David wrote in message . ..
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0225-05.htm

Maybe true, maybe not.
But one must remember that the "left" demanded CHANGE after the 2000
mess in FL.
I dislike all "paperless" transactions, be they fianancial or
election.
But the US public demands instant results. And no paper ballat system
can ever be fast enough. I remember watching election night as some
young
woman, identified by a lower third proclaiming her to be a Demonrat,
nearly
screamed that "this delay is not acceptable". She went on to say;
"Surely in
the 21st century, in the most advanced(sic) country on this planet, we
can
do better". Better in this case clearly meant faster.
I was concerned about the BIG difference in the outcome and the
projections based on exit polling. But whem several news sources
mentioned that Demonrats
were much more likely to respond then the evil Republicans, and that
state laws
keeping all 3rd party types (pollers, boosters etc) further away from
polling
places then in 2000, the difference made sense. Not saying that this
or any election is fair. A friend I worked with told us stories about
how his father
had been a city employee in Lousyville KY and had for years spent
election day
going from precinct to precinct voting in the name of people who had
recently
died. I have no proof that he was not telling tale tales, but the tone
of
the conversation lead me to accept what he said as being true. In his
case
it was the Demonrats that controlled the election. In 1996, it is
generaly accepted that Paul Patton stole the election with his
overwealming win in Jeffereson County KY. Lousyville is it's county
seat. After a grand jurry
handed down indictments against several top Demonrat party officials,
and
at least one union offical, one indicted lady killed herself. The feds
have really been heavy into election fraud in KY and I suspect that
she either knew she was going to jail, or someone decided that she
would plea bargin and shut her up. The Demonrats used to hand out
"walking" money like Saint Nick hading out candy to kids, the
difference being it was a very thinly disguised way to buy votes. The
feds put and end to that.

I am reminded of the big stink in Cook county IL after Nixon lost that
election election. It has been too many years, and I was only 9, but
several
of the major news magazines ran articles on how the dead voted and
pusehed the county for a Demonrat win.

I am not defending any election fraud and would like to see any and
all such actions raised to the level of treason with manditory death
for any and everyone who particpates. And I would go so far as to
modify the US constitution to mandate "truth serum" to be used in all
such cases. If it were up to me it would extend down to people
stealing
or defacing poltical signs on other peoples property.

It might not bring the US any closer togather in political terms, but
it would damn sure raise the stakes of the all too typical poliitical
"dirty tricks". Like the 6 or 7 vans rented by the Republicans to
transport
people to vote that had the tires sliced, apparently by the son a
Demonrat
FL politico. Or the local idiots here in Lexington who stole Bush and
Kerry signs. Or the fool in Ohio who was paid with crack to gather
voter registrations, and who was so lame as to use fairy tale names.
Or the principal at a special ed school who bribed his students to
vote
with ice cream.

And if for no other reasn then I don't trust any electronic system to
be tamper proof, I for one hate them and up until 2000 voted by
absentee ballot. But KY
changed the rules and made most people who had used paper ballots use
a special, reserved voting machine. I was told the paper ballots where
just "too hard to
handle." I argued "no, not too hard to handle, but to hard to
falsify". I ****ed the election board off big time. And at that time
KY was completly controlled by the Demonrats. (both houses and the Gov
where Demonrats and did pretty much as they pleased)

I guess we are seeing Darwin in action. Before the party with better
access to the registration process had the advantage. But now the
smartest party, or the party able to buy the smartest talent will use
technology to effect elections. Maybe the right has better (ormore
corrupt) programers then the left. Or maybe this election was as fair
as any US election has ever been.

Terry