Here's an interesting quasi-exposé, providing new details about the lockdown in Warren County, Ohio, on Election Day, 2004. Jon Craig of the Cincinnati Enquirer has made a manful effort to look into the event--and, predictably, to deny any suggestion that the lockdown helped Bush/Cheney steal their "re-election." Indeed, Craig takes it as a given that such fraud did not--could not--have happened.
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As far as he can see, the problem here is not the stolen race (because, of course, no US election could be stolen), but the perception of a stolen race, promoted by mad "bloggers, anti-Bush activists and conspiracy theorists."
Now, if you read Craig's article meticulously, you will learn that Frank R. Young, director of the county's Department of Emergency Services and the man who urged the lockdown, has simply lied in claiming that his move was based on what the FBI had told him. Craig quotes two authoritative sources--the Warren County sheriff and a spokesman for the FBI--who make clear that the Bureau was not consulted or otherwise involved.
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That revelation doesn't resonate, however, as Craig is in a major hurry not to face its implications. Indeed, his piece is a first-rate example of the tightly blinkered (some dare call it brainless) view that US journalists take, and propagate, concerning the 2004 election. Although Craig refers, in passing, to the thorough research undertaken by such scholar/activists as Bob Fitrakis and Richard Hayes Phillips, he doesn't bother to note any of their evidence concerning Warren County or the theft of the election overall. Nor does he ever mention the Conyers Report, or Bobby Kennedy Jr.'s comprehensive overview of the election in Ohio, which concludes with the conservative estimate that Kerry/Edwards won, or would have won, Ohio by 350,000 votes. (Phillips' Witness to a Crime, his meticulous new study of the fraud committed in Ohio, is due out shortly: a must-read for anyone who cares about what really happened in 2004.)
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Instead of venturing into such forbidden territory, Craig ends by quoting
Daniel J. Hoffmeier, one of Kerry's Ohio lawyers, making this entirely
faith-based claim: "But Bush still carried the state by a large enough margin
that it seems unlikely ... that even with all of these errors that [sic] Kerry
could have won Ohio."
Now, the fact that Hoffmeier (whoever he is) worked for Kerry/Edwards may
strike Craig as grounds enough to credit such wild statements, but the rest of us need not believe a word of it. In fact, the rest of us are obligated to reject such nonsense. First of all, no member of John Kerry's team has any credibility concerning the Ohio race, as they're the ones who urged him to concede ASAP, and who consistently ignored the evidence of fraud that was reported to them copiously on Election Day. Secondly, the several experts whose work Craig has so pointedly ignored have all produced hard evidence of fraud throughout Ohio, including Warren County--where there were two eyewitnesses who, after the "terrorist alert," saw ballots boxed up and removed to an unauthorized storage site. (Bob Fitrakis has their signed affidavits.)
~
All politics aside, it is just plain irrational to shrug off solid evidence in favor of unfounded claims, however comforting, or commonly accepted, they may be.
Finally, we are all obliged to cut the crap about Ohio, and face up, at long last, to the voluminous evidence of fraud, because, of course, we're heading toward another presidential race--and the election system in Ohio and elsewhere is now in even worse shape than it was when Bush was "re-elected." And so the last thing we should all be doing now is swallowing, or tolerating, such narcotic "exposés" as these.
MCM
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Story behind the 2004 lockdown
Even amid terror warnings, secret count was 'wrong move'
It's one of the lingering mysteries of the 2004 presidential election.
In a key county in Southwest Ohio - amid vague references to "homeland security" - officials locked everyone else out of the board of elections as they counted punch-card ballots. President Bush emerged with more than 72 percent of the votes in Warren County, helping him narrowly win Ohio - and a second term.
Secrecy surrounding the count galvanized bloggers, anti-Bush activists and conspiracy theorists from around the globe. To this day, the lockdown is cited as evidence of an election stolen from Sen. John Kerry and the Democrats.
Now with another presidential election coming, The Enquirer, through public-records requests and interviews, can unravel the story of what happened on the night of Nov. 2, 2004 - and how officials tried to spin the event afterwards.
* Read more documents
The Enquirer has learned:
- A casual conversation about terrorism between the county emergency services director and a friendly FBI agent in a parking lot may have been the final trigger for the lockdown.
Warren County's Administration Building - which houses the Board of Elections offices - was shuttered to the public shortly after the polls closed. The lockdown came on top of government warnings issued to elections officials nationwide, stating al-Qaida might attempt terrorist attacks on polling places.
- In the weeks after the election, county officials were bombarded with hundreds of angry e-mails and hit with intensifying media scrutiny from across the country. "Stop destroying our democracy!" wrote a North Myrtle Beach, S.C. woman. One e-mail came from an angry overseas voter living in the United Kingdom.
- As national criticism mounted in the following weeks, a county commissioner was persuaded to gut a press release, while trying to align conflicting versions of what happened.
The county sheriff suggested the official leave out references to the FBI, warning,
"This is inviting the hornets out of the nest.''
No conclusive evidence has ever emerged showing the lockdown affected the vote count, which was monitored by Democratic and Republican observers.
But on the Web, it became one of the oft-cited "irregularities" in the 2004 election in Ohio.
"You can Google it and get 10,000 versions" of what happened, says Pat South, then and now president of the Warren County Board of Commissioners. She acknowledged this month that the county made a mistake in locking the building and miscommunicating as to when, how and who recommended it. "2004? Hindsight? Wrong move," she says.
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LOOKING BACK
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The fall of 2004 was a time of election fervor - and terrorism paranoia. President Bush and challenger John Kerry criss-crossed Ohio. Fear-provoking campaign ads filled mailboxes and airwaves. Meanwhile, the nation was placed on "orange'' alert - the second-highest level - several times.
Federal officials blanketed the nation with terrorism warnings in September and October, prompting 18 Ohio counties to activate their Emergency Operations Centers on Nov. 2, 2004. Forty-eight other Ohio county emergency centers were on standby Election Day in case of an emergency, according to state records.
I led the team of 6 activists who went into Warren County to photograph the ballots (punchcards) and signature books, after the 04 fiasco. (Going by memory now - with much apology to anyone whose name I forget, this team was made up of Bob Pohowsky, Jo Anne Karassek, and another Bob, all from Cincinnati; and, I believe, Victora Parks and Stuart Wright from Columbus.)
Two members of the Board of Elections, along with the Director gave us all a tough time. First, they made us wait despite our appointment to be there and photograph the records. They wanted to interrogate us first. I kept deflecting their hostilities, practicing non-attachment.
But finally, in a burst of anger, one Board member (a Democrat), demanded, "Why are you here? Is it because of the lockdown?"
I looked at him across the room and smiled sadly, "To be honest, yes."
That seemed to be what they wanted. The Board member stormed out of the room and didn't return.
The Director then left to get the boxes of election records. When she came back, she and another worker stacked the requested records on the table facing us and began passing out one precinct's records to each team.
The room was set up with long folding tables, forming a large square. Citizens sat on the outside of the tables, with our camera equipment, and election workers sat on the inside, handling the ballots we shot.
After several minutes, Bob Pohowsky noticed they had brought out records from a different election. I immediately questioned the director who smirked, and apologized. We all turned in what we had been working on, and she left to get the correct records.
[[wolf]] (oh, hell, the pic doesn't come thru in a comment. So, I posted this diary piece: http://snipurl.com/223qb
They must have a pattern of shifting boxes as their motives dictate.
by
Rady Ananda (109 articles, 257 quicklinks, 23 diaries, 843 comments)
on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 8:15:13 AM
It has been proven in court that most of the elections officials are criminal scum who are at BEST guilty of not giving a damn about their responsibilities to the law and at WORST (in most cases) guilty of TREASON AGAINST DEMOCRACY.
Our democracy would be much better if each and every single election official in the state of Ohio was raptured tomorrow.
by
Charlie L (2 articles, 3 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 669 comments)
on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 10:15:22 AM
The frustration I feel personally knowing that I and everyone else are being deliberately deceived and misdirected is topped by only one thing: The rage, horror and sorrow I feel when I finally do manage to carve through the crap and get to the truth. Because the truth, friends and neighbors, is so much worse than you can possibly imagine.
...and I don't know about you... but I can imagine a lot... and what should be deadbone obvious by now to anybody with a pulse takes very little "imagination."
The elections were stolen. DUH. The war (which one? doesn't matter) is a lie. well, DUH. "911" was an inside job. Oh... dur-de-duh DUH. Know what? By now... it really doesn't matter. Suppose you came up with ironclad, irrefutable run-it-through-the-science-lab PROOF of election theft, war fraud and false flag? And then God, Jesus, Buddha and Mohamed came down out of the clouds on roller skates with a golden billboard the size of the moon that said, "yep- it's all a fact, Jack." Then what? Then NOTHING.
First of all, at least 25% still wouldn't believe it... because they don't WANT TO... and even if they did, so what? "Impeach?" "Elect Ron Paul?" "Revolution?" Hey- good luck with that. The concentration camps are in place and so is the legal framework to fill them. As Gould said: "I can hire one-half the working class to kill the other half." This is precisely what the Neofeudalists all over the world are doing RIGHT NOW.
So... what's the "answer?" There IS NO "answer." The fatties have known the die-off has been approaching for a long time... and that's just fine with them. It's an "opportunity" to set up "private" fiefdoms and let "nature" eliminate the "useless eaters."
Survive. Endure... and REMEMBER.
by
waldopaper (11 articles, 3 quicklinks, 24 diaries, 426 comments)
on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 1:55:23 PM
Re: "What really happened: lockdown in Warren County, OH.
Thank you Ms. Ananda for your noble efforts, and to professor Miller for his continued diligence in reporting these despicable and contrived election improprieties. This surely isn't Conservatism and it certainly isn't American.
Professor Miller, you warned us of this fascist Bush-Cheney take over back in 2004 with Cruel and Unusual as did many other brilliant writers. And again in 2007 with Fooled Again, a damming indictment of our hideous election process. Granted there's been some progress, we continue to see this blatant malfeasance in our elections.
Not too long ago I was fortunate to have a remarkable conversation with Mary Ann Gould, a brilliant woman and the host of Voice of the Voters. We spoke at length of the ongoing election improprieties, and where exactly our country is headed. Just Astonishing! If left unchecked this indecorous behavior can only assist in the abdication of American Democracy. Then again we might already have crossed the Rubicon!
by
Munich (0 articles, 64 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 809 comments)
on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 7:48:54 PM
4 comments
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