Critic apologizes for misconstruing Doug Jones' remarks

[mmarcus]

The purpose of this thread is to first correct the record because Dr. Jones and Harri Hursti were drug through the mud here on DU and they didn't deserve that. Then I hope we can all move on to cooperation so we can achieve an emergency solution by the November elections. I hope this thread will be used to discuss solutions and I have some info on that below after setting the record straight. I commend the individual for apologizing and I hope that the report will now be used to make changes happen as soon as possible.

From Blackboxvoting.com Update:I received an email from Prof. Doug Jones that he felt his comments were being misread, in view of my editorial remarks. I wish to make it quite plain that all remarks outside the specific quotation are mine, and my views must not in any way be construed to represent Prof. Jones' views. I offer this space to him to further clarify his views and I sincerely apologize to him that my comments have caused him distress. -- David Allen

link to this apology: http://www.blackboxvoting.com

Dr. Jones himself emphasizes in letters to Russell Michaels of Votergate that the Hursti findings are devastating. He says the three-level architecture with a separate back door in each level, which can be used separately or combined, has not been reported before.

(Dr. Doug Jones) Hursti and I appear to be in pretty clear agreement about this interpretation. It appears, however, that there are spin-mongers (spinsters?) who are out there to put another spin on this. Oh, they say, Hursti didn't report anything new. This appears to be an effort to discredit Hursti and those of us who consider his report important.

Dr. Jones goes on to say that Hursti "gets credit for exposing the fact that Diebold made not one vulnerability of this type, but three separate ones, each of which, in isolation, is sufficiently bad to allow an outsider to take over the system, and which can, indeed, be combined."

Dr. Jones elaborates in response to this question by Russell Michaels:

RUSS: The "offense in depth" attack Harri identifies which could be used to conceal the contamination by an attacker and which could 're-infect the system also seems an important new discovery. Is there any evidence that this deep penetration attack has been properly documented before by anyone?

PROF. DOUG JONES: No, Hursti gets credit here.

The BBV site posts part of another email by Dr. Jones, this one written to Bev Harris:

Dr. Jones: They've pushed several new versions of the TSx firmware through certification since then, so they can't claim that they didn't have the opportunity to correct anything yet. David Allen's editorial comment that he appended to what I'd said fails to capture this. I don't understand why he feels inclined to add such a putdown, because it's certainly not how I read what he quoted of my E-mail response to him.

Link to this: http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/27675.html

Other corrections of the record: boredtodeath alleged in one thread here that Harri Hursti is a figment of someone's imagination and also implied that he is unqualified and/or has something to hide. This is not helpful to any one of us who is working on solutions. I hope we can shake it off and get more positive. To put any doubts to rest as to whether Harri Hursti exists, I found a photograph of Harri Hursti with Bruce Funk in Emery County Utah, these photographs can be found at Kathy Dopp's UtahCountVotes site, http://www.utahcountvotes.org :

http://www.utahcountvotes.org/BBV-Diebold-images.php


Harri Hursti (left) and Bruce Funk (right)

larger photos are available at top link.

SOLUTIONS! ACTION!

I and at least one other activist that I know of from Colorado have been invited to participate in a series of conference calls this week to get to work on solutions that can be implemented before November's election.

We are in a hurry to get going on fixing the problem in time for the federal election. I don't have infomration on what proposals are on the table but I know there are some and we'll be working nationwide on them this week with 45 different leaders who are self starters with positive attitudes. People from different parts of the country and different voting groups are participating including the hand counted paper ballots people and technologists and people from other political parties. If you would like to work in cooperation toward an emergency solution you can e-mail me at [e-mail] and I'll make sure you get the information on what everyone comes up with!

Thank you,

Marcus Miller

[Steve A Play]

1. Thanks for posting this Marcus, K&R!

And thank you David for setting the record straight. :thumbsup:

:kick:

[mmarcus]

5. You are welcome.

I saw how people try to change the subject just from the facts. Did you get invited to the emergency solutions call?

I feel like we're going to get some real solutions.

We should treat this like it's our last chance because you never know whether it might be.

[Steve A Play]

6. Yes, I'll be there!

I think we have a solution that should be agreeable to just about everyone. :)

[BeFree]

2. Well, thanks Marcus

I hope that settles it. I could not believe what was being written, and it looks like that disbelief was well founded.

We've work to do; let's keep our eyes, hearts, and minds, on the singular goal of reforming our election system. That goal needs all of us working together.

[harasaki]

3. sorry...but

None of this qualifies as anything but heresay to me.

Do you have anything from Doug Jones directly instead of relying on what bbv says?

I really don't trust anything from that site anymore.

[mmarcus]

4. To stay on topic, here is something constructive we can do

We should fix some dates, working backwards from the November election.

How long does it take to print ballots for optical scans? If the touchscreens are pulled from the shelves we'll need ballots. The ballot printing time frame impacts the last possible pull date for the touchscreens.

Anyone have accurate information on ballot printing timelines?

[hunter]

7. Well, I believe you brought the ugliness here...

Seems only fair to stay on topic.

[documaker]

8. It is good to see the photo, is there film footage?

I just sent you an email Marcus. Any solutions need communications. The more visuals the better.

Are there any DRE failures on film? If you can round up footage I may be able to help you get your message out. I have very good editing equipment.

I am glad to see the restoration of these men's dignity and it reflects well on you that you took steps to protect these experts' reputations. We should all follow your example for respectful treatment of these men of courage.

I am happy to see a thread that's focused on solutions. I did not get an invite. I work in civil rights areas and we need ways to communicate the problem-solution-what to do. Will there be a second round of conference calls for some of us who have skills to supplement these efforts?

[JimDandy]

9. Great post Marcus.

I'm glad to see there is interest on DU in coming together to implement solutions and coordinate actions on a nationwide scale.

[kster]

10. Thank you mmarcus ......... K&R.......... nt

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

11. I'm going to lock this.

From the rules:

Do not talk negatively about an individual in a thread where they are not participating. Do not post messages with the purpose of "calling out" another member or picking a fight with another member.

best,
wakemeupwhenitsover
DU Moderator