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Latest Featured Reports | Saturday, May 18, 2013
Just Like Shirley Sherrod, Van Jones and ACORN
The closer one looks, the less 'scandal' one finds in the IRS mess, yet Obama (and the media) appear to have taken the bait yet again...
WHAT IRS 'MISCONDUCT'?
What the Treasury Department IG's report on IRS 'Tea-Party' groups tax-exempt scrutiny doesn't say, if one actually bothers to read it...
The Federal Deficit Has All But Disappeared
But, for some strange reason -- and despite running on it in 2012 -- the GOP isn't trumpeting that fact...
'Green News Report' 5/16/13
  w/ Brad & Desi
Fox 'News' Tesla flip-floppery; 97% consensus, but public thinks it's 50-50; CO2 levels pass 400ppm; Your 'disaster tax'; PLUS: Renewables leave one town too much money...
Previous GNRs: 5/14/13 - 5/9/13 - Archives...
Holder: 'Banks Are NOT too Big To Jail'
Attorney General wants to be 'very, very, very clear' that about that...before not jailing any of them in the last four years since they crashed the economy...
Repubs Suddenly Care About Big Government Overreach?!
Obama IRS and DoJ/AP scandals draw appropriate attention, even though the GOP spent years supporting the exact same behavior, and worse, by the Bush Admin...
'Green News Report' 5/14/13
  w/ Brad & Desi
Cuts hamper federal firefighting in early wildfire season; More good news for Tesla, bad news for loser Mitt; Cleaner steel; Another solar win; PLUS: Kerry criticizes US climate inaction...
Previous GNRs: 5/9/13 - 5/7/13 - Archives...
KPFK 'BradCast': CO2 Madness, Obama Scandalpalooza
On crossing 400ppm C02 milestone w/ Brad Johnson of ForecastTheFacts.org; On Obama's tidal wave of scandals, real and fake; MORE...
More Vote-by-Mail Fail, This Time in L.A.
Absentee ballot fraud allegations in Los Angeles underscore, yet again, the dangers of Vote-by-Mail...not that Republicans or, especially, Democrats seem to care...
'Weapons-Grade Denial' from Wall Street Journal
Incredibly enough, Rupert Murdoch's once-respectable newspaper is now attempting to argue that more CO2 is actually a good thing for Planet Earth...
INTERNET VOTING 'HACKED' ON NBC'S 'THE VOICE'
NBC announced they 'encountered issues' with their Internet Voting system on their hit show this week. Thousands of votes are tossed out. Who coulda seen that coming?...
'White Boys' Bring Election Woes to Riverbank, CA
Blocking post-election hand-counts w/ $2,000/hr price tag was bad enough. Now an entire election was put at risk by decision of a single county Registrar of Voters...
Jon Stewart Explains the GOP Benghazi 'Scandal' For You
And it still makes little or no sense. Not that that's ever stopped the witch-hunters before...
'Green News Report' 5/9/13
Senate GOP walks out on EPA nom; OMB: EPA regs pay off 10 to 1; Bee losses quicken; Another coal port nixed; PLUS: Shocker: Consumer Reports new all-time fave car...
Unverifiable 'LANDSLIDE' in South Carolina!
State's 100% unverifiable touch-screen voting system declares disgraced GOP former Gov. Mark Sanford the come-from-behind 'winner' in US House Special Election over Democratic challenger Elizabeth Colbert Busch...
Report: Syrian Rebels, Not Regime, Used Sarin Nerve Gas
U.N. investigators disrupt war narrative with new findings, but only after Israeli air strikes, neo-con and media chest-thumping. Is it too late to stop it?...
Wrong and Wronger on CO Election Bill
Sweeping bill pits former GOP SoS against current GOP SoS. But neither seem to understand why the new reforms really do open the door to election fraud...
NATIONWIDE STUDY FINDS ALMOST NO VOTER FRAUD
Just 10 cases of in-person impersonation in all 50 states since 2000...
VIDEO: 'Rise of the Tea Bags'
Brad interviews American patriots...
'Democracy's Gold Standard'
Hand-marked, hand-counted ballots...
Brad's Upcoming Appearances
(All times listed as PACIFIC TIME unless noted)
Media Appearance Archives...
Special Coverage Archives
GOP Voter Registration Fraud Scandal 2012...
VA GOP VOTER REG FRAUDSTER OFF HOOK
Felony charges dropped against VA Republican caught trashing voter registrations before last year's election. Did GOP AG, Prosecutor conflicts of interest play role?...

Criminal GOP Voter Registration Fraud Probe Expanding in VA
State investigators widening criminal probe of man arrested destroying registration forms, said now looking at violations of law by Nathan Sproul's RNC-hired firm...

DOJ PROBE SOUGHT AFTER VA ARREST
Arrest of RNC/Sproul man caught destroying registration forms brings official calls for wider criminal probe from compromised VA AG Cuccinelli and U.S. AG Holder...

Arrest in VA: GOP Voter Reg Scandal Widens
'RNC official' charged on 13 counts, for allegely trashing voter registration forms in a dumpster, worked for Romney consultant, 'fired' GOP operative Nathan Sproul...

ALL TOGETHER: ROVE, SPROUL, KOCHS, RNC
His Super-PAC, his voter registration (fraud) firm & their 'Americans for Prosperity' are all based out of same top RNC legal office in Virginia...

LATimes: RNC's 'Fired' Sproul Working for Repubs in 'as Many as 30 States'
So much for the RNC's 'zero tolerance' policy, as discredited Republican registration fraud operative still hiring for dozens of GOP 'Get Out The Vote' campaigns...

'Fired' Sproul Group 'Cloned', Still Working for Republicans in At Least 10 States
The other companies of Romney's GOP operative Nathan Sproul, at center of Voter Registration Fraud Scandal, still at it; Congressional Dems seek answers...

FINALLY: FOX ON GOP REG FRAUD SCANDAL
The belated and begrudging coverage by Fox' Eric Shawn includes two different video reports featuring an interview with The BRAD BLOG's Brad Friedman...

COLORADO FOLLOWS FLORIDA WITH GOP CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
Repub Sec. of State Gessler ignores expanding GOP Voter Registration Fraud Scandal, rants about evidence-free 'Dem Voter Fraud' at Tea Party event...

CRIMINAL PROBE LAUNCHED INTO GOP VOTER REGISTRATION FRAUD SCANDAL IN FL
FL Dept. of Law Enforcement confirms 'enough evidence to warrant full-blown investigation'; Election officials told fraudulent forms 'may become evidence in court'...

Brad Breaks PA Photo ID & GOP Registration Fraud Scandal News on Hartmann TV
Another visit on Thom Hartmann's Big Picture with new news on several developing Election Integrity stories...

CAUGHT ON TAPE: COORDINATED NATIONWIDE GOP VOTER REG SCAM
The GOP Voter Registration Fraud Scandal reveals insidious nationwide registration scheme to keep Obama supporters from even registering to vote...

CRIMINAL ELECTION FRAUD COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST GOP 'FRAUD' FIRM
Scandal spreads to 11 FL counties, other states; RNC, Romney try to contain damage, split from GOP operative...

RICK SCOTT GETS ROLLED IN GOP REGISTRATION FRAUD SCANDAL
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) sends blistering letter to Gov. Rick Scott (R) demanding bi-partisan reg fraud probe in FL; Slams 'shocking and hypocritical' silence, lack of action...

VIDEO: Brad Breaks GOP Reg Fraud Scandal on Hartmann TV
Breaking coverage as the RNC fires their Romney-tied voter registration firm, Strategic Allied Consulting...

RNC FIRES NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION FIRM FOR FRAUD
After FL & NC GOP fire Romney-tied group, RNC does same; Dead people found reg'd as new voters; RNC paid firm over $3m over 2 months in 5 battleground states...

EXCLUSIVE: Intvw w/ FL Official Who First Discovered GOP Reg Fraud
After fraudulent registration forms from Romney-tied GOP firm found in Palm Beach, Election Supe says state's 'fraud'-obsessed top election official failed to return call...

GOP REGISTRATION FRAUD FOUND IN FL
State GOP fires Romney-tied registration firm after fraudulent forms found in Palm Beach; Firm hired 'at request of RNC' in FL, NC, VA, NV & CO...
The Secret Koch Brothers Tapes...
U.S. Chamber of Commerce 'Terror Tools' Spy Plot...
Wisconsin 2011 Supreme Court Election Debacle...
It Isn't Journalism: Woeful MSM Coverage of Wisconsin's Supreme Court Election 'Recount'
Corporate media fails to tell story of massive irregularities, e-vote failures...
Japan Quake/Tsunami/Nuke Emergency...
6/4/11: Fukushima Radiation at Highest Level Since Crisis Began
Germany announces plan to dismantle all nukes by 2022...
5/12/11: TEPCO Admits Unit 1 Reactor 'Meltdown', Fuel Rods Exposed
Radiation believed leaking through hole in bottom of containment vessel...
3/30/11: AUDIO: Brad on KPFK w/ Fukushima News and More...
Joined by the lovely Desi Doyen of the Green News Report...
3/29/11: 'Maximum Alert': Crisis Continues, TEPCO Prez Hospitalized
PLUS: A glimpse at living conditions for the heroic plant workers...
3/29/11: 'Green News Report' - Special Coverage: Japan Fallout
Fukushima's nuke disaster leads to political shift in Germany; Congressional concerns about US nuke evacuation plans...
3/27/11: TEPCO 'Very Sorry': Radiation Spikes, Work Remains Perilous
Plant operator apologizes, again; AP reports they 'all but disregarded 3,000 years of geological history' in designing safe-guards'...
3/25/11: 'Grave And Serious': More Comparison to Chernobyl Levels
Rupture feared; Workers contaminated; New evacs 'recommended'...
PLUS: German study uses French data to corroborate findings from Austrian, U.S. scientists, suggesting Fukushima disaster should be reclassified as 'level 7' accident, on par with Chernobyl...
3/25/11: Brad on 'Randi Rhodes Show' on Disaster, US 'Fallout'
Breaking developments and speculation on the supposed 'nuclear renaissance' previously scheduled for the US...
3/24/11: 'Step at a Time & a Few More Steps': Disturbing New Science
Stabilization continues, as new data suggests 50% of radioactive cesium released by Chernobyl already released by Daiichi's reactors...
3/24/11: 'Green News Report'- Special Coverage: Japan Disaster
Death toll rising; Tap water warning lifted in Tokyo, spreading elsewhere; Radiation hospitalizes workers; Support for nukes drops in US; PLUS: Struggling to maintaining tradition amidst disaster...
3/23/11: Brad's KPFK Intvw w/ VOA's Steve Herman in Tokyo
'Neutron beams', water 'panic', black smoke and the public responses from TEPCO, the government and the people of Japan, LIVE from Tokyo...
3/23/11: Setbacks: Black Smoke, Evacuations, Tokyo Tap Water
'Panic' reported as stores run dry of bottled water after government says iodine in metropolitan water unsafe for infants...
3/22/11: 'Razor-Thin Margins', Positive Progress at Fukushima
Control room re-opened as some power returns, workers attempt to restore cooling systems; U.S. NRC offers mixed signals...
3/22/11: 'Green News Report' - Special Coverage: Nuclear Crisis
Fukushima on edge; Japan's wind farms to the rescue; New US nuke reviews; PLUS: Oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico...
3/20/11: 'Closer to Bringing Situation Under Control': Sun & Mon
Stabilization precarious; UPDATED: Gray smoke forces evacuation...
3/19/11: Some Reactors 'Stabilized' as War Breaks Out Elsewhere
PLUS: Radiation detected in food, water; New Gulf oil slick discovered; War protesters arrested; Slow news week continues...
3/18/11: 'Renewed Nuclear Chain Reaction Feared': Friday Fukushima
Spent fuel rod danger; Fallout detected in S. California; Wind 'saving Japan's ass'; Coulter: Radiation 'good for you'; PM's office tweets...
3/17/11: Brad Interviews Palast: TEPCO Plans for New Nukes in TX
Govt fraud investigator on "bankrupt, corrupt, criminal" nuke companies...
3/17/11: 'Green News Report' - Special Coverage: Crisis in Japan
Compounding natural, humanitarian and spiraling nuclear disasters - desperate measures to hold off a nightmare...
3/17/11: VIDEO: Close-up Aerial Footage of Crippled Plant
TEPCO offers most detailed view yet of ravaged Fukushima reactors...
3/16/11: Desperation: Helicopters Drop Water On Hot Nuke Reactors
Def Minister: 'We could not delay further'; Four risky drops on Unit 3; Water said in Unit 4 fuel pool; Water cannon trucks next | VIDEO...
3/16/11: Dozens of Countries, Not U.S., Tell Citizens to Leave Tokyo
UK, Germany, France more worried than us. Who ya gonna believe?...
3/15/11: SMOKE BILLOWS FROM FUKUSHIMA'S REACTOR 3
Workers evacuated as radiation levels rose quickly; Govt's chief spokesperson says smoke believed to be radioactive steam...
3/15/11: 'Green News Report': Japan on Brink of Nuclear Disaster
Natural, humanitarian and now man-made disaster, as 50 nuclear plant workers stand in the way of nuclear meltdown...
3/14/11: PM: RADIATION DANGER, EVACS WIDENED, 'STAY CALM'
Explosions at Reactors 2 & 4; Fuels Rods at Unit 2 'Half Exposed';
All but 50 workers evacuated from plant...
3/13/11: EXPLOSION AT FUKUSHIMA'S NUKE REACTOR UNIT 3
U.S. 7th Fleet repositioned after exposure to radioactive cloud
Sunday live blogging 2nd EXPLOSION at Fukushima...
3/13/11: VIDEO: From Within the Tsunami, a Town Engulfed
Watch as a town disappears in minutes...
3/12/11: EXPLOSION ROCKS FUKUSHIMA NUKE REACTOR UNIT 1
Cooling System Fails at Unit 3 | Govt: 'Partial Meltdown' Under Way Saturday day, night live blog following 1st EXPLOSION at Fukushima...
3/11/11: NUCLEAR EMERGENCIES AT 5 REACTORS
Friday day, night live blog until EXPLOSION at Fukushima reactor...
3/11/11: 'Big Government Tyranny' Saved Countless Lives
Strict building codes in Japan likely impossible now here...
3/11/11: 8.9 QUAKE, TSUNAMI STRIKES JAPAN - VIDEO
Unprecedented disaster strikes, towns washed away in seconds...
WikiLeaks / Julian Assange...
More Special Coverages Pages...


Warns That 'None of the Vendors Have a System That Voters Can Trust'
ALSO: Paper Ballot Printing Problems Stop Early Voting In Several States
By John Gideon on 4/7/2006 8:07am PT  

Guest Blogged by John Gideon

Yesterday our friends at OpEdNews.Com featured an article that includes an interview with the former CEO of AccuPoll, a voting machine vendor that recently went bankrupt. In the article by Sean Greene of electionline.org the CEO, Dennis Vadura is quoted as saying:

"I am not happy about the outcome, or the state of the industry. I think that something needs to be done. I'm not sure what it is, it probably doesn't include AccuPoll at this point, but I do not feel that any of the vendors has a system that voters can trust. I think that vendors outright misrepresent the robustness, stability, and security of their systems. You just have to look at the litany of problems and it points at one thing, bad fundamental design, and not enough checks and balances. I also wonder why the other vendors were so adamant in fighting a VVPAT system requirement. They spent much more in fighting it than in implementing it."

Now, finally, an industry insider and 'mover-and-shaker' has stepped forward to echo what many of us have been saying for the past two or three years. The remaining vendors are doing all they can to prove that Mr. Vadura is right. That fact is borne out by the following two stories:

In Nebraska, home state for Elections Systems and Software (and home of one of the owners of this private corporation, Omaha World-Herald), 69 of 93 counties do not have their paper ballots for early voting even though early voting began on Monday. Nebraska joins Indiana and other states that are not able to conduct elections because ES&S cannot provide the ballots that they are contractually responsible to deliver. In defense of it's partially owned subsidiary, the World-Herald misinforms it's readers with this gem:

"A new type of ballot is necessary to comply with a federal law, the Help America Vote Act. A portion of the law took effect Jan. 1, requiring local governments that use paper ballots to use a standardized form that can be read by an optical scanner."

There is no new type of ballot required by HAVA and there is no standardized form for optical scanners. This is all just hype to cover-up for the failure of ES&S to do its job.

In another indication of a vendor's failure to meet its contractual duties, the Richmond (IN) Palladium-Item reports that Fidlar Elections, a mid-west representative for Diebold, has failed to deliver paper ballots to 11 Indiana counties that can be read by optical-scanners. The state's mandated absentee voting (early voting) began on Monday and the bad ballots were not reported until Tuesday so all voters who voted on Monday are now being given an opportunity to vote again, when good ballots are received.

Quality control? Apparently not, after all its just elections. As Mr. Vadura correctly states, "You just have to look at the litany of problems and it points at one thing, bad fundamental design, and not enough checks and balances".

ReddIt this story!



Meanwhile: Paper Ballot Printing Problems Stop Early Voting In Some States
By John Gideon on 4/7/2006 8:06am PT  

Yesterday our friends at OpEdNews.Com featured an article that includes an interview with the former CEO of AccuPoll, a voting machine vendor that recently went bankrupt. In the article by Sean Greene of electionline.org the CEO, Dennis Vadura is quoted as saying:

"I am not happy about the outcome, or the state of the industry. I think that something needs to be done. I'm not sure what it is, it probably doesn't include AccuPoll at this point, but I do not feel that any of the vendors has a system that voters can trust. I think that vendors outright misrepresent the robustness, stability, and security of their systems. You just have to look at the litany of problems and it points at one thing, bad fundamental design, and not enough checks and balances. I also wonder why the other vendors were so adamant in fighting a VVPAT system requirement. They spent much more in fighting it than in implementing it."

Now, finally, an industry insider and 'mover-and-shaker' has stepped forward to echo what many of us have been saying for the past two or three years. The remaining vendors are doing all they can to prove that Mr. Vadura is right. That fact is borne out by the following two stories:

In Nebraska, home state for Elections Systems and Software (and home of one of the owners of this private corporation, Omaha World-Herald), 69 of 93 counties do not have their paper ballots for early voting even though early voting began on Monday. Nebraska joins Indiana and other states that are not able to conduct elections because ES&S cannot provide the ballots that they are contractually responsible to deliver. In defense of it's partially owned subsidiary, the World-Herald misinforms it's readers with this gem:

"A new type of ballot is necessary to comply with a federal law, the Help America Vote Act. A portion of the law took effect Jan. 1, requiring local governments that use paper ballots to use a standardized form that can be read by an optical scanner.

There is no new type of ballot required by HAVA and there is no standardized form for optical scanners. This is all just hype to cover-up for the failure of ES&S to do its job.

In another indication of a vendor's failure to meet its contractual duties, the Richmond (IN) Palladium-Item reports that Fidlar Elections, a mid-west representative for Diebold, has failed to deliver paper ballots to 11 Indiana counties that can be read by optical-scanners. The state's mandated absentee voting (early voting) began on Monday and the bad ballots were not reported until Tuesday so all voters who voted on Monday are now being given an opportunity to vote again, when good ballots are received.

Quality control? Apparently not, after all its just elections. As Mr. Vadura correctly states, "You just have to look at the litany of problems and it points at one thing, bad fundamental design, and not enough checks and balances".

ReddIt this story!



By David Edwards on 4/7/2006 7:12am PT  

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com


Video in Streaming Flash format...
Video in Windows Media format...

Yesterday, Mr. Bush delivered another Iraq War PR speech which was sponsored by the nonpartisan World Affairs Council of Charlotte at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina.

After the speech, Bush accepted questions from the audience. Harry Taylor shamed The President with his question. Taylor mentioned NSA domestic spying, detaining Americans with being charged, policies that hurt the enviroment. Taylor told Bush that he was ashamed of the U.S. Government. Taylor finished his question by saying, "I would hope you have, from time to time, the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself... inside yourself."

In this video, Soledad O'Brien interviews Harry Taylor about his televised of berating President Bush.

ReddIt this story!



By David Edwards on 4/6/2006 11:13am PT  

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com


Video in Streaming Flash format...
Video in Windows Media format...

The New York Sun reports that a court filing by Patrick Fitzgerald reveals that President Bush authorized blanket leaks of classified information to reporters. According to the court filing of Libby's testimony to the grand jury, the Vice President Cheney told Libby that President Bush had authorized him to leak classified information from the National Intelligence Estimate.

David Shuster who has been following the "Plame case" closely reports on the breaking news for MSNBC. The Raw Story has more information.

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As Seen Recently in Sugar Land...
By Brad Friedman on 4/6/2006 11:08am PT  

(As posted DU, by "elehhhhna." Hat tip Pokey A.)

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By David Edwards on 4/6/2006 9:02am PT  

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com


Video in Streaming Flash format...
Video in Windows Media format...

Brian Doyle is the second DHS employee to be recently charged with sexual offenses involving a minor.

Fox News' John Gibson focuses the massive resources of his new organization like a laser. Fox pierces the headlines, bringing their lucky viewers the big picture and the hard unfiltered facts.

Please excuse the sarcasm but this clip is pretty bad. First, Fox under-reports the arrest of a DHS official for sexual offenses. Then, they show their true desire to report on this subject with a nearly laughable interview.

Jane Skinner talks to Michael Blank, an "internet minuteman", with a four day old plan to clean up the net. Skinner highlights Blank's single-page website called JailBaitJustice.com.

JANE SKINNER: Michael Blank is the founder of Jail Bait Justice. Michael, you started this effort just four days ago. Why did you do it?

MICHAEL BLANK: Well... I was kind of... looking through different settings and I saw people getting raped and stuff like that. Younger women and then I thought, you know, this is just wrong it shouldn't happen... and I thought it was sick so we started looking into the research of the penal code and we went on and we started doing this. I mean, it needs to be done.

Maybe there should be a law preventing the words "fox" and "news" from appearing together.

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By David Edwards on 4/5/2006 12:46pm PT  

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com


Video in Streaming Flash format...
Video in Windows Media format...

A newly released report from Amnesty International provides additional evidence of secret CIA "black site" prisons located in Africa, Asia and Europe. The report also details the CIA's practice of "rendering" prisoners to foreign countries to be tortured or detained.

In this video, BBC gives an overview of the new report. Anne Fitzgerald, senior Advisor for Amnesty, explains details of the CIA's rendition flights. The final clip contains an interview with Muhammad al-Assar who was detained in a CIA "black site" prison for 2 years. He was then "rendered" to Yemen where, under orders from the U.S., he was imprisoned for another year.

ReddIt this story!



Drop Out, Tune In, Think for Yourself...
[UPDATED WITH SPECIAL GUEST LIST!]
By Brad Friedman on 4/5/2006 12:07pm PT  

I'll be sitting in as Guest Host for the good Peter B. on KRXA 540am up in Monterey, CA (and syndicated on several other affiliates) this Thursday from 3p-6p PT (6p-9p ET).

If you're not nearby, you can listen in online right here. Let's see if we can overload their servers :-) --- And give us a shout to say hey at 888-KRXA-540. Let's see if we can break their phone lines.

====

Kick-ass guests now lined up for Thursday's show!...

+ This Modern World cartoonist and blogger, TOM TOMORROW!
+ Emery County, UT County Clerk/Hero BRUCE FUNK (Diebold's latest scapegoat!)
+ PLUS: The legendary ED ASNER! Yup, Lou Grant his own bad self!

And Much Much More! Spread the word! Tune in!

UPDATE 4/8/06: Audio archives from the show now here...

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Says Congresswoman 'Jumps to False Conclusions', Says Supporters 'Weren't Even There' --- Just Before Proclaiming, 'She Punched a Cop!'
VIDEO INCLUDED
By Brad Friedman on 4/4/2006 2:48pm PT  


Video in Streaming Flash format...

"She punched a cop! She punched...a cop!" said Sean Hannity on last night's Hannity & Colmes without any actual evidence for the charge and before any trial --- something he accuses many others of doing. But only when the alleged perp is a Republican, of course.

That was just after he accused "people who weren't even there" of turning this into a racial incident.

The guest, a former LAPD Detective who refused to play along with Hannity, pointed out that she's a 6 term Congresswoman and acknowledged that it's the Capitol Hill Police's job to recognize her. To which Hannity lied, "Yeah, but she was gone for like 5 years in there."

Needless to say, Hannity, as always, was wrong. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) was swiftboated and defeated by a Republican effort during her 2002 Democratic primary after she dared to ask out loud: "What did this Administration know and when did it know it?" concerning the events of 9/11. (A clip which Hannity played again during the segment last night for no apparent reason other than to keep the swiftboating alive --- he followed the clip by saying, without a hint of irony, "It seems that there's a proclivity here to jump to false conclusions, amongst Cynthia McKinney in particular.")

Anyway, McKinney was not in Congress from 2002 through 2004 when she was re-elected. Hardly the "5 years," as quoted by Hannity to try and back up the Capitol Hill Police (who recently admitted they "screwed up" while dealing with another such "security incident" involving a well known person who shouldn't have been hassled in the first place.) McKinney has been back in Congress now for a full year and half since being re-elected.

Ya know, we'll see how it all plays out as things move forward, but it occurs to us that Cynthia McKinney has a security disagreement with a cop who, all agree, didn't get hurt. A warrant is sought for her arrest and Fox "News" (and the rest of the media) can't get enough of it.

George W. Bush, on the other hand, has a security disagreement with an entire sovereign nation and starts a full blown war because of it. More than 2,500 American citizens are now dead, scores of thousands wounded and many more Iraqis than that have been killed because it. Nobody issues a warrant for the arrest of George W. Bush and Fox "News" and rest of the media couldn't give a damn about any of it.

That's what we call Fair and Balanced.

One thing we know --- McKinney's black and a woman and a Democrat and none of those things could possibly have had anything do with any of this.

(Thanks David Edwards for the video.)

IRONY ALERT UPDATE: "DeLay Says He'll File Ethics Complaint Against McKinney"... (Thanks Kat!)

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Also, Firmware Found to be Buggy on Their Electronic Voting Machines as Well
ES&S To Face Tough Questions From County Elections Board, Others States Need to be Notified of the Problems! [NOW UPDATED]
By John Gideon on 4/4/2006 12:09pm PT  

Guest Blogged by John Gideon, VotersUnite.Org and VoteTrustUSA.Org

Summit County has recently had problems with failed memory cards as related by The BRAD BLOG on March 9 and March 10. As reported at the time, as many as 30% of the cards completely failed initial testing in the county. A few days later, corresponding tests in North Carolina found more than 1000 of the cards failed. The memory cards, amongst other things, store the vote tabulations from elections.

New tests now in Summit County have also revealed additional failures on both memory cards, and the voting machines "firmware" as well.

Today the Akron Beacon Journal has revealed that Summit County has discovered 28 more bad cards in a batch of what was supposed to be good cards as sent to them by ES&S specifically to replace the previous bad ones.

The Beacon-Journal reports:

In testing throughout March, the computer memory cards inside the scanners experienced high failure rates. The county has 525 cards, one for every precinct and 50 extras.

ES&S officials blamed faulty batteries in the cards for the problems, but even after batteries were replaced, dozens of cards continued to fail.

Eventually, continued testing resulted in the county's obtaining 525 memory cards that supposedly worked properly and that were approved by state inspectors as well. But company officials working in Summit County have since discovered 28 new problem cards.

Board of Elections officials, however, discovered the newest batch of problem memory cards by accident.

Elections Board Deputy Director Marijean Donofrio said board staff members were looking for memory cards that are used to demonstrate the new equipment for the public, and happened upon a box of cards that were banded together.

When she asked about the cards, Donofrio said she was told they had either low or dead batteries or problems reading back data that had been programmed onto them.

ES&S officials then told the county that the company would replace all 349 cards from the batch that included the 28 new problem cards. All were manufactured by the Vikant Corp., an ES&S subcontractor.

The Beacon-Journal is also now reporting that ES&S has found a problem with the firmware --- the software which is embedded into the system's hardware --- on their touch-screen machines that are used in counties across Ohio and across the country. ES&S is currently in 41 of Ohio's 88 counties.

Other states and counties who use ES&S should be made aware of the problems, since ES&S does not seem to be doing so.

On the firmware issue, the Beacon-Journal reports...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

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Based in Ohio, Diebold's E-Voting Systems Only One Said by Blackwell to 'Meet Federal and State Standards' (Which They Don't)
41 of 88 Counties in Ohio Added New Diebold Systems Last Year
By Brad Friedman on 4/3/2006 10:49pm PT  

According to a late report from AP tonight, Ohio's Sec. of State (and Co-Chair of the Bush/Cheney '04 Re-Election Committee) J. Kenneth Blackwell, "accidentally invested" in Diebold last year...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) ­ Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell revealed Monday he accidentally invested in shares of voting-machine manufacturer Diebold Inc. last year, a period when he was sued by other manufacturers over contracts that Diebold was up for.
...
Blackwell has said the Diebold machines are the only electronic machines to meet federal and state standards under the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

The "discovery" (that he owns shares in Diebold, not that Diebold is the only company to meet HAVA standards --- which they don't) occurred during some ethics filings as the Governor's race, in which Blackwell is a candidate, heats up in the Buckeye State...

Bob Paduchik, a spokesman for Attorney General Jim Petro, Blackwell's rival in the GOP primary, called for further investigation "considering Ken Blackwell's history with Diebold."

Democrats weren't buying Blackwell's explanation. "If he can't manage to know what's in his checkbook, why would the people of Ohio want to trust this man with the state's checkbook?" said Brian Rothenberg, spokesman for the Ohio Democratic Party.

According to a Rasumussen poll released on Friday, Blackwell currently trails the likely Democratic nominee for Governor, Rep. Ted Strickland by a 10 point margin of 50% to 40%.

Strickland beats Petro as well in a face-to-face match-up by even more: 47% to 34%.

Strickland appears to be widening the gap against both of them. But count no chickens yet. This is, after all, Ohio.

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(A Day Late, So One BONUS Toon Included for Free!)
By Brad Friedman on 4/3/2006 5:58pm PT  

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

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But No Such Outrage About the Ownership of the RIGHTWING Voting Machine Companies...
What a surprise.
By Brad Friedman on 4/3/2006 3:04pm PT  

More subpoenas seem to be on the way for voting machine company officials, this time in Illinois where it looks like the city aldermen in Chicago, according to the Sun-Times are none-too-happy to be forced to continue payments to Sequoia Voting Systems who ran such a disastrous primary on new electronic machines across the state just a few weeks ago.

A similar battle has been underway in Texas where officials have been trying to avoid payment to ES&S for the primary disaster down there on March 7th, just two weeks before the Illinois debacle.

In the meantime, the hypocrisy of the Right Wing continues vis a vis Electronic Voting Machines and their newly discovered concerns, as we reported late last week, about a Venezuelan company, possibly tied to Hugo Chavez, controlling the Sequoia company, and thus having an unknown and troubling amount of concern over American elections.

As in the wingnut piece we pointed to last week, Richard Brand in the Miami Herald (via right-leaning RealClearPolitics.com) is horrified that a company tied to Chavez may be having undue influence over American elections.

Not a word in Brand's piece about the influence over American elections by partisan companies, run by partisan executives, such as Diebold, ES&S, Hart InterCivic and others who are given carte blanche to use secret, uninspected software to count almost every citizen's vote in the country by now.

So, again, while we're happy to see concern --- no matter where it comes from --- about the little-noticed watershed change in our electoral system which now allows private companies to control the most sacred element of our democracy, with virtually zero checks, balances or public oversight, it's incredibly hypocritical (even by wingnut standards), to turn a blind eye to the Rightwing influence over all the other companies who have even more control over more of American votes.

We'd hope that the concerns about Chavez would suddenly help these guys realize what the hell has been going on here. We're concerned about any private corporation having such influence over our elections. But, in typical Rightwing blinders-on fashion, it's only votes that are perceived to be questionable because they might have undue influence from the Left that seems to concern these folks.

What a pity. But hardly a surprise.

To underscore that irony/hypocrisy, take a look at this concern of Brand's about a recent Venezualan elections run on machines made by Smartmatic, the company which now owns Sequoia (and be sure you're sitting down when you read it)...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

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D.C. Capitol Police Seeking Arrest Warrant At This Time...
By David Edwards on 4/3/2006 12:16pm PT  

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com


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At a press conference today in Atalanta, Black lawmakers, clergy and activist gathered to declare their continued support for Representative Cynthia McKinney.

McKinney has been accused of "assaulting" a Capitol Police officer. The officer, not recognizing the congresswoman, grabbed McKinney "in an innapproiate way" as she was entering the Capitol Builing. Upon being touched, McKinney apparently touched the officer in return with a mobile phone.

Republican lawmakers and other GOP operatives are now using the issue to "swiftboat" Represenatitive McKinney. As always, the corporate media gladly forsakes important news to participate in the right-wing echo chamber.

As of today, the D.C. Capitol Police confirm that the incident has been referred to the U.S. Attorney's office but would not say if a warrant has been issued for McKinney's arrest.

UPDATE: AP reports that D.C. Capitol Police have requested permission from Federal Prosecutors to issue an arrest warrant for Cynthia McKinney.

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By David Edwards on 4/3/2006 8:21am PT  

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com


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Senator Russ Feingold steps over the right-wing talking points in Sunday's interview with Chris Wallace on Fox.

As Wallace sets up each Bush Administraion strawman, Feingold knocks it down with the simple truth. The President should not be allowed to break the law.

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