Technology is getting ahead of common sense with changes in the way this country conducts elections.

The Pentagon has plans to test Internet voting for some soldiers overseas, perhaps as early as the South Carolina primary but definitely by the general election in November. But a study by four computer scientists brought in to examine the system raises serious and alarming questions.

SERVE, the Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment, should be put on hold until security flaws can be addressed. According to the experts, current technology cannot protect the system from abuse or guarantee that votes are not tampered with.

This is the second time that computer experts have warned of problems with Internet voting. The risks are real. Hackers have been able to penetrate the Web sites of banks, the FBI and even the White House. Worms and viruses have affected millions of individual computers.

It is not far-fetched to be concerned about a system that would make such a juicy target for someone hoping to illegally affect an election.

The men and women who are serving this country deserve every opportunity to cast their ballots. But they also deserve, as do we all, to know that the system is secure enough to protect the integrity of their votes.

The Pentagon should put this program on hold and concentrate its efforts on more reliable registration and voting methods.


Justice, compared


Former South Dakota Gov. and Congressman Bill Janklow killed a man in an automobile accident. He was convicted last month of second-degree manslaughter, speeding and running a stop sign.

Last week, he was sentenced to 100 days in jail and three years of probation. After 30 days, Janklow will be allowed out for 10 hours a day to perform community service.

According to a report on National Public Radio, the felony conviction will be wiped from Janklow’s record after the probationary period.

That burns us. Not only did Janklow get a light sentence, the felony conviction won’t even stay with him. In three years, it disappears.

Katherine Bishop of Portland is not a former governor or a congressman. She’s a mother of three. She pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and aggravated drunken driving after causing a crash that left a man paralyzed.

She was sentenced last week to 18 months in jail, four years probation and community service.

As Sen. John Edwards says on the campaign trail, there are two Americas. One for the rich, powerful and connected. Another one for everyone else.



Wall Street vs. Main Street: Eastman Kodak, an American powerhouse company, said Thursday it will cut 15,000 jobs, or more than a fifth of its workforce, over the next three years. On Wall Street, the company’s stock closed up $3.49 – a gain of more than 10 percent – the day the news was announced. Since 1998, Kodak has cut 22,000 jobs.
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