all U.S. votes. http://www.essvote.com/HTML/about/about.html http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html 8. Ohio and Florida were crucial to the Bush campaign - if Bush had lost in Ohio and Florida, he would have lost the 2004 election, and John Kerry would have been president. http://www.baltimorechronicle.com/112204MargieBurns.shtml] http://www.tompaine.com/articles/kerry_won_.php 9. All exit polls in the 2004 election matched the recorded results, except in Ohio and Florida. The exit polls, which are normally very reliable, in Ohio and Florida indicated an easy John Kerry victory. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/11/3/53438/6175 http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/1742/ http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/2004votefraud.html 10. Diebold is based in Ohio. http://www.diebold.com/aboutus/ataglance/default.htm 11. The chairman and CEO of Diebold is a major Bush campaign organizer and donor who wrote in 2003 that he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year." (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/28/sunday/main632436.shtml) (http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1647886) http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0828-08.htm 12. The governor of the state of Florida, Jeb Bush, is the President's brother. http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/local/7628725.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10544-2004Oct29.html 13. None of the international election observers were allowed in the polls in Ohio. http://www.globalexchange.org/update/press/2638.html http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/26/loc_elexoh.html 14. All -- not some -- but all the voting machine errors detected and reported in Florida went in favor of Bush or Republican candidates. http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,65757,00.html http://www.yuricareport.com/ElectionAftermath04/ThreeResearchStudiesBushIsOut.htm http://www.rise4news.net/extravotes.html http://www.ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=950 http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0411/S00227.htm 15. Serious voting anomalies in Florida -- again always favoring Bush -- have been mathematically demonstrated and experts are recommending further investigation. http://www.yuricareport.com/ElectionAftermath04/ThreeResearchStudiesBushIsOut.htm http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/policy/story/0,10801,97614,00.html http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/tens_of_thousands.html http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1106-30.htm http://www.consortiumnews.com/2004/110904.html http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=259&row=2 http://uscountvotes.org/ How the Bush Stole the Election (part I and part II) (requires Flash) http://www.toostupidtobepresident.com/ 16. Diebold employed 5 convicted felons as consultants and developers to help write the central compiler computer code that counted 50% of the votes in 30 states. http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,61640,00.html http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/10/301469.shtml 17. Jeff Dean was Senior Vice-President of Global Election Systems when it was bought by Diebold. Even though he had been convicted of 23 counts of felony theft in the first degree, Jeff Dean was retained as a consultant by Diebold and was largely responsible for programming the optical scanning software now used in most of the United States. http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0312/S00191.htm http://www.chuckherrin.com/HackthevoteFAQ.htm#how http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-8.pdf 18. Diebold consultant Jeff Dean was convicted of planting back doors in his software and using a "high degree of sophistication" to evade detection over a period of 2 years. http://www.chuckherrin.com/HackthevoteFAQ.htm#how http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-8.pdf 19. Computer programmer Clinton Curtis testified at the December 13th, 2004 Congressional hearing in Columbus, Ohio, naming Republican Congressman Tom Feeney as the person who hired him to design and build vote-rigging software. See video here: http://www.iwilltryit.com/fixed1.htm http://www.rense.com/general67/videoofvoterigging.htm 20. California banned the use of Diebold machines because the security was so bad. Despite Diebold's claims that the audit logs could not be hacked, a chimpanzee was able to do it! (See the movie here: http://blackboxvoting.org/baxter/baxterVPR.mov.) http://wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,63298,00.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4874190 21. Diebold's new touch screen voting machines have no paper trail of any votes. In other words, there is no way to verify that the data coming out of the machine is the same as what was legitimately put in by voters. http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0225-05.htm http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2987/041020evotestates/pfindex.html 22. Diebold also makes ATMs, checkout scanners and ticket machines, all of which log each transaction and can generate a paper trail. http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0225-05.htm http://www.diebold.com/solutions/default.htm 23. 30% of all U.S. votes are carried out on unverifiable touch screen voting machines with no paper trail. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/28/sunday/main632436.shtml The essence of democracy is the confidence of the electorate in the accuracy of voting methods and the fairness of voting procedures. In 2000, that confidence suffered terribly, and we fear that such a blow to our democracy may have occurred in 2004. Democratic Reps. John Conyers (Mich.), Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.) and Robert Wexler (Fla.), http://www.livejournal.com/users/ayelienne/712325.html |