[extropy-chat] Re: the "cancel the election" media ploy

[Samantha Atkins]

On Jul 14, 2004, at 1:58 PM, Randy Smith wrote:

>
>
>
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 00:18:49 -0700
>> From: Samantha Atkins <sjatkins at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [extropy-chat] Politics: US talks of suspending elections
>> To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
>> Message-ID: <948b11e040714001862cad178 at mail.gmail.com>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
>>
>> I don't see why we our society needs to answer this hypothetical
>> situation before the fact.  Before the fact planning how to shutdown
>> the election and for how many reasons makes people pretty darn
>> nervous.  If something that extreme happens we will have to deal with
>> it vis a vis the election when it happens.   Too much planning in
>> terms of extremely horrendous but very small possibilities results in
>> paranoia and temptation to invoke emergency powers all ready to go.
>>
>> I certainly don't trust an incumbent to decide whether to hold the
>> election that could remove him.
>>
>>
>
> By generating so much controversy among the media, Bushco has managed 
> to penetrate that dense bone barrier around Joe Sixpack's cranium, and 
> with that penetration, bushco has managed to get into their heads a 
> little bit of the idea that the USA is still under seige by those bad 
> guys who caused so much ruckus in NY a few years ago--911. Joe Sixpack 
> usually doesn't read the whole news story--he just reads the 
> headlines, or he hears a blurb about it on an MSNBC politics show when 
> he is flippnig through the channels on his way from ESPN1 to ESPN2.
>
> Now that Bushco has done that, they can invoke the primal feelings of 
> fear, hate, tribal loyalty, etc.,  associated with 911--and with 
> Bush's role in the aftermath of 911. It was those same feelings that 
> led to bush's 90% favorable rating in opinion polls after 911.  If he 
> can tap into those feelings, he can win.
>
> The media and pundits know this, I would reckon. I notice that they 
> are not talking about that, though....
>
> So this really has nothing to do with actually cancelling the 
> election. It is just media manipulation.  Relax....
>

I agree with much of what you said as being one dimension of what this 
trial balloon accomplished.  But I do not believe that is all of what 
it is for or even the main dimension.   This country is much too 
dangerous a state to relax.   I strongly recommend continuing and 
increased vigilance.

-s