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Connie Wilson - Sat 23 Aug 2008 06:31 PM CDT
altheakims - Tue 19 Aug 2008 04:28 AM CDT
Richard - Sun 17 Aug 2008 06:57 PM CDT
sspl05 - Sat 02 Aug 2008 07:21 AM CDT
ihatehogconfinements - Mon 21 Jul 2008 06:45 PM CDT
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Tuesday, November 23
Invitation to Ohio Recount: Please RSVP!
by
Trish Nelson
on Tue 23 Nov 2004 06:28 AM CST
 Invitation to Ohio Recount: Please RSVP!
From David Cobb and the Cobb-LaMarche team
Greens, Libertarians, Independents, Kucinich-Dean-Kerry Democrats and Republicans [are] ready to restore integrity to our voting system. We insist that the legitimacy of representative government be defended from the flagrant threats to the public's confidence that
this and the previous election have engendered. But a recount
without providing independent oversight of the process will not provide
meaningful feedback on the problems or improve public confidence in the
system or this year's result.
We're asking you to consider coming to Ohio with us.
We estimate we will need nearly 2,000 volunteers to monitor recount activities in all 88 Ohio counties. As I write this, we are still nearly $20,000 shy of our fundraising goal for the Ohio recount (even as we continue to consider the problems in New Mexico and other states). Please send your friends and family to our site and urge them to volunteer and /or contribute to this vital work.
We have asked Holly Hart, of Iowa, to lead our efforts to coordinate the participation of volunteers in this important historical effort to reclaim public confidence in our elections. She needs your help. So far, 600 volunteers have stepped forward. We will need at least 1,400 more before we arrive in Ohio. First she needs help communicating and coordinating with 2,000 people over the next few days.
If you can help organize within Iowa to mobilize volunteers to come to Ohio, and to help us raise this campaign's profile within your community and state, please contact Holly at saveballot@yahoo.com. Holly also needs someone to coordinate buses
to Ohio. Please e-mail your name, phone number, city or town where you live, and how you would like to help.
From an election protest in Denver Nov. 18
Our efforts are already well under way.
- On Monday, Common Cause, the National Voting Rights Institute, Demos, the Fannie Lou Hamer Project and People for the American Way Foundation issued a joint statement in support of the Cobb and Badnarik demand for an Ohio recount.
- In the past week, we have raised over $200,000 of the initial $250,000 our staff has budgeted for this effort.
- On Friday, November 19th, our attorneys delivered a bond to guarantee our $113,600 recount fee.
- We are organizing now to train, house and feed the folks on the ground in Ohio who will monitor the recount.
- Our efforts have now been endorsed by Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich.
The
corporate media is busy ridiculing our efforts to defend democracy in
Ohio and by extension in the rest of our nation as well. We need
your help to counter the attacks. We are inviting everyone who
has lent their support to this campaign to follow up with letters to
the editor explaining why you are supporting this recount effort.
Click here for ideas on what you might include in such a letter.
We need
an election system we can trust. The problems in Florida in 2000
and the problems in Ohio in 2004 will repeat themselves in 2008 unless
we do something about it. Our elections should be administered by
an independent non-partisan commission, and not by the state chairs of
presidential campaigns.
Again we thank you for your participation in this
Democracy Movement. We look forward to seeing you in Ohio.
Yours for a just, sustainable and democratic future,
David Cobb and the entire Cobb-LaMarche Team
Tuesday, November 16
Grassroots Finance Ohio Recount
by
Trish Nelson
on Tue 16 Nov 2004 07:27 AM CST
 Grassroots Finance Ohio Recount
t r u t h o u t
Green
Party Campaign Raises $150,000 in 4 Days, Shifts Gears to Phase II
WASHINGTON - There will be a
recount of the presidential vote in Ohio.
On
Thursday, David Cobb, the Green Party’s 2004 presidential candidate, announced
his intention to seek a recount of the vote in Ohio. Since the required fee for a
statewide recount is $113,600, the only question was whether that money could
be raised in time to meet the filing deadline. That question has been answered.
“Thanks
to the thousands of people who have contributed to this effort, we can say with
certainty that there will be a recount in Ohio,” said Blair Bobier, Media Director
for the Cobb-LaMarche campaign.
“The
grassroots support for the recount has been astounding. The donations have come
in fast and furiously, with the vast majority in the $10-$50 range, allowing us
to meet our goal for the first phase of the recount effort in only four days,”
said Bobier.
Bobier
said the campaign is still raising money for the next phase of the recount
effort which will be recruiting, training and mobilizing volunteers to monitor
the actual recount.
(click here to donate)
(click here to read entire story)
Monday, November 15
Save the Ballot
by
Trish Nelson
on Mon 15 Nov 2004 10:16 AM CST
 Save the Ballot
DFIA
members in Johnson County are gathering signatories for the following
letter which will be
sent to our senators and representatives in Congress on Nov.
19. If you would like to join Howard Weinberg (letter author),
Ellen Ballas, Trish Nelson and others in this effort to save the
integrity of our voting system, please
send an e-mail to saveballot@yahoo.com.
Please include your name, address, and phone number.
>
Dear Senators Grassley, Harkin and Representatives Boswell, King, Latham, Leach, Nussle:
We are writing to urge you to introduce and support two measures which
we believe will help to restore the integrity of the electoral process,
and so, perhaps, help to heal our gravely divided nation. First, we
advocate a law requiring elections to provide a transparent method of
verification of the vote by recount. Secondly, we want voter
intimidation to become a federal felony.
We believe civil society is largely a matter of trust among citizens.
When this trust begins to deteriorate, the consequences are not hard to
foresee: anarchy, inequity, fragmentation, resentment— ultimately,
perhaps, tyranny—certainly, the loss of freedom from violence and
dishonesty.
In our society, trust must reside in the ballot. Without a true ballot
there can be no democracy. The recent and widespread institution of
technology that does not permit verification of the vote count greatly
concerns us, and we believe faith in the integrity of the electoral
process is terribly at risk. Fortunately, there are many methods of
vote tabulation which provide all the ease and convenience of
electronic balloting, with the verifiability of other methods. To
illustrate the problems that concern us, we attach the recent letter
signed by Representatives Conyers, Nadler, Wexler, Scott, Watt, Holt.
In the last election there were many reports of attempts to intimidate
voters at the polls on election day. For all of us, but for minority
voters especially—Native American, African-American,
Hispanic-American—the freedom to vote without fear of intimidation and
reprisal is a fundamental element of the American promise. There can be
no question that even the appearance of such intimidation has a
corrosive effect on the trust among citizens. Therefore, we urge you to
recognize such bullying as a serious crime, and to specifically outlaw
it all over the nation.
We think these measures are elemental and necessary, and we urge you,
as our legislative representatives, to implement them as quickly as
possible.
Sincerely,
(names here)
cc: The Honorable John Kerry, 304 Russell Bldg., Third Fl., Washington, DC 20510; fax: 202-224-8525
The Honorable John Conyers, 2426 Rayburn Bldg., Washington, DC 20515; fax: 202-225-0072
(click here for Conyers et. al letter)
**Please pass this on**
Friday, November 12
Lobby DNC Members for Dean
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 12 Nov 2004 06:46 AM CST
 Lobby DNC Members for Dean
by Dawn Mueller
Buzz is appearing on the blogs in favor of Howard Dean for DNC chairman.
Kos has
a thread up. The majority of comments are in favor of Dean.
Most of the comments about Vilsack are negative - the feeling is that
Vilsack would not be exciting enough.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/11/11/17837/845
Kos posted this in response to an ABC News piece speculating on a Howard Dean bid:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/print?id=244985
For those who wish to lobby for Dean for DNC Chair:
Daily Kos has posted more diaries on the DNC Chair battle. The following gives the list of DNC members:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/11/11/203150/32
Please
keep an eye on Daily Kos for new developments. We need to be
gearing up for the battle, right now, if we want to get behind Dean.
Thursday, November 11
DLC's Will Marshall Blames PROGRESSIVES for Kerry's Election "Loss"
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 11 Nov 2004 10:49 AM CST
 DLC's Will Marshall Blames PROGRESSIVES for Kerry's Election "Loss"
by Dawn Mueller
Marshall calls progressive Democrats "anti-American"
The DLC held a forum to do a post-mortem on the election:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6453647/
Sounds
like some have awakened to the fact that the Democratic leadership
needs to get down in the trenches with us common folk, and do some
party-building.
However, Will Marshall specifically pins the blame on the "Michael Moore crowd." He is quoted as saying, "We've got to repudiate the most strident and insulting anti-American voices out there, sometimes on our party's left."
The article reminds the reader of Evan Bayh's comment that the
Democratic Party is in danger of being taken over by the far left,
referring to Howard Dean's rise.
I
respectfully suggest that Mr. Marshall be informed that I just spent
three years of my life busting my behind to get the Democratic nominee
elected. If he thinks that you and I are "strident and insulting
anti-American voices," and that we should be "repudiated" because we
oppose/d a war in which over a thousand of our men and women have died;
tens of thousands have been injured; and heaven knows how many
civilians have been killed, maimed or rendered destitute by our
actions...
...then
my reply to Mr. Marshall is that I do not find him to be the unifying
voice of the Democratic Party. Mothers, fathers, sisters,
brothers and spouses should not be "repudiated" for trying to prevent
the death of their loved ones on the sands of Iraq, and the endless
draining of our pocketbooks.
I am
shocked that, after all of the Herculean grassroots efforts of everyday
citizens to make the Democratic party DEMOCRATIC enough bring in the
BIGGEST haul of voters a Democratic presidential candidate has ever
won, that a member of the DLC would treat us this way. If Mr.
Marshall has been properly quoted, I believe he owes us a big apology.
I am in favor of Howard Dean for DNC Chair.
Democrats need leaders who are intelligent, principled, care about us
and have the ability to sit down with us over a meal of Hamburger
Helper, without spitting in our faces.
The DLC website is http://www.ndol.org.
There is a link to the CSPAN video of the forum. Will Marshall is
the president of the so-called "Progressive Policy Institute," an arm
of the DLC. You might drop him a line and invite him to share a
dinner of Ramen noodles with you - use the online form, or give him a
call at (202)547-0001.
Dawn M. Mueller
In Iowa News, Gov. Vilsack appears to be considering the top spot at the DNC, too.
Monday, November 8
Wanted: Progressive Posters
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 08 Nov 2004 04:08 PM CST
 Wanted: Progressive Posters
Well, on to Plan B. Please bear with us while we make the transition to Team Blog for Iowa.
During
the next couple of weeks, Blog for Iowa will be forming a team of
"trusted posters." Each poster will cover one or more designated
topics, and will post on a set schedule. We hope to maintain the
21-posts-per-week schedule that Blog for Iowa readers are accustomed to.
I have already invited some folks to participate and will be training participants personally over the phone.
If you
are an Iowa progressive, like to keep up with the alternative news
(I'll help with sources, of course), and have some computer skills (a
knowledge of how to use Word would be helpful), please send your
application to Linda at blog@democracyforiowa.com.
Check out the Writers' Guidelines on the right sidebar of Blog for Iowa for some indication of what to expect.
Please
include a couple of paragraphs about your participation in the
progressive community (this is a writing/editing test) and a brief
resume. You need not have any professional writing experience,
but it would be helpful. An inclination towards attention to
detail is a must. This is a volunteer position.
Thank you!
Wednesday, November 3
Kerry Can Win Ohio: A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
by
Linda Thieman
on Wed 03 Nov 2004 06:08 PM CST
 Kerry Can Win Ohio: A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
International Labor Communications Association
The media has collapsed and Kerry has conceded, but we don't have to.
According
to CNN, Bush is ahead in the count in Ohio by 136,221. According to the
Toledo Blade, Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell has said the number
of provisional ballots could be about 175,000. Blackwell also told the
Blade that in the last election 90 percent of the provisional ballots
ended up being declared valid and being counted, a figure also reported
by CBS News Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen.
There is
good reason to believe that the provisional ballots are
disproportionately for Kerry. This is because many of them are the
result of Republicans challenging voters at the polls.
Therefore, Kerry can win, and we need to demand that every vote be counted.
The
provisional ballots are expected to be counted in 10 days. Meanwhile,
state law allows Republican and Democratic challengers to examine the
envelopes and to challenge their eligibility to be counted.
We need
massive public pressure in Columbus, Ohio, to demand a fair count. If
you can't go to Ohio, call the Democratic National Committee at
202-863-8000 and tell them that you want the count monitored. Send them
an Email on this page:
http://www.democrats.org/contact
Write letters to the editors of your local newspapers.
Call your local radio and television stations.
Write or call your Congress Members and other elected officials.
Tell them all we want an accurate count.
In
addition, numerous possible cases of Republican wrongdoing in Ohio are
being investigated, and we must be prepared to act quickly and in great
numbers. Various such cases in Florida four years ago were discovered
too late.
There
are numerous complaints from Ohio of lines at the polls being longer in
heavily Democratic precincts, also a result of Republican challengers
and part of the Republicans' plan. Other complaints include rejected
registrations, polls not open on time, and voters turned away.
See: http://www.ilcaonline.org/
There are numerous complaints from Ohio of lines at the polls being
longer in heavily Democratic precincts, also a result of Republican
challengers and part of the Republicans' plan. Other complaints include
rejected registrations, polls not open on time, and voters turned away.
Go here at ILCAonline
and here:
http://www.alternet.org/election04oh/20384/
and here:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/electionwatch/state.php?state=OH
and here:
http://cleveland.indymedia.org/features/election_protests
Also watch for a related release from the Institute for Public Accuracy:
http://www.accuracy.org/
We may also need to demand investigation of the voting machines in
Ohio. A year ago the head of Diebold, the company that produced the
machines, boasted of his intent to help Bush carry Ohio.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0828-08.htm
Remember what happened in Florida in 2000.
For updates, watch http://ILCAonline.org
For questions or information, contact:
David Swanson
ILCA Media Coordinator
dswanson@aflcio.org
202-974-8037
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