Sunday, February 15, 2009

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Dave Johnson: Revive The Fairness Doctrine Top
Let's start a discussion about reviving the Fairness Doctrine to re-introduce the commons and the idea that we tell the corporations what to do! A few years ago, in a popular post about the Fairness Doctrine, I wrote , This "Fairness Doctrine" requirement was intended to protect the public from the possibility of moneyed interests buying up all of the information sources, leaving the public hearing only their viewpoint. I think that this may be an opportunity - if done right - to reintroduce the public to the idea of the commons: that the public owns the resources of the country, and the laws, and has the power to tell corporations what to do instead of the other way around. If we can project that into the discussion, it leads straight to a discussion of the tight concentration of ownership of the media by a few corporations. What better issues than something called "Fairness" and that so clearly can be demonstrated. There just are no voices of labor and other non- corporate opinions on the airwaves. The public is ready to hear that. The demise of the Fairness Doctrine paved the way for this media consolidation, because issues around media consolidation were no longer discussed in the media. And that's the problem now, as well, because it will be very difficult to get a good, honest, all-sides discussion of the commons and the Fairness Doctrine and media consolidation started -- because of media consolidation and lack of a Fairness Doctrine . So do we let the corporations just win this? Reagan unilaterally scrapped public control of the airwaves, vetoed it when Congress voted to bring it back, and then the Republicans filibustered the majority in following years every time the Congress tried again. Does that mean the Congress should stop trying and we should all just let the matter drop, and leave the public thinking that corporations have the right to control the airwaves? Or does renewing the fight revive public discussion and understanding of these issues, leading to increased understanding of the need for Net Neutrality so big corporations can't just block the public from even seeing union and progressive websites? So I think reviving this fight is strategic, preparing the public for upcoming fights on all issues of public vs corporate control of public resources and decision-making. In 96 I wrote , Restoring the Fairness Doctrine would open up America's "marketplace of ideas." It would help to restore civility to our public discourse. It would help restore our democracy. I say it is time to restore the Fairness doctrine.
 
Plane that crashed near Buffalo was on autopilot Top
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A federal aviation official says the plane that crashed into a house near Buffalo, killing 50 people, was on autopilot when it went down, a possible violation of airline policy in icy weather. Steve Chealander of the National Transportation Safety Board says Colgan Air recommends pilots fly manually in icy conditions. Pilots are required to do so in severe ice. Pilots of the doomed plane discussed "significant" ice buildup on their wings and windshield just before crashing Thursday night. Colgan Air operates a fleet of 51 regional turboprops including Continental Connection, United Express and US Airways Express. Chealander says the preliminary investigation indicates the autopilot was still on when the plane crashed. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) _ A federal aviation official says the plane that crashed into a house near Buffalo, killing 50 people, was on autopilot when it went down, a violation of airline policy. Steve Chealander of the National Transportation Safety Board says Colgan Air recommends pilots fly manually in icy conditions. Pilots are required to do so in severe ice. The pilot of doomed plane reported "significant" ice on his wings and windshield just before crashing Thursday night. Colgan Air operates a fleet of 51 regional turboprops including Continental Connection, United Express and US Airways Express. Chealander says the preliminary investigation indicates the autopilot was still on when the plane crashed. (This version CORRECTS that flying on autopilot was possible violation of policy, not a definite violation.)
 
Michelle Kraus: Chatter around the Kitchen Table is What Matters. Media Chatter Does Not Top
David Axelrod got it right this morning on Meet the Press . It is not the chatter of the Beltway and incessant drama making of the television media that matters! It is what everyday Americans are talking about around the kitchen table that matters. Media does not Matter! It is why President Obama is signing the stimulus package far away from DC in Denver on Tuesday surrounded by everyday people that are trying to make ends meet, worried about their jobs, their credit cards, their kids and their health care. Let's face it folks we're in deep doo-do (a technical term). Unemployment is rising, banks have frozen their credit lending and health care costs are rising every day in this country; and the worst is not over yet. So maybe the media can stop grand standing and provoking hysteria, and get down with the real folks. Many are turning off the televisions and not watching the evening cable news shows, except maybe Jon Stewart. It's just too painful. That's good for the online outlets like the Huffington Post , but don't we deserve just a little bit better from the television news pundits? If its chatter you want, talk to your next door neighbor or your cousin or friend that's been hit by the crushing blows of the decline in this economy. If it's news and commentary - maybe we'll be able to tune in and maybe we won't. Perhaps the day of getting the news, just the news from our broadcasters on CNN, FOX or wherever are limited. And maybe the brilliance of the new online platforms has found its day. Only time will tell. Frankly, did the President really need to interview with Anderson Cooper in the White House to quell the drama making and sensationalism? Democracy in action is messy business, and it takes time to get things done. Elected officials disagree and fume at one another. This President is trying to let democracy proceed, and remarkably things did get done in less then his first 30 days. Remember we no longer live under the reign of Bush/Cheney, and somehow the television media has got to come to terms with that. Chatter away folks among one another, and spare the American public. We want to tune in to television news and get the facts, the commentary, and not walk away with our stomachs hurting and our heads exploding. Otherwise, it's off to the blogs we go and thank goodness. High Ho! More on Stimulus Package
 
Clinton Makes First Visit To Asia Top
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has set off on her first overseas visit as top US diplomat days after pledging greater engagement with Asia. More on Asia
 
Presented By: Top
 
Lauren Axelrod's Battle With Epilepsy In Parade Top
When Susan Axelrod tells the story of her daughter, she begins like most parents of children with epilepsy: The baby was adorable, healthy, perfect. Lauren arrived in June 1981, a treasured first-born. Susan Landau had married David Axelrod in 1979, and they lived in Chicago, where Susan pursued an MBA at the University of Chicago and David worked as a political reporter for the Chicago Tribune. (He later would become chief strategist for Barack Obama's Presidential campaign and now is a senior White House adviser.) They were busy and happy. Susan attended classes while her mother babysat. Then, when Lauren was 7 months old, their lives changed overnight. More on David Axelrod
 
Tim Giago: An Indigenous Perspective on the Fairness Doctrine Top
By Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji) © 2009 Native American Journalists Foundation, Inc. February 16, 2009 How many of you remember a policy of the Federal Communications Commission known as the "Fairness Doctrine?" The doctrine was an attempt by the FCC to "ensure that all coverage of controversial issues be balanced and fair. The FCC took the view in 1949 that radio station licensees were "public trustees," and thus had an obligation to give reasonable opportunity for discussion of contrasting points of view on controversial issues of public importance. With the introduction of television, the FCC stood behind the Fairness Doctrine by setting down rules regulating personal attacks and editorializing by the stations. And in 1971 the FCC set requirements for the stations to report, along with their license renewal applications, the efforts they had made to seek out and address issues of concern to the community. This process became known as the "Ascertainment of Community Needs" and the job of carrying out this mandate was left in the hands of the station managers. The "Fairness Doctrine" is in the air once again following the political campaigns of both parties. Questions of whether there was indeed a "balanced and fair" coverage of the candidates has sent waves of anger and perhaps fear, through the ranks of the more conservative talk show hosts on radio and television. Perhaps that apprehension should also be felt by those radio personalities on the more liberal and so-called progressive talk shows. Both sides were fairly liberal in their bashing of political candidates whose views they did not share. And so a doctrine originally intended to make sure radio and television stations did not use their stations simply as advocates with a singular perspective morphed into a policy that actually advocated for equal community participation by minorities. The FCC made it a requirement that the stations allow all points of view and the policy was strictly enforced. Each station was required to maintain a log keeping track of the amount of time allocated to minority points of view and submitted when license renewal time came around. Many stations fulfilled this requirement by airing radio and television shows hosted and produced by members of a minority race. This policy, often overlooked when researching the "Fairness Doctrine," led to many groundbreaking shows for African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. It should come as no surprise to anyone that these media doors would not have been opened to members of minority races without the whip known as the "Fairness Doctrine." All of a sudden, where there were none and where the possibilities of one ever happening were at one time slim to none, television and radio shows hosted and produced by Native Americans began to spring up around Indian country. White listeners and viewers were introduced to a perspective that existed in their neighborhoods for years and yet it was a perspective totally new to them. An American Indian point of view began to surface. Down in Albuquerque a Laguna man named John Belindo began a television show called "The First Americans," a show I co-hosted with him on several occasions and when I moved back home to South Dakota I brought the idea with me and when an opportunity arose for me to emulate Belindo, I did just that and in 1975 I started a weekly Northern Plains version of "The First Americans" at KEVN a commercially owned station located in Rapid City. Bob Giago, Oglala Lakota and his then wife Millie, Laguna, were doing television shows in Oklahoma City. Wallace Coffey, who later went on the become chairman of the Comanche Nation, was also doing a weekly TV show in Oklahoma City. Up in North Dakota Harriet Skye, a Hunkpapa Lakota, was doing a weekly talk show on Bismarck television and over in Billings, Montana, a Nez Perce man named Ron Holt was doing a show called "Indians in Progress." Not one of us realized that these doors of opportunity had opened for us because of the "Fairness Doctrine." We only knew the doors had opened and we were bound and determined to make the most of it while it lasted. Ron Holt discovered the power of the Fairness Doctrine when he had the Area Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs on his show and was verbally accosted by a tribal leader demanding equal time. "I asked the station manager about it and he told me that I had better damned well give the tribal leader equal time because that was the rule of the Fairness Doctrine. It was the first time I heard about it," he said. The battle to shut the doors forever on the Fairness Doctrine or to give it a new life is in the hands of the new Congress. When it was in full force and up for renewal in 1987, it was vetoed by President Ronald Reagan and when it came up again during the Bush administration, it was vetoed again. Will it be renewed or buried in the Barack Obama administration? (Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, was born, raised and educated on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He was the founder and publisher of Indian Country Today, the Lakota Times, and the Lakota Journal. He can be reached at najournalist@msn.com)
 
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Is America Ready To Quit Coal? Top
Last May, protesters took over James E. Rogers's front lawn in Charlotte, N.C., unfurling banners declaring "No new coal" and erecting a makeshift "green power plant" -- which, they said in a press release, was fueled by "the previously unexplored energy source known as hot air, which has been found in large concentrations" at his home.
 
Thomas Friedman Chronicles Leading Climate Innovation In India Top
So I am attending the Energy and Resources Institute climate conference in New Delhi, and during the afternoon session two young American women -- along with one of their mothers -- proposition me. "Hey, Mr. Friedman," they say, "would you like to take a little spin around New Delhi in our car?" More on India
 
Axelrod: Stem cell order coming soon from Obama Top
WASHINGTON — Expect an executive order soon from President Barack Obama on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. That's the word from White House adviser David Axelrod. Under President George W. Bush, federal money for research on human embryonic stems cells was limited to those stem cell lines that were created before Aug. 9, 2001. No federal dollars could be used on research with cell lines from embryos destroyed from that point forward. Federal rules do not restrict embryonic stem cell research using state or private funds. Obama made it clear during the campaign he would overturn Bush's directive. Axelrod tells "Fox News Sunday" that Obama right now is considering an executive order lifting the federal ban on funding. Stem cells are the building blocks that turn into different kinds of tissue. More on President Obama
 
Kenneth Roth: A Heroine for Human Rights Top
A diminutive, seemingly frail woman, barely five feet tall, she was nonetheless a giant in the field of human rights. At age 66, when most women are contemplating a quiet retirement with their grandchildren, she maintained a torrid pace that the 20-somethings in the office found difficult to sustain. Alison Des Forges, who led Human Rights Watch's work in Rwanda and the Great Lakes region of Africa for nearly 20 years, was killed in the plane crash in Buffalo on February 12. The loss is huge--for the people of Rwanda, her family, and me personally. We worked closely together during our two shared decades at Human Rights Watch. To cite just one example, I will never forget my visit to Rwanda with her two years after the 1994 genocide, when the wounds were still raw and tensions high. Hearing of a new massacre in a remote part of the country, we dropped everything--typical for Alison--and drove there to investigate what had happened. We found a few survivors and interviewed them, but as we started to leave we bumped into the military patrol that had probably committed the massacre and was not eager for us to be snooping around. During a tense two-hour standoff on a hilltop in the middle of nowhere, Alison calmly and persistently negotiated our exit. Then, afraid that our captors would change their mind or ambush us en route, we drove as fast as we could on a two-hour ride back to the relative safety of the nearest town. The episode was vintage Alison--determined to get at the truth, deeply devoted to the Rwandan victims of atrocities, and seemingly oblivious to her own well being. In the prelude to the genocide, I watched Alison struggle to warn the world of the rising ethnic tensions in Rwanda. When the killing broke out and hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus were hacked, shot, and burned to death, Alison worked desperately--first to explain to the uninformed who the Tutsi and Hutu even were, then to convince the indifferent not to turn their backs on the slaughter. Alison saw that the raging slaughter was not the latest manifestation of "age-old hatreds" about which nothing could be done, as the defenders of indifference maintained, but the product of a deliberate scheme, embarked upon by a small group of ruthless leaders who could be identified, pressured, and stopped. Later, her 800-page chronicle of the genocide, " Leave None to Tell the Story ," based on four years of field research, demonstrated how carefully the genocidaires had tested the political waters before ratcheting up the killing. Worried about jeopardizing the international aid on which Rwanda depended, they at first allowed the genocide to unfold only gradually, checking to see how the international community would react. It barely did. The major powers, unwilling to risk another humanitarian intervention in Africa so shortly after the Somalia debacle of 1992-93, dithered. At the White House, Alison convinced then-National Security Advisor Anthony Lake to issue a statement, which she largely wrote, but sending the Marines was never in the cards. Lake blamed a lack of popular pressure, as if the responsibility to stop mass murder required no more than a glance at the latest polls. When the killing finally stopped, not because of Western intervention but because the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front won the civil war, Alison devoted herself to bringing the authors of these atrocities to justice (although she was often just as passionate in her defense of the wrongly accused). To note that she testified some dozen times as an expert witness before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is only to begin to acknowledge her role. Prosecutors came and went, rarely willing to put in more than two years in distant Arusha or Kigali, but Alison was always there, patiently explaining to yet another green lawyer the complexities of how the genocide unfolded. Never formally on the prosecutorial staff, always simply offering her services as a member of the Human Rights Watch staff, Alison became, in essence, the tribunal's chief strategist--not just an expert witness on the stand but an indispensable guide behind the scenes. Alison's commitment to principle was most apparent in her efforts to bring to justice not the genocidaires, who had few sympathizers, but the leadership of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, who had morphed into the current, internationally popular Rwandan government, led by President Paul Kagame. To a world wracked by guilt at having done nothing to stop the genocide, Kagame was a hero, the man whose brilliant military strategy had ousted the genocidaires. Bill Clinton, whose indifference to the genocide was the low point of his presidency, has often squired Kagame to be feted at various conferences and conclaves, as if to make amends. But Alison could not forget the 30,000 people murdered by Kagame's RPF during and in the immediate aftermath of the genocide. That toll is in no way equivalent to the estimated 800,000 genocide victims, as Kagame's apologists are quick to note, but it is no small number, either, and should not be ignored. To do so, Alison pointed out, looks like selective victor's justice, not a tribunal dedicated to the even-handed application of the law. The very week of her death, Alison was corresponding with Hassan Jallow, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, about the importance of not ignoring the RPF crimes. The prosecutor had understandably held those crimes to the end, knowing that their pursuit would mark the end of the Rwandan government's cooperation with the tribunal. Now, however, with the tribunal's mandate nearing its end, Jallow still has not issued a single indictment for RPF crimes. I joined Alison in pressing him to pursue these cases, but whether he has the courage to take on the supposedly "new African leader" Kagame remains to be seen. Alison's principled insistence on justice for all, on following the facts wherever they lead, on using her integrity and careful research to defend rights, made her countless friends in Rwanda but incurred the wrath of Kagame and his cohorts. In the last few months, as the public debate about prosecuting the RPF crimes was coming to a head, the Rwandan government twice denied Alison entrance to the country she loved. The move was a backhanded tribute to her effectiveness, and an implicit concession of how much Kagame has to hide. For a woman who seemed to live on planes, it was sadly ironic that she died on one. She was heading home to see her husband Roger, whose patience with her peripatetic existence and support for her endless work should qualify him for sainthood. Alison was returning from Europe, where she had been pressing governments to respond to the latest crisis in Central Africa, this time in eastern Congo, where two separate conflicts are taking a renewed civilian toll. Alison was seeking a stronger UN peacekeeping presence, a force not simply asked to protect civilians but actually equipped to do so. Europe had the troops at hand--it had even set up two "battle groups" precisely for this purpose--but when it came time to deploy them, European leaders could find only excuses for inaction. My inbox has been flooded with expressions of disbelief and despondency from Alison's admirers around the world. The human rights movement has lost one of its true heroes. But we are far stronger for the many years she spent among us and for the example she set for us all--of passion, persistence, honesty, and principle. She will always be a role model, for me and so many others around the world. *** Human Rights Watch invites you to leave a comment which we will publish here .
 
Ecstasy Ensnares Upper-Class Teenagers in Brazil Top
SÃO PAULO, Brazil -- The trappings of upper-class teenage life seemed to come easily to Sander Mecca: girlfriends, rock bands, entry to stylish clubs and a serious Ecstasy habit. Weekend-long raves were not the same without it for Mr. Mecca, who said he sometimes consumed six pills in a span of 12 hours. More on Brazil
 
Andrew Sullivan Predicts Obama Will Nationalize Several Major Banks (VIDEO) Top
Andrew Sullivan, appearing on the Chris Matthews Show, predicted that that President Obama would end up nationalizing several major banks, and that the stress tests for these financial institutions that Treasury Secretary Geithner has proposed are the first step in explaining to the American public, for which nationalization is a charged word, why this has to happen. Two senior Republicans, Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and Representative Peter King of New York said this morning that nationalization of the banks must remain an option. Watch Sullivan's prediction below. More on Video On HuffPost
 
Obama Basketball Habit: Plays Almost Every Day Top
WASHINGTON — Barack Obama without a basketball? His press secretary says there are very few days he doesn't see the commander in chief either handling or dribbling a basketball at some point. Spokesman Robert Gibbs says playing ball helps Obama get exercise and relieve stress. Gibbs says that when Obama plays, he can think about something different _ even if only for a short time. Basketball has been a part of Obama's life since he was a kid growing up in Hawaii. A big part of life even today, as Gibbs sees it. Gibbs spoke on CNN's "State of the Union." More on Barack Obama
 
Dems Fed Up With McCain: "Angry Old Defeated Candidate" Top
Democrats are growing increasingly frustrated with the brash political attacks Sen. John McCain has launched against Barack Obama in the weeks since the new president took office. No one expected the Arizona Republican to be a legislative ally for this administration. But it was widely assumed that Obama's overtures to McCain in the weeks after the election would dull some of the hard feelings between the two. Now, they are realizing, it has not. "He is bitter and really angry," Bob Shrum said of McCain in an interview on Friday. "He is angry at the press, which he thinks is unfair. He is angry at Obama and angry at the voters. He has gone from being an angry old candidate to being an angry old defeated candidate." Indeed, during the debate over the economic stimulus package it was McCain, as often as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who spearheaded the opposition. The Arizona Republican denounced the proposal as pure pork on the Senate floor and introduced an alternative measure compromised nearly entirely of tax cuts. On Sunday, McCain wouldn't let the fight die, even with the legislation through Congress. Appearing on CNN, he described the $787 billion measure as "generational theft" and said that the bill's authors should "start over now and sit down together." Meanwhile, appearing on ABC's This Week, Sen. Lindsey Graham -- McCain's chief ally in the Senate -- said of the process by which the stimulus was forged: "If this is going to be bipartisanship, the country is screwed." That two Republicans Senators who consider themselves prudent compromisers would forcefully condemn the president's top legislative priority is noteworthy in and of itself. That it comes after President Obama made overt gestures of reconciliation to both McCain and Graham raises questions as to just how long it will take for this era of post-partisanship to arrive. Not to mention that, as other observers pointed out, McCain isn't being entirely consistent. "During the Senate debate, 36 of the Senate Republicans voted for an alternative that would have cut taxes over the next decade by $2.5 trillion, [and] reduced the top marginal race to 25 percent," said the Atlantic 's Ron Brownstein on "Meet the Press." "For John McCain -- who voted for that alternative of a $2.5 trillion tax cut over the next decade -- to talk about generational theft, I mean, pot meet kettle." More on John McCain
 

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