You don't have to put on your tin hat to see what has happened!
by ms in lahttp://www.america-patriots.com/Editorial-1.htmlAs one of the "Internet Conspiracists" (as we've been affectionately labeled by the "Old Media")....I'm speaking on behalf of my small community of bloggers (about 11,000 strong) who, albeit only the fantasist fringe minority, still believe that an American has a right to a vote that is protected from fraud and obstruction from partisan political factions and corporate cronyism.
Yes, we are a wild-eyed lot of whackos, who find suspicion even in the innocuous ownership of the majority of our election systems by major Republican donors and Bush supporters! Laughable, I know... Bear with us, for along with all our fanciful flights of imagination -- we also possess great sensitivity. We invent crazy theories like the CEO of Diebold actually helped win Ohio for Bush (!) based on a lot of nonsense like the fact that he publicly stated he would deliver Ohio for Bush...Ha!! Aren't we a loony bunch!
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0828-08.htm We even find mischief in the fact that Diebold's main business is in the manufacture of ATM and Ticket Vending machinery -- both of which are manufactured replete with paper receipts. And the fact that they had to actually REMOVE that paper receipt feature to create voting equipment that would NOT provide recordkeeping...well, that makes us tin foil hat-wearers rife with grassy knoll theories!
Now my blog is one of the smaller ones, granted, but there are currently millions of us on all the other blogs and sites on the Internets. Hard to believe how such a lunatic, nutty movement could spread so rampant, huh?? Surprising. Just because Howard Ahmanson, who has major holdings in E S &S Systems (used by Diebold), has also stated his goals of implementing Biblical Law in America... so what if he supports Chalcedon Institute that advocates mandating the death penalty for homosexuality...like that wouldn't be an improvement for society?? And us Internet Fantasists get all up in arms over a good citizen like Howard playing a major role in our election process!! Then we go lamenting the fact that he hangs with the likes of Ollie North, former KKK member Richard Shoff, and the ole Rushdoony gang who like to stone adulterers. Heck, you can't judge a guy by the company he keeps!
http://www.counterpunch.org/floyd09262003.htmlAnd big deal that Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell happened to be co-chair of the Bush/Cheney election Campaign! That in no way compromises his integrity or accounts for the fact that he vigorously opposed re-instituting the paper trail into the voting equipment. He just happens to really like the paperless models better. More streamlined, cleaner...Not like Ohio was an important state in this election anyways. I'm sure he was able to put his partisanship aside...
http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=393&row=0Then the worst of our silly notions, when the inventor and CEO of the most universally approved voting system ("TruVote"-- that offers not one, but TWO paper receipts)
http://www.tennessean.com/business/archives/04/09/60549101.shtm -- lauded by election officials nationwide as the fairest---well, when he goes and tragically dies in an unfortunate car accident (slammed by an 18 wheel truck)
http://onlinejournal.com/evoting/031904Fitrakis/031904fitrakis.html Right after the introduction to the marketplace of his voting systems, and right before the election equipment contracts are in place.....well, you can imagine what the conspiracists were whispering about then! It was sad, but--talk about timing-- it was just in time for Diebold systems to step up with their mysterious GEMS tabulators. GEMS counts all the precints ballots before the end tally is announced. Of course, the Internet nut cases, once again, start whining when Baxter the Chimp is able to hack into the GEMS system, as he demonstrated with Bev Harris before the election.
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/baxter/baxterVPR.mov We never considered that there might be some hyper-intelligent Chimps out there who can perform miracles given the right software program. Geeze!! No need to panic if the system randomly decides to count backwards early on election day, or if a 25 million vote error should present itself in Ohio equipment early on. We all know how computers have "glitches"!
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http://www.america-patriots.com/Editorial-1.html