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In 2004, Rady Ananda joined the growing community of citizen journalists. Initially focused on elections, she investigated the 2004 Ohio election, organizing, training and leading several forays into counties to photograph the 2004 ballots. She officially served at three recounts, including the 2004 recount. She also organized and led the team that audited Franklin County Ohio's 2006 election, proving the number of voter signatures did not match official results. Her work appears in three books.
Her blogs also address religious, gender, sexual and racial equality, as well as environmental issues; and are sprinkled with book and film reviews on various topics. She spent most of her working life as a researcher or investigator for private lawyers, and five years as an editor.
She graduated from The Ohio State University's School of Agriculture in December 2003 with a B.S. in Natural Resources.
All material offered here is the property of Rady Ananda, copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009. Permission is granted to repost, with proper attribution including the original link.
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." Tell the truth anyway.
(49 comments) SHARE Saturday, September 6, 2008 Anne Kilkenny Full Email on Sarah Palin
It's legit; and widely posted. On Sept. 1st, Wasilla resident Anne Kilkenny wrote to about 40 family members and friends who kept asking about Sarah Palin. This is her six-page response which brought Kilkenny global attention. She's been interviewed by ABC, NBC and CNN, as well as NPR and mainstream newspapers from around the globe. Because this email is widely posted, it's reproduced here.
(7 comments) SHARE Sunday, April 26, 2009 Yes We Can: Mink Shows How
Outside the mainstream, edgy, ahead of her time, a champion for democratic principles, a Buddhist, Japanese American, populist, female politician is honored in the film, Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority. This 2008 film by Kimberlee Bassford will premier on PBS on April 30th. It is a must-see for anyone needing hope that some politicians stay true to their campaign promises.
(23 comments) SHARE Sunday, October 12, 2008 Zeitgeist Addendum: Steps toward a sustainable future
While Zeitgeist challenged our perspectives on religion, the attacks of September 11th, and the formation and function of the Federal Reserve Bank, Zeitgeist Addendum dives deeply into our debt-based monetary system. It also comments on the media, corporations, energy use, consumerism, government, as well as religion. More importantly, perhaps, it also offers solutions.
(61 comments) SHARE Sunday, February 8, 2009 Kevorkian: The Right to Die and Other 9th Amendment Freedoms
Dr. Jack Kevorkian recently spoke before an audience of 2,500 at a South Florida university. Loving compassion for terminally ill patients drives the 81-year-old, but his advocacy is fierce and dramatic, drawing outbursts of support and condemnation. The freedom to die has gained much media attention lately, with two more states explicitly affirming this natural and inalienable right.
(13 comments) SHARE Thursday, April 16, 2009 Afghan Women Protest Marital Rape Law; Men Spit and Stone Them
WARNING: GRAPHIC VIOLENT CONTENT. Afghanistan parliament passed the "Shia Family Law" which legitimates marital rape and child marriage for Shia Muslims who make up ~15% of the population. At least 300 women protested the law, with their faces exposed. Nearly 1,000 Afghan men and their slaves turned maniacal and stoned the protesters.
(8 comments) SHARE Sunday, March 15, 2009 The new weapons of genetic engineering
Biotech labs and industry have developed two techniques – artificial minichromosomes and transformed organelles – which are supposed to overcome low efficiency and genetic contamination by GMOs. But, in fact, as the two technologies converge, the frightening possibility arises that contamination will reach a new level of toxicity, and occur not only within organisms of the same species but also between species.
(167 comments) SHARE Tuesday, January 6, 2009 Ad Hominem Attacks
We've all done it, and we need to stop. The best way to avoid it is if we understand what exactly constitutes argumentum ad hominem (argument directed at the person). On OEN, we are diplomats of progressive ideals and Leftist thought. We have to act accordingly.
(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, March 19, 2008 The Law of Demand
This piece of net-advice promises we can force gas prices to lower if we stop buying gas from Exxon Mobil, which also owns Esso.
(103 comments) SHARE Sunday, April 19, 2009 A Progressive View on Gun Rights: 2A All the Way
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
(15 comments) SHARE Tuesday, October 14, 2008 BREAKING: Florida Dems Told to Vote by Phone
Adding to a lengthening string of voter abuses, the GOP has now been accused of telling Democrats they can call in their vote for Barack Obama.
(7 comments) SHARE Monday, September 29, 2008 Murder, Spies & Voting Lies: The Clint Curtis Story
Released on DVD and now airing on Link TV, "Murder, Spies & Voting Lies: The Clint Curtis Story" is the most explosive documentary produced in recent memory, involving murder, espionage, coverup, electoral cyber fraud and a United States Member of Congress with ties to the Bush Administration. VIDEO TRAILER included.
(4 comments) SHARE Sunday, June 1, 2008 Iron Jawed Angels
With a potent title like that, this film had to be worth the watch. As I settled in, to my delight I realized it was about the latter day suffragists (1914-1920). HBO's "Iron Jawed Angels" recreates the tenor and passion of the decade before the 19th Amendment was passed, focusing on the charismatic and radical leader, Alice Paul, played by Hillary Swank.
(3 comments) SHARE Sunday, March 22, 2009 Seeds of Deception: 10-pg summary by Author Jeffrey M. Smith
Given the amount of recent attention on genetically modified organisms, it seems appropriate to reproduce for OEN readers a ten-page summary of the book, Seeds of Deception: Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the Food You Eat. The summary was prepared by the author, Jeffrey M. Smith.
(15 comments) SHARE Tuesday, August 12, 2008 Ballot Stuffing Holes, Illegal USB Ports Add to Sequoia/Dominion Voting System Flaws
Certified for use in New York, Sequoia/Dominion's ImageCast ballot marking device (BMD) was designed to allow voters with special needs to create their own paper ballots unassisted. But a series of problems continue to plague the BMD and its scanner's certification. Our investigation revealed ballot stuffing holes, illegal USB ports and shoddy test methods by the federal lab.
(26 comments) SHARE Wednesday, September 24, 2008 Michael's Brilliant Denial: A review of Slacker Uprising
This free release chronicles Michael Moore's 62-city tour in 2004. It is his best effort, his slickest, most exciting, most inspirational film to date. It's a rousing musical-speech-video tour aimed at Getting Out The Vote in 2008, and is pathologically silent on electoral cyber fraud and Democrat wimplicity.
(9 comments) SHARE Wednesday, April 1, 2009 Vandana Shiva, Organicology & the Seed Wars
Physicist, ecologist and world-renowned author Vandana Shiva closed the inaugural Organicology Conference in Portland, Oregon on February 28th with her speech: The Future of Food and Seed: Justice, Sustainability and Peace in the 21st Century. This hour long video gives a brief history of the seed wars that have been ongoing since the late 1980s and argues for seed freedom and protection from unregulated biotechnology.
(8 comments) SHARE Thursday, July 24, 2008 The Human Cost of Cheap Cell Phones
Civil strife in the Democratic Republic of Congo has cost 4 million lives in 10 years, as militias and warlords fight over the country's resources. The atrocities are funded, at least indirectly, by some of the biggest Western corporations. They see the country as a source of cheap coltan, vital to making semiconductors. Kathleen Kern connects Congolese suffering with the low prices Westerners pay for cell phones and laptops.
(8 comments) SHARE Sunday, November 16, 2008 Milk and the White Night Riots
Gay rights icon Harvey Milk is covered in numerous books and movies, including the Academy Award–winning 1984 documentary, "The Times of Harvey Milk." His life is also the basis of a 2008 major motion picture, "Milk," starring Academy Award winner Sean Penn and directed by Academy Award nominee Gus Van Sant. This collection of videos, photos and personal accounts provides background for the Nov. 26th release of "Milk."
(41 comments) SHARE Sunday, September 7, 2008 AZ Election Official Arrested for Flagging Tampered Ballots: Charged with Criminal Trespass
During Saturday's audit of Pima County ballots from Arizona's primary election, official observer John Brakey was forcibly removed by sheriffs when he raised questions about possible ballot tampering. At least seven ballot bags arrived unlocked or lacked proper chain of custody documentation. Elections Director Brad Nelson had Brakey arrested and charged with criminal trespass.
(12 comments) SHARE Thursday, November 6, 2008 Equality There, Not Here
We cannot ignore the significance of a person of color holding the highest seat in the nation, especially given our history of slavery, segregation and discrimination. The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and half of our prisoners are black. But we also can't ignore that lesbians and gays continue to be excluded from equal treatment under the law.
(12 comments) SHARE Tuesday, September 30, 2008 Ecuador Constitution Recognizes 'Rights of Nature'
On Sunday, two-thirds of the voters in Ecuador approved a new constitution that is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable Rights of Nature, or ecosystem rights. It also provides for pensions for stay-at-home mothers and free education for all through college. The battle between Ecuadorians and Chevron rages on.
(30 comments) SHARE Monday, September 22, 2008 Naomi Klein: The Bomb Has Yet to Detonate
Naomi Klein debates Andrew Sullivan in defining the current economic meltdown on the Bill Maher show. Klein warns, "The thesis of the Shock Doctrine is that you need a disaster to rationalize pushing through these very unpopular policies. The real disaster is the debt that is going to explode on the American taxpayers. And then they'll do 'economic shock therapy.'"
(11 comments) SHARE Monday, September 1, 2008 Thugs with Badges: Crackdown in Minneapolis
This may be the first video release on the Twin Cities raids against legitimate protest at the Republican National Convention. Twin Cities author Jeremy Hubbell provides background info on this decade-long practice. Included is a call to action, with an online petition, mayors' phone numbers, links and info on upcoming national actions.
(14 comments) SHARE Saturday, May 16, 2009 Earth's Enemies: GE, Monsanto and Obama's AG pick, Ignacia Moreno
With Obama's Department of Justice pick to head the Environment and Natural Resources Division, there can be little doubt the man of "hope" and "change" shills for the worst corporations on the planet.
(10 comments) SHARE Saturday, June 28, 2008 Machining the Vote: A brief history of lever voting machines
Bryan Pfaffenberger, PhD, was awarded an NSF grant to study the history of the lever voting machine: In my analysis, the lever machine deserves recognition as one of the most astonishing achievements of American technological genius, a fact that is reflected in their continued competitiveness against recent voting technologies in every accepted performance measure.
(18 comments) SHARE Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Naomi Klein: Left Economist Says Take Action NOW
Transcript excerpts from Klein's May 11th appearance on Charlie Rose... the solution is neither Left nor Right; the solution is local and bottom up.
(5 comments) SHARE Thursday, March 12, 2009 Amorous cockatiels and marriage equality
There must be a reason the genus name for cockatiels is 'nymphicus' and it does reveal a natural truth to confront homophobia.
SHARE Saturday, August 23, 2008 Miss. State Supreme Court bans one of its own from dissent
Something unusual happened Thursday at the Mississippi Supreme Court. It may be the first time a majority of the justices voted to prohibit a colleague from publishing a dissent in a case. Presiding Justice Oliver Diaz disagreed with a court decision and wanted to write about it. His fellow judges said, no, altho orders and dissents are always available to the public. Full dissenting opinion included.
(4 comments) SHARE Wednesday, June 11, 2008 UN Atlas Shows Stark Climate Change
On June 10, the UN released its 350-page atlas, Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment at Africa's environmental summit. Through a combination of ground photographs, current and historical satellite images, and narrative based on extensive scientific evidence, this publication illustrates how humans have altered their surroundings and continue to make observable and measurable changes to Africa and its environment.
(1 comments) SHARE Sunday, October 26, 2008 1936: Counting America's 40,000,000 Votes
This 70-yr-old article from Modern Mechanix Hobbies & Inventions peeks at the lever voting machine, and voting systems dating back to ancient Athens.
(2 comments) SHARE Saturday, April 18, 2009 Food Freedom
BY BRYAN: Let's compare safe food to the US government's new 'Food Safety' legislative scheme from a risk assessment perspective: perceived vs. actual risk to our eating raw food, and our right to do so without government interference.
(4 comments) SHARE Tuesday, July 29, 2008 NYC Elections Board Hires Spin Doctors for $6.5 million
One day after NY Governor Paterson and NYC Mayor Bloomberg testified about billion dollar budget deficits, calling on city agencies to tighten their belts, the NYC Elections Board hired Blackwater's PR firm to "educate" NY votes on the new computerized voting systems set to be used in 2009. Burson-Marstellar must out-talk scientific condemnation, exorbitant price tags, and widespread failures of these new voting systems.
(24 comments) SHARE Wednesday, September 3, 2008 St. Paul is a police state - Take Action Now
Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator for United for Peace and Justice sends this urgent message from St. Paul: The situation in St. Paul is very grave. Over the past few days, the heavily armed and extremely large police presence in St. Paul has intimidated, harassed and provoked people; and, in a number of instances, the police have escalated situations when they used excessive force. Call the Mayor now; end police violence.
(2 comments) SHARE Friday, June 29, 2007 A People's Forum: Debating Among Ourselves, First
If we agree that "government IS the problem" then why do we bother even talking to them? Why debate them, why respond to them, why acknowledge them? Isn't it long past time we withdrew our taxes, our vote, our consent? Before we can have a meeting of the minds between social justice activists and elites, we must first have a meeting of the minds among the oppressed. Let's hear what the US Social Forum reports.
(11 comments) SHARE Wednesday, April 22, 2009 US Cities Increasing Use of Armed Mercenaries to Replace Police
JEREMY SCAHILL: The US is in the midst of the most radical privatization agenda in its history. We see this in schools, health care, prisons, and certainly with the US military/national security/intelligence apparatus. There are more than 2 million "private security" officers and guards on the streets of America and this number is growing by the day in Oakland and other cities.
(15 comments) SHARE Wednesday, January 28, 2009 Iceland to Install Lesbian Prime Minister amid Financial Collapse, Toppled Government
Iceland's most beloved political leader, Social Democrat Johanna Sigurdardottir, will become the world's first openly homosexual prime minister. A minority coalition government of Social Democrats and Left-Greens has replaced the toppled conservative Independence Party, which failed to regulate its banks. October's financial collapse followed Ponzi-scheme lending when banks couldn't cover their debts.
(2 comments) SHARE Monday, May 26, 2008 A Memorial Day for the Civically Engaged
Let us continue our work toward peace and justice, while we pause to remember many of the unsung heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice, and whose work brought relief, and sometimes joy, to the lives they touched.
(21 comments) SHARE Thursday, September 18, 2008 HDTV Sucks
When you look around your living room and then at the HDTV, it's as if Walt Disney, Andy Warhol and Timothy Leary took an acid trip to the sun. The colors radiate, irritate, and distract from the film. It's like permanently watching TV in phosphorescence. It sucks.
(21 comments) SHARE Sunday, May 10, 2009 Margaret Bassett: The She-Bear of OpEdNews
With a debate team background, decades of educational training and experience, and some spare time on her hands now, Margaret Bassett is the She-Bear of progressive excellence on OpEdNews.
(11 comments) SHARE Friday, January 2, 2009 UN Agenda: Decriminalize Sexual Minorities
On Dec. 18, 66 nations signed the UN Statement that affirms human rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, and demands decriminalization of sexual minorities. Theocracies, dictatorships and the US refused to sign.
(35 comments) SHARE Sunday, May 24, 2009 Tech-Gate: What Is This Device?
New spygear is being attached to lampposts in South Florida. Care to guess what this is or what it will be used for?
(5 comments) SHARE Wednesday, October 29, 2008 Samhain: Witches, Druids, and other Pagans Honor the Dead
Tis the season opener when the US begins its annual spending, feeding, partying, celebrating, decorating frenzy that includes a nod, usually, to the God of our understanding. One of my favorite holidays is Samhain. This compendium describes aspects of Samhain, its history, its traditions and how individual Pagans view the celebration.
(15 comments) SHARE Saturday, December 27, 2008 Perversion of Justice: Gulag America
In 1925, the US jailed 1 in 100,000 women. In 2006, it jailed 1 in 746. The 1984 Sentencing Reform Act and mandatory minimum sentence laws need to be repealed for the protection of families, communities and society as a whole. The film, Perversion of Justice, highlights the experiences of one family victimized by these laws.
(4 comments) SHARE Saturday, March 14, 2009 Fighting GMO contamination around the world
GRAIN Paper: Ever since GMOs were first introduced in the mid-1990s, farmers' groups and NGOs have warned that they would contaminate other crops. This has happened, just as predicted. In this article we look at how communities in different parts of the world that have experienced contamination are developing strategies to fight against it.
(17 comments) SHARE Sunday, March 8, 2009 Vagina Warriors Stand against Femicide
Eve Ensler monologues 'Marta' at the Atlanta tourstop of Turning Pain to Power with Dr. Denis Mukwege, the ob-gyn who serves in the war-torn Congo. International groups like V-Day continue to publicize the sexual terrorism spreading from the Heart of Darkness, where minerals are more valued than lives.
SHARE Friday, March 27, 2009 When Doves Cry: US-backed Ethiopian regime imprisons opposition
MITMITA Report: Ethiopian prisons hold a "Who's Who" of intelligentsia, artists and human rights defenders. Those not imprisoned are often killed, drawing the charge of crimes against humanity. This brand of leadership is supported by Western interests, and the US allegedly runs a prison here for the CIA's extraordinary rendition (kidnapping and torture) program.
(5 comments) SHARE Saturday, June 7, 2008 That Damn Critical Eye
Editing has its occupational hazards. Because it trains the eye to find every mistake on the written page, there comes a point when editors just can't turn it off. As annoying as this is to family and friends, we do save you from national embarrassment should Jay Leno catch your errors. Here are some funny pix where editors were not involved.
(3 comments) SHARE Sunday, August 24, 2008 Video Interview of a Voter's Hero: Stephanie Tubbs Jones
The struggle for honest elections in the United States suffers tremendously with the loss of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who showed America what it means to represent the people. In this video interview with Free Press editor Bob Fitrakis, Mrs. Jones discusses the process behind her decision to lead the historic stand opposing Ohio's 2004 election results. List of all who stood with her is included.
(24 comments) SHARE Tuesday, September 9, 2008 'Fatally Flawed' Systems Await Voters: 'Drastic Change Needed'
A new report, and video, has been issued by the Computer Security Group at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "All voting systems recently analyzed by independent security testers have been found to contain fatal security flaws. There is need for drastic change. The very core of our democracy is in danger."
(26 comments) SHARE Friday, October 24, 2008 We Do Not Consent - Open Letter To The Media
It will surprise nobody this November when the election outcome is a spoiled mess, riddled with controversy. We can already say the results-–based on the conditions–-are guaranteed to be inconclusive, unknowable and unprovable. We must challenge our industry to refuse to report as fact what cannot be proven and has not been independently verified, particularly when the only source of the information is the government itself.
(8 comments) SHARE Friday, November 28, 2008 Florida Gay Adoption Ban Ruled 'Not Rational'
On Tuesday, a Miami-Dade County judge granted adoption of two children to Martin Gill, a gay man who has fostered them for four years, along with his partner. Judge Ledermen further ruled Florida's gay adoption ban unconstitutional, calling the state's arguments "not rational." The State has appealed the decision.
(12 comments) SHARE Monday, September 22, 2008 Sequoia's Sinking Ship
All along the Eastern seaboard, Sequoia Voting Systems continue to fail. Vendor response is, we're not at fault and don't you dare study our product. Faulty design, hackable software, lengthy voting process and an inability to accurately count the vote doesn't stop officials and "voter advocacy" groups from using them. Tempers flared at Friday's NY State Board of Elections meeting.
(5 comments) SHARE Tuesday, July 1, 2008 NY Loves Its Levers as New Systems Fail
A cache of documents surrounding NY's electoral system indicates justified resistance to computerized systems that fail to perform as intended, despite being certified. Some exposes deliberate info-suppression, preventing election officials from acting in the best interest of the public. Lever and legal researchers chime in, to support NY's resistance to computerized voting systems.
(10 comments) SHARE Friday, September 19, 2008 Livni "Wins" in Israel: 2nd Woman PM
Former Mossad agent and current Foreign Minister, 50-year-old Tzipi Livni, stunned pollsters with a claimed victory in Israel's election yesterday, despite trailing by 10-12 percentage points in the exit polls.
(2 comments) SHARE Friday, August 15, 2008 SysTest Labs under Fire for Shoddy Methods & Collusion with Vendors
SysTest Labs, LLC, one of four federal testing labs responsible for certifying our nation's voting systems, is under investigation for failing to document or validate its test methods. Accused of using unqualified personnel, it also may be colluding with vendors to "ensure certification."
(36 comments) SHARE Monday, August 13, 2007 Nonsexist Alternative Language: Handbook for Conscious Writers
One of the most successful and enduring changes effected by the women's liberation movement of the 60s thru 80s was the universal adoption of nonsexist language by governmental, business and educational institutions. To speak with equality is to think with equality, simultaneously confronting and subverting the dominant paradigm. Here are alternatives to those terms you just know you shouldn't use.
(4 comments) SHARE Saturday, July 12, 2008 Women Left for Dead and the Man Who's Saving Them
Author of Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler, uses her name and website to publicize and generate funds to impede violence against women in conflict zones. This report details what she found when she visited the Democratic Republic of Congo and spent time with a doctor who treats many of the hundreds of thousands of rape victims. She finds hope amid horror.
(14 comments) SHARE Monday, March 30, 2009 100 Iraqis face imminent execution for being gay
UK GAY NEWS: More than 100 prisoners in Iraq are facing imminent execution, many of them believed to have been convicted of the 'crime' of being gay, a UK-based Iraqi-LGBT group discovered. It believes that a total of 128 executions are imminent, is calling on the UK Government, the USA, international human rights groups and the United Nations Human Rights Commission to intervene "with due speed."
(11 comments) SHARE Tuesday, October 14, 2008 Blackwell's Neoliberals file RICO Suit against ACORN
The Buckeye Institute, a neoliberal think tank featuring Ohio's notorious vote suppressor, J. Kenneth Blackwell, today filed a state RICO action against ACORN on behalf of two voters. Reviving an unsuccessful tactic employed against the organization in 2004, the allegations recycle discredited claims from 2004, and attempt to link unsubstantiated stories to ACORN, raising false and unattributed "congressional testimony."
(4 comments) SHARE Friday, October 24, 2008 Science Friday: Who Controls the Voting Machines?
Video Transcript: NPR aired a Science Friday release of a nine-part video interview of William Biamonte, Democratic Commissioner of Elections from Nassau County, New York on its Science Friday program. Biamonte details the problems with transitioning from machines that allowed for complete control by election officials to those now completely controlled by private for-profit corporations with no accountability to the public.
(4 comments) SHARE Thursday, May 29, 2008 A Golden Year: NY Nears Marriage Equality
NY accepts same sex marriage from other states and orders state agencies to comply. Video announcement links, and all the dandy details behind what may become the Golden Year for LGBT rights.
(15 comments) SHARE Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Swine Flu in Perspective - Ron Paul video
Looks like our government is getting us pretty upset and concerned about Swine Flu... reminds me of the 1972 Swine Flu panic that 'was gonna sweep the nation.' One person died of Swine Flu and 25 died of the vaccine.
(5 comments) SHARE Monday, December 10, 2007 2007 Technology Tests of Computerized Voting Systems
This supplements my annotated bibliography of expert reports posted at OpEdNews in January 2007 (see http://tinyurl.com/2gwlve), adding known 2007 studies and two omitted studies from 2006. Computerized systems are no more secure today than a year ago, allowing for undetectable insider and outsider election fraud on a countywide basis.
(16 comments) SHARE Thursday, March 19, 2009 Obama signs UN Declaration to decriminalize LGBTIs
On March 18th, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the United Nations General Assembly Statement calling for the protection and decriminalization of sexual minorities, "LGBTIs" (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgendered and intersexed). Bush declined to do so at the December 2008 UN meeting when 66 UN member states signed on. Paris to host IDAHO world congress on May 17.
(4 comments) SHARE Monday, March 23, 2009 Link TV to air The Future of Food this week
Joining the growing conversation about genetically modified foods and the tactics of transnational corporations, Link TV will air The Future of Food this week, Deborah Koons Garcia's groundbreaking film from 2004.
(12 comments) SHARE Sunday, February 15, 2009 O'Reilly's Hate Factor: 'Venom Boys' Blamed for Shooting Spree
Hate speech of MSM talking heads is linked to the shooting spree in a liberal church last year. But don't ask any of those 'venom boys' to recognize the connection. Point it out to them.
(3 comments) SHARE Saturday, July 19, 2008 Debunking Pre-Election Testing Myths
Debunking myths can be a full time job in the election integrity world. Here are 12 expert quotes on testing election software. Malware (malicious software code) can easily defeat pre-election testing and certification processes: logic and accuracy tests cannot "prove" that software is free of malware.
(5 comments) SHARE Tuesday, June 26, 2007 Occupied Elections: Review of 'My Country My Country'
Filmmaker Laura Poitras follows the life of Iraqi activist, Dr. Riyadh, in war torn Baghdad for eight months, culminating in the military operation of the January 30, 2005 election. She films this against the backdrop of a town without water or electricity, of children being imprisoned at Abu Ghraib, of political kidnappings and ever-increasing violence. Thru her lens, we see the indomitable human spirit.
(19 comments) SHARE Sunday, March 1, 2009 Robbin' the Hood
Remember when politics were interesting and important and that's all you could talk about? Then, years later, remember when you avoided it? Couldn't stand to hear stupid opinions from people who hadn't cracked a book in ten years. Do you remember when the cracks began to form in your illusion of the US of A? Do you remember the moment when Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall?
SHARE Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Obama's Higher Education Budget a Mixed Bag for African Americans
President Obama's 2010 budget proposes to end the Federal Family Education Loan Program, cutting out the banker middleman. It proposes $2.5 billion to fund a new program, Access and Completion Incentive Fund, to increasee college graduation rates.
(7 comments) SHARE Tuesday, October 21, 2008 The Big One: Stealing America Vote by Vote
Stealing America peers into the darkness of U.S. elections with stunning clarity, supported by deep research and significant interviews of several key investigators. More than a film, the entire project encompasses a Grassroots call to immediate action. Both the film and its website inform the public and demand that citizens step into their role as overseers of public elections. The stakes couldn't be higher.
SHARE Friday, May 22, 2009 CA Supreme Court to Issue Prop 8 Ruling on Tuesday
On Tuesday, the California Supreme Court will issue its ruling on the case questioning the validity of Proposition 8, a voter-based initiative that denies equal treatment under the law to homosexuals in the realm of civil marriage. Also at question is the validity of marriages made before Prop 8 passed.
(2 comments) SHARE Saturday, September 6, 2008 Log Cabin Republicans Embrace Homophobic Party
Human Rights Campaign condemns Log Cabin endorsement of McCain/Palin. Sarah Palin and John McCain clearly oppose treating all US citizens equally. That Log Cabin Republicans would endorse either contributes to the notion that even the "Left" side of the Republican party is out of touch with humanity.
(4 comments) SHARE Sunday, August 31, 2008 Election Fraud Bibliography
Here's a list of books I've compiled - mostly focused on software driven elections, but with some choice books covering paper ballot fraud. I strongly recommend the history books, tho - something all American voters should be required to read if they want to involve themselves in honest election administration.
(9 comments) SHARE Tuesday, June 17, 2008 The Lavender Menace Weds (Again)
Mayor Gavin Newsom honored lifetime activists Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon by personally marrying them on Monday, and allowing no other licenses to be issued until Tuesday, preserving June 16, 2008 for this lifelong couple who have been together for 55 years. These women have made a career of activism and, incidentally, brought me out.
(4 comments) SHARE Tuesday, September 30, 2008 Sheri Myers Strikes Again: Turdblossom Part 1
Introducing Sheri Myers' video, "Turdblossom's Insider's Guide to Swinging Elections" and her new Voter Guide... all part of a campaign to get more and more citizens involved in overseeing US elections. But the historical research behind this campaign is also worth the read.
(1 comments) SHARE Saturday, April 4, 2009 Poison on the Platter - Full length
This video chronicles the disastrous consequences of GM food in India. The United States does not require GM food be labeled here. Seventy percent of our food, reportedly, is genetically modified.
(2 comments) SHARE Wednesday, March 11, 2009 Obama's Omnibus Appropriations Act May Save Lever Voting System
Analysis from Co-Chair of the New York State Board of Elections on the effect of HR 1105 as pertains to election technology is reproduced in full. Douglas Kellner suggests that the Act, which extends the deadline for states to use federal funds to modernize voting systems, can also be read to extend New York's timeline for another year. Lever fans also get another year to win the hearts and minds of NY's county heads.
(24 comments) SHARE Friday, November 28, 2008 CA Supreme Court to Hear Prop 8 Challenge
On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court agreed to hear several legal challenges to Proposition 8, the ballot initiative to end marriage for same-sex couples in California.
(3 comments) SHARE Tuesday, April 7, 2009 Vermont 1st state to legislate marriage equality; plus this day in Q History
The AP and blogs lit up today with news that Vermont's legislature overrode a gubernatorial veto (Jim Douglas), and passed a law allowing marriage equality for gays and lesbians. The District of Columbia also voted today to recognize same sex marriage. These events follow the unanimous Iowa Supreme Court ruling last week banning discrimination against same-sex marriage. Still awaiting California Supreme Court ruling.
(7 comments) SHARE Sunday, April 5, 2009 Slumdog Millionaire: Danny Boyle captures the zeitgeist
Released in the US in January, Slumdog Millionaire carefully crafts a flickering time sequence to tell the story of one boy's pursuit of his destiny. The film is shocking, horrifying, in its graphic presentation of torture, genocide, child exploitation, and rampant corruption. Levity comes as the protagonist enters a game show to win a million dollars.
(9 comments) SHARE Saturday, December 6, 2008 Queer Nation Strikes Back
In response to discriminatory legislation targeting lesbians and gays, the LGBT community has mobilized several actions nationwide to ramp up the Civil Rights Movement of the 21st Century. In this video, Bill Clinton still defends DOMA as a political strategy that protects lesbians and gays from harassment by discriminating against them. Hollywood video shorts rebuking this thinking also embedded.
(17 comments) SHARE Tuesday, February 12, 2008 Political Realism vs Negotiating with Our Hands
Successful tactics from around the globe inspire adoption into the hand-count elections movement. Rejection of hopeless "realism" – that politicians aren't considering our demand for hand counts - is but a part of the overall strategy. If citizens expect accurate election results, they must run parallel polls, observe, investigate and video the vote. Power is never given; it must be asserted.
(14 comments) SHARE Friday, May 16, 2008 Hooray, CA! Look Who's Kissing Her Now
Just in time for the summer Pride festivities, The California Supreme Court passes landmark decision allowing lesbians and gays to marry. DC grants 39 more rights to domestic partners. Ellen DeGeneris (video link included) announces her wedding plans. And Mirko Ilic's fantabulous artwork is resurrected.
SHARE Monday, August 4, 2008 Presidential Interpreter Fred Burks Tells High-Level Interpreting Stories
By Fred Burks: Not many people have had the privilege of working directly with our world leaders. As I was most fortunate to have had this great honor, and as I resigned from interpreting work in late 2004 after 18 years with the U.S. Department of State, I thought I'd share with you brief descriptions of some of the many fascinating experiences I had while working as an Indonesian language interpreter with top dignitaries.
(3 comments) SHARE Sunday, March 29, 2009 Film, Music, Books & Art: Comments on Culture
All my reviews, in one place. Every cause needs its activists, its films and its books; and all these need journalists shining a light on their work and amplifying their message.
(6 comments) SHARE Wednesday, January 3, 2007 HCPB Implementation Strategy 2007
While machine advocates try to justify electronic voting, even going so far as to add yet another electronic gadget (assuring us this is the magic bullet that will fix all our electronic voting system "glitches"), here's a less expensive, common sense strategy for 2007.
(4 comments) SHARE Wednesday, January 3, 2007 Overview of Major Expert Studies on Voting Systems
Non-technical summary of several major expert reports on the security of various electronic voting systems. Reports reviewed included Brennan Center, Princeton, RABA, CompuWare, Hursti-BBV, Election Science Inst., GAO (2005), Congressional Research Srvc (2003)and two news articles. This overview will be updated as other reports are reviewed.
(20 comments) SHARE Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Obama Increases Number of Prisons, Cops
President Obama's 2010 budget proposes $105 million for two new federal prisons. The new budget will also add $3 billion to the Department of Justice budget from 2008 figures, putting 50,000 more cops on the payroll.
SHARE Wednesday, March 18, 2009 Day of Decision national action to follow CA Prop 8 ruling
PRESS RELEASE by Pride Tampa Bay. The California Supreme Court will provide 24 hours notice of its ruling, at which time Day of Decision will notify cities of its national action. Several LGBT orgs are helping to coordinate this.
(37 comments) SHARE Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Zogby Poll: 2 in 3 Voters Want None of the Above
A new Zogby poll commissioned by Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily founder and author of the new book: "None of the Above: Why 2008 is the Year to Cast the Ultimate Protest Vote" indicates a large percentage are ready to throw in the towel rather
than vote for either of the two candidates in Nov. 2008.
(26 comments) SHARE Saturday, July 19, 2008 Warning: This Product Is Hazardous To Your Freedom
Top shelf; the creme de la creme; the most succinct, in plain English best quotes by computer security experts. Do we really want to vote on this "crap?"
(2 comments) SHARE Tuesday, September 9, 2008 Mexico Constitutionalizes the Right to Abort
In an 8-3 vote by the Mexican Supreme Court, abortion is now legal in Mexico under any circumstance in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. Plus other news from around the world, mostly from WomenNewsNetwork.
(9 comments) SHARE Monday, November 17, 2008 CA Voters Needed to Investigate Prop 8 Results
California's passage of Proposition 8 – the same sex marriage ban - is in question. All CA residents are urged to assist in Velvet Revolution's investigation. The process is simple; you serve as official observers during the hand count audit, taking accurate notes or steady video.
(2 comments) SHARE Monday, March 16, 2009 Seeds of Domination video focuses on Monsanto
This 17-minute video, produced by Organization for Competitive Markets, provides a 'news-feel' introduction to the bullying tactics by Monsanto. It exposes that both Clinton (D) and Bush (R) have allowed Monsanto's explosive, monopolistic growth since 1996.
(15 comments) SHARE Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Scahill: Spain Launches Wide-Ranging Criminal Investigation into US Torture, When Will Obama?
JEREMY SCAHILL: Despite rhetoric coming from the White House that Americans should look "forward not backwards" when it comes to pursuing those responsible for torture, Spain doesn't seem to be listening. Judge Balthazar Garzon, who has been pursuing a criminal case against six former Bush administration officials for torture, has now authorized a wide-ranging criminal investigation into the US torture program at Guantanamo.
(9 comments) SHARE Monday, July 16, 2007 Sins of Our Fathers: Rebuilding with Ruthless Honesty
Ruthless honesty requires us to admit that the founders of this nation, while mouthing egalitarian principles, practiced anything but. If movement leaders hope to rally the masses behind the banner of democracy, they are better advised to quote those who practice what they preach. The spread of corporatism and Ted Nace's fascinating "Gangs of America" provide the backdrop to this discussion.
(8 comments) SHARE Saturday, December 15, 2007 I am Voter Hear Me Roar: Meet the New York Amici
Hand-counted paper ballot advocates submitted a Friend of the Court brief in USA vs. NY SBOE. Quoted herein are some of the gems found in their affidavits.
(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, November 7, 2007 US to NY: You Gotta HAVA Faulty Voting Machine
The US Dept. of Justice seeks to force New York to use faulty voting technology. Citizens still urge New York to deploy hand-counted paper ballots: cheapest, most accurate and easiest to secure.
(2 comments) SHARE Thursday, November 23, 2006 Meet the New Boss: Jennifer Brunner, Secretary of State
Ohio's new Secretary of State promises to "examine the machines" and to expand early voting.
While many are happy with the Democratic sweep, the election system hasn't changed.
We still have election conditions which provide no basis for confidence in reported results.
Links to many reports for bringing the new crop of politicians up to speed.
(13 comments) SHARE Saturday, October 25, 2008 Does the US electoral system HAVA brain?
The Help America Vote Act is so flawed it makes the USA PATRIOT Acts look like time-out for ill behaved children. Bipartisanly passed in 2002, HAVA strips U.S. citizens of their right to know their vote is counted as cast. Electoral management bodies across the nation ALL know these machines can be hacked without detection. They've read the studies. So I gotta ask, Does the US electoral system HAVA brain?
(3 comments) SHARE Saturday, October 7, 2006 Diebold Memory Cards Stolen
Diebold memory cards, which provide election results, were stolen during the May 6, 2006 primary in Cuyahoga County, as reported by the AP yesterday.
(3 comments) SHARE Wednesday, February 25, 2009 Q-Equality March on CA Supreme Court March 5
On March 5th, the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case to repeal Proposition 8 and confirm that fundamental freedoms cannot be stripped from minorities by a popular vote. You can show your support for the repeal of Proposition 8 in four ways.
(9 comments) SHARE Sunday, January 6, 2008 Papering over OptiScam Problems
Reading the 7,800-word New York Times article on voting systems, many will walk away believing optical scans are the best choice for democratic elections. Damn the science. Damn the cost. Damn the loss of transparency and public accountability. The problems inherent in software-driven systems can all be corrected by hand-counting paper ballots at the precinct on election night, before all who wish to observe.
(1 comments) SHARE Friday, April 13, 2007 Boo Who Vu?
San Diego County recently hired Cuyahoga County, Ohio's disgraced elections official, Michael Vu, who resigned under a storm of controversy stemming from the rigged recount in 2004 and a 2006 scientific study condemning Cuyahoga's elections. Election integrity demands Vu's removal from the field of public elections.
(11 comments) SHARE Monday, December 29, 2008 Vote Now for Hand Counted Paper Ballots
Voting closes at midnight on 12/31 at Obama's change.org website. Here are two HCPB "ideas" that need a million votes. Okay, 10,000 would be enough. Okay, 3,000 would be enough. Do it. Vote now.
(9 comments) SHARE Monday, July 7, 2008 LET'S CLEAR THE AIR
Optical scanners and DREs operate on undetectably mutable software, depriving New York voters of the accuracy and transparency we have enjoyed for more that a century. No court has ever ruled that the Help America Vote Act requires lever machines be replaced. Now let's go to court and get a ruling that lever voting machines are HAVA-compliant, so we can continue to enjoy the security and transparency offered by our levers.
(4 comments) SHARE Tuesday, April 22, 2008 Meaning of Life Questions: A Speculative Look at the Big Picture of Life in the Universe
Former language interpreter for Presidents and other top officials, Fred Burks describes his overall galactic view: "In 2001, a wonderful friend sent me a life-changing video, and opened my eyes to a major cover-up of UFOs." Researching several different coverups, and "based on information I received independently from sources I trust, I developed my own theories about the big picture, which I provide here for you."
(20 comments) SHARE Monday, April 14, 2008 Sex, Race and War
Two different groups of activists met this year to discuss strategy, with exact opposite results. At a Common Cause forum, blogger Brad Friedman collected applause when he marginalized gender and racial equality: "I don't think we have the luxury to concern ourselves with these things. We're talking about the furniture while the house is burning down." At a feminist forum, the strategy was to build bridges with the oppressed.
SHARE Friday, July 11, 2008 NYSTEC Finds NY SBOE Voting Machine Tests 'Quite Good'
After receiving several complaints that state-certified voting devices failed in local testing, the New York State Board of Elections ordered an independent audit of its acceptance testing process. NYSTEC finds the State's Acceptance Testing is quite good, but ignores Sequoia's admission of "systemic failure." Nassau calls it a "CYA" report.
(6 comments) SHARE Monday, November 3, 2008 We Do Not Consent - Open Letter To The Media (redux)
Election results are due - remember your promise! Let's not report as fact what cannot be proven and has not been independently verified, particularly when the only source of the information is the government itself.
(14 comments) SHARE Tuesday, June 24, 2008 Count Every Vote: Sampling v. Full Counts
While activists and politicians discuss different audit schemes to check the accuracy of computerized election results, the audit debate obscures the reality that most of the US has stopped reliably counting all the ballots. Whatever percent audited is the only percent of ballots that are reliably counted. Stop asking, what percent to audit; and ask, should we stop counting all the votes?
(5 comments) SHARE Saturday, August 30, 2008 Bob Thaves Tackles e-Voting
I'm a big fan of comics, and try to keep track of all that capture the ridiculous state of U.S. elections now that our vote is secretly counted on software – software that can be hacked without detection. So this one of Frank & Ernest made it into my inbox. Enjoy!
(14 comments) SHARE Saturday, January 17, 2009 Arab League Fractured over Israel-Gaza; Israel votes for Cease-Fire
Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League, admitted on Friday that Arab nation reactions to the war on Gaza was "in a very big chaos." Kuwaiti Information Minister Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah said "The Arab leaders are unanimous on the importance of putting an end to the tragedy unfolding in Gaza, but they differ on the means of achieving it." The Israel cabinet voted tonight to cease fire in Gaza.
SHARE Tuesday, May 8, 2007 911 Stand Up
Bootleg Culture: 9-11 Truth CD "We hold these truths to be self-evident: No. 1. George W. Bush is not president. No. 2. America is not a true democracy, and No. 3. The media is not fooling me."
(20 comments) SHARE Tuesday, August 5, 2008 The 11th Husband; or, Why software is bad for elections
HUMOR: A handsome man married a beautiful woman who had previously divorced ten husbands. On their wedding night, she told her new husband, "Please be gentle; I'm still a virgin."
(2 comments) SHARE Friday, April 3, 2009 CNN Inside Africa with Eve Ensler and Dr. Mukwege to Air Saturday
CNN's Inside Africa, a weekly, half-hour, current affairs program that provides global viewers with an inside look at political, economic, social and cultural affairs and trends in Africa, will air a special segment featuring Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler and the DRC's Dr. Denis Mukwege this Saturday, April 4 at 11 AM Eastern, and will replay the episode several times thru Tuesday, April 7.
(4 comments) SHARE Monday, September 18, 2006 Unfit for Use in ANY Democracy
Learn why computerized voting takes "We the People" out of public elections. Links to recent expert reports and action items are included.
SHARE Tuesday, May 22, 2007 Liberty Tree: Democratizing Elections
Review of "Liberty Tree," the Journal of the Democratic Revolution, now in its second year. Building real democracy entails more than just voting issues, as this journal articulates. The real measure of revolution will be when citizens gain control of elections, removing corporations and government from what is, after all, our democracy.
SHARE Sunday, June 17, 2007 Spirit of Conscious Rap: Review of "Letter to the President"
Snoop Dogg narrates this talking-heads rap with America's black youth. Rap and Hip Hop stars take turns discussing the history of the genre, the current state of US inner cities, the suppression of black votes in the 2004 election, and the need for a return to "conscious rap."
(4 comments) SHARE Sunday, July 20, 2008 Hawaii Activists Sue to Protect the Vote
By Bob Babson: Lawsuit filed on July 14th, asking the Court to order the Hawaii Chief Elections Officer to stop using telephone lines or the internet for transmitting ballot counts and election results for final tabulation until such time as administrative rules can be legally promulgated in accordance with Hawaii Administrative Law, Chapter 91, HRS, and all other laws can also be legally followed.
SHARE Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Lowery and Alexander Deliver for Obama
Civil rights icon and gay pastor, Rev. Joseph Lowery, and distinguished American poet, Elizabeth Alexander, deliver for Obama on Inaugural Day.
(7 comments) SHARE Tuesday, September 2, 2008 CA Appeals Court Strikes Down Ten Percent Ballot Audit
An August 29th ruling by California's Fourth Appellate District Court bans Secretary of State Debra Bowen's regulation requiring a 10 percent manual tally of ballots counted by Sequoia, Hart and Premier-Diebold. California will return to a 1% manual audit, as enacted in 1965.
(9 comments) SHARE Wednesday, January 9, 2008 Inherent Uncertainty and NH's Primary Results
Blogs are bursting over the fact that ALL the major pollsters, including Hillary's and Barack's internal polling, had Obama winning New Hampshire's presidential primary election. Yet in a surreal recurring nightmare, official results say otherwise. We'll never know because election conditions invoke inherent uncertainty.
(4 comments) SHARE Saturday, April 11, 2009 Thai Farmers & Youth Shut Down Southeast Asia Summit
Farmers and youth organize new protest party, shutting down the Association of Southeast Asian Nations economic summit. Populist resistance is growing across the globe as the elite-engineered financial collapse creates a deeper and wider spread of poverty and starvation. "Dealing in multiplications, and they still can't feed everyone."
SHARE Monday, July 9, 2007 Tom Robbins on America
Though not always successful, it is usually my aim to deliver the truth with humor. Robbins is a writer who achieves this without parallel, and one of my favorite sources of comfort. This two-part essay, How Do You Feel About America? from a collection of short nonfiction pieces, contains his thoughts on American society before and after the coup d'êtat.
(8 comments) SHARE Friday, July 25, 2008 Kellner Speaks: Voting systems incomplete, undocumented
In this open email, Commissioner Douglas A. Kellner, co-chair of New York State Board of Elections, publicly comments on the issues of certifying computerized voting technology in time for September's election, as per court order. Vendor production schedule lags; incomplete systems provided; chain of custody documentation and instructions lacking.
SHARE Sunday, June 17, 2007 The Pride of Victory: Freeheld
June is the traditional month calling for equal rights for all citizens, especially the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities. "Freeheld" tells the story of one lesbian couple, and the community that rallied behind them, to secure equal rights for domestic partners. As the GLBT community takes to the streets again this year, it can step a little lighter knowing that at least one battle for equality was won.
(2 comments) SHARE Thursday, January 10, 2008 Writers Campaign for Transparent Vote Counting
This collection of articles on NH's disparity between hand-counted precincts and machine-tabulated precincts contain a wealth of resource and video links from most of the biggest names in election integrity. The best and the brightest have written with persuasion, arguing for transparency. Most articles contain action links, to write Congress and newspapers. Spread the word.
(9 comments) SHARE Monday, May 26, 2008 Recount: The Mighty vs. the Many
How a film about the mighty defeating the many can leave you feeling good and energized can only be ascribed to brilliant writing and direction, coupled with a perfect cast that included Kevin Spacey (Ron Klain) and Laura Dern (Katherine Harris). The film presents in rapid-fire the many ways voters are disenfranchised, and does so with humor and grit. Only one omission: the scientific study proving Gore won Florida.
(4 comments) SHARE Monday, July 28, 2008 This Magic Moment
Jennifer Anderson's essay is brought to us by Fred Burks (WantToKnow.info). This is an incredibly inspiring story about a magical moment with a manta ray sent in by a great friend. It originally comes from the book Chicken Soup for the Ocean Lover's Soul. Enjoy the magical adventure between this woman and the graceful manta ray.
(2 comments) SHARE Monday, September 1, 2008 First Open Access Day To Be Held Oct. 14, 2008
SPARC, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, the Public Library of Science, and Students for FreeCulture have jointly announced the first international Open Access Day. Building on worldwide momentum toward Open Access to publicly funded research, OAD will create a key opportunity for the higher education community and the general public to appreciate the opportunities of wider access and use of content.
(1 comments) SHARE Thursday, January 22, 2009 'Tanks in My Memory' a Good Start
This video doesn't go far enough in its condemnation. We still have the Patriot Act, the Bailouts, the immunity for telecoms for spying on American citizens, computerized elections, the Military Commissions Act, the Healthy Forests Act, the Clear Skies Act, the Minimum Wage frozen at below poverty, while Congress continues to give itself raises. All "bi-partisanly" passed. Still, this is a good start.
(2 comments) SHARE Thursday, March 5, 2009 Shaking the Tree March 8th
Men and women 'Unite to End Violence against Women and Girls,' the theme for 2009 International Women's Day. Find an event near you.
SHARE Tuesday, June 12, 2007 The Rising Reign of Resistance: Review of Mangal Pandey
The man who inspired Gandhi, 90 years before India's independence, is Mangal Pandey. This is the story of the first rebellion, the one that destroyed the East India Trading Company. Exquisite costumes, music and choreography carry the film, able to inspire indigenous people from any nation under corporate siege. This film is pure India in character, celebrating the dances, songs and customs of the Hindu people.
SHARE Friday, May 18, 2007 The Guvs Must Be Crazy
The problem is this; the guvs do that. Elections belong to the people, but only in theory in the U.S. Civil society has a cure – are we about to assert our inalienable right to govern ourselves? Many writers think the time is now.
SHARE Friday, April 13, 2007 Electoral Management Design Handbook Review
The Electoral Management Design Handbook is written for electoral administrators, electoral administration designers and other practitioners involved in building professional, sustainable and cost-effective electoral administrations that can deliver legitimate and credible free and fair elections. It offers many sound practices that are relevant to any election worker, including parallel election workers.
(1 comments) SHARE Tuesday, March 17, 2009 Global Week of Action against Capitalism and War: March 28–April 4
We the social movements from all over the world came together on the occasion of the 8th World Social Forum in Belém, Amazonia, where the peoples have been resisting attempts to usurp Nature, their lands and their cultures. We are here in Latin America, where over the last decade the social movements and the indigenous movements have joined forces and radically question the capitalist system from their cosmovision.
(3 comments) SHARE Saturday, November 15, 2008 RealNews Video: The lame duck economic summit
News analyst Pepe Escobar interviews Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, about this weekend's summit.
SHARE Wednesday, January 30, 2008 No Centralized Voter Registration Databases
Franklin County (OH) Muncipal Court is another in a long line of government organizations that violate citizens' privacy by exposing personal information on its website.
Coupling centralized, computerized voter registration databases with secret vote counting (via machine) is a perfect recipe for tyranny. Stalin must be dancing in his grave over U.S. elections.
SHARE Thursday, October 26, 2006 Everybody ona Move
If you want to do more than just vote on Election Day, read this!
(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, September 3, 2008 Palin and Giuliani to Speak Tonight at RNC
Vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani are scheduled to speak Wednesday night at the Republic National Convention in St. Paul.
SHARE Tuesday, June 5, 2007 Is Grassroots Activism Relevant? Review of "Understanding America's Terrorist Crisis"
Gore Vidal and several experts discuss stolen elections, the un-Patriot Act, theft in office, war without end, and media collusion in this panel discussion hosted by The Independent Institute. Grassroots activists can be effective when enough of us withdraw our compliance. The issues raised in this 2002 panel are more relevant today, given Bush's recent dictator directive.
SHARE Friday, March 2, 2007 Silver City
In "Silver City" director John Sayles uses mining, arguably one of the most environmentally toxic processes of industrialized society, as a backdrop to expose the multiple and often hidden layers of profit-driven power. Instead of a movie about election fraud, it's about the fraud of elections.
(4 comments) SHARE Saturday, March 28, 2009 Lights out at 8:30 pm for EarthHour
Tonight: Switch off your lights at 8.30pm-9.30pm on March 28th!
(everyone earthwide is encouraged to do this in their own time zone). Sign up; take video or photos; pass this on!
(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, October 10, 2007 Too Butch to Pee
It's not often I run across a news story (or a film or book) that captures my experiences in the Land of the Free. More than once I've been warned that I was in the women's room, as if I had made a mistake. I suspect my tiny physique and mirthful reaction convinces an accuser of her error, despite my short hair and sensible shoes. This case highlights why we're GLBT and not just GLB, or GL, or G.
(4 comments) SHARE Sunday, March 16, 2008 Hackable Voting Machines Hacked in Ohio
An investigation into electronic voting machines used in Franklin County, Ohio last fall revealed that the machines were tampered with, removing a candidate name; that they were not tested prior to use (as required by law); and that a function that tracked changes to the machines was purposely turned off. Undeterred by science, politicians still plan to use wholly non-securable voting equipment which counts the vote in secret.
(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, September 13, 2006 Parallel Elections Manual
Learn how hand-counting paper ballots in a Parallel Election:
* audits official election results,
* serves as an exit poll, and
* engages citizens in this cornerstone of democracy - voting.
Learn the tools to effectively run and analyze a Parallel Election in your precinct. Show the experts, your neighbors, and yourself that sometimes the simplest method is the best.
(19 comments) SHARE Friday, July 4, 2008 Independence from Oppression
A close friend of mine has a successful career at a major corporation. Less than a year ago, she hit a personal bottom with alcoholism and entered treatment. Her boss has taken a nasty view of my friend's admitted alcoholism and has illegally begun a campaign to force her from her job. My friend is not bellicose by nature, but finds herself fighting oppression, not just for herself, but for all other recovering alocholics.
(19 comments) SHARE Thursday, June 19, 2008 Duopoly Expands Spy Powers; Grants Telcos Immunity
Our corporate-sponsored Congress further shreds the Bill of Rights by expanding the government's power to spy on us, and grants immunity to the phone companies that have been criminally cooperating with BushCo's illegal domestic spying program over the past several years. In a vote expected shortly, the FISA protections of the past 30 years will be gutted. ACLU asks you to take action NOW. Here are some talking points.
SHARE Monday, February 18, 2008 Non-Electoral Activism in a Presidential Election Year
Presidential politics overshadows all other politics during a Presidential election period, sucking up activist energy, popular attention and donor contributions. But there's also an opposite mistake that can be made -accommodating tactics to the electoral season in a way which strips our movements of urgency, creativity, militancy and edginess.
(2 comments) SHARE Friday, April 6, 2007 Seizing the Polls
Firing the entire Cuyahoga Board of Elections is a stunning display of official accountability. Cuyahoga's violations were stunning. They lost not only hundreds of memory cards, but also 29 voting machines. If Brunner can replace the Cuyahoga Board with competent democracy advocates, surely we salute her, Citizen oversight is especially vital now, in this transition stage.
(11 comments) SHARE Friday, June 20, 2008 Steny Hoyer FISA Ad To Run in Washington Post
Color of Change and Blue America PAC teamed up to run the above ad in the Washington Post, placing the blame for the FISA travesty in the House squarely where it belongs -- on the shoulders of Steny Hoyer. It will appear next Thursday. We've already raised $266,000; you can help by donating, too.
(2 comments) SHARE Friday, August 15, 2008 Ballot Stuffing Video Repaired; Uploaded
Check out this 2 minute video – how to stuff ballots into a $12,000 hi-tech ballot marking device. (Original video repaired and uploaded.)
SHARE Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Thai Unrest Spreads, Turns Violent
News Digest: Soldiers armed with assault rifles fought running street battles with antigovernment protesters in Bangkok on Monday as unrest spread through a wider swath of the city, and the chief of Thailand's armed forces vowed to use 'every means to end the chaos.'
(2 comments) SHARE Tuesday, December 18, 2007 Siegelman's Iron Mask for Alleging Voting Machine Fraud
Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman sits in prison on questionable charges, after losing his bid for re-election and speaking out publicly that he believes "that somebody manipulated the election results." ES&S optical scan systems were used in 2002.
SHARE Tuesday, February 26, 2008 So. Florida Nuclear Reactors Shut Down
Millions of people in South Florida experienced brief power outages this afternoon as two nuclear reactors in Miami automatically shut down when power lines at a substation failed.
(1 comments) SHARE Sunday, July 27, 2008 Rove Threat to Blackmail GOP IT Mastermind Triggers Immunity Request to Ohio AG by Election Lawyers
By John Michael Spinelli: The little story about how the GOP cyber-gamed the Ohio presidential election in 2004 is growing by the day, spurred on to greater heights Thursday when an Ohio election attorney asked the Ohio Attorney General to provide immunity protection to Mike Connell, the GOP IT mastermind who built various computer systems they say not only won Ohio for G.W.Bush in 2004 but led to other GOP wins since 2000.
(1 comments) SHARE Sunday, May 13, 2007 Honor Mom: Don't Drive for a Week
You know you're an organizer when holidays become public outreach events. Communication tactics abound with upcoming fairs, civic and Pride celebrations. Here's one I leapt on because it landed in my mailbox. I printed 100 copies of this "Letter to the Editor" of a local volunteer newsletter, and distributed it in my neighborhood.
(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Los Angeles Electoral Crisis Looms
What's the matter with Los Angeles? Double bubble ballot that disenfranchised tens of thousands cost Regisrar her job, but the replacement is worse: the 2004 King County, WA election chief who counted illegal votes but not legal ones. LA County is the largest election district in America. The votes cast and counted here significantly affect the outcome of every election--statewide and nationwide.
(1 comments) SHARE Thursday, January 11, 2007 Secret Ballot
Winner of several awards, including Best Director (Venice Film Festival), this 2001 film presents a delightful view into voting. With charm and comedy, director Babak Payami challenges our conceptions of the meaning and import of elections.
(2 comments) SHARE Sunday, March 23, 2008 Obama Advisor's Firm Spies on McCain, Clinton
The CEO of a company whose employee is accused of improperly looking at the passport files of presidential candidates is a consultant to the Barack Obama campaign. The State Department, thru its private contractor, breached the passport records of Obama, Clinton and McCain. Bush Sr. did this to Bill Clinton back in 1992.
(2 comments) SHARE Saturday, June 7, 2008 Live Stream of NCMR
National Conference for Media Reform is live streaming its main speakers. Sunday will feature one more round of stimulating panels and workshops. And to cap off the weekened, an exciting closing plenary featuring FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, Amy Goodman, and Van Jones. Don't miss Bill Moyers' keynote address at http://snipurl.com/2eian
SHARE Wednesday, November 15, 2006 Parallel Election Results Summary
Two-page summary of Parallel Elections results from Central Ohio. Link to 10-page spreadsheet: http://tinyurl.com/yhj8cf
(5 comments) SHARE Tuesday, February 26, 2008 Real Election Madness
Serving as one of the Ohio investigators taught me that citizen oversight is the cure to "Election Madness," a pandemic delusion fiercely held by half the country - that half that still votes. Let's take our country back, by implementing an election process that models best management practices. This brief handbook offers a skeletal plan on how to do this.
(2 comments) SHARE Wednesday, July 4, 2007 Doo Dah Does Democracy
Columbus, Ohio's whacky Doo Dah Parade is the Left's answer to Red White & Boom, the official celebration of our independence. Thru silly costumes and messaging, the real message is imparted with humor. Maybe next year, we'll celebrate the demise of the Bush junta, the end of resource wars, a new reign of citizen-run paper ballot elections, and the restoration of our Constitution. Now, that would be difficult to make silly.
SHARE Wednesday, September 13, 2006 Parallel Elections Training Session this Saturday
This Saturday, 9/16, at the Ohio Lesbian Business Assn Festival in Kirkersville, Ohio at Frontier Ranch
from 1 to 3pm. Women interested in attending this workshop or this day-long festival are encouraged to visit http://www.ohiolba.org/
(1 comments) SHARE Tuesday, February 26, 2008 Post-EVEREST Study Reveals MORE Vulnerabilities
This Penn State professor is not an election rights advocate, but he's a computer expert and his results will convince any voter that using computers in the voting process -- from pollbooks to voting machines to tabulating machines -- is a very bad idea. Watch the video below and distribute to everyone you know.
SHARE Wednesday, December 12, 2007 Combined Annotations of Voting System Reports
The Jan.07 and Dec.07 annotated bibliographies of expert reports on voting systems have been combined into a single pdf document, sans my editorial introductions.
This compilation should prove to be a handy resource manual.
SHARE Tuesday, December 18, 2007 Peter B. Collins to air Hand-Count Amici
Peter B. Collins responded to the VCC press release regarding the HCPB amici entrance into US vs. NY, by inviting Dave Berman back on his radio show this Friday Dec. 21 at about 5:20 pm Pacific time (8:20 pm Eastern). Brad Friedman and Humboldt (CA) Registrar of Voters Carolyn Crnich will both be on at that time as well.
SHARE Friday, January 11, 2008 NBC un-plugs Kucinich from Presidential debate
"When 'big media' exert their unbridled control over what Americans can see, hear, and read, then the Constitutional power and right of the citizens to vote is being vetoed by multi-billion corporations that want the votes to go their way," the Kucinich campaign said.