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Edited on Fri Jan-20-06 03:31 PM by byronius
Undersecretary of State William Wood squirmed in his chair. “We’re reviewing the information”, he said, in perfect Republicanese. Debra Bowen, (D- Redondo Beach), was having none of it. “Are you going to do the Harri Hursti hack test or not?”, she asked. “We’re reviewing the information”, came Wood’s simpering, sarcastic, reply. Again, Senator Bowen pressed. “I don’t understand your answer. Are you going to do the Harri Hursti hack test or not?” William Wood shifted in his chair uneasily. “Senator, I don’t know how I could be more clear. We’re reviewing the information.”
Murmurs from the back of the room. Wood was obviously parroting a prepared position, keeping the truth well strangled, and utterly demeaning the legislative process of the State of California. I wasn’t surprised – I had been at the tumultuous hearing in June of 2005 at which Wood, clearly displaying the bitter, arrogant and perfectly insane predisposition of the Bad Nerd, had opened a public forum on the impending certification of Diebold by viciously insulting the former Secretary of State, Kevin Shelley. The meeting had erupted in a fury from the well-represented public, and the suddenly frightened look on Wood’s face revealed to all that he had expected to simply wave his right-wing wand and make Diebold Black Box Voting the law in California.
But California is not Washington, D.C.. Here, pretending like you’re Karl Rove, Black Ethical Hole, Mastermind of Doom, can get you shouted down. California is Blue. And California is Better Than That. We’re always ahead of the curve, here, which is why I love this state. And William Wood found out that day that Karl Rove Cannot Have It. Not in California. Not anymore. When the Republicans successfully sandbagged Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, and Schwarzenegger appointed Bruce McPherson in his place, their first order of business was to ram unexamined, unauditable Diebold machines down the throat of every county in California. Why? To steal elections, of course. That is what they were told to do. They swiftly learned, however, that times have changed. They can’t fool us anymore. And it frightens them.
I showed up late for the hearing, and sat in the back of the packed room. Local AM 1240 Radio Goddess Kristine Kraft was two rows up. A large herd of Voting Rights Activists were intently listening and taking notes. Even at that distance, Senator Debra Bowen dominated the room with her presence. I had never seen her in person before. She is a magnetic, grounded, and brilliant leader. A Great American. I must confess, I was dazzled. Her demeanor was focused (like a laser); she was utterly informed of all details, with a total grasp of how important this issue is. With great skill and intellectual acumen, she deftly peeled away the well-crafted dross during several hours of testimony to reveal a powerful truth to all there, with a shocking clarity. Guess what? The Secretary of the State of California is engaged in a criminal conspiracy to commit widespread election fraud in this state. Senator Bowen’s questions were never answered – but the refusal to answer, and the demeanor of Wood and various other Republican staffers and assorted Jackals gave everything away. They have been caught in an act of Treason.
It was like being in a movie. When Wood huffily exited, he paused to give a cruel and knowing smile to a young Karl-Rove-lookalike and a few other dark-suited killers near me. The look that passed between them was astonishingly revealing – I wish I could show you a video of what I saw. You would know immediately – these men are Barbarians, not Americans. These men believe that Republicans have the Right to Steal Elections because – well, because Republicans are Just Right. No need to “Listen To The People”. That’s old-timey, sentimental crap. Republicans have the power, and they know what’s best for everyone, and no one is going to get in their way.
Except for State Senator Debra Bowen, Dragon Slayer. They must hate and fear this woman with every sick and twisted little neuron in their Bad Nerd brains. She glows like Truth. She radiates Justice. They cannot stand the light she gives off – they are exposed, their plots and insidious methods no longer work , right out where EVERYONE CAN SEE – Oh,
My!! And they ran away. All except for little Mini-Karl. He stayed in his seat, keeping a slight smile of pure evil on his face. I glared at him. He stopped smiling.
I saw and heard the most amazing things at this hearing. I heard Conny McCormack (Diebold’s Personal Registrar) clearly state that the silly California law demanding a paper trail for electronic voting was going to expose California to the wrath of the Bush Justice Department. (Lions and Tigers and Bears!) I heard another Registrar bemoan the effect all these questions were having on Diebold’s stock price in these difficult times (as in ‘aiding the terrorists’). The audience reacted with angry murmurs. Then she said that ‘meetings like this’ were ‘destroying public confidence’ in the voting system -- Senator Bowen shot back that she believed that public confidence was based on transparency of the system, and that she wouldn’t have to hold hearings like this if everyone was willing to be honest and open about certain things.
Like, for instance, the danger of having all California’s votes counted by Radical Right-Wing Thugs, using ‘proprietary’ (meaning ‘hidden switch’) software without any means of recount or verification. Democracy only works when it works. Otherwise, it becomes any one of the less efficient methods of government, like fascism, dictatorship, and plutocratic oligarchy, all of which eventually sicken and destroy the body they govern. It’s just historical fact. Nothing of interest to the now-pouty Mini-Karl, and his sick little former smile. But I care. A lot.
Some of the Registrars were Very Cool. Neal Kelley from Orange County seemed all right, and Sacramento County’s Jill Lavine was clearly dedicated to the proposition that Every Vote Counts. In fact, her testimony made me feel quite certain that My Vote Counts here in Sacramento. I left before the public testimony began, and went back to work with a spring in my step. Senator Debrah Bowen, Dragon Slayer. She was just like that, like some beautiful Elf Queen helping to save Middle Earth from Sauron. You had to be there. I was quite moved by her absolutely real, solid-as-a-rock stateswomanship. She’s got it. She knows. And she’s doing something about it.
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