I wouldn’t go so far as to call CmdrTaco at SlashDot part of the mainstream media. However, this story seems to be spreading across several different streams.

I try to analyze political events from a cui bono (who benefits) angle, among others. Who benefits here? Well, neither Ron Paul nor Barack Obama seem to gain much. However, the duopoly does quite well as a result.

For many reasons I no longer get involved with the political system, but lately one of those considerations looms larger than most others. Emma Goldman hit the bulls-eye when she said “If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal.” Although, for a number of reasons, I would far prefer Emma’s company to that of Josef Stalin, he still gets credit for offering this pithy truism: “It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything. “