Shafting Schultz

[rodeodance]

I got as an email





-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Progress Report: Shafting Schultz
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2005 07:55:36 -0700
From: American Progress Action Fund <[email protected]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: xxxx

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=klLWJcP7H&b=914257&ct=1509219


Shafting Schultz

Yesterday, the Pentagon abruptly canceled the debut of The Ed Schultz Show -- the country's most popular progressive radio talk show -- on Armed Forces Network Radio (AFN), a station broadcast to U.S. troops serving outside the United States. AFN currently features an hour of programming from the right-wing Rush Limbaugh show, but no comparable progressive content. That was supposed to change. But early yesterday morning, the producer of the Ed Schultz show, James Holm, received a call from Pentagon communications aide Allison Barber informing him that the show would not be debuting on AFN. Coincidently, Schultz "spent the end of last week chastising Barber for coaching a group of U.S. soldiers in Iraq before a teleconference with President Bush."

EMAIL CONTRADICTS PENTAGON SPIN: The official line from the Pentagon is that there was "no decision made with respect to expanding the programming.” An email sent to Schultz's syndication company from AFR proves otherwise. Manny Levy, radio division chief at AFN, wrote "AFN Radio has squared away everything on our end to begin carrying the first hour of 'The Ed Schultz Show' each day, beginning Monday, October 17, 2005 at noon PT/3 ET." Levy added, "An awful lot of people in the government had (or tried to have) a hand in program selection process that ended with the decision to add 'The Ed Schultz Show.'"

BARBER STRIKES AGAIN: Last week, Barber was caught on tape coaching U.S. troops about what to say during a televised conversation with President Bush. Barber said, "So if there’s a question that the president comes up with that we haven’t drilled through today, then I’m expecting the microphone to go right back to you, Captain Kennedy." There is evidence that Barber was familiar with the contents of Schultz's show on Friday, where he replayed Barber's comments. Barber told Holm that she was aware that Schultz announced he would begin broadcasting on AFN during Friday's show. Schultz made his views clear: "The fact is, they don't want dissenting voices or any other kind of speech unless it's going to be promotional for them. Obviously, these people are making sure they're not going to have any opinion other than the Rush Limbaughs of the world." Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the perception that Schultz's criticism of Barber had anything to do with the decision to cancel his debut was "an unfortunate misperception."

REGULATIONS REQUIRE ARMED FORCES RADIO TO BE BALANCED: Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) has worked hard to bring balance to AFN. With his leadership, the Senate passed a resolution "asking, that AFRTS meet its own mandate, as generally articulated in Department of Defense Regulation 5120.20R. That regulation calls for AFRTS political programming that is 'characterized by its fairness and balance,' as well as news programming guided by a 'principle of fairness' that requires 'reasonable opportunities for the presentation of conflicting views on important controversial public issues.'" At the time, Harkin said he believed "the bias that exists in the social and political commentary portions of this talk radio service is not intentional." Perhaps he was being too generous.

RUSH TRIVIALIZES TORTURE, STAYS ON THE AIR: The Pentagon has retained the services of Rush Limbaugh even after he spent weeks "condoning and trivializing the abuse, torture, rape and possible murder of Iraqi prisoners." For example, on May 6, 2004, Rush Limbaugh said of the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison,"This is no different that what happens at the Skull & Bones initiation. ... I'm talking about people having a good time. These people -- you ever heard of emotional release? You ever heard of needing to blow some steam off?" Two days later, he called torturing prisoners a "brilliant maneuver." A petition signed by nearly 50,000 people demanding Rush be removed from AFN was ignored.

[rodeodance]

1. "Demand Pentagon Air Balanced Programming, not Propaganda!" this

was posted earlier on DU.


Tue Oct-18-05 02:21 PM
Original message
Armed Forces Radio Cancels Ed Schultz! Demand Pentagon Air Balance!


I just received this email alert...

Armed Forces Radio Cancels Start of Progressive Show.
Demand Pentagon Air Balanced Programming, not Propaganda!

Our men and women in uniform deserve to hear all points of view.

Call the Department of Defense Office of Public Affairs to demand they allow Schultz's program to air as scheduled!

703-428-0711

Tell us how your call went by visiting http://www.pfaw.org/go/report


Dear xxxx,

In yet another act by the Bush administration that appears aimed to quash dissent, a senior Pentagon official has indefinitely delayed the debut of Ed Schultz's popular progressive talk show on the American Forces Radio Network (AFRN).

Assistant Secretary of Defense Allison Barber's decision to cancel Shultz's show looks a lot like retribution for his Friday program's broadcast of excerpts from the now-infamous satellite feed that captured Barber "coaching" troops in Iraq for a supposedly unscripted Q&A with President Bush.

Call the Department of Defense Office of Public Affairs at 703-428-0711 to demand that the Bush administration stop using your tax dollars to silence criticism of the government! Tell them to allow Schultz's program to air as scheduled!

Schultz would provide a much-needed voice of balance on the AFRN network, where the schedule is packed with such well-known ultraconservatives as Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, and James Dobson of Focus on the Family.

Call the Department of Defense Office of Public Affairs at 703-428-0711 to tell them that our men and women in uniform deserve to hear all points of view. Demand they allow Schultz's program to air as scheduled!

Tell us how your call went by visiting http://www.pfaw.org/go/report

--Your Allies at People For the American Way

[sarcasmo]

2. Just reported on the K.O. show

Stands for Knocking Out the right.