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Indybay Feature
KPFA 'Concerned Listeners' Represent Pro-labor, Non-Sectarian Direction for the Station
Concerned Listeners is a broad coalition of people active in labor, community organizing, and the arts. We formed because we did not want KPFA’s board dominated by sectarian groups trying to impose a rigid ideological orthodoxy on a station that has always thrived because of its diversity.
Concerned Listeners very much appreciates the Berkeley Daily Planet’s coverage of the current KPFA LSB elections.
Concerned Listeners is a broad coalition of people active in labor, community organizing, and the arts. We formed because we did not want KPFA’s board dominated by sectarian groups trying to impose a rigid ideological orthodoxy on a station that has always thrived because of its diversity. Our candidates include myself, Sherry Gendelman, a long-time stawart and activist who led one of the listener lawsuits that saved KPFA and Pacifica from a hostile board in 1999-2001. We also include new faces like Dianne Enriquez, an activist with Young Workers United, and a former member of KPFA’s First Voice Apprenticeship Program. We have people active in unions and academia, like Warren Mar of the CCSF Community and Labor Studies Program. And we also have people with a history in the arts—for years, John Van Eyck sat on board of the National Endowment for the Arts as a trade union representative. Matthew Hallinan is a seasoned political organizer, and co-founded of the Wellstone Club. Susan McDonough works for the Alameda County Central Labor council, and has a strong nonprofit fundraising background. Antonio Medrano is a consummate community activist, co-chairing Concilio Latino of Contra Costa County, among his work with many, many other organizations. And Paul Robins, a software manager from the Peninsula, is tech-savvy with a solid background in labor organizing and Buddhist peace work. See http://www.concernedlisteners.org.
We’re running to strengthen KPFA. We believe in a KPFA that is both radical, and diverse, embracing its original mission of using the airwaves for dialogue between contrasting points of view. We want to bring the station closer to the communities it serves, by doing hands-on outreach and organizing ourselves—not by yelling about how the station’s not doing enough.
In this regard we welcome the statement by Dan Siegel, civil rights attorney, long-time political activist, and interim executive director of the Pacifica Foundation. It is Dan Siegel’s opinion that “Pacifica’s local station board elections have taken a particularly nasty turn. A group of candidates running for the KPFA local board have issued statements that contain little more than personal attacks on their opponents and station staff. A candidate at WBAI engages in blatant race-baiting. As a community and a progressive organization we must ask ourselves whether this type of rhetoric is acceptable. “Siegel went on to say that the debate within Pacifica is often so toxic that it inhibits the ability of Pacifica to respond to the issues our time, and the in-fighting, he said, “saps the morale of our hard-working and underpaid staff, and discourages people of good will from participating in our organization.”
We, Concerned Listeners, urge Pacifica’s members to decide if this is the nature of the dialogue they want those of us who are active to engage in. To quote Mr. Siegel yet again, Pacifica needs “leaders who will work to improve our programming, broaden our listener base, and attract needed financial support.” We, Concerned Listeners, urge all KPFA members to vote for those candidates who want KPFA to flourish. To vote for candidates who have expressed ideas about how this radio station should be run to the advantage of the mission of Pacifica. We believe that would mean votes for the Concerned Listeners slate of candidates. We want to do some of the things the board is supposed to do but hasn’t—fundraise for KPFA, organize town halls for KPFA, hire visionary permanent management. But we can’t accomplish those things if we can’t transcend the board’s petty infighting.
Sherry Gendelman is a Concerned Listeners candidate for KPFA’s Local Station Board
Concerned Listeners is a broad coalition of people active in labor, community organizing, and the arts. We formed because we did not want KPFA’s board dominated by sectarian groups trying to impose a rigid ideological orthodoxy on a station that has always thrived because of its diversity. Our candidates include myself, Sherry Gendelman, a long-time stawart and activist who led one of the listener lawsuits that saved KPFA and Pacifica from a hostile board in 1999-2001. We also include new faces like Dianne Enriquez, an activist with Young Workers United, and a former member of KPFA’s First Voice Apprenticeship Program. We have people active in unions and academia, like Warren Mar of the CCSF Community and Labor Studies Program. And we also have people with a history in the arts—for years, John Van Eyck sat on board of the National Endowment for the Arts as a trade union representative. Matthew Hallinan is a seasoned political organizer, and co-founded of the Wellstone Club. Susan McDonough works for the Alameda County Central Labor council, and has a strong nonprofit fundraising background. Antonio Medrano is a consummate community activist, co-chairing Concilio Latino of Contra Costa County, among his work with many, many other organizations. And Paul Robins, a software manager from the Peninsula, is tech-savvy with a solid background in labor organizing and Buddhist peace work. See http://www.concernedlisteners.org.
We’re running to strengthen KPFA. We believe in a KPFA that is both radical, and diverse, embracing its original mission of using the airwaves for dialogue between contrasting points of view. We want to bring the station closer to the communities it serves, by doing hands-on outreach and organizing ourselves—not by yelling about how the station’s not doing enough.
In this regard we welcome the statement by Dan Siegel, civil rights attorney, long-time political activist, and interim executive director of the Pacifica Foundation. It is Dan Siegel’s opinion that “Pacifica’s local station board elections have taken a particularly nasty turn. A group of candidates running for the KPFA local board have issued statements that contain little more than personal attacks on their opponents and station staff. A candidate at WBAI engages in blatant race-baiting. As a community and a progressive organization we must ask ourselves whether this type of rhetoric is acceptable. “Siegel went on to say that the debate within Pacifica is often so toxic that it inhibits the ability of Pacifica to respond to the issues our time, and the in-fighting, he said, “saps the morale of our hard-working and underpaid staff, and discourages people of good will from participating in our organization.”
We, Concerned Listeners, urge Pacifica’s members to decide if this is the nature of the dialogue they want those of us who are active to engage in. To quote Mr. Siegel yet again, Pacifica needs “leaders who will work to improve our programming, broaden our listener base, and attract needed financial support.” We, Concerned Listeners, urge all KPFA members to vote for those candidates who want KPFA to flourish. To vote for candidates who have expressed ideas about how this radio station should be run to the advantage of the mission of Pacifica. We believe that would mean votes for the Concerned Listeners slate of candidates. We want to do some of the things the board is supposed to do but hasn’t—fundraise for KPFA, organize town halls for KPFA, hire visionary permanent management. But we can’t accomplish those things if we can’t transcend the board’s petty infighting.
Sherry Gendelman is a Concerned Listeners candidate for KPFA’s Local Station Board
For more information:
http://www.concernedlisteners.org
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I don't (yet) doubt that some of the Concerned Listeners and those who organized this slate this time see themselves as "non-sectarian." There are some big-name endorsers who have probably been interviewed by hosts who are very good or who know Larry Bensky or other big names. I like to believe Larry Bensky and others I have admired for years really do think this group is open-minded, non-sectarian, and interested in "transparancy," as the website states with no evidence of such.
Was it transparant for Concerned Listener board members to obstruct access to listener board members' access to financial records, fought for and hard, AGANIST Ms. Gendelman's slate's objections? (Let me just answer ahead of time Brian's answer to this which is that they were protecting sensitive personnel data. No, that's not true. It was on the agenda a long time, and no one needed any personnel data not relevant to how much money the station had available. It is one of the main jobs of the board to oversee finances.)
I AM NOT SECTARIAN. I have come to be really confused and annoyed at the tactics I've seen, (and I don't mean the People's Radio comment -- whose style isn't my style, but which has some important information), but I want to keep an open mind.
I have worked very hard to try to organize the ONLY live candidate forum where listeners can actually meet candidates (tomorrow night, 1744 University Ave, Berkeley). I did this because I WANT to meet all candidates. I want us all to have a chance to vote for the best candidates possible.
I didn't have to do it this way, but I took a lot of time to ASK all candidates what format they would like for such, and tried to get agreement on dates.
How many of the Concerned Listener slate even bothered to answer the election supervisor's request for dates and ideas to set this up? Two. Two even bothered to say "thanks for doing this," or "no thanks I just can't come even one date between now and 2050," or anything.
Many of us loved Larry Bensky's show, love KPFA, and don't enjoy the slimey feeling that comes with the thought that his allies play very very dirty and very unfairly. I'm afraid I'm AFRAID -- it is tears and tremendous anguish -- that there is more of this to come.
Speaking of honesty or transparancy -- one of those buzzwords bounced around that should have meaning -- you now hear Brian Edwards-Tiekert complaining that People's Radio candidates aim to LAY OFF or fire KPFA staff. This was a sad idea when I first heard him complain about it 2 election cycles ago, when Marnie Tattersal was treasurer (Marnie who STARTED as a "Concerned Listener" ally, then switched when she saw their game). Marnie was looking ahead, as is prudent, saying this might be needed if more listeners and money were not brought in. When LaVarn Williams, of People's radio, again brought this up, Brian again complained very vociferously. So how surprised do you think I was to hear Brian Edwards-Tiekert, now treasurer himself, giving his treasurer's report both locally and to the national board, and recommending the layoffs that he says are needed NOW TO AVOID A CRISIS. (Which wouldn't have been a crisis back one or two treasurers ago).
If you want to hear the issues in context, please urge your concerned listener acquaintance board candidates to attend the forum tomorrow night, organized with an almost no confrontational format, but with small groups of listeners able to ask candidates questions.
Was it transparant for Concerned Listener board members to obstruct access to listener board members' access to financial records, fought for and hard, AGANIST Ms. Gendelman's slate's objections? (Let me just answer ahead of time Brian's answer to this which is that they were protecting sensitive personnel data. No, that's not true. It was on the agenda a long time, and no one needed any personnel data not relevant to how much money the station had available. It is one of the main jobs of the board to oversee finances.)
I AM NOT SECTARIAN. I have come to be really confused and annoyed at the tactics I've seen, (and I don't mean the People's Radio comment -- whose style isn't my style, but which has some important information), but I want to keep an open mind.
I have worked very hard to try to organize the ONLY live candidate forum where listeners can actually meet candidates (tomorrow night, 1744 University Ave, Berkeley). I did this because I WANT to meet all candidates. I want us all to have a chance to vote for the best candidates possible.
I didn't have to do it this way, but I took a lot of time to ASK all candidates what format they would like for such, and tried to get agreement on dates.
How many of the Concerned Listener slate even bothered to answer the election supervisor's request for dates and ideas to set this up? Two. Two even bothered to say "thanks for doing this," or "no thanks I just can't come even one date between now and 2050," or anything.
Many of us loved Larry Bensky's show, love KPFA, and don't enjoy the slimey feeling that comes with the thought that his allies play very very dirty and very unfairly. I'm afraid I'm AFRAID -- it is tears and tremendous anguish -- that there is more of this to come.
Speaking of honesty or transparancy -- one of those buzzwords bounced around that should have meaning -- you now hear Brian Edwards-Tiekert complaining that People's Radio candidates aim to LAY OFF or fire KPFA staff. This was a sad idea when I first heard him complain about it 2 election cycles ago, when Marnie Tattersal was treasurer (Marnie who STARTED as a "Concerned Listener" ally, then switched when she saw their game). Marnie was looking ahead, as is prudent, saying this might be needed if more listeners and money were not brought in. When LaVarn Williams, of People's radio, again brought this up, Brian again complained very vociferously. So how surprised do you think I was to hear Brian Edwards-Tiekert, now treasurer himself, giving his treasurer's report both locally and to the national board, and recommending the layoffs that he says are needed NOW TO AVOID A CRISIS. (Which wouldn't have been a crisis back one or two treasurers ago).
If you want to hear the issues in context, please urge your concerned listener acquaintance board candidates to attend the forum tomorrow night, organized with an almost no confrontational format, but with small groups of listeners able to ask candidates questions.
Exposing people for their true values and politics by showing what they have done versus their rhetoric is fair play in politics. Have you noticed that with all the hyperbole from Hallinan, Gendelman and their anonymous allies, they have not debunked any of the things we put in the campaign booklet. The reason that they are so hot is that they have been exposed for their duplicity. I have offered to debate any and all of them and they have declined because they are afraid of what the listeners will find out if their true positions are exposed. They like to stay with the controlled attack, e-mails behind our and the voters’ backs, and personal attacks with no facts, and the expensive mailer that says nothing in particular.
Why don’t they have a position on the Program Council or the Democracy Now! time change issue or the unpaid staff issues in their campaign literature? Because if they published their actual anti-democratic, top-down positions they would be exposed. What would you think of a candidate for president who didn’t have a position on health care or the occupation? Trying to hide something, right. All they have said are general platitudes and on their slate mailer, conspicuous in its absence are the words “democratic process,” “transparency” or “accountability.”
Compare Peoplesradio.net’s program with the Concerned Listeners. Most of the points below have been with us since 2004. We don’t want to control or run anything. All we want is a transparent level playing field with a democratic process for listener input (the folks that donate all the money). We want it to be “your station” all year long not just during fund drives. While they wrongfully accuse us of micro-managing, they have applauded their ally, Dan Siegel, for trying to prejudice the election in their favor in violation of Pacifica Bylaws and any one’s sense of fair play.
Our 10-point program — a brief synopsis (see website for original):
1. KPFA with no corporate underwriting. Listener sponsors the primary source of financial and political support.
2. A democratically elected Program Council with listener representation equal to staff, and with the authority to make programming decisions by majority vote. Webcast the Program Council meetings, post the meeting minutes.
3. Broader diversity in programming as well as increased outreach to underserved communities, including more labor/workplace coverage, progressive analysis of world events, and enhanced coverage of developing political parties and movements.
4. Newscasts should be based primarily on progressive sources, and should include coverage of news and community events for areas outside the immediate Bay Area.
5. Democracy Now should be broadcast twice a day, once at 7 a.m. (prime time) and once in the evening.
6. Transparency in all station affairs, with an accountable process for management decisions at the station.
7. Strong, effective and transparent elected boards at KPFA and Pacifica. Meetings web cast and archived, agendas and minutes promptly available on the KPFA website. The LSB e-list should be open to listener observation.
8. Unpaid staff allowed to organize for representation on the Program Council, and to negotiate with management. Unpaid programming staff should be reimbursed for the out-of-pocket expenses of producing their programs.
9. The station should restore a Folio with listener comments to inform and unite the listener community.
10. Fundraising must be treated as a means to accomplish the Pacifica Mission. Fundraising must not inhibit the Mission or make information a commodity to sell, as is currently done.
They only way to hold a slate accountable is to know where they have stood in the past, something Concerned Listeners conveniently leave out, and when Peopleradio brings it up they want to kill the messenger instead of dealing with the issues. I am embarrassed that some “progressives” could fall for these attacks with no facts and Siegel’s unlawful and unprincipled attempt to sway the election. Did Ohio in 2004 or Florida in 2000 inspire him?
Matthew and/or Sherry, let’s debate the issues in public for all to see and hear. Or are you afraid of the history of CL and KPFAForward, your predecessor? You don’t want people to know about Sarv’s and other allies votes with Justice and Unity on the PNB against transparency, and to allow them to control WBAI despite the fact that they were destroying the listener base? Etc., etc., etc.
Oakland attorney and mediator Richard Phelps is a candidate for re-election to the Local Station Board.
Why don’t they have a position on the Program Council or the Democracy Now! time change issue or the unpaid staff issues in their campaign literature? Because if they published their actual anti-democratic, top-down positions they would be exposed. What would you think of a candidate for president who didn’t have a position on health care or the occupation? Trying to hide something, right. All they have said are general platitudes and on their slate mailer, conspicuous in its absence are the words “democratic process,” “transparency” or “accountability.”
Compare Peoplesradio.net’s program with the Concerned Listeners. Most of the points below have been with us since 2004. We don’t want to control or run anything. All we want is a transparent level playing field with a democratic process for listener input (the folks that donate all the money). We want it to be “your station” all year long not just during fund drives. While they wrongfully accuse us of micro-managing, they have applauded their ally, Dan Siegel, for trying to prejudice the election in their favor in violation of Pacifica Bylaws and any one’s sense of fair play.
Our 10-point program — a brief synopsis (see website for original):
1. KPFA with no corporate underwriting. Listener sponsors the primary source of financial and political support.
2. A democratically elected Program Council with listener representation equal to staff, and with the authority to make programming decisions by majority vote. Webcast the Program Council meetings, post the meeting minutes.
3. Broader diversity in programming as well as increased outreach to underserved communities, including more labor/workplace coverage, progressive analysis of world events, and enhanced coverage of developing political parties and movements.
4. Newscasts should be based primarily on progressive sources, and should include coverage of news and community events for areas outside the immediate Bay Area.
5. Democracy Now should be broadcast twice a day, once at 7 a.m. (prime time) and once in the evening.
6. Transparency in all station affairs, with an accountable process for management decisions at the station.
7. Strong, effective and transparent elected boards at KPFA and Pacifica. Meetings web cast and archived, agendas and minutes promptly available on the KPFA website. The LSB e-list should be open to listener observation.
8. Unpaid staff allowed to organize for representation on the Program Council, and to negotiate with management. Unpaid programming staff should be reimbursed for the out-of-pocket expenses of producing their programs.
9. The station should restore a Folio with listener comments to inform and unite the listener community.
10. Fundraising must be treated as a means to accomplish the Pacifica Mission. Fundraising must not inhibit the Mission or make information a commodity to sell, as is currently done.
They only way to hold a slate accountable is to know where they have stood in the past, something Concerned Listeners conveniently leave out, and when Peopleradio brings it up they want to kill the messenger instead of dealing with the issues. I am embarrassed that some “progressives” could fall for these attacks with no facts and Siegel’s unlawful and unprincipled attempt to sway the election. Did Ohio in 2004 or Florida in 2000 inspire him?
Matthew and/or Sherry, let’s debate the issues in public for all to see and hear. Or are you afraid of the history of CL and KPFAForward, your predecessor? You don’t want people to know about Sarv’s and other allies votes with Justice and Unity on the PNB against transparency, and to allow them to control WBAI despite the fact that they were destroying the listener base? Etc., etc., etc.
Oakland attorney and mediator Richard Phelps is a candidate for re-election to the Local Station Board.
We fought a long hard fight to win democratic elections for KPFA’s Local Station Board (LSB). One of the most important reasons for that was so that listeners could be informed by the candidates of the issues and problems and their proposed solutions. Imagine, if back in 1999 we had had the ability to communicate with all the members and to elect—and recall—the board of directors (through our elected delegates on the LSB).
In 1999 Pacifica silenced its critics, fired them, took them off the air, arrested them, put armed guards in KPFA, boarded up the station and piped in music from Houston.
Today, supposedly, the candidates have the right to lay it out as they see it, and the voters have the ability to contact the candidates (those who give contact information) and ask questions and make up their minds who to vote for. This isn’t perfect, but it is a hell of a lot more than we had back in 1999 when we had to ask the California attorney general for permission to sue to remove the Pacifica board of directors.
I say supposedly because Pacifica’s current interim executive director, Dan Siegel, is now trying to silence a group of candidates for the KPFA LSB and to prejudice the election against them for their revelation of certain issues of real interest to the KPFA membership. Based on complaints from KPFA’s interim management and members of the “Concerned Listeners” slate of candidates for the KPFA LSB, all of the KPFA listener candidates’ statements have been removed from the “official” Pacifica elections web page at http://www.pacificaelections.org. (I have just learned that they will soon be reposted but with non-alpha characters inserted in the names of persons mentioned in the statements. That will certainly make them far less helpful to voters in deciding how to vote.) In addition, the interim executive director has posted an “Open Letter to the Pacifica Community” on the KPFA Elections web page at in which he characterizes as “abusive” and “hateful speech” the statements of “a group of candidates running for the KPFA local board” whose statements, Siegel says, “contain little more than personal attacks on their opponents and station staff.” He has also conflated the KPFA “Peoples Radio” candidates statements with a racially inflammatory statement made by a WBAI candidate, and has smeared the KPFA candidates with the same stinky fish-wrap.
First, Pacifica management is prohibited by law and the Pacifica bylaws from making prejudicial statements about the candidates. They are not permitted to use Pacifica resources (including web pages) to the advantage or disadvantage of any candidate or group of candidates.
Secondly, the “Peoples’ Radio” slate candidates’ statements cannot by any standard be characterized as “hate speech” or “abusive” or “personal attacks.” They are not attacks on anyone’s character. They are factual assertions and strong arguments concerning the positions and actions of other candidates and the station manager and program director concerning station policies and the LSB. Vigorous debate about these issues is the proper purpose of the elections forum, so that the membership can make informed decisions when they vote.
It is true that in September 2005 Brian Edwards-Tiekert (a staff LSB member currently running for reelection) sent an email to a group of people to schedule a meeting to discuss, among other things, “dismantling the LSB.” Among those people was Sherry Gendleman (a listener LSB member currently running for re-election on the “Concerned Listeners” slate), Lemlem Rijio (who was then KPFA’s development director and is now KPFA’s interim station manager), Sasha Lilley (who was then a producer for “Against The Grain” and is now KPFA’s interim program director), and Bonnie Simmons (who is a staff LSB member, the current LSB chair, and an endorser of the “Concerned Listeners” slate of candidates).
This is a matter that should be of concern to the voters. “Dismantling” the LSB is not the way to get good governance for KPFA and Pacifica. I am glad that the “Peoples Radio” slate chose to publish it in their joint candidates’ statements. That e-mail was widely circulated among those close to the station when it first came out, and the fact that it is now a campaign issue should be a surprise to nobody.
It is an outrage that the interim executive director is issuing prejudicial statements and taking candidates’ statements off the web page.
So, while I believe more strongly than ever that it is essential that the “I-Team” candidates be elected to serve as a core of civility and sanity on the LSB and a “buffer zone” between the opposing factions, I also believe it is important to repudiate the executive director for his outrageous acts, and “Concerned Listeners” slate for demanding this censorship of other candidates’ statements. That can be done by ranking “Peoples’ Radio” slate members after the “I-Team” candidates. This will also preserve some balance on the LSB, as the “Concerned Listeners” hold a majority of the seats that were filled last year and are not up for re-election this year. I would certainly prefer that candidates be elected who support free speech and open debate, rather than those who are seeking to silence and censor it.
Here is my recommended order of ranking:
No. 1-No. 4 — the “I-Team” listed in alphabetical order—you choose your order of preference: Steve Conley, Chandra Hauptman, Tracy Rosenberg and Joe Wanzala.
No. 5-No. 11 — the “Peoples Radio” slate listed in alphabetical order—you choose your order of preference: Bob English, Dave Heller, Atilla Nagy, Richard Phelps, Mara Rivera, Gerald Sanders and Stan Woods.
No matter how you vote, please do be sure to vote so the election makes its 10 percent quorum. The ballots must be received (not postmarked) by Nov. 15.
For more info on the candidates and their slates see their web pages:
• The I-Team: http://radiopoetics.org.
• Peoples’ Radio: http://peoplesradio.net/election2007.htm.
• KPFA Voices For Justice: http://voicesforjusticeradio.googlepages.com.
• Concerned Listeners For KPFA: http://concernedlisteners.org.
Santa Rosa resident Carol Spooner was a KPFA Local Board Member from 2000 to 2005 and a Pacifica National Board member from 2002 to 2005.
In 1999 Pacifica silenced its critics, fired them, took them off the air, arrested them, put armed guards in KPFA, boarded up the station and piped in music from Houston.
Today, supposedly, the candidates have the right to lay it out as they see it, and the voters have the ability to contact the candidates (those who give contact information) and ask questions and make up their minds who to vote for. This isn’t perfect, but it is a hell of a lot more than we had back in 1999 when we had to ask the California attorney general for permission to sue to remove the Pacifica board of directors.
I say supposedly because Pacifica’s current interim executive director, Dan Siegel, is now trying to silence a group of candidates for the KPFA LSB and to prejudice the election against them for their revelation of certain issues of real interest to the KPFA membership. Based on complaints from KPFA’s interim management and members of the “Concerned Listeners” slate of candidates for the KPFA LSB, all of the KPFA listener candidates’ statements have been removed from the “official” Pacifica elections web page at http://www.pacificaelections.org. (I have just learned that they will soon be reposted but with non-alpha characters inserted in the names of persons mentioned in the statements. That will certainly make them far less helpful to voters in deciding how to vote.) In addition, the interim executive director has posted an “Open Letter to the Pacifica Community” on the KPFA Elections web page at in which he characterizes as “abusive” and “hateful speech” the statements of “a group of candidates running for the KPFA local board” whose statements, Siegel says, “contain little more than personal attacks on their opponents and station staff.” He has also conflated the KPFA “Peoples Radio” candidates statements with a racially inflammatory statement made by a WBAI candidate, and has smeared the KPFA candidates with the same stinky fish-wrap.
First, Pacifica management is prohibited by law and the Pacifica bylaws from making prejudicial statements about the candidates. They are not permitted to use Pacifica resources (including web pages) to the advantage or disadvantage of any candidate or group of candidates.
Secondly, the “Peoples’ Radio” slate candidates’ statements cannot by any standard be characterized as “hate speech” or “abusive” or “personal attacks.” They are not attacks on anyone’s character. They are factual assertions and strong arguments concerning the positions and actions of other candidates and the station manager and program director concerning station policies and the LSB. Vigorous debate about these issues is the proper purpose of the elections forum, so that the membership can make informed decisions when they vote.
It is true that in September 2005 Brian Edwards-Tiekert (a staff LSB member currently running for reelection) sent an email to a group of people to schedule a meeting to discuss, among other things, “dismantling the LSB.” Among those people was Sherry Gendleman (a listener LSB member currently running for re-election on the “Concerned Listeners” slate), Lemlem Rijio (who was then KPFA’s development director and is now KPFA’s interim station manager), Sasha Lilley (who was then a producer for “Against The Grain” and is now KPFA’s interim program director), and Bonnie Simmons (who is a staff LSB member, the current LSB chair, and an endorser of the “Concerned Listeners” slate of candidates).
This is a matter that should be of concern to the voters. “Dismantling” the LSB is not the way to get good governance for KPFA and Pacifica. I am glad that the “Peoples Radio” slate chose to publish it in their joint candidates’ statements. That e-mail was widely circulated among those close to the station when it first came out, and the fact that it is now a campaign issue should be a surprise to nobody.
It is an outrage that the interim executive director is issuing prejudicial statements and taking candidates’ statements off the web page.
So, while I believe more strongly than ever that it is essential that the “I-Team” candidates be elected to serve as a core of civility and sanity on the LSB and a “buffer zone” between the opposing factions, I also believe it is important to repudiate the executive director for his outrageous acts, and “Concerned Listeners” slate for demanding this censorship of other candidates’ statements. That can be done by ranking “Peoples’ Radio” slate members after the “I-Team” candidates. This will also preserve some balance on the LSB, as the “Concerned Listeners” hold a majority of the seats that were filled last year and are not up for re-election this year. I would certainly prefer that candidates be elected who support free speech and open debate, rather than those who are seeking to silence and censor it.
Here is my recommended order of ranking:
No. 1-No. 4 — the “I-Team” listed in alphabetical order—you choose your order of preference: Steve Conley, Chandra Hauptman, Tracy Rosenberg and Joe Wanzala.
No. 5-No. 11 — the “Peoples Radio” slate listed in alphabetical order—you choose your order of preference: Bob English, Dave Heller, Atilla Nagy, Richard Phelps, Mara Rivera, Gerald Sanders and Stan Woods.
No matter how you vote, please do be sure to vote so the election makes its 10 percent quorum. The ballots must be received (not postmarked) by Nov. 15.
For more info on the candidates and their slates see their web pages:
• The I-Team: http://radiopoetics.org.
• Peoples’ Radio: http://peoplesradio.net/election2007.htm.
• KPFA Voices For Justice: http://voicesforjusticeradio.googlepages.com.
• Concerned Listeners For KPFA: http://concernedlisteners.org.
Santa Rosa resident Carol Spooner was a KPFA Local Board Member from 2000 to 2005 and a Pacifica National Board member from 2002 to 2005.
The fight over transparency was not over financial records, but was a backdoor effort to look at the records of Pacifica, WBAI and KPFA employees. To date, Phelps and the rest have failed to inform those employees, past and present, that they were looking for.
Also, the big lie about being denied access covers up the fact that Phelps and the rest came into the Pacifica offices less than 30 minutes before the staff was to be at the airport to go to the Pacifica Board meeting. How convenient to claim "denial of access" when the staff is trying not to void and lose the airline tickets by getting to the airport on time.
Virginia, however, has drunk the koolade and refuses to look at anything other than what she is being spooner-fed. Speaking of which, Carol's ill-concealed effort at anonymity is supportive of such sectarianism, given her support of Phelps and the rest.
By endorsing Phelps, Spooner endorses suing listeners for speaking out about the abuses and corruption of Phelps and the rest.
It takes a four million dollars a year to run KPFA; Phelps and Spooner and the rest of their ilk claim to want to eliminate all manner of funding sources in order to "bring KPFA back to the people". The problem is, with the sectarianism that they offer, KPFA will never achieve the funding it needs when the listeners drop off, driven off by the puritanistic ideology that they offer.
But Virginia drank the koolade, and sees nothing wrong.
Poor Virginia.
Also, the big lie about being denied access covers up the fact that Phelps and the rest came into the Pacifica offices less than 30 minutes before the staff was to be at the airport to go to the Pacifica Board meeting. How convenient to claim "denial of access" when the staff is trying not to void and lose the airline tickets by getting to the airport on time.
Virginia, however, has drunk the koolade and refuses to look at anything other than what she is being spooner-fed. Speaking of which, Carol's ill-concealed effort at anonymity is supportive of such sectarianism, given her support of Phelps and the rest.
By endorsing Phelps, Spooner endorses suing listeners for speaking out about the abuses and corruption of Phelps and the rest.
It takes a four million dollars a year to run KPFA; Phelps and Spooner and the rest of their ilk claim to want to eliminate all manner of funding sources in order to "bring KPFA back to the people". The problem is, with the sectarianism that they offer, KPFA will never achieve the funding it needs when the listeners drop off, driven off by the puritanistic ideology that they offer.
But Virginia drank the koolade, and sees nothing wrong.
Poor Virginia.
We finally heard on air the first group of candidates for the Local Station Board on November 3, 2007, to be followed by a second group on November 10, from 10 to 12 noon on KPFA, 94.1 FM. These on air forums should have been done BEFORE THE OCTOBER MARATHON, preferably the weekends of October 6 and October 13. This writer voted the same day I received my ballot, October 11. Others most likely would have listened to the candidate forums at that time, when we were all receiving our ballots. This was suggested in the November 3 candidate forum and this idea should be implemented in next year's election campaign because it is the ONLY IDEA THAT MAKES SENSE.
Of the group that we heard today who were NOT the lickspittles of management and their warmongering, anti-labor, anti-civil liberties Democratic Party sponsor commonly known as "Concerned Listener" slate (they even brag that they are connected to the Wellstone Democratic Club), there were some highlights that are worth recalling.
Gerald Sanders expressed the URGENCY of what is to be done, pointing out that we cannot procrastinate anything in these fascist times and that the changes proposed by People's Radio need to be implemented with all deliberate speed. We are not dealing with the usual charity; we are supporting a voice of anti-fascist resistance in a society that is becoming a police state just like Nazi Germany, with both the Democrats and Republicans actively supporting all the fascist laws and appointements, such as attorney general and Supreme Court justices.
Richard Phelps described his pet project which should be IMMEDIATELY made part of KPFA's program: A weekly community hour where voices of the various workingclass communities can be heard, thereby recruiting the urgently needed support from these communities for KPFA while KPFA provides a voice for them. His example was the recent police shooting in Oakland of a young African American man, around which a community protest movement has been built. It is that community that should be on the air, as well as all the other communities in the Bay Area. He referred to the largest city in the Bay Area, San Jose, with its workingclass immigrant and native born communities which also need a voice.
Mara Rivera and CC Campbell-Rock referred to the lack of KPFA's signal in many parts of the Bay Area including parts of San Francisco and Pleasanton. KPFA's signal MUST BE RECEIVED CLEARLY IN ALL 9 COUNTIES OF THE BAY AREA. Before anything else, after paying basic expenses, the transmitter and whatever else it takes must be improved to realize this goal. The same is true of the affiliates such as KFCF in Fresno.
Sureya Sayadi highlighted the need for more news on women in the Middle East and Attila Nagy was a clear voice from Sonoma County where there are many issues, including a major crisis in police brutality and shootings, which must be heard on KPFA, preferably described by the people adversely affected by this police terrorism on the Community Hour described above, as well as on the 6 p.m. news.
Dave Heller referred to the need to make the 9/11 Inside Job a matter of wide discussion on KPFA. I would go further and make it mandatory that the newscasters referred to that event NOT as the September 11 attack, but as the 9/11 Inside Job. It was perpetrated by the US military to promote war and fascism so as to maximize the profits of the capitalist class, the same reason for the Nazis' Reichstag Fire. NO AIR DEFENSE MEANS THAT IT WAS AN INSIDE JOB. There were no hijackers on those planes; 9 of the so-called hijackers were alive on 9/12/01. The planes were on remote control, guided by the US Air Force. The Twin Towers and Building 7, which was not hit by a plane, were brought down by CONTROLLED DEMOLITION, further proof that it was an inside job. The Pentagon was hit by construction explosives and a US missile. The plane that supposedly came down over Pennsylvania ended its flight at the Cleveland airport. The hole in the ground in Pennsylvania was filled with junk metal but no bodies. Everyone in the news and political information department at KPFA should be actively encouraged to read the following book list and watch as many DVDs as possible on the subject, including those listed below. After the homework list for those who still have not done their homework, there will be the 2 labor slates, Voices for Justice & People's Radio, both worthy of your consideration. Please do vote as the deadline is November 15 and there must be at least 10% of the subscribers voting to make it a valid election. Remember, you are part of the anti-fascist resistance and all of our lives are on the line so voting in this election is very important.
YOUR HOMEWORK:
Listen to Guns & Butter on KPFA at 94.1 FM at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays and online at:
http://www.gunsandbutter.net/archives.php
View
http://www.brasschecktv.com/
DVD that is a Must See at
http://www.loosechange911.com/
READ ALL OF THE FOLLOWING BOOKS:
1. Crossing the Rubicon by Michael Ruppert
2. The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions & Distortions by David Griffin
3. The New Pearl Harbor by David Griffin
4. Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Griffin
5. Painful Questions by Eric Hufschmid
6. The Iron Triangle (on Carlyle Group) by Dan Briody
7. 9/11 Revealed: The Unanswered Questions by Rowland Morgan & Ian Henshall
8. Waking Up From Our Nightmare by Don Paul and Jim Hoffman
9.9/11 Facing Our Fascist State by Don Paul
10.9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA by Webster Tarpley
11 Body of Secrets by James Bamford
12 The War on Truth by Nafeez Mossadeq Ahmed
13 The Terror Conspiracy by Jim Marrs
14 Towers of Deception by Barrie Zwicker (with DVD enclosed)
15 9/11 and American Empire edited by David Ray Griffin and Peter Dale Scott
16 Flight 93 Revealed by Rowland Morgan
TWO GOOD SLATES:
1. Voices for Justice at
http://voicesforjusticeradio.googlepages.com/
and their related, very informative website,
http://www.kpfalaborcommunity.net/
Their candidates are:
Steve Zeltzer
Carl Bryant
CC Campbell-Rock
Sureya Sayadi
Their program is at:
http://kpfavoicesforjustice.googlepages.com/program
Their endorsers are at:
http://kpfavoicesforjustice.googlepages.com/endorsers
and are:
Cynthia McKinney, former Georgia congressperson
Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai, medical doctor and current candidate for mayor of San Francisco
Cindy Sheehan, peace activist
Sandra Everette, CTA member and member of San Mateo Greens
Gregory Richardson, Video producer, CTC
Joan Mathis, Video producer, CTC
Jack Heyman, ILWU Local 10 executive board member
Idriss Stelley Foundation
Willie and Mary Ratcliff, publisher of San Francisco Bayview
Ralph Schoenman, producer of Taking Aim and author
Riva Enteen, past chair of KPFA Local Station Board
2. The People's Radio slate is the other good set of candidates, with their program, candidates and issues listed at:
http://www.peoplesradio.net/
Their candidates are at
http://www.peoplesradio.net/election2007.htm
and are:
Richard Phelps
David Heller
Attila Nagy
Bob English
Gerald Sanders
Mara Rivera
Stan Woods
Their endorsers are:
Dr. Peter Phillips – Project Censored director
Michael Parenti – Author & lecturer
William Mandel - 37 year KPFA foreign affairs commentator/talk show host, author
Peter Camejo – 3 time gubernatorial candidate & Green Party member
The Green Party of Alameda County endorses each of our candidates individually
The Peace & Freedom Party of Alameda County
The Peace & Freedom Party of San Francisco County
The Petaluma Progressives
The Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance
Richard Gage - AIA, Architect, Founder of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth
Jack Heyman – ILWU Local 10 Executive Board member rank & file organizer
Jack Ford – Teamsters Local 921 SF Chronicle Truck Drivers former president
Liana Molina – Woodfin Hotels Boycott coordinator
Eva Royal - Cesar Chavez Holiday Committee Chair, former UFW Bay Area Regional Manager/organizer
Alan Benjamin - Delegate to the SF Labor Council for Office and Professional Employees International Union #3
LaVarn Williams – KPFA Local Station Board, Pacific National Board director & Treasurer
Bonnie Faulkner - Host of Guns & Butter, KPFA
Miguel "Gavilan" Molina - Host of Flashpoints, La Honda Bajita
Francisco Herrera – musician, KPFA Flashpoints contributor
David Janda - KBBF, member of Voces Cruzando Fronteras, photogapher
Ernest Rivera – SomArts Cultural Center board president
Of the group that we heard today who were NOT the lickspittles of management and their warmongering, anti-labor, anti-civil liberties Democratic Party sponsor commonly known as "Concerned Listener" slate (they even brag that they are connected to the Wellstone Democratic Club), there were some highlights that are worth recalling.
Gerald Sanders expressed the URGENCY of what is to be done, pointing out that we cannot procrastinate anything in these fascist times and that the changes proposed by People's Radio need to be implemented with all deliberate speed. We are not dealing with the usual charity; we are supporting a voice of anti-fascist resistance in a society that is becoming a police state just like Nazi Germany, with both the Democrats and Republicans actively supporting all the fascist laws and appointements, such as attorney general and Supreme Court justices.
Richard Phelps described his pet project which should be IMMEDIATELY made part of KPFA's program: A weekly community hour where voices of the various workingclass communities can be heard, thereby recruiting the urgently needed support from these communities for KPFA while KPFA provides a voice for them. His example was the recent police shooting in Oakland of a young African American man, around which a community protest movement has been built. It is that community that should be on the air, as well as all the other communities in the Bay Area. He referred to the largest city in the Bay Area, San Jose, with its workingclass immigrant and native born communities which also need a voice.
Mara Rivera and CC Campbell-Rock referred to the lack of KPFA's signal in many parts of the Bay Area including parts of San Francisco and Pleasanton. KPFA's signal MUST BE RECEIVED CLEARLY IN ALL 9 COUNTIES OF THE BAY AREA. Before anything else, after paying basic expenses, the transmitter and whatever else it takes must be improved to realize this goal. The same is true of the affiliates such as KFCF in Fresno.
Sureya Sayadi highlighted the need for more news on women in the Middle East and Attila Nagy was a clear voice from Sonoma County where there are many issues, including a major crisis in police brutality and shootings, which must be heard on KPFA, preferably described by the people adversely affected by this police terrorism on the Community Hour described above, as well as on the 6 p.m. news.
Dave Heller referred to the need to make the 9/11 Inside Job a matter of wide discussion on KPFA. I would go further and make it mandatory that the newscasters referred to that event NOT as the September 11 attack, but as the 9/11 Inside Job. It was perpetrated by the US military to promote war and fascism so as to maximize the profits of the capitalist class, the same reason for the Nazis' Reichstag Fire. NO AIR DEFENSE MEANS THAT IT WAS AN INSIDE JOB. There were no hijackers on those planes; 9 of the so-called hijackers were alive on 9/12/01. The planes were on remote control, guided by the US Air Force. The Twin Towers and Building 7, which was not hit by a plane, were brought down by CONTROLLED DEMOLITION, further proof that it was an inside job. The Pentagon was hit by construction explosives and a US missile. The plane that supposedly came down over Pennsylvania ended its flight at the Cleveland airport. The hole in the ground in Pennsylvania was filled with junk metal but no bodies. Everyone in the news and political information department at KPFA should be actively encouraged to read the following book list and watch as many DVDs as possible on the subject, including those listed below. After the homework list for those who still have not done their homework, there will be the 2 labor slates, Voices for Justice & People's Radio, both worthy of your consideration. Please do vote as the deadline is November 15 and there must be at least 10% of the subscribers voting to make it a valid election. Remember, you are part of the anti-fascist resistance and all of our lives are on the line so voting in this election is very important.
YOUR HOMEWORK:
Listen to Guns & Butter on KPFA at 94.1 FM at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays and online at:
http://www.gunsandbutter.net/archives.php
View
http://www.brasschecktv.com/
DVD that is a Must See at
http://www.loosechange911.com/
READ ALL OF THE FOLLOWING BOOKS:
1. Crossing the Rubicon by Michael Ruppert
2. The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions & Distortions by David Griffin
3. The New Pearl Harbor by David Griffin
4. Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Griffin
5. Painful Questions by Eric Hufschmid
6. The Iron Triangle (on Carlyle Group) by Dan Briody
7. 9/11 Revealed: The Unanswered Questions by Rowland Morgan & Ian Henshall
8. Waking Up From Our Nightmare by Don Paul and Jim Hoffman
9.9/11 Facing Our Fascist State by Don Paul
10.9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA by Webster Tarpley
11 Body of Secrets by James Bamford
12 The War on Truth by Nafeez Mossadeq Ahmed
13 The Terror Conspiracy by Jim Marrs
14 Towers of Deception by Barrie Zwicker (with DVD enclosed)
15 9/11 and American Empire edited by David Ray Griffin and Peter Dale Scott
16 Flight 93 Revealed by Rowland Morgan
TWO GOOD SLATES:
1. Voices for Justice at
http://voicesforjusticeradio.googlepages.com/
and their related, very informative website,
http://www.kpfalaborcommunity.net/
Their candidates are:
Steve Zeltzer
Carl Bryant
CC Campbell-Rock
Sureya Sayadi
Their program is at:
http://kpfavoicesforjustice.googlepages.com/program
Their endorsers are at:
http://kpfavoicesforjustice.googlepages.com/endorsers
and are:
Cynthia McKinney, former Georgia congressperson
Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai, medical doctor and current candidate for mayor of San Francisco
Cindy Sheehan, peace activist
Sandra Everette, CTA member and member of San Mateo Greens
Gregory Richardson, Video producer, CTC
Joan Mathis, Video producer, CTC
Jack Heyman, ILWU Local 10 executive board member
Idriss Stelley Foundation
Willie and Mary Ratcliff, publisher of San Francisco Bayview
Ralph Schoenman, producer of Taking Aim and author
Riva Enteen, past chair of KPFA Local Station Board
2. The People's Radio slate is the other good set of candidates, with their program, candidates and issues listed at:
http://www.peoplesradio.net/
Their candidates are at
http://www.peoplesradio.net/election2007.htm
and are:
Richard Phelps
David Heller
Attila Nagy
Bob English
Gerald Sanders
Mara Rivera
Stan Woods
Their endorsers are:
Dr. Peter Phillips – Project Censored director
Michael Parenti – Author & lecturer
William Mandel - 37 year KPFA foreign affairs commentator/talk show host, author
Peter Camejo – 3 time gubernatorial candidate & Green Party member
The Green Party of Alameda County endorses each of our candidates individually
The Peace & Freedom Party of Alameda County
The Peace & Freedom Party of San Francisco County
The Petaluma Progressives
The Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance
Richard Gage - AIA, Architect, Founder of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth
Jack Heyman – ILWU Local 10 Executive Board member rank & file organizer
Jack Ford – Teamsters Local 921 SF Chronicle Truck Drivers former president
Liana Molina – Woodfin Hotels Boycott coordinator
Eva Royal - Cesar Chavez Holiday Committee Chair, former UFW Bay Area Regional Manager/organizer
Alan Benjamin - Delegate to the SF Labor Council for Office and Professional Employees International Union #3
LaVarn Williams – KPFA Local Station Board, Pacific National Board director & Treasurer
Bonnie Faulkner - Host of Guns & Butter, KPFA
Miguel "Gavilan" Molina - Host of Flashpoints, La Honda Bajita
Francisco Herrera – musician, KPFA Flashpoints contributor
David Janda - KBBF, member of Voces Cruzando Fronteras, photogapher
Ernest Rivera – SomArts Cultural Center board president
All they propose is replacing "fascism" with their own version of it, with themselves as the sole arbiters of what is and is not acceptable.
As for "improving the transmitter", the KPFA transmitter is grandfathered at a higher wattage than is legally allowed today. Any change to the transmitter and KPFA will LOSE almost half the power it has now. And the new digital broadcast requirement is limited to ONE THIRD of KPFA's present power.
Goes to show what happens when political hacks think that they can run a radio station. Elect Peoples Radio and their clone/drones, and we will lose KPFA in fundraising and in broadcast capacity.
As for "improving the transmitter", the KPFA transmitter is grandfathered at a higher wattage than is legally allowed today. Any change to the transmitter and KPFA will LOSE almost half the power it has now. And the new digital broadcast requirement is limited to ONE THIRD of KPFA's present power.
Goes to show what happens when political hacks think that they can run a radio station. Elect Peoples Radio and their clone/drones, and we will lose KPFA in fundraising and in broadcast capacity.
IF (I'll let those as were there relay the details) ONE of the many times the request was made to see those financial records was just before the plane trip, perhaps it was a strategic move because simply requesting those records over and over, as was their right to have access to them, had been unsuccessful.
I HAVEN'T drunk the koolaid -- I swear I haven't had any for years. I'm perfectly capable of being open-minded. I'm getting ready to read the article on "Badly Behaving Boards" Brian E-T mentions elsewhere. I'm just SURE I'll find in that article or book, unless it's written by the "faciscism" flinger above (whose praise or alignment with his/her preferred candidates may make one want to change candidates, and perhaps that's the intent...) -- that Brian and his associates used every decent, god-fearing technique in the book to communicate productively with those bad behavers before resorting to the idea of dismantlement. (But I guess that was before I started watching...)
I HAVEN'T drunk the koolaid -- I swear I haven't had any for years. I'm perfectly capable of being open-minded. I'm getting ready to read the article on "Badly Behaving Boards" Brian E-T mentions elsewhere. I'm just SURE I'll find in that article or book, unless it's written by the "faciscism" flinger above (whose praise or alignment with his/her preferred candidates may make one want to change candidates, and perhaps that's the intent...) -- that Brian and his associates used every decent, god-fearing technique in the book to communicate productively with those bad behavers before resorting to the idea of dismantlement. (But I guess that was before I started watching...)
The candidate statements have been posted here for well over a week, all names are clearly readable:
http://www.pacificafoundation.org/elections/kpfa-listener-candidates/
http://www.pacificafoundation.org/elections/kpfa-listener-candidates/
OLD Lib:The fight over transparency was not over financial records, but was a backdoor effort to look at the records of Pacifica, WBAI and KPFA employees. To date, Phelps and the rest have failed to inform those employees, past and present, that they were looking for.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
RP: This is the big lie. The fight was to allow Directors their rights to inspect since they are responsible for the Foundation. And if he knew anything he would know that of the thousands of records inspected very few had anything to do with employees.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
OLD LIB: Also, the big lie about being denied access covers up the fact that Phelps and the rest came into the Pacifica offices less than 30 minutes before the staff was to be at the airport to go to the Pacifica Board meeting. How convenient to claim "denial of access" when the staff is trying not to void and lose the airline tickets by getting to the airport on time.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
RP: The time that La Varn Williams and I were refused when we went to the national office was in June of 2005 and the June PNB meeting was in Berkeley. Same town as the national office. So get your facts straight if you ever care about facts, nobody was leaving town.
Richard Phelps
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
RP: This is the big lie. The fight was to allow Directors their rights to inspect since they are responsible for the Foundation. And if he knew anything he would know that of the thousands of records inspected very few had anything to do with employees.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
OLD LIB: Also, the big lie about being denied access covers up the fact that Phelps and the rest came into the Pacifica offices less than 30 minutes before the staff was to be at the airport to go to the Pacifica Board meeting. How convenient to claim "denial of access" when the staff is trying not to void and lose the airline tickets by getting to the airport on time.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
RP: The time that La Varn Williams and I were refused when we went to the national office was in June of 2005 and the June PNB meeting was in Berkeley. Same town as the national office. So get your facts straight if you ever care about facts, nobody was leaving town.
Richard Phelps
First a correction, I mailed the KPFA ballot on October 19. There are other elections taking place at this time as well.
Second, the transmitter proposal was originally raised by the Concerned Listeners slate heard in the first hour on November 3. The point is that KPFA should be reaching every single radio in all 9 counties of the Bay Area. There was also some mention of repeaters. I have no idea how that works, but whatever is technologically possible to reach more people in the SF Bay Area should be done IMMEDIATELY. In fact, whoever is on the Local Station Board should put this item ON THE AGENDA for the NEXT MEETING and ACT ON IT IMMEDIATELY.
As to fascism, this country has reached a point where it is discussing supporting torture as a criteria for appointments, and both Democrats (Feinstein and Schumer) and Republicans are supporting an attorney general nominee who will not commit to opposing torture. Then, of course, there are the secret prisons Bush has proudly announced exist and we all know the death camp called Guantanamo still exists. Halliburton is busy building death camps right here in the USA. We not only have all kinds of travel restrictions and all airports now being military checkpoints, there is now a plan to give the European Union all kinds of personal information including names, telephone numbers, credit card information and travel itinerary on all travelers from the USA to Europe and all other travelers to and from Europe under the pretext of fighting terrorism. See the Washington Post reprint in the SF Chronicle, 11/4/07 at
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/04/MNL7T66C9.DTL
Then there is the police state in all workingclass communities and schools and the growing prison-concentration camp system, so that California's budget, for example, changed from 31% for higher education and 4% for prisons in 1970 to 12% for higher education and 20% for prisons in 2005. See, The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire and The Future of America by Peter Dale Scott, p. xii. And you better not question the police or speak at a forum on a college campus if you want to avoid being tasered, a weapon which, along with pepper spray, should be banned everywhere as they are purely to allow the capitalist state to terrorize all of us. Fascism is certainly here; we have absolutely no time to waste at all.
Second, the transmitter proposal was originally raised by the Concerned Listeners slate heard in the first hour on November 3. The point is that KPFA should be reaching every single radio in all 9 counties of the Bay Area. There was also some mention of repeaters. I have no idea how that works, but whatever is technologically possible to reach more people in the SF Bay Area should be done IMMEDIATELY. In fact, whoever is on the Local Station Board should put this item ON THE AGENDA for the NEXT MEETING and ACT ON IT IMMEDIATELY.
As to fascism, this country has reached a point where it is discussing supporting torture as a criteria for appointments, and both Democrats (Feinstein and Schumer) and Republicans are supporting an attorney general nominee who will not commit to opposing torture. Then, of course, there are the secret prisons Bush has proudly announced exist and we all know the death camp called Guantanamo still exists. Halliburton is busy building death camps right here in the USA. We not only have all kinds of travel restrictions and all airports now being military checkpoints, there is now a plan to give the European Union all kinds of personal information including names, telephone numbers, credit card information and travel itinerary on all travelers from the USA to Europe and all other travelers to and from Europe under the pretext of fighting terrorism. See the Washington Post reprint in the SF Chronicle, 11/4/07 at
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/04/MNL7T66C9.DTL
Then there is the police state in all workingclass communities and schools and the growing prison-concentration camp system, so that California's budget, for example, changed from 31% for higher education and 4% for prisons in 1970 to 12% for higher education and 20% for prisons in 2005. See, The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire and The Future of America by Peter Dale Scott, p. xii. And you better not question the police or speak at a forum on a college campus if you want to avoid being tasered, a weapon which, along with pepper spray, should be banned everywhere as they are purely to allow the capitalist state to terrorize all of us. Fascism is certainly here; we have absolutely no time to waste at all.
The so-called I-Team is fronted by Tracy Rosenberg who has been passing herself off as the "managing director" of Media Alliance. The real truth, as you can see on their website, is that she's just interim, which she won't say. Why is she misleading the listeners in her candidate statements? Is dishonesty something you want in a candidate?
If you want straight talk and radical politics, vote for the Voices for Justice slate:
http://voicesforjusticeradio.googlepages.com/
and their related, very informative website,
http://www.kpfalaborcommunity.net/
Their candidates are:
Steve Zeltzer
Carl Bryant
CC Campbell-Rock
Sureya Sayadi
Their program is at:
http://kpfavoicesforjustice.googlepages.com/program
Their endorsers are at:
http://kpfavoicesforjustice.googlepages.com/endorsers
and are:
Cynthia McKinney, former Georgia congressperson
Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai, medical doctor and current candidate for mayor of San Francisco
Cindy Sheehan, peace activist
Sandra Everette, CTA member and member of San Mateo Greens
Gregory Richardson, Video producer, CTC
Joan Mathis, Video producer, CTC
Jack Heyman, ILWU Local 10 executive board member
Idriss Stelley Foundation
Willie and Mary Ratcliff, publisher of San Francisco Bayview
Ralph Schoenman, producer of Taking Aim and author
Riva Enteen, past chair of KPFA Local Station Board
If you want straight talk and radical politics, vote for the Voices for Justice slate:
http://voicesforjusticeradio.googlepages.com/
and their related, very informative website,
http://www.kpfalaborcommunity.net/
Their candidates are:
Steve Zeltzer
Carl Bryant
CC Campbell-Rock
Sureya Sayadi
Their program is at:
http://kpfavoicesforjustice.googlepages.com/program
Their endorsers are at:
http://kpfavoicesforjustice.googlepages.com/endorsers
and are:
Cynthia McKinney, former Georgia congressperson
Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai, medical doctor and current candidate for mayor of San Francisco
Cindy Sheehan, peace activist
Sandra Everette, CTA member and member of San Mateo Greens
Gregory Richardson, Video producer, CTC
Joan Mathis, Video producer, CTC
Jack Heyman, ILWU Local 10 executive board member
Idriss Stelley Foundation
Willie and Mary Ratcliff, publisher of San Francisco Bayview
Ralph Schoenman, producer of Taking Aim and author
Riva Enteen, past chair of KPFA Local Station Board
Repeaters cost money, and can be deleted by the first applicant for the frequency that they are using. Transmitter upgrades are going to be done, because the FCC is requiring them; however, that is for the new "digital" radio system that is going into place, just like HDTV is going to shut down your TV unless you have a new HD receiver or adapter. When that goes through, KPFA will lose its signal strength. Go to http://www.digitaldisaster.org. A couple of LSB members (not PeoplesRadio because they are bellicose Luddites not interested in details) have mentioned this in public already.
As to ambulance chaser Phelps, he apparently forgets the attempt to access records in New York, and the unequal examination of both Washington and Los Angeles, even though the financial situation at both is almost as bad as New York. People at WBAI reported that there was more interest in the personnel records than the fact WBAI hasn't been able to pay for itself for nearly ten years, and that any excess money from KPFA is being stolen to pay for WBAI.
The "truth" as Richard Phelps tells it is solely for the benefit of Richard Phelps, and has never been for the benefit of KPFA or Pacifica. After all, he's the one who came up with the unique plan of suing listeners to get funding.
Pity KPFA if Phelps and his Peoples Radio clone/drone slates get elected this year...
As to ambulance chaser Phelps, he apparently forgets the attempt to access records in New York, and the unequal examination of both Washington and Los Angeles, even though the financial situation at both is almost as bad as New York. People at WBAI reported that there was more interest in the personnel records than the fact WBAI hasn't been able to pay for itself for nearly ten years, and that any excess money from KPFA is being stolen to pay for WBAI.
The "truth" as Richard Phelps tells it is solely for the benefit of Richard Phelps, and has never been for the benefit of KPFA or Pacifica. After all, he's the one who came up with the unique plan of suing listeners to get funding.
Pity KPFA if Phelps and his Peoples Radio clone/drone slates get elected this year...
Phelps does not deny looking at personnel records. Where is the privacy of the employee protected in this? Names, address, Social Security and other highly personal information, now in the hands of individuals who have professed publically the desire to remove, eliminate and terminate people at the station that they do not agree with.
Why would any progressive, pro-labor person stand for such fascist behavior? Why do you, Virginia, condone this by your lack of concern or interest?
If Phelps and his Peoples Radio clone/drones are truly interested in transparency, they would have told the employees whose files they looked at or copied information from, advising them of what they were looking for.
Instead, silence, and the obvious overtones of a fascist regime in the making.
I don't think you can drink any deeper, Virginia, short of drowning in the koolade.
Why would any progressive, pro-labor person stand for such fascist behavior? Why do you, Virginia, condone this by your lack of concern or interest?
If Phelps and his Peoples Radio clone/drones are truly interested in transparency, they would have told the employees whose files they looked at or copied information from, advising them of what they were looking for.
Instead, silence, and the obvious overtones of a fascist regime in the making.
I don't think you can drink any deeper, Virginia, short of drowning in the koolade.
It is interesting that Sherry Gendelman, the supposed "Pr-labor candidate running with "concerned listeners" was personally involved in blocking support for the Berkeley Honda workers. When a resolution was introduced for the LSB to endorse the boycott, the "pro-labor candidate" personally prevented the endorsement by preventing passage in the consent calendar that the board adopts.
Gendelman along with other supporters of "concerned listeners" prevented the support by KPFA for the boycott for months until the struggle was almost over before endorsing it.
This anti-labor tactic of Gendelman is also combined with her support of the union busting tactice of Lemlem Rijio and management to de-recognize the Unpaid Staff Organization. Gendelman who has acted as a hack for management is fraudulently claiming to be pro-union when here record says otherwise. So much for political honesty.
Gendelman along with other supporters of "concerned listeners" prevented the support by KPFA for the boycott for months until the struggle was almost over before endorsing it.
This anti-labor tactic of Gendelman is also combined with her support of the union busting tactice of Lemlem Rijio and management to de-recognize the Unpaid Staff Organization. Gendelman who has acted as a hack for management is fraudulently claiming to be pro-union when here record says otherwise. So much for political honesty.
The person who "held back" the Honda Workers motion was Mark Hernandez, who stated publicly the only reason for his block was because he felt the issue needed to be "on the record" instead of being passed in the consent calendar without giving the workers a chance to air their grievances. No other LSB member made an objection.
Even with the block, the motion immediately went to the agenda for action, to force a discussion
Furthermore, looking at the dismal record of the Phelps chairmanship, the motion was brought up once, forgotten by its proponent for nearly six months as it sat on the agenda under "Old Business", and then brought forward again only at the last moment as "vitally urgent" just before the strike was ended.
At the end of its term, the Phelps chairmanship ended up with over thirty items deliberately delayed by Phelps' and his gang, all postponed and delayed for little different purpose than the Republicans are currently doing in Congress...delay, postpone, blame the opposition and try to pretend to be the 'good guys'.
So much for the care and concern of Chandra Hauptman, who repeatedly lied about the motion in many forums, and Phelps' PeoplesRadio clone/drones for lying about their "unconditional support" for the motion that they let it languish in limbo for months.
All they needed to do was move the issue up the agenda for discussion, but never did until the last possible moment.
Even with the block, the motion immediately went to the agenda for action, to force a discussion
Furthermore, looking at the dismal record of the Phelps chairmanship, the motion was brought up once, forgotten by its proponent for nearly six months as it sat on the agenda under "Old Business", and then brought forward again only at the last moment as "vitally urgent" just before the strike was ended.
At the end of its term, the Phelps chairmanship ended up with over thirty items deliberately delayed by Phelps' and his gang, all postponed and delayed for little different purpose than the Republicans are currently doing in Congress...delay, postpone, blame the opposition and try to pretend to be the 'good guys'.
So much for the care and concern of Chandra Hauptman, who repeatedly lied about the motion in many forums, and Phelps' PeoplesRadio clone/drones for lying about their "unconditional support" for the motion that they let it languish in limbo for months.
All they needed to do was move the issue up the agenda for discussion, but never did until the last possible moment.
"Concerned listener" supporter "old lib" must now make up history about the efforts to stall the resolution of support for the Berkeley Honda Boycott. The resolution was put on the consent calendar of the LSB which meant that it would have passed if no objections were raised. What happened was that when it was brought up month after month not only Mark Hernandez but Sherry Gendelman and Sarv objected and this meant that the resolution was prevented from being passed by the board. These three anti-labor "concerned listeners" showed their true views about a real struggle for justice for the Berkeley Honda Workers. KPFA could have put on radio carts encouraging support for the boycott and also asking people to participate in the picket line but instead they did damage control for the bosses and those who opposed KPFA being a real voice for working people. CL supporter Hernandez said he wanted a full discussion to get the issues out. This was after even the city of Berkeley had endorsed the boycott after a full hearing by the Berkeley Labor Commission. Apparently this was not good enought for Hernandez and the other supporters of "concerned listeners".
Now in order to cover their tracks "old lib" must make up the history.
Now in order to cover their tracks "old lib" must make up the history.
'' Old Lib'' wrote that the only reason Mark Hernandez gave for blocking the Berkeley Honda Solidarity Consent Calender item was that he wanted it ''on the record ''.
Not so. Hernandez said that he wanted to ''hear both sides '' ! I.E. The side of the boss as well as the workers .
As in the old Kentucky Labor anthem goes '' Which side are you on ? '' We of Peoples Radio and others on the board who supported that item always know what side we are on in such a clear case of economic justice.
Apparently Hernandez and his board (C.L. ) Allies wanted to give a respectful hearing to the owners of Berkeley Honda before the board could (if ever) take a stand .
Finally after the strike was all but over they voted for the motion .
These are '' Friends of Labor "" ?
Not so. Hernandez said that he wanted to ''hear both sides '' ! I.E. The side of the boss as well as the workers .
As in the old Kentucky Labor anthem goes '' Which side are you on ? '' We of Peoples Radio and others on the board who supported that item always know what side we are on in such a clear case of economic justice.
Apparently Hernandez and his board (C.L. ) Allies wanted to give a respectful hearing to the owners of Berkeley Honda before the board could (if ever) take a stand .
Finally after the strike was all but over they voted for the motion .
These are '' Friends of Labor "" ?
The comedian Chris Rock once brilliantly said, "anybody who makes up his mind before hearing all sides of an issue is a F#@*ng idiot." I think that clearly applies in the case of the People's Radio candidates when it came to the Berkeley Honda dispute.
Instead of getting a full hearing of the issue, like Hernandez apparently wanted to do to his credit, they wanted to rubber stamp some kind of politcally loaded resolution through the board so they could look like good labor people. What kind of person automatically supports a side without understanding all sides on an important issue? A robot, that's who. Someone who has no mind of their own and can only parrot a pre-approved line.
Were the Berkeley Honda workers right? Probably, but not automatically. A free thinking intelligent adult takes the time to educate themselves on all points of view. I think Hernandez's stance was entirely correct.
By the way, what was a KPFA board doing issuing statements on something that doesn't have anything to do with overseeing a radio station? Wasn't there more important station related business to get to, or is it all about political posturing with you PR people?
Instead of getting a full hearing of the issue, like Hernandez apparently wanted to do to his credit, they wanted to rubber stamp some kind of politcally loaded resolution through the board so they could look like good labor people. What kind of person automatically supports a side without understanding all sides on an important issue? A robot, that's who. Someone who has no mind of their own and can only parrot a pre-approved line.
Were the Berkeley Honda workers right? Probably, but not automatically. A free thinking intelligent adult takes the time to educate themselves on all points of view. I think Hernandez's stance was entirely correct.
By the way, what was a KPFA board doing issuing statements on something that doesn't have anything to do with overseeing a radio station? Wasn't there more important station related business to get to, or is it all about political posturing with you PR people?
As stated LAST year when falsely posted here as an argument, supporting and allying with striking workers is a form of outreach, something the board should be doing.
The board had MONTHS. MONTHS to find out the Berkeley Honda issues. As pointed out elsewhere here, it was on the agenda for months. Who was it -- Dave heller I think -- saying why the hell don't they work some of this out on email before coming to the board meetings each month? Maybe some of it is time -- they're volunteers -- but the tone and style of discourse in the board meetings is not just "well, tell us more about the strike so we can make sure we do it right...." No, it's Robert's Rules # 501 says "no talking about this at this time. Period."
The board had MONTHS. MONTHS to find out the Berkeley Honda issues. As pointed out elsewhere here, it was on the agenda for months. Who was it -- Dave heller I think -- saying why the hell don't they work some of this out on email before coming to the board meetings each month? Maybe some of it is time -- they're volunteers -- but the tone and style of discourse in the board meetings is not just "well, tell us more about the strike so we can make sure we do it right...." No, it's Robert's Rules # 501 says "no talking about this at this time. Period."
FYI. Reposting this from 2006
Note that Sarv Randhawa was Concerned Listener's no. 1 candidate
Pro-labor?
The 5 who did not support the recent LSB resolution in favor of the Unpaid Staff Organization: (the 1st 3 are Concerned Listeners)
Sherry Gendelman, Sarv Randhawa, PhoebeAnn Sorgen, Brian Edwards-Tiekert, Bonnie Simmons
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BERKELEY HONDA RESOLUTION
By Chandra Hauptman
Listener-Member, KPFA Local Station Board
I am the author of the KPFA Local Station Board’s (LSB) resolution in support of the Berkeley Honda workers, who held a 10 month strike against the new Berkeley Honda management.* The resolution was first introduced to the KPFA LSB at its August 2005 meeting. It took the LSB nine months to act on this resolution. The only reason the board was able to approve this resolution is because I threatened to go public, at the April 2006 LSB meeting, by exposing the names of the two people who prevented this resolution from being approved by the LSB for the prior 8 months. Ironically, the April 2006 LSB meeting was held in a San Jose union hall.
A lot of misinformation is being circulated by the two previously unnamed board members, and their allies, about why they prevented this resolution from being approved. So I have decided to go public with their names and to correct their “mis-statements” as well as to answer the questions most people are asking:
Question #1: Why was this resolution drafted?
Answer: I drafted this resolution, after hearing an announcement on KPFA in July 2005, about a rally in support of the then striking Berkeley Honda workers. I attended this rally and was very disturbed to hear about the reasons for the strike including the firing of older workers, reduction of pension benefits and changes to the health insurance plan without union consent. I felt these issues had national implications so I drafted a resolution for the board to support the striking workers.
Question #2: Why did it take nine months for it to be acted upon and approved?
Answer: The reason it took nine months for this resolution to be approved is because two board members, Sarv Randhawa and Mark Hernandez, prevented this item from being heard by the board. Each month, either Sarv or Mark voiced an objection to this item going forward on the LSB’s consent calendar. After a few attempts to get this resolution approved, I started writing emails to all members of the LSB prior to each board meeting. I asked if anyone had objections to this resolution to please make these objections known to me and to the LSB. I also offered to discuss these objections so they could be resolved prior to each board meeting. Month after month my email appeals were met with complete silence. No one said why he/she was objecting. No one came forward to state publicly why he/she continued to prevent this resolution from going forward.
The first and only time this resolution was approved by the KPFA LSB was at the April 2006 meeting, two days before the Berkeley Honda strike was settled!
In solidarity,
Chandra
* The Berkeley Honda workers strike, now settled, was held from July 2005 - April 2006.
Note that Sarv Randhawa was Concerned Listener's no. 1 candidate
Pro-labor?
The 5 who did not support the recent LSB resolution in favor of the Unpaid Staff Organization: (the 1st 3 are Concerned Listeners)
Sherry Gendelman, Sarv Randhawa, PhoebeAnn Sorgen, Brian Edwards-Tiekert, Bonnie Simmons
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BERKELEY HONDA RESOLUTION
By Chandra Hauptman
Listener-Member, KPFA Local Station Board
I am the author of the KPFA Local Station Board’s (LSB) resolution in support of the Berkeley Honda workers, who held a 10 month strike against the new Berkeley Honda management.* The resolution was first introduced to the KPFA LSB at its August 2005 meeting. It took the LSB nine months to act on this resolution. The only reason the board was able to approve this resolution is because I threatened to go public, at the April 2006 LSB meeting, by exposing the names of the two people who prevented this resolution from being approved by the LSB for the prior 8 months. Ironically, the April 2006 LSB meeting was held in a San Jose union hall.
A lot of misinformation is being circulated by the two previously unnamed board members, and their allies, about why they prevented this resolution from being approved. So I have decided to go public with their names and to correct their “mis-statements” as well as to answer the questions most people are asking:
Question #1: Why was this resolution drafted?
Answer: I drafted this resolution, after hearing an announcement on KPFA in July 2005, about a rally in support of the then striking Berkeley Honda workers. I attended this rally and was very disturbed to hear about the reasons for the strike including the firing of older workers, reduction of pension benefits and changes to the health insurance plan without union consent. I felt these issues had national implications so I drafted a resolution for the board to support the striking workers.
Question #2: Why did it take nine months for it to be acted upon and approved?
Answer: The reason it took nine months for this resolution to be approved is because two board members, Sarv Randhawa and Mark Hernandez, prevented this item from being heard by the board. Each month, either Sarv or Mark voiced an objection to this item going forward on the LSB’s consent calendar. After a few attempts to get this resolution approved, I started writing emails to all members of the LSB prior to each board meeting. I asked if anyone had objections to this resolution to please make these objections known to me and to the LSB. I also offered to discuss these objections so they could be resolved prior to each board meeting. Month after month my email appeals were met with complete silence. No one said why he/she was objecting. No one came forward to state publicly why he/she continued to prevent this resolution from going forward.
The first and only time this resolution was approved by the KPFA LSB was at the April 2006 meeting, two days before the Berkeley Honda strike was settled!
In solidarity,
Chandra
* The Berkeley Honda workers strike, now settled, was held from July 2005 - April 2006.
What did any of this have to do with the board's duties of taking care of radio station business? Why the hell not have a resolution in support of hugs? Local labor disputes can be discussed on the station's air, the board's only concern is with taking care of station related business like approving budgets, planning fund raisers, doing some damn marketing of the damn station.
This so-called resolution smacks of political self righteousness and posturing. Here Hauptman is busily counting who and who did not vote for some damn waste of time resolution that shouldn't have been on the agenda in the first place. This is apparently why nothing gets done on that board. Hopefully a new board will actually do station business for a change. I urge a no vote for the People's Radio bunch and the so-called Independents.
This so-called resolution smacks of political self righteousness and posturing. Here Hauptman is busily counting who and who did not vote for some damn waste of time resolution that shouldn't have been on the agenda in the first place. This is apparently why nothing gets done on that board. Hopefully a new board will actually do station business for a change. I urge a no vote for the People's Radio bunch and the so-called Independents.
The recordings of the LSB bear out that Chandra Hauptman, Stan Woods and Mara are not being truthful about any of this.
The posted agendas show that Hauptman is, at best, having a 'senior moment' about the situation.
Blocking something from the consent calendar means that it goes for a discussion instead of being rubber-stamped; the BH resolution was so "important" to Hauptman that she voted along with the rest of her PeoplesRadio clone/drones to shove it further and further down the agenda so that it could not be heard in any timely manner.
From what is showing, the BH resolution went from Item #A on the agenda to Item # JJ on the agenda, and almost all of the items shoved into place were from Hauptman or the others in PeoplesRadio.
But Virginia doesn't care about Truth. She just wants more koolade and foil for her hat.
Maybe she can join Richard Phelps and sue the listeners for some.
The posted agendas show that Hauptman is, at best, having a 'senior moment' about the situation.
Blocking something from the consent calendar means that it goes for a discussion instead of being rubber-stamped; the BH resolution was so "important" to Hauptman that she voted along with the rest of her PeoplesRadio clone/drones to shove it further and further down the agenda so that it could not be heard in any timely manner.
From what is showing, the BH resolution went from Item #A on the agenda to Item # JJ on the agenda, and almost all of the items shoved into place were from Hauptman or the others in PeoplesRadio.
But Virginia doesn't care about Truth. She just wants more koolade and foil for her hat.
Maybe she can join Richard Phelps and sue the listeners for some.
There is a whole process for things trickling down AFTER it's been rejected from the consent calendar which could, it seems to me, a mere observer, be eased (but sometimes in a larger context things have to be the way they are or they'll be even slower).
Putting something on the consent calendar, as Chandra did, means dispatching with it and several other items in one fell swoop -- in anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute usually. The chair asks in effect "anything you "DON'T want on the consent calendar?" Board members say "item A, B, J, ...[whatever]" and the whole consent calendar is done. It's the same process used by city councils and boards for numerous similar items. The point is for the board members to know ahead of time it will be there, educate themselves on the issue, and vote.
Maybe they could, in a non-grandstanding manner, agree between sessions that such items are, as you say, a waste of time. But community outreach is also part of what the board does. An important part -- and eventually becomes part of growning listeners and fundraising.
Putting something on the consent calendar, as Chandra did, means dispatching with it and several other items in one fell swoop -- in anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute usually. The chair asks in effect "anything you "DON'T want on the consent calendar?" Board members say "item A, B, J, ...[whatever]" and the whole consent calendar is done. It's the same process used by city councils and boards for numerous similar items. The point is for the board members to know ahead of time it will be there, educate themselves on the issue, and vote.
Maybe they could, in a non-grandstanding manner, agree between sessions that such items are, as you say, a waste of time. But community outreach is also part of what the board does. An important part -- and eventually becomes part of growning listeners and fundraising.
re previous post
Sherry Gendelman says of the Concerned Listeners: "We want to do some of the things the board is supposed to do but hasn’t—fundraise for KPFA, organize town halls for KPFA, hire visionary permanent management. But we can’t accomplish those things if we can’t transcend the board’s petty infighting."
Fundraising - all the fundraising in the world won't get us funds or listeners if the programming is not compelling, & good programming needs to done in a "fair, collaborative, and respectful manner", unlike the recent unfortunate choice of a Sunday host done without taking into account other suggestions of how to program those 2 hours or consulting the Program Council. Done by a Concerned Listener supporter.
Organize Town Halls - I'm on the Outreach Committee, whose chair, Sarv Randhawa, has not called a meeting of the committee, in order to organize a Town Hall. Sarv was the no. 1 Concerned Listener winner last year, and the one they most promoted. A sucessful Town Hall was held last year, in San Francisco, where on short notice 60 people showed up who wanted to hear & talk about the station. Unfortunately, by the time public comments were heard, the few staff who were there had left, leaving the public and some unpaid staff to wonder who they could address their comments to!
Many more Town Halls in outlying areas with respectful attention to listener & volunteer feedback would go far in developing loyal KPFA constituencies.
Transcend the Board's petty infighting - in order to do this, we need the insider staff faction & their supporters such as the Concerned Listeners, to allow the LSB to move forward on its agenda, and to stop using delaying tactics to keep anything from getting done. If there were no large antidemocratic faction blocking shared decision making, this could happen.
The best solution is not to vote for any "Concerned Listeners", but for the other 3 slates who all agree on a broad range of community programming, programming from all sectors of the left, not just "moderates", & on a democratically run KPFA with an empowered LSB, Program Council, & Unpaid Staff Organization!
For more information, go to http://peoplesradio.net Vote for People's Radioi candidates.
Fundraising - all the fundraising in the world won't get us funds or listeners if the programming is not compelling, & good programming needs to done in a "fair, collaborative, and respectful manner", unlike the recent unfortunate choice of a Sunday host done without taking into account other suggestions of how to program those 2 hours or consulting the Program Council. Done by a Concerned Listener supporter.
Organize Town Halls - I'm on the Outreach Committee, whose chair, Sarv Randhawa, has not called a meeting of the committee, in order to organize a Town Hall. Sarv was the no. 1 Concerned Listener winner last year, and the one they most promoted. A sucessful Town Hall was held last year, in San Francisco, where on short notice 60 people showed up who wanted to hear & talk about the station. Unfortunately, by the time public comments were heard, the few staff who were there had left, leaving the public and some unpaid staff to wonder who they could address their comments to!
Many more Town Halls in outlying areas with respectful attention to listener & volunteer feedback would go far in developing loyal KPFA constituencies.
Transcend the Board's petty infighting - in order to do this, we need the insider staff faction & their supporters such as the Concerned Listeners, to allow the LSB to move forward on its agenda, and to stop using delaying tactics to keep anything from getting done. If there were no large antidemocratic faction blocking shared decision making, this could happen.
The best solution is not to vote for any "Concerned Listeners", but for the other 3 slates who all agree on a broad range of community programming, programming from all sectors of the left, not just "moderates", & on a democratically run KPFA with an empowered LSB, Program Council, & Unpaid Staff Organization!
For more information, go to http://peoplesradio.net Vote for People's Radioi candidates.
For more information:
http://peoplesradio.net
How in the hell are you going to get listeners to hear your so-called good visionary program if you don't do outreach? These so-called Town Halls are not outreach events they are, "hey come on out to this darkened dank room and bitch and moan about KPFA's workers and managers." That isn't outreach. Outreach is getting out to events and organizing events and meeting people who don't already listen and turn them on to the station. People's Radio hasn't even tried to do anything of the sort. Has People's Radio held a function in Menlo Park, Fairfield, Millbrae or any other damn place other than Berkeley or SF? Go where people are and market the hell out of the station. Do you have any idea what a non-profit board's function is?
What's this piffle about programming decisions being made collaboratively and all that jazz? Radio stations hire programming directors to do that stuff. They pay them to program the station in such a way as to attract and keep listeners. Getting a group of people together to vote on every last damn decision doesn't work and is idiotic. It's why all the damn communes from the 60s and 70s degenerated and went under. Hell even Kibbutz's hire people to manage stuff and don't take votes on every tiny decision. Grow the hell up and quit stifling the growth of the station with your pie in the sky drivel. If not, then go found your own station and let us other listeners continue to support KPFA. I'm voting for Concerned Listeners they appear to at least get it.
What's this piffle about programming decisions being made collaboratively and all that jazz? Radio stations hire programming directors to do that stuff. They pay them to program the station in such a way as to attract and keep listeners. Getting a group of people together to vote on every last damn decision doesn't work and is idiotic. It's why all the damn communes from the 60s and 70s degenerated and went under. Hell even Kibbutz's hire people to manage stuff and don't take votes on every tiny decision. Grow the hell up and quit stifling the growth of the station with your pie in the sky drivel. If not, then go found your own station and let us other listeners continue to support KPFA. I'm voting for Concerned Listeners they appear to at least get it.
Yes, we need good outreach.
It includes listening to the listeners,who are eager to give us feedback about our station, much of it negative. At our last Town Hall, the status quo folks on the Outreach Committee set up an expert/panel kind of situation, while the People's Radio members fought hard and got one LSB member on the panel, amid cries that we were trying to take over the Town Hall. Mark Hernandez claimed that busloads of Commies were going to takeover the event! The speaker who got all the applause was Max Blanchet of the LSB, who laid out for the group the patterns of power which were obstructing democratic decision making.
It was the listeners and unpaid staff who came, to talk about the station. First let's keep the listeners we have; this is not happening now. Don't disrespect them. Don't lie to them, or manipulate them.
The chair of the Outreach Committee is Sarv Randhawa, a CL most favored candidate. He has not called a single Outreach Committee meeting.
As for going to outlying communities, it was proposed by our side that LSB meetings be held in other communities. This is a form of outreach, too. It was like pulling teeth to get Concerned Listeners to agree. Some said it was too far for them to go. Others I think did not want to go to San Jose because of all the criticism they got there last year, such as why don't you report on our issues here.
After going to Santa Rosa this year, some said they didn't want to go again, for the same reason.
We are not here to "market the hell out of the station". We are here to HAVE a good station - our listeners are smart & so are we & selling the station is not what we want to do. We want it to speak for itself, before we try to promote it. And we need to respect & include the listeners.
That means good, appropriate programming. Did our present interim Program Director provide this?
No, she made a poor decision, against lots of advice, about how to progam Bensky's Sunday slot. Everyone is complaining, including the Program Council she ignored & tried to disassemble.
She is part of the Concerned Listeners faction.
We have a long standing elected program council and a directive from the Bylaws :
(Article 7, Section 3, item G): "To work with station management to ensure that station programming fulfills the purposes of the Foundation and is responsive to the diverse needs of the listeners (demographic) and communities (geographic) served by the station, and that station policies and procedures for making programming decisions and for program evaluation are working in a fair, collaborative and respectful manner to provide quality programming."
Democracy is not drivel or piffle, and we are surrounded by viable democratic institutions first formed in the 70's. I work at one which has over 200 workers & is doing better than ever. I belong to another democratic social justice organization which recently went national with 5 or so chapters all over the country. Democracy was not adopted for KPFA for pie in the sky reasons, but to save it from future attempted takeovers, and to make it responsive to the needs of the community, not the
Ratings poll or the staff alone with their conflicts of interest over programming.
Our Board is not a fundraising adjunct to management, as in so many corporate top down structures - which are notorious for being chosen by the ED, rubberstamping him all the way until he takes all the money and runs.
You may be voting for the Concerned Listeners, but by doing so you will not be voting for outreach,
expanding listership to outlying areas, a viable board, a democratic self motivated board, a fiscally responsible board, or effective programming decisions which will keep old listeners & attract new ones.
It includes listening to the listeners,who are eager to give us feedback about our station, much of it negative. At our last Town Hall, the status quo folks on the Outreach Committee set up an expert/panel kind of situation, while the People's Radio members fought hard and got one LSB member on the panel, amid cries that we were trying to take over the Town Hall. Mark Hernandez claimed that busloads of Commies were going to takeover the event! The speaker who got all the applause was Max Blanchet of the LSB, who laid out for the group the patterns of power which were obstructing democratic decision making.
It was the listeners and unpaid staff who came, to talk about the station. First let's keep the listeners we have; this is not happening now. Don't disrespect them. Don't lie to them, or manipulate them.
The chair of the Outreach Committee is Sarv Randhawa, a CL most favored candidate. He has not called a single Outreach Committee meeting.
As for going to outlying communities, it was proposed by our side that LSB meetings be held in other communities. This is a form of outreach, too. It was like pulling teeth to get Concerned Listeners to agree. Some said it was too far for them to go. Others I think did not want to go to San Jose because of all the criticism they got there last year, such as why don't you report on our issues here.
After going to Santa Rosa this year, some said they didn't want to go again, for the same reason.
We are not here to "market the hell out of the station". We are here to HAVE a good station - our listeners are smart & so are we & selling the station is not what we want to do. We want it to speak for itself, before we try to promote it. And we need to respect & include the listeners.
That means good, appropriate programming. Did our present interim Program Director provide this?
No, she made a poor decision, against lots of advice, about how to progam Bensky's Sunday slot. Everyone is complaining, including the Program Council she ignored & tried to disassemble.
She is part of the Concerned Listeners faction.
We have a long standing elected program council and a directive from the Bylaws :
(Article 7, Section 3, item G): "To work with station management to ensure that station programming fulfills the purposes of the Foundation and is responsive to the diverse needs of the listeners (demographic) and communities (geographic) served by the station, and that station policies and procedures for making programming decisions and for program evaluation are working in a fair, collaborative and respectful manner to provide quality programming."
Democracy is not drivel or piffle, and we are surrounded by viable democratic institutions first formed in the 70's. I work at one which has over 200 workers & is doing better than ever. I belong to another democratic social justice organization which recently went national with 5 or so chapters all over the country. Democracy was not adopted for KPFA for pie in the sky reasons, but to save it from future attempted takeovers, and to make it responsive to the needs of the community, not the
Ratings poll or the staff alone with their conflicts of interest over programming.
Our Board is not a fundraising adjunct to management, as in so many corporate top down structures - which are notorious for being chosen by the ED, rubberstamping him all the way until he takes all the money and runs.
You may be voting for the Concerned Listeners, but by doing so you will not be voting for outreach,
expanding listership to outlying areas, a viable board, a democratic self motivated board, a fiscally responsible board, or effective programming decisions which will keep old listeners & attract new ones.
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