2:11:03 PM  

comment

It strikes me that electronic voting is a worthwhile thing, but thus far the systems involved do not inspire confidence. For what it is worth, as a technologist and politically involved citizen, I support the school of thought which argues that electronic voting systems should be open source. Contrary to how it might seem to the casual observer, the fact that the security mechanisms involved in open source voting systems could be seen, does not necessarily make those systems any less secure. If the security mechanism is carefully scrutinized by large numbers of technically knowlegable software developers from all political parties (a safe assumption), the security mecghanism will be the most secure available. -- Lewis Downey

Yahoo! Activist: E-Voting to Be a 'Train Wreck' (AP). AP - Ambushing registrars and tracking down executives at their homes and offices, a literary publicist has uncovered conflicts of interests and security flaws inside the companies that make electronic ballot machines. [Yahoo! News - Reader Ratings]

1:41:01 PM  

...Recalling the long, drawn out process in the southern state, nine lawmakers, including four blacks and one Hispanic, sent a letter Thursday to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) asking that the international body "ensure free and fair elections in America," according to a statement issued by Florida representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, who spearheaded the effort. ...

1:22:58 PM  

...Viewers may come away from Mr. Moore's movie believing some things that probably aren't true. For example, the film talks a lot about Unocal's plans for a pipeline across Afghanistan, which I doubt had much impact on the course of the Afghan war. Someday, when the crisis of American democracy is over, I'll probably find myself berating Mr. Moore, who supported Ralph Nader in 2000, for his simplistic antiglobalization views.

But not now. "Fahrenheit 9/11" is a tendentious, flawed movie, but it tells essential truths about leaders who exploited a national tragedy for political gain, and the ordinary Americans who paid the price.