Salon Weekly
~ In 4 Color-Coded Sections:
- Table Notes
- Events & Opportunities
- Articles, Letters (“opinions expressed are not necessarily mine”...ellen)
- Books, Reviews, Films, Magazines
- Tri-State Treasures: events compiled by Jim Kesner (who is on vacation this week.)
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................................................... Section One: Table Notes ............................................................................ (Note: these notes were taken at the table and have NOT been approved or corrected by the speakers. Reader beware of inevitable misunderstandings and misrepresentations. E.B.)
At the table Wednesday 7/9/08
David Rosenberg, Randy Wilson, Anna Rosenberg, Courtney Monger, Kyle Ferguson, Judy Cirillo, Alan Jozwiak, Linda Gruber, Mira Rodwan, Ginger Lee Frank, Brooke Audreyal, Bob Witanowski, Mary Biehn, Daisy Quarm, Lauren Groh-Wargo , Ed Buyneski, Bill Limbacher
Welcome Lauren and Randy from America Votes.
Anna read preamble.
AMERICA VOTES. Tonight we have two young women who work for this organization.
Lauren:
We were formed 2003.
To coordinate election work of many groups: Labor groups, unions, Women’s choice groups, environmental groups like Sierra Club, NAACP, Human Rights Campaign, GLBT groups.
We are not the same as ACT, America Coming Together. The Soros-funded groups.
We continue to work with Acorn, Amos Project, ... Anybody doing political work independent of the political parties.
We are for progressive issues.
Randy:
Very broad coalition. http://americavotes.org to get list of partners.
We help our partners do the political work. Help them coordinate their efforts. Not to duplicate efforts.
We often target people who are not frequent voters, for instance.
Right now: for instance, the paid sick days campaign. We have collected hundreds of sigs. to get this on ballot in Nov. Proposed legislation mandates 7 paid sick days per year if it is a company with over 25 employees. More info http://paidsickdaysohio.org
Also, there is the minimum wage issues. Also there is a
program to educate women on McCain’s extreme right wing positions on reproductive choice.
We are funded at national level. We work with our partners for free. Geo. Soros did fund us in 2004. Also big nat’l partners like unions, Planned Parenthood national.
Last Sat. we had a day of action, collected sigs. to get sick leave on the ballot; we also knocked on doors and talked to women about McCain’s reproductive rights position.
David 7 sick days costs about 2% of the annual salary. I don’t know why business groups like Chamber of Commerce are so against this. You could easily fund this... What is really behind the scenes in their motivation?
Lauren they say “it will be a barrier for employers to come to Ohio”. But really, our wage scale is lower than most states. In reality, the small businesses are coming out in favor of this. It is the Wal-Mart's and McDonalds who are against it. They don’t want to spend the money. They don’t want the gov’t telling them what to do.
David Part of what I thought about sick leave... People face going to work or risk losing their job.
Ed it is not easy to deal with sick days... They are unscheduled.
(Ellen's question to R & L: I want to know about yourselves, how y ou came to be doing this work, what inspires you, etc.)
Randy: before this I was in D.C. doing student peace organizing. I wanted to come to Ohio and organize for this election. Remember all these people came to Ohio in ‘04 and then left and there was subsequently nothing ongoing. I wanted to have sustained programs... Educate people about issues. Then I found out about America Votes, and it was perfect. I am from Butler Co.
Lauren: I grew up Cleveland, American U. in D.C. Organizer in NYC Acorn. Wanted to come back to Ohio. SEIU union worker back here all over Ohio. Wanted to go into political work, really respect leadership of America Votes.
Daisy What is Aug 23 Day of Action?
Randy When we go out to talk to voters face to face. That’s better than emails and robo calls on phone. Or direct mailing. So we go door to door or go to festivals. There will be various partner organizations e.g. Planned Parenthood, NARAL, some paid sick days people, union... People can volunteer. http://progressohio.org under events, type in your zip code.
Chris I noticed in the late 80’s, we started considering employees an expense rather than an asset. At business schools. To improve the bottom line, get rid of workers. Move to China, have a robot do it... So the momentum in this country has become, How to get rid of the workers. So you are fighting an uphill battle. So we need to think “employees are valuable”.
Judy Why is bottom line the priority?
Ed: a company that does not make money will go out of business. That’s not always easy.
Bob: ... CEOs that have obscene salaries. “McMafia” a book, internationalization of crime.
Bill I myself am not an investor... Milken...
Ginger Bob, there has always been greed...?
Bob as a stock holder, .. There are obscene salaries. There are groups of stock holders trying to band together to stop that.
...
Ed in my world 75% of people are honest and upstanding. But 20% mostly law abiding, 5% are scum and they will steal, and some are CEOs, some are employees....
Alan with the widening gap between richest and poorest people, there comes to be a social expectation... Shift in the 80’s to raise the salaries of the management elite. Not just because of greed.
Daisy there has been a dramatic increase in salaries of top management with respect to salaries of workers. More here than in Japan or Europe. 300 times the salary of the lowest worker in the same company. ... People are waking up now, and we can help them wake up.
Chris I have a huge problem with corporate America, but... Over 4,000 on the Nasdac and more mutual funds than there are stocks! Every fund has fund managers. Arthur Levitt, Take on the Street, pointed out the 2002 average fund manager made $400,000/year. Even though funds are not making money. They are taking people’s money. None of that money is going into good old fashioned American capitalism... This guy has a good idea to make a widget, let’s invest... Rather, it is the “gaming table” of trying to make a winning.
Ellen Mea Culpa! I got excited in the ‘80’s with making money on mutual funds...
David I believe 1/3 of the world are not participants in the global economy. For the
past 50 years there has been a global economy and a regional economy. Recently Wall St. has been able to take local economic activity and integrate it into the global economy. E.g. The subsistence farmers in 3rd world countries are told, “You can now use that land to make export crops.”
Bob Best example is Columbia and cocaine. ... Money buys arms from US.
David so to what extent the growth of the global economy is just because the local economies have been sucked up and exploited?
Bill Even failing companies paying huge salaries to their CEOs... When I look for work, the salary level is arbitrary, not connected with the type of job. E.g. Chicago Library shelvers with B.A. Earned 6.50/hour. It is laughable. Little connection between the degree demanded, the job, the salary.
Also, re. the global economy, is this not like during the British empire?
David it is the same.
Bob a lot of our manufacturing is no longer done here.
Ed: David’s question. The global economy is not homogeneous. Some parts are upstanding, well managed, like Brazil, are participating in the global economy. Others are managed poorly.
David So Indonesia is better off turning their forests into palm oil plantations?
Ginger They are cutting down their own trees in order to survive... Is that better?
Daisy you want to look at the top 200 companies who are really exercising power and influence the most. The giants. In the mid 70’s about 13% of profits were from overseas, and now its is 30%. Increasing amounts from international commerce. So it matters to them ...
... Singapore is a well run country,.. They have a port, which really helps. ... I wish justice and democracy correlated with economic prosperity, but that is not the truth.
... There are countries who are doing better. But the poorest countries are not doing better the past 40 years, and many are worse off than 40 years ago. And there is a lot of corruption. Africa is doing really bad. Big companies promote the corruption
Because it serves their needs
.
Linda since the 80’s more an attitude in US of hopelessness to make change at local and national and international levels.
.
Mira I saw on PBS “Wide Angle” a man from Australia , “Chung”, going around the world talking to world leaders, brokering “green” ideas. ... Big conference in Bali, Merrill Lynch getting on board... The US were against it! At the last moment, the US came around. ... Paradigm shift: we are all involved; it is not just votes, not just money.
Bob 5 million going to be spent in TX for a wind farm...
Ginger This guy from Australia is an environmentalist but also an entrepreneur. His whole pitch is to make his company the exclusive provider of these carbon credits. He is very bright, and he is doing something valuable to the planet. It is potentially good.
Lauren I have been thinking a lot recently: on the anecdotal level... Our generation has been sold down the rive, dismantled social safety net, retirement, de-unionized work force, lower wages... It was a different world in my grandparents’ generation. What happened? That was a fundamental paradigm shift, within 2 generations.
Brooke thanks to Mira. Holistic approach. How am I going to get beyond the consciousness that has created our problems? Like Einstein said, Can’t solve a problem with the same consciousness that created it. Open our minds to things that seem impossible or crazy. Need to transcend the level of our functioning...
Ed Re. Lauren’s question. The paradigm shift: it started late 40’s. Expanding economy. People could pay into retirement funds because of expanding economy. Now More retirees than workers paying into the fund...
David Lauren’s question... More of the same since agriculture started, 10k years. The paradigm until now is that we can thrive with an extractive economy, .. Surplus is generated by finding new resources. Bringing more indigenous populations in. but what happens is that the extractive economies run out of grist for its mill. The resources are increasingly expensive, businesses increasingly tempted to exploit workers.
The shift is to a regenerative economy. Stop extracting. Sustainability. Resources cycled through the earth in a way that continues to stay into recirculation rather than being turned into poisons. Cradle to cradle manufacturing.
Daisy everything looked so promising, civil rights, women’s movement, and then...! I think the main thing is that the Right got organized. Developed think tanks. Organizing into groups... And labor, basically were trading their power in the 40-60’s for short term benefits for their members. Various unions were not ideal. “Regulation is bad”, “Push government out”. Now we are reaping the result of all this deregulation. The market is not good at everything; cannot provide health care for poor. So now people are saying, “Wait a minute!” ... Even CATO institute people are saying, Wait a minute. Socialize the risk but keep the profits privatized! No regulation has been a disaster.
Ginger: paradigm shift, from country power to corporate power.
~ End of Table Notes~
- Hugs to everyone,
Ellen
Section Two: Events & Opportunities
That jumpin’ salonista Judy Cirillo sends us this: Free Salsa dancing lessons every Thurs nite at Fountain Square!
Hi Ellen,
... for those who like to dance(or watch) they really should be at Fountain Square Thursdays at 7:00.
From AmericaVotes:
We are building our election efforts and really need your help to spread the word about upcoming volunteer opportunities to reach voters during this crucial year. Join us at our office on one or more of the following dates listed below. To RSVP please click one of the links below:
Phone Banking
(calls to local activists and inviting them to join us in our efforts)
Thurs. July 31, 6pm-8pm <mailto:gtyus@americavotes.org;mwilson@americavotes.org?subject=Yes%21%207/31/08PB>
Mon. Aug. 4, 5:30-8pm <mailto:gtyus@americavotes.org;mwilson@americavotes.org?subject=Yes%21%208/04/08PB> Thurs. Aug. 7, 5:30-8pm <mailto:gtyus@americavotes.org;mwilson@americavotes.org?subject=Yes%21%208/07/08PB>
Sun. Aug. 10, 5-8pm <mailto:gtyus@americavotes.org;mwilson@americavotes.org?subject=Yes%21%208/10/08%20PB> Mon. Aug. 11, 5:30-8pm <mailto:gtyus@americavotes.org;mwilson@americavotes.org?subject=Yes%21%208/11/08%20PB>
Thurs. Aug. 14, 5:30-8pm <mailto:gtyus@americavotes.org;mwilson@americavotes.org?subject=Yes%21%208/14/08%20PB>
Mon. Aug. 18, 5:30-8pm <mailto:gtyus@americavotes.org;mwilson@americavotes.org?subject=Yes%21%208/18/08%20PB> Thurs. Aug. 21, 5:30-8pm <mailto:gtyus@americavotes.org;mwilson@americavotes.org?subject=Yes%21%208/21/08%20PB>
Thurs. Aug. 28, 5:30-8pm <mailto:gtyus@americavotes.org;mwilson@americavotes.org?subject=Yes%21%208/28/08%20PB>
Day Of Action
(face to face contact with registered voters)
August 23, 2008 10:00am until 2:00pm <mailto:gtyus@americavotes.org;mwilson@americavotes.org?subject=Yes%21%208/23/08%20DoA>
For more information or to RSVP, CLICK HERE <mailto:mwilson@americavotes.org?subject=I%20want%20to%20volunteer%20with%20America%20Votes%21> !
If these opportunities don’t work for you, let us know when you can join us!
Contact:
Randy mwilson@americavotes.org <mailto:mwilson@americavotes.org> (513) 481-7108
Gina gtyus@americavotes.org <mailto:gtyus@americavotes.org> (513) 481-7110
There is a lot of work to be done this year and we can't do it without your help!
Sincerely,
The America Votes Cincinnati Team
www.americavotes.org <http://www.americavotes.org/oh>
From IJPC
As rhetoric against Iran continues to intensify in the US and Israel, find extensive resources in the bottom half of the email to help educate yourself on Iran and the possibilities for a diplomatic solution. Over two-thirds of Americans want diplomacy, not war with Iran. Can you make a phone call this week to your Congressperson, write a letter to the editor, or take some visible action to help prevent war with Iran?
TAKE ACTION TO HELP PREVENT WAR WITH IRAN:
1)CALL YOUR CONGRESSPERSON Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121
Pressure on Congress is critical right now as it considers H.Con.Res. 362. 102 House Democrats and 117 Republicans have cosponsored a resolution against Iran that demands President Bush "initiate an international effort" to impose a land, sea, and air blockade on Iran to prevent it from importing gasoline and to inspect all cargo entering or leaving Iran. Imposing such a blockade without UN authority could be widely construed as an act of war.
2) LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Write letters to the editor of your local papers and to call into local radio talk shows. Here's a sample letter to the editor: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3916 Of course, people should feel free to modify this as needed.
3) BE VISIBLE: You can organize a visible presence in a busy location in your town: a vigil, an afternoon of leafleting or tabling, a human billboard, etc. Be sure to pick a time and location that has a lot of pedestrian or vehicle traffic! To find out what might be happening in your area, click here.
****************************
RESOURCES:
CAMPAIGN FOR A NEW AMERICAN POLICY ON IRAN (CNAPI)
http://www.newiranpolicy.org/
US-IRAN CRISIS: A PRIMER
Phyllis Bennis and the Institute for Policy Studies have produced a booklet called Understanding the US-Iran Crisis: A Primer.
This book addresses the new and renewed interest in Iran, answers basic questions, and proposes some ideas to prevent another looming disaster of a U.S. military attack against Iran. To find out how you can order the booklet, call IPS and 202-234-9382, or send an email to info@ips-dc.org
WORDS, NOT WAR WITH IRAN
A Study and Action Guide for People of Faith
http://www.faithfulsecurity.org/pdf/wnw_toolkit.pdf
NONVIOLENCE AND DIALOGUE WITH IRAN
by Dave Robinson of Pax Christi
http://www.paxchristiusa.org/Peaceweavings-Iran.pdf
IRAN DAILY OPINION SERVICE
Another important Iran resource is the Iran Daily Opinion Service, a blog by Michael Veiluva, author of the forthcoming book, Burdens of Proof: Iran, the U.S. and Nuclear Weapons. The blog address is: http://sputnik99.wordpress.com/
PBS’s NOW: TALKING TO IRAN program
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/312/index.html
DESTROYING SECURITY: THE FOLLY OF BOMBING IRAN
by Fourth Freedom Forum
http://www.destroyingsecurity.org/
Hi Ellen:
Your name was given to me by Judy Leever, as a person who might be interested in pariticiapting in a voter registration projcet on behalf of the Obama Campaign.
We are only too aware that Ohio will be a critical battleground state in the upcoming Presidential election. One of the top priorities for the Obama campaign in Ohio is voter registration, especially for the groups who are the most likely to support Barack have not historically registered or voted in the higher proportions.
I have agreed to try to organize voter registration events in Cincinnati on behalf of the campaign. Our first effort will take place on Sat. Aug. 1 at the Blues Festival at Sawyer Point (either inside of the festival if we can or outside as folks are coming in). We would like to start at around 3 or 4 in the afternoon and go for two hours or so, which leave lots of time to enjoy some outstanding blues acts that evening or otherwise have your evening free.
I will call you in the next few days to see if you can join us in this effort and not only help elect a man who has incredible potential, talent, and insight, but also make meaningful and positive history!!
If you are aware of anyone else who might be interested in taking part in this activity, that would be very much appreciated.
Sincerely
Bill Jacobs
"Jacobs, William R." <wrjacobs@strausstroy.com>
Relating Compassionately - A Weekend Workshop in NVC (non violent communication): focused on relationships
August 1-3
Cincinnati, Ohio (Mt. Lookout)
Facilitator: Jacob Gotwals, PhD., certified NVC trainer
To view flyer:
http://humanpotentialarts.com/relationships-flyer.pdf
Everyone needs a psychologist sometime in their life.
Ellen Bierhorst Ph.D. is a good one. In practice over 30 years. 513 221 1289
- Get a fresh perspective. Sort out tangles in interpersonal relationships. Clear away the messes of the past. Become empowered to launch your new life. Heal trauma, change, loss. Escape from the bondage of addictive behavior(alcohol, drugs, food, tobacco, gambling, etc.)
- Central location (Clifton Ave. at Lafayette)
- Beautiful setting (The historic Lloyd House)
- Many health insurance plans will pay a percentage. (Standard fee $125/hour. Some pro bono work available.)
- Compassion and good humor.
- Rapid results.
YOGA at Lloyd House. Wednesdays 9:15 – 10:30 am. Open, free practice group led by Nina Tolley.
FREE MEDITATION & YOGA AT BURNET WOODS
This year we are bringing you something special at Burnet Woods: WORLD PEACE YOGA!
10:30 am -11:00 am: Seated Meditation»
11:15 am - 12:15 pm: World Peace Yoga»
Gratitude in Motion
Articles
Contents:
- Bev Harris, Black Box Voting heroine, sends this.
- Link to policy battlefronts, Pres. Campaign
- Bring back PR voting in Cinti.
- Gore’s speech 7/17 on Climate Change: A challenge
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Top 5 things you can do
1. Get involved………pg 5-8
2. Hook up with experienced groups………pg 9
Freedom of Information Tips………pg 10-11
3. Protect & defend – deceptive practices………pg 12-24
4. Protect & defend – voter lists………pg 25-37
5. VOTING MACHINES:
Protect & defend – vote counts………pg 38-71
HERE ARE SOME EXCERPTS:
(much more here: http://www.blackboxvoting.org/toolkit.pdf )
(comment section here: http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/76548.html )
#1 GET INVOLVED
In the end, this isn't about getting your favorite presidential candidate elected. This is about more permanent solutions: getting durable, ongoing citizen-based controls to oversee all elections. Elections ultimately control your daily life: your property rights, roads, the public safety, the justice system, and ultimately, the economy, your freedom, and your health...
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION TIPS
All states have open records laws. You have the right to see any document (with a limited number of exceptions). Part of every public official's job is providing public records. They know it, they're used to it, there's nothing confrontational about asking to see a record, people do it all the time. Here is a wonderful compendium of summarized public records laws for each state:
http://www.rcfp.org/ogg/index.php
Here is a useful site to generate professional-looking records requests:
http://www.splc.org/foiletter.asp
It helps to see examples. You can find hundreds of actual public records requests, including the documents provided in response to them and the occasional back-and-forth between requestor and public officials, by going to http://www.blackboxvoting.org. Use the search box at the top of the home page. Enter "records request" and it will find pages with examples for you.
...
#3 PROTECT AND DEFEND AGAINST DECEPTIVE PRACTICES
WATCH FOR: Last minute changes, polling place consolidation, confusing ballot design, shorting voting machines, malfunctioning machines, electronic poll book problems, supplies missing, not enough election workers, provisional ballot roadblocks, deceptive phone calls / fliers, deceptive ballot configurations, race left off some ballots, deceptive translations, snoop-friendly ballots, improper absentee ballot / envelope design, incorrect mail ballot insertions / delivery problems, cheat peeks
Part of election protection is knowing what to watch for. These things happen. The first time you see it, you can't quite believe it. That disbelief prevents citizens from taking crucial, immediate action. Elections are time sensitive. Keep your eyes wide open, vow to respond quickly and effectively.
DON'T WAIT UNTIL LAST MINUTE TO CHECK YOUR POLLING PLACE.
A Santa Clara County, California man was told by his online polling place finder that his address was in Gibbon, Iowa. If he had checked just as he was running out the door to vote, he would have experienced a delay.
During the 2008 primary, Black Box Voting tested the Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Web site "polling place-finder" using the addresses on our own donor list. Dozens of valid addresses showed a polling place not found message.
Local newspapers often print polling place locations, and you can call your local elections division. Don't wait till the last minute, and before heading out the door, double-check the location of your polling place and help others find theirs.
DECEPTIVE TRANSLATIONS
Areas with substantial non-English speaking populations are required to provide voter information in appropriate languages. In one California location, the Spanish language voter information provided the wrong date for an election. In a New Mexico election, the Spanish description of a ballot item was so misleading that new ballots had to be mailed, leading to confusion over which ballot to use. In a Connecticut election, instructions which in English said "Vote for any two" said, in Spanish: "Vote for any OF the two", a translation which will literally cut votes in half for Spanish language voters.
It's important for language minority advocacy groups to review the non-English ballots, voter pamphlets and other election materials as far in advance of the election as possible. If you find a deceptive translation, find out who is responsible for checking translations to make sure they are accurate and what firm did the translation. Demand correction and report to all stakeholders and advocacy groups, including the appropriate ethnic advocacy groups.
CHEAT PEEKS
Early and absentee voting provide opportunities for "Cheat peeks" – illegal peeks at results before Election Day.
In Pima County, Arizona audit logs show that early results were run in a controversial election. Candidates spend heavily on pre-election polling. Political polls sample a few hundred registered voters, who hopefully provide truthful answers to questions designed to elicit how they really will vote. Imagine now that one candidate (but not the other) gets access to something much more valuable: not hundreds, but tens of thousands of voters; not answers that are probably truthful, but the actual vote data.
No one – insider or outsider – should scan a single ballot before the end of Election Day. Some state laws specify that the ballots can be run through the tabulator if no one looks at the results (Hah!) and in Oregon, apparently, "insiders" can look if they don't tell. (Hah!)
• GET AUDIT LOGS: Tabulator audit logs will show the cheat peeks, although insiders can alter the audit logs. You can request copies of the audit logs daily. If the logs themselves have not been tampered with, you will find an evidence trail showing when results reports were run.
#4: PROTECT AND DEFEND VOTER LISTS
HELP WITH: Register people to vote, confirm registration, save evidence, get photo ID;
WATCH FOR: Slowdowns or crashes in statewide voter registration databases, racial profiling, failure to enter new or updated registrations into the database timely, names left off list (no explanation), category switching, incorrect online feedback, problems with hyphenated names & typos, impossible numbers;
ADVANCED TOOLS: Statistics, voter list tracking
Register people to vote. Help people confirm that they are registered as an "active voter" (see distinctions between active, inactive, pending and cancelled). Get voters on "inactive" status reactivated. Save communications from the elections office as evidence. Help people get photo ID. Urge everyone to bring it to the polling place, whether or not the state requires it.
BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO BE ENOUGH TO REGISTER VOTERS AND HELP THEM VOTE. We already know that systematic voter disenfranchisement has been part of the game plan in the past. This year let's get off the defense and play some offense, and don't expect the old playbook to be repeated tit for tat.
You may have heard about voter list purging. Figures vary, but estimates of the number of voters wrongfully purged from 2000 Florida voter rolls range from 50,000 to over 90,000. Wrongfully purged voters were disproportionately Black. These eligible voters were not allowed to vote at all.
In 2008 for the first time, all 50 states will be using new statewide computerized voter registration databases. Most of what we're going to see in 2008 will not be called "purging." This year, we're going to find voter disenfranchisement in the statewide voter lists, especially in the "PENDING" area (new voter registrations not entered into the system, and registrations stuck in "pending" status); "CHANGE CATEGORIES," as voters are switched from one voter registration status to another, registrations are updated, and in TYPOS AND DATABASE QUIRKS that make database searches fail...
This year instead of 50-90,000 voters purged, we are looking at the potential to see FIVE TO 10 MILLION voter registrations stalled, changed, hit with typos or miscategorized.
These are exceptionally unwieldy problems and it is difficult to come up with meaningful citizen oversight actions, but with over 100 million voters on these new computerized lists, we need to try.
Black Box Voting received eye witness reports from three large counties in 2004 indicating that thousands of registrations were not entered before the election (even though election officials claimed they were). Insiders told us this was due to staffing shortages and/or the refusal of county officials to pay for overtime or temporary help. Here are excerpts from an e-mail received by Black Box Voting from one of the temporary employees hired to do this:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
quote:
"This year I answered the call to help the elections division enter all of the new registrations. It is my understanding that there was an entire warehouse of them somewhere and they were planning to hire a hundred people to enter them. Here is what happened:
The training began. The person in charge of that was on pain medication and my training turned out to be, well, totally wrong. I was taught to enter a specific code for certain kinds of registrations but sure enough, within a day we were having an "emergency" meeting about that particular code. She apologized for teaching the code incorrectly and we all moved on. We received no training materials, after the apology for teaching the code wrong we were given a very shoddy word document explaining a few things. There is no written manual.
The registration updates were about 3 months behind. We basically lied about when they were entered. If the form was submitted on say, the 1st of November, we were supposed to put that date in - even though I was doing it on the 4th of February ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This above report illustrates something very important: NOT ALL VOTER REGISTRATION CARDS WERE ENTERED INTO THE SYSTEM AT ALL, UNTIL MONTHS LATER! Voters who were not entered in the database may be stripped of even their provisional ballot. We have seen boxes and boxes of "to be entered" cards after deadlines for getting them entered into the database. It is inconceivable that all these were sorted through to determine whether their provisional ballot should count.
- Will updates and input to the voter registration database be done by in-house staff, overtime, or temporary employees?
- What formula was used to project voter registration update & input needs?
- Has the budget been approved for this?
- What tracking and reporting system is available for internal controls and public oversight?
You can make an appointment and ask for a tour. Ask them to walk you through (literally) the process for entering and updating voter registrations.Ask about internal controls. Ask what tracking reports will be. Don't believe everything you hear.
The best way to get the real story is to develop a relationship with a clerk or temporary employee tasked with entering the information. Ask how it's really going.
#5 VOTING MACHINES:
PROTECT AND DEFEND THE VOTE COUNTS
PROCEDURAL IMPROVEMENTS: Transparency Project, Input to Output;
IDENTIFY PROBLEM LOCATIONS: History of indictments, missing internal control forms, public records obstruction, weak management, observation obstruction; past election problems; ELECTION PHASES: Pre-election; Early voting & absentee periods; Election Day; Election Night; Canvassing period; Post-election:
ADVANCED TOOLS: Voting machine examinations, Web snapshot tools, poll tape/central tabulation comparison, citizen ballot inspection audit, voting machine audit items
All computerized voting machines, as currently implemented, count votes in secret, and all election computers are under the control of administrators and programmers. All computers do what they are told to do by their administrators and programmers.
This is the core problem with voting machines.
Using these new systems, the citizenry has inadvertently ceded ultimate control over to government insiders and the vendors they select.
DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS MUST:
(a) Give the public full access to Freedom of Information on every aspect of the election.
(b) Count all votes in public (while maintaining individual political privacy)
(c) Allow the public to see for themselves that the votes being counted are the original votes, not counterfeit or substitute votes. "Chain of custody" must always be public.
IN THE NOVEMBER 2008 ELECTION:
- Your right to sovereignty over your government will not be honored.
- 99 percent of the votes will be counted in secret on computers controlled by government insiders and vendors.
- Your right to Freedom of Information will not be honored.
- You will be unable to ascertain that chain of custody is intact.
- It's too late to resolve these problems for 2008.
- It's not too late for partial solutions.
- It's not too late to collect important circumstantial evidence to assess the accuracy of the election.
Not a good situation. Despite passionate and always underfunded efforts by citizens for several years to get these issues addressed, we're up against it again in 2008. It's too late for new legislation or major changes. Let's work with what we have:
More on Procedural improvements, see pg 41-42 in Tool Kit 2008:
- Precinct-based public hand counts
- Transparency Projects
- Input to Output
IDENTIFY PROBLEM LOCATIONS FOR EXTRA SCRUTINY:
- History of indictments
- Missing internal control forms
- Public records obstruction
- Weak management or poor quality controls
- Observation obstruction
- Past election problems
In the weeks leading up to the election, help gather information to predict problem locations. Let's treat these problem locations to extra scrutiny.
You can get an idea for past vote-counting problems by doing a news search, looking for incident reports filed by citizens, and by reading the text of any election contest lawsuits in the location you want to monitor. You can find incident reports by vendor and also by state and county (and/or municipality) at blackboxvoting.org and VotersUnite.org. If you Google "election incident reports" you can locate databases of reported incidents from 2004 and 2006.
PRE-ELECTION PHASE
Indictments, guilty pleas, convictions: Because computerized vote-counting is controlled by insiders, any locations with a history of corruption in key local government positions are particularly at risk for computerized vote-counting fraud. Key positions include county supervisors and commissioners (who often appoint elections officials); sheriffs, judges, county auditors and county clerks.
"Facts. Facts. Facts. Brick by brick we will build American democracy better than the Founders ever imagined possible."
– Nancy Tobi, Election Defense Alliance
PUBLIC RECORDS: You can request to inspect or get copies of election-related records, including: voter complaints, poll worker incident reports, telephone Election Day support logs, and "rover" or technician logs. You can find many examples of these requests and responses in the state and county/municipality section of blackboxvoting.org.
BOOKKEEPING & RECONCILIATIONS: Vote counting is a form of bookkeeping. Properly run elections are accompanied by report forms showing how many voters signed in, how many ballots were provided, how many were cast, spoiled, and uncast. You will be surprised how often the numbers don't add up! Sometimes poll workers explain the discrepancies, but sometimes the numbers are off by hundreds with no explanation.
INTERNAL CONTROL FORMS: Some locations will report that they have had no problems, when in fact they don't provide any forms to poll workers to log the problems. If you ask to look at a blank copy of each form for poll workers, and also forms for tracking voting machines, seals, peripheral equipment, telephone reports, and technician visits you'll get a good idea as to whether adequate control systems are even being used. Filled-out copies will show how well they manage quality. This will help predict which locations are most likely to experience problems or fraud in November.
TAMPERING SYMPTOMS:
- Voting machines could not "close" properly
- Cartridge would not read
- Tabulators failed to read some memory cards so technicians had to "extract the data"
- Some cartridges or memory cards were temporarily misplaced
- "We're not sure why votes were incorrect"
- "The vendor is looking into it for us"
- Voting machines had to be replaced during the election due to malfunctions
- Broken or mismatched seals
- Calibration problem
- Counter didn't increment
- Machine would not produce a "zero report" before votes cast
- Electronic poll book said voter had already voted absentee, voter says no
OBSTRUCTIVE VS. COOPERATIVE: You can get a good idea how responsive each location is to public oversight by submitting a very simple one-item public records request and observing response. Are they prompt, complete, reasonably priced? Or do they inflate response timelines, price gouge, and obstruct?
Find out if the public (not just "politically appointed observers") is allowed to view the vote counting after the polls close. Find out if videotaping is allowed.
In most cases you'll find that local and state officials are more than willing to work on implementing solutions. If you spot significant problems or run into obstructive public officials, you may want to enlist the help of the voting rights committees for your political party, report to election protection groups, and build public awareness through the media. Focus on prevention. Try to spot problems ahead of time so improvements can be achieved before November elections.
FOR PERSONALIZED ADVICE, MENTORING AND INPUT
Contact citizen empowerment and volunteer helpers at Black Box Voting, Election Defense Alliance, or a local election protection group. You can ask questions by e-mail: crew@blackboxvoting.org - You may also get support and direction from your preferred political party, and you can help connect your favorite candidates and party with election integrity organizations.
...
Get involved. Your election protection actions this year will be part of returning control over election processes to the people who own the government.
"You are not required to complete the task, yet you are not free to withdraw from it." – Rabbi Tarfon
More: http://www.blackboxvoting.org/toolkit.pdf
If you would like to receive a printed copy of TOOL KIT 2008 send a request by e-mail with your name and mailing address. Printed pocket Tool Kit 2008 booklets will be mailed in August.
* * * * *
Black Box Voting is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit elections watchdog group working to improve public controls in our elections. More: http://www.BlackBoxVoting.org
TO DONATE: http://www.blackboxvoting.org/donate.html
to mail:
Black Box Voting
330 SW 43rd St Suite K
PMB 547
Renton WA 98057
Bob Witanowski sends Policy Battlefronts link
Site with the most important policy battlefronts in the 2008 campaign
and easy to understand
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-STAKES08.html
LOCAL ACTIVISTS WORKING TO BRING BACK PR VOTING IN CINTI.
From Ellen:
From: Dan Zavon <mailto:DZavon@cinci.rr.com>
Sent: Monday, July 21, 2008 1:21 PM
I'm working on a petition campaign to bring Proportional Representation back to Cincinnati. That's the way Cincinnati elected its City Council for 30 years (1920s to 1950s), and it brought consistent minority representation to the council even when African Americans were a much smaller percentage of the population than they are today. It gives us majority rule AND minority representation. You rank your choices from 1 up to as many as 9, and your vote counts for your first choice, unless that candidate can't use it (either because s/he already has enough votes to be elected, or because s/he has so few votes s/he can't possibly be elected), in which case your vote counts for your second choice (or your highest choice who can still use your vote).
To show what is wrong with our current voting system (9x), I use the example of an election in which 44,000 Democrats vote, along with 33,000 Republicans and 22,000 Charterites. If all three parties put up a full slate of 9 candidates, and all voters vote a straight party ticket for their party, the result under the current 9x system of voting would be 9 Democrats elected to City Council, even though a majority of voters (five ninths) wanted no Democrats. This is not majority rule OR minority representation. Under Proportional Representation, the result (with the same voters voting the same way) would be a council with 4 Democrats, 3 Republicans, and 2 Charterites. PR gives fair representation to all substantial groups in the voting population, whether they be racial, issue, gender, neighborhood, or whatever is important to the voters in the election.
To put this issue on the ballot, we need 6100 valid signatures of registered voters who live in the city limits of Cincinnati. We really need some more people to pass petitions. Even if you can get only 10 or 20 signatures, that would be very much appreciated. If you are interested, or need more information, please call Josh Krekeler at 513-368-4062, or email him at betterballotleague@fuse.net.
Please pass the word. Thanks.
Dan Zavon
From Dan:Give me some petitions. I will work for this. Will email josh.Dan,
ellen
Thanks! One thing I forgot to say in my email is that the deadline for the petitions is mid-August, so we have to work fast. I appreciate your help.
Dan
WE CAN SOLVE IT: CLIMATE CHANGE
Dear We Campaign Member,
Every so often, a leader says something so simply and clearly that it's almost impossible to ignore. That happened last week with Al Gore's challenge.
More than a quarter of a mill ion people have watched the speech, and major papers across the country continue to write about it. Watch the highlights here. http://www.wecansolveit.org/
He challenged America to generate 100% of our electricity from sources that do not lead to global warming -- and to do it within 10 years. Meeting this ambitious goal would create millions of new jobs, lead to permanently lower energy costs for families and help America lead the fight against global warming. Watch his powerful speech here.
John McCain couldn't ignore it, saying "if the Vice President says it's doable, I believe it's doable."
And Barack Obama said, "I strongly agree with Vice President Gore that we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but must fast-track investments in renewable sources of energy like solar power, wind power and advanced biofuels."
Please take a quick look. If you've already seen it, please forward it to at least ten friends. The technology to make this shift is ready. What is missing is political will -- and that's why we need more people to see this speech and join the We Campaign.
Sincerely,
Matt, Lauren, Melissa and rest of the online team
www.wecansolveit.org
Books,Movies, Reviews It’s up to you folks to send me blurbs. I know you are reading. What? Is it good? Ellen
Nina Tolley and Howard went to see “Roman de Gare”, a French film at the Esquire. Heard it was great. I haven’t been to a movie in ages and ages. You?
ellen
The Lloyd House Salon (usually about 12 people) Meets on WEDNESDAYS at 5:45, EVERY Wednesday, 52 WEEKS/YEAR come hell or high water, as my mother used to say.
We of the Lloyd House Salon gather in a spirit of respect, sympathy and compassion for one another in order to exchange ideas for our mutual pleasure and enlightenment.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Our Salon blog is a promising interactive site: http:lloydhouse.blogspot.com
Also, we have an Interactive Yahoo Salon group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LloydHouseSalon
For Pot Luck procedures including food suggestions, mission and history visit
http://home.fuse.net/ellenbierhorst/Potluck.html . You are invited also to visit the Lloyd House website: http://www.lloydhouse.com
> To unsubscribe from the Lloyd House Potluck Salon list, send a REPLY message
to me and in the SUBJECT line type in "unsub potluck #". In the place of #
> type in the numeral that follows the subject line of my Weekly email. It
> will be 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7or 8. This tells me which sub-list your name is on so I can
> delete it. Thanks! ellen bierhorst
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