Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Sunday 7/10/05

[MelissaB]

All members welcome and 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.



If you want to know how post "News Banners" or other images, go here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=371233#371391

Link to previous Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x381154

All previous daily threads are available here:

http://www.independentmediasource.com/DU_archives/du_2004erd_el_ref_fr_thr_calenders.htm




Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page (it's the link just below).

[MelissaB]

1. Newspaper Withholding Two Articles After Jailing

Newspaper Withholding Two Articles After Jailing

By ROBERT D. McFADDEN
Published: July 9, 2005

The editor of The Cleveland Plain Dealer said last night that the newspaper, acting on the advice of its lawyers, was withholding publication of two major investigative articles because they were based on illegally leaked documents and could lead to penalties against the paper and the jailing of reporters.

The editor, Doug Clifton, said lawyers for The Plain Dealer had concluded that the newspaper, Ohio's largest daily, would probably be found culpable if the authorities were to investigate the leaks and that reporters might be forced to identify confidential sources to a grand jury or go to jail.

"Basically, we have come by material leaked to us that would be problematical for the person who leaked it," Mr. Clifton said in a telephone interview. "The material was under seal or something along those lines."

In an earlier interview with the trade journal Editor & Publisher, which published an article on its Web site late yesterday, Mr. Clifton said that lawyers for The Plain Dealer and its owner, Newhouse Newspapers, had strongly recommended against publication of the articles. "They've said, This is a super, super high-risk endeavor and you would, you know, you'd lose," Mr. Clifton told Editor & Publisher. "The reporters say, 'Well, we're willing to go to jail,' and I'm willing to go to jail if it gets laid on me, but the newspaper isn't willing to go to jail."

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/09/national/09cleveland.html?ei=5065&en=fe99728fc8bf8730&ex=1121572800&adxnnl=1&partner=MYWAY&adxnnlx=1120968294-kGVYFuAnvfOKb1OggOVNtA


Thanks to Pallas180 here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1916781

[MelissaB]

2. More:

"Take away a reporter's ability to protect a tipster's anonymity and you deny the public vital information," Mr. Clifton wrote. And to dramatize the point, he concluded his column by telling readers that The Plain Dealer was itself obliged to withhold stories based on illegal disclosures for fear of the legal consequences.

"As I write this, two stories of profound importance languish in our hands," Mr. Clifton wrote. "The public would be well-served to know them, but both are based on documents leaked to us by people who would face deep trouble for having leaked them. Publishing the stories would almost certainly lead to a leak investigation and the ultimate choice: talk or go to jail. Because talking isn't an option and jail is too high a price to pay, these two stories will go untold for now. How many more are out there?"

Mr. Clifton said he was surprised that there had been so little public reaction to his disclosure of "something that newspapers typically don't reveal - that real live news had been stifled."

"I hoped the public would be bothered by that," he said.

[MelissaB]

3. Taft's bogus 'privilege'

Article published Sunday, July 10, 2005

Taft's bogus 'privilege'

In a vain effort to shield itself from a full investigation into Ohio's workers' compensation investment scandal, the Taft Administration is wrapping itself in the shroud of secrecy called "executive privilege."


That was Richard Nixon's infamous Watergate defense in the 1970s, and Gov. Bob Taft's office now appears to be channeling that same stonewall spirit in refusing to release certain correspondence from Bureau of Workers' Compensation officials to the governor's office dating to 1999.

The doctrine of executive privilege failed to protect Mr. Nixon from charges of wrongdoing 30-plus years ago and it won't work today for Mr. Taft because no such grant of secrecy can be found either in Ohio's Constitution or in state law.

...snip

What is Bob Taft hiding?

[MelissaB]

4. Ex-state aides use old ties to make, raise cash

Article published Sunday, July 10, 2005

OHIO POLITICS

Ex-state aides use old ties to make, raise cash
Lobbyists steered funds to Bush while they enriched themselves

By JAMES DREW
and STEVE EDER
BLADE STAFF WRITERS

...snip

"Brian Hicks has a reputation of being one of the smartest people in and out of government," Mr. Weaver said. "His intelligence and hard work have paid off for him. I've seen it up close. I know how good he can be. And his clients do too."

On his firm's Web site, Mr. Hicks bills himself as "the most powerful unelected official in Ohio." His company boasts "an extensive level network of contacts in Ohio, Washington, D.C., and throughout the country."

"Hicks Partners will ensure your voice is heard at the highest levels of government," the Web site says.

The fact that Hicks Partners can guarantee its clients that it has close ties to the most influential people in politics is precisely the problem with the system, Senator Dann said.

More: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050710/NEWS24/507100451

Discussion about this and the Bush connection: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x383074

[MelissaB]

5. Ex-aide's lobbying draws scrutiny

Ex-aide's lobbying draws scrutiny
Senators say Taft adviser flouted law

Sunday, July 10, 2005

Julie Carr Smyth
Plain Dealer Bureau

Columbus - Brian Hicks had been Gov. Bob Taft's right-hand man since shortly after college.

In the two years since he left Taft, Hicks has become a consultant and fund-raiser for the Republican Governors' Association and the Bush-Cheney campaign and has built a successful lobbying business with a stable of high-paying clients.

Now law enforcement officials want to know whether Hicks - Taft's most trusted adviser for nearly 12 years - violated revolving-door restrictions as he built his business. For a year after his departure in July 2003, he was prohibited by law from lobbying state agencies on issues in which he had a direct policy-making role.

It is one of a number of issues that have arisen for Hicks as local, state and federal investigations widen into coin dealer Tom Noe, a prolific Republican fund-raiser and donor from Toledo who managed a tarnished state investment into rare coins. Noe's attorneys have said that auditors are likely to find a $13 million shortfall in the value of the coins.

More: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1120988052246870.xml&coll=2

[MelissaB]

6. AL: Wisdom of Worley's choice to be seen

EDITORIAL

Wisdom of Worley's choice to be seen

Secretary of State Nancy Worley was not obligated to accept the recommendation of an advisory committee in selecting a company to develop a statewide voter registration system. By not following the unanimous recommendation of the committee, however, Worley now bears inescapable responsibility for the success or failure of the project.
Alabamians can only hope Worley made the right call.

The 24-member committee, which included elected officials from the Democratic and Republican parties as well as private citizens, spent more than a year reviewing proposals before recommending to Worley that the bid for the work go to a partnership of Election Systems & Software and Unisys. The panel's second choice was a partnership of Electronic Data Systems and SysCon.

Worley chose neither of those. Instead, she chose to award the contract to Diebold because its bid -- $2.3 million -- was substantially lower than the bids from ES&S and Unisys at $3.92 million and EDS and SysCon at $3.88 million.

No one can fault Worley for trying to get the best possible deal for the taxpayers. However, the wide disparity in these bids raises serious questions. Put simply, if the system doesn't work well, it won't be a bargain, despite the price.

Worley's judgment is on the line here.

Link: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/NEWSV5/storyV5edwor0709web.htm

[MelissaB]

7. Link to thread from yesterday

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x382990

Sorry! I've been forgetting to change that link.

[Nictuku]

8. From BradBlog

http://www.bradblog.com/

(Scroll down for this story:)

Blogged by Winter Patriot on 7/10/2005 @ 10:30am PT...

FITRAKIS: Hocking County Activists Go To Sheriff's Dept!
Plan to File Charges Against Lisa Swartz (BOE-R)!
County Prosecutor Calls BOE Meeting for Monday!

A BRAD BLOG exclusive. Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

According to a recent statement from Dr. Robert J. Fitrakis:

For those of you following the Sherole Eaton story in Hocking County, Ohio, I spoke with her last night and found out the Hocking County Prosecutor has called for a meeting of the Board of Elections on Monday (tomorrow, July 11). Voting rights activists have already contaced the Sheriff's dept. regarding Lisa Swartz's conducting of an admitted Republican fundraiser while she worked for the BOE. Activists in Hocking County plan to file theft in office and other related charges against Swartz. As most of you may know, the Hocking County BOE is under a temporary restraining order from replacing Sherole Eaton since last Tuesday thanks to Cliff Arnebeck. Cliff and I are working on a permanent injunction to have Eaton reinstated to her job with BOE since she is a whistleblower.

[MelissaB]

9. Thank you, Nictuku, and welcome to DU!

:hi:

[FogerRox]

10. NJ Gov Signs VVPR law

Advocates cheer voting reform
But Jersey law requiring paper receipts will not go
into effect until 2008
hhttp://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-0/112097207143380.xml
Sunday, July 10, 2005
BY JONATHAN CASIANO
Star-Ledger Staff

A new law signed by acting Gov. Richard Codey last
week mandates that all electronic voting machines must
print paper receipts for each vote cast, allowing
voters to confirm their choice on a paper printout
before casting their final ballot.

>snip<

"I'm so relieved," said Patricia Kenschaft, a
mathematics professor at Montclair State University.
"This is a great step forward in recognition that we
can't trust computers. It shows that citizen action
can make a difference."

Others, however, said the law is considerably weaker
than similar laws passed in other states. Roger Fox,
chairman of the New Jersey Voting Issues Project,
criticized the New Jersey for not requiring random
audits of machines to make sure the paper receipts
match the computerized tally. Without audits, Fox said
the only way fraud will be uncovered is through an
official recount.

"I think the current form of the law makes it the
weakest law of its kind in the nation," Fox said.
"It's basically a toothless, three-legged cat."

DU thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=383087&mesg_id=383087