Reply #10: Okay, you are talking specifically about the courts. What about Congress? [View All]

What about our state legislatures? What about our elected or appointed state/local election officials? What about OUR OWN defense of our sovereignty, as citizens of a democracy that has been gravely compromised by non-transparent vote counting?

The issues is MUCH MORE fundamental than a legal issue of fraud. For instance, it goes to the legitimacy of any Bush-appointed judge to rule on election integrity issues. It may be just fine, with such a judge, for ES&S to assert--as it did in the FL-13 case (18,000 votes for Congress 'disappeared' by ES&S machines, in an election 'won' by the Bushite, by only 350 or so votes)--that the public has no right to review its 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY vote counting code, and that its "right" to profit from our elections with its 'TRADE SECRET' code TRUMPS the right of the voters to know how their votes were counted. The Jeb judge in Florida thought that was just hunky-dorey, and agreed with ES&S that ES&S's "trade secrets" overrides the public's right to transparent vote counting. But is it all right with YOU?

That is what I am asking. It's one thing to be realistic about what a Bushite judge may do. It's another thing to understand that Bush was never elected, either time, and that the non-transparent, Bushite-corporate controlled vote counting system installed to "re-(s)elect" him in INHERENTLY fraudulent.

Ergo: Strategy to restore our fundamental right to vote, and its essential underlying right--the right to SEE the votes counted--must focus on...Congress...state/local juridictions...public education...busting collusive corporate media monopolies (who conduct so-called exit polls that are "ADJUSTED" to MATCH the official, "TRADE SECRET" code count)...etc.

I agree. After 8 years of judicial appointments by an illegitimately installed fascist president, and strong evidence that Democratic leaders are at the least fearful of fascist Bushite/corporate power, and are, at the worst, collusive with it--and therefore even Democratic-appointed judges will favor corporate rule--we are forced to pursue more doable strategies to restore our right to vote.

IdesofOctober, we are not far from a revolutionary situation, in which all government systems are in such a stranglehold--controlled by a few fascist billionaires--that our democracy is OVER. Kaput. Non-existent. We cannot expect justice and fairness ANYWHERE within our government/political system--not from the corporate puppets in the White House, not from the corporate puppets in Congress, not from the corporate puppets they appoint as judges, not from the highly corrupted and nazified "justice system," not from our war profiteering corporate news monopolies, not from our corporate-controlled elections. There is no possibility of redress of grievances. Change has been blockaded.

70% of the American people opposed to the Iraq War, and the so-called Democratic Congress, elected by the people to end the war, turns out to be 70/30 FOR it, and ESCALATES it, and lards Bush/Cheney with billions more of our non-existent tax dollars (debt ad infinitum) to keep killing Iraqis until they sign over their oil rights.

Because? A combination of filthy, war profiteer money, and rightwing Bushite corporate-controlled vote counting--that both political parties support.

So, WHO do you take this grievance TO?

Our Democratic leaders? Right. What have they done about non-transparent vote counting? They colluded in it!

Bush appointed judges? Right. Good luck there. Maybe some stray honest judge left over from the Old Republic might understand that democracy is dependent on vote counting IN THE PUBLIC VENUE. But chances are whatever judge you take it to is, a) Bush appointed, or b) appointed by a corporatist Democrat (Clinton), and scared shitless of both the voting machine corporations and Bushite spying.

It's as if our country were now run by the fucking mafia. Courageous leadership, that can't be blackmailed, is very rare.

So what do we do?

We do what we can. We take it to court and hope for the best. We pressure local election officials (the best venue for change--strategically) and demand, a) paper ballots, and b) COUNTING of the ballots. Some people took it to Congress (despite warnings from the rest of us that that was a waste of time, energy and scarce funds--but they had to try, and they really can't be blamed for it). We educate. We agitate. We do our best.

My only beef with you is that saying it's impossible here, or impossible there, DOESN'T HELP. Yeah, we are fucked, everywhere you look. THEN what do we do?