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Hey Americans!

Exercise your right to e-mail in to a black hole! The President and Vice President of the United States have e-mail accounts tended by hapless swamped White House intern dweebs!

American Politics online

it seems there ought to be just one party

SubSections:

• Voice of Authority: Government Organizations
• Political Organizations and Action Committees
• Individuals and Citizen Action

Government Organizations

• Whilst perusing the .gov wires, I ran across some telling archives: check out the listing of White House missives. Select a year, and a month, and watch your browsers cache fill up with the presidents daily outpouring of support, nomination, rumination, and declaration. Gives a sense of the mind numbing tedium involved in high level leadership. I got there through a list of President Clinton's achievements - a virtual election year preview. (6/5/95)
• The US House of Representatives has a kickin' web site. It used to be nothing but a front for gopher sites, but they have been steadily expanding their web coverage. There is a state by state member directory, which will link you to a page of address info on representatives, with gopher links to sponsored and co-sponsored legislation. If you want to get a sense for the incredible intricate system of committees and meetings, check out the House schedule for any one day. On the day I wrote this blurb, there were 17 meetings before 11:00am. This is some fuckin' hands on shit folks. You can watch the makings of laws here - somehow makes me think of sausage. An exciting prototype for citizen democracy. Let's keep tabs on 'em! They certainly are on us... (3/28/95)
• Keep tabs on our the growth of our citizenry with the Census Department's POPClock Projection - a count of the population of the states. You can reload this page to get an update. In one hour, the population count of this country went up by 250 people. This on a Friday evening, about dinner time! I wonder whether it takes into account illegal immigrants...
• Bill Clinton had the opportunity to be the first Rock and Roll President, instead, he opted for smooth jazz. Regardless, under his administration, was crafted the White House web site - billed as "your interactive Citizens' Handbook." This is a slick site. They have well-produced graphical front ends to a number of White House related resources, including a virtual tour page, an online rehashing of the inauguration, a clickable map of federal offices in Washington DC, a photo album of the first family in action, even Al Gore's favourite poltical cartoons. All of these are littered with pictures and sounds of the President and his cronies in action. Amidst all the first-family aggrandizing propoganda (like, "As a family, the Clintons still find time to do the things that they feel are important for their community."), they appear to have a sense of humour. Next to the sound byte of Socks, they've got a textual interpretation. Overall, this site set a new slickness standard for federal information services - to purvey smarmy propoganda about this country's highest elected officials. (3/28/95)
• Something that looks kinda interestin', but I haven't had a chance to fully poke around: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisitions and Technology WWW Server. (3/28/95)
• Overview:

  The FedWorld Information Network provides an overview of government resources. Other people do this too, but I guess these people are officially sanctioned - they have a .gov extension. There's the Master List of Federal Government Resources Online or this other list. Also, a list of U.S. Government Hypertexts online at the University of North Carolina

Political Organizations and Action Committees

National Alliance. I was trying to figure out what these guys stand for - the great white society, I guess. Kind of a depressing place, if you ask me, listen to this moving utopian vision:

This internet page is part of their media distribution activites. They don't mention minority bashing as an organizational activity - but they are "building cadres."

If I thought I might belong to this organization, I was quickly disqualified. They have requirements for membership, the first of which is

Wouldn't want any morally infirm folk joining the bigot anti-semite club.

Working tirelessly on our behalf, the Taxpayer Assets Project watchdogs the government on public access and accountability issues. How do they spend our money, and how can they keep us from finding out? These people are righteous crusaders. (7/17/95)

If you believe there's a dearth of inspired leftist radicalism in this country, check out Refuse & Resist! I was found this page after being involved in a June 26 Mumia action. R&R takes a decisive stand against racism, sexism, conservative oppression. They use stronger language than most groups on the left, there's sense of urgency at their site. They have lists of demonstrations for you to lend your body to the revolution.

Using technology to save and enlighten the planet, the Institute for Global Communications hosts some of the brightest net.causes. This is the web home of EcoNet, an umbrella group of enviromental activist types. Herein: a truckin' gopher site, a list of member organizations, and links they care about, sorted by cause. A hidden gem, the Mushroom and Mycology Resources page - for you mushroom fans. Their PeaceNet stuff ain't much - just a list of links. ConflictNet has more info on themselves, nothing interesting, unless you would join - and, of course, a list of links. LabourNet is kicking up some bytes - creating pages for striking workers, as well as coordinating a nationwide labour events calendar, and the obligitory links list. WomensNet has a butt-kicking load of international names and organizations - contact points for persuing women's empowerment, both off and online. There's a link to the feminist activist links, which looks pretty durn authoritative. Overall, you might not learn at this site, but if you are looking to get connected to the leftie online scene, start here. (6/5/95)

Information about alternative poltical groups is available from the Nonprofit Organizations on the Internet page. Ellen Spertus at MIT maintains this list, linking to groups out on the web, and webifying select causes herself. The spectrum of organizations activating online is broadening - from Stop Prisoner Rape to People for the Ethical Treatment of Software. (3/28/95)

• The National Rifle Association has brought their shrill cries for gun owner's rights to the web. This incomplete web server provides info on the organization, as well as the latest dispatches on the war against gun control, and information on pro-gun voting. Check out stories, press releases, online - with such subtitles as "Americans choose freedom". You can be sure that you will get your fill of the NRA's self-righteous, patriotic nonsense here. Perhaps there is a point to be made for the right to bear arms. These people just turn me off.
• The Libertarian Party has its own site. Position papers, history, membership information, news, and the general philosophy of this "third party" in American politics are to be found here. For those of you not familiar with the Libertarians, they basically believe in the primacy of the individual, and they believe the government should get out of the way of letting people do their thing. They have been around since 1971, and have been trying to penetrate the nation's political consciousness since. These people are a good example of the exclusion resulting from the collusion between the media and the two party system.
  I pulled this little factlet-gem about the 1992 elections from their historical archives: In New Hampshire's presidential primary election Andre Marrou beats incumbent President George Bush 11 votes to 9 in Dixville Notch, the town whose voters always vote first in the nation.
  For a dose of counter-propiganda, try the Critiques of Libertarianism page

Citizen Action

• NewtWatch home page. Comprehensive asskicking citizen action!
• Abraham Lincoln has always been an admired figure of mine - beyond grade school admiration for "freeing the slaves." His Gettysburg Address inspired a new sense of freedom for Americans, in 272 words. He performed for Americans then what we sorely needed after Viet Nam - a national grieving period. Now, two of the authoritative drafts, penned by Lincoln, can be viewed a this web site. The actual documents themselves have been scanned in for your viewing pleasure - each of the 40k gifs covers about half the speech. Seeing the text like this is exciting, fortunately they provide a plain text copy of the speech as well, for easy reading. (3/28/95)
• Like every other, the Clinton administration has already had its share of scandals and accusations. There's a guy at Dartmouth that is keeping track of them, Whitewatergate, and Vince Fostergate. Both pages have articles, and related information and links. The Whitewater pages are much more fleshed out though, and contain a lot of information calling Clinton's character into question. Actually, I was most intrigued by the Drug Scandal page - imagine smokin' a jay with Bill Clinton! (3/28/95)
• A sordid tale of cocaine sherrifs, crooked judges, and your tax dollars spent to hound and persecute semi-innocent civilians awaits if you read the story of Eddie Hatcher Native American Political Prisoner in North Carolina. This is an example of the power of the American authorities wielded improperly, to say the least. Shit like this turns my stomach, and makes me doubt this democracy.
• The Project Vote Smart gopher provides comprehensive information on all the members of the house and senate. From their records to their ratings, from their payola to their positions, it's all here. A great tool for an informed voter.

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