This isn’t really news. The fact that Bill Moyers is smarter than Bill O’Reilly and his crew. Well, one of Bill-O’s producers ambushes Bill Moyers at the National conference for Media Reform. Bill Moyers is ready. He has his own camera crew. He confronts this producer and is never rude or ugly but beats this kid up every way you can without physically wacking him. Congratulations to Bill Moyers for thinking and being ahead of Bill O’Reilly’s stupid games.
The Bill Moyers Journal is one of the television shows that I tape every week. I love his take on different subjects including the media, Iraq, the U.S. attorney scandal and earmarks. He had Keith Olbermann on a couple of months ago. Now, it is Olbermann’s turn to have Bill on. They discuss Senator John McCain’s campaign spin on the Newsweek’s cover story about Senator Barack Obama. They also cover Jeremiah Wright and our bumper sticker news coverage. There is no in-depth coverage of almost anything.
The Reverend Jeremiah Wright has come out of hiding. His first interview was with the great Bill Moyers. Those of you that have read my blog for some time know that I love Moyers. His PBS program has been a light of reason when no one else would be reasonable.
This interview begins at the beginning, when Wright was a young man and we follow him through his development. Wright served in the Marines and Navy. He earned three letters of commandation in his four years in the Navy. He was part of the team that operated on Lyndon Johnson. Wright was not drafted but, rather, he signed up for his time.
Following his time in the service, he became a minister and was asked to pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ. In this interview he talks about the challenges he has faced. This interview does go places that “normal” interviews will not go. Bill Moyers asks about black religious philosophy and black empowerment. Wright gives good clear answers, talking about his statements that have been flying around the internet. These answers are particularly important. There is no way that a rational human being will walk away for this interview saying that Wright is a black separatist, or that he is unpatriotic. Wright comes across as a thoughtful, intelligent, passionate black pastor who has worked hard to develop his church ministry.
BMJ - Rev. Wright 1: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download BMJ - Rev. Wright 2 [15:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download BMJ - Rev. Wright 3: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadBill Moyers Journal reviews the documentary Taxi to the Dark Side. The film examines the death of a taxi driver who was in US custody at Bagram Air Force Base. The taxi driver died in US custody.
Keith Olbermann dropped in on Bill Moyers a couple of weeks ago. This is a very good conversation. Yep, I know it aired over a month ago but I’m been busy. 
Bill Moyers asks about journalism and possibly going too far with commentaries. Definitely worth a look see.
Why wasn’t Dennis Kucinich in the New Hampshire debate? Let’s be honest. Dennis Kucinich does represent some of the Democrat core values - helping the underdog, fighting for the working man, fighting against the corporate giants. Why doesn’t Dennis get more air time?
I think it is sad that most people will not get to hear what he has to say BUT I must add that some of his lack of exposure is his fault. I know that I have tried on a number of occasions to contact his campaign for an interview. I got no response. Even if I’m a nobody, and I am, if you are trying to win friends and influence people some type of response is needed.
If you are a serious candidate then you can’t answer every question. Saying that you have seen a UFO makes you look like a crack pot. If you are serious then you focus on the issues. Dennis Kucinich goes out of his way to be truthful and honest. This is good. He needs to focus his message into 3 core values but he knows this. He is a very smart man. You message gets diluted when you have a list of hundred things that you care about. If you want to be taken seriously then you need to focus and play the game by the rules that the big boys have set up.
This video is a great interview with Dennis Kucinich. Bill Moyers as usual does a great job at fleshing out Dennis and making him more appealing to liberals.
The next round of media consolidation has begun. Now, the FCC wants to allow the same company who owns your local radio or television station to now also own your local newspaper. One of the problems with modern media is consolidation. We hear the same recycled talking points from every direction. There has to be an independent voice somewhere. Bill Moyers does a great job at presenting the people’s interest side of this story.
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From Seattle Times:
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wants to eliminate a ban on radio and television broadcasters owning newspapers, but only in the nation’s largest media markets, including Seattle.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin opted to focus on the newspaper ban only and declined to act on other media-ownership rules up for consideration. The proposal requires a full vote of the commission to be adopted.
“I think this is both a moderate and a fair proposal,” Martin said Tuesday. He said he is optimistic there will be a vote Dec. 18. There are five members on the commission, two Democrats and three Republicans, including Martin. (more…)
Are the market dynamics that are at work in the US today, the same dynamics that were at work in 1929? Bill Moyers invites Robert Kuttner and Former SEC chairman William Donaldson to discuss our “sound economic” fundamentals. They discuss the lack of regulation of Hedge funds and the sub-prime mortgage disaster.
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Portions of the Transcript:
ROBERT KUTTNER: I am chilled, as I’m sure you are Mr. Chairman, every time I hear a public official or Wall Street eminence utter the reassuring words “the economic fundamentals are sound.” Those same words were used by President Hoover and the Captains of Finance in the cold winter of 1929. They didn’t restore confidence. The fact is the economic fundamentals are sound if you look at the real economy. It is the financial economy that is dangerously unsound.
<snip>
WILLIAM DONALDSON: No, I don’t think so. I mean– I think that the– not to get into a political diatribe here. But I think the sharing of the benefits of a society are increasingly disproportionate. You talked about people being upset and feeling–. That’s because, you know, they read every day about the fantastic profits being made by hedge fund managers and so forth. And yet they’re out there, two-family, two– Mom and Dad both working. They say there’s no inflation, but they’re paying more for gasoline and paying more for the everyday necessities of life, and so forth. So in effect, the great middle class in this country has not– it’s tough. They have not really shared in what’s going on now. (more…)
Bill Moyers continues to be one of the most thoughtful journalists on the planet. Here’s a couple of words on Karl Rove.
Bill Moyers continues to impress me. I will continue to sing his praises. I think that he is the premier thoughtful journalist in America. He is covering issues that others either gloss over or do not cover at all.
This week, he brought Melissa Harris-Lacewell, quickly becoming on of my favorite people, Princeton University Associate Professor of Political Science and African American Studies, back on the show to discuss Katrina. Bill Moyers adds Mike Tidwell, author of Bayou Farewell in 2003 and Ravaging Tide and environmental activist, to discuss Katrina 2 years later. This is an excellent discussion.
Here’s just a little piece -
BILL MOYERS: What have you learned, the two of you, about politics, American politics from the Katrina disaster?
MELISSA HARRIS-LACEWELL: Well, I often say that Hurricane Katrina and it’s political aftermath is the 2006 win of the democrats in the mid-term elections. And it–
BILL MOYERS: How so? [Read more →]
BMJ - Katrina, part 1 [13:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download BMJ - Katrina, part 2 [12:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadMan was I wrong. I even talked about reasons not to impeach on my radio show this morning. The reasons not to impeach go like this. We need to focus on one thing at a time. We need to focus on getting our troops out of Iraq. Also, because of the partisan atmosphere that Tom Delay and his gang created during the last impeachment (Clinton), we don’t need a repeat of that.
The argument that the president has over reached is true but I was unmoved. On the Bill Moyer’s Journal, John Nichols, from the Nation, and Bruce Fein, an adjunct scholar from the conservative American Enterprise Institute, discuss the pros for impeachment last night. It was Fein and not Nichols who convinced me that impeachment not only should be on the table but needs to be priority #1. In a nutshell, Nichols and Fein say that Cheney and Bush have thumbed their noses at the constitution. They have broken the law not just once but multiple times.
Here’s a short list of what Fein, a constitutional lawyer, believes are the offenses against the constitution and we, the people:
- Asserted Presidential power to create military commissions, which combine the functions of judge, jury, and prosecutor in the trial of war crimes.
- Claimed authority to detain American citizens as enemy combatants indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay on the President’s say-so alone.
- Initiated kidnappings, secret detentions, and torture in Eastern European prisons of suspected international terrorists.
- Championed a Presidential power to torture in contravention of federal statutes and treaties.
- Engineered the National Security Agency’s warrantless domestic surveillance program targeting American citizens on American soil in contravention of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.
- Orchestrated the invocation of executive privilege to conceal from Congress secret spying programs to gather foreign intelligence, and their legal justifications.
- Summoned the privilege to refuse to disclose his consulting of business executives in conjunction with his Energy Task Force.
- Retaliated against Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife Valerie Plame, through chief of staff Scooter Libby, for questioning the administration’s evidence of weapons of mass destruction as justification for invading Iraq.
John Nichols has an article on The Nation’s web site. Cheney’s Actions Put Impeachment on the Table. Nichols then goes on to state - “House Members are backing impeachment for a number of reasons, including anger with Cheney’s involvement with manipulations of intelligence regarding Iraq, illegal spying on Americans and the promotion of torture, as well his recent attempt to avoid scrutiny by claiming that the Office of the Vice President was not part of the executive branch. And then there was President Bush’s decision to commute the 30-month prison sentence of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Cheney’s former chief of staff and co-conspirator in moves to punish former Ambassador Joe Wilson for exposing the deceptions that led to war.”
“The founders were very clear about the fact that abuses of the presidential authority to pardon or otherwise lift the burden of the law from subordinates was an impeachable offense. And a number of House members who take constitutional matters seriously have spoken up for impeachment since the commutation of Libby’s sentence.”
“As Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. said after Bush commuted the sentence of a former aide who could connect the dots outlining presidential and vice presidential wrongdoing, “In her first weeks as leader of the Congress, Speaker Nancy Pelosi withdrew the notion of impeachment proceedings against either President Bush or Vice President Cheney. With the president’s decision to once again subvert the legal process and the will of the American people by commuting the sentence of convicted felon Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, I call on House Democrats to reconsider impeachment proceedings.”
In summary, to save our Nation and our Constitution, we need to impeach Cheney and Bush. We have to point out that this is not a partisan witch hunt. There are very important issues at stake. For example - The president throwing executive privilege around like anyone who talks to him should never have to reveal anything about that conversation to Congress. Harriet Miers and Sara Taylor should be the first 2 people who should be held in contempt of Congress.
Congress has work to do to restore our great Democracy. Congress get to work!!!
Impeachment [13:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Impeachment part 2 [11:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Impeachment part 3 [10:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Impeachment part 4 [7:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadBill Moyers has what can only be called a rant. He looks at the neocons that are calling for Scooter Libby to be pardoned. Richard Perle, Douglas Fife, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz are all key planners of the War in Iraq. They have all written glowing letters in support of their friend, Scooter Libby. The fact that Wolfowitz supports Scooter should be a reason to double his sentence.
They lied us into an unjust war. Over 3500 of our wonderful soldiers have died and there is no end in sight. All of these things are true but most importantly, Scooter Libby lied. He obstructed justice. A jury of his peers found him guilty. He should pay the price like the rest of us.
Bill Moyers takes on the CEO’s. He focuses on the airlines. Specifically, he looks at NW Airlines. The CEO and other execs get bonuses but pilots and flight attendants and mechanics salary cuts of up to 40%. Their pensions were cut. The execs got tens of millions of dollars in bonuses and salaries.
Now, this is not the same old thing. This is what Bill Moyers does very well. He finds someone you have never heard of (Melissa Harris-Lacewell) and then discusses a subject that is familiar to everyone. We have all heard 15 discussions on Race and Politics in the last year. This conversation is different. This is real information. There is a real honesty. This is GREAT.
Updated - wmv added.
Bill Moyers Journal - Race [15:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download BMJ - Race [14:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadMarilyn Young, author of Iraq and the Lessons of Vietnam, is the guest on the Bill Moyers Journal. Bill starts with going over Condi Rice’s interview with Charlie Rose. Marilyn points out the half truths and outright lies that full the interview. Condi Rice is extremely polished at delivering a message. It is unclear by looking at her face or her body language if the message is truth, truthiness or an outright lie. Dr. Rice did a bunch of lying to Charlie Rose and the American people but you had to pay attention. I’m going to try and pick up Marilyn Young’s book based on this this excellent interview.
In 2002 and 2003, Jon Stewart was about the only one on the tube who would say something was critical of the president. He rejected group think. He continued to use his humor to disarm his critics. He used a old technique to shine the light of truth on the Bush administration. He would use juxtaposition. Any first year, film student can tell you how it is used in film. Well, Jon Stewart used it to show that Bush would say one thing then do a 180 and hope that no one would notice. It is my belief that the MSM noticed but didn’t want to say anything. Jon Stewart thought that was hogwash.
Stewart’s interviews with guests are usually somewhat funny but don’t very insightful. He has been criticized by others (Bill Maher) that he never asks tough questions. I’m not sure that folks tune into The Daily Show to watch Jon grill some politician. On the other hand, Jon had a great interview with President Prevez Musharraf a couple of months ago. He had a great interview with Tony Zinni. As far as I know, Jon’s interview with John McCain was the most confrontational that he has ever had. That is not his style.
Anyway, Bill Moyers has a non-confrontational admiring interview with Jon Stewart.
Bill Moyers Journal - Jon Stewart [15:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download BMJ - Jon Stewart 2 [17:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadWho? Who’s Jerry Miller? Jerry Miller was a nobody, going nowhere. He was in prison for sexual assault for which he was convicted in 1981. He was pulled out of home at the time of his arrest. He is also the 200 person set free by DNA evidence. This man spent 25 years behind bars. 25 years!!! He had served his time.
Bill Moyers does another great interview. This one will bring tears to your eyes. Jerry Miller is a guy who in spite of being locked up for 25 years, he remains a positive person. For more on this interview go here.
Josh Marshall is a journalist who writes for several journals/magazines. He is also the man behind or in front of Talking Points Memo. TPM is a very popular and more importantly, very accurate on-line magazine/blog. He has followed and reported on the Randy Cunningham scandal and trial. Anyway, that was a long introduction to say that Bill Moyers interviewed Josh last week. Another outstanding interview by Moyers.
My sister gave me a book by David Halberstam and told me to read it. (It wasn’t a suggestion, I was an order. Sisters do that.) It was called Playing for Keeps. It maybe the best book written on Michael Jordan. I started to get interested in this sports writer. Well, it didn’t take me long before I figured out that David Halberstam wasn’t a sports writers at all. Halberstam won a Pulitzer prize for his reporting on the Vietnam war. His book, The Best and the Brightest, was on the Kennedy administration and the War in Vietnam. Mr. Halberstam was a very gifted nonfiction writer. He made the subject come alive right in front of your eyes. I’ll miss him.
How the war was sold is the topic of Bill Moyer’s first Journal. It is also the subject of Frank Rich’s book, The Greatest Story Ever Sold (a wonderful book that hasn’t gotten its due in my opinion). We would have never gone to war if the president, the vice president and WHIG didn’t start a coordinated effort to confuse and fake out the public.
In this episode of the Bill Moyers Journal, the journalist looks at the press. He clearly points to some the great reporting that had been overlooked. He also points to some of the pressures that major networks were under. The pressure came from the right. It came from sponsors. It came from the public. The unwritten rule was not to really confront the president. Everyone was expected to be ultra-patriotic. The pressure that came from Fox News must of been unreal. Fox News more than any other network waved the red, white and blue then wrapped themselves in the flag. They were patriotic everyone else was not even close. (The Neocons made Fox their home but I digress.) If you were “unpatriotic” Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity would call you out and highlight you and your network. The Neocons would be calling you out soon after that. They would be followed by the radio noise machine. Soon you were out. Ask Donahue.
The relatively small Knight-Ridder outfit consistently got it right. While the Washington Post and the NY Times got it wrong. Moyers does a very good job at pointing this out.
This is a GREAT initial episode. I will be posting it in 5 parts. Here are the first 2 parts.
Bill Moyers Journal - Lapdogs [14:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Bill Moyers - Lapdogs part 2 [18:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Bill Moyers - Lapdogs part 3 [11:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Bill Moyers - Lapdogs part 4 [22:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Bill Moyers - Lapdogs part 5 [16:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, fulltime sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
