Global

Thanks for the update!  Taken out, a la Paul Wellstone, JFKjr...who's next?  Kerry.

John Lamenzo
        Santa Fe, NM

Editor's note: To read more about TruVote, Athan Gibbs, and electronic voting, visit www.freepress.org/columns/display/3/2004/853 or www.freepress.org/columns/display/3/2004/834.

If Ohio has touch screen voting in the presidential election, I will promptly request an Absentee ballot.  That tip should be passed on to others who fear paperless ballots.

*  i live in brasil and was an election observer for their 2002 general election.  they use an electronic touch screen that also gives a paper record and a recorded diskette.  i was amazed at the ease of use and the redundancies to ensure that votes are counted correctly and can be audited.  in that election the polls closed about 8pm.  all votes were counted with 4-5 hours, even from remote towns in the amazon.

*  i hope either you or someone else as interested will contact the brasilian electoral authorities and find out more about the machines.  they cost about $500 each and each polling place had a couple of spares.

*  we don't need a repeat of the 2000 coup d'etat.

Are you a Sierra Club member?

The future of the Sierra Club is at stake.

Outsiders are trying to take over the Club by placing stealth candidates on the Club's board ballot this year.  This is driven by anti-immigration activists, and their tactics are underhanded -- they aren't declaring their real issue positions to members. They hope that low participation and confusion will allow them to stack the board of directors.

You can stop this, but you must vote now in the Sierra Club board election.  You probably have already received the ballot in the mail.

We've attached below an outreach from Groundswell Sierra -- a volunteer network of Sierra Club members working to defeat this threat.  This outreach includes a list of endorsed candidates. We recommending printing this email and having it on hand as you fill out your ballot.

If you'd like more information on this threat, go to:

http://www.groundswellsierra.org/takeover_index.php

Thank you,

-Carrie, Joan, Noah, Peter, and Wes
The MoveOn.org team

Bush, Cheney, Ashcroft, Ridge, Rumsfeld, Rove

KARL ROVE: Gentlemen, we have a problem. It's called Spain.

PRESIDENT BUSH: This had better be serious, Karl. Your little emergency phone call here is costing me gym time. You know I don't go for that.

SECRETARY RIDGE: Sir, the bombs that went off in Spain killed some two hundred people. It's the worst terrorist attack in the history of Europe.

PRESIDENT BUSH: So?

SECRETARY RIDGE: The entire continent is saddened and traumatized. These were ordinary civilians, with families. Some were children, even pregnant women. Spain has been at peace for a half-century. Blood was everywhere. It's a terrible human tragedy.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Karl, what the hell is this guy whining about? Is there a purpose to this meeting?

KARL ROVE: We lost the election.

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: We had this timed out pretty carefully, George. Two days was just about the right gap before a national ballot. We figured the bombs would go off, the nation would freak out, be furious with ETA or Al Quaeda or both, and our hard-liners would sail in.

AUSTIN, Texas -- My, we are off to an elegant start here, aren't we?

            First, we have John Kerry in a classic open-mike gaffe referring to his Republican opponents as "crooked" and "lying." While this was not a high point in the history of political rhetoric, Kerry's refusal to apologize for the overhead remark promptly solidified his base.

            "Hey, he's got more guts than I thought," said many a pleased Democrat, convinced the Bushies (SET ITAL) are (END ITAL) all liars and crooks. So he is now free to go forth and talk of health care.  

Things may be shaping up nicely for Ralph Nader, who could very soon receive an unlikely endorsement from the Ross Perot founded Texas Reform Party. This may prove to be a huge victory for Nader's solo candidacy, as the support from the conservative Reformers could help him gain ballot access for the upcoming November election.

As you well know, Texas is not renowned for its democratic virtues or integrity (remember Trent Lott's legislative redistricting?).  And now Nader faces numerous hurdles as he attempts to get his name on the state's ballot.   Texas requires over 64,000 signatures by its May 10th deadline, and nobody who cast a vote in its presidential primary can sign his petition.   But that's where the Reform Party may lend a helping hand.

Un-registered Third Parties are required to garner only 45,540, with a slightly later deadline of May 24th. Independants are not currently recognized as a Third Party, and in Texas only Democrats and Republicans are reserved special access to the state's ballot.

There is a major debate in this country over the costs and benefits of sport utility vehicles. SUV owners want room, safety and power and an ego boost that comes from driving the biggest car on the road, while the anti-SUV crowd claims these vehicles are unsafe for other drivers, the environment and the driver and passengers in SUV.

     Rather than arguing about the value of these popular vehicles, we need to focus on building better ones. The Union of Concerned Scientists has developed a blueprint for an SUV that, for a minimal price increase, could save thousands of lives from rollover and crash-related accidents, get 30% better gas mileage, and not sacrifice an inch of room or an ounce of power. In this era of divisions between the United States and the Middle East, we need to gain energy independence so that we ourselves can be independent.