OPEN THREAD for The BRAD SHOW of August 6th

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Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

This week’s Brad Show is almost ready to hit the airwaves.
Once again we have a fine lineup and the prospect of a really fine show.

Listen LIVE via the Web! Saturday from 7p-11p ET (4p-8p PT)!
Repeating Sunday 12noon-4p ET (9a-1p PT)

It’s free speech at its best, but it’s not free!
Brad pays for the studio rental — out of his own pocket — at $500 per week!
So please donate here to help defray costs!
Every little bit helps, friends.

Tonight Brad’s scheduled guests include:

  • Rep. CYNTHIA MCKINNEY (D-GA) on Diebold in Georgia and the need for Election Reform (and on her 9/11 Forum last week!)
  • SAM WALKER of the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma,
    Alabama
    with an eyewitness account of Bloody Sunday.
  • KEENAN KELLER Special Counsel to Conyers’ & the House Judiciary Comm. on the Voting Rights Act & SCOTUS Nominee John Roberts’ opposition to it.
  • An Exclusive Account of what led to the Voting Rights Act in 1965 from civil rights icon Rep. JOHN LEWIS (D-GA) who was beaten on Bloody Sunday and then marched next to Dr. Martin Luther King from Selma to Montgomery.
  • PLUS! If the Radio & Democracy Gods are with us…

  • Rev. JESSE JACKSON calling in LIVE from the Rainbow/PUSH Rally in Atlanta! and…
  • Rep. RUSH HOLT (D-NJ) on his Election Reform Bill!
  • Also…

  • A LIVE report from BRAD BLOG reader, KIRA attending Saturday’s Rainbow/PUSH March & Rally in Atlanta! “March like your rights depended on it!”
  • Join us Saturday Night 7p-11p ET (4p-8p PT)! Listen up via www.BradShow.com, call in with your questions and comments for our guests at 323-650-1286, and blog along with us right here at The BRAD BLOG in our LIVE Open Thread during the show!

    URGENT REMINDER: The BRAD SHOW is still supported primarily by listener donations … and we still need more listeners and more contributors! So please pick up the phone, or send some e-mail, and tell a few friends about The BRAD SHOW. You (and they) will be glad you did.

    LIVE OPEN THREAD BLOGGING below: click on the “comments” link at the bottom-right corner of this item to join in!

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    OPEN THREAD for The BRAD SHOW of August 6th

    157 Comments

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    157 Responses

    1. 1)
      Brad said on 8/6/2005 @ 12:44pm PT: [Permalink]

      HUGE SHOW today! A really cool one…if the Gods are with us…PLEASE spread the word and don’t miss a minute! (Seriously!)

    2. 6)
      Brad said on 8/6/2005 @ 1:18pm PT: [Permalink]

      Just got word, Rev. Jesse Jackson joining us LIVE at the bottom of THIS hour! … Stay tuned!

    3. 7)
      Peg C said on 8/6/2005 @ 1:27pm PT: [Permalink]

      Great news, Brad! BTW, the march in Atlanta was even covered by CNN today, although, of course, its "discussion" was frivolous, even mis-leading: how and why the Rep. party has picked up the black vote!! Uuugh!!!

    4. 12)
      Valley Girl said on 8/6/2005 @ 1:49pm PT: [Permalink]

      Brad, you can read this if you need filler

      The focus of the show is voting rights. But I hope that before the show you will take time to read this March 2004 statement about Iraq from John Lewis (BradShow guest). He speaks the truth.

      You can read the pdf here here, but I’ve copied the text, below.

      Read it and weep.

      ———–

      IRAQ ONE YEAR ANNNERSARY Congressman John Lewis March 18, 2004

      Mr. Speaker,

      This Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Over ten thousand Iraqi soldiers are dead. Thousands of Iraqi civilians are dead. Nearly six hundred Americans – six hundred of our sons and daughters – are dead. Thousands more have been wounded – physically and emotionally – their lives forever changed.

      But the dead and the wounded are not the only casualties of President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq. Something else has died in those desert sands. Something else has been lost.

      Truth. Honesty. Integrity.

      For over a year, the American people have been deceived by the words of the President and his Administration. Officials at every level have misled the people that they were elected to serve.

      We asked for truth, and President Bush told us that "Iraq sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

      We asked for truth, and Vice President Cheney repeatedly warned us of close ties between Al Qaeda and Iraq.

      We asked for truth, and Secretary of State Colin Powell told the United Nations that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

      We asked for truth, and President Bush warned us that Iraq had planes that could fly weapons of mass destruction to our shores.

      We asked for truth, and they told us that our troops would be greeted as liberators – that Iraqi oil would pay to rebuild Iraq.

      The falsehoods go on and on. I don’t know whether the Administration cannot stop – or will not stop. I only know that they do not stop.

      Just last Sunday, National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice told the American people that "Iraq was the most dangerous regime in the world."

      My Colleagues, this administration will never be able to justify the war on Iraq – because we cannot believe a word they say. They have never been honest about why we went to war. Just ask former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neil.

      And it’s not just Iraq, it’s almost every issue- every comment- every deed. We cannot believe a word they say.

      The Bush Administration proposed a $550 billion Medicare Prescription Drug bill – and told us it cost $400 billion.

      They cut down trees on public land – and call it "Healthy Forests."

      They let industry pollute our air – and call it "Clear Skies."

      The President himself- President Bush – proudly told the American people that his budget will cut the deficit in half in five years. But his budget does not pay for Iraq – it does not pay for Afghanistan – it does not pay for his tax cuts for the rich.

      My Colleagues – instead of searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, we should be searching for truth right here at home. And we won’t find it at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

      The British novelist, John Le Carre’ once said "I think the single greatest enemy is the misuse of information, the perversion of the truth in the hands of terribly skilful people."

      On the eve of the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, we all must reflect on these words. President Bush and his administration have misused information. They have perverted the truth.

      And now, nearly six hundred Americans are dead.

      Ten thousand civilians are dead.

      Hundreds of thousands of our sons and daughters – brave men and women – have been torn from their families and sent thousands of miles from home.

      I would ask the President what they are fighting for – I would ask him why so many of our young people are dead and wounded – but I don’t want his answer. I don’t want the answer from Vice President Cheney, Secretary Powell, Donald Rumsfeld or Paul Wolfowitz.

      The American people don’t want more of what we have been hearing for the past year.

      What we want, Mr. Speaker, is the truth.

    5. 13)
      Winter Patriot said on 8/6/2005 @ 1:50pm PT: [Permalink]

      The technical term for what’s been happening is not radio-compatible … it’s called "ratfucking" … not our term, by the way; it was coined by the original ratfuckers, in the Young Republicans Club at USC in the early 1960s … as in "yeah, let’s fuck those rats!" … one of the original ratfuckers was Donald Segretti, a Nixon loyalist and political saboteur who went on to mentor … wait for it … Karl Rove!

      more on this later, as time permits

    6. 14)
      Arry said on 8/6/2005 @ 1:51pm PT: [Permalink]

      I’m listening – full volume out my window while I work outside. May get in once in awhile to check out the open thread.

    7. 18)
      Winter Patriot said on 8/6/2005 @ 1:59pm PT: [Permalink]

      Pardon my language here, Colleen and others! As I’ve been saying, I didn’t coin the term …. as the show goes on, I will try to tell you more about the history of ratfucking … if I can do so without detracting from the interviews!

    8. 20)
      COLLEEN said on 8/6/2005 @ 2:01pm PT: [Permalink]

      Buchies weekly radio thingy, was a cheery pieice of crap. No mention of Iragi deaths, the 40 year Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. The fucker.
      Jessie Jackson–awesome.

    9. 22)
      Winter Patriot said on 8/6/2005 @ 2:04pm PT: [Permalink]

      In the early 60s, ratfucking was confined to more-or-less "innocent" pranks … for instance, somebody would find out when and where the "enemy" [usually a Democrat, but sometimes, during primary season, another Republican] was going to hold a rally … and on the day of the event one of the ratfuckers would phone the venue’s security manager — impersonating the manager of the campaign who had booked the place — and say something like "Remember when we asked you to have the doors open by 3 o’clock? Well, we’ve had a change of plans, and we’ve also had some threats of disruptive protests, so we’ve changed the time of the rally to 7 o’clock, so can you keep the doors locked until 6:30?" … of course the actual campaign workers would arrive in the early afternoon and the place would be locked and empty … and they would have no idea what had gone wrong!

    10. 28)
      Kira said on 8/6/2005 @ 2:14pm PT: [Permalink]

      Ok everybody, I’m here and FRIED! The heat and sun were almost unbearable and NO SHADE at the stadium. But – what a great day! I got lots of pictures and have sent them to JPENTZ who will be hosting them on her site. I’ll post a link when we get it together!

      Wow! What a day – the march was a sea of people – I didn’t have a wide-angle lens so I couldn’t show you just how many were there. It was great.

    11. 36)
      Winter Patriot said on 8/6/2005 @ 2:31pm PT: [Permalink]

      Among those who honed their political skills with the original ratfuckers at USC in the early 60s were John Erlichman and Bob Haldeman, both of whom "served" at high levels on the White House staff of Richard Nixon. Others, such as Segretti, worked on the "outside", working against those who were considered "enemies" of the President. Segretti spent some of his time recruiting Young Republicans to infiltrate the anti-war movement. Later he spent some time in jail. So it goes. More later.

    12. 38)
      COLLEEN said on 8/6/2005 @ 2:37pm PT: [Permalink]

      Us Americans take the right to vote for granted. I know I did.
      Thanks in part to the deaths in Selma.
      Now I’m really scared that many black ,elderly Americans may be faced with same pol tax in the form of a Picture Id.

    13. 42)
      Kat said on 8/6/2005 @ 2:48pm PT: [Permalink]

      RIGHT ON MR. WALKER!!! He is absolutely right!

      Get up on the BUS!!! Get active, get involved to stop the disenfranchisement.

    14. 43)
      Winter Patriot said on 8/6/2005 @ 2:50pm PT: [Permalink]

      Once the "spirit" of ratfucking, and some of the original ratfuckers, were in the White House, they began to accumulate resources — offices, secretaries, slush funds, ex-CIA officers and/or contract agents — and their "dirty tricks" started to get a bit more "sophisticated" … in addition to actions that were unethical but not illegal, they started doing things that were distinctly illegal, such as break-ins … thus there was a famous incident at the office of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist … and of course there was another famous incident at an office of the DNC, which began the chain of events that came to be called "the Watergate scandal".

    15. 44)
      Kat said on 8/6/2005 @ 2:54pm PT: [Permalink]

      Nice to see Ms. Kira! I can hardly wait to see the photos. When I spoke with Butch Wing, Rev. Jackson’s scheduler, he said it was amazing turnout and that they were quite pleased.

      I love this song! Can get enough of Victoria Parks. Thanks Brad for including it in the show.

    16. 49)
      nonbeliever said on 8/6/2005 @ 3:11pm PT: [Permalink]

      Ok Brad, we’ll call a truce about Congresswoman McKinney for a second. 😛 I have a couple of questions for her.

      1) Will there be a push to make all provisions in the Voting Rights act permanent?

      2) Is the CBC looking to add more provisions to the Voting Rights Act?

      3) What about a constitutional amendment to guarantee a right to vote?

      4) Will there be any changes to federal law to protect our vote in time for the ’06 elections to insure we don’t have another Ohio or Florida?

      Given Hackett’s performance this week, I really think we can take the House back with a fair vote.

    17. 50)
      Winter Patriot said on 8/6/2005 @ 3:13pm PT: [Permalink]

      The ratfuckers who worked with/for Nixon in the early 70s may have been crazy but at least they were somewhat restrained. For instance, they knew that the Brookings Institute had some documents which would have been harmful to the president’s chances of re-election if they were ever released. What to do? Somebody came up with the idea of firebombing the place. They were actually getting ready to do it. But at the last minute the plan was vetoed. Pfew!!

      The current generation of ratfuckers have come up with much more damaging plans, which were not vetoed. Such is "progress". More later.

    18. 57)
      jIM cIRILE said on 8/6/2005 @ 3:24pm PT: [Permalink]

      Tried calling in a bunch of times, but likely will; not be able to catch Congresswoman McKinney.

      Brad, can you please ask her:

      The Hackett/Schmidt election sure looks suspicious. Unlike Kerry, Hackett is not a career politician. I believe that if truly understood what election fraud is and how he was likely just shanghaied, the man would FIGHT.

      Can the Congresswoman call Mr. hackett directly and explain this to him, Congressperson to Congressperson? Hackett needs to stand up and demand a hand recount!

      Thanks

    19. 58)
      nonbeliever said on 8/6/2005 @ 3:27pm PT: [Permalink]

      Thor’s a frickin prick! Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the ACVR created after the Nov ’04 election? And they were supposed to be on the ground researching voter fraud? Gimme a break!

    20. 61)
      Peg C said on 8/6/2005 @ 3:28pm PT: [Permalink]

      PEOPLE are the most important part of this country – not corporations, not money, not cynical, bloodthirsty "elites!"

      Great stuff, Kira!

    21. 68)
      Kat said on 8/6/2005 @ 3:42pm PT: [Permalink]

      Brad, Portland National Election Reform Conference is September 30 – October 2!

      I received my letter today – looks like I’m going to be presenting at the conference! 😉

      Dear Voting Rights Activist,

      I am pleased to inform you that your conference proposal for the National Election Reform Conference, to be held on Sept. 30 – Oct. 2, has been accepted. Congratulations!

      The Conference, presented by the Oregon Voter Rights Coalition and Alliance for Democracy, is shaping up to be an exceptional gathering of election reform activists, and we are excited to have you as a presenter.

      Portland Election Reform Conference
      __________

      My apologies for the delayed interview with Rep. McKinney! She will be with us. Let’s continue to breathe in the studio and even at home! I’m really not trying to make Brad’s job more difficult! Or Jaime’s or Desi’s!!

    22. 76)
      Winter Patriot said on 8/6/2005 @ 3:52pm PT: [Permalink]

      Now where was I? Oh yeah, they didn’t quite firebomb the Brookings Institute, but they came close … Here’s another telling anecdote: At one point during the war, The Washington Post did a reader-reply poll, and please forgive me if the details are unclear in my nearly frozen memory but I believe the question was about the secret bombing of Cambodia … Anyway, the WaPo wanted to know how its readers felt about it, and in order to make sure that they got the right answer, the White House ratfuckers bought about 50,000 newspapers and filled in all the forms saying they supported the President’s policies, and sent them all in … later they had a big problem getting rid of all the newsprint, but I digress … more importantly, I believe, was their "justification" for doing such a thing. According to one of the ratfuckers, rigging that poll was ok because "the enemy is doing it too" … Which enemy? Not the Vietnamese! That’s the basic idea behind ratfucking. We’re the enemy. You and I and Brad and Kira, we’re the enemy. We are the "rats". And they get their kicks "fucking" us. Once again I apologize for the language — but as I’ve been saying, it’s not our term.

    23. 79)
      Kat said on 8/6/2005 @ 3:55pm PT: [Permalink]

      Ya-hoo Rep. McKinney — she’s so on it! It’s so good to hear her voice, such an important voice!

      KIRA — wonderful photos. Atlanta is sure a lovely place. What an amazing group of speakers!

    24. 80)
      Kira said on 8/6/2005 @ 3:59pm PT: [Permalink]

      Thank you all for the kind words! There’s a lot more that I didn’t get out on the phone — but I can start by saying that Roberta Flack sang "To Dream the Impossible Dream" — man oh man! It made me cry. She’s fabulous!

      Bonifaz was HOT and hot under the collar, too. He is very angry about what happened in Ohio. I’m so glad I got to hear him speak finally.

    25. 83)
      Kat said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:03pm PT: [Permalink]

      Thanks Peg C! It should be a great event in Portland. Looking forward to connecting with my voting rights activist friends I’ve grown to love over the past 8 months! And more.

      I only wish Rev. Moss was joining us – very tragic news of his death this past week. I had the opportunity to meet him in Ohio in December 2004 when many of us from around the nation pulled together to support his effort to challenge the presidential election results in Ohio. And he rode with us on the We Do Not Concede Freedom Winter Bus from Columbus to DC on January 5 and 6, 2005. A true American hero.

      Great group of people — I would encourage all of you to get involved and attend these conferences when you can around the country.

    26. 84)
      Peggy said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:11pm PT: [Permalink]

      Kira, Brad, Winter, wonderful guests, everyone — thank you, for being the passionate, caring you.

    27. 87)
      Peg C said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:14pm PT: [Permalink]

      Kat #83 –

      Unfortunately, our little family unit cannot be peripatetic. Unless the event were to occur in Maine, we would be a proiri out of luck!

    28. 88)
      Dr Ed from KS said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:14pm PT: [Permalink]

      HOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE DIEBOLD MACHINES

      If existing touchscreen voting machines are equipped with ballot printers, producing a VOTER- VERIFIED PAPER BALLOT, many would be satisfied that the balloting problem is solved. True, but balloting is only a tiny part of the problem here. Even Stalin said to let the people vote! Who cares? What we must be interested in primarily is the COUNTING of the ballots – the real purpose of the election!

      There are 3 possible methods to count the vote, once we have these voter-verified paper ballots:

      1) The simplest, most reliable, but most labor-intensive way is to publicly hand-count the ballots at the precinct level. The problem is that the ballots today present so many races and issues that hand counting has become impractical.

      2) The paper ballots serve as a backup and the vote counts are retrieved from the touch screen voting machines and combined in the central tabulator as is the current practice. Except that this provides the capacity for a recount, all of the current vulnerabilities remain in place.

      3) The paper ballots are read and counted in an optical scanner/tabulator. This has the advantage of it being the voter-verified ballot that is being read and tabulated, rather than the individual voting machine totals, but it still leaves the tabulator vulnerable to mischief.

      Instead of adopting some manifestation on one of the above, I propose that the features of both method 2 and method 3 be combined. That is, both the voting machine tabulation and the optical scanner tabulations are performed and compared. A statistically significant difference between the two tabulating methods could then be used to trigger representative hand recounts.

      I believe that this type of instant co-audit would significantly increase the security of the vote since it would seem to require a coordinated and systematic hacking of both the tabulators and each and every voting machine. Moreover, the implementation for the machine tabulated portion is already in place as are optical scanners in many counties. Unless I am missing something, this security measure might be something so simple as to escape attention.

    29. 90)
      Kat said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:17pm PT: [Permalink]

      I love John Bonifaz!! He’s amazing. I’m so glad you were able to hear and see that wonderful patriot and supporter of the United States Constitution, Kira. How exciting!

    30. 92)
      Kira said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:21pm PT: [Permalink]

      Thank you Congresswoman McKinney. I’m very interested to see if we hear anything about the packet delivered to the former President.

      I missed hearing — I guess she was referring to President Carter?

    31. 94)
      Kat said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:22pm PT: [Permalink]

      Well, perhaps they’ll have the conference videotaped. I’m sure they will. I know the conference in Oakland in February was taped, and they will be releasing a DVD on that in September. I’ll be in Oakland with Bob Fitrakis on book tour September 11-14 and we plan to show the DVD at the event. I’ll follow up with you on where you and others can get a copy, if you’d like.

    32. 100)
      Kat said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:24pm PT: [Permalink]

      Rep. McKinney — isn’t she lovely? So happy she was able to be with us tonight.

      Brad, nice work!!

    33. 102)
      Kira said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:26pm PT: [Permalink]

      Y’all are so funny! Love the humor.

      Thank you all for the excellent work you do – wonderful human beings.

      I’m so wiped out — I may fade away here in a minute or two.

      Thanks for the excellent show tonight, Brad – I’ll try to catch it all tomorrow.

      LIBERAL HUGZ all around!

      Kira

    34. 103)
      Kat said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:30pm PT: [Permalink]

      Yeah!! Only because I complimented our wonderful host in it. You think, Winter? 😉

      Kira, thank you dear for your contribution and participation in the special event in Atlanta today!

      Keenan really nows his stuff! He’s got a lstrong historical as well as technical background on voting rights and other important legislation. We are fortunate to have him here with us.

    35. 106)
      Kat said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:37pm PT: [Permalink]

      Can you now, Nonbeliever? Coming out loud and clear here in Oregon! Our new engineer is doing a fabulous job there in the studio tonight — I’m quite impressed. Way to go Henri!!!

    36. 107)
      Winter Patriot said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:38pm PT: [Permalink]

      Back with the final installment of tonight’s side-show, "A Brief and Broken History of Ratfucking"

      What’s my point? And why did I get into all this stuff tonight?

      I have two points, actually…

      [1] It is very easy to draw a very clear line from the original ratfuckers, who cut their teeth stealing student council elections at USC in the early 60s, to the "president’s" right-hand man.

      Watch what happens when you do a google search for "Donald Segretti" and "Karl Rove".

      You can even throw in the word "mentor" and get this list of links.

      [2] One of the first thoughts that hit me on the morning of 9/11/2001 was "this is ratfucking writ large" … The same as I thought when I first learned about the adoption of unauditable voting technology. It’s all there — writ very large indeed.

      We are truly fortunate to have Rep. McKinney working on both of these issues. But we need more passionate, intelligent people working on them, too. So … if YOU are one of them, please try to find ways to get more involved!

      As for why all this came out tonight, it was triggered by Brad’s post earlier in the week, in which he referred to the ACVR as "ratfuckers" … I knew right away what he meant, but then I’ve been reading about this stuff for a long long time, and it struck me that many — maybe even most — Brad Blog readers would have no idea what he meant, or else they might think he had lost it! Well guess what? He hasn’t lost it! Even if the poor youngster was born too late to remember Watergate, he sure knows what he’s talking about.

      With all that background in the background, so to speak, you might want to revisit this post.

    37. 109)
      Peg C said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:39pm PT: [Permalink]

      Kat –

      Unless you put the DVD up for sale, I wouldn’t be able to view it – slow dial-up. But making it available would be wonderful for most! We all need each other so much.

    38. 112)
      Winter Patriot said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:44pm PT: [Permalink]

      If you’ve been listening to the show and enjoying it, or reading this thread and enjoynig it, please help ensure that we can keep doing this kind of thing on Saturday nights. We hope you will consider doing one or more of the following:

      Visit The BRAD STORE and/or Donate via Credit Card or PayPal and/or Donate via Snail Mail.

      Please help keep The BRAD SHOW on the air with a purchase or donation, large or small: every bit helps and we thank you for your support!

    39. 118)
      Kat said on 8/6/2005 @ 4:57pm PT: [Permalink]

      Best to you my friend, Rev. Bill Moss.

      Brad, you’re amazing. Absolutely incredible.

      Thanks everybody! It’s been a great show made better by all of you, of course!!

      Way to go Brad Crew!! You’re the best! That includes you Winter and David! 😉

      Enjoy the week all!

    40. 119)
      Winter Patriot said on 8/6/2005 @ 5:00pm PT: [Permalink]

      It’s been a tough week for losing good guys. A tough couple of weeks, actually. And maybe it’s time for another read of Chris Floyd’s excellent essay from November 2004, No Ways Tired. In his words,

      It’s worth the fight. Let’s take it on. In the words of the old spiritual, let us be in no ways tired. The road back to sanity and justice starts now.

    41. 120)
      Winter Patriot said on 8/6/2005 @ 5:01pm PT: [Permalink]

      Thanks to all our excellent guests, to those who have contributed their thoughts to this thread, to Brad and the entire crew, to our loyal sponsors, to those who have made a purchase at The BRAD STORE, and especially to all who made donations tonight.

      Without your support there literally would be no show. There would only be a blog … and a blogger who might be forced to get a real job … and cut way back on his blogging!

      And we can’t have that, can we? Especially now, when we seem to be making progress on multiple fronts simultaneously!

      This truly is a group effort, and it really is a great group. So THANKS AGAIN to ALL of you. You ROCK! Keep up the good work … and we’ll meet up again soon, one way or another.

    42. 122)
      nonbeliever said on 8/6/2005 @ 5:02pm PT: [Permalink]

      Great coup on gettng Leon Smith for this show. Kira once again thanks for getting out to the march and bringing the story to us. Great show Brad, WP and crew!!

      Nite folks. I’m getting a drink.

    43. 123)
      Brad said on 8/6/2005 @ 5:03pm PT: [Permalink]

      Thank you ALL very much for that…I’m quite proud of tonight’s show. a HUGE thanks goes to Kat… So here it is THANKS KAT!!!

      Love you all. Thank you…

    44. 124)
      Valley Girl said on 8/6/2005 @ 5:15pm PT: [Permalink]

      #57 Jim

      Thank you so much for asking the question to McKinney. Just what I was thinking.

    45. 125)
      Valley Girl said on 8/6/2005 @ 5:26pm PT: [Permalink]

      Kira!!!!!!!

      You were wonderful!!!!!! wonderful!!!!!!wonderful!!!!!! You have probably started a very long nap by now, but I hope you read the thread tomorrow to get this message.

      VG

    46. 126)
      Brad said on 8/6/2005 @ 5:32pm PT: [Permalink]

      Agreed. Kira rocks.

      Nonbeliever, by the time you’ve finished your first cocktail, Cynthia and I will have eloped. You snooze you lose, chump! 😉

      Night ya’ll! Gotta get out of the studio!

      Peace!

    47. 127)
      jIM cIRILE said on 8/6/2005 @ 5:34pm PT: [Permalink]

      Hey Valley Girl, no sweat. Look, we may be fighting a multi-trillion-dollar neocon crime syndicate, but sometimes one person can make the difference.

      My favorite moment from Star Trek was when Captain Kirk made this corny speech to Mirror Universe Spock about "one man can change the future." I firmly believe that one person COULD change things if he has a national platform and speaks out on election fraud. That person COULD be Hackett. He could blow the whole thing wide open. He has nothing to lose!

    48. 129)
      Valley Girl said on 8/6/2005 @ 6:25pm PT: [Permalink]

      #127 Jim

      Agree totally. The problem is how to get this message to Hackett. Duh…. it just occurred to me– We should put the very same point (your McKinney question about contacting Hackett and urging him to contest) to JOHN CONYERS!!!!! Better figure out how to do this real soon, because the clock is def. ticking.

      VG

    49. 131)
      Valley Girl said on 8/6/2005 @ 7:08pm PT: [Permalink]

      Brad #130

      Awesome!!!!!! Thank you so much.

      Silly of me not to have thought of also contacting Conyers earlier. Just sent some emails and tried to get a live voice at his office (didn’t).

      Please try to do what you can re: Conyers (I mean what more!!! you can do!!!!!). Hey, you’re running on adrenaline, and don’t need sleep, right????

      VG

    50. 132)
      Arry said on 8/6/2005 @ 7:14pm PT: [Permalink]

      The parts I heard were 100% terrific. (Had to move out of range a few times – speakers were in the window – confronted a rattlesnake – quite mild-mannered, really – then… No, you don’t want to know all that.)

      The segment with Sam Walker was very interesting. I hope to visit the museum someday and will certainly check out the website and petition he mentioned.

      It was great to hear from Kira, my fellow troll disassembler and all around great Bradblogger and patriot.

      Heard bits and pieces of the McKinney interview. Did she say anything about the status of the constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to vote that was introduced by Jesse Jackson, Jr.? I believe that amendment will be a strong and logical step from the Voting Rights Act and will be a foundation of fair elections eventually – and something we really need to do in this country.

      I can’t come up with an adequate superlative, Brad, but every show of yours has a unique character held together by your steady and calm character and warm interaction with the guests- so different from what you get in most of the media. (The guests know it, too, I’m quite certain.) Keep it up, man, you’re gold.

      Been thinking a lot about the struggles of the civil rights movement and its great accomplishments. To lose the fruits of that epic struggle is unthinkable. But we are dealing with an insidious and widespread corruption the character and slipperiness of which is very difficult to counter. We need constant creativity to deal with its elements as well as a deep sense of carrying forth the great tradition of freedom fighting. And we need natural allies. And we have to know when to take it up a notch. It is so important to know that.

      I’m rambling after a long day. Best wishes and sweet dreams to Brad and my other Bradblogger friends.

    51. 135)
      jazzolog said on 8/7/2005 @ 11:25pm PT: [Permalink]

      Murray Waas has been tracking the Plame case doggedly, but he seems to specialize in leaks out of the Fitzgerald office. However, if this report proves credible, obviously we are at the top of the White House food chain.

      The Meeting
      Scooter Libby and Judy Miller met on July 8, 2003, two days after Joe Wilson published his column. And Patrick Fitzgerald is very interested.
      By Murray Waas
      Web Exclusive: 08.06.05

      I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, has told federal investigators that he met with New York Times reporter Judith Miller on July 8, 2003, and discussed CIA operative Valerie Plame, according to legal sources familiar with Libby’s account.

      The meeting between Libby and Miller has been a central focus of the investigation by special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald as to whether any Bush administration official broke the law by unmasking Plame’s identity or relied on classified information to discredit former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, according to sources close to the case as well as documents filed in federal court by Fitzgerald.

      The meeting took place in Washington, D.C., six days before columnist Robert Novak wrote his now-infamous column unmasking Plame as a "CIA operative." Although little noticed at the time, Novak’s column would cause the appointment of a special prosecutor, ultimately place in potential legal jeopardy senior advisers to the president of the United States, and lead to the jailing of a New York Times reporter.

      The meeting between Libby and Miller also occurred during a week of intense activity by Libby and White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove aimed at discrediting Plame’s husband, Wilson, who on July 6, 2003, had gone public in a New York Times opinion piece with allegations that the Bush administration was misrepresenting intelligence information to make the case to go to war with Iraq.

      http://www.prospect.org/web/pag...rticleId=10077

    52. 136)
      Dredd said on 8/7/2005 @ 12:23am PT: [Permalink]

      Jazzolog #137

      Raw Story references an article which leads me to think that The Empire Strikes Back.

      Evidently the bu$hit regime is replacing special prosecutor Fitzgerald’s boss with a close crony of the bu$hit regime.

      That tells me that Fitzgerald has plans that the WH does not intend to allow. His new boss can nix the whole thing now (link here).

    53. 138)
      jazzolog said on 8/7/2005 @ 2:16am PT: [Permalink]

      Re: Dredd’s Dread. The leaks coming from Fitzgerald’s office have indicated to me they’ve figured for some time that Bush would stop it if it got close…or pardon everybody before indictments. The leaks make it impossible to totally cover up but I fear they may contaminate the case if letting this stuff out is illegal too. If Fitzgerald gets stifled by the new guy and goes public, as Wilson did, we got a revolution.

    54. 139)
      Dredd said on 8/7/2005 @ 3:47am PT: [Permalink]

      Jazzolog #140

      The Empire is Striking whistleblowers and anyone who is not a sycophant.

      This story shows that the whistleblower statutes are being ignored and therefore the nation is in peril to that extent.

      Crime and treason seem to be standard fare for the bu$hit admin.

    55. 140)
      big dan said on 8/7/2005 @ 5:10am PT: [Permalink]

      Bush Administration hacks harass and violate citizen’s rights, because he put up a 9/11 site…

      http://www.arcticbeacon.com/art...8131/30662.htm

      http://www.letsroll911.org/

      For stupid Republicans: The point isn’t his 9/11 theory and evidence, THE POINT IS HIS RIGHTS TO HAVE THE SITE ARE BEING VIOLATED, AND HE’S BEING HARASSED BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS!

      You have to spell things out for conservatives…they’d say, "Tin foil hat theory", not, "Hey, the government is infringing on his rights".

    56. 141)
      Phil said on 8/7/2005 @ 6:59am PT: [Permalink]

      If Fitzgerald does have indictments up his sleeve, I suspect he needs to come with them soon, or a way will soon be found to quash them.

    57. 143)
      Phil said on 8/7/2005 @ 7:47am PT: [Permalink]

      Lindy, I want to believe that indictments are in the offing for Bush, but it just seems like too much. Where is the grand jury getting all this inside information that would allow them to unravel Bush’s plots? It just sounds like wish-fulfillment.

      But I hope I’m wrong.

    58. 145)
      Doug Eldritch said on 8/7/2005 @ 9:49am PT: [Permalink]

      Slightly off-topic but I’ve been following the flocco story alot and came across this, has anyone heard anything of it?

      "Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2005 10:23:03 EDT
      Subject: Re: [coyotehunters] Re: Tom Flocco
      groups.yahoo.com/group/TheRevolutionaryCoalition/message/3134

      In a message dated 8/4/2005 12:33:45 AM Central Standard Time,
      freesia2@… writes:
      Carole & group: I am suspicious that there has been a "convenient"
      glitch(or worse), as Tom Flocco’s site was up yesterday. He had sent me the
      info on the Bush/Cheney indictment before Marci posted it. In the e-mail, if
      you wanted to read the whole article, you had to click on "Read more," which I did.
      It took me to his website, where I read the whole article. Now the Still not up. There is a page up now that is showing a brief note and
      saying check with "whitestar website design.com"……………… Being the
      obedient female, I did, got the phone number and called. A gentleman named BOB
      answered. Thru my few ignorant questions, I derived that it the site for Tom is not voluntarily down, the Man said his server has been under attack since Monday over the indictment article (in so many words) Stated his personal computer has
      been hacked into also. They have been working on it 24/7 since it went down. Bob owns this server and quite a few more of the political sites. Says he
      knows who it is doing it but can’t say. Now again some one remind me where we
      live? Land of the free?

      Carole (Texas Proud) "

      What the hell? Bush Admin is also appointing a crazy Skull & Bones guy to immediately be Fitzgerald’s boss!!

      This tells me the preliminary indictments are already out and someone is really trying to supress this story…..

      Doug E.

    59. 147)
      Lindy said on 8/7/2005 @ 10:07am PT: [Permalink]

      Phil, just sending the word that the link is up that has been discussed above in #133. I enjoy reading happy news once in a while, true or not. If it is true, fantastic! The fact it is possible disinformation abounds! Although, it appears Flocco’s web has been heavily sabotaged, as he has trouble keeping just the one page on-line.

      No, actually, Phil. I gave the grand jury the information! (smile) Took me the entire two years of investigation, as I was sandwiched in between all the other witnesses! That didn’t sound right, did it?!! Ooops! Oh, well!

      #146 Nonbeliever: Whaddaya mean elope?! How many wives can this Brad Guy have anyway?! He’s engaged to all of us, isn’t he?!!

    60. 148)
      Ram said on 8/7/2005 @ 10:25am PT: [Permalink]

      Lindy #144:

      Sounds too good to be true. Also, his mention of Time and Newsweek seems to be skewed. I couldn’t find it on Time, and Newsweek only says that Fitz’s boss is being replaced and has the power to fire him, not that there are plans to do so.

      Reads like some kind of wish fulfillment rather than truth. Maybe for a while I’ll let myself believe it — just long enough to get a break from this gloom and doom reality of the Busheviks.

    61. 149)
      nonbeliever said on 8/7/2005 @ 1:15pm PT: [Permalink]

      #146 Nonbeliever: Whaddaya mean elope?! How many wives can this Brad Guy have anyway?! He’s engaged to all of us, isn’t he?!!

      Lindy, you mean engaged to all of you. I’m a dude. Brad and I are in competion for Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney’s hand. So Brad’s a polygamist huh? I’ve got to let Cynthia know there may still be time. 🙂

    62. 150)
      Doug Eldritch said on 8/7/2005 @ 1:20pm PT: [Permalink]

      Not so sure its wish fulfillment anymore….

      ** Federal Grand Juries prepare to stop Bush **

      "On Friday, federal whistleblower Tom Heneghen reported that the true bills also listed Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justice Antonin Scalia as unindicted co-conspirators.

      According to sources close to the grand jury, Fitzgerald’s citizen panel is now able to prove that George W. Bush was not legitimately elected president in the 2000 election; but more importantly, it has fingered the United States Supreme Court for fraud, obstruction of justice and treason, making the Bush terms totally illegal.

      The scope of the indictments and investigations indicates that the grand jury’s indicted criminal acts reaching back to 2000 will lead to further legitimate assumptions that Bush-Cheney involvement in the 9.11 attacks and sending American young people to war based upon lies orchestrated by Mr. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are both squarely in the sights of the grand jury."
      The Tide Has Turned

      Doug E.

    63. 151)
      Arry said on 8/7/2005 @ 2:40pm PT: [Permalink]

      Keep your eyes on the prize, folks, but don’t set yourselves up for a big letdown. Store this stuff away someplace in your mind – easily accessible – and keep an eye on what’s happening. False and set-up stories are standard operating procedure. I’m sure that the explosive (that word will probably trigger something somewhere in Virginia) influence of blogs is getting the wheels turning in the disinformation departments.

    64. 152)
      Doug Eldritch said on 8/7/2005 @ 4:27pm PT: [Permalink]

      **Additional evidence lends credence to claims by Tom Henegan: July 22 there was a bomb scare attack under the Dirsken building. **

      "By Virginia Groark
      Tribune staff reporter
      Published July 22, 2005

      The region’s transit systems maintained heightened security measures Thursday in the wake of more bombings in London, but several Chicago Transit Authority riders are concerned the agency is not communicating well with passengers during bomb scares.

      CTA customers pointed to an incident Monday night when someone called in a bomb threat for the Red Line’s Roosevelt stop, prompting Chicago police to close the station for 45 minutes. The incident snarled the commutes of thousands of riders as Red Line trains were switched to elevated tracks, jamming those routes and leaving hundreds waiting on platforms, sweating it out on stalled trains or looking for different routes home.

      Although commuters said they understood post-Sept. 11 security issues, they still thought they could have been told what was going on.

      In e-mails, Web logs and interviews this week, several riders said when they asked CTA employees what was happening, many of them didn’t know. In other cases, riders said CTA employees tried to pass along information on the public address system, but the sound quality was so poor passengers couldn’t understand what they said.

      Though the communication issues merely exasperated a nightmarish afternoon commute, they could create a significant problem if a real attack occurred, riders said."
      CTA Authorities evacuate tunnels under Dirsken

      Why has the mass corporate media SUPRESSED the news about the bombing threats?

      Doug E.

    65. 155)
      Kira said on 8/8/2005 @ 7:32am PT: [Permalink]

      So how’s the competition for the exquisite Cynthia McKinney’s affection going, Brad & Nonbeliever?

      Enquiring Minds Want To Know!

      Y’all are so cute.

    66. 156)
      Lindy said on 8/8/2005 @ 9:04am PT: [Permalink]

      RE: COMMENT #149 [link]
      …nonbeliever said on 8/7/2005 @ 4:15pm PT…

      "… you mean engaged to all of you. I’m a dude. Brad and I are in competion for Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney’s hand. … 🙂 "

      So sorry, Dude! May the best man win! 🙂

    67. 157)
      Ram said on 8/8/2005 @ 11:35am PT: [Permalink]

      Re: #148

      Was at Tom Flocco’s site today. He is changing servers (or something) and a rough draft was posted by mistake.

      "The rough working draft about a fired prosecutor should never have been placed online…"

      But he continues:

      "We apologize for this inaccuracy; however, we still stand by our on-the record source Tom Heneghen and our story reporting that true bill indictments have been voted out by the Chicago grand jury against a host of Bush administration officials…"

      Still waiting for any other reports.

    (Comments are now closed.)


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