Amerika: Excluding Libertarians in this "Democracy"

[Jim Burnes <jburnes@savvis.net>]

Matthew Gaylor wrote:
> couple of Reform party candidates.  On the right side of the Lycos Vote
> 2000 political web page are the party mascots of the Democratic Donkey and
> the Republican Elephant.  How can this be interpreted as anything other
> than a not too subliminal message endorsing only bi-partisanship.  If you
> think this need remedied, I encourage you to contact Lycos, Declan
> McCullagh <declan@well.com> and John Milne <editor@primarydiner.com> and
> ask them to cover all third parties and to at least not engage in
> bi-partisan deck stacking.]
> 

Matt:

I hate to say it, but this is nothing new.  The power structure selects
its
winner by systematically de-selecting anyone they don't want in power.

In the debate at Washington University in St. Louis between Perot, Bush
and
Clinton the Libertarians had tried for almost a year to be included.
The debate commission (a private group -- not accountable to anyone)
came up with minimum rules to be included in the debate.  The first rule
they
invented was that you had to be on the ballot in all 50 states.  When
Andre
Marrou then got on the ballot in all the states they invented ever more
exclusive
and arbitrary rules with the primary purpose of excluding him.

CSPAN at the time thought this was an interesting news story and
scheduled
an interview with Marrou on the Wash U campus during the debate fracas. 
When
Marrou arrived he was told he wasnt allowed on campus.  When he told
them that
he had an interview with CSPAN he was still denied access.  Finally one
of the
CSPAN producers walked by and noticed he was be held up.  The CSPAN
producer
informed the policeman that Mr. Marrou was going to be interviewed in 10
minutes
or something and he was still denied access.  The CSPAN interviewer then
came
down and still could not get him in front of the camera.

Are you seeing a pattern here?

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Libertarians (who were still laboring under the
delusion
that we lived in a democratic republic) staged a peaceful protest on
campus during
the debates. Mind you, the campus was still open to the public at the
time.
We had people in their seventies down to little people like my son who
was barely
three years old in the protest.  For some of us this was the first time
we had
staged any sort of protest in our lives.  For others who were hippies in
the 60's
it was one of many.

As we walked down the sidewalk on campus the students of Wash U
watched.  Certainly
a more unlikely group had never protested there.  Then the magic
happened.

One of our group was acting photographer for the event.  He was
nonchalantly taking
pictures as we marched.  At this point some security people (don't know
exactly who)
started separating students from protesters.  I got a very uneasy
feeling
about that -- a sure sign that something was happening.  Suddenly a city
policewoman 
(this was in the county) lunged at the photographer shouting "I know
what your doing"
or something close to that.  The photographer, a very "Gentle Ben" type,
kept yelling
"I'm not resisting arrest".  After this another couple city policeman
jumped on top
and between the three of them damaged the nerves in the photographers
arm.  He was
arrested by the city cops and thrown in the city tank.  Again this
happened in 
St. Louis County.  (more about this later).

As this was happening I started shouting "get it on video, get it on
video".  One
of the libertarians had a high-band 8mm on him and got most of it on
video.  After
this incident some ninjas in full black camo and balaclavas appeared out
of nowhere.
It was like some surreal nightmare.  They had the largest German
shepherds I've ever
seen and MP5 submachine guns.  They surrounded the entire group and held
us at
gunpoint behind a high fence at a softball field.  All the while media
personalities
(including reform party people) streamed by.  Many of them who knew
us.   Not a
single one was curious.  Not a single one covered the event later.  I
can't tell
you the images it conjured up.  Typical citizens: men, women, children,
young and
old, wealthy and poor, held (technically under arrest) by stormtroopers
armed with
true assault weapons and *german* shepherds behind fences for their
beliefs.

It is times like this when the veil of bullshit surrounding the United
States as
we know it is pulled aside and the true creature emerges.  I would have
to say
it was a defining moment for many of us politically.  The moment when we
realized
that we no longer lived in anything resembling a free republic -- the
moment when
I realized that trying to change the system by getting some of our
people elected
was a joke that would be funny if it were not so sad.  The moment when
you realize
this country is ruled by an oligarchy with and iron hand in a velvet
glove.

Then you go back to the "normal" world with ABCNews reporting election
returns
as if it mattered.  And its if the curtain had been pulled back
momentarily by Toto
and we saw the "the Great and Terrible Oz" pushing buttons, yelling into
the mike
and saying "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain".  And then
it was
gone.

Well folks, the man behind the curtain has german shepherds and MP5
submachine
guns.  He comes out occasionally when citizens of this country wake from
their
slumber and want to change what is going on.

He puts them back to sleep.

Jim