I'd like to say upfront that if you're fed up like me, please go to places like here and tell these trolls to stfu once and for all.
I originally intended Part 2 to focus mainly on Bev's accomplishments in this short series of diaries but breaking research compels me to revise the series, and devote part of this chapter instead to the "BASHBEV.COM" team - the history of their involvement with Bev, their lies and half-truths, and their clever use of long-winded sockpuppets like Neil B Forzod, used not only to attack Bev, but other people involved in our fight for honest elections as well, like Kathy Dopp of Open Voting Consortium (OVC), which had to deal earlier this year with a previous Daily Kos member known as Jamboi.
Troll fighting isn't easy! Joe McCarthy-like impulses can lead someone to see trolls anywhere and everywhere, and must be held in check by logic and painstaking research. It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it, and I readily admit I enjoy outing them.
To begin, I'd like to publicly state that Neil B Forzod is none other than David Allen, Bev's former publisher, and the team captain of "BASHBEV.COM".
UPDATED 12/21/05 11:55 AM - as discussed at the bottom of this diary, it now appears that Neil B Forzod is not David Allen, team captain of the "BASHBEV.COM" group at DU. This does not however dilute in any way my arguments in favor of Bev Bev Harris and her work, nor my arguments that the "BASHBEV.COM" group continues to engage in neverending, uninstigated attacks against Bev, and those who do not bash her. END OF UPDATE.
SECOND UPDATE 12/21/05 7:25 PM - There is no evidence I can find that Neil B Forzod responds quickly to any comments that posters make to him. Even in threads where he is very active, he is not responding quickly. This means that he very well could be copying and pasting messages that he or someone else is drafting. Perhaps he is a paid troll. Or perhaps my concession was a little too early. I really don't know.
I've also discovered a Neil_B_Forzod, who may or may not be the same person or entity behind Neil B Forzod, who has been trolling a single message board about Varian Medical Systems, Inc. for over a year. I do not know the connection between opponents of Varian, and BBV research, if any connection exists, at this time.
THIRD UPDATE - Neil B Forzod was recently tombstoned at DU, and a lot of additional evidence has been found to prove that David Allen and his gang are intentionally spreading disinformation in a neverending campaign to harass Bev Harris. David refuses to answer legitimate questions.
Please open your eyes and your minds and see what I see.
If I am right, and I know I'm right, that David Allen, Bev's former publisher, is Neil B Forzod, who obviously knows enough about the subject to post long winded messages that dazzle folks who can only read a few sentences before accepting everything they read as the truth, then this is pretty damning evidence that there is a coordinated group of trolls, some like NC Beach Girl - who only shows up in Bev-bashing threads, who are determined to make as much noise as they can to drown out real truths (please see BBV ADMIN's Post # 2992, and the last part of #2993, in response to Neil B Forzod's crap).
And even if I am wrong, and believe me, this research stuff isn't easy sometimes, it does not take away in any way from the mass amount of research and evidence that I have collected prior to today.
And now, for an abridged look at some history up to the moment when Bev Harris announced to the world that she had discovered Diebold source code...
- Before David Allen, before blackboxvoting.org and .com, Bev Harris felt the wrath of a voting machine company.
- Prior to January 23rd, 2003, Bev Harris had already planned to write a book about what she was discovering. After failing to find a mainstream publisher interested BBV, she was contacted by David Allen, "a former systems engineer turned comic-book publisher." "Soon, Harris had a contract with Allen's Plan Nine Publishing..."
- From the beginning, there was a major difference in their opinions about the machines. Bev believed the machines were intentionally being used to cheat in elections, while David claimed that "rigging elections was too hard". In my opinion, the warning signs were there, but at the time, Bev had very little help in her crusade against the machines.
- On January 23rd, 2003, Bev Harris found 40,000 files of Diebold Election Systems' source code. She downloaded all of them, and took the steps necessary to bring them into public domain. She engaged lawyers and researchers behind the scenes, the first "BBV" website was quietly designed - I believe by both David Allen and Roxanne Jekot, and (to the best of my knowledge) on June 29th, 2003, she announced to the world via DU that the files were downloaded and distributed. Please take note in this very important thread of both who is, and who isn't present...I'll discuss this much further in my next chapter.
- Bev Harris, a somewhat ordinary woman, wife, mother and grandmother, had become a hero. She found something that had to be done, and she fearlessly took charge of it and did it. June 29th, 2003, was a day of celebration and extreme joy, and it appeared that all of DU loved the woman who was leading the fight against the machines. And DU had a right to celebrate - many people on DU pitched in behind the scenes with research and "kicks," long before I even knew there was such a place.
But Bev was also very vulnerable at this time, dependent on both known and unknown folks with various screennames, as she traveled down a path that was suddenly a lot more dangerous. She certainly couldn't do it all alone, yet there was no way to tell who was really on the side of truth and justice, and who was only pretending to be. No school exists to train people in researching election fraud, and not a single manufacturer of the machines voluntarily hands out technical information necessary to understand them!
This very important thread is indicative of the game playing that was going on, just a few short months later.
I'll continue from this point in my next diary.
Thank you for reading,
John Dean