The Free Press -- Independent News Media - Bob FitrakisDear Mr. Tanner:
I was curious to find that you had “conducted an investigation into the November 2, 2004 general election in Franklin County, prompted by allegations that Franklin County systematically assigned fewer voting machines in polling places serving predominantly black communities as compared to its assignment of machines in predominantly white communities.”
Let me begin by suggesting the word “contrasted” would be more appropriate than “compared.” Indeed, the difference is literally black and white.
You praise the bipartisan nature of the Franklin County Board of Elections (BOE). But you fail to mention that the Director, Matt Damschroder, is the former Chair of the Franklin County Republican Party, and that J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio’s Secretary of State and the Co-Chair of the Bush-Cheney Re-election Committee appoints all board members as well as officers, and they serve at his pleasure. Blackwell’s actions throughout the election year were openly partisan and obviously unethical.
For example, I was at a meeting prior to the election where Mr. Damschroder informed a delegation of esteemed international election observers that he would have them arrested based on the orders of Blackwell if they crossed the 100-foot line outside the polls to observe closer to the voting site. Is that what you mean by “the spirit of cooperation?”
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Friday, May 27, 2005
"The Public Does Not Have a Right to Know" Co-founder of CNN, Says
"The Public Does Not Have a Right to Know" Co-founder of CNN, Says :snip:
SCHONFELD: Abu Ghraib is the greatest foul up of all time. Those pictures were on the internet. The problem is not that we were - we - I only wish the Pentagon could have been able to deny that story, to be able to li - that's the right of the Pentagon to lie, when it is in the country's best interest to lie, you do lie. And when I made that statement in my book, an undersecretary - well - at Defense told me I don't have it quite right, the - uh - Rumsfeld, the Secretary can never lie but any, anybody under him can, that you have to do it when it's in the public, in the government interest.
{ME} So the problem with abuGhraib isnt that it happened............but that it was exposed!!! Fuck, these nazis are sick.
From the COMMENTS:"Can we please define responsibility? What you're advocating is not state-controlled, but it is still controlled, is it not? Someone is still deciding what we should and should not be allowed to know. Sometimes news is unpleasant. Sometimes outrage is needed to enable change.
Let's say that the Koran-abusing story is true, just for argument. If it's not reported, then no one knows that it has occurred, therefore it is accepted and can continue.
The present US administration is rather a loose cannon and the US media at present, not just Fox, is doing a damned bad job of keeping the US people informed of it."
SCHONFELD: Abu Ghraib is the greatest foul up of all time. Those pictures were on the internet. The problem is not that we were - we - I only wish the Pentagon could have been able to deny that story, to be able to li - that's the right of the Pentagon to lie, when it is in the country's best interest to lie, you do lie. And when I made that statement in my book, an undersecretary - well - at Defense told me I don't have it quite right, the - uh - Rumsfeld, the Secretary can never lie but any, anybody under him can, that you have to do it when it's in the public, in the government interest.
{ME} So the problem with abuGhraib isnt that it happened............but that it was exposed!!! Fuck, these nazis are sick.
From the COMMENTS:"Can we please define responsibility? What you're advocating is not state-controlled, but it is still controlled, is it not? Someone is still deciding what we should and should not be allowed to know. Sometimes news is unpleasant. Sometimes outrage is needed to enable change.
Let's say that the Koran-abusing story is true, just for argument. If it's not reported, then no one knows that it has occurred, therefore it is accepted and can continue.
The present US administration is rather a loose cannon and the US media at present, not just Fox, is doing a damned bad job of keeping the US people informed of it."
Thursday, May 26, 2005
FBI has secret docs it's reluctant to give up
WorldNetDaily: FBI has secret docs it's reluctant to give up: "OKC BOMBING FALLOUT
FBI has secret docs
it's reluctant to give up
Judge ordered disclosure of info on informants that could shed light on Oklahoma City tragedy
Posted: May 25, 2005
5:00 p.m. Eastern
2005 WorldNetDaily.com
The FBI says it has located 340 documents related to the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, documents that could reveal damaging information about what the agency and its informants knew about the mass murder plot, reports the McCurtain Daily Gazette.
According to the report in the McCurtain County, Okla., paper, the documents address the monitoring of the bombing by FBI informants, Alabama attorney Morris Dees and Dees' organization, the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Writes reporter J.D. Cash in the Gazette: 'If proven true, the ramifications of such disclosures would be far-reaching. Not only could the discovery of these documents lead to additional arrests and prosecutions in the OKC bombing case, but evidence of a cover-up of a sting operation involving the FBI and a private charity could ruin a number of careers of highly placed individuals.'
The documents are part of an extensive filing made in federal court in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Monday. A court order was obtained by Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue, the plaintiff in a Freedom of Information suit against the Oklahoma City FBI office, the Gazette reported. Trentadue has been seeking evidence in the untimely death of his brother, whose body was found beaten and slashed while the inmate awaited a parole violation hearing.
Trentadue believes his brother was tortured and killed by government agents who mistakenly thought he was involved with executed killer Timothy McVeigh and others in a string of bank robberies and the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.
After learning the FBI was involved in a sting operation with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Trentadue, the Gazette reports, sought a copy of two teletypes from former FBI Director Louis Freeh that discussed the undercover operation "that proved the FBI knew in advance McVeigh's plans for bombing a federal building."
The FBI initially denied it had the teletypes, but after Trentadue produced redacted copies of them, he went to court to force the FBI to cough up copies of their original un-redacted versions.
On May 5, U.S. District Court Judge Dale A. Kimball ordered the FBI to turn over un-redacted copies of two teletypes sent by Freeh to a select group of FBI field offices, including the OKBOMB task force in Oklahoma City. Kimball's order also included instructions to perform an extensive search for other records involving McVeigh, his alleged co-conspirators and informants working for the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The paper reported that, according to a Jan. 4, 1996, teletype, Freeh disclosed the Southern Poverty Law Center had an informant at the white supremacist Elohim City compound when McVeigh called the facility requesting assistance with his plans. The teletype said the call was made on April 17, 1995 – 48 hours before a truck bomb destroyed the Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 persons and injuring 500 more.
For years, the FBI has repeatedly denied the agency had any prior knowledge of the bomb plot.
The FBI now says it has found 340 documents that could also link the SPLC to McVeigh, Elohim City and members of the Aryan Republican Army.
On Monday, the FBI proposed several alternatives to turning over the documents listed in Kimball's order, saying it did not have time to comply with the judge's order to turn over the material Trentadue is seeking by June 15.
Said an agency representative: "In the past, the backlog in the FOIPA Section has been exacerbated by the high volume of administrative appeals that will require review and response by the FBI's FOIPA Section personnel. … At the present time, the FBI is involved in over 150 pending lawsuits in various federal district and appellate courts throughout the United States."
The agency further argued that revealing the elements of its intelligence-gathering operation at Elohim City would not be in the best interests of the nation.
FBI has secret docs
it's reluctant to give up
Judge ordered disclosure of info on informants that could shed light on Oklahoma City tragedy
Posted: May 25, 2005
5:00 p.m. Eastern
2005 WorldNetDaily.com
The FBI says it has located 340 documents related to the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, documents that could reveal damaging information about what the agency and its informants knew about the mass murder plot, reports the McCurtain Daily Gazette.
According to the report in the McCurtain County, Okla., paper, the documents address the monitoring of the bombing by FBI informants, Alabama attorney Morris Dees and Dees' organization, the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Writes reporter J.D. Cash in the Gazette: 'If proven true, the ramifications of such disclosures would be far-reaching. Not only could the discovery of these documents lead to additional arrests and prosecutions in the OKC bombing case, but evidence of a cover-up of a sting operation involving the FBI and a private charity could ruin a number of careers of highly placed individuals.'
The documents are part of an extensive filing made in federal court in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Monday. A court order was obtained by Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue, the plaintiff in a Freedom of Information suit against the Oklahoma City FBI office, the Gazette reported. Trentadue has been seeking evidence in the untimely death of his brother, whose body was found beaten and slashed while the inmate awaited a parole violation hearing.
Trentadue believes his brother was tortured and killed by government agents who mistakenly thought he was involved with executed killer Timothy McVeigh and others in a string of bank robberies and the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.
After learning the FBI was involved in a sting operation with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Trentadue, the Gazette reports, sought a copy of two teletypes from former FBI Director Louis Freeh that discussed the undercover operation "that proved the FBI knew in advance McVeigh's plans for bombing a federal building."
The FBI initially denied it had the teletypes, but after Trentadue produced redacted copies of them, he went to court to force the FBI to cough up copies of their original un-redacted versions.
On May 5, U.S. District Court Judge Dale A. Kimball ordered the FBI to turn over un-redacted copies of two teletypes sent by Freeh to a select group of FBI field offices, including the OKBOMB task force in Oklahoma City. Kimball's order also included instructions to perform an extensive search for other records involving McVeigh, his alleged co-conspirators and informants working for the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The paper reported that, according to a Jan. 4, 1996, teletype, Freeh disclosed the Southern Poverty Law Center had an informant at the white supremacist Elohim City compound when McVeigh called the facility requesting assistance with his plans. The teletype said the call was made on April 17, 1995 – 48 hours before a truck bomb destroyed the Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 persons and injuring 500 more.
For years, the FBI has repeatedly denied the agency had any prior knowledge of the bomb plot.
The FBI now says it has found 340 documents that could also link the SPLC to McVeigh, Elohim City and members of the Aryan Republican Army.
On Monday, the FBI proposed several alternatives to turning over the documents listed in Kimball's order, saying it did not have time to comply with the judge's order to turn over the material Trentadue is seeking by June 15.
Said an agency representative: "In the past, the backlog in the FOIPA Section has been exacerbated by the high volume of administrative appeals that will require review and response by the FBI's FOIPA Section personnel. … At the present time, the FBI is involved in over 150 pending lawsuits in various federal district and appellate courts throughout the United States."
The agency further argued that revealing the elements of its intelligence-gathering operation at Elohim City would not be in the best interests of the nation.
Tucson Weekly : Currents : Balloting Irregularities
Tucson Weekly : Currents : Balloting Irregularities: "After countless hours of research, Brakey ardently disagrees. He thinks poll workers obtained ballots by marking 'spoiled' on some valid ballots and then casting their own choices as replacements.
Brakey also believes several people who requested early ballots but came to the precinct on Election Day had their 'provisional' ballots manipulated there. Based on the records he has, Brakey additionally insists that other votes were cast by poll workers who covered up the act by making it appear people who didn't vote actually did.
Scattered across Brakey's dining room table are stacks of election documents for his precinct. He has entered all the data into a computer that allows him to track the voters. 'The county looks at numbers,' he emphasizes, 'but I looked at names.'
Once the alleged problems are meticulously explained, with the paperwork carefully examined, it makes for a strong argument that well more than 10 percent of the almost 900 votes from Brakey's polling place were questionably handled. It was a very busy day at the precinct, but the irregularities are glaring. "
Brakey also believes several people who requested early ballots but came to the precinct on Election Day had their 'provisional' ballots manipulated there. Based on the records he has, Brakey additionally insists that other votes were cast by poll workers who covered up the act by making it appear people who didn't vote actually did.
Scattered across Brakey's dining room table are stacks of election documents for his precinct. He has entered all the data into a computer that allows him to track the voters. 'The county looks at numbers,' he emphasizes, 'but I looked at names.'
Once the alleged problems are meticulously explained, with the paperwork carefully examined, it makes for a strong argument that well more than 10 percent of the almost 900 votes from Brakey's polling place were questionably handled. It was a very busy day at the precinct, but the irregularities are glaring. "
Saturday, April 16, 2005
When the autopsy of our democracy is performed......
The 2004 election was stolen — will someone please tell the media?
: "When the autopsy of our democracy is performed, it is my belief that media silence will be given as the primary cause of death."
: "When the autopsy of our democracy is performed, it is my belief that media silence will be given as the primary cause of death."
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Crime Scene Photographs from the Mysterious 'Suicide' of FL Inspector General Raymond Lemme
The BRAD BLOG DOCS: Crime Scene Photographs from the Mysterious 'Suicide' of FL Inspector General Raymond Lemme: Lemme was the investigator from the Florida Inspector General's office at the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT) to whom Clint Curtis had initially reported his allegations of wrongdoing by Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) and Yang Enterprises, Inc. (YEI). Feeney, the former running-mate of Jeb Bush in his original run for governor of Florida, was the corporate counsel and registered lobbyist for YEI while he also served as Speaker of the Florida House. In 2002, Feeney ascended to the U.S. House of Representatives where he is now a member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.
Curtis reported in a sworn affidavit, released exclusively by The BRAD BLOG on December 6th, 2004, that Lemme had told him in June of 2003 that "he had tracked the corruption 'all the way to the top' and that the story would break in the next few weeks." Lemme's wife confirms in the police report that her husband had been "working a 'big' case".
Two weeks after meeting with Curtis, Raymond Camillo Lemme was found dead in a bathtub with his arm slashed twice with a razor blade near the left elbow in Room #132 of the Knights Inn motel in Valdosta, Georgia; a border-town some 80 miles from Tallahassee FL where Lemme lived and worked.
Curtis reported in a sworn affidavit, released exclusively by The BRAD BLOG on December 6th, 2004, that Lemme had told him in June of 2003 that "he had tracked the corruption 'all the way to the top' and that the story would break in the next few weeks." Lemme's wife confirms in the police report that her husband had been "working a 'big' case".
Two weeks after meeting with Curtis, Raymond Camillo Lemme was found dead in a bathtub with his arm slashed twice with a razor blade near the left elbow in Room #132 of the Knights Inn motel in Valdosta, Georgia; a border-town some 80 miles from Tallahassee FL where Lemme lived and worked.
In The Northwest: Teresa Heinz Kerry hasn't lost her outspoken way
Teresa Heinz Kerry hasn't lost her outspoken way: "COUNTING THE VOTES: Heinz Kerry is openly skeptical about results from November's election, particularly in sections of the country where optical scanners were used to record votes.
'Two brothers own 80 percent of the machines used in the United States,' Heinz Kerry said. She identified both as 'hard-right' Republicans. She argued that it is 'very easy to hack into the mother machines.'
'We in the United States are not a banana republic,' added Heinz Kerry. She argued that Democrats should insist on 'accountability and transparency' in how votes are tabulated.
'I fear for '06,' she said. 'I don't trust it the way it is right now.'"
'Two brothers own 80 percent of the machines used in the United States,' Heinz Kerry said. She identified both as 'hard-right' Republicans. She argued that it is 'very easy to hack into the mother machines.'
'We in the United States are not a banana republic,' added Heinz Kerry. She argued that Democrats should insist on 'accountability and transparency' in how votes are tabulated.
'I fear for '06,' she said. 'I don't trust it the way it is right now.'"
Monday, March 07, 2005
The Free Press: Bob Fitrakis
The Free Press Bob Fitrakis
Blackwell: Hypocrisy and the arrogance of power
February 22, 2005
Free Press
The Republican prosecutor goes on to write that, “Recounts should be conducted promptly, when properly requested” referring to the lawful recount of the Green and Libertarian Parties of Ohio following the November 2 election. Slagle concludes, “This is the law and it ought to be followed. Unfortunately, Secretary of State Blackwell, much like a basketball team running out the clock to protect its lead, ignored the law and prevented a meaningful recount from being conducted in the Presidential race.”
“…Blackwell instructed the 88 boards of elections that they need not conduct the recount until after Dec. 13, the day the electoral college meets in all 50 states to cast the electoral votes for President. By delaying the recount, Blackwell made sure that the recount could not change the winner, since once the electoral votes are cast there’s not procedure to change the results. … by delaying the recount, Secretary of State Blackwell set a dangerous precedent which could be used to prevent a recount in a future Presidential election in which the results are in question,” Slagle said.
I want to repeat this one sentence, because this little sentence is the dawning of the utter destruction of America:
"By delaying the recount, Blackwell made sure that the recount could not change the winner, since once the electoral votes are cast there’s not procedure to change the results"
Blackwell: Hypocrisy and the arrogance of power
February 22, 2005
Free Press
“…Blackwell instructed the 88 boards of elections that they need not conduct the recount until after Dec. 13, the day the electoral college meets in all 50 states to cast the electoral votes for President. By delaying the recount, Blackwell made sure that the recount could not change the winner, since once the electoral votes are cast there’s not procedure to change the results. … by delaying the recount, Secretary of State Blackwell set a dangerous precedent which could be used to prevent a recount in a future Presidential election in which the results are in question,” Slagle said.
I want to repeat this one sentence, because this little sentence is the dawning of the utter destruction of America:
"By delaying the recount, Blackwell made sure that the recount could not change the winner, since once the electoral votes are cast there’s not procedure to change the results"
Ban The Machine
Ban The Machine: "MOVE OVER FLORIDA AND OHIO! CALIFORNIA IS THE NEW BATTLEGROUND STATE!
FIRST: They went after Gray Davis and took over the governorship with Arnold.
SECOND: They went after Kevin Shelley and have forced him to resign.
THIRD: They will install an RNC compliant Secretary of State and will take control of California's voting system.
FOURTH: They will mandate e-voting without paper (the bill is ready, the campaign begun)
FIFTH: They will redistrict California as was done in Texas
SIXTH: California will become a red state
GAME OVER. If we don't save California's electoral system from takeover, the battle for our votes will be irreparably set back."
FIRST: They went after Gray Davis and took over the governorship with Arnold.
SECOND: They went after Kevin Shelley and have forced him to resign.
THIRD: They will install an RNC compliant Secretary of State and will take control of California's voting system.
FOURTH: They will mandate e-voting without paper (the bill is ready, the campaign begun)
FIFTH: They will redistrict California as was done in Texas
SIXTH: California will become a red state
GAME OVER. If we don't save California's electoral system from takeover, the battle for our votes will be irreparably set back."
Saturday, February 26, 2005
A Corrupted Election: Despite what you may have heard, the exit polls were right -- In These Times
A Corrupted Election: "Despite what you may have heard, the exit polls were right"
VANITY FAIR : ROUNDTABLE : CONTENT
VANITY FAIR : ROUNDTABLE : CONTENT: "Are the stories of vote suppression and rigged machines to be believed? Here is 'non-wacko' evidence that something went seriously awry in the Buckeye State on Election Day 2004"
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Monday, January 31, 2005
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Evidence Of Election Irregularities In Snohomish County, Washington,
Evidence Of Election Irregularities In Snohomish County, Washington, General Election, 2004
Among the points discussed in this document are:
Absentee ballots composing 2/3 of the total ballots showed a Democratic lead of 97044 to 95228 votes, while the remaining 1/3 of the votes, on touch screens, showed a Republican lead of almost 5% (50,400 Republican to 42,145 Democratic).
Vote-switching and machines freezing up occurred in 58 polling locations out of approximately 148 total. There is a high correlation between the problem machines — as reported by KING5 news — and the Republican percentages the machines reported.
Among the points discussed in this document are:
Absentee ballots composing 2/3 of the total ballots showed a Democratic lead of 97044 to 95228 votes, while the remaining 1/3 of the votes, on touch screens, showed a Republican lead of almost 5% (50,400 Republican to 42,145 Democratic).
Vote-switching and machines freezing up occurred in 58 polling locations out of approximately 148 total. There is a high correlation between the problem machines — as reported by KING5 news — and the Republican percentages the machines reported.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)