Arkansas in 2004: Did Bush Really Win?

Past Election Patterns, Pre-Election, Tracking and Exit Poll Patterns, Bill Clinton, Vote Discrepancies, Undervotes, and A "Convenient" Power Failure in Little Rock, All Combine to Suggest Otherwise

This report will be based on several categories of data, both historical and statistical in nature, which strongly suggest that John Kerry was making a showing in the American south in the 2004 election.

1. Past election patterns: A common myth the media have often deliberately or otherwise purveyed, has been that there is a "monolithic" South, in which all Southern states fall into a set pattern, with similar percentages of victory for Republicans versus non-Southerner Democratics. This pattern can be seriously challenged when one examines individual vote tallies in individual southern states, on a year-by-year basis. The most telling examples will be found in those election years in which the Republican supposedly "swept" the entire South, or virtually the entire South.

Thousands take to the streets to oppose the inauguration of George W. Bush

Tens of thousands protest the Inauguration of George W. Bush

Thousands took to the streets of Washington, DC to protest the inauguration of George W. Bush. The International Action Center organized contingents from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Raleigh, and many other cities to participate in the demonstrations, hand out literature, and distribute placards.

They Doth Protest Too Little

As President Bush gave the second inaugural address of his career, you could see something besides mourning in the eyes of Democrats everywhere. Confusion is what it looked like, and rightly so. The question echoes from blue coast to bluer coast: What has reduced post-election Democrats to such ineffectual pussyfooters?

True, there have been muffled objections -- to the certification of Bush's reelection, and to the impending confirmations of cabinet hopefuls Alberto Gonzales and Condoleeza Rice. Sen. Barbara Boxer, along with a few Congressional Democrats, challenged the Ohio election results earlier this month. And during Gonzales' hearings, Sen. Patrick Leahy described administration policies as "tantamount to torture." Later, Sen. John Kerry and Boxer both voted against Rice's confirmation, while Sen. Joe Biden gave her an impressive dressing down.

But these Democrats weren't making history. They were making footnotes to it.

What, do you want to insult Condoleezza Rice's integrity?

AUSTIN -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice helpfully explained it all for us. The problem is that we are living in an alternative reality. What we think we know is not true. We have always had enough troops in Iraq. There are 120,000 trained Iraqi soldiers ready to take over. The president has condemned torture, so what else is there to say? Why torture happened, whose fault it is and why it is still happening at Guantanamo is not a problem because the president has condemned it. Secretary Rice also condemns it, so why raise questions about the fact that she wrote a letter to get an anti-torture clause in the intelligence appropriation bill taken out?

What, do you want to insult her integrity?

Secretary Rice did say that mistakes were made, but she does not know who made them or who should be held accountable. And, of course, as we all learned during the last election, no matter what happens, it is never, ever President Bush's fault.

Live from the Protest at Petro's Office

Today is January 21, 2005 and I was there in front of Jim Petro, our Ohio State Attorney General's Office for about two hours.  I prepared for my day by listening to a wonderful song written and sung by Victoria Parks about an old man not allowed to vote because his name was purged off the voters lists.  (Thanks Victoria, it was perfect for mental and emotional preparation)

I was a proud, vocal, and a joyous protester.   I must have missed Evan's and Karen's arrival there by just a moment.  Thank you both for coming, I wish I had connected with you.   After spending time there speaking and showing the crowd driving on Broad Street my sign, I remembered that I didn't put money in the parking lot money collection box, so at around 12:30 with visions of parking tickets and tow trucks I went and moved the car. I talked to lots of great people in between Petro's office and the car, returned to Petro's office for awhile, and then stood at the corner of Broad and High with my sign and spoke to lots of people there.   

Judiciary Comm Halts; NOW Is the Time for Action

Objections to a swift decision on Alberto Gonzalez, stemming especially from Sen. Kennedy's concerns about his responses to questions about torture, have delayed the vote on whether to confirm him as Attorney General.

This gives us a momentary window in time to slow down or even halt the confirmation, and to make the record of the truth about the Administration's use of torture.  SEE BELOW FOR HOW TO USE THIS MOMENT.

Gonzalez' responses to Judiciary Committee questions about the actuality of torture were evasive, full of "I don't remember" in regard to a very important and unprecedented memo he gave the President (a surprising thing to forget) and on memos he received about it from lawyers in the Justice Department.

And he explicitly repeated the Bush Administration's assertion that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to people the Administration labels "enemy combatants."

Even worse, he has not been willing to repudiate the definition of torture that was so extreme that most forms of torture would be permitted.

The torture carried by YUS soldiers was not only at Abu Ghraib but also at

Our soldiers

Voting Problems and Uncounted Votes in Lucas County, Ohio

I wish to acknowledge the work of Pat Lent, Brian Taylor and Cindy Darrah who contributed research and ideas for this paper. Dan Kornacki converted the data from Lucas County into an Excel Spreadsheet.

This report contains overwhelming evidence of voter suppression in Lucas County, Ohio.

A list of voters who voted provisionally was obtained from the Lucas County Board of Elections. The report listed name, address, precinct voted in and reason for the vote being invalidated. Voter turnout data by precinct was obtained from the Lucas County Board of Elections website. Other information was obtained over the telephone from the Lucas County Board of Elections and the Wayne County City Clerk’s office.

A large number of citizens voted by provisional ballot in Lucas County on November 2nd and most of the uncounted provisional votes were cast in Toledo.

Lucas County Provisional Votes
Total Provisional Votes - 4,469
Votes Not Counted - 3,123
Provisional Votes Counted - 1,346

New links

A few of links have come to our attention lately that we don't think you've seen before.

Check 'em out:

http://www.votersunite.org/MB2.pdf

http://home.att.net/~m.standridge/AR04graph.htm#h1

rememberohio.org

The Politics of SpongeBob

Conservative Christian organizations have accused a children’s cartoon character, SpongeBob SquarePants, of being part of a secret agenda to promote homosexuality. The character appears in a music video, produced by the non-profit We Are Family Foundation, which was established following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to promote greater cultural understanding. The video, which is being distributed to 61,000 elementary schools, features SpongeBob, Winnie the Pooh, and other popular children’s characters. Although the video does not mention sexuality, the website of the foundation asks people to take a tolerance pledge by respecting those of different abilities, beliefs, culture, sexual identity, and race.

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