Chime in: GOP/Diebold etc conspiring to steal the election in Nov?

[Perky]

SO we can put together a list of who to laugh at when the Dems take back back both houses on election day.

We will see a clean sweep in Ohio. Senator, Governor and all the competitive House races.

[Peace Patriot]

1. I expect something more modest to happen, such as this:

A combo of Bushite Democrats (like those who voted for torture and suspension of habeas corpus the other week) and outright Bushites who together still outnumber the real representatives of the majority of Americans--a Democratic edge, but not a real one. Not solid enough for serious investigation of the Bush Junta's mind-boggling list of high crimes and misdemeanors, or any significant reform. Very modest gains, in other words, even with a Dem majority.

And to those of us who object to Bushite corporations "counting" all our votes on electronic machines run on TRADE SECRET, PROPRIETARY programming code, they will say,"What's your beef--the Democrats won, didn't they?"

The Democratic "victory" will be used to try to make us go away.

From your post, perky, I gather that you don't mind that all our votes are now under the control of private corporations with very close ties to the Bush regime, and that they and they alone are privy to the SECRET vote tabulation formulae. Is it true?

And if it isn't true--if you don't like this--then can you tell me: What is preventing them from rigging the election any way they like--whatever way suits their short and long term interests--say, modest theft this year for just the right mix to keep Bush & co. out of serious trouble, and major theft in two years when the future of corporate rule might be at stake?

These machines have been proven to be extremely insecure and insider hackable. Their innards are not in public control. They are SECRETLY "tested" by the industry which has been caught lying about the results.

One insider hacker, a couple of minutes, leaving no trace. That's all it takes to change millions of votes, undetectably.

And here are the dudes who have this SOLE power:

DIEBOLD: Until recently, headed by Wally O'Dell, a Bush-Cheney campaign chair and major fundraiser (a Bush "Pioneer," right up there with Ken Lay), who promised in writing to "deliver Ohio's electoral votes to Bush-Cheney in 2004"; and

ES&S: A spinoff of Diebold (similar computer architecture), initially funded by rightwing billionaire Howard Ahmanson, who also gave one million dollars to the extremist 'christian' Chalcedon Foundation (which touts the death penalty for homosexuals, among other things). Diebold and ES&S have an incestuous relationship; they are run by two brothers, Bob and Todd Urosevich.

These are the people who "counted" 80% of the nation's votes in 2004, under a veil of corporate secrecy. And they have even more of a lock on our voting system today.

Also, SEQUOIA: The third major election theft industry player, which hired Republican Bill Jones, former Calif Secretary of State, and his chief aide, Alfie Charles, to peddle their machines--in an outstanding example of the highly corrupt practices that HAVA fosters-- "revolving door" employment, lavish lobbying, corporate secrecy, corporate lawyers writing our laws, and the heady power of multi-million dollar electronics contracts in government.

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Ohio '05: Four election reform initiatives on the ballot, predicted to win by 60/40 margins, flipped over on election day into 60/40 LOSSES! The biggest flipover we've seen yet.

Read this and you will never vote on another electronic voting machine in your life:
"Poll Shock," by Bob Koehler (11/24/05)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col321.htm

Bust the Machines--Vote by Absentee Ballot!

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In addition to this election theft capability, one-party rule has yielded the Bushites numerous OTHER ways to steal and suppress Democratic votes--but you know about all these in Ohio. I don't mean to rag on Ohio--we know these tactics are used in other places, too--but have you solved all of these myriad Ohio Bushite vote stealing and vote suppression problems?

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I'm not saying you can't overcome these handicaps--some of which exist in almost all states, especially the hackable e-voting machines--but why ridicule those of us who are concerned about them? Why not tell people the truth? The e-voting system is EXTREMELY vulnerable to massive and undetectable Bushite vote stealing. And voter purges, voter IDs, and vote suppression of every kind can still be used with impunity, because we still have Alberto ("torture memo") Gonzales as A.G., and he won't prosecute it.

I don't understand this taunting tone.

If you overcome all of this, and elect good people, kudos and laurel wreaths to you! Really! I will jump for joy! I have been active on Ohio election issues since Nov. 3, 2004, and have been gravely concerned about your state, and I'm greatly heartened by the activism there, and the determination to turn things around.

But with conditions as they are in our voting system, I don't think bravado is in order. You should be soliciting support, not turning it off.

[davidwparker]

2. Of course there are. This is why we need to turn out in force to make

it obvious about the theft.

[Perky]

3. I guess we will find out on the first Tuesday in November