DeLaWho? DeLaWhat? DeLaWhere?

From CBC.ca

U.S security czar to step down
Last Updated Tue, 30 Nov 2004 14:54:26 EST

WASHINGTON - Tom Ridge has announced he is stepping down as secretary of U.S. homeland security.

His resignation follows similar moves by a number of senior members of the Bush administration. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Attorney General John Ashcroft and Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman have confirmed that they will be stepping down.


* FROM NOV. 15, 2004: U.S. secretary of state stepping down



The 59-year-old Ridge, a former governor of Pennsylvania, was named homeland security adviser in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Homeland Security Department was created in 2002 by merging 180,000 employees from 22 federal agencies with the aim of better co-ordinating government resources to further prevent attacks.

Ridge became the department's first secretary in January 2003.

The department was known for implementing a colour-coded security advisory system. Warnings – severe, high, elevated, guarded and low – were issued to the public based on the perceived risk of a terrorist attack.

Ridge presided over six national "orange alerts" (high risk) out of concern that an attack may have been coming.

Some criticized the effectiveness of the warnings, accusing Ridge of using them in the months leading up to the election to boost support for Bush. Ridge denied the accusations, saying, "We don't do politics in the Department of Homeland Security.

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From NY Times

President of N.A.A.C.P. Is Stepping Down
By MARIA NEWMAN

he president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Kweisi Mfume, said today that he was stepping down as head of the nation's oldest and largest civil rights group.

Mr. Mfume, 56, a former congressman from Baltimore who became the N.A.A.C.P.'s president in 1996, said he wanted to spend more time with his family.

"I just need a break," he said at a televised news conference in Baltimore. "I need a vacation. I'm just not going to do anything for a while."

The group's legal counsel, Dennis Hayes, will serve as interim president while the organization conducts a national search for replacement for Mr. Mfume, who is to depart on Jan. 1.

Mr. Mfume took over the organization at a time when it was saddled with a $3.2 million debt. He brought fiscal stability by running the operation with a corporate style of management and laying off some staff to save money.

"For the last nine years, I've had what I believe is both the honor and the privilege to help revive and to help restore this great organization," Mr. Mfume said at the news conference.

"In my heart of hearts, I know the job has been done, and I step aside willingly," he said.

Mr. Mfume's resignation comes at a time when the N.A.A.C.P. is facing a review by the Internal Revenue Service that its executives say is politically motivated because of the group's chilly relationship with President Bush.

Mr. Bush declined to speak at the last four N.A.A.C.P. annual conventions. White House officials said the president had scheduling conflicts this year when the group was meeting in Philadelphia. But they also cited "hostile political comments" about Mr. Bush from N.A.A.C.P. leaders in recent years as the main reason he decided not to attend.

In a letter dated Oct. 8, the I.R.S. told the association it was reviewing its tax-exempt status, citing a speech given by its chairman, Julian Bond, at its Philadelphia convention.

In the letter, the I.R.S. said it had received information that Mr. Bond conveyed "statements in opposition of George W. Bush for the office of presidency" and specifically that he had "condemned the administration policies of George W. Bush in education, the economy and the war in Iraq."

The letter reminded the association that tax-exempt organizations are legally barred from supporting or opposing any candidate for elective office.

Mr. Bond's speech on July 11 included a long section that sharply criticized the Republican Party, Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for their positions on an array of issues important to black Americans.

In an interview with The New York Times last month, Mr. Bond defended his remarks, saying they focused on policy, not politics.

"This is an attempt to silence the N.A.A.C.P. on the very eve of a presidential election," he said. "We are best known for registering and turning out large numbers of African-American voters. Clearly, someone in the I.R.S. doesn't want that to happen."

Hens' national title hopes alive
A-10 co-champs' clutch win virtually assures playoff berth
By DOUG LESMERISES / The News Journal
11/21/2004NEWARK -- Villanova had been vanquished, a place in the NCAA Division I-AA football playoffs all but assured, so as 22,045 University of Delaware fans streamed out of Delaware Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the air was filled with ...

"Trepidation," said Hockessin's Stewart Wiggins, a loyal fan who still doesn't know what to think about this year's team.

The Blue Hens completed an 8-3 regular season with a 41-35 victory over Villanova and claimed a share of the Atlantic 10 conference title. The selection of the 16-team playoff field will be announced at 1 p.m. today, and it would be an absolute shock if Delaware weren't awarded an at-large berth. There's a good chance that the Blue Hens will host a first-round game Saturday. If they do, tickets will go on sale Monday.

Story from ESPN.com

5 hunters dead after Wis. treestand dispute

By Joshua Freed
Associated Press — Nov. 22, 2004

BIRCHWOOD, Wis. — A dispute among deer hunters over a tree stand in northwestern Wisconsin erupted Sunday in a series of shootings that left five people dead and three others injured, officials said.

Jake Hodgkinson, a deputy at the county jail, identified the suspect as Chai Vang but would give no additional details.

Several news organizations in Minneapolis-St. Paul reported the suspect was 36 years old and from St. Paul.

The incident happened when two hunters were returning to their rural cabin on private land in Sawyer County and saw the suspect in one of their tree stands, County Chief Deputy Tim Zeigle said. A confrontation and shooting followed.

It's not known who shot first, Zeigle said.

Both men were wounded and one of them radioed back to the cabin. Other hunters responded and were shot, he said. Some of the victims may have shot back at the suspect, Zeigle said.

The suspect was "sniping" at the victims with a SKS assault-style rifle, Zeigle said. He was "chasing after them and killing them," he said.

The dead included four males, including a teen-age boy, and a woman, Zeigle said. The man who radioed for help was not fatally wounded. Some of the victims were shot more than once.

All five were dead when officers arrived, he said.

Authorities found two bodies near each other and the other three were scattered around the area, which is near Town of Meteor in southwestern Sawyer County. Two people who stayed in the cabin emerged safely after the shootings.

The suspect, who did not have a compass, got lost in the woods and two other hunters, not knowing the man was being sought in the shootings, helped him find his way out, Zeigle said.

When he emerged from the woods, a Department of Natural Resources officer recognized the deer license on his back, given to police by a victim, Zeigle said.

The man was out of bullets when they arrested him, Zeigle said.

As many people may already know, Pacers players Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, and Jermaine O'Neal were given lengthy suspensions for their roles in the brawl in Detroit on Friday night. I actually saw the brawl live, after I woke up from a long nap after an academic sprint towards Thanksgiving break. As the events unfolded on Friday night, I was stunned. Stunned by the behavior of the fans and the behavior of the players, the entire situation seemed surreal. It is always said that a few bad apples ruin it for the entire group. Their were more than a few bad apples in that crowd at Detroit. While Artest's reaction was a bit rash, the behavior of the fans was inexcusable. While Artest and Jackson deserved their suspensions, O'Neal received a harsh punishment. The two other players attacked fans in the stands, O'Neal attacked the morons that came on the court. It's one thing for players to go into the stands, but for the fans to approach players on the court...they were asking for it. All three players, while they deserve their punishments, have very strong cases to file grievances with the NBA and the city of Detroit. Their exit should have been safe and protected from the chairs, bottles, and cups that were being thrown their way. You can't blame the players for everything...there has to be a way to punish the Detroit Pistons organization and the Detroit Pistons fans. Make them play 3 home games without paying fans or something. I have heard people talking about bringing up charges on the players...do you really think that they will be convicted? Bottomline: the Detroit fans played a huge role in the brawl and they as a group should be punished. Just because you pay 300 dollars for courtside tickets, it doesnt mean that you can throw beer and racial insults at players.

Via Boing Boing: A Directory of Truly Wonderful Things:
"DJ Danger Mouse came to fame when he remixed the Beatles' "White Album" with Jay-Z's "Black Album" and called the result the "Grey Album." EMI, who hold the Beatles' copyright, went nuts and threatened to sue anyone who hosted the MP3s. This led to Downhill Battle's Grey Tuesday protest.

The album is stone brilliant. It's at the top of my iTunes playlists and it's what I put on whenever I need a boost. It's made me dig out the White Album again and listen to it with fresh ears. I think it's the most important album of the 21st Century (to date, at least).

Now someone has made a video for one of the Grey Album tracks, "Encore," in which black and white Beatles footage (I'm guessing "A Hard Day's Night") and desaturated footage from a Jay-Z performance are artfully combined with new footage and CGI (Ringo scratching! John breakdancing!) to make one of the funniest, coolest, and most illegal music videos I've ever seen. Go download it now before the lawsuits start. Link"

Here is a post from a delawhere blog Political Tracker showcasing this conservative's ignorance and simplistic thinking with respect to rap and hip-hop culture...this stuff sort of gets under my skin...

Rapper involved in stabbing....

Associated Press: Police Seeking G-Unit Rapper Young Buck

Some rapper named 'Young Buck' stabbed a guy at the Vibe awards last night for puncing 'Doctor Dre'. What a great culture the whole rap world is. I sure hope my kids look up to people like this.




MORE...



Posted by: Ryan on Nov 17, 04 | 6:54 am | Profile


COMMENTS

People killing eachother at the Vibe Awards--who would have thunk it? Worth remembering that there are plenty of degenerates in all genres of music--although I never saw Liberace stab Elton John.

Posted by: Ken on Nov 17, 04 | 9:43 am


"What a great culture the whole rap world is."

Its not the whole thing...I agree it cant be coincidence that Rap award shows often end up in brawls, which is both sad, and ass kickingly funny, but theres plenty of more level headed, smart artists out there.....think Mos Def, Talib Kwali, Outkast, Roots, etc...

Posted by: Neil on Nov 17, 04 | 12:15 pm


Who, Neil?

The problem is, save for Outkast, those artists are not celebrated by the Hip Hop community and condones violence as a legitimate expression.

the Vibe awards, last year, was subject to violence in case anyone forgot

Posted by: Bryan on Nov 17, 04 | 2:14 pm


who, what? I gave at least four examples there...

and without getting too deep into the hip hop thing...These groups like 50 cent, G-Unit, and all this half assed gangsta stuff is not what i'd put under the title of hip hop...Hip hip was born as a culture, a way of life, through music, dance, etc...and in it's inception was "a uniter, not a divider", kinda like Dubya. The artist's i listed above are certainly celebrated acts...they just dont play on MTV 12 times an hour. Truth is, the Media and Radio and MTV is just as responsible for the negative image associated with rap music. The majority of rap today, in my opinion, is junk. Cant stand it. But as long as there is a Black Star, a Mos Def, and Outkast, Roots, Dialated peoples, Black eyed peas, common, etc you have a pool of rap arrtisits who come from a positive outlook, and quite frankly, are more talented and alot easier to listen to. They just dont get the exposure they deserve from the garbage pushers on Radio and TV...(save outkast and the Peas)

Posted by: Neil on Nov 17, 04 | 2:43 pm


I've got XM radio and I listen to like 90% of the music channels. Rock, Country, Jazz, Blues, Latin, Reggae, Classical, Techno, you name it and I listen to it. The only channels that never get used on my XM are the 'urban' genre.

Maybe there are a few groups out there who are worth a listen but in general this type of music is not worth my time.

The point I'm trying to make (in a tired, rambling way) is that these people do not have an exceptional talent, and they are not exceptional members of society; so why does popular culture revolve around them?


Posted by: Ryan on Nov 17, 04 | 3:43 pm


"these people do not have an exceptional talent, and they are not exceptional members of society"

i agree that element exists, no question. I'd just rather we dont lump all these folks together, as it isnt true for all of them by far...

Posted by: Neil on Nov 17, 04 | 3:45 pm


You're right Neil. That does paint them with a pretty broad brush. It just seems like in that industry; the worse your behavior is the more famous you are.

But it isn't much different from professional sports. If you're a total dick, don't know how to play as a team and tend to be at the scene of the big shooting on Friday night then you're most certainly a star. (Ahem, Iverson....)


Posted by: Ryan on Nov 17, 04 | 3:51 pm


It's sad that some people will completely disregard an art form whose origins are deeply rooted in social and political activism. Sure, there is an element of violence in rap music (admittedly some of it glorified), but it serves as an element of inner city life. As rap has become more pop, the socially conscious music has been left behind. Much of the hip-pop is watered down, just as pop country is watered down, pop rock is watered down. I feel sorry for those people who are so ignorant and lazy that they disregard an entire genre of music because it addresses issues that may shock them. Open your eyes and your ears to a life outside of your "white" one...Listen to the Fugees "the Score"...it talks about violence, selling drugs, and hustling...but it also talks about how to avoid those lifestyle choices. Look past the harsh words and you can see the fear, anger, and frustrations of life in the city. there is more to music than the limited one that you are experiencing through your XM radio. make the effort, go out and buy reflection eternal "train of thought" or common "Like Water for Chocolate". In case you are too lazy to do so...i will leave you with a verse from Common's "6th Sense":

Somedays I take the L to gel with the real world
Got on at 87th, stopped by this little girl
She recited raps, I forgot where they was from
In 'em, she was saying how she made brothers cum
I start thinking, how many souls hip-hop has affected
How many dead folks this art resurrected
How many nations this culture connected
Who am I to judge one's perspective?
Though some of that shit y'all pop true it, I ain't relating
If I don't like it, I don't like it, that don't mean that I'm hating
I just want to innovate and stimulate minds
Travel the world and penetrate the times
Escape through rhythms in search of peace and wisdom
Raps are smoke signals letting the streets know I'm with 'em
For now I appreciate this moment in time
Ball players and actors be knowing my rhymes,

Posted by: Ivan on Nov 17, 04 | 9:39 pm

As many of you probably have heard, Colin Powell has stepped down as Secretary of State and Condi Rice will most likely recieve the nomination to replace him. Now, while there are much more far reaching implications concerning these events, her nomination makes me wonder what Aaron McGruder will do with his comic strip The Boondocks. Just last year, I believe, McGruder attacked Rice with this strip


Much controversy (1 , 2, 3, 4) erupted over the fact that the Washington Post decided not to run the strip. Who knows what Rice's new position will bring her way. TIme will only tell.

Where's the faith in the grand supreme leader?

Powell and Three Others Leaving Cabinet

Nov 15, 12:45 PM (ET)

By GEORGE GEDDA and DEB RIECHMANN

WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Colin Powell and three other Cabinet members have resigned, it was disclosed Monday, escalating the shake-up of President Bush's second-term team. Senior administration officials said national security adviser Condoleezza Rice was most likely to succeed Powell.

Powell's resignation, submitted last Friday, was confirmed Monday, as were those of three others - Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and Education Secretary Rod Paige.

With the resignations earlier of Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, the departures of six of 15 Cabinet members have been revealed. The musical-chairs act assured Bush a significant Cabinet face-lift with his second inauguration over two months away.

"I believe that now that the election is over, the time has come for me to step down," Powell, 67, wrote the president.

Uh Oh Dirt Dog....Taking a cue from Logan's Lurch...Let us honor one of the most unique voices in the hip-hop world.

You have to root for Bush because its like the Special Olympics...Come on Buddy....You can do it...Come on

For about two and a half years, I have stated that I would move to Canada if Bush was re-elected. I would feel ashamed to a citizen of a country dominated by a population of uninformed and easily decieved persons. I did not want to be associated with that much stupidity. After the election results became clear yesterday, my first action was not looking for apartments in Toronto, Edmonton, or Montreal. My first response was one of surprise, astonishment, disappointment, emptiness, some might say a mini depression. While I am still recovering from those emotions, I have never once thought about Canada. (This is not saying that Canada is a bad place- in fact, Canada is a beautiful country whose beauty is only supplemented by widespread hockey fever.) In no way did Bush recieve a mandate from the results of this election. The people spoke and Bush squeeked it out by around a 3 percent margin. I am aware that it was not as close as expected, but it wasnt a landslide. In the next four years, I hope that our country succeeds, and I hope that the partisan lines are crossed for the good of our country. But, I know in 2008, I want to be here in the US to make a difference...to change the general direction that our country is going in. If I were to move to Canada I would not be able to make that difference with a vote. The United States, fortunately and unfortunately, is the dominant world power and we all have the priviledge to be United States citizens. If I want to help make changes in the way our country is growing, I have to be here to do it. I am not alone in my disappointment with the election results. 48 million people voted with me...thats a hell of a posse.

Arlen Specter is quite the wise man.

Specter warns Bush on high court nominations
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA -- The Republican expected to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee next year bluntly warned newly re-elected President Bush today against putting forth Supreme Court nominees who would seek to overturn abortion rights or are otherwise too conservative to win confirmation.

Sen. Arlen Specter, fresh from winning a fifth term in Pennsylvania, also said the current Supreme Court now lacks legal "giants" on the bench.

"When you talk about judges who would change the right of a woman to choose, overturn Roe v. Wade, I think that is unlikely," Specter said, referring to the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

"The president is well aware of what happened, when a bunch of his nominees were sent up, with the filibuster," Specter added, referring to Senate Democrats' success over the past four years in blocking the confirmation of many of Bush's conservative judicial picks. "... And I would expect the president to be mindful of the considerations which I am mentioning."

With at least three Supreme Court justices rumored to be eyeing retirement, including ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Specter, 74, would have broad authority to reshape the nation's highest court. He would have wide latitude to schedule hearings, call for votes and make the process as easy or as hard as he wants.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., expressed confidence Wednesday that Bush will have more success his second term in winning the confirmation of his judicial nominees.

"I'm very confident that now we've gone from 51 seats to 55 seats, we will be able to overturn this what has become customary filibuster of judicial nominees," Frist said in Orlando, Fla.

Legal scholar Dennis Hutchinson said Specter's message to the White House appears to be "a way of asserting his authority" as he prepares to chair the Judiciary Committee when Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is term-limited from keeping the post next year.

"What he may be trying to do is say, 'Don't just think that I'm going to process what you send through. I have standards, I'm going to take an independent look, you have to deal with me,'" said Hutchinson, a law professor at the University of Chicago.

When asked Wednesday about Specter's impending chairmanship, another Republican on the panel, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, did not offer a ringing endorsement.

"We'll have to see where he stands," said Cornyn, a close friend of Bush who worked to get all of the president's nominees through the Senate. "I'm hoping that he will stand behind the president's nominees. I'm intending to sit down and discuss with him how things are going to work. We want to know what he's going do and how things are going to work."

While Specter is a loyal Republican -- Bush endorsed him in a tight Pennsylvania GOP primary -- he routinely crosses party lines to pass legislation and counts a Democrat, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, as one of his closest friends.

A self-proclaimed moderate, he helped kill President Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court and of Jeff Sessions to a federal judgeship. Specter called both nominees too extreme on civil rights issues. Sessions later became a Republican senator from Alabama and now sits on the Judiciary Committee with Specter.

Despite a bruising challenge from conservatives this year in Pennsylvania's GOP primary, Specter won re-election Tuesday by an 11-point margin by appealing to moderate Republicans and ticket-splitting Democrats, even as Pennsylvania chose Democrat John Kerry over Bush.

A former district attorney, Specter also bemoaned what he called the lack of any current justices comparable to legal heavyweights like Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louis Brandeis, Benjamin Cardozo and Thurgood Marshall, "who were giants of the Supreme Court."

"With all due respect to the (current) U.S. Supreme Court, we don't have one," he said.

Though he refused to describe the political leanings of the high court, Specter said he "would characterize myself as moderate; I'm in the political swim. I would look for justices who would interpret the Constitution, as Cardozo has said, reflecting the values of the people."

Living Poor, Voting Rich
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

In the aftermath of this civil war that our nation has just fought, one result is clear: the Democratic Party's first priority should be to reconnect with the American heartland.

I'm writing this on tenterhooks on Tuesday, without knowing the election results. But whether John Kerry's supporters are now celebrating or seeking asylum abroad, they should be feeling wretched about the millions of farmers, factory workers and waitresses who ended up voting - utterly against their own interests - for Republican candidates.

One of the Republican Party's major successes over the last few decades has been to persuade many of the working poor to vote for tax breaks for billionaires. Democrats are still effective on bread-and-butter issues like health care, but they come across in much of America as arrogant and out of touch the moment the discussion shifts to values.

"On values, they are really noncompetitive in the heartland," noted Mike Johanns, a Republican who is governor of Nebraska. "This kind of elitist, Eastern approach to the party is just devastating in the Midwest and Western states. It's very difficult for senatorial, Congressional and even local candidates to survive."

In the summer, I was home - too briefly - in Yamhill, Ore., a rural, working-class area where most people would benefit from Democratic policies on taxes and health care. But many of those people disdain Democrats as elitists who empathize with spotted owls rather than loggers.

One problem is the yuppification of the Democratic Party. Thomas Frank, author of the best political book of the year, "What's the Matter With Kansas: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America," says that Democratic leaders have been so eager to win over suburban professionals that they have lost touch with blue-collar America.

"There is a very upper-middle-class flavor to liberalism, and that's just bound to rub average people the wrong way," Mr. Frank said. He notes that Republicans have used "culturally powerful but content-free issues" to connect to ordinary voters.

To put it another way, Democrats peddle issues, and Republicans sell values. Consider the four G's: God, guns, gays and grizzlies.

One-third of Americans are evangelical Christians, and many of them perceive Democrats as often contemptuous of their faith. And, frankly, they're often right. Some evangelicals take revenge by smiting Democratic candidates.

Then we have guns, which are such an emotive issue that Idaho's Democratic candidate for the Senate two years ago, Alan Blinken, felt obliged to declare that he owned 24 guns "and I use them all." He still lost.

As for gays, that's a rare wedge issue that Democrats have managed to neutralize in part, along with abortion. Most Americans disapprove of gay marriage but do support some kind of civil unions (just as they oppose "partial birth" abortions but don't want teenage girls to die from coat-hanger abortions).

Finally, grizzlies - a metaphor for the way environmentalism is often perceived in the West as high-handed. When I visited Idaho, people were still enraged over a Clinton proposal to introduce 25 grizzly bears into the wild. It wasn't worth antagonizing most of Idaho over 25 bears.

"The Republicans are smarter," mused Oregon's governor, Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat. "They've created ... these social issues to get the public to stop looking at what's happening to them economically."

"What we once thought - that people would vote in their economic self-interest - is not true, and we Democrats haven't figured out how to deal with that."

Bill Clinton intuitively understood the challenge, and John Edwards seems to as well, perhaps because of their own working-class origins. But the party as a whole is mostly in denial.

To appeal to middle America, Democratic leaders don't need to carry guns to church services and shoot grizzlies on the way. But a starting point would be to shed their inhibitions about talking about faith, and to work more with religious groups.

Otherwise, the Democratic Party's efforts to improve the lives of working-class Americans in the long run will be blocked by the very people the Democrats aim to help.

Thank you to Logan's Lurch for all of his hard work during this campaign and for this well-written piece. After reading this, I feel it would better for me to just pass it on....

What to do next... The Spirit of Compassion
If this holds up, and it seems like all of the political machinations have it set up to do so, then we need to look deep into ourselves for something bigger than us. I don't want to talk about the President, his failings and his lack of understanding, they are well documented and we will most likely have him for four more years. I have a sense of dread, but its not for me. I am well educated and will find my way. But I feel for the poor soul without health care, without the ability to avoid the military as their way up the social ladder, without the ability to overcome what the deficit will do to them in terms of interest rates and mortgages... it's going to get worse. I don't know how to make it clear, fear and a belief that Bush is somehow spiritually surperior to his opponent, a belief which is simply conceit, does not make us a better nation. It makes us divided and given that we will be in Iraq for who knows how long, it is this fracture that makes me feel as if the worse could happen and the Left would walk away from the tough questions that only we seem to ask: How to be a better, more tolerant community? How to look into the face of our enemy and see the best rather than the worst? How to live with less so others may simply live?

But the elephant in the house is Iraq. How long can this go on? It is the worst of all worlds and I fear for my friends and sisters children who must grow up in a world where we are loathed and a Middle East where we are mired. It is too difficult to imagine that Bush will begin to do the right things in the world, but I have no faith in him whatsoever. If he is our president, I hope he proves me wrong and that the last four years was simply a four-year campaign.

Of course, this is faith and not compassion. To any of you who voted for Bush, ask yourself if you are willing to do the hard work of fixing Iraq, learning about the Arab world, thinking of what it means to think beyond the United States and will become a citizen of the world. To any of you who voted for Kerry think about where you live and who you know. Do not hate the Bush voter... hate only creates distance no matter how close you stand. Talk if they are willing to listen and listen if they are willing to talk. If I have one dissapointment about this campaign it was the way in which I felt that Bush only invited and listened to his supporters in rallies where dissent was systematically quashed and events designed around the inflammation of the passions. This was not the case at the Kerry rallies... dissenters were there and often protested. To me, compassion begins with listening. We, those who voted for Kerry, are not the terrorists. We may speak ill of the President and we have good reasons. Listen to us and I promise to listen. Without that promise kept we can never be better than we are now. We need to agree, if anything else, to be better than we are today.

Not so good news from NYT:

G.O.P. in Ohio Can Challenge Voters at Polls
By JAMES DAO and ADAM LIPTAK

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Tuesday, Nov. 2 - In a day of see-sawing court rulings, a Federal appeals court ruled early Tuesday morning that the Republican Party could place thousands of people inside polling places to challenge the eligibility of voters, a blow to Democrats who argued those challengers will intimidate minority voters.

The ruling, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in Cincinnati, reversed two lower courts that had blocked the challenges just a day before. It also came as squadrons of lawyers from both parties in Ohio and other swing states from Pennsylvania to Florida to New Mexico were preparing for Election Day skirmishes that will include using arcane laws that allow challenges at the polls.

The lawyer for a pair of Cincinnati civil rights activists who had challenged the Republican plans to challenge voters said he would appeal Tuesday morning's decision to the United State Supreme Court.

But it appeared likely that when Ohio polls open, the Republicans would be able to put 3,500 challengers inside polling places around the state. Democrats also planned to send more than 2,000 monitors to the polls, though they said those people would not challenge voters.

The cases may foreshadow lawsuits that are likely to be filed if the election is close in any state crucial to the Electoral College calculus. Lawyers for both sides are already examining disparities in election policies, nuances in court rulings and potential irregularities at polling places for material that may be used to challenge results in places where margins are paper thin.

The battle over Election Day challenges has been most intense in Ohio, not only because the race here is so close and so vital to President Bush and Senator John Kerry, but also because the Republican Party has announced larger and more aggressive plans to challenge voters here than in other states.

The Republicans contend that challenging - a practice that has been allowed under state law for decades but rarely used - will weed out fraud often missed by election workers. Democrats assert that the challenges would disproportionately single out low-income and minority voters, which Republicans deny.

In their separate rulings in the lower courts, Judge Susan J. Dlott of Federal District Court in Cincinnati and Judge John R. Adams in Akron agreed that procedures already existed to prevent fraud at the voting place. And they said aggressive, time-consuming challenges inside polling stations might create chaos and delays that could intimidate voters or rob them of the chance to vote.

In seeking the delicate balance between preventing fraud and upholding voting rights, the judges said, the scales should tip toward voting rights.

"Voter intimidation severely burdens the right to vote, and prevention of such intimidation is a compelling state interest," wrote Judge Dlott, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton. Judge Adams was appointed by President Bush.

Mark Weaver, counsel to the state's Republican Party, said: "The goal of the Ohio Republican Party is to guarantee a fair election for everyone. Each time the Democrats remove an additional safeguard, the potential for voter fraud increases."

Mr. Weaver argued that even if voters had been successfully challenged at the polls, they would have been allowed to cast provisional ballots, which are reviewed after Election Day to ensure that the voter is eligible. Democrats and many experts in election law say the rules for counting provisional ballots are varied and unclear, which could lead to valid ballots being rejected.

The Ohio Republicans have repeatedly argued that the Democratic Party and allied groups have engaged in widespread fraud. On Monday, they filed a motion in state court asserting that the Democrats and an independent group, America Coming Together, which supports Senator Kerry, have been contacting Republicans and giving them incorrect information about polling locations and other Election Day issues.

Democrats and the group denied the assertion.

either you a part of the problem
or part of the solution
what's your contribution to life
so many people complain, always talk about change yo
but what's your contribution to life
either you with or ain't with it, if it ain't broke don't fix it
yo what's your contribution to life
either you give or you take, make moves and you wait yo
but what's your contribution to life

Jurassic 5 "Contribution"

There is nothing more satisfying than slipping that ballot into the ballot box. It may not be the largest contribution, but it is a contribution for change none the less. Remember to vote or P.Diddy will Kill You. Hats off to Senor de Logan's Lurch for volunteering his time today. Wish I could do the same...but I have responsibilities to myself and my school work. Do as the Verger has done and vote.

Good News courtesy of the NYT:

Rebuffing G.O.P., 2 Judges Bar Challengers at Polls in Ohio

By TERENCE NEILAN

In a double blow to the Republicans on the final day of campaigning in the presidential race, two federal judges today barred challengers representing any political party from polling places in Ohio during Tuesday's election.

United States District Judge Susan J. Dlott in Cincinnati, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, found that the application of Ohio's statute allowing challengers at polling places was unconstitutional and that allowing any candidates other than election judges and other electors into the polling place would place "an undue burden upon voters" and impede their right to vote.

In a similar case, United States District Judge John R. Adams of Akron, who was appointed by the current President Bush, said poll workers should be the ones who determine if voters are eligible.

The rulings apply to all Ohio's 88 counties, a spokesman for Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, Carlo LoParo, told The Associated Press. Republicans promptly filed an appealed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which includes all of Ohio.

With the rulings, the two district-level judges made clear that they did not want partisan ballot challengers inside polling places, and that they believed that the disruption that such challenges would create outweighed any potential voting fraud, which Republicans have cited as the reason for the challengers.

Republican Party officials say the watchdog effort is necessary to guard against fraud arising from aggressive moves by the Democrats to register tens of thousands of new voters in Ohio, seen as one of the most pivotal battlegrounds in the presidential election.

The judges' findings were issued as President Bush and Senator John Kerry planned a last sweep for votes. Mr. Bush was traveling to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa and New Mexico, planning to end his day late in Dallas. Mr. Kerry, after an early morning appearance in Florida, was headed off to Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio.

Before the two contenders left on the last stages of their campaign, Judge Adams said in his finding: "In light of these extraordinary circumstances, the contentious nature of the imminent election, the court cannot and must not turn a blind eye to the substantial likelihood that significant harm will result not only to voters, but also to the voting process itself, if appointed challengers are permitted at the polls.''

Republican Party officials in Ohio took formal steps on Oct. 22 to place thousands of recruits inside polling places on Election Day to challenge the qualifications of voters they suspect are not eligible to cast ballots.

One more day of constant political bombardment being sent our ways. I think their should be a one-week quiet period before the election. I time-out for the candidates. If you follow either of the candidates campaigns, you are aware that they have been all over the US recently...they are hither and yon...yon and hither across the nation. It makes me wonder if when Kerry is elected, we will have an exhausted president on our hands. Back to the break period. Some may call it the "Quiet Before the Storm", but I believe that in this age of over-saturation of images, sounds, and overall sensory overload, it would be nice to have a week to clear your head and just think, instead of react. Not that I need time to decide, but other people may just need that time. Plus I like time to just BE. Luckily, tommorrow's election means the end of the ads and the beginning of RE-Count '04. REGISTER GREEN. VOTE KERRY.