PLEASE HELP US........WE ARE IN DEEP TROUBLE HERE.

[buff2]

It is crucial that we keep this idiot criminal from becoming Governor here. He helped steal the Presidency twice,he is a lowlife sleaze bag that will stoop to the lowest level for political gain and power. We HAVE to stop this moron,or we will lose the WH in 2008.Now look what he has done. God almighty,no wonder I hate republicans so much. :grr:



In today’s world our social security number is often the key that unlocks access to sensitive financial data.

Last month, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell’s office distributed millions of Social Security numbers as a part of the state voter file. We are requesting that those affected by this breach of personal security be notified as soon as possible in order to fully protect their personal data.

This is not the first time that something like this has happened at the Secretary of State’s office, but it is the most egregious. Every single person affected by this breach deserves to know in order to protect themselves.

Signed,



http://www.tedstrickland.com/page/petition/ssn

[AzDar]

1. There has been a rash of these 'thefts' lately. One HAS to wonder

if the info or opportunity isn't being used for a more sinister purpose than your everyday 'identity-theft';
such as, to perpetrate massive vote-fraud??

[ChickMagic]

2. After years of telling us to use plastic because it's safer

Now there's a rash of lost or stolen data. People are scared
to death of identity theft, so I wonder if it's an attempt to
further demoralize us?

[AzDar]

3. Suspicious to me was the V.A. theft: they wait a number of weeks

before finally admitting that the theft occurred. Then another week or so passes before they further admit that the theft ALSO included the data for hundreds of thousands of ACTIVE-DUTY military personnel, including those currently serving.

Think about it, if you're in Iraq or Afghanistan,trying to survive is your main concern; not necessarily voting, or checking to see if someone has voted FOR you using your stolen I.D....*adjusts tinfoil chapeau*.

[ChickMagic]

4. Makes sense

But what's the worst kind of terror? Someone who
*might* use a fertilizer bomb in Omaha or knowing
that some nameless, faceless entity has access to
your identity? The latter seems like it would cause
a pervasive uneasiness if not outright panic.

[AzDar]

6. Absolutely. n/t

[VaYallaDawg]

7. Got a letter from Ernst & Young reporting another one yesterday.

This was a laptop belonging to an E&Y employee who had all the auditing info for Hotels.com on it - of course, it includes private info for Lord knows how many individuals who have used Hotels.com.

Hmmmm. .....

[AzDar]

8. It always seems to be ONE employee and ONE laptop bearing

responsibility for the incidents.....

[VaYallaDawg]

10. So true. I was starting to think maybe this was all just another

urban legend, but who knows? As the old saying goes, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there aren't people out to get you. And of course, the GOP has hordes of their flunkies working full time to keep the whole country in the grips of paranoia anyway!

Sheesh!

[Peace Patriot]

5. Think long term...

OVERVIEW: AMERICAN REVOLUTION II

What we now have --in addition to outright illegal suppression of Democratic votes by Bushite election officials and other operatives--is several big electronic voting corporations with very close ties to the Republican Party and rightwing causes--Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia-- 'counting' all our votes with 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code--code so secret that not even our secretaries of state are permitted to review it--with virtually no audit/recount controls. This is the result of the infamous "Help America Vote Act" of 2002, a $4 billion electronic voting boondoggle engineered by the biggest crooks in Congress, Tom Delay and Bob Ney (and abetted by Bilderberg 'Democrat' Christopher Dodd).

Our elections are now NON-TRANSPARENT and UNVERIFIABLE, and under the control of partisan corporations. The $4 billion--and also millions in lavish lobbying--were used to corrupt election officials from one end of our country to the other. And those they have not been able to corrupt, they have driven from office (Kevin Shelly in California), or sought to intimidate (Ion Sancho in Florida, and others). This pervasive corruption, and bullying by the Bushite Feds, has resulted in the widespread purchase, by states and counties, of extremely insecure, unreliable and hackable--and very expensive--election theft machinery, including both voting machines and central tabulators. Most votes--even paper ballot votes (such as absentee ballots)--end up as electrons that can be manipulated by "trade secret" programming code, controlled by private Republican corporations. Given the culture of secrecy that has been fostered among election officials, and the financial corruption (big money contracts, lavish lobbying, etc.) that is now pervasive in our election system, no vote is safe and secure. It is a fundamental of democracy that votes be counted in public view. In current conditions, we must presume an inaccurate count that favors those in power.

Restoring TRANSPARENT elections is a MUST DO, PRIORITY ONE, MATTER, if we want our country back. Without the right to vote, we can do little or nothing to restore lawful government. We can protest. We can be appalled. But if the will of the majority--which has always been for peace and justice, and good government, consistently over the last six years, in ALL the issue polls--cannot be enforced, then we might as well be shouting to the wind.

--------------------------------------

SOME RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN REVOLUTION II:

Practical suggestions for the immediate future:

1. ABSENTEE BALLOT VOTING. Promote absentee ballot voting. It's not the ultimate solution, by any means, but it at least provides a tangible paper record for challenging suspicious election results, and for recounts and investigations. (Absentee ballots were a great help to investigators in 2004.) Absentee ballot voting is also a form of protest against the machines. 50% of Californians are now requesting Absentee Ballots. If enough people do it, the machines will be obsolete; then we can work on getting rid of the central tabulators.

2. MONITOR THE ELECTIONS. Join with others to closely monitor the coming elections and gather and document evidence. See www.UScountvotes.org, and other resources, below. UScountvotes.org needs donations!

3. DEMAND INDEPENDENT EXIT POLLS. Demand that the Democratic Party fund INDEPENDENT EXIT POLLS. Exit polls are used worldwide to verify elections and check for fraud. The war profiteering corporate news monopoly exit polls cannot be trusted (they are doctored to match the results from the voting machines' secret programming code; rather than being used to verify elections, they are used to confirm NON-TRANSPARENT "official results"). The Democratic Party owes us, big time, for their lack of vigilance--and in some cases corruption--on electronic voting. This is one critically needed thing that they can do to help.

4. THINK LONG TERM. Saving our democracy promises to be a long hard struggle. We obviously can't get rid of these machines before the '06 elections, so focus on doing our best with the Diebold/ES&S handicap (a 5% to 10% "thumb on the scales" for Bushites and warmongers), and getting rid of these machines afterward, for '08 and beyond.

5. TELL PEOPLE THE TRUTH. They NEED to know it. Engage them in the fight. Bumper sticker: "Help Us Beat the Machines--VOTE!" There is nothing more demoralizing and disempowering than constantly losing and not knowing WHY. There is evidence that the machines CAN be beaten by massive turnout. Get people involved! Help them to SEE what's happening! THEY will solve the problem, ultimately--if they can only IDENTIFY what it is!

6. PRESSURE LOCAL/STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS. Right now, the best place to fight this fight is at the state/local level, where ordinary people still have some influence. Bush's Congress is NOT going to give us back our right to vote--they are the ones who took it away (with the collusion of some corrupt Dems). Don't look to the Feds--look to your local county registrar, your state election boards, your secretaries of state. Demand TRANSPARENT elections. Also educate and mobilize your local Democratic Party and other political party groups.

The first priority in this historic fight for American democracy is restoring our right to vote--the mechanism by which we exercise our sovereignty as a people. Without it, we have no power. We MUST change this.

Never give up on our right to vote! NEVER!

----------------------

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN REVOLUTION II:

Hopeful signs - latest news:

California voters sue the state over Diebold:
www.VoterAction.org is suing the state of California and 18 Calif county registrars on behalf of 25 California voter/plaintiffs, on the illegal Diebold "certification" by Schwarzenegger appointee Bruce McPherson.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2180496
Seven of these counties have promised the judge they would use PAPER BALLOTS, and were dismissed from this lawsuit (4/27/06).
http://kcbs.com/pages/29285.php
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2249205

Maryland rejects Diebold:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x418263

Florida - anti-trust accusations against Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia, re: heroic Florida election official Ion Sancho:
(FLA AG subpoenas the companies)
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,110192,00.html
http://www.tbo.com/news/politics/MGBKSY8W8LE.html
(info & discussion)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2183630

Utah county clerk fights back!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x419226

(Tide turning?) New York Times: "New Fears of Security Risks in Electronic Voting Systems" (5/12/06)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2278829

-----

INFORMATION AND ACTIVIST RESOURCES for American Revolution II:

www.votersunite.org (MythBreakers - easy primer on electronic voting--one of the myths is that HAVA requires electronic voting; it does not.)
www.UScountvotes.org (statistical monitoring of '06 and '08 elections--they need donations)

(Activist sites with links to state activist groups or info)

www.votersunited.org (good general info, and state links)
www.verifiedvoting.org (great activist site)
www.solarbus.org/election/index.shtml (fab compendium of all election info)
www.votetrustusa.org (news of the movement from around the country--caveat: $$$ connections to Choicepoint)

www.freepress.org (devoted to election reform)
www.bradblog.com (also great, and devoted to election reform)
www.TruthIsAll.net (analysis of the 2004 election)* :patriot: :applause: :patriot:
www.votepa.us (well-organized local group of citizen activists in Pennsylvania, where important legal issues are at stake, including state's rights over election systems)
Provisions of the PA lawsuit:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x423739

The Voter Confidence Resolution
http://tinyurl.com/rlnr2 (“We Do Not Consent”)
http://guvwurld.blogspot.com (GuvWurld blog main page)
http://tinyurl.com/amryg (Voter Confidence Resolution

www.debrabowen.com (Calif Senator running for Sec of State to reform election system)
www.johnbonifaz.com (running for Massachusetts Sec of State on strong election reform and antiwar platform)

*Some tributes to TruthIsAll, who is very ill:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x417007
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x417231
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x675477

Congressional bills:

Russ Holt's HR 550 requires a real paper ballot, bans secret software in "voting machines", and has more than 170 co-sponsors, but the audit required is too weak, it promotes electronic voting and centralized power, and the secret software might be permitted to continue in the central tabulators (the bill is not clear). At lot of discussion at DU of the loopholes/pitfalls in HR 550 (many DUers support the bill):
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x422926
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x421136
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=422967&mesg_id=422967
To sign the HR 550 petition: http://www.rushholt.com/petition.html

(Note: Senate Bill-SB 330 and House-HR704 simply require a "voter verified paper audit trail" (VVPAT), which may be best for the moment.)


Also of interest:

Michael Collins (Autorank)'s searing election reform article for New Zealand's Scoop.com
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x971363

Bob Koehler (-- four recent election reform initiatives in Ohio, predicted to win by 60/40 votes, flipped over, on election day, into 60/40 LOSSES!--the biggest flipover we've seen yet; the election theft machines and their masters are now dictating election policy! Title: "Poll Shock" 11/24/05)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col321.htm

Bob Koehler's latest: "Trust us: Take this box and stuff it" (3/16/06)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col337.htm
More Koehler:
www.tmsfeatures.com/tmsfeatures/subcategory.jsp?file=20051124ctnbk-a.txt&catid=1824&code=ctnbk

Amaryllis (Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia lavish lobbying of election officials - Beverly Hilton, Aug. '05)
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x380340

HOWARD DEAN remarks on electronic voting machines 04/06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x994507

------------------------------------------------

Throw Diebold, ES&S and ALL election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW!

:think: :patriot: :woohoo: :patriot: :think:

-----------

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it." --Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence

[klook]

9. Excellent post - thanks

I like your list of practical steps. Also the list of links is very helpful.

[Hoping4Change]

11. Great suggestions.

This really should be posted as a separate thread.:yourock:

[suffragette]

12. Second that - please post as a separate thread

[robinlynne]

13. Thank-you peace patriot!

I just want to ask you to reconsider one small point: absentee ballots.
Although they are on paper, which is great, sevral points come into play here, and I am in california.

They are not counted by precinct. They are counted as a large group of votes, with no identifiers. (the inkavote ballots have to be kept by rpeceinct, so that there is some checking one can do with a recount.) they are not counted on elciton night with the other ballots. they are not subject to any sort of check or audit here in california. What that means is: We only have one chekc and balance going on here in CA, the 1% audit. That is it. 40% of california ballots, the absentees, do NOT pariticpate in that audit at all. they are held with the provisional ballots, and the torn ballots in a little room downstairs called the "snag" room, while all the pther ballots are counted upstairs in an entire floor. They are not audited or checked in any way. This is here in LA county, but we are the alrgest voting county in the country, so....

[rucky]

14. This Is Serious

We need boots on the ground, and I'm afraid the Ohio Democratic Party is clueless.