Circumventing the blackout

It's always nice to have empirical data to back up one's intuition; in this case, the observation that the media are generally ignoring Ron Paul except to occasionally ridicule his position on the war in Iraq. (Or engage in childish schoolyard attacks.) Heaven forbid the hoi polloi discover there's a candidate who actually thinks they can run their own lives better than Uncle Sam's many bureaucrats can.

Ever since Ross Perot connected with the average American and managed to draw 19% of the popular vote despite his personal quirks, the 'powers that be' are determined never to let someone like that get a fair hearing again. Thus, the exclusion of third-party candidates from Presidential "debates" (not to mention the ridiculous and inequitable time formats of the party "debates").

The system is rigged from start to finish. Whether you vote for vanilla or chocolate (the only permissible choices, they tell you), you're going to get a rocky road. By keeping people in the dark about the other 31+ flavors, they convince voters to decide between two parties in what is really a false choice.

Fortunately, at least for now, the internet can get around this. The question is how many will actually use it to think for themselves before the 'powers that be' manage to control it, too.

(HT: Vox Day)