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It's Up to You, New York: 'BradCast' 3/21/24
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Previous GNRs: 3/19/24 - 3/14/24 - Archives...
'It All Comes Down to Brett and Amy': 'BradCast' 3/20/24
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EPA finally bans all uses of asbestos; Biden unveils billions for rebuilding communities broken by highway construction; Extreme heat in Africa; PLUS: MA coastal town follies...
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Corporations 'Taking a Bazooka' to NLRB, Hoping to Declare it 'Unconstitutional': 'BradCast' 3/18/24
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Guest: Brady Center's Kelly Sampson; Also: Biden, Trump clinch; GA judge nixes 6 counts...
How to Media Better and Other Smart Ideas:
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Press quietly resets weeks of misreporting on Biden; Suggestions for NYT; Stephanopoulos v. Mace; Also: Buck quits; RNC 'bloodbath'; WI's MAGA Speaker Recall...
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GOP Voter Registration Fraud Scandal 2012...
VA GOP VOTER REG FRAUDSTER OFF HOOK
Felony charges dropped against VA Republican caught trashing voter registrations before last year's election. Did GOP AG, Prosecutor conflicts of interest play role?...

Criminal GOP Voter Registration Fraud Probe Expanding in VA
State investigators widening criminal probe of man arrested destroying registration forms, said now looking at violations of law by Nathan Sproul's RNC-hired firm...

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Arrest in VA: GOP Voter Reg Scandal Widens
'RNC official' charged on 13 counts, for allegely trashing voter registration forms in a dumpster, worked for Romney consultant, 'fired' GOP operative Nathan Sproul...

ALL TOGETHER: ROVE, SPROUL, KOCHS, RNC
His Super-PAC, his voter registration (fraud) firm & their 'Americans for Prosperity' are all based out of same top RNC legal office in Virginia...

LATimes: RNC's 'Fired' Sproul Working for Repubs in 'as Many as 30 States'
So much for the RNC's 'zero tolerance' policy, as discredited Republican registration fraud operative still hiring for dozens of GOP 'Get Out The Vote' campaigns...

'Fired' Sproul Group 'Cloned', Still Working for Republicans in At Least 10 States
The other companies of Romney's GOP operative Nathan Sproul, at center of Voter Registration Fraud Scandal, still at it; Congressional Dems seek answers...

FINALLY: FOX ON GOP REG FRAUD SCANDAL
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CRIMINAL PROBE LAUNCHED INTO GOP VOTER REGISTRATION FRAUD SCANDAL IN FL
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Another visit on Thom Hartmann's Big Picture with new news on several developing Election Integrity stories...

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CRIMINAL ELECTION FRAUD COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST GOP 'FRAUD' FIRM
Scandal spreads to 11 FL counties, other states; RNC, Romney try to contain damage, split from GOP operative...

RICK SCOTT GETS ROLLED IN GOP REGISTRATION FRAUD SCANDAL
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Breaking coverage as the RNC fires their Romney-tied voter registration firm, Strategic Allied Consulting...

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The Secret Koch Brothers Tapes...

By Rebecca Mercuri on 7/19/2007 9:52am PT  

Guest Blogged by Rebecca Mercuri

(NOTE: The archived appearance of Dr. Mercuri on the Peter B. Collins show, as Guest Hosted by Brad Friedman, discussing this article and other matters surrounding Holt's Election Reform bill is now available here....)

Anyone who has been anywhere in the blogosphere in the months since Rush Holt's HR 811 Election Reform bill was introduced knows that a schism appears to have developed in the voting advocacy community. I say "appears" because it's not terribly clear to me at this point whether this schism existed all along and now the fires are being stoked by rogue insiders in order to fuel a "divide and conquer" effort that benefits voting system vendors who can rise like Phoenixes out of the ashes of the activists, or whether Congressman Holt's bill is a litmus test being used to decide who'll continue to get a seat at the table (to testify at hearings) and a chunk of the grant money and other set-asides for election "research" projects. Maybe both of these actions (and others) are in play.

This has been reminding me a lot lately of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, riding on the hippie bus to the 1964 New York World's Fair. Tom Wolfe quoted Kesey saying: "There are going to be times when we can't wait for somebody. Now, you're either on the bus or off the bus. If you're on the bus, and you get left behind, then you'll find it again. If you're off the bus in the first place --- then it won't make a damn." Wolfe went on to explain "And nobody had to have it spelled out for them. Everything was becoming allegorical, understood by the group mind, and especially this: You're either on the bus ... or off the bus."

That dividing line between where the bus ends and the rest of the world begins, right where Wolfe was sitting, is the only place to get some decent perspective on the whole situation. So I'm perched at that vantage point, and inside the voting bus I'm seeing Brad Friedman, Bev Harris, Lynn Landes, Rob Kall, Teresa Hommel, Ellen Theisen, Mark Crispin Miller, Greg Palast, Ion Sancho, Doug Kelner, David Chaum, and Dennis Kucinich all arguing about something, but the vibe is upbeat. And outside the bus there's Doug Lewis, Wally O'Dell, Tom Wilkey, Theresa LePore, Linda Lamone, Jeb Bush, Karl Rove, Hans von Spakovsky, Jim Dickson, and Matt Damschroeder just milling around. These are not comprehensive lists (since I'm somewhat myopic and have never been very good with names or faces), and I'm certainly not saying that any of these folks have affiliations with each other, though maybe some do.

What's bugging me is that I can't tell whether Rush Holt and HR 811 are on the bus, or not, right now. Though the bill's predecessor versions (from the prior two Congresses) seemed to be on the bus, none of Holt's bills have ever made it totally clear that the voter verified papers would actually be the real ballots, by ensuring that 100% of them would be counted (preferably by hand, in public, and before the election night returns are reported).

The folks who are truly on the bus all seem to grasp this reality. Holt's latest bill, especially the revised version, comes with Avi Rubin, David Dill, Barbara Simons, and maybe even Ron Rivest, each of whom have wandered on and off the bus before. Plus now there's the Microsoft attorneys too, and Holt's backyard buddy Avante, who hopped on when the bus passed through their adjacent parking lots (see photo below).

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---




Tune in, Call in, LIVE Today from 3p-6p PT (6p-9p ET) at www.PeterBCollins.com!
By Desi Doyen on 7/19/2007 8:35am PT  

Blogged by DES from Houston...

It's Day Two of our hijacking week-and-a-half long Guest Hosting stint on the Peter B. Collins Show today from 3p-6p PT (6p-9p ET). We'll be broadcasting from the facilities of Pacifica's Houston station, KPFT.

Today's scheduled guests (subject to change/updates as warranted): FAIZ SHAKIR, Research Director at the Center for American Progress and Editor of ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report; PBC's regular contributor on military affairs, retired Marine SCOTT DICK, MICHAEL ZACCHEA of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and just added, CHRISTINE JENNINGS, candidate for Congress from Florida District 13, and in today's Daily Election Integrity Hour, JOHN GIDEON of VotersUnite.org, voting machine expert REBECCA MERCURI and YOUR CALLS! (More guests added soon!)

Listen LIVE via: http://www.PeterBCollins.com (or an on air affiliate station)
Call in at: 1-888-5PeterB
Open thread discussion during the show: In Comments below...


POST-SHOW UPDATE/ARCHIVES...

HOUR 1: Breaking news on the Plame case dismissal, Faiz Shakir on that and the politicization of the Judiciary and Executive branches, and "Congresswoman" Christine Jennings announces her intention to run again in '08 and that the GAO will announce their findings on her FL-13 '06 election in a closed door Congressional meeting on July 27...

HOUR 2: Military affairs contributor Scott Dick and Iraq vet Michael Zacchea on the lack of armored vehicles (MRAPs) for U.S. troops and Zacchea's experience training the Iraqi army...

HOUR 3: Election Integrity Hour with John Gideon on the rumored death of the Holt Bill, Robert Carillo Cohen on the emmy nomination for Hacking Democracy and Rebeca Mercuri on the mess that is Election Reform...




By Brad Friedman on 7/18/2007 11:44am PT  

Blogged by Brad from Houston...

The official nominations aren't to be announced until tomorrow. But if this page at the official Emmy Awards site is accurate, it looks like our friends who created the tremendous Hacking Democracy documentary which aired on HBO before last November's election have been nominated for an award in the "OUTSTANDING INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM‑‑LONG FORM" category!

We reviewed the documentary for ComputerWorld in the week before the election last year right here. The nominated team, as posted on the site, includes:

Hacking Democracy - HBO

Executive Producers
Sian Edwards, Earl Katz, Sheila Nevins, Sarah Teale

Supervising Producer
John Hoffman

Producer
Robert Carrillo Cohen

Director/Producers
Simon Ardizzone, Russel Michaels

They'll face some stiff competition, it looks like, in that category, but the nomination itself will undoubtedly draw more needed attention to this important film and it is, as they say, an honor just to be nominated. Congrats, guys!

Bev Harris, naturally, one of the film's central players, had the scoop from inside sources yesterday and offers more details in her post.

The official Hacking Democracy site is right here, and you can purchase the film online from the producers at Public Interest Pictures (DISCLOSURE: They are BRAD BLOG advertisers) right here.




New York Congressman Has 'Very Serious Questions' About Election Bill, Says Bush and Cheney 'Have Violated Federal Laws in Criminal Ways'...
By Brad Friedman on 7/18/2007 6:35am PT  

Blogged by Brad Friedman from Houston...

Radio host Peter B. Collins has been earning his keep of late. On his last show before a three-week Summer vacation today (we will be filling in to Guest Host for him for the next week and a half), Collins finished up a segment with Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today concerning his efforts to renew the Fairness Doctrine with two quick, unrelated questions.

First, Collins asked whether the Congressman supported the controversial Rush Holt Election Reform Bill (HR 811) "in it's current form." The legislation has come under fire from Election Integrity advocates for its continued allowance of the use of dangerous DRE touch-screen voting machines, and a host of other concerns.

Hinchey --- who is currently signed on as one of the bill's co-sponsors --- responded by saying he had "some very serious questions about it" and feels that "it has been compromised."

While there was no time to follow up with details, his comments likely referred to the troubling changes made to the bill by the House Administration Committee. Originally, the legislation had called for complete disclosure of electronic voting system source code to any member of the public interested in examining it. By the time the bill was voted out of committee, however, those important disclosure provisions had been changed to require that the source code be placed in escrow, to be examined only by so-called "experts" in the event that a problem is discovered during an election, and only under non-disclosure agreements.

Those changes led Holt himself to admit that "the vendors have won," according to reports from several Election Integrity advocates who attended a town hall event where the New Jersey Congressman spoke over the weekend. No word on whether Holt may be removing himself as a co-sponsor of the Holt bill in light of his reported admissions.

Secondly, Collins asked Hinchey, "What is your posture on the impeachment of Vice President Cheney?"

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---




Tune in, Call in, LIVE Today from 3p-6p PT (6p-9p ET) at www.PeterBCollins.com!
By Brad Friedman on 7/18/2007 6:05am PT  

Blogged by Brad from Houston...

I'll be kicking off a week and a half of Guest Hosting on the Peter B. Collins Show today from 3p-6p PT (6p-9p ET). We'll be broadcasting from the facilities of Pacifica's Houston station, KPFT.

Today's scheduled guests (subject to change/updates as warranted): Former CIA analyst and Valerie Plame classmate Larry C. Johnson of NoQuarter, Bob Geiger of BobGeiger.com, Larisa Alexandrovna of RAW STORY and at-Largely, Alison Parker of Human Rights Watch and in our first daily Election Integrity Hour, John Gideon of VotersUnite.org, Tom Courbat of Riverside County, CA's SAVE R VOTE, and attorney Gregory Luke on his recent court victory to hold a re-vote in Alameda County, CA.

Listen LIVE via: http://www.PeterBCollins.com (or an on air affiliate station)
Call in at: 1-888-5PeterB
Open thread discussion during the show: In Comments below...


POST-SHOW UPDATE/ARCHIVES...

HOUR 1: Featuring Bob Geiger on the Senate Iraq debate and Larry C. Johnson on the National Intelligence estimate and other intelligence chicanery...

HOUR 2: Featuring Larisa Alexandrovna on secret CIA prisons and Alison Parker on mandatory deportation laws.

HOUR 3: Election Integrity Hour! John Gideon on decisions coming to a head, Tom Courbat on the latest tomfoolery of the Riverside County, CA Board of Supervisors and Gregory Luke on last week's landmark Alameda County, CA court victory.




Says That Corporations Should Not Be Allowed To Participate In The Political Process
By Alan Breslauer on 7/17/2007 3:00pm PT  

Guest Blogged by Alan Breslauer

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Papantonio, and David Bender had a great discussion about RFK Jr.'s Live Earth speech on the July 14, 2007 Ring of Fire on Air America Radio. The show opened with a laughing Papantonio asking, "So Bobby, what in the hell did you do this last weekend, my God, hate-mail is flying, Hannity is attacking you, I mean what's up?" You can hear RFK Jr. reply that he "just told the truth, man, just told the truth" in the ten minute audio clip from the radio program (below). The video of the Live Earth speech can also be viewed here at BRAD BLOG.

And there is plenty more truth telling in the Ring of Fire audio clip (above) which includes RFK Jr. elaborating on his Live Earth comments about treasonous corporations:

"The problem is we used to have laws in this country, laws that, in fact, were passed by Teddy Roosevelt and others that said corporations could not participate in the political process. They are economic entities and they should be confined to the economic realm. But once you allow them to participate in the political process and give them the rights of citizens, when they put their financial interest ahead of the interest of the United States and ahead of the interest of our people then they are capable of committing treason."

RFK Jr.'s appearance on Glenn Beck, also at BRAD BLOG, is also discussed briefly. Finally, Bender repeats RFK Jr.'s call to fight lying pundits like Hannity and Beck through their advertisers (many of which can be seen in this video mashup).




Says 'Many Constituencies Important to the Democratic Caucus Express Frustration with HR 811'
Bill 'Falls Short of Intended Goals,' Ohio Congressman, Presidential Candidate Writes in Letter...
By John Gideon on 7/17/2007 10:01am PT  

Guess Blogged by John Gideon, VotersUnite.Org

Congressman and Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), several weeks ago, had expressed his intention to drop support for Rep. Rush Holt's (D-NJ) Election Reform Bill, HR 811. A week or so ago, he reiterated his lack of support for the bill, and his intention to drop off as co-sponsor.

Today, he has begun to circulate a "Dear Colleague" letter (posted in full below) to be sent to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi urging her to ensure the legislative process addresses the concerns of the many groups who have spoken out in opposition to HR-811.

"For these constituencies," the letter says, "H.R. 811 falls short of its intended goals to ensure votes are cast and counted as intended by the voters."

The Congressman is looking for others to step up and co-sign the letter, and asking Election Integrity advocates to contact their Congress Members to ask them to join the effort.

On a related note today the Senate Rules Committee announced that they would be holding a hearing on Sen. Diane Feinstein's (D-CA) democracy-busting S-1487 election reform legislation in the Senate. This is the bill that will turn over our elections to corporations and the incompetent, compromised U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The hearing is scheduled for July 25 at 10AM.

Below is a copy of an email that was sent out by Kucinich's office today, including the "Dear Colleague" letter now being circulated for signatures...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---




By Alan Breslauer on 7/17/2007 2:14am PT  

Guest Blogged by Alan Breslauer




A slightly edited (for time) Jay Leno interview of Bill Maher (approximately 10 minutes) follows a very political and oftentimes funny Leno monologue (5 minutes). Subjects covered by Leno include Senator Vitter's DC Madam problems, Condi Rice and Dick Cheney golfing, Bill's backing of Hillary for president, Scooter Libby, and Al Gore. Meanwhile, Maher worries that Democrats might blow the 2008 election by nominating Hillary. And while Maher claims to never have endorsed a candidate, he calls Edwards/Obama a "no-lose ticket" and a "winning ticket."




Unfair Hit Piece, Ambush Interview, All Spin Report Forgets to Offer 'Balance,' Much Less Facts...
By Alan Breslauer on 7/16/2007 5:58pm PT  

Guest Blogged by Alan Breslauer

Bill O'Reilly goes off the deep end tonight (video at left) because of alleged comments his producers claim to have found "on a vicious far-left website called the DailyKos, one of the worst examples of hatred that America has to offer." O'Reilly proceeds to take issue with Jet Blue for sponsoring the DailyKos convention (with 10 plane tickets!) which, coincidentally, is this week in two weeks, August 2-5. At one point O'Reilly makes some rather unfortunate comparisons with the DailyKos:

"Because this is hate of the worst order. It's like the Ku Klux Klan. It's like the Nazi party. There is no difference here. People should die - they want Tony Snow to die - Cheney to die."

UPDATE/ADDENDUM FROM BRAD: As dKos diarist "mcjoan" a pointed out over there in advance of O'Reilly's big hate scoop, perhaps No Spin Boy may have a gripe against dKos founder Markos Moulitsas Zuniga that he failed to mention in his hit piece. "Markos led the way in getting the Democratic presidential candidates to boycott the Fox debate," she writes, "and we're going to be having a Democratic presidential candidates forum at YearlyKos."

There's that, and the fact that dKos is only the largest community in the blogosphere, either Left or Right, and a grave threat to folks like Fox "News" and O'Reilly, since they have a habit of countering their spin with actual facts.

And most importantly, O'Reilly forgot to mention that the comments he alluded to on the site could well have been posted by anyone, since it's an open site. A question one might ask then (one that's at least as responsible as O'Reilly's ridiculous attack): Did Bill O'Reilly or one of his producers post those "hateful" comments at dKos themselves? Perhaps someone should ambush them to find out. Without evidence either way, I'll just go ahead and say O'Reilly did it himself. Why not? O'Reilly has no journalistic credibility and he's got the biggest show on cable "news." Perhaps we need to start making stuff up too!

FURTHER UPDATE FROM BRAD 7/17/07: Daily Kos' "DarkSyde" responds directly to O'Reilly segment, patiently explaining exactly what Billo doesn't grasp about the progressive blogosphere. "ShaunMcDonnell," a dKos diarist who claims to be a "Right-Leaning Lurker" takes O'Reilly to task for his hit piece calling it "easy" and a "cheap shot". And Kos himself posts a few of the pieces of hate mail (ironically enough) from O'Reilly's fans that he's received since the story ran yesterday.




Being the Broadcast Media for a Week and a Half, Monday through Friday (3p-6p PT, 6p-9p ET) LIVE from Houston, TX
Plus a Quick Travel Update...
By Brad Friedman on 7/16/2007 9:04am PT  

Blogged by Brad from somewhere in Texas...

Our long road trip continues. And who knows? At some point, we may even fit in a day or two off if we're lucky!

After heading from California to Arizona to New Mexico to Texas to Oklahoma to Arkansas to Mississippi to Alabama to Georgia to Tennessee to Kentucky to Missouri and then back down through Oklahoma, we now find ourselves somewhere in Texas, en route to Houston, where we will stay put for a couple of weeks.

Beginning on Wednesday, I'll be Guest Hosting the Peter B. Collins Show for a week and a half, Monday through Fridays from 3p - 6p PT (6p - 9p ET, or 5p - 8p CT on our Houston clock) and hope you'll tune in to one of Peter's affiliate stations, or via the Internet for whatever trouble-making we end up cooking up.

We'll be broadcasting each day out of the facilities of KPFT, as generously offered by the good folks of Houston's Pacifica Radio affiliate station there. We're very much looking forward to it, as we've not been on the air for such a long stint in quite a while. The last time would also have been out of Texas, during the Summer of 2005 from "Camp Casey," where we took the old BRAD SHOW on the road for our special "Operation Noble Cause" broadcasts from the middle of one damned hot cow pasture.

Ironically enough, it was some of the good folks from KPFT who helped us get on the air in a broadcasting miracle back in 2005 from on the ground at "Camp Casey." We're promised air conditioning this time, and perhaps even slightly shorter work days, but we'll see. Either way, I hope you'll both join us and spread the word. We're hoping to set aside the last hour of each show, each day, as our Election Integrity Hour. But now that we've left Kansas, things may change quickly around here.

We'll try to keep you up to date each day here at The BRAD BLOG with a list of guests and a LIVE open show thread during the broadcast, as well as take as many of your calls (1-888-5-PeterB) as we can, even while the BRAD BLOG Guest Bloggers (and I) keep on blogging here at the same time.

Should be fun. Hope you'll both tune in and stay tuned! More from Houston...




By Alan Breslauer on 7/16/2007 2:51am PT  

Guest Blogged by Alan Breslauer




UPDATE: The original video had one error identifying Frederick Kagan as a co-founder of PNAC. In fact, it was Robert Kagan, Freddie's brother who co-founded PNAC with General Kristol. Freddie is merely a rank and file member of PNAC and signatory to some of the reports generated by the neocon think tank. (hat tip Robert Danow)

Neoconservative co-founder of the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) and author of Bush's recent Iraq "Surge" plan, Frederick Kagan, shared a virtual propagandafest with Brit Hume on Fox 'News' Sunday yesterday. BRAD BLOG covered the entire charade that was Kagan's Plan for Success back in January along with a timeline evidencing Freddie's ever-changing call for a troop surge which began with 50,000 additional troops and ended up with either 20,000 or 33,000 more soldiers depending on the day of the week.

Perhaps the only thing more amazing than Kagan's lack of honesty and empathy for our troops is Fox's audacity for continuously giving Kagan and his warmongering kin, including "General" Bill Kristol, a platform to spout their neoconservative rhetoric. If Fox 'News' had any integrity whatsoever it would implement a Mendoza Line type requirement for its pundits. In baseball, all one has to do to stay even with the Mendoza Line is get a hit 1 out of every 5 at bats. Imagine if Fox made it a requirement that Kagan had to be right on at least 1 of 5 matters that he weighs in on. Actually, as far as I know, if the minimum requirement were merely to be right once he wouldn't make it on the air.




Ron Paul Supporters Concerned Diebold DREs Will be Used to Deny 'Groundswell of Support' for Surprisingly Popular Candidate...
By John Gideon on 7/15/2007 10:34am PT  

Guest Blogged by John Gideon, VotersUnite.Org

August 11 is the date for the Iowa GOP presidential "straw poll." In this "straw poll" Republican voters from all over Iowa will walk, drive, or share a bus to the campus of Iowa State University where they will be allowed to pay $35 each for the honor of casting a ballot for their choice for President.

This "poll" is semi-important within the world of Republican politics. Both McCain and Giuliani have decided to pass and will not participate. However, for the candidates who are lower down in the polls this "straw poll" may be all important. The supporters of Dr. Ron Paul, for instance, claim that he has thousands of supporters within the state and that they are going to do all they can to get them to Ames.

With all of that the supporters of Paul have got another gripe and concern that sounds much like the same concern many in the Election Integrity community have; the poll, which used to be done on paper ballots, hand-counted in public, will be conducted on Diebold Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines. The Ron Paul group is very concerned that the machines will be gamed in order to make their candidate's showing less than what it should be and in order to inflate the results for those whom the Republican National Committee (RNC) want to have a good showing.

The following email was sent by a member of Paul's support group to a large list of Election Integrity groups:

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---




In Case You Missed 'Em... Our Most Important Stories from the Last Week
By Desi Doyen on 7/14/2007 11:59am PT  

Guest blogged by DES

It's high summer and the movers and shakers got back to movin' and shakin' without delay after coming back from the 4th of July holiday week. Brought to you by our intrepid Guest Bloggers and the Travelin' Brad, the biggest stories this last week ranged all over, but our BIGGEST story bar-none was the victory of dogged citizen activists in their battle to dump disenfranchising DRE (basically, touch-screen) voting machines in their home county of Riverside, CA. Be sure to read the story of how unflagging dedication to election integrity and sheer stick-to-it-iveness can overcome bureaucratic stonewalling and stupidity...

In other election integrity news this last week, the big cajones award goes to the California judge who ordered a RE-VOTE after county election officials destroyed the evidence from a 2004 race, depriving plaintiffs of a recount... PFAW continues their disingenuous campaign to keep those dangerous DREs in every county in the nation... the notorious Election Assistance Commission finally un-gagged researcher Tova Wang, author of a study proving the "myth" part of the Republican Myth of Voter Fraud... Rep. Dennis Kucinich dropped his support of Holt's HR811.... plus the other biggie story of the week: the stunning revelation of discrepancies in the code ES&S submitted to the state of California --- which could have national implications!

In other big stories this last week, BRAD BLOG DC correspondent Margie Burns analyzed the politics of leaks and pardons by presidents, past and current... the Guts of Michael Chertoff told him bad things might happen to the U.S.... revelations of Vote Caging by Republicans in Florida in 2004 (aren't you shocked?) and the release of the escort service client phone list of the "DC Madam", already netting one Republican representative senator (aren't you shocked?) in just the first 24 hours...

From tireless Guest Blogger Alan Breslauer, we have multo must-see video: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s inspiring speech during the Live Earth concerts, NYC firefighters exposing Giuliani's actions in the aftermath of 9/11, and the er, unusual eavesdropping of a conversation between Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, and a very entertaining smack-down delivered by RFK, Jr. to the hapless Glenn Beck...Plus a revealing debate between Wolf Blitzer and Michael Moore over his newest film, "Sicko"!

Check out the newest pro-Net Neutrality video released this last week, and sign up to tell the FCC to PROTECT YOUR INTERNET from corporate raiders! They aren't playing fair, kids --- they never do --- and it's up to us to save it --- the deadline is July 17th, so spread the word!

Even more awaits after the jump...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---




Enormous Victory as Dogged Citizen Advocacy Finally Pays Off!
Committee Also Recommends Security Audit of Registrar's Office in First County in America to Move to Touch-Screen Voting Systems...
By Tom Courbat on 7/13/2007 2:46pm PT  

Guest Blogged by Tom Courbat of SAVE R VOTE

ED NOTE: Courbat and his band of intrepid Election Integrity advocates are owed a huge debt of thanks and enormous congratulations for their effort. This recommendation, and indeed the creation of the "Blue Ribbon" commission itself, only came about due to the dogged, week-in, week-out, year-in, year-out persistence of Tom and the Riverside County advocates of SAVE R VOTE. We're happy to run his first-hand, guest blog contribution on this tremendous victory, as Courbat's group and efforts serve as a role model for citizens in every county in the nation. --- BF

Dump the DREs and Minimize Additional Outlays To Go To Paper Ballots

Next Tuesday, July 17, 2007, the Riverside County, California Board of Supervisors’ hand-picked “Blue Ribbon” Elections Review Committee will present the Board with recommendations to “Move as quickly as possible to a hybrid voting system…on paper ballots…counted by optical scanners.”

For Riverside County, the first in America to move to touch-screen electronic voting systems, the importance of their findings cannot be overstated.

With the exception of omitting the words “Digital Imaging” from the term “optical scanners” (aka “DIOS”), this is exactly the recommendation made to the committee by Finnish Computer Voting expert Harri Hursti to the Elections Review Committee in Palm Desert, CA, on March 30th of this year. Hursti came to Riverside after Supervisor Jeff Stone laid down a "1000 to 1" challenge, as covered in detail by The BRAD BLOG, that we'd be unable to manipulate the county's Sequoia touch-screen voting system. Hursti was happy to take up the challenge, but Stone demurred.

(It should also be noted that Stone and the Board of Supervisors failed to respond to requests to allow Mr. Hursti to address them and answer any questions they might have --- even after he flew 17 hours to testify before them and the "Blue Ribbon" committee.)

The committee's findings also match the recommendations made by SAVE R VOTE (Secure Accurate Verifiable Elections Require Voter Observation of Touchscreen Equipment) to both the "Blue Ribbon" Elections Review Committee (ERC) and the Board Of Supervisors (BoS) earlier this year.

The ERC reports that “…factors should minimize the additional capital outlay necessary to transition to a hybrid system.” The question now becomes: will the BoS reject the recommendations of their own hand-picked committee, who spent thousands of hours laboring over evidence contained in reports, interviews, presentations by expert witnesses, City Clerks, citizens' opinions, news articles, DVDs, conference calls, and SAVE R VOTE members? The full report can be found here.

Who Is On the Elections Review Committee (ERC)?

The "blue ribbon" ERC committee, again, hand-picked by the BoS, consists of a former County Supervisor, Kay Ceniceros; two former judges, Rob Taylor and Jim Ward; retired Press Enterprise newspaper editor and publisher Marcia McQuern; and an independent businesswoman who also serves as the president of a local chamber of commerce, Lynn Baldi. On April 24, Rob Taylor told the BoS in an interim report that, due to such a diversity of opinion, the committee might be submitting “five minority reports.” By July 11th, however, the entire committee issued a unanimous series of 17 recommendations.

Supervisor Stone 'Surprised' By Commission Findings...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---




July 17th FCC Deadline for Public Comments on 'Net Neutrality'..
By Brad Friedman on 7/13/2007 12:11pm PT  

We didn't pay attention or speak up, until after it was too late to save our democracy. Let's not make the same mistake when it comes to saving the world's greatest democratizer ever, the Internet, for the people.

Several weeks ago we ran a "Net Neutrality" video by SaveTheInternet.com. It explained the sitch, as we asked you to guess at the voices of the two characters in the amusing JibJab-style video. Nobody guessed correctly, so we'll disclose that now. The voices were performed by yours truly (Brad Friedman), and Mimi Kennedy of both Dharma & Greg and Progressive Democrats of America fame.

Now, an FCC deadline of July 16th is quickly approaching. The latest video from SaveTheInternet.com, while not nearly as funny as the previous one, gives you marching orders on how to take action. You can send your opinion to the FCC right here.

We already lost democracy, and will likely be fighting for years to get it back from the private corporate interests who have claimed ownership of it. Let's not let that same thing happen with The Internets...





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