The Bev Harris story for newbies and those who have forgotten

[Stephanie]

I am reposting David Allen's thread from last spring - we have a lot of newbies here at DU who missed this whole saga. I recommend you go to the link and read Bev's comments on the original thread. Note that she will not answer the questions as to what she did with the thousands of dollars she raised at DU and Randi Rhodes to investigate the 2004 election theft. Has that mysterious "firm" published its accounting yet? Where is the MONEY?

_______________________________

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=340188#340195

Kelvin Mace Donating Member
Tue Mar-08-05 01:44 PM
Original message

The Bev Harris story for newbies and those who have forgotten

I have noticed recently that we have some folk trying to rehabilitate Bev Harris's reputation by explaining away her erratic and toxic behavior as some kind of "misunderstanding".

Access to DU is critical to Bev since it was an important source of cash, helpful researchers and credibility in the past and even more important now that she has been disowned by folks like Randi Rhodes, Keith Olbermann and Mike Malloy.

For those who do not know or have forgotten (or have no access to the archives) the reason Bev was banned from DU, I recommend to you this official post:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x108750

The responses to this thread are numerous, but vitally important to read, especially if you are contemplating giving your time or money to Bev Harris and her organization.

Bev painted herself as a liberal activist (lately she strives for the status of a non-partisan) which she is not. She ran an anti-Clinton product site (Bev Dudley is Bev's real name and Talion is her company):

http://web.archive.org/web/19991112034903/http://www.talion.com/cigar.htm

She claims Bush supports her cause and was currying favor with freepers:

http://www.thoughtcrimes.org/bushbought.htm

She also counts people like Jim March as one of her most invaluable aids (and a board member of her foundation):

Happiness is a confirmed kill
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1960084

Diebold is gonna make me rich
http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=90961&perpage=999

She invents "crisis situations" where she claims to be attacked by "The Forces of Evil™", when nothing of the sort has happened:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1993788&mesg_id=2000755&page=

She has routinely smeared fellow activists, allies and colleagues:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1993788&mesg_id=2000755&page=
http://www.thoughtcrimes.org/blame_andy.htm

(in this post she fires her staunchest ally for things she herself actually did, not Andy)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2021230

She refused to cooperate with other activists putting her ego ahead of stopping BBV:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1438290

Her most egregious sin on DU was her publicly denouncing fellow anti-BBV activists and researchers, accusing them of seeking to profit on "her" work and file a qui tam law suit, when in fact, she herself had done precisely that after swearing she would NEVER do that:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1960084
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1960084

Bev Harris has done more damage to this issue by her pursuit of cash and fame. She has alienated countless reporters in print and TV with her legal threats and abusive rants which makes legitimate activists job that much harder.

Keith Olbermann
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6533008

Randi Rhodes
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/12/14/182917/13
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=157626

(Bev claimed that Randi's show raised only $23,000 for her. Insiders put the figure at $300,000)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=171696

This is not about opinion or points of view, it is about fact. The links above discredit Bev with her own words. Bev's rebuttals to this evidence is denial, distortion and new lies, either directly on her site or here by proxy.

Bev has damaged people's reputation, cost them large sums of money with her legal bullying (and I am not talking about Diebold and election officials, I am talking about her former activists and helpers) and wasted much of their time dealing with her foolishness. she has impugned the integrity of established liberals on this board and elsewhere and accused even John Kerry and the Democratic party of conspiring to suppress evidence of vote fraud (huh????).

I know I will take heat from some folks for bringing this up again, but unfortunately it needs to be brought up to keep people from wasting time and money on this woman. Bev was banned once, then allowed back on after pledging better behavior. She was then banned again for abusing her fellow DUers and threatening Skinner et al with litigation. To allow proxies to post here and promote her agenda violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the ban. Our moderators have chosen to allow this and I will not fault them (they are trying to be fair). I will, however, rebut her proxies at every opportunity.

Some of the posts above are archived on other sites because Bev has a habit of purging her earlier posts when they contradict her current story or to remove embarrassing statements (Jeff Gannon anyone?).

The above links are by no means exhaustive and others are free to add their own emails, links and experiences. If you are going to defend Bev, please spare us the following:

1) "It doesn't matter if Bev libels people and lies as long as she stops BBV". (the ends justify the means).

Do I really have to explain to liberals why this is immoral?

2) "Bev said..."

We have heard Bev's claims. We have seen no evidence to back up these claims. We have been very careful to document our claims with links, and emails (Bev's own words). The word of someone caught in multiple lies is not "proof".

3) "Bev has saved the world, what have you done?"

*sigh* If you really wanted to know (and I don't think you do) you could avail yourself to Google and find out what we are doing. We never claimed to be saving the world, just fighting paperless voting the best we can.

4) "After all Bev did..."

Bev didn't do it on her own, she had help, LOTS of help. She rewarded the people who helped her by publicly smearing them.

5) "Prove to me that Bev..."

I've posted the proof. Read the links.

6) "No, point me to a summary or specific post that proves your case."

Sorry. Unlike Rush Limbaugh, we require our proofs to be read IN CONTEXT. Anything else would be unfair and deceptive. Reading and thinking is hard work. It's why we are liberals and not freepers.

It is regrettable this is necessary, but Bev's "help" is making our job harder.

David Allen
www.blackboxvoting.com
www.thoughtcrimes.org

[joeybee12]

1. Someone mentioned she's back again--have no context for that...

...is she making news somewhere once more?

[Stephanie]

2. here >

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2310658&mesg_id=2310658

[Debbi801]

3. Thank you, Stephanie.

I appreciate you reposting this. :hi:

[Stephanie]

4. I'm sorry I had to do it.

I hoped never to hear that woman's name again.

:hi:

[Debbi801]

5. Yeah, I was a little blindsided when I saw her name...

posted in both LBN and GD. Brings back too many bad memories.

Have a good day. :-)
Debbi

[Stephanie]

6. oh god she's in LBN too?

like a bad penny

[dpbrown]

7. If Bev moved resistance to BBV, more power to her

Democracy is more important than pissing a few people off on a discussion list.

[Stephanie]

8. You really miss the point

She burned Randi Rhodes and Keith Olberman. She gathered evidence against Diebold in CA and then traded it in perpetuity for cash. She raised funds here and all over the internet that she has never accounted for. She's a grifter and she's not on our side.

[dpbrown]

9. I don't think I miss any points

I see someone who did work to expose black box voting. Whether or not she pissed some people off along the way is less relevant than the work she did. The people who want to "burn" her could just as easily be doing democracy a disservice through their vendetta against her. People who fight for democracy are not automatically saints, nor do they have to act like saints.

[Stephanie]

10. No. Her actions have undermined the election reform movement.

She has withheld evidence, sold evidence for settlement money, discredited the entire movement by refusing to be transparent about fundraising, cost us time and credibility and smeared us by association. If I were a Diebold executive I would be very happy about the results of Bev Harris's efforts.

[bettyellen]

13. Well said Stephanie! People are fools to think it's merely personal.....

there's a lot more to it than that.
The nasty personal vendettas were just the icing on the cake, but it wasn't the whole cake.
:bravo:

[tavalon]

14. Oh please

She has been such a detriment to our cause, it isn't even funny. Good riddance to bad rubbish and she is very, very bad rubbish.

Edited to add: She missed the whole thing in Ohio. She had more important things to do um, somewhere else.

[bleever]

11. Who remembers "Brad Menfil"?

Supposed insider exposing the electronic theft of the 2004 election.

In the early hours after 11-2-04, when people here were scratching their heads and wondering how the election results were remotely possible based on the math, "Brad Menfil" was showing up on the internet(s) claiming to have proof that Kerry actually won by 2 or 3 million votes.

People here saw that source as bogus from the get-go. Even though we knew the story he was pushing was true.


Classic Rove.

Taint the truth, with a false source. Like he did when he used people like Jim Hatfield, like Ben Barnes, like Dan Rather and Mary Mapes.


The stolen election continues, nonetheless, to be dug up by dedicated people. We're not suckered by the likes of "Brad Menfil", or Bev Harris, anymore.



P.S.: Anagram of "Brad Menfil": blind frame.


Just my .02.

[paineinthearse]

12. Andy, RIP

[NMDemDist2]

18. yup, it's the Andy story I'll never forgive her for

in spite of her many other betrayals, that was the final straw.....

[PurgedVoter]

15. Thanks, I had some Inkling of this but it is nice to have clarity.

[Nutmegger]

16. Very helpful!

:popcorn:

[kster]

17. Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia S*CK!!

don't they?




REST IN PEACE----Andy.

[IndyOp]

19. Your take on Hursti and his success hacking Diebold in

Florida (and hopefully in CA) -- I've winced when I've seen his name associated with BBV, but hoped that he was an independent operator whose work would stand on its own merits.

Your take? It is okay for me to be *happy* about Hursti?

[Stephanie]

20. This post is by Kelvin Mace aka David Allen, a NC activist

You should ask him - I don't know who Hurst is. He's around here somewhere.

[NC Beach Girl]

24. Hursti

I think I'd be happier with Hursti's attacks if they weren't going to replace the machines in FL with ES&S machines that have not been through the same tests. :shrug:

[enough already]

21. Thanks for the reminder

I sent her money I really couldn't afford after hearing her on Randi's show. I'd still like to know what she did with it.

[sybylla]

22. Thank you!

Even us oldtimers need a refresher once in awhile.

[NC Beach Girl]

23. Never forget!!!

Thank you so much for posting this. The day I forgive & forget what this woman has done to so many good people is the day I stop calling myself a Democrat. I am SO SICK of all the bots and Bev aliases spewing their "but we don't care what she does" crap...it kept me away from DU for months because I just could not stand to read it anymore after Andy died.

BEV HARRIS is NOT a democrat.

BEV HARRIS has REFUSED to provide financial records for her NON-PROFIT organization.

BEV HARRIS has LIED over and over again (about having EVIDENCE of election fraud, about over-turning the election, about collecting money to get more evidence of election fraud, about finding source code that proved fraud, about making a movie, about having Florida tapes that proved election fraud, about who owned the Florida tapes, about firing Andy, about her board members being members of her family, about her publisher David Allen, about how much money she has collected, that Democrats stole elections in FL, to Randi Rhodes, and about Keith O.).

BEV HARRIS has stacked her board of directors with family and friends. She recently quietly hired board member and repug gun nut JIM MARCH as an employee but has made no official announcements about it nor announced who replaced him on the board. How many non-profit board members suddenly start working as employees??? This is ALL VERY SUSPECT especially considering the fact that she will not provide financial records.

BEV HARRIS used to sell how-to pamphlets on how to MAKE MONEY FROM POLITICAL ISSUES at the same time she was SELLING BILL CLINTON CIGARS (of course, she also LIED about selling those until someone pointed out that the address and phone were hers).

But all of that is just fine...if people wanted to embrace a con artist because she was selling them something they wanted - "hope", then who can blame them and you could probably even forgive her grifting because she may have accidentally gotten some good publicity while stealing everyone's money.

But, she crossed the line and SHOULD NEVER BE FORGIVEN because of what she did to Andy.

BEV HARRIS fed people at freak republic information about ANDY so they could HARASS HIM. She egged them on with details about his partner, his house, and anything she could think of to make it look like he was a scam artist. She did this publicly under her own name at fr, so there is NO DENYING that she did it. Her actions led to his treatment being delayed because the donations that DUers sent in to help him were tied up by freepers making complaints of a scam. While he was ON HIS DEATH BED she was posting about how she doubted he was really sick and she happily participated in the horrible site freepers created that ACCUSED ANDY OF LYING ABOUT BEING ILL even AFTER HIS DEATH.

It's disgusting that anyone would still think that her actions are "ok". I'm sure even Hitler accidentally did something good a few times, but that does not wipe the slate clean...does it?

BEV HARRIS is a lying, evil, con-artist who may or may not be insane. I am thoroughly convinced that she works for a voting machine company in some capacity and this is why she continues to hide her financial records so that nobody can see where some of her cash flow comes from. All the smoke and mirrors serve to keep everyone focused on ONE company and ignore the fact that several other companies are selling the same types of machines all over the place.

I noticed in her latest story that Diebold machines were replaced with ES&S machines which ODDLY have NOT BEEN GIVEN THE SAME TEST as the machines they are replacing. You don't see her talking about that though, perhaps it would jeopardize her ES&S paycheck? Why would you replace one machine for a similar machine without testing for the same problem first? Any WHY would an "activist" not request that the new machines be tested??? Yeah...I'm sure there is an excuse somewhere (and even if ES&S is paying Bev, the bots will say it's OK because *insert stupid reason here*!).