I am flat out amazed!

Here is a REAL STORY about a REAL ISSUE, and nobody is discussing it...  Our RIGHTS, as a FREE PEOPLE, to govern ourselves is being ripped away from us by people who can change the count to whatever they want it to be!

It is the one lesson our government has taken away from Venezuela and Chavez.  Let's rig the elections to make sure we can keep our phoney jobs so that we can rake in lots of cash from our corporate sponsors!

 This is positively TRAGIC!  People, instead of paying attention to what is real, they are paying attention, and writing about a concocted story about whether Bristol Palin was pregnant...... or not.....

Conspiracy theories....  We all know that the news media has an agenda, and it is driven by their huge corporate sponsors.... 

Here is a question..  I wonder if the people, who are blindly following what the Daily Kos spewed out about Palin, will continue to blindly follow the Daily Kos when it is learned that the story was manufactured???

The answer, as sad as it is, is that YES....  most of the blind followers will remain in the dark yet continue to follow, accepting whatever excuse is offered..   "Oh we had to do it because....."  or "We needed something because..."

Meanwhile, we are losing our rights to determine who is actually sent to "REPRESENT" US!

Ciao, CZ

by steve scheetz (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 734 comments) on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 7:30:06 AM
 

keepin' it real

thanks Steve... there was a huge debate among OEN members on whether to cover BabyGate... I'm ambiguous about it.

but these continual judicial decisions backing software driven voting systems sends me right thru the roof. 

the repression tactics at the DNC and RNC chill me to the bone...

I agree we need to get back to message and ignore the distraction issues. To OEN's credit, we're covering ALL the stories... and maybe that's why I agree with covering BabyGate (within certain bounds).  As long as we're covering ALL the relevant stories, we're doing our job as journalists.

Turns out Hurrican Gustav was the big distraction that few bought.

by Rady Ananda (133 articles, 300 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 1229 comments) on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 10:06:02 AM
 

Audits

This is tragic-   Yes we need high audits-  but this " back-end" count, though good as a possible deterrent, is no substitute for getting the " first count" correct. As Kenya and Zimbabwe teach us, if you don't get the first count correct with voter confidence intact, the voters light fires while the audit drags on. This is why our focus must always be on the first count. Since we currently use electronic systems for at least tabulation, we must fight to keep corporate secrets out of the electronics by utilizing open source, transparent systems. Also, we must obviously avoid the current practice of " remaking" the ballots and increase all oversight within our chain of custody

by Brent Turner (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 94 comments) on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 11:08:41 AM
 

Court

I've seen many a judge exhibit extraordinary legal knowledge but not show one bit of common sense. This is what happened here and it shows a lack of judicial ability. After all judgements are not produced in a vacuum. They create unsought for results in the real world.

by Archie (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1338 comments) on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 2:34:38 PM
 

lack of sense, lack of good

It's not the lack of common sense, but the contempt of common good, and the lack of "having the back" of fellow citizens.  Judges are bribed wholesale these days, or these judge-made laws for corporations would never be on the books.  The corporations "lobby" the judges and remove our electoral defenses, one by one.  But it's still in the courts where our greatest advantages lie, currently, so Bowen needs to counter-sue, directly, and make sure she has HER back, so that she doesn't become another Kevin Shelley casualty.  ~John Ervin

by muservin (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 73 comments) on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 12:29:33 AM
 

the fix is in

thank heaven for rich GOP judges, or else there might be the remote possibility of fair and honest elections. God knows, if we can't cheat, we can't win. There's always gonna be more voters than rich folks.

by martinweiss (34 articles, 4 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 460 comments) on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 7:06:39 PM
 

CA Appeals Strikes Down Ten Percent Ballot Audit

I hope I'm not abusing a privilege by posting this proposal twice, but I really think it is the right answer to all kinds of present problems...


By the power of original jurisdiction in an election fraud lawsuit against the President
and a writ of mandamus within that lawsuit, the Supreme Court (minus Bush appointees
Roberts and Alito) could, before November, order all Boards of Election to guarantee
election integrity with public audit and, in view of the home foreclosure crisis, Election
Day registration.


Dear Friends at OEN,


The advantage of a writ of mandamus from the Supreme Court to the nation's Boards of
Elections is that any Board that does not insure true election with a public audit will be in
contempt of the Supreme Court, and, if the writ mandates Election Day registration in
recognition of the mortgage foreclosure crisis, numerous impediments to the right to vote
can be truncated.


Such a writ would involve minimal change. HAVA already mandates the paper record
with the manual audit capacity. A voter receipt would simply require a duplicate copy of
what the machine has registered. It should cost nothing to have an interested public
observe the counting, posting and reporting of votes at every precinct.


Books, articles, websites, films and at least one thousand page lawsuit have documented
election fraud.


They were powerful forces that won Bush vs Gore in 2000, considering the specious
argument that counting the ballots discarded by chad-gorged machines would violate the
one man-one vote Constitutional prescription. A national mobilization would be needed
to counter those forces in a The People vs The President of the United States lawsuit.
However, with an aroused citizenry and the machinery provided by the Internet
revolution, it should be possible to do this.


What is needed is a prepared lawsuit, a website for establishing support pledges of names
and money, and a widespread initiation of the true election movement. A suggested letter
is below. Please consider taking on this very important chance to win American freedom.


Peace,
- Jean G. Braun, South Euclid, Ohio






Letter to Americans




As he made clear in his Democratic nomination acceptance speech, - " ... I argued for more resources
and more troops to actually finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9-11 ..."-
Barack Obama is one with John McCain in fundamental support of the war on terrorism.

Dear Friends,


Currently, the nation has the presidential choice between a major party candidate who supports the
war on terrorism, and a major party candidate who supports the war on terrorism. While the
conventional wisdom posits that no independent or third party candidate can be elected, many
Americans are realizing that that is true because the election process is controlled by only two
parties. Electronic machines which control the movements of ships millions of miles out in space can
only too easily be programmed to give predetermined voting results.


It is a fateful time. American warships carrying weapons of mass destruction sail the seas.
Foreclosures and bankruptcies offer opportunity for a wealth and power elite to buy up more wealth
and power for pennies on the dollar. Deficit spending by government means crushing price inflation
for the people. The nation urgently needs to hear independent voices with independent solutions.


An "original jurisdiction" - meaning the Supreme Court would be the first to try a case, (as in
Florida, 2000) - election fraud lawsuit on George W. Bush, has been prepared and a summary posted
at www._______________. In addition to petition for a writ of mandamus ordering all Boards of
Election to guarantee election integrity (** See below), the suit demands monetary compensation in
the amount of $____________________for all U.S. citizens who, by election fraud, have been robbed
of their Democracy birthright.



If sufficient grassroots names and money support such a lawsuit, it can be successfully filed, but a
national mobilization is needed.


If you wish to see this lawsuit succeed, please:


1. Forward this or a similar letter to an address in each of eight institutions in your State:
Third party; peace and justice organization; university or school; business; union; church; civic or
other organization; city government.


2. Canvas your own organization or list, asking members to pledge their name and any
amount of money. Total these and post the number of pledged names and the "bundled" amount of
pledged money in the designated space on the _______________ website.


3. After the filing of the lawsuit, follow further instructions regarding names and funds.


With guarantee of election integrity, "no strings" candidates with needed voices to add to the
national dialogue will have an unprecedented opportunity to be heard. Needless to say, the more
quickly mobilization is achieved, the more quickly a true election movement can succeed. Thank you
in advance for your action.


(Signed)



** Election Integrity by Public Audit must involve the right to vote, integrity of the vote, integrity of the
counting and integrity of the reporting.

Right to Vote: Especially because of the home foreclosure crisis, Election Day registration can be a
simple adjustment of the logistics of provisional voting.
Integrity of the Vote: Supermarket and other retail machines have, for years, guaranteed the integrity
of a transaction by rendering a receipt which can be compared to the official record. Discrepancies
should result in monetary fine of the BoE, to be rendered to the offended voter.
Integrity of the Counting: can best be verified by a public witness to the counting, including receipt
comparison, at every neighborhood precinct, immediately after the polls close.
Integrity of the Reporting: can best be verified by immediate public announcing and posting of
precinct level totals at each precinct, enabling each candidate to count his/her own votes.

by Jean Braun (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 29 comments) on Friday, September 5, 2008 at 12:11:22 PM