The 'Unprovable' Reported 'as Fact'
10/23/2008 by Gabriel VoilesFAIR contributor Mark Crispin Miller and David Swanson are among those signed onto an "Open Letter to the Media from the Media" that asserts (We Do Not Consent, 10/23/08) that "federal election results are unprovable, even though the media reports them as fact." Citing how "electronic voting machines frequently produce results impossible in a legitimate election," the group offers evidence "such as John Kerry's negative 25 million votes in Youngstown, Ohio (November 2004), or Palm Beach County's 12,000 votes in excess of the number of voters (August 2008)," before telling fellow journalists that
we must challenge our industry to refuse to report as fact what can't be proven and hasn't been independently verified, particularly when the only source of the information is the government itself. The reality is that the media should be the greatest advocates of hand-counting paper ballots because this method of counting allows media greatest access to observing and documenting the process, affording the reported results the greatest credibility. Transparent coverage of a transparent counting process would create a basis for confidence in the reported results where none currently exists.
See FAIR's magazine Extra!: "A 'Glitch' in Democracy: Coverage of Computer Voting Problems Too Little, Too Late?" (5-6/04) by Karen Charman
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October 26th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
[...] Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) also has a blurb about the letter here. [...]
October 26th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Here is the current list of signers to this letter, as of 10/26/08:
Dave Berman, WeDoNotConsent.blogspot.com; Voter Confidence Committee of Humboldt, CA
Mark Crispin Miller, Author, http://www.markcrispinmiller.blogspot.com
Alastair Thompson, Co-Editor/General Manager, http://www.Scoop.co.nz
Peter B. Collins, syndicated talk show host. http://www.peterbcollins.com
Michael Collins, “The Money Party,” usacoupscoop.co.nz/?tag=michael-collins; electionfraudnews.com/MichaelCollins.htm
Ernest Partridge, Co-Editor, The Crisis Papers http://www.crisispapers.org/
Bernard Weiner, Co-Editor, The Crisis Papers http://www.crisispapers.org/
Rob Kall, Executive Editor & Publisher, http://www.OpEdNews.com
David Swanson, Co-Founder, http://www.AfterDowningStreet.org
Joan Brunwasser, Election Integrity Editor, http://www.OpEdNews.com
Rady Ananda, Senior Editor, http://www.OpEdNews.com
Lynn Landes, freelance journalist, http://www.thelandesreport.com
Tom Courbat, Founder, SAVE R VOTE, http://www.savervote.com
Dan Ashby, Co-Founder and Director, http://www.ElectionDefenseAlliance.org
Linda Milazzo, OpedNews Senior Editor; HuffingtonPost blogger, http://www.OpEdNews.com
Jan Baumgartner, Managing Editor, http://www.OpEdNews.com
Cheryl Biren-Wright, Managing Editor, http://www.OpEdNews.com
Amanda Lang, OEN Managing Editor, http://www.opednews.com
Re-Media Election Transparency Coalition, http://www.re-mediaetc.org
Joanne Lukacher, Communications Director,
Andi Novick, Legal Counsel
Paul R Lehto, Juris Doctor, Author of Election Law Encyclopedia articles lehto.paul@gmail.com
Mark A. Adams JD/MBA founder of http://www.ProjectVoteCount.com and attorney for Clint Curtis.
Catherine Austin Fitts, Scoop “Mapping The Real Deal” Columnist, solari.com
John Gideon, Co-Executive Director, VotersUnite.Org
Ellen Theisen, Co-Executive Director, VotersUnite.Org
Bev Harris, founder and director,Black Box Voting (Web site http://www.blackboxvoting.org)
John Chuckman, Columnist & Cartoonist More Websites: Postcards, Trading Cards, Places
Bernie Ellis Organizer, Gathering To Save Our Democracy (Tennessee) and Convener, National Election Reform Conference Nashville, TN April, 2005 - http://www.votesafetn.org