Busting the Fraud of Voter Fraud

When we see or hear reporting on the non-issue of Voter Fraud, we must call it what it is -- AN EXCUSE FOR VOTE SUPPRESSION



In response to the September 21 NPR Morning Edition Sunday's Report on Voter Fraud in Wisconsin:

YOU NEED TO KNOW:

There is a major difference between Election Fraud and Voter Fraud.

Election Fraud is a broad term for the manipulation of election results--away from the choice of the majority of eligible voters.

Voter Fraud is the term for voting and/or registering to vote by people ineligible to vote, such as non-citizens, non-residents, those with fictional identification, and, in some states, felons.

Election Fraud can alter the vote tally by tens of thousands of votes, and when carefully targeted, can alter the results of the Presidential Election and the control of Congress.

Voter Fraud is extremely rare, and has little or no effect on results.

Election Fraud is accomplished by:

1. Altering votes

2. Not counting votes

3. Limiting votes

Voter Fraud has been an excuse to enact election laws and encourage policies which accomplish #3 on the previous list, "limiting votes", particularly in low-income and urban areas, which tend to vote Democratic.

Voter Fraud was only raised as an issue after the 2004 election to distract from the multiple instances of Election Fraud investigated and documented in the January 6, 2005 report based on the Field Hearings held by the Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee during December 2004 in Ohio, entitled "Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio". This report became part of the Congressional Record that same day in January when the late Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, backed by Senator Barbara Boxer, stood up to Vice President Cheney during the certification of the election and challenged the Ohio results.

The following March, as the soon-to-be imprisoned Congressman Bob Ney, Chair of the House Administration Committee (and author of the Diebold/Jack Abramoff- influenced Help Amerca Vote Act) finally prepared to hold a hearing on the irregularities of the 2004 election, suddenly, out of the blue came a self-proclaimed expert on "voter fraud", Mark "Thor" Hearne of the brand new "American Center For Voting Rights" to testify at the hearing and at the Carter Baker Election Reform Panel the following week.

Watching the insignificant issue of voter fraud take focus away from what really happened, Brad Friedman, investigative blogger for wwwbradblog.com, dug a little into this new expert and his organization, and was able to quickly reveal that Mr. Thor Hearne turned out to be the General Counsel for the Bush/Cheney 2004 campaign.

A later report on Voter Fraud for the Election Assistance Commission was withheld from the public because it found voter fraud was widely-understood to be a non-issue. It was only released after the language was altered to suggest that voter fraud's significance was still in dispute.

It should also be noted that the U.S. Attorney firing scandal showed that U.S. Attorneys were fired for not prosecuting voter fraud cases prior to the 2006 election.

And now the Wisconsin Attorney General, J. B. Van Hollen, who is also the co-chair of the Wisconson McCain campaign, is using faulty parameters to challenge names on the Wisconsin Voter Registration lists just weeks before the election, which will incorrectly purge thousands of voters -- under the phony guise of stopping one or two invalid votes.

This is rotten, anti-democratic Rovian trickery, and your segment on September 21st only served to legitimize this tool of Election Fraud.

You owe your listeners another segment in which you speak to one of the very knowledgeable experts on Election Protection, such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., NYU professor Mark Crispin Miller, blogger Brad Friedman, BBC reporter Greg Palast, or Congressman John Conyers, Jr.

Finally, I love NPR, have listened to it for 30+ years, and have been greatly saddened to see it succumb to this administration's pressure (i.e. Kenneth Tomlinson and the CPB). When NPR failed to report accurately on those December 2004 Ohio hearings and the outrage of Ohio voters, and the January 6, 2005 challenge to the election certification -- when so many people trust NPR -- it was a huge setback for Truth and Democracy in our country.

Please, take another look at this issue.

Thank you.

P.S.

To learn more about Election Protection, Vote Suppression, and other election issues:

http://www.freepress.org/econf/ Sponsoring a free online Election Protection Conference, September 26-28th. Also go to www.freepress.org for more articles and books on Election problems and excellent coverage of what happened in 2004.

www.stealbackyourvote.org Greg Palast and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. investigate current efforts by the RNC. An illustrated voter guide should be available for free distribution within the next two weeks, as well as a documentary film.

www.novoterleftbehind.net Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Democrats for America's Future join to EXPOSE, SPOT & REPORT Election Theft. Also has a Candidate Pledge: "I pledge that I will make sure that every vote is counted and that I will contest any evidence of theft or other voter suppression."

www.Bradblog.com The most determined, dedicated and effective blogger, a hero to many working on election protection, Brad Friedman, is the best single source for information on voting issues. Brad is also the co-founder of http://www.velvetrevolution.com http://www.velvetrevolution.us/electionstrikeforce/ and http://www.standingforvoters.org/ , where candidates on all levels can sign on to this pledge: "I, , pledge to use my candidacy, whenever feasible, to advance the preservation of democracy I will officially challenge the results of the election as provided by law if the combination of election conditions, incident reports, and announced election results calls into question the reliability of the vote count. I will wait until all valid votes are counted and all serious challenges resolved before declaring victory or conceding defeat."

Brad can also now be seen in the outstanding new documentary Murder, Spies & Voting Lies (the Clint Curtis Story) as well as Dale Earnhardt's documentary Uncounted, The New Math of American Elections.

Finally, www.markcrispinmiller.blogspot.com is the site of NYU Professor Mark Crispin Miller, author of Fooled Again about the 2004 election and, most recently, Loser Take All. He is an excellent speaker and a diligent advocate for voters, with a great email news group.

Election Protection: The Dark Side and the Light

The Dark Side:

First, you need to know...

There is a major difference between Election Fraud and Voter Fraud.

Election Fraud is a broad term for the manipulation of election results – away from the choice of the majority of eligible voters.

Voter Fraud is the term for voting and/or registering to vote by people ineligible to vote, such as non-citizens, non-residents, those with fictional identification, and, in some states, felons.

Election Fraud can alter the vote tally by tens of thousands of votes, and when carefully targeted, can alter the results of the Presidential Election and the control of Congress.

Voter Fraud is extremely rare, and has little or no effect on results.

Election Fraud is accomplished by
1. Altering votes
2. Not counting votes
3. Limiting votes

Voter Fraud has been an excuse to enact election laws and encourage policies which accomplish #3 on the previous list, “limiting votes”, particularly in low-income and urban areas.

Voter Fraud was only raised as an issue after the 2004 election, to distract from the multiple instances of Election Fraud reported in Ohio. Voter Fraud is continually highlighted since March 2005 by the self-proclaimed expert, Thor Hearne of the brand new “American Center For Voting Rights”, who turned out to be the General Counsel for Bush/Cheney 2004 (Google Thor Hearne +bradblog to open your eyes).

* * * * * * *

The Light:

To learn more about Election Protection, Vote Suppression, and other election issues:

http://www.freepress.org/econf/ Sponsoring a free online Election Protection Conference, September 26-28th. Also go to www.freepress.org for more articles and books on election problems and excellent coverage of what happened in 2004.

www.stealbackyourvote.org Greg Palast and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. investigate current efforts by the RNC. An illustrated voter guide should be available for free distribution within the next two weeks, as well as a documentary film.

www.novoterleftbehind.net Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Democrats for America’s Future join to EXPOSE, SPOT & REPORT Election Theft. Also has a Candidate Pledge: “I pledge that I will make sure that every vote is counted and that I will contest any evidence of theft or other voter suppression.”

www.Bradblog.com The most determined, dedicated and effective blogger, a hero to many working on election protection, Brad Friedman, is the best single source for information on voting issues. Brad is also the co-founder of http://www.velvetrevolution.us/electionstrikeforce/ and
http://www.standingforvoters.org/, where candidates on all levels can sign on to this pledge:

“I,_____________ , pledge to use my candidacy, whenever feasible, to advance the preservation of democracy. I will officially challenge the results of the election as provided by law if the combination of election conditions, incident reports, and announced election results calls into question the reliability of the vote count. I will wait until all valid votes are counted and all serious challenges resolved before declaring victory or conceding defeat.”

Finally, www.markcrispinmiller.blogspot.com is the site of NYU Professor Mark Crispin Miller, author of Fooled Again about the 2004 election and, most recently, Loser Take All. He is an excellent speaker and a diligent advocate for voters.

Bobby Kennedy, Jr. and Greg Palast launch STEAL BACK YOUR VOTE

Two of my very favorite truth-seekers in the world are hard at work to stop another election from being stolen again -- and (Glory Be!!) they also know that, as deadly serious as this is, we desperately need to laugh as we rescue our tattered Democracy.

Here's their announcement:

Investigative journalist Greg Palast and voting rights attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have just released an investigative comic book voter guide “Steal Back Your Vote.” it lays out 6 ways they’re trying to steal the 2008 election… And the seven ways you can steal it back, in a 24 page downloadable graphic guide. It’s non-partisan, it’s humorous, it’s heroic, it’s helpful.

Illustrated by graphic gonzos Ted Rall, Lukas Ketner and Troubletown’s Lloyd Dangle, the “Steal Back Your Vote” guide gives you the no poop scoop on the tricks that can overturn the November vote. For example, did you know that the state of Colorado has purged 1 out of 5 voters? What about Jacksonville-based military personnel, fighting to bring democracy to the Middle East but relieved of their voting rights in Florida? And let’s not get started on the 10 Indiana nuns forced to break the voting habit.

When you go to bed tonight, can you answer this question: do you know where your registration is? Find out how your vote is being stolen, and how you can steal it back, by downloading the guide here: www.stealbackyourvote.org.

We encourage you to add an excerpt, and consider using the banners and links found at: http://www.stealbackyourvote.com/please-link-to-us/

Friday Questions for Diane Rehm News Roundup, September 19, 2008

Does anyone know how the Bush family members employed in top positions at Lehman Brothers faired in this collapse?

George W. Bush’s second cousin, George H. Walker, has been the “Global Head of Investment Management” since 2006...

And his brother, Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, was appointed to the Lehman Brothers private equity advisory board exactly one year ago, to help the company lobby against newly proposed tax laws and regulation of the industry.

In addition, do your guests know if was Jeb successful in this lobbying? And what effect did he have?

Bobby Kennedy, Jr. Launches NoVoterLeftBehind.net

On August 29, 2008, NoVoterLeftBehind.net was born. While it was created by a team of Democrats, the purpose is to count every vote.

You can click on screen shot of website to go there, learn more, and volunteer.

His Daddy would be proud...

Corrective Bible Study for Palin

Though Sarah Palin would like us to believe that her Christianity is evidence of her being an especially fine human being, a listener who emailed Friday's Diane Rehm Show, Hour 1 (26 minutes in on the podcast), cut through the pollution-filled PR on Palin to deliver a shuddering message:

"As a committed Christian, I was deeply offended by Sarah Palin and the Republican delegates mocking and belittling community organizers the other night... Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor."

Based on recent reports regarding her support of polluters in Alaska and incompetence as a Mayor (here and here), it looks Ms. Palin may also need a review of the Ten Commandments.

Of course, as a "Christian", Ms. Palin could simplify her study by simply reviewing the way Jesus Christ condensed the commandments,

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Ah, yes, the Golden Rule. That would solve a lot of the problem. . .

Meanwhile, readers may consider weighing in on Ms. Palin's rude and misleading comments - especially those which ignored Obama's decision to go beyond organizing and get the education needed to legally advocate as a civil rights attorney, teach constitutional law for 12 years, and eventually work as a lawmaker, with a total of 11 years experience between the Illinois and U.S. Senate –

By making a donation to the nonprofit "community organizer" of your choice.

Given the well documented concerns about election theft, one of the many groups that work tirelessly to set us back on track as a democracy, where there is a desire that our votes be counted, might be a good place to start.

Frenzy over Rumor Helps Palin Avoid the Baby Story that Deserves Spotlight

To those who ran with the rumor that Trig Palin was not Sarah’s child, but her daughter’s – without any more solid evidence than a couple of photos where Bristol’s tummy isn’t perfectly flat:

You provided Sarah and her Rovian consultants the escape route they so desperately needed.

Now, we have the media trumpeting Obama’s response to the pregnant Bristol story -

I have said before and I will repeat again: I think people’s families are off limits. And people’s children are especially off limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Governor Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. And so I would strongly urge people to back off of these kinds of stories.

To Obama’s credit, that would be a fair response – IF that was actually the basis of the concerns being raised. But it’s not!!
Today, two of NPR’s top programs, The Diane Rehm Show, and Talk of the Nation talked about Governor Palin, and while the pregnancy issue was addressed at length, they didn’t get anywhere near the original, very strange story. The most daring caller merely questioned the apparent effectiveness of the Governor’s policy of abstinence education over birth control.

They’ve gotten completely off track of where this entire thread began – April 17th, 2008, in Texas, where the water was flowing.

So, it is our responsibility, as citizen journalists, bloggers, commentors, and political junkies – to push forward the real story - which is a big enough story WITHOUT having to resort to Mother-swapping rumors.

The voters need to know about – and publicly discuss – what is the significance of what happened on the day before her son, Trig, was born:

1. Sarah Palin had her water break while she was in Texas on the morning of April 17th, but she chose to continue to participate in an "energy forum", including giving her own 30 minute speech that afternoon. Then, despite the danger of infection and imminent labor, she chose to go to the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport and board an Alaskan Airlines plane for a very long flight back to Anchorage – at least 9 hours, according to the airline’s current schedule – and even then, upon landing, chose to drive to a hospital another 43 miles from the airport. Why did she make those choices? Would she have been this careless if the baby were not already known to have Down Syndrome? What kind of prioritizing is this?

2. This under-reported, and vaguely defined "energy forum" on April 17th, that Sarah Palin was dedicated to, was a gathering that consisted of nine Republican governors and six energy industry CEO’s, hosted by Texas Governor Rick Perry, according to The Austin American Statesman. Why was the event not on the Governor’s website? What was the theme of Ms. Palin’s "keynote" speech there. Will it turn out that Ms Palin was chosen for McCain because she is already selling out her state and its people to industry?

So, let us choose to take Sarah Palin at her word – about that day, and about that pregnancy. And let us then ask the pertinent questions about the strange decisions she made that day, and why.That, too, would be a very fair response – which has nothing at all to do with the candidate’s children or family, as Barack wishes.

It does have a lot to do with this politician who is put before us -- her wisdom, leadership, and, most important, the company she keeps.

Sarah Palin and the Closed Door Energy Forum where Her Water Broke

It did not take long for people to discover the strange circumstances surrounding the birth of Sarah Palin’s youngest child, Trig, widely reported to be a Down Syndrome baby.

Ms. Palin only revealed that she was pregnant one month before his birth, when she was in her 7th month, and in the midst of a very busy schedule, with recent trips to Washington, DC and Los Angeles. She bragged about going back to work as a Mayor the day after giving birth to her daughter, Piper, and, sure enough, in April, when Trig was born, she was back in her office in three days (it might have been earlier, but this birth was on a Friday, so there was a weekend following).

That is enough to make many of us squirm, but it gets much stranger when we learn that Governor Palin’s water broke while she was attending an energy forum in Texas on Thursday, April 17th, but that she stayed for the event, made her own 30 minute speech, and then, rather than going to a hospital, she chose to board an Alaska Airlines plane for what must have been at least a 9 hour flight, according to their current schedule, then drove another 43 miles to give birth at the Mat Su Regional Medical Center in Palmer, Alaska.

Her choice to not respond to her water breaking has led to an internet uproar at www.BuzzFlash.com and elsewhere, especially regarding her priorities, her decisions, her parenting, and her character. . .
But to me, they’re missing the point.

I return to the question of why Sarah Palin was chosen by McCain, especially when he hadn’t even spent any time with her?

The reasons can't be good. And, in truth, the reasons aren't just his. At one time in his life, McCain may have been his own man, but that time has passed. He is in the hands of Rove and Cheney's people, or he wouldn't be where he is today. They may not be thrilled with the candidate they got, but given the other choices of a flipflopping Mormon, an evangelist, or a lazy actor, McCain appeared to be the most electable. So they picked up from his failing campaign, dusted him off, and assigned their people to him as consultants. They settled, and so did he, and he is cooperating.

So, now we have a vice presidential candidate who came out of nowhere.

No, not nowhere -- Alaska. Where Ted Stevens is old and busted - so the oil companies can't use him any more.

But Sarah Palin? Oh my. Known for that odd combination of being both a Christian and a bully, and for her support of giving up both the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and polar bears, she fits the Bush/Cheney/McCain transition perfectly.
In this light, I ask,

"What was she doing in Texas that was so important that she couldn’t leave, and that she didn’t want to highlight by giving birth in Texas?"

Reported to be a "forum on energy with Texas Gov. Rick Perry and executives from four other states", it took a little digging to find that this forum was a closed-door affair hosting a select group of nine Republican governors and such notable corporate energy VIPS (and polluters) as Greg Boyce, chairman and CEO of the Peabody Energy Corp.; John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil; Robert A. Malone, chairman and president, BP America; Anthony Orlando, president and CEO, Covanta Energy Corp.; and John Somerhalder II, chairman and CEO, AGL Resources.

It is important, too, to understand that the host, Governor Rick Perry, is the governor neatly trained to take Bush's spot in the Texas Governor's mansion. Before that, Perry defeated Jim Hightower for Texas Agricultural Commissioner with the help of Karl Rove and his scurilous tactics.

Perry is also the father of Dick Cheney's son-in-law, the lawyer Phillip Perry, who has bounced back and forth for the last several years between lobbying for Lockheed Martin and working for the White House. His wife, Elizabeth Cheney, though a mother of five herself, is a hawk for attacking Iran and has worked in the Bush Cheney State Department.

So, while the pregnancy story does bring up questions about Sarah Palin's character and priorities, I still think the far more relevant information for voters is what was going on behind closed doors in Texas that day?

This is what we deserve to know.