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It's Up to You, New York: 'BradCast' 3/21/24
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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...
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  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...
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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...
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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
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'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
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'Democracy's Gold Standard'
Hand-marked, hand-counted ballots...
Brad's Upcoming Appearances
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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
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The belated and begrudging coverage by Fox' Eric Shawn includes two different video reports featuring an interview with The BRAD BLOG's Brad Friedman...

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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'...

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Another visit on Thom Hartmann's Big Picture with new news on several developing Election Integrity stories...

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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...

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The Secret Koch Brothers Tapes...

By Brad Friedman on 6/26/2005 4:13pm PT  

Not sure what happened, but somehow GreyMatter (the software we use here) overwrote a short entry from Friday pointing to my weekly guest appearance that day on Tony Trupiano's swell show. We had a few fun wing nut callers, always fun, with guest host that day Sean (Tony shows up near the end of the show after returning from a gig on Fox "News"). Here's a link to the MP3 once again, since the first one disappeared for reasons unknown.

This evening, I'll be in-studio at 6pm PT with Barry Gordon for his show on LA's News Talk KRLA 870am, so those of you in town can listen on your actual radios, if you're so inclined. Otherwise, it'll be streaming live for the hour. If you're so inclined. (UPDATE: See this item for some post-Barry Gordon Show thoughts, and a link to the archive of the hour.)

We were able to get a clean copy of last night's fine BRAD SHOW over to the network so that this mornings "Re-BRADcast" was clean and without the technical glitches and drop-outs that occurred LIVE last night. Very frustrating, but such is the way of the technical world in these matters from time to time. We believe we know what caused it, and should be able to avoid the problem again in the future.

We now have clean versions of all of last night's interviews and ther mayhem on the BRAD SHOW ARCHIVES page soon in case you missed anything, or want to hear anything that dropped out due to the technical probs.

I thought the interview with Vincent Fry of the DNC Voting Rights institute was enlightening, the one with John Amato of Crooks & Liars hilarious, with Green Party Presidential Candidate David Cobb energizing and uplifting, and with Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schulz fascinating and encouraging! They're all now up in the archives for your listening pleasure.

Thanks again for all of your support!




Blog Along With Us if you please
We're Being The Media --- because somebody's got to!
By Winter Patriot on 6/25/2005 3:47pm PT  

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

This week's Brad Show is almost ready to hit the airwaves.
Once again we have a fine lineup and the prospect of an excellent show.

Listen LIVE via the Web! Saturday from 7p-11p ET (4p-8p PT)!
Repeating Sunday 12noon-4p ET (9a-1p PT)
Quick and easy access to LIVE listening links, archives, upcoming guests,
donation links and ad info (it's not to late to advertise!)
and more via www.BradShow.com!

Direct streaming links via RAW STORY!
Donate here to help defray costs!

This week's guests:

  • U.S. Rep DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL) on Judiciary Committee Follies! Including Sensenbrenner's abuse of power, the Patriot Act, Downing Street and more!
  • 2004 Green Party Presidential Candidate DAVID COBB on the Green/Libertarian OH Recount and their continuing Federal Court Challenge, plus the upcoming Baker/Carter Commission meeting in Houston and the important counter-hearing being held the day before!
  • VINCENT FRY, Executive Director of the DNC Voting Rights Institute, on the report released this week, "Democracy at Risk: The 2004 Election in Ohio".
  • JOHN AMATO of Crooks & Liars on Operation Yellow Elephant and Video Blogging in the Free World!
  • Join us Saturday Night 7p-11p ET (4p-8p PT)! Listen up via www.BradShow.com, call in with your questions and comments for our guests at 323-650-1286, and play along right here at BRAD BLOG in our LIVE Open Thread during the show!

    URGENT REMINDER: The BRAD SHOW is supported (for now) by listener donations! So get on the phone, or send some e-mail, and tell a few friends about The BRAD SHOW. You (and they) will be glad you did.

    LIVE OPEN THREAD BLOGGING below: click on the "comments" link at the bottom-right corner of this item to join in!




    Meanwhile, Cheney says Gitmo Prisoners 'Well Fed', 'Living in the Tropics'
    By Brad Friedman on 6/24/2005 2:27pm PT  

    It must be Friday. Just breaking from the AFP...

    Washington has for the first time acknowledged to the UN that prisoners have been tortured at US detention centres in Guantanamo Bay, as well as Afghanistand and Iraq, a UN source said.

    The acknowledgement was made in a report submitted to the UN Committee against Torture, said a member of the ten-person panel, speaking on on condition of anonymity.

    The US mission to the UN institutions in Geneva was unavailable for comment on the report late Friday..

    UN sources said it was the first time the world body has received such a frank statement on torture from US authorities.

    Meanwhile...Dick Cheney remains in Fantasy Land and wants us to know that there's nothing to worry about, since Gitmo prisoners are "well fed" and "living in the tropics"...

    We can only hope that Mr. Cheney finds himself taking advantage of such enjoyable digs himself some day.

    (Hat tip Desi for the usual keen Friday eye!)




    By Brad Friedman on 6/24/2005 1:59pm PT  

    Senator John Kerry (D-MA) has written a letter, signed by nine other Senate Democrats, asking Senators Roberts (R-KA) and Rockefeller (D-WV) of the Senate Intelligence Committee to deliver their promised investigation on the political use (or misuse) of pre-war intelligence in light of a "new urgency" due to revelations in the Downing Street Documents. Roberts had promised that investigation would occur after the election, but so far, he hasn't delivered a damn thing.

    RAW STORY's Larisa Alexandrovna, who has been one of the major driving forces in verifying and reporting on the Downing Street Documents in America, has an exclusive on the leaked letter from Kerry et al.




    The Mainstream Media Continues to Fail America...
    By Brad Friedman on 6/24/2005 1:40pm PT  

    Another notable item from HuffingtonPost this week (where they've recently removed BRAD BLOG from their blogroll for reasons unknown to us, but probably known to Scoop@HuffingtonPost.com), this time from Alex Keyssar, a Professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

    Keyssar was in Chicago a week or so ago for a Rainbow/PUSH conference where Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) spoke about his Right to Vote amendment to the U.S. Constitution, otherwise known as H.R. 28 and currently co-sponsored by 55 other House Members. That's right, you have no constitutional right to vote in this country...just in case you didn't realize it.

    In covering the event where Jackson and Howard Dean spoke on the proposed constitutional amendment, Keyssar had the following observation pinpointing precisely where it is that the Mainstream Corporate Media in this country is failing America...

    The point here is that some significant news was made at that event in Chicago on June 12: Howard Dean, chair of the DNC, endorsed the right to vote amendment sponsored by Congressman Jackson. This is not a small development: Dean is a key political figure, and nothing is more fundamental to American political institutions than the right to vote.

    One might have thought, thus, that Dean's public endorsement would get some attention in the press, particularly since numerous reporters were in attendance. But at the press conference that followed the event, reporters displayed little interest in (or knowledge of) the right to vote amendment --- although they had just spent two hours in a room where it was the sole subject of discussion. A room where hundreds of people, many of them African-American, seemed to enthusiastically welcome the prospect of an amendment that would guarantee their right to vote.

    Instead, the reporters' questions focused obsessively on the comments that Dean had made a few days earlier disparaging some Republicans. What the press wanted to cover was not an important substantive issue but a spitting contest between political personalities: e.g. would Dean respond to criticism that vice president Cheney had voiced that morning? Even worse, they seemed more interested in promoting the spitting contest --- by asking questions designed to continue it --- than in sorting out an issue for their readers. Not a single question was asked about the meaning or significance of the amendment itself.

    And so it goes. Nothing new there. Just a reminder of what most BRAD BLOG readers know all too well already.

    If only a young blonde white girl had introduced a Right to Vote amendment in America before being kidnapped! Perhaps then the Mainstream Corporate Media would have decided such an issue was worth letting Americans know about. The abysmal record of the MSM continues...




    Kristen Breitweiser Helps Bush's Political Hatchet-Man 'Understand' 9/11
    PLUS: HuffingtonPost Removes BRAD BLOG from Blogroll!
    By Brad Friedman on 6/24/2005 11:12am PT  

    We've been attempting to track down Kristen Breitwesier, whose husband was killed on 9/11, for this weekend's BRAD SHOW. So far, we haven't been able to get in touch with her, but in the meantime, she posted an open letter to Karl Rove concering his "Understanding of 9/11" yesterday at HuffingtonPost.

    The entire letter needs to be read, since quoting just a few grafs here can't convey the full message of her letter. Nonetheless, here are a just a few highlights from her response to Rove's latest obnoxious, divisive and opportunistic statements as he continues his desperate attempt to help Bush divide the country in an effort to shore up a failed Presidency by using the carnage of 9/11 for their own reprehensible political gain...

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




    Saturday Night LIVE! 7p-11p ET (4p-8p PT)
    By Brad Friedman on 6/24/2005 9:57am PT  

    Guests currently scheduled...

  • U.S. Rep DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL) on Judiciary Committee Follies! Including Sensenbrenner's abuse of power, the Patriot Act, Downing Street and more!
  • 2004 Green Party Presidential Candidate DAVID COBB on the Green/Libertarian OH Recount and their continuing Federal Court Challenge, plus the upcoming Baker/Carter Commission meeting in Houston and the important counter-hearing being held the day before!
  • VINCENT FRY, Executive Director of the DNC Voting Rights Institute, on the report released this week, "Democracy at Risk: The 2004 Election in Ohio".
  • JOHN AMATO of Crooks & Liars on Operation Yellow Elephant and Video Blogging in the Free World!
  • Join us Saturday Night 7p-11p ET (4p-8p PT)! Listen up via www.BradShow.com, call in with your questions and comments for our guests at 323-650-1286, and play along right here at BRAD BLOG in our LIVE Open Thread during the show!

    Until we become the bought and paid for corporate media whore we strive to become, your DONATIONS help us to stay on the air and are very much appreciated!




    All Right, Fellas? Let's Go!
    Blogathon Blitz
    By Winter Patriot on 6/23/2005 11:51pm PT  

    Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

    Hi again, gang! It's me again, your lowly and nearly frozen guest blogger, with another public service announcement:

    I'm sure you'll all remember our friend Steve. He's been playing the role of central planning coordinator for the rapidly approaching Blogathon, which as I am sure you will all remember is slated for early next month --- July 8-11 ... Write that down, BradBloggers!

    Please take a minute to read --- and a few minutes to act on --- Steve's latest message:

    The Blogathon plans continue to move forward. We now have a flyer for the event, courtesy of Shadowtwinchaos, that you can link to for downloading, printing, e-mailing, posting, making paper airplanes out of and whatever else you can think of. You can click here to see a WORD version of the document that you can print or download. You can Right-Click on that same link and choose "Save Target as..." to save the document on your computer, so you can print it or e-mail it as needed.

    {UPDATE}: our friend Torqued has created a web page and a JPEG image, so that those of us who cannot handle WORD documents can still join in the fun. Click here for the web page and/or here for the JPEG.

    Thanks, Torqued!

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




    Better to Rant in Favor of the War Than Actually Participate in it.
    By Brad Friedman on 6/23/2005 2:25pm PT  

    We love this. Crooks and Liars and Jesus' General have combined forces to form Operation Yellow Elephant. One of their first actions was to purchase the following ad in the program for the upcoming Young Republicans National Convention in Vegas (July 6-7 for those who wish to participate):

    We are simply shocked...shocked!...to learn that the Young Republicans turned down the ad with the following comment:

    We are sorry but we must regretfully reject this advertisement. We feel that the tone of the message is too negative.

    Cowards and hypocrites. But no surprises yet.




    Issue Smokescreen Press Release in Reply to DNC Election 2004 Report
    Preparing to release their own report --- on phony issue of 'Voter Fraud'; Exec Director Lies on Video Tape.
    By Brad Friedman on 6/22/2005 6:38pm PT  

    The liars and hucksters of the "American Center for Voting Rights" are at it again.

    As those who remember our series exposing this phony Republican front-group will recall, the ACVR calls themselves a "non-partisan" group and claims a tax-exempt status in exchange for it.

    They are, however, comprised of two key high-level GOP operatives: Mark F. "Thor" Hearne, the General Counsel for Bush/Cheney '04, Inc., and Jim Dyke, the Communications Director for the RNC.

    ACVR has yet to produce their legal 501(c)3 paperwork --- which allows them tax-exempt status --- to us as they had promised, and when Thor Hearne testified at a Congressional hearing just three days after the creation of his phony organization in March, he identified himself only as a "long time voting rights advocate". Apparently he forgot to mention his or Dyke's direct connection with Bush/Cheney and the RNC.

    In response to today's long-await report, "Democracy at Risk: The 2004 Election in Ohio", from the DNC on the problems, including massive voter disenfranchisement and other chicanery in Ohio during the 2004 Presidential Election, the ACVR has just released another smokescreen in favor of Voter Disenfranchisement, this time in the form of a Press Release in response to the DNC report.

    Get a load (and we do mean load) of this:

    "At the same time the number of voting Americans is at a historic high, confidence in our electoral system is at a historic low. Today's report is consistent with the American Center for Voting Rights (ACVR) findings that voters experienced long lines not just in Ohio but also in twenty-eight other states including Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida and Wisconsin. And while the debate over the need for systematic reforms in our electoral system is important, Americans will not regain confidence in the integrity of elections until those who are abusing the system are exposed and punished. ACVR calls on both political parties to support a zero tolerance fraud policy that commits to pursuing and fully prosecuting individuals and organizations who committed fraud and intimidation in the last election. No amount of systematic reform can effectively deter those who commit acts of fraud if there is no punishment for the crime and these acts continue to be tolerated."

    It must be made clear that these guys are snake-oil salesman of the highest order. Note how they disingenously make the point to appear as if they are in general agreement with the DNC report, but quickly slide the focus elsewhere, away from Ohio where the disenfranchisement and electoral chicanery was at maximum impact courtesy of a crooked Secretary of State and Ohio Bush/Cheney Co-Chair (both in the name of J. Kenneth Blackwell). In Ohio, Blackwell still refuses any real investigations of the machinery or of the criminal allegations.

    From there, the press release slithers predictably over to the notion of voter fraud which, by our count, has resulted in two --- that's two --- cases in the entire state of Ohio of anyone fraudulently casting a vote last November. Contrast that to the thousands of documented cases of provisional ballots discarded, electronic votes flipped from Kerry to Bush, hours-long lines and too few machines in Democratic precincts only, and legitimate voters surprised to find they'd been purged entirely from the voting rolls.

    (CORRECTION: It was not two cases of voter fraud in the state of Ohio as we originally suggested above. We've found the information we had recalled, but couldn't find at the time we filed this report originally. According to a June 15, 2005 story headlined "Rampant Voter Fraud a Myth" from Cleveland Plain Dealer, the actual number of fraudulent votes in the state of Ohio was not two. It was four. The article begins: "Of 9,078,728 votes cast in Ohio in 2002 and 2004, only four were fraudulent, according to a new review by a pair of voter advocacy groups." The BRAD BLOG regrets the error.)

    Nonetheless, as these operatives move to encourage the enactment of Voter ID laws which will disproportionately disenfranchise millions of minority, elderly and urban Americans (read: Democratic voters), through backchannel political manipulation, they continue to misrepresent their phony "non-partisan" creds. More from Dyke's release...


    The American Center for Voting Rights will soon release a national report on Voter Fraud, Intimidation and Suppression in the 2004 Presidential Election. The ACVR was founded in February 2005 to protect the election process and guard the constitutional right of all citizens to participate in deciding elections in a fair and equal manner free from discrimination, intimidation and fraud. ACVR is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that neither supports nor endorses any political party or candidate.

    In this 40th Anniversary year of the Voting Rights Act, there are few Americans as despicable as those who use the cynical veneer of presenting themselves as "Voting Rights Advocates" when they are anything but. The are, in fact, the complete antithesis of those brave advocates and activists who have given so much --- including their lives --- in the fight for a right to vote in America. Not to mention those Americans who have been sent to fight and die right now around the globe under the premise of "spreading democracy" by the paymasters of Hearne and Dyke of the ACVR.

    The ACVR clearly has both the money and political pull, however, to make great strides in this area. Real Voting Rights groups were not called as witnesses by Rep. Bob Ney's (R-OH) trumped up Congressional Hearing on the Ohio Irregularities, but Hearne was. That, just three days after his organization appeared on the World Wide Web with a snailmail address at a P.O. Box in a UPS Mailbox Etc. store in Houston, TX, which nobody for the organization has yet to claim as their own. (Hearne is from St. Louis, MO, Dyke now lives in North Carolina).

    As well, the cooked Baker/Carter Commission on Election Reform --- headed appallingly by Bush Family crony, James Baker, who successfully ensured that American citizens would not be allowed to have their votes counted in 2000 --- has Thor Hearne sitting as a member of their "Advisory Panel". No real Voting Rights groups have been invited to sit on that commission or its advisory panel.

    It pays to have unscrupulous friends in high places.

    And, just in case you have any further questions about the sort of unrepentant, un-American, opportunistic phonies these guys really are, take a look at this short video clip --- from ACVR's own website --- of Hearne testifying to Ney's committee last March wherein he avers that it was John Kerry's team that systematically attempted to misinform voters about when Election Day actually was.

    Perhaps this is one of the letters (courtesy of FreePress.org's book "Did George W. Bush Steal America's 2004 Election: Essential Documents") that Hearne suggests, in his video testimony, that the Kerry campaign was sending out to trick voters into not voting:

    These guys --- both the sort who would send the letter above and those who make up the ACVR --- are vermin. And it all serves as a good reminder of why it's so important to continue everything that we're doing here. There is a special place in hell waiting for these creeps. May God save America from cretins like these.

    For more information on the "non-partisan" tax-exempt ACVR scam and the snakeoil salesmen who invented it, Bush/Cheney '04 National General Counsel Mark F. "Thor" Hearne and RNC Communications Director Jim Dyke, please see BRAD BLOG's full Special Coverage of the "American Center for Voting Rights" at https://BradBlog.com/ACVR.



    REPORT: African-Americans Were Far More Likely to be Challenged at Polls, Waited Longer and Were Disenfranchised!
    Touch-Screen Machines Far More Problematic Than Others, 'Vulnerable to Fraud', Recommends Such Machines No Longer Be Used...
    By Brad Friedman on 6/22/2005 12:57pm PT  

    As presented to DNC Chairman Howard Dean this morning, the DNC Voting Rights Institute has finally released its long-awaited report entitled "Democracy at Risk: The 2004 Election in Ohio".

    We're currently reviewing the report, which is available for download in full or by sections at the DNC website.

    Donna Brazile, the chair of the Voting Rights Institute introduced the report at a press conference this morning as reported by The BRAD BLOG late last night. In her opening statements she said that the report "was five months in the making and represents an exhaustive review of public documents."

    The BRAD BLOG has obtained Brazile's complete opening statement, available here. Here are some of the highlights from that statement [emphasis added]...

    The right to vote is the bedrock on which our Democracy stands. If citizens cannot believe that their vote counts, and will actually be counted, they understandably lose interest in the basic work of citizenship, like voting and participating in public debate over relevant issues.

    Our study addresses legitimate questions and concerns raised in Ohio, including questions about voting machines – How effective were they?

    Why were there enough machines in some counties and not in others? Why were there so many more provisional ballots cast in Ohio than in other states of comparable size?
    2.8% of all ballots cast in Ohio were provisional ballots, as contrasted with only 0.9% in PA and 0.3% in FLA.

    Why were people standing in line for hours and why weren't they showing up on the rolls after so many new voters registered? Why did young people have so many hassles voting?
    ...
    Our report concludes that more than one-quarter of Ohio voters had problems at the polls. Far more troubling, twice as many African American voters reported problems at the polls than did white voters.
    ...
    African American voters reported waiting an average of 52 minutes before voting while white voters overall reported waiting 18 minutes.
    ...
    African American voters were far more likely to have their registration status challenged and to report experiencing intimidation at the polls than other voters. 16% of African Americans reported experiencing intimidation at the polls as opposed to 5% of whites.
    ...
    Counties using touchscreen machines had far more problems than voters in other counties.

    ...
    Nearly one-quarter of Ohio voters report that their experience in 2004 has made them less confident about the reliability of elections in Ohio. 71% of whites reported being very confident their vote was counted as opposed to 19% of African Americans.
    ...
    Election reform is a bipartisan responsibility and a bipartisan concern. The Democratic Party will continue to work with Members of Congress, state lawmakers, local election officials and community leaders to make sure that all voters maintain confidence in our system of elections.
    ...
    Among the recommendations made in our report, is the request for a commitment on the part of the Democratic Party to monitor election reform in all fifty states and the district of Columbia, including the codification into law of all election practices; the adoption of clear standards for the equitable distribution of voting equipment and the assignment of poll workers; the adoption of uniform standards for voter registration and the monitoring of same; the implementation of statewide voter lists; the adoption of uniform standards for the issuance of provisional ballots and enforceable rules for counting provisional ballots; to adopt legislation which limits identification requirements to first time voters at the time they apply for voter registration or the first time they vote, whichever should first occur, and to adopt and enforce procedures to guarantee that identification requirements are not abused as a voter suppression tactic; to encourage the adoption of precinct-tabulated optical scan voting machines; to abstain from using touchscreen voting machines unless or until they are perfected such that they are no longer vulnerable to fraud---and even then, to discontinue the use of touchscreen voting machines that do not have a reliable voter verifiable audit feature; to discontinue the use of punchcard systems; and to require voting equipment vendors to disclose source codes so that they may be examined by third parties and ensure that voting procedures are transparent at every level of the voting process; to push for legislation requiring that all equipment used by voters to tabulate votes must not be used for any other purpose; to encourage states to adopt “no excuse required” standards for absentee voting; to encourage states to make it easier for college students to vote in the jurisdiction where their school is located; to develop secure and effective voting procedures for registered voters living overseas; to make voter suppression a criminal offense in every jurisdiction; to improve the education of poll workers and to educate voters where, when and how to vote; and to prohibit partisan officials who volunteer to work for a candidate from overseeing or administering that candidate's election.




    REPORT: African-Americans Were Far More Like to be Challenged at Polls, Waited Longer and Were Disenfranchised!
    Touch-Screen Machines Far More Problematic Than Others, 'Vulnerable to Fraud', Recommends Such Machines No Longer Be Used...
    By Brad Friedman on 6/22/2005 12:56pm PT  

    As presented to DNC Chairman Howard Dean this morning, the DNC Voting Rights Institute has finally released it's long-awaited report entitled "Democracy at Risk: The 2004 Election in Ohio".

    We're currently reviewing the report, which is available for download in full or by sections at the DNC website.

    Donna Brazile, the chair of the Voting Rights Institute introduced the report at a press conference this morning as reported by The BRAD BLOG late last night. In her opening statements she said that the report "was five months in the making and represents an exhaustive review of public documents."

    We will make her full opening statement available here shortly. Here are some of the highlights from that statement [emphasis added]...

    The right to vote is the bedrock on which our Democracy stands. If citizens cannot believe that their vote counts, and will actually be counted, they understandably lose interest in the basic work of citizenship, like voting and participating in public debate over relevant issues.

    Our study addresses legitimate questions and concerns raised in Ohio, including questions about voting machines --- How effective were they?

    Why were there enough machines in some counties and not in others? Why were there so many more provisional ballots cast in Ohio than in other states of comparable size?
    2.8% of all ballots cast in Ohio were provisional ballots, as contrasted with only 0.9% in PA and 0.3% in FLA.

    Why were people standing in line for hours and why weren't they showing up on the rolls after so many new voters registered? Why did young people have so many hassles voting?
    ...
    Our report concludes that more than one-quarter of Ohio voters had problems at the polls. Far more troubling, twice as many African American voters reported problems at the polls than did white voters.
    ...
    African American voters reported waiting an average of 52 minutes before voting while white voters overall reported waiting 18 minutes.
    ...
    African American voters were far more likely to have their registration status challenged and to report experiencing intimidation at the polls than other voters. 16% of African Americans reported experiencing intimidation at the polls as opposed to 5% of whites.
    ...
    Counties using touchscreen machines had far more problems than voters in other counties.

    ...
    Nearly one-quarter of Ohio voters report that their experience in 2004 has made them less confident about the reliability of elections in Ohio. 71% of whites reported being very confident their vote was counted as opposed to 19% of African Americans.
    ...
    Election reform is a bipartisan responsibility and a bipartisan concern. The Democratic Party will continue to work with Members of Congress, state lawmakers, local election officials and community leaders to make sure that all voters maintain confidence in our system of elections.
    ...
    Among the recommendations made in our report, is the request for a commitment on the part of the Democratic Party to monitor election reform in all fifty states and the district of Columbia, including the codification into law of all election practices; the adoption of clear standards for the equitable distribution of voting equipment and the assignment of poll workers; the adoption of uniform standards for voter registration and the monitoring of same; the implementation of statewide voter lists; the adoption of uniform standards for the issuance of provisional ballots and enforceable rules for counting provisional ballots; to adopt legislation which limits identification requirements to first time voters at the time they apply for voter registration or the first time they vote, whichever should first occur, and to adopt and enforce procedures to guarantee that identification requirements are not abused as a voter suppression tactic; to encourage the adoption of precinct-tabulated optical scan voting machines; to abstain from using touchscreen voting machines unless or until they are perfected such that they are no longer vulnerable to fraud---and even then, to discontinue the use of touchscreen voting machines that do not have a reliable voter verifiable audit feature; to discontinue the use of punchcard systems; and to require voting equipment vendors to disclose source codes so that they may be examined by third parties and ensure that voting procedures are transparent at every level of the voting process; to push for legislation requiring that all equipment used by voters to tabulate votes must not be used for any other purpose; to encourage states to adopt "no excuse required" standards for absentee voting; to encourage states to make it easier for college students to vote in the jurisdiction where their school is located; to develop secure and effective voting procedures for registered voters living overseas; to make voter suppression a criminal offense in every jurisdiction; to improve the education of poll workers and to educate voters where, when and how to vote; and to prohibit partisan officials who volunteer to work for a candidate from overseeing or administering that candidate's election.

    ...DEVELOPING...




    By Brad Friedman on 6/22/2005 2:32am PT  

    Great video up on Conyers' site of his delivery of the 560,000+ signatures from American citizens asking for answers concerning the Downing Street Minutes.

    Go to his letter page (which you can still sign if you haven't already), and the link to the video is on the top-right.

    We previously posted photos of the delivery, but the video really brings the moment alive. Driving home the fact that the longest serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives, along with 9 other members of Congress, are not currently welcome in the White House. So much for that "People's House" thing we heard so much about when the wingnuts were so damned disturbed about Clinton having "soiled it". Guess they were just kidding.

    And because he deserves it, here's one last victory lap for Chairman Conyers...




    Focus Said to be on Ohio and Florida...
    By Brad Friedman on 6/21/2005 10:53pm PT  

    This release came via Email too late this evening to verify the details, but as it syncs with information we'd received last week from highly placed sources concerning this report --- which we were told at the time was "due within days" --- we believe the following information is good...

    DNC RELEASES STUDY OF 2004 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN OHIO

    Washington - The Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute will present DNC Chairman Howard Dean their report on the conduct of the 2004 presidential election in Ohio.

    Copies of the report will be available at the press conference tomorrow and at www.democrats.org.

    Who:
    DNC Chairman Howard Dean
    DNC Voting Rights Institute Chair Donna Brazile
    Julie Andreef, Ohio regional field director and practicing attorney focusing on election law
    Cornell Belcher, president of Brilliant Corners Research and Strategies
    Walter Mebane, Jr., Professor of Government at Cornell University
    Dan Wallach, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Rice University.

    When:
    Wednesday, June 22, 2005; 11:00 a.m.

    Where:
    DNC Headquarters, 430 South Capitol St., SE, Washington, DC
    Wasserman Family Conference Room

    Various sources have referred to this report as "explosive" and/or "will knock your socks off" and that the focus of the report is to be on Ohio and Florida. However, we'll wait until we see it to determine if our socks are indeed to be knocked or exploded off.

    Either way, we thought you'd appreciate the heads-up.




    Keep This Really Quiet! Pass It On...
    By Winter Patriot on 6/21/2005 9:58pm PT  

    Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

    Here's an invitation [and a challenge!] to all '6 or 7' BradBlog readers:

    Some of my friends and I have been quietly working on a very quiet little be-the-media campaign.

    We're ready to go. And you can help.

    Psst! A great journalist can explain it better than this lowly blogger. Here's Chris Floyd:

    Tired of Shouting Into the Wind? Try Whispering.

    Winter Patriot has launched a brilliant new DIY activist effort: The Whispering Campaign. It's very simple. WP has set up a website with a selection of short, succinct, printer-friendly articles detailing some nugget of unexplored or underplayed truth about our times; all you have to do is print them out --- and leave them in some public place for passers-by to find and read. As WP puts it: "Ideal locations include book stores, copy shops, libraries, train stations, buses, taxis, laundromats, grocery stores, hair salons, barber shops, rest rooms, gas stations, coffee shops, truck stops... use your imagination!"

    It's real grass-roots stuff --- in fact, it reaches all the way down to the individual blade, a personal form of activism either to supplement collective action or to let each person carve a particular path. It's also a good way of reaching people outside the seething blogosphere or the media/political world in general --- the vast majority of the population, in other words.

    So scoot on over to the Whispering Campaign and check it out. Start moving that mountain one grain at a time.

    Chris gives me too much credit, but otherwise he's spot-on, I think. It's a great idea, isn't it? It's an old one, tried and tested.

    What's new is the implementation. But I can't even take credit for that. The Whispering Campaign stands on the earlobes of giants.

    Here's how you can stand there with us:

    Join The Whispering Campaign! Print the articles, make copies, and spread them around ...

    Send quiet messages to all your friends, post silent messages on all your favorite blogs, do any quiet thing you can think of to help publicize The Whispering Campaign and help good information move along its rightful path.

    It's not enough just to boycott the major media. We have to take over their job! We owe it to our fellow citizens to share good information with them. And this is an easy way for you to help make it happen.

    Are you ready, you 6 or 7 feisty souls? Good! Now Let's Start Whispering!!




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