Well, we weren't going to run it at all, but now that DeLay is threatening to sue anybody who does, we guess we just can't help ourselves!

Campaign for America's Future launched a radio and tv ad campaign against the corrupt, indicted former House Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) and the corrupt, soon-to-be-indicted Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) yesterday.

Click here to check out both the 30-second DeLay video spot and the 60-second Ney audio spot.

For good measure, here's a graphic of the billboard now running above the east bound lanes of Rte. I-70 at exit 126 in Ney's home district back in Ohio.

We just couldn't help ourselves. So, sue us.

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org and VoteTrustUSA.Org

Surprise! I was able to find someone to help me out and to put together articles for DVN so we will continue chugging along for the time being. There is rumor from good sources that the DoJ has decided to take action against the state of New York for non-compliance to the Help America Vote Act. Those of you who have responded to the Action Alert from VoteTrustUSA have sent 14,747 emails to the EAC along with 1840 letters demanding the ITA be made to do their job....

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Guest blogged by David Edwards

Fresh from the holiday break, Stephen Colbert uses his classic sarcastic style to highlight the corruption scandal that has erupted around Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Stephen Colbert: "There is no story here."

Guest blogged by David Edwards

On Saturday, January 7th, American journalist Jill Carroll was kidnapped in Iraq. At the same time, her translator was also killed. Associate Press, Reuters, AFP and UPI almost immediately reported the story. Editor & Publisher compiled one of the most complete reports within hours of the kidnapping.

While the BBC provided some details of the kidnapping during their broadcasts, American network and cable news outlets virtually blacked out the news. Jane Hamsher finds a possible explanation from comments in a Kos thread:

Yesterday afternoon, AP released additional details including the name of the kidnapped journalist. Jill Carroll had recently lost her job at a newspaper and decided to follow her dream of covering conflicts in the Middle East. While in Iraq, Jill Carroll had done freelance work for The Christian Science Monitor, AJR, U.S. News & World Report and other foreign outlets.

Organizations like Reporters Without Borders have become increasingly concerned with the number of journalists killed in Iraq. 76 reporters and media staff are known to have been killed since the beginning of the Iraq war. In comparison, 63 reporters were killed within the 33 year Vietnam conflict. Some reports even suggest that the U.S. Military has targeted journalist in Iraq. Secret memos leaked in the U.K. suggest that President Bush wanted to bomb the headquarters of the Al Jazeera news network. In fact, Al Jazeera pulled all journalists out of Iraq after their Baghdad studio was "accidentally" hit by U.S. missles.

This morning, 3 days after the kidnapping was originally reported, CNN finally reported details of the Jill Carroll kidnapping.

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Watch Wolf Blitzer fall off his chair.

David Edwards posted the complete video here earlier today, but in case you didn't watch it, or didn't watch it all the way to the end, it's worth reviewing now. If only for the last moment when Blitzer finally runs out of clues...entirely...

Here's the transcript of those last few moments courtesy of Past Peak:

Any questions?

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Wolf Blitzer interviewed Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean on CNN's Late Edition yesterday.

Dean says that Alito is outside the mainstream on privacy issues. Not only does Alito believe that women do not have the right to an abortion, he also ruled in favor of strip-searching a 10 year old girl.

Dean is also troubled because Alito adjudicated a case in which he had a serious conflict of interest, ruling in favor of a company in which he owned $400K worth of related mutual funds. Alito's ruling was later vacated. Especially disturbing is the fact that Alito had promised the Senate, during a previous confirmation, that he would recuse himself from any case in which he had a financial stake. If Alito did not tell the truth to the Senate on that occasion, how can he be believed during the latest confirmation hearings?

When Blitzer asked about the current Iraq policy, Dean expressed disappointment about a meeting in which the President called members of previous administrations to The White House, supposedly for their advice on Iraq. The New York Times reported that the President did most of the talking before rushing the group out of the meeting for a photo-op. Showing, once again, that Bush has little interest in ideas from outside of his presidential bubble.

After learning of a recently-leaked secret Pentagon report which said 80% of torso-based fatalities in Iraq could have been avoided if soldiers had been equipped with proper body armor, Dean renewed a call for the removal of Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense. Dean said he was "disgusted" by the report.

Dean went on to say that Senator Lieberman's statement that Democrats "undermine presidential credibility at our nation's peril" is "absolutely wrong". The president has shown a lack of credibility since the day he took office (and including the way that he took office). The president has abused his power. He has taken the country in the wrong direction at home and abroad. Bush's economic and foreign policies have been failures. Dean said that Bush deserved criticism and it is the job of every patriotic American to speak out.

Chairman Dean showed extreme concern over the ethically charged climate in Washington. He lamented the endless corruption scandals within the Republican party.

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Guest blogged by David Edwards

President Bush and Judge Alito appeared before reporters at the White House to kick off the Senate's Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

The President stumbled through a less-than-enthusiastic delivery of the standard GOP talking points in favor of Alito.

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UPDATE: Bob Fertik has some interesting thoughts on this particular piece of video

In case you haven't heard of them, the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) is a "trade association" who set up the Electronic Technology Council (ETC) as an "astroturf" group at the behest of Electronic Voting Machine companies. Harris Miller was President of the ITAA and instrumental in convincing the Voting Machine Vendors to band together and give the ITAA money to create the ETC to spread the "good word" about Electronic Voting to Americans and Boards of Elections everywhere. Now Miller is reportedly about to announce his run as a Democratic(!) challenger for the U.S. Senate seat from Virginia currently occupied by Republican George Allen.

Greg Priddy, over at TPM Café, appropriately calls him on the carpet as precisely the type of Democrat the Democrats don't need in office...Big time...

Priddy goes on to quote a report about Miller as saying "Introducing paper into the mix, he says, defeats the improved efficiency and reliability e-voting promises."

No, seriously, that's what he said.

Priddy's full post is here. An alternative for the VA Senate seat Democratic nominee, who Priddy recommends to Miller, is James Webb. We don't know anything about Webb, but we'll risk it and say he'd be more appropriate than Miller. So would a turnip. The link to the Webb site above allows you to sign a Draft Webb Petition. Given Priddy's post, we'd recommend that you sign it!

(Hat-tip David Edwards for the link!)

CORRECTION: We originally had identified the ITAA as the "astroturf" group created the Voting Machine Vendors. In fact, the ITAA had been created in 1964. It was the ETC, in fact, which was set up by the ITAA as the official "astroturf" group for the Voting Machine Vendors. We regret the original confusion.

Guest Blogged by John Gideon, of VotersUnite and VoteTrustUSA

The "DVN Top 5" is a feature in the weekly voting newsletter of VoteTrustUSA. The January edition can be found here. The selection of what will be the "Top 5" for each week and where it goes on the list is all mine. The fact that you may disagree with my choices is great because it shows that you have been reading the DVN articles that I've posted throughout the week here on The BRAD BLOG!...

From Wall Street Journal...

Wackos.

Not my term, mind you. That's Jack Abramoff's Republican partner (who's also plead guilty to a host of charges) Mark Scanlon's term for the "Christians" that the GOP has been playing for years. As revealed by his emails recently read at a congressional hearing. Thought this just might be a good time to remind the Christians out there (the real ones) how they've been used by the Republicans and BushCo for so long.

Mark Crispin Miller and I --- he of Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election & Why They'll Steal the Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them), I of begging for dollars --- will be appearing back-to-back today in a two-hour Election Reform Sunday edition of the M & M Show on Air America Phoenix (1010am KXXT). Tune in, call in, say hello! 5:15p ET, 4:15p CT, 3:15p MT, 2:15p PT. Mark's up first, I join for the second hour, beginning at 6:15p ET, 5:15p CT, 4:15p MT, 3:15p PT. Call-in# is 888-294-4321. All anarchists and conspiracy theorists welcome. Got it? Listen up online here.

UPDATE: These guys, Steve and Fred McChesney, are doing a great job with their show out in Phoenix, and are right on point on the topic of Election Reform. As well, they're willing to hit the bricks to put their money where their mouth is and make some noise on the ground about the issue (only to be disparaged as "brown shirts" in the bargain!) What they're doing is exactly what's needed by the citizenry of this country right now to get things done on these matters! Give 'em a listen. Here's the MP3's from today's show with myself and Mark for your podcasting pleasure...

-- Mark Crispin Miller's segments [MP3]
-- Brad's segments [MP3]

...ALSO...speaking of Phoenix, I was recently on conservative Jay Lawrence's show on Newsradio 620 KTAR on New Years Day to discuss some of the same dirty business. In this case, about the "case against Diebold" as discussed with an intellectually honest Republican. The good John Brakey (tireless and intrepid fightin' Election Reform patriot in AZ) requested I post the audio from that show as well, so I am happy to honor the request. Consider it done, John...

-- Brad on the Jay Lawrence Show [MP3]

Back from a brief "working vacation," the esteemable Joseph Cannon is back with a few worthy thoughts on "conspiracy theories" as the GOP's dismissive political tool of choice these days...whenever their back is against the wall.

His thoughts were spurred, in part, by Arizona Sec. of State Jan Brewer's foolhardy shot at Election Reform advocates who loudly exercised their First Amendment Rights last week and dang near spoiled her precious re-election campaign announcement. She labeled these constituents as "anarchists" and "conspiracy theorists" as we reported that evening.

While I'm somewhat waylaid while working on several things at once of late, be sure to check in on the various anarchic trouble-makings of the conspiracy-theorist Cannon.

(In a related thought: At some point, following one Republican indictment after another on charges of conspiracy, one would think the wingnuts might want to find a fresh epithet to hurl against those of us who continue to point out their crimes long before the official indictments inevitably show up. It's up to them, of course, but I'm just sayin'...)

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org and VoteTrustUSA.Org

There is not a lot of news today but the content is important. Alameda Co., CA announces they are looking at going to 'vote-by-mail'. Voting activists, and a state senator, have filed a lawsuit in Westmoreland County, PA to get the choice of voting system to be a voter's choice and not a boards choice. And a non-descript article today may portend something going on in 'Diebold-world'. Marion Co., IL is concerned that they may not get delivery on their Diebold voting machines through Fiddler Elections Co. Is Diebold having a problem delivering what they have sold? In the meantime, those of who have responded to the Action Alert from VoteTrustUSA have been making a lot of great noise! Keep it up! 12,272 Emails and 1620 letters sent so far!...