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ELECTION & MEDIA SPECIAL!
Mark Crispin Miller New York University Media Professor and Voting Expert, and University of Pennsylvania's Steve Freeman, Ph.D. Addressing the Most Pressing Questions Facing Our Country on "Voice of the Voters!"

Heard on 1360 AM, Philadelphia's Renaissance Radio, and the Internet (http://wnjc.duxpond.com/ ) Wednesday, June 6 -- 8PM ET

"Elections belong to the people. It is their decision." said Abraham Lincoln. It's time to make it OUR decision .... or we will get far worse than the rest of Lincoln's quote: "If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters."

Two of voting integrity's most valued voices will be the featured guests this week on Voice of the Voters. University of Pennsylvania's Steve Freeman, Ph.D. and New York University's Mark Crispin Miller will update listeners on the state of the American elections: What has Happened, What IS Likely to Happen - How & Why ......& What It All Means for OUR Country and the Role/Impact of Media in SHAPING the Agenda ... effecting Your Rights & Future.

Dr. Freeman, an expert on exit polling, is the co-author of Was the 2004 Election Stolen: Exit Polls, Fraud and the Official Count. Mark Crispin Miller is a media professor and the author of the many books including Fooled Again....updated with important new information you need to know!

OUR Elections can be stolen..... Many elections have been stolen... Elections will continue to be stolen. Nevertheless, some reasons for Optimism! Find out Why & How, despite the fact that

1. Machine counts are unreliable

2. Audit trails are easily obstructed

3. No institutions in America have shown any real commitment to democracy

there is still reason to be optimistic and how citizens and the media can be part of what needs to happen to strengthen our democracy & our future!

Where's the Media? The American media should be the watchdogs of our political system, playing a crucial role in the checks and balances that were designed to keep our government on the straight and narrow. But what is the media watching? What do we end up watching and reading as a result?

Freeman and Miller will join together to discuss and outline how American citizens can wake up to what is really happening, realize our power to make needed changes. Have OUR Voices truly heard & heeded by OUR Representatives. Have a media that gives us the real & critical information we need to help support those changes.

They will also address issues surrounding the new political darling:

" VOTE BY MAIL "

As always, John Gideon, Executive Director of Voters Unite will give Voice of the Voters listeners a round-up of all the week's voting news.

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Voice of the Voters is an hour devoted to voting rights, election reform. Ultimately it is an exploration of Representative Democracy itself and the responsibilities of citizens and their elected representatives. It airs every Wednesday night at 8:00 PM ET on 1360 AM and on the Internet. (http://wnjc.duxpond.com/)

Note: If you use dial up Internet, it is best to turn off all other programs in order to receive clearest broadcast.

Listeners can call in questions live at 856-227-1360 and submit questions in advance at the SaveOurVote website.

Voice of the Voters now also available as a podcast at iTunes.com under "Voice of the Voters" in the News & Politics category

Archived shows are available at http://mysite.verizon.net/resq4lzq/cvi/id267.html. Click here.

Guest Bios:

Steven F. Freeman holds a Ph.D. from MIT's Sloan School of Management and an M.S. in Social System Science from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Since 2000, he has held several academic positions at the University of Pennsylvania, where he currently serves as Visiting Scholar and a member of the teaching faculty of the Graduate Program of Organizational Dynamics in the School of Arts and Sciences. In addition to his regular courses, he teaches workshops for graduate students on research methods and survey design. He has also taught on the faculty at the Wharton School, and at the Universidad de San Andreas in Argentina and the Central American Institute of Business Administration (INCAE) in Costa Rica, where he has conducted management courses for private and public sector leaders and faculty workshops on research methods. He is the recipient of four national research awards for outstanding scholarship from the Academy of Management. More recently, his election research has won an award from Project Censored as one of the three most important "censored" stories of 2005. He is the author of, with Joel Bleifuss, Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen? Exit Pols; Election Fraud, and the Official Count. (New York: Seven Stories Press 2006) and has a new book on the horizon.

Dr. Freeman is also a principal in Election Integrity. On Election Day, November 7, 2006, Election Integrity conducted a professionally designed and implemented Election Verification Exit Poll. As far as we know, this was the only such effort ever undertaken in this country. Approximately 6,000 questionnaires were collected from 28 polling places from the western Philadelphia suburbs of Delaware, Montgomery and Chester counties, in the 6th and 7th PA U.S. Congressional Districts.

Mark Crispin Miller is a professor of media studies at New York University, where he also directs the Project on Media Ownership. His writings on film, television, advertising and rock music have appeared in numerous journals and newspapers, including The Nation and The New York Times.In 1988, he published his first book, Boxed In: The Culture of TV,followed by Seeing Through Movies,a collection which he edited for Pantheon Books in 1990. Books he is currently working on include Mad Scientists,a study of propaganda practices in the United States, and Spectacle: Operation Desert Storm and the Triumph of Illusion.

Through the Project on Media Ownership (PROMO) at New York University, Miller has worked to focus public attention on the growing problem of excessive concentration in the U.S. culture industries. Through several special issues of The Nation,among other ventures, PROMO has thus far helped inform the nation of the oligopolistic sway of just a few giant players over television news, book publishing, popular music and cable TV.

Miller earned his bachelor's degree from Northwestern University in 1971 and earned his doctorate in English from Johns Hopkins University in 1977. Although he specialized in Renaissance literature, Miller is best known as a media critic. Before joining New York University, Miller served as director of film studies at Johns Hopkins University for a number of years.

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Coalition for Voting Integrity

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3 comments

Currently I'm a cartoonist and contributing writer for The New Orleans Levee. For those wishing to view my work you can see my latest at: nolevee.com
Mr MCurrently I'm a cartoonist and contributing writer for The New Orleans Levee. For those wishing to view my work you can see my latest at: nolevee.com

No standing in line ...

We don't even have to stand in line to see these dog & pony shows. There is already enough evidence, of not only this crime, massive election fraud, to bring this entire shame of a government down, but many other crimes and nothing, NOTHING will be done about it. Why hasn't the evidence presented here been brought before the committees? Why hasn't Greg Palast or Robert Kennedy testified? Why has Rove still not testified? Why was Goodling allowed to lie about the "caging lists" being "some kind of Direct Mailing operation" when she knows ever well what they really are? Yet she not only keeps her immunity but gets to lie under oath to Congress as they blistfully ignore the obvious instead of throwing her ass in jail immedately and investigating this highly illegal act of election fraud.

It is hard for me to contemplate just how corrupt this government is in all aspects. If we just picked on the flaws in our so-called elections and compared them to how other democracies run theirs ours would be a situation comedy. Or more correctly a tragic comedy. From the candidates who rise to the top simply because of the money they raise drowning out candidates that are better suited, to the paid-off bias pundits who constantly tell us who we are voting for, to the out-dated Electoral College, to the rigged voting machines, to the massive election fraud, our entire election process is a joke that only a fool would believe in.

And then even if we think we voted in representatives to do our bidding we're fooled as we witness our wishes trumped by the special interests that really run the show. How else do you square the vote to continue an illegal invasion of a country that a vast majority of voters said they wanted out of? The bullshit excuses to continue this killing is an insult to any reasonable person's intelligence. Not only should we not continue this carnage, we should be prosecuting those that lied us into it. But instead of indictments, they get rewarded. Need any more proof your votes don't count?

Never before have so many been so fooled by so few for so long. And it won't end anytime soon, or ever. That is until this system crumbles under the weight of it's own corruption. For barring a revolution, which this lazy, ignorant, country of misinformed, self-indulgent, sex-obsessed morons will never rise to do because they are also now paranoid cowards, we'll continue the downward spiral to our rightful destruction.

I'm not wishing for any of this and I hope I'm wrong. But I haven't seen anything to date to prove otherwise. Let me tell you what will come of all this, they'll wrap-up the hearings with a "... what they did may have been unethical, but no laws were broken ..." line of bullshit and we'll be told to go shopping.

by Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 49 diaries, 2016 comments) on Wednesday, June 6, 2007 at 10:28:23 AM

Founder of the NC Coalition for Verified Voting.We passed a law to require VVPB on August 2005 after years of work. NC Coalition for Verified Voting is an all volunteer organization that does not solicit or accept donations.
ncvoterFounder of the NC Coalition for Verified Voting.We passed a law to require VVPB on August 2005 after years of work. NC Coalition for Verified Voting is an all volunteer organization that does not solicit or accept donations.

A Florida Activist regarding HR 811

A Florida Activist speaks out in favor of HR 811

There is a segment of the "e-voting" activist community who are directly opposing the federal bill, H.R. 811: The Voter Confidence & Increased Accessibility Act.This bill would mandate voter verified paper ballots in all states for 2008, and replace any thermal printers on touchscreens with durable ballots by 2010.

Susan Pynchon, of Florida Fair Elections Coalition, writes why she supports HR 811 after just passing a verified voting law in her state. With permission posting in full her letter

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"The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure it is right." Learned Hand (1872-1961) Famed American Judge

Dear Colleagues,

We learned some hard lessons about legislation and about political realities in our fight for paper ballots in Florida. We ended up supporting a truly terrible bill with regressive provisions simply because it gave us paper ballots. We weighed the pros and cons and decided to support it because we felt that paper ballots were necessary in order for future changes to occur. Essentially, all the Florida bill does is introduce the concept of audits, but that in itself is a big step for Florida. Now that "audits" have been introduced as necessary, we will educate our legislators over the upcoming year and fight for better audit provisions in next year's legislative session.

I have read and re-read HR811 in its entirety. Many of the things that people are complaining about can be fixed in the Senate version or fixed next year in the next legislative session, or the year after that. Meanwhile, please allow me to tell you the positive things that I believe HR811 will do for our country (Please correct me if I get any of these wrong):

At the very least, HR811 does the following:

It introduces the concept that audits are important. Audit provisions can be strengthened over time.

It introduces the concept that there are certain times when it is appropriate to examine election-related software and disclose the results of that examination. Better disclosures can be achieved over time.

It requires that all voters be offered the option of voting on a paper ballot. This is a major shift and cannot be underestimated as to its importance.

It clearly states that uncertified voting equipment may not be used in any election.

It provides many protections and guarantees of equality for disabled voters.

It will prevent the introduction of Internet-based voting in any state or by the military. This is also an important preventive measure that should not be underestimated. For example, the Florida Democratic Party is currently exploring internet primaries. This would stop them from pushing for that option, and save us from having to fight against it and other such misguided efforts up the road.

It introduces the concept that wireless technology is not appropriate for elections. These provisions can be strengthened over time.

It addresses secure chain-of-custody and emphasizes the importance of that security. Many Florida counties have non-existent or very poor chain-of-custody, and just the recognition of its importance would be very helpful.

It allows any person aggrieved by a violation of HAVA Sections 301, 302 or 303 to file a complaint with the Attorney General. This is such an important provision.

It allows for the observation of ITA testing (although limited to observation by one person). The observation of testing can be expanded over time.

It requires the ITA to disclose all test protocolsl, results and communications between the ITA and the vendor to the EAC.

It puts a small dent in the opportunity for kickbacks and bribes by preventing direct payment to the ITAs by the manufacturers

It requires the EAC to notify the public as to which ITA conducted testing on which system, immediately at the conclusion of testing.

It requires the EAC to immediately notify Congress, the chief election official in a state, and the public if an ITA is de-certified, re-certified or has evidence of a significant security failure at any ITA.

It funds grants to develop better voting systems.

Of course it is not perfect, but it takes several important steps in the right direction. It also takes some wrong steps, so, yes, we have future battles ahead and more educating to do --
Can any of us guarantgee that it will help more than hurt our country,or vice versa?
Can any of us guarantee how easy or difficult it will be to implement?
Can any of us guarantee the exact effects it will have on our elections?
Can any of us guarantee there will be no unforeseen problems?

The answer to all of the above is probably "no."

I suggest that everyone re-read the latest version of HR811 in its entirety. If you have never read it from beginning to end, then IMHO you have no business commenting on it one way or the other.

If you have read it thoroughly and do have concerns, articulate them clearly and get them to Rush Holt and Diane Feinstein asap. Better still, submit specific revised language to help support your concern. For example, I think it's tragic that any portion of $1 billion may be wasted on DRE technology. But the science is in on DREs and now it's just a matter of time before our legislators realize it. We have a lot more educating to do!!!

Once the majority of legislators realize how terrible these machines are, they'll just have to allocate more money. Is it a waste? Yes. But it's better than what we have now. Because if HR 811 doesn't pass, we may be stuck with paperless DREs and toilet-paper printers for years to come.

As far as HR811 is concerned, I stand with Justice Learned Hand and his quote above -- I'm not too sure I'm right, and this has been a painful process for us all.

Best regards,
Susan
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Susan Pynchon
Florida Fair Elections Coalition

by ncvoter (18 articles, 1 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 109 comments) on Wednesday, June 6, 2007 at 11:14:24 AM

Erik Larson, Human Being and concerned Citizen. I only advocate and practice non-violent methods of social and political activism & change.

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here by me in my articles and diaries are my own. I do my best to only reference reliable facts and credible sources in my writing. I submit Quicklinks for posterity, information, feedback and debunking; they may or may not represent my views. I welcome all feedback on my writing and submitted links.
Better World OrderErik Larson, Human Being and concerned Citizen. I only advocate and practice non-violent methods of social and political activism & change.

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here by me in my articles and diaries are my own. I do my best to only reference reliable facts and credible sources in my writing. I submit Quicklinks for posterity, information, feedback and debunking; they may or may not represent my views. I welcome all feedback on my writing and submitted links.

Back to paper ballots; f*ck the Holt Bill

The Holt Bill is designed to protect the power to electronically steal elections, and it pretends to support election integrity.

Demand paper ballots, drive the Republocrats out of office.

The reason the MSM and our "representatives" and their shills like ncvoter lie and distort so much is cuz they're afraid of an informed public.

These subhuman cretins running corporate America and our government aren't fit to live, and they surely aren't fit to rule.

I am not advocating a violent revolution, they have electromagnetic and microwave weapons in addition to the biggest guns; what they can't handle is the truth- shed light on their criminal activities and they start running and hiding like the cockroaches they are- no death penalty, that's too good- put them in prison for life, and make them take visitors every day- put them on display so all the people whose lives they've destroyed can come and tell them to their face what they've done.

by Better World Order (4 articles, 464 quicklinks, 35 diaries, 1030 comments) on Wednesday, June 6, 2007 at 8:07:29 PM