A discussion of how
this century has gotten off to such a bad start.
In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
- Monday, September 27, 2004 -
Voting Update
Make sure to visit Black Box Voting one of the first sites TCS ever linked to way back in our early days (18 months or so ago). War, payoffs, political corruption, employment, and all the other issues facing America today will all be for nothing if in the end we can't even trust our vote. On the home page we can watch a chimp delete a voting machines audit trail. Stunts aside, each post at that site should send a chill down your spine.
Riverside County, CA (Sept 13 2004) - Riverside County's tactics would do a Communist country proud.
When Republican candidate Linda Soubirous asked for a recount, she requested 44 items to audit the election. Riverside denied 39 of them, including a denial of her right to compare the internal flash memory of the touch-screen voting machines with the votes that showed up on the WinEDS Central Tabulator. (for another story on Central Tabulator vulnerability, click here)
Riverside's refusal was of particular importance, for two reasons:
1) The main argument that touch-screen proponents make, claiming their machines can be audited, is that you can pull the flash memory inside the machine to compare it with the tally. Soubirous' case was the first in which a candidate actually asked to do that; her request was denied.
2) During the counting of the election, on two occasions, employees of the vendor were observed to access the central tabulator. On the second occasion, the employee uploaded something from a card in his pocket, but refused to allow anyone to look at the card, and then left the state with it. (See Black Box Voting Consumer Report on this incident)
To read how serious this all is: [from the BBC] Carter fears Florida vote trouble Voting arrangements in Florida do not meet "basic international requirements" and could undermine the US election, former US President Jimmy Carter says.
He said a repeat of the irregularities of the much-disputed 2000 election - which gave President George W Bush the narrowest of wins - "seems likely".
Mr Carter, a veteran observer of polls worldwide, also accused Florida's top election official of "bias".
...
In an article in the Washington Post newspaper, Mr Carter, a Democrat, said that he and ex-President Gerald Ford, a Republican, had been asked to draw up recommendations for changes after the last vote in Florida was marred by arguments over the counting of ballots.
Mr Carter said the reforms they came up with had still not been implemented.
He accused Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood, a Republican, of trying to get the name of independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader included on the state ballot, knowing he might divert Democrat votes.
He also said: "A fumbling attempt has been made recently to disqualify 22,000 African Americans (likely Democrats), but only 61 Hispanics (likely Republicans), as alleged felons."
Mr Carter said Florida Governor Jeb Bush - brother of the president - had "taken no steps to correct these departures from principles of fair and equal treatment or to prevent them in the future".
"It is unconscionable to perpetuate fraudulent or biased electoral practices in any nation," he added.
This is a "team" blog. We are a bunch of
Americans, whose rising distress
in our leader's decisions brought us together to make this site.
As Bush said, he's a "uniter." Many of us have never even met.
That's the internet for you.
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the
president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is
not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the
American people."
- Teddy Roosevelt
"Government has a final responsibility for the well-being of
its citizenship. If private cooperative endeavor fails to provide work
for willing hands and relief for the unfortunate, those suffering
hardship from no fault of their own have a right to call upon the
Government for aid; and a government worthy of its name must make
fitting response."
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions, but laws must and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."
- Thomas Jefferson
"The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home."
"All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain
degree."
- James Madison
"I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, in human liberty as the source of national action, in the human heart as the source of national compassion, and in the human mind as the source of our invention and our ideas. It is, I believe, the faith in our fellow citizens as individuals and as people that lies at the heart of the liberal faith. For liberalism is not so much a party creed or set of fixed platform promises as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man's ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves." - John F. Kennedy
"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are [a] few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
More Sites we often
like:
more coming...
"There's nothing wrong with America that can't be fixed by what's right with America." - Bill Clinton.
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