one of a growing number of protests of voting fraud leading up to January 6
4 days ago
Saturday, January 01, 2005
The Baltimore to Washington March
Save Our Votes March
"From SELMA to WASHINGTON: 40 Years Marching For Our Voting Rights"
Jan. 4th, 2005 through Jan. 6th, 2005
Savage MD to Washington DC
Begins Tuesday at 10AM, January 4th, Arrives Thursday January 6th at the Rally to Defend Democracy at the Federal Capitol in Washington DC.
Ohio Election Fraud (Formerly "Fairness")
Other events: Rally for the Republic events at 7 p. in Boston on Jan. 3 (there is an ongoing vigil outside Senator Kerry's house in Boston right now), rallies in San Diego and Nashville on January 2, and in addition to the rally in SF noted below, a Rally for the Republic in SF on January 4. The above link is probably a good source for ongoing info as this gains momentum.
Save Our Votes March
"From SELMA to WASHINGTON: 40 Years Marching For Our Voting Rights"
Jan. 4th, 2005 through Jan. 6th, 2005
Savage MD to Washington DC
Begins Tuesday at 10AM, January 4th, Arrives Thursday January 6th at the Rally to Defend Democracy at the Federal Capitol in Washington DC.
Ohio Election Fraud (Formerly "Fairness")
Other events: Rally for the Republic events at 7 p. in Boston on Jan. 3 (there is an ongoing vigil outside Senator Kerry's house in Boston right now), rallies in San Diego and Nashville on January 2, and in addition to the rally in SF noted below, a Rally for the Republic in SF on January 4. The above link is probably a good source for ongoing info as this gains momentum.
And San Francisco!
On January 3, a rally and press conference at noon to urge
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer to join House members in challenging the 2004 presidential election results. Petitions with thousands of signatures will be presented to a Boxer deputy. Several civic organization leaders will speak at the rally.
JANUARY 3 NOON 1700 MONTGOMERY ST. SAN FRANCISCO
or meet at Embarcadero transit stop at 11 a. and walk together
For more details:
Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club
This is the same day as the rally in Columbus, Ohio, which is shaping up to a big gathering, with union participation. Also in Columbus on the 3rd and 4th, the launching of the Freedom Winter project, which will climax on the 4th as buses leave Columbus for the rally in DC.
"We are not whining for a lost election, we are crying out for a fair one!" Rev. Jesse Jackson
On January 3, a rally and press conference at noon to urge
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer to join House members in challenging the 2004 presidential election results. Petitions with thousands of signatures will be presented to a Boxer deputy. Several civic organization leaders will speak at the rally.
JANUARY 3 NOON 1700 MONTGOMERY ST. SAN FRANCISCO
or meet at Embarcadero transit stop at 11 a. and walk together
For more details:
Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club
This is the same day as the rally in Columbus, Ohio, which is shaping up to a big gathering, with union participation. Also in Columbus on the 3rd and 4th, the launching of the Freedom Winter project, which will climax on the 4th as buses leave Columbus for the rally in DC.
"We are not whining for a lost election, we are crying out for a fair one!" Rev. Jesse Jackson
Let Them Eat PR
The Bush administration has dispatched a major official---well, at least they hope he will be in 2009--Jeb Bush, plus a promise for a geometrically increased pot of money to aid tsunami victims in Asia, which the media is in the process of dutifully reporting.
Let's hope they also report on whether this amount of aid actually gets there. Usually the Bushies count on them not to. So they could announce their sweeping "No Child Left Behind Act" and then quietly de-fund it, or their tremendous aid against AIDS in Africa in a Rose Garden lovefest, and then neglect to allocate the bucks.
Their record in general is pretty poor, as reported by the This Modern World blog:
"According to a poll, most Americans believe the United States spends 24 percent of its budget on aid to poor countries; it actually spends well under a quarter of 1 percent.
Bush administration officials help create that perception gap. Fuming at the charge of stinginess, Mr. Powell pointed to disaster relief and said the United States "has given more aid in the last four years than any other nation or combination of nations in the world." But for development aid, America gave $16.2 billion in 2003; the European Union gave $37.1 billion. In 2002, those numbers were $13.2 billion for America, and $29.9 billion for Europe.
Making things worse, we often pledge more money than we actually deliver. Victims of the earthquake in Bam, Iran, a year ago are still living in tents because aid, including ours, has not materialized in the amounts pledged. And back in 2002, Mr. Bush announced his Millennium Challenge account to give African countries development assistance of up to $5 billion a year, but the account has yet to disperse a single dollar."
This Modern World
The Bush administration has dispatched a major official---well, at least they hope he will be in 2009--Jeb Bush, plus a promise for a geometrically increased pot of money to aid tsunami victims in Asia, which the media is in the process of dutifully reporting.
Let's hope they also report on whether this amount of aid actually gets there. Usually the Bushies count on them not to. So they could announce their sweeping "No Child Left Behind Act" and then quietly de-fund it, or their tremendous aid against AIDS in Africa in a Rose Garden lovefest, and then neglect to allocate the bucks.
Their record in general is pretty poor, as reported by the This Modern World blog:
"According to a poll, most Americans believe the United States spends 24 percent of its budget on aid to poor countries; it actually spends well under a quarter of 1 percent.
Bush administration officials help create that perception gap. Fuming at the charge of stinginess, Mr. Powell pointed to disaster relief and said the United States "has given more aid in the last four years than any other nation or combination of nations in the world." But for development aid, America gave $16.2 billion in 2003; the European Union gave $37.1 billion. In 2002, those numbers were $13.2 billion for America, and $29.9 billion for Europe.
Making things worse, we often pledge more money than we actually deliver. Victims of the earthquake in Bam, Iran, a year ago are still living in tents because aid, including ours, has not materialized in the amounts pledged. And back in 2002, Mr. Bush announced his Millennium Challenge account to give African countries development assistance of up to $5 billion a year, but the account has yet to disperse a single dollar."
This Modern World
Friday, December 31, 2004
D-Day the Sixth of January
Representative John Conyers has formally announced that he will object to the counting of Ohio's electors:
As you know," writes Rep. John Conyers in his public letter, "on January 6, 2005, at 1:00 P.M, the electoral votes for the election of the president are to be opened and counted in a joint session of Congress. I and a number of House Members are planning to object to the counting of the Ohio votes, due to numerous unexplained irregularities in the Ohio presidential vote, many of which appear to violate both federal and state law."
In an interview quoted in the following report, which summarizes many of the problems with the 2004 vote, Conyers says he is "confident" that Senators will join in the objection. Stay tuned.
San Francisco Bay View - National Black Newspaper of the Year
Representative John Conyers has formally announced that he will object to the counting of Ohio's electors:
As you know," writes Rep. John Conyers in his public letter, "on January 6, 2005, at 1:00 P.M, the electoral votes for the election of the president are to be opened and counted in a joint session of Congress. I and a number of House Members are planning to object to the counting of the Ohio votes, due to numerous unexplained irregularities in the Ohio presidential vote, many of which appear to violate both federal and state law."
In an interview quoted in the following report, which summarizes many of the problems with the 2004 vote, Conyers says he is "confident" that Senators will join in the objection. Stay tuned.
San Francisco Bay View - National Black Newspaper of the Year
It's Not Just Ohio Anymore
More than 80% of the presidential votes in 2004 were made on or counted by machines owned and operated by two companies run by Republicans with strong ties to GW Bush. That's the U.S. presidential election.
Among the conclusions of a new study of exit polling and voting in 2004 conducted by two professors at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at University of Illinois at Chicago:
"In an accurate count of a free and fair election, the strong likelihood is that Kerry
would have been the winner of the popular vote."
More than 80% of the presidential votes in 2004 were made on or counted by machines owned and operated by two companies run by Republicans with strong ties to GW Bush. That's the U.S. presidential election.
Among the conclusions of a new study of exit polling and voting in 2004 conducted by two professors at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at University of Illinois at Chicago:
"In an accurate count of a free and fair election, the strong likelihood is that Kerry
would have been the winner of the popular vote."
That's the POPULAR vote for the entire country. Details of this study can be found in the daily kos diary linked below:
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Who's your president?
Who is leading the western effort to aid the nations hit by the earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean? Is it Bush? No, he's clearing brush and riding his bike in Texas on vacation. Is it his buddy in Britian, Tony Blair? No, he's on vacation in Egypt.
But there is a president on the job. Name of Clinton. President Bill Clinton. He's in England, and has spoken out on the disaster, and offered concrete plans and leadership on how the rich western countries might respond. The EU leaders are responding to his ideas, and are organizing accordingly.
Eventually Bush got the message. Nothing like Clinton envy to get the heart started. So a little while ago Bush finally made a public announcement and set some wheels turning on organizing aid.
Some observers are pointing out that some of the affected nations are predominately Muslim, and an opportunity to show compassion is being lost, which only reinforces the image of the U.S. as selfish and self-centered. We lose 3,000 on 9-11 and the world shakes, and it affects an election more than three years later. Upwards of 120,000 die because of a single event elsewhere, and our government's response is affectless, stingy and late (though American individuals and even some corporations are responding quickly and generously.)
Guardian Unlimited The Guardian Clinton puts onus on the wealthy
Who is leading the western effort to aid the nations hit by the earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean? Is it Bush? No, he's clearing brush and riding his bike in Texas on vacation. Is it his buddy in Britian, Tony Blair? No, he's on vacation in Egypt.
But there is a president on the job. Name of Clinton. President Bill Clinton. He's in England, and has spoken out on the disaster, and offered concrete plans and leadership on how the rich western countries might respond. The EU leaders are responding to his ideas, and are organizing accordingly.
Eventually Bush got the message. Nothing like Clinton envy to get the heart started. So a little while ago Bush finally made a public announcement and set some wheels turning on organizing aid.
Some observers are pointing out that some of the affected nations are predominately Muslim, and an opportunity to show compassion is being lost, which only reinforces the image of the U.S. as selfish and self-centered. We lose 3,000 on 9-11 and the world shakes, and it affects an election more than three years later. Upwards of 120,000 die because of a single event elsewhere, and our government's response is affectless, stingy and late (though American individuals and even some corporations are responding quickly and generously.)
Guardian Unlimited The Guardian Clinton puts onus on the wealthy
Your January Social Calendar
Protests are being organized in several cities in early January to draw attention to the abuses in Ohio and elsewhere of the integrity of the vote.
The one with the most definition at the moment is in Columbus, Ohio on January 3. Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition is behind this one, and a bevy of organizations are signing up, including Moveon.org. It starts at 2p., at the Riffe Center across from the Ohio State Capitol. More info from Rainbow/PUSH.
There's a rally at Fanueil Hall in Boston also on January 3. San Francisco is just starting to organize one for January 4. And Washington, D.C. will hold a noon rally on January 6, the day Congress is scheduled to say yea or nay to the election of GW Bush. Info on these as they develop can be found at ReDefeat Bush, which is organizing a counter-Inaugural in DC on January 20.
If you can't be in DC on the 6th, I'd be hanging around the TV set, tuned into C-Span. There are unconfirmed reports that at least 14 Representatives will refuse to validate the Bush victory, and several Senators have received thousands of emails requesting that they do the same in the Senate. It takes just one member of each house to open debate.
At the moment it seems unlikely it will get any further than that, and the GOPer majority will prevail, but even debate will be an amazing thing. One assumes that as this becomes a serious possibility, elements of both sides are quietly but feverishly strategizing on all that could happen that day.
The likelihood of something significant happening may depend on how many people turn out for these rallies. The media needs faces to take pictures of, and politicians need to know they've got supporters and political cover.
And this younger generation badly needs some new leaders out there, holding their elders' feet to the fire. So far they don't seem to understand that cyberspace isn't visible to TV cameras, let alone the public. Better camera fodder than cannon fodder, boys and girls.
Protests are being organized in several cities in early January to draw attention to the abuses in Ohio and elsewhere of the integrity of the vote.
The one with the most definition at the moment is in Columbus, Ohio on January 3. Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition is behind this one, and a bevy of organizations are signing up, including Moveon.org. It starts at 2p., at the Riffe Center across from the Ohio State Capitol. More info from Rainbow/PUSH.
There's a rally at Fanueil Hall in Boston also on January 3. San Francisco is just starting to organize one for January 4. And Washington, D.C. will hold a noon rally on January 6, the day Congress is scheduled to say yea or nay to the election of GW Bush. Info on these as they develop can be found at ReDefeat Bush, which is organizing a counter-Inaugural in DC on January 20.
If you can't be in DC on the 6th, I'd be hanging around the TV set, tuned into C-Span. There are unconfirmed reports that at least 14 Representatives will refuse to validate the Bush victory, and several Senators have received thousands of emails requesting that they do the same in the Senate. It takes just one member of each house to open debate.
At the moment it seems unlikely it will get any further than that, and the GOPer majority will prevail, but even debate will be an amazing thing. One assumes that as this becomes a serious possibility, elements of both sides are quietly but feverishly strategizing on all that could happen that day.
The likelihood of something significant happening may depend on how many people turn out for these rallies. The media needs faces to take pictures of, and politicians need to know they've got supporters and political cover.
And this younger generation badly needs some new leaders out there, holding their elders' feet to the fire. So far they don't seem to understand that cyberspace isn't visible to TV cameras, let alone the public. Better camera fodder than cannon fodder, boys and girls.
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Tsunami
The news continues to develop concerning the magnitude 9.0 earthquake in the Indian ocean that generated tsunamis responsible for some 60,000 deaths and counting in several Asian nations. It is a disaster unparalleled in recent times and will test the responsiveness of the world in preventing the death toll from rising due to disease from bad water and lack of healthful food. Already the UN humanitarian aid chief has criticized wealthy nations for being stingy in their first response. But as the news trends towards showing that many victims were American and European tourists, the efforts at rescue and relief are apt to intensify.
In the coming weeks, as the world begins to absorb the dimensions of the effects, there will be some sober assessments of what's needed both to warn populations of danger (the tsunami took several hours to reach shore) and to organize response and relief. It should be a wake up call, though there's no guarantee much will be done about it, once the story is displaced or descends into soap opera about individual victims and the video they left behind.
It may perhaps provide some imagery to the warnings of scientists about the effects of global heating as sea levels rise in some places, and storms become more frequent and violent, and show up where they are not expected, like the rains that would otherwise be making headlines now pummeling central and southern California.
But it will probably be a long time before people begin to wonder why the nations of the world, especially the richest and most powerful, are so intent on pouring resources and expertise into vast armies and armadas and technologies of destruction, when that effort, that organization, that commitment and those resources are needed to provide relief and anticipatory protection from the many kinds of destruction that don't require the direct participation of humanity in causing them, though indirectly we contribute to them or even precipitate them.
Here in the U.S., it might re-focus our attention on what it means to be sending our National Guard troops away from where they are the traditional resource for disaster response, and further what the sharply declining enrollments in the Guard because of Iraqnam will mean to the future, when the tsuanmi hits these shores.
The news continues to develop concerning the magnitude 9.0 earthquake in the Indian ocean that generated tsunamis responsible for some 60,000 deaths and counting in several Asian nations. It is a disaster unparalleled in recent times and will test the responsiveness of the world in preventing the death toll from rising due to disease from bad water and lack of healthful food. Already the UN humanitarian aid chief has criticized wealthy nations for being stingy in their first response. But as the news trends towards showing that many victims were American and European tourists, the efforts at rescue and relief are apt to intensify.
In the coming weeks, as the world begins to absorb the dimensions of the effects, there will be some sober assessments of what's needed both to warn populations of danger (the tsunami took several hours to reach shore) and to organize response and relief. It should be a wake up call, though there's no guarantee much will be done about it, once the story is displaced or descends into soap opera about individual victims and the video they left behind.
It may perhaps provide some imagery to the warnings of scientists about the effects of global heating as sea levels rise in some places, and storms become more frequent and violent, and show up where they are not expected, like the rains that would otherwise be making headlines now pummeling central and southern California.
But it will probably be a long time before people begin to wonder why the nations of the world, especially the richest and most powerful, are so intent on pouring resources and expertise into vast armies and armadas and technologies of destruction, when that effort, that organization, that commitment and those resources are needed to provide relief and anticipatory protection from the many kinds of destruction that don't require the direct participation of humanity in causing them, though indirectly we contribute to them or even precipitate them.
Here in the U.S., it might re-focus our attention on what it means to be sending our National Guard troops away from where they are the traditional resource for disaster response, and further what the sharply declining enrollments in the Guard because of Iraqnam will mean to the future, when the tsuanmi hits these shores.
Investigate the Vote
Here's today's link to a blog, which uses the same template as this one so don't be freaked out, that explains the significance of the latest move by the Kerry-Edwards campaign to support court fights to challenge and investigate the vote in Ohio. He does a nice job of putting it all in context, suggesting that while the votes involved are enough to turn the election to Kerry, it's likely that the investigation will extend far beyond the upcoming official awarding of the election to Bush, and become Bush's Watergate. (Unfortunately, that would leave us with Cheney instead of Kerry, if the analogy holds.)
Election Scam-o-rama
There are other intriguing events unfolding in Ohio, including the attempt of the secretary of state in charge of the election there to avoid answering any questions about it, under oath or otherwise.
So what needs to happen next? There's the possibility of something breaking before Congress convenes to validate the results in a few weeks, resulting in some high drama on Capitol Hill. But in the long run, while the Kerry people stay low-key and the major news media do likewise, what's needed is (1) some youthful rabble-rousing, some twentysomething leaders to emerge at the head of vast numbers of demonstrators, to give the media something to take pictures of, and (2) some hungry young journalists eager to make their names by exposing election fraud and corruption in the dark heart of Bushness.
Here's today's link to a blog, which uses the same template as this one so don't be freaked out, that explains the significance of the latest move by the Kerry-Edwards campaign to support court fights to challenge and investigate the vote in Ohio. He does a nice job of putting it all in context, suggesting that while the votes involved are enough to turn the election to Kerry, it's likely that the investigation will extend far beyond the upcoming official awarding of the election to Bush, and become Bush's Watergate. (Unfortunately, that would leave us with Cheney instead of Kerry, if the analogy holds.)
Election Scam-o-rama
There are other intriguing events unfolding in Ohio, including the attempt of the secretary of state in charge of the election there to avoid answering any questions about it, under oath or otherwise.
So what needs to happen next? There's the possibility of something breaking before Congress convenes to validate the results in a few weeks, resulting in some high drama on Capitol Hill. But in the long run, while the Kerry people stay low-key and the major news media do likewise, what's needed is (1) some youthful rabble-rousing, some twentysomething leaders to emerge at the head of vast numbers of demonstrators, to give the media something to take pictures of, and (2) some hungry young journalists eager to make their names by exposing election fraud and corruption in the dark heart of Bushness.
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