Posted by TWiB Series On October - 23 - 20087 COMMENTS
In the latest episode of The Brooklyn Comedy Company’s “This Week in Blackness”, comedian Elon James White talks about the wave of events that’s occurred since the last episode. We assure you it was a $#!+-load. And there’s a special message for everyone.
We’re not going to lose this election this year. We cannot. It’s that simple. Ensuring victory means being diligent in every aspect of your vote: make sure you vote the right way! and make sure that your vote is counted. YES! magazine has put together this 12 step guide to safeguarding your vote. Please complete it, and report back in the comments. I’m serious. (also bookmark the voter suppression wiki)
It took me 9 minutes to complete and read their steps, and I was moving slowly. 10 minutes is a minor investment to ensure your vote will be counted.
BEFORE ELECTION DAY
1. Check your registration. Even if you think you’re registered, you may not be. Check online at www.CanIVote.org.
2. Vote now. Check if early voting is possible in your state. If you’re voting by mail, check carefully where you need to sign, how to seal the envelope, and how to mark the ballot. And note: Some ballots require extra postage.
3. Practice your vote. Electronic voting machines can be difficult to use.Verifiedvoting.org is preparing links to video demos of how to vote on the machine you will find at your polling station. If you’ll be using a paper ballot, check out the sample included in your voter pamphlet.
4. Find out who’s in charge. Make a phone list of your county and state election officials—it may save valuable time on Election Day if you need to get registration verification or other information.
Jack Turner Bonus: Put this phone number into your cellphone: 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683)
More important notes below the fold. Please read the rest, and report back on your pre-election day safeguarding activities. For realz.
More steps from YES magazine
ON ELECTION DAY
5. Vote early. Avoid the frustration of long lines. Also, if you encounter problems, you’ll have time to sort them out and may be able to help others.
6. Take your government-issued ID and your cell phone, if you have one. If you have problems, or see problems, call a hotline immediately (see point #9). You may not need ID to vote, but it’s best to have it. If you have trouble with your registration, ask for a provisional ballot.
7. Avoid Straight Party Voting, if it’s an option in your state. Vote for each race individually, even if it takes a little longer.
8. Verify your vote. If you’re voting on an electronic voting machine, check the review screen to make sure it reflects your vote. If the machine produces a paper record, check as you go along that everything is working correctly. If not, speak to a polling attendant—don’t leave until you’re sure your vote has been properly recorded.
9. Document and report. If you encounter difficulties, or see others experiencing difficulties (excessive lines, voter harassment, malfunctioning machines, etc.), make a detailed record. Get all the facts you can—location, names, specific problem.
The best way to report problems is to call 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683), which has volunteer lawyers in 15 locations standing by to provide rapid-response assistance. You can also contact your party of choice. We have more suggestionshere.
AFTER ELECTION DAY
10. Call your candidate. If there are questions about an election result, urge your candidate to ask for an audit. Ask how you can help.
11. Call your election officials. If you have concerns, let your county and state election officials know, and monitor their response. Ask them not to certify the election before all challenges and recounts are finished. And send a copy of your message to your local newspaper editor. If you’re confident about the election result, thank the officials for a difficult job well done.
INTO THE FUTURE
12. Work for fair, transparent elections. 66% of Americans don’t trust the electronic voting machines many of us will be voting on this November. Join the movement for election reform in between elections. Use our YES! Tools to find out how.
My Pre-Election Safeguarding Report
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where do i live: New York City, NY (county of New York)
can i vote: yes.i am registered to vote and my status is active!
can i vote early: no. there is no early voting in my state
how will i be voting. can i see the ballot: my entire state uses mechanical lever machines. I cannot preview the ballot
my local election official to contact in case of problems with phone number added to my cell
Posted by TWiB Series On October - 14 - 20086 COMMENTS
The Brooklyn Comedy Company is proud to present the 10th installment of the web series TWiB!. After completely ignoring the 2nd presidential debate (and recieving a few emails about said ignoring), comedian Elon James White takes time to explain himself. Sorta.
Everyone has their threshold. I’ve just reached mine. Thanks to AmericaBlog for pointing me to this and this. Also a hat tip to TPM Election Central.
John “Country Last” McCain and Sarah Palin held some truly hate filled rallies on Monday. Here’s a montage from McCain’s hatefest 2008
During this rally, a McCain supporter answers the question posed by Senator Country Last, “Who is the real Barack Obama?” The unmistakable answer: terrorist!
McCain says nothing.
From The Washington Post and AmericaBlog on Palin’s rally:
“Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers,” Palin said.
“Boooo!” said the crowd.
“And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, ‘launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,’” she continued.
“Boooo!” the crowd repeated. “Kill him!” proposed one man in the audience.
Palin went on to say that “Obama held one of the first meetings of his political career in Bill Ayers’s living room, and they’ve worked together on various projects in Chicago.”
But the current political environment does not excuse remaining silent when a candidate for president is referred to as a “terrorist” in your presence. A desire to win does not excuse remaining silent during a threat on the life of a U.S. Senator at one of your rallies. There are no excuses for evil such as this. John McCain and Sarah Palin, the GOP and all who support them have lost all rights to legitimate argument. They are liars. They are wrong. They are evil. Yes, evil. They are one small step short of inciting violence at their rallies. They are letting physical threats go unchallenged.
I was at Obama’s rally at Independence Square in Philadelphia back in April. When he mentioned Hillary Clinton’s name, the crowd booed, and he told them to stop. Barack Obama intervened when his supporters booed his opponent. He called for civility. Yet, when faced with supporters who label senators terrorists and call for their assassination, John McCain and Sarah Palin said nothing.
This is how evil spreads, from domestic violence to genocide. People in a position to stop it choose to do nothing.
John McCain is obsessed with his own honor. No one believes in the myth of the maverick as thoroughly as he does. He’s called for civility in campaign tactics while lying about Obama’s position on sex education. That’s ok. It’s politics. If he weren’t a bit of a hypocrite, I would get suspicious. But the man who would make his name synonymous with honor stoked hatred in his rally today and let one of his senate colleagues be referred to as a terrorist.
We know what America does to terrorists.
And while Obama and William Ayers served on a board together, this is nothing like McCain’s pro-terrorist history. He voted repeatedly to protect domestic terrorists who bomb abortion clinics. He counts as an “old friend” one G. Gordon Liddy, an ex-convict who served time for the Watergate break-in, plotted to kill journalists, firebomb a think tank and called for violent resistance against the U.S. government. While Obama and Ayers’s relationship is minimal and old news, McCain was on Liddy’s show this year during the campaign and has accepted $1,000 from him as recently as February. So who’s the terrorist?
Now to Sarah Palin.
This simple-minded, overwhelmed, frightened, delusional nitwit thinks she’s doing “big things” by going on “the attack.” She presumes to challenge Obama at his level as if she had earned her position rather than having been selected by an old white man for the job. She is filled with pride and self-adoration. She is a fool.
Palin would know about “paling around with terrorists.” She fornicates with one.
A few weeks ago CPL posted a story which seemed plausible but couldn’t be verified. It said Palin was a racist. While the specific truth of that story is still unsettled, the pattern is clear: this ticket is painting Obama as the “other” and someone to be feared. This campaign is counting on stoking prejudice and racism. The McCain-Palin campaign is grotesque and dangerous. They are picking up where Hillary left off, but have gone much, much farther. They are presiding over hate rallies where people feel free to yell out murderous threats, and the candidates smile it off and keep going, essentially endorsing such mob mentality.
I want to know who still supports this ticket. I want to know because if anything should happen to Barack Obama. If he so much as slips on the jetway or stubs his toe playing basketball, I’m holding John McCain and Sarah Palin responsible, and I’m holding those who vote for them responsible for doing nothing to stop an atmosphere of violence. Enough is enough.
Those of you who have retained your soul and your senses, I ask you do to the following in response to this insane and hate-filled campaign.
Spread the word about McCain and Palin’s dangerous beliefs and outlandish hypocrisies. Send these to your undecided or right-leaning friends in swing states.
Pray, meditate or otherwise send positive vibes to protect Obama and our country from these forces of darkness masquerading as legitimate political candidates.
Don’t be one of those people that recognizes wrong and evil and does nothing to stop it. We are all responsible for creating the world we want to see. Let’s go about doing that.
Posted by TWiB Series On October - 3 - 200811 COMMENTS
The Brooklyn Comedy Company is proud to present the 9th installment in the series TWiB! Comedian Elon James White discusses the debate, freaks out a little bit, and then asks the people what their take is! You won’t want to miss this.
and make sure that your vote is counted. YES! magazine has put together this 
