Let’s Get it On!
The court battles have begun in Ohio! The election is going to get messy. There are plenty of angry people who experienced abuse directly.
Read all about it . . . .
24 Nov 2004 EWriter 0 comments
The court battles have begun in Ohio! The election is going to get messy. There are plenty of angry people who experienced abuse directly.
Read all about it . . . .
24 Nov 2004 EWriter 0 comments
Paranoia runs deep. Or, is it high? Well, I don’t know, really. I have never considered myself to be paranoid before, but I kinda feel that way now. I guess.
Actually, what worries me is that it might not be paranoia. In fact, I spend a great deal of time worrying that this or that were connected in some devious way. There are conspiracy theories running rampant right now, and conspiracy movies are being produced en masse, and what is even worse, is that some of them might be true.
I have always had somewhat of a fancy for conspiracies, in general–it is a natural by-product of an inquisitive mind. You learn to ask questions. You learn to find patterns. And, you look for more questions to ask. The interrelated-ness of life and living is more than just System’s theory. The patterns that tie life together so succinctly is not just Gestalt Theory. Einstein saw existence as a fabric, and that fabric is tied together like many pieces of string from the same ball of yarn.
But, what do we DO about these conspiratorial theories? I think that a better question might be to ask how do we investigate them? Having a specific process to collect information is a way out. It is active. And, it is helpful. If you are willing to share your information, then your efforts will help more people than you might now.
EMTs have this neat little trick that they do when they show up to the scene of any accident. After they make sure that the scene is safe, they immediately check the victim for some basic information (I am overexaggerating, of course–it is more complex than that, but hear me out). They take pulse, bloodpressure, and collect some basic information if the victim is conscious. The call this “establishing the base-line vitals.”
Baseline vitals are important. And, that is where we are in America–right now. We need to establish the Baseline vitals of the country. We need to check what we know, establish a snapshot image of the situation of things as they are at this very moment. And we need to track the progress–improvement, or otherwise.
How we accomplish this tracking is really where we need to begin.
[Posted with hblogger 2.0 http://www.normsoft.com/hblogger/]
20 Nov 2004 EWriter 0 comments
This article is re-printed, in full from http://www.blackboxvoting.org/
They need help: If you are a lawyer, please contact them.
County election records just got put on lockdown
Dueling lawyers, election officials gnashing teeth, Votergate.tv film crew catching it all.
Here’s what happened so far:
Friday Black Box Voting investigators Andy Stephenson and Kathleen Wynne popped in to ask for some records. They were rebuffed by an elections official named Denise. Bev Harris called on the cell phone from investigations in downstate Florida, and told Volusia County Elections Supervisor Deanie Lowe that Black Box Voting would be in to pick up the Nov. 2 Freedom of Information request, or would file for a hand recount. “No, Bev, please don’t do that!” Lowe exclaimed. But this is the way it has to be, folks. Black Box Voting didn’t back down.
Monday Bev, Andy and Kathleen came in with a film crew and asked for the FOIA request. Deanie Lowe gave it over with a smile, but Harris noticed that one item, the polling place tapes, were not copies of the real ones, but instead were new printouts, done on Nov. 15, and not signed by anyone.
Harris asked to see the real ones, and they said for “privacy” reasons they can’t make copies of the signed ones. She insisted on at least viewing them (although refusing to give copies of the signatures is not legally defensible, according to Berkeley elections attorney, Lowell Finley). They said the real ones were in the County Elections warehouse. It was quittin’ time and an arrangment was made to come back this morning to review them.
Lana Hires, a Volusia County employee who gained some notoriety in an election 2000 Diebold memo, where she asked for an explanation of minus 16,022 votes for Gore, so she wouldn’t have to stand there “looking dumb” when the auditor came in, was particularly unhappy about seeing the Black Box Voting investigators in the office. She vigorously shook her head when Deanie Lowe suggested going to the warehouse.
Kathleen Wynne and Bev Harris showed up at the warehouse at 8:15 Tuesday morning, Nov. 16. There was Lana Hires looking especially gruff, yet surprised. She ordered them out. Well, they couldn’t see why because there she was, with a couple other people, handling the original poll tapes. You know, the ones with the signatures on them. Harris and Wynne stepped out and Volusia County officials promptly shut the door.
There was a trash bag on the porch outside the door. Harris looked into it and what do you know, but there were poll tapes in there. They came out and glared at Harris and Wynne, who drove away a small bit, and then videotaped the license plates of the two vehicles marked ‘City Council’ member. Others came out to glare and soon all doors were slammed.
So, Harris and Wynne went and parked behind a bus to see what they would do next. They pulled out some large pylons, which blocked the door. Harris decided to go look at the garbage some more while Wynne videotaped. A man who identified himself as “Pete” came out and Harris immediately wrote a public records request for the contents of the garbage bag, which also contained ballots — real ones, but not filled out.
A brief tug of war occurred, tearing the garbage bag open. Harris and Wynne then looked through it, as Pete looked on. He was quite friendly.
Black Box Voting collected various poll tapes and other information and asked if they could copy it, for the public records request. “You won’t be going anywhere,” said Pete. “The deputy is on his way.”
Yes, not one but two police cars came up and then two county elections officials, and everyone stood around discussing the merits of the “black bag” public records request.
The police finally let Harris and Wynne go, about the time the Votergate.tv film crew arrived, and everyone trooped off to the elections office. There, the plot thickened.
Black Box Voting began to compare the special printouts given in the FOIA request with the signed polling tapes from election night. Lo and behold, some were missing. By this time, Black Box Voting investigator Andy Stephenson had joined the group at Volusia County. Some polling place tapes didn’t match. In fact, in one location, precinct 215, an African-American precinct, the votes were off by hundreds, in favor of George W. Bush and other Republicans.
Hmm. Which was right? The polling tape Volusia gave to Black Box Voting, specially printed on Nov. 15, without signatures, or the ones with signatures, printed on Nov. 2, with up to 8 signatures per tape?
Well, then it became even more interesting. A Volusia employee boxed up some items from an office containing Lana Hires’ desk, which appeared to contain — you guessed it — polling place tapes. The employee took them to the back of the building and disappeared.
Then, Ellen B., a voting integrity advocate from Broward County, Florida, and Susan, from Volusia, decided now would be a good time to go through the trash at the elections office. Lo and behold, they found all kinds of memos and some polling place tapes, fresh from Volusia elections office.
So, Black Box Voting compared these with the Nov. 2 signed ones and the “special’ ones from Nov. 15 given, unsigned, finding several of the MISSING poll tapes. There they were: In the garbage.
So, Wynne went to the car and got the polling place tapes she had pulled from the warehouse garbage. My my my. There were not only discrepancies, but a polling place tape that was signed by six officials.
This was a bit disturbing, since the employees there had said that bag was destined for the shredder.
By now, a county lawyer had appeared on the scene, suddenly threatening to charge Black Box Voting extra for the time spent looking at the real stuff Volusia had withheld earlier. Other lawyers appeared, phoned, people had meetings, Lana glowered at everyone, and someone shut the door in the office holding the GEMS server.
Black Box Voting investigator Andy Stephenson then went to get the Diebold “GEMS” central server locked down. He also got the memory cards locked down and secured, much to the dismay of Lana. They were scattered around unsecured in any way before that.
Everyone agreed to convene tomorrow morning, to further audit, discuss the hand count that Black Box Voting will require of Volusia County, and of course, it is time to talk about contesting the election in Volusia.
18 Nov 2004 EWriter 0 comments
For those of us who are working our way through the election woes and making it day-by-day, this is a link that might accelerate the “healing” process.
Just a little warning. The name of the site is indicative of the level of language that is part of the entire, one-sided discourse. It is a rant, and it is hilarious.
15 Nov 2004 EWriter 0 comments
At first, I thought the idea behind www.sorryeverybody.com was a great idea, and I thought it was cute. But, the Website has much greater implications than I realized. There is this cumulative effect of seeing person after person asking for forgiveness from the rest of the World. Person after person was asking for compassion, and help, and forgiveness from mother earth, our allies, and from other countries around the globe.
The disturbing part, for me at least, is that there some of the messages have an edge that slices deeper than just losing the election.
After 10 pages filled with pictures, I realized that I was on the brink of tears. Deeper than that, the idea behind the Website struck a chord that resonated deeply within me. A few more pages of pictures, and I was sobbing terribly.
I want forgiveness from the world, too. I am ashamed of the actions of my country. If left unguided, I know that the ship that is our world will continue on the wrong course. My leader is Captain Ahab chasing after the white whale, and he doesn’t care if he kills us all to get it.
Dear World,
Please forgive me, too. I am not leaving America. They need me here–even if they don’t know it. And, I am staying to help.
-Tim
12 Nov 2004 EWriter 0 comments
I apologize for my temporary lapse in entries. It is the birthday-time of the year for me, and I will be incognito for a couple of days celebrating the last 365 days, and the next 365 days.
In the meantime, I have an amazing link for you. It is our apologies to the world. Real people giving their apologies to the world. Half of us ARE TRULY SORRY! Go to the gallery and see the faces and the messages of those who feel compelled to apologize for the actions of our leaders (the leaders who are not representing the wishes of the people).
http://www.sorryeverybody.com/
Entries will be spotty (at best) for the next couple of days. I will be back weilding my mighty pen in full strength by Monday.
12 Nov 2004 EWriter 0 comments
[My note: The author of this letter is an amazing America. You will always be welcome on my blog. ]
I have not been able to confirm the author of this letter
Written by a woman in New York. Think it echoes what most of us in New York
think and feel about the state of our country. After the letter was
published, the woman started receiving death threats.
Letter To The Red States:
Sorry, I try not to deluge people with my ramblings. But I had to write this
and, having written it, had to send it. Even though I don’t know anyone I
can send it to (without alienating my Republican in-laws, who are the only
“middle country” people I know.)
I am writing this letter to the people in the red states in the middle of
the country — the people who voted for George W. Bush. I am writing this
letter because I don’t think we know each other.
So I’ll make an introduction. I am a New Yorker who voted for John Kerry. I
used to live in California, and if I still lived there, I would vote for
Kerry. I used to live in Washington, DC, and if I still lived there, I would
vote for Kerry. Kerry won in all three of those regions.
Maybe you want to know more about me. Or maybe not; maybe you think you know
me already. You think I am some anti-American anarchist because I dislike
George W. Bush. You think that I am immoral and anti-family, because I
support women’s reproductive freedom and gay rights. You think that I am
dangerous, and even evil, because I do not abide by your religious beliefs.
Maybe you are content to think that, to write me off as a “liberal” — the
dreaded “L” word — and rejoice that your candidate has triumphed over evil,
immoral, anti-American, anti-family people like me. But maybe you are still
curious. So here goes: this is who I am.
I am a New Yorker. I was here, in my apartment downtown, on September 11th.
I watched the Towers burn from the roof of my building. I went inside so
that I couldn’t see them when they fell. I had friends who were inside. I
have a friend who still has nightmares about watching people jump and fall
from the Towers. He will never be the same. How many people like him do you
know? People that can’t sit in a restaurant without plotting an escape
route, in case it blows up?
I am a worker. I work across the street from the Citigroup Center, which the
government told us is a “target” of terrorism. Later, we found out they were
relaying very old information, but it was already too late. They had given
me bad dreams again. The subway stop near my office was crowded with
bomb-sniffing dogs, policemen in heavy protective gear, soldiers. Now, every
time I enter or exit my office, all of my possessions are X-rayed to make
sure I don’t have any weapons. How often are you stopped by a soldier with a
bomb-sniffing dog outside your office?
I am a neighbor. I have a neighbor who is a 9/11 widow. She has two
children. My husband does odd jobs for her now, like building bookshelves.
Things her husband should do. He uses her husband’s tools, and the two
little girls tell him, “Those are our daddy’s tools.” How many 9/11 widows
and orphans do you know? How often do you fill in for their dead loved ones?
I am a taxpayer. I worked my butt off to get where I did, and so did my
parents. My parents saved and borrowed and sent me to college. I worked my
way through graduate school. I won a full tuition scholarship to law school.
All for the privilege of working 2,600 hours last year. That works out to a
50 hour week, every week, without any vacation days at all. I get to work by
9 am and rarely leave before 9 pm. I eat dinner at my office much more often
than I eat dinner at home. My husband and I paid over $70,000 in federal
income tax last year. At some point in the future, we will have to pay much
more — once this country faces its deficit and the impossible burden of
Social Security. In fact, the areas of the country that supported Kerry —
New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts — they are the financial
centers of the nation. They are the tax base of this country. How much did
you pay, Kansas? How much did you contribute to this government you support,
Alabama? How much of this war in Iraq did you pay for?
I am a liberal. The funny part is, liberals have this reputation for living
in Never-Neverland, being idealists, not being sensible. But let me tell you
how I see the world: I see America as one nation in a world of nations.
Therefore, I think we should try to get along with other nations. I see that
gay people exist. Therefore, I think they should be allowed to exist, and be
treated the same as other people. I see ways in which women are not allowed
to control their own bodies. Therefore, I think we should give women more
control over their bodies. I see that people have awful diseases. Therefore,
I think we should enable scientists to try to cure them. I see that we have
a Constitution. Therefore, I think it should be upheld. I see that there
were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Therefore, I think that Iraq
was not an imminent danger to me. It seems so pragmatic to me. How do you
see the world? Do you really think voting against gay marriage will keep
people from being gay? Would you really prefer that people continue to die
from Parkinson’s disease? Do you really not care about the Constitutional
rights of political detainees? Would you really have supported the war if
you knew the truth, or would you have wanted to spend more of our money on
health care, job training, terrorism preparedness?
I am an American. I have an American flag flying outside my home. I love my
home more than anything. I love that I grew up right outside New York City.
I first went to the Statue of Liberty with my 5th grade class, and my mom
and dad took me to the Empire State Building when I was 8. I love taking the
subway to Yankee Stadium. I loved living in Washington DC and going on dates
to the Lincoln Memorial. It is because I love this country so much that I
argue with my political opponents as much I do.
I am not safe. I never feel safe. My in-laws live in a small town in Ohio,
and that town has received more federal funding, per capita, for terrorism
preparedness than New York City has. I take subways and buses every day. I
work in a skyscraper across the street from a “target.” I have emergency
supplies and a spare pair of sneakers in my desk, in case something happens
while I’m at work. Do you? How many times a month do you worry that your
subway is going to blow up? When you hear sirens on the street, do you run
to the window to make sure everything is okay? When you hear an airplane, do
you flinch? Do you dread beautiful, blue-skied September days? I don’t know
a single New Yorker who doesn’t spend the month of September on tip-toes,
superstitiously praying for rain so we don’t have to relive that beautiful,
blue-skied day.
I am lonely. I feel that we, as a nation, have alienated all our friends and
further provoked our enemies. I feel unprotected. Most of all I feel
alienated from my fellow citizens, because I don’t understand what you are
thinking. You voted for a man who started a war in Iraq for no reason,
against the wishes of the entire world. You voted for a man whose lack of
foresight and inability to plan has led to massive insurgencies in Iraq,
where weapons are disappearing into the hands of terrorists. You voted for a
man who let Osama Bin Laden escape into the hills of Afghanistan so that he
could start that war in Iraq. You voted for a man who doesn’t want to let
people love who they want to love; doesn’t want to let doctors cure their
patients; doesn’t want to let women rule their destinies. I don’t understand
why you voted for this man. For me, it is not enough that he is personable;
it is not enough that he seems like one of the guys. Why did you vote for
him? Why did you elect a man that lied to us in order to convince us to go
to war? (Ten years ago you were incensed when our president lied about his
sex life; you thought it was an impeachable offense.) Why did you elect a
leader who thinks that strength cannot include diplomacy or international
cooperation? Why did you elect a man who did nothing except run away and hide
on September 11?
Most of all, I am terrified. I mean daily, I am afraid that I will not
survive this. I am afraid that I will lose my husband, that I will never
have children, that I will never grow old and watch the sunset in a backyard
of my own. I am afraid that my career — which should end with a triumphant
and good-natured roast at a retirement party in 2035 — will be cut short by
an attack on me and my colleagues, as we sit sending emails and making phone
calls one ordinary afternoon. Is your life at stake? Are you terrified?
I don’t think you are. I don’t think you realize what you have done. And if
anything happens to me or the people I love, I blame you. I wanted you to
know that.
“From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a
life.” – Arthur Ashe
11 Nov 2004 EWriter 0 comments
It appears as if CalTech has examined the relationship between the exit polls discrepency and the use of Electronic Voting polls. They have a report that claims that there is not a correlation between the two.
You can find the report and a summary of the article on Al Franken’s blog: http://www.ofrankenfactor.com/
The entry is titled: EXIT POLLS AS EVIDENCE OF VOTER FRAUD? EXPERTS WEIGH IN…
I know that I have added a link to Right Wing News earlier today, and I posted this tonight. It does not mean that I am not Liberal. I am still forwarding a progressive-thinking agenda. But, I have been mixing news releases within my own opinion posts. I do not have the time, and it is not my calling to be a source of News. It is, however, my place and desire to post my opinions. All along, I have been asking for someone to confirm or deny the news allegations that the vote count had been tampered.
I have heard rumors (please recognize that these are separate from FACTS) that Major media was ordered to be silent about the process. I have not heard this corroborated anywhere else. It also appears that BlackBoxVoting.Org has exceeded their bandwidth allocation–which could be a good thing or a bad thing.
In all fairness, I refuse to jump to conclusions. We need to keep asking tough questions, and we need to be prepared for answers that we don’t want to hear. Just keep asking the questions.
09 Nov 2004 EWriter 0 comments
Last night, I did some research. I wandered the Internet for quite some time–skipping from Blog to Blog and reading random thoughts and ideas. I discovered a really interesting collective batch of people, thoughts, and writing. I stumbled across a handful of personal Websites, a nice collection of Liberal blogs, and a few college collectives.
The most notable of all fo the Websites that I discovered in my short journey was the Website: www.rightwingnews.com. First, and most importantly, the writing was good. It was focused, succinct, and had a very specific audience. The language was clear, and the author employed language in a powerful and exemplary manner.
In addition to the writing and the structure itself, the content was actually quite noteworthy. It is extremely conservative, but it exemplifies the constituency that we (the Democratic party) supposedly could not reach. In addition, they actually have several entries (including one on the homepage) addressed specifically to Progressive thinkers. It is a recipe (from their perspective) for how to reach middle America. Of course, their analogies are filled with stereotypes, but whenever you use persuasion in your writing, you SHOULD have some bias embedded within your language.
The other thing that impressed me about the writing was that they addressed the President directly. The authors are distinctly aware of their position as the power base of President Bush, and they demand that he address their specific wants–which are not altogether too far from my own desires for government. They, in fact, demand that he align his policies with their ideals: get the spending under control, diminish the size of the government (not increase it), and control the influx of immigrants. All three of their points are good in my opinion.
Although some people may not agree, I have added them as a link on the blog. Diversity of opinion, viewpoint, and beliefs are important to the Democracy that I support and love. So, I am going to practice that right here in my teensy, little corner of the Blog-o-sphere.
09 Nov 2004 EWriter 0 comments
This is a high-level look at the Data. There is a lengthly link list at the end.
Electoral College Meta-Analysis (election.princeton.edu)
From Prof. Sam Wang of Princeton University.
08 Nov 2004 EWriter 0 comments