Posted on 09/09/2007 5:57:58 PM PDT by kristinn
I'm scheduled to be on Andrea Shea King's radio show tonight at 9:15 p.m. EDT on Orlanda, Florida station WDBO. You can listen live by clicking the source link and following the link from there.
Andrea wrote up the preview for the show:
One year ago this month, the ABC miniseries "Path to 9/11" was broadcast amid a storm of controversy. But when it aired, the $40-million, five-hour ABC miniseries, which garnered seven Emmy nominations, drew a combined two-night audience of more than 25 million viewers.
The controversy erupts anew, with writer Cyrus Nowrasteh saying ABC-Disney is halting "Path to 9/11" release on DVD because the piece is extremely damaging to the Clintons, especially to Hillary's chance at the White House.
Nothing new there. Last September, National Review political reporter John Miller argued that liberals were trying to blacklist the ABC program.
Unlike recent movies such as Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center and United 93, the ABC miniseries doesn’t concentrate solely on the events of 9/11. It does dramatize that day, but the bulk of the show focuses on what led up to the catastrophe: the failed attempt to destroy the Twin Towers in 1993, the embassy bombings in 1998, the attack on the U.S.S. Cole in 2000, and so on. The main character is FBI agent John O’Neill (played by Harvey Keitel), who leads a counterterrorism operation aimed at nabbing Yousef, Osama bin Laden, and their ilk. He is a diligent G-man, but the miniseries is, for the most part, a chronicle of massive failure.
The show is based on the work of the 9/11 Commission; chairman Thomas Kean, a Republican, played a role in its development. ABC spent $40 million to produce it. Even in Hollywood, that’s not chump change — especially for a television program.
If nothing else, The Path to 9/11 makes one thing abundantly clear: Hard-working law-enforcement officials had multiple opportunities to stop the terrorists before they wreaked their havoc, but inept leadership, mainly by political appointees of the Clinton administration, got in the way. Secretary of state Madeleine Albright comes off as a shrill obstructionist, CIA director George Tenet appears wimpy, and ambassador to Yemen Barbara Bodine (played by Patricia Heaton of Everybody Loves Raymond) is a word that rhymes with witch.
Worst of all is former national-security adviser Sandy Berger. He is the closest thing in the film to a villain who isn’t an actual terrorist. In one scene, a group of military operatives surrounds bin Laden in his remote Afghan compound. “Do we have clearance to load the package?” asks an American who is leading them. Berger refuses to give it — he simply flicks off his video-conferencing camera — and a remarkable opportunity to snatch or kill bin Laden slips away. This week the Los Angeles Times reported that Cyrus Nowrasteh says the Clinton campaign is pulling strings to prevent the release on DVD of the controversial documentary: Among the nearly two dozen television DVDs slated for nationwide release on Sept. 11 is the second season of "Bones," the third season of "Grey's Anatomy" and the miniseries "The Starter Wife" that aired earlier this year. Not on the list on that day or any other in the near future is last year's highly controversial "The Path to 9/11."
The $40-million, five-hour ABC miniseries, which recently received seven Emmy nominations and drew a combined two-night audience of more than 25 million viewers, is for now on the path to nowhere. Its Amazon page reads: "Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."
With no date for the release, questions are being raised about whether political pressure is behind its current status as a stalled or discarded DVD project. The reasons are murky, but the miniseries' writer, Cyrus Nowrasteh, believes it's crystal clear: Powerful forces are out to protect Bill Clinton's presidential legacy and shield Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) from any potential collateral damage in her bid for the White House.
Nowrasteh, also one of the miniseries' many producers, said he was told by a top executive at ABC Studios that "if Hillary weren't running for president, this wouldn't be a problem."
"Whatever anyone may think about me or this movie, this is a bad precedent, a dangerous precedent, to allow a movie to be buried," added Nowrasteh, who received death threats even before the miniseries was broadcast last September. "Because the next time they'll go after another movie. The Bush administration may go after a movie. The next administration may go after a movie. No matter who it is, they may go after a movie. I think this town needs to stand up."
Even before "The Path to 9/11" aired on ABC late last summer, the docudrama ignited a political firestorm, almost entirely from high-profile Democratic leaders who viewed its account of events leading up to the terrorist attacks as a right-wing hatchet job on the Clinton administration and its efforts to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. Attempts to pressure ABC to cancel the miniseries at the time were unsuccessful, but last-minute network edits were imposed to quell the critical outcry.
An ABC spokeswoman reached Tuesday would say only that the company "has no release date at this time," and she declined to comment further.
Meanwhile, Sen. Clinton's campaign staff did not return an e-mail or a phone call seeking comment. Cyrus Nowasteh will join us Sunday night on "The Andrea Shea King Show" at 9 ET on WDBO AM 580 in Orlando, FL (streamed at wdbo.com) to tell why he believes Her Royal Pantsuit and Loyal Cohorts are tyring to stop us from buying "Path to 9/11". And what kind of pushback he's getting in the fight to get it released.
Also -- we'll talk about the progress in Iraq and Gen. David Petraeus' upcoming Report to the Nation with Lt. Pete Hegseth (seen frequently on Cable News Channels) and David Bellavia (author of "House to House: An Epic Memoir of War") both of VetsForFreedom.org.
Kristinn Taylor of Gathering of Eagles.org will update us on plans for next Saturday's Washington DC pro-Victory rally.
****HOW TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW****
THE ANDREA SHEA-KING SHOW streams "live" on the internet beginning at 9 PM EST on WDBO, Orlando. Click here for the WDBO page, near the top of that page, click "listen live" and a player will appear with the show. (I recommend disabling your pop-up blocker) Now, if the player doesn't load completely, "X" it out and "refresh"--repeat the process. (rinse and repeat?)
"LIVE" IN-SHOW CHAT ROOM--We call it THE BIG BLUE BALLROOM. To enter the chat room, click here, then click the link in the upper right corner.
After the room loads, you can register a screen name and password that will be saved for you. If you don't want to register a name, just click the "guest" box, enter your screen name and off you go.
There will be two chat rooms available to you, pick the "Sunday Night Show". It's the 2nd one. When you enter, THIRDWAVEDAVE will be there to greet you and to introduce you to everyone else. **Chat room rules are simple: No rudeness, no attacks, no profanity. Otherwise, you get the boot.
D.C. Chapter mega ping!
direct stream:
mms://uni3.cox.streamaudio.com/WDBO_AM
And the live chat link is RIGHT HERE.
To get into the Chat room, click the little "guest" box, and type in a screen name, and that should be all you need to do.
I’m listening .. she’s awesome!
Do you know what time Kristinn is on?
Very, very soon...
WDBO BTTT!
kristinn, hearing you now in Washington State!
If I did it right, the links in #4 should work...
Nowrasteh is right to be worried, if the libs think that the only censorship is going to be of their preferred variety in the future—if they make censorship routine—they are mistaken.
Kristinn’s on the radio ... NOW! Link is above.
Talking about the Gathering of Eagles, the losing libs, etc.
Andrea, the show host is fabulous!
Go, Kristinn!
Thanks STARWISE, devolve are you catching this??
flash 123 chat even works with Opera — Whoo Hoo!
(From Seattle) Great job!!!!
I listened. Great interview, kristinn!
You were fabulous, kristinn!! Thank you for all your efforts.
Andrea: “Say hi to all those FReepers .. I love everyone of ‘em!!”
WOO HOO!
She’s really really a great conservative voice.
Well done, as usual.
See ya Friday at WR.
Maybe the writer should release a DVD of his request to Disney along with a clip of the Chris Wallace interview with Bill Clinton.
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