ledge of liberty
We Will Not Concede
Sat Nov 6, 2004 19:00
68.54.49.185

Fellow Democrat,

First off -- congratulations on a Kerry victory! Contrary to popular opinion, we got the vote out on tuesday and with record numbers. Also contrary to MSNBC and CNN, the youth vote DID turn out -- they did their part, but these news stations would like you believe the election was lost to apathy. Well, that's just not the case.

This Neo-Conservative Party has once again hijacked an election. There has been widespread voter fraud, intimidation and disenfranchisement. These blackbox voting machines, conveniently placed in major swing states, have in several reported instances recorded more votes for Bush than the total number of registered voters in the entire county. One county in Florida reported that once voting machines reached a certain number -- they started counting votes in reverse -- actually subtracting votes from the total. Predominantly black and hispanic neighborhoods were given only a few machines to vote on, causing voters to wait in line for 7, 8, 9 hours at a time and ultimately give up.

Diebolt, the electronic voting machine company, has created a corporate sponsored ballot box. If you live in a swing state, chances are you used one of their machines. Walden O'Dell, CEO of Diebolt announced in August at a $1,000 per plate dinner, "I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year". In the case of Ohio, these machines were placed by Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell who's also the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign. And wouldn't you know it -- only days after the election, Diebold was given a no-bid government contract for ATM service in Iraq.

Your Constitutional right as an American citizen is a paper ballot -- not a paper trail, not a receipt, not an audit trail, not a sticker -- a PAPER ballot. Corporate sponsorship of an election is a declaration of a Fascist regime and it will not stand. This is America, and it's time we show these Neo-Conservatives what it means to be a patriot when democracy is under attack. We will not concede.

May democracy bless America,

Peter Smith

http://www.ledgeofliberty.com/2004/11/we_will_not_con.html