January 17, 2005
When 99.9% Isn't Good Enough

Remember when county Elections Superintendent Huennekens said the "larger number of unaccounted-for votes should not shake people's confidence in the outcome of an election that he said was still '99.9x' percent accurate," i.e.,- close enough for government work.

Do you realize that if 99.9% was good enough:


  • Every day two planes would crash at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.
  • Southwest Airlines would have 702 planes crash annually.
  • 12 newborn babies would be dropped on delivery each day.
  • 4,368 babies would be given to the wrong parents annually.
  • 2 million documents would be lost by the IRS this year.
  • Also, the IRS would incorrectly process 103,260 returns this year.
  • In the next 60 minutes, 22,000 checks will be deducted from the wrong bank account.
  • Every minute 1,314 telephone calls would be misdirected by telecommunication services.
  • As many as 268,500 defective tires would be shipped in the next year.
  • In the next hour, 18,322 pieces of mail would be mishandled.
  • In the next year, 55 malfunctioning automatic teller machines would be installed.
  • 107 incorrect medical procedures would be performed each day.
  • Over 20,000 prescriptions would be filled incorrectly annually.
  • And we would have the wrong person in the governor's mansion?

(Culled from various sources.)

Posted by Brian Crouch at January 17, 2005 02:42 PM | Email This
Comments
1. Yeah but,...

Let's see how many of those come through. I can't imagine anyone accepting these types of errors, but there are a ton'o people willing to accept that of the individuals we allow to govern, because the belong to the right political party...

Posted by: DJ on January 17, 2005 02:47 PM
2. "No problem," Christine Gregoire responded, "I have appointed a Blue Ribbon Committee to investigate each and every occurrence cited above, and have immediately requested ten thousand trial lawyers to begin legal proceedings against the corporations involved. Justice will be done."

Posted by: P. Scott Cummins on January 17, 2005 02:51 PM
3. If I may borrow a phrase from a family friend. It doesn't matter if the election had an error rate of 0.01%, 0.001%, or 0.13%. If the candidate who got less votes is declared the winner the error rate is 100%.

Posted by: Joe on January 17, 2005 02:51 PM
4. Brian, You're a genius! You guys at this blog never cease to amaze me. Keep up the good work...I'm behind you.

Posted by: NWBarb on January 17, 2005 02:57 PM
5. But as far as your desire for completely accurate elections is concerned, where was it when your man was winning by a mere 42 votes? Nowhere. That's where. That,for us, is the crux of the matter: a distrust of your motives.

Posted by: heedless lucy on January 17, 2005 03:04 PM
6. Lucy, you seem to forget that most of the issues concerning questionable ballots only came to light late in this process, otherwise the democrats would have been raising the same issues when Rossi was ahead.

Posted by: Jason on January 17, 2005 03:13 PM
7. Lucy,

When our guy was up by 42, we actually felt that more light on the subject would have increased his margin. Still, you're right in that we were not screaming with outrage over the result. But why would we? We assume Democrats will cheat anyway, and so if a Republican wins in a close election, we assume the Dems just miscalculated and neglected to cheat hard enough. So we have always been quite confident that Dino really did get more real and legitiate votes. We weren't screaming for more scrutiny, but nor do I recall anyone on our side opposing it -- which is what you folks have been working overtime on.

Posted by: TB on January 17, 2005 03:17 PM
8. So brainless Lucy is on that particular liberal lily pad today - wonder which one it will be tomorrow?

I don't suppose that she and her ilk will never understand that we couldn't see all the flaws with the hand recount until King County actually did the hand recount.

Sure, the most obvious flaws with the hand recount - namely, that it is not as accurate as a machine count - were well known beforehand. But all the problems with King County's implementation (or lack of implementation) of the rules and laws surrounding the hand recount were not knowable until King County screwed the pooch.

Posted by: Larry on January 17, 2005 03:18 PM
9. Lucy,

I simply ask you this:

If - after certification - there are more ballots counted than the number of people who voted - and your candidate was behind - would you distrust 'our' motives? Of course you would, but yet the roles are reversed and you claim to distrust 'our' motives? Because we have a problem with 1 ballot = 1 vote?

Save your distrust for the real crooks. The election was stolen - plain and simple.

Posted by: jimg on January 17, 2005 03:21 PM
10. I was bored and playing with Google last night and look at the interesting post I found at www.windycitylefty.com

"headless lucy said...
Whenever you run across a conservative blog leave a negative message. Over the course of time this has got to begin to break their resolve. Pride goeth before a fall and some swift kicks in the ass don't hurt either."

I think that says it all !

Posted by: N Seattle Mike on January 17, 2005 03:24 PM
11. Lucy, honey, you misspelled "headless" in your name.

Nice compilation Brian.

Posted by: dkm on January 17, 2005 03:29 PM
12. oh, true colors shine so brightly, I thought HeadlessLucy was just trying to stir up emotions. Deep down she knows she and her candidate are going to be left crying and screaming that they were cheated, BUT with one key difference they will have no foundation on that claim.

Posted by: Adriel on January 17, 2005 03:30 PM
13. DMK it worked though, she didn't heed the fact that she's not wanted here.

Posted by: Adriel on January 17, 2005 03:31 PM
14. But as far as your desire for completely accurate elections is concerned, where was it when your man was winning by a mere 42 votes? Nowhere. That's where. That,for us, is the crux of the matter: a distrust of your motives.

Kiss my motives!

Posted by: South County on January 17, 2005 03:32 PM
15. I think Charlie Brown is finally the one holding (and whisking away) the football, and Lucy, in trying to kick something, will find that pride goeth also with the fall.

Posted by: TB on January 17, 2005 03:36 PM
16. Distrust of our motives? For goodness' sake, we just want it to be RIGHT. But Lucy summed up things nicely for many lefties: they don't want it to be correct, they just want to win.

Lucy, why don't you go feed Algore another Big Mac?

Posted by: SnoCo Voter on January 17, 2005 03:36 PM
17. The right just wants it to RIGHT - what a bunch of bunk that is. You want you man in and our woman out. Admit it. Indefense of your "Win at all costs" approach you advocaqte an election standard that says: If the margin of victory is within the margin of error, then you have to revote. No matter how hard to forces of reson argue against your unresonable position, you will never be quieted until you get your way.

Prepare to be disappotinted a long time.

Posted by: baXter on January 17, 2005 04:27 PM
18. Why do people continue to feed trolls like headless lucy and torridjoe?

Posted by: feltch on January 17, 2005 04:30 PM
19. In government, all these would be called successes! (if Bill Huennekens and Bhagdad Dean were in charge....or any number of democrats we could name)

Posted by: Michele S on January 17, 2005 04:46 PM
20. So , what your saying is that when you thought you were winners ,you didn't know what you were talking about, but now that you're losers you think you do?

Posted by: headless lucy on January 17, 2005 04:58 PM
21. If 99.9% of the trolls made posts based in fact this place would be much more civil.

Posted by: smoke on January 17, 2005 05:11 PM
22. "Why do people continue to feed trolls like headless lucy and torridjoe?"

Posted by feltch at January 17, 2005 04:30 PM


Please tell me that your username is your real name and not an attempt at humor.If so you're spelling is off. But then mine could be too I'm laughing so hard !! :)

Posted by: J Mc on January 17, 2005 05:12 PM
23. Here, here...

Just kidding. I found it dramatic that Heedless has taken to my spelling. Perhaps something is slipping badly?

And Heedless, I assume nothing other than your daddy should pay attention to you. Did you get the Pit Bull Terrier yet? I didn't think so, since you are still playing with grown-ups...

Posted by: smegma on January 17, 2005 06:16 PM
24. J Mc ~ Keep laughing :), yes my spelling is a little off and indeed the name is a sad attempt at humor. Seeing the Headless Lucy has given our friend smegma such a hard time about his name, I wanted to make it more dificult for her.

Posted by: feltch on January 17, 2005 07:18 PM
25. I learned of the phrase from an interview with Mark Arm (Mudhoney, Green River)back around 1988 and it still makes me cringe. I guess HL hasn't a clue or she would really be on your a** (so to speak)

Posted by: J Mc on January 17, 2005 10:13 PM
26. I wouldn't stoop so low.

Posted by: headless lucy on January 18, 2005 05:08 AM
27. You wrote, "Also, the IRS would incorrectly process 103,260 returns this year."

Isn't this kind of a low estimate for the IRS? :-)

Sorry, couldn't help that one!

Keep up the good work!

Ron in VA

Posted by: Ron on January 18, 2005 06:43 AM
28. Lucy, (please note that asterisks below are there to allow the blog filters to post my words without inadvertant censoring)

You have said--"But as far as your desire for completely accurate elections is concerned, where was it when your man was winning by a mere 42 votes? Nowhere. That's where. That,for us, is the crux of the matter: a distrust of your motives."

Well, I guess at that time there was not much evidence that there was a lot of fraud going on, was there?--you should see this by common sense alone. And then, I guess I could ask YOU where was Gregoire's concern for fairness when Rossi's TWO recount leads were called by her "ties"? Only after it appeared SHE was ahead did she finally think it was "fair". Unfortunately, an overwhelming percentage of the voters in the state don't think the vote was free and equal, as required by the Constitution.A huge number of voters in King county (more than on the conservative east side) are requesting a revote. A huge number of these are Democrats. Don't you wonder why?
Because this crosses party lines to the very heart of our freedoms, that's why. I don't care if a red dog ran and won, if it was a fair and honest vote. What I do care about is the "social*istic brotherhood" of Olympia ramming their agendas down our throats and their overthrow of legitimate government--this amounts to rebellion, insurrection and a coup. What do you think now? Starting to look a bit different?
Maybe it will when you realize only ONE Democrat senator had the guts to ask for a two week wait to see what the courts would say. For that he was ridiculed and scorned. The Republicans did not ask for a reversal of the vote. They did not ask that it be given to Rossi. They only asked for a fair revote. Not exactly your typical "sore loser". By comparison, the "winners" were vindictive, insulting and protective of their little circle of pretenders to the throne. Ms. Gregoire admitted there was fraud (a felony), she downplayed the same (felony) and proceeded to assume the throne. She cannot plead ignorance of the law--when she should have asked for a revote herself, if only to save face, she promised to "fix" the problems in her term. In doing so, she alienated a great number of Democrats that said though they had voted for her, they would not do so in a revote. Why? Because she showed lack of integrity in her behavior and THEY QUESTIONED HER MOTIVES. Sound familiar?
They saw that the Left only wanted to get into office and stay there, regardless of the means, regardless of the harm done and regardless of the legality of it all. She may actually be aiding and abet*ting fraud, in collusion with felons to defraud the voters of the state and guilty of treason in enabling an illegal overthrow of government. If convicted, she will serve time and be disbarred--she will also NEVER run for any public office again. What should she do then? She should ask for a revote. Will she? Not in a million years. Her arrogance and her desire for power will not allow her to do so and as a result she will bring deserved destruction on herself--and her party. The Demos have become rabid dogs of late, biting whatever moves against them. They will self-destruct. And they deserve to--they have lost touch with those they claim to represent. In fact, they no longer truly represent--they rule from on high. As such, we again have taxtation without representation and might as well have a king--even if it is a county by that name. I for one will not sit idly by and have my vote stolen--and I do not want YOURS stolen, for if yours is not safe, none are safe.
Do you understand now? Still question our "motives"? Maybe you need to be less "heedless" and start fighting tyranny in your own time.

Steven O'Dell

P.S. You aren't fooling anyone, you know. You are a common muckraker and it is apparent to all who read your posts (here and elsewhere--where you showed your true colors). The sad fact is that when everyone tires of your inane babble, you will then be ignored and you will simply vanish from this blog because of impotence and frustration. Poor child....

Posted by: Steve O'Dell on January 18, 2005 08:23 PM
29. I'm glad someone came up with the airline analogy; I had been planning that post myself. But, it's seriously understated. There were just shy of one million flight operations at O'Hare last year (and almost as many at Atlanta.) Using King County's "acceptable" percentage would have lead to almost 1000 accidents, or closer to three crashes a day. At just O'Hare! For the entire domestic airline industry, there would have been more than 19 crashes per day. What would Dan Rather have said about that? BTW, actually, there was only ONE fatal accident last year - it's a good thing Dean Logan is running an airline!

Posted by: Bob B. on January 19, 2005 01:37 PM
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