Legislative panel: Palin abused authority

[ducks]

14 minutes ago



ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A legislative committee investigating Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has found she unlawfully abused her authority in firing the state's public safety commissioner.

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The investigative report concludes that a family grudge wasn't the sole reason for firing Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan but says it likely was a contributing factor.

The Republican vice presidential nominee has been accused of firing a commissioner to settle a family dispute. Palin supporters have called the investigation politically motivated.

Monegan says he was dismissed as retribution for resisting pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce with the governor's sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081011/ap_on_el_ge/palin_troopergate;_ylt=AuWuVvYCzi5akL5VYWHW0PFh24c A

[Buddy Holly]

That damn internet blogger!

Oh, and the MSM!

[ElNono]

Would be hilarious if this actually makes any waves...

[George Gervin's Afro]

where are all the right wingers in this thread? Where's whott?

[BushDynasty]

Sarah can abuse me anytime she wants. Heh heh.

[boutons_]

I really, really feel sorry for her.

[whottt]

where are all the right wingers in this thread? Where's whott?

Since she had the authority to fire him for any reason she chose, I absolutely couldn't care less....or IOW, I care an infinite amount more about this than you do about the massive multistate voter fraud your party is engaged in.

[ChumpDumper]

:lol

Good choice, whottt. Declare that you don't care and change the subject. :tu

[whottt]

Thanks...I really don't care at all. I cannot state emphatically enough how little I care. How absolutely and totally I don't care. Even if it was the entire reason she fired that guy, and not merely part of it...I wouldn't care. In fact I'd respect her even more if it was entirely the reason she fired that guy.


Meanwhile...massive voter fraud.


Admit you don't care, or hell, admit you wish they hadn't been caught...it's the truth, so you might as well admit it. At least then you'll be honest....like I was.

[ducks]

if it was not the sole reason it was legal
this is just a political move because the investigator will not vote for maccain

he is abusing his power!

[baseline bum]

Thanks...I really don't care at all. I cannot state emphatically enough how little I care. How absolutely and totally I don't care. Even if it was the entire reason she fired that guy, and not merely part of it...I wouldn't care. In fact I'd respect her even more if it was entirely the reason she fired that guy.


Meanwhile...massive voter fraud.


Admit you don't care, or hell, admit you wish they hadn't been caught...it's the truth, so you might as well admit it. At least then you'll be honest....like I was.

I do care, and I think Democrats are fucking douchebags just like their Republican brethren. It's common sense that Palin abused her power here, and that she's a wolf in sheep's clothing when talking about how different she is from the Washington status quo.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

I guess in the common sense side of things, it would be too obvious to say that a governor should be able to get a state employee fired if said employee was making threats against their family (this would go for any publicly elected official in my book).

We even have a few laws on the books for shit like this in Texas. But don't let me get in the way of the Democraptic circle jerk that is sure to commence...

[whottt]

I do care, and I think Democrats are fucking douchebags just like their Republican brethren. It's common sense that Palin abused her power here, and that she's a wolf in sheep's clothing when talking about how different she is from the Washington status quo.


Dude...it's not clear at all that she abused her power. Do you realize that the dismissal of this trooper had been reccomended before she was even elected Governor? And their Union protected him?


She didn't abuse her power, she had the right Monneghan for any reason she chose.

And that is a partisan commitee that found she abused her power.



Your mock outrage over this is hilarious. People are going to care about this about as much as they care about the Keating 5.

[ChumpDumper]

Your mock claim that it is a partisan panel is hilarious. It's four Democrats and ten Republicans. So it is partisan -- in favor of Palin.

Just another in a long line of disingenuous statements that show how much you actually care.

[Ya Vez]

so dems are defending a trooper that drank on the job, and tasered his 10 year old son..

smooth move dems.. I guess you do support anything up to waterboarding..

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

so dems are defending a trooper that drank on the job, and tasered his 10 year old son..

smooth move dems.. I guess you do support anything up to waterboarding..

Don't forget threatening the life of a family member of the governor of the state...

Anyone think that if some DPS trooper made threats against someone in Perry's family that they'd still have their job? :lol

[boutons_]

"forget threatening the life"

who made this claim? Is it just hearsay, he-said, she-said?

Tasering has become mere entertainment for law-enforcement bullies. How many have lost their jobs for tasering, to death, non-violent citizens?

The charge against pitbull bitch and First Turd is not that the bitch didn't have the power to terminate, but that she abused that power in a personal vendetta.

But for you right-wing fascists, institutions (pitbull bitch under the governor's hat) always has the right to crush citizens, who have no power to defend themselves.

[FromWayDowntown]

Yawn. All the way around -- yawn.

[TheProfessor]

Since she had the authority to fire him for any reason she chose, I absolutely couldn't care less....or IOW, I care an infinite amount more about this than you do about the massive multistate voter fraud your party is engaged in.
Second comment is a totally unnecessary deflection, because your first is valid enough. I think it raises character issues, a little Cheney-esque, but she didn't break laws worthy of prosecution, sanctioning, or even censure outside the report. She brought her personal life too close to the office, but was also totally at liberty to fire a cabinet member. There are bigger fish to fry right now.

[baseline bum]

so dems are defending a trooper that drank on the job, and tasered his 10 year old son..

smooth move dems.. I guess you do support anything up to waterboarding..

So why didn't they press charges and get him thrown him in jail?

[ploto]

Love this response from the woman going to change how things are done in Washington:


The investigator's report states Palin's efforts to get Wooten fired broke a state ethics law that bars public officials from pursuing personal interest through official action.

The lawyers representing Palin and her husband, Todd Palin, issued a three-page attack on the investigative report, including the contention that Ethics Act violations can only involve financial motives and financial "potential gain, or the avoidance of a potential loss."

"Here, there is no accusation, no finding and no facts that money or financial gain to the governor was involved in the decision to replace Monegan," the lawyers said.

And here is the part that really bothers me:

Palin and her husband have consistently denied wrongdoing, describing Wooten as a "rogue trooper" who had threatened their family -- allegations Branchflower discounted.

"I conclude that such claims of fear were not bona fide and were offered to provide cover for the Palins' real motivation: to get Trooper Wooten fired for personal family reasons," Branchflower wrote.

The Branchflower report states Todd Palin used his wife's office and its resources to press for Wooten's removal, and the governor "failed to act" to stop it. But because Todd Palin is not a state employee, the report makes no finding regarding his conduct.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/11/palin.investigation/index.html

[ploto]

so dems are defending a trooper that drank on the job, and tasered his 10 year old son..


No one is defending him or his actions. What he did really is not pertinent. What matters in THIS investigation are the actions of her and her husband through the abuse of her office.

[SnakeBoy]

So why didn't they press charges and get him thrown him in jail?

Because it wasn't a black kid that he tasered. That white boy must have had it coming.

[Ya Vez]

abuse of office... would you think bush was abusing his office if he tried to get rumsfeld to remove agents that were torturing suspected terrorist... and then fired rumsfeld... I mean if your going to stand on principle..

[sook]

Dude...it's not clear at all that she abused her power. Do you realize that the dismissal of this trooper had been reccomended before she was even elected Governor? And their Union protected him?


She didn't abuse her power, she had the right Monneghan for any reason she chose.

And that is a partisan commitee that found she abused her power.



Your mock outrage over this is hilarious. People are going to care about this about as much as they care about the Keating 5.

haha dude your such a douche i don't think anyone takes your posts seriously

[Shastafarian]

abuse of office... would you think bush was abusing his office if he tried to get rumsfeld to remove agents that were torturing suspected terrorist... and then fired rumsfeld... I mean if your going to stand on principle..

I tried to understand this but all I got was

Error: No Logic Present, Please Reboot and Try Again

[boutons_]

"bush was abusing his office if he tried to get rumsfeld to remove agents that were torturing suspected terrorist"

dubya said(lied) "America doesn't torture", so yes, if rummy refused to fire agents who were torturing, then firing rummy would be the right action.

But your situation is extremely hypothetical and thereby, meaningless, because dubya, rummy, and their agents don't subscribe to any principles on which the American Myth is based.

[ChumpDumper]

abuse of office... would you think bush was abusing his office if he tried to get rumsfeld to remove agents that were torturing suspected terrorist... and then fired rumsfeld... I mean if your going to stand on principle..Please list the criminal indictments against Wooten.

[baseline bum]

Because it wasn't a black kid that he tasered. That white boy must have had it coming.

Wow. Another insightful retort from the village idiot.

[SnakeBoy]

Wow. Another insightful retort from the village idiot.

If a white cop tasered a 10 year old black kid (for ANY reason) in Chicago and only got a 5 day suspension, your side of the fence would be screaming bloody murder. Demanding that the cop be fired and prosecuted. You know it's true.

[Shastafarian]

If a white cop tasered a 10 year old black kid (for ANY reason) in Chicago and only got a 5 day suspension, your side of the fence would be screaming bloody murder. Demanding that the cop be fired and prosecuted. You know it's true.

People would be upset because this situation would mean it was race-related. Do you know ANYTHING about what happened between the step-father and the boy?

[whottt]

Your mock claim that it is a partisan panel is hilarious. It's four Democrats and ten Republicans. So it is partisan -- in favor of Palin.

Just another in a long line of disingenuous statements that show how much you actually care.



False...Palin went after Republicans as well in her administration including the head of the Republican Party. It most definitely is partisan.

[SnakeBoy]

People would be upset because this situation would mean it was race-related. Do you know ANYTHING about what happened between the step-father and the boy?

I know exactly what happened (at least the cops version). If it was the EXACT same situation in Chicago except the step son was black, your side would be screaming bloody murder and demanding the cop be fired and prosecuted. You know it's true.

[baseline bum]

So did the stepson attack him? If not, that's a pretty simple case of assault, and Palin's a moron for not getting her family to press charges and get his ass thrown in jail. Seriously, what jury wouldn't convict the guy of assault?

[Shastafarian]

I know exactly what happened (at least the cops version). If it was the EXACT same situation in Chicago except the step son was black, your side would be screaming bloody murder and demanding the cop be fired and prosecuted. You know it's true.

Ok if you know exactly what happened can you tell us? Why did the trooper taser the boy? Was the boy taken to the hospital? Did the mother know about it within 24 hours of it happening? Was the boy taken away from the step-father?

[SnakeBoy]

Cops version is that he just barely tasered the kid because the kid wanted to know how it felt.

That type of judgement disqualifies him from wearing a badge IMO. If the kid was black you'd agree with that. You know it's true.

[Shastafarian]

Cops version is that he just barely tasered the kid because the kid wanted to know how it felt.

That type of judgement disqualifies him from wearing a badge IMO. If the kid was black you'd agree with that. You know it's true.


No. It was irresponsible. No doubt about that. But I'm not sure I can say I would want him fired because he made a stupid mistake. I like how you're bringing race into this though. Shows your true colors.

[baseline bum]

Cops version is that he just barely tasered the kid because the kid wanted to know how it felt.

That type of judgement disqualifies him from wearing a badge IMO. If the kid was black you'd agree with that. You know it's true.

Wow. :lol

[Findog]

ACORN is a very tiny molehill the Republicans would like you to think is a massive mountain.

:sleep

[LakeShow]

http://img.timeinc.net/time/i/logo_time_print.gif (http://www.time.com/time)
Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008
What the Troopergate Report Really Says

By Nathan Thornburgh/Anchorage

Friday's report from special investigator Stephen Branchflower to Alaska's Legislative Council answered some basic questions about the political and personal bog known as Troopergate. (http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1843678,00.html)

Did Governor Sarah Palin (http://www.time.com/time/topics/sarah-palin/0,30939,,00.html) abuse the power of her office in trying to get her former brother-in-law, State Trooper Mike Wooten, fired? Yes.

Was the refusal to fire Mike Wooten the reason Palin fired Commissioner of Public Safety Walt Monegan? Not exclusively, and it was within her rights as the states' chief executive to fire him for just about any reason, even without cause.

Those answers were expected, given that most of the best pieces of evidence have been part of the public record for months. The result is not a mortal wound to Palin, nor does it put her at much risk of being forced to leave the ticket her presence succeeded in energizing.

But the Branchflower report still makes for good reading, if only because it convincingly answers a question nobody had even thought to ask: Is the Palin administration shockingly amateurish? Yes, it is. Disturbingly so.

The 263 pages of the report show a co-ordinated application of pressure on Monegan so transparent and ham-handed that it was almost certain to end in public embarrassment for the governor. The only surprise is that Troopergate is national news, not just a sorry piece of political gristle to be chewed on by Alaska politicos over steaks at Anchorage's Club Paris.

A harsh verdict? Consider the report's findings. Not only did people at almost every level of the Palin administration engage in repeated inappropriate contact with Walt Monegan and other high-ranking officials at the Department of Public Safety, but Monegan and his peers constantly warned these Palin disciples that the contact was inappropriate and probably unlawful. Still, the emails and calls continued — in at least one instance on recorded state trooper phone lines.

The state's head of personnel, Annette Kreitzer, called Monegan and had to be warned that personnel issues were confidential. The state's attorney general, Talis Colberg, called Monegan and had to be reminded that the call was putting both men in legal jeopardy, should Wooten decide to sue. The governor's chief of staff met with Monegan and had to be reminded by Monegan that, "This conversation is discoverable ... You don't want Wooten to own your house, do you?"

Monegan consistently emerges as the adult in these conversations, while the Palin camp displays a childish impetuousness and sense of entitlement.
One telling exchange: Deputy Commissioner John Glass, who worked under Monegan, told Branchflower he was "livid" after a Palin staffer, Frank Bailey, went outside the chain of command and called a state trooper in far-off Ketchikan to complain about Wooten. Why had Bailey called the trooper? Because, Bailey said, this trooper had gone to church with Sarah Palin back in Wasilla, so he felt "comfortable" talking to him about Wooten. Glass, too, tried to sound the warning that continuing to pressure anyone and everyone in the matter would end in "an unbelievable amount of embarrassment for the Governor and everybody else".

(See photos of Sarah Palin on the campaign trail (http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1840331,00.html))
Another amateurish sign: Todd Palin's outsize role in the mess. Branchflower said it was out of his jurisdiction to pass judgment on the First Gentleman, but his report paints an extralegal role for Todd Palin that would have made the Hillary Clinton of 1992 blush. In the report, the head of Gov. Palin's security detail says that Todd spent about half of his time in the governor's office — not at a desk (he didn't have one), but at a long conference table on one side of the office, with his own phone to make and receive calls. It became a shadow office, the informal Department of Getting Mike Wooten Fired.

It was at that long table that Todd Palin first scheduled a meeting with Walt Monegan, days after his wife's administration began. He showed Monegan three huge binders of evidence against Wooten, including a picture of a dead moose that had been shot illegally. After Monegan came back saying that there was no new actionable information, Todd began a very visible campaign of stewing and fuming, trying to get access to personnel files, calling up and down the Public Safety org chart.

The report also raises the suggestion that the final incident that led to Monegan's firing was perhaps the most (unintentionally) hilarious part of the whole saga. In the run-up to Alaska's 2008 Police Memorial Day event, Monegan visited Palin in Anchorage and brought along an official portrait of a state trooper in uniform, saluting in front of the police memorial in Anchorage, for Palin to sign and present at the event. The trooper? Mike Wooten.

Palin signed the photo and didn't say anything, according to Monegan's testimony, but later cancelled her attendance at the event, sending Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell in her place. The head of her Anchorage office followed up with a call to Monegan berating him for his insensitivity. (Monegan swears he didn't know it was Wooten in the picture, and that he didn't even know what Wooten looked like.)

Shortly after that incident, Monegan's fate was cast. But even then, Palin's staffers were blithely adding more evidence to Troopergate. When Monegan's potential successor, Chuck Kopp, asked Bailey, the Palin staffer, why Monegan was being fired, he was told simply: "Todd is really upset with Monegan."

So what does this say about the possible Vice-President of the United States? Certainly not as much as her enemies would have hoped. She was only directly involved in a small bit of the pressure campaign — a meeting or two and a couple of emails. She can thank Monegan for not having her hands dirtier; it was he who told her to keep herself at "arm's length" from any Wooten conversations.

But even though she won't likely face any legal repercussions, the amateurism and cronyism of her brief administration hardly leaves Palin sitting pretty. Troopergate's final verdict may be even more damaging than a rebuke: her administration was, at least this regard, just as self-motivated as the Washington fat cats and lobbyists she hopes to unseat.

http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1849399,00.html

[boutons_]

pitbull bitch is an unprincipled, amoral, hypocritical "Christian" sack of shit, the PERFECT Repug candidate and lover for Whott

[ChumpDumper]

False...Palin went after Republicans as well in her administration including the head of the Republican Party. It most definitely is partisan.So now you are using the Wild Cobra tack.

Ok, let me know specifically how she "went after" each memeber of this panel.

Thanks for not trying to dodge it or change the subject in advance.

[whottt]

So now you are using the Wild Cobra tack.

Ok, let me know specifically how she "went after" each memeber of this panel.

Sure if you'll link to the quote of me saying she went after each member of the panel.





Thanks for not trying to dodge it or change the subject in advance.

Right no one should be able to do that but you...in nearly every single post you make.

Like you just changed me saying she went after her own party into a statement that she went after every member of this panel individually.

[ChumpDumper]

Sure if you'll link to the quote of me saying she went after each member of the panel.If they all voted against her in a "partisan" manner (even though they are from different parties), she must have done something to piss them all off.

Or she just did something that was pretty obviouslyt wrong.

Whichc is more likely?



Right no one should be able to do that but you...in nearly every single post you make.

Like you just changed me saying she went after her own party into a statement that she went after every member of this panel individually.So how did she "go after" her own party and how does that result in every panel member being "after" her?

Please explain yourself.

[whottt]

If they all voted against her in a "partisan" manner (even though they are from different parties), she must have done something to piss them all off.

Or she just did something that was pretty obviouslyt wrong.

Whichc is more likely?


So how did she "go after" her own party and how does that result in every panel member being "after" her?

Please explain yourself.

Simple.....she's not a party loyalist, plus she doesn't cowtow to special interests as many politicians on both sides of the line do. That makes her the enemy...very similar to the reasons no one wants her in Washington.

In the case of the Democrats in her state, she often sided with them against her own party.

That means when the Democrats come calling for loyalty from Alaskan Democrats, they will get it, but her refusal to tow party lines also explains why her own party would want her out as well.


I don't expect you to agree with that...but it is sound reasoning nontheless.


Besides...

This trooper was reccomended for dismissal before Palin even became Governor.

[ChumpDumper]

Simple.....she's not a party loyalist, plus she doesn't cowtow to special interests as many politicians on both sides of the line do. That makes her the enemy...very similar to the reasons no one wants her in Washington. So your contention is that every member of this panel considers her an enemy and ther could be no other possible reason for their conclusion. ROFL


In the case of the Democrats in her state, she often sided with them against her own party.So why did they decide against her?


This trooper was reccomended for dismissal before Palin even became Governor.Great.

Then she shouldn't have pressured anybody.

She's stupid.

[ploto]

...her administration was, at least this regard, just as self-motivated as the Washington fat cats and lobbyists she hopes to unseat.

Added to the stories of her time as Mayor, it seems to be a very clear pattern of the behavior of her administrations.

[whottt]

So your contention is that every member of this panel considers her an enemy and ther could be no other possible reason for their conclusion. ROFL


Again with the every member of the panel? I've contended nothing about every member of the panel...that's all you, repeatedly. Trying to get me to argue your position...and not my own.

You are incapable of any other sort of argument.

Me? I can read the legislators themselves saying they didn't agree with all the findings.






So why did they decide against her?

I don't really see that they did. It's a halfassed finding with no penalty involved and even the wording is on the fence.

Basically yes it was part of the reason she fired him, yes she put pressure on the guy to fire him(or her husband did)no it wasn't entirely the reason she fired him, yes she was totally within her power to fire him for any reason.

It's only a big deal to people with a proven record of disliking Palin like yourself.




Great.

Then she shouldn't have pressured anybody.

She's stupid.

You're stupid...this isn't a big deal to anyone other Obama supporters...the rest of us are worried about the scale of the Acorn Voter Fraud.

You don't care...you suck at the cock of Obama...blindly, and with enthusiasm.

[ChumpDumper]

Again with the every member of the panel? I've contended nothing about every member of the panel...that's all you, repeatedly. Trying to get me to argue your position...and not my own.

You are incapable of any other sort of argument.

Me? I can read the legislators themselves saying they didn't agree with all the findings.So great. That completely blows your theory they they are out to get her out of the water, Way to kick your own ass, whottt.







I don't really see that they did. It's a halfassed finding with no penalty involved and even the wording is on the fence.

Basically yes it was part of the reason she fired him, yes she put pressure on the guy to fire him(or her husband did)no it wasn't entirely the reason she fired him, yes she was totally within her power to fire him for any reason.

It's only a big deal to people with a proven record of disliking Palin like yourself.I never said it was a big deal. Indeed I said repeatedly that she will suffer no legal fallout. But yeah, there will be political damage.





You're stupid...this isn't a big deal to anyone other Obama supporters...the rest of us are worried about the scale of the Acorn Voter Fraud.Ah, yes -- your repeated attempts to change the subject to ACORN tell me it's a big deal to you. You are as transparent as you are stupid. And you are very stupid.

[ChumpDumper]

You don't care...you suck at the cock of Obama...blindly, and with enthusiasm.Nice edit.

I don't care much for Obama. You LOVE Palin beyond any point of objectivity and now beyond any point of credibility.

You suck multiple 9/11 twoofer cocks for her.

[Wild Cobra]

This title is in error. The Legislative Panel did not make that statement. I didn't read that anywhere in the report. It is laced with "I" in so many places. The report is the sole work of the investigator, Stephen Branchflower, for the panel. I have yet to see an opinion from the panel.

Anyone?

[ChumpDumper]

The opinion of the panel was 12-0 to make the findings public -- except for the 1000 or so pages that the investigator didn't want released.

It's doubtful the legislature will do anything about it until they reconvene.

[whottt]

So great. That completely blows your theory they they are out to get her out of the water, Way to kick your own ass, whottt.

No it doesn't idiot...you just keep changing my statement from partisan panel to every member of the panel...there's a difference there, if there wasn't you wouldn't need to change my statement.










I never said it was a big deal. Indeed I said repeatedly that she will suffer no legal fallout. But yeah, there will be political damage.

In your opinion...





Ah, yes -- your repeated attempts to change the subject to ACORN tell me it's a big deal to you. You are as transparent as you are stupid.

Well idiot...what's a big deal to me is that many of the same idiots making an issue of this are the ones arguing that ACORN isn't an issue...



And you are very stupid.


Disagree, tis you that is the stupid one.

[whottt]

Nice edit.

Thanks...




I don't care much for Obama.

Right...you just defend him continually.



You LOVE Palin beyond any point of objectivity and now beyond any point of credibility.

I can be enthusiastic about Palin and still be objective. There is nothing new in this report...




You suck multiple 9/11 twoofer cocks for her.

Better run along, Obama wasn't finished. And he probably wants you to fill out voter regs whille you suck...

[ChumpDumper]

Right...you just defend him continually.Don't really have to. You're the one who has to do al the defending these days.




I can be enthusiastic about Palin and still be objective. There is nothing new in this report...Right, the abuse of power is an old story. It's just in an official report now.



Better run along, Obama wasn't finished. And he probably wants you to fill out voter regs whille you suck...Better try to change the subject again! Everyone can see you kicked your own ass here, so you need to distract everyone from that with either another subject or a flame war. Whatever you can do to protect your fragile ego.

[whottt]

Don't really have to. You're the one who has to do al the defending these days.

Sorry, I can't take someone who doesn't proofread their post seriously.




Right, the abuse of power is an old story. It's just in an official report now.

With no new information.




Better try to change the subject again! Everyone can see you kicked your own ass here, so you need to distract everyone from that with either another subject or a flame war. Whatever you can do to protect your fragile ego.


Idiot...you do realize I brought ACORN up in my first post in this thread, right?

[ChumpDumper]

With no new information.A new headline. That's all that's needed in a presidential campaign.


Idiot...you do realize I brought ACORN up in my first post in this thread, right?Yeah, you've been trying to change the subject from the start -- you just have more reason to do so now that you kicked your own ass so harshly.

[boutons_]

ACORN isn't a an issue beyond the Repugs who are scared shitless by the legit poor voters ACORN is registering.

btw, explain to us how made-up names on registration ballots can be turned into votes?

I have no doubt that Repug challenges and intimidations of legit voters will vastly outweigh the mythical, massive voter fraud the Repugs have NEVER been able to prove.

[Nbadan]

Whottt gets spanked so frequently here he should change his avatar to Swhottt....

:lol

[whottt]

Whottt gets spanked so frequently here he should change his avatar to Swhottt....

:lol



You know actually I don't get spanked at all. I see a lot of retards saying I get spanked(incidentally many of the same retards that got spanked in 2004), but the reality is much different.


The reality is that

A. It was a partisan panel.
B. The ACORN Voter Fraud is a very real and partisan attempt to defraud this election and rig the polls.


You celebrate it...this proves you are totally corrupt. It's bad enough to hate America...but to actually be corrupt and hate America is much worse...that makes you a bad guy with no leeway for being anything else.

[Shastafarian]

The reality is that

A. It was a partisan panel.



Technically it was a bipartisan panel. If you're claiming that she's such a Jesus figure that both parties hate her so much (which is ridiculous) then you're further up her skirt than I thought.

[ChumpDumper]

Sorry whottt, the only evidence you have stated contradicts your claim that it's a partisan panel. One can only conclude you don't really know what the word means. Your escalated attempts to change the subject to ACORN reinforce that conclusion as well.

Now I expect some more rants and attempts by you to distract us from this, but you'll do nothing to mitigate the damage you've already done to yourself.

[Wild Cobra]

You guys keep talking about the Panel. Did they finally release a finding og their own?

[ChumpDumper]

The Republican majority panel appointed an investigator. The panel released his findings. If anything actually happens to Palin, it will be next year.

Again, there probably won't be anything much that comes of it then. All I've been talking about is the political fallout.

[Wild Cobra]

The Republican majority panel appointed an investigator. The panel released his findings. If anything actually happens to Palin, it will be next year.

Again, there probably won't be anything much that comes of it then. All I've been talking about is the political fallout.
It's obvious you didn't read anthing but the summary and headlines surrounding the report. You should read the "Recommendations" section.

[ChumpDumper]

So how do those recommendations refute my prediction that nothing is going to happen to Palin?

Please explain fully.

[Wild Cobra]

So how do those recommendations refute my prediction that nothing is going to happen to Palin?

Please explain fully.
It doesn't refute your conclusion, just the fluff about all this. There is no action recommemded against her!

If you took the time to read how Branchflower comes to the conclusion she abused her power, you find pages of tak about statutes where he ties together loopholes to make that conclusion. Using the same logic about ethics, a stronger case could have been made that if she didn't fire the Chief, she would have violated something more important.

Take your time, read how the statutes are strung together. It takes pages 48 to 51 to do this, and continues from there. No simple explaination, because there was no real ethics violation.

[ChumpDumper]

Blah, blah, blah.Why should I make this my life's obsession like you and whottt have. I have already said what this means for Palin and the McCain campaign -- and nothing either of you have said is changing any of it.

[boutons_]

"The ACORN Voter Fraud is a very real and partisan attempt to defraud this election and rig the polls."

Yet another WHOTT BIG LIE

ACORN --REGISTERS-- poor voters, ACORN doesn't vote. Any fictional registrations CAN'T vote.

Explain how any bogus registrations (made up names, whatever) end up as votes? How does "Mr. Bogus Fucking Whottard" show identification at a polling station and get into a booth?

[ChumpDumper]

whottt thinks that there is an elaborate plan hatched by Democrats and ACORN to steal the election in Nevada by having poor people vote multiple times posing as members of the Dallas Cowboys.

[whottt]

Smoke crack much?

#1. Those fraudulent registrations do impact many polls, which in turn can impact the actual elections.

#2. Registering homeless or dead people with accurate social security numbers and not providing an ID allows any one to cast a vote in their name...including people that have already voted....like for example politically active college students in a neighboring state.

And that is voter fraud.


And that's just one example.

We've already seen Obama supporters hack Palin's email, we've seen Obama supporting news media slander her, we've seen Obama supporting citizens groups commiting voter registration fraud in 13 states, and counting...you think the criminal activity is going to stop there?



Go ahead and give your typical smug reply...stupid ass.

[ChumpDumper]

I already did.

Let me know how the Dallas Cowboys are going to vote in Nevada.

[whottt]

I already did.

Let me know how the Dallas Cowboys are going to vote in Nevada.


Well stupid ass...that's just one example.

[Shastafarian]

We've already seen Obama supporters hack Palin's email
Was he an Obama supporter or are you going by the fact that his dad is a Democratic representative?

we've seen Obama supporting news media slander her
Slander implies lies. Where are the lies Kevin?

we've seen Obama supporting citizens groups commiting voter registration fraud in 13 states, and counting...you think the criminal activity is going to stop there?
And? You make it seem like Obama is orchestrating this. Maybe you should come forward with the evidence and blow this election out of the water!!! Oh wait, you have no evidence. You're following the media's reports on this.



Go ahead and give your typical smug reply...stupid ass.

there ya go

[boutons_]

"Those fraudulent registration do impact many polls, which in turn can impact the actual elections."

After all of dubya's compromised US Attorney's spent 7+ years searching for voter fraud, why hasn't any significant, election-result-chaning, fraud been found?

"that is voter fraud. "

No hard evidence, from justice/legal records? Of course not, it's just Whott parroting Repug attack points, which themselves are fraudulent and lies.

The Repug objective is to de-legitimize any HUSSEIN victory, whining that somehow being up 10 points in the polls, winning an electoral landslide was due to ACORN.

Who will be this election's Kenneth Blackwell or Katherine Harris?

[ChumpDumper]

Well stupid ass...that's just one example.So if it has been proven that thousands of votes have been made fraudulently under the auspices of ACORN, there must be several thousand federal convictions for fraudulent voting.

[ChumpDumper]

The Repug objective is to de-legitimize any HUSSEIN victory, whining that somehow being up 10 points in the polls, winning an electoral landslide was due to ACORN.True enough. Registered Democrat whottt is pre-excusing Palin's loss.

[whottt]

57,000 Fraudulent ballots filed in Pennsylvania, all by ACORN:

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=14034


Others in:

Indiana:
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/30851579.html

Connecticut:
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/opinion/ci_10701842



How a stupid fuck responds:



Let me know how the Dallas Cowboys are going to vote in Nevada

[jochhejaam]

The Repug objective is to de-legitimize any HUSSEIN victory, whining that somehow being up 10 points in the polls, winning an electoral landslide was due to ACORN.

A bit overstated;
Zogby and Rasmussen have Obama +6, and Gallup has Obama +7.


Not a formidable lead, but still an enviable position to be in for the Obama supporters.

[Shastafarian]

57,000 Fraudulent ballots filed in Pennsylvania, all by ACORN:

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=14034


Others in:

Indiana:
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/30851579.html

Connecticut:
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/opinion/ci_10701842



How a stupid fuck responds:
from your own article stupid fuck

"Between March 23rd and October 1st, various groups, including ACORN, submitted over 252,595 registrations to the Philadelphia County Election Board" with 57, 435 rejected for faulty information.

[ChumpDumper]

Anything to change the subject....

Meanwhile, Palin's favorable rating took a hit even in her own state.

[Shastafarian]

Anything to change the subject....

Meanwhile, Palin's favorable rating took a hit even in her own state.

It was down to 68% last time I looked. Is it below that?

[ElNono]

57,000 Fraudulent ballots filed in Pennsylvania, all by ACORN:

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=14034


Wouldn't that be registrations? ACORN doesn't vote...

[century]

Who cares? Palin is total hotness and I'd bang her in a second. Meanwhile, it is plenty enough to get my vote.

[sook]

palin can suck my cock

[Shastafarian]

Who cares? Palin is total hotness and I'd bang her in a second. Meanwhile, it is plenty enough to get my vote.

I dunno. For someone to get a vote based on hotness she had better be smokin' hot. I'd vote for Jessica Biel in a heartbeat.

[boutons_]

In interview with reporters, her message was that she was completely exonerated.

oops! Wishful thinking.

Even in corrupt, backwoods Alaska, how about in pitbull bitch's "church"?, there's something called Ethics for state employees. She still risks sanctions or fines for ethical violations.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/10/palin-makes-tro.html

[Wild Cobra]

57,000 Fraudulent ballots filed in Pennsylvania, all by ACORN:

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=14034


Others in:

Indiana:
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/30851579.html

Connecticut:
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/opinion/ci_10701842



How a stupid fuck responds:
What Stupid Chump doesn't understand is only the dumb ones get caught. Even more are not getting caught. The elections are beings stolen for the democrats. Any one in their right mind cannot dismeiss this as exceptionally probable. That is why we conservatives ask for election reform that verifies the voting process. Liberals don't want that process because they know the cheating is being done, and in there favor.

[ElNono]

What Stupid Chump doesn't understand is only the dumb ones get caught. Even more are not getting caught. The elections are beings stolen for the democrats. Any one in their right mind cannot dismeiss this as exceptionally probable. That is why we conservatives ask for election reform that verifies the voting process. Liberals don't want that process because they know the cheating is being done, and in there favor.

Pleaseeeeeeee!!!!! The only ones MARRIED with Diebold and their machine that do not leave a paper trail are Republicans! Or you forgot about Florida already?

[boutons_]

"The elections are beings stolen for the democrats"

Bogus registrations are not the same as bogus votes.

The Repugs and right-wings are scared shitless by ACORN's 1.3M registrations because they they know nearly all of them are legit, and nearly all of them will vote HUSSEIN.

Even with a HUSSEIN landslide, the Repugs will be trying to legitimize, in court challenges and hate radio/tv, their disaster by de-legitimizing HUSSEIN's victory.

In Nevada, ACORN turned in registrations they flagged as dubious (sounds pretty devious, huh?), but were still attacked.

[ChumpDumper]

What Stupid Chump doesn't understand is only the dumb ones get caught. Even more are not getting caught. The elections are beings stolen for the democrats. Any one in their right mind cannot dismeiss this as exceptionally probable. That is why we conservatives ask for election reform that verifies the voting process. Liberals don't want that process because they know the cheating is being done, and in there favor.
So you are using fraud that has not been exposed as evidence of fraud.

OK then. The Republicans are much smarter in these matters than the Democrats, so they are obviously pulling off much more fraud because less of their fraud is exposed and prosecuted.

[boutons_]

The Problem for Gov. Palin Is that Now She Should Be Impeached


Maybe, as the McCain-Palin campaign hopes, Saturday's press conference was the end of "Troopergate" -- because a national press corps too incurious to care whether Palin has any idea who Bill Ayers is will also likely give her a pass on Troopergate. And maybe the Alaska Senate dominated by Republicans (most of whom have no more use for Palin than most of the Democrats now do but who are loyal members of their national party) will give her the same pass.

That's up to them. But while they're thinking about it they may want to connect the following dots in the Troopergate story that Special Prosecutor Steve Branchflower did not connect in his report.

First, Michael Wooten, Sarah's ex-brother-in-law, whom she tried to have fired, is a "classified" Alaska state employee, which means that he is protected by the Alaska State Personnel Act, (Statute 39.25.010 et seq.), the same way federal employees are protected by the federal Civil Service Act. And Alaska Statute 39.25.900(a) provides: "A person who willfully violates a provision of this chapter or of the personnel rules adopted under this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor."

Second, unlike Article II, Section 4, of the United States Constitution, which empowers Congress to remove "The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States" from office by impeachment on the grounds of "Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors," Article II, Section 20, of the Alaska Constitution does not identify the grounds for impeachment. Instead, the delegates to the Alaska Constitutional Convention intended the Alaska Legislature to decide the grounds.

To that end, the Alaska Legislature has enacted statutes that establish the grounds for the impeachment of Alaska Supreme Court Justices and Superior Court Judges as "malfeasance or misfeasance in the performance of official duties."

Third, although the Legislature has not enacted a statute that establishes the grounds for the impeachment of the Governor, in 1985 the Alaska Senate held hearings on a motion to recommend to the Alaska House of Representatives that it hold a trial to impeach Alaska Governor Bill Sheffield because he allegedly had violated a State procurement statute in order to steer a State office lease to a political supporter. At the conclusion of the hearings, the Senate determined that there was "no clear and convincing evidence" that Governor Sheffield had violated the statute. However, if the facts had been that Governor Sheffield had violated the statute, he would have committed "malfeasance in the performance of official duties" and he would have been impeached.

All of which is a lawyer's way of saying that if Governor Palin or any other Alaska Governor commits "malfeasance in the performance of her or his official duties" by intentionally violating a statute, or intentionally encouraging others to do so, like the justices of the Alaska Supreme Court, she or he should be impeached.

Whether "the circumstances and events surrounding the termination of former Public Safety Commissioner Monegan" indicate that Governor Palin committed "malfeasance in the performance of her official duties" and therefore should be impeached was the true subject of the Troopergate investigation. But that extremely important point was obfuscated in the Legislative Council's description of the investigation. As a consequence, Steve Branchflower makes no mention in his report that the delegates to the Alaska Constitutional Convention intended the penalty for a Governor who knowingly refuses to "faithfully execute the laws" to be impeachment.

And so, in this light, Palin should be concerned, at least where the evidence is concerned. As anyone who has read the report now knows, excerpts are painfully explicit and damning, no matter how Palin tries to spin it:

On February 13, 2007 Walt Monegan and Sarah Palin walked through the Capitol Building in Juneau on their way to a meeting:
MONEGAN: So as we were walking down the stairs, the governor mentioned to me, she says, "I'd like to talk to you about Wooten." And I said, "Ma'am, I need you to keep an arm's length on this issue. And if you have further complaints on him, I can deal with Todd on it." And she goes, "That's a better idea."Several weeks after that when Walt Monegan again was in Juneau, Mike Tibbles, Governor Palin's chief of staff, called Monegan into his office:
MONEGAN: I walked into his office. It was just him and I. We were alone. He closed the doors, and he says, "I understand you have a Trooper Mike Wooten on the force." And I started to explain to him that the investigation on Wooten was completed. It had been done by the last administration. It is all done; there is no issues. We had the case reviewed at the request of Todd, and that this is an issue that is closed. And then I went to say that it is my understanding that should there be any litigation brought on by Trooper Wooten, this conversation is discoverable, and the way I understand state law, having been sued a couple of times, is that we are certainly liable, certainly as state employees, but also could be as individuals if we intentionally break this law [i.e., the State Personnel Act]. So we shouldn't be talking about this. You don't want Wooten to own your house, do you? He goes, "No, I don't." "Then we shouldn't talk about this." So that's how it ended.Volume 1 of the Troopergate report continues for another 334 pages. But the point has been made. And the point is that from the beginning of her administration Sarah Palin and, with her knowledge and approval, the people around her repeatedly attempted to persuade Commissioner of Public Safety Walt Monegan to commit a criminal misdemeanor by firing Michael Wooten from his job as an Alaska State Trooper in violation of the State Personnel Act. Doing so is "malfeasance in the performance of official duties" that, adjusted for time and circumstance, is near identical to the alleged "malfeasance in the performance of official duties" that in 1985 almost got Alaska Governor Bill Sheffield impeached.

Whether as a consequence of the Troopergate investigation Alaska Governor Sarah Palin soon will face her own impeachment depends on the extent to which the Republican members of the Alaska Senate believe that their constitutional duty to ensure that every Alaska governor "faithfully executes the laws" trumps party loyalty. As of today, I would rate that a toss-up.

http://alaskadispatch.com/tundra-talk/1-talk-of-the-tundra/217-palin-may-be-smiling-now-but-shes-not-in-the-clear-yet-she-could-be-impeached.html

[Wild Cobra]

Pleaseeeeeeee!!!!! The only ones MARRIED with Diebold and their machine that do not leave a paper trail are Republicans! Or you forgot about Florida already?
ee you didn't get the memo.

During the 2004 elections, they had three systems in Ohio. Both the ones with paper trails clearly had president Bush leading by several percent. The electronic paperless systems had senator Kerry winning. If cheating was done, it was by democrats. The democrats came close to stealing Ohio! Who knows what areas the ias well? Could ba a factor for their 2006 sweep too!

I have posted the link and data some time ago. I'm not even sure if I can find it again, but the facts are in.

[Purple & Gold]

but the facts are in.

:lol :lol

[ElNono]

ee you didn't get the memo.

During the 2004 elections, they had three systems in Ohio. Both the ones with paper trails clearly had president Bush leading by several percent. The electronic paperless systems had senator Kerry winning. If cheating was done, it was by democrats. The democrats came close to stealing Ohio! Who knows what areas the ias well? Could ba a factor for their 2006 sweep too!

I have posted the link and data some time ago. I'm not even sure if I can find it again, but the facts are in.

You want me to find the article where either a Sequoia or Diebold machine counted negative votes for a Democrat?...

[ploto]

Officials warned Palin aides


Top state police officials urged Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's aides and husband to stop pushing for the firing of her ex-brother-in-law, with one warning it could cause "an extreme amount of discomfort and embarrassment."

That warning from John Glass, Alaska's deputy commissioner of public safety, is included in a state investigator's report that found Palin unlawfully abused her authority to press for the dismissal of Mike Wooten, her sister's ex-husband, from the state trooper force.

Glass said he warned Palin's husband, Todd, that disciplinary action already had been taken against the trooper and that "we could not fire him," according to the report, which was released Friday.

"And I also warned him that it was going to cause some extreme amount of discomfort and embarrassment for the governor if they pursued this and it should never have become public. That it would just be not good for the governor if it continued, and that they needed to cease and desist," Glass told former Anchorage prosecutor Stephen Branchflower, the report's author.

The report was commissioned by a bipartisan Alaska Legislature committee panel investigating Palin's July dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. The report found Monegan's refusal to fire Wooten was "likely a contributing factor" to Monegan's dismissal, but Palin -- now the running mate of GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain -- had the authority as governor to fire him.

The report, however, also states Palin's efforts to get Wooten fired broke a state ethics law that bars public officials from pursuing personal interest through official action.

Glass is a former police chief of Palin's hometown of Wasilla and a snowmobiling friend of Todd Palin. In Todd Palin's account of Glass' warning, which took place in early spring 2008, he said Glass told him, "I'm telling you as a friend, I love the governor, but I am telling you, stay away from this Wooten situation."

"I felt it was more of the same with troopers protecting a 'brother' officer," Todd Palin told Branchflower in written answers provided through his attorney. They were delivered on Wednesday, after he had resisted a subpoena for three weeks, and were not included in Friday's report.

Glass said Sarah Palin had been questioning the loyalty of state police officials before Monegan's firing. But Glass added: "I don't think there's anybody that would really question our loyalty to her, because we have been trying to avoid this whole situation."

The Branchflower report found Todd Palin used the governor's office and its resources to press Monegan directly for Wooten's firing, and that the governor did nothing to stop it.

Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein said Monday that Branchflower's conclusion that Palin had violated state ethics law was wrong, because no financial interest was involved. Palin told reporters over the weekend that she had been "cleared of any legal wrongdoing, any hint of any kind of unethical activity there."

In September, McCain-Palin campaign officials said Monegan was fired for insubordination when he continued to press for programs the governor opposed. Documents and statements released by Palin's office show Monegan had clashed with administration officials over budget issues.

Monegan has said he never received a direct order to fire Wooten. But he told Branchflower that complaints from Todd Palin and administration officials were the "central theme" of his 17-month tenure.

"So obviously, in my mind, the governor wanted me to fire Mike Wooten," Monegan said, according to the report.

In the report, Monegan and Glass say they warned state officials that they could be sued personally for a wrongful dismissal. Monegan said he told former Palin chief of staff Mike Tibbles that Wooten could "own your house" if he sued. Glass said he delivered a similar warning to Frank Bailey, a Palin adviser who had called a state police lieutenant to raise complaints about Wooten.

Palin has repeatedly described Wooten as a "rogue trooper" who threatened her family during his 2005 divorce from her sister. Complaints from her family led to a five-day suspension for Wooten in 2006 after his superiors determined he illegally shot a moose using his wife's hunting permit, drove his patrol car with an open beer and used a Taser on his 10-year-old stepson "in a training capacity."

Glass said he was "livid" after the Ketchikan-based lieutenant reported Bailey's call to him and told Bailey that Wooten already had been suspended for the same complaints.

"If we did go back and fire him for that, it would probably be viewed upon by, you know, the courts and stuff that it would be a wrongful discharge," Glass recounted. "When you do fire somebody wrongfully like that and you do so outside the scope of your employment, you then become personally liable for that."

Bailey's call to Lt. Rodney Dial -- which was recorded by the Ketchikan dispatch system -- was disclosed by Palin in an August news conference in which she pledged to cooperate with the Branchflower investigation. Bailey told Glass he called Dial because Dial used to attend the same church as the governor.

In a sworn statement submitted to Branchflower, Bailey said he "overstepped my boundaries" with the call.

"I should not have spoken for the governor, or Todd for that matter," he said. "I went out on my own in this discussion."

Violations of the state's Executive Branch Ethics Act are assessed by the Alaska Personnel Board and can lead to a fine of up to $5,000.

The governor already has asked the Personnel Board to conduct its own investigation into Monegan's firing -- a move she launched after becoming McCain's vice presidential nominee, declaring the agency the proper legal venue for any investigation.

Palin and her husband are scheduled to give statements to the Personnel Board's investigator, Timothy Petumenos, on October 23 or 24, said Palin attorney Van Flein. He said he would be surprised if Petumenos did not read the Branchflower report, "but I do know he is going on his own individual investigation and is not going to rely on what Branchflower did."

The three-member board meets November 3, but its agenda does not list specific cases for review. Van Flein said he did not know whether the governor's case would be addressed in that meeting, held the day before the presidential election.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/13/palin.investigation/index.html

[Wild Cobra]

You want me to find the article where either a Sequoia or Diebold machine counted negative votes for a Democrat?...
Believe as you must. I think you know I do not intentionally mislead. The articles I've seen about that were encountered during testing, and the problems fixed before the elections took place. I recall one of those instances involved putting the wrong memory card in the machine by an election worker. If I remember right, the error was 32768 which is 2^15. A clear computer hardware compatability error when the numbers are errors in base 2. Go ahead and post any you like as long as EXACT number errors are used. I'll bet they have a user/hardware related problem. Is the error a multiple of 2?

Here is a graphic I saved from the Ohio results:

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x262/Wild_Cobra/Ohio2004.jpg

[ElNono]

Believe as you must.

Ed Felten on the New Jersey Voting Machine Controversy
LINK (http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/04/ed-felten-on-th.html)

You can read the whole article there, but here's something I wanted to point out:

But an observant clerk in Union County noticed that on one machine they didn't match. The machine recorded 61 votes total for all of the Republican presidential candidates on the Republican ballot, but indicated that only 60 Republican ballots had been cast. So where did the extra vote come from?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I think BOTH parties are cheating on democracy, and it's inexcusable.

[Wild Cobra]

[
But an observant clerk in Union County noticed that on one machine they didn't match. The machine recorded 61 votes total for all of the Republican presidential candidates on the Republican ballot, but indicated that only 60 Republican ballots had been cast. So where did the extra vote come from?

Since when is it law for republican registered people to vote republican and democrat registered people to vote democrat?

I didn't read the thing yet, so spare me if this was a primary and not an open election.

[Wild Cobra]

OK, after looking at the link, it appears that there is a software problem in all those machines that count 1 more vote than cast. It was consistent for both the democrat and republican ballots, but you "cherry picked" that fact out!

Sotware counting error. As long as the vote count is secure, that's fine.

What were the results of the software audit ordered by the judge? I'll bet they found nothing intentional.

[ElNono]

OK, after looking at the link, it appears that there is a software problem in all those machines that count 1 more vote than cast. It was consistent for both the democrat and republican ballots, but you "cherry picked" that fact out!

Sotware counting error. As long as the vote count is secure, that's fine.

What were the results of the software audit ordered by the judge? I'll bet they found nothing intentional.

Judge Suppresses Report on Voting Machine Security
LINK (http://freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/appel/judge-suppresses-report-voting-machine-security)



A judge of the New Jersey Superior Court has prohibited the scheduled release of a report on the security and accuracy of the Sequoia AVC Advantage voting machine. Last June, Judge Linda Feinberg ordered Sequoia Voting Systems to turn over its source code to me (serving as an expert witness, assisted by a team of computer scientists) for a thorough examination. At that time she also ordered that we could publish our report 30 days after delivering it to the Court--which should have been today.

Three weeks after we delivered the report, on September 24th Judge Feinberg ordered us not to release it. This is part of a lawsuit filed by the Rutgers Constitutional Litigation Clinic, seeking to decommission of all of New Jersey's voting computers. New Jersey mostly uses Sequoia AVC Advantage direct-recording electronic (DRE) models. None of those DREs can be audited: they do not produce a voter verified paper ballot that permit each voter to create a durable paper record of her electoral choices before casting her ballot electronically on a DRE. The legal basis for the lawsuit is quite simple: because there is no way to know whether the DRE voting computer is actually counting votes as cast, there is no proof that the voting computers comply with the constitution or with statutory law that require that all votes be counted as cast.

The question of whether this report can legally be suppressed was already argued once in this Court, in June 2008, and the Court concluded then that it should be released; I will discuss this below. But as a matter of basic policy--of running a democracy--the public and legislators who want to know the basic facts about the reliability of their elections need to be able to read reports such as this one. Members of the New Jersey Legislature--who need to act now because the NJ Secretary of State is not in compliance with laws the legislature passed in 2005--have asked to read this report, but they are precluded by the Court's order. Members of the public must decide now, in time to request an absentee ballot, whether to cast their ballot by absentee (counted by optical scan) or to vote on paperless DRE voting machines. Citizens also need information so that they can communicate to their legislators their opinions about how New Jersey should conduct elections. Even the Governor and the Secretary of State of New Jersey are not permitted, by the Court's order, to read this report in order to inform their policy making.

Examination of the AVC Advantage. In the spring of 2008, Judge Linda Feinberg ordered the defendants (officials of the State of New Jersey) to provide to the plaintiffs: (a) Sequoia AVC Advantage voting machines, (b) the source code to those voting machines, and (c) other specified information. The Sequoia Voting Systems company, which had not been a party to the lawsuit, objected to the examination of their source code by the plaintiffs' experts, on the grounds that the source code contained trade secrets. The Court recognized that concern, and crafted a Protective Order that permitted the plaintiffs' experts to examine the source code while protecting the trade secrets within it. However, the Court Order, issued by Judge Feinberg on June 20, does permit the plaintiffs' experts to release this report to the public at a specified time (which has now arrived). In fact, the clause of this Order that permits the release of the report was the subject of lengthy legal argument in May-June 2008, and the plaintiffs' experts were not willing to examine the AVC Advantage machines under conditions that prevent public discussion of their findings.

I served as the plaintiffs' expert witness and led an examination team including myself and 5 other computer scientists (Maia Ginsburg, Harri Hursti, Brian Kernighan, Chris Richards, and Gang Tan). We examined the voting machines and source code during July-August 2008. On September 2nd we provided to the Court (and to the defendants and to Sequoia) a lengthy report concerning the accuracy and security of the Sequioa AVC Advantage. The terms of the Court's Protective Order of June 20 permit us to release the report today, October 2nd.

However, on September 24 Judge Feinberg, "with great reluctance," orally ordered the plaintiffs not to release the report on October 2nd, and not to publicly discuss their conclusions from the study. She did so after the attorney for Sequoia grossly mischaracterized our report. In order to respect the Judge's temporary stay, I cannot now comment further on what the report does contain.

The plaintiffs are deeply troubled by the Court's issuance of what is essentially a temporary restraining order restricting speech, without any motion or briefing whatsoever. Issuing such an order is an extreme measure, which should be done only in rare circumstances, and only if the moving party has satisfied its high burden of showing both imminent harm and likelihood of success on the merits. Those two requirements have not been satisfied, nor can they be. The plaintiffs have asked the Court to reconsider her decision to suppress our report. The Court will likely hear arguments on this issue sometime in October. We hope and expect that the Court will soon permit publication of our report.

[Wild Cobra]

Could this be the reason:


In fact, the clause of this Order that permits the release of the report was the subject of lengthy legal argument in May-June 2008, and the plaintiffs' experts were not willing to examine the AVC Advantage machines under conditions that prevent public discussion of their findings.
It comes after:

and crafted a Protective Order that permitted the plaintiffs' experts to examine the source code while protecting the trade secrets within it.
Maybe the report exposes trade secrets?