You Missed the Final Presidential Election

[syrakusos]

When Octavius became First Citizen, no one thought the Republic was dead. The Middle Ages and the Renaissance were declared in the Enlightenment. History cannot look forward. So, it is no surprise that another presidential election cycle runs through the news and topics on this site. However, the last free and open presidential election was held in 1968. Since 1972, the outcome has been predetermined.

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

http://www.weforum.org/

CSTD meeting on enhanced cooperation on public policy issues pertaining to the Internet 18 May 2012 Geneva Event Commission on Science and Technology for Development, fifteenth session 21-25 May 2012 Geneva Meeting Training of Trainers Workshop: Modern Port Management Course for English-speaking network in Africa and Asia 22 May-01 Jun 2012 Cork Event

United Nations Council on Trade and Development here.

Featured Briefing - May 11, 2012

The Coming Eurozone Austerity Battle

New electoral currents in Europe are threatening the German-backed fiscal responsibility pact and sparking fresh fears of debt contagion, says CFR's Sebastian Mallaby.

(Our old enemies and new friends, The Council on Foreign Relations.)

Everything else is show.

[9thdoctor]

However, the last free and open presidential election was held in 1968. Since 1972, the outcome has been predetermined.

Bush vs. Gore was predetermined? I suppose in the sense that the winner had to be either Bush or Gore…

[syrakusos]

No, Bush v. Gore was the result of a power struggle within those groups. They had not agreed, or one side broke the agreement. Realize how it came down. Think in global terms. Imagine that it was Pakistan or Senegal. The guy who won a close race, won only because of the highly contested count in the province where his brother was governor. Does that sound like democracy or a constitutional republic or objective law or whatever you think we have?

It really was a matter of "oil" versus "alternative energy," and oil won. You have conservative elements who think they are practical and you have self-identified "idealists" (in both the formal Platonic sense and the common) who think they can build a better world. You probably read the Illuminatus! Trilogy. Maybe this struggle really does go back to Atlantis... But in any case, it is largely a matter of wheels within wheels and groups within groups and powerful people with hidden agendas. And if you think that you are a pawn on the board, then you think very well of yourself, indeed. Ron Paul is a pawn. Rush and Glenn are pawns.

Do you think that President Obama is any different than President Bush? The wars, the banking policy, the oil policiy... But certain key players yanked the strings on their libertarian puppets and when Barack Obama came in to office, they did this ridiuculous Punch and Judy about his birth certificate, and everyone laughed at the show. And yes, General Electric's Jeffrey Immelt is part of this, as well. Life is compromise you know, and pieces get swapped on the board. We support your war; you support our electric future. You cancel the space shuttle (Enterprise, Atlantis, ...) We build the ISS. You get Afghanistan. We get Nigeria. Or maybe we split them with someone else. More like Chinese Checkers or Parchesi or (heck) Monopoly, than like chess.

[9thdoctor]

No, Bush v. Gore was the result of a power struggle within those groups. They had not agreed, or one side broke the agreement.

Absolutely absurd. That election, including the Florida imbroglio, could have gone either way. It was within a few hundred votes, and other states were close too. If the Palm Beach butterfly ballot thing, a democrat’s idea BTW, hadn’t happened the election would certainly have gone to Gore, and that only accounted for a few thousand votes. Do you really think either side was able to calculate ahead of time with such a close election? And do what, agree among themselves to add a stuffed ballot box or two? Was it just made to appear so close, just for the sake of good political theater? To fool us pawns into continuing to believe in the system?

You probably read the Illuminatus! Trilogy. Maybe this struggle really does go back to Atlantis...

You take that seriously? Even within that text the various conspiracy theories get deflated.

[syrakusos]

I worked the polls three times. All I know is that we count the precinct tallies and send everything away. So, I figure that the precinct totals are accurate and the most local votes are honest. After that, who knows?

Maybe 2000 was supposed to be "close" for our entertainment and the Oil Guys used that as an opportunity to steal the election. Maybe they were arguing and bidding and negotiating up to the last minute and the numbers were not fixed in time. Maybe none of the above, but in no case did your own personal vote actually matter at all. Other people were making the decision and it got messy. That's all we know.

You probably read the Illuminatus! Trilogy. Maybe this struggle really does go back to Atlantis...

You take that seriously? Even within that text the various conspiracy theories get deflated.

Well, yes, that is what makes it so reliable. It is not so much that I believe that the yeti are in a struggle with lizard men who shave their heads, but that, largely, the world is not what it seems if your only knowledge comes from mainstream media.

[Selene]

Michael:

You are truly way off the rational path here.

Adam