9 Responses

1. 

   1)

   Ram said on 8/11/2006 @ 6:21pm PT: [Permalink]

   I thought this was interesting:

   This is not the first time Vela or his wife, Sylvia Vela, are embroiled in elections controversies.

   Sylvia Vela pleaded no contest in 1994 to charges of tampering with mail-in ballots, and Navarro said she heard a host of informal complaints about the mayor in 2001 that resembled current ones. Those included allegedly improperly contacting the city secretary, who oversees elections, during the voting period, Navarro said.

2. 

   2)

   big dan said on 8/11/2006 @ 6:37pm PT: [Permalink]

   Here’s the daily voting news: we’re fucked

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   3)

   oldturk said on 8/11/2006 @ 8:27pm PT: [Permalink]

   Incidentally,..

   The political party these, steal the voting ballots from the elderly, crooks,.. they didn’t happen to be
   Rethuglicans,.. did they ? Exploiting the aged and tampering with an election to this extent,.. these unethical clowns should be locked up for a long – long time.

   Did they also grab the bank books and stock certificates of these elderly victims,.. and cash them in to their own benefit ? It would not surprise me in the least. Dirt/scumbags,.. I’ll bet they are really proud of themselves. Never thought they would get nailed. Off to prison – throw away the keys !

   It is reminiscent of the Noe family, up in Ohio,.. fascists subverting and stealing democracy every chance they get. Human trash.

4. 

   4)

   Joan said on 8/11/2006 @ 8:27pm PT: [Permalink]

   #2
   Yes we are.

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   5)

   BOB YOUNG said on 8/12/2006 @ 8:22am PT: [Permalink]

   #3

   I think they just happened to be RepublicCons once again!

6. 

   6)

   Ram said on 8/13/2006 @ 2:38am PT: [Permalink]

   Oh, this Texas story is interesting. I searched the “Monitor” and did a google ’cause I was trying to find out if Vela is Republican.

   Found a blog that linked to this July 03,2005 story:

   Voter Fraud: DA should agressively investigate case

   The Texas Rangers are investigating the activities of paid political operatives “” politiqueras “” in the McAllen municipal election. The most spectacular evidence comes in the form of audio and video recordings in which Jose “Joey” Lopez offers to sell 400 mail-in ballots to Othal Brand Sr.’s mayoral campaign. The Hidalgo County elections office has also received dozens of complaints from voters who claim their ballots were tampered with.

   Rangers Sgt. Israel Pacheco said the case needs to be investigated aggressively. “The politiqueras are out there doing illegal things, and they’re interfering with the voting process,” Pacheco told The Monitor.

   Pacheco said he was pleased to learn initially that the Texas Attorney General’s Office would handle the case before the grand jury. Then, however, Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra said he would present the case.

   Unfortunately, as the Ranger pointed out, Guerra hasn’t pursued this type of crime too doggedly in the past. Similar cases in Edcouch, Elsa and Progreso resulted in probation in exchange for guilty pleas.

   Guerra says voter fraud is hard to prove, and the DA already predicted that of the most recent allegations. “A lot of them are going to be unproven and unimportant,” Guerra told The Monitor, although “There will be some that are definitely worthy of investigation by a grand jury.”

   Sounds like Guerra’s hedging his bets and dragging his feet. He says such cases are hard to verify, but the Texas Rangers have given him a gift with these tapes. Of course, the DA has rejected similar gifts from law enforcement in other cases.

   Here’s what The Monitor said about the current case:

   A district attorney for 23 years, Guerra has traditionally been reluctant to push forward with elections cases, saying convictions are notoriously difficult to win.

   Guerra is a democrat.

   Still don’t know about Vela.

   But the more I dig, the more it looks like things are really crazy in Texas small town politics.

   #2 and #4: Agreed.

7. 

   7)

   Dredd said on 8/13/2006 @ 5:34am PT: [Permalink]

   The big picture does not change the small picture, and vice versa.

   Big Brother is a republican by a long shot!

8. 

   8)

   Dredd said on 8/13/2006 @ 6:05am PT: [Permalink]

   Who will you vote for in the US House Election:

   POLL…(DATE)..[% R=Republican, D=Democrat]

   Newsweek…(8/11)…[39% R, 51% D]
   FOX/OD……..(8/9)…..[30% R, 48% D]
   AP/Ipsos…..(8/9)….[37% R, 55% D]

   (link here).

9. 

   9)

   Ram said on 8/13/2006 @ 1:01pm PT: [Permalink]

   #8 Dredd:

   Thanks! Those numbers are even after the Busheviks started taking credit for keeping us safe from British terrorists.

   But I get a little scared when their desperate measures don’t get results. (Shudder) What outrageous thing will they do next?