Time To Act
I called our local station ch23 and voiced my support two days ago.At the time it was 50/50 which is a surprise for Minneapolis but Minnesota as a whole has been going more to the right for the past few years.
Was it not Sinclair that prevented its ABC affiliates from airing the Nightline episode that aired a roll call in honor of the dead servicemen?
Did they do this because they felt that the Nightline piece was biased and would drive up anti-war sentiment and support anti-Bush backers?
Shame on them. I served my country proudly. If my son were to join one day I would support him. If he were to die in the service of his country, I wouldn’t want elements of my country try to hide his death under a rug.
We live in the best Democracy in the world. All voices should be heard. Pro-war and anti-war. But these voices should be heard in the proper forum. What Sinclair is trying to do is not right. If they feel so strongly about the anti-Kerry documentary they should play it in theaters like Micheal Moore did with his anti-Bush piece. Sinclair owners and managment should have it put on tape/DVD for pay or free distribution.
Just don’t abuse the airwaves. We get enough of that from the 527 groups.
It is a slippery slope Sinclair is on and their planned abuse of the airwaves is what injures a Democracy.
Posted by Ralph
10/14/2004 at 09:54 AM
Ralphie-Boy,
Slippery slope, eh? How about capitalism? Because capitalism is what it is. Not a slippery slope. Sinclair knows damned good and well the consequences of doing this. If people don’t like it they will vote with their TV remotes or wallets (to the advertisers!)
What is it about the authoritarian nature of dems and others regarding political speech? It’s OK for them to pitch a fit and demand a shut down of what they don’t like. Off to the media they’ll run with any sort of perceived “injury.”
But boy, are they ever so quick to cry “censorship” when conservatives protest or criticize anti-American speech (Michael Moore, Ditzy Shits) and OH, SO EAGER to employ the force of government (CENSORSHIP) to shut down our rights to disagree.
Your arguments are tedious. Please go back and consult your democratic playbook for better ideas.
1) That was a gratutitous comment on your part regarding CBS unless you have evidence of prior negotiations with Micheal Moore to show F911 on CBS.
It was very poor judgement on the part of CBS News to air the piece on the President. the American viewers will judge with their remotes and the sponsors with their dollars. The airing of the piece should be investigated and any evidence of an attempt to unfairly and maliciously affect an election should be dealt with accordingly. As for me, I rather not watch Rather but I will watch all the various incarnations of CSI on CBS.
2)You are right about the story needing to be told. All stories must be told but in the proper medium. Television is a primary source of information and has been held to a higher standard of fairness than other mediums. Print and film are held to lower standards because of limited access.
Thus, it is okay with me if F911 appears on pay TV as long as it is only on pay tv. It should not appear on the basic channels. The holds true for Stolen Honor.Sinclair injures Democracy because they may own the stations but we the Amercian people own the air the transmit over. The government has rules to protect the American voters from abuse of the airwaves that may unfairly affect an election. It is not the content that I am concerned about just the how it is shown. I would pony up the $10 to see it in the theaters. Let people vote to see it with their dollars. If the producers feel so strongly put it on disk or tape and distribute it freely. It would get enough airtime on CNN, FOX and MSNC anyway. The pudits would see to that.
3)I feel deeply for the families of the fallen soldiers. I served on burial detail during my service in the Marine Corps. Perhaps, I am biased because my only contact with families of desceased servicemen were with families who were proud to honor the wishes of the deceased.
It get tricky when trying to determine who speaks for the deceased. Families may be split as to whether a name should be on TV.
Were families of deceased service men and women from the Vietnam War asked if names should or shouldnt be included on the war memorial?
Serving in the armed forces is a form of public service.
Pehaps a way out of this dilemma is to have servicemen sign a release form upon signing up. He can choose to have his name released upon his death. He can also decline the same. It is up to him to take on the burden of how this would affect his family. After all he would know better than anyone else.
Posted by Ralph
10/14/2004 at 12:45 PM
Vilmar,
“But boy, are they ever so quick to cry “censorship” when conservatives protest or criticize anti-American speech (Michael Moore, Ditzy Shits) and OH, SO EAGER to employ the force of government (CENSORSHIP) to shut down our rights to disagree.
Your arguments are tedious. Please go back and consult your democratic playbook for better ideas.”
My previous post clearly indicates my stance on Moore’s work.
You have lumped me in with the DEMS without knowing anything about me or my politics. My previous posts indicates nothing but my desire to have anyone and everyone express their free speech rights and may as many bucks as they want doing it. Just not at the expense of a free and fair election.
I dont like it when anyone tries to unfairly affect an elction. Right, left or middle.
Posted by Ralph
10/14/2004 at 01:06 PM
