I don't like electronic voting machines. I have no doubt that these machines can be hacked, and that pole workers can be social engineered. One day we will long for the days of partisan party manipulation of the vote. Someday, a corporation or a foreign government will put its efforts into hacking the American vote and the results will be disastrous.

If we need to use computers to vote, why can't there be a double receipt system? One receipt goes into the ballot box, voter gets to keep the other as a record of his vote. If anyone purports to have a reason why this can't be done, my reply would be that I get a receipt when I buy even the lowliest of chewing gum. The store keeps a copy, and I walk with a copy. Not too complex for almost every commercial transaction in America, not too complex for democracy.

The double receipt is an improvement in that this situation in Florida is addressed. Each voter would check to see that the receipts match. They then put one in a ballot box and keep the other. While they are walking away they notice that the vote for congress is blank. The problem is spotted a lot earlier.

How little faith we put in the concept of freedom. Freedom of speech. Freedom of the press. If we don't think that these concepts can withstand the manipulations of a media empire built on tabloid journalism, then how easily the wall will crumble when something really dangerous comes along.

Burn the book.

Lynch the publisher.

Shoot the messenger. I've heard these words before.

Judith Regan is entirely correct in pointing out that someone is the publisher of Mein Kampf. One of the first crime books was written by Truman Capote. It was called In Cold Blood and described in lurid details based on the actual confessions of the killers. What is our opinion of Truman?

If you really want to get to the heart of what motivates Rupert Murdoch, I would suggest reading the story of his father. His father was the witness to a brutal war that was fought for elites at the expense of the common man. Keith Murdoch, a journalist and the originator of the Murdoch publishing empire,(re)wrote and published an important letter which hastened the end of Australia's involvement in World War One (specifically the ill fated Gallipoli campaign). This lesson is learned by his son. The power of journalism, the pen, can change a government's foreign policy, end wars. Has he built a media empire to support his world view? Yes. Is it propaganda? All media is propaganda. Rupert (his first name is actually Keith like his father) doesn't like government. In particular, he doesn't like government that would intrude upon self determination of the individual. When his father died, the government took his legacy with taxes. Another lesson learned. I would suggest the actions of his father, and result of his death have a lot more to do with the motivations of the man, than the tabloid-esque ruminations of that which "...attracts Murdoch to the debased and inspires him to debase others."

Our democracy, our freedom, is only as strong as that with which we test it. It can stand up to a book about a killer. It can stand up to so much more.

Print the book.

Leave the publisher be.

"Somehow I don’t think our people have made that connection and feel the same way that I do, and our troops do --that because there has not been an attack in this country is directly related to the fact that they are killing these … fanatics who would otherwise be trying to work their way in to Baltimore harbor or Los Angeles airport."

We haven't made that connection, because it isn't true. Sunni insurgents, Shiite militiamen, and even the current batch of Islamic jihadis had no intention of working their way into Baltimore harbor or otherwise. However, his military has certainly created the jihadis and the elevated threat to our nation.

Conway's caught in a civil war of his making and he doesn't even know the combatants?

As far as training the Iraqi troops to "stand up", I wish the media would finally call them on this bullshit. Ask them to show us one batallion capable of operating independently and without our air support or our command. Doesn't exist. 4 fucking years. Not even a platoon. Not even one single soldier.

How do we test their readiness? We have Rumsfeld and the President visit Iraq with only the Iraqi soldiers as his escort and guard. They stay somewhere other than the green zone.

This is how people behave after years of stress in combat situations. This is the precursor to the massacre syndrome. The alienation of the civilian to the troop becomes so deep and so anger infused that eventually real bad things happen. What you witness in these videos is the rule, not the exception to the rule. The only thing holding most of these troops from exploding on the civilians are the rules of engagement and infused military discipline. Welcome to occupying army 101.

I am a premium subscriber. I have never seen an ad with the videos. I recommend the subscription. I got 2 magazine subscriptions (1 year) free with my membership (Wired, and Rolling Stone).

There is a YouTube video describing how to open, modify and rig an electronic voting machine. Fox could interview Carl Rove. Rove could say that vote stealing used to be the domain of professionals and now anyone can just watch the video and learn how to do it.