Nice Polite Republicans (NPR): Not so nice

On MercRising, we often joke that NPR stands for Nice Polite Republicans, since they have such ethics-free standards for Mara Liasson and Juan Williams, among many other examples of political bias. But this instance is not just impolite. It shows that NPR can be openly ugly:

When progressive historian Howard Zinn died on January 27, NPR’s All Things Considered (1/28/10) marked his passing with something you don’t often see in an obituary: a rebuttal.

After quoting Noam Chomsky and Julian Bond, NPR’s Allison Keyes turned to far-right activist David Horowitz to symbolically spit on Zinn’s grave. “There is absolutely nothing in Howard Zinn’s intellectual output that is worthy of any kind of respect,” Horowitz declared. “Zinn represents a fringe mentality which has unfortunately seduced millions of people at this point in time. So he did certainly alter the consciousness of millions of younger people for the worse.”

(–FAIR, 1/29/10)

As FAIR noted, when racialist and apartheid-supporter William F. Buckley died, NPR didn’t find someone on the left to explain why he deserved to go to Hell. And it’s not just because people on the left are all polite.

Why I’m not a member of the ACLU (and why you shouldn’t be either)

The ACLU does a lot of good stuff. The southern California chapter deserves a lot of credit for taking on tough issues, like Tasers. But the national organization consistently sides with corporations against human beings. They were longtime defenders of the tobacco companies’s right to addict people, even as they were taking large amounts of money from the industry. More recently, they sided with Citizens United against the FEC, a case that resulted in the overthrow of all campaign finance restrictions on corporations:

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission … Section 203 of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 prohibits unions and corporations (both for-profit and non-profit) from engaging in “electioneering communications.” The legislative definition of an “electioneering communication” was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2003 and then substantially narrowed by the Supreme Court in 2007. In scheduling this case for reargument, the Court specifically requested briefs on whether section 203 should now be struck down as facially unconstitutional. The ACLU has consistently taken the position that section 203 is facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment because it permits the suppression of core political speech, and our amicus brief takes that position again.

Harvey Wasserman and Bob Fitzrakis, SC:

The Supreme Court’s atrocious Citizen’s United green light for unlimited corporate campaign spending had a willing accomplice — the American Civil Liberties Union.

Why?

As long-time supporters, we are horrified by the ACLU’s betrayal of political reality and plain common sense.

Standing proudly with the victorious corporate hacks on the steps of the SCOTUS was none other than the legendary First Amendment crusader Floyd Abrams.

Keith Olberman has called him a “Quisling” for aiding and abetting this catastrophic confirmation of corporate “personhood.”…

It has been reported that the ACLU Board is now considering endorsing limits on campaign spending. Abrams has been reported as arguing that “The worst thing you could do – the absolutely worst thing you could do – is transform a civil liberties organization into a liberal political organization.”

But this decision has transformed the ACLU into a conservative political organization, working to arm the ultimate enemies of democracy with unlimited monetary and political power.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is a far more worthy organization to receive your contributions than the ACLU.

Friday Cat Blogging

This is Alex’s favorite place during the winter. Note the Paw Of Possession.

“Four bums in masks”

That, amazingly, is how Micheletti dismissed the Resistance. While friends of the Resistance did have a tendency to inflate numbers, that’s normal. What’s not normal is pretending that your opposition doesn’t exist.

Adrienne has a photo of the march to the airport to say goodbye to Zelaya (the identity of the photographer is not yet public). The wire services said there were 6,000 at the airport. This photo, which only shows some of the marchers, looks to me like ca. 2,000.

Or, if you’re a sociopath and a coupista, this is what four bums in masks looks like.

Beat the drum slowly

Charles Lemos, Mydd:

Howard Zinn, the Boston University historian and political activist, best known for his A People’s History of the United States has died of a heart attack while traveling in Santa Monica, California. An eternal optimism, he was a true progressive that understood the links between the rise of militarism and its impact on American democracy. He was 87.

Lemos has some excellent film, well worth watching.

Senate Finally Admits Corporatist HCR Is DOA; Public Option Revived By Pingree And Polis

Give Jane Hamsher a hand, because she and Representative Grijalva knew what was coming, as well as how to fight it so that a true HCR bill would rise from its ashes:

Against all odds, the $1.4 million being spent each day on lobbying failed. Those who insisted that it was unfair to force the country to pay money to private insurance companies without the alternative of a government run program won. We won because of Raul Grijalva’s leadership, and because the public rejected a health care bill that put corporations first and people second.

Now it’s time to return to the task of passing real health care reform. And this morning in the Houuse, Chellee Pingree and Jared Polis are pushing the Senate to reconsider the public option.

For those people who are genuinely concerned about the Federal deficit, the public option is the better choice as it cuts over $100 billion from the deficit over a ten-year period, in addition to providing better coverage for more Americans than ever before.

The good guys are winning for a change, and it’s because they planned ahead and thought several moves ahead.

A Victory for Sanity

Secretary of State Clinton has reversed the Bush regime’s decision to deny visas to Adam Habib, the deputy vice chancellor of research, innovation and advancement at the University of Johannesburg, and Tariq Ramadan, a professor of contemporary Islamic studies at the University of Oxford.

Both of these emininent scholars had been banned from entering the U.S. because officials equated criticism of Bushevik policies with terrorism.

They must now reapply for visas, but the past excuses for rejecting them can no longer be used, so they are expected to receive quick approval.

Honduras Coup, Act VII, Dictatorship

This marks the end of my daily journals on Honduras. With the inauguration of Pretendisent Lobo, Honduras has ceased to be governed by a tyrant who seized power and is under a true dictatorship: enough people have been passive or complicit in the destruction of their democracy that one must sadly say that this is their dictatorship.

Freedom is also theirs to claim. If there are developments in that story, I will report them as I am able. Meanwhile, I leave to you the final section of my Kos diaries on Honduras here.

Peace be with Hondurans, especially with los de abajo.
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Patuca Warrior would like it to be known that Honduran Campesino has moved to http://campesinossosa.blogspot.com/
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Update

Only the Sun Myung Moon-owned UPI: “Zelaya threat clouds Honduras outlook for normalcy”

What did he say?

“We’ll be back,” Zelaya told reporters and some of the thousands of supporters gathered at the airport to see him and his family off. (His wife said the same).

Lord, it is hard not to hate the twisters of the media.

According to Nice Polite Republicans: “About 6,000 supporters gathered outside the airport yelled ‘Mel, our friend, the people are with you!’ as his plane took off.” [Added: Habla Honduras says 300,000. Having seen the photos and the film, I'm gonna give this one to NPR. Many more in spirit.]
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Update2:

Globo is back on the Internet. Music. A semblance of normality.

Update3:

Since Nell is speaking of concrete, let it be known that people are lifting the concrete barriers from around the Brazilian embassy. Truly a “bring down that wall” moment.

Honduras Coup, Act VI, Day 57

Update:

Adrienne has an article at UpsideDown World

The Honduran Supreme Court has amnestiedthe coup generals.

The Congress is going to amnesty the coup. An incredibly long, hypocritical document is being read in Congress. No one is listening. Lots of references to peace and harmony.
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Ex president Portillo of Guatemala was arrested for money laundering ($70M), and arrests throughout Central America are expected, according to Channel 36.

“Mission Accomplished!” says General Romeo Vasquez. Pro-coup La Tribuna also says that Spain will send Charge d’Affaires Alberto Miranda de la Peña to the pretendisential inauguration. Arturo Valenzuela will be there.

Honduras Coup, Act VI, Day 56

Read Rodolfo Pastor in English.

Also on Adrienne, the State Department finally pushes back on the murder of Walter Trochez, a resistance leader who happened to be gay.

RNS links to Proceso Digital (which cites Renato Álvarez’s on his show Frente a Frente) saying that amnesty will come tomorrow.

El Heraldo says Micheletti has a respiratory infection.

Rge editors of the Wall Street Journal equate lifting visas of a couple of Honduran officials with pistol whipping them. Call me fussy, but I think they should be institutionalized.

According to Petroleum World, the UCD (the possibly CIA linked Civic Democratic Union) is objecting to amnesty. They are especially p–sed that the document calls President Zelaya “President,” the way that the rest of the world addresses him. They’re also not happy that Lobo is committing to human rights. Most interestingly, the boilerplate beneath the post says, “Editor’s Note: This commentary was originally published by La Gringa’s Blogito [sic] on 01/22/2010. Petroleumworld reprint this article in the interest of our readers .” and vigorously denies that Petroleum World is endorsing La Gringa. Which means, I guess, that they’ll be reprinting Edmundo Orellana’s juridical analysis of the coup any day now.

The president of that great bulwark of democracy, China, will join other freedom fighters, Israel, Taiwan, and Panama in recognizing the new Honduran Pretendisent.
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Human rights groups say that it’s impossible to have a Truth Commission under present conditions, says Dina Meza of Defensores en Linea. Dina Meza also says that the Congress is completely militarized.

From El Libertador Amnesty International is calling on Pretendisent Lobo to investigate human rights abuses. The resistance will march on the 27th to commemorate Zelaya’s departure from office. According to El Lib, remittances fell 11% in 2009 relative to 2008, foreign investment fell over 40% between January and November of 2009, exports fell 21% and imports 32% shrinking the trade deficit, and the internal debt rose from $368M in 2007 to $736M when Zelaya was deposed. [At the moment, any government statistics are strictly fictional.]