Browsing all articles from February, 2007

US generals ‘will quit’ if Bush orders Iran attack
Michael Smith and Sarah Baxter, Washington

SOME of America’s most senior military commanders are prepared to resign if the White House orders a military strike against Iran, according to highly placed defence and intelligence sources.

Tension in the Gulf region has raised fears that an attack on Iran is becoming increasingly likely before President George Bush leaves office. The Sunday Times has learnt that up to five generals and admirals are willing to resign rather than approve what they consider would be a reckless attack.

“There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran,” a source with close ties to British intelligence said. “There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.”

A British defence source confirmed that there were deep misgivings inside the Pentagon about a military strike. “All the generals are perfectly clear that they don’t have the military capacity to take Iran on in any meaningful fashion. Nobody wants to do it and it would be a matter of conscience for them.

Read more.


Just add paper, and…. presto! All those Democratic undervotes just disappear!
MCM
For Immediate Release

Contacts:
Ellen Theisen
360-437-9922
ellen@vote-pad.us

Theron Horton
505-751-4106
theronhorton@mac.com

*Undervote Rate Plummets in Minority Precincts After New Mexico Changes to All Paper Ballots*

A new report, based on official 2004 and 2006 New Mexico election data, shows a dramatic difference in undervotes in Native American and Hispanic precincts, depending on whether they voted on paper ballots or on Direct Record Electronic (DRE – often known as touch screen) voting machines.

The report explains: “Undervotes represent ballots on which no vote was registered for a specific contest. Undervote rates higher than 0.5% in the major contest on a ballot, especially in presidential elections, suggest that votes may not have been counted, either through a mistake of the voter or a mistake in tabulation.”

The report shows that in predominantly Native American and predominantly Hispanic precincts, undervote rates were abnormally high (7.61% and 6.33% respectively) in the 2004 presidential race, when the votes were cast on DREs.

In 2006, after the state changed to all optically scanned paper ballots, the undervote rates for Governor in those same precincts plummeted by 85% in Native American areas and by 69% in predominantly Hispanic precincts.

In Anglo precincts, undervote rates of ballots cast on DREs were about the same level as the rates for paper ballots – 2.22% and 1.75% respectively.

“We were looking for any impact the change to paper ballots may have had on New Mexico’s historically high undervote rate. When we found the dramatic drop in Native American precincts, we were shocked,” said Theron Horton, Project Manager for Election Defense Alliance. “Something was going on with the DREs in those precincts in 2004.”

“When Warren Stewart, Policy Director of VoteTrustUSA, and I did the analysis of New Mexico’s 2004 vote data two years ago, we found high undervote rates in the minority precincts,” said Ellen Theisen, President of Vote-PAD, Inc. and former Executive Director of VotersUnite.Org. “But we didn’t do a complete comparison of paper ballot undervotes to the DRE undervotes in that election. When I heard of Theron’s work, I performed the comparison, and found that it’s the paper ballots that made the difference in the minority precincts.”

Read the two-page report here: (http://www.votersunite.org/info/NM_UVbyBallotTypeandEthnicity.pdf)

Download the data here: (http://www.votersunite.org/info/2006NMSelectedData.xls.)

###

John Gideon
Executive Director VotersUnite.Org


Joyce E Thomann just testified in favor of paper ballots on behalf of the Maryland Federation of Republican Women. Here is the first part of her testimony, which goes on for 10 pages. (Email me if you want the whole text.) It is helpful to remind ourselves from time to time that the effort for paper ballots is a non-partisan issue. Both Republicans like Governor Crist of FL and former Gov Ehrlich of MD, and Democrats like Governor Richardson of NM, have moved to get rid of electronic voting machines and replace them with voting systems based on paper ballots counted on scanners.

Quote: “I believe that by returning to the precinct-based Optic Scanner and also complying with the HAVA requirements for accessibility for the handicapped, which can be done by the use of an electronic marking device in each precinct, … the exodus of election judges will dramatically abate, the costs of conducting Maryland elections passed on to Maryland’s families through taxes will be substantially lower and Marylanders will once again have confidence that their vote IS counted as THEY cast it – not as an unknown programmer and/or computer hacker may have directed.”

Allegra


TESTIMONY OF JOYCE E. THOMANN

On Behalf of members of the

MARYLAND FEDERATION OF REPUBLICAN WOMEN

the

REPUBLICAN WOMEN OF ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY

And herself as a Maryland Resident and Registered Voter

Re: Senate Bill 392

February 22, 2007

Before the Senate, Education, and Environmental Affairs Committee

Chairman Conway, Members of the Committee: On behalf of the 1,600 members of the Maryland Federation of Republican Women, the Republican Women of Anne Arundel County and myself, I want to thank you for the opportunity to express support for Senate Bill 392.

At its 2006 Fall Convention and 85th Anniversary celebration, the Maryland Federation of Republican Women unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the passage of legislation to require voter verified paper records for use in all Maryland elections.

It is easy to see from the co-sponsors on S.B. 392 that this is a bipartisan issue. We all want to insure that the integrity of each vote, the cornerstone of our Nation, is protected by making certain that all votes are counted as cast by the individual voter.

On January 30, 2007 Florida Governor Charlie Crist announced his intention to recommend that the controversial touch screen machines be scrapped and replaced with optical scanners. U.S. Representative Robert Wexler, Democrat, was quick to praise the Republican Governor for his “bold and comprehensive” plan and went on to say, “We are about to resolve, once and for all, the election integrity problem in Florida, and we are about to realize the dream of creating a paper trail for every voter in the state of Florida.”

A past President of the Association for Computing Machinery , Barbara Simons, in her testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Hearing on Electronic Voting Machines, said, “We all want elections that are reliable, secure, accessible, and trusted by the public. Given the known security risks, the possibility that software bugs could generate incorrect election results, or that computerized voting machines may fail during an election, we cannot trust that the results recorded in a paperless voting machine accurately reflect the will of the voters.” Her testimony went on to note, “Most computer professionals oppose paperless voting machines. . .


…Appearing to echo that comment is the December 2006 report of The National Institute of Standards and Technology[1] which states:”But many people, especially in the computer engineering and security community, assert that DRE’s are vulnerable to undetectable errors as well as malicious software attacks because there is no audit mechanism other than what the DRE can report on: how many records it has stored, ballots styles, etc. Potentially, a single programmer could ‘rig’ a major election. The computer security community rejects the notion that DRE’s can be made secure, arguing that their design is inadequate to meet the requirements of voting and that they are vulnerable to large-scale errors and election fraud.”


[1] NIST Draft Report, Posted December 1, 2006, “Requiring Software Independence in VVSG 2007: STS Recommendations for the TGDC.” (14 pages, Appendix 3) http://vote.nist.gov/DraftWhitePaperOnVVPRinVVSG2007-20061120.pdf


…I believe that by returning to the precinct-based Optic Scanner and also complying with the HAVA requirements for accessibility for the handicapped, which can be done by the use of an electronic marking device in each precinct, also provided for in S.B. 392, the exodus of election judges will dramatically abate, the costs of conducting Maryland elections passed on to Maryland’s families through taxes will be substantially lower and Marylanders will once again have confidence that their vote IS counted as THEY cast it – not as an unknown programmer and/or co

mputer hacker may have directed.


Allegra Dengler

60 Judson Avenue

Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522

914-693-8023

http://citizensforvotingintegrity.org/

http://www.nyvv.org/


“… touch-screen machines are highly vulnerable to being hacked or maliciously programmed to change votes. And they cost far more than voting machines should.” New York Times editorial, March 9, 2005


=

Peace,
Liz Rich


February 16, 2007 NM Senate Rules Committee hearing at the Santa Fe Roundhouse on impeachment resolution
BREAKING: NM Senate Rules Committee Passes Bush-Cheney Impeachment Resolution
Senate Joint Resolution 5, the legislation urging impeachment of Bush and Cheney, was passed this morning in the NM Senate Rules Committee with only Democrats present, all of whom voted for the resolution! The meeting room was packed to the gills, with a huge crowd winding down the hallways outside the hearing. Several hours were spent listening to citizens speak on behalf of the bill, until Committee members were forced to move on to other business.
I find it appalling that every Republican member of the Committee refused to attend and listen to what our citizens have to say about what may well be the most important issues of our era — the Iraq occupation and the refusal of the President and Vice President to obey the law. I guess they couldn’t bear to hear ordinary people speaking truth to power. I guess they believe they only represent the Republicans in their districts, not all the citizens.
Now’s the time to THANK THESE DEM SENATORS FOR VOTING FOR THE IMPEACHMENT RESOLUTION:
Senator Linda M. Lopez, Chair:

Senator John T.L. Grubesic, Vice Chair:

Senator Ben D. Altamirano:

Senator Dede Feldman:

Senator Cisco McSorley:

And don’t forget the resolution’s ORIGINAL SPONSOR, Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino:

Job well done also goes out to Leland Lehrman of Mother Media and ALL the citizen lobbyists, callers and emailers! We have much more to do, but this is a very hopeful start. The resolution has to pass through the Senate Public Affairs and Senate Judiciary Committees before it can be debated on the Senate Floor, but I think even getting this far in Bush’s America is a real accomplishment and an act of courage by the legislators involved.
The first person to testify at the hearing was progressive activist and retired District Judge Anne Kass of Albuquerque. She had this to say in her eloquent prepared statement, representing what so many of us are feeling these days:
One of the sources of America’s moral authority in the world is its professed commitment to an ideal known as the Rule of Law.

The Rule of Law includes the principle that no man is above the law.

The Rule of Law also includes the principle that crimes must be prosecuted.

If the Rule of Law is to be anything more than an empty slogan, then all American citizens, but especially legislative bodies such as this, where both laws and the consequences for breaking laws are established, must demand, when there is compelling evidence that criminal acts have been committed, that there be a formal, official investigation and prosecution.
Confidence that crimes will be prosecuted is essential to the existence of civilized society. If the New Mexico Legislature hopes to retain its moral authority to continue to write laws and set consequences when the laws are broken — if, for example, the New Mexico Legislature wishes to be able to speak with moral authority when it declares that anyone who drives while intoxicated must be held accountable and experience severe consequences, then the New Mexico Legislature must insist that there be a formal and official investigation and prosecution to test the compelling evidence that exists that Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney have committed grave crimes … crimes which have resulted in the deaths of thousands of American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people.
That there is compelling evidence of crimes having been committed is unquestionable. The evidence that Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney lied about the existence of weapons of mass destruction as an excuse to take our nation to war is overwhelming. What greater crime could there be than initiating an unjustified, unnecessary war? AND, there is compelling evidence of still other serious crimes.

The United States House of Representatives has to date failed to meet its duty to enforce the principle that crimes must be prosecuted. Its failure is a source of shame, and if it persists, it will lose its moral authority to call for, or even speak to, law and order, let alone accountability, regarding it’s responsibilities as a part of the governing body of this nation. It is our hope that a nudge from the New Mexico Legislature, making the statement that it takes its duties to honor and uphold the Rule of Law seriously, and leading by example, will remind the United States House of Representatives that it is responsible, first and foremost, to the people of the United States of America.
That said, let me add that we-the-people are becoming more and more frantic about Congress’s failure to stop George W. Bush from doing still more harm to our country. Mr. Bush appears to have no understanding of the concept of checks and balances, of the meaning of the word democracy, or of the principle that in America the government governs only with the consent of the governed. He has made it clear that he intends to ignore both we-the-people and Congress with respect to escalating the occupation of Iraq. It sounds more and more that he also intends to attack Iran, never mind that a clear majority of the citizens of this country oppose it. Congress must act, but it looks to be almost paralyzed. The New Mexico Legislature must show that it is not paralyzed and in so doing help the United States House of Representatives regain its own understanding of the concept of checks and balances, of the meaning of the word democracy, and of the principle of consent of the governed. –statement of Anne Kass, Albuquerque, NM, testifying at February 16, 2007 NM Senate Rules Committee hearing at the Santa Fe Roundhouse on impeachment resolution

Run my Ed Schultz article and he may throw an hour long rant about you too, just like he did with Air America. Not! I’m sure he’s been told it was not a good idea.

Thanks,

Rob Kall, OpEdNews

Newest Articles

By Scott Shuster
Some Tough-Talking Republicans
The Republican talking points are getting so predictable and monotonous. When you talk about people not having original ideas, point to the right, not the left.

By Michael Collins
Essentials Of The Voting Systems Debate
The people must take their elections back from the professional politicians and their “experts.”

By Stephen Crockett
Bush And The Iraq Blame Game
The Bush Republicans seem to be playing a very cynical political game concerning the Iraq policy debate…. The public knows the truth but the Republican Spin Machine will always claim that failure in Iraq was because Democrats betrayed the mission….. The Republican Iraq Blame Game is a truly sick tactic by a truly sick political movement. I hope thinking Republicans will leave their Party in disgust over it.

By Rob Kall
The Ed Schultz Show Is Owned By Right Wingers. Does It Matter?
The Ed Schultz show claims to be the most listened to progressive talk radio show, but it is owned by some seriously right RIGHT wingers. We’re talking about heavy hitting media people who formerly played a major role in Rush Limbaugh’s success. Will their business acumen help the progressive cause by helping Ed Schultz, or do they have political interests motivated by ideology?

By LTR Aka B.D. Rafferty
Who Is Thom Hartmann?
Over the next few days or so, radio audiences in various markets will be introduced to a new voice on their airwaves, as prepares to slide into the midday slot on Air America Radio and its affiliates who choose to pick up the show.

By Paul A. Minafri
Review Of Mosaic Virus By Carlos T. Mock, M.D.
The premise intrigued me, so I immediately bought the book and put it at the top of my “to read” pile. COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN.!!!

By Richard LaBonte
Mosaic Virus, By Carlos T. Mock, MD
It’s 1983, and young Catholic priests are dying mysteriously. A concerned Vatican calls in hotshot Father Javier Barraza, an Argentinian-born Jesuit with a built-in disdain for his Church’s more repressive dogmas – and more longing in his soul for a childhood sweetheart, now a very special FBI agent, than a priest of his stature ought to have – to investigate the viral epidemic decimating America’s priesthood.

By Ken Furtato
Review Of Mosaic Virus By Carlos T. Mock, M.D.
If you like a thriller based on a conspiracy theory with global ramifications, put Carlos T. Mock’s Mosaic Virus on your shopping list. Mock finds an ingenious way to connect the dots between real historical events and characters in a way that history (perhaps) never intended, coming up with a story both scary and plausible.

By REVIEW BY TRACY BAIM
BOOK REVIEW: The Mosaic Virus
Chicagoan Carlos T. Mock is a doctor and his new novel, The Mosaic Virus ( Floricanto Press, paperback, edited by Katherine V. Forrest ) , makes full use of his medical background to create a tale of murder and intrigue during the early 1980s.

By David Swanson
What Lincoln Really Said
Alaska Congressman Don Young just attempted on the floor of the House to quote Abraham Lincoln’s opinion on opposition to presidents’ war plans. Young failed rather dramatically.

By John Doraemi
No George Monbiot, These Are The Facts Of September 11th 2001
DISTURBING FACTS ABOUT THE 9/11 ATTACKS

By Gerard Keenan
Real ID Act – Real Nightmare
Real ID Act 2005 can not work.

By Jim Donovan
The Scam Of Healthcare – One Way The Consumer Is Getting Beaten
One way we’re getting scammed by the medical establishment

By John Carey
China And Russia Help US Throttle North Korea’s Nuclear Ambitions; But Fight A Delaying Game To Assist Iran

By Eileen Fleming
The Democrat Demimondaine And Consummate Pandering Politician: Hillary Clinton
Do you know why Israel does not want to become America ’s 51st state? Because then they would only have two senators!

By Kenneth Briggs
Assimilation Not Elimination-Part One
Most non-Indians are either not aware of or know very little about Indian boarding schools.

By By Carlos T Mock, MD
With Due Respect Mr. Bernanke, A Soft Landing?
The Two Year US Bond has a yield of 4.88% while your 10 year bond has a yield of 4.63% and your 30 year bond has a year has a yield of 4.75%. This in spite of all your prime interest increases this past year. The yield curve for US Treasury bonds has been inverted for a while; a strong signal that the market expects a recession and a clear indication that the Fed may have to lower interest rates in the near future to prevent

By Karen Fish
George Bush Psychotic Legacy Fears Drive Him To Nuke Iran
A psychotic clown in the White House.

By Dean Powers
Rep. Virgil Goode Says “In Moohamid We Trust”…Goode God
No matter the context, a Republican did say, “In Moohamid we trust.” It would make a nice sound byte during the next election.

By Thomas Bonsell
GOP CLAIMS GOD’S ON ITS SIDE, BUT JESUS AND BIBLE AREN’T
The political right has claimed Christianity only for itself and denies it to others, especially the political left–also known as liberal or progressive–which right-wingers denounce as the “atheist left”. That may be a good thing, and the left must learn how to use such claims to its advantage if it is to save America from the clutches of the destructive right.

By Carol Wolman
War? What War?
Framing is important. By claiming to be “at war” Bush accomplishes many things. In fact, the US illegally invaded Iraq and remains to occupy it illegally.

By Teresa Simon-noble
Stop The Abuse. Stop The Lies. Stop The Intrusion. Stop The Domination. Stop The Manipulations. Let The Iraqis Be Free.
Theory has it that intimidation and exploitation of any family member by a family, give rise in that family member to a quest and desire for domination (power) and control. Power-Grabbers a phrase which perfectly describes the Bush – Cheney liaison.

By Andrew Bard Schmookler
It’s Got To Be Gore: Part III– There’s No Adequate Alternative
This historical moment makes it essential that we be as sure as possible of getting leadership adequate to the task ahead. None of the alternatives to Gore are nearly so good a bet for us as he is. This is no time for gambling, as too much is at stake.

By Jay Esbe
The Coming Scorched Earth Policy And How They’re Laying The Groundwork.
Stop this nonsense and impeach them before it’s too late.

By Hollis Polk
The Upside Of Flu
Lessons from a sickbed — and reasons to be grateful for the dis-ease

By David Swanson
Murtha Only Intends To Undo The Escalation
In a video interview with Tom Andrews Congressman Jack Murtha makes clear that the limitations on additional war money that he intends to include in the forthcoming “emergency” supplemental bill are aimed only at undoing the recent escalation (a.k.a. “surge”), not at ending the war.

By Andrew Bard Schmookler
The Growth Of Corporate Power: A Crucial Element Behind The Rise Of Bushite Fascism
Here’s a nice piece of background regarding the decades-long campaign of corporate America to roll back the advance of progressive values. First it gave us reactionary politics, and now –with the rise of the Bushite power– it has led America into fascism.

By Susan Lenfestey
My Dinner With Al (Franken)
Last night I had dinner with Al and Franni. Yeah, Franken. A bunch of folks were invited to their house to “hear his ideas” on the eve of his announcement that he’s running for the US Senate, for the seat once occupied by Paul Wellstone and currently occupied by the oily keister of Norm “I’m-a-99-percent- improvement-over-Paul-Wellstone” Coleman.
By Jay Daverth
The Tragedy Of FOX News Comedy
Conservatives should think twice before venturing into comedy – they already have one fake news show, why do another?

By Walter C. Uhler
Israel’s Bomb, Iran’s Pursuit Of The Bomb And U.S. War Preparations (Part Three)
The Bush administration’s supposed concern about Iran’s nuclear program masks its real goal: regime change.

By Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
ARepublican Leader Asked For A Dialogue For Individual Rights.
The freeze of fear is melting and Republicans are beginning to work to take back the party of Goldwater, returning it to the vision that was about a real freedom for all Americans.

By Michael Bonanno
Answer To Ad That Will Change Everyone’s Mind
Until we stop projecting and start looking at what’s true for us now, we are bound to continue to impulsively react to a future that will always be unknown to us.

By Cody Lyon
Beating An Old Horse Named Tragedy: How The Sale Of Tragedy Led To Iraq
Sen. Saxby Chambliss-R-GA says a report by Pentagon Inspector Thomas Gimble, beats an old horse. But, it’s clear, this is one horse worth beating. How tragedy sold yet another tragedy.

By Richard Walrath
An Anthology Of Ideas To Prevent And/or Reduce CO2 In The Atmosphere To Reduce Global Warming

By Gatto
Responding To General Clark’s Views On Iran
A reaction to General Wesley Clark’s diary on Daily Kos.

By Carolyn Baker, Ph.D.
DYSFUNCTIONAL GOVERNMENT, DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY
How dysfunctional government and dysfunctional family systems mirror each other–the political is personal–and painful.

By JGideon
‘Daily Voting News’ For February 15, 2007
a run-down of the days elections/voting news from across the country and overseas.

By Jane Stillwater
To Paraphrase Disney: “A Goal Is A Photo Your Heart Takes When You’re Wide Awake….”
I see photos I took in the past & they remind me of the

past. And in my heart I also carry around images of the kind of future I want. And the image that ALL of us carry around is the one of us walking toward The Light — because ALL of us eventually have to die. And when this happens, we need to know what to say — that we have done good deeds. This is the best way to plan our lives, so that in the end we will be okay.

By Lawrence R. Velvel
The Couch: Bush Is On It And Congress Should Be
Summary for Op Ed News Psychiatrists are again analyzing the sociopathic George Bush, and they should be analyzing Congress too. These people are not like you and I.

By Gustav Wynn
Money Trumps Peace?? Are You Doing All You Can Do? Will The DNC Continue This Charade And Swear Off The Corporate Bucks?
Is it pure Capitalist greed that sullies our election process? Is it the way we elect presidents? Do we blame the rich? Actually, the fault is your own, dear reader. It got corrupt long ago, but if you don’t fix it now, you deserve it.

By Carol Wolman
AGood Offense Is The Best Defense
Congress is on the defensive with Bush. We the People need an impeachment offensive, to get him and Cheney out. This is the only way to get us out of Iraq and prevent an attack on Iran.

By Robert Chapman
The Valentine’s Day Press Conference
Bush’s Valentines Day press conference asks us to trust him once again.

By Steven Leser
Iran Supplying Weapons To Iraqi Insurgency? Cheney Abbott And Bush Costello Say So! Sort Of?!?!?
Administration spokespeople whine that they do not understand why they are repeatedly asked whether the administration intends to attack Iran despite many assertions to the contrary. What is so hard to understand?

By Dean Powers
Dennis Miller Laughs Off Global Warming On Tonight Show
Dennis Miller derided global warming with a a cache of one-liners that would make the Exxon Mobile public relations team blush.

By Farrell Winter
ARecent Personal Run-in With America’s 19th Century Health Care System.
“The Political Lowe-Down With Derek Lowe” is a monthly column on political issues and figures. This month’s Political Lowe-Down is “The State of Health Care in America,” and concerns a recent personal run-in with America’s 19th century health care system.

By Peter Rost
The Michelle Manhart Affair: The US Air Force Listens!
The US Air Force realized they couldn’t punish Playboy model Ms. Manhart more harshly than a sexual predator. But of course, they also couldn’t stand by as one of their officers publicly dropped her fatigues.

By Cindy Sheehan
Money Trumps Peace…Sometimes
“Money trumps peace” should be the rallying call of all the Democrats and Republicans who are exploiting our tired and wounded soldiers in the field to justify handing BushCo more money to complete his mission of totally decimating the Middle East for the oil companies, construction contractors, and defense industries.

By Jane Stillwater
Please Help Our Berkeley HUD Section 8 Housing Co-op Find New Board Members!
What does one do when one’s HUD Section 8 co-op has been taken over by self-interested bullies? Ask for help from the outside world. Anybody want to serve on our Board of Directors? You would only have to fly in once a month….

If the Senate Democrats weren’t suffering from a severe collective case of battered spouse syndrome, they would be all fired up about the sorry state of our election system, and doing everything they could to make it better. By “better,” I mean, basically, “more honest,” which, in this case, could work only to the Democrats’ advantage. After all, the party’s top dogs tend to care far more about (a) their own careers and (b) the party’s welfare than they do about the state of the Republic.
Such short-sightedness is all too human, and so there’s little point in our decrying it. In any case, such self-interest would at least help save us from the looming fascist order–if (again) the Democrats would only act out of self-interest, rather than continuing to acquiesce so masochistically in BushCo’s grand subversion of American democracy, or what’s now left of it. They cannot, will not, face the truth about the nature of BushCo’s regime. Thus they keep rubber-stamping Bush’s steps toward absolute control of the election system, as they just did last night, approving the appointment of an outright Bushevik to Bush’s EAC.
This cave-in–and the current rush to pass Rush Holt’s bill’ which will finally do more harm than good–make clear that the Democrats feel much assured by their big “victory” in November. They tell themselves that they gave Bush the “thumpin’” that he so quaintly mentioned in his first press conference after E-Day. They tell themselves that their big win of 29 House seats was a sort of proof that things can’t really be so bad, or they would not have been permitted to perform so well.

What they cannot, will not, face is the unpleasant truth about that last election: that there was vast election fraud from coast to coast again; that the volume of complaints from the grass roots (remember them?) was evidently greater than it was two years before; that the Dems arguably won not a mere 29 states but at least 50 (and probably did better in the Senate than they think). In short, they will not, cannot, face the fact that Bush did not just get a “thumpin’,” but was routed–and that it was not Rahm Emanuel/Chuck Schumer who deserve our praises for the (actual) devastation of the Bush Republicans, but the people, who turned out in record numbers, and with a new doggedness, to vote against the Bush regime and all its works. The Democratic party will not give them any credit for that action, or help those who were disenfranchised once again.
There are currently four Democrats, all of them in Florida, challenging the outcome of the 2006 election, and collecting evidence of election fraud in every case; and they’re doing it with no help from the party, which also pressed a number of other “losing” Democratic candidates to do the “gracious” thing and shut their mouths–as if it were “ungracious” to assert, and to defend, the right to vote.
Before Election Day, Republicans refused to talk about election fraud because it would hurt their interests, they having lately “won.” Now it’s the Democrats who play the issue down, or keep ignoring it, for the very same reason. Thus both parties seem inclined to sell the voters out.
This is not about affixing printers to the DRE machines, or any other trivial (and useless) technical adjustment. It’s about confronting those who can’t and won’t confront the enemies of what was once was the world’s most promising democracy. We must confront them now, and force them to confront and overwhelm those enemies, or we can kiss the Constitution, and the Planet Earth, goodbye.
MCM

Guest Blogged by John Gideon

As much as we may disagree with People for the American Way (PFAW), of late, concerning their position fully supportive of the deeply flawed and potentially quite dangerous Holt Election Reform bill (HR811), we think they’re dead right on this issue, from a press release sent to The BRAD BLOG today (full release at end of this article)…
The Senate Did What?

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The Senate confirmed last night by unanimous consent the nominations of Caroline Hunter and Rosemary Rodriguez to the Election Assistance Commission, approving the nominations without debate and without recorded roll call votes. The nomination of Hunter, a partisan operative with no experience in election administration, had been widely criticized by civil rights and voting rights advocacy groups.

The confirmations took place even though the Rules Committee had not yet considered the nominations, and no hearings were held.

And PFAW Director, Ralph Neas had this to say:

“We are deeply disappointed that the Senate did not take to heart its responsibility to provide open, transparent oversight of the EAC through this confirmation process,” said PFAW President Ralph G. Neas. “Confirming these nominees under the cover of night sends exactly the wrong message to millions of Americans who are counting on Congress to improve our nation’s election system. It’s too late to get these confirmations right, but it is not too late to improve oversight of the EAC. We will strongly support congressional efforts to enact additional EAC oversight and reporting requirements.”

The full press release from PFAW is below, followed by details on just why the RNC’s former White House liason and Ohio 2004 operative, Caroline Hunter, should be a great concern to democracy lovers as well as Democrats in the Senate who have failed here to perform their mandated oversight duties…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 16, 2007

CONTACT: Nick Berning or Stacey Gates at 202-467-4999 / media@pfaw.org

The Senate Did What?

Questionable EAC nominee confirmed yesterday with no hearing and no oversight, underscoring need for reform

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The Senate confirmed last night by unanimous consent the nominations of Caroline Hunter and Rosemary Rodriguez to the Election Assistance Commission, approving the nominations without debate and without recorded roll call votes. The nomination of Hunter, a partisan operative with no experience in election administration, had been widely criticized by civil rights and voting rights advocacy groups.

The confirmations took place even though the Rules Committee had not yet considered the nominations, and no hearings were held. People For the American Way, which has made election reform the key priority in its 2007 legislative agenda, strongly criticized the lack of transparency in the confirmation process and called for additional oversight and reporting requirements for the EAC.

“We are deeply disappointed that the Senate did not take to heart its responsibility to provide open, transparent oversight of the EAC through this confirmation process,” said PFAW President Ralph G. Neas. “Confirming these nominees under the cover of night sends exactly the wrong message to millions of Americans who are counting on Congress to improve our nation’s election system. It’s too late to get these confirmations right, but it is not too late to improve oversight of the EAC. We will strongly support congressional efforts to enact additional EAC oversight and reporting requirements.”

Neas added that the lack of transparency was particularly significant in this case because the nomination of Hunter had been widely criticized, and because the EAC has suffered a series of stumbles in recent months. In particular, the EAC has been criticized by nonpartisan academics and commentators for failing to disclose its decreditation of Ciber Labs, which certi
fies
election equipment used by two-thirds of the country, and for an extremely problematic change of course on a recent voter ID study it commissioned.

“Hearings are always important, but they are especially important when a nomination faces questions like the ones that were swirling around the nomination of Caroline Hunter,” Neas said. “We’re talking about putting a partisan political operative with no election administration experience in a position that could affect the outcome of the 2008 elections. It’s not like the EAC doesn’t have enough problems already. Hopefully this will serve as a teachable moment and will motivate members of Congress to enact comprehensive election reform.”

The EAC, which was created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002, is responsible for producing guidelines for the use of election technology, establishing recommended minimum election administration standards for states, and distributing funding to states to help them meet HAVA requirements.

###

And why is there a concern about Caroline Hunter? As pointed out by Warren Stewart at VoteTrustUSA:

“In her role as Deputy Counsel to the Republican National Committee, Ms. Hunter assisted the RNC and State Parties in some way with HAVA implementation. She also defended the RNC’s attempt to use a list of over 23,000 names for challenges in the 2004 presidential election in Ohio.”

The Help America Vote Act of 2002 is the defining law concerning the mandated qualification of EAC commissioners. It mandates that commissioners “shall have experience with or expertise in election administration or the study of elections.” Hunter has voted in the past, we can only assume, and that seems to be her only experience with election administration or study of elections beyond her partisan work for the RNC.

Source: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4155


Obama Is the Best BS Artist Since Bill Clinton
By Matt Taibbi, RollingStone.com
Last Friday night a friend called and told me that Barack Obama had posted a sort of pre-announcement of the start of his presidential campaign on his website. I immediately cued it up and within ten minutes was writing a column blasting him for ripping off half of his campaign speech from a smorgasbord of ‘04 Democratic candidates — then stopped when I realized that I’d already written exactly that column about Hillary Clinton’s kickoff speech a few weeks ago.

So I went back and watched the speech again, and I actually felt chills run up my spine. A few weeks ago, Hillary Clinton’s launch speech ripped off John Kerry and the DLC with its “Let’s have a conversation” theme; Obama, meanwhile, went the Howard Dean route, nicking “A campaign to take America back” from Dean and RFK Jr., among others. The fact that Hillary, like Kerry, is set up as the DLC-acolyte candidate while Obama, like Dean, is set up as the antiwar candidate suggests a kind of permanent template for the Democratic primary process. Maybe soon the race for the Democratic primary will be like Everytown USA’s annual high school production of A Streetcar Named Desire, where every year they find a new antiwar Blanche and a new pro-corporate Stanley. The faces are different, the lines are the same.

I’ve been on the fence about Obama for more than two years now, ever since his breakout performance at the Democratic convention in ‘04. When I saw that speech — an iconic piece of inspired nonsense/political showmanship, one that set flashbulbs popping like Michael Jordan’s virtuoso 1988 dunk contest performance — I knew right away that he would be the Democratic presidential nominee someday, perhaps even in the next election cycle.
When I mentioned this to my friends, they told me I was crazy. Obama had had absolutely no national experience at that time, he was a political virgin, there was no way he was ready for prime time. My answer to that was, compared to what? Throw a guy who can speak like that against the list of likely Democratic candidates in 2008 — a sorry collection of human saline drips that included Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, John Kerry, Joe Biden, and Chris Dodd — and Obama could fucking walk to the nomination, even if he chose a page from the Betty Crocker cookbook as his stump speech.

Read more.


Friends, come welcome me back (more or less) from the dead…

MCM

First Tuesdays Political Series: Election Analysis
This event is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb 6th – 7:00 PM
Steve Freeman, author of Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen? (Seven Stories Press)
and David Moore, author of How To Steal An Election (Nation Books)

This monthly series hosted by author and activist Mark Crispin Miller features authors whose books tackle political and public issues from a stance outside the mainstream. Moore and Freeman examine the outrageous events surrounding the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections from different perspectives. Moore, at the time senior editor for the Gallup Poll, highlights the influence of Jeb Bush and the Fox Network in 2000. Freeman, a scholar of organizational studies, presents the discrepancy between exit polls and official vote tallies in 2004 and asks why this huge gap occurred. Join us for a searing discussion of the mechanics and politics of contemporary elections.
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About News From Underground

News From Underground is a daily e-news service run by Mark Crispin Miller, a Professor of Culture and Communication at NYU. It is based on his belief that academics, like reporters, have a civic obligation to help keep the people well-informed, so that American democracy might finally work.

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