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Wednesday, June 30, 2004 |
After Spain's terrorist attacks on March 11th, which resulted in the ruling party (friendly to the Bush agenda) being voted out of power just days later. The results of their election sent shockwaves through the Republican party here in America. Sean Hannity, I do recall, along with Condi Rice, suggested that America should consider cancelling elections in case of a terrorist attack.
This topic came up again today by the new federal Voting Commission. I get concerned when I hear talk like this because it makes me wonder if they know something and are trying to get it approved so that when an attack does happen then it will be seen as legal to cancel elections, if you catch my drift. (Isn't this the pattern we have seen with torture methods for detainees?)
Nonetheless, here is the information of the AP article by Erica Werner:
WASHINGTON - The government needs to establish guidelines for canceling or rescheduling elections if terrorists strike the United States again, says the chairman of a new federal voting commission.
Such guidelines do not currently exist, said DeForest B. Soaries, head of the voting panel.
Soaries was appointed to the federal Election Assistance Commission last year by President Bush (news - web sites). Soaries said he wrote to National Security (news - web sites) Adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge in April to raise the concerns....
Events in Spain, where a terrorist attack shortly before the March election possibly influenced its outcome, show the need for a process to deal with terrorists threatening or interrupting the Nov. 2 presidential election in America, he said.
"Look at the possibilities. If the federal government were to cancel an election or suspend an election, it has tremendous political implications. If the federal government chose not to suspend an election it has political implications," said Soaries, a Republican and former secretary of state of New Jersey.
"Who makes the call, under what circumstances is the call made, what are the constitutional implications?" he said. "I think we have to err on the side of transparency to protect the voting rights of the country."
One question: how are you protecting the voting rights of the country by cancelling or postponing an election?
Something to consider: If they do pass a bill that allows such a preposterous cancellation or postponement of the election, what criteria will be expected in order to allow elections? As I wrote in a post a couple of days ago, I received a letter from Orrin Hatch. In his letter, he concluded that "These are difficult times for every American....we must not lose sight of the big picture: we are fighting a shadowy enemy that seeks to destroy our very way of life. The war against terror will last years, possibly decades...."
In these words is the answer. Because of the threat of terrorism that so easily looms over us (thanks to the media), elections could be postponed indefinitely. All hail King George!
10:13:46 PM  | |
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Oh, this is just too good not to post to my journal. I read this at Eschaton, who got it from AmericaBlog:
I just got a live phone-in from the Yankees vs. Boston game in NYC taking place right now. Dick Cheney just got booed by the crowd!
Even as my friend Michael called me from his seats at the game, God Bless America was still playing in the background. During the 7th inning stretch at Yankees Stadium, they play God Bless America and show on the big screen pictures of anyone famous who's in the audience that night. Dick Cheney is apparently in the audience, and as soon as his face went up, the entire crowd started booing! As my friend Michael tells it, this is the blue-collar Bronx we're talking about, and Cheney is still getting booed - not a good sign for the Bush-Cheney ticket. As soon as the camera guys realized Cheney was getting booed, they quickly switched the picture on the screen to someone else.
Michael's read of the situation, as a die-hard Yankees fan: The election is over.
ESPN confirmed the story
Cheney, who visited both clubhouses after batting practice, watched part of the game from the box of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and part from a first-row seat next to the Yankees dugout, where he sat between New York Gov. George Pataki and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Cheney was booed when he was shown on the right-field videoboard during the seventh-inning.
Well, I don't watch baseball so my impression on this is just based off of what gets reported in the news. And I do not recall a Vice President or President getting booed at a baseball game. And just think, the Republican Convention is coming to town. If they are booing now, what do you think it will be like then?
This news really made my day.
9:40:48 PM | |
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From today's MoveOn newsletter:
For years, Fox News has been distorting the facts, covering for President Bush, and bashing groups like MoveOn. Now Uncovered director Robert Greenwald -- working with a group of Fox-monitoring MoveOn members -- has put together a documentary film that exposes Fox for what it is: partisan spin, not news.
We're using this movie to launch an organizing campaign with Common Cause and other great groups to "out" Fox News -- making sure everyone in the country knows the network is stumping for the Republican agenda.
Be among the first to see this new movie, help others see it, and take on Fox by hosting an Outfoxed house party on Sunday evening, July 18th. Sign up at:
http://action.moveon.org/outfoxed/newmeeting.html
Fox News star Bill O'Reilly will stop at nothing in acting as a partisan flak for Bush. When the 9/11 Commission reported finding no evidence of a link between Iraq and al-Qaeda, O'Reilly lashed out at the nation's major newspapers for reporting it. In June alone, O'Reilly compared Bush critics Michael Moore and Al Franken to Nazi propagandists and journalist Bill Moyers to Mao Zedong.
Unfortunately, parroting the Republican Party message is common in Fox's regular news reporting as well. Outfoxed features interviews with seven ex-Fox News employees who describe how, every day, highly partisan talking points are drawn up to influence newscasts.
When Michael Moore was asked what surprised him most during the making of Fahrenheit 9/11, he described his discovery of archived news footage the networks had edited or not aired at all in order to protect President Bush's image. His comments highlight the media's recent failure to independently evaluate Bush's claims before the war -- and no network failed more completely than Fox.
In addition to Common Cause, our partners on this campaign include the Center for American Progress, Free Press, Media Matters for America, and Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR).
On Sunday, July 18th, we'll get together to see the compelling evidence of Fox's partisanship presented in the Outfoxed film. Then we'll all join an interactive coast-to-coast conference call with Al Franken and director Robert Greenwald, to plan out how we'll take on Fox and take back our media.
7:56:46 PM | |
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