Saturday, April 08, 2006

Ald. Burke and the long hand of Venezuela's Chavez

David Orr says Burke's gone right-wing blogger with this. (I know he dresses way better than this right-wing blogger and train-spotter.)

On Friday, Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th) questioned Sequoia President Jack Blaine, Perry Mason-style, about the company's Venezuelan ownership.

The cross-examination not only traced the ownership of Sequoia through as Burke put it, "four countries, two hemispheres and three shell corporations." It evoked what Burke called the "mind-boggling" disclosure that 15 Venezuelan nationals had traveled to Chicago on March 21 to provide "technical support" and oversee the tabulation of votes.

"Because of the disastrous results of the election March 21, we've stumbled across what could be the international conspiracy to subvert the electoral process in the United States of America," Burke said.
Since Chavez is in Chicago news this AM, I'll note here it seems he's gone into hidding during the anti-police brutality demonstrations in Venezuela.

The immigration debate and demonstrations have just reminded me of the extreme risks people will take to come to America.

For a country progressives tell us is hated and feared by the rest of the world: as a Nation bent on conquest for oil; a lot of people going through hell to get here and stay here.

Look at the cops in Venezuela and you start to understand why.

26 comments:

Anonymous,  7:37 AM  

I think that Burke's comments are refreshing although I may not agree with his comment. Finally, we run across a politician that says what he thinks rather than worrying about whether his thoughts are "politicly correct". Also, don't take what he said out of context. Burke qualified his statement by saying that his thoughts are a possibility rather than a statement of fact.
Kudos to Mr. Burke.

Bill Baar 7:46 AM  

Point well taken anon... always in a quandry as to how much to quote on these posts. I didn't intend to mis state his position.

I found him refreshing too... I'm not a big believer in conspiracy theories but who knows.

You sure don't seen anything in MSM on the Venezuela protests so maybe they're some conspiracies out there.

Anonymous,  9:45 AM  

Burke is correct and no one has contradicted him that we do not know the real principals in the company there are at least 2 shell companies and a foreign national parent company. MIKE KASPER, the Madigan lobbyist rammed this through. Seqouia NEVER did an election before BUT their VENEZUELAN PARENT COMPANY may have fixed the election for CHAVEZ.

This is SCARY. This was not a good election from a technical point of view.

Anonymous,  9:53 AM  

This was neither a fair nor an accurate election. Worth Township alone has compiled hundreds of stories of mathematical improbabilities, computer failure, computer error, lack of privacy, lack of training, ballot security issues, incorrect counts etc.

This was a terrible election.

Anonymous,  9:59 AM  

We may never know what the real election results were.

Board of Elections employees have admitted that data was lost and they cannot explain what happened.

Anonymous,  10:44 AM  

I have been a Regular Organization Precinct Captain and coordinator for over 30 years. This was the worst election I have ever participated in.

Bill Baar 11:38 AM  

I heard it described as Gore's revenge....

I guess it's Hugo Chaevez's assault instead.

Anonymous,  11:53 AM  

Perhaps part of the problem is the 90 year old election judges and the modern day technology...perhaps. What idiot authorized the purchasing of election equipment ofrom Hugo Chavez? Maybe that is part of the deal when he offers cheap oil.

Anonymous,  12:52 PM  

We don't want Arabs to run ports but we want communist anti-American Venezuelans allied with Castro and Cuba to run our election.

Anonymous,  1:31 PM  

The most disturbing part of this whole election is the complete absence of ballot secrecy. The ballots were unweildy and were fed into the machines under the watchful eye of precinct captains and election judges. No way was your vote private. The so-called "privacy covers" were a joke. Nobody used them because they were so impractical.

Add that to the fact that ballots were left unattended for hours when machines didn't work, in hundreds of precincts run by Regular Dem captains, where votes could be "filled in" after the fact, and you have a prescription for widespread fraud.

I almost wish it was a conspiracy, because that's more comforting than to think that our elections are in the hands of officials this incompetent.

Anonymous,  11:36 PM  

This is an issue of lack of training and incompetence not necessarily intentional fraud. We should bring in Bill Gates and not Lisa Madigan or Peter Fitzgerald. The election was a mess.

Anonymous,  11:45 PM  

Does Burke believe that Chavez fixed the Chicago election?

Anonymous,  11:48 AM  

Alderman Edward Burke is right.

Bill Baar 2:01 PM  

He was on CBS Eye on Chicago this AM. He made a lot of sense.

Anonymous,  2:33 PM  

We are going to learn more about this illegitimate election in a week, a month, a year and years to come. This was a fraudulent election and a real shame.
Mike Kasper and Langdon Neal are shameful traitors.

Anonymous,  2:53 PM  
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Bill Baar 3:58 PM  

Anon 2:53 You crossed a fine line with the personal comments about your subject individual.

Repost with your name or repost with a less personal comment about this person.

thanks

Anonymous,  6:45 PM  

Is the company owned by the VZ government, or by a VZ company? If it's a private company, then there is nothing at all to worry about. If the government of Venezuela owns it, then we shouldn't be having them involved in our elections, just like we shouldn't have any other country's govt involved in our elections.

Anonymous,  7:57 PM  

Mike Kasper is the lobbyist and his clout is Mike Madigan. He is also the attorney for the Hispanic Democratic Organization (HDO) which is at the center of Hired Trucks, Heroin dealing, and the current indictments and plea agreements regarding Sorich/Slattery/Tomczak etc.
Kasper is also an election attorney focusing on frivolous challenges and stopping ballot access. This new election law and equipment and company was a sweetheart deal rammed down everyones throats with disastorous consequences.

Anonymous,  8:07 PM  

Landgon Neal and Mike Kasper should be investigated.

Anonymous,  9:02 PM  

David Orr and Earl Neal should resign. They damaged democracy.

Anonymous,  8:49 AM  

When all is said and done they will either have to ovverturn this election and have a new one or they will cover it up. The public may not have an appeitite to admit that we had a fraudulent election.
Nobody really cares anyway. A computer scientist should of rigged the election.

fedup dem 9:55 AM  

At this point, it seems more likely that the havoc caused here was done by sheer incompetence than by a foreign conspiracy to rig our elections. (You might have a stronger argument that the Venezuleans conspired to have a few laughs at our expense, not knowing how the ineptitude would affect the elections but feeling certain that it would in some manner.)

We have no way of knowing how many races were affected. The probable list on the Democratic side includes the Water Reclamation District race, the 6th District State Representative race, and the Appellate Court race between Erickson and Cunningham. Republican races that may have been affected in Cook County include the 15th District County Board race and the 13th Subcircuit Judicial contest.

The list may actually be greater, and it may also include suburban tax referendums, a number of which were reportedly decided by very narrow margins.

I don't think President Chavez gives a hoot either way about the outcome of those local tax referenda... he's laughing over how stupid Cook County Clerk David Orr and Chicago Board of Elections Chairman Langdon Neal are for using this screwed-up system.

Both Orr and Neal should resign in disgrace.

Anonymous,  4:33 PM  

There was too much computer error, lack of privacy, and lack of ballot security, to insure a fair or accurate election.

The possible rammed through sweetheart contract and the Venezuela theory only add to the lack of confidence in the system. This will lead to lower voter turnouts and fraud.

Anonymous,  4:33 PM  

There was too much computer error, lack of privacy, and lack of ballot security, to insure a fair or accurate election.

The possible rammed through sweetheart contract and the Venezuela theory only add to the lack of confidence in the system. This will lead to lower voter turnouts and fraud.

Anonymous,  3:07 PM  

This election was the worst one I saw in almost 20 years

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