Ron Ackerman said this in post #44 : Sean, as I pointed out, it only affected the running tally not the total vote of the machines. So even if it was fixed it wouldn't have changed the outcome.
Oh, so this was already pointed out then. Okay - so long as the total votes in the end could be queried accurately, display counters are meaningless. Still disconcerting that the manufacturer did not catch such a simple problem - what, no room for testing these things before deployment? I mean statistical accuracy should be a fairly core feature of such a system - one would think that this should have the highest level of testing and verification prior to release.
Caroleeena said this in post #41 : I must dispel a misconception that Mystic has about me. She labeled me a Democrat. I am not. I am a registered Independent and I always have been. I vote for individuals, not parties. I will admit, though, that over the past 10 years or so, the Republican party under its Neoconservative/pseudo-Christian leadership has pretty much alienated me. And while I do not like the two party system, I really hate what the neoconservatives have done to the Republican party. And to Christianity too, now that I think about it. And to the South. I believe that they have wielded wedge issues as a political weapon and that it has polarized our country. The people doing this have brought terrorism home to America much more effectively than al Queda. They are making us hate each other.
My point is the same as it was originally. Anyone, in either party, who tries to rob an American citizen of their right to vote is wrong. We must do something about all of it--fix the system that allows it. Therefore, we cannot overlook these discrepencies. They require our investigation.
As to the people who vandalized the Republican building right here in my hometown of Raleigh, I can tell you some things about that. According to our local news those people were not Democrats, they were anarchists. They were not from Raleigh. They, this group of almost 100 people (at least here) have flash gatherings organized over the Internet. They travel the country doing this and they have hit Raleigh twice. They have hit other places too. It's possible that those other incidents Ron mentioned were also related to that movement. I don't know. I do know, though, that they arrested three people after the Raleigh incident and none of them were from here and they were all very young--twenty year olds.
Perhaps we should look at why young people in this country feel so disenfranchised and angry. If we don't, it's only going to get worse.
I fear for our country.
It makes me sick to see the way we are treating each other. The attacks on this board are a reflection of what is simmering in our society. If we don't do something about it, that slow simmer is going to escalate into a raging boil. How about we take steps toward healing our society by changing how we interact with one another right here, right now? Now I know it's easier to bully people, shout them down, call them names, try to deflate their spirit...it's an easy way to make people shut up so you don't have to hear what they have to say. I encourage us to rise above such things and maintain issue based discussions. We are all bigger than that. We are neighbors, not enemies. Let's avoid discourse that is hurtful and unjust.
I commit to it. Who's with me?
Don't be afraid to discuss the topic. We're adults here. We can talk--even when we disagree. We don't have to hit each other with our words.
My point here has never been about winning or losing or whining or trying to rewrite the election. My point is that a number of people seem to have tried in a systematic way to undermine the United States electoral process and our Constitution and that is UNPATRIOTIC AND ILLEGAL! If we do not recognize it now, find the errors and fix them now, find the unethical people and out them now, find the loopholes and close them now, we will be looking at more of the same in our very next election. Or worse.
S'all I'm sayin...
It's been a long time since this message was posted. It's been even longer since I last put in my two cents. After the election I was heartbroken. I lost hope in the system, and not just the electoral system. I am also a journalist, and I felt that our media was failing us, poor coverage, lack of investigative journalism, slants, corporate media, etc, etc. Worst of all, I felt myself lose touch with the american masses. I have spent the past four months healing, thinking, reading, researching, talking, listening. This post, put in not long after I stopped, is excellent. Not just in terms of content, but also expression, craft. I have been going back, reading the things I missed...and this is the first post that made me want to speak again. Thank you Caroleeena. I think you might be seeing more of me again, now.
11-12-2004 06:43 PM
