Freak Out! At Forty

July of 2006 is the 40th anniversary of the release of Freak Out! by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, one of the most influential rock albums ever recorded. The July Media Rants column celebrates the anniversary.

Check out the video below. It's Zappa on CNN's Crossfire from March 28, 1986 discussing music censorship. The other guest, John Lofton of the Washington Times, comes off as a first rate putz. There's even a point where Frank tells him to kiss his ass.

Roger Waters Protests The Wall

Roger Waters, founding member of Pink Floyd, is considered by most popular music aficionados to be a progressive rock genius. He wrote most of the songs for The Wall, a work that perhaps best exemplifies the "concept album."

Waters granted a rare interview to the London Times, in which he revealed some of his political interests (he claims he recently bought Neil Young's Living With War). As seen in the video below, he's also an activist against the Israel/Palestine wall.

Lt. Ehren Watada Statement

On June 8th, Lt. Ehren Watada became the first commissioned officer of the US Army to refuse deployment to Iraq. He said, "My moral and legal obligation is to the Constitution and not to those who would issue unlawful orders. I stand before you today because it is my job to serve and protect America's soldiers, its people, and innocent Iraqis who have no voice."

Earlier this week a rally on his behalf was held at Fort Lewis. Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith in The Nation explain the significance of Watada's actions, the seriousness of the legal claims against the war he has raised, and the consequences he will face.

You can sign a petition in support of Watada at the Thank You site.

Brennan Center Report on Voting System Security

The nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice has now released online "The Machinery of Democracy," an in-depth examination of the security flaws existing within electronic voting machine systems. The press release can be found here, the executive summary here, and the full report here. Reading these materials makes it abundantly clear that electronic voting machines are not secure enough to warrant trust from the general public.

What's extraordinary and insane is that even though the report makes it clear that the security regime in place for electronic voting machines is sorely lacking, election boards and voting jurisdictions across the country persist in falling for the Diebold talking point: that the Help America Vote Act mandates these lemons be used at the polls.

Prediction: Within 20 years touch screen voting will disappear from all elections.

Some New Blogs

If you check out the T2T Links column, you'll notice a few new items. The Gray Sheep is a new blog by Tom Breuer, former editor of The Valley Scene (he recruited me to write the Media Rants column, so he must be cool). Tom is co-author of Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O'Reilly and contributor to its companion website.

Jody Thompson of The Side Street is now publishing Half Moon Gazette.

Finally, a "blog and podcast for working people," Working to Make A Living. Be sure to check out the podcast.

USA Today: Analysis finds e-voting machines vulnerable

Gannett's USA Today summarizes a Brennan Center for Justice report finding that "there are more than 120 security threats to the three most commonly purchased electronic voting systems." Sounds like Brennan is only confirming what the Washington Post reported back in March--that it is easier to rig an electronic voting machine than a Las Vegas slot machine.

Jack Pelton does not deserve key to the city

According to the Oshkosh Northwestern, "distinguished visitor" Jack Pelton, CEO of CESSNA, will receive the annual EAA/City of Oshkosh "Key to the City" at this year's Airventure. Oshkosh is a university town; thousands of hard working students have earned legitimate degrees at UW Oshkosh. Jack Pelton does not deserve the key to our city.

In November of 2004, CBS' Sixty Minutes did a feature on "Diplomas for Sale." Reporter Vicki Mabrey reported on online diploma mills, focusing specifically on "Hamilton University." According to the story:

"How do you get a degree from Hamilton? You start by filling out a form on a site that claims to be an independent referral service. But it really was set up to funnel business to Hamilton. You’ll then be offered dozens of degrees. If you’re accepted, and chances are good you will be, it can take as little as a week or two to get a diploma. Your main assignments are to write a short paper and a big check."

When Pelton became CESSNA CEO, his official bio stated:

"Pelton holds BS and MS degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Hamilton University. He is a resident of Wichita and currently serves on the board of directors for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Wichita’s Habitat for Humanity. A commercial, instrument-rated pilot, he is Citation rated and flies regularly as pilot in command."

The Hamilton "degrees" have since been removed from Pelton's bio on the website of Textron, CESSNA's parent company. When hiring Pelton as CESSNA CEO in December of 2003, Textron's news release included the Hamiton "degree" credentials. After the Sixty Minutes story, CESSNA issued a statement sweeping Pelton's deception under the rug. To my knowledge Pelton has never offered a compelling explanation for why he obtained the Hamilton "degrees."

Pelton hails from Kansas. Students from that area attending Independence Community College and working hard for their diplomas said that Pelton's appointment as CEO should produce anger because: "Some of us actually work to obtain a degree. People like Pelton, who have not earned their credentials, should make us feel cheated. Some of us study hard to get through school; all he did was write a big check."

The city of Oshkosh and EAA should withdraw Pelton's receipt of the Key to the City Award. Allowing him to receive the award will represent a slap in the face to all the hard working students in our community. Our city government needs to establish the principle that the Key to the City can only go to citizens who have upheld the highest standards of honor and integrity in their professional, community, and civic lives. In trying to pass himself off as a degreed professional when all he did was purchase a piece of paper from a diploma mill, Jack Pelton did not uphold such standards.

Contact the City Council and tell them the Key to the City needs to be awarded to a more deserving individual.

Confederate Battle Flag At Country USA, Oshkosh, June 2006

Hyperbole of the Month

Writing in the July issue of Madison's Progressive Magazine, Stephen Elliott provides this dose of hyperbole about Florida United States Senate candidate Katherine Harris: "She has more energy than a coke fiend with an uncut supply of Colombian."

Harris will need that energy in her race against incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson. According to the Washington Post, Florida governor Jeb Bush says about Harris, "I just don't believe she can win."

Stephan Smith-Said: Why Neil Young is Wrong

Madison's Progressive Magazine has an excellent piece this month by Iraqi-American singer - songwriter Stephan Smith-Said. Reacting to Neil Young's claim that he (Young) had to make his protest album because the younger generation of musical artists were not getting it done, Smith-Said explains the censorship of protest music by MTV and the commercial music industry.

Listen to Stephan's "Another World is Possible" for a sample of his brand of protest music.

The video is for Stephan's "The Bell." Historian Howard Zinn says this about it:

"Stephan Smith's song THE BELL concentrates a world of meaning into its few lines. At the center of it is a child, which is perfectly fitting, because it is the children who are always the most heartbreaking victims of war, and who will be the victims of America's next war. The wisdom of the child stands in contrast to the platitudes uttered by the warmaker, "the man at his desk." The child sees through the false claim that to do to war means to love your country. The child sees through the Orwellian deceptions, in which lies are presented as truth. It is the child who challenges the call to war. And it is the child in the end who shows no fear, and it is the warmaker who must be afraid, because the courage of the child has a greater power than guns and bombs."



"Oh where are you going?" said the man at his desk
"I'm going to a new world," said the child and he stood
And he stood, and he stood, and t'were well that he stood
"I'm going to a new world," said the child and he stood

"Oh I'm sounding drums of war," said the man at his desk
"Oh, I will not fight your war," said the child and he stood
And he stood, and he stood, and t'were well that he stood
"I will not fight your war," said the child and he stood

"Oh, but don't you love your country?" said the man at his desk
"Yes, I do, but you don't," said the child and he stood
And he stood, and he stood, and t'were well that he stood
"I do but you don't," said the child and he stood

"Oh, but do you know the truth?" said the man at his desk
"Yes, you lie and call it truth," said the child and he stood
And he stood, and he stood, and t'were well that he stood
"You lie and call it truth," said the child and he stood

"Oh, you must be scared to die," said the man at his desk
"No, I'm prepared and you're scared," said the child and he stood
And he stood, and he stood, and t'were well that he stood
"I'm prepared and you're scared," said the child and he stood

"Oh, I think I hear a bell," said the man at his desk
"Yes, it's ringing you to hell," said the child and he stood
And he stood, and he stood, and t'were well that he stood
"Yes, it's ringing you to hell," said the child and he stood

A Sane Republican On Global Warming

S.B. links to a story about Republican Congressman Sherwood Boehlert, who accepts the obvious on global warming. For more context on how Boehlert came to this conclusion, see this Boston Globe piece.

Palmeri/Hermening on Week in Review

The WPR Week in Review with Marathon County GOP Kevin Hermening and I can be found here. This discussion got somewhat contentious in parts, especially on issues related to the Iraq War and nuclear proliferation.

Palmeri on Friday WPR "Week in Review"

I will be appearing as leftish guy on Joy Cardin's "Week in Review" on Friday from 8 - 9 a.m. The rightish guy will be Kevin Hermening, Chair of the Marathon County GOP. Kevin was held hostage in Iran during the 1979 crisis.

Tuscon Citizen on the Diebold TSx Lemon

Because Arizona is facing lawsuits trying to prevent the use of the Diebold TSx, the mainstream media there have done a fairly decent job of exposing the flaws with the machine. This piece in the Tuscon Citizen provides a good description of why the machine is facing so much opposition. An excerpt:

Mary Thompson, a retired computer programmer, went to a demonstration of the new machines in May at the county Administrative Building.

She tried voting "no" on a mock ballot measure and the vote came up "yes" on the screen because she didn't hit the "no" button dead center, she said.

"What it indicates is sloppy programming," Thompson said.

The new machines also could pose problems for the target users: disabled people. Edward Matthews has brain damage from a 1998 bus accident and he has problems with motor skills and short-term memory.

Matthews and others like him have a tough time precisely putting their fingers on a target.

"I could look at the screen and say, 'That's what I want to do,' but not be able to do it," he said. Moreover, the program moves "too fast" for people with short-term memory problems, Matthews said.

"You've got to fix this machine," he said. "People are just going to be turned off by this thing."

Diebold officials did not return phone calls this week, but Deputy Secretary of State Kevin Tyne called the system safe and secure.

Note: The cartoon is by the outstanding Matt Bors.

Archery Bunk-ered

Looks like the County Board of Supervisors were in a "taking" and "giving" mood last night. "Taking," as in taking grant money to purchase lemons that will forever undermine the confidence in elections. "Giving," as in giving a $566,000 grant to the Village of Winneconne to construct an archery range at "Critter's Wolf River Sports." Board Chair David Albrecht, who voted against the archery grant, stated at the Industrial Development Board's May 23rd meeting that this loan is outside of what the IDB has traditionally given loans for and will set a loan precedent.

I listened to CHAMCO Executive Director Doug Pearson make the pitch for the archery grant during citizens' statements, and found his remarks unpersuasive. He said that Winneconne will no longer be able to develop in the traditional way that we think of industrial development, so that the Village must instead develop its tourism potential. All that is well and good, but there was little economic impact data presented to show how much revenue the county can be expected to see as a result of this grant, nor was/is it clear that the types of jobs that will be created justify this level of economic assistance. We could end up with another county race track on our hands - a taxpayer boondoggle if there ever was one.

Jim Fitzhenry of the Oshkosh Northwestern, who seems to spend much time worrying about what other people will say and think, can now rest easy knowing that a "local pundit" is giving the archery range some scrutiny.

Diebold 1, WInnebago Disabled, 0

The Winnebago County Board of Supervisors took the easy way out last night, voting 28-10 to accept grant money that will be used to place a Diebold TSx machine in each polling place. The 28 voted this way in spite of the fact that no one offered any evidence to counter these claims:

• People with disabilities had not been meaningfully involved in the process, as stated passionately last Wednesday by Mike Huckaby of the National Federation of the Blind of Wisconsin.
• The Board ignored the wishes of two of its OWN committees, Judiciary and Information Systems, to hold a real public hearing with demonstrations of all State Elections Board approved technologies.
• The Board never heard from an expert on voting equipment technology to gain an understanding of the security flaws inherent in the Diebold TSx.
  

The most disappointing Yes votes were Woody Weber, Claud Thompson, Ken Robl, and Nancy Barker. Each one of them knows better and, in the case of Thompson, Robl, and Barker, changed their votes from May 16th. This in spite of the fact that since May 16th the only pro-TSx stands have come from Diebold salespeople, clerks who are mostly concerned about efficiency and machine compatibility, and an unethical State Elections Board Director who responded to each question about the machine with Diebold talking points.

In my remarks I asked the Board to consider the fact that when each of them goes to vote and is faced with the choice of the optical scan machine or the TSx, they will all choose to vote with the optical scan. Why? Because the optical scan has a hard copy, voter marked ballot to return to in case of recount, and because of the doubts associated with the TSx. No one in their right mind, given the choice, would choose the TSx. So, if a non-disabled person wouldn't choose the TSx, why would they vote to dump it on people with disabilities? The 28 violated the 21st century election technology golden rule: "Vote on a technology for others as you would have have them vote for you."

See Babblemur's coverage of Supervisor Donna Lohry's courageous remarks at the meeting. Donna was the only supervisor to cut through the crap and chide the clerks for continuing to insist on the TSx in spite of the mountain of evidence suggeting it is a lemon not worth the risk.

Local voting rights activists now must decide whether to seek court action to prevent these machines from entering Winnebago County polling places. Stay tuned.

Esslinger, McHugh Resolution to Rescind

Kent Monte's blog today has a copy of a resolution sponsored by Paul Esslinger and Dennis McHugh to rescind the Five Rivers Term Sheet. If passed on June 27th, the resolution will put an end to the Five Rivers Project. Perhaps, if City Manager Dick Wollangk and Director of Community Development Jackson Kinney have it within them to do the right thing, they will sever the relationship with Five Rivers before the June 27th meeting and thus make the resolution irrelevant. Developer Doig wants a response to his letter when he returns on June 22. Kinney and Wollangk should simply:

*Tell Doig that they were very disappointed that he would present the city with an ultimatum and consider such boorish behavior to be a dealbreaker.
*Tell Doig that at this point in the process there is NO WAY the conditions outlined in the letter can be met.
*Tell Doig to Don't Worry, Be Happy, and Have Nice Day. (Notice Bobby McFerrin in the video holding up a newspaper that says "financial meltdown").

Castle on Five Rivers: "It's getting damn close" to pulling plug

Today's paper quotes Oshkosh Mayor Bill Castle as saying "it's getting damn close" to pulling the plug on the Five Rivers development. Since Castle's views are typically a bellwether for what the shadowy golf course set that runs the city are thinking, this could mean the end for Five Rivers in Oshkosh.

In the same story, Dennis McHugh states the obvious: "The process has become an embarrassment." (Something that has been true at least since the "Valentine's Day Massacre of Open Goverment"--the February 14th closed meeting protested by the Five Rivers Five.).

Tom Doig and Ben Ganther can take solace in the fact that Councilor Meredith Scheuermann is still doing their bidding for them: "I don't think we should stay the course, but I don't think we should dig in our heels so far that we're not willing to be global on this piece until the end." Actually I have no idea what that statement means, but it doesn't sound like a firm commitment to vote against another term sheet extension or 180 degree shift in its conditions.

Here's Kent Monte's take on all of this.

The Christopher Walken For President Hoax

Just when I was getting ready to throw all my support behind Christopher Walken for President, the Cap Times goes and bursts my bubble by exposing the campaign as a hoax.

I don't think Walken should apologize to netizens for lending his name to a web hoax, but he should apologize to me for stealing all my best dance moves :-).

Kennedy plans to sue Diebold and other voting machine vendors

On his "Ring of Fire" radio program (audio not available), Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and his guests said they will sue Diebold and other voting machine vendors in the coming weeks, seeking to "put some voting machine companies out of business." Kennedy claims the plaintiffs have whistle blowers from Diebold and other companies who will be involved in the Qui tam suits. According to Wikipedia:

Qui tam is a provision under the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq.), which allows for a private individual, or whistleblower with knowledge of past or present fraud on the federal government to bring suit on behalf of the government. Its name is an abbreviation of the phrase “qui tam pro domino rege quam pro seipse,” meaning “he who sues for the king as well as for himself." This provision allows a private person, known as a “relator,” to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States, where the private person has information that the named defendant has knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false or fraudulent claims to the United States. The relator need not have been personally harmed by the defendant’s conduct.

A private [natural] person may not be able to commence a qui tam action "pro se", that is without representation by a lawyer, since, the private person is actually representing/filing the suit on behalf of the government and that may only be done by a lawyer.

More information about Qui tam suits can be found here.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. believes the 2004 presidential election was stolen.