Your Worst Nightmare

Here's an excerpt from your electronic ballot. Oops; it looks like there's something you might want to fix:

John Kerry and John Edwards

George W. Bush and Dick Cheney

Happy Halloween! May your nightmares never come true!

(Aside: tested in IE 6. Your mileage may vary in other browsers.)

Steve
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Nothing Political There

U.S. Forces Launch Airstrikes in Fallujah

Oh, no; no political motivation there at all. Of course not.

I can't help being reminded of Nixon at the end of his first term, when he said he had a plan to end the war in Vietnam, if only America re-elected him. They did. As I said before, his ghost haunts us this Halloween.

Steve
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OBLigatory OBLoquy

Well, maybe not. But as TalkLeft points out,

Osama Tape: Real or Fake?

Someone was bound to ask. Any takers for the theory that it's a setup?

     ...

It is not at all clear to me that the supposedly confirmed OBL tape helps Bush. His campaign did spin the "how dare Kerry criticize Bush at such an hour" meme, notwithstanding Bush had been briefed and Kerry had not at the time of Kerry's first comments that provoked the spin. But the best line of the day comes from the commenter "Fr33d0m" on TalkLeft's post linked above:

I don't know, seems like obvious folly to try a trick like that.

That must mean the tape is a fake and that the Bush campaign did it.

Sounds about right to me. We haven't really had a proper Rovean October surprise yet, and there's no trick he would not attempt. But Rove is ultimately, I suspect, not just a fool but a damned fool, and he may be damned fool enough to attempt this. After all, it wouldn't have to withstand close inspection for very long.

I don't know if it's Osama on the tape. It's certainly possible. I could see OBL (if he's still alive) wanting to intervene in the American election in a way that would continue to provide him the enemy he needs to pursue his particular brand of craziness... which strikes me as not far different from Bush's own kind of insanity. They're both violent, mean, power-crazed men with a religiosity allowing them to think they're doing God's or Allah's work. If alive, Osama needs Bush. And Bush needs Osama.

But Kerry is right: Bush could have captured or killed Osama at Tora Bora. And everything Bush has done since then has diverted American military resources away from the one man presumed to have directed the 9/11 attack. "Wanted: Dead or Alive" has turned into "I don’t know where he is… I truly am not that concerned about him."

If the tape is real, it is a reminder that Bush's anti-terrorism policies have failed so miserably that even the worst terrorist can operate at large, at will. And if the tape is a fake... well, you know.

Steve
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Why Oh Why Ohio? -- UPDATED

Well, it's obvious, isn't it? Twenty electoral votes, and close enough to steal.

I have a great fondness for Ohio. Back in the 1980's, I spent parts of three summers there, studying at the Baroque Performance Institute held annually by the Oberlin Conservatory.

So it will surprise no one when I shout that Ohio doesn't deserve this:

ELECTION BOARD THROWS OUT 976 CHALLENGES BY REPUBLICAN PARTY

GOP Challenger Barbara Miller Could be Indicted on Felony Charges

AKRON, Ohio - The Summit County Board of Elections abruptly threw out 976 challenges of voter eligibility by the Republican Party today after Barbara Miller, the challenger, revealed that she did not have any personal information about the eligibility of any of the challenged voters.

Instead, Miller said that her challenges were based on a list of "undeliverable mail" given to her by the Republican Party. The list was based on a GOP mailing sent to registered voters throughout the state of Ohio.

After Miller presented this as her evidence, Russell Pry, Summit County Election Board member, told her that she could be indicted for signing a sworn challenge without any personal knowledge about the eligibility of the voters. Miller's reaction was to plead the Fifth Amendment.

Catherine Herold, the first voter challenged at the hearing, told the board that she believes that she was on the undeliverable list because she "refused the letter when she saw that it came from the Republican Party." She and many others expressed anger that their eligibility had been challenged - which could force them to vote by provisional ballot on Nov. 2.

"This is an outrage," Herold said. "I feel as if I am being called a liar for claiming to live at my address."

The Summit County Board of Elections has indicated that they plan to call in the Department of Justice to conduct a criminal investigation of the challenges.

     ...

This year, there are Bush supporters who will do anything to win... anything. After every legal avenue is exhausted, or, in this case, with no consideration of legality or illegality, they'll resort to illegal means. In the Democratic Party, there are from time to time individuals who resort to criminal acts in the political arena. In the Republican Party... criminality is policy. This Halloween, the ghost rising up to haunt us is surely Nixon.

UPDATE: We have all been here before (apologies to Frogsdong for borrowing his song-lyrics theme):

     ...

The Republican challenges in Ohio, Wisconsin and other battleground states prompted civil rights and labor unions to sue in U.S. District Court in Newark, saying the GOP is violating a consent decree, issued in the 1980s by Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise and still in effect, that prevents the Republicans from starting "ballot security" programs to prevent voter fraud that target minorities.

     ...

In 1981, the Republican National Committee sent letters to predominantly black neighborhoods in New Jersey, and when 45,000 letters were returned as undeliverable, the committee compiled a challenge list to remove those voters from the rolls. The RNC sent off-duty law enforcement officials to the polls and hung posters in heavily black neighborhoods warning that violating election laws is a crime.

In 1986, the RNC tried to have 31,000 voters, most of them black, removed from the rolls in Louisiana when a party mailer was returned. The consent decrees that resulted prohibited the party from engaging in anti-fraud initiatives that target minorities or conduct mail campaigns to "compile voter challenge lists."

Undeliverable mail is the basis for this year's challenges in Ohio. Republicans also sent mail to about 130,000 voters in Philadelphia, another heavily black and Democratic stronghold.

     ...

Steve
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Harris County Voting Woes

Before I start this screed, let me remind you: if you're a Harris County resident, today is the LAST DAY OF EARLY VOTING!

---

From the Chronicle:

Local chairs of the Republican and Democratic parties differ on whether the eSlate electronic voting machines may confuse people who vote on a straight-party ticket.

Some voters have said they get indications that they have voted for the opposite party when casting a straight-party ballot.

Jared Woodfill, chairman of the Harris County Republican Party, does not believe a problem exists. He said no one has complained to the local GOP.

"I think people have gotten used to the system in the last election cycles," he said.

But Gerald Birnberg, chairman of the Harris County Democratic Party, said he has heard some concerns.

"We need to go back to the drawing board to improve the way the screens present themselves to voters, because that is confusing," he said.

County Clerk Beverly Kaufman said confusion may be caused by a list of candidates appearing after a straight-party ballot is chosen. By scrolling through the list, however, voters will reach a "next" key that allows them to double-check the ballot before officially casting it.

     ...

An aside: whew! That last sentence I quoted is the most incomprehensible thing I've ever read about voting equipment. Right... scroll through that list, and you'll reach a "next" key. It's not just that the writer (or, in fairness, possibly the editor) has never used the equipment; it's that he or she apparently has never used any kind of computer equipment whatsoever.

The story here is not the voting equipment, whether it performed flawlessly or malfunctioned to the extent of literally reversing some voters' straight-party votes. The point is the attitude of the chairs of our local parties. Democratic chair Birnberg, quite reasonably, says we need to rethink the interface, though it's not clear if he advocates merely rearranging the order of pages or (less likely) replacing the machines themselves. But Republican chair Woodfill (I admit that, as one whose own name is subject to a lot of bad jokes, I've always pitied Woodfill his name) says there is no problem, move along, nothing to see here. And our very Republican county clerk Kauffman... the star of a testimonial video for the equipment we use... "dances with them as brung 'er."

   Paper ballots,
   Paper ballots,
   Oh, how real those ballots seemed to me...

Still, I have to be glad, on this last day of early voting, that turnout has been excellent, something on the order of 49,000 voters on Wednesday alone in Harris County. (Link courtesy of Off the Kuff.) A high turnout is usually good news for the challenger. Let's hope and pray that's true this time.

CORRECTION: I added the words "on Wednesday alone" above. I knew that number sounded low! As of Wednesday, about 16 percent of Harris County's voters had voted early. My apologies for the mistake.

Steve
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Fools!

From the NY Times:

U.S. Action Bars Right of Some Captured in Iraq
By DOUGLAS JEHL
Published: October 26, 2004

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 - A new legal opinion by the Bush administration has concluded for the first time that some non-Iraqi prisoners captured by American forces in Iraq are not entitled to the protections of the Geneva Conventions, administration officials said Monday.

The opinion, reached in recent months, establishes an important exception to public assertions by the Bush administration since March 2003 that the Geneva Conventions applied comprehensively to prisoners taken in the conflict in Iraq, the officials said. They said the opinion would essentially allow the military and the C.I.A. to treat at least a small number of non-Iraqi prisoners captured in Iraq in the same way as members of Al Qaeda and the Taliban captured in Afghanistan, Pakistan or elsewhere, for whom the United States has maintained that the Geneva Conventions do not apply.

     ...

Any fool should be able to predict that if the U.S. continues to find reasons not to apply the Geneva Conventions to people captured in war, captured U.S. soldiers are vulnerable to similar deprivations of their rights under international law, in Iraq and in future conflicts.

But Bush isn't just any fool, and his administration is so ideologically blinded that they cannot see what your average sixth-grader with experience on the playground can almost certainly see. This must end. For America's sake and for the sake of the world, these ideologues must be ousted on Nov. 2. We have one chance to get this right: make sure every person of good conscience you know goes to the polls and votes for Kerry and Edwards.

Steve
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Blogger Bloggered

Blogger, and apparently all BlogSpot-based sites, have been down all morning, at least from where I sit. It's lonely out here! If any of you in that blogroll on the left of this page have short, essential things to say, consider the comments on this post an open thread until Blogger is up and running again. Regular commenters are of course welcome as well.

Steve
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Confidence

Confidence is a key element underpinning democracy. Apart from and in addition to having confidence in their leaders, Americans need confidence in the process by which they choose them. sElection 2000, during which (I hardly need to remind readers of this blog) the usual democratic process by which the president is chosen was (to put it politely) severely called into question, struck a blow from which it appears Americans may spend a long time recovering, if indeed they ever do.

My evidence? Try this AP poll result:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Memories of Florida's contested 2000 presidential election and a growing number of pre-election lawsuits are making Americans skeptical about a voting process they once took for granted.

Six in 10 of those surveyed in an Associated Press poll say it's likely there will not be a clear winner in the presidential race by Nov. 3 - the day after the election. About half say they fear the results will be challenged in court, according to the poll conducted for the AP by Ipsos Public Affairs.

Both Democrats and Republicans worry about the possibility of an unresolved election - though Democrats express more worries. About seven in 10 Democratic voters, 69 percent, say they think it's likely there won't be a clear winner by Election Day, while almost six in 10 Republican voters, 56 percent, say they feel that way.

With both political parties putting thousands of lawyers on call for Election Day, a majority of both Democrats and Republicans - just over half of each - expect the election results will be challenged in court.

     ...

The degree of concern seems to vary by party, if the leadership is any measure:

Joe Lockhart, a Kerry spokesman, said Tuesday during a conference call: "Our operating assumption is that there will be a clear winner. The six-in-10 number is a reaction to coverage to some of the shenanigans that are going on. I expect the six-in-10 number to go down and not go up before Election Day."

Tom Josefiak, the Bush campaign's top lawyer, said recently that "it may takes days or weeks" after Nov. 2 to determine the winner because of absentee ballots and other questions.

     ...

In other words, the Kerry campaign assumes it will win the prize outright, while the Bush campaign (knowing it is behind? who knows what their internal poll numbers show) intends a lot of post-election legal maneuvering (and, as I see it, possibly some illegal maneuvering as well; they certainly haven't hesitated pre-election).

However this comes out... no matter who wins... severe damage has been done to the essential confidence the public must feel in the operation of its government. Will the Republicans cheat this year, beyond what they already have done? Before Nixon, one would hardly have needed to ask the question. Will a possible second Bush administration operate in America's best interest? Before Bush Junior, one would hardly have worried with whether the party taking power had the interests of our nation at heart, even if one disagreed strongly with the policy decisions of that party (as I typically did with Republicans). My confidence is gone. How about yours?

---

Afterword: tonight, after dinner, after we watched a bit of really silly TV, Stella turned to me, her large, beautiful eyes almost in tears, and asked, "What will happen if things go against us?" We had not been talking about the election, but I knew immediately what she meant. Stella is no softie, and does not cry readily: trust me, you don't want to be on the other side of anything she's advocating. But this election has her really rattled. I don't know for sure, but I suspect it's the confidence issue: all of us have been able to depend on the electoral process, with all its flaws, working as advertised, all of our lives... until now. When will we be able to regain our confidence?

Steve
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Burka Nails It

Gosh, does he ever. Please read Bush To Counter 380 Tons Of Explosive With 500 Tons Of BS.

Steve
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Nothing Beneath Them... Nothing

Via Kos, a story from the BBC revealing the lengths... depths is more like it... to which the Bush campaign will go to win Florida:

Last Updated: Tuesday, 26 October, 2004,
  17:06 GMT 18:06 UK

New Florida vote scandal feared
By Greg Palast

Reporting for BBC's Newsnight

A secret document obtained from inside Bush campaign headquarters in Florida suggests a plan - possibly in violation of US law - to disrupt voting in the state's African-American voting districts, a BBC Newsnight investigation reveals.

Two e-mails, prepared for the executive director of the Bush campaign in Florida and the campaign's national research director in Washington DC, contain a 15-page so-called "caging list".

It lists 1,886 names and addresses of voters in predominantly black and traditionally Democrat areas of Jacksonville, Florida.

An elections supervisor in Tallahassee, when shown the list, told Newsnight: "The only possible reason why they would keep such a thing is to challenge voters on election day."

Ion Sancho, a Democrat, noted that Florida law allows political party operatives inside polling stations to stop voters from obtaining a ballot.

Mass challenges

They may then only vote "provisionally" after signing an affidavit attesting to their legal voting status.

Mass challenges have never occurred in Florida. Indeed, says Mr Sancho, not one challenge has been made to a voter "in the 16 years I've been supervisor of elections."

"Quite frankly, this process can be used to slow down the voting process and cause chaos on election day; and discourage voters from voting."

Sancho calls it "intimidation." And it may be illegal.

     ...

Palast details how it's illegal, how the Republicans are spinning the existence of these lists but not denying they plan mass challenges to voters, etc.

If you thought the Republicans were enthusiastically shredding the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment... you're right, but you'd better add the Fifteenth Amendment to the list of sacred rights they're trampling. Nothing is beneath them now... nothing.

Steve
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Confused? No Longer!

Uncertain about the details of Explosivesgate? So was I, primarily because the info coming from Josh Marshall (he has several new posts since the one I linked below) is arriving at an overwhelming rate, and every Bush supporter from Drudge to Scott McClellan is doing his level best to confuse the mainstream media and the public. See Marshall's site for the particulars.

To the rescue comes Jeanne, who has taken the trouble to produce a timeline of what is known so far, and how it relates. I'm not going to attempt to reproduce it here; it represents a lot of hard work (!), and she deserves at least a visit from you to read it. But I am definitely less confused after reading her post. And it still looks as if the incompetent-in-chief and all his lesser incompetents did, after all, allow the RDX and HMX to escape our grasp... i.e., it appears more than ever as if it happened on "our" watch, not the prior regime's, not the current Iraqi government's. Read and decide for yourself.

Jeanne rightly laments that since the issue is complicated, it probably will not make much difference in the election; people generally don't like complicated issues. But if a convincing case can be made that those explosives disappeared on Bush's watch and are being used against our own troops in roadside bombs, maybe people can understand, and the few who are still undecided will finally decide they don't want incompetents running things. We've been using the word "incompetent" a lot; perhaps, after this, "negligent" would be a more accurate... and powerful... description.

Steve
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Bush In Deep Qa Qaa

The Illustrated Daily Scribble gets it right.

Meanwhile, Josh Marshall (view the linked post and several previous posts) considers the question of whether any of the Bush administration's various stories, i.e., excuses why it wasn't their fault, are plausible.

Steve
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Sweet Deal For Halliburton

Via the always essential Josh Marshall, here is a Time article about still more improprieties in the letting of Halliburton's no-bid contract in February 2003... and about what has happened to the whistle-blower who tried to make it right. If you thought you knew how outrageous that deal was, think again. Fortunately, Rep. Henry Waxman is on the case.

Steve
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To Hell With The Chronicle

The Houston Chronicle has endorsed Bush. To Hell with them. I plan to drop my subscription as soon as possible.

---

UPDATE: Well, that was certainly an angry, irrational late-night post. But I still intend to end my Chronicle subscription, which I have had for 35+ years. Here's a first draft of my letter, not that the Chronicle will care:

To the editors:

Under the circumstances, I can only conclude that The Houston Chronicle's editorial board is in bed with George W. Bush financially. I cannot otherwise understand your endorsement of George W. Bush for president, given his administration's uncompromising secrecy, constant violation of the Constitution, support for torture in Iraq and elsewhere, and relentless lying to the American public regarding every significant issue that has arisen since his appointment by the Supreme Court, most especially his lying regarding the alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. A man who advocates preemptive war for no substantive reason does not deserve the endorsement of the Houston Chronicle, nor the vote of the American people, for President of the United States.

You appear to position yourself as a conservative newspaper. But George W. Bush is no conservative: he is, by all reasonable measures, a right-wing radical, and his appointees are similarly radical. Few other major national dailies have endorsed Bush, and their lack of endorsement for Bush... indeed, in most cases, an endorsement of Sen. Kerry... is for good and sufficient reason, as explained above. Your endorsement of Bush is nothing short of execrable.

I have been a subscriber to the Chronicle for over 35 years, through presidential administrations both Republican and Democratic. I plan to discontinue my subscription immediately after the election. I cannot support a newspaper whose editorial staff has endorsed an administration with such deplorably bad judgment. If Mr. Bush is elected, or takes office by other means, I hope you enjoy the world you have helped to create: I am sure I shall not.

Steve
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No Help For E-Voter

If you had any doubts about the perils of electronic voting, this anecdote will persuade you that neither the process nor the equipment is ready for prime time. Some of the specifics are dependent on the eSlate systems in use in Harris County, but the principles are the same anywhere direct recording electronic (DRE) voting systems are used.

A fellow Democrat in my precinct went to an early voting location today and stood in line for over an hour to cast his ballot. (That's the good news... we have heavy turnout for early voting.) He finally arrived at an eSlate machine, "wheeled in" his passcode (eSlate machines are not touchscreen equipment; they have a finger wheel and buttons), and began voting. He selected the straight Democratic checkbox. As is always the case with an eSlate machine when one votes a straight party vote, the ballot appeared, starting with the first page. This dedicated Democrat visited each page of the ballot, assuring himself that the boxes checked were indeed Democratic candidates. They were.

That's when the trouble started.

After a voter reaches the end of the ballot, the eSlate machine shows a summary of all one's votes, as a simple, passive list. At that point, one may either hit the big red "Cast Ballot" button, or use the Previous button to revisit an earlier page and change or add a vote in any race. Viewing the summary, the voter noticed he had not voted in the three City of Houston charter amendments. Never having had to back up in an eSlate ballot before, he sought help from the pollworker on duty.

The pollworker pressed the Previous button... how can it be legal for a pollworker to press any button when a voter's ballot is still live? ... and the third of the three amendments appeared by itself on the last page of the actual ballot. Why, the voter asked, was there only one proposition visible? The pollworker told the voter that he was not in a district that could vote on that amendment. WTF? Every Houston resident is able to vote on all the proposed amendments. The voter protested; the pollworker reiterated the incorrect answer. Finally, the voter pressed the Previous button one more time, and the first two amendments appeared at the bottom of that ballot page. Of course, as the voter and I are in the same precinct, the same ballot page arrangement appeared when I voted, so I recognized the situation he described. But what would have happened had the voter not done his homework, and insisted that he was eligible to vote on three propositions, not merely one? You know the answer to that question.

My points... and I do have not one but two... are that

• Pollworkers must be far better trained in the use of DRE equipment if they are to assist voters properly, and
• Absent a paper result printed right before the voter presses "Cast Ballot," even the most technology-comfortable voter (and this fellow Democrat certainly qualifies) can never be certain exactly who he or she is voting for.

DRE voting systems may or may not be the invention of the devil, but they certainly are the friend of his Republican henchmen.

Steve
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Cardinal(s) Rule

Or at least they prevailed tonight. That sucks. But they will not rule for long.

I'm proud of my Astros... they've never gotten this far in the postseason before... but I admit it hurts to have come so close and still not made it to the World Series. They have never done so in... what? 43 seasons?

As many of you already know, in the past, once the 'stros pack it up and go home (as they always do), I follow the Red Sox, presuming they are still in the postseason. This year is no exception. The curse is gone! GO SOX!

Steve
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I Know That My Reliever Dimmeth

Damn. Our beloved Astros, and in particular, Miceli, just couldn't close it out today. It was a great game, with an ugly 12th inning. Maybe tomorrow...

Steve
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New Relationship

From the AP:

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) - President Bush and Sen. John Kerry both visit Iowa today in a battle for the state's seven crucial electors. Polls have shown the candidates neck-in-neck in that state.

Oh, no! Who will tell Teresa and Laura?

Steve
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Medical Draft

God help us... Bush has been making contingency plans for a healthcare professionals' draft:

[New York Times]
October 19, 2004
THE MILITARY

U.S. Has Contingency Plans for a
Draft of Medical Workers

By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 - The Selective Service has been updating its contingency plans for a draft of doctors, nurses and other health care workers in case of a national emergency that overwhelms the military's medical corps.

In a confidential report this summer, a contractor hired by the agency described how such a draft might work, how to secure compliance and how to mold public opinion and communicate with health care professionals, whose lives could be disrupted.

On the one hand, the report said, the Selective Service System should establish contacts in advance with medical societies, hospitals, schools of medicine and nursing, managed care organizations, rural health care providers and the editors of medical journals and trade publications.

On the other hand, it said, such contacts must be limited, low key and discreet because "overtures from Selective Service to the medical community will be seen as precursors to a draft," and that could alarm the public.

In this election year, the report said, "very few ideas or activities are viewed without some degree of cynicism."

     ...

They've taken our parents and spouses and children. Now they're going to take our nurses and doctors and PA's and physical therapists and... well, I guess that answers any remaining questions about whether Bush intends or at least anticipates the need for a draft. The only surprise here is that he's actually been caught lying has ass off. He'd better be careful; he might not be able to find a surgeon to sew it back on.

(Via Musing's Musings, whose commentary on the subject is well worth reading.)

Steve
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Been There, Done That

In this case, "there" is the Fiesta on Kirby, and "that" is casting my ballot. Yes, despite all odds, I managed to find time to vote today, on the very first day of early voting. At least I think I voted... with those eSlate machines, one never really knows for sure.

Democrats reading this will be glad, and independents will roll their eyes, that I voted the straight Democratic ticket. In my own defense, I know many of these people, and I know their records: if all our officeholders had the judgment and gravitas of many of our local Democratic candidates, I would feel much better about our government.

One thing about our otherwise scary voting machines is that they allow you to review a complete list of all the candidates you voted for before you cast your ballot, and change any selections that are incorrect (or even change your mind, if you're still undecided at that point, God forbid). I read through every single name, as I usually do, and saw none that I could not support with a clear conscience. We have a good slate of local candidates this year.

But the most important race is the one at the top. If your state permits early voting, please go ahead and vote for Kerry and Edwards... you'll feel great when you do so.

---

An aside: as my usual early voting location is a large multicultural grocery store, I took the opportunity to buy a few items for a little celebration of our right to elect our public officials, well, assuming that right still exists. I deliberately "bought American" ... Coca-Cola, apple pie, a nice little cabernet from Jeanne's part of California, etc., etc. But I confess I bought some genuine French brie, because I like it and because it serves as a soft, sharp stick in the eye of those who fault Sen. Kerry's alleged Frenchness. Take that, GOPers! Eat cheese and surrender, you smirking chimps!

Steve
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October Non-Surprise - UPDATED

Florida is at it again:

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - With memories of 2000 and the state's bitter fight over ballots still fresh, Floridians began casting votes Monday and within an hour problems cropped up.

In Palm Beach County, the center of the madness during the recount four years ago, a Democratic state legislator said she wasn't given a complete absentee ballot when she asked to opt for paper instead of the electronic touch-screen machines. Several voting sites in Broward County had problems with laptops connected to elections headquarters. And a brief computer system crash in Orange County paralyzing voting in Orlando and its immediate suburbs.

     ...

Some groups urged Florida voters to ask for paper absentee ballots because of concerns over the state's new touch-screen voting machines and any potential recounts. Voters Monday morning could choose either method.

State Rep. Shelley Vana said the paper absentee ballot she was given at a Palm Beach County site was missing one of its two pages, including the proposed amendments to the state constitution. She said election workers were indifferent when she pointed out the oversight.

"There was absolutely no concern on the part of the folks at the Supervisor of Elections Office that this page was missing. This is not a good start. If there are incomplete ballots out there, I can't imagine I would be the only one getting it," she said.

County elections supervisor Theresa LePore did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

     ...

Theresa "Butterfly Ballot" LePore? Why is she still on the job?

Here in Harris County, TX, i.e., Houston, I could vote early today, but I have a few things on my plate, including work, so I think I'll wait a day or two. There's also a move to have all Democratic candidates in Harris County vote today, so I expect that if there's an "accident" with the voting machines at early voting locations, it may happen today. In any case, I urge you to vote early to avoid possible massive failures on Election Day. I'm not saying there will be such failures, but if there are, and you wait until 11/2 to vote, you're cooked.

---

UPDATE: Damn that SCLM anyway. Somebody got to the AP about this article. Here's the new title and the new lede:

Few Glitches Reported in Early Fla. Voting
Oct 18, 7:41 PM (ET)
By JILL BARTON

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Voters began casting ballots Monday in the state synonymous with the election fiasco of 2000, but only a few glitches were reported on a day that marked the start of early voting in several states.

Thirty-two states allow residents to vote at the polls before Election Day, and Texas, Colorado and Arkansas also began the process Monday along with Florida. Several other battleground states have already begun early voting, including Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and New Mexico.

The problems in Florida included a brief computer system crash in one county and voter complaints of incomplete paper ballots. But there were no early reports of problems with the ATM-like touch- screen voting machines introduced since the troubled 2000 election.

     ...

I wonder who (Karl Rove) could have given the AP a phone call today.

---

Regarding the title of this post: yes, I know of the rumor about the particulars of the October surprise. I have my doubts. I'll post about it if more than one rather dubious source gives details.

Steve
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RerereREdistricting?

WTF ??? What happens now? From the Houston Chronicle:

Supreme Court orders new look
at Texas' congressional districts
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court handed Democrats a victory today, ordering a lower court to reconsider a Texas redistricting plan that could give Republicans six more seats and a firmer hold on their majority in the House.

The decision won't affect next month's elections, though any GOP gains on Nov. 2 could be wiped out later if the plan ultimately is deemed unconstitutional.

     ...

Go read the whole thing. I'm still trying to figure out if this should send me reaching for my party hat (in two senses of the word) or my tinfoil hat.

Steve
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I Told You There Was A Reason

From Salon (get the day pass):

Oct. 17, 2004 | BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The U.S. Army Reserve soldiers who refused orders to drive a dangerous route were members of one of a few supply units whose trucks are still unarmored, their commanding general said Sunday.

     ...

Chambers said 80 percent of the 13th Coscom's 4,000 trucks have been fitted with custom steel plate, but some of those in the unit that balked, the 343rd Quartermaster Company, were among the last left unarmored, because the unit's mission normally confines it to a less dangerous part of Iraq.

None of the 13th Coscom's trucks arrived in Iraq with armor.      ...

The first investigation, overseen by the 13th Coscom's inspector general and deputy commander, is looking into maintenance and safety practices at the Talil air base, where the 343rd is based.

The second, headed by the commander of the 300th Area Support Group, has ordered a criminal inquiry to determine if any soldiers committed crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and, if so, whether disciplinary measures are warranted.

"Based on our investigations, other actions may be necessary," Chambers said.

As a result of the incident, the entire 343rd is in the midst of a two-week "stand down," bolting on new armor and upgrading maintenance on its vehicles. The 18 soldiers under investigation must complete additional training and win re-certification to regain permission to perform convoy missions, Chambers said.

     ...

Eighteen American soldiers do not disobey orders without a damned good reason. Why was there an apparent maintenance problem? and whose fault is it that the vehicles were not properly armored in the first place? If it wasn't bad enough that some soldiers felt compelled to buy their own body armor when coming to Iraq, rather than waiting to be supplied with same, who can possibly be responsible for the poor planning that resulted in a supply convoy's being ordered into a high-risk area with trucks unarmored and inadequately maintained?

I'll leave it to the military justice system to determine whether any of these soldiers deserve disciplinary action. But damn it, it's the fault of BushCo™ that they were provided dangerously unarmored vehicles with which to perform their mission.

Bush hasn't a clue what war is about. Kerry most certainly has. You really want to support the troops? If we absolutely must send troops to preemptive wars that do not benefit American security, let's at least put someone in power who understands a bit more about war, from firsthand experience. Kerry will support the troops, and for him, it will be more than just a campaign slogan.

Steve
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NY Times Endorses Kerry

Read about it here. Here's the intro:

Senator John Kerry goes toward the election with a base that is built more on opposition to George W. Bush than loyalty to his own candidacy. But over the last year we have come to know Mr. Kerry as more than just an alternative to the status quo. We like what we've seen. He has qualities that could be the basis for a great chief executive, not just a modest improvement on the incumbent.

We have been impressed with Mr. Kerry's wide knowledge and clear thinking - something that became more apparent once he was reined in by that two-minute debate light. He is blessedly willing to re-evaluate decisions when conditions change. And while Mr. Kerry's service in Vietnam was first over-promoted and then over-pilloried, his entire life has been devoted to public service, from the war to a series of elected offices. He strikes us, above all, as a man with a strong moral core.

     ...

That opening reflects my own experience. Sen. Kerry is a different flavor of Democrat from me, but any reservations I had early in the campaign about his likely performance in office have been dispelled, not by all the campaign hype, but by Sen. Kerry himself. I'll refrain from making a campaign speech in his behalf and say simply this: Kerry has what it takes to be president. After four years under someone whose incompetency, inability, weakness and meanness in the office are right out there for everyone to see, all of us should find a Kerry presidency a welcome contrast. The Times endorsement has a fair, though by no means comprehensive, laundry list of Bush's shortcomings and specific failures. But their editors, like me, have become genuine supporters of Kerry, not just opponents of Bush.

Sen. Kerry has convinced me that he can deal with several subjects important to me. His innovative healthcare plan, combining public and private coverage in a way that is fairer for the insured, sounds as if it might not only merely work, but also be politically possible to implement. His record on the environment is good enough that the Sierra Club has endorsed him. (For Sierra Club's summary of Kerry's accomplishments and Bush's outrages in environmental matters, view this .PDF file.) Kerry's commitment to a pro-choice position has won him an emphatic endorsement from Planned Parenthood; one need only contemplate Bush's potential Supreme Court appointments to see the difference here. (According to the Suskind article linked in my previous post, Bush believes the next president will nominate four Justices, probably including Chief Justice. He is probably correct.)

Then there's Kerry's position on Iraq. If his views sound a bit too belligerent in his stump speeches for my old-time peacenik tastes, I have only to compare him with Bush: how many more preemptive, invasive, imperial wars will our next president launch? If that president is Kerry, I am confident the number is zero. Which candidate has more credibility in asserting that he will not reinstitute a draft? The answer to that is a consequence of the previous answer. Which candidate has actually been in war, the real, awful, horrifying thing? Which candidate has ever opposed war, on the record, in the face of widespread personal attacks on his character? I've come to believe that the Kerry we see in those grainy old videos of Senate hearings over 30 years ago is still alive, inside the Kerry who must posture for his campaign. There is no way of proving that, of course; I can only hope I'm right. But at least Kerry sees the need for America to reconnect with its allies in all its international efforts.

I realize some of my readers see Kerry as merely not-Bush. I am convinced he is much more than that. Please read the Times endorsement, and a few policy position links on the Kerry campaign site, and decide for yourself.

Steve
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Bush Is Never Wrong

I know I've already linked Ron Suskind's column in the lazy dog blogaround, but one passage haunts me, because it so typifies Bush's arrogant assertion that he is never, ever wrong, and that no one may correct or inform him:

There is one story about Bush's particular brand of certainty I am able to piece together and tell for the record.

In the Oval Office in December 2002, the president met with a few ranking senators and members of the House, both Republicans and Democrats. In those days, there were high hopes that the United States-sponsored ''road map'' for the Israelis and Palestinians would be a pathway to peace, and the discussion that wintry day was, in part, about countries providing peacekeeping forces in the region. The problem, everyone agreed, was that a number of European countries, like France and Germany, had armies that were not trusted by either the Israelis or Palestinians. One congressman -- the Hungarian-born Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California and the only Holocaust survivor in Congress -- mentioned that the Scandinavian countries were viewed more positively. Lantos went on to describe for the president how the Swedish Army might be an ideal candidate to anchor a small peacekeeping force on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Sweden has a well-trained force of about 25,000. The president looked at him appraisingly, several people in the room recall.

''I don't know why you're talking about Sweden,'' Bush said. ''They're the neutral one. They don't have an army.''

Lantos paused, a little shocked, and offered a gentlemanly reply: ''Mr. President, you may have thought that I said Switzerland. They're the ones that are historically neutral, without an army.'' Then Lantos mentioned, in a gracious aside, that the Swiss do have a tough national guard to protect the country in the event of invasion.

Bush held to his view. ''No, no, it's Sweden that has no army.''

The room went silent, until someone changed the subject.

A few weeks later, members of Congress and their spouses gathered with administration officials and other dignitaries for the White House Christmas party. The president saw Lantos and grabbed him by the shoulder. ''You were right,'' he said, with bonhomie. ''Sweden does have an army.''

Faith-based presidency, indeed. It's not so much that the preznit has faith, as that everyone is compelled to have faith in the preznit, who is, by his own assertions, never wrong.

This man... the one who is never, ever wrong in situations where it really counts, i.e., policy and strategy sessions... has usurped the office of president. It is essential that we oust him on Nov. 2.

Steve
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Grafted Into The Army

In high school, I wrote a paper on songs of the Civil War. One of them, written in dialect by the indefatigable Henry C. Work, was called "Grafted into the Army." Here's the first verse and a chorus:

Our Jimmy has gone for to live in a tent, They have grafted him into the army; He finally pucker'd up his courage and went, When they grafted him into the army. I told them he was too young, alas! At the captain's forequarters, they said he would pass. They'd train him up well in the infantry class, So they grafted him into the army. CHORUS: Oh, Jimmy, farewell! Your brothers fell Way down in Alabarmy; I thought they would spare a lone widder's heir, But they grafted him into the army.

Some things never change.

Is Kerry right about the possibility of a new draft? Bush promises, again and again, that our apparently endless wars will be fought with an all-volunteer army. I find that hard to believe, on several counts:

• our military is already stretched thin with its current commitments, thanks to catastrophically bad leadership on the part of Mr. Bush and his henchmen, who have regularly overridden the advice of their military leaders and ignored the advice of the intelligence services;
• the Bush campaign clearly considers the issue of a possible draft a political liability, or the RNC would not have issued a cease-and-desist letter to Rock the Vote for its advocacy on the draft issue (see Talking Points Memo for more info on the RNC's clear and astonishing plan to infringe free speech);
• if there were no plans for a draft (at least in somebody's secret documents), there would be no move to reconstitute draft boards;
• finally, Bush has lied about every other damned thing of significance to the nation's security, from getting us into this war in the first place using false pretenses, to neglecting to pursue Osama bin Laden properly in the three-plus years since the attacks on America.

Why should we believe this self-serving liar will not reinstitute a draft when he has drained our regular armed forces, our reserves and our National Guard?

Who would support a draft? There is much talk about "security moms," but as Ellen Goodman reminds us, white women with children under 18 (one typical definition of "security moms") constitute only about one-fifth of American women. Because of my age (I am 56), I know a few moms of children... female as well as male... who would be of draft age should Mr. Bush resume calling up children for cannon fodder. Those moms feel anything but secure at the moment. If you know such women, please remind them that only John Kerry has promised without reservation and without hesitation not to institute a draft, and that George W. Bush has no record of keeping his word on any issue whatsoever.

An aside: today we received news of an incident in Iraq in which, as The Fulcrum put it, "an entire supply platoon refused to run a 'suicide mission'," i.e., they disobeyed direct orders. Now I happen to have a very high opinion of soldiers in the U.S. Army, based on those I've known. If a whole lot of them, not just one or two, disobeyed an order, there must have been a reason. Either the leadership failed in its duty to maintain discipline, or the operation truly was a suicide mission that should not have been undertaken under the circumstances. I don't know which was the case. I do know that if officers in the field are being pressured, possibly by the de facto commander-in-chief or his henchmen, to give unreasonable or ill-considered orders, the resulting breakdown of discipline will lead to even more losses, and possibly to a draft even sooner than we may imagine at present. This is not good news, for the troops, for the war or for the potential draftees.

I don't know about you, but if Mr. Bush is elected or re-selected, I intend to use all nonviolent means to hold him to his word about not instituting a draft. I've seen where the draft leads. It was nearly disastrous for our nation in Vietnam, and I cannot imagine it will be different this time.

Steve
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Selected Links To Recent Posts

 
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Well, Duh!

Steve
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Sunrise, Sunset

Steve
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The Worst Confirmed

Steve
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Bush Stabilized

Steve
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Your Choice

Steve
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Texas Gets It Right

Steve
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Threatening The Iconoclast

Steve
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Was That A Gun In His Pocket?

Steve
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