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An article in the Guardian argues that since the entire world will be affected by the outcome of the November 2 election, everyone should get a vote. While Canadians don’t get to cast ballots next week, we’ll certainly be watching pretty closely. Check out a range of online opinion, everything from the informed to the malformed.
www.georgewbush.com www.johnkerry.com Get it over with and visit the official sites. Both have reams of PR babble poorly disguised as blogs, and suspiciously similar designs, but it’s good to read the spin straight from the source.
www.votenader.org Poor old Ralph. Loathed by Democrats for getting 2.9 million votes that could have been used to beat Bush in 2000, Nader is running for president without the Green party (www.gp.org). Be sure to check out the truly surreal audio files in which Nader engages in virtual debates with Bush and Kerry.
www.lp.org Since the 2000 election, the third-party position has been taken over by the Libertarian party, which is dedicated to “personal liberty and responsibility.” Check out the editorial calling for the complete legalization of drugs.
dear_raed.blogspot.com/ Slate called blogger Salam Pax the “Anne Frank of the Iraq war… and its Elvis.” Many consider his entries the most skilful and honest writing to come out of the conflict. His posts have slowed down lately, probably because he’s promoting his new book, The Baghdad Blog, a remarkable collection detailing the chaos of Baghdad from late 2002 to late 2003.
www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/corner.asp The Internet favours the young, and the young favour John Kerry, so it takes some effort to ferret out blogs from the Republican camp. William F. Buckley Jr.’s National Review has posted this online multi-authored blog to muster support for Bush in cyberspace.
www.motherjones.com/news/dailymojo/2004/11/10_502.html The new buzzword this year is “election jamming.” The Republicans were found to have illegally jammed the phone lines of a Democrat voter registration organization in 2002, but now both parties are being accused of jamming or hacking into Internet sites and electronic voting machines as November 2 approaches.
http://whitehousewest.com This razor-sharp parody of George W. by Will Ferrell has the president saying things like “There are certain liberal agitators out there who’d like you to believe that my administration isn’t doing such a good job. These are people such as Howard Stern, Richard Clarke and the news.”
www.theonion.com/election2004 Waste your lunch hour surfing the Onion’s election guide, including the fitting “Poll: Many Americans Still Unsure Who To Vote Against.”
www.ifilm.com/filmdetail?ifilmid=2652831&htv=12 With his new book, America: A Citizen’s Guide To Democracy Inaction, on shelves and The Daily Show winning a ton of awards, Jon Stewart is the current ruler of political commentary. This infamous exchange sees Stewart calling Crossfire host Tucker Carlson a “dick” on live national television.
www.axisofeve.org This organization of feminists and anti-Bush activists is dedicated to “exposing and deposing” Bush and his regressive, anti-feminist policies with a campaign of “truth-flashing.” Click on the link to buy your Expose Bush panties and contribute to getting as many women to the polls as men.
www.georgewbush.org The official Bush-Cheney parody site. Open Bush’s real site beside it and compare how close this site actually looks. Many genuine supporters surf for quite a while before they realize it’s a joke. “Bush: 4 More Wars!”
www.punkvoter.com Rockers from Bad Religion to Pennywise have come together in an effort to register young voters and convince them to vote for change. Free downloadable stickers and flyers.
www.pollingreport.com Check out this site comparing current polls across the States and see why the results really depend on which ones you pay attention to. Registered users get more detailed stats.
www.bop2004.org/bop2004 So far Bush has raised a total of $260 million for his re-election campaign, more than double the $106 million he got for the 2000 election. Such facts (and a dull but informative webcast) accompany the new book Buying The Presidency 2004, from the Center for Public Integrity.
