Surprise, surprise!! The electronic voting machines in at least 4 of Ohio's heavily Democratic cities are not working properly today. (Cleveland, Dayton, Akron and Toledo) Maybe they can just let them use the ever-so-reliable provisional ballots, which are reportedly being pushed on people here, particularly college students.

and the Sec. of State just keeps working to deliver a safe election process:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505124_162- ... ine-update
http://www.freepress.org/departments/di ... /2012/4768
Once again, the Sec. of State has acted in a way, just as with the provisional ballots, which is explicitly against the voting laws of Ohio. Anyone out there want a partisan state official, of any stripe, applying an untested, unapproved software patch to their voting machines late in the proccess? And what the second article describes the software as designed to do is very similar to what happened back in 2004.

I agree with how a recent Harpers magazine article described all this fraud; We "...stand in complicit silence as improbable results are spat from the innards of unaccountable voting machines." Exept for the "complicit silence" part, because there are people from investigative journalists to academic researchers to industry whistleblowers who do try to speak out, this is an accurate description of the situation.

Thank goodness, my doubts about Ohio did not come true (but i still do not trust the electronic voting machines or dismiss the manipulations of the Sec. of State). No more reports here from the Buckeye state.

I don't trust the computer voting machines either. I know there were some issues, it is a relief that the worst case did not come to pass. We have the ballots where dots are blacked in and the ballots are then scanned. A friend reported that the scanning machines at his polling place were not working and the stewards did not know how to even plug them in so they opened the side and were just stacking them up in there. They were not concerned, he thought it was a huge problem. He also lives in the poorest section of town with a high minority population. I don't see why the old fashioned way isn't effective.

Can't believe we're still counting ballots here in south florida :-(

Over here (germany) there was a survey done, and the response was 91 percent would vote for Obama. It was really amazing (and not in a good way) how much of the news was dominated by the us election. Although on Monday, one of the newscasters said that finally(huge emphasis on finally) the campaign was ending.

Now if it was just time for festival................. the most important event.

Believe me, Ohioans feel their pain (and maybe then some) and relief. (At least the German people will be spared the repeated "fiscal cliff" alerts we are already being hit with. And before they start screeching about Social Security -which is fully funded until the early 2040's- and Medicare/Medicaid, people should remain aware that it was tax cuts excessively and destructively biased in favor of the very wealthiest; an illegal, Oil Industry provoked, unnecessary war -with all its accompanying extravagant graft and profiteering; and the banking/financial services fraud and pay-out that brought us all these present deficit/debt problems, huge redistribution of wealth up to the top 1% and continuing economic recession.) The spending was obscene; the infomercials/calls were inane, mean and/or offensive; and it all went on painfully too long. One could see the displeasure and often disgust with it all etched on people's faces whenever politics came up. But I'm proud of my state's voters this season. Not so much because of the outcomes, but because some of the powers that be were clearly trying, and to a certain degree succeeded, in making it harder for folks to vote, but the turn-out was actually higher than in 2008.

As for other outcomes of merit to be mentioned here, what about that Tammy Baldwin!! and Elizabeth Warren, who now, hopefully, will serve on the Senate's banking committee? (i don't care so much that they are womyn or that one is a lesbian - or as the media insists on putting it "gay" - but love it that they are both progressives) And especially the truly historic popular votes for same-sex marriages and pushing towards more equality in Maine, Maryland and Washington? (and, though i cannot show it with data now, i don't doubt at all that a majority of catholics not only voted for Obama, but in those three states a majority very likely voted in favor of the civil marriage measures as well. The media's biased attention to what bishops say is not representative of how Catholics think or vote. http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/ ... x-marriage We have a long, long way to go in this country and diverse people, just like in this election, have to keep working together.) Although the legalizing of recreational pot by two states may be the most intriguing election result right now. So just what is the Federal government going to do? and, more problematic, what precedents could be set.

As for voting and counting those votes, i think for sure a fierce push to try and further suppress access to voting and the accuracy of counts is coming because of our country's changing demographics. No one should be surprised to see the Supreme Court try and play regressive role in striping away key parts of the civil rights era Voting Rights Act. At least, in the one state where a voter I.D. law was put to the voters themselves, it did not pass. Those bills are all about cherry-picking which CITIZENS will-and-will-not be able to vote primarily based on economics, age and race. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/11/09/1 ... lange.html (It took them all of three days after an election full of obvious attempts at suppressing minority votes to decide this issue needs "revisiting".)That Voting Rights Act was overwhelmingly re-approved by Congress for the next 25 years back in 2006. And this last election showed abundantly that the safe and reasonable access for all citizens to vote in this country needs more not less support. If five political partisans are going to act to remove the enfranchisement of select demographics of citizens, people need to start thinking about ways to impeach one or more of them. They have already seriously hindered citizens' abilities to bringing class action suites against employers and thus protect themselves from abuse and discrimination in their places of work, and now they are looking to remove the voices and protective actions of more people as regards government.

and a little closer and very doable:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/11/08/1 ... rning.html
and far more financially sound:
http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/the-peoples-budget/
(For anyone curious, the analysis by the Economic Policy Institute is informative and i would recommend checking-out their other publications and website as well. Its a "non-partisan" think tank that that while specializing in economics and labor issues does not dismiss and ignore the economic prosperity of 95% of the population, the serious social ills of poorly regulated capitalism (a.k.a. "free-markets" -which aren't "free" by any stretch of reality- in present days' re-branding terminology.) run amok or intentionally advocate for policies prejudicial to the middle-class, poor and general-welfare of the nation.) This would be a good time for folks to stay politically active/involved and turn the pressure up. People may have voted for him, but that does not mean at all that President Obama will substantially fight for them or that, if he has any serious intentions of doing so, he and the Democrats won't need substantial citizen help to achieve decent changes. After basically spending and gerrymandering their way back into control of the House, the very same obstructionist Republicans of these last four years are not likely to now "compromise" in any meaningful, helpful way.

http://www.thenation.com/blog/171664/or ... g-GOP-lies
"failure", maybe; mistake, probably not (they propagate too many of BOTH parties' lies and distractions but that's a big part of their corporate responsibilities.)

http://billmoyers.com/segment/bernie-sa ... et-bigger/
(yup, what the Bush regime couldn't get thru, the Obama administration might achieve now by stealth. No, i'm not talking about dismantling social security (at present, but they are working on it), this refers to further shrinking of our media outlets and public access to information. Oddly enough, this may not be covered by the major media. And it's absolutely fascinating that just as England is decreasing Murdoch's media power, due to News Corp hacking into citizens' phones as an info gathering technique, and their Parliament basically declared him unfit to own and run a media Corporation in their country, the Obama administration is working to allow him to have more outlets and power here.) http://billmoyers.com/content/stop-the- ... hip-rules/
I think people who voted for Obama, preacher of hope but not so much general public empowering action, should consider seriously what it means that he does not have to think about re-election this term.

and as far as the financial industry reform and public protection goes, the Obama administration at their typical best:
http://www.thenation.com/article/171646 ... c-mistakes
(if this appointment happens, it will not be a "mistake" in regards to the administration's intentions)
http://billmoyers.com/2012/01/23/the-wa ... -spinning/
http://billmoyers.com/2012/12/07/whats- ... lcker-rule
(i suspect it's not really shows like Sesame Street on Pubic Broadcasting that upset some of these pols.)

6 billion plus dollars well spent during this last "election", and the financial industry puts up more of it collectively than any other, it spends more than 1 million dollars a day in lobbying, plus there are still those "sweetheart" loans some banks generously make to select politicians. It's amazing; we have "stand your ground" laws allowing a (white) citizen to shoot someone trying to rob him, but investment bankers steal billions, remain uncharged for past frauds and just keep on doing it. Where's the war on White Collar Crime in America?


(and while they threaten on about the "fiscal cliff", the pols -and media- could bother to discuss that last year one out of every four corporations in this country paid ZIP in taxes (and this wouldn't even begin to cover how much tax payer money they received on their dole; but boy did they create jobs) while medicare and medicaid could/should be helped by, say, regulating how much the medical, insurance,nursing home and especially drug industries are allowed to price gauge us. But then Huge deficits are often created specifically for Political reasons. And the Congress only managed to waste $1,300,000,000 of our money over the last fiscal standoff back in 2011)

Also saw this story:
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/hi ... ill-strike
(i liked the "Bread and Roses reference; and clearly i am one who wishes the Festival was more "Political" than it is at present, and perhaps was in its beginnings.)

Some gals here might know that walmart workers have been organizing and striking recently and that the recent fire in Bangladesh, where over a hundred women died (think the infamous triangle fire in our past), happened in a slum plant working in part for walmart (and also that the "Supreme Court" threw out the class action discrimination case against the retailing parasite based on the reasoning that though women were clearly being discriminated against on the job they could not sue collectively because the thousands of them effected had not received the ill treatment from the one and very same supervisor in each of their cases. Now if that isn't justice and excellent legal precedent, what is? By-the-way, ever wonder if the Supreme Court "Justices" can get directly politically involved. Well, how "direct" is direct? But C. Thomas' wife runs a "non-profit" Tea Party PAC.)
And also speaking of the home state of the Festival, Collective bargaining rights are presently under assault there (much like they have been in Wisc., California and Ohio).
(Women's pay on average to men's at present, 81% -but i think this is high, nor does it express that since the loss of jobs at the beginning of this latest recession/depression, only one out of every five new hires have gone to women, and one can probably guess how those new jobs' wages compare to those of jobs lost. And NO actual income growth what-so-ever for middle-class and poorer American workers since the EARLY SEVENTIES!)

Thanks wrinkles for all the interesting links and posting. i am so looking forward to having breakfast together in the bb and some great conversation!

Hi plumber!, I always look forward to those conversations as well. I especially enjoyed you telling me about the "miracle of the ovens" this last festival.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012 ... -work.html
http://www.thenation.com/blog/171722/mi ... -democracy
Since i don't live in MI i don't know if there was any mention of this bill by the campaigners during their last election, but i seriously doubt it. There certainly wasn't when such legislation -our was different in tactics and newspeak descriptions, but the laws essentially work to achieve the same ends- was sprung on Ohioans 2 years ago (and was soundly defeated by popular vote a year later, with 68% of the voters -in a generally Republican leaning state with an unionized workforce of 13.4%- voting against it and i think every county or very nearly every county voting for repeal. This isn't suppose to be American Civics 101 or insulting to anyone who might be reading, but if one appreciates how big a part voting demographics and especially the gerrymandering of voting districts are in deciding who has political power in this country (the Republicans kept the majority in the House this past election by the redistricting of voters in various states. If the distracts had been drawn as they were in 2010, odds are the Democrats would be in the majority.), she'll understand that polling results like those demonstrate a extremely broad support of collective bargaining rights by the American populace, at least in Ohio). And it remains another fascinating quality of our Democracy that a State Legislature had the need to fortify itself behind Police Squads in full riot gear while they carried on this "work of the people" (allowing for NO public debates before they rammed this thru in five days) and the Democratic process. Ya, i know, it's the protesters who are the threats to our Republic and each other; and the spin is this bill was necessary because the Unions and other citizen groups dared try to motivate the voters to act proactively to prevent just such ALEC governance from happening in their state. Above i had mentioned that womyn make 81% of pay to men as a national average, but in Michigan the average is 74 cents on the dollar, and now thanks to such wage decreasing bills as the above they can look forward to making even less.
http://www.thenation.com/blog/172052/so ... -income-wo
http://www.wearemich.org


(So, when wages in this country began to stagnate is when Unions started to be pronouncedly inhibited and broken; and Sen. Brown and others are absolutely correct when they point out that Fascist regimes and other forms of tyranny always go after collective bargaining and organizing rights of workers and citizens. The entire elite Corporate management culture in this country is collectively organized/protected like no other section of the "work" force. (Functioning as is it at present, my local catholic pastor refers to our economic system as a "radical evil" and i absolutely agree with him. Either we have something biologically/physiologically "wrong" with people to have to lock-up and police as many citizens as we do in this country, or our society has something very seriously socially/politically ill and unjust about it. And we lock-up more of our citizens than any other country in the world, significantly more! Or how about the fact that 84% (yes that is EIGHTY-FOUR Percent) of the public elementary school kids in Akron, Ohio live in poverty. Now, someone tell me how those kids (not just a token, media darlings few) are supposed to be able to grow-up and participate in the American Dream as opposed the American Nightmare? Yes, I've read 'Les Miserable", but i don't need anyone to tell me when people are clearly being exploited, and that if the general people here do not fight back (and have empowered organizations thru which to do so) when someone metaphorically pokes them in the eye, the only thing that's going to happen is that they are going to end-up losing the other one as well.) Even a Capitalistic system, where everybody's aim is supposedly for her/his own profit, collective bargaining is a perfectly legit and crucial ingredient of that personal profit making ability, as well as a check-and-balance in the system. If only people realized just how much suffering it takes to actually embolden people to organize in our nation to protect themselves. It is hardly only about wages/benefits (frankly, i wish far more often it was. Then people here might become more realistic and proactive about taking their own profit making possibilities and financial interests in the workplace and this country more seriously. http://billmoyers.com/2012/12/11/as-por ... ages-dont/ And even the supposed Corporate wealth generated for average investors and their savings plans is in part one big "bubbling" scam where we have a stock market which often functions as an insider-trading rigged ponzi scheme.) It is much more likely to be about dignity and health/safety protection for both the workers and the public. And if the pols really wanted to do something about destructive over "pay" and compensation in this country they would absolutely curb the plundering of our nation's businesses by out-of-control CEOs, boards of directors (if one wants to see "incestuous" relationships, look into the cronyism of Corp. Boards and CEO's; with the stockholders' abilities to prevent this mismanagement being curtailed by courts) and other Corporate elites -as they do in parts of Europe and Asia. http://dictionary.law.com/default.aspx?selected=744 those responsibilities are a key practice -not concept- in business and have been made a mockery of in our investment sector.)


if any American happens to peruse the CBC site, she'll see the Canadians have an ongoing investigation into election fraud dealing with "robocalls". Every time i see a story about this ongoing case i can't help thinking, 1.) for your country's own good, stop this in its tracks right now, seriously punish those involved and beef up the laws to protect against this if necessary; and 2.)relatively speaking, as far as election fraud goes this is mere child's play: what in the world would a Canuck think about what passes as legit campaigning here?

http://www.thenation.com/blog/171840/wh ... urity-cuts
http://billmoyers.com/segment/bruce-bar ... scal-cliff
(won't grow jobs, won't raise wages, won't contain prices, won't help shift government spending to more economically proactive directions (such as funding for preventive medicine/healthy lifestyle measures); and the really ugly part to these "savings" is that ultimately these cuts won't help much with the deficit. The pols will probably just turn around and find more Corporately favorable, war-mongering and upper 5% ways to spend those "savings" taken from programs which are not the root causes of the deficit/debt. The administrations' "let's ram this thru before the new, more progressive Congress gets in" gift to the retired, ill, elderly, middle-class and poor, because they're the ones bankrupting -financially and morally- this country.) Talk about doing this during the "election"? not a chance.
http://www.thenation.com/article/155097 ... l-security
http://billmoyers.com/segment/bill-moye ... t-blowout/


http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/20 ... ver-cliff/

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archive ... te/?page=1

so-so article (doesn't mention the role The Supreme Court is likely to try and play in voter suppression in the near future; under-plays, almost trivializes, the degrading/corrupting effect Super Pacs and campaign financing already have in our politics on both parties, and the increasing power they will exercise if this spending goes unchecked; and as an Ohioan i do not think she went far enough in exposing Husted's voting suppression efforts) but it does offer a view to non-Americans how unrepresentative our "elections" really can be. There are many more reasons than just voter apathy for low voter turn-outs; and coordinated suppression certainly goes on.

Here in Germany there is an annual lesbian gathering. This coming year is in Munich-

http://lft-muenchen.de/?page_id=67&lang=en

it's always good, though only a weekend long. It's the same age as our Festival. What's cool is it rotates cities every year and is self organized.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc ... ll/309020/
(This came out last fall and since it was the most responded to article published by the magazine last year, i thought gals here might find it interesting. I did not think too highly of the piece because it's so narrow in focus, but others might find it appealing.)

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc ... /309196/1/
(i know i do go on about this subject, but living in this country is like sailing on the Titanic with a course set to intentionally plow into a massive iceberg. Politically,sociologically, psychologically and historically - it's an amazing situation; a topic worthy of Shakespeare to dramatize; and a terrible real-life human tragedy. (Maybe a Greek Tragedy would depict the situation better.) The article is only so-so and outright misleading in my humble and critical opinion in parts, especially as concerns the causes of the 2008 crash (To suggest the collapse was due primarily to panic caused by a lack of transparency is a particularly disgusting lie, especially when the following article is all about why these banks should not be trusted specifically because they are indeed financially and ethically unsound. That they hide it is certainly a problem, but it's hardly the most serious one.) A much better and more thorough read on the topic is the book, "All the Devils are Here" by Bethany Mclean and Jospeh Nocera. Nevertheless, for a general interest, basically old-school "conservative" magazine (which carries plenty of banking advertisements) to run this article makes it a fascinating read; and what the authors investigate and report about TODAY's financial industries' pratices is the most important part. The corrupt accounting and obscure/opaque/misleading reporting practices discussed in the article certainly are not only to be found in the banking industries.)

this is a "devil" at work;
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/0 ... ng-it-out#
http://www.thenation.com/blog/172064/ai ... -arrogance
(The articles could also have mentioned that ex-CEO of Goldman Sachs and then Sec. of the Treasury Hank Paulson and the NY Fed made very sure, however, in the taxpayer founded bailout deal that AIG couldn't later sue Goldman or any of the other Investment banks for the fraud they committed in helping to bankrupt AIG! It pays to own the government; not a condition the common American has much experience of. For that matter, it's not the experience of the supposed "elite" who read The Atlantic Magazine either.)
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/bl ... t-20130109
We don't investigate, prosecute and JAIL them for the defrauding criminals they are, and they just go on and on and on. Now that is a true example of "moral hazard".

http://billmoyers.com/2013/01/15/the-st ... r-wage-gap
(Yes, i do think situations like this directly effect the MWMF, as well as the quality of life and empowerment of womyn and girls in the world.)

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/t ... t-14761989
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/1 ... 90831.html
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/petition/ ... 2c39342c6c
(i liked the interactive map included with this little piece and the video of Senator Bernie Sanders is worth taking the time to watch.)

Ohio unfortunately isn't one of the states so far which has passed a state-wide resolution (we are working on it), but after the unrelenting and repulsive campaign bludgeoning we took this last summer and fall, more and more cities are moving to pass resolutions and put pressure on the ALEC/GOP led state government.

looks educational and enraging:
http://www.citizenkoch.com/blog/entry/a ... -directors

and there are many roads to tyranny:
http://www.thenation.com/blog/172367/go ... -democracy

**But i thought gals here might especially appreciate this from Staceyann Chin:
http://www.thenation.com/article/172117 ... ugh-poetry