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Twenty-three House members endorse votetabulation divestiture campaign

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By Jesse Kanson-Benanav | RAW STORY Managing Editor Tw enty-three members of the United States House of Representatives w ill announce on Monday their support for the Velvet Revolution Divestiture for Democracy campaign. The initiative, launched in February by a coalition of more than 80 progressive organizations, seeks to ensure transparency and accountability in American elections by forcing companies that manufacture vote-tabulation systems to open their technology to greater public scrutiny. The effort has been spearheaded in the House by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), both of w hom w ere early supporters of the Velvet Revolution effort. The Representatives authored a letter expressing their support for the demands of the campaign. In particular, Waters and Conyers have endorsed the move to w ithhold Help America Vote Act (HAVA) money from any votetabulation company that refuses to comply w ith the accuracy standards set forth by the Velvet Revolution. Since Waters and Conyers distributed the letter last Thursday, 23 of their fellow Democratic Representatives have agreed to co-sign. Though at present only Democrats, the endorsers represent a diverse group of states in all regions of the country. Brad Friedman, Co-Founder of Velvet Revolution, w elcomes this most recent development. This just seems to be common sense, said Friedman. In a democracy w ho w ould w ant to stand in the w ay of transparency and fairness? Friedman maintains that in a divestiture campaign of this sort complete w ithholding of government funds could be the most effective method for ensuring participation by vote-tabulation companies. W ith millions of dollars budgeted to help state and local governments purchase new equipment by 2006 Friedman hopes these companies w ill come around quickly and realize the standards are simply common sense. Good for the country first of all, said Friedman, but frankly, good for their business. The follow ing U.S. House members signed the letter: John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Jim McDermott (D-W A), Marcy Kaptur (DOH), Sam Farr (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Rick Boucher (D-VA), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), W illiam D. Delahunt (D-MA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Corrine Brow n (D-FL), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Robert Wexler (D-FL), James Oberstar (D-MN), Ral Grijalva (D-AZ), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Donald M. Payne (D-NJ), Barney Frank (D-MA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), George Miller (D-CA), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ). Friedman expects support from more public officials soon, including big names in the Senate. In February, the Velvet Revolution sent letters to executives of all nine vote tabulation companies, announcing the launch of their Divestiture for Democracy campaign. These letters ask that the companies to join the coalition to help make the electoral process fully transparent and trustw orthy by agreeing to nine chief demands. Among these considerations are an insistence they make public all hardw are and softw are used in their vote taking and tabulating machines, institute auditable, voter-verified paper ballots for every vote cast and a paper trail of all tabulations made by the voting machines, and institute a zero tolerance corporate policy prohibiting all executives of the companies from supporting any candidate for public office in any w ay. The Velvet Revolution w ill allow the targeted companies a full 60 days to respond to the inquiries, after w hich time any company refusing to participate w ill face a massive and sustained divestiture campaign, according to

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Friedman. Drawing upon the large constituency reached by the 80 affiliated organizations, the coalition hopes to wreak economic havoc upon the uncooperative companies by urging anyone with a financial stake to withdraw their support including stockholders and investment banking companies.

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This is the first major initiative of the Velvet Revolution, a coalition that runs the full gambit on the left, from Democratic to Green Party organizations, as w ell as progressive non-partisan groups like the Democracy Now and Code Pink. For the sake of full disclosure, RAW STORY is a member of the coalition but holds no financial stake. Print This Email This

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37 Comments
The URI to TrackBack this entry is: http://rawstory.com/news/2005/wptrackback.php/199 1. Go, Brad! A true patriot. In 2006 w e take back America maybe. Coming on May 1st: 51capitalmarch.com is organizing a series of massive US stolen election protests. This is going to be big and w ill force the media to finally air this issue. Get ready to mobilize! Comment by JimCirile 3/21/2005 @ 12:25 am 2. Heres hoping Comment by Michael 3/21/2005 @ 3:48 am

3. I believe this is how the Repubs got into pow er. Not by some new or different message being put out, or some moral authority they think they have. Its all about the numbers at the ballot box, and if they cant be traced, then they can tamper all they w ant toand they do. Its no surprise that no Repub representative has signed on yet, I doubt if any w ill sign onthey know their re-election depends on the voting machines not being able to produce a paper trail so as not to uncover w ho the voters REALLY voted for. Comment by EWILL 3/21/2005 @ 8:56 am 4. Go, Brad! I look forw ard to seeing the big names. 23 is shockingly small. W hat happened to all those Repubs w ho claim that democracy is on the march? W hy have thousands died in order to bring elections to Iraq? I think the purple finger dye is more accurate than these computerized voting machines w ith no paper trail. This is a non-partisan issue, period. Comment by karenas 3/21/2005 @ 9:18 am 5. Regarding the recent Hearst publication of Popular No Photographs it appears clear that the Conspiracy Theory promoted by the PNACazi is still totally w ithout any foundation w ith respect to evidence or fact. It is w holly farcical that such a large publishing corporation has found its self w ithout the ability to print photographs even after the Night of the Long Knives, w hich replaced all of its Editorial and Management Staff. Still lets contemplate some indisputable facts that do not require photographic accompaniment. 1. Ozzy Bin Bin of 20 Flying Cave Men w ith Magic Pen Knives fame is a CIA Agent as he alw ays w as and alw ays w ill be. 2. There w ere five War Games taking place during Operation 9 11 not one as the PNACazi claims. 3. Donny and Dickey refuse to answ er any of Representative McKinneys questions that have been asked recently at the Defense committees meetings. 4. The Pakistani Head of Security drafted 100,000 dollars to Mo Atta just days before Operation 9 11 for the services of setting up the Cave Men Smoke Screen. 5. 52 proven w arnings w ere received by the PNACazi from various World and US sources prior to Operation 9 11. 6. There w as and still is no reason for the destruction of evidence pertaining to World Trade Center Building 7 as all Citizens had been evacuated by 09.15 hours so no remains of Loved Ones w ere involved w ith Building 7. The removal of evidence in this w ay constitutes a Federal Violation. And the list continues! W hat is evident, is that until the Flying Cave Men conspiracy is proven it remains only a conspiracy and as the Genocides to Afghanistan and Iraq are based on this conspiracy it is your Sons and Daughters that w ill continue to DIE IN VAIN on the altar of Halliburton and the PNACazi. W hat most Americans fail to realize is, Operation 9 11 is Nero W

Caesars Achilles Heel and it is Donny, Dickey, Skin Job and the Raw Story that is holding in the Stopper. PS. Good luck w ith the Draft, Announcement due before April! Comment by The Educated Massive 3/21/2005 @ 10:44 am 6. ONLY 23???????????? DONT EXPECT THE DEMS TO BE EFFECTIVE ON ANY ISSUE IN THE COMING DECADES. EXPECT THE REPIGS TO RULE OUR NATION OVER THE ENTIRE 21ST CENTURY. Comment by Whitaker 3/21/2005 @ 1:07 pm 7. For w hat its w orth, I w as told by one congressional staffer in regard to the 23 number of signers - that number is really good for a letter that kicks around a few w eeks, let alone one that has circulated in just the last several days. Congrats! Wow ! So I guess thats how things w ork w ith these Dear Colleague letters. That all said, Im quite pleased w ith 23 folks coming on board so quickly! (Letter w ent out Thursday to colleagues and had to come back Friday as most folks w ere already gone for the 2 w eek recess). BTW, if *you* havent already sent your Email to the 9 Voting Companies stating your support for VRs DV4D campaign - please do so now ! Itll take you 30 seconds and the link is right here: http://w w w .velvetrevolution.us/mailing.php? Mailing=05FC507D500021102290C Brad The BRAD BLOG - http://w w w .BradBlog.com Velvet Revolution - http://w w w .VelvetRevolution.us Comment by BradBlog 3/21/2005 @ 1:56 pm 8. Since this is how the GOP (Gay Old Pary) got into office, do you really think this has a chance of passing. If it had 200 co sponsors, it w ill not come to pass. The GOP has to w in again in 2006 and its coming up fast. Can you imagine Tom (DeLay)Delouse voting for this. HA HA HA Best of luck, not only for the sponsors but for our country w hich the neo-cons have taken aw ay from us. Comment by Bill Clark 3/21/2005 @ 2:14 pm 9. If the Republicans really believe- as they claim to- that they w on this past election fairly, signing this letter w ould be the first step in proving that to the public. Were w aiting. Comment by dan 3/21/2005 @ 4:52 pm 10. Just a little too late isnt it? You cannot unpregnate a pregnant person, the only solution to that situation is abortion. The equivalent to this situation is called impeachment. How long and how far is this rape of the American people and its constitution going to continue. Comment by Buck 3/21/2005 @ 7:09 pm 11. Russian Intelligence Chief Says Al-Qaeda a Myth MosNew s | March 21 2005 On the pretext of fighting international terrorism the United States is trying to establish control over the w orlds richest oil reserves, Leonid Shebarshin, ex-chief of the Soviet Foreign Intelligence Service, w ho heads the Russian National Economic Security Service consulting company, said in an interview for the Vremya Novostei new spaper. Using the anti-terrorist cause as a cover the United States has occupied Afghanistan, Iraq and w ill soon move to impose their democratic order on the Greater Middle East, Shebarshin said. The U.S. has usurped the right to attack any part of the globe on the pretext of fighting the terrorist threat, Shebarshin said. Referring to his meeting w ith an unnamed al-Qaeda expert at the Rand Corporation, a nonprofit research organization in the U.S., Shebarshin said: We have agreed that [al-Qaeda] is not a group but a notion. The fight against that all-mighty ubiquitous myth deliberately linked to Islam is of great advantage for the Americans as it targets the oil-rich Muslim regions, Shebarshin emphasized. W ith military bases in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, Shebarshin said, the United States has already established control over the Caspian region one of the w orlds largest oil reservoirs. Comment by larry 3/21/2005 @ 11:52 pm 12. Weve beat this same dog over and over and it still gets up to bite us in the assTime to get rid of the dog! The Velvet Revolution? Are w e putting a band aid on a severed artery here? Come on you guysget dow na name w ith TEETH in it for a change: Legalized Voting Reform Act"etcetcW ho is putting the name on this stuff? Hello, the Republican corporations ow n our evoting system: hook, line and sinker w ith money stolen from your Social Security Trust

Fundto the tune of 60 million votes and over 29 million dollars transferred to off shore accounts in the Cook Islands to rig Ohio in the 2004 election. A stacked deck, indeedI am ashamed of you, Barbaraa legend in your very ow n beautiful mind and w ho w e only see w hen Junior falls below 45%! Does George still have mommy dearest issues? The Neo-fascist Republicans not only HACK the votesthey even count their ow n HACKED votes in secrecy and then in a recount, they HACK the vote numbers againto comply w ith the original HACKED printoutsTotally barbaric. Totally George W. Bush. I am surprized Ann Coulter does not kill all the Democratic challgers, blindfolded, in front of firing squadson CNN Negroponte-Guatemalan styleYou know , Ann, the w ay they shot the innocent Catholic priests and nuns in Latin AmericaI pray, Ann, that they did not die in vain and that the situation w ill not be repeatedI claim this in Jesus name. Then comes the recount dildo Hatch Snatch judges and the media making sure the fodder is appeased w ith the Good Republican bad Democrat propaganda-snake-oil-pony-show on ABCCBSCNNFOXNBC. Conyers has earned my respect and supportthese guys are attempting to climb the slippery slope to save our Democracy! I pray this seed germinates. I pray it is not too late. AMEN(say it and w here tw o or more agree by His w ord it shall be so). The Canadians know how to voteW hy cant We the People have a true voice too? Thank you very much Supreme CourtAssholes. We have been reduced to third w orld status by the greed and avarice of the Bush/Cheney Cartelif the draft is indeed initiated and General Motors Corporation does go bankrupt and Rumsfeld consolidates our military bases here at home, the coup w ill be completeOurs w ill be the same economic fate as Argentina in 2001 w hile the true enemy from w ithin frames the National debate on other philosophical issuesin the style of fallen Ancient Rome. How noble! How fucking macho, Georgestill got the flight suit?"Mission accomplished sign big guy? Divide and conquer"Right, Karl? Be ready and be safebe sure to be w atchful of Bushs FEMA director w ith his chubby red cheeks and that butch hair cut, along w ith his gooniesif they start to w ear new uniformsw ith brow n shirts, funny hats and carry automatic w eaponsKatie bar the door Like Chile, w e should elect a good Woman president, if Bush decides to step asideone w ho thinks that arm bands, small square moustaches and butch hair cuts are sillyand that fascism is fruitlessor do w e first also have to go through the Chilean Pinochet type dictatorship in this country to learn our lession? Is this w hy the corporations, and the richest 1% in this country, are hoarding all the cash? Do you believe that Bushs boogyman Osama Ben Ladden w as the cause of all this?Or w as this entire scenario manufactured by the the CIA/Mossad to annoint Bush as Americas first dictator for ultimate control of The Temple Mount and Mid-East oil? Do you believe in George W. Bush as the leader of the free World? Do you believe George W. Bush is God?..Or led by God?Or converses w ith God? Do you believe in internment camps?Or the draft?Or torture in Gods name? This is Americas w ake up callthere is no such thing as a free election in this country. Vaya con Dios, John Conyers and the 23 others follow ing your lead w e are w ith you! Comment by falcon 3/22/2005 @ 2:40 am 13. generic viagra I think, therefore I am, is the statement of an intellectual w ho underrates toothaches. by buy viagra Trackback by generic viagra 3/30/2005 @ 4:34 pm 14. backgammon free backgammon & chess travel games,http://artofbackgammon.com play backgammon online, free backgammon softw are | Trackback by backgammon free 4/2/2005 @ 5:45 pm 15. backgammon instructions Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras w as misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and New ton, and every pure and w ise spirit that ever took flesh Trackback by backgammon instructions 4/5/2005 @ 2:32 am 16. texas holdem texas holdem - http://texas-holdem.esportsw ave.com | poker netw ork -

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