Salon Weekly
A Weekly Email Publication of The Lloyd House
Circulation: c. 400
Growing out of the Monday Night Salon
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To: Friends on our Pot Luck Salon list.Â
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Saturday, 12/11/04 2004
At the table Monday 12/6/04: David Rosenberg, Daniel Hershey, Mike Murphy, Dennis Kinsley, Jan Kinsley, Mira Rodwan, Gerry Kraus, Marvin Kraus, Bev Paul, Neil Anderson, Spencer Konikov, Steve Sunderland, Joan Friedland, Ellen Bierhorst.
(From Ellen)Dan Hershey, our spy on the Radio Right, says they are saying that the US will leave after the Iraqi ellections next month, having accomplished the goals.
Greetings Friends!
John Robbins sent word he was sick, pneumonia...later the Xray said not pneumonia. Will be with us on 12/20. Hope you can make it.
(!)
Says that 1200 Americans have been killed; but fully 30 thousand Americns are "medical evacuees" including injuries for all causes, suicide attempts... This is 20% of all troops there.
David Rosenberg: when y ou are feeling despair over our politics think back to Gandi's situation. Brittain had all the power, all the guns, all they money. But he got them out of India. How? By stoppping to buy their stuff. Salt. Textiles. We must create our own economy.
We are now, as a country, actually importing more food than we export!
Steve Sunderland: What action can we take to stop buying WTO food? Not support the "system" as it doles out our food?
Answers... from DAvid and others:
Findlay Market is seen by folks as local organic agriculture, but it is not. IN recent years it has become a bit more that way, but historicaly and continuing the market there is just a dumping ground for overstocked and undesirable produce.
Nativity School in P. Ridge has a local mrket on Wednesday, all locally grown.
Maureen Wood has made a proposal and been accepted to be the developer of an ecovillage in Loveland.
The Barr farm, S of North Bend Rd just W of Winton is going to be the site of the Waldorf School, plus farming.
The problem with the food system, is that the alternative distribution system has to have the equivalent of 400 dozen eggs per week. And comensurate amounts of other fresh produce. If we could have that large a "pot" we could do it. i.e. about 400 families buying together.
We are waiting for more information from David. Many of us would like to go to work on this project. Alternative distribution system for locally grown food.
Someone said that Bush now wants to get Afghanistan and Iraq in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Thi sis getting so Orwelllian!
Gotta get to bed. Check out below.
http://www.votecobb.org/online_opinion/2004/dec/op2004-12-02b.php
- In "Teal" color, all the articles about the election fraud allegations and responses we can/should make.
- Congressmen/Senators write to Blackwell on Election Irregularities in Ohio, sent in by Jenefer Ellingston of D.C. Green Party.
- Elizabeth Motter writes:
An incredible (but long) article:
- Eli Pariser, always a good read, of Moveon.org writes about selection of Democrat Party chief
- Lloyd House Salon Yahoo group has more articles Sharon Dittmar's sermon at First U.U. Church 11/14: "Dear Democrats and Republicans... You called?"
- Nuclear waste: the elephant in the living room?
- John Robbins on his presentation at Salon monday. Read this.
- "White Ribbon" campaign: oppose the War
- Link to Paul Krugman article. Always try to read Paul:
FOCUS: Paul Krugman | Inventing a Crisis
- My letter to Council about budget cuts.
- Council Member Crowlely''s Assistant PHONED me right away, and also sent this response.
- Council Member Crowlely''s Assistant PHONED me right away, and also sent this response.
Hugs,
ellen
P.S. Just ran into another faithful "lurker", Dorotea Hoffman of CCM, all smiles and thank you's for our Salon Weekly. Wow! Makes my day. People actually do read it... all four hundred of you. Amazing. Maybe they are right, we are building something powerful here. (for Articles: see below. Beneath the "Announcements" section.)...
Announcements:
Our Member Elizabeth Motter (harpist) has New CD out...
Holiday Gift?
Here is an excerpt from the Enquirer review:
The Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati has released "Christmas Holidays" (Pro Organo; $17). It's a radiant collection of music by some of America's finest composers, alongside settings of traditional carols.
Led by Earl Rivers, the ensemble sings with warmth, purity and pristine intonation, and the album projects a serene, intimate feeling. Stephen Paulus' "Three Nativity Carols" is hauntingly lovely, enhanced by the playing of harpist Elizabeth Motter and oboist Mark Ostoich. Frank Ferko's "A Festival of Carols," set to 19th-century poems, is a wonderful find.
The singers' ensemble is peerless in a cappella Renaissance music: Richard Dering's "Quem vidistis, pastores?" (Tell us, shepherds) and Palestrina "Canite tuba" (Sound the trumpet). Other highlights are spirituals by William Dawson, "Mary Had a Baby" and "Behold the Star" and Paulus' "We Three Kings."
Music and Art Events at The Greenwich Jazz Club (one block south of the corner of Gilbert & McMillan) Telephone: 513-221-1151
Wednesday, December 15 "Lyrical Insurrection"
"Frumthalite Productions" presents "Lyrical Insurrection." This weekly Spoken word exhibition moves to WEDNESDAYS, the traditional evening for poetry at The Greenwich. "Lyrical Insurrection" features Open Mic sessions and weekly special appearances by musical guests. Showtime at 8:00 PM. Variable cover. For more information call Divine Prince Hakiym (513-885-3176), Itege Olufemi (513-652-1197), or Element (513-226-8741)
Friday, December 17 "24 Hour Open Mic" Part I (9 PM - 9 AM)
Cincinnati's only 24-hour "Open Mic" showcase for the performing arts
returns to The Greenwich. Come enjoy (and even take part) in this marathon parade of performances. Supported by the League of Cincinnati Theatres. Whether it's a skit, dramatic scene, musical number or poem you've got 24 hours to be a star. Contact Mark Yates by telephone (513-751-2823) or email (upstairsart@yahoo.com) to register a day, time and duration of your act (45 minute limit, please) $3 admission.
Saturday, December 18 "24 Hour Open Mic" Part II (9 PM - 9 AM)
Cincinnati's only 24-hour "Open Mic" showcase for the performing arts
returns to The Greenwich. Come enjoy (and even take part) in this marathon parade of performances. Supported by the League of Cincinnati Theatres. Whether it's a skit, dramatic scene, musical number or poem you've got 24 hours to be a star. Contact Mark Yates by telephone (513-751-2823) or email (upstairsart@yahoo.com) to register a day, time and duration of your act (45 minute limit, please) $3 admission.
Wednesday, December 22 "Lyrical Insurrection"
"Frumthalite Productions" presents "Lyrical Insurrection." This weekly Spoken word exhibition moves to WEDNESDAYS, the traditional evening for poetry at The Greenwich. "Lyrical Insurrection" features Open Mic sessions and weekly special appearances by musical guests. Showtime at 8:00 PM. Variable cover. For more information call Divine Prince Hakiym (513-885-3176), Itege Olufemi (513-652-1197), or Element (513-226-8741)
Saturday, December 25 "Christmas Lyrical Insurrection Showcase"
Frumthalite Productions presents the monthly "Lyrical Insurrection Showcase" on Christmas Day. Featured the last Saturday of each month, this event highlights musical and Spoken word performers from around the city. Showtime 9 PM. Variable cover. For more information call Divine Prince Hakiym (513-885-3176), Itege Olufemi (513-652-1197), or Element (513-226-8741)
Wednesday, December 29 "Lyrical Insurrection"
"Frumthalite Productions" presents "Lyrical Insurrection." This weekly Spoken word exhibition moves to WEDNESDAYS, the traditional evening for poetry at The Greenwich. "Lyrical Insurrection" features Open Mic sessions and weekly special appearances by musical guests. Showtime at 8:00 PM. Variable cover. For more information call Divine Prince Hakiym (513-885-3176), Itege Olufemi (513-652-1197), or Element (513-226-8741)
Join the Martin Luther King Jr. Coalition Chorale
directed by Cathy Roma and Todd O'Neal
no audition. multicultural group. way fun.
Rehearsals will be at The House Of Joy in College Hill (Hamilton Ave.)
on: Alternate Tuesdays 7 - 9 pm
STILL TIME TO J OIN!
Dec 7
Dec 21
Jan 4
Jan 11
Special Need for Tenors and Basses!
Performance at Music Hall for MLK Day: Jan 17
PROTEST INAUGURATION OF BUSH ON JAN. 20
ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
===========================================
January 20, 2005: Our Resistance Continues!
Protest the Inauguration of George W. Bush
On Thursday, January 20, 2005, George W. Bush will be inaugurated as president of the United States. For the millions of us who stand for the values of peace and justice, it is a moment to renew our commitment to resist the Bush Administration and its deadly policies of war and greed – and to show Bush, and the world, that our movement is energized, mobilized, and determined to keep fighting back.
(SEE THEIR WEB PAGE ABOVE FOR MORE ON THIS EVENT. HIRE A BUS? CHECK WITH INTERCOMMUNITY CENTER FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE... THEY MIGHT BE RENTING ONE.)
The Village Green is what used to be a commercial greenhouse in Northside on
Knowlton St.... went out of business, was bought by the amazing Maureen Wood
And now is, ta=da! The Village Green.
===========================================================s
subject: Northside Market at the Village Green
Dear Village Green Gardeners and Friends,
Today was the Northside Market's first day at Village Green. There was a
great group of venders
with a great selection of produce, baked goods, handmade soaps and other
goodies. They will
be using the storefront on Wednesdays over the next several months - please
pass the word on
to your friends and family.
Northside (Farmers') Market at the Village Green
Wednesdays, 3 to 7pm
1415 Knowlton St.
Cincinnati, OH 45223
Peter Huttinger
The Gardens at Village Green
1415 Knowlton St.
Cincinnati, OH 45223
541-0252 Greenhouse & Gardens
513-542-1745 home
513-919-8940 cell huttinger@fuse.net
Ohio Rail Transit Plan
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Rail plan spans Ohio
The Associated Press
CLEVELAND - The development of a passenger rail network in Ohio is at least
nine years away and would require federal money that doesn't exist for such
projects.
The Ohio Rail Development Commission has a $3.5 billion plan to develop a
passenger network throughout the state that could become self-sufficient
once it's up and running.
The commission's two-year proposal for an Ohio and Lake Erie Regional Rail
Hub calls for using existing
railroad rights of way where tracks could be added or rehabilitated to build
a network.
The network could be used for new, high-speed passenger service and improved
freight service, commission spokesman Stu Nicholson said.
From Cleveland, passengers could get to Columbus, Pittsburgh and Buffalo in
about two hours - faster than driving.
For more information see http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ohiorail/
14. Wednesday, January 26th, 1:30 - 3:30 pm at OKI in Cincinnati:
ORDC/OKI
Ohio Hub presentation to business and community leaders in Cincinnati and
Southwest Ohio.
15. Wednesday, January 26thth, 5:30 - 7:30 pm at OKI in Cincinnati:
ORDC/OKI
Ohio Hub Presentation to the public in Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio.
http://www.chelseagreen.com/2004/items/elephant
Link to George Lakoff's new book "Don't think of an elephant" essential understanding for progressives. This site has the entire first chapter. Book costs about $12, paperback. Suggest we all read it right away and use it to get cracking.
Our copy of
George Lakoff's most recent book,
Know Your Values and Frame the Debate.
Don't Think of an Elephant:
is now here. Neil has finished it. "It's a light," says Neil. You can borrow it. e.
IMAGO
HAS FUNDRAISING PROJECT to support their eco-friendly work
Recycle your empty laser and inkjet cartridges and your used cell phones.
Imago provides your business (hr home office) with a box or bag which we will ask you to fill with your used cartridges, cell phones. Once full, call Imago Earth Center and a rep. will come pick up the box.
Call 921-8455 or email earthcenter@imagoearth.org, or
Http://imagoearth.org
Cooperative Janitorial Services
is an employee-owned service. Employee owned cooperative businesses are an excellent tool for participation, voice, and empowerment of working people. Interfaith Business Builders, Inc. is an interfaith group (Catholics and Babtists and Methodists) working to help such projects (Ray West, Exec. Dir.). Call 557-3600
Nick Spencer, independent candidate for Cint. Mayor will be with us at the Salon
on January 10, 2005
Don't miss this.
- end of Announcements -
A r t i c l e s
ELECTION FRAUD TOPIC:
This color..."teal"
Congressmen on Election Irregularities in Ohio:
Sent by friend and Green Party organizer in D.C., Jenefer Ellingston, formerly of Cincinnati and mother of Adrian Carsiotis.
Ellen,
Scan this list of voting irregularities in Ohio... and distribute this article as you see fit.
(Something is rotten in the State of "Denmark")
I am tired... just when I back off and decide to "cultivate my own garden" (Candide), I am drawn into another skirmish of private
profit at public expense - our DC gov. always sides with private profit. So... what's new? Admit it, we are a Plutocracy not
even a semblance of a Democracy.
love,
Jenefer
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/120404W.shtml
<http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/120404W.shtml> One Hundred Eighth Congress Congress of the United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, 2138 Rayburn House Office Building Washington DC 20515-6216 (202) 225-3951
December 2, 2004
The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell Ohio Secretary of State 180 East Broad Street, 16th Floor Columbus, OH 43215
Dear Secretary Blackwell:
We write to request your assistance with our ongoing investigation of election irregularities in the 2004 Presidential election. As you may be aware, the Government Accountability Office has agreed to undertake a systematic and comprehensive review of election irregularities throughout the nation. As a separate matter, we have requested that the House Judiciary Committee Democratic staff undertake a thorough review of each and every specific allegation of election irregularities received by our offices.
Collectively, we are concerned that these complaints constitute a troubled portrait of a one-two punch that may well have altered and suppressed votes, particularly minority and Democratic votes. First, it appears there were substantial irregularities in vote tallies. It is unclear whether these apparent errors were the result of machine malfunctions or fraud.
Second, it appears that a series of actions of government and non-government officials may have worked to frustrate minority voters. Consistent and widespread reports indicate a lack of voting machines in urban, minority and Democratic areas, and a surplus of such machines in Republican, white and rural areas. As a result, minority voters were discouraged from voting by lines that were in excess of eight hours long. Many of these voters were also apparently victims of a campaign of deception, where flyers and calls would direct them to the wrong polling place. Once at that polling place, after waiting for hours in line, many of these voters were provided provisional ballots after learning they were at the wrong location. These ballots were not counted in many jurisdictions because of a directive issued by some election officials, such as yourself.
We are sure you agree with us that regardless of the outcome of the election, it is imperative that we examine any and all factors that may have led to voting irregularities and any failure of votes to be properly counted. Toward that end, we ask you to respond to the following allegations:
I. Counting Irregularities A. Warren County Lockdown  On election night, Warren County locked down its administration building and barred reporters from observing the counting. When that decision was questioned, County officials claimed they were responding to a terrorist threat that ranked a “10" on a scale of 1 to 10, and that this information was received from an FBI agent. Despite repeated requests, County officials have declined to name that agent, however, and the FBI has stated that they had no information about a terror threat in Warren County. Your office has stated that it does not know of any other county that took these drastic measures.
In addition to these contradictions, Warren County officials have given conflicting accounts of when the decision was made to lock down the building. While the County Commissioner has stated that the decision to lockdown the building was made during an October 28 closed-door meeting, emailed memos  dated October 25 and 26 indicate that preparations for the lockdown were already underway.
This lockdown must be viewed in the context of the aberrational results in Warren County. In the 2000 Presidential election, the Democratic Presidential candidate, Al Gore, stopped running television commercials and pulled resources out of Ohio weeks before the election. He won 28% of the vote in Warren County. In 2004, the Democratic Presidential candidate, John Kerry, fiercely contested Ohio and independent groups put considerable resources into getting out the Democratic vote. Moreover, unlike in 2000, independent candidate Ralph Nader was not on the Ohio ballot in 2004. Yet, the tallies reflect John Kerry receiving exactly the same percentage in Warren County as Gore received, 28%.
We hope you agree that transparent election procedures are vital to public confidence in electoral results. Moreover, such aberrant procedures only create suspicion and doubt that the counting of votes was manipulated. As part of your decision to certify the election, we hope you have investigated these concerns and found them without merit. To assist us in reaching a similar conclusion, we ask the following:
1. Have you, in fact, conducted an investigation of the lockdown? What procedures have you or would you recommend be put into place to avoid a recurrence of this situation?
2. Have you ascertained whether County officials were advised of terrorist activity by an FBI agent and, if so, the identity of that agent?
3. If County officials were not advised of terrorist activity by an FBI agent, have you inquired as to why they misrepresented this fact? If the lockdown was not as a response to a terrorist threat, why did it take place? Did any manipulation of vote tallies occur?
B. Perry County Election Counting Discrepancies The House Judiciary Committee Democratic staff has received information indicating discrepancies in vote tabulations in Perry County. For example, the sign-in book for the Reading S precinct indicates that approximately 360 voters cast ballots in that precinct. In the same precinct, the sign-in book indicates that there were 33 absentee votes cast. In sum, this would appear to mean that fewer than 400 total votes were cast in that precinct. Yet, the precinctÂ’s official tallies indicate that 489 votes were cast. In addition, some votersÂ’ names have two ballot stub numbers listed next to their entries creating the appearance that voters were allowed to cast more than one ballot.
In another precinct, W Lexington G AB, 350 voters are registered according to the CountyÂ’s initial tallies. Yet, 434 voters cast ballots. As the tallies indicate, this would be an impossible 124% voter turnout. The breakdown on election night was initially reported to be 174 votes for Bush, and 246 votes for Kerry. We are advised that the Perry County Board of Elections has since issued a correction claiming that, due to a computer error, some votes were counted twice. We are advised that the new tallies state that only 224 people voted, and the tally is 90 votes for Bush and 127 votes for Kerry. This would make it appear that virtually every ballot was counted twice, which seems improbable.
In Monroe Township, Precinct AAV, we are advised that 266 voters signed in to vote on election day, yet the Perry County Board of Elections is reporting that 393 votes were cast in that precinct, a difference of 133 votes.
4. Why does it appear that there are more votes than voters in the Reading S precinct of Perry County?
5. What is the explanation for the fluctuating results in the W Lexington AB precinct?
6. Why does it appear that there are more votes than voters in the Monroe Township precinct AAV?
C. Perry County Registration Peculiarities
In Perry County, there appears to be an extraordinarily high level voter registration, 91%; yet a substantial number of these voters have never voted and have no signature on file. Of the voters that are registered in Perry County an extraordinarily large number of voters are listed as having registered in 1977, a year in which there were no federal elections. Of these an exceptional number are listed as having registered on the exact same day: in total, 3,100 voters apparently registered in Perry County on November 8, 1977.
7. Please explain why there is such a high percentage of voters in this County who have never voted and do not have signatures on file. Also, please help us understand why such a high number of voters in this County are shown as having registered on the same day in 1977.
D. Unusual Results in Butler County
In Butler County, a Democratic Candidate for State Supreme Court, C. Ellen Connally received 59,532 votes. In contrast, the Kerry-Edwards ticket received only 54,185 votes, 5,000 less than the State Supreme Court candidate. Additionally, the victorious Republican candidate for State Supreme Court received approximately 40,000 less votes than the Bush-Cheney ticket. Further, Connally received 10,000 or more votes in excess of KerryÂ’s total number of votes in five counties, and 5,000 more votes in excess of KerryÂ’s total in ten others.
It must also be noted that Republican judicial candidates were reportedly “awash in cash,” with more than $1.4 million and were also supported by independent expenditures by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
While you may have found an explanation for these bizarre results, it appears to be wildly implausible that 5,000 voters waited in line to cast a vote for an underfunded Democratic Supreme Court candidate and then declined to cast a vote for the most well-funded Democratic Presidential campaign in history. We would appreciate an answer to the following:
8. Have you examined how an underfunded Democratic State Supreme Court candidate could receive so many more votes in Butler County than the Kerry-Edwards ticket? If so, could you provide us with the results of your examination? Is there any precedent in Ohio for a downballot candidate receiving on a percentage or absolute basis so many more votes than the Presidential candidate of the same party in this or any other presidential election? Please let us know if any other County in Ohio registered such a disparity on a percentage or absolute basis.
E. Unusual Results in Cuyahoga County
Precincts in Cleveland have reported an incredibly high number of votes for third party candidates who have historically received only a handful of votes from these urban areas. For example, precinct 4F in the 4th Ward cast 290 votes for Kerry, 21 for Bush, and 215 for Constitution Party candidate Michael Peroutka. In 2000, the same precinct cast less than 8 votes for all third party candidates combined.
This pattern is found in at least 10 precincts through throughout Cleveland in 2004, awarding hundreds of unlikely votes to the third party candidate. Notably, these precincts share more than a strong Democratic history: the use of a punch card ballot. In light of these highly unlikely results, we would like to know the following:
9. Have you investigated whether the punch card system used in Cuyahoga County led to voters accidentally voting for third party candidates instead of the Democratic candidate they intended? If so, what were the results? Has a third party candidate ever received such a high percentage of votes in these precincts.
10. Have you found similar problems in other counties? Have you found similar problems with other voting methods?
F. Spoiled Ballots
According to post election canvassing, many ballots were cast without any valid selection for president. For example, two precincts in Montgomery County had an undervote rate of over 25% each  accounting for nearly 6,000 voters who stood in line to vote, but purportedly declined to vote for president. This is in stark contrast to the 2% of undervoting county-wide. Disturbingly, predominantly Democratic precincts had 75% more undervotes than those that were predominantly Republican. It is inconceivable to us that such a large number of people supposedly did not have a preference for president in such a controversial and highly contested election.
Considering that an estimated 93,000 ballots were spoiled across Ohio, we would like to know the following:
11. How many of those spoiled ballots were of the punch card or optical scan format and could therefore be examined in a recount?
12. Of those votes that have a paper trail, how many votes for president were undercounted, or showed no preference for president? How many were overcounted, or selected more than one candidate for president? How many other ballots had an indeterminate preference?
13. Of the total 93,000 spoiled ballots, how many were from predominantly Democratic precincts? How many were from minority-majority precincts?
14. Are you taking steps to ensure that there will be a paper trail for all votes before the 2006 elections so that spoiled ballots can be individually re-examined?
G. Franklin County Overvote  On election day, a computerized voting machine in ward 1B in the Gahanna precinct of Franklin County recorded a total of 4,258 votes for President Bush and 260 votes for Democratic challenger, John Kerry. However, there are only 800 registered voters in that Gahanna precinct, and only 638 people cast votes at the New Life Church polling site. It was since discovered that a computer glitch resulted in the recording of 3,893 extra votes for President George W. Bush.
Fortunately, this glitch was caught and the numbers were adjusted to show President BushÂ’s true vote count at 365 votes to Senator KerryÂ’s 260 votes. However, many questions remain as to whether this kind of malfunction happened in other areas of Ohio. To help us clarify this issue, we request that you answer the following:
15. How was it discovered that this computer glitch occurred?
16. What procedures were employed to alert other counties upon the discovery of the malfunction?
17. Can you be absolutely certain that this particular malfunction did not occur in other counties in Ohio during the 2004 Presidential election? How?
18. What is being done to ensure that this type of malfunction does not happen again in the future?
H. Miami County Vote Discrepancy  In Miami County, with 100% of the precincts reporting on Wednesday, November 3, 2004, President Bush had received 20,807 votes, or 65.80% of the vote, and Senator Kerry had received 10,724 votes, or 33.92% of the vote. Miami reported 31,620 voters. Inexplicably, nearly 19,000 new ballots were added after all precincts reported, boosting President Bush’s vote count to 33,039, or 65.77%, while Senator Kerry’s vote percentage stayed exactly the same to three one-hundredths of a percentage point at 33.92%.
Roger Kearney of Rhombus Technologies, Ltd., the reporting company responsible for vote results of Miami County, has stated that the problem was not with his reporting and that the additional 19,000 votes came before 100% of the precincts were in. However, this does not explain how the vote count could change for President Bush, but not for Senator Kerry, after 19,000 new votes were added to the roster. To help us better understand this anomaly, we request that you answer the following:
19. What is your explanation as to the statistical anomaly that showed virtually identical ratios after the final 20-40% of the vote came in? In your judgment, how could the vote count in this County have changed for President Bush, but not for Senator Kerry, after 19,000 new votes were added to the roster?
20. Are you aware of any pending investigations into this matter?
I. Mahoning County Machine Problems  In Mahoning County, numerous voters reported that when they attempted to vote for John Kerry, the vote showed up as a vote for George Bush. This was reported by numerous voters and continued despite numerous attempts to correct their vote.
21. Please let us know if you have conducted any investigation or inquiry of machine voting problems in the state, including the above described problems in Mahoning County, and the results of this investigation or inquiry.
II. Procedural Irregularities
A. Machine Shortages
Throughout predominately Democratic areas in Ohio on election day, there were reports of long lines caused by inadequate numbers of voting machines. Evidence introduced in public hearings indicates that 68 machines in Franklin County were never deployed for voters, despite long lines for voters at that county, with some voters waiting from two to seven hours to cast their vote. The Franklin County Board of Elections reported that 68 voting machines were never placed on election day, and Franklin County BOE Director Matt Damschroder admitted on November 19, 2004 that 77 machines malfunctioned on Election Day. It has come to our attention that a county purchasing official who was on the line with Ward Moving and Storage Company, documented only 2,741 voting machines delivered through the November 2 election day. However, Franklin County’s records reveal that they had 2,866 “machines available” on election day. This would mean that amid the two to seven hour waits in the inner city of Columbus, at least 125 machines remained unused on Election Day.
Franklin County’s machine allocation report clearly states the number of machines that were placed “By Close of Polls.” However, questions remain as to where these machines were placed and who had access to them throughout the day. Therefore, what matters is not how many voting machines were operating at the end of the day, but rather how many were there to service the people during the morning and noon rush hours.
An analysis revealed a pattern of providing fewer machines to the Democratic city of Columbus, and more machines to the primarily Republican suburbs. At seven out of eight polling places, observers counted only three voting machines per location. According to the presiding judge at one polling site located at the Columbus Model Neighborhood facility at 1393 E. Broad St., there had been five machines during the 2004 primary. Moreover, at Douglas Elementary School, there had been four machines during the spring primary. In one Ohio voting precinct serving students from Kenyon College, some voters were required to wait more than eight hours to vote. There were reportedly only two voting machines at that precinct. The House Judiciary Committee staff has received first hand information confirming these reports.
Additionally, it appears that in a number of locations, polling places were moved from large locations, such as gyms, where voters could comfortably wait inside to vote to smaller locations where voters were required to wait in the rain. We would appreciate answers to the following:
22. How much funding did Ohio receive from the federal government for voting machines?
23. What criteria were used to distribute those new machines?
24. Were counties given estimates or assurances as to how many new voting machines they would receive? How does this number compare to how many machines were actually received?
25. What procedures were in place to ensure that the voting machines were properly allocated throughout Franklin and other counties? What changes would you recommend be made to insure there is a more equitable allocation of machines in the future?
B. Invalidated Provisional Ballots
As you know, just weeks before the 2004 Presidential election, you issued a directive to county election officials saying they are allowed to count provisional ballots only from voters who go to the correct precinct for their home address. At the same time, it has been reported that fraudulent flyers were being circulated on official-looking letterhead telling voters the wrong place to vote, phone calls were placed incorrectly informing voters that their polling place had changed, “door-hangers” telling African-American voters to go to the wrong precinct, and election workers sent voters to the wrong precinct. In other areas, precinct workers refused to give any voter a provisional ballot. And in at least one precinct, election judges told voters that they may validly cast their ballot in any precinct, leading to any number of disqualified provisional ballots.
In Hamilton County, officials have carried this problematic and controversial directive to a ludicrous extreme: they are refusing to count provisional ballots cast at the correct polling place if they were cast at the wrong table in that polling place. It seems that some polling places contained multiple precincts which were located at different tables. Now, 400 such voters in Hamilton county alone will be disenfranchised as a result of your directive.
26. Have you directed Hamilton County and all other counties not to disqualify provisional ballots cast at the correct polling place simply because they were cast at the wrong precinct table?
27. While many election workers received your directive that voters may cast ballots only in their own precincts, some did not. How did you inform your workers, and the public, that their vote would not be counted if cast in the wrong precinct? How many votes were lost due to election workers telling voters they may vote at any precinct, in direct violation of your ruling?
28. Your directive was exploited by those who intentionally misled voters about their correct polling place, and multiplied the number of provisional ballots found invalid. What steps have you or other officials in Ohio taken to investigate these criminal acts? Has anyone been referred for prosecution? If so, what is the status of their cases?
29. How many provisional ballots were filed in the presidential election in Ohio? How many were ultimately found to be valid and counted? What were the various reasons that these ballots were not counted, and how many ballots fall into each of these categories? Please break down the foregoing by County if possible.
C. Directive to Reject Voter Registration Forms Not Printed on White, Uncoated Paper of Not Less Than 80 lb Text Weight
On September 7, you issued a directive to county boards of elections commanding such boards to reject voter registration forms not “printed on white, uncoated paper of not less than 80 lb. text weight.” Instead, the county boards were to follow a confusing procedure where the voter registration form would be treated as an application for a form and a new blank form would be sent to the voter. While you reversed this directive, you did not do so until September 28. In the interim, a number of counties followed this directive and rejected otherwise valid voter registration forms. There appears to be some further confusion about the revision of this order which resulted in some counties being advised of the change by the news media.
30. How did you notify county boards of elections of your initial September 7 directive?
31. How did you notify county boards of elections of your September 28 decision to revise that directive?
32. Have you conducted an investigation to determine how many registration forms were rejected as a result of your September 7 directive? If so, how many?
33. Have you conducted an investigation to determine how many voters who had their otherwise valid forms rejected as a result of your September 7 directive subsequently failed to re-register? If so, how many?
34. Have you conducted an investigation to determine how many of those voters showed up who had their otherwise valid forms rejected to vote on election day and were turned away? If so, how many?
We await your prompt reply. To the extent any questions relate to information not available to you, please pass on such questions to the appropriate election board or other official. Please respond to 2142 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 by December 10. If you need more time to investigate and respond to some of these inquiries, we would welcome a partial response by that date and a complete response within a reasonable period of time thereafter. If you have any questions about this inquiry, please contact Perry Apelbaum or Ted Kalo of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff at (202) 225-6504.
Sincerely,
Rep. John Conyers, Jr. Rep. Melvin Watt Rep. Jerrold Nadler Rep. Tammy Baldwin
Bill Moyers
on Armageddon Fever
Hi Ellen! I thought you'd like to share this Bill Moyers info plus the option of telling GW to keep his hands off our food: NO WTO GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS FROM WTO VIA 'OUR' GOVERNMENT!!! (see end of message) Thanks & Love, Mira
Subject: Moyers Accepting Global Environment Award - Motivation for Ecovillage
"Š as a journalist I know the news is never the end of the story. The news can
be the truth that sets us free - not only to feel but to fight for the future
we want. And the will to fight is the antidote to despair, the cure for
cynicism, Š "
Editor's Note | This week the Center for Health and the Global Environment
at Harvard Medical School presented its fourth annual Global Environment
Citizen Award to Bill Moyers. In presenting the award, Meryl Streep, a member of the
Center board, said, "Through resourceful, intrepid reportage and perceptive
voices from the forward edge of the debate, Moyers has examined an environment
under siege with the aim of engaging citizens." Here is the text of his
response to Ms. Streep's presentation of the award.
On Receiving Harvard Medical School's
By Bill Moyers
Global Environment Citizen Award
t r u t h o u t | Perspective
Wednesday 01 December 2004
I accept this award on behalf of all the people behind the camera whom
you never see. And for all those scientists, advocates, activists, and just
plain citizens whose stories we have covered in reporting on how environmental
change affects our daily lives. We journalists are simply beachcombers on the
shores of other people's knowledge, other people's experience, and other people's
wisdom. We tell their stories.
The journalist who truly deserves this award is my friend, Bill McKibben.
He enjoys the most conspicuous place in my own pantheon of journalistic
heroes for his pioneer work in writing about the environment. His bestseller "The
End of Nature" carried on where Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" left off.
Writing in Mother Jones recently, Bill described how the problems we
journalists routinely cover - conventional, manageable programs like budget
shortfalls and pollution - may be about to convert to chaotic, unpredictable,
unmanageable situations. The most unmanageable of all, he writes, could be the
accelerating deterioration of the environment, creating perils with huge momentum
like the greenhouse effect that is causing the melt of the artic to release so
much freshwater into the North Atlantic that even the Pentagon is growing
alarmed that a weakening gulf stream could yield abrupt and overwhelming changes,
the kind of changes that could radically alter civilizations.
That's one challenge we journalists face - how to tell such a story
without coming across as Cassandras, without turning off the people we most want to
understand what's happening, who must act on what they read and hear.
As difficult as it is, however, for journalists to fashion a readable
narrative for complex issues without depressing our readers and viewers, there is
an even harder challenge - to pierce the ideology that governs official
policy today. One of the biggest changes in politics in my lifetime is that the
delusional is no longer marginal. It has come in from the fringe, to sit in the
seat of power in the oval office and in Congress. For the first time in our
history, ideology and theology hold a monopoly of power in Washington. Theology
asserts propositions that cannot be proven true; ideologues hold stoutly to a
world view despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality.
When ideology and theology couple, their offspring are not always bad but
they are always blind. And there is the danger: voters and politicians alike,
oblivious to the facts.
Remember James Watt, President Reagan's first Secretary of the Interior?
My favorite online environmental journal, the ever engaging Grist, reminded us
recently of how James Watt told the U.S. Congress that protecting natural
resources was unimportant in light of the imminent return of Jesus Christ. In
public testimony he said, "after the last tree is felled, Christ will come back."
Beltway elites snickered. The press corps didn't know what he was talking
about. But James Watt was serious. So were his compatriots out across the
country. They are the people who believe the bible is literally true - one-third
of the American electorate, if a recent Gallup poll is accurate. In this past
election several million good and decent citizens went to the polls believing
in the rapture index. That's right - the rapture index. Google it and you will
find that the best-selling books in America today are the twelve volumes of
the left-behind series written by the Christian fundamentalist and religious
right warrior, Timothy LaHaye. These true believers subscribe to a fantastical
theology concocted in the 19th century by a couple of immigrant preachers who
took disparate passages from the Bible and wove them into a narrative that has
captivated the imagination of millions of Americans.
Its outline is rather simple, if bizarre (the British writer George
Monbiot recently did a brilliant dissection of it and I am indebted to him for
adding to my own understanding): once Israel has occupied the rest of its
'biblical lands,' legions of the anti-Christ will attack it, triggering a final
showdown in the valley of Armageddon. As the Jews who have not been converted are
burned, the messiah will return for the rapture. True believers will be lifted
out of their clothes and transported to heaven, where, seated next to the right
hand of God, they will watch their political and religious opponents suffer
plagues of boils, sores, locusts, and frogs during the several years of
tribulation that follow.
I'm not making this up. Like Monbiot, I've read the literature. I've
reported on these people, following some of them from Texas to the West Bank. They
are sincere, serious, and polite as they tell you they feel called to help
bring the rapture on as fulfillment of biblical prophecy. That's why they have
declared solidarity with Israel and the Jewish settlements and backed up their
support with money and volunteers. It's why the invasion of Iraq for them was
a warm-up act, predicted in the Book of Revelations where four angels 'which
are bound in the great river Euphrates will be released to slay the third part
of man.' A war with Islam in the Middle East is not something to be feared but
welcomed - an essential conflagration on the road to redemption. The last
time I Googled it, the rapture index stood at 144-just one point below the
critical threshold when the whole thing will blow, the son of god will return, the
righteous will enter heaven, and sinners will be condemned to eternal hellfire.
So what does this mean for public policy and the environment? Go to Grist
to read a remarkable work of reporting by the journalist, Glenn Scherer -
"The Road to Environmental Apocalypse." Read it and you will see how millions of
Christian fundamentalists may believe that environmental destruction is not
only to be disregarded but actually welcomed - even hastened - as a sign of the
coming apocalypse.
As Grist makes clear, we're not talking about a handful of fringe
lawmakers who hold or are beholden to these beliefs. Nearly half the U.S. Congress
before the recent election - 231 legislators in total - more since the election
- are backed by the religious right. Forty-five senators and 186 members of
the 108th congress earned 80 to 100 percent approval ratings from the three most
influential Christian right advocacy groups. They include Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist, Assistant Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Conference Chair
Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Policy Chair Jon Kyl of Arizona, House Speaker
Dennis Hastert, and Majority Whip Roy Blunt. The only Democrat to score 100
percent with the Christian coalition was Senator Zell Miller of Georgia, who
recently quoted from the biblical book of Amos on the senate floor: "the days will
come, sayeth the Lord God, that i will send a famine in the land." he seemed
to be relishing the thought.
And why not? There's a constituency for it. A 2002 TIME/CNN poll found
that 59 percent of Americans believe that the prophecies found in the book of
Revelations are going to come true. Nearly one-quarter think the Bible predicted
the 9/11 attacks. Drive across the country with your radio tuned to the more
than 1,600 Christian radio stations or in the motel turn some of the 250
Christian TV stations and you can hear some of this end-time gospel. And you will
come to understand why people under the spell of such potent prophecies cannot
be expected, as Grist puts it, "to worry about the environment. Why care about
the earth when the droughts, floods, famine and pestilence brought by
ecological collapse are signs of the apocalypse foretold in the bible? Why care about
global climate change when you and yours will be rescued in the rapture? And
why care about converting from oil to solar when the same god who performed
the miracle of the loaves and fishes can whip up a few billion barrels of light
crude with a word?"
Because these people believe that until Christ does return, the lord will
provide. One of their texts is a high school history book, America's
providential history. You'll find there these words: "the secular or socialist has a
limited resource mentality and views the world as a pie...that needs to be cut
up so everyone can get a piece.' however, "[t]he Christian knows that the
potential in god is unlimited and that there is no shortage of resources in god's
earth......while many secularists view the world as overpopulated, Christians
know that god has made the earth sufficiently large with plenty of resources
to accommodate all of the people." No wonder Karl Rove goes around the White
House whistling that militant hymn, "Onward Christian Soldiers." He turned out
millions of the foot soldiers on November 2, including many who have made the
apocalypse a powerful driving force in modern American politics.
I can see in the look on your faces just how had it is for the journalist
to report a story like this with any credibility. So let me put it on a
personal level. I myself don't know how to be in this world without expecting a
confident future and getting up every morning to do what I can to bring it about.
So I have always been an optimist. Now, however, I think of my friend on Wall
Street whom I once asked: "What do you think of the market?" "I'm
optimistic," he answered. "Then why do you look so worried?" And he answered: "Because I
am not sure my optimism is justified."
I'm not, either. Once upon a time I agreed with the Eric Chivian and the
Center for Health and the Global Environment that people will protect the
natural environment when they realize its importance to their health and to the
health and lives of their children. Now I am not so sure. It's not that I don't
want to believe that - it's just that I read the news and connect the dots:
I read that the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
has declared the election a mandate for President Bush on the environment.
This for an administration that wants to rewrite the Clean Air Act, the Clean
Water Act and the Endangered Species Act protecting rare plant and animal
species and their habitats, as well as the National Environmental Policy Act that
requires the government to judge beforehand if actions might damage natural
resources.
That wants to relax pollution limits for ozone; eliminate vehicle
tailpipe inspections; and ease pollution standards for cars, sports utility vehicles
and diesel-powered big trucks and heavy equipment.
That wants a new international audit law to allow corporations to keep
certain information about environmental problems secret from the public.
That wants to drop all its new-source review suits against polluting
coal-fired power plans and weaken consent decrees reached earlier with coal
companies.
That wants to open the artic wildlife refuge to drilling and increase
drilling in Padre Island National Seashore, the longest stretch of undeveloped
barrier island in the world and the last great coastal wild land in America.
I read the news just this week and learned how the Environmental
Protection Agency had planned to spend nine million dollars - $2 million of it from
the administration's friends at the American Chemistry Council - to pay poor
families to continue to use pesticides in their homes. These pesticides have been
linked to neurological damage in children, but instead of ordering an end to
their use, the government and the industry were going to offer the families
$970 each, as well as a camcorder and children's clothing, to serve as guinea
pigs for the study.
I read all this in the news.
I read the news just last night and learned that the administration's
friends at the international policy network, which is supported by Exxon Mobile
and others of like mind, have issued a new report that climate change is 'a
myth,' sea levels are not rising, scientists who believe catastrophe is possible
are 'an embarrassment.'
I not only read the news but the fine print of the recent appropriations
bill passed by Congress, with the obscure (and obscene) riders attached to it:
a clause removing all endangered species protections from pesticides;
language prohibiting judicial review for a forest in Oregon; a waiver of
environmental review for grazing permits on public lands; a rider pressed by developers to
weaken protection for crucial habitats in California.
I read all this and look up at the pictures on my desk, next to the
computer - pictures of my grandchildren: Henry, age 12; of Thomas, age 10; of
Nancy, 7; Jassie, 3; Sara Jane, nine months. I see the future looking back at me
from those photographs and I say, "Father, forgive us, for we know now what we
do." And then I am stopped short by the thought: "That's not right. We do know
what we are doing. We are stealing their future. Betraying their trust.
Despoiling their world."
And I ask myself: Why? Is it because we don't care? Because we are
greedy? Because we have lost our capacity for outrage, our ability to sustain
indignation at injustice?
What has happened to out moral imagination?
On the heath Lear asks Gloucester: "'How do you see the world?" And
Gloucester, who is blind, answers: "I see it feelingly."
I see it feelingly.
The news is not good these days. I can tell you, though, that as a
journalist I know the news is never the end of the story. The news can be the truth
that sets us free - not only to feel but to fight for the future we want. And
the will to fight is the antidote to despair, the cure for cynicism, and the
answer to those faces looking back at me from those photographs on my desk.
What we need to match the science of human health is what the ancient Israelites
called 'hocma' - the science of the heart.....the capacity to see....to
feel....and then to act...as if the future depended on you.
Believe me, it does. (emphases added by Ellen) © Copyright 2004 by TruthOut.org
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.Marrianne Williamson - Return to Love
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel
insecure around you.
We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates
others.
Made famous in 1994 Inaugural Speech of Nelson Mandela
We hate others because we fear them.
We fear them because we don't know them.
We don't know them because we don't communicate.
We don't communicate because we can't hear them.
We can't hear them because we don't listen.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"BITE BACK: WTO HANDS OFF OUR FOOD!
Bush is using the World Trade Organisation
to force-feed you genetically modified food!
You can help stop them: Bite Back today and
sign the Citizens' Objection to the WTO
at http://www.bite-back.org" .
Eli Pariser on
Democrat Party Chief Selection
NO MORE INSIDERS. We can't afford four more years of Democratic leadership by elite Washington insiders with little vision and losing records. Contact your state Democratic Party leaders and ask them support a Democratic National Committee chair who will reconnect the party with the grassroots and lead us to victory. We'll deliver your comments on Saturday.
Dear MoveOn member,
Who will lead the Democratic Party? The answer may come as soon as this weekend, when the state Democratic Party leaders gather to discuss who should chair the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for the next four years.1 The election for chair is rarely competitive. But this year, with the race wide open, we have the chance to elect a leader who will reconnect the Democratic Party with its constituents -- us.
For years, the Party has been lead by elite Washington insiders who are closer to corporate lobbyists than they are to the Democratic base. But we can't afford four more years of leadership by a consulting class of professional election losers. In the last year, grassroots contributors like us gave more than $300 million to the Kerry campaign and the DNC, and proved that the Party doesn't need corporate cash to be competitive.2 Now it's our Party: we bought it, we own it, and we're going to take it back.
We've made it easy to contact your state Party leaders and ask them support a chair who will represent all of us OUTSIDE of the Washington beltway and engage us in a fight for a bold Democratic vision. If we get enough signatures today, we'll deliver your comments to their meeting this weekend, so please click below NOW to make your voice heard:
http://www.moveonpac.org/dncchair/
MoveOn includes Republicans, Greens, and independents. But all of us who are struggling for health care, clean air, decent jobs, and a sane foreign policy can agree on one thing: we're better off with a vibrant, populist Democratic Party that's strong enough to challenge the extreme-right Republican leadership.
Why haven't we had one? Under outgoing DNC chair Terry McAuliffe, the Party cozied up to many of the same corporate donors that fund the Republicans -- drug companies, HMO's, media conglomerates, big banks, polluting industries. The result was watered down, play-it-safe politics that kept the money flowing but alienated traditional Democrats as well as reform-minded independents in search of vision and integrity. And so the Party lost ground.
But in 2004, something incredible happened: hundreds of thousands of small contributors gave millions and millions of dollars and changed the way politics works forever. New we have an opportunity to birth a new Democratic Party -- a Party of the people that's funded by the people and that fights for the people. Tell your state Party leaders that you want a DNC chair who will use this new grassroots energy to catapult us to victory at:
http://www.moveonpac.org/dncchair/
The Democratic National Committee is the national backbone of the Democratic Party, and it matters who ends up as the new chair. With Democrats out of power in Washington, the new chair will play an unprecedented role as the voice of the Party. And no one will be in a better position to orchestrate a Democratic revival.
The state Party leaders -- who play a pivotal role within the DNC -- understand the importance of the DNC Chair. They have helped to make the election process more transparent, by inviting candidates for Chair to a public forum at their meeting. And for the first time, they are considering endorsing a candidate en masse. If they vote as a bloc, they could determine the next Chair. They represent all of us who knocked on doors, who gave money, who made phone calls -- and it's time for us to weigh in.
The movement for change that we built during the last election is still gathering strength. We need leadership that will break the chains of corporate funding so we can fight -- really fight -- for a better America.
Thank you for all that you do,
--Eli Pariser, Justin Ruben, and the whole MoveOn PAC team
  December 9, 2004
1 The Democratic National Committee is the organizational structure of the national Democratic Party. The chair is elected by the approximately 440 voting members of the DNC, who include state Party officials, elected Democrats from all levels of government, and representatives of Party caucuses like the Young Democrats of America and the National Federation of Democratic Women. The election for DNC chair will take place in February, and state Party officials control between one-quarter and one-third of the votes that are likely to be cast. This weekend, they are meeting to hear from a number of candidates for Chair. They may or may not make an endorsement at their meeting, but they have announced plans to do so at some point.
2 "The Next DNC Chair: Why You Should Care," syndicated column by Arianna Huffington, December 8, 2004. Online at:
http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/column.php?id=748
PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC www.moveonpac.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscription Management:
This is a message from MoveOn PAC. To remove yourself ( Ellen Bierhorst ) from this list, please visit our subscription management page at:
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Below, link to a PDF file of Sharon Dittmar's sermon at First Unitarian church on November 14:
Dear Democrats and Republicans... You called?
Steve Sunderland had complained that his church wasn't tlking about the war, wasn't talking about politics, despite being an overwhelmingly liberal congregation. John Heideman said his church was different. Sharon is his minister. Joyce Caufield sent us this sermon to share. Pretty good. thanks, Joyce. You will have to click on the link to read it, as the PDF file didn't copy and paste for some reason. (?) http://www.firstuu.com/Sunday_Services/Sermon_Archive/2004/11-14-04.pdf
Nuclear Waste: Elephant in the Living Room?
by Ellen
So I was having a lively conversation with Anita Sorkin yesterday about misogyny in our society, and the demoralization of our people, especially of men. I remember a special on Chinatown twenty years and more ago, showing the demoralization and disintegration of the once vital Chinese American commnity in Manhattan and an old Chinese man said, "When even the young men have no hope, then things are very very bad." Seems to me the young men today are aimless, confused, not plugged in. A gross generalization, some are, of course.
But Anita says that compared even with these problems of deteriorating morale and the disappearance of the American Dream, the giant looming over all is the horror of all the nuclear waste we are generating in the 103 nuclear power generators in our country. Did you know we had that many? Half life of over one hundred thousand years! Good grief! My neighbor Thurman Henderson, a smart engineer, said last month that nuclear waste wasn't a problem if you just dump it into the extremely deep salt mines... where are they, in Utah? WEll? What's the reall story? I understand that most of the power in France is generated through nuclear reactors. Where are they putting it? In the sox drawer?
I hope someone will research this and give me the low down.
Faithful readers send in articles all the time. Some are great. Below (see bulleted list) are some that I have posted on the Lloyd House Salon Yahoo group website.
To join, and to post...
Interactive Yahoo page for the salon: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LloydHouseSalon/
This is a good tool for us. Cuts down on the size of our Salon Weekly.
- Elizabeth Motter forwarded a short piece on the religious right and their agenda, plus link to a little video you can watch...make your hair stand on end, apparently. Wish you would check it out and let me know if I need to see it.
- NY times piece on Greenspan, sent by Dennis Kinsley
- Tim Burke, local Dem. Party head, sends bulletin of activities
From John Robbins Monday 11/22/04
Ellen, my initial problem with Lloydhouse is that giving prescription advice
BEFORE doing exhaustive energy studies is just not my style or preference.
AND I typically hesitiate to give advice about how to slow a 60 mph runaway
buses down by 1 mph when the edge of the cliff is getting closer. Stated
clearly, I recommend major upgrades when needed, not teeny tiny ones of
little consequence as you might find from a Cinergy audit or in any of many
books written on this topic. My "minimum" upgrade prescription starts with
raising to minimum codes. So if you want that how-to-retrofit-Lloydhouse
presentation, I'll present how to reframe the exterior walls to allow at
least R-13.... Or even better, to R-25 to 30, the optimum
"balance point" for achieving passive solar performance by balancing solar
heat with thermal efficiency. If by so doing, it is apparent how
dramatically energy-obsolete buildings like Lloydhouse are, then the group
can make its own mind up about the value of preserving such or how to deal
with that reality during a period of declining fossil fuel supplies. 99.5%
of my clients over 21 years WOULD OPT and HAVE OPTED to abandon such
structures, looking for and finding more easily upgradable "fixer-uppers".
The first most important function of consulting per my perspective is
presenting the truth, so I'm sorry in advance if/when I say stuff which is
distasteful. .... I actually have clients who are
worried that when the depletion starts, there is a worrisome chance that
energy guzzling have-nots will be threats to those who've learned and
implemented to use the least. ...
Indeed, people who are energy sippers are already not
held in any kind of higher regard by guzzlers, but instead they are often
thought of as freaks and oddities. I, for one, have been the butt of many
such jokes, as recently as last week when I told somebody that I used less
than 200 gallons of gas per year, that my office ran on solar power for the
last 3 years, and that my household's total energy utility bill last year
was only $707. ....
John
ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
UFPJ LAUNCHES WHITE RIBBON CAMPAIGN
Wear and distribute white ribbons to honor all who have died in Iraq
See below for action ideas and resources
===========================================
Today, December 10, is International Human Rights Day, a day for us all to note with shame and anger our government’s violations of human rights, particularly in the disastrous and illegal Iraq War. Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person.” International Human Rights Day is an opportunity to remember the hundreds of thousands of people whose human rights have been violated in Iraq.
Ending the war requires many steps, both large and small. To make the growing death toll in Iraq more visible throughout the United States, and to provide an easy way for people to express their antiwar sentiment, United for Peace and Justice is launching a White Ribbon Campaign to Oppose the War in Iraq. We are encouraging concerned individuals and member groups of UFPJ to initiate white ribbon visibility efforts in your area.
WHY A RIBBON CAMPAIGN?
The daily tragedies in Iraq are intangible to most people in the United States. While we can remember the horror of 9/11, many find it difficult to imagine the reality of hundreds of Iraqi citizens and dozens of U.S. soldiers being killed weekly in Iraq or the impact the death toll is having on families, on communities, and on the future of Iraq. While a ribbon campaign is an insufficient tool for expressing the heartbreak of families or resolving the crisis Iraqis face, the ribbon is an effective tool for raising awareness and increasing the daily visibility of the suffering. British peace and justice allies used the white ribbon to symbolize opposition to the war prior to the U.S. attack on Iraq in 2003. We hope to revitalize and spread the symbolic white ribbon across the U.S. and the world.
WHY WHITE?
White is the symbol for peace in many countries around the world and the symbol of mourning in others. Therefore, the message of the white ribbon is simple and clear:
“We mourn all of the dead. We support the troops. End the war now and bring the troops home.”
WHAT ABOUT THE YELLOW RIBBON?
Yellow signifies loyalty to our troops and patriotism for the country. UFPJ, Military Families Speak Out, and other allies have taken the yellow symbol of support and added signs of peace to demonstrate support for the troops and opposition to the war. We feel that the growing magnitude of the death toll (both Iraqi and U.S.) calls for an additional and different step: a simple and powerful symbol of mourning that directly opposes the madness of this perpetual war.
We encourage you to continue to use and support the yellow ribbon efforts as well: http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/yellowribbon_graphics/
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/merchandise [Note: UFPJ is producing white versions of our yellow car ribbon magnets; these will be available in one week.]
IDEAS FOR USING THE RIBBONS
White ribbons can be purchased at any paper or craft supply store or online. There are lots of ways that individuals and groups can participate in the white ribbon campaign. Here are just a few ideas:
* Wear a white ribbon on your lapel. Make extras and carry them with you wherever you go, so you can give them to others who wish to express their opposition to the war.
* Tie thick white ribbon around trees, car antennas, house fences, mailboxes and other structures in your neighborhood.
* Distribute and display white ribbons at local holiday events. You could also use symbols of the season, like the Christmas tree, by decorating pine trees (inside or out) with lots of white ribbons.
* Ask local churches, community centers, high school groups, and organization to distribute small white lapel ribbons attached to pins for people to put on their coat or bag.
* Blanket high schools, community colleges, or university campuses with white ribbons to represent all those who have lost their lives in Iraq. Students and faculty at American University hung 100,000 ribbons all over campus on December 5 to represent the vast number of deaths caused directly and indirectly by the Iraq war. The number is based on a study of Iraqi civilian deaths by Johns Hopkins and published in The Lancet, a highly respected medical journal (http://www.thelancet.com). Another source for information about the growing Iraqi civilian death toll is http://www.iraqbodycount.net.
* Integrate the white ribbon into your campaign to pass a local resolution to bring the troops home. Work with allied City Councilors to blanket town or city hall with white ribbons: http://www.citiesforpeace.org
* Use the color white at upcoming vigils and demonstrations. Use long sheets of white fabric to stretch the length of your march. Construct white ribbon flags to lead marches. Pass out white ribbons to all participants as well as onlookers.
Let us know about your white ribbon ideas and actions by writing to whiteribbon@unitedforpeace.org - weÂ’ll share them on our website.
===========================================
JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS...
New buttons, t-shirts, and car magnets from UFPJ
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/merchandise
===========================================
DON'T MOURN, ORGANIZE
Disgusted by Bush's election? Get active!
* Visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org for links to events and groups
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My Letter to City Council about Budget Cuts
12/05/04
Dear Cincinnati City Council Member,
I am very disappointed that a cold is keeping me away from the hearing today at City Hall about the proposed budget. I had so wanted to attend and voice my concerns. Together with many of my 400 subscribers in Cincinnati (to the weekly news bulletin I publish) I am under the impression that the proposed budget is friendly to business/developer interests but not to the ordinary citizen. Human services are being cut. Subsidies to the arts are being cut. Support for neighborhood community organizations is being halved!
Some in our group believe this is because the average council election campaign costs $132,000 and business and developers pick up this tab. Some in our group believe that the Council represents businesses and not citizens.
I urge you to spread necessary budget cuts evenly over the entire budget, instead of targeting programs and services that benefit citizens rather than business interests. The citizenry may revolt, or, even worse, become discouraged and appathetic.
Sincerely,
Ellen O. Bierhorst, Ph.D.
Lloyd House Salon Weekly
Crowley Responds to my Letter re. City Budget Cuts
Thank you very much for taking the time to write with your concerns over the proposed budget cuts. I know that these services are of great importance to you and the work that is done on a daily basis.
As you know we are in a period of great budget difficulties. We had to cut $8 Million out of this year's budget and are looking at $11.5 Million next year and $29 Million in 2006. This is out of a total budget of about $300 Million General fund where Human Services are paid.
The Mayor and Manager just recently submitted their proposed budget to Council. The complete elimination of the $4.8 Million Human Services Budget has been proposed. I have always been a staunch supporter of Human Services in the past. My sincere hope is that we can maintain as many of these programs as possible but in reality this will be extremely difficult.
I have a proposal for introduction today that will preserve at least half of the programs. I hope to get enough support on Council to pass this plan.
As we move forward I will certainly keep your concerns in mind.
Sincerely,
David Crowley
end of articles
The Lloyd House Salon (usually about 15 people) Meets Mondays at 5:45,
EVERY MONDAY, 52 WEEKS/YEAR come hell or high water, as my mother used to say.
We of the Lloyd House Salon gather in a spirit of
respect, sympathy and compassion for one another
in order to exchange ideas for our mutual pleasure and enlightenment.
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Our brand new (under construction) Salon Blog: http:lloydhouse.blogspot.com (has Salon Weekly starting 11/27/04)
interactive Yahoo Salon group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LloydHouseSalon.
Pot Luck Announcement (with procedures including food, mission and history) at
http://home.fuse.net/ellenbierhorst/Potluck.html  .Â
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> Please also visit the Lloyd House website:Â http://www.lloydhouse.com
>
> To unsubscribe from the Lloyd House Potluck Salon list, send a REPLY message
> to me and in the SUBJECT line type in "unsub potluck #". In the place of #
> type in the numeral that follows the subject line of my announcement emal. It
> will be 1,2, 3, 4, or 5. This tells me which sub-list your name is on so I can
> delete it. Thanks!  ellen bierhorst
- end of Salon Weekly -
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