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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve harris who wrote (263641)	12/6/2005 10:58:12 PM
From: American Spirit	Respond to of 1572706

A Diebold insider whistleblew today claiming the deeply conservative Diebold may be fixing elections around the country. 800,000 Ohio voters last year voted on diebold paperless voting machines which could easily be rigged. Be careful when you say Kerry "lost". You can say he didn't win, but if he was cheated, and there is more and mokre evidence he was, Kerry deserves the White House ASAP. Also, Bush's smear campaigns, terribly dishonest TV ads and phony terrorist alerts all added to the confusion. Kerry may not be the most charismatic, no CLinton or JFK, but he'd make a far-far superior president and most Americans would agree with that now.

To: steve harris who wrote (263641)	12/7/2005 4:40:44 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1572706

Still another one........how many GOPers do you think were in league with Abramoff? Records Show Burns' Abramoff Meetings By MARY CLARE JALONICK The Associated Press Tuesday, December 6, 2005; 6:59 PM WASHINGTON -- Sen. Conrad Burns and his staff met Jack Abramoff's lobbying team on at least eight occasions and collected $12,000 in donations around the time that the lawmaker took legislative action favorable to Abramoff's clients in the Northern Mariana Islands, records show. The 2001 donations to Burns, a Montana Republican, included money directly from Abramoff and a key garment company executive in the Pacific islands who was part of the coalition paying Abramoff's firm to fend off stronger U.S. regulations on the islands. In addition, two Burns staffers had accepted a trip arranged by Abramoff to attend the Super Bowl in Florida earlier that year. At the time, Burns served on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that was considering legislation the Marianas opposed. He also ran a Senate appropriations subcommittee that controlled spending for the Interior Department, which regulates U.S. territories including the islands. On May 23, 2001, Burns voted against a bill in the Senate Energy Committee that would have phased out a nonresident contract worker program benefiting the Marianas' garment industry. The committee approved the bill, but it never saw action on the Senate floor. In 1999, it had moved through the same committee by unanimous consent without objections from Burns or any other member. Burns' office told The Associated Press this week that he could not recall why he didn't object to the bill in 1999 but that his opposition in 2001 was prompted by a report indicating changes to immigration laws could hurt the islands' economy. He said it wasn't influenced by Abramoff or any donations. Abramoff's billing records, which AP obtained from the U.S. territorial islands under an open records request, show that in the three months before the vote, the lobbyist's team met twice with Burns and several more times with his Senate aides to discuss Marianas issues. One of those meetings, between Burns' staff and Abramoff associate Todd A. Boulanger, occurred just six days before the vote. Abramoff donated $5,000 to Burns' political action committee in February, just before the meetings started. His firm, Greenberg Traurig, donated $2,000 to Burns in March and Eloy Inos of Saipan donated $5,000 in April. The Inos donation was first reported by The Billings Gazette on Dec. 3. Inos listed his employer as Tan Holdings, a member of the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association, another Abramoff client. The Justice Department is investigating whether Abramoff, already charged with fraud in a Florida case, won any undue influence through donations and favors. Burns defended the meetings, saying they are part of the democratic process. CONTINUED 1 2 Next > washingtonpost.com

To: steve harris who wrote (263641)	12/7/2005 4:43:19 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1572706

Oops! Spokane mayor regrets embarrassing personal life 01:17 PM PST on Wednesday, December 7, 2005 From KREM 2 News, NWCN.com and Wire Reports SPOKANE -- Ousted Spokane Mayor James West says the past two years as mayor have been the best in his life, but he regrets an embarrassing personal life that led to his recall. "I'm not angry at all. I'm in absolute peace," West said Wednesday, one day after the city's special recall election. "I lived and died, figuratively, by the voters for 25 years. This is my fourth or fifth election that I've lost. I've won many more." West said he intends to sue the Spokane Spokesman Review newspaper, which published a series of investigative reports seven months ago that exposed he was going to an online chatroom for gays and offered a city job to a young man he met there. Those stories led to the recall election. West says he intends to remain in Spokane after he leaves office December 16th and play a role in the community. He also says he may write a book. Asked about his personal life, he said, “That’s none of your damn business.” West said he feels strong and takes chemotherapy every other week for his colon cancer. West offered to work on the transition to a new mayor. City Council President Dennis Hession will act as interim mayor until a new mayor is elected. West said says he’s proud of what he’s done at City Hall, balancing the budget and helping improve the economy of Spokane. West has spent 25 years in public office and is the city's first elected chief executive to be ousted before his term expired. Preliminary votes in The preliminary results of the historic election as posted by the Spokane County Elections Office show "Yes" votes as 38,718 to 20,681 "No" votes. Election officials have estimated that they will probably receive 3,000 to 4,000 additional ballots in the mail on Wednesday. Even if all of the ballots received are in West's favor, they would not be enough to catch up with the early returns. It has been a long road for all involved in the recall election. The scandal broke seven months ago when the Spokesman-Review published their investigative report on the mayor. The county elections office started counting the 60,000 plus ballots they had received at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday. They released the results shortly after 8:00 p.m. Tuesday evening. 110,000 mail-in ballots were mailed out by the elections office. The election will be certified official on December 16th, the same day West must vacate the mayor's office. West is accused of mis-using his office by offering a city job to a young man he met in an online chat room for gays. West said he has made mistakes. He admits having relationships with young men but denies doing anything illegal. No criminal charges have been filed. Earlier polls indicated about 60 percent of Spokane voters favored the recall. Spokane mayor opponent hopes he 'moves on' The woman who led the recall campaign against Spokane Mayor James West expected that he would be removed from office in Tuesday's election. Shannon Sullivan said there was no doubt about the outcome because voters would not accept his behavior. He's accused of offering a city job to a young men he met in an online chat for gays. Sullivan said it has been a seven-month battle that has consumed her life and left her frustrated. She was an unemployed single mother with no political experience when she filed a recall petition, based on stories in the Spokane Spokesman-Review. She said it's been frustrating and she's not sure she would choose that battle again. Sullivan said the mayor let the citizens down. She said it would not have made any difference if the behavior involved a young girl instead of a young man. She said she hopes he survives his fight with colon cancer and "moves on." KREM Mayor was state Republican power Spokane Mayor James West is a 54-year-old former Boy Scout executive and sheriff's deputy who was elected mayor in 2003. Prior to that, he served 17 years as a conservative Republican state legislator who usually voted against gay-friendly legislation. No charges have been filed against West, but the FB-I is conducting a public corruption investigation. A lawyer hired by the Spokane City Council concluded the mayor violated state laws and city computer policies. The Associated Press contributed to this report. king5.com