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A Three Ringed Circus
[Editor’s note: Rep. John Conyers is leading the fight to get Congress to agree to investigate the 2004 election. There are a number of groups that are focusing on this investigation, some old and some newly hatched. At democrats.com, Bob Fertik has an election investigation blog. (Disclosure: I was on the founding advisory board of democrats.com, and have worked with Bob in online organizing since the early 1990s.) Another old friend, David Lytel, is running an aggressive website called redefeatbush.com. (More disclosure: online political organizing was a small world in the early 1990s. I worked with David when he was in the Clinton White House, David was a co-founder of democrats.com.) David is holding a special online press conference TODAY at 1 PM east coast time to talk about the vote investigation. Other sites you may want to check include contestthevote.org, and DoNot Concede.com. There are many other sites; leave their URLs in the comments below.—Dick Bell]
"Did you see any of the John Conyers' meetings on CSPAN? It was a circus an absolute circus!" a Republican staffer on the House Judiciary committee told me Wednesday--with a dismissive chuckle as if the loss of our democracy and voting rights were simply for entertainment.
Though the Republicans may joke about the Conyer's meetings as a circus, my phone calls Wednesday reminded me more of Chicago (the musical) because every Republican staffer I talked with had the "Razzle Dazzle" and the tap dance down to an art form.
Before I started calling House Republicans, I touched bases with Rep. John Conyers’ office. He had put out a call for Americans to send him 1,000,000 emails to support his efforts to force a Congressional investigation of the 2004 election. And I’m happy to report that his staff told me they’d already received hundreds of thousands of emails, with 4,000 a day coming in this week.
But Conyers’ staff also told me that not a single Member of the Senate had stepped up to sign Conyers’ complaint, and without at least one member of Senate on board, there would be no action. I expected the Republicans to dodge, but the failure of even a single Democratic Senator to sign on, even after all the evidence from around the country of voting irregularities, was deeply disappointing.
I asked the Conyers' staffer on the phone what I could do to help move this investigation forward and her answer was simple: "Swamp all the members of Congess with emails and faxes and phone calls.”
Just for fun, I hung up and called the House majority leader’s office, the indictment-shielded Mr.DeLay. His staffer immediately launched into the old razzle dazzle, referring me to not one, not two, but three different House committees that he thought had jurisdiction: Judiciary, Government Reform, and Administration.
I’ll report later on my journey through the three-ringed committees. In the meantime, let’s get those calls in to Senate Democrats and ask them to sign on with Rep. Conyers. The Senate switchboard number is 1-202-224-3121. You don’t need to know your Senator’s direct number. Call your home state Senators first, and make sure you tell them that you live in their state—they pay much more attention to constituents than to people from other states, although in a time of crisis like now, you should call Democratic Senators from other states too.
The Breaking News:
Kerry to Enter Ohio Recount Fray
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Report
Thursday 23 December 2004
2004 Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry will file today, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, papers in support of the Green Party/Libertarian Party recount effort. Specifically, Kerry will be filing a request for expedited discovery regarding Triad Systems voting machines, as well as a motion for a preservation order to protect any and all discovery and preserve any evidence on this matter.
Triad Systems has come under scrutiny recently after Sherole Eaton, deputy director of elections for Hocking County, swore out an affidavit in which she described her witnessing the tampering of electronic voting equipment by a Triad representative. Rep. John Conyers, the ranking minority member of the House Judiciary Committee, has requested an investigation into this matter by the FBI and the Hocking County prosecutor.
Truthout will have more on this specific Triad allegation later in the day.
Previously, the Green Party and Libertarian Party have not fared well in their efforts to get emergency orders regarding this matter in Ohio. In order to pass muster with a judge, the individual or group requesting an emergency order for such a recount must show both irreperable harm as well as a substantial chance for success on the merits. While Green and Libertarian representatives have been able to show irreperable harm, they could not establish a substantial chance for success on the merits, because no recount would deliver Ohio to either party.
Kerry's entry into this recount effort changes the math on this matter dramatically. He can likewise show irreperable harm, and unlike the Green and Libertarian candidates, he can also prove a substantial chance for success on the merits because he lost the Ohio vote by a statistical whisker.
It should be noted that Kerry's filing of these requests does not indicate his complete entry into the recount process, but does clearly indicate that he is moving decisively in that direction. His previous stance on the matter was based simply on his desire to defend the right to have a recount in the first place. The evidence of election tampering in Ohio, specifically surrounding Triad, has motivated him to actively join the fight. The Democratic Party is also quietly putting financial resources into the Ohio recount effort.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of all this, from the activist point of view, has been the effectiveness of the telephone calls and letters to Kerry. The activist push to get him involved had a very significant effect on his decision to enter this effort. Likewise, calls to other Senators in order to convince them to join House members in challenging the election have likewise had significant effect. If such an effort continues, the activists involved will very likely see the desired result unfold.
Everyone here has a strong voice. Everyone knows more than most Americans about what is going on.
And every single one os us needs to call today. The expectation is that we are all out at WalMart, building up the economy for our troops overseas.
Well, the DCPers are paying attention, right? Pick up the phone and let your voice be heard.
Just to let you know:
I am on the phone with the Capital right now. The switchboard operator answers the phone but not all offices are open. I am posting Senator Levin's fax number. Please get your senators and post it here too.
Let's keep those phones a'ringing and the faxes a' humming!
1-202-224-1388
TELL THE THE TIME TO FIGHT FOR ELECTION REFORM IS NOW!!!
Thanks, Muse! I was just coming to post that article. Hi!!! How are you? I've missed you!
In Ohio, 1 in 50 Votes Didn't Count
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/122404Z.shtml
Jesse Jackson: Election Fight 'Biggest Deal Since Selma'
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/122304V.shtml
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21056-2004Dec22.html?referrer=email
Democrat Takes Lead in Washington State
Supreme Court Allows Disqualified Absentee Ballots From King County
[If I'm reading these things right, Ohio's Blackwell is stalling, stalling, stalling... and being an obstructionist... and WA state is on the ball with the recount. If any of this made the news last night on mainstream TV, I missed it. Might have to force myself to watch again tonight to see if any election coverage makes the news.... I suspect, however, nothing will be covered in mainstream media and it will all go under the radar.... media seems to have forgotten there were states that had voting difficulties.]
We need to be able to make our arguments, both legal and for bragging rights, and we need accepted proof. We also need to show the media there is an audience and a reason to cover this story.
This really is the beginning of our next campaigns, where everything has to be different: the media, election mechanics, grassroots building, all of it. We must do that extra, just as we did before. Make Santa proud!
Judge for Yourself
Read the memos from Alberto R. Gonzales, the man George Bush has tapped to be Attorney General. They show how Gonzales gave Bush exactly what he wanted: permission to fly in the face of the Geneva Conventions regarding treatment of enemy combatants at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. This is a free except for AlterNet readers from "Guantanamo: What the World Should Know," by Michael Ratner and Ellen Ray, from Chelsea Green Publishing. Should Gonzalez be the next U.S. Attorney General? You decide!
http://www.chelseagreen.com/2004/items/guantanamo/Excerpt3
]Excerpts of Gonzalez's memos, Powell memo.... etc.]
DECONSTRUCTING ALBERTO
Geri L. Dreiling, AlterNet
Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales is taking some heat from progressives. But his mixed record shows why so few are trying to block the nomination.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/20789/
For part of my mid-term exam this year, students were asked to write an essay in Spanish, using their vocab words, about a setback they had and how they overcame it. This is one essay a student wrote:
“This November I suffered a great setback. John Kerry lost the election, and millions of Americans lost their hope for the future. I had followed Kerry’s campaign ever since last summer, when my family took a driving trip to Washington DC. That summer, I learned to hate the lies and bad leadership of Bush, and learned to love John Kerry. Even though I was just a few months short of being able to vote in this election, I was still able to help the campaign. I made phone calls to the voters in New Hampshire and sent letters to the voters in Florida. I liked being involved in John Kerry’s campaign because it made me proud to be an American. It was a great set back for me, and for our country, when Kerry lost. I do not know yet how we will overcome it, but I know that we will, because of all the people like me and some of my friends who never would have been involved in current issues if not for Kerry and his campaign for president. Now, we are involved, and we will add more voices to all the others who have not given up the struggle.”
Thought you all would like to hear that!=)
...and you’re crazy if you think I didn’t give it a perfect score. ;-)
OUTSOURCING DETENTION
Joanne Mariner, FindLaw.com
Why is an American citizen being held without charges in Saudi Arabia. And why does the U.S. State Department seem to have a vested interest in keeping him there?
http://www.alternet.org/rights/20805/
[Outsourcing Torture....]
A JUST DESERTER
Matt Mernagh, NOW
Now appealing for asylum in Toronto, war resister and former soldier Jeremy Hinzman puts alleged U.S. war crimes on trial.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/20801/
On phone with Conyer's office. Chairman Senssenbrenner has given an official break until January 3rd.
That doesn't mean we stop calling. It means we have a week to lean heavily on the Senate to get ONE brave person to stand up for democracy.
BACK TO BUSH'S REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROBLEMS
David Corn, LA Weekly
Easy to run for office, hard to govern: It didn't take long for problems to crop up for George Bush post-election.
http://www.alternet.org/election04/20817/
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42027
HOLIDAY BLUES
Bush White House's Christ-less Christmas
Official commemorations emphasize Santa, Rudolph over Jesus in 2004
Hey, KiK! Doin' good. Miss you, too.
Karen, I am definitely NOT at Walmart!! Ick.
It's cold here in Houston. Good day to cozy up with a blanket and surf the internet for Kerry news. Surely I need to contact my wonderful congressman, Tom DeLay, about something today. Gee, I can think of a thing of two, I guess. I have always sensed that he pays such a great deal of attention to my communiques to him. His office called here at home during the campaign asking if he could count on my vote. My mom was here and answered the phone. She said that I was not here, but that under no circumstance would anyone at this residence ever vote for Tom DeLay!
Nearly 20,000 signatures have been collected to urge Barbara to Contest The Vote. Please pass this link around!
UPDATE FOR 12/23/2004:
WOW! Look at the numbers in the right hand column. The www.ContestTheVote.org campaign has been so successful that:
We are extending the drive until December 31, 2004, so that we can include people from around the country in our movement.
We have been contacted by many citizens and grassroots groups who are working on the same problem as www.ContestTheVote.org, and we intend to work with them.
We will establish a protocol that you can use to personally deliver petitions to your U.S. Senators and also to your U.S. Representatives who are members of the House Committee on the Judiciary. (We are petitioning the House Committee on the Judiciary so they will conduct formal hearings on voter fraud that occurred during the November 2004 election.)
If you are willing to participate in this petition drive in your state, please let us know right away.
According to the Electoral Count Act of 1887, one senator and one representative from Congress are needed to contest a presidential election prior to an inauguration. We have the representatives. We still need a senator. We want you to sign our petition to let your senators know that you want them to contest the vote by standing up with 14 members of the House of Representatives when Congress reconvenes in January 2005. The signed petitions will be delivered to each senator in person by a coalition of concerned individuals and representatives from a variety of organizations. organizations and individuals.
http://www.contestthevote.org/
Posted by: NativeTexan4Kerry | December 23, 2004 01:38 PM
Extra credit for the civics lesson(s) learned, and community service for the GOTV effort.... :-) All in all, A+++
Thanks for sharing!!! :-)
MUSE!
Ok, I cannot resist. Forgive me, I CANNOT.
Cold and dreary days, you say?
From me, to you. With love.
http://www.time.com/time/personoftheyear/2004/people/3.html
Kerry's entrance into the Ohio recount proccess is a big deal... but as we approach Nixon II's swearing in and the almost certainly "flawed" Iraqi election, the battle for credibility will be fought with the currency of truth- how much truth we can expose, and how much we can share with other people. Don't let people think that now that they've punched the button for either Bush or Kerry, that their role in democracy is finished until 2006. It is every American's duty to know how their "elected representatives" are running things. If we don't band together and protect the education, environment, and economic systems that we treasure in the USA, we may lose them by the next election cycle. Are we going to let our cause be framed as "France and Michael Moore"? (see this pathetic Time magazine blurb about the man who won 56 million votes: http://www.time.com/time/personoftheyear/2004/people/3.html ) Hell no! Kerry was so much more than just "hair, height, and a war hero's gravitas". He actually promised to tell the American people the truth, unlike the bungling "man of the year" who lied us into a massive clusterf___ in Iraq. And yes, in 1938 Hitler was Time's Man of the Year, but the cover art wasn't very complimentary (an illustration of Hitler playing organ in a "church of death") although the accompanying article was. He was chosen for his "swagger" that brought 10 million more Europeans under Germany's rule. Today Time magazine's endorsement of Bush as an "American revolutionary", while columnist Andrew Sullivan says 2004 was the "year of the insurgency- at home, and abroad" just smacks of an America where dissent is equated with terrorism and power is confused with strength.
Keep watching Democracy Cell Project, gang, we will be taking off big time in 2005 to catch these crooks where they stand!
Great Andrew (& all) -- lurking from work -- heading outside at noon to use cell to call Senators etc.
Feinstein Proposes End Of Electoral College
Dec. 23 (AP) —
Senator Dianne Feinstein says she'll propose a constitutional amendment to replace the Electoral College and replace it with a one-person one-vote system to decide presidential elections.
Feinstein joined Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren yesterday in proposing a replacement of the current system.
Feinstein says this year's presidential contest highlighted the flaws in the system. President Bush and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry spent the vast majority of their time campaigning in only a handful of states.
Feinstein say's she'll introduce the amendment when Congress returns in January. It would need two-thirds support in both houses and ratification by 38 states to become law.
from Media Matters for America:
Right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh was honored with an invitation to the White House last week; the next day, Limbaugh gushed:
Got a big hug from the president when I -- when I went through the line last night. It was -- it was just really cool.
Media Matters isn't sure why the Bush White House invited Limbaugh; perhaps it was out of admiration for his April 2004 statement that women "actually wish" to be sexually harassed. Or maybe it was in appreciation of his March 2004 comment (about Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and American labor leader Cesar Chavez) that "[a] Chavez is a Chavez. We've always had problems with them." Or are we being too cynical in thinking that the invitation was to thank him for his claim that "John Kerry really doesn't think 3,000 Americans dead in one day is that big a deal"?
Meanwhile, a December 20 statement by the American Civil Liberties Union reveals:
A document released for the first time today ... suggests that President Bush issued an Executive Order authorizing the use of inhumane interrogation methods against detainees in Iraq. ... The two-page e-mail that references an Executive Order states that the President directly authorized interrogation techniques including sleep deprivation, stress positions, the use of military dogs, and 'sensory deprivation through the use of hoods, etc.'
Perhaps Bush invited Limbaugh to the White House to thank him for calling the torture at Abu Ghraib "brilliant."
from http://www.consortiumnews.com
Early in the conflict, I was speaking with a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who had just returned from Iraq. The senator told me the U.S. occupation would last 30 years. I presumed I had misheard the comment.
“Do you mean three years?” I asked.
“Thirty years,” the senator repeated. “It will take a generation.”
While stunning at the time, the senator’s observation doesn’t seem quite so strange today. The Bush administration has effectively admitted that there is no clear exit strategy. At the Dec. 21 press conference, Bush acknowledged that little progress has been made in building an effective Iraqi army to protect the U.S.-backed Iraqi government.
A Washington Post chart reinforced this point by comparing the Bush administration’s initial projection of U.S. troop levels with later changes. The original projection in April 2003 showed an expected decline in U.S. Army brigades from 16 to zero by December 2004. In other words, all large-scale Army units would have been home this Christmas.
Wrong John Kerry gets New York's electoral votes
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Even John Q. Public knows the middle initial of losing presidential candidate John F. Kerry. But New York's 31 electoral college votes are currently on the books for some guy named John L. Kerry.
State officials acknowledged the mistake Tuesday after the official certificate of vote appeared on the website of the National Archives.
The document was sent to officials and archivists in Washington and Albany, as well as Columbia University in New York, before the error was spotted.
"The ballots were correct, but for some reason with this document when it was typed up, nobody caught it in the proofing, including myself," said New York Department of State spokesman Peter Constantakes.
The state is now rushing corrected copies to those who had received the document, Constantakes said.
Massachussetts Senator John F. Kerry carried New York as the Democratic nominee for president, but lost the nationwide election to President Bush.
---well - my lunch break is over!!