That's what it said. Here's what it did. It created a stampede to electronic voting that privatized the process and gave corporate giants unregulated control of it.
In the 2004 election, more than 80% of votes were cast and counted on machines that are owned, programmed and operated by three large corporations with close ties to the administration. The process is secretive, most machines have no verifiable receipts, so recounts are impossible because they'll only tally the same count.
And that's just part of the problem. In 2000 and 2004, the whole process was tainted. Millions of votes cast weren't counted. They included "spoiled ballots," rejected absentee ones and others lost or deliberately ignored in tabulating. In addition, there was massive voter roll purging and other restraints to prevent voters from making "bad choices" like ones less receptive to monied interests or Democrats over Republicans in key states or districts.
In Cuba, every citizen age 16 or over can vote and nearly all of them do. In America, all sorts of restraints and exclusions exist, starting off with a flawed Constitution. It established no universal rules, doesn't explicitly ensure the right to vote, and left most voter eligibility qualifications to the states. So unfair laws are in force, and citizens are denied their most fundamental democratic right - to vote for candidates of their choice in free, open and fair elections. Democracy in America is a sham. In Cuba, the process is flawed, but there's more of it there than here. In addition, Cubans know what they're getting and vote for it. Americans, on the other hand, know the futility of elections so half or more of them opt out of the process.
It shows in polling data with the latest record-setting February 18-published American Research Group numbers for George Bush:
-- he scored an all-time low for a US president at 19%; that compares to other presidential lows as follows: Clinton - 36%; GHW Bush - 29%; Reagan - 35%; Carter - 28%; Nixon - 23% during Watergate; and Harry Truman - 22% during the depths of the Korean War. On the economy, 79% disapprove how Bush handles it.
If Castro's poll numbers were available, they'd tell an opposite story. Most Cubans support him, many love him, but now his era is passing. He's still first PCC secretary, but he'll assume a new role as Cuba's elder statesman, to write, comment and always make his presence felt. So let Fidel have the last word from his commentary called "The Moment Has Come" and a few memorable quotes.
It's (time) to "nominate and elect" new leaders, he says. "For many years (he's) occupied the honorable position of President." But his "critical health position (forced his) provisional resignation on July 31, 2006." His brother and "other comrades....were unwilling to consider (him) out of public life" in spite of it. "It was an uncomfortable situation for (him) vis-a-vis an adversary which had done everything possible to get rid of (him), and (he) felt reluctant to comply."
Now, he's "recover(ed) the full command of (his) mind (and) enough physical strength" to go on.
This is not (a) farewell." His voice will continue to be heard, and here's a sampling:
"A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past."
"I find capitalism repugnant. It is filthy. It is gross, it is alienating....because it causes war, hypocrisy and competition."
"North Americans don't understand....that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity."
"The revenues of Cuban-run companies are used exclusively for the benefit of the people, to whom they belong."
I am a 72 year old, retired, progressive small businessman concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak out and write about them.
