A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW

The crash on Wall Street is also the crash of free market ideology. [Obama] needs to explain to the American people why we got into this crisis--market fundamentalism--and how to get out of it--a much more pro-active role for government. And he needs to explain that government will do a better job of serving ordinary Americans when government is run by people who believe in its power for good, who are competent, and idealistic, rather than cynical.

-- Robert Kuttner on Obama's Challenge: America’s Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency

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America is gripped by a fearful economic crisis. Yet economist and writer Robert Kuttner sees a silver lining. The crisis presents Barack Obama a rare opportunity -- the chance to unite and move the country closer to embodying its core ideals.

A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW

HAVA (Help America Vote Act) has been the single, solitary most destructive event in terms of Election Integrity that I can think of. It was a disaster of a bill and has made our system far worse than it was in 2000.

-- Brad Friedman, Election integrity citizen/journalist and blogger at BradBlog.com

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Since BuzzFlash started online in May of 2000, we have seen many tenacious, committed individuals who have been pursuing the goal of ensuring voting integrity in the United States, particularly after the multi-faceted attack on voter's rights -- and the private ownership, ability to manipulate results, and just plain unreliability of electronic voting machines -- that became apparent in the theft of the presidency from Al Gore.

Unfortunately, the voting issue is rather complicated and made even more confusing by the intentional strategic obfuscation of the Republican Party.

In essence, there are two basic categories of the GOP attack on voting rights: the disenfranchisement of non-Republicans and the manipulation of the actual vote (this is where electronic voting machines come in). Within these two broad categories, there are many techniques that have been employed for achieving these goals.

One of the key chroniclers of efforts to undermine our voting system is Brad of Brad Blog. Brad has been unrelenting in documenting the details of the dark side of our voting system. Unfortunately, many Democratic leaders have not taken the issue seriously enough, perhaps because they don't understand the depth of the problem, perhaps because they can't believe that the Republicans are as nefarious as they are.

BuzzFlash thought that on election day, it would be appropriate to once again focus on the ongoing need to reform our voting system, ensure every eligible voter gets a ballot, and end the privatization of our vote counting systems.

And so here is our interview with Brad Friedman.

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BuzzFlash: You are perhaps the top blog specialist doing first-hand reporting almost solely on what we call the GOP war to keep all eligible voters from voting, which is to say the Republican effort to keep Democratic votes from being cast or counted. Are we correct in saying that this is primarily a Republican strategy?

Brad Friedman: It's entirely a Republican strategy. And a long-term, well-funded and systematic one at that.

A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW 

Atwater is the P.T. Barnum of American politics. He gave Rove and a whole generation of young Republicans the guiding principle they took with them into the White House: The truth doesn't matter. 

-- Director Stefan Forbes, Maker of "Boogie Man, The Lee Atwater Story"

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With the Willie Horton effort to incite incendiary racial fears in Pittsburgh last week (although it turned out to be a hoax by a paid McCain Campaign affiliate staffer), we were reminded once again of the infamous Lee Atwater.

In 1988, Atwater and George W. Bush rode shotgun to use gutter -- and particularly racist -- tactics to propel George Herbert Walker Bush into the White House.

Atwater is the sleaze operative role model and mentor of Karl Rove. Steve Schmidt, who heads the McCain campaign, is his direct descendant in the scurrilous politics of demagoguery.

A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW 

Humanity's dirty little secret it that humans (especially males) love war - and they really love it if they can be assured of God's favor for it. That is why every great religion ... also includes an argument against violence and war. "No War is Holy" is the tag-line of this film, and the essence of its argument. But I make that argument not against religion, but from within it.

-- Author and peace activist James Carroll

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"However, the Republican cry of 'Vote Fraud!' has become the cover for purges and challenges to legal voters by the millions. I even tracked down and filmed some of these so-called fraudulent voters handed me from a GOP list. Every one was a legal voter."

-- Greg Palast, Intrepid Investigative Reporter and Author

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Then you have people like our President who apparently actually says that God spoke to him, called him George, and said: ‘George, go invade Afghanistan.’ And God was apparently so happy with that he called him again and said: ‘George, go liberate Iraq.’ If you look at the facts of the case, you have to say either God was a terrible tactician or the President is a loony tune.

A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW 

The Boston Tea Party ... was radical guerrilla subversive theater. And all along, protest has been based on a First Amendment right to have the right to assemble as big as the sky, the right to yell and scream against anyone who is trying to oppress us.

-- Naomi Wolf, Author of Give Me Liberty: A Handbook For American Revolutionaries

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Wolf is back with a strong follow-up to the compelling The End of America: A Letter of Warning To A Young Patriot.  In Give Me Liberty: A Handbook For American Revolutionaries, Wolf offers an overview of core principles for a Constitutional democracy.  Moreover, she provides a practical guide to grassroots empowerment of the right to protest and exercise our grievances against unjust infringements upon our rights as Americans.

A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW

"This is also one of the most aggressive movements in the push to tear down the wall between church and state. They actually go further than many in the Religious Right and believe that their Apostolic structure will become the new authority in the United States and the world. Furthermore, their obsession with driving out demons means that the end always justifies the means. If you are against them, you are working for the devil....This is about their efforts to take control of society and government and they blatantly state their intent to do so."

-- Bruce Wilson of the watchdog website talk2action.org that monitors right wing extremist religious groups

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BuzzFlash:? I?m talking with Larry Beinhart, author of Salvation Boulevard, which just came out.? We last interviewed Larry in July of 2007.? And Larry, before we get into your book, which has gotten some incredible reviews and ___ quite well.? Let me ask you something.? We interviewed you at the time you wrote Fog Facts[?], which was commentary.?

Larry Beinhart:? Right.?

A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW

Mukasey is obstructing justice, which is a crime. He can either resign if he feels that his oath of office is too cumbersome for him to adhere to, or he can be removed. Either we are a nation of laws or we are a nation without a democracy.

-- Larisa Alexandrovna, Managing Investigative News Editor, Raw Story

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