Shorter update today because I have a final in a few hours I should probably cram for:)
Yesterday saw anemic muscle flexin' of the Ohio Supreme Court: the Chief Justice Moyers, named as a defendant in the case, gave Arnebeck his case back and poo-pooed him for not splittin' up the case and using smaller words so he could understand it better. Damn liberals and their complex vocabulary...
Actually, the case was "dismissed without prejudice." Despite the orgasms going on in Freeperville and Drudge's attempt to create a 300 pt. font for his website, us in the reality-based community know this is really no big deal.
Or is it? Could the Chief Justice have made the biggest FUBAR in judicial history? Was this all part of Arnebeck's plan? Is he some type of Clark Kent, Ms. Cleo, I-know-everything-before-it-will-happen genius?
That and more news below the fold...
1. The Art of The Screw
Those who practice law know sometimes you get the chance to do something your mama wouldn't be proud of, and, as tempting as it may be to do, there's this little snag called Ethics. Here, specifically, that snag is the
Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct. Apparently, one of the canons is that "A Judge Shall Respect and Comply with the Law and Shall Act at all Times in a Manner that Promotes Public Confidence in the Integrity and Impartiality of the Judiciary." Another canon? "A Judge Shall Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary". Someone might want to drop Chief Justice Moyers a note and tell him he fucked up. Because, as any novice legal eagle can tell you -- as any
logical person can tell you -- there is nothing more that compromises the integrity of the judicial system than a judge sitting in judgment on his own case. Nothing.
Now, Chief Moyers isn't stupid. He knows this. So he tried to weasel his way out of it by claiming that he was sitting in judgment on only the presidential election contest.
Silly, silly little man.
Screwed on two fronts. First, the mere fact that he interpreted the law as allowing only a single election contest per case proves that he judged the case as a whole. And let's remember that he was named as a Defendant for the ENTIRE case, so this "it's ok for me to rule on the Bush/Kerry case" doesn't hold water, because he was a Defendant in that case too. Also, if he actually read Arnebeck's lawsuit instead of just flipping through for pictures, he would have realized that the Connally/Moyers issue is a key part of the Bush/Kerry case! In order for him to rule on the merits of the claim, he would have to accept that the Supreme Court race was fucked up and that he, the Chief Justice, lost.
Second, he just gave Arnebeck the bestest Christmas gift ever (is Arnebeck Christian? maybe a Hannakuh gift?) Moyers thought he was slick, allowing himself to judge the Bush/Kerry case. But he screwed up, because now Arnebeck has great grounds to force him to recuse himself on that case as well. Expect a Motion to be filed on that soon.
Speaking of filing, word on the internets is that Arnebeck's lawsuit is to be refiled today, tomorrow...the day after...we know how Arnebeck likes to be a tease with that.
2. Look who woke up!
The filing of this case barely got a whimper out of the media. But its "dismissal" sure got the presses going. I could post a dozen links to it, but, they all have the same headline:
Ohio Justice Throws Out Election Challenge
Some news sources decided to exercise journalistic independence and come up with snazzier headlines:
Citing technicality, justice rejects bid to nullify results
Ohio justice throws out challenge to election, along with any semblance of democratic accountability (yeah, it's just a Buzzflash headline linking to the Yahoo story, but still...I like)
Ohio Judge Threw Out Suit Questioning His Own Election
It's important to note that the last link, to RawStory, is the only one I've seen so far that mentioned that Moyers was campaigning on the Bush/Cheney ticket, and that he was a named defendant in the case.
3. Kerry Tiptoes In...Again
When Kerry sent out his first letter, everyone rejoiced that Kerry finally spoke up. Yesterday, he sent out another letter, this time to Blackwell himself, asking that Blackwell investigate the machines used in the recount. Of course the Kerry camp knows Blackwell has an aversion to responding to letter. This is just to create a paper trail when Blackwell gets his ass handed to him for his gross abuse of power.
4. Speaking of Blackwell...
As benjamin075 reported in yesterday's thread, Mr. Blackwell decided to grace us with his wisdom by appearing on NPR. He claimed that Democrat and Republican areas were equally affected by voting machines, that he's made of Teflon when it comes to lawsuits challenging his authority, and that he is God's Gift To The Earth in every way imaginable. After giving this interview, Mr. Blackwell thanked Jesus, got into his spaceship, and flew back to the outer realms of reality, aka the Abyss of Bullshit, where he shares a lovely one-bedroom apartment with Baghdad Bob.
5. Things To Do
Contact the entire Judiciary Committee. Note the absence ofRepublicans from the hearings, and express concern about whether all the GOPers have gotten the flu.
Contact Senator Jeffords and beg on your knees that he object to certifying an election riddled with irregularities and suppression. OK, maybe don't beg on your knees. We need to keep some semblance of dignity here.
Surprise the Ohio Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline by proving us Americuns are smarter than Moyers thinks. File a complaint against Moyers for so obviously violating the Code.
6. Ohio Diary Round-up
ACTION ALERT: Urge Sen. Jeffords to Contest Electoral College Results, by sixmoreweeks
More On Dan Hamburg Arrest In Ohio, by KumarP
BREAKING: Bush-Cheney judge in Ohio has conflict of interest, by sixmoreweeks
Donations Urgently needed for Ohio election publications, by candice
Draft Feingold to challenge electoral college!, by ZT155
Last Night With The Franklin County (Ohio) Dems, by bringohiohome
ALERT: APPEAL TO IOWA SEN. TOM HARKIN TO CONTEST ELECTION, by DerekLarsson
Help needed for Ohio fraud suit research effort, by chriscol
Urge Senator Boxer to Contest the Election, by ssteuer
Olbermann/MSNBC: Conyers prepared to contest Ohio EV's!, by weathercoins
Election 2004: Our Future is Now!!! Take Action!!!, by ctsteve
Ohio GOP legislators attempt to grab power for Blackwell., by Eternal Hope
If I miss links, it's not intentional...so just let me know.
7. Play Catch Up
Kerry Speaks Out About Ohio
Update: Ohio Recount (with video!)
Arnebeck Lawsuit: Summary, Explanation
Ohio Update, 12/15
Ohio Update, 12/16
There's a lot more to update you guys on, but I have to get going :) In the meantime, check out Raw Story for the latest documents and interviews.
Update [2004-12-17 12:28:22 by georgia10]: First, thanks to ignatz for the link to the audio of Blackwell on NPR.
Second, here is a link to the interview the Green Party about recent developments. Of particular interest is this section:
Bobier noted that the [Democratic] Party was not conducting their own investigation in Ohio.
I say that's interesting because
currently has a headline saying "Kerry thwarting recount". Apparently, Cobb is saying Kerry is not only not supporting the recount, but hindering it.
Now, the story isn't up yet, so I don't know if this is a "he's thwarting it by not being an active participant" or if there is a sin of commission, rather than omission, on Kerry's part. It will be a fascinating read when the story is posted, so keep clicking that refresh button...
[Update]: Cobb speaks out. Like I thought, this is more of a complaint about Kerry not doing enough rather than taking affirmative steps to thwart the recount.
“John Kerry is trying to minimize and undermine and delegitmize the recount,” Cobb asserted.
The Green called attention to the $51 million war chest Sen. Kerry was left with after the election. Kerry has come under fire for not contributing the money to other 2004 Democratic congressional candidates.
“Sadly, John Kerry seems to be trapped under the pile of 51 million dollars that is preventing him from getting up and standing up,” Cobb told RAW STORY.
That’s “the highest amount of money a presidential candidate has ever been left with so far” after an election, he added.
Kerry, given the opportunity to exercise his right for a recount as a candidate that received a large percentage of the vote, declined to do so. As such, the Green Party and others raised $150,000 to pay Ohio to conduct the count.
Kerry-Edwards did join Cobb’s lawsuit suing to prevent the electors from voting before the recount was completed, which failed in court. They also issued a letter to Ohio Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell demanding an investigation.
Cobb says the letters are paper tigers.
“They’ve issued periodic letters which have no meaning under law,” Cobb remarked.
Asked whether he had a theory on why Kerry conceded so quickly, he replied, “John Kerry definitely wanted to beat Bush, but as a member of a ruling elite, the one thing that John Kerry values over everything else is continued membership in the ruling elite.”
He brings up some good points....but somehow, almost everything that comes out of this guy's mouth sounds like a plug for the Green Party (remember the Conyers hearing?) Nevertheless, he does raise some legitimate questions.
Is Kerry is joining in the recount lawsuit, sending out letters questing the integrity of the elections and the recount...are we all missing the elephant in the room?
Is it time for Kerry to un-concede? Time to make his actions match up with his words?
Until the next update...