Classic propaganda technique: a concatenation of so many lies as to require enormous effort to specify and refute each one individually, and nearly impossible to reach every reader poisoned by them and persuade them to read each refutation. I think the effort should be made, however, if only to detoxify the PNB directors who have read it. --Frank LeFever =========================================================== --- In NewPacifica@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Cerene Roberts <more_cerene@...> wrote: > > From: "Sara Flounders" <sara@...> > Subject: Open Letter on the Tainted 2007-8 WBAI Local > Station Board Election > To: "Pacifica National Board" <pnb@...>, "PNB > Elections Committee" <ledererbob@...> > Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:45:41 -0400 > > > Open Letter to the WBAI and Pacifica Communities > on the Tainted 2007-8 WBAI Local Station Board > Election > > We are the 8 listener candidates for the WBAI Local > Station Board from the Justice & Unity Campaign. We > believe that owing to a devastating combination of > outrageous violations of the fair-campaign rules by > one > group of candidates and serious mismanagement and > errors > by the Local and National Election Supervisors, the > integrity of this election has been fatally > compromised. > The list of inappropriate actions is extremely long, > and > this letter can only mention the most egregious. As > community activists who have actively spoken out > against > election irregularities and corruption in government > elections, we find it even more unacceptable that such > > improprieties could occur in the elections of a > community > radio station that is supposed to be progressive. > > For the vote count scheduled for this Monday, March > 31, we > insist that ALL ballots of eligible voters be counted > -- > contrary to the position of the plaintiffs who have > sued > Pacifica. Ultimately, however, the serious violations > and > tainting of the electoral process argue for > reballoting to > occur, at the expense of the group operating under the > > name ACE (Alliance for Community Elections), the > candidate-endorsing organization whose adjudged > misconduct > in their private mailing to WBAI members led to the > lion's > share of the problems with the election. > > Issues covered below: > > 1. Severe Violations by ACE of Fair Campaign Rules > 2. Serious Errors in Ballot Handling and Processing > 3. Voter Disenfranchisement Owing to Mismanaged > Delivery > of Ballots > 4. Lawsuit Against Pacifica Is Based on Deception and > Seeks Disenfranchisement > 5. Urgently Needed Remedies > > ******************************************* > > 1. Severe Violations by ACE of Fair Campaign Rules > > The single greatest corrupting force in the election > was > the expensive, multi-piece, merchandise-marketing and > candidate-endorsing mailing sent by ACE to the entire > WBAI > membership list -- more than 15,000 voters. (By the > accounts of several ACE-endorsed candidates, ACE is > the > creation of WBAI Local Station Board member and direct > > mail marketer Steve Brown, who also participated in a > confidential court conference on the election lawsuit > at > the invitation of plaintiffs.) > > Then-National Election Supervisor Casey Peters ruled > on > November 8, 2007 -- a week before the original > election > deadline and long after thousands of votes had been > cast > -- that "the slate mailer sent to WBAI listener > sponsors > by the faction calling itself ACE (Alliance for > Community > Elections) has violated rules established by the > Pacifica > Foundation's National Elections Supervisor. The same > rules > were followed by other organizations sending slate > mailers." > > Specifically, Mr. Peters found the following > violations: > > o Referring to their marketing of the so-called > "WBAI Truth Torch" (a flashlight) containing the > station's > logo, which was used without permission: "Not only was > the > specific ban on fundraising ignored, the mailer > actually > marketed merchandise in a very unfortunate fashion, > commercializing the use of the membership list of our > noncommercial radio station and our nonprofit > foundation." > It should be added that ACE's flashlight marketing > also > directly competed with Pacifica's appeal for donations > to > defray the costs of the election, which was enclosed > with > ballots. > > o Another finding was that ACE had made "a false > statement > that Amy Goodman's contract expires at the end of the > year > when a new five-year contract had been announced more > than > a month before the mailer was sent. The mailer > suggests > that the Justice and Unity coalition would not keep > Democracy Now on the air when in reality, the > JUC-affiliated Directors on the Pacifica National > Board > had supported the new contract with Amy Goodman to > continue broadcasting Democracy Now. This assertion > may > meet the two requirements of libel law (1) telling a > known > lie and (2) doing so with the intent of diminishing > the > standing of individuals in their business or > community." > > Mr. Peters ordered on-air announcements to be played > correcting the falsehoods (including one "refuting any > > association between WBAI and the mailer marketing > flashlights"), but those announcements were not > recorded > and aired until the final few days of the election, > and > they were not replayed during later election > extensions. > In addition, it appears that Mr. Peters's order that > "all > revenue from the ACE mailer must be turned over to > WBAI" > has been ignored by ACE. > > However, Mr. Peters failed to rule on several other > equally outrageous rules violations committed in the > same > ACE mailing: > > o A false claim that the station was bankrupt; > > o A libelous statement that the Program Director and > > members of Justice & Unity were responsible for a > physical > attack on the former Premiums Coordinator, when in > fact > the Program Director rescued the Premiums Coordinator > from > his alleged assailant, and no member of Justice & > Unity > has any connection whatsoever with the alleged > assailant; > > o A false allegation that Justice & Unity board > members were "purging" programmers at the station -- > including one who left to work on satellite radio -- > when > the local board does not have the power to add or > remove > radio hosts; > > o The marketing of the flashlight (in return for > casting a ballot) and the inclusion of an > official-looking > "WBAI programming survey," which were ploys by ACE to > illegitimately obtain members' confidential names and > addresses to build their mailing list for this and > future > elections and for other purposes. This was intended to > > circumvent the safeguards that WBAI properly places on > its > membership list: slates are only allowed to send out > mailers through a mailing house, so as to ensure the > confidentiality of the members' contact information. > Mr. > Peters noted in his ruling that "ACE was expressly > prohibited from repeating the previous year slate > mailer > that featured an official-looking survey with the > members' > names and addresses imprinted," yet he failed to find > that > its 2007 materials simply promoted membership > harvesting > in a different way. > > o Illegal staff endorsements of listener candidates > by > four Pacifica staff persons -- WBAI Public Affairs > Director Kathy Davis, WBAI engineer Shawn Rhodes (both > of > whom are WBAI LSB members), KPFK/WPFW program host > Gary > Null, and KPFA paid staff member Robert Knight -- in > violation of the rule forbidding such staff > endorsements > using Pacifica resources (defined specifically to > include > station mailing lists). > > All of these violations irreparably tainted the > fairness > of the entire listener candidate election. It is > inconceivable that the endorsed candidates were > unaware of > the content of the ACE mailing, since the materials > included their photos and bios, together with > quotations > from them. In addition, a whistle-blowing, > disillusioned > would-be candidate released details on how Steve > Brown, > LSB member Jamie Ross, and KPFA listener Carol Spooner > > attempted to recruit her to run as an ACE-endorsed > candidate and to obtain detailed information about her > for > packaging in the mailing. Yet Mr. Peters acted on only > a > fraction of the complaints against ACE, its staff > endorsers, and its endorsed listener candidates, and > the > few penalties exacted for their extreme misconduct > were > grossly inadequate. > > It should be noted that the use of unsubstantiated > charges > of misconduct against WBAI managers and staff - > sometimes > using racist stereotypes -- has been a consistent > tactic > of ACE and its endorsees for years. For example, in > August > 2007, ACE leader Steve Brown widely circulated > accusations > -- without any evidence whatsoever -- that Program > Director Bernard White had three years earlier > intercepted > and stolen the membership check of a candidate who was > > planning to run on Mr. Brown's slate, and that Mr. > White > had likely caused hundreds of WBAI membership checks > to go > astray. These false accusations were also made in the > service of attempting to take control of the WBAI > membership, as Mr. Brown took the occasion to urge > listeners to send their donations to his Upper West > Side > penthouse, instead of to the Post Office box that > exists > for the purpose of securing WBAI members' donations. > > Most fundamentally, the fact that Pacifica's rules > allow > those with access to large sums of money -- just as in > > government elections -- to unduly influence elections > through expensive mailings is shameful and must be > changed. The fact that Justice & Unity, with far fewer > > resources than ACE, felt forced to do a much more > modest, > one-page mailing was merely a symptom of the grossly > unlevel playing field in which we had to compete. > > 2. Serious Errors in Ballot Handling and Processing > > Local Election Supervisor Dale Ratner made several > serious > errors in ballot handling and processes that further > tainted the integrity of the election: > > o On December 7, 2007, Mr. Ratner carried out an > unwitnessed collection of ballots from the Post Office > box > that violated the established Pacifica protocol, which > > calls for pre-announcements of any ballot pickups with > an > opportunity for witnesses to be present (as was done > for > the court-ordered November 19 ballot pickup). > > On March 15, several further lapses in proper ballot > handling occurred: > > o Mr. Ratner directed that all ballots received > by > November 19 (more than 2,500) be opened and separated > from > their envelopes -- despite his total failure to give > candidates notice that this would occur (his > notification > email said only that he planned "to count for quorum > and > separate staff and listener sponsor ballots"). The > result > is that candidates were unfairly denied the right -- > always provided in previous Pacifica elections -- to > view > the opening of envelopes containing ballots. In > addition, > plaintiffs in the current suit gained a key advantage > by > being able to view the trend in voter choices before > the > date of the final vote count, for use in their legal > maneuvers. > > o Mr. Ratner broke the chain of custody of more > than > 2,500 listener ballots by leaving those ballots > unattended > in the station's conference room while he spent more > than > 30 minutes at the photocopy machine, far away from the > > conference room. Instead of locking the door to assure > > that ballots remained secure, Mr. Ratner allowed the > ballots to remain unsupervised, with anyone free to > enter > or leave the room. > > o Mr. Ratner turned over to ACE-endorsed > Pacifica > National Board member Carolyn Birden several ACE > "surveys" > and flashlight orders containing WBAI members' names > and > addresses, whichvoters had sent to Pacifica along with > > their ballots. This was done despite the strong > objections > of PNB member Bob Lederer, who noted that these > documents > were part of a mailing that had been found to violate > election rules, and that in any case, all documents > sent > by voters to the Pacifica Post Office box were the > property of Pacifica, not to be given to anyone not > officially representing WBAI or Pacifica. > > o During the November 19 ballot pickup, witness > > Carolyn Birden stated in Mr. Ratner's presence that a > large Express or Priority Mail envelope contained > about > 100 ballots and added, "I know who it's from," but did > not > reveal the sender's name. Despite Mr. Ratner's > awareness > of what should have been a cause for serious concern, > during the March 15 ballot opening he allowed the > unremarked integration of those ballots, minus their > individual envelopes, into the pile of ballots that > had > been mailed individually. Thus those ballots mailed as > a > group, which may well have been sent originally to ACE > > along with flashlight orders, giving ACE the > opportunity > to forward only those ballots favorable to itself, are > now > untraceable. (Subsequent to the ACE mailing, ACE > principal > Steve Brown sent a broad public email reminding voters > to > return their ballots to the official voting Post > Office > box, not to ACE -- implicitly acknowledging that some > voters likely had mistakenly returned their ballots to > > ACE.) > > 3. Voter Disenfranchisement Owing to Mismanaged > Delivery > of Ballots > > For whatever reason, there were severe problems in > delivering ballots to all properly enrolled voters. In > > many cases, even when voters requested replacement > ballots > -- sometimes 2, 3, and 4 times -- they did not receive > > them, or received them only just before the > (oft-extended) > deadlines. To exacerbate matters, there were only > sporadic > on-air and website announcements clearly explaining > the > procedures for obtaining and casting replacement > ballots > and notifying voters of new deadlines for voting. Some > of > the announcements made by station staff members were > inaccurate or misleading. > > Numerous would-be voters have told us that they became > > discouraged and stopped trying to obtain their > ballots. We > know of others who to this day have still not received > > their ballots, despite their diligent efforts. In > addition, during the web-streamed conference call of > the > Pacifica National Board Elections Committee Working > Group > on Wednesday, March 12, Mr. Peters announced that 22 > WBAI > voters had just that day been sent replacement ballots > > (two days before the deadline for ballots to be > RECEIVED). > Thus, while we believe that much of this was owing to > gross administrative inefficiency rather than > deliberate > action, it still had the same effect: disenfranchising > > legitimate voters. > > 4. Lawsuit Against Pacifica Is Based on Deception and > Seeks Disenfranchisement > > To be clear, our concerns should not be confused with > the > outrageous lawsuit filed by the largely ACE-supported > plaintiffs, which seeks to disenfranchise entire > sectors > of legitimate voters. The plaintiffs want Pacifica to > reject the ballots of enrolled voters that were > returned > after November 19, unless those voters were lucky > enough > to hear the sporadic announcements about how and when > to > request a replacement ballot -- and unless those > voters > made such requests by November 16. > > The plaintiffs also have the audacity to argue for the > > disqualification of the fewer than 40 voters who > qualified > for hardship waivers. Under the bylaws, such waivers > are > available to people who cannot afford the $25 > membership > fee and are unable to perform three hours of volunteer > > work but are sincerely interested in becoming members > of > WBAI. Applications for waivers were authorized to be > postmarked up to August 31, 2007, yet the plaintiffs > argue > that these voters should be disqualified because their > > applications, which were sent in a timely fashion, > were > processed after August 31, the record date in the > bylaws > for gaining voting rights. > > In addition, in yet another bid to gain unauthorized > access to the WBAI membership, the suit includes a > demand > that the judge order WBAI to give its membership list > to > one of the plaintiffs, ACE-endorsed candidate Jamie > Ross. > > One highly deceptive aspect of the plaintiffs' > original > presentation to the judge is that the day before they > filed their suit on November 16 demanding an > injunction > against ballot counting by WBAI based in part on > voters' > not yet having received ballots, Mr. Ratner had > notified > all candidates (including Mr. Ross, one of the > plaintiffs) > that the election was being extended by 8 days to > November > 23. This fact was not mentioned in the papers arguing > for > the urgency of intervening to stop the election. > > Furthermore, the suit relies on spurious allegations > such > as that "virtually all" of the voters who didn't > receive > ballots were their supporters, when in fact a large > number > of supporters of Justice & Unity also reported that > they > had not received ballots. The suit also maligns the > hard-working administrative staff of WBAI -- without > any > evidence whatsoever -- by claiming that this > falsely-claimed one-sided withholding of ballots was > probably caused by staff who "changed the zip code or > otherwise altered the addresses of qualified voters > whom > they knew to be their political opponents so that > their > ballots could not be delivered." Their court filing > stated > that they opposed extending the relief they sought > (extra > time to obtain and cast a ballot) to any voters who > had > the misfortune to be out of the station's very flawed > information loop about replacement ballots before > November > 16. > > We want to state unequivocally: We insist that the > votes > of ALL qualified voters cast by the final deadline > (March > 23) be counted. Extending the balloting deadline was > absolutely crucial to at least attempting to remedy > the > chronic administrative problems in delivering ballots > on > time and in communicating clearly to the listenership > when > and how they could obtain and cast replacement > ballots. We > agree with the judge's January 24 ruling in this case: > > "The defendants [Pacifica election officials] shall > not > count the ballots of the WBAI Delegate election until > all > qualified voters who have not received ballots are > given > ballots and are provided with a reasonable opportunity > to > cast them." That means regardless of when they > requested > those ballots. > > 5. Urgently Needed Remedies > > Justice & Unity has worked diligently and > constructively > within the structures of Pacifica to rectify many of > the > problems that have arisen with this election cycle -- > including each and every issue documented in this > letter. > But we must report that while some of our efforts > have > succeeded, others have failed. This long list of acts > of > serious and mostly unaddressed campaign violations, > tainted ballot handling, and administrative > mismanagement > leading to the disenfranchisement of legitimate voters > has > severely undermined the integrity of the entire > election > process. > > Therefore we call for the following urgent steps: > > 1. Before ballots are counted, all PIN numbers > must be > cross-checked with names -- with special scrutiny of > similar-appearing names and a comparison of listener > and > staff lists to ensure that no duplicate ballots are > counted. > > 2. The National Election Supervisor must count > ALL > ballots of qualified WBAI voters cast by the final > deadline of March 23. > > 3. Given that by far the greatest harm to the > integrity of the elections process was caused by ACE's > > extreme rule violations, the fairest remedy for all of > the > manifold resulting problems would be reballoting -- > which > must be financed by ACE. Already, ACE appears to be in > > arrears with WBAI for failing to turn over -- as > ordered > by the National Election Supervisor -- the revenues it > > illegimately gained from its WBAI membership mailing. > Now > it needs to be held accountable for the damage it has > caused the Pacifica Foundation's election process. > > Looking to the future, Pacifica must embark on a > thoroughgoing evaluation of the entire election > process > from top to bottom. In addition to solving the many > administrative problems that have plagued the voter > lists > for years, there must be clear rules, enforcement > standards, and processes, as well as transparency of > decision-making. Most importantly, Pacifica must > remove > the corrupting influence of private financing from its > > board elections. > > Without the involvement of the Pacifica community, > these > problems will persist. We call upon everyone to speak > out > and become involved to ensure that what happened in > this > election cycle never happens again. > > From the Justice & Unity listener candidates, > Marian Borenstein > Tibby Brooks > Omowale Clay > Lisa Davis > Wellington Echegaray > Sara Flounders > Bok-Keem Nyerere > Marianela Tricoche > > Note: For more information on many of these issues, > visit > http://www.justiceunity.org . > > > First, I cannot be free while my neighbor is wearing chains. > Second, I cannot know happiness while others are forced to live in despair. > Third, I cannot know health if plague and famine thrive outside my door. And last, but not least, I cannot expect to know peace if war rides forward under my flag and with my consent. > -- What Next: A Memoir Toward World Peace - Walter Mosley > > www.ncadp.org www.wbai.org www.hiphopmusic.com www.afropoets.net > > Stars twinkle even as the sun monopolizes your vision... faybiene miranda ================================================