Letter to the Editor
With electronic voting machines a Democrat needs to have a 5 point lead to actually win elections. That's because electronic voting machines are inaccurate and always makes mistakes in favor of Republicans. Most of the country's elected officials who are in charge of voting are Republicans and they slant the elections by not providing enough machines in Democratic areas. This make Democrats wait in lines for hours to vote when Republicans only wait 5 minutes.
Republicans have already started their election tricks. In California a Republican mailed 14,000 LEGAL immigrants threatening them with jail if they vote. They are now trying to purge Dems from voter rolls. 2600 dead people have already voted in New York and the dead are voting for Republicans. (Perhaps because Republicans are against the death tax?)
We are still waiting to see if Republicans get Osama to make an election eve appearance like he did in 2004. Maybe Bush will fake a disaster and suspend elections? If there's a way to cheat the Republicans will figure it out. So Democrats have to work harder to win elections that are slanted in favor of Republicans.
LONDON (AFP) - An Al-Qaeda terror suspect captured by the United States, who gave evidence of links between Iraq and the terror network, confessed after being tortured, a journalist told the BBC.
Iban al Shakh al Libby told intelligence agents that he was close to Al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri and "understood an awful lot about the inner workings of Al-Qaeda," former FBI agent Jack Clonan told the broadcaster.
Libby was tortured in an Egyptian prison, according to Stephen Grey, the author of the newly-released book "Ghost Plane" who investigated the secret US Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA) prisons that housed terror suspects around the world.
US President George W. Bush confirmed the existence of the network of CIA holding facilities overseas during a September 6 speech defending controversial US interrogation practices.
Libby was apparently taken to Cairo, Clonan told the broadcaster, after being captured in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
"He (Libby) claims he was tortured in jail and that would be routine in Egyptian prisons," Grey said.
"What he claimed most significantly was a connection between ... Al-Qaeda and the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein. This intelligence report made it all the way to the top, and was used by (former US secretary of state) Colin Powell as a key piece of justification ... for invading Iraq," he told the broadcaster.
Powell claimed in a UN Security Council meeting in February 2003, weeks before a US-led coalition invaded Iraq, that the country under Saddam Hussein had provided weapons training to Al-Qaeda, saying he could "trace the story of a senior terrorist operative", whom Grey alleges is Libby.
"At the time, the caveats to say this intelligence was extracted under torture were not provided," Grey said.
Grey said that, after being held in Egypt, Libby was transferred to a secret CIA facility in Bagram, just north of Afghanistan's capital Kabul. The journalist said he had also met other people held in that facility who describe the torture that Libby faced at the CIA facility.
Since then, "he disappeared", Grey said.
"Like hundreds of other people arrested after September 11, he's vanished into a sort of netherworld of prisons where astonishingly, President Bush now says the prisons have emptied.
Letter to the Editor
Republicans are saying that "All politics is local" and that the Iraq war is a national issue. I don't agree. We've had 3000 dead soldiers shipped back from Bush's wars. When your friends and relatives are shipped to your home town in a box, that's local. I think that the Republicans are making a serious error understanding what local means.
Letter to the Editor
There's an old saying that if you don't change course you might end up where you're heading. Think about that when you vote on November 7th.
Letter to the Editor
After occupying Iraq for 3 years we can't even win control of Baghdad. Every day we lose ground. That sad part is that 2800 of our troops and 650,000 Iraqis have died for nothing. Bush even failed to steal their oil. Maybe it's time to put Saddam Hussein back in power. As bad as it was then, it's actually worse now. We can't win because to win means we have to defeat the people who we are trying to liberate. The people there hate us and they want us to leave. When America goes to war for all the wrong reasons we should expect to lose. One thing for sure is that Bush and the Republicans who got us into this mess aren't going to be the ones who get us out.
Letter to the Editor
A lot of politicians are making election year conversions trying to fool us into pretending to be someone different than they really are. With the election a few days away they are singing a different tune. Now they are against the war when last year they supported it. Now they say "We've never been Stay the Course". Republicans like Clay Shaw and Rick Santorum are running political ads about how well they worked with President Clinton (not Bush) when a few years ago they were trying to impeach him. Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't running special elections this year trying to make power grabs. Joe Lieberman is no longer on kissing terms with Bush.
So if your candidate is singing a new tune - beware. Just as sure as gas prices are going up after the election you can bet that their election personality is going to go away just as soon as they sucker you into voting for them yet again. I say, when in doubt, vote them out!
Letter to the Editor
Is Clinton more conservative than Bush? When Clinton was president he made government smaller. Bush made it bigger. Clinton cut taxes on the middle class and had the biggest surplus in history. Bust increased taxes on the middle class and we have the biggest deficit in history. Clinton believed in pay as you go. Bush spends like there is no tomorrow.
Clinton was a highly respected leader. Bush is an embarrassment. When Clinton was president we won the wars in Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo. Under Bush we lost the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Lebanon. When Clinton was president the price of gas was only a dollar. Clinton didn't have the NSA tapping your phones and Clinton didn't have a network of secret torture camps. The difference between Clinton and Bush isn't Liberal vs. Conservative. The difference is success vs. failure.
Letter to the Editor
Cheney says that a "dunk in water" is a "no-brainer for me" then tries to claim later that trying to drown someone isn't torture, that it's not water boarding. The Republican Congress, after John McCain sold us out, gave Bush the power to torture without the Bush administration having any idea what torture is. We can't pretend that torture is not what it clearly is. We've all seen the pictures of Abu Ghraib where our troops were torturing people for nothing more than amusement. Abu Ghraib is now legal under the laws that Republicans just passed. Being an American with legalized torture is like what it must have been to be a German with Hitler as its leader. Torture is just plain evil and we have to rise up against it.
Letter to the Editor
Bush is finally giving up staying the course, declaring "We've Never been Stay the Course". Bush is now actively avoiding the "stay the course" phrase. His message now is that when you see something isn't working you try something different. That's something I agree with and that's why I'm voting for the Democrats. When you're heading in the wrong direction the right thing to do is turn around. Even Bush finally gets it.
Letter to the Editor
People are asking themselves if they reelect Republicans how they will be able to solve the problem with gay Republicans wanting to have sex with underage pages. But this isn't a problem for Republicans because in their wisdom they passed laws that will protect the children from their sexual advances. Those who call this a "do nothing Congress" don't appreciate the wisdom of the laws they passed.
You see, they gave Bush the authority spy on Congress. He can tap their phones and email and Instant Message access and Bush will be watching over them to make sure they keep their hands off the kids. Bush is like Santa Claus on steroids. "He know when you are sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows when you've been bad or good so be good for Heaven's sake!"
And how could Congress object to Bush tapping their phones because if there was anything wrong with Bush spying on Congress then why would they have voted to let him do it? So mothers, don't you worry your pretty little heads. Your children are in good hands with the Republican led Congress.
Letter to the Editor
How low do gas prices have to go to get Republicans elected? Especially knowing that as soon as the election is over that prices are going back up, how low would Republicans have to go? Under $2.00? Or what if they went all the way down to 75 cents? Maybe Republicans should try sending us all a $300 tax refund? Or they could do a prayer circle to show us how religious they are. Or maybe if we blame it all on those "commie lib'rals" like Nancy Pelosi and the witch Hillary who are going to put gays in charge of the military. Who are just going to "cut and run" while raising your taxes and destroying the moral fabric of society. If you don't vote Republican then Islamic death squads will slaughter your family, and then the Democrats will tax you after you die.
I just can't take two more years of insanity. Time to pull the plug on the Bush plan.
Letter to the Editor
In 2002, before Bush's war in Iraq, Republicans played the fear card convincing voters that there's an enemy lurking out there and if you don't vote for someone tough then the terrorists will kill you. In 2004 Bush ran ads using wolves to terrorize voters into voting for him. But now it's 2006 and although terrorism is still there, it's also clear that terrorism has gotten worse under Republican rule and that Bush's bad decisions are making terrorism worse.
In spite of it being an election year all the intelligence agencies, all of the free speaking military commanders, and many respected Republican leaders now admit that America is on the wrong course and that Bush's plan isn't working. We have lost the war in Iraq, losing in Afghanistan, and bin Laden is still free and laughing at Bush. What this means is that the more the Republicans try to scare voters this time the more likely they are to vote against them. After fool me once and fool me twice the Republican strategy of fooling the voters the third time might be as flawed as the Iraq war strategy itself.
Letter to the Editor
President Roosevelt once said "The Only Thing we have to Fear is Fear Itself". Bush's message is, "Vote Republican or the Terrorists will Kill You". We are supposed to trust Republicans to keep us safe. Can we trust them? The same Republicans who put a congressman who they knew was a sexual predator in charge of the Exploited Children's Caucus? Republicans have made terrorism much worse. Time to drain the swamp, throw the bums out, and try someone new.
What's the difference between the war in Iraq and the war in Vietnam? George W. Bush had a plan to get out of Vietnam.
Letter to the Editor
Today marks the end of what we once called America. Today Bush signed into law a bill that gives Bush the powers of Adolf Hitler. Bush can now torture people in secret torture prisons. We are our own enemy. History will mark today as the day that America died. This will cause the people of the world to hate America because it is causing Americans to hate America.
Letter to the Editor
Some people here in America think that Bush is going to find a way to postpone American elections scheduled for November 7th. It is looking like he is going to lose control of our Congress and that he might be impeached. Knowing what's coming the current regime might choose to attempt to hold on to power no matter what is lawful.
As an American I am asking the world to pay close attention to us and see if our elections occur and are fair. We have electronic voting machines that the Republicans have rigged to make Republicans win. bush might also fake an attack as an excuse to suspend elections under emergency powers. We the people of the United States need to restore a ligitimate government and stop being a threat to the rest of the world. We ask that humanity help us restore sanity to our nation.
Letter to the Editor
The Republicans say that they want to get to the bottom of the Mark Foley sex scandal and that they aren't trying to cover it up. Well then, why are the hearings behind closed doors? When they were roasting Clinton they did it on live TV and made it as public as possible. But when it comes to their sex scandal, we don't get to see that. Foley was co-chair of the Exploited Children's Caucus and was trying to have sex with underage boys. And with Foley hiding out in an alcohol rehab center and the investigation hidden away till after the elections Republicans are hoping that the voters will forget it in the next few weeks. If the Republicans have nothing to hide then why are they hiding behind closed doors?
Letter to the Editor
This is a good year for poor people to vote because the election is so close and the consequences so great of the lower and middle class. The Democrats are for raising the minimum wage, Republicans are not. Republicans are in bed with oil companies who are raising gas prices and making record profits. Republicans don't care about health care costs, prescription drug prices, education, or ethics. And it's the poor who are sending their children off to die in Bush's wars.
But the lower and middle classes are often lazy when it comes time to show up to vote thinking that their vote doesn't count. But this year is different so I want to encourage people to get out and vote because if you don't vote you won't get an increase in the minimum wage.
Letter to the Editor
This election isn't about Republicans vs. Democrats. It's about Reality vs. Denial. We can either vote to accept reality and change course or we can vote for denial and stay on the wrong path for another 2 years. The thing about reality is that reality doesn't go away. How bad do things have to get before we vote to drain the swamp?
Letter to the Editor
Just when Republicans were looking to take the focus off the Mark Foley sex scandal Republican Bob Ney pleaded guilty to bribery and corruption charges in a string of scandals linked to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Will this string of corrupt congressman from Tom Delay to Duke Cunningham hurt the GOP more than Foley? Or are they worse off with the sex scandals of gay Republicans Foley and Kolbe and the gay prostitute Jeff Gannon who posed as a Whitehouse press correspondent and had full access to President Bush? I think the sex scandal hurts the GOP more.
Everyone already knows that Republicans are financially corrupt so the money scandals are nothing new to voters. It is generally known that Republicans take bribes and take care of those who take care of them. After all we have seen lobbyists passing out checks on the floor of the house during votes that affect those who are making those donations. But Republican sex scandals are somewhat more rare. During the Clinton impeachment Republicans were exposed in several heterosexual scandals and several lost their jobs. But these recent homosexual scandals are new to the Republican party and it is my opinion that new scandals hurt Republicans more than old ones.
Of course both sides might be wrong and people will get tired of the daily body count from the Iraq war and vote against that. Or maybe the drip drip drip of bad news will just put voters in the mood to "drain the swamp" and throw them all out.
Letter to the Editor
The new book "Tempting Faiths" claims that Republicans are just using Evangelicals for political purposes, mocking them behind their backs. But the relationship between Evangelicals and Republicans is far more complicated that that. Evangelicals claim to be a mighty political force and demanded Republicans support honor their demands. Republicans responded not because the believed but because they saw an opportunity to take advantage of them. And thus formed an unholy alliance.
But Evangelicals can not claim they were the victim here. One of the reasons Bush set up his office of Faith Based Initiatives was to funnel huge amounts of government money to churches conditionally based on the efforts of churches to turn out Republican voters. Evangelicals understood that in taking the money they were selling out their faith to the Republican party for money and the illusion of power. If Evangelicals fail to actively support Republicans then all that government money that they are now dependent on goes away.
As they say in the Bible, "no one can server two masters". Billy Graham figured that out in the 1970s when Nixon tried to cozy up to him. Now Evangelicals are faced with this choice between following Jesus or Carl Rove. It seems like an easy choice except in order to follow Jesus you have to give up the money. When Judas took the money he had to give up Jesus.
I personally am an Atheist and when I see Evangelicals selling out their faith for money it just proves to me that there's nothing there. If Evangelicals truly had a personal relationship with God then they wouldn't sell out. If Evangelicals don't value what they preach then why should I?
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With Evangelicals it's all about the money. They rake in millions in faith based money and now Republicans are above sin. If Clinton has bribed Evangelicals then Monica wouldn't have been a problem.
Letter to the Editor
Just after Republican Mark Foley was caught trying to have sex with young boys he checked himself into an alcohol rehab center supposedly to treat alcoholism even though he's not an alcoholic. What Foley is really doing is hiding out till after the election. He's avoiding the FBI and congressional inquiries that could really expose what happened. I think it's time to call Foley out of hiding and have him face the consequences of his actions. I think it's time for Hastert and the Republican leadership to stop being in on the Foley cover up and pretend Foley is being treated for something that we all know is a lie. To use a treatment center as a hideout from justice is just plain wrong.
Letter to the Editor
People have different opinions as to why Republicans are trailing in the polls this election season. Some say it's because of the Foley scandal. That's because Evangelicals took credit for electing Republicans they are now taking the blame for what the Republicans did. Putting a gay congressman in charge of the exploited children caucus who is trying to exploit children isn't what Evangelicals want on their list of political accomplishments.
However others think it's not just the Foley cover up that is sinking the GOP. Every day hundreds of new bodies are discovered in Iraq and more of our soldiers come home in a box from a war that has made America weaker and headed for defeat. Others think it's fiscal conservatives who see America going from a surplus from the Clinton years to a national debt on track to top 10 trillion dollars before the end of the Bush presidency. Libertarians and small government conservatives have a problem with the government tapping our phones without a warrant and the idea that we have to give up being free to be free. Many Jews are uncomfortable with the legalization of secret torture camps which cause them to wonder if this is a step to the return to Nazi style Concentration Camps.
Then there's the general population that are just tired of Bush's bad judgment. He ignored the warnings before 9-11. Then there was "Mission Accomplished" and "Bring 'em on!", hurricane Katrina, gas prices are double even with the temporary election season price dip. Republicans have managed to offend everyone except the super rich who still get huge tax cut even though we are supposedly fighting 2 wars. So even though the Foley scandal is huge for Republicans, it's just the latest scandal in a long record of failure after failure. America is just tired of heading in the wrong direction.
Letter to the Editor
America is a democracy where we elect people to represent us and make decisions that are in the best interest of our nation. It is part of our duty as citizens to make sure that they are doing a good job and looking out for the welfare of the people. If Congress fails to do a good job then it is our civic duty to punish them by denying them our vote. If we fail to deny them our vote then they will act in their own self interest instead of acting for the good of the public. It's the same as "spare the rod and spoil the child". We punish Congress because we love America. So let us all express our love for America on election day this November 7th.
Letter to the Editor
Republican Senator John Warner seems to be drifting sideways on the Iraq war issue casting doubt as to if the Republicans are going to be able to cover up the fact that America have lost the war in Iraq until after the election. John Warner becomes the latest Republican to show signs that he is finally waking up to the same conclusion that many generals, the National Intelligence Estimate, and the majority of America has already figured out. Iraq was a mistake, it is making things worse, we have accomplished less than nothing, and the longer we stay the course the worse it gets.
"It seems to me the situation is simply drifting sideways." says Senator Warner, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee. If the Iraqi government can't function effectively after several months, Warner said, "It's the responsibility of our government to determine is there a change in course we should take. I wouldn't take any option off the table at this time."
Clearly Republicans are trying protect the illusion of unity before the elections but the shear volume of failure is to great to conceal. We don't need another 60 to 90 days to figure out what is going on in Iraq as Mr. Warner suggests. Why wait till after the election to figure out what we all already know? Let's do as Nancy Pelosi suggests and "drain the swamp". Get the Republicans out of there, end the cover up, and take a fresh look at what's really going on.
Letter to the Editor
Republicans are going on the offense fighting back against the Foley scandal. "It's the usual suspects", claim Republicans. The Democrats are behind this! It's those Lib'rals, like mysterious bloggers funded by George Soros, ABC News, operatives associated with Clinton(s), and Hollyweird. They're the ones who suppressed the proof until just before the election! After all, we all know that Republicans are far too disciplined to get caught trying to have sex with underage boys just 5 weeks from an election. So it's the Democrats fault. It's a vast left wing conspiracy.
It's not our fault, Republicans declare. Foley was an alcoholic. He had a disease. And he was sexually abused by clergy. (Probably Lib'ral clergy!) And he's a gay man. He can't control himself. But we have to protect our children. Our children come first. Republicans are the family values party. So the Republicans are suggesting ending the 200 year old Page program to make sure our children are protected from horny gay Republicans. Republicans are being victimized by evil Democrats who are exploiting this story for purely political purposes. How dare they! How dare they!
The Republican's can stop Foley because he raises so much money. So much money that it causes anyone who looks at it to go blind, deaf, and lose their memory. But Republicans are going to take responsibility for this scandal that the Democrats started. "The Buck Stops Here" exclaims Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert! What he means is - Republicans are going to keep Foley's money!
Letter to the Editor
We are now finding out that a huge number of Republicans knew about former congressman Mark Foley's problems with trying to have sex with underage boys. Foley was co-chairman of the Exploited Children Caucus. However everyone's memories are fuzzy and by amazing coincidences no one did anything about it until Mr. Foley was busted by the news media. Mr. Foley raised a lot of money for the Republicans, some 2 million dollars or so. A Republican staff member who resigned today offered to bribe ABC News with an exclusive if they kept the truth from the public regarding the details of what Foley did.
Now the Republicans are all shocked and surprised by these revelations claiming that they knew nothing about it. Republican's claim to be the party of family values. They put the safety of children ahead of money. Some people might think that Foley's money has led to Republican's looking the other way. Republicans of course deny they would put money ahead of the safety of children. But the Republicans are keeping Foley's money.
Letter to the Editor
Many Republicans are worried the congressman Mark Foley's gay sex scandal with underage boys will hurt Republican's in this year's elections. But it may end up helping them because it draws attention away from all the other scandals that might affect the election even more.
For example, the Foley scandal distracts the attention that just last week congress passed a law allowing Bush to set up a network of secret prison torture camps. Or that they passed a 700 mile fence on the Mexican border but didn't allocate the money to build it. It also distracts from the National Intelligence Estimate saying that the war in Iraq is making terrorism worse. Or that Osama bin Laden is still free. Or that Iraq is in a civil war. Or that 3000 soldiers died in Iraq for nothing. Or that we are now losing the war in Afghanistan too. Or the Jack Abramoff and Tom Delay scandals. Or of hurricane Katrina scandals. Or that the national debt is about to exceed 10 trillion dollars. Or the Abu Ghraib scandal. And there's Haliburton no bid contracts, global warming, the failed war in Lebanon, failed diplomacy with Iran and North Korea, ignoring the Geneva Conventions, the United Nations, and the Anti-ballistic treaty, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, warrantless wire tapping of our phone conversations, no weapons of mass destruction, and Bob Woodward's latest book "State of Denial".
So although this sex scandal is bad for Republicans, it isn't nearly as bad as all the other scandals. Besides Clinton won with a sex scandal. I think Republicans are better off dealing with a sex scandal than dealing with a record of failure.
Letter to the Editor
GOP Speaker of the house Dennis Hastert says that he has asked the Attorney General to do a full investigation to determine how many Republican members of Congress knew that Congressman Mark Foley was trying to have gay sex with 16 year old boys working in Congress. I say why should we wait for an investigation? Just last week the Republicans approved Bush setting up a network of secret prisons designed to get this kind of information from people who don't want to talk. I think that if we submitted these Republicans to "harsh questioning" we could get these Republicans to confess to their crimes. After all, as they claim, it's not torture, and it's legal now.
By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, Atlanta Progressive News (September 28, 2006)
(APN) ATLANTA – Top Diebold corporation officials ordered workers to install secret files to Georgia’s electronic voting machines shortly before the 2002 Elections, at least two whistleblowers are now asserting, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.
Former Diebold official Chris Hood told his story concerning the secret “patch” to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for Kennedy’s second article on electronic voting in this week’s Rolling Stone Magazine.
Hood’s claims corroborate a second whistleblower who spoke with Black Box Voting and Wired News in 2003.
Whistleblower Accounts
“With the primaries looming, [Chief of Diebold’s Election Division] Urosevich was personally distributing a ‘patch,’ a little piece of software designed to correct glitches in the computer program,” Rolling Stone Magazine reported.
"We were told that it was intended to fix the clock in the system, which it didn't do," Hood told Rolling Stone. "The curious thing is the very swift, covert way this was done."
"It was an unauthorized patch, and they were trying to keep it secret from the state," Hood told Rolling Stone.
"We were told not to talk to county personnel about it. I received instructions directly from Urosevich. It was very unusual that a president of the company would give an order like that and be involved at that level,” Hood told Rolling Stone.
The “patch” was applied to about 5,000 polling places in Fulton and DeKalb Counties in 2002, Rolling Stone reported.
Hood did not immediately return a text message from Atlanta Progressive News and his voicemail was not operational.
The second whistleblower, Rob Behler, was contracted to work with Diebold in the lead up to the 2002 Elections.
Two patches were applied in June and July 2002 respectively while Behler worked in the Diebold warehouse; another patch was applied in August 2002 after Behler left the warehouse, Wired News reported.
“Behler said Diebold programmers posted patches to a file-transfer-protocol site for him and his colleagues to apply to the machines,” Wired News reported.
Diebold officials first denied any patches were applied in an interview with Salon in 2003, according to Wired News.
"We have analyzed that situation and have no indication of that happening at all," Joseph Richardson, Diebold spokesperson, is reported to have told Salon at the time.
This story later changed.
Activists Speak Out
Elections integrity activists are outraged by the relevations, although they say the apparent secretive nature of “the patch” has only confirmed the things they already suspected and feared.
“The fact that they were doing any patch of any kind is very disturbing,” Garland Favorito of VoterGA, an organization that is suing the State of Georgia over the meaningless nature of elections here, told Atlanta Progressive News.
“It raises the distinct possibility the machines might have counted [in a] different [manner] on Election Night than when certified,” Favorito said.
“It corroborates two of our key points of the suit. One, machines can count differently on Election Night than when certified. So, the only way is to verify on Election Night. Two, it’s another example of how people have been removed from the counting of the votes,” Favorito said.
“I’m not surprised people are playing tricks. As far as the patch, I say ‘time out’ for that,” Donzella James, who is contesting her purported loss in the Democratic Primary in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District to US Rep. David Scott (D-GA), told Atlanta Progressive News.
“I’m definitely going to look into it. I’m glad there’s a credible person–Kennedy–who has brought this information forward,” James said.
An outspoken advocate for a voter verified paper trail since her days in the Georgia State Senate, James said she is getting ready to run again in 2008 whatever the outcome of her lawsuit.
“It immediately shows Diebold has not been telling the truth, has been covering up facts, in state after state, year after year. This is someone who knows. He has insider knowledge,” Brad Friedman of BradBlog told Atlanta Progressive News.
“These are things people suspected. He confirmed it. Diebold never gave a damn about security, accuracy, or transparency,” Friedman said.
What is worse, the use of last-minute patches on electronic voting machines are routine, Friedman said.
“It has happened all over the country. Because they find out about security issues at the last minute and apply them without going through the proper procedures,” Friedman said.
At a recent press conference called by Donzella James, poll watchers say one county official locked herself in a room with the machine for three unexplained minutes during the recent Primary.
Cathy Cox’s Role
Where was Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox during all this?
Apparently, Diebold leadership asked employees to not let her office know about the patch or patches.
And Diebold first alleged this application of patches wasn’t going on.
However, Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox appears to have found out anyway.
And Diebold appears to have at some point acknowledged the patches existed.
At least one patch was approved by Kennesaw State University, who got a state contract to do so, according to Wired News.
And Diebold admitted to the Elections Assistance Commission about the “0808" patch, Garland Favorito said.
Cox wrote a letter after the 2002 Elections, asking Diebold to address a total of 29 problems with the functioning of their E-voting machines, technology, and procedures, Rolling Stone reported.
This list of 29 items was also brought up in a press conference by US Rep. Cynthia McKinney, her first major press conference on electronic voting.
Cox referred to the item of the mysterious patch as “The application/implication of the 0808 patch.”
“The state was seeking confirmation that the patch did not require that the system ‘be recertified at national and state level’ as well as ‘verifiable analysis of overall impact of patch to the voting system,’” Rolling Stone Magazine reports.
But shouldn’t they be seeking her confirmation and not the other way around?
Diebold’s reply to Cox’s letter, if one exists, has not been made publicly available, according to Rolling Stone.
“She [Cox] should be the one confirming it, not the vendor. She’s the one responsible for running elections in Georgia,” Favorito told Atlanta Progressive News.
“She appears to be trying to privatize the election system to the point where she’s trying to ask the vendor to determine if they’re in compliance, rather that using their own resources,” within the Office of the Secretary of State, Favorito said.
“They claim [as an excuse] to have changed the operating system and not the tabulating software. We believe the law says the systems have to be re-certified with a patch of any kind. The State did not certify those patches. The State took Diebold’s word,” Favorito said.
“However, State Law does not seem to support Diebold’s testimony,” Favorito said.
Atlanta Progressive News will be looking more into how Diebold was, or was not, able to satisfy Cox’s 2002 concerns.
“Atlanta Progressive News is the only media outlet in Georgia that’s covering this story,” Garland Favorito of VoterGA said.
About the author:
Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for Atlanta Progressive News. He may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com
Syndication policy:
This article may be reprinted in full at no cost where Atlanta Progressive News is credited.