Was Nightline worth watching?

[mrstick]

For those of us who are on the West coast and won't have the option of seeing it for another 2 and a half hours, was Nightline good tonight?

[merh]

1. No - we are a fringe bunch of conspiracy theorists (dem pollster

that claims we are harming the voting reform efforts) and Ted and Cockie Roberts and Hans Johnson reminescing about how election theft and fraud have gone on for years. Haahhhaaa - in New Orleans folks are buried above ground so they have an easier time voting in the elections.

Kennedy stole the election in 1960, yada yada yada - not worth it unless you want to be sickened by the crap. :puke:

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. He who controls the past, controls the present

George Orwell
1984

[merh]

3. I'm very tired, I don't get the point of your quote.

Forgive my ignorance and fatigue, but do you care to explain?

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. They are rewriting the past as we speak

and creating a whole new image, suplanting what is going on. They are rewirign history and once you have a new history, that all agree upon, the few who know the "truth" are effectively sidelined.

Read 1984, and it will help a lot

[merh]

13. Its been years since I have read 1984 and with all that has been

happening to our beloved nation and our reality over the last 4 years, I have been afraid to read it again.

Thank you for the explanation. Sadly, you are exactly right. :cry:

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. Once I get my household goods back

I intend to read it again...

In fact will watch the movie tomorrow instead of the Coronation

[Cadence]

11. That's a really good quote. Thanks, I hadn't seen

that before.

[Cobalt Violet]

15. "Diehards" I believe the word is.

[paineinthearse]

4. No!!

I respected Cokie Roberts when she was on NPR.

She certainly is swimming in the kool-aid.

[jayfish]

8. Respected Kooky?

I can't figure out why I've been seeing so much of her lately. I only watch about an hour of news a week and she's all over the place. She is awful.


Jay

[KaryninMiami]

5. Starts off with the words "Conspiracy Theory"- what do you think?

No mention of Representative Conyers (guess his 57,000 reports handed to the GAO don't mean anything), little mention of the actual facts about Ohio and lots of support for the latest explanation of the exit poll discrepancy which seems to be that Kerry voters were more likely to answer the pollster questions thereby shifting the polls to appear that they were higher for Kerry- give me a break. Also no mention of the fact that the exit polls were only different in the electronic voting machine states-- wonder why that has yet to come up in the media?

Sure, watch the show but I'd suggest pouring yourself a nice glass of wine first...

Time to write to Mr. Koppel.

[Calvinist Basset]

14. Anyone have an address for Ted? n/t

[Atman]

6. There was NO reporting here. None of the issues were raised.

None. Nightline ignored every point ever made here about HOW it was stolen. They laugh at it and say "it couldn't happen." But that it does all the time. Oh, and part of their "proof" that it wasn't stolen? Mitosfy's report on himself finding that everything was hunky dory.

Total whitewash. A disgusting piece of psuedo-journalism.

[DieboldMustDie]

7. No!

It seems that election fraud would have required the complicity of a hundred and some odd Democratic BOE members.   They neglected to mention that all BOE members "Democrat" or Republican were appointed by Blackwell and remained in their positions at his pleasure. :grr:

[Dream of the Flood]

9. They still call it "Conspiracy Theory"

It doesn't provide any new information that you couldn't get from the DU threads, and it doesn't really get into the real issue--unverifiable computer voting machines stealing votes or being hacked to switch votes and a sham of a recount. It needs to be stressed that a 3% recount and then back to optical scan machines that may or may not be rigged is not acceptable.

I want to know if we really lost. If we did, then fine. We figure out what we need to do to start winning in 2006 and 2008. If we didn't, and I find it very difficult to believe we didn't, then the second term is as fraudulant as the first. If we can't get through election reforms that will set a national standard for all 50 states that eliminate any shadow of doubt, then all of this is for nothing.

The show simply exploits us. I watched but changed channels during commercials because I'll be damned if I'm going to watch ads that sponsor a show that essentially belittles this serious issue as conspiracy theory.

On the plus note, it's got FReepers' panties in a knot, and it comes at a good time to deflate the notion of mandate to add a little rain on Bush's parade. If it gets people thinking who aren't aware of these issues, then it does its job to a degree, but I still wouldn't reward it by watching it if you already agree that the evidence says they stole it again.

We'll never know for sure, but the odds say "Come on, don't bullshit me!" And that's exactly the problem. Diebold helped create this issue for us. Kenneth Blackwell created this issue for us. The do-nothing Republicans who would not budge on giving us what we need to feel confident our vote counts are responsible for this. Funny they only want election reform when they think they've been wronged--with far less evidence (I speak of WA Gov. race).

[HomerRamone]

12. There's less fraud now than in the past!

NO mention of paperless voting! NONE! UN-F-ING-BELIEVABLE!

[glarius]

16. They are giving a phony explanation for why the exit polls didn't match

The question was asked "who did you vote for?" and the answer was "I don't want to tell you" (obviously they didn't say I'm voting for Bush but I don't want to tell you)....Koppel says the reason the exit polls didn't match the vote was because more Bush people wouldn't tell they were voting for him. How do the pollsters know whether the voters who wouldn't answer were for Bush or for Kerry?....This is a phony theory!

[Top Lizard]

17. My E-Mail to Nightline

I just sent the following e-mail message to the Nightline team:


Dear Ted (and company),

I have long been a Nightline viewer, and your show is one of the few news programs that I regularly watch because I consider you more thoughtful than many "news" shows.

I was rather surprised to see that you were finally doing a story about voting irregularities in last November's election. What took you so long? I would have expected a report earlier, certainly by the time of Sen. Boxer's challenge to the electoral count.

While I do not know for sure that the election was "stolen," it is clear that many things contrary to the spirit (if not the letter) of the law occurred in Ohio, and possibly elsewhere. As a native Buckeye and a historian, I pride myself on having high standards of evidence. Thus, the recent election may or may not have been stolen, but the issue merits further investigation.

Unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed with your coverage of this story, as it dwelt excessively on "conspiracy theorists" who may or may not be onto something. (Remember, even "Landslide Lyndon's" Senate victory became confirmed as fraudulent only many years later.)You ought to have devoted more time to the Conyers report, which goes well beyond exit polls.

I respect Cokie Roberts and Haynes Johnson, but I think that the discussion became a little too bogged down in tales of past vote fraud. (While it's important for historical context, the focus should be on the present and future.) Even stories of vote theft by the Kennedy campaign in 1960 are still not universally accepted by scholars.

And some of the journalists' answers were a bit glib, as when Ms. Roberts blithely declared that voting machines are better now, and therefore the electoral process flows more smoothly. If you've done any investigation into electronic voting (whether optical scan or touchscreen), it's clear that the prevailing arrangements of proprietary code, lack of receipts, and so on present a serious possible threat to the American franchise. (Ironically, the safest way to vote may be the oldest, an "X" on a piece of paper!)

To be fair, I also think TV's limitations as a medium sometimes require a visual and verbal shorthand which do a disservice to the issues being considered. Have you thought about a multiple-segment show or recurring series on voting irregularities, or the difficulties of democracy in the electronic age? Or what about a bipartisan panel discussion about how to improve the electoral process? Surely both parties are concerned about the right to vote.

Regardless of whether the election was fair, it's clear that this country still needs to improve its voting system (especially if we're promoting freedom around the world). I hope to see more reporting from you on this vital subject in the future.


Some of you may think I was a bit too diplomatic, but I wanted to encourage them to air more such stories in the future--provided they take a deeper look at the subject!

[newyawker99]

20. Hi Top Lizard!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[MsMagnificent]

19. HELL NO

Blackwell says he wasn't implicit in any vote fraud?
You think he's going to just say out of the blue, on national TV,
YES I FIXED THE OHIO ELECTION RESULTS?!

They really think we're ALL such fucking IDIOTS don't they?

Oh, and where was the story about the new machines that allow no paper trail? Machines that just happen to be manufactured by companies who pointblank guaranteed Bush would win? What about shipping extra machines to suburban locations where they weren't even needed (and the election board KNEW THEY WOULDN'T BE NEEDED, and WHERE THEY WOULD BE!) nor used but just sat there while CITY residents stood for hours in the cold and rain attempting to exercise their right to vote? What of those who had to leave or risk losing their jobs?
Those stories weren't there. Why?
Maybe they couldn't quite spin that? Or perhaps they followed the old Puke trick of Disavowing one contention therefore debunks ALL.
And self-important Koppel thinks he's sewn up all these wacky "Conspiracy Theories"
Case closed.
Thank you Oh Mighty, Intellectually Superior MISTER Koppel!

Thank you? No, I meant FUCK YOU!

Pissed? You bet I AM! Such fucking bullshit.
Which key do I press that lets me flip the bird?

Koppel is so damn patronizing anyways... he's truly pathetic.
& Cokie "Blab Blab Blab" Roberts?? OH NO... She's not biased, not ever!
/sarcasm

Fucking Bullshit. That my refrain. Fucking Bullshit.

Well, it'll reassure the mental midgets -- the Freepers.
Pumped full of fucking Ritalin and they'll do whatever they're told.
Who needs invasive prefrontal lobotomies when you can drug millions of children (and now adults too!) with only a few pills per person per day?!
Hey wait! Them's a lot of pills...
...oh my, the drug companies are on Bush's side?!
Does anybody KNOW about this ANY MAYBE WANT TO REPORT ON IT?!

Oops, that darn /sarcasm got turned back on.