The US Civil Rights Commission finalized its report and made it public last week. Mary Frances Berry, the Chair, spearheaded the publication of the report and has come under much fire. But fire is not new to Berry, who is also on the governing board of the corporation that owns KPFA, the Pacifica Foundation. And in the Bay Area, we are aware of the fire that she and the Pacifica Board came under last year.

But, the findings of the report were disturbing to African Americans who are aware of their history and the price they paid to exercise their right to vote.

The Commission found the following items present in the 2000 Florida elections:

Although Blacks comprise only 11% of the vote, 54% of the ballots     tossed out for any number of reasons were cast by Blacks;

The 2000 election was fraught with ineptitude, injustice, and inefficiency, and those problems were known and allowed by Florida's Governor, Jeb Bush, and the Secretary of State;

The Secretary of State and the Governor ignored warning signs that the system would be overwhelmed.

In the light of these findings, passed 6 to 2, Chairperson Berry has said she will meet with Attorney General Ashcroft, requesting an investigation into whether the US Voting Rights Act was violated.

Of course, the Attorney General will not order an investigation of Florida's system. He may make a few conciliatory remarks, but find that no investigation is warranted and close the case. Already, there is talk that the report is a partisan document written by those who lost the election; even the leaking of the document ahead of its official publication date has been described  by a Bush official as an act designed to give the Democrats a political advantage.

The American people will have to come to grips with the fact that the 2000 Presidential Election is over; George W. Bush has taken power, and we must live with him and the Texas crowd for the next four years.[]

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