"Diebold, Big Julie and Dots"

When George Plunkett, a powerful Democrat who died over 75 years ago was asked, "why don't reformers last in politics?" he replied, "Because they are amateurs and you must be a pro."

The people responsible for reelecting Republicans are pros. They appear to be willing in so many ways to "have their way with America."

The Diebold (and other) electronic voting machines are manufactured and sold by people who are anxious to assist the Republicans in maintaining for the next hundred years the awesome power they have accrued in the last five.

These machines are certainly able to create the contemporary equivalent of "stuffing the ballot box." You can no more trust a machine to be honest then you can trust most people to be honest. No matter how well we build machines, they can, and often are, tampered with by people who seek their own desired outcome.

Someone with whom I was discussing the corruptibility of voting machines asked me if I trusted my banks ATM machine (many manufactured by Diebold). I said, "Yes, because when I ask it for $20 and it gives me the money, I have instant verification."

A Damon Runyon character featured in the Broadway and movie version of "Guys and Dolls" was named "Big Julie," a Chicago mobster who scared everyone to death and who hated to lose at anything. He carried a very big gun wherever he went, and in order to win when shooting craps, he used special dice. They had no dots on them. He called out what was on the dice, saying something like, "I remember where de dots was." Of course he never lost.

I compare the Diebold system with Big Julie. Neither of them allows anyone to verify where the spots are. We should leave the 21st century advancement of corruptible technology and return to punch cards and such. Perhaps these old systems have flaws, but they are less subject to being corrupted then the electronic machines that are now being thrust on us.

Accept that the human condition is flawed, but don't let Big Julie, or Diebold, design our voting machines.

Norman Horowitz
TRUST, BUT VERIFY

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