Democrats Call for Firing of Broadcast Chairman

[struggle4progress]

By STEPHEN LABATON
Published: June 22, 2005

WASHINGTON, June 21 - Sixteen Democratic senators called on President Bush to remove Kenneth Y. Tomlinson as head of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting because of their concerns that he is injecting partisan politics into public radio and television.

"We urge you to immediately replace Mr. Tomlinson with an executive who takes his or her responsibility to the public television system seriously, not one who so seriously undermines the credibility and mission of public television," wrote the senators.

They included Charles E. Schumer of New York, Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, Jon Corzine and Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey, Bill Nelson of Florida, Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California.

Also on Tuesday, Democratic lawmakers joined other supporters of public broadcasting, including children and characters from PBS children's programs, to protest House Republicans' proposed cuts in financing for the corporation. <snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/22/national/22broadcast.html

[UrbScotty]

1. For those who think the Dems are gutless and spineless...

Think again.

Having said that, I still want more from the Dems.

[AuntiBush]

7. Agreed. They've Got to be Running-Raged Up There!

Don't know how they do it. Last week on the House floor everyone was in fast-motion. And they think we need meds!?!

Like living in a mad, bad "B" flick. Literally feel sorry for them.

[Voltaire99]

15. Oh, get real.

What a laugh!

That still leaves Iraq, radically expanded police powers under the Patriot Act, the corporate crime wave, and federal judicial appointments, to name but a few significantly more important issues on which Dems are either timid mice or collaborators with Bushism.

In any case, PBS and NPR are already dominated by right wing programming, and have been for many years. For every NOW on the schedule there are a half dozen programs devoted to massaging Wall Street, establishment fronts like the Snooze Hour, and the right-center yacking that passes for debate. You need to take a good hard look at CPG content. It sucks.

In fact, no one I know contributes a dime to help public broadcasting--it's political suicide for any progressive. Want to support truly independent broadcast media? Your money's far better spent on Pacifica's Democracy Now, or simply on your own non-CPG community radio stations.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

2. And, no doubt,

if Bush even notices this group, he might take the time to flip them off. Life will go on and nothing will change.

[marmar]

3. That Tomlinson character...

is another freakish rightwing idealogue. He's hired right-wing monitors to observe PBS stories to examine them for "liberal bias." THe mere fact that they report on certain issues is "liberal bias" to these freaks.
Again, Bush manages to hire the most frightening people to fill every job.

:argh:

[Bozita]

6. He paid one of them $14,000 to guess the political leanings of guests ...

... on Bill Moyers' NOW.

That's right. Fourteen grand to watch an hour-long newsmag and form an opinion.

If you ain't pissed, you must be on some of those legal prescription drugs.

[Richard Steele]

8. TRUTH has a 'liberal bias', and Tomlinson is gonna put an end to it!

Everything the B*shCabal does is just so BLATANTLY UN-American...

They don't even pretend to respect rules or laws, they just LIE.
The utter ARROGANCE of their fascism is what's so astounding.

Gotta stop before I RANT....:puke:

[pacifictiger]

11. that would make a great bumper sticker

"TRUTH has a Liberal Bias"

[Miss Chybil]

12. I thought the same thing today. It's in the air, the sticker must be made

:)

[Richard Steele]

16. I'd be surprised if it hasn't been done already...

I know I didn't invent that phrase!

[Mountainman]

4. Another Dem letter to the White House. The waste basket must be getting

full!

Dear Right Honorable President Bush,

Please play fair and stop being a bad guy.

Respectfully,

The Dems

[LibertyLou]

5. They'll be waiting a long time..

as the Bush criminals carefully selected and nurtured Mr. Tomlinson...he came from the WH for cripes sake...the bias is so clear.

Why on Earth would Bush replace him...this is the sycophantic and compromised political toadie they wanted in the first place...

The MSM, and now including the public airwaves, has been neutered...completely and unequivocally. They are toast. This is where the real and fearless information exchange is occuring...online...on blogs everywhere...

[Miss Chybil]

9. On The News Hour tonight, some yahoo from American Spectator

kept going on and on about "Why should the taxpayer be forced to fund Bill Moyers?" The other guest, an apparent old-timer with PBS pointed out all the "public" programming PBS does, i.e. with schools, rural communities, distance learning, etc., mentioned the fact Bill Moyers had retired, but he wished he'd come back and then another guy wondered why wasn't William F. Buckley, Jr. a problem when he was on PBS - for 30 years and why two seperate polls showed up to 79% of Americans don't believe PBS has a liberal bias. Still the American Spectator guy kept going on about Bill Moyers. I guess that was his talking point for today. God, I can't wait until next November...

[struggle4progress]

10. I used to watchg Buckley, The McLaughlin Group, Tucker Carlson ..

.. and a bunch of other wingnuts on public TV.

The American Spectator fellow was a empty whore, mouthing the words of his paymasters ...

[shanti]

13. i think i remember him

did he do 'filler editorials' on network news shows, with a rethug bias? his name sounds very familiar.

[AirAmFan]

14. Tomlinson STILL is VOA Propagandist-in-Chief for State's

and CIA's disinformation arm, the Voice of America. He should resign from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for that reason alone. He can't both head a domestic cultural and objective news operation AND be Board Chairman overseeing official international/domestic psyops, disinfo, spin, and PR for Dubya and Condi. His appointment is yet another instance of blowback--CIA tactics long used to seize control of other countries being used to seize the US itself for the neocons, starting with the stolen election of 2000.

And Tomlinson should take his new choice for CPB president--Patricia Harrison, the Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs--with him.

See http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/washingtonwatch/tomlinson.html .

[anotherdrew]

18. State run media in the US... if they can't defund it, destory credibility

[alittlelark]

17. Head meet wall.... good luck!

4 of my liberal friends had no idea what was going on until I told them.

BIG - Sigh........

[ngGale]

19. Glad they did this, just another piece of corruption ...

Tomlinson and his plan, I'm so sick of everybody dancing to Bush's tune - Tomlinson is another scandal. Probably another one that will go nowhere.

[patricia92243]

20. If Bush does the appointing, that will still be political, so what's the d

differance?

[wicket]

21. OMG, the picture at the link RULES!

[DeepModem Mom]

22. Picture is great! Go, Dems -- and thanks for posting! nt

[wicket]

23. very welcome!

:D

[seejanerun]

24. Has anyone noticed

that NPR is putting out a lot more fluff lately? Tomlinson at NPR is exactly like Bolton at the UN. They are moles, intended to destroy the intsitutions to which they have been appointed/nominated.

[SoCalDem]

25. Republicans laugh and demand their lunch money...again

:(

[barb162]

26. when do you think the Dems will apologize. I give it 3 days tops