Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Email message from Tony Triupiano: “I am sorry to inform you that my last show with RadioPower.Org was last Thursday.  A series of events led me to make this unfortunate decision.  At this time I do not have plans to return to radio in the near future, but will be sure to keep you apprised in the event that the right opportunity comes along.  I want to thank all of you for your service to my show and the very fundamental ideas of democracy.  It is my prayer that the next 15 months brings needed new leadership and direction for this country.”
We have only ourselves to blame.  We call ourselves progressives, and we claim to want to help humanity—but so many of us won’t help individual humans, even extremely talented ones like Tony.  We could all enhance our audiences by helping others enhance theirs, but selfishness and territorialism hold us back.  Whatever the reason, it’s a pity.  And a waste.  I wish someone cared.

Today’s proposed slogan for the Democratic Party:  Non-lobbyists count, too, kind of, but only when we’re raising money.

Networks plan Katrina anniversary coverage
Two years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, the networks are planning a wide range of coverage to mark the anniversary and look in on the long recovery process.

Wrapped in the Flag

Right-Wing Launches Assault Against Warner, Claims He ‘Hurts The Cause Of Freedom’
[Thursday], Sen. John Warner (R-VA), a senior and respected member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called on President Bush to begin a troop withdrawal from Iraq… Freedom’s Watch — a new White House front group whose mission is to maintain the escalation — attacked Warner. Appearing on PBS Newshour, Freedom’s Watch spokesman Brad Blakeman claimed Warner’s call for redeployment “hurts the cause of freedom.” (Blakeman refused to appear on the program with MoveOn’s Tom Matzzie and was called out for it by host Judy Woodruff. Blakeman comically suggested MoveOn was “not a credible group” like Freedom’s Watch.)

Historian quoted by Bush ‘angrily distances’ himself.
In his speech on Wednesday, President Bush quoted an “interesting observation” by “one historian” on people criticizing U.S. efforts to help Japan rebuild after World War II, as support for his policies in Iraq… [Thursday], the historian, MIT professor John Dower, called Bush’s use of his work “perverse“.

TNR On The Spit  (by Digby)
[A]fter being called some very undignified names and treated as a mortal threat to democracy by TNR [The New Republic], I can’t help but feel it would be a moral hazard to step in and defend them against the right wing this time. They evidently needed to be personally schooled on what happens if you get on the wrong side of Billy Kristol before they could understand the full scope of neocon thuggishness and recognize that the veneer of intellectual sophistication and urbane wit they value so highly actually covers a cutthroat malevolence born of Richard Nixon and Leo Strauss.

Ted Nugent Threatens to Kill Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton During Vicious Onstage Rant
Decked out in full-on camouflage hunting gear, Nugent wielded two machine guns while raging, “Obama, he’s a piece of shit. I told him to suck on my machine gun. Hey Hillary,” he continued. “You might want to ride one of these into the sunset, you worthless bitch.” Nugent summed up his eloquent speech by screaming “freedom!”
Freedom, yes.  Freedom for everyone who agrees with Ted Nugent.  Death for everyone else.  Click through to watch the video.

Paul Krugman: Seeking Willie Horton
[R]ight-wing economic ideology has never been a vote-winner. Instead, the party’s electoral strategy has depended largely on exploiting racial fear and animosity… But Republicans have a problem… Quite simply, America is becoming less white, mainly because of immigration… Today’s G.O.P., in short, is trapped by its history of cynicism. For decades it has exploited racial animosity to win over white voters — and now, when Republican politicians need to reach out to an increasingly diverse country, the base won’t let them.
So they use surrogates to spew their hate.  See below.

Follow Your Instincts
LIMBAUGH: “Democrats … want to get us out of Iraq, but they can’t wait to get us into Darfur… There are two reasons. What color is the skin of the people in Darfur?… It’s black. And who do the Democrats really need to keep voting for them? If they lose a significant percentage of this voting bloc, they’re in trouble.”… Look for more of this over the next few months as the Republicans make their case against “the Bitch,” “the Black” and “the Breck girl.” Limbaugh and Coulter and the boys will do this kind of crude dirty work for them, but there is going to be an awful lot of it that’s way more subtle.

FOX Propaganda Channel: Allegedly Unbiased
In a “Beat the Press” segment on MSNBC, Dan Abrams pinpoints exactly why the FISA debate is so distorted and misunderstood. “HUME: The Senate Judiciary Committee’s latest deadline for the WH to comply with it’s subpoena for documents relating to warrantless… allegedly warrantless… wiretaps has come and gone… ABRAMS: Allegedly! Allegedly! President Bush admitted to authorizing warrantless wiretaps back in 2005.
Click through to watch the video.

US launches ‘MySpace for spies’
America’s intelligence agencies prepare to launch “A-Space”, an internal communications tool modelled on the popular social networking sites, Facebook and MySpace… The move is the latest part of an ongoing effort to transform the analytical business following the failure to detect the 9/11 terrorist attacks or find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Microsoft & Yahoo Sign Pact Pushing Blog Censorship in China
The journalists’ rights organization Reporters Without Borders is very much against this pact, though what Microsoft and Yahoo agreed to was less damning than the original pact that was put forth by The Internet Society of China, which required names and content to be recorded.

YouTube Makes Video Ads Optional for Content Owners
In an attempt to appease the rising number of YouTube users that are unhappy with the new video overlay advertisements, as well as content owners, Google has announced its plans to offer more control to content owners regarding the new video system.