ROLLING STONE: WAS THE 2004 ELECTION STOLEN (COMPLETE ARTICLE)

[kpete]

Was the 2004 Election Stolen?
Republicans prevented more than 350,000 voters in Ohio from casting ballots or having their votes counted -- enough to have put John Kerry in the White House. BY ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. Page 1 2 3 4

The complete article, with Web-only citations, follows. For more, see exclusive documents, sources, charts and commentary.

Like many Americans, I spent the evening of the 2004 election watching the returns on television and wondering how the exit polls, which predicted an overwhelming victory for John Kerry, had gotten it so wrong. By midnight, the official tallies showed a decisive lead for George Bush -- and the next day, lacking enough legal evidence to contest the results, Kerry conceded. Republicans derided anyone who expressed doubts about Bush's victory as nut cases in ''tinfoil hats,'' while the national media, with few exceptions, did little to question the validity of the election. The Washington Post immediately dismissed allegations of fraud as ''conspiracy theories,''(1) and The New York Times declared that ''there is no evidence of vote theft or errors on a large scale.''(2)

But despite the media blackout, indications continued to emerge that something deeply troubling had taken place in 2004. Nearly half of the 6 million American voters living abroad(3) never received their ballots -- or received them too late to vote(4) -- after the Pentagon unaccountably shut down a state-of-the-art Web site used to file overseas registrations.(5) A consulting firm called Sproul & Associates, which was hired by the Republican National Committee to register voters in six battleground states,(6) was discovered shredding Democratic registrations.(7) In New Mexico, which was decided by 5,988 votes,(8) malfunctioning machines mysteriously failed to properly register a presidential vote on more than 20,000 ballots.(9) Nationwide, according to the federal commission charged with implementing election reforms, as many as 1 million ballots were spoiled by faulty voting equipment -- roughly one for every 100 cast.(10)

much more at:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the...

[VolcanoJen]

1. Thank you so much!

Thank you Robert Kennedy Jr., thank you Rolling Stone, thank you BradBlog, and thank you, kpete.

This Buckeye is still waiting for justice.

I'm calling you from somewhere deep in Ohio,
Jennifer

[EVDebs]

2. Muchas gracias ! Bookmarked and nominated for greatest page nt

[stepnw1f]

3. Go Get Em' Jen!

[VolcanoJen]

11. I saw it with my own eyes. Kennedy is RIGHT.

From the article:

In what may be the single most astounding fact from the election, one in every four Ohio citizens who registered to vote in 2004 showed up at the polls only to discover that they were not listed on the rolls, thanks to GOP efforts to stem the unprecedented flood of Democrats eager to cast ballots. And that doesn?t even take into account the troubling evidence of outright fraud, which indicates that upwards of 80,000 votes for Kerry were counted instead for Bush. That alone is a swing of more than 160,000 votes -- enough to have put John Kerry in the White House.

As many of you know, during the campaign, I single-handedly registered 30+ voters... coworkers, friends, young people who wanted to know how to express their displeasure with the administration.

"How?" they would ask me.

"VOTE!" I would say. I always carried a stack of Registration Cards in my car, and eagerly signed everyone up.

I personally know of SEVEN voters I personally registered who never received a registration card. I looked up their precincts and gave them the information needed to vote.

These SEVEN people showed up... and they weren't on the rolls. I cannot express how sickened I felt, and continue to feel, about this.

If I registered about 30 voters, and I personally know SEVEN people who's rights were denied, then Kennedy is SPOT ON about his 1 in 4 statistic.

[stepnw1f]

17. That Would Have Sickened Me As Well

My God...did they ask you what happened?

[VolcanoJen]

23. They did ask, and I was heartbroken.

They were so disappointed. Three of them were coworkers I work with to this day.

And to this day, I wonder if they think I never mailed those cards. To be certain, I did NOT mail those cards. I took all of them, in one bundle, straight down to the Board of Elections office.

Now, I know that the other voters did get registered. But seven of thirty were... what? Thrown out? Shredded? Disposed of? Laughed at?

[stepnw1f]

30. I'm Sorry Jen.. That Must Have Been Really Difficult

Don't blame yourself... you did what you could, and probably inspired others to do what they can. Give yourself a pat on the back instead.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

59. I live in NY

But something similar happened to me too.

I was registered in a different state as I had moved to NY in late 2003. In April of '04, I filled out a form to have my registration transferred to NY state from IL. No problem.

In September of '04, I received a postcard from the state's election board specifically addressed to me and telling me exactly where I was supposed to go vote, which precinct I was in, etc. On Election Day, I took the card with me just in case.

The pollworkers indicated that I was not in their books; I wondered if this might happen as I had transferred my registration relatively recently (as far as bureaucracy runs, anyway). They gave me one of the "special" ballots and told me that the main registration office would look me up and if I had valid registration it would be counted. I figured this was what happened and that the registrar had forgotten to add me to the book given to the pollworkers; after all, I had receieved the notice from the election board telling me where to go, etc.

I left feeling patriotic and hopeful that we were going to take the WH back.

Of course, we didn't.

What stuck in my craw, however, was the letter I received from the election board about 4-5 months after the election. They informed me that I had never registered with the state etc. and so my vote was not counted. In fact, my ballot I had filled out was included in the rejection form letter they sent me.

It still makes me slightly nauseous just thinking about it.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

93. blame it on HARVA

that is, the Help American REPUBLICANs Vote Act.

[VolcanoJen]

268. That is one of the saddest things I have ever read in my entire life.

Wow, Tyrone.

[mdmc]

284. awful

Dems that voted for HAVA are just as bad...

Man, this is disheartening...

[PurgedVoter]

80. There is a reason I call myself purgedvoter.

I have been purged twice. I have heard 4 different excuses why. I have heard that I was fixed when I was not.

[Cha]

170. That is so

Frustrating! Belated Welcome to DU!

[PurgedVoter]

183. Not really, that frustrating but thanks,

I live 5 miles from the Bush Library, so I figure that when I do get to vote it gets flipped anyway. Still, the fact that they are bothering to mess with my vote tells me they don't feel secure even in this area. The fun part is that I know election officials who have changed over to our way of thinking because of the experiences they have had helping with the polls.

[prolesunited]

257. Jason watched the same thing happen

in Clark County. They stole Ohio in 2004 as much as they did Florida in 2000.

[stepnw1f]

4. The Timing is Just Right

Kick for Democracy!

[blm]

55. Exactly - they needed the public to understand the CORRUPTION of GOPs in

Ohio and all over the country before an issue THIS HUGE could be DIGESTED.

[stepnw1f]

186. yes... just like the last Presidential Election in the Ukraine

nice "pre-emptive strike".

[Notoverit]

5. Keep in mind, Ohio was only one state. Florida, New Mexico come to mind...

Kist because dear Bev muddied the waters about Florida so much that no decent person was able to look for anything, didn't make that result valid.
Greg Palast spoke of New mexico and a few other state.
So, that question mark in the title - purely rhetorical.

[bluefish]

6. Thanks for posting this...

I voted this for the Greatest Page.

[Deb]

7. You can also scroll down to the bottom and give opinions :-)

Thanks for posting this link, I'm sending this article out to others.

[CatWoman]

8. keep this sucker kicked

and recommended!!!

[Downtown Hound]

9. Better late than never

is all I have to say. It's funny that when places like DU are discussing issues like this two years ago, we're labeled as paranoid and conspiracy theorists. Then a couple years later, this stuff starts to become mainstream.

[Esra Star]

129. In politics, timing is critical. I think Mr Kennedy has.......

done the research and is aware of the opponents.
He would also be familiar with their tactics.

[NJCher]

207. another reason I love DU

It's funny that when places like DU are discussing issues like this two years ago, we're labeled as paranoid and conspiracy theorists. Then a couple years later, this stuff starts to become mainstream.

Man, I would so hate being MAINSTREAM.






Cher

[Stand and Fight]

10. This deserves to go straight to the TOP of the Greatest Page.

Recommending! Let's get this on the homepage, folks!

[babylonsister]

12. Thank you, kpete! As devastating as this story is, I'm so glad it's

finally seeing the light of day!

[kpete]

15. Sister and Brothers...

We WILL Win This Battle Yet!

[MelissaB]

13. This is a damn good article

and I'm not even half way through it yet.

[aquart]

14. I want the thieves to hang.

They are so drenched in blood, they are almost invisible for the red.

[carolinalady]

16. Reading this article just depresses me. We have known this

for years, so it is great to see it validated, but what really upsets me is that it will only go down in the annals of history, and no one will be punished.

[Notoverit]

18. Exit polls vs results

[MsKandice01]

100. Do you have a link for that?

[eowyn_of_rohan]

114. Link

I think this is it
http://www.solarbus.org/stealyourelection/exitpolls.htm...

[Febble]

154. umm.....

that is one weird link. It turns up from time to time, and I once pursued it to Wikipedia, where, to my astonishment, it was attributed to me.

Well, it isn't mine, and it's wrong, as anyone can check by looking at the voting methods attributed to each state.

So to put things straight let me tell you how it was:

Precinct level discrepancy was lower, across all voting methodologies, including paper, in suburban and rural areas, and in urban areas of less than 50,000. In urban areas of more than 50,000, precinct level discrepancy was higher. There was also a significant difference by voting methodology. However, the difference was in the opposite direction to that implied by these charts: the discrepancy was significantly greater in precincts using older technology (levers, punchcards) than in precincts using DREs or optical scanners.

I do wish someone would put those charts out of their misery. I scrubbed the Wikipedia one (seeing as I was supposed to the source) but they keep turning up in the oddest places.

Cheers

Lizzie

[eowyn_of_rohan]

184. link to all the graphs

The one I posted showed only some of the states' graphs. This one has all of them.
http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=4272

The original webpage was here, back in early Nov., 2004, but is gone now.
http:/ / img103.exs.cx/img103/4526/exit_poll. gif

(web address showed in post as an x'd out image, so I had to separate the address components)

[fearnobush]

203. Remember These CNN screen shots.

Thanks to DU member EarlG for grabbing these screen shots on fraudlection night 2004!

<>

Kerry up 2 among men, up 6 among women at 12:21am

At 1:41am they changed the results to favor Bush:

<>

[VolcanoJen]

19. Is this going to be Rolling Stone's Cover Story?

Oh, I hope, I hope, I hope.

[mod mom]

87. yes!!!!!

[Gregorian]

20. The first page alone is absolutely damning!

This is everything we've been screaming about and yelling about for years now.

Of course, here we are in the same place we were in 2003. November is already upon us.

[LSK]

21. thanks, I was looking for this earlier

[in_cog_ni_to]

22. How much longer will the politicos IGNORE THIS FREAKIN' ISSUE???

I wonder if Chris Dodd will look at the evoting issue as he did when Kerry wanted it investigated or made an issue?

[truedelphi]

24. Curiouser and curiouser

That despite all these allegtions and actual PROOFS, what
are the penalties?

You get the feeling that if someon e had seen Barbara Bush
bent over in a Registrar of Voters' Office, throwing a switch altering
all Kerry votes to bush votes, she would have only been fined
with 200 hours of community service.

[hopeisaplace]

27. lol, actually I think the new republican way is

to come out and virtually admit things are wrong, gone wrong, going wrong, have gone wrong,
could still possibly go wrong, may or may not go wrong, ..."but we're on it and we're not going to
accept anything less than right". (oh.my.gawd.)

I swear it's the old let's just admit it, explain it away, and move on routine now...cause
neener-neener-you-can't-catch-me-neener-neener..

(lol, although not really lol, that's my opinion)

[Chiyo-chichi]

74. I think that is exactly right.

That is exactly what they do... and they get away with it.

[Gregorian]

Shouldn't Blackwell be in jail for subverting an election?

It's crazy. No justice. No media. America is a runaway mess.

It's difficult to stay rational around here.

[NEOBuckeye]

204. Absolutely. Blackwell is a criminal who deserves hard prison time.

I'm glad that SOMEONE has finally put the microscope over this terrible man and what he has done. Thank you, Robert Kennedy Jr!

Blackwell has the audacity to claim he is following in the footsteps of Martin Luther King and Ghandi, but as an African-American, he has in fact, betrayed the very movement and people like King who sacrificed their very lives, just so he would have an opportunity to attain government office in the first place. Ken Blackwell is nothing more than a slimy, fork-tongued, self-serving snake. He needs to take a very hard fall at the hands of justice.

[LaPera]

225. Blackwell WILL be the next Governor...The voting machines will steal it

very easily for him...Shit, Ohio...there is no doubt about this one!

[Raster]

50. she'd just plead "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity"...

She was out of her beautiful mind.

[VolcanoJen]

25. Riveting.... look at this paragraph, for those who forgot the Exit Polls.

On the evening of the vote, reporters at each of the major networks were briefed by pollsters at 7:54 p.m. Kerry, they were informed, had an insurmountable lead and would win by a rout: at least 309 electoral votes to Bush's 174, with fifty-five too close to call.(28) In London, Prime Minister Tony Blair went to bed contemplating his relationship with President-elect Kerry.

My God.

[hopeisaplace]

29. I read a synopsis of this 2 years ago...where have they been???

oh yah, I forgot, sleeping.

[DoYouEverWonder]

35. Damn

I wish TIA was here.

I hope he's at least in good enough shape to get to see this article.

TIA nailed it.

[grasswire]

68. where is TIA?

Did something happen?

[DoYouEverWonder]

78. TruthIsAll

He did tons of work crunching data comparing exit polls and the vote counts.

Check out the election forum for some of his work.

Unfortunately, last I've heard he was very ill.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

144. I hope TruthIsAll knows he was a BIG BIG part in getting this story out

I think he was a consistent drip that became a waterfall. Maybe he saved Democracy for future generations. God bless him. I don't know him, but I read almost all of his postings and I used to think, "keep at, keep at it, someone will hear, someone will listen"

[CornField]

214. Can't read anything about the polls without thinking of TIA

Hope he is smiling at this report... after all, it's everything he's been saying since the election was stolen.

[renate]

127. it is so painful to read those words

I just want to cry, and cry, and cry, and cry, and cry....

[Peace Patriot]

26. There is much more to this story than illegal suppression of Dem votes

by Bushites election officials and operatives. Bushite corporations have gained control of the actual vote tabulation, with 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code in the new (2002-2004) electronic voting systems. Here's a rundown on this deeper problem, which will keep putting Bushites in office, illegitimately, now and forever, no matter how many Voting Rights Acts we pass or manage to get enforced--if we do not address the deeper problem of NON-TRANSPARENT, corporate-run elections.

OVERVIEW: AMERICAN REVOLUTION II

What we now have is several big electronic voting corporations with very close ties to the Republican Party and rightwing causes--Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia-- 'counting' all our votes with 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code--code so secret that not even our secretaries of state are permitted to review it--with virtually no audit/recount controls. This is the result of the infamous "Help America Vote Act" of 2002, a $4 billion electronic voting boondoggle engineered by the biggest crooks in Congress, Tom Delay and Bob Ney (and abetted by Bilderber 'Democrat' Christopher Dodd).

Our elections are now NON-TRANSPARENT and UNVERIFIABLE, and under the control of partisan corporations. The $4 billion and millions in lavish lobbying were also used to corrupt election officials from one end of the land to other. And those they have not been able to corrupt, they have driven from office (Kevin Shelly in California), or sought to intimidate (Ion Sancho in Florida, and others). Corruption or bullying by the Bushite Feds has resulted in the widespread purchase of this extremely insecure, unreliable and hackable--and very expensive--election theft machinery.

Restoring TRANSPARENT elections is a MUST DO, PRIORITY ONE, MATTER, if we want our country back. Without the right to vote, we can do little or nothing to restore lawful government. We can protest. We can be appalled. But if the will of the majority--which has always been for peace and justice, and good government, consistently over the last six years, in ALL the issue polls--cannot be enforced, then we might as well be shouting to the wind.

--------------------------------------

SOME RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN REVOLUTION II:

Practical suggestions for the immediate future:

1. ABSENTEE BALLOT VOTING. Promote absentee ballot voting. It's not the ultimate solution, by any means, but it at least provides a tangible paper record for challenging suspicious election results, and for recounts and investigations. (Absentee ballots were a great help to investigators in 2004.) Absentee ballot voting is also a form of protest against the machines. 50% of Californians are now requesting Absentee Ballots. If enough people do it, the machines will be obsolete; then we can work on getting rid of the central tabulators.

2. MONITOR THE ELECTIONS. Join with others to closely monitor the coming elections and gather and document evidence. See www.UScountvotes.org, and other resources, below. UScountvotes.org needs donations!

3. DEMAND INDEPENDENT EXIT POLLS. Demand that the Democratic Party fund INDEPENDENT EXIT POLLS. Exit polls are used worldwide to verify elections and check for fraud. The war profiteering corporate news monopoly exit polls cannot be trusted (they are doctored to match the results from the voting machines' secret programming code; rather than being used to verify elections, they are used to confirm NON-TRANSPARENT "official results"). The Democratic Party owes us, big time, for their lack of vigilance--and in some cases corruption--on electronic voting. This is one critically needed thing that they can do to help.

4. THINK LONG TERM. Saving our democracy promises to be a long hard struggle. We obviously can't get rid of these machines before the '06 elections, so focus on doing our best with the Diebold/ES&S handicap (a 5% to 10% "thumb on the scales" for Bushites and warmongers), and getting rid of these machines afterward, for '08 and beyond.

5. TELL PEOPLE THE TRUTH. They NEED to know it. Engage them in the fight. Bumper sticker: "Help Us Beat the Machines--VOTE!" There is nothing more demoralizing and disempowering than constantly losing and not knowing WHY. There is evidence that the machines CAN be beaten by massive turnout. Get people involved! Help them to SEE what's happening! THEY will solve the problem, ultimately--if they can only IDENTIFY what it is!

6. PRESSURE LOCAL/STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS. Right now, the best place to fight this fight is at the state/local level, where ordinary people still have some influence. Bush's Congress is NOT going to give us back our right to vote--they are the ones who took it away (with the collusion of some corrupt Dems). Don't look to the Feds--look to your local county registrar, your state election boards, your secretaries of state. Demand TRANSPARENT elections. Also educate and mobilize your local Democratic Party groups.

History has chosen us to save this great democracy and pass it on to the future. The first priority in this historic fight is restoring our right to vote--the mechanism by which we exercise our sovereignty as a people. Without it, we have no power. We MUST change this.

Never give up on our right to vote! NEVER!

----------------------

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN REVOLUTION II:

Hopeful signs - latest news:

California voters sue the state over Diebold:
www.VoterAction.org is suing the state of California and 18 Calif county registrars on behalf of 25 California voter/plaintiffs, on the illegal Diebold "certification" by Schwarzenegger appointee Bruce McPherson.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...
Seven of these counties have promised the judge they would use PAPER BALLOTS, and were dismissed from this lawsuit (4/27/06).
http://kcbs.com/pages/29285.php
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

Maryland rejects Diebold:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

Florida - anti-trust accusations against Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia, re: heroic Florida election official Ion Sancho:
(FLA AG subpoenas the companies)
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/governmen...
http://www.tbo.com/news/politics/MGBKSY8W8LE.html
(info & discussion)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

Utah county clerk fights back!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

(Tide turning?) New York Times: "New Fears of Security Risks in Electronic Voting Systems" (5/12/06)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

-----

INFORMATION AND ACTIVIST RESOURCES for American Revolution II:

www.votersunite.org (MythBreakers - easy primer on electronic voting--one of the myths is that HAVA requires electronic voting; it does not.)
www.UScountvotes.org (statistical monitoring of '06 and '08 elections--they need donations)


(Activist sites with links to state activist groups or info)
www.votetrustusa.org (news of this great movement from around the country)
www.votersunited.org (good general info, and state links)
www.verifiedvoting.org (great activist site)
www.solarbus.org/election/index.shtml (fab compendium of all election info)

www.freepress.org (devoted to election reform)
www.bradblog.com (also great, and devoted to election reform)
www.TruthIsAll.net (analysis of the 2004 election)*
www.votepa.us (well-organized local group of citizen activists in Pennsylvania, where important legal issues are at stake, including state's rights over election systems)
Provisions of the PA lawsuit:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

The Voter Confidence Resolution
http://tinyurl.com/rlnr2 (“We Do Not Consent”)
http://guvwurld.blogspot.com (GuvWurld blog main page)
http://tinyurl.com/amryg (Voter Confidence Resolution

www.debrabowen.com (Calif Senator running for Sec of State to reform election system)
www.johnbonifaz.com (running for Massachusetts Sec of State on strong election reform and antiwar platform)

CALIFORNIANS, VOTE FOR DEBRA BOWEN IN THE DEM PRIMARY THIS JUNE 6!

*Some tributes to TruthIsAll, who is very ill:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

Congressional bills:

Russ Holt's HR 550 requires a real paper ballot, bans secret software in "voting machines", and has more than 170 co-sponsors, but the audit required is too weak, it promotes electronic voting and centralized power, and the secret software might be permitted to continue in the central tabulators (the bill is not clear). At lot of discussion at DU of the loopholes/pitfalls in HR 550 (many DUers support the bill):
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...
To sign the HR 550 petition: http://www.rushholt.com/petition.html

(Note: Senate Bill-SB 330 and House-HR704 simply require a "voter verified paper audit trail" (VVPAT), which may be best for the moment.)


Also of interest:

Michael Collins (Autorank)'s searing election reform article for New Zealand's Scoop.com
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

Bob Koehler (-- four recent election reform initiatives in Ohio, predicted to win by 60/40 votes, flipped over, on election day, into 60/40 LOSSES!--the biggest flipover we've seen yet; the election theft machines and their masters are now dictating election policy! Title: "Poll Shock" 11/24/05)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col321.htm

Bob Koehler's latest: "Trust us: Take this box and stuff it" (3/16/06)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col337.htm
More Koehler:
www.tmsfeatures.com/tmsfeatures/subcategory.jsp?file=20...

Amaryllis (Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia lavish lobbying of election officials - Beverly Hilton, Aug. '05)
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=vi...

HOWARD DEAN remarks on electronic voting machines 04/06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

------------------------------------------------

Throw Diebold, ES&S and ALL election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW!



-----------

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it." --Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence

[me b zola]

208. Outstanding work, Peace Patriot

May we right this wrong.


((((((Peace Patriot)))))

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

28. I dedicate this story...

To Dear TruthIsAll. Verily, he wrote so damn much of it and was a voice crying out in the wilderness.

God bless him.

[hopeisaplace]

33. absolutely, I remember a lot of his material...I read so much

on this issue after the election - I was outraged.
(was a DU Lurker in those days)

[PhilYerHead]

135. I was a lurker until this post.

TruthIsAll did us all a great service. We're lucky to have him.

Phil

[hopeisaplace]

185. Welcome to DU, :)

he sure did..

[DemExpat]

52. I will join you on this, T_S.....

I dedicate this to TIA as well, and am very happy and at the same time strangely saddened to see lots of what he put together come to more light.



DemEx

[blm]

54. Square that salute, buddy.

To TIA.

[lavenderdiva]

64. what has happened to TIA?

I read a couple of threads by his sister, but never heard how he is doing?

on edit: he would LOVE this article. Have his writings ever been published anywhere? if so, any links?

[WiseButAngrySara]

106. I have the same question! I think of TIA everytime I read about exit

poll analysis! How I loved his articles (I was a new DUer at the time). I hope he is well, but like you, I haven't been aware of an update on his reportedly 'grave' condition.

[rainy]

107. Google Truthisall he can be contacted. I just wrote him a letter.

[JPZenger]

31. Scrubbing people off the registration lists in Ohio

At least Blackwell is probably going to lose the Governor's race in Ohio. Here's another excerpt from the article:

"To stem the tide of new registrations, the Republican National Committee and the Ohio Republican Party attempted to knock tens of thousands of predominantly minority and urban voters off the rolls through illegal mailings known in electioneering jargon as ''caging.'' During the Eighties, after the GOP used such mailings to disenfranchise nearly 76,000 black voters in New Jersey and Louisiana, it was forced to sign two separate court orders agreeing to abstain from caging. But during the summer of 2004, the GOP targeted minority voters in Ohio by zip code, sending registered letters to more than 200,000 newly registered voters(64) in sixty-five counties. On October 22nd, a mere eleven days before the election, Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett -- who also chairs the board of elections in Cuyahoga County -- sought to invalidate the registrations of 35,427 voters who had refused to sign for the letters or whose mail came back as undeliverable. Almost half of the challenged voters were from Democratic strongholds in and around Cleveland.

There were plenty of valid reasons that voters had failed to respond to the mailings: The list included people who couldn't sign for the letters because they were serving in the U.S. military, college students whose school and home addresses differed,and more than 1,000 homeless people who had no permanent mailing address. But the undeliverable mail, Bennett claimed, proved the new registrations were fraudulent.

By law, each voter was supposed to receive a hearing before being stricken from the rolls. Instead, in the week before the election, kangaroo courts were rapidly set up across the state at Blackwell's direction that would inevitably disenfranchise thousands of voters at a time -- a process that one Democratic election official in Toledo likened to an ''inquisition.'' Not that anyone was given a chance to actually show up and defend their right to vote: Notices to challenged voters were not only sent out impossibly late in the process, they were mailed to the very addresses that the Republicans contended were faulty. Adding to the atmosphere of intimidation, sheriff's detectives in Sandusky County were dispatched to the homes of challenged voters to investigate the GOP's claims of fraud."

--------
(Comment - By the way, if this system had been used in Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum would have been kicked off the voting rolls. When the Pittsburgh paper mailed a questionaire to his only address within PA., it came back to them with no forwarding address, because Santorum really lives in Virginia.)

[lavenderdiva]

32. thank you kpete, for posting this--

I have bookmarked your thread, nominated it, and am now kicking it. This is one of the most important articles to be published recently.

[rox63]

34. I'll have to pick up the hard copy at the store

or print it out myself. 'Cause it's a long 'un, and staring at the computer screen for that long will surely make me blind before my time.

K&R

[TheUnspeakable]

36. thank you-k&r !!!

[originalpckelly]

37. Told KO to cover this on Countdown...

hopefully he will read my e-mail.

[helderheid]

39. GREAT idea!

[PearliePoo2]

38. Reading this

brings it all back......
I was intently watching the exit polls. I whooped for joy, turned off my laptop and headed to town to buy a bottle of good bubbly. I felt good about my campaign involvement since I had encouraged 4 young people to register to vote for their first time. I answered all their questions about the importance of this election to the best of my ability.
I remember arriving back home with Scampi and champagne for two and that is when the "flip" happened.
I was incredulous, nauseated,..... still am. bastards

[Downtown Hound]

66. I did exactly the same thing

Although I went and bought two bottles, heh, heh. And I got home, put on Air America, and all of a sudden, WHAM! I could practically pinpoint the moment that the switch happened. Funny how we we're both doing the same thing, huh? When it became clear that Kerry was going to lose, I knew right away what had happened, and I was so mad that I threw what was left of my champagne bottle across the room and it shattered on my fireplace. Fuckin' Bush. He's destroyed my country, the world's environment, Iraq, and now my champagne! Is there no end to this man's destruction?

[PearliePoo2]

84. yup...

I was literally bouncing around the store, spent $$ I shouldn't have on the feast, wanted to shout from the rooftops.
After the horror became clear, I fired off a GREAT (half-intoxicated) 2 page e-mail rant to a few repug in-laws.
They responded that it was just sour grapes on my part. (they're now ex-in-laws, ha!)
A year later, they are now grumbling...well fuck 'em.
Seems you can't find anyone now that admits voting for the bastards. Well, I know better and I'll never forgive them. In fact, I don't want to ever talk to them again or anyone else that was so stupid to not see these fascists for what they are.
As far as the environment and our country, yes, you are right. I feel the same way.
I spend a lot of time camping and fishing. Highway 101 down the Washington, Oregon, and California coast is one of my favorite trips.
But seeing the clear-cuts behind the ribbon of trees along the road makes me furious, especially knowing they won't be happy until they hack down the last old-growth fir or Redwood.
Hmmmm, looks like I've got another mini-rant going!
What can we do???? I still have energy left.
(hope you didn't cut your feet on the broken glass!)

[Downtown Hound]

95. No, I was okay, heh, heh

Generally I'm not a mean or violent drunk that throws tantrums, but that night was an exception, and I was alone, so I didn't scare anyone else.

As to what we can do, I think the most important thing is simply to carry on. Keep on doing what we're doing. Get our personal lives in order so we can devote more time to the fight. Marching, posting on DU, listening to Air America, volunteering for campaigns, all of these things are important. But the most important thing is to not let them get the best of us. When we give in to despair, they've won. And we can't let them win. In the end, they will undo themselves. Remember what Ghandi said,

"When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always prevailed. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it....always."

More and more, I see these words as coming true. As for me, I volunteered my time for the Kerry campaign, just as you did. And now I'm about to go off to college for a second degree in mechanical engineering so I can learn about ways to combat global warming. What we need to do is just stay sane and keep a long term focus. These bastards are going to be with us for a long time, but we can't let them get the better of us. Just keep living your life, contribute where you can, and look for ways that you can help. If enough people keep doing that then we are going to beat these bastards someday, I have no doubt of it.

[PearliePoo2]

111. nice words Hound

I keep the hope too. I have turned many people on to Air America 1090 in Seattle.
I have XM radio channel 167 playing quietly at my workplace. heh heh (can Randi play quietly?)
I know a couple of co-workers who have "flipped". Yes!
Good for you and your pursuit to combat global warming. I have been to Glacier National Park and have seen the melting first hand. Going To The Sun Highway scared the crap out of me though.
Long term focus, long term focus, lather, rinse, repeat.
Nice talking to you. Best of luck at school!

[Epiphany4z]

172. I joined

my Local Dem group. We help get Dems elected in our little corner of the world and do some fund raising, we run LTTE contest registration drives ...I said after the election we have to start local give them less places they can pull this shit and that is what I have done. On the plus size its been great fun , I get to meet candidates, go to marches and get all the local gossip..hee hee. I was evan elected secretary although I have no idea why..lol I can't spell or read my own dam writing ..lol

[tinrobot]

85. I know when Bush gave the signal to flip the election...

It was when he held that bogus little press conference at about 10pm.

I'm convinced that was the signal, because right after that, things turned.

[blogslut]

152. Was that the quick trip to Ohio?

Cause that trip gave me pause. That like, hour-long quickie to Ohio on election day?

[tinrobot]

156. After that...

He did go to Ohio during the day, which was odd in itself.

But that night, he watchedd results at the White House and, right when it was looking bleak, Bush came out read some sort of statement. Usually, it's tradition that the candidates remain quiet until they concede or claim victory.

Right after the staement was read, the tallies started flipping.

[blogslut]

163. hmmm

See, what got me about Dubya's peppy lil' visit to Ohio was that it was a great excuse to blanket the city(s) he hit with massive security. If his Daddy and his Daddy's old boss were any indicators, that would entail, streets cordoned off, sharpshooters on rooftops, ambulances, SS vehicles, local police all over...

A tinfioly gal would call that move a state-wide lockdown.

[blm]

190. same thing happened in 2000.... wasn't it earlier, though... I thought it

was about 7 or 8.

[Epiphany4z]

169. It sure does

I remember watching the number and some reporter talking about Rove poking his head in to where the Bush was saying something is wrong with these exit polls that is when I knew Rove knew he had in fact pulled it off.

[NastyDiaper]

40. Went to bed in 2k and 2k4 expecting the best..

..but ending up with the worst. So they stuffed the ballots in value voter country.

Hey, if they are willing to start a war just to profit, should we really expect that this would be beneath them?

Or did we just refuse to belive it could be as bad as it really is.

[helderheid]

43. I suspected with the machines they'd steal it but was hopeful.

Woke up and cried the entire day the next day.

[mdmc]

92. kick for your sig!

[renate]

131. kick for that ADORABLE picture!

Reading a year and a half too late about this mess, I feel sick and brokenhearted at how a presidential election was stolen in broad daylight with not a dissenting peep from the corporate media, and what a disaster that was for the entire world, especially those in need of compassion and a helping hand....

...anyway, what I meant to say was....

Your picture is a gorgeous, precious reminder that there is still so much joy and love in a world that can seem a little overwhelming at times.

Give that darling baby a big for me!

[mdmc]

199. thanks for your post

peace and low stress!

[Gregorian]

41. Well, there it is America. Laid out for all to see.

An illegal election to reelect an already illegal president who started an illegal war.

There is nothing legitimate about politics in America since December of 1999.

[skypilot]

42. kick

*

[tinfoilinfor2005]

44. Blackwell not only has dirt on his hands, they are covered in blood

as well. He is directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of people.

[Raster]

48. blackwell is guilty of Electoral Treason, a crime which should be

punishable by death.

[NEOBuckeye]

206. I'd settle for hard prison time.

Being held accountable for his crimes is the one thing Blackwell probably fears more than anything. But then again, he comes off as being so smug and arrogant that he probably doesn't believe that he will ever be caught and nailed to the wall.

My aversion to capital punishment fosters my belief that Blackwell should not be put to death for what he has done. But I do believe that he should definitely be made to witness his entire political career, his name and everything he has worked for totally exposed, discredited and then completely and irreparably brought to ruin in a very public and universally broadcast trial.

[Beetwasher]

45. Stunning and Indisputable

k&r

[memory]

46. Finally!

I remain hopeful that the true depths of the acts of this administration will be exposed to the very bright light of day and explode into the consciousness of the American people.

It's still hard to understand that most people remain totally "in the dark"!

I'm so glad that Robert F. Kennedy and Rolling Stone are talking about this.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

47. damn good article

[Kurovski]

49. Is this a ground-breaking article? It feels like it.

Will the media and elected leaders finally break through the relative silence and deal with ALL the facts in this case?

Very well documented. A great deal of effort went into that beautiful article.

Thank you to ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. and all who fight the good fight.

[MelissaB]

51. Hee! He even links to the Blackwell letter

http://download11.rbn.com/rstone/rstone/download/misc/b...