Joanna Macy

Nov 11, 2008

Dear People,

Like many of you I'm still trying to believe what happened last week. Even though I have issues with some of Barack Obama's stated views, especially in foreign policy, the miracle is that he was elected--and by a landslide. I hadn't dared to hope for that. And now each day's news and photos still deliver such a charge, I hardly know how to speak my gladness--except to repeat how grateful I am that I've lived long enough to see this.

My heart is moved by so many dimensions of this amazing moment in our history. My heart is moved by Barack and Michele's courage from the start. And by the hundreds of thousands of women, men and youngsters who worked tirelessly for months in every corner of the country, many taking leave from jobs and school to devote their efforts full time. And by the massive, joyous celebrations that continue to erupt. This outpouring is more than about winning; I feel it coming from the soul of our nation, even showing me that our country has a soul--a hunger for decency that those who wielded power have for so long not perceived or understood.

Right now I am feeling especially thankful for a diligent bunch who, over the last four years, set themselves the task of determining and proving how voting machines were rigged to allow the theft of the 2004 election, so that it wouldn't happen again. They call themselves Velvet Revolution, and for the breathtaking story of how, in the nick of time, they brought their accumulated evidence to legal action to compel testimony from Karl Rove and his key operative Mike Connell, see their web site www.velvetrevolution.us and www.rovecybergate.com.

Last Saturday Harriett Crosby described their goal: "We at Velvet Revolution were running defense for democracy, tackling those who were coming at Obama from the shadowy sidelines, people like Connell who were using secret computer IT networks to manipulate the vote count at the tabulation level. While Robert Kennedy and Greg Palast were publicizing voter disenfranchisement, intimidation, purging voter registration lists and all the visible ways of suppressing the Democratic vote, Velvet Revolution was going after the invisible corruption, election tabulation fraud."

On November 1, a Federal Judge in Akron , Ohio , studying the evidence compiled and presented by Velvet Revolution, ordered Connell to appear for a sworn deposition. Connell said he was too busy to come until after the election, but the judge insisted that he appear in person on Monday, November 3 rd--and he did. It now seems clear that, with evidence surfacing of the votes stolen in 2004, Rove, Connell and company decided that it wasn't worth the risk to manipulate another election. As voting expert Mark Crispin Miller said, "And there was Karl Rove's abrupt decision not to try to rig the outcome, a reversal he signaled Monday evening when he suddenly foretold an electoral landslide for Obama, just hours after Mike Connell, his longtime IT fixer, had been forced to answer questions, under oath in an Ohio courtroom."

In celebration and solidarity,

Joanna