Need help re: A voting fraud news story

**Blueidone** · October-22-12, 11:11 PM

My father...who only watches Fox News...told me about a story he saw tonight regarding some absentee ballots that were stolen, and that they caught the people who did it. He said that they destroyed only the Democratic votes...but I don't know how they could do that. He also said that because of the low number of total votes in the district involved, it could swing the election.

Please understand that my father is 96 and very hard of hearing, so I am not sure he got the story straight.

I watched several news channels [[not Fox News) and didn't see anything about it. I think he got some of the information wrong, and I'm just trying to figure it all out.

Does anyone have any information on this? I tried searching on the Fox News website, but got nothing that seemed to relate.

I appreciate any help anyone can offer.

**Gannon** · October-23-12, 03:26 AM

Originally Posted by Blueidone

My father...who only watches Fox News...told me about a story he saw tonight regarding some absentee ballots that were stolen, and that they caught the people who did it. He said that they destroyed only the Democratic votes...but I don't know how they could do that. He also said that because of the low number of total votes in the district involved, it could swing the election.

Please understand that my father is 96 and very hard of hearing, so I am not sure he got the story straight.

I watched several news channels [[not Fox News) and didn't see anything about it. I think he got some of the information wrong, and I'm just trying to figure it all out.

Does anyone have any information on this? I tried searching on the Fox News website, but got nothing that seemed to relate.

I appreciate any help anyone can offer.

Closest I've heard to this is the situation where the election officials were trying to only allow military voting to be done early...I think it was in Ohio...but they were shut down through a judicial ruling. Claims were it would've skewed Ohio more to the right, since it would eliminate early voting from the cities...restricting more elderly poor than any other group.

Heard the courts told them to keep early voting open to all, then the election officials went ahead with a portion of their original plans...

**Pam** · October-23-12, 06:37 AM

This is the only story I've heard where something was thrown out, but it was registration forms not ballots:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014271729

**Blueidone** · October-23-12, 07:25 AM

Thanks for both comments. Pam, yours sounds more like what he was trying to tell me. I will ask him about that this morning.

Dad [[who lives with me now) is a staunch Republican, and my husband and I lean more Democratic, which makes it interesting in our household. We try not to discuss politics with him, but after he watches 3 or 4 hours of Fox News, he just has to come out of his room and make some comment about how evil the Democrats [[ or more often just Obama ) are.

I usually just let him talk without making a comment back, but this one got to me. He made it sound like it was an Al Queda [[sp?) plot to ruin the election and that it was happening in 48 of the 50 states. And since I never saw anything on our local news about it, it just didn't seem like he was correct.

Thanks again for your information!

**gazhekwe** · October-23-12, 09:07 AM

I saw the same thing Pam reported, a voter registration person discarded a bunch of registration forms, was seen and reported and the forms were retrieved and presented for registration before the deadline. The person allegedly was discarding those he thought would vote Democrat. This happened in Virginia, but the story refers to it as being the second case. I'll be back, looking for the first case.

The first story linked back to a case in Florida, but it wasn't about discarded registration forms.

Florida opened a criminal investigation into the GOP-funded voter registration firm for turning in hundreds of fraudulent registration forms in Florida counties. Once Palm Beach County raised the alarm, other states discoveredfraudulent registrations, including North Carolina, Virginia, Nevada and Colorado.

http://thinkprogress.org/election/20...rts/?mobile=nc

**Papasito** · October-23-12, 09:26 AM

Famous Flori-Duh is already seeing some fraud:

Voters are getting letters that look like they are from local elections offices, questioning their citizenship. But Local 6 has learned the letters are fake, and they are going out across Central Florida and other parts of the state.
....
The supervisor of elections in Collier County said some residents there have also received hoax letters.
Inside the letter is the resident's supervisor of election's name, the resident's name and address, and a warning that doubts the voter's citizenship, saying the resident is not eligible to vote unless a letter is returned in an enclosed form within 15 days.

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/Fed...z/-/index.html

**oladub** · October-23-12, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by Pam

This is the only story I've heard where something was thrown out, but it was registration forms not ballots:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014271729

Same story with more detail: Man Arrested for Destruction of Voter Forms in Virginia Has GOP Ties

**Blueidone** · October-23-12, 11:06 AM

Thanks everyone...I knew I could count on you!!

Just FYI...got my dad hearing aids today!! Maybe he will hear the whole story from now on!

Go Tigers!!!

**Pam** · October-23-12, 12:25 PM

Maybe he will hear the whole story from now on!

No, he still won't if he watches Fox! :/

**Blueidone** · October-23-12, 02:12 PM

Originally Posted by Pam

No, he still won't if he watches Fox! :/

How very true!! But, of course, in his mind, they are the only "real news" station!!

**Jimaz** · October-23-12, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by Blueidone

... got my dad hearing aids today!!

Off topic: How did he react to them? I would imagine it could be a pleasant shock.

On topic: Brad Friedman is passionate about covering election integrity stories. If he doesn't cover it, it didn't happen. He was recently interviewed here.

**rb336** · October-23-12, 04:46 PM

Remember this - The H.I.G fund owns a bunch of Ohio voting machines, and HIG is owned by Romney cronies and funded by Tagg's Solamere

**Gannon** · October-23-12, 06:34 PM

Originally Posted by rb336

Remember this - The H.I.G fund owns a bunch of Ohio voting machines, and HIG is owned by Romney cronies and funded by Tagg's Solamere

Is that the firm funded by Rmoney's so-called blind trust?! I think there was a cool ten million floating around there somewhere.

Could they make it more obvious?!

**Blueidone** · October-23-12, 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

Off topic: How did he react to them? I would imagine it could be a pleasant shock.

On topic: Brad Friedman is passionate about covering election integrity stories. If he doesn't cover it, it didn't happen. He was recently interviewed here.

Dad is having a little trouble adjusting to hearing all the sounds of the world. He has been hard of hearing for so long, he didn't realize what he was missing. But he will be fine. At least I don't have to yell anymore when I talk to him. Thanks for asking, Jimaz!

**Jimaz** · October-23-12, 11:52 PM

Originally Posted by Blueidone

Dad is having a little trouble adjusting to hearing all the sounds of the world.... Thanks for asking, Jimaz!

So it wasn't so helpful at first. That's most useful to me. Thank you so much, Blueidone.

**Blueidone** · October-24-12, 10:35 AM

Jimaz, my dad's situation is a little different than most. First of all, not only is his hearing very bad [[70% loss in one ear, 50% in the other), but he also has macular degeneration and is almost totally blind.

He is VERY resistant to change, and therefore doesn't want to deal with the hearing aids. And he can't see them to adjust them or change the batteries, which makes him dependent...and he HATES that.

He hasn't heard normal sounds in many, many years, so things like walking across a tile floor and hearing his shoes seems like thunder to him. He can now hear his own voice, which he hasn't heard in probably 20 years or more. He heard cars going by as we sat in a parking lot yesterday and said it sounds like thunder. It's just a matter of getting used to normal every day sounds.

But, on the other hand, he can hear his TV, voices on the phone, people talking to him in normal voices, and people knocking on the door. He is happy he has them, it's just the adjustment period, which the audiologist said would be a couple of weeks.

**Gannon** · October-24-12, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by Blueidone

He hasn't heard normal sounds in many, many years, so things like walking across a tile floor and hearing his shoes seems like thunder to him. He can now hear his own voice, which he hasn't heard in probably 20 years or more. He heard cars going by as we sat in a parking lot yesterday and said it sounds like thunder. It's just a matter of getting used to normal every day sounds.

I think the 'filter' that causes most of us to ignore the usually harsh intrusions of 'normal' sounds is more than mere mental...it is physiological. He needs to be encouraged that he might NOT adjust in only two weeks.

Both physical and psychological...the ear/brain mechanism has a series of absorption steps to soften the shock, not unlike how they eye has ways to adjust to brighter lights. And, they're tied together, the eye can 'warn' the brain of slower incoming sounds, if they are associated with a visual cue that the person notices.

So, he's got a number of strikes against him...but if you can continue to weigh the positives while minimizing the negatives [[say, like everyone start wearing soft-sole shoes in the house, and EVERYONE start conversations with him at lower volumes, since you've years of yelling practise to reverse) he might get past these obstructions.

I just saw earplugs from my favorite earphone manufacturer that adjust to the Sound Pressure Level of the surroundings...you might want to ask his audiologist if they've applied a similar algorithm between the microphones and speakers of his hearing aids.

http://www.etymotic.com/hp/mp915.html

The industrial version of these has a temporary high-sensitivity switch, which might be a nice option for hearing aids...imagine, on a keyfob remote control [[tethered somewhere so it doesn't get lost), the ability to increase the volume of the world for a short moment with the push of a button. Be nice if the focus of the pickup mic could be aimed as well, but we're already stretching technological limits.

I think it is time someone makes a simple portable audio-'tivo'-like replay in these digital devices, too. Then an individual would never be embarassed by having to ask, "what" a dozen times per discussion. They could rewind and replay it themselves...

But I'm dreaming into my espresso again...

**Gannon** · October-24-12, 11:29 AM

Heya Jimaz, why don't you start working on an algorithm which compares the sounds picked up by a pair of hearing aids?! It might be interesting to attempt to mimic the differentiation and integration those with undamaged hearing usually do innately. The devices would have to communicate with each other, and there'd have to be some comparative processing done...probably too much for a pair of tiny circuits, right? Right?!

Then we could digitally 'aim' the pair of mics to focus on what was in front of the person...it might all work with a forward-mounted processing 'box' with an additional shotgun-style distance microphone with that temporary on switch, that we'd toggle over to direct TV or computer input when he's in front of a screen.

This is fun...

**Gannon** · October-24-12, 11:32 AM

We'd have to put it into a pair of eyeglasses for it to really work, then whatever he turns his head to 'see'...there'd be another pair of forward-pointing microphones increasing the sensitivity to whatever was in front of his face.

It really is an exercise in futility using only two microphones sticking outside one's head...more I think about it. Current hearing aid technology might only be fancy, expensive electronic bandaids.

**gazhekwe** · October-24-12, 11:46 AM

The trouble with hearing aids, I hear from all my elder relatives who have/had them, is that all the sounds are the same level. Voice, ambient noise, ringing phones, knocking on doors, motorcycles going by. They cancel each other out, and cannot be adjusted by the wearer to maximize close conversation versus TV, versus telephone. It is an interesting problem that I would love to see solved, as DH and I approach the hearing aid stage.

My MIL keeps actively seeking adjustments to hers, it seems she can either sort of hear conversation OR sort of hear the TV, not both. She has a remote control that is supposed to adjust but it is only volume, not tone or distance. Plus she is tech challenged. Maybe she needs two sets, one adjusted for TV, one for everything else.

**Gannon** · October-24-12, 01:17 PM

solution may be a pair of hear-through headphones connected to the telly, when she's watching.

The tv sound would be as dominant as she would like, using the volume which would control the large outer headphones...worn over her hearing aids.

The room sounds would still get through, but the louder sound of the headphones would be clearer to her...and only as loud as it needed to be...

Something like the old Sennheiser Model 40s, which were as light as a feather and rugged enough to fall asleep wearing [[much more durable than eyeglasses).

Went to their site, looking for the modern replacement...and found these. I'm sure they are expensive, but it would be curious to learn how the noise-cancelling circuitry works WITH the hearing aids. It would eliminate any recurring sounds, like engine noise and refrigerators, from even getting to the mics on her 'aids.

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/wireles...dphones_502891

Plus, there is the benefit of Bluetooth connection to computers and telephones...heck, she could make and take phone calls without removing the headset.

This looks like a pretty good solution...I wonder how it sounds!

**gazhekwe** · October-24-12, 03:57 PM

Hmmm, looks like it might be a good Christmas idea. Will run it by the sis in charge. Thanks!

**Jimaz** · October-24-12, 05:38 PM

Originally Posted by Gannon

Heya Jimaz, why don't you start working on an algorithm which compares the sounds picked up by a pair of hearing aids?! It might be interesting to attempt to mimic the differentiation and integration those with undamaged hearing usually do innately. The devices would have to communicate with each other, and there'd have to be some comparative processing done...probably too much for a pair of tiny circuits, right? Right?!

Then we could digitally 'aim' the pair of mics to focus on what was in front of the person...it might all work with a forward-mounted processing 'box' with an additional shotgun-style distance microphone with that temporary on switch, that we'd toggle over to direct TV or computer input when he's in front of a screen.

This is fun...

Yeah, that would be fun to play around with but that technology should be pretty mature by now. I recall a lot of talk about how signal processing would improve hearing aids but that was a couple of decades ago.

As I understand it, they used to just amplify all frequencies but nowadays they test each patient to find which frequencies they hear best and worst. Then they compress all frequencies into just the best bands. Heh. This would defeat the purpose of that loiter-deterrent sound generator discussed here recently. Old folks could hear the awful noise too. LOL!

I like your idea about directional hearing aids to differentiate between wanted and unwanted sounds. Wouldn't an equalizer help too? Maybe today's hearing aid technology already includes equalizers. I dunno.

Something like this might be used to isolate the location of the Zug Hum but its low frequency might make that unworkable.