With facts like these, how can the U.S.A still claim to be a democracy and not a dictatorship?

Question

Did you know.... 
  
1. 80% of all votes in America are counted by only two companies: Diebold and ES&S. 
http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html 
  
http://en.wikipedia org/wiki/Diebold 
  
2. There is no federal agency with regulatory authority or oversight of the U.S. voting machine industry. http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0916-04.htm 
  
http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html 
  
3. The vice-president of Diebold and the president of ES&S are brothers. 
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/private_company.html 
  
http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html 
  
4. The chairman and CEO of Diebold is a major Bush campaign organizer and donor who wrote in 2003 that he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year." 
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/28/sunday/main632436.shtml 
  
http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1647886 
  
5. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel used to be chairman of ES&S. He became Senator based on votes counted by ES&S machines. 
http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2004/03/03_200.html 
  
http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/031004Fitrakis/031004fitrakis.html 
  
6. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, long-connected with the Bush family, was recently caught lying about his ownership of ES&S by the Senate Ethics Committee. 
http://www.blackboxvoting.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=26 
  
http://www.hillnews.com/news/012903/hagel.aspx 
  
http://www.onlisareinsradar.com/archives/000896.php 
  
7. Senator Chuck Hagel was on a short list of George W. Bush's vice-presidential candidates. 
http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_28/b3689130.htm 
  
http://theindependent.com/stories/052700/new_hagel27.html 
  
8. ES&S is the largest voting machine manufacturer in the U.S. and counts almost 60% of all U.S. votes. 
http://www.essvote.com/HTML/about/about.html 
  
http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/042804Landes/042804landes.html 
  
9. Diebold's new touch screen voting machines have no paper trail of any votes. In other words, there is no way to verify that the data coming out of the machine is the same as what was legitimately put in by voters. 
  
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0225-05.htm 
  
http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2987/041020evotestates/pfindex.html 
  
10. Diebold also makes ATMs, checkout scanners, and ticket machines, all of which log each transaction and can generate a paper trail. 
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0225-05.htm 
  
http://www.diebold.com/solutions/default.htm 
  
11. Diebold is based in Ohio. 
http://www.diebold.com/aboutus/ataglance/default.htm 
  
12. Diebold employed 5 convicted felons as consultants and developers to help write the central compiler computer code that counted 50% of the votes in 30 states. 
http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,61640,00.html 
  
http://portland. ndymedia.org/en/2004/10/301469.shtml 
  
13. Jeff Dean was Senior Vice-President of Global Election Systems when it was bought by Diebold. Even though he had been convicted of 23 counts of felony theft in the first degree, Jeff Dean was retained as a consultant by Diebold and was largely responsible for programming the optical scanning software now used in most of the United States. 
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0312/S00191.htm 
http://www.chuckherrin.com/HackthevoteFAQ.htm#how 
  
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-8.pdf 
  
14. Diebold consultant Jeff Dean was convicted of planting back doors in his software and using a "high degree of sophistication" to evade detection over a period of 2 years. 
http://www.chuckherrin.com/HackthevoteFAQ.htm#how 
  
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-8.pdf 
  
15. None of the international election observers were allowed in the polls in Ohio. 
http://www.globalexchange.org/update/press/2638.html 
  
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/26/loc_elexoh.html 
  
16. California banned the use of Diebold machines because the security was so bad. Despite Diebold's claims that the audit logs could not be hacked, a chimpanzee was able to do it! (See the movie here: http://www.bbvdocs. org/videos/ baxterVPR. mov.) 
http://wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,63298,00.html 
  
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4874190 
  
17. 30% of all U.S. votes are carried out on unverifiable touch screen voting machines with no paper trail. 
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/28/sunday/main632436.shtml 
  
18. All -- not some -- but all the voting machine errors detected and reported in Florida went in favor of Bush or Republican candidates. 
http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,65757,00.html 
  
http://www.yuricare port.com/ElectionAftermath04/ThreeResearchStudiesBushIsOut.htm 
  
http://www.rise4new s.net/extravotes .html 
  
http://www.ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News& file=article& sid=950 
  
http://www.scoop. co.nz/mason/ stories/HL0411/ S00227.htm 
  
19. The governor of the state of Florida, Jeb Bush, is the President's brother. 
http://www.tallahas see.com/mld/ tallahassee/ news/local/ 7628725.htm 
  
http://www.washingt onpost.com/ wp-dyn/articles/ A10544-2004Oct29 .html 
  
20. Serious voting anomalies in Florida -- again always favoring Bush -- have been mathematically demonstrated and experts are recommending further investigation. 
http://www.yuricare port.com/ ElectionAftermat h04/ThreeResearc hStudiesBushIsOu t.htm 
  
http://www.computer world.com/ governmenttopics /government/ policy/story/ 0,10801,97614, 00.html 
  
http://www.american freepress. net/html/ tens_of_thousand s.html 
  
http://www.commondr eams.org/ headlines04/ 1106-30.htm 
  
http://www.consorti umnews.com/ 2004/110904. html 
  
http://uscountvotes .org/

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Check THESE out, too!...
http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/iraq.htm
http://www.global-conspiracies.com/fema_concentration_camps.htm
http://www.gnn.tv/threads/9229/FEMA_DEATHCAMPS_AND_THE_RED_AND_BLUE_LIST_UNDER_MARTIAL_LAW
http://www.rense.com/general58/suspre.htm
http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/911/Robert.htm
http://www.thepowerhour.com/news2/ftct.htm

Anonymous · Answer

Yes angel, and now that you have?

Well as dictatorship goes, and let's agree it is, you could live in a far worse country than your one.
There isn't a country in the world that can truly claim to be democratic, and if I lived in one I would be in constant fear.
What do you know about the person you vote for?
Would you lend money or marry a person with this same small amount of knowledge?
Unfortunately the power behind the facade, the State, is necessary in all countries bar none.
If you want visible proof look at Iraq.

So my friend I am afraid this is the way of life. 
Democracy is really the right to moan and challenge without being shot for it. You have this ability more than any other country in the world.
I understand your true statement, but the alternative to too horrible to contemplate.

PETER F · Answer

I agree, it all looks very dodgy to me. makes me glad I live in Britian.

There are too many question marks about Bush and the republican party. Ok so some of the conspiricy theories are bound to be made up but after a while you start to think there can't be all this smoke without just a little bit of fire.

The worst thing is if anyone dares to suggest that all may not be as it seams they are accused of being unpartriaotc and branded a traitor.

Anonymous · Answer

The answer is actually quite simple. Since we DO have a democracy, we allow these websites you quote to exist, despite them being full of inaccuracies and out-right lies.

You are falling prey to the liberal media and conspiracy theorists. You'd make a great candidate for Scientology! Ask Tom Cruise about how we are here because aliens populated the earth. You'll be watching for the mothership to return, I'm sure!

Anonymous · Answer

your country has enjoyed the results of the finest technologies known to mankind and to government of the people, If you can't trust your politicians who are you going to trust. It gives a special poignancy to those Masonic symbols and quotes printed on your money!

? · Answer

Those more or less than 85% Americans who don't have passports and don't have a clue what happening inside and outsite the US - they won't listen to you whatever you say. 

Most of todays' wars   are caused by those idiots ( neo-fascist not neo-conservative)

chris B · Answer

In a dictatorship you would not be allowed to speak out against the government.  The government scares me also but we still have our freedom of speech.

mr. me · Answer

how can it claim to be a democracy? the fact that you can make statments like that without any fear of reprisal shows we are in a democracy based on free speech. if you wana yap about dictatorship, spend a few years in north korea

Oracle Jo · Answer

Elections = Democracy
The US has Elections, there for the US is a Democracy.
Here are a list or other country's that also claim to be democracy's......

Cambodia
Iraq
Kyrgyzstan
Angola
Costa Rica
Russia
Indonesia

see lots of great  nations are democratic. so there... nan nan nan nan nan....

footynutguy · Answer

"Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victim-hood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion."

Hmm, makes you think

Anonymous · Answer

I love statements backed up with sources!  Good job.

With facts like these, how can the U.S.A still claim to be a democracy and not a dictatorship?

19 Answers