Racist Cartoon Is Beyond Contempt


During Black History month with the first African American president elected to deal with our economic, political and social problems, you'd think there was enough on our collective plate to keep us busy. But, nooooo. Deep in the bowels of hatred and cruelty, the acolytes of evil never sleep.

This writer tried very hard to avoid a visceral reaction to the racist Page Six cartoon published by the New York Post. The longer I thought about this infamous image, the angrier I became. It got to the point I could no longer contain my fury at another senseless injustice being done under the innocuous cloak of political humor.

The cartoon, printed on February 18, 2009, cleverly melds the shooting of a pet chimp with the passing of Barack Obama's stimulus bill. Viewed in isolation, this picture could be seen as innocent, even though it's a bit over the top. Both the Post and cartoonist, Sean Delonas, said there was nothing nefarious about their intent. But, when you place this in-your-face image into historic context, you get a different sense of what's really going on.

Our history is full of "Little Black Sambo" and pickaninny pictures used exclusively to portray African Americans in general and black men in particular as lazy, ignorant, even dangerous. Comparing blacks with monkeys was common in newspapers and posters. Blatant racist illustrations were removed only after much blood was spilled during the civil rights movement a few decades ago. Despite the stupendous effort to rid our media of negative pictures, they keep popping up, indicating there's still work to be done.

This "monkey mow down" image will become a classic because it displays several layers of American racism, all at one time. Besides the treatment of blacks as being less than human, there's the clear lack of equal protection under the law. The shooter appears to be a white police officer. And the incident happens on a street in broad daylight. The other white officer says: "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill." He doesn't bear witness to the gun down, at all. Both officers seem to be detached from the scene. White police officers have routinely shot to death unarmed black men for centuries. The excuse has always been some variation of fear for their own lives. Thus, the "beware of dog" sign is well positioned to stress this point. It never makes any difference the officers have numbers and overwhelming force at their command. A suspicious black man is deemed a serious threat and a possessor of superhuman strength when alleged to be under the influence of drink or drugs -- an obvious racist myth. So, deadly force is often considered the first, not the last, response by police officers.

The ugly quip about the stimulus bill directly associates Obama with murder. The crude cartoon strongly suggests assassination by those who are sworn to protect the law and our president. The use of the word "they'll" instead of "we'll" suggests the police are to be considered an entity apart from the American people, even the law. Further, the image hints Obama should be killed for getting his economic package passed and the police should be used to get this grisly deed done.

The New York Post was once a worthy newspaper, featuring some of the best writers on liberal and labor issues. During the vicious shakeout of the 1970s, the new owners moved the paper's message well to the blue collar right. Today, it's a useless rag spouting "conservative" propaganda. The Delonas cartoon isn't funny. There isn't a shred of redeeming value, except for the fact it exposes the depth of American racism. The Post's editors claim there was no malevolent intent in their decision to publish the image. However, this savage monstrosity speaks loudly for itself. The Post has a long rap sheet riddled with many racist articles and illustrations to its sordid credit.

The media are abuzz with stories about the alleged monkey cartoon. The most respected and articulate among us didn't mind flopping around in this cess pool. The most dispiriting aspect of this whole folderol is the simple fact chimps aren't monkeys. They're apes. There's a big difference between the two. If we expect to continue progressing as a nation, we should critically observe the difference between good and bad taste in cartoons, too.

Franklin L. Johnson
http://weareseers.blogspot.com
starhelix@aol.com

Inauguration 2009: The Difference


A very important point was made at Obama's Inauguration yesterday.

Rancid Rick Warren and Jumbling John Roberts sounded like the arrogant idiots they are because they approached the event with oversized egos. They wanted to be considered as big and important as Barack Obama. So, in their attempts to appear large and in charge, they came across as so small. Rancid Rick took the podium without a written invocation. In and of itself, this was no big deal. But, this event was larger than life. The enormity of the occasion required a prepared speech because anything could happen. The most embarrassing thing is you could forget every word you practiced endlessly to say. Rancid Rick came unprepared because he thought it would be sufficient just to wing it, like he's probably done his entire life. In other words, he believed his basic boiler plate spiel should've been enough for this extraordinary event. What this corpulent cretin ended up doing was blowing the entire invocation. The more he tried to make his words seem lofty, the more he sounded hollow and self-absorbed. Instead of him cutting his losses by shortening his ridiculous rant, he kept on trying to "fix" it. He rudely and crudely rambled on and on and on. It appeared everyone heaved a sigh of relief when he finally crawled off the podium. Jumbling John Roberts made the exact same mistake. He didn't come prepared with a little slip of paper with the oath of office on it, just in case the moment overwhelmed him. He tried to approach the oath as an equal to or even better than Obama. He tried to turn a constitutional formality into a coronation. His sheer arrogance at this most sacred, historic moment forced him to fail spectacularly. The very fact the frantic frothers in the right-wing blogosphere spent so much energy trying to cover up his failure speaks for itself. Both of these arrogant, self-important slackers failed because they were more interested in how they came across and whether or not their places in the historic record were secure. Pride always comes before the fall. This truth was never more evident than in the fumbling futility of Rancid Rick and Jumbling John.

Now, Builder Barack Obama and Jubilent Joe Lowry took the opposite approach to this special event. They were humbled by the scope and sacredness of the ceremony. Barack said he was humbled in the first words he spoke after taking the oath of office. He deliberately toned down his lofty rhetoric to make this point. He wanted humility to rule the day, not overblown oration. This was no accident. This man is so special because he truly makes an effort to do the right things for the right reasons. This point alone should humble us in his presence. In other words, we can rest assured truth and justice will prevail in his administration. Finally, we have a president for ALL of our people. Jubilent Joe Lowry gave the best speech of the day because it was so simple. His sense of wonderment about the entire event was overwhelming. His humor-filled humility was breathtaking. His line about blacks get back, browns stick around and so forth was surprisingly lighthearted because it was unexpected. He took the weight off the entire scene with his innocent humor. It was a perfect way to end that part of the festivities. His little quip has been used by black preachers for decades. It wasn't new. Like Dr. King and his epic "I have a dream," he wasn't the first to say these words. Pastors have been dreaming and preaching for ages. It was the melding of these words with the moment which made them magical. More important, it was the stunning humility behind them. King used soaring rhetoric. Lowry used soft-spoken charm. We will never forget their words because they've been burned into our memories forever. Humility was the awesome fire that King, Lowry and Obama used.

Ironically, everything worked out for the best. Barack got a lot of backlash over the Warren choice. He tried to counter this revolt by choosing a gay bishop to speak, as well. This move didn't assuage the gay and lesbian voters who believed he was throwing them under a politically expedient bus. After all, many of them worked hard to get him elected. But, this falderol had an unanticipated consequence. The obvious arrogance of Rancid Rick and Jumbling John gave Obama another chance to contrast his message of meeting the needs of the future against their message of groveling to the greed of the past. Once again, in unambiguous detail, the American people were shown why they voted for Obama. It was a choice between utter arrogance and simple humility. In the end, the American people chose wisely.

Franklin L. Johnson
http://weareseers.blogspot.com
starhelix@aol.com

On Obama


Here are a few observations:

Obama isn't president, yet. This is no time to be impatient. We should at least give the guy a chance.

Obama is dedicated to doing the right thing, even though it may appear he's a bit too accommodating.

Obama is a lover of the law as compared to Bush and Cheney who are lovers of profit.

One man can't change the entire planet although Obama's rise is reason for hope.

World leaders will respond positively to Obama's leadership which will ensure a new global direction.

America gets the enemies we create. If we stop bombing innocent people, maybe we could make some friends.

The "defense" budget is the core of our problems and why everything looks like a nail.

War has been obsolete since 1945. We should believe Obama only after he makes this statement in some form.

Obama will view the world differently because the four women he brings with him into the White House will force him to do so. He's outnumbered. Michelle, her mother and two daughters are our insurance policy for change.

Mandela is important simply because he exists.

War is the ultimate form of Terrorism -- the big "T" kind.

America is the only nation currently at war with other nations. More specifically, we're engaged in racist imperialism against poor, defenseless black and brown peoples who happen to live atop or near oil. In other words, the world would be at peace if we just stopped bombing poor people into oblivion.

There is no such thing as a war on terrorism. There are wars OF terrorism launched by us and England.

Lest we forget, 9/11 was demonstrably an inside job. There's a mountain of evidence to prove it.

Hunger for food and freedom are humanity's top priorities. Our top priority apparently is to make sure these problems persist so we can bomb those who protest their collective captivity and degradation. This insanity will stop only when we take the profit motive out of our alleged "defense" budgets.

Sarah Palin is the antithesis to Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama won. 'Nuf said.

Obama will become a legendary leader because we're all sick and tired of being sick and tired. He has the mandate necessary to make serious changes our citizens will accept. Although there's reason to be wary about his top choices for leadership positions, we know why he's choosing them. He's doing the right thing and, like he's said repeatedly, the buck and inspiration starts and stops with him. We should give him the benefit of the doubt. He's not likely to do any worse than the monstrous morons who ran the planet into a cosmic ditch. Political leadership requires vision and flexibility of purpose. The first person to give Obama the runaround will get the collar. We can be certain of this because Barack has demonstrated he knows how to run a tight ship. He won the 2008 presidential election through organizational brilliance. This fact alone should leave us confident of his ability to get things done. He will enter office with the greatest pile of political capital since FDR. Obama will put pressure on our war-mongering policies by placing great influential faith in Hillary rather than the Pentagon. Our foreign policy will be dominated by diplomacy, not militancy. For the very first time, women will run the White House and the world.

A new day is coming. Barack has promised it. Let's wait and see if he can deliver. There's nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come. Change is the idea and the time is now. We must keep hope alive and believe in our better angels to help us move forward. It's simply the least we can do.

Franklin L. Johnson
starhelix@aol.com

The Raging Race War Against Obama


Reverend Wright was right; Geraldine Ferraro was wrong and Americans should learn the truth about the distinct difference between them.

Ever since Oprah Winfrey's endorsement helped Barack Obama move from pretender to contender in the struggle for the Democratic nomination, there has been a mounting effort to stop him. The urgent goal is to dismember the man and his message, no matter the cost.

Barack Obama has made every effort to play the game by the rules. He refused to join in tit-for-tat attacks against his opponents. He remained above the fray, buoyed by his message of hope and compassion. But, there are evil forces afoot. They want to demean and destroy him and his compelling campaign for change.

Bill and Hillary Clinton played unfairly since the South Carolina primary. Hill-Bill-y introduced race into the mix of topics for discussion. They did this because they realized Obama was winning the battle of ideas. While Hillary is an excellent candidate in her own right, she simply can't match Barack's verbal eloquence. Early on, Hill-Bill-y knew they couldn't contend for the nomination using legal tactics. So, they bought Karl Rove's Manual of Dirty Tricks and started hitting Barack below the belt.

Our media gleefully joined in the assault, attempting to portray Barack as effete, messianic, anti-American, anti-Christian and a silver-tongued liar. Despite the relentless barrage, Obama muted his responses because he couldn't be seen directly attacking Clinton. Hill-Bill-y knew this. They used her sex as cover while their surrogates did their dirty business. The Hill-Bill-y attacks came to a head with the racist comments by Geraldine Ferraro.

Ms. Ferraro crudely insinuated Obama's rise was merely the result of some kind of affirmative action quota rather than hard work and personal brilliance. An uglier remark couldn't be made in civil discourse. Yet, she refused to acknowledge the racist nature of her comments. She vowed to continue the assault after leaving the Clinton campaign. The depravity of these words were even more irresponsible, coming from Ferraro who broke the glass ceiling to a woman's right to compete for higher office. She was Walter Mondale's choice for vice president in the 1984 race. Ferraro made these false statements in public and on the record. It should be noted they were not made to tell the truth. The intent was clearly to effect the voters negatively about Obama, regardless of whether her words were true or not. Ferraro's mean-spirited remarks stand in stark contrast to the sermons of Jeremiah Wright, Barack's long-time pastor and friend.

The media, with the tacit support of Hill-bill-y, revealed portions of a few fiery sermons given by Rev. Wright. The attempt was to characterize the pastor as a racist wild man and to smear Obama by association. This tactic backfired because it gave Barack the opportunity to address the fierce racist attacks against him in a national forum.

We must remember Rev. Wright gave his sermons in his church, to his members and for a specific purpose. His remarks were never designed for consumption by the general public. Therefore, it's wrong to release his private statements as if he'd spoken them publicly. Moreover, a sermon is a story, just like Christ's parables. Many elements of it are heavily embellished to convey a particular sentiment. It's certainly not the evening news. Yet, virtually everything the pastor said was either true or based upon a known fact. The comparing of Ferraro's false public remarks with Rev. Wright's truthful private sermons is a classic case of mixing apples with artichokes. They simply aren't one and the same.

Geraldine Ferraro's task was to destroy Obama's credibility by asserting a cleverly contrived lie about him. Rev. Wright's obligation has always been to praise people when warranted and to rebuke them sternly when necessary. This includes our nation when America engages in evil deeds. Sermons are meant to be strong medicine. While it may taste bad, strong medicine is usually good for you.

The media and Hill-Bill-y used one of the oldest dirty tricks in the Rove Manual. They worked hard to divert the voters' attention away from the problems facing our nation and Obama's message of a unified solution. They resorted to fear-mongering about an alleged Islamic race war. They wanted to make Barack seem as unappealing as possible by painting him as being un-American as possible. The racist rants against his middle name and implied ties to Islam are part of their plan to ruin him. Hill-Bill-y tried to move Obama away from his unity agenda into a political pigeon hole where he'd only be allowed to discuss race and poverty, like all the black leaders who came before him. But, Barack won't let them get away with this silly ploy to isolate him into irrelevance. In response, he made an epic move to get himself and America back on message with his stunning speech on race.

Obama used his superb oratory skills to dismiss his pastor's statements without condemning the man. It was the politically expedient thing to do. The comprehensive nature of his address leaves very little for the media, Hill-Bill-y or John McCain to exploit for political advantage in the future. More important, it releases him from the racist cage they were trying to shove him into. He can now get back to the task of winning the Democratic nomination. And, if anyone raises the race issue again, he can refer them to his speech. This is tactical brilliance beyond words.

Barack avoided the temptation to turn his bid for the Democratic nomination into a race war. He refused to couch his remarks about race in black/white, separatist terms. And he refused to allow himself to be turned into a betrayer of his beliefs. He knows he can't win a race war against the majority from a minority position. This approach would never bear productive fruit for anyone involved. Now, Obama can return to the mission of winning the nomination and defeating John McCain's bid to extend the failed Bush regime.

Dubya and Dick are methodically destroying the Middle East and the economy. They are doing this to pressure the electorate into considering voting to leave the Republicans in control of the White House. We must resist the temptation to surrender to the criminals who are now running our government. We have a choice to make in the fall. It will be between four more years of brutal Bushism and a new direction for our country. If given the chance, we will vote Barack Obama into the Oval Office. His presidency will mark a change from business as usual to building a better America. It's time we grew up and started living by the principles in our creed: To judge people not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. And we can start this healing process without resorting to Hill-Bill-y's race war.

Franklin L. Johnson
http://weareseers.blogspot.com
starhelix@aol.com

What War Wrought


War wrought a perpetual arms race stoked by the generational innovation of increasingly lethal murder-machines.

War wrought the deadliest century in human history, the 20th. About 70 million people were killed as a direct result of war. This number doesn't include the millions who died indirectly due to starvation, bad water and disease. Millions more were herded into massive refugee camps to live and die in incomprehensible squalor. More than 90% of these casualties were unarmed, innocent civilians.

War wrought state-of-the-art weapons so deadly they kill our soldiers on contact as well as the alleged enemy. Napalm, fuel-air explosives and depleted uranium munitions are the latest doomsday devices.

War wrought a warning from a venerated five-star general. Eisenhower saw the handwriting on the wall. He told us about the peril of permitting the vertical integration of an entire industry dedicated to the welfare of warfare -- also euphemistically called the "defense" department. Whether out of fear or failure, we continue to ignore his stern advice to beware the military industrial complex. This blatant irresponsibility led to the global stockpiling of mountains of weapons, specifically designed to destroy human beings. Death and destruction are now considered reasonable solutions to human problems, while peace, justice and liberty are considered unachievable. America spends about a trillion dollars a year fighting terrorists who have no resources. How is this possible? Who is pocketing all this money?

War wrought the construction of one of the biggest structures ever built, the Pentagon. In this building, our best and brightest military minds spend their days contriving plans for war and spreading rumors of war. As long as the Pentagon and similar structures stand, there can never be peace on Earth.

War wrought instant elimination of our constitutional rights. George W. Bush used the 9/11 attacks as an excuse to abolish our legal protections with the stroke of his pen. If World War I, World War II and the cold war didn't require the scrapping of our rights, then why does the nebulous war against terrorism require it?

War wrought environmental degradation. The greatest polluters on the planet are national militaries. They use secrecy and bogus threats to national security as shields against proper oversight and indictment. The sad result is they pollute at will.

War wrought the massive waste of our national resources. Quibbling over contract fraud in Iraq is useless. The illegal, immoral wars of aggression in the Middle East were frauds from their start. These crimes against humanity require an international tribunal, similar to the Nuremberg trials, to prosecute the perpetrators in the Bush regime.

War wrought nuclear weapons which can't be used to defend us. Billions are spent yearly to nursemaid these Armageddon engines. While the possibility of mutually assured destruction (MAD) is no longer an urgent issue, it still hangs over our heads like the Sword of Damocles.

War wrought the rise of corrupt politicians who pass ridiculous budgets to feed the greed of the military industrial media incarceration complex (MIMIC). In return, they receive their forty pieces of silver in the form of campaign funds. Our undemocratic politics are a shameful disgrace.

War wrought a myopic media. They celebrate mass murder orgies by our military and they characterize them as acts of heroism.

War wrought an immoral religious establishment. They bless the bombs and bullets destined to kill incalculable numbers of innocent non-combatants in evil, unnecessary wars. Both soldiers and civilians deserve a better fate than this.

War wrought the super-saturation of humanity with small arms. Rebels appear on TV with bullet bandoliers and machine guns. Most of these people are ignorant and penniless. So, where did their weapons come from? More than 90% of these weapons are manufactured by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (US, UK, France, China and Russia).

War wrought a disturbing growth in the number of those who believe in the end of the world. Readers of the Left Behind novel series about the Apocalypse are everywhere. Daily, we see the powerful overwhelming the powerless. And we know power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The only way we'll survive this death-dance is if we replace the lust for power with a love of peace.

War wrought Bush's Orwellian idiot-antics posing as responsible decision-making. Will Dubya detonate Middle East War III against Iran in a desperate effort to retain Republican control of the White House? The recent forced retirement of CentCom Commander, Admiral William Fallon, is a bad sign such a crazy act of unprovoked aggression could be unleashed.

War wrought all these savage and sorrowful things because we refuse to answer the ultimate question: Who would Jesus bomb?

Franklin L. Johnson
http://weareseers.blogspot.com
starhelix@aol.com

The Hillary Conspiracy And Our Dead Democracy


When you take a hard look at what's going on in our politics today you'll soon notice there are two battles being waged. First, there's the public relations (PR) crusade. The politicians, pundits and admen want us to believe a pleasant contest is taking place. They work hard every day to profile how much sweet democracy we're getting compared to other nations. While there's some truth to this simple observation, this isn't what's really happening. It's the other battle we should pay closer attention to, namely, the furious political death match over the very soul of our nation.

The Republican power brokers quickly approved John McCain McBush as their heir-apparent to Dubya. He demonstrated his loyal Bushie bona fides by hugging, fondling and kissing the requisite nether regions of very important people. This quadrennial dance is as cult-like as they come. Yet, the Republicans somehow get away with painting the Democrats with this brush even though their rituals are the epitome of craven cult behavior. Conversely, the Democrats are confounded by an unexpected plot change.

The Democratic power brokers want to dance the cult polka, too. But, their party is always crashed by some upstart who refuses to suspend disbelief permanently. It appears there are Democrats who prefer to live in the real world. People like these are troublesome because they often wander off the rote reservation. The most prominent wanderer of them all is Barack Obama.

The party power brokers chose the two candidates they wanted to present to the electorate. John McCain and Hillary Clinton got the early nods. The only issue of concern to them was the primary season formality. The candidate vetting process is so tightly controlled by the Establishment it's virtually impossible to reach this point without the approval of the party gatekeepers. Obama became an Establishment favorite with his stirring keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC). This gave him easy access to the power brokers when he decided to run for president. He was expected to make a good showing. But, he wasn't supposed to become a serious candidate. As fate would have it, Obama is now the Establishment's worst nightmare. He's a man on a mission with a message. Of course, this only means they'll be forced to do whatever is necessary to stop him.

The tragedy of Bill and Hillary Clinton is they've become what they despised when they were very young and idealistic. Hillary no longer wants to be president because she'll do great things for America. She now wants to be president because she got drunk on the Kool-Aid of political power. She's convinced herself Obama doesn't deserve consideration, no matter what the voters say. She's feverishly obsessed with winning and she doesn't care what it takes to prevail. If she can't win the nomination fairly, she'll strike a deal with the devil. In her desperation, this may be the only choice she has left.

Hillary's twelve straight primary and caucus losses to Obama required drastic action from the Clinton camp. They opted to attack Barack with smears and dirty tricks. If you can't rise to your opponent's level, you can always bring him down to yours. Despite the savage assault on Obama's credibility, the voters still prefer him to Hillary. The party power brokers are not amused.

America is no longer a democracy. We've morphed into a textbook oligarchy: a nation of, by and for the rich. The Ruling Class consolidated their authority over the last three decades. And that power is almost absolute. What Obama represents is probably our last best chance to reverse this evil process. If democracy is ever to flourish again in this nation, we must prevent the complete transformation of America into a police state.

Our superficial election cycle is threatening to rupture into an all-out war to stop Obama. The power brokers from both parties are ganging up to get the job done -- no matter the people's will. Hillary showed she had a glass jaw early in the primary season. She needed a dubious win in New Hampshire just to stay in the race. Every dirty trick in the book was hurled at Obama, yet his support holds strong. Barack lost the Ruling Class vote when he said he wasn't interested only in stopping warfare. He wants to end the mindset which gets us into illegal, immoral messes in the first place. The Establishment considers this heroic statement for peace to be an act of war.

The projected McBush/Hill-Bill-y matchup is in serious trouble. Hillary has little chance of overtaking Barack in the regular delegate count. The superdelegates won't override the popular vote. And any decision about the banned Michigan and Florida delegates won't provide a deciding margin. This view raises a very important question: If the Establishment gets a race they didn't intend, what will they do to get the race they really want? With billions of dollars on the line, the answer is they'll do whatever it takes to get what they want. Now, that's a very scary prospect.

Obama has traveled a long way from a humble community organizer to become the People's Choice for president. Clinton has gone a long way in the opposite direction. Her powerlust has changed her from a promising public servant to a creature characterized as a bitch, witch and monster. These are the dismal opinions of many influential people. Americans don't want change alone. They want a breakup of the Ruling Class monopoly over our lives. Only a genuine outsider, like Obama, could provide proper consideration of this serious issue.

A McBush/Hill-Bill-y race will be about all-out-war/all-the-time. A McBush/Obama campaign will be about contrasting points of view. Reactionary rhetoric from McBush will only serve to isolate him from mainstream voters. Americans are sick and tired of war and McBush's rumors of war. The only chance the Republicans have to win the presidency is to run against Hill-Bill-y and her high negatives. Therefore, the Establishment will boost "The Hillary Conspiracy" to stop Barack from becoming the Democratic nominee.

Obama is an ideal Rorschach test. He scares the Establishment because he's not beholden to them and he offers new hope to struggling Americans because he seems to think outside the box. Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States if the voters get the chance to decide his fate. His election will be a new day for democracy. And the only people who'll be unhappy about his rise to power will be members of the Ruling Class. They'll be very upset because...well...they don't believe in democracy.

Franklin L. Johnson
http://weareseers.blogspot.com
starhelix@aol.com

The Game Of Gaming Our Political System


Many of us have known this for a very long time. Occasionally, the media make an effort to cast light on this terrible truth: Our shaky political system is thoroughly rotten and both major parties spend most of their time gaming it. The conundrum is nobody seems to want to do anything about this problem.

The most recent examples were the open primaries in Ohio and Texas. The media revealed thousands of Republicans and conservatives crossed over and voted for Hillary Clinton. These usurpers and the media gleefully reported their undemocratic maneuvers to distort the vote totals. The reason given was they got their marching orders from rabid radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh. He and other wing-nut propagandists incited this ruse to keep Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic nomination. The continuing struggle would keep Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton at each other's throats while the Republicans would fall in line early behind their party's leader, John McCain -- creating a pseudo-psychological political advantage. The plotters, also, believe Hillary's high negatives make her easier to beat than Barack.

Our ramshackle political system invites these kinds of undemocratic interventions. To this day, we still don't know what really happened in New Hampshire. According to the polls, Barack Obama had a commanding dozen-point lead, going into Primary Day. There was little reason to believe Hillary Clinton had a chance to win New Hampshire. Yet, miraculously, Hillary had her emo-moment and a four-point win. This incident wouldn't be a cause for concern if there were other examples of unusual voter behavior we could highlight. But, there are none. No other aberration of this magnitude has occurred. Could this be a mere coincidence? Hardly. Dennis Kucinich sensed a fix was in. So, he sued for a complete recount and a full investigation. The outrageous incoherence of our voting system provokes every form of mischief. And both major parties game it for their own crude advantage. The political sausage made from this peculiar process is completely inedible.

These mean-spirited machinations are specifically designed to drive voters away from exercising their constitutional rights. Our election system is so broken it's the laughing stock of the entire world. Yet, the alleged leaders of both major parties refuse to correct the craziness. It's to their selfish advantage to keep things festering just as they are. This situation is well beyond intolerable. Furthermore, there's reason to believe the "Hillary Conspiracy" goes even deeper.

Someone has to explain how two important states like Michigan and Florida got to where their delegations will be banned from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) over a minor matter of the dates they chose for their respective caucus and primary. Parties to this ridiculous incident are pointing fingers at the others. Absolutely no one wants to take responsibility for this blatant blunder to resolve a calendar issue. Yet, the only logical explanation for this sorry state of affairs is this result was intended from the very beginning.

Although Floridians were told their primary votes were voided by the ban and the candidates were told their accumulated delegates wouldn't count, Hillary Clinton campaigned strongly there despite the restrictions. In Michigan, an agreement was signed by every Democratic candidate to avoid campaigning in the state. Yet, Hillary canvassed Michigan heavily. Now, she says the Florida and Michigan delegates she collected must be seated at the DNC at the expense of the other candidates who played by the rules. She even spouts this statement with a straight face. If this whole sordid scene weren't so tragic, it would be humorous. But, it isn't. Why should this injustice to the Michigan and Florida voters (not to mention the candidates who were sandbagged by the Hill-Bill-y Horde) benefit Hillary Clinton? The ugly, relentless effort to game our ruined political system begets these awful antics.

Hillary Clinton is being artificially kept in the nomination race because it's politically advantageous for both the Democratic and Republican Establishments. Neither group wants Barack Obama to succeed because he's deemed an outsider. Worse, he's considered the People's Choice. And, if there's anything our irascible Establishment types really hate, it's a genuine outsider. God forbid, he may actually want to change things! And change them for the better, too. Now, you know, we certainly can't have that.

Limbaugh and his red meat acolytes rant against John McCain, while doing everything possible to destroy both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. This is being done because it's already known the Republicans can't run on Bush's record or their destructive agenda. So, they shepherd the voters toward choosing the lesser of two evils or the evil of two lessers after they destroy the credibility of the Democratic candidates. Rush and his raiders will be aboard the McCain bus come the fall. He'll pretend to dislike McCain, then, allege he's forced to support him because the Democratic choice is more reprehensible. The putrid politics of personal destruction will have won again. And Americans will be fed four more years of futile failure. Pathetically, we're witnessing how democracy is destroyed from the inside out.

Every day, there are more stories of violence and instability in the news. The recent cross-boarder dispute in South America, among Ecuador, Columbia and Venezuela, is illustrative. Is it just an accident the president of Columbia, Alvaro Uribe, picked a fight with his neighbors just in time to influence the American presidential election? Mr. Uribe gets billions of dollars in military aid from us both overtly and covertly. The only arrow the Republicans have in their quiver is national security. It's obvious they will play the fear card in this contest, leveraging every international incident to gain support. Leaders like Uribe know a Republican president will reciprocate their indirect involvement by boosting US military aid to them. They will, in turn, use the aid to suppress the cries for democracy in their own nations. Meanwhile, our World War machine will grind on and on, using the blood of untold, mass-murdered innocents to lubricate its whining wheels.

At this point, it's evident America has two choices: We'll either end this charade by replacing our bankrupt political process with a uniform, transparent and democratic system or we'll continue climbing atop the ash heap of history. The circumstances confronting us couldn't be more critical. We can't go around the world proclaiming democracy's virtues while our own political process is riddled with the cancerous corruption of undemocratic dirty tricks. The choice is clearly ours. Ultimately, we must remember we'll have no one to blame but ourselves for our political importance or irrelevance to the world.

Franklin L. Johnson
http://weareseers.blogspot.com
starhelix@aol.com