Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Update on Kerry Election Reversal Attempts

Remember when I said that I'd received an e-mail from someone claiming to be an attorney in Washington, DC? The one whose mailing address turned out to be the same as that of a drug/alcohol abuse counselor?

Well, three days ago I heard from Cynthia L. Butler, who obviously reads my blog. (Should I feel flattered?) It turns out that a Cynthia L. Butler did graduate from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1987. She even left her telephone number: (202) 466-0998. And, to be fair, Cynthia L. Butler shows up on the Georgetown Law Center's alumni site if you search for alumni working in Washington, DC.

So why doesn't her "Butler Law Firm" show up on FindLaw?

And if she's been a litigator for eighteen years, how does that square with her having graduated from GLC only seventeen years ago? (Hey--if this is nitpicking, she ought to be used to that. Lawyers pick this kind of nit all the time.)

Actually, she's been quite active on certain other Web sites that have picked up her e-mail. And whether you believe in her or not, the news is full of the quiet--and not-so-quiet--attempts by John Kerry's sympathizers (and some fellow travelers) to have the Ohio vote reversed. The latest: the review of provisional ballots is almost complete, with 76% of them being accepted as valid so far--a typical rate. But 76% of 155,000 provisional ballots still wouldn't be nearly enough to overcome a 136,000-vote margin, even if they all broke for Kerry--and I've seen no evidence that they will come anywhere close to that.

Bottom line: I still have no idea who Cynthia L. Butler is, or whether she is, or is not, presently engaged in the active practice of law. Why an actively practicing attorney wouldn't show up on FindLaw, I don't know--and why the name of her law firm shows up, if it does at all, only on sites referencing her e-mail, I have even more trouble figuring out. The story she tells does have some grain of truth in it--but probably not enough to reverse a Presidential election.