Investigating the Vote: Where Are the Media?

COMPILATION OF DATA ON THE 2004 ELECTION

Articles, maps, graphs and charts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election,_2004

Voting Machines Count Backwards in Okla.
by Bob Nichols Saturday, Nov 27 2004, 3:13am
bobnichols@cox.net
national / elections & legislation / news report

57 Rural Counties Affected - Vote Fraud Suspected

Rural Oklahoma Voting machines know how to count backwards.

http://okimc.org/newswire.php?story_id=344

Nearly one month after Election Day, Ohio ballot challenges continue
JOHN McCARTHY, Associated Press Writer

Monday, November 29, 2004

(11-29) 11:49 PST COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) --

Nearly a month after John Kerry conceded Ohio to President Bush, complaints and challenges about the balloting are mounting as activists including the Rev. Jesse Jackson demand closer scrutiny to ensure the votes are being counted on the up-and-up.

Jackson held rallies in Ohio over the weekend to draw attention to the vote, and another critic plans to ask the state Supreme Court this week to decide the validity of the election.

Ohio essentially decided the outcome of the presidential race, with Kerry giving up after unofficial results showed Bush with a 136,000-vote lead in the state.

Since then, there have been demands for a recount and complaints about uncounted punch-card votes, disqualified provisional ballots and a ballot-machine error that gave hundreds of extra votes to Bush.

___________________snip________________________

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/11/29/national1449EST0575.DTL

How To Take Back A Stolen Election
by Thom Hartmann

Published Monday, November 29, 2004 by CommonDreams.org

"Never again!" says the slogan in an email I received from an activist friend. "Never again will we allow a stolen election in the USA!"

But how are we going to stop it?

The major American political parties have an answer - it's already working for them in the Ukraine - but it's very much a sword that can cut two ways.

Interestingly, it was first used in the US.

On December 4, 2000, in time to change the outcome of the Electoral College vote, Greg Palast published an article in Salon.com, made into a BBC television documentary shortly thereafter, that laid out solid evidence of massive electoral fraud in Florida, perpetrated against the majority-Democratic-voting African American community by Katherine Harris and Jeb Bush. Without this fraud, Gore would have easily carried the state.

Even more glaring, a consortium of news organizations found and reported on the front page of The New York Times (and other papers) on 12 September 2001, that in Florida "...a statewide recount -- could have produced enough votes to tilt the election his [Gore's] way, no matter what standard was chosen to judge voter intent." (The Times apparently chose to bury this fact - that Gore actually won the 2000 election - in the 15th paragraph and behind a misleading headline because the nation had been attacked on 9/11 the day before.)

_______________________SNIP___________________

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1129-26.htm

Published Monday, November 29, 2004 by the New York Times
Electronic Voting 1.0, and No Time to Upgrade
by James Fallows

I trust computers. When I first used A.T.M.'s, nearly 30 years ago, I carefully saved receipts in a folder and matched them with the bank's monthly statement. Now I sometimes stuff the receipts in my wallet, but I almost never look at them again. The only banking error I've encountered in all those years was when a human teller left a final zero off a deposit I had made.
I still pore over credit card statements, but mainly to see whether some person, not some machine, has issued the proper refund credit or made an improper charge. I've sent e-mail messages to the wrong people by mistyping an address or hitting the oh-so-dangerous "Reply All" button, but never because the system routes it where it shouldn't go. When I travel, I assume that the e-ticket I booked through my computer will be valid and that frequent-flier miles will show up in my account.

Yet when I went to my polling place in Washington on Election Day, I waited an extra half-hour in line to cast a paper ballot, instead of using the computerized touch-screen voting machine. Am I irrational? Perhaps, but this would not be the evidence.

________________________SNIP___________________

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1129-31.htm

Partial re-post from end of last thread, but in light of the Oklahoma info above, relevant (sorry):

"And yes, I have wondered about a deeper conspiracy than Ohio and Florida. What about all those states that went red, that were supposed to go red, so no one even looks at the possibility of fraud? We've GOTTA reform the election system so we don't have to be suspicious of every result.

Did anyone find it outrageous that with the situation in Ukraine, Bush had the you-know-whats to tell them not to certify the election? Why would anyone listen to him after our election? I had to guffaw at that."

Election reform must be a priority!

John Kerry: Pull Us from the Water

By: Robin Baneth, Raleigh, NC
Published: Nov 29, 2004

John Kerry:

Remember reaching in the water and pulling your comrade into the swift boat? America is in the water. Reach in. Our hand is up and we are sinking. Bullets are flying, piercing the waves around us.

Please ask for a recount in Ohio. Every criticism of the Ukrainian election is valid in Ohio.

1) 13 hour waits to vote in Columbus? To vote for YOU. Machine distribution needs to be fair. The facts are in.
2) Media locked out of Warren County and now their vote totals are unreasonable. Many voted for YOU.
3) Method of voting predicting candidate? Electronic voting methods predicted voting for your counterpart.
4) Exit polling at levels more discrepant than the Ukraine.
5) Polling tapes found in the trash in Volusia County, Florida? Please support Bev Harris. She is no troublemaker as your Ohio rep told her.
6) All three voting machine companies owned by Republicans?
7) The CEO of Diebold stated he would do what he could to deliver Ohio's electoral votes to your competition.
8) County Central Tabulators that can be hacked in less than 90 seconds. No longer need to be smart, just need tip sheet.
9) Every irregularity favoring Bush.

Please pull us from the water. Please encourage a Department of Justice, Voting Section investigation into Ohio. We need printers in the precincts by 2006. I believe you cut a deal with Bush to save Roe Vs. Wade and that is why you remain quiet. Whatever the deal, please unconcede.

The deficit is out of control. Kids are dying in Iraq. Minimum wage is unacceptable. Kids with no health care. Voting system in disarray. Voting system in disarray. Voting system in disarray. Voting system in disarray. Voting system in disarray. Voting system in disarray. Voting system in disarray.

Be the man you thought you could be when you beat the odds and came home from Vietnam. We believe in you. I know you want to unconcede. You are worried about the country being torn apart. We are already torn apart. Let's make history. You will sleep better. Unconceding is the right thing to do until Ohio's recount proves otherwise.

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_15689.shtml

Re-Vote, Not Recount, in Ohio

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Anne Pfeiffer
November 29, 2004

It appears there will be a recount in Ohio. However, a recount probably won't do much good in three counties that have suspicious numbers -- Franklin, Mahoning, and Warren. I'll deal with Franklin and Mahoning first, then Warren later. Here are some simple facts about the election in Ohio:

1. Ohio has 88 counties. The three largest counties that went strongly for Kerry are Cuyahoga (which contains Cleveland), Franklin (which contains Columbus -- the state capital), and Summit (which contains Akron). These counties all went for Gore in 2000. Cuyahoga and Franklin are the only two counties in Ohio with populations topping 1 million.

2. With a population of about a quarter million, Mahoning is not the largest county in Ohio (it's only 10th largest), but it is one of the bluest. Mahoning contains Youngstown, an old steel town that has been hurting economically for decades. Youngstown suffers from chronic high unemployment. Even Bruce Springsteen wrote a song about Youngstown's woes. Gore led Bush there in 2000 by almost 29,000 votes. That was a larger point spread than in Summit County, which has over twice the population of Mahoning. In fact, it was a larger point spread in Gore's favor than any other county except Cuyahoga, which is Ohio's bluest county as well as its largest. Simply put, Mahoning is an important Democratic stronghold in Ohio.

3. Franklin County has two significant errors on its Board of Elections canvass report. On error has already been exposed in the media. That is the 3,893 extra votes that were applied to Bush's total in Gahanna.

_______________________SNIP____________________

http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/04/11/con04517.html

Carol, when Californians are targeted for the first time in decades, you know they weren't taking chances. They upped in GOP areas and suppressed in Dem areas.

I know their grassroots was improved, but we're left with a big "I don't know." That's unacceptable.

DEMOCRACY CELL ACTION ALERT!!!

THIS IS THE PROPAGANDA SOUTH CAROLINA IS PROMOTING ON THEIR STATE WEBSITE!

THEY ARE CURRENTLY ORDERING MORE EVOTING COMPUTERS FOR THE 2006 ELECTIONS.

With new machines, a smooth election

By MARCI ANDINO
Guest columnist

South Carolina made election history, again, on Nov. 2, when near-record numbers of registered voters went to the polls to elect leaders at the national, state and local levels.

In doing so, South Carolina became one of the first states in the nation to fully implement the initial phase of the federal Help America Vote Act, establishing a national benchmark by which other states implementation of the act will be measured.

This year, 15 South Carolina counties replaced punch cards, optical scanners and other older voting equipment with electronic touch-screen voting machines. In 2005, our remaining 31 counties will begin replacing their voting systems with the electronic touch-screen equipment, and by 2006, South Carolina will have a uniform voting system statewide. Again, South Carolina is leading the nation in developing voter registration and elections systems that enhance the usability, security and integrity of our electoral process.

Security of the voting process has always been a primary focus of the State Election Commission, and enhancing security was one of the key considerations in selecting our new voting equipment. The new touch-screen voting machines are designed to provide one of the most secure, reliable voting systems available, and particularly to prevent the loss or miscount of any votes.

_________________________SNIP____________________

http://www.thestate.com/mld/state/news/opinion/10274070.htm

PROOF OF THE LIES ON THE SOUTH CAROLINA WEBSITE

Reported above was the statement that "No voting irregularities on electronic voting machines in South Carolina.

This from the Associated Press:

Election Day arrives
Tue, Nov 2, 2004

'Recipe of problems' brewing

By ANICK JESDANUN

Polling places experienced scattered problems early Tuesday as legions of lawyers, election-rights activists and computer scientists watched, particularly in battleground states, for any trouble that could disenfranchise voters.

___________________SNIP________________________

One polling location in Mauldin, S.C., was forced to switch to paper ballots because of equipment troubles.

In Volusia County, Fla., a memory card in an optical-scan voting machine failed Monday at an early voting site and didn't count 13,000 ballots. Officials planned to feed and count those ballots Tuesday.
____________________SNIP_______________________

http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/front/281822778898848.php

Sorry for the "Spam Posts" but there is a lot of info just coming out today

Peace.

Hi, my husband's Republican aunt, who is a huge pain in the ass, by the way, keeps sending us these obnoxious right-wing propaganda jokes about liberal vs. conservatives, mostly long elaborate stories which are supposed to be "funny" but are horribly insulting to liberals. I am asking anyone wo has links to such humor that is the opposite, and makes conservatives look bad, please send it to me. I am so sick of her s*it.

NEWS RELEASE

For immediate release: November 29, 2004
Contact: Blair Bobier, Media Director at 541.929.5755

GREEN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FILES FOR RECOUNTS IN NEW MEXICO & NEVADA

David Cobb, the 2004 Green Party presidential candidate, today filed official requests for a recount of the presidential ballots cast in New Mexico and Nevada. As he did in Ohio, Cobb filed the requests jointly with Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik.

"The Green Party's dedication to protecting the integrity of the election process has led me to file for a recount in both New Mexico and Nevada. We want to ensure that every vote is counted and verify the accuracy of the electronic voting machines, particularly those which produce no paper trail," said David Cobb.

"It is absolutely critical that we verify the accuracy of electronic voting machines. Voting without independent checks and balances is a meaningless exercise. There is no reason why Americans should settle for second-best when it comes to protecting our democratic rights," said Cobb-LaMarche Media Director Blair Bobier.

The New Mexico presidential election was marred by reports of voter suppression and problems with electronic voting machines. In Nevada, the lack of paper trails or receipts for electronic voting machines is the primary concern. In an unrelated legal challenge, an election contest case will be heard today in Reno, Nevada, demanding a recount. The suit also seeks to address allegations that people employed by Sproul & Associates, an Arizona-based firm hired by the Republican National Committee, tore up and discarded voter registration forms completed by Democratic voters.

For more information about the Cobb-LaMarche campaign and the recount efforts in Ohio, New Mexico and Nevada, visit http://www.votecobb.org . The website of the national Green Party is http://www.gp.org .

NO SURRENDER !!!

KiK...

You know you're a Republican when...

You think "proletariat" is a type of cheese.
You've named your kids "Deduction one" and "Deduction two"
You've tried to argue that poverty could be abolished if people were just allowed to keep more of their minimum wage.
You've ever referred to someone as "my (insert racial or ethnic minority here) friend"
You've ever tried to prove Jesus was a capitalist and opposed to welfare.
You're a pro-lifer, but support the death penalty.
You think Huey Newton is a cookie.
The only union you support is the Baseball Players, because heck, they're richer than you.
You think you might remember laughing once as a kid.

Tee-hee...nice Marc!! I'll put that in my "rebuttal file."

The Top 25 Ways to Know if you Are a Republican

1) Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you are millionaire conservative radio jock, which makes it an "illness" and needs our prayers for your "recovery."

2) You believe that those privileged from birth achieve success all on their own.

3) You believe that the US should get out of the UN, and that our highest national priority is enforcing UN resolutions against Iraq.

4) You believe that government should stay out of people's lives but it needs to punish anyone caught having private sex with the "wrong" gender.

5) You believe that pollution is OK, so long as it makes a profit.

6) "Standing Tall for America" means firing your workers and moving their jobs to India.

7) You believe that a woman cannot be trusted with decisions about her own body, but that large multinational corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind with no regulation whatsoever.

8) You believe that you love Jesus and Jesus loves you, and that Jesus shares your hatred of AIDS patients, homosexuals, and Hillary Clinton.

9) You hate the ACLU for representing convicted felons, but they owed it to the country to bail out Oliver North.

10) You believe that the best way to encourage military morale is to praise the troops overseas while cutting their VA benefits at home.

11) You believe that group sex and drug use are degenerate sins that can only be purged by running for governor of California as a Republican.

12) You believe it is wise to keep condoms out of schools, because we all know if teenagers don't have condoms they won't have sex.

13) You believe that the best way to fight terrorism is to alienate our allies and then demand their cooperation and money.

14) You believe that government medicine is wrong and that HMOs and insurance companies only have your best interests at heart.

15) You believe that providing health care to all Iraqis is sound government policy but providing health care to all Americans is socialism personified.

16) You believe that tobacco's link to cancer and global warming are "junk science," but Creationism should be taught in schools.

17) You believe that waging war with no exit strategy was wrong in Vietnam but right in Iraq.

18) You believe that Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney was doing business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" election diversion.

21) You believe that government should restrict itself to just the powers named in the Constitution, which includes banning gay marriages and censoring the internet.

20) You believe that the public has a right to know about the adulterous affairs of Democrats, while those of Republicans are a "private matter."

21) You believe that the public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades but that Bush was right to censor those 28 pages from the Congressional 9/11 report because you just can't handle the truth.

22) You support state rights, which means Ashcroft telling states what locally passed voter initiatives he will allow them to have and which he will revoke personally.

23) You believe that what Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest but what Bush did decades later is "stale news" and "irrelevant."

24) You believe that trade with Cuba is wrong because it is communist, but trading with China and Vietnam is just dandy.

25) You believe there is absolutely no coincidence between Deep South voting Republican in every election sine 1964 (except for Jimmy Carter in 1976) and the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

Herein are listed the 4 reports from this organization concerned with fair elections:

http://www.Nov3.US/

I hope the prediction of thousands taking to the street in Ottawa is true.

Yea,,,,Bush is stopping for 2 hours in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada to 'thank' Canadians for helping Americans stranded when planes were put down on 9/11.

And how many years has it taken him to get around to say 'thank you'? Totally snubbed Canada in his speech in the Gov't right after 9/11 when he thanked every other country...We all were saying 'what about Canada'

Poll out tonight say Canadians give Bush a 43% grade on how he is handling his role (terrorism, economy, etc)

Guess it is too bad Canadians couldn't have voted!!!!

Not only that - I just read a long financial PDP about the future of the dollar, gold & the Canadian dollar. US dollar expected to decrease 20-30 percent at least, Canadian dollar the opposite. We have a huge deficit, Canada has a surplus. Canada also is expected to become prosperous due to trade with India & China, as it has resources they need. There is no reason to suck up to Bush!! & you can expect alot of us to cross the border, some permanently!

don't move!! we need people to educate and sway those "in the dark" to help defeat the opposition!!

Indy,
Thanks for posting all the info about election fraud. I was hoping someone would post the article from Buzzflash concerning a re-vote in Ohio.
There will be a rally in Columbus Sat. Here is the info:

http://www.uacitizensforchange.com/rally/

The speaker will be journalist, Greg Palast.

if the recount in ohio shows that sen kerry wins ohio, does he win the electoral votes, ie the presidency?

sc kitty

I hope to gather the strength. Right now I feel that they had ample warning & betrayed as (& themselves) by voting for Bush - after the voter fraud in 2000, after his dismal record internationally & domestically, after starting needless wars & lying to the American people & the world. I no longer wake up every morning physically ill, but I am still outraged!!

Once a Republican for Kerry personally apologized publicly for voting for Bush in 2000 and that's what I want from all those who voted for Bush in 2004. Until then, they have blood on their hands.

The west coast is going to be redistricted into 3 different court jurisdictions if this administration has its way. No more "activist judges" - wholesale oppression of gays, minorities & liberals. I will not easily be forgiving those who made this possible. Ignorance is not an excuse.

I hereby nominate Helen Thomas for the Nobel Peace Prize!

Q The Canadians are going to serve the President Canadian beef for dinner. Is he eating it? (Laughter.)

MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't seen -- no, I understand. I have not seen the menu for the social dinner. But the President looks forward to going there and looks forward to participating in the dinner with Prime Minister Martin. Again, I haven't seen the menu, so I couldn't confirm that that's accurate or not.

Helen, go ahead.

Q Why are we killing people in Iraq? There are many men, women and children being killed there. I mean, what is the reason we are there, killing people, continuing. It's outrageous.

you all have become my friends and font of information to counter the comments i hear from the red neighbors i have. i have never seen so many "saucer-eyed" people when i state a fact that i have learned from all of you. one day at a time, one person at a time.... it's pretty rare that a LTE of mine gets published because of my views on the bush policies. (it's not that they are not well written because i married an editor who "edits" my letters.) so what i do is make my own bumperstickers with a "fun fact" and drive around. it's a great education tool! going to meet-ups helps.

Their latest wacko plan - "covenant marriage"

Covenant Marriage Links. ... It also presents related proposals for choice in marriage and divorce, and explores the history of the idea of Covenant Marriage. ...
http://www.divorcereform.org/cov.html

http://www.covenantmarriage.com

http://www.lafayetteparishclerk.com/covenantmarriage.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6440961/

"Twenty Seven Groups and Growing". Organizations Join Forces to Initiate the. Covenant Marriage Movement. ...
http://www.familyfi.org/CMM.htm

"Civil Unions and Covenant Marriage"
http://www.marriage.about.com/cs/covenantmarriage/a/covenant_2.htm

http://www.marriage.about.com/od/covenantmarriage/

... Arkansas Governor Promoting Covenant Marriage
http://www.cnsnews.com

COVENANT MARRIAGES. ... 1. A covenant marriage "may turn out to be a horror story...if you have an abusive situation or molestation that might occur. ...
http://www.religioustolerance.org/mar_cove.htm

"In Covenant Marriage, Forging Ties That Bind," New York Times
www.ncpa.org/iss/soc/pd120501g.html

The Supreme Court on Monday:

-Refused to consider whether federal rules for broadcast licenses discriminate against religious radio networks.

-Let stand a lower court ruling allowing the U.S. Army to keep four watercolors painted by Adolf Hitler that were seized in Germany after World War II.

the paintings will go well with saddam's pistol

new thread

The Moral Minority

Yesterday on Meet the Press, Reverend Jerry Falwell reaffirmed the Christian Right's narrow focus on two issues: gay marriage and abortion. Asked by progressive religious leader Jim Wallis to engage in a "broader and deeper" conversation about values, Falwell and fellow conservative preacher Dr. Richard Land resorted to bigotry and misdirection, lashing out against gays, women and religious progressives. Falwell's priorities fly in the face of the "moral values" most often cited (though not most often reported) on Nov. 2, where polls showed voters were more concerned with "greed and materialism" (33 percent) and "poverty and economic justice" (31 percent) than they were with issues like gay marriage (12 percent). Nevertheless, Christian conservatives around the country are following Falwell's lead, dismissing concerns about separation of church and state and setting out to refashion the federal courts around a narrow agenda which conflicts with the values of most Americans.

FALWELL DEMEANS RELIGIOUS PROGRESSIVES: Falwell went out of his way on Sunday to divide America, saying those who voted for John Kerry did not "take the bible seriously." Wallis shot back, saying, "Jerry, there are millions and millions of Christians who want the nation to know that you don't speak for them...that Jesus, our Jesus isn't pro-rich, pro-war and only pro-American. We don't find that Jesus anywhere in the Bible."

FALWELL REAFFIRMS BLAME FOR 9/11 ON GAYS, FEMINISTS: Falwell refused to back down from his comment that 9/11 had been caused by "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and lesbians [and] all of them who have tried to secularize America." He reiterated that, "when we defy the Lord, I think we pay a price for it." 

FALWELL FLIP-FLOPS ON GOD, WAR: Falwell contradicted himself on the war in Iraq, cited by 42 percent of respondents as the moral issue which most influenced their vote on Nov. 2. When Rev. Wallis asked him why he had said God was "pro-war," Falwell said, "I don't believe God loves war…everybody hates war." The name of Falwell's 1/31/04 commentary? "God is Pro-War."

We don't have a media in the sense of a investigative body that questions and truthfully reports the events as they transpire. We have a media which regurgitates "news" as they interpret it. We should stop waiting for the media to live up to its responsibility. We have to take the lead. Waiting for the corporate media to perform as our country's founders intended will lead to democracy's destruction.

Why can't we just hammer the media with emails expressing our outrage. I've been sending everything I see to Olberman, who apparently is looking at what bloggers send him...but tonight...I sent it to World News Tonight, Nightline, 48 Hours, 60 Minutes I&II. This is an outrage! We got Sinclair to budge...I'm sure we can do it again.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/11/30/ukraine_election/index_np.html

Where democracy refuses to die
The media was pro-government. In much of the country, the election machinery was controlled by the ruling party. Voter fraud was rampant. But the people of Ukraine will not surrender.

Nov. 30, 2004  |  Progressive American voters, still downcast over the results of the presidential election -- as well as an election system gravely impaired by the antiquated Electoral College, fraud-inviting electronic machines, and rampant political abuses -- can take vicarious pleasure these days from Ukrainian democracy. Throughout the presidential campaign in the former Soviet republic, opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko struggled against a government-controlled media and election machinery that heavily favored his opponent, Viktor Yanukovych, the handpicked successor to the country's corrupt and thuggish president, Leonid Kuchma. But when Yushchenko was denied victory in the Nov. 21 election, after widespread fraud, the opposition leader and his supporters did not fade away -- they took to the streets and refused to accept the official version of the election.

With the Ukrainian Supreme Court still deliberating the opposition's election challenge -- and the democratic revolution in full flower on the wintry streets of Kiev -- Salon spoke with Olena Prytula, editor in chief of Ukrayinska Pravda (Ukrainian Truth), the courageous Web site that has been responsible for some of the country's only aggressive, independent coverage of the Kuchma regime. Prytula's partner, Georgi Gongadze, was kidnapped, murdered and beheaded four years ago -- an execution that a former bodyguard of Kuchma later charged was personally ordered by the president. In the past few weeks, Prytula and her small staff have thrown themselves into covering the dramatic election and aftermath, with traffic to her site ballooning to five times the normal flow. Prytula spoke by phone from Kiev, after another long, exhausting day, about the democratic uprising that contains "some small part of my work and my soul."

I reread this piece of Andrew's and want to commend him for such a balanced and thoughtful analysis. My own sense is that we must go over and over the ground in Ohio and Florida because the truth is not at the first, second, or even the third layer. Nor did the problems with this election begin in the recent past.

Nothing short of total voting reform will make me feel any better--I keep seeing and hearing the young man from Kenyon College and I remember my own first voting experience. I voted for George McGovern and a young Congressman named Barney Frank. The results of that election were devastating as well, but at least the crooks were caught--after the election was over.

The lesson here is vigilance. Keep reviewing all the evidence--all of us. The most accurate pattern analysis comes from many eyes looking from many perspectives, at the same events. At some point, we will fully understand what we are seeing.

But what will we do with the truth? What can we do? Will the American people rise up, like those in the Ukraine did? Or will they simply shrug their shoulders and go on with their day?

I'd like to think that people would be outraged, but I'm not sure if that outrage would be enough to actually bring about any meaningful change. People were outraged about the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, but very little was actually done in response. A few token soldiers were tried and convicted, but the system remained unchanged. The thought of people knowing the truth and not doing anything with it concerns me the most.

The truth may be out there, but I'm not sure anybody will care.