November 2004 Archives

First off, looks like I should have shown Dan how to roll better, looks like he fumbled and rolled a critical failure on the career. I hope he does the sensible thing and goes to work for independent media.

It's Sunday, I've got way too much to do for the week to start yet. I'm going to go spend the evening with friends, which will be good, but which will further make my pile of work... well, pile up. This whole week has been the week of fighting spam. My server was brought to its knees with someone launching dictionary attacks against my smtp servers. Frickin' bastards. Plus I've been fighting the constant battle against comment spammers. Trying to set up a human-only interface, but it's proving to butt heads against my spam blacklisting module. Never enought hours in a week. This week, my work should be sufficiently short-circuited due to a big meeting in SF for several days. I'm feeling a little worn thin these days, and need a vacation. A real vacation, and I need to clear my work from my desk and start afresh. It's all overwhelming.

But, can't talk for long here -- gotta get ready for the last social commitment of the weekend. Part of me wants to just crawl into a cave and hibernate tonight. Get some work done and be done. Ugh.

Calgone, take me away.

I'm sitting in my hotel room in Calgary, last night before I head home after a long stay working on the Albatross, listening to music on my computer, and I run across some old U2 that brings me right back to college, living in Berkeley. Life used to be so simple and care-free. I was learning and had no obligations other than to myself. True freedom. Don't get me wrong -- I really love my life the way it is now and wouldn't trade where I am for where I was for the world. However, there was a certain peace of spirit that I could achieve that I don't seem to have nearly as often. To just detach and drift, to drive with the windows down on a summer's night. To just drive, with no destination and no place I needed to be. To worry about classes and finals, and to have that be the worst of my problems. I give a salute to those days of my Bachelor Youth -- I remember you, Joshua. I know you -- you are still with me. Don't worry for the aging man, we are still seventeen forever.

Last night I had a dream that I taught Dan Rather how to play D&D. He was having a hard time with the whole concept, but after a while I got it across to him. He would roll his dice and move his lead figure on the counter with a little difficulty, but I think he got it. He had to leave after a while, it was getting late and he wanted to get home. I'm not sure he fully enjoyed the experience.

I've been thinking about this a lot, and it's time for me to do the research. I really think we have to put together an open source voting initiative, and get the public to accept and ratify it. The only way we're going to accept the validity of any electronic devices that assist the voting process is to open the software to the public that runs said devices. If we can create an open secure and reliable e-voting software platform, and have it ratified by a board of respected professionals, we could get the public to accept the software and use it across the country instead of that despicable swill that we cannot trust because we have no idea what it's doing under the covers. This is really not that hard of a problem. We can create a solution that ensures complete anonymity and security, while making it completely reliable and to give a confirmation for each person that a vote has been cast and counted for them, which they could check via internet or by phone system. No one will ever be disenfranchised again. This system would provide a paper trail and will have complete referential integrity. This is not a hard problem. We can be thorough, we can be correct. The source will be open -- so everyone will be able to double-check the methodology. After we've created this voting software, we can hold our own guerrilla vote. Open up voting in the contested states, or anywhere we like. Take the numbers, see what we come up with. Push the envelope -- take matters in our own hands. It'll be a good test of the software, and further it will collect the real data of the vote. We can make some noise, and publish the results. Any time we like, as often as we like. If we don't trust the vote, let's hold our own. Let's take the power back folks. Let's make them listen. I'm looking around the web, and I'm finding open source voting projects. I have to do the research to find out who is doing what out there, and see if there's a project to join that's worthy, or if we want to start our own. Anyone that's interested, send me mail and let's do the due dilligence. Do a google search on open source voting. check out the projects. Post your research results. I'll be doing the same. Then, let's make our move.

So, today I wrap up my morning sending my friend Dennis on his way back to Santa Barbara and playing pirates with my son. I frantically pack my bags at noon to be out of the house by 1pm to make a flight at Oakland airport to Calgary leaving at 4:19pm. Of course, I don't get out of the house until nearly 2pm. I leave without my watch, and my rings, but I shine that on because I can't find them (they ended up being on the phone table at home where I SWEAR I looked like 30 times). I get to Oakland to QuickPark around 2:30 or so, start pulling my bags out of my trunk, check for all the things I might need, like my wallet and my pa... FUCK! I forgot my passport at home. I do not have enough time to make it all the way home, and all the way back again, and I can't go to Canada without it. I'm screwed. Visions of missing my plane flood my head as I get onto the Quickpark van, and I do the only thing I can do -- I call Julie. I tell her of my stupidity, and I throw myself on her mercy, and she hops in the car and brings me my passport in record time, and I make my plane. I swear, my wife is a superhero. Many a lesser woman would have laughed at me, or called me names, or tell me how much of a dipshit I am. She registered a single missive that "I suck", which indeed I do, but then she cheerfully popped the kid in the car, and brought me my passport, and was even compassionate and understanding about my mood (which was frazzled) about leaving my passport at home. Supportive, selfless and kind. Superhero.

I owe her big.

As much as I want to just trudge sullenly into my corner and silently weep and grumble about the 'Red States', I keep getting exposed to more and more evidence that this vote was completely rigged and we were robbed. There are reports coming in about counties not only in Ohio and Florida, but across the nation that have tallied more votes than registered voters (one county in Ohio tallied over 1100% votes to registered voters), there are counties in Florida that are 69% registered democrat, but only 29% voted for Kerry. The list goes on and on. Listen to 960 AM, or slashdot, or check out blackboxvoting.org (which is down right now due to the fact they exceeded their bandwidth limit, or they were intentionally brought down, who knows). The major news networks will not cover this story, because they have been told not to. This is major big brother watergate deep throat follow the money sort of crap, and if we don't all get informed, check our facts, and become public mouthpieces to this story, by blogging the shit out of it and telling everyone we know and making noise, the powers that be are gonna get away with it, and they're gonna pretty much be able to any damned thing they like. Why do you think we invaded Faluja several days after the election? DISTRACTION, folks! There's all sorts of bad about this, and whether you voted Democrat or Republican, we were ALL disenfranchised by this event. We didn't have an election, we had a staged media event, and we all bought it. We bought the argument that we are a nation divided. We bought this was all about moral issues. Guess what -- it's not. I propose that more of the nation is behind getting this jerk-off and his crony administration out of office than we think. There are no red states or blue states -- there are 50 black states where no actual vote happened. And it wasn't just the presidency, it was several senate seats and most assuredly several members of the supreme court. We have to fight back. We could even get this last vote invalidated if we scream loud enough. Let's do it over, fair and square. I know it may feel futile, but we have to fight.

So what do we do? First off, listen to all the indicators. All the exit polls have been grossly incorrect, where they've been accurate indicators for 200 years EXCEPT during Bush Elections. The exercise suggested for fact-checking is simple -- pick a county, any county in the union. Go online and find their websites, and you can find out the list of registered voters for the county. Then compare the registered voters to the number of votes collected on election day for that county (also available online). You'll see quite quickly that they do not match up, and in the wrong way -- more votes have been cast than voters. This is invariably the case, especially in the battleground states. Do it once, do it acouple of times. Post the results on your blogs. Tell each other, make some noise and make it impossible for the media to ignore it all. We have to rely on each other -- we have to become the media on this one. I know we're all busy -- I'm fucking busy too. But I am gonna carve out some time in my schedule to become educated on this one. It's so easy to chalk it all up to tin foil hat conspiracy theory -- but all indicators point to the fact that this is in fact the single worst act of state-sponsored criminal activity this country has ever seen, and we're just rolling over and taking it if we don't take our goddamn country back, either with the truth, or by other means if necessary. Read your consitution. It's our duty to act as patriots on this one, and drive out the vipers of corruption. I love my country too much to just take it lying down. It's easy to joke about moving elsewhere to more liberal-minded countries, but the truth is -- fuck that, this is MY country and I'm gonna fight for it.

This is what it was like living through the sixties, boys and girls. It's our turn to pick up the torches. Are you ready for the challenge?

First -- fucking coffee is my monkey. I am it's bitch. I can't help myself. I am managing to keep from abusing, but I have a big ol' cuppa joe right in front of me right now. I just can't start my day today w/o a little pep. mmmm. pep.

I weighted myself at 227 today -- I'm up 7 lbs from my high comfort weight. Time to start counting points again.

Anyhow, Disneyland. It rocked, and rocked hard. Going to Disneyland with your three-year-old is the most magical thing you can do. Everything is immediate and real. And can I say, Haunted Mansion NBX style is my favorite. thing. ever. They completely redo the inside to be Nightmare Before Christmas, and Eli LOVED it. we went on it five times.

First of all, Chai is not coffee, so this cup of hot chai isn't cheating...

I am so in denial...

Second, check this shit out:

http://chrisevans3d.com/files/iq.htm

This just reinforces my theory that smart people vote Democratic.

We were fucking robbed. That's all there is to say about it. I've been reeling all day long with nothing to say, and no outlet for this pit of despair in my gut, but now it's turning into righteous anger. It's our job to stay ever vigilant so this shit never happens to the American people ever again. I know it's a split nation, and I know it's a close vote -- that all has to change. The majority of Americans *ARE* Democrats, and the exit polls showed us the real winner of the election. The shitty e-Voting machines were manipulated and we let it happen. And to all those who voted for fear and hatred, it's our job to show them the light. I may be an idealist, but I think that if you try hard enough, you can reach anyone. If you just keep trying, you'll move the mountain. I love this country too goddamn much to give up on it, even when it's given up on me. There's a theif in the presidency, and a cabinet of greedy fools. We the people have lost control of our country, and we need to take it back. That means keeping our eyes open on this lame duck bastard and calling him to the carpet on every little goddamn thing he does. That means being vocal, and keeping records of his statement, so we can bring it out to show the American public when he goes back on his word (and he will, repeatedly.) George W. Bush may not be a flip-flopper, but he's really good at lying (wanna by some wood?!).

We cannot lie down. We cannot Go Quietly. Let's revive the spirit of the 60's and become true anti-establishmentarians. Let's fuck some shit up and fight the dominant paridigm. Let's change the world, all over again. We can't depend on the government anymore to do our job for us. Fuck the government. Let's take control back ourselves. WE THE GODDAMN PEOPLE!

First off, I've picked the wrong week to quit caffeine. I'm buzzing along on my first cup of coffee for the day, hopefully I can keep it my only, but I'm not calling any shots, since it's election night and I have a long way to go before I'm gonna sleep.

Second, I am finding it very hard to concentrate on anything but the results of today's elections. This whole week has had me on edge, and today it all begins. I wish we could know for certainty what the results will be at midnight tonight, but chances of that are slim, with battles happening already on the ground over access to voting, and I'm certain votes will be contested. Is this now a permanent fixture to our voting process? If so, things are extremely broken, and we need widespread election process reform. I'm not comforted by the thought that a full one-third of our country's votes are being cast on e-Voting machines, most of which have no paper trails, and have already had failures being reported.

The thing that really blows my mind is just how close this election is going to be -- the propaganda machines have been spinning, and they have been working. What should by all rational means be a slam-dunk for Kerry is going to be hotly fought and struggled. One half our nation supports Bush -- how can that truly be? Be it foreign or domestic policy, or just the downright manipulation and dishonesty, it should be clearly apparent to the public that Bush is only in this game for himself and his buds. Why do poor rural folk support him? Because he's cast himself as a religious conservative, and he continues to use fear to motivate his base. That base, should belong to the Democrats. The ideals of Christianity are more in tune with the ideals of the Democratic party, not with the Republicans. But, this is the way politics have shaped up in this country.

But, it comes down to hateful issues that aren't religious, but are driven by fear and bigotry, such as Gay Marriage, and kicking ass in the Middle East. I just don't understand that point of view. I never will.

And let's talk about when this whole thing gets contested, if it goes to the Supreme Court again, we can all read how this is going to play out. And if Renquist dies or retires while the court is in recess, Bush can appoint a new chief justice w/o a senate confirmation. He could effectively pick the guy who will put him in office. How about that!

What can I do, other than sit and bite my nails and plan my exit strategy if this country goes south. I will try to stay positive, and channel my energy into the polling places. We shall overcome.

Let's take our frikkin' nation back.