What you don't know can hurt you.

Not getting a lot of media scrutiny is the Social Security Administration's planned shutdown of their computers for maintenance. The shut down is planned for Oct. 10-13th . Senator Feinstein wrote a letter to SSA's commisioner Michael Astrue, asking him to postpone the shutdown. “With millions of newly registered voters, and many more registering to vote every day, state and local election registrars are working seven days a week to get new voters on the list. “The days when the SSN database is scheduled to be off-line are critical.”

The commissioner was nominated by Bush in 2006 and confirmed by the Senate in 2007. He is a veteran of Republican administrations going back more than 20 years, according to his biography on the SSA Web site. Campaign finance records also show that the Belmont, Mass., resident has given more than $35,000 to GOP candidates and causes during the past decade.

If this scheduled shut down takes place it will significantly affect states ability to validate the millions of new registered voters in time for the Nov. election. Oh, by the way did you know that the majority of newly registered voters are Independents and Democrats? These voters if not able to be verified by the state will be given provisional ballots that may or may not be counted.

Senator Feinstein's letter was written on Sept. 23rd 2008 and as of today she still has not received an answer.

Let's add this latest tactic to the already dark practice of caging (sending registration applications to old addresses so when they are returned " not deliverable " the repubs can contest their vote.), removing voters from voter lists because their names are similar to felons', to shorting the amount of ballots available in historically Democratic districts, to the easily hackable and inaccurate Diebiold / Premier voting machines. Obama doesn't stand a chance unless his supporters turn out in massive numbers. There are hundreds of thousands . . . potentially millions of Democratic and Independent votes that will be either contested or not counted at all.

DaG out