Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Wednesday-8/23/06 Oblivious NO MORE

[kpete]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Wednesday, 8/23/06 Oblivious NO MORE

Oblivious NO MORE!!!



New Zogby Poll: It’s Nearly Unanimous

At a stunning rate of 92%, Americans insist on the right to watch their votes being counted.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/print.html?path=HL0608/S00220.htm

The Real Threat
New from Vendors - Diebold
By VotersUnite.org
August 23, 2006

A Deeper Look at ESI’s Report of the Discrepancy-Ridden Vote Counts In Diebold Touchscreen Voting Machines

In August 2006, Election Science Institute (ESI) released a report entitled, “DRE Analysis of May 2006 Primary; Cuyahoga County, Ohio”. Election Science Institute is a non-partisan, non-profit election science organization, which was commissioned by Cuyahoga County to review how the county’s new election system performed in the early stages of use.

What ESI found was internally inconsistent, unreliable vote totals on every level.

Several reviewers of the ESI report, including Don Seligson, Michael Alvarez, and Dan Tokaji, have focused almost exclusively on the problems with the VVPAT, to the extent that the titles of their articles suggest the report is only about the VVPAT failures.

We believe these reviewers are missing the point of the data that surfaced during ESI’s investigation. Certainly, Diebold’s implementation of the VVPAT was deplorable. But worse than that, the investigation discovered that all the machine vote counts in the May 2006 primary were internally inconsistent and therefore thoroughly unreliable.

Significant discrepancies were found in every comparison of data that should have matched.

It is impossible to know the true totals.

The Executive Summary of the ESI threat analysis, could not be more clear:

“Any issue that leads to unreliable consolidation of data is serious because thousands of votes could be lost or shifted by accident in the electronic count.”

In the electronic count!

http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1703&Itemid=51

WELCOME BACK TO STILL COOL 47
WHO TAUGHT ME THAT ERD WAS THE MOST VITAL FORUM AT DU
– BECAUSE IF WE DO NOT DEMAND THAT THE VOTES GET COUNTED
– THEN THE VOTES DON’T COUNT!!!




All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

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[kpete]

1. Roy Saltman Writes New Paper On Voting Integrity

Roy Saltman Writes New Paper On Voting Integrity
By Warren Stewart, VoteTrustUSA
August 22, 2006

Dr. Roy Saltman has submitted a significant paper "Independent Verification: Essential Action to Assure Integrity in the Voting Process" to the National Institute on Standards and Technology on August 22, 2006.
http://www.votetrustusa.org/pdfs/saltman.pdf

Saltman has worked in the field of election policy and technology for over 30 years. His 1975 report, "Effective Use of Computing Technology in Vote-Tallying" was a seminal work expressing concerns about the accuracy and security of computerized voting systems. His 1988 report, "Accuracy, Integrity and Security in Computerized Vote-Tallying," laid the groundwork for the initial efforts of the Federal Election Commissionto develop standards for voting system. After the 2000 Presidential election, the report was widely cited in the media for its statement that "the use of pre-scored punch card ballots should be ended."

In his new paper Saltman observes that the issue of software fraud and error in computerizes voting systems arose in 1969, soon after use of computers in voting began and document control and partial recounting were recommended solutions for systems using ballots. He recommends that independent verification would reduce the fear of fraud, a continuing concern over the more than 200 years of US elections, as well as improving integrity and public confidence in correctness of reported outcomes and evaluates the widely used, current method of providing an audit trail with printouts and notes several disadvantages.

more at:
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1697&Itemid=26

[kpete]

2. November -- The End of E-Voting

November -- The End of E-Voting
by Fishgrease
Tue Aug 22, 2006 at 06:54:21 AM PDT

That's right. We're approaching the end of ES&S, Diebold and Sequoia. Soon. The November kind of soon. So how we do that, you ask?

It's safe to say that more Republicans will lose than at any time since HAVA. More Republicans will lose than at any time since computerized, programmed vote counting devices came into wide use. Same thing. HAVA mandated and paid for those devices. Who wrote HAVA? Lobbyists for the election device industy... that's who.

Republicans will lose. They're politicians and think an awful lot of themselves (Democrats are too, but it's the Republicans who'r going to have to get used to this losing stuff). What are the chances they actually received fewer votes? No way! It was those damned computers!

more at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/8/22/95421/3216

[kpete]

3. It's About the Votes!

It's About the Votes!
Nathan Gonzalez is the Political Director of Latinos for America. Democracy for America welcomes LFA columnists each week.

After a couple of years of brainstorming on how to tackle the daunting election integrity issue, the time to act has finally arrived. Voting Integrity is critical if we're going to help America rebuild confidence in the sanctity of elections. The races for Secretary of State in several states are shaping up to be hard-fought contests whose outcome will determine how future elections are conducted.

The general public is finally beginning to realize that there is a real problem with voting integrity in America. If you paid any attention to the last two presidential elections you know something is fishy. Some of the votes are not being counted! In fact, a LOT of votes are not being counted. No one knows for sure how many.

There are three critical Secretary of State races that you should be aware of, if you're not already:

Mark Ritchie, in Minnesota, vows to stop playing politics with the Office of the Secretary of State, and promises to run it, instead, "by professionals who are committed to fair, free, and non-partisan election administration." Mark previously coordinated the 2004 National Voice voter-registration and mobilization campaign, a nonpartisan effort that catapulted him into the public eye. He is quite a force and a champion we can support.

In Massachusetts, National Voting Rights Institute founder John Bonifaz, led the fight for a full recount in Ohio two years ago, and surprised the Democratic establishment by winning a place on the ballot at his state's recent Democratic convention. John is fighting for same-day voter registration and encouraging participation by constituency voters, especially those needing language assistance. He is committed to creating a culture of "free and fair elections" for Massachusetts.

And then there's California's own Debra Bowen, who knows her stuff when it comes to voting advocacy, Diebold machines, and election reform. Debra was supported by every DFA group in California and is running against Schwarzenegger appointee, Bruce MacPherson. She is saying what few in politics want to openly admit, that it is possible to "rig elections" with electronic voting machines, and that "there aren't enough safeguards to prevent fraud." Remember, as goes California, so goes the nation and this will be a race to watch.

Each of these candidates is determined to correct the problems we've seen in Florida, Ohio and elsewhere. They could sure use our help! (think "People, Time, and Money"). Let's count every vote!

—Nathan Gonzalez
http://www.blogforamerica.com/archives/008238.html

[kpete]

4. E-Voting Flaws on Lou Dobbs

E-Voting Flaws on Lou Dobbs
By: Jamie Holly on Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006


There was an interesting segment on Lou Dobbs last night regarding E-Voting, with Aviel Rubin, author of the book Brave New Ballot.



Video at:http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/08/22/e-voting-flaws-on-lou-dobbs/

Aviel gives great insight into the flaws with the e-voting machines and exactly how vulnerable they are to software flaws and/or attacks. One thing that I have always wondered about was the machines using Windows for their operating system. Do they get their weekly rounds of Tuesday updates from Microsoft? For some reason I doubt that.

[kpete]

5. Pull the Plug

Pull the Plug
By Aviel Rubin
Forbes Magazine

04 September 2006 Edition

You don't like hanging chads? Get ready for cheating chips and doctored drives.

I am a computer scientist. I own seven Macintosh computers, one Windows machine and a Palm Treo 700p with a GPS unit, and I chose my car (Infiniti M35x) because it had the most gadgets of any vehicle in its class. My 7-year-old daughter uses e-mail. So why am I advocating the use of 17th-century technology for voting in the 21st century-as one of my critics puts it?

The 2000 debacle in Florida spurred a rush to computerize voting. In 2002 Congress passed the Help America Vote Act, which handed out $2.6 billion to spend on voting machines. Most of that cash was used to acquire Direct Recording Electronic voting machines.

Yet while computers are very proficient at counting, displaying choices and producing records, we should not rely on computers alone to count votes in public elections. The people who program them make mistakes, and, safeguards aside, they are more vulnerable to manipulation than most people realize. Even an event as common as a power glitch could cause a hard disk to fail or a magnetic card that holds votes to permanently lose its data. The only remedy then: Ask voters to come back to the polls. In a 2003 election in Boone County, Ind., DREs recorded 144,000 votes in one precinct populated with fewer than 6,000 registered voters. Though election officials caught the error, it's easy to imagine a scenario where such mistakes would go undetected until after a victor has been declared.

Consider one simple mode of attack that has already proved effective on a widely used DRE, the Accuvote made by Diebold (nyse: DBD - news - people ). It's called overwriting the boot loader, the software that runs first when the machine is booted up. The boot loader controls which operating system loads, so it is the most security-critical piece of the machine. In overwriting it an attacker can, for example, make the machine count every fifth Republican vote as a Democratic vote, swap the vote outcome at the end of the election or produce a completely fabricated result. To stage this attack, a night janitor at the polling place would need only a few seconds' worth of access to the computer's memory card slot.

more at:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082206B.shtml

[kpete]

6. ALASKA: Gov. Murkowski’s Career Ends With Loss in Alaska GOP Primary

Gov. Murkowski’s Career Ends With Loss in Alaska GOP Primary
By Rachel Kapochunas | 2:38 AM; Aug. 23, 2006 | Email This Article
Alaska Republican Gov. Frank H. Murkowski was decisively beaten in Tuesday’s primary election, placing third to winner Sarah Palin, a former Wasilla mayor, and former state Sen. John Binkley in a contest that ingloriously ended the political career of one of Alaska’s more durable officeholders.

With 56 percent of the vote counted, Murkowski had just 19 percent of the vote to Palin’s 51 percent and Binkley’s 30 percent. Longshot candidates Gerald L. Heikes and Merica Hlatcu split the remainder of the GOP vote.

Palin will face former Gov. Tony Knowles (1994-2002), who had 73 percent of the Democratic vote against state Rep. Eric Croft (26 percent) and Bruce J. Lemke (1 percent).

Palin will become the first woman governor in Alaska history if she defeats Knowles. CQ currently rates the race as No Clear Favorite but will analyze Tuesday’s results to determine if a rating change is warranted.

The general election ballot may also include former Republican state Rep. Andrew J. Halcro, who is running as an independent and was not required to run in the primary election.

more at:

[kpete]

7. ALASKA: Problems with touchscreen machines slow vote count

Problems with touchscreen machines slow vote count

By MATT VOLZ, Associated Press Writer

Published: August 23, 2006
Last Modified: August 23, 2006 at 02:24 AM


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Problems with Alaska's new touchscreen voting machines in several precincts slowed election returns Tuesday and caused elections officials to hand count and manually upload a still-unknown number of votes.


Election coordinator Lauri Wilson said several Diebold touchscreen machines in Southeast Alaska, the Interior and near Nome did not upload their votes into the Division of Elections' central computing system. The machines' modems either did not get a dial tone or had other problems, Wilson said.

The votes from touchscreen voting machines four Kodiak precincts had to be manually uploaded because the electronic ballots were required to be presented in more than one language, Wilson said.

Affected were seven precincts in Southeast Alaska and Kodiak, five in the Interior - including Nenana, Healy and Tok - and Unalakleet.

more at:
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/8112454p-8005014c.html

[kpete]

8. PA: Paper trail a must when it comes to electronic voting

Paper trail a must when it comes to electronic voting
08/22/2006

Voter advocates filed a lawsuit last week asking a federal court to forbid the usage of electronic voting machines that leave no paper trail.

Chester County is among many in Pennsylvania to have such machines.

The county also uses optical scanning voting, where the voter fills in spaces and a machine reads the ballot choice. This tried and true technology is not part of the lawsuit.

The voting machine controversy here and elsewhere is a result of tougher standards passed by Congress in reaction to the voting train wreck in Florida in the 2000 presidential election.

As a result, communities nationally have been upgrading voting devices.

............

One thing has been certain over that time. Advocates for the technology have constantly oversold the capability of the technology at the time they were doing the selling. Sure it has caught up. And in a mind-boggling way.

But is it enough reason not to trust people pitching "modern" technology? We are talking about our votes here, the thing that makes us a democracy.

For that reason alone it is reasonable to have a paper trail whether required or not.

To us, that just makes good sense.

more at:
http://www.dailylocal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17093172&BRD=1671&PAG=461&dept_id=17785&rfi=6

[stillcool]

20. Voter's rights advocates sue over paperless voting systems in Pa.

Voter's rights advocates sue over paperless voting systems in Pa.
By PATRICK WALTERS
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, August 16, 2006 1:43 AM EDT
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -

The suit asks the state's Commonwealth Court to decertify machines used in 58 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. The plaintiffs argue that the state should replace paperless machines with systems in which voters fill in bubbles on paper forms that are counted in scanning machines.

Somerset County uses electronic voting machines made by Diebold, of North Canton, Ohio, a major supplier of ATMs and security systems for banks and will continue to do so, County Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes said.
“Basically my reaction (to the lawsuit) is that we will continue in Somerset County to utilize the Diebold machine,” she said. “We certainly have purchased machines that has gotten certification from the state.”

A similar lawsuit helped force New Mexico to use “optical scan” ballots earlier this year, Finley said. Other suits involving paper-based voting systems have been filed in Arizona, Colorado and California.

Six other lawsuits challenging electronic voting machines have been filed in Pennsylvania. In all of those cases, the suits were either dropped, thrown out, or the plaintiffs stopped pushing them, said Mark Aronchick, a private attorney hired by the state.
“This is another round and, in my view, it's going to go the way of the other cases,” Aronchick said.

(John Santa, Daily American Intern, contributed to this report)
http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2006/08/22/news/wednesday/news02.txt

[kpete]

9. OH: Candidate seeks audit of voting machines

Candidate seeks audit of voting machines

By STEPHEN ORAVECZ Tribune Chronicle

Greg Hartmann, the Republican candidate for secretary of state, called Tuesday for safeguards to make sure ballots cast on touch-screen computer voting machines are counted accurately, but his opponent said the proposals do not go far enough. Hartmann is being opposed by Democrat Jennifer Brunner.

Hartmann said that an investigation of problems Cuyahoga County experienced in the May primary election raised questions about electronic voting machines. The reforms he is proposing would ‘‘put an end to the questions about the accuracy and the security of our voting system in Ohio,’’ he said.

Hartmann would appoint a director of the Board of Voting Machine Examiners with experience in computer systems, programming and security; ensure each voting machine is tested and working properly before elections and ensure pollworkers are properly trained; and require a post-election audit of all electronic results.

The audit would test a statistically significant portion of the vote, which he said would be a minimum of 5 percent in larger counties and a higher percent in smaller counties. He said the director would make sure counties use a random sample of the vote.

more at:
http://www.tribune-chronicle.com/News/articles.asp?articleID=7774

[kpete]

10. CA: County will rent Diebold machines for election

County will rent Diebold machines for election

By Josh Singer, [e-mail]
August 23, 2006


The Nevada County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Tuesday a $250,000 contract to rent voting systems from Diebold, Inc. for the Nov. 7 election.

County Clerk-Recorder Kathleen Smith appeared before the board with Michael Rockenstein, California project manager for Diebold, to discuss the contract. Funds from the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA) will reimburse the county for its rental of voting systems that produce a paper receipt and are designed to provide greater access for disabled people.

Diebold has been approved for use in California, although its certification is listed as "pending" by the California Secretary of State due to technological security concerns.

Secretary of State Bruce McPherson said in February that "(an independent team of computer scientists from Berkeley) concluded that while some of the code on the memory cards should be rewritten for an improved long-term solution, the problems identified are 'manageable' and 'the risks can be mitigated through appropriate use procedures.'"

District 5 Supervisor Ted Owens asked at the meeting about the possibility of increased oversight of the security and the performance of the Diebold systems by the Elections Office.

more at:
http://www.theunion.com/article/20060823/NEWS/108230099

[kpete]

11. FL: A paper trail for your vote

A paper trail for your vote
by Mike Sharkey

Staff Writer

In an effort to assure voters that not only will their vote count but also be traceable if needed, Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland is securing funding to buy 330 printers compatible with the office’s optical scan voting machines.

The printers cost $600 each and Holland doesn’t expect to start implementing them until at least the spring elections, if not later.

“Absolutely no way,” said Holland of them being available for the Sept. 5 primary or Nov. 7 general election. “Ideally, we’ll have them by the next presidential election (November 2008). It would be iffy to have them by spring.”

The funding is available and the initiative has public backing. City Council member Lake Ray has sponsored a bill that officially gives the paper trail the full blessing of Council. Ray said he supports creating a paper trail, especially considering the amount of electronic hacking going on these days.

“Every time I turn my computer on, it warns me that I may have a virus,” said Ray. “Given the way computer systems are today, nothing says a voting machine won’t be invaded. I think the public is concerned enough about this (to warrant legislation). To me, it’s strange that you can walk in, cast a ballot and there’s no record of it.

more at:
http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=45619

[Peace Patriot]

12. "Mexico's Fox rails against 'messianic' leftist" (who wants all votes to

...be counted). (i.e., Lopez Obrador.) Now they're calling demands for transparent vote counting some sort of 'messiah complex.' What next?

See the Reuters article posted by July Lynn, and DU discussion, at:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2470293

----------------------

Thanks, kpete--for that "oblivious no more"! You got that right!

----------------------

See discussion of THE POLL--92% want to SEE the votes counted!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1965772

---------------------

Bust the Machines! Bust Bush! Bust the War! Bust Congress! VOTE BY ABSENTEE BALLOT THIS NOVEMBER! Freak 'em out with PAPER BALLOTS! Get 'em to the table NOW! Force reform NOW! Don't wait until the Fourth Reich comes down!

[kpete]

13. Lieberman Officially on Ballot

Lieberman secures spot on November ballot
Campaign collects 18,500 signatures

Wednesday, August 23, 2006; Posted: 11:35 a.m. EDT (15:35 GMT)

HARTFORD, Connecticut (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman has enough voter signatures to secure a spot on the November ballot with a new party, Connecticut's secretary of state said Wednesday.

The certification means that Lieberman, who lost the Democratic primary to a political newcomer, will run for re-election as the candidate of the new Connecticut for Lieberman party.

He will face Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Alan Schlesinger.

Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz said Lieberman exceeded the 7,500 signatures necessary to get on the ballot as an independent.

The campaign collected more than 18,500 signatures.

more at:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/23/lieberman.ap/index.html

[GuvWurld]

14. Eureka Times-Standard picks up VCC press release re: Zogby

BTW, there is a little irony here. I've been working to keep the media from reporting what they can't prove and haven't independently verified. Many know by now that Zogby's release of the poll numbers was delayed from Tuesday to Wednesday. But because the Times-Standard simply excerpted the Voter Confidence Committee press release, they published our inadvertent and unintentional error about the release date. If they had verified the information we provided, this wouldn't have happened. We need a smiley here for a sourpuss making a raspberry sound ;-)


http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_4224310

Article Launched: 08/23/2006 04:16:07 AM PDT

Local election group touts national survey results
The Times-Standard

Zogby poll reveals citizens' support of election reform efforts

EUREKA -- Ninety-two percent of Americans support transparency and verifiability in elections, according to a new Zogby poll released Tuesday.

The Voter Confidence Committee of Humboldt County, in a press release, endorsed the survey's conclusions. The survey was commissioned by election protection attorney Paul Lehto, currently representing San Diego voters in a challenge to the results of California's 50th District Congressional contest held June 6.

The press release states that election integrity advocates in Humboldt County -- such as Dave Berman, co-founder of the Voter Confidence Committee -- have steadily pressed exactly this point of emphasis.

Berman said positive developments in his efforts include adoption of the Voter Confidence Resolution by the Arcata City Council; creation of the citizens' Election Advisory Committee; the commitment of County Clerk Carolyn Crnich to the “Humboldt Transparency Project;” and the impending launch of a series of events on media accountability.

”These nearly unanimous Zogby poll results should be a huge wake-up call,” said Berman. “It is long past time our Board of Supervisors recognizes that the public sees this as a crisis on which they must act to change our election conditions.”

[stillcool]

15. Ohio: Sticky election issue resolved

this ought to really help restore democracy
http://www.wkyc.com/

Sticky election issue resolved

Chris Hyser
Created: 8/23/2006 10:03:59 AM
Updated:8/23/2006 10:07:59 AM

AKRON (AP) -- A battle over the stickers voters recieve after casting their ballots is over.
Summit County elections officials say voters
who go to the polls in November will receive a sticker reading "I Voted Today," rather than a version that includes the phrases "Change Our World" and "Vote Your Conscience."

The phrases were added by Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, the Republican candidate for governor.

But Democrats on the Summit County Board of Elections in Akron say the messages are political.

The board voted yesterday against using the stickers provided by Blackwell's office.

The secretary of state's office contends the stickers are nonpartisan and says no other county has held a similar vote.

[stillcool]

16. Florida: Voters report ballot mix-ups

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/elections/sfl-celxvoteprobs23aug23,0,3048447.story?coll=sfla-news-election


Voters report ballot mix-ups

By Anthony Man
Political Writer
Posted August 23 2006

When Wally Eccleston got his ballot at the Coral Springs early voting site Monday, he knew it was wrong. The one candidate he absolutely had to vote for -- his wife, state House hopeful Amy Rose -- wasn't listed.

Instead of a ballot that included the primary contest for District 95, where Rose is running, he got one for District 97. Knowing he couldn't leave without voting for his wife, Eccleston insisted poll workers do something, and he got a replacement with the correct races.

"I was able to get it to work out for me because, thankfully, I knew what I was looking for," Eccleston said. "I don't know how many voters are going to be aware enough to ask that it be fixed immediately."

The Supervisor of Elections Office said Tuesday there's no way to know how many voters had similar experiences. Still, after hearing complaints about Monday's early voting launch, Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes ordered immediate changes.

Anthony Man can be reached at [e-mail] or 954-356-4550.

[stillcool]

18. Florida: Charter backs right to referendum

Charter backs right to referendum

The people of Sarasota County have fulfilled their requirement to put a referendum on the ballot in November to amend the charter to require voter-verified paper ballots and mandatory random independent audits of election results here. More than 14,500 people from all precincts and all political parties signed the petition, well over the 12,030 (5 percent of the registered voters in Sarasota County) required to put this issue on the ballot. This is an issue of universal concern.

Vulnerabilities lie not only in precinct voting machines, but in central tabulators, as shown by errors reported in Florida and elsewhere. All systems need a voter-verified paper trail that is used to check machine accuracy.

The charter says changes proposed by at least 5 percent of the registered voters "shall be submitted to the voters at a special election." It is time for the county commissioners to do their duty, put it on the ballot and let the voters vote.

Concerned voters are encouraged to listen online to the National Public Radio broadcast on "Voting in Florida" at http://www.wgcu.org/sasha_shows.asp, and to attend the Sarasota County Commission meeting in Venice today at 1 p.m. in the Robert L. Anderson Administration Center, 4000 S. Tamiami Trail.

Kindra Muntz

The writer is chairwoman of the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections, Venice.


Last modified: August 22. 2006 12:00AM
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060822/OPINION/608220373/-1/NEWS0602

[stillcool]

17. Indiana: Rokita announces settlement with voting machine provider

Tuesday.http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2006/08/23/news/lake_county/c4cedf70f79975ac862571d2007efc12.txt


Rokita announces settlement with voting machine provider
ELECTION Porter County to receive $13,050 in instructional materials

BY PATRICK GUINANE
[e-mail]
317.637-9078

This story ran on nwitimes.com on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 1:24 AM CDT

INDIANAPOLIS | Porter County will share in a $753,130 state settlement with Election Systems & Software, despite reporting no problems with the company's electronic voting machines during the May primary.

Before reaching the settlement, Rokita had threatened to fine ES&S at least $300,000 for poor service and equipment malfunctions some counties experienced during the May primary. Rokita still is investigating problems associated with Microvote, another voting machine vendor that serves 47 counties. Neither ES&S nor Microvote serve Lake County.

[kpete]

19. Court: Nader must pay for election suit

Court: Nader must pay for election suit
By MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press Writer

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Former presidential candidate Ralph Nader and his running mate must pay more than $80,000 in expenses for the lawsuit that challenged their nominating papers and kept them off the 2004 ballot, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.


There was an implication of "fraud and deception" in their petition drive, the court said in its ruling.

A group of Pennsylvania voters sued to block Nader and Peter Camejo, who were running as independent candidates, from being placed on the ballot.

As a result of the lawsuit, the state Commonwealth Court found wide-ranging improprieties among Nader and Camejo's petition signatures and disqualified nearly two-thirds of the 51,000 signatures they submitted.

In Wednesday's ruling, five justices said Nader and Camejo must pay the plaintiffs' transcription and stenography costs. A sixth justice said he did not think the law permitted the award of such costs, and the seventh said only about half of the bill was permissible.

A lawyer representing Nader and Camejo had argued that forcing them to pay costs would discourage future third-party candidates.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060823/ap_on_el_pr/nader_challenge

[kpete]

21. Alabama: state court grants voting rights to all felons

Alabama: state court grants voting rights to all felons
The Circuit Court of Jefferson County today issued a judgment on a case seeking to restore many felons' voting rights. Here are the high points of the decree:


Certifies a class of "Every citizen of the United States, currently residing in this State and 18 years of age or older, who has at any time been convicted of a felony in anyjurisdiction and who is not, as of the date of this order, registered to vote in this State."

Declares that the policy and practice of disfranchising all felons violates the Alabama Constitution.

"Unless and until the Alabama Legislature passes, and the Governor signs into law, legislation specifically identifying which felonies involve moral turpitude, and unless and until any such duly-enacted legislation receives the necessary pre-clearance from the U.S. Justice Department, the named defendants, all members of the defendant class, and all those who work with r on behalf of any of the defendants or defendant class members, are ENJOINED from refusing to register any individual, otherwise qualified to vote, on the ground that the individual has previously been convicted of a felony."

Stays the order until it has been precleared, and orders the State's lawyers to submit the order for preclearance promptly.

http://www.votelaw.com/blog/archives/004315.html

[stillcool]

22. Connecticut: ....smells fishy...

Officials Get Look At Vote Scanners
Bysiewicz Shows Off New Technology
August 23, 2006
By FULVIO CATIVO, Courant Staff Writer

WEST HARTFORD -- Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz stopped by town hall Tuesday to show the state's new optical scan voting technology to election officials from around the region.

The new machines will replace the lever voting machines that have long been used throughout the state and are part of an effort to make the state fully compliant with the Help America Vote Act of 2002, a federal measure that requires states to modernize voting technology.

In a packed room full of town clerks and registrars of voters, Bysiewicz introduced the new voting technology, which uses hand-selected ballots - like a standardized test sheet - and scans the results and secures the ballots to leave a verifiable paper trail.

Officials expect about 30 to 40 municipalities in the state to begin using the optical scan voting machines in November. The rest of the state will continue to use the lever voting machines.
By the 2007 election, every town in the state by law must use the new machines, Bysiewicz said, praising the state and federal government's efforts to modernize and fund upgrades in voting technology.

The state has signed a one-year contract with IVS LLC of Kentucky to provide accessible voting technology and allow people with disabilities to vote privately and independently.

Contact Fulvio Cativo at [e-mail].

http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-whdmachine0823.artaug23,0,2709103.story?track=rss

[kpete]

23. ZOGBY: 60% have heard news reports of flaws in new electronic voting equip

Released: August 23, 2006
Americans Concerned About Election Transparency and Security

New poll shows more than 60% have heard news reports of flaws in new electronic voting equipment


A majority of Americans—61%—are aware of news reports of flaws in electronic voting machines and want members of the general public to be able to watch votes be counted following an election, a new Zogby International poll shows.

The telephone survey of 1,018 likely voters was conducted Aug. 11-15, 2006. It carries a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.

Asked whether Americans have the right to view and obtain information about how elections officials count votes, 92% of respondents concurred.


"The 92% support for the public's right to view vote counting and obtain information about it is a very strong political value of transparency and against secret vote counting outside the observation of the public," said Paul Lehto, a lawyer and sponsor of the survey. "To put this figure in context, support for election transparency exceeds the support for tax cuts, exceeds the approval of Pres. Bush immediately after 9-11, and virtually all other political values being measured." Mr. Lehto is counsel in the 50th Congressional District election contest in California.


more at:
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1163

For a complete methodological statement on this poll, please go to:

http://www.zogby.com/methodology/readmeth.dbm?ID=1134

[Melissa G]

24. NOT a good year to be a Republican...

Even the Republican Pollster 'Kings of Spin' know it is BAD to be a repub this year. Even THEY cannot put a good spin on how awful the numbers are for them!
DU Discussion here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=446813&mesg_id=446813


NOT a good year to be a Republican.-The Hart-Luntz Polling Roadshow
August 22, 2006 4:20 PM
NCSL: THE HART-LUNTZ POLLING ROADSHOW
Lots of laughs but still bad news for GOP say both
The political tsunami early-warning system, otherwise known as the National Conference of State Legislatures, closed up shop last week with one message emerging crystal clear.

It’s not a good year to be a Republican.
And those were the Republicans speaking. The executive director of the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee predicted the GOP had a 50-50 chance of losing the U.S. House alongside predictions of net losses in the statehouses.

Republican pollster Frank Luntz spun it into a punch line, but he was equally bleak. His message to Republicans in 2006: Go home and get a better job. He stopped himself, then said, "Don’t worry about it, you’re going to be getting a new job."

Luntz and Democratic pollster Peter Hart closed the conference with their take on what might transpire on Election Day. Both high-profile pollsters said their data depict a public angrier than at any time since 1994.

The rest of the story, subscribers only
http://www.quorumreport.com / Go to daily buzz..

[kpete]

25. Cuyahoga Co. OH: ESI Report Bastardized By Anti-VVPAT

Cuyahoga Co. OH: ESI Report Bastardized By Anti-VVPAT Pundits Election Science Institute (ESI) of San Francisco California was hired to investigate and report on problems with the May primary election in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The 240-page report was just released this month (August), and some in the elections community have ignored a large majority of the report.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3306

[autorank]

26. Mexican's fighting tyranny: “¡No retrocedemos!" "We won't back down"

“Scoop”/autorank: The Mexican People: Heroes of Democracy (English & Spanish)

Spanish Link for “Scoop”
EnglishEnglish Link for “Scoop” Copyright. Permission to reproduce in whole or part with attribution to the author and a link to “Scoop.” Spanish text below, after English



“We won’t back down!”

The Mexican People:
Heroes of Democracy

“The only hope of Democracy, that fragile thing never granted
but always promised, is gone by virtue of election fraud... and with it
the social contract that holds our society together.” Anaxarchos

Michael Collins
“Scoop” Independent Media
Washington, DC

The Mexican peoples’ democracy movement and their leader Andrés Manuel López Obrador are modern heroes of democracy and to all who demand clean elections. They recall the heroics of the Ukrainians with one important difference. There are no “great powers” supporting them. In fact, the American regime is hostile to a victory by Obrador and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). The increasingly unpopular and isolated White House cadre may have done its best to obstruct such an eventuality in ways which by now are predictably familiar. The Mexican people are alone, on the street, fighting the brave fight for people everywhere who believe in the inherently inalienable and natural right of men and women to determine their own destiny through free, fair, and transparent elections.

Supporters of democracy in Mexico are making a stand in the nation’s capitol. They just had their third major demonstration with more than a million participants. The American press tried a theme of demonstrators growing weary recently, just before the latest seven figure gathering. The demonstrations tell Mexicans and the world that the election was so questionable, an investigation is mandated through a thorough review of the most direct evidence: the ballots. The PRD’s demand for a “ballot by ballot, precinct by precinct” recount is fully warranted.

The short history of this election offers a wealth of evidence pointing to fraud. The PAN party of Vincente Fox engaged in a number of questionable activities. $270 million was reportedly diverted from education programs in order to sweeten the pot in some northern Mexican states via the governors. Calderon defeated Obrador by margins of 50% in some sections of the north and there were charges of massive election fraud.

During the campaign, the ruling PAN party engaged in distorted negative advertising attacks on Obrador which are clearly outlawed in Mexican campaigns. The electoral authorities cited the party of President Fox as being the primary culprit for this, but the damage was done and the lies were spread.

The “independent” election institute tipped its hand by reporting Calderon the probable winner only to face shame when citizens pointed out there were 2.5 million uncounted ballots. The election institute totaled these and by a remarkable “coincidence,” Calderon’s victory margin remained in tact.

http://tinyurl.com/p3u8h ">The Los Angeles Times reported that Calderon gained 20% of his victory margin in just one of 300 election Districts:

“In Guanajuato's District 13, one of 300 electoral districts across Mexico, Calderón piled up a 44,000 vote margin, equivalent to almost one-fifth of his nationwide edge over López Obrador, candidate of the Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD.”

Narco News reports that the vote tabulation software for the “independent” election institute was written in part by the brother in law of Calderon, the winner by the current count. Calderon’s brother in law denied this at first but admitted his role when confronted with evidence in the form of contracts.

Opening the seals on ballot boxes was reported frequently on election day, with accusations almost exclusively leveled at PAN activists.

Obrador supporters found ballots discarded, unreported, and uncounted in dumps and other hideaways.

Preliminary results from the 9% recount ordered by the election tribunal validate the suspicions raised and charges made by the Mexican Press, Narco News, and Obrador. On August 14, Narco News reported:

• “In 3,074 precincts (29 percent of those recounted), 45,890 illegal votes, above the number of voters who cast ballots in each polling place, were found stuffed inside the ballot boxes (an average of 15 for each of these precincts, primarily in strongholds of the National Action Party, known as the PAN, of President Vicente Fox and his candidate, Felipe Calderón).
• In 4,368 precincts (41 percent of those recounted), 80,392 ballots of citizens who did vote are missing (an average of 18 votes in each of these precincts).
• Together, these 7,442 precincts contain about 70 percent of the ballots recounted. The total amount of ballots either stolen or forged adds up to 126,282 votes altered.” The Narco News Bulletin - Al Giordano 08/14/2006

Mexican citizens advocating for clean elections armed themselves with video cameras and other recording devices. We have yet to see any this evidence. Why? Because the corporate media north and south of the border are either intentionally or reflexively complicit, by taking part in the blatant http://tinyurl.com/create.php ">shilling that goes into those razor thin victories that the right wing pulls off with increased regularity, efficiency, and repeated success..

Obrador is convinced that he won the election as are many others. It’s a close copy of the 1988 presidential campaign when observers were sure the left had won. Obrador and his supporters are not going to take that dubious outcome again without fighting. Not only have there been three major demonstrations of over a million people each in Mexico City, but Obrador has called for and is supported in acts of civil disobedience at airports and other key areas of Mexico City. This spirit coincides with resistance to tyranny in the Mexican states. In Oaxaca, a group of women recently took over a government seat of power by protesting the outrages of corrupt rule.

The millions of Mexican activists, the leaders, and Obrador are all engaged in a very high risk enterprise. The Fox government broke up a peaceful vigil by teachers in Oaxaca a few months before the election. As part of their protest, the teachers slept in the town square. One morning at dawn, the shameless Fox government dispatched helicopters to tear gas the peaceful demonstrators as they lay unguarded, innocently, and defenselessly sleeping.

Given the ruling elite’s response to protests in the provinces, what more nefarious means of repression can we expect in the capitol city when civil disobedience is inevitably enacted to assure a fair chance at winning the presidency?


Mexican police show up at PRD demonstrations. Photo Credit: NarcoNews.com

The ghost of the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre before that year’s Summer Olympics haunts the demonstrations today. In a deliberate act of terror, the Mexican army surrounded Tlatelolco Square in Mexico City where 5000 activists were peacefully assembled. The troops opened fire with deadly effectiveness killing three hundred innocent demonstrators who thought Mexico was a democratic country. Premeditation with the intent to harm was acknowledged much later by the man in charge, then minister of the interior (and later president) Luis Echeverría. In addition, there is direct evidence of keen United States interest in the demonstrations and the student movement. US Government representatives in Mexico City gathered intelligence on the students and their plans, passing that along to the Mexican Government.

This will sound familiar to the many Americans who have lost personal data or who followed the elections closely in 2000. After 911, a detailed list of the names of Mexico’s 65 million voters was purchased by Choicepoint, an American data mining company. Was this detailed information provided to the Fox government and his party to target specific voters for special “benefits” in those areas with cash-rich Governors?

More worrisome, Mexico has not changed its laws since1968 when Echeverria ordered the massacre in Tlatelolco. He was charged but never fully prosecuted for his role in ordering the massacre. Will the Fox government adopt the same shock and awe approach against the Obrador protesters and execute another Tlatelolco massacre?

The millions flooding the public squares supporting Obrador’s cause are fully conscious as they act in civil disobedience. They know of the recent assault on sleeping teachers in Oaxaca and the history of premeditated violence by the previous government against the protesters who threatened far less than the democracy advocates are threatening today. Their goal is an end to decades of corruption which steals the wealth, lives, and soul of a nation of intelligent, hard working, creative people.

It is both prescient and incumbent upon all of us to support the heroic efforts of the Mexican people in any way we can. We should draw inspiration from their real-world battle against those who would hide ballots as though they were personal property instead of the fundamental statement of the public will. We must honor these sentinels of democracy by redoubling our efforts to make voter suppression, voter disenfranchisement, and nonsensical outcomes a thing of the past in the United States.

In a very real sense, Obrador and the PRD are leading the way to a positive shift in the movement toward freedom and against tyranny.

Citizens of the United States owe the Mexican people a great debt. We must respond with acts of comparable commitment in our own struggle for human dignity and freedom. Failure to act allows the nihilistic forces which serve outmoded, corrupt, and world killing philosophies to continue unopposed. These forces proceed despite all indications that the path and process have set us on a course of undeniable and obvious global catastrophe. There is an alternative available and it is coming to life right now in Mexico.

***END***

Copyright. Permission to reproduce in whole or part with attribution to the author and a link to “Scoop.”

Michael Collins is a writer who focuses on clean elections and voting rights. He is the editor of the election fraud web site, www.ElectionFraudNews.com . He has written articles on a number of topics for “Scoop” Independent News some of which include:: The Disenfranchisement of Katrina's Survivors; The Unanswered Question: Who Really Won In 2004?; Secret Vote Counting, a scathing critique of HAVA; and Kennedy's Challenge, a detailed response to Salon’s attack on the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. article on stolen election 2004. Special thanks to Stella Black for editorial assistance. [e-mail]





Spanish Link for “Scoop”
English Link for “Scoop”
Copyright. Permiso para reproducir en su entereza o en parte con atribución al autor y un enlace a “Scoop.”



“¡No retrocedemos!”

El pueblo mexicano:
Héroes de la democracia

“La única esperanza de la Democracia, esa cosa frágil nunca concedida pero
siempre prometida, se ha esfumado con el fraude electoral... y con ella el hilo
del contrato social con que se hilvana nuestra sociedad.” Anaxarchos

Michael Collins
“Scoop” Independent Media
Washington, DC
Traducción al español de Annette M. Ramos.

El movimiento democrático del pueblo mexicano y su líder Andrés Manuel López Obrador son héroes modernos de la democracia y para todos los que exigen elecciones limpias. Evocan los actos heroicos de los ucranianos, con una diferencia importante. No hay “grandes poderes” apoyándolos. De hecho, el régimen estadounidense ha mostrado hostilidad hacia la victoria de Obrador y el Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD). El conjunto de jefes de la Casa Blanca, cada vez menos populares y aislados, se ha esforzado en hacer todo lo posible por obstruir tal eventualidad en formas que a estas alturas son predeciblemente familiares. El pueblo mexicano está solo, en la calle, librando una lucha vigorosa por las personas de todo el mundo que creen en el derecho inherentemente inalienable y natural de los hombres y las mujeres de determinar su propio destino mediante las elecciones libres, justas y transparentes.

Los partidarios de la democracia en México están haciendo resistencia en la capital de la nación. Acaban de celebrar su tercera asamblea mayor con más de un millón de participantes. La prensa norteamericana intentó recientemente de difundir el tema de que los manifestantes se están fatigando, justo antes de la última movilización que convocó a un número de personas que suman a una cifra en exceso de siete dígitos. Las manifestaciones les dejan saber a los mexicanos y al resto del mundo que las elecciones fueron tan cuestionables que se exige una investigación mediante un repaso cabal de la evidencia más directa: las papeletas. La petición del PRD de que se realice un recuento “voto por voto, casilla por casilla” está completamente justificada.

Esta pequeña historia de estas elecciones ofrece un caudal de evidencia con la cual se vislumbra el fraude. El partido PAN (Partido Acción Nacional) de Vicente Fox empleó una serie de actividades cuestionables. $270 millones supuestamente fueron sustraídos de programas de educación para untar las manos de algunos en los estados norteños mexicanos a través de los gobernadores. Calderón derrotó a Obrador por márgenes de 50% en algunas secciones del norte y hubo acusaciones de fraude electoral a escala masiva.

Durante la campaña, el partido en el poder PAN desató ataques de anuncios de publicidad negativos en contra de Obrador, los cuales están claramente prohibidos por ley en las campañas mexicanas. Las autoridades electorales citaron al partido del presidente Fox como el culpable principal de estos, pero el daño ya se había efectuado y las mentiras difundidas.

El instituto “independiente” electoral puso su juego al descubierto al reportar que Calderón era el ganador probable, lo cual sólo les resultó en bochorno cuando los ciudadanos señalaron que había. 2.5 millones sin contar de votos aún sin contar. El instituto electoral sumó éstos y por una “coincidencia” notable, el margen de la victoria de Calderón siguió intacto.

El http://tinyurl.com/p3u8h ">The Los Angeles Times reportó que Calderón obtuvo 20% de su margen de victoria en sólo uno de 300 Distritos electorales:

En el Distrito 13 de Guanajuato, uno de los 300 distritos electorales de México, Calderón acumuló un margen de votos de 44,000, el equivalente a casi un quinto de su ventaja a nivel nacional sobre López Obrador, el candidato del Partido de la Revolución Democrática, o PRD.

Narco News reportó que el software para la tabulación del voto para el instituto electoral “independiente” fue escrito en parte por el cuñado de Calderón, el ganador según el conteo hasta ahora. El cuñado de Calderón lo negó inicialmente pero admitió su participación cuando fue confrontado con evidencia en forma de contratos.

Hubo frecuentes reportajes de la apertura de los sellos de los paquetes electorales durante el día de las elecciones, con acusaciones casi exclusivamente dirigidas en contra de activistas de PAN.

Los simpatizantes de Obrador hallaron papeletas descartadas, sin reportarse y sin contarse, en vertederos y otros escondites.

Los resultados preliminares del recuento de 9% ordenado por el tribunal electoral validaron las sospechas ventiladas y los cargos entablados por la prensa mexicana, Narco News y Obrador. El 14 de agosto, Narco News reportó:

• En 3,074 casillas (29 por ciento de las que recontaron), se hallaron 45,890 votos ilegales, en exceso del número de votantes que votaron en cada casilla, dentro de los paquetes electorales (un promedio de 15 por cada una de estas casillas, primordialmente en zonas en que predomina el Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) del presidente Vicente Fox y su candidato, Felipe Calderón).
• En 4,368 casillas (41 por ciento de las que recontaron), se hallaron 80,392 votos de ciudadanos que sí votaron pero que no aparecen (un promedio de 18 votos en cada una de estas casillas).
• Juntas, estas 7,442 casillas contienen como 70 por ciento de los votos recontados. La cantidad total de votos ya sea robados o falsificados suman a los 126,282 votos alterados. The Narco News Bulletin - Al Giordano 08/14/2006

Los ciudadanos mexicanos que abogan por las elecciones limpias se armaron con cámaras de vídeo y otros aparatos de grabación. Hasta el momento no hemos podido ver esta evidencia. ¿Por qué? Por que los medios corporativos tanto al norte como al sur de la frontera son cómplices intencionales o reflexivos, al tomar parte en una http://tinyurl.com/create.php "> flagrante connivencia que ocurre en estas victorias tan estrechas que los derechistas logran cada vez con más regularidad, eficiencia y éxito.

Obrador está convencido de que ganó las elecciones, al igual que muchos otros. Es una historia similar a la campaña presidencial de 1988 cuando los observadores estaban convencidos de que había ganado la izquierda. Obrador y sus secuaces no van a rendirse y conformarse nuevamente con un desenlace dudoso sin luchar. No solamente se han celebrado tres asambleas mayores de más de un millón cada una en el Distrito Federal de México, sino que Obrador ha pedido y ha recibido apoyo para realizar actos de desobediencia civil en aeropuertos y otras áreas claves de la capital. Este espíritu coincide con la resistencia a la tiranía en los estados mexicanos. En Oaxaca, un grupo de mujeres recientemente se apoderaró de un puesto de poder mediante protestando los atropellos de la gobernación corrupta.

Los millones de activistas mexicanos, los líderes y la campaña de Obrador están todos involucrados en una empresa de muy alto riesgo. El gobierno de Fox desbandó una vigilia pacífica por parte de maestros en Oaxaca hace apenas unos meses antes de las elecciones. Como parte de su protesta, los maestros durmieron en la plaza de la ciudad. Una mañana al amanecer, el desvergonzado gobierno de Fox despachó helicópteros para rociar gases lacrimógenos sobre los manifestantes pacíficos mientras yacían desprevenidos, indefensos e inocentemente dormidos.

Dada la respuesta de las elites a las protestas en las provincias, ¿qué medios más nefastos de represión se han de esperar en la ciudad capital cuando la desobediencia civil se lleva a cabo para asegurar una justa oportunidad de ganar la presidencia?


Presencia de la policía mexicana durante las movilizaciones del PRD.
Photo Credit: NarcoNews.com

El fantasma de la matanza de Tlatelolco de 1968 antes de las Olimpiadas de verano de ese año acecha a los manifestantes de hoy. En un acto de terror calculado, el ejército mexicano rodeó la Plaza Tlatelolco en el D.F. donde se encontraban 5,000 activistas reunidos de forma pacífica. Las tropas abrieron fuego con eficacia mortal matando a trescientos manifestantes inocentes que pensaban que México era un país democrático. La premeditación con la intención de hacer daño fue reconocida mucho más tarde por el hombre a cargo, el entonces Secretario de Gobernación (y más tarde presidente) Luis Echeverría. Además, hay evidencia directa de que EE.UU. tenía un gran interés en las manifestaciones y el movimiento estudiantil. El representante del Gobierno de EE.UU. en el D.F. recaudó inteligencia acerca de los estudiantes y sus planes, compartiéndola con el gobierno mexicano.

Esto le resultará familiar a los muchos estadounidenses que han perdido datos personales o que siguieron de cerca las elecciones en el 2000. Después del 11 de septiembre del 2001, una lista de los nombres de los 65 millones votantes mexicanos fue comprada por Choicepoint, una compañía de minería de datos estadounidense. ¿Fue esta información detallada provista al gobierno de Fox y su partido para identificar votantes específicos a quien conceder “beneficios” especiales en esas áreas con gobernadores pudientes?

Lo más inquietante es que México no ha cambiado sus leyes desde 1968 cuando se Echeverría ordenó la masacre en Tlatelolco. Fue acusado pero nunca encausado del todo por su papel en ordenar la masacre. ¿Adoptará el gobierno de Fox el mismo acercamiento de shock and awe en contra de los protestantes de Obrador y ejecutará otra masacre de Tlatelolco?

Los millones amasándose en las plazas públicas que apoyan la causa de Obrador tienen los ojos completamente abiertos al realizar sus actos de desobediencia civil. Conocen la agresión reciente dirigida a los maestros en Oaxaca mientras dormían y la historia de violencia premeditada por el gobierno anterior en contra de protestantes que presentan una amenaza mucho menor que los que abogan por la democracia hoy día. Su meta es ponerle final a décadas de corrupción que se roba el caudal, las vidas y el alma de una nación de gente inteligente, trabajadora y creativa.

Sabemos que es lo correcto y debemos todos apoyar los esfuerzos heroicos del pueblo mexicano de cualquier forma que podamos. Debemos inspirarnos con su batalla tan real en contra de aquellos que pretenden esconder votos como si fuesen propiedad personal en vez de la declaración fundamental de la voluntad pública. Debemos honrar a estas centinelas de la democracia redoblando nuestros esfuerzos para lograr que la exclusión de votos y votantes, y los resultados sin sentido sean algo del pasado en EE.UU.

En un sentido muy real, Obrador y el PRD están abriendo brechas para agenciar un cambio positivo en el movimiento hacia la libertad y en contra de la tiranía.

Los ciudadanos de EE.UU. le deben mucho al pueblo mexicano. Debemos de responder con actos de compromiso comparables en nuestra propia lucha en pro de la dignidad y libertad de los seres humanos. Si no actuamos, las fuerzas del nihilismo que sirven a las filosofías del mundo en retroceso, corrupto y asesino podrán continuar sin oposición. Estas fuerzas progresan a pesar de todas las indicaciones de que el camino y el proceso nos han puesto en una marcha de catástrofe global innegable y obvia. Hay una alternativa disponible y está cobrando vida en estos instantes en México.

***FIN***

Copyright. Permiso para reproducir en su entereza o en parte con atribución al autor y un enlace a “Scoop.”

Michael Collins es un escritor que se enfoca en las elecciones limpias y los derechos de votación. Es el editor del sitio web de fraude electoral, www.ElectionFraudNews.com. Ha escrito artículos sobre una serie de temas para “Scoop” Independent News incluyendo: The Disenfranchisement of Katrina's Survivors; The Unanswered Question: Who Really Won In 2004?; Secret Vote Counting; y Kennedy's Challenge, una respuesta detallada al ataque que lanzó Salon en contra del artículo de Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. sobre las elecciones robadas del 2004. Gracias en especial a Stella Black por su asistencia editorial. [e-mail]

[Kurovski]

27. A kick and a thank you to kpete.(nt)