Monday, May 30, 2005

Bill Moyers Publicly Fights Back

First time since he stepped down from his 40 years of work at the CPB, pushed out really, six months ago because he was so hated for his honest reporting by the Republican pawn Tomlinson who's now overseeing the CPB. Moyers was still doing his old style journalism, the kind that culled facts, drew conclusions and questioned inconsistencies and lies. Not the current journalism which is to give each side equal time to do it's spin, and then shake their hands, say thank you good night!

This his closing address at the National Conference on Media Reform in St. Louis, Missouri, last week. He quoted an editorial moment from his show "NOW" which he said inflamed the Right to such a degree that they came after him.
“I wore my flag tonight, first time. Until now I haven’t thought it necessary to display a little metallic icon of patriotism for everyone to see. It was enough to vote, pay my taxes, perform my civic duties, speak my mind and do my best to raise our kids to be good Americans. Sometimes I would offer a small prayer of gratitude that I had been born in a country whose institutions sustain me, whose armed forces protected me and whose ideals inspired me. I offered my heart’s affection in return. It no more occurred to me to flaunt the flag on my chest than it did to pin my mother’s picture on my lapel to prove her son’s love. Mother knew where I stood. So does my country. I even tuck a valentine in my tax returns on April 15th. So what’s this doing here? I put it on to take it back. The flag’s been hijacked and turned into a logo, the trademark – the trademark of a monopoly on patriotism. On most Sunday morning talk shows, official chests appear adorned with the flag as if it’s the Good Housekeeping seal of approval. During the State of the Union, did you notice Bush and Cheney wearing the flag? How come? No administration’s patriotism is ever in doubt, only its policies. And the flag bestows no immunity from error. When I see flags sprouting on official labels, I think of the time in China when I saw Mao’s Little Red Book of orthodoxy on every official’s desk, omnipresent and unread.

”But more galling than anything are all those moralistic ideologues in Washington sporting the flag in their lapel while writing books and running web sites and publishing magazines attacking dissenters as un-American. They are people whose ardor for war grows disproportionately to their distance from the fighting. They’re in the same league as those swarms of corporate lobbyists wearing flags and prowling Capitol Hill for tax breaks, even as they call for spending more on war.

”So I put this on as a modest riposte to men with flags in their lapels who shoot missiles from the safety of Washington think tanks. or argue that sacrifice is good as long as they don’t have to make it, or approve of bribing governments to join the ‘Coalition of the Willing.’ I put it on to remind myself that not every patriot thinks we should do to the people of Baghdad what bin Laden did to us. The flag belongs to the country, not to the government, and it reminds me that it’s not un-American to think that war, except in self defense, is a failure of moral imagination, political nerve and diplomacy. Come to think of it, standing up to your government can mean standing up for your country.”

Reat his full speech, it's dead on.


Link

9 Comments:

Blogger That Dude said...

He sure did some good reporting when he threw james Watt under the bus. I heard he was going to publicly apologize, but I guess he never got around to it.

6:58 AM, May 31, 2005  
Blogger Balloon Pirate said...

(ahem)
THREW James Watt under the bus? Watt was the most pro-business, anti-environment person to hold that position until the current regime. Come to think of it, why didn't they bring him back?

Watt wasn't thrown under the bus. His outspoken defense of indefensible positions got him his just desserts. He laid down on the road in front of the bus, but not before he gassed up the bus, got it running, and handed the keys to a drunk monkey.

Watt was no more thrown under the bus than Gary Hart was when he dared the press to prove allegations of infidelity.

It's a sad commentary on our society that his actions then got him canned. His actions today would most likely get him a medal of freedom from this bullshit administration.

Yeharr

7:39 AM, May 31, 2005  
Blogger Balloon Pirate said...

Also, interestingly enough, Tomlinson's stated goal when taking over CPB was to ensure balanced reporting in its news and editorial programs. Moyers regularly included conservative viewpoints in his NOW broadcasts. There are two programs currently running that don't really have balanced reporting:

Tucker Carlson Unfiltered

Journal Editorial Report

Both regularly discuss and opine about the events of the week, from a decidedly conservative slant. I don't think the Journal Editorial Report has yet to have a single liberal or progressive commentator on it. Why isn't Tomlinson decring the unbalanced perspectives on these programs?

Oh, yeah. He made them.

Yeharr.

8:01 AM, May 31, 2005  
Blogger That Dude said...

"THREW James Watt under the bus? Watt was the most pro-business, anti-environment person to hold that position until the current regime."

Dude , cmon he made up a complete lie about him.

12:00 PM, May 31, 2005  
Blogger Phil said...

40 years of award winning journalism and one mistake, as opposed to - take Rush for example. 10 years of lying and one correct fact? Like I said, don't take that blindfold off.

2:02 PM, May 31, 2005  
Blogger That Dude said...

here is a good read on the subject from the leader of the modern conservative movement...

http://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/wfb200505271026.asp

2:37 PM, May 31, 2005  
Blogger Balloon Pirate said...

Hate to pick nits, Phil, but what was Rush's correct fact? That he's a drug addict?

Yeharr

12:04 PM, June 01, 2005  
Blogger Cranky Yankee said...

here is a good read on the subject from the leader of the modern conservative movement...

http://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/wfb20050527


Hello, this is the Credibilty Store. We have plenty if you decide to get some. I think you need to go back and read up on conservatism... Milton Friedman do you take James Dobson to be your awfully wedding wife?

2:31 PM, June 06, 2005  
Blogger ol' curmudgeon said...

I, like a lot of other Americans, believe that the current government has really gone to shit! Why don't you write something on how we can change things? Republicans, Democrats, It doesn't matter which party is in office. They are all funded by big business money. So who do they owe allegience to? Certainly not us little people. I do enjoy reading your blogs!!

6:44 PM, June 06, 2005  

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