Trib columnist Koehler, Controversy Over Election Fraud

[babylonsister]

Remember the uproar over this? Nice to see this getting more attention, and especially nice to see the uproar it caused in the Trib newsroom, perhaps because of all the e-mails DUers sent? :)


Robert Koehler likes to ask tough questions and tackle issues ignored by the press. When he asked if the 2004 Presidential election was stolen, it created a rift in the Chicago Tribune newsroom, providing an example about the sad state of media affairs existing today.
June 18, 2005
By Greg Szymanski

Some people say Tribune Online columnist Robert Koehler works inside the belly of the beast, working inside a corporate media hungry for money but short on truth telling.

http://www.globalnewsmatrix.com/modules.php?name=News&f...

[Melissa G]

1. Thanks Babylon sister! I posted it on the daily thread..

which could use one more nomination..hint hint.

[papau]

2. A media person asking questions that might embarrass the GOP - Amazing!

Questions like:

"Let’s simply ask why the lines were so long and the voting machines so few in Columbus and Cleveland and inner-city and college precincts across the country, especially in the swing states, causing an estimated one-third of the voters in these precincts to drop out of line without casting a ballot.

"This, mind you, is just for starters. We might also ask why so many Ph.D.-level mathematicians and computer programmers and other numbers-savvy scientists are saying that the numbers don’t make sense (see, for instance, www.northnet.org/minstrel, the Web site of Dr. Richard Hayes Phillips, lead statistician in the Moss v. Bush lawsuit challenging the Ohio election results). Indeed, the movement to investigate the 2004 election is led by such people, because the numbers are screaming at them that something is wrong.

"And we might, no, we must, ask — with more seriousness than the media have asked — about those exit polls, which in years past were extraordinarily accurate but last November went haywire, predicting Kerry by roughly the margin by which he ultimately lost to Bush. This swing is out of the realm of random chance, forcing chagrined pollsters to hypothesize a "shy Republican" factor as the explanation; and the media have bought this evidence-free absurdity because it spares them the need to think about the F-word: fraud."

[Peace Patriot]

3. The full article on Koehler is excellent--and there are a number of gems..

on this news page. I recommend it!

The conclusion on Koehler is very moving:

"From Koehler’s tough questions, it’s easy to see why the Tribune bosses felt offended. Koehler struck an embarrassing nerve, reminding mainstream editors about the hypocrisy and folly they are actively pursuing on a daily basis.

"Once a nerve like this is struck, it’s human nature to strike back and criticize and this is exactly what Tribune editors did.

"However, Koehler’s questions have a much broader scope of importance besides a newsroom squabble. His hard hitting questions remind everyone the daunting task that lies ahead to restore some semblance of democracy in a government gone wild with power and a people feeling helpless to stop it.

"Listen to the opening paragraphs of Koehler’s controversial column as a shocking reminder of the task ahead:

'As they slowly hack democracy to death, we’re as alone — we citizens — as we’ve ever been, protected only by the dust-covered clichés of the nation’s founding: "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." It’s time to blow off the dust and start paying the price.

'The media are not on our side. The politicians are not on our side. It’s just us, connecting the dots, fitting the fragments together, crunching the numbers, wanting to know why there were so many irregularities in the last election and why these glitches and dirty tricks and wacko numbers had not just an anti-Kerry but a racist tinge. This is not about partisan politics. It’s more like: 'Oh no, this can’t be true.'"

http://www.globalnewsmatrix.com/modules.php?name=News&f"

[autorank]

4. "They" will do anything to kill this story.

This fits in with the Salon hit piece dismissing the National Exit Poll survey that casts so much doubt on the results of the election and, which supports all the on-the-ground instances of vote fraud and computer tampering.

Some news type reported that there was an explicit prohibition of coverage of this story. Well the Tribune certainly proves that. Remember that this company owns the LA Times, which has been very LAX (pardon the pun) in covering this story.

They don't want the truth, BECAUSE THEY CAN'T STAND THE TRUTH is all I can say.

NEW LEADERS FOR A NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Contact the DNC and Tell Them to PREVENT Election Fraud

[Joe Chi Minh]

8. When the world and his wife

can see what happened to Salon, we can also see that the use of the term "underground" in the name given to this forum was a master-stroke; kind of difficult for a right-wing Establishment outfit to take it over.

[babylonsister]

5. A.M. Kick! nt

[MelissaB]

6. You have to scroll about 2/3 down the page

to get to the story. It is excellent. Thanks!

[Nothing Without Hope]

7. HERE IS A LINK DIRECTLY TO THE STORY:

http://www.globalnewsmatrix.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1434

I didn't mind scrolling through the other stories, which included mportant ones, but I expect it will get harder to find thee Koehler one later on. The link I gave goes directly to the Koehler one, and I am hoping it is a permalink.

Thanks both for this story and for introducing me to this good information source.

Recommended.

[Wiley50]

9. Good to see my pet project still causing waves

Guess I should drop Bob a line and see how he's doing.