The Definition of "Elections" -

Elections: The advanced auction of stolen goods. 2) rituals where periodically citizen-subjects are called upon to ?participate? in the staged hoax ratification of one group of state managers or another, which provides the comforting illusion of ?democracy? where none exists. 3) Dumbocracy in action; stage prop to enable the puppeteer and his puppeticians to pull the strings of you and me. 4) show and shell games. 5) the orchestration and preservation of the illusion of choice and open competition. Elections merely determine how you will get screwed, i.e., either with a Democratic Phillips or with a Republican Flathead. Stop repeat offenders ? don?t re-elect them! Can someone find the one million votes that got dumped during the 2000 presidential election originating from the Black areas in Florida? Why do we require ATM machines to provide us with a physical receipt as verification of a transaction but do not expect as much from an electronic voting machine made by the same company? Why was the brother (Athan Gibbs) who invented the auditable electronic voting system all of a sudden a victim of duocide in his hometown?

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Is the FIX IN Again? AP Publishes News Story that says: "Bush Wins Election"

Is the FIX IN Again?  AP Publishes News Story that says:
"Bush wins election, Republicans keep House/Senate."
Earlier today (10/7/2004), the AP pushed a story to it's affiliates with the headline "Bush wins election, Republicans keep House/Senate." The story appeared briefly on the WBAY-TVwebsite [here ]before it was taken down. The lead: "President Bush has won re-election as president by a 47 percent to 43 percent margin in the popular vote... Bush has won 324 electoral votes in 33 states. He is leading in 4 states for a total of 43 more electoral votes". [more ]

• SEE a screenshot of the article [here ] and [here ] WBAY TV Issued a correction and offered the following explanation:
• "Correction: President Bush Did Not Win Election on October 7. With less than a month before the presidential election, an Associated Press test article declaring President Bush the winner was picked up by WBAY.com's automated system. The article was not recognized by our web host's system as a test message. The mistake was picked up by a discussion group on Daily Kos, prompting a phone call that alerted us to the problem. Our web host, WorldNow, removed the story in less than five minutes. The article appeared on WBAY.com for 35 minutes. WBAY apologizes for the error, and we took quick action to correct it. The Associated Press tests election results about four times a week leading up to elections, especially one as crucial as a presidential election, to help TV stations and newspapers make sure they are receiving the numbers. The numbers are random with every test; if this error happened a day sooner or a day later, it could've been Senator Kerry or Ralph Nader who was declared the winner." [uh-huh ]
  
• Text of original article [here]
  

Bush Team Will Try To Win More Black Voters

Buoyed by new polling that shows Sen. John Kerry struggling to win the majority of African-American voters that went for Al Gore in 2000, the Bush campaign is developing a plan to woo more blacks to the GOP side. Campaign officials said that the Bush team would do that by promoting its tax cut proposals for small businesses, many of which are owned by blacks and other minorities. "Ours will be an economic message," said an administration official. New polling finds that support for Kerry among blacks has dropped from 83 percent in August to 73 percent now, while Bush's numbers have doubled to 12 percent. Bush advisers said that while the number backing the President is still small, the lack of support for Kerry could cost him the presidency. Bush officials said that their pitch to the black community is that the Democrats take their vote for granted and that the Kerry campaign is making no drive to woo them. In fact, the Republicans are ridiculing the Kerry campaign's appointment of Rev. Jesse Jackson as a senior advisor, and even the choice of music during the Democratic Convention where singers like Carole King were featured

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The Poll Tax, Updated- Making Votes Count

When members of Mi Familia Vota, a Latino group, were registering voters recently on a Miami Beach sidewalk outside a building where new citizens were being sworn in, the Homeland Security Department ordered them to stop. The department gave all kinds of suspect reasons, which a federal court has since rejected, but it looked a lot as if someone at Homeland Security just didn't want thousands of new Latino voters on the Florida rolls. The suppression of minority votes is alive and well in 2004, driven by the sharp partisan divide across the nation. Because many minority groups vote heavily Democratic, some Republicans view keeping them from registering and voting as a tactic for victory -- one that has a long history in American politics. It is rarely talked about publicly, but John Pappageorge, a Republican state legislator from Michigan, recently broke the taboo. He was quoted in The Detroit Free Press as saying, ''If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to have a tough time in this election cycle.'' Detroit's population is more than 80 percent black. A recent report by the N.A.A.C.P. and People for the American Way includes page after page of examples of how this shabby business works. On Election Day, ''ballot security'' teams head for minority neighborhoods. They demand that voters produce identification when it is not required, take photographs of voters and single out immigrant voters for special scare tactics. Two years ago in the governor's race in Maryland, leaflets appeared in Baltimore saying that before voters showed up at the polls, they had to pay off all parking tickets and overdue rent. The same year in Louisiana, fliers were distributed in African-American areas to tell voters, falsely, that if they did not want to vote on Election Day, they could still vote three days later.

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Iraqi Survey Group: No weapons, No Programs: Nothing to Justify Iraq nvasion

NO ONE DIED WHEN CLINTON LIED...

 

• U.S. Report Finds Iraqis Eliminated Illicit Arms in 90's

• Saddam less of a threat in 2003 than in 1998

Destroying the Bush administration's main rationale for war against Iraq, the chief US weapons inspector declared yesterday that Saddam Hussein had neither weapons of mass destruction nor programmes to manufacture them at short notice when the US and its allies invaded in March 2003.Iraq had destroyed its illicit weapons stockpiles within months after the Persian Gulf war of 1991, and its ability to produce such weapons had significantly eroded by the time of the American invasion in 2003, the top American inspector for Iraq said in a report made public Wednesday. The report by the inspector, Charles A. Duelfer, intended to offer a near-final judgment about Iraq and its weapons, said Iraq, while under pressure from the United Nations, had "essentially destroyed'' its illicit weapons ability by the end of 1991, with its last secret factory, a biological weapons plant, eliminated in 1996.  He found  no evidence of any concerted effort by Iraq to restart the programs. The findings uphold Iraq's prewar insistence that it did not possess chemical or biological weapons.  [more ] and [more ] and [more ]

• Pictured above: "This photo is a composite of American soldiers who have died in Iraq over the last year. A picture is worth a thousand words. Or in this case, more than one thousand  lives."[more]
  

• SADDAM WAS CONTAINED: Duelfer found U.N. sanctions provided an "economic strangle hold" which successfully worked to keep Saddam from rebuilding or developing any weapons for twelve years. And the Washington Post reminds readers, "the inspectors left not because Iraq kicked them out but because the United States said it was about to launch an invasion and their safety could not be guaranteed." But in a speech in Pennsylvania yesterday, President Bush said Saddam Hussein "chose defiance and war [and] our coalition enforced the just demands of the world." The report actually shows the opposite, that the power of nonviolent international sanctions was working. [more ]
  
• Full Text: Final Report of U.S. Inspector [more ]
• Bush defends action against Iraq. US President George W Bush has said he was right to invade Iraq, despite confirmation that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction.  "I believe... America is safer today with Saddam Hussein in prison," he told reporters in Washington. And Mr Bush insisted that the former Iraqi leader retained the "intent" to produce WMD. Wednesday's report by the Iraq Survey Group has fuelled the debate about justification for last year's invasion. [more ]
  

"Take them out, dude": U.S. Soldiers Fire on Iraqi 'civilians'

The Pentagon said yesterday it was investigating cockpit video footage that shows American pilots attacking and killing a group of apparently unarmed Iraqi civilians. The 30-second clip shows the pilot targeting the group of people in a street in the city of Fallujah and asking his mission controllers whether he should "take them out". He is told to do so and, shortly afterwards, the footage shows a huge explosion where the people were. A second voice can be heard on the clip saying: "Oh, dude." The existence of the video, taken last April inside the cockpit of a US F-16 fighter has been known for some time, though last night's broadcast byChannel 4 News is believed to be the first time a mainstream broadcaster has shown the footage. At no point during the exchange between the pilot and controllers does anyone ask whether the Iraqis are armed or posing a threat. Critics say it proves war crimes are being committed. [more ]

Nearly 1,700 Felons Removed From Florida's Voter Rolls

Nearly 1,700 felons have been removed from the voter rolls in at least 32 Florida counties. Nine counties have not removed any voters from their rolls in that period, including Miami-Dade, the second-largest county with more than 1 million registered voters. The removals have come in the months since the state scrapped a list of tens of thousands of potential felons to be removed from the state's voter rolls. Florida is one of only a handful of states that does not automatically restore voting rights to convicted felons when they complete their sentence. The purge of felons by election officials has been a hot-button issue since the 2000 presidential election, in which many citizens discovered at the polls they weren't allowed to vote. In May, Secretary of State Glenda Hood released a list of nearly 48,000 people identified as potential felons who could be removed. The list was scrapped in July after it was reported that it contained few people identified as Hispanic. Supervisors were told to revert to their original procedure to remove the felons, which was to act on information received from the local clerk of courts. [more ]

ACLU fights ruling that invalidates many voter registration requests

Civil rights groups Tuesday called on Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood to reverse a ruling that will leave perhaps hundreds of would-be voters ineligible for the upcoming presidential election. The voters failed to check a citizenship box on their voter registration applications, an oversight advocates say should not preclude legal voters from going to the polls next month. Hood maintains that the failure to fully fill out the registration form means the applications are flawed -- and the would-be voters cannot vote. Yet this latest Florida election dust-up is not so clear cut. While several major counties, including Broward, are following Hood's directive, others -- like Miami-Dade -- are not. The dispute has once again shed light on the inconsistencies among the 67 election offices in a state that helped swing the 2000 election to George W. Bush by the slimmest of margins. In this atmosphere, where advocates say every vote must count, even seemingly small disputes become important. The difference in the way Florida counties are handling Hood's directive ''raises substantial equal protection issues,'' wrote Randall Marshall, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, in a letter to Hood and Broward Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes. [more ] and [more ]

• Florida Voter registration process causes concerns.[more ]
• "Election Protection" Protects Voter Rights, Counters Intimidation [more ]

Florida: 1500 African-American Voter Registrations in Question

A spot-check of voters who were registered using photocopied forms indicates that they really did sign up to vote, Leon County's elections chief said Tuesday, but doubts continue about their choice of party. Leon County received about 1,500 photocopied voter registrations, mostly from Florida A&M University and nearby black neighborhoods. The overwhelming majority registered as Republicans, which made Elections Supervisor Ion Sancho suspicious because the FAMU precincts are lopsidedly Democratic. His staff has contacted 36 voters so far, all of whom said they signed color registration forms, not the black-and-gray photocopies forwarded to Sancho. And only one of the 36 said he intended to sign up with the GOP. Voters aren't required to designate a party when they register, and members of all parties can vote in the Nov. 2 general election. So for voting purposes, party registration won't matter until the 2006 primaries and people have plenty of time to switch. But there's still the question of whether the signatures on the forms are originals as the law requires. Sancho revealed Monday that he asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate. [more ] and [more ]

Ohio Secretary of State says Votes cast at wrong place won't count

Cuyahoga Co. defies ballot order:
The elections board in Ohio's largest county said Wednesday it will direct voters to their correct polling place on Nov. 2 but will accept ballots from anyone who insists on voting at the wrong precinct, despite a directive to keep them from doing so. If a voter in Cuyahoga County insists on casting a ballot, even at the wrong polling place, the board will allow it but only after telling the voter that the vote may not be counted, said Jane Platten, board administrator. "We will make every effort to find what precinct the voter should be in and direct that voter to that precinct. There will be times that the voter will say, 'I want to vote and I want to vote here,'" Platten said. Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell had sent a directive to the state's 88 county boards of elections, advising them of state law concerning the collection of provisional ballots, which voters may use if they have moved within Ohio but failed to update their registrations. The directive states that "under no circumstances shall precinct pollworkers issue a provisional ballot to a person whose address is not located in the precinct, or portion of the precinct, in which the person desires to vote." Instead, if voters show up at the wrong polling place, poll workers must find out their correct voting places and tell them the location, the directive says. More than 100,000 provisional votes were cast in the 2000 election. [more ] and [more ]

PA Lawmakers Propose automatic recounts in close elections -- gathering support

With the 2000 presidential election and the Florida debacle still fresh in their minds, a group of Democratic lawmakers on Monday introduced a bill to mandate an automatic recount whenever the margin between the top two candidates is .5 percent or less.  State Rep. Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia) said in introducing the bill that history is full of close elections. While the George Bush-Al Gore contest is the most famous, she also pointed to last year's Superior Court race in Pennsylvania that was decided by just 28 votes and took 10 weeks to pick a winner. "The legislation will set up parameters to help determine a clear winner in a close statewide race," Josephs said.  Offering support for Josephs' bill were representatives from the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus and the state director of the American Civil Liberties Union. [more ]

FBI Concerned about Election Day Terror plots - no specific information though

Agency has the power to deploy other investigators
Attorney General John Ashcroft quietly has issued a sweeping directive that authorizes the FBI to use hundreds of law enforcement agents from other federal agencies to help investigate any terrorist plots that target the Nov. 2 elections. The directive -- the first of its kind since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- allows the FBI to tap agents from the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as part of a nationwide effort by FBI-led counterterrorism units to seek out and stop any plots against the elections. U.S. law enforcement officials continue to say that beyond intelligence reports indicating that al-Qaeda wants to disrupt the elections, they have no specific information about an existing plot, method or target of a potential attack. The directive was issued without fanfare at a time when the Bush administration is being accused by Democrats and civil-rights activists of using terrorism alerts to discourage people from voting.  [more ] and [more ]

FBI Combing Mosques for clues of possible terror attacks

Pre-election drive prompts complaints by Muslim leaders
FBI agents in Northern California and across the nation have started a campaign to question Muslims and Arabs who might have information related to a possible pre-election terrorist attack. "We are trying to go into mosques and work with Muslim community leaders, '' Special Agent LaRae Quy, spokeswoman for the FBI regional office in San Francisco, said Tuesday. "We are not showing up with guns or handcuffs, just pencils and pieces of paper.'' The new investigation -- the latest in a series of campaigns since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 -- has prompted sharp protests from American Civil Liberties Union and several Muslim organizations. Shirin Sinnar, president of the Bay Area Association of Muslim Lawyers, says she fears the Bush administration is trying to "sow fear in the Muslim community and chill Muslim political expression.'' At a press conference at the ACLU office in San Francisco, Sinnar showed pamphlets and wallet-sized cards that are being distributed at mosques, markets and elsewhere in the Muslim community. Printed in English, Arabic and Urdu, the cards tell people they have a right to have an attorney present before talking to the FBI, and they list a phone number -- (415) 285-1041 -- for free legal assistance.  [more ]

Delusional Cinci Mayor says Federal Supervision of Police is no longer needed

   
 Less than halfway through a five-year review, Mayor Charlie Luken believes Cincinnati police have made enough progress on reforms to be released early from a deal with the U.S. Justice Department. Luken has written to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft asking that the city be released from an agreement signed in spring 2002. The city is in the 28th month of the 60-month review period. A local civil rights activist and an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union criticized Luken's action as premature, adding that his claims are delusional. Luken asked for the Justice Department review after a white officer shot and killed Timothy Thomas, who was unarmed, during a foot pursuit in April 2001. The shooting of Thomas, a Black man sparked three nights of rioting. In his letter, Luken wrote, "The police department has aggressively pursued the stated goals of the agreement, which are to minimize the risk of excessive use of force by Cincinnati police officers and to promote police integrity." The Rev. Damon Lynch III, a local civil rights activist who helped negotiate the collaborative agreement, said "the reason the agreement is for five years is it allows police to show over a course of time that they can act responsibly to African-American citizens in this community and are committed to good behavior." [more] and [more ]

• Police cause riot [more ]
  
• Cincinnati mayor declares state of emergency due to Riots  4/12/2001 [more ]
• Violence sparked by police killing of unarmed black leaves scores injured [more ]
• Pictured above: (top left) Police restrain and take a man into custody  during riots that erupted after a Cincinnati police officer shot and killed Timothy Thomas, 19, who was unarmed and wanted for misdemeanor traffic violations. [more ] and [more ]
• (Top right) On November 30, 2003 several Cincinnati Police Officers  beat Nathaniel Jones to death. Most of the beating was captured on Police videotape [SEE ]. Mysteriously, however the beginning of the tape is missing. Police maintain that Jones was fighting back against the Cops. But sticking your hand out seems to be a reasonable reaction to being hit with batons  by several people. [more]
  
• Cincinnati officer cleared in race shooting that sparked riots 9/26/2001 [more ]
  

Concerns expressed over Newby trial: Weak Prosecutors Didn't Want to Convict Cop

"Not guilty. Not over, either" [more ]  - Unarmed Black Man Shot in the Back 3 times
About 100 people listened last night to Angela and Jerry Bouggess' views on the trial of former police detective McKenzie Mattingly, who was acquitted in the shooting death of Angela's son, Michael Newby. "I feel like I could have been a better prosecutor for my boy," she said.They accused prosecutors of not handling the case with "vigor." They also questioned several aspects of the case, including a judicial decision to keep the family and the public out of the courtroom during jury selection. Mattingly, who is white, was a member of the Louisville Metro Police Department when he fatally shot Newby, a 19-year-old African American, during an undercover drug operation on Jan. 3. Last week a jury found Mattingly not guilty of murder and three lesser charges in Newby's shooting. The point of yesterday's forum, Christopher 2X said, was to start a movement that could lead to legislation requiring special prosecutors in cases involving police officers charged with murder. "We can't really get adequate representation" from the commonwealth's attorney's office because it usually works closely with police, he told the group. [more ]

• Over the past 7 Years at least 10 Black or Latino Men have been Killed by Louisville Police. No Officers have been Convicted [more]