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 TN GOP Fights Against Rule of Law, Paper Ballots In 2008, election integrity advocates in Tennessee won a hard and long-fought victory as the state legislature finally passed, on a bi-partisan basis, the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act (TVCA) requiring the state's wholly unverifiable touch-screen voting machines to be replaced with precinct-based optical-scan paper balloting in time for the crucial 2010 general election. But in November of 2008, as the state was still using its completely faith-based electronic voting systems, it somehow managed to buck the national trend as the only state in the nation to see legislative gains for the Republican Party which managed to win a majority in the statehouse in the bargain. Ever since, the GOP majority, along with the Republican Secretary of State and Election Director, have been fighting against implementation of that paper ballot law. A move in the legislature to delay the law until 2012 was narrowly defeated --- by a single vote --- earlier this year, but the state's Republican apparatchik have continued attempts to forestall following the rule of law. Late this week, however, a Nashville judge issued a ruling in a case brought by Common Cause seeking to force Secretary of State Tre Hargett to immediately implement the law he's so far refused to act on... FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7505  Frank Schaeffer: I'm Now a 'Liberal' Because I'm a Conservative -- Guest Blogged by Frank Schaeffer I grew up in a fundamentalist missionary family that in the 1970s and 80s morphed into my father's activity as one of the founders of the Religious Right. We would hobnob with Republican leaders from Ronald Reagan to Gerald Ford and the Bush family, Jack Kemp and many others. One day it dawned on me that the far right of the Republican Party --- in other words its base --- actually hates America. … People ask me why I'm a progressive these days and "changed sides" from being a conservative. I didn't change sides. What changed --- ironically with my father's and my nefarious "help"! --- was a conservative movement that became an enclave for hate-filled ignorance, anti-American sentiment and nihilistic individualism. What changed was my bare faced self deception as I profited from the God business and the far right even though I knew better. Today I am an independent voter, and an Obama supporter, and a progressive because I am a conservative… FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7499 'Tea Party Express II: Rise of the Tea Bags'
A short film in two parts by Brad Friedman... So we went out to Griffith Park out here in L.A. on Sunday to check out the kick-off day for the new "Tea Party Express II" national tour. Thought we might meet some interesting people and file a quick video report. Met alot of interesting people, and so ended up making a short film of sorts. Enjoy. Spread the word. Go tell the story ("both sides")...   VIDEO: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7487  Military.com Covers Edmonds Disclosures, Reports 'Denials' From Several Fingered Bush Officials Feature article offers comment from Perle, Feith, spokesman for Grossman, as well as information and comment in support of the FBI translator/whistleblower's charges of nuclear treason... The military news outlet Military.com is covering the story of FBI linguist-turned-whistelblower Sibel Edmonds as their lead story today. Report Bryant Jordan's 1,500 word feature includes a background summary of Edmonds' story, which The BRAD BLOG has been detailing for years, and a summary of the allegations she offered under oath last August in her sworn deposition following seven years of "forced silence" under a court-ordered gag due to the so-called "State Secrets Privilege" twice-invoked by George W. Bush's Department of Justice. Jordan's piece is well reported and includes, for the first time to our knowledge, several forms of denials of Edmonds allegations by some of Bush's key State and Defense Department officials --- such as Richard Perle and Douglas Feith --- who, she says, were participants in espionage plots against the United States in order to share military and even nuclear secrets with Turkish and Israeli government operatives. Edmonds also offers a very spirited and seemingly common-sense response to those denials (one of which is rather ironic in retrospect) and to critics who maintain she has been offering these allegations due to some form of vendetta... FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7478 Related story from yesterday...  Diebold's Optical-Scan System FAILS in Sarasota, FL County election director Kathy Dent's 'solution' as bad or worse than the actual problem...as usual... The November 3rd Election Day is nearing, so naturally the words "glitch," "hiccup," "snafu," and "snag" are back in the headlines, instead of the word "failure," which would be the appropriate one to use in such cases. Today, it's our old friends in Sarasota, under the continuing and now-legendarily failed direction of Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent and her latest failed voting system, this one an optical-scan system made by Diebold, featured in the Charlotte Sun's "Scanning glitch in vote machine test": A handful of individuals were on hand this week at the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections office where Supervisor Kathy Dent and staff tested 16 ballot scanners that will be used in the Nov. 3 city council election. In one test a ballot with both blue and black ink was unable to be scanned. Officials pulled that scanner from service and substituted another. It didn't work either. The machine that didn't work --- no, it's not a "glitch," it didn't succeed in carrying out the purpose for which it was designed and purchased anymore than a car which didn't start, or whose brakes failed could be said to have a "glitch" --- was the old, failed Diebold Accuvote optical-scan system, similarly used in hundreds and hundreds of counties in dozens and dozens of other states. The "solution" Dent ultimately settled on in response to the failure of the machines made by Diebold (now calling themselves Premier and recently purchased by their larger competitor ES&S) is as bad, and as offensive, as the original failure itself... FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7472  CA Computer Scientists Charge U.S. EAC Misused Security Findings from Landmark E-Voting Study In letter to federal Election Assistance Commission, investigators from CA's unprecedented e-vote review blast the approval of flawed protocols in certification tests for new Diebold e-voting system... A group of computer scientists and security experts from California's 2007 landmark "Top-to-Bottom Review" (TTBR) of electronic voting systems, have sent a two-page letter of condemnation to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) taking the federal body to task for their approval of misused security findings from the TTBR in recent certification testing for a new e-voting system made by Diebold/Premier. The letter was addressed to the EAC's Director of Testing and Certification Brian Hancock, a longtime official at the commission with a disturbing background of helping to hedge test results for other electronic voting systems... FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7470 Source: BRAD BLOG; Peter B. Collins Show
 FBI Veteran Calls For Special Counsel Investigation, Accountability, Prosecutions in Sibel Edmonds Case Details panic inside the Bureau, executive effort to 'keep this whole thing quiet' when matter first came to light in 2002 Further confirms FBI translator/whistleblower's allegations, credibility... An 18-year Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Manager for the FBI has called for a Special Counsel to be appointed to investigate the allegations of FBI translator-turned-whistleblower Sibel Edmonds. John M. Cole, who now works as an intelligence contractor for the Air Force, made his comments during an audio interview released late last week with radio journalist Peter B. Collins. He also offered a detailed insiders look at the panicked concerns among high-level officials inside the Bureau as Edmonds disturbing allegations began coming to light back in 2002, before they would be quashed for seven long years by the Bush Administration's unprecedented use of the so-called "State Secrets Privilege" to gag her. "Everybody at headquarters level at the bureau knew that what she was saying was extremely accurate. ... They were trying to figure out ways of keeping this whole thing quiet, because they didn't want Sibel to come out," Cole said. The FBI executive went on to further underscore his corroboration of key elements of Edmonds' allegations as "one hundred percent right on the money, on the mark," including the Bureau's long counterintelligence investigation into Turkish espionage/infiltration in the U.S. government; details on the importance of the first-hand intelligence collected by FBI translators like Edmonds; and a call for long-overdue "Special Counsel" investigation. "You know, it really irritates me that people are getting away with murder, in some cases. They should not be allowed to get away with that. There needs to be accountability. And that's what I'd love to see."... FULL STORY, COMPLETE AUDIO INTERVIEW, EXTENDED TEXT EXCERPTS: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7449 Also recently related... Read more: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7449  CIA Vet: FBI Whistleblower Edmonds 'Very Credible' Longtime counterterrorism agent, Phil Giraldi comments on FBI vet John Cole's recent confirmation of Bush official targeted in 'decade-long' espionage probe (Giraldi also slated to be my guest on Wed.'s 'Malloy Show') Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi, the author of American Conservative magazine's explosive cover story interview with FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds finds her to be "very credible", even though "as a former intelligence officer", he says, he's "normally suspicious of these kinds of stories." Giraldi was a guest on the Thom Hartmann Program today, as guest hosted by Peter B. Collins. In the 13 minute segment, he discussed a number of aspects of Edmonds' disturbing allegations with Collins, including yesterday's confirmation by a long-time FBI veteran (http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7439 ) of a key element in her claims which include bribery, blackmail, and the theft of nuclear secrets as aided and abetted by high-ranking U.S. officials. Giraldi, a long time counterterrorism specialist with the CIA commented on the confirmation by 18-year FBI counterintelligence vet John Cole, who, in a published claim yesterday, acknowledged the existence of a "decade-long investigation" targeting the former third-highest ranking official in the Bush State Department, Marc Grossman, as Edmonds has long maintained. Citing Cole's first-hand experience with the espionage investigations in question, Giraldi told Collins during the interview: This is something that, presumably, if the mainstream media were interested in it, would be a line of inquiry that would lead to a major investigation. ... I'm a former intelligence officer, I find her very credible. And of course, as a former intelligence officer, I'm normally suspicious of these kinds of stories. In this case, John Cole, who obviously had direct access to the investigations going on, is confirming her story. FULL STORY, 13-MINUTE AUDIO INTERVIEW: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7440 NOTE: I'll be sitting in to guest host the nationally syndicated Mike Malloy Show again tomorrow night (Wednesday), and have also scheduled Giraldi as a guest. We'll have him on for a full hour at the beginning of the show (live at 6p PT, 9p ET) and will invite your calls and questions for him at 877-520-1150.  Former FBI Agent Confirms: Bush State Official Was Target of 'Decade-Long' Espionage Probe Longtime counterintel official acknowledges evidence behind key aspect of allegations against Marc Grossman made by former FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds Agency vet says investigation was 'buried and covered up', calls for new investigation, 'accountability'... George W. Bush's third-highest ranking State Department official, Marc Grossman, who became the Under Secretary of State after previously serving as Ambassador to Turkey, was targeted as part of a "decade-long investigation" by the FBI, according to an 18-year veteran manager of the agency's Counterintelligence and Counterespionage departments. For still-unknown reasons, the investigation which also involved a multitude of cases involving Israeli espionage, was ultimately "buried and covered up", according to the official. The comment from the former FBI official John M. Cole, in response to recent, stunning disclosures made by former FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, helps to shore up a key aspect of her allegations. Cole is now calling for an investigation to help "bring about accountability" in the matter... FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7439  Edmonds Issues Formal Response to Schakowsky's Denial of Lesbian Affair with Turkish Operative Formerly-gagged FBI translator/whistleblower invites Congresswoman to 'pursue facts' of the case, use her position as member of House Intel Committee to find the truth about allegations of bribery, blackmail, nuclear espionage... As she had promised on Tuesday night, former FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds has responded to a parting shot taken at her by Rep. Jan Schakowsky's office, concerning Edmonds' allegations that she overheard details of a blackmail scheme directly involving the 9th-district Illinois 's 9th-District U.S. Congresswoman, while working on the FBI counterintelligence division's investigation into the Turkish lobby following the 9/11 attacks. She has now issued a formal letter to the Congresswoman, asking her to join in her "Pursuit of the Facts", in her role as a member of the U.S. Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The letter is posted in full at the link below... FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7433 Recently related... Source: BRAD BLOG
 Exclusive: Schakowsky Responds to Edmonds Claim, Vehemently Denies Lesbian Tryst With Turkish Agent FBI whistleblower rebuts Illinois Congresswoman's response with details, specific questions and polygraph challenge... Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)'s office has vehemently denied serious allegations published by The American Conservative magazine on Tuesday, in which FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds names the Congresswoman as having participated in a lesbian affair with a Turkish agent, and being secretly video-taped for possible blackmail purposes while doing so. Schakowsky's communications director, Trevor Kincaid, sent us a formal response to the allegations about her, as published as part of the AmCon cover story out today (http://amconmag.com/article/2009/nov/01/00... /) In the response, Kincaid describes the claims made about the Congresswoman in the interview by former CIA officer Phil Giraldi, as a "hit piece" and a "complete fantasy; cut from the same cloth as the stories by 'birthers' that President Obama is not an American citizen." The Congresswoman's office also disputed a number of details in Edmonds' account by offering information they believe rebuts the claims made in the article. They further charge that "A simple review of the facts would lead any responsible person to conclude that there is not a shred of truth to any aspect of this story." Edmonds' has responded with specific points in her own rebuttal to the Schakowsky response, and has included a number of direct questions for the Congresswoman in return. She also states that she is "willing to take (a) public polygraph ... on these points if she accepts doing the same." The BRAD BLOG has shared that rebuttal with Kincaid, and the office has responded to that as well, though they failed to directly answer the questions posed by Edmonds, or accept the challenge to a polygraph test. The interviewer Giraldi has also responded to several shots taken at AmCon in the original Schakowsky response, in which Kincaid writes that the magazine's "goal was not apparently good journalism, but to fabricate one more story line for the right wing smear machine and conspiracy theorists everywhere." The complete responses, from everyone, all follow at the link below, along with context and additional background... FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7429 Read more: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7429 Source: BRAD BLOG, American Conservative
 EXCLUSIVE: Upcoming Cover Story on Edmonds 'Outs' Video-taped, 'Blackmailed' Dem Congresswoman; Alleges State Dept. Mole at NYTimes; MUCH MORE... 'American Conservative' mag's description of interview with previously-gagged FBI whistleblower as 'explosive' may prove to be a gross understatement Blackmail, bribery, infiltration, theft and sale of nuke secrets by Turkey, Israel explained in clearer detail than ever before... Over the weekend, we received an embargoed look at American Conservative magazine's final version of their cover story interview with formerly-gagged FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds. On Friday, AmCon had teased the coming feature by former CIA officer Phil Giraldi -- due on net and newsstands tomorrow -- as "explosive". That may be a vast understatement. At least if the U.S. corporate media bothers to notice it this time. In addition to naming the identify of a married Democratic Congresswoman previously described by Edmonds as having been "hooked" into a lesbian affair by Turkish agents, who then video-taped the entire thing for blackmail purposes, loads of new details on Edmonds' disclosures are explained in the clearest, most-cogent, understandable terms yet. Even for beginners to the Edmonds story. The exclusive interview lays out the details of what can be described as nothing short of a national security cancer that has metastasized throughout the U.S. government, to the covert monetary, military and strategic intelligence benefit of our allies and enemies alike. Edmonds discusses a well-organized foreign intelligence black market superstore, benefiting everyone from treasonous U.S. officials to operatives and governments in Turkey, Israel, Pakistan, Iran, Libya, al-Qaeda and beyond, and she explains, in specific detail, how it all worked, and who the top culprits are... COMPLETE EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7427 Read more: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7427 Source: BRAD BLOG
 'Explosive' Sibel Edmonds Cover Story at 'The American Conservative' 4,000 word exclusive interview with 'the gagged FBI whistleblower on espionage, al-Qaeda, and secrets for sale'... The American Conservative magazine breaks a 4,000 word interview with former FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, by former CIA agent Phil Giraldi. Here's the teaser from TACp...: There’s a new issue of The American Conservative going to press today, and it includes a story that will make more than a few congressmen and foreign lobbyists intensely uncomfortable: an in-depth interview between Phil Giraldi and FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds. She tells us exactly how Turkish intelligence have penetrated national secrets, suborned government officials, and blackmailed Congress. It’s going to be explosive. Good. Rightwingers are covering it. So hopefully that means the "liberal media" will now pay attention, right? Well...Edmonds tells us today via email: "We've been getting foreign MSM inquiries; tons. Zilch here; so far..." Not much of a surprise by now. After all, what U.S. media would possibly care about members of the U.S. Congress and high-ranking State and Defense Dept. officials taking bribes, being blackmailed, and enabling the theft and sale of U.S. nuclear secrets? Even if the allegations came under sworn and video-taped deposition by a former FBI translator who overheard such things first hand. Non-story, apparently... FULL STORY (with links for the above): http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7421 Read more: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7421 |
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