Group plans to monitor U.S. election

Isn't this a crock of dung! Who do they think they are? There is a method to the left's madness though. They intend to use these groups to help them file lawsuits to help contest a close election or even a close battleground state. If the international "community", which is supporting Kerry, claim our election is invalid this will weaken our position internationally and make President Bush's job more difficult when he wins. We need to remember the left and Europe prefer a weak United States and this is why they support Kerry. France, England, Spain and the rest all have their own national agendas, while nations are not people they work like people. They seek their own advantage. A weak United States would make it easier for Europe to enforce their will upon us. The question then becomes what do they want. They want the global warming treaty. This would have a drastic effect on economy, most likely resulting in job loss and recession. They want an international tax: this would transfer money from "rich" countries to poor countries, what this really means from the United States to everyone else. France doesn't like outsourcing either, mostly because the French outsouce to the United States and other Eastern European nations. French companies have to do this because of the regulations and taxes make it impossible for the companies to stay in business. The French consider low taxes and less restrictions on business unfair business practices and want it banned. Low taxes are unfair. This is laughable, except John Kerry and his supporters agree.

WASHINGTON - An international group that specializes in evaluating elections in former dictatorships plans to scrutinize presidential balloting in the United States for the first time.
The group, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is based in Poland and supported by the United States, has begun deploying 160 people across the country.
The international monitoring comes after the highly disputed 2000 presidential election.
As a member of the organization, the United States has routinely invited it to monitor U.S. elections. But this time the group has accepted the invitation.
That decision has not proved entirely welcome, though.
"You are seeing a step toward subordination of the American political and legal system into a global government," said Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla. "I hope those people just get on the next plane out of the United States to go monitor an election somewhere else, like Afghanistan."
Christian Strohal, director of the organization's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, said no insult was intended. "We do not come with an attitude to find fault, but we do try to know what the problems are," he said.
He added: "We look at the United States as a country that has undergone a substantial amount of election reform in the last few years. We want to see the progress, and I do think all democracies can learn from each other."
Congress passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002 to address some of those problems, but the observer group expressed serious concern that disputes would arise again in hard-fought races for Florida and Ohio, as well as with newly introduced electronic voting machines that leave no paper trail.
The monitors - none of whom can be U.S. citizens - are drawn from more than 20 of the institution's 55 member states and include 100 foreign ministry officials, as well as members of parliaments from several countries.
In recent months, the organization has monitored elections in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Russia, Macedonia and Bosnia.
The observers who are members of parliaments will be organized and led by Barbara Haering of Switzerland, who has visited the United States five times but never for more than three weeks.
Haering had never visited Bosnia and Herzegovina before monitoring a general election there in 1998 and does not consider a lack of local knowledge a hindrance.
"We learn about the local culture while monitoring and have advance teams looking out for the issues before we get there," Haering said. "In the United States, we can also find out much of what we need to know from the media and off of the Internet."
Monitoring of the American news media has already begun, Haering said. Monitors are warned to be wary of incumbents who confuse campaign events with issues of state and the ability of less well-financed candidates to get coverage.
The use of electronic voting will be of particular interest, Haering said.
"The use of new voting technologies is a challenge for all democracies," she said.