Tannishblog

Via the Democracy for Illinois newsletter, I find a video every American must see: Votergate - The Movie. I also discover the blog Get In Their Face which scopes out the Republican agenda of deceit, corruption and cronyism which has characterized our electorate since the turn of the century.

Share this clip with your friends. Even if they’re die-hard backers of our tyranny, they should be offered the seeds of doubt. Perhaps they’ll grow - with all the BS they’re being fed, their minds should be fertile enough.

Watching the video, I’m stuck by one thing: Basing a "mission critical" software package on Microsoft Windows is a fool’s mission. Nothing can be more critical than the tabulation of our votes. To put such data on an insecure platform is ludicrous. Windows has proven for over fifteen years it’s lack of security - a whole industry of virus protection and spyware detection has sprung from that fact. At the very least, a UNIX clone would be acceptable for the tabulation of our nation’s most important data.

Despite the technical aspects, I can’t believe our leaders are so removed from reality as to believe the salesmanship of companies like Diebold. Can anyone believe that any publicly-traded organization has any motives beyond turning a profit? Certainly, the sanctity of America’s voting rights, the security or accuracy of information is not a requisite. "Buyer’s remorse" just doesn’t say it. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s time we eliminate a professional political caste in this country.