What if it happened to you?

quote:
I find it very troubling that we have distilled Wright's 35-year ministry to a few phrases; no context whatsoever has been offered or explored.....
by William A. Von Hoene Jr. Chicago Tribune, 3/26/08
Anderson Cooper 360 Blog - has provided some context:

It is a sad fact that Rev. Wright has been used by conservatives to further their aims.
So?
Well, what if it happened to you? How would you defend yourself?

moving on:
I find it troubling to hear Hillary surrogates defend Clinton when they sound like lock step republicans circa 2001 - 2006. We were listening to
Chris Matthews when Joe Sestak was brought on in a segment titled “Grand delusions for Clinton” to defend Clinton. After listening to Joe Sestak I turned to Bill and said this guy not only drank the Kool-Aid, he took a bath in the stuff and he reminds me of all those Republicians who gave Bush everything he wanted.

Caution signal:
I would use the word delusional describing Clinton’s marriage. I mean, if she can convince herself to stay with a man who did that to her - more than once - what else can she delude herself about?
Her election chances maybe?

my own little delusion:
Over Easter weekend I actually thought maybe Clinton was thinking about quitting. If so, I thought, I hope she waits till after the 25th. That way, the cross over, chaos creating Republicans could not change their newly acquired Democratic registration.
She let me down.

Exclusive: Clinton Vows to Push On Time.com by Mark Halperin
Rush to register at Pa. deadline Philadelphia Inquirer By Angela Couloumbis and Kathleen Brady Shea Inquirer Staff Writers
and speaking of Rush:
Will someone tell me why it is OK for a radio announcer to use public airwaves to tell voters to commit an act that might involve breaking the law? Maybe Dan Abrams would like to answer this one. The Verdict Dan vs. Rush MSNBC


Also Reading:
Clinton misspoke about sniper fire CNN Politics.com

Southern Dem warns party to avert disaster Politico

Republicans Switching Sides at Voter Registration Deadline Pittsburgh Post Gazette by Karamagi Rujumba

Pennsylvania Department of State Current Voter Statistics link leads to an Excel document

The Fairness Doctrine

It is interesting to me that the folks John Thune who benefit the most from not having a Fairness Doctrine are dead set against reinstating the doctrine in 2007. A recent editorial in the Reno Nevada Gazette-Journal which was printed in my hometown paper, The Lancaster Eagle Gazette offers some of the history of the Fairness Doctrine as it was applied to Radio and Television. The FCC required broadcasters to give both sides of an issue and offer equal time to all candidates. The idea being the airwaves belonged to the public and therefore should be representative of the public. No such standard was applied to privately owned newspapers.

Fair enough, so far.

Where I disagree with the editorial is the so called reality test. The author claims the Fairness Doctrine prevented free and open discussion of issues and candidates because radio and TV stations were afraid of running afoul of the rules.

DUH?

Isn’t that a bit like saying I’m not a tax cheater because I’m afraid of running afoul of the law?
Or,
I don’t speed because I’m afraid of running afoul of the speed laws.

Rules are a direction for conduct or a standard procedure for solving a class of problems. The Fairness Doctrine is not a rule based on the idea of shutting folks out, it is just the opposite. The Fairness Doctrine was meant to encourage discussion.

Further along in the same editorial the author claims a vigorous debate is critical to the survival of our democracy. Now, just how can there be a vigorous debate when only one side is presented?

I think it is time for one sided talk radio to depart for the land of tubes and analog dials. If I can’t be assured I'll be given a reasonable opportunity to hear both sides of a controversial issue then give me back the music. A little Buck Owens, George and Tammy, the Beatles, Tommy Dorsey and some Bluegrass on a Saturday night is fine with me.

When our radios started talking to us we not only lost the music, we lost our right to be fully informed.