| Osama Spooked the US By Antonio C. Abaya Written Nov. 3, 2004 For the Philippines Free Press, November 13 issue As I write this piece, it is 4:30 pm, Manila time, of Nov. 03. It is 3:30 am in New York, and CNN has projected the results of the US elections at 249 electoral votes for President Bush and 242 for John Kerry, with 270 needed to win the presidency. Only the states of Nevada (5 electoral votes), Wisconsin (10), New Mexico (5), Iowa (7) and Ohio (20) are not yet inputted in the CNN projection. As the above numbers show, Bush does not need Ohio to win the 270 electoral votes if he can win the four other states, which he is poised to do, anyway. On the other hand, Kerry needs to win Ohio plus at least two of the four other states, to pass the 270-vote level. Ohio itself is almost in the Bush win column. With more than 95% of the Ohio votes already counted, Bush is leading Kerry by about 120,000 votes. Kerry�s hope lies in the provisional ballots (of voters whose eligibility is under question), which, by Ohio state law, will not be counted until 11 days after Election Day. But it is a forlorn hope that there are enough Kerry votes among the 135,000 to 250,000 provisional ballots to overcome Bush�s 120,000-vote lead. For all practical purposes, the 2004 elections are over, and President Bush has been re-elected president for �Four More Years,� his campaign slogan. And his victory is indeed convincing: he is leading by about 3.5 million votes in the popular vote. In 2000, Al Gore beat Bush in the popular vote by half a million votes, but lost in the electoral college votes, which are what determine the winner of the presidency (and vice-presidency). Kerry�s consolation is that he did put up a good fight, coming up from behind, as he did, to catch up with Bush, especially during and after the three debates last month, in all of which Kerry was the clear winner. Up to Election Day itself, Kerry and Bush were in a statistical dead heat in all polls, and both camps relied on massive campaigns to get the new and undecided voters to show up at the precincts because both sides felt it was this group that was going to cast the swing votes. And that perception was probably correct. If I were asked what single factor tipped the scale in favor of Bush, I would say it was the spooky image of Osama bin Laden delivering a menacing message to the Americans in that video clip from the al-Jazeera cable network, just four days before Election Day. Suddenly, America�s collective consciousness was wrenched away from the campaign rhetoric and from the daily disasters in Iraq, and was focused once again on the Great Satan, the Evil Genius who had masterminded the catastrophic attacks of 9/11, the most traumatic national event in the lifetime of all American voters alive in 2004. In a way, John Kerry was right. President Bush had made the mistake of losing sight of the ball, meaning the hunt for Osama bin Laden in the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and of getting diverted instead to an unnecessary war against Saddam Hussein, who, despite the false claims of Bush and Cheney, had nothing to do with 9/11. Kerry was right: Bush had outsourced the hunt for bin Laden to Afghan warlords (whose loyalty to the US and enthusiasm for ensnaring fellow Islamic fundamentalist Osama were and still are in doubt) and sent the bulk of the US military marching into Baghdad instead. Dumb and dumber best describe that twin decision. The simple-minded Bush had been conned into the Iraq invasion by the hawks (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle and Feithe) of the PNAC, whose foremost strategic goal, stated one year before 9/11, was/is to establish �permanent military control of the Middle East, whether or not Saddam Hussein remains in power.� For most Americans, the wounds of 9/11 were suddenly and painfully reopened by the ghostlike appearance of the bearded, turbaned bogeyman in their living rooms, just four days before Election Day, threatening more attacks. Those voters who had not been swayed, one way or the other, by the long and acrimonious partisan exchanges in the campaign, may have decided in the last few days to vote for Bush because, they felt, he had already drawn blood, even if mostly in the wrong places, in the war against al-Qaeda, rather than gamble on Kerry whose run-in with bin Laden has been only theoretical. Osama really spooked the Americans. Bush�s winning lead over Kerry was about 3.5%, slightly less than the 4% who were still undecided four days before E-Day. Most of the undecided, it seems, decided for Bush in the last few days. And Osama, not �moral values,� was a key factor, (the biggest single factor, in my opinion) in that decision. And because Osama and the al-Qaeda do not do anything without a reason, it can be argued that Osama�s totally unexpected appearance in tens of millions of American living rooms four days before Election Day was meant to influence the outcome of that election, in favor of George W. Bush. From the Islamist point of view, Bush is the most effective recruiter of angry young Muslims into the al Qaeda�s cause. His Iraq adventure has fired up the entire Muslim world against the US. Bush leads the wrecking crew that split the Crusaders� army into two bickering camps. And by being the biggest (and virtually only) supporter of his ideological neo-Nazi twin Ariel Sharon, Bush ensures that the Palestinian problem will continue to fester like an open wound till Armageddon swallows everyone.. Only Bush and his neocon cabal would likely plan the bombing and/or invasion of Iran. It would be consistent with the PNAC�s strategic goal of establishing �permanent military control of the Middle East, whether or not Saddam Hussein remains in power.� Osama would welcome such an escalation of hostilities as it would mean more recruits for al-Qaeda. The moderate and liberal Kerry (flip-flopper, according to Bush) would never countenance such a reckless adventure, certainly not while the real enemy, Osama bin Laden, continues to defiantly spook the Americans from his hideout in another country, thousands of kilometers away. ***** OOOPS! When the BBC surveyed the reaction of the world�s press to the re-election of George W, one paper stood out. The English-language banner headline in a German-language newspaper (one of the �allgemeine zeitungs�) said it all: OOOPS! THEY DID IT AGAIN! CNN reported that the number of Americans inquiring about emigration to Canada has increased six-fold since Nov. 02. AP and AFP reported (PD Inquirer, Nov. 06) that the New Zealand Immigration Service website had 10,300 hits the day after Nov. 02, compared to the normal 2,300. And that its offices in LA, San Francisco and Portland have been receiving 300 telephone calls and emails everyday since, compared to six to eight before, Nov.03. Two years before Nov. 02, my wife�s (white, Jewish, retired business exec) American ex-brother-in law, a card-carrying Republican, vowed never to set foot on the US again as long as George W. was president. Oops! indeed. Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.org. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Osama Spooked the US� I have a suspicion that Osama's tape was made in Hollywood to frighten US voters to vote for the lunatic from Texas, who has literally been murdering the English language. I do not also believe that Bin Laden is capable of really destroying America with his crude artillery. There is actually a prophecy that the America would be destroyed from within just like how Rome was destroyed with the phase this Bush government is spreading terror around the world. Not too long, Americans who reelected Bush will be demanding for him to step down. Apparently, a second term for any US president always proves to be disastrous for them. If they do not get disgraced, they are made to deal with their Maker in some other way to pay for mistakes that have caused so many innocent lives, for even if they do not participate in the perpetration of atrocities against innocent people, the blood of the victim of abuses committed on their orders stain their hands. There must be also what they call "command responsibility" even in the order of heaven. Just a humble and honest opinion Yuko Takei, [email protected] Japan, November 08, 2004 a supporter of the struggle of the Iraqis for self determination and sovereignty, and a volunteer for the International Criminal Tribunal for Iraq wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony - I appreciate your analysis on the results of the US election. Personally, I was amazed at the results but I attribute this to the fact that my narrow vision is a result of my own concentration on foreign affairs and my lack of contact with ordinary Americans. The big issue for them was apparently gay marriage, a problem which to my mind should not involve the federal government - it should be left to the states to deal with, in accordance with the constitution, which clearly provides that all matters not specifically covered are within the jurisdiction of the states. Gay marriage, abortion, stem cell research, divorce,. adoption parental responsibility etc. are not the business of the federal government. Bush and his gang were smart enough to ignore all this and to make a big issue of high emotion such as gay marriage and the US public was blinded to this. Kenneth Wright, [email protected] November 13, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, The trouble with relying so much on the controlled press is that you never hear about what's really going on. It appears you haven't heard about the little election controversy that is brewing in the US now, (finally). Whether they will be successful into suppressing into nothing again, as usual, remains to be seen. Peter Ritter, [email protected] November 10, 2004 THE ULTIMATE FELONY AGAINST DEMOCRACY by Thom Hartmann November 4, 2004 | CommonDreams.org The hot story in the Blogosphere is that the "erroneous" exit polls that showed Kerry carrying Florida and Ohio (among other states) weren't erroneous at all - it was the numbers produced by paperless voting machines that were wrong, and Kerry actually won. As more and more analysis is done of what may (or may not) be the most massive election fraud in the history of the world, however, it's critical that we keep the largest issue at the forefront at all time: Why are We The People allowing private, for-profit corporations, answerable only to their officers and boards of directors, and loyal only to agendas and politicians that will enhance their profitability, to handle our votes? Maybe Florida went for Kerry, maybe for Bush. Over time - and through the efforts of some very motivated investigative reporters - we may well find out (Bev Harris of www.blackboxvoting.org just filed what may be the largest Freedom of Information Act [FOIA} filing in history), and bloggers and investigative reporters are discovering an odd discrepancy in exit polls being largely accurate in paper-ballot states and oddly inaccurate in touch-screen electronic voting states Even raw voter analyses are showing extreme oddities in touch-screen-run Florida, and eagle-eyed bloggers are finding that news organizations are retroactively altering their exit polls to coincide with what the machines ultimately said. But in all the discussion about voting machines, let's never forget the concept of the commons, because this usurpation is the ultimate felony committed by conservatives this year. At the founding of this nation, we decided that there were important places to invest our tax (then tariff) dollars, and those were the things that had to do with the overall "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" of all of us. Over time, these commons - in which we all make tax investments and for which we all hold ultimate responsibility - have come to include our police and fire services; our military and defense; our roads and skyways; our air, waters and national parks; and the safety of our food and drugs. But the most important of all the commons in which we've invested our hard-earned tax dollars is our government itself. It's owned by us, run by us (through our elected representatives), answerable to us, and most directly responsible for stewardship of our commons. And the commons through which we regulate the commons of our government is our vote. About two years ago, I wrote a story for these pages, "If You Want To Win An Election, Just Control The Voting Machines," that exposed how Senator Chuck Hagel had, before stepping down and running for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska, been the head of the voting machine company (now ES&S) that had just computerized Nebraska's vote. The Washington Post (1/13/1997) said Hagel's "Senate victory against an incumbent Democratic governor was the major Republican upset in the November election." According to Bev Harris, Hagel won virtually every demographic group, including many largely black communities that had never before voted Republican. Hagel was the first Republican in 24 years to win a Senate seat in Nebraska, nearly all on unauditable machines he had just sold the state. And in all probability, Hagel run for President in 2008. In another, later article I wrote at the request of MoveOn.org and which they mailed to their millions of members, I noted that in Georgia - another state that went all-electronic - "USA Today reported on Nov. 3, 2002, 'In Georgia, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll shows Democratic Sen. Max Cleland with a 49%-to-44% lead over Republican Rep. Saxby Chambliss. 'Cox News Service, based in Atlanta, reported just after the election (Nov. 7) that, "Pollsters may have goofed" because 'Republican Rep. Saxby Chambliss defeated incumbent Democratic Sen. Max Cleland by a margin of 53 to 46 percent. The Hotline, a political news service, recalled a series of polls Wednesday showing that Chambliss had been ahead in none of them.'" Nearly every vote in the state was on an electronic machine with no audit trail. In the years since those first articles appeared, Bev Harris has published her book on the subject ("Black Box Voting"), including the revelation of her finding the notorious "Rob Georgia" folder on Diebold's FTP site just after Cleland's loss there; Lynn Landes has done some groundbreaking research, particularly her new investigation of the Associated Press, as have Rebecca Mercuri and David Dill. There's a new video out on the topic, Votergate, available at www.votergate.tv. Congressman Rush Holt introduced a bill into Congress requiring a voter-verified paper ballot be produced by all electronic voting machines, and it's been co-sponsored by a majority of the members of the House of Representatives. The two-year battle fought by Dennis Hastert and Tom DeLay to keep it from coming to a vote, thus insuring that there will be no possible audit of the votes of about a third of the 2004 electorate, has fueled the flames of conspiracy theorists convinced Republican ideologues - now known to be willing to lie in television advertising - would extend their "ends justifies the means" morality to stealing the vote "for the better good of the country" they think single-party Republican rule will bring. Most important, though, the rallying cry of the emerging "honest vote" movement must become: Get Corporations Out Of Our Vote! Why have we let corporations into our polling places, locations so sacred to democracy that in many states even international election monitors and reporters are banned? Why are we allowing corporations to exclusively handle our vote, in a secret and totally invisible way? Particularly a private corporation founded, in one case, by a family that believes the Bible should replace the Constitution; in another case run by one of Ohio's top Republicans; and in another case partly owned by Saudi investors? Of all the violations of the commons - all of the crimes against We The People and against democracy in our great and historic republic - this is the greatest. Our vote is too important to outsource to private corporations. It's time that the USA - like most of the rest of the world - returns to paper ballots, counted by hand by civil servants (our employees) under the watchful eye of the party faithful. Even if it takes two weeks to count the vote, and we have to just go, until then, with the exit polls of the news agencies. It worked just fine for nearly 200 years in the USA, and it can work again. When I lived in Germany, they took the vote the same way most of the world does - people fill in hand-marked ballots, which are hand-counted by civil servants taking a week off from their regular jobs, watched over by volunteer representatives of the political parties. It's totally clean, and easily audited. And even though it takes a week or more to count the vote (and costs nothing more than a bit of overtime pay for civil servants), the German people know the election results the night the polls close because the news media's exit polls, for two generations, have never been more than a tenth of a percent off. We could have saved billions that have instead been handed over to ES&S, Diebold, and other private corporations. Or, if we must have machines, let's have them owned by local governments, maintained and programmed by civil servants answerable to We The People, using open-source code and disconnected from modems, that produce a voter-verified printed ballot, with all results published on a precinct-by-precinct basis. As Thomas Paine wrote at this nation's founding, "The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which all other rights are protected. To take away this right is to reduce a man to slavery." Only when We The People reclaim the commons of our vote can we again be confident in the integrity of our electoral process in the world's oldest and most powerful democratic republic. Thom Hartmann (thom at thomhartmann.com) is a Project Censored Award-winning best-selling author and host of a nationally syndicated daily progressive talk show. www.thomhartmann.com END QUOTE A Justified Alliance by Hagai Segal, Ma'ariv (Israeli Newspaper) Nov. 9 2004 Excerpt: "Millions upon million of Christian Americans support the idea of the Land of Israel stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean and of a strong Israel, and not out of missionary concerns. They believe it is far more important to convince Bush to support the settlements than to convince the (Israeli) settlers to turn towards Jesus." Bush's victory over Kerry has re-ignited an old complaint against the odd alliance between the religious right wing in America and the religious right wing in Israel. The shared jubilation of those who have kipas on their heads and those who wear Crosses, once it became evident Bush had won, deeply upset many seculars in the Holy Land. They argue that the newly formed alliance has something anti-historical about it. They find it hard to grasp how could the settlement enterprise in Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) create bonds with the enterprise of the evangelical communities in the US, or why ultra-Orthodox leader Rabbi Elyashiv supports a devout Christian such as President Bush. ...The truth is, however, that there is nothing odd about it at all...It is ridiculous to hear well-known secular figures warn about alleged missionary schemes of the Christian evangelicals in the US...Well... Christianity has missed the historic opportunities to make the Jews change their religion. The era of the Mission has ended. Although there are Christians who still dream about the day in which we would recognize their messiah, and from time to time a few lost souls can be seen on the streets of Jerusalem, they represent no more than a footnote. Millions upon million of Christian Americans support the idea of the Land of Israel stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean and of a strong Israel, and not out of missionary concerns. They believe it is far more important to convince Bush to support the settlements than to convince the settlers to turn towards Jesus. (End quote) Editor's Note: The Muslim world is asking, how can an unrepentant liar be a Christian? How can those who claim to be Christians support such a liar? Americans Very Ignorant, Says Mahathir Agence France Presse | Nov. 8 2004 KUALA LUMPUR, 8 November 2004 (AFP) Former Malaysian Premier Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday that Muslims would be "tortured" for the next four years after US President George W. Bush won a second term. "We are sad that this man who has caused the mass killings in Iraq has been re-elected to lead his country," Mahathir told some 300 people at a gathering to break fast during the holy month of Ramadan. "So for the next four years, the world's Muslim community will be tortured by this heartless and merciless man," he said. Mahathir had last month predicted that Bush would win the Nov. 2 election because Americans were "very ignorant" people and would "accept a liar". Mahathir, who retired in October 2003 after 22 years in power, told "The Star" in an interview last month that the US electorate "appears to be willing to accept a person who told a blatant lie and to elect a liar as their president. "The American people are, by and large, very ignorant and know nothing about the rest of the world. They think that America is the world," he said. (End quote) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Osama Spooked the US By Antonio C. Abaya Written Nov. 3, 2004 For the Philippines Free Press, November 13 issue As I write this piece, it is 4:30 pm, Manila time, of Nov. 03. It is 3:30 am in New York, and CNN has projected the results of the US elections at 249 electoral votes for President Bush and 242 for John Kerry, with 270 needed to win the presidency. Only the states of Nevada (5 electoral votes), Wisconsin (10), New Mexico (5), Iowa (7) and Ohio (20) are not yet inputted in the CNN projection. ----------------------------------------- PEPETON OBSERVES: As of a little past midnight, November 3, 2003, or about 2 and 1/2 hours before all the other "mainstream USA TV Network" carried the "story", FOX NEWS already had GWB at 269 Electoral votes (Ohio inclusive). ------------------------o0o--------------- As the above numbers show, Bush does not need Ohio to win the 270 electoral votes if he can win the four other states, which he is poised to do, anyway. On the other hand, Kerry needs to win Ohio plus at least two of the four other states, to pass the 270-vote level. -------------------------- PEPETON OBSERVES: Wisconsin has been a Democrat stronghold. All USA local political pundits in all major TV Networks covering the election had assumed that Wisconsin would go to the Democrats. And in fact, it did. -----------------------o0o----------------- Ohio itself is almost in the Bush win column. With more than 95% of the Ohio votes already counted, Bush is leading Kerry by about 120,000 votes. Kerry�s hope lies in the provisional ballots (of voters whose eligibility is under question), which, by Ohio state law, will not be counted until 11 days after Election Day. But it is a forlorn hope that there are enough Kerry votes among the 135,000 to 250,000 provisional ballots to overcome Bush�s 120,000-vote lead. -------------------- PEPETON DECLARES: I have been an election inspector in many national and local elections. PROVISIONAL BALLOTS are used as a "temporary solution" to a glaring problem. By law, even if one's name is NOT REGISTERED in the precinct that one wants to cast his or her ballot, on election day...he or she CANNOT BE REFUSED OR DENIED, by the election inspectors or precinct workers, his constitutional right to cast his vote. However, it is a very clear provision of law in the Federal Election Code that one must FIRST BE REGISTERED, IN ORDER TO CAST A BALLOT ON ELECTION DAY. The issuance of the PROVISIONAL BALLOT is intended specifically for those situations where there may have been a "glitz" in the REGISTRATION OF QUALIFIED AND BONAFIDE VOTERS, in the precinct level. And what are the chances of this happening?????? Based on my experience...very little. It does happen. As for instance, in situations where an individual has "recently" moved from his former residence/domicile and is now trying to cast his ballot in a "new neighborhood." And again, what are the chances of this occurring? It does happen, but not all that often, again, based on my experience, in Sillicon Valley, the computer capital of the world, where, "in and out migration" due to volatile work situation is most likely, among the highest in the country. My point is this. THE USA MAINSTREAM MEDIA HAS HYPED THE POSSIBILITY OF PROVISIONAL BALLOTS MAKING THE DIFFERENCE IN DETERMINING THE FINAL OUTCOME OF THE OHIO ELECTORAL VOTES. And the Secretary of State of Ohio, for whatever "grandstanding" reason, decided to go along when he first was given the opportunity to be front and center on national stage, by rough guessing the number of PROVISIONAL BALLOTS in OHIO at around 140,000. This was shortly followed by the spin masters, the political propagandists and handlers from the Democrat side, that it could be as much as 250,000 PROVISIONAL BALLOTS. Knowing the facts of what requires PROVISIONAL BALLOTS, one must readily and unarguably conclude that, if in fact, there were these many PROVISIONAL BALLOTS IN OHIO...there must have been a tremendous number of voters WHO FAILED TO REGISTER PROPERLY IN THEIR PRECINCTS...OR WHO SIMPLY DID NOT REGISTER WITHIN THE TIME PERMITTED BY LAW....and let me suggest the reason or motivation for this plausible explanation. That if this is a factual representation of the situation, this must have been DELIBERATELY PLANNED....by those who stand to benefit from it...in which case, I am talking about the DEMOCRATS. To corroborate this DELIBERATE PLANNING, the Democrats had thousands - 3500 as of last count, LAWYERS, poised to file all kinds of litigations to invalidate the Ohio results should these come out in favor of GWB. I stress this for the simple reason that when USA mainstream media was engrossed, preoccupied and totally obsessed with the prospects of creating and sensationalizing another FLORIDA DEBACLE IN 2004 IN OHIO, nobody in media...except one field reporter from FOX News, who brought out, pretty much the same facts I have discussed here. Unfortunately, this was not picked up as NEWS, because it would have made all the media hype ANTICLIMACTIC. But that's how MEDIA screws up the public mind. Subtle or not....this kind of reporting is deceptive and dishonest, and has no place in professional journalism. Let me spin another one your way. If there were, in fact, 140,000 provisional voters in Ohio, it could only mean there was a definite PLAN TO SABOTAGE THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTION IN OHIO...AND THE PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE WOULD LEAN TOWARDS THE CONCLUSION THAT THE DEMOCRATS HAD MORE TO GAIN BY SUCH "DAGDAG BAWAS" FRAUD. (YOU THINK ONE OF THE PINOY POLITICAL HANDLERS HAS BEEN HIRED FOR THIS?) 140,000 UNREGISTERED VOTERS????? WHO CAST THEIR BALLOTS????? GET REAL. (For the record, when I handled the election poll returns for 7 major precinct in Silicon Valley, during the Governor Gray Davis, recall election, in California, there were a total of 10 PROVISIONAL BALLOTS ISSUED. Now go ahead and extrapolate from there....problema, Tony, media just loves to jump into the bandwagon of anything that promises or lends itself easily to "sensationalism". And it takes a special kind of journalist to resist that temptation, blindly, each time.) Under my definition and explanation for the official use of PROVISIONAL BALLOTS....it is simply unimaginable how there can possibly be 140,000 REGISTRATIONS, in such a small state...that have been screwed up, WITHOUT MALICE. That is my take on it. And we can continue the spin from there. ----------------------o0o---------------------- For all practical purposes, the 2004 elections are over, and President Bush has been re-elected president for �Four More Years,� his campaign slogan. And his victory is indeed convincing: he is leading by about 3.5 million votes in the popular vote. In 2000, Al Gore beat Bush in the popular vote by half a million votes, but lost in the electoral college votes, which are what determine the winner of the presidency (and vice-presidency). Kerry�s consolation is that he did put up a good fight, coming up from behind, as he did, to catch up with Bush, especially during and after the three debates last month, in all of which Kerry was the clear winner. PEPETON QUALIFIES: This is a matter of opinion and should be presented accordingly. There were no clear winners nor losers during the three debates. Only speculations and scripted post analyses. Scripted analyses are no different from PAID PRESS RELEASES. There were no official moderators charged with the responsibility or accountability to adjudicate the winner or loser of the debate. It is OK for the public to speculate and debate endlessly who won and who lost based on their predilections and preferences. BUT IT IS NOT OKEY FOR A JOURNALIST TO STIPULATE SO. SPECIALLY BECAUSE ANY CLAIM, CANNOT BE PROVEN BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. Therefore, if a journalist wishes to proffer proofs of his "personal perceptions", that would be alright. -------------o0o--------------------- Up to Election Day itself, Kerry and Bush were in a statistical dead heat in all polls, and both camps relied on massive campaigns to get the new and undecided voters to show up at the precincts because both sides felt it was this group that was going to cast the swing votes. PEPETON CORROBORATES: Agreed, that each side was propagating (propagandizing) the claim that an increased voter turnout was to their respective favors. As to the claim by USA mainstream media that the presidential race was in a "statistical dead heat"...this was a convoluted attempt to hype up the election race...get the public all excited....and as far as the political handlers are concerned, an opportunity to keep the spin...in their favor. I never believed it, from day one. And I have enough recorded emails in several newsgroups that will testify to my consistent position about the results of this election. I never believed it because I have historical statistics to rely on. The biggest voter turnout ever in the history of USA elections since 1932 (that's some 72 years ago) was in 1960, when 63% of the Registered Voters (based on population age), cast their votes. This was the "dramatic" entry into national politics by the "REAL AND ORIGINAL JFK" (John F. Kennedy), and not John Forbes Kerry (who media, BTW, has failed to stress is not, as bruited about, a "Boston Brahmin", but actually comes from a Jewish heritage - his genealogy goes back to Frederick Kohn - grandfather - a Chezkoslovakian Jew. Democrat Kennedy beat Republican Nixon by the smallest margin ever in a presidential election (about 114K). What we can deduce from this historical fact is that an unusual large VTO (voter turnout) does not in and of itself translate into a decided or marked advantage of one party or candidate. One last word about the "pure speculation" that a large voter turnout was going to be in favor of the Democrats, is the added claim that the YOUTH would come out MASSIVELY and express their mandate for Longface Kohn. It did not happen. Only 10% of those ages from 18 thru 24 came and cast their ballots during election. But media and the "spin misers (of facts and truths)" would have the public believe completely otherwise. Again, I never believed it, because I have enought handle on statistical data and hands on experience with the so called "YOUTH VOTES." Ex-senator Raul Roco, who lost bad in the recent May 2004 election in the Philippines against GMA and three or four or more presidential hopefuls, ran on this expectation, THAT HE HAD THE LION SHARE OF THE YOUTH VOTE, WHICH POLITICAL (WANNABEE PUNDITS), AND HIS MEDIA HANDLERS CONVINCED HIM WAS MORE THAN ENOUGH TO CATAPULT HIM (GUARANTEED) INTO THE PRESIDENCY. One noteworthy estimate which one of the more aggressive promoters of Roco insisted that the YOUTH had 70% of the TOTAL VOTE. If you will recall I had an on-going debate with this character, who at one time, was a key figure in another "politically active advocacy group". Banat kasi ng banat...before making the appropriate research. And that sadly has been the modus operandi of most "news reporters", not only in the Philippines, but in the USA, as well. Seems like this affliction is global in nature. Or simply the "nature of the media beast." ----------------o0o-------------------- And that perception was probably correct. If I were asked what single factor tipped the scale in favor of Bush, I would say it was the spooky image of Osama bin Laden delivering a menacing message to the Americans in that video clip from the al-Jazeera cable network, just four days before Election Day. Suddenly, America�s collective consciousness was wrenched away from the campaign rhetoric and from the daily disasters in Iraq, and was focused once again on the Great Satan, the Evil Genius who had masterminded the catastrophic attacks of 9/11, the most traumatic national event in the lifetime of all American voters alive in 2004. In a way, John Kerry was right. President Bush had made the mistake of losing sight of the ball, meaning the hunt for Osama bin Laden in the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and of getting diverted instead to an unnecessary war against Saddam Hussein, who, despite the false claims of Bush and Cheney, had nothing to do with 9/11. Kerry was right: Bush had outsourced the hunt for bin Laden to Afghan warlords (whose loyalty to the US and enthusiasm for ensnaring fellow Islamic fundamentalist Osama were and still are in doubt) and sent the bulk of the US military marching into Baghdad instead. Dumb and dumber best describe that twin decision. PEPETON ADVISES: Tony, perception, by definition is a function of subjective reality. You are alone in this theory. The "Monday Night Quarterbacks' " predominant "hindsight analyses" was that THE MORAL ISSUES BURIED FLIP-FLOP LONGFACE KOHN IN. (I am Irish. And I am a Catholic!). No. An Irish, Kohn is not. Jewish, yes. He claims he is a Catholic who believes in Gay Marriage, Divorce, Euthanasia, Abortion, and outright killing of embryonic cells. I don't have the statistics to prove this. But there is a news article written in the Philippine Daily Inquirer by Michael Lim Urbac and Volt Contreras that 52% of the votes that went to GWB were Catholic. And that 56% of the total Catholic votes supported GWB. Granting these figures to be reasonably accurate, now stack up your "analysis-paralysis" against these statistical (assumed) realities...and see if your "theory" about the single factor that helped the GWB victory. You can readily check this with CNN, ABC, NBC, FOX NEWS...and some. Furthermore, it was a given, from the get go. And now the reality speaks. GWB was picked out by more than 3.5M voters as the more reliable and dependable COMMANDER IN CHIEF, long before the "Osama Bin Laden spin!" As quickly as this "anecdote" was broadcast...it died. Nobody here in the USA media, picked up the story as having much influence on the outcome of the election. And judging from how the results came out, it is more logical to conclude, that in fact, the "Osama spook" was intended as a Halloween trick. The same with the "anecdote" about the missing tons of "convertible into possible nuclear weapons" from Iraq. Was this fact, fantasy, or pure spin? Just figure it out...how can anybody "pilfer" some 350 TONS of STEEL, without being detected, in a closely monitored and guarded war zone???? The only way one can lend credence to this spin is to prove that THIS WAS MALICIOUSLY, DELIBERATELY ORCHESTRATED...OR THAT THE WHOLE USA MILITARY IS SO INCOMPETENT, BECAUSE ITS COMMANDER IN CHIEF GWB, DID NOT FIGHT IN VIETNAM. Go ahead. How about the scandalous and shameful ABC Dan Rather's flawed and fraudulent reporting of improprieties in the Coast Guard records of GWB. Did that, you think, have any influence AMONG SO-CALLED SWING VOTERS???? And I can go on...and on...probably as long as you can, too, about spinning speculative reasons and causes about the how and why the election of 2004 turned out the way it did. BOTTOMLINE...At this point, who cares? It's il fait acompli. Consummatus est. Tapos na. Life moves on....And there are more important matters to consider and take care of. ------------------------------o0o----------------- The simple-minded Bush had been conned into the Iraq invasion by the hawks (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle and Feithe) of the PNAC, whose foremost strategic goal, stated one year before 9/11, was/is to establish �permanent military control of the Middle East, whether or not Saddam Hussein remains in power.� For most Americans, the wounds of 9/11 were suddenly and painfully reopened by the ghostlike appearance of the bearded, turbaned bogeyman in their living rooms, just four days before Election Day, threatening more attacks. PEPETON RECOMMENDS: I strongly recommend that you read Dr. George Friedman's "The Secret War" (of America). Or subscribe, (if you are not yet subscribed), to the STRATFOR-ALERTFOR - Geopolitical Intelligence Reports. Let me share with you, if you have not had the benefit of researching this source: Dr. George Friedman has written and analyzed the Middle East situation vis-a-vis the USA, long before the September 11, 2001 tragedy. He had predicted then that the USA will unavoidably be engaged in several different THEATERS OF WAR. He predicted months and months prior...that Afghanistan will be attacked to displace the Taliban...even before any self-respecting journalist and political analyst even realized the connection between the Afghanistan and the Taliban regime. he predicted that Iraq would be attacked. In his latest series of geopolitical intelligence reporting about the middle east situation he predicted (in his book, too) during several TV interviews that it is inevitable for the USA not to engage PAKISTAN. And possibly, IRAN (if it continues with its recalcitrant and intransigent position). You remember, I am sure, that it was Dr. Friedman who predicted that ERAP WOULD NOT FINISH HIS TERM OF OFFICE. DR. FRIEDMAN PREDICTED THIS A GOOD YEAR AND ONE MONTH, ALMOST TO THE DATE...long before any body worth anything at all in Philippine mainstream media even had the foggiest notion about the "popularly elected (by the masa, daw)" being eased out of office. Unless one has done investigative work, i.e., serious research...for facts...one ought not to dabble in geopolitical analysis. It serves no purpose but confuse the unfortunate ones who have not had the benefit of nor access to THE FACTS, AND NOTHING BUT THE FACTS. -----------------o0o----------------- Those voters who had not been swayed, one way or the other, by the long and acrimonious partisan exchanges in the campaign, may have decided in the last few days to vote for Bush because, they felt, he had already drawn blood, even if mostly in the wrong places, in the war against al-Qaeda, rather than gamble on Kerry whose run-in with bin Laden has been only theoretical. PEPETON DECLARES: Your bias is showing. I already explained why. You are alone in this "spin the bottle". ---------------------------o0o--------------------- Osama really spooked the Americans. Bush�s winning lead over Kerry was about 3.5%, slightly less than the 4% who were still undecided four days before E-Day. Most of the undecided, it seems, decided for Bush in the last few days. And Osama, not �moral values,� was a key factor, (the biggest single factor, in my opinion) in that decision. PEPETON SLAM DUNKS: When Ninoy Aquino acting against advise of family and those who cared for his personal welfare begged him not to go back to the Philippines, because of the risk to his life - the "faithful and loyal supporters of the downtrodden and some" egged and moved him..."Huwag kang magalala. Hindi ka NAGIISA, NINOY." (Right...except when you die!). Regretfully, you are all alone, as in solo, in this spin. I realize that you mean this as your personal perception. And I must, therefore, recap with an apology...I just don't buy your perception. I, personally, do not even see it as coming close to the equation. ------------------o0o-------------- And because Osama and the al-Qaeda do not do anything without a reason, it can be argued that Osama�s totally unexpected appearance in tens of millions of American living rooms four days before Election Day was meant to influence the outcome of that election, in favor of George W. Bush. PEPETON INTERJECTS: HOOOWAAA...TITS ON A BULL....If my auntie had balls, she would be my "ankol"....who I would lab to "kiss-sabay-hug"....hehehehe. Sometimes the most humorous statements are those unwittingly uttered. ---------------------o0o----------------------- From the Islamist point of view, Bush is the most effective recruiter of angry young Muslims into the al Qaeda�s cause. His Iraq adventure has fired up the entire Muslim world against the US. Bush leads the wrecking crew that split the Crusaders� army into two bickering camps. And by being the biggest (and virtually only) supporter of his ideological neo-Nazi twin Ariel Sharon, Bush ensures that the Palestinian problem will continue to fester like an open wound till Armageddon swallows everyone.. PEPETON IS INTRIGUED: "From the islamist point of view"???? Your perception, Tony???? Are you proffering a statement or an assessment of fact? You have made a quantum leap deduction here. Your logic is fueled by some sense (perception?) that "because of what GWB has been doing to islamic fundamentalists...he has encouraged and motivated, EVEN THOSE WHO ARE NOT ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS, ARE DRAWN TO JOIN THEIR JIHAD MOVEMENT...Is this where you were planning to lead this PERCEPTION? --------------------------o0o---------------- Only Bush and his neocon cabal would likely plan the bombing and/or invasion of Iran. It would be consistent with the PNAC�s strategic goal of establishing �full military control of the Middle East, whether or not Saddam Hussein remains in power.� Osama would welcome such an escalation of hostilities as it would mean more recruits for al-Qaeda. PEPETON CHALLENGES: Tony, are you predicting a victory by the islamic fundamentalist dogs? You are beginning to seriously sound like you are cheering for those assholes. (You hate GWB and the NEOCONS so much...and to prove your point, you'd rather see them proven wrong, even if it would mean losing innocent lives of men, women and children in their criminal hands???? Remember, they kidnapped Angelito de la Cruz...and you wrote about that. You rejoiced, too, at de la Cruz safe return (but criticized GMA for doing it for the wrong reason. What is important to you, Tony. THE END OR THE MEANS???) Now they have two more Pilipinos hostaged - Toronggoy and Nayan...and from what I have gathered there has been a SLAM DUNK ON MEDIA by Malacan~ang....portents of things to come vis-a-vis the so-called unrestricted (if abusive) freedom of the press....So Malacan~ang has put a gag order regarding the negotiations for the release of the two Pilipino OFWs.... WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED? PUT ANOTHER WAY...CAN YOU BLAME MALACAN~ANG? WOULD YOU RISK THE LIVES OF TWO INNOCENT PILIPINOS AND JUSTIFY IT WITH THE REASON..."Hindi ko naman kasalanan, that they risked their lives in hostile grounds. They have been warned. Kasalanan ng Presidente yan. If there was work in the Philippines, they would not have to leave for such a country...(and if OSAMA BIN LADEN'S PARENTS WERE ON THE PILL...OR HAD PRACTICED ABORTION...THEN OSAMA WOULD NOT BE AROUND....and we will not be discussing this problem, would we?) ---------------------------------o0o------------------ The moderate and liberal Kerry (flip-flopper, according to Bush) would never countenance such a reckless adventure, certainly not while the real enemy, Osama bin Laden, continues to defiantly spook the Americans from his hideout in another country, thousands of kilometers away. PEPETON POINTS GROSS ERROR OF PERCEPTION: Tony, nobody, but nobody in the USA mainstream media...or even the public at large...dared call FLIP FLOP KOHN (his original genealogically referenced birth name) as anything but LIBERAL....WITH STRONG LEFT WINGING TENDENCIES.....A MODERATE????? The only ones who tried desperately to sell that "label" are the same bleeding, diehard, radical, left wing, liberals...who realized towards the campaign homestretch (desperately and too late), LIBERAL label (which they were very proud of at the start of the campaign), was dimming their chances of victory. MODERATE???? Do you know what the term means in USA political parlance???? Gay marriage...That's radical. Wilful Embryonic cell destruction, that's radical. Divorce...that's liberal. Abortion or PRO-CHOICE TO KILL AN UNBORN LIFE...that is simply disgustingly LIBERAL. Let me put your PERCEPTION to a test of FACTUAL BASE. What has Longface Kohn done (bills he supported, did not) during the 20-some years he has been in the Senate that come close to being MODERATE....NAME ONE ! BTW, IT WAS NOT GWB WHO ORIGINATED THE FLIP-FLOP DESCRIPTION OF THE AMBIVALENT POLITICAL POSITIONINGS OF LONGFACE KOHN. AS A MATTER OF FACT, TONY, GWB WAS CAREFUL NEVER TO USE THE TERM...BUT IF YOU HAVE A VERIFIABLE AND CERTIFIABLE DOCUMENT TO PROVE OTHERWISE...I WILL APOLOGIZE FOR MY ERROR. ***** OOOPS! When the BBC surveyed the reaction of the world�s press to the re-election of George W, one paper stood out. The English-language banner headline in a German-language newspaper (one of the �allgemeine zeitungs�) said it all: OOOPS! THEY DID IT AGAIN! PEPETON REMEMBES HISTORY: And Ronald Reagan said: "TEAR DOWN THE FUCKING WALL....(in Germany)" And the wall was torn down. What is the similarity between the French and the Germans? They lack gratitude. How is this any different from the POLITICS OF THE TRAPO POLITICIANS OF THE PHILIPPINES? (Ang mga lecheng yan, binulsa ng binulsa ang tulong na pinadadala ng America...tapos, sisisihin ang mga Kano..."not enough...give me more...more money...no, not just the alimony...we want all of da money...." In time ahead, there will be BRIBERIES of all kinds, to be sure...Of course, GWB, (yes, under the overwhelming mandate of the American people) will pull out the BIG STICK with the juicy carrot at the end...and use it to INFLUENCE THE THINKING of the feigning and fawning...but salivating mouths...of the Germans, the French...and yes, the Pilipinos, too. You wanna bet on this one? ====================== CNN reported that the number of Americans inquiring about emigration to Canada has increased six-fold since Nov. 02. PEPETON ADDS: You forgot to mention that an official statement has already been issued by the Canadian State Department. "You cannot just come to the Canada, because you want to, for whatever (political) reason you may advance. You have to give us a valid reason why it is to the benefit of Canada, that we should entertain your application for immigration into Canada." Dapat lang. What you failed to QUALIFY AND STRESS, is the fact that there is NOTHING NEW, about this reaction after any presidential election. This happens with every election. Now, the USA media reported that there were "hundreds of thousands" that flocked en masse to the Canadian Embassy and consular offices, desperate and disgusted and dejected about the outcome of the election. As to the numbers, I don't know. As to the mood, desperate, disgusted and dejected...why that sounds like a perfect description for LOSERS. The USA would probably be better off without these senseless and disruptive agitators, anyway. ----------------o0o-------------------- AP and AFP reported (PD Inquirer, Nov. 06) that the New Zealand Immigration Service website had 10,300 hits the day after Nov. 02, compared to the normal 2,300. And that its offices in LA, San Francisco and Portland have been receiving 300 telephone calls and emails everyday since, compared to six to eight before, Nov.03. PEPETON PROVIDES FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE: And what would that be as a percentage of the total USA population of some 293+Millions (est. July 2004). Now, put yourself in the Presidential office, as the Numero Uno. Your Secretary of State comes in with the "unnerving and earth shaking report" that 10,300 + 300 are planning to leave the country in protest against your overwhelming victory at the polls. What would you...as the newly-elected President, enjoying the biggest mandate and margin over your opponent...do? Feel? Huh?????? Tony, there is a very strong tendency in news or OP-ED reporting among media to REPORT or PULL THINGS OUT OF CONTEXT...in their obsessive-compulsive penchant to SENSATIONALIZE a point....any point. When it could be just as sensational (with a little native resourcefulness and creativity) to report the DISCOVERED FACTS. Here, let me help out by providing some statistics that ought to provide the parameters for the kind of observation you just made. Total estimated population as of July 2004 was about 293 Millions++ How are the age demographics classified? Age structure: 0-14 years: 20.8% (male 31,122,974; female 29,713,748) 15-64 years: 66.9% (male 97,756,380; female 98,183,309) 65 years and over: 12.4% (male 15,078,204; female 21,172,956) (2004 est.) Median age: total: 36 years male: 34.7 years female: 37.4 years (2004 est.) Population growth rate: 0.92% (2004 est.) That is the kind of population you are talking about. -----------------------------o0o---------------------- Two years before Nov. 02, my wife�s (white, Jewish, retired business exec) American ex-brother-in law, a card-carrying Republican, vowed never to set foot on the US again as long as George W. was president. Oops! indeed. Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.org. PEPETON SUMMARIZES: And I am sure, nobody will hold a gun to his head to stop him. Ask him if his promised is not influenced by the fact that Longface Kohn is a fellow jew. Nonetheless...the election is over. GWB won by a clear mandate. The losers are the bleeding diehard, liberals, radicals, left-wing DEMOCRATS. The winner is the public. But disruptive, dejected, degenerate and decadent global media (which is predominantly occupied by the same LOSERS in the recent election) are trying desperately (if almost seditiously) to empower anarchic thinking. 80% of USA media (mainstream) is under the controlled "conflict of interest" ownership of the AGITATORS. In the vernacular...mga AKTIVISTANG WHO HAVE NO ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO SHOW FOR THE COMMON GOOD. You have been consistently writing about the NEOCONS....as if they are worse than the fucking islamic fundamentalists who would massacre men and women and children under the misguided and heinous utterances of a religious conviction... Your (emotional) prejudice against President GWB, undoubtedly, has been influenced by the same media that has long been predominantly controlled by bigoted and extremist democrats and liberals, radicals and left wing alike. If you ever have the opportunity to wield the biggest stick in the world, and the responsibility to manage the economic, political, and military affairs and resources of the biggest, strongest and greatest democracy in the world, called the US of A, do you think that you can personally do a better job than the "simple minded GWB" that you seem to have an unexplainable hatred for? That you would risk your own faith-based morality, (I am assuming you are a Christian-Catholic...having studied in a Jesuit institution) - i.e., anybody but GWB...thereby even extolling and encouraging those islamic fundamentalist animals who believe that murdering men, women and children for the sake of their religion is justified? On the other hand...what is the difference between this "jihad" shit....and the deliberate and purposeful killing of an unborn child, the destruction of live and healthy embryonic cells, and the MERCIFUL KILLING of the helpless....? Same difference? Pepeton, [email protected] November 08, 2004 -------------------- P.S. THE NEWEST POLITICAL SPIN----as early and prematurely as now...there are those in USA mainstream media, who are already PREDICTING that Hillary Clinton will be the Democrat's standard bearer for the next presidential election...Didn't we just have one????? The college electoral voters will cast their votes officially on December 13, 2004. And the 80% - Democrat-leaning USA media - is already trying to HYPE the rumors into a news category. Let me put another spin. Mine. The USA is not prepared to accept a woman president. Before it does...it will first accept a Black president. Now what are the chances of that happening in 2008? Exactly! wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Copy furnished) Dear Pepeton, I believe that I have made several comments about George W. Bush to qualify me as an undesirable alien if the INS is run mainly along partisan political lines. I am dismayed by the level of crony-ism that he represents and its impact on a world that is fast descending in its nobility (or morality). But my dismay is founded on a wish, a very personal wish. I look at the American president and I see someone with a singular opportunity to prod evolution a few notches higher, a few notches finer. My right to articulate publicly is, perhaps, the same right of the United States to get involved in Philippine affairs. My interests cross over to the sphere of influence of GWB, and the interests of the USA cross over to the sphere of influence of the tiny republic of the Philippines. I have no great expectations about the US changing its core mindset or approaches to international dynamics, just as I have no great expectations that my comments will reach and, much less, change the course of history. I would love to get into bashing George W. Bush but that would distract me from the heart of what is substantial in Philippine affairs. The pattern of subservience of Philippine officials to America is not the fault of George W. Bush, but of the Philippine officials who are inflicted with that weakness. And, I believe, that weakness has been shared by all presidents since formal independence from America in 1946. It can be that the weakness was induced by a general weakness that afflicts the Filipino people, that the subservience of Philippine officials to America is simply reflective of what the rest of the population basically feel. The reason why I prioritize my attacks on this subservient attitude to our officials, led by the president, is because they can start to wean the Filipino away from a relationship that has not been founded on a contrived perception of history. Who else can tell the Filipino people about the historical truth in a massive way but the Philippine government that has been a key conspirator to suppressing critical information? It is not wrong to feel sympathy towards America, or any country for that matter. The taste of people are their individual rights. What is particularly galling is to understand that the sympathy is founded on a distorted context that has been systematically conditioned. Let there be a de-conditioning by letting the historical truth surface in an approximate manner as it was distorted - massively and consistently - so that the new relationship can be more grounded on honesty. If the Americans were butchers of the worst kind in the context of Philippine history, then let Filipinos be aware that American soldiers, spurred by their civilian government as much as their military commanders, committed atrocities at such a massive scale that hundreds of thousands of Filipinos (called niggers) died at their hands, including women and children. Let Filipinos understand that invasion, occupation and pacification is not a new foreign policy of America and applies only to Afghanistan or Iraq but is part of America's young history. Understanding this will allow Filipinos to put in proper context an American foreign policy pattern, and arm Filipinos with an attitude that is more in tune with reality. For, in truth, it is not only sympathy that Filipinos feel for America but gratitude as well. Now, that is particularly grating to the throat after a history that has been founded on grave injustice, perverted messianic complex, brutal force, and systematic indoctrination. The natural gratitude that many Filipinos still feel for America is born of history with a deliberate selective bent that has been passed on as complete. If American governments have regularly induced their citizens to like, then hate, the like again or vice-versa, other peoples and nations in order to prepare them for war or for cooperation, that is the accepted fate that Americans tolerate (if they are aware). If we look at America's young history, we will be amused at how pliant American sentiments have been to the official lines that their governments have alternately sold them. Hate the Indians, love the Indians. Hate the Mexicans, love the Mexicans. Hate the Germans, love the Germans. Love the Russians, hate the Russians, love the Russians. Hate the Chinese, accept the Chinese, do business with the Chinese, be wary of the Chinese. Love the French, hate the French. Hate the North Vietnamese, like the Vietnamese. hate the japanese, love the Japanese. Love Saddam, hate Saddam. Support Bin Laden, hate Bin Laden. And the list is a little longer than I can remember at this moment. All these negatives are not the whole of American history and reality. There are very beautiful and inspiring facets as well, and these have been quite advertised, so to speak, that Filipinos are largely aware only of these positive factors and kept in the dark - by policy - about critical truths that are necessary in order to perform practical and wise assessments during a continuing relationship. Filipinos must be shed of their wishful thinking that America loves the Philippines, that America will favor the Philippines, that America places a high premium that Filipinos died to defend American supremacy in the 2nd World War. Filipinos must wake up so that they can move on to develop an elusive self-reliance state. It is the tendency of nations to push their own agenda. America is NOT an exception but a solid part of the rule. It is a historical pattern that has characterized mankind - the powerful, by force or by guile, push their interests no matter what the consequences to those who are prejudiced, or exploited. As a people that has been at the painful end of the stick for 450 years, we have to be more wise and practical in our understanding of global dynamics and veer away from sentimental attachments which are falsely grounded. And we have to confront the basic truth about ourselves, reform where needed, enhance where advantageous, and discard where necessary. Present reality is that Filipinos in America will preempt any serious fallout of Fil-American relations. There are just too many Filipino in America and they, as a rule, feed even many more Filipinos in the Philippines. Now, that is reality whether we like it or not. But if we learn to understand how we are situated in our relationship with America, we can use that same reality to better the cause of our own interests. We just have to realize that America will not approach its relationship with us heavily laden with the same gratitude we feel for her. America moves with power, for power. We can upset that intent, or we can support it deliberately to further our own, or simply react to it with classical fear or groundless gratitude - our relationships with individual Americans notwithstanding. The conflict within American society should alert us into realizing that even Americans can be quite divided at times. It used to be that the historical ties with Marcos by the Reagan administration (and the senior George Bush) prejudiced the Republican party before the hearts of many Filipinos. But just as the Marcos era is fading in the consciousness of Filipinos, that prejudice against Republicans fades as well. And what remains with more constancy is the operating belief systems that the Republicans and Democrats represent. Being faith-based, Filipinos will intuitively lean towards the more God-oriented, prayer-oriented, family-oriented group - which today is the party where George W. Bush belongs. This intuitive tendency becomes more pronounced during difficult times when insecurity rules the day, and I believe that more Fil-Ams voted for Bush despite the historical leaning of Filipinos for Democrats. It is less important if Osama spooked the US and more important how Filipinos can become less dependent on anyone, especially the United States. We cannot keep on crediting or blaming others for our present and future fate without taking responsibility for trying to be as self-reliant and productive we can be. We cannot even keep on trying to blame Gloria without accepting we allowed her to take the presidency and to keep it. We have to help her succeed with our collective help, or we bite the bullet and collectively take her down. In between is nothing but more of the same - which is sure death for us. Boy, JLM, [email protected] November 08, 2004 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |
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