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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