Night of the unendorsed
Democracy for Cincinnati, the political organization made up mostly of local supporters of Howard Dean's 2004 presidential bid, invited all the statewide Democratic candidates to show up at their forum in Clifton Wednesday - but only the underdogs showed up.
The Democrats who spoke to about 30 Deaniacs last night were among the ones who will go into the May 2 primary season without an endorsement from the Ohio Democratic Party - candidates like Subodh Chandra, the former Cleveland law director running for Ohio attorney general; Hugh Quill, the Montgomery County treasurer seeking a promotion from the voters to state treasurer; and Bryan Flannery, the former state representative from Lakewood (and Notre Dame football player) who is running an uphill battle against Ted Strickland for the gubernatorial nomination.
On hand, too, was Bob Fitrakis, Columbus lawyer/talk show host/journalist/political science teacher who is the Green Party's candidate for governor, who thrilled the conspiracy buffs in the crowd with his contention that Republicans stole the presidential election in Ohio for George W. Bush.
Strickland didn't show, although he sent his wife Frances, an educational psychiatrist. Neither did State Sen. Marc Dann, the party-endorsed candidate for attorney general; nor Richard Cordray, the party's favorite for state treasurer.
The Deaniacs didn't seem to miss them a bit.
Chandra lit up the crowd with a rousing stump speech in which he filleted practically every Republican in the statehouse, starting with Gov. Bob Taft, Attorney General Jim Petro and the woman he is licking his chops in anticipation of facing this fall, Betty Montgomery.
Chandra said that as the father of two-year-old triplet boys, he is often sleep-deprived and prone to "bad dreams'' when he does get in a few winks.
"I've had this strange dream - a nightmare really - that there was this big Republican campaign contributor who managed to get his hands on $50 million that was meant for Ohio's injured workers and invested it in rare coins and beanie babies.'' Then, he said, he dreamed that Petro and Montgomery, as attorney general and state auditor, ignored the disaster.
"Guess what?,'' he said. "This wasn't a dream. It really happened.''
Chandra, a second-generation Indian, led the audience in an exercise in how to pronounce his name: "Subodh" (rhymes with "abode"), "Chandra (rhymes with "tundra); and told them that they shouldn't feel that "a person who looks like me and who has a name like mine can't be elected.''
"For people who think that, I have two words,'' Chandra said. "Barack Obama.''
Quill talked of his experience as Montgomery County treasurer and how he enraged bankers in Dayton by opening up the process of investing county funds to competitive bidding.
"They thought they had a right to have that money because they did nice things for the community and because they were the home town banks,'' Quill said. "but I was looking for the best deal for the taxpayers.''
After Chandra talked about his triplet boys, Flannery worked his kids - a 2-year-old boy and a five-year-old daughter - into his stump speech, which was largely about the need to reform Ohio's school funding system.
Flannery said that before his daughter was born, he had told his wife that he wanted to see "the school funding mess solved before our daughter goes to school.''
"Well, our daughter will go to school in the fall and it's still not fixed.''
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Post a Comment*Second generation AMERICAN?
Second generation AAMERICAN of Indian descent?
"On hand, too, was Bob Fitrakis, Columbus lawyer/talk show host/journalist/political science teacher who is the Green Party's candidate for governor, who thrilled the conspiracy buffs in the crowd with his contention that Republicans stole the presidential election in Ohio for George W. Bush."
He's also an international election observer who saw things in Ohio that were far worse than what he saw in Ecuador. He wrote a book on the 2004 stolen election, which caused Congressman John Conyers to write his report "What went wrong in Ohio".
He's not a conspiracy buff, he's a real journalist that actually went out a collected facts. Take a lesson.
Besides Chandra, The Deaniacs would have also loved another non-endorsed candidate from Cleveland -- Judge Peter Sikora, who is running for Ohio Supreme Court after 17 years on the Cuyahoga bench.
Peter is a very bright former legal eagle for Gov. Dick Celeste and is opposed in the Dem primary by ODP-endorsed ex-State Sen. Ben Espy of Columbus,who adds minority diversity to the ticket. (Guess Chandra wasn't diverse enough.)
Peter is living proof that a couageous person with a physical disability (and a wheel chair) can be a judicial success in a big urban setting.
The reality is that the Cincinnati Enquirer failed it's most basic duty as the fourth estate when they failed to investigate the bogus terror alert used by Warren County officials to prevent independent observation of the vote tabulation on Nov. 2, 2004. A scoop that literally fell into their laps when their reporter was denied access. This preplanned and duplicitous action was and wholly without merit as an elementary school withing 100 yards of the Board of Elections in Lebanon was not informed.
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/11/05/loc_warrenvote05.html
Warren's vote tally walled off
Alone in Ohio, officials cited homeland security
Citing concerns about potential terrorism, Warren County officials locked down the county administration building on election night and blocked anyone from observing the vote count as the nation awaited Ohio's returns.
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/11/10/loc_warrenvote10.html
Warren Co. defends lockdown decision
FBI denies warning officials of any special threat
Officials at the FBI, which oversees anti-terrorism activities in southern Ohio, said they received no information about a terror threat in Warren County.
"Conspiracy" versus "Coincidence"
PAUL HACKET’S RACE – QUESTIONS ASKED BUT NOT ANSWERED
Hackett’s race raised disturbing questions that nobody here asked (that I’m aware):
From: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0508/S00186.htm
“Here are some questions closer to home, questions the Cincinnati press chose not to ask:
Hackett’s percentage by precinct group size:
46.9% in precincts under 100 votes
43.5% in precincts of 100-200 votes
39.6% in precincts of 200-300 votes
34.6% in precincts of 300 + votes
These results raise interesting questions. Why does Hackett do much better in the smaller precincts? Are they more rural than the larger precincts? If so, does this not present a counterintuitive pattern, with the Democrat taking some of the conservative, less populated areas and the Republican winning all of the precincts in the most populated areas?”
Here is what it looks like when it’s graphed: Hackett can’t win a precinct in Clermont above 200 votes.
http://www.geocities.com/electionmodel/DUClermontRegression_30750_image001.png
It’s interesting that there was no difference in turnout across precincts despite the size.
Here is a graphic representation of that even turnout:
http://www.geocities.com/electionmodel/DUClermontRegression_7442_image001.png
There was some funny stuff on election day. With Hackett leading and 91 precincts yet to count, the vote count was stopped in Clermont. It seems “humidity” prevented the last set of ballots to be counted from 91 Clermont precincts. Amazingly, as if by magic, Hackett’s lead evaporated and he lost the race.
Here are some more questions questions never asked by the Cincinnati press about that:
From: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0508/S00186.htm
“Questions not asked about the vote count stoppage.
The sudden stoppage of vote tabulation in Clermont was reminiscent of nearby Warren County’s Board of Elections citizen-media lockout during vote counting in 2004, which county officials claimed to be the result of a Homeland Security alert. There was no alert.
Was humidity the reason the optical scanning machine count stopped in Clermont, or was there some “intelligent design?” Humidity can impact the ability of optical scan counting machines to process paper ballots. It is not frequently reported and there are clear instructions providing easy remedies (e.g. air condition polling and tabulation facilities). The state of Louisiana made its 2003 RFP for voting machines contingent on tolerating a 98% humidity rate, for example. Air conditioning is reported to be widely available in Clermont County, as are dehumidifiers.
Why were 91 precincts impacted while 100 others were not in the same County?
Information about the locations of the humidity-impacted districts is unavailable. Was each of the 91 precincts without air conditioning? That would be a 48% rate of precincts exposed to conditions that the Board had to know could create problems. For them to announce problems with ballots due to humidity after the fact is remarkable. Certainly, they knew that humidity could be an issue. Just days before the special election there were extensive reports of a serious heat and humidity wave in the Cincinnati area. The regions largest newspaper, The Cincinnati Enquirer had been talking about the heat and humidity days before the election. Surely humidity on Election Day should have been taken into account.
Was there a one-to-one match between precincts with “humidified” ballots and precincts without air conditioning?
If so, why were nearly half of the precincts exposed to humidification? And if this is not so, if some of the 91 precincts with ballot problems due to humidity had air conditioning and some did not, how does the Board explain humidity problems in precincts with air conditioning?
Was Clermont the only part of the 2nd District that was affected by humidity that day and if so, why?
Clermont used optical scan paper ballots. Five other counties used punch card paper ballots, which have a similar or greater vulnerability to expansion or distortion due to humidity. There were no reports of problems in those five counties related to humidity. What is the critical variable that makes Clermont ballots vulnerable to distortion due to excessive moisture? Were precincts all air conditioned in the five counties that used punch card paper ballots? Was there something like an intense thermal inversion going on above the 91 precincts in Clermont County?
Why did the Board of Elections allow precincts to operate that lacked sufficient air conditioning to prevent humidity?
These questions need to be answered given the prior questions raised and documented about Clermont. The Board of Elections operates all year round. There is sufficient time to study manuals, attend vendor-sponsored retreats, and talk to nearby officials. Nearly half of the Clermont precincts had humidified ballots. A failure rate of nearly 50% is totally unacceptable performance for an election and offers the most unflattering commentary on those who are supposed to run it efficiently.”
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Who knows? Maybe someday someone able to get the answers will ask the questions.
Democracy for Cincinnati is to be applauded for hosting progressives outside the Democratic party. Bob Fitrakis, endorsed by the Green Party addresses issues important to Ohio such ending the war and bringing our national guard home to Ohio, and improving our economy and environment through "green trade".
He promised to form a rainbow coalition of Greens by creating an alliance of the Green Party faithful with independent progressive people of color. The Green Party offers a true alternative to the corporate influenced two party system. " We want to tell our children and grandchildren that we were the ones who fought for sustainability against the fossil fuel economy, we stood up and took to the streets over verifiable elections, and we promoted real solutions when faced with global warming."
Fitrakis lays out his plan by invoking what he terms the 3 E's of the Green Party Platform:
1. Enduring an Endless War-Fitrakis says it's time to challenge the military industrial complex. "This must be our final war for fossil fuels". The current policies have caused the proliferation of terrorists and has made the world much less stable. We must use compromise and respect for other cultures to bring stability to the world. He will demand the withdrawal of the Ohio National Guard from Iraq and that they be returned to Ohio soil. This war is about increasing the wealth of the President's cronies. It's time to bring our brave men and women home to serve where they are needed in our own state.
2. Economy-Fitrakis intends to emphasize the other side of free trade->fair trade. He will create new Ohio jobs by focusing on jobs of the future in "green trade". He promises no state contracts unless companies agree to livable wages and healthcare benefits for workers. It's time to end the pay to play corruption that permeates government.
3. Environment-We have the ability to make the state of Ohio a shining example for others to follow. We can act locally to influence the future of our planet. Ohio should promote wind and solar energy, geothermal technology and biomass fuels. We can develop cars that can achieve 100 miles per gallon. It is time to rebuild our infrastructure to support rail transportation to connect our cities. We can move our stagnant economy into the future while promoting a cleaner greener, environment.
Maybe we'll get a real reporter at the Enquirer one day, or better yet a real paper. These are legitimate questions.
Why hasn't the Enquirer reported on Stephanie Dumas's announcement that she's running for county commissioner? She's on the ballot, therefore it's news!
Keep up your selctive, racist and classist coverage and you'll be looking at a story about a boycott!
The sad reality is that the only newspaper in Ohio doing any investigative reporting is the Toledo Blade. Surely it's not a Gannett vs. Knight Ridder issue. Here is an example of a guest editorial in a Gannett owned newspaper that isn't afraid to speak truth to power about things that matter. The Cincinnati Enquirer fiddles while the US burns literally.
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060304/OPINION/603040305/1014
U.S. mustn't forget about openness and honesty
snip
Inexorably, the sound of silence is spreading throughout the federal government.
At NASA, political appointees have been interfering with what the agency's scientists — including James Hansen, a leading authority on global warming — can say in lectures, online presentations and press interviews. A review of those guidelines is promised.
Meanwhile, officials at the Environmental Protection Agency continue to insist on screening all contacts with the press by its scientists.
Not even speech as a private citizen escapes the watchful eye of officials.
For example, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs last fall launched an investigation into whether criticism of the administration in a VA nurse's letter to a weekly newspaper in Albuquerque was an act of sedition.
If there are any doubts about the administration's hard-line stance on government-employee speech, its brief in a case before the Supreme Court should dispel them. The case, Garcetti vs. Ceballos, presents the question of whether the First Amendment protects job-related speech, even when it is a matter of public concern. The solicitor general, on behalf of the United States, argues that it does not.
Ironically, while government officials suppress speech and punish criticism by others, they are greatly expanding the boundaries of their own speech.
snip
The Government Accountability Office reported last week that in two and a half years, seven agencies spent $1.6 billion on media and advertising, including government-produced video news releases that both the GAO and Congress labeled "covert propaganda."
These developments, combined with aggressive tactics for withholding information from Congress, the courts, scholars, historians, the press and the people, represent a sea change in the information policies that have sustained and vitalized our democracy for more than two centuries.
This new climate of fear and intimidation is discouraging the very words that drive democratic decision-making in the right direction.
The authors of these policies appear to have thought neither long nor hard about the long-term consequences of such policies. The implications for good government and democracy, as well as the First Amendment, are profound.
A strategy of withholding, manipulating and distorting information to control and defeat our enemies works also to mislead and control allies and citizens alike.
Moreover, we are careening dangerously toward an information environment that not only punishes dissenters and critics but those who are insufficiently laudatory.
As a nation, we should not gaze wistfully toward the tactics of tyrannies and terrorists as a possible model for our own information policies.
To do so would plunge us into a deplorable mistrust of honesty and openness as a way of winning the hearts and minds of our enemies, not to mention the trust and support of our citizenry.
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