Friday 4/1 Election Fraud, Reform, & Updates Thread

[dzika]

In order to organize and document I thought it would be a good idea to have a daily thread to place items related to reform, fraud, protests, and other items. This also make it easier to "catch up" when we are away from the computer for a while.

Please help us. If you see something that isn't here post it with a link to the thread and a thanks to the author. Thanks to everyone who is helping with this project.

(If you like this thread please nominate it for greatest page.)

Link to the thread from yesterday: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x351193

[dzika]

1. Videos - Countdown and Daily Show for 3/31

March 31, 2005

Video - Olbermann: DeLay leads crusade to control the Judicial Branch - 3/31

Video in Real Media format (11 minutes)

Video - Daily Show: Lewis Blacks rants on hypocrisy and abuse of power - 3/31

This was re-broadcast last night but it's still relevant and funny.


Video in Real Media format (4 minutes)

[dzika]

2. Three Were Told to Leave Bush Town Meeting

March 30, 2005

Three Were Told to Leave Bush Town Meeting

By Jim VandeHei

Three Denver residents yesterday charged that they were forcibly removed from one of President Bush's town meetings on Social Security because they displayed a bumper sticker on their car condemning the administration's Middle East policies.

The three, all self-described progressives who oppose Bush's Social Security plan, said an unidentified official at an event in Denver last week forced them to leave before the president started to speak, even though they had done nothing disruptive, said their attorney, Dan Recht.

...
This is not the first time people have complained about heavy-handed monitoring of who can attend -- and speak at -- Bush's events promoting his Social Security plan. A newspaper in Fargo, N.D., reported that when Bush came to the city on Feb. 3, more than 40 residents were barred from attending the event.

...
As described by Recht, a man in a blue suit told the three they had to leave and "in a physical, forcible way" escorted them out, refusing to explain why. Mackin said local law enforcement is in charge of policing civil disobedience at such events, although the Bush advance team is often seen asking disruptive people to leave.

"They believe their constitutional rights were violated, as do I, and that's the stuff lawsuits are made of," Recht said. "When you are punished by not being allowed to listen to your president speak because of speech you have on your bumper sticker, that is a classic First Amendment issue." Recht said he has not decided whether to file a lawsuit.

more here

[dzika]

3. Administration, Critics Debate Value of Video News Releases

March 30, 2005

Administration, Critics Debate Value of Video News Releases

By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

WASHINGTON — Media watchdogs decrying "fake news" segments that are actually packages produced and distributed by the Bush administration to promote government programs are demanding the Federal Communications Commission (search) take a stand against the practice.

They are joined by some members of Congress and other groups who have asked the FCC to investigate whether the government and broadcasters are violating regulations by producing and airing what they say are deceptive public relations tools funded with taxpayer dollars.

"It's essentially propaganda, it's so-called news that is promoting White House policies and is provided by the government and is not being labeled as such," said Josh Silver, a spokesman for Free Press (search), a watchdog group that recently helped to collect 40,000 signatures on a petition calling on the FCC, Congress and the broadcasters to "stop fake news."

"This is an outrage to liberals and conservatives alike," Silver said, adding that their petition asks the FCC to conduct an investigation into the use of video news releases (search).

more here

[dzika]

4. ANALYSIS OF MANTRA MANIPULATION BY G. W. BUSH AND THE MEDIA

March 31, 2005

ANALYSIS OF MANTRA MANIPULATION
BY G. W. BUSH AND THE MEDIA

de•moc•ra•cy

1. Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives.
   
2. A political or social unit that has such a government.
   The common people, considered as the primary source of political power.
   
3. Majority rule.
   
4. The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.

cap•i•tal•ism

1. An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market.

CARROTS AND WATERMELONS

If George W. Bush were to hold up a carrot and call it a watermelon, the American news media would immediately begin calling carrots watermelons. That’s an undeniable fact. Equally undeniable is the fact that we have long passed the point when we can trust the American corporate media to report the news. But even more distressing is the fact that we now have reached the point when we cannot even trust them with the English language.

Let’s be very clear here: despite media claims to the contrary, the Bush administration has not put forth a single initiative designed to advance democracy, not in America and not anywhere in the world. In fact, the Bush administration has set in motion programs designed to dismantle our democracy in order that its real goal can be achieved. That real goal is unrestricted capitalism and corporate profit.

Capitalism is fine. Unrestricted capitalism is tyranny. When corporations seek profits with absolutely no concern for the rights and the needs of the people, democracy dies. In this administration, corporate profits supersede all else. In this administration, all legislation is intent upon providing the greatest profits to corporate campaign contributors, and let the people be damned!

more here

[MelissaB]

5. Alabama vs. the Christian Coalition

Senate filibuster going into second week

MONTGOMERY, Ala. A filibuster in the state Senate will stretch into a second week. The filibuster started Tuesday over a bill that has already passed the House. The bill would require groups to disclose their contributors if they run ads to influence the outcome of an election, referendum or vote on a bill in the Legislature.

The filibuster continued today for two and one-half hours before the Senate adjourned until next week, when the filibuster will resume.

Opponents say the bill is aimed at crippling the Christian Coalition. Its sponsor, state Representative Randy Hinshaw, says it would bring more openness to the political process.

Link: http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=3149766

[MelissaB]

6. The Free Press: Scientific Analysis Suggests Presidential Vote Counts May

Scientific Analysis Suggests Presidential Vote Counts May Have Been Altered

by US Vote Counts
March 30, 2005

Study Will Be Released Tomorrow March 31st
Group of University Professors Urges Investigation of 2004 Election

Officially, President Bush won November's election by 2.5%, yet exit polls showed Kerry winning by 3%<1> <#_ftn1>. According to a report to be released March 31^st by a group of university statisticians, the odds of a discrepancy this large between the national exit poll and election results happening by accident are close to 1 in a million.

In other words, by random chance alone, it could not have happened. But it did.

Two alternatives remain. Either something was wrong with the exit polling, or something was wrong with the vote count.

Exit polls have a long history of exceptional accuracy in past decades in the US, in the Ukraine, in Latin America, in Germany, and elsewhere. Yet in November 2004, the discrepancy was more than five times this (and similar to that of the invalid Ukraine election.<2> <#_ftn2>)

More: http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1215

[MelissaB]

7. Also appears:

Link: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0504/S00001.htm




Emediawire (press release), WA

Link: http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/3/emw222958.htm




Linked on Michael Moore's "Must Read" page:


OTHER NEWS
If you thought the fight over the 2004 election was over then you might not want to read this.

Link: http://michaelmoore.com/mustread/

[MelissaB]

8. Senate Dems Offer 'Personal Constitution'

Senate Dems Offer 'Personal Constitution'

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON - Download your "exclusive personal Constitution." And while you're at it, how about a few bucks for Senate Democrats.

That is the thrust of an appeal from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, issued Thursday under the name of Sen. Robert C. Byrd (news, bio, voting record).

"I carry a pocket-sized edition of the Constitution with me every where I go, whether I'm back home in West Virginia or speaking out on the Senate floor," it says. "Now you can, too. You can download and print the DSCC's exclusive personal Constitution."

When printed, it runs eight pages. Each bears the campaign organization's logo as well as its name and Web site in a type size larger than historic text's.

Byrd's appeal accuses Republicans of threatening to "undermine the system of checks and balances described in the Constitution and the fundamental rights we hold dear" by changing the rules governing confirmation of judges.

"The best way to defend the Constitution is to elect more Democrats to the United States Senate," he said, before adding a postscript.

More: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=512&u=/ap/20050331/ap_on_go_co/constitutional_plea&printer=1

[MelissaB]

9. Kerry e-mail asking people to contact Republican Senators re Filibuster

Dear XXXXXXXXX,

Within a matter of days, the Senate could face a truly momentous decision - one with consequences that will reverberate across America for decades to come.

Senator Frist, the Republican Majority Leader, has a plan to make President Bush's judicial nominations immune to a Senate filibuster. If he can convince enough Republican Senators to go along, the nomination and confirmation of judges will become a tightly-controlled, one-party affair.

We're working hard to make sure the Senate doesn't cross this dangerous line. Here's how you can help.

Please Call Your Republican Senator Now!

Please contact Senator Grassley now. In polite and respectful language, make it clear that as one of his constituents you are counting on him to oppose Senator Frist's dangerous plan to deny millions of Americans any meaningful voice in decisions vital to America's future.

Senator Grassley's office can be reached at:
Cedar Rapids 319-363-6832
Council Bluffs 712-322-7103
Davenport 563-322-4331
Des Moines 515-288-1145
Sioux City 712-233-1860
Waterloo 319-232-6657

To help us track the number of calls our campaign is generating and know where we need to place our efforts, please let us know you've made the calls.

http://www.johnkerry.com/callreport

There is so much on the line in this debate. And, I am convinced that if we mobilize as quickly and effectively as possible, we can prevent the Senate from taking the dangerous course that Republican leaders have called for. Remember, we're fighting for the strength and vibrancy of democracy itself.

Sincerely,

John Kerry

P.S. If you need extra incentive for making those calls:

Imagine a world in which every appointment to the federal judiciary is a tightly-controlled, one-party exercise.
Imagine the kinds of judges that will sit on the federal bench - even on the Supreme Court -- if George W. Bush never needs a single Democratic vote.
Imagine the kind of decisions those judges will make that will directly affect your life and your constitutional rights.

edit to add - others will have the contact info for their Senators in their e-mails, please add it to this thread so people who don't get Kerry's e-mails can contact them also.

Thanks to Pirate Smile here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1699358

[Wilms]

10. The Charleston Gazette - E-voting: Corruption record

Editorial

E-voting: Corruption record

April 01, 2005

-snip-

Diebold

Ohio-based Diebold absorbed Global Election Systems in 2002 and retained its senior vice president, Jeffrey W. Dean, as a consultant —even though Dean had been convicted of 23 counts of felony theft. Diebold also gave a senior post to John Elder, a convicted cocaine trafficker, and to other felons.

-snip-

Two Diebold executives became leaders of Advanced Voting Solutions, formerly Shoup Voting Solutions. In the 1970s, Shoup officers were charged with corruption in Florida and Philadelphia.

Sequoia

In 1999, two Sequoia executives, Pasquale Ricci and Phil Foster, were charged with paying an $8 million bribe to Louisiana Elections Commissioner Jerry Fowler to induce him to buy their machines. Altogether, 22 people were indicted, and nine pleaded guilty.

-snip-

In the past, Sequoia’s founder, Lloyd Dixon Jr., went to prison for bribing election officials in Buffalo, N.Y., and Sequoia finance chief Louis Wolfson went to prison for bribing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas.

ES&S

In the 1980s, brothers Bob and Todd Urosevich launched this Omaha firm, using money from the wealthy Ahmanson family, which bankrolls Religious Right causes and crusades against the teaching of evolution. Some Ahmansons supported the Chalcedon Institute, which advocates executing gays.

-snip/more-

http://wvgazette.com/section/Editorials/2005033126

[Wilms]

11. DU Press Editorial: James Baker and Ralph Munro Must Step Down

DU Press Editorial

April 1, 2005

James Baker and Ralph Munro Must Step Down

Pacific Northwest - ACVR's genesis coincided with the creation of a "bi-partisan" blue-ribbon commission convened to study and recommend solutions for Electoral Problems in 2004. The co-chairs of the Baker/Carter Commission are former President Jimmy Carter, and current-Bush Family loyalist and long-time clean-up man, James A. Baker, III.

-snip-

Both Mr. Munro and Mr. Baker have obvious conflicts of interest. Mr. Baker is with The Carlyle Group which owns Populex Voting (www.populex.com ). Like VoteHere, Populex advocates a voter-verifiable "paper ballot card". Let's not mince terms here: we the people will accept nothing less than a voter verified paper ballot as the ballot of record. A "paper ballot card" is not a ballot of record and therefore does not secure the vote or the accuracy of a recount.

-snip-

I am stepping up to the plate to back VR's call for Baker's removal. In addition, Mr. Munro must also be excluded because of his ties to VoteHere. If this Commission is to have any credibility whatsoever, it should replace its GOP clean up crew with members of respected voting rights groups whose aim is, transparently and simply, electoral reform.

Andy Stephenson


-snip/more/discussion-

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x351775

[Wilms]

12. (FL) {where else?} CNN: Election official quits amid criticism

http://debug.nfrac.org:8080/images/distraction.gif

Election official quits amid criticism

Friday, April 1, 2005 Posted: 10:07 AM EST (1507 GMT)

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- The elections chief of a key South Florida county has resigned amid revelations of voting problems in six elections.

Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor Constance Kaplan resigned Thursday. Her chief deputy, Lester Sola, will take over temporarily.

The veteran Chicago election official came on board in Miami in June 2003 to fix problems from the 2000 presidential election.

The county was heavily criticized after 28,000 mostly punchcard ballots went uncounted. President Bush won the state -- and thus the presidency -- by 537 votes.

County Manager George Burgess said he questioned Kaplan about a special election on slot machines in which there were a high number of ballots with no recorded votes -- known as undervotes.

-snip/more-

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/04/01/voting.problems.ap/index.html



Thanks to Merh, 2004 Election Results and Discussion here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x351874


Thanks to Judi Lynn for LBN Discussion, here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1359361

[Wilms]

13. (OH) Akron Beacon Journal: Analysis points to election `corruption'

Analysis points to election `corruption'

Group says chance of exit polls being so wrong in '04 vote is one-in-959,000

By Stephen Dyer

Akron Beacon Journal staff writer

01 April 2005

There's a one-in-959,000 chance that exit polls could have been so wrong in predicting the outcome of the 2004 presidential election, according to a statistical analysis released Thursday.

-snip-

The explanation for the discrepancy that was offered by the exit polling firm that Kerry voters were more likely to participate in the exit polling is an ``implausible theory,'' according to the report issued Thursday by US Count Votes, a group that claims it's made up of about two dozen statisticians.

-snip-

Instead, the data support the idea that ``corruption of the vote count occurred more freely in districts that were overwhelmingly Bush strongholds.''

-snip-

``All voting equipment technologies except paper ballots were associated with large unexplained exit poll discrepancies all favoring the same party, (which) certainly warrants further inquiry,'' the report concludes.

-snip/more-

http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=5106

[Wilms]

14. ‘Hybrid’ voting machines raise questions

I. In Focus This Week

‘Hybrid’ voting machines raise questions about certification, accessibility

By Elizabeth Schneider

electionline.org

April 1, 2005

They were touted as the solution to the problem of paper and accessibility in voting. Manufacturers of “hybrid” voting machines, which look and act like touch-screen systems but use a high-tech interface to mark paper ballots, say their systems bring the flexibility of e-voting - multiple languages, font sizes, accessibility for voters with disabilities, reduced printing costs - with the ballot-by-ballot auditability of optical-scan systems.

It’s a tempting choice for states seeking to balance the needs of those with disabilities with concerns over direct-recording electronic (DRE) systems, which do not allow an independent paper audit of individual ballots.

In nine months - by January 1, 2006 - states must meet the voting-system accessibility mandates of the Help America Vote Act. If a state accepted punch-card and lever machine buyout money, it must replace systems statewide. All states must purchase at least one machine per polling accessible to people with disabilities.

And that gives them little time to figure out the maze of voting system certification.

-snip/more-

http://www.electionline.org/index.jsp?page=Newsletter%20March%2031%202005

[Wilms]

15. C-SPAN Weekend Alert: Weekend Program Info for Fri. 4/1 - Mon. 4/4

C-SPAN Weekend Alert
Programming Information for the Weekend of Fri. 4/1 - Mon. 4/4, 2005





C-SPAN Highlights

Tonight
. Close-Up Foundation Panel on Centrist Political Movement (7pm)
. Check www.C-SPAN.org for Schedule Updates

Saturday
. America & the Courts: Retired Federal Judge Charles Pickering (7pm)
. Interviews with Soldiers Wounded in Iraq (8pm)

Sunday
. American Politics: RNC Chair Mehlman & DNC Chair Dean (6:30pm & 9:30pm)
. Q&A: Peter Beinart, New Republic, Editor (8pm)

Monday
. U.S. House: In Recess Until Tuesday, April 5th
. Forbes CEO Steve Forbes on Social Security Reform (10:30am) - LIVE
. Press Club Briefing on Judicial Confirmation Filibusters (12pm) - LIVE
. Senate Armed Services Cmte. Hearing on FY 06 Defense Budget (2pm) - LIVE



C-SPAN 2 Highlights

Tonight
. Library of Congress Digital Future Series: "New Internet Concept" (8pm)
. Interview with a Soldier Wounded in Iraq from Walter Reed Medical Ctr. (9:30pm)

Saturday - Sunday
. Book TV Airs on C-SPAN2 Every Weekend from 8am Sat. to 8am Mon.
. Check the Book TV Schedule Anytime - It's Updated Daily - http://www.booktv.org

Monday
. Anti-Defamation League Conference Panel Discussions (8am) - LIVE
. U.S. Senate: In Session (2pm) - LIVE



C-SPAN 3 Highlights

Tonight
. History Programming: Religion & the Early Presidents (10pm)
. History Programming: Catholic American Voters (11:45pm)

Saturday
. Robert Caro, Author, "Master of the Senate" (10pm)

Sunday
. Robert Lee Holtz, Author, "Guns, Germs and Steel" (10pm)

Monday
. Remarks by IRS Commissioner Mark Everson (9am) - LIVE


C-SPAN Radio Highlights
Saturday
. American Political Archive: Rep. Martha Griffiths Oral History (10am)
. LBJ Tapes: April '64 Calls on Farm Bill & Foreign Troubles (3pm)
. Encore Booknotes: Ernest LeFever, "The Irony of Virtue" (5pm)
. Supreme Court Oral Argument: Sex Discrimination in Employment (6pm)

Sunday
. Replays of TV Talk Shows from NBC, ABC, Fox, CNN, CBS (12pm)
. Q&A: New Republic Editor Peter Beinart (8pm)

Monday
. Washington Journal (7am) - LIVE
. Today in Washington - Key Events of the Day (4pm-8pm)



Washington Journal Highlights

Saturday
. Newspaper Headlines & Viewer Phone Calls
. Robert Royal, Faith & Reason Institute, President
. Henry Kelly, Federation of American Scientists, President
. Jeremy Singer, Space News, Reporter

Sunday
. Charles Pena, CATO Institute, Defense Policy Studies Director
. Amr Hamzawy, Carnegie Endowment for Int'l Peace, Senior Associate
. Anwar Iqbal, United Press International, South Asia Analyst
. Check www.C-SPAN.org for Schedule Updates

Monday
. Robert Bonner, Customs and Border Control, Commissioner
. Chester Gillis, Georgetown University, Theology Professor
. Andrew Rivas, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Policy Adviser
. David Jhirad, World Resources Institute, VP for Science & Research



BookTV Highlights

. In Depth with Robert Kaplan - LIVE Sun. 12pm
. After Words: Roy Moore inteviewed by Bill Press - Sun. 6pm & 9pm
. Nicholas Patler on Jim Crow segregation laws - Sat. 12pm
. "Growing Up Iranian in America and American in Iran" - Sun. 7pm
. Dan Baum on the Coors Brewing Company - Sat. 7pm



C-SPAN Special Promotions

. The C-SPAN School Bus - On Tour Now - See the List of Cities at http://www.c-span.org/classroom/schoolbus/busschedule.asp



C-SPAN Capitol Spotlight

Today's Spotlight
. Republican leaders will try next week to strike a bicameral deal on the fy 06 budget resolution, but GOP lawmakers remain deeply divided over the tradeoffs they must make among tax cuts, popular spending programs and deficit reduction... - Full Story at http://www.c-span.org/capitolspotlight/index.asp

Today's Trivia
. Which California Representative was so reticent as a child that her mother took her to doctors for advice? - Answer at http://www.c-span.org/capitolspotlight/index.asp



C-SPAN. Created by Cable. Offered as a Public Service.

For the very latest programming information, please visit our Schedule Page at
http://newsletter.c-span.org/cgi-bin1/DM/y/enYZ0K6uJz0CKr0GRuB0AU

Copyright 2005, National Cable Satellite Corporation

[Wilms]

16. .

[TMA68]

17. Too much complaining, too little focus on solutions.

This is not the first time the issue of vote fraud in a presidential election has arisen. As I'm sure all of you know, there is every reason to believe that Bush "won" the 2000 election on the basis of outright fraud:

http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=33&row=2

Yet as far as I can tell, little effort was made by Democratic Party "leaders" to get long-overdue election reforms enacted (until that is, it was too late to institute them prior to the 2004 election), preferring instead to blame Nader for everything.

Specifically, no consistent effort was made to mandate the use of voter-verifiable paper audit trails, thus allowing for yet another episode of widespread vote fraud:

http://www.votersunite.org/electionproblems.asp

Likewise, no effort was made by Democrats to get instant runoff voting (IRV) instituted for presidential elections, even though IRV would unquestionably have prevented Bush from getting "elected" in 2000:

http://www.instantrunoff.com

It is not enough for Congressional Democrats to make occassional calls for such reforms. There must be a consistent and aggressive effort made over the next few years, which won't happen unless rank-and-file Democrats consistently and aggressively pressure them to do so.

If we let yet another four years go by without any real effort being made to get these and other reforms (such as proportional representation) enacted, then 2008 is going to be a repeat of 2004. And if we don't start exerting pressure on Congress now, next year's midterm election is going to be a repeat of 2002 (especially if the party continues to follow in mindless lockstep to the Republican-lite drumbeat of the Democratic "Leadership" Council).

Todd Altman