Sunday Service

At about 1:58 into this clip, Pat Robertson drops by to offer his enlightened views on future Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor (scroll down to the 5/28 "Stand Up News" episode):

Midweek Video Salon: Gipper's True Identity

Take note: in 1980, a campaigning, conservative hero promised a female Supreme Court nominee (identity politics!!)...AND he used a teleprompter!

Reporters: Take Dictation

The Republican talking points (helpful hints on how to mislead and muddy the waters) concerning President Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court-- leaked out today.

We are not really interested in the content of the talking points. What we are interested in is--who will repeat them? In particular, which "news" anchors, which "reporters"?

Over the next few days, it will be very interesting to see who--from the allegedly "liberal" media--steps up to read the script. Here it is, from the Hill:

o President Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court is an important decision that will have an impact on the United States long after his administration.

o Republicans are committed to a fair confirmation process and will reserve judgment until more is known about Judge Sotomayor's legal views, judicial record and qualifications.

o Until we have a full view of the facts and comprehensive understanding of Judge Sotomayor's record, Republicans will avoid partisanship and knee-jerk judgments - which is in stark contrast to how the Democrats responded to the Judge Roberts and Alito nominations.

o To be clear, Republicans do not view this nomination without concern. Judge Sotomayor has received praise and high ratings from liberal special interest groups. Judge Sotomayor has also said that policy is made on the U.S. Court of Appeals.

o Republicans believe that the confirmation process is the most responsible way to learn more about her views on a number of important issues.

o The confirmation process will help Republicans, and all Americans, understand more about judge Sotomayor's thoughts on the importance of the Supreme Court's fidelity to the Constitution and the rule of law.

o Republicans are the minority party, but our belief that judges should interpret rather than make law is shared by a majority of Americans.

o Republicans look forward to learning more about Judge Sotomayor's legal views and to determining whether her views reflect the values of mainstream America.

President Obama on Judicial Nominees

o Liberal ideology, not legal qualification, is likely to guide the president's choice of judicial nominees.

o Obama has said his criterion for nominating judges would be their "heart" and "empathy."

o Obama said he believes Supreme Court justices should understand the Court's role "to protect people who may be vulnerable in the political process."

o Obama has declared: "We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom, the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old-and that's the criterion by which I'll be selecting my judges."

Additional Talking Points

o Justice Souter's retirement could move the Court to the left and provide a critical fifth vote for:

o Further eroding the rights of the unborn and property owners;

o Imposing a federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage;

o Stripping "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance and completely secularizing the public square;

o Abolishing the death penalty;

o Judicial micromanagement of the government's war powers.

Get some popcorn. Remember, the corporate media are only as liberal as the wealthy conservative owners who run them.

A Conservative Converts: Waterboarding IS Torture

How long does it take a pro-torture, conservative radio host to realize that water boarding is torture? How long before a macho, tough guy folds like a five-deferment former vice president who didn't go to Vietnam because he had "other priorities"?

Erich "Mancow" Muller, a Chicago-based conservative radio host, recently decided to silence critics of waterboarding once and for all. He would undergo the procedure himself, and then he would be able to confidently convince others that it is not, in fact, torture.
...
"It is way worse than I thought it would be, and that's no joke," Mancow said. "It is such an odd feeling to have water poured down your nose with your head back... It was instantaneous... and I don't want to say this: absolutely torture."
...

Watch it:



Any local conservative radio hosts want to try it too?

Oh, and this: 9/11 happened on Cheney's watch. How then, did Dick Cheney keep us all safe? Don't forget the whole anthrax thing either--also on Cheney's watch.

Foggy Streams

Ah, the internets. They is so darn confusing. Just ask Ted, he knows.

Curtis Media, part-owners of High Country Radio, admit as much:

A few CMG stations are now streaming (WPTF, Y102.9, and WSJS). However, internet streaming is still a rather new technology and a great number of legal issues have yet to be resolved in regards to copyright, ownership, and compensation for artists and actors. In some cases, we are prohibited from re-broadcasting a syndicated program from our website. We hope that a resolution will be forthcoming to clear up these foggy issues. Until such a time, CMG stations will not stream audio. In some cases, the rights holders are streaming from their own websites. Please contact the webmaster for details.

High Country Radio dropped their internet stream a while back. Can't even get the local news anymore.

So, why are Curtis and High Country Radio so stumped? Have any other radio stations figured out how to use the tubes? Oh, maybe a few...college towns, even! Just like Boone!

Thankfully there is help on the way, from the Federal Trade Commission:

The Federal Trade Commission today announced it will hold a series of workshops titled “Can News Media Survive the Internet Age? Competition, Consumer Protection, and First Amendment Perspectives.” The first workshop will be held on September 15, 2009.

“Many industries have experienced transitions to new business models in response to new forms of competition on the Internet, and consumers generally have benefitted in the process,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz explained. “But the news business may be different because of the First Amendment values at stake. Whether we get our news from ink on paper, TV, radio, laptops, or mobile devices, we need a strong news industry for our democracy to thrive. Bringing together competition, consumer protection, and First Amendment perspectives can help all of us understand how best to serve Americans’ interests given the new realities affecting news organizations.”
...
Witnesses will include journalists and other representatives of news organizations, privacy experts, direct marketers, online advertisers, academics, new media representatives (such as bloggers and local news Web sites), and consumer advocates.

We expect a steady stream of high ranking executives from Curtis, Foothills, and High Country Radio to be in attendance. Maybe they'll stream it live?

Foxy Torture

Pro-torture types get the smack down:



You support the troops, right? Just like these patriots, who faced down the very real threat of our country's total destruction--without resorting to the torture of our enemies:

George Washington, in the winter of 1776, sent a written order to officers overseeing prisoners: “Treat them with humanity.” And in 1863, at another time of crisis, Abraham Lincoln included the prohibition of torture in the first American codification of the laws of war, which he also issued as a direct order to his field commanders.

But "24" sure is sexy isn't it? Is that your brand of patriotism? So macho.

High Country Unemployed: Who Are They?

With unemployment rates as high as they are in the High Country, you might expect that some of the "local" media outlets might make an effort to write a story or two about who all of these unemployed people are.

Yet, for all of the rhetoric we hear from the many of the High Country's media outlets about their supposed focus on local issues, we were only able to find one story about a worker who has lost his job. Here it is, and kudos to the Jefferson Post for their work.

Can these unemployed people be so hard to find? With unemployment rates at 13.3 percent in Ashe, 9.9 percent in Avery, 7.9 percent in Watauga, and 13.9 percent in Wilkes, we're thinking that it might not be too hard to locate someone who is actually out of a job.

So then, why the lack of coverage of those hurt the most by these layoffs? Corporate media has one focus: profit. Would a story about laid off people lead to good sales?

Would a story about the unemployed offend advertisers--some of which may have been forced to layoff their own employees? Or would advertisers chafe at the idea of a news outlet writing or covering a story which might be popular with people who don't have enough money to purchase their product? Maybe it would just be a major bummer to have to actually talk to the untouchables.

Until more local media outlets step up and start covering the actual people who have lost their jobs, we are left with silence. These people may as well not exist. They are irrelevant. They can't purchase items peddled by advertisers. Guess these unemployed people are all just lazy?

If you are experiencing hard times due to the tough economy, and you'd like to share your story with an interested media outlet, try Pro Publica. They actually want to hear your story.

And the local media? Well, it seems like they are much more interested in covering things like this, this, and this.

Freepress Summit Thursday, May 14

Not up for a quick trip to DC? Not to worry.

You can watch it all live right here.

Here's what it's all about:

...
The Free Press Summit: Changing Media in Washington, D.C., tomorrow will feature keynote speeches by Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Copps, Vivian Schiller, president of National Public Radio, and Susan Crawford of President Barack Obama's National Economic Council.
...
The one-day event will highlight the policies to reshape the future of the Internet, journalism and public media. Free Press will also release a new book, Changing Media: Public Interest Policies for the Digital Age.

Of particular interest is:

11:00 a.m. Morning Keynote

• Michael J. Copps, Acting FCC Chairman

and...

12:00 p.m. Roundtable Discussion on Changing Media

• Ray Suarez, The NewsHour (moderator)
  
• Reed Hundt, Former FCC Chairman
  
• Michael Powell, Former FCC Chairman
  
• Jessica Rosenworcel, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  
• Ben Scott, Free Press
  
• Ram Shriram, Sherpalo Ventures

1:00 p.m. Interactive Discussion: The Future of the Internet

2:15 p.m. Afternoon Keynote

• Introduction: Alexandra Russell, Free Press
  
• Vivian Schiller, National Public Radio

A Fresh Wiff Of Hate

Ahhh, summertime. Cool mountain breezes, crystal clear mornings, the smell of freshly cut grass...and Neal Boortz (pictured with his crown on).

One of these things is not like the other.

Boortz, one of the right's most outspoken hatetalkers, is carried in the summer on local right-wing vitriol repeater WXIT 1200 AM.

And we're so much the better for it. Why, just think of the contributions this man is making to our local political discourse. Have yourself a listen--seems that Boortz has a problem with the victims of Hurricane Katrina again:



Yes, Neal--the drowning people of Katrina should have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps...like good any libertarian would..even while treading water.

Thanks again WXIT. We assume you will fall back on the "he was just joking" justification?

Multiplication Tables Are Turning

Message Force Multipliers...um...multiplying:

Premiere Sends Wake-Up Call To Cluster

Popular progressive talker Randi Rhodes is coming back to the airwaves. Rhodes recently announced that she has signed a deal with Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, to syndicate her show. Randi had a huge fan base when she was with Air America, and before she departed the recently cratered Nova-M network.

Who is Premiere Radio Networks? Well, they are the very same outfit which syndicates the Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and John Boy & Billy shows.

Which raises some questions: is there now a realistic chance to actually hear some progressive programming on Curtis Media's High Country Radio "cluster" of stations? If not, then why not? Premiere is not lacking in experience--and it has a clear track record that even High Country Radio cannot deny.

...
Premiere Radio Networks Inc., a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, syndicates 90 radio programs and services to more than 5,000 radio affiliations and reaches over 190 million listeners weekly. Premiere Radio is the number one radio network in the country...
...

If High Country Radio carried Randi, people would listen. And they could finally open up some clearly under served market segments. Will they catch on?

The Son Doth Quoteth The Father

Here's an interesting segment from the Ron Reagan show (yes, that Ron Reagan). Ron discusses a very well-known conservative's opposition to torture...a conservative who Ron knows quite well...a hero to many. Ron wraps up his talk with a synopsis of the recent Pew poll which revealed that a majority of churchgoers support torture. Fascinating.



You can catch Ron's show on Curtis Media's...um...er...High Country Radio's...well...ahh...WHO SAID WATAUGA WAS A BLUE COUNTY, ANYWAY!?

Empathy: That's SO Gay

The latest Virginia Foxx (R-NC) spectacle (see the May 2nd post below) got us to thinkin'. Are there any Republican lawmakers out there who, despite their virulently anti-gay legislative records, are actually gay themselves? You know, in the closet? Married, even?

Well, shucks. Looks like we are not the only ones who are curious about this sort of unabashed hypocrisy. Turns out there is a movie coming out (no pun intended) on May 8th. And yes, the filmakers name names:

Weekend Video Salon: A Mother's Courageous Response

Manure, Lagoons & Flies, Oh My

Turns out that a farmer right here in the High Country may have stumbled on something about the H1N1 flu outbreak that the U.S. corporate media may not be too comfortable reporting on. Tom Philpott, of Maverick Farms, brings this information to light:

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Is Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork packer and hog producer, linked to the outbreak? Smithfield operates massive hog-raising operations Perote, Mexico, in the state of Vera Cruz, where the outbreak originated.
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On Friday, the U.S. disease-tracking blog Biosurveillance published a timeline of the outbreak containing this nugget, dated April 6 (major tip of the hat to Paula Hay, who alerted me to the Smithfield link on the Comfood listserv and has written about it on her blog, Peak Oil Entrepreneur):

Residents [of Perote] believed the outbreak had been caused by contamination from pig breeding farms located in the area. They believed that the farms, operated by Granjas Carroll, polluted the atmosphere and local water bodies, which in turn led to the disease outbreak. According to residents, the company denied responsibility for the outbreak and attributed the cases to “flu.” However, a municipal health official stated that preliminary investigations indicated that the disease vector was a type of fly that reproduces in pig waste and that the outbreak was linked to the pig farms. It was unclear whether health officials had identified a suspected pathogen responsible for this outbreak.
...
The Mexico City daily La Jornada has also made the link. According to the newspaper, the Mexican health agency IMSS has acknowledged that the orginal carrier for the flu could be the “clouds of flies” that multiply in the Smithfield subsidiary’s manure lagoons.
...

Go, Tom. Go, citizen media. More here.