From Bo Lipari: For John Posted on April 28th, 2009 by bolipari
http://www.nyvv.org/boblog/2009/04/28/for-john/ This morning I woke to the impossible news that my friend John Gideon was gone. Somehow, a big, vibrant man I had seen just a few weeks ago, would no longer be there; a fisherman who went out each and every day to bring in a daily catch of information to feed the many depending on him would not be returning with the evening tide. I first met John about 6 years ago when the nascent Election Integrity movement was just a couple of handfuls of people around the country beginning to connect via email. I've been trying hard to remember what we first talked about, and exactly how we hooked up, but try as I might the details are lost in time. Over the years as the network grew, we emailed, talked, but met in person only four times. In this virtual community of ours, this is the way of things - lots of communication, very little face time. When he started Daily Voting News I was impressed with the simplicity and brilliance of the idea - a clipping service about all things Election Integrity. Early on I used to scour the New York State papers for articles, and send John anything I found for DVN. But it didn't take too long to realize that John was way better than I was at finding articles, turning up even obscure little pieces about New York that I missed completely. It wasn't long before I'd just wait for my copy of DVN to hit my Inbox to find out what was being said that day about New York on the web. John was one of those rarest of persons who believe that if we are going to get democracy right, we've got to get elections right, and if we're going to get elections right, someone is going to have to roll up their sleeves and pitch in every single day and do the grunt work. John got up every single day and did the grunt work. And in doing so, he helped me in bigger ways than just the essential resources he provided. He helped me get up every morning and do my work, because even when I felt discouraged, even when I was dejected, even when I felt just too damn tired to go on, I knew over there on the other coast my friend John Gideon was already awake and working for democracy. Mortality bites, leaving us with memories, regrets and wishes. I last saw John just a few weeks ago at a conference in Seattle. At the end of the conference I went over to him to say goodbye, but I was hurrying to get outside to take pictures before the good light faded, so I just gave him a pat on the back, and a handshake, and joked that I'd see him next year. Now I regret that I didn't forget about the damn camera and had stopped to talk with him a bit, had given him a big hug, had told him how much he inspired me, and how much he had done for us and how much we all needed him. But I didn't, I just said goodbye and left. Tomorrow I'll get up and go on with this work. Today, I need to grieve for John Gideon, my colleague, my provider, my friend. Goodbye John, you left us too soon, we mourn your loss. From Bev Harris: >John Gideon: 1947-2009 - Loss of a giant voice in election integrity > >One of the nation's leading election integrity watchdogs, John >Gideon, 62, passed away Monday April 27. Gideon was editor of the >very widely distributed "Daily Voting News," featured on Bradblog. >Together with Ellen Theisen, he co-founded the prominent election >integrity Web site VotersUnite.org. In the early days of Black Box >Voting, John Gideon played an important role by corresponding with >each and every new member in our forums. He also helped assist >VerifiedVoting.org when it was a fledgling organization. > >He succumbed rather suddenly to bacterial meningitis. He passed away >with his family by his side. > >John Gideon earned a reputation for painstaking accuracy. He >developed a breadth of knowledge about certification processes and >all major voting machines. Yet more impressive (for some of us >middle-aged folk), he had an amazing ability to remember details >whenever needed, synthesizing knowledge from thousands of articles, >research papers and visits. > >Always courteous, he was respected by election officials, >secretaries of state, voting rights attorneys, and the often-raucous >grass roots election reform community. Gideon was consistently >intellectually honest, demonstrating the ability to consider new >ideas and rethink old ways, whether or not it was popular. Once he >latched onto key concepts for election transparency, he held onto >them with the stubbornness and backbone required of great patriots. > >Sometimes you can't replace important voices in a civil rights >movement. I don't think we'll ever be able to match John's unique >voice. I do have confidence, however, that his vast and effective >communications reach developed many new voices, and that together >the individuals John Gideon inspired will at least help to fill the >hole we're left with in our hearts, and in our fight to regain >self-government. > >We know many of you knew John and his outstanding work. You may post >your own remembrances and comments here: ><http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/8/80334.html>http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/8/80334.html > >Rest in peace, democracy's friend John Gideon. > >Bev Harris >Founder - Black Box Voting ><http://www.blackboxvoting.org>http://www.blackboxvoting.org --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. 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