Cindy Sheehan, religious liberals protest Iraq war outside White House

[truthpusher]

http://www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=4923188&nav=menu181_2_12

...they represented "the birth of a religious left" in America.

----------------------

Cindy Sheehan, religious liberals protest Iraq war outside White House

WASHINGTON Calling herself "a recovering Catholic," anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan has joined several hundred religious liberals at a "pray-in" outside the White House.

Sheehan said U-S officials "have co-opted religion and have exploited people's faith" to wage war, and she called for President Bush's impeachment.

(snip)

Lerner told participants that they represented "the birth of a religious left" in America.

link: http://www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=4923188&nav=menu181_2_12

[PuraVidaDreamin]

1. The birth of the religious left!

Love it!

[UrbScotty]

3. Amen!

;-)

[pocket]

5. Do we get to handle snakes?

Just askin'.

[WhiteTara]

9. do you want to?

do as you will and harm none. :)

[stepnw1f]

14. Yes, Yes, Yes

People need to reclaim the good in this world and never again allow bad people to hijack it.

[neoblues]

2. Perhaps Other Democratic Groups...

Groups that are concerned about the other terrible aspects of the Bush Junta and it's enablinng Republican malefactors could consider "joining" these anti-war demonstrations; to create a unified anti-bush, anti-fascism, anti-corruption, pro-America unified protest group!

The War is seriously important, and these activists are doing a great job--but we need to see some additional public protest of the other Bush evils. At least there's the possibility that the protesting and organizing skills could be shared with the groups needing to protest these other issues. There are so many seriously detrimental activities being engaged in by this government, one wonders where the "outrage" is--we truly need to make our "will" known both to this government (that doesn't really care anyway) and to the rest of the country! We even need to have people protesting for the ensurance of fair and honest elections IMMEDIATELY (for this 2006 election)! More protest, more protest, more protest... People, We need to hit this government from all sides at once with all the public pressure we can muster!

We must not let the happy coincidence of slipping Republican poll numbers create in us a false sense of security--no matter how tempting or seductive. No matter what it looks like, we face a seriously uphill battle to win even one house. The polls can change in a heartbeat and they have no effect on electoral fraud.

[Peace Patriot]

4. "...make our 'will' known" to this government (that doesn't really care

anyway.)"

What's wrong with this picture? You've nailed it, but maybe you don't realize it. You make it an aside--a despairing aside, that, no how much we speak up and protest, nobody's listening!

"...this government (that doesn't really care anyway)."

Power! Power! Power! Power! We need to pay attention to POWER! Who has it? How did they get it? If power comes FROM the people, why are they utterly deaf to the people? How can we get our power as a people BACK?

Rather than just being appalled all the time, we need to address ourselves to the mechanism of power by which we exercise our sovereignty as a people--our right to vote.

What we now have is Bushite electronic voting corporations 'counting' all our votes with 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code and virtually no audit/recount controls--the result of the $4 billion electronic voting boondoggle engineered by the biggest crooks in Congress, Tom Delay and Bob Ney, in 2002--the infamous "Help America Vote Act."

Restoring TRANSPARENT elections is still possible by pressure and activism at the state/local level, where ordinary people still have some influence. And it is a MUST DO, priority #1 item, if we want our country back.

WHAT do we expect from these egregiously NON-TRANSPARENT, insecure, hackable voting machines, controlled in secrecy by corporations with very close ties to the Bush junta? Fair elections? Proper representation in Congress and the White House?

We MUST change this, and the most feasible road to change is in the local and state election venues. Without the right to vote, we can do little or nothing to restore lawful government. We can protest. We can be appalled. But if the will of the majority--which has always been for peace and justice, and good government, consistently over the last six years, in ALL the issue polls--cannot be enforced, then we might as well be shouting to the wind.


--------------------------------------

Practical suggestions:

1. Request absentee ballots. At least they provide a tangible paper record for challenges, recounts and investigatiions. (Absentee ballots were a great help to investigators in 2004.) Absentee ballot voting is a form of protest against the machines. It is burgeoning phenomenon. If enough people do it, the machines will be obsolete, and then we can work on getting rid of the central tabulators.

2. Join with others to closely monitor the elections and gather and document evidence. See UScountvotes.org, below. They need donations!

3. Demand that the Democratic Party fund INDEPENDENT EXIT POLLS. Exit polls are used worldwide to verify elections and check for fraud. The war profiteering corporate news monopoly exit polls cannot be trusted (they are doctored to match the results from the voting machines' secret programming code; rather than being used to verify elections, they are used to confirm NON-TRANSPARENT results). The Democratic Party owes us, big time, for their lack of vigilance--and in some cases corruption--on electronic voting. This is one critically needed thing that they can do to help. Demand it!

4. Think long term. Saving our democracy promises be a long hard struggle. We obviously can't get rid of these machines before the '06 elections, so focus on doing our best with the Diebold/ES&S handicap (a 5% to 10% "thumb on the scales" for Bushites and warmongers), and getting rid of them afterward, for '08. These machines are DEATH to our democracy. They ARE the problem. Without them, Bush and his "pod people" Congress would be long gone.

5. Tell people the truth. They NEED to know it. Engage them in the fight. Bumper sticker: "Help Us Beat the Machines--VOTE!" There is nothing more demoralizing or disempowering than constantly losing and not knowing WHY. The machines CAN be beaten by massive turnout--and can be heaped with ridicule, for their fraudulence, by massive absentee ballot voting.

Never give up on our right to vote! NEVER!

----------------------
----------------------

SOME RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN REVOLUTION II:

Hopeful signs - latest news:

California voters sue the state over Diebold:
www.VoterAction.org is suing the state of California and 18 Calif county registrars on behalf of 25 California voter/plaintiffs, on the illegal Diebold "certification" by Schwarzenegger appointee Bruce McPherson.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2180496
Seven of these counties just promised the judge they would use PAPER BALLOTS, and were dismissed from this lawsuit (4/27/06).
http://kcbs.com/pages/29285.php
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2249205

Maryland rejects Diebold:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x418263

Florida - anti-trust accusations against Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia, re: heroic Florida election official Ion Sancho:
(FLA AG subpoenas the companies)
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,110192,00.html
http://www.tbo.com/news/politics/MGBKSY8W8LE.html
(info & discussion)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2183630

Utah county clerk fights back!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x419226

(Tide turning?) New York Times: "New Fears of Security Risks in Electronic Voting Systems" (5/12/06)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2278829

-----

More resources for American Revolution II:

www.votersunite.org (MythBreakers - easy primer on electronic voting--one of the myths is that HAVA requires electronic voting; it does not.)
www.UScountvotes.org (statistical monitoring of '06 and '08 elections--they need donations)


(Activist sites with links to state activist groups or info)
www.votetrustusa.org (news of this great movement from around the country)
www.votersunited.org (good general info, and state links)
www.verifiedvoting.org (great activist site)
www.solarbus.org/election/index.shtml (fab compendium of all election info)

www.freepress.org (devoted to election reform)
www.bradblog.com (also great, and devoted to election reform)
www.TruthIsAll.net (analysis of the 2004 election)* :patriot: :applause: :patriot:
www.votepa.us (well-organized local group of citizen activists in Pennsylvania, where important legal issues are at stake, including state's rights over election systems)
Provisions of the PA lawsuit:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x423739

The Voter Confidence Resolution
http://tinyurl.com/rlnr2 (“We Do Not Consent”)
http://guvwurld.blogspot.com (GuvWurld blog main page)
http://tinyurl.com/amryg (Voter Confidence Resolution

www.debrabowen.com (Calif Senator running for Sec of State to reform election system)
www.johnbonifaz.com (running for Massachusetts Sec of State on strong election reform and antiwar platform)

*Some tributes to TruthIsAll, who is very ill:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x417007
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x417231
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x675477

Congressional bills:

Russ Holt's HR 550 requires a real paper ballot, bans secret software in "voting machines", and has more than 170 co-sponsors, but the audit required is too weak, it promotes electronic voting and centralized power, and the secret software might be permitted to continue in the central tabulators (the bill is not clear). To sign the HR 550 petition: http://www.rushholt.com/petition.html
At lot of discussion at DU of the loopholes/pitfalls in HR 550:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x422926
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x421136
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=422967&mesg_id=422967
(Note: Senate Bill-SB 330 and House-HR704 simply require a "voter verified paper audit trail" (VVPAT), which may be best for the moment.)


Also of interest:

Michael Collins (Autorank)'s searing election reform article for New Zealand's Scoop.com
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x971363

Bob Koehler (-- four recent election reform initiatives in Ohio, predicted to win by 60/40 votes, flipped over, on election day, into 60/40 LOSSES!--the biggest flipover we've seen yet; the election theft machines and their masters are now dictating election policy! Title: "Poll Shock" 11/24/05)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col321.htm

Bob Koehler's latest: "Trust us: Take this box and stuff it" (3/16/06)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col337.htm
More Koehler:
www.tmsfeatures.com/tmsfeatures/subcategory.jsp?file=20051124ctnbk-a.txt&catid=1824&code=ctnbk

Amaryllis (Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia lavish lobbying of election officials - Beverly Hilton, Aug. '05)
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x380340

HOWARD DEAN remarks on electronic voting machines 04/06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x994507

------------------------------------------------

Throw Diebold, ES&S and ALL election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW!

:think: :patriot: :woohoo: :patriot: :think:

-----------

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it." --Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence

[neoblues]

6. Good Practical Suggestions (and Resources)

Here's another potential strategy...

The Voter Receipt Program

Make Your Receipt (MYR)

Stop Voting Fraud Dead In Its Tracks Now!

If the GOP-controlled-Congress and state and county officials continue to refuse to purchase voting machines that issue a receipt, as is likely, we can still stop election fraud in 2006 and 2008 dead in its tracks by simply issuing our own election receipts. The 2006 election will only have Senators and members of the House as well as some important State positions.

What's required is this: you and each voter will fill his or her own receipt out and hand it to the Democractic Party Poll Watcher, designated the Vote Receipt Holder at each precinct in America. If exit polls indicate a problem, or if poll workers and watchers see evidence of vote counting misrepresentations, the receipts can be counted and if they differ from the "official" results of the precinct, county, or state, individual candidates and/or any voter or group of voters or party can file a lawsuit immediately--based upon the receipt count as evidence that all the votes were not counted! Also, the voter receipts will be evidence of a crime for the FBI or state officials to investigate. Sign up if you're willing to help!

more...

Sample Voter Receipt (PDF)

A related page: The Voter Receipt Program System Explained

Remember, whether by this means or some other, we must be able to document/verify our votes in the next election, no... matter... what... else... we... do!
:dem:

Disclaimer: I hope this is not too repetitive (if at all), but in my opinion, it and other such potential strategies for coping with the inevitable voter fraud cannot be posted too many times. This issue should be our primary concern until it has been resolved because it represents an insurmountable obstacle and infringement of our most basic Democratic power as citizens!

[yorkiemommie1]

10. I always vote absentee

for the reasons you mentioned and it's much less stressful.

I ran into a problem this year that I'd never encountered previously in that I, and a whole group of voters, were sent ballots for the wrong district! I'm glad I checked my ballot but have still to receive the replacement. ( I have name and email of person in charge who assures me that the corrected ballots will be sent out next week in time for our June 6th election ). We have a NASTY fight going on to oust the mayor and several members of the city council and every vote is going to count!

So it's crucial to be sure that one receives the correct absentee ballot.

[shance]

7. "Religious liberals"? Oh please. How about simply concerned Americans?

Labels are such convenient tactics of exclusion to the media.

[goclark]

11. They are not simply"concerned Americans"

They are making a statemnt that needs to be made.

They are saying that Jerry Farwell does not speak for them.

I think it is long overdue that we put the RepubliCONS on notice that they do not own RELIGION.

[gratuitous]

8. Someone please notify Tweety

He was all bent out of shape recently because in his experience, since there are no demonstrations against the war, all those polls showing vast swaths of the population opposed to the war must be meaningless.

Here's a demonstration against the war for you, Mr. Matthews. Are you paying attention? Or, if it doesn't go by your house on the Vineyard it doesn't count?

[faithnotgreed]

12. kicking and recommending

its sad that religion has to be divided just like everything else but its absolutely no wonder when the bush cabal has twisted this - just like everything else - for their horrific agenda

[AngryAmish]

13. Crush themn all, Cindy!