-Caveat Lector- Harris testimony called 'laughable' <http://www.msnbc.com:80/news/514476.asp?cp1=1> Chair of panel investigating alleged voting irregularities speaks out after hearing TALLAHASEE, Jan. 12 The testimony of Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris was described as "laughable" by the chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on Friday, following the second and final day of the panel's hearing on allegations of voting irregularities in the state that decided the presidency. CHAIRMAN MARY FRANCES BERRY and other members of the eight-member panel accused Harris of obstruction in fielding questions about the election. Members accused Harris of presiding over a "disaster" and trying to shift blame to others. Panel members said Harris failed to help county elections supervisors and they criticized her for disparities in discarded ballots. "It was a disaster for your state as well as for the rest of the country and the way people feel about having faith in the system of this country," panel member Victoria Wilson said. The results of the Nov. 7 election were contested for more than a month until Republican George W. Bush was awarded Florida's 25 electoral votes, and thus the White House. He beat Al Gore by 537 votes in Florida, but the count of votes was marred by recounts, court challenges and claims of disenfranchisement. Some voters have said that blacks and others in Florida were deprived of their right to vote through incorrect purges of voting rolls, broken voting machines and other problems. The Madison County elections chief, Linda Howell, testified Friday that the state had mistakenly listed her as a convicted felon. She was allowed to vote. HARRIS DEFENDS POSITION Harris, a Republican and staunch supporter of the president-elect, deferred most questions to Florida's elections director, Clay Roberts, saying she had delegated him to run the day-to-day operations of her department's elections division. She said her department had done all it could to prevent voter fraud and to help make citizens aware of voting procedures. Harris told the panel that her priority was ensuring the voting systems in the state are up to par. "We want to make sure the will of every voter is self-evident," she said. The commissioners weren't content with that. "I don't know who's responsible - the supervisors are saying you're responsible, you're saying Mr. Roberts is responsible," Wilson said. "I'm on the merry-go-round called denial." Berry said she was surprised that Bob Crawford, a member of the state canvassing board, and Phyliss Hampton, general counsel for the state Elections Commission, testified that they had not heard of any complaints following the election. "The public officials in the state apparently don't read the papers, they don't watch television, they don't know anything about what's going on in the state," Berry said. Commissioner Christopher Edley, a Harvard law professor, grew frustrated by the answers from Harris and other state officials, saying they should have simply admitted that "yeah, we blew it." "I don't hear that tone coming through at all, I hear a lot of denial, a lot of excuses and a lot of finger-pointing," he said. The panel will issue an initial report within 60 days and send its recommendations to Congress and the president this summer. GOVERNOR'S OFFICE DENIES VETO CHARGE Gov. Jeb Bush, the president-elect's brother, testified Thursday that he had limited power over the election and that state law made Harris and the 67 county elections supervisors responsible. He also said there were glaring differences in the way counties handle elections. Berry said the governor was ultimately responsible if systematic problems are found. "The (state) constitution gives the overall authority for elections, like everything else, to the governor," Berry said. The governor's office on Friday strongly denied that it vetoed a request from Harris last year for $100,000 to pay for voter education measures. The charge was made before the panel by Ion Sancho, the elections supervisor in Leon County, who said the money might have helped avoid problems in the November election. "The secretary of state's office never requested $100,000 for voter education," governor's spokeswoman Katie Baur. "Nothing ever came to the governor's desk to sign. It's absolutely false, it's flat-out wrong." The commission will hear more public testimony at its next meeting Feb. 16 in Miami. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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