Diebold continues to run their previously good name into the ground, as the Mainstream Media finally begins to notice what's been going on around here...Finally, the unAmerican Voting Machine Company who originally brung you the War on Democracy, seems to be getting the incredibly bad press they've always deserved...Now from coast to coast...

In today's LA Times (in the Business section, because your elections are big business!) Michael Hiltzik condemns the recent inexplicable re-certification of Diebold in California:

And there's much more...This in regard to the panel assembled by McPherson to study the issue, after whose brutal report, he went ahead and --- incredibly --- re-certified the machines anyway!

And then there was Tom Elias in today's column for Torrance Daily Breeze (syndicated in many other papers, as well):

Well, heck, with rave reviews like that, no wonder McPherson re-certified 'em!

Speaking of which, our new pal Skippy the Bush Kangaroo called the Secretary of State today to register his complaint about recertification. Guess what Skippy found out?

Meanwhile, on the other coast, out in Diebold's one-time "showcase state" of Maryland where the Republican Governor recently declared he "no longer [has] confidence in the State Board of Elections' ability to conduct fair and accurate elections in 2006" on Diebold's machinery, Mike Himowitz in the Baltimore Sun rages against the machines and the pitfalls of secret software used to count our votes:

Ouch. We suppose the boyz in North Canton, OH, would be wise to find a buyer soon...before the lawsuits start hittin'.

Yes, that appears to be what he actually said.

For my part, I'm somewhat agnostic about the Dubai Ports issue. However, if the law was broken, as some are contending, that's another story all together.

In general, however (and I realize this position may well earn me some ire from BRAD BLOG commenters) it seems to me the concerns about the Dubai ports deal from the Republican side is largely racist in nature. And on the Democratic side the outrage seems somewhat opportunistic in general --- despite the fact that they are doing what a loyal opposition party ought to be doing as far as oversight, checks and balances and all of that.

I reserve the right to change my position on this matter as I learn more (have been busy with a few other matters, as you may have noticed.) And, as I've said, if the deal is in opposition to the law, then the deal should die, and the law breakers should be held accountable.

Either way, the entire matter is clearly a politically tone-deaf move by Bush, outmeasured only by his incredibly foolish statement today that Americans "don't need to worry about security."

California State Senator Debra Bowen, chairwoman of the State Elections, Reapproprionment & Constitutional Amendments Committee has just released a statement of condemnation for Sec. of State Bruce McPherson's recent re-certification of Diebold voting machines in the state.

A press release just issued by her office includes a letter she has sent to McPherson (posted in full below) calling on him to reverse his recent decision to re-certify based on a number of apparent violations of California's state laws and regulations which seem to have been disregarded in his decision making process.

McPherson's decision to re-certify Diebold --- after they had previously been de-certified in 2004 for violation of state law; after at least 20% of their machines failed during a massive mock election test last summer; after the same machines were shown to contain hackable "interpreted code" which is banned outright by federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) guidelines; after previously announcing that certification review would not proceed in CA until those federal authorities re-examined that banned code (they didn't do so the first time they examined Diebold's machines); and after his own secretly-conducted independent analysis [PDF] confirmed that such unsecure and buggy code indeed existed in the machines and would put our elections at grave risk of being hacked and/or tampered with --- stunned virtually everyone when it was announced quietly last Friday night after the week's news cycle had ended and before the long holiday weekend began.

Only California County Elections officials and Diebold Reps seem pleased with the move.

Bowen's letter, calling for a reversal of McPherson's "conditional certification" points to at least three different violations of state laws and regulations.

In the release which includes the full letter, Bowen who is herself running for Secretary of State in 2006 and has been a champion of transparent government for many years, says, "The certification doesn't comply with state law and it breaks the commitment the Secretary made to Californians in December to wait for a federal review and testing process to be completed before deciding whether to allow Diebold's equipment to be used in California."

Further, Bowen continues, "Californians shouldn't be required to vote on machines that the Secretary's own internal review team found to be riddled with bugs and susceptible to tampering. For the Secretary to get that kind of a report, then turn around and re-certify the Diebold machines for use in California only serves to undermine the already low level of confidence many people have in the integrity of our elections."

The State Elections Committee, which she chairs, has been holding hearings on these matters of late, which both McPherson and all of the Voting Machine Vendors being considered for certification in California have refused to attend and testify in front of. A grassroots email and phone campaign has been launched to convince the Senate Rules Committee, on which Bowen sits, to allow for subpoenas to be sent to those parties compelling them to testify under oath before the State Senate. Such subpoena power, by tradition in the CA Senate, is rarely invoked.

Bowen's complete letter sent today to McPherson follows...

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com

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This video contains clips from CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight and MSNBC Countdown that focus on the financial concerns that are motivating President Bush to stand firm on the Dubai Ports takeover in the face of extreme public dissent, political pressure and possible national security concerns.

Lou Dobbs puts together financial connections between both Bush Presidents, the UAE, the Carlyle Group, Dubai Investment Fund, Neil Bush and John Snow.

The Bush appointment of a former Dubai Ports Executive, David Sanborn, as head of the U.S. Maritime Administration is also under scrutiny. In his new position, Sanborn now oversees all U.S. port operations. Dubai Ports has hired Bob Dole and two other Republican ex-senators to lobby Congress. The UAE paid over $750k to lobbying firms last year.

MSNBC Countdown provides analysis from David Sirotaan who is an expert on big money's influence on government:

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com

The White House says that the President didn't know about the Dubai Ports takeover deal until after it was approved.

Patrick Malloy is an attorney who help write the law that regulates the approval of foreign investments in the United States. He says that the law requires that the President be notified on all foreign investments that pose a national security concern. The law also says that the President must report his findings to Congress where the issue could be debated.

The White House is expected to begin briefing select members of Congress today. In the meantime, Secretary Rice will visit the UAE today to ensure them that the Dubai Ports deal will go through as planned.

Eric Dezenhall runs a crisis management firm. He explains that "Americans often have a harder time with inconsistency than we do with dishonesty." The President has a record of stong national security rhetoric including the protection of U.S. ports.

This video clip from CNN shows the President talking tough on security during speeches at several ports. During a speech at a port in Philadelphia, the President said "We will use all our power to keep out the terrorist and the criminals."

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UPDATE: Dems send letter challenging legality of ports deal...

UPDATE #2: Video of Democratic Senators on the Armed Services Committee questioning the Bush Administration's CFIUS members about avoiding the law while approving the Dubai deal.

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Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org and VoteTrustUSA.Org

From Alabama comes a report that ES&S had an internal communications problem and they provide the optical scan machines used in Belforest in their elections. "The company delivered "data packs" --- the electronic devices in which the voters' selections are stored --- programmed for absentee voting, causing the two machines to reject the ballots, Johns said. The situation did not affect the voting, as voters filled out their ballots and slipped them in an emergency bin used for occasions such as this one, he said." Imagine if that had been DREs instead of optical-scan. Just why is there an IrDA port on those Diebold machines? Just a reminder, that this will be the last Daily Voting News until next Tuesday evening. I will be off line until then. Have a great weekend....

God bless the doctors...and the U.S. Constitution...Sanity prevails, if only for the moment, in California.

Crumbling down.

One of the original Neocon architects and a signer of the infamous PNAC letter, Francis Fukuyama, says the movement has failed and has "evolved into something I can no longer support," according to this report.

Further, he makes what can only be seen as an exceedingly uncomfortable --- yet perfectly apt --comparison between the Bush Administration policies and ... Leninism.

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org and VoteTrustUSA.Org

Texas began early voting for their primary with the news that many counties still do not have their paper ballots or their ballot programming complete. In California the fall-out from last Friday's announcement by SoS McPherson is making news. One can only wonder when the lawsuits will begin....

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com

A recently revealed secret memo from general counsel of the U.S. Navy warned the Bush Administration to halt the "disastrous and unlawful policy of authorizing cruelty toward terror suspects."

The memo shows that torture and abuse of detainees was a policy of the Bush Administration despite legal warnings from lawyers within the Military. Determined to continue the abusive policies, the Bush Administration sought out legal opinions which allowed them to go "above the law."

The New Yorker exposes the secret document (PDF) in a newly published article by Jane Mayer. In an interview with CNN American Morning, Mayer said:

UPDATE: The name in CNN screenshot above should be spelled "John Yoo" instead of "John Woo". For more information on the history of torture policies in the Bush Administration and John Yoo, check out this video from the CBC report "A Few Bad Apples."

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Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org and VoteTrustUSA.Org

What's going on in Maryland? The Gov is against a vvpb; now he is for it. Democratic members of the legislature who are for a vvpb are belittling the Governor's change of heart as being political and are claiming he is creating chaos. Now kids! Can't we just get along and give the voter a vvpb like they want? Meanwhile in Pennsylvania the Governor has said he will veto the legislation that requires a voterID...

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com

Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff repeated the Katrina talking points on at least three networks yesterday. Maybe he forgot his talking points to deflect questions about a decision by the Bush Administration which will allow a company located in an Arab country to takeover six of the largest ports in the U.S.

Dubai Ports is located in the United Arab Emirates which has a history that causes many Republicans and Democrats to believe that the proposed takeover will compromise national security.

The corporate media seem to have replaced their focus on the Cheney shooting scandal with the Bush port give-away scandal. This clip is a quick compilation from the last 48 hours of pundits, politicians and other talking heads as they wake up to the latest Bush blunder.

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It's a curiously tardy call, WaPo, but welcome aboard.

From an editorial in today's Washington Post:

There's more, but note WaPo's additional spanking of MD Elections Administrator and huge Diebold supporter, Linda Lamone:

Guest Blogged by John Gideon, of VotersUnite and VoteTrustUSA

The "DVN Top 5" is a feature in the weekly voting newsletter of VoteTrustUSA. The February 13 edition can be found here. The selection of what will be the "Top 5" for each week and where it goes on the list is all mine. The fact that you may disagree with my choices is great because it shows that you have been reading the DVN articles that I've posted throughout the week here on The BRAD BLOG!...