Report condemns e-voting

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Friday December 01, 2006 · 3:55 PM PST

2006/12/01 · 15:55

According to the WaPo, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued a recommendation condemning paperless electronic voting machines. The NIST advises the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which is charged with looking into ways to improve the voting process in the U.S.

mtfriend

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Tuesday November 28, 2006 · 12:43 PM PST

2006/11/28 · 12:43

This past weekend marked the official start of the holiday shopping season. After stuffing themselves with turkey, dressing, and mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving, millions of Americans got up earlier than they would on a work day to hit the department stores the day after Thanksgiving.

This always leads to CNN, MSNBC, and local affiliates running stories on the chaos in the malls. As usual, I saw stories about people getting trampled at Wal-Mart, violence at the mall due to "holiday rage". I even saw a twelve minute piece on CNN devoted to "holiday rage". What is it? What are people doing to curb it. What meds should we take to reduce the rage in all of us during the holiday season. Two days after Thanksgiving, I was heading to a local coffee shop to get my morning fix and there was a line of people outside of PetCo waiting for the store to open. Is there some kind of hot dog toy on the market this year that all of the dogs want? What could you possibly need to wait outside of PetCo, in the cold, for?

mtfriend

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Sunday November 12, 2006 · 5:39 PM PST

2006/11/12 · 17:39

With the midterm election behind us, it's time to look forward and begin to talk about what the Democrat controlled Congress should focus on first. I've argued that the best opportunity awaiting the Democrats, in terms of a bipartisan victory early in the '07 session is raising the minimum wage. That may be the best opportunity, but passing the increase would not be as an impressive victory as doing something about the voting problems this country faces.

For all the "spreading democracy" rhetoric the Bush Administrations spews, they've done little to nothing to improve the US electoral system. This despite the fact they've been personally engaged in two scandal-ridden elections. Soon to be Speaker Pelosi talked the talk about voting reform before the election, but that has dropped of the radar screen. Bringing the issue to the forefront before November 7th only to whisper it in passing after winning control of the Congress leads me to believe the issue was floated out there only to place doubt in the minds of voters in case the Democrats lost. This started the dialog before it was actually needed.
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Washington's 8th District still too close to call

mtfriend

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Saturday November 11, 2006 · 12:00 AM PST

2006/11/11 · 00:00

Washington's 8th District remains one of a little more than a handful of House seats still up in the air, following Tuesday's election. Incumbent (R) Dave Reichert still holds a slim lead on Democratic newcomer Darcy Burner with more than 60 percent of the ballots counted. As the ballot counting continues, Burner is beginning to look into the feasibility of a recount.

The most recent numbers show that Reichert holds a small, 2-percent, lead in the race. In order for an automatic recount to occur, Burner would need to make up a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Washington law allows for a recount if the margin is within a half a percentage point and 2,000 votes of each other. That looks like a tall task for Burner.

mtfriend

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Monday November 06, 2006 · 9:26 PM PST

2006/11/06 · 21:26

As the president and other Republican candidates scour the country for one final weekend before the midterm elections, one of their key talking points is that Democrats are weak on terror and have no plan for Iraq.

This is from Bush's speech yesterday in Nevada-

"Oh, I've heard the Democrats. I'm sure you have, too. If you listen for their plan on Iraq, they don't have one."

The president's plan has been "stay the course" - errr. "We were never stay the course "- errr. "Let's just say we plan to win."

Great plan Mr. President!

mtfriend

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Wednesday February 23, 2005 · 10:37 AM PST

2005/02/23 · 10:37

Nicholas Kristof has a moving Op-Ed in the NY Times today about Darfur . The piece describes several photos that accompany the column. Kristof has been given access to an African Union archive describing the genocide in Sudan with documents and more photos.

The archive also includes an extraordinary document seized from a janjaweed official that apparently outlines genocidal policies. Dated last August, the document calls for the "execution of all directives from the president of the republic" and is directed to regional commanders and security officials.

"Change the demography of Darfur and make it void of African tribes," the document urges. It encourages "killing, burning villages and farms, terrorizing people, confiscating property from members of African tribes and forcing them from Darfur."

It's worth being skeptical of any document because forgeries are possible. But the African Union believes this document to be authentic. I also consulted a variety of experts on Sudan and shared it with some of them, and the consensus was that it appears to be real.

mtfriend

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Sunday February 13, 2005 · 3:53 PM PST

2005/02/13 · 15:53

I saw this on the local news the other night and I couldn't believe it.

An Iraqi refugee who returned home to visit relatives says he was detained and severely mistreated by U.S. soldiers for 12 days.

Jawad al-Hamid, 34, of Everett, told The Herald newspaper the soldiers didn't feed him or let him use a restroom for several days, fastened his handcuffs so tight that he was left with scars on his wrists and pushed him to the floor of his tiny cell.

mtfriend

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Tuesday February 08, 2005 · 9:57 AM PST

2005/02/08 · 09:57

This is cross posted at The Pacific Daily .

The budget that President Bush put forth yesterday would likely raise electricity rates in the Northwest by 20 percent in each of the next three years. The plan calls for Bonneville Power Administration to begin selling electricity at market rates instead of wholesale. Currently BPA, under federal law, must sell electricity at wholesale rates. Read More

Troubled Youth

mtfriend

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Tuesday February 01, 2005 · 9:47 AM PST

2005/02/01 · 09:47

This is cross posted at The Pacific Daily .

Okay, here is a definite sign that I'm getting old. Generations before mine have accused us as being lazy and uninformed, but this really scares me. Read More

Zarqawi Was Captured..

mtfriend

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Monday January 31, 2005 · 3:33 PM PST

2005/01/31 · 15:33

This is crossposted at The Pacific Daily

And then let go. According to a Newsweek article this may have happened.

Failed suicide bomber Ahmed Abdullah al-Shayea stated that Iraqi police had Zarqawi in their custody in October. Al-Shyea was picked up from a hospital after apparently being wounded in a suicide bomb attack, but it later discovered that al-Shayea was thrown from the truck he was driving when it blew up. Since then al-Shayea has been talking. Read More

Bush's Secret Health Care Plan

mtfriend

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Monday January 31, 2005 · 9:01 AM PST

2005/01/31 · 09:01

While all of the public attention has been on Social Security since the election, it seems that the Bush Administration is quietly planning to overhaul the health care system. Are we being ambushed? Read More

Insurgent Numbers & The Election in Iraq

mtfriend

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Thursday January 27, 2005 · 12:06 PM PST

2005/01/27 · 12:06

How many insurgents are there? No one knows. I think this story in the LA Times conveys the mixed message very well. The first estimates of the number of insurgents was somewhere around 6,000 to 9,000, but according to the top US commander in the country we captured or killed more than that just last year.

U.S. forces killed or captured about 15,000 suspected militants in Iraq last year, the top U.S. commander in the country said Wednesday, suggesting that the American military has underestimated the strength of the insurgency.

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Report condemns e-voting

While we shop, Iraq burns

Bring back democracy

Washington's 8th District still too close to call

What's the plan?

Saving Darfur

Iraqi Refugee Abused While Visiting Home

Budget Plan Will Raise Energy Costs in Northwest

Troubled Youth

Zarqawi Was Captured..

Bush's Secret Health Care Plan

Insurgent Numbers & The Election in Iraq