The anti-guardian ad litem movement picks up steam

Reevaluating the Evaluators: custody evaluators child custody evaluations
Rethinking the Assumptions of Therapeutic Jurisprudence in the Family Courts

And it's about time.

In so many of the cases I've followed over the past 12 years, judges rely on guardian ad litem (GAL)"eyes and ears of the court" reports in their findings of fact.

Big mistake.

GALs have a long sordid history of skewering their so-called investigations against protective parents [usually mothers, but not always] and there's a whole pile of evidence that they do it in behalf of whoever has the most money [usually fathers].

Children need. . . THIS?
CUSTODY EVALUATORS: IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Beginning of the end for Diebold's e-votes

Florida is dumping e-voting machines and replacing them with optical scanners. Yay! This is fabulous news.

Think there's any chance of Georgia following suit? Nah.

Meet Cathy [Cox] Diebold

Florida to Dump Touch-Screen E-Voting Systems

Marc L. Songini, IDG News Thu May 3, 7:00 PM ET

“In a major shift on e-voting that could ripple to other states, the Florida legislature Friday voted to replace nearly all of the state's touch-screen voting systems with optical scan devices.
“Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who initially offered up the bill mandating a change in e-voting systems earlier this year, applauded the Florida legislature for acting after the state House approved the measure. It had already been okayed by the state Senate.
“The law mandates the replacement of touch-screen systems with optical scan devices and also moves up the date of Florida's presidential primary to the last Tuesday in January. In 2008, that would be Jan. 29.
[…]
“I think this is fantastic," said Avi Rubin, a computer science professor at Johns Hopkins University and a Maryland elections judge. A high profile author and critic of touch-screen systems, he noted that Maryland has passed a similar law, although it won't take effect until 2010. "I'm thrilled with the direction these states are going," he said. "It's great that awareness of the risks of Direct Recording Electronics (DREs) has grown to the point where legislators understand the issues.
"I think we had some rough going for a few elections, but that switching to paper ballots and optical scans sets us back on course," Rubin said.

Cathy Cox [Thank you Zell Miller] is named president of Young Harris College. Wonder what happened to the previous president?

Here's a picture of him. I can't find anything on why he was replaced by Cox. Usually, there's some kind of reason given.

“Athens -- Higher education apparently suits former Secretary of State Cathy Cox.
“Since January, she's been the Carl E. Sanders Political Leadership Scholar at the University of Georgia Law School, teaching election law, and law and politics, to aspiring legal eagles.

“Cox, who's paid $80,000 in her UGA post, joked about her lack of classroom experience.
"Well, I taught Sunday school. It's the same, isn't it?" she asked.” -- Ken Duffy -- Atlanta Journal- Constitution

"Cox's big break came in 1996, when then-Secretary of State Max Cleland stepped down to run for the U.S. Senate, and Lewis Massey, a young Democratic operative, was appointed to the post by then-Gov. Zell Miller. Massey plucked Cox from the Statehouse to serve as his second-in-command. Two years later, he jumped ship to run for governor, and she easily won election to his position."

[...]

"On the campaign trial [sic], Cox is billing herself as the antidote to such partisanship.

"I'm not asking anyone to elect me just because I'm a Democrat, and I'm not going to bully anybody into switching parties, because I don't care which party you're in," she told the Macon crowd. "We need a leader who can forget partisanship."

[...]

"In April of that year, with only six full months to go, Cox's office selected Ohio-based Diebold Inc. over six other bidders to receive the $54 million contract to deliver more than 22,000 voting machines. The company had been selected in part because of its qualifications as a leader in ATM and security-system technology, Cox said.

"Almost immediately, Cox had to contend with criticism of her choice. Diebold had not been the low bidder. And rumors swirled that the company had gotten the nod because its chief Georgia lobbyist was none other than Cox's former boss and benefactor, Lewis Massey. Cox denied being swayed by Massey's connection with Diebold.

[...]

"Although Cox's non-partisan image is not a favorite among hardcore Democratic operatives, it certainly has attracted fans downstate, where "Republicans for Cox" bumper-sticker have been popping up."

In Cathy Cox's own words...

“Seventeen months ago America received a wake-up call. As the dramatic events in Florida unfolded, intense media scrutiny of the process caused Americans of every political persuasion – Democrat, Republican and Independent -- to ask themselves:
“Are elections in my state any more accurate than Florida’s?
How can I be sure my vote was counted?
Why is most election equipment so antiquated?
Would a close race in my community throw the process into chaos?
Isn’t there a better way to cast and count votes?
“In some parts of America, policymakers ignored that wake-up call. They hung up the phone, rolled over and went back to sleep.

“But not in Georgia.
“No, in Georgia, we took the events of the 2000 presidential election as a warning – but also as a catalyst for change. You see, when we analyzed our own presidential election results, we found many of the same problems the nation saw in Florida. And in fact, some of our problems were even worse.