READER COMMENTS ON
"Democracy in the Balance: The Silent Scream of the Mainstream Media"
(30 Responses so far...)
COMMENT #1 [Permalink]
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Miss Persistent
said on 4/14/2005 @ 1:32 pm PT...
Standing ovation from here as well! I'm so glad I'm on the side that can stand tall and proud.
COMMENT #2 [Permalink]
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sfarmer76
said on 4/14/2005 @ 2:27 pm PT...
This is a really well-rounded article!
COMMENT #3 [Permalink]
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Dredd
said on 4/14/2005 @ 2:34 pm PT...
Jewels are the rare ones. Unfortunately there are precious few jewels in control of or even in the MSM.
Personally I am very happy that some are still there and that some of them have the intestinal fortitude to bring it to the people.
Kudos to Brad, the bloggers here, and the MSM true blues who will swim upstream in honor of their sacred duty to tell it like it is!
Robert Koehler is a jewel.
COMMENT #4 [Permalink]
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teresa
said on 4/14/2005 @ 3:05 pm PT...
This is all gonna be worth it. You'll see why we had to have these people in power. They've provided the focal point for the people to rally around, unite and find a new voice. I always believed this would happen, and I think the increased participation in the political process is permanent.
I feel power in Bradville. Brad knows how many people are visiting. It's a beautiful thing for me to witness. Brad out there in the front lines, while we soldiers work to learn and uplift from here.
The results are forthcoming.
COMMENT #5 [Permalink]
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Republicans are Fascists
said on 4/14/2005 @ 3:39 pm PT...
Kudos to Brad is right. He is our modern day Woodward/Bernstein.
The cracks have definitley started Brad. Keep up the good work. We're all onboard to pass this information on to others.
COMMENT #6 [Permalink]
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Bejammin075
said on 4/14/2005 @ 4:44 pm PT...
So much is happening lately. I didn't think the post-election era would have this much vote reform activity. But it does. And it grows.
COMMENT #7 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 4/14/2005 @ 4:44 pm PT...
"Washington, D.C. - Saying the federal government has gone the way of The Daily Show’s fake newscasts, Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) today introduced an amendment to require every prepackaged “video news release” paid for by the federal government at taxpayer expense to run a disclaimer"
“In the greatest democracy in the world, the government shouldn't be writing and paying for the news. It runs counter to everything we believe in. It's unfortunate we even have to introduce legislation to stop any administration from doing this. In a time of record-budget deficits, American taxpayers have a right to know not only that they're watching fake newscasts, but they paid for them. It’s one thing to watch Jon Stewart on television. It’s another to imitate him with Americans' hard-earned tax dollars," Kerry said. “I am very grateful to Chairman Stevens for giving us the opportunity to address this abuse of the public trust and waste of taxpayer dollars.”
“The administration’s propaganda mill needs to be shut down. The government’s policies should be strong enough to stand on its own legs, without the help of fake news stories. The administration should get out of the fake news business, and leave that task to Jon Stewart. I am hopeful our legislation will pass Congress quickly,” Senator Lautenberg said."
COMMENT #8 [Permalink]
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Dave K
said on 4/14/2005 @ 4:53 pm PT...
Thanks to Brad for the energy and persistence to continue with this story. If there is to be any chance we can get our democracy back, it will be thanks to people like Brad who have kept asking questions in the face of the lazy MSM who accuse them of being conspiracy-mongers. And thanks as well to Robert Koehler, for taking the questions into the mainstream. It's very good to know that there are a few real journalists left working in the MSM.
COMMENT #9 [Permalink]
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teresa
said on 4/14/2005 @ 4:58 pm PT...
The FCC has ruled against the Bush administrations use of prepackaged video news releases, stating that television broadcasters must reveal the source.
COMMENT #10 [Permalink]
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Bejammin075
said on 4/14/2005 @ 5:17 pm PT...
How to respond to the charge "conspiracy theorist":
If people say to you, "Are you a conspiracy theorist?"
You say to them "Are you a coincidence theorist" and go into the long list of amazing coincidences, like that the voting machines owned by republicans only error in favor of republicans.
COMMENT #11 [Permalink]
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Sandy
said on 4/14/2005 @ 5:41 pm PT...
Brad,
thank you for having the courage to not let go-
COMMENT #12 [Permalink]
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Kira
said on 4/14/2005 @ 5:44 pm PT...
Teresa #7
The administration should get out of the fake news business, and leave that task to Jon Stewart.
Ummm - why call out Jon Stewart when he has been one of our ONLY sources of REAL news - even though he tells it with a touch of HUMOR. Hey - shouldn't Kerry have said "The administration should get out of the fake news business and leave that task to Rush Limbaugh - Sean Hannity - Ann Coulter - etc. ad nauseam??? IMHO
COMMENT #13 [Permalink]
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Robert Lockwood Mills
said on 4/14/2005 @ 5:50 pm PT...
Right, Bejammino. "Conspiracy theorist" is nothing but a facile pejorative, designed to shift the burden of proof to people who know the game was rigged, but might not have all the specifics.
And why not? Because of hidden source codes inside computerized voting machines, that's why. If a machine is programmed in advance by a Republican crook to flip votes, nobody is standing there when it happens, except possibly a Democrat election worker who hasn't a clue about what's happening. Then the Republicans say, "It would take a bi-partisan conspiracy to fix an election."
Nope. Not when the dirty work is done secretly, and in advance.
The truth is emerging. It's taken a while, but it's happening. Christopher Hitchens is no friend of Democrats, but he realized (and wrote) a couple of months ago that it was a myth to assume that a massive conspiracy was required to flip several hundred thousand votes. All it takes is one clever programmer.
It's even possible most Republicans don't know what happened in Ohio, and in Florida in 2000. If someone's computer is bugged, how many outside people know it? If a teenager in South Dakota can plant a worm and affect several hundred thousand computers nationwide (this has happened often), who is to say an election can't be fixed?
The exit polls tell the story, folks. A 5-1/2% differential between exit polls and tabulated vote simply cannot be explained away except by fraud. That's isn't a conspiracy theory, it's probabilities. The laws of mathematics are immutable, and no Lucy Morgan or Ken Blackwell or Jim Baker or Joe Scarborough or Karl Rove can overturn them.
Hallelujah, Brad. The credit is all yours for this. We're almost there. Oh, if anyone owns blue-chip stocks at this point, take the advice of a broker who was fired by Janney Montgomery Scott for blowing the whistle on a Wall Street scandal...SELL!
COMMENT #14 [Permalink]
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Kira
said on 4/14/2005 @ 7:02 pm PT...
Here ya go - Chuck Herrin, lifelong Republican, professional white hat hacker with a string of professional credentials:
(For those who haven't studied Chuck's site, or maybe never heard of him - this site is a MUST)
How to Hack the Vote
11/10/2004 rev. 12/04/2004
Chuck Herrin, CISSP, CISA, MCSE, CEH
Enron was a conspiracy theory, too. Were their whistleblowers "Crackpots"?
Were the people who lost their retirements to those corporate criminals just "sore losers"?
I've never been part of the "Tin Foil Hat" conspiracy theory crowd. I'm just a voter who happens to be a Professional IT Auditor.
COMMENT #15 [Permalink]
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Joan
said on 4/14/2005 @ 7:54 pm PT...
Kira-#12
Hahaha...exactly! Jon Stewart is one of the few who tell the truth, while (wink wink) calling his show 'fake news'. It's amazing, really, how he can sit there time after time with conservative guests, be polite & charming, and still manage to gently & deftly discredit their agendas.
and #14
I agree, Chuck Herrin seems like the kind of Republican--good & decent, intelligent & articulate--with whom we can stand shoulder-to-shoulder against all this insanity.
COMMENT #16 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 4/14/2005 @ 10:25 pm PT...
Kira # 12
I think they were trying to ridicule the administration be comparing them to a comedy show.
COMMENT #17 [Permalink]
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teresa
said on 4/15/2005 @ 3:13 am PT...
"It’s one thing to watch Jon Stewart on television. It’s another to imitate him with Americans' hard-earned tax dollars," Kerry said.
Get the insult? saying he is an imitation of JS. That JS is superior to the president. It's clever.
COMMENT #18 [Permalink]
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Dredd
said on 4/15/2005 @ 5:23 am PT...
I am wondering if all the efforts at voting reform and media reform are going to be lost to the "filibuster wars" (link here)?
COMMENT #19 [Permalink]
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Miss Persistent
said on 4/15/2005 @ 6:04 am PT...
Speaking of tin foil hats, I received in the mail a flyer touting some seminar that will explain everything you want to know about "the end" using an expert interpretation of the bible.
This led me to the think of "tin foil halos" how about that?! That's funny!!!!! Let's use it!!
How many tin foil haloists are there out there?
COMMENT #20 [Permalink]
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Shadowtwinchaos
said on 4/15/2005 @ 8:25 am PT...
Wow Brad, way to go. The wall is starting to crumble. Once the cracks appear and the holes in their stories found, they will eventually run out of scape goats to throw to the public and the truth will be found. I wish I could have been there. It can be electrifying being in a group like that. But more importantly - we need more groups like that. Groups not willing to accept the lies and smoke screens that the presidency is throwing about. Kudos and hugs to you. Thank you for fighiting for our freedoms. Peace
COMMENT #21 [Permalink]
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Shadowtwinchaos
said on 4/15/2005 @ 9:17 am PT...
Well, this is slightly off-topic, but I thought it important to post it here. Cat Stevens has been deported. Author and singer of "Peace Train" became a Muslim and is no longer allowed in the United States due to terroristic connections. See CNN's story coverage here. about it. It's kinda scary that they can deport anyone they wish without supplying proof. Because supplying proof would mean that they would "endanger national security". Okay, so maybe Cat Stevens is now a terrorist, but let's have some proof before we go throwing people out of our country. But as long as there are people like This who believe our government is on the right track, how can we expect any change. There are still people out there willing to accept anything our govt. does in the name of "national security" and feel that we should lock down our boarders. Just another drop in the bucket to me - but I thought some people here might be interested in the story.
COMMENT #22 [Permalink]
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Quinn
said on 4/15/2005 @ 9:57 am PT...
I would SO love to simply send them all off on the B ark. If only it were that easy. I love how they blame it on poor spelling. That really says a lot for our education system too. No child shall be left behind....unless of course their faith belongs in the axis of evil. :confused: :plain: :angry: Or their last name is more complex to read than S-m-i-t-h. :plain:
COMMENT #23 [Permalink]
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Savantster
said on 4/15/2005 @ 11:58 am PT...
What amazes me is, we hear how terrible people of Islam are, but they are doing exactly the SAME thing as the people of Isreal today.. and the reason the people of Islam (the fanatics who are killing people, that is) are attacking the U.S. is because we keep putting our nose in a religious fight that's been going on for a very long time, and officially with Isreal in '43? '49? whenever it was that they took independance and decided the "holy land" was "theirs by right"..
Perhaps the worst part of all this is, the "christian leaders" of this country (and their christian/jewish friends/supporters) are content to continue to engage in this "holy war" only Shrubman et. al. are using the term "terrorism" instead of "crusade".. And what's worse, a lot of this is over OIL because the people in power are too damn greedy, ignorant, pathetic, evil, vile, disgusting, and any other nasty word you want to put in.. to bother -really- trying to get away from oil. We -need- other sources of energy, soon, before it's too late. But these morons are content to kill 100s of thousands of people in pathetic wars set to protect their profits and military might. When will we wake up from this insanity?
COMMENT #24 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 4/15/2005 @ 3:49 pm PT...
When we, the people, stop demanding this endless supply of corporate made cheap commodities.
COMMENT #25 [Permalink]
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Torqued
said on 4/16/2005 @ 1:41 pm PT...
COMMENT #26 [Permalink]
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Nana
said on 4/16/2005 @ 2:24 pm PT...
You go Irish Times! Love the Liberty Bell summary.
COMMENT #27 [Permalink]
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big dan
said on 4/16/2005 @ 5:10 pm PT...
It will eventually come out that the vote was hacked via computerized voting machines and optical scanners. When this come out, the Republican Party will never recover.
COMMENT #28 [Permalink]
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Sheila Henderson
said on 4/17/2005 @ 11:58 pm PT...
:D
Brad, thank you so much for all you do and have done to keep the movement to capture back our Democracy; I have hope again, and a new place to come to try and do my part.
I am so excited about the response you got and others of truth got at the Conference. Their wounds are starting to bleed...keep up the good work, and also thank you for giving us a voice and a place to put it all into action.
COMMENT #29 [Permalink]
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Robert Lockwood Mills
said on 4/19/2005 @ 7:54 am PT...
Thank you, Torqued, for the news about the Irish Times.
They're pretty close to the 2004 election story over there. Closer, in fact, than the New York Times is.
Ireland is home to Intrade, the futures market that somehow "miraculously" called every single state correctly in November. This fact was reported in an editorial by John Tierney in the Times, but without any recognition of its implications...that the "smart money" had known the fix was in, and that the people who stole the election for Bush weren't content to simply steal it, but decided to make a bundle on the side in the process.
After commenting on Intrade's "remarkable" feat of predicting the election outcome, Tierney segued into a discussion of the Papal election, and lamented that Intrade's uncanny ability to "predict" events might compromise the press in its efforts to cover important stories. What a bloody shame.
COMMENT #30 [Permalink]
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Josephine Dixon-Banks
said on 1/7/2006 @ 9:02 am PT...
Is Democracy being used as A Weapon of Mass Destruciton:
CRUCIFIXION OF DISPOSABLE PEOPLE
Democracy, traditionally nailed to the cross
The economic military, the surreptitious boss
No public employment just deployment, the cost
Human-Life, the unforgivable loss
New-Age feudalism fosters economic deprivation, the
Contemporary peasant, the pheasant under glass,
served to the royal-ruling class
The Political-Papacy makes love to the gold jewel
Prostitutes, The Golden Rule
The military tool enshrouded in
Hear, come Santa Claus, hear, come Santa Claus with gifts
Weapons of Mass-Destruction
Merry-Crucifixion, Merry-Crucifixion
Poverty, economical and societal sabotage
Maintained by the struggle for world-power, the facade
Of genocide’s judiciary-legislative-executive entourage
Poverty, the parochial purveyor of democracy
The unilateral collateral for the aristocracy
The Holy Political Empire, the squire and page
Remnant from the patriotic, Dark Age
The poverty-police practitioners petitioning pander
People are prisoners to propagandized slander
Starved into surrender, all for legal-tender
People, the glorious labor-force for globalization
The justification for human immolation
The auspices of world-domination
The Tradition of Perdition, the crusades, the holy wars,
The war cry, the warhead, the welfare of warfare
Is war-fair, Is war-fair. Is war-fair
The war game, the war horse, the warmonger
The war like citadel, protecting vassals, slavery and the
Kingdom of serfdom, the Christian infidel
Secret societies, the pantheon of political hell
The new and improved Code of Silence, knell
Intellectual enterprise is merchandise in disguise as a
Global, culture-vulture, feasting on underdeveloped humanity
COPYRIGHT 2003
JOSEPHINE DIXON-BANKS
Weaponized Freedom
Wholesale democracy sold as retail
Freedom is incapacitated locked in jail
Liberty in the layaway without bail
War is the prostitute on the campaign trail
Democracy for sale---Democracy for sale
Weaponized free-enterprise, impeached democratized
Imperialism to no avail
Bi-partisan politicians pimping people’s entrails
Democracy for sale---Democracy for sale
Terrorism merchandised to the highest bidder
Political policy a bi-partisan stripper
Free-trade gets paid to get laid
Open door policy is the capitalist’s charade
Civil-War ain’t civil, just barbaric
Collateral casualties are esoteric
Crimes against humanity all so generic
Warmongers copulate war but never bemoan
They pledged alliance to the scull and bones
Democracy for sale—Democracy for sale
Weaponized free-enterprise, impeached democratized
Imperialism to no avail
Bi-partisan politicians pimping people’s entrails
COPYRIGHT 2004
JOSEPHINE DIXON-BANKS