I got so depressed this morning reading for the 1,000th time about the Miami County, Ohio election fraud that I went straight to the phone and called them. I just hung up from a conversation w/ Diane Miley, Dep. Dir. of the Bd Of Elections for Miami County. Nice lady who candidly answered my questions concerning the 2004 election anomolies. She says the 19,000 votes added after 100% of the precincts had reported was due to a simple error on the part of Ohio's Sec. of State website. She said the first tally was the 75% count, not 100%.
She invited me over to examine any and all records without a FOIA formality. She said their office was shocked when Miami County became part of the election fraud theory because not one person called her to ask what happened.
I am not purporting in any way to have investigated this claim. I just made a simple phone call and received what seems to be a plausible explanation.
Is she telling the truth? Who knows? What I do know is every single one of us has to stick to the "facts" as best we can perceive them. It feels like we are on shaky ground as a Democracy. My heart races every time I read anything about the corruption of our election system. I feel so torn between the move on crowd and the tinfoil hats, which I have been known to wear proudly.
What to do with this sense of dread/urgency/fear/frustration/anger/loss?
Organize. Congregate. My husband and I sold our sosoCal real estate this winter and came home to Miami County after a 25 year hiatus. I could not stand to let "fraud" occur in my own backyard. We've purchased a 100 yr old vaudeville theatre and hope to provide a forum for local/state/national candidates to listen to the voters and constituents in our rural area. No pre-screening.
Our government needs to better reflect its people. We need to remove the animosity from political discourse and get together to solve the enormous problems facing this country. Forget partisan politics. Forget hot button issues like gay marriage and late term abortion. Let's agree to disagree and table those issues for now. Let's talk about things that can't wait, like, um, getting our troops out of Iraq. Like, say, avoiding the impending bankruptcy of our federal government. Or maybe becoming energy independent ASAP.
Was there some fraud in this past presidential election? I'm sure of it. Was it wide-spread, diabolical work of the Dominionists set to take over the world and galaxy? Maybe. Does simple human error on the part of human election workers account for some of what looks like fraud? Undoubtedly.
Dear friends, we can't be freaking each other out any more. We have got to get down to business and never let a good candidate lose because the vote is so close that a little bit here, a little bit there will make a difference. We need a tidal wave, people. Start rocking your own little boat.