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| Journalist details Bush and Co.’s follies and fraud By Katie Stone For the Desert Sage The now infamous outcome of the 2000 presidential elections was the result of a series of outrageous events, inside deals and dirty politics. That was the message internationally renowned investigative journalist Greg Palast gave a standing-room only crowd at Congregation Nahalat Shalom on March 30. Palast was in Albuquerque on tour with his new book, a revised edition of the New York Times Bestseller, “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.” Palast broke the story about Florida’s Secretary of State’s office receiving written instructions from Gov. Jeb Bush -- President George W. Bush’s younger brother -- to purge the voter roles of all convicted felons, as well as suspected felons, there by denying some 60,000 people their constitutional right to vote. Palast displayed copies of the purged lists, which included the race of the voters (the majority of whom were listed as “black”), as well as conviction dates that had not yet occurred. Palast also told the audience of more than 200 people about the connections between several corporations and President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, including their ties to the Bin Laden family, the oil industry and the Carlisle Group. Describing in detail the profit motive behind the war in Iraq, Palast encouraged the audience to continue questioning the mainstream news, and to remain strong in its opposition to the Bush Administration’s current policies. Palast, an American, has been living in London for several years, working with The Guardian newspaper and the BBC. He and his family recently relocated to New York City, in part to protect him from the unusually broad and severe libel laws which govern the UK, he said. Born Jewish but not currently practicing, Palast congratulated Nahalat Shalom’s Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb for getting him back into a synagogue after so many years. The sold-out event was a fundraiser for KUNM-FM radio and was recorded for future airing on the station. For more information about Greg Palast, check out his website. | |||||||||
