‘It’s not the votes that count. It’s who counts the votes’

October 22, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The caption above is frequently attributed to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Hat tip to urbanlegends.about.com for this source:

A historical source has been found for one variant of this quote. The source is Boris Bazhanov's Memoirs of Stalin's Former Secretary, published in 1992 and only available, so far as I know, in Russian. The pertinent passage, which appears near the end of chapter five, reads as follows (loosely translated):

You know, comrades," says Stalin, "that I think in regard to this: I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this — who will count the votes, and how.

So with what the media villagers tell us is a "tied" election based upon their unscientific polling and media narrative, it should raise concern that many of the voting machines in several critical "battleground" states are owned by a subsidiary of Bain Capital. All Voices:

Romney family buys voting machines through Bain Capital investment

Tagg Romney, the son of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, has purchased electronic voting machines that will be used in the 2012 elections in Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma, Washington and Colorado.

"Late last month, Gerry Bello and Bob Fitrakis at FreePress.org broke the story of the Mitt Romney/Bain Capital investment team involved in H.I.G. Capital which, in July of 2011, completed a "strategic investment" to take over a fair share of the Austin-based e-voting machine company Hart Intercivic," according to independent journalist Brad Friedman.

But Friedman is not the only one to discover the connection between the Romney family, Bain Capital, and ownership of voting machines.

Truth out reports:

"Through a closely held equity fund called Solamere, Mitt Romney and his wife, son and brother are major investors in an investment firm called H.I.G. Capital. H.I.G. in turn holds a majority share and three out of five board members in Hart Intercivic, a company that owns the notoriously faulty electronic voting machines that will count the ballots in swing state Ohio November 7. Hart machines will also be used elsewhere in the United States.

In other words, a candidate for the presidency of the United States, and his brother, wife and son, have a straight-line financial interest in the voting machines that could decide this fall's election. These machines cannot be monitored by the public. But they will help decide who "owns" the White House."

Both The Nation and New York Times confirm the connection between the Romney family, Solamere and the Bain Capital investment in the voting machine company, Hart Intercivic, whose board of directors serve H.I.G. Capital.

In Memoriam: Senator George McGovern

October 21, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Walter R. Mears, who reported on government and politics for The Associated Press in Washington for 40 years and covered George McGovern in the Senate and in his 1972 presidential campaign, writes this memoriam for Senator George McGovern who passed away today. George McGovern dies; lost 1972 presidential bid:

George McGovern once joked that he had wanted to run for president in the worst way - and that he had done so.

It was a campaign in 1972 dishonored by Watergate, a scandal that fully unfurled too late to knock Republican President Richard M. Nixon from his place as a commanding favorite for re-election. The South Dakota senator tried to make an issue out of the bungled attempt to wiretap the offices of the Democratic National Committee, calling Nixon the most corrupt president in history.

A proud liberal who had argued fervently against Vietnam War as a Democratic senator from South Dakota and three-time candidate for president, McGovern died at 5:15 a.m. local time Sunday at a Sioux Falls hospice, surrounded by family and lifelong friends, family spokesman Steve Hildebrand told The Associated Press. McGovern was 90.

The family had said late last week that McGovern had become unresponsive while in hospice care.

"We are blessed to know that our father lived a long, successful and productive life advocating for the hungry, being a progressive voice for millions and fighting for peace. He continued giving speeches, writing and advising all the way up to and past his 90th birthday, which he celebrated this summer," the family said in the statement.

Hildebrand said funeral services were to be held in Sioux Falls and details would be announced shortly.

* * *

After a hard day's campaigning - Nixon did virtually none - McGovern would complain to those around him that nobody was paying attention. With R. Sargent Shriver as his running mate, he went on to carry only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, winning just 38 percent of the popular vote in one of the biggest landslides losses in American presidential history.

"Tom and I ran into a little snag back in 1972 that in the light of my much advanced wisdom today, I think was vastly exaggerated," McGovern said at an event with Eagleton in 2005. Noting that Nixon and his running mate, Spiro Agnew, would both ultimately resign, he joked, "If we had run in `74 instead of `72, it would have been a piece of cake."

Early Voting Month – return your early ballots!

October 21, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Early voting runs from Thursday, October 11 to Friday, November 2, 2012. The Last day to request an early ballot by mail is Friday, October 26, 2012. There will be emergency voting on Saturday, November 3, 2012 at some locations, and Monday, November 5, 2012 only at the Downtown location.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SIGN AND DATE THE AFFIDAVIT ENVELOPE before inserting it into the outer envelope for mailing. Your ballot cannot be counted without a signed and dated affidavit.

If you plan to vote at a voting location on Election Day, please verify your correct voting location before going to vote. See Pima County Recorder's Office or call the Recorder's Office at (520) 724-4330. You will need to show required ID. Pima County Elections Required Identification at the Polls.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

Early Voting locations:

DOWNTOWN
Recorder’s Main Office
115 N. Church Ave.
520-724-4330
Located downtown in the historic
Old Pink Courthouse with the tiled dome

SITE OPEN: Thursday, 10/11/2012 through Friday 11/2/2012
Monday – Friday
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

EMERGENCY VOTING:

Saturday, 11/3/2012
9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Monday, 11/5/2012- Downtown Only
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

EASTSIDE
Recorder’s Eastside Annex
6920 E. Broadway Blvd., Suite D
520-724-4330
Located on the southwest corner of Broadway and Kolb Rd.
behind Bring’s Funeral Home

SITE OPEN: Thursday, 10/11/2012 through Friday 11/2/2012
Monday – Friday
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

EMERGENCY VOTING:

Saturday, 11/3/2012
9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Ignatius: CIA documents supported Susan Rice’s description of Benghazi attacks

October 20, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Confirming the New York Times report I posted earlier, Election-Year Stakes Overshadow Nuances of Benghazi Investigation – NYTimes.com, the Washington Post's national security pundit David ignatius writes today that CIA documents supported Susan Rice’s description of Benghazi attacks:

The Romney campaign may have misfired with its suggestion that statements by President Obama and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice about the Benghazi attack last month weren’t supported by intelligence, according to documents provided by a senior U.S. intelligence official.

“Talking points” prepared by the CIA on Sept. 15, the same day that Rice taped three television appearances, support her description of the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate as a reaction to Arab anger about an anti-Muslim video prepared in the United States. According to the CIA account, “The currently available information suggests that the demonstrations in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the U.S. Consulate and subsequently its annex. There are indications that extremists participated in the violent demonstrations.”

The CIA document went on: “This assessment may change as additional information is collected and analyzed and as currently available information continues to be evaluated.” This may sound like self-protective boilerplate, but it reflects the analysts’ genuine problem interpreting fragments of intercepted conversation, video surveillance and source reports.

The senior intelligence official said the analysts’ judgment was based in part on monitoring of some of the Benghazi attackers, which showed they had been watching the Cairo protests live on television and talking about them before they assaulted the consulate.

“We believe the timing of the attack was influenced by events in Cairo,” the senior official said, reaffirming the Cairo-Benghazi link. He said that judgment is repeated in a new report prepared this week for the House intelligence committee.

Here’s how the senior official described the jumble of events in Benghazi that day: “The attackers were disorganized; some seemed more interested in looting. Some who claimed to have participated joined the attack as it began or after it was under way. There is no evidence of rehearsals, they never got into the safe room . . . never took any hostages, didn’t bring explosives to blow the safe room door, and didn’t use a car bomb to blow the gates.”

* * *

The political debate has focused on whether the attack was spontaneous or planned, but the official said there’s evidence of both, and that different attackers may have had different motives. There’s no dispute, however, that it was “an act of terror,” as Obama described it the next day.

Dr. Carmona, That is Not How You Should Talk About the Laffer Curve

October 20, 2012

By Michael Bryan I was generally quite satisfied with Dr. Carmona's very first political debate performance against Jeff Flake. He missed some opportunities, and he was certainly too eager to hug some of Flake's positions, but he acquitted himself decently. One flub that stood out, however, was his answer to moderator Ted Simons' question regarding … Read more

New video for Nancy Young Wright’s campaign

October 20, 2012

by David Safier Want to see the stark contrast between Nancy Young Wright and her opponent for Pima County Supervisor, Tea Party founder Ally Miller? Watch Nancy's great new video.   I've known Nancy for years and volunteer on her campaign. The more I know about her, the more I know she's the right person … Read more

Obamney III: The Foreign Policy Debate at Drinking Liberally Monday 10/22 at 6pm

October 20, 2012

By Michael Bryan This Monday, Oct. 22nd starting at 6pm (we'll start gathering about 5:30 to give everyone time to find parking, chat, grab a beer, settle in, etc. – the debate starts at 6pm sharp), Drinking Liberally will have another special session for a viewing party for the third Presidential Debate. The party is … Read more