Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org and VoteTrustUSA.Org
Included in today’s news is an excellent investigative article from Texas in regard to small communities and the cost of elections. Remember that in most, if not all, states the small communities, school districts, park districts, etc. have to pay for elections that they need to elect local officials or float bonds or levies. The cost of doing that is skyrocketing because of the steep rise in the cost of voting machines. In order to handle their inability to provide voting machines to meet their contracts, ES&S has changed, without permission, the contract for Tennessee and included words to allow them to send used machines to a dozen Tennessee counties for the primary. Big surprise to those counties and the state. And, due to problems with the counties ES&S op-scan machine, Harrison County Indiana must now manually recount the ballots from 15 precincts….
FL: Train Wreck – New voting machines lack state certification LINK
IN: Harrison County � Train Wreck – County to manually count votes from 15 of 35 precincts LINK
IN: Harrison County � Train Wreck – Harrison to recount primary votes LINK
IN: Harrison County � Train Wreck – ES&S MELTDOWN: Indiana County to Hand Count Ballots from May 2 Primary After ES&S Machines Discovered to Have ‘Malfunctioned’ LINK
TN: Train Wreck – Used voting machines lack approval by state (ES&S) LINK
TN: Train Wreck – One vendor can’t meet deadline (That one vendor must be ES&S) LINK
TN: Train Wreck – ES&S MELTDOWN: Company Secretly Changes Contract with Tennesee Counties, Sends USED Machines for Upcoming Primary Election LINK
WV: Kanawha County � Train Wreck – Kanawha vote tallies completed (ES&S) LINK
CA: U.S. Orders State to Repay $536,000 in Election Funds LINK
IN: Franklin County – Co. race will be recounted LINK
KY: Counties adjusting to voting machine mandate for election LINK
MT: Technology lets disabled voters cast ballots on own (AutoMark) LINK
OH: Court Slows EFF Efforts to Address Ohio E-voting Malfunctions. Decision Delays Inquiry Into State’s History of Voting Machine Problems LINK
PA: Montgomery County – New machines equipped for blind voters (Sequoia) LINK
PA: Northampton County – County’s new voting machines pass tests (AVS WINvote) LINK
TX: I-Team: Small communities can’t afford required voting technology LINK
WV: Editorial – Provide Better Election Training LINK
WV: Marion County – Primary election ‘went very well’ (ES&S) LINK
**”Daily Voting News” is meant as a comprehensive listing of reports each day concerning issues related to election and voting news around the country regardless of quality or political slant. Therefore, items listed in “Daily Voting News” may not reflect the opinions of VotersUnite.Org or BradBlog.Com**
"OH: Court Slows EFF Efforts to Address Ohio E-voting Malfunctions. Decision Delays Inquiry Into State’s History of Voting Machine Problems"
Why is the government getting into the case? Do we smell a rat here?
President Gore Addresses The Nation
http://www.oliverwillis.com/200...es-the-nation/
MMIIXX,
Oh man, that is priceless.
But…….baseball commissioner? What…he escaped maximum security? 😉
Ben Klein #1
The action on appeal is based on one particular category of defense which state government officials and federal government officials bring as a matter of course:
"Pending is defendants’ motion to stay discovery pending a sovereign immunity appeal" (link here, bold added).
I have discussed the issue of sovereign immunity on this blog before.
I discussed it in the context of how it re-infected the national ideology with King George "the king can do no wrong" concepts of the 1600’s England from which our forefathers fled.
They fled to form a new government where government would be held accountable when they did wrong.
The concept "the king can do no wrong" creeped back into our law over time (link here).
But it is now called sovereign immunity which means that, assuming the allegations of the complaint to be true, the defendant government official is never-the-less immune from suit … note that … immune from suit … not just immune from damages or equitable relief.
You can’t sue them period, or do discovery generally until that motion is denied by all the appellate courts.
It is defense 101 in the United States for any governmental official to raise this defense in a Rule 12(b) motion to dismiss. And to appeal it to delay the case for years.
It does not matter that the defense in any particular case is frivolous, as in the case John linked to and the case you commented on.
Note that the court had already said:
"Defendants now request another stay of discovery. In effect, they ask that I reconsider my determination that their sovereign immunity argument is frivolous" (ibid, bold added).
The condition of holding government officials liable or changing their behavior via the courts is so "yesterday" (circa 1600’s England) that only institutions can maintain such suits, in general, because one has to be in it for the long haul.
That even tho democracy, in the context of changing the government thru elections, is fully destabilized at this time.
In my opinion when the government cannot be changed by the will of the people thru elections or the courts, then we do in fact have what can be defined as a republican dictatorship.
Rawstory is out again,..
can’t connect.
Link : Raw Story site
Details of the Bradblog advertisement found in the left hand margin,.. just below the Cindy Sheehan ad,.. and just above the Clint Curtis ad.
"Don’t Regulate The Internet"
This is a highly deceptive advertisement,… it is a propaganda ad by the same phone companies who promised us privacy for customers dealings with the phone companies,.. but sold-out this consumer privacy by handing over the records of our incoming and out going phone records to the federal government,.. bu$$$hco,.. Darth Vader,… and the NSA.
In this deceptive advertisement,.. "Don’t Regulate The Internet" it seeks to stop the concept of "NET
Neutrality" – which is a free and open Internet,.. that has allowed blogs such as Bradblog the opportunity to exist and flourish. People,… this blog
and an array of other progressive blogs are the only remaining territories where liberal thoughts and ideas can be communicated. Those who occupy the seats of power,.. the corporatist and the fascist want to curtail and halt access to the Internet by placing toll booths on every on ramp to the Internet. The average consumer and the average blogs will not be able to financially afford the new fees that the cable and telecom companies hope to impose.
Please acquaint yourself with these issues of " Net
Neutrality" if we loose this concept we loose the only avenue for liberals and progressives to freely exchange thoughts and ideas. If we loose that ability to organize and communicate – corporatism and fascism will win the war and any vestige of Democracy will only become a distant memory.
Link to Telecoms deceptive campaign to hijack the Internet
The lie the telecom industry is telling via the "Don’t Regulate the Internet" advertisements they are plastering all around the blogosphere – same ad found on Bradblog.
Link : Telecoms deceptive campaign to keep the Internet "FREE"
FCC – Federal Communications Commission,.. fights in federal court for the governments ability
to wiretap broadband Internet connections,.. cable
and DSL,… big brother is watching,.. big brother wants to watch some more.
Link : Reuters article/FCC to wiretap broadband connections
Darth Vader (cheney) is the "father" of wiretap
ideas,…
Link : Darth Vader expands wiretapping
The Right-wing spin machine says American polling indicates US citizens think NSA wiretapping is a good idea,.. (the poll questions were skewed to get that result),.. the fascist media and the fascist
talking heads have hijacked the issue of wiretapping
as being okay. Now that they have succeed in making wiretapping a hot button issue,.. the Democrats will go silent on the issue,.. for fear public sentiment is against them.
Doesn"t propaganda work in insidious ways.
Fine blog – article addressing the wiretap issue,.. with leads to more info about this issue of Fascism,…
Link : Fascist connection to wiretap issue
Mike McCurry sells out to the telecom industry,..
his PR firm starts the bogus blogosphere advertisement campaign – "Don"t Regulate the Internet". It is propaganda to appear as a grassroots campaign to "save" the Internet and keep it "free". But it is a clever campaign financed by the telecom industry,.. to allow them to make the Internet a "Pay to Play" access the Internet plan. If you can’t afford the new fees they soon hope to impose – just get lost !
Thanks Mike McCurry !
Link : McCurry prostitutes for Telecoms $$$$$
Telecoms via DSL and the Cable Industry want make the Internet a "pay if you want to play" communications network.
CEO of AT&T, Edward Whitacre Jr. stated to the media,… "What Google, Vontage, and others would like to do is to use my pipes for free."
"I ain’t going to let them do that"
Whitacre and AT&T argue that they need flexibility to exact a "TOLL" from Web services that hog the bandwidth.
Link : AT&T executive wants "Pay to Play" Internet
Verizon wants a "Pay to Play" Internet too.
Link : Verizon wants "Pay to Play" Internet too
What these communications industry executives fail to mention,… they do not own the Internet,… the American tax payer picked up the bill for developmental cost. The communications industry has long received tax payer subsidies,.. corporate welfare if you will. The communications industries have also been granted,.. "monopoly status" to ensure a return on investments. The communications industry is making money hand over fist,.. like the petroleum industry,… is it not high time this egregious greed be brought under some sort of control ?
What is fair is fair,.. this piracy is not.
Net Neutrality,.. a video gives details,.. if eliminated
what you will loose,..
Video "Net Neutrality" explained
Democracy Now,.. addresses the issue of "Net Neutrality",.. if lost your choices will disappear,..
Democracy Now explains "Net Neutrality"
Old Turk – AMEN
Everyone needs to learn about NET NEUTRALITY!
We need NET NEUTRALITY!
I called my congressman (Jim Matheson) and nobody there seemed to really know what I was talking about even though some 600,000 people have signed petitions against it!
We DO want the government to control the neutrality of the internet so the corporations can’t!