|
|
|
|
- G e n d e r G a p p e r s T M
ABSOLUTE POWER
 The
power of the United States resides in the government in Washington, DC.
The Founders divided the government, like Gaul,
into three parts to split power into executive, legislative and judicial.
This was to institute checks and balances so that no one faction could gain absolute power. The Founders knew that "power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely." In 2000, for the first time in history democracy failed, the people did not elect a president. Instead, a Conservative-leaning Supreme Court stepped in and appointed Bush. There is a spark of independence still in the Senate where the Republican majority is very slim, but the House sways to the will of the majority. How else could a Tom Delay survive after the exposure of his felonious activities? Because of them, new voting blocks were carved out in Texas to give still more Republican representatives. With so much emphasis on the presidency, we must not forget how vital it is to elect Democrats to both the House and the Senate. Bush's programs that have created our huge deficit could never have survived a balanced legislature. If Bush gets four more years, the damage we have seen so far will continue and expand, especially if more Conservative judges are appointed and confirmed by a Conservative legislature. This unbalanced power in government now threatens citizens' ability to make changes through the ballot. The corrupted administration of Bush has wormed itself into the voting process to deprive certain voters, such as Black, Hispanic and registering Democrats,of their vote. But by far the most insidious effect of the GOP's crushing power is its takeover of the formerly free press. Besides the obvious bias that we all hear on the news reports, The Bush bully-boys have their teeth in the backside of the media giants. This power forces compliance by both economic pressures and by controlling accessibility to government agencies by reporters. A White House reporter who does not toe the Bush line is out and the job goes to one who is more compliant. One very observable result is that any
Bush goof may be mentioned once but a Kerry goof is repeated every time
he is reported on. This isn't just respect for the office of president
because Clinton was pummeled throughout his last campaign (and still is)
with scenes of Monica and the rope line. In the last presidential election,
VP Gore sighed during a debate. The media continually mentioned this and
ran the clips ad nauseum. Ask yourself how often you have seen the
many grimaces of Bush and his "hard work" speech on broadcast
or cable. Some examples of the present day egregious media support of Bush. * On ABC's Good Morning America on October 11, Diane Sawyer asked her co-anchor Charlie Gibson, moderator of the second presidential debate, about the point during that debate in which President George W. Bush repeatedly interrupted Gibson. Sawyer asked, "A lot of people were asking about the moment, the president did seem very aggressive and coming at you a little bit to get his point across. Did it feel that way?" Gibson replied, "Well, ties go to the president. He was going to make his point, and so you have to back off and let him." * Earlier this year, the Bush administration was caught using video news releases touting the government's Medicare drug benefit that were designed to look like complete news stories. The videos, which featured a PR executive, Karen Ryan, posing as a reporter, ran as news segments on about 50 local TV stations. Campaign Desk quickly revealed that Ryan had starred in numerous similar productions, pushing products like Excedrin and "a new ear infection treatment called Ciprodex." * Editorial: October surprise/Airing an anti-Kerry screed - October 12, 2004 If the stunt that Sinclair Broadcasting
Group is pulling isn't against the law, it ought to be. Sinclair,
owner of more American television stations than any other company, has
ordered all 62 of its holdings -- which collectively reach a quarter of
American households -- to suspend normal programming for one evening just
before the upcoming presidential election. The stations are instead to
air a one-hour conservative diatribe against Sen. John Kerry. This is a
flagrant and cynical abuse of the public's airwaves for a partisan political
purpose, an action that should put Sinclair's federal broadcast
licenses in jeopardy. For comparison, imagine that WCCO's owner, CBS, ordered it to broadcast Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11..." more at: http://www.startribune.com/stories/561/5027508.html and http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/11/opinion/main648665.shtml And now Republicans doing voter registration are throwing out those that state they are Democrats. People will be going to vote and be told that they did not register. Talk about Banana Republic -- sheesh! Are we already a theocracy with absolute power crowning Bush an all powerful and all knowing god via his corruption?
2004-042 Copyright 2004 Renee T. Louise and Ruth M. Sprague, Ph.D. These articles may be republished for noncommercial use only, provided that they are copied intact, and that this copyright notice is attached. Address all queries to: twanda@sover.net. |
