Just listened to Gore Vidal on the Majority Report...

[wildflower]

(a "Best of"), and Vidal offered one of the most profound and dire monologues I have heard about why this administration is so frightening and must go. I can't begin to reproduce it, but I'll try to paraphrase. (Perhaps someone else can give a better one.)

In essence, the argument was this:

We have just elected a second-term president with nothing to lose, whose people are in all branches of the government. If the government were to come and search your house, or take you away, to whom would you turn? You couldn't write your congressman. And so on.

Janeane assured him that you could call Air America, for they would at least be on for a few more weeks. It was chilling. He spoke of his experience with the slow erosion of rights that he saw before WWII.

Did anyone hear it?

If this clip from Vidal were played on mainstream TV for undecided voters, or if Kerry's team could voice this effectively, I feel certain that most if not all undecideds would immediately vote Kerry.

-wildflower

[Nocturnes]

1. Is there a transcript?

If so I will get it out to as many people as I can

[wildflower]

7. I've been searching and here's the best I've come up with so far...

These are the blog comments from the night he was there...a few comments about Vidal, not much help. A couple of links to his books. (Which I'm sure are also excellent sources.)

http://www.majorityreportradio.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=232

But it looks like you may be able to download audio here (go all the way to the bottom of the page):

http://www.airamericaplace.com/archive.php?mode=show&id=7&page=2

(I haven't tried it yet; on dial-up and trying to post this quickly.)

-wildflower

[midwayer]

10. Thanks...looks like page 2 of the archives originally aired

on June 4th 2004

Guests:

* Gore Vidal
* The Daily Show's Ed Helms
* Bill Scher of liberaloasis.com

http://www.airamericaplace.com/archive.php?mode=show&id=7&page=2

[Kanary]

2. Vidal has been very eloquent lately -- just not on enough!

I heard him give a speech before the RNC, warning about the effects of protesting. His arguments were quite compelling.

I would certainly like to see more of him, and wonder why he isn't included in more interviews.

If you're ever able to record some of his speeches, it would be good to make copies and give to those who are "undecided". I think this is one of the tasks we're going to have to take on for ourselves..... I don't think we can depend on "media" for this.

thanks for posting... wish I'd heard him.....

Kanary

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. Why he isn't on TV much

Vidal himself once told about how he, George F. Will, and Patrick Buchanan used to be regulars on ABC's Sunday morning news show.

After a couple of seasons, ABC told him that his contract was terminated. Why? He was "too outrageous."

"Imagine that," he said in the interview. "They kept Pat Buchanan, but I was too outrageous."

[Kanary]

5. whoa....... that's certainly telling, isn't it????

Well, at the rate he's going, Buchanan may end up with the same tag on him. :)

What I was thinking, though........ like that wonderful panel of progressives yesterday.... why isn't he included on those? That one was probably for those with recent books out, but....... surely there are other venues for him?

I guess we gotta see to it that he's included....

Is there a Gore Vidal Fan Club? :hi:

~~chortle~~

Kanary

[glitch]

4. they'll have an mp3 of it later at airamericaplace.com nt

[Kanary]

6. Wish I knew how to download an mp3 and make it recordable....

Anyone know?

Kanary

[glitch]

9. you can download the mp3 and then convert it to regular cd audio

with musicmatch (musicmatch.com, they have a free version) then burn it on a cd and so you can it in cd players. Is that what you mean?

[Kanary]

11. um, I guess that's what I mean. ^_^

Someway to make it playable, without being online to do so. That way, I can share it with others who haven't heard some of his strong message.

Is there anyway to convert it with Roxio? I haven't figured it out.....

Thanks for the info......

Kanary

[midwayer]

12. yes...kanary

you have to capture from your hard drive into a cd burning application
to burn to cd.....

OR go buy an mp3 player that you can connect to your computer through usb port and transfer onto that player

Roxio should do it if you have the burner

trick is finding where you downloaded the file to on your computer then manipulating it into the application to select/convert for burning

[Kanary]

13. no problem "finding" where it's stored...... I label things well

No $$$ for new toys, so that's out.

I've never understood how it's supposed to work with Roxio....... maybe someone will come along who is familiar with ti.

Thanks for the clues....... tonight I will download this great speech!

Kanary

[glitch]

15. I've never used roxio so I can't help you there - but if you can burn cds

then all you need to do is find a way to convert the mp3 file you download into the audio format cd players can read. If roxio allows you to convert the mp3 to cd audio when you burn the cd then you are set. Otherwise, you might have to try the free musicmatch software.
Good luck!

[NuttyFluffers]

16. iTunes makes it painless, go that route.

info is saved either as mp3/AAC, etc. when you want to burn that stuff to a CD make your playlist, open up your new playlist, plop in a CD and click the "burn" button at the top right. very easy. besides iTunes is usable for PC too.

but it'd be a lot easier to store all that information on an iPod. i've been saving many randi rhodes shows. if i ever want to drag around several days worth of hours of randi rhodes i can easily do it with the iPod. take it to my friend's place, plop it into his harddrive and read it off his iTunes.

go apple, it's better. and i'm a long time PC user! :evilgrin:

[Kanary]

22. I see what you mean about finding it....

Who knows where the auto thingie stored it..... I wrote it down, but it's not there.

Oh well....

so much for that.....

Thanks, anyway.... we tried......

Kanary

[Ms. Clio]

19. You can download the mp3 and use Windows Media Player (9.0)

to listen to it directly, or burn it to a CD, or transfer it to a portable MP3 player.

Easy as pie, and you can pause it while it's playing, and come back to it later, if you want.

[Kanary]

20. Sorry, don't have $$$ to buy a MP3 player.

No can do, as I said earlier.

Besides, I really don't want to just keep buying more and more gizmos, and become one more Good Consumer.

I know that's the popular thing with the younger generation, but I can't go that route.

Kanary

[wildflower]

24. I believe you can download RealPlayer for free and

listen to it that way.

www.real.com

-wildflower

[Ms. Clio]

28. If you're using Windows, Windows Media Player comes with it

It's one of the accessories--look for it in All Programs, and you should find it. It plays MP3s and other audio files so that you don't need to buy an MP3 player.

But the one I have was fairly cheap, and comes with an armband, which means I can transfer music or Air America MP3 files to it, and listen to it anywhere--walking, biking, etc.

It's not just for the "young folks"--I'd guess you and I are probably contemporaries.

[latebloomer]

8. Gore Vidal is a treasure

Brilliant, funny and dead-on.

[Kanary]

14. He's all of that.

I have tremendous respect for him.

Kanary

[slojim240]

17. I don't need to hear Vidal. I have been saying this for over three years.

These people are entrenched at all levels of government and the courts. It will take at least three more Presidential terms to purge the evil from the ranks of the Executive Branch and the Congress. But we must.

[Kanary]

18. well, whooopeeee

:eyes:

[Kanary]

21. What Vidal said about the "October Surprise" was quite a blast, eh?

Who knew? :)

If that really happens, wouldn't that be *something*?

As much as I respect Vidal, somehow I really don't have a lot of hope that will happen.....

Kanary

[wildflower]

23. In some ways the interview made me depressed because

at the time (June 4) they were talking about how * had just gotten a lawyer (for the Plame investigation) and thus he was surely going down. We've all seen where that's led.

Did you hear the part I was talking about in my first message, where he was describing how as individual citizens we'd have no recourse if something happened to us? Did you find it as moving and frightening as I did? I certainly think this tack is more profound, specific, personal, and effective than a lot of what I've been hearing out of the campaign. I am curious what others think.

Unfortunately this issue is about fear. But the fact is, this is one of the essential things we are afraid of.** And maybe it is the only thing that will get through people's heads when they are being filled with fear of terrorism of a type that (they think) only * can combat.

-wildflower

**Along with fears about what happens if we get sick, our reproductive rights, and how we'll make it financially, among others.

[Kanary]

25. Given that I'm not feeling well, and in a fair amount of pain,

unfortunately, I don't think I want to publicly discuss fear and depression about the news on DU. I know that you are new here, so you may not have seen some of the threads, but people get attacked here for expressing what they are feeling about what they read, and about news events. It's horribly unfair, and counter-productive, but it's allowed here, and I'm jut not in a place to absorb that kind of nonsense. If you'd like to PM me about it, that would be fine.

I very much appreciate you posting about this particular radio archive, because I just finished looking through my library catalog online, and found a couple of Vidal's books on tape that I think I will put a request on. Then, I will hope that he reads them himself!

Thanks for bringing this up, and it really is a shame that we can't talk honestly about some of these things. It would be helpful to a number of us.

Kanary

[wildflower]

26. Kanary - I tried to PM you

but it says I don't have enough posts yet. I hope you're feeling better tomorrow; I can sympathize. And I'm glad I was able to contribute something helpful.

-wildflower

[Kanary]

27. Those restrictions are so irritating. As soon as you can PM, you

look up one of my posts, and send me a missive, eh? I mean it! It's so crappy that we're in the midst of losing our country, and we can't even talk with each other about how we feel, and get support from each other.

My situation isn't going to improve..... I just deal with it the best I can, and protect myself as I can from attackers.

What you posted was important....I hope we can continue it at some point.

Kanary