Welcome to Scampaign
96 Headquarters
The 1996 Presidential election is gearing up, and candidates are marching out of the woodwork like a professional clown troupe, making us laugh until we cry. Well, the crying may have more to do with so many of these freaks being absolutely serious about the various ways they want to control our lives. The Scampaign '96 site should provide some needed relief from all the scary rhetoric. The site is run by a bunch of comedians who are creating there own style of political journalism, a style that has become necessary, considering the ridiculous lows to which current campaigns have sunk.
The home page is updated frequently with news and commentary from the front, and should continue up to the fateful day when we pick the '97-'00 version of the president. The Scampaign '96 commentary is also distributed as a mailing list, which can be registered for through a form on the site. If you have friends without Web access, get them on the mailing list.
Barry Weintraub is the mastermind of Scampaign '96, and he makes no bones about his political cynicism. "We hope to entertain and inform and unite disaffected voters through the common bond of cynicism," he says. If this is the only way to get people to vote, then rock on, little warrior. Another area of the site has profiles of all the presidential hopefuls, plus quotes to let voters know the candidates positions on various issues, like this one from Phil Gramm: "I was a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution. And as president, I want to finish the Reagan Revolution."Sometimes, no comment is necessary.
The site has its own cabinet, filled by people like Johnny Steele, Minister of Rants; Nate Hale, Minister of Treason; and Will Durst, Minister of Caustic Commentary. Each "Minister" has his or her own opinions to offer, and they're not all as left-leaning as the general tenor of the site. Also, look for "The Noah Letters," a correspondence between common citizen Noah Fillmore and the various candidates about their positions on the issues, published exclusively on this site.
Mr. Weintraub has big plans for Scampaign '96. " We
hope to use the site as a springboard to establish a permanent comical journalistic
presence." Inform and entertain, with cynicism and justice for all.
-WKC
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Amnesty
International On-line
Amnesty International has led in fighting human rights violations for decades.
It's been so successful because it makes it easy for people to advocate
for freeing prisoners. Now it's brought the same information to the Web,
and made it even easier for us to help. The site lists hundreds of Urgent
Action notices and studies of prisoners of conscience, and allows you to
write your letters by e-mail. It also contains a huge collection of human
rights records and trends in particular countries. This site makes it so
easy to participate that you really have no excuse not to.-BB
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Constitution
Action Party
The right-wing "constitutional purists" behind this page condemn
both Democrats and Republicans, and advocate a return to the simpler days
of Jefferson and Monroe. Via sarcastic (and sometimes entertaining) missives,
they defend the supreme authority of a Christian god, attack gay rights,
and condemn what they consider to be illegal taxation of the electorate.
They temper their platform with criticism of racism and militarism, and
suggest that the voter revolt of 1994 was misidentified as a Republican
endorsement. The site is easily navigated, though artistically flat.
-JP
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GOP
In-Fighting Update Series
The site is premised on the notion that the Religious Right is a minority
with control of the Republican party. By highlighting the division and internal
wranglings in short articles posted several times a week, the creator hopes
to help rectify this situation. Those with an interest in the internal politics
of the GOP will probably find it fascinating. Those more casually concerned
with politics can glimpse what goes on behind-the-scenes in Congress. The
site can be searched for text strings if you're interested in a particular
Congress member or issue.
-BB
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Green
Parties of North America
All you ever wanted to know about the Green Party, its gentle brand of progressive
libertarianism, and its goal to protect the environment and your basic civil
rights. Party information from each registered state awaits surfers who
want information on local fronts. The site does bog down a bit with excessive
linking - you may click three or four times before encountering a significant
chunk of text - but once you find your footing, the rewards are immense.
A valuable resource for both party information and legal battles pertinent
to progressive causes. -JP
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Holt
Labor Library
This page is fairly devoid of information. It states, in a cursory manner,
what the Hold Labor Library is and how to get there. For those of us who
do not live in San Francisco, there isn't a lot here. The exception is the
fairly large and well-annotated list of labor videos for borrow. This would
be a very useful site for labor activists if the library would get more
of its collection on the Web (and get a good Webmaster). It would definitely
be worth checking back to see if the site grows. -BB
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PeaceNet Home
Page
This is probably the most comprehensive list of peace and justice issues
on the Web. Typical of IGC, the site contains an exhaustive collection of
links to sites that promote anything from African-American rights to voting
issues. Unfortunately, it doesn't go much beyond a list of links. There's
a special feature of the week, which looks fairly in depth at an issue,
but if you're looking for information, you most likely will not find it
on this site. What you will find is a link to it. -BB
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REPUBLICANS
WEB CENTRAL Home Page
The big question is: Do links count as content? To a degree, yes. It's something
like 1/20th of a point for each link. So, Republicans Web Central has content
because it has lots of links. The pastel background is kind of ugly, and
the pictures of Republican candidates for President don't help the aesthetics
much. The home page is particularly uninspired, featuring a title and four
links. On the positive side, though, all the links seem to work.-WKC
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The
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
The hardest-hitting, most radical environmental group on the high-seas now
comes to the Web. It's always enjoyable to read about the Sea Shepherds
humiliating and devastating the eco-villains of the world. If you have never
heard of this controversial group, check this site out. The group swears
by nonviolent confrontation. Its Web page is well-designed, and it's the
first one I've run across that uses frames. Be sure and read the captains
logs. I found a significant number of small technical problems with the
site, but they should be fixed by the time you read this.-BB
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