Block the Vote by Bobby Kennedy, Jr. & Greg Palast

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/

A Call for Democrats to Honor Stephanie Tubbs Jones by Spotlighting January 6, 2005

Last week’s death of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones should have meant so much to every American. Unfortunately, her greatest gift to American citizens and Democracy was largely ignored in the eulogies and obituaries of the mainstream press. It is no wonder, since acknowledging her gift would also reveal their failure to tell us the story when it happened.

Even sadder, Democrats, too, have shied away from acknowledging the Congresswoman’s significance, because then they would have to face their greatest failure AND greatest vulnerability for the 2008 election.

Still, here we are in the week of the Democratic Convention, and the tragedy of Stephanie Tubbs Jones leaving us while still young must surely warrant a dedicated moment of Honor before the world, and this timing gives Democrats – who should be sick of having their votes and elected offices stolen – the opportunity to shine a light on that glorious day, January 6th, 2005, when Congresswoman Tubbs Jones dared to stand up before the joint session of Congress to challenge the Ohio electoral vote count from the November 2004 election.
"Mr. Vice-President, I seek to object to the electoral votes of the State of Ohio."

Unlike 2000, when Vice President Al Gore had to dismiss the challenges raised by many Representatives -- because no Senator was willing to provide the necessary signature -- this time Senator Barbara Boxer rose alongside the Congresswoman. And in that moment, according to one of the few functioning journalists of the time, Bob Fitrakis of the Columbia Free Press, the Voting Rights movement was born.

Congresswoman Tubbs Jones continued, speaking to the House (my emphasis):

I’m duty-bound to follow the law and apply the law to the facts as I find them, and it is on behalf of those millions of Americans who believe in and value our Democratic process, and the right to vote, that I put forth this objection today. If they’re willing to stand at polls for countless hours in the rain as many did in Ohio, then I should surely stand up for them here in the halls of Congress.

This objection does not have at its root the hope or even the hint of overturning the victory of the president, but it is a necessary, timely, and appropriate opportunity to review and remedy the most precious process in our democracy. I raise this objection neither to put the nation in the turmoil of a proposed overturned election, nor to provide cannon fodder or partisan demagoguery for my fellow members of Congress. I raise this objection because I am convinced that we as a body must conduct a formal and legitimate debate about election irregularities. I raise this objection to debate the process, and protect the integrity of the true will of the people.

With this action that day, the report written by Congressman John Conyers, Jr. and the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff, based on the hearings they held in Ohio throughout December 2004, entitled Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio, was entered into the Congressional Record.

Still, the Voting Rights movement has been mostly an internet movement, and to this day, the most important issue facing us this November is still largely unknown to most Americans. It is not Iraq (or Afghanistan, or Iran, or now Russia), nor the Economy, nor Healthcare – no, not even Global Warming.

It is Election Theft, as demonstrated so clearly in Ohio in 2004 (see report above).

While it is not a partisan issue, per se, because ultimately all sides lose if we forfeit the value of the vote, the evidence indicates the beneficiary of voting machine errors, voter intimidation tactics, voter registration list purging, etc., has consistently been Republican candidates, from Bush/Cheney in 2004 to Congressman Brian Bilbray in San Diego County in 2006. Karl Rove's RNC operatives, and their corporate partners, have been very busy and very effective. And the more they get away with, the harder it will be to stop this corruption of the one tool that gives Americans Hope - their vote.

Yet, despite evidence brought forward by courageous election officials and Secretaries of State, computer scientists, data experts, citizen activists, and a few remaining investigative journalists and communicators, such as Mark Crispin Miller, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Greg Palast, Brad Friedman, Stephen Rosenfeld, Dan Rather, and Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman, most Americans have no idea how frightening real the problem of election theft is.

Why? Because the Democrats themselves have failed to demand fair and accurate elections. This is where they are, as accused, weak on National Defense.

You see, National Defense is not about weapons aimed at other countries. It’s not about wiretaps aimed at citizens.

National Defense needs to be about BRIGHT LIGHTS aimed at the treacherous actions of partisan operatives to manipulate election results.

National Defense should be about BROADCAST MICROPHONES aimed at those who have investigated, and those who have witnessed, and those who have been turned away when they tried to vote.

So, if the Democratic Convention this week has a goal of putting Barack Obama in the White House, then those Democratic leaders who stand before the world need to be willing to say:

We will not let this election be stolen. Our votes will be counted accurately. We now know what has happened before, and this time we won’t be intimidated into conceding.

Stephanie Tubbs Jones told Bob Fitrakis in a 2005 interview:

Here I was placed. I’m the only African American member of Congress in the state of Ohio. I’m in a position to raise the issue. If I don’t, then God’s gonna say, "Why would I put you there if you didn’t have -- if you didn’t do it?"

So, Senator Clinton, you can do this. You can shake the rafters by honoring your dear friend and outspoken supporter, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. This could be the greatest gift you give all Americans, the sign that you are a true leader.

Kennedys all, come forward. You know the truth. One of your own, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has already stood up, and so should the rest of the family - what a powerful statement.

Senator Biden, we know you have the chutzpah and we love you for it. Demonstrate it immediately and it will make a difference.

Barack Obama, you must address this boldly, now, in this venue, because you are very much at risk to be the next failure, and that would break the hearts of all who have been newly encouraged. From Hope to utter devastated cynicism, because you would not do what our late Congresswoman showed up must be done. As you can do.

I call on all of you to speak up.

And I call on all of you readers to contact Senator Clinton, the Kennedys, Senator Biden and Senator Barack Obama, and tell them it is time to stop the Republican destruction of Democracy by declaring that you will not tolerate Election Theft, you will not accept manipulated results, and you will demand Election Justice.

When you doubt that this issue is serious, then watch the movie Uncounted by Dale Earnhardt, go to a screening of Stealing American: Vote by Vote by Dorothy Fadiman, read Loser Take All, listen to podcasts from Voice of the Voters, and go to www.BradBlog.com and www.GregPalast.com.

Then speak up.

Friday Questions for Diane, June 6, 2008

Regarding Senator Clinton as Obama’s veep, I would like to shine a light on the McCain campaign’s hiring of Timothy Griffin. Mr. Griffin was one of those chosen to replace the fired U.S. Attorneys – he was the one known as “Karl Rove’s assistant” and he was specifically put in Arkansas, the better to dig up Clinton dirt. He also resigned suddenly on the day investigative reporter Greg Palast turned over Griffin’s emails from the RNC full of voter caging lists to House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr.
Isn’t it clear that Rove is drooling over the concept of Clinton ruining the Obama ticket?

Here's someone who could further energize Obama's ticket and would fit in perfectly with his announced intention to not accept lobbyist money: ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR.

That would be a powerful and deeply satisfying Democratic ticket.

Clinton's Blind Eye to Voters

So, Hillary claims a victory in Pennsylvania. Who could have predicted that?

Maybe Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

"I’m not saying anything bad about my candidate but I– it is funny at New Hampshire that all the ones that were hand-counted went for Obama and all the ones that were machine counted went for Hillary."

That was Bobby talking to Bill McKibben on the March 8, 2008 broadcast of Ring of Fire Radio (approximately half way in).

Dear Bobby, he couldn’t keep down the ironic chuckles as his endorsee’s primary successes and his knowledge of methods of election theft were irrefutably dancing in front of him.

I’ve been paying attention to RFK Jr. ever since I read his Crimes Against Nature in 2004. With approximately 20 books on Bush under my belt leading up to that election, it was Bobby’s book that was the answer to NPR’s question, "What is the most important book to read before the 2004 Presidential Election?"

Bobby is a brilliant, funny, fearless and passionate speaker. Did you see him at Live Earth last year?

He would be one hell of a great endorser.

If his heart was in it.

But Hillary’s silence on the real voting issues that have been rampant in every state’s primary must give Bobby pause.

The fact that the world has suffered great consequences from the illegitimate certifications of the last two Presidential elections for George W. Bush and his psychologically unhealthy teammates – should be inspiration for legitimate candidates seeking election to demand that voters get to vote and get to have their votes counted.

In each and every primary.

Not just the ones where Senator Clinton won delegates by dishonorably campaigning after an agreement was made that the candidates would not do so.

Senator Clinton’s pretense to care for the voters who deserve to have their votes counted is revealed as rather selective by her silence on the continuous problems that have occurred in every state primary.

Starting with New Hampshire, problems with confusing new voter ID laws irregularly and sometimes illegally enforced, improperly trained poll workers, registered voters missing from lists, shortages of staff and machines and ballots, long lines, voter intimidation, and the stubborn clinging to voting machines that have long since proven to be hackable, unreliable, and unverifiable have resulted in people not voting, votes not counted at all, and incorrect and unverifiable vote tallies across the nation.

But Hillary Clinton has said nothing about any of that.

Perhaps it is, as Bobby suggests, that often the results of the these problems seem to help her get delegates.

Nor does she mention Rush Limbaugh’s Operation Chaos – his urging Republicans to vote in Democratic primaries, even if it means they have to switch affiliation, and vote strongly for Senator Clinton.

Is this how she wants to win? Doesn’t she realize that the Republican have a reason to want Hillary to win?

Consider this: Remember that U.S. Attorney firing scandal? Remember that one of the replacements for U.S. Attorneys who weren’t cooperating with the Bush/Cheney/Rove agenda was a "friend of Karl Rove’s" (always a dangerous sign)? A little man named Tim Griffin was put in place as U.S. Attorney – where?

In Arkansas. Why Arkansas? Because that’s where he can research the history of Hillary Clinton.

Would he have done such a thing? Oh, yeah. As Greg Palast points out, it was Mr. Griffin who was behind the emails of caging lists sent out in 2004 - a detestable method of purging registration lists of tens of thousands of voters, voters who appeared to live in low-income, urban areas, homeless shelters, and military bases.

Griffin was sent to Arkansas for a reason. Republicans want Hillary for a reason. And those reasons are slimy – and do not bode well for, uh, democracy, America, the world, etc.

And Bobby knows this. I can’t imagine his endorsement is sitting well for him. It’s certainly not the subject of any of those impassioned speeches he’s so good at.

As Bobby said to Bill McKibben back in March, when Bill noted that in his town in Vermont where paper ballots were used Obama was popular, winning 175 to 68:

"He’s popular any place where they count the votes by hand."

Whatever Spitzer's testosterone was doing, it wasn't for prostitution he was targeted. . .

After spending a couple of early morning hours Googling the likes of John Fund, Michael Garcia, and Roger Smith, I went to my email and there was an email from Greg Palast, entitled "Eliot's Mess and the $200 Million Bailout" -- now available on his website here -- with that cutting edge of brightly lit clarity. Others got close but he nailed it. Uh-gain.

Greg found Spitzer's greatest crime: daring to point the finger at the greatest culprit of our times, Mr. Bush, and his own part in protecting the predatory bank thieves while ignoring the ambushed victims.

If you read nothing else, read Palast's story.

Meanwhile, back in the shooting gallery, I also found an angle that probably carries some weight as well -- though I'm sure Greg's revelation is at the very core.

In fact, the mystery of who would have targetted Spitzer reminds me of Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express" -- where it turns out that all the suspects murdered the victim that night. They each had strong reasons, and each did the deed.

By Tuesday morning I'd submitted the following to OpEdNews, where it was posted on Wednesday:

*****

Spitzer and the Giuliani Shell Game

March 12, 2008

Is there a connection?

Shell Energy Company, in partnership with TransCanada Corporation, has a proposal awaiting approval by Elliot Spitzer that would allow the companies, working as Broadwater Energy, to build and operate a floating liquified natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound.

The terminal, a 1215 foot barge, could provide Connecticut and New York with a billion cubic feet of the liquified natural gas per day, but, as the Government Accountability Office reported in February of 2007, could also become a firebomb of huge proportions.

This year, Broadwater Energy launched an intense media campaign designed to sway public opinion about both the project and the company, with large publicized donations to Long Island United Way, and a blitz of commercials citing questionable studies and claiming customers will see huge economic savings.

However, the ads have also drawn a backlash, with both local activists and public officials calling for the New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate the dangerous “false advertising”.

Worth noting is that the campaign was created by none other than Rudy Giuliani’s own Giuliani Partners LLC – hired on to provide security and strategic planning services less than a week after the 2004 presidential election. According to Eric Hatzimemos, a managing director of the firm, “Security, safety, & reliability have been top priorities for Broadwater from the outset.”

This comes from the same law firm that lobbies for the Indian Point Nuclear facility (“as safe as a facility can be”) to be relicensed despite multiple security and safety problems, and for respiratory gas mask manufacturers to be immune from lawsuits for failure to provide protection.

After years of battles between environmentalists and industry, in February all eyes were on New York Governor Elliot Spitzer.

He, in turn, claimed to be waiting for the New York State Department to provide its review of the vast information presented from both sides, due on February 12th. But on February 7th, the State Department announced it had made an agreement with Broadwater which granted a 60 day extension of the deadline to allow for “further discussion of what is a very complex proposal”.

The next day, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation issued its second Notice of Incomplete Application letter to Broadwater Energy, noting that Broadwater’s response to the first Notice was entirely inadequate. Documentation on emissions calculation was lacking, and even with design changes, the barge was projected to destroy 274 million aquatic organisms annually.

Less than a week later, Spitzer was customer number 9.

On March 5, though they did not yet have the required approval of Spitzer and New York State, Shell announced it was ready to begin setting up contracts for purchasing the liquid natural gas that would be brought to New York and Connecticut.

Did they already know they’d won?

*****

Then, at work yesterday, I listened to NPR's The Diane Rehm Show, and her hour on Spitzer. One of her guests was John Fund, from The Wall Street Journal, who uses as a noteworthy credential his authoring the book, of "Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy." So already I know this is one of THOSE guys, the guys pushing the phony crime that is supposed to distract from the real method of election theft and provide fodder for Bush's "good" U.S. Attorneys.

Coming back from a break, Diane turned to Fund with a question. This is how it went:

DR: John Fund, is there any indication whatsoever that because of Eliot Spitzer’s behavior and his pursuit of Wall Street ne’er-do-wells that somehow he was targeted?

JF: I think the real targeting came from his personality and his style. THERE IS NOT A SINGLE PERSON IN NEW YORK STATE GOVERNMENT OR IN MANY BUSINESS CIRCLES WHO DIDN'T THINK ELLIOT SPITZER WAS A JERK -- and I’m being very specific here. He would yell and intimidate, threaten people. I mean he told one person I’m going to drive a stake through your heart. He basically said get out of my way to ano– to an assemblyman, saying I’m an f’ing steamroller. He managed to alienate people in his own party, people who would normally have ideological affinity for him. He had anger management issues. So I think that If you end up with 3 enemies in your life you’ve got, you know, an irritant; if you have 30 enemies you have a problem; and if you have 300 enemies eventually people are just going to try to remove you from the stage. I don’t think he was targeted; I think he took himself out because his behavior was so extreme and so far out of the bounds. And I think– I hope we get to some discussion of his civil liberties record here because he did go after some bad guys on Wall Street, he did do some good, but he went to more and more marginal targets, less and less substantial targets, and I think really rode roughshod over due process laws.

****

Okay, I know I just pointed out how many enemies he had, but Fund was so absolute and clearly wanted the public to understand that Spitzer deserved to be hated by reasonable people.

Once a pathetic propagandist. . .

****

So I wrote to Diane's show, in time, I hoped, to have the email read during today's Friday 2-hour review of the week's news:

Let's see, who would want Spitzer gone? Maybe Shell Oil and Giuliani, who are together fighting to get New York to approve an incredibly dangerous liquified natural gas barge in Long Island Sound.

Or maybe even Mr. Bush, who -- as the BBC investigative journalist Greg Palast pointed out -- Spitzer called the "Predator Lenders Partner in Crime" just THIS WEEK in The Washington Post, just before Bernanke provided $200 billion to rescue bankers.

Whatever Spitzer's testosterone was doing, it wasn't for prostitution he was targeted.

****

Meanwhile, on another of the many fronts, on Monday night we heard about Spitzer and prostitution, instead of hearing Congressman John Conyers, Jr. demanding that former White House aides Harriet Myers and Joshua Bolten obey the law and respond to Congress -- announcing the law suit against the two:

"We will not allow the administration to steamroll Congress. Under our system of checks and balances, Congress provides oversight of the executive branch to make sure that government power is not abused. The administration’s extreme claims to be immune from the oversight process are at odds with our constitutional principles on which this country was founded, and I am confident the federal courts will agree."

Phew. There's still hope.

PBS: NOW with David Brancaccio Investigates Voter Caging

At long last, attention is being paid.

Greg Palast was on Now last night, along with fired U.S. attorney David Iglesias and Congressman John Conyers, Jr., to discuss the Republican scheme to suppress black votes in 2004, pushed by Karl Rove, short-lived U.S. Attorney Timothy Griffin, and other aides -- which appears to be what the White House and Department of Justice are protecting (See "Purging the Purgers" below and at Greg's site.

As of early Saturday morning, the transcript is not yet posted, though the video and more indepth interviews and sources are there. When the transcript is available, it will be in the list here, which is also a spectacular source of information for shows going back to 2002.

You may remember, the show's original title was Now with Bill Moyers, but George Bush's hitman at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting targetted Moyers for having a liberal bias and tried to kill funding for PBS. See my Know Bush Fact #46 on this subject here. Tomlinson has since lost this job, and Moyers is back in full swing with Bill Moyers Journal.

Taking Every Opportunity to Point Out the Voter Caging Trick

Today, Monday, July 9th, 2007, NPR's Talk of the Nation discussed "The Military Vote".
I couldn't call in at the time, so I've posted at their Blog of the Nation. It hasn't shown up yet, as they sometimes take a great deal of time (especially in non-business hours), but meanwhile. . .

Recent reports from Greg Palast of the BBC reveal that many who are in the military serving overseas had their votes deliberately thrown out -- not counted -- in the 2004 election.

It was called "Voter Caging". Registered voters whose addresses were in low-income African American neighborhoods, homeless shelters, and military bases in the United States were sent registered letters, with the envelopes marked "Do Not Forward" requesting that the voter confirm his or her mailing address by return mail.

Those voters who did not respond had their names removed from the voter registry lists. If they tried to vote in person, their votes were challenged and never counted. If they voted from overseas, their votes were tossed, without notifying the voters.

This was a deliberate method of removing the votes of low income voters, particularly African Americans, who statistically are more likely to vote for the Democratic ticket.

The program was run by a clever operative at the Republican National Committee. His name is Timothy Griffin, and he is the friend of Karl Rove's who received the appointment to be the United States Attorney in Arkansas, replacing Bud Cummins, who was investigating another Republican election operative, Mark "Thor" Hearne, spokesman for the phony "non-partisan" American Center for Voting Rights, pushing the non-issue of Voter Fraud to distract from the real issue of vote theft, formerly General Counsel for BushCheney 2004.

Is your head spinning? The point is --

In 2004, thousands of votes sent from our overseas military personnel, fighting for democracy, were illegally dumped on purpose by the Republican National Committee.

The story isn't over. When U.S. Attorney Timothy Griffin learned that House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. had met with reporter Greg Palast and seen the evidence, he immediately resigned.

And Conyers has said that he isn't done with Griffin yet.

NPR, my friend of over 30 years, has not reported this.

To check this story out, go to www.bradblog.com and/or www.gregpalast.com.

The story does continue. Today, Brad posted Paper: Internal Memos Contradict Florida Bush Team's Statements Concerning 'Voting Caging' Prior to '04 Election
Docs Based on Pre-Election Meetings in Duvall County Reveal Issue Was Repeatedly Discussed Despite Denials by Local Bush/Cheney '04 Election Chairman
DoJ Continues to Review U.S. Senator's Demand for a Full Investigation....

Know Bush Fact #7

Based on the belief that the truth shall set you free:



This story is particularly frightening because it's been so well hidden.

Three weeks after the 2000 election, while the results were still up in the air, Greg Palast, an American reporter for the BBC and the Guardian of London, reported that in the months leading up to the November 2000 balloting, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris (who was also George Bush's Florida campaign manager), in coordination with Governor Jeb Bush (George's brother), ordered local elections supervisors to purge 57,700 names from voter registries.

These names were removed because they were supposedly felons who, according to Florida law, may not vote. However, in review, 90.2% of the voters purged from this list were innocent. Their names were listed in error, and never verified. It should be noted that 54% were Black and Hispanic voters, and 90% were Democrat.

Remember, Bush supposedly won Florida, and thus the country, by only 537 votes.

When this report came out in England, CBS contacted Greg Palast, eager to run a version of the story. The next day, the CBS producer called Palast back.

"I'm sorry, but your story didn't hold up."

Palast asked why he thought that.

Simple, "We called Jeb Bush's office."

To verify and look further at this story, Google "Palast +Harris +felon".

- February 16, 2004