Volunteer to take your country back!

It's just over 5 weeks until the November election, and that means we need EVERYBODY'S help to get out the vote for Ned.

This video will give you an idea of what's involved in volunteering for the campaign. It's very simple; you decide how much time you can spend helping take back our country, then you go to nedlamont.com and click on Contact, then you find a local campaign office and talk to the director and let them know you want to help.

Then you get to have all the fun that these people in the video are having!



Or, if you don't have the availability to volunteer but STILL want to help the campaign, go to the website and click on Get Involved (you can click it here). That page has lots of ways you can help without having to leave your home.

Either way, it's time to get involved. Our Constitution NEEDS your help to protect and defend it.

CT Dems for Lieberman

What a week! There's lots of analysis to do, but in the meantime...I put a tip jar up for CTBob so that he can get a new computer. We were working on the Lieberman's Days Off production and I am amazed that he can do such amazing work on his laptop. It's set up under my name KirbyCTB -- but I won't take a penny -- this is all toward a CTBob computer. The link is at the top of the right sidebar here.

Thanks so much for Harriet's comment on Joe for Torture:

This bill is the most egregious act done by our government that has just violated the every moral code of our democracy. It affirms the following:
(1) allowing the President to define torture, (2) stripping the court of judicial review via habeas corpus (even though the Constitution does not allow this except in cases of invasion or Rebellion) and (3) allowing the President to jail American citizens arbitrarily and without court review!

This bill had NOTHING to do with our safety, but EVERYTHING to do with protecting Bush's ass and giving him a free “get out of jail” card!

Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, John McCain(McCave) and the rest of the rubber stamping Republicans are just turning their backs and allowing Bush to turn this country into a police state!

And this follow-up today from newlondondem:

mentioned the bill once out canvassing today. The woman I spoke with didn't really understand it and didn't have much opinion on it. When I spelled out for her what the bill said, you should have seen her eyes widen. "It says what? It allows what? It gives the President that power? No, I don't trust him either. Lieberman voted for that?"
She was leaning Lieberman until I knocked on her door. It was gratifying.

Now, for the Connecticut "Dems" supporting Joe -- you guys know what to do. The people who are not "former" something are in bold.

Jim Amann - Speaker of the House (Co-Chair)
Reggie Beamon - State Representative, Waterbury
Jeff Berger - State Representative, Waterbury
Bert Bosse - Vice Chair Board of Finance, Lebanon
Susan Cable - First Selectwoman, Beacon Falls
Frank Cirillo - Fmr. DTC Chair, Meriden
Tom Conway - Fmr. State Representative, Waterbury
Chuck Coursey, DTC Member, West Hartford
Pat Crowley - City Council, Enfield
Kevin Cunningham - First Selectman, Plainfield
Red Edgar - Town Council, Enfield
Mary Fritz - State Representative, Wallingford
Willie Fritz - First Selectman, Clinton
Joan Hartley - State Senator, Waterbury
Mike Jarjura - Mayor, Waterbury (Co-Chair)
Kevin Knowles - Fmr. State Representative Naugatuck
Ben Lathrop - Mayor, Norwich
Pat Lynes - Deputy Majority Leader, City Council, Meriden Corky Mazurek - State Representative, Wolcott
Tom McCarthy - City Council, Bridgeport
Steve Mikutel - State Representative, Griswold
Jeff Nicholas - Former First Selectman, Bethlehem
Mike Pacowta - DTC Chair, Shelton
Iris Papale - City Council, Wallingford
John Picard - Mayor, West Haven
Rich Roy - State Representative, Milford
Dan Russo - DTC Chair, Middletown
Bill Satti - Former Mayor, New London
Domenique Thornton - Former Mayor, Middletown
Christel Truglia - State Representative, Stamford
Albert Vertefeuille - Former Selectman, Windham & Lebanon
Joe Walkovich - Fmr. State Representative, Danbury

Now, go back and read Harriet's comment, and learn this list -- these are the people who trust George Bush as king, with Joe as his knave

Whistleblower reports Diebold hacking in GA

National news services have finally begun responding to the widespread reports of possible electronic voting fraud that occurred in Georgia when two local Diebold employees complained that they were instructed to add a "patch" to the electronic voting systems in a "last-minute" and "secretive" manner the night before the 2002 elections.

From an article in Political Affairs Magazine:

(APN) ATLANTA – Top Diebold corporation officials ordered workers to install secret files to Georgia's electronic voting machines shortly before the 2002 Elections, at least two whistleblowers are now asserting, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.

Former Diebold official Chris Hood told his story concerning the secret "patch" to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for Kennedy's second article on electronic voting in this week's Rolling Stone Magazine.

Hood's claims corroborate a second whistleblower who spoke with Black Box Voting and Wired News in 2003.

Whistleblower Accounts

"With the primaries looming, [Chief of Diebold's Election Division] Urosevich was personally distributing a 'patch,' a little piece of software designed to correct glitches in the computer program," Rolling Stone Magazine reported.

"We were told that it was intended to fix the clock in the system, which it didn't do," Hood told Rolling Stone. "The curious thing is the very swift, covert way this was done."

"It was an unauthorized patch, and they were trying to keep it secret from the state," Hood told Rolling Stone.

"We were told not to talk to county personnel about it. I received instructions directly from Urosevich. It was very unusual that a president of the company would give an order like that and be involved at that level," Hood told Rolling Stone.

The "patch" was applied to about 5,000 polling places in Fulton and DeKalb Counties in 2002, Rolling Stone reported.

And another report in the Detroit Free Press disputes the validity of the "paper trail" in voting machine audits.

Keep in mind that both of these stories address the faults of the Accuvote TSX (Touch Screen) voting machine, which only provides a printed receipt of your vote; not the Accuvote OS (Optical Scanner) which is a tabulator that reads and records the paper ballot that the voter fills out manually and THEN inserts it into the machine to be counted.

The paper ballot works as a paper backup, and in fact it IS the vote. The machine simply counts and tabulates the votes.

But there are also major concerns about the hackability of the Optical Scanners; I've reported on this in this article; and links to other previous articles are listed within.

Connecticut will use the Accuvote OS in 25 municipalities this November, and the rest of the state will be equipped with them by mid next year. Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz has ordered random audits of the results of this November's elections.

And just so we know where the Diebold company really stands in it's supposed unbiased position, I'd like to remind you of a quote from CNN/Money:

The company came under fire last year for a letter that Diebold CEO Walden O'Dell wrote as a fundraising pitch to Republicans.

In the letter, O'Dell said he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president." Diebold is based in North Canton, Ohio.

Ohio, of course, turned out to be the crucial swing state for George W. Bush in the 2004 election, and a combination of disenfranchisement and voter fraud led to Bush gaining enough votes to retain his criminal hold on the White House.

And let's not forget who loves good ol' George W. Bush...

A really good Ned Lamont video

I really enjoy this video. It's no major occasion, just Ned speaking to the Stamford DTC meeting last week, along with Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, candidates Diane Farrell (3rd District) and Mary Glassman (Lt. Governor), Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, and a galaxy of local stars.

Ned looked very much at ease and seemed to be enjoying the energy in the room. It's a longish video at about 7:30, but it goes faster than you'd think. And if you watch closely, you can see when my headphone cable catches on the camera and almost knocks the entire tripod and camera over (which would have sucked).

Make a game of it. Try and guess when it'll happen. It's fun!

Votes For and Against Torture

Read it and weep. There is so much to say about this travesty, but for the moment, let the votes speak for themselves. Simply put, a yay vote is FOR torture (or the GWB amnesty act, making the torture that has already been carried out a do-over "never mind" issue). ** indicates a D seat being voted on this year.

YEAs ---65
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Allen (R-VA)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Burr (R-NC)
**Carper (D-DE)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
DeWine (R-OH)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Frist (R-TN)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
**Lieberman (D-CT)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
**Menendez (D-NJ)
Murkowski (R-AK)
**Nelson (D-FL)
**Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)Santorum (R-PA)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Specter (R-PA)
**Stabenow (D-MI)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Talent (R-MO)
Thomas (R-WY)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)

Do these D Senators deserve your vote? Let us know in the comments

NAYs ---34
**Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
**Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
**Byrd (D-WV)
**Cantwell (D-WA)
Chafee (R-RI) -- (the only R to vote nay, up for re-election)
**Clinton (D-NY)
**Conrad (D-ND)
**Dayton (D-MN)
Dodd (D-CT) at least we have one!
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
**Feinstein (D-CA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
**Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
**Kohl (D-WI)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
**Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Wyden (D-OR)

Gerstein credits Lamont's web supporters

How are you supposed to trash a guy when he's saying such nice things about you?

From Paul Bass in the New Haven Independent:

Gerstein said the Lamont crew "did a brilliant job of using technology to build a support base and organize a campaign" in the primary. The campaign benefited from its own and a nationwide crop of independent blogs, from e-mail fund-raising and volunteer-drafting efforts, as well as from a general Internet buzz that catapulted a political unknown into a contender against an internationally recognized three-term incumbent.

"Ten years from now it will probably be looked at as a model for how campaigns will be run," Gerstein predicted. Soon, he said, voters will receive get-out-to-the-polls text messages on their cell phones on election day.

Damn.

I was getting all set to be riled up, ready to respond to the inevitable slagging that Dan was gonna give us, and here he goes saying something like that.

What's a blogger with a bad attitude to do?

OK Dan, you get a pass today.

Don't get used to it. I'm sure you'll say something really stupid, I'll get pissed off and slam you for it, and balance will be restored to the universe.

The way it ought to be.

Poll Smoking

This Q-Poll is really blowing smoke. (h/t to "The Daily Show")

I try not to pay much attention to the polls. There's way too much variation between polls taken days apart, or even days before an election.

Here's what the Q-poll said just FIVE DAYS before the Primary:

August 3, 2006 - Lamont Leads Lieberman 54 - 41.

In Dem Primary, Quinnipiac University Connecticut Poll Finds; Malloy Gains Some Ground In Governor's; Primary Momentum for Ned Lamont, the anti-war Connecticut U.S. Senate candidate, increases as he rolls to a 54 - 41 percent lead over incumbent Sen. Joseph Lieberman among likely Democratic primary voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Of course, Lamont did win the primary, but by a margin of less than 4 points.

In other words, the Q-Poll was off by 10 points only five days before the election.

The moral is, don't take this stuff too seriously. 10 points more than five WEEKS before the election means absolutely nothing (except it might help Joe's crew become lazy and over confident, which is a good thing).

You KNOW there's a lot less than 10 points difference between the candidate.

"Joe Lieberman's Day Off"

When Joe skips votes in Congress, his absence is noticed. Based on one of the greatest movies of the 1980s.

Ned Lamont makes his point. Repeatedly.

OK, I'm willing to assume that most reporters are intelligent, attentive, and conscientious people who do the very best job of which they're capable.

I just don't know how many of them were at Naples Pizza today.

By my rough count while watching the raw video footage of the talk, the Q&A, and the sidewalk questions, Ned was asked at least 14 times if he supported either an immediate pullout of Iraq or an absolute, unchangable July 1st, 2007 deadline, as Joe Lieberman interprets the Kerry-Feingold Amendment; which was voted upon and defeated months ago.

Ned patiently explained his position. Over and over.

I'm getting the impression that a reporter doesn't think a question is valid unless he or she is the one asking it.

I don't know if I'll ever get used to hanging out with these people.

So, after hearing the same question repeated ad nauseum, I was ready to clunk a few of the reporters heads together like The Three Stooges.

Sheesh. I was SO upset and frustrated at the redundant, insipid questions that I needed to calm myself with a tasty lunch at an Indian restaurant.

And Branford Boy was buying.

(OK, I wasn't that upset...I was just hungry; thanks Kelly!)

Anyway, here's the video. Enjoy.

(And somebody tell Mark Davis that I was just kidding)

Lieberman Hurts Murphy, Farrell and Courtney

While we wait for CTBob's video of Ned from this afternoon, here's an update on how Lieberman is hurting our Dem challengers for Congress in this front page article by Jeff Kurz from Sunday's Meriden Record-Journal

...Democrat Diane Farrell hopes to unseat U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays in the 4th District; Christopher S. Murphy challenges Rep. Nancy L. Johnson in the 5th; Joseph Courtney seeks to unseat Rep. Robert Simmons in the 2nd. These races are all opportunities as Democrats try to win a majority in at least one side of Congress in the mid-term elections. Democrats must gain 15 seats in the House on Nov. 7 to win control. Had Lieberman bowed out after his primary defeat, Lamont likely would have cruised to a win in the general election; Republican Alan Schlesinger has failed to gain the support of even his own party. Then Democrats could have focused resources on the congressional challenges and New Haven Mayor John De Stefano’s bid to unseat Gov. M Jodi Rell. As it is, those races continue to share just a sliver of the media spotlight.

In the best of all possible cases — and this is where Joe Lieberman is hurting Democrats — if Joe had done the right thing and bowed out, Ned would be alone and Democrats could focus on the congressional races,” said George Jepsen, Lamont’s campaign chairman and former state party chairman. “So Joe’s running as an independent is an opportunity lost,” he said. “We’re not getting that opportunity. A lot of the money, time and effort that will go to the senate race would go to the congressionals."

Which all explains why Joe's new party is Connecticut for Lieberman (I'm sure Lieberman for Connecticut never crossed his mind) -- it's all about him and what he can get and how he can hold on to power. Now have you had enough? Vote for Ned Lamont, and give as generously as you can to our other Democratic challengers.

Ned's roundtable at Naples

We're back where it all started. Naples Pizza in New Haven.

Ned delivered his response to Joe Lieberman's "Stay The Course" speech today in an unique and open roundtable style. I videotaped the entire event, and hope to have edited highlights online later this evening.

That's my little camera tucked into the tiny spot between all the big dogs (CNN, WTNH, WFSB, NBC30, etc.) and my mic was on a little tripod off to the right of the others.

I guess I'm going to have to make one of those will microphone signs, so when I place the mic right in front of Ned, all the TV cameras will see "Connecticutbob.com"! (Photo by Tim Tagaris)

It's the Knights Who Say "NI(E)"!

"NIE!" Ah, a Monty Python reference. That might be a first for this blog.

I think the look on Joe Lieberman's face when he saw the National Intelligence Estimate report on Iraq was identical to King Arthur's above.

This morning I'm sure Joe's "major speech" on Iraq has been going through frenzied, last-minute rewrites since the NIE came out. He has an 11:45AM deadline, since that's when he says he'll give the speech.

Funny, although his campaign has said they'd make the speech available in advance, I haven't seen hide nor hair of it.

"Ahh, he said 'IT!'"

UPDATE: Joe finally released his speech to the media, according to this article in the Hartford Courant online posted at 11:26AM, entitled, "Lieberman Says Troop Pullout Timelines 'Doomed To Fail'"

Way to go, Joe. Stay that course until your "daddy" tells you to do otherwise.

A letter to Joe

On the eve of Senator Lieberman's semi-ballyhooed "major speech" on Iraq, the National Intelligence Estimate report is purported to contain significant evidence that our nation has been made LESS SAFE because of the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

I repeat: We're LESS SAFE because of Bush and Lieberman's senseless war! And Lieberman DOES own responsibility, because of his continued support of the war. It's one thing if he voted for it and then realized it was a mistake and spoke out against it.

It's quite another to be a relentless apologist for Bush's failed presidency and sucking up to the warmongers.

There's no way to soften this conclusion, regardless of whatever Joe Lieberman says in his carefully prepared and focus-group tested speech.

And somebody please tell my why the headline on Joe's calendar entry say this:

Event - Joe delivers a major speech on the future of Iraq.

But the description of the event says: Senator Lieberman has been proud to stand up for Connecticut's veterans and be a voice for them in Washington for the past 18 years. Please come and show your support for him by enlisting in Vets for Joe and standing with him as he delivers an important speech on the future of Iraq and America's mission there.

To me, it looks like Joe is deliberately confusing the veteran's issues with the ongoing war in Iraq.

Here's a newsflash for ya, Joe - We can ALL see through your bullshit!

Your current War in Iraq has absolutely NOTHING to do with veteran's issues. Stop attempting to fool people into thinking that being against the War equates to being against veteran's issues.

The voters in this state are NOT that stupid, regardless of your adviser's thoughts on the value of "low-information voters" (read: stupid people will vote for Joe).

Today Ned Lamont wrote a letter to Joe Lieberman that contains this statement:

Let me put this news in terms that you can clearly understand: Our own intelligence agencies now confirm that the Iraq War is undermining America’s security and credibility at our nation’s peril.

Is THAT plain enough for ya, Joe?

In case you haven't, please read the complete "Letter to Joe" on the official Ned Lamont Blog.

"Crashing the Gate" now in paperback

You've put it off long enough. I know how easy it is to pass on buying a hardcover book. I'm cheap, too.

(But I did buy one; and for full retail, even!)

Now you don't have ANY excuse not to buy the book that fueled the Progressive Revolution!

Right now "Crashing the Gate" is available from Chelsea Green Publishing for a 20% discount (click on link to order or learn more). It only costs a smidgen over ten bucks! You know you want it.

Plus, you get this fine bumper sticker below, "Progressives Haul Ass". Wear it proudly on your car or on your ass; it's a great way to piss off the Neo-Cons!

And here's an added bonus: If you order a book right now, you can watch this exclusive interview below of Jerome and Markos recorded in New Haven the day after Ned Lamont's stunning showing at the State Democratic Convention!

(Well, I guess you can watch it even if you don't buy the book, but you'll feel guilty, so just buy the book. You'll feel better about yourself and you'll erase some of that awful karma you have leftover from the time years ago that you voted for Joe Lieberman.)

Too Many Deaths: 2.973 Americans x2

From ABC News:

Not for the first time, war that was started to answer death has resulted in at least as much death for the country that was first attacked, quite apart from the higher numbers of enemy and civilians killed.

On Friday night, the Pentagon announced another death of a soldier, bringing the Afghanistan/Iraq death total to 2,974. And, to make that even more tragic, 34% of today's soldiers are from the lowest income families, with only 17% from the wealthiest -- so unlike WWII when there was a 25% from the lowest and highest income families.

"Calling in Sick"

This one is awesome!

The newest Ned Lamont radio ad is available here by clicking on this link.

You can't blame Joe for wanting a day off once in a while. Which of us hasn't tried some of these lame excuses on occasion?

Problem is, we're not US Senators. And we did't miss 400 votes in 3 1/2 years.

Joe doesn't care WHERE his money comes from!

Mel Sembler, Republican fundraiser and child-torturer, has been enlisted by Joe Lieberman to help him raise Republican bucks.

From Lindsay Beyerstein in this article at Fire Dog Lake:

This week, Joe Lieberman enlisted a Republican operative with a background in brainwashing and a problem with a penis pump.

Mel Sembler is a former RNC finance chairman and the chair Scooter Libby’s legal defense fund. The Florida real estate tycoon calls Dick Cheney a close friend. No doubt the bond between Sembler and the VP is strengthened by an optimism about the potential for torture to solve problems. If anything Sembler is even more optimistic than Cheney–he believes that torture can cure diseases like addiction.

Any principled Democrat would recoil from Sembler, but it gets worse. Sembler is also a self-styled drug treatment entrepreneur who founded Straight, Incorporated, a residential drug treatment program for teenagers.

Between 1976 and 1993, thousands of youth were routinely subjected to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse as part of Straight’s "confrontational" approach to treatment. Some inmates were held for years against their will. The program has been sued dozens of times for brutalizing inmates and some staff members faced criminal charges for their role in the abuse.

Sembler founded Straight after a congressional investigation determined that the last detox program he oversaw, The Seed, was using mind-control tactics similar to those used by North Koreans during the Cold War.

The Seed was a mind-control cult, but it was positively benign compared to Straight.

Forget the jokes about the "penis pump"; just read this whole article at Fire Dog Lake.

The Story Joe Lieberman doesn't want you to read

OK, this is starting to get a little ridiculous. Don't ask what possessed me to do this.

The truth be told, this article is worth a read. As we've stated below, this cuts straight through the usual media bullshit and goes to the heart of the story. I only wish that all reporting was as honest and hard-hitting as Ken Cain's.

Click on this working link to go to the actual article itself. Or go out an buy a copy; it's on newstands NOW. And if you actually buy the magazine, you'll get all my great fashion tips.

Either way, you win.

The Mary Glassman Interview

Here's the video of my 3 minute interview with Mary right before the start of the Stamford DTC meeting the other night. She's the candidate for Lt. Governor on the ticket with New Haven Mayor John DeStefano.

The "Lieberman Virus" spreads

Apparently there is a serious outbreak of a new computer virus across the Internet, known as the "Lieberman Virus". The latest victim is the website of Minnesota Republican Mark Kennedy. (Click on any image to enlarge it)

From the official Ned Lamont blog:

The front page of Republican Senate candidate Mark Kennedy’s (MN) website now reads … actually, just visit it. You’ll have to wait for some photos to load, but it takes you to a single message from Kennedy’s campaign manager accusing the Klobuchar campaign of compromising the security of their website. Of course, they point out they are certain one page is safe … the contribution page. How funny.

Gotta hand it to the Republican Party; when they see a campaign strategy that works, they waste no time replicating it.

How’s that hack investiation going, btw? What a positive campaign based on the issues… be proud. Very proud.

The best part is, if you click on the link to Kennedy's website above and quickly hit the Stop button, it catches it before it redirects from the original webpage. I captured the code below, and there is an obvious line edited into it from their web designer, which says this:

"...remove refresh when kennedy wants to get site back"!

By the way, this isn't hidden/secret information; ANYONE can view the webpage code of anything that appears on their browser. All you do is click "View" and "Source" or "Page Source" (in Internet Explorer or Firefox, anyway...I don't know about other browsers). Here's an actual screen cap of their website code:

And just to show what they consider too secret to show you, here's a screen cap of their regular webpage:

There's no doubt this is something that Kennedy's campaign did to their own website, on purpose, and then blamed their opposition for it. A detailed overview of the controversy is located on the DFL Senate Blog.

Gee, can you think of anybody else who might stoop to that level?

We Need a Businessman in Washington to Stop This

I am a home care nurse. We deal with the elderly, many of whom are poor, and they are wondering how they are going to get through this winter, paying for medicine, food, and heat for their homes.

Here's an answer from Congress in an e-mail I received today:

From September 22, 2006 through September 30, 2006, a brief hold will be placed on Medicare payments for all claims. These payment delays are mandated by section 5203 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. No interest will be accrued and no late penalties will be paid to an entity or individual by reason of this one-time hold on payments. All claims held during this time will be paid on October 2, 2006. Please note, however, that contractors handling large volumes of paper checks may have some difficulty putting all checks in the mail in a single day. Consequently, delivery of checks to providers may take a few extra days.

So, how will many smaller, non-profit home care agencies, who serve these poor folks, and operate on the edge financially as reimbursements continue to drop (how much more did it just cost in gasoline for nurses to visit their patients this summer?) -- survive with no money for nine days? How will payroll be made? It's not only nurses -- home health aides who help people with hygiene so they can stay at home often live paycheck to paycheck. And, this is for ALL Medicare providers -- clinics, hospitals, doctors -- EVERYBODY! How in God's name could the Congress allow this to happen?

As Joe Lieberman wrote in his book, ("In Praise of Public Life" page 21):

"Of course I'm not saying that our political system should not sometimes be shaken up through the election of a new kind of leader, like Jesse Ventura in our time, or that it should not be open to the fresh perspective of someone from an entirely different proffession, a person who has been successful, say, in business..."

That's the answer, ladies and gentlemen -- vote for a successful businessman to work for US and not his big-money Republican contributors.

Stop the insanity and stop putting the bill on the backs of those with the fewest resources. Elect a successful businessman who knows how to balance a budget, who knows how to support a payroll, and who knows how to help small businesses make health coverage available to workers without going bankrupt. Elect Ned Lamont.

The Diane Farrell interview

Here's the video of my 2 minute interview with Diane right before the start of the Stamford DTC meeting last night. She's in an important battle against Republican (and Bush cheerleader) Chris Shays in the 4th Congressional District.

State to audit new voting machines

A new development in the ongoing story of the new Diebold Optical Scanning voting machines occurred today when Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz's office issued the following press release:

From the Office of Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz
Thursday, September 21, 2006

SECRETARY BYSIEWICZ ANNOUNCES RANDOM AUDITS TO BE PERFORMED FOLLOWING ELECTIONS TO ENSURE RELIABILITY OF NEW VOTING MACHINES

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said today that her office and the University of Connecticut’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering will perform random audits following the November 7th election in cities and towns using optical scan voting technology in place of lever machines. The audits will be done to examine how the machines worked and to ensure the reliability of Connecticut’s voting technology.

Secretary Bysiewicz said her office will work with UConn Computer Science Professor Alexander Shvartsman, whose department this year formed a partnership with the Office of the Secretary of the State to assist in certification and acceptance testing of the new voting technology, as well as the citizens’ group TrueVoteCT. These audits will be performed randomly in the twenty-five (25) Connecticut towns that will begin using the optical scan voting machines in place of lever machines this year.

“We are very grateful to TrueVoteCT and UConn for their guidance and expertise. These random audits will ensure that we are using funds wisely to purchase equipment that is reliable and accurate,” Secretary Bysiewicz said. “These audits are also a means for assuring Connecticut voters that each of their votes will be counted properly and that we will continue our tradition in the state of fair, secure elections.”

Dr. Shvartsman, who directs UConn’s efforts in this partnership, said, “Random audits will play a critical role in allowing the state to ensure accurate and secure elections. We look forward to our work with the Secretary’s staff and members of TrueVoteCT to develop procedures that provide necessary safeguards.”

Michael Fischer of TrueVoteCT said, "One of the recommendations that we have made for the responsible use of computerized voting technology is that the correct operation of the equipment on Election Day be verified through suitably designed random audit procedures. We are delighted that Secretary Bysiewicz is taking the initiative in establishing audit procedures for the new optical scan equipment in the upcoming November election."

Christina Spiesel, a board member for TrueVoteCT, added, ‘All over the country people are expressing grave concerns about new voting technologies. Connecticut can set the example for the nation about how to go about ensuring a secure election where everyone's vote is counted. I am very happy to see Secretary Bysiewicz exerting leadership in the proper use of these new technologies."

There's no denying that Connecticut will have to migrate to new voting technology, but it is encouraging to see that proper steps are being taken to ensure the reliability of the machines.

For background on this story, you can read about my previous articles:

September 7th (original post with video)
September 13th
September 17th
September 18th

A great night to be a Democrat

Last night I decided nearly last-minute to attend the Stamford DTC meeting, a decision that was made significantly easier when I heard who was going to be there.

Candidate for Representative in the 4th District Diane Farrell. She graciously agreed to a brief interview before the speeches, as did Mary Glassman, on what was a very busy night for the candidates. If you haven't heard Diane speak, I recommend you go to her website and find out where she's appearing.

Of course, Ned was there, and his remarks were greeted by cheers and wild applause.

Mary Glassman, candidate for Lt. Governor, was warmly received by the crowd. She was introduced with real warmth by Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, her former running mate for Governor. Visit the DeStefano For Governor website.

State Comptroller Nancy Wyman and Dan Malloy share a light moment.

I shot an hour of video, and it will take a few days to edit it and get the speeches online, but take my word for it...

It was a great night to be a Democrat.

Fashion plates we're not!

Journalist Ken Cain wrote a great article in GQ on the campaign, featuring a mention of Spazeboy and myself.

Unfortunately, as Spazeboy said, they somehow left out this photograph of the two of us, taken at Sullivan's in New Haven around the August primary.

Great job, Ken. Don't worry, I understand. I know you had to edit out the photo because of all your excessive wordiness.

Everyone, please forward the article to everyone you know. For the first time, a member of the Mainstream Media has accurately documented the thuggish tactics and dirty tricks of the Lieberman campaign.

Fun Stuff Today!

Kirby here and proud to say that our very own CTBob and Spazeboy are now men of GQ! If you haven't read the article on the primary campaign between Lieberman and Lamont,here it is. If you want a quick and easy way to send this to your friends and family, click here. And here's updated commentary on the NYTimes political blog about Lieberman and Danger!Stein lying about talking to Al Sharpton.

WE NEED YOUR VOTE -- before November. Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriot's Fund is having a vote to see which Senate challenger they will support with fundraising. Click here and make Ned the winner! You can easily send family and friends the message to vote for Ned here.

Ned's campaign has set a new goal for fundraising by the end of the month, which is the end of the reporting period. Here's what Ned said about financial support for his campaign:

There's another subject I'd like to address in this email: Why am I asking for your small-dollar contributions when I've enjoyed so much success as a small-business guy? It's a fair question. First of all, it's not about the dollar amount ... it's about your voice.

Since May, Senator Lieberman's campaign has attempted to label me as someone trying to buy a Senate seat. But he willfully ignores the tens of thousands of small dollar contributions we've received from retirees, students and the working men and women of America. Your contribution helps us to fight back against their line of attack. More importantly,it signals your desire to change the course from the status quo in Washington D.C. and in Iraq.

That's why your $15, $25 and $50 contributions are so important. Will you add your voice to hundreds of others today?

You can click here to contribute through the campaign site, or better yet, donate through our sailboat on the right side of this page. To invite friends and family to get on board, click here.

Malkin is shocked that terrorists held without due process!

This isn't what you might think.

In what may be the greatest display of unintentional irony that the blogosphere has ever witnessed, shrill right-wing conservative harpie pundit Michelle Malkin discusses the inexcusable actions of the government's policy on terrorists.

Of course, it's not George Bush's government that she's talking about. She is outraged "because three convicted Christian terrorists in Indonesia are going to be executed despite -- in Michelle's words -- "grave doubts raised over the fairness of the trial.""

Hmmm....who would be capable of doing something like THAT?

Via DailyKOS, From this post by Glenn Greenwald on his blog:

According to the article to which Michelle linked, the complaint is that the Terrorists "were convicted by a trial riddled with illegalities, like witnesses who were not listened to and evidence that was rejected by the court." Wow -- a trial where the witnesses are not listened to and improper evidence was used. What kind of country would convict someone of terrorism using procedures like that? And what kind of disgusting barbarians would be opposed to having "the International Criminal Court in Geneva," pursuant to an international "human rights convention," demand greater legal protections for terrorists?

Christ, I'm laughing so hard right now I think I may have ruptured my spleen!

Like Glenn said, this post writes itself. Click on the link above to read it in all it's delicious glory.

CT for Lieberman Says it ALL

It takes me a while to boil, but I am now seriously pissed off. And I want you to help spread the word that Joe Lieberman is not missing the votes out of the goodness of his heart, as his blog would lead you to believe.

Take today’s latest attack from Ned and his non-stop negative campaign, in which he again lashed out at Joe Lieberman for missing votes while the Senator was out trying to help get Al Gore elected in 2000, while he was running for president in 2003-04 to defeat George Bush and change the country’s direction, and while he was with his family following the death of his mother last year.

Don't you just love how he was trying to help Al Gore get elected in 2000? Well, they forget to mention that Joe would have been VP. He was campaigning for Joe. To raise his political status. And not do his job for Connecticut's citizens who elected him.

And, uh, he was running for president to beat Bush and change the country's direction, eh? Nothing in it for him, right? Bullshit. Joe's political ambitions have always trumped any service he has provided to the citizens of Connecticut. Bob Dole resigned from the Senate to run for president. Bill Frist is doing the same.

We are sorry Joe lost his mother, and the only reason I am including that here is so that you have the paragraph in full context, rather than picking and choosing as others might do.

No, where Joe Lieberman is concerned, he always does what's best for Joe -- even deserting his job -- representing the people of CT to feather his own nest. Has anyone asked him if he were, by some accident of the universe, to be re-elected -- if he would serve his entire term in the Senate? Does anyone seriously think he is not eyeing 2008? Get a load of this and note that Lanny Davis got up in Colin's face during an interview last week in his passionate defense of Joe.

Local House candidates to speak at UConn

The UCONN Law School Democrats are proud to announce that Lex Paulson, (at left) candidate for State Representative in District 142 (West Norwalk), and Derek Donnelly, candidate for State Representative in District 61 (Suffield), will be joining us to discuss their campaigns on Wednesday, September 20th at 12:15 in Janet M. Blumberg Hall. All are invited and welcome!

Lex, a 3L at the law school, and Derek, a recent graduate, will be discussing their campaigns to unseat entrenched incumbents, issues facing the state, and the experience of running for office as law students. They will also be taking questions from the audience.

Please join us on Wednesday, September 20th at 12:15 in Janet M. Blumberg Hall to meet the candidates!

Submitted by Gabe Rosenberg, Co-Chair, UCONN Law School Democrats

Lieberman lied about Medicare Vote

In 2003 Joe Lieberman spoke in strong terms about his opposition to the Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act.

This is the act that is widely criticized for creating the Medicare "donut hole", in which seniors get benefits up to $2,250 for the year, and then they stop. Seniors must THEN pay the next $2,850 OUT OF POCKET before their benefits kick back in.

As a nation, isn't it tragic that we don't take care of our elders?

How many seniors on fixed income have that kind of cash available to them? Their choices are to sell off whatever possessions they have, or to go without their medications. They're not going to pay for their medications by getting a job as a "greeter" at Wal-mart.

Joe Lieberman made a big thing out of his opposition to the act, and even promised to vote against it in this press release the day of the vote. Here's the Senator's own words:

"I cannot and will not vote for this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same."

Nice grandstanding there, Senator. But wait until you see what really happened. Just look at the Senate Voting Record for that bill, and see where Joe actually fit in:

"[...]
Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Levin (D-MI), Nay
Lieberman (D-CT), Not Voting
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
[...]"

Just in case you didn't look at the link to Lieberman's press release above, here is the very first line of the statement:

"WASHINGTON - Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) today cast his vote against the Medicare prescription drug bill conference report, charging the President and Republican Congressional leadership with manipulating the bipartisan compromise reached in the Senate in June and inserting provisions that would weaken Medicare and harm America's seniors."

Rather than correct this falsehood, Lieberman allowed it to stand, and he continues to propagate this ruse on unsuspecting seniors who believe him when he says he voted AGAINST the bill.

Rather than use his "leadership" to force a closer vote and perhaps prevent the bill from passing, Lieberman couldn't even be there to cast a vote. Is this what Joe is talking about when he squawks about his "leadership"?

Tell me Senator, why should ANYONE believe ANYTHING you say?

NARAL dumps Rell, backs DeStefano

From ConnecticutBLOG earlier today:

Gov. Rell's decision to support Catholic hospital's refusal to provide the Plan B pill to rape victims results in her losing the support of a major wonen's group.

Traditionally, a leading abortion rights group would endorse a socially tolerant, female governor who supports abortion rights and who is leading in the most prominent poll by 32 percentage points. In fact, the NARAL political action committee endorsed Republican M. Jodi Rell when she ran for lieutenant governor and for the state legislature.

But this year is different.

On Friday, the group endorsed New Haven Mayor John DeStefano after expressing disappointment in Rell and her running mate, former state Rep. Michael Fedele of Stamford.

In one of the most controversial issues at the state Capitol this year, Rell opposed forcing Catholic hospitals to provide emergency contraception to rape victims. The Catholic hospitals opposed a bill to change state law, saying their religious beliefs would be compromised if all state hospitals were required to provide the morning-after contraceptive pill that is known as Plan B. Despite approval by the budget-writing appropriations committee, the full House and Senate never voted on the bill.

(CTBob: And let's never forget that longtime Lieberman toady State House Speaker James Amann blasted the lawmakers who showed more concern for women's health issues than for scoring points with Catholics)

Rell's position on Plan B was a critical factor in causing her to lose NARAL's endorsement.

"That caused us a lot of concern because that was our priority issue this year," said Carolyn Treiss, NARAL's executive director. "She wasn't there for us."

Now if only NARAL will do something about their stupid continued support of conservative-pandering Samual Alito-non-preventing so-called moderate and soon-to-be-former Senator Joe Lieberman.

Woo-hoooo!

Let's Go Mets! The New York Mets just clinched the NL East crown! Woo-hoooo!

And now back to your regularly scheduled blog.

Joe's place on the ballot

Some people call Lieberman a "third-party" candidate.

But according to Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, Joe Lieberman's single-person occupancy "Connecticut For Lieberman" Party will appear on the FIFTH line of the ballot, beneath the "Concerned Citizen's Party" candidate Timothy Knibbs and "Green Party" candidate Ralph Ferrucci. (...and I may be the only blog on the planet to mention those candidates!)

So, technically Joe isn't a "third party candidate".

He's a FIFTH PARTY CANDIDATE.

But, he can always claim that he finished in "a three way tie for third PARTY."

Diebold "security" update

OK, now I'm sure they're just messing with me!

From a post at Freedom To Tinker, via DailyKos:

The access panel door on a Diebold AccuVote-TS voting machine — the door that protects the memory card that stores the votes, and is the main barrier to the injection of a virus — can be opened with a standard key that is widely available on the Internet.

Chris Tengi, a technical staff member, asked to look at the key that came with the voting machine. He noticed an alphanumeric code printed on the key, and remarked that he had a key at home with the same code on it. The next day he brought in his key and sure enough it opened the voting machine.

This seemed like a freakish coincidence — until we learned how common these keys are.

Chris’s key was left over from a previous job, maybe fifteen years ago. He said the key had opened either a file cabinet or the access panel on an old VAX computer. A little research revealed that the exact same key is used widely in office furniture, electronic equipment, jukeboxes, and hotel minibars. It’s a standard part, and like most standard parts it’s easily purchased on the Internet. We bought several keys from an office furniture key shop — they open the voting machine too. We ordered another key on eBay from a jukebox supply shop. The keys can be purchased from many online merchants.

Now, this refers to the Diebold Touch Screen voting machine, not the Optical Scanning machines that Connecticut is going to get. I've already shown how those can be opened via this post.

In a way, I can understand the reasoning behind this. The Diebold sales and technical staffs have been criss-crossing the nation peddling these machines. They often stay in the finer hotels. Designing a voting machine that uses the identical key to their suite's mini-bar can be very useful in avoiding an unpleasant billing situation when they check out in the morning.

But the idea that a fucking mini-bar key can open up a voting machine and make it available for hacking is completely outrageous! Jesus, if they made ATM machines 1% as easy to hack, there'd be no bank anywhere that would use them.

"You're all so mean to me!"

In an AP article in yesterday's Hartford Courant, Joe Lieberman accuses Democrats of going beyond normal politics, and that they are basically mean people who don't like him.

I guess Joe Lieberman is now going after the "whiney mama's boy" vote.

Joe, here's a clue - we don't really hate you. Just your politics.

We hate the way you support Bush's policies, especially with respect to the war in Iraq.

You know what troubled me throughout this is the number of people that I found...who approach politics with an emotion that really comes close to hate," he said. "They don't just disagree with the other side. They hate the other side."

"Waa-waa-waa! They're being mean to me!" Joe, the reason emotions run so high is because we are 100% convinced that you are dead wrong about these major issues, and the fact that you refuse to consider that you might be wrong is infuriating.

In the meantime, every single day Americans are being slaughtered in a war we can't "win", and our nation is inching closer to economic ruin. What you perceive as hatred is actually anger at your complete abdication of responsibility to the good of the nation.

"The fact that Lamont was making a big deal out of the fact that George Bush gave me a hug after one State of the Union speech, you know maybe we'd better in this country if there was more hugging and less hating," he said. "I mean it."

You have GOT to be kidding me!

Joe, have you gone completely round the bend? Hugging isn't going to solve the problems facing us.

We need good leadership. We need a senator who considers the "common good" over his desire to reach "common ground" with the Republicans. We need someone who will stand up to George Bush and his ruinous and corrupt policies.

There's nothing partisen about wanting our nation to regain the high moral ground we've lost due to Bush's failure to lead us. There's nothing partisen about wanting sane and effective leadership. And there's certainly nothing partisen about wanting to see us become a stronger and safer nation.

Not a single thing about our foreign policy has enabled us to come any closer to achieving those goals.

Hugs ain't gonna cut it, Joe. You want to hug the President? Do it on your own time; there's a war that needs to be ended and you're worrying about hugs.

You think there's too much "hatred" in politics? Funny, it didn't bother you 18 years ago when you mocked and teased Senator Weicker about him missing some votes. Suddenly, it's become a hateful thing to make fun of someone for stuff like that. Someone who has MISSED MORE VOTES than Weicker in the same 7 year time frame.

We don't hate you, Joe. Not at all.

We just want you to go away.

Bush celebrates "Constitution Day"...

...in his own special way.

For details on what "Constitution Day" really stands for, read the preceeding article by Kirby.

Constitution Day

Sunday, September 17 is Constitution Day. All public schools must address this amazing document in curriculum, as of last year. Perhaps we can send Bush, Cheney, Gonzalez, Myers, et al to the DC public schools this week to review the Constitution they clearly skipped in school themselves.

Here are some great educational sites:

C-SPAN has a 16 minute video accessible from their home page.
The National Archives has an "interactive" Constitution page.
National Constitution Center has a number of resources, including lesson plans for teachers and one online exhibit that caught my eye --

What is the difference between "separation of powers" and "popular sovereignty"? Visit Basic Governing Principles and learn about the central governing theories that form the basis of the U.S. Constitution

Justice Learning for analysis and discussion.
Hug your Constitution today -- we must protect it at all costs.

Weekend Videos

Videos on a Saturday night -- sounds good to me! Pop up the popcorn, and dig in. First, a big hat tip to Connecticut's own Amazing Spazeboy, who covered the College Democrats meeting at the University of Hartford this afternoon -- he's got full speeches by Joe Courtney (CT-2nd) and Chris Murphy (CT-5th)Democratic state office holders were there, too.

For all you baseball fans, be sure to check out Ned's new ad

And, finally, NOW from PBS aired a program on political blogging last night; you can see it online with Web extras here

More on the new voting machines

I'm following up on the new Diebold (pronounced "DEE-bald" not "DIE-bold", although I do continue to pronounce it that way because I'm a phonetic dogmatist) optical scan technology which is to be implemented in 25 Connececticut towns and cities (link for list) for the November election, and throughout the state in 2007.

I've been going through Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz's press releases about the new technology, and there is something a little odd about them. I'll admit that I haven't perused each and every one of them, but the five or six I've read didn't mention the name "Diebold" even once. She refers to LHS Associates, the company that is selling the optical scanning machines, and IVS LLC which sells the machine for people with disabilities.

But nowhere is any mention made of Diebold.

Sure, there are links to the company websites at the very end of SOME press releases, and if you go to them they have detailed information on the Diebold machines easily available. But it's an unnecessary extra step that shouldn't be required to find out the manufacturer of the machines.

I'm not sure how the State normally deals with dispensing information about how their contracts are awarded, but wouldn't it be considered "press release-worthy" information to mention the name of the manufacturer of a single machine type that is essentially the entire budget of a $15 million state contract?

I'm also going to pursue information about the security testing of the system at the UConn Computer Sciences department. I found details of the study via TrueVoteCT, which is a non-partisian group of Connecticut voters dedicated to bringing accessible and verifiable voting to Connecticut. I'll try to contact the people running the testing and see what sort of results they're getting.

BlackBoxVoting.Org has a detailed report on the hackability of these machines, with step-by-step illustrated instructions on how to open the machines and replace/hack/copy the memory cards without breaking the official security seal on the unit.

More to come next week. This is an ongoing story.

Article 3

Since the Bush administration, Gonzales, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest believe that Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions is hopelessly confusing, I thought I would post it so you folks can help us come up with a way to explain it to them.

Article 3

In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:

1. Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

(b) Taking of hostages;

(c) Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment;

(d) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

2. The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.

An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict.

The Parties to the conflict should further endeavour to bring into force, by means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of the present Convention.

The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal status of the Parties to the conflict.

What is so confusing????? What's Joe's latest take on this? And, what did he think about this before this evening? Who's he aligning with -- McCain or Bush? Decisions, decisions....

Joe and the big F.U.

"F.U." stands for "Fairfield University".

But in Joe Lieberman's case, it might also be what he is saying to the handicapped by parking in a clearly marked handicapped parking space this morning.

Apparently Joe has caught a case of George Bush's "Above-the-law-itis".

Dear God, Senator, have you no shame? (photo from LamontBlog.)

UPDATE: Of course, those evil lefty photoshoppers are getting in on the act. Here's a photo on DailyKos's comments.

"Liar, Liar..."

...and you know the rest.

This is an exclusive image of Dan Gerstain's pants after he made a public statement about Ned Lamont. Sources say that his pants sponteneously combusted due to the explosive pressure of his outrageous lies.

Watch and see. (h/t to Scarce)

New Rasmussen poll?

This just in, and I can't verify it's accuracy, but I'm putting it up anyway, (h/t to *xyz) from a post over at DailyKos:

Rasmussen has just come out with a new poll behind the subscription wall, but since these polls are put out there i figure it`s ok to give the results.

Rasmussen has this race a dead heat

LIEBERMAN 45
LAMONT 43

Now all other polls show Lieberman with a double digit lead so it`s a question who to believe. I think Rasmussen has a pretty good record with state polls.

Joe's "war of words"

Joe Lieberman is flailing about like a landed flounder, desperately trying to find anything that will stick to Ned's campaign.

It just looks sad.

In the same week that Joe says Ned is going "negative", Lieberman's campaign has launched personal attacks against Ned's wife, Ned's personal finances, and Ned's experience as a volunteer teacher.

In the same time period, Ned Lamont has outlined his national security policy, put forward an educational proposal (pdf), and pointed out Sen. Lieberman's miserable voting record.

He hasn't gone after his opponent's personal finances, or his family, or his volunteer experience (wait, does he have any?). (h/t to LamontBlog)

Not to mention Dan Gerstain's incessant use of mocking names like "The Nedster", "The Full Lamonty" and "Lamonsters" when referring to Ned and his campaign. It's unseemly for a sitting US Senator to allow that sort of language on his official website.

Joe is starting to look pathetic. Which begs the question:

"What kind of legacy is Lieberman going to leave behind when he's gone?"

As a senator of 18 years who led a somewhat distinguished career?

Or as an obsolete hack who overstayed his usefulness, and whose final appearance on the national stage was that of a self-serving career politico who just couldn't let it go?

Is that how you want the nation to remember you, Joe?

Where IS Joe Lieberman?

Jimmy, I only wish I knew.

I can tell you where Joe Lieberman AIN'T most of the time.

He AIN'T in the Senate during critical votes about the war in Iraq.

OK, well, he IS there occasionally. But since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he AIN'T been there over HALF THE TIME!

Out of 61 bills related to the conduct of the war, Joe hasn't been able to bring himself into the Senate chambers to cast his VOTE on 31 of them.

Think about that for a minute. Our nation is involved in the single most costly foreign policy situation in our history, and Joe can't even make it into work half the time!

Well, Joe doesn't vote often, but YOU can vote just one time and make a difference.

November 7th.

Make THAT vote count!

(graphic updated and properly Photoshopped by imajoebob)

Nancy Johnson feeds the Fear Machine

The Republican Fear Machine is grinding out more untruths.

This morning while watching the Channel 8 news, a Nancy Johnson commercial appeared. I watched it with disbelief...how stupid does she think people are? Apparently she's trying to tap into that vast reservoir of "low-information voters" that former Lieberman campaign operative Sean Smith was referring to.

Here's the text of the ad:

A call is placed from New York to a known terrorist in Pakistan. A terrorist plot may be unfolding. Should the government intercept that call, or wait until the paperwork is filed? Nancy Johnson says act immediately, lives may be at stake.

Fair enough. Of course we should act immediately. We don't want this guy to get away. So far I'm following you, Nancy.

Liberal Chris Murphy says No, apply for a court warrant even if valuable time is lost.

Here is where Nancy misleads the people. The FISA law clearly states that the government can tap communications between a person in the United States and a foreign nation for up to 72 hours before applying for an order to continue surveillance.

In the entire time the law has been in effect, there have been only FOUR instances of the order being denied, out of THOUSANDS. If you show up with a tape that has a known terrorist in Pakistan on it, your application WILL be approved.

Immediately.

Everybody needs to remember that the REASON the Bush administration DOESN'T want any oversight on surveillance is so they can watch ANYONE they want! Something tells me it ain't just the big bad terrists they're keeping an eye on!

Smarten up, Nancy....stop with the LIES.

Support Chris Murphy for Congress, Democrat in the 5th District.

UPDATE: The anti-Nancy blog No More Nancy has an even MORE detailed deconstruction of the ad. It's "Must See TV!".

And you can watch Nancy Johnson's vile ad in it's entirety right here.

List of towns with new voting machines

Today Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz's office released the final list of 25 towns and cities that will utilize the new optical voting machines that I discussed in this post from last week.

Below is the list, with the number of registered voters; the complete press release can be found on this link to the Secretary of State's official website.

I looked at a few of the links that some of you posted in response to my article linked above, and I admit that it is fairly easy to gain access to the inside of the machine without breaking the official seal. Whether or not this means it can be hacked isn't certain, but it does underscore the necessity of having a percentage of ballots manually counted and checked against the results the machine reports.

Ashford 2,800
Bethlehem 2,700
Bolton 5,200
Durham 4,900
East Hartford 25,000
East Haven 15,000
East Lyme 11,200
Hartford (4 precincts) 46,000
Litchfield 6,100
Mansfield 10,000
Middletown 24,000
Monroe 12,500
Montville 9,300
Newington 18,500
Newtown 15,500
Old Lyme 5,800
Salisbury 2,900
Southington 26,700
South Windsor 15,500
Tolland 9,400
Vernon 16,000
Westbrook 4,200
Wethersfield 17,500
Wilton 11,200
Wolcott 10,300

TOTAL 328,000