Posted on 09/07/2006 4:12:34 PM PDT by Mo1
Senate Democratic leadership threatens Disney with legal and legislative sanctions
by John in DC - 9/07/2006 06:02:00 PM
Read it, then read my analysis of it below:September 7, 2006
The Senate Democratic leadership just threatened Disney's broadcast license. Not the use of the word "trustee" at the beginning of the letter and "trust" at the end. This is nothing less than an implicit threat that if Disney tries to meddle in the US elections on behalf of the Republicans, they will pay a very serious price when the Democrats get back in power, or even before.
Mr. Robert A. Iger
President and CEO
The Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank CA 91521
Dear Mr. Iger,
We write with serious concerns about the planned upcoming broadcast of The Path to 9/11 mini-series on September 10 and 11. Countless reports from experts on 9/11 who have viewed the program indicate numerous and serious inaccuracies that will undoubtedly serve to misinform the American people about the tragic events surrounding the terrible attacks of that day. Furthermore, the manner in which this program has been developed, funded, and advertised suggests a partisan bent unbecoming of a major company like Disney and a major and well respected news organization like ABC. We therefore urge you to cancel this broadcast to cease Disney’s plans to use it as a teaching tool in schools across America through Scholastic. Presenting such deeply flawed and factually inaccurate misinformation to the American public and to children would be a gross miscarriage of your corporate and civic responsibility to the law, to your shareholders, and to the nation.
The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airwaves in serving the public interest. Nowhere is this public interest obligation more apparent than in the duty of broadcasters to serve the civic needs of a democracy by promoting an open and accurate discussion of political ideas and events.
Disney and ABC claim this program to be based on the 9/11 Commission Report and are using that assertion as part of the promotional campaign for it. The 9/11 Commission is the most respected American authority on the 9/11 attacks, and association with it carries a special responsibility. Indeed, the very events themselves on 9/11, so tragic as they were, demand extreme care by any who attempt to use those events as part of an entertainment or educational program. To quote Steve McPhereson, president of ABC Entertainment, “When you take on the responsibility of telling the story behind such an important event, it is absolutely critical that you get it right.”
Unfortunately, it appears Disney and ABC got it totally wrong.
Despite claims by your network’s representatives that The Path to 9/11 is based on the report of the 9/11 Commission, 9/11 Commissioners themselves, as well as other experts on the issues, disagree.
Richard Ben-Veniste, speaking for himself and fellow 9/11 Commissioners who recently viewed the program, said, “As we were watching, we were trying to think how they could have misinterpreted the 9/11 Commission’s findings the way that they had.” [“9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]
Richard Clarke, the former counter-terrorism czar, and a national security advisor to ABC has described the program as “deeply flawed” and said of the program’s depiction of a Clinton official hanging up on an intelligence agent, “It’s 180 degrees from what happened.” [“9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]
Reports suggest that an FBI agent who worked on 9/11 and served as a consultant to ABC on this program quit halfway through because, “he thought they were making things up.” [MSNBC, September 7, 2006]
Even Thomas Kean, who serves as a paid consultant to the miniseries, has admitted that scenes in the film are fictionalized. [“9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]
That Disney would seek to broadcast an admittedly and proven false recounting of the events of 9/11 raises serious questions about the motivations of its creators and those who approved the deeply flawed program. Finally, that Disney plans to air commercial-free a program that reportedly cost it $40 million to produce serves to add fuel to these concerns.
These concerns are made all the more pressing by the political leaning of and the public statements made by the writer/producer of this miniseries, Mr. Cyrus Nowrasteh, in promoting this miniseries across conservative blogs and talk shows.
Frankly, that ABC and Disney would consider airing a program that could be construed as right-wing political propaganda on such a grave and important event involving the security of our nation is a discredit both to the Disney brand and to the legacy of honesty built at ABC by honorable individuals from David Brinkley to Peter Jennings. Furthermore, that Disney would seek to use Scholastic to promote this misguided programming to American children as a substitute for factual information is a disgrace.
As 9/11 Commission member Jamie Gorelick said, “It is critically important to the safety of our nation that our citizens, and particularly our school children, understand what actually happened and why – so that we can proceed from a common understanding of what went wrong and act with unity to make our country safer.”
Should Disney allow this programming to proceed as planned, the factual record, millions of viewers, countless schoolchildren, and the reputation of Disney as a corporation worthy of the trust of the American people and the United States Congress will be deeply damaged. We urge you, after full consideration of the facts, to uphold your responsibilities as a respected member of American society and as a beneficiary of the free use of the public airwaves to cancel this factually inaccurate and deeply misguided program. We look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Sincerely,
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid
Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin
Senator Debbie Stabenow
Senator Charles Schumer
Senator Byron Dorgan
This raises the stakes incredibly for Disney.
If it's a real letter threatening free speech, and Democrats are revealing their true colors--- it's just too good to be true before the November election.
That was the term - Google Bomb.
Really? I missed "Special Report" tonight. I just googled it out of sheer curiosity.
Even ABC's own site postings about the series are far down the list. The libs are in a serious lather over this.
What are the odds their rage will backfire?
Our present troops deserve us to go out and vote. Even for the likes of Chaffee over a dem if it comes to that.
And frankly, after this stunt I don't want to hear another word about RINOs, spending on education or even the damned immigration wall.
I want to hear why it is so important to enlarge our margins even further in the house and senate.
Exactly.
WOOF!
Here's who gets hurt the most by the dems insane quest for power...
THE FINAL INSPECTION
The Marine stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.
"Step forward now, Marine,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint.
I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.
And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand.
There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the Marine waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Marine,
You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
If you care to offer the smallest token of recognition and
appreciation for the Military, please pass this on and pray for our men and women Who have served and are currently serving our country And pray for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.
Dick Morris on this matter:
The attack by Bill Clinton and his allies on the upcoming ABC miniseries "The Path to 9/11" is "outrageous," charges former Clinton aide Dick Morris.
As NewsMax has reported, Bill Clinton through his surrogates have demanded that ABC "correct all errors" in the docudrama or pull it from the air, charging that it is a "fictitious rewriting of history" regarding President Clinton's handling of the terrorist threat.
But Morris claims that Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, and the president himself "were both responsible for failing to catch or kill bin Laden on several different occasions."
Morris has served Clinton as an advisor for twenty years and notably as Clinton's senior campaign strategist during his 1996 re-election.
Morris states that the evidence for this failure is documented in the 9/11 Commission's report and summarized in "Because He Could," the book about Clinton that Morris co-authored with his wife Eileen McGann.
The commission's report, released in the summer of 2004, "highlighted the weak, incompetent, hesitant, and inconsistent attempts of the Clinton administration to kill or capture Osama bin Laden," according to the book, which devotes an entire chapter to Clinton's mishandling of the threat.
"The report's account shows the president and his advisers at their worst."
One time, the United States "canceled an attempt to kidnap bin Laden out of concern that we might injure or kill him and be accused of using assassination as a policy tool," Morris told NewsMax.
"The president had yet to make a finding that it was OK to kill bin Laden. The reason he had not is that he did not yet know bin Laden's connection to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The reason he did not know that is that he did not fast-track the investigation.
"A second time, we did fire missiles but alerted the Pakistani military to our plans and they tipped off bin Laden, and he escaped."
According to the commission's report, the United States alerted Pakistan because the missiles targeting bin Laden, who was in Afghanistan, had to cross Pakistan, and U.S. officials did not want Pakistan to think the missiles came from India.
"A third time, our plans to attack by missile were canceled, partially out of chagrin over having missed him before and partially because we had just bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade by mistake and were worried about being called trigger happy," said Morris.
"The president was also concerned about civilian deaths in any such attack.
"The underlying theme of the ABC coverage, that he was distracted by impeachment, is of course true. But more so, he was gun-shy" because he was afraid conservatives would say he had launched a failed attack "in an effort to 'wag the dog' and distract people from the Monica Lewinsky affair."
Morris concluded: "His fear of such attacks on him inhibited him from acting."
This chic on Hannity is a Bimbo
And she ain't helping the dems
I'd like to think so!
She's a kneepad bimbo.
Correct, but apparently, they have done just that!
Exactly.... There is far more important issues than spending and immigration... Freedom is one of them...
I wonder how many conservatives who are planning on sitting out the election are paying attention to this. If the dems ever get power again, they will not relinquish it and you can say GOODBYE to free speech.
I read that Disney/ABC was planning on giving copies of The Path to schools across the country. That, as much as the showing this weekend, is probably what has got the dems quivering in their shoes.
[... I wish we could see the Democrats get this excited about stopping
TERRORISTS as they are about a mini-series that portrays them in a bad light...]
Must be repeated.
Both Clinton stooges. This episode is a good test of whether the Clinton mafia still has the ability to silence their enemies, or in this case, silence anyone who would tarnish the supposed greatness of Bill Clinton's legacy. Well, Clinton and his lackies would have done better to keep quiet, because now their belly-aching is attracting everyone's attention, and I hope it reminds people of the dangerous fecklessness and neglect of the Clinton Administration to the rising menace of Islamic terrorism. I can only hope that some on the right, and particularly in the Republican Party, take the Dems to task over not only their attempt to intimidate the Disney Corporation into silence, but over the history of neglect that characterizes the Clinton era.
1-888-355-3588
The signatures are not in correct order.
The name goes first, then the correct title.
Example: John Doe, United States Senate Majority Leader
[... I wish we could see the Democrats get this excited about stopping
TERRORISTS as they are about a mini-series that portrays them in a bad light...]
Just amazing what their priorities are!
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