InquiryLabs
Politics, Programming and Possibilities
Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Electoral Fraud Made Easy by Diebold
Author: Duane Johnson19 Mar
The bradblog posted today about an easy-to-use feature of the Diebold electronic voting machine: press the “Clear” button in the audit trail and you get a nice, fresh start on what happened on election day.
In addition, the software was discovered to have a “Clear” button which, when pressed, would actually delete the contents of an audit log without even asking for confirmation from the user. That, despite repeated federal and state testing and certification of the software which failed to notice the egregious programming flaws in violation of federal voting system standards requiring indestructible logs to track all system events… Bales admitted that his company had “not yet” corrected the problem, which was first implemented in the company’s software more than a decade ago.
Auditing is the First Step
Author: Duane Johnson12 Mar
I like the idea of auditing the Federal Reserve: there’s nothing wrong with transparency and we have everything to gain by taking a count of where our (U.S.) money has gone during this flurry of bailout and rescue activity.
The Whitehouse has a Blog
Author: Duane Johnson20 Jan
Second Chance to Get Our Rights Back
Author: Duane Johnson14 Jan
I’m hopeful that Barack Obama will take heed of the top 10 “ideas for change” at Change.org. If so, then it’s possible we can focus attention on the the awful Military Commissions Act, as well as our loss of privacy under the Bush administration (telecom immunity, etc.) by up-voting the Get FISA Right idea. It was in 10th place 2 days ago, currently it’s in 7th. Let’s make sure it stays there!
Reactions Around the World
Author: Duane Johnson5 Nov
What a night! It was electrifying to see the crowds in Chicago and watch Obama give his acceptance speech. I’ve been watching for reactions around the world, and I thought this comment was a very interesting cause for additional celebration:
Saudi journalist Samir Saadi said that Obama’s election means “the U.S. has won the war on terror.”
“Given Obama’s name, his background, the doubts about his religion, Americans still voted for him and this proved that America is a democracy,” he said. “People here are starting to believe in the U.S. again.”
I think that what people widely understand to be true is the connection Obama has to everyone (like I mentioned in my last post). Russian anthropologist Ilya Utekhin said it better than I did, however:
“An African American president appears to have more sensitivity to the cross-cultural diversity of the world, and this is a promise of a more creative and flexible foreign policy,” he said.
David Lammy, in Britain, noted the remarkable symbolism of change when he commented:
“Now black and white can raise their shoulders high and can turn a page on issues of inequality,” he said, marveling at the “amazing image” of a black family living in the White House.
Many people are inspired by this clear change visible in the highest office of the country.
In Spite of Differences, Obama is Connected to Us All
Author: Duane Johnson4 Nov
I haven’t been entirely happy with Obama’s various compromises and changes of heart.
Ron Paul Supports Constitution Party
Author: Duane Johnson23 Sep
This is great news! Ron Paul has officially endorsed Chuck Baldwin and the Constitution Party. I like the approach to this “New Alliance” that Ron Paul is talking about:
This does not mean that I expect to get Ralph Nader or Cynthia McKinney to become libertarians, nor do they expect me to change my mind on the issues on which we disagree. In the meantime, why can’t we be friends, respectful of each other, and fight the corrupt process from which we suffer, and at the same time champion the four issues that we all agree upon which the two major candidates won’t address?
… Those who don’t want to collaborate are insecure with their own beliefs …
Principled people are not shy in participating with others and will defend their beliefs on their merits. Liberals and progressives are willing to align themselves with us on the key issues of peace, civil liberties, debt and the Federal Reserve. That’s exciting and very encouraging, and it means we are making progress. The big challenge, however, is taking on the establishment, and the process that is so well entrenched. But we can’t beat the entrenched elite without the alliance of all those who have been disenfranchised.
… True revolutions are not won in a week, a month, or even a year. They take time. But we are making progress, and the momentum remains and is picking up.
I’ve thought about the unsolicited advice from the Libertarian Party candidate, and he has convinced me to reject my neutral stance in the November election. I’m supporting Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate.
Bill Maher on Civil Liberties
Author: Duane Johnson22 Sep
I appreciate this “warning to sanity” from Bill Maher:
If those two pictures you saw had been the result of terrorist attacks, instead of a train wreck (because some guy was texting), and because of a hurricane, this country would have completely lost its collective [stuff], we would have invaded Yemen, suspended the constitution, and done all manner of crazy stuff. Isn’t there something to be said for understanding that terrorism—as bad as it is—should not control our lives?
We Must Resist
Author: Duane Johnson30 Aug
I like this line in a recent letter from Ron Paul regarding the Rally for the Republic:
The Rally for the Republic is the first step in alerting our countrymen to these dangers, and holding out the message of freedom as the only remedy. We must resist the false choices the two major parties are giving us. Help me spread our great ideas far and wide. Join me in Minneapolis, and let’s shake the rafters.
At their convention the Democrats uttered barely a peep about the surveillance state, the police state, and the Bush administration’s disastrous foreign policy. Needless to say, there was not a word about the Fed and what it’s done to our economy. We can only imagine what the GOP Convention will have in store for us.
Fox News Ad
Author: Duane Johnson27 Aug
