You HAVE to listen to this!! Trust me. Just do it.

[Amaryllis]

These are audio links to Thom Hartmann and Paul Lehto's presentation in Portland on "The Corporate Takeover of America's Elections."

This will knock your socks off. I have been immersed in election fraud/reform for over a year now, and I was continually astounded by their superb ability to frame the issue in its simplest terms. These will help you in talking to people about the issues, or writing letters, or articles, or whatever. Many excellent sound bites in here.

I copied some quotes, but you HAVE TO JUST LISTEN TO THIS! I could transcribe the whole hour; it’s incredible stuff. Brilliant. They complement each other so well; it’s like they did a Vulcan mind meld. They both are so knowledgeable about history, the law, the constitution, and they are both expert framers of the issue. Whoever listens to this, please pick our your favorite quotes and post.

Thom concludes with this: “The vote should be ours; we should hold the vote, there should not be for profit corporations inserted between us and our vote and our government and our elected officials.” At one point in the Q and A, someone asked Thom, “How do I talk to people about this? It’s so complex.” Thom said no, it isn’t complex at all; it’s very simple, and basically repeated this statement, or some variation: It is an outrage that for profit corporations have inserted themselves between us and our vote..

Thom: The vote is the heartbeat of democracy.

Paul talks about the Snohomish County study and the lawsuit, but primarly uses is as a framework to make his points about the bigger picture.

Lehto: Elections are all about power transfer and money transfer. The people who administer those elections are a select few government representatives who then keep those ballots secret. It’s virtually impossible to get your hands on those ballots and count them for yourself. The best way to think about it is, “I have no basis for confidence in our elections.” What can you do? You can say all day every day that we have no basis for confidence and there is nothing that anyone can say that’s based in fact that can take you off that track because it’s a 100% accurate position.

If you’re in the position of trying to prove something, the burden of proof is on you and the other side is going to pick away at your little facts and keep saying, “That doesn’t convince me.” The big picture is that the elections in the US have no credibility.

Given power and money are being transferred here and that this is the sole super power and the wealthiest nation on earth, and our history of wars and assassinations, is it conceivable that an individual or group of individuals may want to do something non-violent (to do a money and power grab)?

Reasonable people leave open the possibility that something may be going on. Unreasonable people condemn reasonable people as conspiracy theorists. This word conspiracy has developed this aura of unlikelihood.

On another level, it’s not really relevant whether someone purposely threw the election; the numbers are off. The wrong candidate was elected. Intent is only relevant in the law as to whether it’s criminal or not. In terms of the integrity of our democracy it doesn’t matter whether it’s malfunction or someone deliberately hacked the computers, it’s all the same. The data is wrong and there’s no basis for any confidence in that data.

Not only does the emperor have no clothes, he has no wardrobe and he lives in a glass house.

Democracy dies in secret.

The voters of America are blindfolded, and therefore impotent, but only until you realize you're not impotent.

I could quote the whole thing! It’s that good.

Thom Hartmann...about 33 minutes

www.PhilosopherSeed.org/realaudio/thartman.ram

www.PhilosopherSeed.org/mp3/thartman.mp3

Paul Lehto....about 32 minutes

www.PhilosopherSeed.org/realaudio/plehto.ram

www.PhilosopherSeed.org/mp3/plehto.mp3

[GetTheRightVote]

1. Please, please try to put something together for us, it sounds great !!

:kick:

[Amaryllis]

9. Don't know what you mean, try to put something together for you?

The links are there; you can listen!

[helderheid]

2. I'll listen after I watch "Ray" - promise!!

[merh]

3. These are definitely worth listening to!

Also share them with the folks in your county that are responsible for
running elections. It is our job to share the information with those involved in conducting elections. We have to educate them and let them educate us. Only if we work together can we bring about election reform.


Nominated & kicked :kick:

[bleever]

4. And for a stellar example, don't miss

this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=388864&mesg_id=388864

He puts the question of burden of proof into the context of the bigger picture, elegantly and with clarity.


:thumbsup:

[Amaryllis]

10. He and Thom are both absolutely brilliant. Never heard anyone

who was so good at cutting to the heart of the issue.

[Patsy Stone]

14. Nice find

:hi:

Happy to kick his thread also.

[Donailin]

5. Thom Hartman is a genuis, number one. It's intelligent left radio

, I don't want a Limbaugh clone that plays to the lowest common denominator, I want intelligence and a total grasp of history and law on my left radio. Hartman fitts the bill. Will save and listen later, too bad there isn't a transcript; I like to print things out and read them before bed.

[Amaryllis]

11. A transcript would be great! If anyone has a lot of spare time....

[Melissa G]

6. Nominated even before I hear it! n/t

[autorank]

7. Kick-Recommend. Mind blowing--listen and save!!!

Lehto is a great guy, glad he's on our side. My hope is that someday he'll be Attorney General of the US of A!

:kick:

[Amaryllis]

12. Thom as president, Lehto as A.G.

[autorank]

17. I'll give him my vote anytime (bue he has to appologize for voting for

Nader in 2000) haha, just kidding, not!

Great post.

[meganmonkey]

8. Thanks Amaryllis!

I'll have a chance to listen to it all tomorrow, but until then, recommended and :kick:

[Firenze777]

13. I love what he said about exit polls

at about 24-25 minutes in....IF Kerry had come out and claimed victory based on exit polls (during the evening), then people would have asked 'what is going on' when things changed dramatically. I think he's right. IF ONLY!

[tommcintyre]

15. Thanks for putting this together n/t

[bvar22]

16. You can listen to Thom Hartmann every weekday!

Don't miss his Friday Show where he is joined by Bernie Sanders "Brunch with Bernie". Liberal Radio at its best!
Noon - 3PM Eastern

Listen Over the Net:
http://www.thomhartmann.com/
Click on "Listen Live"

Thon Hartmenn's shows are also archived at numerous sites on the net.




Thom Hartmann is now broadcasting 6 hours a day of "progressive talk radio" every weekday, three hours (9-noon ET / 6-9 PT) as a local morning show on Clear Channel's AM 620 KPOJ, Portland's Progressive Talk Station (and Air America's first affiliate), followed by three hours (noon-3 pm ET) broadcast nationally.

Thom Hartmann's nationally syndicated program is carried on radio stations across the USA daily from noon to 3 pm EST, is also broadcast on Stream 143 on the Sirius satellite radio ("Sirius Left" - their progressive talk channel), and streamed live on the web from RadioPower.org, WhiteRoseSociety.org, American_FM, and CRN Digital into cable systems in 29 states

[dxstone]

19. Thanx for this info, bvar!

I've been outta the loop on this; will check him out real soon!
You ROCK, pal!
:headbang:
d

[ellenfl]

18. kicking

:kick:

ellen fl

[dxstone]

20. Thanks for this, Amaryllis!

I will definitely check it out, cuz I really like what I heard in your summary piece! Great work!
:yourock:
d
ps: Kicked and nominated!

[BamaBecky]

21. Outstanding! Make CD's of this and hand them out!

Thank You!

[Paradise]

22. thanks. bookmarking for later... n/t

[Peace Patriot]

23. Recommended! This is IT! This is WHY, when 58% of the American people

opposed the war BEFORE the invasion--across the board in all polls, Feb. '03--we had a war anyway.

This is WHY, when 63% of the American people oppose torture UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES (May '04), we had torture memo writer Alberto Gonzales shoved down our throats anyway, as the chief law enforcement officer of the U.S. of A.

This is WHY, when 60% to 70% of the American people oppose every major Bush policy, foreign and domestic--you name it, the Iraq war, torture policy, Social Security, the deficit, women's rights--we cannot get the will of the majority implemented.

And this is WHY, when we talk to election officials and other public representatives--of either party--we get blank stares about partisan private companies owning and controlling the counting of our votes with SECRET, PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE. Their blank stares speak of corruption--of the billion dollar industry that our election system has become, of future job offers, of lavish lobbying perks such as the hogfest at the Beverly Hilton last week*, and of the heady power of brokering big business deals, and of lording and ladying it, as "experts" and "professionals," over the dumb voters, who haven't a clue any more how they're votes are counted.

Hartmann and Lehto put their finger right on it: CORPORATIONS have come between us and our vote--in the final coup de grace of Corporate Rule. And we MUST throw them out!

My fantasy: Michael Moore and a whole bunch of us, cameras rolling, dump a load of those Bushite election theft machines into Boston Harbor! (These days, we'd be violating lots of environmental laws--but it would still be worth it!) (If we can restore our right to vote, we might actually get some of our environmental laws enforced!)

-----

See Amaryllis' post on Diebold/ES&S/Sequoia lobbying of election officials at the Beverly Hilton this August--it will burn your eyeballs!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x380340

[rucky]

25. Mine is to dump (fake) oil into Galveston harbor.

The Texas Tea Party.

:)

[AtLiberty]

24. I'm have tech difficulty with these links

Whenever I use realaudio, it times out after a minute or so...

The other link won't open.

I have Windows/DSL.

[Amaryllis]

26. Don't know what to tell you. Any techies out there who can help?

[FogerRox]

27. Kickin for the team

[ooglymoogly]

28. wow this is out of the park

this brilliant and wonderful analysis seems to me the first perfect writing on election fraud i have read...we need to kick these people right up into the stratesphere...how do i get on board with these people....kickety kick and nominated.

[Amaryllis]

30. Did you listen? The whole thing is one gigantic brillliant quote.

[ooglymoogly]

31. yes i listened to the whole thing

he is the perfect spokesman for reality.

[Amaryllis]

33. which one is the perfect spokesperson for reality ? aren't they mind

melded almost, in how they are both so totally on the same message?

[we can do it]

29. Share it with friends!

Great thank you - I am sharing with friends.

[Amaryllis]

32. Anyone have a lot of spare time (HA) who could do transcripts of these?

[librechik]

34. A lot of that material can be found here

http://www.thomhartmann.com/commondreams.shtml

amon Thom's articles on democracy and politics.

[Amaryllis]

35. kick

[Amaryllis]

36. Kick