some news of interest that came to light about the alabama governor's race.

Apparently, the constitution party and several other organizations, including several churches, are organizing a write-in campaign for former alabama Chief Justice Roy S. Moore. Moore, who lost the Republican primary to incumbent Governor Bob Riley 66%-33% could drain off votes from Riley bringing the magic number below 50% and boosting Democratic nominee Lucy Baxley's chances in the race, not that I expect the Dem to win, but an interesting tid-bit all the same.

I'm concerned to see the Granholm race up there, if only because it may lend to a sense of complacency on election day for Granholm supporters (I'm one). While DeVos himself has done a decent job of digging himself into a hole, and the Granholm campaign has done a great job along the way of running a successful campaign, DeVos still has EXTREMELY deep pockets, and I wouldn't be shocked to see a last-minute media blitz from him to try to narrow the gap. Democratic voters in Michigan need to not get complacent and make sure they turn out on election day.

The Wisconsin gubernatorial race is a lot closer than the latest, way-out-of-whack poll. All other polls put the margin at half or less of that -- at 5 to 6 percent at most. And nothing in the interim has changed that for the better for Gov. Doyle, as the last of the three debates, a few days ago, remained a draw. At the same time, the airwaves are saturated with GOP money ads for his challenger -- and the state's major paper, with its amazing 70 percent saturation (per a recent report), continues its incredibly biased coverage on the conservative side and against Doyle.

On both sides, the smart and experienced political observers who know Wisconsin would tell you -- just read them -- that there is no way that the gubernatorial race is running that well for Doyle. This is not your grandfather's progressive Wisconsin (and it really wasn't in his day, either; that was always mostly Madison).

Daniel Patrick Moynihan once argued with a Senate opponent about the Vietnamese War (another presidential folly) whereupon the opponent declared, "You have a right to your opinion and I have a right to mine."

Moynihan glared deeply into his eyes then shot back, "You have a right to your own opinion. You do not have a right to your own facts."

Perhaps someone should call the White House and remind the current resident of that interchange.

On Tuesday, Bush is campaigning in Sarasota, Florida, for businessman Vern Buchanan, who is in a tight House race against Democrat Christine Jennings, a former bank executive. The prospect of losing Florida's conservative 13th District to Democrats brought high-profile Republicans -- Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Mel Martinez and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- to the area last week.

Could you imagine Denny Hastert as Speaker of the House? Pedophiles roaming freely among the pages in Congress, more record debt, cutting-and-running in Iraq (wait for it!), abortion is STILL legal, trashing the US Constitution and grabbing US citizens off the street and torturing them at will and without consequence for the torturers.

Congress using the public money as a personal slush fund, criminals in the highest seats of government, unending war, taxpayer money used to hire prostitutes, sex scandals thoroughout the entire administration, lobbyists writing laws, lobbyists bribing congress, the least productive congressional session in history, industry lobbyists in the cabinet....

Uncle Sam can build a wall 100 feet tall if he wants, but that won't necessarily stop a Mexican smuggler with the right amount of pesos, reports the LAT, which finds a doubling in the number of convictions of U.S. public officials for bribery since 2004. The story includes this nugget of nuance on Mexican culture: "Though America's southern border may evoke images of a poor backwater, it is alive with vast amounts of ill-gotten wealth, shadowy organizations that ply the waters of the Rio Grande, and brazen schemes that seem borrowed out of Cold War espionage."
The LAT also goes above the fold with a piece by Patrick J. McDonnell, who reported from Iraq for two years and then left for one. He returns to find that the chaos and violence he left a year ago looks like paradise compared to the hellish city he finds today. One of the most awfully telling details he shares: Shiite militias control major morgues and wait for Sunnis to come pick up slain relatives, then capture and kill them, too. And before McDonnell goes on patrol with a convoy, an Army commander performs an "unsettling ritual," anointing the Humvees with clear oil, "akin to last rites."
The NYT is above the fold with a piece of Iraq analysis that is no more optimistic. The American military is "playing its last hand: the Baghdad security plan," writes Michael Gordon. That's the good news. The bad news is, "military commanders here see no plausible alternative" to the current strategy. The U.S. has asked for an increased number of Iraqi troops to help out, but the Iraqi government hasn't provided them. Even when it did order several battalions to deploy to Baghdad, those units deserted instead, according to American military officials.

Could you imagine Denny Hastert as Speaker of the House? Pedophiles roaming freely among the pages in Congress, more record debt, cutting-and-running in Iraq (wait for it!), abortion is STILL legal, trashing the US Constitution and grabbing US citizens off the street and torturing them at will and without consequence for the torturers.

I saw the MA Gov debates, number 3, only, but believed the ending when all 4 candidates were given the opportunity to summarize their chief offerings to seek the voters majority support, I was shocked and appalled at Healey, current Lieutenant Governor with Mitt Romney, Republicans, when she took an offensive blow seeking to narrow the field with foul play, not allowed, in my view...she claimed she or Deval Patrick had WON the debates, when her duty was to present her strengths to the public for their decision, not hers! Autocracy seems a disease of the powermongering corrupt status quo...she claimed the race was only between herself and Deval Patrick, and certainly those who have seen her ads, can see the hypocrisy of even beginning any credible choice offered by her "strategy" of insults...she doesn't understand ethics of democracy and standing on your own merits and expecting to win...she flunked the debates when she sought to proclaim herself the decider, not the people, and not even the press moderating...unbelieveable. An I won, instead of an honest offering of strength of service to the public for good government certainly left her out of the running, in my view.

Honest politics should be the winning hand.

While I would like to see an outsider win, I am voting for what I see as the best and strongest, and that is Deval Patrick, at the present. I am hoping he is very able to show Green Values in leadership.

But, for this audience, that Healey thinks her own opinion is IT, is shocking, I suspect they will find that consistent with her low blows in the ads. Tell people what you can do and have done, is more impressive.

There are some good Democrats, but the national picture is not just between the two major parties. The BEST should win.

Lamont v. Lieberman is another contest I hope will show the true merits and status quo is not the issue of success, when what is there is voted out, it should be due to merits. If Lamont is offering what is wanted, re the Iraq War as well as the other platforms, the polls should not be emphasizing a newbie v established track as the nothing to all status quo for polling results...no experience in politics previously is not wrong if Lieberman needs the new entry as proper...powermongering entrenchment as if war not peace is status quo endorsed, it is not the truth of the public.

What Bush did was not a majority truth. Democracy is supposed to show the wanted change for proper on track leadership. The two parties were railroaded, and the Congress is still showing that backing of Bush, notably in Lieberman.

Closer view due.

Including the ACLU CT Chapter admonishment to Lieberman about the torture proposed as legal for suspects and Bush's request for exemption from the War Crimes Act...I do not believe it was partisan but principled of the CT ACLU to comment on the proper political ousting due if civil liberties are not supported by Lieberman and the unconscionable ripping apart of the U.S. Constitution continues unchecked by Democracy...A-Lieberman is running as in Independent, so where is the partisan complaint when the issue is the civil liberties protection requested of Lieberman?

A check on his support of Civil Liberties against Bush's illegal actions is due.

Looking back to when I jokingly referenced looking into my "Crystal Ball", and saying what was to come it appears more and more each day to being rite-on the money. The pundits have the 7 Senate races that I predicted early on at the top of all their talking points and "Meet the Press", which has been at or very near the top of the Sunday talk shows for many years, guess what? My seven [7] Senate races was the topic of discussion. JEP drindl bhoomes and all you regulars I again say how much I enjoy a good discussion and watching and seeing how diverse this country really is.

Oversight should be part of a transparent process, not a "go-back-and-fix-this-mess" retrospective.

Opening up all these neocon worm-cans will uncover monumental, historic corruption, primarily because the oversight was, at best, intermittent, not systemic.

In some cases, that oversight was non-existent.

YOU KNOW WHAT'S REALLY TERRIFYING REPUGS? OVERSIGHT.

The gang of criminals presently in Congress and the Administration are absolutely peeing their pants that the country might finaly get wind of the fact that they've turned the taxpayer's money into a personal slush fund.

-Lamont details the how Lieberman has paid several lobbyists to intimidate and harrass his supporters, another common republican dirty trick...

'In the days of Jack Abramoff, Duke Cunningham, Bob Ney, and an entire army of lobbyists peddling legislation in return for campaign compensation ... it's part of the problem in Washington, D.C.

How did Joe Lieberman spend $387,000 in unmarked expenditures coming from a campaign slush fund filled by those who profit from war, high gas prices and expensive medicine?

Where'd the money go? What, or more alarmingly, who, was bought with $387,000 in the days before the primary election? Tammy Sun says it was used to pay for "volunteers." That's a lot of volunteers, and anyone following this race with at least one eye open knows that even at $100 a piece, there's no way Joe had 3,870 workers combing the state. In fact, news reports at the time indicated that Joe had abandoned his ground effort in the week before the primary. Stories from the ground seem to tell a tale of a GOTV operation dramatically scaled back. Those of us at events got used to a number of familiar faces "sticking with Joe" at our events and his - doesn't matter if they were rallies in Greenwich, New Haven, or Meriden.

What are the possibilities?

1.) They paid certain "volunteers" over $100 total and never reported it, thus breaking the law per 11 CFR 102.11

That probably happened, but most likely accounts for a tiny percentage of the violation. Like this guy in the hat, does he appear on any of the reports, or was he strictly a volunteer?

Here he is, on a different day, the day Joe's campaign picked a fight was our staff at Ted's in Meriden. Click to enlarge ... watch him at the center of the scuffle.

Which brings me to potential use of the $387,000 number 2.

2.) The slush fund paid for the thugs they sent out to disrupt our events and pick fights with the candidate, campaign manager and volunteers.

To the best of my knowlege, Richard Goodstein doesn't appear on the report either. Remember him? I know reporters have his number. It might be instructive to dig it out and ask if he was ever given as little as one red cent for his involvement during the primary.'

http://nedlamont.com/blog/1898/joe-liebermans-slush-fund

CILLIZA -- HOW CAN YOU PEOPLE CALL YOURSELF REPORTERS WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN REPORT DEPLORABLE, ILLEGAL STUNTS LIKE THIS?

Projection, R's favorite tactic:
'Noonan's attempted maneuver about grace and free speech is clunky, but it's not unfamiliar. She's simply mimicking a popular right-wing attack that happens to be a classic Rovian, jujitsu thrust, which is to acknowledge your own weakness -- unhinged hatred for liberals and bullying desire to muzzle dissent -- and relentlessly project it onto your opponents, arguing that they're the ones who have blinders on and are driven by partisan rage. Consequently, Republican pundits pretend it's high-minded conservatives -- gentlemen and women who prefer the Queensbury Rules of intellectual combat -- who are trying to cling to a fading notion of poise and civility in the public square.

Where to begin? You could start with Media Matters for America's catalog of graceless attacks made by the likes of O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh, who owe their careers to their willingness to assault political opponents and stomp on minority viewpoints. In terms of Noonan herself, travel back to last year's Terri Schiavo right-to-die controversy and try to find the grace hidden in the insults Noonan hurled against anyone who disagreed with her radical notion that Congress needed to overrule the rights of Schiavo's husband and keep Terri alive via legislation. To Noonan, her opponents had a "bizarre passion" for death, were "unstable," "unhinged," and "red-fanged and ravenous." She warned that they were paving "the low road that twists past Columbine and leads toward Auschwitz."

And keep in mind that, by 2000, Noonan had literally run out of ways to call Clinton a creep and a predator (she once suggested he was being sexually blackmailed by Fidel Castro's intelligence service), so she started demonizing Al Gore, who was "not fully stable" and "altogether as strange and disturbing as Bill Clinton." And Noonan was actually late to the Gore name-calling game, which formed the foundation for mainstream conservative commentary during the 2000 election when Gore was "a monster willing to trash the whole country" (The National Review; 12/04/00) as well as being "self-obsessed, conniving, dangerous" (The Weekly Standard; 12/04/00).'

--oh jep, if you get death threats [I have, as well as threats to my children] -- go to the FBI.

'In Michigan...we Republicans are on the offensive.

Posted by: Saul Anuzis | October 22, 2006 08:40 AM'

No Saul, in Michigan, you republicans ARE offensive -- just like you are everywhere else.

And describing republicans as 'coming out the woodwork' -- do you mean like cockroaches?

Just a little addition to my prior comment. I have noticed this happening primarly on the weekends, an example of this is the time, this is consistally off by one hour, Having watched most of the Sunday talk shows it still amazes me how well informed are politicians of both parties, two of the top major parties are spewing the same old lies with a straight face.

There seems to be something wrong with this site for I can see gaps of hours between comments and then maybe 5 or more in a span of an hour or so. Just wondering.

Heh. I am not an Australian--although in retrospect such an assumption might be obvious.

I AM a long-time Enemy Comba--I mean Permanent Resident originally from a country with a long tradition of voting for Donald Duck in the absence of a suitable candidate and I think mandatory voting is an excellent idea (but so would be requiring that all campaign advertising were done with public funds and that voters demonstrate a cursory knowledge of the issues at hand etc.).

Of course I will be moving back next year with the recent changes.

DCA2CMH
This election (in Ohio) WILL be a discourse in election montoring."

I've given this advice before, and it proved productive;

Take a video camera with you.

You can't intimidate voters with it, but if someone gets "challenged" while standing in line, or a group of thugs dressed like the Blues Brothers shows up to ID "ethnic" looking people, like they did in 2004, you can get a record of it that can serve as a legal document in any court of law that isn't "fixed."

And keep in mind, as long as find a spot outside the legal-distance parameters, and you point the cameras AWAY from the polling place, you can interview people coming and going who might have a story to tell, (but only voluntarily, you can't in any way approach or harass the voters standing in line or entering the polling place.)

But you CAN provide them with a bully pulpit at the "point-of-purchase," while it is still fresh in their minds.

Saul;

You should write cigarette commercials...

DCA2CMH

I'll be the guy carrying an American flag, flying upside down.

If Strickland gets the win and Blackwell tries to decertify it, it will surely represent a national emergency.

"Could you imagine Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House? Impeachment, tax increases, retreat, obstruction and a radical agenda that we've discussed before."

You forgot to mention body armor for the troops...

JEP-

We'd welcome you in Ohio, along with anyone else wanting an education in poll-tampering and judicial review of election results. This election (in Ohio) WILL be a discourse in election montoring.

I've never been a proponent of conspiracy theories, and my voting practice has tended to be split between R/D. What I'm seeing from Columbus is just plain unbelieveable.

Oh that's ripe, now the trolls have attacked my website email address, I just got a few dozen profane spams after that last post, and I took all the IP server numbers down and will forward them to the proper authorities.

But thanks for all the traffic to my website, your clicks can only become dollars for me.

Yeah Baby! Bring em on!

you can see more at http://www.lsvchronicle.com/Archives

Let me give you a Michigan perspective...as the Republican Party Chair...I think the "spin" from the mainstream media is a bit much.

Republicans are coming out of the wood work! Volunteers are joining our efforts at local Victory Centers across the state. We are making more voter contacts per day and per week than ever before. Lawn signs are being "traded" between centers as we are running out of various lawn signs because of the high level of interest.

This week, Michigan became the first state in the country to make over 2,000,000 voter contact attempts through our phone banks and knocking on doors. We have 27 Victory Centers around the state, most of which are working 7 days a week.

Some voters are frustrated, but the alternative is scary.

Jennifer Graholm wants to raise taxes...she has to in order to pay for all the programs she's promised.

We have 3 Supreme Court Justices over 79 years old.

Could you imagine Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House? Impeachment, tax increases, retreat, obstruction and a radical agenda that we've discussed before.

The press is spinning gloom and doom for Republicans. The facts contradict this propaganda.

Dick DeVos and Mike Bouchard are polling closer to the incumbents than any other challenger in recent history. All the poll numbers have been very optimistic.

We are having record volunteer activities across the state...making more phone calls, knocking on more doors and getting more signs out than any previous election.

SOS Terri Lynn Land and AG Mike Cox are two popular statewide incumbents who are running very strong and will help bring more voters to the Republican ranks.

State House and Senate candidates are all up for re-election. We have majorities in both and have opportunities to pick up additional/new seats. In effect, reverse coat-tails.

National polls that measure voter intensity and voter motivation have all shown Republicans and Democrats are virtually tied...in some cases we have a slight lead.

Despite the media hype, an examination of all the facts make it clear: the Republican base is active and engaged. No matter how your measure it - whether by record-breaking fundraising, unpercendented volunteerism, or scientific polling - the numbers show that Republicans understand the importance of the choice we all face on November 7.

In Michigan...we Republicans are on the offensive.

From today's LATimes
"A company headed by President Bush's brother and partly owned by his parents is benefiting from Republican connections and federal dollars targeted for economically disadvantaged students under the No Child Left Behind Act."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ignite22oct22,0,4402778.story?track=tothtml

check this one out, it's a doozy...

In terms of sweetheart business deals that enrich thier own family, there's surely "no Bush left behind."

Obviously, our children's precious education matters muchless to these profiteers than their family's bottom line.

Who knows where else they profitted?

I mean that, literally, as a question top the bloggers here, who know where all the Bush family has profited from W's tenure in office?

Surely that list starts at Carlisle Group, but by no means does it end there.

"the latest evidence that a day of reckoning is coming for Ohio Republicans on Nov. 7."

Lets ALL hope it is over by November 8th.

Desperation is the mother of deception.

"Lets see, now, where's my train ticket to Ohio?"

Anyone who thinks I'm just joshin' doesn't know me very well..

What about the IL gubernatorial race?

"This would mean no democrat will be on the ballot, if Strickland is stripped."

Blackwell can't get Strickland's name "stripped" from the ballot now, he has to do his dirty-work after-the-fact.

If Blackwell's office tries to de-certify all the votes that go to Strickland, it will be AFTER the vote, not before, so the result will, essentially, be that Blackwell will attempt to deny voters the choice they have already made, he can't actually prevent them from casting their votes for Strickland.

He simply can't just remove Strickland's name from the ballot, especially at this late date, so just think about it; if a majority of Ohioans vote for Srtrickland and Blackwell's minion nullifies it, there will be hell to pay on the streets of Akron, and elsewhere, you can bet on that.

Lets see, now, where's my train ticket to Ohio?

Piexigoto;

Lest we forget, it was Bandahar Bush who told his adopted little-brother W to get his jets out of Arabia, and for what reason?

Because they know the jihadists will attack them if they don't expel the Americans and keep them out.

The powder-keg in the middle east is not simply an anti-Israeli issue, the Sunni-Shia chasm that divides Iraq also divides the entire Arab world, while the broader islamic jihad threat hangs even more precipitously over SE Asia and potentially over Pakistan and India.

For those who aren't familiar with the Shia/Sunni chasm, the best modern western example would be the Catholic and Protestant Irish war that seems to have abated, or even more basic, the split betwen Catholicism and Greek Orthodox Christian churches.

Whatever spirit of peace overwhelmed the Irish Curse and brought that once-poor nation out of the civil-war pit and into social economic leadership in the EU, should be bottled up and sold throughtout the whole world.

Maybe we should send Mairead Maguire to Iraq. Or at least send someone a bit more like her than Condi Rice.

I'm coming into this convo rather late so I'm gonna address several posters at once.

LSterling, Fogarty may not be as far gone as you think. If Fogarty and Carcieri agree on basically everything, the few differences will be huge, and one difference is that Fogarty is a Democrat. The race isn't over yet and in a state like RI, I'd never count the Dem out.

D.R Tucker I'm no Patrick fan but I'd vote for him long before I'd for for Healey. Healey should never be allowed to run this state an is in no way suited to either.

Sam, excellent post on the state of the economy, by far one of the best posts I have ever come across.

I notice on the Washington Post roundup of the Alaska race that only two candidates are listed and profiled -- Knowles and Palin.
Big mistake.
Alaska gubernatorial races are rarely two-person contests. Usually, there are three major candidates, and this year is no exception. Independent Andrew Halcro has been the star of the debates and is likely influencing the race somehow. I suspect it's in Knowles' favor, since Halcro is aiming most of his fire at Palin.

You mischaracterized the Kerry Healey ad in MA. The controversy stems from Deval Patrick's earlier advocacy for convicted aggravated rapist Ben LaGuer. The ad quotes Patrick's October '06 statement reaffirming his praise of LeGuer. This renewed praise came well after 2002 DNA results reaffirmed earlier evidence of LeGuer's guilt. Patrick paid $5000 to fund the DNA testing, but denied any knowledge of the gift and waited until the general election to acknowledge LaGuer's guilt. All of this is fair game in a state where the governor may pardon convicts or commute sentences, as Gov. Dukakis did repeatedly.

JEP: This is great except the posting time is off by an hour. Back to discusson, The main things seem to be the Senate races in Va. and Mo., and I have predicted Both will change from rep to dem and it also appears that not only will Webb and Ford win but as I went out on a limb quite early by picking McCaskill as well. The scare tactics will work for the reps, but not as well as in the past, for the folks who do not watch what is going on very much. Now, unless one has been living someplace that a radio,tv, newspaper, magazine, billboards etc, cannot be found, they have to have at least some idea of what is going on, although they may not understand it. I won't mention any names.

JEP: I am so curious I just had to try. Lets see. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/10/the_line_democrats.html looks good so far

Hey drindl, when you spoke about Bush doing everything osama wanted him to do, you forgot to mention that Bush closed the US military base in Saudi Arabia. The fact that we had a military base in his country was THE reason that he plotted the 9/11 attacks. Talk about pandering to the terrorists!

PG

Chris,

The Ohio governor's race isn't over. One thing you didn't bring up is the question's over Strickland's residence. The election board vote was 2-2. This means Blackwell's office decide's whether or not Strickland's residence is really in his district. He has a home in another part of Ohio that he files taxes with that residence. He does have a home in his own district, but the lawsuite filed alledges that is only for show. Strickland says he has a home w/ furniture and clothes in it. But, if Blackwell's office decides to strip his voter registration for false residence, someone not eligible to vote can't run for public office. This would mean no democrat will be on the ballot, if Strickland is stripped. This turns things into a race pitting Blackwell (R) vs. Bob Fitrakis (Green) vs. Bill Pierce (Liberterian). If Strickland were stripped, would Blackwell win or would one of the minor parties actually be able to capture a governorship? Not just any governorship, the governorship of Ohio...a huge Presidential swing state. Because Strickland leaves the race doesn't mean Blackwell wins, necessarily. This one could get very interesting!

Because I think the most important use of my tax money is converting people to Christianity, don't you?

D'ya we should buy the prisoners a hot tub, too? How about some bubble bath and bonbons?

Maybe if I commit a crime, I'll get a free TV and computer from the government too.

Bush has also been accused of a 'creeping Christianisation' of federal government programmes. In September, the government made more than $60 billion available for religious charitable groups. Critics say the groups will be able to use the cash to promote their religion. One group that benefited from previous grants was an Iowa prison project that entitled inmates to televisions, private bathrooms and computers - in return for Christian counselling.

--nice use of my tax money. heckuva job, bushie.

Conservative newspaper in rural Ohio retracts Blackwell endorsement: http://www.thecourier.com/opinion/editoral/ar_ED_101806.asp

Chris,
Your report of the Massachusetts Governor's race report has something in it that is factually incorrect.

Deval Patrick called the rapist Ben LaGuer 'thoughtful' and continues to praise this convicted rapist AFTER the DNA evidence came back and said that he was guilty. He made those comments in early October, that's why it is so controversial.

To clarify, you said: "Patrick's comments were part of a public campaign that forced a DNA test to determine the man's guilt; the test later confirmed the conviction."

That is false, Patrick's comments were not part of a public campaign that forced a DNA test, they were said just weeks ago, the DNA test was YEARS ago.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 (AP) -- With Congress now in a recess, President Bush on Thursday bypassed opposition from Democrats in the Senate and the United Mineworkers of America and appointed his nominee to head the agency that oversees mine safety.

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Mr. Bush appointed Richard M. Stickler, who is expected to serve about a year until the end of the next session of Congress.

Mr. Stickler, of Terra Alta, W. Va., will head the Mine Safety and Health Administration, which has been without a leader for two years.

The mine agency is part of the Labor Department.

Mr. Bush nominated Mr. Stickler last year, but Senate Democrats have blocked the nomination. The lawmakers and the mine workers' union said Mr. Stickler had spent too many years as a mining executive and had failed to demonstrate adequate concern for safety in the mining industry.

More than three dozen miners have been killed in accidents this year, according to the mine safety agency's Web site.

I had posted previously re a FIX article on a PEW RESEARCH STUDY re ANGER level of Dems and Republicans, and, as I recall, the FIX noted the Dems seemed to have a handle on the anger...and then there was talk of getting Dem control in Congress, as if it were a two party contest and whoever gets control wins....I DID NOT LIKE THAT "TWO PARTY" as opposed to "reality picture" (what if the majority is entirely outside of the two parties?"...and noted the problem that the media presumes the two parties are the only real contest and the voters fall within that...No, they do not fall there, there are large numbers outside seeking freedom to choose their truth as to who to vote for, and the railroading by the media to the two parties as established by the people as who they are as voters -- needs to be fixed....looking at the numbers will show how many are not registered in either major party, and that fact is a large number of democratic voters....

So, numbers of actual registration are SOME PROOF, not entirely accurate, but some proof that we definitely are not just two major parties, nationally, and within a state, a casting of the state, is not ok....as in the offensive RED and BLUE current jargon by pundits who like to control strings not theirs, which I suspect is a horror against democracy and this country....

Moving forward to my promise of objective data to support the beginning of fixing the picture of WHO this country IS politically, in terms of what they want for candidate offerings, and to seek the FIX obviously somewhat offered by this very blog....

FOR MASSACHUSETTS THE REGISTRATION STATISTICS to show WHO is VOTING in MA...as shown by registration data, updated as of 8/30/2006 from the Secretary of State's Office (even that position is up for the ballot box and Greens and Dems are challenging the incumbent Galvin):

Total Registered Voters: 3,934,672
("Unenrolled") No Party: 1,948,063 49.51%
Democrats: 1,453,689 36.95%
Republicans: 499,641 12.70%

Independent (NO PARTY FAVORED) voters are a clear majority in Massachusetts is a story I believe needs publicity.

And, likely not a surprise in the blog audience, who may recall my complaints earlier, obviously NADER had a chance. A FIX BLogger audience member asked me if I was saying the 49% belonged to Nader... NO, the point was not that the 49% "belonged" to him or anyone, although it might well have belonged to him. The point was that the media portrait precluded his Independent challenge and insisted on only two parties as viable and real, and that he was usurping the Democrat ticket, when, Indeed, he was challenging that nominee as a proper challenge, the fact that the media suggested that he was not supposed to challenge the two parties...a very undemocratic thing to tell a prestigeous accomplished candidate seeking the Office of the President of the United States and hoping for honest election results in a DEMOCRACY THAT CAN VOTE AFFIRMATIVELY and OUT OF THE BOX -- IF it wants to...

Therein lies the rub...IF IT WANTS TO.

I believe I should quit this "today's data supported argument" while I am ahead...and let the audience reflect on the obvious reality that Unenrolled, unaffiliated, but registered voters prefer NO PARTY and intend to vote for whoever seems the BEST on election day, affirmative and OUT OF THE BOX voting.

WHY IN THE PRESIDENTIAL NADER CHALLENGE THEY DID NOT BELIEVE THEY COULD CHALLENGE BUSH WITH NADER, AND SAW THE DEMOCRATS IN THE WAY, OH YES, VERY IN THE WAY, BECAUSE IF YOU WERE LISTENING, THE ADDED LIE THAT HE WAS "HELPING" REPUBLICANS...WAS AN OBVIOUS LIE, AND THE SIMPLE KINDERGARTEN OFFERING WAS IF YOU THOUGHT HE WAS BEST, AND YOU WERE A DEMOCRAT OR A REPUBLICAN OF COURSE YOU COULD AND SHOULD VOTE FOR NADER, AND THAT HE BELIEVED HE WAS OFFERING A MAJORITY REPRESENTATION OF GOOD LEADERSHIP FOR THIS COUNTRY...SOMEHOW THE PUBLIC BELIEVED THEY HAD TO VOTE IN THE BOX.

IF VOTERS believe THEY CAN VOTE OUT OF THE BOX....the registration numbers are indicative, but not definitive, certainly of what they want.

Would the Unaffiliated have preferred Nader over the two party nominees? That was supposed to be given proper limelight, and presenting the candidate as a proper and genuine challenge was due Nader, and not given. Did the nation want Nader handily over the two party "evil choices" -- very possibly. Cyncism of cannot unseat status quo was not the agenda of the Nader Challenge, and not the proper view...although some thought so, as a ballot access petitioner, some told me, "this is not the time for Nader to challenge Bush" and they wanted the status quo challenge....I did not, and persisted, as did most of the ballot access petitioners, who knew, certainly, in a true democracy, the ballot access for a challenge to unseat the status quo powermongers for a Presidential election was necessary process, and the right of the people to choose who they wanted to elect. Railroading forced choices via powermongers, not the people, is not proper election process.

There should have been more strength within the states election officials and the media to support the challenge as valid. The level of opposition, in my view, showed how entrenched the unwanted powermongers were and still are. We are not subject to a duopoly.

A third party outsider can be given equal limelight. Look at Massachusetts...you cannot say it is a democratic state. However, I admit, my current choice is Deval Patrick, the Democratic candidate for Governor.

As your average, everyday American, I'm not so much worried about whether terrorists are voting as much as which terrorists are running for office, (or already holding office.)

Secretary of Peace, how on Earth is that in any way a bad idea? What is wrong with compassionate diplomacy?

Feed em'.
Don't bomb em'

Then they WILL welcome us with open arms, and we won't have to destroy their entire nation just to be there.

From this morning's Washington Post piece on Nancy Pelosi:

On his Web site, Majority Whip Roy Blunt calls the prospect of Pelosi becoming speaker "just plain scary" and says: "While Republicans fight the War on Terror . . . House Democrats plot to establish a Department of Peace."

Which gives us an opportunity to plug that glorious, oft-quoted headline from The Onion: "Bush: Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over."

Can the R's get any stupider or more childish?

I can answer who terrorists would vote for -- R's naturally. Bush has done everything Osama bin Ladin wanted him to... taken away our rights and freedoms and turned a small group of Osama's followers into a worldwide movement. Bush is Osama'a best recruiter ever! Wonder if he gets bonuses?

If terrorists could vote in the US Elections, who would they vote for?

Find out at www.failedcolumnist.blogspot.com

Once again the far left engages in lies and distortions.

LOL--i mean rollin on the floor LOL... they are sure good at the pot calling the kettle black, aren't they? Rich.

JEP: Thanks for the info but that is a little to much for me to get into. I tried something like that a few times and the computer crashed each time and it took some time to learn how to fix it. It really is fun learning as I go along and when I find something revelant to the discussion I will post it in the way I am familar with. Thanks again, lylepink.

Maybe this one will work...

Thats the problem, a wayward period that joined the URL at the end when I pasted it kept that last link from working, apparently.

Goes to show you, its usually human error, not your computer. Lets see if this one works...

http://cagle.com/politicalcartoons/PCcartoons/cagle.asp

Maybe koz IS Blackwell...

Lylepink, You may already know this, but you've mentioned that you are new to computers.

You can copy the link from your browser right onto this blog, just "select" the address with the "http" part attached at the front, right click your mouse and hit "copy" then navigate to this page again and get onto the posting box, right-click again and hit "paste".

As long as it's got the whole URL listed when you get done, it will show up as a hot link here.

It will look like this.

http://cagle.com/politicalcartoons/PCcartoons/cagle.asp.

Funny stuff, humor is one of our most important mediums.

I.E. Comedy Central..

FYI: SCARY GOP RACE "Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index". I just came across this and found it to be quite accurate. Highly reccomend you folks have a look see.

The latest from Ohio govenor's race;

The aspiring head of the PA-Republican party is representing a plaintee whose complaint challenges D-Strickland's voter registration in his Lisbon district because he files his taxes from another Ohio residence. The complaint bounced at the local board of elections on party lines and is now up to R-Blackwell (in his current role as Secretary of State) to decide. Blackwell has assigned decision making to his deputy to avoid perception of a conflict.

It's meaningful because Ohio law requires Ohio voter registration for candidates (rather than simple residence). There's no dispute on the residency- it's the actual registration that's at issue.

It is very possible that despite a 15-20% Strickland margin of victory, Blackwell will refuse to certify the election and the whole thing will be appealed. Given current behavior, no tactic appears beneath Blackwell.

Blackwell seems like a kind of Republican even KOZ couldn't help but distance himself from.

I don't know how one might actually measure this, but I think it is safe to say that the Bush administration has spent millions more in dollars and man-hours figuring strategy to beat the Democrats than they have spent actively pursuing Bin Laden.

"new requirements set by the state legislature."

Was that to fix the problems or fix the election?

More enablers?

This election year vote-engineering legislation is interesting, to say the least, a lot of peripheral evidence of voter-supression on an institutional scale.

Only the election will tell for sure what tricks might be up thier sleeves, so while Ohio voters should not be paranoid, don't be naive, either.

If you believe your vote is mishandled in any way, find out why. And don't stop until you know the answer.

This is quite a well-developed defense already.

They sure seemed all propped up with answers to a question that had yet to even be asked.

Seems a bit too convenient for the Sherlock in my bones.

The old detective in me suggests that when vivabush gets on this blog and tries to tamp down suspicions about Ohio, I say, "Watch Out Ohio!"

If the Daily Koz story turns out to be true, this viva post will prove to be the first wave of election-fraud enabling, and done as a pre-emptive strategy.

I wonder how this will all look, after-the-fact. Is there any way someone can be unknowingly purged from the lists, and still vote, but their ballots will go uncounted?

Will Ohioans really know if their vote is even counted?

Mandatory voting, the way the Aussies do it, what do you think, Roo, does it work for you folks down-under?

Here's a thought: Lets make everyone vote when they fill out thier tax return... Put the ballot on the back of the same form, and run it through optical sensors that feeds back a printed form with both the tax info and the vote info.

Add "voting" to death and taxes as the unavoidable institutions that life demands of each of us, and we will see the government become the tool of the people, instead of the other way around.

If we can give up our right to habeus corpus, surely we can give up our right not to vote. Maybe then we can get our Habeus rights back.

"The Insider warmed and said that Blackwell was brilliant in how he did this."

Again, let me reiterate, you aren't brilliant when you cheat, crossing outside of the bounds of limitations that others are ruled by does not constitute strategic genius, it simply implies the willingness to win without rules.

Blackwell is not brilliant, he's just another cheater who imagines himself superior, simply because he has no moral boundaries to constrain him.

This is set to backfire on Blackwell, though, if too many voters show up that are purged, it will join the Maryland mess as a final straw breaking this camel's back.

And Blackwell has many of his own skeletons to deal with.

Once again the far left engages in lies and distortions. The assualt on electronic voting is a pre-emptive strike in the event that Dems do not win the House and or Senate. I can assure you there will be zero electoral challenges if the Dims win both. Below is a story from today's Lorain Journal addressing the Far-left Dim hysteria. The Executive Director named in the article, Mr. Candelario is a Democrat.

Authorities deny online rumors of voter purge
ALEX M. PARKER, Morning Journal Writer
10/21/2006

LORAIN -- Rumors started by the influential liberal blog The Daily Kos claim that scores of frustrated Lorain County voters are learning they have been disqualified from voting due to minor glitches as part of a giant Republican scheme to purge voters from the rolls.

Not so, say county election officials.

Voters can't be purged in one election cycle, there are no pending challenges to voter registration, and yesterday at the elections board, there were only a few early voters -- none of whom were disqualified.

Elections board Chairwoman Marilyn Jacobcik said the rumor seems to have come from mailings the board sent to registered voters in September as part of the new requirements set by the state legislature.

The letter informs the voters of their polling place and new voting requirements, and also verifies addresses. But voters who have moved and don't receive the mailings can still vote if they have a valid photo ID.

If they don't have identification, they can still vote with a provisional ballot.

''No one will be denied a ballot,'' said Jose Candelario, executive director of the board.

Said Jacobcik: ''There are groups out there trying to create mistrust of the system.''

State Democrats said they are looking into the rumor, but they don't think it's very credible.

''There is no way that voters can be purged,'' said Randy Bontrager, spokesman for the Ohio Democratic Party. ''The process to purge a voter takes years, and several federal election cycles.''

Bontrager said he looked at Wayne and Lorain counties, and said he couldn't find any support for the rumors.

''Those rumors appear to be exaggerated; we can't find any substantial claims that there's anything untoward going on,'' said Bontrager. ''They look like some of the most up-to-date counties going around, from my very quick investigation.''

But while the story appears to be a fantasy, it underscores the fear voters have that new rules might keep them from voting on Election Day. Provisions passed by the state legislature last year require voters to produce a valid Ohio photo ID on Election Day or proof of identity which include utility or bank statements.

The rules also lifted restrictions on who can vote absentee, which some political groups are urging voters to use if they're worried they can't fulfill the ID requirements.

Lorain County has sent out 8,500 absentee ballots so far -- 3,000 more than the year before and nearly double what the county has sent in years past, according to Jacobcik.

Democrats are urging voters such as college students and the elderly to vote absentee, fearing many would be unable to produce the valid ID at the polls.

Absentee voters must sign with their driver's license numbers or the last four digits of their Social Security numbers.

Fearing that out-of-state college students wouldn't have an ID verifying their address, the Lorain County Young Democrats worked with Oberlin College students encouraging students to vote absentee, creating a ''November committee'' on campus.

''A good 90 percent of (Oberlin College students) will be voting absentee,'' said Paul Adams, president of the Lorain County Young Democrats and elections board employee, who estimated that two precincts in Oberlin would send more than 1,500 absentee ballots to the elections board.

Voters can also vote early at the Board of Elections office on North Ridge Road until Nov. 6.

Jacobcik said many are sending in absentee ballots or ballot applications with personal photos. A personal photo wouldn't work as a identification -- and a photo ID isn't needed for an absentee ballot.

Candelario also said voters with Ohio driver's licenses needn't worry if their current address isn't on their license. So long as they have a valid, Ohio identification, they can vote.

©The Morning Journal 2006

Joan;

You are absolutely right, and I apologize for ranting.

Maybe I need "troll therapy." Or some type of "reality-check salve."

Apply directly to the forehead..

Every now and then, the drumbeat of lies and spin (similar but not identical) and the desperate, even hateful divisiveness, just gets to me and I get personal.

Party before Country, tax-cuts before national security, perverts before children, whatever the spark, sometimes I just get all fired up.

Alert!!!
The GOP plan to win in Ohio.

http://wakeupfromyourslumber.blogspot.com/2006/10/vote-early-gop-stages-surprise-attack.html

Vote EARLY! GOP stages surprise attack!

Always up to no good - these guys are relentless.

My friend was present as a group of Moderate GOP members with Ohio ties lamented how far the party had strayed. There was consensus at the table there was no way they should retain control. The table conversation began with the assumption they party would lose control in this election. The moderates started planning how to take back control of the GOP from the extremists.

Then, one insider, probably an extremist, but certainly very close to Mr. Ken Mehlman, abruptly stopped the conversation. He told table that it was impossible they would lose either house.

He also predicts an Ohio GOP sweep.

* * *

He informed the group that over the last year, in four critical states the GOP needs to hold, huge purges of the voter rolls have just been finished.

The insider did not say which four states, but did say Ohio was among them.

His claim was a new Diebold voter registry system had been installed over the last year. The last week of July and the first week of August, a "test run" was made of the systems ability to purge ineligable voters. The purge generated names and test letters sent out to 1.2 million Ohio addresses with a focus on University's, Apartment addresses with high turnover. He claims they made the letters seem just functionary, but they have an action component to avoid being purged from the rolls.

The Insider warmed and said that Blackwell was brilliant in how he did this. The letter went on for a long time about changes in Ohio voting and security and suggested people who might have any concerns about their voting status could come by county offices and confirm their continued voting eligability before election day.

He further added, that since it was conducted as a "test," they only sent letters to a limited number of suspect addresses and "I suspect Blackwell chose criteria very very favorable for us."

Further the insider stated that Blackwell had only purged the lists after a full 60 days was given for people to respond. Which means even if a voter was on the "termination" list, they would still have been eligable to vote in the primary.

He told they table they believe the purge has probably caught up "hundreds of thousands of students, activists and wanderers with no real job" [who] would show up at the polls and have to vote provisionally.

He predicted to the table that tens of thousands of voters will show up on election day, and once the provisionals are used up will simply not be able to [vote] at all.

He also said that this "operation" (The Insiders word, my friend was specific about this) had turned up a lot of additional fascinating information including a number of Democrats in elected office who are registered to vote in several places, and they may explore how to use this information against them.

I am going to assume, Mr. Blackwell's "test" purge went to no-one registered GOP. His criteria is something I am trying to get a copy of now.

* * *

GET READY, OHIO!

* * *

This Blackwell discovery of Mr. Strickland is actually "by-catch" of the much larger net thrown to eliminate hundred of thousands of democrats from the voting rolls.

ACTION:

Get to your election boards, bring all the documentation you can.

Demand a paper absentee ballot.

Alert EVEYRONE you know in Ohio.

[snip]

NOW!!!

Why do so many of you engage with KOZ? He clearly loves conflict. Why feed his addiction?

I am very sorry to say it, but here in Oregon, I'm afraid Saxton is going to win. Why? Because the state's money problems are blamed on Kulongowski, Saxton has big money backing him, and his signs are everywhere. Name recognition for the ignorant. It's almost being handed to him. I so hope I am wrong.

er, chance==change

Being a rightwing-extremist Republican isn't cool this year. Expect Dems to take the House, maybe the Senate, and several Governors mansions. The governors races are key to '08 electoral college pick-ups. The 50-state strategy is working against the radical rightwing agenda of the GOP. Billionaire Republicans will try to buy the election, but to no avail. They have failed miserably at all levels of government, so it's time for a chance. Staying the course doesn't make a GD iota of sense if the previous results have been FUBAR.