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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 10:38 PM
Original message
Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News , THURSDAY 8/25/05
Edited on Wed Aug-24-05 11:15 PM by autorank


Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News THURSDAY 8/25/05
Special TruthIsAll Appreciation Day!!! Plus Hot News




All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.

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



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).
Atlanta Journal Constitution: Tens of Thousands March Supporting Voting Rights Act

CLICK HERE to get quick access to Election Results and Discussion Forum on your “Latest” page.

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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 10:39 PM
Response to Original message
1. TruthIsAll: Amazing Set of Assumptions Required “to Believe Bush won”
Edited on Wed Aug-24-05 11:15 PM by autorank
Check out this date, starting work in a hurry. This has been all over the internet and to many leading journalists who are now starting to use it more and more.

TruthIsAll Thu Nov-04-04 11:07 PM


To believe that Bush won the election, you must also believe...



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=22581


Thu Nov-04-04 11:07 PM
To believe that Bush won the election, you must also believe:

1- That the exit polls were WRONG...

2- That Zogby's 5pm election day calls for Kerry winning OH, FL were WRONG. He was exactly RIGHT in his 2000 final poll.

3- That Harris last minute polling for Kerry was WRONG. He was exactly RIGHT in his 2000 final poll.

4- The Incumbent Rule I (that undecideds break for the challenger) was WRONG.

5- The 50% Rule was WRONG (that an incumbent doesn't do better than his final polling)

6- The Approval Rating Rule was WRONG (that an incumbent with less than 50% approval will most likely lose the election)

7- That Greg Palast was WRONG when he said that even before the election; 1 million votes were stolen from Kerry. He was the ONLY reporter to break the fact that 90,000 Florida blacks were disenfranchised in 2000.

8- That it was just a COINCIDENCE that the exit polls were CORRECT where there WAS a PAPER TRAIL and INCORRECT (+5% for Bush) where there was NO PAPER TRAIL.

9- That the surge in new young voters had NO positive effect for Kerry.

10- That Bush BEAT 99-1 mathematical odds in winning the election.

11- That Kerry did WORSE than Gore against an opponent who LOST the support of SCORES of Republican newspapers who were for Bush in 2000.

12- That Bush did better than an 18 national poll average which showed him tied with Kerry at 47. In other words, Bush got 80% of the undecided vote to end up with a 51-48 majority - when ALL professional pollsters agree that the undecided vote ALWAYS goes to the challenger.

13- That Voting machines made by Republicans with no paper trail and with no software publication, which have been proven by thousands of computer scientists to be vulnerable in scores of ways, were NOT tampered with in this election

Part II: To believe Bush won the election, you must also believe...
Mon Nov-15-04 07:11 PM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=53398


1. That people who voted for Bush were not anxious to speak to exit pollsters in the states that Bush had to win (like Florida and Ohio) where the exit polls were off, but wanted to be polled in states that he had sewn up (like Arizona, Louisiana and Arkansas) where the exit polls were exactly correct.

2. That Democrats who voted for Kerry were very anxious to be exit-polled, especially in Florida and Ohio. That accounts for the discrepancy between the exit polls and the actual votes in these two critical states.

3. That women were much more likely to be polled early in the day in Florida and Ohio. That is another reason why the exit polls were wrong in those states. In those states in which the exit polls were correct to within one percent, women did not come out early.

4. That the University of Pennsylvania Professor (trained at MIT) who calculated the probability of Bush gaining votes beyond the exit polling margin of error as ONE out of 250 million, does not have any credibility.

5. That network newscasters who claim that those who consider the possibility of fraud are just wild conspiracy theorists do not have an agenda.

6. That it is just a coincidence that only since the 2000 presidential election have exit polls failed to agree with the actual vote - and that Bush won both disputed elections.

7. That exit polls are not to be trusted in the United States, even though they are used throughout the world to monitor elections for fraud.

8. That even though more votes were cast than there were eligible voters in many precincts of critical states; it is not an issue that needs to be covered in the media.

9. That the absence of a paper ballot trail for touch screen computers does not encourage fraud, even though they have been proven by hundreds of computer experts to be highly vulnerable to fraudulent attack.

10. That statistical tests which indicate a high probability of fraud are just conspiratorial junk science.



CLICK HERE to get quick access to the 2004 Election Results & Discussion Forum

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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 10:44 PM
Response to Original message
2. TruthIsAll Takes on Absurdities of National Exit Polls & Bush’s Election
Edited on Wed Aug-24-05 11:16 PM by autorank
This is a summary of TruthIsAlls very best work with a narrative and more importantly, a link to “the essential threads” and “the complete anlaysis of the National Exit Polls, great resources.


The Unanswered Question: Who Really Won In 2004?



http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0507/S00238.htm

Statistical & Mathematical Analysis by TruthIsAll


By DU Poster Autorank
Posted at Democratic Underground
See also... this annotated thread. It’s all in the numbers
According to the vote tabulators, in the 2004 presidential election George W. Bush won a stunning victory that defied all odds, particularly those applied by unbiased statisticians. He won despite trailing in most state and national polls. He won despite an approval rating of less than 50%, usually the death knell for an incumbent presidential candidate. He won despite trailing in the three National Exit Polls three timelines from 4pm to 12:22 am (13047 respondents) by a steady 48%-51%, miraculously winning the final exit poll (with only 613 additional respondents, totaling 13,660). This poll was “weighted” (altered) to meet the reported election result on the assumption that the reported result was accurate -- quite an assumption. The final poll showed a stunning reversal of the Kerry 51%-48% poll margin, which had been measured consistently all day by the same polling group: major news/networks and polling firm Edison-Mitofsky.

The analysis of exit polls and documented fraud in this election began on the Internet. A number of academics posted detailed work showing the near-impossible odds of Bush overcoming deficits in the state exit polls and the National Exit Polls. Much of this analysis comes from “TruthIsAll” (TIA), a poster on DemocraticUnderground.Com. TIA has a background and several degrees in applied mathematics. Using various elements of the national and state exit polls and other data sources, he produces results that are thorough, detailed, sober and compelling. He shows ALL data and calculations, while encouraging others to check his math. Only once did he make a minor math error, after asking DUers to check his calculation of probability that at least 16 states would deviate beyond their exit poll margin of error and go for Bush. The answer turned out to be one in 19 trillion! The debates on DemocraticUnderground’s “2004: Election Results and Discussion” forum are legendary and have attracted observers from all over the Net.

Before the election, TIA produced a daily update of his Election Model site. On 11/1/04, based on extensive statistical analysis, he projected a Kerry win of 51.63% to 48.38%, using a combined average of national polls, and of 51.80% to 48.2% using a Monte Carlo simulation of individual state polls. After the polls closed, data from the Edison Mitofsky NEP survey (sponsored by the major television networks and CNN) was unintentionally released over the Internet. This was internal network data, embargoed from public use, data with statements like “Estimates not for on-air use” and “This page cannot be displayed.” The networks had locked down this data for their own use in an “electronic cover-up” that was offensive to those who knew the story. Luckily for all of us, Jonathan Simon downloaded the exit poll data and saved the CNN screen shots! The Edison-Mitofsky (EM)-Corporate Media (CM) “embargoed data” was available for anyone with eyes to see it and a mind to review it.

TruthIsAll immediately began analyzing and publishing analyses on the forbidden data. Looking at the demographics on the second to last E-M major network poll, he laid out the set of improbable circumstances needed for Bush to win: “To believe Bush won the election, you must also believe….” This post was cited by Will Pitt in a major blog, which gave it wide visibility on the Net. “KERRY WON THE FEMALE VOTE BY A HIGHER PERCENTAGE THAN BUSH WON THE MALE VOTE…AND MORE WOMEN (54%) VOTED THAN MEN (46%).” It was all right there, polling results that we were never intended to see. But this was only the beginning. There are over 100 individual analytical postings that demonstrate the tremendous odds against a Bush win. This high-level analysis dovetailed with and was confirmed by on-the-ground stories of voting rights violations all over the country, particularly in Ohio.

The key data sources for TIA’s analysis are the four EM National Exit Polls and the 50 state exit polls. For those who doubt the reliability of exit polling, there has been a trend toward accuracy within 0.4% since 1998. These Exit polls are endorsed heartily by international voting rights activists -- the Carter Center, for example -- and even the Bush administration, which used them, ironically, in the Ukraine elections to demonstrate fraud and call for a new election.

At 12:22 am on November 3, the national exit poll of 13,047 respondents showed Kerry to be the winner by 51% to 48%, matching TIA’s pre-election projection. The poll was “un-weighted,” meaning the EM and CM had yet to apply weighting “adjustments”: percentages and weights applied to all the demographic categories to match the poll results to the reported vote count! Imagine if this technique had been applied by exit pollsters in the first Ukrainian election to show victory for the incumbent, who had committed gross election fraud. Yet this odd technique of turning a poll into a ratification of the actual voting results was applied in the American election. The final exit poll, with 13,660 respondents, showed a stunning reversal of fortune for Bush. The poll results were “re-weighted” to create a Bush “victory margin.”

The odds against the deviations from the state and national exit polls to the final vote count are astronomical. In addition, there is the consistency of the “pristine” exit poll timeline from 4 pm (8349 respondents) to 7:30 pm (11,027) to 12:22 am (13,047).
In addition to the gender-based evidence cited above, TIA has shown that some weightings for the question “How did you vote in 2000” are mathematically impossible. For example, the final poll claims that 43% of all 2004 voters were former Bush 2000 voters. But 43% of 122.3 million, the number of votes in the 2004 presidential election, is 52.59 million, and Bush only got 50.46 million votes in 2000, approximately 1.75 million of them from voters who have since died. Therefore, Bush’s final poll exit poll numbers, WHICH WERE MATCHED TO THE VOTE, had to be off by 4 million votes.

The analysis also demonstrated that other voter statistics make it impossible for Bush to have won. Even if all Bush voters from 2000 showed up and voted for him, he still needed an additional 13 million votes. He didn’t get them from new voters and those who did not vote in 2000; those voters preferred Kerry by an almost 3-to-2 margin. Because of this, a Bush victory required that he must win a whopping 14% of Gore 2000 voters, all of whom had to return to vote in 2004. But Gore voters were angry; they came back to defeat Bush once again after having the election stolen from them.

Logical absurdities and inconsistencies in Election 2004 abound. The data, analysis, and narrative are available at (insert link) for open-minded individuals who want to form their own conclusions about “Stolen Election 2004.”

The Complete Analysis, National Exit Polls:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x383839



CLICK HERE to get quick access to Election Results and Discussion Forum on your “Latest” page.
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 10:46 PM
Response to Original message
3. TruthIsAll: More Absurdities and Statistical Imposibilities
THIS ANALYSIS SHOWED JUST HOW REDICULOUS IT IS TO ASSUME THAT
THINGS WERE JUST “A-OK” WITH THE ELECTION.  LOOK HOW THE EXIT
POLLS DEVIATED FROM THE ACTUAL VOTE COUNT AND THE ODDS AGAINST
THAT HAPPENING.  REMEMBER, IN THE LAST LOUSY 2004 ELECTION,
THE EXIT POLLS ARE THE ONLY VOTING INFORMATION FROM ELECTOIN
DAY THAT HAVE A REAL PAPER TRAIL.  TRY FINDING THAT ON
DIEBOLDS, OPTISCANS, OR TRY EVER GETTING BALLOT BOOKS,
BALLOTS, ETC. FROM YOUR BOARD OF ELECTIONS.


THE EAST WAS THE BEAST: TIME ZONE EXIT POLL DISCREPANCY
ANALYSIS

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=318693

Original message  Sat Feb-05-05 01:39 PM

This is an Exit Poll Analysis by Time Zone, using Freeman's
data converted to the 2-party equivalent.

The vast bulk of the damage was done in the East.

Eastern:
ALL 23 states deviated to Bush by an average of 2.77%.
The odds of this occurrence:
1 in 8,388,608

12 deviated beyond the MOE.
The odds of this occurrence:
1 in 16 Trillion

Central:
11 of 16 states deviated to Bush by an average of 2.08%.
The odds of this occurrence:
1 in 10

3 deviated beyond the MOE.
The odds of this occurrence:
1 in 146

Mountain:
6 of 7 states deviated to Bush by an average of 2.18%.
The odds of this occurrence:
1 in 16

None deviated beyond the MOE.
The odds of this occurrence:
1 in 1.2 (84%)

Pacific:
3 of 5 states deviated to Bush by an average of 1.99%
The odds of this occurrence:
1 in 2

1 deviated beyond the MOE.
The odds of this occurrence:
1 in 8



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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 10:47 PM
Response to Original message
4. TruthIsAll: Summary Links
Edited on Wed Aug-24-05 11:16 PM by autorank
Great Resources Summarizing and Encompassing TruthIsAll’s Analysis


Summary Links from Truth IsAll





TruthIsAll: The Essential Links
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x383957


TruthIsAll: Exit Poll Analysis—The Complete Selection
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x383839





CLICK HERE to get quick access to Election Results and Discussion Forum on your “Latest” page.

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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 10:49 PM
Response to Original message
5. TruthIsAll: More Amazing Assumptions Required “to Believe Bush Won
Edited on Wed Aug-24-05 11:17 PM by autorank
Here are the final two parts of “To believe Bush won…” devastating. “The Emperor has no clothes!”

TruthIsAll




To believe Bush won the election, you must also believe



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=204891


Tue Dec-28-04 08:00 PM
Original message

Part IIIb: To believe that Bush won the election, you must also believe....

1. That his vote tallies could exceed his exit poll percentage in FL by 4%. Based on 2846 individuals exit polled, the polling margin of error was 1.84%.
The odds of this occurrence: 1 out of 1667.

2. That his vote tallies could exceed his exit poll percentage in OH by 3%. Based on 1963 individuals exit polled, the polling margin of error was 2.21%.
The odds of this occurrence: 1 out of 333.

3. That his vote tallies could exceed his exit poll percentages in 41 out of 51 states.
The odds of this occurrence: 1 out of 135,000.

4. That his vote tallies could exceed the margin of error in 16 states. Not one state vote tally exceeded the MOE for Kerry.
The odds of this occurrence: 1 out of 13.5 Trillion.

5. That his vote tallies could exceed a 2% exit poll margin of error in 23 states.
The probability of this occurrence: as close to ZERO as you can get.

6. That of 88 documented touch screen incidents, 86 voters would see their vote for Kerry come up Bush - and only TWO from Bush to Kerry.
The probability of this occurrence: as close to ZERO as you can get.

7. That Bush could overcome Kerry’s 50.8% - 48.2% lead in the National Exit Poll Sub-sample (13,047 polled) and win the popular vote: 51.2% - 48.4%, a 3.0% increase from the exit poll to the vote tally, far beyond the 0.86% margin of error.
The odds of this occurrence: 1 out of 282 Billion.

8. That Kerry would edge Bush by 15 votes in the additional 1000 votes uncovered in the Oshocton County OH recount, when Bush had previously won 57% of the 16,000 votes initially counted. Oshocton was the ONLY Ohio county which did a FULL recount.
The odds of this occurrence: Less than 1 in 4 million.

9. That by disputing the Ukrainian elections, the Bush administration would base its case on the accuracy of U.S. sponsored exit polling, while at the same time ignoring exit polls in the U.S. presidential election, which the media reported Kerry was winning handily.

10. That Mitofsky, with 25 years of exit polling experience, has lost his touch.


Wed Mar-23-05 11:25 PM
Part IV. To believe Bush won the election, you must also believe...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=348022

1. That the Final National Exit Poll (FEP) of 13660 respondents, which was matched to the recorded vote and had Bush the winner by 51-48%, had to be accurate. And you must also believe that the Preliminary Exit Poll (PEP) of 13047 which had Kerry the winner by 51-48% had to be inaccurate.

2. That if the FEP re-weighted the PEP percentage of Bush 2000 voters who voted in 2004 (from 41% to 43%) and also adjusted the corresponding Gore voters (from 38% to 37%), then the re-weighting accurately reflects the final vote count - which Bush won by 51-48%.

And it would, if Bush 2000 voters did in fact comprise 43% of all 2004 voters (122.26 million). But they didn’t, because the ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM percentage of Bush 2000 voters who could have voted in 2004 was 41.3% (50.45/122.26). This is the same 41% (rounded?) as given in the PEP, which Kerry won by 51-48%. And so even 41.3% is too high, for it assumes that NOT ONE Bush 2000 voter died prior to 2004, and that EVERY Bush 2000 voter also voted in 2004. Knowing this is impossible, why would you believe the FEP that said Bush won by 51-48%, since this very result assumes impossibility?

3. That the 43% (52.57 million) of Bush 2000 voters who voted in 2004 must be LESS than the total Bush vote in 2000, since it is obvious that a certain percentage of Bush 2000 voters have passed on. And we can also assume that other former Bush voters either could not or would not vote in 2004. But it wasn't LESS; it was MORE, so why would you believe it?

4. That the 43% statistic is accurate since Bush won by 51-48% and this weighted result assumes 43%. But for this result to be true, then you must also believe that Bush had at least two million more votes in 2000 than the 50.45 million he was credited with. But we know this is not true, so why would you believe it?

5. That the published U.S. annual death rate of 0.87% is incorrect, because if it were true, then it follows that about 3.5% of the population dies during each four year period. Therefore, Bush must have received at least 54.3 million votes in 2000 (52.57+1.75), if we assume that 1.75 million (or 3.5%) of Bush voters in 2000 passed on. This is a necessary condition in order to believe the 43% statistic. But Bush only received 50.45 million votes, so why would you believe it?

6. That Kerry won only 51% of the female vote, although the PEP had him winning by 54-45%. Gore won 54% of females in 2000. So why would you believe the FEP?

7. That the FEP Party ID weights were 37% Democrat/37% Republican/ 26% Independents, while the PEP had it 38/35/27 - virtually the same as the final exit poll Party_ID demographic in the prior three elections.

8. That even though Kerry won at least 4 million more votes than Bush among the 17% (21 million) voters who did NOT vote in 2000 (Kerry led 57-41% in the PEP, 54-45% in the FEP), he would still lose the election. Why would you believe it?

9. That even though Kerry won the new voters and those who did not vote in 2000 by at least 4 million (12-8 million), and that the Bush 2004 vote based on the 43% Bush 2000 voter stat was at least 3 million too high, Bush still gained 12 million votes from 2000 (from 50 to 62 million). Why would you believe it?

10. That the Reluctant Bush Responder (RBR) theory is true. Otherwise, how else could one explain the PEP exit poll discrepancies which had Kerry winning? But if you believe RBR, how can you also believe that 43% of Bush 2000 voters came to the polls in 2004, but only 37% did for Gore? Both statements CANNOT be true, because they are contradictory, yet they MUST BOTH both be true if one is to believe that Bush really did win the election. But why would you believe it?


CLICK HERE to get quick access to Election Results and Discussion Forum on your “Latest” page.

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freedomfries Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-05 07:57 AM
Response to Reply #5
19. great posts autorank!
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-05 08:07 AM
Response to Reply #19
21. Thank freedomfries!!!
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 10:51 PM
Response to Original message
6. WA (the Red part): "Every vote counts-maybe twice.
Wow, what a surprise!!! Wonder what took themso long to cover this story. Well, now it’s hitting Washington State, the Red part. Yahoo!!!




Every vote counts-maybe twice



http://www.statesmanexaminer.com/articles/2005/08/24/columns/col03.txt
By Peter Phillips Wednesday, August 24,2005

In the fall of 2001, after an eight-month review of 175,000 Florida ballots never counted in the 2000 election, an analysis by the National Opinion Research Center confirmed that Al Gore actually won Florida. However, coverage of this report was only a small blip in the corporate media after September 11, 2001.

New research compiled by Dr. Dennis Loo with the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, now shows that extensive manipulation of non-paper-trail voting machines also occurred in several states in 2004.

The facts are as follow: In 2004, President Bush far ex-ceeded the 85 percent of registered Florida Republican votes that he got in 2000, receiving more than 100 percent of the registered Republican votes in 47 out of 67 Florida counties, 200 percent of registered Republicans in 15 counties, and over 300 percent of registered Republicans in four counties. Mr. bush managed these remarkable outcomes despite that fact that his share of the crossover votes by registered Democrats in Florida did not increase, and he lost ground among registered Independents, dropping 15 points. We also know that Bush "won" Ohio by 51 percent to 48 percent, but statewide results were not matched by the court-supervised hand count of the 147,400 absentee and provisional ballots in which Kerry received 54.46 percent of the vote. In Cuyahoga County, the number of recorded votes




CLICK HERE to get quick access to Election Results and Discussion Forum on your “Latest” page.

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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 10:53 PM
Response to Original message
7. USA: Hagel Owned Company that Counted His Votes
Edited on Wed Aug-24-05 11:27 PM by autorank
Don’t get too excited by Chuck Hagel. In 1996 when he beat Ben Nelson for the U.S. Senate seat, a company in which he was heavily elected counted the majority of votes. How strange is that? Save this link. Its important history given Hagel’s desire to run for President as an independent.



Hagel’s ethics filings pose disclosure issue



http://www.hillnews.com/news/012903/hagel.aspx

Alexander Bolton JANUARY 29, 2003
On May 23, 1997, Victor Baird, who resigned Monday as director of the Senate Ethics Committee, sent a letter to Sen. Charles Hagel requesting “additional, clarifying information” for the personal financial disclosure report that all lawmakers are required to file annually.

Among other matters, Baird asked the Nebraska Republican to identify and estimate the value of the assets of the McCarthy Group Inc., a private merchant banking company based in Omaha, with which Hagel had a special relationship.

Hagel had reported a financial stake worth $1 million to $5 million in the privately held firm. But he did not report the company’s underlying assets, choosing instead to cite his holdings as an “excepted investment fund,” and therefore exempt from detailed disclosure rules.

Questioned by The Hill, several disclosure law experts said financial institutions set up in the same fashion as the McCarthy Group Inc. do not appear to meet the definition of an “excepted investment fund,” — at least as the committee had defined the category until Monday.
Hagel has not been accused of any legal or ethical wrong doing...

Here’s Tom Hartman’s take on those events.
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/print.php?sid=10019



CLICK HERE to get quick access to Election Results and Discussion Forum on your “Latest” page.
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 10:54 PM
Response to Original message
8. OH: Toledo Blade on Democrat Opportunities
Well in Ohio, all roads of corruption lead back to Election 2004. And in the USA, all roads of corruption now began in Ohio 2004. The Toledo Blade is an outstanding news organization and recently won the Pulitzer Prize.



Democrats ponder how to capitalize on Ohio scandals



http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050823/NEWS09/50823002/0/NEWS01

Article published Tuesday, August 23, 2005
By JIM TANKERSLEY
BLADE POLITICS WRITER

Ohio Democrats have made Gov. Bob Taft a target because of his legal problems.

National Democrats are trying to make him a weapon.

Within hours of his conviction on criminal ethics charges last week, Mr. Taft’s picture appeared on the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s Web site under the heading “Hall of Shame.”

The accompanying article was a new chapter in a national strategy Democrats hope will lift them to congressional power next year. It called Mr. Taft’s legal woes “the tip of the iceberg” for Republicans in Ohio and another link in a national chain that party leaders say stretches from Tom Noe to Tom DeLay.

“With massive Republican scandals and ethical lapses around every corner,” the posting concluded, “it’s easy to see why voters are turning against the Republican Party’s arrogance.”

Republicans call the strategy desperate and ineffective. Political analysts say it’s likely not enough by itself to deliver Democrats the national landslide they’d need to win control of even one chamber of Congress in 2006.

But many Democrats and some analysts say the mantra could gain strength over the next year, particularly if the national party can tie GOP scandals to the Iraq war and the domestic economy — issues that continue to trouble many voters, polls show — under the banner of an overzealous ruling party steering the country astray.

“You have to be very careful about how you do it,” said State Sen. Bob Hagan, a Democrat running for mayor of Youngstown this fall. “You have to make the argument that Republicans are responsible for people losing faith in their government ... Republicans can’t be trusted to run the government.”

Democrats have railed against a Republican “culture of corruption” for months nationwide.


CLICK HERE to get quick access to Election Results and Discussion Forum on your “Latest” page.
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 10:56 PM
Response to Original message
9. UT: Kathy Dopp (USCountsVotes) Acts Local & National...all the time!
Kathy Dopp of USCountsVotes is at it again, going after Diebold. You go Kathy!

THE PARK(CITY) RECORD

Demonstration scheduled for voting machines



http://www.parkrecord.com/Stories/0,1413,122~8138~3023745,00.html


By Patrick Parkinson, Of the Record staff
August 24, 2005
Park City, UT

Whether voters in Summit County will mark ballots by hand or use computer monitors in 2006 is still undetermined. The Summit County Commission is scheduled to see a demonstration Wednesday of controversial electronic election machines manufactured by the company Diebold.

Commissioners hinted last week that budget constraints could force them to follow the state's lead and purchase the embattled firm's touch-screen voting systems, so-called direct recording equipment (DRE).

Frustrated by these intentions, Park City resident Kathy Dopp lashed out at Diebold and Utah Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert for contracting with the company to spend around $28 million to equip the state's 29 counties with voting equipment.

"They put all their money into lobbyists and bribing," she told commissioners about Diebold. "Doesn't that make you even a little bit suspicious?"

The push is part of a nationwide effort by states to meet requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002. Passed in the wake of the 2000 presidential election to fix ballot discrepancies, HAVA is also an attempt by Congress to make the polls more accessible for the disabled.

"There's been a long history in America of election tampering," Dopp told the County Commission.





CLICK HERE to get quick access to Election Results and Discussion Forum on your “Latest” page.
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paineinthearse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 11:03 PM
Response to Original message
10. 1/5th of the way there!
Excellent, as usual.
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Fly by night Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 11:07 PM
Response to Original message
11. Kicked and nominated.
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enigmatic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 11:42 PM
Response to Original message
12. Nominated
Thanks for this.
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understandinglife Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 11:51 PM
Response to Original message
13. Nominated and all of America should be greatful to TIA!
Peace.
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Liberty Belle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Aug-24-05 11:56 PM
Response to Original message
14. Nominating. Kick! Very important. Thanks.
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merh Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-05 12:25 AM
Response to Original message
15. kicked & recommended
:kick:

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Algorem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-05 07:47 AM
Response to Original message
16. Battle stations:
http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1124962668227260.xml?ocnay&coll=2&thispage=2

Reform Ohio Now, the group behind a set of proposed constitutional amendments that would change the way elections are conducted, has raised about $1.2 million for its campaign.

It hopes to collect at least $3 million to $5 million overall, said spokeswoman Scarlett Bouder.

The group, which includes Democratic-leaning activists and labor interests, wants to create a nonpartisan commission to approve boundaries for legislative and congressional districts; lower the campaign contribution limit; create an independent panel to oversee elections; and give voters the chance to vote early, up to 35 days before an election....

The biggest battle will be over the amendment that would change how political boundaries are drawn. Republicans say the proposal would drain power from voters. The group says the current process - controlled by the party in power - allows "candidates to choose voters."

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Algorem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-05 07:50 AM
Response to Reply #16
17. Lawyer quits case, citing conflict
http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1124925847102950.xml&storylist=cleveland

8/24/2005, 8:27 p.m. ET
By JOHN McCARTHY
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A state lawyer assigned to Ohio's chief elections officer has withdrawn from a case challenging petitions to place three issues on the November ballot, saying Attorney General Jim Petro, who appointed him, has a conflict because he supports the opposing side.

Ohio First, a group that opposes three proposed constitutional amendments that would dramatically change Ohio elections law, sued Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, claiming some of the people circulating the petitions are not Ohio residents and thus ineligible under Ohio law. Ohio First wants the signatures gathered by those circulators thrown out.

On Tuesday, Petro told the 10th Ohio District Court of Appeals that he intends to file a motion saying the law requires the circulators to be Ohio residents. The lawyer Petro appointed to represent Blackwell, William Patmon, filed a motion Wednesday withdrawing from the case, saying Petro has a conflict of interest in the case.

"The Ohio Attorney General's office stated a legal position that is inconsistent with and creates a conflict of interest between our client and the undersigned counsel," Patmon said in his filing...

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Algorem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-05 07:53 AM
Response to Reply #16
18. 'Patriot pastors' hold first meeting
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=post&forum=203&topic_id=390930&mesg_id=390990

8/25/2005, 12:59 a.m. ET
The Associated Press

MASON, Ohio (AP) — ...

A group of more than 300 pastors planned to gather on Thursday for a luncheon sponsored by the project. It's the first of six meetings planned before next year's elections. The project's immediate goal is to register 400,000 new voters by then...

Religious conservatives in Texas are working on their own version of the project, modeled after Ohio's. Other states are watching too, Johnson said. The project was the result of large congregations of Baptists, Roman Catholics, Pentecostals and other faiths working together to achieve common goals, he said...

Religious conservatives are organized in other states, but Ohio conservatives had a major effect getting the amendment passed. The groups also take credit for helping President Bush win Ohio, giving him the electoral votes he needed for re-election.

"There does seem to be more (activity) here in Ohio, dating to the 2004 election. Ohio has paralleled the involvement of religious conservatives nationally, but hadn't been as active," said John Green, director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute for Applied Politics at the University of Akron who tracks religion in politics. "The Ohio Restoration Project stems in large part from this."

___

On the Net: http://www.ohiorestorationproject.com

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Algorem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-05 07:58 AM
Response to Reply #16
20. After Cinnamon's calls, Gov. Taft's top guard is toast (call girls and...)
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1124962253227261.xml&coll=2&thispage=1

Highway Patrol demotes lieutenant, citing absences, antics with women
Thursday, August 25, 2005

Columbus- The head of Gov. Bob Taft's security detail has been demoted after an investigation found that he attended strip clubs in New York, tried to pick up a woman at a bar during Taft's trade mission to Asia and received phone calls at his office from a go-go dancer in Columbus.

A State Highway Patrol report issued Wednesday says the dancer even left her name when she called the governor's Executive Protection Unit in the Riffe Center: "Cinnamon, from Columbus Gold."...

The investigation did not substantiate allegations that Seitz was a member of the "Noe Supper Club," the bacchanal hosted by Republican fund-raiser and coin dealer Tom Noe, who is under criminal investigation.

It also found no wrongdoing in the award this year of a $250,000 janitorial contract from the Ohio Expositions Commission to Seitz's wife, Veronica.




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Algorem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-05 08:09 AM
Response to Reply #16
22. Coin-grading company isn't talking
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1124962259227261.xml&coll=2

Thursday, August 25, 2005
T.C. Brown
Plain Dealer Bureau
Columbus

-- Liquidators of Ohio's rare coin funds revealed Wednesday that the funds' $3 million investment in a Florida coin-grading service may now be worth $10 million, but company representatives won't cooperate...

Meanwhile, attorneys for Tom Noe, the politically connected Maumee coin dealer who managed the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation coin funds, released documents and newspaper advertisements to bolster their contention that Noe was open about his state business...

Taft, Petro and a host of Republican heavyweights attended a birthday roast for Noe Aug. 24, 2004, but Petro said the bureau investments were never raised.

"Absolutely there was no discussion whether he worked for the state of Ohio," Petro said.

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Algorem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-05 08:53 AM
Response to Reply #16
24. Report rips Workers' Comp auditing
http://www.cleveland.com/millions/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1124876080164630.xml&coll=2

Study team also finds bureau staff unqualified to manage its investments

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

-- Sloppy or nonexistent auditing procedures contributed to the investment mess at the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, according to an independent study reported Tuesday.

The bureau's internal auditing staff should be nearly doubled, it should have direct access to investment information and it should report directly to a proposed investment oversight board, according to the interim report of the bureau's Management Review Team.

The bureau's Oversight Commission will review the report Thursday.

In general, the team criticized "confusing organizational structures that lead, in part, to some of the current difficulties" experienced by the bureau...

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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Aug-26-05 09:44 PM
Response to Reply #16
30. Outstanding posts--a one person news service!
:yourock:
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-05 08:30 AM
Response to Original message
23. TruthIsAll: The Classic Post -- It doesn't add up; it can't!!!
Read it and weep! Knowledge is power but a burden also. Nothing adds up in this election except for the deluded or complicit.



PREDICTION: THIS WILL BECOME AN HISTORIC DOCUMENT



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=265121

TruthIsAll Fri Jan-07-05 04:50 PM
Original message


PREDICTION: THIS WILL BECOME AN HISTORIC DOCUMENT

NOVEMBER 3, 2004
12:23 AM

LONG AFTER THE POLLS CLOSED.

THIS IS THE SMOKING GUN.
EASY TO UNDERSTAND.
CLEAR.
UNAMBIGUOUS.

THIS WILL BECOME THE MOST FAMOUS EXIT POLL IN HISTORY.
IT WILL EDUCATE MILLIONS WHO NEVER KNEW ABOUT EXIT POLLS.
IT WILL ASTOUND MILLIONS WHO KNEW ALL ABOUT THEM.

IT IS THE TRUTH.

13,047 RANDOMLY-SELECTED VOTERS
1.0% MARGIN OF ERROR

KERRY WON THE FEMALE VOTE BY A HIGHER PERCENTAGE THAN BUSH WON THE MALE VOTE.

******* AND MORE WOMEN (54%) VOTED THAN MEN (46%) *********

Kerry = .54*.54+ .47*.46 = 50.78%
Bush = .45*.54+ .52*.46 = 48.22%

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A ROCKET SCIENTIST.
IT'S SIMPLE ARITHMETIC.

IT'S 1 IN 547 MILLION ODDS THAT BUSH WOULD GET 51.23% OF THE VOTE.

Click below to see the rest of this landmark post.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=265121

CLICK HERE to get quick access to Election Results and Discussion Forum on your “Latest” page.
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electropop Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-05 12:08 PM
Response to Original message
25. TruthIsAll brought me to DU in the first place
when I found his posts in Google searches. TIA's posts continue to give me hope and comfort, knowing that a majority of Americans NEVER wanted W in office. We shall overcome.
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byronius Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-05 12:14 PM
Response to Original message
26. Shocking events. Where is TIA?
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raincity_calling Donating Member (143 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-05 01:18 PM
Response to Original message
27. WA State Secretary of State PSA falsely states Photo ID Required to vote
The Washington Secretary of State's office is running a TV ad (also appears on its website under heading "Photo ID Required)that falsely states that "Photo ID is required to vote." In reality, some ID is required (photo ID is not the only type; can be utility bill, govt. check, etc). However, if you do not have some form of ID then you are permitted to vote, but you must vote on a provisional ballot. The Washington Labor Council and the voting rights group Your Vote Counts has demanded that the SOS remove the ad. So far no word as to what the SOS will do. I suggest anyone who lives in Washington state should call the SOS and their congressional reps. and senators.
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Bushfire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-25-05 03:25 PM
Response to Original message
28. Debunking voter fraud (as the Repuges called it)in WI
Credit to EC for starting this link in GD:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2034568

Here is the debunking of the 9 cases of so-called VOTER Fraud that the Repuges had in their report. This was investigated and printed in The Shepherd-Express a WI free-press publication, it is not on their web-site, so I'll have to type it out, please excuse typos...

Voter I: investigators have determined that an election inspector entered a voter number for this individual in one of the poll books used on Election Day. Clerical error
Voters 2 and 3: did not vote in Milwaukee, poll books do not contain voter numers for either of these individuals, nor on-sote regostratopm cards. Appears they were included in the Election Commission's electronic database as a result of scanning errors.
Voter 4: the individual who voted in Milwaukee was born 7/80, while the one with same name that voted in Chicago was born 8/50. Appears to be father and son.
Voters 5 and 6: bothe an election inspector mistakenly entered a voter number on the wrong line in one of the two poll books used at location. Law enforcement found no evidence to suggest that either voter cast a ballot.
Voter 7: voter in Milwaukee was born in 8/51 while voter in Madison with same name was born 8/77. They appear to be father and son.
Voter 8: voter in Milwaukee was born in 4/83 and has middle initial of P. The Minneapolis voter was born in 6/46 with middle initial of R.
Voter 9:an election inspector entered a voter number in one of the poll books for this voter. This number indicated that he had cast an absentee ballot. This was a clerical error. The same voter number was included in the poll books for a different absentee voter...the Taks Force has no reason to believe that voter cast a ballot in Milwaukee.



So there is the Republican Case for voter fraud...you may remember last month all the hub bub the repuges made about "their indisputable evidence and fake committee report".

So if someone (RW) starts on you about "voter fraud" by the Democrats...correct them...


Here's the Shepherd online, but I couldn't find this article, if you are in Milwaukee, pick up a copy...it's free...

http://www.shepherd-express.com
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Aug-26-05 09:43 PM
Response to Reply #28
29. Great one Busfire
:hi:
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BrklynLiberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-27-05 05:19 PM
Response to Original message
31. kick
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