Senate to Middle Class: Drop Dead!!! A Message from Michael Moore

by: Celtic Diva

Fri Dec 12, 2008 at 18:05:25 PM AKST

Friends,

They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers start building only cars and mass transit that reduce our dependency on oil.

They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers build cars that reduce global warming.

They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers withdraw their many lawsuits against state governments in their attempts to not comply with our environmental laws.

They could have given the loan on the condition that the management team which drove these once-great manufacturers into the ground resign and be replaced with a team who understands the transportation needs of the 21st century.

Yes, they could have given the loan for any of these reasons because, in the end, to lose our manufacturing infrastructure and throw 3 million people out of work would be a catastrophe.

But instead, the Senate said, we'll give you the loan only if the factory workers take a $20 an hour cut in wages, pension and health care. That's right. After giving BILLIONS to Wall Street hucksters and criminal investment bankers -- billions with no strings attached and, as we have since learned, no oversight whatsoever -- the Senate decided it is more important to break a union, more important to throw middle class wage earners into the ranks of the working poor than to prevent the total collapse of industrial America.

We have a little more than a month to go of this madness. As I sit here in Michigan today, tens of thousands of hard working, honest, decent Americans do not believe they can make it to January 20th. The malaise here is astounding. Why must they suffer because of the mistakes of every CEO from Roger Smith to Rick Wagoner? Make management and the boards of directors and the shareholders pay for this.

Of course that is heresy to the 31 Republicans who decided to blame the poor, miserable autoworkers for this mess. And our wonderful media complied with their spin on the morning news shows: "UAW Refuses to Give Concessions Killing Auto Bailout Bill." In fact the UAW has given concession after concession, reduced their benefits, agreed to get rid of the Jobs Bank and agreed to make it harder for their retirees to live from week to week. Yes! That's what we need to do! It's the Jobs Bank and the old people who have led the nation to economic ruin!

But even doing all that wasn't enough to satisfy the bastard Republicans. These Senate vampires wanted blood. Blue collar blood. You see, they weren't opposed to the bailout because they believed in the free market or capitalism. No, they were opposed to the bailout because they're opposed to workers making a decent wage. In their rage, they were driven to destroy the backbone of this country, not because the UAW hadn't given back enough, but because the UAW hadn't given up.

It appears that the sitting President has been looking for a way to end his reign by one magnanimous act, just like a warlord on his feast day. He will put his finger in the dyke, and the fragile mess of an auto industry will eke through the next few months.

That will give the Senate enough time to demand that the bankers and investment sharks who've already swiped nearly half of the $700 billion gift a chance to make the offer of cutting their pay.

Fat chance.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com

New Senator Mark Begich throws a "thank you" party!

by: Celtic Diva

Fri Nov 21, 2008 at 16:26:39 PM AKST

John Vezina, Begich Campaign's Finance Director
He was a lot of fun to hang around with at Division of Elections while the vote was being counted.
He gave me a free drink ticket too!

The Snow City Cafe was packed solid for the party.

Sen-elect Begich and State Legislator Les Gara

(LOTS MORE below the fold)

Ted Stevens' 85th birthday present? RETIREMENT! Begich has untouchable lead--3,724!

by: Celtic Diva

Tue Nov 18, 2008 at 16:48:22 PM AKST

I am humbled and honored to serve Alaska in the United States Senate," Begich said. "It's been an incredible journey getting to this point, and I appreciate the support and commitment of the thousands of Alaskans who have brought us to this day. I can't wait to get to work fighting for Alaskan families.

****UPDATE 2****What happens next?

From Bethany Lesser at the Begich Campaign:

At this point, the majority of the total ballots have been counted. Mark Begich is up by 3,724 (Begich - 150,728, Stevens - 147,004), according to the Division of Elections. Approximately 2,500 overseas ballots remain outstanding, but Stevens would need more votes than that to change the outcome of the Alaska Senate Race.

As part of the standard process for the Division of Election's certification process, the State Review Board is also meeting today to conduct a hand count of 40 randomly selected precincts to confirm totals from the machine counts. These precincts represent at least 5 percent of each district's voters from the general election on Election Day. They will also hand count absentee and question ballots from 2 districts each for verification as well.

Target certification will be the week of December 1, as soon as the State Review Board has completed their review the director certifies the election.

With the margin of 3,724 votes, the likelihood of a recount has been reduced, since it would have to be paid for by the Stevens campaign. The only time there is an automatic recount is when there is a tie. If the final vote is within 0.5 percent, a recount can be requested, and the state will cover the bill. If the final vote is more than 0.5 percent (+/- 1,600), a campaign can request a recount, but would have to pay for it. A recount may be applied for within 5 days of certification, by either the defeated candidate or 10 members of the defeated candidate's party.  If a recount application is filed immediately, the Division of Elections must commence within five days of receipt of an application. A recount is done by machine in Juneau for the entire state, and would take approximately 3 - 5 days.

*****************************************

John Vezina and Meg Simonian with the Begich Campaign, alongside Randy Reudrich with the Republican Party waiting for the questioned ballot count

I left the Division of Elections over an hour ago and there were just small pockets of ballots to count.  It looks like they finished as they posted the totals on the website!

Here is the just-recieved email from Campaign Manager, Leslie Riddle:

Dear Friends,

What a long, strange trip it's been.

It is almost over--there aren't enough votes out there to change the outcome.  Whew.   We are up 3724 votes.  The only thing left are straggler absentees from overseas.

THANK YOU ALL for your help, support, money, time, love, angst, legal advice, and whatever else you gave!  

What's next?  Planning for Senator-Elect Begich starts right away.  Keep checking our website for updates.  www.begich.com.

Do we still need money?  Yes.  We've had to send staff to watch the counts in Anchorage, Nome, Juneau, Fairbanks, and the Mat-Su.  We're still employing our team of lawyers to protect us in case the R's decide to ask for a recount (yes, they can ask for it--they'd have to pay if the vote count difference is greater than .5%).  You get it...we're not completely done here.  www.begich.com.

Thanks everyone!

Traa laaa laa laa laa

Leslie

CONGRATULATIONS MR. MAYOR SENATOR-ELECT!

(Hint:  If you want to congratulate him in person, you'll have to do it at the Anchorage Assembly Meeting, starting at 5:00 PM this evening.  Tonight is budget night so it's a good session to attend.)

Further discussion of vote counting below the fold...

Latest numbers from the Alaska Division of Elections ***UPDATED NUMBERS 2***

by: Celtic Diva

Fri Nov 14, 2008 at 14:34:17 PM AKST

************2nd NUMBERS UPDATE****************

BEGICH NOW AHEAD BY 1022

That was the last update of the day and I'm guessing the numbers went down a little bit because Fairbanks and Mat Su Valley finished their counting.

Exciting news in Fairbanks...Republican Representative Mike Kelley (District 7) is only ahead of Democrat Karl Kassel by one vote!  So, there will probably be at least one recount!

Remember, overseas absentee ballots can arrive up through Nov. 19th!

Per my phone calls to the Division of Elections:

Region 1: Juneau is done for the day but will be doing their final count (we hope) on Tuesday Nov. 18th.  

Region 2:  Mat Su Valley--DONE

Anchorage will be finishing their count on Tuesday Nov. 18th as well.

Region 3:  Prince William Sound--DONE

Region 4:  Aleutians, Western AK, North Slope--DONE

About 25,000 votes left to count between Anchorage and Juneau!

I need more cayenne for my nails!

************UPDATED NUMBERS*****************

BEGICH NOW AHEAD BY 1061 VOTES!!!!!

********************************************

I know there is a count going on today in Regions 1, 3 and 4. However it looks like they may be waiting to update until: folks are done with the count or all regions are in or all of us bite our fingernails AND toenails down to the quick!

Until then, here's something to keep your brain busy...and the good news is at the bottom!

Votes still left to be counted:

Region 1--Southeast and Kenai:  

Absentee & EV:  8,357
Questioned Ballots: 511

Region 2--Mat Su and Anchorage:  

Absentee and EV: 10,144
Questioned Ballots: 10,747

Region 3--Fairbanks:  

Absentee and EV: 5,006
Questioned Ballots: 2,671

Region 4--Aleutians, Western AK & North Slope:  

Absentee and EV: 2,282
Questioned Ballots: 1,312

--------------------------------------------------
TOTAL ABSENTEE AND EARLY VOTE:  25,789
TOTAL QUESTIONED BALLOTS:  15241

TOTAL OF ALL BALLOTS LEFT TO COUNT:  41,030

TOTAL COUNTED VOTES: 282,996

GRAND TOTAL OF ALL VOTES (counted and uncounted):  324,026

Percentage of registered voters:  65.36%

More people have voted in this election than any other in Alaska history - by 10,434 votes!

UPDATE: Begich Campaign answers questions about ballot count!

by: Celtic Diva

Thu Nov 13, 2008 at 13:28:47 PM AKST

I just got this in my email from Bethany Lesser, Democratic Party and special assistant to the Begich Campaign.  It should answer all of the questions you've all been asking! :-D

------------------------------------------------

We are cautiously optimistic about the outcome of the Election. More than 59,000 ballots were counted yesterday, and Mark Begich is now up by 814 votes. Included in yesterday's ballots were conservative areas like the Mat-Su Valley (home of Governor Palin), South Anchorage (including the hillside and Girdwood - home of Senator Stevens), and the Kenai Peninsula . Of the districts not counted on Wednesday, Begich won all of them on Election Day (for full disclosure, these are regions that have smaller populations).

There are several things worth noting about the outstanding ballots. Generally, question (provisional) ballots lean slightly Democratic, and it appears the majority of question ballots will be included. For the most part, the absentee ballots that have not been counted were cast after Senator Stevens' felony conviction. While Republicans often assert the military votes usually go Republican, that is not necessarily the case in Alaska . Not only did Begich carry the military base during his run for Anchorage Mayor, but on Election Day, Begich won Elmendorf Air Force Base, Fort Richardson , and Fort Wainwright . The majority of voters in Alaska are independents, unaffiliated or nonpartisan. While Republicans often say that these voters will lean Republican, we have to remember, this isn't just any Election where independent voters are following past trends. It's not every election that the incumbent U.S. Senator was recently convicted in federal court. While we expect the margin could narrow as additional votes are counted, we are optimistic that Begich will end up on top.

Answers to your questions:

What's left to be counted?

Around 12 percent of the ballots remain outstanding. There are 25,789 early votes and absentee ballots remaining plus 14,932 question ballots, for a total of 40,721 uncounted ballots. This number could still increase slightly because ballots mailed on Election Day are accepted through Friday domestically and Wednesday, November 19 overseas.

What is the timing for the rest of the ballot counting?

The Wasilla regional office will count all remaining absentee at 1pm and questioned ballots at 8am on Friday.

The Nome regional office will count all remaining absentee and questioned ballots on Friday at 8am.
The Juneau regional office will count the remaining 2 districts of questioned ballots on Friday at 1pm.  Complete the absentee count on Tuesday at 9am.

The Fairbanks regional office will count questioned ballots on Friday and possibly some absentee at 11am.  If absentee are not counted or completed, another count will be scheduled for Monday or Tuesday.

The Anchorage regional office will count the remaining absentee and questioned ballots next Tuesday at 10am.

(much more below the fold!)

A day at the snail races...ballot counting at Division of Elections--Begich ahead by 814!!!!!

by: Celtic Diva

Wed Nov 12, 2008 at 21:48:32 PM AKST

Watching paint dry...that's what it's like looking on through a window as people count early and absentee ballots.  However, it's probably the most important example there is of our Alaska Democracy in action!

Each Dept. of Election worker doing the counting goes through one state house district at a time, grabbing stacks of ballots in huge, white envelopes (frequently, there are more than one...district 28 had four).  The counter completes the district than turns the tape that's running on their machine into the supervisor sitting at a tall table.  The results are checked and then two tapes are run of each district's and brought to the door...one for the Republican representative and one for the Democratic rep.  

District 19 gave Begich 185! / More questioned ballots arriving / Made her smile! / Winning candidate Chris Tuck!

The drama happens outside of the counting room among candidates and/or their representatives who have their noses pressed up against the glass like a kid at Christmas.  As the tapes are brought out, they grab it excitedly and then, with cell phone in hand, run into the other room to call their respective offices with the news.  Sometimes, new campaign workers come to relieve the others or keep them company, as Begich people kept coming in and out while John Vezina (Begich's Finance Director) stayed there like a permanent fixture).  At other times, like when District 19 Republican candidate Bob Roses saw that the absentee count had him down a further seven votes (the early vote knocked him farther down as well) it's just time to leave and he and his campaign manager walked out.

I showed up in the afternoon when they were already finished counting the 9,500 early votes and the Begich folks were bursting with optimism.  They had gone from a 3,500 to a 700 vote deficit behind Ted Stevens.  Considering there were still another 80,000 votes to go, we all couldn't help but feel good about what was happening.  Even David Shurtleff from the Berkowitz Campaign was positive, even though Ethan wasn't gaining enough votes to provide a lot of hope for a complete turnaround.

(more below the fold)

AK Democratic Party news on the Senate Race; early votes breaking for Begich! **UPDATE**

by: Celtic Diva

Fri Nov 07, 2008 at 17:27:12 PM AKST

Here's the latest from the Alaska Senate Race:

According to the Division of Elections, there are now 81,000 ballots outstanding that need to be counted. This accounts for more that a quarter of the total votes.

Also today, the Division of Elections said they'd count about 2/3 of the ballots (absentee and early) next Wednesday. Question ballots aren't likely to be counted until the end of next week or even the beginning of the following week. Based on data from the Division of Elections, Begich is leading Senator Ted Stevens in the early votes which have been counted - 59% to 37%.

This is VERY good news! 9,500 of the votes that still need to be counted are the early votes that happened BEFORE Thursday and a number of the 50,000+ absentee votes were early votes that happened AFTER Thursday.

However, there will be enough question ballots left after Wednesday's count for the race to still go either way.

Also, no one knows how the rest of the absentee votes will go.

Attached is a map from the Anchorage Daily News which details just how well Begich performed in the majority of Alaska , and why we are still so optimistic about the Senate race up here.

**UPDATE** My favorite election site, FiveThirtyEight.com, made a great post projecting Begich's take of the uncounted votes.  Here's an excellent (and emotionally uplifting" chart!!!!!

Then, FiveThirtyEight discusses what votes are left to count...

(LOTS MORE below the fold)

Stolen election in Alaska? Five reasons why that accusation is premature.

by: Celtic Diva

Thu Nov 06, 2008 at 14:06:06 PM AKST

"The real question is where were the all the Democrats?" Dittman said, noting the voter turnout was supposed to be in record proportions. Instead, only an estimated 57 percent of registered voters had a say - a far drop from the 66 percent turnout in the 2004 presidential election, according to state elections division figures.

The issue of the incorrect polls has triggered some concern both here and in other parts of the country, especially on the "interwebs" where folks have raised the specter of a "rigged election."  It's understandable that we're all having flashbacks to Alaska 2004, where the Division of Elections reported some precincts had over 100% turnout.  (Voting "early and often" is not just a tongue-in-cheek saying in Chicago!)  

However, we should all subscribe to the "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy" mantra of "Don't Panic!"  I can think of at least four reasons why:

1) Per the Division of Elections, there are three different types of ballots that still must be counted:  1/2 of the early voting ballots (9,500), the absentee ballots (48,000) and the "questioned" ballots (16,000). ("Questioned" ballots come from registered voters who go to a different precinct and are allowed to vote the Congressional and Presidential elections or un-registered voters who go to a precinct and are allowed to register and vote in the presidential election only.  All of these votes are checked by hand to determine the voters status.)  

That's 73,500 ballots which equal about 15% of all registered voters in the state of Alaska.  That's a lot of votes yet to be counted.

2) While Ted Stevens is making the claim that absentee votes "always break conservative," we are operating in an entirely new world because of Barack Obama's campaign strategy.  As the result of an Obama and Begich Campaign "Get Out the Vote" juggernaut, it's quite possible that those absentee, early voting and questioned ballots will break Progressive (I know mine is in there)...completely turning that "conventional wisdom" on its head.  Also, the absentee ballots are often military-dominated, which has caused them to trend towards conservative in the past, polls and FEC records have shown this election cycle that both the oversees and US-stationed military have heavily favored the Democratic presidential candidates...specifically Barack Obama...over the McCain ticket when it comes to political donations.  The "conservative assumption" no longer carries any weight.

(more below the fold)

Have Ted Stevens and Don Young won? **UPDATED**

by: Celtic Diva

Wed Nov 05, 2008 at 01:53:45 AM AKST

Last precincts in  - Mark won them, new numbers are: Begich 103,337 (47%) to  Stevens 106,594 (48%) 100% in. Estimate is 60 - 75 thousand yet to count. We are told 15% are from Juneau which I am trying to confirm. We won 64% of the vote in Juneau.

There are still 50,000 votes left uncounted:

...the Division (of Elections) is doing things differently this year when it comes to counting absentee ballots.

Normally, some fraction of absentee ballots would be included in the election night numbers...

... the roughly 40,000 absentee ballots cast so far won't be included in the official count until later.
That's to double check the ballots and make sure no one is double-dipping.

About 23,000 people have voted early, according to the Division. Of those ballots, about 14,000 will appear in tonight's numbers. (Generally, if you're an early voter who cast a ballot before Thursday, you're vote will likely be included tonight.)

Add thousands of questioned ballots to the uncertainty, and any close races will be very much in the air tonight.

As of right now, Ted is only ahead by 3,352 and Don Young is ahead by about 14,000.  

Considering how hard the Obama and Begich Campaigns were working to promote early voting, not even 14,000 is enough of a lead to declare victory before 50,000 votes are counted.

Palin and Stevens...two peas in the same dishonest pod of denial

by: Celtic Diva

Fri Oct 31, 2008 at 00:12:12 AM AKDT

Palin asserted that the report found "there was no abuse of authority at all in trying to get Officer Wooten fired."

In fact, the report concluded that "impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda, to wit: to get Trooper Michael Wooten fired."

Palin's response is the kind of political "big lie" that George Orwell warned against. War is peace. Black is white. Up is down.

Now it seems that, in spite of the fact that a jury of 12 good citizens found our Senator Stevens guilty of seven felonies, Ted says "I have not been convicted of anything."

What?

You know, I'd start swearing that they were seriously putting something in that Valley water to turn folks like Vic Kohring, Sarah Palin and Ted Stevens into complete "whack-jobs," but Ted isn't from the Valley and has spent the majority of the last 40 years in DC.

I guess it's too much power for too long that forms that sense of entitlement, or perhaps a hefty personality disorder (can you say narcissist?), or a combination of both.

Here's Ted's debate comments tonight per ADN.  Hold on to your butts:

MODERATOR MICHAEL CAREY: Though this will be a traditional debate most of the evening, there are some questions that only you can answer. After your conviction Monday on seven felony counts, you said that you would talk to Alaskans about your future and the future of Alaska.

Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin have asked you to step down in the meantime while you pursue your appeal.

If Gov. Palin and Sen. McCain were in this room, what would you say to them?

STEVENS: Well the first thing I would tell them is that the case is still pending on the basis of mentions which we filed for a new trial or for a dismissal of the case for prosecutorial misconduct.

I have not been convicted of anything.

I would tell them that I understand that they make statements during the heat of the campaign. And, and probably they've been a little misinformed by their staff. But I wouldn't hold it against them. I understand what they're doing. They're trying to get elected.

I would have to say John, and, and Sarah, I understand.

MODERATOR LARRY PERSILY: Sen. Stevens, you are asking Alaskans to reelect you while you fight to overturn the jury's verdict. Meanwhile, your own party's leader in the senate ... has called on you to resign. As effective as you've been for Alaska over your carreer, what can you do to ensure that effectiveness will continue if re-elected?

STEVENS: Well, I think you ought to just look at what's been done since this trial has been going on, as a matter of fact. We passed a series of bills that I had introduced and had to go back to the senate while this trial was going on. I'll think I'll be effective. Effectiveness is a matter of experience. As far as the leader's comments, he too is up for election.

They just wanted to get away from questions from the press about the situation. So they made the comment about well, maybe he should step down.

I'm not going to step down. I have not been convicted. I have a got a case pending against me, and probably the worst case of prosecutorial -- misconduct by the prosecutors -- that is known. I had a talk this afternoon, with one of the attorneys here, a former U.S. attorney, who told me he was appalled by what went on in that case.

So I think you'll find out. I will succeed and I will be found innocent.

We don't deserve this...we don't need these people and when they start believing that we do(and pay big commercial money to try and convince us that we do) it's time to send them into retirement.