Pacifica Hires Lemlem Rijio as Permanent KPFA General Manager

The e-mail below was found at the station in September 2005. It has been acknowledged as real by the author.

This e-mail was sent shortly after the LSB voted down a staff motion to fire the GM for sexual harassment. It was voted down 15-5. Four of the five votes for it were in this e-mail group. There was NO evidence of sexual harassment found after two separate investigations. It was an attempt to fire an African-American GM that wouldn’t toe their line. He had decided to move Democracy Now! to prime time. Something these folks would never let happen. Their pushing for this unjust firing caused them to lose the majority on the LSB, thus their need for a strategic retreat. This e-mail gives one a view of what these folks really believe in! Sort of like a Pentagon Paper.
............................................................................................................


From:"Brian Edwards-Tiekert"
Yahoo! DomainKeys has confirmed that this message was sent by gmail.com. Learn more

To:"Lemlem Tekle" ,

"Bonnie Simmons" ,
LisaRothman [at] kpfa.org
CC:"Sasha Lilley" ,

"Lemlem Tekle" ,

mawu_mama37 [at] yahoo.com, "Amelia Gonzalez-Garcia" , Rain
Geesler" , "Sherry Gendelman" , "Gary
Niederhoff"
Subject:Re: budget
Date:Thu, 1 Sep 2005 20:58:28 -0700

I'm up for coffee Saturday—Lisa and I can still meet Tuesday afternoon. Also, we need a general strategy session. How about Tuesday night?

Issues include:

How should we be handling the expiration of the union contract—is a strike in order, or is it a really terrible idea?

What's the best way to deal with these layoffs?

Coming up with, and presenting, an alternative budget.

Getting the Roy issue to the national board.

Propping up staff morale.

Strategic retreat on the LSB—

"how do we make our enemies own the problems that are to come?"

Alternatively, should we be recalling LSB members/

"dismantling the LSB?"

Dealing with the grievances underway.

Building community support—formation of a labor-community coalition.


Brian Edwards-Tiekert
Staff Representative, Local Station Board
KPFA 94.1FM
1929 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Berkeley CA 94704

Ah, yes. Post an e-mail from one person, and use it to target and smear a person who was only sent a single copy of a widely distributed e-mail.

No proof of participation, nor even that the recipient even bothered to read it.

By this demonstrated standard of COINTELPAC logic, having an opinion different from their own is grounds for stoning and shunning; everyone must drink the kool-ade or be declared an "enemy of the people"...all fourteen or fifteen of Phelps and his kindred spirits pretending to speak for the whole of the community.

Just press on, smear and accuse...the COINTELPAC way. Wouldn't it be nice if our "Counter Intelligent Pacificans" like Phelps, Woods, Wanzala, and the rest could put even a tenth of this much effort into working to save KPFA as they do trying to drive away its audience or convincing people not to send money to keep it on the air?

Congratulations to Lemlem for standing up to bullies and sexual harrassers; it will no doubt be worse now that you were hired and Phelps was not.

In the 2006 Local Station Board (LSB) election we had no candidate information on air for more than two weeks before the ballots were mailed and more than a week after the ballots arrived. 778 ballots were picked up at the post office before any candidate information was played. How many others were in the mail or filled out and ready to mail before the candidate information was aired, we will never know. What we do know is that Lemlem Rijio, Interim GM, and a member of the strategy group that was discussing “dismantling the LSB”, refused to run any candidate information from October 3 to October 19. After that she refused to allow staff to prepare the carts for broadcast for several days. This may not seem to affect the outcome one way or the other until you realize that the Concerned Listeners (CL) Slate sent out a large mailing to arrive with the ballots. This combined with the election “gag” imposed by the IGM tilted the playing field decidedly in the Concerned Listeners favor. Please note that other members of the “dismantling the LSB” strategy group, Brian Edward-Tiekert, Bonnie Simmons, and Sherry Gendelman endorsed the Concerned Listener Slate and Sasha Lilley and her mother helped put the CL slate together and get the Wellstone endorsement.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Is this the action of a person that should be managing a listener sponsored "Free Speech" radio station?

Richard Phelps, former Chair of the KPFA LSB

Richard Phelps received an e-mail that was also addressed to George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Dan Quayle.

By his own logic, being included makes him a supporter pf torturing Iraqi citizens, no habeas corpus at Guantanamo. and spelling 'potato' with an extra 'e'.

Does he deny this? Probably, but in doing so, he merely proves his own lack of legitimacy, holding out separate and situationally convenient ethics as he has demotrated in the past few years.

Such is the worth of a
"Counter Intelligent Pacifican" like Phelps and his kindred spirits.

"Old Lib" has been a pseudonym used by Mark Hernandez

The points sounded valid to me. Every time someone posts an argument contrary to the Zelzter/Phelps/Woods meme, it's labeled as either "CL/management ally" or the evil boogeyman Mark Hernandez -- but the argument is never disproved, and usually never even disputed.

Prove your accusation or disprove his/her points. Preferably the latter.

"Young Lib" tries to apply a name to me that is apparently supposed to inflame and incite feelings of protest and outrage.

Unfortunately for "Young Lib", the allure of the kool-ade was too strong, and she has succumbed to its logic-numbing effects.

Rather than deal with the issues, instead attack and smear the opposition, dehumanizing them and treating them as less than equal in rights or beliefs.

That the discussion turns to attacking myself and any who dissent from their views rather than any issues raised only demonstrates the lack of constructive ideals that Phelps, Wanzala, Woods and their kindred spirits have to offer.

Hate, dominance and conflict...aren't these COINTELPAC standards the exact same principles Pacifica was founded to stand against?

Why in the name of Gaea would we ever consider them as principled leaders of KPFA and Pacifica?

This vicious slap in the face to the listener-subscribers who are horrified the way Rijo and her gang handled the police brutality against Nadra Foster on August 20 inside KPFA must be answered by NO CONTRIBUTIONS TO KPFA. We have the internet now, including this website, and cable TV and other radio stations. The wonderful people at Flashpoints who are receiving a paycheck have the skills to work elsewhere. With the constant campaigning for the Democrat-Republicans on the 6 p.m. evening news and the morning "news" shows, there is not much to listen to on KPFA besides Flashpoints and Guns & Butter, the latter of which is produced by a volunteer. Tonight the Democrat (who also supports the government's false conspiracy theory on the 9/11 Inside Job) Larry Bensky has cancelled Flashpoints and some or all of the 6 p.m. news to broadacast what we can get everywhere: The bull session between the 2 reactionary capitalist vice presidential candidates for the twin parties of war and fascism, Democrat Joe Biden, who wanted to illegally invade Iraq before Bush did and is a darling of the credit card industry, and Republican Sarah Palin, who literally does not know her behind from a hole in the ground. The KPFA audience is voting, in the majority, for either Cynthia McKinney on the Green Party ticket or Ralph Nader on the Peace & Freedom Party ticket for president. There is no reason for KPFA to broadcast this garbage. If they wanted to balance the capitalist media, they should have a discussion with Green VP candidate Rita Moreno and P&F VP candidate Matt Gonzalez instead. We do not pay for garbage and we certainly do not pay for reactionary drivel, which is what we are getting today at 5 p.m. in KPFA and every time they promote the Democrat-Republican candidates, which is everyday on the 6 p.m. evening news. Many of us have stopped listening to any morning program on KPFA already. We cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Stop paying for this insult.

Of course, it takes money to bring all of the non-Dem/Rep candidates together in a forum and provide such a debate.

So how does withholding money from KPFA or Pacifica encourage them to make it happen?

Of course, the "Counter Intelligent Pacifican" like Phelps, Wanzala and Woods feel that it can be done by volunteer effort and without cash.

So, as soon as United Airlines or any other transportation entity starts offering free tickets for Nader/McKinney or any other campaign, COINTELPAC will be proven correct...along with the free ground transportation, free lodging, free food, free communications links, and all that free volunteer labor for technicians, web services, staff and experts. And then duplicate this same free volunteer effort for each candidate entourage.

And don't forget the volunteers who will handcrank the generators at the debate site, the studio and the transmitter because there is no need to pay for electricity.

It would seem that the COINTELPAC dogma is to act as if the revolution has already taken place without any effort to bring it about, and make the world into the utopia that they insist that you have to pay for.

And as to Flashpoints, if they are as capable and competent as claimed, why are they not doing this alternative party debate themselves? For entrenched, salaried KPFA staff whoi will do anything to save their jobs, COINTELPAC minions under Phelps, Wanzala and Woods seem to give Flashpoints a 'pass' on the same criticisms laid against all other similarly entrenched, salaried staff.

Perhaps Flashpoints can go 'all volunteer' and unpaid to show the rest of us how easy and simple the revolution will work out for KPFA and Pacifica?

We can wait for "Counter Intelligent Pacificans" to make that pig to fly.

The rest of us, however, will continue to support and work to save this valuable resource.

KPFA's "Alternative Home Shopping Network" finds a new form, same game new double speak.
by Richard Phelps
Wednesday Jul 23rd, 2008 10:58 PM

FRIENDSHIP IS A TWO WAY STREET: WHEN KPFA GETS A MANAGEMENT THAT UNDERSTANDS THIS THEY WILL NOT HAVE TO PLAY MADISON AVENUE GAMES TO GET $UPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY

I had hoped that KPFA’s "FriendRaiser" was going to be an improvement from the “Alternative Home Shopping Network”. (Fundraising by recording speeches and public affairs programs, playing a teaser portion to get our interest, and then “selling” them as a “gift” for our donations.) The tragedy in this methodology is that the vast majority of KPFA’s audience is denied these programs unless they buy them. Which means that low-income listeners are “priced out” of access and the information won’t get broad dissemination in our broadcast area, which I believe is the main reason for KPFA to exist.

Please support the station. Just don’t buy the things they are selling and tell them to play them when they happen, for all to hear. That is, after all, KPFA’s Mission.

Instead of being a community, FREE SPEECH, station that records events to promptly play them back for all to hear, they are recorded and held to create scarcity so they can be sold. Much like the oil companies withholding production so they can raise the price of gas. How friendly is this?

In the spirit of Pacifica it would seem that an honest direct approach to fundraising would be best. However, that would require honesty, transparency and accountability from a management that doesn’t practice these principles. The current Interim General Manager (IGM), an ex officio member of the Local Station Board (LSB), referred to the Bylaws at one of the few LSB meetings she attended last year as “your Bylaws”, (what would Freud have to say about that “slip”), and the current Interim Program Director (IPD), wrote in an e-mail in 2004 that “the Bylaws are a disaster”.

This “FriendRaiser” exposes their negative attitude toward the Listener Democracy embodied in our Bylaws. Management sent out six suggested mini-plugs and 17 bullet points for the use on air during the FriendRaiser. Nowhere in this five pages of single spaced material is there any mention that your donation of $25.00 or more will make you a voting member for LSB elections or any mention of our democratic governance.

Hear is a pitch from the Morning Show, October 10, 2003, when the first election was coming up and management (different IGM representing same small group’s interests) hadn’t completely decided that they were against listener involvement in governance: “…if you give us $25.00 right now that will qualify you for a vote in the upcoming station board elections, our attempt to democratize this network, something unprecedented in this country. You can be a part of that by subscribing right now, $25.00 qualifies you for that ….” Despite management’s clear intent to leave it out of the FriendRaiser, and everything at the station that they can, as detailed below, a few programmers have mentioned it in passing. Thank you.

One of the Bullet Points was to let listeners know that as a $60.00 “friend” you would get programs by Jim Hightower, the “God is Great” debate, Naomi Klein etc. None of these have ever been played for all to hear! Except the teaser portions!

Management’s defacto gag rule on the LSB and democratic governance is demonstrated in many ways. They and their LSB supporters, previously KPFAForword, and now Concerned Listeners(CL) desired to let the LSB Show disappear a couple of years ago and I took it upon myself to make sure that didn’t happen. Since I have left the LSB a few Shows have not been produced. Seldom does the LSB Show get much, if any, on air promotion. It is often not mentioned on the web site list of upcoming programs. On a few occasions when the LSB Show landed during a Fund Drive it was preempted despite my offer to have the show do fundraising with our audience. The preempted show times were given to members of the previously secret management strategy group exposed by Brian Edwards-Tiekert’s infamous e-mail that suggested, “dismantling the LSB” and the Karl Rove practice “how do we make our enemies own the problems that are to come?" Perfect examples of anti-transparency and avoiding accountability! Why do you think KPFA doesn’t have a wide open call-in talk show?

The following people were in that group that was discussing “dismantling the LSB” and blaming all the problems on their enemies: current IGM Lemlem Rijio, IPD Sasha Lilley, LSB Treasurer Brian Edwards-Tiekert, and two CL folks from that group are on the Pacifica National Board (PNB), Bonnie Simmons and Chair of the PNB, Sherry Gendelman.

The LSB meetings generally don’t get the Bylaws required multiple prime time on-air notices. At a KPFA Peace Awards event, shortly after the 2006 LSB election, there was NO mention of the LSB or the just completed election. Management only invited their LSB supporters, despite publicly promising to invite the entire LSB, after not doing so the previous year. La Varn Williams (LSB & PNB Treasurer) and I (Chair of the LSB) were not invited. We were allowed to attend when they didn’t have enough people and made an announcement about it a couple days before the event.

Management has eliminated democratic centers of power at the station. The Program Council (PC), made up of listeners, staff, LSB members and management, used to have democratic decision making power regarding new programs and review of old programs. When Sasha Lilley was appointed IPD, she eliminated the PC power over programming. That power had been in effect for several years and had been confirmed by an LSB motion in May 2004 at the same time the LSB voted to support the PC’s decision to move Democracy Now! to prime time, 7-8a.m. and move the morning show to 8-10. I believe that those two decisions mark the time where this management group consolidated their anti-listener democracy attitude. Their group wanted total control of the program grid! They have also refused to recognize the Unpaid Staff Organization, (200+ unpaid staff members) despite a vote by both the LSB and the PNB to recognize it.

Richard Phelps, Former Chair KPFA Local Station Board, 34 year listener subscriber, former AM & FM radio announcer and occasional producer of programs on KPFA starting in 1975.


Good Commentary
by Working Class guy
Thursday Jul 24th, 2008 9:43 AM

I do agree with Richard Phelp's commentary . i do belong to KPFA. I always vote. I am sorry to say that i didn't not vote for Richard the last election . A mailing from the Labor council and phone calls from Labor council staff members persuaded me not to .
i do not understand why it isn't mentioned that membership or this friendship in KPFA gives you the right to vote for the Stations Executive board . Is there any explanation for this from KPFA's officers ?
i think that the current leaders care a lot more for upper class progressives than for those who earn a hourly wage .
Take my case . Our mortage is around $1700 a month . Other bills like PGand E, Water, Phone , Car payments cost us another $500. My wife works 32 hours a week for Lucky's . A union job but her hours have been cut by 20%. She makes about $20 an hour .
I make only about $18 an hour working for a small City Govt.
Therefore we can not afford $120 plus for every very interesting preminum every couple of months . Once there was a debate between a political leader from Scotland George Galloway and a Bush supporter. We were especially interested in that since my wife's parents came from Scotland and my wife follows events there on the net .
We thought that it was ok for it to be offered during a fund drive but we expected it be played in full afterwards . To the best of our knowledge it never was. Why ?
I would like to read a response to all of this from KPfa's managers . I think that the Labor Council candidates should say where they stand on this issue .
It will affect our vote next election .


Partial list of PROGRAMS SOLD on KPFA and NOT PLAYED for all to hear in the last 2-3 years!
Naomi Klein Financial Crisis 2008
Michael Eric Dyson Speechs 2007 and 2008
God is Great Debate
Chemerinsky debates John Yoo on torture
Dr. Steven Bezruchka 4 different speeches
Rachel Corrie Speaks
Left Forum N. Klein & T. Ali
Left Forum 4 other sessions
Howard Zinn April 2007
Deep Sports David Zirin & Michael Lewis 2007
Isabel Allende at Dominician University
George Lakoff in Santa Monica
Robert Fisk in Berkeley 2008
Tariq Ali in Berkeley 2008
Thomas Frank in Berkeley 2008
Take Back America Conference 5 CDs
Galloway v. Hitchens debate

It is of course those who perpetrate the Democrat-Republican capitalist police state who are the government agents, whether paid or not, and in this case they are Rijo and Bensky. They cancelled the programs for which we subscribers paid to promote their fascist party. That is called stealing and it was done to promote a police state. The criminals are those running KPFA. Stop subscribing to this outrage. I feel so much better now that I do not listen to KPFA in the morning anymore. While the VP bull session was pre-empting our paid for programs, I enjoyed my favorite music station while working and going home. We now have lots of alternative sources of information, available to us instantly on the Internet from around the world in any language we like. On Friday nights, in San Francisco (and online), we have:
Cable Channel 76: Freedom is A Constant Struggle at 7:30 p.m. (half hour)
Cablle Channel 29:
9/11 Cover Up at 8 p.m. (half hour); and
Labor On The Job at 9 p.m. (1 hour) (2d and 4th Fridays)

And for those of you who still cannot figure out that as you saw the 9/11 Inside Job on TV, you saw NO AIR DEFENSE, which means it was an inside job, and then, if you need more, you saw CONTROLLED DEMOLITION of the Twin Towers and Building 7, the latter not being hit by any plane, YOU NEED TO READ BOOKS. Here are the books you should read. HELPFUL HINT: Ruppert's Crossing the Rubicon should do it which is why it landed in first place on this list when it first was printed in 2004 and remains there forever. Anyone who repeats the government's false conspiracy theory, either directly or as the stupid "blowback" garbage, is either profoundly stupid or a government agent. YOU MUST EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE OF THE CRIME SCENE. That takes no politics; that takes basic crime investigation. Only Guns & Butter and Flashpoints uphold science and basic crime investigation at KPFA. And when it comes to the radical press, they are still driveling "blowback" and calling it an "attack" when it must be called the 9/11 INSIDE JOB. Clearly there is a profound lack of SCIENCE EDUCATION among radicals. All this writer has is science for liberal arts majors (repeat of high school science) and that is more than enough. All you really need is logical thinking. If you are radical, YOU SHOULD ASSUME IT WAS AN INSIDE JOB UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE. The science is now very clear; it was an inside job. Here is your homework:
Watch 9/11 Cover-Up on San Francisco Cable Channel 29 every Friday night, 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
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.New Pearl Harbor Revisited by David Griffin (2008)
3.The Hidden History of 9/11, ed by Paul Zarembka (2008), articles by David Griffin, Jay Kolar, Zarembka, Don Trent Jacobs, Nafez Ahmed, David MacGregor, Bryan Sacks, Diana Ralph, with Appendix by Bertrand Russell: 16 Question on the JFK Assassination (teaches how to investigate a crime)

4.The 9/11 Conspiracy, edited James Fetzer (2007), articles by John Austin, David Griffin, James Fetzer, Jack White, Judy Wood, Joseph Firmage, Morgan Reynolds, Rick Rajter, Elias Davidsson, Peter Dale Scott, John McMurty plus excellent photos

5. 9/11 Contradictions by David Griffin (2008)
6. The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions & Distortions by David Griffin
7. The New Pearl Harbor by David Griffin
8. Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Griffin
9.Painful Questions by Eric Hufschmid
10. The Iron Triangle (on the Carlyle Group) by Dan Briody
11. 9/11 Revealed: The Unanswered Questions by Rowland Morgan & Ian Henshall
12. Waking Up From Our Nightmare by Don Paul and Jim Hoffman
13. 9/11 Facing Our Fascist State by Don Paul
14. 9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA by Webster Tarpley
15. Body of Secrets by James Bamford
16. The War on Truth by Nafeez Mossadeq Ahmed
17. The Terror Conspiracy by Jim Marrs
18. Towers of Deception by Barrie Zwicker (with DVD enclosed)
19. 9/11 and American Empire edited by David Ray Griffin and Peter Dale Scott
20. Flight 93 Revealed by Rowland Morgan
21.The Big Wedding: 9/11, The Whitleblowers and The Coverup by Sander Hicks

Many words, no substance.

KPFA and Pacifica cannot survive on good will and "the Revolution". Even if every single person was unpaid, it would still need to pay for power, water, and heat, and still need to pay for equipment and upkeep.

Notice how the demand is for more "free" programming, but nary a word on how to make up the cash differences that "free" programming would cost KPFA.

That is the prime definition of "counter-intelligent": It is "cutting off one's nose to spite one's face", which actually seems to be the motivation of COINTELPAC members like Richard Phelps.

When and if Phelps, Wanzala, Woods and their kindred spirits can actually come up with a detailed and positive plan, one which is actually constructive and not dismissive or confrontational, they may be seen as finally understanding the situation rather than using it for their own secular and political advantage to the exclusion of any "unbelievers".

The current leadership is not interested in ideas that involve the community. And as I have said numerous times I am not against having speeches and other programs as premiums.

AS LONG AS WE DO WHAT WE ARE HERE FOR >playing them for all to hear! That is our Mission and I believe that if the management was into quality programming and respect and honesty to the listener/subscribers raising money wouldn't be a problem. When KPFA staff go on the air and say "you can't get this anywhere else" and you can get it on line for 1/4 or less of the cost, the station's credibility takes a big hit. If you lie to your audience how can you expect loyalty?? How is KPFA any different from the corporate media if they lie to their listeners?

I am still waiting for you to have the courage of your convictions (aka lies, distortions and slanders) to debate these issues in public. Hell even Palin did that!

By the way what have you ever done, accept make accusations and distort reality for your group?

Previous article with suggestions for improvement:

"As I pointed out in the first commentary, “KPFA: The Alternative Home Shopping Network,” speeches and other public affairs programs are being recorded, not for play on the air for all to hear, but for sale as “gifts.” This is a gross violation of Pacifica’s Mission as a source of alternative ideas in a society where the corporate media severely limits our access to “non-status quo” presentations.

In my vision of Pacifica the stations would play important speeches etc. for all to hear in a timely fashion and with the programs ask us to contribute so that we may have access to such programs on the radio or in the station archives. Some of these speeches, when appropriate, could be aired live to give the station a sense of excitement, “this is where you hear it when it happens.” People talking on the streets and at work would be saying “did you hear Michael Eric Dyson on KPFA yesterday, he gave a really interesting perspective on the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy.” This comment builds loyalty and encourages new people to tune in and donate.

Now the comments are “ I heard part of a Dyson speech, and to hear it all I have to pay $60 and wait several weeks to get the CD.” And maybe “Damn, why aren’t they playing that all right now so I can hear it when it is timely?” or “I love KPFA and I can’t afford to pay for all the speeches, why aren’t they playing them so we can all hear them?” This type of comment kills loyalty and is partly responsible for the loss of 5,000 subscribers in the last five years. Unfortunately, this type of comment is appropriate given KPFA’s “selling” of public affairs instead of airing public affairs for all to hear!

KPFA could also use such speeches to do outreach. For example, the Dyson speech could have been promoted in and thus made available to the Bay Area African-American communities. This community service would have increased KPFA’s listeners in these communities with a few dozen well-placed flyers. Mission accomplished!

Speeches/programs could be played shortly after recording or when the station gets them, while still fresh and with on-air promotion to let everyone know when to tune in. Fund pitches could be made with the programs. And of course copies could be sold to anyone who would buy one. KPFA develops a reputation for being the place to get the current programs when they are happening. Not sometimes, all the time.

This would give the station more presence in the community and develop more loyal listeners who, I believe, will donate for something that is “live” and responsive to community interests. This is much better than being known as the stations that plays one third of a speech to get us to buy it! “Pay per listen” radio is a retrograde concept at a “Free Speech” Pacifica station! Too much like “Pay Per View” on cable TV. "

Richard Phelps , not afraid to stand up for what I believe, even if it means constant slander, lies and distortions of fact by those that my comments expose.

To quote Richard Phelps:

"As I pointed out in the first commentary, “KPFA: The Alternative Home Shopping Network,” speeches and other public affairs programs are being recorded, not for play on the air for all to hear, but for sale as “gifts.” This is a gross violation of Pacifica’s Mission as a source of alternative ideas in a society where the corporate media severely limits our access to “non-status quo” presentations."

A gross violation? Where is that evidenced in Pacifica's mission statement?

The reality, however, is the COINTELPAC dogma:

"In my vision of Pacifica ..."

It's clear as it always has been that the Phelps "vision of Pacifica" is not one shared by most people.

Most certainly, we can do as he posits: We can play these for free (while paying for the recording rights, getting the waivers signed, paying any music royalties, paying for the stage, the speaker's fees and lodging, and all the other incidental costs). We can flood neighborhoods with fliers (paying for printing costs of paper and ink, use of copying or printing equipment, travel expenses to get to these identified areas [as well as whatever costs are involved to do so {and isn't that vaguely racist to say that a specific neighborhood or region needs to be "targetted" in the first place? Are we now "redlining" neighborhoods for political correctness? Will we have class warfare in the streets because Phelps designates one block as "acceptable" to his politics, but deems their neighbors across the alley as "enemies of the People"? Consider the apartment complexes, hurling pithy revolutionary invective from balcony to stair landing, while gated communities are made into gulags of the old and young alike!}]).

Now, once we've paid for all of that, Phelps utters the COINTELPAC victory cry:

"Mission accomplished!"

With about as much planning and success as George Bush's similar claim.

There is an old capitalist paradox that holds true with anything: "It takes money to make money."

If KPFA and Pacifica were the "never-empty vaults of gold and jewels" that we could draw from without consequence, then perhaps Phelps might have a relevant and valuable idea of how to proceed, and we could afford the wishful COINTELPAC dreams and desires because we would not have to worry about paying for electricity or repairs on sound equipment.

It is unfortunate that this is not the case; while KPFA raises funds exceeding the other four Pacifica stations, COINTELPAC minions, like Phelps and Wanzala and their cadre members in New York, are sucking and depleting the Bay Area support and sending it to support stations that not only take that money from us, but are also running fundraisers four out of seven days a week.

Is this good and acceptable? Of course not; but "cutting off one's nose to spite one's face" is the same, if not worse...and is exactly what Phelps and COINTELPAC seem to want to impose on us, whether or not we agree with it.

After all, it is the COINTELPAC "vision", not yours, that they wish to impose.

So even if COINTELPAC succeeds in bringing about the dystopic fundraising Phelps proposes, it would cause the Pacifica Foundation and Network to hemorrhage finances very badly, more than it is now, and losing all other stations and the national satellite feed network that Pacifica provides to its affiliates.

Short-sighted, narrow-minded, unwilling to examine and project the consequences of their proposals, COINTELPAC minions still offer nothing to support or develop Pacifica, let alone KPFA, in a manner consistent with the Pacifica Mission.

Instead, all we get is Richard Phelps complaining that we are ignoring his "vision", which has nothing in common with the fundamental principles of Lewis Hill and the founders of Pacifica.

Nowhere does the Pacifica Mission offer "entitlements" to anyone; it only offers to present alternative views together so that the public can examine all sides and make a decision for itself.

Instead of Pacifica, we get COINTELPAC, the antithesis of the Pacifica Mission, where you are told what is acceptable to believe, and to attack and smear any who differ or have an alternative point of view.

For instance, why is Dennis Bernstein, who is both as salaried and entrenched as anyone else at KPFA, spared the lash of the COINTELPAC whip? Why is Robbie Osmun, who plays music on the weekends that could be used for political discourse, allowed to be entrenched and inviolate while all other music programs are targetted for removal by COINTELPAC?

It's clearly a double standard that COINTELPAC promotes and encourages...and doesn't allow any 'unbeliever' to participate in.

That is not the KPFA or Pacifica that was founded; those are not the principles of free speech and informed discourse that Pacifica embodies.

It is instead the symbology of the "Counter Intelligent Pacifican", threatening our beloved institution at KPFA.

no, listeners don't care about any of this. is there really nothing left in your lives?

That is, in a nutshell, what COINTELPAC minions need to hear and comprehend.

Listeners support the station because it broadcasts what listeners want to hear. Listeners want to hear the programs and people that they pay money or volunteer to support.

Listeners do not want "Noun Verb 9/11" anarcho-conspiracy radio 24/7.

Listeners do not want to have "Revolution Now" from armchair radicals and street organizers that no one can quite figure out where they get the money that they spend from.

Listeners support the blend of music and politics and even comedy that is on now, with room for change or news and information.

They don't support the "regime change" that COINTELPAC wants to impose without consent or even a motivation to want.

And KPFA, of all five Pacifica stations, is the only one still supported enough to pay its own way, staying on the air, without any of the "significant changes" that COINTELPAC has done to the other four stations...which are either struggling to regain support or are unable to get any support at all.

This one fact is what COINTELPAC wants you to ignore; this lone fact is what Phelps, Wanzala, Woods and their minions want you to pretend doesn't exist.

This is why listeners need to care, if not be aware.

There is room for change, but not at the expense of the listeners who support the station.

Old Lib, here is what I previously wrote about the Mission in my first article about the "Alternative Home Shopping Network". By the way some of those speakers asked to have their speeches played live and were denied. None of them ask for money for air play. They want their ideas given as wide a distribution as possible. If they had any desire to be paid it would probably come from KPFA's selling their speeches etc for $$$. The only real problem would be to get some of the programmers that "own" their time slots to give up their time for something important.

"Each of us may have our own interpretation of the Pacifica Mission. I do think we would all agree that getting public affairs, news and culture, that the corporate media won’t broadcast, out to the people, is the essence of Pacifica’s Mission. Educate and activate.

Pacific Bylaws, Article One, Section 2, in part:

“In radio broadcasting operations to promote the full distribution of public information…” (Emphasis added.)"
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Please note it does NOT say the full "sale"of public information.
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As for you using the race card, you should be ashamed. Except that liars like you have no shame. There is nothing wrong with targeting a neighborhood or group if the purpose is positive. The Michael Eric Dyson speech in April 08, was in response to all the corporate media attacks on Jerimiah Wright and the progressive aspects of the African American churches. Getting his speech out to the African American communities in the Bay Area would be a service, the type of service Pacifica is supposed to be about. Especially if it is free. On the other hand selling it to the few that can afford it or will pay for it has nothing to do with the MISSION, just the desire of a small group of neo-Pacifican's who want to keep their jobs and air time at any cost, even to destroying the MISSION orientation of Pacifica.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Still waiting for Old LIb to find the courage of his convictions to debate me in public where all can hear what he has to say and where he will have to answer to the people in public, not anonymously.

And still waitng for him to tell us all what he has done for KPFA and Pacifica besides disgrace the notion of open public debate with his anonymous anti-transparency dirty tricks and attacks. Let's meet in public and debate and compare what we each have done for transparency, accountability, democratic process and due process at KPFA and Pacifica. I have volunteered thousands of hours, written several motions to improve all of the above, donated thousands of dollars, and produced numerous programs over the years for free and provided thousands of dollars of free legal work for various PNB members. What have you done?

P.S. I almost forgot, I have endured the endless lies and slanders from you and your anonymous allies who are ALL afraid of exposing your real politics and anit-free speech practices to the KPFA listening audience and the Bay Area progressive community.

Richard Phelps

"Old Lib makes up lies, distortions and smears faster than Sarah Palin"

Wrong! Nobody--not even Old Lib--can out lie, out distort and out smear Sarah Palin. Good Old Palin is the liar of liars, the champion of champions in field of distortions and smears. She's world class, unequaled.