I look to the future because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life. - George Burns The least of learning is done in the classrooms. - Thomas Merton Oh, I don't blame Congress. If I had $600 billion at my disposal, I'd be irresponsible, too. - Lichty and Wagner I have an email in my inbox, and I RSVPd. I don't know a whole lot about this issue, but I do know this is how they stole the last two presidential elections. It was something to do with voting machines.
On The Web
Diebold Voting Machine Owner Committed To Give Votes To Bush in 2004 The head of a company vying to sell voting machines in Ohio told Republicans in a recent fund-raising letter that he is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year." ..... O'Dell attended a strategy pow-wow with wealthy Bush benefactors - known as Rangers and Pioneers - at the president's Crawford, Texas, ranch earlier this month. The next week, he penned invitations to a $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser to benefit the Ohio Republican Party's federal campaign fund - partially benefiting Bush - at his mansion in the Columbus suburb of Upper Arlington. The History of Voting Machines - History of the Voting System ... Voting Machines Voting machine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia VerifiedVoting.org : Index Schneier on Security: The Problem with Electronic Voting Machines Voting machine fails inspection | CNET News.com security experts--three from Johns Hopkins University and a colleague from Rice University--performed an audit and found numerous security holes. ..... There is no way to verify that a vote was correctly recorded and no permanent record is kept. ...... In the 2002 election, 19.6 percent of the electorate could have cast an electronic vote ...... The researchers were only able to see the source code to Diebold's system because the company accidentally left the file on an Internet server in January. ...... "You can't run voting machines on Windows." ...... By bringing a stack of valid cards to the voting booth, a person could cast several votes. ...... the secrecy that surrounds the creation and certification of electronic voting machines almost ensures that the systems will not be programmed securely.
Join Democracy for NYC and Community Free Democrats for an important public forum on Wednesday, October 25th. Learn what voting machines may soon be chosen for you, and what you can do to encourage selection of the most secure, reliable and cost-effective voting machines for NYC.
When: October 25th, 7pm-9pm
Where: New York Society for Ethical Culture on 64th Street at Central Park West in Manhattan.
Panelists: Adam Cohen, Member of the NY Times Editorial Board, will moderate a panel which will include Douglas Kellner, Co-Chair, New York State Board of Elections; David Kogelman, HAVA Committee Chair, NY Democratic Lawyers Council; Bo Lipari, Executive Director, New Yorkers for Verified Voting; Mark Crispin Miller, New York University Professor and Author; Jerrold Nadler, Member, U.S. Congress; and John Ravitz, Executive Director, New York City Board of Elections.
Sponsoring Groups: The forum is sponsored by the New York Society for Ethical Culture and the Sierra Club—NYC Group. Co-sponsors include: Ansonia Independent Democrats, Broadway Democrats, Park River Independent Democrats, Three Parks Independent Democrats, Vincent F. Albano Republican Club.
This is an important topic, no doubt. And if the past is any clue, we are going to have issues also in these elections a few weeks away which look so good to our side. The Dems will take over both chambers.
Electronic voting is actually a super idea. That is the future of voting. It is step one. Step two would be online voting. No need to stay in line. On election day you log in and you vote. Nothing wrong with the technology.
It is the slimey politics, the obfuscation, the white supremacist urge to disenfranchise the black community, the handshake between big money and Republican power, and the sheer incompetence of those who can not get right what is essentially about 100 lines of software code. So it's not the technology, it is the politics that is nifty.
If you trust software with your money, I think that software can be made good enough that you can trust it with your vote. But there are forces at work that are doing their very best to make sure that ain't so.
For the short term, the idea of paper trails is a good one. Give people in print what they did on the screen. But long term it is the software itself that has to be made secure and trustworthy.
The software way, you can have instant counts. As soon the polls close, the results are out.
..... women make only 76 cents for every dollar that a man makes. .... The average African-American woman earns 66 cents for every dollar that a white male earns and Latino women only 55 cents per dollar earned by white men........ The national average for white females is about 74 cents to every dollar a white male earns. Black women's earnings were 85 percent of black men's and Hispanic women made 87 percent as much as Hispanic men (US Department of Labor, Aug. 2001) ........ a white female worker earns 77 cents for every dollar a white male worker earns. A Hispanic woman with the same job earns 58 cents to every dollar earned by a white man, while an African American woman receives 70 cents for every dollar earned by a white male worker...This wage gap is not a function of low-paying jobs; it is found consistently through all levels and professions ..... African Americans and Hispanics, on average, still earn 65 cents for every dollar a white male earns for comparable work
The American caste system is as follows: white male, white female, minority male, minority female. And Obama grew up partly in Indonesia. His father was from Kenya. I relate directly to that "Third World" connection; make it Global South with respect. Go Obama.
First black US president? Obama the man to watchThe Age African son Obama for US presidency?AND Obama weighs run in '08San Jose Mercury News Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., opened the door to a 2008 presidential campaign Sunday, saying he has begun to weigh a possible candidacy and will make a decision after the November elections. ..... "After November 7th, I'll sit down and consider it, and if at some point, I change my mind, I will make a public announcement and everybody will be able to go at me.'' ...... had said he planned to serve out the full six years of his Senate term, which would have ruled out a presidential or vice presidential campaign in 2008. ....... New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is considered the early front-runner for the Democratic nomination, should she decide to run, but some Democratic strategists said Sunday that Obama immediately would become one of her principal challengers, if he decides to run. ...... "If he runs and Mrs. Clinton runs, I don't think there's a lot of room for anyone else'' ...... having served just two years in the Senate and seven in the Illinois state Senate, Obama has a thin résumé upon which to build a presidential candidacy ...... "I'm not sure anybody is ready to be president before they're president,'' he told moderator Tim Russert. "You know, ultimately, I trust the judgment of the American people that in any election they sort it through. We have a long and a rigorous process and, you know, should I decide to run, if I ever did decide to run, I'm confident that I'd be run through the paces pretty good.'' ....... Obama advisers said Sunday there has been little formal analysis done in preparation for a possible campaign and agreed they will now accelerate that work. But they said they are confident Obama could raise the money to run and noted that he already has many offers from people to work in a campaign. Obama Answers - Sort Of RealClearPolitics Blog CBS: Dems Opting for Obama Because They 'Don't Believe Hillary Can ...NewsBusters Rising star considers running for presidentTimes Online said yesterday that he was considering a 2008 presidential run, a move that would present Hillary Clinton with a formidable rival for the party’s nomination. ..... young, black, intelligent, telegenic and eloquent ...... Obama said that he could no longer stand by a vow to serve a full six-year term in Congress. ..... His charisma has brought comparisons to a young John F. Kennedy. Many in the party, who fear that Hillary Clinton would be too polarising a candidate, have been urging him to run. ...... In a survey that was conducted in March by Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, Mr Obama came second only to Rudolph Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York, as the most popular person in American politics. The Most Dangerous Man In AmericaGOPUSA If I were a liberal Democrat tasked with finding the ideal candidate to take back the White House in two years, I would try to find an extremely intelligent, well-educated individual with a fresh face, an articulate voice, a charming manner and no political baggage. ....... This person would be male and a member of a minority group. He would not yet be a household name, but would be in a position to become one. He would be in his forties, not unlike John F. Kennedy in 1960 or Bill Clinton in 1992. He would come across as the only candidate talking about new approaches to old problems. He would have the ability to get lots of press without appearing to crave the spotlight. ...... Barack Obama is a savvy, charismatic, articulate liberal who could very well be the Democratic Party's best hope for recapturing the White House. His background is intriguingly diverse. ...... His impressive performance as a speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention made the party's presidential nominee, John Kerry, seem dull by contrast. ...... Obama's flawless performance on Meet the Press (his performances are almost always flawless), his appearance will no doubt be lauded as "refreshingly frank," and as "not politics as usual." ...... Obama said that a great president causes the people to think differently about their country. ..... Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. ...... Barack Obama is the anti-Hillary Hillary. His positions on the issues of the day are every bit as radical and leftist as hers. The difference lies in his ability to sell it. In an age when political baggage can kill a candidate's chances of success on the national stage, Hillary Clinton is dragging around overloaded steamer trunks filled with negative poll numbers. Obama is encumbered by no such weight. Obama May Run for PresidentWTMJ-TV OBAMA MULLS PREZ RUNNew York Post Obama (may be) Running for (Vice) President Huffington Post, NY Barack Obama: The Most Dangerous Man in America Human Events, DCObama has said he believes that health care is a basic human right. (Funny, I must have missed that one in the Bill of Rights.) ..... As an Illinois state senator in 1998, Obama voted to give welfare and Medicaid to immigrants. ..... he is also liberal enough to be the most dangerous man in America if he is elected.
"You Are Not President, Yet!"
My favorite part of Hillary's debate with her challenger on Friday was when the guy said, "You are not president, yet!"
Thoughts on Hillary's Debate New York Observer, NY Challenger denies Clinton looks comments Globe and Mail, Canada Republican challenger John Spencer told a reporter that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton wasn't very attractive when she was younger and may have had a lot of work done to improve her looks ...... “You ever see a picture of her back then? Whew,” Mr. Spencer was quoted by the Daily News as saying about Clinton in her younger days. “I don't know why Bill married her.” Did Hillary's Foe Say She Was Ugly?CBS News Hillary Clinton: 'I love my life'WWAY NewsChannel 3 A Secret Divide in a GOP StrongholdNew York Times a groundswell of Republican support for the attorney general’s bid to become governor. ..... Some believe Mr. Spitzer will tackle fraud and waste in Albany with the same zeal that he pursued white-collar crime on Wall Street. ..... He said Mr. Spitzer may have gone after fraud on Wall Street, but he has ignored fraud in state government. “He’s done nothing in the public sector,” said Mr. Meade, who is not registered with any party. “Do we have corruption in the public sector? It’s ungodly.” ....... Indeed, in Broome County, people’s views on the election are colored by a kind of cynicism, apathy and angst. This is a place known not so much for what it is, but what it used to be. ...... grows so close to the men whose hair he trims for $10 that, when they die, he attends their funerals ..... One man, when asked the last time he voted, replied simply, “Ike.” Obama vs. Clinton vs. Kerry in '08? ABC News "I can't make a decision now" about running for president, she said. "I have made no decision. But if that concerns any voter, they should factor that into the vote they make." ..... the first since 1928 in which there will be no sitting president or vice president running. ..... his face gracing the cover of magazines ranging from Time to Men's Vogue ..... Kerry is thinking about another run, and told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" that he'd welcome the competition from Obama. ..... Obama is a newcomer whose publicity has been virtually all positive ...... "A lot of other candidates are going to be pushed to the side in media attention, money and political support if you have these two titans running for president." ..... "John McCain is a formidable front-runner, but there are a lot of doubts about him within the Republican Party," said Halperin. "Mitt Romney has been the most aggressive and the most successful in playing off some of those doubts and positioning himself as McCain's chief challenger." John McCain, Hillary Clinton campaign in New Jersey for US Senate ... International Herald Tribune, France NJ Senate Race Draws Political StarsWashington Post looked like a potential preview of the 2008 presidential campaign. ..... the Garden State contest would determine which party controls the Senate ...... McCain said Sunday he would make a decision early next year. .... 48 percent of likely voters favoring Menendez with 39 percent favoring Kean ..... Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez Barack Obama: The Visible Man American Thinker, AZ Obama consideration of presidential bid generating DC buzzWQAD A Ticket For Two
One of them is going to be president, another vice president. Both have to be on the ticket regardless.
Someone who runs for president is a good vice presidential candidate.
McCain Is Right
New Jersey shows the Dems will take over the Senate. Rock and roll. Visitors
18 October
14:10
State University of New Jersey, United States
18 October
15:24
Duke University, Durham, United States
19 October
09:42
Lower Hudson Regional Information Center, Elmsford, United States
19 October
01:50
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, India
19 October
09:27
Blueyonder, United Kingdom
19 October
11:56
France Telecom, France
19 October
12:35
Everest Connections, Kansas, United States
19 October
16:58
The City University of NewYork, New York, United States
19 October
17:16
Bell Canada, Canada
19 October
19:42
Sprintlink, Australia
20 October
01:27
Comcast Communications, Los Angeles, United States
20 October
02:52
Aviso, Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
20 October
07:44
Verizon Online, Reston, United States
20 October
08:41
Skynet Belgacom, Belgium
20 October
11:59
Columbia University, New York, United States
20 October
12:17
Citi Corporation, United States
22 October
20:44
Infogrames Melbourne House, Melbourne, Australia
22 October
23:39
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
I showed up on the 9th at the Lower East Side location. There was no movie there for the 9th. I should have been at the Upper West Side location. I messed up. I got told don't show up on the 12th either, too many already coming. Instead show up on the 19th. So I did. I was the only one to show. Two hosts, and one guest, me. It was a treat. A big bowl of popcorn. I walked back with the bag of chips I had taken. Judith insisted.
"Would you like something?"
"I would like to use your restroom. Can I please use your restroom?" I had had pizza and pepsi just before getting into the car. I fantasize about steamed broccoli for breakfast. But once in a while it is nice to eat bad.
"Isn't it so nice when people ask if they can use your bathroom?"
I had driven there. It is quite nice. When I first came into the city, one of the best parts was to realize you don't need a car. I almost sold off my car. Now I am glad I did not. Because I have rediscovered the joy of driving around. And in the evening parking is not that hard to find even in Manhattan, especailly if you are closer to the water.
Cross into Manhattan across the Manhattan Bridge, go up Bowery, take a right on Houston, then a left on Avenue B, and a right on East 8th Street. And then drive round and round the block until you find parking.
The movie is necessary. I think the Democratic Party should just go ahead and pay the filmmakers some money and make it available online for free. The numbers you are talking about are so huge.
Daniel is a DFNYC member, he said. Too bad I have had a communication meltdown with DFNYC. It is quite an organization. I wonder what it was like during its heyday.
The three of us had a lively conversation after the movie. Daniel signed me up for some phone banking stuff for the election season. I like to avoid local retail politics, but one or two sessions might not be that bad. So I gave him my email address. I once did that for Berea College fundraising, and one alum was like, What kind of people do they admit at Berea these days! I assumed it was the accent thing that threw him off balance.
And I have taken to dressing up recently. I am discovering I just dislike the tie. I actually like the rest of it. And black is a good color. The dressiness also prompts me to comb my hair. Use some gel. Now I might just grow my hair so combing is easier to do. You actually have something to comb.
Then I drove towards Times Square for Drinking Liberally. Because I was driving I had a good excuse to not drink. I have always been more into the Liberally part than the Drinking part in the first place, although you can have beer for free if you just go for it.
Justin White Male Krebs caught me first thing in. I had skipped the last two Thursdays. I had such a nice time today I think I want to be more regular. I really appreciate the structurelessness of the whole thing. The whole thing is such a simple, such a great concept. The founders deserve to feel good.
"You are a very active member of DFNYC, right?"
Justin must have missed the meltdown.
"Well, not recently. But why?"
"What are you doing for Election Day?"
"Well, I can't vote."
"Got to go to Yonkers."
"Where is Yonkers?"
"North of Bronx. DFNYC is doing a whole bunch of stuff. They have a bunch of info."
I am opposed to going anywhere outside the city as a matter of principle. But I guess I will make my third exception for this. But I am not taking the train. I will drive. I have four seats in my car I can offer.
Wow. I just visited the DFNYC website after a while. So many events in the buildup to the election. DFNYC executives have always been hyperkinetic types. Go-go-go types.
The only thing in American politics that is of interest to me is Hillary 2008. Even the 2006 elections for me are a prelude to Hillary 2008.
Vote Big For Hillary
JFK became Senator in 1952. When he ran for reelection in 1958, Massachusetts knew he needs to win as large a victory as possible, because everyone knew he was going to run for president in 1960.
Same applies to Hillary. She needs to win as big as possible to get a headstart for 2008.
I remember one of the earliest DFNYC Mixers I attended. I was thinking, the subway keeps running, all sounds fine, why are these people so agitated! My feel for local politics is a little bit better. But the thing is, my knowledge might be scant, but boxing is boxing is boxing. I can get the tempo of it. I have that. I don't watch sports, unless it is soccer, but I do follow politics.
Yonkers
Okay, so Yonkers it is. I am willing to drive. But I still don't know where.