Welcome to Left Out, reality-based independent radio on WRCT 88.3FM, and on the worldwide web at leftout.info. Left Out discusses the news from a perspective left out of the mainstream media. Left Out is co-hosted by Bob Harper and Danny Sleator. Today's program is produced by Matt Hornyak. Listeners are invited to call the program at (412) 268-WRCT (9728), or to send email to bob@leftout.info
The public affairs programming of WRCT (which includes Left Out) is a recipient (one of 10) of a New Person Award from the Thomas Merton Center. The award ceremony will take place on the evening of May 18th. More information is available at www.thomasmertoncenter.org. Here's the citation:
WRCT Public Affairs programs Rest Belt Radio, Fightin' Lefty Review, Left Out, With the Lid off, Ebony Spectrum, and Latin American Hour.
WRCT is a rabble rousing community and student run radio station from Carnegie Mellon University on 88.3FM. These home grown and radical programs help inspire and inform a diversity of social movements throughout the city.
The WRCT spring semester schedule:
Democracy Now! weekdays at 8am.
Free Speech Radio News weekdays at 5:30pm.
Fight'n Lefty Review Wednesdays at 6pm.
After The Bell right after Left Out.
The Lid Off alternating weeks with Left Out.
Rust Belt Radio Mondays 6pm.
Listen to the broadcast (requires MP3 player). (Streaming, Download, Podcast)
David Swanson is creator of MeetWithCindy.org, co-founder of the AfterDowningStreet.org coalition, a writer and activist, and the Washington Director of Democrats.com. He is a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, and serves on the Executive Council of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including Press Secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign, Media Coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as Communications Coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Swanson obtained a Master's degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia in 1997. His website is www.davidswanson.org. (Bio snatched from The Huffington Post)
We'll talk to David about the latest smoking guns, new smoke from old smoking guns, how to fight scandal fatigue, the prospects for impeachment, and what we should be doing. Here are some recent columns to incorporate into the discussion.
Paul Krugman's April 21 Column: The Great Revulsion
Frank Rich's April 30 Column: Bush of a Thousand Days
Paul Hipp has written a brilliant parody of "I Am the Walrus" (the Beatles 1967) entitled "I'm the Decider". We'll play it during our show. It was inspired by Bush's words during a press conference a few weeks ago when he said "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as Secretary of Defense." I don't know who produced this music. Perhaps Hipp did the whole thing. Here's a link to the original, and Here's the MP3 for your listening pleasure.
By the way, Paul Hipp also produced "I'm All Shot Up", a parody of Elvis Presley's "I'm all shook up", that tells the story of Cheney's shooting victim.
The annual White House Correspondents' Dinner is a gathering in which top goverment officials and top press officials meet to schmooze. The cozy, friendly relationship between the officials, and the press (that is suppose to be their watchdog) is on full display.
Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central was invited to be a keynote speaker. (Colbert used to appear on The Daily Show, and now has his own program called the Colbert Report.) He gave an incredible speech. With sarcasm and humor he hammered home the agregious failings of Bush and his administration, along with that of the mainstream press. Right to their faces. The guy was basically lobing bombs into the audience. After a while the laughter sounded forced, because he was really slicing people up where it hurts.
Some examples: Bush's willful ignoring of reality, the press's refusal to actually investigate and report the scandals, the generals in the audience (who he names) who are supporting Rumsfeld "because they have not retired yet".
He had amazing guts to do this. It's hard enough to insult one person to his face. But to do it OVER AND OVER again, to the most powerful people in the country -- who are used to nothing but adulation -- it was truly phenomenal. We'll play this 4 minute excerpt on the air. (We've archived the whole thing, as well as the audio track of the video he produced and showed at the dinner. The video of his performance is on www.youtube.com.)
The mainstream media, of course, is ignoring this. For example, there has of yet been no mention of this incident in the New York Times at all.
Additional links: Stephen Colbert Has Brass Cojones
Truth Out
Common Dreams
Information Clearinghouse
Cursor
Tom Paine
The Independent
The Guardian
Consortium News