Friday 1/7/05 Election/Fraud/Recount Thread

[MelissaB]

In order to organize and document I thought it would be a good idea to have a daily thread to place items related to the recounts/fraud. This also make it easier to "catch up" when we are away from the computer for a while.

Please help us. If you see something that isn't here post it with a link to the thread and a thanks to the author. Thanks to everyone who is helping with this project.

Link to the thread from yesterday: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x245668


In honor of a hero:

[MelissaB]

1. The Nashua Advocate: Election Challenge Recap and a Salute to Activists

We hope you'll stop by and check out our new article, a good deal of which is dedicated to all you activists out there.

The article can be found here --

http://www.nashuaadvocate.blogspot.com /

A quick note: we're honored to have been quoted on the website of the non-partisan National Research Commission on Elections and Voting, as well as on the high-traffic Democrats.com site.

We were also thrilled to learn recently that an Advocate article is footnoted in a working draft of the newest Freeman/Simon exit poll analysis.

The News Editor
The Nashua Advocate


Thanks to nashuaadvocate here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x258513

[MelissaB]

2. kick for

morning help. I'm at work and this site is about to be blocked. :)

[Wilms]

3. truthout.org :I: William Pitt

"Rather than listen to me natter on this afternoon, you might be interested in reading some responses I received regarding yesterday's events in Congress."

<http://truthout.org/fyi/>

[MelissaB]

4. Members of Congress Shine a Light on Voting Problems

Senator Barbara Boxer and Representatives Stephanie Tubbs, John Conyers and Jesse Jackson, Jr. turned a bright light on election irregularities and the urgent need for election reform by orchestrating a debate in both houses of Congress by way of a challenge to Ohio's electors (brought by Tubbs and signed by Boxer). We hope this historic Congressional debate will add momentum to the drive for election reform, and help us achieve free and fair elections for every American.

Too many people, overwhelmingly people of color and those who live in poor neighborhoods, have been denied the right to vote. Long lines, poorly trained poll workers, bureaucratic snafus, old and outdated equipment, political calculations by elections officials, misapplied regulations, and outright voter intimidation and suppression kept uncounted thousands of voters away from the polls and left thousands of votes uncounted in 2004.

Our Election Protection Coalition documented these problems in Ohio and across the nation. We will renew and redouble our efforts to press for election reform at the local, state and national level. The world’s greatest democracy deserves the world’s finest system of elections, and we will not give up until every American citizen can cast a vote that will be counted.

Link: http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=17638

[Wilms]

5. MSNBC : Eleanor Clift

Sticking Together

by: Eleanor Clift

-snip-

"You don’t have to believe in conspiracy theories..."

-more-

<http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6799311/site/newsweek>

[MelissaB]

6. The Procedural Scheming Of Boxer-Jones

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) did something remarkable Thursday, something that hasn’t been done for 36 years. Both Jones and Boxer objected to the certification of the State of Ohio’s 2004 electoral votes. The action caused a delay in the formal declaration of President Bush’s second term – if only for a few hours – in favor of invoking a little employed procedure – per Congressional rules – that mandated both chambers recess in order to “debate” the issue; the issue at hand – voting irregularities.

I was born and raised in the Chicago area so when I hear that Democrats are concerned about “voting irregularities” I tend to chuckle. Growing up in the land of the Daley’s and the Jackson’s, the phrase, “Vote early and vote often,” many times wasn’t a joke. In fact, Chicago is famous (or infamous) for being the city that had the most dead people voting in a municipal election. Combine that with the “alleged” time-honored Chicago political machine tradition of soliciting votes from those who aren’t registered and sometimes aren’t even documented citizens and we can see how the Democratic machine in Chicago maintains its iron-fisted “blue state” status.

So, to hear Boxer’s explanation of why she and Jones would choose to waste not only the Congress’s time but also the taxpayers’ money on a political stunt – a scheme – that had no hopes of achieving anything but resurrecting the political divide of this most recent election, I immediately had to wonder if they had spent any time in Chicago under Daley tutorage.

Boxer, after having expressed that she was “moved” by Jones’s concerns about reported election irregularities in Ohio, is quoted as having written to Jones:

"I have concluded that objecting to the electoral votes from Ohio is the only immediate way to bring these issues to light by allowing you to have a two-hour debate to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio's election."


More: http://www.americandaily.com/article/6429

[MelissaB]

7. Democracy Now: Electoral College Challenged By Dems

Electoral College Challenged By Dems
For only the second time since 1877, the certification of a presidential election victory was challenged in the Congress. A small group of Democrats forced House and Senate debates on Election Day problems in Ohio before letting Congress certify President Bush's victory over Sen. John Kerry in November. The challenge came after California Senator Barbara Boxer signed a challenge mounted by House Democrats to Ohio's 20 electoral votes, which put Bush over the top. In a moment we will play excerpts from yesterday's debate in the House and Senate.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/07/1621231

[MelissaB]

8. History in the Making: Dems Force Debate on Ohio Voting Irregularities

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For only the second time in over a century, Congress debated certification of the Electoral College vote. The joint session vote tally was interrupted by Rep. Stephanie Tubbs (D-OH) who, along with other House Democrats, mounted a challenge to Ohio's 20 electoral votes. The challenge was signed by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), forcing the House and Senate to split and have a two-hour debate on voting irregularities. We hear excerpts of Republicans and Democrats in both chambers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The House and Senate met in joint session yesterday to count the electoral votes in the 2004 presidential election and certify President Bush's win over John Kerry.

>>>snip

The Electoral College vote tally was interrupted by Democratic Congressmember Stephanie Tubbs of Ohio. Tubbs is the leader of a small group of Democrats who agreed to force House and Senate debates on voting irregularities in Ohio by mounting a challenge to the state's 20 electoral votes that had secured President Bush's reelection.
Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer of California yesterday signed the House challenge - a move no Senator was willing to do in 2000, when African-American Congressmembers rose to protest the vote from Florida.


Link: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/07/1621240

[MelissaB]

9. Heroes By William Rivers Pitt

Heroes
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Friday 07 January 2005

"I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom."
- Bob Dylan

As one of the journalists privileged to be able to report on the events which culminated in Thursday’s challenge to the Ohio Electors, I have had the chance to meet and observe a whole crowd of remarkable people. They deserve to be recognized.

David Cobb and Michael Badnarik: The presidential candidates for the Green Party and Libertarian Party deserve the lion’s share of praise and credit for the events of Thursday January 6th. Before anyone else came within a mile of pushing the pile towards some kind of national reckoning regarding the election ‘irregularities’ in Ohio, Cobb and Badnarik had their shoulders down and were throwing weight. Their lawsuits in Ohio may develop into a truly significant process, particularly if their motions to preserve evidence, examine the voting machines and depose the election players are allowed to proceed. The outcome and ultimate results of Thursday’s Electoral challenge may still be in the wind, but one thing is certain: Cobb and Badnarik forced the Democrats to do the right thing, and that makes Thursday a banner day for third parties in America.

Jon Bonifaz and Cliff Arnebeck: These two attorneys are at the heart of the Cobb/Badnarik legal effort in Ohio. In both the Ohio state court and the Federal court, they are working to bring these challenges to a fruitful conclusion. Bonifaz and Arnebeck have also been central in elevating public awareness of the problems we endure in our election process, and worked diligently to educate members of congress about what we face.

Bev Harris and Andy Stephenson: The two pillars of BlackBoxVoting.org, Bev and Andy basically killed themselves over the two years before the 2004 election to bring public attention to the catastrophic problems involved in ‘electronic voting.’ I have clear memories of crossing paths with Andy in Seattle, and remember being amazed that he was still on his feet. The bags under his eyes could have had ‘Samsonite’ stamped on them, but still he kept on. There has recently been a falling-out among the BlackBoxVoting crew, and I take no position whatsoever on that sad little soap opera. Whatever you may think about that, the fact remains that Bev and Andy were the first, and the best, advocates for election reform regarding these new machines.

Link: http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/010805X.shtml

Thanks to WilliamPitt here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x264438

[dzika]

10. Kerry to visit West Bank polling place

Kerry to visit West Bank polling place
By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Writer | January 7, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Democratic Sen. John Kerry, who lost his bid for president in the November election, will be in the West Bank for the Palestinian election on Sunday and is expected to visit a polling place.

Kerry, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is on a two-week trip to the Middle East. He has visited Baghdad and met with military leaders in Iraq.

Palestinians will be electing a president to replace Yasser Arafat, who died Nov. 11. The latest polls show interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas with a wide lead over democracy activist Mustafa Barghouti.

Because of his travels, Kerry was not in Washington on Thursday as Congress affirmed President Bush's election victory, certifying the 286-251 Electoral College vote. A total of 270 votes are needed to win.

link
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/01/07/kerry_to_visit_west_bank_polling_place/

[Wilms]

11. Ahternoon Tea/Kick. n/t

[texpatriot2004]

12. kick it for the evening crowd n/t

[Wilms]

13. Did Networks Fake Exit Polls, While AP “Accessed” ...

Did Networks Fake Exit Polls, While AP “Accessed” 2,995 Mainframe Computers?

by Lynn Landes
www.dissidentvoice.org
January 6, 2005

-snip-

John Zogby, President of Zogby International, a well-known polling company, said that such complete non-transparency is a “violation of polling ethics.”

-more-

<http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Jan05/Landes0106.htm>

[Wilms]

14. Kick for dinner.