Politics

Salon has an excellent article that covers a great deal more about the flaws in the electronic voting system. It’s a subscription article, but well worth the one day subscription. There’s also a free to read article about the investigator who found many of these flaws. In addition to being notoriously easy to hack, there’s also the problem that a leading owner/manufacturer or voting equipment is a GOP fundraiser who promised to deliver the state of Ohio to Bush next year.

Fark photo-contest: create your own Anti-Drug ad. This one’s getting my vote.
“Would you like to end up like this man? Sure you’ll get to be President…
… but imagine living life with a single digit IQ. This is what Cocaine can do to you.
DUBYA… my anti-drug”

Bush has to back-track and deny all the claims he made about a connection between 9/11 and Sadaam Hussein, without actually admitting that he made all those claims. Also, the Republicans are made that the California recall has been delayed, but the delay was based on the Supreme Court’s decision in the 2000 election — you know, the decision that put Bush in office.

The IEEE has written a draft electronic voting machine standard, and there are some concerns about that standard, and how it doesn’t necessarily solve the problems of electronic voting. Also, there is some concern that certain vendors are hoping to create a standard that locks out smaller or independent voting machine vendors. Read more about this here, or a synopsis is more layman’s terms here.

Because it can be misused by individuals, in much the same fashion that this traffic camera system was misused by the police. There’s no accountability if someone decides to used the tools provided in a way that wasn’t intended.

Apparently, the historic photos of great diplomatic moments from the entire history of our country weren’t appropriate in a prominent State Department corridor, so he’s replaced them with photos of himself. Glad I don’t work there. All the new photos would have little mustaches and horns.

“Our loyalty is due entirely to the United States. It is due to the President only and exactly to the degree in which he efficiently serves the United States. It is our duty to support him when he serves the United States well. It is our duty to oppose him when he serves it badly.” — T Roosevelt – 1918
“To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.” — Abraham Lincoln

Total U.S. Dead since March 20th: 295
Total Coalition Dead since March 20th: 347

Total Deaths since May 1st (“end of combat”): 156

Total US Wounded since March 20th: 1491
See the complete figures.

For this week, Bush asks for another $87 Billion (three times the amount Bush intends to spend on education this year). Halliburton can’t figure out how to spend that wisely, the FCC throws support to Schwarzenegger. Also, aside from being a poacher on protected game preserves (something I’ve written about here in the past, Ted Nugent is also a dead-beat dad.

Relations break down between U.S. and Them
After decades of antagonism between the two global powers, the U.S. has officially severed relations with Them, Bush administration officials announced Tuesday. “They have refused to comply with the U.S. time and time again,” Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, following failed 11th-hour negotiations Monday night. “It’s always unfortunate when diplomacy fails, but we could not back down. We have to be ready to fight back, in the name of freedom, against all of Them at once, if necessary.”