The Progress Report.

Time for real "good Americans" to turn the tables; a plea for the undecideds.

Time to Turn the Tables

With all the rhetoric from right-wing politicians and some of the fringe supporters of the Republican Party on "real Americans" it seems it's time to turn the tables on them on the eve of this historic election. I know for many of you this feels a bit risky, voting for this Obama fellow, even if you ignore the lies against him. I will not mock your fear, I will only try to reassure you.

Regardless of party affiliation, in these trying times, as we stand, or teeter, on what is truly a precipice, what defines a true American?

Is it the people who can't move forward? Who can't do what it takes to make this country great again?

No. It's we the people, all the people who must work together  to form a more perfect union -- again. 

As Thomas Friedman puts it, the world is now a flat earth, and not in the pre-Gailileo astronomical sense, but in the sense of global interconnectedness. We're all in this together.

Those people who can't move forward to make this country greener, to help us get off oil dependence (and not just foreign oil dependence, but oil altogether), to preserve both the economy and the environment for future generations, those people who cannot look past the color of one's skin or accept that there are people who practice spirituality in a way that may differ from their own -- those people must be left behind.

In my opinion, "bad Americans" are people who not only put their self before country, but put their own hand-me-down fears ahead of progress, hope and their children and grandchildren's future. If that is their choice, we should all be sad by it. But if we cannot get their help nor change their ways, they must be left behind.

Racism and divisiveness must be left behind.

I have never felt as strongly about an election as I do the one on Tuesday. The past two were also critical, of course, and we failed in my opinion (and, I would argue, the election system also failed, but let's not go back there). I remember in 2000, hearing from several people I knew that there wasn't much difference between the two candidates, between Bush and Gore, that they were both products of a corrupt system and so, what does it matter? Well, while I understood then and I understood now what they mean - and feel the Democratic party is not entirely blameless for the situation we're in now financially - is there any doubt in the world now that there would have been the same results and the same messes had Al Gore been properly elected instead? We certainly would've moved faster on global warming. We would have had a better relationship with the rest of the world. We would, I would argue, not have invaded Iraq after 9/11.

Just as Al Gore would not have been our savior in every way, I don't expect that of Barack Obama, either. But we are at one of those critical junctures in American history that happen once in a generation, where we HAVE to make the right decision, the one that moves us forward with a progressive thinker, an open mind. If we chose to go on with a close-minded dinosaur it's not just going to be more of the same. It's going to be a disaster because we simply cannot afford it.

We have to have a leader whom the world will respect. And who will respect the world.

We have to have a leader who will both listen to what those around him say to him, AND who surrounds himself with the brightest of minds in the first place.

We need someone who understands what it will take to revamp our educational system, by understanding what is broken.

We need someone who understands that "going green" is good for the economy, too, i.e., that green = green, that it is not something to be feared but embraced. That energy companies and other big corporations need to get on that train or jump off.

We need someone who knows we have to stop giving tax breaks to American companies who take their jobs overseas.

We need someone who understands what it means to be from a modern, middle-class family, who can empathize. Obama and Biden empathize because they have literally been there. It is McCain-Palin who are the true "elitists." Just as Bush did not understand nor care about you if you are not a millionaire, you cannot expect a sudden bout of empathy from the GOP. I do not understand how people in the lower and middle-class can be so fearful of someone like Barack Obama and run to the very people who have been screwing them over for years.

We cannot afford to step backwards now because we are facing the wrong direction on a high cliff.

I cannot state this strongly enough. I have never felt as clear-headed about an election in my life. So even if it is hard for you, even if you have doubts, look deep inside yourself, feel excited about the choice, about the chances of being in an amazing time where we can make a difference. When future generations can thank us for taking that chance and making the right choice.

I urge you with all my convictions to vote for Barack Obama on Nov. 4.

7 Ways to Steal Back Your Vote

The following is an excerpt from the Steal Back Your Vote! investigative comic by Greg Palast and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. available as a free download at www.StealBackYourVote.org

1. Don't don't don't Mail In Your Ballot -- unless...

For those of you who mailed in your ballot, please tell me, what happened to it? You don't know, do you? I can tell you that officially, three-fourths of a million absentee ballots were never counted last time, on the weakest of technical excuses. And you won't even know it. Furthermore, tens of thousands of ballots are not mailed out to voters in time to return them -- in which case you're out of luck. Most states won't let you vote in-precinct once you've applied to vote absentee. Every time I hear of a voter going "absentee" to avoid computer screens, I want to "go postal" myself.

But for gosh sakes -- don't throw out your ballot if you have a mail-in. Either mail it in, making sure to include ID if required (you first-time voters) or, better, WALK it into your county clerk's office.

2. Vote Early...very early

Every state now lets voters cast ballots in designated polling stations and at county offices in the weeks before Election Day. Do it. Don't wait until Election Day to find out you have the wrong ID, your registration's "inactive," or you're on a challenge list. By Election Day, there's little to do but hold up the line.

3. Register and Register and Register

Think you're registered to vote? Think again. With all this purg'n going on, you could be x'd out and you won't know it. Check online with your Secretary of State's office or call your County Board of Elections. Then register your girlfriend, your wife, your mailman and your mommy. Contact the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the League of Women Voters, and your local party organization, and commit to a couple of days of door-to-door registration, especially in minority neighborhoods or at social service agency offices. And if you've served the time, you can sign: in almost every state, ex-cons can vote.

4. Vote Unconditionally, Not Provisionally

In 2008, they'll be handing out provisional ballots like candy, especially to Hispanic voters. If your right to vote is challenged, don't accept a provisional ballot that will likely not get counted no matter what the sweet little lady at the table tells you. She won't decide; partisan sharks will. Demand adjudication from poll judges on the spot; demand a call to the supervisor of elections; or return with acceptable ID if possible. And be a champ: defend the rights of others.

If you've taken Step 1 above and voted early, you have Election Day free to be a poll watcher. Run into trouble ­-- you've been caged or purged or challenged -- call Election Protection at 1-(866) OUR-VOTE. Then challenge the challengers, the weird guys with Blackberrys containing lists of "suspect" voters. Be firm, but  no biting.

5. Occupy Ohio, Invade Nevada

The revolution will not be podcast. Let go of that mouse, get out of your PJs and take the resistance door-to-door--to register the vote, to canvass the voters, to get out the vote. Donate time to your union (if you're not in a union, why not?) or to the troublemakers I've already listed here and on our site. This may seem a stupendously unoriginal suggestion, but I know of no other method more effective for confronting the armed and dangerous junta that has seized the White House.

6. Date a Voter

Voting, like bowling and love, should never be done alone. As our sponsor, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, says, make a date to 'Arrive with Five.' And keep this comic book in your holster - with our 800 numbers and your photo ID in your hand. And Bobby, make sure your ID says, "Robert Kennedy JUNIOR" or your vote is toast.

7. Make the Democracy Demand: No Vote Left Behind!

I have this crazy fantasy in my head. In it, an election is stolen and the guy who's wrongly declared the loser stands up in front of the White House and says three magic words: "Count the votes." You can have all the paper ballots in the world, but if you don't demand to look at them, publicly, in a recount, you might as well mark them with invisible ink. Democracy requires vigilance The Day After. That's when you check in at www.stealbackyourvote.org one more time.

Nation Institute fellow Greg Palast and election law expert Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are authors of an investigation of vote suppression in Rolling Stone.

Go to www.StealBackYourVote.org to download the guide for free or pick up print copies of the investigative comic book by Greg Palast and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Every donation you make for copies of the comic allows us to send more out to low income groups in states like Ohio, New Mexico and Colorado. Get the guide now - all copies will be sent out via priority mail. If your group would like to distribute the Steal Back Your Vote guide please contact keri (at) gregpalast.com for special rates.

No on Prop 8: Two Personal Pleas

For California voters, I bring you two fairly personal emails (not directly sent to me of course, but I got 'em!) from Jim Miller at Brave New Films and Anthony Romero of the ACLU.  Read on.

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Our friend Anthony Romero, the Executive Director of ACLU, sent us a letter recently asking for our help in pushing defeat of Proposition 8 which asks the citizens of California to deny marriage to same sex couples. He wrote an emotional and highly personal letter which we are sharing with you below.

Although I am not known for sharing my own personal life, I wanted to add a few words of my own regarding this Proposition.

I grew up in New York in a Catholic family going to church every Sunday (okay, sometimes we went to the 5pm Saturday mass) and believing in my heart that God loved everyone equally. As I grew older, I learned that although God may love everyone equally, the people made in his image had other thoughts about the issue. My family and the morals they taught me growing up shaped me to be who I am today. It is the reason why I ended up in the career I have now, helping to shine a light on social justice issues to fight injustices and hopefully make the world a better place for everyone.

It is also the reason why I wanted to have a family of my own, but I wasn't allowed to because I am gay. Instead of fighting for my rights, I denied my sexuality and thought it easier, no BETTER, to conform to acceptable society. I was wrong. I made the mistake of getting married to a woman to satisfy my need to have a family. Luckily I met someone with a good heart and although we are no longer married, we are still close friends. From that experience I was able to confront my own shame for being who I am and to realize that the only thing 'wrong' with being gay is the stigma placed on a person's personal sexuality by the Government's refusal to treat gays equally under the law.

Now, better people than me have been fighting for all of us, and there is a chance that we can get closer to equal rights. There is an opportunity here to allow men and women to fulfill the simple dream of being together in the state of matrimony for as long as they both shall live. When you think about it, the vows should be the easy part. The hard part is finding the person you want to be with for that damn long!

I hope that you all vote NO on Proposition 8 this Tuesday, and that you go one step further by sending a personal e-mail to 10 of your friends letting them know why you are voting NO.

Thank you for reading and as always, thanks for your support.

Best,
Jim Miller
Executive Director
Brave New Foundation
www.bravenewfoundation.org

From ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero:

 

I'm angry and heartsick about what may happen in California on November 4th.

In the most personal way possible, I'm writing to ask you for a favor: help us ensure that gay couples all across California keep their fundamental right to marriage -- the basic right to be treated just like anybody else.

Anthony Romero, ACLU

I hope you will forgive the indulgence when I speak from the heart and tell you my personal story.

You see, I grew up in a loving and supportive household, where my family believed I could be anything I chose -- anything except being an openly gay man. Neither of my parents finished high school, and yet, they believed I could accomplish all I set out to do as I went off to Princeton University and Stanford Law School.

They got me through the toughest of times, scrimped and saved, and always believed that failure wasn't in the cards for me. They had more faith in me than I often had in myself. Whenever my parents visited me at Princeton, my Dad would slip a $20 bill in my pocket when my Mom wasn't looking. I never had the courage to tell him that the $20 wouldn't go very far towards my bills, books and tuition. But, it was his support and belief in me that sustained me more than the tens of thousands of dollars I received in scholarships.

When I finished college, they were hugely proud of my -- and their -- accomplishments. That was until I told them I was gay and wanted to live life as an openly gay man.

Though I always knew I was gay, I didn't come out to them for many years, as I was afraid of losing the love and support that had allowed me to succeed against all odds. When I did tell them, they cried and even shouted. I ended up leaving their home that night to spend a sleepless night on a friend's sofa. We were all heartbroken.

When my Mom and I spoke later, my Mom said, "But, Antonio (that's the name she uses with me), hasn't your life been hard enough? People will hurt you and hate you because of this." She, of course, was right -- as gay and lesbian people didn't only suffer discrimination from working class, Puerto Rican Catholics, but from the broader society. She felt that I had escaped the public housing projects in the Bronx, only to suffer another prejudice -- one that might be harder to beat -- as the law wasn't on my side. At the time, it felt like her own homophobia. Now I see there was also a mother's love and a real desire to protect her son. She was not wrong at a very fundamental level. She knew that treating gay and lesbian people like second class citizens -- people who may be worthy of "tolerance, " as Sarah Palin asserts, but not of equality -- was and still is the last socially-acceptable prejudice.

Even before I came out to them, I struggled to accept myself as a gay man. I didn't want to lose the love of my family, and I wanted a family of my own -- however I defined it. I ultimately chose to find my own way in life as a gay man. This wasn't as easy as it sounds even though it was the mid-1980s. I watched loved ones and friends die of AIDS. I was convinced I would never see my 40th birthday, much less find a partner whom I could marry.

As years passed, my Mom, Dad and I came to a peace, and they came to love and respect me for who I am. They even came to defend my right to live with equality and dignity -- often fighting against the homophobia they heard among their family and friends and in church.

The right to be equal citizens and to marry whomever we wish -- unimaginable to me when I first came out -- is now ours to lose in California unless we stand up for what's right. All of us must fight against what's wrong. In my 43 short years of life, I have seen gay and lesbian people go from pariahs and objects of legally-sanctioned discrimination to being on the cusp of full equality. The unimaginable comes true in our America if we make it happen. But, it requires effort and struggle.

One of the things I love about the ACLU is that it's an organization that understands we are all in this together. We recognize that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Given what's at stake in the outcome of this election, I am personally appealing to you for help to fight the forces of intolerance from carrying the day in California next Tuesday.

If you have friends and family in California, please contact them right now, and ask them to vote NO on Proposition 8. You can send them a message here.

We need to make sure people keep in mind that gay people are part of every family and every community -- that like everyone else, gay people want the same rights to commit to their partners, to take care of each other and to take responsibility for each other. We shouldn't deny that, and we shouldn't write discrimination into any constitution in any state. Certainly, we can't let that happen in California after the highest court in the state granted gay and lesbian people their full equality.

Unfortunately, due to a vicious, deceitful $30 million advertising blitz, the supporters of Prop 8 may be within days of taking that fundamental right away.

To stop the forces of discrimination from succeeding, we have to win over conflicted voters who aren't sure they're ready for gay marriage but who are also uncomfortable going into a voting booth and stripping away people's rights. With the ACLU contributing time, energy and millions of dollars to the effort, we're working hard to reach those key voters before next Tuesday.

If you have friends and family in California, please contact them right now, and ask them to vote NO on Proposition 8. Share this email with them. Call them. Direct them to our website for more information.

Don't let other young people grow up to be afraid to be who they are because of the discrimination and prejudice they might face. Let them see a future that the generation before them couldn't even dream of -- a future as full and equal citizens of the greatest democracy on earth.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." As we strive to defeat Prop 8 and the injustice it represents, the ACLU is trying to make that arc a little shorter.

On behalf of my Mom and family, and on behalf of all the people who will never face legally-sanctioned discrimination, I thank you for being part of this struggle and for doing everything you can to help.

It is a privilege and honor to have you as allies in this fight for dignity and equality.

With enormous appreciation,

Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director
ACLU

P.S. All the polls show that the vote on Prop 8 could go either way. By making just a few calls or sending just a few emails, you could help make the difference. Please, don't let this fundamental right be taken away. Send an eCard to everyone you know in California.

Bush wants Mukasey to suppress votes in Ohio.

(From Credo:)

Bush wants Mukasey to suppress votes in Ohio.

This year, there are over 600,000 newly registered Ohio voters, but President Bush has asked Attorney General Mukasey to investigate as many as 200,000 of them. Why? Because Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner won't let voters be disenfranchised simply because of a typo in a state database.

Secretary Brunner has refused to challenge voters based on faulty database matching because  it would erroneously deprive tens or even hundreds of thousands of Ohioans of their right to vote.

Now, President Bush is trying to end-run the Supreme Court by getting the Department of Justice to intervene. On Friday, October 24th, Bush reportedly asked Attorney General Mukasey to investigate whether as many as 200,000 voters need to reconfirm their registrations before November 4th.

This is hugely problematic, and we need to fight back.

President Bush is doing his best to politicize the Department of Justice and suppress the rights of Ohio's voters, but Attorney General Mukasey doesn't have to bend to this insidious tactic. With the election only days away, the time to act is short.

Keeping tabs on voting worries.

More ballot confusion and voting worry stories:

Confusing North Carolina Ballot Leaves Off Votes for President:

The ballot design flaw disproportionately impacts three groups who are likely to be heavily represented in the election this year: new voters, the poor, and the elderly. On the internet, poll workers in the Tar Heel State have "twittered" for help in explaining the ballot on election day. Some less sympathetic bloggers have replied that if people can't understand the ballot, they shouldn't be voting.

"Elections are held to get instructions from the public, they are not literacy tests," said Norden. "If something confuses people and it can easily be fixed, then it should be."

Time Magazine: Seven Things That Could Go Wrong on Election Day

As it stands, the American voting system is a worrisome mess, a labyrinth of local, state and federal laws spotted with bewildered volunteers, harried public officials, partisan distortions, misdesigned forms, malfunctioning machines and polling-place confusion. Each time, problems pop up on the margins; if the election is close, these problems matter a great deal. Republicans and Democrats predict record turnouts, perhaps 130 million people, including millions who have never voted before. The vast majority will cast their votes without a hitch. But some voters will find themselves at the mercy of registration rolls that have been poorly maintained or, in some cases, improperly handled. Others will endure long lines, too few voting machines and observers who challenge their identities. Long a prerogative of local government, the patchwork of election rules often defies logic.

One thing you can do is VOTE EARLY.

Another is to report any voting issues to 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) to get advice on what to do.

You can also tell WIRED Magazine about it.

Another GOP politician chimes in with "real Americans" lunacy.

But rather than get mad at North Carolina Rep. Robin Hayes (who said that "liberals hate real Americans that work and achieve and believe in God"), why not use that energy, and a little money, to help out their opponents:

Larry Kissell (D for NC -8th) running against Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC " 8th District)
http://www.larrykissell.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hayes
http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/9145

Daniel Johnson (D for NC-10th) running against Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC " 10th District)
http://www.danieljohnson08.org/index.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Johnson_(naval_officer)
http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18640

Song for Sarah from Russian Friends

(are these guys the Russian Flight of the Conchords? Well, whatever, this is 55 degrees north of awesome. Da. Lyrics are here.)

Who's left (after eliminating who the GOP doesn't like.)

Great post by (again) Direct Democracy's Natasha Chart:

Who's Left?

Republicans don't like people who are Arab.

Republicans don't like people who drink wine.

Republicans don't like people who eat lettuce.

Republicans don't like people who live in cities or suburbs.

Republicans don't like people who now think that the Iraq war was a mistake.

Republicans don't like people who are Hispanic or speak Spanish, unless they are pro-torture.

Republicans don't like people who are gay, unless they STFU about wanting to marry the people they love.

Republicans don't like people who organize unions or want better treatment and more protection from their employers at work.

Republicans don't like people who are professionals or college educated, unless those people pretend to be 'folksy' latte-haters.

Republicans don't like people who take the extreme position that people who are women are just as good as people who are men.

Republicans don't like people who are offended by the use of racist threats and stereotypes targeted towards people who are Black.

Who's left over after all that? Republicans, I guess. Real Americans, some Republicans might say. Other people might call them 27-37% of American adults, depending on whether you count the leaners.

Now probably a good few of the leaners don't pass the full 'real American' screen, but let's be generous, and say that Republicans like Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann would consider about 30 percent of American citizens to be real, pro-American types.

Once again, with feeling, this is "inherently ridiculous."

Obama Campaign Will Not Be Pushed Around on Voters' Rights

(Thanks to Direct Democracy for this link)
(Bob Bauer, general counsel to the Obama campaign, speaking on MSNBC:)

BAUER: I think it's important to put it in the broader context of the kind of negative, unprecedentedly vicious and negative campaign that the McCain-Palin campaign is currently running. Wherever you look, at every level you see the tactics they use. Now, this toxin entered in the justice department, not too long after the administration promised to clean up after the U.S. Attorney dismissal and scandals. What we are seeing here is Im afraid to say evidence that on another level, again, along with the robocalls and negative ads and all the negative activities, we now have legal tactics being used of a vicious nature, and they threaten to poison the Department of Justice and the impartial nature of the law. Were acting, Mukasey came to the department of justice to clean up after the attorney scandal to take the action necessary to remove this matter from frankly political hands and put them in independent hands. You pointed there's a prosecutor who could easily take this on and make it part of her expanded responsibilities.

OLBERMANN: Can you connect the dots for me. Explain how and why crackdowns on voting fraud would reduce Democratic votes disproportionately to Republican votes?

BAUER: Well, there's an attempt here at all phases of this campaign to smear. And this is a smear on voters. Its an attempt to discourage people from voting, to drive them away from the polls. And theres a variety of ways voters are discouraged and subject to these smears. You have to see it as part of the piece. Whether its the robocalls that even today, by the way, that Republican senator Susan Collins asked the McCain campaign to take down in the state of Maine, or the sleazy legal tactics repudiated today by an unanimous Ohio Supreme Court, or the senior justice department officials now engage apparently in colluding for partisan political purposes in violation of department policy. At every single one of these levels you see this behavior taking place. So, I think, now, with the report of these officials who you point out knew what they were doing was wrong, told the reporters what they were doing violated departmental policy. Its time for Attorney General Mukasey to do what other Republicans of good conscience and independents have done, which is to repudiate this negativity and start to entrust government to responsible people and politics, quite frankly, kept out of it.

OLBERMANN: What would the smoking gun be here, sir?

BAUER: Well, what you have is the newspaper article. By the way, less than 24 hours after John McCain thundered about vote fraud threatening the very fabric of our democracy, right there after, almost precisely as you would expect, the Republican National Committee and the McCain-Palin campaign to plot it, lo and behold, senior department officials admitting they were violating departmental policy announced an investigation of fraud was underway. This is an astonishing repeat of the kind of toxic intrusion of politics into the lawful administration of justice that we saw during the U.S. attorney scandal. We are seeing a repeat of that. As I said, Mukasey came to clean the department of justice out. He has a chance to purge this toxic from the system. The way to do that is take it to a special prosecutor. She would be in a position to investigate the coordination of the campaign, this illegal campaign, this disreputably negative campaign that the administration of justice. She would be in a position to collect information about who the officials were and we would begin hopefully to have government entrusted to people who would do their responsibility.

The Politico has a copy of Bauer's letter to the Bush Justice Department, for those interested in reading through it.

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While we're at it, don't forget to pick up Greg Palast's Comic Book "Steal Your Vote Back." And tell a friend.

McCain/Palin supporters let their racist roots show

This is some really scary stuff. I keep hoping to find out that this is just some clever satire from Mike Judge or somebody, but alas, it is not. Idiocracy, indeed.

(From Crooks and Liars:) McCain/Palin supporters let their racist roots show (video + transcript):

It was kind of strange, dintcha think, that John McCain came to the defense of his supporters last night after Barack Obama pointed out that people at McCain/Palin rallies were shouting out "terrorist" and "kill him!" in reference to Obama.

Now an Al Jazeera camera crew caught the honest sentiments of McCain/Palin supporters at an Ohio rally:

Go here for the video and some of the quotes from the piece.

My particular "favorite": “I’m afraid if he wins, the blacks will take over. He’s not a Christian! This is a Christian nation! What is our country gonna end up like?”

Uh, he IS a Christian, dumb-ass. (Not that it should matter, but since it obviously does matter to some people, let's get the facts straight at least. It's amazing the number of sheep who are brainwashed by Faux News and company.)