Friday, December 03, 2004

The Election Accountability ''Middle-of-the-Road'' (UPDATED)

"A strong case that the election was stolen — either in Ohio or Florida — still has yet to be made. Yet the voting system is shaky enough to warrant serious concern."-from David Corn's column in The Nation, "More on the 'Stolen Election'. Update: On the other hand, "The Republican Assault on Democracy," from BuzzFlash says, "How anyone could doubt the republicans' ability and will to steal this election is beyond me!" This post, "A Tale of Two Brothers," takes us away from that yellow line:"One of the main goals of the HAVA is the "Replacement of punch card and lever voting machines.” With what? Electronic touch screen voting machines, the ones that cannot be audited. You've heard of the song The Day the Music Died? Well, today is the Day Democracy Died. Actually, that day probably came about 4 years ago, the first time Bush stole the election. Or even earlier, as I will reveal...." This one, "Another Election Held and Another Election Stolen." is up on the curb, but you never know... Today's "BuzzFlash Mailbag" has some interesting ideas including, "Please explain to me why no paper-trail machines are superior to paper balloting?" Update: Back to the middle of the road: "Kerry Campaign Keeping Eye on Ohio Cases: John Kerry's campaign has joined a lawsuit by third-party presidential candidates seeking a recount in Ohio." Also in Ohio:"Kerry's lead in the county widened by 7,171 votes from the unofficial results, largely because a computer glitch on Election Night recorded an extra 3,893 votes for Bush in one precinct." 7000 votes here, 7000 votes there, pretty soon you've stolen an election! Protesting “media silence on 2004 election irregularities,” some 150 activists rallied for an hour in front of the KGO-TV offices in San Francisco and later marched to the San Francisco offices of United States Senator Barbara Boxer where organizers met with Boxer’s staff. Update: Ohio Voter Supression News has"Summary of provisional ballots count - UPDATED 12/2/04," showing +17,977 votes for Kerry today. "U.S. House Judiciary Dems to Announce Hearings on Voter Irregularities: public hearings in Washington to begin next Wednesday." Greg Palast, Jesse Jackson, and Yale Law School Dean Ian Solomon to speak at "Investigate all 88" Rally for Democracy Dec 4th, Statehouse, Columbus, Ohio. This is the best reason to visit Columbus you've ever had. "Bush's Ohio Win Was Closer Than Thought" is Yahoo's #1 Most Viewed News Story, at the moment. I wonder how people had to leave their line before they even had a chance to vote, after hanging around for several hours. Update: More details on the House Judiciary Dem Hearings in Washington, DC next Wednesday, here. After picking a little squabble with Bev Harris the other day, Bloggerman posted again yesterday and threw a few more sticks on the fire. He also "framed" the Ohio recount as a Jackson versus Blackwell contest and commented on the legal challenge. I found myself getting bored and restless as Olbermann gave us his somewhat self-important point of view. He hasn't even been to Ohio to cover the story and had the cool tv confidence that mainstream tv viewers seem to want from their "anchors." Maybe he wants Brokaw's job.

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