No More Frankens? The Real Story.

Image from Politico

The Republicans are still sore about the Sen. Al Franken (DFL-Minn.) victory after a long recount in 2008.  All through the state-mandated procedure, they were crying foul, claiming dirty tricks and cheating. Former Sen. Norm Coleman played along, going so far as to pretend that he'd won, and that Franken was a sore loser who should give up. Then, after it was all said and done, Franken won, and Coleman got involved in organizations that make those charming political ads we've been treated to for the last several months.

There's a group out there called No More Frankens determined to stop a similar thing from happening again. Which is puzzling, since what happened in Minnesota is what is supposed to happen, by law. But the "voter fraud" bogeyman--though he is rare indeed--is a prime issue for a lot of conservatives. I think it's mostly a pretext for voter intimidation from the right, but hey, just my opinion.  But before we get into what are sure to be several contested races on Tuesday (and bellyaching likely from both sides), what really went down in Minnesota in 2008?  Here's one take.

[Excerpt]

NoMoreFrankens? A Closer, Factual Look At The Minnesota Senate Recount



It seems almost certain that there's going to be a recount - or two or three -- come Wednesday somewhere in the United States, maybe in Nevada for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, maybe in Alaska where write-in ballots could determine Sen. Lisa Murkowski's fate, and even, some pundits believe, Sarah Palin's.



It's going to be fun. . .

Read more at:  TPMCafe

It Begins Already: Vote Flipping in West Virginia

Well, ain't this just dandy. West Virginia is one of those pinkish-to strongly red states most of the time, but right now, it is tipping blue. That means, it is trending toward Barack Obama. Early voting has started, but a funny thing is happening there, something familiar. . .

[Excerpt]

Some early W.Va. voters angry over switched votes
Jackson County touch-screens switched votes, 3 residents say

At least three early voters in Jackson County had a hard time voting for candidates they want to win.

Virginia Matheney and Calvin Thomas said touch-screen machines in the county clerk's office in Ripley kept switching their votes from Democratic to Republican candidates.

"When I touched the screen for Barack Obama, the check mark moved from his box to the box indicating a vote for John McCain," said Matheney, who lives in Kenna. . .

Read more at: Gazette-Mail

Remind you of this?

Homer Simpson Tries to Vote for Barack Obama



EDITOR'S NOTE: This clip will likely not stay up for very long, especially considering that it is from a future episode of The Simpsons. Doubly so, since the show and the FOX network are owned by--insert scary music here--Rupert Murdoch!

GOP Vote Caging Found Illegal

Image from source, Raw Story

While the conservatives dither about "voter fraud" and ACORN, the real fraud is being perpetrated by--can you guess--the GOP! Don't say you didn't see that coming.

[Excerpt]

Judge: GOP's voter purge a 'violation of federal law'

The American Civil Liberties Union is trumpeting a judge's decision in Michigan which brings to a halt the practice of eliminating voters from rolls if their mailing address is found to be invalid.Recently, the GOP chairman in Macomb County, Michigan, detailed a plan to use a list of foreclosed homes to challenge voters. His pronouncement drew an immediate backlash, with predictions that the plan would "backfire. . ."

Read more at: RawStory

Featured Site: Velvet Revolution's Anti-Rove Space

Image from source, Velvet Revolution

There isn't a good way to shorten the actual title of the site I want to highlight today. Velvet Revolution is the name of the site, and the section that jumped out at me is called, Protect Elections, Prosecute Rove.

I listened to Mark Crispin Miller on today's Thom Hartmann Show on Air America Radio. Miller alleges what many liberals (me included) have known in our bones; that the 2000 and 2004 elections were stolen. More than that, according to Miller, many others have been stolen as well, even at the state level. And who is at the center of almost all of this political dirty work? Karl Freakin' Rove. Surprise, surprise.

Now, I can't absorb all of what is contained at this site, at least not yet. I intend to delve into it over the weekend though, that's for sure. While I think this site is important, I can't exactly vouch for its contents. So, check it out for yourself. Because according to Miller, plans are afoot to do it again in 2008.

[Excerpt]

The RoveCyberGate Campaign
Brought to you by VelvetRevolution.us

We are working with Ohio election attorneys, Cliff Arnebeck, Bob Fitrakis and Henry Eckhart to find out the truth about recent information indicating that Karl Rove architected and directed a strategy to manipulate elections through the use of computers. Rove’s Cyber Guru, Michael Connell, has worked for the Bush family for over 20 years and helped Bush Sr., Jeb and Bush Jr. “win” their elections using his computer skills. Whistleblowers, including Republicans, say that several of these and other national elections have been rigged through various invisible and illegal means, including vote tabulation manipulation, improper partisan use of the Justice Department to target Democrats and uncooperative US Attorneys, and the laundering of hundreds of millions of corporate dollars funneled into fake advocacy groups directed against Democrat candidates running for public office. Ex-Alabama Governor Don Siegelman has stated publicly that Rove was the person who directed Siegelman’s rigged election and criminal prosecution. . .

Read more at: Velvet Revolution

Sen. Ted Stevens Indicted on Multiple Counts

Senator Ted Stevens (R-Obviously) of Alaska has been indicted on multiple felony counts today. I'll confess, while I knew that Stevens was clueless about the internet (a series of tubes!), and had bad ideas (bridge to nowhere), I had no idea he was this dirty. Or that he was eighty-four years old! Yikes. He'll be the elder statesman of the pokey, that's for sure.

For old time's sake: The Internet is a Series of Tubes!



[Excerpt]

Stevens denies charges that he failed to disclose gifts

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, at 84 the longest-serving Republican in the Senate and one of its most powerful members, was indicted Tuesday on seven felony counts alleging that he lied to conceal his acceptance of $250,000 in gifts and services from a now-defunct Alaska oil services and construction company. . .

Read more at: McClatchy

Ohio Thinks Karl Rove is Gonna Testify?

Photo from PhotoBucket

Karl Rove is being compelled to testify in Ohio on an election fraud matter. I believe that he'll actually do that when pigs fly. I mean, he'd have to actually sprout wings and fly. Ahem. . .

[Excerpt]

Ohio Attorney Says That Rove Will Be Questioned Under Oath

Last night, Ohio election attorney Cliff Arnebeck appeared on the Peter B. Collins show and told the audience that he will question Karl Rove under oath as part of the targeted discovery in the federal legal case. “A RICO case is not limited by executive privilege … and President Bush cannot stop a civil RICO case with a pardon. Also, because of the Paula Jones case against President Clinton, where the Supreme Court held that a civil case and depositions can proceed against a sitting president, Rove will have to submit to our discovery,” Arnebeck said. . .

Read more (with audio) at: Velvet Revolution

Hat-tip to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link

White House Allowing Fraud Abroad!

Photo from source, Raw Story

Well, howdy do! The White House injects a little loophole in the budget that explicitly allows fraud abroad. And they don't want to change it. So if you're a government contractor, and you're frustrated with investigations and oversight when you rip off the taxpayers, you can just do it abroad instead! How nifty.

[Excerpt]

White House won't remove loophole allowing foreign contractors to ignore fraud

The White House has indicated it will not remove a loophole quietly inserted into a budget rule which allows contractors abroad to keep silent if they observe fraud or abuse on US government contracts.

The proposed rule, put forth by the White House Office of Management and Budget last year, exempts all companies who do work overseas from a new regulation requiring US contractors to report waste, fraud or abuse they encounter while doing work for the government. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Did Rush Convince Ohioans to Commit a Felony?

Photo available all over the web, this one from ThinkProgress.org

Last week, drug-addled gas bag (™ The Stephanie Miller Show) Rush Limbaugh sold his Ohio listeners on the idea of switching political parties. They changed their registration from Republican to Democrat in order to vote for Hillary Clinton, a woman they have been taught (effectively) to despise. They did this with the intention of disrupting a primary, and then were planning on changing back to Republicans for the general election.

It's just a bit of mischief, right? Harmless fun for political nerds. Curiously, no. It's actually more serious than that. By Ohio law, this may actually be criminal. While I seriously doubt that anyone is going to be arrested--a troubling trend for Republicans breaking the law--it makes you wonder what these lemmings wouldn't do for Rush, doesn't it?

[Excerpt]

Election Fraud Against Obama In Ohio: More Comes Out

The law in Ohio, the Ohio Revised Code, is very clear on what Republicans have done. ORC 3513.20 says:Before any challenged person shall be allowed to vote at a primary election , the person shall make a statement, under penalty of election falsification, before one of the precinct officials, blanks for which shall be furnished by the board of elections, giving name, age, residence, length of residence in the precinct, county, and state; stating that the person desires to be affiliated with and supports the principles of the political party whose ballot the person desires to vote. . . [snip]

Whoever violates this section is guilty of election falsification, a felony of the fifth degree. . .

Read more at: News Vine

Greg Palast: Kerry Won in '04

Journalist Greg Palast first caught my interest when he was a guest on The Randi Rhodes Show. Impressed by that and other appearances, I read Armed Madhouse, his book dealing with election theft and general government corruption. I was alarmed by what I read, but didn't have a blog at the time to use as a forum.

In the past week, my interest was re-sparked by another appearance on the radio, very shortly followed by the Andrew Meyer tasering the other day (Meyer was quoting Armed Madhouse right before he got into trouble). So, I've been checking out his blog.

I've posted a couple of items on Palast over the last couple of months, in fact two in the last couple of days. But this story is important, so we're triple-dosing.

Palast has recently excerpted a chunk of his book, which really captures the gist of what really happened in 2004. This saves me a lot of time trying to recap it myself! So, please do go check it out. If this interests you, and you want to learn more, check out Armed Madhouse, all righty? OK then.

[Excerpt]

Cranks and Kooks: Kerry Won in ‘04

THE CON

Kerry Won. Now Get Over It . . .

. . .because they’re putting ‘08 in their pocket. Republicans just seem to have that winning spirit. They also have caging lists, felons of the future, rotting ballots, snuffed canaries, and a lock on the votes of Kissinger-Americans and the undead.

WARNING! There are cranks and kooks and crazies out there on the Internet who say that George Bush lost the 2004 election, like one titled, “Kerry Won” published on the TomPaine.com web site two days after the election. I wrote it.

On November 11, a week after TomPaine.com published it, I received an e-mail from The New York Times Washington Bureau. Hot on the investigation of the veracity of the vote, The Times reporter asked me pointed questions:

Question #1: Are you a “sore loser”? Question #2: Are you a “conspiracy nut”?

There was no third question. . .

Read the rest (it's good): GregPalast.com