Customer Reviews

American Blackout

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When you hear the name "Cynthia McKinney," it probably draws images of madness and lunacy. Why wouldn't it? After all, ever since she was elected to the Georgia state legislature, the media and moneyed forces across America have spent their time slandering her with every accusation possible. They don't want a woman who asks too many questions, who demands too often to stand by the downtrodden and oppressed. That's just dangerous.

This film explores the life and career of the Congresswoman as well as the voter suppression in 2000 and 2004. Congressman John Lewis is interviewed, and explains the struggles he went through as an activist to get voting rights for "colored" people -- only to have them being systematically stolen again through computerized voting machines and, as the BBC's Greg Palast calls it, "election apartheid."

What kind of liberal democracy are we living in when thousands are turned away from the polls because their district's voting records are controlled by rich people far away? What kind of nation are we living in when simply questioning the President's motives get you casted as a lunatic "conspiracy theorist" (to be vindicated years later when leaked documents show you were right)?

We need to make this a country "of the people, by the people, and for the people." McKinney will continue that fight, even as a non-legislator (although as the movie shows, she is well-capable of winning back her seat once a dirty campaign and Republican votes unseat her once).

Watch the film, educate yourself, and join the fight. We need to save any ounce of American democracy left.

Much publicity has been given to "hanging chads" and media-publicized details of what went wrong with the elections of 2000 and 2004, but votes vanish every election in America. This documentary, and Greg Palast's book American Madhouse, detail how it is done, and how it can be prevented. A must-see and must-read for everyone who believes in American democracy for all.

This is one documentary that hasn't received the attention it deserves. To paraphrase journalist Greg Palast, the Democrats may have won in last year's mid-term elections, but the integrity of our elections lost again. The topic of 'American Blackout' is as timely as ever, as the last two presidential "elections" and the last two mid-term "elections" have demonstrated that the American public will sit idly by as election fraud destroys the last vestiges of their democracy.

This is also a good documentary to show to anyone who thinks the U.S. has solved most of its race problems. The neoconservatives revived Jim Crow in 2000 and 2004. Watch the deleted scenes on the DVD and you can also see how racist the Washington, D.C., police force is. Even if we no longer have de jure racism, if we have racist law enforcement, then we have de facto racism.

I could go on, but I think this documentary should speak for itself. Buy it. Watch it. Show it to your friends.

Cynthia McKinney is - like so few of her fellow politicians - clear, frank, honest and uncomprimising. She may rattle a few cages, upset some folks on the Hill, but America's children need to see people like her to realize that there is a way to buck the trend, to fight for yours and others rights and to do it selflessly.

Highly recommended. I especially liked the clips of a grotesquely coiffered Tucker Carlsen repleat with bow-tie (soooo tacky...) pontificating about the 'outrageous' Cynner. I often wonder if he ever had to take one for the team....

The villians are smiling happily as they've disenfranchised the black voters while the Big Media Dumbed Down the citizenry. This has all been done for a very good cause: Big Business' bottom line profits, and WAR IS THEIR RACKET. More power to the crony capitalist, the big media, and the military industrial/congressional complex. Congresswomen Cynthia McKinney took on the enemy of the American citizens. The price was either: go along and take the people for what she knew was a ride, OR FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS.
She questioned the Bush Regime's involvement in events that led to 9/11. A recent Zogby poll has over 40% of New Yorkers asking her same questions. Still no answear! The Republicans spent One Million Dollars investigating a blue dress & $3,000 on 9/11! They don't want the truth found! The family members of 9/11 who tragically lost their loved ones WANT AN INVESTIGATION! WANT THE TRUTH!
Kathryn Harris and Blackwell fixed the elections and were REWARDED by the GOP!
Gore won in 2000. A USA GOVERNMENT COUP took place in Florida with the suppression of the black vote. It happenned again in 2004 with Ohio.
Good books on this are Greg Palast's Armed Madhouse & Mark Crispin's Fooled Again.
The Extras in this DVD are good including: Capitol Hill Police Officiers Speak Out On McKinney Incident.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

This DVD is well worth obtaining. Cynthia McKinney has been called all sorts of names and accused of being aggressive, abrasive and rude because she continually insists on representing her constituents and the American people in Congress (what a daring stance in the era of Corporate control of our government). She won't bend over or back down to the corruption. Cynthia McKinney tells her side; you see her in her home having hide behind curtains and locked doors due to death threats; bravely campaigning against an ocean of money for her opponents who 'toe the line', asking the questions of Rumsfeld we all would like to know and being set up by the police with a phony charge. The police around the Congressional building are a real treat to watch as they continually pretend they do not recognize Cynthia (after years of being in Congress) as a sort of put down to her for her 'uppity-ness'. She represents the American people, and refuses to 'shut up'. This woman has an admirable amount of courage and it shows by how she lives her life and does her job. If you want to watch a video showing determination, courage and stamina in the face of overwhelming odds, this is the one. The opposition did it again in 2006, poured in money to her district to defeat her. But she'll be back. She is a hero, and deserves to be re-elected. Maybe the senate next time? Be a great improvement overe what is there now.

This film does a great service that is NOT being done by our media - it covers election fraud and the slimy tactics used against Cynthia McKinney and African-American voters. Everyone should watch this film.

Before it's too late and we lose democracy all together - this affects us ALL black or white!

No one wants to admit that his best efforts at citizenship come to naught when someone fiddles the vote. Americans are such innocents that we connect the dots. We fail to grasp the devils in the details of the defeat of one of our nation's finest legislators. This film lays out the bare facts of this tawdry case of election stealing.

This documentary will enrage people who care about democracy, or lack thereof, in the USA. It does a good job of showing how there is still widespread discrimination in the electoral process. It also shows how the mainstream media tries to subvert any meaningful discussion of the topic. Rep. McKinney is one of the few members of Congress who has consistently attempted to have a thorough investigation of the way elections are carried out in the this country. This is not a partisan issue in any way to her. It is a human rights issue and an American issue. Even her own party has abandoned her on many occasions.

The documentary traces her political career up until her defeat this past election. The wonderful thing about it is that it is not so much a biography of Rep. McKinney, but also an investigation as to the problems with the election system. There are some enlightening bits about the way the media distorts and censors people who speak out against unchecked power.

The extras are interesting because they delve into her mishap with Capitol Hill Police and show segments deleted from the final film. There is an interview with four Capitol Hill Policemen who discuss the racism inherent in the department, and gives added perspective on the incident involving Rep. McKinney. The deleted scenes address such topics as AIPAC and the way the media covers politics and war. There are also some other extras that add value to the package.

Anyone who wants to get to know what makes Rep. McKinney tick should watch this film. She is not a loon or traitor, as her critics try to portray her, rather she is an American citizen who wants to see the system become stronger so that it can better serve all Americans.