What Fires You Up?

4/30/2004

 

ABC Nightline
Tonight to Air Names
and Photos of US War Dead...but...

This received this morning from MoveOnsays alot about the whole agenda behind the Bush administration's refusal to allow images of the US war dead returning home, supposedly out of respect for the families and the fallen. However, this policy specifically was made manifestly (now why did I use the term "manifest"???) by the flap over the publication of legally-obtained FOIA files from the Air Force to the Memory Hole, which were posted online in a gallery of 361 photos. Not only did the government seek to block the continuation of the gallery, but the spin continues as well. Yesterday Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa spoke out against that release of files, saying someone should look at the improper release of the images. Maybe he should check into the blogger's in-depth coverage of the story. Not only were the images published respectful and proper, and LEGAL, it is a long time coming. Now ABC Nightline tonight (Friday april 30) will broadcast the names and their photos, something that the families of the fallen troops want publically broadcast! Here are the MoveOn notes:

"Tonight, ABC's Nightline is doing something beautiful and courageous. The entire show will consist of a reading of the names of each soldier who has fallen in Iraq, while his or her photograph shows on the screen.

But ABC affiliate stations around the country will be prohibited from airing the special. That's because they're owned by Sinclair Broadcasting Group, a company whose executives have given tens of thousands to Republicans and whose right-wing allies tout it as "the next Fox."

In a statement released earlier this week, the company said that to honor the men and women who died in this way would be a political act that is "contrary to the public interest." Censoring images of the fallen serves the right-wing ideologues who pushed the war in Iraq, but it certainly doesn't serve our country to hide those who were killed.

Military families have called on Sinclair to air the special tonight. Jane Bright of Military Families Speak Out is the mother of Sgt. Evan Ashcraft, who died July 24, 2003, near Mosul, Iraq. She said: "The Sinclair Broadcast Group is trying to undermine the lives of our soldiers killed in Iraq. By censoring Nightline they want to hide the toll the war on Iraq is having on thousands of soldiers and their families, like mine."

According to ABC News, "The Nightline broadcast is an expression of respect which simply seeks to honor those who have laid down their lives for this country."

Yet Sinclair refuses to distinguish between public mourning and a statement against the war: "Despite the denials by a spokeswoman for the show the action appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq."

BJ 4/30/2004 09:33:00 AM

 

Thadeus and Weez Political Cartoon Strip

From Talking Points Memo, by Joshua Micah Marshall, a sidebar link to a good political cartoon strip online, which provides background information for each cartoon. What a great idea!

Since I cannot show the cartoon strip image within this blog, please go to the Thadeus and Weeze site, to Talking Points Memo, or to Resource.full for the image today. As of Friday, April 30, the daily strip focuses on Bush's campaign to have the Patriot Act renewed. Sorta in the name of "freedom". ....yeah.... r i g h t .....

BJ 4/30/2004 09:10:00 AM

4/28/2004

 

Bush Administration "Disappearing"
Women's Issues

From the Current Events and conversation monitoring of technorati today these links and articles of the Bush Administration removal of factsheets and files related to women's issues back to 1999. Kind of goes along with the mainstream lack-of-attention to the March for Women's Lives, the largest march in history in Washington D.C. this last Sunday. Salon article is focus of many blog reports and conversations.

http://www.clarkson.edu/~johndan/datacloud/archives/000490.html
Erasing Women
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2004/04/28/womens_report/index_np.html
Making Women's Issues Go Away
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/32766
Don't Worry Your Pretty Little Head Over It

Also noted: America's Death Wish

BJ 4/28/2004 01:06:00 PM

4/26/2004

 

March for Women's Lives
Largest March in D.C. EVER!

Although mainstream media and corporate-owned and politically-whipped (did I just say that? Whoa, a new version of "P.W."!) news media conglomerates have largely ignored the March for Women's Lives over the weekend, it will not take away from the fact that the pictures tell it all: largest march, ever. For the images, take a look at Truthout.org's website and the commentary there from Kelpie Wilson. Here are some of the cheering words:

• Women's Health, Not Corporate Wealth.



• 1,2,3,4-patriarchy's at the door. 4,5,6,8- stop the patriarchal state.



• Not the Church, not the State. Women should decide their fate.

Also see: Resource.full

BJ 4/26/2004 08:39:00 PM