Here is a bit of Webb County Election History to refresh our memory as to how Henry Cuellar obtained his royal title: 

 

First, let’s establish the Authority and ranking of Henry’s Title:  reCount , Authority: There is none…it is a stolen title…Ranking: It is our understanding that a reCount is a little bit lower than a Viscount, higher than a Count, and somewhat synonymous a Royal Tart

 

History Lesson:  We ran across this on a blog…thought it would refresh a few memories as to how reCount Henry “AMAZINGLY” became our Congressman with Magical Ballots!

 

Texas Election 'Irregularities'
From Anonymous
4-4-4

Hi Jeff,

 

Here's the latest from South Texas, where it is still advisable to vote early and often. This election took place last month and it is still not decided. Mind you, it's not a question of (ahem) fraud -- they just have to keep counting and recounting the ballots until the tally comes out right. Multiple times if necessary. And that can take a few weeks, maybe a month or even more. It depends. Representative Democracy is complex, and while it might seem a simple thing to count the vote, political reality can sometimes be more, well, subtle.

 

 

District 28 Brings Back The Bad Old Days

 

By Rebeca Rodriguez

Staff Writer

San Antonio Express-News

4-4-4

LAREDO - It reads like fiction, the bitter Democratic primary battle in the 28th Congressional District.

 

But the missing votes, small-town politics, finger-pointing and soured friendships that have made it one of the more bizarre elections in Texas's colorful history are all too real.

 

After almost a month, Laredo lawyer Henry Cuellar has the most votes, but the winner remains in doubt. And the ballots sit in six triple-locked blue metal boxes inside a carpeted bank vault in Zapata.

 

Also in doubt is the political future of Ciro Rodriguez, a seven-year veteran of Congress who's on the verge of being unseated by two batches of ballots that mysteriously were not tabulated election night.

 

Though San Antonio's Rodriguez appeared to pocket a victory by a mere 145 votes out of more than 48,000 cast March 9, the ballots discovered in Webb and Zapata counties three weeks after the election favor Cuellar.

 

He's a native son of the two border counties that comprise the southern anchor of the redrawn district.

 

"From the outside, it looks extremely suspect," said Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. "This just looks like a 1950s election. You have to look at this as one that will go down in Texas lore as a stolen election."

 

The battle for the district, anchored by its two largest communities of Laredo and San Antonio, now is focused on a pending lawsuit by Rodriguez, who has openly charged fraud in the race.

 

Rodriguez's attorney, Buck Wood of Austin, is mum about the contents of the suit, saying he wants to dot his "i's" and cross his "t's" before making a move.

 

In terms of perception, however, the damage may already be done.

 

The voting snags have touched a nerve in South Texas, where people are all too familiar with stories about questionable campaign tactics and weird election outcomes.

 

In 1992, an 18,000-ballot recount in Webb County had to be held after two voting machines were unplugged during counting. And in Zapata that same year, there were complaints of non-registered voters casting ballots.

 

Two years later, candidates in Jim Wells, Webb, Zapata and Zavala counties sought to overturn primary results after reports of possible voter fraud.

 

Now, a film of controversy once again hangs over the area, raising myriad questions about the hows, whens and whos surrounding the irregularities.

 

Cuellar's campaign contends the vote increases are sheer coincidence and evidence of why recounts are critical.

 

"Clearly the recount did work in that you had both campaigns present through the entire process from beginning to end," said T.J. Connolly, a San Antonio-based spokesman for the Cuellar recount effort.

 

"There's a lot of speculation and misinformation out there, but the facts will show that the (election night) votes were not properly tabulated. There was technical error and human error."

 

Connolly said he looks forward to full disclosure, which he hopes will shatter what he calls the "myths" surrounding the race.

 

"People are making comparisons with LBJ's Box 13, but this is not a similar situation," he said, referring to the 1948 U.S. Senate race won by Lyndon B. Johnson under blatantly corrupt circumstances.

 

But Jillson and others aren't convinced that the Cuellar-Rodriguez race is all that different.

 

"There is no way on God's green earth that 177 ballots showed up for Cuellar (in Webb County) and zero for Rodriguez," he said.

 

The District 28 saga began during the March primary, in which Rodriguez seemed to narrowly defeat Cuellar.

 

But from the beginning, the results were in question.

 

A faulty optical scan machine in Zapata County misread hundreds of ballots and delayed election results for hours.

 

Counters were brought in off the street, including high school students, given an oath and put to work.

 

By noon the next day, Rodriguez had squeaked by with an uncomfortably narrow margin of 145 votes.

 

Two weeks later and an hour before the deadline, Cuellar called for a districtwide recount.

 

That's when the real trouble began.

 

Earlier this week, Zapata officials conducting the recount discovered 304 votes that were not included in the election night results.

 

Nearly 80 percent of those ballots went to Cuellar, giving him a sudden 20-vote lead over Rodriguez.

 

Cuellar received roughly the same percentage of overall Zapata votes cast.

 

Hours later, Webb County officials found 177 additional votes for Cuellar. But the final recount showed 115 more votes counted than ballots cast.

 

A request by Webb County officials to recount the recount has been rejected by state party officials, who say the matter is best handled under oath, in a courtroom.

 

Carlos Blanco Jr., a Laredo activist and former city employee, said he doesn't believe fraud played a role in the strange ballot count in Webb County.

 

"It's more incompetence and ineptness," he said. "People just got lazy" during the counting.

 

Although he said legal action will likely clear up any questions, he said a Webb County recount should have taken place today as originally requested.

 

"I think people would like to know where these votes came from," he said.

 

Meanwhile, at the brightly lit county clerk's offices, Zapata leaders are still wading through reams of tally sheets trying to determine when and how the 304 votes remained uncounted during the chaotic wee hours of March 10.

"It was an all-night thing, and people were tired, and it could have been a number of things," Zapata County Democratic Party Chairman Teo Garza said last week. "There's no funny business going on."

 

The ballots are in a vaultat the International Bank of Commerce in Zapata.

 

The Rodriguez camp has made hay of the fact that Cuellar received a $200,000 campaign loan from IBC in Laredo, an implication that a sweetheart deal may have something to do with the irregularities.

 

But Zapata IBC President Renato Ramirez, who openly supports Cuellar, said there is no way anyone could have accessed the ballots at his bank.

 

"There would have to be a massive collusion of people, officials, and there's no way I would jeopardize my career for some political race," Ramirez said, standing inside the vault next to the boxes.

 

While the furor over the vote continues in some quarters, for many Zapata residents, the election night woes take a backseat to life.

 

Larry Coronado oversees the delivery of supplies in the many oil fields that dot the region. Friday morning, after a 24-hour shift, he enjoyed a healthy breakfast of pancakes and eggs at Tina's Restaurant on the southern edge of town before heading home to sleep.

 

"Most people here are focused on everyday stuff," Coronado said. "In the oil

"Most people here are focused on everyday stuff," Coronado said. "In the oil fields there's a lot of pressure. We're focused on keeping wells from blowing up."

 

While the counting errors may be fodder for conspiracy theorists, they are just not something Coronado dwells on.

 

"I think maybe it was just a mistake, nothing funny."

 

rrodriguez@express-news.net

News Researcher Mike Knoop contributed to this report.

 

Portions © 2004 KENS 5 and the San Antonio Express-News.

All Rights Reserved

 

We are well pleased today to have something good to say about LISD this morning.

 

We would like to congratulate them on their efforts in registering 18 year olds to vote.  This is what should be happening in both Districts.  Matter of fact, there should be mock elections from the time students enter the 2^nd Grade.

 

If you can expect a 2^nd grader to begin learning the process of the scientific method then you can be certain these same youngsters are capable of assimilating the concepts of Democracy.

 

Let’s just be sure that these new voters understand that the Laredo is full of Closet Republicans and that not everyone is a Democrat.

 

Also, you might want to consider taking your ban off The Laredo Chameleon so they can get a full blown picture of how Democracy in Action really operates.

 

Congratulations LISD!

 

Great Work!

 

What’s New at The Laredo Chameleon?

 

You will find four new icons in the left hand column of the paper tonight that are meant to provide our subscribers quick access to important information.  From left to right are Texas Links, Alternative Investment Links, Investigative Intelligence Links, and Texas Maps which are the maps we design on Google’s My Maps for the benefit of our readers. 

         

 

Texas links and Alternative Investment Links are two databases that come FREE with any subscription to The Laredo Chameleon.

 

Texas Maps are free to subscribers and non-subscribers alike.  These maps will help you in your vacation planning, buying a home, and understanding current issues through a unique geo-spatial view of the world around you.

 

Investigative Intelligence Links is available as an extra service to anyone willing to pay the annual fee of $299.95.  This database puts you at the front door of some of the most powerful research tools on the Internet.  With this service you will be able to find out almost anything on anybody.  Investigative Intelligence was designed for Investigative Journalists, Attorneys, Law Enforcement Professionals, and Private Investigators. 

 

Want to know how many vehicles are registered to a physical address, or how to hack a computer so only you can have access to it, or how to know who your kids or spouse is talking at the time they are talking to them?  How about the temperature required to heat a hard drive up to in order to completely eradicate information on it? Want to know who really killed the Kennedy’s or?  All this and much more, you will be able to learn by using the links provided in this database. 

 

For less than $1 a day, you will be researching like a pro, using information that only elite teams of researchers generally know exist.  This database is the brain behind The Laredo Chameleon.  This is our way of sharing our knowledge with our readers.  Once you have this database in your hands, you will readily understand why we stay one step ahead of the competition when it comes to news delivery and accurate economic forecasting and information.

 

E-Bookstore – Our e-Book store is now officially open.

In our e-Bookstore you will find downloadable Adobe PDF e-Books on a wide variety of subjects.  We will be continuously adding interesting Essays, Novels, Poetry, Military Field Manuals, and Out of Print Historical Documents and Books.  All you need for viewing the e-Books is Adobe’s Free Acrobat Reader.  This is a great way to always have something interesting to read at your fingertips without having to tote around a pile of books.

 

Prices start at $4.99 and up.  We accept credit card payments through PayPal’s secure online server.  After payment is received you will be sent an email with your PDF e-Book attached along with a password that enables only you to access it.