California bans Diebold voting machines in four counties, calls for criminal investigation

The state’s top elections official called for a criminal investigation of Diebold Election Systems Inc. as he banned use of the company’s newest model touchscreen voting machine, citing concerns about its security and reliability.

Friday’s ban will force up to 2 million voters in four counties, including San Diego, to use paper ballots in November, marking their choices in ovals read by optical scanners.

Secretary of State Kevin Shelley asked the attorney general’s office to investigate allegations of fraud, saying Diebold had lied to state officials.

I’m listening to the California Secretary of State at the press conference as I type this. He is seriously pissed and is point-blank accusing Diebold of deliberately breaking the law in numerous ways.

This may well be the death knell for touchscreen voting. Good. Until such systems are genuinely verifiable, they should not be used. You’re damn right I don’t trust unverifiable voting systems created by companies with strong ties to conservative Republican causes!

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US report: Terrorism at 35-year low

The number of terrorist attacks worldwide has dropped to its lowest level since 1969, according to a US State Department report.

A 35 year low? Lord have mercy, and here the TV media is scaring us silly with unending reports of commies, whoops, terrorists under every bed. Hmm, why is this? Reading White House press releases as news certainly is less taxing than all that tedious investigative journalism or am I too cynical?

Why oh why do they hate us. The saga continues.
US troops accused of torturing Iraqis

Those ungrateful wretches…
Iraqi Council members demand full sovereignty.

U.S., Iraq generals reach tentative deal, uh huh…
The “deal” is - are you ready - a former general under Saddam will invade Falluja, uh, “handle security” for the US, who promises to leave town. However the bombings are continuing unabated. A clear pattern is emerging. US military pretends to talk peace as they continue the war.

But it’s not working out, is it? Support for war is down sharply.

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Nader coming on strong

An editorial from from FortWayne.com

Supporters of John Kerry are kidding themselves if they think Ralph Nader won’t hurt their candidate. The latest Gallup Poll, taken April 5-8, gives him 4 percent. A Newsweek poll of 18- to 29-year-olds found 12 percent backing Nader, “at the expense of John Kerry.” And Democrats have to be worried about a survey in New Hampshire last month that found Nader with 8 percent.

Maybe Democrats should figure out why Nader is attracting votes, then do the same because Kerry appears dead in the water while Nader is gaining strength.

But they should worry more as they look at Iraq. The war there is not going well. Kerry’s position on the war is not much different from the president’s. Nader, by contrast, is fervently anti-war: “I have been against this war from the beginning.”

In early April, Gallup found that 28 percent of those surveyed wanted all U.S. troops out of Iraq, compared with 16 percent in January. If the war deteriorates, the sentiment for pulling out can only rise, and Nader (that is, Bush) will be the beneficiary. He’s the only anti-war game in town.

I disagree. Kerry could easily be the beneficiary. All he has to do is oppose the war. 

The people who want him to quit don’t know Ralph Nader. I have known him for a quarter-century. He is not like other politicians. While I disagree with him on practically every issue, I admire his seriousness, his vigor and his perseverance. This is his life. This is his movement, and it might be his moment. He is not stepping aside for anyone. Good for him.

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Green Party nominating convention. Bad moon rising.

It’s looking like there will be a nasty floor fight in the upcoming Green Party (GP) nominating convention between the anyone-but-Nader forces and those who want to either endorse Nader or run him as a candidate.

It’ll be a vicious pie fight too, with lasting damage within the party because of it. Democratic pundits like Eric Alterman will gleefully rub the GP’s face in it too, oh yes they will. And of course a surging Nader run will siphon votes away from the GP by the hundreds of thousands.

I expect a nonentity like David Cobb will get the nomination and then, oh, one half of one percent of the national vote, upon which the GP may well go into a serious, prolonged, maybe terminal slump.

Yeah, I do think it’s that bad. Hope I’m wrong. This is not the time for inward focus and internal battles. This is the time to unite against the war and all that it represents.

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