Restore Fairness, Return to Reality

April 23, 2007 |

Forget Imus. All this fuss will be just so much wasted outrage unless we use it to direct public attention to the big picture: the way the media information cartel has rigged journalism in this country. We need to agitate to break up and re-regulate the media, beginning with restoration of the fairness doctrine.

Ever since the fairness doctrine went down for good in 1986, hate and misinformation have taken over the airwaves, beginning with Rush Limbaugh on the radio and spreading to TV. As Rep. Louise Slaughter said in a 2004 interview with Bill Moyers, after fairness was defeated,

AM radio rose. It wasn’t even gradual, Bill. I mean, almost immediately. And I should point out to you that when we tried to reinstate [the fairness doctrine] again in ‘93, one of the reasons we couldn’t was that Rush Limbaugh had organized this massive uprising against it, calling it “The Hush Rush Law.”

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Supreme Court Decision on “Partial Birth Abortion” not the end of the world

By David W. Shelton | April 23, 2007 |

Last week, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a ban on the controversial “partial birth abortion. In a bitterly divided 5-4 decision, the nation’s highest court showed a disturbing willingness to revisit the constitutionality of a woman’s right to choose whether or not she wishes to carry her baby to term.

The abortion issue is one of the most hotly debated topics in our country’s political climate. The debate is as fiery as it is passionate; as bitter as it is emotional. In fact, I sincerely believe that one of the only other topics that has been anywhere near as divisive as the abortion debate is the debate over GLBT equality. The latest decision from the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts only makes this debate even more explosive. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, Opinion, Politics | 1 Comment »

Bernie Ellis stands to lose his farm in the war on drugs

By Bill Larson | April 23, 2007 |

 Good morning, all. It is now five days to the “Save Bernie’s Farm” benefit at the Belcourt (April 25) and 19 days until his release date (May 10). He hopes to see many of you at the Belcourt (though he has not yet received permission yet from the “house” director to attend the benefit). It is shaping up to be a fantastic evening of music and mobilization for medical marijuana in Tennessee. Please order your tickets today by calling 615/383-9140. «Read the rest of this article»

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Video: The Powers of Ten

By Bill Larson | April 22, 2007 |

In 1977, Charles and Ray Eames made a nine-minute film called Powers of Ten that still has the capacity today to expand the way we think and view our world. Over ten million people have since seen the film and it continues to be shown in classrooms, business meetings, festivals and retreats everywhere. Starting with a sleeping man at a picnic, the film takes the viewer on a journey out to the edge of space and then back into a carbon atom in the hand of the man picnic, all in a single shot. It is an unforgettable experience.

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Clarksville Amateur Video Editors Club

By Terry McMoore | April 21, 2007 |

The Clarksville Amateur Video Editors Club will hold its first meeting on April 23, 2007.

If you record, produce, edited or write your own videos and would like to be a part of this networking group you are welcome to attend and join our club. No experience required, just people who want to have fun exchanging video editing tips and ideals.

Everyone is welcome!

PLACE: G’s Pancake House 2018 Fort Campbell Blvd Clarksville, TN 37042.

TIME: 7:00 p.m.

For more information please contact Terry McMoore, Club President

Phone: (931) 552-9076 or (931) 378-1999

Email: terrymcmoore@hotmail.com

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Video: Sen. Schumer calls the Attorney General to task and suggests that he step down.

By Bill Larson | April 20, 2007 |

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ACLU-TN Right to Vote Conference

By Terry McMoore | April 19, 2007 |

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN) is holding a Right To Vote Conference entitled Breaking the Chains: From Jail Cell to Voting Booth on Thursday, May 3, from 8:30 to 4:30 at the United Steelworkers Union Hall (3340 Perimeter Hill Drive).

Conference highlights include:

• Marc Mauer addressing The US Record on Punishment (The Sentencing Project, Washington, DC);
• Jeff Manza discussing key findings published in his book Locked Out, Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy (Northwestern University, Evanston, IL);
• Rachel Bloom contrasting international disenfranchisement practices with the US record (National ACLU, Washington, DC); and
• Nancy Abudu highlighting pending challenges to the child support and restitution provisions of the current Tennessee law (ACLU Southern Voting Rights Project, Atlanta, GA).

Workshops are designed to:

• Answer attorney and paralegal questions about the new law and share methods for addressing voter restoration issues (CLE credits available);
•  Offer agencies, organizations and churches strategies to help former felons register to vote (CEU credits available);
• Help former felons and their family members to improve their public speaking skills to better persuade the public to support voter re-enfranchisement.

For further information or to register contact the ACLU-TN Right to Vote Campaign at 615-320-7143 or rtv@aclu-tn.org, or visit the website at www.aclu-tn.org.

Sections: Events, Issues | No Comments

Comedy vs the Traditional News Networks

By Bill Larson | April 19, 2007 |

Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Bill Maher are often excellent sources of information on current world affairs.  Studies have shown that viewers of their new genre of news as comedy are more informed about world affairs, are generally also more cynical about candidates, campaigns, the electoral system and the news media than network news viewers. Like Clarksville Online, they are an excellent alternative to traditional media.

Using the entire half-hour programs as the basis of analysis yielded the same results: there was just as much substance to The Daily Show’s coverage as there was on the network news. And The Daily Show was much funnier, with less of the hype—references to photo ops, political endorsements, and polls—that typically overshadows substantive coverage on network news, according to the study…

Professor Fox’s study, titled “No Joke: A Comparison of Substance in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Broadcast Network Television Coverage of the 2004 Presidential Election Campaign,” will be published next summer in the Journal of Broadcast and Electronic Media. - Ars Technica interview with Professor Fox

Take a look and see what you think… «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion | 1 Comment »