Space Invaders: Five Million Aliens for Hillary

Will José Crow Voter ID Laws Pick Our President?

by Greg Palast
Thursday, January 10, 2008

State Representative Russell Pearce of Mesa Arizona has warned us:

“There is a massive effort under way to register illegal aliens in this country.”

How many? According to the Congressman’s office, there are five million: Democrats, he says, who are not good Americans - they’re Mexicans!

Really?! Holy Cow! The Senator has uncovered a conspiracy to flood the voter rolls with Brown Hordes who’ve swum the Rio Grande just for a chance to vote for Hillary Clinton?!

Thank the Lord for vigilant citizens like Senator Pearce. His efforts, along with the work of other patriotic (Republican) politicians, successfully stopped 300,000 voters from obtaining ballots in 2004 - because these voters had brought the wrong ID to the polls. New ID laws in Arizona and half a dozen states blocked these voters at the polling-house door. Others with “wrong” ID’s were handed what are called ‘provisional’ ballots - which were then not counted.

On Wednesday, the Republican majority on the US Supreme Court indicated it would vote to uphold these new voter ID requirements.

And just in time. If not for these new ID laws, warns Senator Pearce and other Republicans across the nation, a dark wave of illegal aliens would vote again in our upcoming Presidential election.

Or maybe not. Maybe there aren’t five million illegal voters for Hillary or Obama or Edwards. Maybe there are just five hundred. Maybe there are none.

I called Senator Pearce’s office to get a couple of the names of these illegal voters. After all, it should be easy as pie to catch them: they have to give their names and addresses to register and vote. Odd thing, out of five million illegal registrants, the Senator, after a week of looking, couldn’t provide me the name of one. Not one.

Another Republican politician, this one in New Mexico, the sponsor of the voter ID law there, said on the floor of the State Legislature that she had the names of two illegal voters. Well, that’s a start.

I called her, Representative Justine Fox-Young (yes, that’s her name, and she has the ID to prove it).

Q. Justine, you’ve uncovered felony criminals [illegal voting is a jail-time crime in every state]. Do you have the names?A. Oh, yes!Q. Really? Wow! Did you turn these names over to the US Attorney?

A. Well, no ….

Q. You had evidence of a crime and you didn’t have the bad guys arrested?

A. Not exactly ….

Fox-Young promised to send me the names of the illegal voters. The names never arrived. But shortly thereafter, based on her claim, the Legislature passed, and Governor Bill Richardson signed, a voter ID law certain to knock out Hispanic citizens. (In fairness to Richardson, I should note that he forced the Republicans to drastically alter their bill.)

Our investigations team talked to some of New Mexico’s allegedly illegal voters.

In 2004, the Catholic Church organized a bus and caravan to take newly registered Chicano “low-riders” to a Roswell, New Mexico polling station. The white officials turned away several of the young Hispanics for presenting the wrong ID. Maybe the middle initial on the voter form was missing from the driver’s license, or “Jr.” was added. No perfect match, no vote: a gotcha! set of rules that seemed to apply only to voters of a darker hue.

One of the rejected young Chicanas said she wouldn’t return to try again to vote; one round of humiliation was enough. “They don’t want me to vote there anyway,” she said. And they don’t.

But hey, what’s wrong with requiring voter ID? I’ll give you a million reasons. Since 2004, when 300,000 citizens lost their right to vote because of ID challenges, the number of states that have passed voter ID laws has quadrupled. Expect the challenges to quadruple as well, to over a million in the upcoming 2008 presidential election. Does ID challenges make a difference? In New Mexico, George Bush’s victory over John Kerry by 5,900 votes can be completely accounted for by minority provisional ballots rejected. ID was the key.

In Louisiana, the law says voters may be asked to produce a photo ID. A study conducted by the US Department of Justice discovered that Black voters are only one-fifth as likely to have photo ID’s as white voters. (That figure may be optimistic - as Justice took the survey before Black voters’ ID washed away with Hurricane Katrina.)

In New Mexico, in Louisiana, in Georgia, in Alabama and in Florida, it’s the same story. It’s not a random set of voters who lose out on ID challenges; it’s voters of color.

Four years ago, the Jim Crow era ended when biased impediments to voting were struck down by the courts and Congress: poll taxes, “literacy” tests, citizenship tests that blocked Blacks more than whites. From that time until now, almost every state has accepted your signature matched to prior records as proof you’re a legal voter. Now we’re going to change this system to prevent the crime of folks voting more than once and the crime of aliens voting. The odd thing about these crimes: they virtually don’t exist. Yet to prevent crimes that aren’t committed, we are allowing elections officials to commit a greater crime: stopping legal voters - especially new, young, Hispanic voters - from having their piece of our democracy.

Who was behind these viciously undemocratic, racist José Crow attack on brown-skinned voters? His initials are Karl Rove. In 2006, I smelled out the link to Rove, then White House political chief, when I reached out to the US Attorney for New Mexico.

That US Attorney, David Iglesias, had indeed investigated the “illegal” voters identified by Fox-Young, working from a list of 150 sent to him by Republican officials. After marching all over the mesas with the FBI, Iglesias found exactly zero cases to prosecute.

So, finding folks innocent, Iglesias did not arrest them. That was a mistake - at least for his career. Karl Rove, visiting New Mexico, heard from the state’s Republican Party chiefs that Iglesias was not bringing prosecutions and would not continue the witchhunt for “illegal” voters. Iglesias contends that Rove took the Republican complaint to the Oval Office. There, a man who goes by the alias, “The Decider,” decided to fire Iglesias and other US Attorneys who wouldn’t agree to phony prosecutions of innocent voters.

Iglesias told me, “This voter fraud thing is the bogeyman. It was designed to scare up, rile the [Republican] base. I looked into [the fraud allegations] …We didn’t find the evidence.”

I met with Iglesias at the park overlooking the Statue of Liberty in New York. The wistful ex-prosecutor, who has returned to his former post with the Navy as a JAG lawyer, said, “Looking back, I mean I feel like I was set up; that they really felt that I would go forward with some half-baked prosecutions and hope for a guilty plea. That’s not what a legitimate federal prosecutor does.”

(Rove won’t respond to BBC’s requests for his views - nor respond to a subpoena from Congress to explain his involvement in the firings.)

Whatever Rove’s political motives, I did have to ask if there’s a legitimate reason for these new ID laws. I challenged the leader of the New Mexico Catholic Charities voter drive, Santiago Juarez, to answer Ms. Fox-Young’s charge that, without voter ID, his new citizens could steal elections by voting more than once using someone else’s name.

Santiago replied, “How do you organize thousands of people to vote twice? Hell, it’s hard enough organizing them to vote once!”

*********
Greg Palast is the author of the New York Times bestsellers, Armed Madhouse and The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. Obtain the film on DVD of Palast’s investigations of US elections, including exclusive interviews with fired US Attorney David Iglesias, at www.GregPalast.com. Watch the trailer for The Election Files here.

And sign up for Palast’s reports at www.GregPalast.com.

Funding for these investigations was provided by BBC Television, The Nation Institute and the Palast Investigative Fund, a not-for-profit foundation, www.PalastInvestigativeFund.org

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Tennessee Bipartisanship… Lovely Example, Boys

House Passes Resolution To Honor Gore’s Efforts

By Tom Humphrey
Friday, January 11, 2008

NASHVILLE - On a bipartisan basis, the state House approved Thursday a resolution honoring Al Gore Jr. and his efforts to curb global warming. “We’re glad that Republicans have realized global warming is a real problem and we appreciate their support of our former vice president, Al Gore,” said House Majority Leader Gary Odom, D-Nashville, after the 97-0 vote.But House Republican Leader Jason Mumpower said he doesn’t see it that way. And, besides, it’s part of a deal because Odom agreed to go along with a similar resolution praising the late President Ronald Reagan when it is filed.“Let’s be honest about it. What is a resolution but a piece of paper with flowery words on it,” said Mumpower.

Contrary to resolutions that make a “position statement,” Mumpower said the Gore resolution “has no real meaning other than whatever meaning it has to him when he hangs it on his wall.”

“I don’t think our members are petty enough to nitpick about some resolution,” he said. “Whether you agree with him or disagree with him, Al Gore is a Tennessean who has achieved a level of success.”…

… The Gore resolution, HJR712, lavishes praise on the former vice president for three pages, then concludes with this statement:

“We hereby honor and congratulate vice president Albert Arnold ‘Al’ Gore Jr. on his receipt of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his exemplary efforts to inform and educate the public and promote understanding of the threats posed by global warming and the measures needed to counteract such change.”…

(cont.)

Can you feel the love the ReTHUGlicans have for Mr Gore and his lifelong efforts?

I see that bipartisanship can never be with the neocon, hide-your-head-in-the-sand, bow to every Big Money directed party that has hijacked the Republicans. They are THUGS < no doubt.

Whether you like Mr Gore or not, to trivialize him with such statements is beyond bogus and may be petty, but certainly is politically motivated to lesson any significance or acknowledge (to any real degree) that there even MAY be a problem with the environment.

For when they do, they begin to lose their Big Money providers.

People, we MUST change the election system to ever be heard. Maybe we could even salvage some of the scum that now hold these offices, if they didn’t feel like they had to do what their coffers wanted… avoiding loss of contributions.

WTF Is “Big Money”?

I talk alot about “Big Money” and have been asked several times to explain what I mean, precisely.

Big Money is made up of several entities that have profit, control and power as their main interest. It is a Capitalistic theory gone wild, to the extent that they have lost all notions of patriotism and honor and only want one thing… Money. The ones with the money have the control and influence.

Now, I am not talking about the guy who owns a convenience store, or even the guy who does very well in sales of equipment (like myself). No, in the scheme of things I don’t have “Big Money”. I am chump-change in the world of Big Money… meaningless… worthless, even.

Big Money is made up of several entities who have the most control in their area of expertise. For instance: Big Oil controls all the energy in the world, Big Media controls what you see and read and programs your ass to do their bidding, Big Banks control the money (and our Federal Reserve), Big Tech controls all aspects of ingenuity and provides the way for them to “watch over us”, Big Pharmaceutical (or Big Medicine) controls health insurance and drug pricing and our well-being, in general. We have Big Defense that spends countless Billions all over the world controlling them, as well as us, along with Big Pentagon who controls the warring. There is also one of the biggest threats to our freedom, Big Media. Big Media has taken over virtually all the communication avenues (this is one not fully covered, but they are working on it) and used them to manipulate and control the population.

We are all but lemmings in their world. All they want and need is more, more, more. They don’t give a damn about you. There are few that do.

We must wake up, America, to what they are doing to us. Please! Before it is too late.

Big Money Will DO Anything To Stop The Message!

Only a partisan hack could defend NBC (or any of the entities that are purposefully squashing Dennis’ message). Even if you are a Hillary , Obama, or Edwards follower, you should understand that the only real change candidate is being kept from the American airwaves. Even if you are a ReTHUGlican follower, a sense of fairness and what is “right” should take precedence.

It has happened over and over again and is proof that it is the message that they need to stop. His message fights what they stand for. It fights against what the MSM has become. The Des Moines Register, ABC, and now NBC are all complicit in stifling this message of real hope and change (not that imaginary shit Obama and Hillary talk about or the downright lies the THUGS are talking about).

I would threaten to stop watching, but I did that long ago. I am very selective in my purchases, to insure I don’t buy something that will benefit or profit them (Big Money) and disconnected my AT&T service because I don’t support Constitutional law breaking at my expense.

Well, America, they are farking you, too, but you don’t know it. Why? Because 70% of you watch that stupid assed boob tube and have allowed them to make your minds up for you.

I challenge anyone to debate the issues by taking your candidate’s stand and I will take Dennis’. I can’t lose, for it is what is right. Anyone paying attention knows it. It is a shame that most of my fellow Americans are ignorant or brainwashed.

NBC un-plugs Kucinich from Presidential debate Re-writes criteria to exclude candidate with ’dissenting’ positions Less than 44 hours after NBC sent a congratulatory note and an invitation to Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich to participate in the Jan. 15 Democratic Presidential debate in Las Vegas, the network notified the campaign this morning it was changing it announced criteria, rescinding its invitation, and excluding Kucinich from the debate.NBC Political Director Chuck Todd notified the Kucinich campaign this morning that, although Kucinich had met the qualification criteria publicly announced on December 28, the network was “re-doing” the criteria, excluding Kucinich, and planning to invite only Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and former senator John Edwards. The criteria announced last month included a fourth-place or better showing in a national poll. The USA/Gallup poll earlier this month showed Kucinich in fourth place among the Democratic contenders.In an email to the Kucinich campaign at 2:35 p.m. on Wednesday, January 9, Democratic Party debates consultant Jenny Backus wrote: “Congratulations on another hard-fought contest. Now that New Hampshire is over, we are on to Nevada and our Presidential Debate on Tuesday January 15. This letter serves as an official invitation for your candidate to participate in the Nevada Presidential Debate at Cashman Theatre in downtown Las Vegas. You have met the criteria set by NBC and the Debate.” Todd notified the Kucinich campaign this morning that the network had decided to change the criteria and limit participation in the debate to only three candidates. Kucinich is the only remaining Democratic Presidential candidate who: voted against the original Iraq War authorization in 2002 and every war-funding measure since; voted against the so-called Patriot Act; advocates a national, not-for-profit health system that covers all Americans; has called for the repeal of NAFTA and withdrawal from the WTO; and proposes a national back-to-work program (Works Green Administration) patterned after the Depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA). The Kucinich campaign, which filed an emergency complaint with the Federal Communications Commission last week because of ABC’s decision to exclude the candidate from a nationally televised debate, is considering legal action to address “the blatant disregard of the public interest in silencing public debate that dissents with the views of NBC, its parent company, GE, and all of the military contractors and their candidate-funding corporate interests. Corporate control of the media is one issue. Corporate media control of the information that is allowed to reach American citizens is much more dangerous, much more sinister, and much more un-American.” “When ‘big media’ exert their unbridled control over what Americans can see, hear, and read, then the Constitutional power and right of the citizens to vote is being vetoed by multi-billion corporations that want the votes to go their way,” the Kucinich campaign said.

You can help do something about this by contacting NBC Comment Line at 212-664-4444 or email them at letters@msnbc.com

Message From The Real Candidate of Change

URGENT: Help defend the rights of American voters

Friends,Once again, America is faced with questions about the integrity of machine-counted ballots and about the rights of Americans to decide for themselves who they should be allowed to vote for in this crucial Presidential election.

In New Hampshire, it’s a question of whether votes were counted or manipulated. In Nevada, it’s a question of whether the GE-owned NBC television network should have the power to decide who your choices should be for President.

The vote counts in New Hampshire are suspicious. And, today’s decision by NBC to exclude Dennis from next week’s Presidential debate - even though he met the criteria - is outrageous. And, we need your help to deal with both of these matters.

Because of the unexplained disparities between hand-counted and machine-counted ballots in New Hampshire, Dennis has asked for a recount. “I am not making this request in the expectation that a recount will significantly affect the number of votes that were cast on my behalf,” Dennis said in his letter to the Secretary of State of New Hampshire. But, he cited “serious and credible reports, allegations and rumors” that question the integrity of the machine-controlled process.

If New Hampshire agrees to a recount, this campaign will have to pay for it. And we can’t investigate what happened in New Hampshire - or protect every other state in the Union - without your help.

Likewise, NBC and MSNBC have made a corporate decision to exclude the one and only voice who represents you and those things that the Democratic Party should stand for. If you are as outraged as we are, feel free to call:

• NBC/MSNBC at 212 664-4444 and ask for the Comment Line or
• email NBC/MSNBC at letters@msnbc.com

PLEASE share this message with everyone you know so that the voice of the people will be heard and their votes WILL be counted.

Strength through Peace,
The Kucinich Campaign