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COLUMBUS -- In a stunning legal attack, Ohio's Republican Attorney General has moved for sanctions against the four attorneys who sued George W. Bush et. al. in an attempt to investigate the Buckeye State's bitterly contested November 2 election.
Robert Fitrakis, Susan Truitt, Cliff Arnebeck and Peter Peckarsky were named by Attorney General James Petro in a filing with the Ohio Supreme Court. Petro charges the November Moss v Bush and Moss v. Moyer filings by the Election Protection legal team were "frivolous." Petro is demanding court sanctions and fines.
"Instead of evidence, contesters offered only theory, conjecture, hypothesis and invective," the Attorney General's January 18th memo about the suit said. "A contest proceeding is not a toy for idle hands. It is not to be used to make a political point, or to be used as a discovery tool, or be used to inconvenience or harass public officials, or to be used as a publicity gimmick."
Robert Fitrakis, Susan Truitt, Cliff Arnebeck and Peter Peckarsky were named by Attorney General James Petro in a filing with the Ohio Supreme Court. Petro charges the November Moss v Bush and Moss v. Moyer filings by the Election Protection legal team were "frivolous." Petro is demanding court sanctions and fines.
"Instead of evidence, contesters offered only theory, conjecture, hypothesis and invective," the Attorney General's January 18th memo about the suit said. "A contest proceeding is not a toy for idle hands. It is not to be used to make a political point, or to be used as a discovery tool, or be used to inconvenience or harass public officials, or to be used as a publicity gimmick."
"Any appearance of a permanent occupation of Iraq by the U.S. will both undermine domestic support here in the United States and play directly into the hands of those in the Middle East who -- however wrongly -- suspect us of imperial design." So spoke former Secretary of State James Baker last week in a speech at Rice University in Houston.
There are few heavier hitters in Bush country than Baker, who was secretary of state when Bush Sr. went to war on Iraq in 1991 and the architect of Bush Jr.'s stolen election in 2000. A few days earlier, Brent Scowcroft, another veteran of Bush Sr.'s administration, raised once more, as he had in 2002, doubts about Bush Jr.'s Iraq strategy.
There are few heavier hitters in Bush country than Baker, who was secretary of state when Bush Sr. went to war on Iraq in 1991 and the architect of Bush Jr.'s stolen election in 2000. A few days earlier, Brent Scowcroft, another veteran of Bush Sr.'s administration, raised once more, as he had in 2002, doubts about Bush Jr.'s Iraq strategy.
In the shadow of overwhelming irregularities in the Ohio’s election, New Mexico has played out it’s own post-election drama almost unnoticed by anyone outside the state. Even before the November 2, New Mexico had been in the news for reports of malfunctioning voting machines and other problems. Hundreds of incidents were reported on Election Day. The state got some national attention for once again leading the nation in undervote rate. All this coupled with a small margin of victory in the presidential race (just 3/4 of 1%) led to concern about the accuracy of the results.
Imagine a country where during a major national election the voting machines counted backwards, counted more votes than people who showed up to vote, switched the votes so that they "hopped" from one candidate to the opponent, had no paper trail verification by design, and the voting machines were allowed to be either altered or kept from inspection after the election. Imagine if the people responsible for all this just refused to show up at a proper judicially noticed court proceeding to discuss any facts of this. Imagine if everyone in power were in on the game- or at least the majority of those in power- so no real investigations with any kind of force of subpoena power would ever take place. No one would ever know. Imagine it. Then get yourself a cup of coffee and wake up, because that is exactly what happened in the US Presidential election of 2004.
In three days George Bush and Richard Cheney, will be sworn in- baring Act of God- as President and the Vice President of the United States- again. Don't you believe it.
In three days George Bush and Richard Cheney, will be sworn in- baring Act of God- as President and the Vice President of the United States- again. Don't you believe it.
Dear Editor,
Some time during the night of January 5th, signs in the yards of several homes in our Clintonville neighborhood were destroyed by being painted with red spray paint,or ripped from the ground ,then incinerated in our driveways.Each sign that was destroyed expressed messages such as,"Pray For Peace" or,"One People-World Peace."
I would like to ask those people that participated in these bizarre acts of vandalism,why they didn't have the courage to ring my doorbell,look me in the eye,do the honorable thing and explain to me as a fellow citizen of the United States and the world,why they find notions such as world peace and tolerance for people of other cultures and beliefs so threatening and abhorrent? I would also ask them to consider the frightening analogy between their own irrational,violent acts,and those that are currently being perpetrated as acts of warfare in many parts of our contemporary world.
When reading the crime and punishment section of my local newspaper (the business pages), I’m continually reminded of the gross inequities inherent in our criminal justice system.
Virtually every day there are reports of CEOs and directors of major corporations who are charged with malfeasance, misappropriation of funds and grand larceny -- on a grand scale.
More often than not, those charged with such offenses end up making a settlement or plea agreement. Usually, those agreements result in fines and/or monetary settlement of lawsuits that don’t even begin to compensate victims of their crimes. Moreover, having agreed to huge multi-million-dollar settlements, there is usually a denial that there was any wrongdoing. To add further insult to injury, few are ever incarcerated.
Virtually every day there are reports of CEOs and directors of major corporations who are charged with malfeasance, misappropriation of funds and grand larceny -- on a grand scale.
More often than not, those charged with such offenses end up making a settlement or plea agreement. Usually, those agreements result in fines and/or monetary settlement of lawsuits that don’t even begin to compensate victims of their crimes. Moreover, having agreed to huge multi-million-dollar settlements, there is usually a denial that there was any wrongdoing. To add further insult to injury, few are ever incarcerated.
KEY WEST, Fla. -- Tough gig here. A weekend in Key West holding forth on the subject of humor with a lot of funny people. A pundit's work is never done.
Actually, being earnest about humor is deadly -- if you have to explain a joke, you kill it. Fortunately, the participants in the Key West Literary Seminar did little analysis and a lot of rock 'n' roll. Garry Trudeau, creator of "Doonesbury," is also a comic essayist on occasion and was once inspired by Real Life to write the results of an interview of Madonna conducted by a Hungarian journalist. He asked questions in Hungarian, she replied in English, then it was all translated into Hungarian and then re-translated back into English.
Q: Let us cut towards the hunt: Are you a bold hussy woman that feasts on men who are tops?
A: I am working like a canine all the way around the clock.
Actually, being earnest about humor is deadly -- if you have to explain a joke, you kill it. Fortunately, the participants in the Key West Literary Seminar did little analysis and a lot of rock 'n' roll. Garry Trudeau, creator of "Doonesbury," is also a comic essayist on occasion and was once inspired by Real Life to write the results of an interview of Madonna conducted by a Hungarian journalist. He asked questions in Hungarian, she replied in English, then it was all translated into Hungarian and then re-translated back into English.
Q: Let us cut towards the hunt: Are you a bold hussy woman that feasts on men who are tops?
A: I am working like a canine all the way around the clock.
In the shadow of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., America's electoral crisis continues.
King marched across the south and the nation to guarantee all Americans, black and white, the right to vote. But in 2000 and again in 2004, that right was denied.
Now in the wake of another bitterly contested vote count, is the electoral situation improving in the spirit of Dr. King?
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, when briefing the Senate Democratic leadership on the day before the historic challenge to the Ohio electors, told them that in the 40 years since the Voting Rights Act, the people opposed to voting rights have simply changed parties -- from "Dixiecrats" to Republicans -- while still doing "everything in their power to suppress the voting rights of [the] poor and minorities." Jackson also told Senators Reid, Durbin and Stabenow that after President Lyndon Johnson refused Martin Luther King, Jr.'s pitch for voting rights in 1964 at a ceremony commemorating King's Nobel Prize award, it was a "remnant of the civil rights movement that went down to Selma" that was beaten and bloodied in a struggle that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
King marched across the south and the nation to guarantee all Americans, black and white, the right to vote. But in 2000 and again in 2004, that right was denied.
Now in the wake of another bitterly contested vote count, is the electoral situation improving in the spirit of Dr. King?
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, when briefing the Senate Democratic leadership on the day before the historic challenge to the Ohio electors, told them that in the 40 years since the Voting Rights Act, the people opposed to voting rights have simply changed parties -- from "Dixiecrats" to Republicans -- while still doing "everything in their power to suppress the voting rights of [the] poor and minorities." Jackson also told Senators Reid, Durbin and Stabenow that after President Lyndon Johnson refused Martin Luther King, Jr.'s pitch for voting rights in 1964 at a ceremony commemorating King's Nobel Prize award, it was a "remnant of the civil rights movement that went down to Selma" that was beaten and bloodied in a struggle that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
COLUMBUS, OHIO -- The above title was the stage banner for the enthusiastic, hopeful rally at the Columbus, Ohio, Capitol Theater on January 3, 2005. It described what has motivated countless citizens since November 2, 2004. As in the Ukraine, exit polls showed that we were dealing with a stolen national election. JOHN KERRY HAD WON OHIO, AND THE PRESIDENCY, but George Bush had been declared the winner. What a travesty!
Supported by worldwide contributions (monetary and otherwise), dedicated individuals had systematically documented blatant voter disenfranchisement, fraud, theft, and multiple other illegalities. Such explained the differences between Ohio’s initial, unchanged Exit Polls (which showed Kerry winning) and Ohio’s falsely Certified Vote Count (which declared him losing).
Supported by worldwide contributions (monetary and otherwise), dedicated individuals had systematically documented blatant voter disenfranchisement, fraud, theft, and multiple other illegalities. Such explained the differences between Ohio’s initial, unchanged Exit Polls (which showed Kerry winning) and Ohio’s falsely Certified Vote Count (which declared him losing).