When Uncrinkled Eyes are Smiling

You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard,
a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato.
There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!
-- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

Four years after his pointless invasion of Iraq,
President Bush still confuses bullying with grand strategy
--Trash Talking World War III, NYT editorial

__________

The New York Times reported last week that "(a)ll five voting systems used in Ohio, a state whose electoral votes narrowly swung two elections toward President Bush, have critical flaws that could undermine the integrity of the 2008 general election," says Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, the state’s top election official (Ohio Elections Official Calls Machines Flawed.)

Ohio has a legacy of fraudulent and questionable voting activity, from rigging recounts to a former Secretary of State who simultaneously co-chaired Bush's re-election campaign in Ohio in 2004. Smacks of Katherine Harris here in the Shady State.

Voting is the bedrock concept of a democracy. But as the saying goes, it is not who you vote for, but who counts your votes. Both Ohio and Florida are pivotal states, yet both have serious voter fraud issues.

Brunner proposes replacing all of the state’s voting machines,with optical scan machines that read and electronically record paper ballots that are filled in manually by voters. "She called for legislation and financing to be in place by April so the new machines can be used in the presidential election next November," but "could not estimate the cost of the changes.

Ranger guesstimates that since neither state is a suburb of greater Baghdad, there will not be sufficient funds to emplace an expeditious fix. The U.S. celebrates purple thumbs, but ignores election integrity at home. Without a paper trail, accepting election results are acts of faith that must be taken as truth without verification.

From the converse, can anyone estimate the cost if the changes are not made? In the 2000 Bush vs. Gore case, dissenting Justice Stevens said "(a)lthough we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law."

Hardware problems must not complicate an already shaken faith.

Add to these reported problems the fact that the pool of presidential hopefuls doesn't provide much inspiration, as they are simply playing a game called "Survivor, Washington D.C.", and their script is anything but reality. When leaders are not addressing the life and death issues of a society, then voting is a meaningless construct.

But this essential problem is beyond the nuts and bolts of the voting machines themselves. Regardless of the merit of the politicos fronted, those dumb beasts -- the machines -- should work without a hitch.

This story hits especially close to home since Tallahassee saw voting fraud up close and personal with the pancake made-up, second-rate Secretary of State Katherine Harris in 2000. That was a dark time, and the news crews which descended heavy upon our town were pressed to find a smiling face to front on the evening news.

In 2004, proud lunchtime lines snaked for blocks down Monroe Street, people of all ages waiting to mark their ballots at the courthouse. Smiles galore. That election I [Lisa] held a placard at two different sites in town, and the responses encountered presaged what the next four years delivered.

At the first corner was a group of perfectly manicured Ladies Club members nearby the Ladies Club, as it was. Approaching, smiling, with my Kerry sign, I was told by several in unison, through smiles with uncrinkled eyes: "You're on the wrong side." Well, there were no representatives from the opposition yet, so really, there was no "other side." Clearly, wherever I was meant to be was not with them.

Next, at our main intersection I joined a hearty band of fellows. However this time we were met with the opposite attitude. Instead of the "yours and mine" of the ladies with a sense of property, here the approach was, "What is yours is mine."

The George W. Bush throng aggressively infiltrated our group, causing us to move down the street a bit. And with each move, it was the same -- infiltrate and appropriate. It became a very unpleasant, confrontational experience. It was bullying.

Americans are losing faith in many democratic institutions and an unhealthy ennui spreads, yet many still turn out at the polling stations. Their efforts must not become so much kabuki theatre.