Given the potential disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of voters, and maybe even hundreds of thousands of voters, from Super Tuesday's Los Angeles County Democratic Primary election, which the county's current acting Registrar incorrectly claims to be "impossible" to count accurately, we believe it's time to place some blame squarely where it belongs for the entire mess.

A Los Angeles Times editorial this week, where, it seems, the paper may have finally found religion on the issue of Election Integrity, serves up a great starting point...

So it happened before. 44% of Non-Partisan cross-over ballots went uncounted in March '04 and 42% in June '06. And yet, the county went into '08's primary with no plans to change a thing.

The woman who dreamt up the ridiculous scheme, former Los Angeles County Registrar and Diebold cover girl Conny McCormack, quit just over a month before the election, and knew about the problem from years past, but did nothing about it. Or, she didn't know about, and was thus criminally negligent in her job as chief voting official for the nation's most populous county...

Blogged by Brad Friedman on 2/16/2008 5:00PM PT   [Print Version] [Email it!] [Permalink] [17 Comments so far...] [Categories for this item: Election Irregularities, California, Election 2008, Los Angeles Times, Mainstream Media Failure, Accountability, Los Angeles]

The Los Angeles Times, which has been among the worst major newspapers in the country --- for years --- in reporting (or, actually not reporting) on issues of Election Integrity tells us today, in regards to yesterday's voting in California, that there were "Few election glitches, except for independents."

Um, does the braintrust at the LA Times realize that out of 15.3 million registered voters in the state, some 20% of them, more than 3 million, are "independents"? (3,043,164 to be exact, with more than 700,000 in LA alone, if the latest numbers from the CA SoS are to be trusted). Plus more than 300,000 voters registered as "American Independent" who may or may not have wished to be included as members of that party? Or shall we just deliver the "Understatement of the Year Award" right now to the folks at the LA Times?

That's more than just a "few glitches," no?

And if the following disturbing video from a Los Angeles Ron Paul supporter who switched from Democratic to Republican specifically to vote for Paul is any indication, it's not just "independents" who experienced "few election glitches" yesterday...

Blogged by Brad Friedman on 2/6/2008 2:26PM PT   [Print Version] [Email it!] [Permalink] [10 Comments so far...] [Categories for this item: Election Irregularities, California, Election 2008, Los Angeles Times, Mainstream Media Failure, Voter Registration, Ron Paul, Los Angeles]

After virtually ignoring the issue for some six straight years, our hometown newspaper, The Los Angeles Times, has run a two-part, 2,800-word "series" on concerns about voting machines, right on schedule, just in time to do absolutely no good at all before next week's upcoming Tsunami Tuesday election in the state. Waytago, LATimes!

The series reports absolutely nothing that has not already been reported over the last several years here at The BRAD BLOG, which is why the LATimes folks makes the big bucks and we don't.

They do, however, include an important point at the very end of the second article, in quoting from one of the country's most notable long-time voting machine apologists, Kimball Brace...

Blogged by Brad Friedman on 1/30/2008 2:50PM PT   [Print Version] [Email it!] [Permalink] [10 Comments so far...] [Categories for this item: Diebold/Premier, Debra Bowen, California, Election Reform, Sequoia Voting Systems, Voting System Certification, HAVA, Los Angeles Times, Mainstream Media Failure, Riverside Challenge, San Diego, Los Angeles]

Two late-night Good News items for a change!

First, our friend and master progressive broadcaster, Tony Trupiano, returned to the airwaves today (actually yesterday) after a long self-imposed hiatus to run for the U.S. House in Michigan's 11th Congressional district. While he didn't win (this time), Michigan's loss is the world's gain as Tony is back on the air, on the Internets for the time being, every Monday through Friday from 12noon to 3pm ET (9am to 12noon PT).

Our weekly guest visits with the T-Man, which we had much missed, shall resume tomorrow (actually today) at 2pm ET (11am PT). We'll be there each and every Tuesday for your dancing pleasure at that hour. Listen up via TheTonyShow.com and/or call in and say hello or welcome back or whatever at (866) 209-8031!

UPDATE 5/15/07 12:30pm PT: Just finished up my first hour back with Tony T. Plenty to catch up on, along with breaking news and such. Listen up here [MP3] if you're inclined.

Also beginning again today (actually yesterday)...In the first close-to-intelligent move the LA Times has made in longer than I can remember, the paper has restored the Darrin Bell's Candorville to the funny pages!

BRAD BLOG readers may remember when the paper dumped one of their only progressive, urban-based strips last March. The cancellation was especially troubling to us, since it was virtually the only strip which dealt with voting machine issues!

But it looks like at least "6 or 7"* of you answered the call to make noise, as Bell wrote us today with the good news, to say...

Good work all! On behalf of all Los Angelenos, allow me to say thanks for that, and a big congrats and welcome back to Bell!

Check out his blog item today on all of this, in which he writes: "Score one for patriotic dissent, zero for the corporate media's dastardly plan to silence alternative viewpoints. Well, I guess that would be score 289,975 for the corporate media, and one for patriotic dissent, but you get my meaning."

We do, indeed...

* - For explanation of the "6 or 7" reference, see this classic April 2005 BRAD BLOG item for the genesis.

Blogged by Brad Friedman on 5/15/2007 1:54AM PT   [Print Version] [Email it!] [Permalink] [4 Comments so far...] [Categories for this item: Toons, Los Angeles Times]

One of the newspapers often attacked by Bill O'Reilly as an example of the "liberal" media is the Los Angeles Times, currently owned by the Rightwing Chicago Tribune.

On Saturday, LA Times ran a story by Chris Kraul on the reaction of Iraqi citizens to the Iraq War spending bill battle. But no need to click on the link. Here's the summary of the "fair and balanced" story as kindly provided on the inside page of the paper edition:

So...if the bill is signed into law, some Iraqis fear it will make things worse. While on the other hand, some of them hope Bush vetoes it so US troops will stay.

That would be the "Heads I Win, Tails You Lose" school of journalism, I guess.

Those quoted in the story were among the "20 Iraqis interviewed Friday in several cities after both houses of Congress passed measures that set timelines for a withdrawal of U.S. troops as a condition of funding for the war effort."

Kraul failed to quote any Iraqis who are in favor of withdrawal of U.S. troops, despite polls of Iraqis in 2004, 2005 and 2006 all showing a majority of Iraqis want the U.S. to leave. That last one found "70% of Iraqis favor setting a timeline for the withdrawal of US forces."

On the other hand, a story on George Tenet's new criticism of the Administration for ignoring pre-9/11 terrorism warnings and failing to plan for postwar Iraq is featured...on Page 18.

Darn those America/Bush hating "liberals" at the Los Angeles Times!

Blogged by Brad Friedman on 4/29/2007 12:28AM PT   [Print Version] [Email it!] [Permalink] [7 Comments so far...] [Categories for this item: Iraq War, Los Angeles Times, Mainstream Media Failure]

Guest blogged by DES...

Just thought we would take a moment to applaud the stellar work of Josh Marshall and his reporters over at Talking Points Memo and sister site TPM Muckraker, for their dogged pursuit of the truth underlying the firings of eight U.S. Attorneys --- a story that has led to serious questions over the prosecutorial independence of the U.S. Department of Justice. (This isn't Marshall's first time at the rodeo --- the "Duke" Cunningham and Jack Abramoff scandals also sprung from Marshall's keyboard, among others back when the MSM didn't find them worth much of their time.)

Saturday's edition of the Los Angeles Times gives credit where credit is due, acknowledging Marshall & Company's stellar work --- in a huge feature story on the front page, no less!

Hopefully Mainstream Corporate Media denizens will take a cue from the LA Times and cite the blogs they use as sources. Give credit where it is due. It's really not that hard. Maybe now the MSM can all move on from the ridiculous old vs. new journalism feud-mentality and get on with the pursuit of the truth.

Congratulations to Talking Points Memo and TPM Muckraker. You guys rock.

(Photo credit: Carolyn Cole, Los Angeles Times)

Blogged by DES on 3/19/2007 6:02AM PT   [Print Version] [Email it!] [Permalink] [4 Comments so far...] [Categories for this item: Mainstream Corporate Media, Blogging, Corporate Media, Los Angeles Times, Mainstream Media Failure]

We can't imagine why anybody would want to continue giving money to the Los Angeles Times.

After the better part of the last year or two, since being purchased by the Rightwing Chicago Tribune, the paper has been gutted. It's become little more than the Fox "News" Channel on newsprint. While that may be an exaggeration, it's not much of one. We were reminded again of that tonight when we finally took a few minutes' break from sifting through the avalanche of actual news as available on the Internets, to get a quick look at today's carbon-based LA Times front page.

Yesterday, as the U.S. Attorney Purge scandal was hitting its most fevered pitch to date, with Gonzales, Rove, et al. being thoroughally sucked into the vortex with all manners of leaked e-mail, documents, statements, calls for resignation, and more flying out...Josh Marshall at TPM filed this hysterical squib:

And then what do you suppose we find on the front page of today's LA Times...

Blogged by Brad Friedman on 3/15/2007 10:30PM PT   [Print Version] [Email it!] [Permalink] [14 Comments so far...] [Categories for this item: Los Angeles Times, Mainstream Media Failure, Dept. of Justice]

The Los Angeles Times continues to beg readers to cancel their subscriptions altogether.

Their latest plan: Dump the progressive, interesting, non-white comic strips.

Last week, the Times decided to dump both Candorville, whose strip we've been running here from time to time --- the only one, mind you, that we're aware of which dealt with the e-voting issue directly. La Cucaracha, the paper's only Latino-based strip (in LA!), was dumped at the same time.

The latter was re-instated after a flood of reader complaints. So far, no return of Candorville, however, the last African-American related strip of note in the once-great Los Angeles newspaper, now gutted by its conservative Chicago Tribune owners/rapists. The Trib also recently canceled the strip as well.

We've gotten to know Darrin Bell, the strip's creator, a bit over the last year or so. He sent The BRAD BLOG the following announcement a few days ago on the latest corporate-media idiocy, noting that though his strip has been dumped, "Blondie and Marmaduke are still safe" at the Times.

The only good news in the bargain: The world's unfunniest "comic strip," Mallard Fillmore, has been put out of our misery. Finally. A dead duck we can all be happy about.

"Without at least one of these two papers," Bell writes in regard to the cancellations at both the Times and the Trib, "Candorville can't continue to annoy the knuckledraggers in two of our most important cities, and the strip itself may not be long for this world."

He also asks that complaints be sent to readers.rep@latimes.com. We join him in that request, and are happy to post his note in full below...

Blogged by Brad Friedman on 3/11/2007 1:26PM PT   [Print Version] [Email it!] [Permalink] [7 Comments so far...] [Categories for this item: Mainstream Corporate Media, Toons, Los Angeles Times, Mainstream Media Failure]