Flash back to 1984. Walter Mondale is pronounced the loser in that election several hours before the polls even OPEN much less before they close.

A later lawsuit by Democrats is WON because they are able to DOCUMENT that network coverage skewed the election results well in advance of poll closing in western MI, NM, IL (where lines were still in place).

Other data since then have indicated money was paid by the Reagan/Bush campaign to black ministers in New Jersey to NOT deliver voters to the polls in several precincts (as virtually admitted to by Ed Rollins in 1988, after NJ GOP Gov. Christie Whitman's campaign had been accused of that: "Oh, yes." said Rollins to a dinner group. "That was quite common up there. It's called "walking around money.;" the total context of his phrasing made it clear it had been practiced prior to the 1988 campaign; NJ reporter Ed Baumeister also noted that off-duty police officers had apparently been used to intimidate African-American voters in some precincts in NJ in 1988--and, by all indications, in 1984, since the practice seemed to have already been "in place" by 1988.)

To the Editor:
      I believe that John Kerry should reconsider his concession in light of  mounting allegations of fraud and abuse in the presidential election in the United States. In many states and especially in the swing states of Florida and Ohio, thousands of affedavits have been filed regarding voting irregularities and an outright effort by partisan election officials to surpress the vote. There is already a  recount underway in Ohio and if Kerry withdrew his concession, his action would add legitimacy and weight to the proceedings in such a way that the mainstream media would be forced to report on the story .  So far, inexplicably, they have basicaly refused to cover it.  If they did, and if the American people were informed about what could amount to massive election fraud in election 2004, we might see them spilling into the streets the way people  in the Ukraine have. They might decide not to tolerate the assult on their democracy that a rigged election represents.  

Katie Jacob
Birmingham, MI

Liberal Arts faculties at most universities are politically and philosophically one-sided, while partisan propagandizing often intrudes into classroom discourse. It is appropriate for faculty to want open-minded students in their classes, not disciples." This dire quote about academia is on the webs ite of a group called Students for Academic Freedom, a Washington D.C.-based group supported by rig conservative activist David Horowitz. What the quote doesn't say is that the group only approaches this issue from one side and that the group's mission is to win the war of words on this issue using a tactic called "framing."

In a 1993 scholarly article one of framing's chief theorists, Robert Entman, defined framing as, "to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation for the item described." Like a picture frame, framing shows some parts of the world outside the window, but not all. Framing is successful when it becomes part of the media discourse.

Settled amid rows of urban housing and apartment buildings on a busy thoroughfare of Milwaukee's north side is the Growing Power Community Food Center. What at first glance appears to be a modest roadside produce market and aging greenhouse - the last of its kind, standing in an area that was once the thriving agricultural center of the city known as Greenhouse Alley - is a pioneer meeting place and educational facility, committed not only to growing food but also to growing communities.

Nine years ago, Will Allen, a local farmer and co-director of Growing Power, Inc., tapped into a movement that was emerging from beneath the shadows of waxy apple towers and pallid wilted greens of mega-markets across the nation. However, the vision of providing a community-based education center was never a part of his original plan. "I bought this place for my own selfish reasons, to sell my farm produce," he explains. His main desire was to expose his family to the pride and integrity he associated with farming, as he had experienced it first-hand as a child growing up in rural Maryland.

Warren County, a traditional Republican stronghold northeast of Cincinnati, came to national attention on election night. While the nation awaited returns from Ohio, the state that would decide the election, county officials locked down the administrative building and prohibited all independent observers from watching the vote count.

An analyst who has all the vote data for 2000 and 2004 by precinct in several Ohio counties did a detailed analysis by precinct of the huge increase in Bush votes and margin in Warren county. This county first did a lockdown to count the votes, then apparently did another lockdown to recount the votes later- resulting in an even bigger Bush margin and very unusual new patterns.

Several very unusual patterns were evident in the history and the vote totals by precinct. The analyst concludes: