Anderson@Large

GOP Scoundrels

Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.
--Samuel Johnson

While President Bush doesn’t have a clue about the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden or Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction, he’s an expert on weapons of mass distraction like same-sex marriage and flag-burning. These wedge issues are designed to “get the party faithful out to vote."

Bush and House Republicans’ disgraceful jihad against the New York Times turns constitutional liberties, as symbolized by the American flag, upside down.  The Times was called “treasonous” for exercising its First Amendment right to inform the public about what the government is doing.

But as several folks at the technology, journalism and democracy conference noted, it’s all about protecting Republican incumbents rather than protecting the American people.  After all, other MSM outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times, published reports that the U.S. Treasury Department is monitoring international banking transactions.

So, consider the source.  The feigned outrage is part of the GOP’s ongoing campaign to discredit the independent media (and here).  Republicans have reached into their bag of tricks and pulled out the "liberal media" bogeyman in a desperate effort to cling to power in the face of widespread voter disapproval (and here).

Doubting Thomas

When I grow up, I want to be a jazzy old babe like Helen Thomas, who has been “comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable” since the Kennedy Administration.

Thomas, a bestselling author, was the featured speaker at the kickoff dinner of the Media Giraffe Project Summit.  It was an inspired choice since she's been sticking  her neck out in the pursuit of accuracy and government accountability for more than 60 years.

Much to the chagrin of dissemblers like President Bush and his latest spinmeister, Tony Snow (and here), Thomas speaks truth to power. 

Thomas posed a very straightforward question: What did the Iraqis do? There were no weapons of mass destruction, no connection to 9/11, and no ties to Al Qaeda (that is, until Bush invaded the country). Three years later, Thomas doubts whether Bush can give the American people a reason why thousands of American soldiers and Iraqi civilians have died.

The conversation is just getting started. To get connected, you can view a live stream here.

School Daze

Though school is out for the summer, I’m heading off to college to attend a four-day summit, “Democracy & Independence: Sharing News & Information in a Connected World,” at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

As an undergrad going through my rite of passage on the NYC subway, I fantasized about going to Amherst. Truth is, it was so long ago that I don’t remember whether it was Amherst College or UMass Amherst.  Whatever. They're both leafy campuses, where presumably one could study without being flashed.

I’ll be taking notes and blogging about the conference as participants seek “to chart the future of journalism and democracy amid dramatic, technology-driven change.”

Know Your Status

OK, people, I don’t want to be a scold but today is National HIV Testing Day.  And if you think you’re not at risk, think again.  Though just 13 percent of the population, African Americans represent 40 percent of all AID cases and half of those newly diagnosed.

Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, who's written and performs a one-woman show to raise awareness of the ongoing AIDS crisis, said:

The impact of HIV on the African American community cannot be ignored.  We have to come together as a community and talk about this disease openly and honestly. National HIV Testing Day is one way to begin that dialogue. Silence will not heal you. Silence will kill you. Get checked. Get tested. Do what you have to do to break the silence about this disease and how it is affecting us as a people and community. AIDS affects us all.

Black women are at particular risk, according to the National Women’s Health Resource Center:

African American women account for nearly 60 percent of all AIDS cases in women in the U.S., with a diagnosis rate 25 times that of white women and about four times that of Hispanic women. HIV/AIDS experts in the latest NWHRC Health Report blame “centuries of unequal treatment of women” within minority communities resulting in dangerously submissive behaviors as well as sexual abuse that leads to HIV infection.

In 2002, AIDS was the number 1 cause of death for black women aged 25–34 years.  Many of the sisters were infected by some lowdown, down-low brothers.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

African American women are most likely to be infected with HIV as a result of sex with men. They may not be aware of their male partners’ possible risks for HIV infection, such as unprotected sex with multiple partners, bisexuality, or injection drug use.  In a study of HIV-infected persons, 34% of African American men who have sex with men reported having had sex with women, even though only 6% of African American women reported having had sex with a bisexual man (emphasis added).

The Magic Johnson Foundation is offering a free screening for folks in Los Angeles.  To find a testing site near you, click here.

Capitol Gains

As Black Music Month winds down, I’m in the nation’s capitol.  While DC has lost some of my favorite clubs, including Mr. Henry’s on Columbia Road, it has gained some hardcore blues enthusiasts.

And since I’m here, I can catch some blues at the Safeway 14th Annual National Capital Barbecue Battle.  One of the stages is sponsored by Red Hot & Blue whose investors once included the late Lee Atwater.

Atwater’s legendary race-baiting makes Karl Rove look like a Boy Scout.  Still, Atwater loved black music.  To this day, whenever I hear “Soul Finger” (and here), I flash back to January 1989 and the “Celebration for Young Americans,” a tribute to R&B during the American Bicentennial Presidential Inaugural.

Atwater, who chaired the event, had assembled an all-star band to perform the soul classic as George H.W. Bush walked out on the stage.  Actually, it would be hard for me to forget that night since I have a commemorative poster in my home-office.
               

Anyway, for this weekend’s blues lineup, click here.

I’ll Drink to That

Jay-Z  recently announced that he would lead a boycott of Cristal Champagne after the company’s managing director, Frédéric Rouzaud, described the hip-hop community’s embrace of the expensive drink as “unwelcome attention.”  Rouzaud told The Economist:

That’s a good question, but what can we do? We can’t forbid people from buying it. I’m sure Dom Pérignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.

Mind you, I have no beef with Cristal.  Hell, I don’t even like champagne.  And I certainly don’t support the rampant materialism and nouveau riche consumerism of many hip-hop artists.

But name-checks -- uncompensated product placements -- never made sense to me.  While rappers give cachet and street cred to a wide range of products, the beneficiaries of their free advertising laugh all the way to the bank. Folks like Tommy Hilfiger, who reportedly sold his fashion label for $1.6 billion.

Let's hope that more rappers realize that there’s a reason it’s called the music business.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

The Federal Communications Commission has lost sight that we, the people, own the public airwaves, and that its role is to safeguard the “public interest.”   Instead, Big Media (and here) has been awarded licenses to make money and the public be damned to watch “American Idol” and mindless unreality shows.

Now Big Media wants to get even bigger.  But an alliance of consumer, civil rights and media access groups, including Free Press, the Media Access Project, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Common Cause and Consumers Union, is fighting back. Yesterday, they launched the StopBigMedia.com Coalition:

Over the past 25 years, the number of corporations that dominate television, movies, music, radio, cable, publishing and the Internet have dwindled from 50 to a handful of huge conglomerates. Relaxation of media ownership rules has repeatedly led to more corporate consolidation, less competition, and fewer local voices in the media. The FCC tried to change these same rules three years ago -- sparking an unprecedented public outcry. They're going to try to do it again in 2006. Unless our leaders hear from millions of concerned citizens, the FCC will give in to pressure from corporate media lobbyists, abandon the public interest and pursue policies that encourage even greater media concentration.

The StopBigMedia.com Coalition is mobilizing so the public can speak out before the FCC rules against our interests.

If you're tired of hundreds of channels and nothing on, put down the remote and get involved.  For more info, click here.