Death of a thousand cuts…That’s what seems to be in store either for American democracy, or what will be required to finally take bring down the entire anti-democratic Electronic Voting cabal in this country, as aided and abetted in their crimes against American Democratic Values by the Corporate Mainstream Media.
We take heart that there is more and more coverage of these matters these days, even if there are more and more unfortunate reasons to have such coverage in the first place. VotersUnite.org’s “Daily Voting News”, now posted each day on BRAD BLOG, gives one some sense of how much is going on — both good and bad — in regards to Election-related issues in this country, and just how much of it does make it into the news somewhere, if only (and too often) on just the local level.
At least the public’s and the media’s awareness continues to grow — slowly, but surely — even as the incidents of democracy in disrepair increase exponentially along with that awareness (and along with the obscene outpouring of virtually unchecked HAVA money to States and Counties in the bargain).
Nonetheless, we always look for reasons to be optimistic, and our usual coterie of Election Reform Media All-Stars continues to both grow and produce stellar work. In addition to the recent Free Press exposé by Fitrakis and Wasserman on the inexplicable in Ohio’s election last week, which we mentioned previously here (as well as at HuffPo), there are a few other notable heroic voices of late that you should know about.
Debra LoGuercio, the editor of the Winters Express and syndicated columnist for a number of smaller West Coast papers, continues to take both her democracy and her role of media watchdog seriously. Her latest column this week, “Where in the World is Democracy?” [link fixed] picks up on my previous calls (both at BRAD BLOG and later at HuffPo) for Mainstream Corporate Media coverage — hell, even a single sentence would do! — of the recent landmark report from the non-partisan Governmental Accountability Office (GAO). That report, which confirms so many of the problems with Electronic Voting that we’ve been reporting on here for more than a year, is apparently less important to the corporate media braintrust, according to LoGuercio, than figuring out where in the world Matt Lauer is.
We’re happy as well to welcome one Kathy Gill into the still-all-too-exclusive club of journalists who give a damn about democracy. She’s posted an article on that GAO report yesterday at About.com. Welcome to the small, but still-growing club, Kathy! Glad you’re on board and please keep up the good — and important — work!
And as Election Day unravelled last week, our friend Robert Koehler of Tribune Media Services once again opines on the MIA MSM in regard to Election Fraud in America’s once-great democracy in his latest piece, “A Crime Without a Name – ‘Concern’ about election fraud is useless without guts and anger”. He speaks, amongst other things, about John Kerry’s failure to stand up for what is right here, and the unwillingness of the mainstream media to investigate and report without that kick in the pants.
The always sharp Dave Astor of Editor & Publisher has added some visibility by picking up on Bob’s column in a quick article about it yesterday. For this, we are pleased, since so many of Bob’s Tribune Media clients have shown neither the guts nor the anger required to save our democracy, and have chosen instead to avoid running many of his important articles on Election Reform issues altogether. It’ll be interesting as usual, to see how many of them don’t pick up Koehler’s latest, despite — once again — the elegant way in which he is able to express the nightmare of our crumbling democracy.
To poorly paraphrase a famous movie tagline; In the corporate-conglomerated media world of the 21st century no one can hear you scream. But some have heard, and will continue to yell even louder…And we’ll keep at the rest of them until they realize what’s at stake…no matter how many cuts it takes.
:rolleyes:MORAL QUESTION
This test only has one question, but it’s a very important one. By giving an honest answer, you will discover where you stand morally.
The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation in which you will have to make a decision.
Remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous. Please scroll down slowly and give due consideration to each line.
:rolleyes:THE SITUATION
You are in Florida, Miami to be specific. There is chaos all around you caused by a hurricane with severe flooding. This is a flood of biblical proportions.
You are a photojournalist working for a major newspaper, and you’re caught in the middle of this epic disaster. The situation is nearly hopeless. You’re trying to shoot career-making photos. There are houses and people swirling around you, some disappearing under the water. Nature is unleashing all of its destructive fury.
:rolleyes:THE TEST
Suddenly you see a man in the water. He is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken down with the debris. You move closer. Somehow the man looks familiar. You suddenly realize who it is. It’s George W. Bush!
At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him under forever. You have two options–you can save the life of George W. Bush, or you can shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize-winning photo, documenting the death of one of the world’s most powerful politicians.
:confused:THE QUESTION
Here’s the question, and please give an honest answer:
Would you select high contrast color film, or would you go with the classic simplicity of black and white? 😀
You are on to something here Brad.
Accountability in the US, according to our current leadership, involves getting promoted for doing grave wrongs.
Those who were not promoted in the Bush admin tell us scary stories. Their integrity brought them down in the admin, while those with no american integrity are promoted.
Jordan is an example of how american government used to work (link here).
Many government people resigned and were replaced after the bombing.
What a concept.
Rocky G #1
I would call Brownie to see if he could do as good a job with W as he did with the rest of the poor americans in New Orleans.
But you probably did capture the real thoughts of many MSM.
My point in Post #2 is that a lot of MSM folk should resign and let those who know what the american press is supposed to do replace them.
For now, america will have to rely primarily on the BLOG for the nitty gritty.
Although I do applaud the efforts in the past week of Chris Matthews on Hardball and Keith Olberman for firing shots across the bow.
Yep, they looked like the media used to look when criminals in government were brought down fast.
Brad-
Question-
Everytime I try to access Debra LoGuercio latest column "Where in the World is Democracy?" through your story link ….this comes up on my screen—-
————————————————————–
Not Found
The requested URL /articles/2005/11/14/opinion_columnists/opinloguercio.txt was not found on this server.
Apache/2.0.54 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.0.54 OpenSSL/0.9.7b PHP/4.3.9 Server at http://www.dailyrepublic.com Port 80
—————————————————————-
anybody know why??
…G, Unfortunately the Daily Republic is one of those small media outlets that keeps their articles on-line for 24 to 48 hours and then they archive them. If you want to read from the archives you have to subscribe.
The Buffalo Party .com is Sure Glad
Brad & Friends
R Spending So Much Time and Effort
( FIXING ) the Election Process
It’s A MUST 4 Democract 2 LIVE
Please Help Him Out…
Any Way U Can
We Buffalos Are With U 100 %
And Thank U 4 Your Work
http://www:TheBuffaloParty.com
.
Please write to these people and let them know you appreciate their work. I have written to them all and find that they are regular folks who share all of our concerns.
uspolitics.guide@about.com Kathy Gill
bob@commonwonders.com Bob Koehler
debra@wintersexpress.com Debra LoGuercio
Brad. We have another intellectual honesty award candidate (link here).
He is not a neoCon nor a neoConvict but instead is more of the kind of politician we need these days.
I’d use color film!
Wow! Dredd, he says it so well! He speaks his mind and probably is not intimidated!
ya and you probably believed the CBS/Dan Rather memos too
Democratic elections??? BUSHIT. The Biggest fcking fascists are alive and living is Washington. 911 was an amerikan Rhistag fire and now election after presidential corporate election has come to a pre-arranged conclusion. Bush, the biggest loser president ever is our amerikan furor. And that sits fine for plenty of stupid rascist amerikans like the right of prisoners of war as long as they don’t find out that it effects their little world. If one of them was rotting in a jail somewhere on charges they didn’t commit and got roughed up that might be a different story. Why don’t you take the attitude of the real people running this country. Control the media. What the people don’t know won’t hurt them. If it was some news about some famous actor screwing so and so the whole world would know in a week. I ain’t saying to give up. I support your cause but why don’t you ask yourself why the average american doesn’t know the american northwestern wildlands are no longer protected and the laws of forestry is now in the hands of the government to sell it off for oil, gas, and timber interests? Then maybe you can get why the fcking corporate Bushit machine doesn’t give a rat’s ass about your dissent to an illegal war or fixing a voting system where only corporate fascist candidates R or D will win in the end. My name is Grizzly Bear Dancer and i will cut all these lying murder’s with my words and i will not stop talking until they all end up in jail whether Fitzgerald can get them locked up or not. I dedicate these words to the 100,000 civilians and counting that were killed by the Bushit illegal attack on Iraq backed by the same oil companies that are in Iraq right now. Some people wouldn’t understand the meaning of freedom if they had an F etched into their forhead like the swastica on Manson’s face. All they have to know is they can go to their little home without worrying someone is gonna kick their door in, beat them up, and then throw them in jail indefinitely. While they are jail they might grow hateful if they learned a bomb landed on their house turning it into rubble and killing the family they loved. Do you think it might bother this person to discover the bombing invasion which destroyed his life was led a country who’s leaders lied about the reasons for the attack?
see, I told you so. You believe the 100,000 dead figure that’s been thoroughly discredited. Shucks you probably dont even like white phosphorous.
Castro – you must be haveing a ball. Enjoy while you can. You’re days are numbered.
#14: Indeed as are all our days. xoxo
#4 G — try this link:
Where in the World is Democracy?
CASTRO #13
Yeh there’s plenty of history revisionist that will tell you 6 million Hebrews didn’t die in WW II concentration camps. So I’ll give you the benifit of the doubt. Trot your ass over to fun loving Iraq and start making investigations and start compiling statistical data on civilian death and personal injury since the US occupation and don’t forget to include the 6 months of US bombing which took place prior to the invasion. Then i will consider your ######################################### susquash.
CASTRO #13 cont. –
Along your same lines of thinking. Let’s say 10,000 Iraqi civilians have been murdered by something other than natural causes since US armed forces have been given work detail in Iraq. 10,000 is a small # almost as insignificant as say 2000. If only 2000 people died when the most powerful nation in the world attacks an oil rich 3rd world country previously run by a dictator that isn’t to many deaths…right? Hell you don’t even speak any of the many launguages spoken in Iraq or in all likelyhood even know a person of Iraqi origin. Thus if it is just a small # of people you don’t even know on the other side of the world then who really gives a fck. AND that is called no accountability. This line of thinking defines Americans as dangerous rascist losers and strongly contradicts the thought of many who have given their life to making this country great.
CASTRO #13 cuntinued:
Since #’s of murdered civilians don’t really matter then why don’t you go investigate the murder of one man named John Kennedy. Go ask George Bush Sr. who was head of the CIA at the time that you want to see the sealed classified documents pertaining to how John Kennedy was taken out back in ’63? While you’re at it ask the followup question what he was doing in Texas on that day? I guarantee you he’ll squirma almost as much as Clinton would after finding out his last sucki sucki came from an Asian transexual with aids. Bush Sr. and Bill Clinton now there’s strong pair. If only Reagan couldn’t recall the Iran Contra scandal then he could have extended the president’s term to 12 years and these lying murderers could run as a tag team against Dubbya and big Dick. When pollution and acid rain wash the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and T. Roosevelt away we can get a rightwing scuptor with a pic to carve these 4 stellular amerikan individual in their place.
I went and heard Mark Crispin Miller the author of None Dare Call it Stolen and Won’t Be Fooled Again and it was great. This guy knows people in Washington, in fact described two meetings with Kerry. The last one a few weeks ago where Kerry admitted that yes, the election of 2004 was stolen and he seemed quite pissed off about it. But then Miller called the Kerry office and they denied everything, the official word they gave to the press was "oh Mr. Miller is just selling a book". So Kerry (and just about every other Democrat) denies that election fraud is an issue and it all seems to boil down to this not wanting to look like a sore loser/sour grapes thing. Obviously afraid of the Karl Rove machine getting that mantra going "sore losers, sore losers, sore losers…..". Amazing. In my mind you just start the conversation with that issue, say something like "hey lets talk about this sour grapes thing…." and then get into the facts of the situation.
Speaking of that, he did not get into all the specific instances of what happened in Ohio for example, instead referring us to the Conyers Report. Most of him emphasis, was on the other big issue and this ties it in….the whole reason this radical right wing wants to win by lying, cheating, whatever means they have to is so they can throw out the real consistitution and substitute it with "God’s" law. This is called the Constitutional Restoration movement (google it). Start with just plain God and then work it onto Jesus and there you have your Theocracy. The Christian Jihad type senator from Alabama who has this movement started, luckly so far he does not have the votes.
"Death of a thousand cuts" is kinda what the admin is doing to america. Torturing us to death slowly.
The polls say OUCH the polls say STOP THE BLEEDING the polls say STOP THE LIES.
That calls upon the MSM to break from being in bed with ("embedded") the admin or congress or the courts.
The MSM is a sacred duty to tell it like it is. When they do not, they partake of the lies and the slow death of america.
Call To Arms 6 or 7
CNN asked for email concerning the question of torture. Here is my post to them:
"You asked the question Should the US torture detainees?
That you would ask this question, to me, reveals that you are in bed with (’embedded’) the forces at work to kill our democracy with ‘a thousand cuts’. A slow death to democracy.
You have not covered the GAO report that shows that voting machines used in the last two or so elections can be hacked and corrupted by elementary students (link here).
The report is not an internet conspiracy theory. Instead it is a matter of fact report by a government agency composed of americans and is bi-partisan.
Should we torture? Torture who? Torture the american democracy with tired stories as democracy dies?
As elections are stolen one after the other while the MSM partakes of lurid lust with its partners in covering up the big crimes?
The answer is not only NO, it is HELL NO!!!
Stop supporting torture of democracy in all its forms. Or suffer the fate of newspapers … fading into the obscurity of being irrelevant to what we call news."
If you want to tell them what you too think, the email address is:
headlinenews@cnn.com
Brilliant blog Brad! Thank you.
And an equally brilliant letter to CNN Dredd! It’s really all we can do at this point is keep writing and never give up.
Thank you all for continuing to fight and being beacons of light for all of us out here working for the common good.
I fear without the blogosphere we’d be in even worse shape than we are. At least we can get truth and facts and know that we’re not alone as we encourage and motivate each other to keep on keepin’ on fighting the good fight.
"Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right."