Blue Collar Politics

[BREAK] Some members of a "daily news" mailing list I run have mentioned that I seem to have little love for America's paper of record. And, I'll admit that there are times that I question my own antagonism to the more recent incarnation of the NY Times. Not often, but there are times. (And it is not just a reaction to a publisher who decides that those who can't afford subscriptions to "Times Select" should not benefit from the edification provided by some great minds.) Then, something like this Lieberman story comes along (kudos to Atrios), and I realize that far from beating a dead horse named Judy Miller, my internal blood-boil at the gray lady is really justifiable anger. Through the years, the Times was really NOT a Liberal paper in its news content, but mainly in its editorials and commentary. As with it's Conservative sister, the Wall Street Journal, you could usually count on the news stories in both papers to be factual and unbiased. (While the editors at both papers might differ on which stories they found worthwhile to publish, with each choosing stories more reflective of their editorial outlook, the stories rarely strayed from the factual path.) But over the past decade, the NY Times has not only left a grand tradition of factual journalism behind, it has gone on to where facts are cut from stories, leaving the exact opposite meaning in a story than the facts truly portray. In the Jennifer Medina story in the Times, the headline reads "Lieberman Points Out a Turnabout by Lamont", yet, when one actually reads the full Lamont letter, one can't help but realize that the letter chastised, and did not just praise, Lieberman. Here's the verbatim first paragraph of Lamont's letter:

Dear Joe, I reluctantly supported the moral outrage you expressed on September 3. I was reluctant because I thought it might make matters worse; I was reluctant because nobody expressed moral outrage over how Reagan treated his kids or Gingrich lied about supporting term limits (in other words, it was reluctant outrage); I was reluctant because the Starr inquisition is much more threatening to our civil liberties and national interest than Clinton's misbehavior.

As with many of us, Lamont lamented Clinton's idiotic tryst in the White House. And, like most Americans, including this Liberal, Lamont was probably angry at Clinton for his televised lie to the nation. But, as with those of us who loved our country too much to allow it to be used as a venue for internecine blood sport, he found much more offence in the manner the Repugnants in Congress and their henchman, Ken Starr, dragged our country down to where America looked like a rejected episode of the Jerry Springer TV show. After the jump to "Continued Reading", below, I'll place the story, followed by the actual letter Lamont sent to Lieberman.

You be the judge!

===== [/BREAK]

[BREAK] Believe what you want, the Pope is not stupid. While he'll certainly give an apology; he knew exactly what reaction his taunt would engender. If a Muslim, Jew or Buddhist had said that all Christ brought to religion was "only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”, the Pope would lead the chorus of "Off with his/her head!" Yet, historically, a case could be made. Begin with the Inquisition and the Crusades and carry forward to GW Bush grabbing Jesus's coat tails every time he wants to kill and/or a few thousand more people. The fact that some whackos like Osama and Bush use religion as a force for evil should not be cause to condemn whole religions or their founders. ===== [/BREAK]

The Pope’s Words - New York Times Published: September 16, 2006 There is more than enough religious anger in the world. So it is particularly disturbing that Pope Benedict XVI has insulted Muslims, quoting a 14th-century description of Islam as “evil and inhuman.” In the most provocative part of a speech this week on “faith and reason,” the pontiff recounted a conversation between an “erudite” Byzantine Christian emperor and a “learned” Muslim Persian circa 1391. The pope quoted the emperor saying, “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” - - - SNIP The Vatican issued a statement saying that Benedict meant no offense and in fact desired dialogue. But this is not the first time the pope has fomented discord between Christians and Muslims. In 2004 when he was still the Vatican’s top theologian, he spoke out against Turkey’s joining the European Union, because Turkey, as a Muslim country was “in permanent contrast to Europe.” - - - End of SNIPPET

More Here

[BREAK] You can be certain, were evidence of hundreds of such meetings had been with Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi, the Wash Post would have also only allocated minimal (5 paragraphs) coverage way back on page A-11 of the newspaper. Right? ===== [/BREAK]

Abramoff Associates, Bush Aides Met Often - washingtonpost.com Associated Press Thursday, September 21, 2006; Page A11 Former associates of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff had dozens of appointments with Bush administration staff members, according to Secret Service visitor logs the White House released yesterday to settle a lawsuit by the Democratic Party and an ethics watchdog group. Republican activists Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed, political allies of President Bush and longtime Abramoff associates, totaled more than 100 visits to the Bush White House. Abramoff, a former GOP lobbyist, has pleaded guilty to fraud and is cooperating with prosecutors in an influence-peddling investigation. White House officials said they believe all their meetings that included Bush were group events, such as Christmas parties or policy briefings for GOP supporters. Among others who visited White House staff members are two former Abramoff lobbying associates who have also pleaded guilty in the ongoing lobbying probe. Neil Volz, an aide to Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) before joining Abramoff's lobbying team, had 18 appointments with White House aides. Tony Rudy, an aide to then-Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), visited the Bush White House 13 times. Former Abramoff lobbying associate Kevin Ring, a former aide to Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif.), had 21, and lobbyist Shawn Vasell had 18 -- two this year. White House officials said Norquist, who runs the nonprofit Americans for Tax Reform, was cleared for 97 visits to the White House complex from 2001 to this year, half a dozen including Bush. Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition and an unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor in Georgia this year, got 18 meetings, including two events with Bush.

[BREAK] So, we illegaly strip searched and subjected the Venezuelan Foreign Minister to a rough interrogation First, you must remember that the US does not submit to any International Law. Hell, we've reneged on a passel of signed treaties since Bush took over, never mind something as hampering as International Law. Acting like a "good neighbor" is something for lesser [wimp] countries. Second, Bush is trying to constantly goad Chavez, so Bush will have red-meat, provocative" quotes to hide behind when we either assassinate Hugo or invade Venezuela, our #1 supplier of imported oil. Of course, as with every policy decision made since the Bush regime coup in 2000, the first reaction was to spout lies:

Chavez: U.S. Detained Foreign Minister - washingtonpost.com By NATALIE OBIKO PEARSON The Associated Press Saturday, September 23, 2006; 10:09 PM CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's foreign minister was detained by U.S. authorities at a New York airport for more than hour Saturday as he tried to return to the South American country, President Hugo Chavez said. U.S. and U.N. officials called the incident regrettable but said Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro had been identified for "secondary screening," a security check that can kick in when a passenger arrives without a ticket.

So, as of 10:09 PM last night, we said the Ambassodor was only subjected to a "secondary screening that can kick in when a passenger arrives without a ticket." Well, if a strip search, threats and rough interrogation awaits everyone who arrives at JFK without their ticket, I'd advise you to MAKE DAMN SURE YOUR TICKET IS STAPLED TO YOUR BODY! Of course, this morning the Bushies realized that about the only area where America has improved security is at the airports, which seems to mean there is at least one, if not many, security cameras covering every square inch of the terminals. And, I'm guessing that they then realized that unlike mythical WMD, the Foreign Ministers story would only take minutes to verify. Hence, this morning's about face, with the Bush regime suddenly issuing an apology for an incident it, and the UN, denied ever happened. Now, put on your thinking caps. Try to imagine Bush's reaction had Condi Rice been forced through a strip search and rough interrogation on an official UN business trip in Venezuela. (Never mind telling me that Laura Bush would be amuzed. I meant "Try to imagine GW Bush's reaction . . . ") [/BREAK] =====

Looking for a news story that doesn't leave you wondering if humans are really a deadly planetary infestation rather than the globe's caretaker and dominant species.
Try this, from the NY Times:

A Rare Kind of Food Bank, and Just Maybe the Hippest, Flourishes

By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN
Published: September 26, 2006

FORESTVILLE, Calif. — For most gardeners, spending a gorgeous Saturday morning harvesting basil and organic heirloom tomatoes is a life-enhancing experience. But for green thumbs at one particular garden — an innovative addition to a food bank for people with H.I.V. and AIDS — the life-embracing quality of a bountiful harvest is quite literal.

“I’m not a California effete kind of person; it’s important to get the nutrition,” said Andrew Eckers, a 51-year-old volunteer gardener with a fondness for sorrel and pea shoots who, when the disease had him fully in its grip, spent eight years in a wheelchair. “But this is also pleasurable.”

Founded in 1999 to provide produce for people living with AIDS, the garden is part of what may well be the country’s hippest food bank, a place where the Alice Waters grow-your-own organic food ethic supplants gloomy institutional staples like American cheese and day-old bread.

- - - SNIP

The garden, run by Food for Thought, a nonprofit organization, is overseen by horticulturalists from the nearby Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, and many of its volunteers are H.I.V. patients who benefit from it. It brims with green beans and scallions but also obscure varieties of amaranth, an ancient Andean grain with flowing Rapunzel-like purple stalks. The fresh produce harvested by the volunteers is the food bank’s mainstay, though it also dispenses other groceries as well as vitamins.

More Here

Wonder where the Democrats went to, after 9/11/01? Do certain bloggers and supposed "Liberal" media commentators/hosts confuse you with their sudden change into a cheering squad for Democrats who seemingly support Bush's Baghdad Blunder, or the bankruptcy bill that puts a boot on the throat of middle-class families suffering through major medical crisis?

Read this, (Antiterrorism Bill on Detainees, Geneva Conventions - Rushing Off a Cliff - New York Times), this (House Approves Bill on Detainees - washingtonpost.com), this (Don't Suspend Habeas Corpus - Los Angeles Times) and this!

Then think about where we're headed and what you need to do to change our course!
(My view was expressed here.)

[BREAK] Go read BuzzFlash here!

UPDATE:

Go Here to see how the Bushies are already starting to put a full court press on the Federal Judiciary. You see, we don't need no stinkin' judges in the new Bush/Cheney Amerika! (I'm guessing that were a judge to rule against Bush in one of the cases, he'd instantly have proved he "supported terrorism", and he'd be secretly kidnapped, incarcerated under the new rules and never be heard of again!)

END OF UPDATE!

We now return you to your regular program. ===== Now, for those idiot Repugnants (not true Republicans, but those who hijacked their party and turned into an echo of . . . here it comes . . . a certain party in the Germany of the 1930's) who want to throw "traitor" and "unpatriotic" around, here's my BS. Viet-vet, (volunteer) Combat Infantryman's Badge, Bronze Star, 2 Air Medals and a bunch of other pretty ribbons. Married 36 years, 2 grown kids. Never charged with taking bribes, pedophilia, shooting a friend and have had no affairs with interns (male or female). And I was coherent enough to march with other combat veterans on February 15, 2003 against Bush's Baghdad Blunder! In brief, it is obvious that I can't be a Repugnant Party member. Until yesterday, I had been a Democrat for 41 years. And, for almost all of those years I was a proud Democrat. I'll be switching my registration to Independent If I am forced to associate myself with a political party, it won't be one that capitulates with the torture of America's ideals while pretending to stand for those very ideals. Why associate with the Dems if they won't even filibuster a bill that will make legal the arrest of someone, many of whom will be innocents (based on the release of hundreds of detainees from Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and elsewhere) WITH NO RIGHT TO BE CHARGED OR RIGHT TO GO BEFORE A JUDGE, will make legal the torture of an innocent AND would them deny that innocent the right to go to court and sue the torturer. Of course, some will say, "If we don't stay with the Democrats, the Republicans will do whatever they want." Wake the fuck up! The Republicans ARE doing whatever the Hell they want. You are just satisfying yourself with some psychic pacifier, sucking at the Democratic teat while your mom, America, is being beaten, raped and left to lie in a pool of her own blood. If it isn't time for a non-violent revolution in this country (general strike?), then we should officially declare those dumb rebelling bastards in powdered wigs of the late 18th Century with being sociopathic terrorists who led this country astray with an evil Constitution. Those men risked their fortunes, their lives, their families lives in order to grant us, their heirs, a right to have a judge approve of our detention, to force our accusers to step forward and face us, IN THAT COURT, to have a right to council and a right to be treated as a human being! Yesterday, the Democrats played with themselves while those rights were shredded and burned. They played pocket pool while the rape of a detainee, innocent or guilty, by the US personnel holding them became something less than torture. While the Geneva Conventions were reinterpreted to become a document whose meaning is solely decided by the Bush/Cheney Torture Team. As Bush signs this horrific assault on America, please recall one very important fact. The House and Senate of the United States, with the tacit applause of the majority of their fearful voting constituents, have surrendered America and her venerated Constitution to 19 young maniacs who brought some cheap box cutters on to 4 US passenger airliners. After fighting the mightiest militaries on the planet, in the late 1770's on up to the early 1940's, 19 young fanatics found America's soft underbelly just when America's population had lost the will to fight against an enemy they feared . . . albeit the smallest enemy every to defeat a world power. We now have, in the reality based world, no Constitutional protections. The only "persons" in America whose protections, from Constitutional ones to those bankruptcy protections, are still in effect are the mega-Corporations. Oh, and a fetus. The rights of an American are sacrosanct to the Repugnants, UNTIL BIRTH! Individual American citizens CAN be "disappeared" from our streets, if Bush thinks their statements provided support for any of his supposed "enemies". They CAN be jailed and tortured FOREVER, without EVER getting to see a judge or speak with a lawyer. AND THE WEAK-KNEED DEMOCRATS NOT ONLY FAILED TO FILIBUSTER, HARRY REID REFUSED TO EVEN ATTEMPT ONE. Of course, calling for a filibuster would have exposed the names of every one of the Democrats who now remain hidden behind a wall of "no filibuster was called for." Finally, the removal of legal rights was not the ONLY thing this bill accomplishes. It granted some startling new rights . . . to Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales, Bill Frist and Halliburton. They are now granted immunity from any past war crimes they, or their employees may have committed. I'M NOT PROUD OF AN AMERICA WHEREIN OUR LEADERS NEEDED RETROACTIVE IMMUNITY FROM WAR CRIMES??? I'M NOT PROUD OF A POLITICAL PARTY THAT REFUSES TO FILIBUSTER SUCH A BILL BECAUSE SOME OF THEIR MEMBERS CONDONE SUCH A BILL? That's not my America. That's NOT a political party to which I want to be associated. ===== Go here to see how your Senator and Member of Congress voted on torture:
Senate here!
House here! [/BREAK]

On Friday, September 29, It's Mourning in America | BuzzFlash A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL Just as it is hard to fully comprehend the grief of a beloved friend or relative killed needlessly in an accident, it is excruciatingly painful to try to come to terms with the pernicious betrayal of our Constitution and liberty that occurred in the Senate on Thursday, September 28. In the past week alone, we have seen factual evidence that belies the need for the power play/pre-election attack on our Constitution. In fact, these developments indicate that giving Bush even more unprecedented power is not only unconscionable; it puts the national security of the United States of America in peril: Bush’s newly "revamped" top 16 intelligence agencies reached the conclusion that the Iraq War had become a primary cause in the growth of terrorists and the increased threat of terrorism to the United States. Bush called the report of his own top intelligent agencies "naïve." Meanwhile, a second U.N. report came to the same conclusion as the American spy agencies. The U.N. also reported that more Iraqis may now be being tortured under U.S. occupation than were tortured under Saddam Hussein. - - - SNIP Today, tears would flow down the olive robe of the Statue of Liberty if she were human. But she is just an inanimate symbol. We are the ones who have to cope with the pain of a democracy destroyed in a political play for power and permanent one-party rule, which is not a Constitutional form of government. That is called a dictatorship. And the one thing in common with dictators through history, whether Communist or fascist, is their state-sanctioned ability to torture people at will. Beyond the overwhelming facts this week that Bush has endangered the national security of the United States of America with his failed and costly fanatic ignorance, we are left with this sad fact. With the law passed on September 28th by Congress, we have become the Republic of torture. We not only have lost our claim to be a civilizing force among nations and abandoned our Constitution, we have appeased the terrorists by doing so. Because isn’t it Bush who keeps telling us that the "terrorists hate us for our freedoms"? So, to appease those same enemies of America, the White House and the Republicans have abandoned civilized standards of behavior and taken freedoms away. We are only beginning to grieve for the great beacon of democracy and justice that we lost yesterday. - - - End of SNIPPET

Read the whole BuzzFlash Editorial here!

[BREAK] Crooks And Liars has a great post up today, Culture Warriors In Action and I salute Nicole Belle on her putting together of a hat trick of recent fundamentalist attempts to keep our kid's minds walking some straight and narrow path, with blinders and earplugs so they are never allowed to view/hear any aspects of life on our planet that does not conform with the exact faith-based dictates of that family's religion. (It is also nice to see reporting on something other than the child molesting Congressman Foley. If all you read are the headlines in our nation's newspapers, you might mistakenly think Iraq was peaceful (Attacks in Baghdad Kill 13 U.S. Soldiers in 3 Days) and that nothing of import was happening elsewhere on the globe (Al-Qaeda's Far-Reaching New Partner). Even George Will, with George F. Will - What Goeth Before the Fall, weighs in on Foley today, putting today's top story in its Republican/religious context:

To a Republican Party increasingly defined by the ascendancy of the religious right, the Foley episode is doubly deadly. His behavior was disgusting, and some Republican reactions seem more calculating than indignant.

But on Crooks and Liars, at least one story never mentions the Florida Republican . . . and I give thanks for that. As one who believes religions have, overall, done more good than harm in the course of human history, I find myself compelled to vainly attempt to keep the good/bad scales of religious contribution heavy on the good side by pointing out when man's flaws have him misusing faith in a manner that throws those scales out of whack. Like the attempts highlighted by Ms. Belle, in which parents seem to believe that their God is ashamed of the bodies He/She created, wanted children to be bereft of imagination and wonder and would like to attend bonfires, if the right books were being torched. I might agree with those who would say I've been crying "Wolf!" for way too long now on this issue of primarily math/reading education (aided by the unfunded No Child Left Behind . . . or No Child Left Sentient?), with no classroom introduction to anything requiring more than a rote playback of the teacher's/book's words/text . . . except THERE REALLY IS A WOLF (see Jennifer Booher-Jennings - Rationing Education for just one example), he's expanding his territory daily and he's been busy snacking on much of our future generations' critical thought portion of their gray matter. (And I'm not even going into the cultural bias aspect or the military recruitment aid of the NCLB act.) But this wolf doesn't come in sheep's clothing. He comes as governmental regulation that forces history, civic, geography, literature and the arts to be left out of curricula. He also comes as a "man of God", one who will quickly testify that she/he is surely not trying to remove knowledge from the reach of the children; he/she only wants to purify that knowledge through a moral filter in order to have it conform to the dictates of an ancient and important instrument of his belief system. Thus, evolution, carbon dating, archeology, geology, medicine -from stem cells through euthanasia - and other areas of knowledge must be removed, or worse, altered so it fits into the subject knowledge of a handful of men who authored portions of a book over two millennia ago. CAUTION: Suicidal blogger will attempt to more firmly grasp this live third rail here, and try to come away unharmed. [/BREAK]

[BREAK] Today, we meet to sell highways to corporate interests. Instead of the fear of virtual toll stations on the Internet, there will be actual toll booths collecting dollars for share holders (who might get cut rate Easy Passes?) While a decade from now, with much luck - and more than a dollop of irony - you may still be pledging allegiance to the flag, you'll be paying for EVERYTHING on a single page bill to a conglomerate composed of Halliburton and, if they are lucky, a few other large political donor corporations. Gas, electric an telephone charges will be but a small portion of your monthly bill. The "National Corporate Conglomeration" will run a subsidiary for-profit corporation for the military, a subsidiary for-profit corporation for the environment, a subsidiary for-profit corporation for the National (FBI) and Local (NYPD) policing, a subsidiary for-profit corporation for the Fire Department, a subsidiary for-profit corporation for blood donor/seller centers, a subsidiary for-profit corporation for sanitation, a subsidiary for-profit corporation for adoption and foster care and a subsidiary for-profit corporation for motor vehicle affairs, etc., etc. and etc. (props to Yul.) Of course, a for-profit military will need to, as such armies have throughout world history, make conquests of countries that can pay a mighty tribute or aid in insuring the power/defense of the mother country/corp, or both. All other corporate-government agencies will need to produce no red ink on their ledgers, and all will be below the great and powerful military corp., probably named The Halliburton Marauders. There will be no more NAFTA, CAFTA or other free trade agreements. The All Earth rules, that disallow unions, minimum wages or other unpatriotic attempts to hinder corporate profits have been outlawed, making trade agreement superfluous. We'll probably still hold elections, but power and duties will have evolved in keeping with the new, and constantly changing/improving reality that morphs on corporate demand. The famous Wall Street bronze Bull has become a religious icon of the fast growing Church of Hedonistic Pleasures (CHP), where membership is dependent on your listing in Forbes. CHP generous offer to take over all education in the US has been gladly accepted by the Clinton/Bush administration, with both Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush gushing about all the modern, instantaneous DNA readers on lease from CHP, so that the children will learn how to use.the machines to make any and all purchases. Your corporate credit status is immediately viewed by merchants, and deductions for purchases are made without any financial instruments (cash) ever changing hands. Of course, employers use the same DNA scan to find your age, health history, genetic proclivities, school records (which now really are "permanent records") and all other personal info, prior to hiring anyone. (The "security" uses of such invasive technology raised many questions at the inception. In a stroke of genius, the uber-Corp declared that all activities that might cause a future employer concern, like protest marching, unacceptable speech and complaining about the great and powerful uber-Corp. as being illegal and punishable by a life sentence of working in one of the toxic areas of the planet wherein much of the poisonous, but necessary, goods/chemicals/petroleum plants are located. As the average human lasts but 3-5 years in the soupy environment, this quickly keeps the population of free speech troublemakers to a minimum. Our Presidency will mimic the British Royal Family. She/he will appear at ship launchings, supermarket openings and will ring the quaint old bell at Wall Street, on the 4th of July and Corporate Appreciation Day! The UN will be a place where similarly factotums will meet to discuss the recommendations from the 5 member uber-Corps as to where the next Olympics, World's Fair or uber-Corp board meeting will take place. They will send there views back to the mega luxurious space station Xanadu, where the uber-Corporate board members and the 400 or so trillionaires live a life of unheard of luxury, far from the earth bound, cancer ridden serfs on the depleted planet below. (They believe this is a charitable arrangement, as they'd rather avoid any jealousy that might arise when the starving masses see that, in the hidden class war, winning really was everything.) And to think, it all began when Halliburton began hiring mercenaries in Iraq and corporate toll booths popped up on the Jersey Turnpike! ===== [/BREAK]

Fiscal Advisers Due to Weigh In on Selling New Jersey Turnpike - New York Times By RICHARD G. JONES Published: October 10, 2006 TRENTON, Oct. 9 — For months, Gov. Jon S. Corzine — slipping now and then into the skin of the investment banker that he once was — has talked about finding new ways to generate billions of dollars to help close New Jersey’s growing budget deficits. Next week, state officials may begin to take their first steps using some strategies from Mr. Corzine’s Wall Street past to help shape New Jersey’s financial future. On Monday, a financial consulting company is expected to deliver several recommendations about whether New Jersey should sell off or lease some of the state’s assets, including the New Jersey Turnpike. More Here

[BREAK] Sometimes, buried under a mound of festering bad news about America, with our current Repugnant government's domestic and international garbage heaped high on the pile, there's a bit of shining glitter to be found. The fact that, after soooo much bad publicity, the working New Yorker still understands the importance of labor unions, and that media (only after first trashing that glitter) reports on it, is such a piece of beloved and much needed glitter! ===== [/BREAK]

Support for Toussaint on the streets - Newsday.com Support for Toussaint on the streets BY CHUCK BENNETT amNEWYORK October 10, 2006 It was a "challenge" amNewYork couldn't refuse. Roger Toussaint, president of the Transport Workers Union Local 100 and the man who ordered last year's three-day strike, asked for a chance to rebut a story amNewYork ran last week about his unusual re-election fundraising tactic of selling $2 autographed pictures of himself. Toussaint took umbrage at quotes from straphangers interviewed outside Penn Station who overwhelmingly gave him and his $2 John Hancock a thumbs-down. So the Trinidad native walked the streets on his turf - working-class, outer-borough neighborhoods - predicting that the cheers from working men and women would far outweigh the jeers. "They perceive me as one of them," Toussaint said. For the most part, people honked their horns, gave thumbs-up, patted him on the back, shook his hand and even asked for photographs. One woman shouted an obscenity as she climbed the steps of the 30th Avenue station in Astoria, but she was the exception. More Here

[BREAK] This morning's Washington Post has a must read article by David Brown, that is derived from an AP report on a study conducted by a team of American and Iraqi epidemiologists. The article is titled Study Claims Iraq's 'Excess' Death Toll Has Reached 655,000 .

A team of American and Iraqi epidemiologists estimates that 655,000 more people have died in Iraq since coalition forces arrived in March 2003 than would have died if the invasion had not occurred. The estimate, produced by interviewing residents during a random sampling of households throughout the country, is far higher than ones produced by other groups, including Iraq's government.

While polls seem to indicate that somewhere around 30% to 35% of Americans will read the horrible results of the study and come away smiling and praising the military genius of the Bush crime family (see: White House Briefing -- News on President George W Bush and the Bush Administration - washingtonpost.com), the other two thirds of the saner folk will walk a little more slowly, bow their heads a bit more lowly, this morning. (And, with recent revelations about Republica's running in Congressional and State elections, the "Values Voters" are beginning to wake up. And it's doubtful that "Staff" will be able to deflect heat from the high level Republican cover-up in the Foley affair(s). Surprise, surprise! When you use all the horrendous weapons of conventional war, from pretty colored, toy looking cluster bombs through depleted uranium munitions that throw radioactive dust all over the environment of the country you claim to love so much you'll waste thousands of our own soldier's lives and the taxes of many future generations . . . all sorts of SHIT HAPPENS! And if there's anything Amerika has become expert at in the past 5 years, it's turning shouted good intentions into works resembling the most evil whispers of demons. On the other hand, if you read the unadorned AP report in today's NY Times, the chilling figures of death are given short shrift as early as the second paragraph: NY Times:

The timing of the survey's release, just a few weeks before the U.S. congressional elections, led one expert to call it "politics."

The whole damn Attack, Invasion, Occupation thing is nothing but politics, so how could a body count be not?! Just yesterday McCain blamed North Korea's nuke ambitions on Bill Clinton, 6 years into Bush's grabbing of the wheel of the good ship US. Was McCain's attempt to look good to the Repugnant, anti-Clinton base political. Of course it was. Yet, if a Democrat points out that the Bush administration is In Search of a North Korea Policy - washingtonpost.com, that person would be pilloried with "You're just playing politics!" As the US has a Congressional election every 2 years, and campaigning for the next one often starts before the votes have been counted in a current one, just when the Hell is it convenient to hang out the Repugnant's dirty laundry without being accused of playing politics? With the Repugnants damaging the fabric of America daily, and the corporate media laying back and counting the money left on the dresser (FCC "deregulation" bucks!), getting any facts on what is going on is a blessing. Be it the day before, the day after or the day elections are deemed unpatriotic. And that last wasn't meant as exaggeration to make a point. It was fearful, sorrowful prognostication, if anything. For redacting and shredding the Constitution has become the raison de être of this Administration, and it has had willing accomplices in the Republican AND Democratic parties. As Keith Olbermann pointed out last night, only the 3rd Amendment is still in effect. We don't have the King's soldiers in our living rooms nor his horses/tanks in our stables/carports. All other Amendments are no longer in effect, according to Bills passed by our fearful, spineless AND treasonous officials.

If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort that it values more, it will lose that too. -- W. Somerset Maugham

Invading non-aggressor nations, abrogating treaties and other agreements made under the bond of "America's bond", dissing all of our allies while enraging and empowering our enemies and, last but far from least, treating our troops as if they were literal cannon fodder, to be sent into battle for longer than they were prepared to fight, with insufficient munitions and supplies (including rationing their food and water, while Halliburton ran up huge and uncontested contract overages), then cast aside as an insignificant waste necessary in the pursuit of empire. That's ALL POLITICS . . . and shining a light on any of it, INCLUDING THE PRICE PAID IN BLOOD BY THE VERY PEOPLE WE CLAIM WE CAME TO HELP! Let's remember a very relevant and timely quote:

Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering, before committing suicide at the Nuremberg Trials, appeared to be advising the future neo-cons: Goering: "Why, of course, the people don't want war. why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in American, nor for that matter in Germany. that is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship." (interviewer) Gilbert: "There is one difference. in a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars." Goering: "Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." —Nazi leader Hermann Goering, interviewed by Gustave Gilbert during the Easter recess of the Nuremberg trials, 1946 April 18, quoted in Gilbert's book, Nuremberg Diary

Controlling the media, especially by using the old dodge "We're at war, and even if the printed facts are true they hurt our country now.", or the present one which combines our War-time need for self censorship with the plea that bad news could influence an upcoming election, makes Goering's message all the more chilling. One must realize that the Bushies, lacking much intellectual initiative for innovation, has been clinging to playbooks from the past. They know how the country rallied behind Roosevelt after Pearl Harbor and gave him powers that allowed him to take on a war against 2 major powers. And how, after WW II, Roosevelt used that good will to push through policies not thought possible. From Social Security through a Marshall Plan that set up working social democracies in Europe and proved to the world that by taking care of the poor and cultivating a secure middle-class you can have a healthy economic engine the likes of which was thought impractical by most Republicans and fiscal insanity by many. So the Bush regime, fully aware of the philosophy expressed by Goerring, saw the opportunity handed them by 19 young fanatics who really did little more than hijack 4 American domestic airplanes (hardly as mighty an attack as Pearl Harbor). The Bushies stoked and stirred the cauldron of fear until it was boiling over. Once the people were so blinded by irrational fear, which was "politically" fueled by the ingenious misuse of color coded charts inspiring timely fear, they forgot the original American heroes who took on the mightiest army on Earth (the Brits) in 1776 to garner certain inalienable rights and desired freedoms for future generations, the Bushies began stripping those rights and freedoms with more skill than any of America's past enemies had ever dared believed possible. Some have taken notice:

"I think this is the worst government the US has ever had in its more than 200 years of history. It has engaged in extraordinarily irresponsible policies not only in foreign policy and economics but also in social and environmental policy." "This is not normal government policy. now is the time for (American) people to engage in civil disobedience. I think it's time to protest - as much as possible." American 2001 Nobel Prize Laureate for Economics George A. Akerlof, who teaches economics at the University of California in Berkeley. The 61-year-old scholar's areas of expertise include macro-economics, monetary policy and poverty.

Of course, had Hitler stated, out loud, that, with the consent of a majority of both his people and the government officials of both his and the opposition's officials, he would destroy our Constitution, that he'd lock up Americans on a whim, with no regard for evidence (Habeas Corpus), that he'd torture those he arbitrarily chose . . . Japan might not have earned the dubious distinction of being the first nation to see only a mushroom cloud where a city once stood. Yet, here in Amerika, we allowed an elected leadership to turn America into something resembling the pre-Revolution colony of Royal subjects whose abuse in the name of the unjust regent was stirring the seeds of a glorious revolt. We, the silent citizenry who are turning our backs on the Washington's, Jefferson's and Lincoln's had both an Authorization For Force and a Patriot Act passed near unanimously, turning America into war-mongering freedom hating land. A further step back was the recent bill on Military Commissions that allows Bush to lock up Laura, if he likes, and she'd have absolutely no rights other than those King George would allow. (Thanks for your courage in opposition, Russ Feingold. May my nightmare of Hillary using you as her running mate to deflect the criticism of her jingoistic cheerleading for the illegal Iraq occupation, be something that scares me alone, and is never visited on the rest of our nation.) How then can we be told that any report that shows us exactly what we have become should be dismissed as "political?" Just because inconvenient truths are popping up all over now does NOT mean those truths were rushed, nor that they were held, just to harm the Republicans or help Democrats. Hell, I'd argue that most Democrats should carry those deaths over their heads as well. The harm those truths bring should have been front page news since prior to March of 2003, but should certainly be brought to light at whatever time the mainstream media finds itself with surplus testosterone . . . which, be it immediately prior to an election, may seem to be Divine justice for those who aided in the deaths so reported here. Remember:

"To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime, it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." -- International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, 1946

Should a country not hold those who began an illegal war responsible for that action? Or is it deemed only a fair election if the electorate goes into the booth wholly ignorant of the abominations performed by their elected officials in their names? ===== [/BREAK]

Study Claims Iraq's 'Excess' Death Toll Has Reached 655,000 - washingtonpost.com A team of American and Iraqi epidemiologists estimates that 655,000 more people have died in Iraq since coalition forces arrived in March 2003 than would have died if the invasion had not occurred. The estimate, produced by interviewing residents during a random sampling of households throughout the country, is far higher than ones produced by other groups, including Iraq's government. It is more than 20 times the estimate of 30,000 civilian deaths that President Bush gave in a speech in December. It is more than 10 times the estimate of roughly 50,000 civilian deaths made by the British-based Iraq Body Count research group. The surveyors said they found a steady increase in mortality since the invasion, with a steeper rise in the last year that appears to reflect a worsening of violence as reported by the U.S. military, the news media and civilian groups. In the year ending in June, the team calculated Iraq's mortality rate to be roughly four times what it was the year before the war.

More Here

[BREAK] For those who might not believe that there is really a global class war progressing, which is currently being super-fueled by the grossest exploitation of the world's poorest people by wealthy manufacturers and attendant corporations, please remember this. In a communist society it is now accepted that, regardless of the political foundation of 'from each according to their abilities-to each according to their needs" it is perfectly acceptable that Ms. Cheung Yan "needs" come in at a bit over $3 BILLION. Talk about your high maintenance communist woman! However, those in China who actually produce the wealth now being gathered by the few are not blind to the unfair disparity. The unrest is such that official attention is being paid. China's leaders are now pushing an "Harmonious Society", which seems to mean that the rich will continue to choose the tune, but the poor better sing praises in harmony. The kicker, for me at least, is how China's struggle with unregulated capitalism mimics much of what's going on in our country, where rapidly deregulated capitalism has ruled since Ronald Reagan decided that corporations needed no governmental intrusion on their sacred turf.

- - - SNIP China's leaders have become concerned in recent years about problems tied to the country's blistering economic growth. anger over a growing gap between rich and poor and an inadequate social security system is feared to threaten the party's stability. Retirees increasingly cannot live on their pensions, crime and divorce rates have escalated, and clashes have broken out between security forces and farmers whose fields and villages have been swallowed by development. - - - End of SNIPPET

While here in the US, the Bushies want to play games with your Social Security insurance, rescind the tighter financial regulations put into effect after Enron, Worldcom and the dozen other corporate scandals raped taxpayers, shareholders and retirees, and they are degrading our public education to the point where the ability to make change for a dollar and read the Republican Platform will be the test to get a high school diploma, China has a different plan.

- - - SNIP In recent months, authorities have responded to social unrest by tightening controls, drafting laws that clamp down on the news media and launching a high-profile campaign against corruption. - - - End of SNIPPET

Of course, China takes a VERY hard line on protesters. But, I note that they do, at least, hold a trial. Even if it is just a show trial, the defendant gets to hear what the charges are. What a novel concept!

- - - SNIP Last month, the Communist Party chief of Shanghai was fired for allegedly helping loot the city's pension fund of hundreds of millions of dollars. Chen Liangyu, a protege of Hu's predecessor, Jiang Zemin, was the first member of the 24-member Politburo to lose his job since 1995. Analysts have speculated that Chen was targeted because he and other proteges of Jiang advocated unfettered economic growth. Experts said this year's plenary session was especially significant because initiatives in areas such as health, education and social welfare were more dramatic and comprehensive than usual. The session also focused on rural unrest and the environment. - - - End of SNIPPET

That final paragraph sounds like a good plan . . . for the US as well! ===== [/BREAK]

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Worth $3.4bn, Ms Cheung is richest in China
Cheung Yan has enjoyed a nine-fold rise in her fortune in a year. Photograph: China Daily/Reuters A Chinese entrepreneur has surged past JK Rowling and Oprah Winfrey to become the richest self-made woman in the world, and China's wealthiest person. Cheung Yan, 49, the head of Nine Dragons Paper recycling and packing firm, is said to be worth US$3.4bn (�1.8bn) after a ninefold rise in her fortune in a year. In comparison, JK Rowling is worth nearly $1bn. Ms Cheung's wealth rose after the firm listed in Hong Kong.

More Here

[BREAK] Go to the Bloomberg news article here. Read the piece. Watch the show, on PBS at 9 p.m. EDT .tonight! Of course, if you want a little chuckle at how the corporate media tries to show its allies in the best light, take a look at this Washington Post Telecom article. Then tell me if you could seriously headline the piece as the Wash Post did:

AT&T Says It Will Embrace 'Net Neutrality'

Oh yes they did! Even as the piece begins with:

AT&T has told the Federal Communications Commission that it would accept a series of "net neutrality" principles if the commission approves the company's $81 billion proposed acquisition of BellSouth. AT&T's lawyers told the FCC that a paragraph regarding "net neutrality" had been erroneously left off a list of possible conditions that the company submitted Friday in an bid to break a deadlock between Democratic and Republican commissioners.

Hmm? When an "embrace" relies on an $81 BILIION deal being approved, some might escalate "embrace" up to "date rape" between AT&T and the FCC. ===== [/BREAK]

[BREAK] Well, Finland, Iceland, Ireland and the Netherlands should be proud. Being listed at the top of the Free Press rankings is something that deserves applause. Of course, places like the Czech Republic (5), Estonia (6), Slovakia (8), Hungary, Slovenia (tied at 10), Latvia (11) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (19) have special reasons for seeing freedom of the press as an important part of keeping their governments in check. If you are a "half-full glass" type of optimist, you might like:

"Each year new countries in less-developed parts of the world move up the Index to positions above some European countries or the United States. This is good news and shows once again that, even though very poor, countries can be very observant of freedom of expression.

If you are, instead, living in the reality based world here in the United States of Unfettered Corporatocracy, you'll see that we have somewhat of a "glass half-empty with a huge crack at the base" kind of problem: From the Washington Post

"The United States has slipped further down the scale in a global press freedom index compiled by Reporters Without Borders."

From Reporters Without Borders:

The United States (53rd) has fallen nine places since last year, after being in 17th position in the first year of the Index, in 2002. Relations between the media and the Bush administration sharply deteriorated after the president used the pretext of “national security” to regard as suspicious any journalist who questioned his “war on terrorism.” The zeal of federal courts which, unlike those in 33 US states, refuse to recognise the media’s right not to reveal its sources, even threatens journalists whose investigations have no connection at all with terrorism. Freelance journalist and blogger Josh Wolf was imprisoned when he refused to hand over his video archives. Sudanese cameraman Sami al-Haj, who works for the pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera, has been held without trial since June 2002 at the US military base at Guantanamo, and Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein has been held by US authorities in Iraq since April this year.

========== [/BREAK]

[BREAK] I believe I need political rehab? I knew I was getting close to political junkie status when I found myself using precious time to read the most trivial things in the Blue State/Red state sphere. Things that have nearly no chance of having any effect on my NYC life - like the disastrous Katherine Harris campaign. I mean, this battle is so forlorn that the Washington Post is being too kind heading a story on it Campaign Gone South - washingtonpost.com Even were this a year where Repugnants were doing well, and Bush wasn't reduced to a message of Bush Says 'America Loses' Under Democrats, adding "President Bush said terrorists will win if Democrats win . . . ", a Kathrine Harris candidacy was bound to have some great stories generated by the controversial candidate . . . especially around Halloween! (couldn't help myself, there!)

Katherine Harris, who is trying to become a U.S. senator, says she is writing a tell-all about the many people who have wronged her. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to: the Republican leaders who didn't want her to run, the press that has covered her troubled campaign, and the many staffers who have quit her employ, whom she accuses of colluding with her opponent. She is vague about what, precisely, makes her a victim, but she says she has it all documented. - - - SNIP Perhaps the worst blow to Harris's campaign has been the stories that have emerged from former staffers. They describe a Jekyll-and-Hyde candidate who can be seductively charming at one moment and pitch a temper tantrum the next, throwing a cellphone at a wall or a sheaf of papers at a campaign manager. Former chief adviser Ed Rollins, who managed Ronald Reagan's reelection to the White House in 1984, said working for Harris was like "being in insanity camp." He likened her staff to dogs that have been kicked. Before he became the first of three campaign managers to quit, Jim Dornan programmed his cellphone to play the theme song from "The Exorcist" when Harris called. - - - End of SNIPPET

The above helps explain how Florida has become the flaming car wreck of America's electoral process . . . you just can't help but stare in morbid amazement, though you know that you're probably viewing the horrendous loss of something/someone much beloved. In 2000, the flaming wreckage was of an important part of America - elections. Florida, and how it handled the counting of a varied, and often complex, mishmash of ballots across the State became more important than the millions of citizens who had voted across the rest of America. And the Governor of Florida, though his choice of Secretary of State, the aforemention loon Katherine Harris, became one of ten king makers in America. (The other 9 wore black robes and lived far from Florida;s beaches, in Washington DC. I guess that explains why, while much of the country watched Oprah pull a bait and switch on her audience, and others were reading how the Bush administration wants sex banned until the participents are over 30 years of age, I found myself watching the debate for the job of Governor of Florida on MSNBC last night. None of the 3 candidates knows enough about the electoral process to even deserve having their name on any ballot. The Democrat, Congressman Jim Davis, had what should have been a slam dunk ANYWHERE, but a real nuclear weapon in his hands, especially in Florida. Election fraud! So, when Chris Matthews asks the Republican, Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist, why he hasn't supported a paper-trail in Florida's elections, Crist says he fears having bosses, who have paid/forced citizens to vote for a certain candidate, standing outside the polling places looking over the paper receipt in the voter's hand, checking to see that the person voted for the chosen hack. I sit there, waiting or Davis to make a fool out of this ignorant, pandering SOB. Jim Davis had NO ANSWER. Just kept saying "I'm for a paper trail.", every time Mathews asks him to refute the Republicans fears. Mathews hits him with that query 4 TIMES! Each time, the guy proves that, EVEN IN FLORI-DUH, the politicians from both major parties (and the lackluster Reform Party candidate Max Linn) HAVE NEVER EVEN READ THE MANY WELL THOUGHT OUT PROPOSALS FOR PLACING A PAPER TRAIL ON OUR ELECTIONS??? NO VOTER TAKES ANY PAPER OUTSIDE THE POLLS SHOWING HOW THEY VOTED! Many bright folks have weighed in with proposals for verifiable paper trails, and 3 guys who want to be Governor of a large State might be expected to be familiar WITH A FEW! In one of the many WELL THOUGHT OUT methods, the voter hits the choices on the touch screen. When finished, the voter touches the FINISHED button. The vote is recorded by the computer, and a printed "receipt" gets spit out. The voter checks that the "receipt" has the correct candidates checked, to match the selections the voter chose. The voter then places the receipt into a locked box/receptacle, where it stays for a decent enough time for electoral challenges. Should a challenge be deemed meritorious by whatever body the legislature had chosen (courts?), the boxes/receptacles can be opened, and the paper receipts counted by hand. AT NO TIME DOES ANYONE, OTHER THAN THE VOTER, SEE HOW THE VOTER CHOSE!!! If 3 candidates for Governor can't get that, in the state that is now more well known for electoral screw-ups than oranges, we are in deeper trouble than even I thought! No wonder Diebold et. al. can so easily pry our democracy away from us. We have elected the dumbest amongst us to guard the gates! Update: Seems Florida is already experiencing voting problems . . . a week prior to the actual election! [/BREAK]

[BREAK] Media Matters has posted a memo listing corporations that are demanding that ABC radio make certain none of their commercials are played when ABC affiliates run a program put out by Air America Raidio. (AAR)

Media Matters - ABC memo reveals Air America advertiser blacklist

No matter if you consider yourself a Democrat, a Liberal or hide behind the "Progressive" label, and whether you are a fan of Air America Radio (AAR) or not, having these corporations demand that "NONE of their commercials air during AIR AMERICA programming." should cause you to react with a bit of justifiable anger. If you are as Liberal as I, you consider AAR a more mainstream outlet. One akin to where NPR was, pre-Reagan. Certainly no militant lefty-media bugle. So, if those corporations have no problem with their commercials running during other shows carried on ABC stations, like Hannity, Rush and Michael Weiner (Savage), how dare they demand their ads not run when an Al Frankin or Sam Seder show is run by an ABC affiliate? I only wish there were a radio network Liberal enough to carry a host who might really set corporate teeth on edge, like a Mike Malloy once did on AAR. But AAR, for all the bashing by the right-wing loonies, is really not a radical Liberal war drum. Not agreeing with the shredding of the Constitution by the Bushies and the illegal war in Iraq places AAR with the majority of Americans, according to the recent polls. So, one can only hope that the same majorities who agree with AAR's hosts will now begin looking at the names on that memo when thinking of things to avoid. While I can't really have any effect on the US Navy or the US Postal Service, I'll be skipping McDonalds from now on, and looking at the memo before making other purchases. (Also note that MicroSoft is on the list. If you'll use the "Take back the web" graphic on the top left of this blog's home page, you can kill two birds with a single click! Get the superior Firefox browser, and stick a sharp stick in the faulty MicroSoft Internet Explorer's eye!) [/BREAK]

[BREAK] Media Matters has a good take on the current flap over our web footed friends. ( Media Matters - The War on Christmas Penguins) Seems that penguins are really getting on the Repugnant's nerves. This time, it is due to the pro environment background in the movie. Earlier this month, it was about two male penguins who "adopted" and raised an orphaned penguin chick. The penguins "mated" for a time, but, eventually, one moved on to a hot female bird! But tree-hugging, or same sex hugging, little guys in tuxes have the right-wing all aflutter. Now, whatever your religion, or lack of one, if there is an all wise God/Gods/Thing/Spirit, It/They/He/She/Whatever is laughing They/Its/His/Her/Whatevers head(s) off at the utter stupidity and downright arrogant ignorance of the species that claims to be the highest intelligence on one of the billions upon billions of rocks hurtling through the universe. A portrayal of Gay and/or environmentalist (cartoon???) penguins threaten our way of life? Of course, biologists tell us that, like the all-mighty human animal, our more wild fellow denizens of the planet have a 10% to 20% "gay" population also. Ironically, though, in this well publicized case, the demonic penguins who want to take our kids to a wicked place aren't even Gay, in the more literal sense. As Ellen S (a member of a daily news mailing list I put out) pointed out in a reply to the original news story on this that I had forwarded a while back:

So, to use accurate lingo, the penguins weren't gay or bi, they were MSM's - (Men who have sex with men) like guys in jail just because that's what's available...

On a related note, I recall in high school how a guy tried to berate me for having a gay friend [Buddy R. - who wore bright clothing and worshiped Judy Garland - yet it took over a year before I figured out he was gay?] The guy said to me "You just don't get it, Ballinger. Your friend is a perve. Can you think of anything as gross and disgusting as what 2 gay men do?" In my one brush with brilliant repartee, I replied: "Yeah, I remember being 10 and having an older guy tell me how a man and a woman made babies. My God, I had never heard anything so disgusting ! . . and it took years - about 2 1/2 if I remember right - before I completely changed my mind on that subject. Just think, maybe you'll do an about face on this subject in just a couple of years." [/BREAK]

[BREAK] Here in New York, where we like to think of our city/state as the leader of the modern world, we can't get what should be just a clone of one of the simplest computer systems on the planet [think ATM for voting] in place due to political bargaining for "favored" corporations, and the admitted collusion between "independent" testing/auditing firms and voting device corporations. Here's an excerpt from this morning's NY Times:

According to the documents, a federal auditor found last July that Ciber, the nation’s largest tester of voting machine software, did not follow its own quality-control procedures or conduct all the proper tests. The documents indicate that in many cases, the lab simply used tests suggested by the voting machine manufacturers, rather than running standardized checks of its own. The auditor also criticized the lab for “acceding too quickly” to requests by the voting machine companies to modify the tests. Voting machine experts have long been concerned about possible conflicts of interest in the testing, and some say the problems with Ciber have raised questions about the security and reliability of some of the machines now in use.

Let's remember, much blood and treasure was spent in gaining independence from the rule of the mighty few. And since, much blood and treasure was expended in attempts to keep this fragile system called "democracy" alive. We all know of the shenanigans performed by ALL the political parties in past elections. And we've seen how that practice was refined by the Republicans since the 2000 judicial/electoral coup. If we allow the corporations to continue to fiddle with our votes, and don't demand a recount friendly type of system, all is lost. A receipt should be printed for each voter, simply certifying that the citizen has voted. (I'd also like to see a small tax credit, say $20, granted when said citizen includes a copy of that receipt with their tax return. And/or a sticker/pin given, to help embarrass/remind others to vote that day.) Then, a paper copy of the actual votes (like your ATM receipt that lists your actions at the machine), without any identifiers as to the voter's identification, is given to the voter. The voter checks the printed copy for accuracy, folds it on the dotted lines, and puts it into the slot on top of a sealed box. Those paper ballots remain available for any ordered recount. Or, we can allow our democracy to fester some more, and die a horrible death due to citizen apathy. The choice is ours! JB ===== [/BREAK]

New York Won’t Replace Voting Machines by the Fall - New York Times By CHRISTOPHER DREW Published: January 27, 2007 New York officials have given up on replacing the state’s aging voting machines by the fall elections, and some would like to put off buying new electronic voting systems until after the 2008 presidential election, state officials said yesterday. New York is the last state to update its machines, and the latest delay comes amid growing questions about the work of a laboratory that was hired to help test the machines being offered by five bidders.

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