GuvWurld
This blog has relocated to http://WeDoNotConsent.blogspot.com

There's been a lot of new material added to the GuvWurld News Archive. To see all the recent additions, click Week in Review. Here are some highlights:

• NYTimes on Monday: "Convictions Intact, Nader Soldiers On"
  
  This article doesn't present a detailed progressive vision from Nader, as the title suggests. Instead, it thoroughly describes how the Democrats are spending a lot of time and money to discourage Nader support and prevent his ballot access. Identifying such anti-competitive behavior is a big part of grasping how democracy has become a myth in America. All ideas must be welcome to compete and may the best ideas win.
  
  
• Miami Herald on Sunday: "Florida knew of voter list problems"
  
  This headline could be more specific. Some of the problems with the voter purge list were known before the state attempted to introduce it. This represents not only a willful attempt to disenfranchise eligible voters, but also an indictment against those who supposedly spent the past four years addressing the fallout from 2000. Disenfranchisement is also anti-competitive and often an affront to civil rights.
  
  
• The Nation, from the August 16 print edition: "How They Could Steal the Election This Time"
  
  This is a long article with many parts worth excerpting. I'll be pulling sections from this in my next essay. Meanwhile, this piece lends a lot of strength to the talking points of the No Confidence Movement.
  

The Times-Standard has repeatedly made the false accusation that the No Confidence Movement is discouraging voting. The paper has also avoided two main points of emphasis: the broader myth of democracy; and the very specific question, is there or is there not a BASIS for confidence in the legitimacy of US federal elections? I wonder if there is a final straw that would lead Times-Standard editors to call an election illegitimate? If not, gullibility has new meaning. If so, how can it not be among myriad problems already revealed around the country?

The Times-Standard reported that Humboldt County Elections Manager Lindsey McWilliams said there are always problems in any election cycle, and that the integrity of an election shouldn't rely on technology ("Crisis of Confidence...", 7/25/04). Since US elections do rely on technology, and always have problems, McWilliams has made the No Confidence argument. The system is rigged. What sensible strategy for change allows this charade to continue?

The Times-Standard called the No Confidence Movement "slow acting poison." This term really describes a country run by corporations, addicted to war, and perpetuating the myth of democracy. Calling for change without any direct effort to enact it is a placebo, not an antidote. As John Kerry recently said, it is optimistic to say we can do better. If the debate is about defining “better” it can begin with a better understanding of the problem, recognizing we must first create a BASIS for confidence before there is anything upon which to build.