DEPARTMENTS
ANTI-WAR
DEATH PENALTY
ELECTIONS
ENVIRONMENT
GLBT ISSUES
HEMP
INTERNATIONAL
NATIONAL
REVIEWS
|
Departments National Issues Rumsfield replacement (Robert Gates) was director of voting company Gates was on the board of directors of VoteHere, a strange little company that was the biggest elections industry lobbyist for the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). VoteHere spent more money than ES&S, Diebold, and Sequoia combined to help ram HAVA through. And HAVA, of course, was a bill sponsored by by convicted Abramoff pal Bob Ney and K-street lobbyist buddy Steny Hoyer. HAVA put electronic voting on steroids. You can find copies of the VoteHere lobbying forms here: http://sopr.senate.gov/cgi-win/m_opr_viewer.exe?DoFn=0 I can't get them to save to pdf, perhaps you can. Enter search terms in both "registrant" and "client" fields and put in terms "Rhoads" "Livingston" and "Votehere" (one at a time.). Then look at the gravy train while it was in the process of derailing American democracy. I first became acquainted with VoteHere when I met a source, Dan Spillane, who is the wonderful guy that identified the Diebold source code modules for me after I found the Diebold files. He is the person who introduced me, and subsequently everyone else, to the odd role of The Election Center and R. Doug Lewis in the elections industry. Spillane also filled me in on The Livingston Group, VoteHere lobbyists, run by Bob Livingston -- the fellow that Hustler publisher Larry Flynt outed during the Bill Clinton blow job days. Larry Flynt offered a million dollars to anyone who could locate a Republican congressman committing adultery, and out popped peccadilloes by Livingston. Livingston couldn't live that one down, so he resigned his post as House Speaker-Elect and became a lobbyist -- but that's not all! He also launched a group called "Center for Democracy" which was going to "monitor elections." This group also featured several good old boys from the tobacco industry and some mining companies. Former VoteHere test engineer Dan Spillane was looking into all this because he had been fired after he questioned the certification process on a touch-screen system in which he had identified 250 flaws. It was way back in November 2002 that Spillane told me, "The voting machine industry is a house of cards. And the certification and testing process is the bottom card in the house of cards." BUT DON'T RUN OUT OF THE ROOM TO TAKE A SHOWER YET. There's more. VoteHere was a company shilling cryptographic solutions and filled with NSA types (another director was Admiral Bill Owens, another crony of Rummy,Perle and Wolfowitz). For some reason this company claims it was unable to prevent itself from being hacked. In this alleged hack, VoteHere claims that someone stole their source code. Said source code was offered to me in October 2003, an obvious attempt at entrapment which I refused. Nevertheless, VoteHere claimed to the media that its master security experts had supposedly "tracked" the hacker and had identified the hacker as an activist in the election reform community. For some reason, it was decided that I should be investigated in connection with this "hack" of VoteHere -- nevermind that I can't remember how to change the password on my own laptop. Therefore I was interviewed by the Secret Service several times about this. Curiously, they never seemed to ask any questions about VoteHere, only my role in finding the Diebold files and publishing the Diebold memos. This nonsense eventually culminated in a gag order and a letter from the U.S. Attorney to appear in front of a federal gr and jury with information on all the visitors to the Black Box Voting Web site. (As if they couldn't get that in less dramatic ways in post-Patriot Act America). Attorney Lowell Finley (now with http://www.VoterAction.org ) went to bat for me on this. A reporter named George Howland from the Seattle Weekly also got wind of it. When it hit the press, and with Lowell Finley's help, their harassment of me stopped. VoteHere never sold any voting machines that I can find, but apparently did set up some deals to embed its cryptography into some voting systems. We found memos in the Diebold trash about VoteHere's crypto-crap, and Maryland Director of Elections Linda Lamone shows up in VoteHere-related letters. Sequoia Voting Systems signed an agreement with VoteHere, but its not clear to me whether they ever did anything about it. Robert Gates stepped away from VoteHere shortly before he showed up in Chapter 8 of my book, Black Box Voting, in a short bit about the VoteHere company history. You can read that here: http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-8.pdf I don't know about you, but I'd rather use a paper, pencil, and count by hand at the polling place than have former CIA director Robert Gates fooling around with my vote. But that's just me. -- Bev Harris Founder, Black Box Voting P.S. Since the HBO special, I have plenty of moral support, but even after the Secret Service interviews and all the rest of the nonsense my husband and I have had to put up with, there are others who have had it rougher. I'd like you to take a moment to visit this Web site -- not affiliated with Black Box Voting -- to meet one of the heroic citizens in this movement who has faced the most brutal retaliation of all: Stephen Heller. If you saw the HBO film "Hacking Democracy" you may remember a scene where I am chastising Die bold for lying about correcting problems with its product. I refer to "Release Notes." Those notes came from a source. Stephen Heller is being threatened with up to five years in prison for allegedly leaking me those documents. Kevin Shelley then decertified Diebold, and recommended criminal prosecution of Diebold. Diebold was never prosecuted, but Stephen Heller is being prosecuted RIGHT NOW. I hope you will donate to his defense. If not for citizens like him, where would your vote be now? To contribute to Stephen Heller's defense fund: http://www.hellerlegaldefensefund.com/ * * * * * Black Box Voting is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501c(3) elections watchdog group supported entirely by citizen donations. We refuse funds from any vendor or vested interest. Permission to excerpt or reprint granted, with link to http://www.blackboxvoting.org |
|
Recent National Issues Articles The ethics of Palestinian resistance And the Empire Mourned . . . Dissecting the Big Lie A 'vast carelessness' - the president's and ours Gerald Ford’s historic mistake New year's utopianism needed fast Obama scores as exotic who says nothing Ignorant armies The GOP, butterflies' wings and the withering of empire: could your climax be the decider? If you don't try, you'll never know Announcement of candidacy for President of the United States Call me Ebenezer, but Christmas as we know it needs to go..... Intolerable questions: the search for the heart of New Orleans, part II Dear Mr. O’Reilly, THIS is culture: the search for the heart of New Orleans, part III Hillary Clinton and my Visa bill The Tin Man Challenge: Overcoming technology without Heart Bread, bread, everywhere, yet not a morsel to eat O come let us adore them: treasuring our American values of greed, self-interest, and enlightened oppression Blood fatigue Blind obedience to the canons of capitalism: of sick societies, American Dalits, and a nation of Lady Macbeths The peace majority U.S. v. Bush Milton lost: can we regain paradise? Progressive caucus rising: this election was no victory for centrists Rumsfield replacement (Robert Gates) was director of voting company Is there meth in Ted Haggard's heaven? The politics of hope Corrode your conformity: Big Brother doesn't practice fraternal love Grassroots matching grants: my five minutes as a donor The trek down to N’Orleans: home to hotel in a couple of bounds: the search for the heart of New Orleans, part I Peace Activists Arrested on Grounds of U.S. Capitol Foley's meltdown - the seductions of clicking Naked and afraid Piercing the simulacrum: Of faux democracy, petty tyrants, and painful realities The genius of John Nichols The arrogant, the misguided, and the cowards Mommy, what's waterboarding? Nuclear winter, global warming, or impeachment Here's why it's personal Reclaiming Omelas The brilliantly profitable timing of the Alaska oil pipeline shutdown My city, our president and exploiting 9/11 Palast charged with journalism in the first degree 9-11 compromise - the mini-series The fugitive girl act The year the levees broke Semper why? The smell of fear Cynthia McKinney's election night remarks Bush versus the Constitution The Lamont victory -- next steps for citizens Bush heir cut: Awards tax break to son of an Astor Where were you when they took your rights away? Chicago City Council passes living wage bill Conservatives and conscience They don't call it the "White" House for nothing Kansas Attorney General is Bush’s kind of guy Containing the military industrial complex Kinks among us: contemplations on pride and democracy Republican Congressman says Bush should be removed from office It's time Democrats aggressively play the terrorism card Cindy Sheehan to move Camp to National Mall Joe Lieberman's loyalties So much for "We'll Get bin Laden Dead or Alive" The Supreme Court issues a stinging blow to Bush. Score one for the little guy. Has this country gone completely insane? A line in the sand: why the Busby/Bilbray election and their voting machine "sleepovers" matter (or should) to the entire nation Bush at the tipping point: a lawless and incompetent leadership Shushing the big money The startling contrast betweeen Dems and Repugs this fall The strange case of San Diego's: lazy independents, self-destructive Minutemen, and closet Libertarian, voters Support the troops Gathering to demand the truth about 9/11 Building green websites Nine state Democratic parties back impeachment: Whose table is it, Nancy? Photo essay: Poverty and homelessness in San Francisco Safe passage on the Earth Why John Kerry is going to have it tougher the second time around Eleven excellent reasons not to join the military Another Swiss cheese Gore denial that leaves the door wide open for 2008. Who's he kidding? Bush pal says gay marriage is nothing more than a political issue for the Prez American capitalism and the moral poverty of nations Twenty-fifth anniversary of first reported case of AIDS a time to recommit to the fight Uproar downwind Last Call FTC and credit reporting reform -- or the next wave of multi-district national class actions Lay convicted, Bush walks (and Ahnold gets Lay'd) Used the phone lately? Worried? Enron's good fight So, how WOULD a Patriot Act? Shadow America When Ahnold Got Lay'd…and California got Screwed Blocking justice Fighting back in the language war and winning elections Immigration: Myths and Reality Let's raise gas taxes and lower income taxes Bush beats out Nixon: Least liked President ever The spies who shag us: The Times and USA Today have Missed the Bigger Story -- Again Divine strake Divine strake RNC attack on John Conyers demands action from Democrats Act now, pray later Impeach Cheney first Crossing the border The Bush administration and Wall Street – Two peas in a pod The "New Totalitarianism" now defines a desperate neo-con end game Rove's status as "Official A" spells indictment The FEMA gap Have a Koch and a smile: free markets and property rights Trump humanity and the environment! We are the deciders Out of the shadows -- the Seattle immigration march The beloved Cynthia McKinney: a White ex-cop speaks out about a Georgia Congresswoman An interview with fifteen term Congressman Andy Jacobs A Message from Dennis Kucinich Democracy be damned - Republicans need another war Loser nation Censure movement catching fire Gangster government: a leaky president afoul of 'Little Rico' The real problem with Bush's leak Public energy is misdirected An interview with Norman Birnbaum What’s really scary about the “new religious right” and their politics Fitzgerald will seek new White House indictments Housing cuts for the poor, tax cuts for the rich The definition of insanity House leader not home when peace knocks Just a Thought Americans call Bush "Incompetent, Idiot, Liar" Most Democratic senators fail as presidential candidates The age of anxiety redux National Lawyers Guild calls for the impeachment of South Dokota Governor Michael Rounds for signing anti-abortion legislation Libby attorneys identify CIA officials in Plame leak True to its history, FBI is still violating civil liberties On the executive branch and war powers, continued Obstruction trial may jog Libby's memory A powerful new voting block emerges: The anti-war movement becoming a political force that cannot be ignored Beating a dead horse Did Bush make mistakes in good faith? Hungering for justice at my first congressional testimony You know it’s hard out here being pimped: Thoughts Hustlin’ and Flowin’ in my mind Chicago pro-immigrant, anti-HR4437 rally CIA leak path: Cheney, Libby, Woodward Detroit's other Super Bowl Carnival Post-Katrina Port insecurities In the spirit of Lysistrata Details emerge in latest round of plame emails ‘found’ by the White House 15 arrested at White House torture protest Bush and Gandhi NY Times bungles coverage of AP video which proves Bush lied about breached levees White House ‘discovers’ 250 emails related to Plame leak Time to disband Homeland security and renew democracy Huge march planned for eve of Katrina evictions Bush violated the law on port sale Check your conscience at the door: we're building an empire NSC, Cheney aides conspired to out CIA operative Bush, Republicans, and Judas Priest: Breaking the law, breaking the law For whom does the Secret Service's bell toll? Guns don't shoot people--Vice Presidents do Impeachment could be the Democrats' best get-out-the-vote message DINO stands for "Democrats In Name Only" Founding Fathers, baseball, apple pie, and impeachment Road to peace goes through Santa Cruz Pogo was right The Republican talk radio “big lie” Gonzales withholding Plame emails The Nader effect The most incredible thing about Cheney's shooting The polite majority Debating impeachment among Democrats Removing Attorney General Gonzales What really happened back at the ranch The Bush pattern of deception continues Cheney spearheaded effort to discredit Wilson Give peace a vote What every Jew should know about new House Majority Leader John Boehner New discoveries about the Lucasville uprising Brown calls President's '07 budget "morally reprehensible" U.S. detention camps for political subversives Bring regime change home Evolution is intelligently designed: Social Darwinism, silver spoons, and our emperor’s call to arms to sustain the rich Cindy Sheehan terrorizes Bush and his trained clapping seals at the State of Disunion speech "Fixed" intelligence from Feith's "Gestapo Office" the CIA and the Bush administration's impeachable lies about Iraq's prewar links to al Qaeda Enron: The Bush Administration's first scandal What an idiot! Being a national activist Responses to State of the Union Address The State of the Union: Blah, blah, blah (Yawn) Bush & Cheney Are The Great "Protectors?" Give Us a F***king Break Rev. Jesse Jackson mourns Coretta Scott King What we didn't hear tonight Eggs Roll, Eyes Roll Unfathomed dangers in Patriot Act reauthorization Halliburton's Sleeze Relevant Saint Alito and Roberts: Evasion Confirmed Open letter to members of the US Senate Judiciary Committee How Dick Cheney used the NSA for domestic spying pre-9/11 The war on dissent gets creepy The polite majority NASA ready for the worst, response will be prompt if Atlas 5 explodes Woolsey's way to peace Bush and Republicans vs. rule of law Dr. King: Drum Major for Justice Filibuster Bush, impeach Alito Filibuster evasion Poll: Americans support impeaching Bush for wiretapping Birth of awareness Anti-war group has documents proving NSA spied on them Pants on Fire: The Liars of the Bush Administration will take the world down in flames if we let them Fitzgerald maintains focus on Rove but attorney says 'Architect' not a target It's been a long trek since Nov. 2, 2004 -- now getting shorter Man of the Year: Patrick Fitzgerald Another unqualified Bush appointment A peace movement demanding the rule of law On Martin Luther King Day: giving ourselves to the struggle Forum with Congressmen Moran and Murtha packs hall, 500 turned away Primal smirk A new year’s message from Ramsey Clark Extraordinary circumstances indeed ImpeachPAC forms Citizens Impeachment Commission Go to the light! Can Cheney save Bush's presidency? Read National Issues Articles by Year: |
FREE PRESS EMAIL UPDATE
FOLLOW US ON
twitter
facebook
SEARCH THE FREEPRESS
1021 E. Broad St. Columbus, OH 43205 | 614.253.2571 | truth@freepress.org
All content © 1970-2012 The Columbus Free Press
Disclaimer