dChan
Anonymous ID: 05e433 Dec. 31, 2020, 12:09 p.m. No.12254989   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5028 >>5061

OPINION | MIKE MASTERSON: My actual words

Sadly enough, I've come to expect some folks in this deeply divided nation to attack, even condemn, others they believe oppose their beliefs. That's been the case over the past week as several continuing letters to the editor misrepresented the thrust of my recent column about former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne's interview with One American News Network over his cybersecurity team's findings on results of the 2020 presidential election.

• One accused me of "drowning" in Trump Kool-Aid. Others said I should retire. These letters were needlessly ugly and didn't fit with what I actually wrote about Byrne's interview, which circulated widely on social media. Gosh knows, I'm well accustomed to public chastising after 50 years practicing this craft. It goes with the territory for we who regularly express opinions in the public arena.

But allow me to set the record straight in this instance

• Nowhere did I say I agreed with Byrne's contentions about what he and his team of cybersecurity experts supposedly discovered.

• Instead, I found Byrne's interview intriguing, especially in light of the much-debated results of this election and felt rational readers could watch the report and determine for themselves whether they believed him.

• Today I return to that column to review pertinent sentences I actually did write about Byrne's interview. Relevant phrases are in italics: "In light of the tabulation mess our country continues to endure in this November's presidential election, the need for a trustworthy system of honestly and accurately counting our legitimate votes is crucial if we hope to maintain faith in the process. …

• "If I remained involved in investigative reporting for a living, I'd be digging deeply into the publicized election findings by an eccentric libertarian millionaire. "Employing a team of computer hackers and specialists, Patrick M. Byrne, former CEO of Overstock.com with advanced degrees from Cambridge and Stanford, is investigating the results of the 2020 election and programming of the controversial Dominion voting machines.

• "Byrne also explores tactics he contends were used to illicitly count specific battleground states. Meanwhile, Dominion denies any allegations of wrongdoing. "It's beyond disappointing to me that major news organizations haven't reported on Byrne's information and either debunked the findings or proven them true, which would potentially expose the greatest scandal in the history of American politics. Ignoring Byrne won't make the issue go away.

• "I strongly recommend every citizen should watch OAN's interview with Byrne, then draw your own conclusions. "All I ask is someone with the capacity and/or authority inform me whether Byrne and his team have created a massive lie or discovered the truth. "Honest vote tabulations matter to all, considering the foundation of our republic rests on the bedrock of honest elections. My biggest question now is which federal agency or special legal appointee is responsible for objectively investigating Byrne's findings, along with Trump's allegations."These critical allegations can't remain unresolved to fester and metastasize."

• "What does this mess all amount to going forward? Well, our state and national politicians who created and condoned a plan where votes still are being counted weeks afterwards must provide accountability and answers while implementing a trustworthy election system to restore integrity. "Either this happens, or millions of Americans frustrated and angered by this year's methods may never regain faith in our election results, regardless of their outcome."

• Does it sound like I'm ballyhooing here for the president or for establishing election integrity? Well, clearly my thoughts weren't expressed clearly enough for some readers who chose to accuse me of journalistic crime for daring to even point out Byrne's interview and his contentions. I apologize if lack of clarity for some was the case. Some letter-writers also attacked Byrne's character as supposedly a noncredible partisan while others questioned his motives (he says he's a devoted libertarian whose never voted for Trump or Biden).

• My focus was solely on what he claimed he and his team discovered and whether his contentions were legitimate. I didn't question the messenger (OAN) any more than I would have if it was CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC or Fox. That news organization felt he was legitimate enough to air his reported findings. If this man with exceptional resources and educational credentials was willing to go on record in such And I do own several pair of tattered big-boy pants. Now go out into the world and treat everyone you meet exactly like you want them to treat you.

 

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/dec/08/my-actual-words/

 

https://twitter.com/PatrickByrne/status/1344333470806364162?s=20