Left, and Proud.
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Liberal, Loud, Left, and Proud. |
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The Academy Awards were tonight. People received Oscars for their participation in what were deemed the best theatrical films of 2005. I wanted to use this an opportunity to present my choice for Best Web Video of 2005: "Us and Them." It's a music video which ties the Iraq War and the the flooding in New Orleans. The title comes from the Pink Floyd song which provides the audio. The concept is from a blog post by Driftglass. The video is by Joe Max.
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'Scarborough Country' Spews Right-Wing Garbage
Coretta Scott King Reverend Joseph Lowery said at the funeral of Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King, on Tuesday:
This was greeted with blather from right-wing pundits about how terrible the funeral speakers were. After all, they talked about her political work and its continuing relevance. Joe Scarborough on his MSNBC show on Tuesday kept asking if Coretta Scott King ever criticized George W. Bush while sharing a stage with him, implying that it was wrong for Rev. Joseph Lowery to point out Bush's policy of spending for war what could be spent on the poor. Joe Scarborough also asked guest (and fellow MSNBC host) Tucker Carlson, "Doesn‘t that turn off millions and millions of Americans when you exploit a funeral to make partisan attacks." Tucker Carson replied, "Well, it‘s completely graceless. It‘s also rude as hell, by the way, since the president is sitting right there.. You can also eat with your hands, but you don‘t." Great analogy, Mr. Carlson! Speaking about the fight against racism, war, and poverty at the funeral of someone who fought for those things equals eating with your hands.
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Bush Official: Bush Can Order the Killings of People in the US
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To the Bush Administration, a president who acts in the name of national security has extreme powers.
From an article by Mark Hosenball in the Feb. 13, 2006 issue of Newsweek:
The Bush Administration has taken the authorization-for-war-in-Afghanistan and the Commander-in-Chief clause of the Constitution to nullify practically any limit n presidential power. The problem is that it wasn't the intent of Congress to give Bush the powers of a dictator when it authorized war, nor was it the intent of the Framers to give the president dictatorial powers. The Constitution gives Congress the power "To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water." Amanda Marcotte writes of the Bush Administration position, "I do believe the phrase is 'judge, jury and executioner.' Nothing more American than that." If officials suspect a man in the US is a member of Al Qaeda and about to attack, officials should proceed with an arrest and a trial. Not by murdering the suspect Action Alert What are the certain circumstances under which Bush official Steven Bradbury thinks Bush can order people in the US killed? He should have to answer that question to Congress. Please contact your Rep. and Senators and request that Jutice Department official Steven Bradbury be ordered to testify. You can contact the offices of your representatives and leave a message by entering his or her last name on the top-left of www.vote-smart.org.
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I want more low-cost housing. A federal budget surplus. An end to indecency fines for radio broadcasts. Accountability in Iraq. For the rich to pay more into Social Security. Limits on outsourcing. Less compensation for Fortune 500 CEOs. And many other things the Bush Administration isn't striving for.
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Samuel Alito's Corruption; He Does Not Belong on the Supreme Court
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George W. Bush has nominated Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court; Senate hearing start tomorrow. The media-watch organization "Media Matters for America" covers media myths about Samuel Alito. One involves Samuel Alito's corrupt actions in judging a case with a company he owned more than $390,00 in mutual funds through, Vanguard. Alito ruled in favor of Vanguard. Alito had promised not to judge Vanguard cases, but did anyway.
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Protesters Demand That Wal-Mart Exploit Christmas
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In the 1960s, Tom Lehrer wrote a song which criticized the use of Christmas by stores:
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The motto of SpeakSpeak is "Fighting indecency fines. Promoting free speech. Watching the media."
I've been writing for "SpeakSpeak," which is owned by Amanda Toering, more frequently than I've been writing for my website here "Move Left." Here is a list of recent articles at SpeakSpeak, some written by me and some written by others:
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George W. Bush has nominated Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.
Bush said about Samuel Alito , "I know he's thinking about his late father. Samuel Alito Sr. came to this country as a immigrant from Italy in 1914. And his fine family has realized the great promise of our country." The Christian Science Monitor uncritically quoted a family friend on this matter:
Note how the year 1914 got turned into age 14 by someone trying to sell Alito to the public. But according to his military records, Samuel Alito's father (also named Samuel) was born in 1914 in New Jersey. Samuel Alito, the nominee, didn't set the record straight. He should have spoken up after Bush's statement or after the Christian Science Monitor article. Instead, it took a blogger to report the truth.
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The US military is already gathering data on civilians in America.
The Bush Administration wants more of this, including investigations of federal crimes conducted by the military instead of the FBI. From a Washington Post article by Walter Pincus:
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A Simple Question for Michelle Malkin
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Has your husband ever posted under your name?
At your blog, were any articles presented as "by Michelle Malkin" written entirely by your husband? Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin avoided the question when asked about it by Brad Krantz of WZTK-FM, calling the authorship accusation "vile," but not false. She also avoids the question in a long post at her blog. She writes about marriage ("I have my hubby's help for a few hours a week.") She writes about Al Franken (he has "research assistants," she irrelevantly notes.) She writes that the question is "racist."
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Bush Power Grab: A Temporary Retreat
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Does George W. Bush have the power to label any one of us an "enemy combatant" and lock us up for the rest of our lives without trial?
For three years, the Bush Adminstration has been claiming such severe power for Bush, in the Jose Padilla case. But on Tuesday, they instead went forward with the case in a normal manner and indicted Padilla in a federal grand jury, instead of pretending that George W. Bush accusing someone of a crime makes it so.
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Lack of Stadium Seating Can Cause Concert Chaos
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Concerts should be designed for safety.
As a general rule, concerts should only be given in places where the audience sits on an incline, whether it’s indoor stadium seating or an outdoor slope. The risk otherwise is that the audience will surge towards the stage as they try to see the performers. There have been successful outdoor concerts on flat ground, like assorted concerts in Central Park in New York. It’s not impossible for that to succeed, but it’s risky.
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Vote Up This Video at Current TV
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Vote here for video of police breaking up a peaceful march in New York City.
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Action Alert: Ask for Balance on Armed Forces Radio
 Ed Schultz, Talk Radio Host Republican talk radio host Rush Limbaugh is on the military's radio network, Armed Forces Radio, for an hour a day. Democratic talk radio host Ed Schultz should be as well. Please use the form at the website of Wesley Clark's WesPAC to ask your Congressperson and Senators for balance on this radio network.
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Will Patrick Fitzgerald issue indictments tomorrow?
This poem is for the night before the day the indictments of Bush Administration officials are announced. The people who lied the country into a disastrous war, and smeared Ambassador Josph Wilson for speaking out.
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The Meaning of 'Freedom of Speech;' The Meaning of 'Liberty'
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Stephen Crampton hosts a daily radio show, "We Hold These Truths," which "can be heard on almost 200 radio stations nationwide."
In his article today for the American Family Association's "Agape Press," he writes that the Senate should confirm Judge John G. Roberts.
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George W. Bush used his failure to prevent the attacks of 9/11/2001 to seize power with the Patriot Act.
Similarly, Bush is using his failure in responding to Hurricane Katrina to try to seize power. Bush wants the power to order the military to arrest people in the US. Currently, the military is barred by the Posse Comitatus Act from arresting people in the US. Changing this would negatively affect the nature of our society and the right to protest.
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John G. Roberts Wouldn't Answer the Questions
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Bush's nominee for Chief Justice John G. Roberts recently completed being asked questions by the US Senate Judiciary Committee.
However, Roberts refused to answer many of the questions, and the White House has only released a fraction of the documents about his work for previous administrations. A letter in today's Minneapolis Star Tribune:
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A Music Video About George W. Bush..
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…has been updated. Thanks to Film Strip International. Contains a word you can't say on broadcast radio.
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The FDA is delayng the over-the-counter availability of the morning after pill.
The agency is also raising the age of who will ulitmately be able to get it without a prescription from age 16 to 17. The result will be more surgical abortions, and more girls who induce abortions in unsafe ways.
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Red Cross Not Allowed Into New Orleans
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Lousiana Governor Says National Guard May 'Shoot to Kill'
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People in New Orleans need humanitarian assistantance. Drinking water. Food. A ride out.
I hope they don't get violence instead. From the AP:
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Charities are listed here.
Tom Tomorrow discusses the hurricane damage in relation to a possible terrorist attack. He advocates choosing freedom even after tragedy. Bob Harris discusses Bush Administration cuts to hurricane-and flood-control preparation to pay for the Iraq War.
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Arrests of Protestors During the 2004 RNC: New Report
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From an email I received yesterday from the New York Civil Liberties Union:
The report, which includes photos: http://www.nyclu.org/pdfs/rnc_report_083005.pdf
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An editorial of Aug. 23 in the Minneapolis Star Tribune says that prison rape has been increasing recently, and continues:
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Depeleted Uranium Hurts US Veterans
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From "Radioactive Wounds of War: Tests on returning troops suggest serious health consequences of depleted uranium use in Iraq" by Dave Lindorff, In These Times, August 25, 2005:
The In These Times article describes New York State National Guardsmen who discovered when they returned to New York that their bodies were carrying depleted uranium contamination from their exposure Iraq. Depleted uranium in weapons should be banned. It can be replaced with a less-toxic heavy metal.
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Conservative Con: Bernie Goldberg Makes Bogus Statements in an Online Chat
 Bernie Goldberg Bernie Goldberg, author of "100 People Who are Screwing Up America (And Al Franken is #37)," wrote in an online chat Thursday:
I could reply: Once conservatives looked up to Dwight Eisenhower. Now they look up to Rush Limbaugh.
Of course, neither statement makes sense. Presidents are one thing, commentators are another thing. There were conservative commentators and liberal commentators in the 1950s/1960s, too. John Forbes Kerry was as JFK-like a presidential candidate as the Democrats could have nominated in the past election.
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Iraq War May Cost $1.3 Trillion
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You can view photos of the human cost of the Iraq War at Crisis Pictures.
For information on the financial cost, see this New York Times op-ed by Linda Bilmes, a former assistant secretary at the Department of Commerce:
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Utah Police Terrorize People at an Outdoor Party
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Tear gas, tasers, sending dogs to attack, and kicking people while they're down.
Police brutality has been around for a long time. I wish society would advance in a way that brutal cops are usually held accountable and lose their badges, but it hasn't happened yet. I would support raising the age at which people join the police force to 40. That way, a man or woman would have 22 adult years before joining the force to be judged on before being given police powers. We could keep out more unfit people that way. Raising the age at which a person can become a police officer might reduce the size of some police forces, but quality is more important than quanitity when it comes to the police. Note: "soldiers" in the descriptions of events may actually be SWAT team members dressed in green camouflage.
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Reverend Pat Robertson and Venezuela: Reaction from David Brock, Jon Stewart and More
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David Brock, president of the media watchdog "Media Matters for America" has asked Pat Robertson to retract his statement that the US should murder the president of Venezuela.
Media Matters also takes the position that advocacy of murder doesn't belong on The ABC Family Channel.
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Music Video of Candle Light Vigils Against the Iraq War
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Paula S. created this video about candle-light vigils to honor those killed in the Iraq War and show support for Cindy Sheehan:
If you would like to buy the music which accompanies these photos, look for an album containing the song "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" by Melanie. More on the vigils which took place August 17, 2005.
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Conservative Rush Limbaugh's Idea of a Joke
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Cindy Sheehan's son Casey was a soldier. He was killed in Iraq.
She is camping in Crawford, TX, in an attempt to speak to George W. Bush about what the mission is in Iraq. (She has temporarily returned to California because her mother is ill.)
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In today's column in the New York Times, Paul Krugman discusses Florida 2000, New Hamprshie 2002, and Ohio 2004.
Below is about Ohio 2004:
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John Gibson Smears Cindy Sheehan and the University of California
John Gibson Fox News' John Gibson was the guest-host of "The O'Reilly Factor" on August 11. Gibson discussed Cindy Sheehan, a woman in California whose son was a Marine killed in Iraq. She is trying to arrange a meeting with George W. Bush. John Gibson argued against her geographically:
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CIA Told Dutch Not to Arrest Rogue Scientist Who Spread Nuclear Secrets
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Perhaps no man has done more to spread nuclear weapons technology than Pakistani Abdul Qadeer Khan.
This could have been prevented a long time ago.
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Cindy Sheehan's son Casey was killed in Iraq.
She is camping (video) near George W. Bush's house in Crawford, TX, waiting to ask Bush what the mission is in Iraq. Fox News host Bill O'Reilly claims that in discussing her, he's been "respectful." This is Bill O'Reilly's concept of respect:
Falsely claiming that people can control which websites write about them. Citing nameless people who think someone's behavior is almost "treasonous." That is how Bill O'Reilly shows respect.
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Media ownership is concentrated.
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I've read some negative reviews of "Current TV" and and some helpful suggestions.
But people who own a video camera (or have a friend who owns a video camera) can now do more than criticize or offer advice. Make a news video and upload it:
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Nuclear Terrorism Made More Likely by the Energy Bill
Richard Burr
The Republican leadership is willing to endanger us all, to benefit one company. Uranium is an ingredient which can be used in nuclear bombs. If terrorists steal weapons-grade uranium, the US is at risk of a nuclear attack. The Energy Bill which Bush will sign into law on Monday...
The above passage is from the Washington Post, "Uranium Provision to Alter U.S. Policy: Easing of Export Curbs Concerns Nonproliferation Advocates" by Michael Grunwald, July 29, 2005. If Congress gets to vote to reverse this provision of the Energy Bill, it will. That is why the Republican leadership added it in the conference committee. Please contact your Congressperson and Senators and ask them to reverse the Burr Amendment and reinstate the export restrictions on weapons-grade uranium. You can find contact information by entering the last name of your representative on the upper-left of vote-smart.org.
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CNN used to be owned by Ted Turner.
Now it's owned by Time Warner. Writing in the New York Times, Richard Posner claims CNN has gotten more liberal.
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People should be able to watch more TV channels online for free.
Showing the same advertisements as on TV could theoretically pay for it.
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Al Gore TV Starts Tonight: Independently Owned
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Sunday night at midnight Eastern, there will be a new cable channel, "Current."
"Current" will let the public to interact with news stories by voting on which news-videos to replay. Also, ordinary people who make their own news videos can send them to Current and have a chance they will be shown. Al Gore is the biggest name behind the project. He's said that Current isn't a liberal news channel. Whether more videos some-consider-liberal or videos some-consider-conservative get replayed will depend on the votes of the viewers for the videos they like. "We have no intention of creating a Democratic channel, a liberal channel, a TV version of Air America," Gore said. "That's not what we're about. We're about empowering this generation of young people in their 20s to engage in a dialogue of democracy and to tell the stories about what's going on in their lives using the dominant medium of our time.'' "Current" is different from other news-channels in that it's independently owned. By contrast, ABC News is owned by Disney, CBS News is owned by Viacom, NBC News/MSNBC/CNBC are owned by General Electric. Last and least (in terms of quality), Fox News is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. "Current" will be available in 20 million homes. It may be listed in your lineup as "Newsworld International," the channel "Current" is replacing.
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In a Right-Wing Comic Book, Conservatives Are Oppressed
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The right-wing controls the voting machines, the judiciary, the White House, the Congress, and much of the media.
What does that leave for them to fantasize about? The excitement of being the underdog. At least in the case of comic book writer Mike Mackey, whose mini-series "Liberality For All" will debut in October 2005, published by ACC.
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The evening news in the US rarely shows footage of the dead and injured in Iraq, whether soldiers or civilians.
But a new dramatic series titled "Over There" on basic cable channel FX does contain fictional graphic images. One can see actual graphic images at the blog, "Crisis Pictures."
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Independent World Television: Monthly Milestone
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Imagine a cable news channel with no ads; no corporate sponsorship; no government sponsorship. Funded directly by the masses.
That is the concept of Independent World Television, whose programs should air on "Link TV" in 2007. Their website has been online for about a month, and they are asking people to sign-up to receive email from them. I signed up. My only objection to their model is that in addition to banning corporate donations, they should also limit the size of individual donations: How is a million dollars from a corporation any more-or-less corrupting than a million dollar personal donation from the CEO of that corporation? IWT News should set a maximum donation per-person per-year.
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Jean Charles de Menezes The best article I've read about the innocent man shot to death on a London train, Jean Charles de Menezes, is this one from the UK's Times Online.
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CNN Labor Report Today: So Good It Surprised Me
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CNN Headline News doesn't often report on unions.
However, at 1:25 PM Minnesota time today, CNN Headline News aired a piece on DHL truck drivers who want to unionize. The reporter was Candy Crowley. The piece discussed the needs of the delivery workers for higher pay and better health benefits. It included clips of Andrew Stern of the SEIU and James Hoffa of the Teamsters. The DHL drivers would like to join the Teamsters. In the past, I've criticized the television news for a rightwing bias, including CNN. I've suggested that the failings of CNN and other stations indicate a need for impartial reporting such as Independent World Television (starts in 2007), and outspoken reporting such as Liberty News TV (available online now). But I want to give credit to CNN when they deserve it, as they do today. Here is hoping for more well-done reports about labor on CNN.
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Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York vs. Freedom
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New Yorkers are losing freedom under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
First Bloomberg said that people can't protest in Central Park because they might damage the grass. Now he says that people can't go about their lives without being searched by the cops, because they might be terrorists.
People waitng for a bus have Constitutional rights. The act of waiting for a bus doesn't mean a cop should be able to search your bags. Similarly, the New York City subway system is a vast public place. The US Constitution ("The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures") applies there, too. The New York Times article continues:
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Bill in Congress to Address Media Concentration
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Radio and television used to be governed by the Fairness Doctrine: Broadcasts on controversial public issues needed to present opposing views.
In the 1980s, the federal courts ruled that that the FCC wasn't authorized to enforce the Fairness Doctrine. Congress passed a law giving the FCC that authority, but President Ronald Reagan vetoed it. In 1996, Congress passed a telecommunications bill which had the effect of letting the Clear Channel corporation buy over 1200 radio stations. After September 11, 2001, Clear Channel sent a memo to its stations tellin them not to play songs which are too optimistic, such as "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong and "Imagine" by John Lennon. In 2003, during the buildup to the Iraq War, singer Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks said that she is ashamed that George W. Bush is from Texas. Clear Channel stations encouraged people to attend rallies in which Dixie Chicks CDs were destroyed. Has the abuse of media power concentrated in a few hands reached the point where enough is enough? From the Hollywood Reporter via mediachannel.org:
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Bernie Goldberg Says to Be Civil
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Bernie Goldberg Bernie Goldberg is promoting his book,"100 People Who Are Screwing Up America.” He tells National Review that "cultural elitists" need to "wake up and become more civil." A visitor to Pandagon replies:
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'Once Upon a Time,' A Man Named Bernie Goldberg Was Interviewed
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Author Bernie Goldberg believes our culture has become "more vulgar."
He was interviewed by Jon Stewart last week on "The Daily Show," as discussed in a previous article. Bernie Goldberg's use of the phrase "once upon a time" during the intervew deserves further examination. This is the context:
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Debate About Culture, Between Comedian Jon Stewart and Author Bernie Goldberg
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Bernie Goldberg is promoting his book titled "100 People Who Are Screwing Up America."
The book includes entertainers on that list. Goldberg appeared on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" Wednesday night. Goldberg argued that our culture is getting worse: Goldberg claimed that back in the good old days, even a man who was drunk in a bar wouldn't say the f-word. However, Goldberg said, comedian Chevy Chase called George W. Bush a dumb f_ck at a black-tie event. Jon Stewart was skeptical that our culture is getting worse; Stewart said that while Chevy Chase said f_ck, Thomas Jefferson f_cked slaves. Stewart said we've made advances over the years by abolishing slavery and segregation, lowering the murder rate, etc. Jon Stewart implied that a book about who-is-screwing-up-America shouldn't focus on entertainers. Stewart said that while people in Hollywood may think they have power, people in Washington really have power. He suggested that Goldberg focus his energy on exposing political players like Richard Pearle. Video of Jon Stewart interviewing Bernie Goldberg is at Crooks and Liars.
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Congressman Dennis Kucinich Is Getting Married; Supports Free Speech
Dennis Kucinich In March 2004, the House voted to let the FCC levy huge fines for "iindecency" on television and radio. The vote was 391 to 22 on the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004 which increased fines from $27,000 to $500,000 per station per incident. A similar version of this awful bill was passed by the Senate, but fortunately the bill didn't make it out of conference committee. Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) was one of the only 22 Reps. who cared enough about Free Speech to vote against the bill.
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Is calling a judge an "activist" meaningless?
Not necessarily. A professor at Yale Law School, Paul Gerwirtz, and a recent graduate of that law school, Chad Golder, found a way to measure judicial activism, and wrote about It for the New York Times (July 6):
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Letting the Government Promote Religion Will Cause Bitter Religious Strife
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From a New York Times op-ed by Adam Cohen, on the impact of the recent US Supreme Court decision to allow a Ten Commandments monument in front of the Texas state capitol:
I wonder if any groups will try to get monuments to their own religious beliefts near the Ten Commandments monument in Texas. If so, good luck to them. And good luck to any group which tries to get a monument critical of organized religion nearby.
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