July 23, 2006

There are a lot of things in this world that I will never understand. For example, how the internet works, how in the world Ashlee Simpson got a record deal, how Brazil did not win the World Cup, or how the Golden State Warriors are still in the NBA. The most important concept that I will never understand is how American politics work. Although I have grown up around politics all my life, it has never made any sense to me. I believe that each member of Congress has exactly the same job. They are to go up to Washington D.C., pass bills, bring back money that help the people within their district, inform their constituents of what their government is doing, and to ask their government questions on their policies. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, you would be surprised at how many Congressional members fail to do any of those items. I know for a fact, that my mom does not fall into that category. To prove to you that this is not just a show of son-mother love, I'll let you see for yourself. Check out both of her websites at www.cynthiaforcongress.com and www.house.gov/mckinney and look at what she stands for and has accomplished.

You would think that the Congressional members who go up to D.C. and actually do what they are paid to, would be portrayed in a positive light, but this is not the case and is where my confusion begins. After September 11th, you would expect the Members of Congress to start asking how and why did this happen? Did they? Surprisingly, no. They just went along with the memo from the White House saying that we were attacked because we were free. Now, I am only 20 years old and do not consider myself to be any sort of a genius, but I can already tell you that that statement does not make any sense. I cannot think of a single war that was started because one side was "free" and the other was not. This explanation is not good enough for me, should not be good enough for you, and definitely should not have been good enough for any of the Members of Congress. But I suppose it's always easier to go with the flow rather than against the current. And so began my mom's quest for the truth. I would have been willing to cut some of the other members of Congress some slack if they had come out in support of asking questions of what happened on 9/11, after my mom made the first initial approach, but this didn't happen, and so they get no sympathy from me. The exact opposite happened. Republicans as well as Democrats came out blasting my mom about her questioning of the events of 9/11. The word "un-patriotric" was used as a description of her as freely as liberals are labeled "flip-flopperers" on Fox News! Someone has yet to explain to me how it is un-patriotic to ask about the events of 9/11. I was getting fed up with all the unnecessary bashing my mom was receiving in the media. Story after story, insult after insult. I had been over to Italy for a summer camp, the summer before, and figured that the environment there would be a lot more enjoyable, and so I finished up high school in Italy. All this happened the same year she was up for election. All the media outrage inspired republicans to cross over and vote as democrats just to get her out of office. The whole idea of cross over voting sounds mighty illegal to me, and probably to you too. Well, that is because it probably is illegal in your state! Well, my mom resides from the great state of Georgia, where things are still a little bit backwards. There was a similar case of cross over voting in California, but there, the case went to the Supreme Court where they found it unconstitutional for cross over voting to happen. Well, Georgia has kept to its old southern roots and has refused to change. The whole idea of crossover voting was masterminded by a guy by the name of Mark Davis, the creator of goodbyecynthia.com. In the film, American Blackout (definitely a film worth checking out, because it shows how my mom was unfairly portrayed in the media and does an in depth look at voter disenfranchisement), he brags about how he orchestrates the cross over, and how happy he was that it was sucessful. Well, Mark Davis has reappeared this campaign. After looking at some of the contributors to Mr. Johnson's campaign and who they have contributed to in their past, it is clear that Mr. Johnson's campaign is being run mostly by Republican money! Please don't take my word for it, you can see for yourself. I'll walk you through it:

1. Go to http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/disclosure_data_search.shtml and click on "Candidate Search"
2. Type in "Johnson, Henry C" and click "Get Listing"
3. When his name pops up, click on it and then click on "Individuals Who Gave To This Candidate"
4. When this page pops up, print it off.
5. Now, go back to http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/disclosure_data_search.shtml and click on "Individual Search" and then click "Advanced Search"
6. Find someone on the list that you want to look for (for example: David Flint). Type in Flint then David. Then choose the state Georgia. Then choose date range (For example: 01/01/2004 to 06/30/2006)
7. This creates a list of all the people David Flint has contributed from January 1, 2004 to June 30, 2006.

The only way to combat all this Republican money is by having money of our own and warm bodies who will volunteer and help us. After you have done your research on my mom, I am sure that you will agree with me that she needs to stay in Congress! Do not allow people who jump into races just to justify business deals to go up to Washington D.C. and blend end with the rest of the bland and boring crowd. Reward someone who has delivered for her district, who stands up for not only her local constituents but for Americans in general. Do not allow a minority of Republicans to decide who should represent a majority Democratic district! Do not allow big business companies or rich lobbying groups to decide who should represent the average worker and average family. Do not allow corruption and scandals to tarnish the principles that America is built on! It's up to people like you, who do not pay attention to CNN or Fox News, to help put the right people in office. In closing, I would like to strongly urge everyone who reads this to check out the following movies and/or websites:

• American Blackout (a beautifully done movie about voter disfranchisement in Ohio and Florida, and my mom, www.americanblackout.com)
• Loose Change (a movie that does an investigation of 9/11 better than CNN, Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, or any other formation of the alphabet has ever done, www.loosechange911.com)
• OutFOXed (a movie that shows how much of a joke Fox News is)
• www.gnn.tv (an alternative news site, where you can get REAL news)
• www.fromthewilderness.com (another alternative news web site, created by Michael Ruppert, a former LAPD narcotics investigator)
• www.gregpalast.com (a New York times best selling author and journalist for the BBC)

Didn't know where to put this in, or whether or not to put it in at all:

The media is another component that adds to my confusion. Everyone complains about how liberal or conservative different media corporations are. Personally, I don't care if Fox News is conservative and are promoting their own views on the world. I just will not watch it. It only disturbs me when Fox News tries to disguise their coverage as "fair and balanced" or have the audacity to have something called the "no spin zone." Good grief. I don't mean to pick on Fox News, but they are the most obvious culprit of out-right lying. Here in my hometown of Atlanta, the major newspaper is the Atlanta Journal Constitution. People who believe they are educated read the Constitution and believe everything that is printed as facts. I see nothing wrong with reading the Constitution, but don't take everything that you read as facts. How can you when the newspaper is endorsing candidates? How can an organization claim to be fair and neutral, when they are trying to choose who should represent you?

Coy