Decius wrote:

Did the most powerful Republicans in America have the computer capacity, software skills and electronic infrastructure in place on Election Night 2004 to tamper with the Ohio results to ensure George W. Bush's re-election?

The answer appears to be yes. There is more than ample documentation to show that on Election Night 2004, Ohio's "official" Secretary of State website -- which gave the world the presidential election results -- was redirected from an Ohio government server to a group of servers that contain scores of Republican web sites, including the secret White House e-mail accounts that have emerged in the scandal surrounding Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's firing of eight federal prosecutors.

This is troubling.

[ To say the fucking least. -k]

OMG!

RE: Network Hosting Attorney Scandal E-Mails Also Hosted Ohio's 2004 Election Results

From: Lady Boudicca, Elder, Church of Dynion Mwyn, Inc.

The Bush Administration Agrees To Approve Wiccan Pentacle For Veteran Memorials ... Monday, April 23, 2007

(1)Settlement In Americans United Lawsuit Comes After Discovery Of A Pattern Of Bias Against Minority Faith

The Bush administration has conceded that Wiccans are entitled to have the pentacle, the symbol of their faith, inscribed on government-issued memorial markers for deceased veterans, Americans United for Separation of Church and State announced today.

The settlement agreement, filed today with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, brings to a successful conclusion a lawsuit Americans United brought against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in November.

The litigation charged that denying a pentacle to deceased Wiccan service personnel, while granting religious symbols to those of other traditions, violated the U.S. Constitution.

"This settlement has forced the Bush Administration into acknowledging that there are no second class religions in America, including among our nation's veterans," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. "It is a proud day for religious freedom in the United States."

Continued Lynn, "Sadly, the refusal of the federal government to recognize the Wiccan pentacle seems to have been built on inexcusable bias, a foundation that has crumbled under the press of this litigation."

In the lawsuit, Americans United represented Roberta Stewart, whose husband, Sgt. Patrick Stewart, was killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2005; Karen DePolito, whose husband, Jerome Birnbaum, is a veteran of the Korean War who died last year; Circle Sanctuary, a prominent Wiccan congregation; Jill Medicine Heart Combs, whose husband is severely ill; and the Isis Invicta Military Mission, a Wiccan and Pagan congregation serving military personnel.

The litigation was coordinated by Richard B. Katskee, AU assistant legal director with oversight by Ayesha N. Khan, AU legal director. They were assisted by other attorneys in the office, including Aram Schvey, AU litigation counsel.

Americans United's attorneys uncovered evidence that the VA's refusal to recognize the Pentacle was motivated by bias toward the Wiccan faith. President George W. Bush, when he was governor of Texas, had opposed the right of Wiccans to meet at a military base in that state. Bush's opinion of Wiccans was taken into consideration when making decisions on whether to approve the Pentacle.

"Many people have asked me why the federal government was so stubborn about recognizing the Wiccan symbol," said AU's Lynn. "I did not want to believe that bias toward Wiccans was the reason, but that appears to have been the case. That's discouraging, but I'm pleased we were able to put a stop to it."

AU's Khan welcomed the settlement.

"It is rank hypocrisy for this administration to claim publi... [ Read More (0.8k in body) ]

Bush Administration Settles VA Pentacle Lawsuit - Pentacle ALLOWED

The Iranian Supreme Court has overturned the murder convictions of six members of a prestigious state militia who killed five people they considered “morally corrupt.”
...
Iran’s Islamic penal code, which is a parallel system to its civic code, says murder charges can be dropped if the accused can prove the killing was carried out because the victim was morally corrupt.

This is true even if the killer identified the victim mistakenly as corrupt. In that case, the law requires “blood money” to be paid to the family. Every year in Iran, a senior cleric determines the amount of blood money required in such cases. This year it is $40,000 if the victim is a Muslim man, and half that for a Muslim woman or a non-Muslim.

Iran Exonerates Six Who Killed in Islam’s Name - New York Times

Are people catching that what they are showing us is heavily edited? They say he is blaming Jesus Christ? Yet it seems to me his is delusional somewhat that he IS Jesus Christ.

Oh Jesus Christ. They say LAW ENFORCEMENT doesn't want us to see them - apologized for us HAVING to see them.

Ok, maybe don't plaster them all over the tv, but make them available. We know they are there in the media's hands. Why hide them? Why only show us what you want us to see? What someone thinks is SAFE for us?

Doesn't make sense. So much doesn't make sense.

I can't for the life of me figure out why he didn't upload at least some of his material to Youtube.

Gunman in massacre contacted NBC News

>>How much was he awarded?

BONG HITS FOR JESUS!!!!!

RE: Whose Bong Would Jesus Hit?

'Gross oversimplification'

"Our results suggest that the popular journalistic image of rich latte-drinking Democrats and poor NASCAR Republicans is a gross oversimplification," Park says. "Income varies far more within states than average income does between states, and it is these with-in-state variances that explain national voting patterns."

The bottom line, the study suggests, is that little has changed in terms of income's general influence on individual voting patterns: in every presidential election since 1952, the richer a voter is, the more likely that voter is to vote Republican, regardless of ethnicity, sex, education or age.

What's changing, the researchers argue, is how differences in income are playing out at the county and state levels. A key finding is that relative income is a much stronger predictor of voting preferences in poor states than it is in rich states.

"We find that income matters more in 'red' America than in 'blue' America," the researchers explain. "In poor states, rich people are much more likely than poor people to vote for the Republican presidential candidate, but in rich states (such as Connecticut), income has a very low correlation with vote preference."

In Connecticut, one of the nation's richer states, researchers found little difference between the voting patterns of the state's richest and poorest residents. In Mississippi, the nation's poorest state, they found dramatic income-related differences, with rich voters twice as likely as poor to vote Republican.

The study also documents changing income-related voting patterns in counties across the nation. Rich counties, a longtime bastion of Republican support, are generally shifting toward the Democrats. And while Republicans maintain an edge among rich counties in poor southern states, they're doing so with slimmer margins.

These regional differences may be especially important, the researchers suggest, in understanding why the national news media is especially vulnerable to the misperception of the typical Democrat as a rich liberal living in a wealthy urban metro area.

Study debunks journalistic image of rich 'Latte' Democrats, poor 'NASCAR' Republicans

Hot Supreme Court Justice on Supreme Court Justice action!

HAHAHAH! That is awesome. Safe for all ages, and a really funny trick!

Judicial action (revisited)

Too funny!

That was awesome!

Hot Supreme Court Justice on Supreme Court Justice action!

According to Radio Farda, Iranian reports of Hassanpour’s death emerged on January 21 after a delay of six days, giving the cause as “gas poisoning”. The Iranian reports did not say how or where Hassanpour was poisoned but his death was said to have been announced at a conference on nuclear safety.

Rheva Bhalla of Stratfor, the US intelligence company, claimed on Friday that Hassanpour had been targeted by Mossad and that there was “very strong intelligence” to suggest that he had been assassinated by the Israelis, who have repeatedly threatened to prevent Iran acquiring the bomb.

Hassanpour won Iran’s leading military research prize in 2004 and was awarded top prize at the Kharazmi international science festival in Iran last year.

Iranian Nuclear Scientist Assasinated by Mossad

Perry also received $6,000 from Merck's political action committee during his re-election campaign.

...

/cynic mode ON

Welcome to Utopia. Now we vaccinate your children for sexually transmitted diseases. Please report to Central Immunization immediately. Failure to comply within seven days will result in quarantine.

/cynic mode OFF

I don't believe this. I'm dumbfounded. Corporate cronyism at it's boldest. If this comes to your state, not only should you say no, you should say HELL NO. Since when is it the State's place to give preventative STD vaccines to children? I know the carrot here is oh it's such a great thing, it prevents cervical cancer. But is cervical cancer really a US health epidemic? Everything I've read says otherwise.

Even if you trust the State to inject whatever they deem necessary into your children, think about the economics here. $360 a head for the vaccine treatments. Wouldn't it be a lot cheaper to provide education about the importance of regular pap smears? Even if you get this vaccine, you still need them anyway.

And yes, I did not miss the part about an affidavit being available to opt out. I won't bore you with stories I've read about how that has been abused in the past, where kids were quarantined then the parents were charged with truancy, etc... Hit me up if you want the skinny on that.

Recommended reading:

10 Things You Might Not Know about Gardasil

Notable quotables:

4. While we're on the subject of liability, lawsuits, and profits, there's another angle to consider. If Merck can get state governments to put Gardasil on their lists of vaccines that are required for schoolchildren, it can become a part of a federal vaccine liability program. Meaning that Merck will not be liable if Gardasil turns out to be harmful some time in the future.

5. There have been no long-term studies done on the effect of the vaccine after 5-10 or more years, and testing on young girls has been extremely limited.

6. It is unknown how long the immunity provided by Gardasil actually lasts.

7. The studies done on Gardasil were not set up to investigate whether the vaccine itself has the potential to cause cancer.

More recommended reading:

A New Vaccine for Girls, but Should It Be Compulsory?

Texas Requires Cancer Vaccine for Girls

It gets worse. The stupid has spread to other cities now.

Good grief. The rape of pop culture.

RE: cbs4boston.com - Hoax Devices Creating Gridlock In Boston