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The greatest story never told

There’s a story to tell this Christmas season about evil and redemption, about hope for the future. No, it isn’t the one about King Herod and the Babe of Bethlehem. That story has been told thousands of times, and has inspired Christians and even many non-Christians for two millennia. The new Christmas story hasn’t been told, because as was the case in Palestine two thousand years ago, the public isn’t quite ready to receive the news. There’s no room in the inn…not yet, at least.

The United States of America began as a secular country that welcomes religion, not as a religious country that tolerates secular humanism. It is a nation of laws, not men. Our founding fathers were mostly God-fearing gentlemen, but contrary to popular belief, the late 18th-century was not a time when religious observances were prevalent. We’ve become a religious nation, which is good, but in the evolution we’ve lost sight of the guiding principles on which America was founded.

Selections not elections

I CAN ,T BELIEVE THIS COUNTRY TWO CROOKED ELECTIONS IN A ROW. AND OUR PRESIDENT HAS THE NERVE TO CONDEM  ANOUTHER COUNTRY FOR A BAD ELECTION, THE DIFFERENCE IS THE PEOPLE OVER THERE WON,T ACCEPT IT.  AND I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MR. BUSH WALK DOWN THE STREET IN BAGDAD TO VOTE, I SEE LITTLE NEED FOR ME TO VOTE AGAIN

I HAVE LOST RESPECT FOR MY LEADERS AND I SEE A GREAT NATION GOING DOWN . WE ARE THE MOST HATED PEOPLE IN THE WORLD  AND HAVE BEEN MADE A LAUGHING STOCK OF THE WORLD.THE ONLY THING I CAN SAY FOR BUSH IS MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON HIS SOUL....THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME USE A FREEDOM  TO VENT MY TOTAL DISGUST WITH OUR BELOVED USA THANKS AGAIN AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL AN AMERICA            

ROY T. WATTS
OHIO

Statistics from Warren County

As of Oct. 18, 2004:
Democrats - 12,370
Republicans - 38,467
Independents - 74,316
Other - 12
Total - 125,165

As of Apr. 2, 2001:
Democrats - 7,637
Republicans - 32,686
Independents - 57,963
Other - 28
Total - 98,314

Percentage change from 2001 to 2004:
Democrats - +61.97%
Republicans - +17.69%
Independents - +28.21%

So clearly, registered Republicans heavily outnumber Democrats, but percentage-wise, there is quite a surge in Democratic registrations and Independents simply outnumber everyone else. Also, Democrats only consisted of about 7.8% of the voters in Warren County in early 2001, but in Oct. 2004, they were about 10% of all voters. Republicans made up 33.25% of all voters in Warren County in early 2001, but in Oct. 2004, they were only 30.7% of the electorate.

This refutes an earlier post from a few days ago stating that Warren County was "trending Republican." More results of my research will be forthcoming... please be patient.

Here's a link that breaks down everything by precinct:

Voting Rights Groups 'Block' Talk of Machine-Free Elections

So much for a free and fair exchange of ideas.  At conferences and hearings across the country, traditional voting rights organizations have successfully blocked any serious debate on machine-free, paper-only elections.  It appears that our well-entrenched so-called 'voting rights' organizations, including the NAACP and ACLU, haven't absorbed the lesson from America's election debacles.  They would rather invite the industry-funded National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) to speak at their conferences, than invite researchers and activists who will argue that the machines must go.  

Tuesday's Dec. 7th conference in Washington, D.C., Voting 2004: A Report to the Nation on America's Election Process, sponsored by Common Cause, The Century Foundation, and LCCR (Leadership Conference on Civil Rights) was no exception.  Instead of fighting for the peoples' right to a paper ballot and a hand count, the conference adopted the VerifiedVoting.org and Congressman Rush Holt's (D-NJ) prescription for voting integrity.  It is beyond worthless.  

Resistance, Hope, and Joy in the face of empire

The forces of empire are encountering stiff public resistance at home and abroad. Here are glimpses:

- The Israeli army executed 6 Palestinians in Tulkarem on Sunday (including two teenagers). Another Israeli sodier at a checkpoint beat a Palestinian student, slammed his head on the ground and then shot at him with a rifle causing moderate injuries (according to Israeli sources).

+ Thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians attended a gathering to commemorate the 23 July 1952 revolution in Egypt that ushered in modern Arab nationalism. Speakers emphasized the importance of unity of Arabic and Islamic people and countries in the face of US imperial interests in the Middle East. They also emphasized their solidarity with the resistance to occupation in Iraq and Palestine. Palestinians in the ooccupied areas continue to put their own fragile bodies in front of the US supplied war machine intent on keeping refugees away, enclosing others in ghettos, and confiscating the remainder of their lands and livelihoods. See stopthewall.org

Apartheid Walls, Moore, Kerry, and Israel

According to Israeli sources (Arutz news), Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stated that the Israeli court's decision to ask for rerouting segments of the wall near Jerusalem "strengthens Israel's position ahead of the expected verdict by the International Court of Justice in The Hague which will be announcing its verdict regarding Israel's right to construct the fence. " When taken with the attempts at distraction by talk of future withdrawal from Gaza and combined with the court's earlier ruling that Israel has a right to confiscate Palestinian lands and create hardships for them as long as Israeli military commanders indicate it is related to security, this statement from Sharon suggests that Israel will proceed with its apartheid wall since it now has the stamp of approval from both George Bush, John Kerry, and congress. This monstrous project to impoverish and isolate the Palestinians in several Ghettos is a war crime and a crime against humanity. All people of conscience must protest and raise their voice. Pericles (430 B.C.) observed that "Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you. " Indeed

Resist Not Evil

An endless sea of ink has flowed on the subject of how best to fight the Bush Administration. This is entirely natural; all of us instinctively react against those ideas we feel threaten both our lives and the values upon which they are based.

I have however come to the conclusion that fighting in the sense of resisting with hatred the thoughts and actions of others is not productive. Stating your own principles firmly but without rancor, living a code of loving ethics rather than wielding it as a club, will always outlast whatever misfortunes stem from the pride and greed of those in power. It is enormously difficult for most of us to feel and practice patience in the face of evil. But it is the only path that will bring us through such times with our identities intact. We must not become as those who seek to oppress us.

Sinclair Broadcasting's Long History of Journalistic and Corporate Deception

Sinclair Broadcasting Group has tried to influence the outcome of elections long before the media company became a lightning rod for criticism due to its decision to air a controversial documentary ten days before the Nov. 2 election critical of Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry's activities during the Vietnam War.

Two years ago, Duncan Smith, vice president of Sinclair, gave then Maryland GOP gubernatorial candidate Robert Ehrlich extensive use of a luxury helicopter Smith owned and billed Ehrlich's campaign-at a discounted rate of $1,000 an hour-only after an inquiry by the Baltimore Sun. Smith's company, Whirlwind Aviation, Inc., rents out the aircraft for $2,500 an hour. "Ehrlich used the helicopter at least six times during and after the gubernatorial campaign," according to a Nov. 20, 2002 Baltimore Sun story. Smith said at the time that the remaining fee of more than $13,750 would be picked up by Whirlwind and listed by the company as an "in-kind" contribution to Ehrlich's campaign.

The campaign donation appeared to violate campaign finance laws because it wasn't reported in a timely fashion. Moreover, the donation raised ethical

Certifiable election results

John F. Kerry gained ground on George W. Bush in Ohio after Election Day.  The official results, posted on December 2, 2004, include provisional ballots and some late-arriving absentee ballots.  The point spread between Bush and Kerry has been reduced by 0.30%, but this only begins to tell the story.

All the following tables show the official results on the first line, the unofficial results on the second line, and the difference on the third line.  The number of newly counted votes as a percentage of the total is posted beneath the name of the county.  State wide, this percentage was 2.62%.

COMPARISON OF RESULTS: STATE WIDE                

               Bush    % Bush     Kerry   % Kerry
Total      2,858,727   50.82%  2,739,952   48.70%

The United States of Ukraine?: Exit Polls Leave Little Doubt that in a Free and Fair Election John Kerry Would Have Won both the Electoral College and the Popular Vote

Due to the formatting and footnoting utilized in this article, we have elected to print it as a pdf for ease of reading.

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