MOYERS - Political connections on the 9/11 Commission, etc.

[Dover]

* This election year, is your local news station keeping you IN THE
DARK? NOW reports.
* The buck stops where? Bill Moyers talks to independent political
analyst Kevin Phillips about the political pasts and the political
connections of the 9/11 Commission members... and other news of the
week.
* A war of words. David Brancaccio interviews world-renowned linguist
George Lakoff on the power of words to win votes.
* A Bill Moyers essay.

===================================================================
IN THE DARK

If voters are relying on local television news to help them make
decisions in this important election year, recent studies show that they
may be left in the dark. By some estimates, more than half of local
news broadcasts may not cover politics at all in the weeks before the
election, and important local races and issues are often completely
ignored. In a nation where the public owns the airwaves, are local
stations driving corporate profits at the expense of the communities
they are supposed to serve? David Brancaccio takes a hard look at how
local broadcasters are covering politics. With stations expecting
record earnings from political ads, the program examines the winners and
losers in the battle for localism and profiles one station that is
getting it right.

===================================================================
KEVIN PHILLIPS

Everybody's talking about the 9/11 Commission report and what it means for this country's security in the future. But for all the talk of a bi-partisan effort on getting to the bottom of what went wrong on 9/11, partisan and political struggles were rife throughout the process. Bill Moyers gets the insight of author and political analyst Kevin Phillips on the success or failure of the commission, and the other news of the week, including what Kerry might say at the Democratic Convention and the realities of the so-called economic recovery. Kevin Phillips was the chief political strategist for Richard Nixon's victory in 1968 and wrote the bombshell book Emerging Republican Majority. Ten years ago his
best-selling book on the politics of rich and poor influenced the 1992 elections and his recent Wealth and Democracy: A Political History of the American RICH looks at how big money and political power are the invisible hand in the hidden story of the American experience.

===================================================================
GEORGE LAKOFF

This Monday when the lights go on in Boston at the Democratic
convention, speakers will be center stage and working hard to deliver
messages that connect with voters. Analysts say that for two decades
conservatives have done a much better job than progressives to frame and talk about their values and some say the convention could be a make or break moment in the election. Do words really have the power to win not just hearts and minds, but votes? David Brancaccio gets a few words on the subject from world-renowned linguist George Lakoff. Dr. Lakoff is a founder of the Rockridge Institute, a new political think tank set up to reframe the terms of political debate to make a progressive vision more persuasive and influential. Lakoff is a professor at UC Berkeley and is the author of 8 books, including the influential MORAL POLITICS:
HOW LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES THINK and most recently DON'T THINK OF AN ELEPHANT! WHAT EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT VALUES AND THE FRAMING WARS, which is due out next month.

===================================================================
NOW WITH BILL MOYERS continues online at PBS.org (www.pbs.org/now). Log onto the site for local election resources; a map of state election boards; a look at the evolution of the terms "liberal" and
"conservative;" bios and more readings from George Lakoff and Kevin
Phillips; a compendium of NOW's ongoing FCC coverage; tools to help
track campaign ads; and more.

[LittleApple81]

1. I cannot believe he is retiring. What a loss for freedom in America. n/t

[Shakespeare]

2. Indeed. When he left CBS for PBS.....

The late Don Hewitt remarked at the time that it "was like watching the ghost of Edward R. Murrow pass from the building."

And so it is again. :-(

[bobbieinok]

3. Lakoff is an extremely well-respected linguist

[Dover]

4. A bump for today

eom

[Dover]

5. One last heads-up

[Wonk]

6. kick

[Wonk]

7. Great show this week, from beginning to end.

Hard to say which segment was my favorite, as they were all quite good. I'm really going to miss Bill when he retires in November.

[Cheesehead]

8. That was the BEST hour of television I've ever seen

Kevin Phillips is the most refreshingly honest talking head I've ever seen. He names names!

My new meme:

Common sense tells me
if we value integrity
we need Bush relief
NOW!

-- If you saw NOW with Bill Moyers tonight you will understand why --

[Cheesehead]

9. Watch this - it rocks

:kick:

[Kanary]

10. The story about the candidate who couldn't get on TV

until she was in a wreck should make *EVERY* citizen of this country think deeply about our whole system.

I can think of no clearer way to demonstrate the situation we're in.

Kanary

[Kanary]

11. I'm chuckling about Kevin Phillips

He just got through saying basically what many progressives have been saying about the choices, and when ti's said here, it inevitably results in a bashing. Too bad he's held up here as a powerful voice to listen to, but....... only on certain issues, I guess.

Both he and Moyers are being introspective about the party. I wish the *Party* was ready to do that.

Could be therapeutic......... and a winning strategy.

Kanary

[Wonk]

12. mp3 & video here for those who missed it on TV

In the Dark
3 M mp3
37 M vp3

Kevin Phillips
4 M mp3
42 M vp3

George Lakoff
4 M mp3
41 M vp3

Now What
600 k mp3
6 M vp3

[Jim Sagle]

19. Those links lead to empty screens. The site was changed.

[Wonk]

20. I just checked and they still work just fine.

QuickTime Player works for the vp3s, as well as many other media players.

http://www.google.com/search?q=vp3+player

[thistle]

13. Kevin Phillips said that Kerry was only a "5" on a scale of 1 to 10.

That was very MEAN. He said something like this:

"I'm trying to think that Kerry is maybe a 7 on a 10-point scale, but I'm afraid he's only a 5. He just doesn't say anything."

I thought Mr. Phillips was supposed to be a smart analyst, but if he says stuff like this, maybe he's not so smart after all.

[Kanary]

14. Yup, "truthful" isn't popular here

[Protected]

17. Overall, I have to agree with him.

So many people right now are currently loving Kerry because he's not Bush. That's a great wave to ride, but I am still waiting, like Phillips, for Kerry to show us he's a "7."

[Pastiche423]

18. Kevin Phillips not smart?

You are joshing, right?

If not, have you read any of his books?

I believe he was being more than generous in his analysis.

[kaitykaity]

15. Moyers' end of show commentary was

very good. Talked about why would he need Moore's movie
when real-live political news is more "entertaining" than any
movie.

(He was very specific in his examples, but I do not recall
any of them.)

[Wonk]

16. kick