Bachelorette DeAnna Pappas Weds Stephen Stagliano!

DeAnna Pappas is a bachelorette no more. She wed beau Stephen Stagliano yesterday. She has been known as one of the girls Bachelor Brad Womack turned down and The Bachelorette who broke Jason Mesnick?s heart but now DeAnna Pappas can officially be called a wife. Yep Pappas married Stephen Stagliano in a Palmetto, GA surrounded by friends and family. Us Weekly is reporting that the now Mr. and Mrs. Stagliano tied on the knot in an area that is known as the Hamptons of Georgia. Simply put it was fancy shmancy. The magazine also reports that the couple said they are very happy and super excited to share their special day with their loves ones, blah blah blah. I would hope they happy if they are getting married, just sayin. The bride wore a Disney Bridal gown, yes you read that correctly, with a birdcage veil and cowboy boots. It sounds like quite the interesting get up to me. I can?t wait to see pictures of what she looked like. I have a feeling I won?t have to wait too long either, something tells me US Weekly will have it in their next issue. DeAnna and Stephen were introduced back [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/ZgK0moiuDGw/

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Top NATO commander to recommend Libya mission end (AP)

BRUSSELS ? NATO's top commander said Friday he will recommend the end of the alliance's seven-month mission in Libya.

Adm. Jim Stavridis made the announcement on his Facebook page ahead of a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, the alliance's governing body. The council, which comprises envoys from all 28 member countries, is deciding on when and how to end its bombing campaign in Libya a day after Moammar Gadhafi's death.

"As (supreme allied commander) I will be recommending the conclusion of this mission to the NAC in a few hours," Stavridis wrote. "A good day for NATO, a great day for the people of Libya."

NATO officials confirmed that the post was authentic.

The council will also take into account the wishes of Libya's new government and of the United Nations, under whose mandate NATO carried out its operations.

Officials said the council would likely endorse a proposal to gradually wind down the operation within the next week or two, during which air patrols would continue to monitor developments on the ground.

NATO earlier said its commanders were not aware that Gadhafi was in a convoy that NATO bombed as it fled Sirte. In a statement Friday, the alliance said an initial Thursday morning strike was aimed at a convoy of approximately 75 armed vehicles leaving Sirte, the Libyan city defended by Gadhafi loyalists. One vehicle was destroyed, which resulted in the convoy's dispersal.

Another jet then engaged approximately 20 vehicles that were driving at great speed toward the south, destroying or damaging about 10 of them.

"We later learned from open sources and allied intelligence that Gadhafi was in the convoy and that the strike likely contributed to his capture," the statement said.

Intelligence gleaned during surveillance flights around Sirte on Thursday indicated that a "command and control group, including senior military leaders" were attempting to flee from the town, Cameron's spokesman Steve Field said.

"There was a strike, there was damage to the convoy, the Free Libya Fighters then moved in ? as to what happened next that is not entirely clear," he said.

After Libya's former rebels killed Gadhafi on Thursday, officials said they expected the aerial operation to end very soon.

The success of the military operation has helped reinvigorate the Cold War alliance and polished the reputation of France and Britain, the two countries that drove it forward. Analysts attributed its success to the fact that NATO remained steadfast over the summer during a long and grinding stalemate against Gadhafi loyalists and avoided the temptation to send ground troops into Libya.

NATO's Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the end of the campaign "has now moved much closer." He has also hailed the success of the mission, saying that it demonstrated that the alliance continues to play an "indispensable" role in confronting current and future security challenges.

NATO warplanes have flown about 26,000 sorties, including over 9,600 strike missions. They destroyed Libya's air defenses and over 1,000 tanks, vehicles and guns, as well as Gadhafi's command and control networks.

The daily airstrikes finally broke the stalemate that developed after Gadhafi's initial attempts failed to crush the rebellion that broke out in February. In August, the rebels began advancing on Tripoli, with the NATO warplanes providing close air support and destroying any attempts by the defenders to block them.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday that "the operation has reached its end." But how to draw down the campaign will be decided "with our allies and also with input from the (interim government)."

But in London, Britain suggested that NATO may not immediately complete its mission in Libya, wary over the potential reprisal attacks by remaining Gadhafi loyalists.

"NATO will now meet to decide when the mission is complete, and once we are satisfied that there is no further threat to the Libyan civilians and the Libyans are content, NATO will then arrange to wind up the operation," British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond told BBC radio.

Sarkozy, Cameron and President Barack Obama discussed the NATO campaign in a video conference late Thursday.

"They discussed the need to maintain the NATO-led operation while a threat remained to civilian life," a spokeswoman for Cameron's office said, on customary condition of anonymity.

___

Associated Press writers Elaine Ganley in Paris and David Stringer in London contributed to this report.

___

Follow Slobodan Lekic on Twitter at http://twitter.com/slekich

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111021/ap_on_re_eu/eu_nato_libya

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La. Gov. Bobby Jindal wins re-election easily (AP)

BATON ROUGE, La. ? Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Saturday easily coasted to a second term, winning in a landslide election after failing to attract any well-known or deep-pocketed opposition.

The 40-year-old Republican overwhelmed nine competitors in the open primary, where a candidate wins the race outright if he or she receives more than 50 percent of the vote. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Jindal had received about 66 percent of the total vote.

His closest competitor, Tara Hollis, a Democrat from north Louisiana, garnered nearly 18 percent of the total vote. All of the other candidates were in single digits.

"I will use every day, every hour of these next four years to make Louisiana the very best that we can be. I don't believe in resting on our past accomplishments. I don't believe in taking time off," Jindal told a packed hotel ballroom of supporters in Baton Rouge.

Jindal piled up $15 million in campaign cash from around the nation and attracted no Democratic challengers with statewide name recognition or fundraising heft. He's had consistently high approval ratings since taking office in 2008.

His win comes amid the virtual collapse of the Democratic Party's clout in the state. In the current term, Republicans have gained control of all seven statewide elected posts and both chambers of the legislature. Hollis was an outsider to the political establishment and was unable to drum up the cash needed to challenge Jindal or mount a big-ticket advertising competition.

The first Indian-American governor in the United States, Jindal is considered by some a possible presidential contender in the future. He recently published a book and regularly appears on national news shows, but he ruled out a 2012 run.

Still, his brand of conservatism and refusal to raise taxes has resonated outside the state. His new term begins in January.

The race that received more attention in Louisiana was the one for lieutenant governor, because the officeholder is next in line should Jindal step down because of his national political ambitions.

Incumbent Jay Dardenne, who took office after a special election last year, had 53 percent of the ballot in defeating Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser with 47 percent , results showed with 99 percent of precincts reporting. Like Jindal, Nungesser was a vocal critic of the federal response to the massive Gulf oil spill.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111023/ap_on_el_gu/us_louisiana_governor

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Canon Was Shooting 14 Pricey Frames Per Second in 1984 [Canon]

Canon recently announced its rather impressive 1D X DSLR. The photographic monster shoots 14FPS. Impressive right? Not according to the Canon F-1 from 1984. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/WFZxoaXup08/canon-was-shooting-14-pricey-frames-per-second-in-1984

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FBI official calls for secure, alternate Internet (AP)

BALTIMORE ? The computer networks that control power plants and financial systems will never be secure enough, so government and corporate leaders should consider developing a new, highly secure alternative Internet, a top FBI official said Thursday.

Shawn Henry, the FBI's executive assistant director, said critical systems are under increasing threat from terror groups looking to buy or lease the computer skills and malware needed to launch a cyber attack.

In an AP interview Thursday, Henry said jihadist militants looking to harm the U.S. can tap organized crime groups who are willing to sell their services and abilities to attack computer systems. He would not say which terror group or whether any insurgent networks have actually been able to acquire the high-tech capabilities.

But he said one way to protect critical utility and financial systems would be to set up a separate, highly secure Internet.

Henry sketched out the Internet idea to a crowd at a conference of the International Systems Security Association, saying that cyberthreats will always continue to evolve and outpace efforts to defend networks against them.

"We can't tech our way out of the cyberthreat," Henry said. "The challenge with the Internet is you don't know who's launching the attack." A key step, he said, would be to develop networks where anonymity is not an option and only known and trusted employees have access.

The vulnerabilities of critical systems such as power plants, the electric grid or Wall Street were a prime topic during the conference, reflecting growing concerns by U.S. officials.

Government security officials say cyber attackers are using the Internet to steal money, ferret out classified secrets and technology and disturb or destroy important infrastructure, from the electrical grid and telecommunications networks to nuclear power plants and transportation systems.

And while Henry described a system for the future, the head of the Pentagon's Cyber Command warned that the attacks against critical systems are increasingly carrying destructive viruses or malware.

Gen. Keith Alexander, who also is director of the National Security Agency, said the Pentagon and intelligence agencies must do more to protect their computer systems and coordinate with private companies to safeguard public networks.

And when a computer network is infected, someone should be able to disconnect it, he said.

"Is it the FBI? Is it the NSA? Is it the military or is it the ISPs ? the Internet service providers? But somebody can turn that device off," Alexander said during a conference of the International Systems Security Association.

Alexander added that the Defense Department is finalizing policies that will determine what the military can do in the event of a cyber attack.

The Defense Department has set up a trial program to share cyberthreat data with some large military contractors in order to prevent intrusions. The Homeland Security Department is looking at that model to protect power plants, financial networks or other key systems.

Alexander said that effort may need government action but that Homeland Security must lead it, with reviews to ensure the protections of civil liberties and privacy.

He said it's no longer good enough to try to monitor all networks at the Pentagon or across the government and then block the intrusions as they are detected. Cybersecurity experts note that it can sometimes take months to detect that someone has gotten in.

Instead, Alexander said the Defense Department is planning a drastic reduction in the number of routes into the network, so they can be better monitored and intrusions can be blocked in real time.

He also said defense and intelligence agencies will move to cloud computing, which would use highly secure, encrypted banks of remote computers to store data ? much like people store photos or email in popular online programs.

Doing that, said Alexander, will allow officials to better see and block any threats trying to get into government systems. He also noted that commanders used cloud computing in Iraq, which allowed the military in intelligence officials to more quickly share and disseminate information to troops on the front lines who needed it.

In related action Thursday, the DHS announced that a former executive at the North American Electric Reliability Corp., or NERC, has been named the new deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity.

Mark Weatherford was the vice president and chief security officer at NERC and before that was the chief information security officer for the state of California. He is a former naval cryptologic officer.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111020/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_pentagon_cyberattacks

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Pile of Arduinos hooked up in Rube Goldeberg-esque chain reaction (video)

Arduino Chain Reaction
All right, so technically this isn't a Rube Goldberg machine (it doesn't actually perform a task, merely loops endlessly), but the spirit is the same. Students in the Media Interaction and Design program at the University of Applied Sciences FH Johanneum in Graz, Austria strung together a pile of Arduinos to create a chain reaction of unbelievably geeky proportions. Seriously, you just need to watch the video -- you know you're in for a treat when you get Homer Simpson, Darth Vader and Hello Kitty in under one minute. Don't waste any more time here, hit that read more link and watch more Arduino's than you can shake a stick at work in tandem.

Continue reading Pile of Arduinos hooked up in Rube Goldeberg-esque chain reaction (video)

Pile of Arduinos hooked up in Rube Goldeberg-esque chain reaction (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 03:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/20/pile-of-arduinos-hooked-up-in-rube-goldeberg-esque-chain-reactio/

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GOP speed daters ready to go steady with Romney? (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Michele Bachmann's moment came and went. Chris Christie was a no-show. Rick Perry faded. Now folks are waiting for the Herman Cain boomlet to go bust.

Could it be that Republican voters are done speed-dating and ready to go steady with Mitt Romney?

Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and other what-about-me candidates are hoping that the meh-about-Mitt crowd may still be ready to check out someone else.

It's been that kind of year, after all, with first one candidate and then another capturing the party's attention ? for a time.

Remember when Bachmann surged to victory in the Iowa straw poll? When Christie's big tease that he might join the race captivated the party? When Perry still pulsed with Texas swagger?

Why not check out me next? the long-shot candidates reason.

After all, Santorum has been looking tough lately, Gingrich has turned in some thoughtful debate performances, Ron Paul's got a new ad blitz, and Jon Huntsman's pushing hard in New Hampshire.

And Romney, even with a big bump in his favorability ratings of late, still hasn't been able to generate much enthusiasm among GOP voters.

Republican strategist Mark McKinnon thinks GOP voters will "keep on looking right up until prom night."

"They like shopping around and the alternatives to Romney in theory, but when it gets to be more than just about lunch, the voters so far have been disappointed and let down," McKinnon says.

The idea that Republicans may still be willing to look around is what motivates Santorum, Huntsman and other candidates who are polling in the single digits to head out the door each morning to yet another town hall, Rotary club or fundraiser. They're vigorously challenging the top-tier candidates, sniping at President Barack Obama and keeping the debate stages crowded.

"I don't need a poll to tell us that we're moving up," Huntsman enthuses in New Hampshire.

Gingrich, who's kept his focus trained on what he considers Obama's shortcomings, has a new ad offering himself as "the right candidate at just the right time."

Paul is plowing $2 million into early primary state ads that dismiss his GOP rivals as big spenders beholden to Wall Street.

Santorum, whose tough talk has made him stand out in recent debates, is questioning Cain's credentials as a true conservative. And Perry, hoping to regain his stride, has been particularly aggressive in going after Romney in recent debates.

But Cain, whose popularity surged in recent weeks, isn't ready to cede the spotlight ? even if he's been widely dismissed as just the latest "flavor of the month."

Cain's comeback: "Haagen-Dazs black walnut tastes good all the time."

Huntsman, a former Utah governor, and Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, are the only two GOP candidates who remain unknown to large numbers of Republicans, and that means they've got the widest opening to change opinions.

So it's sort of good news that 53 percent of Republicans don't have an opinion about Huntsman, and 48 percent don't have an opinion about Santorum.

Just about everybody's already got an opinion about Gingrich, by contrast. But the former House speaker has made some headway recently in shifting people from the negative to positive column.

Democratic strategist Bob Shrum, a veteran of multiple presidential campaigns, thinks Cain is destined to fade. The former pizza executive and his 9-9-9 tax plan have been coming under tough scrutiny since voters sent his stock rising.

But Shrum throws cold water on the idea that any of the GOP also-rans will be the next big thing, supplanting Cain.

"There are very limited outcomes here," Shrum says. "If Perry gets a bounce in the next week or two, then he's alive again and he could become a real alternative.

"In the absence of that," says Shrum, "Romney has to be the nominee ? unless the party completely loses its mind."

___

Associated Press writer Philip Elliott and Deputy Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

___

Nancy Benac can be reached at http://twitter.com/nbenac.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111021/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_speed_dating

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"Some Girls" reissue to include unreleased track (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? An upcoming reissue of the classic Rolling Stones album "Some Girls" will include a recently discovered track which will also be released as a single.

"No Spare Parts," which was recorded in Paris and was recently discovered by producer Don Was for inclusion on the new editions of "Some Girls" due out on November 21, tells the story of a trip from Los Angeles to San Antonio.

It features Mick Jagger on electric piano, Keith Richards on acoustic piano, Ron Wood on pedal steel guitar, Charlie Watts on drums and Bill Wyman on bass, Universal Republic Records said Thursday.

The label said the song, first recorded by Chris Kimsey in early 1978, features a "country guitar twang, subtle groove and soulful storytelling," describing it as "a powerful and poignant acoustic tune."

"Some Girls," a 1978 release that featured "Miss You" and "Beast of Burden," went a long way toward reestablishing

the Stones' then-flagging youthful appeal. It reached No. 1 on the U.S. charts and No. 2 in the United Kingdom.

"No Spare Parts" is slated for a world premiere on October 20 on the "Ken Bruce" show on BBC Radio 2, and will be available the same day on U.S. platforms beginning at 10 a.m.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111020/music_nm/us_rollingstones

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Gaming American Democracy: A Perfect Storm in Which ...

by John Dean

The Center for Media and Democracy is re-posting this article from John Dean at Justia's Verdict website as part of our efforts to expose the American Legislative Exchange Council. The original can be found here.


One of the most stunning results of the Republicans? victory sweep in the midterm 2010 elections (which made Ohio Republican Congressman John Boehner Speaker of the House of Representatives, while the Democrats retained control of the Senate) was the GOP?s taking control of 19 state legislatures. Not since 1928 had Republicans held such power over state government, and since then, they have not been reluctant about using their power.

GOP state legislators, and governors, have fervently pushed for the adoption of their conservative social and political agenda, which encompasses everything from severely limiting women?s rights, to privatizing government functions while breaking public service unions, to removing health-and-safety and other regulations of businesses, to repealing (or refusing to raise) fundamental taxes that are needed to operate state government. In many states, Republicans have jammed through their radical laws with only the thinnest of majorities.

As I mentioned in my opening column of this series, it was when Wisconsin?s teachers, firefighters, and policemen protested the dictatorial-style ploys of Governor Scott Walker that broader public attention became focused on these efforts. It was also quickly noticed that other GOP-controlled states were making similar moves, with many conservative legislators and governors adopting nearly identical legislation. This, of course, was not a coincidence.

The orchestrated moves in GOP-controlled states were the work of a number of conservative organizations that had long been devoted to imposing a conservative pro-business agenda on the nation through state laws. Leading the effort was the American Legislative Exchange Council. The 2010 elections, unfortunately, had proved to be a perfect storm for this organization and its conservative partners.

Exposing the Shadowy and Secretive ALEC

The American Legislative Exchange Council, known as ALEC -- like countless other such 501(c)(3) and (4) non-profit conservative charitable organizations -- has an intentionally dull-sounding name, for conservatives prefer to operate behind closed doors, secretly, without attracting attention. I first noticed ALEC during the Bush II years when I read a Mother Jones article about what was described as ?one of the nation?s most powerful -- and least known -- corporate lobbies.? Even then, ALEC had already been ?ghost writing? state laws for nearly a decade. Yet I?d not heard of ALEC before. It had no website, and I could find little reported information about its work.

It was Wisconsin?s pugnacious Governor Walker, however, who turned a spotlight on ALEC, which today has a website, where it proudly proclaims its purported non-partisan allegiance to ?Limited Government, Free Markets, Federalism? -- code words well-known to every conservative for a pro-corporation and business-friendly economic agenda, which is why big corporations have provided robust funding for ALEC. (While ALEC has a few Democratic state legislators as members, they are the ?blue dog? breed, and might as well be Republicans.)

ALEC?s work was nicely described by Mother Jones: ?With more than 2,400 [conservative, my addition] state lawmakers as members -- roughly one third of the nation?s total -- ALEC is a year-round clearinghouse for business-friendly legislation. Its nine task forces, each composed of legislators and representatives [read: corporate lobbyists and lawyers] from private industry, sit down together to draft model bills on issues ranging from agriculture to school vouchers, which are then introduced in state legislatures across the country. ALEC gives business a direct hand in writing bills that are considered in state assemblies nationwide, ... supplying precooked McBills to state lawmakers. Since most legislators are in session only part of the year and often have no staff to do independent research, they?re quick to swallow what ALEC serves up.?

In July 2011, whistleblowers with inside access to ALEC provided the Center for Media and Democracy, a non-profit investigative reporting organization, with copies of some 800 ALEC legislative proposals that had been introduced in state legislatures throughout the nation, and related material. CMD created a website devoted to making this information public and explaining the work of this secretive organization, ALEC Exposed. Joining the CMD effort to expose this organization, The Nation devoted much of its July 12, 2011, issue to ALEC.

ALEC?s Massive Funding Influences

ALEC?s corporate funding is extensive, and when viewed with the efforts of its sponsors, massive. Based on CMD?s study of ALEC?s publicly available IRS tax returns, 98 percent of its funding comes from corporations and over the past three years, it has raised over $20 million -- a sum with which you can develop and promote a lot of state legislation. According to Common Cause, ALEC?s corporate sponsors have further invested, during the last decade, more than $370 million in state elections, not including countless millions for and against state ballot measures, receiving a remarkable return on their investment in 2010. (For those interested in more detail, the CMD?s material at ALEC Exposed, and Common Cause?s report ?Legislating Under the Influence,? provide a solid grounding in ALEC?s operations. (They also provide good reasons to contribute to those non-profit undertakings that do operate in the general public?s interest, by trying to keep an eye on ALEC and like-thinking operations.)

ALEC?s business-friendly laws are never identified by their true corporate sponsorship, and some have only been identifiable since the recent leaks to CMD. When NPR?s Terry Gross interviewed ALEC?s current national chairman (this post rotates annually) Noble Ellington, a Louisiana state representative, he was not troubled whatsoever by the fact that ALEC?s laws were written by unidentified corporations, since they went through the legislative process which was transparent and sought public comment. (Of course, until recently, no one knew that corporations -- rather than the representatives and their staffs -- were doing the work for the legislatures, which is not an insignificant detail.)

On balance, ALEC has been amazingly successful in accomplishing its never-ending goals on behalf of conservatives, as well as its corporate agenda, at the state level. It has written thousands of laws that benefit corporate America, and conservative causes -- often at the expense of the greater public good, and more often, unknown to most Americans. Needless to say, this process is certainly not an instance of government?s serving the general public?s interest. Rather, it is an instance of corporate money legally corrupting democracy, with its outsized influence, to obtain its special interests -- the public be damned.

For example, ALEC has been very busy working to change the nature of representative democracy by diminishing the power of the American people at the ballot box. ALEC seeks to use is funding power to disenfranchise people who are likely to vote against the conservative social agenda or against corporate interests.

Gaming the Ability to Vote

It should be understood that the conservative call for freedom and liberty is really a call for their brand of freedom and liberty, and for a world where evangelical Christianity dominates the social and political order. Conservatives (economic and religious, who have joined forces to empower each other?s interests) want to make radical changes to American democracy, and they are succeeding because little attention is being paid to their tactics. Before Scott Walker drew attention to ALEC, it operated openly, but in the shadows.

Democracy is fundamentally and traditionally dependent on men and women who are of good will, and who believe in majority rule. When a majority decides, that decision prevails?or ought to prevail?until a new majority sees fit to change the rules. Most Americans play the game fairly, and accept majority rule as a given, and the American tradition. Contemporary conservatives, however, have little interest in such Queensberry-type standards. They have problems winning at the ballot box, for most Americans reject their agenda -- an agenda that would remove the barriers between church and state, and leave it to the marketplace to regulate multibillion-dollar corporations, created by the state. Conservatives, increasingly, view those who do not exploit ambiguity and the unwritten traditions of our system to their advantage as fools -- people who can be taken advantage of, and whose ignorance and na?vet? are, in fact, being exploited.

The Nation writer John Nichols prepared a brief video after he completed his analysis of ALEC?s secret programs, where he does a wonderful job of explaining how ALEC operates and why they do so, as well as their current efforts to (1) suppress voting; (2) eliminate direct democracy, by which the American people have traditionally reached their collective political and social goals; and (3) change existing laws that once restricted the presence of unlimited corporate money in our political system, fostering rulings like Citizens United, which has changed the playing field for the GOP, giving it even deeper pockets from which to control politics and government. (In less than three minutes, John provides a capsule overview.)

Others have started writing about the GOP?s efforts to disenfranchise Americans who are not likely to support them. For example, writing in Rolling Stone magazine, Ari Berman addressed ?The GOP War on Voting.? He found ALEC to be the force behind legislation in 38 states ?designed to impede voters at every step of the electoral process.? And, so far, a dozen GOP-controlled states have approved such new obstacles to voting.

Former President Bill Clinton has spoken out about this concerted GOP undertaking. ?Why is all of this going on?? the former President asked rhetorically. ?This is not rocket science. They are trying to make the 2012 electorate look more like the 2010 [Tea Party] electorate than the 2008 [Obama] electorate.? He added, ?There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the Jim Crow burdens on voting, the determined effort to limit the franchise that we see today.?

Ari Berman?s Rolling Stone analysis found the GOP efforts and their new legal successes in disenfranchising Democratic voters to be focused on four areas: (1) Creating barriers to registrations that effectively put groups like the League of Women Voters and Rock the Vote out of business, by imposing impossible time restrictions and onerous bureaucratic requirements; (2) Cutting back early voting availability, which had increased the turnouts of demographics that favored Democrats, such as working people and minorities; (3) Disenfranchising ex-felons, to whom states like Florida and Iowa had restored the right to vote, and who are disproportionately African Americans and Hispanics, so they tend to vote Democratic; and (4) Requiring photo identification to vote, which affects college students, the elderly, African Americans, and Hispanics. This push for voter IDs has been accompanied by measures making it more difficult to obtain such identification.

In a nation that has long been lackadaisical about exercising the voting franchise, these restrictive hurdles aimed at actual and potential Democratic voters will affect untold millions -- possibly, a sufficient number to deny President Obama reelection in 2012, while at the same time further entrenching Republicans in local, state, and national elective offices. (The National Conference of State Legislatures, which is a truly non-partisan organization, provides up-to-date information about these and others legislative activities in state assemblies. But the NCSL merely tells what is happening, not why, nor what its impact has been, or will likely be.)

Fortunately, these GOP-concocted revisions to American voting rights are being challenged by the ACLU and a number of Democratic groups. In particular, Congressional Democrats are calling on the Department of Justice to employ its powers under the Voting Rights Act where there is clear discrimination. Much of this action to deny Americans the franchise has been undertaken because of gaps in the law, or even support from the law, as with the U.S Supreme Court?s 2008 ruling in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, which authorized voter identification in Indiana. But where the Court gave the states an inch, ALEC is now pushing for a mile.

Resolving the legality of the barrage of new election laws will be costly, and will take decades. Meanwhile, Republicans will have gained and taken their unfair advantage, which will likely only encourage them to further game the system. It?s the way they now play the game, and while it may be nasty and even un-American, they could care less, as long as they are winning.

Republicans simply rely on the reality that an overwhelming majority of Americans do not know what is going on; that the well-funded Republican public-relations barrage targeting Americans will keep the American people focused on less than vital issues; and that the corporate underwriters who fund this devious behavior believe they are doing what corporation are suppose to do, which is to make profits, so they simply laugh all the way to their off-shore banks.

No one knows how this will all play out, but as those who are gathering to occupy Wall Street and other public squares understand, this is not the way it should be. Conservatives and their corporate backers should understand that democracy is fragile, and if they persist, it will break.

Source: http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/10/11077/gaming-american-democracy-perfect-storm-which-republicans-disenfranchise-voters-w

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Wilson tricks out his Heisman resume (AP)

Go deep, Kellen.

If Boise State is serious about helping Kellen Moore win the Heisman Trophy, the Broncos need to show off their quarterback's versatility. Throw the passer a pass or two.

It seems to be a trend in college football these days. Or maybe it would be better described as a gimmick, sort of like putting up a website promoting a player.

Stanford's Andrew Luck already has his highlight-reel catch, a one-handed, toe-dragging sideline grab for 13 yards in a 45-19 victory over UCLA a couple weeks ago.

Wisconsin's Russell Wilson made his cameo as a receiver Saturday. Wilson's catch was more routine, but it produced a 25-yard touchdown during a 59-7 rout of Indiana.

Luck and Wilson are worthy Heisman contenders without the trick plays.

Luck, the overwhelming preseason favorite and virtual lock to be the first player taken in the NFL draft, has thrown for 1,719 yards and 18 touchdowns for No. 7 Stanford.

Wilson, the North Carolina State transfer, leads the nation in passer rating and has accounted for 13 touchdowns, including the TD grab from running back Montee Ball.

But with more than 900 voters, the Heisman balloting has a lot of popularity contest in it and schools are always looking for ways to make their stars standout.

So it helps to have something different ? such as, say, a quarterback catching a pass ? on that resume.

Auburn did it last year with Cam Newton, throwing the towering quarterback a fade in the corner of the end zone for a first-half touchdown in a 51-31 victory against Mississippi.

Maybe you notice a trend?

These plays tend to be pulled off in games where the team with the star has a clear advantage. They also tend to be run early to avoid accusations of trying to embarrass the opponent. Still, seeing a wide-open Wilson haul in that floater and jog into the end zone, it did feel a bit orchestrated.

"We were 10 for 10 during the week on it, so I knew it was going to be a touchdown," Wilson said after the Badgers' latest blowout.

A couple of other Heisman contenders added to their resumes Saturday in more organic fashion.

Alabama running back Trent Richardson had a career game in the Tide's 52-7 win at Ole Miss, with 183 yards rushing and four touchdowns. The last score was a 76-yard run that will go down as one of the best of the season and be the centerpiece of Richardson's Heisman campaign.

Richardson blew through several Rebels at the line, sprinted into the open, then used a stutter-step to collapse the last defender with a chance to keep him from the end zone.

The run prompted longtime Mississippi sports writer Rick Cleveland of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson to tweet: "Trent Richardson reminds me of Walter Payton. There, I've said it."

Cleveland knows a thing or two about Sweetness. He covered the Bears' Hall of Fame running back in high school and in college at Jackson State.

When it comes to jaw-dropping plays, Clemson receiver Sammy Watkins might lead the country.

The freshman receiver had the best game of his already spectacular career, gaining a school-record 345 all-purpose yards in the Tigers' 56-45 victory against Maryland.

The last of Watkins' three touchdowns was an 89-yard kickoff return that came right after the Terps had regained the lead and put Clemson ahead to stay in the fourth quarter.

Watkins has a chance to be the first freshman to win the Heisman.

As for Moore, the senior is having another tremendous season. He's thrown 21 touchdown passes for No. 5 Boise State.

But the Broncos will be harder to find on television this season in the Mountain West Conference. No more of those Friday night league games on ESPN they so often played in the Western Athletic Conference. It might be time for some of that signature Boise State trickery.

Moore caught a 7-yard TD pass against in a 49-20 victory against Louisiana Tech last year, on the way to finishing fourth in the Heisman voting.

He might need to work on his post patterns this year.

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One non-Heisman voters, halfway Heisman ballot ? with the understanding that Luck and Wilson haven't played enough big games yet to make the top three.

1) Trent Richardson, Alabama. Fourth in nation in rushing and second in touchdowns, playing in an offense that doesn't pose a great threat throwing the ball.

2) Sammy Watkins, Clemson. He's had huge performances when the Tigers have needed them to win competitive games.

3) Robert Griffin III, Baylor. The difference between Baylor playing in a bowl and Baylor winning three games, is RGIII.

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QUICK HITS

_Even if Boise State declines the Big East's overtures and stays in the MWC, it will be hard to make a case that the newly announced Conference USA-MWC merger deserves an automatic BCS bid. CUSA teams are 9-23 out of conference against FBS opponents this season. The MWC, not including TCU which is leaving for the Big 12 next season, is 10-14. Boise State has five of those wins. Nevada, Hawaii and Fresno State, WAC teams that will join the MWC next season, are 2-9 against FBS opponents.

_Ohio State beat Illinois 17-7 while throwing four passes and completing one. It was a key win for the Buckeyes (4-3), who are looking to salvage a tumultuous season and play No. 4 Wisconsin next.

_Terrible news Sunday for South Carolina star Marcus Lattimore, who was lost for the season with a left knee injury. The Gamecocks still control the SEC East race because of that early season victory against Georgia, but the Bulldogs' path to SEC title game looks most manageable.

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LOOKING AHEAD

Time to find out just how good Wisconsin is. The fourth-ranked Badgers play their first true road game on Saturday at No. 15 Michigan State. They follow that trip with on to Ohio State.

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Follow Ralph D. Russo at http://Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111016/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_instant_replay

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