20 Amazing Facts About Voting in the US

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

For the rest please see here.

America, country where power is in the hands of dogmatic and religious Christians

Times for presidential elections come closer; talks surrounding presidential candidates become louder.

To be a president of country or even to be considered a presidential candidate, you should preferably have at least one advanced degree. You should also be well versed in politics and have basic knowledge in history and geography.

In case of American presidential candidates "you need to be good at politics and should be graduated from high school." No question of what "good at politics" means. This probably might mean having a basic knowledge of geography and politics, but I don’t think so. There is an interesting video clip explaining some of important "characteristics" that any aspiring "successful" American presidential candidate must possess.

An interesting book by columnist Roger Simon who covered the 1988 presidential campaign, and includes his detailed report on the campaign and some details, which are both informative and wickedly funny. Many a dirty techniques (ex. blackmail) are used to eliminate, hogwash and silence. Bush, for example, struggling to overcome the Wimp Factor, is shown crushing his opponent with base tactics, which included the exploitation of racial fear. Particularly revealing is Simon's I-was-there analysis of how Bush's "media handler," Roger Ailes, generaled his client to victory.

There is however an unwritten criteria, fulfillment of which gives a fighting chance against any Presidential rival and is above and beyond any other criteria: to be religious (necessarily Christian) and (preferably openly) practicing Christian. Many past presidents and of course the incumbent one are religious. Take for example Nixon, who was an outspoken Quaker, hosting religious services in the East Room of White House during his stance as a president. Or Reagan. He once said, "[Americans] must seek Divine guidance in the policies of their government and the promulgation of their laws." The Bible, argued Reagan, held all the answers. "I'm accused of being simplistic at times," he said more than once. "But within that single Book are all the answers to all the problems that face us." His National Security sessions were held in the presence of a religious scholar, who would advise him based on notions of Second Coming, Paradise, and Original Sin.

It is interesting to see whether America will ever evolve to where a non-Christian candidate would stand a chance of seriously contesting American presidency. (Jewish Senator Joe Lieberman is an exception. During his 2000 vice-presidential run, he managed to out-God all the other candidates).

George W. Bush not only invokes his God in virtually every speech he makes, he also openly admits that he takes his instructions from his God. And look where that has brought the world and America. It brings to mind the words of Sinclair Lewis, who said, "When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."

The religious right and their supporters have brainwashed the American public into believing that Christianity is patriotic. In fact, according to a recent survey by the First Amendment Center, 65% of Americans believe that the nation's founders intended the US to be a Christian nation and 55% believe that the Constitution establishes a Christian nation.

This is a total hogwash. Read the American Constitution. It makes no mention of God or Christianity. Acquaintance with the Bill of Rights will also prove useful.

It was for good reason that America's founders wrote the "separation clause" into the First Amendment, which states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

It was to protect the minority from tyranny of the majority. America's founders didn’t want it to sink into theocracy. They knew that theocracy always leads to oppression. America's founders wanted to establish a democracy in which the government serves all the people, not just the Christian ones.

America, under recent and not-so-recent presidents, has been sinking deeper and deeper into theocracy. In order to reverse this situation, America needs to vote for candidates who take their instructions not from a deity, but from the people and the Constitution. Otherwise, America will be no longer America envisioned by its founders.

America resembles more and more closely to its declared "enemy" Iran.