Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, Thursday, April 26, 2007

[livvy]

http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/bs/

Welcome to the Thursday Open Thread



Although all members are welcome and encouraged to post to the Election Reform, Fraud, and Related News any day of the week, it is especially important for people to do so on Thursdays. All interested parties should contribute their ideas, and related articles, commentaries, political cartoons, and so forth.

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Be the Media for open, transparent, and accurate elections!

[livvy]

1. Justices Raise Doubts on Campaign Finance

April 26, 2007
Justices Raise Doubts on Campaign Finance
By LINDA GREENHOUSE

WASHINGTON, April 25 — The Supreme Court put defenders of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law on the defensive on Wednesday in a spirited argument that suggested the court could soon open a significant loophole in the measure.

At issue is a major provision of the five-year-old law that bars corporations and labor unions from paying for advertisements that mention the name of a candidate for federal office and that are broadcast 60 days before an election or 30 days before a primary. By a 5-to-4 vote in December 2003, the court held that the provision, on its face, passed First Amendment muster.

But a new majority may view more expansively the Constitution’s protection of political messages as free speech, and invite a flood of advertising paid for by corporations and unions as the 2008 elections move into high gear.

The argument on Wednesday was over whether, despite the 2003 blanket endorsement, the law would be constitutional if applied to three specific ads that an anti-abortion group sought to broadcast before the 2004 Senate election in Wisconsin.

>more

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/26/washington/26scotus.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

[livvy]

2. Giuliani Broadens His Message on Terrorism

April 26, 2007
Giuliani Broadens His Message on Terrorism
By MARC SANTORA

MANCHESTER, N.H., April 25 — In his two months on the campaign trail, the central animating theme of Rudolph W. Giuliani’s presidential campaign has been that his performance as New York mayor on Sept. 11, 2001, makes him the best candidate to keep the United States safe from terrorists.

But when Mr. Giuliani broadened that message here on Tuesday night, saying that Democrats “do not understand the full nature and scope of the terrorist war against us” and that if they were elected the United States would suffer “more losses,” the response from his Democratic rivals was swift and pointed.

Senator Barack Obama of Illinois accused Mr. Giuliani of “taking the politics of fear to a new low.” Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York used the remarks to link Mr. Giuliani to a failure by the Bush administration to quash Al Qaeda. John Edwards called the remarks “divisive and just plain wrong.”

The skirmishing, some of the most intense between the parties in the young 2008 campaign, suggests that a line of attack that the administration used in 2004 would again be a central Republican theme.

>more

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/26/us/politics/26giuliani.html?hp

[livvy]

4. Olbermann: Rudy Giuliani Exploiting Fear for Power and Personal Gain

Republicans equal life; Democrats equal death?
Olbermann: Rudy Giuliani exploiting fear for power and personal gain
SPECIAL COMMENT
Countdown
Updated: 9:32 p.m. ET April 25, 2007

A special comment about Rudolph Giuliani’s remarks at a Lincoln Day dinner in New Hampshire:

Since some indeterminable hour between the final dousing of the pyre at The World Trade Center, and the breaking of what Sen. Barack Obama has aptly termed “9/11 fever,” it has been profoundly and disturbingly evident that we are at the center of one of history’s great ironies.

Only in this America of the early 21st century could it be true that the man who was president during the worst attack on our nation and the man who was the mayor of the city in which that attack principally unfolded would not only be absolved of any and all blame for the unreadiness of their own governments, but, moreover, would thereafter be branded heroes of those attacks.

And now, that mayor — whose most profound municipal act in the wake of that nightmare was to suggest the postponement of the election to select his own successor — has gone even a step beyond these M.C. Escher constructions of history.

“If any Republican is elected president — and I think obviously I would be best at this — we will remain on offense and will anticipate what (the terrorists) will do and try to stop them before they do it.”

>the rest of his commentary and the video is here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18316770/

[livvy]

3. States Seek Limits on ‘Robocalls’ in Campaigns

April 25, 2007
States Seek Limits on ‘Robocalls’ in Campaigns
By SUSAN SAULNY

LINCOLN, Neb. — State investigators here are still trying to figure out who sabotaged Scott Kleeb’s campaign for Congress last November with a barrage of automated telephone calls to voters. The unauthorized calls, officials said, distorted Mr. Kleeb’s views and even used a recording of his voice — sometimes arriving in the middle of the night — with the greeting: “Hi, this is Scott Kleeb!”

Several Nebraska state lawmakers were so outraged by the shenanigans that they are pushing legislation that would impose some of the country’s most restrictive regulations on prerecorded campaign calls, both bogus and legitimate ones. Similar bills are in the works in Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin and at least a dozen other states, prompted in large part by telephone calls authorized by campaigns during last year’s elections.

“Get rid of them,” said Stan Jordan, a Republican state representative in Jacksonville, Fla., who has sponsored a bill there. “When they first started, this wasn’t much of a nuisance. But it’s epidemic-level now.”

Nearly two-thirds of registered voters nationwide received the recorded telephone messages, which as political calls are exempt from federal do-not-call rules, leading up to the November elections, according to a survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, an independent research group. The calls, often known as robocalls, were the second most popular form of political communication, trailing only direct mail, the group said.

>more

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/25/us/politics/25calls.html?ref=politics

[livvy]

5. FL: Paper-Trail Voting Bill Hits House Floor

Published Thursday, April 26, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007

Paper-Trail Voting Bill Hits House Floor
The House version of a bill that would require replacing the state's touch-screen voting machines with ones that leave a verifiable paper trail moved to the chamber floor.

The House Policy and Budget Council unanimously approved the plan (HB 213), which does not contain any state money to help the 15 counties that use the touch-screen machines make the changeover. Gov. Charlie Crist, as well as the Senate, prefer state money to be used.

The House plan encourages the Department of State to seek federal dollars to fund the replacement, but lawyers disagree whether federal money can be used for that purpose.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/NEWS/704260654/1004

[livvy]

6. Diebold loses $5.9 million in First Quarter

Posted on Thu, Apr. 26, 2007


Diebold loses $5.9 million in first quarter
Green maker of ATMs says it needs more time to decide what to do with election machines unit
By Jim Mackinnon
Beacon Journal business writer

More money went out from automated teller machine maker Diebold Inc. than the company took in for the first three months of the year.

And as for the future of its controversial election machines division -- well, the polls are still open, executives said Wednesday.

The Green company reported it lost $5.9 million, or 9 cents a share, on revenue of $628.4 million for the first quarter ending March 31.

The loss was primarily due to restructuring charges of $21.4 million related to a factory closing in France that reduced earnings by 32 cents a share.

>more

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/17137122.htm

[livvy]

7. CA Registrars' Fears Shouldn't Stop E-Voting Tests

Today is Thursday, April 26, 2007
Originally published Thursday, April 26, 2007
Updated Thursday, April 26, 2007
California registrars' fears shouldn't stop e-voting tests
Flawed machines are a threat to the election process.
By Tom Elias

On the surface, it seems hard to argue with the standards set by California's new Secretary of State Debra Bowen for the first-ever large-scale tests of the security and reliability of electronic voting machines used in most of this state's elections since 2004.

For both direct recording electronic voting systems (touch-screens whose votes are automatically recorded) and for vote tabulating devices (machines that scan paper ballots to count votes), Bowen demands "features that secure ... against untraceable vote tampering."

But, predictably, one of the two interest groups with the highest stakes in keeping all current electronic voting systems in place has already objected vehemently.

That would be the county registrars who bought tens of millions of dollars worth of virtually untested voting machines over the last few years. They don't argue with the notion that there should be no possible tampering. Rather, they whine that they couldn't get new, paper-based voting and counting systems ready by next February's presidential primary election if tests find the machines they bought can be hacked. They claim they'd have serious problems, even if testing is completed by August, as Bowen plans.

>more


http://www.dailybreeze.com/opinion/articles/7199341.html

[Peace Patriot]

12. My letter to the editor re this Daily Breeze article on Bowen's e-voting machine tests

Dear Editor:

Thank you for the great article by Tom Elias, "California registrars' fears shouldn't stop e-voting tests: Flawed machines are a threat to the election process" (4/26/07).

In 2002, Congress passed the "Help America Vote Act," which provided $3.9 billion in boondoggle funding to fast-track electronic voting systems run on 'trade secret,' proprietary programming code, owned and controlled by corporations with very close ties to the Republican Party. What is more, HAVA failed to include any requirement of a paper ballot backup. In many states, the vote cannot even be recounted, because there is no "paper trail" of any kind. The best states like California have only a 1% audit (extremely inadequate). Insider hacking is the most serious threat. The corporations own the code. We, the people, never get to see it. That should be illegal. And until it is banned, our only guarantee of honest elections is a significant audit (automatic recount).

We should have a ballot for every vote and a 100% handcount of the ballots. That should have been required from the beginning. It is mind-boggling that it was not.


Another disgrace: Our county election officials, highly influenced by that $3.9 billion trickling through their fingers, and by the lavish lobbying of the e-voting corporations (Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia), act as shills for the corporations. They oppose the most no-brainer reforms, such as the voting machine testing that Secretary of State Bowen is requiring. They should all be fired. They have sold away our right to vote.

I strongly support Debra Bowen in these reforms. They are the least that should be done. And I say, get rid of the "trade secret" code! Votes should be counted in a way that everyone can see and understand!

XXXXX

______________

Send your letter to the editor here (keep it under 300 words) to: [e-mail]

[livvy]

8. 8 Dem-Hopefuls Debate Today in S. Carolina

8 Dem hopefuls debate today in S. Carolina

McClatchy Newspapers

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.26.2007

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Eight candidates for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination face off in their first debate today in South Carolina, a confrontation that could shake up an early race driven so far by occasional skirmishes among proxies or press releases but not yet by the candidates themselves.

The debate will be moderated by NBC anchorman Brian Williams and televised nationally (4-5:30 p.m. Tucson time) on MSNBC.
The candidates will be appealing to a national audience as well as to voters in South Carolina, which will holds the first primary in the South next January.

The candidates appearing at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg will be Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware, Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Barack Obama of Illinois; Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio; Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico; and former Sens. John Edwards of North Carolina and Mike Gravel of Alaska.

>a bit more

http://www.azstarnet.com/news/180148

[livvy]

9. For First Debate, Democrats Try To Lower Expectations

Posted on Thu, Apr. 26, 2007


For first debate, Democrats try to lower expectations

NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - For presidential hopefuls, it's called the Expectations Game.

Here's how it's played: Before a debate, rival campaigns build up the skills of their opponents while downgrading their own candidate's verbal abilities. That way, any bright moments make a performance seem like a home run.

For the Democratic hopefuls, the first major round of the Expectations Game came ahead of Thursday night's debate at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, S.C. The 90-minute event offers eight candidates their initial chance to distinguish themselves on the long road to the nomination next year.

"I've just got to make sure I don't trip walking on the stage," joked Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, who complained that the candidates get no opening or closing statements and that responses to questions are limited to 60 seconds.

>more

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/17137974.htm

[livvy]

10. Heading South, Will Clinton Bring Her Dixie Twang?

Posted on Thu, Apr. 26, 2007


Heading south, will Clinton bring her Dixie twang?

BETH FOUHY
Associated Press

NEW YORK - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is heading south and the question is: Will she use her occasional Dixie drawl?

The New York senator added a Southern lilt to her voice last week when addressing a civil rights group headed by the Rev. Al Sharpton. On Monday, dealing with a microphone glitch at a fundraiser for young donors, she quoted former slave and underground railroad leader Harriet Tubman.

The two episodes prompted some ribbing in the media and hatched more than a few humorous YouTube video clips.

Now, with the party's 2008 presidential contenders set to meet Thursday in their first debate in South Carolina, a national television audience could get its first introduction to Clinton's drawl.

>more

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/17137990.htm

[livvy]

11. US Presidential Debates Go Online

US presidential debates go online

Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Thursday April 26, 2007

Guardian
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and other 2008 Democratic presidential contenders will line up in South Carolina tonight for the first of a series of traditional debates.

In autumn the candidates will line up again, but next time they will not be in the same room. It will be a virtual debate orchestrated by the Huffington Post political blog with other websites, Yahoo and Slate. There will be one for the Democrats and one for the Republicans.

Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington site, said yesterday: "We have agreement in principle from many candidates." She said it was hard to predict the size of the audience, but since so many people got their news online, she expected a sizeable audience.

The debate tonight is likely to be a sweaty affair, in a university hall packed with the candidates, student audience, the media and campaign advisers. Immediately after the debate, the media and advisers will converge in the "spin-room" to argue about winners and losers.

The internet version will see candidates in front of web-cameras in locations around the country. Bloggers will be able to provide instant assessments of candidates' answers and overall performance.

>more

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections08/story/0,,2065598,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12

[Kurovski]

13. K&R. I couldn't get into the forum here, except through a bookmarked post.

Maybe that's why this has been sitting here with only one recommend.

Thanks, livvy! :hi:

[Kurovski]

14. Kick to the top! (nt)