She makes him feel so young....

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Go Get'em, Joe the Senator!

At long last....sanity.

Charlie Gibson as Batman and Sarah Palin as...

Protect Elections, Prosecute Rove

From: Velvet Revolution:

RoveCyberGate.com

Tell Congress to investigate Karl Rove’s cyber strategy to illegally manipulate elections. Click here to send an email to your Congress Members demanding immediate public hearings on whistleblower allegations that Rove architected and directed illegal attacks on Democratic candidates through the improper use of corporate funds channeled through fake Web-based front organizations, the improper political use of the Justice Department to prosecute opposition candidates, and the use of Internet based IT networks to alter election results.

UPDATE 9/18/08: Ohio Attorneys File Papers To Take Deposition Of Bush IT Expert Michael Connell And Others-Includes Spoonamore Affidavit

Yesterday, Ohio attorney Cliff Arnebeck asked the federal court in Columbus to allow him to place Bush IT guru Michael Connell under oath to ask him about his 20 year work for the Bush family, including his work for Jeb Bush in Florida 2000 and for Ken Blackwell in Ohio 2004. “The public has a need and right to know, before the next presidential election, that the top Republican IT expert shares a concern about the vulnerability of electronic voting systems to fraudulent manipulation, and that this is not just “conspiracy theory,” Arnebeck wrote. Arnebeck also advised the court that he would seeking depositions from others, including Karl Rove. See Court filing.

Attached to the filing are two affidavits, one from cyber security expert Stephen Spoonamore and the other from analyst Richard Hayes Phillips. The Spoonamore affidavit asserts that the election computer setup used by Ken Blackwell in 2004 provided the means and opportunity for the manipulation of the election results. “ The vote tabulation and reporting system, as modified at the direction of Mr. Blackwell, allowed the introduction of a single computer in the middle of the pathway. This computer located at a company principally managing IT Systems for GOP campaign and political operations (Computer C) received all information from each county computer (Computer A) BEFORE it was sent onward to Computer B. This centralized collection of all incoming statewide tabulations would make it extremely easy for a single operator, or a preprogrammed single "force balancing computer" to change the results in any way desired by the team controlling Computer C. In this case GOP partisan operatives. Again, if this out of state system had ANY digital access to the Secretary of State’s system it would be cause for immediate investigation by any of my banking clients.” See Spoonamore Affidavit.

The Hayes affidavit asserts that after reviewing hundreds of thousands of documents, ballots and other election records, “it is my conclusion that there is so much evidence of ballot alteration, ballot substitution, ballot box stuffing, ballot destruction, vote switching, tabulator rigging, and old fashioned voter suppression, that the results of the 2004 presidential election, would have been reversed” had there been a real investigation. See Hayes Affidavit. He insists that the time is now to take depositions from those implicated in the theft of that election.

UPDATE: 9/30/08: Stay Lifted, Depositions Ordered, Connell Subpoenaed, Connell Stonewalls

Many new turns in this case the past few days. On September 22, the federal court lifted the stay in this case and ordered depositions to begin, starting with Bush IT Expert Michael Connell. (See Order in PDF) A few days later, Connell was subpoenaed and ordered to produce documents. He hired three high powered GOP-connected attorneys and filed a Motion to Quash (See Motion in PDF) and an affidavit stating that his information is confidential.(See Affidavit in PDF) His attorneys have refused to make him available for deposition and have indicated that they will not let him testify unless forced to by the court. Attorney Arnebeck intends to secure a court order to enforce the subpoena.

UPDATE: 10/1/08: VR Calls for Special Prosecutor to Investigate Connell and Rove

In light of Mike Connell’s stonewalling of the subpoena in this case, Velvet Revolution today called for Attorney General Mukasey to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the conduct, actions and knowledge of Michael Connell and his confidential work for Karl Rove and George Bush vis a vis election manipulations and destruction of data. VR also called on Congress to hold hearings and place Mr. Connell under oath to testify about election rigging, destruction of White House emails, and spying on Congress. See PDF news release.

UPDATE: 10/3/08: VR Offers 100K Reward In RoveCyberGate Case

Today, VR offered a $100,000 reward for information from whistleblowers who have knowledge of election related criminal activity by Michael Connell, Randy Cole, Karl Rove and others. You can see the full ad here. The information must result in a conviction.

UPDATE: 10/7/08: Velvet Revolution Calls On John McCain To Fire Michael Connell For Covering Up For Karl Rove In Federal Election Manipulation Lawsuit

Velvet Revolution today issued a press release calling for Republican candidate John McCain to fire computer expert Michael Connell from his campaign for covering up alleged election manipulations of Karl Rove and others. Mr. Connell, the GOP’s top computer expert, was subpoenaed based on a September 19th court order to testify under oath in an Ohio federal lawsuit looking into serious allegations that Mr. Rove has directed a strategy to illegally manipulate elections through the use of computer technology. Rather than cooperate in the investigation, Mr. Connell hired attorneys close to the Bush/Cheney Administration and refused to appear for the deposition arguing client (GOP) confidentiality. Those attorneys have said that they will do everything possible to keep Mr. Connell from testifying before the November general election. See press release pdf.

(Please take a bold step to deliver the new era of accountability that George W. Bush promised us when he was running for President in the 2000 elections. Prosecute the criminals who seek to undermine the very foundation of our Democracy...fair and honest elections. If you don't, the terrorists win...with the help of our own government. If we're fighting the epic struggle of our time to protect our freedoms and the institutions that make this nation great, that fight has to mean prosecuting ANYONE who would seek to defraud the voting public and illegally manipulate elections...especially those who would do so from inside the White House.

There is a whole lot more at the Velvet Revolution.com Go to their website. NOW!)

"My Friends" was the wrong phrase to pick to drink to...

Somebody call an ambulance...I can't feel my teeth and my vision is going red.

Town Hall was a stupid debate format. Should have done boxing instead.

Warning for College Student Voters

(Speaking of silencing the opposition, VET)

Last week, Virginia’s Montgomery County, home to Virginia Tech, issued a press release regarding proper protocol for college students registering to vote. In interviews with Inside Higher Ed Tuesday, it was described by turns as “unsubstantiated,” “chilling,” and (more generously) as not “incredibly encouraging or friendly.”

It reads, in part: “The Code of Virginia states that a student must declare a legal residence in order to register. A legal residence can be either a student’s permanent address from home or their current college residence. By making Montgomery County your permanent residence, you have declared your independence from your parents and can no longer be claimed as a dependent on their income tax filings — check with your tax professional. If you have a scholarship attached to your former residence, you could lose this funding. And, if you change your registration to Montgomery County, Virginia Code requires you to change your driver’s license and car registration to your present address within 30 days.”

The county registrar of elections said Tuesday that the memo was intended to counteract the absence of cautionary information given to students signed up through the ubiquitous get-out-the-vote registration drives. Generally speaking, however, those interviewed for this article said the warnings are, at worst, farfetched and misleading, or, at best, overstated and not typically supported in reality.

And, in a year in which historic youth voter turnout is anticipated, and the Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has been propelled by college students’ support, this case in the battleground state of Virginia is “not an isolated incident,” said Sujatha Jahagirdar, program director for the Student Public Interest Research Group’s nonpartisan New Voters Project.

“For a county registrar to issue what really are in our experience unsubstantiated warnings for a particular demographic is alarming,” said Jahagirdar. “It’s upsetting that this is coming up in Virginia. But it’s even more upsetting that the ability of young people to vote is questioned in many other states too.”

She added: “In 25 years of registering young voters around the country, none of the staff has ever heard of a single incident where a student has lost their tax status or their scholarship because of where they’ve registered to vote.”

Meanwhile, Obama’s campaign, which has been registering voters on Virginia Tech’s campus, has called the information propagated by the county “erroneous.” The campaign’s Virginia spokesman, Kevin Griffis, cited an exemption in the U.S. tax code allowing dependents to live away from home while attending school.

And he said that while students should check with their individual health insurers, in the campaign’s calls to 10 top health insurance companies, none indicated that registering to vote at a college address would be grounds for dismissing students from coverage, “and in fact some of them laughed at us.” (In an interview with Inside Higher Ed, Lynne High, a spokeswoman for the mammoth United Healthcare, echoed that students covered on their parents’ health insurance plans aren’t affected if they register to vote in another state.)

“We should be trying to engage as many people as possible in the political process, and have them take part in the civic life of their communities. In the case of students at Virginia Tech, their community is Blacksburg. That’s where they live; that’s where they call home. They should be able to vote there,” Griffis said. (The campaign of the Republican presidential nominee, John McCain, did not return a call to its Virginia state office Tuesday.)

On Information
Montgomery County followed up its first dispatch with a somewhat more neutrally worded news release two days later, on August 27. This one raised similar issues but in the form of questions, which students were prompted to consider in deciding whether to register to vote where their family lives or where their college is.

Among them: “Are you claimed as a dependent on your parents’ income tax return? If you are, then their address is probably your legal residence.... Do you have a scholarship that would be affected if you changed your legal residence?.. Would your health, automobile or other insurance coverage be affected by a change in your legal residence? If you are covered under your parents’ insurance policy, your protection could be affected by a change in your legal residence.”

The language in the county’s second release was taken from the Virginia State Board of Elections’ Web site, which in itself is discouraging, said Jon Greenbaum, director of the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, in Washington. “If you were to look at this as a student, the suggestion that the State Board of Elections is giving you is, ‘You probably should not register to vote here. Don’t register to vote here.’ We think that’s the wrong message to be sending.”

In an interview, E. Randall Wertz, the general registrar of elections for Montgomery County, cited the State Board of Election’s guidance on college student registration as what he relied upon. He explained that, in sending the memo, he was attempting to combat either the misinformation, or lack of information, that college students have to consider when signing up through voter registration drives.

“What’s happening is they’re going out across campus over here and just getting people to sign the registration forms left and right and not telling them issues to consider, or telling them the incorrect information,” said Wertz. “Before they make the decision to register with us, they need to check with the accountant who does the taxes. They need to check if they’re on their parents’ health insurance. By being at a separate permanent address, does that affect their insurance?”

“I was just trying to inform them of things to consider, and then once they’ve made an informed decision and decide to come with us, we welcome them,” Wertz said.

“We don’t want to suppress them from voting and we certainly want them to vote. It’s just, what’s best for them is what they need to consider. Unfortunately, the campaigns, they’re not concerned with what’s best for the student. They’re generally concerned with just getting people signed up.”

From Tuesday through Friday of last week, voter registration drives at Virginia Tech brought more than 2,000 new registrations to the county, Wertz said. He also estimated that about 25 students have called to ask if the county could cancel the processing of their registration.

— Elizabeth Redden

The original story and user comments can be viewed online at http://insidehighered.com/news/2008/09/03/voting.

"And I'm a maverick, also."

Republican John McCain calls Obama someone who is riding solely on his celebrity without real understanding of substantive issues.

And he gives us Palin?

"Hoosiers for the Hot Chick" is their response?

She never answered questions, couldn't stay on topic, a requirement for a real debate, and instead kept shifting to her memorized talking points. Then after the debate the first thing she does is get the crowd to chant "USA, USA, USA"???

Who is she running against? China?

This is the most important election in the history of the world, there is that much at stake here, and they act like its a soccer match.

She gave a shout out during the debate, fer crap's sake.

She has no idea what diplomacy is, how can she be passionate about it?

She's a mainstreeter?

Isn't anyone else sick to death of a "folksy" White House? Please, Jesus God, give me a White House filled with people who know what they're doing! Please, grant me a winning presidential ticket that understands the Constitution they are going to swear to defend. Is wanting that so wrong?

And they lie. They just stare straight into the camera and lie to all of us.

These people, and the people who march in lockstep behind them, scare the bejeebus out of me.

At least she supports the full legal rights of same sex couples. Though, look for that position to change...sorry, "be clarified" within 48 hours.

And she admitted that the Bush administration has made a lot of blunders...but never look back, unless you're looking back to Reagan. Does the Reagan estate get a royalty everytime she plagiarizes the former President?

Do we really want a President and Vice President who want government to get out of the way when our entire economy is on the brink of disaster due to massive deregulations that took away the safeguards put in place to prevent a second Great Depression? How does constantly repeating that government needs to "get out of the way" jive with the massive oversight that she and John McCain are supposedly in favor of?

What the hell is she talking about?

Joe Biden is right. Facts matter.

Why wouldn't she answer the question about John's plan to tax our health benefits as income?

Is the answer to the economic crisis really to blame Joe Six-Pack, as she lovingly calls the electorate?

"Come on, Joe Six-pack Hockysoccer Mainstreeter, doggone it, get some backbone and stop letting Wall Street take advantage of you, will ya? You big lug, you need to stop hitting the payday loaners and trying to live beyond your means, there. Just say, thanks, but no thanks, to them predatory lenders and the rest of those people who are just gonna lie to ya, you know, sayin' things with a pretty sparkle in their eyes and a big old smile on their faces tellin' ya that they care about making your life better when all they really want is for you to help them get what they want, doncha know?"

People like Sarah Palin and John McCain, you big lug.

I don't know, maybe she has a point. If people are actually stupid enough to vote the Palin - McCain ticket into office, they deserve what they get. Unfortunately, the other half of this polarized nation is going to have to suffer for their folly right along with them.

Her victory is not your victory. Not by a longshot.

Sarah Palin Bags Her Some Liberty

Can't wait to witness the carnage tonight.

Nobody has made me weep so much for this country as this woman and her bid for the second highest office in the nation.

All McCain's Horses and all McCain's Men
Couldn't put America together again...