The Emperor has no uniform...
Even the NYTwits, in the third paragraph of their
story on the release of the records (2/13/04),
acknowledge that the cloud of disrepute is far from
dispelled: "But the hundreds of pages of National
Guard files contain no new evidence and are unlikely
to change the basic standoff between Mr. Bush and the
Democrats, which is where, when and how often the
president showed up for duty from May 1972 to May 1973."
Jackson Baker of the Memphis Flyer (2/13/03) provides
two more names for the John O'Neill Wall of Heroes:
Bob Mintz of Memphis, a Fed Ex pilot, and Paul Bishop
of Goldsboro, N.C., a charter airline pilot.
Recalls Memphian Mintz, now 62: “I remember that I
heard someone was coming to drill with us from Texas.
And it was implied that it was somebody with political
influence. I was a young bachelor then. I was looking
for somebody to prowl around with.” But, says Mintz,
that “somebody” -- better known to the world now as
the president of the United States -- never showed up
at Dannelly in 1972. Nor in 1973, nor at any time that
Mintz, a FedEx pilot now and an Eastern Airlines pilot
then, when he was a reserve first lieutenant
at Dannelly, can remember.
“I never saw hide nor hair of Mr. Bush,” confirms
Bishop, who now lives in Goldsboro, N.C., is a veteran
of Gulf War I and, as a Kalitta pilot, has himself
flown frequent supply missions into military
facilities at Kuwait. "In fact," he quips, mindful of
the current political frame of reference, "I saw more
of Al Sharpton at the base than I did of George W. Bush."
In "Dubious Honor," a brilliant New Republic piece on
how little an "honorable discharge" can mean, Josh
Benson writes: "Perhaps more striking is how often
serious questions of misconduct have been flat-out
ignored. John Allen Muhammad, convicted last November
for his participation in the D.C. sniper shootings,
served in the Louisiana National Guard from 1978-1985,
where he faced two summary courts-martial. In 1983, he
was charged with striking an officer, stealing a tape
measure, and going AWOL. Sentenced to seven days in
the brig, he received an honorable discharge in 1985."
Here is an attack ad idea from the Gutter Politics division of the LNS: open with a clip from the Meat the Press interview in which the _resident defends himself with the fact that he recieved an "honorable discharge," dissolve to black and white photos of the _resident, described as "the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," and John Allen Mohammed, described as "convicted Beltway sniper," with scrolling text on both men's exploits during National Guard service, with a bold headline that reads: "Honorably Discharged" and "It doesn't answer the question...Where was he?"
MEANWHILE...
Orlando [FRAUDIDA] Sun-Sentinel: State elections
officials banned any attempt to recount votes cast on
touch-screen voting machines Friday, reversing an
earlier decision as counties prepare for the
presidential primary less than a month away.
Thwart the Theft of a Second Presidential Election,
Show Up for Democracy in 2004: Defeat Bush (again!)
[FRAUDIDA] State bans recounts of touch-screen ballots
By Scott Wyman
Staff writer
Posted February 14 2004
State elections officials banned any attempt to
recount votes cast on touch-screen voting machines
Friday, reversing an earlier decision as counties
prepare for the presidential primary less than a month
away.
During the recount of January's close legislative
election in Broward and Palm Beach counties, the state
decided to leave it up to each county whether to print
out images of each ballot from the voting machines.
But that led to concern among county officials that
candidates could challenge election results and lead
to uncertainty if each county handled a recount
differently during a major election. The U.S. Supreme
Court ruled at the end of the 2000 election that the
differing standards used in Florida's highly watched
recount violated the Constitution.
Under its new ruling, the state Elections Division
concluded that counties are not permitted to print out
ballots. State law requires uniform standards and sets
none when it comes to counties with touch-screen
ballots because there is no way to discern voter
intent other than what is registered on the computer,
the state concluded.
The elections supervisors of Broward, Palm Beach and
Miami-Dade counties joined colleagues from other
Florida counties with touch-screen voting machines in
asking the state for more guidance about what to do.
The state election administrators concluded that the
Legislature was aware that there could be no manual
recount with the ATM-style machines when legislators
rewrote election law after the 2000 election. The only
work needed during a recount with the machines is to
recalculate individual totals from each machine to
ensure there is no mathematical error.
In fighting his 12-vote loss at the polls on Jan. 6 to
Ellyn Bogdanoff in the state House District 91 race,
Oliver Parker, then mayor of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea,
had demanded election officials find a way to recount
the votes cast on the touch-screen voting machines. He
wanted to know what happened to 137 instances in which
someone cast a ballot but did not vote for any
candidate.
The state decision did not address the campaign under
way among some elected officials and political
activists to have voters review printed receipts of
their ballots before they are cast on the touch-screen
machines. Email story
Print story
Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted by richard at February 14, 2004 09:05 PM