Ukraine's election has people in the streets. Here we passively allow another questionable election because we can't bear to believe it could happen here (again). Kerry needed to win big and he didn't and they aren't moving fast to recount Ohio. (And we suspect the winning votes which the US exit polls depicted there are probably expunged or soon will be....) It may be like Florida which "they" announced on September 12, 2001 (so it was buried in paragraph 15) went for Gore, even without the benefit of the black vote. The timing leads to more conspiracy theories left for another day. Suffice it to say, that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. So, people, rise up -- see this recount through, yes, but more important is 2006 and protecting the vote.

See my links page for good stuff but new stuff to catch up on after the Thanksgiving holiday and eating and buying frenzy (for some) includes Thom Hartmann's How to Take Back a Stolen Election at http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1129-26.htm as well as an article written by Laura Flander's producer Steven Rosenfeld entitled Kerry Supports Ohio Vote Investigation, Jackson says. See http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/944 -- and then there is another which I'm still having trouble displaying on my browser but it is worth retrying: SorryEverybody.com -- with folks displaying messages to the rest of the world about Bush taking the election.

To everything there is a season. Let's make this a true season of peace and justice -- and that doesn't mean turkey and tinsel and oodles of $$$ on our credit cards, but reaching out in peace, and love, and, yes some righteous anger and mobilization for the truth. It'll cost us a little time and a little sleep and a few dollars on our credit cards for some GOOD causes, not just to keep corporate America happy. Oh, God help us. Energy and peace hugs to you and yours!

For more on the Ohio recount issue -- which is only going to get bigger as the truth comes out -- go visit http://www.freepress.org/index2.php and be sure to read Bob Fitrakis's column: "How a Republican election supervisor manipulated the 2004 central Ohio vote, in black and white"

AND also see the stats in http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/914 -- this includes specifics on the stealing of SOME votes by depriving high Democratic areas of voter machines. (The end of day machine count was what was recorded officially by Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, co-chair of Bush's relection campaign -- a good number of machines were sent out later in the day, and 68 NEVER were sent out ... UGH!!!!)

Also, I understand something is going to break soon at Black Box Voting.ORG [Bev Harris's site on voting machine error and manipulation] but they don't want to give away strategy either. (We can be sure that the rightists who stand to lose are following Bev, too.)

Randi Rhodes of Air America Radio yesterday reported that the Ohio Dems (see OhioDems.org) are part of the recount now and are being joined by the Kerry Edwards campaign who want to see that every vote is counted. ("Not that it will necessarily change the result of the election.....") They need money for the recount for expenses. You may also wish to donate to this effort through votecobb.org as the Green and Libertarian parties led the way -- but do note that it looks like their request for an early recount is squashed. Why would the Republican SoS of Ohio want to speed things up?

I suspect that Ken "Katherine" Blackwell is running scared.

Truth? Trust.....

@~@~@~

But there are other issues to be dealt with -- the death penalty for one. We do NOT want NYS to reinstate it. Let our Assemblymembers and Senators know how we feel. (How can the State be taken seriously when it says that killing someone is wrong, if it is okay for the State to kill someone? Logic, anyone?) So much to do -- God help us do the work for peace, justice, and nonviolence.

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

The Election turmoil has invaded my dreams. Rising up I sought out my computer and more info to share (see Favorite Links), thanks to Randi Rhodes (who recommended the Moderate Independent site), Common Dreams, and....well, see the Links. I've read so much this morning, but now I must do some of the things one must do -- laundry, bills, housecleaning, grocery shopping, Thanksgiving cards (yeah, important to stay in touch!) and prep, and the list goes on -- and yes, I'd like to go to church and I am already late. I can gain solace that I am not alone in this work so under reported in the mainstream media. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann has received death threats for daring to be one of the few brave media folk outside of Ohio.

And John Kerry has issued a furtive statement -- it is in keeping with the Moderate Independent's Betsy Vasquez's posting that there is more to this story. See Inside the Election Fraud Battle-Think Kerry not involved? Think again at http://www.moderateindependent.com/v2i21election.htm -- even as he tells us that we will together fight the Bush agenda and asks us to support healthcare for all children. John Kerry also acknowledges all of his grass roots support -- which we know won him the election even as "they" stole votes from Pittsburgh and God knows how many blue states to pad Bush's popular vote count to give Bush some credibility. Thom Hartmann talks about Ohio's hearings and we know three key Dem areas in Florida had excessive Bush votes not to be confused with Dixiecrat votes.... Yes, there is more to this story -- and we must donate money to the recount of Ohio (Randi Rhode's posts several links) and support the Green and the Libertarian's request to start the count ASAP and not wait for certification. (I'd say contact Ohio SoS Ken "Katherine" Blackwell, but would this be counterproductive? Let's think about this /research the idea -- and TRUST that the truth will come out.)

God knows that Bush's push to dismantle democracy must be frightening a lot of moderate folk. (Molly Ivins' column on the CIA purge akin to USSR is posted at Common Dreams.) And do YOU believe that Bush couldn't have stopped those 'renegade' Republicans from voting down 9-11 suggested reforms? Bush "loss" on this one important thing? Yeah, sure -- not!

Yes, TRUST. Even as I buried my dear friend and soul sister Amy Bobrow, I want to believe that somehow her spirit will oversee the Ohio recount. There is some solace in that thought. It has been a week, a few weeks, really -- and it isn't over. Let's keep on top of it, dear peace friends!

Peace Hugs,
Kate Anne

Black Box Voting (.Org) reports Volusia County Florida is on lockdown -- see their site for specifics, but they have uncovered evidence of fraud as they pursued records with their FOIA request. Provisional Ballots were found locked in a pollworkers' bathroom. (How many were taken elsewhere and destroyed in Ohio, but also other places??)

I spoke with Teresa Hommel of WheresThePaper.org -- she warns of serious problems with New York as we seek to "upgrade" our antiquated system. Let's not go from bad to worse, from creeky blue to high-tech red.... Read her site and ACT now: http://wheresthepaper.org/ny.html -- Contact your state legislators and express your concerns. Teresa provides good source material.

T R U T H O U T.org has published two articles relating to a probable vote recount in Ohio. Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb and Libertarian Party presidential candidate Michael Badnarik have legal standing to request the recount. Badnarik received 14,331 votes in Ohio on Election Day, 0.26 percent of the total votes cast. Cobb received just 24 votes in Ohio despite pulling more than 107,000 votes nationwide. Essentially, they want the truth out. For more on the story, see the live link on the links page, or paste this: http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/111604W.shtml

On a personal note, this weekend I attended a beautiful wedding in Baltimore, that of my cousin Elaine Keegan to Todd Sauer. Today, I just received word of the passing of a dear friend, Amy Bobrow. Life goes on and it passes. Live, love, laugh -- and treasure the time we have together. Let us make a positive difference and create a better world. Adieu, sweet friend -- thank you for being a part of my life. And life's happiness and blessings in abundance to my cousins. Laughter and dancing on Saturday. Tears on Tuesday. God bless us everyone. Amen.

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

"They" want us to forget about it and move on, or just roll over and play dead. Well, before you decide to fall into lock step or keel over, please visit the link which Eva and Paul forwarded to me:
http://www.blackcommentator.com/113/113_cover_stolen_election.html -- then call your Congressmember and Senators -- maybe even the DNC ((202-863-8000) -- and complain. And don't lose hope that the truth will come out. I will continue to post links on my favorite links page as I hear of them. Keep the faith -- and do what you can for justice -- "No justice, no peace!"

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

...But they were not recorded properly or were mishandled. Please see the ACTION page for what you can do (FWD info to appropriate folk) and read up on info on the various suggested links in "Favorite Links".

Congressmember Jerry Nadler was on Randi Rhodes' show (and others). We must seek out more evidence. We may not be able to reclaim what truly looks to be a stolen election, but we must do what we can do ensure that 2006 is not stolen. And our solace can be that if Bush has these next four years there will be no doubt who is responsible for the mess our country and the world is in. In the meantime, let's continue to ACT for peace, justice and nonviolence (please!).

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

Too little sleep, but so much to do. I took this morning to do some of the stuff I suggested everyone do and I intend to do more later. "Do, do, do, whatcha done, done, done, before, Baby...." Let's sing, lets re-energize, and let's act together, in concert, to restore harmony and get the truth out -- about Elections 2004 and about the awful US invasion of Fallujah. (How many have to die in Iraq, on both sides, before we admit this disaster, clean up all the depleted uranium, and try to repair some of the damage we've done. And yes, everyone on both sides wanted Saddam out, but that is not the excuse for killing anywhere from 16,000 civilians directly to 100,000 indirectly.) ,,, TO DO:

> If you are a Democrat who took an active part in Elections 2004, fill out the web form to the Democratic Party: http://www.democrats.org/feedback/ -- I will try to post my form under Essays to give you ideas.

> Contact your congressmembers to discuss Election 2004 followup -- who really won? -- and urge them to get behind Congressmembers Conyers, Nadler and Wexler.

> Contact your congressmembers to deplore the Fallujah bombings.

> Get involved in protests about Fallujah, talk to people, call talk shows, hand out flyers. We didn't like it when 3500 died on September 11 -- and we are talking 10s of thousands civilians dying in Iraq, as well as our troops -- outrageous waste of human life.

> Write Oprah.com@oprah.com to urge her to followup on Black Box Voting, Vote Fraud, and Exit Poll Discrepancies (or fill out the show idea form at oprah.com

> Check out the links on my favorite links page and feel free to surf on peace and justice issues, from voting to war, to whatever.

> Take time to pray. Leave a prayer -- or several at http://www.prayersofpeace.com/

<><><><>

ACLU Continues the Fight for Voting Rights:
The ACLU monitored polls nationally and is responding to incidents of voter intimidation, vote suppression or election foul-ups, including in Minnesota, Ohio, Rhode Island and Virginia, and in Florida. Voters with complaints are encouraged to call our toll-free voter hotline 1-877-523-2792. 

Bless you -- and Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

Even as US troops move to invade Fallujah, we continue to move on in election followup. I've posted more on the Favorite Links page, including William Rivers Pitt of t r u t h o u t's "Worse Than 2000: Tuesday's Electoral Disaster" -- http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/110804A.shtml

Take heart -- lots feel like us. Read these voter blogs posted by Truth Out and pass along: http://www.truthout.org/rblog.shtml -- I particularly like Debi Smith's questions to people who voted for Bush entitled, "An Invitation to the Conservative Right from a Liberal Lefty" I think it could be excerpted and used as a good forward (crediting Debi of Ashland Oregon, of course).

ACTIONS are suggested by Rivers Pitt as well as at the OTHER Black Box Voting site, the .COM one, which would have us write the New Hampshire Secretary of state to urge him to do a recount, as per Ralph Nader's request (which arrived just under the wire but without the necessary funds). To move forward, they need the SoS's approval and the money -- check out the site. Also money is need for Bev Harris' Black Box Voting (.ORG)'s 3000 FOIA requests. (See blog entry of Nov. 6) Hey, we want/need a fair look at all this.

Hats off to Congressmembers Conyers, Nadler and Wexler, all of the House Judiciary Committee. ACTION: Urge our congressmembers to back them in their request for an investigation into the efficacy of the electronic voting machines.(Their request was in the form of a Nov. 5 letter to the Comptroller General of the US, David Walker -- google or see the Rivers Pitt article.)

No Justice, no Peace -- as Bush moves to put weapons into space -- more of our tax dollars, or rather the tax dollars of our grandchildren, as he pushes us deeper into debt. Oh, God, help us keep the faith. But remember, God helps those who help themselves. ACT!

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

Thom Hartmann (ThomHartmann.com), Greg Palast (GregPalast.com), Bev Harris's Black Box Voting (.ORG) (BlackBoxVoting.ORG) are only some of the blogs and websites pointing to the mounting evidence that Kerry REALLY won. In Ohio, for instance, likely Kerry areas were given fewer machines and older machines causing long lines in pouring rain and inaccurate counts. Minority area vote spoilage on defective punch card voting machines is likely high (read: hanging chads!). TruthOut.org and CommonDreams.org are posting news. TheRandiRhodesShow.com has a posting comparing voter exit polls against election results, and they are only off (benefitting Bush, of course) when it is an electronic voting machine. As Pam said at the Democrats.org blog on Nov. 6, isn't it strange how all of the inaccuracies are to BUSH's benefit?

My Mac doesn't allow me to do easy links in my blog, without resorting to HTML, but copy and paste the above sites into your browser and visit them. I will also start adding specific links to my FAVORITE LINKS page. In the meantime, as Black Box Voting (.ORG -- the anti's have created a FAKE .com site, so be careful) has made FOIA requests to obtain internal computer logs and other documents from 3,000 individual counties and townships, so they need money. Lovers of democracy and truth, send checks ($5, $10, anything) to:

Black Box Voting P.O. Box 25552, Seattle Washington 98165-1052

We must stay on this issue of voter intimidation, repression and fraud if we are going to retain any hope for our democracy. Stream Randi Rhodes (3-7 pm EST) at AirAmericaRadio.com. Their home page, too, posts lots of info, but Randi, Mike Molloy (10 PM - 1 AM EST) are the ones most on top of this issue.

And again, we should be contacting OPRAH to urge her to do a show on the problems with Election 2004. Write Oprah.com@oprah.com (and visit her site to fill out the form there). (Where IS the so called "liberal" media???)

So much for thinking I could get back to my usual peace and justice activities (as well as clean house :-). THIS justice activity is too important for peace to roll over and play defeated, which is what the Bushies want us to do. No matter who is inaugurated president on January 20, this is an issue we must pursue. God give us the strength, the energy, the insight, the contacts to make our pursuit a successful one.

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne
<BR>

We all know that in order for John Kerry and John Edwards to overcome the Republican dirty tricks, they would have to win significantly, so they couldn't be cheated out of the election. I spent the last four days working in Pennsylvania and we won that handily. [Special cheers to Micaela Shapiro, Noah Schwartz, Sue Turner, Dolores Rice, Honey Aldrich, Peter McClusky, Nagesh Agarwala, and Andrea Knutson. Boo/hiss to Greg Shorten who threw us out of one of our GOTV areas.] Unfortunately, other factors were in play in other states.

In the end, while it all seems to have hinged on Ohio, Ohio's part is multi-faceted. Diebold Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Walden O'Dell committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes for Bush way back in an August 2003 fund-raising letter -- http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0828-08.htm -- but it appears he delivered significantly more. On her show today on Air America Radio, Randi Rhodes reported that 30 Florida counties used Diebold voting machines -- which were very opened to hackers, especially in that the vote transfer was performed by modem and there was no paper trail. Florida exit polls said Kerry won. O'Dell and his machines allowed for the stats to tell otherwise. Please see Bev Harris's site, http://blackboxvoting.org/ for more info on electronic voting problems. "You don't think that people stood in line for hours in Florida and Ohio to vote for the status quo, do you? To vote for one party government and to void the constitution?" asked Randi Rhodes. Early in the vote count Bush seemed certain that he had Florida -- and now we know why.

Bush's campaign was based on lies and subterfuge, divisiveness, hatred and suppression of the votes --anything to get out his religious and economic base and stifle his opposition. He and his party used 11 ballot provisions denying civil rights to gay people to make sure that religious conservatives came out. Shamefully, all the ballot initiatives passed.

A very subdued Paul Krugman was on Al Franken's show today. He noted that the stock market went up -- there will be no taxes on capital gains. The election is over. "This is a catastrophe. You don't just lie down and cry. This is going to take a lot more work," Krugman said. Krugman added that in this next four years Social Security privatization will probably pass. They will fiddle with the accounting, make it go off the books. Special accounting practices will fudge the accounts -- they can't manage them, but they are great for fudging, he added. "It will help Bush supporters and eviscerate the New Deal."

Now, even as I continue to hear horror stories from Ohioans, I am outraged, yes, and frightened. What has happened to our country? How will we survive the next four years? And if we do, how will these four years influence the years which, God willing, will follow? The exit polls also say that Kerry WON Ohio and New Mexico -- Greg Palast (of gregpalast.com) reported on Randi Rhodes show that these clearly show that Kerry won. 70% of Ohio voted on punch cards. Junk machines able to cause more spoilage were especially used in minority areas. Now, while provisional and absentee ballots may be counted, these will never be counted. It is totally totally outrageous.

Good has to come out of it -- I am not sure where or how. I do know, however, that we must not give up. We have to take our country back. I am pleased that in a very touching concession speech, John Kerry didn't concede our ideals or our future. Indeed, he urged us to push on. We know from the last four years we cannot trust anything George Bush promises and his reaching out in his speech today is nothing but empty rhetoric. No matter who would have won, we all knew there would be work to do. George Bush being declared winner means that there will be a LOT of work to do. God help us.<BR>

I've begun my day with coffee and Prayers of Peace at http://www.prayersofpeace.com/ -- I breathe in the Spirit of Peace and trust in the knowledge that this is the day that God has made and that God knows what God is about. Peace. Love. Compassion. Grant me grace to walk and talk those: Peace, Love, Compassion. May I bless everyone, even those who are blind to the facts. Give me a winning smile to assist in those blessings. May the work I do for peace and votes assist in positive results. Thank you, God -- Amen.

* ~*~ *

Yesterday was Get-Out-The-VOTE activities in Delaware County, including Holmes Road, in Holmes PA, close to the MacDade Mall. Then we whirlwinded right before and after dark in nearby Golden-something. Our bus was near the South Baptist Church there as Daisy, Polly, Rita Kardeman and I teamed up to do one section. On the way home, I met an undercover Billionaire for Bush -- Tim Warner (sometimes seen with Clare Channel) -- aka Tim Corrigan, who actually lives a few blocks from me. He provided refreshing laughter through the choice vignettes he shared. The www.billionairesforbush.com is quite the site. Ricardo was our guide for the day on the Citizen Action of NY bus as we worked as volunteers for the League of Conservation Voters. Bush is the first president to get a failing grade from them. Kerry has a 92% lifetime rating and their endorsement. Now I have about an hour of GOTV work to do in my neighborhood before I leave for somewhere in PA to further assist. Let my work and my life be a prayer of peace, love and compassion.

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

In Pennsylvania'a Phoenixville area for Lois Murphy for Congress and John Kerry for President on Saturday and Sunday with Marc Crawford Leavitt, his daughter Allegra, Joan Pagan, Gaye Fruscione and Cynthia Loewy. Lots of positive energy and it looks good -- see loismurphy.org for updates. And the Redskins lost -- and Kerry won the Nickelodeon kids vote -- positive signs, but they won't count for anything if we all don't get out and vote.

Good conversation with Trappe's French Road resident Jim Connor and fellow phone banker Tacoma MD's Carol Lindeman -- a stint on the phones with pro-choice Republicans while walking lists were being prepared. We had a picture taken with Lois Murphy's staffmember Janinne Markizon. Trappe Village / College Woods residents saw Gaye and I walking around. Yes, we made an impact, please, God. Now to leave for Citizen Action work....