It's Guy Fawkes Day, Vote Like a Radical

 

Am I the only person out there that has noticed that this election is on Guy Fawkes Day?

Or is social media censoring that? What is the use of social media if people cannot share information?

Despite the connection of the gunpowder plot, Guy Fawkes has become a hero of anarchists and those who want to see social change (e.g., Anonymous uses the Guy Fawkes Mask).

James Sharpe, professor of history at the University of York, has described how Guy Fawkes came to be toasted as "the last man to enter Parliament with honest intentions". William Harrison Ainsworth's 1841 historical romance Guy Fawkes; or, The Gunpowder Treason portrays Fawkes in a generally sympathetic light and his novel transformed Fawkes in the public perception into an "acceptable fictional character". Fawkes subsequently appeared as "essentially an action hero" in children's books and penny dreadfuls such as The Boyhood Days of Guy Fawkes; or, The Conspirators of Old London, published around 1905. According to the historian Lewis Call, Fawkes is now "a major icon in modern political culture", whose face has become "a potentially powerful instrument for the articulation of postmodern anarchism" in the late 20th century. Fawkes is regarded by some as a martyr, political rebel or freedom-fighter, especially amongst a minority of Catholics in the United Kingdom.

I have made it clear that the US system of elections is in serious need of reform. 

And I am voting for Jill Stein in the hope that debate will finally come out in the open.

Why you should vote for Jill Stein (even if you disagree with her political views)

 Of course, you could be ecstatic that the us has a non-functional government, is wasting money, and generally there isn't any political debate worth calling a debate.

On the other hand, if you want to see a serious shake up of the system: Jill's your woman. Particularly where election reform is a matter. The Green Party is proposing changes to the electoral system which would lead to real voter choices.

There are changes in the US political system which are long overdue and they won't happen unless there is a seismic change in the political landscape.

Announcing FactCheck.Org's Post-Election Conference : Cash Attack 2010

The following is offered as a Penigma Public Service Announcement

Political Advertising In a Post-Citizens United World

C-SPAN has informed us they will be covering our event live tomorrow morning, on C-SPAN 3. Check local cable listings for the channel number. We get underway at 9am EST Monday, Dec. 13.

At our conference strategists from three of the top five outside spending groups from the 2010 House and Senate campaigns will discuss the thinking behind their attack ads – and the results. And among others, we will also hear from the head of the California Labor Federation, which ran a successful outside campaign for state governor.

2010 Outside Spending by Groups

1. American Crossroads / Crossroads GPS     $38,675, 723
2. U.S. Chamber of Commerce                     $32, 851, 997
3. American Action Network                          $26,088,031
     this produces a total for conservatives from just these three groups 
          of $97,615,751 (DG)
4. Service Employees International Union      $15,769,546
5. American Federation of State, County        $12,416,770
      and Municipal Emplyees (AFSCME)
   this produces a total for progressives from these two groups,
         for comparison, of $28,186,316 (DG)
The event will be held at the Holeman Lounge of the National Press Club at 14th and F Streets NW, Washington DC. It is sponsored by FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The event is open to press and to the public. Should you be unable to watch or attend (or should C-CSPAN's plans change) we plan to post our own video of the event as soon afterward as possible.

Pocket Protector?

There is a lot of truth in the aphorism, "Follow the Money".  It is an exercise which illuminates important aspects of relationships.  If the transfer of money is secretive, the nature of relationships is also obscured.

Cartoonist Ed Stein captured the truth of that in his usual insightful way; his work reminds us here at Penigma how true it is, as Confucius said, that a picture can be worth a thousand words.  Pocket Protector is important in tracking who is spending large amounts of money to influence political campaigns -- and to recognize who will owe political favors for receiving those large donations.

Thank you Ed, for creating Pocket Protector!  From Penigma, we wish you every success with your new comic strip "Fresh Squeezed", and encourage our readers to watch for it in their local papers.  Check out Ed Stein's blog from the link on our blog roll, to see more of his excellent work.

Ed Stein, "Pocket Protector", 8/3/2010