FSRN Airs Venomous SPLC Disinformation

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AgentOgden

Neithercorp Press

Yesterday, on my drive home from the office, I tuned in to 88.3 FM (WRCT, Pittsburgh) as I occasionally do, to listen to Free Speech Radio News. FSRN has aired some excellent, hard hitting information in the past, providing international stories, thoroughly exposing the Israeli war crimes against the Palestinians (they had a Gazan journalist reporting from inside the city during the Israeli assault of 2008), even airing short radio addresses from Mumia Abu-Jamal. While they have not always been perfect, they do come off, for the most part, as an honest, independent, even anti-establishment news source (albeit a little left-of-center for my tastes, but that is something I have come to accept). Overall, I think FSRN does a great service by airing information often blacklisted by corporate media.

So, I was extremely disturbed to hear this segment, in which the Mark Potok, Director of the Intelligence Project for the Southern Poverty Law Center, was invited to weigh in on the subject of armed citizens at the town hall meetings. The example they chose is the recent incident of a man with an AR-15 slung across his back at a recent “rally” in Pheonix on Monday.

You can listen to the offending FSRN segment for yourself if you like, however, if you’re already familiar with the SPLC’s disinformation playbook (as many of our readers probably are) then you already know what to expect.

Never having been one to allow deliberate lies to go unrefuted, I felt compelled to write to the producers at FSRN, in the hopes that they will remedy the apparent mistake. Surely, it was not their intention to simply give an SPLC shill five whole minutes of smear-time (yes, I’m giving FSRN the benefit of the doubt… for now).

Here is the letter I sent:

Dear FSRN Producers,

I have been a long time listener and, in the past, I have been very impressed by the candor and, well, truthfulness, of your program. Unlike most media outlets, I feel that FSRN does not use calculated deception in its news features. For example, your coverage of the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian conflict has been refreshingly honest. For that, you have earned my respect and trust.

However, I was appalled yesterday at the egregious disinformation you allowed on your program, without offering any opportunity for an opposing view to set the record straight. I am of course talking about the short feature you aired on the subject of armed citizens at the town hall meetings, in which you invited the Intelligence Project Director from the Southern Poverty Law Center, and interviewed him as a so-called “expert” on the subject.

The SPLC is, quite simply put, a disinformation mouthpiece. Their specialty, as you may be aware, is using the spectres of “racism” and “anti-Semitism” as political weapons against the opposition of their financial backers. They engage in dangerous and divisive, deliberately misleading propaganda targeted against constitutionalists and libertarians.

I knew the script he would be reading from even before he even spoke. He did not disappoint.

So… as Mr. Potok proceeded to paint political dissenters such as myself with the broad brush of “racism” and “violent radical extremism,” comparing anyone who quotes Thomas Jefferson to Timothy McVeigh, etc etc… neither this brazen liar Potok, nor the sycophantic interviewer, bothered to mention that the man in question, the one who carried that AR-15 to that town hall meeting, is an African-American. They both knew it, and neither mentioned it. This is calculated deception by omission, and it is just ONE example of why this segment upset me.

I would be far less upset if the segment had aired on Fox or CNN, because I would expect it from them. I never would have expected to hear this sort of venom on FSRN.

I think you can see where I’m coming from, and I doubt this letter will be the only one you receive on this issue. So I will try to finish this up.

Here’s how you could remedy the problem. You could invite Aaron Zelman, founder of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, onto your program, to give the other side of the argument at least a fair opportunity to refute the dangerous and insulting allegations put forth by Mr. Potok. I’m certain that Mr. Zelman would be more than happy to explain to your listeners that Americans who support the preservation of basic human rights and freedom are NOT “violent anti-Semites,” “radical right-wing extremists” or “domestic terrorists.”

And again, thank you for what is otherwise a fantastic program and a great public service.

Sincerely yours,

Joshua Ogden

Concerned US citizen,
No party affiliation.

UPDATE: FSRN’s response follows…

Dear Mr. Ogden,

My apologies for the delay in replying to your email – FSRN is a small shop with a hefty workload, and sometimes it takes a bit of time to respond. But we do thank you for taking time to write us, and of course, for listening to FSRN. We appreciate all listener letters, whether writing to complement or critique.

I wanted to invite you to submit a revised version of your letter that we could consider reading on the air. We don’t read letters with personal attacks, but we’re happy to consider letters that focus on the issues and that provide evidence for any claims that you yourself make.  We do require a name, city and state of residence and where you listen to FSRN. FSRN also reserves the right to edit letters for grammar, clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel.

I also wanted to point out one note: We did mention that CNN reported there were two men at the rally with semi-automatic weapons, and one was “not African-American.” I found a transcript and video of CNN’s report here:

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/cnn-assault-rifles-spied-openly-phoenix-ra

Thanks again for writing in and for your long-time support of FSRN.

Best,

Catherine Komp
FSRN Features Producer

Ok… still withholding judgment for the time being, it would appear that she really has no idea the degree of deception that went on right under her nose.  Either that, or she is a true disinfo artist. My response follows…

Dear Ms. Komp,

Thank you for taking the time to respond personally. I do appreciate it. I can imagine how thinly your staff must be stretched. If I didn’t have faith in your organization’s journalistic integrity, I would not have bothered to write at all. I hope I didn’t come across too rudely.

I would be happy to write a more radio-friendly response to the segment. I’ll try to be concise (that’s not easy for me!)

…

Dear FSRN Producers,

I am a long time listener, but I have never felt compelled to write to any media organization before. This letter is in response to the segment aired on 8/18/09, which covered the issue of armed protestors at town hall meetings. Your guest on the subject was Mark Potok from the Southern Poverty Law Center. I don’t feel that it is fair or responsible to present the SPLC as an unbiased source on this topic.

It is my opinion that the Southern Poverty Law Center engages in calculated disinformation. The organization has a long history of using the stigmas of racism and anti-Semitism as political weapons against constitutionalists and libertarians. In doing so, they have shown total disregard for the truth. I would like to point out an important detail that was omitted from the segment. The man carrying the AR-15 in Phoenix, whose voice was heard in the segment, is an African American man, identified only as “Chris B.” Now, his ethnicity would not be significant at all, had Mr. Potok not concluded the segment by putting forth the idea that disapproval of the Federal government is motivated by racism towards the President.

Mr. Potok also claimed that “the idea that these people are going to these meetings to educate or be educated is ludicrous.” I could not disagree more with this statement. I think that’s precisely what these individuals are trying to do. And I think that the SPLC, and groups like it, aim to prevent that public discourse from taking place, by framing political dissenters as radical or dangerous.

My request is this: In the future, if FSRN chooses to bring someone on from the Southern Poverty Law Center to discuss issues pertaining to Constitutionalism, that you at least allow the other side an opportunity to defend itself. Aaron Zelman, founder of the organization Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, would be an ideal expert guest. Not only can he clearly articulate the positions, motivations and philosophies of the modern liberty movement, but his very presence would effectively discredit the SPLCs repeated accusations of anti-Semitism.

I just want to close by saying FSRN’s willingness to read this letter on the air proves that your organization does indeed care about responsible journalism. I thank you for your continued dedication to the truth.

…

I live in Pittsburgh, PA, and I listen to FSRN on 88.3 WRCT (and on the internet).

Thanks again for your time.

Joshua Ogden

 

Let us know if they read it! (I’m not holding my breath).

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