Oy. Likewise, gevalt.

[docwebster]

First, Dubya pulls the whole Constitutional ammendment about marriage routine, and now.. well thanks to atrios for this, and I'm reprinting it here verbatim because it's just too important not to.



SAN FRANCISCO -- At least five convicted felons secured management positions at a manufacturer of electronic voting machines, according to critics demanding more stringent background checks for people responsible for voting machine software.

Voter advocate Bev Harris alleged Tuesday that managers of a subsidiary of Diebold Inc., one of the country's largest voting equipment vendors, included a cocaine trafficker, a man who conducted fraudulent stock transactions and a programmer jailed for falsifying computer records.

The programmer, Jeffrey Dean, wrote and maintained proprietary code used to count hundreds of thousands of votes as senior vice president of Global Election Systems. Diebold purchased GES in January 2002.

According to a public court document released before GES hired him, Dean served time in a Washington state correctional facility for stealing money and tampering with computer files in a scheme that "involved a high degree of sophistication and planning."

What the hell is wrong with this country!?!? Screw Saddam. Screw Michael Jackson and screw every other stinking story the press thinks we should give a flying shit about. There should be no other story more important!!! None! Period. Nothing cuts to the core of our democracy, any democracy, like voting. Voting is democracy! Why did we fight the British for independence? Why did we fight the Nazis? The communists? What the hell have we been shedding blood over if not to defend the right of a free people to choose their own Representative government!?!?

Hello 60 minutes? Hello 20/20? Hello Nightline? Hello anyone??? Sure we can all call Barbra Boxer's office and we can all call our local rep's office and we can all call our state senator but maybe it's time we start a full court press on the press! Have we fallen so far into one party rule that one party control of our voting apparatus just doesn't matter??

Here's a plan. Go here and print out any of the stories. Take a big black marker and hand write WHY IS THIS NOT BEING COVERED?? over it and mail it to every paper in your city. Start sending in letters to editors. Start sending letters to your favorite candidates campaign. Hey DNC: want a talking point? How about PRESERVE DEMOCRACY NOW! If this story can't be taken seriously then nothing else matters! Game over. Pack it up.

If this isn't corrected by the '04 elections then our wildest dreams will be little more than our worst nightmares.

God this story just pisses me off.

Comments

[at1guy.livejournal.com]

Ya know, for the most part we are on opposite sides of the fence politically speaking. BUT, this transcends party, and philosophical points of views. You are right my friend some one (somebodies?) need to have their heads handed to them (after they are pulled outta their butts). Even if the former convect(s) is/are guilty of nothing else other than past crimes committed, talk about letting the fox into the hen house. The only way I could *possibly* see any of the folks listed above, working for this company would be as some sort of consultant . Advising along the lines of what can be done or should be done to safe guard access to the voting machiness, to prevent them from being tampered with. (And tho I may be just a tad optimistic there..this has been done by other concerns with former *hackers* and such working with software companies and major corps to help prevent others from hacking).

Just a thought. Tho like Ricky used to say "Diebold, you've got some 'splaning to do!"

[ely-starr.livejournal.com]

I've heard about this before, kinda. Didn't Bush also BUY the company that was re-counting the votes in Florida? Right in the middle of the elections, he bought the voting company..suspicious?