Ahmadinejad in New York City

Americans consider the World Trade Center "Ground Zero" as sacred ground. They do have a fairly legitimate claim. After all, it IS in the United States and some 2900 or so American casualties were suffered in the calamitous attack.
However, Americans conveniently forget that some 70 or so other countries also suffered losses in that attack. Most of those foreign casualties remain missing or their remains are still unidentified. One of those nations suffering loss is IRAN.
As much as Americans and their leadership would like to demonize that country and its leadership, the President of Iran does have a legitimate interest in visiting the site and placing a wreath, or whatever other homage he wishes to convey on the part of his government, regardless of the underlying political motives.
Ironically, Saudi Arabia, a country we consider a close friend, suffered no casualties at the WTC, unless you count the hijackers of the two planes. Yet how do we treat their condolences?

On another note, Americans pride themselves on the Constitution's guarantees of free speech. Yet, rather than talk to nations such as Iran, or let them talk to us, we would rather bomb them back to the Stone Age. If actions speak louder than words, what does that say about Americans? The Iraq Commission, the generals in the field...in fact, just about everybody but the American President, have concluded that the Middle East problems will only be solved through diplomacy. That means talking....speech!!! America may win every battle militarily, and probably will. But those victories will come to nought without speech....diplomacy....talking.
So Americans should welcome whatever President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has to say, whether it be at Columbia University, the United Nations, the WTC, or from his bully-pulpit back home. It opens debate. It begins diplomacy. It is a Constitutional imperative for each American, and especially their leadership, to listen, understand, respond, and negotiate. Be diplomatic and stop the rhetoric, the ad hominums, the demonizations and the body counts. Understand what they really want and need, and vice versa. Maybe...just maybe...there is a solution.

Hizzoner Mayor Rudy Giuliani

There was once a mayor in NYC. One day he decided to run for President of the United States. When it came time to campaign and debate, it was discovered that he spoke no words. Every utterance from his mouth was numbers. To be exact, three numbers....and two of them were the same. During this period, in a sophisticated twist....a slash was inserted 'twixt one number and the pair of twins. To every issue he answered the same.....9/11, 9/11, 9/11....and so it went. His every speech, it was the same....9/11, 9/11, 9/11...and so on. The implication of the succinct soundbite was, of course, to let all know that he would protect us from the evils of the world.



But where was this saviour on that beautiful, clear, blue sky, pleasant morning on 9/11/01??????????????????????



It seems that some years earlier, some car bombs were detonated in the garages of the WTC. Fortunately, that day, no catastrophic damage was done. But it was enough of a warning to all that steps be taken to ensure that security issues be addressed, and most especially, that first responders can communicate and coordinate their activities. Two main recommendations were, as was known and yet ignored, vital. One was to move central control operations from the World Trade Center to Brooklyn. The other was to make sure that proper radio equipment was available to all critical personnel. Neither was done by Hizzoner Giuliani nor his predecessors.



Hizzoner Mayor Giuliani was nowhere to be found for hours and hours and hours after this beautiful day changed for the worse. Central Command was gone. Communications were a jumble. When finally he was found, all he could utter was...911.......



This is not the words (er...numbers) of a saviour!! This is nothing more the the mewling of an unprepared pretender who let his city down.



That is why at least one of the firefighters' organizations endorse......Christopher Dodd?!?!?!?!?



A vote for Hizzoner, on the basis of his campaign, is not a vote for security....it is a pity vote for a city whose former mayor does not deserve such pity. By using 9/11 as his rallying cry, he only deserves your contempt.

Electronic Voting Machines in California

I am starting my blogs with this relatively benign issue. Though it happens to be directed at the Secretary of State of California, I think there is equal applicability throughout the USA, and possibly elsewhere in the world where the premise of democratic representation is proffered. It may also give you some insight to some of my background and experience....and, as a result...biases...Cassandra.

Dear Ms. Secretary

I quite defininetly missed the March 30th deadline for commenting on the voting machine issue. I'm not a lobbyist, government official, vendor or any other special interest that would have been on the alert for this study. I am nothing other than an American citizen, resident Californian, and regular voter, who, incidentally tries avidly to keep up on current events. Yet I still missed this March 30th deadline. I suspect that I am not in the minority....by far.

The brouhaha over the various electronic voting machines strikes me as highly disingenuous. Errors rates from paper ballots, lever voting machines, punch cards, and other methods of vote casting are well documented in California and the nation by people and organizations much more into this issue than I am. Groundwork has been laid to, at the very least, suggest that at least two of the amendments to the constitution are being compromised. These methods of voting tend to have their error rates exaggerated on voters who are poor, less educated, mentally compromised, disabled, etc....basically, the disenfranchised. This is above and beyond whatever corruption may occur at the voting area that may be in the effective control of the dominating party in the area. Trying to discern ballot tampering is a difficult task. Most of the delving into voter tampering is, by necessity, manual, labor intensive, and expensive.

Electronic voting, on the other hand, seems to lend itself to computer modeling. Marked differences in specific voting patterns in a demographic area, it would seem, would be easy to flag and investigate. After all, sophisticated computer models are already being used by both parties to gerrymander the voting districts in order to keep the party in power....IN POWER! This is a local, state, and federal pattern of devaluing individual voter's rights.

It appears that electronic voting is being attacked because it may, more certainly, uncover voter tampering and corruption. Not because it is flawed. Computer errors are far ranging and stick out like a sore thumb. In the other methods of voting, it becomes difficult to distinguish voter's errors, counter's errors, and tampering. I've worked as a clerk and as a computer programmer in my career. Believe me, a computer error compared to a clerical error is like an atomic bomb to a pin prick. It is noticed!!!!

Personally, I have been blessed with above average intelligence, but cursed with below average eyesight, with some occasional difficulties in motor skills. As a consequence, I have screwed up punch ballots, mishandled lever machines, and had my difficulties navigating paper ballots. However, with the electronic machines, I have been able to thoroughly review my ballot before casting it. I am confident that my personal error rate with electronic machines is zero. What happens afterward I cannot say. But I am confident, based on years of computing and my observation of redistricting, that tampering, if occurring, could be easily uncovered.