Media Bloodhound nails the latest corporate mainstream media disgrace. This time, courtesy of NBC’s Brian Williams, and Dick Cheney’s longtime former protégé turned NBC News “reporter” Pete Williams…
That would be embarrassing enough for a news organization purporting to be credible.
But earlier in the day on the Nightly News blog The Daily Nightly, anchor and managing editor Brian Williams (in a post titled “What Times Is It?“) actually took The New York Times to task for publishing puff pieces.
Well, at least Williams covered the outrageously anti-Constitutional Supreme Court decision, sure to disenfranchise thousands, if not millions, of voters, right? Even if only for 80 seconds. But, as it turns out, no coverage would have been preferable to Williams’ unfair, unbalanced (and inaccurate) coverage…
It seems the disingenuous, all-out, Fox “News”/O’Reilly assault on NBC News, attempting to cow them, by painting them as “the worst of the liberal media,” is working nicely, thank you. Williams’ 80 seconds of coverage failed to mention, as Indiana was forced to admit during the hearings, and as Justice Souter’s dissent pointed out: “the State has not come across a single instance of in-person voter impersonation fraud in all of Indiana’s history.”
Nonetheless, it was “in-person voter impersonation fraud” at the polling place which the now-upheld law was purportedly designed to deter, according to the Republicans who created it (in actuality, to deter legal, Democratic-leaning voters from being able to cast ballots at all.)
Williams’ 80 seconds would have fit in very smartly into Fox’s regular propaganda/”news” coverage, as Media Bloodhound shows…
Instead, ignoring substantive context, dissenting views, and serious implications on the constitutional right to vote, Brian Williams framed the issue for NBC justice correspondent Pete Williams (former longtime aide to Dick Cheney) through a Fox News-like lens:
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Pete, let’s come at this a little differently. In a nation where in the post-9/11 era, we need a photo ID to fly, why was it a big story today, this court ruling that we need it to vote?
…
Of course, Brian turned to the right correspondent to take a complex issue involving civil liberties and the Constitution and, for all intents and purposes, reduce it down to corporate media stenography and Bush administration talking points. A skilled piece of journalistic hackery in short form:
PETE WILLIAMS: Well, showing a photo ID at the airport has been upheld because of the need for security. Now the Supreme Court said that states can require voter ID at the polls to prevent voter fraud. Georgia, Florida and Michigan have laws like Indiana’s and seventeen other states were waiting for today’s decision before considering laws of their own to make voting another part of American life requiring a photo ID, just like flying. Today’s vote was six-to-three, with one of the most liberal justices, John Paul Stevens, in the majority. He said most people do already have a photo ID and that for those who don’t, who are poor, elderly or handicapped, this may add to their burden. But he said it was not enough to overcome the state’s interest in discouraging fraud, Brian.
Our curious anchor’s follow-up?
BRIAN WILLIAMS: All right. Pete Williams in Washington for us. Pete, thanks.
Adding insult to injury, this clip is not currently available on its own on MSNBC’s Nightly News website (it’s only accessible through watching a video of the full broadcast). But fear not, Brian’s two-minute-plus Miley Cyrus (aka, Hannah Montana) report, covered by NBC correspondent Rehema Ellis, is there in all its gratuitously vapid glory.
Never mind how the Supreme Court’s decision will directly affect the Indiana Democratic primary, the presidential election in November, and, potentially, voting rights of US citizens for years to come. NBC Nightly News and Brian Williams provided their viewers with a much more valuable piece of information: the “ruckus” over teen sensation Miley Cyrus’ photo spread in Vanity Fair…
BTW, Williams’ blog item, hypocritically finger-wagging at the NYTimes for their fluff, at least recognizes “one sparkling piece of journalism” this week: A column in the rightwing Wall Street Journal, by GOP stalwart Peggy Noonan, whom he describes as “an early favorite for next cycle’s Pulitzer for commentary.”
The myth of the “liberal media” continues. And in one of the most important election years ever, we’d suggest, you ain’t seen nothin’, yet.
This just wasn’t little ol’ Mighty Thor Hearne, this was a Corporate (read Republican, Fascist) campaign to stifle the poor and elderly from voting period.
Link
It’s bought and paid for.
Everyone knows that the poor and elderly smell like cabbage! Really, who wants that in their voting place?
Ya know Paula Abdul said something
Britany Spears is doing something
And Paris Hilton is doing nothing,
what more do you want?
Wonder why noone besides Raw Story wants to do an expose of the world class hackers who have infiltrated the GOP?
One such hacker is a chair down in Brad’s area and is a California treasurer of the party (remember the Washington DC dude who stole them blind?).
Question for Clint Curtis:
The story of a hacker criminal in the GOP is even on DIGG now. I know kos and MSM types are afraid of this story, because the cabal the dude is a member of can bring down any website anywhere anytime they want to.
But Brad, you say on your site as it comes up “UNAFRAID”.
This hacker is from your neck of the woods and is in your face.
Are you afraid to run with the biggest hack story never told? Bradbloggers like myself would see that as so kos.
Read my post and hey everyone, spread the news around so these guys can’t scrub it.
Here’s the link to The Raw Story article:
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/S...onal_0425.html
No way Bush won either of those elections. When I get the chance, I want to look more into this Mark Lindeman guy posting at Democratic Underground as OnTheOtherHand.
There is strength in numbers. Good lurkers, don’t be scared. Help out.
Hey Mark Lindeman, we know you devote tons of hours reading and posting on election integrity message boards. HudsonValleyMark {sp?} at Dkos. OnTheOtherHand at Democratic Underground. Don’t you have students to help out? Don’t you need to write some books to get tenured? Who the *#$@ do you work for other than Bard College?
You have overstepped your boundaries. It is time for you to be exposed.
I saw you in two videos. One, somehow you were on a panel discussing global warming, explaining how it is so exciting. On the other, you were talking about annoying citizens who get on hobby horses.
How do I know you are spending an abnormal amount of time on these message boards. The other day you dug into Brad for not realising who you are at DU. You ripped into him for making the same mistake he did with Dana Houle, DHinMi or something at the DailyCIAKos.
Mark Lindeman wrote a peper with a known rightwinger Rick Brady, yet he is posting at a democratic website. He can get fairly mean towards other posters, yet never gets his arse banned. Same friggen thing happens a lot. Maybe you have Skinner in your back pocket?
A google search for OnTheOtherHand Democratic Underground returns 13,000 hits.
OTOH DU
You should have gone away when you had the chance. Same with your buddy Febble, an Elisabeth Liddle out of England. Now wtf is she doing on the DU?
OnTheOtherHand Is Professor Mark Lindeman. He appears to be a tool for the status quo.
Students, professors, union leaders, peace groups, extra-governmental organisations, etc., it is time for you to step up to the plate. It is time we take a lesson from the French and start ramping up the protests.
How long has it been since Murtha said we needed to get the #$@& out of Iraq.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
the people united will never be defeated
Hi Brad and blog,
Thank you for this newsworthy election coverage and once again exposing a US mass media monopoly owned by a criminal self serving corporation (that doesn’t represent the people) and told what to say by the greedy, murderous, lying, treasonous, loser pirates known as the bushit administration. They think they invented the book on piracy and have their police state ready to go however these investment banker/oil barons are gonna be sorry for only watching their bottom line soon enough. No press required.
Hi Mark Lindeman, OnTheOtherHand at Democratic Underground. How are you doing?
Hey, I found one of those auditing planning committee panels you worked on. Are you still close with Matt Damschroeder, your fellow panelist from the following?
http://electionaudits.org/files...mit%20Bios.pdf
html format
Maybe I’m wrong, but it looks like this panel was all about going forward with electronic voting machines. Am I mistaken, Mr. Lindeman?
excerpt:
The whois for electionaudits.org:
Verified Voting Foundation, Inc.
Registrant Name:Pam Smith
Tech Name:Edward Piou
Next Post: The Election Science Institute
I believe that Lindeman wrote a paper with Republican Rick Brady which backed the “work” of the Election Science Institute. The other day, Mark, you ripped into Brad for not knowing that you are OnTheOtherHand. I didn’t know you were him either, because I was tombstoned from that place for no good reason. Unlike Brad, you don’t sign off your posts with your real name.
So Mark, do you know Steven Hertzberg personally? Are you still in contact with Rove’s buddy, Matt Damschroeder?
Because maybe you could ask Steven, a “Navari” at {cough, cough, lol} “Fintan Dunne’s” BreakForDisinfoNews, why he has taken his Election Science Institute off-line. Thanks in advance, OnTheOtherHand, Mr. Mark Lindeman who finds global warming so exciting.
Oh, is Brad one of those annoying citizens you talk about who have hobby horses?
This was from the ESI website before it was scrubbed off the internet:
Votewatch Team
The Darius Anderson guy produces some interesting results. Many of the folks also come from a place called {from memory} Aguirre International. I personally do not have as much time anymore to do the amateur sleuthing. Good lurkers, your help is needed.
The link to the above was:
http://www.electionscience.org/...votewatch_team
wayback machine link
So Mark, tell us how you really feel about the electronic voting machines. Have you ever received money from an electronic machine company or advocate? What else are you hiding from the general populace as OnTheOtherHand other than your real name? Seriously, how do you find so much time to read and post on the internet? Don’t you have students to help and books to write, etc.?
Have you ever voted Republican?
Do you now regret piling it on at DemocraticUnderground, so nobodies like me start snooping into your past connections?
Disclaimer: I first learned OTOH was Prof. Mark Lindeman due to the fine work of a John Dean who posts at BradBlog and elsewhere.
Hey Skinner, this last one is for you. How do you sleep at night?
Ok. One more. I should really be getting some shut-eye.
I’m smelling a lot of rats.
And I know there are some folks out there who are right there seeing the same things I am. This is not “conspiracy chatter.” This is called reality backed by facts.
One link I found was to a Professor Freeman article wondering why folks like Liddle and Hertzberg were so involved in the election integrity movement based on their resumes. That could be for another day.
But this next one, Steven Hertzberg’s brother seemed to by pimping for electronic machines as early as 2001. Robert Hertzberg once ran for mayor of Los Angeles.
html link
http://www.csac.counties.org/pu...in/2001_17.pdf
I found that after seeing the following in a google search result. But this link merely pointed to the above info, it didn’t include it.
Right below that one:
There are tons of goodies to be found all over the internet. I’m hoping Brad can finish some of my snooping around, then both of us can go on Olbermann.
🙂
The rat is called controlled opposition. There has been a lot of fake outrage and concern that infiltrated the election integrity movement, fairly soon after Bush was crowned King of America. True leaders like Brad were to be marginalised as being “conspiracy nutters.” Fake leaders like Febble, Lindeman, Hertzberg, and David “Kelvin Mace” Allen were propped up as evokers of authority.
The bottom line has been a movement to say:
I’m not sure why no one ever interacts with some of the stuff I come up with, but so be it. The only way I’ll shut up is if I get banned.
Hey Mark Lindeman, how’s it going?
{evil laugh}
the people united will never be defeated
Daily Kos, on this 5th anniversary of “mission accomplished”, has some embarrasing quotes from Brian and the other twits who think they are journalists. LINK, so does Arianna.
The stinch of the Amurkan MSM reaches to high heaven.
Sorry, but illegal aliens don’t have the right to vote.
PoetryMan69 ignorantly:
That’s good. Because they already don’t.
If you have evidence to the contrary, please share it (Hint: don’t work too hard, because there exists no such evidence.)
Brian Williams’ newscast July 10. 08 could only
discuss what was negative about airlines.
What he should have done is expose their hypocracy by showing off how successful Southwest Airlines is and how it continues to make profits.
Perhaps if the losing airlines took a page out of Southwest Airlines operating procedures they would not be in the mess they are in and would start running their airlines the way they should be run .
Enough of negative news reporting and start expounding something positive and inspiring.
Cecil Asfour – Dallas, Texas