Will Voting Machines Work?

Ken AshfordElection 2006, Science & TechnologyLeave a Comment

Good article in Time: A woman walked into a polling place in Peoria, Ill. last week and proceeded to use one of the new electronic voting machines set up for early voting. She logged on, went through each contest and seemed to be making her choices. After reviewing each race, the machine checked to see if she was satisfied with … Read More

Voting Machines Already Changing Votes From Democrat To Republican

Ken AshfordElection 2006Leave a Comment

This doesn’t make me very confident about our democratic process.  From Miami: Debra A. Reed voted with her boss on Wednesday at African-American Research Library and Cultural Center near Fort Lauderdale. Her vote went smoothly, but boss Gary Rudolf called her over to look at what was happening on his machine. He touched the screen for gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis, … Read More

Don’t Know Lewis v. Harris?

Ken AshfordElection 2006, Sex/Morality/Family ValuesLeave a Comment

Well, you’re about to. The New Jersey Supreme Court is announcing its decision on Lewis v. Harris today at 3 pm. It’s a same-sex marriage case, and conventional wisdom suggests that the NJSC will come out in favor of gay marriages (New Jersey, unlike most states, has no law or state constitution provision which defines marriages as strictly between a … Read More

Everybody Picks Up Limbaugh/Michael J. Fox Story

Ken AshfordElection 2006, Health Care, Right Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

UPDATE:  For those late to the game, The Carpetbagger Report will catch you up. USA Today: WASHINGTON — Rush Limbaugh has accused actor Michael J. Fox of exaggerating the physical effects of his Parkinson’s disease in political ads urging viewers to vote for Democrats in next month’s election. The conservative radio host told listeners Monday that Fox’s lurching, palsied movements … Read More

Dirty Tricks

Ken AshfordElection 2006Leave a Comment

Approximately 14,000 Hispanic Democratic voters in Orange County, CA recently received a Spanish-language letter warning them to stay away from the polls: Be advised that if your residence in the United States is illegal or if you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that can result in incarceration, and possible deportation for voting without the … Read More

Bad Days To Be A GOP

Ken AshfordElection 2006, RepublicansLeave a Comment

This is how bad things are for the lower-than-whale-dung GOP. The new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll spells bad news for the GOP next month — public approval of the Republican Party is at an alltime low. Charlie Cook now says that 50 GOP seats are in jeopardy. Dick Morris says the GOP base is heading out the door and … Read More

Gay Outings

Ken AshfordElection 2006, Right Wing Punditry/Idiocy, Sex/Morality/Family ValuesLeave a Comment

If you’re not following the "gay outing" controversy, you should be. A gay activist blogger has released the names of GOP Congressman including social conservative Larry Craig (R-Idaho), GOP governors, other GOP politicians and their staff who, it is alleged, are closet homosexuals.  This is apparently not errant name-calling, and there is (supposedly) proof to back up his claims. Now, … Read More

Vernon Robinson Goes Off The Deep End

Ken AshfordCongress, Election 2006, Local InterestLeave a Comment

North Carolina Congressman Vernon "The Black Jesse Helsm" Robinson has always been weird and corrupt.  But this is just plain bizarre: Vernon Robinson, who has run a series of brash advertisements about the two-term Democratic congressman, charged that Miller wants to import homosexuals to the United States and supported scientific studies that would pay teenage girls to watch pornography. "Those … Read More

Look At The Shiny Object

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Election 2006, IraqLeave a Comment

Billmon: QUESTION: Do you believe that the biggest drag on the Republican Party is the situation in Iraq? THE PRESIDENT: I believe that the situation in Iraq is, no question, tough on the American psyche . . . no question this is an issue, but so is the economy. And I believe there’ll be — I still stand by my … Read More

The Ad

Ken AshfordElection 2006Leave a Comment

Anonymous Liberal scrawls a good one: Opens with an image of a world map; North Korea, Iran, and Iraq are highlighted. Narrator’s voice: Almost five years ago, President Bush warned Americans that North Korea, Iran, and Iraq "constituted an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world." Cut to audio of Bush’s January 2002 State of the … Read More

GOP Losing Christian Right

Ken AshfordElection 2006, Godstuff, RepublicansLeave a Comment

Wow.  That title felt really good to type. But it’s true. The evangelical base that Karl and Ken have worked so hard to feed and care for is deserting the Republican party: A nationwide poll of 1,500 registered voters released yesterday by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that 57 percent of white evangelicals are inclined to vote for Republican … Read More

GOP Is Soft on Terrorism

Ken AshfordElection 2006, War on Terrorism/Torture1 Comment

Look at this list.  It is funding needed to protect ourselves from terrorists.  What’s your reaction to the items on this list —  A waste of money, or worthwhile spending? Screen Checked Baggage: $91.1 million Screen Carry-On Baggage: $37.8 million Passenger Profiling: $10 million Screener Training: $5.3 million Screen Passengers (portals) and Document Scanners: $1 million Deploying Existing Technology to … Read More