[lit-ideas] Re: The elections
- From: "John McCreery" <john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2006 09:21:25 +0900
On 11/11/06, Eric Yost <eyost1132@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Simon: Conversely, it's clear the Republicans didn't
win...nobody cheated.
Eric: My point exactly. It says a lot about DEMs, and not
the good stuff about them I prefer to support. It shows the
irrational, venal, vulgar, petty, mob side of Democrats.
Nah, first it says a lot about losers. Spend a bit of time reading the
comments on, for example, the National Review or Red States blogs and you
will find insanity to match and surpass anything you have seen on the Dem
side in previous elections.
And, second, the relative cleanness of these elections had a lot to do with
the fact that both parties had the good sense to have thousands of lawyers
spread out all over the country keeping an eye on polling stations and ready
to pounce on irregularities...Not to mention the pollwatchers recruited by
organizations like Common cause.
And, third, the problems still exist. Electronic machines are hackable, and
the fact that the scrutiny described above deferred the majority of
malefactors (FL-18 remains a notable exception) doesn't mean that this won't
be a problem if we become too complacent in future elections.
And, fourth, not only are the machines hackable. At least in some cases the
interface design is abominable. My daughter, voting in Corpus Christi,
Texas, noticed poll workers madly scrambling back and forth telling people
not to push the red button until they completed their ballots since (1)
selection involved use of a dial instead of a keypad or mouse and (2) the
opening question "Spanish or English" was the only thing displayed on the
first screen. Real easy, then, for folks to turn the dial to their
preference, hit the button, and wind up not being able to cast a vote at
all. My daughter almost did this herself, and she is a highly educated Navy
pilot, used to being careful before she pushes buttons.
Cheers,
John
--
John McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN
http://www.wordworks.jp/
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