Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Sat. Dec. 23, 2006

[livvy]

Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.



Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.

If you can:
1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.

2. Post stories using the new Spring 2006 Edition of "Election Fraud and Reform News Directory" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407240

3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.

4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.



Please "Recommend" for the Greatest Page (it's the link just below).

[livvy]

1. New Challenges in Majority For Congress' Progressives

New challenges in majority for Congress’ progressives
By Associated Press
Saturday, December 23, 2006 - Updated: 08:43 AM EST

WASHINGTON- There’s one certainty for the Capitol’s most liberal lawmakers now that Democrats will control Congress: They won’t have to meet in the basement anymore.

“One time they put us in the most obscure, smallest meeting room in the farthest corner,” Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio said of life for progressive Democrats under GOP control. Now, “we should be able to score a regular and accessible meeting place.”

That may be the easy part.

Accustomed to pleading in obscurity for causes like universal health care, come January these progressives from Northern California, Massachusetts and elsewhere will be part of the congressional majority and in a position to actually do something about them.

>more

http://news.bostonherald.com/politics/view.bg?articleid=173595

[livvy]

2. Florida's Delegation Strong on Bipartiasanship

Article published Dec 23, 2006
Dec 22, 2006

Florida's delegation strong on bipartisanship

The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Florida went from having 18 Republican congressmen in the majority party to nine Democrats — including three freshmen — in the majority when power changed hands this past election. That doesn't mean the state isn't well represented in the Capitol.

Republicans may be in the minority, but Rep. Adam Putnam is the third-ranked Republican in the House, giving him a strong say on the GOP agenda and policy decisions. And Sen. Mel Martinez will become the Republican National Committee chairman in January, giving him a direct line to the president.

"Republicans in Florida at this point in time, across the board, are generally as influential as we have ever been," said Putnam, who added that other GOP House members from Florida will be ranking members on key committees like transportation and international relations.

While Democrats' numbers aren't as large, they are making their presence known. Sen. Bill Nelson is considered a potential vice presidential candidate in 2008, and Rep. Alan Boyd leads the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative Democrats who try to steer policy toward the middle ground.

>more

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061223/LOCAL/612230325/-1/news

[livvy]

3. NY: Hevesi Pleads Guilty, Resigns As Comptroller

Hevesi pleads guilty, resigns as comptroller

By CARA MATTHEWS AND YANCEY ROY
ALBANY BUREAU

Original publication: December 23, 2006)

ALBANY - Embattled state Comptroller Alan Hevesi pleaded guilty yesterday to defrauding the government by using a state worker as his wife's chauffeur and aide, a minor felony, and resigned.

"I plead guilty, sir," Hevesi told Judge Stephen Herrick, ending in disgrace his 35-year career in politics.

In a statement to the judge, a subdued Hevesi admitted that he had not intended to reimburse the state before the scandal became public in late September. He also acknowledged, despite his earlier denials, that the services provided by the government worker went beyond the realm of security, including taking Carol Hevesi shopping, hanging curtains, delivering laundry and moving furniture.

Under a plea deal to avoid indictment, Hevesi left his $151,500-a-year post when he entered his plea in the Albany County courthouse yesterday morning, six weeks after easily winning re-election. He will pay a $5,000 fine, the maximum, although formal sentencing won't be until Feb. 9.

>more

http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061223/NEWS05/612230358/1021

[soup]

4. Vote squabble too 'distracting' - Smartmatic to sell Sequoia

By Wire services
Published December 23, 2006

So much for the Venezuelan conspiracy to undermine U.S. elections. The company that supplies voting machines to Pinellas and other counties will be sold by its Venezuelan parent company because the controversy over the foreign ownership proved too distracting. Smartmatic Corp., the parent company of Sequoia Voting Systems in California, said it will sell the company in the coming year. "With so much public debate over foreign ownership of firms in an area that is viewed as critical U.S. infrastructure - election technology - we feel it is both companies' best interest to move forward as separate entities with separate ownership," Smartmatic chief executive Antonio Mugica said in a statement. The announcement effectively ends a U.S. investigation by an interagency panel, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/12/23/State/Vote_squabble_too_dis.shtml

edit: subject line

[BeFree]

13. "...effectively ends a U.S. investigation..."

The democratic party should buy Sequoia. They could get us to help design an opscan that did nothing but count correctly. Why not?

Mele Kalikimaka!

[livvy]

5. FL: Touch-Screen Questions May Lead Lawmakers To Relook At Voting

News4Jax.com
Touch-Screen Questions May Lead Lawmakers To Relook At Voting

POSTED: 2:31 pm EST December 22, 2006
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- When Florida's infamous punch-card ballots went the way of Al Gore's presidential hopes, many thought the state's voting problems had, too. But six years later, policy makers are learning the system still isn't perfect and more changes may be needed.

Confidence is now being shaken in the touch-screen voting machines that some counties chose to replace paper ballots. The issue is likely to come up when the Legislature convenes in March for its regular session.

Legislative leaders haven't committed to any particular fixes, and proposed legislation is only now starting to be filed - none yet includes any major election overhauls. Some election requirements aren't in the law, but left to the individual counties, where 66 of 67 elections supervisors are chosen by voters.

A disputed congressional election in Sarasota County was the latest to raise suspicions for some voters that the electronic machines may have problems recording the right vote. For many, the problem isn't so much whether the devices work, but how difficult it is to know if they do or not since they don't have a paper trail.

>more

http://www.news4jax.com/news/10592648/detail.html

[Kurovski]

6. MERRY CHRISTMAS ER FOLKS!

Thanks Livvy, I gave you a fifth vote for your holiday gift. :hug:

[livvy]

8. Thank you, and a....

right back to you!

[livvy]

7. Paper Jams Hamper Electronic Voting

Paper Jams Hamper Electronic Voting

By STEPHEN MANNING, Associated Press Writer
December 21, 2006 10:58 am

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- The paper ballots and hanging chads that marred the 2000 presidential election have almost vanished from polling places, replaced by electronic-voting machines that are supposed to eliminate recount chaos.

But now election directors have a new worry: printer jams.

The new machines spool out a small paper receipt of each vote cast to verify the machine correctly recorded the vote and to provides a hard copy during a re-count.

Some states like Maryland have been using paperless systems using touch-screen ATM-like computers that record and tabulate votes. But that has produced its own problems and legislation is likely to be filed in Maryland next year to switch from touch-screen to optical-scannning devices, leaving a paper trail.

>more

http://www.heraldsun.com/nationworld/14-801588.cfm

[livvy]

9. All I Want For Christmas is...the Truth by Bob Burnett

December 23, 2006

All I Want For Christmas is...the Truth

By Bob Burnett

This is the time of year when many of us take time out to count our blessings and, perhaps, say a few prayers for peace on earth. Of course, I want peace on earth, too. But what I want first is the truth.

>snip

I'm tired of being lied to by President Bush and his minions. I'm tired of hearing his glib assurances about the occupation of Iraq, homeland security, human rights abuses, and everything else of consequence. I'm tired of seeing his disingenuous smile. I'm tired of seeing Dubya shrug, of watching his body language that tells me what he's really thinking is: "I'm lying; it's politics; get over it." I want the truth. Gimme some truth.

>snip

The hard truth is that we can't trust him. Americans have seen too much of Dubya. As a recovering alcoholic, it seems he's replaced one addiction with another: he doesn't compulsively drink any more, now he lies. Bush may be sober, but he's certainly not clean.

What America needs for Christmas is a fresh start. We need to break away from the sleaze and malfeasance of the Bush Administration. Get back on the path to good government; reclaim our democracy. Talk straight for a change.

We've got an opportunity to do that with a Democratically controlled 110th Congress. The place they should start is by telling Americans the truth. We need straight talk about where we are in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Middle East in general. We need someone other than George Bush to give us an honest assessment of where we are in the campaign against terrorism: what it will take to bring Osama bin Laden to justice and to protect the US from further attacks. We need to come clean about our defense failures.

>more


http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_bob_burn_061223_all_i_want_for_chris.htm

[livvy]

10. Eyeing ’08, Democrats Nurse Freshmen at Risk

December 22, 2006
Eyeing ’08, Democrats Nurse Freshmen at Risk
By ADAM NAGOURNEY

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 — When newly elected Democratic members of Congress showed up here last month, they were taken on the traditional round of orientation, civic-minded lessons on how Congress works, tours of the Capitol and receptions with their new colleagues and leaders.

But about 12 were singled out for a special type of orientation that has continued through this month.

It is the “incumbent retention program,” a detailed plan worked out after Democrats gained control of Congress to fortify the most politically shaky with plum committee assignments, prized bill sponsorship and an early start on fund-raising — all in preparation for their 2008 re-election campaigns.

Yes, their 2008 re-election campaigns.

The 110th Congress has not even been sworn into office. But in a measure of the determination not to surrender the majority in two years, Representative Nancy Pelosi, the presumptive speaker, has instructed aides to begin acting immediately to help Democrats who won by small margins in districts where President Bush did well in 2004 or who coasted in because their opponents were mired by controversy. Those new members are methodically being given coveted spots on high-profile committees, in particular the Financial Services Committee, a magnet for campaign contributions, and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, a platform from which to send money for projects back home.

>more

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/22/us/politics/22protect.html

[livvy]

11. BobGeiger: On Snowe-Landrieu Bipartisan Initiative: Kiss My Democratic Ass

Friday, December 22, 2006
On Snowe-Landrieu Bipartisan Initiative: Kiss My Democratic Ass

Nausea alert: Do not read this on a full stomach if you're a Progressive, who has had it up to your eyeballs with some elected Democrats regularly accepting prison shower-room, Ned-Beatty-in-'Deliverance' treatment from Republicans and then meekly saying "Thank you, sir, may I have some more?"

Because what you're about to read is the Washington, D.C. version of just that.

Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) issued a joint press release yesterday announcing that they want to convene a group of Republicans and Democrats in the new Senate to "build on the success of 'Gang of 14'" and "forge bipartisan consensus on key issues in the 110th Congress."

“I couldn’t be more pleased to join with Senator Mary Landrieu to build upon the success of the bipartisan Gang of 14 with a group committed to bringing comity, consensus and legislative achievements back to the halls of the Senate,” said Snowe. “The American people are tired of partisan attacks and intransigence from the Congress; they are rightly demanding results. And Senator Landrieu and I believe this group will serve as a productive catalyst to bring the Senate together across party lines.”

>more

http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/2006/12/on-snowe-landrieu-bipartisan-initiative.html

[livvy]

12. The Lessons and Lasting Importance of Defeating the Nuclear Option

For Immediate Release: 12/20/2006
Contact: Josh Glasstetter
PFAW Foundation
email: [email protected]
phone: [phone]
The Lessons and Lasting Importance of Defeating the Nuclear Option

Memo From Ralph G. Neas, president, People For the American Way Foundation
As we prepare for the start of the new Congress, I believe it’s worth a few moments to reflect on one of the progressive community’s major victories in the 109th Congress—and what Congressional Quarterly recently termed one of Senator Frist’s 'biggest defeats"—the defeat of the “nuclear option” and the preservation of the filibuster’s role in our system of checks and balances.

In fact, incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently said on the Senate floor, “The nuclear option was the most important issue I have worked on in my public life, and its rejection was my proudest moment as Minority Leader.”

I also believe the defeat of the nuclear option was one of the finest moments for People For the American Way Foundation and our progressive coalition allies. It is absolutely clear to me that the nuclear option would not have been defeated without the strategic, aggressive communications and grassroots campaign we waged in the first months of the 109th Congress. The campaign to preserve the filibuster is a model of boldness, creativity, and sustained effort that we should keep in mind for the important campaigns we have ahead over the next two years.

Extraordinary Stakes

The threat by then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to eliminate the filibuster on judicial nominations through a parliamentary dirty trick would have had an impact far beyond the controversial judicial nominees being debated at the time. It would have brazenly broken Senate rules and altered the very nature of the Senate and its role in our constitutional system of checks and balances.

>more

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=23288

[livvy]

14. Ten Things the Democrats Can Do to Hold Corporations Accountable

Ten Things the Democrats Can Do to Hold Corporations Accountable
By Charlie Cray and Phil Mattera, TomPaine.com
Posted on December 22, 2006, Printed on December 23, 2006
http://www.alternet.org/story/45775/

The midterm election demonstrated a deep dissatisfaction with the Bush administration's handling of the war and with the cornucopia of corruption that infected the Republican-controlled Congress. Yet it was more than a partisan victory for the Democrats. It also represented a popular backlash against business-friendly policies that have left many Americans behind.

The new Congress faces a staggering list of corporate abuses that have been ignored by lawmakers for years -- including executive pay levels that remain out of control, rampant contract fraud and war profiteering in Iraq and at home, widespread corporate tax avoidance, the offshoring of well-paying jobs, and the shredding of health, safety and environmental standards. It's enough to keep many congressional committees working overtime for years.

But the election must be seen as much more than a rejection of government of the Halliburtons, by the Enrons and for the Pfizers. It was also a sign that the myth of the good corporate citizen providing for broad prosperity has been punctured, providing an opportunity for deep change in the entire relationship between government and big business.

Some of the initial measures planned by Democrats, such as a minimum wage increase and a rollback of oil industry tax breaks, will begin to rectify the situation. But much more needs to be done. Twelve years ago, when the Republicans won control of Congress, they proposed a Contract with America. Now is the time for what might be called a Contract with Corporate America -- an effort to put limits on the power of big business.

>more
http://alternet.org/workplace/45775/