It’s been nearly a week and a half since the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its 107-page report [PDF] confirming what many of us have been reporting for what seems like forever: That electronic voting machines are not secure, are hackable, and employ secret software that is frequently neither certified nor adequately inspected.
The GAO report, which The BRAD BLOG broke on October 20th, confirms that “[C]oncerns about electronic voting machines have been realized and have caused problems with recent elections, resulting in the loss and miscount of votes.”
Furthermore, it was released in tandem with a joint bi-partisan news release which lauded the report. The extremely rare joint news release was issued by six high-level U.S. Congressmen (three R’s and three D’s), all Committee chairmen and ranking minority members, including the Chair and ranking member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.
And yet, not a single wire service (AP, Reuters, UPI, AFP, et al) nor the NY Times nor the Washington Post has even run a single paragraph on the landmark GAO report or even the news release to our knowledge. Not one. Even though many of those same outlets reported on numerous occassions that the claims now confirmed as very real by the GAO were little more than “conspiracy theories” forwarded by “leftwing blogs” such as this one.
A few tech-related websites ran articles on the GAO report (ComputerWorld here, the UK’s PC Advisor here, FCW here) as did The BRAD BLOG, of course, and several other sites that still give a damn about democracy in America (Free Press article here, Truthout article here to name a few). But that’s largely it.
Congrats to Richard M. Cohen III and the University of N. Carolina’s The Daily Tar Heel and Ian Hoffman of Inside Bay Area for virtually the only print newspaper coverage in all of America (at least that we were able to find).
CNN reported on the GAO report…on November, 24 2004 in an article headlined “GAO to investigate election complaints”. That was, of course, back when the investigation was first announced. Now that the investigation is actually completed, apparently CNN has no interest in reporting the results discovered.
We’ll have to assume that the lack of security and validity of millions of American votes, including votes both cast and lost in the last Presidential Election, are of little interest to the Mainstream Corporate Media. And that raises the question: Just what are they interested in and why? And what possible excuse could all of those mainstream media outlets have for not running even the tiniest notice of such an important report following a year long investigation which directly concerns the very future of American democracy?
At an emailer’s suggestion, we’ve contacted the good folks at the excellent Editor & Publisher about this to see if they might be interested in looking into the matter and perhaps getting a few of the wire service folks and mainstream newspapers to go on record with an explanation as to why a landmark non-partisan government report, accompanied by an extremely rare joint press release concerning the most basic element of democracy — the vote — is not newsworthy in their minds.
We’d encourage you to do the same. Editor & Publisher welcomes your polite and encourging email at Letters@EditorAndPublisher.com.
My two cents worth:
To Whom it may concern,
We are concerned that the Mainstream Media (MSM) is not covering the GAO Report nor Bi-Partisan News Release confirming the lack of security, openness, and reliability of voting machines now being used across the United States.
Please do what you can to remedy the anamoly.
LOCKDOWN!! Senate goes into closed session re Bush’s manipulation of pre-war intelligence (related to Scooter Libby indictment), and the failure of the republicans to call for an investigation. Go Reid!!
The Pukes are sniveling about it on C span 2 now,
Bill Fist f**k is crying, with the old "Democrats have no ideas talking point, thats why their doing this", to try to get off the subject
Sometimes I feel like I’m in the twilight zone. Where the heck is the MSM?
Elections are only the bedrock of a democracy! You would think this would be "slightly" newsworthy.
Amazing. Keep the heat on Brad.
Sometimes I feel like I’m in the twilight zone. Where the heck is the MSM?
Elections are only the bedrock of a democracy! You would think this would be "slightly" newsworthy.
Amazing. Keep the heat on, Brad.
Are Democrats Growing A Spine?
Democrats Force Senate Into Iraq Meeting
Tuesday November 1, 2005 9:16 PM
By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrats forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session Tuesday, questioning intelligence that President Bush used in the run-up to the war in Iraq and accusing Republicans of ignoring the issue.
“They have repeatedly chosen to protect the Republican administration rather than get to the bottom of what happened and why,” Democratic leader Harry Reid said.
(Below — typical ignoble republiCON remarks — /Kira )
Taken by surprise, Republicans derided the move as a political stunt.
“The United States Senate has been hijacked by the Democratic leadership,” said Majority Leader Bill Frist. “They have no convictions, they have no principles, they have no ideas,” the Republican leader said.
…“The Libby indictment provides a window into what this is really all about, how this administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq and attempted to destroy those who dared to challenge its actions,” Reid said before invoking Senate rules that led to the closed session. **MORE**
Brad, I sent my email (post #1). Only one typo …
Yay Dredd! I’m working on mine.
For my comment #6 — Forgot to note that the last paragraph was a comment attributed to Harry Reid. Go Harry, Go!
Read Firedoglake blogspot for more update on this closed Senate Hearing
The corporate media has been told by its FOREIGN MASTERS not to report the GAO, they don’t want americans to have fair elections.
That’s the truth. These psychopaths, these Likuds want to control elections and put on illusions of democracy and whatever else. They have no interest in Diebold being destroyed, which its going to be.
Doug
I went ahead and blogged this on Kos.
Please go HERE and recommend.
this is OT, but what’s going on down in Florida? the Secretary of State – Brenda Hood just resigned to "spend time with her family".
Andrea Mitchell put it best on Hardball tonight!
When it meant something the MSM including herself and well as the Democratic party did not have the stomach to question the administration about what was then a popular cause.
Only now the administration seems to be stubbling and in disaray have the Democratics finally found the nerve to question the reasons for going to war.
The most powerful Democrats Kerry and Clinton still refuse to partake in the Iraq debate for fear of finding a way to justify their previous stances.
I can see the anti Kerry or anti Clinton ads. "I was for the Iraq war before I was against it!"
Bulldog — Thanks for helping the drumbeat! The added noise is *very* important and *always* welcome!!!
Anytime Brad. You do some excellent work. We are lucky to have bloggers like you. And I know that our success as bloggers depends upon our ability to unite and shout as loud as we can.
Keep chugging Brad! You have an army behind you. Although it doesn’t look like the Kos article will get "Recommended" because of the attention given to today’s closed Senate hearing, perhaps tomorrow somebody else will also post this on Kos.
We should all be posting this on our own blogs too. This story IS huge.
By the way, I also blogged it at The Bulldog Manifesto.
Let’s all do it….and get the word out!!
Bullshit! Andrea is using an exscuse. SHE KNEW!
The democrats decided to be political opportunists, at least the DLC democrats did and always have been…..Kerry caved, knowing it was based on lies and voted for the resolution.
They can explain their votes and so can all their counterparts, and say flat out to everyone: "I WAS LIED TO" before this Senate will ever be trusted again.
The republicans blocked every other investigation afterward. Before america ever trusts this Senate again, republican or democrat, the investigation must be completed and all the forged documents examined for lying us into a war with another country that never did a thing.
Doug E.
I started to reference your web site, Bulldog, but decided to read the above posts first, and found that you beat me to it!
Thanks, I always read your site as well!
Election fraud will face defeat, with you and Brad on the beat!
Isn’t it great to see coverage of something other than Alito? And, Scooter’s indictment came back into the limelight where it deserves to be until well done! Why, we were even updated tonight about The Washington Blade’s new reporter, who sat in at Scotty’s press "nothings" to the press. None other than the despicable Jeff Gannon himself? Male Prostitutes R them I suppose!
Lindy,
You are sweet. But I’m nowhere near as engaged in the elction fraud issues as The Brad Blog. He is the source for the election news, as far as I’m concerned. But thanks!! 🙂
MSM secrecy.
In case you are wondering about secrecy, there is a secret court system (link here) and a secret prison system (link here).
I guess since the MSM is in bed with the admin, we can expect them to hide reality and try to make their own.
But the polls show the people know about the sordid little lie fest.
AW Shucks, Mr. Bulldog! 🙂 I’ll still read your blog, just the same!
Brad,
Thanks for the update, I was thinking this very morning that it was "odd" (NOT) that the mainstream media didn’t pick up on your coverage of the GAO report. Guess it’s still more interesting to cover news manufatured by the Bushies…
Dredd: Is sucha court system even legal anymore?
Boy we need to rip up every single thing here, including the secret courts!!!!
Doug E
Doug #23
The secret court, if you read the article and follow up, is more active than ever.
Same with the secret prisons. These fools are talking "liberty, justice, and freedom" while they hire despots and dictators to torture people.
Yes Doug, it is far, far worse than you have imagined.
Not saying this to bring you down, but to energize you.
The world and the public know what is going on as shown by the polls.
I don’t think the MSM has any choice about the news they cover. To me, it is like asking, "Where was the reporting in ’42…Germany. When there was torture and killing of the jews and gays and sickly. I give you over 100,000 Iraqi civilians dead…the genocide in N.O. and torture all over the world in the name of U.S. taxpayers. Same thing. Incriminating article or TV news and people get called and people are scared. I just wish that MSM would talk about the tactics used now that bushco is slipping in the polls.
Hmph, I’d come to the same conclusion myself, but I didn’t realize it was this bad.
http://dailydoubt.blogspot.com/...s-says-so.html
Folks, It is time to abandon the Demogogue and Repugnant parties wholesale and create something new. If we do that, then those who have genuine values that are still part of those political corpses would have somewhere to go! Imagine a grand coalition consisting of:
1. Orgnized labor, and with them, much of dis-organized labor
2. Peace and justice activists
3. Opressed peoples, especially all those treated so terribly after Katrina
4. Anti-war veterans (who make splendid candidates!)
5. Native Americans
6. Non-voters (currently) who have reasonably concluded that it is a waste of their time
7. Feminists and male sympathizers, like me, who would love to vote for a woman for pres, but are appalled at the prospect of Hillary or Condi as options
8. Green Party, which already has ballot access in dozens of states
9. Alternative lifestyle folks
10. Ex-prisoners who have a deep knowledge of the system (and we will COUNT their votes)
11. Poor people who get shafted by the Demagogues and Repugnants all the time
12. Homeless people
And so on. . .
Let us create a political tsunami and YES build our own media, especially TV, station by station until we have a network. Let us use scathing ridicule (satirists of the world unite!) to undermine the credibility of the Washington regime to the point of laughingstock. Let us hold a huge auditorium laugh-in next time Bush gives one of his obscene and ill-conceived speeches, oinking all the way to the bank with his cronies.
Meanwhile, let’s recall all the Congresspeople who blatantly violated the Constitution by allowing one man, and THAT one of all people, to decide the matter of war and peace. Thiink BIG, my friends. If you don’t think the above plan will work, then go to these web sites for an alternative even more radical: http://www.vermontrepublic.org and http://www.vtcommons.org Break out time!
http://guvwurld.blogspot.com/20...-coverage.html
GuvWurld Joins Call For Media Coverage of Month-Old GAO Report
On Oct. 20 a report condemning the security of U.S. elections was issued by the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report was added to the GuvWurld News Archive but I did not blog about it. It is unfortunate, but I do not have time to write about everything I see as important. Instead, GuvWurld is and always has been a vehicle for advocacy journalism where I write about the things I am DOING to bring about change, and writing in order to contribute to achieving that change. And so it is a reaffirmation of this blog’s mission, today, to join the call for all media to end the blackout of the GAO report.
As is often the case lately, BradBlog.com was the first place I saw writing about the GAO report. About 10 days later, Brad lamented the lack of coverage the report had received (giving due credit to the few links to be found). Brad tagged his column with a specific appeal to Editor and Publisher, who promptly took note of the call without doing the substantive reporting suggested. I should point out that upon release of the GAO report, a bi-partisan group of six Congressmembers issued a statement in support of its findings. It is just all the more absurd that this continues to be ignored. Today the Green Party of the United States has issued a press release calling for the GAO report to be covered.
Now consider for a moment, what would be the impact of a media industry that routinely kept such important information from the public? Why, under such circumstances, we might be lead to war by a false threat; we could conceivably fail to investigate a deadly attack despite contradictory and scientifically impossible elements of the "official story"; and the possibility would have to exist that election conditions designed to produce inconclusive results would also produce something short of unanimous consensus about the outcome.
Both by what is reported and not reported, the corporate media contribute greatly to defining reality. Don’t miss the pattern here. The reality being defined is quite often one of inherent uncertainty. Thus, instead of investigative reporting, often we see information surface, an attack smearing the messenger, and then a report on the he said-she said without determination of the validity of the original charge. Inherent uncertainty then remains to cause public disagreement about what constitutes reality.
In Blueprint For Peaceful Revolution I argue that this rift in the perception of reality is one example of the intentional divisiveness that has launched a Cold Civil War between the reality-based community (so-named by the administration in the NYTimes) and the faith-based community (not necessarily the religious but the unquestioning citizens who accept the official line, on faith).
More recently in the GuvWurld blog I wrote We Are Being Set Up: The Manchurian Nation. This commentary described some of the innocent ways that many pillars of our society are indoctrinated into believing their harmful actions actually serve the greater good. That includes local law enforcement trained to regard peaceful protest as terrorist activity; schools where it is assumed student information should be available to military recruiters; elections officials placing expediency over transparency and verifiability; and media no longer interested in being watch dogs over the powerful.
These actions reinforce the foundation of the faith-based community. To reality-based citizens it is like watching a Trojan Horse, inside duped public figures carry out their implanted missions like the movie about that Candidate. The infrastructure of the faith-based community is populated by the Manchurian Nation. No longer should we apologize for the nice folks we know who run the local paper or work at the elections office. They have to hear loud and clear: STOP SELLING US OUT. Stop right now. Today. Immediately. Cover the GAO report and stop impeding election reform.