We return with Comrade Yaney after blog hack, plus Foil Hats!!!!

As readers know, earlier today our blogwaves were hacked by Enemies of the People claiming to represent a faction that has infiltrated the Inner Party.  This is unfounded hogwash and anyone repeating these claims, anywhere, anytime will DISAPPEAR.  Take note, comrades!!!!

If cadre MUST refer to the hack, cadre will refer to it as "The Incident".   

Meanwhile we share more wisdom and insights from Comrade Yaney, as  previously blogged:


https://www.facebook.com/oldmole/posts/10201515150185762

• Paul William Dean I can't understand why people think Thom Hartmann is good. I voted NO!

  
  
• Love Jonze Maybe we could prohibit registered Democrats from becoming members? What do you think? Good idea? Maybe they are too "mainstream" for KBOO?

  
  
• Richard Lindsay I am warming to the idea and what Hartmann's show could bring to KBOO membership but am still concerned about the displacement of original programming.
  I hope it stays a part of the discussion.

  
  
• Love Jonze Right!! It's about having a discussion. We can't say KBOO is a community station and then turn around and tell part of the "community of members" they don't fit, but thanks for the big check.
  
  KBOO's stagnancy and all the "we could...bla bla" that never ever is realized. Big Talk but No Walk - especially to the screamers who never do more than show up for their shows. REALLY!! Asking the entire community should be looked at as a good thing, and their death grip on the air clock never leaves time for other voices. And yes, I KNOW some of you fully expect to expire on the air.

  
  
• Yaney Lee Ann MacIver Dear Love Jonze, It's not that Dems can't be members. It's just that the Blue Oregon folks wanted to stuff the membership with cheap $20 memberships. If they give enough of a darn they can at least do $5 or 10/month like many of us do and be "real" not take over KBOO members. And you must know that Obama is doing worse things that Bush. So if you really want to address the "outcast" issue, get out of that damn party. With Blue Oregon wanting to take over the station there is also a threat to our 501(c)(3) status. If the dems need radio they can start their own station or greater. But they don't because they are too busy wringing their hands saying there is nothing they can do and blaming the "more evil" Republicans. Obama is the "more effective evil".

  
  
• Chris Lowe Blue Oregon does not take collective action. I am a blogger at BlueOregon, no one has contacted me about KBOO from there, I voted against Thom Hartmann in the poll. The main promoter of BlueOregon, Kari Chisholm, created a "Save KPOJ" effort that raised some money that got a different KPOJ broadcaster a web-based outlet I believe. I am not sure exactly what is going on but "Blue Oregon take over KBOO" is not an accurate way to describe it. Likewise probably most people who read BlueOregon would be Democrats, but not all of them, (I'm WFP for instance). It is not an organ of the DPO, and many people who comment there are pretty sharply critical of various things various DP people do. The core editors are strongly DP affiliated and Kari makes his living doing professional/technical political work mostly for DP candidates. [Benjamin Hoyne's comments below make clear that the only involvement of the BO editors was to agree to post his guest column. I can tell you that one context of this is a shortage of writing by "regular" or "official" bloggers like me. I am certain that the BO editors have no interest in "taking over" KBOO.]
  
  To me a key issue here is the question of diversity of programming and how decisions about programming get made. Love Jonze articulates a view of entrenched people who are territorial about their slots and don't do much or anything about or for the station (allegedly) beyond their shows, that I have heard from other people too. In the Board & Lynn Fitch's justifications for some of their actions, that kind of claim has been attached to a claim of "too white" and "not diverse enough" -- in the less public conversations there seems to be another level in which current POC programmers are seen in light of the critique of long time programmers hanging on to slots.
  
  The Thom Hartmann thing seems to call the whole diversity argument into question. KBOO is going to turn 15 hours a week of air time over to one white man? At the expense of a considerable amount of Spanish language and Latino music and other diverse music programming? Major cut to music for the benefit of a particular kind of talk?
  
  This makes the diversity line seem like a canard to me. It feels like the main point for at least some supporters of the Board approach is "anything that will shake loose what is happening now" and maybe in some cases "anything that will attack the people I dislike," sort of the obverse of the accusation of refusal to try anything new and alleged bullying of anyone who tries anything new.
  
  There is also an organizational process question in which the Bylaws make pretty clear that the Community Advisory Committee is supposed to be the venue in which these kinds of issues about whether programming is serving the needs of the community and the mission of the KBOO Corporation are taken up, and the Board is supposed to be guided by those discussions, but that is being bypassed and the Board is standing on its general policy making powers under state law.
  
  My impression as someone who has not been an active volunteer in either programming or in other phases, for whom the accusation of "not being involved except in a crisis" has some truth, is that there is a faction fight among different sets of volunteers. My impression is that all of them are needed by the station and all of them need more support from expanded volunteer base. The current process seems very destructive, from the Board side, but also in aspects of the response. I am pretty despairing of there being room for the kind of discussion that would seem to be necessary to try to address underlying issues.

  
  
• Benjamin Hoyne Couple of things. First- The Blue Oregon "Democrats" are not attempting a takeover of KBOO. I posted a blog on BlueOregon, whose readership includes folks from all political spectrums (just read the comments of posts on there). I am not affiliated with BlueOregon in anyway, I'm an individual that submitted a guest blog and it was posted.

  
  
• Benjamin Hoyne Second- Where in the email does it say that those shows you list will be eliminated? This is a myth that keeps being repeated. 3 Hours of Thom Hartmann would require 15 hours a week, agreed. Thom would be from noon-3 in this proposal. Folks keep complaining about the lack of local programming. How about cutting the PM Democracy Now? It's not local. What about Hard Knock Radio, it's not local either. Magic, we found 10 hours of programming. Better yet, Thom Hartmann would be on the middle of the day, when many folks are working, and those great shows (I love most of the shows on in the afternoon) could now have a home at 4pm or 7pm, or some other time when more people could actually here them.

  
  
• Chris Lowe Benjamin, to me a key issue is process. An email poll with two questions does not allow any kind of deliberation of the sorts of trade-offs you are raising. What is the relative value of the issues and points of view Thom Hartmann presents vs. those that come on Democracy Now! In terms of KBOO's current constituency? In terms of notional different constituency? Hartmann is essentially a left-liberal, Democracy Now! is left of that. I could see an argument that the left liberals are not adequately served in the Portland community, especially since KPOJ folded, and that KBOO maybe should try to figure out ways to accommodate that in its diversity. But simply displace the further left points of view and much wider range of issues reflected by Democracy Now! to do that? Not at all clear, and not the question posed on the poll. If you think the character of the choice was misrepresented, your beef ought to be with Lynn Fitch.

  
  
• Yaney Lee Ann MacIver Or you could cut Flashpoints instead of Hard Knock.
  
  And maybe Benjamin you might have been the person who suggested the "$20 takeover". So you have my opinion on that. Although I appreciate that people who are of limited income should be able to be members. Just throwing $20 into the pot to become a member to put Thom Hartman on KBOO is not fair to the rest of us who have been contributing much more both in $$, time, and passion.
  
  And we haven't had a Community Advisory Board in a long time. We should be careful before doing so, although it might be a good idea.
  
  We have had and I hear that the Programming Committee has been disbanded by Lynn. I think that isn't a good idea. At least a re-forming of the committee would be better.
  
  And when I see the WFP put a Green on their ballot. I'll then believe you're not a dem front.

  
  
• Chris Lowe Even between Democracy Now! and Thom Hartmann, he is still one white man where the DN! staff are a white woman and and Latino Man, and their guests are highly diverse. Format issues are different, reporting vs. talk.
  
  OPB has gained hugely over the past 15 years because a chunk of people like public affairs reporting during drive time. Not clear that music shows moved into DN! slots would just pick up the listenership. Could be. These are issues that need clear formulation, information, and deliberation, not snap polls.
  
  Again, 15 hours for one white man. Even if you make it "net 5 hours" totally accepting the equivalence of TH to DN! (which I don't) and somehow saying those 10 hours don't really count toward TH, what other single programmer at KBOO gets 5 hours a week? How does this help with the problem of increasing space for underrepresented communities? At best your argument seems to me to point to a question of replacing DN! with more diverse local programming, if diversity and localism are really the issues.

  
  
• Yaney Lee Ann MacIver And DN doesn't give enough respect to Cynthia McKinney or to Cindy Sheehan to name a few.

  
  
• Chris Lowe Yaney, as far as I can tell, WFP is essentially a strategy for moving certain issues and putting pressure on Ds, heavily centered in trade unionists who are dissatisfied with the Ds but don't want to just throw things over to the Rs in elections. On the one hand, as far as candidates go, they have a "no spoiler" policy, similar to the "safe states" approach advocated by Noam Chomsky among others. For people who are not impressed with "lesser evil" arguments, I guess that can look a lot like "Dem front." On the other hand, their main significant electoral intervention has been backing Jeff Reardon in a primary in Happy Valley against an incumbent Dem who was more or less the state equivalent of a Blue Dog.
  
  But the thing that has been really distinctive about them has been a focus on particular campaigns, most prominently for a state bank, and now on student higher education debt. My own involvement is relatively recent, not very active, and based mainly on personal relationships with excellent labor activists, some of them quite radical, who have been in the WFP longer.
  
  As long as I was looking at it mainly from a party affiliation/electoral point of view, I stayed out, as I am skeptical of "fusion," never mind "fusion lite." But I am also skeptical of the importance that most Green, Progressive, or revolutionary socialist friends put on parties at all, and thence on "break with the Dems." To me issue campaigns and organizing are where I put my energy.
  
  I guess the Progs have cross-endorsed Greens, not sure about the other way around. I'm not aware of WFP having cross-endorsed either. But I'm not in the WFP to support Dems. If that was what I wanted to do, I'd be a Dem.
  
  In terms of KBOO and Thom Hartmann, even if you think I'm just a DP shill playing some kind of game with my party affiliation, please note the implication: I join you in opposing the Thom Hartmann move, even if/though I may be a DP shill in your eyes by being WFP and regardless of my involvement with BlueOregon.

  
  
• Benjamin Hoyne I have no problem with process. I believe the email said this would be a board issue, where undoubtedbly process would be involved. I'm not saying I support putting Thom Hartmann on the air (I haven't said that anywhere). What I'm trying to say is that it is not a black and white issue (Thom Hartmann= loss of 12-4 music shows). There needs to be balance to all things KBOO, but too many folks are trying to say A + B = C. KBOO has non-local programming (like DN!, flashpoints, HKR), KBOO has local programming which don't have enough volunteers, shows that attract listeners, shows that don't. All I'm trying to do is say we can't evaluate a simple proposal in a vacuum.

  
  

Comrade Yanley hits all the points that bind the Inner Party cadre:

"And you must know that Obama is doing worse things that Bush"

"Obama is the "more effective evil""

Obama is worse than Bush, and we're totally colorblind about this(ask our Tea Party friends)

"With Blue Oregon wanting to take over the station"

More confirmation BLUE OREGON IS TAKING OVER KBOO!!!!!!!!

"And maybe Benjamin you might have been the person who suggested the "$20 takeover"."

 BLUE OREGON IS TAKING OVER KBOO FOR $20 !!!!!!!!

That's like $14.99 above market value at the rate we're hemorrhaging cash.  Wait, checking math.....

"And DN doesn't give enough respect to Cynthia McKinney or to Cindy Sheehan "

Foil Hat moment, cadre!!!!!   And we NEED our foil hat brigade!  Jim Thompson Joe Uris says so!!!
Read more and don't forget your foil hat at the barricades!!!!

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_conspiracy_theories#Proponents
 http://911truth.org/article.php?story=20100318021640314

Solidarity!!!!

-Meresa Titchell