BBV: On the matter of crooks and DU's Andy Stephenson's investigations

[BevHarris]

The most productive researcher I've yet had the chance to work with is Andy Stephenson (DU's God_bush_n_Cheney). This is from Part 2 of a new 4-Part Consumer Report series on our new web site, http://www.blackboxvoting.org.

OK, I did the first part of the investigation, finding the exact version number and timeline for the implementation of the GEMS "Tamper Me" feature, the detachable fakable double set of books, triggered with a 2-digit code in a secret location.

A DUer, I never know if I should give his handle in connection with this, but he's brilliant, found the trigger and the hack in the first place.

But check this out: After ascertaining the timeline, the rest is Andy's shoe leather and dialing/schmoozing. Look what he found:

==============================================

A hidden trigger The data tables in accounting software automatically link up to each other to prevent illicit back door entries. In GEMS, however, by typing a two-digit code into a hidden location, you can decouple the books, so that the voting system will draw information from a combination of the real votes and a set of fake votes, which you can alter any way you see fit.

That's right, GEMS comes with a secret digital "on-off" switch to link and unlink its multiple vote tables. .

How and when did the double set of books get into GEMS?

Black Box Voting has traced the implementation of the double set of books to Oct. 13, 2000, shortly after embezzler Jeffrey Dean became the senior programmer. Dean was hired as Vice President of Research and Development in September 2000, and his access to the programs is well documented through internal memos from Diebold. The double set of books appeared in GEMS version 1.17.7.

Almost immediately, according to the Diebold memos, another Diebold programmer, Dmitry Papushin, flagged a problem with bogus votes appearing in the vote tables. The double set of books remained, though, going through several tweaks and refinements. From the time Jeffrey Dean was hired in September, until shortly before the Nov. 2000 election, GEMS went through over a dozen changes, all retaining the new hidden vote tables.

For four years, anyone who has known how to trigger the double set of books has been able to use, or sell, the information to anyone they want.

Black Box Voting Associate Director Andy Stephenson has obtained the court and police records of Jeffrey Dean. It is clear that he was under severe financial stress, because the King County prosecutor was chasing him for over $500,000 in restitution.

During this time, while Jeffrey Dean was telling the prosecutor (who operated from the ninth floor of the King County Courthouse) that he was unemployed, he was in fact employed, with 24-hour access to the King County GEMS central tabulator -- and he was working on GEMS on the fifth floor of the King County Courthouse. (Dean may now be spending his nights on the tenth floor in the lockup; after our investigations appeared in Vanity Fair and the Seattle Times, Dean was remanded to a work release program, meaning nights in the pokey.)

Jeffrey Dean, according to his own admissions, is subject to blackmail as well as financial pressure over his restitution obligation. Police records from his embezzlement arrest, which involved "sophisticated" manipulation of computer accounting records, report that Dean claimed he was embezzling in order to pay blackmail over a fight he was involved in, in which a person died.

So now we have someone who's admitted that he's been blackmailed over killing someone, who pleaded guilty to 23 counts of embezzlement, who is given the position of senior programmer over the GEMS central tabulator system that counts approximately 50 percent of the votes in the election, in 30 states, both paper ballot and touch screen.

And just after he is hired, multiple sets of books appear in GEMS, which can be decoupled, so that they don't need to match, by typing in a secret 2-digit code in a specific location.

Dr. David Jefferson, technical advisor for California voting systems, told Black Box Voting that he could see no legitimate reason to have the double set of books in a voting program. He surmised that it might be incredible stupidity.

Dr. Jefferson should speak to Jeffrey Dean's partners and those who worked with him. "Stupid" is not how he is described. The descriptions we get, from Dean's former business partner, and from others who worked with him, are "sophisticated," "cunning," "very bright," "highly skilled," and "a con man."

This is the man who supervised the programming for GEMS when the multiple set of books was installed. Diebold, however, is the company that did nothing about it.

Internal memos show that Dean was sent the passwords to the GEMS 1.18.x files months after Diebold took over the elections company. Diebold clearly did not examine the GEMS program before selling it, or, if it did, chose not to correct the flaws. And after exposing this problem in 2003, Diebold still failed to correct it.

Elections were run on this tamper-inviting system for more than three years, and anyone who knew could sell the vote-tampering secrets to anyone they wanted to, at any time.

It has been a year since this report was first printed, and Diebold has never explained any legitimate reason for this design, which is rather elegant and certainly is not accidental.

Bev Harris

[cthrumatrix]

1. Bev, at this point, can you just go to Elliot Spitzer and forget the press

obviously this is tooo big and people are afraid you have "cracked the code" a few months before the election

[Andy_Stephenson]

2. She has done more than crack the code.

waaaaay more.

[cthrumatrix]

3. that is my point.... how is this going to play out with the election so

close and the politicians and media treating it as a "hot potato"?

Elliot Spitzer is a guy who has teeth and "xxxx" to take this on and get things "frozen" before it starts.

[BevHarris]

5. Point taken. But I've been on the phone all day

With very high profile people who are helping us create the message. Just got off the phone, in fact, with the guy who wrote one of the most famous Hollywood movies, think it may have gotten an Academy Award, about a whistleblowing situation in the past. Andy knows who I mean.

He helped tremendously. We all know we've got one scary sumbitch. Now it's a matter of getting the story out in time to make the needed security decisions in time to head off a train wreck.

If some of you may wonder why we go missing sometimes, it's because the clock is ticking and we are literally at it 16 hours a day 7 days a week.

As are others. We've all got a piece of this, but it seems that (thanks to great investigators like Andy) we're about the only ones who are publicly unraveling the evidence that shows we're dealing with crooks and intent, NOT just stupidity and sloppiness.

Let's get past the niceties and start calling this what it is.

Thanks again, Andy, and I believe we're off to another adventure tonight.

Bev

[ParanoidPat]

14. Hi Bev!, Martha wants to know, ............

......if and when they do the movie, do you think they'll include the scene with the sewing basket in the Bistro across from the S.o.S.'s office? Sorry I missed that!

The way she describes it, it sounds like a classic! :evilgrin:

:kick:

[BevHarris]

17. Hah! Well, let me tell you, Pat,

I think your video may end up on the CNN cycle at some point. A lot of producers are very curious about it -- TV News, documentary, and even a feature film guy.

Everyone finds the first part of that meeting -- you know the part, "no no, gack, stop!" -- to be quite a compelling visual.

Bev

[Andy_Stephenson]

20. We need someone to write some music...

Call it the Black Box Shuffle...Something we can all sing along too.

[ParanoidPat]

28. I just can't help but wonder what the other people in that place......

.......WERE THINKING! :wow:

If people only had a clue as to the lengths and depths you people have gone to, LOL! :evilgrin:

Yeah, I can see people bopping and singin' along to 'The Black Box Shuffle' during at least a dozen scenes as you and Bev violate every rule of conducting a covert, undercover investigation! :)

You guys aren't ordinary hero's, You're SUPER HERO's Fighting for TRUTH, JUSTICE and exposing THE AMERICAN WAY! :kick:

:toast:

[Andy_Stephenson]

29. *******Blushes Big*********

Awwwwww Shucks...

:loveya:

[harmonyguy]

33. Sing along! We need a line about the memory cards...

Something about the guy driving the memory card across the river to the central counter....

"With his little vote-tote,(little vote-tote ba-by)
Little vote-tote, crossed the moat in his car."

reminds me of something with a beach-boys sound to it !

HG

[stellanoir]

4. I agree

I've been obsessing about this issue exhaustively for at least 16 months. The person who I know who is the most connected politically said back then, "there's just not enough time." Now all this time has passed and I just heard a god awful report on NPR the status of voting in Florida. . .never mind what's happening around the rest of the country. It's pathetic and our entire democracy is at stake. Time to bring in the big guns. I've written to David Boise, Laurence Tribe, Dershowitz, Krugman, and G. Frasier, about this issue repeatedly, with varying repercussions.

Finally and thankfully, more people are talking about this potential travesty. But what assurance do we have that these bozo's won't stay in charge. . .Chavez had a more secure voting system than we do.

How lame is that.?

Thanks to Bev and Andy, we've made a lot of progress. But anyone who cares about democracy has to keep pushing.

Write everyone you can think of and at least, we can get enough people voting absentee in critical states to insure a decent, ethical leader. And be ever mindful of these words. . .

"The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which all other rights are protected. To take away this right is to reduce a man to slavery." Thomas Paine

[cthrumatrix]

7. I agree this issue is "criminal" and they "have been caught" and you

are now seeing how corrupt our system is : politicians, media and corporations control us on a daily basis and this is another tool. A very dangerous tool.

It is a legal matter. I woinder aloud what the Attourney General of NY (Elliot Spitzer) would do. My gut says he would turn the system upside down. We already know Ashcroft is part of the filth - so no help there.

[BevHarris]

9. Let's call "bullshit" on the talking point "not enough time." There's time

These lame excuses are just another reason to avoid action. Andy and I have been doing what the public officials in charge of this should have been doing all along: We've been out there talking to elections officials.

We asked people who actually run elections for practical solutions, and got them.

Until people experience a profound amount of stress, such as "wow, this is worse than our worst fears" they don't seem to have the will to implement the real solutions, which are not expensive, are do-able, but make it significantly more difficult to run dishonest elections.

One suggestion we got from our mentors, who deal with getting the message out all the time:

We need to concentrate on exposing the problem before we talk solutions -- and IT IS NOT TOO LATE!-- because the findings have such huge implications that we can't do too big a dump at once.

And what did the EAC do today? Did they:
a. Make a statement in favor of voter verified paper ballots?
b. Form an emergency task force to figure out how to head off the upcoming train wreck?
c. Hire a lawyer?

You're right. The correct answer is "c."

Bev

[Andy_Stephenson]

25. I talk about this issue on the elevator...at the store...

in the bank...at the carwash...in the bakery at safeway on the street...basically everywhere I go.

[ElementaryPenguin]

62. I totally agree! Elliot Spitzer is the go-to-guy!!!

Have you guys tried approaching him?

[BevHarris]

6. And also Ohio activist Kathleen Wynne, who found this bad-boy:

A serious Diebold document drop, their financial ledgers: Did you know...

The Electon Center is assigned a "vendor number" in Diebold's financials

On June 1, 2004, for example, Diebold lists an amount of $2,498.44 with an invoice describing "sponsorship", payable to The Election Center. They also paid $500 to the National Association of Secretaries of State on the same date.

But these aren't the main course, folks. Much bigger payments are going out, to corporations who have already been exposed for doing nothing while acting as a pass-through (read: laundry chute) to politicians. Some of these are big Dem supporters, by the way. If we want Dems to be the good guys, they had BETTER get on the good side of this issue, and they've been waaaaay too slow to do so. I'm waiting with foot tapping.

This voting situation isn't about stupidity.
It isn't about political pranks and games.
This is about crooks, as we've been saying all along.

Bev

[stellanoir]

11. Bev

thanks enormously for all your efforts. With so little time left and in the apparant lack of passage of HR2239 & S 1980, do you have a strategy for the grassroots? We all know you've been applying Sysiphian force in the most vulnerable areas and are truly grateful.

I'm in a decidedly blue state (RI) with a paltry 4 electoral votes, and I feel somewhat out of the loop. We mostly have optical scan machines here.

Today, in my dinky state all sorts of irregularities were reported in the voter registrations in 5 cities. They're having a hearing about the issue soon in hopes of rectification. Aside from writing folks, not sure what I can do at this point. Any advice. . .?

[BevHarris]

21. Everyone needs to implement whatever strategy they can

For me, I'm not sharing it on a forum yet, have to put some things in place first. Nostamj, your skills will be crucial.

What has been very effective is the dispersed and chaotic stuff that happens when regular people get their dander up. For example, today, in Washington D.C., the theatrics about the party-boat doings of election officials and The Election Center.

The biggest thing we can do now is to get people to quit thinking of these voting machine problems as stupidity and sloppiness. The academics were great in the beginning, but they are firmly in the camp that says "can't be solved until after the election" and "no reason to think there are crooked dealings, just a poor design."

There are two incentives for them to wait until after the election to address this. One has to do with post-election litigation. What's incorrect about leaning on that strategy is this: If (when?) this election goes through a meltdown, the damage done to confidence and trust in the American political system may last a hundred years, and we may not be able to put Humpty back together again.

Instead, I believe we should pull out all the stops to get procedures in place in time. Our organization is focused on preventive medicine, not reconstructive surgery.

First, we need to build enough urgency so people will have the will to demand what's needed.

Next, we have to enforce preventive procedures.

And then we need to make it work.

(By the way, there are two solutions, and only one of them involves all paper all hand counted. It is essential to get the elections officials on board, and that is why we began talking to them months ago to get their input as to what they can live with. There is still a hybrid solution available.)

And as for HR 2239 etc. -- those never were the solution, because they didn't address the central tabulator at all (GEMS) and they didn't address the simple audit procedures needed to protect the election. We've been saying that, but it was an unpopular message last spring.

The solutions are:
1) Paper, pencil, day off to count the vote (and add a project manager in each county to help, because the county officials sometimes don't have the skills)

2) The elections official solution, which I'm not putting out in this venue (yet) because all it will do is give the bad guys a chance to create a marketing campaign against it.

We'll wait until there is a hue and cry on a large scale, then roll out that solution.

Bev

[SoCalDem]

32. They could make it even simpler than that...

The fly in the ointment that I keep reading about is the fact that there are SO MANY OTHER ISSUES on the election, that CAUSE the need for huge complicated ballots..

They could just decide to have THIS ELECTION be for Pres, sen, house, and local officials..

The proposition stuff should be in odd year leections, and the PEOPLE in even years...(except to fill an recently vacated seat or something like that)...

There is NO EARTHLY reason why ALL the stuff has to be on ONE ballot.. Most states hold elections every year anyway, so why all the drama???

A 5 x 7 card with the names of the people running for pres...senate...house.. would be so easy to count...and would take SECONDS for people to vote..:eyes:..

turn the card over, and vote for the local people..Hell they could even COLOR code the federal vs local to make it even easier to count..

Or...maybe they could even have MORE polling places so lines would be manageable, and counting easier...

A chalk board, about 5 or 6 people in each polling place and a regular ole phone would do the trick...

The fact that they keep making this harder than it needs to be, speaks VOLUMES...

[peacetalksforall]

8. I agree about the time...it would seem to require a year to fix and

blast test, and certify and you don't even have willing suppliers, in fact, the agendas don't match. We're talking honesty and integrity against theft. It seems as though the only answer is pure paper with hundreds of volunteers and thousands of watchdogs.

Bev, Andy, and all the others - your contribution is a miracle gift.

[bearfan454]

10. Good God Bev this just keeps getting deeper and deeper

into the felonies involved.

[shraby]

15. As I see it, the only option for the November

election is paper and pencil. Suspend all electronic voting until the thing is cleaned up.

[bearfan454]

16. Paper and pencil is what they are afraid of.

They know if it was an honest vote they would never get in again.

[bearfan454]

12. We need to send this to everyone in calimary's lists below. Please !

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=106&topic_id=8816&mesg_id=8816

[Must_B_Free]

13. wowzers

It's all about shaping perceptions.

[bearfan454]

18. kick

Kick for Democracy.

[peacetalksforall]

19. Time?

What if they turn and make a claim that the machines aren't reliable and declare that it's necessary to delay the election and in the meantime start another war?

Doesn't the legal involvement require time in itself because of the all the weasling that can be done for time.

They, the right, have every reason to not get caught and we know how long it takes for the truth to get out.

It seems the only thing is to revert to total paper and start organizing now to get the right volunteers in there with savvy watchdogs (watching those those officials), plus an absolutely fool proof way of checking those who handle the totals. It requires the involvement of the local newspaper owners to publish their totals for every little precinct individually to make sure it tallies with the totals. There is plenty to organize.

Can we really trust all the certifying that would have to be done? Would there ever be enought techies who could monitor?

Can you believe we have to even be talking about this?

How do they do it in the countries Carter has worked with.

Please tell us how the legal and technical issues can come together to counter the sloppy or thieving manufacturers.

Is the only solution our Congress or is there a battle of the Fed-State-County?

[BevHarris]

22. Well, let me ask you this important question:

(because I really don't know the answer) --

What entity has the clout to order preventive solutions, assuming we can get such an entity to the tipping point?

Hmmm.

Bev

[Andy_Stephenson]

23. Le Press

perhaps...

Comeon CNN ABC CBS NBC FOX etc do your damned job!

[BevHarris]

24. Ah! You are right. The fourth estate.

Yes, the press probably does have the clout that could make this happen.

It's all going to boil down to TV and a talking heads fest.

If they'll do it.

If we can get them to do it.

[althecat]

26. If you guys are keen I am happy to lend what little support I can

Happy like a fox!

I reckon the big guys only ever do this when they are pushed into it by the online news sources... Slashdot haven't had a crack at these latest revelations yet have they.

Meanwhile even the receptive mainstream media think it is still too hot to handle.

al

[RedEagle]

27. Hot Used to be What a STORY Was All About

It's a pathetic press that decides something is so worthwhile, so important, that it's too "hot."

Edit:

A huge part of the problem is the press goes to "official" sources, who disclaim everything.

Those sources are strongly influenced, in fact, TAUGHT, by The Election Center- and R. Doug Lewis.

And the government, press, state officials follow his lead and they don't even know who he is or that The Election Center is not a government entity. More like a so called nonprofit set up for the purpose of promoting profit for select voting system vendors.

Tell me again why it's supposed to be nonprofit?

There's a story for you and one of the back doors into the whole mess.

Can we imagine that R. Doug would get on the paper-pencil-day off bandwagon to save democracy? Guess not, it wouldn't help the profit margin of the companies The Election Center fronts for.

Good grief- vendors have such a sweet deal, they "donate" to the Center and in return get all sorts of promotion via the Center to the states and counties, on top of all the bennies election officials get when the attend one of their meetings.

Is it a money laundering scheme when it goes through an intermediary like The Election Center, which uses it to essentially promote certain vendors and types of voting systems?

[Kanary]

30. Where are the progressive politicians to push the press on this?

Where is Dean on this? Kucinich got an injunction on Diebold months ago.... has he been approached on this?

Where is Byrd and his pocket constitution? I realize most of the politicians have been bought off, but surely there are a handful who can be convinced to come together and make some effective noise on this........?

Kanary

[Andy_Stephenson]

31. Kanary as I have said for a long time you can ask anyone...

the crooks are in charge.

[Kanary]

34. I'm sorry. I'll keep my mouth shut.

I realize I know nothing about it, so I'll let you all handle it.

Good luck.

Kanary

[BevHarris]

38. Never keep your mouth shut, you know plenty!

You have very good suggestions.

Kucinich, I think, we should visit in D.C., and Byrd, and whoever else will listen.

Howard Dean knows a fair amount about this. He's a wonderful, warm person -- I always thought he might be a little "stiff" but in person he is just a very warm easy to talk to guy.

Listening eagerly to any and all suggestions.

[Andy_Stephenson]

39. Thats right be loud...

If we all holler loud enough...they have to listen. We are after all "We The People".

[Kanary]

41. Thanks, Bev, that's good to hear, but I have my plate full already.

I just offered a thought, and when I get snapped at, I don't care to go further. I've been tired for a while of all the harsh replies on DU, and I'm starting to speak up about it.

I realize you all are working hard together on this, so you all know each other, but I don't know if you understand that it comes across as a closed group. That is amplified when one gets that kind of response.

This is not "asking" for another snap comeback, but just something to consider.

Kanary

[BevHarris]

43. Thank you, Kanary

That was constructive, and we appreciate the input very much. We do sometimes act as though everyone follows every bit of this, but you are so right -- that's not the case, and when we think that way, we close off new relationships.

[Andy_Stephenson]

46. Kanary....

I was not snapping at you...

If I offended you I never meant that...

I am very sorry...it was really unintentional.

I was just bein Andy...:hi:

[RedEagle]

63. People like these?

Apologies if I left someone off. Please add or warn as necessary:


Barbara Boxer, CA
Lincoln Chafee, RI
Russ Feingold, WI
Bob Graham, FL
Tom Harkin, IA
James Jeffords, VT
Herb Kohl, WI
Patrick Leahy, VT
Carl Levin, MI
Barbara Mikulski, MD
Patty Murray, WA (Well, she should)
Harry Reid, NV
Olympia Snow, ME


Brian Baird, WA
John Conyers, MI
Barney Frank, MA
Rush Holt, NJ
Jay Inslee, WA
Marcy Kaptur, OH
Dennis Kuchinch, OH
Barbara Lee, CA
Jim McDermott, WA
Ron Paul, TX
Charles Rangel, NY
Maxine Waters, CA
Henry Waxman, CA
Robert Wexler, FL


Of course, I think anyone who signed on to Holt’s bill should be of a mind to do something.

And you might also talk to John Ensign, NV, while you’re at it. I’d really like to know what happened to his amendment to HAVA between the time Mitch McConnel (KY) introduced it in the morning, and it was voted on in the afternoon.

And gee, can’t imagine why anyone would be interested in counting votes in California, besides the electoral votes. Is Waxman up for reelection?

[Zan_of_Texas]

37. Are some of the retired leaders of this country potential helpers?

Some of the good guys (or at least we hope they were) like Pat Schroeder?

Maybe everybody is crooked, but I like to think there are a few who left or were ousted that had some ethics.

Journalists, political types?

Put on your thinking caps.

[Andy_Stephenson]

44. My good friend...

Gore Vidal might help...he is waaaay on the right side of the issue.

[Zan_of_Texas]

47. Some brainstorming ideas

Gore Vidal is cool!

Okay, I understand that having votes counted honestly, accurately and transparently is not a "special interest group" (that's what the TX SOS calls it) nor is it about gun control, abortion, or war in Iraq. However, I also understand that middle-of-the road types who go along to get along will not be the first or second or fiftieth to stand up on this stuff.

Here are three lists of people who stood up for SOMEthing. Maybe they would stand up for this, which underlies ALL the SOMEthings that have to do with politics.

PS Daniel Ellsberg, who released the Pentagon Papers which ultimately dragged the Vietnam War to a halt, might be an excellent ally. I don't know if he's up to speed on this, but he certainly understands standing up to power. The major media were halted from printing the stuff (national security!) and he thought he might spend most of the rest of his years in jail. I could probably reach him if need be.


Signers of a public anti-war piece in July 2002:

Michael Albert
Laurie Anderson
Edward Asner, actor
Russell Banks, writer
Rosalyn Baxandall, historian
Jessica Blank, actor/playwright
Medea Benjamin, Global Exchange
William Blum, author
Theresa Bonpane, executive director, Office of the Americas
Blase Bonpane, director, Office of the Americas
Fr Bob Bossie, SCJ
Leslie Cagan
Henry Chalfant,author/filmmaker
Bell Chevigny, writer
Paul Chevigny, professor of law, NYU
Noam Chomsky
Stephanie Coontz, historian, Evergreen State College
Kia Corthron, playwright
Kevin Danaher, Global Exchange
Ossie Davis
Mos Def
Carol Downer, board of directors, Chico (CA) Feminist Women's Health Centre
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, professor, California State University, Hayward
Eve Ensler
Leo Estrada, UCLA professor, Urban Planning
John Gillis, writer, professor of history, Rutgers
Jeremy Matthew Glick, editor of Another World Is Possible
Suheir Hammad, writer
David Harvey, distinguished professor of anthropology, CUNY Graduate Centre
Rakaa Iriscience, hip hop artist
Erik Jensen, actor/playwright
Casey Kasem
Robin DG Kelly
Martin Luther King III, president, Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Barbara Kingsolver
C Clark Kissinger, Refuse & Resist!
Jodie Kliman, psychologist
Yuri Kochiyama, activist
Annisette & Thomas Koppel, singers/composers
Tony Kushner
James Lafferty, executive director, National Lawyers Guild/LA
Ray Laforest, Haiti Support Network
Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor, Tikkun magazine
Barbara Lubin, Middle East Childrens Alliance
Staughton Lynd Anuradha Mittal, co-director, Institute for Food and Development Policy/Food First
Malaquias Montoya, visual artist
Robert Nichols, writer
Rev E Randall Osburn, executive vice president, Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Grace Paley
Jeremy Pikser, screenwriter
Jerry Quickley, poet
Juan Gumez Quiones, historian, UCLA
Michael Ratner, president, Centre for Constitutional Rights
David Riker, filmmaker
Boots Riley, hip hop artist, The Coup
Edward Said
John J Simon, writer, editor
Starhawk
Michael Steven Smith, National Lawyers Guild/NY
Bob Stein, publisher
Gloria Steinem
Alice Walker
Naomi Wallace, playwright
Rev George Webber, president emeritus, NY Theological Seminary
Leonard Weinglass, attorney
John Edgar Wideman Saul Williams, spoken word artist
Howard Zinn, historian

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All-Star Celebrity Coalition Will March for Women's Lives in Washington, D.C., on April 25

The March for Women's Lives Celebrity Coalition includes:

Margie Adam
Marg Helgenberger
Christina Aguilera
Isabella Hofmann
Jennifer Aniston
Helen Hunt
Curtis Armstrong
Amy Jo Johnson
Elaine Aronson
Kathryn Joosten
Bea Arthur
Ashley Judd
Ed Asner
Catherine Keener
Kevin Bacon
Carole King
Alec Baldwin
Swoosie Kurtz
William Baldwin
Christine Lahti
Meredith Baxter
Sanaa Lathan
Shari Belafonte
Sharon Lawrence
Maria Bello
Lisa Loeb
Polly Bergen
Amy Madigan
Thora Birch
Natalie Maines
Amy Brenneman
Wendie Malick
Betty Buckley
Joshua Malina
Jessica Capshaw
Camryn Manheim
Lynda Carter
Frances McDormand
Stockard Channing
Ewan McGregor
Jill Clayburgh
Marilyn McIntyre
Kate Clinton
Sarah McLachlan
Glenn Close
Moby
Cindy Crawford
Demi Moore
Sheryl Crow
Julianne Moore
Alan Cumming
Alanis Morissette
Tyne Daly
Kathy Najimy
Blythe Danner
Alyson Palmer
Kristin Davis
Joe Pantoliano
Ossie Davis
Mary-Louise Parker
Dana Delany
Adrian Pasdar
Laura Dern
Pink
Ani DiFranco
Martha Plimpton
Illeana Douglas
Doris Roberts
Denise Dowse
Paul Rudd
Fran Drescher
Susan Sarandon
Kirsten Dunst
Campbell Scott
David Eigenberg
Kyra Sedgwick
Hector Elizondo
Martin Sheen
Emme
Cybill Shepherd
Eve Ensler
SONiA
Giancarlo Esposito
Fisher Stevens
Melissa Etheridge
Gloria Steinem
Morgan Fairchild
Julia Stiles
Edie Falco
Corky & Mike Stoller
Frances Fisher
Sharon Stone
Calista Flockhart
Amber Tamblyn
Jane Fonda
Mary Testa
Bonnie Franklin
Charlize Theron
Janeane Garofalo
Uma Thurman
Ana Gasteyer
Heather Tom
Indigo Girls
Stanley Tucci
Annabeth Gish
Kathleen Turner
Whoopi Goldberg
Ted Turner
Lauren Graham
Sarah Weddington
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Bradley Whitford
Lisa Gay Hamilton
Alfre Woodard
Ben Harper
Thom Yorke
Ed Harris
Amy Ziff
Salma Hayek
Elizabeth Ziff

>http://march.now.org/coalition.html


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Signers of an international plea not to attack Iraq based on UN, int'l law, February 2003. Circulated by the INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LAWYERS AGAINST NUCLEAR ARMS
Judge Weeramantry, former Judge of the International Court of Justice and Professor of Law at Monash University, has departed Australia to go to New York to release an international appeal drafted by the International Association of Lawyers AGainst Nuclear Arms and endorsed by more than 160 lawyers, law professors and jurists from 30 countries. It will be released at a press conference in the UN on Feb 14 (Australian time), 2003. International Appeal by Lawyers and Jurists against the "Preventive" Use of Force
http://smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/13/1044927734624.html
United States of America
James Abourezk, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Ian Anderson, Scottish Advocate. South African Advocate. Attorney & Councilor, State of NY.
Irene Baghoomians, Center for Constitutional Rights
Nancy E. Biberman Esq. New York
Robert Boehm, Attorney, New York. Co-Chair of the Board, Center for Constitutional Rights.
Audrey Bomse, Attorney, member of the National Lawyers Guild.
Lisa S. Brodyaga, Attorney, San Benito TX
John Burroughs, Executive Director, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy
Juliet Chin, Attorney of Counsel Stevens, Hinds & White, P.C. New York,
Roger S. Clark, Board of Governors, Professor of Law, Rutgers University.
Angela J. Davis, Professor of Law, American University, Washington, DC
Julie E. Dinnerstein, Director of the Immigration Intervention Project, Center for Battered Women's Legal Services, New York
Mary Dryovage, Lawyer
Anabel Dwyer, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy
Honorable Laura Safer Espinoza, Acting Supreme Court Justice, New York State
Richard Falk, Professor emeritus of international law, Princeton University
Howard Friel, World Editorial & International Law
Jeffrey H. Haas, Attorney, Taos, New Mexico and Chicago, IL
Christine Haight Farley, Assistant Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law
Professor Lennox S Hinds, Vice-President, International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)
Wythe Holt, Professor of Law, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
Mary Howell, Attorney at Law, New Orleans, Louisiana
K. Dean Hubbard, Jr. National Co-Chair, National Lawyers Guild Labor and Employment Committee. Joanne Woodward Chair in Public Policy and Advocacy, Sarah Lawrence College
Jean K. Hyams, Attorney
Abdeen Jabara, Attorney at Law, New York
Alicia Kaplow, Attorney at Law, New York
Natalie Kabasakalian, Attorney at Law, New York
Ken Kimerling, Legal Director Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
David Krieger J.D., President, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Michael Krinsky, Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman, P.C. General Counsel, Bill of Rights Foundation
Nancy K. D. Lemon, J.D., Lecturer Boalt Hall School of Law, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California
Judith Levin, Lawyer, Washingtonville, New York
Andrew Lichterman, Program Director, Western States Legal Foundation
Jules Lobel, Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh Law School. Vice Pres. Center for Constitutional Rights
Saul Mendlovitz, Dag Hammarskjold Professor of International Law, Rutgers University.
Carlin Meyer, Professor of Law, New York Law School
Daniel Meyers; Attorney-at-Law, New York. Executive Committee, NYC Chapter National Lawyers Guild
Howard N Meyer, member American Society of International Law
Binny Miller, Professor of Law, Washington College of Law, American University
Tina Minkowitz, J.D., Staten Island, NY
Phyllis Olin, Esq. Berkeley, CA
Mary Boresz Pike, Lawyer, New York
Pamela Pitt, Lawyer, San Francisco
Severina Rivera, Esq. Director Campaign for Labor Rights, Washington
Celina Romany, Professor of Law, American University
Stephen A. Rosenbaum, Lecturer, Univ. of California, Berkeley School of Law. Adjunct Prof., Golden Gate Univ. Scl. of Law
Harold Rosenthal, Attorney, Pennsylvania
Ronald C. Slye, Associate Professor, Seattle University School of Law
Michael S. Sorgen, Attorney, San Francisco
Andrew Strauss, Professor of Law, Widener University School of Law.
Jan Susler. People's Law Office, Chicago, IL
Katherine Thomsom, Attorney, San Francisco
Jon Van Dyke, Professor of Law, University of Hawaii Law School
Peter Weiss, President, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy
Lois Whitman, Attorney, New York
Glenn Wiser, staff attorney, Center for International Environmental Law, Washington DC



Hmmmmmmm. Maybe it's time for a full-page ad in the NY Times.

[Andy_Stephenson]

48. That...is some list...

I have a lot of phone calls to make.

[ParanoidPat]

49. Hey Zan, did you do Nixon's list too?

LOL! :evilgrin: :thumbsup: :toast:

:kick:

[milkyway]

40. Dean had Bev do a demo when he hosted a talk show on CNBC a couple of

weeks ago.

[cthrumatrix]

52. so.... the message is : paper, pencil and a "day off for democracy"

we have plenty of people and cameras to record a manual count.

Who cares if it takes a few days.

[Andy_Stephenson]

58. Works for me

indeed it does.

[rman]

56. don't hold your breath

The press is doing its job; they work for the people who own them.

Did you not see "Outfoxed", or "The Corporation", or "Manufacturing Consent"?

[harmonyguy]

35. Not enough time? Canada does it ALL in 36 days... Here's how

Up here, our elections are not on predetermined days. An election can be called anytime the government falls, or whenever the Prime Minister calls one - within certain guidlines.

Once the election is called and the date set, (referred to as issuing the writ) the calendar in the link below kicks in.....

Paper, pencils, hand counted at the polls (precincts) with scrutineers from each party, everyone trained and under oath. Questionable ballots resolved on the spot. Counts phoned in, and most poll workers on their way home inside of 90 minutes.

http://www.elections.ca/content.asp?section=gen&document=ec90795&dir=bkg&lang=e&textonly=false

[cthrumatrix]

53. obviously.... this is NOT a way to steal an election. Thanks for sharing

[Junkdrawer]

57. ^^^^^^^^^THIS IS IMPORTANT^^^^^^^^^^

All the nonsense that elections are PhD level computing problems requiring the coordination of a Normandy Invasion is COMPLETE BULLSHIT.

Executing an Open, Honest Election is EASY!

Executing a Pretend, Corrupt Election (That only one side can control) is HARD!

[loudsue]

36. THANK YOU - THANK YOU - THANK YOU!!! Bev...and the BBV Patriots

:yourock: You guys are beyond AWESOME!!! :yourock:

I can not tell you how incredibly proud I am of all of you for the work you are doing. This is, far and away, the MOST IMPORTANT piece of work being done in this country today.

O8) Prayers for your continued success and safety!! O8)

Gawd!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

:kick::kick::kick::kick:

[milkyway]

42. What have the NYTimes editorial board and Paul Krugman said about these

developments? The editorial page has shown a strong interest in electronic voting, and Krugman has said it is such a great concern that he thinks there is at least a 25% chance that the world will see our election results as tainted. The editorial page of the Times is still extremely influential and it gets filtered down to the cable news networks. The Times frequently establishes what the screaming heads on cable will be yapping about all day long (while remarkably providing less substance than you could get by reading a newspaper for five minutes).

[BevHarris]

45. We've talked about that. Adam Cohen was covering the

party boat thing in D.C., and he's also got a hot potato in New Mexico right now.

We discussed it. The truth is, without TV, most of America will never know about this.

We have an idea for TV next week. Let's cross our fingers!

[oasis]

50. kick

[nolabels]

51. How come most REAL news about the US comes from across the water?

American election result already in doubt
August 26, 2004

One of the hotter topics in the forthcoming US election is whether Americans will be able to tell who won.

Depending on who's doing the counting, either Gore got 42 more votes than Bush in the last election -- or he got 171 more ].

On the one hand, many people could be happy with a democracy which isn't as simple as winner takes all; on the other, it follows that the voting system has to be absolutely transparent if everyone's to be happy with the specific outcomes.

And if you're not happy that the man running the police and the army and collecting the tax ought to be there, you're not really living in a democracy.

And hanging chads are just the start of it. The LNR has written before about the danger that
electronic voting systems could mean the end for democracy: especially when the machines leave no record, when their workings are not clearly understood by anyone interested, when the manufacturers are donors to political parties, and, as in Venezuela, when the integrity of the ballot is going to be disputed from the get-go.
(snip)
http://www.lnreview.co.uk/news/003427.php

On edit: That is spooky stuff up there, I am also betting after reading them stories that more than a couple of elections have already been thrown (cheated) in that manner. They must have been a little more discrete and clever back then, but the way things changed in poll #'s it only seems obvious. It would also just seem to me they have just have become much more brazen how they want to do it now.

[rhite5]

54. Kick for Restoring Honest Elections!

[elehhhhna]

55. When Lumumba was elected, the bushmen put rocks in baskets...

one basket for each candidate. The illiterate population had no problem with it and the tallies from the villages were run to the cities...thus Patrice Lumumba was elected. Then the CIA offed him.

Why do they hate freedom?


KUDOS BEV & ANDY!!! amazing what some american ingenuity can accomplish ! THANK YOU!

[loudsue]

59. This issue is too important

to let this thread drop...

:kick::kick::kick::kick::kick:

[Zan_of_Texas]

60. Yep.

Come on!

There are people to tell!

I just a few minutes ago told the story to a connected liberal in publishing -- she'd NEVER heard of Bev Harris!

Get those mouths in gear! TELL the story!

[NewJeffCT]

61. Kick - just emailed my Sec of State

Our Sec of State here in Connecticut expressed concerns about BBV a few months back, and I emailed her your bbv.org website to make sure she hasn't forgotten.

Thanks for all your work on this issue.

[cthrumatrix]

64. we must be relentless.... follow-up...good job

[peacetalksforall]

65. I have a lot of faith in the Black Caucus....

the problem is that their news conferences often only make it as far as C-Span.

The hosts on mainstream cable that are making a tiny impression are Dobbs and Olberman.

Would it be possible to take a long shot and try to win someone over like Imus (I can't believe I'm even writing his name).

The first thing is for all of you people who know the inside is to decide if there is or is not time to demand foolproof fixes. And, if not, to emphasize in any press openings that there are new findings that make computer voting a waste of time and ask citizens to demand more of their county.

Another is to make sure that the terminology is perfectly clear - calling it machine voting is not good because no one will know if machine refers to pencil marking a ballot and pulling a lever or computer machine.

It would seem that a lead in would be to reference the conventions with emphasis on the time and energy devoted to selecting candidates and the absence of time and energy devoted to the integrity of the vote for the candidate.

Again, you are the discoverers and our leaders - if you believe everything could come together to correct everything and still use computers - go for it.

If the new discoveries are as dramatic as it appears from these last posts, then it requires a dramatic declaration and appeal to go paper all the way.

[RedEagle]

66. Kick!

We can't fix anything, unless we fix this.

[bearfan454]

67. Patriotic kick

This is hot.

[MallRat]

68. If you have trouble cutting through into the media, how about a PR stunt

Call a press conference and announce that you're auctioning off the GEMS secret code on Ebay to the highest bidder.

"Worried that you're about to lose an election? Don't worry. If your state, district, or town uses Diebold touchscreen voting, we have the solution to all of your problems. The highest bidder will receive the secret code and programming instructions on how to rig a Diebold-run election.

Untraceable, untrackable, and unverifiable because there are no voter-verified paper ballots to count. With this code and some basic knowledge of Microsoft Access, you are guaranteed to win your election or your money back. Bidding starts at $10."

Yes, it's unethical, crass, and probably illegal (maybe you would have to only threaten to hold the auction to avoid criminal charges), but a stunt like that would certainly get people's attention.

That said, I really hope you can get your story out through less sensational means.

:-)

-MR

[loudsue]

69. I LIKE that idea!!

Not actually auctioning it off, but calling a conference SAYING you are, and then showing that THAT is exactly what could happen!! It can be sold to whichever "terrorist country" wants to skew our elections!!

Brilliant!!

:kick::kick::kick:

[nolabels]

70. Contemplation of the issue

I ask myself what is the impetus for this meeting of the minds here. What makes a group of legislators in the largest populated state with basically no lobbyist pursuit of the action and several against it. With very little Corporate Media coverage or so little public knowledge pass bills on unanimous consent? Could there be something up they are not talking about?

Why are they not talking about it? What is the score here, really :shrug:

Senate OK's Strickland bill on voting paper trail

By Steve Lawrence, The Associated Press
August 26, 2004

SACRAMENTO -- The Senate on Wednesday revived an effort to require a paper trail to ensure that electronic voting machines aren't tampered with and accurately record voter preferences.

Meanwhile, the Assembly sent Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a bill that would create a state conservancy to help protect the Sierra Nevada from overdevelopment.
(snip)
http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/state/article/0,1375,VCS_122_3138701,00.html