Can This Machine Be Trusted? more about voting machines!

Now Time magazine has got into the debate TIME.com: Can This Machine Be Trusted? -- Nov. 6, 2006 -- Page 1

More for the conspiracy theorists

Read this about voting machines and just ponder whose paranoia is twitching?

U.S. Investigates Voting Machines’ Venezuela Ties - New York Times

14 days to go

In two weeks time we will be at the polls, unless of course you vote online. One question remains after looking at the process is - how do you have a recount?

But back to the excitement of the campaign (sarcasm of course - ed). Has anybody seen a candidate yet? I have had seen two. But there are 14 days left.

So what did you folks think of the ACM, the format and the candidates? Probably not much if you go by the number of people who left at the first opportunity. As I said earlier I saw a couple of duds and and a couple of standouts and the rest were - the rest. Was it only me or did anyone else feel that some of the incumbents really looked as though they didn't really want to be there. And how long can Lloyd Williams employ the bizarre campaign strategy of conceding the race every time he opens his mouth. He stated that he will spend $8,000 of his own money to be in the race - he should have bought lottery tickets and had some fun instead.

What a bunch!!

If that is the lineup in Hamilton Township God help us! Not an original idea in the place and all they want to do is to fight a non-existent war with Cobourg. This pathetic plethora of parish pumping politicians want to look good to the grey hairs of Hamilton Twp. BTW who lives in Hamilton Twp anymore - how about Cobourg North, that's where the tax base is. And the way to look good to the local chapter of the Lanark Landowners Association is to beat up on Cobourg all the time missing the point that cooperating with Cobourg on local issues would lower operating costs. Water for instance: HT has paid about 5 million dollars for a municipal system to cover Baltimore on a limited way - twice the cost it would have been to bury a water main to cover a much larger area. Don't talk to me about the policing costs versus coverage. When the Town covered the Twp they had a consistent coverage of all the department at all times. Now the OPP is in all they did was to transfer 12 more officers to the County. That's only 3 actual people on each shift - for the County. The election question for this bunch of dimwits should be "Where is the OPP?" not "Oh Cobourg is so bad to us!!"

An amusing question

A friend from Toronto noticed all the signs in Cobourg encouraging us to vote for WILLIAMS X. He wondered if Williams X was related Malcolm X ?

here's the lineup

Here's the lineup from last night's event. A couple of standouts a couple of duds and and the rest, well the rest.

We left after the first session, as did a lot of other people. I guess that most had only come to see their choices confirmed. Not much fire, the format precluded that, and not much new stuff either. We did learn that Mr McCaughey is very proud of the development at the harbour because he has created a "population" that can sustain the downtown. Others didn't think so. Nobody wanted to talk about payraises - cowards, and all wanted to talk about something that they have no control over - jobs! The only new idea came from Rob Harper, he wants the Town to create a special fund that would allow underprivileged kids to tap into to pay for recreational opportunities - well done. As for the school trustees: one grizzly veteran who knew the issues inside out, one woman who appears to be the perpetual PTA person and a slick neo-con who read every single answer from his crib sheets in response to planted questions. I never thought I say this but Gordon you looked good.

Another source code leak for Diebold

This is serious stuff. For those of us who have been dissenting about the use of electronic voting machines, those that cannot be recounted or verified are especially troubling to democracy watchers. Another source code leak for Diebold
If you were watching the conspiracy theories and tales from Ohio and Tennessee in the last Presidential elections, how can anyone have faith in these monsters?

401 widening announced and you wonder why there are cynics around!

Click here to see the latest announcement from the Fiberals. London Free Press - National News - 401 widening announced No wonder people look at government announcements with dismay, just how many times can you milk the same topic?

For the benefit of our out of town readers this project was started months ago and now the complaint is just how long can you tie up the 401 whilst building the extra lanes.

What a bad week for the campaign watchers!

This week has been a bad one for those of us who expect candidates to do something. Read this email from a correspondent who is also pulling out his hair over the lack of action by the candidates:

My kids are asking: Where are the election lawn signs?

Lawn signs - by their very nature - are in fact - a public discussion on issues. So where is the democratic debate? Where is the fertilizer manure for our lawns?

It’s election time and my kids want to start playing our favorite car game - “cast your vote”. Our tradition come election time is this. When we drive around town everyone picks a candidate and we start counting the signs until we get home.The candidate with the highest sign count gets elected!

Best part is there are no spoiled ballots - unless a heavy wind blows a sign half-off its stake.

It’s a daily education of civics and democracy in the car! And you can switch your candidate every day like Belinda crossing the floor.

But my little deputy returning officers have nothing to do in their mobile polling station! This isn’t just a game we are missing out on - we are losing valuable quality family time.

On a 10 minute drive around town there are only a handful of signs to count On this basis -this election is to close call. Two minutes in the car - its game over and they’re starting ask - are we there yet??

With manicured lawns the norm in town -(and only one candidate with a naturalized lawn with a sign that barely peeks out from the weeds - sorry meant wild flowers) - I have an unobstructed sight line from my car. So, I can only assume that candidates have abandoned the sign wars strategy this time around.

Where is the value of local government in action if the candidates don’t make the effort to litter our lawns with coreplast signs and wooden stakes?? Where is the character education building opportunity for my children?

I spent a fortune on Chismbop so they could do long-division with their toes and use their fingers for their 9x‘s table! The current game - with four weeks to go and with no name brand presence by candidates means they can do it in their head without a calculator or a pencil. It takes them fewer than the five fingers on their little hand to come up with a total. On this basis, our daily voter turnout works out to be about 5%.

Where’s the challenge - where’s the math skill - where's the fun?

Maybe the times are a changing. Maybe a clean sweep of the recognizable names in Cobourg is in the making? Maybe voters will only be selecting a name on the ballot they don't recognize as the safest choice for change?? . Will voters want to mark an 'X" against only the candidate(s) they don't know or recognize! If so than - the best election strategy for the new crop of candidates in Cobourg is to fly under the radar. The candidate with the weakest campaign team and fewest signs will have the strategic advantage!

No lawn-sign discourse from our candidates or family values in the car? It's a price I would gladly pay.

The next event that candidates and voters have to watch is the All Candidates meeting at the local High School on Tuesday. This sterile and neutered event is "staged" by the local Chamber of Commerce and hosted by the designated wit of the moment as defined by the C of C. This event is a waste of space for all due to its choreography and slanted questions and the lack of time given to the candidates to express their views. For example the Deputy Mayor candidates get 1 (one) minute to open their remarks. What the heck can you say in one minute?

Still we will all troop down to the meeting expecting to see something and then after being dazzled (!!!) by the candidates we will all dutifly vote. Some of us want more to look at and as another observer has noted this charade is an affront to local democracy and all the local media is to blame. We wanted more than just puff pieces and little coverage from the media. I did hear that "Huff & Puff" has made up his mind but it is a secret just who he will be voting for I can hardly wait for that announcement. I have also heard that another candidate was heard to complain that the local papers will not print letters to the editor from candidates during the election period. Do something and maybe you will get some coverage.

A full weekend for the candidates

This weekend and the next are the only days that count for the candidates. The last two weekends of the campaign. But you say there are four weekends left before voting day. Well on November 2nd online and postal voting begins. Pity the poor candidate who turns up at the door on the dates after that to be told, as a go away line, "I have already voted and I voted for you!" As you can see there will many disappointed candidates on election night, having been told all week that they have had the votes in the bag by savvy voters who voted early, they will now be hit by reality. As the kids say "Reality sucks" and that means only one thing - the voters lied.