BBV: The "Back-Up Bev" Sound Byte War Room Thread

[nostamj]

in last night's LONG thread about the explosion of major media coverage of BBV and Bev's increasing media exposure, she said that she's still working to refine her 'sound bytes' to maximize her effectiveness in the highly edited world of television news.

and it would probably be of value to many of us to have a ready arsenal of SHORT STRONG comebacks to the memes the voting machine industry/SoSs are using. (ie. "there are no problems" "a paper trail can be printed" etc.)

I'll start with an edited repost from that thread.

FL taught the country about the importance (however sloppy) of recounts.

are voters really willing to give up even the possibility of a recount? without a ballot to count, there can be no recounts. none.

"the machines print a paper trail"

paper 'trails' cannot be counted much less recounted.

and you certainly can't audit them.

a vote than cannot be recounted is invalid.

only BALLOTS can be counted.

BBV violates state election law where mandatory recounts are required in close elections--regardless of political party.

anyone else care to 'byte' ???

[trumad]

1. Boxers or Briefs?...

Hey.. that's an important question...

[underpants]

2. The founding principle of our country is in danger

How many wars have we fought to defend this right?

Not carrying if your vote counts is unAmerican (unpatriotic).

You right to vote has been bought and sold.

BTW-I saw here on ABC WNT last night but not for very long. She was showing the reporter how easy it was to get into the Diebold system. They featured two Floridians who were oblivious to any questions about the accuracy of the voting and just happy that it was so easy and FUN!!!

They then showed a guy who said he cast a ballot for KErry and it came up for Lieberman.

[BevHarris]

3. Here's one: When they ask about Florida, the chads, etc.

They got rid of chads and now we have INVISIBLE BALLOTS.
So now we don't know if our vote exists at all.

[nostamj]

4. hi Bev!

hope this was a OK idea...

p.s. waiting reply re: Kerry connection

[BevHarris]

5. This is important. Here are more sound bytes

The ballot box is now the size of a credit card. It will fit in your pocket, or up your sleeve, or in your purse.

In Georgia in 2002, ONE MAN got his hands on the programming that counted A MILLION VOTES and no one checked what he wrote. (used to counter the idea that there has always been problems, to illustrate the change in scale of the problem)

These systems are secret. Even the County Supervisors don't know what's in the code that counts those votes.

They threw away the audit trail. We want it back.

We need to add sound bytes for the "there's never been a problem" rebuttal and for "people won't vote if you take away their trust"

Here's how I remembered the ones I used yesterday, but you'd be better at making a word that makes sense

"ICMSA"

Invisible
Credit Card
Million votes
Secret
Audit thrown away

Bev

[RedEagle]

12. Sound Bytes

"there's never been a problem"

-Anything you can't study can be delcared problem free. The voting industry's Catch-22. If it's secret, it must be OK.


"people won't vote if you take away their trust"

-Exactly the point. Voter verified paper ballots are voting's insurance. No system can be AAA rated without one. Paper is the insurance policy, the fall back in case of catastrophe, both major and minor.

-Diebold and Sequoia, makers of ATM machines that print proof of transaction. But they can't print proof of votes?


"ICMSA"

Invisible
Computer
Mathmatics
=
Secret
Accounting


Insider
Corporate
Monopoly
Shreds
Accountability

[RedEagle]

16. Heads up on CBS

My SO just caught the repeat of the idea, "There's nothing we can do for 2004," regarding paper ballots. This was from a CBS national radio feed.

Don't let them get away with that. Repetitive propaganda.

Did the Minutemen decide there was nothing they could do?

Did our soldiers fight and die in war because there was nothing they could do?

Do we respond to disasters world-wide because there is nothing we can to?

Is it AMERICAN to say we can do nothing?

All it's going to take is printing some ballots and a call for volunteers to count them. All it might take is getting the punch card machines or optical scans out of mothballs and using them. (With LOTS of auditing) All it might take is miniscule funding from Congress (relatively) to support paper ballots.

All it's going to take is the will and a little elbow grease. It's unAmerican to say we "cant' do it."

It's unAmerican to put votes at risk.

It's dishonoring all who came before to insure and protect our right to vote.

It's dishonorable to declare you can do nothing to avoid admitting you made a mistake.

It's dishonorable to disenfranchise millions of voters for convenience and the appearance of "technical advancement." (Anyone look at the computer "technology" used in these things?)

It's poor due diligence if there's nothing in the contracts about the update costs that are going to hit in 2005, to meet the 2002 standards by 2006, as required by HAVA.

(Until new standards are in place, the FEC ones stand and HAVA requires compliance with 2002 standards in 2006, no grandfathering. Only two systems have been or are about to be certifed by those standards, so anything else is 1990 certified and about to become an expensive upgrade and recertification nightmare)

Who's minding the store?

[nostamj]

17. "Resistance is Useless"?

or

Resistance is Empowering

your choice...

[BevHarris]

22. It is unAmerican to say we can't fix this

- All it's going to take is printing some ballots.
- It dishonors everyone who died for the right to vote.
- All it's going to take is the will and a little elbow grease.
- Let's roll up our sleeves.

RedEagle's excellent sound bytes, simplified.

U
D
E
S

UnAmerican to say we can't fix
Dishonors the those who died for the right to vote
Elbow grease
Sleeves

[SoCalDem]

23. or... S.U.E.D.

sleeves
unamerican...
elbow grease
dishonors...

what does it SPELL??? What's gonna happen ALL OVER THE country when the ".... hits the fan"...

Lots of people getting sued over "stinky" results and "odd" occurrences

[BevHarris]

26. Good! SUED. Now we need to hammer out something for this:

"There's never been a problem with these machines"

Obviously, we can pull out the details of real problems. But sometimes there's no time to do that -- sound bytes are needed when the other person is dominating the time and you have to interrupt and interject.

Andy's suggestion for "there's never been a problem..."

"F"

Never been a problem? Just think "Florida" -- all over the country.

[SoCalDem]

28. "there's never been a problem"...

If you DON'T KNOW about it, of course there's "not a problem"...

Hitler was not a "problem" until we found out what he was really doing..

"not a problem"???

Tell that to a person who lost an election by 80 votes, and all he gets is a "re-add" of bogus numbers....

2+2=5 in.....recounted...2=2=5..... Still wrong even though it was "recounted"

[nostamj]

31. it's a problem waiting to happen

the first time an election is close enough to LEGALLY MANDATE a recount there's going to be a BIG problem...

NOTHING to recount.

the mandated recounts/nothing to count is an EASY point to communicate (imho)

[CrownPrinceBandar]

48. Hey Bev...

SUED may be a bit negative. May give repugs some fodder about about such and such having letigious proclivities. How about: DUES. Like we've paid our DUES in blood, sweat and tears for our right to a fair vote.

BBV scares me to death. In a world where accountability is everything, this provides none. Keep up the hard work.

Good on ya.

Foamdad

[BevHarris]

51. Good one. The letters are the only memory trick I've found

that I can keep in my head while peppering a live TV interview with an organized stream of sound bytes. Working on another national TV bit for tomorrow afternoon, but it isn't confirmed yet.

Bev

[struggle4progress]

52. "We want evidence of absence not absence of evidence."

The whole problem is that there's no way to catch problems.

[Cassandra]

6. Can't find that thread but...

found this this morning:
http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0410/040310_news_blackbox.php

Cute pic, Bev. And a good profile.

[BevHarris]

7. Beware this article -- good pic, weak on facts

22 factual errors and the reporter had a definite political agenda.

(Democratic Underground is "left wing" and Common Dreams is "left wing" and man, he did an uncalled-for -- and inaccurate -- hatchet job on Andy Stephenson.)

But yeah, the photographer was great.

Bev

[govegan]

47. The Seattle Weekly is such a total piece of garbage.

Love you, Bev, Sonny, Andy and all your work.

Even at the cover price of "free", it is way overpriced.

I don't think that they have one staffer who is capable of going beyond mediocre, junior-high journalism. Their facts are often incorrect; their writers are never unbiased, and the list could go on.

Anyway, all the publicity of late is good news, just the same.

[Andy_Stephenson]

50. Even Bad Press...

is good press.


edit:spelling...go figure.

[SoCalDem]

8. Everyone understands embezzlement

They say there "have been no problems".. If you have an employee who is embezzling from you, you think "everything's ok"...UNTIL they get caught..

Things were "just fine" with Enron & Arthur Anderson, UNTIL they were found out...

With an embezzler there is plenty of paper to track down their misdeeds.. With "vapor" ballots, it's just "trust me"..

Votes can be embezzled too, and when candidates spend their money and YOURS to run for office, they deserve to actually know whether the votes they got were counted..

``````````````````````````````````````````````````

Chuck Hagel is/was being investigated for his ties to a voting machine company.. Isn't it a conflict of interest to be a part-owner/major stockholder of a company that MAKES the machines, that YOU can select to USE in your own election???

[ParanoidPat]

29. A short song for the coming demonstrations.......

Millions trusted Enron until we saw their books,
Diebold doesn't have a way to prove that their NOT crooks!
Millions trusted Anderson to keep them on the path,
We looked at how they audited and found it was a laugh!

We don't want to vote on DRE's (NO!)
We want a paper vote!
Don't want no vapor vote!
Give us ballots or GO HOME! :evilgrin: (Sorry! :spank: )

[pansypoo53219]

9. pencils and paper

are CHEAP.

[Andy_Stephenson]

10. I have to be careful what I say now...

otherwise I might appear uncomfortable.


Felons can't vote but they can count them.

[nostamj]

11. you, 'uncomfortable'??

I'm sure it was a wardrobe malfunction of some sort....

tweak: Felons can't vote but they are counting your votes.

[Andy_Stephenson]

13. That article sucks!

But hey...it is more press than Laura Ruderman got. BTW I am not name calling.

Now if I could find the VF article.

[nostamj]

14. agreed!

I read it. feh!

VF is not online. heading out to pick up a copy at the local newstand in a little while ....

[Andy_Stephenson]

40. I was mentioned in Vanity Fair...

I have waited 20 years for that. Plus, I was mentioned in favorable terms. Yaaaaahoooooo

[nostamj]

41. my damn little newstand in brooklyn didn't have it!

:grr: but, I'm heading into the CITY soon and will hopefully find a copy there.........

oh yeah........... yeah andy!

[BevHarris]

46. Some of the best quotes, including Andy's section posted here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1215983

Bev

[BevHarris]

15. We'll have to figure out a way to counteract

Seattle's media bias. I think we'll have to go with broadcast media, and then encircle Seattle proper -- the Tacoma Trib wrote an unbiased article that credited your work properly. I think the Everett Herald and the East Side and South Side Journals will do so as well.

The author of the article will get his come-uppance when you win, Andy. He was damn irresponsible with the facts, and transparent about his political agenda.

[Lone_Wolf]

18. If you don't know about it... you should read up on framing...

I imagine that you already know this, however just in case you don't here's a great website that can help you with soundbytes.

Rockridge Institute

Calling it something like 'jackpot voting' might be effective.

[RedEagle]

19. Except casino gambling machines are safer!

Whoa, where's that piece from Nevada where the gaming industry did a study and knocked the voting machines all over the place?

"Your money is safer in a Las Vegas slot machine than your vote is in a DRE."

"The better gamble- Las Vegas casinos or computerized voting?"

"Can you prove your vote counted?"

"Since when can Reno and Las Vegas be considered safer bets than voting?"

"Gambling machines held to higher standards than voting systems."

"The perfect potential crime- one you're not allowed to prove."
(Intentional or incompetent- it would still be a crime to not safeguard elections)

[nostamj]

20. good one!!

VERY good one:

"Gambling machines held to higher standards than voting systems."

[Lone_Wolf]

21. Those are good...

But I think you are overlooking the importance of keeping it as simple as possible. This is why I like 'jackpot e-voting'

The word 'jackpot' evokes a frame of irresponsibility, chance, deceit, etc. When combined with e-voting, it gives the impression that using these machines to count votes is irresponsible or deceitful. That's how framing works.

Actually 'jackpot democracy' might be better yet.

[SoCalDem]

24. There's always the "Mystery Voting Machine"

[HydroAddict]

37. "Can you prove your vote counted?"

That one just sticks out in my mind for some reason...I like!

Also sounds like a good bumper sticker.

[BevHarris]

30. Excerpts on "framing" (thanks, good stuff)

Carry out the following directive:
Don't think of an elephant!

...In order to purposefully not think of an elephant, you have to think of an elephant. Every word evokes a frame. Words defined within a frame evoke the frame. Negating a frame evokes the frame. Evoking a frame reinforces that frame.

The only response is to reframe. But you can't do it in a soundbite unless an appropriate language has been built up in advance. Democratic reframing must express fundamental Democratic values: empathy, responsibility, fairness, community, cooperation, doing our fair share. Reframing is telling the truth as we see it – telling it forcefully, straightforwardly, articulately, with moral conviction and without hesitation.

Abuse, Frivolous, Greedy, Out of Control...Pick out the relevant core values for this issue. The fundamental progressive values are: we care about people. Act responsibly. Help, Don't Harm. Protect the powerless.

(good stuff, isn't it?)

Bev

[Stephanie]

43. Common Sense

It's simple common sense to print a copy of the ballot.

There is no logical reason not to.

[JetJaguar]

59. Yes a ballot that's sensible.

You can't smell an electron

or hear a magnetic field.


Cultures are built by the ability of people
to share thoughts and ideas via media of
substance.


Computers are wonderful tools for disseminating
information, all records of importance are
kept in a tangible form somewhere.


If the American Vote doesn't at least meet the
standard of importance to be saved until verified.


Then Voting itself may become
senseless.



Maybe the meme up-thread should use "sense" for
the "S"

[nomatrix]

25. Trust but Verify

The old Reagan mantra.

No problem with these machines? Next they'll be telling us, you don't need a bank statement.

[ParanoidPat]

32. That works great for the GOP side!

As Reagan said, "Trust but Verify!" Can't argue with that! :evilgrin:

[RedEagle]

53. Hey Pat!

You remember that story on the guy who compared the standards of gambling machines with the FEC standards, and the FEC came up way, way short?

Been looking of and on all day for it, can't locate it yet.

[ParanoidPat]

54. ROFLMAO! I just did a Google search for.....

.....Slot machine, voting and got 24,400 hits! :evilgrin:

I think people are getting the idea that these machines are not safe. :)

I'll try to dig that story out but good luck in the mean time. :toast:

[rucky]

27. Just look at who's telling you everything is ok...

The voting maching industry: of course they are & it's obvious why.

The SOS-es: Who just spent Millions of state funds on these things - of course they're going to try & cover their butts. Maybe they meant well at first - in reaction to the 2000 chad controversy. But they were sold a bad bill of goods, without really examining other options, and that's just not something politicians are very willing to admit.

This is a non-partisan issue that effects ALL voters.

[RedEagle]

33. I just got a vision of an opening for 60 Minutes or Lou Dobbs...

...just a montage between Casinos and slot machines and the polls and DRE's and the question, "What is safer? Your money or your democracy? The answer might surprise you."

Your vote is your piece of the American pie. Do you want to see it for real or let a machine tell you about it?

Would you like a vapor version, or something you can really chew on?

[SoCalDem]

34. virtual pie

not yummy

[Lone_Wolf]

42. That would be very powerful...

it would also link the uncertaintly of gambling with BBV in the viewers' minds. Well done!

[symbolman]

35. Even an outhouse

give you a "receipt"...

Here's where I would hit them Bev (you are my heroine btw) -- tell them to imagine what would happen if they went to their cash machine (a DIEBOLD unit) and it refused to give them a receipt or an account balance..

is their VOTE any less precious?

Thanks for all you're doing.. I need to fire up the TIVO and catch you on the tube!

Keep Hammering!

[SoCalDem]

36. My cartoon said just that.. it's even in Bev's book

[nostamj]

38. kick n/t

[cap]

39. People died for the right to vote...

Women were force fed during the struggle for suffrage.

Voting is important.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

44. Would you use an ATM that didn't give you a receipt?

Would you trust a credit card company that didn't let you keep receipts?

[nomatrix]

45. How about Fraud?

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0828-08.htm

"COLUMBUS - 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."
The Aug. 14 letter from Walden O'Dell, chief executive of Diebold Inc. - who has become active in the re-election effort of President Bush - prompted Democrats this week to question the propriety of allowing O'Dell's company to calculate votes in the 2004 presidential election.
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 letter went out the day before Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, also a Republican, was set to qualify Diebold as one of three firms eligible to sell upgraded electronic voting machines to Ohio counties in time for the 2004 election."

[Andy_Stephenson]

49. Felons can't vote....

but they can program the machines.

[ConsAreLiars]

55. "All I want is a chance to read my ballot before it goes into the box"

"read" rather than "see" to include non-visual verification.

"They check gas pumps to see if they measure accurately. We surely must also check vote counting machinery for accuracy by comparing the voters' actual ballots to the numbers reported by the voting machines."

"What we have here is basically just an intermediary standing between us and the ballot box. We voters tell the machine what we want and then the machine goes off and does whatever it does. Is the machine fully capable of doing what we ask it to do? Maybe. Infallibility is a hard thing to program, and 'maybe' isn't good enough. Is it honest? Or has someone put a cheat into it? We surely need some way to discover if the machines report numbers that are different than the votes entered into them, regardless of why."

[ParanoidPat]

56. Well! Back up for BEV!

Come on folks, jump in! 'sound bytes', 'key words and phrases', 'framing' whatever.
My experience here has shown me that we have some of the best minds on the Internet posting on this site. Some prolific, some occasional, even some first time posters. But they all have one thing in common, an ability to articulate the truth. This is your issue! Express yourself, speak now or forever lose your vote. :(

What's the worst that can happen? Your words could become part of the BBV lexicon. :)

:kick:

[Zinfandel]

58. Let's ALL go git 'em Beverly!

And we have to...no bullshit!

[goclark]

57. Reverse The 2000 Election

Let's put this shoe on the other foot. If the 2000 election had been stolen from the Republicans you better bet your bootie that we would have a paper trail and everything else!

I don't give a rat if they don't like the questioning,we need to fight like hell for this one!

If we don't have the RIGHT for our vote to count,this country stands for nothing!

[uhhuh]

60. Here's one:

Is your vote yours or Diebold's?

Diebold thinks it belongs to them.

The way they count it is a secret.

Did they count it?

Is your bank account balance a secret from you?

Open source. Paper receipt. Proof!

Know what's yours. Keep what's yours.