CA: Landshark Takes A Bite Out Of A Republican Rag

[kpete]

Landshark Takes A Bite Out Of A Republican Rag

Ties to vote-machine makers questioned
By Craig Gustafson
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

May 12, 2007

A former sales representative for Diebold Election Systems – maker of San Diego County's electronic voting machines – has been hired to run elections countywide.

..................

But Paul Lehto (Land Shark), co-founder of Psephos, a nonprofit group that focuses on election integrity, questioned the hiring of Seiler based on her work with Diebold and Sequoia Pacific Systems, which also makes voting machines.

“Seiler is known as one of the best PR people or apologists for secret vote-counting that exists in the nation, and she's coming to San Diego County,” Lehto said.

Seiler's hiring is the second in as many months to raise concern among voting-rights activists who believe electronic voting machines threaten the integrity of the election process.

Last month, the county hired Michael Vu as assistant registrar of voters.

more at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070512-9999-7m12seiler.html

And from Land Shark himself: My answer above was part of my answer to the hardball question of "Why do activists attack every single appointment that comes up in elections?" In an unprinted portion of my response, I suggested that there are only about ten "name" election officials who are so controversial that they would attract immediate opposition, Blackwell and Harris being the top two. But of the other eight or so, 4 of them are San Diego County: Mikel Haas, Michael Vu, Michelle Townsend and now Deborah Seiler.

[glitch]

1. Republicans must be losing SD county fast - else why put in these folks?

How utterly embarrassing to have to steal a formerly safe right wing county like San Diego.

Keep on rocking for the free world Paul. K & R

[Land Shark]

2. Not sure SD County has ever recently been ALL that right wing, after all

a much more progressive candidate for mayor, Donna Frye, ran and WON as a write in candidate. Her victory was taken away on the grounds that thousands of voters who wrote in "Donna Frye" had their votes rejected because they did not ALSO fill in the oval. Yet, voter intent could not be more clear. Denial of democracy and voter intent on pure technicality. (BTW optical scan systems do this automatically)

I'm happy with the quote because I'm hoping that Seiler will take the rest of her career to apologize for secret vote counting. But there's no excuse for it. THere's not even a good reason for it.

[loudsue]

3. From the above article:

"Vu had recently resigned as executive director of elections for Ohio's Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, after a tumultuous, 3½-year tenure that included a disastrous May 2006 primary in which the county began using new electronic voting machines."

Didn't Vu get PUSHED to resign since the new Ohio SoS has been investigating all the fraud that went on there? The article failed to go into pertinent detail about the controversy & convictions surrounding the Ohio elections in 2006. That, to me, was a glaring omission.

:kick::kick::kick:

[Land Shark]

4. Also failed to mention the two felony convictions of his employees

for recount rigging in the 2004 presidential election.

So yeah if they were doing their job they'd print that, but when Vu came on they hit him with that so it at least is already on record. This article wasn't about Vu it's about Seiler so I suppose that would be their defense.

I wonder what the defense of secret vote counting will be in San Diego?

[GuvWurld]

5. A couple of the comments on the U-T site are too funny

Land Shark, does Soros let you use his toothbrush when you wake up next to him in the morning? :rofl:

Those guys don't do ad hominem attacks too well. They're more like minus hominem.

Seriously, it's great that you are getting quoted in articles like this one. And as always, great job with the framing. :thumbsup:

[diva77]

13. what is the U-T site?

:dunce:

[GuvWurld]

16. San Diego Union-Tribune

the source of the article in the OP

[Land Shark]

18. San Diego Union Tribune is at www.signonsandiego.com

[Peace Patriot]

6. Oh, not Debra Seiler again! She's been hiding out in San Joaquin County, ever

since her close friendship with Connie McCormack (Diebold shill, Los Angeles) was revealed. That was weird enough--former Diebold chief sales rep, wining, dining and taking vacations with the head of Los Angeles elections, then going to work for the SJ county registrar (...WTF?!). Now--like a bad penny--she turns up in San Diego, one of the filthiest election venues in California (and that's saying something).

Christ.

Landshark, I applaud you once again for your understanding of what's going on, for your ability to zero in on the worst of it, and for keeping the rest of us informed.

These two--McCormack and Seiler--were leaders of the witch-hunt against Kevin Shelley. May they one day pay for their sins!

Seiler burrowing into SJ County, then emerging in SD, reminds me of the laundering of US Attorneys that Rove has been doing. They've been placing dim-witted, Bible-thumping Freeper attorneys, with bad degrees and no experience, into Asst. US Attorney positions, so that, a year later, they can put a year's experience (at fucking things up) on their resumes, and be instantly elevated into US Attorney and higher positions (AG's office, White House). Diebold has thus "laundered" Seiler through SJ County (in a lesser position, Asst. Registrar) into a more important position and venue. It is utterly, totally, mind-bogglingly outrageous to have a Diebold sales rep in ANY position in supposedly public elections! They are no doubt aiming at Calif Sec of State. Not just a Diebold shill--but someone who was directly employed by Diebold, someone who SOLD these election theft machines to our hapless or corrupt county election officials and legislators--as Sec of State! I think that's what they're up to.

It's not enough that we had a Sec of State, Bill Jones (and his chief aide, Alfie Charles) who now work for Sequoia--in one of the more spectacular cases of the highly corrupt practice of "revolving door employment." That is bad enough. And it's not enough that we have Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia "counting" all our votes with "TRADE SECRET," PROPRIETARY programming code. No, they need to infest our public positions with former Diebold employees! (Direct employees, that is. Bought and paid for, real time--as opposed to the corruption of people who never worked for them directly.)

Here's an idea. Does Seiler get a pension from Diebold? Did she get severance pay? Shares? Cheney gets around a million bucks a year in "golden parachute" pay, tied to Halliburton stock. Nobody seems to be bothered by that in DC. But in California, it might get more attention.

They have not given up on "red California." Looking at our state officials, we're red at the top already--much like the US as a whole: a tiny red circle at the top, lording it over a sea of blue. Except for Debra Bowen, the miracle of the '06 elections. (I don't count Jerry Brown, AG, for much. He's turned Corporate.) This is "the prize." California. They'll ride out Bowen, and then we'll have Diebold not just influencing the Sec of State (McPherson), but running the Sec of State's office directly (Seiler, the "laundered")!

The other "prize" is, of course, New York. And Diebold/ES&S and the Bushites are working overtime to wrest New York's old, reliable, virtually unriggable lever voting machines away from New York voters, and replace them with Diebold/ES&S election theft machines. I fear that HR 811 will facilitate that.

No more "blue" coasts. Yeah, "blue." Real blue. But an entire people stranded as if on an island. The blue people; the Red Queen. Wonderland, writ large. Wonderland, THIS side of the Rabbit's Hole.

That's what they're plotting, I'm sure. And it is only American patriots like Landshark who stand between us and THAT: that ugly land, where everything is upside down and backwards. Where a can of red paint is applied to the white roses, at the order of the Red Queen. That ugly artificial nutso world of corporate advertising.

[bleever]

7. Thank you, Land Shark.

:yourock:

[gristy]

8. Link to landshark's non-profit here

http://www.psephos-us.org Donate or volunteer.

[autorank]

9. K&R from vacation land.

The Trib, very nice. What a dump that place is politically, beautiful physically, great people but lousy system. It's been that way for decades. The arrogance of power. Lets see what Bowen's shop does with this and if the CA Attorney General takes a look. They'll probably do nothing. Just more of the same old same old. But that's great to get in the Trib and rattle their cage!

[lonestarnot]

10. Rats scurrying around the nest, bringing in the soft bedding.

[blondie58]

11. thank you

thank you, thank you ((LandsShark)


they never give up- it's incredible.

[diva77]

12. yes, concern in LA County as well

this post provides interesting dot-connecting

http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/32750.html?1150938485

this gives some back history on Logan:

http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_060105WABelection_trialLJ.2cff7c420.html

[pacalo]

14. They want to get their grubby hands on California's 538 electoral votes.

[Dems Will Win]

15. You should make videos and get them on Current TV

DU could then vote them up and we could start to control what appears on Current TV...

What say you?

[Land Shark]

17. We all say how do we do this?

[diva77]

19. here is link for FAQ at current.tv -- Al Gore is chairman of the company

http://www.current.tv/faq#getinvolved

"Current is a global television network that gives you the opportunity to create and influence what airs on TV."

[Kurovski]

20. K& previous R

Am I only imagining a possible conflict of interest in this hiring?

Over the years, it's always been interesting to note the people who DON'T show up in these kind of threads. But I'm feeling crazier than usual today.

Thanks, Paul! :hi: