Surprised this isn't posted here yet - about Andy :(

[New Earth]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4046336&mesg_id=4046336

keep fighting guys. :cry: :hug:

[tommcintyre]

1. Andy's spirit will always be with us.

Fly free Andy, we will carry on.

[demodonkey]

2. Paper Trails To You

Some Trails are Happy Trails
Some Trails not so fun
It's the way you use the Trail that counts
Rigging Vote Machines is FUN

Paper Trails to You,
So we can steal your vote.

Paper Trails to You,
We'll do it by remote.

Cryptography's hypocrisy's it's secret,
What we really want 's a paper ballot.

Paper Trails to you,
So you'll think you won.

--- Andy Stephenson

[UrbScotty]

14. LOL (nt)

[SophieZ]

33. "Paper Trails" sung by Andy --

There is a brief tribute to Andy, that was played on the radio this evening in Houston, on KPFT's Sunday Monitor show.

To hear it, go to

http://www.kpftx.org/archives/kpftsignal/index.php

Sunday Monitor ... July 10 ... It's about 12 minutes in.

It is three separate items, recorded one year ago, in Austin, before his relationship with Bev Harris went spectacularly bad, and before his health went spectacularly bad.

You can hear Andy as he, Bev and Kathleen Wynne were barnstorming around the country waking people up.

[demodonkey]

38. Thanks SophZ - but I sure wish we had a recording of him singing it ALONE.

It's REALLY hard for me to hear him with BBV, knowing how bitterly, bitterly, terribly hurt Andy felt to the very end by the way he was treated by BBV. I guess the clip is better to have than nothing, but gee it is really hard to hear.

A documentary filmmaker started VIDEOTAPING Andy doing "Paper Trails" by himself in the lobby in Nashville; somebody else came up in the middle and interrupted the whole shot to tell us to move or some trivial thing. I remember thinking, damn, this needs to get on tape. NOW. (Andy was already pretty sick at the time, far more than he let on to anybody.) Anyway, the shot was never completed or re-done. Still that shot probably exists somewhere, and though it's cut off in the middle, is at least a partial record and it's on video so it would be cool to find that.

He also did "Paper Trails" at the DU Meet-up in Columbus... PLEASE somebody tell me you had a video camera or a cell/phone with video clip capability running right then.... By Columbus he was REALLY starting to get sick, again never letting on too much, but some of us knew. Though we had hope, when Andy started "Paper Trails" I remember thinking PLEASE, let him get this surgery done SOON so this won't be the last time...

Well the absolute last time I ever heard Andy singing "Paper Trails" was in the hospital at JH after the surgery. He was in pain and on pain meds, and all of us singing took his mind off that... OK he wasn't "belting it out" (as Andy's attackers misconstrued on their vile websites), but he sang "Paper Trails" and other songs and sang well.

BTW, if any of you never got to hear Andy sing, he was a darn GOOD singer. He loved musical theatre; his cell phone ringer was Ethel Merman! My one regret is that Andy never really got to hear me sing the way I REALLY sing.

Anyway, darn it, that Andy got that "Paper Trails" song SO stuck in my head... I've ended up writing about a gazillion more "Paper Trails" verses just while driving around, etc. Now I'll be singing it all the rest of today!

:hug: Marybeth

[Kip Humphrey]

3. I dedicate my fight to regain our Democracy to Andy;s memory and will

forever remain a proud member of Andy's Gang for Democracy.

Its a sad and dark day.
We have a fallen hero and patriot.
He gave us all the good fight.
Let us never forget.
Let us come together.
Let us continue his fight.
Let us keep his memory alive.

America
Needs
Democracy
Yesterday

[demodonkey]

4. Thank you Kip, from a member of BOTH...

...ANDY'S GANG and KIP'S KOMMANDOS.

:loveya:

MB

(And Andy I will forever be your disciple, you know that -- VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS!)

[meganmonkey]

5. Hi there dd

:hi:

:hug:

We all have a lot of work to do!

mm

[demodonkey]

9. Hi MM, wish it were happier circumstances...

:hug: :hi: :hug:

But you KNOW Andy wants us to keep fighting.

VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS -- for Andy AND Democracy.

[NoBushSpokenHere]

6. Very sorry to hear this news

Andy was a true champion, may he fly far and fly free.

[mod mom]

7. :( ! Andy has found peace.

[MelissaB]

8. I just can't pull it together this morning...

Andy was our leader. :cry:

[frictionlessO]

11. I've been crying all morning as well Melissa, but you're wrong.

You are a leader! You are your own leader and a leader to others that read your words. Witness your fighting spirit, your dedictaion to a cause. Sooo very many of you are... Andy knew that, I believe. Andy saw the leadership qualities in many here, as it takes one to know one even when there seem to be little or no followers...

We are all leaders now, we are the ones we have been waiting for. There is no other way.

More tears to you.... and many hugs.:hug:

[MelissaB]

12. "...we are the ones we have been waiting for..."

I guess this has to be true now. I don't see myself as a leader, but I'm willing to learn and fight. :hug:

:cry:

[frictionlessO]

15. No you are, I for one pay attention to your posts.. Im sure there's others

"we are the ones we have been waiting for"

Not only does it have "to be true now", but it always has been. You know this deep down inside you, and after we all move on a little from our grieving we will be wiser for the loss of Andy, his example lives on in many of us.

The best leaders are those that continously learn and apply that to their fight. I think you are already a leader.

[understandinglife]

10. Halt terror on America --- Support V V P B.

WATCH IT; SPREAD IT http://www.bushflash.com/right.html

Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us - How ever long it takes, the day must come when tens of millions of caring individuals peacefully but persistently defy the dictator, deny the corporatists their cash flow, and halt the evil being done in Iraq and in all the other places the Bu$h neoconster regime is destroying civilization and the environment in the name of "America."

[merh]

13. We will continue his fight.

He has a legacy -- he will be remembered. :hug:

((((((((((((Voter Verified Paper Ballots))))))))))))))))))


:loveya: Andy :loveya:

[tommcintyre]

16. Who is Andy?-- for those who may not know

Posted by marions ghost
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4046336#4047439

I'm sure his longterm friends can do a better job of describing Andy, but on the surface, here's an answer:
----------------

"Andy Stephenson is an activist, a vigilant worker on behalf of clean voting in America. He has worked tirelessly to help uncover details of electronic voting fraud in the 2000, 2002, and 2004 elections. He's devoted years of his life to making America a more democratic nation." Thom Hartmann http://www.opednews.com/hartmann_050105_save_andy.htm
---------------

"A great friend of the activist community named Andy Stephenson needs our help. Andy has been a tireless fighter for election reform in America for years. He worked closely with the Black Box Voting organization, spent every waking moment traveling and speaking on the issue of electronic touch-screen voting machines, and even ran for Secretary of State in Washington on a platform based on this specific issue.

I remember meeting up with him last August in Seattle for a Rolling Thunder event. The day was dedicated to a variety of group conversations on topics ranging from the Iraq occupation to environmental protection to electronic voting and the upcoming election. Every gathering where Andy came to speak was packed, and he described in eerily prescient detail what eventually happened in Ohio and elsewhere during the November presidential election."

William Rivers Pitt, PDA Progressive Democrats of America
http://blog.pdamerica.org/?p=22
----------------

"For two years this brash Seattle businessman has crisscrossed the country and Internet chat rooms, sounding an alarm that your vote could be lost or altered by corporate-controlled software or incompetent bureaucrats.
To those who refuse to let the presidential election die, he's become a heroic watchdog of voter rights — first for Renton-based Black Box Voting and now for Help America Recount, which still is pushing for new vote tallies in three states."

Seattle Times http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002119969_danny15.html
---------------

"I am just back from the Progressive Democrats of America Conference in Washington. The trip was a very productive and the consensus coming from that is, that we all believe that a paper ballot is the first step in a larger battle for election reform. This is the beginning of a new Voting Rights Movement … and we are all on the front lines because democracy, itself, depends on us."

Andy Stephenson
Action Alert--read the rest at:
http://www.udpc.org/alerts.htm

PAPER BALLOTS PAPER BALLOTS PAPER BALLOTS PAPER BALLOTS PAPER BALLOTS
NGU NGU NGU Andy Stephenson NGU NGU NGU

[tommcintyre]

19. Thom Hartmann talking about Andy

"He is honoring him, I have goosebumps..."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4049224

Archived:
"This will be on the repeat stream all weekend."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4049224#4049246

http://www.WhiteRoseSociety.org/Hartmann.m3u

or

http://www.WhiteRoseSociety.org/Hartmann.pls

Show repeats continuously after air time.

[Der Blaue Engel]

17. I suggested on the big post that we dedicate 2004 ERD to Andy

I think we owe it to Andy to make sure that we don't lose momentum on the election fraud and reform issues. I think DU owes it to Andy. And I think nothing would be a better tribute than to put this forum back on the Admin Picks list.

Just my thought for the morning on this very sad day. :cry:

[tommcintyre]

18. I totally agree. Help keep this GD thread kicked in Andys' memory.

Poll question: Should the 2004 Election Forum be placed back on the main forum page?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4017670

[MelissaB]

20. Lyrics for Andy

Dry Your Eyes
by Neil Diamond


Dry your eyes and take your song out,
it's a new-born afternoon.
And if you can't recall the singer
you can still recall the tune.
Dry your eyes and play it slowly
like you're marching off to war;
sing it like you know he's want it,
like we sang it once before.
And from the center of the circle
to the midst of the waiting crowd,
if it ever be forgotten
sing it long and sing it loud
and come dry your eyes.

And he taught us more about giving
than we ever cared to know,
but we came to find the secret
and we never let it go.
And it was more than being holy
and it was less than being free,
And if you can't recall the reason
can you hear the people sing.
Right through the lightning and the thunder
to the dark side of the moon,
to that distant falling angel
that descended much to soon
and come dry your eyes.


This song is in "The Last Waltz". It is the best Rock and Roll movie ever IMHO.

[NC Beach Girl]

21. oh no...

this is awful news.
:cry:

Rest in peace, Andy...you will be missed.

[roseBudd]

22. I only met Andy once at the Warren County BoE...

The main BoE employee was clearly not happy to see us. Andy acted as if he was oblivious to that fact and proceeded to chit chat with her for the hours he spent at the counter since she would not let him take the poll books to a table.

[AtLiberty]

23. : (

Andy told me on the phone regarding BOEs, "Those people don't scare me..." lol His words fortified me the following week when I confronted my BOE.

This news was most unwelcome. I didn't realize he was hospitalized the past few weeks with postoperative complications. In fact, I was thinking, "Well, in a few months, Andy is going to jump back in the fun."

RIP, friend and comrade.

[FogerRox]

24. Andy emailed me with his cell phone asking me to call him on

MAy 23rd. WE talked about the Sequoia Advantage, he was just making sure I was headed in the right direction.
That was monday-- his surgery was Wednesday IIRC.

DAmn. DAmn. damn.

[sickinohio]

25. I didn't know Andy at all

but read his posts many times. Just from those posts, I could tell what a special person he was. The whole world should be filled with Andy's. How sad.

:cry:

[Helga Scow Stern]

26. I spoke to Andy once on the phone when they were taking down K. Shelley...

He thought the California Attorney General had settled too easily with Diebold and had been too eager to get rid of Shelley, so we went online together and he showed me how to do searches to find out who had donated to Lockyer's campaign. The most exciting thing we found was from a Texas lobbyist who had also worked with Karl Rove.

Although I had only this one brief contact with Andy, he was clearly a person full of love, life, and humor.

I hope that he will continue to help us now, as soon as he is settled.

[rumpel]

28. Yes, as soon as he's settled, he'll be back

[emlev]

30. On this sad, sad occasion--my memory of Andy

He made a point to contact me directly to tell me I'd done a good job on the radio explaining the difference between paper trails and voter verified paper ballots. He'd been listening to the KPFA Sunday Salon show streaming on the internet.

One of the things I admired about Andy was how out he was about being gay. I haven't always felt safe enough in this movement to be that out, and appreciated having him as a comrade.

We had a bit of contact after that, including some about his health. I never told him I had an uncle who died of pancreatic cancer, because it didn't seem like helpful information. I've just been hoping, hoping, that it wouldn't come to this.

I'm so sad.

[rumpel]

27. Election reform should be in memory of Andy

:cry:

I am so sad at the moment, I am speechless

[demodonkey]

32. It is. (eom)

[rumpel]

29. Damn, I can not believe it!

[Helga Scow Stern]

31. I just found out about it, and it makes me very sad too....

and it reminds me of just how short and precious life is.

[garybeck]

34. Was anyone else there at the Chat when Andy first told us he was sick?

I'm trying to remember. Just for the heck of is a few months ago some of us decided to have an online chat. Can't remember if it was Yahoo IM, or AIM. At the very end, we were all getting ready to log off and Andy told us he hadn't eaten for days and he was feeling really sick. He was in DC at the time, with no money. He had no idea what it was. We had to convince him to go to a doctor, find a free clinic or something. It's so sad, looking back at that moment. My wife is a nurse and I actually got on the phone with him afterwards and we tried to figure some things out but he really needed to see a doctor.

RIP
A.S.

[New Earth]

35. i do remember that

i believe it was yahoo chat, on the VOTE group...and i remember him thinking he ate some bad spaghetti or something.

ugh, still so sad...

[garybeck]

36. It seems like just a couple weeks ago. I can't believe

it led to this. I'm drained.

[demodonkey]

37. Yes it was, Faye & Gary.

Sunday P.M. on the VOTE chat.

And yes, he thought it was food poisoning due to bad pasta in D.C. He was REALLY sick and I was so scared for him because even if it was only food poisoning, his options for getting help were so limited due to no insurance. Pretty crappy us all trying to help via Yahoo chat, but we did what we could.

:hug: MB

[Jo March]

39. I was there as well

We kept trying to type in advice and words of comfort. Quite a few "get to the doctor now" snippets, if I recall correctly.

I remember him calling me when I needed help with VOTE. I remember thinking, why would someone like Andy Stephenson call me? Then I spoke with him and realized how passionate he was about election reform.

I am just too sad for words.