Broadcasters are licensed to serve the public interest. If a radio or TV station does not serve the public interest, the FCC can take its license to broadcast away, and give the opportunity to make millions using the public airwaves to someone else.
Yes, we the people do have some power over what is broadcast in our own communities, at least in theory. But in fact, as shown in my film, Public Interest Pictures' Broadcast Blues, petitions to deny stations' licenses languish for years, and the FCC has no record of the last time any station's license has been pulled. Even the case of a TV station that a court ruled deliberately distorted the news didn't meet the FCC threshold of not "serving the public interest."
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March 11, 2010
Sex and power, from North Carolina to Congo
Last weekend in Hickory, North Carolina, a man was arrested and charged with raping a woman. According to Charlotte's Channel 9 News, the forty-one-year-old man was charged with first-degree kidnapping, first-degree rape and assault with a deadly weapon. Why assault with a deadly weapon? Because after he raped the woman, he used a box cutter to carve the word "Mine" into her stomach.
Rape is not about sex. Rape is about power. Rape isn't about a man getting carried away with passion and desire. As this case makes gruesomely clear, rape isn't about sexual attraction at all, but about controlling the victim and removing their autonomy and humanity.
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Rape is not about sex. Rape is about power. Rape isn't about a man getting carried away with passion and desire. As this case makes gruesomely clear, rape isn't about sexual attraction at all, but about controlling the victim and removing their autonomy and humanity.
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Conservatives Re-Write Declaration of Independence
The Civil Rights Movement created "unrealistic expectations of equal outcomes" among minorities, according to Texas conservatives trying to rewrite American history textbooks. They want students to learn that bit of undemocratic, phony history.
Imagine Thomas Jefferson opening the Declaration of Independence with, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, no one should have unrealistic expectations of human equality..."
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Imagine Thomas Jefferson opening the Declaration of Independence with, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, no one should have unrealistic expectations of human equality..."
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Purple Lab on HSN – Round Two!
Friday noon's Purple Lab was an amazing HSN show. I felt like I was getting my groove except for the ear piece (my Jack Bauer), which was bothering me so much that the inside of my ear canal started to swell. Luckily, the adrenalin rush of being on air is nature's natural healer.
I donned a green Lanvin party dress with a big bow at the bum along with purple patent leather six-inch heels.
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I donned a green Lanvin party dress with a big bow at the bum along with purple patent leather six-inch heels.
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Arianna & Dennis Santiago Discuss Move Your Money Campaign On Radio Show “AirTalk” (AUDIO)
Arianna and Dennis Santiago were guests on the Southern California Public Radio program "AirTalk" today to discuss the Move Your Money campaign, a growing movement to punish and hold big banks accountable for their irresponsible and damaging practices.
Listen to the interview below.
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Listen to the interview below.
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Time for Obama to Restore the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board
Former Vice President Dick Cheney and, most recently, his daughter, Liz Cheney, a former State Department official, have charged that President Barack Obama and his administration have been overly concerned about the civil liberties of terrorists at the expense of an effective program to prevent another Sept. 11 and to destroy al Qaeda.
I don’t doubt their sincerity. But I consider their position both wrong and reminiscent of the reckless guilt-by-association charges of the late Sen. Joe McCarthy, who more than a half-century ago accused most Democrats and the Truman administration of being “soft on communism.”
Biden to Israelis: You Are Endangering Our Troops
Laura Rozen in Politico reports on a story appearing today in Israel.
It is about the effect that Prime Minister Netanyahu's announcement of new West Bank settlements -- during Vice President Biden's visit -- could do to the United States. It is written by a top Israeli journalist, Shimon Shiffer, in the conservative Yedioth Achronoth, the largest circulation newspaper in Israel..
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It is about the effect that Prime Minister Netanyahu's announcement of new West Bank settlements -- during Vice President Biden's visit -- could do to the United States. It is written by a top Israeli journalist, Shimon Shiffer, in the conservative Yedioth Achronoth, the largest circulation newspaper in Israel..
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Sharing The Chores: Be Your Own Marriage Ref
People often ask us how a couple can truly share in doing the housework, and caring for the kids. Forget all the theories about teamwork and the lofty aims to create a real partnership. How do they do it for real? It seems a whole lot simpler and clearer to expect one parent (typically Mom) to take charge -- to direct the other "junior" parent and "apprentice" housekeeper (that would usually be Dad) to "help" out as needed. Mom maintains the upper hand at home, and Dad listens. Easy, right?
But what happens if you don't particularly relish all the baggage that comes with this domestic caste system? Keeping one parent as the primary nurturer and house manager means one of you is always making the decisions - big and little - and is saddled with the endless job of juggling the to-do list while the other parent gets relative freedom until the boss calls. And life isn't so rosy for the unburdened parent either, maintaining a kind of serfdom in his own home - jumping to the demands of a master or trying to avoid these in the name of a little peace and quiet of his own. But still, having one of you in charge steers you both clear of the negotiations that would have to take place if you really decided to be equal teammates in raising your children and doing the chores.
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But what happens if you don't particularly relish all the baggage that comes with this domestic caste system? Keeping one parent as the primary nurturer and house manager means one of you is always making the decisions - big and little - and is saddled with the endless job of juggling the to-do list while the other parent gets relative freedom until the boss calls. And life isn't so rosy for the unburdened parent either, maintaining a kind of serfdom in his own home - jumping to the demands of a master or trying to avoid these in the name of a little peace and quiet of his own. But still, having one of you in charge steers you both clear of the negotiations that would have to take place if you really decided to be equal teammates in raising your children and doing the chores.
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House Afghanistan Debate: What Kucinich Accomplished
Yesterday, at long last, there was a vigorous debate about the war in Afghanistan on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. The legislative vehicle was a resolution introduced by Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich calling for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of the year. But House critics of the war have long been agitating for a real debate.
This is the debate that should have been held - at least - last fall when the Administration was considering sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, or - at least - when the Administration announced its plans to send more troops. If the House had held this debate while the Administration was mulling its decision, the Congressional airing of arguments against military escalation and in favor of political and diplomatic solutions would have attracted a lot more attention, and could have affected the decision. No doubt, the possibility that a Congressional debate then might have affected the policy was a key motivation for some in the House leadership not to allow this debate to occur then.
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This is the debate that should have been held - at least - last fall when the Administration was considering sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, or - at least - when the Administration announced its plans to send more troops. If the House had held this debate while the Administration was mulling its decision, the Congressional airing of arguments against military escalation and in favor of political and diplomatic solutions would have attracted a lot more attention, and could have affected the decision. No doubt, the possibility that a Congressional debate then might have affected the policy was a key motivation for some in the House leadership not to allow this debate to occur then.
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