I don't know what angers me more--these corrupt election officials and their corruptible machines, or their mean, petty, sneaky, disgusting, ILLEGAL bigotry against black voters.
The latter is a personal thing with me. I was student volunteer in Martin Luther King's voting rights project, SCOPE, in Alabama in 1965. I saw the bigotry for myself. It is ugly beyond belief. And I felt so proud of my country when we outlawed it, and when even Republican regimes in Washington DC felt honor-bound to enforce the law--the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Now I feel shame and disgust. Where is honor and decency in this country?
And the two things are related, of course--unverifiable, unseeable, non-transparent vote counting, with no paper trail whatsoever, controlled by "trade secret" code owned by rightwing corporations, and the intention to suppress the votes of the poor and steal elections for the corporate rulers and war profiteers.
Something else that touched me deeply in 1965--the incredible courage of black citizens in the south, with all the danger and continual insults that they endured. Their courage. Their belief in peaceful change. And their determination, not just to gain rightful power as citizens, but to change the hearts, and save the souls, of people who were consumed with hatred.
Looking at BushWorld, it's easy to think they failed. But they didn't. The legacy of the black citizens of the south of that era lives on. BushWorld is a thin illusion--greedbags and murderers trying to stoke up that ugliness. It's still around, for sure, in some unsaved persons. But there is a much, much bigger reality beneath the surface of this bitter Bushite minority, and that is the yearning of the majority of Americans to live in a good country, devoted to justice and fairness. I feel it. I know it's real. It keeps me going.
So, we are going to solve this problem--of the voting machines, of the disenfranchisement of black and other minority voters, and of our general disenfranchisement as a people. When you see that a whopping 70% of the American people oppose the Iraq War and want it ended--up from 56%, already a significant majority before, back when this horror began--and yet, the war just goes on and on, you know something is deeply wrong, and that we are all unrepresented in our nation's capitol.
One solution I thought of yesterday is that Dennis Kucinich must remain in the presidential race, if he will, and must challenge each and every one of these "trade secret" primaries. Another idea is to try to convince Edwards to join him--because Edwards' campaign may be killed possibly as early as the South Carolina primary (Jan 26), his first southern contest, which is quickly followed by Florida (Jan 29)--both of these states with very easily riggable voting systems--or possibly in his home state North Carolina (May 6), which has made some improvements (I believe they now have a paper trail), but, as we've seen in NH and elsewhere, a paper trail alone is no guarantee. It is already clear that the corporate rulers want him out--despite the fact that he is holding his own in the polls. He is expecting a boost in SC (or maybe it was NC--I'm not sure), and when they deny it to him, he will be finished, and the only anti-corporate voice among the leading three in the campaign will be gone. They are already treating him prejudicially. Next, he gets Diebolded, and that is that.
And I do think he is aware of the problems with these riggable machines. He's said some things about it (and I've heard that he wanted to challenge the results in 04). What does he have to lose? They are surely going to get him anyway.
Of course we just keep plugging away, and doing what we can--and support the Kucinich effort in NH. There are MANY election integrity experts who have converged on NH to help out. As Brad Friedman says today, this is going to be like no other recount. We've got the knowledge and the ammunition and the gunslingers now. We've learned so much! This is going to be an expose of the system.
Read Brad and be heartened:
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5560#more-5560 ------------------
TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE KUCINICH RECOUNT (he needs $69,600 immediately--full upfront for the recount):
Bradblog provides this updated contact phone number for donations to Kucinich's challenge:
Donations to Kucinich's count can be made by calling (877) 413 3664 (updated info).--BradBlog
Brad says Kucinich has to produce $69,600 immediately. Kucinich has challenged the need for immediate full payment, but he has pledged to write the check, so the recount can go forward.
I donated directly via Kucinich's web site the other day, when I learned of his request for a recount. I know he is using campaign funds for this challenge. It doesn't matter to me how he uses my donation--directly for the recount, or to reimburse his campaign. Past experience shows, too, that there are MANY OTHER COSTS--for lawyers, for copies of documents, for transportation, for volunteer support, for media work, and on and on. This small campaign chest will be bearing the heavy burden of our democracy, and may well save it --if this recount can help change our vote counting procedures and move them into the light.
Kucinich for President 2008, 11808 Lorain Ave, Cleveland, OH 44111 - Phone: 1 (877) 41-DENNIS.
http://www.dennis4president.com/home /
Donate on line at the web site, or call (877) 413-3664
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