Louisiana's voting machines are "easy to hack"

Louisiana uses Sequoia voting machines exclusively.  This Princeton report indicates that they are seriously flawed.

Study: Sequoia e-voting machines disturbingly easy to hack

The Princeton University Center for Information Technology Policy has published a report disclosing security vulnerabilities that researchers have detected in Sequoia's AVC Advantage voting machine. According to the researchers, the machine can be completely compromised by replacing a single ROM chip—a task that they were able to complete in only seven minutes.

From Bradblog:

The 158-page report [PDF] was released publicly on Friday afternoon warning, among other things, that:

* The lost votes during New Jersey's Super Tuesday elections "were caused by two different programming errors on the part of Sequoia"
* "New Jersey should not use any version of the AVC Advantage that it has not actually examined with the assistance of skilled computer-security experts."
* "The AVC Advantage’s susceptibility to installation of a fraudulent vote-counting program is far more than an imperfection: it is a fatal flaw."
* "The AVC Advantage is too insecure to use in New Jersey."

Caution: Make sure your vote counts. Read this article before you vote!

The BRAD BLOG : ES&S Touch-Screen Votes Now Flipping in TX Too! Obama/DNC Attorneys Still AWOL!

This is just getting worse and worse. Now it's happening in Texas. (And in MO, if you read to the end of the article). And the vaunted "thousands of attorneys" from the Obama campaign and the DNC are still nowhere to be found.

With every incident so far reported of touch-screen vote-flipping during early voting in this year's general election --- from county to county in WV and in Nashville, TN) --- it's been the ES&S iVotronic touch-screen machine that has failed, flipping votes from one candidate to another not chosen by the voter. In most every instances [see update below], it's been an attempted Democratic vote, flipped to a Republican, or another party.

. . . . . .

• Call poll supervisors to observe the problem
• Fill out a problem report
• Refuse to vote on that machine
• Request that the machine be taken out of service
• Get a serial number of the machine if possible (may be unlikely in many cases)
• Tell other voters not to vote on that machine
• Call county/town election office
• Call local reporters
• Call voter problem hotlines (eg. 866-MYVOTE1 and 866-OUR-VOTE)
• Contact bloggers and Election Integrity websites.
• Raise holy hell.

Jindal's opportunity if McCain loses.

Jindal Makes a Political Power Play - The Fix

Make no mistake: If John McCain goes down to defeat in 13 days time and Republicans in the House and the Senate face significant setbacks as well, there will be a real desire from the grassroots of the Republican party for fresh faces on the national scene.

Jindal -- a young (he's 37), conservative Indian American governor -- is almost certain to feature prominently in that conversation. And, as much as his political team pooh poohs the idea that he would be interested in national office in four years' time, consider these two things: he has already gotten a taste of the national limelight by his consideration in the veepstakes and his handling of Hurricane Gustav, AND he is visiting Iowa next month. (As we have written before, politicians NEVER -- we can't stress this enough -- go to Iowa accidentally. They know exactly what a trip to Iowa means.

That's some expensive church service.

Holy Helicopter: Louisiana Governor Gets A High-Priced Ride To Church | The Wall of Separation

A devout Roman Catholic taking a helicopter to attend Sunday morning services at a Baptist church nearly 200 miles from his house followed by lunch with “local officials” at a shooting range—sounds like a politician on his campaign trail.

Except for the fact that campaign money isn’t flying the helicopter. Rather, it’s more than $180,000 in taxpayer money fueling in-state trips like these for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. That’s the total cost of Jindal’s travel itinerary in State Police helicopters from January 2007 until Sept. 1, 2008, according to a report in the Baton Rouge Advocate.

Romney: Jindal to run for president?

2theadvocate.com | News | Ex-candidate Romney sees White House run for Jindal — Baton Rouge, LA

Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney predicted Thursday that Gov. Bobby Jindal will consider a 2012 run for the White House if John McCain loses on Nov. 4.

“Bobby Jindal will certainly be taking a look at it,” Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, said on WWL-Radio.

Jindal denied Thursday afternoon that he is mounting a presidential campaign despite multiple fundraising trips outside the state and an upcoming visit to Iowa.

“I am not running for the White House in 2012,” Jindal said.

Back in .

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Republicans Reverse Course in Lousiana
Rothenberg Political Report: The NRSC "has reversed an earlier decision to cancel its last two weeks of advertising in Louisiana. Instead, it has purchased TV time next week and will wait to decide whether to buy the final week before Election Day. The decision comes on the heels of GOP polling showing that Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) has only a mid-single digit lead over challenger John Kennedy (R)."

FiveThirtyEight.com still has Landrieu as a 99% favorite.

Hmmmm . . . .

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

The 2012 Race Begins
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) "will keynote a high-profile Christian conservative fundraising dinner next month in Iowa," according to Jonathan Martin.

"It will be Jindal's first visit to Iowa... The trip is a reminder that, even with a presidential election looming, caucus politics is never far away in the Hawkeye State.

GOP concedes LA senate race.

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

GOP Pulls Ads in Louisiana Senate Race
The NRSC "has decided to pull its television advertising out of Louisiana, a decision that drastically reduces the party's chances at its lone takeover opportunity in this election cycle," according to The Fix.

"The decision to stop advertising in the race against Landrieu reflects a recognition by the NRSC of the stark financial reality it faces in the fall campaign. The Republican committee has been consistently outraised by its Democratic counterpart and, as the political environment has worsened for the GOP in recent weeks, several Republican senators that appeared safe -- Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) to name two -- have suddenly appeared more vulnerable."

I have a COLD!!!!

Actually bronchitis, ad the codeine cough syrup is frying my brain.  I can't gte anthig rght.

I stole Drudge's siren.

Actually http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/ did.

FiveThirtyEight.com: Electoral Projections Done Right: Obama Pulls Ahead in Electoral College Projection

Obama Pulls Ahead in Electoral College Projection



Charts and graphs are updated. Full polling report coming within the hour.

-- Nate Silver at 4:48 PM

Great site for political poll junkies. BTW this site has Landrieu a lock for re-election.

Update: New source for siren!!! It's back!!!

Ike.

Boo! Go away.

I knew Ville Platte was suspicious of strangers, but this really sucks.

2theadvocate.com | News | Guardsmen fired on, return fire; no one hurt — Baton Rouge, LA

National Guardsmen returned fire after being shot at early Wednesday while protecting tractor-trailers filled with hurricane-relief supplies in Ville Platte, according to the Louisiana National Guard.

Soldiers from the Missouri National Guard who traveled to assist in hurricane relief were guarding three tractor-trailers on West Lincoln Street in the city when they are believed to have come under fire about 1 a.m. Wednesday, National Guard spokesman Rick Breitenfeldt said.

Breitenfeldt said the soldiers reported hearing small-arms gunfire and seeing flashes and impacts in ground water.

It was luck, not levees that spared us this time.

Bloomberg.com: Exclusive

``Gustav was not a major hurricane,'' said Stephen P. Leatherman, director of the International Hurricane Research Center and Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University in Miami. ``The levees that broke last time,'' including some off Lake Pontchartrain, ``were not truly tested this time.''

Earliest return: Thursday Morning.

The latest re-entry information for the metro area - Hurricane Gustav News and Storm Tracking - NOLA.com

ORLEANS: New Orleans residents should not expect to return to their homes until Thursday morning at the soonest, a spokeswoman for Mayor Ray Nagin said Tuesday morning. With an estimated 77,000 Entergy customers blacked out across the city and hospitals still operating below capacity, Ceeon Quiett said New Orleans is not ready to welcome home as many as 300,000 residents who evacuated in advance of Hurricane Gustav.

It's going to cost millions for evacuees to stay out another two nights. I'm not sure this is the best way to handle things.

Good news -- I'd like to see pictures.

Floodgates remain closed, pumps are working - Hurricane Gustav News and Storm Tracking - NOLA.com

It was the maiden run for massive flood gates and temporary stations the Army Corps of Engineers built after Hurricane Katrina breached floodwalls on both canals and caused catastrophic flooding.

At 17th Street, along the border of New Orleans and East Jefferson, the temporary corps pump stations are continuing this morning to help the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board drain the canal of rainwater.

At London Avenue, the gates are still closed, but the corps pumps are no longer running because there's no excess water in the canal, said Col. Jeff Bedey, the corps Hurricane Protection Office chief who had responsibility for building the stations and gates on all three outfall canals, including the Orleans Avenue Canal.

"The pumps ran all night long," Bedey said Tuesday morning. "But the lake is still at 4 (feet), so the structures remain in place."

Col. Al Lee, corps district chief in New Orleans with responsibility for operating the gates and pumps, told his bosses that the emergency structures functioned at a high level.

"All the pumps worked. All the gates locked in place. All of it worked," Lee said.

Good news, but this was a comparatively mild storm, will they be enough next time?

Fiddling while New Orleans drowns. Again.

Girls Republicans just want to have fun

Damning story from ABC tonight (read a shortened transcript here) about GOP parties in Minneapolis while the south drowns. Watch this video. It's completely over the top. One party took place only hours after McCain said most events, other than the most essential, would be shut down today. The party featured a band called "Hookers and Blow" (blow is cocaine), and the guests included the House GOP deputy whip Congressman Bill Schuster (R-PA). Watch this, then send the link to your friends:

Sometimes the headline says it all.

The Raw Story | RNC delegate: 'We already do a lot for the people of New Orleans'

Palin thinks the founding fathers wrote the Pledge of Allegiance.

Eagle Forum Alaska: 2006 Gubernatorial Candidate Questionnaire

11. Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?
JB: No.
SP: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.