READER COMMENTS ON
"'Bloggermann' Keeps Shoveling..."
(36 Responses so far...)
COMMENT #1 [Permalink]
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attorney jim
said on 12/27/2004 @ 5:01 pm PT...
Hi ya wacko lefty conspiracy nuts! It's all falling down around you isn' it! You look like puppies all chasing your own little tails all over while we all laugh at your antics.
You will NEVER catch us. We are smarter than you.
Go ahead, try to find the votes. They are buried.
COMMENT #2 [Permalink]
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Partridge
said on 12/27/2004 @ 5:29 pm PT...
COMMENT #3 [Permalink]
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Alfred Calunet
said on 12/27/2004 @ 5:43 pm PT...
Brad, this is the most interesting story on the web, but in order to be taken seriously you need to proofread your copy a few times. I'm specifically relating to the 12/27/04 Bloggerman response you just filed. It's riddled with typos which are distracting.
As for this Attorney Jim character, he's obsessed with your site. You know you're bugging people when they cling to every word, comment on every piece, but only in that schoolyard manner of sticking their tongue out at you and saying, "I know you are but what am I."
People like this know that your audience is growing. If there was no audience, no increased readership, there would be no thrill for them. Enjoy their presence, hope that more of them show up. Truth floats in a sea of BS. If there weren't people like this willing to frame the facts with fury, you'd know there was no juice in your story.
I'm hanging on your every word man.
Good work.
COMMENT #4 [Permalink]
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Lewis
said on 12/27/2004 @ 5:59 pm PT...
I think Attorney Jim must be the hit-man hired to murder the guy in the motel in Valdosta, Georgia after he got too close to the truth about Feeney et al.
How else to explain the level of fear Jim is expressing in his troubled emails?
The truth will come out, Attorney Jim. Make no mistake. As George W. says, "You can run but you cannot hide."
COMMENT #5 [Permalink]
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Brad
said on 12/27/2004 @ 6:02 pm PT...
Thanks for the kind words, Alfred.
We're guilty as charged in not proofing our material enough times before posting to look for typos. Once or twice through is sometimes good enough, but an editor would of course, be a lovely luxury that we don't currently have.
On the other hand, we have readers like you who frequently Email some of those typos to us. Please feel free to do so any time! Much appreciated!
Especially when we're quickly rushing out replies to silly columnists who insist on setting back, instead of advancing the story.
I wish I had more time, and a staff as big as MSNBC's to help
COMMENT #6 [Permalink]
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Peg C
said on 12/27/2004 @ 6:06 pm PT...
As one of the e-mailers who stoked Olbermann's ire, I can't help adding that I was too polite. Did everyone see his "news"cast tonight? He effectively tossed all evidence of fraud and chicanery in Ohio into the dumpster, while pretending to give the issue airtime, thus further cementing shut the minds of most Americans to the possibility that this election was rigged. Wonder whose little doggie Keith O. really is?
Keep at it Brad. There's a whole world hanging in the balance.
COMMENT #7 [Permalink]
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laura Selesky
said on 12/27/2004 @ 7:03 pm PT...
I was steaming watching Olbermann tonight!I thought he was the only msm out there to take us seriously.Boy was I wrong.Then I went to your comments line on this story only to read attorney jims.What a joke. Why are you even on this blog? You should go to your neo con blog,where your crap is appreciated.Keep up the great work Brad! We're counting on you to keep us informed! Thanks Laura
COMMENT #8 [Permalink]
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Brundlefly
said on 12/27/2004 @ 7:39 pm PT...
Olbermann is the same as the rest, the bottom dollar corporations call the angle to the stories.
As much as Keith tries to convince us he is on-side, another 20 grand added to his contract to STFU would be more than enough to make him shut it. Sad but true.
Brad, don't hold your breath waiting for any "real" investigation into what you are reporting. Capitalism speaks volumes for these Bozo's, investigative news is sadly a dying art form.
Canada is on your side USA.
Jim, you are another Bozo. :crazy:
COMMENT #9 [Permalink]
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Bando Bling
said on 12/27/2004 @ 8:16 pm PT...
It is a possibility that Mr. Olbermann's producers are under attack from Bush goons. As it may have become difficult for MSNBC producers to hold the fort, Mr. Olbermann may be trying to sugar quote things.
If you look into the Olbermann past achieves his reporting was more objective. Past couple of weeks he is dribbling the issues with going backwards and forwards. With rest of his national media colleagues in ABC, CBS etc. is shamelessly silent, Mr. Olbermann is isolated and looking for room to maneuver. Any national figure that speaks against the Bush administration has been seen being chased by the ‘White House Dogs’. Bull Dogs! Greyhound! White House Wolves too! If you think I am wrong ask Richard Clarke, Paul O’Neil, etc.
So this ‘voter fraud of 2004’ has to be united front effort. When guys like Olbermann or other bloggers are chased by the ‘White House Dogs’ someone else should pick up the ‘baton’. Brad the ball is on your court, keep going with it for now.
Meantime Republicans are quiet. When an issue of such an enormous magnitude has kept the ‘good’ Republicans silent means something is smelly and rotten inside this voter fraud issue. Did any reporter asked John McCain as to why is it so smelly in Ohio? This is a voter fraud Tsunami. ‘Good’ Republican’s silence speaks for itself!
COMMENT #10 [Permalink]
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pushcat
said on 12/27/2004 @ 9:23 pm PT...
Olberman is going the way of Richard Clarke, John O'Neil, and The Valerie Plame scandal. To destroy the message, destroy the messenger. Keep working at it Brad, we appreciate all you do. Attorney Jim is is absolutly no attornery. He lives in a run down trailer somewhere in Florida, sucking on cheap wine while he types at his computor, LOL
COMMENT #11 [Permalink]
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Lanette
said on 12/27/2004 @ 9:31 pm PT...
I have been feeling the same way about Keith Olbermann for the last couple of weeks...like he's "gone over to the other side." I emailed him last week after his Clint Curtis blog. I asked him why he so readily accepted the comments of Tom Feeny and the lawyers for Yang. I would expect anyone accused of fraud to say the things they said. It doesn't mean they are telling the truth. And I said that most whistleblowers are called "disgruntled employees." I was one of the ones who asked him why he didn't have Curtis on the air. I think his excuse for not having him on was very lame - that it would be no better than having the Swift Boat Vets on. I seem to recall that he DID have the SBV's on his program. They certainly were on Hardball, Scarborough, etc, etc, etc, endlessly.
I thought Olbermann was very objective at first, but he has given too much misinformation and one-sided accounts over the past couple of weeks to have any credibility anymore.
I first noticed the change in him after he posted his blog about Bev Harris threatening his staff. He said something like "you have no idea how hard it has been to cover this election fraud story." If he stopped covering the story, people would wonder why. By discrediting the story, he can pacify the Bush administration's supporters while not arousing the suspicions of those who expect him to continue to cover the story.
COMMENT #12 [Permalink]
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Peg C
said on 12/27/2004 @ 9:57 pm PT...
Yes, the odor is almost overwhelming. I just want to share with all of you an e-note I received from the NYT in response to a letter of protest on their silence.
"Dear Ms. Clark,
Several hundred other readers have raised similar concerns requesting more coverage on this issue. Mr. Okrent asked me to let you know that he does not believe The Times's coverage of the voting in Ohio is over; please stay tuned.
Sincerely,
Arthur Bovino
Office of the Public Editor
The New York Times"
Now, I want to tell you of the letter I received from my VERY progressive democratic congressman (whom I just helped to reelection) in response to my e-note requesting him to challenge the electors on January 6. It says
"Thank you for contacting me regarding your concerns with the election process. I appreciate hearing from you on this important matter."
(A bit of nattering about e-voting, making election day a national holiday, "and other important election reform matters" to be debated in Congress to protect and enhance our most fundamental right in a democracy...")
And then: "Thank you for sharing your concerns with me. I appreciate the opportunity to represent you in Congress."
With "warmest regards," Rep. Mike Michaud of Maine signed off.
Either the Democrats (and the media) are being very deep indeed and keeping word of an upcoming ambush from reaching GOP ears, or we are being sold "up the river."
Care to speculate which it is?
COMMENT #13 [Permalink]
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Bando Bling
said on 12/27/2004 @ 10:13 pm PT...
COMMENT #14 [Permalink]
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winter patriot
said on 12/27/2004 @ 10:14 pm PT...
Good question, Peg. And this is just my opinion but I think the sale was completed a long time ago.
COMMENT #15 [Permalink]
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js
said on 12/27/2004 @ 10:33 pm PT...
Peg, you want to see the real leadership of this country? Look in the mirror.
The prominent politicians, media people, academics-- ALL of them have surrendered to the golden handcuffs.
It's an incredibly dangerous situation. This world is facing real dangers ranging from global warming to recession. (Not to forget the guys from Al Qaida, but considering that Mama Nature just finished killing ten times as many people in a few minutes as Al Qaida has managed in a few years, let's keep our priorities straight). And the only real leaders we have are grassroots people.
We don't have any reason to trust our leadership, or even to believe the political part of it was duly elected. If we had a national leadership, it would be doing everything it could to clear up exactly what happened in the election. Not just the CBC, but everyone. Even Blackwell. It's stupid beyond belief to place the whole nation at risk this way.
Let's be fair to Olbermann. He's no greater a coward than most of the politicians, media people, academics, and so on. And for that matter, it's not fair to ask people to be heroes. Whatever the precise facts behind people like Clint Curtis and Bev Harris, they are incredibly brave just to enter the buzzsaw that we call the MSM. Ask Gary Webb or Bob Parry what passing through the buzzsaw is like.
We need to be like ants, each one picking up a bit of the weight and not asking people to be consumed by doing right. We need to support the doers, not just with words, but with cash.
COMMENT #16 [Permalink]
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Bando Bling
said on 12/27/2004 @ 10:58 pm PT...
Fundamentally, GOP is a combination of the radical Baath party and the Talibans. Psycho graphically, GOP insecurity is very similar to the Baath Party. And their lack of progressive & liberal thinking can be defined as Talibans driving Cadillac. Or 'Republican-Talibans'??
The GOP has been caught tapping the phone lines of the Democratic Party on several occasions. They have spies in the Democratic Party. So for the Democrats to orchestrate a 'commando action' on January 6th may not surprise the GOP. The other and more probable option for the Democrats is to march into the senate with their trumpets blowing. This 'probable’ possibility becomes again ‘improbable’ because democrats simply do not have the “balls” (Brad! excuse me for the language) to look into the eyes of the GOP thugs and say, "We don't support a fraudulently elected President! Screw You!"
COMMENT #17 [Permalink]
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Soft Bulletin
said on 12/28/2004 @ 5:50 am PT...
js, you know we can't ask Gary Webb anymore right? A couple of weeks ago, deemed suicide. 2 gunshot wounds to the head.
COMMENT #18 [Permalink]
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attorney jim
said on 12/28/2004 @ 6:07 am PT...
You will NEVER catch us.
We are SMARTER than you.
You are all LOOKING in the wrong place for the votes.
I just gave you 3 hints and you still cannot figure it out. Like I said, we are smarter than you.
COMMENT #19 [Permalink]
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Soft Bulletin
said on 12/28/2004 @ 6:18 am PT...
Here's a link to a very fluffy story on the Gary Webb situation, for anyone that missed it.
COMMENT #20 [Permalink]
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Freebird
said on 12/28/2004 @ 9:29 am PT...
As far as al Qaeda and Hurricanes killing people, George DUMBYA has already outdone them both.
As far as Olbermann is concerned, it is standard procedure in military/intelligence psy-ops, or if your a savvy political personality or organization, to get out ahead of a story to discredit or destroy the person or cause being advanced against you or your criminal activity. I would certainly weigh Keith Olbermann's actions against these standards in possibly trying to protect others while discrediting others. Especially since his employer is connected with America's vast Military Industrial Complex and comes in the number 2 slot behind FOX News for Bush/Republican coddling. Spinning the story your way before it becomes full throttle mainstream is part of working for the White House, Pentagon, and CIA public influence and information exploitation departments. They have multimillion dollar budgets too!
Obviously, the Clint Curtis/Tom Feeney story has far ranging implications involving both past and recent elections. Considering the Military Industrial Complex and Christian Dominionists have working ties with the pro-Republican companies making and maintaining our electronic voting machines, a full exposure of their ties and conduct in relation to our elections could spoil the best laid plans.
How all of these alleged voting problems fall in favor of George DUMBYA and Republicans is telling. It is telling because these are the personalities and parties advancing the cause of the growing Military Industrial Complex and their Christian Dominionists.
As I warned in a post in BRAD WORLD yesterday, our greatest threat is the merging of Christian Dominionists with the most powerful military on Earth, and that is excatly what's happening!
When you believe you're taking your orders from GOD, murdering tens of thousands of people in Iraq, destroying the global environment, preparing for Armageddon, or suppressing the rights and freedoms of others, and doing so by fraudulently and illegally manipulating elections, in America and abroad, it is just considered AOK! Because it's in the service of GOD, not humanity!
Therefore, violating international laws, torturing prisoners, snubbing international institutions, and avoiding the sanctions of an international criminal court or Kyoto Treaty is in "GOD's" service! All of a sudden, the word of and service to GOD justifies violating or ignoring "human" laws, rules, morals, or standards.
From the Iraq War to Voting Fraud, I would suggest my friends you view what is happening around us in this light, even if only as a partial consideration. Afterall, George DUMBYA, TRICKY DICK Cheney, and their financial benefactors in the oil and gas industry, the monetary sector, and the Military Industrial Complex may just be using Christian Dominionists as a political tool to retain power to advance their continued greedy interests in exploiting the human and natural resources of the world.
I would rather be facing a greedy George than a Christian George, because at least we could relate to his actions at a human level. But if he now considers himself and his Presidency as divine providence in a Christian based purge of our government and society, and a further mandate to pursue religious prophesy in an endtimes struggle over the Middle East and a vision of a photo op with a second coming of Christ...beware!
When one of our own General's at the Pentagon appears in uniform at right-wing Christian services and declares that George DUMBYA was chosen by GOD to be president...well...let's all be in shock and awe! Chosen by GOD? Or chosen by electronic voting machines tied to the Republican Party, the Christian Dominion movement, and the Military Industrial Complex? Let's have an expose on this at NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX!
COMMENT #21 [Permalink]
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attorney jim
said on 12/28/2004 @ 10:34 am PT...
So Freebird: whats the matter? Did mommy & daddy MAKE you go to Sunday School and now you are rebelling?
Grow up.
COMMENT #22 [Permalink]
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Bando Bling
said on 12/28/2004 @ 11:02 am PT...
Attorney Jim! To steal something and get away is not smartness. Such people are termed in the society as CRIMINALS.
COMMENT #23 [Permalink]
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Chemoelectric.org
said on 12/28/2004 @ 12:46 pm PT...
I don't think Keith Olbermann has nefarious intentions. I do believe he has had some trouble sifting through the facts effectively.
Take, for instance, the alleged "disgruntledness" of Clint Curtis. I think Olbermann is right that the kind of polite goodbye that Curtis got is no good evidence that Curtis wasn't "disgruntled." On the other hand, it should be obvious from the last four years of violent Bushism that a charge of "disgruntledness" means nothing. It means nothing when applied to Joe Wilson, Paul O'Neill, Richard Clarke, etc., and it means nothing when applied to Clint Curtis. It should simply be ignored.
The only reason the rest of us can't ignore charges of "disgruntledness" is the failure of the mainstream media to ignore them. If Clint Curtis's charges are too undeveloped for MSNBC, which may be so, then so also are Feeney's and YEI's.
There is one more fact, however, that needs to be considered, which is that Tom Feeney is on record expressing his disdain for Floridian "democracy." This needs to be considered alongside the general rule that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. In 2000, Feeney led the effort to have the Florida legislature overturn the presidential election. Therefore, for the question of whether or not to accept election results, the burden of proof rests on Tom Feeney and others like him, to show they have not rigged Florida's vote.
COMMENT #24 [Permalink]
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Trolls Suck
said on 12/28/2004 @ 1:00 pm PT...
Jim is nothing more then a troll. If you have spent any time at all on usenet, you KNOW had to handle trolls. They thrive off attention, good or bad. If you ignore them they rapidly wither and die from the lack of feedback. Personally, I'd have already banned him being as how he's an obvious troll AND he's wasting space copying and pasting massive amounts of text.
Don't feed the trolls.
COMMENT #25 [Permalink]
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winter patriot
said on 12/28/2004 @ 1:40 pm PT...
Thanks for this comment, TS. You are exactly right.
May it please the court, I plead guilty to having fed this troll, and I'm ashamed to admit that I have done it more than once.
I will stop feeding him in the future and I do hope that all the other regular contributors will join me. Then, like Karl Marx's vision of the state, he may just wither away to nothingness. Here's hoping.
COMMENT #26 [Permalink]
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Freebird
said on 12/28/2004 @ 2:15 pm PT...
LOL Trolls keep us Gremlins busy. You are right but I don't believe this attorney Jim Troll is going anywhere. If he does, he'll re-emerge as a Troll in different clothing.
And sorry attorney Jim, didn't go to Sunday School, which is why I am not brain washed and mentally pre-programmed to vote for Republicans like our spanking new pre-programmed electronic voting machines. No need to rebel except against those like yourself who need infologic assistance and the corrupt Christian and corporate war masters of America!
COMMENT #27 [Permalink]
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Me again
said on 12/29/2004 @ 4:03 am PT...
Brad,
Perhaps you should trace Jims IP?
Least he is past denying the fraud!
COMMENT #28 [Permalink]
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ME Again
said on 12/29/2004 @ 4:07 am PT...
I get the feeling AL the votes are fake! WE need to LOOK at them, of course we arent allowed to. But I think the Votes in OH are all made way before Nov 2nd, and the REAL ballots driven away in the night.
We will NEVER find them is right! But we can see and prove the FAKE votes with orders to look at them.
Ohio citezens NEED to demand a look at those votes NOW. THere is no leagal reason you cant see them.
COMMENT #29 [Permalink]
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Paul
said on 12/29/2004 @ 11:15 am PT...
Keith Olbermann is a liberal but maybe he is smart enough to realize that it's all just a leftist kook fringe conspiracy. When you guys do not like the news, then it is another conspiracy. A conspiracy hiding a conspiracy hiding a conspiracy. I would have never believed how far the left has put their faith in conspiracies. Maybe Keith has realized that all of you guys are kooks!
It seems you guys also have issues just because this president has a strong faith in God! Who do you really hate?
A theme song for you kooks - "Their coming to take me away...to the funny farm."
If Brad really wants to make some money on these blogs, he should write a book. He can be the #1 expert on the so-called election fraud. He can be the poster child for Bushhaters. And, he can be rich, because he has a huge kook fringe audience!
"Average" liberals won't donate any money to natural disasters or help the homeless but they will buy a book!
Good comments Attorney Jim.
COMMENT #30 [Permalink]
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winter patriot
said on 12/29/2004 @ 1:04 pm PT...
"It seems you guys also have issues just because this president has a strong faith in God!"
No, Paul. We have issues because he claims to have faith in God and yet his policies are so evil.
COMMENT #31 [Permalink]
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Freebird
said on 12/29/2004 @ 4:01 pm PT...
LOL...right on Winter Patriot.
Paul, I'm sure the 19 men who flew airplanes into the Pentagon, World Trade Centers, and a Pennsylvannia field also had a strong faith in God. I'm sure they were screaming Allah on the way down. Funny how all these right wing Christian types who claim to have a strong faith in God also have no problem allowing the murder of tens of thousands of human beings in Iraq!
Maybe your God's are the problem, or better yet, the blind faith you have in religions and those who claim to talk to God, yet also have their own sinister motives.
COMMENT #32 [Permalink]
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T-Rod
said on 12/29/2004 @ 4:50 pm PT...
GOD is not a Democrat or a Republican...
COMMENT #33 [Permalink]
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jazzolog
said on 12/30/2004 @ 1:03 am PT...
"This presidential election is over," said John Kerry's attorney in Ohio on Monday evening. He was speaking for both Kerry and Edwards in answer to questions Keith Olbermann was posting as to how involved is the Democratic Party with charges of fraud and illegitimacy. The attorney goes on, "There are many conspiracy theorists opining these days. There are many allegations of fraud. But this presidential election is over. The Bush-Cheney ticket has won. The Kerry-Edwards campaign has found no conspiracy and no fraud in Ohio, though there have been many irregularities that cry out to be fixed for future elections. Senator Kerry and we in Ohio intend to fix them. When all of the problems in Ohio are added together, however bad they are, they do not add up to a victory for Kerry-Edwards. Senator Kerry's fully-informed and extremely careful assessment the day after the election and before he conceded remains accurate today, notwithstanding all the details we have since learned." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240/
You may wish to read both of Olbermann's entries from Monday. Scrolling through the earlier one, written around noon, past the wonderings about Kerry, you'll find he addresses the Clint Curtis situation. Four hours later Brad Friedman answered him with this entry. All of this debate is interesting, but it does not appear anything is going to happen with Curtis to change the actual election result...and that is my only concern at the moment.
The Ohio Recount is complete, and the major papers are carrying the story. What you'll find in most places is an Associated Press piece, but The New York Times goes further yesterday morning with a bylined article that is more complete. http://www.nytimes.com/2.../29/politics/29ohio.html "CINCINNATI, Dec. 28 - A recount of the presidential election in Ohio that was finished on Tuesday showed that President Bush won the election here by about 300 fewer votes than initially recorded. The recount of Ohio's 88 counties showed that Senator John Kerry gained 734 votes, with Mr. Bush picking up 449 after elections officials allowed more than 1,100 previously disqualified ballots to be counted in the second tally."
The article concludes with quotations from the Green, Libertarian, and Democratic parties, which seem to indicate they are content with the process and results, and the matter is complete. "Representatives in Ohio for the Green presidential candidate, David Cobb, and the Libertarian candidate, Michael Badnarik, said on Tuesday that the recount achieved one of their goals, to scrutinize Ohio's election process. While they said they never expected to change the results of the presidential vote in Ohio, they said they wanted an overhaul of Ohio's election system."
Again, future election reform is an old and long story in this country, but the matter at hand is Bush for another 4 years (at least as the Constitution still states the length of term this morning)...and so, with the recount done in this key state and with Kerry emphasizing again he has no interest in contesting anything, is there any hope left? As of yesterday David Cobb's site still was feisty as heck http://www.votecobb.org/ and Internet message boards are filled with calls to protest demonstrations in the streets for the next month. But is there anything we can do besides hit the bricks?
Well, there's that lawsuit in the Ohio Supreme Court brought by 37 voters challenging the election. On Monday Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell was invited, I guess, to deliver his deposition. He said No thanks, that he's a high-ranking official who can't be bothered with "frivolous" lawsuits. The Associated Press story is carried online at ABC News http://abcnews.go.com/US...amp;CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312 and concludes, "Attorney General Jim Petro, representing Blackwell, said the voters 'are not trying to actually contest the presidential election but are merely using this litigation to cast public doubt on the voting system of the State of Ohio without a shred of evidence.' On Dec. 21, officials learned lawyers for the voters planned to issue subpoenas to several high-ranking officials, including Blackwell, Bush and the president's political adviser, Karl Rove, according to Petro. The state Supreme Court 'should halt their ability to subpoena any person until such time as they make a good faith showing for the reason to take any deposition,' Petro said in the court filing." The Bush Administration was scheduled for deposition both Tuesday and yesterday, but an attorney for Bush said the subpoena wasn't filed correctly and nobody showed up then either. I guess one way to find out whether or not you are "high-ranking" is to ignore a subpoena from a Supreme Court somewhere and see if anything is done about it.
What about Congressman John Conyers, ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee who conducted a couple of forums, one of them in Columbus, on voting irregularities, particularly in Ohio? Republicans dominate the Committee, and not one attended the forums. That fact probably explains his cautious tiptoeing around topics of fraud and conspiracy. As this accessible story explains http://www.metrotimes.co...torial/story.asp?id=7146 , Salon did an interview with him last week. It's here http://www.salon.com/new...ture/2004/12/21/conyers/ but if you don't have a subscription you need to watch a few pages of ads to get to it. It doesn't take long, even with dial-up, but essentially what he says is a conspiracy requires some person somewhere to issue orders to obstruct or corrupt a process like an election. Does Bush have anyone around who would do such a thing? Conyers wants to go nowhere near naming Republican names.
"Do you believe that there was an orchestrated attempt to steal the election?
"Well, you know, orchestrated attempts don't always require a conspiracy. People get the drift from other elections and the way [campaign leaders] talk about how they're going to win the election. When you have the exit-polling information discrepancies that occurred in 2004, where the odds of all the swing states coming in so much stronger for Bush than the exit polls indicated --- they say that that is, statistically, almost an improbability.
"[People] are saying, 'No, no, no, that doesn't mean much.' But it means a lot. It feeds this growing, [but] not provable feeling among millions of Americans that this was another unfair election.
"Do you have that feeling?
"Sure, I have a feeling that whenever we can come across ways to make elections fairer or work better or improve the process or simplify the regulations or make voting more available to people who have language problems or disabilities, we have a responsibility to do it. We're trying to improve the system. I'm not trying to attack the outcome. What we need is a system where there are only a few of the kinds of the tens of thousands of complaints that we already have."
Here's what I think: an "orchestrated attempt" needs an orchestra and a conductor. Yes, some orchestras operate without a conductor, and maybe---just maybe that happened here. But would any of you please tell me something? In these nearly 2 months since the United States election, have you heard or read any complaints at all from Republicans in prominently GOP precincts that they had to wait in lines for hours to vote? That there weren't enough machines in their polling places? I haven't, but maybe I'm not looking in the right place. If Republicans had no problems like this, why not? Is it random, is it coincidence? Is it possible someone somewhere made a decision as to which precincts got enough machines, based on statistical prediction, and which didn't? Did Boards of Election get phone calls through Election Day with requests from precinct officials for more machines from an emergency stockpile states like Ohio had available? If so, is there a record of those calls...and how they were answered and served?
What worries me more than anything is if Americans don't care. It's all too complicated to bother with, and besides what can any of us do about it? The press will not investigate with vigor. Self-proclaimed high-ranking officials ignore subpoenas. Police enforce according to who's making the call. The military is called out to protect corporate ventures. Is citizenship in the United States finally beyond the average Joe, by his own admission?
Milton Mayer, an American journalist of German/Jewish descent, wrote an account in 1955 of the slow takeover of his country during the early 1930s by the Nationalsocialist Party. The book is called They Thought They Were Free, and includes many interviews with citizens who watched it happen and describe it step by step. One of the most oft-quoted sections is a chapter entitled "But Then It Was Too Late." It would take you just a minute to read it, and it's available online. http://www.thirdreich.ne...ught_They_Were_Free.html Thank you.
COMMENT #34 [Permalink]
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winter patriot
said on 12/30/2004 @ 1:40 am PT...
COMMENT #35 [Permalink]
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jazzolog
said on 12/31/2004 @ 1:41 am PT...
Thank you Winter Patriot---and for the hyperlink to your own blog. One of these days I'll read the ReadMe for this site and figure it out. Happy New Year!
COMMENT #36 [Permalink]
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Dale
said on 1/8/2005 @ 8:08 am PT...
Brad,
I am a progrssive Democrat, to the core. Some time when you have the time, I will fill you in.
I really like your website and your journalism, BUT, the language on your last entry is atrocious!! PLEASE, let the cutter mouth Republicans do their bad language thing, not the Democrats.