Weekend in Ohio

Submitted by JC on October 27, 2008 - 8:47am.

I spent this past weekend in northeast Ohio campaigning for the Obama campaign and was very encouraged by what I saw. 

There is a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for change in Ohio.HR 676 Supporters

I traveled from Cleveland to Warren to Youngstown to Akron to Cuyohoga Falls. Along the way I met with scores of Obama volunteers. I even met with my former House colleague, Tom Sawyer, and my present Judiciary Committee colleague, Betty Sutton.

I also ran into some very interesting people in Akron.  Upon leaving the Obama headquarters there, I discovered some HR 676 supporters had gathered led by Progressive Democrats of America.  They have a bus made to promote single payer health care.

In all, I must report that there are a lot of people working hard to make sure voter turnout is as big as it should be.  The people I met understand something very important.  Obama doesn't win unless all of us vote and all of our friends vote.  

I hope you'll help in your community.

 

Mr. Twisty Arms

Submitted by Rainbow Sally on October 31, 2008 - 12:34am.

Mr. Twisty Arms said that they "betrayed our trust".

I'm talking about "change" too, but not spare change. I'm talking about Golden parachutes.

So no, Twisty, it's you who betrayed us. Again.

Here's a shortcut to the document but I'll show you a much more revealing way to locate it in a second. A peek into the past and if Conyers doesn't get an extraction, it's very likely to be a peek into the future as well.

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/r108query.html find "[Time: 05:53]"
use printer friendly and find "[Time: 05:53]"

What game? What kind of arm-twisting. Do we or don't we have a right to know what went on in the Peoples' House and why or how you ended up in the Senate??!

JC, the Senate is or should be your problem and the States problem (in my opinion), but how did he twist his way to a position where he could write a 700+ bn bailout when in fact the Constitution says:

All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

This does not say specifically that the Congress shall control the purse strings but nowhere can I see that either Enron or the Senate should be writing the laws that spend The Peoples' money. Neither do I see them having authority to create budgets, gifts to their friends, or deepen the impression that the Federal Reserve is a valid extension of Congress. (See "the federal reserve's 17-year secred published by the banking committee in 1994)

Nevermind. Let's pretend we don't notice. Even though ALL Dems will get the blame for what you allow your leadership and your handlers to dictate.

Now what? Republicans again?

That's the plan, isn't it. Why else would you guys pull such an outrageously stupid stunt.

Stop it.

To others, about Frank: He's not the only one who changed his vote. But look. This is pretty slick.

And that just makes it more interesting, doesn't it?

Please at least take a look at the shenanigans they pulled to try to cover their trail.

http://thomas.loc.gov/r108/r108.html is the daily records. Everyone says this vote occurred on Nov 22. Wha??? There IS no Record on Nov 22.

Try to find the medicare reform bill Record searching sequentially from the beginning or the end of the Nov 21 record.

Give up?

Take hit #60 of 83 in Nov 21,2003 record. Use printer friendly to see the entire fiasco (as much as they'd let us see) in a text-searchable form.

SHAME ON YOU, Congress! What you lose is not YOURS to lose!!

Since the GOP isn't campaigning in Michigan anymore...

Submitted by Mark A. Jeror Sr. on October 31, 2008 - 8:29am.

....does it mean that Mr. Conyers provided them with a little reasonable assurance?

After the 2004 election, the DNC butt buddy brigade, faced their first serious leadership challenge. Howard Dean and a whole slew of online supporters conducted a campaign to oust the losingest leader in history, Terry McAuliffe.

Since then, "the party" has astounded America's opinion shapers with unplanned Democratic victories.

Where is Mr. McAuliffe today? Well, he's the primary advisor to Obama. IF the election goes-off as planned, and IF Obama is elected President, a campaign to affect change within the Democratic leadership will need to proceed at breakneck speed.

There will be things like the leadership of the DLC and DNC to consider, and Committee leadership positions. If Pee-lousy is removed by Cindy Sheehan, we won't have to fight to remove her, but we'll still have to deal with "Old Blind Eye", AKA, John Conyers.

This election will probably be as disheartening as every other election since 2000. How can it be anything other than disheartening? Conyers and Congress did nothing to prevent voter fraud, and both sides are preparing to attack the second one of them is declared a loser.

We can't allow ourselves to become embroiled in a completely predictable, preventable, and politically opportunistic argument over something we'll lose anyways. Remember the 2000 selection by Sandra Day O'Conner?

I will fulfill my obligation to vote, and I will be voting for Mr. Obama, then I will continue to lobby for the removal from all leadership positions, anyone who was elected prior to the year 2000, with only a few exceptions.

That includes John Conyers.

While the rest of the country is predictably distracted chasing the fair elections carrot, we should commit to a campaign to remove the "blind eye" experts who did nothing, from Democratic leadership positions.

Go Cindy Sheehan!

Politicians and babies need to be changed frequently...for the same reasons. Since Conyers seat hasn't been changed since before Ted Stevens arrived at the Senate, he either needs to be changed or sent to a part of the building where his stench won't be a factor.

Keystone Kongress - The Kanadian Avengers

Submitted by Rainbow Sally on November 2, 2008 - 4:12am.

http://tinyurl.com/62offv <--<< the audio. I have downloaded it so if it disappears, more evidence goes on the manure pile for processing by our dedicated public servants on the Hill.

Hey! McCain is worried about oil getting cut off if Obama is elected.

I'd worry about our news feed and/or comedy getting cut off.

If you can't find the articles on the net Monday, you KNOW something big is going on. find "palin prank canadian"

And why is this actually important?

It's a reminder.

What if the USA wasn't the only country in the world? What if it wasn't even the only country in this Hemisphere?

Now if Palin can see Russia from her front porch, can she also hear Canada from there?

Evidently not.

If the mp3 linked at the top isn't right around 4032Kb, it's been monkeyed with.

As the NSA is my witness.

Like Puzzles?

Submitted by Rainbow Sally on October 31, 2008 - 10:24am.

go here
110 (2007-2009) http://thomas.loc.gov/home/r110query.html

find
"crazy derivatives and everything else that they've dreamed up"

Read to the number "275"

Disbelieve. So double check.

find
"275 votes on a bipartisan basis on July 30"

What month was that.

What year was that.

"We'll all have to tighten our belts." she said, her black pearls dangling from her neck.

Can you tell me where we're headin', Lincoln county line or Armageddon. Seems like I've been down this road before.

WoOpsE

Submitted by Rainbow Sally on October 31, 2008 - 4:16pm.

I just realized.

I was tired. I forgot that the republicans also have leadership.

But instead of editing "The Paranoid Puzzle" I'm going to leave it there as a reminder of what you broke when you broke our trust, John.

And if Obama can't win with close to a 3 to 2 margin, stare into that black hole that was once the Constitution and you tell me.

Where did we go so wrong.

Oh-Hi-Yo

Submitted by Max 1 on October 31, 2008 - 9:00pm.

A professional campaigner is best at pulling wool...

Documents reveal how Ohio routed 2004 voting data through company that hosted external Bush Administration email accounts
Larisa Alexandrovna and Muriel Kane
Published: Friday October 31, 2008

Newly obtained computer schematics provide further detail of how electronic voting data was routed during the 2004 election from Ohio’s Secretary of State’s office through a partisan Tennessee web hosting company.

A network security expert with high-level US government clearances, who is also a former McCain delegate, says the documents – server schematics which trace the architecture created for Ohio’s then-Republican Secretary of State and state election chief Kenneth Blackwell – raise troubling questions about the security of electronic voting and the integrity of the 2004 presidential election results.

The flow chart shows how voting information was transferred from Ohio to SmarTech Inc., a Chattanooga Tennessee IT company known for its close association with the Republican Party, before the 2004 election results were displayed online.

Information technology expert Stephen Spoonamore believes this architecture could have made possible a KingPin or "Man in the Middle" (MIM) attack -- a well-defined criminal methodology in which a computer is inserted into the network of a bank or credit card processor to intercept and modify transactions before they reach a central computer.

In an affidavit filed in September, Spoonamore asserted that "any time all information is directed to a single computer for consolidation, it is possible… that single computer will exploit the information for some purpose. ... In the case of Ohio 2004, the only purpose I can conceive for sending all county vote tabulations to a GOP managed Man-in-the-Middle site in Chattanooga before sending the results onward to the Sec. of State, would be to hack the vote at the MIM."

Not everyone agrees. RAW STORY also sent the schematics to computer science professor David L. Dill, a longtime critic of electronic voting machines. In an email message, Dill said he’s skeptical that an attack of the sort described by Spoonamore could have been carried out undetected.

"It seems that the major concern is whether routing election results through a third-party server would allow that third party to change the reported election results,” Dill wrote. “These diagrams haven't answered my basic question about that idea. The individual counties know the counts that they transmitted to the state. If those results were altered by the state or a middleman, I would think that many people in many counties would know the actual numbers and would raise an alarm."

Spoonamore has now filed a fresh affidavit (pdf), in regard to a case involving alleged Ohio vote tampering, which asserts that the schematics support a "Man in the Middle" attack having been implemented in Ohio in 2004. Ohio provided the crucial Electoral College votes to secure President George W. Bush's reelection.

"The computer system at SmartTech had the correct placement, connectivity, and computer experts necessary to change the election in any manner desired by the controllers of the SmartTech computers," Spoonamore wrote in the affadavit.

"Overall, my analysis of the two Architectures provided is the following,” he added. "They are very simple systems. They are designed for ease of use during the one of two times a year they are needed for an election. They are not designed with any security or monitoring systems for negative actions including MIM or KingPin attacks. These systems as designed would not be sufficient for any banking function, credit card function, or even or many corporate email systems needing a high degree of confidence. They are systems which will work easily, but are based on a belief all users and the system itself will be trusted not to be hacked."

He continued, "There are obviously many parties willing, with motivation, and able to hack an election for a desired outcome."

Inconclusive Evidence?

Dill told Raw Story the schematics are inconclusive and that he continues to have questions after reading Spoonamore's latest affadavit, although he cautioned that he himself is not an expert in Spoonamore's specialty of network security.

"Basically, the whole thing seems highly speculative," Dill said. "It's important to distinguish 'possible' from 'probable' here. I don't even know if this is possible. More details about how the tabulators worked in those particular counties, who was managing them, how the results were uploaded, whether they were all the same kind, etc. would help establish that."

"As to 'probable' -- I don't think that's been established at all, unless one starts with the presumption that the election was stolen and works backwards from there," he added. "I don't think Spoonamore has made the case that SmartTech and Triad '.. reversed the outcome of the 2004 Ohio Presidential Race.' I don't know that it DIDN'T happen, but, at this point, I think we need to demand better evidence."

"Neither I nor Spoonamore have any special knowledge on exit polls or Ohio voting patterns in judicial races," Dill continued. "I'd urge you to take a close look at what skeptical political scientists have written. It's been a long time, but I was left with the impression that proof was lacking."

RAW STORY has posted the schematics here for 2004 and here for 2006.

The Connally Anomaly

Spoonamore notes that on election night in 2004, he observed what he calls the "Connally anomaly," in which eight Ohio counties that had been reporting a consistent ratio of Kerry votes to Bush votes suddenly changed at about 11 pm and began reporting results much more favorable to Bush. Election tallies in these counties, plus a few others, also showed the unlikely result of tens of thousands of voters choosing an extremely liberal judicial candidate but not voting for Kerry.

Spoonamore immediately suspected that a Man in the Middle attack had occurred but had no idea how it could have been carried out. It was not until November 2006 that the alternative media group ePluribus Media discovered that the real-time election results streamed by the office of Ohio's Secretary of State at election.sos.state.oh.us had been hosted on SmarTech's servers in Tennessee.

"Since early this decade, top Internet 'gurus' in Ohio have been coordinating web services with their GOP counterparts in Chattanooga, wiring up a major hub that in 2004, first served as a conduit for Ohio's live election night results," researchers at ePluribus Media wrote.

By then, SmarTech had become embroiled in the White House email scandal, during which it was discovered that accounts at rnc.com, gwb43.com, and other Republican Party domains which were hosted by SmarTech had been used by White House staff,, instead of their official government email accounts, to avoid leaving a public record of their communications. When subpoenaed by Congress, the White House said the emails had been accidentally deleted.

Remaining Questions

Dill further noted after examining the schematics, "The 11/02/04 diagram has several computer icons in the upper left for EN Results entry of various types. I don't know how this works, but given that counties are using different software to prepare their totals, I suspect the data is entered by hand into web forms or that spreadsheets are uploaded. Such an entry method would not easily lend itself to corrupting the original data. ... Even if data can be changed at the county servers, many pollworkers and possibly others know the results that were reported from their precincts, and someone would probably notice if the numbers reported by the county or state differed from those."

Dill said it would be helpful to have more information regarding the computers used and how they were connected.

"It would be a great idea to get some more definitive information about how the computers were connected and run in those counties," he wrote. "Messing with disks might help cover up evidence after the fact. But the first thing that had to happen was that county-level results had to be changed in such a way that no one could compare the precinct results with the announced totals."

Spoonamore said tampering could have been accomplished without broad knowledge.

Some have said "that local County Elections officials had been instructed to fax final results to confirm them, but this action would not have mattered if the local elections boards computers were already under the control of the KingPin," he wrote. He said the ultimate results faxed to the Secretary of State from Ohio counties could have been inserted by SmarTech, providing "a smokescreen" that would "mask the already hacked results and provide an illusion the tabulators were not reporting results over the Internet."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Larisa Alexandrovna is managing editor of investigative news for Raw Story and regularly reports on intelligence and national security stories. Contact: larisa@rawstory.com.

Muriel Kane is director of research for Raw Story.

Of course John, you knew of the theft and the swindle, but when you refused to pursue past simple hearings, you gave license for the crooks to continue on stealing votes through a series of tubes...

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I M P E A C H
or R E S I G N!!!

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Submitted by Max 1 on October 31, 2008 - 11:30pm.

BREAKING: Federal Judge Compels GOP IT Guru Mike Connell To Give Deposition in Ohio '04 Election Case
Contentious Hearing Today Results in Order For Republican 'High-Tech Forrest Gump' to Testify Under Oath on Monday

Appearance to Answer Questions on 2004 Election Scheduled Just 24 Hours Prior to Election 2008...
by Steve Heller of VelvetRevolution.us
Cross posted at THE BRAD BLOG

The Republican IT guru, recently described as a "high tech Forrest Gump" for his proclivity to be "at the scene" of so many troubling elections since 2000, and even at the heart of the "lost" White House email scandal, has been ordered by a federal judge to appear for an under-oath deposition next Monday in Ohio.

The BRAD BLOG has learned that Mike Connell, the Republican IT guru whose company, GovTech Solutions, created Ohio's 2004 election results computer network appeared in federal court today, as compelled, and has been ordered to appear for his deposition on Monday, November 3, just 24 hours before Election Day 2008.

Today's court order came after a contentious hearing, at which Connell was present. The hearing was part of a long-standing voting rights violations lawsuit, King Lincoln v. Blackwell, as previously covered by The BRAD BLOG and by Velvet Revolution's Election Protection Strike Force here and here.

Though Connell's attorneys have fought to quash the subpoena, recently issued after the judge lifted a stay on the case several weeks ago, , it looks like his options to avoid testimony, or at least jail for avoiding it, may have come to an end. The attorneys in the case have said that Connell's testimony may well lead to the subpoenaing and under-oath questioning of Karl Rove, who, they say, would be unable to use Executive Privilege as an excuse to avoid such a subpoena in a civil RICO case...

For more details on Connell, and his role in the '04 election, and within the GOP, see the video clip at right from John Ennis' recently-released documentary Free For All.

The issues in the King Lincoln v. Blackwell suit are complex, but in a nutshell, some Ohio voters filed a lawsuit alleging voting rights violations and election irregularities in the 2004 Presidential election in the Buckeye State. Taking the sworn deposition of Connell, the man who set up the computers for reporting election results, and re-routing them through his company's own Tennessee servers late on the night of the '04 election, has been a high priority for Election Integrity advocates and attorneys in Ohio.

While this story is still breaking and developing, from what we've been able to learn so far, sources tell us that Monday's depo will have a time limit of two hours. Any information gathered regarding trade secrets related to Connell's company, SmarTech, Inc., will be under seal, as per the judge's order today.

Also under seal will be any and all information gathered about allegations that Connell has been the victim of witness intimidation by Karl Rove and/or Rove's associates. As reported by The BRAD BLOG last Summer, plaintiff's lead attorney in the case, Clifford A. Arnebeck, had sent an email to Attorney General Michael Mukasey on July 24, 2008, stating in part:

"We have been confidentially informed by a source we believe to be credible that Karl Rove has threatened Michael Connell, a principal witness we have identified in our King Lincoln case in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, that if he does not agree to 'take the fall' for election fraud in Ohio, his wife Heather will be prosecuted for supposed lobby law violations."

.

Submitted by Max 1 on October 31, 2008 - 11:53pm.

Ohio official says she can’t check voter database because it might crash
By John Byrne

Ohio’s voting rolls are in the news — again.

Ohio’s Secretary of State told reporters Thursday that she can’t check the state’s newly registered voter database for fraud because it was “poorly constructed,” even though a cursory review of newly registered voters revealed 200,000 discrepancies.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, said her office tried to check the new or revised registrations after a Republican Party lawsuit that sought to require new registrations to be vetted for fraud. But her office concluded that the checks could crash the entire state database of 8.3 million voters — “too risky a proposition,” according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Republicans’ lawsuit has been dismissed.

“If we were to try to modify it to do that, it would make the system unstable and would actually” compromise accuracy, Brunner told reporters.

Earlier this month, the Democrat told the paper that most of the at least 200,000 discrepancies in the new registrations were likely due to new voters incorrectly scribbling their driver’s license or Social Security numbers, and were not deliberate.

Ohio’s GOP Party Chairman suggested that the announcement five days before the election was politically convenient and that Brunner hadn’t been doing her job.

“If she was doing what she was supposed to be doing over the last two years, this wouldn’t be an issue and we wouldn’t be stuck with better than 200,000 mismatched voter registrations hanging out there creating doubt,” Chairman Kevin DeWine told the Plain Dealer.

If so, however, it would appear that Ohio Republicans are getting a dose of their own medicine. Ohio’s former Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell and Bush-Cheney’s 2004 Ohio chairman repeatedly took flak for intentionally trying to disenfranchise voters in the last presidential election and faced myriad lawsuits as a result. Blackwell’s subsequent run for governor flopped.

The state GOP’s lawsuit attempting to force Brunner to release the names of voters with mismatched information — such as Social Security numbers — was dismissed by the Supreme Court. Ohio’s Republican congressional delegation then asked the Bush Justice Department to get involved, and even asked President George W. Bush to “lean” on the Department.

Bush apparently tried, but the Justice Department demurred.

Hey Max

Submitted by Rainbow Sally on November 1, 2008 - 6:49am.

Ever hear of COINTELPRO? Know about "infiltration" of progressive and liberal groups?

Check it out.

Brenner is a Democrat (possibly the same kind John is).

ANYONE with any knowledge of computers would recognize her excuse as being bogus. There are comments at the original link where a software guy points out what a lame attempt to cover up the alleged discrepencies is; unless that is her intention. To make it sound like a cover up.

Ever heard of a double agent?

This is bogus on several levels, not the least of which is that they'd have to have probable cause. They do or they don't.

If election officials are this ignorant of the Constitution, they should not be election officials. If they can't handle the electronics end of the operation, then maybe it wasn't such a wonderful idea in the first place.

Watch the Republicans run with this one.

I say, "Hey! You Republicans are right! We might have some problems in these voting machines. Let's look into it. But the negative 16000 votes for/against Gore in Sarasota County has not yet been cleared up so get to the back of the line and wait your turn. The line is 8 years long. And that is thanks to you and your peculiar brand of 'compassion', never mind fair play or democracy."

We used to have a saying, Max. "Police your own." I don't have an account over there or I'd warn them myself. Do you?

Brenner is either so ignorant she's dangerous, or even more fun, she could be an infiltrator.

Hey JC. Knock, knock.
I know you're in there.
Knock knock knock knock.

Why the hell did we want you get get the chair? The chair of the judiciary, John, nobody is threatening you.

Tell me why we were so pleased that you made it.

Knock knock knock knock knock.

Stare into the deep space that was once our Constitution and tell me what you see.

Hi Max.

Submitted by Rainbow Sally on November 1, 2008 - 4:46am.

Yeah, if John had only lied to Pelosi instead of us, all this stuff would just be a bad memory instead of a nightmare.

I'm working up a list of folks who obstructed reining in the derivatives and hedge funds. There were folks who voted for and against the wallstreet bailout, and some had good reasons for their positions, so I don't fault them at all. (Kaptur and Markey, for example.)

But just think.

If John had kept his promise. Even just the "investigations" part.
If Pelosi and Hoyer had kept their promis. Just the "accountability" part.
If Waxman hadn't sold out.

And now... guess what. The very monster they let out of the box, and they thought they'd let run with it a while is back at work devouring the trusting idiots that let these jerks back into the People's House.

They have the House Record even if they don't have access to the media.
They have the ability to explain their positions to those (like us) who frequent their web pages and who once loved them. Trusted them.

We saw what happened after the Mexican bailout. A day's wages for a pound of hamburger in Mexico city.

And we'll see what happens from ripping off every American man, woman, and child for more than 2 grand each to keep the economy in America "propped up".

And we'll see what happens when stupid cheaters play the cheating game with smart cheaters too, won't we John. 1995 was disgraceful. Not just the Republicans but the way the Democrats just let it happen. (Some of them made a little noise, but not many.)

Can you tell me where we're headin'
Lincoln County Line or Armageddon.
Seems like I've been down this road before.

There are approximately 900 hits in the House record for the term "whitewater". About a dosen for "downing street memo".

You cheat. You lie. You use subterfuge.

We suffer.

40 years of Jobs XXXXXXXXX and Peace.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

You know the parable. Open up, John!!!

Bugliosi on Bush

Submitted by Max 1 on November 1, 2008 - 4:23am.


On October 17th 2008, while on a speaking tour promoting the book, Mr. Bugliosi granted an interview with Velvet Revolution, in which he discusses the case against George W Bush.

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I M P E A C H

An Excerpt From A Compelling Interview...

Submitted by Max 1 on November 1, 2008 - 4:32am.

Ralph Nader Goes to Washington... Again - The PR.com Interview
By Allison Kugel, Senior Editor - May 14, 2008

PR.com: And, one hot button issue that you also mention is impeaching Bush and Cheney.

Ralph Nader: That’s simple, applying the constitutional responsibilities of the Congress. This is the most impeachable Presidency in American history.

PR.com: Do you believe George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are criminals?

Ralph Nader: Yes, of course. They’re war criminals. That’s easy to document. They violated the UN Charter. They didn’t get a declaration of war from Congress. They violated The Geneva Conventions. They’re systematic torturers. That’s been well documented by the press, and that violates federal law. It violates the constitution. It violates the U.S. Army and the Geneva Conventions. So, that’s two. They arrested thousands of Americans and put them in jail without charges; habeas corpus down the drain. That’s three. Fourth is, they’ve spied on thousands, maybe millions of people without warrants and that’s a five year jail term under FISA Act. And five, [George W. Bush] signed eight hundred signing statements when he signed bills into law, more than all other Presidents combined, in effect saying, “I’ll decide whether I’m going to obey this law or not.” So, you have at least five major categories of continued impeachable offenses. This is not like a one time thing, Watergate burglary with Nixon or lying under oath about sex like Clinton. This is defiant, sometimes even admitting the spying and the torture, which they call “severe interrogation.” These are defiant, continual, recidivistic war criminals, constitutional criminals and statutory criminals. They should have been immediately impeached and convicted in the Senate the moment the Democrats took over. But, the Democrats have taken impeachment off the table. Barack Obama has taken it off the table, Hillary Clinton has taken it off the table, and of course John McCain doesn’t want it on the table. So, we have a rogue Presidency as a precedent for future Presidents, and the untold horrors in Iraq, and our own soldiers dying and being injured, and the economy going down the tubes because money is being spent to destroy Iraq instead of re-building the public works around the country.

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I M P E A C H
or R E S I G N!!!

Keystone Kongress -- Kalibrate, Kalibrate, Dance To The Music

Submitted by Rainbow Sally on November 2, 2008 - 4:17am.

Brought to you by,
The Envy Of The Free World !!
COMMUNIST CHINA!

When is the last time anyone had to "calibrate" their computer to hit google

PERSON A: Oops, I pressed google and got altavista. Happens all the time.

PERSON B: Right Of course you did. Calm down and forget every 'I' word you can think of.

Ladies and Gentlemen. It's time for another exciting episode of

Keystone Kongress!!

See "Kanadian Avengers" near the top of this blog. It's got a link to the audio. (posted Nov 2)

nO MORE EXCUSES!

Submitted by koryannder on November 2, 2008 - 6:18am.

Wednesday morning, if the election comes out as we hope, start the impeachment procedings against Cheney. KEEP HIM TOO BUSY TO START A WAR WITH IRAN OR SYRIA! Maybe now we can even get rid of the SOB. Win or lose, impeach Dubya. Keep him too busy to pardon all the criminals he intends to pardon. Maybe he'll resign and decamp to Paraguay. You cannot think of a real reason not to at least try to punish the unregenerate bastriches that ruined our Nation!

The Senile Senate

Submitted by Rainbow Sally on November 2, 2008 - 7:14am.

Thanks for honoring at least the 1st Amendment John. Not that I couldn't write this elsewhere, but in the off chance...

This is an article I wrote elsewhere and would like to post here since this page is associated with our Republic, and indeed could be a place to exchange good ideas, such as the good idea it would have been to nip the rogue executive branch before CIA took over everything, even turning our elections into a black op (ala iran-contra).

Here's my note to the Democrats in the Senate.

Why did McCain support the bailout?

Why did Obama?

http://thomas.loc.gov find
MAKING EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2008--MOTION TO PROCEED -- (Senate - September 26, 2008)

Oops. Not present. (I thought they went to DC to vote on this. (???) )

Dems, see Cochran's complaint down near the vote. It's down around 50%

The Dems had better have a really good reason for this, because they are inviting the same strong arm tactics that shoved them into near oblivion in the previous (and disastrous) Republican sweep. This kind of non-debate leaves the public in the dark as much as it leaves the republic in the DARK! (See also black ops, executive abuse of authority, iran-contra, etc. No, let me take that back. See NSA AT&T domestic espionage.)

They (the Senate) may in fact have a good reason for it. But... If it doesn't work, this is a hell of a risk because there's no way to say this is ethical, open and honest, or even reasonably sane! Can't they wait until they have all the cards to move their infrastructure improvements and the rest of it along? Why do they have to take advantage of an emergency to accomplish these things.

It stinks, Senators! It smells Republican.

If you then lose all the cards because of this sleazy trick, what do you really lose. Your integrity. Your honor. Your right to represent the people and your grasp of the Constitution.

Good golly, people! Didn't you get an education? Didn't you understand what it meant when they taught you to do unto others? (Iran-contra again, you assholes!!) Well, if you think you can cheat your way out of a game of "Let's Cheat", I'm afraid you're defeated before you even start.

You get six years total (starting... now) to get this right.

Good luck.

But Senators, you may not be as well hid as you thought you were. http://thomas.loc.gov

Anyone that can read can see that you were originally intended to represent the states. That wasn't convenient for some so some cheaters decided you should be elected by the people.

Find the loophole in this argument though.

You have always represented the Constitution and if it could frown, how frowny that incredibly disappointed face of real integrity would be right now.

And I'm sure you know it. Otherwise you'd be unable to figure out what side of the street to drive on SENATORS!

Good golly.

May I sign this in the name of the House Judiciary, John? I have very little respect for you, but on a relative scale... Holy cow pods. Gold and feathers.

Signed,

The (People's!!!) House (and possibly Judiciary Committee?)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Get a job, folks.

Q U E S T I O N:

Submitted by Max 1 on November 3, 2008 - 3:17am.

Q U E S T I O N:
What's your take on why Kucinich's efforts in Congress did not result in the impeachment that he has tried so faithfully to bring about?

John,
If only Democrats would understand that it is "PARTY LOYALTY" read partisanship, that keeps them from fulfilling their obligation to the People, they might just begin to grow the necessary apparatus needed to stand up to the "STATUS QUO"... NO?

I know why spinal transplants are impossible. Because the spine houses the nerve center of the human body from where sensations of feelings come from and flow into, and we all know that members of Congress are required to be void of feelings for the People from which they were elected to Represent... Maybe? :/

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I M P E A C H

Hi Max

Submitted by Rainbow Sally on November 3, 2008 - 8:33am.

The times I tracked it, on one occasion the Republicans wanted to go ahead and have a vote on it (his articles) but Hoyer shuffled it off to Conyers' committee to do the hit. The climate has already changed, whitehouse gas emmissions are currently at an all-time low. and in part with Obama's help.

Even so, the bi-partisanship rather than the non-partisanship of those hogging the power up on the hill needs to be addressed, and it looks very much like this is another "last chance" for the Democrats to hang on to their last shred of credibility (and power).

All they have been doing is providing cover for the fascists. Fascist allies? Wow! Such a choice.

Even elections are now a black op -- on domestic soil. Republicans did it. Dems let this happen.

Great article on Nader in the Australian press, by the way.
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=29&ContentID=105978

In Ohio he's got 5 to 6 percent on a campaign budget of what? Ideas?

Conyers, that's one in twenty that are telling both parties to take their campaign spending and shove it.

Here's some excerpts.

In the key battleground state of Ohio, a poll conducted by the eight major newspapers showed support for Nader running at five to six per cent, with 11 per cent amongst people making $US20,000 or less a year. Starved of publicity by the mainstream media and unimaginably out-spent by the McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden campaigns, Nader and his running mate civil rights lawyer Matt Gonzalez are nevertheless finding traction with many Americans.

Here's another snip. And we have the same problem with the CEOs of our government, don't we?

“Give more authority to the share-holders… They don’t have any control and because they could not control their bosses who were involved in this orgy of speculative excess they could not have headed-off this problem which tanked their own companies and shredded their shareholder values… We need the criminal prosecution on a broad scale of the culprits on Wall Street… People are crying out for justice in this country, really, where ever you go they want to convict and put these Wall Street crooks in jail.”

I haven't looked up who's backing Obama but it occurs to me that some of these corporations might enjoy being ABLE to do a good job -- and to be recognized for it.

Originally the Constitution hadn't anticipated political parties and the resulting divisiveness. That was not their fault. They didn't know about left and right brain functions but they did know how to deal with it. Human nature is not something new.

The two-party system is a hold over from the days of school spirit, mindless loyalty to those who don't care about anything but their own careers, and in the case of Congress, those who are following a course that... (cancel that) and who have followed a course that leads inevitably to exactly what the founding fathers gave us a chance to avoid.

No surprises anywhere in the script. Not even the McCain "win" will really be a surprise, though it's possible they can't pull off the election theft with all the "sunshine" in government that is NOT coming FROM government, but (as I heard one Senator say), must go TO government.

Possibly just to slow down this monster.

Are gated communities safe? Or are they really just jails?

I just watched the final episode of 'The Last Enemy' on PBS's Contemporary Masterpiece Theater recently. PBS has to get money from Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and Chevron and stuff. The distinction between commercial and TV that should belong to We The People is significantly blurred.

The Last Enemy is even better than 1984.

In between the predicted time of the profound abuse of technology in Orwell's book and today, a friend of mine offered to buy me a copy of Limbaugh's book "The Way It Oughta Be". I turned him down. Told him to keep his money.

He assured me that it wouldn't cost anything because he could write it off his income taxes as a business expense.

I'd have even had to pay for it.

That was right around 1994.

Conyers, the government is fine. It's you guys that give it a bad name.
http://usconstitution.net/const.html

If you guys don't open it up to non-partisanship, then more power to Nader. Let him spoil it for you again. I'd just as soon join the Swing Party myself sometimes the way you guys treat your base.

Interesting, Rainbow Sally!

Submitted by tahoebasha1 on November 3, 2008 - 11:27am.

Quite coincidentally, I received an e-mail this a.m. from a Veterans for Peace activist, I know, bearing on this very subject. (I have his permission to use the same!)

Election Day 2008

As those of us who have not been persuaded to vote early set off to the polls on Tuesday with hope in our hearts, let us be mindful that the game is rigged. Until we change the rules, the moneyed power brokers who control the Democratic/Republican duopoly will continue to reign on any semblance of democracy in the U.S.

I’m voting for Obama. Not because of any delusion that he will change the system, but because the chance of us changing the system are better with him in office than with the other guy. Anyone who chooses the more principled course of voting for Nader or McKinney has my support for their decision. Unless the Republicans steal another election and the possibility is very real, we will have a President Elect Obama. Our job will be to build a huge grassroots social movement that can pressure him to lead in bringing about the changes needed.

Personally I think it is necessary for my own mental health to tell my fellow citizens at every opportunity I can engineer that what has been going on is wrong, immoral, illegal and undemocratic. Illegitimacy of political power, the immoral disparity of incomes between the top and the bottom, the collusion to outsource U.S. jobs to foreign shores for slave wages which helps the citizens of neither country, U.S Empire with its wars of aggression and the broken U.S. healthcare system which is morally bankrupting the haves while it financially bankrupts the rest of us: these are some of the issues we need to build a movement around. Failure of us to do this will consign the U.S. experiment in democracy and its citizens to the scrap heap of history.

The above is a crystallization of my thoughts a few days after the lecture Imperialism and the Election by Professor Raoul Contreras at Indiana University Northwest. At his invitation I was able to read my paper on Majority Voting.

Nick

Majority Voting

Dilemma: a situation necessitating a choice between equally unfavorable or disagreeable alternatives.

Democracy: government in which people hold the ruling power, either directly or through elected representatives.

The election structure in the American two-party political system is anti-democratic. It is so because the two parties shut everyone else out of the process. Lincoln best defined democracy as government “of the people, by the people and for the people.” A more apt description of our present government would be “of the parties, by the parties and for the parties.”

The monopoly the two parties enjoy has neither been ordained by the Constitution nor enshrined into law by the Congress. So how do they maintain their stranglehold on our government? Other democracies all across the globe require the winner of an election to garner a majority of the votes cast. Not so in the US . Our Electoral College system requires the winner to get the majority of electoral votes and designates to the states the requirements for how those electoral votes are determined. Since the winner needs the majority of electoral votes, we are fooled into thinking that we have majority elections. Not only can the winner win with a minority of the national popular vote, as both Bush and Clinton did, but the winner can win with a minority in each state. All he or she needs is more votes than the second place candidate.

Why is this undemocratic? To use Lincoln ’s definition of government “of the people, by the people and for the people” certainly implies that a majority of the people support said government. Therefore at the most basic level of elections, a majority of votes should be required to win.

What is the net effect of the minority winner system we have? It has allowed two parties to exclude all others from the process. We now have government of the two parties. The two parties have no fiduciary duty to the citizens and what has developed over the years is that the two parties are solely interested in perpetuating their continued two-party rule. Of course there are exceptions with individual politicians, but they can only buck their party so much and almost all, even some of the best intentioned, end up servants of the party and not the people. The only basic difference between the present US and the USSR before it broke up, is that we have two parties that offer the illusion of choice and they had one which offered no such illusions.

Abolishing the Electoral College is only the start. It should be done because your vote does not have the same worth in each state. In Wyoming a state with a population of 522,000 and 3 electoral votes, 174,000 residents translates into one electoral vote. In California , a state with a population of 36,553,000 and 55 electoral votes, it takes 664,000 residents for each electoral vote. Thus each individual vote in Wyoming is worth 3.8 votes in California . This is undemocratic anyway you look at it and needs to be changed.

But simply changing from the Electoral College to a popular vote will not solve the problem of minority elections that we currently have. By not forcing a candidate to get a majority of the citizens’ votes, the major parties have been able to successfully stifle any challenge to their dual rule. This is where the dilemma is. Citizens are forced to compromise their most strongly held beliefs and not vote for so called third party candidates because they will waste their vote and allow the worst candidate to win. Or they vote their principles and risk allowing the candidate they most disagree with to win.

A simple illustration is the participation of Ralph Nader in the 2000 and 2004 elections.

In 2000 Nader received 2.9 million votes, 2.74% of the total cast.

In 2004 Nader received .4 million votes, .3% of the votes cast.

Why did Nader’s 2004 vote totals shrink to 1/7th of the 2000 number, especially during a time when opposition to the Iraq War (which Nader had opposed from its inception) was starting to visibly grow? The answer is obvious. Many Americans blamed Nader for costing Gore the 2000 election and they did not want to waste their vote and allow George Bush another term. They almost completely ignored the candidate whose positions many of them loved, because they didn’t want to waste their votes.

What do other countries do? They require a run off election between the top two polling candidates if no candidate gets a majority in the original election. This allows voters to show their support for the views of the so called minor candidates, while still being able to vote for the “lesser of two evils” in the run-off election.

Look at the upcoming 2008 election. There is little doubt that the majority of Americans want an expeditious end to the Iraq debacle, single payer national healthcare and were almost unanimously against bailing out Wall Street. Yet neither of the two major party candidates supported these positions and the two candidates (Nader and Cynthia McKinney) who support all these positions will receive a very small percentage of the vote. If we had majority voting, Americans would be free to support Nader and McKinney in the first go around and move over to Obama in the run-off election, without the fear that they would be giving the election to McCain. Majority voting also would allow Republicans to vote first for a libertarian or fiscal conservative. It is equal opportunity for both sides of the political spectrum.

To make majority voting easier, Instant Run-Off Voting (IRV) has been developed. Multiple elections are not needed as the voter simply votes for the candidates in his order of preference. If a candidate polls more the 50%, he is the winner. If not, the votes move up the line from the bottom candidates until we have a winner at more than 50%.

Majority elections with Run-Off Voting would make 3rd and 4th party candidates viable and force the two major party candidates to actually listen to the electorate. 100% public financing and paper ballots are also needed to clean up the election process. Without majority voting though, we are doomed to the tyranny of the American two-party system.

Nick Egnatz, Munster , IN
NW Indiana Veterans For Peace
nickatlakehills@sbcglobal.net

This method of ROV makes total logcial sense!!

"There is nothing to fear but fear itself."
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Bruce Fein speaks at The Future of Freedom Foundation

Submitted by Max 1 on November 3, 2008 - 6:14am.

Bruce Fein speaks at The Future of Freedom Foundation's June 2008 conference, "Restoring the Republic 2008: Foreign Policy & Civil Liberties."

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I M P E A C H M E N T
It's Constitutional!!!

November 4: Do Nothings vs the Know Nothings

Submitted by Ishmael on November 3, 2008 - 6:36pm.

Decisions, Decisions...

Impeachment: I don't care if they try and fail. I only care if they fail to try.

Kongress In Krisis -- My Check Was Never Cashed

Submitted by Rainbow Sally on November 3, 2008 - 7:05pm.

My check to Obama/Biden was never cashed.

Here's what I'd like to see, or something like it.

1. Keep Bush in office until the lawsuits are settled.
2. Impeach him immediately to strip him of (at least) his own executive privilege. The pardons, we're stuck with.
3. Get the Senate used to the idea that we're REALLY SICK of their partisan and even bipartisan GAMES. This is for real.

What Robert E. Lee didn't know and what the Senate has forgotten.
http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/getty.html

The Gettysburg Address

Nov. 19, 1863

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal."

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow, this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.

It is rather for us the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

--------------
Compare that to the election anomalies, negative 16000 votes for any candidate should raise a few eyebrows. And on and on. Go to http://blackboxvoting.org if you are still fumbling around in the black ops.

See "do unto others" if you have a vocabulary of three or more words.

See also "a long train of abuses and usurpations" and "decent respect to the opinions of mankind" in the Declaration of Independence. If the wacked out militias (see "militia" in 6 places in the Constitution) end up having more legitimacy than the House and the Senate, it's OVER!

You folks really just can't lose that debate without a blindfold and a funny cigarette.

Keystone Kongress - Vun Eternal Life! TWO Eternal lives...

Submitted by Rainbow Sally on November 3, 2008 - 11:05pm.

Louisianna is one of the few states leaning to the right.

How did that happen?

Let me guess. Did it have anything to do with

FEMA
Homeland Security
Bush
or
Intelligence Failures?

"Knock knock."
"Who's there?"
"Katrina."

Vun Terrorist attack!


TWO Terrorist attacks!!

Eh eh eh... :-)

THREE Terrorist attacks! So many Terrorist attacks! This is Vunderful! Eh, eh.

----------

I certainly hope McCain gets the right "count", cuz his "numbers" sure don't add up. Hatchet to the economy, eh? How long would it take for you to starve to death, go out of business, lose a critical job (not to mention taking the entire day off to vote)?

Well, then just get back up on your feet and start again. John did it. Anybody can.

Four million people waiting in line all day to vote, eh, eh, eh.

Five million, eh eh eh. So many people waiting in line all day to vote! Eh, eh, eh.

Keystone Kongress In Krisis - 700 billion, eh, eh, eh...

Submitted by Rainbow Sally on November 4, 2008 - 12:30am.

Vill 700 Bn be big enough to put John "Chicken Little" McCain and the laughing stock market over the top!

I hope so! This could be fun!! So many THINGS to COUNT!

Vun Sky Is Falling... -- John "Who's Not Sane" McCain?

Eh, eh, eh... Incredible. I could run out of fingers!

Konstitution In Krisis - The Dear John Papers

Submitted by Rainbow Sally on November 4, 2008 - 2:55am.

Let's try to remember.

1. John published and sold The Constitution In Crisis. Raised money from it, and many of us thought he meant to do something about it.

2. In a little known op-ed in the Washington Post he informed someone, but not us, not Ray McGovern, not Cindy Sheehan, not David Swanson, that he'd decided to "come down on Pelosi's side" in the "impeachment off the table" thing.

I don't know of anyone in the blogosphere that saw it?

3. It was to be "investigations" and "accountability".

Wait!

I do not see that as being Congress' job. I see their job as impeachment upon probable cause (see "The Constitution In Crisis") to allow the Senate to do the investigations and accountability.

There's some wiggle room, but even that should have been open and shut as is the recent attacks on school children in Pakistan and what other country was it? Libya, Syria? I forget and I don't need to look it up because you know...that's why you get the big bucks, John. You are paid to know when Congress' power to declare war is flipped the bird.

So that sets the mood. You apparently enjoy that kind of treatment.

4. Then only a week or so before the election, after having had ample opportunity to inform his fans of his change of direction -- even posting on his own blog during the span between the op-ed and the "Dear Fans" letter -- he sprung his true intentions on us, he replaced the "I" word with "a better offer"???

Which he likewise blew off, as demonstrated by... well, I guess you'd call it history. (Henry Gonzalez, we have caught the ball.)

And so the question is this: Did John act in "good faith" in that five month period when he ripped us off for our donations and purchases of his highly esteemed work on the problems in the electoral process, etc? How many people ever saw his op-ed?

I did find it on the web, and I congratulated him on his political expertise and I said I admired him for outsmarting me. And that I still trusted him.

Well. How can you trust an asshole like this? I must have been fooling myself. And John, when I said I had very little respect for you and even less for the Senate, I was just kidding.

Or was I?

Your rules. What do my words mean? If you can't guess, join the club.

But let's break the rules for a moment and see if you can understand this. Let me join the President in flipping you the bird, but in more words and fewer missile attacks. Fuck you you goddamn liar? You deciever? You manipulator, game player, and most of all you "pretender" (see "hypocrite").

But I respect your opinion as I'd respect anyone's asshole and for this reason don't expect me to spend a lot of time admiring it.

Obama/Biden in 2008. Agreed.

US Constitution Forever. Do not fold, spindle or mutilate. Absolutely agreed.

Thanks for nothing, John.

Now, when you weren't the Chairman of the Judiciary, I think you had an excuse. At least something somebody could believe. Then when you were chairman, and concurrently changed sides on the issue, behold! A little black magic a mathematical double-negative and everything's fine again.

Except for one thing. The book. You published a book. And that book is the evidence against you Honorable Chairman.

Everything was in it, and it was the "probable cause" up to the sky and back again. As the NSA is my witness.

So I'll tell you what. Let the full court press begin and I hope you are right there in the middle of it, John. Sweat like blood. It's your turn.

Good luck.

Sally,

Submitted by Max 1 on November 4, 2008 - 5:45am.

Remember, the obligation of "The People" is to hold their Representatives accountable. And in doing so, this obligation does NOT stop on November 4th when "The People" leverage that accountability. If "The People" be foolish enough to remain ignorant and vote these scumbags back into power, it is up to those wise enough to carry on and press, press, press!!! If "The People" are fooled to "trust" once again, how is it that George put it...? Oh, the wise man CAN NOT get fooled again. And in that, that wise man MUST press, press, press!! However, when "The People" refuse to be fooled again, those Representing "The People" will be forced to belly up or scurry out... Real Democracy in action!!!

Full court press... commence!

What I fear is that up till now, John has relied upon the absence of "supporters" to impress upon him the necessity of doing the right thing as his cover for complacency of doing nothing. It isn't like he couldn't have engaged in a debate of the redeeming qualities to TORTURE, or of WARRANTLESS SPYING ON AMERICANS IN CONTRAVENTION OF ESTABLISHED FISA LAWS, or THE ETHOS OF BEING LIED TO... NO?

Now that, unfortunately, will be the missing debate this election cycle. Perhaps it would have endangered the Democrats chances to obtain the full glory and power Absolutism requires... NO? But least we forget, we've already witnessed the beginnings of the corruption that follows.

Party first, country second, eh John?
I just haven't quite figured out how that isn't any different than what the Republicans have been shafting America this last Decade. And that's change?

I am curious, though...
... What new and improved excuses will these "POLITICIANS" come up with next for NOT "supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States of America" in favor of protecting and defending the "HOMELAND" all the while, and get this, taking this "obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion"?

What's this "off the table" B.S. John? You've backed away from this past utterance of Madam Pelosi's and declared "It's not off my table." What table are you referring to? If all the hearings and quasi investigations that you and Waxman have held haven't built you that table with it's many leaves and the accompanying slew of chairs to boot... along with a china cabinet and butler cart, then I'd say you just haven't been trying hard enough. What are you trying to build then... the house to fit around that table?

The Constitution IS that table, and to not set a place at it, is derelict, at best!
So, the question remains, what happens Wednesday? I know, I know, let's get through Tuesday first... Godspeed then!

.

Submitted by Max 1 on November 4, 2008 - 2:11pm.


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PAID FOR BY
CONGRE$$!!!

Remember me?

Submitted by Patriot on November 4, 2008 - 5:15pm.

Hi, everyone!

I'm so thrilled with the polls and believe we are going to take back our country. Congratulations to everyone who's helped bring this wonderful change.

Where have I been? I got married! Who'd a thought this old gal would find the man of her dreams at this point in her life!

JC, good luck on the election today. We're counting on you to bring some justice in the next congress.

.

Submitted by Max 1 on November 4, 2008 - 8:57pm.

Woo Hoo...
Congrats Patriot.

Got any cake left?

No cake left...

Submitted by Patriot on November 5, 2008 - 2:12am.

... but plenty of good joy.

I have to tell everyone who's alone, that it's better to be alone than to be with the wrong person.

It's better to be alone than to be entangled when the right person comes along.

I was alone, I never gave in to loneliness. I never accepted a partner just to ease my loneliness. And when my husband came along, I was free to accept his offer.

We knew each other eleven days (in real life) when he asked me to share his life... then three days later, he asked me to be his wife. And as fast as I could get a wedding together, we were married.

No baggage for either of us, no need to disentangle from relationships that didn't work. That's freedom.

I'm so happy, I've had a few shots of Bailey's Irish Cream and I'm listening to him snore softly and listening to President-Elect Obama's acceptance speech.

Beautiful stereo sounds. Beautiful contentment and joy for the future. I believe the stock market will shoot up, will gain strength with the promise of a new future. The world will respect us again.

God is good. Can there be any better feeling than what we feel tonight?

still breathing...

Submitted by Genghis Khan on November 5, 2008 - 1:07am.

Hey Gang:

I am glad I could be here to see this moment in history. As a son of the South I never thought I would see it happen.

But it did, and our national nightmare is finally drawing to a close.

Yes we can. And so we shall.

--
Those who forget history
Condemn the rest of us to repeat it.

GK...

Submitted by Patriot on November 5, 2008 - 2:01am.

How good to see you're "still breathing". I've thought of you once in a while and wondered how you are faring. I hope that now, with this new promise for a new future, that hope will lift you and research will help you.

God bless.

Great...

Submitted by Max 1 on November 5, 2008 - 3:38am.

Glad to see you're still kickin'!

Congressman Conyers,

Submitted by Max 1 on November 5, 2008 - 4:43am.

Congratulations on your victory today. It seems the Libertarian and Green candidate couldn't score, if but barely.

Congratulations to your gal Nancy Pelosi for staving off Sheehan, what with all that open debate Nancy engaged in (/snark). Hang in there Cindi. Two more Years!!!

Congratulations to Barack Obama for a momentous win. Not only does this break the long standing ideals held by the power elites that black Americans just don't measure up for competent leadership of America, this was underscored by the fact that the children of these elites voted Obama into that power reserved for white men.

I may not wholly agree with Barack's policies, however I do recognize the opportunity that this moment brings for America. A new direction, a new hope, a new possibility... To break those chains that bind us to the past...

Know, that the support of Americans comes with great expectations of fulfillment.
Know, that the last two years have proven that promises CAN be broken.
Know, that many Americans seek Truth AND Justice.
Know, that the path we have been traveling along has been laden with many piles of crap well trampled in.
Know, that stench follows no matter the new path for that crap has dried into the tread of the soles of these shoes well worn.
And know, that the only way to clean that crap from these shoes, one must face the reality of the stench, the mess, the filth trotted along the that path we've been wondering.

Ideally, to change the shoes and walk a new path would seem best, yet unattainable at first or if at all. We now are in the midst of changing the shoes only to continue along that same path... As Barack spoke, "we may not get there in one year or even one term" and so it shall be. I'm just concerned that we may be stepping in some of the same crap all over again.

My only recourse and solace is in the hope that the Democrats find their spines and LEAD!!! For if they don't, they should know, the people will vote them out!

p.s.
The GOP gap isn't that distant to where the Democrats can actually take this mandate for granted. Fix it, or loose it. For you know, Congressman, the GOP is but nipping at your heels. Not only will they judge the Democrats harshly for this win, they have the MSM in their pocket to AIR their grievances to the public at large. I mean, how else did nearly 1/3 of the public in many areas of the Country come to be learned that B. Hussein Obama was a terrorist/commie/Marxist/socialist pal of Ayers and Wright? Oh, and did I mention that these same people HATE teh Muslim, and think he's one too?

Yes, a tough road ahead, indeed.
Americans are watching...
Oh, yes we are.
Americans will hold Democrats accountable...
Oh, yes we will.
And should the Democrats fail, Americans will vote Dems out...
Oh, yes we can!

Is it too early to ask, what to do about the last 8 years?

Congratulations

Submitted by Jay Lechnyr on November 5, 2008 - 5:12am.

on winning the election to represent the 14th district in the House of Representatives for the twenty second time. Now that your seat as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee is secure, I would like to take the time to ask you one last time to do your f***ing job!
Now that impeachment is no longer a matter for concern, I expect you and the Democrats to start preparing to ensure members of the Bush Administration are charged with treason, war crimes, and crimes against humanity as of January 21, 2009. Anything less will be viewed by myself and many other activists as treason on your own part and we will respond with a campaign against you and the Democrats in the 2008 election.

There are certain principles that transcend politics, partisanship and ideology. There are principles that, if allowed to be sacrificed, can only result in the destruction of the uniion. These are principles which compells the pursuit of justice over any other cause or consequence. Treason is one of these principles, for if treason is allowed to stand unanswered for whatever reason, then the security of the nation is joepardised. Human rights is another, for if human rights violations are allowed unanswered, then the value of human life itself diminished. As a former champion of Civil Rights, I would expect you of all people to know what it means when a life is considered of lesser value. And finally, war crimes cannot be allowed to go unanswered. The only means by which we may restore some semblance of dignity in the world community is to answer the charges of war crimes made against us. We must deliver the criminals to the international courts for prosecution or we are no better than the 'axis of evil' against whom we purportedly strive.

I've had enough; this is your final warning and your final chance to do what you know is right. Political expedience is no excuse for allowing these criminal acts to go unanswered. Indeed, political expedience is one of the worst reasons imaginable. If you care at all about keeping a Democrat majority and keeping your position, then you will ensure charges or I will attack come 2010 with an ad campaign the likes of which you have never seen and from which you may never recover.

Think about it, we have yet given up this fight after two years of you ignoring us. I will not go away after another two years. I may never go away until either they are charged or you are displaced. Frankly, I no longer care which happens.

Amazing

Submitted by Ron on November 5, 2008 - 9:45am.

How a person can sit on his hands for two years ,and be re-elected in America!


No wonder this country is in such crappy shape.

Either you have the dumbest bunch of constituents that were duped into believing that you deserved another chance at screwing up politics,or your (S)election was RIGGED!


I believe that the people of Michigan are smarter than that,what do you think?


Tell me ,although I am not from your state,why you chose to aid and abet criminals ,rather than stand up for what you swore to do ,that is to protect our constitution against ALL enemies Foreign and Domestic.


What do you have to say to the families of those that have died ,since the 2006 elections ,Until today?
What do you call that misery that you could have stopped?

Was that for the greater good?


Are you going to continue down the same path of why don't we all just get along?


Fuck by-partisanship!


All those assholes that vote republikan deserve to be put into those concentration camps that they built for those of us that were UNPATRIOTIC enough to mouth off against Bushit and company.


As you can see John,this country,my country,can take only so much shit,then we start biting back.
The left has won a victory after far to many years of bullshit from rightwing. shithead, bible brown shirt assholes.

What I want to know ,is where do you stand NOW John?

Are you the man who wrote The Constitution in Crises and really hoped to educate us, about REAL problems that we have to deal with,or are you a clone of a man that used to be a great statesman and freedom fighter????????


New operative word :::RIGGED!


Old operative word :::IMPEACH

PS great letter Jay and hello to everyone else!

Congrats Mr. Conyers, but don't let your inaction haunt you.

Submitted by Mark A. Jeror Sr. on November 5, 2008 - 6:36pm.

Now that the GOP has been routed, they will we be undergoing a period of self analysis to determine where they lost their "base", at least that's what an article I just read, told me.

What IS its base? Well, the legal system of course. They led their former constituents to believe that THEY were the Party of law and order, and when they had America right where they wanted it, they screwed us into the ground.

It makes perfect sense, that now that the ones who did most of the screwing are gone and can be used as convenient scapegoats, they would profess a desire to return to their law and order roots and purge the evil ones from their ranks, as a show of penance.

What will their cries for justice reveal Mr. Conyers? Will it reveal neatly stacked piles of evidence that should have been used to stop the insanity but was withheld as an act of political expediency? Exactly how much evidence will they find on your desk Mr. Conyers?

We, the rank and file people who actually believe in the Constitution, have been demanding that you stop this insanity for years. Please don't expect sympathy when the GOP takes advantage of the void you left, as they try to rebrand themselves as the law and order party.

Bush can, and probably will, pardon every crooked aide, advisor, lobbyist, lawyer, defense contractor, and garden variety thief in his cabinet.

The only ones left to prosecute, will be the self professed good men/women who sat idly by while America was raped.....and did nothing.

I can almost hear Palin faking righteous indignation already.

Congressman,

Submitted by Max 1 on November 6, 2008 - 3:20am.

I HOPE you embrace the moment and decide to enforce some subpoenas for a "CHANGE".

Preventive defense, CIA/BushCo style.

Submitted by Mark A. Jeror Sr. on November 6, 2008 - 8:58am.

While most of the country has been crying, hugging, and congratulating themselves as they wipe boogers from their lips, I've been scouring the internet and other news sources for articles that might give me an insight into areas of concern we do not yet know about.

As a former criminal, I understand the way criminals think. Normal humans would be wallowing in self pity over a lost election, but criminals know to take advantage of these distractions to conduct cover-up missions.

Since BushCo and Congress have been arresting liberal potheads to keep them from infecting the population with slothfulness, it makes sense to remember the Bush family history of friendliness toward cocaine distributors.

Kinda like a group of local St. Regis Falls kids who were running wild in town lately. Someone called in a report that a person had jumped or fallen off a bridge. Within a short period of time the whole town was filled with State Police and emergency personnel.

What happened? While the police were looking "over there", a couple of the kids broke into the Town of Waverly Library/State Police Barracks and stole the police log book.

I'm not sure if they broke into the library and found a police station, or broke into the police station and found a library.

Lately, we've been distracted with our own wonderfulness to the point where Bush's CIA can take steps to eliminate certain field offices and operatives, as a means of preventive defense.

Did anyone notice that Bush's best buddies in the Columbian military have been fired for increasing their insurgent body counts with innocent villagers. The same man credited with infiltrating FARC and rescuing their long held captives, is also credited with encouraging death squads. If he encouraged death squads in Bush's Columbia, I personally would assume it was about eliminating the cocaine competition.

On the same track, I read yesterday about the high level Mexican Security official that was in a plane that suddenly dropped from the sky over Mexico City. He led their drug interdiction effort during the BushCo years.

The pattern has been established, and like all successful people, the perpetrators of these crimes will fall into old habits that worked previously. Was anyone in the Bush family sanctioned for their CIA role in the cocaine smuggling of the 80's? No?

Then we should assume the son would conduct himself in the same manner.

I don't know about most people here, but I'm sick and tired of the fact that potheads are being treated like political prisoners and used as job security for the prison industrial complex, while right wingers and go-getters snort their way to fame and fortune.

If Obama really wanted to solve the financial crisis and built a veto-proof majority, he should make marijuana legal so the liberal political prisoners of America can participate in the process. Think of the money we would save on prisons, and the money these CO's tythe back to the GOP.

Not only would it allow these people to come out of the shadows, it would severely impact the campaign coffers of those who depend on human suffering for their re-election survival.

Mr. Obama can rearrange the deck chairs, or he can eliminate a major reason why the American government has grown to such an untenable size.

Oh yeah, it would also allow a huge percentage of African Americans to have father figures again. Not that you're into that sort of thing, but if you are.....

Congressman,

Submitted by Max 1 on November 7, 2008 - 2:56am.

Updated from the Congressional Record, March 13, 2008.

OATH of OFFICE

The oath of office required by the sixth article of the Constitution of the United States, and as provided by section 2 of the act of May 13, 1884 (23 Stat. 22), to be administered to Members, Resident Commissioner, and Delegates of the House of Representatives, the text of which is carried in 5 U.S.C. 3331:

"I, AB, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.''

Now read this, as reported on RawStory

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The computer systems of US presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain were targeted by hackers this summer from an unknown "foreign entity," Newsweek magazine reported on Thursday.
(continued)

How does NOT protecting the democratic process from attacks upon that process, bode well for America's future, Congressman? It may be time to HAVA a new law... NO?

Congressman,

Submitted by Max 1 on November 7, 2008 - 3:06am.

Please keep in mind that one needs the proper TOOLS to build with.

A Good Flick...

Submitted by Max 1 on November 8, 2008 - 6:17am.

If your local PBS station isn't aring it or if you've missed it...

Torturing Democracy

Congressman,
Will you be privy to the TORTURE DOCUMENTS should D.C. Circuit Court judge Henry Kennedy, Jr. rule them, in part or in full, accessible to members of the Senate?

I'm just sick

Submitted by PHI on November 8, 2008 - 2:36pm.

When are you going to do something John?
IMPEACH NOW
U.S. AND ALLIES TORTURED KIDS IN IRAQ PRISONS
Submitted by davidswanson on Sat, 2008-11-08 17:11. Evidence
By Sherwood Ross

Since it invaded Iraq in 2003, the U.S. has detained thousands of juveniles---some of whom were tortured and sexually abused, according to published reports. Figures of the number of children behind bars vary. Some estimates put the number as high as 6,000.

While the criminal abuse of male prisoners at Abu Ghraib is well known, child and women prisoners held there have also been tortured and raped, according to Neil Mackay of Glasgow’s “Sunday Herald.” Abu Ghraib prison is located about 20 miles west of Baghdad.

Iraqi lawyer Sahar Yasiri, representing the Federation of Prisoners and Political Prisoners, said in a published interview there are more than 400,000 detainees in Iraq being held in 36 prisons and camps and that 95 percent of the 10,000 women among them have been raped. Children, he said, “suffer from torture, rape, (and) starvation” and do not know why they have been arrested. He added the children have been victims of “random” arrests “not based on any legal text.”

Former prisoner Thaar Salman Dawod in a witness statement said, “(I saw) two boys naked and they were cuffed together face to face and (a US soldier) was beating them and a group of guards were watching and taking pictures and there was three female soldiers laughing at the prisoners.”

Iraqi TV reporter, Suhaib Badr-Addin al-Baz, arrested while making a documentary and thrown into Abu Ghraib for 74 days, told Mackay he saw “hundreds” of children there. Al-Baz said he heard one 12-year-old girl crying, “They have undressed me. They have poured water over me.” He said he heard her whimpering daily.

Al-Baz also told of a 15-year-old boy “who was soaked repeatedly with hoses until he collapsed.” Amnesty International said ex-detainees reported boys as young as 10 are held at Abu Ghraib.

German TV reporter Thomas Reutter of “Report Mainz” quoted U.S. Army Sgt. Samuel Provance that interrogation specialists “poured water” over one 16-year-old Iraqi boy, drove him throughout a cold night, “smeared him with mud” and then showed him to his father, who was also in custody. Apparently, one tactic employed by the Bush regime is to elicit confessions from adults by dragging their abused children in front of them.

The Los Angeles Times as far back as August 26, 2004, reported U.S. military police at Abu Ghraib “used Army dogs to play a bizarre game in which they scared teenage detainees into defecating and urinating on themselves.”

And reporter Hersh told the American Civil Liberties Union convention he has seen videotapes of Iraqi boys that were sodomized, “and the worst part is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking.”

Jonathan Steele, wrote in the British “The Guardian” this past Sept. 9th, “Hundreds of children, some as young as nine, are being held in appalling conditions in Baghdad’s prisons, sleeping in sweltering temperatures in overcrowded cells, without working fans, no daily access to showers, and subject to frequent sexual abuse by guards, current and former prisoners say.” Sixteen-year-old Omar Ali told the “Guardian” he spent more than three years at Karkh juvenile prison sleeping with 75 boys to a cell that is just five by 10 meters, some of them on the floor. Omar told the paper guards often take boys to a separate room in the prison and rape them.

As the occupying authority in Iraq, the Bush administration cannot escape legal responsibility for the torture crimes of Iraqi jailers or for the deplorable conditions in the prisons they operate.

Raad Jamal, age 17, was taken from his Doura home by U.S. troops and turned over to the Iraqi Army’s Second regiment where Jamal said he was hung from the ceiling by ropes and beaten with electric cables.

Human Rights Watch(HRW) last June put the number of juveniles detained at 513. The grounds: they pose “imperative security risks.” In all, HRW estimates, since 2003, the U.S. has detained 2,400 children in Iraq, some as young as ten.

HRW said the children “are subject to interrogations, have no access to lawyers, and sometimes are held for more than a year without charge, in violation of the United States’ own regulations.” It said children “have very limited contact with their families.” HRW called upon the U.S. to “ensure that children it takes into custody are treated according to their status as children, and given prompt judicial review and access to independent monitors.” Apparently, this has not been the case.

Clarisa Bencomo, of HRW’s Children’s Rights Division said, “The vast majority of children detained in Iraq languish for months in U.S. military custody. The U.S. should provide these children with immediate access to lawyers and an independent judicial review of their detention.”

IRIN, the humanitarian news service, last year quoted Khalid Rabia of the Iraqi NGO Prisoners’ Association for Justice(PAJ), stating: “Children are being treated as adults in Iraqi prisons and our investigations have shown that they are being abused and tortured.” IRIN was refused permission to visit child prisoners.

Five boys between 13 and 17 accused of supporting insurgents and detained by the Iraqi army “showed signs of torture all over their bodies,” such as “cigarette burns over their legs,” she said.

One boy of 13 arrested in Afghanistan in 2002 was held in solitary for more than a year at Bagram and Guantanamo and made to stand in stress position and deprived of sleep. And 15-year-old Omar Khadr, a Canadian, was held in Guantanamo for two years without being allowed to see a lawyer or have contact with his family. Khadr has been held for a total of six years. According to the current “Catholic Worker,” Mohammed Jawad was 17 when captured in Afghanistan and was subjected to sleep deprivation at Gitmo day and night for two weeks. Every three hours jailers shackled and transfered him to another cell under a “frequent flier” program, forcing him to change cells 112 times.

Jawad’s defense lawyer Air Force Major David J.R. Frakt said the most likely reason Gitmo authorities tortured the youth (who had attempted suicide five months earlier) was “for sport, to teach him a lesson, perhaps to make an example of him to others.”

Officials from UNAMI, the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iran, said that children awaiting trial at severely overcrowded Tobchi prison, Baghdad, said they had been tortured and sexually abused while in custody in adult facilities prior to their transfer to Tobchi, and showed the marks to prove it. And at Karkh juvenile prison, children showed skin sores from lying on soggy mattresses in temperatures that average 112 during t