Guest blogged by Bob Fitrakis

INTRODUCTION {by Winter Patriot}: On behalf of the BradBlog and the Blogathon I am pleased and proud to introduce Dr. Robert J. Fitrakis. According to his biography at freepress.org, Dr. Fitrakis is a professor of political science and a lawyer. He served as an international election observer in the 1994 presidential elections in El Salvador and as a dual-Ward legal advisor for the Election Protection Coalition during the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election. Dr. Fitrakis is also co-editor, with Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman, of DID GEORGE W. BUSH STEAL AMERICA'S 2004 ELECTION? This essential volume is currently available from freepress.org, as well as through The BRAD STORE.

It's great to have Dr. Fitrakis here with us. And I think we can even call him "Bob".

Guest blogged by Robert C. Koehler

INTRODUCTION {by Winter Patriot}: If you thought there were no brave and honest journalists left in America, you'll be happy to know that you're wrong. Bob Koehler is living proof of that.

In true blogger style, he sent these with the most recent piece first, the oldest last. But he'll probably forgive us if we walk you through them in chronological order. Our story starts here:

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

Click on the image to go to the Fractals Page at The BRAD STORE!

Guest Blogged by Steve Viele

Thanks to Bradblogger Tracy, Clint Curtis will have a new German Shepherd in December to replace the one he lost under mysterious circumstances after becoming a whistleblower in the Yang Enterprises, Inc., Tom Feeney vote-rigging scandal. It is possible that Ray Lemme was not the only one “suicided” in that sordid affair.

Now, YOU will have a chance to name Clint's new dog.

Guest Blogged by John Amato

INTRODUCTION {by Winter Patriot}: Every great party needs a great comedian, and we've got one of the best! I invite you to savor this political satire from John Amato now --- and be prepared to blog with him on Saturday afternoon.

Crooks and Liars has acquired a transcript from a hidden source that was buried deep inside the function. This is the part they didn't televise.

Seated at the dais is James Dobson. Al Mohler, Tony Perkins, Bill Donohue, Pat Robertson, Jennifer Giroux, Rick Santorum, and Bill Frist's big smiling face televised on a huge majestic screen behind the podium.

Never let it be said that the BLOGATHON isn't fair and balanced. We have some very distinguished contributors this weekend but we haven't gone overboard in the direction of fine journalism. Not by any means. As evidence, please consider the latest "effort" from the lowly and nearly frozen Winter Patriot:

Did anyone else happen to notice that the timing of the explosions in London on Thursday morning was Just A Shade Too Convenient? Or was I the only one who thought "Gladio Smites Britannia" as soon as I heard the news?

No, it turns out that I wasn't the only one at all. Far from it, in fact. Psst! Keep this quiet, will you? We've been whispering about it all day.

Guest blogged by Larisa Alexandrovna.

Here are a few of the pieces Larisa has worked on recently:

U.S. changed Iraq policy to begin airstrikes months before war

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

I'm re-posting the following information which would otherwise be buried under the blogathon. And that wouldn't be right. This radio show is going to be central to the blogathon. And here's what Brad has lined up:

Guests include:
Rep. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D-TX),
London Times' MICHAEL SMITH,
RAW STORY's LARISA ALEXANDROVNA,
Karl Rove's friend BILL ISRAEL,
JOHN BRAKEY & DAVID GRISCOMB.

Features include:
a tribute to Andy, Blogathon updates and more!

See the BRAD SHOW page for more details.

Guest Blogged by David Cobb.

Mr. Cobb's first subject:

The growing "New Voting Rights Movement" demands that we fully "democratize" US elections by implementing the Voter Bill of Rights. (This will necessarily include a discussion of the need for multi-party democracy and why the progressive movement actually *needs* the Green Party).

Guest blogged by Josh Mitteldorf.

INTRODUCTION {by Winter Patriot}: Josh Mitteldorf came to our attention when his piece about the 2004 'election' was published in Philadelphia, as reported here. Since then, we have learned that Josh Mitteldorf is a renaissance man. What a remarkable set of links on his home page! We are indeed fortunate to have Josh with us for the Blogathon and I'm very happy to present a column he has written for the occasion:

Making The Most Of What You've Got
by Guest Blogger Josh Mitteldorf

This is a story of my own brand of do-it-yourself political activism.

I'm a numbers geek, not a politician. Usually, I'm comfortable with that. I've got my role, they've got theirs. But when I first understood the statistical evidence that the 2004 presidential vote was stolen, I couldn't help but think: What this calls for is not a rigorous academic paper about standard deviations and p values. What we need is some coverage.

So what I did was that I wrote a rigorous academic paper about standard deviations and p values.

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

A Very Special, Blogathon-inspired, One-Time-Only thread --- where friends of the proprietor can stop by and say "Hi!"

They might even want to say "Happy Birthday"!!

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

I have a couple of questions for everyone: When did you start reading the Brad Blog? and Why did you keep coming back?

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

SPECIAL RULES will be in effect for the duration of the Blogathon. We will start a new open thread for each day of the event. PLEASE stay on-topic on the other blogathon threads; but POST FREELY on whatever subjects you like on the open threads. OFF-TOPIC comments on other threads will be subject to relocation or removal.

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

Please Visit The BRAD STORE and/or Donate via Credit Card or PayPal and/or Donate via Snail Mail.

The BradBlog's First Annual BLOGATHON is underway! A handful of faithful readers have liberated the Brad Blog and are now in control. As far as we know, nothing like this has ever been done before. So if we look like we don't know what we're doing, that's the basic idea! But we're not the only ones. Nobody knows what we're doing!!

Look What We Have At The BRAD STORE!! but We Still Need More Donations and You Can Donate By Mail.

We'll leave this stay-on-top item up-on-top for the whole BLOGATHON, and we'll update it frequently throughout the event. So please check in here often to see what's new, what's coming up soon, and how to catch up on anything you've missed!!

A BLOGATHON-INSPIRED GRAND OPENING:
Please visit The BRAD STORE during its Grand Opening! If you don't feel like buying anything, then please make a donation via PayPal or else please make a donation via snail mail.

If it seems like we're trying to separate you from some of your money, yes! you're catching on! Why? Here's just one reason: Studio time for The BRAD SHOW costs $500 per week. Brad sells some ads but they never cover his studio time. So he pays the difference out of his own pocket. Anyone wondering whether it's worth it should visit The BRAD SHOW and listen to some interviews. Where else can you hear radio like that? And how else can he pay for it? Yes? Right! Now you're catching on!

WE'RE FUNDRAISING --- PLEASE HELP!

• Some Great Gift Ideas
• Let The Silent Auctions Begin!
• Fractal Art from Peg C.
• The BRAD STORE Is Now Open!!
• Go There And Buy Something --- Or Else!!
• Make A Donation via Credit Card or PayPal
• Make A Donation via Snail Mail
• Visit The BRAD STORE!!

Yes, we're begging --- a bit! --- but on the other hand, look at what we've been up to...

BREAKING NEWS

• Scottie Takes a Break from Lying about Rove to Lie about Terrorism...
• Thomas Noe Taint Spreading: Look Out Washington!
• White House Backs Away From Rove!!
• FITRAKIS: Hocking County Activists Go To Sheriff's Dept!!

BLOGATHON-RELATED THREADS

• Ladies And Gentlemen, Mr. Brad Friedman
• Conyers to Friedman: 'Great Appreciation And Many Thanks'
• Clint Curtis Puppy-Naming Contest Results
• The Blogathon Continues...
• Has The BRAD BLOG Been Hijacked?
• Clint Curtis Puppy Naming Contest
• The Blogathon Guest Book
• When Did You Start Reading BRAD BLOG? And Why Did You Continue?

SUNDAY'S LIVE GUEST BLOGGERS

• Bob Koehler: America, America
• Bob Fitrakis: 'Open Letter To John Tanner' and 'Indictment Of Incompetence'
• Winter Patriot: Double Whammy
• Clint Curtis: The Whistleblower Blogs!

SATURDAY'S LIVE GUEST BLOGGERS

• David Cobb: 'The New Voting Rights Movement' and 'Fighting The Corporate Takeover'
• Larisa Alexandrovna: Some Recent Raw Stories
• Winter Patriot: It's Just Too Convenient
• John Amato: Justice Sunday: The After Party

FREE-RANGE GUEST BLOGGERS

• Gandhi: Does Reality Even Matter?
• Chris Floyd: The Dream of Unlimited Swag: The Klepto-Plutocracy at War
• Bernie Ellis: To The Merry Blogsters At This BradBlogathon
• Josh Mitteldorf: Making The Most Of What You've Got

The BRAD SHOW

• MICHAEL SMITH of the London Sunday Times
• Karl Rove's friend BILL ISRAEL
• election auditors JOHN BRAKEY and DAVID GRISCOMB
• A Tribute to Andy Stephenson
• Interviews with BRAD BLOGGERS Kira and Steve
• and much much more!
• NOW AVAILABLE VIA The BRAD SHOW Archives
  in case you didn't catch the live show on Saturday or the ReBRADcast on Sunday!

ALL BLOGGED OUT??

• Important Message
• Sunday BRAD SHOW Open Thread
• Saturday BRAD SHOW Open Thread
• Blogathon Tuesday Open Thread
• Blogathon Monday Open Thread
• Blogathon Sunday Open Thread
• Blogathon Saturday Open Thread
• Blogathon Friday Open Thread

MANY THANKS and BEST WISHES

• to Mike Malloy of Air America for this very generous endorsement [mp3]
• to Family and Friends of our late friend Andy Stephenson

Andy Stephenson lost his fight with cancer last night. He was a great fighter but, apparently, this was one he couldn't win.

I only recently got to know Andy over the past year, but he instantly became a friend. As if I'd known him my whole life. I know there are thousands out there who feel the same about him.

He was a great supporter of this blog, of The BRAD SHOW (he helped us get our first show on the air, and appeared as a guest that night) and was one of the original advisors at Velvet Revolution.

His loss is a tremendous blow to the Election Reform movement, and to America.

He will be missed...but he will never forgotten.

Godspeed, Andy...

UPDATE 7/11/05: