Channel 2 Public Excess

I will be away from Hometown Radio Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, spending some R&R in Arizona. If there was any doubt that I needed a break, I'm certainly ready now after 1-2-3 separate segments last week devoted to Channel 2, the public access channel on Charter.

What a zoo! Alberto Gonzales couldn't mess this place up any more than it is. Last Wednesday we heard from Ron and Leslie Bearce and then Michael Passarelli and Monique Matta responded on Friday. I don't think I've ever heard such wall-to-wall name calling in the 15 years of Hometown Radio. If you're a masochist, be sure to check out the podcast for either segment. And we also featured Lip Sync Queen Peggy Penny on Tuesday.

To be honest, I'm not sure I can sort it all out. All I know is that things are so bad among the "producers" that Charter General Manager Ed Merrill kicked the public access people out of the building. Then they were kicked out of Temple Beth David and are now meeting in a SLO park. It's in-fighting, in-fighting and more in-fighting.

From what I can piece together, there seems to be one faction led by Ron and Leslie Bearce. For awhile, they seemed to have almost every other show on Channel 2 -- they were even showing repeats of old shows from the '80s with them doing interviews. The Bearces claim they were helping minorities have a voice in public access. Their detractors claim the Bearces were monopolizing the programming and were on a huge ego trip.

So there were elections to the governing board and all the reform candidates won. None of the Bearce people were elected. The Bearces are claiming discrimination and they've been protesting. Allegedly the protests got out of hand and the couple were suspended for 90 days. But given the extreme comments made by Michael Passarelli about the Bearces, I find it hard to believe they'll ever be back.

But here's what I want to know: Why is there so much religious programming on public access???? Nothing against any church in particular, but it just seems like show after show is some guy behind a podium wailing about Jesus. Can't we have some diversity in the programming?

So I'm done on this topic and I'm leaving for a short vacation. Talk to me about public access. Do you watch any of these shows on Channel 2? Any thoughts on Pasarelli vs. Bearce? Let 'er rip!

Oh and here's something else to mull over: did you know that the USA PATRIOT Act is an acronym for:
"United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism"? Scary.

The Ostrich Strategy in iraq

How many times have you heard George W. Bush say some variation of:

Our enemies in Iraq will make every effort to ensure that our television screens are filled with images of death and suffering. Yet over time, we can expect to see...fewer brazen acts of terror...

Well now, with the aid of the Iraqi government, we will no longer have to see the results of those pesky bomb attacks:

Iraq's interior ministry has decided to bar news photographers and camera operators from the scenes of bomb attacks...

This follows the recent decision by the Iraqi government to no longer release civilian casualty figures. Toss in the U.S. policy of not including the victims of bomb attacks in casualty counts, and soon we will all be able to pretend that there is progress in Iraq.

Thanks to Michele for coming back on the radio today and providing us an update about the quagmire that continues to be Iraq. She's going to post some links on this thread so you can find the original sources of her research. But the ostrich has landed in Iraq and I agree with Michele's final thought tonight: It's going to be a long, bloody summer over there.