] On its own, Allen's experience seems easy to dismiss, but
] it's part of a pattern, the voting activists say, that
] reveals the voting industry's desire to keep people off.
] The worst transgression, one that almost everyone
] interviewed pointed to, occurred in a conference call on
] Sept. 16. The agenda for that meeting was sent to
] participants before the call, and it clearly states that
] the first order of business would be to approve new
] members, after which the committee would decide whether
] or not the draft standard was ready to be approved. The
] new members up for approval that day were Jim Adler,
] Alice Allen, Chuck Corry, David Dill, G.D. Miller, Ted
] Selker and Barbara Simons -- many of whom are in favor of
] verifiable audit trails in voting machines.
]
] But when people got on the phone that day, Vern Williams,
] a voting security expert at SAIC, an information
] technology consulting firm, suggested that the agenda be
] switched so that new members were approved after the
] committee voted on the draft standard -- a move that
] would ensure that the new members would have no say on
] the proposed standard. Williams' motion passed. Then the
] committee decided to open the draft standard for voting.
] And after that, the new members were approved.
]
] The activists were outraged at this maneuver. "I kept
] saying, 'We've been disenfranchised!'" says Simons, a
] computer scientist who worries about the security of
] electronic voting systems. Simons and others tried to
] reopen the vote on the standard, but one of the committee
] leaders then proposed a motion to adjourn the meeting.
] According to Roberts Rules of Order, an adjournment
] motion takes precedence over other motions. The motion
] won by one vote, and the meeting was adjourned.

More stupid voting tricks from those who would have to significantly alter their software to make it secure. I have to wonder, though, if the systems are this insecure, how hard could it have been to put it in place initially? Come on, even webcam girls have polls on their websites.

Anyway, it's another good look at how the good ol' boys club is trying to keep the status quo.

Another case of electronic vote-tampering?

] Several months ago, my husband and I received two rebate
] checks simply for having children, all part of the Jobs
] and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, an
] economy-stimulating incentive. Congress approved this
] quickie tax cut so we'd all go out and buy Pottery Barn
] lamps and Gap boot-cut trousers and then presumably the
] economy, and we, would be saved. Instead, I cashed the
] checks, paid off some bills, and then tucked my dignity
] under my arm and went to file for food stamps.

We've all ready plenty of stories about how the economy sucks, but this article strikes a chord because the author has such a great command of imagery. I suggest you read it simply because of the clear picture that she is able to paint.

Falling down

] Gaiman sees himself as part of the age-old profession of
] storytellers, but unlike a lot of the tiresome people who
] go around referring to themselves that way, he's right.
] His fiction, in its various media (he also writes screen-
] and radio plays), induces that blissful, semi-hypnotic
] state most of us first experienced as children, when the
] power of a book seemed to erase the world around us, and
] when reading felt almost like a drug. Gaiman is
] interested in all the traditional forms of storytelling
] -- legends, folk and fairy tales, myth -- and not just in
] the stories themselves, but the ways they get told. Not
] surprisingly, the hero of the Sandman epic is Morpheus,
] the King of Dreams, who also presides over stories.
]
] Gaiman certainly wasn't the first comics writer to draw
] on ancient myths, but he could be the first to really
] understand how myths work, not just as motifs but as
] nodes of meaning that gain new layers as we attach new
] experiences to old stories. For example, the Egyptian god
] Osiris, the Norse god Balder, Jesus and John F. Kennedy
] are all very different figures and yet -- in some
] fundamental way having to do with how we understand them
] -- also the same. As the British writer C.S. Lewis (a
] major influence on Gaiman) pointed out, a myth is a story
] that can be told and retold in very different ways and
] yet remain essentially intact. There is no original or
] correct version of the Orpheus myth, just countless ways
] of revealing it, and even people who haven't heard the
] traditional Greek version recognize it as something
] powerful when they meet it in another form.

Anything dealing with Neil Gaiman is worth reading. Salon takes a crack at trying to explain the mass appeal of Neil, despite the fact that he continues to go back to the medium of comic books. I have been an avid fan of his since 1988 when The Sandman began and am constantly trying to introduce his works to more and more people.

The enchanter

] Activists have also questioned the political affiliations
] of the leading voting companies. Late last year, Harris
] found that Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, used
] to run the voting company that provided most of the
] voting machines in his state. And in August, the
] Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that Walden O'Dell, the
] CEO of Diebold, is a major fundraiser for President Bush.
] In a letter to fellow Republicans, O'Dell said that he
] was "COMMITTED TO HELPING OHIO DELIVER ITS ELECTORAL
] VOTES TO THE PRESIDENT NEXT YEAR."
]
] But the problems Harris found in Diebold's system are
] perhaps the best proof yet that electronic voting systems
] aren't ready for prime time. Indeed, the vulnerabilities
] in the software, as well as the internal memos, raise
] questions about the legitimacy of the California recall
] election. In its ruling, the 9th Circuit Court put the
] election on hold until the six counties that currently
] use punch-card systems -- six counties that comprise 44
] percent of the state's voters -- upgrade their systems.
] On Monday, 11 judges on the 9th Circuit reheard the
] recall case; they may very well allow the election to go
] ahead on Oct. 7. If the recall vote is put on hold until
] March, however, many may wonder whether to trust the
] results: Four of the six punch-card counties -- including
] the largest, Los Angeles and San Diego -- have plans to
] upgrade to Diebold machines by March.

Very good article, with links to Diebold's internal memos, on the electronic voting systems.

Salon.com Technology | An open invitation to election fraud

yeah, thats right, the CIA has a kids web site...why?, I have no idea, but its funny...laugh damnit...

I dont want to grow up, I'm a CIA Kid...

] Smart bombs and "surgical strikes" would ensure a
] soldier's quick return. State of the art equipment would
] keep our soldiers safe. Billions of dollars for the
] Department of Defense would ensure that the compensation
] of our men and women in uniform would match their
] sacrifice for their country.
]
] Two hundred and ninety-one deaths later, with the war in
] Iraq officially "over,' active duty military still have
] no dates set for their return home. Soldiers are dying
] due to shortages of supplies, like bulletproof vests. The
] Bush administration's proposed cut in combat pay came
] with a simultaneous call for the Iraqi resistance to
] "bring 'em on." Already inadequate services for veterans
] are suffering further cuts, making the return home
] scarcely safer than the tour of duty.
]
] In the eyes of many military families a contract has been
] breached, a promise has been broken. And these families
] are making sure that those who broke their trust are
] called to answer for their betrayal.

And we wonder why "incidents" in Iraq are increasing? They want to come home, and they've instead been sent off to New Vietnam.

AlterNet: They Volunteered, Didn't They?

"Johnny died due to complications from diabetes, which resulted in respiratory failure," Cash's manager, Lou Robin, said in a statement issued by Baptist Hospital in Nashville.

Thursday was a crappy day, as John Ritter also passed away unexpectedly while working on his TV show.

One very interesting tidbit that was on NPR this morning, but I can't find references of on Google yet, is the statement that while in the Air Force, Johnny Cash was a codebreaker. This would make Johnny the Alpha-Geek, and most beloved, as the original codebreaking Man in Black.

Music Legend Johnny Cash Dies at 71

Are blogs the next White Man's Club? This article focuses on how the Dean Campaign has become self-aware that despite the fact that they have garnered incredible support... despite the fact that Howard Dean has a lot of appeal to minorities, the people showing up at the support meetings are DOMINANTLY white. Anecdotally speaking,
there are stories of there being one black person at a meeting.

Is having the time to look up political candidate web pages a luxury of whites? More like a luxury of the white collar worker. Most of the people that I know who go to the library for their internet access couldn't care less about politics, white or not, but they all do share one thing in common - they can't afford a computer and internet access at home.

"PLEASE stop having Meetups at cute white middle-class cafes where everyone looks like you! Each meetup should be scheduled in a place where the people walking by and wondering what's going on are from demographic groups that are harder to reach -- namely, either minorities or the elderly. EVERY retirement home has a meeting room. Have your meetups THERE. Is it sexy? No, but it will reach a group that is eager to be a part of the process. Have your meetups in restaurants in the Hispanic part of town or whatever other group you need to reach. Make the Meetup ITSELF work for you, instead of going there and THEN talking about what to do ...!"

Josh's post illustrates how astute many of Dean's supporters are about what it will take to get their man into the White House next year. Even though Dean is now thought of as the Democratic front-runner, many in his online community are constantly chiding each other not to become complacent about the task ahead. The danger that supporters appear most wary of is "preaching to the choir" -- bringing the pro-Dean message only to folks who are already inclined to accept it. Indeed, Richard Hoefer calls this the biggest pitfall of Dean's blog strategy. "I've been at odds with Dean for America because I criticize them for being too blog-centric," he says. "I think they preach to the converted, and it bugs me because I think they're missing the boat. I think Dean has incredible appeal to blacks, Latinos, minorities -- but the message hasn't gotten out there yet because they have been too focused on the blog."

Dean's army goes offline

Dolemite makes the B movie hall of fame!

B-Movie Hall of Fame

Following are the few defined rules for Drunken Coding:

* All contestants must be 21 years of age or older, as proven by a State or Federal issued ID, just like if you were in a bar, buddy.
* If you drove, don't be an ass hat. Give us your keys.
* Judging is far from fair and impartial, just so you know.
* Each contestant is responsible for getting into "Game Condition" on their own. Also known as BYOB.
* Before entry, each contestant must declare their topic and language, just in case they need to be reminded later what in the hell they are trying to do. You can always change it later if so desired. Any language and topic will be allowed.
* At each checkpoint within the contest, each contestant must qualify by blowing a 0.08 or higher on a blood alcohol content breath analyzer (provided by the contest). Don't worry, the alcohol will sterilize the tip.
* Late entries will be accepted from those with entertaining excuses, just remember that the judges will also be drunk, so "entertaining" is subject to change.

come on guys, you know you all want to enter...

Drunken Coding Competition @ PN-7