Iris Chang, 36- U.S. Author of 'Rape of Nanking' Commits Suicide

This is seriously sad news. Her life story seems one that I fear will happen to me if I continue to become involved with more and more situations that are tragic and distressing. Maybe the source of her depression was the research she was doing for her new book, which probably wasn't the most joyous of material. I actually read her book when it came out and I must have been 14 or 15 and I remember it having a big impact on me. Her suicide is incredibly tragic when you take into account that she spent most of her young life trying to fight for the truth and justice of so many women within her culture. She was truly inspiring. I just hope that I can do similar kind of life work but that I would be able to balance out my life enough so I won't feel the need to kill myself. I now it's a common thought when you see all the obstacles and issues that exist and that you want to change. How do you remain positive through all the negative, is what I'd like to know. Chang's work will not soon be forgotten.


U.S. Author of 'Rape of Nanking' Commits Suicide
Thu Nov 11, 2004 02:10 PM ET

By Adam Tanner
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The author of "the Rape of Nanking," an acclaimed history of Japanese brutality against China in the 1930s, has committed suicide, officials said on Thursday.

Iris Chang, 36, published "The Rape of Nanking," a graphic account of the 1937 Japanese Army invasion of China. After it appeared in 1997, the book helped prompt Japan to reexamine this dark history.

Police found her body in a car on a road south of San Francisco and said she died from a single bullet to the head. Her husband reported her missing on Monday and police identified the body on Tuesday morning, said Terrance Helm of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department.

"Our detectives determined it was a suicide," he said.

Her agent, Susan Rabiner, said Chang had suffered from "classical clinical depression" and had been hospitalized earlier this year. She said Chang left a note to her family asking that she be remembered as she was before her illness.

The release of her best-selling book came on the 60th anniversary of the Japanese capture of the Chinese capital of Nanking. She wrote graphically of the result in a book her agent said sold about half a million copies.

"An estimated 20,000-80,000 Chinese women were raped," Chang wrote. "Many soldiers went beyond rape to disembowel women, slice off their breasts, nail them alive to walls. Fathers were forced to rape their daughters and sons their mothers as other family members watched."

"Not only did live burials, castration, the carving of organs and the roasting of people become routine, but more diabolical tortures were practiced."

Japan has been slow to acknowledge the scale of the atrocities, and her account sparked anger from conservative Japanese. In 1998 Japan's ambassador to the United States created a diplomatic stir by calling Chang's book misleading.

Her book was never published in Japan although it was translated into a number of foreign languages. "I think the right-wing assaults on the Japanese publishing houses have sent a chill across the entire industry," she told Reuters in 2001.

Chang spent two years working on the book when she was in her late 20s, interviewing aged survivors in China. The effort gave her an unusually high profile for a young historian, and her Web site lists more than two dozen public appearances for the period between March and May this year.

"A lot of people, when Iris would tour and talk about the Rape of Nanking, would come to her with their stories of unhappiness, atrocities, violence, on any side," said Wendy Wolf, one of her editors at Viking Penguin. "It sort of opened minds to talking and sharing their own experiences."

Her agent Rabiner said she was working most recently on a book about U.S. forces who fought on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines in World War II.

Born in Princeton, New Jersey, to Chinese immigrant parents, Chang grew up in Illinois and graduated from the University of Illinois in 1989. She worked for the Associated Press wire service and the Chicago Tribune before becoming an historian full time. She lived in Sunnyvale, California.

Her most recent book was "The Chinese in America: A Narrative History." She is survived by her husband and two-year old son.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=6789359

Howard Zinn on The Optimism of Uncertainty
November 06, 2004

(Note: Howard Zinn will be speaking at USF-Tampa on Nov. 30th @ 7PM! That should be awesome!)

In this awful world where the efforts of caring people often pale in
comparison to what is done by those who have power, how do I manage to
stay involved and seemingly happy?

I am totally confident not that the world will get better, but that we
should not give up the game before all the cards have been played. The
metaphor is deliberate; life is a gamble. Not to play is to foreclose
any chance of winning. To play, to act, is to create at least a
possibility of changing the world.

There is a tendency to think that what we see in the present moment
will continue. We forget how often we have been astonished by the sudden
crumbling of institutions, by extraordinary changes in people's
thoughts, by unexpected eruptions of rebellion against tyrannies, by
the quick collapse of systems of power that seemed invincible.

What leaps out from the history of the past hundred years is its utter
unpredictability. A revolution to overthrow the czar of Russia, in
that most sluggish of semi-feudal empires, not only startled the most
advanced imperial powers but took Lenin himself by surprise and sent
him rushing by train to Petrograd. Who would have predicted the bizarre
shifts of World War II--the Nazi-Soviet pact (those embarrassing
photos of von Ribbentrop and Molotov shaking hands), and the German Army
rolling through Russia, apparently invincible, causing colossal
casualties, being turned back at the gates of Leningrad, on the
western edge of Moscow, in the streets of Stalingrad, followed by the defeat
of the German army, with Hitler huddled in his Berlin bunker, waiting to
die?

And then the postwar world, taking a shape no one could have drawn in
advance: The Chinese Communist revolution, the tumultuous and violent
Cultural Revolution, and then another turnabout, with post-Mao China
renouncing its most fervently held ideas and institutions, making
overtures to the West, cuddling up to capitalist enterprise,
perplexing everyone.

No one foresaw the disintegration of the old Western empires happening
so quickly after the war, or the odd array of societies that would be
created in the newly independent nations, from the benign village
socialism of Nyerere's Tanzania to the madness of Idi Amin's adjacent
Uganda. Spain became an astonishment. I recall a veteran of the
Abraham Lincoln Brigade telling me that he could not imagine Spanish Fascism
being overthrown without another bloody war. But after Franco was
gone, a parliamentary democracy came into being, open to Socialists,
Communists, anarchists, everyone.

The end of World War II left two superpowers with their respective
spheres of influence and control, vying for military and political
power. Yet they were unable to control events, even in those parts of
the world considered to be their respective spheres of influence. The
failure of the Soviet Union to have its way in Afghanistan, its
decision to withdraw after almost a decade of ugly intervention, was the most
striking evidence that even the possession of thermonuclear weapons
does not guarantee domination over a determined population. The United
States has faced the same reality. It waged a full-scale war in lndochina,
conducting the most brutal bombardment of a tiny peninsula in world
history, and yet was forced to withdraw. In the headlines every day we
see other instances of the failure of the presumably powerful over the
presumably powerless, as in Brazil, where a grassroots movement of
workers and the poor elected a new president pledged to fight
destructive corporate power.

Looking at this catalogue of huge surprises, it's clear that the
struggle for justice should never be abandoned because of the apparent
overwhelming power of those who have the guns and the money and who
seem invincible in their determination to hold on to it. That apparent
power has, again and again, proved vulnerable to human qualities less
measurable than bombs and dollars: moral fervor, determination, unity,
organization, sacrifice, wit, ingenuity, courage, patience--whether by
blacks in Alabama and South Africa, peasants in El Salvador, Nicaragua
and Vietnam, or workers and intellectuals in Poland, Hungary and the
Soviet Union itself. No cold calculation of the balance of power need
deter people who are persuaded that their cause is just.

I have tried hard to match my friends in their pessimism about the
world (is it just my friends?), but I keep encountering people who, in spite
of all the evidence of terrible things happening everywhere, give me
hope. Especially young people, in whom the future rests. Wherever I
go, I find such people. And beyond the handful of activists there seem to
be hundreds, thousands, more who are open to unorthodox ideas. But they
tend not to know of one another's existence, and so, while they
persist, they do so with the desperate patience of Sisyphus endlessly pushing
that boulder up the mountain. I try to tell each group that it is not
alone, and that the very people who are disheartened by the absence
of a national movement are themselves proof of the potential for such a movement.

Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic moment (beware
of such moments!) but as an endless succession of surprises, moving
zigzag toward a more decent society. We don't have to engage in grand, heroic
actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. Even when we don't "win," there is fun and fulfillment in the fact that we have been involved, with other good people, in something worthwhile. We need hope.

An optimist isn't necessarily a blithe, slightly sappy whistler in the
dark of our time. To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly
romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not
only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our
lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do
something. If we remember those times and places--and there are so
many--where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the
energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a
world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a
way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future
is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human
beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is
itself a marvelous victory.


This message has been brought to
you by ZNet (http://www.zmag.org)

Kerry Won...
Greg Palast
November 04, 2004
Excerpted from TomPaine.com


---Kerry won. Here are the facts.---

I know you don't want to hear it. You can't face one more hung chad.
But I don't have a choice. As a journalist examining that messy
sausage called American democracy, it's my job to tell you who got
the most votes in the deciding states. Tuesday, in Ohio and New
Mexico, it was John Kerry.

Most voters in Ohio thought they were voting for Kerry. CNN's exit
poll showed Kerry beating Bush among Ohio women by 53 percent to 47
percent. Kerry also defeated Bush among Ohio's male voters 51
percent to 49 percent. Unless a third gender voted in Ohio, Kerry
took the state.

So what's going on here? Answer: the exit polls are accurate.
Pollsters ask, "Who did you vote for?" Unfortunately, they
don't ask the crucial, question, "Was your vote counted?"
The voters don't know.

Here's why. Although the exit polls show that most voters in Ohio
punched cards for Kerry-Edwards, thousands of these votes were simply
not recorded. This was predictable and it was predicted. [See
TomPaine.com, "An Election Spoiled Rotten," November 1.]


---Whose Votes Are Discarded?---

And not all votes spoil equally. Most of those votes, say every
official report, come from African-American and minority precincts.
(To learn more, click here.)

We saw this in Florida in 2000. Exit polls showed Gore with a
plurality of at least 50,000, but it didn't match the official count.
That's because the official, Secretary of State Katherine Harris,
excluded 179,855 spoiled votes. In Florida, as in Ohio, most of
these votes lost were cast on punch cards where the hole
wasn't punched through completely-leaving a 'hanging chad,'-or was
punched extra times. Whose cards were discarded? Expert
statisticians investigating spoilage for the government calculated
that 54 percent of the ballots thrown in the dumpster were cast by
black folks. (To read the report from the U.S. Civil Rights
Commission, click here .)

And here's the key: Florida is terribly typical. The majority of
ballots thrown out (there will be nearly 2 million tossed out from
Tuesday's election) will have been cast by African American and other
minority citizens.


---The Impact Of Challenges---

First and foremost, Kerry was had by chads. But the Democrat wasn't
punched out by punch cards alone. There were also the 'challenges.'
That's a polite word for the Republican Party of Ohio's use of an old
Ku Klux Klan technique: the attempt to block thousands of voters of
color at the polls. In Ohio, Wisconsin and Florida, the GOP laid
plans for poll workers to ambush citizens under arcane laws-almost
never used-allowing party-designated poll watchers to finger
individual voters and demand they be denied a ballot. The Ohio courts
were horrified and federal law prohibits targeting of voters where
race is a factor in the challenge. But our Supreme Court was prepared
to let Republicans stand in the voting booth door.


---Enchanted State's Enchanted Vote---

Now, on to New Mexico, where a Kerry plurality-if all votes are
counted-is more obvious still. Before the election, in TomPaine.com,
I wrote, "John Kerry is down by several thousand votes in New
Mexico, though not one ballot has yet been counted."

How did that happen? It's the spoilage, stupid; and the provisional
ballots.

CNN said George Bush took New Mexico by 11,620 votes. Again, the
network total added up to that miraculous, and non-existent, '100
percent' of ballots cast.

New Mexico reported in the last race a spoilage rate of 2.68 percent,
votes lost almost entirely in Hispanic, Native American and poor
precincts-Democratic turf. From Tuesday's vote, assuming the same
ballot-loss rate, we can expect to see 18,000 ballots in the spoilage
bin.

Spoilage has a very Democratic look in New Mexico. Hispanic voters in
the Enchanted State, who voted more than two to one for Kerry, are
five times as likely to have their vote spoil as a white voter.
Counting these uncounted votes would easily overtake the Bush
'plurality.'


To read the article in full, click here: http://www.tompaine.com/articles/kerry_won_.php

---

Contact: media@gregpalast.com

View Greg Palast's BBC Television film, "Bush Family
Fortunes," available on DVD from The Disinformation Company at
http://www.gregpalast.com/bff-dvd.htm

The GOP edge grows wider:

OH NO!!!

Gains across the board may encourage a stronger Republican agenda.
By Linda Feldmann and Sara B. Miller | Staff writers of The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON - Now, more than in 2000, one-party rule is the name of the game. For the first time since the 1920s, the Republican Party has won control of the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives in consecutive elections.

And even though the margin of victory for each remains narrow, it grew in all three, signaling profound implications for governance in America over the next four years. Even when George W. Bush won the presidency in 2000 without winning the popular vote, he plowed ahead with a bold agenda. Expect nothing different in a second term, analysts say.

"Just think of last time," says George Edwards III, a presidential scholar at Texas A & M. "He didn't hesitate, he didn't try to govern from the center, and won't do it this time."

Bush-watchers expect a period of conciliatory talk, in which the president speaks of the need to heal the nation's deep partisan divide and come together for the national good at a time of war abroad and threat to security at home. But the center in American politics is an ever-lonelier place; witness the defeat or retirement of many of the remaining conservative Democrats in the House and Senate. If Bush has learned anything from the last four years, it is that he can play hardball and win. The defeat of the Democrats' Senate leader, Tom Daschle of South Dakota, is the icing on Tuesday's GOP sweep - and exacerbates the Democratic Party's disarray.

What to expect on Bush's agenda
Historically, second presidential terms are usually not as successful as first terms, when it comes to passing major new programs. Second terms are usually about completing unfinished business - and in Bush's case, the plate is full. The Iraq war remains front and center. As Bush enters his second term in January, Iraq will be holding elections, a crucial test of that nation's ability to transform itself into a functioning, self-governing nation.

On the domestic agenda, expect "tax cuts as far as the eye can see," says Marshall Wittmann, a former Republican activist and now a senior fellow at the centrist Democratic Leadership Council. "The only constraint that Bush has at this moment is the deficit, but that doesn't seem to have stopped him in the past."

More specifically, Bush could move to make permanent the elimination of the estate tax and institute broader tax reform, making the rate system "flatter." Other legislation that was bottled up in the first term, such as the energy and highway bills, will likely move. One big unfinished agenda item from Bush's first term is reform of Social Security, specifically the establishment of private accounts. Bush and the Republicans can also be expected to defund discretionary programs, limiting the Democrats' ability to provide money for new social programs.

But even as Democrats are licking their wounds from an Election Day with few bright moments, they can take some solace in looking ahead to a second Bush term in which the buck firmly stops at the GOP's front door. The Republicans will now be even more firmly in charge than they were during the last four years (which included a period of Democratic control in the Senate); Bush's high-wire act in Iraq contains a big risk of public disillusionment.

"Republicans have no more alibis, no excuses," says Mr. Wittmann. "The one thing we do know is there's a tendency for a party with this much power to overreach."

Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster, sees the bigger majorities in the House and Senate as easing his party's ability to govern - and a signal to Democrats that it's better to go along than to fight. Bush's majority of the popular vote - making him the first presidential candidate to achieve that feat since his father, in 1988 - represents an endorsement of his agenda by the people, he says.

"The Senate now looks like it will be somewhat governable, as governable as it ever gets," says Mr. Ayres. "The clear message [of Tuesday] is that blind obstructionism did not work. It cost the Democrats seats. So I hope the Democratic minority will see that reasonable cooperation is a better bet for their electoral future."

Compromise and liabilities
Some analysts say Bush would be smart not to "go for broke" with a conservative ideological agenda in the new Senate, instead opting for a moderately conservative agenda that antagonizes the Democrats a bit less. If, as appears likely, there is one or more vacancy in the Supreme Court in the next four years, Bush still will need to make compromises to get his nominee confirmed by the Senate. The larger Republican majority will still not be close to the 60 seats needed to end a filibuster; Bush will need cooperation from some Democrats.

"He didn't propose what I consider to be a bold agenda in the campaign, [which was] pretty well established already," says Stephen Wayne of Georgetown University. "The issue is not will he be bolder, but will he be more willing to compromise to achieve half a loaf rather than the whole loaf, and put this down as a credit ... in the legacy column?"

On Iraq, one of the first orders of business in the new Congress will be to pass a supplemental appropriation to fund operations there. Ironically, while Iraq was a big campaign issue, foreign policy analysts see the outcome of the US election as mattering little to the next president's options there.

"My great fear was that Kerry would get elected, this thing would spin out of control, and the Republicans would blame the Democrats and say, 'We were on our way to winning and the Democrats blew it,' " says John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago. "That's the argument they would have made and hung this albatross around the neck of the Democratic Party for the next 30 years."

One policy area in which the Republican Party may not have to pay the cost is Social Security. The transition to private or partially privatized accounts, if such a plan goes through, will be extremely expensive. But, says Professor Edwards, "it doesn't mean a disaster for Republicans, because the crunch will not have hit in four years."

• Faye Bowers contributed to this report.

Full HTML version of this story which may include photos, graphics, and related links



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A one-way ticket to Canada?

A useful site to leave the good ol' USA for Canada, which I'm highly considering:
http://www.canadianalternative.com/

Canada: U.S. immigrants must seek visas

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Colin McClelland

Nov. 3, 2004 | TORONTO (AP) -- Americans attempting to escape four more years of President Bush by fleeing to Canada will have to wait in line, just like immigrants from any other country, the Immigration Ministry said Wednesday.

Over the years, Canada's social climate has shifted to the left of the United States, with relatively higher taxes supporting programs such as public health care. That and the promise of legalized gay marriage and lenient marijuana laws might be a draw to some Democrats despondent over Bush victory and the promise of continued conservatism from his administration.

The U.S. consulate in Toronto estimates there already may be a million Americans living in Canada _ most don't register _ about a quarter of them in Ontario. But Americans who want to join the expatriate ranks across what is called the world's longest undefended border won't get special treatment just because their brother is married to a Canadian or they like cheap weekends in French-speaking Montreal.

``The immigration program is universal _ it applies to everyone the same,'' France Bureau, spokeswoman for Immigration and Citizenship Minister Judy Sgro told The Associated Press.

``People must apply at a visa mission abroad and all applicants must meet the requirements,'' Bureau said.

All immigrants need a work permit, a government web site says. A government department must approve any offer of local employment before a permit is issued.

Those without a job offer can apply in the skilled worker category to become a permanent resident, which takes about a year to process. Applicants must have enough funds to support themselves in the meantime. Citizenship applications take an additional three years or so.

Skilled worker applicants must posses a minimum of points in required areas such as education and language proficiency.

Immigrants wanting to live and invest in Canada must have a net worth of $662,000 and be ready to put up at least $331,000. Those wishing to start a business must have a net worth of $248,000.

http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2004/11/03/canada/



Other Salon.com stories of note:


Bloggers said to blame for bad poll info

http://www.salon.com/tech/wire/2004/11/03/bloggers/index.html


Bush won battle of values

http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2004/11/03/values/index.html


Kerry's erratic campaign led to loss
http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2004/11/03/kerry_campaign/index.html


From The Christian Science Monitor:

A deepening divide between red and blue

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1104/p01s02-uspo.html

Seein' Red

It's absolutely frightening to see this country's true colors: red. I would've never believed that so many people were so scared and small minded. What's wrong with this country and it's people?! This land is not my land and it was definitely not made for you or me. I now have to find a hardcore "I hate Bush and what he stands for" t-shirt to wear and represent for all of us who felt that he should never have been elected again. I'm not taking these election results lightly and forgetting them. Society will know my wrath!

Take a look at all that red! : http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/

These number breakdowns sure are interesting. An overwhelming number of people of color voted for Kerry!? You don't say! Note the sarcasm. :
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.0.html

This article cleary defines the difference between the Democrats and Republicans for people of color:
http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/1407/


From http://www.indyvoter.org/ :

Call to Action for November 3rd and Beyond


WE DECLARE VICTORY



They might have conceded - but we haven't conceded our right to have our votes count.


Today we celebrate victory. Young voters in 2004 turned out at dramatically higher numbers than 2000 (+9.3% from 2000).


Hundreds of local groups around the country turned out an unprecedented base of voters.


You'll see more local updates later- where we document our margins of victory and incredible, inspiring stories from around the country. In the meantime, check out Election Shout! - our blog.


So what to do now?


• Celebrate our work - there were lots of local victories and youth were the top anti-bush vote

• Strengthen our movement, LOVE EACH OTHER, don’t let them break our spirit.


• Document your stories - we are learning from them and have built an amazing base to work from for next time.

• All eyes on Ohio!!! – organize local actions in support and go to Columbus for today's convergence if you can

• Wherever you live, continue with post-election plans in your local community

• Demand systematic investigation of voting irregularities in local places nationwide - e.g. provisional balloting issues, absentee ballot issues, discrepancies with exit polling data, voting machine problems, polling places moved

• Expose incidents of voter suppression - send reports to us at info@ttww.org

• Wear BLACK or a BLACK ARMBAND this week

• The League hereby declares November 4th, 2004 a National Day of Love and Sustainability. Take care of yourselves and each other. We're in this for life.


A Statement From Morrissey: (This was before the election obviously)

October 27, 2004
With all my heart I urge people to vote against George Bush. Jon Stewart would be ideal, but John Kerry is the logical and sane move. It does not need to be said yet again, but Bush has single-handedly turned the United States into the most neurotic and terror-obsessed country on the planet. For non-Americans, the United States is suddenly not a very nice place to visit because US immigration officers – under the rules of Bush – now conduct themselves with all the charm and unanswerable indignation of Hitler’s SS.
Please bring sanity and intelligence back to the United States.
Don’t forget to vote.
Vote for John Kerry and get rid of George Bush!

http://morrisseymusic.com/newsitem.asp?id=89

Banana Republicans
How the Right Wing is Turning America Into a One-Party State
Sheldon Rampton - Author
John Stauber - Author

http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,0_1585423424,00.html

I am now going to read this book thanks in part to all the unjust power that the Republicans hold.

The bestselling authors of Weapons of Mass Deception expose how the "right-wing conspiracy," as represented by the GOP and its mouthpieces in media, lobbying groups, and the legal system, is undermining dissent and squelching pluralistic politics in America.



The U.S. economy is on the ropes, fear grips the nation, and we are embroiled in two overseas military quagmires with no end in sight. Outside its borders, the United States is hated and feared as never before.

For the first time in living memory, a single party-the Republicans-controls every major institution of the federal government: the White House, the Supreme Court, the Senate and House of Representatives-not to mention the "fourth branch of government," the mass media. How did this come to pass?

Banana Republicans reveals how the national GOP maintains its hold on power through the systematic manipulation of the electoral system, the courts, the media, and the lobbying establishment. The book examines:

* The legacy of the Florida ballot scandal, and how it has played out in the recall movement in California-and other states, where recall efforts are under way-and in the redistricting controversy in Texas.
* How a GOP echo chamber systematically spreads its views through conservative media giants-e.g., Clear Channel, Fox-and highly placed columnists, journalists, and opinion makers.
* How the Bush administration is loading the federal courts with a generation of demagogues, and smearing the names of legislators who attempt to stand in its way. * How House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has strong-armed traditional lobbying firms into exclusively hiring Republicans, so that even K Street is political, rather than merely opportunistic.
* How the GOP has equated dissent with treason-e.g., Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accusing war critics of abetting terrorism.
* How the Bush administration uses its power to punish dissent, such as the leaking of a CIA agent's name to the press, and unprecedented lawsuits against activist organizations such as Greenpeace.

Alternet has some awesome articles for everyone still reeling from the election results. Please read them and gain a sense of solidarity in these tough times!

http://www.alternet.org/

Here's another great article:

A one-way ticket to Canada? Seceding from the Bible Belt? The outcome of the 2004 elections contain happier and more likely possibilities for the future.

The Day After

By Ian Williams, AlterNet

Posted on November 3, 2004, Printed on November 3, 2004

http://www.alternet.org/story/20393/


It's Wednesday morning and liberals around the nation are contemplating the awful implications of another four years in Bush country. Some New Yorkers have already applied for Canadian immigration papers in fear of a Bush win.

The electoral map, however, offers another option – one that may be more sensible and more durable than leaving the country. How about a new Confederacy that combines the West Coast North Eastern states and Canada, all joined together in a new Union of Provinces and States based on rational and democratic principles? This would leave the cowboy heartland and the South to the creationist fate they deserve – not to mention the series of hurricanes that either the global warming they don’t believe in – or the God they do – is sending as a message to them.

The result of the American election reveals a country deeply split, geographically and ideologically – or rather theologically . It reveals a Bush constituency so deeply conflicted internally that they ended up casting their ballots for a president who supports a number of policies that they actually disagree with.

This disconnect can be seen in the victory of the referendum in Florida to raise the minimum wage – a centerpiece of the Kerry campaign. Bush has resolutely opposed an increase in Washington, but was totally evasive on the issue during the campaign. Over 72 percent of Floridians voted for the raise, which means that at least 60 percent of Bush voters supported a measure that is socially and economically the antithesis of what their candidate stands for.

There even seems to be some evidence that even some black religious voters, long a traditional vote-bank for the Democrats may have succumbed on the “gay marriage/evangelical” issues and voted for a party that in some localities is the direct descendant of the Dixiecrats and the Klan. It was a triumph of the Bush campaign to secure a chunk of the black vote while still successfully evoking the coded racism that has worked so well for the GOP across the country.

Recent polls from the University of Maryland showed that the Bush campaign had concealed much its real political and economic agenda from its supporters – who are out to the left of Kerry on many issues. But the key issue for Bush voters was security and terrorism. Many still believe in he Iraq War and the "war on terror" with a conviction that is as faith based as so much of their voting. As that poll showed, over 7 percent of Bush supporters believed that weapons of mass destruction had been found, and that Saddam Hussein was behind the Sept. 11 attacks.

So what are the consequences for the nation, apart from renewed scrutiny of the Constitution’s creakily democratic processes? Slightly more likely than the union with Canada is that the Republican Party, under the renewed control of the deeply conservative ideologues marches down the dead-end charted by the British Conservative Party. In other words, it will ultimately reduce itself to an unelectable rump by shedding the saner and more tolerant Republicans, like George Pataki in New York and Arnold Schwarzenegger in California whose politics are not as right wing as the Bible Belt would wish.

On the brighter side still – despite the appalling levels of voter ignorance in the most expensive election in history – the election marked unprecedented levels of popular participation. Set rolling by Howard Dean’s grassroots campaign, volunteers went to work on the Democratic campaign on a scale not seen in decades past. In safer states like New York and Massachusetts, thousands took weeks off work to get out the vote in swing states like Pennsylvania, where, incidentally, a core of British Labor and Union volunteers defied Tony Blair to canvass for Kerry.

The flood of volunteers, voter registrations, and, by American standards, high turnout led to great Democratic optimism. However, Democrats failed to notice that the evangelical voters too were turning out in large numbers. They were motivated, in part, by state referenda seeking to ban gay marriages, and by the abortion issue – one of those peculiarly American touchstone issues that trumps all rational considerations of war and peace, prosperity and social justice.

However, while most Kerry supporters were clear what they were voting against, the Kerry campaign was much less clear in showing voters what they would be voting for. The Bush campaign was able to successfully attack Kerry on positions that he then failed to failed to articulate convincingly. But it must be recognized that any such effort to define himself was indeed an uphill struggle against the constant intellectual erosion of overtly partisan news and talk shows.

The final piece of good news: the unprecedented mobilization on behalf of the Kerry-Edwards ticket may help the Democratic Party escape from being a bran-tub of special interests and minorities. It may lay the groundwork for broader agenda that will bring the various factions together. At present, so many blue collar workers whose wages are frozen, who face export of their jobs abroad, and whose unemployment benefits are about to disappear, continue to abhor the Democrats as the party of abortion and gay marriage. If the Democrats cannot frame a platform that appeals to those voters, then there is little hope for the Democratic Party – or for the United States for that matter.

As for the rest of the world, they'll just have to work out a way to carry on together without the constructive input of the world’s strongest military power.

© 2004 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/20393/

Let the blame game begin.

Answers? Do We Have Answers?

By Rory O'Connor, AlterNet

Posted on November 3, 2004, Printed on November 3, 2004

http://www.alternet.org/story/20392/


It was the Ground War. It was the Air War. It was the youth vote. It was the 'Yalla' vote. It was the hundreds of thousands of newly registered voters. It was the millions of newly registered voters.

It was George Soros. It was the felons' list. It was voter suppression. It was voter fraud. It was the mystery bulge, and the wired president. It was the swing states. It was the battleground states. It was the computer voting machines.

It was the media. It was the blogosphere. It was Sinclair Broadcasting. It was Dan Rather-Biased. It was fair and balanced. It was Sun Myung Moon, it was Jon Stewart as a butt boy. It was Tucker Carlson as a dick.

It was ballot access. It was ballot security. It was election law experts.

It was the Bush twins. It was Vanessa and Alexandra. It was Teresa.

It was the economy, stupid. It was Iraq. It was staying on message. It was terror. It was terror. It was terror.

But most of all it was Ralph Nader.

Oops – that was four years ago.

Athough truly, it seems like just last night.

But if it wasn't Nader, what is the explanation for the Democrats going down, down, down this year?

After all, it's a Republican Senate. It's a Republican House. It's a Republican Supreme Court – poised to become vastly more so.

But if the Democrats can't blame Nader, as they have in increasingly vociferous terms for the past eight years – who can they blame?

Maybe they should start with themselves.

Maybe running as the Democrat wing of the Republican party isn't such a good idea after all. Maybe turning the convention into a four-day meeting of Securocrats was a bad idea. Maybe turning the conversation into a nine-month gabfest on strength and security, war and terror, terror and terror, only reminded people that they vote for Republicans in times of fear.

Maybe selling out to buy in was wrong. Maybe raising hundreds of millions from corporations means losing your soul.

Maybe being an anti-war hero who runs as a war hero was wrong. Maybe Howard Dean was right.

Maybe it's time for the democratic wing of the Democrat party. Maybe there really is a democratic wing of the Democrat party.

Maybe Kerry should have announced a plan to end the war. (After all, he seemed to have a plan for nearly everything else!)

Maybe it was the weapons of mass destruction. Maybe it was the weapons of mass deception.

Or maybe – just maybe – it was the Democrats.

Maybe it was the most inept press and communications staff and strategy seen in along time. Maybe it was the press secretary hanging up on the press, and the communications operation functioning worse than the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Or maybe – just maybe – it was the Democrats.

Maybe it was their platform. Maybe it was their vision. Maybe it was their values. Maybe it was their lack of them. Maybe it was the way they presented things.

Or maybe this is just a 'red' country. Electoral votes aside, three million more Americans just voted to re-elect George Bush.

Maybe the Democrats need to revamp.

Maybe the Democrats need to disband.

Let's just go ahead and blame Nader again.

After all – it's easier than looking in a mirror.

© 2004 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/20392/

Presidential Cockfight

By Margaret Cho

It’s such a bizarre and weird time in the world.

This presidential race has become the biggest dick contest in history. “Your dick is indecisive!” “Your dick started an unnecessary war!” “Your dick didn’t get injured enough in Vietnam!” “Your dick didn’t even go to Vietnam!” “Your dick is soft on terrorism!” Has this kind of dick waggling happened before outside of a pro-wrestling context?

It is embarrassing, because you want to believe that our leaders would have some decorum or gentility in the debate to win the most powerful position in the world. It literally is the battle over who gets to be the king of the planet. I want someone with a bit of self control in that position.

Of course, the Republicans started it, so you can’t fault Kerry for joining in. After all, the Democrats could stand to do a little mud-slinging. A lot of mud-slinging would be needed just to catch up.

Then there is the Bush administration trying to keep us in a state of panic all the time, like raising the Terror Alert so that we’re not at ease but always on edge. And it’s always the most ridiculous stuff like, “An ATM was targeted in Midtown Manhattan!”

But I’m so used to raised terror alerts, I’m unaffected. I’m like, “It’s orange. Does that mean I have to take off my shoes?” Meanwhile, clog sales have gone through the roof. People think that it’s Halliburton that’s benefiting from all this; no it’s Birkenstock. It’s a huge clog/mule cartel conspiring. Slip-on shoes are the future.

I would feel a little bit better if George W. Bush could say the word “nuclear” correctly. You’d think that somebody would have said something by now, that Condoleezza Rice would have gotten up in his face, “Fool! It’s ‘nu-clear’. I’m gonna have to write it down for you, make you some flash cards.”

And I’m very worried about the troops, but I’m also worried that my reproductive rights might be taken away from me. And I’m as scared of terrorism as every one else, but I’m also scared that people over here are getting arrested by the F.B.I. and the I.N.S. for having the wrong last name. And I’m so, so sorry that there’s so much starvation in Iraq and so much starvation all over the world, but I am also so, so sorry that there are young girls here starving themselves to death so that they can look like the actresses on TV.

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

During this election, gay and lesbian activist groups are buckling under the pressure to remain silent about their existence. They haven’t talked about gay marriage and they’re not going to. I accept the fact that John Kerry cannot endorse gay marriage until the election. At this point, I don’t give a shit. Anybody but Bush. Anybody. And when we do get Kerry into office, then we really go for it. Hit ’em where they live. Get all the wedding planners to go on strike.

All the busy-body “Christian” people—when they’re not preparing for the Rapture—are trying to make gay people miserable. I don’t see why our lives affect theirs in the least. They point to us as evidence of Satan in the world. Don’t they realize that Satan is intolerance, that every time they practice injustice, another demon gets his wings?

The Pope recently castigated the media for making gays look normal. Yeah, he’s a real good judge of normal. With the gold dress, and the matching gold hat, living up in the Vatican with 500 men, surrounded by the finest antiques in the world. You go, girl!

But it is the religious right who are fucking scary, because they’re out of control. Even the Satanists are saying, “Wow, you guys are being really mean.”

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

There is also a war against women, against women’s rights. I was at the March for Women’s Lives in Washington. It was huge. I got there on Friday—the march was on Sunday—and women were already protesting in the streets. I was worried they were going to shoot their wad. But then I remembered that women can protest multiple times. There were lots of people, and great speakers. Gloria Steinem spoke, and Susan Sarandon spoke, and Paris Hilton spoke—“No more wire hangers! Wire hangers make those weird creases in your sweaters!”

I saw Ann Coulter the other day on a show called “Scarborough Country.” I don’t know why Joe Scaraborough is not on Fox. It seems as if he escaped from Fox News and is on a rampage on MSNBC. I guess FOX News started to send out spores and grow shows on other networks. It’s all very conservative, very angry stuff.

So Ann Coulter is on talking about how USA Today fired her because, when covering the Democratic Convention, she wrote, “Here at the Spawn of Satan convention in Boston, conservatives are deploying a series of covert signals to identify one another, much like gay men do. My allies are the ones wearing crosses or American flags.” I’m such a feminist, but every time I looked at Ann I got so angry. I’m like, “You know that’s why women shouldn’t work.”

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

Another one of my issues is the death penalty. I’m opposed to it, so I write a lot of governors’ letters asking for stays of execution. The other day I had to write, “Dear Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.” And that felt so embarrassing, so frightening. The only thing he’s done so far in office is, let’s see, well, he called Democrats “girly men,” and then he shortened the stay for animals in an animal shelter from six days to three days. That’s so mean! “The kitty must die after three days. The kitty will be terminated after 72 hours. Hasta la vista, kitty.” Of course, the animal activists heard about it and slammed him. Then he was all, “The kitty may live, I’m sorry.” Animal activists are fierce. They are the most terrifying people. I just wish they would start working for human rights. We need them. Desperately. You don’t fuck with vegans. They are mean. They are scary. They are hungry.

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

When somebody insults me and says I’m fat, or ugly, or not funny, or stupid, or whatever, I can argue with them. But when somebody says something about my race, I feel it, because that’s who I am. And when somebody attacks your sexuality it hurts, because that’s who you are. You can’t change that. Sexuality and race are those central parts of ourselves that we can’t remove or control.

When something hurts me I have to say something. If I don’t it will just burn me up. Living in America as a minority feels like dying of a thousand paper cuts, and I ain’t going out like that.

My favorite activist group was from the ’80s, ACT UP. They had a great slogan, “Silence Equals Death,” which meant that if we don’t talk about AIDS we will die of AIDS. I’ve got a similar slogan for me: “Silence equals nonexistence.”

That makes me a problem dinner guest. At some point during the evening someone will say, “Don’t go there.” Well, I live there. I bought a house there. I’m going to take you there.

I used to feel so weirdly paranoid talking and saying anything negative about the war or George Bush. But I got over it. I was doing a benefit for MoveOn.org in New York, and this was the week that the crazy right-wing conservatives were all angry because MoveOn had been running an ad that compared Bush with Hitler. And I said, “You know, George Bush is not Hitler. He would be if he applied himself, but he’s just lazy!”

I was deluged with hate mail, from the Freerepublic.com site. It wasn’t about political discourse. None of it was: “Ms. Cho, I believe you are being unfair to our administration. Please look again at our foreign policy.” It was: “You Mongolian #### dyke. Four more years! Go back to your country, pig ####. Jesus Saves! Four more years!”

So since I wholeheartedly believe in free speech, I took all of their e-mails and I posted them on my Web site and included their return e-mail addresses. And these people who really like George W. Bush, they’re not that smart. They had e-mailed me from work. Well, I found out there are people out there who really like me, and who are pissed off to begin with. And they just need that much of a reason to go off. So when I had posted all these e-mails, I inadvertenly activated al Gayda. That’s one sleeper cell you do not want to wake up. These queens get up on the wrong side of the bed. They started an al Gayda training camp where they offer Pilates. Soon, the apology emails began flooding in. “I’m sorry! You’re an American. You’re entitled to your opinion. I’m sorry I called you a Mongolian ####. Please make these gay people leave me alone! I’m afraid! Oh god, hurry, I think Cirque du Soleil is warming up on my lawn!”

This fall comedian Margaret Cho has been visiting swing states on a “State of Emergency Tour”. On October 29 she will perform in Jacksonville, Florida, and on October 30 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her latest video, Cho Revolution, was released in August. Read an In These Times interview with Cho.

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/1387/

A sincere thank you from John Kerry:

Dear Supporter,

Earlier today I spoke to President Bush, and offered him and Laura our congratulations on their victory. We had a good conversation, and we talked about the danger of division in our country and the need, the desperate need, for unity for finding the common ground, coming together. Today, I hope that we can begin the healing.

In America, it is vital that every vote counts, and that every vote be counted. But the outcome should be decided by voters, not a protracted legal process. I would not give up this fight if there was a chance that we would prevail. But it is now clear that even when all the provisional ballots are counted, which they will be, there won't be enough outstanding votes for our campaign to be able to win Ohio. And therefore, we cannot win this election.

It was a privilege and a gift to spend two years traveling this country, coming to know so many of you. I wish I could just wrap you in my arms and embrace each and every one of you individually all across this nation. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.

To all of you, my volunteers and online supporters, all across this country who gave so much of themselves, thank you. Thanks to William Field, a six-year-old who collected $680, a quarter and a dollar at a time selling bracelets during the summer to help change America. Thanks to Michael Benson from Florida who I spied in a rope line holding a container of money. It turned out he raided his piggy bank and wanted to contribute. And thanks to Alana Wexler, who at 11 years old and started Kids for Kerry.

I thank all of you, who took time to travel, time off from work, and their own vacation time to work in states far and wide. You braved the hot days of summer and the cold days of the fall and the winter to knock on doors because you were determined to open the doors of opportunity to all Americans. You worked your hearts out, and I say, don't lose faith. What you did made a difference, and building on itself, we will go on to make a difference another day. I promise you, that time will come -- the election will come when your work and your ballots will change the world, and it's worth fighting for.

I'm proud of what we stood for in this campaign, and of what we accomplished. When we began, no one thought it was possible to even make this a close race, but we stood for real change, change that would make a real difference in the life of our nation, the lives of our families, and we defined that choice to America. I'll never forget the wonderful people who came to our rallies, who stood in our rope lines, who put their hopes in our hands, who invested in each and every one of us. I saw in them the truth that America is not only great, but it is good.

So here -- with a grateful heart, I leave this campaign with a prayer that has even greater meaning to me now that I've come to know our vast country so much better and that prayer is very simple: God bless America.

Thank you,

John Kerry

A National Day of Mourning

I will post some of the comments I've made online today verbatim later but these words from others, as always, say it so much better than I could now. Especially with my being so distraught and enraged right now.


From Move-on.org

Subject: Because of you, there is hope.

Date: Wed, 03 Nov 2004 17:59:25 -0800

Dear MoveOn member,
We'll admit to being heartbroken by the outcome of yesterday's election. It's a dark day.

But this afternoon, we received this email:


Subject: Running for Congress
Eli,

In light of what happened yesterday, my friend and I have decided to get personally involved. He wants to run for Congress in 2006, and I'm his campaign manager at this point. Do you know of a good information source for how we handle the legalities of forming a campaign, opening bank accounts, registering with the FEC, etc?

Thanks,
Chris

We have suffered a defeat, but we are not defeated.

And our heartache does not diminish our pride in what you've done. We're proud about Wisconsin, where MoveOn volunteers turned out over 27,000 voters and Kerry won by only 11,813 votes. And New Hampshire, a former Bush state where we turned out 9,820 of the people on our list and Kerry won by 9,171 votes. Other groups were working with us in both states, but it's clear volunteers were at least partly responsible for the margin of victory.

We're proud about Ken Salazar, the newest Senator from Colorado, whose campaign was fueled by the donations of thousands of MoveOn members. We're proud that before he conceded this morning, John Kerry called to thank all of you for what we did to help his campaign.

Most of all, we are so proud of all of you, the MoveOn members who worked so hard and gave so much to take back America.

Yesterday, over 70,000 of us worked from before 5am Eastern to 8pm Pacific, getting voters to the polls. At 4:50am in Florida, we heard from our lead organizers that hundreds of precinct leaders had checked in and were on their way to the polls. In Columbus, with three hours to go, we sent out a final message saying "It's not too late! Help volunteer." Within minutes, two dozen people came running up the stairs in the rain, wanting to know, "What can we do? Put us to work!" One volunteer whose car broke down ran home, grabbed her bike, and biked from house to house in the thunderstorm, knocking on doors and reminding people to vote.

That you put so much into this effort makes the loss more painful in some ways. But the fact that so many of us were involved offers true hope for the future of democracy. In the campaign to defeat George Bush, you have proven that real Americans can have a voice in American politics. In the months and years to come, that revelation will change everything.

Although George Bush won by 3% nationally, we must remember that 55.4 million Americans stood with you and with John Kerry. You are certainly not alone. And a healthy environment, a strong and fair economy, good schools, domestic safety and the end of the war in Iraq are goals we all share -- red states and blue states alike.

Our journey toward a progressive America has always been bigger than George Bush. The current leg is just beginning -- we're still learning how to build a citizen-based politics together. But it's a journey our nation has been on for a long time. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice."

Today, we'll take a breath. Tomorrow, we'll keep moving toward the America we know is possible.

Sincerely,
--Adam, Ben, Carrie, Diane, Eli, Hannah, James, Joan, Justin, Laura, Lee, Marika, Mat, Meighan, Micayla, Nepunnee, Noah H., Noah W., Paul, Peter, Rosalyn, Wes, the team at We Also Walk Dogs, the team at Fenton Communications, and all 500 members of the Leave No Voter Behind staff.
November 3rd, 2004

Tampa Indy Voter Guide
Tampa & Hillsborough County, FL, Nov 2 2004

http://www.indyvoter.org/voterguide.php?detail=633&printsafe=1

Tampa Indy Voter Guide
Tampa & Hillsborough County, FL, Nov 2 2004

Printer Safe Voter Guide - Guias Para Imprimir

JOIN THIS VOTER BLOC -- ENDORSE THIS VOTER GUIDE!


Download Voter Guide PDFs

Tampa Voter Guide

DJ Lazy's Hip Hop Voter Guide

Go to Guia Para El Votante Hispano De Tampa Bay 2004


We searched the Internet high and low for someone who didn’t suck to vote for in the November 2nd elections. Candidates who cared about what you said was important to you – reproductivefreedom, the war in Iraq, health care, the possibility of a draft, civil rights, nuclear weapons and same sex civil unions. Our sources (check ‘em out): The Supervisor of Elections for Hillsborough County (http://www.votehillsborough.org/) Project Vote Smart (http://www.vote-smart.org/) Congress.org (http://www.congress.org/) Look us up on the web http://indyvoter.org/tampa Let us know what you think of our voter guide! Email us at tampa@indyvoter.org Or call Kai & Frank at 813-472-1707




Candidate/Ballot Item: President and Vice President: JOHN F. KERRY AND JOHN EDWARDS (D)
Position: Yes
Reason: W. has got to go. We are so over him. While sketchy on how soon they’ll wrap up this war in Iraq,to their credit both Kerry and Edwards have always voted consistently for women’s reproductive freedom. You heard them in the debates – no draft, health care for all, and though Kerry does feelmarriage is between a man and a woman, he doesn’t feel he has to impose his personal belief on everyone else.



Candidate/Ballot Item: US Senate: BETTY CASTOR (D)
Position: Yes
Reason: She’s pro- affirmative action, against the War in Iraq, and supporting Health Care for All. Her opponent Mel Martinez is a pretty crazy right-winger.



Candidate/Ballot Item: US Representative District 11: KARL M. BUTTS – write-in candidate
Position: Yes
Reason: Write Karl in because he is down. He’s a farmer on a commune in Plant City and he cares about defending workers and women’s reproductive rights, and wants health care for all. His opponentsare Jim Davis, the incumbent middle of the road Democrat and Robert Edward Johnson, a libertarian, who doesn’t believe in affirmative action or public funding for reproductive freedom.



Candidate/Ballot Item: State Representative District 56: “NEIL” – write-in candidate
Position: Yes
Reason: Just write in “NEIL” on this one! He’s for something that we need locally; quality public transportation. Neil Constatino is a local activist who lobbied for the Friendship Trail Bridge. His opponent, Trey Traviesa, is a conservative Republican venture capitalist.



Candidate/Ballot Item: State Representative District 57: DEBORAH COPE (D)
Position: Yes
Reason: Vote for Deborah because she cares about health care, the environment, and she is endorsed by the AFL-CIO. She is running again Faye Culp, a Republican who opposes affirmative action.



Candidate/Ballot Item: State Representative District 60: KAREN PEREZ (D)
Position: Yes
Reason: Karen is great. A solid Democrat who is pro-choice and believes we should all have quality health insurance. What more is there to say? Well, how about her opponent, Republican Ed Homan,supports limiting a woman’s reproductive freedom, does not want to recognize same sex civil unions, and says “no” to affirmative action.



Candidate/Ballot Item: Retain Justice of Supreme Court Kenneth B. Bell
Position: No
Reason: Kenneth B. Bell is listed as nonpartisan. Your options are to “yes” (to keep Justice Bell) or “no” (to remove Justice Bell). Vote No. Bell is a conservative former real estate lawyer from Pensacolawho is a registered Republican and has a reputation of supporting conservative,religious right policies.



Candidate/Ballot Item: Retain Justice of Supreme Court Raoul G. Cantero, III
Position: No
Reason: Raoul G. Cantero, III is also listed as nonpartisan. Again, your options are to vote “yes” (to keepJustice Cantero) or “no” (to remove Justice Cantero). Vote No. Cantero is a corporate lawyer who was nominated to the Florida Supreme Court by Governor Jeb Bush. He secured the release fromprison of a radical anti-Castro terrorist Orlando Bosch. Cantero once described Bosch on Miami radio as “a great Cuban patriot.”



Candidate/Ballot Item: Retain District Court of Appeal Judge Charles T. Canady
Position: No
Reason: VOTE NO While a member of the U.S. Congress, Canady is on record as opposing a woman's right tochoose, opposing affirmative, and opposing the right to die for terminal patients. He is one of Jeb Bush's political cronies and acts as the judicial equivalent of a conservative rubber stamp. He is bad, bad, bad, let's get him out of office.



Candidate/Ballot Item: Retain District Court of Appeal Judge Stevan T. Northcutt
Position: Yes
Reason: Northcutt was appointed by Lawton Chiles in 1997. Northcutt is active in local programs and hisrecord has been excellent on all issues.



Candidate/Ballot Item: Retain District Court of Appeal Judge Craig C. Villanti
Position: No
Reason: Both Villanti and Wallace are two more of the conservative republican machine's political cronies.Bush appointed them and WE CAN GET THEM OUT!



Candidate/Ballot Item: Retain District Court of Appeal Judge Douglas A. Wallace
Position: No
Reason: Both Villanti and Wallace are two more of the conservative republican machine's political cronies.Bush appointed them and WE CAN GET THEM OUT!



Candidate/Ballot Item: County Clerk of the Circuit Court: PAT FRANK (D)
Position: Yes
Reason: Plain and simple: Pat Frank is just better qualified.



Candidate/Ballot Item: Supervisor of Elections: ROB MACKENNA (D)
Position: Yes
Reason: Everybody LOVES Rob! He’s a computer programmer pushing for a voting paper trail. He’s the only candidate in Florida endorsed by Democracy for America, and hey, he's been to a show at the Orpheum!



Candidate/Ballot Item: County Commissioner District 7: Denyse Layne (D)
Position: Yes
Reason: Layne has a positive stance on heath care, and is heavily endorsed by several organized labor and environmental groups.



Candidate/Ballot Item: Amendment 1
Position: No
Reason: Amendment 1: Parental Notification of a Minor’s Termination of Pregnancy - VOTE NO If passed, this would require minors to tell their parents if they are seeking an abortion. Supporters, such as the Christian Coalition, argue that parents must be involved in their daughters’ important medical decisions and parents should know when their daughters undergo surgery. On the other hand opponents, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), argue that seeking an abortion is a private decision and would “violate the right of privacy contained in Article 1, Section 23 of the Florida Constitution.”



Candidate/Ballot Item: Amendment 2
Position: No
Reason: Constitutional Amendments Proposed by Initiative – VOTE NO If passed, this would require citizens gathering signatures for a constitutional amendment to file their completed paperwork one year prior to the election. Right now citizens have until 3 months before the election -- that’s 9 extra months to gather petitions. This measure would decrease the amount of time petitioners have to collect the required number of signatures to get an amendment on the ballot.



Candidate/Ballot Item: Amendment 3
Position: No
Reason: The Medical Liability Claimant’s Compensation Amendment – VOTE NO If passed, this would require that patients who win a malpractice lawsuit to receive at least 70% of any award under $250,000 and 90% of any award over $250,000 malpractice lawsuits. The physicians who support the bill claim that it will prevent frivolous lawsuits and stabilize insurance premiums. Trial lawyers say this Amendment would greatly limit the ability of working people to file malpractice cases.



Candidate/Ballot Item: Amendment 4
Position: Yes
Reason: Authorizes Miami-Dade and Broward County Voters to Approve Slot Machines in Pari-mutuel Facilities – VOTE YES If passed, this would allow Miami-Dade and Broward counties to vote on whether or not to tax slot machines and give the proceeds to education. In other words, this amendment asks everyone in Florida to vote on whether or not to allow Miami-Dade and Broward residents to vote on this issue.



Candidate/Ballot Item: Amendment 5
Position: Yes
Reason: Florida Minimum Wage Amendment – VOTE YES If passed, this would raise the minimum wage in Florida by one dollar, making it $6.15 per hour. Also this amendment would index the minimum wage to the rate of inflation, to stabilize the purchasing power of the minimum wage over time. The impact of this amendment on costs and revenues of state and local governments is expected to be minimal.



Candidate/Ballot Item: Amendment 6
Position: No
Reason: Repeal of High Speed Rail Amendment – VOTE NO If passed, this would reverse an amendment that was passed by voters in 2000 to build a high speed rail line between Tampa, Orlando, and Miami. The high speed rail line is intended to cut down on harmful auto exhaust by getting people to ride the train instead of drive their car. Jeb Bush is lobbying for this amendment to repeal the rail line and environmental groups are lobbying against the repeal.



Candidate/Ballot Item: Amendment 7
Position: Yes
Reason: Patient’s Right to Know About Adverse Medical Incidents – VOTE YES If passed, this would allow patients to review the medical malpractice records of their health care providers. On top of that, it would provide that these patients’ identities be kept secret. This bill is supported by trial lawyers who claim that the amendment will prevent doctors from hiding previous incidents of malpractice from their new patients. Doctors assert that their current system of review rests on the documents remaining “privileged,” and the medical process would be threatened if the documents become public.



Candidate/Ballot Item: Amendment 8
Position: Yes
Reason: Public Protection from Repeated Medical Malpractice – VOTE YES If passed, this would block physicians who have committed three or more incidents of medical malpractice from obtaining a medical license. Trial lawyers started this amendment to help get rid of “bad” doctors and increase medical accountability. Doctors claim that the bill will scare away doctors that perform high-risk surgery and limit the availability of health care, and create “a medical wasteland.” Supporters also point out that the cost of the bill will be very minimal.

From Democracy Now!

Palast interview transcript:

Secret Document Suggests GOP Preparing to Challenge Black Vote in Florida
Thursday, October 28th, 2004

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/28/141211
Investigative reporter Greg Palast exposes a secret document within the Republican Party in Florida that contains nearly 1,900 names and addresses of voters in the predominantly black and Democratic areas of Jacksonville. The so-called "caging list" could be used to block and harass African-American voters. [includes rush transcript]



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Concerns continue to mount across the country over the fairness of next Tuesday's election. Already problems have emerged in many states. In one county in Ohio, more than 900 registered voters have been told they must appear in court on Saturday to defend their voter eligibility or risk losing their right to vote. In Wisconsin, scores of students report that their local elections board says it has no record of their voter registration. In Nevada, fallout continues after the it emerged that a group registering voters had destroyed possible hundreds of ballots of voters who identified themselves as Democrats. But nowhere is concern greater than in the state of Florida, the epicenter of the theft of the election in 2000.
Yesterday, the deputy election supervisor in one of Florida's most populous counties admitted that some 60,000 absentee ballots had gone missing. Broward county election official Gisela Salas said the matter is under investigation by law enforcement agencies. In 2000, it was Broward county that gave Al Gore his strongest support in the state of Florida. The US Postal Service says it has investigators trying to find the missing ballots, which constitute 5 percent of Broward County's electorate.

This comes as investigative reporter Greg Palast obtained a secret document from inside Bush campaign headquarters in Florida. The document suggests a plan-possibly in violation of the law-to disrupt voting in the state"s African-American voting districts.

Two e-mails, prepared for the executive director of the Bush campaign in Florida and the campaign's national research director in Washington DC, contain a 15-page so-called "caging list". It lists more than 1,800 names and addresses of voters in predominantly Black and traditionally Democratic areas of Jacksonville, Florida. Palast broke the story on BBC's Newsnight program. Today, we broadcast the story in its entirety for the first time on US television and radio. Here is Greg Palast's report.


Greg Palast's report.
Greg Palast, investigative reporter with the BBC and author of the books "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" and "Democracy and Regulation." He has a new documentary out called "Bush Family Fortunes."

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AMY GOODMAN: Today we broadcast the story in its entirety for the first time in the united states on U.S. television and radio here. Here is Greg Palast's report.

WILLIE STEEN: I'm happy, I'm excited, and I'm ready to vote.

GREG PALAST: Willie Steen's his way to vote…he hopes. In the last election, he was one of thousands of black citizens stopped from voting when they were falsely tagged as criminals.

WILLIE STEEN: I went in the place to vote and I was with my son, and there's about forty or fifty other people around, and I got up there to vote, and they told me that I was a convicted felony. I told the young lady that I never been arrested before.

GREG PALAST: Enthusiastic Americans like Willie can now vote early in the weeks before election day. Willie sued governor Jeb Bush after Jeb's officials were caught playing games with the voter list, dropping legal voters, especially black ones, who overwhelmingly vote for Democrats.

WILLIE STEEN: Hey, how are you doing?

GREG PALAST: This is as far as Willie got last time. Will he be blocked yet again? We leave Willie in Tampa to go just past Disneyworld to Faithworld. Here in Orlando, the faithful, who believe they were cheated last time, pray it won't happen again. In the last election, one million black votes were not counted.

FAITHWORLD PREACHER: The Reverend Jesse Jackson.

JESSE JACKSON: You don't have to vote the way I vote. But I shouldn't steal your vote, in the name of Democracy. The winner shouldn't lose and the loser shouldn't win.

GREG PALAST: Jackson fears that the Republicans have some new plan to block the black vote, not just the fake felon scam used last time on Willie Steen.

JESSE JACKSON: There are more Mr. Steens out there, and now you have a case of this is a guy who just may be a kind of biopsy -- a kind of political biopsy of a cancer that is much more widespread than just one example. You can't forget the stealing of your birthright. You can't forget disenfranchisement of your vote.

GREG PALAST: A hundred miles away in the riverside town of Jacksonville, we may have found the evidence of the plan Jesse Jackson fears: something called a “caging list,” which could capture black voters. This is a list of nearly 2,000 voters in the black neighborhoods of Jacksonville, who appear to have errors in their mailing addresses. The list was specially prepared for George Bush's campaign.

GEORGE BUSH: There is no doubt in my mind that, with your help, we'll carry Florida again, and win a great victory on November the 2nd.

ION SANCHO: Every one of these has to be hand entered, and --

GREG PALAST: We asked Ion Sancho why the Republicans might put together such a list. Sancho is a Democrat; but he's also one of the most respected and experienced of Florida's county elections supervisors.

ION SANCHO: The only thing that I can think of African-American voters listed like this, these might be potential individuals that will be challenged if they attempt to vote on election day.

GREG PALAST: American states allow political parties to place their people right inside the polling stations, like this one in Jacksonville. They can point to a voter and challenge their right to vote. Voters will be turned away with provisional ballots, which are usually just thrown out. Political parties rarely use challenges because they can bring voting to a halt.

ION SANCHO: In Leon county, for example, we have not had one challenged voter in the sixteen years that I've been the supervisor of elections. Because again, if you challenge voters, you really must do so with concrete, hard evidence, not your opinion. And this process can be used to slow down the voting process, to cause chaos on election day and, quite frankly, to discourage voters from voting.

GREG PALAST: Do the Republicans have a plan to launch thousands of challenges on November 2nd, and bring voting in Florida's black, Democratic precincts to a standstill? This is the caging list. And this it where it was sent: to the office of Brett Doster. He's the Executive Director of the George W. Bush for President Campaign in Florida. Let's ask his team about it. I asked Republican spokeswoman, Mindy Tucker Fletcher, if they had a strategy to challenge these black voters on election day.

MINDY TUCKER FLETCHER: I can't tell you right now. I don't -- I'm not part of the -- that strategy,

GREG PALAST: OK.

MINDY TUCKER FLETCHER: But I -- I -- this is -- this was not done in order to create a challenge list, as you, I think, were trying to get to.

GREG PALAST: But they accuse Democrats of registering voters illegally; so Republicans must counterattack. So you're saying your poll workers will be instructed to challenge people to say they should have a provisional ballot?

MINDY TUCKER FLETCHER: Where it's stated in the law, yeah.

GREG PALAST: Are you worried that will gum up the procedures for legal voters.

MINDY TUCKER FLETCHER: By enforcing the laws?

GREG PALAST: Well, that's a good question.

MINDY TUCKER FLETCHER: I imagine even the people in line would want the laws applied.

GREG PALAST: The law appears to be applied in a curious way in Florida. Across the road from the Jacksonville voting station, I spied someone hiding away a camera in a black s.u.v. with blacked-out windows. He was disguised in a tourist uniform, complete with shorts, baseball cap, and open-toed sandals. He had been filming every voter. I thought I'd say hello. This isn't just a hobby? You're just not doing this volunteer?

DOUG THE INVESTIGATOR: No.

GREG PALAST: OK.

DOUG THE INVESTIGATOR: No. I'm an investigator. This is my --

GREG PALAST: Are you a licensed investigator, or ...? A professional agency, then. It's not -- you're not like some frea -- you know, just some guy who decided he's going to do something. He remembered that his name was 'Doug,' but he couldn't remember who he was working for. The local congresswoman had a suggestion.

CONGRESSWOMAN: The Republicans, once again, are trying to intimidate African-American voters. This car have been here since the eighteenth, in front of the supervisor's office all day, and they have been filming.

GREG PALAST: Back in Tallahassee, another election scam surfaced which could sabotage thousands of voter registrations. It targeted students with liberal views. Election supervisor Ion Sancho discovered the scam struck close to home.

ION SANCHO: This, for example, is a copy of my step-daughter's voter registration from Orlando; and it is clear that her own handwriting filled in blocks two through fifteen. Apparently, a petition form was placed over the top of a voter registration form. It purported to tell the citizen they were signing a petition to legalize medical marijuana. The citizen filled it in, thinking that's what they were doing, and then after the voter had left, the individual fraudulently filled out lines one, the party change, making them a Republican now, and then fraudulently signed it, and then turned the application over to the election administrator. This form changed the voter's registration from Tallahassee to Orlando. And if this voter had not known me, and turned this information over to me, she may have been -- she may have been disenfranchised when she attempted to vote.

GREG PALAST: Is it a crime to misregister someone in that way?

ION SANCHO: It is a third degree felony to do this. It is an illegal act.

GREG PALAST: And the Republicans now admit it was their operatives who collected these thousands of suspect registrations, though the party denies it committed fraud. Civil rights experts in Washington fear the threat to a free and fair election is severe, and unprecedented. Ralph Neas is commander-in-chief of an army of 6,000 lawyers who will take up battle stations on election day, to protect voters from dirty tricks.

RALPH NEAS: This is the nerve center.

GREG PALAST: Right.

RALPH NEAS: There will be fifty-six of our field offices in the seventeen states, and then there will be thirty-eight legal command centers where the majority of the lawyers will be. There will be a law student or lawyer at every precinct; but if there are real problems, we've got mobile traveling vans of lawyers who will go to the troubled precincts and make the decision.

GREG PALAST: They'll keep their eyes open for mass challenges by poll watchers paid for by the Republican party. It may be disruptive, but it's perfectly legal to challenge voters; but if you target the challenges at black districts, like Jacksonville, you're breaking federal law.

RALPH NEAS: You cannot target districts, with respect to challenging voters, if race is a consideration. Doesn't even have to be the major factor. You cannot target on the basis of race.

WILLIE STEEN: Thanks.

GREG PALAST: Back in Tampa, Willie Steen finally gets to vote. But this happy ending was thanks only to "Newsnight." The day before he was still listed as a criminal felon, but when we turned up with cameras, his status magically changed to upright citizen who can vote unchallenged. But what about the thousands of others, without TV cameras, who will have to overcome the new tricks, caging lists, registration games and more in the 2004 battle of the ballot?

AMY GOODMAN: Investigative report by Greg Palast for BBC's "Newsnight", first aired here on Democracy Now! in the United States. This is Democracy Now! When we come back, Greg Palast joins us live in our studios.

AMY GOODMAN: Our guest is investigative reporter, Greg Palast. Juan.

JUAN GONZALEZ: Greg, congratulations on another terrific report. I guess the people in England and Europe are more informed on the shenanigans going on in the United States.

GREG PALAST: They're absolutely horrified. They are watching black cars with blacked out windows surveilling black voters. You are seeing challenge lists. To the rest of the world, the reaction in Europe to the report this led the BBC news in Europe, and the reaction was, the US is running election like Zimbabwe.

AMY GOODMAN: Didn't this happen in 2000, that your reports, first exposing what was going on in Florida, appeared in Britain and Europe, and the US press didn't touch it for months?

GREG PALAST: Only -- I broke the story on BBC and in The Guardian, that tens of thousands of voters were falsely listed as felons and barred from voting. Basically, it was black people who were only guilty of voting while black. In the film, we have one of those people, Willie Steen, and I want to emphasize that because the Republican Election Supervisor was tipped off of our coming down with the cameras to watch him vote, even though the state said –

AMY GOODMAN: He was doing early voting.

GREG PALAST: He was doing early voting, that one hour before he voted, they changed his status from felon to upright citizen, so he could vote. There's still -- the U.S. press doesn't cover this.

JUAN GONZALEZ: And who was it who tipped him off? You told us off camera. Can you tell us on camera?

GREG PALAST: One of the major newspapers in America is foolishly still not covering the story. It's hard to cover the story. You have to understand, BBC has been threatened by the Republican National Committee.

JUAN GONZALEZ: What was the newspaper? A reporter from the major newspaper?

GREG PALAST: I cannot say.

JUAN GONZALEZ: OK. It's a major newspaper in New York, right?

GREG PALAST: I understand.

AMY GOODMAN: What about BBC. You are talking about being threatened?

GREG PALAST: Yeah. That's why I’m grateful that you have run the report today. Because the Republican National Committee is threatening BBC, as they have done before with my reports, saying that if Greg Palast is on the air there will be no interviews for the network. From the Republican National Committee, which is, of course, cutting off the air supply of the news organization, and you can immediately see why American news organizations won't touch the story. That's basically that the Republican Party has a hit list of black people they're going to try to wipe out on Election Day, stop them from voting, and in particular, this has the effect of not only of intimidating the voters, eliminating voters, but in places like Jacksonville where three and four-hour waits are expected, this could entirely sabotage the voting operation. Understand, this is illegal if they're targeting black folk. It is against federal law.

AMY GOODMAN: We saw that scene of Congress member Corrine Brown in Jacksonville. Explain what she was saying.

GREG PALAST: The BBC cameras were there to interview her about voter harassment, and it just so happened that we caught a guy in the blacked out car with a telephoto lens filming each of voters going into the early voting booth. It's mostly black voters doing early voting. This may be related to this so-called caging list to knock out the block vote.

JUAN GONZALEZ: Also, the segment where you went into the fake registrations or the ones that where signatures were falsified. How expensive was that?

AMY GOODMAN: And explain who that this guy is.

GREG PALAST: What you saw was a guy, Ion Sancho, who is probably considered the most experienced and respected of election supervisors in Florida. Unfortunately, my one mistake was to identify him as a Democrat, because the Republicans told me he was a Democrat. He's very independent, not affiliated with any party. He has also asked the parties not to challenge voters on Election Day. The supervisors have said it's really never been done in Florida history. This basically is an attempt to stop the entire voting process, bring it to a halt. As for registrations, what happened was that students, mostly Democrats, students filled out petition forms for medical use of marijuana, and it turns out they were signing the back of registration forms without knowing it, reregistering themselves as republicans. This was definitely tied to a republican-paid operation, and at least 4,000 of the forged registrations, which is a felony to forge registration, have been found, and Jeb Bush's department of law enforcement says that they don't have time for the next few weeks to get around to arresting the forgers. It's just -- this is just the beginning of the game.

AMY GOODMAN: What does it mean that they have now registered as Republicans? Can they still vote?

GREG PALAST: No, they cannot. They have now double- registered. They only got caught because the Election Supervisor's daughter was caught in the scam. If she had put in an absentee ballot, if this wasn't caught in her case, her ballot would be thrown out.

JUAN GONZALEZ: He also said they were being reregistered in another county, therefore, creating problems?

GREG PALAST: Yes. In other words, basically setting up the voter to have their vote voided because they're double registered. And again, this is just one of the several games we are finding, for example, the felon purge, which our press here has said is over with believe me, it ain't. Most of the people of the 93,000 people tagged in the first round as felons, who are legal voters, mostly Democrats, 4 to 1 Democrats, just so you know, 4 to 1 Democrat registered. Most of those are still purged. They're still playing games with these people. Then you've also got games with absentee ballots. One thing that's not come out in the story about Broward County, and the ballots missing, you have to understand that Jeb Bush fired a black female Democrat who was elections supervisor, who was elected, replaced her with his own appointee, who is suddenly now not sending out absentee ballots in a heavily Democratic area.

JUAN GONZALEZ: This is Broward?

GREG PALAST: Broward. You have Jeb Bush appointing Republicans to replace Democrats, who are then impeding the vote, as in Jacksonville where a Republican was just appointed to take over, and he's making it almost impossible for black people to vote. Jacksonville, by the way, is the largest physical city in the United States with one polling place for early voting, again to stop the churches and Jesse Jackson and his group from bringing in thousands of voters to vote.

AMY GOODMAN: So again, this top news, as many as 58,000 absentee ballots have gone missing in Broward County, ballots said to have been mailed two weeks ago, but somehow, they have disappeared. Now there's a lot of finger pointing, the county is blaming the postal service. The post office said, No, we didn’t get them.

GREG PALAST: You have to understand the games that are being played. Theresa LePore, Madame Butterfly from Palm Beach, who is an ally of Jeb Bush, was just defeated a few weeks ago in her own re-election. She will still be counting votes in November. In the last race, a couple of weeks ago, she counted 37,000 votes from 31,000 absentee ballots. It was like Fishes and Loaves. The problem is, if she had gone the other way, we would not have caught her. If she counted 31,000 votes out of 37,000 ballots. Do not, I recommend to people, don't use absentee ballots. You don't know where they're going and what they're doing with them. That's the great scams of this election. The thing is that it's all aimed racially. And you have to understand, who are people on the caging list that the Republicans appear to be ready to challenge? They include people whose addresses they claim cannot be verified. I verified some of these addresses. I found 50 guys shipped out from the military, so their addresses changed from the poor neighborhoods of Jacksonville to Baghdad. And they are going to challenge these soldiers’ votes.

AMY GOODMAN: How did you get the caging list?

GREG PALAST: If I said that, I wouldn't receive any more lists. Let me tell you, if anyone has any lists or good items, go to Gregpalast.com. I love it, especially if it’s marked secret or confidential on the top.

JUAN GONZALEZ: There's no reason, obviously, to assume if this kind of situation is occurring in Florida, that it’s not occurring in other states as well, other battleground states.

GREG PALAST: I have to tell you that I have been writing a story called “Other Floridas.” New Mexico -- there's non-count of vote in the Hispanic areas and Native American areas. Colorado they're starting a felon purge, days before the election which is against federal law, by the Republican Secretary of State. In Harper's, in this month's issue, I have gone through how the change in machinery to computers is going to cost hundreds of thousands of African American votes, Democratic Party votes. We figure our analysis is that in southern Florida alone, the change to computer also cost 27,000 votes -- will cost John Kerry a net of 27,000 votes. So, it's even the machinery. We have Hispanic precincts in New Mexico which in the last race showed no vote at all for president, and the response they get from elections officials, some people cannot make up their mind. What's happening is in poor areas, they're being given crap machines, just like they get crap hospitals and crap schools. They know this means that a lot of votes are lost in the machinery, whether its computers or punch cards. You name it. You have a loss of -- by the US Civil Rights Commission statisticians that I have been working with, we calculated a loss of 1 million black and minority votes lost in the machines. This is a tremendous electoral thumb on the scale, when we are going into this Tuesday. It's nationwide. I concentrated on Florida, because Florida will be Florida again. Look to, if you are going to see it election shoplifted, New Mexico, Colorado, Ohio. Those are going to be states where you cannot trust the vote.

AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you very much, Greg Palast for joining us. Investigative reporter with this explosive report.

GREG PALAST: Thank you very much.


www.democracynow.org

Abused and conned in Florida

The Observer, London
Sunday, October 31, 2004

Voters claim abuse of electoral rolls

Students say they were conned into registering twice

Greg Palast in New York
Sunday October 31, 2004


An Observer investigation in the United States has uncovered widespread allegations of electoral abuse, many of them going uninvestigated despite complaints of what would appear to be criminal attempts to manipulate voter lists.

The allegations, which come just two days before Americans go to the polls in one of the most tightly contested elections in a generation, threaten to plunge Tuesday's count into a legal minefield and overshadow even the elections of 2000.

The claims come as both Republicans and Democrats put in place up to 2,000 lawyers across the country to challenge attempts to manipulate the vote in swing states.

Although allegations of misconduct have been levelled at both parties recently, the majority of complaints that have been identified in The Observer's investigation involved claims against local Republicans.

The claims, made by the BBC's Newsnight, follow alleged attempts by Republicans to illegally suppress the votes in key states. Republican spokesmen deny these allegations.

WATCH THE BROADCAST


One of the more serious claims is that no action has been taken in a complex fraud, where more than 4,000 Florida students were allegedly conned into signing a form which could lead them to be doubly registered and void their votes. The Florida Law Enforcement Department has told the complainants that it is too busy to investigate.

In Colorado too, Democrats are complaining about an attempt to remove up to 6,000 convicted felons from the electoral roll, at the behest of the state's Republican secretary of state, Donetta Davidson, despite a US federal law that prohibits eliminating a voter's rights within 90 days of an election to give time for the voter to protest.

The attempt to purge the list of alleged felons would appear to be a re-run of the attempt by Florida Governor Jeb Bush's secretary of state to remove 93,000 citizens from voter rolls as felon convicts are not allowed to vote.

Investigations appear to have established that only 3 per cent of the largely African-American list were illegal voters.

That action led to a vote in July by the US Civil Rights Commission to open a criminal and civil investigation of the Jeb Bush administration's purge of voters, including indications of concealing evidence subpoenaed by the commission's investigators. The new claims follow the Newsnight revelation last week of confidential documents from inside Republican headquarters in Florida and Washington which the programme claimed suggested a plan - possibly in violation of US law - to stop thousands of African-Americans from voting on election day.

The programme produced two leaked emails, prepared for the executive director of the Bush campaign in Florida and the campaign's national research director in Washington DC, containing a 15-page list. The list contains 1,886 names and addresses of voters in predominantly black and traditionally Democratic areas of Jacksonville, Florida.

An elections supervisor in Tallahassee, when shown the list, told Newsnight: 'The only possible reason why they would keep such a thing is to challenge voters on election day.'

Ion Sancho, not affiliated with any party, noted that Florida law allows political party operatives inside polling stations to stop voters from obtaining a ballot. They may then only vote 'provisionally' after signing an affidavit attesting to their legal voting status.

Mass challenges have never occurred in Florida. Indeed, says Mr Sancho, not one challenge has been made to a voter 'in the 16 years I've been supervisor of elections. Quite frankly, this process can be used to slow down the voting process and cause chaos on election day and discourage voters from voting.'

Sancho calls it intimidation. And it may be illegal. In Washington, well-known civil rights attorney Ralph Neas noted that US federal law prohibits the targeting voters, even if there is a basis for the challenge, if race is a factor in targeting the voters.

The list of Jacksonville voters covers an area with a majority of black residents.

When asked by Newsnight for an explanation of the list, Republican spokespeople claimed that the list merely records returned mail from either fundraising solicitations or newly registered voters to verify addresses for purposes of campaign literature.

Republican state campaign spokeswoman, Mindy Tucker Fletcher, stated the list was not put together 'in order to create' a challenge list, but refused to say it would not be used in that manner.

The Observer has found that many people are soldiers sent overseas. Republicans acknowledge the list was created by compiling lists of voters whose addresses have changed whose only use, say critics, would be to challenge voters on election day on the basis that their voting address is not valid. But this 'caging' method captures those whose addresses have changed because they have been sent to Iraq or other places. The list includes homeless shelter residents, casting doubt on suggestions the list was created from fundraising solicitations for the Bush-Cheney campaign.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
Contact: media@gregpalast.com



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