Tonight’s “Democracy At Risk” featured a discussion of Wednesday’s congressional hearings on electronic voting.
Video in Streaming Flash format…
Video in Windows Media format…
A written transcript follows:
But first, Congress may be finally awakening to the extraordinary threat to our democracy from electronic voting machines. But that is conditional. Congress this week began asking tough questions about the lax security of these machines and the risk of voter fraud. But there are more questions.
Kitty Pilgrim reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Congress took a long look at whether electronic voting machines are reliable. Congressman Rush Holt has been pushing for tougher standards.
REP. RUSH HOLT (D), NEW JERSEY: There is just too much suspicion, too much cynicism, too much doubt around the country right now about how the mechanism of our democracy is working.
PILGRIM: One of the most upsetting issues, safety standards aren’t mandatory. They are voluntary and won’t be in effect for years.
REP. SHERWOOD BOEHLERT (R), SCIENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I’m not happy to learn that new standards are not likely to be fully enforceable until 2010 at the earliest, and that’s only in states that choose to adopt them.
PILGRIM: Experts testified that virtually every electronic voting study has proven that a voter-verified paper trail is the only way to make sure a ballot is recorded accurately. Activists wore T- shirts that said, “Got paper?”
WILLIAM JEFFREY, NATIONAL INST. OF STANDARDS & TECH.: The new voluntary guidelines takes no position regarding the implementation of such paper audit trails and neither requires nor endorses them.
PILGRIM: So requirements for a paper trail are not even in the federal guidelines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Now, the issue of a paper trail was not discussed in detail at the hearing. The House Science Committee chairman said there wasn’t time to go into it. That issue will be taken up in September — Lou.
DOBBS: Just a little less than two months away from the midterm elections.
This country at times — this Congress, this administration, I cannot fathom what they are thinking. The idea that you would risk the integrity of our — of our elections after the lessons that we learned presumably over the last six years in this country.
PILGRIM: Citizens groups have filed in nine states to try to challenge some of these provisions. Some people get it. It seems Congress does not.
DOBBS: Well, Kitty Pilgrim, you keep us informed. We appreciate it.
Thank you, John! I just have to keep my hope alive that we can have a sane national election in November, and every little trickle of media coverage keeps the energy up to push forward.
Congress has more important things to do, like trying to pass flagburning amendments. Now that’s the way to REALLY protect democracy. (Barf)
All media coverage that doesn’t set the cause back from ignorance is good, no matter how small it seems.
In common with others on BB, it seems to me our current objectives are 1) Try to fix the election system through all and any kind of activism and political work and 2) prepare for November by sending out information and warnings into U.S. culture so that when elections are corrupted and stolen there will be a consciousness of what is happening 3) vote en masse in great numbers so that the crooks have to steal the election and 4)prepare to actively confront, in November, the fact of evident disenfranchisement with the energy, intelligence, and love that a great moral cause and purpose entails and requires.
Hey, I’d like to work a little, play my music, hike, write, read all the great books,…but I can’t deny the time in which I live.
Lou Dobbs is sure helping in his own way. His coverage reaches a whole different audience than here. Hopefully they also start getting it and realize that it’s not about whining losers, but rather about the future of our country.
Thanks again Lou!
Lou, are you going to have Bobby Kennedy on?
Big Dan said:
“Lou, are you going to have Bobby Kennedy on?”
Are ya? Huh? Are ya, are ya?
Well Lou, you know Bush and the Republican controlled congress don’t want to do anything about it, at least until they have wrung us taxpayers out of every last dime in our treasury for their business buddies
These people are NOT American folks, they are thieves, worse than the ones that roam the streets looking for opportunity
What does Lou expect?
Does he expect “elected” officials to rise up and overthrow the system that put them in power?
How many times in the history of the world has anything like that ever happened?
Excellent point, W.P. With the exception of Conyers, Boxer (sometimes), Feingold (sometimes), and a scattering of others like Tubbs-Jones, McKinney, Waters, and Wexler, the people on Capitol Hill care more about their own political security than about preserving democracy. There is simply no other way to explain the mass capitulation by members of both parties to an election system that would embarrass any European country and maybe even the Philippines.
Arry (#3): You are so right.
Let’s talk a bit more about #4, shall we?
Otherwise, November and December of 2006 will be a lot like 2004 — a lot of blogging and complaining about how our Democracy was stolen, and the thieves are running down the street right now, but nobody willing to get up from their keyboards to chase them.
And, make no mistake, we’re going to need to take some lessons from Uzbekistan or Mexico on how to do this.
These are times that give new meaning to “the American dream”.
Since it would mean the psychological death of those who live in the dream, to wake up and smell the system, the MSM sprays the air with American Feel Good.
But the stench wafts around and about the world, while the American Feel Good does not … it stays local to those whose nostrils savor its seduction, as the world turns … more and more away from the stench.
As John knows, even the voting rights movement is divided against itself on some issues:
(link here). Sometimes even long time bloggers here get cross wise with each other too.
I personally do not see that as a sign of perdition, but rather I see it as the result of having different backgrounds and perspectives.
And I have seen over and over how experts will come to different conclusions in a court trial, over the exact same set of facts.
Where I tend to be considered non “diplomatic” is I will call the American Feel Good a clear attempt to cover up a pile of shit and leave it at that.
Because anything that tries to cover up the shit (“I’m not a crook”) is just as bad as what it is trying to cover up.
“This Congress, this administration, I can’t fathom what they’re thinking…” Lou Dobbs, CNN.
Let me see if I can help you out, Lou. They’re thinking about what’s best for them, O.K.? The premise of your statement is that they’re public servants who are dedicated to the public interest. NOT!
Money. Power. Influence. Control. Dominance. As long as the United States is the world’s #1 superpower, the folks running the United States get rich. They do this by making deals with corporations and their lobbyists, by starting wars that enrich the military-industrial complex and their friends in the oil business, and by convincing the American people that whatever goes wrong isn’t really wrong and that the people who say it’s wrong are the problem, because they encourage our enemies.
Now, Lou…you’re doing a nice job on the election fraud question. But to tell the truth, your colleagues at CNN are a big part of the problem in the world. Especially that pathetic sycophant Wolf Blitzer, who parrots administration talking points as if they were revealed wisdom. The world is going into the crapper, Lou, and 98% of the corporate media doesn’t care as long as the ad money keeps flowing in. So the real question is, “What could CNN be thinking?” The answer, I’m afraid, is “We think we need to make money, and we’ll lose advertisers if we tell the American people the truth about their government.”
#9
Yeah, sometimes is right for Feingold.
He came out strongly on Israel’s side in this new war.
That proves he can’t be trusted to me.
A reminder to all—It’s fine to commiserate, but we can’t forget our responsibility to actually DO SOMETHING concrete everyday also–like phone, write etc.
Israel is making a deadly mistake in destroying Lebanon the way it is, however people who support or oppose Israel’s actions are not right or left, with us or against us. Israel is surrounded by enemies and can’t be expected to tolerate having missiles launched into their country by terrorists on a daily basis. I think they are wrong and counter productive to blow up civilian infrastructure and civilians the way they are doing but supporting Israel does not equal supporting fraudulent elections.
What they are thinking Lou…
…is they now have the perfect solution to gaining and keeping POWER regardless of what mere Citizens want.
…It ain’t that hard to figure.
Mr. Mills: You hit the nail on the head…subtract Lou Dobbs from CNN, and CNN is a huge part of the problem our entire country is in. CNN, FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS. Corporate-controlled news, with an agenda. We need a MSM to report on the MSM!!! Actually, we do…2 of them: Democracy NOW! and the INN Report. When Democracy NOW! and the INN Report start becoming the “go to” TV news, they’ll start smearing them…
Jo-Joy #14
I said it’s enough for ME not to trust him.
You can do whatever you want.
On a subject like election fraud, he may have enough selfish interest in getting re-elected himself to hang in there & do the right thing.
When you know the history of this Israel/Palestine/Lebanon situation, beyond just the last 2 weeks, there’s no question who the aggressor is.
Feingold isn’t stupid. He knows too.
It’s disgraceful that an elected official would support Israel.
It’s disgraceful that the American President didn’t immediately try to get a cease-fire.
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) has found 20 co-sponsors so far for his legislation named H-Con.Res.450.
It demands Bush call for a cease fire & commit to multi-party negotiations. Read it at truthdig.com
Tell your Representative to sign it too.
#12: Bravo, well said!
Hey, Lou, could you possibly use your influence at CNN to convince them that we (viewers) would like to hear something other than talking points during the other 22 hours of broadcast?
My grandparents are Lebanese, so yes, I do know the history of Israel/Lebanon before the last 2 weeks. They knew Lebanon when it was a beautiful Mediterranean city of commerce and shipping. When Jerusalem was a friendly city to the south. Support for one faction over another faction or one country over another country doesn’t pigeon hole a person in my opinion. Hezbollah does not speak for Lebanon. Lebanon should not suffer because of Hezbollah but neither should Israel. So the bad guys are Hezbollah, if you are Israeli or Lebanese. Unfortunately they hide among civilians and target civilians and kill civilians and intimidate civilians so they are very difficult to root out and control. Still the people on both sides want peace. I don’t personally support Israel actions but I can understand what motivates them. Survival.
Yeah, Lou is definitely being naive here. Don’t you just hate being in the position of having to attack the ONLY people who are trying to help?
I’m one of the people who was NOT impressed ONE BIT, when Bush stood there with the bull horn and the fireman props, and nobody else should have either.
NOBODY WITH A BRAIN should have ever supported Bush!
As a result of the support he did get, we now have Newt Gingrich, (doesn’t he kind of look like an evil Orson Bean), trying to start World War III, no chance of an honest election without some kind of revolution before November, and only a smattering of real, working class, candidates to vote for anyway!
Always remember, we didn’t really elect him!
Michael Moore told the truth at the Oscars!
#19 Do you think it is survival for the US to continually arm Israel? And stand by Israel when they continually kill innocent civilians? Remember Rachel Cory? Israel represents big oil and only big oil. They are depicted as the persecuted little country with all the big enemies surrounding it. That’s like going to the movies and believing they are all true stories. Oh, and if you criticize Israel, you are anti semetic. I no longer respect Feingold if he is also supporting Israel. That hurts…thought we had an honest politician in D.C.
If the United States had not attacked Iraq, unilaterally and under false pretenses, the following conditions would almost certainly still prevail in the Middle East:
1) Progress toward an Israel/Palestine settlement, including a Palestinian state and guaranteed security for Israel, would have continued.
2) Iraq would still be under Saddam Hussein’s control, but with no WMD and few if any terrorists in Baghdad.
3) Iran’s progress toward nuclear weapons, and its support for Hezbollah and Hamas, would be limited by Iraq’s geographic and political strength as a buffer zone between Iran and its neighbors.
4) A more peaceful government than Hamas’ would be in place, one committed to peace with Israel according to the Dayton accords.
5) Anti-Israel sentiment throughout Europe, heightened by intense dislike of Bush and the neo-cons, would be less of a factor, and European politicans would not fear supporting peaceful compromises in the region.
6) The notion that political goals can be attained by brute force, which has given rise to terrorism throughout history, would be recognized as nothing more or less than “might makes right.” This is the same theory used by Alexander the Great, Caesar, Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Oliver Cromwell, Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm, Hitler, and Stalin.
Gary Hart said we “…kicked over a hornets’ nest in the Middle East.” Exactly right.
Big Dan #16
My lady and I went over to listen to Dr. Reynolds last nite (link here).
There were several “Democracy Now!” tee-shirts, which made me think of you.
I was proud of Dr. Reynolds and the large crowd, and talked with him quite a while. He is a fine person, as were the folk there in general.
I urge everyone to see his presentation if you get a chance.
Lou, if you are listening, this grandfatherly gentleman is like Brad in one way … he is very, very credible.
Mr. Ehlers:
Ah, next I’m pleased to recognize the father of HAVA, congressman Ney from Ohio, who guided the bill through all the shoals and difficulties and the sharks, I might add, of the congress and managed to get the bill passed. I’m pleased to recognize him for five minutes.
Ney:
The child’s been well behaved, but has gotten a little older, so we have to judge whether it’s been unruly or not at this time so, ah, well I , just asked, ah, for some quick answers cause, ah, I’ve got a few things to, to, go through, ah, if we can, ah, Dr. Wagner, ah,ah, I was interested when you said, about, that you had looked at what the testing board did, and you, you found some things they didn’t uncover, ah, do you have something available on that you can give us, ah, as a committee?
Dr. Wagner:
Certainly, I’d be pleased to provide you with a copy of the report that we, we wrote. The report is publically available at (redacted from video for some reason. Hmmm).
Ney:
Ah, have you went back to the testing board to say, look, how did you miss this, er…
Dr. Wagner:
Um, the test. I, I have not gone back to the testing lab, the testing labs have a relationship with the vendor, not with outsiders.
Ney:
Ah, you know, everyone was alarmed about the cheating, ah, potential discrepancies, the hanging, the dimpled, and the pregnant chads and all of you knew about. The bill far went beyond that. Frankly, there wasn’t a lot of discussion about a paper trail, ah, during those deliberations, and, ah, my state does a paper trail, we never said you couldn’t, my state does a paper trail, I know this about voting systems, and , as this, you know, hearing. But, ah, we tried to make the bill premise easier to vote and harder to cheat, ah, again, my state does a paper trail. I think it’s something to be looked at. Frankly, ah, when it was introduced, I, I’ve had a discussion with Mr Holt when it was introduced. To have moved at that point in time, I think, would have caused total chaos in the system. If you can go to China, and put a card in the ATM, and your money’s secured, and nobody can hack into that system, we ougt to be able to have tests and security which I think EAC ought to look at in the future, and the final issue, ah, whether we can have a paper trail or not. Ah, there’s somebody saying, in, in, conclusion, I want to thank Linda Lamone for her work on this in it’s inception and the job that, ah, you did for us to be able to get the bill, also, ah, there’s still 900 million dollars owed to the locals by this federal government, we give 5 million overseas to pro-democracies, that’s great. Congessman Hoyer and I, and I would hope I get everybody on both sides of the isle to get the other 900 million dollars to the states for assistance. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
If Lebanon did not share borders with Israel and Syria then the Lebanese people could live as peacefully as the people of Cyprus.(Many of whom are Lebanese). The Lebanese do not hate Syria, Iran or even big bad Israel. They want them to take the fight elsewhere. How far ( I’m talking miles here) does Syria and Iran have to travel to go after Israel via poor Lebanon. Why not stay home and work out the problems in their own damn country. Lebanon and Israel could live in peace together if America would stop suppling weapons to Israel and Syria and Iran would stop using Lebanon for a battleground. Should Israel have been placed where it is. No. A mistake was made in the 1940’s by the UN. It is now a done deal. What would you have Israel do? Dissolve? They live there now. Get over it and let poor Lebanon live in peace.
Dredd: I hope Democracy NOW! gets bigger than the corporate-controlled news, so people notice, and say, “Hey, why is the MSM corporate news not reporting on what Democracy NOW! is??? And why are all of them, ABC/NBC/CBS/CNN/FOX reporting the same things, but not what Democracy NOW! is reporting on? And why is Democracy NOW!’s news so much more important for us to know???”
But war has been a long term strategy of the Israeli Right.
The idea of a Middle East war has been bandied about in Israel for many years as a means of enhancing Isaeli security, which revolves around an ultimate solution to the Palestinian problem:
Ariel Sharon stated on March 24, 1988, that if the Palestinian uprising continued, Israel would have to make war on her Arab neighbors. The war, he stated, would provide the circumstances for the removal of the entire Palestinian population from the West Bank & Gaza & even from inside Israel proper.
Chris Hedges from DemocracyNow said, “Palestinians have been reduced by Israel to a subsistence existence matched only by Africans’ And the tools of repression against Palestinians now match those once imposed on South African blacks by the apartheid regime, with the exception that the South Africans never sent warplanes to bomb the townships.
The escalating repression in Israel, like the escalating by the American occupation in Iraq, has become the most potent recruiting tool for Islamic extremists.
We can’t ascribe moral blame to all sides. Israel is the oppressor in Gaza, West Bank & now Lebanon. America in Iraq.”
Israel over-reacted & taunted because they’ve wanted a war for a long time. This is their excuse.
Just like Bush did in Iraq.
Chris again, “It was the decades long occupation & humiliation of Palestinians in Gaza & the West Bank by Israel that spawned & empowered Hamas & the brutal American occupation that has bred the legions of extremists in Iraq.
When Hezbollah leader Nasrallah promises “open war” against Israel, & Israel’s Olmert says he won’t cease his attack til Israel “is secure”, it’s time to run for cover when Bush is our best hope for peace.”
Israel is said to have the most modern & best military next to our own–it outclasses who they are up against by far. That’s because they buy from Boeing, Lockheed-Martin & one other, I can’t recall who. Israel is even working with Lockheed-Martin in designing their own warplane to their own specifics.
To understand why Israeli leaders would want a Middle East war, it is first necessary to take a brief look at the history of the extreme Zionist movement & its goals. Despite public rhetoric to the contrary, the idea of expelling, (or in the accepted euphemism “transferring”) the indigenous Palestinian population was an integral part of the extreme Zionist effort to found a Jewish national state in Palestine.
It’s true they screwed up after the war. They should have given them GERMAN land to live on–since Germany is the one who lost the war. Maybe none of this would have happened.
Noam Chomsky said the US has virtually alone been blocking the possiblility of diplomatic settlement, & censure of Israeli crimes & atrocities.
Since 1982 & beyond the US regards Israel as a militarized offshoot & it protects it from criticism of its actions & supports them, in fact, overtly supports it’s expansion.
The abnormal, unique relationship between Jews (AIPAC), the US & Israel has forged an “Israel-First” policy which is an underlyling factor in the continuing tensions besetting the Middle East & the Islamic world.
US security interests have become endangered. US interests are not the same as Israel’s.
Extreme Zionists (AIPAC) need to realize Israel’s flag is not theirs.
In his Farewell Address, George Washington expressed the view that the greatest danger to American foreign relations would be the “passionate attachment” of influential Americans to a foreign power, which would orient US foreign policy for the benefit of that power to the detriment of the US.
It is just such a situation that currently exists.
Dredd #23
I like how you and your lady spend your time! Thanks for the link.
Oops, my word processor doesn’t seem to work like it used to with this blog, try this.
– – – – – – – – –
In another post about the election hearings from July 19th, 2006, I have to say that I much prefer congressman Conyers election hearings to the ones Republicans run.
Amazingly enough, our old friend on Brad Blog, Bob Ney, is still being allowed to oversee the implementation of the failed HAVA legislation. Mr. Ney questions Dr. David Wagner who seems to actually care about elections in America and then later tries to explain why he didn’t want to include paper trails in the process.
As you read this account of some of the things Ney says at the hearing, keep in mind this exerpt from a recent Rolling Stone magazine article:
And now it comes out that Diebold, the notorious voting-machine company, paid some $275,000 to Abramoff’s firm, Greenberg Traurig, with the apparent aim of keeping legislation requiring paper trails in the voting process from getting into the Help America Vote Act. Conveniently, Abramoff pal Bob Ney, one of the HAVA architects, blocked every attempt to put paper trails into law, even after the controversial electoral debacles of 2000 and 2004.
The Honorable Chairman Ehlers, who plans to actually include paper “trails” in the discussion sometime in Sept, 2006 (Oh, thank you, thank you Mr. Chairman), gives this respectful introduction:
Mr. Ehlers:
Ah, next I’m pleased to recognize the father of HAVA, congressman Ney from Ohio, who guided the bill through all the shoals and difficulties and the sharks, I might add, of the congress and managed to get the bill passed. I’m pleased to recognize him for five minutes.
Ney:
The child’s been well behaved, but has gotten a little older, so we have to judge whether it’s been unruly or not at this time so, ah, well I , just asked, ah, for some quick answers cause, ah, I’ve got a few things to, to, go through, ah, if we can, ah, Dr. Wagner, ah,ah, I was interested when you said, about, that you had looked at what the testing board did, and you, you found some things they didn’t uncover, ah, do you have something available on that you can give us, ah, as a committee?
Dr. Wagner:
Certainly, I’d be pleased to provide you with a copy of the report that we, we wrote. The report is publically available at, (redacted from video for some reason. Hmmm).
Ney:
Ah, have you went back to the testing board to say, look, how did you miss this, er…
Dr. Wagner:
Um, the test. I, I have not gone back to the testing lab, the testing labs have a relationship with the vendor, not with outsiders.
Yes, Mr. Wagner, anyone who has been involved in this HAVA nonsense is aware that the voting machine corporations had the election officials wrapped around their fingers through the whole process!
Later on Mr. Ney gives this account of the “birth” of HAVA and reiterates the real reason for the machinations of the process. (It’s the money, honey)!
Ney:
Ah, you know, everyone was alarmed about the cheating, ah, potential discrepancies, the hanging, the dimpled, and the pregnant chads and all of you knew about. The bill far went beyond that. Frankly, there wasn’t a lot of discussion about a paper trail, ah, during those deliberations, and, ah, my state does a paper trail, we never said you couldn’t, my state does a paper trail, I know this about voting systems, and , as this, you know, hearing. But, ah, we tried to make the bill premise easier to vote and harder to cheat, ah, again, my state does a paper trail. I think it’s something to be looked at. Frankly, ah, when it was introduced, I, I’ve had a discussion with Mr Holt when it was introduced. To have moved at that point in time, I think, would have caused total chaos in the system. If you can go to China, and put a card in the ATM, and your money’s secured, and nobody can hack into that system, we ougt to be able to have tests and security which I think EAC ought to look at in the future, and the final issue, ah, whether we can have a paper trail or not. Ah, there’s somebody saying, in, in, conclusion, I want to thank Linda Lamone for her work on this in it’s inception and the job that, ah, you did for us to be able to get the bill, also, ah, there’s still 900 million dollars owed to the locals by this federal government, we give 5 million overseas to pro-democracies, that’s great. Congessman Hoyer and I, and I would hope I get everybody on both sides of the isle to get the other 900 million dollars to the states for assistance. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
And Thank you Bob!
NOT!
That worked better, but I noticed guest bloggers, John Gideon, and Emily Levy are having the same problems with their colons and semicolons too.
What has changed?
There must be a ghost in here, now the first one looks fine, but the guest bloggers entrys on the main page are still messed up.
oF cOURSE there iS NO TIME for these robots to dedicate to the issue of hackable electronic voting machines where one person can change the outcome of an election. This can keep their fcking asses in power without actually winning just like KING GEORGE W. bUSHIT. Time to vote themselves another raise not INCLUDING corporate contributions which own the way they vote. No integrity in the name of greed and profit IS THE NEW AMERICAN WAY. Fascism got a facelift and it’s called US DEMOCRACY Bushit style.
Lou: Do a story on Alaska stonewalling it’s citizens from acquiring 2004 vote data, until it’s time to shred it…
I have to make a couple of corrections to my post above now that I saw the hearing on C-SPAN instead of something resembling a broadcast from Osama Bin Laden.
This statement from Dr. Wagner:
“Certainly, I’d be pleased to provide you with a copy of the report that we, we wrote. The report is publically available at”, (redacted from video for some reason. Hmmm).
Was not redacted from the video. Dr. Warner was cut off by Bob Ney before he could give the information on where to get the report.
Mr. Neys statement:
“we give 5 million overseas to pro-democracies” should have read 5 billion.
This issue is so ready for a mobilizing leader. I am not bereft and am havign a ball as I dream about what it WILL be like when this mess reaches a tipping point and Middle America wakes from it stupor. I just wonder who will have the guts to emerge as the new, young, hip leader who saves democracy. If anyone is looking to become a hero, this has become a VERY easy issue around which to mobilize millions. Everything’s going to be just fine. Someone just needs to step up and lead.
Charlie #10 — Somehow I missed your comment.
I completely agree that we have to seriously start talking about what to do in November now. In this case, it is imperative that we look ahead.
Yes, let’s do talk about my #4 and make it specific rather than simply an idea.