Is it true that 9/11 was the day 2000 election results were to headline?

[lonestarnot]

[dennis4868]

1. Perhaps...

that day or during that week...MSM dropped it for months and even when they reported it they lied with misleadings headlines.

[lonestarnot]

3. Holy shit now I am convinced MIHOP! Did not know this until tonight.

How in the hell did I miss this? It was on DU I'm sure but I didn't get involved here until after the 2004 election cheat. Moving!

[genius]

10. Absolutely. A press conference had been scheduled for steps of capital

by Bob Fertik, Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi and Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. The results were going to show that Gore won Florida and the press conference was going to revolve around the removal of the loser from office. This press conference was widely publicized. It never took place though. Guess why.

[Lone Pawn]

90. "Widely publicized?"

A LexisNexis search pulls nothing. Sorry.

[bvar22]

2. Yes.

The results from the consortium recount was to be released on Sept 11.
This results would show that Al Gore would have won a statewide recount under ANY standard.

[lonestarnot]

4. Motherfuckers MIHOP! No doubt in my mind now! n/t

[proud patriot]

5. Newsweek's cover was "the Accidental President"

the following week . The media consortium results were
to come out within 3 days of 911 as well as I
can remember .

I still have my copy of that Newsweek.

[lonestarnot]

6. MIHOP killed Kennedy tooo! Mutherfuckers!

[Goathead]

74. Texas oil killed Kennedy

George Brown of Brown & Root, LBJ and Sam Rayburn. Texas thugs inside the beltway.

[autorank]

8. I'm blown away! Great post, great thread.

This is the real "value added" of DU (as opposed to the latest Michael Jackson thread, the worst thing I've ever seen here).

[lonestarnot]

19. Then nominate! n/t

[autorank]

27. I am the third nominee!

:hi:

[lonestarnot]

31. Thanks.

:hi:

[Hissyspit]

17. I still have mine, too. n/t

[lonestarnot]

20. Can you photo and post to this thread? n/t

[zann725]

44. Could you post that cover? I never saw it.

Others here might appreciate it as well.

[senseandsensibility]

72. Newsweek had that cover

AFTER 9-11? Wow. I thought that the media would speak of nothing but 9-11 for at least six months after the event, and NOTHING even slightly critical of the chimp for a good year or so.

[Jackpine Radical]

114. The cover was on the stands before 9-11 iirc.

I think it was quickly pulled after the attacks.

[Just Me]

130. "The Accidental President"! WOW! Is it serendipitous, coincidence,...

,...or a sign or just plain insane?

:crazy:

[applegrove]

7. bin Laden did it. USA taught him how to build up Islamist regime in

Afghanistan (USA wanted fighters against the old Soviets). So USA taught Osama bin Laden how to bait someone and choose an enemy who would build Islamist pride simply by giving them something to rally around.

Fifty years of USA policy created virulent Islamist bent on turning the ME into one huge Fundie Islamist state. Right Wing USA is guilty of causing the problem.

It will be a long hard slog to get rid of the neocon/rovbot/gop/repukes & Bush. A long hard slog and USA taught bin Laden how effective terrorism against the USA would be.

We all have to deal with it.

Nobody cared about the 2000 election. Everyone agreed that Gore won the count.. he just wasn't ruthless in the fight so that left it to Reagan appointees on the Supreme Court to read the law however they wanted to.

Everyone agreed that Gore was not aggressive enough. He didn't fully understand how aggressive the GOP would be and that the game had changed. People were reporting on election results and the issues around the 2000 election CONTINUOUSLY from the time it happened.

Read nothing into that. some people keep looking for a quick way out - it will not happen

[lonestarnot]

9. MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP!

MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP!
MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP!
MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP!
MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP!
MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP!

get the point
MIHOP! MIHOP! MIHOP!

[applegrove]

33. What does MIHOP mean?

[Nadienne]

36. It means,

Made It Happen On Purpose. As in, the Bush regime was directly involved with 9/11.

Also, there's LIHOP, Let It Happen On Purpose. As in, the Bush regime knew it was going to happen and didn't stop it.

Neither would surprise me.

It also wouldn't surprise me if the Bush regime was not involved, but I would doubt it. It also wouldn't surprise me if Osama bin Laden was just a patsy. What matters most to me is that 9/11 has been and is being exploited by Bush and Co to further their own means.

[applegrove]

39. I agree the Bush & co are opportunists. But not MIHOP.

I think we need to takesome steps backwards and get a big picture - and don't encourage others to 'dream' of a quick way of getting out of todays problems. Getting out of the problems will be a long, hard slog. You will not recognize yourself when it is done. Their is propaganda in the WH and there are Islamist fundamentalists that need to be contained.

[Wonk]

11. Interesting answer. Um, what was the question again? Oh, right....

:eyes:

[Name removed]

50. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[lonestarnot]

34. WTF Nobody cared! Are you in a rainstorm w/o an umbrella? n/t

[applegrove]

37. In my opinion conspiracy theorists just want to have it so that they

actually have some control over their lives. If Bush bombed WTC then you have the power to put him away. That is why you keep jumping from one conspiracy to another.

The facts are that bin Laden did this and you do not have power over him.

Your people elected Bush again and his creepy sociopaths will desconstruct your whole life. You only have power over them every two years.

You want more power than you have and that his how you tie things up in little knots. The fact is... shutting down bin Laden is going to be a long slog. Shutting down neocon/Bush/rovbots sociopaths will be even a longer slog.

And neither of these problems could be solved overnight like you so desperately want.

Your life has changed. You have several sociopaths in it. The political people around Bush and terrorists. You have to deal with both. They are separate problems. But you have to accept that both happened. So you can move on and make right choices about your life. Moving to another country may help. But it may not. Perhaps you need to grow a garden. Perhaps you need to get involved and help to organize the Democratic Party and knock on doors. You will be available to do none of this if you insist on ignoring the facts.

Anyone who has their whole life dismantled is going to have a hard time dealing with it. Get some help so you can fight for your rights and the life that is being taken away from you. The problems are much, much bigger and longer to solve than your imagined dream that Bush did WTC. Time to grow up.

[FreedomAngel82]

47. The power to put him away?

You don't get the Bush family do you? If the people REALLY had the power Poppy would've been in jail LONG ago and junior wouldn't even be where he's at and 9/11 wouldn't have EVER happened. There's plenty of proof on crediale 9/11 website's that show it was an inside job. Things don't make sense.

[applegrove]

53. You are looking for a quick and simple answer. So that you do not

have to change to understand the traumas in the world, many of which are evil, evil. The conspiracy theory that Bush did 9/11 is just an easy way out for you.

The problems are much worse than you think. And easy 'okay.. maybe it is only this' is denial.

[nolabels]

63. Yea we wish it were that quick and simple answer you get on about

Many of us have been around for those many moons. We don't like it but mostly the many here try to get others to think how things shape up according to historical records and 5,10 or even some 40 years and more watching it go down.

The day Kennedy was gunned down and the real plotters experienced impunity for it, was the day the decline started for Pax Americana.

We basically have thieves, murderers and crooks running our federal government now. What part is it you don't understand?

[The Magistrate]

66. Traditionally, Sir

Government is the occupation of crooks, thieves, and murderers....

[nolabels]

86. Good point, and so much for wanting to have ideas about being different

Maybe that is why there are so many revolutions

The thinking religion is a good or bad thing has been at our own peril. It was the cloak that held the moral perpetual but in todays modern world it has been emasculated and laid naked. The exception has become the rule and we are all on the other side of the looking glass watching the rabbit run.

We can never have a civil society as long as any number of people can roam freely being regardless and lacking compassion of their fellow humans beings.

On Civil Society: Why Eastern Europe's Revolutions Could Succeed
Michael Ignatieff
From Foreign Affairs, March/April 1995
(snip)
A civil society, as the eighteenth?century theorists understood it, was not necessarily a democratic society. The ancien régime in France was not a democracy, yet it enjoyed a vigorous civil society. What a commercial economy absolutely required, Hume maintained, was not democratic government, but "regular government," that is, the rule of law. And while a civil society was inconceivable without a market, it was not a creature of the market. Indeed, the reverse was the case. As the Scottish philosophers believed, it was civil society -- especially the pressure of its public opinion -- that determined how free, efficient, and honest a market would emerge.

The moral scandal of such a society, as pointed out first by Bernard Mandeville in his 1715 classic The Fable of the Bees, was that its members were brazenly and unapologetically in the service of those sins of greed and avarice that Christian teaching had always condemned. A civil society was, in Gellner's words, a profane society, a society that explicitly sought to put the lowest of human desires to productive uses. Mandeville's paradox -- private vices make public virtues -- naturalized the profane by demonstrating that capitalist individuals were more likely to promote the public good when they looked exclusively to their private interest. In modern commercial society, said Hume and Smith, the poorest laborer was better housed and clothed than in the more egalitarian and possibly more virtuous tribal societies of the past. In other words, a civil society could also be a moral order without anyone intending it to be.

It was a moral order, however, without traditional moral tutelage. In a civil society, church and state were separated, as in the United States, or, as in England, religious nonconformity coexisted with an established church. Toleration and religious pluralism were the necessary preconditions of the spirit of free inquiry that inspired its capacity for innovation and sustained its political liberty.
(snip)
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19950301fareviewessay5029/michael-ignatieff/on-civil-society-why-eastern-europe-s-revolutions-could-succeed.html

[CoffeeCat]

135. In my opinion...

...it is much more sinister and frightening to contemplate that the evil is inside the US, and not operating outside of it.

A greater blow to all of us--and a worse trauma--would be the realization that the boogey man is not some guy radical wacko from another country---but one of us operating from inside.

[lonestarnot]

84. You didn't read the posts...

[musette_sf]

103. you and I have no idea

if "Bin Ladin did this".

If one follows the money, LIHOP is very, very likely, and MIHOP cannot be discounted out of hand.

[FreedomAngel82]

43. I remember though reading

on BinLaden on a 9/11 site an interview someone did (an oversea reporter) with BinLaden and asked him about 9/11 and he claimed he didn't do it. I wish I could find the article but you can check out the website: http://911review.org This is a really good 9/11 website that has a lot of stuff on there including good links to other 9/11 sites.

[mordarlar]

55. Bin Laden Interview

>>>I have already said that I am not involved in the 11 September attacks in the United States. As a Muslim, I try my best to avoid telling a lie. I had no knowledge of these attacks, nor do I consider the killing of innocent women, children and other humans as an appreciable act. Islam strictly forbids causing harm to innocent women, children and other people. Such a practice is forbidden even in the course of a battle.<<<

>>>Whoever committed the act of 11 September are not the friends of the American people. I have already said that we are against the American system, not against its people, whereas in these attacks, the common American people have been killed. According to my information, the death toll is much higher than what the U.S. Government has stated. But the Bush Administration does not want the panic to spread. The United States should try to trace the perpetrators of these attacks within itself; the people who are a part of the U.S. system, but are dissenting against it. <<<

>>>>Then there are intelligence agencies in the U.S., which require billions of dollars worth of funds from the Congress and the government every year. This was not a big problem till the existence of the former Soviet Union but after that the budget of these agencies has been in danger. They needed an enemy. So, they first started propaganda against Usama and Taleban and then this incident happened. You see, the Bush Administration approved a budget of 40 billion dollars. Where will this huge amount go? It will be provided to the same agencies, which need huge funds and want to exert their importance. Now they will spend the money for their expansion and for increasing their importance. I will give you an example. Drug smugglers from all over the world are in contact with the U.S. secret agencies. These agencies do not want to eradicate narcotics cultivation and trafficking because their importance will be diminished. The people in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Department are encouraging drug trade so that they could show performance and get millions of dollars worth of budget. General Noriega was made a drug baron by the CIA and, in need, he was made a scapegoat. In the same way, whether it is President Bush or any other U.S. President, they cannot bring Israel to justice for its human rights abuses or to hold it accountable for such crimes. What is this? Is it not that there exists a government within the government in the United Sates? That secret government must be asked as to who carried out the attacks.<<<


http://www.public-action.com/911/oblintrv.html

[The Magistrate]

57. An Interesting Place To Find It, Ma'am

http://www.public-action.com/SkyWriter/WacoMuseum/

What earthly reason do you have for supposing the fellow is telling the truth?

[mordarlar]

59. I have had a nightmarish night. Forgive me for not debating the merits of

hearing both sides. I simply posted the interview mentioned in a previous post.

[The Magistrate]

60. What Has Been So Poorly About It, Ma'am?

[mordarlar]

62. I just found out some sad and painful news. Personal.

[The Magistrate]

64. Sorry To Hear That, Ma'am

[lonestarnot]

124. Taliban not nice people prior to 9/11. They treat women terribly... they

are MY enemy.

[Junkdrawer]

73. The Saudi Government was definitely involved...

read "Intelligence Matters" by Sen. Bob Graham. That was the 28 pages that were cut from the official Joint Committee report.

And guess who had those 28 pages cut? The connections between the Saudis and the Bush Family are well documented.

So, yeah, Bin Laden did it. The real question is how much help did he get and from whom.

[Stephanie]

12. We were waiting for the report from the NORC

A university study commissioned by the major news orgs that was supposed to give the definitive answer WRT Florida. Of course it was postponed. When it was released, nobody cared. But the bottom line of the report was: Gore won.

[lonestarnot]

16. Dirty Dogs! Why the World Trade Center? Why not the Stock Exchange?

[Stephanie]

18. What?

[lonestarnot]

28. Why was the target WTC and Not Stock Exchange or other target?

Because of the history of attack already having taken place @ WTC?

[Stephanie]

45. I don't understand the question

How could one target have been better than another target? People were killed either way. What are you saying?

[BeFree]

13. I told ya

Glad to see this thread here.

So, when the definitive report about election 2004 is about to hit the stands, be ready.

Peace

[Stephanie]

21. there is no such report

the media gave up. nobody gives a shit.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Stephanie]

25. please enlighten me

i will ignore the insults

[BeFree]

30. I wished I could

Ignore yours, that is.

Enlighten you? That's not my job, man. Just look around if you are serious.

[Stephanie]

38. Well I "wished" you could too!

I'd be thrilled if there were any such report in the offing.

LINK?

[FreedomAngel82]

48. Not so

John Conyers is still on voting reform as is Mr. Cobb and Arnebeck. Mr. Cobb still updates his website as well I believe. The last update was March 15th, 2005. http://www.votecobb.org

[lonestarnot]

23. May 2007? n/t

[BeFree]

26. No predictions on the date from here

Only the fact that we can look out for it this time around. I would say that about September of this year the report will come out.

[lonestarnot]

32. But the Arizona Bioterra drill is scheduled for May 07....see other thread

in AZ state postsBioterra drill...Wonder why...????




Homeland Security taps Arizona for bioterrorism drill --Arizona has been chosen as a counterterrorism site for a U.S. Department of Homeland Security drill in May 2007. Dubbed "TopOff 4," the test is the largest counterterrorism exercise in the United States.

www.legitgov.org

[FreedomAngel82]

49. How do you know?

I'd love to see it. I know they're still working on it and would love it if this was true. So I was just wondering how you can make the claim and all that.

[lonestarnot]

125. How do I know about the bioterra drill scheduled or are you talking to me?

[DulceDecorum]

14. Yup, but the election news was tombstoned

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3275156

[Straight Shooter]

15. It's my understanding Wall Street Journal ran an article on Sept. 12, 2001

Certainly not front page, but they did run it. I've looked for a link and cannot find one, since obviously there are a gajillion Internet references to Sept. 11 and a thousand related to the WSJ and 9/11.

bush has been blessed by an abundance of fortuitous "coincidences" during his occupation of the White House. :eyes:

[Stephanie]

22. I don't think so

I was following this very closely at Salon TableTalk, where Paul Lukasiak, among others, was doing some very definitive number crunching. Nothing was released by the NORC. We were waiting for this report. When it came, the truth was obfuscated.

[fooj]

29. I give a shit! Damn them!

These people are evil, maniacal madmen!!!:scared:

[tuvor]

35. This is one reason why the left is sometimes regarded as loopy.

I love a good conspiracy theory, but all we have here is two things that have a particular date in common. (Did you know that the odds of two people in sixty sharing the same birthdate is 99.7%? Not sure if it matters, but that suggests to me that date-oriented coincidences may not be so coincidental after all.)

Can we do a little--no--a LOT better than this before saying 9/11 was to cover up bush's loss? Seriously, is anyone following the money here? More importantly, have they found a solid trail?

Lurking freepers are laughing at this, and they have every reason to.

No need to play conspiracy nut when we have the truth on our side.

[Skip Intro]

40. why should anyone care what lurking freepers think?

this thread my just be an exercize in speculation, and there's nothing wrong with that.

with the current regime in control of all branches of government and seemingly most of the media, how do you know what to believe?

[tuvor]

46. People saying "MIHOP! MIHOP!" isn't exactly speculation. n/t

[Name removed]

41. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tuvor]

52. Thanks, mods, for deleting. And to whomever alerted.

No one needs that kind of "I'm-suspicious-of-you" bullshit thrown at them.

Especially as long as no one seems interested in offering more than their ability to note that two things have a particular date in common.

I mean, seriously. Do some legwork or don't be surprised when someone points out that you haven't.

[mordarlar]

56. What about two in 60 FROM THE SAME FAMILY? That would be more accurate...

to the scenario here. Not as likely a possibility.

[The Magistrate]

58. It Is Straight Probability Math, Ma'am

If you had sixty persons from the same family, such as could occur at some of the colossal re-unions some extended clans practice, it would apply just the same as with sixty randomly cjosen people....

[mordarlar]

61. I was not clear. The odds of two of the same birthdates AND two members..

of the same family showing up in a random 60 are INCREDIBLY unlikely. We are speaking of TWO events, with a suspiciously close date, involving the same characters.

[The Magistrate]

65. It Involves The Same Characters, Ma'am

Only if one accepts the view that the current administration was involved in the attacks of September 11, 2001. Though some do hold that belief, it is very far from proved....

[Minstrel Boy]

71. Some more coincidences:

The Coincidence Theorist's Guide to 9/11.

Add 'em up, see what ya got. And I hadn't even considered this one.

Ask yourself, what would Occam do?

[graphixtech]

122. Is this man also "loopy"?

Former Canadian Defense Minister Paul Hellyer
speaks authoritavely about his specific security
concerns, and the lack of substantive investigation
by the assigned 9/11 Commission.
(short QT video interview by Kyle Hence)
http://septembereleventh.org/kc/multimedia/movies/Hellyer.mov

"Navigation for 9/11 Newbies:"

http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20050204132153814

[FreedomAngel82]

42. It was actually

supposed to be September 12th.

[evolvenow]

51. It was a PNAC triumph! Stealection and Pearl Harbor type Event=WAR

WAR and more WAR.Plus removal of ALL rights via the massive but immediately available Patriot Act, How Handy, How Horrible. They did, they are murderers and they have made and will make billions more. When o When will these people be sent to prison for Treason and the Mass Murder of over 121,504+ people in Iraq?
Support Douglas Wallace:
http://www.dougwallace.com

The Doug Wallace Home Page
DOUG WALLACE FOUNDERS FREEDOM DEFENSE FUND. Law suit against the current
American administration alleging that the government has ...
www.dougwallace.com/

Lawsuit Filed Against George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney
... To view Complaint go to www.dougwallace.com Under the circumstances, notice of support
to the court would be appropriate (A printable copy is available at page ...
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7751.htm



kick

[Clark2008]

77. Has anyone written a definitive book on the PNAC?

If not, why not?

Hell, I just got laid off from my marketing/PR job and I was a reporter a few moons ago - maybe I should spend my time researching and writing this book.

The new cWHOREporate media isn't going to get the word out about this gang of thugs, so someone needs to. Even if Freepers won't buy the thing, there's still the talk-show circuit to consider and that might get the word out to the moderates who are missing out on important news because their media won't tell them and they don't have time to search it out, themselves.

[lonestarnot]

126. I will buy your book... you write it! n/t

[KaliTracy]

133. Not Sure... There was a video being passed around after the election that

included a lot of information on PNAC.

Video is here. Hijacking Catastrophe About an hour long if I remember correctly.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6895.htm


One of the original threads (there may have been others) is here -- looks like he might have been combining threads at this point:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=325979

[Carolab]

54. Yes, it is true. Here are some articles on it.

Visit this page for links to all of the following articles:

http://makethemaccountable.com/coverup/index.htm

Confirmation that the announcement of the results of the study have been postponed indefinitely:

Did Al Gore win after all? US newspapers would rather not say, Charles Laurence, Daily Telegraph of London

Media suppress the news that Bush lost election to Gore, Charles Laurence, Sydney Morning Herald (same article as above)

“Several people involved said the attacks raised two significant problems: a sudden lack of resources to analyze the painstakingly collected data about the ballots and, just as centrally, a queasy sense that now is not the right time to publish information that could well question the legitimacy of the nation's commander in chief...

“Asked whether a reluctance to question the legitimacy of President Bush was a factor in putting the ballot project on hold, John Broder, a New York Times reporter and member of the steering committee overseeing the analysis, said, ‘I imagine that individual news organizations have had that discussion internally.’ Broder, who didn’t want to comment more on the situation, would say only, ‘I think the data’s ready, but we’re not. We’ll publish when we’re ready.’”

Remember Florida? News Organizations Delay Reporting on Meticulous Presidential 'Recount' in Light of Attacks, Seth Mnookin, Inside.com

U.S. media forget about dimpled chads, John Ibbitson, Toronto Globe & Mail

Media Ballot Review Delayed, Yahoo! News — Associated Press
This article has now been scrubbed. Below is the excerpt of text I copied while it was still available.

Tuesday September 25 8:35 PM ET

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A media review of uncounted Florida ballots in the 2000 presidential election has been delayed indefinitely as a result of the recent terrorist attacks.

A group of news organizations, including The Associated Press, had planned to publish stories in late September based on a review of uncounted ballots in the race between George W. Bush and Al Gore.

But the attacks on Sept. 11 have consumed the efforts of computer data analysts, editors and reporters at the participating news organizations…

The New York Times and Washington Post websites have also been scrubbed of any reference to the postponement.

Various comments on the “postponement” of the results of the Florida Ballot Study

The results of a project this big, this costly, this worthy, will not be able to remain hidden for long. News about the self-censorship of the news found its way to Mnookin, and the hand of mediating power is now forced: The information will come to light -- as soon as the mediators-in-chief figure out how to minimize its impact. The game, however, will be to time the release of this obviously bad news for democracy (if the results weren't inconvenient, there would be no need to withhold them), to save it for a moment when other events distract from or lessen the impact of the facts.

War on Terrorism: A Recipe for Disaster, Narco News (scroll down to the bottom of the page or do an Edit | Find for florida)

Contrary to the impression left in this Globe and Mail story (but in keeping with Howie Kurtz's report), the big media consortium recount of Florida has not been "spiked." The raw data compiled by the National Opinion Research Center was scheduled to be released to the consortium members in mid-September, but the 9/11 attacks resulted in a postponement. Will the results be published? "Oh, yeah," says Alan Murray of the WSJ. ... What about the earlier kf report that the raw data from NORC was beset with methodological problems and therefore inconclusive? I'll get back to you on that one. ... (10/15)

Hit Parade, Mickey Kaus, kausfiles.com (in the gray column, dated 10/15/01)

For the record, the news organizations involved (including The Washington Post) say they haven't canceled the Florida project, just delayed it because of the war.

The Story That Devoured the Media , Washington Post, Howard Kurtz (scroll down to the bottom—the “story that devoured” is anthrax, not a stolen election, according to Kurtz)

I assume the recount probably will proceed at some later date. But considering the importance of the matter at hand, it still seems to me that the media outlets in question are being deliberately vague. I think they're hedging. And bureau chiefs giving personal assurances to friends in the business (absent quotes) really doesn't cut it.

As mentioned yesterday, a delay in the project seems entirely reasonable. But if it's only a delay, the whole consortium should issue a press release stating that this is only a delay, and that the complete survey of disputed ballots will be completed and published as originally planned.

Talking Points Memo, October 16, 2001, Joshua Micah Marshall, j-marshall.com/talk

Editorial comment on the withholding of the results:

Patriot Games , Eric Alterman, The Nation (scroll down to the last two paragraphs)

Corroboration of how the ballot study was progressing from the beginning, and the fact that reporters knew what the results were showing:

Beyond reassuring Americans about their leader’s stability in a time of crisis, major news organizations also sought to avoid fresh doubts about his legitimacy. Leading news outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, postponed indefinitely the results of a comprehensive examination of about 175,000 disputed ballots cast in Florida last November.

Earlier press examinations of the Florida ballots, when viewed together, suggested that Democrat Al Gore would have won the state and thus the White House, under three of four standards for judging votes.

The What-If's of Sept. 11, Robert Parry, consortiumnews.com

Theft of the Presidency, Greg Palast, BBC TV

Palast Clarifies Gore Won Statements, Greg Palast, BushWatch.com

How the partial recounts by various newspapers were contorted and distorted to “show” that Bush won Florida:

Media-sponsored recount in Florida slants results to legitimize Bush election, Kate Randall, World Socialist Web Site

USA Today Conceals Key Information in Recount Story, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)

So Gore Really Won?, consortiumnews.com

Moon Over the Miami Herald, Paul Lukasiak, Gay Today

You can read the Miami Herald articles yourself

REVIEW SHOWS BALLOTS SAY BUSH, Martin Merzer, Miami Herald, 4/4/01

Recounts could have given Gore the edge, Shari Rudavsky and Beth Rein hard, Miami Herald, 4/5/01

Votes aren't sacred, Tom Fiedler, Miami Herald

Honest reporting on some of the partial recounts

Despite chorus of critics, media press on with vote-counting story, Joel Engelhardt, Palm Beach Post

The behavior of the Republican “observers” during the Consortium ballot study:

GOP v. RECOUNT, TAKE TWO, Michael Crowley, The National Review

HANGING WITH THE CHADS, Russ Baker, Columbia Journalism Review

Democrats.com

Anyone who kept up with the various partial recounts that were contorted and distorted in every way possible to show that somehow, by some huge stretch of the imagination, George Bush might have won Florida, even after a recount, knew that Al Gore actually won Florida. We've known it for many months. Democrats.com has kept such a tally:

Gore Won Florida!

Democrats.com has also compiled a list of as many as FIFTY fairly easily provable illegal activities that no one in Florida is being called to account for.

Floridagate

More information on illegalities in Florida, especially refusing to count votes that were legally required to be counted (corroborating features in Part Two of our series):

"Lost" Votes and a Stolen Election, Paul Lukasiak, with Maia Cowan, FailureIsImpossible.com

Bush's fifth ace: A crooked Panhandle, Elizabeth Jordan and Oliver Dawshed, Online Journal

Evidence suggests ballot tampering in Florida's Escambia County, Paul Lukasiak, Online Journal

How the Republicans in Florida plan to hide these illegal activities

Florida Senate Considers Secret Meetings, Police Detentions in Wake of Terrorism, Julie Kay, Miami Daily Business Review

Democratic acquiescence to the Republican juggernaut

Can Democrats Still Play the Game?, Jeffrey Toobin, The New York Times

Why members of the Consortium might lie about their reasons for withholding the results:

Hey, Give Back Those Airwaves -- Or Pay Up , Norman Ornstein and Michael Calabrese
Washington Post

Howie Kurtz says they'll release the results "before the end of the year," but neglects to say which year

In the Line of Fire, Howard Kurtz, Washington Post

How news media are adversely affected by a bottom-line mentality:

Fear & Favor 2000: How Power Shapes the News, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)

JACK IN THE BOX, John Greenwald, Time

Where Have All The Muckrakers Gone? Danny Schechter, mediachannel.org

All the News That Turns a Profit, Molly Ivins, Common Dreams News Center

More on the corruption that is endemic in the top echelons of the U.S. corporatocracy, including conglomerates that own media outlets:

G.E. Hires Wife of British Prime Minister to Help Honeywell Bid, New York Times

For confirmation of the cynical opportunism of media conglomerate CEOs:

Networks want a break in wake of Sept. 11 attacks, Pamela McClintock, Variety

If it's hard for you to believe that American businessmen will use our government to line their own pockets, including interfering in the political processes in other countries:

How Wall Street Created a Nation, Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman, Essential Information


Last changed: March 14, 2005

[Bridget Burke]

69. When the story finally came out....

Headlines often said something like "Bush won Florida." Actually reading the article usually revealed a more complex reality. That Bush might have won Florida using one method of recounting. But in most methods, including the one "legal" in Florida--Gore would have won.

But Bush was now our Popular Wartime President, in the War On Terror (TM) & we must put such petty details behind us & stand together. So ended the shameful articles that finally crept into print.

[lonestarnot]

127. WOW looks like I have some reading to do! Thanks so much for your post!

[Nothing Without Hope]

67. OH! MY! GOD!!!! The floor just dropped out from under me.

I had no idea! The coincidence is devastatingly unlikely. And it ups the ante dramatically in terms of what they would have been willing to do to prevent it.

I already believed they LIHOP, with a strong suspicion of MIHOP.

Now I believe it was MIHOP.

When will the truth come out?

Recommended - that will bring it to ten. The major media watch our Greatest page, and I think this one is going on our home page, which is even more visible.

Then the blivet** cartel goons will come for DU and try to shut it down. The guilt for the 9/11 attacks is the single biggest dirty secret they have, and they know it is the scandal that would bring them down. They would become reviled pariahs overnight if the truth were fully exposed for all to see and not deny any more.

[info being]

111. The truth is fucked

It's already out and nobody cares.

[applegrove]

68. I give up! Enjoy your dreams. I have work to do to ensure corps don't

remake America in their image.

[dbt]

70. And may you enjoy YOUR dreams!

Your work is certainly cut out for you...

:hi:

[gandalf]

75. Not on Sept 11, according to my search

My search in Lexis Nexis of all US News on that day got me no headlines or important articles on the 2000 election outcome. Perhaps it was some days later.

[Minstrel Boy]

76. As I recall, the headlines were to be Sept 12;

the release of the data had been scheduled for the afternoon of Sept 11.

[gandalf]

80. Might be. And: Your Blog is down today?

seems to be a problem with blogspot...

[Clark2008]

81. I'm reading his blog right now...

Apparently, the problem you've encountered has been fixed.

[Minstrel Boy]

83. I think it's okay, though I've had problems with my Blogger server.

Working on an update now. Hope to have something new for you to read in a couple of hours.

:hi:

[gandalf]

95. I guess our IT department blocks Blogger for me ;)

as my colleague can access the site.

[nansocal]

78. Yes, and as I recall.......

Gore was going to make a major speech.. It was going to be very critical of bush.... but 911 changed america in more ways then one.

[DemonFighterLives]

79. You can never be sure of a report these days

They can be stonewalled, obstructed and whitewashed and if damaging the discrediting machine will run 24/7.
Sorry, I'm just highly pessimistic right now. This regime did not take power by accident. As with the Kennedy Assassination, we may get some information on the elections and 9/11 in about 40 years, but don't count on it.
It sure seems that it would be easier, but with the repubs controlling everything, there is not much chance.

:argh:

[CindyDale]

82. Here are the "Idiots" on DU for the first week of October 2001: Look at #2

2. The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, The Palm Beach Post, The St. Petersburg Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Newsday, The Orlando Sentinel, and The South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Remember the Florida recount by that Consortium of news organizations? There was a little-noticed story in late September that the ballot review had been "delayed indefinitely as a result of the recent terrorist attacks."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/01/top10_2001_39.html

Added: According to the story, it was the NYT that stopped the story, but 9/11 was the excuse. My question is, how could the NYT convince the entire consortium? The St. Pete Times, for instance, does not support Bush.

[bvar22]

85. The undenible TRUTH about Election 2000 ....

...was to be made public on 9-11: More people voted for Gore in Florida than voted for Bush. bush*s approval ratings were in a Death Spiral, and in some polls were dropping below 50%. Bush was becoming an open laughing stock, and even republicans were beginning to avoid being seen in public with him* The release of the TRUTH about Florida and a coordinated Democratic response would have been a Death Blow!....then 9-11.

MIHOP?...LIHOP?...incredible fucking coincidence?...take your pick.
bush* promised he would "lay out the whole case against Bin Laden and show the World the PROOF"...but he never did. Aside from one ambiguous video of a questionable Bin Laden, I haven't seen any documentation of the connection between Bin Laden and 9-11.

I tend to lean toward some degree of LIHOP. They certainly knew something was about to happen and decided it would be politically advantageous to let it happen. bush* himself left town (DC) in early August, and except for a quick hit &run visit, stayed out of town, hiding in safe places until after 9-11. I don't know if the public will EVER know the full extent of the bush* administration's involvement in 9-11, but one thing is ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN:
bush* NEEDED 9-11

and the machinery to take FULL ADVANTAGE of this tragedy was warmed up and ready to go. 9-11 didn't change everything, but the bush administration's response to 9-11 certainly did. The America we grew up in is GONE!!

[graphixtech]

91. resources here

http://www.911truth.org/index.php

[Mandate My Ass]

87. On Sept 10, 2001 Dan Rather reported Pentagon "lost" $2.3 Trillion

whoosh, down the memory hole.

[lonestarnot]

128. Went the way of canoche along with the $8.5 Bill in Iraq 10.8 bil just

vanished! WTF!????

[CindyDale]

88. It was a blog (Democrats.com) holding a press conference on 9/11

Democrats.com Will Announce Our 'Fall Offensive' At Our First Washington DC Press Conference On Tuesday
07-Sep-01
Democrats.com Events
Democrats.com is planning to make some news! On Tuesday, September 11, we will hold our FIRST Washington DC press conference, along with Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and author Vince Bugliosi. We will be announcing our "Fall Offensive" for the First Anniversary of the Stolen Election of 2000. Co-founders Bob Fertik and David Lytel will describe the overwhelming evidence that Al Gore won; the evidence of nearly 60 crimes committed by Republican officials that must be investigated; and our grassroots efforts to enact election reform; enact a voting rights constitutional amendment; impeach the Supreme Court 5; and sweep all Republicans out of office in the upcoming elections. Call or e-mail your favorite Washington reporters and urge them to attend!

http://archive.democrats.com/preview.cfm?term=Democrats.com%20Events

It is difficult for me to believe that anyone would bomb New York to stop a press conference by bloggers. Are these people really that nuts? Please say it's not true.

[Lone Pawn]

93. There are 365 days in the year,

and I can assure you that some liberal somewhere is saying something all the time. If I were to throw a dart at a calender and create a disaster that day, I am almost certain that in the next media-obsessed week, I will have preempted a liberal doing something.

[bvar22]

97. I sincerely doubt...

...you would be able to hit a date more significant than the public display of PROOF that bush* was an illegitimate president at a time when his presidency was so vulnerable.

Throw your darts, and then report your findings!

[Old and In the Way]

112. Obviously, the 9/11 terrorist attacked wasn't developed around

the report release date. But I'm not so sure that the Republican media didn't use the attack as cover for the release. Who would pay attention to that when all eyes were glued to the smoking remains in New York, Washington, and a field in Pennsylvania. What better time to drop this little electoral bombshell on the American people?

[lonestarnot]

129. You are really asking this question in sincerity re chimpie bushitler? Nah

[Bridget Burke]

89. Yes. Here's a fuller account.

www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3281271

Thanks to KoKo01!

[clem_c_rock]

92. Links? I would love to hear more about this one

[KoKo]

100. Here's a snip of the NORC report and a link:

NORC Report on 2000 Election Results


Special to The Dubya Report
November 17, 2001

It will come as no surprise to readers of The Dubya Report that a statewide recount of ballots cast in the 2000 presidential election, using what a majority of Florida counties said they would use as a standard of voter intent, would have given Al Gore a majority. This is one of the conclusions reached by the massive analysis of Florida ballots conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University Chicago. The study, whose results were released November 11, was funded by a consortium of U.S. news organizations including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and Tribune Publishing which owns the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and several newspapers in Florida. The release of the study's results, available since early September, was delayed at the request of the consortium following the September 11 terrorist attacks, according to an NORC staffer. With few exceptions the mainstream news media reported the results as if they demonstrated that the Supreme Court's unprecedented intervention into the electoral process, which awarded Bush the presidency, merely validated the will of the Florida voters. The New York Times announced the results with the headline, "Study of Disputed Florida Ballots Finds Justices Did Not Cast the Deciding Vote." While true in the narrow sense that the limited recount that was interrupted by the Supreme Court would, according the the NORC, have awarded a majority of votes to Bush, these conclusions suffer from the fallacy of questionable cause. They ignore the chain of events that that led to Bush v. Gore coming before the Supreme Court in the first place. They also ignore the fact that the court decision ensured that "further legal challenges not again change the trajectory of the battle." Florida Circuit Judge Terry Lewis, under whose auspices the recount was taking place, told the Orlando Sentinel that, had the recount gone forward, he might have ordered all counties to count overvotes. The NORC study demonstrated that under that scenario, and four others, Gore would have won.

The Gore team's consistent mantra was to "count every vote." Gore's lawyers concluded that they were unlikely under Florida law to succeed in suing for a statewide recount. Gore advisors were also concerned, at the time, to avoid being seen as trying to circumvent democracy through the courts. So rather than go to court about it, Gore proposed a full recount to Bush, who immediately rejected it. Had the full statewide recount that Gore advocated taken place, Gore would have won, according to the NORC. "If all the ballots had been reviewed under any of seven single standards, and combined with the results of an examination of overvotes, Mr. Gore would have won ...," the Times said.

Another area in which concern for public relations prevented the Gore team from pursuing what would have been a fruitful strategy concerns absentee ballots. As noted in Jake Tapper's Down & Dirty, Republican operatives executed a concerted plan to encourage the filing of absentee ballots by likely Republican voters, even if they arrived after the legal deadline. This was confirmed by a New York Times study published in July, which found 680 absentee ballots arriving after Election Day were counted, in violation of Florida state law. Operating inside Katherine Harris's offices, Republican consultants developed detailed instructions for county canvassing boards that would ensure that the greatest number of absentee ballots likely to favor Bush were accepted. Bush campaign officials in Washington enlisted the help of the Pentagon in expediting collection and delivery of military ballots. Republicans on the House Armed Services committee helped the campaign obtain private contact information for voters in the military.

The earlier Times investigation found that the absentee ballots were "were judged by markedly different standards, depending on where they were counted." This was in conflict with statements by the Bush campaign and Florida secretary of state Katherine Harris that uniform standards should be applied, and not changed in the middle of the contest. It also runs counter to the equal-protection guarantee cited by the Supreme Court when it stopped the statewide manual recount.

In predominantly Republican counties Bush lawyers urged officials to ignore Florida election rules, particularly those requiring that ballots be postmarked by Election Day. They made speeches deriding Gore lawyers for suggesting voter fraud, while reminding listeners of the right of military men and women to vote. Fred Tarrant, a Republican City Council member from Naples, Fla., told the Collier County canvassing board "If they catch a bullet, or fragment from a terrorist bomb, that fragment does not have any postmark or registration of any kind." In Santa Rosa county a Bush lawyer told the canvassing board that they faced prosecution and jail time if they rejected overseas ballots. Judge Anne Kaylor, chair of the Polk County canvassing board acknowledged that the pressure tactics worked, and that invalid ballots were counted. "Technically, they were not supposed to be accepted. Any canvassing board that says they weren't under pressure is being less than candid."

http://www.thedubyareport.com/recount2.html

[clem_c_rock]

101. Damn - I couldn't get the link to come up

It just went to a google page.

I would love to get this.

[KoKo]

104. Here's CORRECTED LINK:

http://www.thedubyareport.com/recount2.html

It was one of those "rogue" code things. Someone fixed it for me on another thread...just corrected it in the post and here. Sorry...

[clem_c_rock]

106. Thanks!

Much obliged.

[Lone Pawn]

94. I was going to Waffle House on 9/11. Now I'm convinced- IHOP! IHOP! IHOP!

[CindyDale]

96. Well, IHOP has done hits before

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671669966/002-0163442-7097644?vi=reviews

So I'm not surprised.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

98. Jeb Bush and martial law...

When remembering those days in Florida, also remember that Jeb Bush signed a document essentially declaring martial law in Florida on September 7th, just a few days before the results were to be published. At the time, many thought is was to quell potential riots after the announcement.


You can see the document here:

http://sun6.dms.state.fl.us/eog_new/eog/orders/2001/september/eo2001-261-09-07-01.html

[Old and In the Way]

115. Any speculation on why Bush signed this?

I don't recall any civil unrest in Florida that would provide justification for this action. But I wonder if it gave him special "clean-up" powers....I'm thinking about the midnight raid on Hoffman Aviation when Jeb and the FBI impounded a whole bunch of records and files who flew them to parts unknown. Extra-legal powers would have provided the cover needed to do this without going through the normal public criminal investigation process.

And what's with George having a portable SAM battery with him at the resort on 9/10...was this SOP before the attacks? Were they nervous that those terrorists training an hour or so down the cost in Venice would attack the resort in Cessna's? Did Dimson leave Laura and Poppy defenseless at the WH the evening of 9/10?

[JohnOneillsMemory]

134. 9/5/01 80 Agents Raid Texas IT Server for Muslim Websites-UK Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,549590,00.html
(9/10/01 UK Guardian Website reporting)

US pulls the plug on Muslim websites

Islamic groups have condemned a government crackdown on a Texan telecoms company as part of a "witch-hunt", writes Brian Whitaker

Monday September 10, 2001

Five hundred websites - many of them with an Arab or Muslim connection - crashed last Wednesday when an anti-terrorism taskforce raided InfoCom Corporation in Texas.

The 80-strong taskforce that descended upon the IT company included FBI agents, Secret Service agents, Diplomatic Security agents, tax inspectors, immigration officials, customs officials, department of commerce officials and computer experts.

Three days later, they were still busy inside the building, reportedly copying every hard disc they could find. InfoCom hosts websites for numerous clients in the Middle East, including al-Jazeera (the satellite TV station), al-Sharq (a daily newspaper in Qatar), and Birzeit (the Palestinian university on the West Bank).

It also hosts sites for several Muslim organisations in the United States, among them the Islamic Society of North America, the Muslim Students Association, the Islamic Association for Palestine, and the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development.

In addition, InfoCom is the registered owner of ".iq" - the internet country code for Iraq.

[lonestarnot]

131. This more confirmation MIHOP fuckin Jeb they make me sick!

[lala_rawraw]

99. Wait,

Where is this info? I have nothing on this? Can you let me know?

[CindyDale]

102. Apparently this refers to bloggers holding a press conference on 9/11

Democrats.com Will Announce Our 'Fall Offensive' At Our First Washington DC Press Conference On Tuesday
07-Sep-01
Democrats.com Events
Democrats.com is planning to make some news! On Tuesday, September 11, we will hold our FIRST Washington DC press conference, along with Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and author Vince Bugliosi. We will be announcing our "Fall Offensive" for the First Anniversary of the Stolen Election of 2000. Co-founders Bob Fertik and David Lytel will describe the overwhelming evidence that Al Gore won; the evidence of nearly 60 crimes committed by Republican officials that must be investigated; and our grassroots efforts to enact election reform; enact a voting rights constitutional amendment; impeach the Supreme Court 5; and sweep all Republicans out of office in the upcoming elections. Call or e-mail your favorite Washington reporters and urge them to attend!

http://archive.democrats.com/preview.cfm?term=Democrats.com%20Events

[lala_rawraw]

108. Hold on

I know Dems.com's Bob F and I have yet to hear this story. Hold on, I need to find this out right now as you know, i am a 9/11 person so this is not a story lead for me, this is personal.

[KoKo]

113. This is true...I remember it at the time... 9/11 Knocked it all out of

the view of the public. All of this is here on DU in the archives from DU I (old DU) The whole chain of events about the Recount the many articles written the announcement of this press conference...and then Poof! 9/11 hits and it's all gone.

The whole narrative is on DU. We were the only large group discussing this at the time. Blogs weren't really invented then. Just Bartcop, Salon and a few others who were reporting on this. But the discussion on DU were great and the links.

I don't have time to dig into DU archives. Maybe one of our other old time DU'ers will be able do it if folks here want to go back in time to the first "Selection." :shrug:

[Festivito]

105. Also, WTC bombers were to be sentenced. nt.

[Nothing Without Hope]

107. SEE THIS CLOSELY RELATED THREAD. It has additional information on this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3281271#3282478

Title: "Gore Won 2000 Election/NORC recount DELAYED because of 9/11!"

[lala_rawraw]

109. Okay...

Called Bob, he is looking at this entire thread now (wave to Bob). Now let us all stay calm and NOT run amok until we have both valid information and enough of it to run amok with. Boy oh boy, I picked a bad day to stop sniffing glue;)

[Nothing Without Hope]

110. Totally agree. We need to know EXACTLY what this is all about.

If it is really only about a convocation of bloggers making a protest, it has less impact as a possibly damning coincidence. We need to know the details and put together the full picture.

I'm glad you are looking into this. I was stunned when I first saw this story last night, and I already believed in at least LIHOP, so I jumped to some conclusions that in retrospect are premature. I'll be checking back to see what you find out.

[lala_rawraw]

116. Bob's Response

Okay, Bob has his response up and throws some kuddos to DU as well:

http://democrats.com/node/3865

[CindyDale]

117. What he says makes perfect sense. n/t

[Carolab]

118. Yes, but if they MIHOP then they could have decided to do it anytime.

If they had all the pieces/players in place already, they could greenlight just about any time.

The raw data compiled by the National Opinion Research Center was scheduled to be released to the consortium members in mid-September, but the 9/11 attacks resulted in a postponement.

See? They already knew the raw data was coming out in mid-September.

[KoKo]

119. So....should we continue.......or is Bob saying let it go?

What I still see is that 9/11 halted all the news about "Selection 2000." And, if forever doomed Gore to a wanna be, has been who didn't fight hard enough.

I think it's good Bob put this into chronological order for us...but the fact remains that "9/11" put the end to any discussion (except on the most Liberal of Dem Sites) about whether Bush is legitimate.

Do you think Bob would welcome a re-examination of this with perspective...or does he want this to die? :shrug:

[CindyDale]

121. Well, his post does bring closure to this particular discussion, IMO

It was alleged on DU in early October 2001 that the New York Times convinced the Consortium to delay releasing findings, using 9/11 as an excuse, so I think we may be rehashing old material here.

[graphixtech]

123. Given the enormity of the impact of 9/11

Given the enormity of the impact of 9/11,
perhaps readers would consider the opportunity
to learn more.

"The history of FAKE TERROR
- The Road to War and Dictatorship"


http://www.911truth.org/index.php?topic=precedents

[lala_rawraw]

137. I responded to you via PM n/t

[lala_rawraw]

138. Oh, I forgot...

We have need for one more editorial research asst., email me.

[lonestarnot]

132. Holy crap! n/t

[Califooyah Operative]

136. His response is telling so are the links he gives. a lot of untold

stories/knowledge.

[leftofthedial]

120. 9-11 or 9-12

[Carolab]

139. Here it is from democrats.com archives

http://archive.democrats.com/view.cfm?id=4623

<snip>

To conduct the study, last January the Consortium retained the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago to develop "a comprehensive in-depth inventory of all uncounted votes in Florida's November 2000 Presidential race that would be immune from charges of political bias or methodological weakness."

Originally expected to take three months, the study dragged for nearly seven months due to logistical delays with some of the elections offices in Florida's 67 counties.

The plan has been for NORC to make the data available to the Consortium members, who would keep it embargoed for a week while they analyzed it and wrote the stories they would publish simultaneously. After that, the data would be publicly accessible on NORC's Web site.

On September 11, NORC was poised to release the data to the media Consortium within a few days. The Consortium members first planned to publish the results on September 17, but had rescheduled it for September 24.

NORC has stressed that the raw data in its ballot study "does not identify 'winners'. Its goal is to assess the reliability of the voting systems themselves, using the highest standards of scientific accuracy and reliability."

However, Consortium members were preparing to develop their own (competitive) analyses and stories about what NORC data reveal about the uncounted ballots.

The Consortium decides to place an "Indefinite Hold" on release of the data

As a result of the September 11 terrorist attack, the Consortium decided to place an "indefinite hold" on the release of the NORC study.

A source close to the study explained to The Democracy Chronicle that this decision was reached due to strained media resources.

Understandably, however, a second dilemma seemed equally likely - namely, the reluctance to undermine the credibility of a president called to action as Commander in Chief faced with unifying the nation in a concerted effort to bring justice to the perpetrators and strengthen national vigilance in light of other possible attacks.

It is now confirmed that the "strained resources" explanation has now fully morphed into a "national unity" rationale.

<snip>