Thursday 1/20/05 Election/Fraud/Recount/Protest Thread

[dzika]

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=203x293494

[dzika]

1. Video - Daily Show exposes the comedy behind today's neocon festival

Daily Show with John Stewart from 01-19-05



Windows Media (100k stream):
http://www.edwardsdavid.com/BushVideos/dailyshow_050119-03.wmv

[dzika]

2. John Kerry Letter - My vote against the Rice nomination

Email received at 12:38 AM.

Click here to sign


Dear David,

Earlier today, I voted in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee against the nomination of Dr. Condoleezza Rice for Secretary of State. This vote is an expression of my determination that we hold the Bush administration accountable.

Dr. Rice is a principal architect, implementer, and defender of a series of Administration policies that have not made our country as secure as we should be and have alienated much-needed allies in our common cause of winning the war against terrorism. Regrettably, I did not see in Dr. Rice's testimony before our committee any acknowledgment of the need to change course or of a new vision for America's role in the world.

On Iraq, on North Korea, on Iran, to name just a few of the most critical challenges, it seems to be more of the same. I hope I am proven wrong. I hope the course will change. And I hope that the Administration will recognize the strength of a foreign policy that has bipartisan support.

I am prepared to work with Dr. Rice and others in the Administration to try to reach agreement on policies that will truly strengthen our security and restore America's credibility on the world stage. And I am confident colleagues on both sides of the aisle are prepared to do so as well.

But, we've got to remain firm in our insistence that those who create policies that don't work have the courage to admit their mistakes and the wisdom to change course. Our johnkerry.com community has been expressing that determination in huge numbers.

Over 700,000 people have called on President Bush to fire Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense.

If you haven't signed the Rumsfeld petition, please do so immediately.

http://www.johnkerry.com/ReplaceRumsfeld

And, please forward the petition right now to friends and colleagues, urging them to join in this effort.

I know you share my strong convictions on the importance of holding the President and his Cabinet accountable. I pledge to you that I will not yield in this effort. Let's keep working together. America's future is at stake.

Sincerely,

John Kerry

[dzika]

3. The Daily Buzz wants to know what we think about the party today

(thanks to helderheid)

write: [e-mail]

What I wrote:

subject: water cooler

We are at war (one we just confirmed was based on false information), our economy is in the tank, and the world has just experienced the horror of a tsunami that took over 200,000 lives. Spending 40 million on a party is in bad taste. I heard Laura Bush's dress cost over $20,000!

I'm not sure he should even be inaugurated today, let alone have a party. There were so many voting irregularities that for the first time since 1877, the election was challenged when they counted the electoral votes. The exit polls showed Kerry winning in a landslide. The Ukraine got a new election and we can't even get an investigation!

The original exit polls can be seen here: http://www.exitpollz.org / which show a couple states shifting for Kerry within the margin of error, but check out how many shifted for Bush outside the margin of error? I wonder what the chances of that happening are and I wonder how many of those used those electronic voting machines that have no verifiable paper receipt!

name
city

DU Thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x294641

[dzika]

4. BLAST! LETTER OF THE WEEK #1: The Media and the Protests URGENT!

(thanks to Peace Patriot)

Some of us are starting a LETTER OF THE WEEK feature here that will provide sample letters that you can use on one forum-selected topic per week, and contact information, mostly aimed at helping Congress focus on our issues, to support progressives in Congress who are taking brave stances against the BushCons, and to encourage others to join them. Barbara Boxer wrote that she had 40,000 letters backing her up in her tough interrogation of Condaleeza Rice this week. This inspired us to want to do more.

See our forum beginnings at

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

This first letter, however, is aimed at the media, just for today, to encourage them to provide coverage of the DC protests--the people who represent the majority of Americans in disapproving of George W. Bush's war (disapproval of the war at nearly 60%)! (WE are the majority!)

Here is an easy MEDIA BLASTER by which you can send one of these sample letters, or your own letter, out to dozens and dozens of news organizations, all at once. Just cut and paste the four sets of media email addresses into your email program, cut and paste your letter, and SEND:

http://www.independentmediasource.com/voteintegrity2_12...

-----------

SAMPLE LETTER #1:

Dear (any news organization)

I urge you to take the occasion of the Bush Regime's inauguration to evaluate the American peoples' disapproval of his war, now up to almost 60%. The people who are protesting his inauguration in DC today speak for most Americans. That's what these opinion polls are saying.

Please treat these representatives of the majority fairly and fully in your coverage of this event. You should know that you are also being evaluated on your fulfillment of your duty as journalists and as a news organization. That same 60% or so majority who disapprove of Bush's war, are also dismayed at your failure to question this regime on its many lies, hypocrisies, wretched policies and crimes.

Many people are now seeking out alternative news sources because we feel misrepresented and misinformed by the news media. We expect tough questioning of this Regime—such as that of Senator Barbara Boxer in her questioning of Condaleeza Rice about Iraq, in the recent hearing. We expect tough investigation, such as that conducted by Congressman John Conyers on election fraud. We expect news organizations to stand in opposition to the powers that be, not in collusion with them. And we expect protesters, who represent a majority of Americans, to be given at least equal time with George Bush.

----------

SAMPLE LETTER #2

Dear (to TV news organizations)

The real story of January 20, 2005, is that Americans' disapproval of Bush's war stands at almost 60%. The real story is therefore outside the vetted crowds of the coronation ceremony among the people who are fed up with this regime and have come to DC to protest it, with colorful signs reading, "Stop your murderous war!", "Bring the troops home!," "Count every vote," and "Don't rob the elderly!" These protesters are the true face of America as it expresses its rejection of the most unpopular president in American history.

The real story can also be found all around the country where people will be turning away from their TV screens in disgust at this regime, which has no concept of how ordinary people live in this catastrophically mismanaged country.

You wonder why your news ratings are dropping? It's because you don't cover the real story.

Sincerely,

-------------

SAMPLE LETTER #3: (a somewhat funnier version of the above)

Dear (any TV news organization):

You wonder why your news ratings are dropping?

It's because the Bush Regime is boring and their coronation is boring. Same old imperial bloodshed in foreign wars, debt and deprivation at home, and the country's treasury squandered on gold crowns, ermine lined coronation capes and opulent balls.

People have seen this before for thousands and thousands of years. They would rather have a real democracy, with all its free speech, diversity and healthy skepticism. And they would rather have help with their medical bills, finding jobs and surviving in this BushWhacked economy. And they would rather have their sons and daughters home from foreign wars, healthy and whole. THAT would interest them--leaders who care!

So, get creative! Start thinking for yourselves, and cover the REAL news--like all those protesters out there under the cold DC sky with their colorful signs and rebellious ideas. ("Count every vote!", "Bring the troops home!", "Stop your murderous war!" "Don't rob the elderly!") THAT's news. Bush is not.

As a matter of fact, nearly 60% of Americans disapprove of Bush's major project, the Iraq war. The protesters represent a majority of the people. Please treat them accordingly. They are NOT boring. And people will like to see THEIR representatives in Washington.

Sincerely,


DU Thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x294547

[dzika]

5. PLEASE!!! Don't Let the Recount Fight Die! - From RECOUNTOHIO.ORG

(thanks to Karenca)

Dear Friends,

On the eve of the presidential inauguration, we want to thank you for your
support during the RecountOhio fight. Despite the disappointing
results of the recount in Ohio, there are positive accomplishments
emerging from your efforts:

1. You Helped Spread The Word: Your support enabled a campaign in the
media and online to shed light on election day inconsistencies and
the lack of confidence many Americans have with the voting system.
Click Here to Listen to the Radio Ad
Click Here to See Some of Our Internet Ads
2. The Votes Were Recounted: Despite a disappointing result, pressure
from many groups forced election officials in Ohio to acknowledge
problems and conduct a recount.

3. It Didn't End Quietly and Congress Is Not Letting The Fight Die:
This campaign led members of Congress to hold the first debate on
election results in decades. While most members agreed to uphold the
election results many have promised to continue to fight to ensure
fair elections. Members of Congress, such as John Conyers and
Stephanie Tubbs Jones are continuing the investigation and asking the
Government Accountability Office to make recommendations for conducting
fairer elections going forward (visit www.recountohio.org to learn more).

Going Forward: We must continue to ensure that elections are conducted
fairly and that partisan officials do not have a major role in running
elections. We must also hold legislators to their word - that they will affect
change in our electoral system.

In the coming weeks and months, we welcome your thoughts, comments and
suggestions for how we can work together to ensure a brighter future
for America.

Please respond to this e-mail or visit www.recountohio.org to give us
your thoughts on how we should go forward.

Again, thank you for all you have done, this would not have been
possible without your support.

Best,
Michael and Jason


This email was sent to [e-mail], by Recount Ohio
PO Box 1630 Washington , DC 20013 United States


DU Thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x294308

[dzika]

6. The Nashua Advocate: The Most Savage Editorial/Satire We've Ever Published

But funny, too, in a well-deserved kind of way.

The News Editor
The Nashua Advocate

---

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

The Empire Strikes Back: Emperor of Ohio Elections, Blackwell, G.O.P. Blackguards Attack With Frivolous Suits, Vicious Lies, Misinformation, More Lies

AN ADVOCATE EDITORIAL

(This edition of The Orange Report, officially No. 8, is sub-titled, "If You're Not Angry, You're Not Listening: Why Election Reform Is the Civil Rights Issue of Our Lifetime, Worth Fighting or Even Dying For."

The Report is further sub-titled, "What We Mean to Say Is, Blackwell Gives Men, People With Glasses, Secretaries, Ohioans, Balding Persons, Vicious Liars, Onions, Politicians, Imbeciles, Persons Employing the Phrase 'The Honorable' As a Prefix, Christians, Bicycle Enthusiasts, The Buck-Toothed, and Republican Hacks a Bad Name; Also, He Cheats at Racquetball."

The Orange Report No. 8 is dedicated to: the late Senator Joseph McCarthy; Sean Hannity's Ability to Lie With a Straight Face and With No Apparent Effect on His Conscience and/or Everlasting Soul, Such As Same Should Exist and/or Be Required By His Employer; and Carlo LoParo's Ability to Count to Eleven All By Himself.

What follows and precedes is the opinion and satire of The Nashua Advocate).


read it all...
http://nashuaadvocate.blogspot.com/2005/01/empire-strikes-back-emperor-of-ohio.html

DU Thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x294162

[dzika]

7. WaPo - Text Messages to Mobilize Inauguration Protesters

Wednesday, January 19, 2005; 5:21 PM

Text Messages to Mobilize Inauguration Protesters

By Robert MacMillan
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer


About 400 demonstrators who plan to protest President Bush's inauguration Thursday will take their cues from a higher power -- the cellular airwaves.

The organizers of Turn Your Back on Bush will use a free service called "TxtMob" to coordinate their silent protest against the president. As the presidential motorcade travels down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House after Bush's swearing-in, protesters lining the parade route are expected to turn their backs.

Turn Your Back on Bush plans to use TxtMob to provide "updates on the action" as well as more practical advice such as which security checkpoints people should avoid because they are too crowded. A separate message list for the media will also be maintained.

"People are familiar with a large march or protest model so the act that we're doing is something different and new," set Jet Heiko, 31, spokesman for Turn Your Back on Bush. "In a sense, undermining the message that George Bush would like to have on that day requires us to communicate in a different way with people."


continued
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21737-2005Jan19.html

[dzika]

8. Bush's Unaccountability Moment

January 20, 2005

Bush's Unaccountability Moment

By Nat Parry

George W. Bush has declared his election victory the “accountability moment,” which both cleanses him of blame for the war in Iraq and may clear the way for new wars in the future, a kind of absolution and blessing combined.

Bush reportedly is asserting, too, that his mandate puts him above post-Vietnam War laws that require a president to inform Congress of covert operations and get war-powers approval. Journalist Seymour Hersh seems on target when he describes plans to both circumvent the rules on covert actions and consolidate these secret activities under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his band of neoconservatives in the Pentagon.

Like a recent story in Newsweek, Hersh indicates in a New Yorker article that Bush may seek to replicate the “death squad” operations used in the 1980s against leftist rebels and their supporters in Central America. Hersh said the new approach will include deploying counter-terrorist “action teams” in Iraq and around the world.

“Do you remember the right-wing execution squads in El Salvador?” a former high-level intelligence official asked Hersh, recalling the Salvadoran “death squads.” “We founded them and we financed them,” the ex-official said. Now, a former military officer added, “We’re going to be riding with the bad boys.”

According to Hersh's article, Bush also appears to be laying the groundwork for at least limited attacks against military targets in Iran, with Congress largely kept in the dark. (See Hersh’s “The Coming Wars,” New Yorker, Jan. 24-31, 2005, and Consortiumnews.com’s “Bush’s ‘Death Squads.’”)


continued
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/012005.html

[dzika]

9. Letter: Nine Democrats call for full hearing on voting reform, irregularit

(I know this was posted yesterday. In case you missed it...)

1/19/2005

Letter: Nine House Democrats call for full hearing on voting reform, irregularities
Filed under: General— site admin @ 5:07 pm Email This


From Rep. John Conyers, Jr.’s office:

The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Chairman:

We write to you at the very outset of the 109th Congress, to request that our committee hold hearings and investigate the vital issue of protecting our citizens right to vote. The right to vote is the very foundation of our Democracy and is at the core of our Committee’s jurisdiction, and we can think of no more important or urgent issue before us than protecting our democratic rights. While the election is settled, however, our job as legislators on the Judiciary Committee to make sure that the constitutional right to vote is protected is just beginning.

In congressional forums many of us participated in Washington D.C. and Columbus, Ohio, we learned of significant voter irregularities in Ohio. These irregularities are included in a 100 page report Mr. Conyers issued, and include the following:

• The misallocation of voting machines led to lines of ten hours or more that disenfranchised scores if not hundreds of thousands of predominantly minority and Democratic voters. In Franklin County, 27 of the 30 wards with the most machines per registered voter showed majorities for Bush, while six of the seven wards with the fewest machines delivered large margins for Kerry.

• The Ohio Republican Party’s decision to engage in preelection “caging” tactics, selectively targeting 35,000 predominantly minority voters for intimidation had a negative impact on voter turnout. The Third Circuit found these activities to be illegal and in direct violation of consent decrees barring the targeting minority voters for poll challenges.

The Ohio Republican Party’s decision to utilize thousands of partisan challengers concentrated in minority and Democratic areas disenfranchised numerous legal voters, who were not only intimidated, but became discouraged by the long lines in the adverse weather. Shockingly, these disruptions were publicly predicted by Republican officials: Mark Weaver, a lawyer for the Ohio Republican Party, admitted the challenges “can’t help but create chaos, longer lines and frustration.”

Numerous instances of intimidation and misinformation occurred across the state of Ohio that would appear to violate the Voting Rights Act. For example, the NAACP stated that it received over 200 calls regarding incidents of suspected voter intimidation or unusual election related activities, particularly actions taken by challengers who intimidated poll workers and voters. Other specific incidents involved a caller who reported that someone was going door-to-door telling people they were not registered to vote. A voter in Franklin County received information in the mail identified as being from the state that said he would have to vote by provisional ballot because he had moved; in fact, the voter had not moved and had lived at the address for 10-15 years. One polling place worker was reportedly only asking African American voters for their address.

In Franklin County, a worker at the Holiday Inn observed a team of 25 people who called themselves the “Texas Strike Force” using payphones to make intimidating calls to likely voters, targeting people recently in the prison system. The “Texas Strike Force” members hotel accommodations were apparently paid for by the Ohio Republican Party, whose headquarters is across the street. The hotel worker heard one caller threaten a likely voter with being reported to the FBI and returning to jail if he voted. Another hotel worker called the police, who came but did nothing. There were also reports of phone calls incorrectly informing voters that their polling place had changed.

• The Cleveland Plain Dealer found that several Lake County residents received an official-looking letter on Board of Elections letterhead informing them that their polling place had changed or that they were not properly registered to vote. A fake voter bulletin from Franklin County Board of Elections was posted at polling locations, and fliers were distributed in the inner city, telling Republicans to vote on Tuesday and Democrats to vote on Wednesday due to unexpected heavy voter registration.

• In Cleveland, the Washington Post reported that unknown volunteers began showing up at voters’ doors illegally offering to collect and deliver complete absentee ballots to the election office. The Election Protection Coalition testified that in Franklin County, voters received fliers informing them that they could cast a ballot on November 3. Also, in Franklin County there were reports that about a dozen voters were contacted by someone claiming to be from the county board of elections, telling them their voting location was changed, and “door-hangers” telling African-American voters to go to the wrong precinct were distributed.

In our view, this course of events is not consistent with the right to vote as we understand it. The fact that many of these instances appear to be focused particularly on minority voters is all the more disheartening, and triggers even more clearly our jurisdiction involving civil rights.

We look forward to full and open hearings concerning these instances of disenfranchisement in Ohio and around the Nation. We very much would like to work with you and your staff to insure that allegations of improprieties by both Democrats and Republicans are looked into and considered.

link to BlueLemur
http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=563

[dzika]

10. Black Box Voting Bulletin - lawsuit activated against Diebold

(For what it's worth...)

Black Box Voting Bulletin – Feel free to distribute

=================================
Jan 19, 2005 – see below for:
- Issues affecting update schedule, Web address for updates
- Consumer protection lawsuit activated against Diebold: Discovery starts Feb 4.
- New Black Box Voting DOCUMENT ARCHIVE (Programmers especially, check this out)
- The “Crypto Solution” – New ways to take away your paper ballot.
- Constitutional Equal Protection Amendment for voters?
- BBV Confidential
=================================

ISSUES AFFECTING UPDATE SCHEDULE: Several technical issues impeded our e-mail update schedule. We have worked through them, except for one, which we will finish next week. Because many of you have not received some of the updates, this bulletin has a summary of the latest, and Web links for all of the updates so far.

WEB ADDRESS FOR ONLINE UPDATES:
http://www.blackboxvoting.org – CLICK “Forums” – THEN SELECT “Latest Updates.”
Direct link: http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/1954.html
=================================

2. UPDATE 1-18-05: CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWSUIT ACTIVATED AGAINST DIEBOLD: DISCOVERY SCHEDULED TO COMMENCE Feb.4. Black Box Voting board member Jim March and Executive Director Bev Harris filed two lawsuits against Diebold in California. The first, a false claims ("Qui Tam") suit, is expected to settle shortly for a $2.6 million payout to the state of California by Diebold.

The California false claims case is the first successful consumer case against Diebold, and at a $2.6 million reimbursement to California taxpayers, will assign the largest penalty in any voting machine-related case so far.

California is expected to compensate Harris and March for their original research in the case. The exact figure has not yet been determined by the courts, but the initial proposed settlement allocates around $76,000 each.

Bev Harris’s compensation will be donated to Black Box Voting, as a restricted contribution which must be spent specifically on additional consumer litigation to protect election integrity.

March and Harris have been joined by three other Californians in a second lawsuit, alleging fraudulent business practices and unfair competition by Diebold. Papers were filed this week in Sacramento Superior Court reactivating this lawsuit, which will provide a vehicle for seeking discovery from Diebold about its business practices and voting systems.

Some of the Qui Tam money is tagged towards underwriting discovery in the second case. Whereas in the first case, the California Attorney General was able to assert control, this newly reactivated case allows the plaintiffs more direct control over discovery. Plaintiffs have requested four months to conduct discovery, and have scheduled written interrogatories and witness requests by Feb. 4, 2005. (more: http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/2291.html)


too long to post it all here. I guess you can check out the BBV site if you need to know more.

[dzika]

11. O'Reilly denied well-documented Ohio voting problems

O'Reilly denied well-documented Ohio voting problems

http://mediamatters.org/items/200501190003

FOX News host Bill O'Reilly claimed that "there's no data at all" to support Senator John Kerry's claim that "thousands of people were suppressed in their effort to vote" in the 2004 presidential election. But The Washington Post reported that in Ohio alone, between 5,000 and 15,000 potential voters left without casting ballots.

On the January 18 edition of FOX News' The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly aired a clip of Kerry's January 17 speech to Boston's Martin Luther King Jr. Day Annual Memorial Breakfast. In his comments, Kerry noted: "Thousands of people were suppressed in their effort to vote. Voting machines were distributed in uneven ways. In Democratic districts, it took people four, five, 11 hours to vote, while Republicans sorted through in 10 minutes."

Following the clip, O'Reilly declared: "I don't know what he's talking about. I don't know one person who waited 11 hours to vote in this country." His guest, University of Pennsylvania assistant law professor Nathaniel Persily, noted that "there were reports of long lines, particularly in Ohio" and said of Kerry's allegations, "I think people are looking at this right now." But he added: "We certainly don't have any evidence of that yet." O'Reilly followed up: "There's no data at all, is there?"


In fact, The Washington Post found substantial data indicating that thousands of voters, particularly in Democratic counties, faced daunting lines at the polls, and that many were unable to vote. From the Post's December 15, 2004, article:

Electoral problems prevented many thousands of Ohioans from voting on Nov. 2. In Columbus, bipartisan estimates say that 5,000 to 15,000 frustrated voters turned away without casting ballots.

...

In Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo, and on college campuses, election officials allocated far too few voting machines to busy precincts, with the result that voters stood on line as long as 10 hours -- many leaving without voting. Some longtime voters discovered their registrations had been purged.

...

After the election, local political activists seeking a recount analyzed how Franklin County officials distributed voting machines. They found that 27 of the 30 wards with the most machines per registered voter showed majorities for Bush. At the other end of the spectrum, six of the seven wards with the fewest machines delivered large margins for Kerry. Voters in most Democratic wards experienced five-hour waits, and turnout was lower than expected.

...

In Knox County, some Kenyon College students waited 10 hours to vote.

O'Reilly concluded by calling Kerry dishonest and a "sore loser":

I don't like this. I don't think Kerry does himself any good saying this. I think he sounds like a sore loser. I think he's painting a picture that is not true, that Democrats had a harder time voting than Republicans. I do not believe that. I haven't seen any evidence of it.

Contact:
Bill O'Reilly [e-mail]

Contact:
FOX News Channel FOX News Channel
1-888-369-4762
[e-mail]
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036

Contact:
The O'Reilly Factor The O'Reilly Factor
[e-mail]

[dzika]

12. C-SPAN2: Coverage of Inaugural Protest

(thanks to sabra)
I believe it starts at 9:30 central...

http://www.c-span.org/watch/cspan2_wm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS2

DU Thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x294665

[dzika]

13. Bullshit from AP - Report cites exit polling problems - skewed for Kerry

(bullshit from AP...)

January 20, 2005

Report cites exit polling problems
Data seen skewed in favor of Kerry

By Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Two firms that conducted Election Day exit polls for major news organizations reported yesterday that they found a number of problems with the way the polls were carried out last year, resulting in estimates that overstated Senator John F. Kerry's share of the presidential vote.

the BS continues here...
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/01/20/report_cites_exit_polling_problems/

[dzika]

14. San Francisco - Protests to counter Bush fete

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Protests to counter Bush fete
Area's biggest likely at S.F. Civic Center

by Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer



Bay Area progressives will stage a buffet of counter-inaugural events today, from book parties and poetry readings to demonstrations.

The largest is expected to be a 5 p.m. rally at Civic Center in San Francisco, organized primarily by International ANSWER. Nearly two dozen speakers will take on the Bush administration on everything from the Iraq war to its plans for partial privatization of Social Security, after which demonstrators will march down Market Street to the Embarcadero.

"We feel that it's imperative to show how deep and wide the opposition is to this ridiculous inauguration," said International ANSWER organizer Marina Drummer, referring to President Bush's backers staging a $40 million celebration while the nation is at war.

"And, of course, we also want to bring the troops home now," Drummer said. Organizers are urging sympathizers to wear a white ribbon of mourning for those who have died in the Iraq war.

Bay Area protests will begin at 7 a.m. with banners unfurling from highway overpasses and prominent buildings declaring, "Not Our President," a brainchild of Not in Our Name, a national anti-war organization with an office in Oakland.


continued
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/01/20/MNGOJAT7CC1.DTL

[dzika]

15. Green Party Email - 31% IS NOT A MANDATE

COBB 2004 RELEASE: 31% IS NOT A MANDATE

COBB/LaMARCHE 2004 GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN http://www.votecobb.org

---

NEWS RELEASE

For immediate release: January 18, 2005
Contact: Blair Bobier, Media Director at 541.929.5755

COBB TO BUSH: 31% IS NOT A MANDATE

Green Party presidential candidate will speak for the majority of Americans at DC counter-inaugural activities

David Cobb, the Green Party's 2004 presidential candidate, will be speaking at two counter-inaugural rallies on Thursday, January 20, in Washington, DC, refuting the notion that President Bush has a mandate to bomb civilians in Iraq or spy on law-abiding citizens in the U.S.

"President Bush has lied to the American people time and time again and he's lying to himself if he thinks he has a mandate to govern--31% is not a mandate," said Cobb.

According to recently released figures, Mr. Bush won 50.8% of the popular vote from the 60.7% of eligible voters who actually cast ballots. Seventy eight million eligible voters did not vote for any presidential candidate. More people abstained from voting than the number who voted for Mr. Bush.

"The Green Party speaks for the majority of Americans. Most people want an end to the war in Iraq and to bring our troops home safely as soon as possible. Most people believe that everyone in this country is entitled to a Living Wage, health insurance and affordable housing. Most people believe in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution and are offended by the so-called "Patriot Act" and Bush's war on our civil liberties. Only when our voting system is improved and people are able to vote their conscience and know that their votes will be counted, will our government reflect the views of the people," said Cobb.

As part of a wide range of counter-inaugural activities taking place in the nation's capital, Cobb will be speaking Thursday at a 9 a.m. rally in Malcolm X Park, 16th and Euclid Streets NW, sponsored by the DC Anti-War Network. Cobb will then speak at a rally at MacPherson Square Park, 15th and I Streets NW, at approximately 11 a.m.

Information about additional counter-inaugural events, the Cobb-LaMarche campaign's role in the Ohio recount, and the New Voting Rights Movement can be found at http://www.votecobb.org. The website for the national Green Party is http://www.gp.org.

[dzika]

16. Dems look ahead to next election

Dems look ahead to next election

By Jeanne Cummings
The Wall Street Journal


WASHINGTON - As Republicans are celebrating President Bush’s second inauguration, Democrats are plotting the best way to prevent another Republican victory party in four years.

In doing so, they face a fundamental choice: Is the party best served by waging what one party strategist terms "total war" against the president and his party? Or, fearing such an approach would turn off more voters than it would energize, should Democrats pick their fights more selectively?
...

Stanley B. Greenberg, a well-respected polling expert, is drafting a book analyzing the 2004 elections that includes a chapter entitled "Toward Total War." In it, he concludes: "For the Democrats, the path to the future begins with a reckoning: there is no alternative to total war, indeed to a total campaign as well."
...

Faith-based activism

For now, congressional leaders are measuring their steps. "We have a responsibility to the public to find our common ground for the public good," says House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. "But where we don’t, we will stand our ground."

But the tug-of-war inside the Capitol Hill caucus is evident. California Sen. Barbara Boxer last month joined with Ohio Democrats to protest voting irregularities in the presidential race, causing a brief but symbolic delay in the counting of the Electoral College ballots. And Democrats will deny Bush the speedy confirmation of his Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. The Senate was expected to approve Rice following the president’s swearing-in today, but Democratic leaders announced Wednesday that they wanted several hours of floor debate on the nomination, likely delaying a final vote until next week. Rice’s approval isn’t in jeopardy, but her critics, including Sen. Boxer and Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, want a chance to express their concerns.

continued
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/01202005/world/60035.htm

[dzika]

17. Liberty News: Cartoon -- Inauguration

http://www.liberty-news.com/showNewsletter.php?id=200501201
by Lalo Alcaraz

[dzika]

18. Help the ACLU hold the President to his oath

Today, the President takes the presidential oath of office, "to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

But here at the ACLU, we are concerned that his actions will continue to belie that noble oath. Through their actions, President Bush and his Administration have made it clear that they want us to surrender our freedoms.

Today I am asking you to help the ACLU hold the President accountable to his pledge to protect and defend the Constitution by telling your Senators and Representative: "I refuse to surrender my freedom."

Tell them that you won't surrender your freedom ... and tolerate more and more government intrusion into our bedrooms, our churches and our doctors' offices, to interfere in who we love, how and if we pray and what kind of families we chose to create ... allow FBI investigations provoked by nothing more than exercising our freedom of speech ... accept that government agents could secretly search the books we read, the credit card purchases we make and the Internet sites we visit or stand silently by while they justify the kind of torture of prisoners that has long been held abhorrent to our country.

Click here to e-mail your Senators and Representative now!

You can urge your Senators and Representative to take the lead in opposing efforts to make the USA Patriot Act permanent. And you can urge them to oppose other affronts to freedom as well. Don't let them write discrimination into the Constitution ... undermine our basic right to privacy ... oppose reproductive freedom ... destroy the separation of church and state ... and selectively apply the right to due process.

[dzika]

19. Vote to confirm Rice is delayed

Posted on Thu, Jan. 20, 2005

Vote to confirm Rice is delayed

SOME REPUBLICANS VOICE DOUBTS ON IRAQ

HERALD-LEADER WIRE SERVICES


WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats delayed until next week confirmation of Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state, a pointed but symbolic gesture of their doubts about administration plans for Iraq.

Their refusal yesterday to hold a vote right after President Bush is inaugurated today followed the approval of Rice's nomination by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 16-2. That came after two days of often-contentious hearings at which some Republicans as well as Demo-crats voiced anxiety over Iraq.

Yesterday, Rice went slightly beyond her testimony of Tuesday, in which she vigorously defended administration decisions before and since the war began: "Some of them have been bad decisions, I am sure." Among those, she conceded, was the failure to anticipate difficulties in rebuilding Iraq.

The two Democratic senators who voted against her, Barbara Boxer of California and John Kerry of Massachusetts, cited her refusal to acknowledge mistakes. As their colleagues did, both said Rice's approval was inevitable.
...

Gonzales also must wait

Attorney general-designate Alberto Gonzales will have to wait at least another week before getting a Senate committee vote on his nomination.

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee decided yesterday to ask for a one-week hold on Gonzales' nomination. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said Gonzales has not answered all questions from Democrats, who say that the nominee has been evasive about White House policies on the war on terror.


link
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/nation/10687092.htm

[dzika]

20. Bush critics mark inauguration with drinks and vigils

January 20, 2005

Bush critics mark inauguration with drinks and vigils

By WILLIAM J. KOLE

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - In Geneva, they'll read patriotic poetry. In Vienna, they'll drown their sorrows and plot their revenge. In London, they'll stage a candlelight protest outside the U.S. Embassy.

Across Europe, a land none too friendly to George W. Bush, locals and American expatriates united in their opposition to the U.S. president were marking his inauguration Thursday with some unabashed Bush-bashing.
...

Bush's re-election was widely seen as negative for global peace and security in 16 of 21 countries polled in a BBC World Service survey released on the eve of the inauguration. On average across all the countries, 58 per cent called his re-election a negative development; only 26 per cent described it as positive.
...

Kerry supporters in Prague planned what they dubbed the "What Might Have Been Inaugural Party," and in Geneva, they were holding a "Counter-Inaugural Dinner" to be kicked off with a reading of the Langston Hughes poem "Let America Be America Again."


http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2005/01/20/904611-ap.html

[dzika]

21. Democracy’s End

January 20, 2005

Democracy’s End

By Steven F. Freeman


But today’s inauguration offers cause for neither consolation nor celebration. The defeated have little reason to accept the outcome as legitimate. Votes were denied and votes were lost. We lack assurance even those ballots that were counted, were counted as cast.

Those who supported the president may well find their victory hollow. Doubts about the integrity of the election undermine efforts to govern a democracy. A degradation of democratic processes presents a worse danger—the creation of a political class of unremovable incumbents, and the dreadful possibility of dictatorship. Over the course of history, democracies have fallen and that is how the end begins.



An investigation limited to Ohio by members of the House Judiciary Committee has substantiated:

• The vote was suppressed. Absentee ballots were unmailed or lost. Citizens registering to vote faced obstacles such as rejection of forms not “printed on white, uncoated paper of not less than 80 lb. text weight.” A scarcity of voting machines in Democratic strongholds resulted in waits of more than eight hours while Republican areas had surplus machines. Misinformation was circulated about polling place locations. Provisional ballots were wrongly disqualified.
  
• There was apparent vote fraud. In some Democratic precincts 25 percent of voters reportedly did not vote for president. In Cleveland votes were switched. In three contiguous counties Kerry mysteriously ran far behind both Gore in 2000 and unfunded Democratic candidates for lower offices. Appalachian Ohio experienced extraordinarily high voter registration and turnout that was inconsistent with precinct records.
  The vote was counted and recounted in secret. Warren County locked out count observers because the FBI allegedly said there was a terrorist threat, a fact that the FBI has denied. Recounts violated state law in that in pre-selected precincts they were conducted in the absence of observers. Representatives of a voting system manufacturers improperly manipulated the recount.
  
• Beyond these conventional transgressions, which also have been widely documented in other states across the country, the United States has introduced in recent elections a system of potentially undetectable mass-vote manipulation: electronic voting machines that produce no confirmation that votes are recorded as cast. Stanford University computer scientist David Dill draws the analogy of telling a man behind a curtain whom you want to vote for and trusting that he has recorded it faithfully. Voters using electronic voting machines likewise blindly trust that the programmer has written code that can and will record their votes as cast.
  

more
http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/1894/

[dzika]

22. NO MORE BEATING AROUND THE BUSH

January 20, 2005

NO MORE BEATING AROUND THE BUSH

by Phillip Todd


Ever since John Kerry conceded the 2004 election to George Bush, those who oppose the Republican president have privately nursed various levels of despondence. It’s been better to just avoid talking to them about politics. Today, as Bush’s lavish inauguration ceremonies get underway, the Citizen fronts a piece that might be worth forwarding to those downcast liberals. Since November, the White House has emphasized the record number of voters who cast their ballot for Bush, but the Citizen’s Dan Gardner reminds us this morning that the only reason for this is because there was a record number of overall voters. With approval ratings vastly below other returning presidents, and a majority of Americans claiming they are dissatisfied “with the way things are going in the country today,” Bush should be thanking his lucky stars he’s got another four years in the bully pulpit instead of gloating. While incumbent presidents in the past fifty years have all won by significant margins—the smallest being Clinton’s 9 percent victory in 1996—Bush beat Kerry by only 2.5 percent. So it’s okay to flinch when the Bush administration claims the 2004 election results are a vote of confidence on its Iraq policy.

Gardner’s piece is most welcome to those who oppose Bush, though, because it debunks the Democrats’ nightmare scenario: a permanent shift to the right in the nation's political culture. As Gardner points out, that just isn’t happening. Those “sea of red” maps that everyone talks about don’t show that the vote split in almost half the states was 4 percent or less. Meanwhile, surveys conducted every year since 1972 show that when Americans are asked whether they consider themselves “liberal,” “conservative” or “moderate,” the most popular response is consistently “moderate.” (Well, when it isn’t “don’t know/haven’t thought about it,” that is.) Gardner quotes conservative academic James Q. Wilson, who shortly after the election wrote, “The nation did not undergo a rightward shift in 2004 any more than it had when it elected Reagan in 1980 and re-elected him in 1984.” MediaScout’s advice to Democrats: wipe away your tears and get to work. This is the last day you can feel sorry for yourselves.

http://maisonneuve.org/blog/index.php?itemid=771

[dzika]

23. Protesters to send a message in D.C.

Thu. January 20, 2005


Protesters rally in Portsmouth's Market Square Wednesday night before boarding
a bus for today's presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C.

Protesters to send a message in D.C.

By Emily Aronson
[e-mail]


PORTSMOUTH - While most people were getting ready for bed on Wednesday night, a group of 30 protesters stood in Market Square waiting to board a bus for an all-night ride to Washington for President Bush’s inauguration today.
"Just because they won doesn’t mean the discussion is over," said Jonathan Bailey, member of the Leftist Marching Band, which entertained the group before the bus arrived.

As heavy snow fell, protesters huddled under awnings, cradling bags filled with pillows, blankets and protest signs. Some waiting with the group said they were not going on the trip to Washington, but wanted to show support for those who were.

Hogan said the protests will remind the president that although he was re-elected, not everyone in the country supports his policies.


more
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/01202005/news/60007.htm

[dzika]

24. Ted Koppel READ MY POST TO DU opening the show - re FOCUS FOCUS etc.

(thanks to intensitymedia)

Hey Folks -

Not to bang the drum, but I was rather surprised this evening, settling back with a bottle of low-priced California Merlot, to survey the depredations upon the truth that ABC News and Ted Koppel were about to inflict on the American psyche on the Ohio Vote Fraud story, when I hear Ted read, with NO attribution, read: (perhaps not exact, I don't have their text yet - this is the substance as an example of wacko conspiracy theories questioning the election of our American Mussolini:

Ted reads:

"We are facing what appears to be a sinister, Stalin-esque conspiracy by all the networks and major newspapers to "shield" Americans from the potentially disturbing information that a neo-fascist tyranny has been imposed upon us by the treasonous and criminal theft of the 2004 election."

Yep folks, thing is you didn't need to waste your time waiting up to listen to ABC News, Nightline, or even broadcast television (I'm sure you've all canceled your cable accounts by now), because that quote, friends and radicals, appeared days ago on DemocraticUnderground.com.

Just for the record, I'll repost the entire letter for "context" (Omigod, they've taken me out of context!) just for the record. Because I was going for the jugglar, and knew we had to concentrate on the pressure point which would bring down the fascist house of cards.

FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS! It’s the Exit Polls Stupid!


Fellow activists!

We are being made dumb, dizzy and mindless by the MSM in general, and in particular by its refusal even to discuss - let alone release - the NEP/Mitofsky exit polling data, showing discrepancies that are greater than in the Ukraine, and showing in Steven Freeman's analysis that Bush's "win" in Ohio and elsewhere was and is a statistical impossibility.

In other words, it didn't happen.

We have to raise hell about this, and never stop.

Why? ***We are facing what appears to be a sinister, Stalin-esque conspiracy by all the networks and major newspapers to "shield" Americans from the potentially disturbing information that a neo-fascist tyranny has been imposed upon us by the treasonous and criminal theft of the 2004 election.***

Despite all their efforts to censor this information, the Exit Poll data has been available online, a pro-freedom-of-the-press whistleblowing coup that, to my mind, is as historically important as the publication of the Pentagon Papers or even more important.

Send your friends and neighbors to:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0411/S00227.htm

and here for the complete data

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/pdfs/Mitofsky4zonedata /

as well as to Freeman's analyses:

http://www.appliedresearch.us/sf/epdiscrep.htm


I suggest that we find as many ways as we can to take this explosive, smoking gun proof of election fraud and force EVERYONE to confront what it says, and what it means. To me, this is our greatest weapon, and square one of our battle to throw the bums out, making sure that the recent a travesty of democracy we’ve been subject to in 2004 never occurs again in the Land of the (formerly) Free.

peace - but never give up the struggle -

Che

of course, Koppel never mentioned my central, and most powerful point, arguing for the reification of the Exit Polls as our greatest political weapon to take apart the fascist conspiracy which has hijacked America.

Love and peace - hail the sixties - but never give up the struggle -

Che de Vera

---

Video of the DU quote on nightline



Real Media
http://www.edwardsdavid.com/BushVideos/nightline_050119...

Sorry, the sound is low. Just turn up the volume if you care what he is saying.

DU Thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x294367

[dzika]

25. Lockdown in DC: Unprecedented Security For Bush Inauguration and Protests

Thursday, January 20th, 2005

Lockdown in DC: Unprecedented Security For Bush Inauguration and Protests

Washington DC is in a state of lockdown amid unprecedented levels of security. Fences, barriers and roadblocks have been erected across the city and 7,000 law enforcement agents from more than 100 federal, state and local agencies are on patrol. Heavily armed Coast Guard boats will patrol the Potomac River. Snipers have taken up positions on rooftops, bomb-sniffing dogs are on patrol and so-called Patriot anti-missile batteries are stationed near the Capitol.

The entire area around Capitol Hill and the White House has been cordoned off, and more than 100 streets will be off-limits to traffic with the inauguration designated a national special-security event.

Flight restrictions over Washington for private aircraft have been expanded, and pilots are being warned that they risk being shot down if they stray into restricted areas and don't respond to warnings.

The so-called nerve center for the most heavily guarded presidential inauguration in history is in a futuristic command post in Northern Virginia. Inside a gleaming steel-and-marble complex, the Secret Service and 50 federal, state and local agencies will monitor action in the sky, on the ground and in the subway system. Giant plasma screens will beam in live video from helicopters and cameras at the U.S. Capitol, along the parade route and at other areas. Officials will be able to track fighter jets patrolling the skies and call up three-dimensional maps of downtown.
...

More than 100 counter-inaugural events are planned in communities throughout the country - from Omaha to Fresno to Atlanta to New York City. They range from picnics against the president to funerals for the American Dream to drumming circles for peace.

• Mark Goldstone, chair of the Demonstration Support Committee of the Washington DC chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.
  
• Shahid Buttar, a Washington DC-based lawyer and a member of the Guerilla Poetry Insurgency affinity group for the anti-inauguration protests. He also is a member of the Resistance Media Collective in DC.

more
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/20/1522241

[dzika]

26. Activists Stand Up to Bush Agenda, Protest Barriers to Legitimate Dissent

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 20, 2005
5:59 AM

CONTACT: National Organization for Women
Jenny Thalheimer, 202-641-1906

NOW Activists Stand Up to Bush Agenda, Protest Barriers to Legitimate Dissent on Inauguration Day

WASHINGTON -- January 20 -- On this Inauguration Day, NOW activists and our feminist, progressive partners are standing up and speaking out for equality, democracy and peace. In the spirit of our ancestors and those who came to this country to escape tyranny and intolerance, we pledge our allegiance to liberty and justice for all — not just the privileged few. We deserve leaders who are peacemakers, not war profiteers.

Across the country hundreds of thousands, even millions, are marking this day by protesting the regressive and dangerous policies of the Bush administration and drawing attention to the voting irregularities and voter suppression that effectively denied many their right to vote in 2004.

NOW is joining and helping organize the "Women's Rally and March" with CODEPINK at Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C.

Here in our nation's capital, defenders of democracy find ourselves wrapped in what some are calling a "steel cocoon" of high fences, barricades, closed streets, inaccessible sidewalks and $1,000 bleacher seats for the inaugural parade. The District of Columbia — for over 100 square blocks surrounding the parade route, the White House, and the Capitol — is under virtual lockdown. Protests (and protesters) are confined to limited areas, far removed from the festivities, and George W. Bush and his revelers are protected from the distress of witnessing any dissent.

Since our founding in 1966, the National Organization for Women has been at the forefront of the movement to bring women into equal partnership with men in all aspects of society. Despite the barriers, literal and figurative, we are committed to the fight for equal rights and justice for all, and will resist every effort by the Bush Administration to roll back our rights.


NOW commits to continue our efforts to:

• Fight right wing judicial appointments
  The resignation of Chief Justice Rehnquist is imminent due to health reasons. George W. Bush is poised to nominate an anti-abortion, anti-civil rights judge to the Supreme Court in the next few months, perhaps more than one.
  
  
• Stop Social Security privatization
  This is one of the Bush administration's top issues for the second term. The "reform" they suggest will devastate this critical program, impacting the present and future financial retirement of women.
  
  
• Protest further tax cuts
  The Bush tax cuts of 2002 benefited the rich, eradicated the surplus and created an enormous debt which will be passed down to our children. Continuation of these cuts will result in the evisceration of vital programs for women and girls such as Head Start, housing support, nutrition programs for children and much more.
  
  
• Defeat anti-women's rights legislation
  In his second term, and with the support of his cronies in Congress, Bush is sure to continue and even escalate his attempts to restrict a woman's right to abortion and birth control, while rolling back our guarantees of job equity and educational opportunities.
  
  
• Speak out against the war in Iraq
  This national tragedy has given rise to the loss of lives, not only of the women and men in the U.S. military, but of innocent Iraqis and foreign relief workers. It is time to support our troops by bringing them home. The national treasury is being ransacked by an approximate $137 million per day being spent in this quagmire.
  
  
• Prevent a repeat of the 2004 elections
  "Count every vote" was not the name of the game on Election Day. We must restore faith in our electoral system but ensuring that future elections will be fair, accessible and accountable.
  
  
• Promote equal marriage
  The time has come in our country for the recognition of same-sex marriage. We must reject discrimination against lesbian and gay couples and families.

The next four years will be a challenge for all who believe in equality and justice. But we will not be shut down. We will be heard, and we will prevail.

###

http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0120-01.htm

[dzika]

27. Protesters Mourn Those Killed in Iraq

Thursday January 20,2005

Protesters Mourn Those Killed in Iraq
Rally Miles From Inauguration

By JEANNINE AVERSA, Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON - Anti-war protesters, including some who carried coffin-like cardboard boxes to signify the death of U.S. troops in Iraq , descended on the capital Thursday.

About 500 people rallied in a park several miles from the Capitol, where George W. Bush was taking the oath of office for a second term.

"Worst President Ever" and "Four more years: God HELP America" were on some of the signs. Protesters covered hundreds of cardboard boxes with black cloth and American flags to symbolize U.S. troops and others killed in Iraq.

"It's important to show that when Bush's second inauguration goes into the record books, there was healthy dissent" said Jared Maslin, 19 of Hanover, N.H.


more
http://www.sierratimes.com/rss/newswire.php?article=/ap/20050120/ap_on_go_pr_wh/inaugural_protests&time=1106237521&feed=us

[NationalEnquirer]

28. Thank you!

Just what the Dr. Ordered. I need this stuff!

[dzika]

29. The revolution will be podcast

The revolution will be podcast

Posted by Evan on January 20, 2005

Whereas many of us only know about the protests of Inauguration2001 from Fahrenheit 9/11, up to the minute coverage of Inauguration2005 will be available to anyone with a computer. As in so many other arenas these days, whether the mainstream media covers it or not, it will be seen. It's not an adequate substitute by any means, but it is a start.

The "Bushprotest blog" was set up specifically to cover Inauguration Day protests through on-the-scene "podcasting." It's very simple. Any attendee with a cell phone can dial in to the supplied number and leave an audio "podcast" which can then be listened to by anyone reading the blog. A comment has already been posted.

**Also, just for kicks, here's the Center for American Progress' look at the inauguration by the number$ (thanks to Mediacitizen). For emphasis, it comes just as the U.S. announces that it's scaling back tsunami relief efforts (even as the death toll skyrockets to over 226,000):

• $40 million: Cost of Bush inaugural ball festivities, not counting security costs.
  
  
• $2,000: Amount FDR spent on the inaugural in 1945…about $20,000 in today's dollars.
  
  
• $20,000: Cost of yellow roses purchased for inaugural festivities by D.C.'s Ritz Carlton.
  
  
• 200: Number of Humvees outfitted with top-of-the-line armor for troops in Iraq that could have been purchased with the amount of money blown on the inauguration.
  
  
• $10,000: Price of an inaugural package at the Fairmont Hotel, which includes a Beluga caviar and Dom Perignon reception, a chauffeured Rolls Royce and two actors posing as "faux" Secret Service agents, complete with black sunglasses and cufflink walkie-talkies.
  
  
• 400: Pounds of lobster provided for "inaugural feeding frenzy" at the exclusive Mandarin Oriental hotel.
  
  
• 3,000: Number of "Laura Bush Cowboy cookies" provided for "inaugural feeding frenzy" at the Mandarin hotel.
  
  
• $1: Amount per guest President Carter spent on snacks for guests at his inaugural parties. To stick to a tight budget, he served pretzels, peanuts, crackers and cheese and had cash bars.
  
  
• 22 million: Number of children in regions devastated by the tsunami who could have received vaccinations and preventive health care with the amount of money spent on the inauguration.
  
  
• 1,160,000: Number of girls who could be sent to school for a year in Afghanistan with the amount of money lavished on the inauguration.
  
  
• $15,000: The down payment to rent a fur coat paid by one gala attendee who didn't want the hassle of schlepping her own through the airport.
  
  
• $200,500: Price of a room package at D.C.'s Mandarin Oriental, including presidential suite, chauffeured Mercedes limo and outfits from Neiman Marcus.
  
  
• 2,500: Number of U.S. troops used to stand guard as President Bush takes his oath of office
  
  
• 26,000: Number of Kevlar vests for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan that could be purchased for $40 million.
  
  
• $290: Bonus that could go to each American solider serving in Iraq, if inauguration funds were used for that purpose.
  
  
• $6.3 million: Amount contributed by the finance and investment industry, which works out to be 25 percent of all the money collected.
  
  
• $17 million: Amount of money the White House is forcing the cash-strapped city of Washington, D.C., to pony up for inauguration security.
  
  
• 9: Percentage of D.C. residents who voted for Bush in 2004.
  
  
• 66: Percentage of Americans who think this over-the-top inauguration should have been scaled back.
  

link:
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/2005/01/002837.html

[dzika]

30. PROTESTERS SHOW UP AT BALL IN PRECURSOR OF INAUGURAL OPPOSITION

Thursday January 20, 2005

PROTESTERS SHOW UP AT BALL IN PRECURSOR OF INAUGURAL OPPOSITION

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Activists say thousands of protesters will greet President Bush's inaugural parade today, even claiming their own piece of prime viewing real estate complete with bleachers.
And as Bush supporters warmed-up for a day of celebration with pre-inaugural parties last night, so to did the demonstrators.

At the Black Tie and Boots Ball, a Texas-based event, protesters braved the cold last night and heckled guests as they arrived for the party. One held a sign "Make War, Not Jobs." Others shouted "People are dying, enjoy your champagne."

Thousands of protesters in other cities across the U-S plan demonstrations and rallies against the returning administration.

Large protests are expected in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. And rallies are also planned in dozens of smaller communities.


http://www.kpvi.com/index.cfm?page=nbcheadlines.cfm&ID=23535

[dzika]

31. Conyers discusses vote reform, Bush nominees - Full interview is forthcomi

Conyers discusses vote reform, Bush nominees
Full interview is forthcoming

By Larisa Alexandrovna and John Byrne | RAW STORY Staff



The Michigan congressman who spearheaded Ohio’s first electoral challenge discussed a broad swath of issues in an interview with RAW STORY Wednesday, outlining his future plans for voting reform and criticizing efforts to deflect criticism from President Bush’s cabinet nominees by focusing on the color of their skin.

Rep. John Conyers, Jr., the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, spoke about his efforts to investigate voting irregularities in Ohio. He also detailed his thoughts on issues currently facing Congress.

Conyers’ investigation produced the second electoral challenge of the presidential contest in history. The challenge, he says, has given new definition to his cause.

“We established the fact that we’re not taking these massive irregularities and violations of election law lying down anymore,” Conyers said.


read more
http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=566

[dzika]

32. Senator Dayton to vote against Rice for secretary of state

Dayton to vote against Rice for secretary of state

Updated: 01-20-2005 10:38:22 AM

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senator Mark Dayton says he'll vote against Condoleezza Rice's nomination for secretary of state, because he said she "misled" the Senate on Iraq.

The Minnesota Democrat said he knows Rice's confirmation by the Senate is assured. But he says he'll cast a "protest vote" against her and others in the Bush administration for misleading the country about Iraq.

Minnesota's other senator, Republican Norm Coleman, supports Rice's nomination.


http://www.kaaltv.com/article/view/84683/

[dzika]

33. Dean gaining early momentum in DNC race

January 20, 2005

Dean gaining early momentum in DNC race

By Will Lester, Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON -- Howard Dean's hard-charging race to head the Democratic National Committee is gaining early momentum that recalls the streaking start of his 2004 presidential campaign.

On Tuesday, the former Vermont governor announced he had the unanimous backing of the Florida delegation to the DNC and also the support of Democratic chairs in Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma, Washington state and Vermont. He plans house parties around the nation later this week, like the ones he used while trying to gain the Democratic presidential nomination.

Dean dominated the Democrats' presidential race through 2003, raising more than $40 million and recruiting thousands of supporters through the Internet.
...

Many party veterans are nervous that the outspoken Dean will lead the party too far to the left and are eager to rally around an alternative candidate.


more
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/01/20/dean_gaining_early_momentum_in_dnc_race/

[dzika]

34. WaPo - Four More of the Same

Thursday, January 20, 2005; 11:51 AM

Four More of the Same

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com

Beneath the fireworks, the pomp, the majesty and the extravagance accompanying President Bush's second inaugural burbles a seminal question: What's the difference?

Will Bush's second term be noticeably different from his first? Or rather, since it's impossible to predict what events he may be forced to confront, will second-term George W. Bush take a significantly different approach to governing than that to which we've grown accustomed?

As the Magic 8 Ball would say: Don't count on it.
...

"President Bush and his Cabinet nominees have been sending a firm message as they kick off a second term: no mistakes, no regret, no comment.

"In testimony Tuesday and yesterday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Condoleezza Rice, Bush's choice to be secretary of state, angrily rebuffed invitations to admit a foreign policy mistake during the first term. . . .

"Even by the standards of often tight-lipped White Houses, the Bush team's recent disinclination to explain itself has some Democrats and outside analysts saying Congress cannot conduct proper oversight and provide the public with sufficient knowledge of its government."

more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23709-2005Jan20.html

[Wilms]

35. Lincoln Town Journal- Letter: National voting reform is needed

Lincoln Town Journal
Letter to the Editor
Thursday, January 20, 2005

-snip-

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, deserve our gratitude for courageously objecting to the certification of the Ohio electoral votes on Jan. 6 in order to open a debate in Congress about the widespread irregularities in many states during the Nov. 2 presidential election. The House Judiciary Committee's 100-page report spearheaded by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., documents the Ohio problems in detail. The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) made some improvements. But clearly a lot more needs to be done to provide a reliable, fair and democratic process that American citizens can trust.

-snip/more-

<http://www2.townonline.com/lincoln/opinion/view.bg?articleid=166433>

[dzika]

36. Video - Kerry speaks out about suppression at MLK breakfast on Jan. 17

(in case you missed this video the first time around...)



Real Media:
http://www.edwardsdavid.com/BushVideos/Kerry_at_MLK_Breakfast_Jan18.rm

[dzika]

37. Watch Common Cause President Chellie on the Dennis Miller Show Tonight

Watch Common Cause President Chellie on the Dennis Miller Show Tonight

Dear David,

We wanted to let you know that Common Cause President Chellie Pingree is scheduled to appear on CNBC's Dennis Miller Show tonight (Thursday, Jan. 21). Make sure to check your local listing for the time and channel of the show in your area.

Chellie will be making her third appearance on the program. She will be part of the "varsity panel," a trio of guests who talk about the news of the day. Art Torres, chairman of the California Democratic Party, and Lawrence O'Donnell Jr., a senior policy analyst for MSNBC and writer and producer of NBC's West Wing, are scheduled to be Chellie's fellow panelists.

Given that today is Inauguration Day, the conversation is likely to turn to President Bush's lavish inauguration celebration, which is being paid for and attended almost exclusively by representatives of deep-pocketed corporations and special interests with business before Congress and the White House.

"This isn't a celebration for the average voter," Chellie says. "It's three days of partying for the elite paid for by corporations who write six-figure checks to buy access and influence to the administration and others in power."

Coincidentally, our National Governing Board Member Adam Werbach also appeared on the Dennis Miller Show two nights ago, talking about the fate of liberalism.

If you are watching the show, tell us what you think. We want to hear your impressions, and you can share your feedback and comments on our blog in real time, while watching the program.

Thank you again for all you do for Common Cause.

Sincerely,

Mary Boyle
Press Secretary, Common Cause

[dzika]

38. Portland Police Prepare For Multiple Protests - Only 28% selected Bush

1/20/2005

Portland Police Prepare For Multiple Protests
Twenty Eight Percent Of Portland Voters Selected Bush In 2004

PORTLAND -- The Portland Police bureau is preparing for several events today scheduled for downtown involving President Bush's inauguration.

With 72 percent of Portland voters rejecting Bush in the 2004 election, protest organizers say they expect a considerable turnout.

And Portland police say they'll be ready.

During the past few weeks, member of the Portland police bureau met with individuals and groups who are organizing permitted events today.

Police Chief Derrick Foxworth says police are prepared to do everything possible to ensure the events are peaceful and safe. Police are also expecting impromptu events that may occur throughout the day.

Thousands of protesters in other cities across the United States plan demonstrations and rallies against the returning administration.


http://www.koin.com/news.asp?ID=932

[dzika]

39. Noisy Protests at Pennsylvania Avenue

Thursday January 20, 2005 12:22pm

Noisy Protests at Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington (AP) - Chanting slogans like "U.S. out of Iraq," hundreds of protesters in bleachers and standing with signs are holding a counter-inaugural demonstration.



The ANSWER Coalition organized the event at 4th and Pennsylvania, downtown. Several protest organizers complain it was a very slow process to get into the secure zone.

Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, a frequent anti-war protester, rallied the crowd.

Waist-high barricades and a line of uniformed police - some in riot gear - separate the protesters from the parade route.

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0105/201580.html

[dzika]

40. Protests planned across California for Inauguration Day

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Protests planned across California for Inauguration Day

UNDATED (AP) - While President Bush's supporters celebrate his inauguration today, many protesters across California plan to hit the streets to rally against the returning administration.

Speeches and rallies are planned in San Francisco, Los Angeles and other cities. In Santa Cruz, former Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern is the keynote speaker at a planned demonstration there.

A Palo Alto woman says she plans to display huge panels of photographs of soldiers killed in Iraq. Carol Brouillet says she believes Bush used the September 11 terror attacks as a pretext for an illegal war.

In Los Angeles, a protest is planned this evening outside the Federal Building near the UCLA campus.

http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=2835278&nav=9qrxVPrX

[dzika]

41. Polling firms blame youth, leaks for errors

Published January 20, 2005

Polling firms blame youth, leaks for errors

By Donald Lambro
THE WASHINGTON TIMES


WASHINGTON -- The companies that conducted Election Day exit polls for major news organizations said yesterday that bad polling procedures caused them to overstate John Kerry's vote in key states that President Bush won.

In a report to explain how early exit polls could be so far off from the actual results, the two firms blamed their problems on youthful, inexperienced poll takers, more motivated Democrats, early leaks of raw numbers by bloggers and a failure to follow interviewing rules.

But an independent pollster said yesterday that the firms still had not told the full story behind the error-filled polls and questioned whether exit polling should be used to project the final outcome of an election.

"I'm not sure we're at full disclosure yet. An awful lot still needs to be explained," said pollster John Zogby, who expressed deep skepticism about the report's explanations and excuses. "The sum total of what we got today is enough to suggest that there should never be exit polls again."


http://www.wpherald.com/North_America/storyview.php?StoryID=20050120-011015-8076r

[dzika]

42. Virginia voters should demand voting equality

January 20, 2005

Virginia voters should demand voting equality

By: Jonathan McGlumphy
regular columnist


With the inauguration of President Bush this Thursday, the 2004 election cycle will finally come to an end. However, many questions still remain, particularly in Ohio, where numerous reports of voting irregularities have come to light in recent weeks. The example of unverifiable electronic votes due to the lack of a paper trail comes readily to mind. Even more disturbing is the fact that Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell — the man in charge of certifying the votes — was also co-chairman of the Bush/Cheney campaign in the Buckeye state. This is a clear conflict of interest, and it makes one wonder if a single vote even counts.
...

On a more historical note, it was also by a single vote in the Tennessee House in 1920 that ratified the 19th Amendment, which ensured the right of women to vote. So, it is clear that one vote can sometimes make a difference.

However, to paraphrase Joseph Stalin, it does not matter who votes, but rather who counts the votes; they will have all the power in the world. It is for this very reason that the shady business going on in Ohio should worry all of us. And it’s not about changing the results in favor of Sen. Kerry; it’s about whether or not we as Americans can have faith in one of our oldest privileges as citizens.
...

There are also numerous citizens in this area who are concerned with paperless voting machines. In September, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors heard public comment regarding the purchase of the WINvote machines. Nearly every person who addressed the board was against it. The board proceeded to slap them in the face by voting in favor of the purchase, with only one member dissenting.


more
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/index.php?ID=4858

[dzika]

43. The US media is disciplined by corporate America into promoting Bush

A televisual fairyland

The US media is disciplined by corporate America into promoting the Republican cause

George Monbiot
Tuesday January 18, 2005

Guardian Unlimited

On Thursday, the fairy king of fairyland will be recrowned. He was elected on a platform suspended in midair by the power of imagination. He is the leader of a band of men who walk through ghostly realms unvisited by reality. And he remains the most powerful person on earth.

How did this happen? How did a fantasy president from a world of make believe come to govern a country whose power was built on hard-headed materialism? To find out, take a look at two squalid little stories which have been concluded over the past 10 days.
...

You can say what you like in the US media, as long as it helps a Republican president. But slip up once while questioning him, and you will be torn to shreds. Even the most grovelling affirmations of loyalty won't help. The presenter of 60 Minutes, Dan Rather, is the man who once told his audience" "George Bush is the president, he makes the decisions and, you know, as just one American, he wants me to line up, just tell me where." CBS is owned by the conglomerate Viacom, whose chairman told reporters: "We believe the election of a Republican administration is better for our company." But for Fox News and the shockjocks syndicated by Clear Channel, Rather's faltering attempt at investigative journalism is further evidence of "a liberal media conspiracy".
...

These stories, in other words, are illustrations of the ways in which the US media is disciplined by corporate America. In the first case the other corporate broadcasters joined forces to punish a dissenter in their ranks. In the second case a corporation captured what was once a dissenting programme and turned it into another means of engineering conformity.

The role of the media corporations in the US is similar to that of repressive state regimes elsewhere: they decide what the public will and won't be allowed to hear, and either punish or recruit the social deviants who insist on telling a different story. The journalists they employ do what almost all journalists working under repressive regimes do: they internalise the demands of the censor, and understand, before anyone has told them, what is permissible and what is not.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5105742-103677,00.html

[dzika]

44. New Mexico Legislature to consider voter ID bill

Legislature to consider voter ID bill

Last Update: 01/19/2005 5:33:45 PM
By: Todd Dukart


One of the more than 300 bills the Legislature is considering this season aims to reduce voter fraud by requiring identification at the polls.

The bill calls for voters to present an ID like a driver’s license, bank statement or voter registration card at their polling place before they’re allowed to vote.

“With voter ID at the polls, you can be certain your vote is counted and nobody can vote more than once,” said Sen. Dianna Duran, a Republican from Tularosa.

Democratic Sen. Mary Jane Garcia from Doña Ana said the plan isn’t enough. “I’d rather see something by way of a paper trail,” she said.

Other leading Democrats said they’d prefer to spend the next year studying the problem. They said there is no rush on election reform.

A spokesperson for Gov. Bill Richardson said the governor would consider voter ID, but has not announced where he stands on voter reform.

http://www.kobtv.com/index.cfm?viewer=storyviewer&id=16459&cat=NMTOPSTORIES

[dzika]

45. Polls Show Renewed Skepticism Over Iraq As Bush Begins Second Term

Thu Jan 20,11:06 AM ET

Polls Show Renewed Skepticism Over Iraq As Bush Begins Second Term

Jim Lobe, OneWorld US

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 20 (OneWorld) - Reelected by the smallest margin of any incumbent president in more than half a century, George W. Bush--who begins his second term Thursday--faces renewed skepticism over his handling of the ongoing occupation in Iraq (news - web sites), according to two new national polls released this week.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted January 12-16 found that 58 percent of the 1,007 respondents disapprove of Bush's performance in Iraq, while only 40 percent said they approve it.

In addition, 55 percent said they now believe that the war was not worth fighting, while only 42 percent said they believe it was.

Meanwhile, a new Los Angeles Times poll conducted January 15-17 found that support for the war had fallen to the lowest level on record, although there is relatively little backing for an abrupt pullout from Iraq.


It found that only 39 percent of the public now believe that the situation in Iraq was "worth going to war over," three percent less than the Post-ABC poll, and five percent less than the number of positive respondents when the same question was asked last October. Fifty-six percent said the war was a mistake.


continued
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/oneworld/45361018201106237638

[dzika]

46. CNN LIES About Kerry's Exit Poll Victory

by Bob Fertik on 01/19/2005 11:50pm. - revised 01/20/2005 2:04pm

CNN LIES About Kerry's Exit Poll Victory

I'm still angry over the refusal of the NEP and the networks to explain the Exit Polls that proved Kerry won Ohio, Florida, and the Presidency.

After all, the Ukrainian election was overturned because exit polls showed Yuschenko won, even though the government-controlled tabulations showed he lost.

Today CNN finally offered an "explanation" - and it's utterly bogus.

Report suggests changes in exit poll methodology
Wednesday, January 19, 2005 Posted: 12:17 PM EST

Exit polls overstated John Kerry's share of the vote on November 2, both nationally and in many states, because more Kerry supporters participated in the survey than Bush voters, according to an internal review of the exit-polling process released Wednesday.

Say what?????

Isn't it the job of the exit pollster to interview everyone (or every x voter)?

Are they saying lots of Bush voters refused to take the poll?

Well then, how exactly do they know Bush voters refused to take the poll?

Clearly they don't know, because they can't offer any explanation.

more
http://blog.democrats.com/node/2719

[dzika]

47. Who are you gonna believe? Me or your lying eyes?

1/20/2005

Who are you gonna believe? Me or your lying eyes?

Filed under: Dishonest men and women— Lewis @ 8:04 am

According to those paragons of journalism at Nightline, a die-hard is someone who refuses to believe that George Dummya Warbucks won the last election fair ‘n square. Die-hards favor conspiracy theories. Die-hards refuse to understand that even the best-laid exit polls can fail in the same way that the best players don’t always win baseball games. Die-hards just can’t get over the fact that their team fumbled the ball, lost the scrimmage, wound up in the penalty box. Die-hards should just get over it.

Curiously lacking from the Nightline (rub it in on the eve of the election) coverage was any mention at all of the source of all die-hard anxiety: lack of ballot and paper trail for nearly one third of the voting public, the concerted obstructionist efforts of Republikon operatives in minority precincts across Murka, and no attempt, from either the left or the right, to get to the bottom of any of these concerns. Is it possible that we die-hards can trust the assurances of a goverment and press that led us into a war for non-existant WMD’s? In the Republikon world the only ones who get it wrong, the only ones who lie about anything are those cheese-eating surrender-monkey loving liberals who don’t even have the common decency to respect the great leader when Murka is in a shootin’ war against evil. But I had better give it a rest. I feel my blood pressure climbing.

January in Murka means amnesia for everyone. Television is the implant in the hive mind that will help erase all unpleasent memories of election fraud. Gone as well are the statements about Saddam’s nuke-u-lur weapons. Paul Wellstone, long gone. Get over it you goddamned die-hards. There are new episodes of American Idol to talk about instead. There are new camps being built in Cuba and torture planes flying over the poles. Freedom for everyone or shut the hell up.



http://blogs.its.carleton.edu/betterdays/index.php?p=514

[dzika]

48. GOP asks judge for speedy hearing in disputed election for Washington gov

(note: The judge, selected by the GOP, has overturned at least one previous election)

Thursday, January 20, 2005

GOP asks judge for speedy hearing in disputed election for Washington governor

REBECCA COOK, Associated Press Writer

Republicans hoping for a new vote in the bitterly disputed Washington governor's election asked a county judge Thursday to hurry along the case.

The request to Judge John E. Bridges came eight days after Democrat Gov. Christine Gregoire was sworn into an office that she had at first apparently lost to Republican Dino Rossi but then was found to have won by 129 votes.

The Republicans want Bridges to order a revote, arguing that mistakes during the ballot-counting have forever obscured the true results of the November vote. Democrats want to delay discovery until the court considers the underlying constitutional issues, such as whether the state constitution even allows a revote.

No matter Bridges' ruling, the case will likely be appealed, but his actions will set the tone and define the boundaries.

The judge was also expected to hear motions from counties that want out of the Republicans' legal challenge.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/01/20/national1303EST0562.DTL

[dzika]

49. Protesters march in Atlanta as President Bush is inaugurated

Posted on Thu, Jan. 20, 2005

Protesters march in Atlanta as President Bush is inaugurated

KRISTEN WYATT


ATLANTA - More than 200 protesters marched through downtown Atlanta Thursday as President Bush was inaugurated, a turnout larger than even organizers hoped.

The anti-Bush crowd stretched more than a city block at times as it wound from CNN Center to the state Capitol, where protesters rallied for more than an hour.

Dozens of the protesters were Atlanta-area high school students who skipped class to join the march, which included a wide range of people opposed to Bush and national Republican policies. Many of them opposed the war in Iraq; others were chanting against Bush's plans for health care, gay marriage and the environment.

"I don't agree with anything he does," said Morgaine Rosenthal, an 18-year-old Paideia High School student who skipped lunch and her PE class to take a city bus to the march.


http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/local/10692115.htm

[dzika]

50. Bush protestors will take to streets in WA

01/20/2005

Bush protestors will take to streets

By Jon Gambrell
The Bellingham Herald

A moving protest against President George W. Bush’s inauguration today could snarl traffic in downtown Bellingham.

Protesters will congregate on the 100 block of West Magnolia Street starting at 2 p.m. At 2:30 p.m., they will march down Railroad Avenue, Chestnut Street and Central Avenue to Maritime Heritage Park.

The march will resume at 3:30 p.m., heading up Holly and Champion streets before returning to Magnolia.

The 100 block of West Magnolia will be closed from 2 to 5 p.m.

For traffic and protest updates, check www.bellinghamherald.com later today.

http://cgi.bellinghamherald.com/cgi-bin/breakingnews/showstory.cgi?id=20050120110048&date=nil&ty=coming_up

[dzika]

51. High court asked to overturn Roe v. Wade

(sort of election related.. at least, the timing is interesting)

Posted on Thu, Jan. 20, 2005

High court asked to overturn Roe v. Wade

WASHINGTON - The woman once known as "Jane Roe" has asked the Supreme Court to overturn its landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion 32 years ago.

Norma McCorvey, whose protest of Texas' abortion ban led to the 1973 ruling, contends in a petition received at the court Tuesday that the case should be heard again in light of evidence that the procedure may harm women.

"Now we know so much more, and I plead with the court to listen for witnesses and re-evaluate Roe v. Wade," said McCorvey, who says she now regrets her role in the case.

The politically charged issue comes before the court as both sides gird for a possible bitter nomination fight over Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's replacement should the ailing justice retire this term. At least three justices, including Rehnquist, have said Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and should be overturned.
...

But in a strongly worded concurrence, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge Edith H. Jones criticized the abortion ruling and said new medical evidence may well show undue harm to a mother and her fetus.


http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/10690770.htm

[dzika]

52. Greg Palast - OAF OF OFFICE

OAF OF OFFICE

Thursday, January 20, 2005
by Greg Palast

Watching John Kerry lip-synch the oath of office, I couldn't help wondering, 'what if.'

Here on stage in Washington was the winner-class warmed and protected by cashmere and tax cuts against the strange, nipple-chilling cold. Hell had frozen over.

Our President said, "It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation." Well, no, it isn't.

Our President said, "We will widen retirement savings and health insurance." No, he won't.

Our President said, "America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains." Yes, he will.

Our President said, "And our country must abandon all the habits of racism." Oh, sure.

He doesn't believe a single word he's saying. And all over America, everyone knows he's lying and America is truly relieved.

America doesn't want to give up the habit of racism. Karl Rove doesn't. Jeb Bush doesn't. If not for challenging hundreds of thousands of voters in Black precincts of Ohio and other swing states, if not for purging thousands more from voter rolls for the crime of voting while Black, you wouldn't be president now, would you, Mr. President?

You won't "pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains," unless they are chained by your buck-buddies in Saudi Arabia.

You'll "support democratic movements" so long as the citizens of Venezuela don't get carried away and decide that democracy means they can choose a leader you don't like.

And you'll "widen Social Security and health insurance"? Who are you kidding? I just got a doctor bill for $5,200 … should I send it to you at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?

You said, "You have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs." What you meant was, "Courage is fragile and real evil triumphs." Indeed your entire campaign was about American cowardice: "they" are coming to get us. Americans, scared for their lives, soiled their underpants and waddled to the polls crying, "Georgie, save us!"

Franklin Roosevelt said in his inaugural, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." But he didn't have Dick Cheney creating from his bunker a government which is little more than a Wal-Mart of Fear: midnight snatchings of citizens for uncharged crimes, wars to hunt for imaginary weapons aimed at Los Angeles, DNA data banks of kids and grandmas, the Chicken Little sky-is-falling social security spook-show, and shoe-searches in airports. Fear is your only product.

In another world, in which all votes are counted, J.F. Kerry would have gathered most of those arcane chits called "electoral votes" and would have taken that oath today.

But, dear Reader, there's one cold statistic Kerry voters must face. The fact that Republicans monkeyed with the votes in swing states doesn't wash away that big red stain: 59 million Americans marched to the polls and voted for George W. Bush.

If bin Laden doesn't scare you, THAT should.

Because if 59 million Americans agreed with George Bush that every millionaire's son, like him, shouldn't have to pay inheritance taxes; that sucking up to Saudi petrocrats constitutes a foreign policy; that killing Muslims in Mesopotamia will make them less inclined to kill us in Manhattan; that turning over social security to the casino operators that gave us Enron, WorldCom and world depression is smart economics; then, fine, Mr. Bush deserves the job. But most Americans, bless'm, don't actually believe any of that hokum. YET MOST STILL VOTED FOR HIM!

What we witnessed on November 2, 2004 was a 59-million strong army of pinheads on parade ready to gamble away their social security so long as George Bush makes sure that boys kill each other, not kiss each other; who feel right proud that our uniformed services can kick some scrawny brown people in the ass in some far off place when we're mad and can't find Osama; who can't bring themselves to vote for a guy with a snooty Boston accent who's never been to a NASCAR tractor pull and who certainly thinks anyone who does is a low-Q beer-burping blockhead. And they are.

Today we witnessed more than the coronation of some privileged little munchkin of mendacity. It is the triumphal re-occupation of our nation by nitwits who think Ollie North's a hero not a conman, who can't name their congressman, who believe that Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden were going steady, who can't tell Afghanistan from Souvlaki-stan. Bloated with lies and super-size fries, they clomped to the polls 59 million strong to vent their small-minded little hatreds on us all.

When I looked today at the oaf of office, I could not shake the feeling that this election was an intelligence test that America flunked.

[dzika]

53. Open Letter to Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro from John Conyers

Thu Jan 20 2005

Open Letter to Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro from Representative John Conyers, Jr.
by Representative John Conyers, Jr.
January 20, 2005

January 20, 2005
The Hon. Jim Petro
Attorney General
State of Ohio
State Office Tower
30 E. Broad St, 17th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215


Dear Attorney General Petro:

I write to express my concern regarding your recent request to sanction those attorneys who brought a legal challenge to last year's presidential election in Ohio. In particular, I am concerned that by seeking official censure and fines, you are engaged in a selective and partisan misuse of your legal authority. As eager as many disgruntled voters are to have a court of law finally assess the merits of the challenge actions, I have serious doubts about the validity of the sanctions case your office is pursuing.

As an initial matter, one would be hard pressed to see how the legal challenges brought under the Ohio election challenge statute were "frivolous." First off, it is widely known that the Ohio presidential election was literally riddled with irregularities and improprieties, many of which are set forth in the 102 page report issued by the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff. http://www.house.gov As a matter of fact, the problems were so great that Congress was forced to debate the first challenge to an entire state's slate of electors since the federal Electoral Count law was enacted in 1877. In short, there is more than an abundant record raising serious, substantive questions about the Ohio presidential election.

It is also noteworthy that the Ohio Secretary of State intentionally delayed certifying the vote, thereby insuring that the recount could not be completed by the date the electoral college met on December 13. The Ohio Secretary State also refused to respond to numerous questions regarding the irregularities submitted to him by several members of the House Judiciary Committee, has refused to respond to a single concern set forth in the Judiciary Report, and also sought a protective order to avoid any discovery related to the legal challenges. In short, Ohio election officials have compounded public doubt concerning the election by refusing to provide any sort of accountability and acting in almost every respect as if they have "something to hide."

Given this context, and to help assure the public that you are not selectively pursuing sanctions in these cases for partisan reasons, I would respectfully request that you provide the House Judiciary Committee and the public with an itemization of all sanctions cases brought and considered by your office since January, 2003. In addition, I would ask that you provide to us and make public an itemization of cases you have considered and pursued under Ohio's campaign and election laws since January 2003. Finally, I would like to receive a an estimate of the costs you would expect to expend of Ohio taxpayer funds to pursue the sanction case you are seeking against Mr. Fitrakis, Susan Truitt, Cliff Arnebeck, and Peter Peckowsky.

If you believe the election challenge case should not have been brought, I would suggest the more appropriate course of actions may be revisiting the law with the Ohio legislature, rather than pursuing far-fetched sanction cases which on their face would appear to be overtly partisan in nature.

I would appreciate it if you would respond to me though my Judiciary Committee staff, Perry Apelbaum and Ted Kalo, 2142 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 (tel. [phone], fax [phone]) by no later than January 27. Thank you.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member
House Judiciary Committee


cc: Hon. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Chairman, House Committee on the Judiciary

Supreme Court, State of Ohio

Ohio Bar Association

link:
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1111

[dzika]

54. Open Letter to Warren Mitofsky and Larry Rosin from John Conyers

Open Letter to Warren Mitofsky and Larry Rosin from Representative John Conyers, Jr.

by Representative John Conyers, Jr.
January 20, 2005

January 20, 2005
Warren Mitofsky
Mitofsky International
1776 Broadway - Suite 1708
New York, NY 10019

Larry Rosin
President
Edison Media Research
6 W. Cliff St.
Somerville, NJ 08876


Dear Mr. Mitofsky and Mr. Rosin:

I have reviewed the internal report you issued yesterday concerning your exit polling in the 2004 election, and, unfortunately, it has not caused my concerns and questions regarding the significant discrepancies between your polling data and the final electoral results to diminish.

In particular, I would note that there are a number of concerns with the explanations you posited in your internal report that do not credibly account for the unprecedented five point differential between your exit polls and the reported results. As I am sure you know, Professor Steven Freeman of the University of Pennsylvania has determined that such a differential was of a less than 1 in a 1000 likelihood - virtually impossible as a statistical matter.

To be frank, blaming such factors as distant restrictions on polling places, weather conditions, the age of exit poll workers, and the fact that multiple precincts were contained at the same polling place, as your report does, does not come close to explaining why the exit polls overstated support for the Kerry/Edwards ticket in 26 states and support for the Bush/Cheney ticket in only 4 states. Many of the factors you point to appear to merely be random characteristics of the election and your exit polling, rather than quantifiable and justifiable explanations. Nor can I believe that the massive discrepancies can credibly be written off to eagerness of Kerry voters to participate in the exit polls.

As a result, I would like to reiterate my request to receive the actual raw exit poll data that you obtained. I would also like to obtain copies of all internal deliberations, memos and other materials of your employees and consultants concerning or seeking to explain the discrepancies. To the extent you have concerns regarding releasing propriety information, I am willing to work with you to either receive this information on a confidential basis, or alternatively to bring in a neutral, outside expert to review these materials.

The stakes for our democracy are simply too high for us to allow this matter to pass without a serious and substantive review of the exit poll data. While the election is over, there is significant bipartisan sentiment in Congress and around the nation for voting reform. A complete and full release of the exit poll information will therefore not only help to resolve lingering doubts regarding irregularities in the 2004 election, it will also go a long way towards helping Congress understand how to best craft these reforms. I am hopeful that the media companies that contract for your services will also understand and support the importance of providing full, complete, and transparent information in this matter.

I would appreciate your responding to my office through my Judiciary Committee staff, Perry Apelbaum and Ted Kalo, 2142 Rayburn House Office Building (tel. [phone], fax [phone]), by January 27th. Thank you.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member
House Judiciary Committee

cc: Hon. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Chairman, House Judiciary Committee

link:
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1112

[dzika]

55. Plan B: Parallel Elections & Signed Ballots

January 20, 2005

Plan B: Parallel Elections & Signed Ballots

by Lynn Landes

Something's got to give. Another election is just around the corner. What's it going to be? Another opportunity to document election "irregularities" and computer “glitches”? Another chance to analyze mysterious exit polls? Another exercise in frustration? Another charade.

Democrats will need a mighty good reason to go back to the polls. Many believe that our elections are rigged. And they have good reason. Republicans own the voting machine companies that count 80% of the votes. Congress and the courts are unlikely to change that. And the Democratic leadership has hardly made it an issue.

So, let's do something different. We'll go to Plan B. We'll organize our own “Parallel Elections”.

A Parallel Election would be held in tandem with the official election. It could be organized on a precinct, county, or statewide basis. And anyone could do it. It's simple. On Election Day, "parallel election pollworkers" (PEPs) would position themselves outside the polls. They would provide voters with “parallel ballots” to mark and a ballot box in which to cast them. At the end of the day, PEPs would compare their tallies with the official election returns. If the tallies don't match, the election can be challenged.


read more
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1108

[dzika]

56. Mexico protesters use music, art, theater against second Bush term

January 20, 2005

Mexico protesters use music, art, theater against second Bush term

MEXICO CITY Some Mexican anti-Iraq-war activists today protested President Bush's second term by gathering outside the U-S Embassy in Mexico City.

Members of the Mexican rock group "Exnoma" belted out songs of protest.

Some actors danced alongside.

The demonstrators carried signs that read: "Say No to Bush" and "Turn Your Back on Bush."

The slogan "Drop Bush Not Bombs" was scrawled in black marker against a painted version of the American flag that substituted crosses and skulls for stars.

http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=2836210

[dzika]

57. Students In Seattle Protest President's Inauguration

Students In Seattle Protest President's Inauguration

POSTED: 1:25 pm PST January 20, 2005

SEATTLE -- Students walking out of Seattle Central Community College to protest the inauguration of President Bush confronted two Army recruiters in a hallway.

The students tore up the Army brochures and threw them on the floor. After a 10-minute standoff the recruiters retreated and were escorted from the college by security guards.

About 500 students from the community college were met outside by about 500 students from the University of Washington.

They planned to march to downtown Seattle for rallies at Westlake Center and the federal Courthouse.

http://www.kirotv.com/politics/4112846/detail.html

[dzika]

58. Women Peace Activists Dragged Out of Inauguration Ceremony by the Police

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 20, 2005
3:27 PM

CONTACT: CodePink
Jodie Evans 310-621-5635
Medea Benjamin 415-235-6517
Tiffany Burns 310-420-4347
Andrea Buffa 510-325-3653

Women Peace Activists Dragged Out of Inauguration Ceremony by the Police

Members of CodePink: Women for Peace Unfurl Banners and Speak Out Against the Iraq War During George Bush’s Inaugural Address

WASHINGTON -- January 20 -- As George W. Bush gave his inaugural address in front of the U.S. Capitol, six women peace activists stood up on their chairs in the VIP section and shouted “bring the troops home!” The women also held up banners reading “No War,” “Out of Iraq Now,” and “Bush Mandate: Troops Home Now.” They were dragged out of the inaugural ceremony by the police, and two of the women are still in police custody.

“The killing in Iraq doesn’t stop because the inauguration is happening, so our efforts to end the war and occupation can’t stop either,” said Jodie Evans, one of the women who spoke out during Bush’s inaugural address.

“Bush’s occupation of Iraq has led to needless suffering of US soldiers and Iraqis, increased anti-American sentiment globally, and has made us less safe at home. We spoke out because the Bush administration needs end the occupation of Iraq and its bellicose policy towards Iran and other nations, and instead commit the United States to the rule of law—including the US constitution and bill of rights, the UN charter and the Geneva conventions,” said Medea Benjamin, who also spoke out during the inaugural address and is still in police custody.

Evans and Benjamin are co-founders of the national women’s peace group, CODEPINK, which has 90 chapters throughout the United States and the world. CODEPINK is known for its creative and bold approach to anti-war activism, and for its members’ success in interrupting prime time speeches three nights in a row during the Republican National Convention in New York City. Evans and Benjamin have both traveled to Iraq several times to witness first-hand the reality of the occupation.

The six women who held up banners and chanted in the VIP section during the president’s inaugural speech were Diane Wilson 56 years old; Jodie Evans, 50, Elaine Broadhead, 55, Mara Duncan, 58, Tiffany Burns, 29, and Medea Benjamin 51. They are from California, Texas, and Washington, DC. Benjamin and Wilson are being held by the police; the other women have been released.

An additional ten CODEPINK activists, who were seated further back in the crowd, also held up banners or spoke out against the Iraq war inside the inauguration ceremony. Three men were also held up a banner, and are being held by the police with Benjamin and Wilson.

On Wednesday night, CODEPINK co-sponsored a protest outside the “Black Tie and Boots” inaugural ball, where peace and justice activists chanted, “End the Celebration, Stop the Occupation” and “The champagne is flying, while soldiers are dying.”

Hundreds of counter-inaugural events are being held throughout the country this week, in what many are calling the “other” inauguration: the inauguration of the second term of the anti-war movement.

###

http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0120-06.htm

[dzika]

59. Inauguration Protestors Trigger Anxious Moments

1/20/2005

Inauguration Protestors Trigger Anxious Moments

Three blocks from the White House,
protesters tried to rush a security
gate and a flag was burned. Police
briefly locked down the area, trapping
some 400 to 500 spectators.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Just seconds before the President' motorcade passed by, protesters triggered some very anxious moments for Washington police and secret service.

Some demonstrators tried to start a fire just behind a fence separating the crowd from the motorcade route. Police moved in with extinguishers to knock down the fire. It is not known if police made any arrests.

The development follows a series of protests in Washington, D.C. today. During a series of marches and rallies, the demonstrators have voiced their opposition to the war in Iraq.

Others are demanding abortion rights, while still others say they want to protest the President's environmental record.


http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/news/012005_nw_protestors_inauguration.html

[dzika]

60. U.S.: A Lost Cause ? The Bush Inauguration 2005

U.S.: A Lost Cause ? The Bush Inauguration 2005

- an Editorial by Paul V. Rafferty

2005-01-20 | Today, George W. Bush was sworn in for a second term as President of the United States of America. http://www.whitehouse.gov

Unlike the Ukraine, there were not enough Americans willing to protest the highly questionable election – but this should have come as no surprise.

Unlike the Ukraine – and most other nation-states – there is no real opposition party in the United States.

Very little separates the majority of politicians in the Republican and Democratic Parties.

Both endorse the illegal war, invasion and occupation of Iraq. Both endorse “Homeland Security”, the “War on Terrorism” and the suppression of individual liberties, along with the denial of the U.S. Constitution and International Law. Both endorsed the “election” results – except for 37 Members of the House of Representatives and one lone Senator (not Kerry).

No, not enough Americans took to the streets, like their Ukrainian counterparts. What difference would it have made ?

“The American People”, as a whole, are no longer represented in Washington, D.C. They are ruled by the Republican and Democratic Parties – which are in reality, the Right and Left Wings of the unacknowledged “Corporatist Party”.

Those comparatively few stalwart individuals who continue to protest the “election” and the illegal war (or wars), who continue to question the overthrow of the democratically elected President of Haiti and who continue the investigation of the actual criminals who brought about the horrors of Eleventh September 2001, have a very difficult task ahead.

Until there is a real alternative to the “Republicrats”, there is little hope for an American return to observance of either the U.S. Constitution or International Law. Until then, Americans – and the rest of the world - must bear the consequences.

Paul V. Rafferty

Please see:
2004 U.S. presidential election controversy and irregularities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_U.S._Election_controversies_and_irregularities

http://www.unobserver.com/layout5.php?id=2079&blz=1

[dzika]

61. War starts with W, say protesters

War starts with W, say protesters

From correspondents in Washington
21jan05

PROTESTERS converged on the US capital today, seeking to persuade President George W. Bush that "51 per cent is not a mandate", as he basked in the glow of his Inauguration Day festivities after winning a second four-year term in the November 2 election.

Armed with signs reading: "It's not a mandate when you cheat" and "51 per cent is not a mandate", thousands of protesters turned out for demonstrations and marches throughout the capital to voice their dissent as Bush supporters cheered his victory and ushered in his second term.
...

Bill Hollenshead, a 45-year-old accountant from Pennsylvania attending the DC Anti-War Network's protest, said he came to Washington to "show Bush that not everyone agrees with him, because he doesn't seem to understand that".

Mr Hollenshead said he was not a traditional activist, but he decided to take part in the protest because "I'm against everything that Bush is for and I'm for everything that he's against".

Garrett Meigs, 23, of Ithaca, New York, said he came to Washington to "show the rest of the world that many Americans are opposed to the Bush agenda".

"This is the day we're going to let those guys know: 'We don't want you anymore'," said Ellen Thomas, co-founder of the Proposition One committee, an anti-nuclear-weapons group.


more
http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,12005973%255E401,00.html

[dzika]

62. Hundreds gather to protest Bush inauguration in Denver

Hundreds gather to protest Bush inauguration

By COLLEEN SLEVIN

DENVER (AP) - Basking in unusually warm weather for mid-January in Colorado, several hundred people gathered outside the state Capitol on Thursday and high school students in Boulder walked out of class to protest President Bush's inauguration for a second term.

The Denver crowd included teens and college students, mothers with babies in strollers and downtown workers taking a break. Speakers declared that Bush had no mandate to promote war, dismantle Social Security or weaken abortion rights.

A group of women wearing witches' hats chanted ''we've been under a spell'' over and over. The crowd cheered when they added ''But we are waking up.''
...

The Colorado State Patrol estimated the crowd at about 300 although the crowd continued to grow during the hour-plus event. Carol Allen, 35, of Denver said she left her nearby office to attend the rally because she wanted to be with others who oppose the president.

more
http://www.casperstartribune.net/apdata/wire_detail.php?wire_num=178499

[dzika]

63. Judge Refuses to Speed Up Wash. Governor Case

Thursday, January 20, 2005; 2:55 PM

Judge Refuses to Speed Up Wash. Governor Case

By Rebecca Cook

WENATCHEE, Wash. -- A judge refused Thursday to speed up the Republican challenge to the bitterly disputed Washington governor's election, handing a small victory to Democrats.

Chelan County Superior Court Judge John E. Bridges ruled that the case would go forward, but not on the expedited schedule proposed by Republicans.

"The old maxim that justice delayed is justice denied has a corollary: Justice hurried is justice denied," Bridges said.

But in a plus for the GOP, the judge also denied a request by Democrats to delay "discovery" -- the gathering of evidence -- until the court considers the underlying constitutional issues in the dispute.
...

Bridges will hear motions by the Democrats and county officials to dismiss the case Feb. 4.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24162-2005Jan20.html

[texpatriot2004]

64. kick

[dzika]

65. Mock Coffins and Jeers as Bush Sworn In

Thu Jan 20, 2005 05:55 PM ET

Mock Coffins and Jeers as Bush Sworn In

By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Flag-draped coffins and jeering anti-war protesters competed with pomp and circumstance on Thursday at the inauguration of President Bush along the snow-dusted, barricaded streets of central Washington.

As the president's motorcade made its way down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House amid the tightest security in inaugural history, thousands of protesters along the parade route and nearby downtown streets booed, chanted slogans and carried placards condemning Bush's policies at home and abroad.

Some turned their back as the president drove slowly past. Others yelled, "George Bush, you can't hide. We charge you with genocide." Among the forest of protest signs, some read "Blood is on your hands" and "Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam." Others called for electoral reform, gay rights, abortion rights and the use of renewable energy.

"There are a lot of people dying overseas for nothing and I'm here to get my voice heard," said Bill Coffelt, 40, an engineer from Fairfax, Va.

Protesters also traded insults with the more numerous, cheering Bush supporters, many of whom wore fur coats and paid for the best viewing spots at the first inaugural parade since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.


Video - Police use pepper spray
http://tv.reuters.com/ifr_main.jsp?st=1106263576640&rf=bm&mp=WMP&wmp=1&rm=1&cpf=true&fr=012005_062413_17d5d2ax1019160467ex8cc&rdm=240691.06380425492






more
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7387446

[dzika]

66. Students To Walk Out in Protest of Inauguration

Students To Walk Out in Protest of Inauguration

By Diana Ho – Reporter
Thursday January 20, 2005


A group of students from various on-campus organizations plan to walk out of classes today in protest of President Bush’s second inauguration.

The event calls for a noon walk out from classes and meet at the Arbor, where students will march to Storke Plaza to rally against Bush administration policies and legislation. Student organizers have also planned for several guest speakers from different academic departments to speak at the rally, as well as a series of alternative workshops and classes to be held afterward.

Although no one particular student organization is in charge of organizing the rally, fourth-year communication and sociology major Ashley Chapman and second-year women’s studies major Tanya Paperny said that they helped coordinate the rally after receiving information about the national walkout from students in Washington, D.C. Chapman said that there are a number of reasons for the rally.

“First, is for students to stay in solidarity; second, to oppose Bush’s major policies and legislation; and lastly, to provide a chance for students to build coalitions and campaigns for the future,” Chapman said.

Speakers at the rally will focus on the increased cost of higher education, environmental protection, gay marriage, war, troops and their deployment, U.S. involvement in foreign affairs, and women’s rights. Rally speakers will include Grace Chang of the Women’s Studies Dept., Elizabeth Robinson of KCSB and others to be announced at the rally.

more
http://www.ucsbdailynexus.com/news/2005/8695.html

[dzika]

67. Jazz funeral in NO for 'death of democracy' under Bush

Jazz funeral in NO for 'death of democracy' under Bush

By CAIN BURDEAU


To the tunes of old church spirituals, a jazz funeral rolled through the streets of the French Quarter on Thursday with hundreds of protesters mourning what they call the passing of democracy: a second term for President Bush.
The protest was timed to kick off as Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist administered the oath of office to Bush in Washington. The New Orleans event had the appearance of a lugubrious Mardi Gras ball, a raucous street protest, Halloween freak show and traditional New Orleans jazz funeral rolled into one.

The crowd, which police said grew to include about 1,500 people, swelled around a horse-drawn hearse with a mock coffin containing copies of the Patriot Act and the U.S. Constitution. Behind the hearse came a second line with dancers and people festooned with capes, masks, signs and anti-war buttons.

A group of women in military uniforms and skeleton masks said they represented America's foreign policy: Death. With them was the "bride of peace" -- a woman in a wedding gown whose face was covered in a skeleton mask.

more
http://www.theadvocate.com/stories/012005/new_jazzfuneral001.shtml

[dzika]

68. ‘The Battle goes on’: An exclusive interview with Congressman Conyers

1/20/2005

‘The Battle goes on’: An exclusive interview with Congressman Conyers and Raw Story

By Larisa Alexandrovna and John Byrne | RAW STORY Editor


Raw Story’s John Byrne and Larisa Alexandrovna spent some time yesterday speaking with Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.). Although many people have only recently discovered Rep. Conyers through his investigation of Ohio voting irregularities, Conyers has in fact been a prominent force in the civil rights movement for over 35 years. Conyers is one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and is now the second ranking member in the House of Representatives. Conyers’ legislative accomplishments include the 1983 Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Act, the Jazz Preservation Act of 1987, the 1988 Alcohol Warning Label Act, the 1993 Motor Voter bill and the 1994 Violence Against Women Act.

Rep. Conyers was also the driving force behind the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002. He is the leading Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

Conyers was kind enough to meet with us to discuss the issues that are of serious concern to so many Americans.

We were nervous in preparing for our meeting in speaking with such a notable leader of the original civil rights movement and who continues, today, to be the voice for ethics in government. Conyers was warm, open, and welcoming in our conversation, and answered every question asked.


read the interview at THE RAW STORY:
http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=567

[dzika]

69. The scandals of George Bush (thus far)

January 20, 2005

The scandals of George Bush (thus far)

This week, Salon.com published an article WELL worth the time it takes to sit through an ad to gain access to the premium content. It provides details - descriptions of what happened, why it's a problem, and what the outcome has been - of 34 different scandals that happened during the Bush Administration, each of which, they assure us, consists of alleged misdeeds more significant than those alleged during the Whitewater scandal.

These scandals cover a lot of ground, from the stealing of private Democratic documents by Republican staffers, to Halliburton's questionable pricing practices, to Bush's unauthorized transfer of money intended to support our efforts in Afghanistan into the budget for the Iraqi war, to Abu Ghraib and more. Below are a few examples to get you started, but take the time to read the entire piece. It's quite amazing to see all of this malfeasance listed in one place and certainly provokes questions about why nothing is really being done about any of it.

1. Memogate: The Senate Computer Theft
The scandal: From 2001 to 2003, Republican staffers on the Senate Judiciary Committee illicitly accessed nearly 5,000 computer files containing confidential Democratic strategy memos about President Bush's judicial nominees. The GOP used the memos to shape their own plans and leaked some to the media.

The problem: The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act states it is illegal to obtain confidential information from a government computer.

The outcome: Unresolved. The Justice Department has assigned a prosecutor to the case. The staff member at the heart of the matter, Manuel Miranda, has attempted to brazen it out, filing suit in September 2004 against the DOJ to end the investigation. "A grand jury will indict a ham sandwich," Miranda complained. Some jokes just write themselves.

-----

7. Halliburton's Vanishing Iraq Money

The scandal: In mid-2004, Pentagon auditors determined that $1.8 billion of Halliburton's charges to the government, about 40 percent of the total, had not been adequately documented.

The problem: That's not the government's $1.8 billion, it's our $1.8 billion.

The outcome: The Defense Contract Audit Agency has "strongly" asked the Army to withhold about $60 million a month from its Halliburton payments until the documentation is provided.

------

16. The Boeing Boondoggle

The scandal: In 2003, the Air Force contracted with Boeing to lease a fleet of refueling tanker planes at an inflated price: $23 billion.

The problem: The deal was put together by a government procurement official, Darleen Druyun, who promptly joined Boeing. Beats using a headhunter.

The outcome: In November 2003, Boeing fired both Druyun and CFO Michael Sears. In April 2004, Druyun pled guilty to a conspiracy charge in the case. In November 2004, Sears copped to a conflict-of-interest charge, and company CEO Phil Condit resigned. The government is reviewing its need for the tankers.

-----

22. The Medicare Money Scandal

The scandal: Thomas Scully, Medicare's former administrator, supposedly threatened to fire chief Medicare actuary Richard Foster to prevent him from disclosing the true cost of the 2003 Medicare bill.

The problem: Congress voted on the bill believing it would cost $400 billion over 10 years. The program is more likely to cost $550 billion.

The outcome: Scully denies threatening to fire Foster, as Foster has charged, but admits telling Foster to withhold the higher estimate from Congress. In September 2004, the Government Accountability Office recommended Scully return half his salary from 2003. Inevitably, Scully is now a lobbyist for drug companies helped by the bill.

-----

25. Ground Zero's Unsafe Air

The scandal: Government officials publicly minimized the health risks stemming from the World Trade Center attack. In September 2001, for example, Environmental Protection Agency head Christine Todd Whitman said New York's "air is safe to breathe and the water is safe to drink."

The problem: Research showed serious dangers or was incomplete. The EPA used outdated techniques that failed to detect tiny asbestos particles. EPA data also showed high levels of lead and benzene, which causes cancer. A Sierra Club report claims the government ignored alarming data. A GAO report says no adequate study of 9/11's health effects has been organized.

The outcome: The long-term health effects of the disaster will likely not be apparent for years or decades and may never be definitively known. Already, hundreds of 9/11 rescue workers have quit their jobs because of acute illnesses.

-----

31. Niger Forgeries: Whodunit?

The scandal: In his January 2003 State of the Union address, Bush said, "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

The problem: The statement was untrue. By March 2003, the International Atomic Energy Agency showed the claim, that Iraq sought materials from Niger, was based on easily discernible forgeries.

The outcome: The identity of the forger(s) remains under wraps. Journalist Josh Marshall has implied the FBI is oddly uninterested in interviewing Rocco Martino, the former Italian intelligence agent who apparently first shopped the documents in intelligence and journalistic circles and would presumably be able to shed light on their origin.

Sad to say, there's plenty more where those come from. Both in terms of the article, and in terms of Bush's administration, I fear.

http://www.differentstrings.info/archives/2005/01/the_scandals_of.html

[dzika]

70. Local protestor calls President a 'fool'

January 20, 2005

Local protestor calls President a 'fool'

Elizabeth Vall Reports

While Republicans celebrated President Bush's second inauguration, protestors made their voices heard in Tucson.

A large crowd marched from Old Main on the University of Arizona campus to the Federal Building in protest.

There were voices of anger and messages of opposition. The overwhelming feeling about President Bush's second inauguration was sadness.

Michael James, a Tucson protestor says, "I feel a sense of nausea to see the American public let this fool lead them into another war, and to abolish all forms of social progress in this country."

At an early morning protest there were more police than protestors, but, the large crowd who marched from UA campus to the Federal Building showed just how divided this country remains.

http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=2836602

[dzika]

71. No mandate from women of color

01/20/05 15:00

No mandate from women of color

Author: Linda Burnham

Millions of people worked as hard as they possibly could to turn the country onto a different path and still the village idiot was elected.

What to make of such an outcome? What do we know about the participation of women of color at the polls? Did women of color and white women move in the same political direction? And how do the results inform women’s rights and racial justice activists about the critical tasks ahead?

It’s an exceptionally bitter pill, but we must swallow it whole. The November balloting, a referendum on an aggressively militaristic foreign policy, defiant of the most basic human rights norms, was a stunning setback for peace and progress. No real alternative course of action was offered by a cowed and strategically bankrupt opposition party. But it is still the case that, given the choice between delusional, reckless empire building and the faint possibility of a more measured approach to world affairs a majority of the electorate chose the former. They also chose to reinstate an administration that promotes massive disinvestment from communities of color, a bold assertion of patriarchal values in public policy, and privatization of every last scrap of social capital.

There are nearly as many theories about how we arrived at this outcome as there are voters. But we can be clear about at least one thing. Had it been up to women-of-color voters, the current resident of the White House would be packing his bags and heading back to Texas.

According to CNN exit polls based on over 13,000 respondents, Bush received 62 percent and Kerry 37 percent of the vote from white men. Fifty-five percent of white women voted for Bush, while 44 percent voted for Kerry. Only 30 percent of men of color voted for Bush, while 67 percent of them voted for Kerry. Most significantly, 75 percent of women of color voted for Kerry, which means less than one-quarter of women of color supported the current administration’s policies.

The voting patterns of women of color led the trends in our communities, which voted heavily Democratic. Bush received only 11 percent of Black votes. Unsettled controversies remain regarding the Asian American and Latina/o vote, but Bush received a decided minority of votes in these communities as well. An estimated 24-34 percent of Asian American voters and 33-40 percent of Latina/o voters supported Bush. A substantial majority of Arab American voters also cast their ballots for change. Native American figures are not available.


read more
http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/6359/1/248

[dzika]

72. The Razorwire: breaking protest news from DC

The Razorwire: breaking protest news from DC

Phone: [phone] to report breaking news. THURSDAY, J20

• 7:25pm Republican assaulted a photographer taking pictures, while police looked on; no action was taken by the police;


• 7:11pm Physical confrontation just occurred between a Republican and a protester at Union Station; protester was arrested, but Republican was allowed to enter Inaugural Ball at Union Station; Police are now forming a line between Republicans and protesters;


• 7:02pm Confrontations now occurring between Republicans and protesters at Union Station;


• 6:56pm Police have gone behind Union Station; Police reporting that Metro PD has situation at Union Station covered, other police forces going back to the motorcade;


• 6:33pm Marchers from unpermitted march say it was "spontaneous", comprised of many different people of all types; they are now at Union Station regrouping and playing music; Police are estimating 200 protesters at Union Station;


• 6:22pm Police have cleared Mass. Ave. of protesters using their motorcycles, marchers have reached the corner by Union Station;


• 618:pm Police issuing "final warning" to disperse to Mass. Ave. protesters; police on motorcycles are ramming marchers in front of Post Office on North Capitol by Union Station;


• 6:16pm Police now issuing second warning to protesters to disperse from Mass. Ave. immediately;


• 6:15pm Police have issued first warning for marchers on Mass. Ave. to disperse;


• 6:10pm March has taken over one entire side of Massachusettes Avenue;


• 6:10pm March is now going out of Chinatown onto Massachusettes Avenue towards Union Station; about 200 people; police have been attempting to follow, but road blockades have prevented police vehicles from following;


• Unpermitted march now at 15th and L;


• Arrest at 15th and M at spontaneous unpermitted march;


• 3:45 Coffins carried by protestors are burning;


• 3:44 At least 30 riot-police at 14th and Pennsylvania; stand-off between police and protestors; whole area is filled with pepper-spray and tear-gas; 16 mainstream journalists observed getting sprayed by police with pepper-spray;


• 3:38 Police now sending reenforcements to 15th and H street;


• 3:33 Police reporting that one of two officers injured at 14th and Pennsylvania has a broken arm;


• 3:32 Protesters are pushing through gates at 13th and Pennsylvania;


• 3:31 Two women arrested at 13th and Pennsylvania;


• 3:20 Police snipers appearing on rooftops around 14th and Pennsylvania;


• 3:20 Two officers reported injured at 14th and Pennsylvania; mainstream journalists being hit and pepper-sprayed by police;


• 3:18 Pepper spray and tear-gas directed at protestors at 15th and Pennsylvania; at least 50 injured protestors; reports from police of "chest pains" in protestor; mainstream media journalists being hit with pepper spray; reports of bleeding from injured protestors;


• 3:18 Three sections of fence on inaugural parade route now broken down by protestors; fence blocking off parade route has collapsed; protestors battling police in streets; police still responding with pepper spray and tear gas;


• 3:15PM: Much of the first 3 blocks of Pennsylvania has a significant anti-Bush presence, hard to pick pro-bush demonstrators out of some segments.


• 3:14 Presidential motorcade slowed down at request of police;


• 3:13 Police send a request to the Bush motorcade to slow down the motorcade at 5th and Pennsylvania, as major street battle rages between protestors and police at 14th and Pennsylvania;


• 3:13 Tear-gas being used in street battle between protestors and police;
  
• 3:12 Bush motorcade is speeded up to get beyond the protestors on parade route;
  
• 3:11 Bush motorcade passes massive grouping of protestors on parade route; "Fuck Bush!" can be heard live on CNN as protestors out-shout Bush supporters;
  
• 3:05PM: Spot in the fense near 14 and Penn, near Willard Hotel, where they've rattled the fense, gotten it knocked over or bent over twice, MPD pepper spray. Extra police are being deployed to this area.


• 2:57PM: Unconfirmed reports of 4 arrests at 8th and D NW


• 2:56PM: Pepper sprayed anarchists at 11th and E NW


• 2:52PM: Protesters at 14th and Penn have been "contained" -- surrounded by the police, according to one call.


• 2:50PM: Some anarchists at 14th and Penn are trying to pull-down barricades, break through check-points. Check-points are being closed-down by the police. Protests at 16th and H going well. (20 people laying on ground)


• 2:33PM: Flags being burned at 14th and Penn. Some callers report there has been a fight of some sort between anarchists burning a flag and a Bush-supporter trying to take the flag from them.


• 1:50PM: Possible splinter group heading from D & 7 to Capitol area. Riot police lining the streets at Penn & 14th and maybe 1,000 anti-bush protesters in the area there.


• 1:45PM: Police car at Counter-Inaugural space has left, what appears to be a plainclothes cop is still hanging out by the front access.


• 1:43PM: "Gas" at 7th and D NW being passed out (to police), say some.


• 1:38PM: There's a police car (#137, MPD?) in front of the Counter-Inaugural convergence space.


• 1:34PM: Police being dispatched to Pershing park, report of arrests at D and 7th.


• 1:16PM: (updated)snow balls thrown by some activists, several people say at least 2,000 anarchists. Some sort of projectile, maybe pepper balls, corroborated by some. Snowballs were thrown. Mood as calmed down, peoples spirits are "high." Anarchist Cheerleader squad is among them.


• 1:10PM: 1 person down, hit by pepper spray, extensive physical force by between 7th and 8th on G NW, police tried to prevent one "anarchist" march from linking up with another, things are "heating up fast." One DC Radio Coop/IMC contributor has also been hit by pepper spray. No arrests yet.


• 12:45PM: DAWN march is in the vicinity of McPhearson Square, people are shouting "whose streets, our streets!" Mood is "serious, but energetic." 12:53: The square is filling up, plenty of police.


• 12:43PM: "Anarchist march" at 13th and L, say the police around them were drawn away by "something else."


• 12:35PM: One arrest reported on "P circle," P street near Dupont or Logan? Choppers and police cars heard converging on an area near Logan/in Shaw.


• During Bush's speech, Code Pink held up banners "Bring the troops home" and shouted. Police immediately took them away. After that another group shouted, they were taken away. 2 more protests following that. Members of the audience appluaded the police actions, shouted "USA USA," and some through snowballs while other people tried to block cameras from covering the protesters. Public radio noted this very briefly, and the CNN noted and covered none of it as far as we can tell.


• 12:15PM Splinter group broke away from DAWN march at 16th and Q NW, maybe 200-300 ppl says observer.


• 12:09 Billionaires for Bush finished auction of Social Security and Arctic Wildlife Reserve at FDR Memorial.


• 11:55AM: Police chatter estimates DAWN (Malcom X/Meridian Park) march at 10,000


• 11:50 am DAWN march from MalcomX park just started with 5-800 going down 16th street. Police presence but not too heavy. People from Maine, Michigan, East Coast corridor. Primarily younger protestors, but people who have protested before. College students from Maine. 9 jump out vans are following them behind.


• 11:41AM: Marches have left Dupont Circle and Malcom X/Meridian Park


• 11:31AM: Bush is about to be introduced at the inauguration platform


• DC Indymedia has been having cache/mirror dns issues. They may be resolved. Nothing nefarious going on.


• The president preparing to go to the Capitol, "Operation Primary Package" is underway


• 10:38AM: TSA confirms that there was a 2-car derailment, all trains are being rerouted to New Carrolton, Union Station is "shut down" says TSA.


• 10:10AM: An uncorroborated report of a man in a suit, "dressed like a congressman," arrested at the "yellow gate," Independence and S. Capitol. Who he was and what he was arrested for is unknown.


• 9:41AM: A motorcade moving through at Washington and C streets.


• 9:32AM: Checkpoints B, C and E are open for access to the security zone around the inauguration


• 9:06AAM: The critical mass reached U and 11 NW


• 9:01AM: 60-75 Critical Mass riders came by the DC Indymedia Space. They are continuing their ride with cheers and high spirits. Reports are that the police are staying relatively cool but are following the ride with at least 1 jump out van.


• 8:52AM: Critical Mass has reached the Counter-Inaugural convergence space with no reported trouble.

http://dc.indymedia.org/

[texpatriot2004]

73. kick this thread

[hiley]

74. Kick

Wow ! you have been working your butt off, thank you.
I hope everyone will do the survey for Congressman Conyers too.
http://johnconyers.com/index.asp?Type=SUPERFORMS&SEC={D806E54D-86E7-42DF-BA64-771A221369F1}



The Interview from Raw Story and http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=566



By Larisa Alexandrovna and John Byrne | RAW STORY Staff

The Michigan congressman who spearheaded Ohio’s first electoral challenge discussed a broad swath of issues in an interview with RAW STORY Wednesday, outlining his future plans for voting reform and criticizing efforts to deflect criticism from President Bush’s cabinet nominees by focusing on the color of their skin.

snip-

“Very few people can be fooled for long when the Secretary of Education denominates a teachers national union as a terrorist organization,” he said, speaking of Secretary Paige’s disparaging remarks about the union in February 2004.

Conyers called Rice a “Kissinger protege” who was going “to make Colin Powell look like a progressive.”

We have “Condoleezza Rice who rationalizes preemptive strike and Gonzales who condones torture and believes that there are many important exceptions to the Geneva conventions which we’re not bound to.

seek a subpoena,” he said.

Even if the Republican chairman does not allow for a hearing, Conyers says he’ll still continue his drive for reform.

“The battle goes on,” he said.

The congressman encouraged anyone interested in electoral reform to recommend changes in an election survey on his website. He said the survey would give him “another avenue of looking at this election with the intent to improve the next election.”

:hi:

[dzika]

75. Republican Consultant facing voter fraud investigation in New Jersey

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Republican Consultant facing voter fraud investigation

By CAROLYN FEIBEL
STAFF WRITER


Bergen County officials are investigating veteran Republican political consultant Rick Shaftan for possible voter fraud.

The case hinges on whether Shaftan actually lived in North Arlington when he voted by absentee ballot in that borough in the November election.

"You can't vote where you don't live," said Patricia DiConstanzo, the superintendent of elections who opened the probe.

Shaftan is a consultant for the gubernatorial campaign of Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan.

For the past 10 years, Shaftan had been registered to vote in Sparta, where he owns a home, according to public records. He registered to vote in North Arlington on June 29, giving the address of Carey Ann Rosenblatt, a Democratic councilwoman whom he helped elect. The couple married in September. She has submitted her resignation from the council.

"Some nights we stayed in North Arlington, some nights we stayed in Sparta," Shaftan said. The couple, along with their children from previous marriages, recently decided on Sparta, he added.

Brian Fitzhenry, a GOP school board member who lost his council bid, filed the complaint with the superintendent of elections.

"I don't mind going into the election and losing, as long as it's a level playing field," he said. "But the bottom line is they solicited votes from out of town."

Fitzhenry said the Shaftans really lived in Sparta after their marriage. "I happen to know for a fact she was not living here the whole time," he said. "I ride by her house every day to get a bagel, and her car is not there. I came home every day from work, and her car was never there."

"Did they have a private investigator checking?" Shaftan countered. "They can say anything they want."

Shaftan said he has worked "off and on" for campaigns in North Arlington since 1990. He has racked up victories for conservative Democrats for the past three years. Shaftan said the investigation was just vengeance from losing candidates.

"These guys just hate my guts because I keep kicking their ass over and over again," he said.


link:
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MDcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY2NDIxNjYmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXky

[dzika]

76. The Robber Baron's Party - Let's Bring Tea

Friday, 21 January 2005, 3:53 pm

The Robber Baron's Party
Let's Bring Tea

by Thom Hartmann


The Robber Barons are back.

They're staging a celebration of their power in Washington, DC, where they help write the majority of legislation and hold captive all but a very few of our nation's legislators. The television networks they own are showing the party in all its pomp and ceremony. The newspapers and magazines they own are telling us what a fine time is being had by all in Washington, DC. The radio stations, networks, and talk show hosts they own are reassuring us that they know what is best, that all will be well, that "freedom is on the march."

Every generation, it is often said, must relearn the lessons of history. This generation is getting a crash course.

Shall we have a government of, by, and for We, the People? Or shall we be governed by a powerful elite made up of the super-rich, multi-national corporations, and well-paid shills who do their bidding?

It seems that the shift from FDR's vision of We the People to Reagan's vision of corporate governance has only happened in the past thirty years - when Reagan, in his first inaugural address, declared war on We the People by saying: "Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.""

But it's really a battle that's gone back to 1762, when Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote "The Social Contract," and directly challenged - for the first time in nearly two thousand years - the idea that people must be governed by a powerful father-figure King, Pope, or Feudal Lord.

"Man was born free," Rousseau opened his book with, "and he is everywhere in chains." Those chains, he suggested, were forged by a belief that people's inherent nature was weak and evil, and people were incapable of governing themselves. Rousseau - and, following him, Jefferson, Madison, Washington, Franklin, and others among our nation's Founders - rejected the belief that society would disintegrate without kings, popes, or rule by a rich elite.


continued
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0501/S00187.htm

[dzika]

77. It needs to be said - Republican voters refusing to be interviewed

Published 01-21-05

It needs to be said

We now have the official word as to why the 2004 presidential-election exit polls were so off-base.

Get this - it was because Republican voters systematically snubbed the pollsters.

This is the analysis, anyway, of Joe Lenski of Edison Media Research and Warren Mitofsky of Mitofsky International, who until recently had been the ones catching the heat for flubbing the numbers.

At least until they were able to pass the buck, as it were.

"Our investigation of the differences between the exit-poll estimates and the actual vote count point to one primary reason: in a number of precincts, a higher-than-average within-precinct error most likely due to Kerry voters participating in the exit polls at a higher rate than Bush voters," Lenski and Mitofsky wrote in a report on the issue released this week.

As to why that might have been, well, we may never know.

Lenski and Mitofsky said in their report that they could not explain why Republican voters were more likely to refuse to be interviewed than Democratic voters.

Observation: One has to wonder if their research on that was hindered by, er, um, you know, Republican voters refusing to be interviewed.

http://www.augustafreepress.com/stories/storyReader$30885

[dzika]

78. Video Clip - The Daily Show reports on "re-oathening" of Dungeon Master

Daily Show clip for 01-20-05


Windows Media (100k stream):
http://www.edwardsdavid.com/BushVideos/dailyshow_050120-04.wmv

[dzika]

79. Voter ID Hot Issue; Bill Requiring Proof Has Support in New Mexico

Friday, January 21, 2005

Voter ID Hot Issue; Bill Requiring Proof Has Support

By Andy Lenderman
Journal Politics Writer

SANTA FE— Voter identification requirements are getting a lot of attention early in New Mexico's legislative session.

Republican legislators and some Democrats are supporting a bill that would require every New Mexican to show identification to poll workers before voting in future elections.

Sen. Dianna Duran, R-Tularosa, already has met with Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson about her bill, introduced shortly after the session convened on Tuesday.

Voter identification has emerged as a top priority this year for Republicans, but it's a proposal that has been rejected before in the Democrat-dominated Legislature.

Richardson has said he will consider the so-called voter ID push this year, but he did not commit himself to accepting Duran's bill specifically. And one top Democratic leader, House Majority Leader W. Ken Martinez, said the voter identification issue should be dealt with by an interim legislative committee so there's enough time to study its impact. The next state and federal elections in New Mexico come in 2006.

Many Democrats contend voter identification requirements could be used to discriminate against poor or minority voters who might not have a driver's license or another acceptable form of identification, such as a bank statement.

http://www.abqjournal.com/elex/294673elex01-21-05.htm

[dzika]

80. Hey Nightline, Thanks for Nothing

Friday, January 21, 2005

Hey Nightline, Thanks for Nothing

According to Ted Koppel, Nightline has been receiving numerous communications since the November election suggesting that an investigation of voting irregularities should be initiated by Nightline. So, to answer their critics, Nightline purported to do just that last night.

I must say, they have managed to bring new meaning to the word “superficial.” The conclusion of a couple of pollster basically boils down to “more Kerry voters responded to polltakers than Bush voters.” Wow! Could the answer be any more simple or any less impossible to verify?

The main question that Nightline elected to ignore is the charge that there was a direct correlation between the voting apparatus employed with an auditable paper trail and the reported discrepancy between the poll numbers and the vote count, This is the crux of the issue because if true, it is difficult to explain away. Of course, no mention of this particular issue made its way into the report.

For half the program, Koppel interviewed Cokie Roberts and some guy whose name I didn’t catch, purportedly to talk about the election. Naturally, they talked about past times when elections actually were stolen, like say in 1960. We even heard talk about Richard Daley in Chicago influencing or stealing the vote. Exactly how any of this “history” was relevant to the widespread problems in Ohio is beyond reason.

Curiously omitted was any discussion about the election of 2000 which Bush won with 56% of the vote. You know, 5 out of 9.

A side note to ABC: Please let Cokie enjoy her retirement and stop putting her to work. I still remember her outrage about Clinton’s staff trashing their office and of stealing from Air Force One. Did she ever apologize when those charges were found to be false. Where was her outrage with Ari Fleischer who allowed the charges to fester when he had to know the truth. She’s just another GOP talking headache.

link
http://nobodycouldhavepredicted.blogspot.com/2005_01_01_nobodycouldhavepredicted_archive.html#110624641313939769

[dzika]

81. A Nation of Unhappy Campers

January 20, 2005

A Nation of Unhappy Campers

So many polls, so little time. In the last several days, four more major public polls have been released, in addition to the four I previously discussed in "Pre-Inauguration Blues", Part I and Part II. By and large, the tale told by these polls is quite consistent with the story I laid out in those earlier posts: we are a nation of unhappy campers at the beginning of Bush's second term. And he has quite a challenge in front of him to win these unhappy campers over, given his relatively unpopular agenda and apparent contempt for the political center.

Here are some of the more interesting findings from these new polls:

New York Times/CBS News Poll

1. When asked whether things in the US are going better, worse or the same as five years ago, just 20 percent say better, 56 percent say worse and 21 percent say the same. Compare that to responses at the beginning of Poppa Bush's term in 1989 (44 percent better/26 percent worse/23 percent same) and at the beginning of Reagan's second term in 1985 (57 percent better/26 percent worse/11 percent same). Evidently Bush has a different coalition-building strategy than Reagan-era Republicans: make things worse!

2. The public is more likely to believe the next four years of Bush's presidency will divide Americans (47 percent) than bring them together (44 percent).

3. Expectations of progress in other areas during Bush's second term are minimal: only 17 percent think the US will be more respected in the world; 33 percent think the economy will be better than it is today; 29 percent think the US will be safer from terrorism; 24 percent believe the educational system will be better; 15 percent believe the price they pay for prescription drugs will be lower and just 9 percent think their taxes will be lower. Even on Iraq, only 38 percent believe there will be fewer troops there four long years from now. And 66 percent believe the federal budget deficit will be bigger.

4. Speaking of the deficit, almost four-fifths (78 percent) say it is not possible to overhaul Social Security, cut taxes and pay for the war in Iraq (all of which Bush proposes to do) without running up the budget deficit.

continued
http://www.emergingdemocraticmajorityweblog.com/donkeyrising/archives/001024.php

[dzika]

82. Freepress - Bush/Rove's new Ohio attack is about revenge, intimidation

Bush/Rove's new Ohio attack is about revenge, intimidation and contempt for American democracy

by Harvey Wasserman
January 21, 2005

As the toxic dust settles on George W. Bush's second illegitimate inauguration, his moral legacy has been defined by the GOP's new attack on Ohio's 2004 election challenge legal team.

Republican Attorney General Jim Petro has attacked attorneys Bob Fitrakis, Susan Truitt, Cliff Arnebeck and Peter Peckarsky in front of the Ohio Supreme Court. Petro is demanding they be sanctioned and fined for filing the Moss v. Bush lawsuit that challenged the seating of Ohio's Republican Electoral College delegates.

Moss v. Bush has already entered the history books as the suit that set the legal framework for an unprecedented grassroots/internet campaign that brought the first Congressional challenge in US history to a state's Electoral delegation, a challenge that infuriated the Bush/Rove GOP.

Petro claims that Moss v. Bush suit was "frivolous." He says his punitive attack is about the "serious" nature of the court system.

In fact what Petro's doing is about revenge, intimidation and contempt for democracy and the law.


continued
http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/7/2005/1045

[dzika]

83. Defeated yet defiant, Kerry reports for duty

Friday, January 21, 2005

Defeated yet defiant, Kerry reports for duty

By Noelle Straub Washington / Boston Herald


Leaning over the inaugural platform just feet from where President Bush shortly would be taking his oath of office, Sen. John F. Kerry called down to a high school group occupying prime seats, "Who'd you vote for?"

Several of the teenage Republicans from Mississippi replied they were too young to vote, but supported Bush. "We're going to convert all these kids for the future," Kerry remarked to a reporter.

And so the Bay State senator sounded a minor note of defiance as he embarked on the difficult hour of watching the swearing-in of the rival whom he spent years working to defeat.

The immense crowd gathered on the Capitol's West Front booed Kerry when he walked outside, his image shown on giant screens on both sides of the stage.

Boston resident and Bush supporter Denalee DeRosa, who spent the week in Washington on an educational program for high school students, said she didn't agree with the booing of Kerry, adding, "Being from Massachusetts, it's hard to be real conservative. I felt bad for him."

But Kerry maintained a brave face. He playfully lifted the cowboy hat off the senator sitting in front of him, examined it and threw it back. At another point, he stood on his chair to wave to someone.

Some of Kerry's colleagues nonetheless felt the need to comfort him. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who sat next to him, reached over to pat Kerry on the back several times immediately after Bush took his oath of office.

The senator also attended the traditional luncheon inside the Capitol after the inaugural, which features toasts to the new administration, although he apparently never came face-to-face with Bush.

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=88146

[dzika]

84. United For Secure Elections - to unite election reform groups

Hello to all,

I am sorry to have been so quiet for the last week. I wanted to give you a report that may brighten this otherwise dark day for America!

We have been working to have all the election investigative and reform groups come together in a large United coalition similar to United for Peace and Justice. It is happening quite quickly, It will be called USE- United For Secure Elections, we do not have our own website yet, we are working off www.votersunite.org !

It seems that there is another large coalition of citizens activist groups forming called the IPPN. We are trying to merge these 2 groups and will be giving you further reports. If it all works out then the operating principles will be very close to the UFPJ, where every group has their autonomy but also acts in cooperation too!

One of the major goals of this United For Secure Elections is the continued investigations of the fraud, further legal actions and election reform. We are trying to hammer out a unified voting system for all federal elections. This is a difficult task, everyone has very strong opinions about this.

What many of us are leaning towards is Paper Ballots and Hand Counts at the precinct level as recommended by Lynn Landes and the National Ballot Integrity Project.

Since this is a Democracy, I would like your views on this subject and I will be hand tallying them myself so PLEASE keep the e-mails short and to the point!!!

Please review the draft doc above and www.ballotintegrity.org , www.Openvotingconsortium.org and any other sites you have found on voting systems and send me an e-mail with your top 3 thoughts about the subject. I have read almost everything I can find on the computer so you do not have to tell me about anything in detail. If there is a link you want me to go to then just include the URL. If you have an attachment that is not well publicized but well researched and well written then send it. Please, if your e-mails are too wordy I will have to just delete it! I am trying to be Democratic about this process so please do not disrespect my time or my e-mail box! Concisely tell me your top 3 thoughts!!!!!

There is 1 organization who is doing valuable work and you may not have heard of them, www.uscountvotes.org , they are documenting this election and investigating it precinct by precinct across the country. This National Data Base is going to be extremely helpful to us both legislatively and in legal cases. If you can donate some money or time; if you are a lawyer or a statistician, then please do so, it will really help, they have paypal at the site!!!

In Solidarity For Real Democracy Here in America
Dr. Lora Chamberlain
Progressive Democrats of Illinois
[e-mail]

[dzika]

85. ANALYSIS: The Madness of George W. Bush and Our Collective Psychosis

(I just don't know what to think about this one.)

ANALYSIS: The Madness of George W. Bush: A Reflection of Our Collective Psychosis

by Paul Levy

Suggested to peaceinspace.org by Dr. Charles Mercieca, International Association of Educators for World Peace, NGO UNITED NATIONS (ECOSOC) UNDPI, UNICEF, UNSED & UNESCO


George W. Bush is ill. He has a psycho-spiritual disease of the soul, a sickness that is endemic to our culture and symptomatic of the times we live in. It’s an illness that has been with us since time immemorial. Because it’s an illness that's in the soul of all of humanity, it pervades the field and is in all of us in potential at any moment, which makes it especially hard to diagnose.

Bush's malady is quite different from schizophrenia, for example, in which all the different parts of the personality are fragmented and not connected to each other, resulting in a state of internal chaos. As compared to the disorder of the schizophrenic, Bush can sound quite coherent and can appear like such a "regular," normal guy, which makes the syndrome he is suffering from very hard to recognize. This is because the healthy parts of his personality have been co-opted by the pathological aspect, which drafts them into its service. Because of the way the personality self-organizes an outer display of coherence around a pathogenic core, I would like to name Bush's illness ‘malignant egophrenic (as compared to schizophrenic) disease,’ or ‘ME disorder,’ for short. If ME disorder goes unrecognized and is not contained, it can be very destructive, particularly if the person is in a position of power.

In much the same way that a child's psychology cannot be understood without looking at the family system he or she is a part of, George Bush does not exist in isolation. We can view Bush and his entire Administration (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Wolfowitz, etc), as well as the corporate, military industrial complex that they are co-dependently enmeshed with, the media that they control, the voters that support them, and ourselves as well, as interconnected parts of a whole system, or a "field." Instead of relating to any part of this field as an isolated entity, it’s important to contemplate the entire interdependent field as the ‘medium’ though which malignant egophrenia manifests and propagates itself. ME disease is a field phenomenon, and needs to be contemplated as such. Bush's sickness is our own.

continued
http://peaceinspace.blogs.com/peaceinspaceorg/2005/01/analysis_the_ma.html

[dzika]

86. Bush is taking a huge gamble with his assault on the social contract

Thursday January 20, 2005

A New Deal to scupper a presidency

Bush is taking a huge gamble with his assault on the social contract

Sidney Blumenthal
The Guardian


In his second term, President Bush is determined on regime change. The country whose order he seeks to overthrow is not ruled by mullahs or Ba'athists. But members of his administration have compared its system to communism. The battle will be "one of the most important conservative undertakings of modern times", the deputy to White House political director Karl Rove wrote in a confidential memo. Since the election, the president has spoken often of the "coming crisis" and he has mobilised the government to begin a propaganda campaign to prepare public opinion for the conflict ahead. The nation whose regime he is set on toppling is the United States.

Since the New Deal, the American social contract has been built upon acceptance of its reforms. When Dwight Eisenhower became the first Republican president after Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, he never challenged the New Deal, solidifying the political consensus that had prevailed for decades. But now Bush has launched an assault on the social contract in earnest, seeking to blast away at its cornerstone, social security, which disburses pensions to the elderly and payments to the disabled.

The end of the election marked the start of Bush's new campaign, stumping relentlessly to replace this "flat bust, bankrupt" system by siphoning social security funds into private stock market accounts. His motive was best explained by his political aide, Peter Wehner, in his memo circulated through the White House. "For the first time in six decades, the social security battle is one we can win," Wehner wrote triumphantly in the afterglow of the election victory. "And in doing so, we can help transform the political and philosophical landscape of the country."

To achieve this conservative dream, the public must first be convinced that social security is "bankrupt". The administration, Wehner writes, must "establish an important premise: the current system is heading toward an iceberg. We need to establish in the public mind a key fiscal fact: right now we are on an unsustainable course". Moreover, Wehner states, the private accounts are simply a wedge for future benefit cuts, though he does not advocate that the administration stresses that point.



continued
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1394301,00.html

[dzika]

87. Thousands rally in S.F., Berkeley against 2nd term

Friday, January 21, 2005

INAUGURATION 2005
Protesters denounce Bush

Thousands rally in S.F., Berkeley against 2nd term
Wyatt Buchanan and Patrick Hoge, Chronicle Staff Writers


Several thousand demonstrators rallied at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on Thursday night, protesting the inauguration of President Bush and calling for an end to the war in Iraq. After the rally, demonstrators marched along Market Street, effectively closing the street.

Speakers at the rally gave fiery denunciations of Bush and his policies, with many shouting personal insults and some comparing his actions to that of the Nazis in pre-World War II Germany.

"Today is a sad day in history. A war criminal has been sworn in as president," said Alicia Jrapko of International ANSWER, the group that organized the rally.

San Francisco police did not estimate the size of the crowd as the department no longer does such counts, said spokeswoman Officer Maria Oropeza. During the rally, the central portion of Civic Center Plaza was filled with people, and the march stretched multiple blocks.

Other Bay Area cities also held anti-inauguration rallies Thursday. About 200 people gathered in downtown Berkeley to hear the first of a series of readings of Langston Hughes' celebrated poem, "Let America Be America Again.''















more
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/01/21/LOCAL.TMP

[dzika]

88. Were FOX News Reporters Too Blind To See The Protesters?

January 21, 2005

Were FOX News Reporters Too Blind To See The Protesters?

Major Garrett substituted for host Alan Colmes last night during part of his FOX News radio show. As I have previously posted, during my work on Outfoxed I discovered that as soon as Major Garrett shows up, I'll have something to write about. Last night was no different as Garrett sought to belittle the protesters at yesterdays inauguration.

In a conversation with FOX News reporter Mike Emanuel, Garrett said that the crowds seemed smaller at yesterday's inauguration and that "the protesters didn't really live up to the billing."

Emanuel added, "They were expecting big numbers and it didn't turn out to be all that."

Apparently, Garrett and Emanuel missed the following:

At the parade's start, at Third Street and Constitution Avenue, hundreds of sign-wielding protesters chanted "shame, shame," and "four more wars," as Bush's motorcade passed, easily drowning out supporters. (Kansas City Star, reprinted from Knight Ridder Newspapers)

The National Park Service made space available for only about 150 protesters in the bleachers, although thousands with signs, banners and buttons lined the curb of Pennsylvania Avenue. They stretched for about five blocks. (Kansas City Star, reprinted from Dallas Morning News)

The antiwar march spilled down several streets near the inaugural parade route and demonstrators mixed in line with Bush supporters and others waiting to get through security checkpoints (Kansas City Star, reprinted from Dallas Morning News)

Interestingly, neither article mentioned that the protesters were fewer than had been expected. Nor did any other article I read.

This is the second time I have heard Garrett substitute for Colmes on his radio show. Like the last time, it was refreshing to hear Garrett lose most of his usual snide tone that irked me so much during my Outfoxed research that I wrote in one of my reports, "I hope you nail this guy." (Alas, my request went unfulfilled.) Also gone was much of Garrett's usually blatant bias, although some of it did slip out when he read two opposing views of the inauguration, one from "a guy named John Nichols" from The Nation and one from "Jonah Goldberg" of the National Review.


link
http://www.newshounds.us/2005/01/21/were_fox_news_reporters_too_blind_to_see_the_protesters.php

[Wilms]

89. Denver Post: State eyes election reform

Legislators gather list of problems from last November

By Mark P. Couch
Denver Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 20, 2005

Colorado lawmakers on Wednesday gathered a string of complaints about last fall's voting process as they prepare to craft legislation reforming the state's election laws.

The problems - from backlogs of new-voter registrations to inconsistent rules for casting provisional ballots - stirred controversy before the election last November.

-snip/more-

<http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~61~2663067,00.html>

[Wilms]

90. Mass of links to election news stories

<http://www.nov2truth.org/>

<http://www.velvetrevolution.us/subsect.php?Main=ELECTION2004&Sub=OPINION_ANALYSIS>

[dzika]

91. kick

[Wilms]

92. kick n/t