Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Sunday 6/12/05

[MelissaB]

Everyone is encouraged to participate.

If you can:

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.

2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371233

3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.

4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.



Link to previous Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x376932


:bounce: :bounce: All previous daily threads are available here: http://www.independentmediasource.com/DU_archives/du_2004erd_el_ref_fr_thr_calenders.htm

[MelissaB]

1. DNC announces National Lawyers Council for election reform

Today at the DNC Excecutive Committee meeting, which was aired on C-Span, there was a critical accouncement concerning the DNC's plans for election reform. The DNC is launching a National Lawyers Council dedicated to both voting reform and voting rights. The Council will be national but will be decentralized so that there are lawyers who work with caucus chairs and local groups at the state and local levels in each state.

The Council is comprised of the 17,000 some lawyers who were involved with the Kerry campaign, plus lawyers who will be added as they volunteer. Chairman Dean recognized that "we do know these voting machines do have significant problems and we need accountability for those machines" as well as noting that we need to stop voter suppression/protect voting rights.

There are five lawyers who are key partners in the council (and I hope I have spelled their names right). They are Eric Holder, former deputy U.S. attorney general, Arlene Myerson, Disability and Rights advocate, Yolanda Rios, voting rights advocate, and Paul Igasaki, former EEOC vice chair. Their director is Anna Martinez, who was formerly with the Voting Rights section of the Justice Department and has been with the Voting Rights Institute of the DNC.

Mark Brewer, the DNC vice chairman, mentioned that this Council is already helping in Michigan to write the election reform legislation there, as well as ballot initiative legislation in case the Republicans block the reform legislation.

So, these lawyers are there to work with local voting reform/voting rights groups in EACH and EVERY state. You need to be aware of it to get the local groups in your state in touch with them.

Key here is writing election reform legislation that provides a voter-verified paper BALLOT, plus SECURITY both in ballot casting as well as counting and recording. Several states are working on this already; please check to see what is happening in your state. A list of election reform/rights groups in your state can be found at www.votersunite.org .

I encourage you to contact them and to talk about providing not just legal council but also (VERY IMPORTANT) technical counsel. I understand that some of the voting rights groups/experts do "teach-ins" about technical issues/security for legislators, including Rebecca Mercuri http://www.notablesoftware.com/evote.html
and Ellen Theissen at www.votersunite.org .


Thanks to Carolab here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x377176

[Botany]

2. Hello!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=1848442&mesg_id=1848442

Ohio Congressman call election outcome in question!

[Wilms]

3. BRAD SHOW via RAW RADIO

LIVE Saturday 7p-11p ET (4p-8p PT);


Rebroadcast Sunday 12noon-4p ET (9a-1p PT)

http://www.ibcradio.com


Guests

Retired 27-year CIA Analyst, RAY MCGOVERN

Columbus Free Press' investigative reporter, BOB FITRAKIS

ANDREA LINDSAY of SHAC7

The legendary FREEWAY BLOGGER!

Feel free to DONATE to help keep us up and on the air! We can (for now) use all the help we can get!


http://www.BradShow.com

[Wilms]

4. Wayne Madsen: Covert Funding/Murder Allegations

"Cha Ching" From ¢¢¢ to $$$: How the Bush Crime Syndicate Funneled Foreign Cash Into the U.S. Political System

Florida Investigator Who Got Too Close to Florida "Coin Gate" Silenced by Jeb Bush's Gangsters

Undated

by Wayne Madsen

FLORIDA PANHANDLE, June 10, 2005 -- Experienced federal investigators, acting independently, have discovered a covert funding channel used by the 2000 and 2004 Bush-Cheney campaigns and the administrations of Jeb Bush in Florida and Bob Taft in Ohio to illegally funnel foreign and other questionable money into Republican coffers.

Ever since the brutal death of Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) investigator Ray Lemme in July 2003, the focus of investigators in Florida and Georgia has been on the political scandal Lemme was uncovering. After his official investigation of contract fraud, money laundering, illegal immigration, and election fraud was shut down on orders of Jeb Bush, Lemme continued to investigate the use of FDOT to launder cash for the Bush Brothers and their allies. Lemme's focus was on the use of the Florida turnpike system to launder cash for the Jeb and George W. Bush campaigns. It was an investigation that would ultimately lead to Lemme's body being discovered in a motel room bath tub in Valdosta, Georgia. A two-state police cover up of Lemme's death, threats directed at Florida and Georgia investigators, and a virtual media blackout indicates that the GOP administrations of Jeb Bush and Georgia's Sonny Perdue wanted the Lemme story to go away -- and fast.

The reason for the cover-up of Lemme's reported "suicide" is simple. Investigators have now discovered that foreign cash, including Chinese, Saudi, and Nigerian money, was laundered via the biggest state-run cash cow in Florida -- the Florida Turnpike system. Because most of the transactions involving Florida's toll roads involve cash and huge amounts of it, it was easy for foreign and other questionable money to be laundered via FDOT.

-snip/more-

http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/scoops/Lemme.htm


Thanks to AtLiberty for posting the discussion:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=377130&mesg_id=377130

[Wilms]

5. KOEHLER: Underlying hysteria sets stage for vote suppression

Fear of riffraff
Underlying hysteria sets stage for vote suppression

By ROBERT C. KOEHLER
Tribune Media Services

“I guess my vote don’t matter anymore.”

The shiv to the gut of democracy that occurred last Nov. 2 can be found in reams of data and volumes of eyewitness testimony, but first it’s in those words or it’s nowhere at all, and if we hear them and don’t feel our outrage rise maybe we never will.

For those who want to learn the truth, much of the testimony is contained in two recently released publications, “What Went Wrong in Ohio: The Conyers Report on the 2004 Presidential Election” (Academy Chicago Publishers) and the phonebook-sized “Did George W. Bush Steal America’s 2004 Election: Essential Documents” (CICJ Books). There are also ongoing conferences about vote fraud.

I just got back from Cleveland, where one was held over the weekend, sponsored by the grassroots political group Ohio Vigilance. It was there that I talked to singer/activist Victoria Parks of Columbus, a city newly notorious for the long lines at its inner-city polling places and other dirty tricks that added up to disenfranchisement for thousands of voters.

At a hearing before the Franklin County Board of Elections that Parks attended, “His testimony was the most powerful,” she said of the elderly man quoted above. “He’d voted in every election. He believed it was important, his civic duty. The right to vote gave him the power to determine his future. He was obviously very proud — never missed an election. He’d been voting at the same precinct for 50 years.”

-snip/more-

http://www.commonwonders.com

Thanks to freedomfries for posting the discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x377124

[MelissaB]

6. Toledo Blade 6/12: Dems to meet Dean to discuss Ohio fraud

Coin scandal concerns resonate to D.C.

By STEVE EDER
BLADE STAFF WRITER
June 12, 2005

*snip*

That's why some Democratic members of Congress are planning to meet with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean next week to talk about what happened in Ohio during the 2004 presidential election.

Ohio held the keys to the White House last year, deciding the presidential race by a margin of fewer than 120,000 votes.

"I think there should be an investigation of Ohio," said Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), who last week put a statement on the congressional record about Ohio's investment scandal. She said she is hopeful a meeting with Mr. Dean will put Democrats in position to undertake a review of what occurred in her home state.

*snip*

Cliff Arnebeck, an attorney and co-chairman of the Alliance for Democracy, said the news of Mr. Noe's coin deal has provided some optimism for people who believe the election was swayed by wrongdoing.

"There's an excitement that we are getting to the bottom of this," said Mr. Arnebeck, who filed lawsuits on behalf of voters after last year's election.

"It is happening at a fairly rapid time frame. It's phenomenal in terms of what has been uncovered. It dramatizes what I think is fair to describe as a culture of corruption," he said.

*snip*


More: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050612/NEWS24/506120370

[MelissaB]

7. Embattled Bureau Borrows Money From American Express

Embattled Bureau Borrows Money From American Express
Ohio Bureau Of Workers' Compensation Lost $215M In Hedge Fund

POSTED: 8:28 am EDT June 12, 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The state Bureau of Workers' Compensation, after losing hundreds of millions of dollars in investments, borrowed $250 million last month from two investment funds to pay some of its bills, a spokesman for the bureau said Friday.

The bureau disclosed last week that it had lost $215 million in a hedge fund. Several state agencies were already investigating the bureau over a questionable investment in rare coin fund from which $10 million to $12 million is missing.

The bureau said Friday it borrowed $125 million from each of two American Express investment funds. One of the American Express Asset Management funds had lost $8.5 million of its Ohio investments as of May 31 while the other had posted a $3.7 million gain, according to bureau records.

"We had bills to pay. We needed the money," bureau spokesman Jeremy Jackson said.

Jackson said the $4.8 million in losses with American Express are the last significant ones the bureau expects to find.

...snip

"You'd be amazed at how many companies have their principal incorporation on the island of Bermuda," Petro said. "We feel we have jurisdiction in Ohio and would prefer that the case be litigated in Ohio for a variety of reasons."


More: http://www.channelcincinnati.com/news/4598700/detail.html

[MelissaB]

8. Failure to tell Taft of loss criticized

Failure to tell Taft of loss criticized
Candidates vow they’d know of financial crisis right away

Sunday, June 12, 2005
Joe Hallett and Mark Niquette
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

One keeps a "Bat phone" beside his bed. Another has a "noteworthy policy." A third considers silence a firing offense.

Regardless of how they stay informed, most of the candidates for governor in 2006 said they couldn’t fathom a top aide not reporting to them directly and immediately about a $215 million investment loss.

"Issues like that must come to me — there is no discretion in that," said Auditor Betty D. Montgomery, a Republican.

"Bottom line, I couldn’t imagine having a relationship with my staff where this could happen," said U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Lisbon. "If it did happen, I can’t imagine me not saying to that aide, ‘You are no longer a part of this administration.’ "


More: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/topstory.php?story=dispatch/2005/06/12/20050612-A1-02.html

[MelissaB]

9. Since this is a subscriprtion article, here are some other items:

Allison says he received two updates about problems with MDL from Samuel last fall but not the memo, and he didn’t learn the extent of the loss until last week.

Taft has said that his staff should have informed him but that bureau leaders never talked to him directly, either. Samuel is being replaced as Taft’s liaison at the bureau.

...snip

Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, the third major GOP candidate, declined to comment on the memo controversy. "What-if scenarios invite political cheap shots and internecine warfare," he said.

...snip

Blackwell has called for the U.S. Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section to take control of the investigation of a coin-fund investment in which the state lost $13 million "because of the possible involvement of high-level government officials."

He also has called for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate all bureau investments, which also are being reviewed by a three-member management team Taft appointed.

Blackwell said he has not received a formal response. In an interview last week with The Dispatch, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wouldn’t discuss the matter.

[MelissaB]

10. Full disclosure would prove whether Taft was not informed of losses

Full disclosure would prove whether Taft was not informed of losses

Sunday, June 12, 2005
BENJAMIN J. MARRISON

It’s hard to believe Gov. Bob Taft wasn’t told that $215 million had been lost in a risky investment by the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.

Taft seems to know it looks bad, too.

"I know you guys are interested in who knew what and when," he told reporters at a Thursday press conference.

Taft should have known eight months ago.

The bureau’s then-administrator, James Conrad, for years one of the most respected public officials in the capital city, told the governor’s office last October about the loss — a fact proved by an e-mail The Dispatch obtained through Ohio’s public-records law.


More: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/topstory.php?story=dispatch/2005/06/12/20050612-C1-01.html

[MelissaB]

11. Democrats Eye Unfolding Ohio Coin Scandal

Democrats Eye Unfolding Ohio Coin Scandal

By JOHN SEEWER, Associated Press Writer
TOLEDO, Ohio - A disastrous investment by the state in rare coins has erupted into both a financial and political scandal, with Ohio's Republicans running for cover and the Democrats seeing great opportunity.

...snip

The GOP has controlled the Ohio governor's office since 1991, has held all statewide non-judicial offices for 10 years, and dominates both houses of the Legislature. In Ohio, voters do not register by party, but based on the party affiliations given by primary voters, perhaps two-thirds of the electorate is independent, while Republicans and Democrats are close to even in numbers.

Democrats believe that if they can capture the governor's office, the party's presidential nominee will have a better shot at winning the state in 2008. Last year, the presidential election came down to Ohio, with Bush winning by 118,000 votes. No Republican has ever won the White House without carrying Ohio.

"One of the reasons everybody's so worried about this is that it does have the potential to change not only Ohio politics but also national politics," said John Green, director of the University of Akron's Ray C. Bliss Institute for Applied Politics.


More: http://www.ftimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=27658&TM=25620.77

[MelissaB]

12. Public's money is real money

Public's money is real money

Dear Gov. Bob Taft,


Gee, I feel kind of out of my league, writing a letter to a sitting governor and all. Then again, maybe on that point we have more in common than I think.

I mean, it doesn't exactly sound like you receive much written communication these days, does it?

About that e-mail, the one sent to your office disclosing investment losses of $225 million, here's what you had to say when you (finally!) held a news conference last week:

"Should I have been informed? Obviously. Should the administrator of the bureau inform me directly, personally? I think so. I think that was his obligation - $200 million is a huge amount of money to lose."

(Well, it now looks as if you were only off by $15 million. And what's a few mil among friends? Isn't that the lesson here?)

Anyway, on behalf of the citizenry of the great state of Ohio, let me just say: Thank you for the clarification, sir.

The way things around the Buckeye State look, it's hard to tell anymore what constitutes "a huge amount of money to lose."

I mean, the standards seem to keep shifting as swiftly as, well, GOP allegiance to Tom Noe.

Already, I'm kinda nostalgic for the good old days.

Gosh, remember the good old days, Governor?

That was back when we used to think $300,000 would certainly be a sufficiently "huge amount" of public dollars for a government entity (or its representative agents) to somehow lose track of.

But by now, cripes, you can't even buy one of Tom Noe's houses for such a paltry sum - let alone the missing coins that started this whole … mess.

No, we started with two measly coins - total value, $300,000 - and a mere 11 weeks later, we've rocketed to $215 million.

That's, like, going from 0 to 60 really, really fast, isn't it, sir?


More: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050612/COLUMNIST03/506120351/-1/NEWS33

[MelissaB]

13. Ohio GOP may find these partners useful

Ohio GOP may find these partners useful

Sunday, June 12, 2005 Republicans in the Ohio Legislature are treating the scandal in the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation as a mere political problem. The GOP wants to form a legislative committee to investigate Workers’ Compensation investment practices, after Workers’ Compensation investments in coins and risky ventures have produced more than a quarter-billion dollars in losses to the state insurance fund for injured workers.

The GOP wants its legislative committee to be dominated 2-1 by Republicans. State Rep. Scott Oelslager of North Canton endorses the plan and calls it bipartisan. It is true that the Democrats would not be excluded altogether.

Democrats, on the other hand, in an effort to hit at least a double from the fat pitch served up by the Republicans in the latest state government scandal, want equal representation of Democrats and Republicans on the investigative committee. If they had a viable state political organization, they would really be dangerous.

What would the message be if the Republicans had invited Democrats to be equal partners in this investigation? The message might be that this is a governance problem, not merely a political problem.

...snip

Apparently the risks of the Democrats’ getting lucky in 2006 are not real for the Republicans.


More: http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=3&ID=227457&r=0

[MelissaB]

14. Paying a Price Over 'Coingate'

THE NATION

Paying a Price Over 'Coingate'

A popular GOP donor turns persona non grata after Ohio investment funds go missing.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Not that long ago, Tom Noe was a regular and welcome figure in political circles throughout the state.
For years, the rare-coin dealer and collector and his wife, Bernadette, had contributed to and helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for GOP candidates.

...snip

If the party succeeds, some members hope that might lead to a Democratic presidential candidate winning Ohio in the 2008 election — and perhaps help the party win back the White House. Bush took Ohio by about 118,000 votes, a win that helped seal his reelection.

An estimated two-thirds of Ohio voters described themselves as independent in the primary election. Voters, however, don't register by party in Ohio.

"I can now go into any bowling alley or barber shop and mention Tom Noe's name and have everyone understand what corruption in our state means," said Ohio Sen. Marc Dann, a Democrat from suburban Youngstown who has been outspoken against the GOP. "People understand when money is stolen, and they understand the connections to the Republican Party. The GOP might try to give back the money, but they're still tainted."


More: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-noe12jun12,0,1219033.story?coll=la-home-nation

[MelissaB]

15. Announcing a National Election Reform Conference

Announcing a National Election Reform Conferencein Portland, Oregon, Sept 30 - Oct 2, 2005

http://www.oregonvrc.org

Announcement and Call for Presenters for a National Election Reform Conference

Conference Goals:

To bring together grassroots election reform organizations, legislators, election officials, news media, and the general public to share best practices and innovative solutions for election reform.

To focus on solutions and empower participants with knowledge and tools to effect real election reform.

To provide a non-partisan and safe venue for discussing diverse opinions and alternatives for achieving clean elections.


See above link for full details.


Thanks to math_is_for_girls here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=377393#377395

[Wilms]

16. Grassroots Activists Lobby Against E-Voting

Grassroots Activists Lobby Against E-Voting

June 9, 2005

Some support a House bill that would require a paper record of very vote cast in state and federal elections.

More than 200 activist from grassroots organizations in 25 states converged on Washington, D.C., on Thursday to lobby for a House bill that would require a paper record of very vote cast in state and federal elections.
The VoteTrustUSA, a national organization representing local and state election reform groups, organized the lobbying effort for the bill introduced by Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J.

The grassroots effort is against electronic touch-screen voting machines that leave no paper trail. Opponents say the technology is vulnerable to hackers who could compromise the election process. Proponents, however, say that security is tight, and electronic voting is more efficient and produces faster results than paper ballots.

The activists, who are in Washington for two days, are asking Congress to require a voter-verified, manually auditable paper record of every vote in state and federal elections, officials with VoteTrustUSA said.

-snip/no more-

http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=164302016

[Wilms]

17. State checks voting-machine firms' backgrounds

State checks voting-machine firms' backgrounds

By MARSHA SHULER
[e-mail]
Capitol news bureau

State elections officials are doing background checks on companies vying for a nearly $50 million voting machine contract -- a requirement of the selection process.

As they submitted proposals, the five companies seeking the contract had to supply three years of audited financial statements, information concerning business-related criminal records of their employees, and lawsuits filed against the firm.

"They are a cutthroat industry. Each one sends us information of an unsavory nature about each other regularly," First Assistant Secretary of State Al Ater said.

Ater said the state Attorney General's Office is looking at legal problems of firms and their employees to determine their severity.

-snip-

http://2theadvocate.com/stories/061105/pol_voting001.shtml

Discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x377466

[Wilms]

18. (CA) State set to give Diebold the OK

State set to give Diebold the OK

Documents obtained by officials show printing issues have been fixed

June 12, 2005

By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER

In less than a week, state officials are poised to approve a new Diebold electronic-voting system that several large counties, including Alameda, want to use. But the system showed problems in security, protection of voter-privacy and printing of a paper trail during testing this spring.

State elections authorities have obscured the full nature of those problems by blacking out parts of test reports that have been released under the state public-records act and declaring other documents too full of Diebold "trade secrets" for public release.

During tests in late April and early May, a chief feature of Diebold's new computerized voting machine — the ability to print out voters' electronic choices so they could be verified and, if needed, recounted — performed so poorly that the state's testing consultant concluded "this version is not ready for use in an election."

Assistant Secretary of State Brad Clark, a former Alameda County registrar, said Thursday that those problems have been fixed, and the Diebold system desired by county elections officials is ready for state consideration.

-snip/more-

http://www.insidebayarea.com/localnews/ci_2794375

Discussion:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x377468

[Wilms]

19. National Election Reform Conference in Portland

Announcing A National Election Reform Conference in Portland

Submitted by Betsy on Wed, 06/08/2005 - 10:46am

Speaker & Agenda Planning

Announcement and Call for Presenters for a National Election Reform Conference

Event Details:

--Dates: Friday, September 30, 2005 through Sunday, October 2, 2005
--Location: Portland, Oregon
--Deadline for presentation proposals: July 15, 2005
--Sponsored by: Oregon Voter Rights Coalition and the Alliance for Democracy
--Hosted by: PSU Campus Pacific Greens, PSU College Democrats, PSU Democracy Matters

Conference Goals:

--To bring together grassroots election reform organizations, legislators, election officials, news media, and the general public to share best practices and innovative solutions for election reform.
--To focus on solutions and empower participants with knowledge and tools to effect real election reform.
--To provide a non-partisan and safe venue for discussing diverse opinions and alternatives for achieving clean elections.

Keynote speakers for the conference will include national leaders in the fight to restore democracy, honesty and accuracy to the American election system. The conference format will include a combination of keynote speakers, session speakers, panel presentations, training workshops, and poster presentations.

Call for Presentations:

The conference planners invite proposals from those who would like to participate as a speaker, lead a workshop or share a poster presentation. Speakers may address a session audience individually or be part of a panel. Workshop leaders will share their expertise in an interactive training session with a small group. Poster presentations offer the opportunity to display detailed information on a project and talk to conference participants one-on-one

MORE

http://www.oregonvrc.org/node/406?PHPSESSID=f55ce2a5a5d427f89429c4085f6a1774

Thanks to math_is_for_girls for posting the discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x377393

[Wilms]

20. Denver Post Editorial: Boost for election credibility

Article Launched: 06/12/2005 01:00:00 AM

Editorial

Boost for election credibility


We applaud Colorado lawmakers and the secretary of state for taking the measure of last November's election and working to fix a flawed system. Gov. Bill Owens this week signed into law two identical measures - Senate bills 198 and 206 - aimed at restoring voter confidence after two consecutive general elections in which fears of fraud abounded and problems in the system were exposed.

Critical anti-fraud provisions will protect election credibility. The new reforms will require verifiable paper records to back up electronic voting machines after 2010 (to make sure votes are counted accurately) and random audits comparing machine totals with hand-counted paper ballots. They require the registration of people conducting voter drives, the timely submission of forms to the secretary of state, and prohibit drive organizers from paying workers based on the number of applications they collect.

-snip-

The law smartly prohibits the secretary of state from chairing a political campaign. Controversy inevitably followed Florida's Katherine Harris, who chaired George W. Bush's campaign in 2000, and Kenneth Blackwell, who had double duty in Ohio in 2004.

-snip/more-

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_2793532

[LightningFlash]

27. After 2010!??!? Colorado's screwed.....What a pathetic display.

[MelissaB]

21. Jerry Springer to discuss Coingate and Ohio on 6/13

Just received word from Springer's producer that he'll feature Coingate and Ohio on his Monday show on Air America Radio.

This is a major breakthrough. I've probably sent the show 50 letters urging Jerry to discuss what happened in his home state.


Thanks to AtLiberty here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=377547#377562

[Wilms]

22. Flash! Recountdown: w/Keep Hopinmann

Falsh Animation

http://www.toostupidtobepresident.com/shockwave/recountdown.htm

Thanks to helderheid for posting the discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x377555

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

23. next step to being the media

I now make it a habit to email or fax a news article to my
US congressman and senator about 3-4 times a week.

This way they know that the public knows. : 0

Yes, that is right, let'em know we aren't stupid.

[MelissaB]

24. Conyers: Unless we act...our dem. will suffer a potentially fatal blow

The Toledo Blade has been kicking some ass lately with "Coingate." This one is about election reform.



Article published Sunday, June 12, 2005

ELECTION REFORM

Congress called on to fix problems

By ANN McFEATTERS
BLADE WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF

...snip

At the federal level, The Century Fund, which co-sponsored the National Commission on Election Reform after the 2000 election, co-chaired by former presidents Gerald Ford and Carter, reports the 2002 law is not working as it should. Worse, the Century Fund said the 2004 election revealed "a deeply flawed voting system that in many ways has become more complicated and prone to abuse" than in 2000 because the new law led to more obstacles in voting.

Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said "tens of thousands" of voters still contact his office to express anger that "once again, their vote did not count." He held a hearing specifically on widespread 2004 problems in Ohio. President Bush received 286 electoral votes, 16 more than the 270 needed to win. Without Ohio, he would not have won.

Mr. Conyers insists most Americans want "real election reform," but he is not encouraged, saying congressional Republicans and Democrats remain far apart.

"Unless we act, the next close election will prompt the same debates and public confidence in our democracy will suffer a potentially fatal blow," Mr. Conyers told constituents.

More: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050612/NEWS09/506120350/-1/NEWS


Discussion here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x377576

[Wilms]

25. FreedomPress: Handout the Facts

http://justicefornone.com/handbills/voting1.htm

http://justicefornone.com/handbills/pdf/voting1.pdf




http://justicefornone.com/handbills/voting2.htm

http://justicefornone.com/handbills/pdf/voting2.pdf


http://justicefornone.com/handbills

[Wilms]

26. .

[paineinthearse]

28. This seems worthy but my brain is literally fried

Did a 2-day soccer torunament in 100 degree heat.

This seems thought worthy, but not tonight. Best I can do now is a :kick:

[Wilms]

29. .