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Latest Featured Reports | Thursday, March 28, 2024
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FEATURING: Rich Con, Poor Con!...Sex-Havers!...March Madness!...More! Have a barrel of fun with our latest collection of the week's best toons!...
It's Up to You, New York: 'BradCast' 3/21/24
Trump staring down barrel of both civil and criminal accountability in NY; Also: Biden forgives another $6B in student loans; U.S. seeks 'sustained ceasefire' in Gaza; Scientists baffled by spike in record global heat...
'Green News Report' 3/21/24
  w/ Brad & Desi
Biden EPA issues biggest climate regulation in U.S. history; Rio hits 144°F heat index!; Exxon CEO blames YOU for climate change; PLUS: U.N. issues climate change 'red alert'!...
Previous GNRs: 3/19/24 - 3/14/24 - Archives...
'It All Comes Down to Brett and Amy': 'BradCast' 3/20/24
Guest: Slate's Mark Joseph Stern on another stunning week of federal judiciary debacles; Also: Primary results from AZ, FL, IL, KS, OH, CA; Biden EPA's 'biggest climate move yet'...
American 'Bloodbath':
'BradCast' 3/19/24
Trump is promising political violence whether he wins or loses; Also: Navarro goes to prison; Scofflaw MI MAGA attorney arrested; SCOTUS allows TX to override federal law, Constitution; Biden's SOTU success...
'Green News Report' 3/19/24
  w/ Brad & Desi
EPA finally bans all uses of asbestos; Biden unveils billions for rebuilding communities broken by highway construction; Extreme heat in Africa; PLUS: MA coastal town follies...
Previous GNRs: 3/14/24 - 3/12/24 - Archives...
Corporations 'Taking a Bazooka' to NLRB, Hoping to Declare it 'Unconstitutional': 'BradCast' 3/18/24
Guest: Labor journo Steven Greenhouse; Also: Putin's 'election'; Trump can't find $450M...
Sunday 'Wouldn't Wanna Be Ya' Toons
FEATURING: Moses Mike...Trump II Terror...TikTok Truth...and more in our latest collection of the week's most secular toons!...
Schumer Steps Up; Trump Associates Paid Biden 'Bribe' Liar $600k: 'BradCast' 3/14/24
Also: TikTok foolishness; NY hush-money trial delay?; Navarro must go to jail; Trump owes $400k for failed 'Steele Dossier' suit in UK...
'Green News Report' 3/14/24
FL bans heat protections for workers; Methane leaks continue; GOP Project 2025 would ban Paris Agreement; PLUS: CA snowpack is back, but too late for salmon...
After Accountability for Fraud, What's Next for the Corrupt NRA and Gun Safety Reforms?: 'BradCast' 3/13/24
Guest: Brady Center's Kelly Sampson; Also: Biden, Trump clinch; GA judge nixes 6 counts...
How to Media Better and Other Smart Ideas:
'BradCast' 3/12/24
Press quietly resets weeks of misreporting on Biden; Suggestions for NYT; Stephanopoulos v. Mace; Also: Buck quits; RNC 'bloodbath'; WI's MAGA Speaker Recall...
'Green News Report' 3/12/24
Biden touts climate jobs boom at SOTU; Feb. obliterated global temp and ocean heat records; PLUS: Great Barrier Reef hit with yet another 'mass bleaching event'...
BARCODED BALLOTS AND BALLOT MARKING DEVICES
BMDs pose a new threat to democracy in all 50 states...
VIDEO: 'Rise of the Tea Bags'
Brad interviews American patriots...
'Democracy's Gold Standard'
Hand-marked, hand-counted ballots...
Brad's Upcoming Appearances
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'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...


'Never Mind the Mountains of Technical Disasters, Make Sure Voters Have a Driver's License!'
By Brad Friedman on 10/16/2006 11:09am PT  

Over on dKos, diarist "histopresto", a new Ohio "Precinct Election Official" in-training, shares his first-hand account of his recent training session.

Not only was he stunned to hear of the meltdown the state experienced with its new voting equipment during their May primary (psst, histo, I know Markos doesn't find such things important, but we do, so maybe that's part of why "it wasn't publicized" as you mentioned...It certainly was over here at The BRAD BLOG!), but after he details all of the primary election problems he came to learn about, he adds "Amazingly enough, after all of these technical problems were addressed by various fixes, the big thing that was stressed by the trainer had NOTHING to do with voting machines. Instead, they spent most of their time talking about the new VOTER ID requirements that people are going to be encountering this November."

Sigh...He goes on to report:

The new state Voter ID law is so flawed that the BOE has determined that these documents are NOT acceptable ID to vote, typically because they don't have an address: Social Security card, Birth Certificate, Home/Car Insurance Card, Military ID, US Passport, State Employee ID, College ID, Notices from the BOE. Thanks to Ohio House Bill 3, a parting gift from the Ohio Republican Party, it is now easier for an American citizen to enter the United States from a foreign country than it is to vote in the State of Ohio.

Check out the full report...

(Hat-tip emailer Sharon A.)




Internal Memo from SoS Office to County Election Officials Informs That Any CA Voter is Entitled to Choose Paper over Plastic!
Apparent Response by Republican State Officials to Our National Call for Emergency Paper Ballots Causes Concern for Some...
By Brad Friedman on 10/16/2006 6:35am PT  

Every California voter who wishes to vote on a paper ballot in this year's general election may do so, The BRAD BLOG has learned, according to an October 3rd, 2006 memo issued by the California Secretary of State's office!

The terse, single-page internal memo, sent to "All County Clerks/Registrars of Voters/Vendors" on CA SoS stationery (download complete memo here [PDF]) instructs elections officials across the state that they should "have an adequate supply of paper ballots" if electronic voting machines should break down or "if a voter chooses not to vote on electronic equipment."

Written by CA's Asst. SoS, Susan Lapsley, the memo was issued in apparent response to our recent call for Congress to introduce and pass immediate "Emergency Paper Ballot" legislation. While bills were subsequently introduced in both the House and Senate, neither chamber succeeded in voting on the legislation before adjourning for the election recess. Eagle-eyed BRAD BLOG readers may remember Lapsley as the one behind the Busby/Bilbray fax to Congress, declaring the Republican Bilbray the winner of the recent CA50 U.S. House Special Election to replace "Duke" Cunningham weeks before it was certified, while thousands of votes remained to be counted --- and well after we had already exposed that the tainted election included voting machine "sleepovers" with poll workers in the days and weeks prior, in contravention of both state and federal law.

Lapsley's memo was written just after Congress adjourned and prior to the letter [PDF] we sent last week, along with more than 50 other Election Integrity organizations and leaders, to all 50 Secretaries of State and Governors calling on them to institute immediate plans and procedures for Emergency Paper Ballots.

The good news here, as we see it, is that all California voters across what Diebold refers to as "the country's largest voting market" may now demand paper ballots when they go to the polling place this year. This will be crucial in counties such as San Diego and San Joaquin, where the Registrars of Voters have chosen to side with the voting machine companies instead of the voters by supplying only hackable touch-screen Diebold voting machines for their citizens this year.

In enormous Los Angeles County, which includes some 8 million voters, such dangerously unreliable touch-screen systems are used only for early voting. It seems clear, however, from Lapsley's memo, that even early voters in LA County may now choose to vote on paper ballots instead!

From the CA SoS' memo...

[A]ll county elections officials shall have an adequate supply of paper ballots, as determined by the elections official, available at the voting locations for use in the event of a temporary loss of the ability to use electronic equipment, or if a voter chooses not to vote on electronic equipment.

This back-up supply can be absentee ballots or other option as determined to be reasonable by the elections official. If absentee ballots are used at the polls the voter need NOT apply for an absentee ballot in order to be able to use it to vote at the polls. You may also use paper provisional ballots to satisfy voters wishing to vote on paper in the event that DRE counties do not have a sufficient supply of absentee ballots to satisy the needs of the precinct voters. In such instances, the ballots of verified eligible voters who wish to vote on paper and are provided a provisional ballot to do so should not be treated as a provisional ballot cast but, rather, as a regular ballot.

Seems clear enough to us. And, we believe, it's very good news for the voters of California in general.

With that in mind, however, some Election Integrity Advocates have expressed concern about the vagaries and other dangers of the Lapsley memo, including the Democratic Secretary of State candidate Debra Bowen and election attorney Paul Lehto, both of whom we have immense respect for...

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




Now Why Would That Be? Bob Cesca Has Some Thoughts...
By Brad Friedman on 10/15/2006 11:30pm PT  

We were about to blog Washington Post's article today on the "inexplicably upbeat" moods of both Bush and Rove these days.

As we're up against it right now, hammering away on a number of deadlines, several breaking items we're trying to dig into, helping to coalesce VelvetRevolution.us' continuing Election Protection Strike Force efforts, while preparing and packing to bug out for a number of upcoming speaking engagements and meetings around the state, we're happy to see that HuffPo's Bob Cesca has already dug into this one for us....

I'd like to present the following pictorial as a corollary to Sunday's Washington Post article, White House Upbeat About GOP Prospects, in which we're presented with this ominous lead:

"Amid widespread panic in the Republican establishment about the coming midterm elections, there are two people whose confidence about GOP prospects strikes even their closest allies as almost inexplicably upbeat: President Bush and his top political adviser, Karl Rove."

"Inexplicably upbeat," Michael Abramowitz wrote. The Post went further by reporting that Rove believes the Democrats will only gain a few seats --- nowhere near the 15 needed to attain a majority in the House of Representatives.

Here now is the face of a man who is mysteriously, eerily, "inexplicably" and almost frighteningly upbeat about his and the GOP's prospects next month:

Cesca continued...

UPDATE: Blogger and BRAD BLOG commenter Scottmandubious has a similar take to Cesca's, and may have even posted his first. In either case, we just noticed, so check him out as well...




The Revolving Door Seems To Be Working Fine For Ex-Insiders as Thousands in Campaign Contributions to the Commission Chair from Old Friends Ensure Diebold's Premier Local Outfit Gets the County Contract!
State Election Integrity Advocates Issue News Release With Some Superb Reporting That Seems to Have Eluded the Local Mainstream Media!
By John Gideon on 10/13/2006 3:33pm PT  

Yesterday the Illinois Ballot Integrity Project (IBIP) issued a press release that is, as I explained to Brad Friedman, "un-freaking-believable". The DuPage County chapter of IBIP has been hard at work tracking cronyism and favoritism on the part of DuPage County, IL Election Commission Chairman J.P. "Rick" Carney in his dealings with Diebold Election Systems representatives from Fidlar Elections and Liberty LLC.

Kudos to IBIP for some great reporting!

The complete "un-freaking-believable" press release follows below...

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




Main Smear Website Remains, But Blog Featuring Unsubstantiated Attacks, Lies --- Initially Posted Without 'Paid for by Feeney' Disclaimer --- Now Removed, Redirected!
Hapless, Corrupt Congressman's Sad Attempt at Discrediting Whistleblower Curtis Continues to Backfire...
By Brad Friedman on 10/13/2006 6:35am PT  

Poor, poor, corrupt, ethically-challenged, morally bankrupt Tom Feeney (R-Abramoff). Can't even run a smear campaign without getting into trouble, screwing it up and seeing it backfire.

As we reported several weeks ago, the feckless Florida Republican launched a "Crazy Clint Curtis" smear website and blogsite, to attack his whistleblower-turned-congressional opponent with doctored photos and doctored facts.

The Tom Feeney for Congress Campaign's shameful tactics continue to fizzle, apparently, as they have been forced to remove their smear blogsite, which had been set up on blogger.com to attack Curtis. The removal of the site, and the link to it from the main smear-site, comes not a moment too soon: we had planned to run an item on Feeney's latest demonstrable lie, which we had noticed was recently posted on the smear blog. The blog, which had been at CrazyClintCurtisBlog.blogspot.com is now redirected to an innocuous search page, with no trace left behind.

In a blog item Feeney posted on the site --- before he "disappeared" it --- he charged that an article published in Hustler about the mysterious 2003 death of Raymond Lemme "was based on the delusions of Clint Curtis's murder conspiracy theory," or some such nonsense.

As it was "we," Brad Friedman, who actually wrote the article in question [PDF], we can tell you that it was based on nothing of the sort. It was based on the mysterious and still unexplained circumstances surrounding Lemme's death, which the Valdosta, GA police had initially ruled a suicide, but then later reopened the investigation after The BRAD BLOG reported on an affidavit filed by Curtis. Curtis alleged that his former employer YEI had harbored Chinese illegal aliens spying for China (later confirmed), overbilled on state contracts (later confirmed), and that Feeney, who also worked for the firm as lobbyist and attorney --- while simultaneously serving as Speaker of the Florida House --- had requested Curtis to create a software vote-rigging prototype (not yet confirmed, but similarly not disproven.)

Lemme was an investigator from the Florida Inspector General's office, looking into the charges Curtis originally filed with the state of Florida in early 2001. In his sworn affidavit, Curtis says that Lemme told him in June of 2003 that his final report was almost complete, and that he'd found the corruption "went all the way to the top." Two weeks later, Lemme was found dead in Valdosta, Georgia.

Our story on Lemme's death detailed the many contradictions between the official police report and the unearthed photographs of the death scene --- photographs which the police report originally stated were taken at the scene but unavailable, due to a "failure in the camera's flash memory cards."

And now, Feeney has scrubbed the smear blogsite altogether, in what appears to be the latest misstep in the Congressman's bizarre and shameful campaign.

Previous follies in Feeney's smear campaign include (but are not limited to):

  • Using hit song "Crazy", by Gnarls Barkley, without permission on the smear website. Feeney removed it after complaints from the record publisher.
  • Linking to a "How to Make a Tinfoil Hat" website. This prompted the owner to redirect his page --- when clicked from Feeney's smearsite --- to an ethics watchdog webpage detailing Feeney's lobbyist- and foreign agent-funded vacations in violation of Congressional ethics rules. (Feeney is the only, as-yet-unindicted Congressman remaining in the House to have traveled with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff to a posh golf resort in Scotland.) Feeney removed the link a day or two later.
  • Failing to include "Paid for by Tom Feeney" on the smear blogsite. He recently added the disclaimer after a complaint was filed with authorities.
  • Creating a wacky 9/11 Conspiracy Theory concerning Curtis. Disproven by the very evidence Feeney used to make it.
  • A smear campaign mailing featuring doctored photos of Curtis and a Hustler magazine cover, sent by Feeney to more than 100,000 voters. A local mom was angered at having to explain the "smut" campaign literature to her 9 year old son, who picked up the mail. Local news stations covered the misstep.
  • All of this from a man who issued a news release in the early morning hours after Curtis's landslide victory in the Florida primary. Quoth Feeney: "Serious times demand serious leaders and Curtis is not even in the same solar system as the rest of us."

    Really? Which solar system are you in, Mr. Feeney? We're still waiting for your "serious" leadership, or at least a serious campaign on both the issues and allegations.

    For his part, Curtis recently issued a press release calling on Feeney to explain what he knew of Florida colleague Mark Foley's sexual predator issues and when he knew about them. As a GOP Deputy Whip in the U.S. House, Feeney is a part of the Leadership who had been reportedly made aware of Foley's predilections long before the information was publicly revealed.

    So far, Feeney has refused to comment on the record, to our knowledge, concerning the Foley matter.

    He has also refused to take a polygraph test concerning Curtis's allegations and has denied, but not answered to, them. Curtis, who gave an account of the remarkable story in video-taped sworn testimony to a Congressional panel in late 2004, successfully passed such a polygraph on his own in early 2005.

    For more info on The BRAD BLOG's continuing investigative series on
    The Clint Curtis/Tom Feeney/Yang Enterprises Vote-Rigging Scandal series, please see:
    - A Quick Summary of the story so far.
    - An Index of all the Key Articles & Evidence in the series so far.
    - Curtis is now running for U.S. Congress against Feeney.
    To support or for more info, see: www.ClintCurtis.com



    Urgent Plea Mailed to 50 State Governors, Sec's of State and Election Directors Signed by Broad Coalition of Election Integrity Advocacy Orgs, Congressional Members, Elections Officials, Computer Scientists, Civil Rights Attorneys and Journalists
    Initial Federal Effort Calling for Back-Up Paper Ballots Now Moves to States, Citizens Asked to Join the Call!
    By Brad Friedman on 10/12/2006 1:03pm PT  

    An urgent letter has been sent today to the Governors, Secretaries of State and State Election Directors of all 50 states urging them to immediately create and implement plans and procedures for allowing the use of Emergency Paper Ballots at every local jurisdiction during this November's general election.

    The missive, signed by a broad coalition of more than 50 Election Integrity Advocate groups, congressional members, elections officials, computer scientists, attorneys and journalists comes on the heels of Federal legislation recently introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate. Those bills, which were not brought up for a vote before Congress adjourned for the Election Recess, called for funding to states who implement plans to provide Emergency Paper Ballots. The legislation was introduced in the wake of recent primary elections around the country where voters were unable to cast a vote due to failure, malfunction, or other inability of electronic voting systems.

    The two-page letter [PDF] (also posted in full at the end of this article) was signed by individuals such as: Sen. Barbara Boxer, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Sen. John Kerry, Rep. Rush Holt, Leon County, FL Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho, OH elections attorney Cliff Arnebeck and University of Iowa computer scientist Doug Jones. Organizations signed on include: Common Cause, VerifiedVoting.org, VotersUnite.org, BlackBoxVoting.org, VoterAction.org, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, MoveOn.org, TrueMajorityAction.org and many other national, state and local Election Integrity advocate groups.

    "No legally registered voter should ever be told to 'come back later,' or be forced to use a provisional ballot simply because a voting system is unavailable to them at the time they are able to vote," the letter reads. "It is imperative that an ample supply of Emergency Paper Ballots be made available to account for any unforeseen circumstance."

    The letter continues, "All voters must have the option to vote on an Emergency Paper Ballot if necessary and all such ballots must be counted as regular --- not provisional --- ballots."

    As well, it's pointed out that some states already have certain procedures required by law to ensure that registered voters are allowed to vote, in the event that primary balloting procedures break down. Officials are urged to check those requirements and otherwise "draft, establish and publicize your own state's common-sense plans for Emergency Paper Ballots at every polling place this Nov. 7th, so that every election official, poll worker, and voter may be crystal clear on the procedures for utilizing such measures."

    The movement calling on states to create Emergency Paper Ballot plans began just three weeks ago when The BRAD BLOG first called on the U.S. Congress to introduce and pass legislation in order to ensure that legally registered voters would not be turned away from the polls without being allowed to vote, as has been the case for thousands of voters in a number of states this year due to voting machines that failed to start up, were misprogrammed, failed during voting or, in some cases, hadn't been brought to polling places at all until several hours after polls were to have opened.

    Many voters were either told to "come back later" or given Provisional Ballots, which are not counted as normal ballots on Election Night and frequently not counted at all.

    Legislation for Emergency Ballots was introduced the following week in the U.S. Senate by Senators Boxer, Christopher Dodd, Russ Feingold and Kerry. A matching House version was filed the next day by Rep. Rush Holt and co-sponsored by 28 other House members. As well, Feingold and Kerry introduced a "Sense of the Senate" resolution calling for same, but that effort was also never brought up for a vote on the floor before the recess.

    The letter, drafted by this journalist along with a number of other signatories, was sent to all recipients via return-receipt requested certified mailing this morning by VelvetRevolution.us. [DISCLOSURE: The BRAD BLOG is a co-founder of VR.]

    With the failure of Congress to pass such crucial legislation prior to this November's important general election, the effort now moves to the State and Local level. Organizations and individuals are called on to contact their State and Local Elections officals to assure that plans are in place to accommodate any and all unforeseen circumstances.

    Alluding to Americans who have fought for and defended the right to vote in the past, and indeed to this day around the globe, the letter concludes: "Our vote is our precious franchise. We believe it is worth defending, and worth the effort to guarantee that that right remains assured and inviolate."

    Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), one of the initial signatories, has created an online petition for citizens to urge their Secretaries of State and Governors to ensure such plans and procedures are created and implemented immediately. Take action by clicking here...

    The open letter, sent to all State Governors, Secretaries of State and State Election Directors calling for Emergency Paper Ballot plans and procedures and signed by 55 organizations and individuals, can be downloaded here [PDF]. It also follows below in full...

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




    'There's new evidence that the integrity of our midterm elections may be at risk because of problems with electronic voting machines.'
    'No state stands as more of a symbol of flawed elections than the State of Florida.'
    By John Gideon on 10/11/2006 12:00pm PT  

    Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.Org

    Last night Lou Dobbs doubled the reporting on his semi-regular "Democracy At Risk" segment. Kitty Pilgrim reported on the recent breakdown of the system in Volusia County where but for the local newspaper and stalwart activists the county would have been able to bury discrepancies in their recording of votes in their primary election. Also Bill Schneider reported on how important the November general election is and that there are teams of lawyers ready to step in and take action.


    -- Streaming Flash version...

    The text-transcript of Tuesday's segment on Lou Dobbs Tonight follows in full...

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




    Landmark Documentary Will Feature Exclusive Footage of First Known Hack of Diebold Optical-Scan Voting System!
    Investigative E-Voting Fraud Film --- Three Years in the Making --- to Debut on Cable Channel Nov. 2nd!
    By Brad Friedman on 10/11/2006 6:35am PT  

    Think things have gotten bad for Diebold and friends? Something tells us they're about to get a whole lot worse.

    HBO has just announced that they will be debuting Hacking Democracy, the long-awaited documentary film by Simon Ardizzone, Robert Carrillo Cohen and Russell Michaels, on November 2nd --- just days before millions of Americans will head to the polls to use all-new untested, inaccurate, hackable, electronic voting systems for the first time.

    The BRAD BLOG received the first press release issued by HBO on this film late yesterday; it's posted in full at the end of this item.

    We've yet to see the final version of the eagerly anticipated film (though we're told a screener is headed our way) but we've spent hours of time in conversation over the last year or two with both Michaels and Cohen as the pieces --- and the evidence --- were coming together.

    We're told there are some remarkably damaging revelations to be seen --- and heard --- in the film, which includes not just interviews with Elections Officials, Computer Scientists, Security Experts, and Diebold Spokesliars, but loads of on-the-scene, first-hand documentary footage of some of the most remarkable and stunning moments during the long road of discovery in the E-Voting Revolution Scam that's been perpetrated on American democracy before, during and since the 2004 Election.

    The investigative film, nearly three years in the making, is said to lay out a devasting case against E-voting in general, and Diebold in particular. The film, previously known as VoterGate, was released on the Internet in a very short, barebones "Presidential Election Special" just prior to the 2004 Election. At the time, that early, quickly compiled version --- which was jaw-dropping in and of itself --- followed the early stages of investigations into electronic voting machine fraud, vulnerabilities, and malfunction by Bev Harris and the late Andy Stephenson of BlackBoxVoting.org.

    The earlier clips were released for free on the Internet in 2004 when the filmmakers felt they had already acquired so much important footage that they felt a responsibility to do something with it before the Presidential Election.

    But as remarkable as the revelations of that short version were, that was then and this is now: some two years, miles of footage, and at least two or more actual demonstrated voting machine hacks later. The now-retitled film includes scores of fresh never-before-seen interviews, damning statements, and documents, and culminates in one of the most devasting moments in E-voting's short and sordid history: The Leon County Florida Hack, by computer security expert Harri Hursti, of a Diebold optical-scan voting machine in December of 2005.

    The filmmakers were there for that watershed moment when the legendary Supervisor of Elections in Leon County, Ion Sancho, allowed independent computer security experts the opportunity to try and hack his paper-based Diebold optical scan voting system. The result was a flipped mock election, with no trace of the hack left behind, save for the paper ballots (which, in Florida, are now illegal to examine by hand after they have already been counted by a machine.)

    Diebold said it couldn't be done. Diebold, apparently, lied.

    That hack resulted in shockwaves across the national electoral landscape as it revealed the very real consequences of what had, up until then, been a largely theoretical fear about the vulnerability of electronic voting machines to malicious tampering.

    An election had now been flipped for the first time on an actual voting system, this one a paper-based Diebold model. The touch-screen systems, we would later learn, are even more vulnerable.

    The Leon County Hack will be seen, as it occured, for the first time when HBO premiers the film just days before this November's general election, when millions of Americans will be using those same new, hackable, optical-scan and touch-screen voting systems made by Diebold, Sequoia, ES&S, Hart InterCivic, and others for the first time.

    It's about to get much worse, indeed. We hope to have more on Hacking America in the coming days.

    UPDATE 10/15/06: Details now available on HBO's site here...

    HBO's complete first press release on the film, including a schedule of air-dates, follows in full...

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




    AP Has New Details on the Apparently RNC-Funded Registration Fraud in Tennessee, Now Linked to Sproul & Associates
    Fraudulent, Shredded Voter Registrations In 2004 Linked To Same Shadowy RNC Operative, Recipient of Largesse...
    By Brad Friedman on 10/10/2006 9:35am PT  

    Last week we ran an item on fraudulent Voter Registration Forms submitted by a group reportedly tied to the RNC down in Tennessee where there's a tight U.S. Senate race in play to replace the outgoing Bill Frist.

    More information on those dirty tricks, and the ties to long-time Arizona-based GOP operative, Nathan Sproul & Associates, are now being reported by AP.

    Sproul & Associates, and their various shadowy front groups, were linked to the shredding of Democratic Voter Registration Forms in Nevada, West Virginia, Oregon and elsewhere in 2004 as reported by Max Blumenthal in October of 2004 and again recently in Bobby Kennedy's Rolling Stone exposé asking "Was The 2004 Election Stolen?" More details about Sproul and the millions of dollars he seems to have received from Team Bush '04, and their attempts to hide those costs, were reported by Mark Crispin Miller in June of 2005.

    Regular readers of The BRAD BLOG will recall that Sproul & Associates were given buckets of unreported RNC cash before, during and after the 2004 election. For some reason or another. Sproul is also reported to be an organizer for the Christian Coalition. Natch.

    And now, AP is reporting the RNC hired a group down in Tennessee calling themselves Liberty Consultants to register (Republican) voters. Even if they had to make them up to do so. And whaddaya know? Liberty Consultants are funded by our old friend Nathan Sproul...

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




    The BRAD BLOG Urges Caution from Democrats, Progressives and Responsible Media Outlets...
    By Brad Friedman on 10/9/2006 9:59am PT  

    You'll note there is no siren included with this item.

    The BRAD BLOG urges a measured response to the testing of a nuclear media strategy by a madman desperate for attention and respect on the world stage.

    That strategy, by George W. Bush, has now been launched after the apparent testing of an atomic weapon by a country that we've long known has had them and who long ago informed the world that they intended to test them.

    Bush, as you know, has done little to nothing about this known threat to world stability and security for the last six years, while otherwise devoting precious American blood and treasure to non-existent threats elsewhere.

    We expect a slow but persistent ramping up of this "crisis" over the next 29 days news cycles remaining between now and November 7th. The growing "urgency" will emanate from the White House, from within their bully pulpit at the United Nations and, most disturbingly of all, will be amplified by the Administration water-carriers inside and across the national corporate media.

    Democrats, Progressives and bloggers hoping to mitigate the clear and present threat of the Bush Administration and their reckless assault on world stability are urged to exercise caution in their public response to what had previously been a less-than-top priority for the Administration.

    Debate about even that topic serves only to give credence, legitimacy and media coverage to the agenda of a failed and dangerous regime. Mostly, such discussion will do little more than feed an Administration desperate for any distraction they can muster to draw attention away from what might otherwise be a national day of reckoning this November 7th.

    This concludes our BRAD BLOG ALERT and hopefully our coverage of this matter until at least November 8th, 2006.




    Arizona's Scam Photo ID Laws Meet Similar Fate as Court Imposes Injunction for '06 Election!
    And in Missouri, the Democracy-Haters Appeal the Overturned Laws to the State Supreme Court...
    By Brad Friedman on 10/8/2006 5:50pm PT  

    Restrictive and disenfranchising laws for Photo ID requirements at the polls are being pushed all over the country as part of a nationally orchestrated GOP scam that's been underway since at least the first few hours after the 2004 Election.

    (For more details, see this series of BRAD BLOG articles exposing the phony GOP front group at the epicenter of this national effort. They are the "non-partisan" and ironically-named "American Center for Voting Rights". We discovered their onerous, ongoing scam early in their attempt to pull off this nationwide hoax with the direct aid and comfort of now-disgraced Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio, and others even higher-up in the GOP.)

    This week, news on the Photo ID scam front from Georgia, Arizona and Missouri, where the laws have been repeatedly struck down by courts as blatantly unconstitutional. Yet the democracy-haters in favor of these laws continue to leverage big-time GOP resources in their never-ending search for legal forums with friendly judges. If that doesn't work, as in Georgia, they're prepared to use the laws anyway, even if they've already been ordered not to.

    The Associated Press is reporting that voters in Georgia have received letters stating they must show a photo ID to cast a ballot on Nov. 7th. In fact, that letter is wrong and the courts found it was wrong before many of the letters went into the mail...

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




    By Brad Friedman on 10/8/2006 3:18pm PT  




    Democrats Now Beating Republicans on 'Every Single Issue'...
    By Brad Friedman on 10/7/2006 5:04pm PT  

    ALSO IN THIS NEWSWEEK POLL HEADLINED "GOP IN MELTDOWN":

    Democrats now outdistance Republicans on every single issue that could decide voters’ choices come Nov. 7. In addition to winning—for the first time in the NEWSWEEK poll—on the question of which party is more trusted to fight the war on terror (44 to 37 percent) and moral values (42 percent to 36 percent), the Democrats now inspire more trust than the GOP on handling Iraq (47 to 34); the economy (53 to 31); health care (57 to 24); federal spending and the deficit (53 to 29); gas and oil prices (56 to 23); and immigration (43 to 34).



    By Brad Friedman on 10/6/2006 2:04pm PT  

    Some good reporting from The Tennessean today on what appears to be some voter registration fraud, possibly tied to the Republican National Committee.

    You'll note that Tennessee, a state which had previously been represented by outgoing Bill Frist and thought to have been a shoe-in for Republicans, is now an exceedingly tight race, with the Democratic candidate for that Senate seat, Rep. Harold Ford, beginning to pull ahead...but just barely...A few votes in a single state, at this point, could make the difference in control of the Senate this year.

    With that in mind, and what we know about GOP willingness to game elections every which way possible --- extra-legal or otherwise --- please note the following tea leaf from today's Tennessean today...

    Voter registrations faked in GOP drive

    At least five apparently bogus voter registration forms were submitted to the Metro Nashville election commission by a worker with ties to the Republican National Committee, and up to 150 other registrations have been called into question, The Tennessean has learned.
    ...
    The five Metro forms contain the names, addresses and phone numbers of bona fide citizens, but the birth dates, Social Security numbers, signatures and some other details are wrong. Four of the citizens told The Tennessean that they did not submit the forms.
    ...
    Metro staff said the registration forms bearing that signature were submitted in the name of Tennessee Victory 2006, a booster group advocating for GOP candidates in the state.
    ...
    Tennessee Victory 2006 is a joint effort between the state Republican Party and the Republican National Committee.

    State Republican Party Executive Director Chris Devaney said that the RNC was running the show at Tennessee Victory in August, when the registrations were apparently collected.
    ...
    Contacted by telephone Thursday evening, RNC spokesman Danny Diaz declined to answer questions about whether RNC officials worked in Tennessee at all.




    Asks, 'Why is any election officer in this country taking a risk with these machines when they could easily move to paper ballots? This is playing with nitroglycerin.'
    By John Gideon on 10/6/2006 12:39pm PT  

    Guest Blogged by John Gideon

    "A growing number of communities all across the country are now saying they simply want nothing to do with electronic voting machines. They've decided not to spend a dime of their taxpayers' money on those machines until they can guarantee that the votes of their citizens will count on Election Day and that those votes can actually be recounted with confidence." said Lou Dobbs at the top of Thursday's "Democracy At Risk" segment. The Lou finishes with this understatement, "Cook County [IL] saying it usually takes three or four elections to get it right. You are just writing off three or four elections? That's an insane statement."

    The text-transcript of Thursday's segment on Lou Dobbs Tonight follows in full...

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




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