Insomnia ([info]insomnia) wrote,
@ 2004-10-06 23:50:00
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Setting the matter straight.
Yesterday, I made a post in my journal more or less like the one below, which I crossposted to MetaFilter.
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Coward-in-Chief. George Bush has announced that he will give a major national speech on Wednesday, in which he will respond to John Kerry's criticisms of the president. This appears to be the first time any president has tried to hold a major televised speech during the election season for such a purpose. During his term in office, Mr. Bush has given the fewest press conferences of any president in the televised era. John Kerry had previously offered Bush weekly debates... and George Bush refused. Is it fair to say that he'd rather use his power of office to dictate to us instead?
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When I got a comment over at MetaFilter stating that the principal article I cited didn't say the "major speech" in question would be televised, I decided to pull my LJ post, so as to not potentially confuse people over what appeared to be a non-issue.

And, indeed, it looked like it was a non-issue... until FoxNews, CNN, and MSNBC gave George Bush 50 minutes of free, uniterrupted TV airtime this morning to smear John Kerry with no equal time for John Kerry and no rebuttal. (More details on this are in this article... and this one..)

Apparently, my initial concerns yesterday were real. The media heard "major speech" and they gave Bush his soapbox. They didn't know that Mr. Bush would misuse his office in order to make a campaign speech that is both unethical and appears to violate Federal Election Commission regulations.

I'm going to see what, if anything, is going to be done about this. It appears that at least one of the networks involved are willing to give Kerry some time too. If they are fair, all of them will give John Kerry 50 minutes of uninterrupted time to speak to the American people.

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[info]puncher
2004-10-07 06:58 am UTC (link)
I had no idea that you were "insomnia_lj"! I've seen your journal, here and there, and I've seen the comments on mefi and wondered if, indeed, the "LJ" stood for LiveJournal. But I'm just a lurker on mefi (I don't have an account) and so I had never checked up on it. That's funny.

Thanks for the good post!

(Reply to this)


[info]lafinjack
2004-10-07 11:03 am UTC (link)
Now I'm mad.

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[info]somejerk
2004-10-07 12:27 pm UTC (link)
ah, so frustrating. why is this even being allowed?

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[info]granting
2004-10-07 12:58 pm UTC (link)
The first link didn't work. The second one did... first I had seen anything about it on the news.

Perhaps the Washington Post will have something on it in "Media Notes"...

Do you know if Kerry has made any official statement on it?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]insomnia
2004-10-07 01:15 pm UTC (link)
I have seen no official statement on this as yet. I'm curious what their response will be too... part of me thinks that they'll feel they should just "suck it up" or try to get the reciprocal coverage without having to make a big stink.

Really, it's the citizens that should make a stink over this one, because Bush just misused his powers of office for an unfair advantage in an election.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]itsmika
2004-10-07 01:25 pm UTC (link)
Or perhaps Kerry will comment in the debate this Friday - perhaps that would reach a more desirable audience demographic for his purposes than the audience shown at the Bush rave party hosted by CNN, MSNBC and Fox?

This latest tactic is just the sort of thing that makes me ill. Bait & Switch. Ugh. What a slimebucket the shrub is.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]sanghasong
2004-10-07 01:28 pm UTC (link)
i wish this surprised me. but i won't put anything past that cabal in the White House. even if kerry gets equal time and exposure, it sets a precedent that will be difficult to reverse.

(Reply to this)

taking this opportunity to thank you
[info]sumitrananda
2004-10-07 03:32 pm UTC (link)
insomnia - I have been a LJ lurker for ages and have been following your journal because I find it thoughtful.

If I had the right to vote, I would have been a lot more involved as you seem to be. Today, I am just an observer - a very keen one, of the electoral process.

I realize that you represent a very tiny minority of US citizens compared to what I expected. The events of the last 4 years haven't woken up the masses as I expected it to do so. While I am disappointed in the apathy of the public, your journal shows why you stand out as a beacon of hope for what could happen in the US if the citizens get more involved.

Thank you for not let the politician(s) get away with it all.

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: taking this opportunity to thank you
[info]insomnia
2004-10-07 08:06 pm UTC (link)
Thank you.

I do what I can when I can. Fortunately, it pays off sometimes, and makes a bit of a difference to some people.

There's too much apathy, certainly, and too little respect for the rule of law in this country. Hopefully that can be changed.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: taking this opportunity to thank you
[info]shortindiangirl
2004-10-07 08:34 pm UTC (link)
Let's hope it's more than just an outstanding minority that are aware.

One reason I believe a draft would be good is because it would FORCE Americans to be re-engaged in their politics again. Especially for foreign policies.

Imagine, if there had been a draft 2 years ago, Iraq would have never happened! Because there would have been a protest! A genuine protest.

Public debate is essential to a live and vital democracy. Yet, America has such little 'public space' (Refer Richard Sennet), and livejournal is one of the few public spaces. Anyway, I think a draft would force people to think, speak, act and debate issues together. It would create a truly better informed society than one that finds sex more socially acceptable to discuss than politics.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]aaronfreed
2004-10-07 08:26 pm UTC (link)
Keep us posted about what we can do, please. I'm pissed off about this to no end.

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[info]shortindiangirl
2004-10-07 08:39 pm UTC (link)
50 more minutes to say more stupid things, and state more wrong 'facts' that Kerry will be able to use against him. Something that could reduce his credibility even in the eyes of his followers.

Let's hope he makes as many mistakes in his speech as he's made in during his administration.

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