"In God We Trust. All others we audit." From an auditor friend...

[Amaryllis]

I have a friend who has worked as an auditor for a number of companies. One of his managers used to always say, "In God we trust. All other we audit." Good phrase when we are talking to election officials about audits and they talk about trust.

I immediately thought of Land Shark's post on trust
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...
Officials say "Trust Us" When Very Basis of American System is Distrust!!

<snip>

The Framers assumed that every individual exercising power would be tempted to misuse that power either by underutilizing it or by using it overly aggressively.<13> At the same time, they expressed hope that their project of effecting a system of government would preserve liberty. This is what I have called elsewhere the Calvinist paradox of distrust and hope.<14>

Much, or even most, of what was said at the Constitutional Convention was couched in terms of distrust — distrust of the legislature, of the Executive, of the people, of power in general, of religion, of the states, of the large states, and of the small states.<15> It was a feast of distrust. Frankly, one can point to precious little in the intervening centuries that would prove their assumptions wrong.

Are our elections officials, in asking for trust or objecting to the implication that they should not be trusted or are not trusted, really the defenders of democracy, the "sentinels of democracy"? A real sentinel will rise to defend at the instant of a possible threat and summon reinforcements at the moment of a probable threat. In contrast, some elections officials seem to wish to be left alone with the *actual* threat and ability to modify an electronic election, unmolested by any power checking power.

[bananas]

1. "In God We Trust - All Others Pay Cash" by Jean Shepherd

From one of the reviews:

We also get to see the Depression come to life in "`Nevermore,' Quoth the Assessor, `Nevermore'." Ralphie and his friends Schwartz, Fleck and Kissel are coming home from school throwing rocks at everything that moves until they see a poster on a telephone poll announcing a tax auction. His friend Kissel's house is being sold at a sheriff's auction to pay for back taxes. He never sees Kissel again.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385021747/qid=1143005193/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-2184011-2285633?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

[autorank]

2. Excellent. It's part of the "Disinformation" Culture Surrounding Us.

Remember the Kennedy assassination? There was a "lone gunman" as there was at every other killing of liberal political leaders. What a "coincidence." The leaders of the left are systematically eliminated in a few short years. Every single time, it's a "lone" gunman.

We are conditioned to believe that the only crime that takes place is by a "lone" stray, someone who just has a bad attitude or expired prescription. There's never any collusion.

A more realistic look at history reveals hardball galore with serious conspiracies. There's the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution justifying the Viet Nam War. An American ship was supposedly attacked by the North Viet Namese. It didn't happen. But 98 senators voted to support the resolution. Only two voted no, Wayne Morse, R, OR & Ernst Gruening, R, AK. Conspiracy to change events. Then there was Iran Contra. Was th atone person or many individuals across various agencies working to thwart the will of the American people by trading arms to Iran in order to support the Contras in Nicaragua. And our current event of the new millennium, the Iraq War, brought to us through a series of lies fabricated by elected and appointed officials galore all over the government. Three major events that changed American history done through conspiracies.

How long did it take to get the truth on Viet Nam...years!

Do we have the truth on Iran Contra? No.

Do we have the truth on Iraq? No.

We live in a political culture that thrives on subterfuge and deceit. That's the norm for major projects. Of course,electing a president is a major project. Why would there be any inclination to audit or other forms of quality assurance on the part of elections officials, the former backwater of county government.

Some of us wonder "How can these people not understand how simple our point is?" "We just want free and fair elections."

After Katrina; after Iraq; after Iran Contra; after Iraq; and after the murders of JFK, King, and Robert Kennedy why would we expect anyone in government to have a first impulse assure free and fair elections.

If "they" would do all of the above mentioned acts (excluding the "lone gunman" assassinations), why would we expect anything else but dirty elections. It's so obvious.

[EFerrari]

3. I love it and will use it

:)

[Melissa G]

4. Definitely worth a K&R!

To Question unchecked power is a Patriotic act! It is a Defense of Democracy and it is a Defense of Freedom. Questioning the legitimacy of the last elections since 2000 spreads freedom without killing people. Indeed, had we had political support and backing from our alleged political leaders in this country, many deaths may have been prevented.
Spread the word..Transparent, verifiable elections are what spread democracy, not war.

[Land Shark]

5. good phrase, i think I'll use "all others we audit" as well...! K&R

[Amaryllis]

6. Correction to link on LAnd SHark's post:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=413949&mesg_id=413949
Thanks to Pigwidgeon for pointing out that the one in the original post is broken.

[Einsteinia]

7. Love it!

n/t

[FogerRox]

8. Kn R, VOTE THIS UP

[Melissa G]

9. Just wanted to let you know this was the quote that I used to close

The TX SOS hearing on Diebold certification...Read it into the record at the end..just for you...

[Amaryllis]

10. Can't think of any place I'd rather have it read!

[JimDandy]

11. Let's usurp this phrase from the accountants.

I saw this "...all others we audit" on a sign in an accountant's office in the 80's. I wasn't an elections activist then or I would have recognized right away that our democracy needs that phrase more than the accountants do. Am going to appropriate it from now on though. Thanks Amaryllis!

[Amaryllis]

13. I immediately thought "elections!" when my friend told me the phrase.

[JimDandy]

14. It's my mantra now for getting an election audit bill passed in Utah.

The phrase is so apropos to Utah. Last year, the Lt. Gov. ran around the state pressuring Utah's 29 counties into buying Diebold TSx machines and literally saying "trust me" anytime an objection was raised about their product. We have a VVPAT law, (although weakened after this last legislative session) but, of course, it's useless without requiring a random, hand-counted audit of a portion of the vote counts at each election.

I was the co-author of a vote count audit bill this past legislative season in Utah. It was a real learning experience drafting it, to say the least, and unfortunately it went nowhere in the legislature. We're going to present the bill again next year. If it doesn't pass, we'll do what Arizona is currently doing -- gather signatures for a citizens initiative and get the measure on the ballot.

About half the population in Utah is LDS, so that phrase: "In God We Trust, All Others We Audit" should strike a chord with most people here.

[Amaryllis]

15. You're right - it's a perfect phrase for areas with folks who are

strongly religious.

[Febble]

12. Absolutely

Couldn't agree more.