A story just ran on CNN about how voting machines in Jackson county are turning people's votes republican when they voted Democrat.  Make sure your machine records your vote correctly!

 

Voting machine troubles in West Virginia

In West Virginia's Jackson County, there were some reports that voting machines were accidentally recording the wrong vote.

"I went in there and pushed the Democrat ticket, and it jumped to the Republican ticket for president of the United States," said Calvin Thomas, an 81-year-old West Virginian. iReport: Tell us about your early voting experience

Thomas has voted in West Virginia in every election since Harry Truman defeated Thomas Dewey in 1948.

The same thing happened to his daughter, Micki Clendenin, when she cast her ballot. In both cases, poll workers at the site had them touch the screen a few more times, and the voting machine changed their ballot to their candidate choice.

"The lady came in, and she was -- very nicely, she just said, 'it's just been doing that.' She said, 'just hit it again.' So we hit it again, and this time it did go to Obama," Clendenin said.

CNN's Brian Todd reported that at least five voters in two West Virginia counties said they encountered the same problem. State and local officials said that they were isolated cases and that poll workers fixed the problems so the correct vote was cast.

The machines were manufactured by an Omaha, Nebraska-based company, Election System and Software. The machines will be used in several states this year and were among those that had problems in Ohio in 2004.

The company said that it has inspected the machines in West Virginia and that no one there has cast an inaccurate vote.

The West Virginia secretary of state's office said most of the problems occur because the machines are not calibrated properly. Jeff Waybright, the Jackson County clerk, disagreed and said the problems reported there were probably the result of voter error.

"There are no problems with the machines as recalibrated," West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland said Wednesday, according to an Associated Press report. "Touch-screen voting in West Virginia is accurate and secure."

Ireland directed the state's county clerks to recalibrate their machines each morning during the early voting period and on Election Day.

I voted today, and you can vote early too.  Here is a list of early voting times directly from the WV secretary of state....

County Early Voting Hours

Barbour 8:30-4:30 M-F

Berkeley 9:00-5:00 M-F

Boone 8:00-4:00 M-F

Braxton 8:00-4:00 M-F

Brooke 9:00-5:00 M-F

Cabell 8:30-4:30 M-F

Calhoun 8:30-4:00 M-F

Clay 8:00-4:00 M-F

Doddridge 8:30-4:00 M-F

Fayette 8:00-4:00 M-F

Gilmer 8:00-4:00 M-F closed for lunch 12:00-1:00

Grant 8:30-4:30 M-F

Greenbrier 8:30-4:30 M-F

Hampshire 9:00-4:00 M-Th 9:00-8:00 F

Hancock 8:30-4:30 M-F

Hardy 9:00-4:00 M-F

Harrison 8:30-4:30 M-F

Jackson 8:30-4:30 M-F

Jefferson 9:00-5:00 M-F

Kanawha 8:00-5:00 M,T,W and F 8:00-7:00 Th

Lewis 8:30-4:30 M-F

Lincoln 9:00-4:30 M-F

Logan 8:30-4:30 M-F

Marion 8:30-4:30 M-F

Marshall 8:30-4:30 M-Th 8:30-5:30 F

Mason 8:30-4:30

McDowell 9:00-5:00 M-F

Mercer 8:30-4:30 M-F

Mineral 8:30-5:00 M-F

Mingo 9:00-5:00 M-F

Monongalia 9:00-7:00 M 9:00-5:00 T-F

Monroe 8:00-4:30 M-F

Morgan 9:00-5:00 M,T and Th 9:00-1:00 W 9:00-7:00 F

Nicholas 8:30-4:30 M-F

Ohio 9:00-5:00 M-F

Pendleton 8:30-4:00 M-F

Pleasants 8:30-4:30 M-F

Pocahontas 8:30-4:30 M-F

Preston 9:00-7:00 M 9:00-5:00 T-F

Putnam 8:00-4:00 M,T,W and F 8:00-7:00 Th

Raleigh 8:30-4:30 M-F

Randolph 8:00-4:30 M-F

Ritchie 8:00-4:00 M-F

Roane 8:30-4:00 M-F

Summers 8:30-4:30 M-F

Taylor 8:30-4:30 M-F closed for lunch 12:00-1:00

Tucker 8:00-4:00 M-F

Tyler 8:00-4:00 M-F

Upshur 8:00-4:30 M-F

Wayne 8:00-4:00 M,T,W and F 8:00-8:00 Th

Webster 8:30-4:00 M-F

Wetzel 9:00-4:30 M,T,W and F 9:00-4:00 Th

Wirt 8:30-4:00

Wood 8:30-4:30

Wyoming 8:00-4:00

**All counties will also be open from 9:00-5:00 on Saturday October 25th

The Kanawha county early voting center is in downtown Charleston across from the mall next to the courthouse. 

All other counties early voting will be in your county courthouse. 

Also, if your voting for John McCain, your supposed to vote on November 5th. 

I've heard a lot of bitching out there about Obama's plan to tax people making over $250,000 a year pay more in taxes.  Well I've got news for all you whiners, if you want, I'll trade you spots in life.  You take my 10 dollar an hour job, and I'll take two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year at 50% taxes, hell, make it 80%.  I'll be as happy as a pig in shit.  I don't know how much Obama will raise your taxes to, but I'll bet you'll still be making more money than I could ever dream of, even after I get my BSN.  So, if any of you still want to whine, go tell it to the people in the homeless shelter, marines on the GI bill trying to make it through college and working full time, tell it to single mothers, tell it to the coal miners and construction workers.  See if we care.

Hey,

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Thanks!

At first I didn't like the fact that Obama chose Joe Biden as his running mate.  I thought that Bill Richardson (Govenor of New Mexico, Hispanic male) would be an obvious choice.  The west is an area where the Democrats are weak and Bill might have been able to deliver a couple of those south western states because he's hispanic and from that area.  I thought that Hillary Clinton would be a great choice to bring the party togethor and really motivate the base.  So why Biden?  I can't say why Obama selected the Senator from Delaware, but I like the selection because Biden's oldest son is set for deployment to Iraq in October '08.  With Biden's son being in the fray, I think we might really have a voice for ending the conflict over there as soon as possible.  I also like the fact that he's witty and says what he thinks, even though people might get upset at him.  So, for me, its VOTE OBAMA/BIDEN!!!

Recently, Obama has said that he wants to open the oil reserves in Alaska to lower gas prices, even though theres not much oil there http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/us/politics/05campaign.html?_r=1&oref=slogin.  He also recently voted to allow illegal wire tapping.  http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/02/america/obama.php

This is truly disgusting, and I'm beginning to think that it doesn't matter if hes better than McCain, they both suck.  I might end up voting for myself.  Its true, you can do that.  All you have to do is write your own name on the ticket.   

Eight years ago the Democrats were whining about how Al Gore won the popular election but lost the electorate.  Boo hoo.  Fast forward eight years and we have Clinton and Obama fighting for DELEGATES to become the presidential nominee, but that might not be sorted out until the candidates get to the smokey back rooms of the DNC.  Do you see the similarities/hypocrisy?  In 2000 the Democrats were whining because the "people" didn't get to decide who was president.  Well, the chickens are coming home to roost, because now look at the democrats.  The person with the most votes might not win.  The person with the most delegates will.  I know the delegates are supposed to represent the people, but what about the superdelegates?  They only represent themselves and what they can gain from voting one way or the other.  The big losers are once again the American people.  We don't decide anything in this country by voting. 

I found the idea of superdelegates interesting and entirely undemocratic.  Naturally I was curious as to who these people are.  I'm thinking about harassing the shit out of them.....  Anyway, here is the affirmentioned list.

 Democrats

Senator Robert Byrd, Senator Jay Rockefeller, Congressman Rahall, Congressman Mollohan, Gov. Manchin, Nick Casey Jr. - WV Chair , Belinda Biofore - WV Vice Chair, Pat Maroney, Marie Prezioso.

So, if your candidate doesn't win the election that will happen in the backrooms of the Democratic National Convention, you know who you can blame....

My good buddy President W. came out with his new budget plan today.  Here are the programs he wants to cut money from.  I hate that bastard. 

Spending on poison control centers would be cut 62 percent, to $10 million. Rural health programs, a favorite of many senators, would be reduced 87 percent, to $16.9 million.

A special health program for rescue workers and volunteers who responded to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 would be cut by 77 percent, to $25 million, even though the administration has said that many workers were exposed to "unprecedented levels of risk" for lung disease and other illnesses.

Mr. Bush's budget would end the Community Services Block Grant, a $654 million program that provides housing, nutrition, education and job services to low-income people.

The budget would also end special programs to care for people with Alzheimer's disease and to treat people with traumatic brain injury. Mr. Bush would eliminate federal money for a new "patient navigator" program, which coordinates care for people with cancer and other serious illnesses. The administration contends that these programs are ineffective or duplicate other government initiatives.

Mr. Bush proposes a 22 percent cut in the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides $2.6 billion to help people pay heating bills. Many lawmakers want to expand the program at a time when oil costs are soaring.

Mr. Bush wants to end the Hope VI housing program, which upgrades severely dilapidated public housing. The House voted two weeks ago to renew the program for eight years.

The White House wants to eliminate spending for more than a dozen education programs, including Even Start, which promotes family literacy; grants to the states for classroom technology; Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants, for needy undergraduates; and a scholarship program named for the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia.

This was copy/pasted from the NY times.  I encourage all of you who read this to call/email your Senators/congressmen and let them know how you feel about it.

 

Is Skeletor trying to become the next President of the United States?  I think so.  I'm going to start a grass roots campaign called "DON'T VOTE FOR SKELETOR".  I'm taking donations now.