It’s been quite a year. An exhausting one at that. Even gathering up some of the “Best of” stuff from The BRAD BLOG this year turned into a much taller order than we had planned on. So tall, in fact, that we’re breaking it into three bite size pieces, to be posted over the next several days, for your reviewing pleasure.
It turned out to be an impossible task to choose “Best of” stuff from this extraordinary year, so we decided to focus only on this year’s Exclusives and Breaking News for the most part. Mind you, even at that, as regular readers will quickly see, what we have room to remind you of here is very much just tip-of-the-iceberg stuff. Though even just the basics, in review, make for one helluva story — about which someone should write a book or two some day (we wonder who that someone might be).
Anyway, until that big book advance comes through, we remind you again at year’s end that we appreciate whatever BRAD BLOG DONATION you may be able to make to our continuing efforts. We also remind you that 2007 could be even more spectacular by kicking it off with a monthly subscription (as always, optional, and available via the blue form on the right of every page.)
So here now, Part 1 (Jan – Apr) of our 3-part look back at a few of the most notable stories in The BRAD BLOG Year in Review 2006…
JANUARY…
The Soon-to-be-Indicted Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio’s Connection To Electoral Fraud
The Dots Connect Between Abramoff, Ohio 2004 Election Smokescreen and Ney’s Former Staffer Revealed to be on Diebold’s Payroll While Working for White House Law Firm
All the While as HAVA — America’s ‘Election Reform’ Bill — is Used for Political Payoff in the Bargain…
EXCLUSIVE: Attorney General Gonzales Called to Testify at Congressional Hearings on NSA Spying!
Citing Bush Statement that Such Hearings are ‘Good for Democracy’, Ranking Minority Member of House Judiciary Extends Invitation
Former Deputy AG, Ardent Administration Defender, Architect of Torture Memos, John Yoo Also Called to Testify
EXCLUSIVE: Sibel Edmonds Lauds Gore Speech Calling for New Whistleblower Legislation
FBI Whistleblower on Necessity of Protections for Government ‘Truth-Tellers’
BREAKING: CINDY SHEEHAN ARRESTED BY CAPITOL POLICE INSIDE CAPITOL CHAMBER FOR WEARING IRAQ KIA T-SHIRT!
Was to Attend State of the Union Address! Was Already Seated in Gallery When Arrested by Capitol Police!
EXCLUSIVE DETAILS…’T-Shirt’ Story Confirmed by AP…Media Fighting over Sheehan for Morning Show Appearances…Protesters Rallying for Sheehan’s Release…Police push protesters away from Capitol…Sheehan Finally Released, Says She was “Roughed Up”…PHOTO OF THE ‘THE SHIRT’ FINALLY…
FEBRUARY…
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: ‘Not Fit to Live! – Ann Coulter’s Gospel of Life’
The Second in a Series of Short Anti-Coulter Video Presentations by ‘Citizens for Principled Conservatism’, A — yes — conservative organization!
Compilation of Coulter’s Greatest Hate Speech ‘Hits’ Draws Comparison Between the Extremist Rightwinger and Osama bin Laden…VR’s ImpeachMobile Makes a House Call!
EXCLUSIVE: Sibel Edmonds Rebukes Dennis Hastert Attorney’s Rebuttal to Charges of Bribery
‘Gag Ordered’ FBI Whistleblower Gives Statement to BRAD BLOG Questioning Letter to Vanity Fair by House Speaker’s Legal Counsel
Calls on Hastert to ‘Come Clean’ on $500k in Un-Itemized Campaign Donations, Relationship With Turkish Interest GroupsEXCLUSIVE: Conservative-Based Coalition Calls for ‘Comprehensive Hearings’, Special Counsel to Investigate Bush’s Warrantless Wiretaps
Open Letter Also Calls for National Security Whistleblower Protection
EXCLUSIVE: Conyers Sends Letter to Bush, Cheney Challenging ‘Authorized’ Leaks of Classified National Security Intel!
Ranking House Judiciary Minority Member Asks for Confirmation, Clarification of Reported ‘Authorization’ by Cheney and other ‘White House Superiors’ in Plame CIA Leak Case…
Inquires into ‘Legal Basis’ for Leaks Which Bush Has Previously Decried…EXCLUSIVE: DoJ Notifies House Today of Monday Briefing on NSA Wiretaps
Rare Saturday Email in Advance of Resolutions of Inquiry Mark-Up Said a Sign of GOP/White House Concern About Warrantless Eavesdropping Program…
EXCLUSIVE: CLINT CURTIS EYEING RUN FOR CONGRESS AGAINST TOM FEENEY!
Whistleblowing Computer Programmer Seeking to Challenge GOP Congressman Charged With Asking Him to Create Vote-Rigging Software!
Exploratory Campaign Website Created, Public Announcement to be Made Wednesday in FloridaEXCLUSIVE: Conyers’ Says DoJ Admits Legalities of NSA Wiretaps ‘Close Calls’ in Statement Supporting Resolutions of Inquiry
Ranking Member, 43 Others Seeking NSA Domestic Eavesdrop Docs from DoJ
Says Resolutions are ‘Nonpartisan Constitutional Check and Balance on Administration’, Mark-Up Conference Scheduled for WednesdayCPAC Day 3: The Good, The Confused and The Warped
The CPAC Microcosm of and Petri Dish for Conservatism in America?
Guest Blogger Dan Borchers’ No Holds Barred Finale — From the ‘Excellent’ to the ‘Honored’ to the ‘Appalling’ to the ‘Intolerably Hypocritical’?EXCLUSIVE: Q&A With Vote-Rigging Whistleblower Turned Candidate Clint Curtis…
Former Republican turned Democrat says: ‘I’m Purple with a Blue Tint’
On Opponent Tom Feeney and Friends: ‘The values of the Republican party have ceased to exist’, Will Ask Feeney to Take Polygraph!
CALIFORNIA SCHEMING: About McPherson’s Diebold About-Face
FEATURING: An EXCLUSIVE Video Tape Interview with CA’s Clueless SoS Stating ‘We’ll Wait to Hear from the Feds About Diebold Before Certifying’ (apparently, he was just kidding)
ALSO: Action Items for Americans Who Care About Democracy — Five Phone Calls is All We Ask Right Now to Force E-Voting Vendors to Answer Questions Under Oath!
VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Arizona Election Official’s Diebold Tirade Caught on Tape as Electoral Integrity Battle Nears Boiling Point!
Pima County Election Director Brad Nelson Launches Outburst Towards Election Reform Advocate in Response to Question About New Touch-Screen Voting Machines
Letter Calls for Censure of Official as Onlookers Stunned by Encounter, Feared Violence Would Break Out…
MARCH…
EXCLUSIVE: FBI WHISTLEBLOWER SIBEL EDMONDS IS READY TO TALK!
‘Gag Ordered’ Former Translator Seeks to Tell Congress and the American People What She Knows
Online Petition Launched Calling on Congress to Hold Joint Public Hearings by the Senate and House Judiciary Committees to Finally Allow the Truth of Her Allegations to be Told…MD House Votes 137 to 0 to Ban Diebold Touch-Screen Voting in 2006!
Washington Post Covers Story on Front Page, Describes Unanimous Vote to ‘Ditch Diebold’ as a ‘Stunning Turnaround’ in the State, Signals a ‘National Shift’ to Paper…EXCLUSIVE: Hart InterCivic Whistleblower Warned of Texas, Ohio E-Voting ‘Fraud’ Concerns in 2004!
100,000+ Votes Were Errantly Added by Hart Machines in a Single County in Last Tuesday’s Primary via Flawed, Paperless ‘eSlate’ Touch-Screen System!
Former Hart Employee, Tarrant County TX Election Worker Notified State, Legal Authorities in 2004 About Serious Voting Machine Problems, Procedures…All Warnings and Complaints Ignored
EXCLUSIVE: Through the (Plastic) Looking Glass & Behind the Brown Door…
Diebold’s Toilet Paper Democracy — a Photographic Essay
How America’s Votes Will be Counted (or not) in 2006 and Beyond…Unless Something is Done About it.BREAKING: LEGAL ACTION TO BE FILED IN CALIFORNIA TO ‘HALT USE OR PURCHASE OF DIEBOLD VOTING MACHINES’ IN STATE!
Lawsuit to Name Sec. of State Bruce McPherson, Alleges ‘Severe Security Risk’, Noncompliance with HAVA’s Disabled-Voting Provisions, and Violation of CA State Law!BREAKING: E-VOTE FAILURE! Texas Primary Recount Halted By Secretary of State!
Hart Intercivic Touch-Screen Voting Machines in Tom Green County Fail To Print Ballots for All Votes in Mandated Recount!
REPORT: ‘Electronic machines not providing all info’, 20% Discrepany Between Recount and Election Night Results!
Sequoia E-Vote Systems Found ‘Hackable’ in PA, Testing Shut Down After Machine Failures!
‘Software Clearly Unstable,’ Says Testing Official Who ‘Transformed Handful of Votes into Thousands…in an Instant’!
Ten-Year Old E-Voting Systems from NV Planned for First Time Use in PA This Year
APRIL…
EXCLUSIVE: Ann Coulter’s Felonious Florida Voter Registration Application
GOP Darling Seems to be Latest in Growing List of Republicans Who Choose to Ignore ‘The Rule of Law’
State, County Records Show She Lied on Voter Application, Despite Oath Affirming Truthiness of InformationBREAKING: E-Voting Lawsuit Filed against PA County, U.S. Dept. of Justice!
Suit Seeks to Stop Last Minute Implementation of ES&S Voting Machines In Allegheny CountyLATEST E-VOTE LAWSUIT: Oregon Sues ES&S for Breach of Contract!
2006 Election ‘Train Wreck’ Continues as Company Fails to Meet Obligations in Yet Another State
Complaint Latest in Growing String of Legal Battles, HAVA-Related E-Voting Meltdowns Around the Country…EXCLUSIVE: Congressman Continues FOIA Request Battle with Depts of Defense, State over Iraq War-Related Documents
Conyers Sends New Letters to Agencies, Continues to Amend Request by 52 Congressmen, Argues Fees Should be Waived as Agencies Keep Up Stonewall
DoD, State, Question House Members’ Ability to ‘Disseminate Info to Public’
Neil Young’s LIVING WITH WAR: ‘It may just be the Fahrenheit 9/11 of rock’
BRAD BLOG Guest Blogger Jim Cirile Gets an Exclusive Pre-Release Listen to Neil Young’s Groundbreaking New Protest Album
EXCLUSIVE – ES&S MELTDOWN: Texas SoS Office Advises Election Officials to Create ‘Emergency Paper Ballots’ for Upcoming Elections!
Director of Elections Sends Letter Authorizing Measure in Light of Latest Failure by Electronic Voting Machine Vendor
Says Company’s Performance in Most Recent — of Many Similar Incidences Around the Country — is ‘Completely Unacceptable and Disturbing’
BREAKING: HOUSE REPS SUE BUSH FOR SIGNING LAW THAT NEVER PASSED HOUSE!
EXCLUSIVE DETAILS: Complete lawsuit, Timeline from House Members…
Alleges Violation of U.S. Constitution Which Requires Both Chambers Must Pass Law Before Signing by PresidentBREAKING – ES&S MELTDOWN CONTINUES: Legal Actions Filed in Indiana and West Virginia
WV County Withholds $1.2 Million Payment to Electronic Voting Machine Company
‘They Are Hiding Out,’ Says County Commissioner About Previous Company Promises to Service the County
RELEASED ONLINE: Neil Young’s ‘Living With War’
War/Bush Protest Album Available for Listening Online…
[UPDATE] EXCLUSIVE: ‘LET’S IMPEACH THE PRESIDENT’ Single Version Now Streaming Here…
Part 2 of The BRAD BLOG Year in Review 2006 is now posted here…
Yes it has been quite a year.
After having stumbled onto this voting machine controversy in March of 2003 and seeing the local and national media treat it like it wasn’t even as important as a typical fender-bender down the block, it has been invaluable for me to have a place to vent and see any progress being made.
The BradBlog is the place where people can go to have a laugh or shoot the breeze about a variety of subjects that make us mad, but also “focuses like a lazer beam” on THE MOST IMPORTANT SUBJECT that affects our future as a participatory democracy.
Thanks for making a deadly serious subject fun enough to digest Brad. The most nefarious spokesholes in the nation add to the joviality of the still, (on my computer anyway), green and yellow blog.
I like the snowflake effect …
The past year lacked congressional oversight … this year will probably see subpoena wars (link here).
Indeed, Dredd, the year to come promises to be filled to the brim and then some with delicious, steaming scandals. I have been aware of Cheney making noises about refusing to testify under oath before the Congress and general refusals to submit subpoenaed materials, and would be interested in your take. Can the Marshal At Arms, or whatever he’s called, be dispatched to bring recalcitrant subjects in for questioning? Aren’t we talking frog-marching here?
Brad, I’m so glad you’re doing the year in review. I often recommend your site to friends and acquaintances, but dropping in out of the blue one time can’t begin to provide any real understanding of the value of this site. This post of yours appears to be a tailor-made recruiting tool. Thank you for all your work. Your instincts have proven to be keen indeed.
Great recap, Brad. I like the snowflakes, too.
Check out this excellent anti war video, and please help to spread it;
Guernica Iraq
Czaragorn #3
My take is that the VP and President will grow further apart as they argue about how to do it. The VP will want to moon them while holding his shotgun, but W will want to lie his way out rather than shoot his way out. They may have to pull troops from Iraq and put them in DC. 😉
The link in my post has source material and links for a comprehensive study into the tension between the administrative branch and congressional oversight.
There is even a manual on how to do oversight … OVERSIGHT FOR DUMMIES is probably a good sub-heading for next year. The republican rubber stamp congress were DUMMIES when it came to oversight.
They weren’t stupid, Dredd, they were just plain unwilling, IMO
I WONDER if some of the folks that commented here regularly have been intimidated by the gop (Greedy Old Perverts) controlled government . . .
Are you Losing or did you Lose your Progressive Talk Radio station ? ? ?
http://www.nonstopradio.com/
We Believe the gop want’s them ALL GONE for the 2008 ELECTION ! ! !
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