BBV: right wing rebuttal to Krugman -- it's getting dirty.

[grasswire]

FYI, BBV-ers. The right wingers are taking Krugman on.

http://www.poorandstupid.com/2003_11_30_chronArchive.asp#107044628115035937

DIEBOLD-FACED LIES When someone says "this isn't about money," you can be sure it's all about money. And when Paul Krugman says " there's nothing paranoid about suggesting" something, you can be sure that what he's suggesting is a crackpot conspiracy theory, built on lies and innuendo, that only a true paranoid could believe.

What "there's nothing paranoid about suggesting" in Krugman's New York Times column yesterday is that touch-screen voting machines are part of a Republican plot to hijack elections. He sanctimoniously warns, "let's be clear: the credibility of U.S. democracy may be at stake."

The proof? Krugman assembles a crazy-quilt of anecdotal, inaccurate and highly selective evidence of technical difficulties and security concerns with voting machines manufactured by Diebold, Inc. -- whose CEO, Walden O'Dell, is a major supporter of President Bush. The purpose? To set the media echo-chamber abuzz with a catchy urban myth to show that the Republican party seeks an America in which, as Krugman says in the introduction to his book, The Great Unraveling, "possibly -- elections are only a formality."

big snip

Krugman then goes on to raise various concerns about Diebold's technology and corporate behavior. "The details are technical," he begins, which is the smear journalist's way of saying "I don't really understand all the facts, but here's a bunch of stuff that seems to support my prejudices." Krugman continues,

"Early this year Bev Harris, who is writing a book on voting machines, found Diebold software — which the company refuses to make available for public inspection, on the grounds that it's proprietary — on an unprotected server, where anyone could download it. (The software was in a folder titled 'rob-Georgia.zip.')"

My investigations confirm that a Diebold server was indeed unprotected for a period -- a mistake that has been addressed, according to documents provided by David Bear, a Diebold Election Systems, Inc. spokesperson I talked to yesterday. But there is still much in these two sentences that deserves scrutiny. First, according to Bear's documents, while Diebold software may not be available for public inspection, it is tested both by an independent lab and by outside experts appointed by client states such as Georgia.

[grasswire]

1. must read

Know thy enemy.

[grasswire]

2. the author....

...Donald Luskin, is the guy who sued Atrios (blogger) to shut him down, and who is considered by some other bloggers to be an online stalker.

[creativelcro]

6. Not even worth reading...

he spent 10 minutes doing research on this topic.

[RedSox02]

10. this author

is also obsessed with Paul Krugman, and will blindly attack anythign he writes. So he goes to Diebold apparently, asks them some questions, and takes their answers at face value and as proof that Krugman is somehow wrong. What's more ridiculous is that when Krugman appeared on Hannity & COlmes, Mike Gallagher brought up Luskin's name and Krugman referred to Luskin as someone who stalks him. So what did Hannity and co. do? They invited Luskin on the show later to rebut the "stalker" claim. The fact that Mike Gallagher, who was filling in for Hannity that day, would actually use this guy as a reference is bizarre. The guy is clearly obsessed with Krugman however. You can't take his rebuttals too seriously anymore.

[rogerashton]

3. Anyone who actually reads Krugman

will see that this is a transparent smear -- but most people who read this probably don't, and all they know about what K has to say will be what they read in it.

" ... treasonous felony atrocity ... " -- I like that phrase.

[aquart]

4. I'll bet poorandstupid is not a reference to self.

He was right, of course, about the rob Georgia innuendo.

For the rest......giving SAIC as a definitive authority is either ignorant or disingenuous. And it's just pitiful that when TPTB tell him something has been tested, he believes them.

[arcane1]

5. if only Walden O'Dell was a Dem

the right would be SCREAMING about Diebold!

[creativelcro]

7. and of course...

some of the nominees probably are "nazis" at the core...

[xxqqqzme]

8. wooooo weeeee,

it appears Krugman stepped on some very sensitive toes. I notice they R attacking him 'n glossing over the allegations. Typical.

(Interesting site. I was having trouble understanding exactly who is responsible 4 all these whiners not getting their much deserved millions? who is responsible for them remaining stoooopid? So I guessed - boy was I wrong!)

[damnraddem]

9. Why doesn't the GOP get its pet SCOTUS to rule that black boxes ...

are persons, just like corporations are. Then the GOP can get state legislatures to restrict voting rights to black boxes. Wouldn't that be more efficient than staffing all those polling places? Just let Diebold's black boxes decide all elections, without having to deal with those troublesome voters.

[Beetwasher]

11. I Wonder What This Moron Would Say if George Soros

bought out Diebold...

[trumad]

12. Hey by the way...where's Fredda?

[creativelcro]

13. They would have to write a book

as thick and well documented as Bev's to be taken seriously...

[ibegurpard]

14. Ha!

Great question!

[Timefortruth]

15. Why doesn't Gorge Soros buy Diebold?

You are onto something here!

What's his number?

[Zorra]

16. Well, of course the repugs are against honest elections. How

could they retain any power in America if they didn't cheat?

This is a perfect example of how republicans wish to destroy Democracy by corrupting the voting process. Add that to the indictment list. Do they have any real ethics whatsoever?

[grasswire]

17. interestingly enough...

.....most of the freepers discussing Luskin's commentary are against BBV and prefer paper ballots. They want verified voting because they think WE are going to cheat.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1033102/posts