I'm back..... can you guess why?

[garybeck]

Like many, I gravitated to DU in 2004 when the election results made me question the voting machines and our democracy.

Like many, I learned A LOT about the voting machines, Diebold, and all that stuff, and I was very active for several years.

Like many, I posted thousands of posts here on DU and made many friends and comrades, many of whom I never knew their real names. I logged on to DU several times a day and felt it was one of the most important things I was doing, working to raise awareness about the problems with our election system.

Like many, I felt like I accomplished some things but started to feel like I did all I could and I was getting tired of sounding like a conspiracy theorist.

Like many, I eventually got frustrated with the lack of action and progress in the fight for election integrity. (I did start a state-wide organization and we forced our SoS to institute audits. So we did accomplish something!)

Like many, I got to the point where I felt like I hit the law of diminishing returns on election integrity. I became more active in issues like climate change and/or _______ (you fill in the blank).

Like many, I voted for Bernie in the primaries and Hillary in the general election.

Like many, I watched the results on the night of 11/8 (which happened to be my 50th birthday) and at first I was in shock and denial and then I started feeling sick to my stomach.

Like many, after a short period of walking around like a zombie, not knowing which way is up, and not being able to watch the news at all, I started to realize what might have just happened.

Like many, I know there are a lot of angry redneck racist tea party people in this country, but I REFUSE TO BELIEVE that they outnumber the people who are open minded, don't judge people by the color of their skin or religion, and have general decency. While the race did get close a few times, Trump was NEVER ahead. I know many republicans who refused to vote for Trump.

Like many, I'm back. I haven't logged on to DU in many months. Probably a couple years. But this is the place where it all began and this is the place where we need to be again. I don't think it's a coincidence that this site was hacked on election day. They're probably watching us. They're probably reading this.

So we might not accomplish everything we want. But we have to try. We have to. This is just TOO FUCKED UP that Trump is going into office and there are serious questions about the election. We have to try to get more people aware of the fact that it's not voter fraud and people voting twice and dead people voting. It's the fact that a very few number of voting machine companies are counting the votes in this country. It's literally like we are handing all the ballots to them and just trusting they are counting them right and not even checking to see if they are. Except for the few states that have robust audits, we have no reason to believe the election results. And the fact that Hillary was significantly ahead in the pre-election polls and the exit polls is a HUGE RED FLAG that needs to be waved WIDE and HIGH.

We are much further along than we were in 2004. So we should be able to get even more accomplished this time.

You might remember the Solar Bus website, where I logged and archived nearly every article I could find about election integrity. I had a newsletter, and all kinds of stuff. Well the archive is still online at http://solarbus.org/election/archives.shtml

I gotta get some rest. I'll be back tomorrow. Good night y'all.

[Joanie Baloney]

1. Welcome back!

Although I wish it had been for a victory party!




-JB

[cilla4progress]

2. Yes! I agree with what you say and

Experienced here as far back as '04. I too believe this election was stolen by a combination of a branch of the FBI and Putin. But I'm not seeing a clear way to use this to halt Trump's inauguration. What has to happen to make that a reality?

[garybeck]

3. um

I don't know what the goal really is, if it is to halt the inauguration, or what. I think that in general we to start with getting more people to realize how technically easy and feasible it is to steal an election in our country. I have said way back then that we need a famous person, a spokesperson, to spark it. To make it legitimate. To change it from a conspiracy theory to a real, scientific, plausible thing that could actually happen in our country. I think people are primed for it. People were shocked on election night and not expecting it. to many it still doesn't make sense. But we have to break through. We have to become legitimate. The media has never been kind to us. They don't take this seriously and they laugh it off as a conspiracy. Everyone except Lou Dobbs at CNN. And by the way I have DVDs of almost every episode where he covered this subject in a real way.

Could you imagine if Rachel Maddow started talking about the voting machines? We need something like that.

[FrenchieCat]

5. Amen....

[Hannahcares]

8. Can we use"cumulative vote share analysis to dissect 2016 fraud

Welcome (and welcome back) to all on DU interested in studying and taking action against election manipulation. I too have been here since 2004, worked at the state level to get paper trails for electronic machines, and am totally convinced that the very surprising 2016 election results reflect targeted tampering at the precinct level.

Beth Clarkson, statistician in Witchita KS has done some excellent work with the so called "cumulative vote share analysis" and elections in kansas.
http://www.emporiagazette.com/opinion/editorials/article_f9117df4-c68c-5778-b32d-48332495e423.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share

I will locate the links to earlier studies from Francois Choquette and others who have studied highly unusual vote patterns and post them tomorrow.

It may be possible to gather the precinct data from a few select areas where Trump significantly outperformed projections and the exit polls. If this data can be assembled quickly, it may be possible to quietly request a justice dept inquiry.

Edward Felton who studied these processes at Princeton I believe now has a role in cyber security with the Obama administration. So, remember the old DU when we went out and gathered data to support our theories? Maybe it's time to get active in this way again! We can probably find the precincts in Wisconsin, Michigan and PA where the opportunity to "pad" results existed. And a look at the 90k voters in Detroit that didn't vote for President?

If we mobilize quickly, we just might be able to aggregate the needed data to launch an official inquiry. Still remember my first readings of the many simple ways the machine codes can be tampered with...I think a segment of the voting public and hopefully our heroes in the press ( eichenwald, farenthold, corn,etc. would study the data and start to understand how this election ( and future elections) can be compromised.
And hopefully the progressive press will reach out to long established Election Scholars like Jonathon Simon to learn and publicize what might have happened to produce the stunning ( and illegitimate) 2016 election results.
Of course they took DU down on election night - we "political junkies" would have noticed immediately what was happening!
So - DU - I say let's give it a try! As
Trump famously said, what have we got to lose? Peace, Hannah

[herding cats]

4. You sure know how to make an entrance.

Welcome back, your timing is impeccable! We need every person we can in the fight.

There's not a doubt in my mind there were suppressed votes, intimidated voters and other shady dealings by the GOP. Not a doubt one.

[cilla4progress]

6. Yes , I think you hit it on the head.

And even better someone from within their GOP, like Graham who is calling for an investigation of Russian hacking of the election, or Megyn Kelly on another topic who is exposing Trump's criminality, stalking, thugishness

[FrenchieCat]

7. We need to find a way to organize in all of the states

To petition and to protest for auditable voting machines, and the type of voting apparatus that will ensure fair elections.

I think there are enough people mad as hell right now to garner that kind of a movement. When the million women march on Washington on the 21st, that should be one of their demands, clearly read on signs held. If we cannot trust the manner in which our votes are counted, then we really don't have a democracy… Which is the way I'm leaning.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. It's even MORE fucked up that Hillary accepts the results.

[SammyWinstonJack]

14. 1000000!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

16. Waiting for Bill to come out saying he likes Trump.

[yallerdawg]

10. I think this is much like when we identify...

the first indisputably innocent person to be executed as a capital punishment.

It won't save that one person, but it could change the chance of it ever happening again!

If this election result for Trump was to be indisputably called into question, in just over 2 years we could have a Democratic Congress and pass voting reform legislation that ends this rightwing attack on the legitimacy of our democracy.

We can fix this.

[cilla4progress]

11. What if we

Start calling it a coup? Get it into the vernacular, common usage, for naming what is going on.

Since that clearly is what happened

[ancianita]

12. Like many, you've learned what the Long Game means. Glad you're back.

Here's to hanging tough.

[MyNameIsKhan]

13. Garybeck very thoughtful post... Welcome back

[liberalla]

15. i was remembering you the other day

I saw a green bus that reminded me of the solarbus.

That 'gut' feeling, sick to my stomach? yea, I got it too. It is inconceivable to me that people aren't going to demand more truth, accuracy and verification standards in our elections. We shouldn't just trust and believe, we should KNOW. Calling it CT is a shortcut to silencing and shutting down further research and investigation.

CT <> crazy, absurd, impossible, implausible or even unlikely.

[mopinko]

17. welcome back gary.

imho, the biggest failure of the dems is their failure to stand up for free and fair elections.

[Hekate]

18. Welcome back, garybeck.