Vote Fraud

McCain told the big lie during the last debate claiming that the group ACORN "may be perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history" and may be "destroying the fabric of democracy." The truth is that the fraud was perpetrated against ACORN by a small number of employees trying to up their paycheck by submitting false registrations. There's also a good chance that Republican operatives (or just Republican assholes, there is a lot of gray between the organized conspiracy and those following the leaders) had filled out false registration forms to bolster this strawman argument. The fact is no one showed up to vote as "Mickey Mouse" or any of the other fake registrations. It is also a fact that, at least in Florida, there is a $5000 fine per form not turned in, regardless of whether or not it is a fake. ACORN went to great lengths to help registrars weed out the fake registrations. So why were the Republicans making so much noise about this?

My theory is all the noise was to help cover up the actual voter fraud and actual voter intimidation as well as straight up vote fraud enacted by the Republicans. Tens of thousands of legitimate voters were "purged" from the rolls in many states by Republicans. For instance in Colorado the Republican secretary of state, Mike Coffman* was purging voters up to a week before voting began in direct violation of Federal law. Republican operatives were putting up fliers and making phone calls to Democrats telling them they could be arrested when they showed up to vote if they had outstanding parking tickets (targeting blacks particularly).

And then there's the touch screen voting machines that were built by Diebold Election Systems** owned by a rabid Republican backer which were widely reported to be "flipping" votes and which have been proven to be easily compromised.

This leads me to the state of Alaska, the results from which stand counter to logical expectations, reported heavy turnout at the polls, and extremely heavy early voting. Despite the fact both Sarah Palin and the felon Ted Stevens were on the ballot Alaska actually claims the voting rate dropped by 14% over 2004. Apparently a bunch of people that voted for John Kerry in 2004 stayed home. And a bunch of people that voted for Bush in 2004 stayed home as well. What's really eerie is how the results of the polling looked almost exactly like it did in 2004. The results from the touchscreen machines, that is. The polls in Alaska become more and more puzzling as more absantee ballots come in and as provisional ballots are counted. When compared to the polls, the absantee and other non-touchscreen votes make sense while the touchscreen votes definitely do not add up.

Ohio was using Diebold machines in 2004.

It would appear to me that the Republican idea of "Law and Order" means beating up the niggers and queers while robbing the public treasury blind, stealing elections in broad daylight, and walking away free and fat. The Democrats have got to stop treating Republicans like equals and start treating them like the criminals and liars they are. There is no honor left in the G.O.P. and we need to stop pretending they have any. They will deny a fellow citizen the right to vote simply because they can and it will help them win. That's disgusting.


*Luckily he was stopped. This is good not only because thousands of legitimate (Democratic) voters were allowed to vote but also because this Federal decision has shifted the burden of proof to the State where it should be.

**Originally known as Diebold Election Systems the company has attempted to erase its absolute failure to produce a secure, verifiable voting system by changing its name to Premier Election Systems.

More On That "Bridge to Nowhere"

Palin lobbied hard for the bridge in Gravina, Alaska, and she kept all the Federal money for it. How does that equal "thanks, but no thanks?"

...the money did not go back to Washington. It stayed in Alaska for a different road project.

She endorsed the multimillion dollar project during her gubernatorial race in 2006. And while she did take part in stopping the project after it became a national scandal, she did not return the federal money. She just allocated it elsewhere.

she expressed support for the Bridge to Nowhere earmark as well. “I do support the infrastructure projects that are on tap here in the State of Alaska that our Congressional delegations worked hard for,” Ms. Palin said

When will the mainstream media grow the balls it needs to call a liar a liar?

Here's a really good NPR story about this.

Palin

I'm still trying to get my head around what the Nazis* are doing with Mrs. Palin. They introduce this absolute stranger 7 weeks before the election and then refuse to let her speak or for anyone to question her past in any way. They seem to be using the popular Christian Right tactic of shouting about how they are being "attacked" by the "liberal press," leading to a perception amongst the idiots of this country that they are some kind of innocent, oppressed minority.

Here are some questions I would like answered:

1. Why does she keep saying she opposed the "Bridge to Nowhere" when she actively lobbied for it until the Congress killed it out of embarrassment?

2. She may not be a member of the secessionist movement in Alaska but her husband was. Why is it off limits to enquire about her involvement with this extreme right wing movement? If she never had anything to do with it and opposed her husband's involvement then that's cool. But if she did in fact speak before the group and offered them words of encouragement then I think we need to know this.

3. What actual experience does she have commanding the Alaska Nat'l Guard? The party has touted this as her "executive experience" but they have yet to show she ever gave a single command during her 20 months in office.

4. Her "experience" as a mother has been offered as more proof of what a good Vice President she would be. How can this be offered as proof if we're not allowed to question her about her mothering? Doesn't the pregnant, un-wed, underaged daughter kind of prove she may not have been doing the best job there?

5. If she is so wonderful for making the choice to have a Down's Syndrome child, why is she also so wonderful for wanting to make sure noone else has a choice? Her daughter has also been praised for her "decision" to have her child, i.e. she had a choice. I also wonder how much of a choice her daughter and her daughter's husband-to-be have actually had. On the boy's Facebook site he said (amongst other jock-ish statements), "I don't want children." Hmmmm. We're not allowed to ask questions about this, right?

6. Palin strongly supports abstinence only sex education (which is so oxymoronic it hurts). Isn't the proven fact that this doesn't work combined with her own daughter's pregnancy at 17 kind of beg the question, "Is she really stupid or just ignorant?"

7. Does she really believe that God wants a pipeline through Alaska? Really?

8. Does she also really believe we're fighting a war in Iraq because that's what God wants? Really? That's one fucked up God if you ask me. It also begs the question, does she think God wants us to kill all muslims? Does God want us to take over the world by military force? These are legitimate questions that she is not going to be asked, much less answer.

I could go on and I'm sure I will but I need to go do something busy with my hands before my head explodes.

*a.k.a. Republicans. Let's call a spade a spade, as it were.