Outrage fatigue

You just have to marvel at the energy the Bush administration seems to have for hiding, squelching, and suppressing. If only they would use their superpowers for good...

Anyway, I came across this truly nauseating item in today's Salon By Farhad Manjoo entitled The Pentagon doesn't want you to vote overseas. And yes, the story is as bad as you can imagine.

A Web site maintained by the Department of Defense is blocking access to non-military Americans. Could it be worried that expatriates are leaning toward Kerry?

Here's what's happening:

According to the IHT, Americans who connect to the Internet using one of several foreign Internet service providers have reported difficulty logging in to the voting-assistance site. The Pentagon confirmed that it is blocking traffic from these ISPs -- which provide Internet service in 25 countries -- but it declined to say why.

News of the Pentagon's traffic-blocking immediately aroused alarm and suspicion among voting-rights activists, and it's not hard to see why. For the 6 million Americans living abroad, signing up to vote at home is a daunting task, a Byzantine process that differs for each citizen depending on his or her home state and even home county.

And here's one insider's explanation as to why:

"This is a completely partisan thing," one Defense Department voting official told Salon. The official, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of being fired, is one of the many people in the department assigned to help both uniformed military personnel as well as American civilians register to vote. The offical described the Pentagon as extremely diligent in its efforts to register soldiers stationed overseas -- for instance, voting assistance officers have been told by the department to personally meet with all of the soldiers in their units in order to help them register. But the department has ignored its mandate to help overseas civilians who want to vote, the official said.

Clearly, there are no depths too low for these thugs. Fortunately, enterprising citizens have come up with a workaround which can be accessed here.

And a personal plea here on behalf of Salon. If you can afford it, please consider subscribing to Salon Premium. You can do so here. Salon has broken some of the most important stories about the Shrub administration, their follow-through is unsurpassed, and they deserve your support.