SkyEarth Letters

This year 28% of the vote (and counting) will be tallied on electronic voting machines or scanners, which have been repeatedly hacked and can be used to fix an election -- all without a trace.

We expect many of this year's elections to be neck-to-neck. More than ever in these times, the balance of power is precarious and precious. Regardless of your political affiliation, most citizens want their elected officials to be elected by the PEOPLE - - this is our genuine patriotic right - - for actual votes to count for genuinely elected representatives...

...Not by the manipulation of machines whose tallies cannot be traced. And, for groups which are activist, which present alternate viewpoints in a healthy democracy, electronic hacking will mean the end of Democracy, through hidden, subversive and covert means. Without proven, bipartisan safeguards to insure its complete reliability, the evidence to date is that ELECTRONIC VOTING is easily hacked and will allow less-than-ethical political zealots - - those in power, or those who believe they deserve to be in power - - to take brutal advantage of our sacred freedoms.

Without the fear of voter reprisal, whoever takes advantage of such an electronically manipulated situation could literally do anything they want and will maintain a patriotically bankrupt advantage. Whoever controls the voting machines controls the government.

To continue with the story, I forwarded it to Darius, who writes the Avant Soul pieces, and he sent it on to his friends and family. A little while later, I received an email from him. In it he had written a rather satirical synopsis of the responses he had received. Here it is:

From Darius Gottlieb:

"We're so overwhelmed in our own little lives, Darius, dear. How can this latest scandal-de-jour matter, now that the world is coming to an end? WHY do you expect us to care, darling Darius, that this is but another 'truly important matter'? We're up to our eyeballs on redecorating the bomb shelter and having enough rock music backed-up for the final Apocalypse Ball!"

"This is blatant voter fraud!" I pointed out, trying to be cool and not succeeding. "We can nip it in the bud before it bites us back big time."

"Quit annoying us with reality, Darius!" they chirped. "Besides, it's more relevant to us whether we're getting sesame seeds on our hamburger buns or not, maybe we should get the plain buns, or maybe we should be REALLY wild and get the falafel bread! My God, we could have our pity-party sandwiches on PITA bread! Get it, Darius? Blah, blah, blah..."

I tried to look merely disgusted instead of completely revolted.

"This isn't about bread," I said, glumly.

"Oh yes it is," they chirped happily, like drunken English sparrows. "It's always about the bread, and this is our picnic, so take your basket of reality and BUZZ off to another park, got it?"

Yes, the environment is being stolen from underneath our feet, the funds going for the most wasteful, small-minded, pip-squeak vision of greedy-ass weaponry, and my close friends are focused on their grocery lists and sandwich choices for their 'escape from reality' picnic.

In fact, there were only a few HIP people who "got the alert."

The rest are only concerned with their momentary buns and covering their arses in the next three minutes, so to speak, never mind that their ass might be burned for the next four decades!

My cousin's reaction was typical - - "I can't be involved with this, Darius. Some people thought Kennedy's election was rigged, too, and with all the crap going on in the world, my big concern, laddie, is what color toilet paper I'm going to purchase. THAT'S what's significant and important in my reality."

"But - - but - - I said - -"

His face was twisted into a curious knot and he was curt. "Look. Electronic voting doesn't immediately involve me. Should I have wheat or corn tortillas for dinner, that's what's on my spiritual itinerary today. Or should I wear my Easter Bonnet on Groundhog Day, or would it be better at the Veterans' Day Parade? Which is more flattering to my double chin - - the blue bonnet, or the pink one?"

"You look ridiculous in any bonnet." I answered. "You don't celebrate Easter."

"Oh, I get it," he snapped. "Now you're telling me not only what to think, but what pertinent hat accouterments I need to wear. Well, listen up, bald eagle. MY life is only important to me. The world has gone to hell, so don't bloody remind me how I can make a difference or should be concerned to care. Caring sucks!"

"But President SHRUB could steal our election with electronic flabber-quakery!" I responded earnestly.

"So now you're concerned he might steal it less carelessly!" My cousin quickly retorted. "Like we give a flying fig when he stole it like a bungling bugger-knot the first time!"

"Ummmm...."

"For your flat-farted information, my crowing cousin, I really need to focus on my Easter bonnet, if you don't mind." And my older cousin began to flap his clipped wings with fervent intensity.

"Easter has passed," I intoned quietly.

"Who are YOU to tell me what rabbits stew in my deepest inner oven?" He barked. Then he hopped away, since he couldn't get off the ground to save his understanding. I found myself wishing for my old BB gun. Though token target practice is rightfully discouraged on immediate relatives.

The above story is symbolically accurate. The animals have been changed to protect the guilty and the morally ambivalent. Facts and details are taken from actual files and sworn statements have only been slightly interpolated to camouflage the identities of politically indifferent swine or bird-feathered creatures driving SUVs.

A second e-mail from Darius:
Even today, Cherie, as I mentioned to people that electronic voting can be hacked, the response was unease, but still a "don't bother me with this stuff" feeling. Truth is, folks are overwhelmed, and hence the color of their Easter bonnet is A Very Important Decision When the World Is Going to HELL.

Cherie: So it is that we get what the majority of people don't give a damn about. Collective consciousness (or unconsciousness) rules again! Just as it did in Hitler's time.

Darius:
But you're right, of course. And it isn't that people don't give a damn . . . . it's more that they are just TIRED of being disturbed, perturbed and generally ill-at-ease. Hence the stream of consciousness in my "rendition of reactions" about bread, bagels, pitta sandwiches, picnics, ANYTHING to distract the mind from all the ongoing disturbance.

"Twenty more Marines were slaughtered in Iraq today, ambushed...."

"What kind of mustard should I have on my submarine sandwich? I had tried the jalepeno, but now I think the beer-batter mustard with real white wine would be better on the fresh farmer's bread. On second thought . . . the stone ground, honey-sweetened mustard sounds REALLY good!"

Cherie here again. We Americans who are not "neocons," who are not Bushites, who despise what this administration is doing to health, education, our environment, and warfare, cannot afford to toss aside the concerns raised by the people who have been researching the use of electronic touch-screen voting machines. Because if it looks like the Democratic nominee for President has a chance of winning, we bet that every possible way of mis-counting votes, not counting votes, over-counting votes in every polling district will be used. We cannot let the elections be stolen again. The world depends upon us to put a stop to Bush-war this November.

Black Box Voting- Bev Harris' site of her research on Diebold voting software and other electronic voting machines

VoteWatch-Information on monitor elections at the polls

Voting Machines Unconstitutional-Author Lynn Landes questions the constitutionality of voting machines.

New York Times article via Truthout.org entitled "Hack the Vote" by Paul Krugman, Princeton University economist