Will electronic voting reform create new ways to steal elections?
This week, the House is expected to pass the first-ever bill regulating electronic voting. But will the legislation unleash new election treachery in American elections?
If history is a guide, political machinations will outsmart the latest efforts to bring accountability to America's newest voting machines. Recent books on how American elections have been stolen - from the founding of the country to 2004 - suggest voting machinery may change over time, but sleazy partisan tactics do not: they adapt to the newest way of counting votes. And when grassroots election integrity activists add their experience of wrestling with new electronic voting to this continuum, it seems doubtful that American elections will be cleaned up.
"It is the same game," said Rebecca Mercuri, one of the country's top electronic voting experts and an opponent of the House bill. "They will just now do it electronically. The bill makes it seem like something will be done. It will cause the public to be complacent. That is very scary. People will not be watching. They will not be looking at elections."
If history is a guide, political machinations will outsmart the latest efforts to bring accountability to America's newest voting machines. Recent books on how American elections have been stolen - from the founding of the country to 2004 - suggest voting machinery may change over time, but sleazy partisan tactics do not: they adapt to the newest way of counting votes. And when grassroots election integrity activists add their experience of wrestling with new electronic voting to this continuum, it seems doubtful that American elections will be cleaned up.
"It is the same game," said Rebecca Mercuri, one of the country's top electronic voting experts and an opponent of the House bill. "They will just now do it electronically. The bill makes it seem like something will be done. It will cause the public to be complacent. That is very scary. People will not be watching. They will not be looking at elections."
Annals of stupidity: the demise of Alexander Cockburn
There is no shortage of political pundits now wading into the discussion of global warming, despite the scientific complexity of the field. One of the latest entries is Alexander Cockburn. I have read Cockburn regularly over the years, and while I recognized him as a very talented polemicist whose acerbic screeds I could tolerate when directed to the likes of Henry Kissinger, Robert McNamara and Augusto Pinochet, his latest foray into the field of man-made global warming is scientifically dreadful, and hence irresponsible, and reflects journalism and public service at its worst. Were it not for the importance of global warming, we could easily dismiss his writing. But Cockburn has a sizeable reading audience through “The Nation” and his own publication, “Counterpunch.” And since educating the public on this matter is crucial if we are to do something about global warming, Cockburn needs to be taken to task for his dishonesty and slipshod journalism.
Holding the Bully’s Coat
Holding the Bully’s Coat: Canada and the U.S. Empire
by Linda McQuaig.
Doubleday Canada, Toronto. 2007.
This is a wonderfully refreshing examination of Canada’s role, current and historic, as supporter of and participant in the American Empire. Linda McQuaig makes accurate assessments of Canada’s current role in partnership with the United States and the ongoing development of this role historically. Unlike the regular media, she recognizes that Canada is subservient to the Americans in Afghanistan under the guise of a UN approved NATO force occupying that country. Quite clearly in her opening arguments she states that Canada’s current role has brought it “more into line with the U.S. empire, even as Washington become a belligerent and lawless force in the world.”
by Linda McQuaig.
Doubleday Canada, Toronto. 2007.
This is a wonderfully refreshing examination of Canada’s role, current and historic, as supporter of and participant in the American Empire. Linda McQuaig makes accurate assessments of Canada’s current role in partnership with the United States and the ongoing development of this role historically. Unlike the regular media, she recognizes that Canada is subservient to the Americans in Afghanistan under the guise of a UN approved NATO force occupying that country. Quite clearly in her opening arguments she states that Canada’s current role has brought it “more into line with the U.S. empire, even as Washington become a belligerent and lawless force in the world.”
US Attorney resigns following Conyers’ request for BBC documents
Tim Griffin, formerly right hand man to Karl Rove, resigned Thursday as US Attorney for Arkansas hours after BBC Television ‘Newsnight’ reported that Congressman John Conyers requested the network’s evidence on Griffin’s involvement in ‘caging voters.’ Greg Palast, reporting for BBC Newsnight, obtained a series of confidential emails from the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign. In these emails, Griffin, then the GOP Deputy Communications Director, transmitted so-called ‘caging lists’ of voters to state party leaders.
Experts have concluded the caging lists were designed for a mass challenge of voters’ right to cast ballots. The caging lists were heavily weighted with minority voters including homeless individuals, students and soldiers sent overseas.
Conyers, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee investigating the firing of US Attorneys, met Thursday evening in New York with Palast. After reviewing key documents, Conyers stated that, despite Griffin’s resignation, “We’re not through with him by any means.”
Experts have concluded the caging lists were designed for a mass challenge of voters’ right to cast ballots. The caging lists were heavily weighted with minority voters including homeless individuals, students and soldiers sent overseas.
Conyers, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee investigating the firing of US Attorneys, met Thursday evening in New York with Palast. After reviewing key documents, Conyers stated that, despite Griffin’s resignation, “We’re not through with him by any means.”
"Dumb, Stupid Animals to be Used": the US war against its troops
Home Front: The Government’s War on Soldiers
By Rick Anderson
(Clarity Press)
ISBN: 0-932863-41-8
Rick Anderson, a reporter for Seattle Weekly, opens his book, Home Front: The Government’s War on Soldiers, by referring to then US Secretary of Defense [sic] Donald Rumsfeld’s jaw-dropping rant about Vietnam draftees “adding no value, no advantage” to the US forces. This rant belongs with the government sentiment expressed toward soldiers previously by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who considered them to be “dumb, stupid animals,” mere pawns to achieve oligarchic aims abroad.
Why would anyone expect a regime that shows no care or compassion for the lives of others to show compassion for its soldiers? President George W. Bush does not even deign to pay last respects for fallen US soldiers. Bush’s administration even charged combat troops in Afghanistan for their meals while hospitalized. But Bush had made clear who his constituency was: the haves.
By Rick Anderson
(Clarity Press)
ISBN: 0-932863-41-8
Rick Anderson, a reporter for Seattle Weekly, opens his book, Home Front: The Government’s War on Soldiers, by referring to then US Secretary of Defense [sic] Donald Rumsfeld’s jaw-dropping rant about Vietnam draftees “adding no value, no advantage” to the US forces. This rant belongs with the government sentiment expressed toward soldiers previously by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who considered them to be “dumb, stupid animals,” mere pawns to achieve oligarchic aims abroad.
Why would anyone expect a regime that shows no care or compassion for the lives of others to show compassion for its soldiers? President George W. Bush does not even deign to pay last respects for fallen US soldiers. Bush’s administration even charged combat troops in Afghanistan for their meals while hospitalized. But Bush had made clear who his constituency was: the haves.
Giving the voters "poisoned food" to "nourish" democracy
"My report on Being a Poll Worker in Ohio in the May 8, 2007 Election
First I want to say that poll workers are not the problem in our Ohio elections. Of course there may be an incompetent, or sloppy, or even dishonest one here and there. Or one undertrained. But by and large, poll workers are volunteers for Democracy, paid about $100 for 15 or more hours of work, either boring, tedious work or chaotic work, depending upon how popular the particular election is at one's polling location. The poll workers I have seen are dedicated to making sure every registered voter gets to vote and working hard to ensure that everyone's vote will count.
First I want to say that poll workers are not the problem in our Ohio elections. Of course there may be an incompetent, or sloppy, or even dishonest one here and there. Or one undertrained. But by and large, poll workers are volunteers for Democracy, paid about $100 for 15 or more hours of work, either boring, tedious work or chaotic work, depending upon how popular the particular election is at one's polling location. The poll workers I have seen are dedicated to making sure every registered voter gets to vote and working hard to ensure that everyone's vote will count.
Organic animal agriculture threatened by genetically engineered alfalfa
By now many farmers producing organic milk or meat from ruminants have seen the news about the federal court ruling that the USDA violated the law by failing to conduct a full Environmental Impact Study before approving Monsanto’s genetically engineered alfalfa trademarked Roundup Ready®. The judge’s latest ruling in the case bans any further planting of the GE seed until the USDA conducts a complete Environmental Impact Statement on the GE crop.
Genetically modified alfalfa presents significantly different challenges than any other previous GE crop introduction. These differences mean the introduction of GE alfalfa could have significant economic impact on producers of organic forage and animal products. The differences directly relate to the biological differences between alfalfa and the grain crops and the way seed is produced.
Genetically modified alfalfa presents significantly different challenges than any other previous GE crop introduction. These differences mean the introduction of GE alfalfa could have significant economic impact on producers of organic forage and animal products. The differences directly relate to the biological differences between alfalfa and the grain crops and the way seed is produced.
Help America Vote… on Paper- a citizen call for election integrity
A powerful punch in a small package
I’ve always been a sucker for movies – they are such a vibrant art form, engaging so many of the senses. I’m a big reader, but I sheepishly admit that a movie telling the same story does have a number of advantages. One is that a viewer doesn’t have to work as hard as a reader, or spend as much time. The producer has already made those hard artistic choices, and the result is shorter and already partially digested. (You could argue that this is a downside to movies, but I am focusing here on the positive aspects.)
A movie has the ability to pull us down into the rabbit hole of the producer’s creation. I personally understand the power of film, as the documentary Invisible Ballots launched my initial leap into activism through my lending library project. Almost 3,200 copies later, I’m definitely sold on a film’s ability to make a case.
I’ve always been a sucker for movies – they are such a vibrant art form, engaging so many of the senses. I’m a big reader, but I sheepishly admit that a movie telling the same story does have a number of advantages. One is that a viewer doesn’t have to work as hard as a reader, or spend as much time. The producer has already made those hard artistic choices, and the result is shorter and already partially digested. (You could argue that this is a downside to movies, but I am focusing here on the positive aspects.)
A movie has the ability to pull us down into the rabbit hole of the producer’s creation. I personally understand the power of film, as the documentary Invisible Ballots launched my initial leap into activism through my lending library project. Almost 3,200 copies later, I’m definitely sold on a film’s ability to make a case.
Reviews of recent DVD releases
Bobby
Bobby is an ensemble film about the disparate characters at the Los Angeles Ambassador Hotel during the events leading up to Robert Kennedy's assassination there in June, 1968. Directed by actor Emilio Estevez, the film portrays various racial and class conflicts among the characters. They include a retired doorman, a soldier to be and his fiancée, an aging alcoholic singer and her miserable musician husband, two campaign workers who drop acid with a hippie, a Czech reporter who tries to get an interview with Kennedy, only to be rebuffed by a campaign official, to name a few characters.
Bobby is an ensemble film about the disparate characters at the Los Angeles Ambassador Hotel during the events leading up to Robert Kennedy's assassination there in June, 1968. Directed by actor Emilio Estevez, the film portrays various racial and class conflicts among the characters. They include a retired doorman, a soldier to be and his fiancée, an aging alcoholic singer and her miserable musician husband, two campaign workers who drop acid with a hippie, a Czech reporter who tries to get an interview with Kennedy, only to be rebuffed by a campaign official, to name a few characters.
The future of Earth
Our planet's prospects for environmental stability were bleaker than
ever with the passing of this year’s Earth Day, April 22. Global
warming is widely accepted as a reality by scientists and even by
previously doubtful government and industrial leaders. And according
to a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC), there is a 90 percent likelihood that humans are contributing
to the change.
The international panel of scientists predicts the global average temperature could increase by 2 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 and that sea levels could rise by up to 2 feet.
Scientists have even speculated that a slight increase in Earth's rotation rate could result, along with other changes. Glaciers, already receding, will disappear. Epic floods will hit some areas while intense drought will strike others. Humans will face widespread water shortages. Famine and disease will increase. Earth’s landscape will transform radically, with a quarter of plants and animals at risk of extinction.
The international panel of scientists predicts the global average temperature could increase by 2 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 and that sea levels could rise by up to 2 feet.
Scientists have even speculated that a slight increase in Earth's rotation rate could result, along with other changes. Glaciers, already receding, will disappear. Epic floods will hit some areas while intense drought will strike others. Humans will face widespread water shortages. Famine and disease will increase. Earth’s landscape will transform radically, with a quarter of plants and animals at risk of extinction.