I hope Disney grows some major cojones, ones the size of 16lb bowling
balls, calls the Democrat/Liberal bluff, & runs the mini series
anyway. Sounds to me like the Clinton Admistration's Legacy will stand
up to what's in the mini series like a vampire does to sunlight.
*/Mike Weaver /* wrote:
>
>
>This letter was sent today by the entire Democratic leadership of
the US
>Senate. This letter is such a major shot across the bow of
Disney, it's
>not even
>funny. It is FILLED with veiled threats, both legal and legislative,
>against
>Disney. US Senators don't make threats like this, especially the
entire
>Democratic leadership en masse, unless they mean it. Disney is in
serious
>trouble.
>
>Read it, then read my analysis of it below:
>September 7, 2006
>
>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
>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.
>
>This raises the stakes incredibly for Disney.
>
>The Society that tries to find rationality in the acts of
irrational men is
>largely a waste of time...
>les aaron
>
>THE COMMITTEE FOR POSITIVE CHANGE
>www.lesaaron.blogspot.com
_________________________________________________________________
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To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2006 08:57:04 EDT
Subject: [OnlineDemocrats] (no subject)
Maybe there's a hidden little spine tucked away somewhere in the
Democrat leadership's collection back. They normally roll over and
play dead for the repugs and the media but it seems like this has
hit a bit of a raw nerve. Seems like there might still be a little
life left in the old dogs after all.
*Jim Langford
**"Being a patriot no longer requires a cannon. But it still takes
balls". Glen Greenwald*
**
/_Thursday, September 07, 2006
_/
*Senate Democratic leadership threatens Disney with legal and
legislative sanctions*
*by John in DC* - 9/07/2006 06:02:00 PM
*This letter was sent today by the entire Democratic leadership of
the US Senate. This letter is such a major shot across the bow of
Disney, it's not even funny. It is FILLED with veiled threats,
both legal and legislative, against Disney. US Senators don't make
threats like this, especially the entire Democratic leadership en
masse, unless they mean it. Disney is in serious trouble.
Read it, then read my analysis of it below: *
*September 7, 2006
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*
*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.
This raises the stakes incredibly for Disney.*
*
*
__._,_.___
=============================To get less email go to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OnlineDemocrats/join and pick "digests"
or read on line, rather than "individual email." You can also make
some other changes there.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OnlineDemocrats/members shows who the
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rs are.
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