What Happens the Day After They Spill Blood?

When does inciting violence toward anti-war protesters become real enough to matter?

Does someone have to die? Does getting punched or tackled count?

If you gather a group of people for the express purpose of "fighting back" against peaceful protesters and someone then is hurt or dies, are the people who used the public air waves to assemble them responsible?

Are the bosses of those people, who are aware of and encourage these activities, responsible?

I ask these questions because the other day Phoenix Woman, writing at Fire Dog Lake, wrote about how a peace protester was assaulted by a group from Gathering of Eagles. (link)

I heard another similar story about what happened at the September 15th protest by the Move America Forward Chairman, Melanie Morgan.

Morgan is quite proud of her "Fighting Debs" for punching a die-in protester on Sept. 15 in D.C. (Listen at 3:45 minutes in to this audio link is 7 minutes long (don't want to be accused of being "out of the context!") You can hear how happy she was that an anti-war protester got punched.

Hear how excited she was that "the crowd was so riled up after our rally was over" and since they were all fired up they had to "take it to the streets, I mean they had some 'tudes going on" so of course they go looking for trouble at the die-in. (She sounds like she envisions some kind of Jets/Sharks rumble.)

You will note in THEIR description of Deb Johns punching out this middle-aged member of the "moonbat" contingent, that it was clearly self defense. Is that how it really happened? I don't know, I wasn't there, I don't have video. But in their world when someone shoves you, you escalate it, you punch them.

What if Something Really Happens?

MAF has sponsored counter protest events before and they are planning to do it again. They promise the TV media some shouting and dangle the possibility of violence and the cameras show up. They WANT something to happen. They are the ones setting up the scene.

They were down right giddy the last time the media fell for it in the Bay Area. You can bet they will do it again. The media got their juicy footage of a father of a dead Iraq soldier screaming at the little old woman who owned the land at the Lafayette hillside memorial. With that kind of exciting footage who can resist?

Right now Melanie Morgan of Move America Forward has alerted her "one million member pro-troop" organization to the event below. I want you to note her links to her good friend Michelle Malkin. This was also posted on Malkin's website, Melanie Morgan's website and on the KSFO website.


This following is from Move America Forward's website.

STOP Harassment of Military by Anti-War Activists!

CALL TO ACTION:We will rally to support our troops and denounce efforts by Code Pink and others to 'chase' the military out of Northern California. We make our stand at the Marine Recruiting Center in Berkeley which has just been defaced by anti-war protestors.

Code Pink has a rally planned to denounce the miltiary [sic] on Wednesday, October 17th. We are calling on YOU the patriotic mainstream of this nation to join with us and counter their effort with a pro-troop show of support for our military men and women! Bring your American flags and signs supporting our troops and our veterans!

[snip. Location information]

From Move America Forward Chairman, Melanie Morgan:

Folks,

I have a favor to ask.

Code Pink has vandalized the Marine Recruiting Center in Berkeley, California and is harrassing [sic] the landlord to cancel the lease for the 'illegal, immoral, unjust' war machine--calling our guys 'TRAITORS.'

Code Pink says it is going to demonstrate there until the Recruiting station is driven out of Berkeley.

I am furious about this insult to our troops, and I am organizing a counter protest for Wednesday, October 17th at high noon. I am planning to bring as many of our KSFO audience as possible, plus do a big Move America Forward push for a large crowd.

Tip of the hat to Michelle Malkin - HERE and ALSO HERE.

Enough context for ya? If you wish to see the whole alert you can go to the website www moveamericaforward com.

This is not a, "we will use the public air waves to gather people for peaceful assembly" This is "Hey, I'm furious at those smelly hippies. Let's get some angry people together to provoke the hippies until one pokes us back so we can let them have it in "self defense"." kind of message. And if you don't believe me you can check out of some of the comments on Malkin's page:

On October 5th, 2007 at 1:34 pm, trinitytim said:
Lock em up!

Code Pink has NO patriotism. They are idiots who can’t spell or think. They are not worthy of the protection we provide them.

Lock em up or better yet, as Fasternu426 said, Fix Bayonets!

People told me not to worry about them, they are harmless, they won't REALLY do anything rash, it's all just for show, but with the video that Phoenix Woman had and the audio I have ( link), I conclude that they are just one step away from serious violence.

During the week of the Sept. 15th protests, a group from GOE showed up on the doorstep of Medea Benjamin, of Code Pink. Did they do that so they could have a "market place of ideas" discussion? No. They wanted to let her know they know where she lives and that they can get to her whenever they want.

People ask me if the FCC cares about this. Not really. Not until someone dies, and even then nobody is going to lose a precious license if the management moves fast enough and fires enough people. However, what the FCC may or may not do isn't what the new head of ABC Radio should be paying attention to.


Follow The Corporate Sponsors -- out the door
In the corporate world when your spokesperson does something wrong, spokesperson money dries up and goes away.

If someone is seriously injured at a MAF/GOE event that was promoted on your station by your employees, who do you think they are going to come after financially? Remember the radio stunt where a woman died from drinking too much water? It wasn't just the DJs that got fired.

We do know that James M. Robinson, president of ABC Radio Networks, is aware of all this. He knows that KSFO encourages and supports the MAF activities on their radio station. He knows that KSFO management has given its blessing, its facilities as a meeting space and a TON of free advertising (about 5-7 minutes in every hour) to MAF so they can gather a group of people together for the express purpose of "fighting back"against the anti-war people.

Maybe its because I'm only half human, but I can tell the difference between a group of angry pro-war counter-protesters and a peaceful non-violent protest. (NOTE: I try not to use the word "mob" because it has other connotations, but a group of angry pro-war counter-protesters might be considered a mob to some.)

Of course Robinson probably doesn't care about the inciting violence aspect of this because nothing "real" has happened yet. He's a bottom line kind of guy. Will this cost him money? Will it make him more money than the potential cost? What are the odds? What is the history of these people at this station? Do they follow reasonable guidelines?

Robinson doesn't have to do any preventative action, that is not how corporate managers think. Most wait until AFTER something bad happens, and say, "Nobody could have anticipated..."

If I was a time traveler from the future I could say that Mr. Robinson might consider this his August 6, 2001 PDB. I believe the headline would be, "Morgan determined to strike anti-war protesters".

McCain Brand Slippage on "Straight Talk Express"

A good friend of my bragged about how the ties he bought were all silk but he only paid 2 dollars a piece for them. They looked 100% polyester to me and I wondered how they could be all silk at that low price. He flipped the tie over and showed me the brand name label on the tie.
"All Silk"®

Of course the tie was made out of polyester, but the large brand name label said "All Silk"®

I think about that story and the John McCain Straight Talk Express.®

How do you know that he's giving you the straight talk? Well, you are ON the Straight Talk Express®, so you must be getting straight talk!

Media Matters shows ABC's Tapper gushing about McCain as a straight talker because he's back on the Straight Talk Express® Bus.

And as worrierking from the Media Matters comments section points out:

Straight Talk My Ass.

[link to thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com]

Just because you name your bus the Straight Talk Express"® doesn't mean anything, except to people who are easily lead by apperances. You need to ask "Is the outside appearance consistent with inside?" If it isn't, stop referring to the outside as if it reflects the inside, unless you are being sarcastic.

If you call your self a Pro-Troop group but you really are the, "Get Cindy Sheehan, Stalking Tour" then the media should ask you, "Why the anger at Cindy Sheehan. Did she kill your son? Why the promoting of potential conflict with Code Pink? Are you really more concerned with supporting the troops or making Cindy Sheehan and Code Pink look like criminals?" I hope the media asks THESE questions of the Move America Forward "pro-troop" rally on Saturday.

And if they don't ask those questions maybe they should check their ties, they are probably "All Silk"®

Bush Crony Gets New Orleans Pump Contract (Jeb not George)

Graphic from Michael at the 2millionth weblog (Wow, he got in early!)
I'm not surprised: Jeb Bush is closely connected with the company that supplied the Army Corps of Engineers with pumps that the Corps knew were defective. (link to Matt McBride Fix the Pumps). The defective pumps and drive units were installed in New Orleans last year.

Right now NOLA bloggers are checking into the contract details and memo details about Moving Water Industries (MWI). They might help the press answer some questions raised by MWI's comment in their press release put out by their lawyer.

The allegations in the memo were all dismissed by other inspectors on site, and also by three additional inspectors and five separate independent consultants that were brought in to re-inspect the pumps following the memo.

MWI was chosen in a competitive bid process and because of its world- leading expertise in designing and manufacturing pumps of the size, capacity and durability needed.

I think that people might like to see the memos where the "allegations" were dismissed (wow, lawyer speak much?). And what did the three additional inspectors find? Can we see that report? How about the independent consultants, who are they? Who paid them to re-inspect? What did they re-inspect? Could we see that report? Could you show it to Matt McBride?

Matt has already looked at some of their claims and blew holes in them. Again check out his
Calling BS post.

Here's the part that got me.

So to make this as clear as possible... Not only did the Corps install pumps they knew wouldn't work, not only did they simply give up throughout the entire year of 2006 on repairing the canal walls, they also recommended doubling the order of the known-to-them-to-be-defective pumps and drive units, assumedly with the same manufacturer - MWI.

Melanie Morgan of ABC Disney Radio Uses Parent's Grief to Sell Mattresses

Yesterday Melanie Morgan and ABC Disney Radio station cynically used the anger and grief of a dead soldier's parent to sell more Sleep Train mattresses, mortgages, carpet from Home Depot, cars from Mercedes Benz, pick-ups from Dodge, and fast food from Burger King and McDonald's (all current KSFO advertisers).

How? By using the TV media's need for visual conflict narratives about the war and the personal cost to people and twisting it to show anger at peace activists who created a memorial in Lafayette to the dead soldiers in Iraq. I have to hand it to them, it was perfect for TV. ( If only that burly activist had smacked down that gray haired senior citizen! BTW, I wonder what Yellow Elephant unit he serves with?)

The TV media lapped it up. Link to ABC coverage of the "Cindy Sheehan Stalking Posse"
Kind of sick eh?

You can really hear the smugness in the KSFO ABC/Disney employee's voices over their media "coup" this morning.

They are SO PROUD of themselves. You see folks, when the right uses the anger and grief of parents over the death of a son to attractive media attention they MAKE MONEY ON IT! They really showed Cindy Sheehan how it was done! Way to go ABC/Disney!

NOTE: ABC/Disney is neck deep in this stunt, the rally was at the ABC studios, it's all over KSFO's website and Morgan promoted it in her dual role as ABC Disney radio employee "talent" as well as Move America Forward's Chairwoman.

• I wonder if Morgan's constant begging for donations for MAF during the show counts as a trade-out? Did the "charity" MAF pay for that air time? Or since this is clearly sponsored by ABC/Disney and Morgan is both the MAF chairwoman and an ABC employee, is the promise that revenue will be realized after the promotion results in media coverage which will supposedly lead to hirer ratings? I'm sure the financial wizards will figure it out.

This morning Lee, Mel and OV were simply GIDDY over how they pulled one over on the TV media coverage of the "Cindy Sheehan Stalking Posse". Of course two seconds later they showed their contempt for TV media. (Note to TV news directors: they only say they will respect you in the next day, but they DON'T. Remember this the next time they call to use you. Have some self respect. )

Why so GIDDY at ABC/Disney station KSFO? Well in January they were finally called on their YEARS of violent rhetoric and anti-Muslim talk in a way that DIDN'T lead to positive PR or ratings. For once they paid a financial price for their extremist, violent views. They were revealed as unsafe for decent advertisers and sponsors. And this made them angry. ("You wouldn't like me when I'm angry"- Bruce Banner)

How DARE anyone challenge their control of the nation's media! With this story they wanted to show those nasty bloggers how to do it, OLD SCHOOL!

They sure showed us!

How did they do it? That's a good question for ABC7 KGO News Director Kevin Keeshan. I'm a only half human, so maybe I'm missing something, but I'll provide brief guide for the kids in school who are joining us:

1) Get yourself an AM radio station license. Use resources of your corporate parent (Disney) to promote your violent rhetoric and fool advertisers into thinking you are family friendly radio.

2) Create a "non-profit, non-partisan" group for quick cash to pay your PR firm. IMPORTANT TIP, call it a charity so the suckers members can get a tax deduction (don't tell them it won't be used just for cookies for soldiers but also for endorsing an independent Kurdistan, endorsing Republican candidates and attacking their critics) If necessary, do trade out ads with tax attorneys to make sure it's legal.

3) Create a conflict. The more visual the better. Use lots of ACTUAL emotional words like "conflict" and "desecration" so that listeners will get angry and be ready to rumble.

4) Get help from the right-wing bloggers. Go to the ALWAYS reliable hater, Michelle Malkin, for unconfirmed rumors of upcoming potential desecration to justify your OUTRAGE. Malkin is the preferred inciter these days since Ann Coulter is out of favor.

5) Get your "charity" PR firm to promise the TV media, "There's going to be trouble! There will be lots of flags and parents of dead soldiers to interview." Promise a couple of parents who are in FAVOR of the war, to "balance" the hundreds who are against it who WON'T be available for interviews.) Get the NRA involved, hint about violence. Be sure to remind the ONE TV station that accurately covered your suppression of a blogger critic, over a bogus copyright claim, that "YOU OWE US! YOU have to be BALANCED!" Use their feelings of guilt to get them to cover the story. Play on their desire to watch a peace activist get beat up by an angry grieving parent.

6) Place flags in hands of parents of dead soldiers. (Kudos to MAF for use of Mom, kid and flag!)

7) Invite media to the spot on slow news mid-morning, provide "in your face" action you promised/threatened

8) Media covers "event" positions it as pro-troop not as "Cindy Sheehan Stalking Posse"

9) Sell mattresses! Sell Hamburgers!

10) Profit!

Rinse and repeat in 25 cities! WHEEEE!