Tyranny

Subverting human rights concepts and practices turns legitimate authority into tyranny.

The authority of the government to govern our society, wage war and capture and try enemy combatants is not an authority created by the current administration, or even by this generation of Americans.

The authority of the American government rests on principles that are greater than any member of the government, any group in the society, and greater than any one generation of Americans, no matter how self-important.

That is why our government is now a tyranny, and why the world needs to consider whether it can safely allow the United States full participation in the community of civilized nations.

Colleen Redman
I never heard of this author before, but new lights in the sky are appearing every day of this season of reflection and soul searching.

Redman mentions the highlights in summarizing the genesis of the 2004 Votergate scandal. She doesn't have any breaking news, with the possible exception that a Harris poll (this one?) found one fifth of Americans mistrusting the election results.

She proceeds from the exit polls discrepancies and the statistical analysis from U of P, Berkeley and MIT, to the electronic "irregularities" that cropped up one at a time around the country.

With the backdrop of suppression and misinformation in Ohio and Florida, she appeals to reason and common sense by saying that we haven't heard more because the media haven't covered it. If they had, more Americans would doubt the fairness of the 2004 election.

You know, I agree. The Brad Menfils and Wayne Madsens aside, there's something about this whole election that hasn't added up since November 2nd. There's no turning away from it. It just sits there like a plastic bouquet.

One of the problems I had with Bush from 2000 was his disinterest in emphasizing the necessity of transparent, fair elections. During that Florida recount he never iterated a concern with fairness and the importance of every vote being counted. He was concerned about getting his recognition as the winner.

That attitude coupled with this passage from Redmann, makes me queasey:

Voting fraud is nothing new. It's part of our history and something both parties have been guilty of. If it's easy enough to do, you can be assured someone will do it. And never has it been so easy. Our voting system has been privatized by Republican-owned companies that have no meaningful federal or state regulations. It was Republicans who blocked legislation requiring that electronic voting machines produce a backup paper trail, and some are now calling for an end to exit polls.

Read her article in The Roanoke Times.

Election Fraud Conspiracy
I found another reference to the Madsen Votergate story on American Chronicle.

The Buying of Former and FBI and Republican "Vote Riggers": This article looks like something Madsen or one of his friends wrote for either more publicity/exposure, or to try to disseminate the story even further.

The thing is that this story has that spy-sour flavor to it: after the recent cia shakeup, the spooks are spilling the beans.