Petition to fight FCC censorship

[Jai4WKC08]

A call to action:

Respect the Sacrifice -- Protect the Freedom -- Stop Government Censorship Today

This past Veterans Day, ABC honored America's vets for a third straight year by airing "Saving Private Ryan." But 66 local ABC affiliates, bullied by a small group of right-wing zealots who objected to the realistic violence and language in the film, asked the Federal Communications Commission for a ruling to protect themselves before proceeding.

How did the FCC respond? Silence. They left the stations hanging out to dry. And these 66 affiliates, fearing hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, chose not to air "Saving Private Ryan," depriving one-third of the country from watching it.

This kind of de facto censorship is wholly unacceptable. We deserve a government that will stand up to these extremist groups, leaving the decision about whether or not to watch these programs up to us. That's our right as Americans. That right was secured by the sacrifice of the fighting men and women portrayed in "Saving Private Ryan" and by all of us who have served in America's armed forces.

I urge you to email FCC Chairman Kevin Martin by signing my petition below and demand that he end this de facto censorship. Tell Chairman Martin that we will not stand idly by as the government enables the erosion of one of our most precious freedoms.

Sign the petition at
http://ga4.org/campaign/fcc?source=home_fcc

Read Wes' complete essay at
http://www.securingamerica.com/?q=articles/military/2005-03-18

See the ads carried at:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com
http://yglesias.typepad.com
http://patriotboy.blogspot.com
http://www.oliverwillis.com
http://www.smirkingchimp.com

And PLEASE, pass this along to friends and co-workers.
Show the FCC how many of us out here care deeply about the freedom of our airwaves.
Lend the FCC Democrats some support, and help them grow a spine.
With a brand new chairman, NOW could prove a critical opportunity that we won't see again for a LONG time to come.

We CAN make a difference. We CANNOT afford to let the wing-nuts gain more control of the FCC and media than they already have.

[mongo]

1. Done

and I like Wes Clark more every day. He was my fav in the early primaries.

[cynatnite]

2. Done!

Thanks for the heads up!

[Lisabtrucking]

3. Finally someone made a petition. Thank you, and lets get some

more going.

[kevsand]

4. Cool!

Thanks again, Jai, for all your work on this. I am so glad to see someone taking on the "right wing zealots" directly for a change.

[BootinUp]

5. I signed it gladly

We must let our voices be heard at the FCC. Thanks for the post. :)

[understandinglife]

6. Done. Forwarded. Recommended. (nt)

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

Peace.

[kevsand]

12. What an intriguing site

and concept. It really gives new meaning to the phrase "non-violent" protest.

[ClarkUSA]

7. No more "de facto censorship" by "rightwing zealots" - YEAH!

Done...thanks. Passed on...we have to fight back while we still can.

Glad to see Wes Clark moving out and trying to make a difference,
as always.

[haypops]

8. Importance

A strong free unhindered media is crucial. I suspect that we Democrats can survive crooked voting machine and the Secretaries of State that hire them (see Florida, see Idaho) better than we can weakened gutless media.

[Donna Zen]

9. Backbone recognition test:

I'm on a bit of a roll today--too many views of Terry Schiavo?

So the FCC declines to offer a reply to "Saving Private Ryan," a film that aired in total before on the MSM. We're also not allowed to see some Reagan movie out of fear we might form a bad opinion of the SOB. Frontline gets cut for consumption. Al Jezera can show pictures of the Iraq dead, but god forbid that we who pay for the bombs get a glimpse of our dollars in action.

Today I read that teachers, fearing reprisals, are conveniently neglecting the teaching of creationism. And of course, IMAX theaters across the south will not be showing a movie called "Volcanoes" since the writers in an effort to explain science included those no-no references to creationism.

Fake-ass news--No Problem. Creepy bug-killers calling Michael Shiavo a "murderer" ditto.

The list goes on and on. My hair is on fire because how can liberals, thinkers, and everyday progressives expect to ever enter "main stream" America, when the censors are carefully crafting what that term means?

Participants on this board are quick to type in the words "spineless" whenever a Democrat betrays the country, but here they have a chance to support someone who wants to change the dialog-- wants to support the truth so that we at least have a fighting chance.

Well, support whomever for president; but sign the damn petition.

Note: I just posted this in an older thread, but I swear, I would never spam! Honest.

[kevsand]

13. Donna, I've just reread your post

against the context of the last few days' Schiavo fest, and your litany of oddities reminds me of this quote from the early seventies. I just can't remember at this moment if it was Nixon or Hunter Thompson who said it:

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

In light of DeLay and Frist and Terry et al, I'd have to say this was never truer. We need initiatives like this petition just to keep our sanity, I think.

[Jai4WKC08]

15. "...support whomever for president; but sign the damn petition."

Amen, Donna.

Hells bells, if someone doesn't want to put their name to a Wes Clark petition, let 'em compose their own letter to the FCC. It ain't hard. The FACTS are all there in the essay and the General won't mind if someone wants to borrow 'em, Honest.

But for God's sake, let's show some solidarity here.

For every horrible thing the Bushies are doing, they could not accomplish ANYTHING if they didn't control and intimidate the media. Not the war, not the faked elections, not the manipulation of the economy, NOTHING.

A democracy without a free press cannot survive for long.

[sharonking21]

10. I've done it. Have you?

I hope everyone will take this opportunity to voice their dismay over the one-sided partisan character of much that is going on at the top of the FCC. Further, I think they departed from just plain ole good common sense when they put draconian strictures out there that could apply to this kind of movie and then refused to clarify the situation when asked.

I worked for a governmental agency and I know that many of the long-term personnel working in federal and state government have their hearts (and their intellects) in the right place. They try to be fair.

However, they badly need this kind of support. Bush clones have been put at the top of agencies and several layers down also.

When I was at the Texas Department of Health, we virtually prayed that the public would come to our rescue through initiatives like this. Once the Bushies got into the top of the agency, great pressure was put upon employees to conform, even if it meant we would no longer be an agency making decisions about public health based on science rather than ideology.

This kind of effort is is really really important to these employees who battle behind the scenes to keep thing fair without losing their jobs. It helps to put a rein on some of the worst abuses coming down from the top.

Please sign and pass on to as many friends as you can.

[MelissaB]

11. Done!

[Inte11ectual]

14. signed

glad to finally do something about an unacceptable situation

[Totally Committed]

16. I signed, gladly...

So did most of my family and friends.

What do you all think of what Gen. Clark is doing with WesPAC? I am so glad he found a way to keep his POV out there!

His own blog, WesBlog, is really good reading, too.

TC

www.securingamerica.com

[Texas_Kat]

17. Thanks for keeping one of the big issues front and center!

Intimidation and fear-mongering have been weapons for the Right Wing Zealots for too long.

It's time we take our values back!