<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On Dec 31, 2005, at 12:57 PM, Michael Pollak wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">On Sat, 31 Dec 2005, Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV> <BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">And what is the best we can hope for in this world of freedom of plenty? That Democrats may make some progress in the midterm elections, which is a very big if anyway?</DIV> <BR></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">An extremely big if, thanks to the enormous advances in gerrymandering that computers have made possible in the last 10 years.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>There was a short blurb on this subject in yesterday's FT's predictions for 2006 article.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>The last paragraph is a killer.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>If the Dems do as well as the Repugs did in 1994 -- the well-oiled "Contract With America" campaign" -- they'll only get a fifth as many as seats.</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><BR></DIV><DIV>In 1994 there wasn't touchscreen voting. Now you've got the Mark Crispin Miller's book "Fooled Again" factor - Miller is adamant that the Diebold and other electronic voting machines are corrupted. These machines are finding their way into every state of the union, including here in CA where the Secretary of State conducted a study that determined the machines *were* corruptable and started to rid the state of them. But then, I believe, a reversal took place. Can't remember the exact details but the governator probably had something to do with it.</DIV><DIV><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#0F8305" face="Arial" size="3"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">www.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#0F8305" face="Arial" size="3"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><B>markcrispinmiller</B></SPAN></FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#0F8305" face="Arial" size="3"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">.blogspot.com/</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV>marta</DIV></BODY></HTML>