If I have learned one thing from writing Black Box Voting, it is a profound respect for the democracy passed along to us by the founding fathers. Yes, it is in danger right now, but here in this place, it thrives and grows new life.

To the mods: Thank you for having me back.
To DUers: Thank you for participating in writing this book. I must admit now, the whole project scared the (don't swear in the first post) putty out of me. The only way to keep looking this problem in the eye was to have all of you staring it down right next to me.

I hope a few of you will take a bow in this thread. I don't know how many made it into the book -- some with the same screen names used here; others with screen names I made up to give you a little more privacy; and still others with real names in place of the screen names.

I hope some of you will step forward here and say "that was me, in Chapter 10 you know, talking about auditing," or "The picture of a trash can next to a ballot box in Chapter 13 was my graphics work."

Do so now. Thank you so much, because in this work you have shown the best of what a real democracy is. Lots of people who don't always get along and have very different perspectives, volunteering to participate for no reason other than to make things better.

Okay, Chapters 12, 13 and 14 are done, and are posted at
http://www.blackboxvoting.org
and
http://www.blackboxvoting.com

These chapters conclude the book.

- We are doing a more professional interior design
- We are pruning it by at least 50 pages to tighten it up for a smoother read.
- We are adding an index
- We plan to have copies rolling off the press next week.

Now, I am hoping that besides taking your bows, that you will contribute the names of the other warriors in the fray, because there are so many people who have worked on this issue, starting with Ronnie Dugger and Dr. Rebecca Mercuri in the 80s to all the activists now, that I have had to keep a spreadsheet just to prepare the acknowledgements page. I am so afraid I missed someone. Can you suggest names, can we collect them all together here?

Man I missed you guys!

Bev Harris

P.S. Did I tell you I missed you?

Glad you're back :):hi:

Some of your work appears in Chapter 13.

and came back because helping to sustain democracy is bigger than that of our individual egos.

It's gonna' be a helluva ride over the next 12 months...

Glad to have you back.

Martin

:-)

David's plan9 email was nice, but it is good to see you back.

:-)

Many here, myself included, have missed seeing you posting here.

Welcome back, Bev. :yourock:

:hi:

and thanks

Yes the embers are there, and as John Hightower said, the only reason
the kleptocracy has not won, is we little rascals refuse to let them... and you are, for some of us, a personal hero

Finally!

I think a lot of us missed you...

And it's wonderful to hear that the book is almost done. You're an inspiration, Bev!

:)

:bounce:

:hi:

:toast:

I have called at least 20 California reps urging them to support HR- 2239 and informing them about BBV. I have since burnt out distressed about being long term unemployed. Great to see you back here at DU.

:party: :party: :party: :party: :party: :party: :party: :party: :party:

:toast:

let's keep blowing on those embers, maybe we can get a good fire. Really glad that you are posting on du again.:kick:

Glad to see you back!

You're doing this country a great service Bev. A true patriot. Great to see you!

Julie

Okay, enough chit-chat, back to work!

:D

Zhade is very cool.

...it's...encouraging.

Q and Bev Harris all in one thread!!!!

It's gonna be a good day!!!!!

Like Solomon, I always find your perspectives to be thought-provoking and sometimes unexpected. Glad to see you here (and welcome, saw that you joined BBV too.)

Bev Harris
http://www.blackboxvoting.org

:-)

So glad you are back. I also missed you.

:yourock:

Now, please excuse me, I have some chapters to catch up on.

BTW, thank you.

Last night we had a meeting of the Election Reform group here in Columbus. One of the new members, a young guy, not a Duer, was positively gushing over Bev. Thinks she is the next best thing to air. Of course, I agreed.
Happy to hear the book is finished. When do you start on the sequel which tells the story of how we rescued our country and fought the enemy with just truth and the internet? What a story that is going to be.
Bless You, Commander Bev. Lead on!!

:love ya:

Please, everyone involved, come forward to be recognized.

Bev, you've been greatly missed.

Here. Let a total stranger tell you that you are a HERO.

:party:
dbt

We missed ya a lot.

:bounce::toast::bounce:

are back! We missed you.

Glad you're back. DU has been ..., well let's just say it's not the same without you. Missed you terribly. Can't wait to get my hands on that book!

One of my all-time DU faves.

:grouphug: for you ...you are loved

... and THANK YOU!

Every time I hear a BBV report on the radio or read one on the web or in the paper, even if it is not a particularly good or accurate piece, I realize that without you it would simply not be there.

Being a computer geek myself, I had always felt a bit of unease at the prospect of computerized voting, knowing how tough it would be to guarantee there was no monkey business. I had no idea.

I cannot thank you enough for bringing this to light.

Also in the book, under another name.

Missed your posts...

what a nice surprise to start the day.

as I said in a recent BBV/Bev post:

it ain't been the same, i just ain't been the same

:toast: :toast:

It is great to see a post with your name on it again!

It's so good to see you back!

Great thought that encapsulates DU:

"Blowing on the embers of democracy."

Yeh. I missed you!

not just my graphics, me. some of you will unravel the (not-really) secret behind my SN.

I'm so glad you included the "Think Chads Were Bad" graphic. that was my favorite off that thread.

I'm thrilled to be any small part of this.

note to self: order more copies! :bounce:

Folks, the subject matter is scary. I was wondering, how can we pick up the energy, make people feel good about this, bring out the sweet corn and fried chicken and chocolate cake and enjoy our camaraderie while we neighbors get together to build a new voting system?

Nostamj had just the right touch. Make it fun! I have the submissions both in the gallery at http://www.blackboxvoting.org and in Chapter 13 -- they just delight people and provide a hit of energy that we really need, going forward.

Thanks, nostamj.

Great Work. :toast: :loveya: :-)

but why the heck was our rising star banned?

Bev's back !

Fire up the fax machine !

You media folk pay righteous attention to her forthcoming media blasts now, ya' hear?

Hoop dee doo !

Has everyone seen this thread? http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=214166

The corporate media is resorting to spinning everyone concerned about the electronic "voting" method as paranoid and crazy. Looks like cbs has gone completely over to the dark side, soon I'm gonna have to just throw my tv to the curb.

Most journalists who have bona fides are in the media directories used by us publicists. The first thing I did was look the author of that ridiculous article up so I could send her a private wake-up note. However, she is not in there. That means she's new or doing a custom editorial for them.

My favorite phrase from her article is the one where she says (with no source and no documentation or evidence) that we are conspiracy theorists bordering on paranoia

Well, I'll bet you got a ton done while on hiatus! Glad to see you! I can't wait to see my real live book inside covers and everything!

As for Beth Lester, I found a photo of someone named Beth Lester who has worked for CNN and CBS. She appears to be a student intern or recent graduate. Quite young. Also worked in Senator Barbara Boxer's office. So, hard to tell where the conspiracy wrapper on the story came from -- perhaps her editor, rather than spike the story, gave it that poo-poo wrapper. Only speculation, unless someone writes to Ms. Lester and asks her.

Meanwhile, I would like to take a very quick bow. I would be honored if all 100 or 200 or 300 or how ever many of us there are would all step to the stage, arm in arm, and take a bow together. Okay, add one or two Rockettes kicks/donkey kicks, and hold the applause until we are able to drag our votes up on stage where we can see 'em.

Zan of Texas -- you've been in the fight for a long time now!

Bev

I laughed out loud over that one.

Dad can't wait for the rest of the chapters! :) :hi:

:hi:

fall off too quickly....

And how excessively punctuated you are today, AP.

Welcome back! I missed reading posts from you.

I tried joining the forum at your website, but I never got the confirmation email. Perhaps things are working better now? I hope so and will try again.

Huggz!

someone named "Jeffrey" and no, I don't have any idea who he is. Turns out my e-mail for blackboxvoting.org was active the whole time the site was down -- it's just that it was being routed to someone else. So were opt-ins for the mailing list and some other stuff. All these shenanigans caused me to miss an interview by the New York Times, and new activists were waylaid to who knows where.

Thank goodness for nostamj -- he called me about 10 days ago and asked about e-mails he had just sent. When they never arrived, we did some testing and I discovered this.

Here's what was in those e-mails, besides a three-week-old (and now dead) request for an interview by the NYT: For the past year, I've been getting 2-5 tips a day, which is where much of the investigative material came from for the book. Great stuff. For six weeks, all those tips went to someone else!

Thanks to RedEagle and god_bush_n_cheney, who listened as I hit the roof over this, cried, and pulled my increasingly gray hair out. And to RedEagle, JohnGideon and lysergik, who have been and will be helping add new layers of security.

Try joining again -- I think we had at least 20 new members join yesterday! Here is where you can contact me reliably if there is a problem:

Bevharriscontact@aol.com

:hi: We have missed you.

I am posting the last chapters on my site, then firing off e-mails to my mailing list and to the county clerk today.

We will have a new Secretary of State, a Republican. As soon as he is sworn in, I will be in contact. I hope he is an honest man.

so good to see you back.

You were in chapter 13 until they told me "this is TOOO long! Cut cut cut! Same with HeddaFoil, who is another DUer who quietly gets amazing things done. You guys are fantastic. Heck, I could write a 300-page book just on the adventures and exploits of each of you here, because this has taken an army to get it into the mainstream.

Bev

:hi: Bev

YAY!!!!!!! :)

:hi: Here's to DU To BBV and to Democracy :toast:

Democratic Underground: Blowing on the embers of democracy

How about it DUERS?? Shouldn't we adopt this as official??
How many YEA votes do I hear......?

:toast:

We really did miss you, and we are all extremely proud of you.

Everyone will be so thankful I can stop kicking a certain post back up.....

Use the contact info Bev gave, time to Rock and Roll!!

Cracks are starting to appear in the dam. I was sent this article but I don't have an addy for it, parts of it here. Editorial from the New York Times! I believe the title was, "And You Thought Hanging Chads Were Bad." (And I hope I haven't put too much of the original in here. Anyone who is registered with the NYT can get the addy)

1. From the Desk of David Pogue: Reconsidering Digital Votes
============================================================

-snip-

Take electronic voting, for example. In 2000, it sure looked
like the old voting systems -- punch cards, hanging chads,
all that -- were desperately in need of upgrading. It seemed
pretty obvious that electronic voting systems would have
avoided the whole Florida ballot controversy. I, for one,
spent two months walking around muttering, "Gimme a break.
They can drive the Nasdaq to 5,000, but we're still voting
with punch cards?!"

Then came last Sunday's New York Times, which presented a
terrifying report on Diebold, a leading maker of paperless
touch-screen voting machines. Eight million of us will be
tapping on Diebold computers in the next Presidential
election.
-snip-

Wrong Thing 3: This one boggles the brain: The Diebold
systems don't print. There's no paper trail, no "voting
receipts." Data is transferred to the election precinct on a
memory card in a format that only Diebold can read. If an
election is ever in dispute, nobody can compare the digital
results against a backup system. As an individual, you'd have
no way of confirming that your vote was properly recorded.
-snip-

Wrong Thing 4: Diebold points out that the software is
inspected and tested by election officials before it's
certified. There's only one problem: Diebold engineers can
slip in and make changes to the software even AFTER it's been
certified.

Someone who is a key person (under another name) in the book. Thanks!

Bev's Back!

:bounce:

IT'S REALLY YOU!!!

:bounce:

:party::hi::beer:Life is RICH!!!!:toast::beer::silly:

:kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick:

;-)

i'm kidding, just kidding!

O8)Sorry!!???!!O8)

it's a great day. LOUD celebrations are in order.

(i'm in Bev's book! :wow: )

NOTHING to be 'sorry' about... duh!

excessive punctuation? Love it, Loud Sue. Made me laugh out loud.

:bounce:

IT'S REALLY YOU!!!

:bounce:

:party::hi::beer:Life is RICH!!!!:toast::beer::silly:

:kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick:

Thanks,

Bev

Read his AMAZING quote- he practically admits it...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=702127&mesg_id=702127

I mean, it's just plain dumb to say some things. How can you be a supposedly sophisticated CEO and blunder along in a letter saying you "promise to deliver the vote to Bush" when you know you own the voting machine company?

And if you are a (perhaps) elected official who is possibly the only person with a more dubious result than Chuck Hagel's 1996 performance, where the national media said "lightening struck twice" -- if you are a politician with such an uncomfortable upset in a state where they were using voting machines with an uncertified and illicit program in them -- would you "joke" about wanting the machines to err?

These guys may or may not play with voting machines, but it is certain that when it comes to opening their mouths, neither one has a lick of sense.

Bev
http://www.blackboxvoting.org

Glad you're back. Your site looks nice too.

:hi:

BBV is in the mainstream now. you did it.

now let's finish it.

BBV-Devo

And your book is coming out just in time for Christmas! I sure hope Palast gives you a plug.

Yahoo!

:hug:

:grouphug:

:toast: :toast: :toast: :toast:

Good Work! Can't wait to check out the finished product! :-)'s

Now let's all just make sure we bring this sitcom attack on our US democracy the happy ending we all deserve.

Missed your return thread yesterday........

nevertheless, welcome back, we did miss you a lot!

:toast:

:-)

Keep up the fight.

About time :)

Sorry I didn't check in earlier - Scoop was nominated for the NZ version of the webby awards, and I was away in Auckland celebrating our near victory.

We got highly commended in the best News Service section and a hefty plaque like certificate thingy (I think we were actually in a dead heat for first place.... but got bumped.)

But still even second is pretty good... in the process we beat out several huge media conglomerate websites....

I suspect all this BBV stuff counted majorly in our favour - and certainly that is what everybody in Auckland wanted to talk about - though the voting rules precluded overseas voters from actually voting for us.

So. Thanks Bev... and welcome back!!!

:):):):)

al

...but I'm glad you're back. I've been well-informed by you and the folks who did help.

It is, common, grass roots, from the ground up.

Get busy with those county auditors and state legislators.

Form a state-wide group (even if it just starts with a couple counties), put contact info up at blackboxvoting.org or on the state page on verifiedvoting.org, create an email contact group, or a list serve, and start working the state legislators.

Be polite, be short, but keep at it. Call, email, fax, write, and for goodness sakes, see your rep when they are in the area, if the state capitol is too far away.

It's building, the momemtum is building, it's up to us to keep the ball rolling and make it bigger. Kind of like a snowball rolling down a hill.

you're SO right.

I attended a little meeting/screening in brooklyn (there was a thread "an 'Unprecedented' evening in Brooklyn") where they screened the FL 2000 documentary UNPRECENTED and a discussion followed.

I discussed the BASE LINE issues around BBV and put the link out.

this took place at a church and the senior pastor discussed "each one, teach one" in his sermon today re: voting

it works!