Love to.
But, of course, I cannot.
It is so hard to believe now, all these years later, after the various battles, especially the one with Mary Frances Berry, that anyone ever bothered to fight to save PACIFICA RADIO.
Remember Ms. Berry?
And the charges against her?
She was attempting to 'commericalize' PACIFICA and she was attempting to make it an organ for the Democratic Party.
Remember the self-righteous indignation over all of this?
Back then, people like labor leader Maury Englander made statements such as, "Will KPFA operate according to Lewis Hill's vision for the station, or will it become a tamed-down mouthpiece for the values of corporate America, fearful of criticizing the likes of a Clinton or any other administration committed to maintaining America as the one power on earth permitted to maintain its imperial dominance through force of arms?"
And today?
Paid whores like Mitch Jeserich use the airwaves to felliate U.S. President Barack Obama and overlook The Drone War, the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War, his war on whistle-blowers, his war on immigrants, and so much more.
Centrists and the politically ignorant might have reason to stay on board with Mr. Obama -- after all, intellectual Dr. Cornel West has rightly observes that Mr. Obama is "a Rockefeller Republican."
But for the radical left, there is nothing to applaud in the two terms of Mr. Obama's presidency.
More to the point, the radical left should have damn well known better.
On air, Mr. Jeserich always came off like a charter member of the Democratic Leadership Council so it is no real surprise that he would remain at PACIFICA, in fact be given his useless and money wasting LETTERS AND POLITICS show while the more talented Deepa Fernandes would leave PACIFICA (she is now at NPR station KPCC).
Amy Goodman continues to leach millions out of PACIFICA's budget and so it is fitting that the left has begun to wake up to her con-game.
BLACK AGENDA REPORT rightly called out her program's 'reporting' on Libya.
Her 2008 political 'coverage' had already exposed her unethical ways (click here for only one example). And in 2015, calling out her nonsense reached critical mass as bravery was voiced full thoated on one website after another. For example, this year found IN GAZA WORD PRESS noting the critique of Eric Draitser:
Goodman is a foundation funded hack who did yeoman service for Obama and the cause of "humanitarian intervention" in Libya. She and Democracy Now disseminated lie after lie, parroting State Department talking points and lies from Human Rights Watch and Navi Pillay. Their "reporter" was a liar embedded with NATO-backed terrorists and they all have Libyan blood on their hands. In all that time reporting about Gaddafi alleged "crimes" (all of which have been debunked and proved to have been lies), they deliberately ignored the ethnic cleansing of Black Libyans in Fezzan, the Tawergha people, etc because it didn't jive with the "Good rebels vs bad Gaddafi" script they were feeding the so called "progressive left". Now they try to pretend they didn't and they were against the war on Libya.
Goodman has done similarly with
regard to Syria. They are discredited liars whose good work only comes
in opposing Republican wars which takes no courage at all. They are, put simply, left liberal imperialists.
I said in 2011 that Democracy Now and Young Turks and all these other foundation funded left liberal imperialists would never be forgiven for their treachery, and they haven’t been, no matter how they try to whitewash their records.
I said in 2011 that Democracy Now and Young Turks and all these other foundation funded left liberal imperialists would never be forgiven for their treachery, and they haven’t been, no matter how they try to whitewash their records.
Amy Goodman and her ilk thought they could pull one over on people. In fact, they merely exposed themselves.
The growing acknowledgement throughout the left about people like Amy Goodman made it very clear that there was little reason for the likes of PACIFICA to exist anymore.
The only shows of value are those that followed their own drums.
Throughout the two terms of Bully Boy Bush, the likes of Bonnie Faulkner and Peter Phillips and Mickey Huff were regularly attacked -- by some elements of the left.
But it is Bonnie Faulkner and her GUNS AND BUTTER radio program and Mickey Huff and his PROJECT CENSORED RADIO that are the last shows -- the final ones? -- broadcast on PACIFICA today which really embrace the vision Lewis Hill had when he started PACIFICA in 1949.
Otherwise?
I do not really see any point in PACIFICA anymore.
And I laugh at their continued financial crisis.
Why?
I do remember in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 what was going on.
They were increasing their number of listeners, they were increasing the number of donors and the amount of money pledged in fundraising drives.
And then?
They began their walk away from Iraq.
Telling the truth about the Iraq War allowed them to stand out and find an audience.
Today?
They ignore the Iraq War.
They refuse to call out the sitting president who continues the Iraq War.
They refuse to spend hours probing how exactly Mr. Obama ordering U.S. war planes to drop bombs on Iraq is helping anyone.
They refuse to do their job.
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Ruth also covered radio in 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008, .
iraq
libya
bonnie faulkner
guns and butter
mickey huff
project censored radio
amy goodman
deepa fernandes
mitch jeserich
iraq
radio
pacifica
ruths report
the common ills
