Apology Demanded for Reagan-Alito Slurs by Franken

Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. Apology Demanded for Reagan-Alito Slurs by Franken
2. San Fran Radio Host Calls for Joe the Plumber’s Death
3. Cindy Sheehan Endorsed by Penn, Sheen, and Barr
4. The 2008 Campaign Season: The Stuff of Science Fiction
5. Supreme Court to Decide on TV F-Word
 

1. Apology Demanded for Reagan-Alito Slurs by Franken

Al Franken reportedly insulted the late President Ronald Reagan, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, and by implication, all who served in the Reagan administration.

As reported by MSNBC, Franken, while criticizing Justice Samuel Alito, said, “Being a racist and a sexist was a good calling card for the Reagan administration.”

A group of individuals that served under Reagan, which includes counsel to the president, A.B. Culvahouse; Deputy Press Secretary B.J. Cooper; assistant to the vice president, Thomas Collamore; deputy assistant to the president, Michael Baroody; general counsel, Department of Treasury, Mark Sullivan; staff assistant Mike Lake; deputy assistant secretary of Labor, Chriss Winston; deputy assistant secretary of Treasury, Charles Powers; and special assistant department of Labor James Lake are demanding that Franken apologize to the Reagan family and the nation.

According to a written statement, the group described Franken’s remarks as “outrageous comments” that were “highly offensive and hateful.”

“Al Franken must immediately apologize to the Reagan family and all those who served in the Reagan administration,” the statement read.

The group also demanded that Franken apologize to the people of Minnesota, Nancy Reagan and her family, and Justice Samuel Alito and his family.

“Ronald Reagan was a man of great compassion and generous spirit,” the statement noted, “who deeply believed the American Dream, should be available for all — regardless of sex, creed, or color.”

2. San Fran Radio Host Calls for Joe the Plumber’s Death

Supposedly, Charles Karel Bouley, a liberal weekend talk-show host on KGO-AM and a contributing writer for The Huffington Post, inadvertently broadcast a death wish for Joe the plumber.

During a recent Saturday broadcast of ABC national news, the talk-show host jabbered into what he apparently thought was a dead microphone. He was heard speaking over the national news broadcast at the same time GOP candidate John McCain mentioned Joe the plumber.

“F*** Joe the [string of expletives] plumber,” Bouley said, further cursing that he wanted him “dead.”

After Bouley was informed that his mike was live, he apologized, claiming that his remarks were not targeting any Joe in particular.

It’s difficult to believe that the radio host is contrite. In a March 2007 article in The Huffington Post, Bouley wrote that the late Tony Snow's cancer had been caused by his “lying to the American people.”

3. Cindy Sheehan Endorsed by Penn, Sheen, and Barr

Sean Penn, star of “Milk,” a biopic of the life and assassination of San Francisco supervisor and gay rights leader Harvey Milk, escorted congressional candidate Cindy Sheehan to the film's San Francisco premiere.

Sheehan is running as an independent candidate against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for California’s 8th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Penn hosted an October fundraiser for Sheehan at his San Francisco home, which raised more than $5,000.

Martin Sheen and Roseanne Barr have also endorsed Sheehan.

Sheen is best known for playing fictional Democratic President Josiah Bartlet in the NBC liberal fantasy TV series, “The West Wing.”

Comedian, blogger and sometimes radio host Barr is best known for her long-running ABC series, “Roseanne.”

Who could have imagined that Penn, Sheen, and Barr would be fantasizing about the same thing as a lot of conservatives — getting rid of Madam Speaker.

4. The 2008 Campaign Season: The Stuff of Science Fiction

The attenuated election season has come to a close.

To me, it feels as if we’ve been unwittingly cast in a surreal science-fiction flick.

• A presidential hopeful runs on a “brother’s keeper” slogan while his own brother lives in a Kenya shack and his auntie abides in a Boston slum.
• The right to choose extends to denying even a Band-Aid for a baby brutalized by a botched abortion while compassion gets redefined as a tax rebate in every pot.
• A citizen plumber gets the Roto-Rooter treatment while VIP medical records are quarantined and birth certificates are deep-sixed.
• The elite media twiddle their thumbs as a vice presidential candidate is hung in effigy and “Halloween art” is the explanation.
• A former "SNL" jokester runs for a Senate seat while his current "SNL" pals hit the ratings jackpot with one-sided mockery.
• A ballot from a cartoon character barely raises an eyebrow while a ballot from a soldier is pored over with a magnifying glass.
• Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg is given a halo while Justices Roberts, Alito, Thomas, and Scalia are handed horns and pitchforks.
• Reporters are booted from planes and anchors reprimanded for asking questions while the Rev. Jeremiah Wright lands a book deal.
• Infomercials get free rein while commercials get censored.
• Networks declare races over while encouraging viewers to tune in for the final tallies.

Maybe soon we’ll all be able return to Earth.

5. Supreme Court to Decide on TV F-Word

Bono uttered the word at the Golden Globes. Cher and Nicole Richie blurted it out at the Billboard Music Awards.

When the F-word is used on broadcast television, though, public decency laws can be triggered.

The basic idea behind regulations regarding indecent content that is broadcast over the airwaves is that society has an interest in protecting children as it pertains to a medium that belongs to the public.

The daytime and early evening hours (when children are most likely to be watching or listening) have been viewed as traditional time slots, which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is in charge of overseeing.

After the FCC fined TV networks for broadcasting four-letter words, Fox, NBC, ABC and CBS filed suit, claiming that their First Amendment rights had been violated. A New York federal appellate court agreed.

The FCC appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, setting up a definitive adjudication by the High Court on the limits of the FCC’s power to fine networks for indecent speech.

The Supreme Court will have the final say on the issue of profanity on the air.

Directors, writers and producers already have a host of platforms in which profanity is routinely used, including cable, satellite radio and Internet video. Moreover, television and cable networks have available five-second delays and can easily block profane language.

The FCC contends, “Given the core meaning of the 'F-Word,' any use of that word or a variation, in any context, inherently has a sexual connotation.”

Arguments will be heard shortly.

Wonder if the lawyers’ comments will be suitable for TV broadcast.