Stupid e-mails regarding the election have started!

[canuckforpeace]

Here's one I got today. Guess I'll compose a response after the baby's in bed tonight.

It's not really promoting any party but it gets you thinking who not to vote for!

SOMETHING WORTH THINKING ABOUT. I don't think it matters if this person is real or imaginary. The point is the ideas expressed in the email. I am not a politically knowledgeable person either, but I have had enough!!

Hello.
My name is Alan Robberstad I am a Canadian. One voter out of millions of Canadian voters.
Paul Martin is no friend of mine. Liberal governments have not made my life any better. Liberal governments have made the future worse for my children.
Jean Chretien and the Liberal Party became Prime Minister many years ago. Guess who was the Liberal Finance Minister... Paul Martin... LEST WE FORGET

Since 1993:
(1) My taxes have increased.
(2) My family's share of the national debt has increased.
(3) My personal expenses have increased.
(4) My waiting time to see a doctor has increased.
(5) My concerns for my family's safety have increased.
(6) My costs to educate my children have increased.
(7) Government interference in my life has increased.
(8) My personal debt has increased.
(9) My income has stayed more or less the same.
(10) My savings have decreased.
(11) The buying power of my dollar, in Canada, has decreased.
(12) The value of my dollar, in the U.S., has decreased.
(13) My trust of elected officials has decreased.
(14) My trust in the justice system has decreased.
(15 )My trust in the immigration system has decreased.
(16) My hope that a Liberal won't waste my tax dollars has decreased.
(17 )My dreams for a better future for my kids, in Canada, have disappeared.

That is my story since the Liberals came to power.

I am not voting for Paul Martin's Liberals. I am voting against Paul Martin and his Liberal Party in January.
Do I like the Conservatives or the NDP or the Green Party or any party? Not particularly......I don't really like Politics. I am not political by nature. I am not passionate about politics. I am a middle age guy (48). I live in a small house on a fairly quiet street in Edmonton. I have a wife, Kathy, and two children (ages 19 and 17). I have no pets. I am a middle class man. I don't usually say too much.

Until now.

Now I am going to say something!
In 35 of the past 37 years, Canada has been ruled by:
(1) Pierre Trudeau - a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec.
(2) Brian Mulroney - a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec.
(3) Jean Chretien - a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec.
(4) And now we are going to vote for Paul Martin???? - a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec???

But wait! Paul Martin is now saying the same thing. My mother told me forty years ago: "Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me!"

The Liberals have had 34 years to be financially responsible. Remember, Jean Chretien was Trudeau's Finance Minister. Remember also, Paul Martin was Jean Chretien's Finance Minister These people have been raising my taxes for thirty four years. They have been mis-spending my tax dollars for 34 years.

34 years!

And now Paul Martin says he'll stop taxing and spending. No way.

Thank you for reading my story so far!

Why am I telling my story to you?
Although I feel alone, I know that I am not alone. Your story may be similar to mine. And you may also feel alone. One small voter in the midst of millions of voters.
What can you and I do together to change things?
Here is my idea: Lets you and I join up together. Just you and I. Together. As a small team of two.
How can you and I fight a huge political machine?
You and I have two things that we can use:
(1) Our individual personal connections.
(2) The Internet.

The Internet is supposed to be this global zing tool, right? Let's put it to use.
I have 27 Canadians in my personal e-mail address book. I am sending this e-mail to each of them.

I'm asking you to do two things:
(1) Forward this e-mail to every Canadian in your own address book.
(2) Vote against Paul Martin and the Liberal Party in January.

I have probably written this e-mail too late. As I said I am not politically adroit. I feel like Peter Finch, in the 1976 movie "Network", when he shouted: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"

Please, forward the e-mail RIGHT NOW!!

I hope the Internet is as fast as some people claim it is.
This may not work. This e-mail may "fizzle out" and go nowhere. But you and I will have tried, won't we have?
My best wishes to you. My best wishes to Canadians everywhere.

My thanks to David Stokes from Toronto He actually wrote this just (5) days before the last federal election. Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me!"
Alan Robberstad Edmonton, Alberta

[Spazito]

1. ROFL, hmmm, the dummies must be taking lessons from the same

idiots from the States. Same format, same baseless lies, will only get the already sold.

[Mother Jones]

2. Wow

The only thing Alan Robberstad from Edmonton just taught me is, how out of touch with reality Alan Robberstad from Edmonton is.

Dude seriously needs a fact-checker.

[iverglas]

3. Hmm, I thought to myself ...

Who is Alan Robberstad? Can I do the usual, and dig up some fun dirt?

Well, I sure ain't the only one wondering. Ask google.ca for the name, and lists of "Who is Alan Robberstad?" will appear. Even this one -- dating from the previous election.

http://www.ehmac.ca/archive/index.php/t-21048.html

and it links to another one, containing this variation:

http://www.badmonkey.ca/article.php?story=20040617175645161&mode=print

I am not voting for Paul Martin's Liberals. I am voting against Paul Martin and his Liberal Party on June 28, 2004. I am voting for Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party. Do I like the Conservatives? Not particularly......I don't really like Politics. I am not political by nature. I am not passionate about politics. I am a middle aged guy (66). I live in a small house on a fairly quiet street in Chilliwack, BC. I have a wife, Maggie, and five grown-up children (ages 19 to 45). I have no pets. I am a middle class man. I don't usually say too much.

and also thanking David Stokes, of course. I guess the instructions are to insert your own personal info.

So who's this David Stokes, and why doesn't the email pop up at the top of the list when one searches for him? Searching for "david stokes" "paul martin" -thanks should catch a copy of the original, but no.

Well, it's hotcakes among the Canoe.ca crowd:
http://www.canoe.ca/mb2/messages/cnewsf/7538.html

Nope ... aha, here's the original:
http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/~ab133/Archives/Digests/v03n500-599/v03.n543.txt
(pinch yer nose before venturing in there; the stench of right-wing assholes is pretty strong)

My name is David Stokes.
I am a Canadian.
One voter out of millions of Canadian voters. ...

But still, no real-life David Stokes.

Gee ... does anybody doubt that he exists as anything other than a figment of a Reform / Alliance / Conservative backroom boy's imagination? Made not of straw, but of lunch meat.

I'm lucky; I got good spam filters.

[Mother Jones]

4. Gee, do you think Maggie knows about Kathy?

And just what did he do with his 3 other children?!

[canuckforpeace]

5. This was sent to me by someone I know.

If you don't mind I wouldn't mind sending them some of those links.

[iverglas]

7. feel free!

Here's the google search for "alan robberstad" -- the first three results are blogscanada, darrenbarefoot and babble:

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22alan+robberstad%22&meta=

The ehmac link is on the second page, and the badmonkey link was from there, so you can always give those links directly in case someone misses them.

The gun nut link comes up on a search for "david stokes" -robberstad -chilliwack (to weed out the two subsequent versions of the original they refer to):
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22david+stokes%22+-robberstad+-chilliwack+election&btnG=Search&meta=cr%3DcountryCA

but so do David Stokes the Labour Party candidate in the UK (somehow, I think that's not him) and David Stokeses who play soccer and other stuff. But it's a useful link to demonstrate the absence of presence of David Stokes.

[tuvor]

6. Great catch, iverglas! n/t

[V. Kid]

8. That one is meh conservative stuff it's annoying how they pretend...

....to be a-political, and then bring out the Quebec bashing, conservative obssessed with taxes, same old, same old. And of course, the person has to be from Alberta.

But here's something good:



And...



Yes, yes they're both anti-Liberal, but at least they aren't pro-Conservative.