Two late-night Good News items for a change!

First, our friend and master progressive broadcaster, Tony Trupiano, returned to the airwaves today (actually yesterday) after a long self-imposed hiatus to run for the U.S. House in Michigan's 11th Congressional district. While he didn't win (this time), Michigan's loss is the world's gain as Tony is back on the air, on the Internets for the time being, every Monday through Friday from 12noon to 3pm ET (9am to 12noon PT).

Our weekly guest visits with the T-Man, which we had much missed, shall resume tomorrow (actually today) at 2pm ET (11am PT). We'll be there each and every Tuesday for your dancing pleasure at that hour. Listen up via TheTonyShow.com and/or call in and say hello or welcome back or whatever at (866) 209-8031!

UPDATE 5/15/07 12:30pm PT: Just finished up my first hour back with Tony T. Plenty to catch up on, along with breaking news and such. Listen up here [MP3] if you're inclined.

Also beginning again today (actually yesterday)...In the first close-to-intelligent move the LA Times has made in longer than I can remember, the paper has restored the Darrin Bell's Candorville to the funny pages!

BRAD BLOG readers may remember when the paper dumped one of their only progressive, urban-based strips last March. The cancellation was especially troubling to us, since it was virtually the only strip which dealt with voting machine issues!

But it looks like at least "6 or 7"* of you answered the call to make noise, as Bell wrote us today with the good news, to say...

Good work all! On behalf of all Los Angelenos, allow me to say thanks for that, and a big congrats and welcome back to Bell!

Check out his blog item today on all of this, in which he writes: "Score one for patriotic dissent, zero for the corporate media's dastardly plan to silence alternative viewpoints. Well, I guess that would be score 289,975 for the corporate media, and one for patriotic dissent, but you get my meaning."

We do, indeed...

* - For explanation of the "6 or 7" reference, see this classic April 2005 BRAD BLOG item for the genesis.

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

Today has been a slow day which is probably a good thing because there are elections happening in different states around the country. No news means there was nothing reported to the media so everything went smoothly or no reports of failures leaked out.

See below for notable voting news stories which are rolling today...

The Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections is dubious about the explanation by the apparent vote fraudster, Ann Coulter, that she used her realtor's address on her voter registration application for fear of stalkers, The BRAD BLOG has learned. Further, when the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office closed their investigation into the documented allegations in April, following an unusual call from an FBI agent, the election chief who had brought the complaint to the PBSO was never notified.

"The whole claim of stalkers was very strange to me," Dr. Arthur Anderson, Supervisor of Elections in Palm Beach, told us in a phone call today. He wondered why the claim hadn't come up before now.

"I found it to be rather ironic that no action was ever taken to conceal her location, her home address, etc., until now that this issue has come up," in relation to allegations that she committed a third-degree felony by knowingly using the wrong address on her registration form, and then voting at the wrong precinct as she did in 2006.

Anderson's comments echoed those of Thomas Jefferson School of Law professor Gregg P. Miller who told us yesterday that the "stalker" claim sound like "a load of bull." He told us via email that if Coulter "were trying to avoid a stalker, she would not have purchased her house in her own name," and added that she would have used "a trust or an LLC " to avoid exposure for her home address on public records.

On Friday, Palm Beach Post's Jose Lambiet reported that Anderson's requested investigation had been shut down --- failing to even interview Coulter --- after an agent from the FBI Academy's Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, VA, contacted the local detective working on the case to instruct her that Coulter's use of a phony address was somehow related to an investigation of his, in which no charges have ever been brought, concerning a "stalker."

Later that day, The BRAD BLOG revealed that the "Special Supervisory Agent" in question, Jim Fitzgerald, seems to have been an ex-boyfriend of Coulter's who may have intervened on her behalf on a number of occassions. His questionable involvement in Coulter's voter fraud case in Palm Beach has spurred an internal investigation, according to the Post.

Anderson also told us that, though the PBSO investigation which began at his request in January had been shut down on April 12, he has never been notified and still has not been sent a copy of their final report.

"Had it not been for someone from the press contacting me, I'd not have known about it," he told us. "I had not heard anything back from the detective that took the case, which is funny since I was told initially that I'd hear back within a few weeks, even for a progress report or something as things moved forward."

"I've still never heard back from them. So to hear they closed the case from someone else is very troubling," he said, adding that he was planning to send the PBSO a letter "to inquire about the reasons for that."

He confirmed comments given to AP on Friday, that, after going through three different law enforcement agencies, and with new election laws recently passed in Florida, it was difficult for him to pursue the case much further. He had previously suggested that his next stop would be the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement if PBSO declined to take on the case.

"Given the new election reform matters that we have to deal with, I'm not inclined to spend much more time on Ms. Coulter," he told us, though he added he was not previously aware of the "FBI boyfriend" angle we reported yesterday and that current issues in the news concerning GOP claims of "voter fraud" could change his thinking.

When we told him about the allegations that the FBI man had been a former lover of Coulter's, Anderson laughed and said, "that figures."...

Guest Blogged by Alan Breslauer

Part 1 (8:18)

Parts 2 and 3 follow below...

Guest Blogged by Alan Breslauer

UPDATE: Newshounds has some thoughts on the show's most recent attempt at "comedy", calling yesterday's outting "painful" and "the longest 1/2 hour I ever experienced watching a show on FOX News."

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

In his column in the Washington Post columnist David Broder reports on HR-811, its status and opposition from state election officials. Oddly the National Association of Secretaries of State has taken no public position according to Broder. However other national organizations representing state legislators and counties have voiced opposition. Broder also mentions opposition from the American Association of People With Disabilities. Strangely congressional aides discount the opposition from AAPD because they think People for the American Way speaks for the disabled community and PFAW is in full support of the bill. What is especially bothersome about this column is that Broder admitted to needing information from an expert so he turned to Doug Lewis of the Election Center for his biased, vendor influenced opinion. It’s too bad that a man who can’t see a conflict of interest in allowing vendors to sponsor events at his semi-annual meetings, is the only person a non-expert can turn to for information and not know that information will be biased....

(Hat-tip David Swanson who has more thoughts at AfterDowningStreet.org)

Guest blogged by DES

We have a shorter rundown this week due to technology issues (yes, my computer died), but looking at the headlines below, two running themes are clear: rich and famous people really are different from you and me (especially when it comes to enforcement versus prosecution of voter fraud allegations), and no matter how much trouble you may be in, it's good to have friends in high places. And if you're really lucky, the press will help out, too!

Among the big stories this week --- besides the ongoing spectacle of Sad Conservative Clown and Vote-Fraudster Ann Coulter --- the deeply flawed House bill HR 811 sponsored by Rush Holt (D-NJ) passed out of committee minus a crucial amendment to ban the use of touch-screen DRE systems, and the election challenges of Clint Curtis and 3 other Democratic candidates were dismissed by the House Administration Committee (although we've heard it may be coming up for a full House vote later, btw), leaving only the challenge of Christine Jennings in FL-13. We also learned that no matter what else may be going on with those Krazy Kids in Kongress, Russ Feingold will find a way to punch through the fog with another way to keep the ante upped in hopes of ending the disastrous war in Iraq and bringing the troops home.

But things got still worse for the poor voters of San Diego, who have a brand spanking new Registrar of Voters freshly minted from the Diebold Sales Force! (Not kidding.)

Read on, dear reader, read on...

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

Michael Shamos is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, the Pennsylvania state voting machine examiner, and a proponent of paperless voting systems. He is also the man who offered a reward to anyone who could hack a voting machine. In late April the university held student-body elections but all 1,933 votes are inaccessible because someone, either on purpose or by accident depending on who is being asked, tampered “with the electronic key used to encrypt and decrypt the results.” Professor Shamos had this to say, “It doesn't say anything about electronic voting systems in general, except that amateurs shouldn't build them.” We agree totally. Amateurs like Diebold, Sequoia, ES&S, Hart Intercivic, Danaher, Liberty, Dominion, Advanced Voting Solutions, MicroVote, and the rest shouldn’t build our voting systems....

It looks like Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) is housing his own little Republican voter fraud factory at his NC crib.

Mike Rogers has several scoops, following up on this item from CBS News today:

Whoops. But Rogers's version of the story reports a number of additional questionably-registered folks who appear to be living in McHenry's house as well, along with a few additional juicy details (okay, rumors, but interesting ones) about the "unmarried" McHenry...

Guest Blogged by Alan Breslauer

Bill Moyers opened his PBS show last night with a brief commentary (1:54) on the lessons the Bush administration and Congress could learn from Prince Harry and the soldiers that will be serving next to him when he joins a British cavalry regiment in Iraq. Instead of complaining about the increased danger that a high profile royal will bring to the troops in his regiment, British soldiers made T-shirts with "I'm Harry" printed across the front next to a bullseye. The point being, according to Moyers, that "the commoners and the Prince are in this together. One for all and all for one."

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

An article in Arstechnica correctly points out that the Lofgren amendment to HR-811:

Even with this change to the bill we are pleased with the way the bill came out of committee. Unfortunately the lack of wording that requires paper ballots for all tallies, recounts and audits keeps us from supporting the bill. Let me be perfectly clear though; we are not anti-HR811. We are, instead, neutral and will continue our fight to ban electronic ballots from US elections.

Ed Note: The above comments represent the position of VotersUnite.org, not necessarily those of The BRAD BLOG.

For more of today's most notable voting news stories, see all the links below...

[Ed Note: Story updated with additional details. Brian Skoloff, of AP's Florida bureau was later revealed as the writer of the article in question. See end of this item for details.]

OATH: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that...All information on this form is true. I understand that if it is not true, I can be convicted of a felony of the third degree and fined up to $5,000 and/or imprisoned for up to five years.
-- Oath signed by Ann Coulter when she fraudulently lied about her address on her Florida Voter Registration Form

AP never fails to fail. Incredible.

Their unbylined report, out this afternoon, is surely good news for Ann Coulter! And we'll bet their headline is currently scrolling by on the Fox "News" and CNN crawls, it's certainly everywhere else. Here's the headline:

We guess the fact that an FBI agent --- who, as we reported earlier today, is apparently her former boyfriend --- interceded inappropriately in the case to claim she was being "stalked" (without evidence apparently) isn't noteworthy enough to include in AP's report.

Neither is the fact that the FBI has begun an internal investigation into the matter, according to the Palm Beach Post this morning.

No, instead, the AP reports --- in an unbylined article! --- Coulter's wet dream headline that she's been "cleared."

And despite the fact that her Loyal Bushie attorney didn't even bother to respond to AP's request for comment, AP passed on his wet dream by reporting completely unsubstantiated horseshit to the effect of: "Her attorney, Marcos Daniel Jimenez, told the detective Coulter may have not changed a previous address because of a stalking incident."

That's a bald-faced lie. Coulter didn't "not change" anything....

Guest Blogged by John Gideon

It has just been announced by San Diego County that they have hired Deborah Seiler as their new permanent Registrar of Voters. Ms. Seiler joins the county elections office from her job as the Assistant Registrar in Solano County, California.

"Seiler brings unique elections experience from the state, local and private sector that adds valuable perspective at a crucial time," according to a press release (posted in full at the bottom of this article) as issued today by San Diego County.

All of which sounds great, until one does a moment or two of Googling --- particularly on that "private sector" point mentioned --- and Seiler's troubling past is quickly revealed to be yet more bad news for the voters of San Diego, who continue to get the worst of what American democracy is supposed to look like.

Look what we found out about Seiler...

Guest Blogged by Alan Breslauer

Warren Buffett, one of the most successful and wealthiest investors ever, makes his 2008 presidential endorsement with Charlie Rose last night. In so doing the Oracle of Omaha stated: