-- Brad Friedman, The BRAD BLOG

The state canvassing board in Minnesota has now certified Al Franken (D) as the winner over incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman (R) in the race for the U.S. Senate. Barring a successful legal challenge, which has now been filed by Coleman, Franken will have won the seat by an astoundingly close 225 votes, out of some 2.9 million cast.

But there's still a chance, albeit a slim one, for Coleman to reverse his fate. A very good provision in MN's law --- not found in most other states --- may delay Franken's seating, meaning he will not be sworn in with rest of Congress at the beginning of the new session slated to start tomorrow. Ultimately, however, the provisions should ensure that whoever is eventually sworn in to serve as the state's Senator will not be forced to serve under a cloud.

The voters of MN deserve that much, no matter how long it takes, and thankfully, like its hand-count laws, the state's provision requiring the completion of legal challenges before final certification is sent to Congress by the Sec. of State, is a model for the nation.

Would that all of the other states in the union had such a provision...

Guest Blogged by John Gideon and Ellen Theisen, VotersUnite.Org

There can be little doubt that, of the issues springing from elections held since George W. Bush signed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, two are among the most significant. Those issues are failures of voting systems to meet the HAVA mandates for accuracy and accessibility and the confusion over the proper use of provisional ballots.

The states should have been able to look to the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) for guidance on both issues, but the EAC has failed to give the necessary Assistance, thus failing to fulfill duties assigned to the agency by federal law.

Now the EAC is proposing to extend its dereliction of duty for another two years. The result will be the publication of these important guidelines a full eight years after HAVA was enacted. The delay is inexcusable and intolerable, and the cost to American elections, on many fronts, is nearly incalculable...

Majority leader Sen. Harry Reid and the rest of the Senate Democrats have long said they'd refuse to seat anybody that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed to fill Obama's seat.

But as of yesterday's Meet the Press, Reid stated that "he's always ready to negotiate."

Will Harry Reid fold on Burris nomination, and allow him to be seated after all?

• Yes, he always folds
• No, he'll stick to his guns this time
• I haven't a clue

View Results

Seriously. It's hysterical. If you happen to catch this in time to turn it on, do. Kathy Griffin is hysterical. (And psst...I voted right after her in line on November 4th, and she asked me how she should vote. I'm sure she disregarded my suggestions.)

Nice to see CNN with its pants down for a change. Good work Kathy! Eat it, Seacrest!

So what are you other homebodies doing on New Years Eve? (And why aren't you watching CNN?!)

Part One was here. Part Two follows...

As The BRAD BLOG hobbles wrist-wrecked and flu-fallen towards the finish line of a particularly harrowing and exhausting year, we're heartened by a very nice distinction, being named as Finalist in the 2008 Weblog Awards.

We hadn't even realized we were in the running, until the list of nominees was announced last night. So we're pleased to find ourselves in very distinguished company for the "Best Liberal Blog" nod:

• Hullabaloo
• Think Progress
• Sadly, No!
• The BRAD BLOG
• Blue Gal
• Orcinus
• Truthdig
• Wonkette
• Taylor Marsh
• Shakesville
• Crooks & Liars
• The Confluence
• Glenn Greenwald's Unclaimed Territory
• Talking Points Memo

We don't much care for the "Liberal Blog" label, but as neither "Best Independent Blog" nor "Best Non-Rightwingnut Blog" were available categories, and given the company we're honored to share, we'll take whatever we can get and note --- as it is said, and we mean it --- the honor of simply being nominated.

Online voting for the title begins right here at the Weblog Awards site on Jan 5th. Though given the sizes of the (mostly) group blogs we're nominated alongside, as mentioned, we're honored to have simply been nominated, without even campaigning, as Finalist.

UPDATE 1/5/09: Voting is now open through Jan 12th. And guess what? You can vote once in every 24 hour period! So go stuff the ballot box! It's legal!

It is no more offensive for a potential chair of the RNC to circulate a song called "Barack the Magic Negro" than it would be for a potential chair of the DNC to circulate a song called "Bristol's Bastard Baby."

Both acts would be equally amusing.

Guess what I got for Xmas? Yup, got slammed by the flu on XMas weekend, just to make sure I had extra fun this year. Well, I've taken the hint, and have been standing down, way down, lying down, in fact, for several days, and may continue to do so, unless the world stops revolving without me.

Guest bloggers, as usual, will save the day...until I feel up to doing so myself again...Please pardon my absence until then...Much to catch up on, but it'll have to wait for now. You --- and I, both --- will thank me later.

Guest blogged by John Gideon, VotersUnite.Org

In an October BRAD BLOG article we reported that a court-ordered report highly negative of Sequoia Voting Systems products being used throughout New Jersey could soon be released to the public. Prior to the release date, and then again last week, Sequoia Voting Systems attacked both the report and its author, Princeton University computer science professor Andrew Appel.

On December 18, Sequoia issued a press release with a misleading title and subtitle:

And, on the company's blog, written by VP of Communications and External Affairs Michelle Shafer, she continues the lie:

In an email to this writer, Professor Appel responded to what he says are "false statements about me in two recent press releases" from Sequoia. The BRAD BLOG posts his response in full below, with his express permission...

At this year's Christmas, I'm happy to associate myself with my colleague, the good John Gideon of VotersUnite.org who offered these well-writ holiday thoughts at the top of last night's DVN:

As well, I share the following from a moving note sent to me by another colleague today, one who happens to be a great, longtime civil rights champion. I believe his thoughts, and thanks, are due to all of those who have helped to support our work here at The BRAD BLOG and have made us a regular stop on an increasingly busy super highway, over the past year and more...

Please take his kind words sent to me, as my sincere thoughts sent to you, in hopes we can all celebrate someday --- and perhaps even for a few hours this Christmas or Hanukkah or whatever holiday you enjoy --- what we all continue to strive for, in our long, strange journey together...

One last update before the two Jews running for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota stop to celebrate Christmas.

It's almost all over but the court case, and even that, if it happens, doesn't seem to have much left to stand on. In summary then, here's where we now are in the extraordinarily close U.S. Senate hand-count in MN...

Yesterday, "Mediabloodhound" Brad Jacobson (an occasional guest contributor to The BRAD BLOG) covered the coverage, noting the curious lack thereof, in the corporate mainstream, of the death of Mike Connell, the longtime top Bush/Rove/McCain IT consultant.

Jacobson's piece concludes:

Shortly following the publication of Jacobson's piece, AP/CBS filed a rather detailed report, one which is actually quite thorough by MSM standards.

Nonetheless, it's still been fairly quiet in the bulk of the MSM, especially in the broadcast MSM, and especially given the high-ranks of Connell, who had been the chief IT consultant for Karl Rove, had received millions creating websites for the Bushes, McCain, the Swiftboaters, the state of OH and dozens of other GOP campaigns, as well as having created the network firewalls for top Congressional committees (for which his company reportedly received a sweetheart, no-bid contract) and the controversial alternate email server used by the White House and at the center of the US Attorney purge scandal.

Let's hope the AP/CBS report will now spur more MSM coverage...just in time to be lost in the XMas news hole, of course.

A few more odds and ends of note today on this matter, as we head into that news hole...

I'm not sure what, if any, light this video --- as shot by local eye and ear-witnesses in Akron, OH --- sheds on the plane crash and death of high-ranking GOP IT operative Mike Connell. But, as it may reveal something, to somebody, in the still-unexplained, and surprisingly-timed crash, I suppose it may useful to put it on the record here.

For example, despite scattered reports that bad weather may have contributed to the cause of the crash, the weather seems to have been clear, at least on the ground, at least by the time the witnesses arrived, as seen in the video. Reports of "mist" seem to be belied in the early part of the video, shot through the front window of the car which does not appear to have its windshield wipers on. [UPDATE: RAW STORY also reports weather data during the hour of the crash, noting visibility was clear, and temperatures just above freezing.] Also, several descriptions of what was heard by the "ear-witnesses" as the crash occurred, may be of value as well.

The video, and an audio interview with OH attorney Cliff Arnebeck, who had sought Connell's protection after reported threats from Karl Rove, follow below...

Guest blogged by Jon Ponder, Pensito Review.

On Sunday, BeliefNet reported that the website for Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Orange County, Cal., contained a warning that unrepentant gays were forbidden from joining the church:

Yesterday, that section, which was part of a longer diatribe about the sin of homosexuality (see below), is gone. According to BeliefNet, this link led to the page banning gays. Now it connects to a page titled "What We Believe." BeliefNet is known for down-the-line reporting on religion. It was recently purchased by Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp.

Via Good As You, there are are still offensive statements about gays on the megachurch site: