Browsing all articles from November, 2006
Nov
22

When will the Democrats get serious?

Imagine if it were the GOP that stood to lose a seat!
MCM
From Cindy Asner:
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE MADRID RACE? CANNOT SOMEONE PAY FOR HER RECOUNT? SURELY THERE IS MONEY LEFT OVER. WHY LOSE A SEAT OVER THIS SMALL AMOUNT? IT SETS A BAD PRECEDENT FOR OTHER RACES. OR IS THERE A LAW THAT THE DNC OR THE DCCC CANNOT COME OUT OF POCKET FOR HER? IN THIS DAY OF SO MANY PROVABLE VIOLATIONS, SURELY THERE IS A FUND SET ASIDE FOR SUCH CASES….
N.M. House challenger concedes
By TIM KORTE, Associated Press Writer
Wed Nov 22, 3:49 AM ET
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – More than a week after Republican Rep. Heather Wilson (news, bio, voting record) claimed a razor-thin election victory, her Democratic challenger conceded Tuesday, saying a recount would cost too much and there was no guarantee it would reverse the result.


In Ohio’s 2nd District, Rep. Jean Schmidt, a Republican, clinched re-election Tuesday. Additional ballot counts gave her an insurmountable edge of about 3,200 votes over Democratic challenger Victoria Wulsin.

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New Mexico’s Wilson won by 875 votes – the final tally showed the five-term congresswoman with 105,921 votes to 105,046 votes for Democrat Patricia Madrid, the state attorney general.

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The difference was less than one-half of 1 percent, which in some states would have triggered an automatic recount, but New Mexico does not have an automatic recount law.

Madrid could have requested a recount, but she would have had to pay for it, and she estimated a districtwide recount could reach $300,000.

State Democratic Party Chairman John Wertheim has accused Republicans of “systematic vote suppression” in the New Mexico, a reference to accusations that Republicans called Democratic voters and gave them erroneous polling information. Although Madrid lost, her party succeeded in taking control of the U.S. House.

A handful of other House races remained unresolved:

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* In Florida, state officials certified Republican Vern Buchanan the winner over Democrat Christine Jennings by 369 votes, or less than 0.02 percent. Jennings contested the election Monday, arguing touch-screen voting machines had malfunctioned and asking a judge to order a new election.




November 22, 2006   //   General   //   No Comments   //  
Nov
21

Salon surveys the latest GOP crime spree

The GOP’s dirty deeds of 2006
Salon’s guide to robo-calls, push polls, vigilantes and other murky dealings from this year’s elections.

By Alex Koppelman and Lauren Shell

Nov. 21, 2006 | Before the 2006 midterm election, you couldn’t escape the predictions of Election Day disaster: voting machine meltdowns, interminable lines, endless recounts. But the control of both houses of Congress was decided without interference from Diebold or hanging chads, so few (outside of Florida’s 13th Congressional District) are suffering flashbacks of 2000 and 2004.

But while this year might not have included any repeats of Palm Beach County or Ohio, that doesn’t mean the midterm elections were squeaky clean. This November there were some old-school dirty tricks that had nothing to do with voting machines or secretaries of state. An unscientific sample seems to show that most were the product of a party that was desperate for something, anything, that would help it protect its doomed congressional majorities. The bulk of this year’s murky dealings took place in those tightly contested races — from the battle for Virginia’s Senate seat to House races in Illinois, New York and Connecticut — that were crucial to control of Congress.

Read more.


November 21, 2006   //   General   //   No Comments   //  
Nov
21

Press conference on DRE machines in NYC

A press conference will be held Tuesday, November 21, 2006 in New York City on the City Hall steps at 11:30 AM.

NYVV, NYPIRG, the League of Women Voters, the Brennan Center and others will be calling for statewide adoption of paper ballots and optical scanners.At 4 PM, there will be a hearing at the NYC Board of Electionsto give the public an opportunity to give their opinions to the Commissioners about what new voting equipment NYC should acquire.
The hearing will be at 42 Broadway, 6th floor, in Manhattan.


November 21, 2006   //   General   //   No Comments   //  
Nov
21

Diebold breaks a whistle-blower


BREAKING: DIEBOLD WHISTLEBLOWER
STRIKES PLEA DEAL ON FELONY CHARGES

Stephen Heller Agrees to Plead Guilty, Pay $10,000, Apologize and Receive Three Years Probation After Being Charged with ‘Burglary’ for Sharing Diebold Lawfirms Attorney-Client Privileged Documents with Newspaper, Election Integrity Activists
Tells BRAD BLOG He Has ‘No Assets Left, Other Than House’ and Deal is Meant to Protect Him and His Wife as ‘Best Deal I Could Get Based on the Circumstances’
Stephen Heller, the Los Angeles whistleblower who turned over documents from Diebold’s attorney, Jones-Day, in 2004 showing the Voting Machine Company had illegally installed uncertified hardware and software in California — and was preparing to lie about it — has pled guilty according to a statement tonight from the LA County District Attorney’s office.
In an email moments ago from Heller, he tells us that he and his wife “are very happy it is over.”
Heller, whose story we wrote about in an article [PDF] published by Hustler some months ago, was working as a temp worker at the voting machine company law firm when he came across the troubling documents.
At the time, we quoted Michael Kohn, general counsel for the National Whistleblower Center as saying “This is a very rare instance. In fact, the only one of which I’m aware, in which a whistleblower has been charged with a felony. I find it outrageous.”
Outrageous indeed – Especially considering Diebold voting systems were decertified by the state when it was found the company was attempting to game the certification process shortly after Heller shared the documents with the Oakland Tribune and election watchdog BlackBoxVoting.org.
But Heller doesn’t have the same kind of money for high-priced attorneys that Diebold does (that would be your money that Diebold gets to use for this sort of thing, by the way), we’re not suprised he opted for the deal.
In an email message from Heller sent to The BRAD BLOG tonight, he wrote:

“My wife and I are very happy it is over. The deal will protect me and my wife and our assets (we have no assets left, other than our house, but whatever we are able to accumulate in the future cannot be taken away from us in civil court). My attorneys and I think this is the best deal I could get based on the circumstances.”

The LA County DA’s statement says Heller pled to “unlawfully accessing the company computer in connection with its legal representation of Diebold Inc.” and they quote his formal “apology” as follows:

“Today, I pled guilty to unlawfully taking Jones Day’s privileged documents without its permission while I worked there. There was no excuse for my conduct. I very much regret taking the documents. I also regret any disparaging statements suggesting that Jones Day committed any wrongful acts. Upon reflection, I now believe and understand that such statements were unjustified. I apologize to Jones Day and its client.”

A notice added tonight to the Stephen Heller Defense Fund website says “The case has been resolved! More details will follow soon.” It goes on to thank supporters, urging them to “check back soon because Stephen is going to post the entire story here soon.”
Heller tells us he’s being contacted by the media tonight and plans to send a more detailed statement to The BRAD BLOG by morning.
—
Brad Friedman
THE BRAD BLOG – The uprising continues…

November 21, 2006   //   General   //   No Comments   //  
Nov
21

Help democracy in Sarasota!

Urgent & Unparalleled Opportunity in Florida- Your Help Needed Now!

rs6.net/16E7B355.gif

Nonpartisan Investigation of Sarasota County, Florida Undervotes

November 20, 2006

Dear Friends,

Voter Action Co-Director and election law attorney Lowell Finley has been in Sarasota since November 9th, investigating the 18,000 missing votes from Florida’s District 13 congressional race in that county. Today, Voter Action is pleased to announce that the People for the American Way Foundation, the ACLU of Florida, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Common Cause are joining this effort on behalf of the voters of Sarasota County, regardless of party affiliation. Based on previous experience and success in the courts to block the use of electronic voting systems across the U.S. and the strength of our new partners, Voter Action is well poised to move this investigation forward and , if as it increasingly appears will be necessary, to file suit to get to the bottom of what happened.

The purpose of this investigation and potential legal action is to 1) Get to the bottom of what happened through legal discovery 2) File legal action on behalf of the voters of Sarasota challenging the validity of the election if need be. 3) Protect the integrity of future elections in Sarasota County, the State of Florida, and the nation.

But in order to do this we need your help. Voter Action needs to raise funds very quickly to continue its work in Sarasota. Even with the legal and organizing assistance of our new partners, we must raise an estimated $45,000.00.

This is an unparalleled opportunity to shed light on the continuing election crisis that plagues Florida, to expose the problems inherent in electronic voting systems, and to demonstrate the harm that can be caused by elections officials with a pro-vendor and anti-voter bias.

Please donate now and share this email with your friends!


Because we are working on behalf of voters and not a candidate or political party, all donations are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by law and can be made through our fiscal sponsor, the International Humanities Center, a 501(c)(3) organization through the Voter Action website

Voter Action


November 21, 2006   //   General   //   No Comments   //  
Nov
21

Vern Buchanan, Mad Projector

FL-13: Election Contest Filed, State Certifies Race,
Buchanan Claims Victory, Calls on Jennings to Concede,

Says ‘Special Interest Groups Have Hijacked Election to Advance Own Agenda’

Transcript, Video of Buchanan’s Morning Press Conference After Florida Certifies Race with 369 Vote Margin
Other stuff of note for the moment…
‘Daily Voting News’ For November 19, 2006

And this item from St. Louis:

Harvey Friedman: My Election Day Experience in St. Louis County, MO
Brad’s Dad Again Holds Feet to the Fire at the Polling Place This Time Over Unconstitutional Photo ID Restrictions

FULL STORY, FIRST HAND ACCOUNT:

November 21, 2006   //   General   //   No Comments   //  
Nov
20

Rangel to call for military draft

News Update from Citizens for Legitimate Government
19 November 2006

Rep. Rangel Will Seek to Reinstate Draft 19 Nov 2006 Americans would have to sign up for a new military draft after turning 18 if the incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee has his way. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said Sunday he sees his idea as a way to deter politicians from launching wars and to bolster U.S. troop levels insufficient to cover potential future action in Iran, North Korea and Iraq.

Read more.


November 20, 2006   //   General   //   No Comments   //  
Nov
20

No evidence that Iran wants nukes, says CIA

CIA analysis finds no Iranian
nuclear weapons drive: report
19/11/2006 04h18
A janitor mops the floor at the CIA headquarters
©AFP/File – Brendan Smialowski

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A classifed draft CIA assessment has found no firm evidence of a secret drive by Iran to develop nuclear weapons, as alleged by the White House, a top US investigative reporter has said.

Seymour Hersh, writing in an article for the November 27 issue of the magazine The New Yorker released in advance, reported on whether the administration of Republican President George W. Bush was more, or less, inclined to attack Iran after Democrats won control of Congress last week.
A month before the November 7 legislative elections, Hersh wrote, Vice President Dick Cheney attended a national-security discussion that touched on the impact of Democratic victory in both chambers on Iran policy.

“If the Democrats won on November 7th, the vice president said, that victory would not stop the administration from pursuing a military option with Iran,” Hersh wrote, citing a source familiar with the discussion.

Read more


November 20, 2006   //   General   //   No Comments   //  
Nov
18

"Liberal media" serves the right by piling on Pelosi

Hullabaloo
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Clinton Rules Redux
by digby

Man are these catty little MSNBC snots enjoying their full-on Demo bitch fest. They are partying like it’s 1999. Norah O’Donnell, Lawrence O’Donnell, Mary Ann Akers and some other person I don’t know have just spent half an hour discussing the fact that Nancy Pelosi ruined her own honeymoon and now it is really quesionable whether she can lead. Meanwhile, the dirty netroots and Howard Dean must have done something wrong because James Carville is hanging out all the Democratic dirty laundry (while his wife cackles with glee, no doubt) and he wouldn’t do that unless there was something to it.

After a thorough discussion of how hapless the Democratic nerds have already proven to be, Mary Ann Akers whispers that reporters all over town are “loving” this story. It’s so much fun! All the kidz squealed like schoolgirls at prospect of the merciless going-over they are preparing to give these totalbigfatlosers. (“We’re so not being mean or anything cuz they like totally deserve it cuz they just don’t get it, ok?”)

The spite girls are back in town. It isn’t so much a matter of substance. You can argue that talking about the majority leader race is worthwhile and that it says something about Pelosi’s leadership style. The Carville sideswipe at Dean is interesting. That’s not the problem. It’s that the patented 90′s style smug, juvenile, derisive Kewl Kidz tone is once again ooozing through everything they say. (I could have sworn I heard the “Friends” theme song in the backround.)
It’s as if all these unpleasant events of the last six years never happened and we are back in the days of endless cable bitch-fests filled with sniggering about unauthorized blow jobs and earth tones and “grown-ups” who eat PB&J’s and travel with their favorite pillies.

Read more.


November 18, 2006   //   General   //   No Comments   //  
Nov
18

Iraqis forced to quarter US troops

What would Sam Adams say? (Not that the British threw the colonists out of their houses….)

Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government
17 November 2006
http://www.legitgov.org

US army ‘seized Iraqi homes’ 17 Nov 2006 A leading Iraqi lawyer has accused the US army of throwing 211 families, including his, out of their homes. Rabah al-Alwan, head of the Union of Lawyers in al-Anbar governorate in western Iraq, said that the US army has occupied his family’s house and those of with dozens of other families in al-Ramadi, the capital of al-Anbar governorate.

Military may ask $127B for wars –Iraq conflict could cost more than Vietnam War 16 Nov 2006 The Bush regime is preparing its largest spending request yet for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a proposal that could make the conflict the most expensive since World War II. The Pentagon is considering $127 billion to $160 billion in requests from the armed services for the 2007 fiscal year, which began last month, several lawmakers and congressional staff members said. That’s on top of $70 billion already approved for 2007.

Bush ‘Plans 20,000 Troops For Iraq’ 17 Nov 2006 George Bush is thinking about sending 20,000 more troops to Iraq. The president [sic] has told senior advisors the US and its allies need to make a “last big push” to win the Iraq war.

Read more


November 18, 2006   //   General   //   No Comments   //  
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Orwell Rolls In His Grave, featuring MCM – Buy the DVD

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