American Troops Killed (as of 5/29/05)
In Afghanistan: 184
In Iraq: 1,657
Funerals Attended by George W. Bush
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  w/ Brad & Desi
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  w/ Brad & Desi
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BARCODED BALLOTS AND BALLOT MARKING DEVICES
BMDs pose a new threat to democracy in all 50 states...
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VIDEO: 'Rise of the Tea Bags'
Brad interviews American patriots...
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'Democracy's Gold Standard'
Hand-marked, hand-counted ballots...
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GOP Voter Registration Fraud Scandal 2012...
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The Secret Koch Brothers Tapes...
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MORE BRAD BLOG 'SPECIAL COVERAGE' PAGES... |
American Troops Killed (as of 5/29/05)
In Afghanistan: 184
In Iraq: 1,657
Funerals Attended by George W. Bush
0
C-SPAN will be airing Conyers' Media Bias forum from earlier this week, at 8pm ET this evening (Saturday). Hopefully it'll later be online for download as well.
(And a reminder that last week's BRAD SHOW repeats tonight from 7p - 11p ET this week if you want to get your Media Reform hammer in both ears
Featuring actual reporting (as opposed to just rewritten press releases), the Texas Observer actually writes about what happened at Tom DeLay's recent "Conservative Movement Salute" held in D.C. recently to shore up the failing GOP House Leader.
They accomplished this feat by actually attending the event, talking to people who were there, and reporting on what they saw and what they didn't see. Imagine that.
What they didn't see, was the bulk of DeLay's Republican colleagues, nor the many K Street lobbyists with whom DeLay has infamously raised millions...
Look what happens when people actually pay attention to their democracy. As reported in today's South Florida Sun-Sentinel...
Supervisor of Elections Lester Sola made the recommendation Friday in an initial analysis of the county's voting system and the feasibility of adopting a new one. In his report, Sola said that adopting the simpler system could save county taxpayers millions and restore voter confidence by providing a paper record of ballots cast.
...
Sola's report comes days after a voter advocacy group released a disparaging report that cited a litany of problems during last fall's general elections, among them malfunctioning voting machines.
We previously linked to a Miami Herald news article describing the report referred to above.
The report from earlier this month demonstrated, amongst other things, that "there were 5,917 cases where there were more votes than signatures" and that "In another 2,208 cases, there were more signatures than votes."
The voting machines in question, which failed the voters and costs millions of wasted tax dollars, were made by Electronic Systems & Software (ES&S), one of two companies (along with Diebold) which record and count 80% of the votes in the United States of America.
UPDATE: From Miami-Herald's article today on the same issue...
Broward County also uses ES&S machines.
Dade is one of ES&S' biggest clients. The company has more than 40,000 units in 20 states.
...
In Broward, there is no effort to replace the [ES&S] iVotronics the county purchased for $17.2 million in late 2001.
...
''It doesn't really make any sense to put more money into these machines that nobody trusts,'' Sorenson said.
Either way, the county will continue to pay for its decision to buy iVotronics --- at least for the next seven years. It owes ES&S $20.5 million.
ATTENTION BROWARD COUNTY (and all other counties and Secretary's of State now using or considering purchasing from ES&S and other private and unaccountable voting machine companies): Save your tax payers' money NOW! Don't buy these pieces of junk from irresponsible companies like ES&S and Diebold!
FURTHER UPDATE: ES&S seems to be gaming the system further in what appears to be a specific bid by the company to supress sales of technology by AutoMARK which creates both a paper trail and assists disabled voters. ES&S entered an agreement with AutoMARK to help sell their machines, but appears to be in the business of doing precisely the opposite! Thanks to John Gideon of VotersUnite.org for his excellent work on this report exposing the chicanery that ES&S is up to!
We'll be re-broadcasting a previous show (probably last week's) since it's a Holiday Weekend. Be sure to catch it (7p - 11p ET on Saturday) via www.BradShow.com if you didn't last week! It was a great show and includes interviews with Jim Lampley, Sen. Dick Durbin, and "Operation Iraqi Freedom" vet USMC 1st Lt. Andrew Borene amongst others!
Beyond that, enjoy the weekend and take a break from saving democracy if you wish! I'm guessing that you, like I, can use the break! Though I have a feeling I'll still be on duty throughout the next few days...at least somewhat.
While we take the time to remember those who fought and died for what's left of our freedoms and those who are doing so on behalf of this country even as I write...allow me to thank all of you who have fought so hard and so tirelessly over the last several months and years attempting to preserve those same freedoms. I know that it's been easy for none of us and --- though nothing like those who have given their lives for the cause --- has taken a toll on all of us. A toll, however, that I firmly believe will prove before long to have been well worth it.
So thank you endlessly to all of the BRAD BLOG Freedom Fighters! Now go enjoy the weekend!
John Conyers has just posted a request for 100,000 signatures by citizens on the same letter that he and 88 other Congressmen sent to George W. Bush concerning the Downing Street Memo/Minutes. The same letter from Congress that Bush has arrogantly seen fit to ignore completely for more than three weeks!
He has been there for us, it's our turn to be there for him!
If Conyers is able to collect 100,000 signatures, he has promised to hand deliver them to the White House. Let's ensure that he gets that many and more!
Please sign Conyers' letter here, asap! (and be sure to answer the "Validation Email" that will come to you afterward!)
And, as well, if you haven't already, be sure to sign the petion to Congress for a "Resolution of Inquiry" into the matter created by the citizens coalition as discussed yesterday. That petition can be found here.
Yes, these signatures matter. Please sign them both and spread the word! While we are privileged to enjoy Memorial Day Weekend BBQ'ing and frolicking in rememberance of those who gave their lives for this country, the least we can do is a click a couple of links and fill out a petition or two! Please do so now! And that means all "6 or 7" of you and your friends and family!
(Feel free to use the "Email it to someone" link at the bottom of this item to make it easier!)
When they even begin to lose Novak, that should tell you something.
This from his column yesterday --- headlined "Army's recruitment crisis deepens" --- in which he quoted from an Email exchange with a friend of his, Retired Army Lt. Col. Charles Krohn:
Krohn's e-mail describes the problem: ''Consider the implications of being unable to find sufficient volunteers, as seen by our adversaries. Has the United States lost its will to survive? What's happened to the Great Satan when so few are willing to fight to defend the country? Surely bin Laden et al are making this argument, telling supporters victory is just around the corner if they are a bit more patient. And if they're successful, the energy sources in the Mideast may be within their grasp.''
A trial balloon being floated there concerning a Draft? Perhaps. Novak floats many balloons for his friends in the White House (just ask Valerie Plame).
And then, of course, Krohn's admission about what he fears most --- a loss of "energy sources in the Mideast" --- is rather revealing. Not that it's a war about Oil or anything.
But the bottom line is that even Novak seems to be seeing the light of day: George W. Bush's colossal failure in Iraq is the real problem...
Oh, do ya think, Bob? Not to go all Rush on ya to say "see, we told ya so", but we will say, where the fuck were you two years, 1600 dead troops and 100,000 dead Iraqis ago, Bob?
Anyway, we'll attempt to be generous as is our proclivity even in these dark days, and simply hope that is a signal that even Novak is joining the club of those many Republicans now taking baby-steps towards joining the rest of us back here in the Reality-Based Community.
UPDATE: Last weekend on CNN's Capitol Gang Novak said that his Pentagon sources feel that "it is imperative to get the hell out of there". He also goes on to say "I really believe that we've done all we can and it's time we go and hope things work out for the better."
Video clip in two flavors courtesy of David Edwards: Streaming Real Player, Windows Media
Finally. The United States Congress was allowed 30 minutes by the Republican Majority to debate the War in Iraq!
Yesterday, an amendment by Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) to the Pentagon's $491 Billion Appropriation Bill was debated on the floor of congress. Woolsey's amendment called on Bush to begin planning an Exit Strategy for Iraq.
Imagine that! An actual dialogue --- out loud, and on the floor of the U.S. Congress! --- about one of the most botched, illegitimate, ill-conceived and ill-waged foreign policies in the history of the United States of America. One that has taken hundreds of thousands of innocent lives, has made the world more dangerous (by the Pentagon's own admission!) and has no end in sight.
The amendment didn't pass, of course, but the topic is finally being discussed. Albeit all too briefly.
Nonetheless, even five Republicans, one of them Walter Jones (R-NC) of Freedom Fries fame (see yesterday's story on his change of heart and regret over both the fries and the war) voted in favor of the amendment!
Of the five Republicans to vote for Woolsey's amendment, only one, Representative Walter Jones of North Carolina, spoke in favor of it on the House floor. Jones, one of the most conservative members in Congress, led the campaign in 2003 to change French fries to freedom fries.
"We've never voted one time together in my eleven years here," said Jones, referring to Representative Woolsey. "When I voted two years ago to submit the troops, I was making my decisions on facts. Since that time, I've been very disappointed on what I've learned about the justification of going into Iraq. Afghanistan, absolutely, we should be there. We should have more troops, but we can't have more troops there when they're in Iraq."
Read the tea-leaves. Listen to the thunder.
RAW STORY's Larisa Alexandrovna is set to report shortly that a movement seeking a "Resolution of Inquiry" by members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee into details surrounding the Downing Street Memo is now under way.
A number of grassroots citizens organizations, including The BRAD BLOG and Velvet Revolution have issued our support for such a Resolution, which could potentially be the first move towards a criminal investigation and/or Impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.
In the now-infamous July 2002 memo (issued a full 8 months prior to the War on Iraq), it is said that "Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."
Neither the Bush or Tony Blair administrations have disputed the authenticity of the memo or the information contained within it.
89 Members of Congress recently sent a letter to George W. Bush inquiring about the memo. As of today, no response has been received by Congress.
UPDATE: Alexandrovna's story is now up at RAW STORY. It begins...
A coalition of citizen activist groups running the gamut of social and political issues will ask Congress to file a Resolution of Inquiry, the first necessary legal step to determine whether President Bush has committed impeachable offenses in misleading the country about his decision to go to war in Iraq...
FURTHER UPDATE: A website has now been established for the newly emerging citizen's coaltion at AfterDowningStreet.org
FURTHER FURTHER UPDATE: Velvet Revolution's official statement is now online here. Please sign this petition to your lawmakers now!
In a follow-up posted yesterday by Jim Lampley at HuffingtonPost.com, Lampley discusses his original blog item which set off a firestorm when he claimed that Election 2004 was "the biggest crime in the history of the nation".
His latest item suggests what we have been saying here for months: "a mountain of evidence suggests the 2004 Presidential election was decisively tampered with and general media are doing nothing about it."
He also answers back directly to his critics and once again compares the gaming of Election 2004 to Watergate and even links to a BRAD BLOG story in the bargain...
Jim Lampley appeared for an exclusive interview on our radio program, The BRAD SHOW, recently. You may listen to an .MP3 archive of our interview with him, in which he goes into great detail on this matter, at that page.
UPDATE: HuffPost has now added COMMENTS for each blog item! Go put in a good word for Lampley over there! Looks like the Freepers are trying to (surprise, surprise) avoid, distract and deflect over there. Go get 'em! Tell 'em the truth!
After reading the item posted here last night about what seems to have happened in Arizona, please take a look at what AP is now reporting as having happened in Miami-Dade...
In many precincts, the number of people who signed in to cast votes was not tracked carefully, or in some cases was not compared with the actual number of ballots cast at those precincts.
The group also said there was a touchscreen machine malfunction; when votes were tallied the results from one machine had been counted three times, creating a discrepancy of 171 votes that became part of the certified canvass, the group said.
"It slid right through and nobody caught it," said Martha Mahoney, a professor at University of Miami and a group member.
Fifteen of Florida's 67 counties used touchscreen machines, including most of the heavily populated ones.
Election officials welcomed the criticism and said the machine that gave a 3-for-1 tally has been sent for testing.
The item above, run this morning by AP seems to be a report on the same news item run by Miami-Herald almost three weeks ago which includes many more details on just how out of line the final results were from the information in the poll books.
All of this is a pattern that most of us --- who have being paying attention --- saw months ago. Will the MSM see it now that these various reports are being confirmed in various segments of the "legit" media?
We look forward to digging into this one a bit, hopefully in the morning or at least after some elusive but much needed rest.
In any case, this template for a stolen national election, as presented by one man who's been diligently compiling his case since Election Day, is certainly compelling. We urge you to give it a look.
The Tuscon Weekly is to be lauded for their fine coverage of this story.
The rest of the media can largely go to hell for not doing same in every damn town and precinct across this country.
More on the story of John Brakey as we can find the time to look into it a bit more. But please do give the full article a read and let us know your thoughts.
(Thanks to our friend David Edwards for the tip!)
Not that we enjoy being "All-Conyers-All-The-Time" around here, but he is the man out in front of nearly everything these days, demonstrating what an actual opposition party is supposed to look and sound and act like.
As well, it should not go unnoticed that in the case of a Democratic Majority returning to the U.S. House of Representatives in '06 (yeah, we know the possibilities for that, given who owns the voting machines, but still...), Congressman John Conyers would be the Chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. That is the House Committee which would begin Impeachment Hearings were George W. Bush ever to have done anything that could possibly be considered an Impeachable Offense (as impossible as such as thing is to imagine!)
All of that said, Conyers made a few fairly remarkable comments in his recent interview with RAW STORY which we've only today been able to read in full.
We recommend a read of the entire transcript. The following few grafs, amongst many, certainly caught our attention...
I've received word from Johns Hopkins where our friend Andy Stephenson, who has been tireless for years in his efforts to fight Election Fraud in this country, has just completed 7.5 hours of surgery.
He has come through the surgery successfully and his tumor was removed. He is currently in Recovery and on his way to Intensive Care shortly.
I have been asked to keep further details of the surgery and his further prognosis private as of now. It has been requested, however, that I pass along the news above for those who are concerned about him, and, as well, to ask everyone to say their prayers for Andy at this time.
Interesting catch via RAW STORY from today's Guardian:
Walter Jones, the Republican congressman for North Carolina who was also the brains behind french toast becoming freedom toast in Capitol Hill restaurants, told a local newspaper the US went to war "with no justification".
...
Asked by a reporter for the North Carolina News and Observer about the name-change campaign - an idea Mr Jones said at the time came to him by a combination of God's hand and a constituent's request - he replied: "I wish it had never happened."
Although he voted for the war, he has since become one of its most vociferous opponents on Capitol Hill, where the hallway outside his office is lined with photographs of the "faces of the fallen".
"If we were given misinformation intentionally by people in this administration, to commit the authority to send boys, and in some instances girls, to go into Iraq, that is wrong," he told the newspaper. "Congress must be told the truth."
Fancy that. Even once pro-war Republicans are turning against this bogus war and beginning to face the facts.
NOTE TO TROLLS: Please begin your character assassination of Congressman Jones now. Thank you.