Ohio's spreading stolen 2004 election scandal claims another victim
With two felony convictions already in its wake, Ohio's spreading stolen 2004 election scandal has claimed another victim---Michael Vu, the controversial executive director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
Hired in 2003 with the support of the Democratic Party, Vu was in charge of administering the electoral process in Ohio's biggest county. Centered in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County regularly gives huge majorities to Democratic candidates, and was expected to help put John Kerry into the White House in 2004.
But as chaos ensued on election day, long lines, malfunctioning machines, suspiciously low turnouts in inner city precincts, lost ballots and dubious vote counts turned Democrats against Vu. Independent researchers calculate that the irregularities may have cost Kerry thousands of votes.
Vu also supervised the purchase of some $20 million in electronic voting equipment, a decision bitterly opposed by grassroots activists, and featured in a major documentary film recently broadcast nationwide on HBO. Upon installation for the 2006 election, much of the equipment malfunctioned.
Hired in 2003 with the support of the Democratic Party, Vu was in charge of administering the electoral process in Ohio's biggest county. Centered in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County regularly gives huge majorities to Democratic candidates, and was expected to help put John Kerry into the White House in 2004.
But as chaos ensued on election day, long lines, malfunctioning machines, suspiciously low turnouts in inner city precincts, lost ballots and dubious vote counts turned Democrats against Vu. Independent researchers calculate that the irregularities may have cost Kerry thousands of votes.
Vu also supervised the purchase of some $20 million in electronic voting equipment, a decision bitterly opposed by grassroots activists, and featured in a major documentary film recently broadcast nationwide on HBO. Upon installation for the 2006 election, much of the equipment malfunctioned.
Dems change the gas and claim it's a new car
Democrats on Capitol Hill see the world through bureaucratic shades and have been circulating this self-congratulatory Email:
"Over the last four years,the Republican Congress failed to conduct oversight on the Iraq war and failed to hold the Administration accountable for the conduct of the war. In contrast to this dismal record, in the last five weeks, the new Democratic-led Congress is already exercising vigorous oversight and demanding accountability from the Administration on the Iraq war. Attached is a list of 52 House and Senate hearings that have already occurred on issues related to the Iraq war. There will be numerous other hearings by both House and Senate committees on issues related to the Iraq war over the next several months."
"Over the last four years,the Republican Congress failed to conduct oversight on the Iraq war and failed to hold the Administration accountable for the conduct of the war. In contrast to this dismal record, in the last five weeks, the new Democratic-led Congress is already exercising vigorous oversight and demanding accountability from the Administration on the Iraq war. Attached is a list of 52 House and Senate hearings that have already occurred on issues related to the Iraq war. There will be numerous other hearings by both House and Senate committees on issues related to the Iraq war over the next several months."
The science of evil and its use for political purposes
EVIL: 1 a: morally reprehensible : sinful, wicked b: arising from actual or imputed bad character or conduct 2 aarchaic : inferior b: causing discomfort or repulsion : offensive c: disagreeable 3 a: causing harm : pernicious b: marked by misfortune : unlucky [Merriam-Webster Online]
Ladysmith sings beyond the blues
Review of Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Southern Theater
Columbus, Ohio
If music be magic, the hypnotizing harmonies of Ladysmith Black Mambazo manage to go even a step beyond.
Performing before a packed house of devoted fans who braved last night's deep snows, these eight magnificent South African men warmed a lot of hearts. Led by Joseph Shabalala, who founded the group 46 years ago (but who looks way too young for that), the deep, exquisitely soft acapello tones filled the theater with a sound that is hauntingly spiritual and entrancing.
Southern Theater
Columbus, Ohio
If music be magic, the hypnotizing harmonies of Ladysmith Black Mambazo manage to go even a step beyond.
Performing before a packed house of devoted fans who braved last night's deep snows, these eight magnificent South African men warmed a lot of hearts. Led by Joseph Shabalala, who founded the group 46 years ago (but who looks way too young for that), the deep, exquisitely soft acapello tones filled the theater with a sound that is hauntingly spiritual and entrancing.
How a bill becomes a signing statement
At the House Judiciary Committee hearings on Bush's use of signing statements on Wednesday, two exchanges at the end were quite revealing. Four hours into a hearing interrupted by several votes (thanks, Nancy!) the corporate media had all departed. Broadcast media never showed in the first place. Only a few bloggers and a bunch of citizens and staffers hung behind. Most of the Congress Members had left for good.
Through most of the hearing, Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Elwood and Associate Professor of Law at Georgetown Nicholas Rosenkranz had maintained that Bush's signing statements were mere words and that Bush has obeyed to the letter each law he has signed, even if he's added a "signing statement" maintaining his right not to obey sections of that law. Elwood even claimed that if the President were to act contrary to the original law, he would notify Congress that he was doing so.
Through most of the hearing, Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Elwood and Associate Professor of Law at Georgetown Nicholas Rosenkranz had maintained that Bush's signing statements were mere words and that Bush has obeyed to the letter each law he has signed, even if he's added a "signing statement" maintaining his right not to obey sections of that law. Elwood even claimed that if the President were to act contrary to the original law, he would notify Congress that he was doing so.
Rightwingers attacking war supporters
This is what it's come to. The local newspaper in my town in Virginia today ran an op-ed by rightwinger Cal Thomas attacking Hillary Clinton for her past support for the war. Thomas began by criticizing Clinton for pretending she had never supported the war, but the bulk of his column blamed her simply for supporting it and for falling for the lies that Bush had used to sell it:
"One wonders what took such a smart woman until January 2007 in Iowa to conclude that she had been duped. And, one wonders: If she can be misled by so many people in whom she has confidence, how will she be able to see clearly as president?"
Along with this column, the paper printed a cartoon from the San Antonio Express News that shows Hillary with a "Hillary 08" button thinking "He's not the only one I wish would go away." She's reading an article about Obama, and walking up behind her is another Hillary labeled "Pro-War Hillary."
"One wonders what took such a smart woman until January 2007 in Iowa to conclude that she had been duped. And, one wonders: If she can be misled by so many people in whom she has confidence, how will she be able to see clearly as president?"
Along with this column, the paper printed a cartoon from the San Antonio Express News that shows Hillary with a "Hillary 08" button thinking "He's not the only one I wish would go away." She's reading an article about Obama, and walking up behind her is another Hillary labeled "Pro-War Hillary."
A world that works for everybody
Peace is a chant, a vibration, a leap of the human spirit into the 21st century and beyond. It's also HR 808 - radical common sense crafted into a bill and introduced this week into the new Congress by Dennis Kucinich.
Let me describe for you, as best I can in this brief space, the heave of emotion this piece of legislation and the campaign to support it have set off in me the past few days. For this I thank and blame the Peace Alliance, which held a conference in D.C. over the weekend in support of the bill - well, it was half conference, fact-dense and nitty-gritty, brimming with info on bullying and suicide and war; and half revival, alive with music and global religion, full of God and Buddha and the spirit of the Founding Fathers and Gandhi and Martin Luther King and Jane Addams and Susan B. Anthony and many others.
Let me describe for you, as best I can in this brief space, the heave of emotion this piece of legislation and the campaign to support it have set off in me the past few days. For this I thank and blame the Peace Alliance, which held a conference in D.C. over the weekend in support of the bill - well, it was half conference, fact-dense and nitty-gritty, brimming with info on bullying and suicide and war; and half revival, alive with music and global religion, full of God and Buddha and the spirit of the Founding Fathers and Gandhi and Martin Luther King and Jane Addams and Susan B. Anthony and many others.
Making an example of Ehren Watada
The people running the Iraq war are eager to make an example of Ehren Watada. They’ve convened a kangaroo court-martial. But the man on trial is setting a profound example of conscience -- helping to undermine the war that the Pentagon’s top officials are so eager to protect.
“The judge in the case against the first U.S. officer court-martialed for refusing to ship out for Iraq barred several experts in international and constitutional law from testifying Monday [Feb. 5] about the legality of the war,” the Associated Press reported.
While the judge was hopping through the military’s hoops at Fort Lewis in Washington state, an outpouring of support for Watada at the gates reflected just how broad and deep the opposition to this war has become.
The AP dispatch merely stated that “outside the base, a small group that included actor Sean Penn demonstrated in support of Watada.” But several hundred people maintained an antiwar presence at the gates, where a vigil and rally -- led by Iraq war veterans and parents of those sent to kill and be killed in this horrific war -- mirrored what is happening in communities across the United States.
“The judge in the case against the first U.S. officer court-martialed for refusing to ship out for Iraq barred several experts in international and constitutional law from testifying Monday [Feb. 5] about the legality of the war,” the Associated Press reported.
While the judge was hopping through the military’s hoops at Fort Lewis in Washington state, an outpouring of support for Watada at the gates reflected just how broad and deep the opposition to this war has become.
The AP dispatch merely stated that “outside the base, a small group that included actor Sean Penn demonstrated in support of Watada.” But several hundred people maintained an antiwar presence at the gates, where a vigil and rally -- led by Iraq war veterans and parents of those sent to kill and be killed in this horrific war -- mirrored what is happening in communities across the United States.
New graduate program rankings flawed
A preliminary investigation by Free Press staff demonstrates the new graduate program rankings offered by the Chronicle of Higher Education undercount the number of books produced by faculty members at reviewed institutions -- sometimes dramatically.
A simple search of Amazon.com, the source used by the Chronicle's data provider (Academic Analytics), directly contradicts the rankings.
For example, the Chronicle's data state that faculty at sociology departments at schools such as Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins and the University of Chicago produced zero books between 2001 and 2005. Here are three examples of books produced by faculty at these institutions during those years (via Amazon.com).
One from Chapel Hill
One from Johns Hopkins
A simple search of Amazon.com, the source used by the Chronicle's data provider (Academic Analytics), directly contradicts the rankings.
For example, the Chronicle's data state that faculty at sociology departments at schools such as Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins and the University of Chicago produced zero books between 2001 and 2005. Here are three examples of books produced by faculty at these institutions during those years (via Amazon.com).
One from Chapel Hill
One from Johns Hopkins
Human Rights Campaign salutes Black History Month
Tribute Highlights Current and Rising Leaders in the Black GLBT
Community
Washington, DC - To commemorate Black History Month, the Human Rights Campaign will honor a cross-section of African-American leaders that are helping move the march for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality forward within their community and society as a whole.
The Human Rights Campaign will honor their achievements and excellence in a special section of the HRC website at http://hrc.org/blackhistory. As part of the Human Rights Campaign celebration of national Black History Month, HRC will continuously recognize the sacrifices, contributions and successes made by the African-American community for equality throughout February.
Washington, DC - To commemorate Black History Month, the Human Rights Campaign will honor a cross-section of African-American leaders that are helping move the march for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality forward within their community and society as a whole.
The Human Rights Campaign will honor their achievements and excellence in a special section of the HRC website at http://hrc.org/blackhistory. As part of the Human Rights Campaign celebration of national Black History Month, HRC will continuously recognize the sacrifices, contributions and successes made by the African-American community for equality throughout February.