Online Blogintegrity

When Spocko's struggles were just beginning to get attention, one of the more popular narratives that arose weeth the press coverage was "Old Media vs New Media".

Most bloggerros are already familiar weeth thees narrative, and eet has no escaped attention among the many blogs who have already written about Spocko, and hees attempt to inform the advertisers at SnuffRadio560am of the violent rhetoric that they were unwittingly sponsoring.

One very powerful tool that we have online, one wheech has only begun to show eet's true utility, ees YouTube.

There are currently about a dozen videos regarding Spocko's Saga on Youtube. Over half of them represent Pro-Spocko viewpoints. The latest ees from a video-gráficerro who posted under the title KSFO Watch.

Thees was certainly a pleasant surprise, eh?

He or she has some fun weeth the gomberros from SNUFFRadio 560am, and debunks some of the boneheaded claims they made een the run-up to their three hour wank-a-thon from last December wherein they failed to adequately squelch the controversy.

¡Muchas gracias to whoever ees on KSFO-Watch, I can no speak for Spocko personalmente, but I can say weeth pleasure that we here (at the leetle treehouse that integrity built) appreciate jour efforts!

Let us have more YouTube videos, and more Audio-files, let's have more bloggerros calling attention to the kind of ugly language weeth wheech these thugs are polluting the public airwaves, and the public discourse.

These pipples clearly have no idea about los bloggerros.

so.

¡Enjoy!


Feel free to share thees video, and pass eet around to jour amigos, and post eet on jour websites.

Thees video was brought to us by the great and funny Dan McEnroe, to whom we owe muchas gracias.

¡Muchas Gracias, Sr. McEnroe!

Update: by ¡EGN!

Sr. McEnroe tells me that for those who can no view the JouTube, the new Spocko video ees up at Google Video and iFilm as well.

Here ees the Google-video link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1859340737993512910

We weel post the iFilm link as soon as she arrrives.

so.

Our good friend Noel Sheppard is at it again. This time he's mad at USA Today for not realizing that Spocko has been ordered by Nancy Pelosi to destroy the few remaining outposts of conservative expression left on Earth, 'cause she's, like, Sauron, and Spocko's, like ,the Nazgul, or some shit like that.

I've been gazing in wonder at NewsBusters lately. Sheppard n' the NB gang seem to spend most of their time watching The View so as to gasp in delicious horror at Rosie O'Donnell, which is I suppose Noble Work, though one wonders if Elmo were not the Graver Threat to the Union. Or maybe Twinkie the Kid. I suppose, though, that when your whole gig is warning about the evils done by an imaginary beast like The Liberal Media, you have to do something to justify drawing a paycheck while you sit on your ass all day, and you might as well TiVo The View. I just hope Sheppard doesn't have too much trouble laundering the Nacho Cheez stains out of his house dress.

Anyway, his latest is pretty stupid. He wants to claim that it's really the Liberals who are against free speech because they support the Fairness Doctrine, which would censor conservatives by requiring radio stations to present both sides of political issues. Because nothing says censorship like hearing both sides.

But the Fairness Doctrine stuff is irrelevant to the real issue here, anyway. It's meant to distract from the ridiculous crap the KSFO hosts have been spewing -- the delight in testicle torture, the odes to genocide:

Now you start with the Sears DieHard, the battery cables connected to his testicles, and you entertain him with that for a while, and then you blow his bleeping head off.

Indonesia is really just another enemy Muslim nation. ... You keep screwing around with stuff like this we are going to kill a bunch of you. Millions of you.

That and the "call Allah a whore" fun.

Sheppard desperately wants for this to all be an abstract wrangle about Free Speech, and not about the KSFO hosts being held accountable for what they say. Which is understandable: when you set out to defend the indefensible, you have a lot of bullshitting to do:

After all, one of the positions of the liberal bloggers concerning this Spocko issue was that ABC/Disney had no right to try and stop him from using audio clips from KSFO’s broadcasts, a position that I likely agree with. However, at the same time, these folks are trying to stop KSFO from making the statements present in those clips.

As such, these folks are fighting to allow bloggers to copy and air statements made by radio personalities that they themselves object so strongly to that they want said personalities to not be allowed to make. In effect, the bloggers are saying that they should be free to disseminate examples of what they feel is hate speech at the same time that they are trying to invoke a boycott of those committing the act.

Anybody see an extraordinary hypocrisy here?

Yeah, yours, buster. Nobody has ever said KSFO doesn't have the right to have its jocks babble about killing millions of people and hooking dicks up to batteries. Go ahead. All we're saying is, you want to say shit like that, and, say, the California State AAA might not particularly like having the genocide joy up next to their ads. Particularly insofar as what has motivated the organizations who have pulled their ads is not the threat of a boycott, but their sense that what the KSFO idiots said was genuinely obnoxious:

MasterCard and the state-run Michigan Economic Development Corp. say they advertised on KSFO talk shows last year but won't place new ads. "It's hard to listen to those clips and not be offended," says Mike Shore, spokesman for the Michigan agency.

No shit. Anyway, fair use is a wholly different legal (and moral) concept than is hate speech -- a revelation that will not surprise anyone who isn't a wingnut desperately seeking a way to make delighted lubrications on genital electrocution a legitimate source of pleasurable meditation for the multitudes. Or, in other words, stop pretending that people who want to connect gonads to Diehard batteries aren't sick little freaks, and we'll leave you alone, you dishonest little prick.

Oh, and since Sheppard started with the grammar flaming:

As amazing as it might seem, our liberal brethren on the opposite side of the aisle don't understand that the more they look this horse in the mouth, the less freedoms they might find they have in the future.

Not "less" -- "fewer." Dumbass. (The mixed or even miscegenated metaphors aren't a grammatical but a stylistic lapse, so I let them pass, indulgently.)

(Cross posted to Whiskey Fire)

Click Play. This one goes out to the KSFO fans.

How many times do we have to keep saying this? Oy...

Our friend 'blogicalthought', affiliation unknown, proves just as tenacious as the Howling Moonbats of DOOM!!!! in LeftBlogistan when it comes to the KSFO story. And while we, here at OBI, admire his elegant prose and affectatious search for the Truth, I think everybody's grown a wee bit tired of his insinuations and accusations. But, we're also integrimongous, so I thought I'd respond to his comment at Stark's place by rebutting his points in context. Hear that? In context! Qua! Let's begin, shall we?
..........................................................................................................................................................................

Mike,

I am still waiting for a response regarding Nancy Pelosi’s and Ted Kennedy’s role in this debacle, especially since there is an appearance of trying to squelch free speech on public airwaves in the District of her Constituency. This is especially since the issue you claim to be attached to is within her district and would benefit her to “squelch the conservative voice” on public airwaves.

'bt' is referring to a conference call with some Dem leaders. A call that many people participated in. There's been no effort to 'squelch free speech on public airwaves' by anyone involved. (Also, note the airwaves belong to the Public, not KSFO or Morgan/Rodgers.) Stark's website is called Calling All Wingnuts, bt. Are you really that surprised that he might jump into this game?

Btw, Pelosi's district has what to do with this? Stark was calling O'Reilly (NYC), Hannity (NYC), Limbaugh (FL) and how many others?

The sequence of events, as revealed online, is as follows and is quite interesting for a “first year law student” who is living off financial aid and his wife’s income from work:

1. For over a year, a lone poster, who was previously involved in the John Kerry Campaign doing public relations for him [wtf? thousands of people were. what's your point?], began a campaign against a conservative radio station, claiming he was only advising advertisors of the content of the productions. Can you prove he was doing otherwise?

2. Despite the above claims, he continued the process and encouraged others to do it as well, thus not really “advising advertisors” but trying to pressure them to stop advertising on Conservative Radio. How is 'encouraging others to do it' pressuring advertisers?

3. You travel to Iowa for the Iowa primaries, campaigning for the Democrat party. Wtf? Again, so did thousands of other people.

4. You meet with Duncan Black during the summer primary in Connecticut, where you are campaigning for Ted Lamont who is running against Joe Lieberman, though you are not a resident of CT. and are not a Constituent. Again, wtf? And again, thousands of people traveled to CT to campaign for Lamont, so... Are you saying that Stark should avoid any area where Atrios might be present? You don't know the first thing about political campaigns, do you?

5. You actively campaign against Senator Allen for the Democrat party in Virginia [now , suddenly, constituents aren't allowed to campaign for the DemocratIC party in their home state?], go to several campaign functions and disrupt them with acts of violence, pushing people, holding them up against doorways, using force and pushing a female reporter out of the way. [proof?] You do so, claiming you are a reporter for Air America. [again, proof?]

6. Cenk Ugyar of The Young Turks, Air America Radio Show issues a press release stating you have been hired by Air America, AFTER you advised others you were disrupting the Republican rallies on their behalf (allegedly trying to get an interview.) [proof ot timeline?]

5. [sic '7'] Just weeks before the Media Reform Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, you begin to organize liberal bloggers, mainly “Eschatonians” or rather known as “Atriots” who blog for Duncan Black and David Brock of Media Matters, financed by George Soros, to “blogswarm” the issue. First of all, Atriots don't 'blog for Duncan Black'. He has his own blog - you might have heard of it... Eschaton? Secondly, 'weeks before the Media Reform Conference'? It was also weeks before Martin Luther King Day and Easter - so? And, nobody that I know, in this matter, is involved with Media Matters. Also, based on material available online, you'll notice that this 'blogswarm' occured a week after Spocko's website was pulled by his hosting company. Should we have waited until after the Media Reform Conference? Next time, let us know - we'll see what we can do for you.

You'll also notice that Atrios and Media Matters didn't jump on this story when it started. Nor did Kos or Aravosis. Or Pelosi or Kennedy. 700+ practically unknown bloggers did, though - because they cared about the story. Without being paid to care.

6. [sic 8] During the height of this “blogswarm” you post an article on Huffington Post, claiming to be a “Marine” the week of the Conference. Wtf?!? Yeah, and don't forget - his name isn't even 'Mike'. It's Michael. Oh, the lies!!! God, you're pathetic, bt...

7. [sic 9] During this same week, Media Matters does a series of articles regarding the radio station. So... what then... Media Matters should have waited or not responded to this story? Do you not get the name? Media matters...??? They write about the Media and things relating to the Media?

8. [sic 10] On January 10th, you announce you were involved within a Conference Call with Representative Nancy Pelosi and Ted Kennedy on January 9th and announce you went to DC to the Capitol Building on the 10th. You state you would post a transcript of the conference call, yet never did it. Ok... Stark's a lazy blogger who promises posts that he doesn't write. Scandal! And again, many people participated in that conference call, Sherlock Drones.

9. [sic 11] On January 10th, the San Francisco Chronicle writes an article about the “lone blogger” (who appears to have ties with the San Francisco Chronicle.” A board member of Media Matters is a “journalist” with the San Francisco Chronicle and writes with the journalist who wrote the article. Um, what are these 'ties with the SF Chron'? And who's the MMFA board member?


10. [sic 12] On January l0th, the radio station announced on January 12th, the radio station would open the air waves for all to call, with their concerns about content matter of their shows for a three hour period of time. What does this have to do with anything?

11. [sic 13] On January llth, you wrote you spoke to the Station Manager and tried to negotiate terms for your input in calling into the show. On that same date, Media Matters writes an article regarding the situation. Oh my God! Two liberal writers wrote something on the same day! Conspiracy!

12. [sic 14] On January 12th, the “lone anonymous blogger” doesn’t call in, however YOU do and you are able to give your say on the matter. Which means what? Obviously, you're trying to imply that Stark is Spocko. Nice try. Could be that Spocko was working and couldn't call the show. Could be that KSFO refused to air his call. Could be that he just couldn't get thru, what with all the wingnuts trying to call and tell Melanie how they'd kick Spocko's ass for a whiff of her knickers and a spank on the ass.

KSFO asked Stark to call. He and Spocko aren't responsible for each other's phone calls, so pointing the finger at him because Spocko didn't call is rather illogical and juvenile.

13. [sic 15] On that same date, Media Matters does an article about the matter and the Media Reform Conference begins in which Duncan Black, David Brock of Media Matters (funded by Soros) [proof?] participate with Democrat legislators Hinchey and Sanders, representatives of Moveon.org (funded by Soros) [proof?] your boss (or rather client since you claim to be a free lance reporter hired to disrupt Republican campaign functions) Cenk Ugyar of the Young Turks, Air America Radio Program and Geena Davis, Danny Glover and Jane Fonda attend, as well as Jesse Jackson. Oh my God! Jesse Jackson? Conspiracy!! Tell you what, bt, since you're such a smart guy, why don't you contact the folks who set up the Media Reform Conference and ask them when they started planning it.

14. [sic 16] Following the Conference, you focus on media reform and the blogosphere is flooded with blogs about media reform. How very odd that the blogosphere would focus on Media Reform, following a Media Reform Conference. Seriously, it's almost creepy... It's like... the Borg! I just hope it didn't spread to newspapers and the telly. Eek!

Now, perhaps you can tell us what the role was by Nancy Pelosi in this obvious campaign by Democrats to squelch free speech as well as the role of Ted Kennedy. What role did Pelosi play in trying to “shut down” a radio station in her own district? I'm going to guess... none, none and... again, none? Unless you have better proof than you've dropped on us, so far.

What strategy is being used now, besides your new “website” attacking Disney? Get back to us, we're still waiting for Soros' e-mail.

What is your relationship with Nancy Pelosi and is she supporting you, despite your violent actions against Republicans and the assault upon a woman? Love child? Err, American citizen who's glad she's the new Speaker of the House? And, let's have some proof for that 'assault upon a woman', pally.

Does she condone the sexist comments you make about women and your actions toward them and how does Ted Kennedy feel about them? Cite?

How much income do you receive in order to travel through the U.S. campaigning and attending conferences? This past year, you traveled to the KOS Conference, to the Iowa primary, to Connecticut and have made regular trips to DC to meet with top national legislators, despite the fact you are a “poor student” relying upon student loans and your wife’s income to support your family. Let me run this one backward. Stark doesn't live that far from DC - that's info available online, sugarlips. More importantly, how much income do You receive? I'm guessing the source would be Move America Forward or maybe Russo, Marsh & Rogers / King Media Group. Am I right?

Law school ain’t cheap, especially at a Tier I level. Since you claim to be a former waiter and wine steward up until last year, solely funded by student loans (which hardly cover tuition) and your wife’s income is the sole income, as you claim) just how are you financing everything? Are you donations reported to the IRS as taxable income, since this is a hobby and not a business? Well, that's really none of your business. But again, how much are you making and who's paying you?

Just a few questions, which as a public figure who is involved with national political strategies to affect elections….by the way, you have my email address, so you can always respond….why is it you don’t want to answer the questions but prefer to have your “spokesman” address your issues with attacks? Is your spokesman really you? I'm sure that Mike is flattered, but I'm not sure that even I would call him a 'public figure who is involved with national political strategies to affect elections'. Not yet, anyway. As for his 'spokesman', I'm not sure whom you're referring to with that strawman point. Cite?

By your statements, it appears your actions are not only sanctioned by the Democrat Party but also strategized by them, as well. Finally, this is reinforced by your recent interview on CNN, where it appeared you spoke for the Democrat Party. Wtf?!? You need to re-view the CNN bit - it 'appeared' he spoke for the DemocratIC party? Seriously, get some professional help.

So, is this all one propoganda campaign with the roots being with Nancy Pelosi? No, the roots being Thomas Jefferson and God. Sweet Jeebus in a prom dress, you're ridiculous! (Seriously, though - God did organize this and we do speak for Her.)

Lets see if you have the integrity to answer this one….rather than have the Media Matters lackeys answer it with offensive attacks. Lets see if the Democrats let you answer it. Well, considering your questions would put a 9/11 conspiracist to shame, I don't think it's really a matter of 'integrity' if Mike decides you're not worth the pixels. I, on the other hand, think you're a fucking shill for Russo Marsh & Rogers / Move America Forward. Sue me...
..................................................................................................................................

Let me make this perfectly clear to everyone - nobody at OBI is being financed, led, instructed or otherwise moved to write anything about the KSFO fiasco. We do it because we love a good fight, we stand up for the 'little guy' and we demand a little better from other bloggers and the Media. (Plus, KSFO sucks from Hell to breakfast.) And when you fuck with someone we know, we're going to call you on it - no matter who you are.

I'll testify that I've never received any personal correspondence in this matter from Atrios, Media Matters for America, the Democratic Party (other than John Laesch, for unrelated issues), George Soros, Nancy Pelosi, Ted Kennedy, Geena Davis, Danny Glover or Jesse Jackson. (Though, I did see Jesse at a function in Chicago, once - tall man, well dressed, seemed quite pleasant - and Ted Kennedy was a non-political client of mine, a few years back.) I haven't received one cent for any blogging, hosting, pimping, instant messages or broadcasting on this story, nor have I received any other form of compensation. My personal site doesn't have any ads because I don't have the traffic (hint to you advertisers - I'm cheap!) and OBI has never sought any advertising.

I'm not affiliated with Media Matters for America, George Soros, the Democratic Party (I made small contributions to Rowley, Lamont, Spencer, Laesch and McNerney), Atrios, any KSFO competitors, or any blogs but this site and my personal site. (I guest post at Mia Culpa and Sine.Qua.Non's Journal, occasionally, but haven't posted on this issue.)

I can't speak for everyone at OBI, Mike Stark or Spocko - but we've exchanged an enormous number of e-mails in the last few weeks and nobody has even hinted at any involvement by MMFA, the Democratic Party, George Soros or any other quasi-interested corporate or political party. And I'm damned sure that, even if it were off the record, one of them would have said something - just so we could gloat privately.

So, you can take the word of a regular OBI contributor (and if you doubt our veracity for integricipity, read some posts from May or June of 2006), or you can listen to a nozzle who uses the Google to see if anyone's talking about him and may just be an employee at Russo Marsh & Rogers, Move America Forward's PR team. I'm talking about you, 'blogicalthought'... what, you think I don't watch the stats here?

Anyone who thinks there's some well-financed, well-coordinated campaign to 'squelch the free speech' of the KSFO ghouls doesn't understand the nature of the internets. I'm talking to you, this time, Melanie.

Rip -

PS - If you're a free-wheeling, spirited advertiser who digs our groove more than money - e-mail us!

LOS ANGELES — In a dispute between the "new media" of the Internet and the "old media" of broadcasting, liberal bloggers and conservative talk-radio hosts are accusing each other of trampling the First Amendment's guarantees of free speech.

Hundreds of blogs are exhorting national advertisers not to buy commercial time on Disney-owned KSFO-AM in San Francisco because some on-air hosts have made comments that the bloggers allege are racist or encourage violence.

KSFO personalities say the bloggers are trying to muzzle their political views. The bloggers say they're rallying behind the free-speech rights of a colleague whose website was briefly shut down after Disney's ABC network threatened to sue over alleged copyright violations.

Vamanos, go read the whole theeng, I found eet a fair appraisal, overall.

¡...y tambien, they give Mike Stark the last word!

Shhhhhhhh... joo can almost hear the weengnut cabezas go Booooom.

so.

Thers Ads: There's another article up, from UPI.

Via Ellroon.

This NewsBusters article purportedly debunking Spocko's take on KSFO's hateful gibberish has been getting some acclaim in Greater Wingnuttia. Let's play with it.

It's a long article, comprised mostly of whine and straw. Noel Sheppard argues that the sound files Spocko sent to KFSO's advertisers documenting their adolescent shrieks are taken out of context, that Spocko is an illiterate, that liberals are trying to shut down conservative speech, and that the Liberal Mainstream Media are big and mean and Spocko is taking orders from Nancy Pelosi about the Fairness Doctrine.

Bullshit.

1. Sheppard's claims about Spocko's "out of context" clips are stupid.

Sheppard wants to use this as the place where we take evidence. Fine.

In that post, by my kindest count, there are nine audio links. Sheppard challenges the context of two. So he's down by seven. Go ahead, do the math your own self: he's got a shitty case.

First, embarrassingly, Sheppard tries manfully to put a positive spin on a demented call for testicle torture. Now, this may come as news to Sheppard, but when you say (paraphrasing) "let's look at the context in which he said 'let's hook his dick up to the battery cables,'" you have just lost any claim to the moral high ground. No, seriously. Even Michelle Malkin's guest posters get this simple point. (Fun Actual Quote: "Now you start with the Sears DieHard, the battery cables connected to his testicles, and you entertain him with that for a while, and then
you blow his bleeping head off." Classy!)

As for the one about calling "Cheverolet's product shitty," well, maybe Sheppard has a case there, though Chevy perhaps still might not be thrilled by such larking. But... one for nine, hooray.

More seriously, Sheppard simply doesn't address how overjoyed Chevy might be to having their product associated with comments like "just stomp their bleeping guts out," or, even better, this gem:

Indonesia is really just another enemy Muslim nation. ... You keep screwing around with stuff like this we are going to kill a bunch of you. Millions of you.

That's called genocide, you know. Not that many advertisers use genocide-themed commercials, for some reason.

Sheppard is an ass. Where's the exculpatory context for that one, sport? Where's the humor in the "call Allah a whore" remark?

Sheppard invokes "context" when it's convenient and ignores it when it isn't, and in the instance of the testicle torture quote, manages to come across as depraved. Well done!

2. Spocko's letter has typos. Omigod. Sheppard invokes the dreaded spelling flame!

It takes a pretty refined sensibility to get all huffy about a few misspellings right after you've just argued that there is a proper "context" for testicle electrocution. Feh. (You also kind of look like a snotnosed little priss when you put a "sic" after a misplaced apostrophe in a plural possessive.)

Anyway, two can play this game. It's fun! Here's Sheppard:

This is especially true for the proprietor of Daily Kos, Markos Moulitsas, who resides in Berkeley, and most certainly should have been cognizant of the rather obvious satire being purported by the KSFO crew.

Put aside for the moment that Sheppard doesn't understand how Daily Kos the site works, and thus that dragging Kos into this is pretty silly. Instead, enjoy Sheppard's claim about the KSFO crew's "purported" satire while he scurries off to find himself a dictionary, the poor dope.

3. Sheppard pretends that Spocko and the Left don't get the distinction between wee little plucky KSFO and the Big Bad Totally Liberal MSM:

complaining that this station presents right-of-center views is akin to carping and whining about a classical station playing Beethoven.

By contrast, as cable outlets like MSNBC and CNN, as well as the major broadcast networks, don’t advertise or promote themselves as being liberal – in fact, they feign impartiality whenever questioned on the subject – it is significantly more fair and appropriate to point out to viewers across the country when program hosts and guests are allowing their biases to dominate and impact the content of the issues being presented.

Straw man. The substance of Spocko's complaints are to do with crazy crap like raving about killing millions of Indonesians and hooking testicles up to battery cables. Nobody gives a rat's ass if KSFO wants to be "conservative." The problem is the psychotic burbling.

Anyway, there's no such thing as the "Liberal Media." But since this is a central tenet of the Wingnut Faith, there's no point in debating it. What is more to the point is that Sheppard is trying his damnedest to distract from the issues at hand, that is, what the KSFO hosts actually said, the right of advertisers to know what they're paying for -- and the legitimacy and downright creepiness of KSFO and its parent companies slapping Spocko with a bogus legal threat.

It's also funny how Sheppard wants to paint Spocko as "an anonymous coward," a nonentity whose campaign has had no effect... but also as a Terrible Threat. You know, Mike Stark wouldn't have gotten involved in this, and neither probably would have we here at OBI to the extent that we have, if KSFO and ABC and Disney hadn't sent out that threat and gotten Spocko kicked off his ISP. I find it hard to believe that they would have done that if Spocko wasn't having any effect. Unless, of course, they are the real cowards in this affair. Could be!

4. Sheppard has a lot of irrelevant bullshit about how this is all some crazy liberal plot, because Mike Stark has a freelance deal with Air America and how Media Matters doesn't yell at Don Imus. (Imus as a Liberal Media icon is pretty rich -- see, well, Media Matters, here, here, here, or here.)

Spocko isn't being paid for this. Nobody at OBI is being paid for this. Mike Stark isn't being paid for this. Noel Sheppard and the KSFO loons n' goons are being paid for this.

Power to the people. But if that Sheppard tripe is the best these clowns can muster, well, let's hear it for wingnut welfare, I suppose.

Cross posted at Whiskey Fire.

Thees Sunday, 10:00 am on CNN's Reliable Sources.

The valiant Mike Stark takes on the easily confoos-ed weengnutbar Dan Riehl
een a debate regarding Spocko, KSFO, and the depredations of El Ratón, weeth the asinine Howie "the Ho" Kurtz as referee.


Our compañerro Mike Stark, of www.callingallwingnuts.com has the details:

Published by Mike Stark January 20th, 2007

I’ll be on Reliable Sources tomorrow morning, 1/21, sometime between 10:30 and 11:00
on CNN with Howie Kurtz from 10-11. I should be on in the second half.

I believe the topic will be KSFO, but I’m really in the dark as to what exactly Howie will want to discuss. At my suggestion, they’ve also invited Dan Riehl, of Riehl World, to debate the topic.

Señor Stark expresses confidence een the outcome of thees match-up, and, having read some of the posts* on Riehl-Bizarro-Worldview.com, all I can offer by way of advice ees to say:

Mike, be gentle.


*(more on wheech mañana)

Our amigo, Dan McEnroe, has put together a new YouTube video
summing up the Spocko Saga.

Eet includes clips and pictures of the SNUFFRadio560am
hate-spewers, as well as some of their more colorful rantings.

Eef joo are new to thees story, or know someone who needs to get caught up
on the Spocko vs Disney Saga, thees piece ees an excellent place to start.

McEnroe even put een a leetle beet more about fair-use as well,
and the soundtrack ees just the icing on the cake, eh?

¡Gracias Sr. McEnroe!

[Rip adds] - The NY Times article on Spocko and KSFO is #5 on their Most Blogged articles list. So! (because Gato forgot to say it)

[Rip -]

Just a few thoughts, while I wait for the coffee to kick in.

I'm sure you're all familiar with this scene from KSFO's Whiniest Story Ever Told:

But as numerous blogs have noted in recent days, on December 21, ABC Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group, apparently issued a cease-and-desist letter targeting Spocko and his blog for copyright violation. Specifically, ABC alleged that by posting brief audio clips of various talk radio hosts on KSFO, the site was "in clear violation" of the station's copyright. The letter demanded that the owner of the site "remove the content immediately." (Media Matters)

Oh, they cried and cried about copyrighted material, how Fair Use didn't apply and how it made them look bad. Poor little radio hosts just asserting their God given right to protect their Intellectual (snort!) Property.

Well, it seems that Melanie Morgan is just terribly forgetful, laughably disingenuous or downright arrogant - or, more likely, all of the above. Examples, you say? I'd be happy to...

From Melanie's personal site, melaniemorgan.com:

On Melanie's 'About' page

NY Times Columnist Condemns Melanie
July 4, 2006
Op-Ed Columnist

Don't Turn Us Into Poodles
by NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

A pop-up window with what appears to be an entire op-ed column by Nicholas Kristof. According to the NY Times, the original column is 747 words. No commentary from Melanie, btw - just Kristof's column.

On Melanie's From Melanie page

All the News That's Fit to Bully
by Frank Rich

TWO weeks and counting, and the editor of The New York Times still has not been sentenced to the gas chamber. What a bummer for one California radio talk-show host, Melanie Morgan, who pronounced The Times guilty of treason and expressly endorsed that punishment. She and the rest of the get-the-press lynch mob are growing restless, wondering why newspapers haven't been prosecuted under the Espionage Act.

And again...

I was named
WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
by Keith Olbermann of MSNBC

June 29: Click here to see me being named "Worst" person in the world.

June 30: Click here to listen to me being named "Worser" person in the world.

The June 30 link is an mp3 copy of audio from MSNBC's Countdown program, stored on Melanie's site.

So, it seems that Melanie doesn't have any problems posting other people's copyrighted materials to her website. And, notice that these items are all critical of her and/or her work. Keep that in mind when you read Melanie's wailings of 'we're under attack!'.

A coward who won't even publicly identify himself is trying to destroy my reputation, and has threatened the security of myself and my family, as well as my friends and colleagues at KSFO Radio.

Huh... It appears you enjoy attacks on your reputation. Badge of Honor and all that rot, eh?

And I'd love to see some evidence of anyone threatening your security, Melanie. Or maybe this is another one of those 'existential threats' you're always going on about, yes?

[Update] - Commentor 'stogie' takes a jab at OBI for our dearth of comments. Group sigh... There, we're all better now. Here at OBI, though, we know that it's not always what people say to us, it's what people see - and how many people see it.

Just sayin'...

Rip -

In other news of wingnuts with lawyers, Taylor Marsh is threatened with a lawsuit. She doesn't seem too sussed about it, frankly...

Shorter NewsBusters: Persons of morality and integrity will always ask "what's the context?" when they hear someone gleefully ranting about genital torture.

I don't really have the time to get into this now, but that's some article over there...

[Rip adds] - Remember our friend 'blogicalthought'? He's still out there.

One has to wonder if the bloggers who continue to perpetuate this propaganda realize the average American has the resources to go back through historically cached internet sites and to research the backgrounds of the individuals who are posting? And one has to wonder if the attitude of the blogger is that the average American is basically dumb and will buy into it?

You may recognize that very comment from some other sites, as well. Apparently, the story has changed to 'Spocko and everyone who was at Eschacon are working for George Soros and Media Matters, and that's why we're all ganging up on KSFO.' I kid you not.

Yo, Soros! Where's my check, baby?
[Rip -]

UPDATE from Thers... Oh dear, the wingnuts are all a-flutter. And -- believe it or not -- along with a hearty helping of the usual paranoid tripe, Michelle Malkin actually is sensible enough to tell KSFO that they're wrong about the lawsuit and that genital torture screeds are counterproductive. There's a bit of irony there, perhaps, but credit where it's due.

FURTHER UPDATE from Thers... Whoopsie, that wasn't Malkin, but a guest poster, one See-Dubya. I am overcome with shame at the error.

Shorter Monday's New York Times: Spocko to Hate-Radio: Hit the Road

Reporter Noam Cohen does a fair job of recounting not just the hateful theengs said by personalities on SNUFF Radio560am, but also the lies they tell een order to avoid responsibility. (emphasis ees mine)

Among the advertisers Spocko contacted, and who have been reported in The San Francisco Chronicle to have stopped advertising at KSFO were Bank of America, MasterCard and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. During the Friday show, one of the hosts, Lee Rodgers, read an e-mail message asking if the station had lost any sponsors so the listener could, in turn, boycott the former sponsors. Ms. Morgan said “one advertiser — exactly one” had left the station.

Perdóna mi, Señora Morgan, jour pantalones, they are en fuego.



Thees next part, though, she ees my favorite:

Joo see, thees company "1&1", they are probably going to suffer some backlash from thees, because they acted like leetle cobardes invertebradas:

[Spocko's] lawyer, Matt Zimmerman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit digital rights group based in San Francisco, says that 1&1 acted too quickly in response to the ABC letter...
(snip)
A spokesman for 1&1, Neil Simpkins, said the company was acting on the advice of its lawyers and noted that the material “is being distributed all over the Internet.”

Señor Simperkins seems to be missing the point. Eet ees precisely because of hees futile attempt to censor Spocko that thees material ees available all over the internet.

Heckuva job, Señor Simperkins.

UPDATE by Thers: See also TRex and Mike S, his own bad self. And yeah, the NYT reporter was fair.

We don't ask for anything else but a fair hearing, "MSM."


UPDATE II :by ¡El Gato Negro!

David Neiwert at Orcinus has a detailed interview weeth the Vulcan-of-the-Year, entertainingly entitled: Picking Spocko's Brain.

In the other story we're monitoring, the saga of Tucker Carlson acting like a complete git hits the WaPo. Tucker defends himself thusly:

In a phone interview Thursday, Carlson acknowledged that he approached Williamson in the store and said he was "very aggressive" because he wanted the post removed: "I don't like to call the police or call his boss. . . . I'm a libertarian. I'm not into that."

The spectacle of a "very aggressive" Tucker Carlson is one I honestly cannot contemplate without laughing. Though if I needed the job, it wouldn't be so funny.

C'mon, Tucker, grow a pair. Anyone who goes through life worried about what video store employees might do on their blogs is not really living life to its fullest.

Why is Tucker employed by anyone, again?

I was able to listen to about half an hour of KSFO's "town hall meeting," and I have a few comments.

First off, the hardest thing for me to grasp is that these people are actually adults. Granted, Morgan, Sussman, and Rodgers are as trapped in their respective personae as the Three Stooges, which limits their emotional range and their ability to be honest. Plenty of entertainers are one-trick ponies, and expecting Lee Rodgers not to act like Lee Rodgers is like expecting REO Speedwagon not to play "Ridin' the Storm Out" at the Colusa County Fair. Still, I find it amazing that these folks were obliged to defend their credibility today - if not their sanity - and the best they could manage, while I was listening, was a collection of infantile lies and evasions that would make a cat laugh.

For instance, Rodgers played the clip in which he fantasized about attaching electrodes to a criminal's genitals before shooting him in the "bleeping" head. Afterwards, he insisted at length that he was simply taking a principled stand in favor of capital punishment.

I don't know of any state where genital torture is a legal prelude to execution, and I don't know any supporters of capital punishment who get excited at the thought of "entertaining" criminals by electrocuting their balls. I've heard many arguments for the death penalty in my day, from people across the political spectrum. Rodgers is the only person I've ever heard recommend the sexual torture of condemned Americans as a sort of foreplay to execution. It's bad enough that such punishment is unconstitutional, but the fact that Rodgers sounds like he's jerking himself off while he talks about it makes it very uneasy listening indeed.

Now to be fair, Rodgers always sounds like he's jerking himself off. It's very possible that he's so captivated by the timbre and cadence of his own voice that he pays no attention to what he's actually saying. But even so, the fact remains that advertisers are naturally going to question the wisdom of being associated in the public mind with a man who waxes quasi-erotic over testicle torture. Hell, they'd be exceedingly bad businesspeople if they didn't. Which makes it all the more bizarre that Rodgers would call the people who were upset by Spocko's clips - i.e., KSFO's advertisers - "gullible dolts." This is damage control like Iraq is a cakewalk.

Speaking of genital torture, Brian Sussman didn't come across as quite as much of a slack-jawed onanist as Rodgers when he was fantasizing about lopping off Iraqi penises, but he was a lot whinier and siller. He complained that he'd been unfairly characterized as "pro-torture," simply because he read a "scripted bit" based on 24 Hours, in which the torture of an Islamofascist just happens to save a bunch of American lives. Morgan and Rodgers found this a compelling argument, of course. The thing is, see, Sussman wasn't saying torture is good; he was just implying that it works really, really well. Hey, if you'd rather have your buddies murdered by ragheads than lop off a pecker or two, that's your own "bleeping" problem, you...you...clown.

I'm sure we've all heard media figures and politicians argue soberly that torture can be effective. While we may've disagreed with them, we probably didn't write letters to advertisers to complain that they were given airtime. But the problem with Sussman is that like Rodgers, he sounds too goddamn cheerful. Even people who agree with BushCo's policies in theory don't necessarily want to have their noses rubbed in the gory details, especially by people who seem to revel in cruelty, instead of seeing it as a painful duty that must be draped with the Veil of Civility. It's quite possible that some of KSFO's advertisers are worried less about the moral implications of advocating torture than they are about the fact that Sussman and company are too déclassé and...well, too fucking weird, quite frankly.

If KSFO's hosts want to display their dipshit sadism like a badge of courage, that's their right. But expecting advertisers to accept it unquestioningly is a bit delusional, to put it mildly. (Which is odd, because conservatives normally have a much better grasp of "personal responsibility" and "unintended consequences" than you or me or the man in the next street.)

Melanie Morgan was fairly subdued, at least while I was listening. She announced that unlike the "coward" Spocko, she shows her real name and face to the public. True enough, I guess. But as we've recently had occasion to notice, Morgan also has a phalanx of lawyers with which to frighten her critics, and a powerful radio transmitter with which to denounce them. As usual with right-wing bullies, there's no acknowledgment of any difference in power and resources between the wildly successful, world-beloved, truth-empowered, all-American radio hosts and the pathetic Castro-loving faggot-ass crackpots who dare to slap their wrists.

Actually, that's not quite true. In fact, Morgan worried at one point that Spocko might pose a physical threat to her. You can just imagine Melanie and her cronies cowering in the underground bunker they built in anticipation of the Y2K meltdown, while Spocko - his pockets bulging with George Soros's blood money - growls and paws at the hatch like a starving bear trying to break into a beaver lodge.

Dissenters were invited to call, although Rodgers repeatedly cautioned the Hun against pissing his bleeping ass off with their bleeping profanity, lest the station lose its bleeping license already. I'll bet you a bottle of soda pop that these ruff tuff creampuffs are equipped with as lengthy a tape delay as you'll find in the business, but Rodgers clearly believes that what his acolytes don't know won't hurt him.

Anyway, the best call I heard was from a gentleman who was furious that anyone would dream of accusing his heroes of spouting racist and eliminationist hogwash. He went on to say that "Mohammedism" is a cancer, and that "the only cure for cancer is radiation." QE bleeping D, ya goddamn lie-berals!

That's right about where I had to tune out. Overall, I was pretty amazed at how poorly thought out and executed their "rebuttals" were. Obviously, they pleased the station's regular listeners, who'd eat a plate of dogshit and ask for seconds if Lee Rodgers required it of them. But I can't see how this grueling triumphalist circle-jerk is going to reassure advertisers, or bring new ones into the fold. I'm extremely prejudiced, of course, but looks to me like this round goes to Spocko.

[Rebooted because it's important]

As I mentioned in one of the original thoughts below, I spent a lot of time watching the buzz on this story building over the weekend. (And kudos to Mike Stark for dropping it on dKos – not that Thers wasn’t on the ball at OBI, as well.) I don’t have an exact number right now, but yesterday Stark claimed over 500 blogs pushing Spocko’s story. And one of the beautiful things, as I watched this unfold over the weekend, was the sheer number of ‘unknown, 27th-tier’ blogs who picked this up. (their words, in response to Spocko’s ‘self-proclaimed 5th-tier blogger’ comment)

Jeebus…. When I say it was ‘beautiful’, I mean it was truly beautiful. I don’t know how much traffic these folks get – evidently many of them are in the same corner of the Web as I am – but some of these bloggers went above and beyond the Call, in my opinion. Some gave short excerpts with links, some wrote impassioned calls for Justice, some gave brilliant analyses of the situation. And most of you/us have probably never heard of them.

Bloggers who never make the A-, B- or C-list blogrolls. People who never get a lucky link or h/t from Atrios, never make the Recommended List at dKos, never get quoted by anyone that some people think matters… But they took 2, 5, 15, 30 minutes of their time and gave their slice of real estate to stand up for another Z-lister because they believed in what Spocko was saying and doing.

As I rummaged around in Technorati and Google, and drilled down into the links, I came across dozens of bloggers who deserve more attention. I wish I’d copied blog addresses, so I could give all of you great bloggers some real cowbell – I’m sorry, I didn’t think of it at the time. But I did leave comments on quite a few blogs. Nothing fancy or particulary deep – just a quick note to let them know we were paying attention.

So, if there’s a comment on your blog that said ‘Thanks for helping to spread the word! Rip – (Team Blog Integrity)’ – that was me. I know I didn’t catch all of you – again, I apologize.

I wish I could do more to thank all the bloggers who grabbed Spocko’s story and ran with it. Without you, this would have been another unheard rant on a few blogs, that slipped away like a frat boy in the early morning after a one night stand. Every one of you deserves more gratitude than I could possibly express.

I’m sure I speak for Spocko and all the scalliwags from Online Blog Integrity when I say:

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! You have our undying gratitude and appreciation. Keep up the good work!

Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

Team Blog Integrity

[Update] -It's on HuffPo. Thanks again!

This is meant as a roundup of commentary on the KFSO Pity Party today, where Melanie and her gang sang their woeful lament at how big 'ol mean Spocko made them cry.

Sinfonian gives a running account of the festivities here.

DKos diarist abbaanthony liveblogs his take.

OBI's own Ripley rips into 'em in his DKos incarnation.

Crooks and Liars adds their perspective.

See also Gaelic Starover.

...more as they come in...

Update from Phila: Too Sense makes a good point about the KSFO supporter who called for wiping out "Mohammedism" with nukes (because "the only cure for cancer is radiation"):

At one point, a caller called Islam "Mohammedism" and advocated for using nuclear weapons against Muslims everywhere. Needless to say, the KSFO hosts instead warned liberals to be civil when they call.

Heh indeed, as the cognoscenti say.

Also, if anyone has a clip of Rodgers claiming that people who were offended by Spocko's clips are "gullible dolts," please send it along to one or another of us OBI folks. I really think it deserves wider circulation.

[Rip adds] - Over the weekend, I checked out KSFO's website - just rummaging around, as I'm known to do. There were a good 15 or so advertisers on their KSFO Advertisers page.

Check it now, Bleed!

Just sayin'...

Also - Sinfonian takes a Sears DieHard - the battery cables connected to Lee Rodgers' testemony and blows his bleepin' rumor off! Here...

Dig!

[Rip - ]

Brief blog management note. I've added links to Spocko & Mike Stark over to the left. Any other additions...? Also, I changed the comments settings to disallow anonymous commenting. As amusing as the troll is in the last post, a little of that stuff goes a long way.

ADDED: I've been busy today and missed the KSFO pity party, but this running commentary from abbaanthony at DKos is pretty funny. Especially this bit, given that I just changed our comments preferences:

2:15 PM - We are hypocrites for requiring people to register to post comments and that we might comment out spam or hate-filled comments.

Oh dear. Again the Left wants censorship! I suppose it's true; we simply cannot cope with brilliance like this --

NOT AFRAID like a toddelr is not afriad to craps his diapers

It would be advanced anthtropomorphizing to call you juvie pukes People

The true voice of the Melanie Morgan fan, indeed.

Suskind over at Drawing the Line has a great post on the long, sad decline and fall of Radio station KSFO, from iconic jazz station to hate-fueled elimination-station.

In the mid seventies I lived in San Francisco, where one of the many splendors was the thriving jazz scene. It was a joy to tune into KSFO and listen to Jazzbeau Collins, coming from The Purple Grotto.

(snip)

The nighttime was really the only time to hear Al Collins. He was soft and gentle and soothing and cool like a thumbnail moon.

He passed away this week after a lifetime in Bay Area and New York City radio. When I knew him best, and I knew him only as a listener, he was the night guy on KSFO.

That's when KSFO was the world's greatest radio station -- so sophisticated, so full of personality that it's hard to believe there really was such a place on the airwaves.

Por favor go read the whole theeng. He draws on the memories of S.F. journalistos Mark Simon and Herb Caen to aid een thees bittersweet remembrance of a once-proud San Francisco icon.

Suskind has offered us a small peek eento what KSFO was like een eet's hayday, before eet became SNUFF RADIO-560AM.

A sympathetic SFGate article on Spocko features this droll counterattack from KSFO:

In a statement Wednesday, KSFO program director Ken Berry said, "Many of the remarks attributed to KSFO on the Internet are old, lacking context and, in some cases, outright lies. When our hosts have stepped over the line, they have apologized and have been reprimanded."

Which line is that, Ken? And which of Spocko's audio clips are "outright lies"?

I guess we'll find out at noon tomorrow. KSFO is planning a sort of community outreach program, in which the hosts targeted by Spocko will take calls and e-mails from interested parties, and perhaps even apologize for - or at least explain - some of their more offensive remarks. That's the official story, at least. My assumption is that it'll actually be an unctuous wingnut love-in, with plenty of starstruck listeners begging the hosts to stand firm against political correctness, and a handful of inarticulate lefty dissenters trotted out for cheap laughs. But only time will tell, and I'd be very pleased if I turned out to be mistaken.

They've asked Spocko to participate; needless to say, he wasn't stupid enough to accept. Spocko's strength is that he appeals in good faith to broad community standards and sensible business practices (e.g., questioning the wisdom and morality of funding people who want to exterminate half your prospective customers). He has nothing to gain by singlehandedly taking on these bullies - and their engineers and audience - on their own turf. He understands that they're hothouse flowers, and can thrive only in a heavily controlled environment; the idea that their abuse of power could effectively be addressed by helping them to abuse their power further is a nonstarter, obviously.

Since they've essentially lost the real battle with Spocko, it's not surprising that these folks would want to drag him into their lair for a carefully choreographed rematch. My understanding is that Melanie Morgan has called Spocko a coward for refusing to climb into KSFO's hot seat, but as he points out, there's no reason such a debate couldn't have a more evenly matched lineup, and be held on neutral territory. For that matter, there's no reason Morgan et al couldn't venture out of their bubble, for once, and into "enemy" territory, without their training wheels or safety net. No reason, that is, beyond the obvious fact that they want ratings, and complete control of the discussion. And revenge.

It's not cowardly to decline an invitation to one's own lynching. What's cowardly is being unwilling to debate your opponent unless you and your cronies outnumber him four to one, and can cut him off or shout him down at will, and can choose whether or not to give his supporters a voice (as opposed to regular listeners who agree with you that "the liberal tree needs to be pruned").

KSFO's morning show is a microcosm of modern conservatism, really: thin-skinned, petty bullies remarkable only for their ability to lie fluently, and their inability to take even a fraction of the abuse they dish out.

Having gotten that out of my system, I'd like to draw your attention to the "Make a Donation" button at Spocko's Brain, which allows you to contribute to his legal defense fund. Alternatively, you can contribute to the EFF, which has been giving him free legal help. Or both.

I'll leave the last word to Spocko:

I’ve been called a hero. I’m not a hero, a hero is a journalist in the middle-east working his or her ass off to tell a story that might cost them their life. Consider donating to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

My button for donations is on the right. It’s the button for PayPal right under Spocko's United Reserves Against Killing of Journalists and Liberals (Hey that spells out SURAK, of JAL wow what a coincidence!), and I put it up only at others’ insistence, but if you don’t have money, your kind words are welcomed too.

(Crossposted from Bouphonia.)

or Why the Spocko/KSFO Story Matters

Well, it seems as though KSFO Snuff Radio 560-AM is in full Panic mode now, desperately back pedaling and trying to fend off their duly deserved criticism and quite a bit of unwelcome attention. And I’m enjoying that thought immensely, believe me.

But let’s remember why this particular story matters. This isn’t merely a case of ABC/Disney trying to shut down an individual’s right to speak out and criticize. Remember why Spocko started this campaign originally.

Watch this video, then listen to the KSFO audio clips again (if you can stand it) and reflect on the similarities.

(Hoist a pint for jag at Impious Digest. Video produced by the ID gang – shamelessly and gratefully lifted from their site by me. Thanks guys!) (Direct Link)

Excellent! Great timing, as well. KSFO Snuff Radio 560-AM will be holding a radio townhall tomorrow at 12:00 PST. I don't have the details in front of me but I'll post them in a bit.

SF Gate article

In a statement Wednesday, KSFO program director Ken Berry said, "Many of the remarks attributed to KSFO on the Internet are old, lacking context and, in some cases, outright lies. When our hosts have stepped over the line, they have apologized and have been reprimanded."

Berry declined to specify Wednesday which remarks were old or lies or who was reprimanded. Instead, at noon Friday, KSFO will pre-empt regular programming to allow four KSFO personalities cited in Spocko's e-mails to answer questions on-air about the controversy from the public, bloggers and media. "I don't tell people what to say, but I do think there will be some mea culpas there," Berry said.

Berry said KSFO will invite Spocko to appear on the air, but the blogger has declined such invitations in the past, saying in an e-mail to The Chronicle, "I'd be just another revenue generating 'event' for them to their audience, and they would love that kind of 'controversy' because it would MAKE them money and they still had control."

Spread the word! and Thanks!

Rip -

The Spocko saga continues: see Rip below and also Media Matters.

But in other news of Blogs and Integrity, and hence Blogintegrity, we learn with some surprise that Tucker Carlson is an absolute wanker. Well, actually I think we knew the wanker part. What does come as a bit of a surprise is that Tucker! fancies himself a bit of a thug. Read Chuckles' posts for the background, but here is the latest:

Tucker Carlson's lawyer or someone claiming to be in this position has hassled my friend and former coworker around 7:30 to 8:00 pm this evening. This person marched into the video store and demanded information about me and insisted that my friend divulge my full name, place of residence and any other further places of employment I might have. My friend is totally effing rad and rightly told this person that there was no way in hell he/she was giving away any information about me and then demanded that this hassler then produce their name and place of employment. The hassler claimed that this information was confidential. My friend then said, "Well, now you know how I feel." I am rather in awe of the loyalty this friend displayed and I should find some appropriate way to pay him/her back for the aggravation suffered.

If this harassment does not cease by 5 pm Tuesday the 9th, I will be forced to take further legal action.

Oy. Tucker is kind of a jerk.

See also 3 Bulls! and Auguste. For his reference, Tucker may here observe someone who is NOT Tucker Carlson, Worf, the Online Blogintegrity Patron Fictional Character:

Now, see what Worf is doing? Looking down in absolute scorn at Tucker acting like a complete wanker.

Well, it’s been a fun week, hasn’t it? Yes, it has. But we’re not done yet, kids. Not by a long shot.

Melanie Morgan fights the War on Terror – Sock Puppet style!

I’m sure you’ve seen the YouTube video, which details a few of the nice things that KSFO’s talkshow hosts have been saying lately. But have you checked out the comments? I was wondering, a few days ago, who this Move America Forward character is. He’s doing quite a nice job of trolling the comments for the video, even if he does seem to miss the intent, with the standard boilerplate Wingnut Talking Points.

Well, I just grew curiouser and curiouser, (my friends call me Whiskers) so I started rummaging around again. This fella calls himself ‘Joe’ in his YouTube profile, so I thought I’d start with that.

For those of you who don’t know, Melanie Morgan’s little outfit, Move America Forward, was formed by Sal Russo, who’s now their Chief Strategist. He also runs a little PR firm known as Russo Marsh & Rogers. Wait – Russo Marsh & Rogers?

SourceWatch

In the long run, the headline grabbing “Truth Tour” may prove to be significantly less important than RM&R’s contract with the Kurdistan Regional Government, which aims to promote the interests of the Kurds in Iraq.

“Our job” with the Kurds, said Wierzbicki, “is to do a public relations campaign that will essentially thank the American people for supporting the war in Iraq. We will also encourage Americans to visit and invest in the Kurdish region.”

You remember the Truth Tour, right? Melanie and all her conservative pals flew to Iraq to show us all how super swell it was going over there. Well, they flew to the Kurdistan region of Iraq, anyway. We’ll get to that in a moment.

But first this:

Move America Forward was established in May 2004 by political consultant Sal Russo, former Republican assemblyman Howard Kaloogian and Melanie Morgan, a talk show host at KSFO 560 AM, both of whom now serve as Move America Forward’s co-chairmen.

Wait a minute! Kaloogian? Truth Tour to Iraq? It’s all coming back to me now:

In April 2006 controversy erupted again when Kaloogian’s campaign website posted a picture on his website that he claimed depicted a peaceful Baghdad neighborhood, and the claims that the Iraq conflict was going well. Quickly, however, internet watchdogs correctly identified the picture as coming from Istanbul, Turkey, and the picture was removed. Kaloogian later said using the photo was “a stupid mistake”.

Yeah – so was signing up with that chowderhead Melanie Morgan. I told you we’d get to that Kuridstan trip. Oh, I forgot one thing.

SpinWatch reported on July 6, that the “Truth Tour” was also in part sponsored by “the newly created Office of Media Outreach, a taxpayer-funded publicity arm of the Department of Defense.”

Say wha? Anyhoo – guess who else works for Russo Marsh & Rogers. Go on – guess! Did you guess Joe Wierzbicki? If you did, you win a prize!

Washington Note

In the “comments section” of The Washington Note, Joe Wierzbicki identifies himself as working “with a firm hired by Move America Forward.” The fact is that Joe works for the firm that created ‘Move America Forward’. At least, that is my understanding of it.

Joe’s a Principal at RM&R and, evidently, quite the PR virtuoso. Now, whether Joe is also the YouTube’s ‘Move America Forward’ is difficult to say, at the moment. But it would be irresponsible not to speculate, right?

After all, RM&R has a vested interest in maintaining Melanie’s image. And ‘Move America Forward’ spends a lot of time and text trying to move the conversation away from Melanie and back to ‘liberals hate America and love terror!!’. Plus, they ‘send cookies and Gatorade to the troops’. Hell’s bells! That’s practically taking on a dirty fucking terrorist with your bare hands!

RM&R is also responsible for promoting several ‘pro-troop’ videos, some of which can be seen on the YouTube. I’ll leave it to you to find them. (It turns out that Saddam Hussein was some kind of bad man. Oh, if only the Evil Liberal Media had reported such revelations!)

So, until we find out for certain, all we can do is sit back and wonder if a Principal for MAF’s PR firm is spending his time playing sock puppet on the internets. Not bad work, if you can get it, I suppose.

Now, here’s how this ties into Spocko’s case. I’m sure that Melanie and the rest of the Morning Ghouls at Snuff Radio 560-AM are simply beside themselves that someone would take their copyrighted material and distribute it without consent. I mean, ABC lawyers couldn’t be wrong, could they? Heavens no!

But as I’m rummaging about for things, I came across this. Again, the Washington Note

March 24, 2005
TWN Scoop: ‘Move America Forward’ Allegedly Steals John Bolton Video

‘Move America Forward’ has allegedly stolen property belonging to Citizens For Global Solutions by posting on its website a video clip of John Bolton where in about three minutes, Bolton completely guts the very idea and notion of the United Nations.

The video clip is the sole property of Citizens for Global Solutions and comes from an event called the “Global Structures Convocation,” held on February 3, 1994 in New York. The video was recently found in the organization’s archives.

By March 16th, ‘Move America Forward’ had posted a slightly truncated version of the video on its own website and provided no attribution for the Bolton clip. I have confirmed that ‘Move America Forward’ neither sought permission from Citizens for Global Solutions to use the video clip nor was given such permission.

I guess the key word here is ‘attribution’. See, Spocko was more than happy to attribute all of KSFO’s audio clips to KSFO and the individuals who made the remarks. Evidently, that’s bad… very bad. If Spocko had simply posted the clips and asked for contributions, that would be OK. Wait a minute… whaaa?

Again, the Washington Note

Some argue that Move America Forward is using the Bolton video as a recruitment and fundraising device – and that the “fair use” principles of accessing copyrighted materials for discussion or critique are not being followed in this case.

I guess it’s OK, if you’re a thinly veiled organization of sock puppets for the Republican Party, but not if you’re an individual trying to spotlight offensive and unAmerican broadcasts, via Fair Use doctrine.

You and your lawyers have a lot of nerve, Morgan. Not much for souls, but a lot of nerve.

[Update] – I forgot one item. From Wiki

Observers and the press have noted that some pro-Bush activists in the MAF entourage were aggressively confrontational and verbally abusive, calling the anti-war protesters “communists”, saying they are “aiding and abetting the enemy”.

Huh… I thought Republicans were the Party of Civility. Sure, everyone knows they lie through their teeth, but aren’t they at least supposed to be Rockwellian good neighborly types? Guess not…

Rip -

Hoist a pint for JoeWo !


Spread the word!

Rip -

I’m sure the folks at KSFO/ABC Radio/Disney are aware of the buzz their little story has raised since the weekend, so let me throw something out there for them to think about.

I imagine their first thought is to try to track down all the sites that are hosting audio clips from KSFO and serve C&D letters. Good luck! But in case they’re wondering just how many people might already be aware of the story, here’s some traffic info.

The Zen Cabin has received nearly 450 requests for zipped files in the last 7 days. We could call that an average of almost 225 requests for each zip (wma and mp3), though I’m sure there have been more requests for the mp3 zip. I don’t have the exact breakdown – but let’s call it 400 requests for zipped KSFO mp3s.

Audio clips are hosted on probably a dozen other sites, if not more. Worldwide.

In the last week, Online BlogIntegrity has seen:

5,724 Visits 10,279 Page Views

Not bad, for a pissant little blog on the Blogger network, that most people never heard of before. Guess how many of those visits occurred since Jan. 4th. Go on – guess!

At 2:45pm CST, Technorati shows 691 results for ‘Spocko’.

El Gato Negro just e-mailed me with Google results for ‘spocko disney’: 2:30 this afternoon: 54,200 (Up almost 60% in eight hours)

The Spocko/KSFO YouTube video showed the following stats at 2:30pm CST:

Views: 29,929 Comments: 142 Favorited: 117 times

14 Honors for This Video:

#22 Most Viewed (This Week) News & Blogs (All)

#18 Most Viewed (This Week) – News & Blogs (English)

#24 Top Rated (This Week) (All)

#3 Top Rated (This Week) News & Blogs (All)

#24 Top Rated (This Week) English

#3 Top Rated (This Week) News & Blogs (English)

#19 Top Rated (This Month) News & Blogs (All)

#19 Top Rated (This Month) News & Blogs (English)

#13 Most Discussed (This Week) News & Blogs (All)

#10 Most Discussed (This Week) News & Blogs (English)

#6 Top Favorites (This Week) News & Blogs (All)

#6 Top Favorites (This Week) News & Blogs (English)

#42 Top Favorites (This Month) News & Blogs (All)

#39 Top Favorites (This Month) News & Blogs (English)

I would guess that more people have heard KSFO’s moronic jackassery via the internets in the last four days than heard it live on the air when it was broadcast. But I’ve always been an optimist.

Rip –

"Like Lancaster, Donald felt constrained by the political exigencies of the time to be seen as not undermining the wholesome American message of such companies as Disney, both during the second world-war and in the notoriously partisan "red-scare" of the early cold war years.
Unfortunately, however, Donald had less luck in hiding his prematurely anti-mouse-o-fascist beliefs in his oeuvre, and while Lancaster had success with films like The Crimson Pirate, Donald paid a heavy price at Disney after releasing films such as this thinly-veiled swipe at the Mouse's employment policies.~ (p. 387)

~ Chalmers Wöder Patterson, from The Mouse, the
Dancing Banana, and the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire,
Why do Free Markets Sometimes Kill People? ~
Regnery Publishing, 1998
WAS THIS EXCERPT HELPFUL? -$49.95,
$39.95, $29.95, $19.95, $9.95 - Buy it! More..."

Just some things that were rattling around in my head today.

[Meta-Update] – I want to add one very, very important thought before I let this post slip away.

As I mentioned in one of the original thoughts below, I spent a lot of time watching the buzz on this story building over the weekend. (And kudos to Mike Stark for dropping it on dKos – not that Thers wasn’t on the ball at OBI, as well.) I don’t have an exact number right now, but yesterday Stark claimed over 500 blogs pushing Spocko’s story. And one of the beautiful things, as I watched this unfold over the weekend, was the sheer number of ‘unknown, 27th-tier’ blogs who picked this up. (their words, in response to Spocko’s ‘self-proclaimed 5th-tier blogger’ comment)

Jeebus…. When I say it was ‘beautiful’, I mean it was truly beautiful. I don’t know how much traffic these folks get – evidently many of them are in the same corner of the Web as I am – but some of these bloggers went above and beyond the Call, in my opinion. Some gave short excerpts with links, some wrote impassioned calls for Justice, some gave brilliant analyses of the situation. And most of you/us have probably never heard of them.

Bloggers who never make the A-, B- or C-list blogrolls. People who never get a lucky link or h/t from Atrios, never make the Recommended List at dKos, never get quoted by anyone that some people think matters… But they took 2, 5, 15, 30 minutes of their time and gave their slice of real estate to stand up for another Z-lister because they believed in what Spocko was saying and doing.

As I rummaged around in Technorati and Google, and drilled down into the links, I came across dozens of bloggers who deserve more attention. I wish I’d copied blog addresses, so I could give all of you great bloggers some real cowbell – I’m sorry, I didn’t think of it at the time. But I did leave comments on quite a few blogs. Nothing fancy or particulary deep – just a quick note to let them know we were paying attention.

So, if there’s a comment on your blog that said ‘Thanks for helping to spread the word! Rip – (Team Blog Integrity)’ – that was me. I know I didn’t catch all of you – again, I apologize.

I wish I could do more to thank all the bloggers who grabbed Spocko’s story and ran with it. Without you, this would have been another unheard rant on a few blogs, that slipped away like a frat boy in the early morning after a one night stand. Every one of you deserves more gratitude than I could possibly express.

I’m sure I speak for Spocko and all the scalliwags from Online Blog Integrity when I say:

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! You have our undying gratitude and appreciation. Keep up the good work!

Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

For those of you who’d like to see just how much this story has grown, and maybe check out some of the blogs I’m talking about, see this:

Technorati search for Spocko
..........................................................................................

* Who's signing Melanie Morgan's paycheck? Rumor has it that she actually works for a third party traffic reporting company, to skirt Disney's anti-nepotism policy. Her husband, Jack Swanson, is KSFO's Operations Manager. Who hired Melanie or agreed to bring her on as a contract employee? Even if she's a contractor, wouldn't hiring the spouse of someone in station management still be considered nepotism? It would in my book.

* The YouTube comments issue: Why was a YouTube user named Move America Forward commenting on this video? Yes, we all know that Melanie Morgan is the head of MAF, but there's nothing in this video about MAF. I wonder if 'Joe' is 'blogicalthought', the curious commentor who was running damage control on so many blogs that featured Spocko's story. The delivery is a little off - but it would be irresponsible not to speculate.

* Where is the WingNet? I spent quite a bit of time observing the buzz as it grew over the weekend, and I don't think I came across one RightWing site that mentioned this story. Did we reach a sympatico - little guy against the MegaCorp? Did the wingnuts not hear about this? I find that hard to believe. Why were they so quiet? Why wasn't there a RightWing rush to defend the Free Speech of the anti-Terra! radio poseurs? I would think the LGF crowd would have been all over this. Interesting...

[Update] – From Disney’s website, on “corporate culture”:

Decency

• We honor and respect the trust people place in us.

• Our fun is about laughing at our experiences and ourselves.

[Update] – Thanks to SineQuaNon for the heads-up on this, from Fast forward Blog

Once the dispute became public, much of the blogosphere rushed to Spoko’s defense and dozens of web hosts stepped forward to provide access to the disputed KSFO audio files. The Electronic Frontier Foundation volunteered to defend the blog against legal action. Some of the biggest and most widely read political and media blogs–like DailyKos–provided extensive coverage of the controversy and posted the disputed files, daring Disney to sue them. Selections were posted on YouTube.

There are a lot of morals here for enterprises, not least of which is that social media are great tools for collaboration, teamwork and marketing but they are also lethal to those who try to play the new game by the old command and control rules. Marketers are no longer in total control of the message or the agenda and any attempt to censor public discourse about your brand will come back to bite you on the ass. There simply aren’t enough lawyers available to create a “surge” big enough to contain the blogosphere. Learn the new rules and get on with it.

Simply. Fucking. Brilliant. !!

You feelin’ us, Mouse?

[Update] - Just for fun...


I didn't start this, Swanson - you and your wife did. Deal with it.


More thoughts as they come to me.

Rip -

The audio files posted at Online Blogintegrity are posted in our sincere belief that such posting constitutes fair use under any reasonable understanding of applicable US law. We have no commercial interest in posting this material (we have no ads) and do so fully in the interests of fair comment for the public interest.

Moreover, in accordance with the Solemn Oath of Online Blogintegrity, which all contributors here have signed in a Dark Blood Oath by the Spectral Light of the Demonic Moon, we are also perfectly willing to blame Ripley for everything.

¡Viva Spocko's Brain!

¡Vamanos!

Go, and say "hola"...

and "gracias for jour effort",

and "¿How may I help joo geeve the feenger to Mickey, the steenky Raton?"

so.

Well, I'm sorry to say that my YouTube project is scrapped, for the moment. Evidently, my computer just doesn't like video editing.

However, I did produce a decent audio file - and you're all welcome to use it! Make a YouTube video, post the clip to your site, whatever you can do to push the message.

Direct Link: Spocko KSFO mp3

Right-click to save, then do what you need to do. A couple requests:

1 - Give me credit if you use the audio - because

* I want credit
* Let them come after me, not you

2 - If you make a video with this, please be sure to use 'Spocko' and 'KSFO' in the tags, and let us know you've uploaded a video, so we can spread the word.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome. And if anyone needs audio help, I'm here. Evidently, my computer doesn't like the video work, so you're on your own with that. Do what you can to help, kids - spread the word!

Fuck teh Mouse! Hard! anyone asks about anything, say it was Rip!