SENATOR JOHN MCAIN sends an angry letter to the CEO of the company blackening out Nightline's special edition tonight when war dead names will be read.
At issue: Nightline's decision to read the names of the war dead in what it contends is a tribute — and the decision by David Smith, President and CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group to black out the show on his company's stations because he basically considers it anti-war propaganda. This is one of those issues that started in talk show radio and has blossomed from there.…
Article comments
26 - Al Barger
VMR, why would common commercials be disrespectful? Those men and women have died to defend our ability to make political speeches, attend churches of our choosing, and buy SUVs and houses and go to the beach on the weekend.
I would look at those commercials as an affirmation of our lives that these soldiers died defending. The bad guys have taken out a few hundred of our best people, but the other 99.999% of us are still kicking, buying stuff and going to the movies.
As to Ted Koppel having no integrity, please break that down. What principle exactly has he betrayed, shown a lack of integrity to?
Ted Koppel's personal politics are not obvious to me, which is fine. He may vote for the Communist Workers party for all I know, but if he's got a personal agenda I don't know or care what it is.
I wouldn't care in this case, however, if he had 20 different ulterior motives. The names of the dead are very important neutral facts- these people have died in combat in Iraq. He told the truth, and that's a pretty strong defense.
27 - Mac Diva
Yes, bhw. Con law is constitutional law. And, those of us who teach consitutional law think Katzenbach v. McClung is a very relevant case in regard to the reach of government. Apparently, at least one person who hasn't a clue what he is talking about doesn't.
McClung established that just about any nexus between private sector commerce and the public sector can be considered governmental action. The nexus in the case, that a condiment moved in interstate commerce, is about as attenuated as one can imagine. The progeny of McClung has confirmed that quasi-governmental activity is subject to constitutional scrutiny in various ways. In regard to the FCC, both statutory and constitutional implications exist in a situation like this. But, I don't see getting past a very conservative FCC and/or the current SCOTUS if one complained about Sinclair. The license challenge people in Asheville intend to file (see my entry on the controversy) will likely go nowhere.
28 - RJ Elliott
In other words, both the US Executive Branch (The FCC) AND the US Judicial Branch (The USSC) disagree with your "interpretation" of Katzenbach v. McClung.
But of course, you're right and they're just a bunch of right-wingers. Is that your argument?
29 - Mac Diva
When a person has absolutely no grasp of a subject, it is to his advantage to keep his ignorance to himself. Unfortunately, there are people who parade their lack of knowledge instead. Perhaps we will see proof of that typed in capitals next.