I already voted. Fuck the mainstream media.
Yesterday I voted for Obama/Biden, Dick Durbin, a few representatives, and voted to remove all incumbent judges on the Illinois ballot.
I thought that voting early would lift a weight off my shoulders... and it did, but not for long. Leaving the polls I immediately had the feeling of "well, I did my part". Which is remarkable, because I'm in Obama's home state. He'll probably get 60-65% of the vote here... so why did I feel that my vote mattered so much? Maybe it's because for the first time in my life I feel that the choice is clear. Sure, in 2004 I voted for Kerry but that was just a vote against Bush.
So why don't I still feel good? It's clear to me that the mainstream media is in FULL FORCE to set up Obama for an upset by John McCain. They're very sneaky about this... let me help expose them.
Example #1: Colin Powell
There has been major buzz the last few days all over the media that Colin Powell will be endorsing Barack Obama soon. The media sees this as such a huge deal because Powell is a republican and a highly respected one at that... oh yeah and he's a black guy.
So why is the media covering this before it even happens? They want you to start believing that Colin Powell SHOULD endorse Obama. What happens now if Powell comes out and supports McCain? The media will call it a slap in the face Obama. Based on what? Based on their own premature hype.
Also, if Powell does endorse Obama it will be much less of a shock and will be perceived as an expected 'we told you so' event rather than front page news. This is how the republican machine and mainstream media beats down a major headline that does not fit their agenda.
Powell is scheduled to appear on Meet the Press this Sunday morning. He is expected to announce his endorsement for his candidate of choice on this show. I guess we'll see.
Example #2: Joe the Plumber
Am I the only one that is already sick of this fucking guy?
It turns out he isn't named Joe, isn't a Plumber, isn't an undecided voter, and doesn't even pay taxes. Seriously.
The mainstream and right-wing media are all over this story like it was some sort of Britney Spears vagina flash. It is not Joe's character that matters, but what Joe is SUPPOSED to represent. McCain wants us to believe that Joe is an average American that has been successful to the point where he can afford to buy a business and live the good life but Obama just wants to drag him down.
How fucking stupid do they think we are?
Could they not even find ONE example of a person that actually fit their agenda? This is 2008, most of us have the goddamn internet and are capable of fact-checking and/or relying on unbiased non-mainstream media to get real news. Maybe right-wingers should do this too.
MYTH #1: Joe makes $250k+ a year and would highly benefit from McCain's tax plan.
FACT: Joe made $40k last year and would benefit more from Barack Obama's tax plan. Hypothetically, let's say Joe did made $300k instead of 40k. Under Obama's plan he would only see a 3% tax increase (from 36% to 39%) ON ONLY THE AMOUNT OVER $250,000..
Let's do some math. $300,000 minus $250,000 = $50,000. $50,000 times 3% = $1,500. All this goddamn stink over $1,500 more taxes on a person making $300,000 income.
Big. Motherfucking. Deal.
I'm pretty sure he'll still be able to afford everything he already can when he's taking home about $200,000 instead of $201,500.
MYTH #2: Joe is an undecided voter.
FACT: The McCain campaign would LOVE to have an example of an upper-middle class, white, undecided voter to help them frame Obama as a bad guy. The problem is... Joe is none of these things... ok, ok, he is white... I'll give you that. He voted in his first primary on March 4, 2008, registering as a Republican.
So what does this all mean?
A lot.
The reason the story is so popular is almost certainly connected to the national, established media's continuing fetish for socially conservative whites as the dominant demographic for swing voters in America. This obsession has a long history, with an almost uninterrupted lineage dating from the silent majority, through the southern strategy, Reagan Democrats, soccer Moms, and on to "values voters" in our own decade.
It is an obsession that came out frequently in this campaign in the hundreds of stories about Obama's supposed problems with socially conservative white Democrats, and how those problems posed a barrier to winning the Presidency. If you can't win the socially conservative white vote, you supposedly can't win national elections. I call bullshit. Joe the Plumber is just the latest instance of this type of story, which grants an absurd amount of power to socially conservative whites in our national political discourse.
Here's a nice video clip I'll leave you with to ponder. Open up your minds and stop relying on the lies and propaganda of the mainstream media. You'll thank yourself.
This clip shows about 30 seconds of Bill O'Reilly being pretty clear what he wants. He wants us to shut up and bend over. The last part of the clip is from a movie called "Network' from 1976. It is frighteningly accurate.