Commentary Update for November 26, 2003
1. This Week's Show: This week's Commentary features an interview with UW Oshkosh Assistant Professor of Media Studies Andrew Schroeder and Oshkosh Public Library Director John Nichols. They give their views on the USA PATRIOT Act.
2. Palmeri on PATRIOT Act: Along with John Nichols and UW Oshkosh professors Kam Wong and Martin Gruberg, I participated in a November 18, 2003 forum on "Personal Rights and the PATRIOT Act" sponsored by the League of Women Voters. My remarks, "The USA PATRIOT Act in Historical Context," can be found here. The LWV Forum will be broadcast on Oshkosh Cable Access Channel 2 on these dates and times:
3. Palmeri on George W. Bush as Father, Freedom Fighter, and Figurehead: This week's update is a day late because I'm still recovering from my recent trip to Miami Beach for the annual meeting of the National Communication Association. While there I gave a talk on "George W. Bush as Father, Freedom Fighter, and Figurehead."
4. Dan Rylance: Who Killed King Boris III of Bulgaria?: Commentary's ace pundit Dan Rylance recently sent another installment of his "Letters From Bulgaria." The fifth letter can be found here.
5. Buy Nothing Day 2003: The day after Thanksgiving in the US is the busiest shopping day of the year. The folks over at Adbusters have for several years now sponsored "Buy Nothing Day" as an alternative to the conspicuous consumption promoted on that Friday. Note how the major broadcast networks every year refuse to run a Buy Nothing ad.
6. Miami FTAA Photos: While in Miami for the NCA conference, I was able to get out to the area in which activists protested the meeting of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) ministers. Most of the peaceful protesting and arrests took place on the Thursday. I was able to get out there on the Friday with Marquette University journalism professor Larry Soley. The police presence was extraordinary. It appeared as if there were 20 or 30 riot police for every 1 protester. The Miami Herald, a Knight Ridder newspaper that has editorialized in favor of the FTAA, provided awful coverage of the event, as did the Miami television stations (each one refused to talk about the issues raised by FTAA and instead focused on the "restraint" showed by the police). On Friday Soley and I observed a spontaneous protest outside the Miami Herald, which they of course did not cover in their Saturday edition. We also attended a teach in at a Miami church at which activists from a variety of Latin American countries spoke. No corporate media reporters attended that event. Soley and I did have the opportunity to speak to WORT FM (Madison, WI) reporter Norm Stockwell, who recorded our comments. Late on Friday I called Bob Roberts at UW Oshkosh campus radio station WRST FM during his "Wild Eyed Radio" program. We did a live interview, making Oshkosh one of the few cities that had any independent coverage of the FTAA meeting. You can call in to Wild Eyed Radio on Fridays from 5 - 7 p.m. (CST) at (920) 424-0444.
The police and the press really were dreadful in Miami. Reporter Jeremy Scahill's piece for the Z Magazine website I think best summarizes the problems.
I do have to say, however, that the "anti-globalization" movement does tend to make claims about the effects of "free trade" that may or may not be as black and white as they think. Their views can be found at the Citizens Trade Campaign website. Another side is presented by Doug Henwood of the Left Business Observer, who says it's time to move "Beyond Globophobia." While I don't agree with everything Henwood says (he misrepresents Ralph Nader's position on trade, for one thing), he is trying to get the activists to consider the shortcomings of their response to globalization. He raises arguments that the activists should be taking seriously.
Here are photos I was able to get at FTAA:
7. A Second Opinion: The November 2003 edition of John Lemberger's A Second Opinion is available here. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's recent examination of Race for the Capitol 2002 complements nicely Lemberger's piece on state government working for corporations. Also, our friends over at wispolitics.com have announced the start of Iowapolitics.com. The Iowa site will be very useful as we inch closer to the caucuses, which I am going to predict will be won by Dick Gephardt very narrowly over Dr. Dean. I also expect Dennis Kucinich to come out much better than he is showing in the polls.
8. Attack on Academic Freedom: From PR Watch--"With little fanfare
and almost no media
coverage, Congress recently
passed House Resolution 3077, which threatens academic freedom by imposing rules
on what professors can and can't teach. HR 3077 focuses in particular on 'area
studies' (university programs that study international culture and politics
in specific regions of the world). Proponents of the bill, warns Benita Singh,
portrayed area studies programs as 'hotbeds for anti-American sentiment' in
order to propose 'the creation of an advisory board that has the final word
on curricula taught at Title VI institutions, course materials assigned in class,
and even the faculty who are hired in institutions that accept Title VI funding...'
According to the language of the bill, professors whose ideological principles
may not support U.S. practices abroad can have their appointments terminated,
any part of a course's curriculum containing criticisms of U.S. foreign policy
can be censored, and any course deemed entirely anti-American can be barred
from ever being taught."
More web links related to this story are available at:
http://www.prwatch.org/spin/November_2003.html#1069437372
9. Matt O'Malley is Scott Walker's Campaign Coordinator: Our friend Matt O'Malley, former UW Oshkosh alum who was only the second person elected to the Oshkosh Common Council while a student, is now serving as Republican Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker's Campaign Coordinator. Matt is producing "Walker's Weekly," which you can request by emailing him at momalley@scottwalker.org. Walker will be challenged by governor Jim The New Democrat Doyle's budget director Dave Riemer. While I don't necessarily agree with Matt's politics or his choice of politicians to work for, I have to say he is a person of very high integrity who served the city of Oshkosh extremely well in his one term on the council. Matt almost single-handedly got City Hall to take downtown redevelopment seriously, and he was able to get a historic preservation ordinance put on the books. He also kept his promise to hold town hall meetings, a promise that others have not kept. He never turned down an invitation to be on Commentary and he was always a thought provoking and fun guest. We wish you well Matt!
10. Simile of the Week: Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair in
Counterpunch on Nader's possible 2004 run: "We don't know
what Nader's plans are, and we doubt he knows himself, but if he does throw
his hat in the ring again, the vilification heaped on his head in 2000
will look like love caresses compared to the sledgehammers and dirty tricks
awaiting him next year."