TonyPalmeri.Com Update For February 6, 2005
1. Radio Commentary Debuts on Friday, Feb. 11: On Friday, Feb. 11, 2005 at 6:15 p.m., Radio Commentary with Tony Palmeri and Jim Mather will debut on WRST, 90.3 on the FM dial. Our producer is UW Oshkosh student Bob Knudsen. The first guest will be UW Oshkosh Department of Political Science Chair Jim Simmons, and we will be able to take phone calls. I'll be sending out a reminder with the call-in number later this week.
2. Palmeri/Klug WPR Week in Review Online: You can hear former Republican member of the House of Representatives Scott Klug and I on Wisconsin Public Radio's"Week in Review" here: http://mailafriend.guide.real.com/index.html?link=http%3a%2f%2fclipcast.wpr.org%3a8080%2framgen%2fwpr%2fjca%2fjca050128c.rm
3. Censored in 2004, Part II: Little to no coverage of Bush and Kerry's views on media ownership rules was my top censored story of 2004: http://www.tonypalmeri.com/mediarants35.htm
4. Palmeri History of Public Address Syllabus: This semester I am teaching a senior level seminar called "History of American Public Address." If you click Weekly Schedule in the Syllabus you can get access to lots of good historical speeches and other resources. http://www.tonypalmeri.com/422sp05.htm
5. Campus Greens Announce "A Time To Start": The UW Oshkosh Campus Greens sponsor this second annual teach-in: http://www.geocities.com/abvtimes/ATime
6. Multinational Monitor's 10 Worst Corporations of 2004: On Russ Mokhiber and Bob Weissman's annual list are Abbott Laboratories, American International Group, Coca-Cola, Dow Chemical, Glaxosmithkline, Hardee's, Merck, McWane, Riggs Bank, Wal-Mart http://www.multinationalmonitor.org/mm2004/122004/mokhiber.html Hardee's makes it due to this yummy treat, the heart attack on a bun: http://www.monsterthickburger.com/
7. Danger Will Robinson!! Structural Deficit Creator Threatens Return!!: Tommy Thompson, probably the most fiscally irresponsible governor ever to serve the state of Wisconsin, is threatening to return. http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=31020 The sad thing is that if you talk to state employees, many of whom are getting pulverized by Jim The New Democrat Doyle, some are actually feeling a bit of nostalgia for Tommy.
8. AAUP Statement on Ward Churchill: University of Colorado professor of ethnic studies Ward Churchill is embroiled in a storm of controversy over an essay he wrote the day of the 9/11 attacks, "Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens" in which he compared the victims of 9/11 with nazis. The controversy erupted after Churchill was invited to speak at Hamilton College in New York. The speech was eventually canceled. Colorado Governor Bill Owens has called for Churchill to be fired from the university: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/03/national/main671638.shtml The American Association of University Professors has released a statement defending academic freedom: http://www.aaup.org/newsroom/Newsitems/churchill.htm
For what it's worth, Churchill is coeditor (with Jim VanderWall) of an invaluable work: The COINTELPRO Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret War Against Dissent in the United States. (Boston: South End Press, 1990). Anyone who thinks US government harassment of dissenters started with John Ashcroft is seriously misinformed and should check out the COINTELPRO Papers.
9. Wisconsin Gets a B-, Deserves an F: Wisconsin gets a B- from the Government Performance Project, an outfit that advocates Kettl Commission type reforms for state governments. That's not surprising, since Kettl himself is the research director of the Government Performance Project.
Given that Wisconsin government is rife with quid pro quo politics, it's difficult to see how it can ever rate higher than an "F" grade until an effort is made at comprehensive political reform. Without reform, according to Common Cause, we could be looking at a $40 million governor race in 2006. That's obscene.
10. George Martin Rocks the World Social Forum: The World Social Forum was established as a grassroots, peace and justice alternative to the global power whitewash known as the World Economic Forum.
George Martin of United For Peace and Justice, formerly CO-chair of the Wisconsin Green Party, delivered this address at the forum: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/02/01/1515249
11. High School Students Reflect Shocking Ignorance of First Amendment. Sign 'o the times:
Nearly three-fourths of high school students either do not know how they feel about the First Amendment or admit they take it for granted.
“These results are not only disturbing; they are dangerous,” said Knight Foundation President and CEO Hodding Carter III. “Ignorance about the basics of this free society is a danger to our nation's future.”
The study is here: http://firstamendment.jideas.org/professionals/news_release.php
To see the 2004 Jefferson Muzzles, compiled by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, go here: http://www.tjcenter.org/muzzles.html#twofour
For links to First Amendment and Free Speech Resources, go here: http://www.tonypalmeri.com/fafs.htm
12. New York: Same Sex Couples Must Be Allowed To Marry. http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/documents/record?record=1634
For a 50-state rundown on gay marriage laws, go here: http://www.stateline.org/stateline/?pa=story&sa=showStoryInfo&id=429948
13. Pictures From the Campaign Trail: Lots of candidates are running for office in Oshkosh this year. TonyPalmeri.Com has been out photographing the action.