I'm going to cover the PBS Dem Presidential Forum

Rock on!

Congrats, Pam!  :)

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by: JoshWatermanMN @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 08:49:38 AM CDT

Maybe you don't have the MSM

But you have us! After all, you will be our eyes and ears, right? I can't think of anyone who would do a better job of representing us.

Perhaps we could chip in a little something...

What the hell was I doing in Oaxaca in 1992, on the eve of the Zapatista revolution?

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by: Cambridge Kid @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 09:06:04 AM CDT

YAAAY - you're the best :)

ow please just ask them the question in your "answer a simple question"

http://i2.photobucke...

It's like third grade - we have to keep asking until they finally get the right answer.

(Kucinich seems to get an A)

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by: tiponeill @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 09:18:49 AM CDT

Do you get to ask any Questions?

If you have the opportunity to ask the candidates a question, maybe you would consider asking the following:

Which marriage rights, if any, do you think gay couples shouldn't be afforded as tax paying American citizens?

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by: SteveinNJ @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 09:19:27 AM CDT

maybe yes, maybe no

We'll be in the media room with the MSM, so it's likely that we may receive some time with the candidates.

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by: Pam Spaulding @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 10:37:00 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Congrats Pam.

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by: Karen in Kalifornia @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 09:41:02 AM CDT

YAY!

Good on you and all your hard work, Pam! This should give you your second wind. Maybe you can take a quickie break after this to get some well deserved relaxation.

Curses! My million dollar ideas foiled again: "God Bless Your Brand!" http://www.christvertising.com/

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by: TJ McFisty @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 11:02:57 AM CDT

Congratulations

Bring up questions about Federal benefits for same-sex couples, and how do they speak to American atheist voters?

Make alot of noise. Life is short.

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by: Charley6 @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 12:32:47 PM CDT

I hope you get to speak out

But I have my doubts, as "Covenant" with Black America is the focus.  Covenant is a religious term, "God's covenant", so you will probably be outshouted if you mention Black gay issues, or Black atheist issues.
No wonder they all showed up, Hillary will be speaking in ebonics to get the "Black church folks", "Andy you know what I'm talking about"........Yes we do Hillary, votes,  and black face is not becoming.

Make alot of noise. Life is short.

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by: Charley6 @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 13:40:35 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Questions, questions

1) Black Americans constitute only 15% of illicit drug users, but comprise 53% of our state prison inmates serving time for drugs.  Sentencing for crack cocaine, primarily used by urban blacks, is 500 times more severe than sentencing for powder cocaine, primarily used by affluent whites.  When convicted of drug felonies, 51% of blacks are given prison sentences, while only 33% of whites are imprisoned.  Given the stark racial disparities in our War on Drugs, do you consider it to be a War on Minorities and, if so, what will you do to ameliorate the situation?

2) Recruiting for the armed forces has been shown to be concentrated on minority and poor youth.  What will you do as president to bring more suburban, affluent, young white men and women into the service?  Would you support any sort of draft or compulsory service that would balance the makeup of our armed forces and call on a more shared sacrifice in the War on Terror?  What if that compulsory service need not be military, would that change your support or refusal?

3) Talk Radio has been increasingly dominated by right-wing voices ever since the passage of President Clinton's 1996 Telecommunications Act.  As media behemoths gobbled up stations, ownership has been consolidated in the hands of but five media companies, three of which broadcast no progressive viewpoints and the other two broadcast a super-majority of conservative viewpoints.  This has also led to shutting out women and minorities from station ownership; both groups tend to program more progressive talk.  As president, would you review, amend, or repeal the Telecommunications Act of 1996 in order to better serve women and minorities and provide balance in the marketplace of ideas?

4) What do you think of Rush Limbaugh's "Barack the Magic Negro" song?

5) What are you doing right now to insure that the votes of the poor and minorities will actually be counted come Election Day 2008?  Where do you stand on reforming our electoral process?

That'll do for now.

"If people let government decide which foods they eat and medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." -- Thomas Jefferson

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by: RadicalRuss @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 15:14:46 PM CDT

excellent, Russ

Keep them coming...

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by: Pam Spaulding @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 15:55:38 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Here's the Covenant

Happy to say no god language in it. We need to adopt a glbt covenant resolution that candidates can be questioned on.  HRC & Task Force are you up to it?  I particularily like Covenant VI - Claim our Democracy.

Covenant with Black America Resolution:

WHEREAS the Covenant with Black America was born of a series of conversations with America's top Black thought leaders and policy-makers, entitled the "State of the Black Union," beginning in the year 2000;

WHEREAS the Covenant with Black America has emerged as a national plan of action?defining and examining the top ten issues of greatest concern to African Americans;

WHEREAS Covenant I is to "Secure the Right to Healthcare and Well-Being";

WHEREAS Covenant II is to "Establish a System of Public Education in which All Children Achieve at High Levels and Reach Their Full Potential";

WHEREAS Covenant III is to "Correct the System of Unequal Justice";

WHEREAS Covenant IV is to "Foster Accountable Community-Centered Policing";

WHEREAS Covenant V is to "Ensure Broad Access to Affordable Neighborhoods That Connect to Opportunity";

WHEREAS Covenant VI is to "Claim our Democracy";

WHEREAS Covenant VII is to "Strengthen our Rural Roots";

WHEREAS Covenant VIII is to "Access Good Jobs, Wealth, and Economic Prosperity";

WHEREAS Covenant IX is to "Assure Environmental Justice for All";

WHEREAS Covenant X is to "Close the Racial Digital Divide";

WHEREAS the Covenant with Black America proposes action items for individuals, community leaders, and elected officials to address these issues; and

WHEREAS the Covenant with Black America establishes a promise among and within the African American community and acts as a document of accountability for our community leaders and the body politic;

NOW BE IT RESOLVED that the undersigned are committed to the spirit of the Covenant with Black America, which ignites our efforts to achieve one America. We pledge to address every aspect of these issues?social, economic, political, and cultural?in our areas of leadership to improve the plight of Black Americans across this great nation. To this end, WE FURTHER RESOLVE to marshal our efforts as appropriate to ensure that our constituents are informed of The Covenant issues, so that together we shall promote progress and better standards of life for Black Americans. For when we make Black America better, we make all of America better.

Tavis Smiley, CWBA Moderator

Make alot of noise. Life is short.

---

by: Charley6 @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 18:46:41 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I have some comments, questions, and answers:

1) Are these 15% all prosecuted for using or might some have been prosecuted for distributing? and for part 2, does the more highly addictive nature of crack enter into it? Are there many times more crack-related offenses than powder cocaine offenses?

2) I just read a report saying black participation in the armed services is way down. So that problem may be solved.

3) I would like to see an all-liberal radio network on the air to see how well the public would receive liberal talk radio programming and whether it could be financially viable. Perhaps we could bring on as hosts some celebrities and entertainers.

4) Rush didn't coin that term. A black writer for the LA Times calling Obama the 'magic negro' paper did.

5) There didn't seem to be voting fraud until 2000 and 2004. It was apparently fixed by 2006, so nothing really needs to be done anymore.

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by: Josh @ Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 14:04:21 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Sorry, still not biting

None of your responses are even responses to Russ's questions, just deflections, non-sequitors, and deliberate provocations.

Why not move along to another liberal blog? Or better yet, find some way to contribute to society.

What the hell was I doing in Oaxaca in 1992, on the eve of the Zapatista revolution?

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by: Cambridge Kid @ Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 14:13:29 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

All Bush voters should be working 3 jobs to pay off their president's doubling of the national debt.

Working 3 jobs will also preclude trolls posting at Pam's Place.  They'll be too tuckered to type.

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by: Holly Capote @ Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 14:29:01 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

They were just what I said they were.

Questions, answers, and comments.  Why not address what I'm saying instead of trying to instigate trouble?

---

by: Josh @ Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 14:50:35 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

An attempt to continue a discussion anyway...

...so I'll bite. :-)

1)  Okay, my response to this is kind of a lame punt - I just don't know enough about Russ's stats, but two things jumped out at me.  First, I agree we should ask about what the prosecution was for (use vs. distribution).  But that being said, my second thought was that at the macro level, the stats hold true - minorities make up a much larger percentage of those who are actually prosecuted for drug-based offenses and when convicted face harsher sentences. Part 2 of your question, Josh, might be related to much stricter federal sentencing guidelines for crack, but again, I can't say for sure without looking at more details.

2) African-american enlistment might be down, but that doesn't solve the problem of where the military most targets it's recruiting.  Recruiting efforts are weighted much more toward lower-income and minority populations.  I think Russ's point is that if the national leadership is so concerned about fighting terrorism abroad, why aren't more people being asked to join that fight?  (Though I caveat - I certainly don't presume to speak for Russ.) Why is it okay to put the burden of service in the armed forces on those with lower incomes?  Is this a shared sacrifice, or are we just asking poorer people to sacrifice for the rest of us?

3) Well, kinda have to punt on this too - I know jack about talk radio.  But on a higher level, media consolidation is still a problem.  My opinion, and mine only, is that this consolidation leads to less choice and less variety. 

Example: If the only cars sold in the U.S. were GM and Ford, you couldn't drive a Honda.  Therefore, GM and Ford would be the most successful.  Same with the media.  In fact, one might argue that the growth of content on the internet that threatens "big media" might be because big media limits choice and originality through consolidation.

4) Even if Rush didn't coin the term, if he made up a song using it, it's offensive.

5) Again, my opinion only - voter fraud has always been, is, and will continue to be a problem (no matter who is in office) until we figure out a way to make sure everyone gets a vote and that said vote is counted accurately.

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by: SuburbanHomo @ Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 15:50:31 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I'm sorry I missed your polite post, Suburban.

I overlooked it when I responded to BruthaRuss.

---

by: Josh @ Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 23:18:28 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Reasonable Debate

1) Crack cocaine is no more or less addictive than powder cocaine.  Cocaine is cocaine is cocaine.  Any difference in the prevalence of addiction rates owes to the economics of each drug.  Crack is cheap; powder isn't.

2) Perhaps.  However, this hasn't changed the prevalence of recruiters targeting the poor minority shopping malls over the rich suburban white ones.  Besides, while the report showed minority enlistments dropping, it did not show an attendant increase in white enlistments, did it?

3) That sounds like a great idea.  Now let's put that network on some real 25,000W and 50,000W stations, instead of the podunk 5,000W stations.  And let's see to it that the network is represented in all the major markets, not just a small percentage of them.  After all, even with the playing field so heavily to the right, Air America is still on the air and still getting good ratings in many markets (like Portland).

4) Actually, the term "magic Negro" is an old term referring to a literary device in which the white protagonist is aided by a kindly benevolent submissive black person.  Think "Huck Finn" or "The Green Mile".  That LA Times writer referred to the "magic Negro" concept in the context of Barack Obama being embraced by the masses despite having little to no knowledge about the senator from Illinois.  Then some dipwad wrote that parody song "Barack the Magic Negro" and Rush has been running it non-stop.  The Times' writer used the term in the context of examining Obama's support; Rush is using it to be derogatory.

5) Election fraud (the proper term) happened in 2006 as well; it was just such a landslide that it was too big for the GOP fraud machine to tweak.  I won't revisit the myriad frauds of 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006, you can do it yourself at http://gregpalast.co... or http://blackboxvotin....  Also try Googling "caging lists", "ChoicePoint", "Diebold", and "felon voter purge".  However, someone who can look at a contested election in Florida "won" by a Republican whose brother was governor and whose campaign chair was the Republican Sec'y of State, or a contested election in Ohio "won" by a Republican whose campaign chair was the Republican Sec'y of State, or notice that rich white neighborhoods have plenty of voting machines and poor black neighborhoods have ten-hour waiting lines, or think that thousands of Jews in Palm Beach County voted for Pat Buchanan, or see that tens of thousands of Floridians voted for dog catcher but didn't vote for President, or realize that tens of thousands of voters were dropped off rolls when GOP operatives mailed "verification letters" to the addresses of troops stationed overseas who then didn't return the letters, or understand that the Ohio Republican Sec'y of State / Bush Campaign Director invalidated thousands of voter registration cards because they weren't printed on thick enough paper... if you can look at all that and think, "perfectly fair election", then that someone is an enemy of democracy and an affront to all America stands for.

6) Hey, wait.  None of those were actually questions you wanted Pam to ask of the Democratic candidates, are they?  Fuckin' troll.

"If people let government decide which foods they eat and medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." -- Thomas Jefferson

---

by: RadicalRuss @ Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 19:04:54 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Hear ya go, BruthaRuss

1) Whether crack is more addictive depends on the source you look at. But it's immaterial. Blacks use crack more than whites use powder. Might the incarceration rates have something to do with prior offenses? Nothing like half the story, when there is race-baiting to be done, is there?

2) Now let's think for a minute. If the media is making a big deal about black enlistment being down, then it is obviously in disproportion to enlistment figures as a whole. You can't have it both ways. You can't bitch because black numbers are falling, then bitch that the blacks are the ones doing all the dirty work.

3) This is tongue-in-cheek, dumbfuck. It's already been tried and failed miserably. Don't blame 'uneven playing fields'. Air America was a failure because people didn't want to listen to that shit. Do you think if the product could sell, would sell, that all the greedy capitalists wouldn't be lining up to offer it? Stations that sponsor a show increase in number because the market demands it. This is the way Rush and Hannity built 660 and 500 stations respectively.  Airhead America had to get artificial infusions of cash and PAY stations to carry their programs.. And they fucking STILL couldn't make a go of it.

4) So why again isn't your question "Why did David Ehrenstien of the L.A. Times start referring to Obama in the context as 'the magic negro'?  Why not focus on the source of that offensive label as applied to Obama? Nah, that would mean blaming a black man, and your racial angle goes all to hell.

5) Isn't it amazing how there was never an election fraud until the GOP won a close presidential election in 2000 and 2004.  You have to go back to the 19th century to find the last time the GOP squeeked one out.  Why is this important? It all has to do with loser Democrats bitching because they lost.  When the Democrats win, naturally they don't have a need to complain. When the GOP wins big, the Democrats can't whine about voter fraud because they'd look silly.  Only the two times when the GOP margin is small did the machines magically stop working properly. Isn't that an amazing coincidence?

You've really got me confused, BruthaRuss. I thought your big thing was that you were more gay than the gays.  Now it turns out you are more worthy of the Black Poobah than Al Sharpton.
You may have heard me say this before, but there is nothing in the world worse than some jackass trying too hard to show he's "one of us" in order to try to use that as a battering ram against people who disagree with them on issues. I guess I should go to the anti-war nut blogs for "KumBaYahRuss"

---

by: Josh @ Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 23:15:19 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Brutha?

First it's "corpulent", then it's "brutha"?  Your enlightenment is underwhelming.

1) Me debating you on drug policy is like Al Gore debating James Inhofe on global warming.  I was going to go forth with about six hyperlinks to credible research by esteemed scientists and three hyperlinks to the FBI and CDC stats that back up my position, since righties like you have long tried to smear the data as "race baiting" and the researchers have controlled for any of those factors like "prior offenses" and still found a disproportionate effect of the Drug War on minority communities, but you don't live in the reality-based world, so it's a waste of time.  But I'll just reiterate that crack is no more addictive than powder.  Powder is processed coca.  Crack is processed coca + baking soda.  Explain to me how baking soda makes it more addictive.  (Warning: I'm pretty skilled in chemistry, my wife is a nursing student, and my father is a certified drug and alcohol rehab counselor,  and between the three of us we will knock the shit out of whatever rationalization you come up with.)

2) Enlistment.  Recruiting.  Read a little closer next time.

3) Rush Limbaugh's show was a pathetic failure the first couple of years he was on the air.  Billionaire conservatives kept that show afloat with infusions of cash until it was finally picked up on more stations, and then the 1996 TelCoAct passed and that show was foisted on hundreds of more stations.  Meanwhile, Air America is still on the air (can't call it a failure if it's still alive) and is still getting great ratings here in Portland and elsewhere.  Now, there were plenty of problems with Air America's business plan, mostly that they tried to create a whole network first and then get the shows, and secondly that they hired TV personalities (Franken, Garofalo) who don't understand how different radio is than TV (basically, TV is passive reception, whereas radio is intimate and interactive).  Jones Radio has been doing the right thing, building shows like Ed Schultz, Bill Press, and Stephanie Miller with solid audiences, and then distributing the show nationwide.  You continue to not understand the American Progress report's basic point: if progressive talk is not heard at all in four of the top ten markets and in only 10% of the dayparts nationwide, you can't claim it is not marketable, any more than you can claim that RC Cola is not marketable compared to Coca-Cola when Coke is found in every damn McDonald's in the world.  Finally, when the talk radio listenership is 40/25/35 right/center/left, it's hard to convince people that a 96/4 right/left balance on talk radio is something that 60% of center/left listeners are clamoring for.  You're assuming that listeners were given an even choice between right talk and left talk and 96-to-4 preferred right talk.  Can you name any other two-product market where one product enjoys a 96-to-4 preference?  (I can: Macintoshes only have about 5% of the US market.  And again, similar to talk radio, that playing field was severely tilted toward PCs when Gates and IBM were doing their little tango, as IBM strongarmed the business world to accept the IBM PC or else they'd discontinue sales and services for huge IBM business mainframes and other IBM business machines if a business chose the fledgling Apple IIs.)

4) David Ehrenstein:

But it's clear that Obama also is running for an equally important unelected office, in the province of the popular imagination ? the "Magic Negro."

The Magic Negro is a figure of postmodern folk culture, coined by snarky 20th century sociologists, to explain a cultural figure who emerged in the wake of Brown vs. Board of Education. "He has no past, he simply appears one day to help the white protagonist," reads the description on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.... .

He's there to assuage white "guilt" (i.e., the minimal discomfort they feel) over the role of slavery and racial segregation in American history, while replacing stereotypes of a dangerous, highly sexualized black man with a benign figure for whom interracial sexual congress holds no interest.

Rush Limbaugh:

Here's a transcript of the relevant bit, where the Sharpton stand-in is standing outside Barack Obama headquarters asking Obama for attention by singing the following lyrics to the tune of Aretha Franklin's "Respect":

"R-E-S-P-E-C-K. Wha-choo mean it ain't spelt that way? R-E-S-P-E-K-T? I need a dictionary!"

There?s more. As Media Matters reported the other day, Rush sang the ditty ?Barack the Magic Negro? on his show on March 19, basing the lyrics on an L.A. Times Op-ed piece. But it gets better.

Now Rush is running a new, improved version of the ?Magic Negro? song that?s way more fleshed out ? and way, way, more eye-opening, too. It features a parody of Sharpton singing about ?da hood? and saying that Obama is ?ar-ti-coo-late.? Just give it a listen, it?s hard to describe how low it is.

There are also routines where the Sharpton stand-in insults Obama by saying ?yo mama?s so fat? and so forth, as well as one where Sharpton demands that Obama explain himself to the ?commooonity."

5)  Not just machines.  Caging lists.  Too few voting machines.  Tying up phone banks for Dem GOTV campaigns.  ChoicePoint rolls to disqualify felon voters that matched people by as little as a just a similar surname (despite different first names, middle initials, addresses, and Social Security numbers) and overwhelmingly contained black names.  Just because Rove and the righties didn't begin these tactics before 2000 doesn't mean that 2000 and 2004 weren't planned.  But if you'd like to believe the coincidence of a contested squeaker in Florida when Bush's GOP campaign director was Sec'y of State and a contested squeaker in Ohio when Bush's GOP campaign director was Sec'y of State, then I can't help you.

Why do you think a straight white man who's aware of the continued civil rights and social struggles of gay and black people is "trying to be" anything?  Am I supposed to keep my opinions and interests focused on the issues of fat white guys who smoke pot and have radio shows?  If you're feeling some "battering ram", maybe that's just the force of reason, logic, and facts that would be just as true if I were a gay black woman or if I were posting on Free Republic (which I can't, because, unlike here, they immediately ban anyone with a contrary opinion.)

"If people let government decide which foods they eat and medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." -- Thomas Jefferson

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by: RadicalRuss @ Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 00:16:10 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Wow, Porkchop.

Working overtime on this one. Hope you TIVOd Star Trek.

1) OK. Fine So some say crack and powder cocained have the same addiction. Again, IT IS IRRELEVANT. There are many more black users and distributors of crack than there are white users of powder. Crack is the far bigger problem. You still haven't accounted for the prior offense question in sentencing. Why not?

2) Enlistment vs recruiting? Your whole presentation is that blacks are being taken advantage of disproportionately in this war. Since their numbers are dropping, this race-baiting premise is completely shot to hell.

3) "and then the 1996 TelCoAct passed and that show was foisted on hundreds of more stations."

Uh, Rush had 660 stations as early as 1994 about the same as he has today.  http://www.americanr... 

Ooops!

I would have to agree. You do debate like Algore-----as when he got clocked by GWB three straight times.

4). Oh, Porkchop, how does your link in any way change the fact that Ehrenstein was the first to apply the magic negro mantra to Obama?

5) Hmm. I have a question. Isn't it incredible that Rove and the GOP were able to cheat in the three counties in Florida that are most heavily Democrat? The counties are controlled by Democrats, the election boards and election process are controlled by Democrats, the ballots are counted by Democrats, yet in some mysterious way, "Rove and his buddies" infiltrated all those Democrats. Amazing.
Equally amazing is Ohio. Before the 2004 elections, we were told that Democrats in Ohio were 'braced' for irregularities at the polls, having thousands of their lawyers on hand, monitoring each election station. But, SHAZAM! Wouldn't you know it. This army of lefties still managed to miss the crooked Republicans steal another one.

Thank God the Dems got it all under control in 2006. Nary a whimper from them.  Get rea, Porkchop. You can't possibly believe all this bullshit. Here's how it went down. Everything was the same as it had been for countless earlier elections. You guys got your asses beat. You looked for ways to bitch. If the GOP wins next year, we'll have to listen to this shit all over again.

---

by: Josh @ Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 07:05:23 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Wow! A hyperlink!

Thanks for the correction on Rush.  I should've written "Hannity".  I'll follow up on the timeline when I have more time (some of us gotta work for a living).

But the hyperlink was precious, especially when Rush gets to this point in his speech:

I have the Whitehouse drug test here. Did you know that the Whitehouse drug test is a multiple choice test? I was stunned. I was stunned....Well...you want to hear a sample question?

Complete the following verse: ?I am the walrus...."

A. you are the tax man
B. la la la la la la la la
C. where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?
D. ku-ku-katchu

[Another question] "The best reason for not deploying troops to seal off the Mexican border is

A. cheap grass.
B. cheap cocaine.
C. more cheap grass.
D. All of the above.

...to which I'd only add:
E. Because it would prevent conservative talk show hosts from getting good Latino maids they can send around town to get multiple illegal prescriptions for OxyContin.

Porkchop.  That's clever, Rico.  Right up there with "AOLRuss", "Radical Gay Russ", and "BruthaRuss".

"If people let government decide which foods they eat and medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." -- Thomas Jefferson

---

by: RadicalRuss @ Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 10:36:41 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Ah, here we go...

Hannity:1996 Telco Act::Rush:1987 Repeal of Fairness Doctrine

There are about 11,000 radio stations in the U.S., and Capital Cities/ABC is by far the largest player. Either through outright ownership or the sale of numerous services, they reach about half the radio stations in America, and this number is growing. With the Fairness Doctrine repealed, Capital Cities was able in 1988 to begin broadcasting one-sided editorials on conservatism. ABC Radio Network President Edward McLaughlin scoured the nation's radio stations for conservative talent, and his search led him to Sacramento, to a little known disc-jockey named Rush Limbaugh. Rush had attracted an audience with his vigorous and spirited defense of Oliver North during the Iran-Contra hearings. McLaughlin brought him to New York City for a one-month "on-air" trial at Capital Cities/ABC's flagship radio station, WABC. For the next two years, ABC put him on the fast track, handling all his marketing, advertising and promotion. For legal purposes, and to protect ABC's image of supposed objectivity, Rush formed his own media company, Excellence in Broadcasting. But to this day Rush continues to broadcast out of WABC's studios in New York.

Rush Limbaugh explains his success as the result of his individualism, of his refusal to do it someone's else's way. But the fact is that his success has been orchestrated, financed and promoted by Capital Cities/ABC. He also seems extraordinarily well-connected to the Republican leadership in Washington, carrying out their campaign strategies so faithfully that it is difficult to distinguish his promotions from their campaign commercials. For example, when Rush's television show debuted nationally two months before the 92 election, his producer was Roger Ailes, who was Bush's media advisor throughout the campaign.  [And later, head of FAUX Noise]  Many of the themes that Ailes had inspired earlier in the campaign showed up in identical form on Rush's show, which resembled a program-length commercial for the Bush campaign. When asked to give equal time to his opponents, Rush responded "I am equal time!"

Ehrenreich:examining Obama in social context::Rush:race-baiting Obama & Sharpton.

Still waiting for the photo of your handsome and athletic self, Rico.  Go ahead and blur out the face; we wouldn't want any maniac libs tracking you down and threatening all your wealth and power.

"If people let government decide which foods they eat and medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." -- Thomas Jefferson

---

by: RadicalRuss @ Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 12:52:43 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Oh, that's really cool.

A link from a liberal kook site "Liberal Faq" run by liberal kook Steve Kangas that has absolutely nothing to do with the absurd claim you made:

"1996 TelCoAct passed and that show was foisted on hundreds of more stations."

So tell me again how Rush has 660 stations in December, 1994 all because of an act two years later that 'added hundreds, yet today he has 660 stations?

I think even your multiple personalities are starting to laugh at you now, Porkchop.

Try again.

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by: Josh @ Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 14:24:44 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Project much?

Porkchop?  That's even more lame than having an inane conversation with yourself to try to prove that you aren't sock puppeting.  You do realize that in a reality based communtity just repeating that Russ is doing it and you aren't over and over again doesn't make it true.  This isn't the FR.  Just out of curiousity, does DonDigby count as one of the six that you are raising to be just like you? 

My America includes LGBT families.

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by: Mena @ Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 14:32:12 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

This is pointless

Do you have any questions that Pam might ask the 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidates regarding the Covenant with Black America when she is blogging the PBS Debate?

Didn't think so.  Kindly shut the fuck up.

I will respond to you no longer.  I also have admin privileges on this blog and I'll pull the trap door on you myself if necessary.  I'm pretty certain Pam will back me up when I do, for you've compiled more than enough violations of this blog's terms and conditions to support your ouster.  You're lucky to be on a liberal blog that is so tolerant of free speech; you'd've been booted off RedState or FreeRepublic long ago for this shit.

Your endless thread-jacking has gone on long enough.  It's obvious you despise me, Ahab, and I will be your white whale (pun intended) no more.  Go pay more attention to your kids.  Go troll DailyKos or AmericaBlog.  Go enjoy a 69 with DonDigby.  Go anywhere, smug with the satisfaction of "See, fat hippie liberal Brutha Russ couldn't take the heat from my double-barreled barrage," and "See, liberals say they're for free speech, but can't handle a reasonable debate," or whatever tripe inflates your superiority complex.  Go tell the world how Pam's House Blend is soooo intolerant of differing points of view.

Go ahead, punk.  Make my day.

"If people let government decide which foods they eat and medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." -- Thomas Jefferson

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by: RadicalRuss @ Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 14:52:41 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Good, Russ. I'm glad you're quitting.

But if you ever just have an itch to tussle as you go through withdrawl from battle, fight with me.  Of course, I'm such a fan of yours that our fight won't last long, for you'll have me laughing or cyber-nuzzling you, cooing, "Thas right.  Thas right." 

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by: Holly Capote @ Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 15:03:39 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Holly, our only battles...

...are going to be over who the next sister-wife will be.  You know I have a thing for busty redheads, but you keep bringing home the athletic brunettes.  Be thou obedient to thy cyber-hubby, as God commands!

"If people let government decide which foods they eat and medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." -- Thomas Jefferson

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by: RadicalRuss @ Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 15:26:33 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Russ, I actually do like athletic brunettes, so...

...let the battle rage!

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by: Holly Capote @ Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 15:58:02 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Kudos, Russ

On putting up with Rico Troll as long as you have done.  You have been exceptionally patient with him.

I know he will go running back to his right wing friends (assuming he has friends that he doesn't make up, of course) saying how intolerant we are, but he will do that anyway.  The guy is a loser.  Pull the trap door.  Bombs away!

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by: JoshWatermanMN @ Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 15:09:36 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Dammit, Rico, I can't resist.

Results of this study showed that substance abuse treatment for first time offenders is greatly supported by Whites, who according to cocaine use data from the federal government, consume more cocaine than Blacks. In 2001, 14.7% of Whites and 9.7% of Blacks, aged 18 and older, reported lifetime use of cocaine. Federal data also shows that 1.9% of whites and 1.7% of Blacks reported using cocaine during the past year.

The US Black population is about 35 million.  The US White population is about 215 million.  Those aren't perfect numbers; they include children, so the numbers are a bit high.  On the other hand, "White" also includes a lot of racial minorities many wouldn't think of as "White" (Arab and Iranian Americans) at first blush, so maybe that balances the figures.  Regardless, if we do the math that's about 31,605,000 white cokeheads and 3,395,000 black crackheads (which also ignores the fact that many whites smoke crack and many blacks snort powder).  With a ten-to-one white-to-black cocaine user ratio, you don't find it telling that the overall arrests for drugs break 66% white / 32% black (2% others), and when controlled for population, 390:100,000 whites vs. 1,460:100,000 blacks were arrested for drugs?

There are many explanations:

Racial discrimination, while it undoubtedly exists, is not a sufficient explanation. The commerce in drugs has come to be centered in the ghettos, which are predominantly black, densely populated, and heavily patrolled. The black crime victimization rate is higher than the white rate, 37.2 for blacks, 28.2 for whites, both per 100,000 population. Most perpetrators are of the same race as the victims. The black crime rate is higher ? and the justice system reflects that fact. There is more crime in the ghetto, and the deployment of police in such areas produces a higher payoff than in well-off suburbs where "narcs" would waste a lot of time staring at parked car and minimal "street life." The stereotyping is thus, to some extent, driven by an underlying state of fact.

Blacks prefer crack cocaine; 5 grams of crack constitute possession with intent to distribute. Whites prefer powdered cocaine; 500 grams (1.1 lbs.) constitute possession. It is easier to find drug users (or dealers) with small quantities of crack than people lugging around a pound or more of drugs. The ghettos are economically deprived areas. Many users in the ghetto support their habits with a little trading. Not least, the objective of the war on drugs is to break up trafficking rings. The big bosses (of whatever color) are difficult to nab. Law enforcement can thus achieve results easier in areas that tend to be poor, dense, and black.

And don't you think that a law that subjects poor black drug users to a 20 year sentence and $1,000,000 fine for a crack rock, but requires 500-times the amount of the drug for rich white drug users to receive the same punishment, leads somewhat to the police motive of arresting blacks and prosecutors pushing drug cases against blacks?

By the way, those red words are called hyperlinks.  We use them in debate to provide refenence to facts and statistics so that others may add informed and rational discussion.  I know you've been listening to Rush for a while, but pulling facts from the Department of Right Outta Yer Ass (like "blacks use crack more than whites use powder") is gonna get you laughed right outta the Left Blogosphere.

"If people let government decide which foods they eat and medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." -- Thomas Jefferson

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by: RadicalRuss @ Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 01:23:34 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Russ, interesting WoD videos

I just found these while surfing and thought that you may appreciate them.  The other episodes are pretty good too.
Part 1
Part 2

My America includes LGBT families.

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by: Mena @ Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 14:18:34 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Excellent, Pam!

It's a well-deserved honor.

"If the apocalypse comes... beep me." -- Buffy Summers

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by: Kathy @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 15:32:34 PM CDT

Good luck

Good luck Pam

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by: Herb @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 15:54:41 PM CDT

VERY EXCITING!

You are my hero. Good luck, they definitely picked a great representative for the gay community. Give 'em hell!!

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by: Ralph4159 @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 16:14:29 PM CDT

Please mention MARY CHENEY at least once

I forgot. If you get a chance, please mention MARY CHENEY at least once. Thanks

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by: Ralph4159 @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 16:15:37 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Pam rocks again

go girl...I know you will do your best to show our best...

always glad to consider you a friend and a partner in showing the bigots that they aren't right...

our best to you...b and g in mn...

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by: bkmn @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 22:25:38 PM CDT

Excellent Choice

Congrats most heartily Pam, you deserve it

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by: KingCranky @ Tue Jun 26, 2007 at 22:42:32 PM CDT

Consider Asking About Jennifer Lasko

Hi Pam,

Congrats on being a blogger at the event!

Well, here are my three suggestions:

1.  The National Gay And Lesbian Task Force reports 20 to 40 percent of the 1.6 million homeless youth are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/HomelessYouth.pdf).  Other studies have suggested that racial and ethnic minorities may actually be overrepresented in the homeless youth population [Caskill, P. A., Toro, P. A. & Wolfe, S. M. (1998). Homeless and matched housed adolescents: A comparative study of psychopathology. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27(3). Cited in Robertson, M. J. & Toro, P. A. (1998)].  How do the candidates plan on addressing the issue of, and the impetuses behind the crisis of homeless youth?

2.  When one talks about impediments children have to getting good educations, one can't ignore that bullying because of race, religious creed, disability and gender, as well as the perceptions that one is gay or transgender.  Where do the candidates stand on school policies to prevent school bullying, and should those policies specifically include a list of protected classes that include race, religious creed, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability?

3.  Jennifer Lasko is a woman who also was a firefighter, Army veteran, and Republican-turned-Democrat, and backed out of being one of the four small contributors that Barak Obama was going to meet for dinner in Washington DC to discuss national issues.  She backed out specifically because she was outed as a transgender woman.  I'm curious to know how the rest of the candidates feel about personally discussing national issues with transgender -- as well as other out LGB -- people.

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~~Autumn~~

As if there were safety in stupidity alone.
--Henry David Thoreau

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by: Autumn Sandeen @ Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 01:25:20 AM CDT