Reply #61: Good post, one quibble (Isn't that how it goes)

[mgr]

Hi Landshark:

It is good to see that some of us are coming to consensus. I have followed and support the work you are pursuing in Washington. However, I must quibble with your third statement.

I do take exception to TIA's numbers--the better breaking out of the DRE switch data was done by Time For A Change, and contained a larger number of switches from Bush to Kerry--still not a significant amount; but with what Bill Bored states above, the EIRS may not have been known to all republicans who were ripped off, and suggests the database may be partisan. Repeated reports may not, within the context of the database, be indicative of the actual number observed, it may be greater or less; and may not include all incidents. But, we can make the relatively unwarranted but safe assumption that it approximates completeness (e.g. although not all republican encounters are reported, a single report for a democrat vote switch should occur within the same location). But what I was proposing was an analysis to determine if the pattern has meaning.

This would not be an 86:88 ratio or the 89:95 ratio, but comparison of the number of counties that the reports originated from to the number of counties with DRE for all election day tallying. What I would then recommend is that comparison be made between the so called battleground states and those that were not battleground. I think then we can either accept or reject whether DRE vote switching was the sine qua non fraud of the election. Otherwise, we are left with the DNC's report for Ohio, that well encompasses these possibilities due to long lines and failure to anticipate turnout.

My attitude towards TIA's work approximates that of Lyell's and Hutton's when they considered Bishop's Ussher's calculation of the earth's age based upon the genealogies in Numbers. Yeah it may be 6,000 years old according to the Bible, but uniformitarianism suggests millions if not billions of years in age. One is a strict calculation, the other an approximation based upon what we observe at present. Obviously, based upon uniformitarianism, Methuselah's (and several others') age would be well outside the observed patterns; and not consistent with current patterns where the average contemporary life span is increasing. One can always multiply, divide, add and subtract with precision, but it is the underlying logic and reasoning that matter.

I agree, in that I think the incompetence was intentional, and is suggestive of fraud, if the patterns hold up (e.g. the pattern of machine errors, vote switching, long lines hold up in the battleground states, or alternatively, in democrat majority counties).

Something needs to be done to get these machines out, and I am glad its being done. Once this election is behind us, the next discussion should be what are the alternatives, which you have sketched out. I am not sure that hand counting is the way to go, the potential for human error or perfidy is just as high, nor are punch cards or scanners the answer--unless one does duplicative ballots, where an original goes one way to be counted, copies goes to each partisan or non partisan election watch commissions, and the one stays with the voter.

Mike

Mike