[ale] [waay OT[ OT: Electronic Voting in GA

Fri Jan 31 16:31:59 EST 2003

Christopher and other concerned ALEers,

On the topic of ethics in government, there is something you can do. 
First, I've attached a meeting announcement geared toward concerned 
citizens who (1) want to know what's going on in Georgia regarding 
ethics in government and (2) want to do something to keep our public 
servants in line when they spot mischief.

Second, for those who would like to see a great plan for ethics 
reform check out the Constitution Party of Georgia's press release at 
http://www.gaconstitutionparty.org/app/site/site.nl/site.ACCT73046/mode.items/sc.9/category.2/it.I/id.25/.f

From: WILLIAM PHILLIPS <billphillips at speedfactory.net>
To: ale at ale.org
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2003 15:24:08 -0500
Subject: Ethics in Government Group - Training Class in Marietta

The Ethics in Government Group announces an
ETHICS COMPLAINT TRAINING CLASS.
           ( Crucial timing for major actions at the Capitol! )

Sunday,  February 2
2:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Rose Lane Baptist Church
534 Rose Lane Street NW
Marietta, Georgia 30060
cost:  $3.00 for info pack of handouts;  plus voluntary donation.
Taught by George Anderson, expert on using ethics complaints for reform.

You CAN influence government (it's easier than you thought)!

Directions:
Get on Church Street, from either:
(a)  I-75 ---- exit on highway 5 spur westbound; leads to Church Street
(b)  the Square in Marietta ---- drive north on Church Street
turn west onto KENNESAW AVENUE
    (Church St. - Kenn.Ave. intersection is about 1 mile N of the square)
Take the first left, (crossing RR) - ROSE LANE STREET is to the left
Rose Lane Baptist is at 534 - training is in the FELLOWSHIP HALL.

Please RSVP to Bill Phillips at 404-237-1481.
Bring a notepad and pen.
You will learn how to research and file ethics actions expertly.

Top reasons to attend this event:
1  George will discuss proposed ethics reform legislation.
2  CRITICAL ACTIONS are occurring NOW - come for a briefing.
3  County and municipal corruption disclosure project now underway.
4  New office of Inspector General will have a major impact this year.
5  Ethics reform momentum is HIGH with the new administration!

This training will have press coverage - will focus public attention to
ethics!
Encourage your friends to attend.
A good turnout will demonstrate public support of ethics reform.
--

At 2:52 AM -0400 10/19/02, Christopher Bergeron wrote:
>What scares me about this whole thing is the lackluster view of it 
>from our most intellectual citizens (IMHO):
>us!  We're the "thinkers" of our generation/community.  Believe it 
>or not guys, we're among the few that have rational (often labeled 
>as [OT]) discussions about topics of actual substance.  I _highly_ 
>fear what has been happening in my/our government (corruption; 
>vote-compromise/buying; etc...) While I'm not saying the last 
>presidential election was "bought"; I intensely feel that something 
>is amiss, "in general".  No party lines; no bias; just a feeling 
>that there needs to be a massive injection of integrity and honesty 
>into our "elected officials".  I don't mean to jump on a soapbox 
>here, but I think it's an innevitable topic that will come up 
>eventually (especially given ALE's nature to jump [OT] onto topics 
>of general relevance/importance to the community).
>
>Anyway, my point is this:
>I'm a relatively young man (at 26) and I'm facing a SERIOUS dilemma 
>for both my generation and the generations that I'm supposed to 
>create, develop, and nourish.  My quandry is obvious...  What has 
>happened to ethics in this country?  Especially in light of the 
>events of last Sept.?  Since then, I've seen a lot of local 
>contributions; but nothing politically that really strikes any 
>"real" chords.  Are there no JFKs or other _genuine people_ that can 
>INSPIRE the naive/new generations (like myself?)  Would someone with 
>integrity please step up to the plate?
>
>What to do?
>
>I vote.  I write letters to my "elected officials".  I do what I can 
>for the community.  I just feel so helpless...
>
>...should I wait and see if my letters make difference?  Am I 
>jumping the gun?  I don't doubt my country what-so-ever; I'm just 
>starting to doubt how it's being guided.
>
>I apologize sooo much for this WaaayOT post.  I'm just so flustered 
>by "things" that I just don't know where else I can vent. 
>Hopefully, someone, somewhere can make things better...
>
>
>-CB
>
>
>P.S.
>If no one steps up, I will be running for the presidential candidacy 
>in 2022.  My platform will be HONESTY, INTEGRITY (doing what is 
>right just because it's the right thing to do), and 100% AVOIDANCE 
>of CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS (hopefully my controversial* views will 
>provide necessary media exposure).
>
>
>*controversial in this sense is integrity and honesty (nothing more)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>aaron wrote:
>
>>On Friday 18 October 2002 16:23, Danny Cox wrote:
>>
>>>Just to really make your weekend:  today, I received in the mail a
>>>pamphlet describing how the new electronic voting machines in GA will
>>>work!  They're secure!  They're accurate!  They're fast!  They're
>>>completely un-auditable!
>>>
>>>	Sorry, is my cynicism showing?
>>>   
>>>
>>
>>Yes. Clearly.  ;-)
>>And its very justifiable:
>>
>>The voting machines are touch screens, a technology that has proved 
>>itself completely undesirable to the public and consistently 
>>unreliable through a thousand attempts at kiosk and banking machine 
>>interfaces.
>>
>>Not that the faulty touch screens will make much difference. To my 
>>understanding the POS voting boxes run on wince, so their 
>>reliability is already close to nil.
>>
>>I know I'd feel a WHOLE lot better about the things if the 
>>completed ballots were printed out in hard copy so that voters 
>>could actually confirm and check the form for errors before 
>>dropping it in the ballot box for counting (and physical auditing 
>>and recounting when necessary).
>>
>>This discussion reminds me that the inventors of democracy, the 
>>ancient Greeks, could call for a vote to banish (ostracize) 
>>incompetent or power hungry leaders for a decade at a time.  The 
>>balloting was accomplished by dropping marked pottery shards 
>>(ostrakon) in a barrel. I could consider accepting the new voting 
>>machines if doing so brought a return of the option to banish all 
>>the bad public officials by simply busting up a little dinnerware!
>>
>>peace
>>(after justice)
>>aaron
>>
>>
>>---
>>This message has been sent through the ALE general discussion list.
>>See http://www.ale.org/mailing-lists.shtml for more info. Problems 
>>should be sent to listmaster at ale dot org.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
>---
>This message has been sent through the ALE general discussion list.
>See http://www.ale.org/mailing-lists.shtml for more info. Problems 
>should be sent to listmaster at ale dot org.

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