A DU Call to Action! - get Kerry 1 hour of UNINTERRUPTED AIR TIME.

[Rosco T.]

I just finished three tasks -

1) mailed a complaint to the FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/complain.shtml about Shrub getting a FREE HOUR of AIR TIME today under the guise of a 'significant speech' that was nothing more than a hour-long campaign commercial.

2) fired off emails to all the networks, demanding same and saying a complaint had been filed.

3) called my represenative office and demanded something be done. The people on the hill are aware and NEED A PUBLIC OUTCRY to DROWN the FEC with compaints. (and a copy of the complaint to your congress-critters).

COME ON PEOPLE... we should be able to get a few THOUSAND COMPLAINTS IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.. even if the FEC DRAGS IT FEET ACTING ON IT the Dems in Congress will be able to say "we've had THOUSANDS of complaints on this .. why isn't the FEC acting? typical 'thug abuse of power".

DO IT!

[jackstraw45]

1. Was Dim-Son's speech on NBC, CBS, ABC & FAUX (network)?

Didn't see and curious....

[Carla in Ca]

28. Here is the story, per Salon's War Room

White House dupes press...again (title)
<http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/index.html>

Lets get on this.

[Wickerman]

2. kick

:kick:

[Kipepeo]

3. Yes!

Hit them with the Equal Time Rules: http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/E/htmlE/equaltimeru/equaltimeru.htm

This is something I think we need to make a big stink about...because Dubya will keep doing it (using presidentin' time as free campaignin' air-time) unless it bites him the first time.

It is only fair that Kerry get equal air-time. In fact, the law REQUIRES it:


EQUAL TIME RULE U.S. Broadcasting Regulatory Rule

It is the closest thing in broadcast content regulation to the "golden rule." The equal time, or more accurately, the equal opportunity provision of the Communications Act requires radio and television stations and cable systems which originate their own programming to treat legally qualified political candidates equally when it comes to selling or giving away air time. Simply put, a station which sells or gives one minute to Candidate A must sell or give the same amount of time with the same audience potential to all other candidates for the particular office. However, a candidate who can not afford time does not receive free time unless his or her opponent is also given free time. Thus, even with the equal time law, a well funded campaign has a significant advantage in terms of broadcast exposure for the candidate.

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/program.html

http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/E/htmlE/equaltimeru/equaltimeru.htm

[bush equals idiot]

4. I wrote Aaron Brown a smoker already.

[Not Me]

5. I just sent an email to Sens. Graham and Nelson

asking them to look into it as well.

[doni_georgia]

6. Called Kerry's office and they were unaware of the speech

Guy I talked to was going to look into it :wtf:

[Kipepeo]

9. Atrios and others mentioned it too this morning

http://atrios.blogspot.com/2004/10/cry-foul.html

Funny that none of the networks pulled it after it became apparent it was a campaign speech...

[tjdee]

7. Plus WE PAID FOR IT.

It irritates me that we are paying for him to make campaign stops and to use the public airwaves for his personal goals.

It irritates me further that our media allows him to do so.

[Rosco T.]

8. KICK IT! and..

it's after 5pm on the West Coast.. get it ready for a DELUGE TOMORROW.

Hit'em hard! Hit'em Now! Hit'em AGAIN!

GO GO GO GO GO GO GO

[SeanQ]

10. I called earlier - I'll complain to the FEC now, thanks! n/t

:kick:

[SeanQ]

12. CNN, FOX and MSNBC phone numbers?

I got them from a post earlier today to call. Could someone repost in this thread please?

[Paradise]

11. just sent this email:

"significant speech", my derriere!"

"bush's hour-long "significant speech", today, was nothing more than an hour-long campaign commercial! "we demand equal time for kerry!" what the h*ll is happening to our democracy,
our country!"

name, city, state


*Alternative Dispute Resolution
Allan D. Silberman, Director
Telephone:
800-424-9530 (press 0, then ext. 1670)
202-694-1670
202-219-0613 (fax) E-Mail: [email protected]

*Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution
The FEC established the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) office to provide parties in enforcement actions with an alternative method for resolving complaints that have been filed against them or for addressing issues identified in the course of an FEC audit. The program is designed to promote compliance with the federal campaign finance law and Commission regulations, and to reduce the cost of processing complaints by encouraging settlements outside the agency's normal enforcement track.

Thank you, Rosco T.! GO, DU!

[liberal_in_GA]

14. Kick!

:kick:

[DeepModem Mom]

13. Equal time? CNN: 404-827-0234; MSNBC: 201-583-5000; email contacts...

pinned at top of this forum.

[CitySky]

15. emailed fec

and :kick:

[terrya]

16. I emailed the FEC, CNN and MSNBC. Kick for other DU'ers.

[Paradise]

17. KICK!

If * gets away with this, we're doomed! TAKE ACTION, PLEASE!

[neomonkey]

18. Great strategy

I'm going to get on this when I get home...hard to do a lot of this from work :(

[Rosco T.]

19. WILL SOMEONE PLEASE PIN THIS!

it needs to STAY on the front page...

spread the word... let's DO THIS!

[Ladyhawk]

44. Yes, mods, please pin this!

[terrya]

20. KICK. Let's bombard these people with emails and complaints!

[bigtree]

21. .

:kick:

[sundancekid]

22. nominated for homepage

[calimary]

23. I think I should just KICK this!

KICK!

It's past close-of-business time on the east coast, so I shall do something on this first thing tomorrow morning.

EXCELLENT work! Congrats. And YES, we should ALL jump on this!

[GeorgeBushytail]

24. Any big media mentions of this yet?

[Skinner]

25. Was the Bush speech covered by the three Networks?

Anyone know?

[Paradise]

29. sorry, didn't take note of which networks but seemed to be everywhere! nt

[Carla in Ca]

31. My post (28) shows the Salon article

n/t

[No2W2004]

36. No, according to Salon,

it was just on the cable news networks

[oxymoron]

37. I checked a couple of the networks this morning

I know NBC didn't run it here in Seattle. I think the other I checked was CBS and they weren't running it either.

[MsMagnificent]

26. This needs to be organized

so that everyone reaches the exact same and correct people.

Is anyone compiling a list of names, titles, addresses and email addresses?

If so, please post them or email to me

Thank you! :)

[One Taste]

35. kick

:kick:

[irancontra]

27. done. kick

[Mortos]

30. Call the FEC directly

Administration
Sylvia Butler, Administrative Officer
Telephone:
800-424-9530 (press 0, then ext. 1240)
202-694-1240

Wait until business hours tomorrow.

Some random E-Mails:

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Will there be three?

[Mortos]

32. Here is the letter I sent to the FEC

I am contacting you to file a formal written complaint against President George W. Bush and his campaign for re-election. Today our country was tricked by this administration by being told the President was going to deliver an "significant speech". Mr. Bush was then given over an hour of free air time on all of the cable news channels, many radio stations and some local television stations. His "significant speech" turned out to be a one hour campaign stump address to a crowd of screaming supporters and rebuttal to the debate he lost to Senator John Kerry.

This is the most outrageous and serious abuse of the authority and power of the office of President I have ever seen.

I strongly urge a full and thorough investigation of this matter and an immediate opinion on whether or not Senator Kerry is entitled to fair time to rebut the vitriolic allegations against him.

Sincerely,

[MockSwede]

33. YEEEHAAAA!

Good for you. I just emailed letter to the editor about DICK's lies last night. Keep it up!

(You did a SNAIL mail with notary?! Even more impressive.)

[Mortos]

34. Kick again

:kick:

[Rosco T.]

43. yes snail mail with notary.. that way it's OFFICIAL and...

HAS to be responded to.

[MockSwede]

57. Exquisite

Face-rubbed! Must reply! Nice.

[Carla in Ca]

38. Email to 3 cable networks

Please advise the date and time you will be allotting to Senator Kerry for his 50-minute stump speech.
Previous fairness by your network included cutting away with a promise to return if anything significant is said.

We are outraged and awaiting your reply.

[Hans Delbrook]

39. Emailed FEC, MSNBC, CNN, FOX

Here's the e-mail I sent to FOX - I sent a variation to all the others.

I am outraged that President Bush lied to the public about giving a "significant speech" and was given an hour of air time by FOX for what turned out to be a very negative campaign commercial. Do we not have laws against this sort of thing? What happened to the doctrine of equal time?

I demand that Senator Kerry be given an hour of air time to rebut the President. If this underhanded action is allowed to stand unanswered, then the FEC is nothing more than window dressing and the law of the land has become "May the best sneak win."

Or more in keeping with the standards of your network, you could just fabricate a bunch of quotes by Senator Kerry and broadcast those for an hour.

[NightOwwl]

51. Good one FAWATSON!

Fox is certainly on a roll these days.

Welcome to DU :hi:

[MockSwede]

40. EMAIL OPTION - [email protected]

NOTE EMAIL ADDRESS:

[email protected]

I've just emailed my two senators and two representatives! Please help.


Per Paradise on DU below:

"significant speech", my derriere!"

"bush's hour-long "significant speech", today, was nothing more than an hour-long campaign commercial! "we demand equal time for kerry!" what the h*ll is happening to our democracy,
our country!"

name, city, state


*Alternative Dispute Resolution
Allan D. Silberman, Director
Telephone:
800-424-9530 (press 0, then ext. 1670)
202-694-1670
202-219-0613 (fax) E-Mail: [email protected]

*Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution
The FEC established the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) office to provide parties in enforcement actions with an alternative method for resolving complaints that have been filed against them or for addressing issues identified in the course of an FEC audit. The program is designed to promote compliance with the federal campaign finance law and Commission regulations, and to reduce the cost of processing complaints by encouraging settlements outside the agency's normal enforcement track.

[Gloria]

41. KICKKKKKKKKK!

eom

[bigpathpaul]

47. Probably a little too polite, but here's my email to [email protected]

How does the President merit an hour of free air time...

... less than a month before the election?

With the playing field already uneven, the Democratic challenger John Kerry is shortchanged a full hour of unchallenged air time, further enforcing the now obvious fact that the airwaves belong not to the public, but to the Republican Party.

I believe the President used his position to take unfair advantage of the media, and the media played along.

It seems not only fair, but necessary that Senator Kerry be given equal time. It also seems necessary that an investigation be launched to determine how a stump speech can be billed as a "significant" speech just 27 days before the election.

I will also be contacting my Senators and Representatives concerning this matter.

I look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
Yada, yada...

[MockSwede]

56. Drop KICK

Thanks for helping - nicely said.

[Wind Dancer]

42. We need to get this circulated NOW!

Everytime they pull one of these stunts we must respond immediately.

[Ladyhawk]

45. It says the complaint to the FEC must be in writing.

Could we have a summation of rules that * broke?

[SeanQ]

46. *bump*

[MsMagnificent]

48. I'm willing to organize the info if nobody else wants to

My thoughts, tell me if I'm overstepping boundaries or if it's not needed. Or if there are more experienced people of longer standing (I'm obviously rather new) in DU that should do this.

Rosco sounds like the perfect person for this, if s/he would like to organize it I'd be happy to assist in any way I can.
I'm trying to avoid stepping on any toes here :)


In the meanwhile I'll start the database:

Please send me any & all info to put in the paper-in-progress. I'm also copying the links and names already posted. We need to decide the must-call primary recipients and mail, email, and call them until this is made right. Really anybody who is important and can directly affect this travesty. And for the primary list, since it's a legal matter should the concentration be on the Senate & House Representatives and the FCC?
I'm asking this as the media is so completely apathetic it's very possible it would be a sizable chunk of wasted time. :(
Then a secondary list should be compiled -- local representatives, middle management, etc.
And copy! Any good writers out there? Some polished copy could only help this cause.

The paper is probably going to be rather lengthy. Another problem I see is posting it on these boards multiple times, if not just for spam & bandwidth, then for simple politeness.
A subjective caveat: at this point of US history, not being completely polite is the least of our worries!

I'll probably post the entire paper off my home page, and will email to whomever asks for it. It should be disseminated to all the movers & shakers & bloggers (some redundancy there :) which is yet another list

Oy.

Did I miss anything?


****Edit: Another thought -- a petition? I have NO experience whatsoever with petitions, virtual or physical.

[seraph]

49. KICK (nt)

:kick:

[Ladyhawk]

50. El Kicko! n/t

[Starlight]

55. done n/t

[liberal_in_GA]

52. one more kick

:kick:

[bigpathpaul]

53. I'm about to start faxing everyone at the FEC. What happened to thread?

My plan was to start firing off faxes to everyone with a fax machine at: http://www.fec.gov/info/contact.shtml. But this thread seems to have died.

Anyway, here's what I was about to send. Will still do so in a.m.

LETTER:
Shawn Woodhead Werth, Reviewing Officer
Federal Election Commission
999 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20463

October 6, 2004

Dear Mr. Werth:
This letter is intended as a complaint concerning President George W. Bush’s approximately hour-long campaign speech today which was broadcast by cable new channels, many local television stations and radio stations around the country.

While the president obviously has the right to make such a speech, I believe he and his campaign staff have abused their right to access to the public airwaves for what amounted to a mud-slinging stump speech. That the campaign billed this as a “significant” speech is dishonest.

Given that the election is just 27 days away, it seems fair to categorize Mr. Bush’s speech as opportunistic and a deliberate attempt to “hijack” the public airwaves to advance his personal political goals with an hour of free campaign air time.

It seems fair and necessary that Senator Kerry be given an equal opportunity to reach large numbers of the American electorate in an equally dramatic setting. I therefore join many other citizens in calling not only for equal air time for Mr. Kerry, but also a full investigation and explanation of how the broadcast media was either duped into or deliberately gave preferential treatment to the incumbent candidate just weeks before election day.

I view this as a serious and intentional abuse of trust on the part of the Bush campaign and hope your office will treat it with the same seriousness. In addition, to ensure that this subject becomes part of the public record, I will be contacting my Senators and Representatives in Washington on this matter.

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
etc.

[Texas_Dem]

54. done!

keep it going.

[Ladyhawk]

58. KICK! Don't let this thread die. nt

[crossroads]

59. KICK

:kick:

[Duncan Grant]

60. Kick back to page 1

:kick:

[Carla in Ca]

61. KICK,,,This is important. Keep calling.

[pdonkey69]

62. Operation: "Enlist Pro-Bush Republicans"

Since the Republicans believe so strongly that the War in Iraq is one with the War on Terror and that Saddam Hussein presented a Clear and Present Danger to our country, it only follows that they should be given an opportunity to defend Freedom by fighting on the front lines of Iraq (aka the War on Terror according to Republicans.

My suggestion is that if you know anybody who intends to vote for the Cheney/Bush administration (I say Cheney/Bush administration because it is obvious that Cheney is calling that shots in this administration - except for the all important Gay Marriage Constitutional Amendment which looks like George W thought up all himself with the help of his pastor), find out their name, address, and as much contact information as possible and enlist them.
The army and marines will accept anyone between the ages of 17 and 34 and is gender inspecific.

Also, if the person is an avid Bush supporter but is perhaps too old but has kids, enlist their kids - get a recruiter to go their homes to ask about their desire to defend their country.

I believe all people who support the War in Iraq and Bush should be given an opportunity to defend their country. Bush said he served honourably and if he had been called up he would have gone to Vietnam; here's a chance for his kids and other pro-Bush parent's kids to fight for their country.

Operation "Enlist Republicans" should be done agressively over the next weeks so that people who vote for Bush realize that War is not something that is fought by other people for their benefit. If they think the War in Iraq is about defending this country, which it obviously wasn't given all the reports, then they should volunteer to fight in it unless they are cowards. If all people who vote for Bush enlist to go to Iraq, then those people who support Kerry and don't believe the Iraq war was entered into honestly won't have to ... here are the links:

Army: http://www.goarmy.com/contact/send_for_info.jsp
Marines: http://www.marines.com/request/contact_recruiter_request.asp

P.S. Be sure to find the names and details of your pro-Bush Republican congressmen and women and senators as well - their children should not be exempt. It's called practicing what you preach and they should learn to do it.

[tritsofme]

63. Does cable need to abide by equal time regulations?

I thought they had different rules?

[Paradise]

64. KICK! THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY DU'ERS! n/t

[Rosco T.]

65. KICK IT! to the top!

[Sugarcoated]

66. I spent an hour and a half last night

Emailing as many FEC people and cable stations/cable news people as I had time for. Tonight after work I'll squeeze in another hour. There's ALOT of memebers here at DU, we CAN make an impact and get this noticed and addressed!

[txindy]

67. Kick!