Message 1041 of 1813 From dmjo_2000@y... Mon Mar 18 01:16:13 2002 Return-Path: X-Sender: dmjo_2000@y... X-Apparently-To: kpftilab@yahoogroups.com Received: (EGP: unknown); 18 Mar 2002 09:16:12 -0000 Received: (qmail 3228 invoked from network); 18 Mar 2002 09:16:12 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.218) by m3.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 18 Mar 2002 09:16:12 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO n26.grp.scd.yahoo.com) (66.218.66.82) by mta3.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 18 Mar 2002 09:16:12 -0000 Received: from [66.218.67.155] by n26.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 18 Mar 2002 09:16:12 -0000 Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 09:16:09 -0000 To: kpftilab@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: Why KPFT doesn't need Dennis Bernstein Message-ID: In-Reply-To: User-Agent: eGroups-EW/0.82 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Length: 2185 X-Mailer: Yahoo Groups Message Poster From: "dmjo_2000" X-Originating-IP: 208.191.148.29 X-Yahoo-Group-Post: member; u=42990084 X-Yahoo-Profile: dmjo_2000 Rick- I find it strange that you link all the idolized figures of the Left together like paper dolls. This is the Wally James/Bob Buzzanco "great white men of the left" pantheon that definitely is getting a little long-in-the-tooth. It seems to me that Noam Chomsky is a prophetic figure. An intellectual (certainly not a reporter) who applied his linguistic insight that our every utterance is governed by an underlying set of rules to a relentless (and unchanging) structural critique of American (and Israeli) political power and its manipulation of the Media. In Chomsky's world, abuse of power and wrong-doing are inevitable and impersonal so there can be no conspiracy or scandal. His worldview is deeply pessimistic and lacks nuance but is undeniable Truth that always needs to be repeated and remembered (He also hates American Jews who support Israel, without exception). Ralph Nader, in contrast, is a detail-oriented ascetic who believes in working within the system and is the least conspiracy-minded of anyone on the Left (remember this is a man who actually _wanted_ to participate in a League of Women's Voters debate). I think we would all agree that he is one of the truly unique individuals of our time. And is more of a (secular) religious figure like Mother Teresa than anything else. Dennis Bernstein is a conspiracy monger and self-promoter whose "investigations" never quite add up to what he says they do. He appears to be gradually moving into the lunatic fringe. With the constraints of airtime, spending 5 hours/week of primetime on Flashpoints, which is a weak sister to DN!, appears to be a waste of resources. There are many more informed diverse voices in our own town that could be heard. If Flashpoints is embedded in the schedule at primetime 5X/week, the thought of using that slot for something more relevant to Houston will disappear. KPFT will have a solid block of internationally focused political news from 6-8P which may not be the best way to get the progressive message across anyway. And is exceedingly depressing to listen to. --- In kpftilab@y..., "Rick Potthoff" wrote: > Message 1041 of 1813