Friday, August 19, 2005
Crawford Peace Radio Increasingly Unlikely
I guess I better say this out loud...
The temporary radio station we had hoped to provide at the request of the good folks in Crawford is, IMHO, not likely to happen, at least not this weekend. Just too many people (up to 10K now considered possible), not enough time, (tomorrow morning), way too hot (100+), etc, etc.
We still lack a secure location, (a local folks political decision, we feel), a "tower" (the pickup truck to carry the bamboo poles can't make it), power source, (AC or DC?) all the audio equipment, a limiter, plus basic signage to tell people where to tune in, etc. etc.
At this late hour, 9pm Central, I will still entertain ways to pull this off, and will still be heading to Crawford in the morning with whatever equipment we have in hand, but it seems unlikely we will be on
the air tomorrow.
Prove me wrong, people.
Plus...
Hot heads and hot temps are a dangerous mix...
A CAUTIONARY NOTE:
In addition to the inhospitable Texas weather, there is an increasing likelihood of other unpleasantness in our Central Texas atmosphere. So far, hecklers have been few, ill-informed and merely impolite. "Abortion is murder! Homosexuality is a sin!" The potential for far more, uh, boisterous, confrontations from the thousands of soldiers and their supporters from the nation's largest military installation, Fort Hood, just
15 minutes up the McClellan County road is a distinct possibility. The following should give good example of the fanning of flames...
Bush Launches "Operation Cindy Sheehan"
by Ahmed Amr
Once again, Karl Rove has let the dogs out. A vicious campaign to maul Citizen Sheehan is in play. Instead of answering her questions -- the right wing media hacks are focusing on her motives, her mental health, her ideology and her family. These are standard and classic Rovian tactics used to smear administration critics. The predictable pundits at FOX have taken the lead by portraying Sheehan as a treasonous "crackpot" who is exploiting the death of her son to gain fame and fortune and advance the extremist political agenda of leftist "anti-American" groups. Hate radio stations across the nations are assailing Cindy's integrity and questioning her patriotism. The objective of this smear campaign is to draw fire away from Bush. Instead of focusing on the argument between Sheehan and the president -- we now have a contest between Sheehan's supporters and her detractors. What started out as a search for the truth is being reduced to an ideological spat between the left and the right. The success of the White House plan of attack is by no means certain. Unlike the small band of neo-cons that infest the administration, most Americans are not glued to any ideology. They tend to navigate the political landscape using nothing more than their common sense. Millions of honorable conservatives want answers to Cindy's questions. As for the phantom "extreme left" in America -- it only exists in the imagination of the extreme right, which unfortunately has a very real constituency . . .
(full article at http://dissidentvoice.org/Aug05/Amr0819.htm)
The temporary radio station we had hoped to provide at the request of the good folks in Crawford is, IMHO, not likely to happen, at least not this weekend. Just too many people (up to 10K now considered possible), not enough time, (tomorrow morning), way too hot (100+), etc, etc.
We still lack a secure location, (a local folks political decision, we feel), a "tower" (the pickup truck to carry the bamboo poles can't make it), power source, (AC or DC?) all the audio equipment, a limiter, plus basic signage to tell people where to tune in, etc. etc.
At this late hour, 9pm Central, I will still entertain ways to pull this off, and will still be heading to Crawford in the morning with whatever equipment we have in hand, but it seems unlikely we will be on
the air tomorrow.
Prove me wrong, people.
Plus...
Hot heads and hot temps are a dangerous mix...
A CAUTIONARY NOTE:
In addition to the inhospitable Texas weather, there is an increasing likelihood of other unpleasantness in our Central Texas atmosphere. So far, hecklers have been few, ill-informed and merely impolite. "Abortion is murder! Homosexuality is a sin!" The potential for far more, uh, boisterous, confrontations from the thousands of soldiers and their supporters from the nation's largest military installation, Fort Hood, just
15 minutes up the McClellan County road is a distinct possibility. The following should give good example of the fanning of flames...
Bush Launches "Operation Cindy Sheehan"
by Ahmed Amr
Once again, Karl Rove has let the dogs out. A vicious campaign to maul Citizen Sheehan is in play. Instead of answering her questions -- the right wing media hacks are focusing on her motives, her mental health, her ideology and her family. These are standard and classic Rovian tactics used to smear administration critics. The predictable pundits at FOX have taken the lead by portraying Sheehan as a treasonous "crackpot" who is exploiting the death of her son to gain fame and fortune and advance the extremist political agenda of leftist "anti-American" groups. Hate radio stations across the nations are assailing Cindy's integrity and questioning her patriotism. The objective of this smear campaign is to draw fire away from Bush. Instead of focusing on the argument between Sheehan and the president -- we now have a contest between Sheehan's supporters and her detractors. What started out as a search for the truth is being reduced to an ideological spat between the left and the right. The success of the White House plan of attack is by no means certain. Unlike the small band of neo-cons that infest the administration, most Americans are not glued to any ideology. They tend to navigate the political landscape using nothing more than their common sense. Millions of honorable conservatives want answers to Cindy's questions. As for the phantom "extreme left" in America -- it only exists in the imagination of the extreme right, which unfortunately has a very real constituency . . .
(full article at http://dissidentvoice.org/Aug05/Amr0819.htm)
