According to the NY Times, “[The Baker Commission Report] warned that if the situation continues to deteriorate, there is a risk of a ”slide toward chaos (that) could trigger the collapse of Iraq’s government and a humanitarian catastrophe.”

”Neighboring countries could intervene. …. The global standing of the United States could be diminished. Americans could become more polarized,” commissioners said.”

Gee – Ya think?  Am I the only one who thinks this assessment accurately reflects the situation as it was about two years ago?  It takes no genius to forecast the past.

And we have a good historical example of how well the main recommendation works – we called it “Vietnamization of the conflict”.  Hold that helicopter, please!!! 

Cross-posted from Rational Resistance:

This is just a post to introduce you to the new link I found recently: the Global Rich List. Give it a try and see how your income compares to the rest of the world.

In theatre, we have the concept of subtext.  This reflects the reality that people don’t always say (or even know) what they have in mind.  People say one thing and mean another or talk around the point.  (Bt the way, the thing that makes a soap opera a soap opera is that there is not subtext.  It’s all out in the open.)

So here’s my point.  When Bush, who had been told that Sen-Elect Webb’s son in Iraq had been in serious danger, asked Webb: “how’s your boy doing?” he really was saying “I have the power of life and death over him and there’s nothing you can do about it.” 

Let’s not miss the point, Bush is a psychopath. 

Most of my friends cancelled their memberships in the AARP back when the AARP greased the skids for passage of Medicare Part D, which, as you know, has turned out to be a disaster. (Yes, my friends. Like me, described by my friend Rebecca as “older than dirt”, most of them are geezers.) I didn’t cancel my membership, which means I keep getting the magazine that used to be called “Modern Maturity”, but is now called something creative like “the AARP magazine”.

Anyway, I was reading the AARP magazine the other day (by the way, it has more blow-ins and bound-in commercial offers than any magazine I’ve seen) when what should I find but a full-page tribute to our own Governor Scissorhands for “ris[ing] above politics” and giving us this great new health care plan. I kid you not.

This is the guy who blocked any chance of real health care reform with his veto threat, and here he is getting an award from the AARP.

Don’t get me wrong. The Vermont AARP is a good organization. Right now they’re taking the lead on the effort to create a low-income electric bill payment program, one area in which we’re way behind most of the rest of the country.

So I don’t really have an answer, just a question: What the hell is wrong with the AARP?

In the waning days of the last election season, I received an email from a reader who was clearly angry at WCAX’s naked partisanship demonstrated, not simply in it’s standard, FOX-news-reminscent news coverage (or lack thereof), but by it’s refusal to sponsor a gubernatorial debate (despite hosting debates for every other major office, and traditionally hosting one in cycles past), thereby significantly (and seemingly intentionally) minimizing the opportunities for Scudder Parker to reach voters in his challenge to Jim Douglas.

The writer had an interesting suggestion… that “maybe it’s time to challenge WCAX’s FCC license since it appears they are not operating in the public interest?”

The timing is spot on, as their current 8-year license expires April 1, 2007. This means that public input on the renewal can be accepted until March 1st. But whether or not such an effort would be worthwhile and victorious may come down to a questin of how you define victory…

It’s unlikely that such an effort would bear fruit, if the goal is to shut down WCAX. Such efforts generally aren’t, but there is a push out there to use this process as a means to hold corporate media accountable, win or lose. It should be added though, that “corporate media” that they are, there are still free speech considerations, ethically speaking.

But, as so many of those opposed to state-based impeachment never allowed themselves to understand, sometimes it’s not simply about winning and losing – or, more accurately, it’s often the case that there are degrees of success. Many would be thrilled to see the CAX operation shut down for meddling so shamelessly in the democratic process, but it would also send a powerful message indeed to give Marselis Parsons and his GOP cronies a serious public black eye – and it could then prove inspiring to others around the country who similarly have to deal with their primary local news source so closely wedded to the ambitions and goals of a specific political party.

Here’s the process (pulled primarily from the handy-dandy how-to guide at New Hampshire’s FreePress.net):

Yesterday, WCAX filed an application to renew with the FCC. Click here to view the application on the FCC website. Now that they have, the flood of public commentary should begin from now until 30 days before the expiration date of April 1st.

First, there’s the head-on approach; writing a letter that makes the case that the station is serving a partisan political interest. This is grounds for a complaint, as is working against the interest of the community it’s located in.

It may also be possible to catch them in a “gotcha” moment, whereby they’re not fulfilling their obligations under their licensure. For example, all stations are required to air 3 hours a week of educational programming for kids, and it’s not uncommon for stations to either pre-empt that programming, or to pass clearly non-educational shows off as meeting the obligation. You can go to the FCC database located here to view WCAX’s reporting on meeting this obligation. These public accountings are filed quarterly, and it would take a little effort to comb through them. A glance at last quarter’s reveals little out of place, but I certainly think it’s questionable whether or not “Dance Revolution” counts as educational…

The following information needs to be included on the letter:

• Call letters: WCAX-TV
• City and State: BURLINGTON VT
• Facility number: 46728
• License renewal application file number: BRCT – 20061130APP

The letter can be sent to:

Video Division, License Renewal Processing Team
Room 2-A665
FCC, Office of the Secretary
445 12th St. SW
Washington, DC 20554

A copy should also be sent to:

General Manager, WCAX-TV
MT. MANSFIELD TELEVISION, INC.
P.O. BOX 4508
BURLINGTON VT  05406

The other, more time-intensive but effective route would be to file (with the help of a lawyer) a formal “Petition to Deny”. The link provides details.

So from where I’m sitting, it seems to me to be a no-lose scenario. Cast a vote below if you have an opinion.

–

 Loading ...