THE THREE MOST FRIGHTENING WORDS
FROM PAGE 3
PAT LAVIS
President Bush’s election and the Democratic Party's
losses were expected and the result of a well executed molding
of voter opinions.
As I analyze the political history, it becomes clear that
the first thing the Republican Party did was gain media control
and then in a very slow and subtle, almost subliminal crusade,
focused on the perception of the concept of liberal. The word
was demonized so that there would be a connotation that a
liberal was dangerous to the United States Realizing that this
may not be enough to carry them to victory in an election) the
next step was to find social or other patriotic issues that could
be used, ergo the argument that anyone in favor of same sex
marriages or who supported the U S. Supreme Court decision
of Roe v Wade, was someone you must not trust; these people
are dangerous The connotation of a demon was shifted to free-
thinking Americans who supported these decisions.
Following the terrorists’ attacks on the Twin Towers and
the rush to security, the Constitution of the United States was
forgotten and under Attorney General Ashcroft, approximately
4,000 American aliens and citizens of Arab descent were
detained for a considerable time. They might be connected
to the terrorists. All have now been released. There were no
convictions of any of those taken into custody. This blanket
violation of Constitutional rights was justified under homeland
security. Anyone who opposed this could also be labeled a
demon to democracy. A patriot who stood up and said the
Constitution needs to be protected or who opposed the policy
of the Administration or who spoke out defending Constitutional
rights was labeled unpatriotic, or even evil. This connection
carried the election.
Unfortunately this election will also be an historical
controversy in the history of the United States. It appears there
were precincts where there were more votes for President Bush
than there were voters in the district. I do not know whether
or not this would make any change but I believe we should
be enlightened on the reality of voting practices in this election,
even though it is obvious that it will not change the course of
history for the next four years.
I have a silent prayer that every American will realize
that democracy is something we must safeguard at home and
that free and open elections are the battlecry for 2008. Ask
citizens to understand the fact that people with diverse views
are not demons. Do not polarize your thoughts on a single issue
where you lose respect and tolerance for your fellow citizens.
I personally have never considered any of the opponents of
Ballot Measure 36 as being unacceptable as my fellow citizens
and I feel they have every right to their position. I would simply
ask the same understanding for all of those who do not embrace
that position or every act of this government.
For it is by questioning government that the government
is challenged to remain true to the principles of the republic.
BILL OF RIGHTS PARED
TO MANAGEABLE 6
FROM THE ONION
Flanked by key members of Congress and his admin
istration, President Bush has approved a streamlined version
of the Bill of Rights that pares its 10 original amendments
down to a “tight, no-nonsense” 6.
A Republican initiative that went unopposed by
congressional Democrats, the revised Bill of Rights provides
citizens with a “more manageable” set of privacy and due-
process rights by eliminating four amendments and condensing
and/or restructuring five others. The 2nd Amendment, which
protects the right to keep and bear arms, was the only article
left unchanged.
Calling the historic reduction “a victory for America,”
Bush promised that the new document would do away with
“bureaucratic impediments to the flourishing of democracy at
home and abroad."
“It is high time we reaffirmed our commitment to this
enduring symbol of American ideals,” Bush said. “By making
the Bill of Rights a tool for progress instead of a hindrance to
freedom, we honor the true spirit of our nation’s forefathers.”
The 4th Amendment, which long protected citizens’
homes against unreasonable search and seizure, was among
the eliminated amendments. Also stricken was the 9th Amend
ment, which stated that enumeration of certain constitutional
rights does not result in the abrogation of rights not mentioned.
“Quite honestly, I could never get my head around the
9th Amendment anyway,” said former House Majority Leader
Dick Armey (R-TX), a leading advocate of the revised Bill of
Rights. “So goodbye to that one.”
Amendments 5 through 7, which guaranteed the right
to legal counsel in criminal cases, and guarded against double
jeopardy, testifying against oneself, biased juries, and drawn-
out trials, have been condensed into Super Amendment 5:
The One About Trials.
DAVID H O RSEY
MONICA TAYLOR
Bush’s administration is attacking Social Security, the
environment and civil rights, and he is spreading fear with the
war on terrorism. I think this strategy is to distract everyone’s
attention away from the most vitally important point It’s like
lighting fires everywhere to smoke-screen the most important
focus for a democracy, which is to secure accountable election
equipment and legislation. The “new election computers,” like
Diebold’s election software systems, are in question.
Thirty to forty states used these new computers. The
prominent computer election software companies are Diebold,
Election Systems & Software (ES&S), VoteHere and Sequoia.
Some of the problems that I am aware of are:
~The computers and software are privately owned and
copyrighted, which makes them politically influenceable and not
inspectable.
~The computers produce no voter-inspected paper
ballot for independent recount and audit and are essentially
illegal in most states.
~The Diebold systems have been tested and proved
hackable in at least six different ways; the total vote can be
changed by remote control.
~We do not have legislation adequate for the new
equipment. The Secretary of States of Florida and Ohio withheld
the internal tracking systems, which were needed to authenticate
the computer election results. So there is no proof they were not
tampered with.
Dozens of computer experts are alarmed by the use of
the new election computers. The computers and software are
privately copyrighted. Dan Spillane and Avi Rubin are computer
design scientists who worked for VoteHere and Diebold, respect
ively. Both warned that their companies' touch-screen election
computers are not acceptable in elections.
Some other computer experts who have given warning:
~The information Security Institute at the Johns Hopkins
University, computer specialists who studied Diebold machines
in Maryland.
~Dr. Bev Harris, Ph D., author of Black Box Voting.
~Dr. Rebecca Mercuri, computer voting virtuoso.
~Dr. Roxanne Jabot, computer programmer for 20+
years and teacher, who did a line-by-line review of Diebold’s
program and found “enough to stand your hair on end.”
~Dr. James Gundlach, statistical analyst and sociology
instructor at Auburn University, Alabama
~The Voting Technology Project Team, a joint venture
of Massachusetts and California Institutes of Technology.
~John Zogby, arguably the most reliable pollster in the
United States.
~Dr. Dan Wallace, Rice University computer science
professor.
-Chuck Herrin, Ph.D., holder of multiple highest-level
certifications in the areas of computer networking, engineering,
auditing and security.
~Arlene S. Ash, Ph D., Statistician.
-N ew Jersey Representative Rush Holt, Ph.D.,
physicist.
We do need to be alarmed that the present regime is
trying to sweep this issue under the carpet. The people of Ohio
are aware and they are angry.
No other state’s election system is as good as Oregon’s,
as long as we continue to insist that voter registration rolls and
election counting are both controlled locally at the county level.
But we must be concerned about national elections.
MICHAEL G. HOROWITZ
pet projects for their constituencies, keeping the present trend
of higher government spending chugging along.
Fortunately, the majority of voters will finally see the
ineptness with which Bush has managed our financial and
foreign policy.
Let’s let Bush and his no-tax and max-spend cohorts
chase their dreams of world democracy for a few years. After all,
it’s your and my grandchildren who will have to bail America out.
Karl Rove cobbled a domestic coalition of Traditional
Capital, Militarism & Evangelism. But it's a coalition that might
fray. To begin with, Traditional Capital has habitually allied with
science and technology — not theology (which may explain why
the Economist endorsed Kerry). Militarism has always been
awkward in America, especially for endless engagement (which
may explain why Pat Robertson publicly recalled his personal
warning to Bush regarding Iraq; and the haunting Kerry refrain
— “We go to war because we have to, not because we want
to.").There is also economic penalty associated with endless
engagement that might eventually concern Traditional Capital.
And standing on the sidelines are the carping Blues, which, even
officially, failed by just 120,000 votes in Ohio to command the
Electoral College.
LAREEJOHNSON
Bush and Cheney for four more wars....
DAVID AMBROSE
Sadly Bush will continue his no-tax and max-spend
policy into the future. With the increasing debt, either interest
rates will rise or the dollar will tank against other currencies.
Unfortunately, the Republicans in Congress will not
see the political danger in following Bush and hold onto their
(Outgoing) Attorney General John Ashcroft hailed
the slimmed-down Bill of Rights as “a positive step."
“We are not taking away personal rights, we are
increasing personal security," he said. “The Bill of Rights
will now offer expanded personal freedom whenever they
are deemed appropriate and unobtrusive to the activities
necessary to effective operations of the federal government."
According to U S. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), the
original Bill of Rights, though well-intentioned, was “seriously
outdated ”
“The United States is a different place than it was
back in 1791,” Craig said. “As visionary as they were, the
framers of the Constitution never could have foreseen, for
example, that our government would one day need to jail
someone indefinitely without judicial review."
The President agreed.
“Ten was just too much of a handful," Bush added.
“Six civil liberties are more than enough.”
The Onion is a famous satirical weekly distributed nationally.
JO G O ZA
I didn't realize I had hoped so much for Bush to lose that
when my hopes collapsed, so have I for awhile.
JOANNE HALVERSON
A gross injustice has been perpetrated against the
proportion of conscientious citizens who voted with a belief
in democratic elections.
I think the consequences of this election will be further
disenfranchising of the American people from democracy while
empowering corporate dismantlement of the fundamental
concepts of the Constitution. We will*see savage labor policies,
corrupt business practices and the sabotage of education, health
care and Social Security.
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