$5.5 million spent on TV ads in Michigan Governor’s race so far
According to new data from the Michigan Campaign Finance Network (MCFN) the Democrats and Republicans have spent a combined $5.5 million on political TV ads just in the Governor’s race.
The largest TV market in which gubernatorial ads were run was Detroit, where TV stations made $2.5 million alone from early August through October 3. The Grand Rapids TV market was the second largest recipient of campaign money for airtime with a little over $1.1 million being spent by the Democrats and Republicans.
However, MCFN also notes that the bulk of the money being spent for both Rick Snyder and Virg Bernero are coming from proxy sources and not the candidate campaigns directly.
For instance, Rick Snyder has not sent one dollar on paid TV ads since he won the August 3 Republican Primary. The $2.1 million spent on running pro-Snyder or anti-Bernero ads have come from the Republican Governor’s Association.
On the Democrat’s side the Bernero campaign has spent $995,000 on airing TV ads since August 3, but the bulk of ads supporting him have come from the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee, which has spent $2.4 million through October 3rd.
According to MCFN director Rich Robinson, the Republican sources have been less transparent in where their money is coming from and their relationship to the candidate Rick Snyder. Robinson believes that some of same video footage used by Snyder in the Primary race is being used by the Republican Governor’s Association in the current ads, but there is no evidence of this relationship in the TV station public files since the FCC doesn’t require that kind of disclosure.
Beyond the lack of transparency in how the money is being spent it raises other issue relevant to information and priorities. First, how do these amounts of money impact TV stations and their ability to do news coverage of these large political campaigns, especially when they are making thousands and in some cases, several million? As we have documented in previous gubernatorial races, local TV stations give limited coverage and what coverage they give is overwhelmingly poll driven or horse-race coverage.
Second, considering how communities across the state are faced with major budget deficits wouldn’t it be better for the political parties to just give the money to cities instead of private broadcasters? It of course will never happen, but it illustrates what the political parties are committed to. They are committed to their own parties and not the people. One could argue that political parties giving directly to cities/communities would be a way of buying votes, but at least the money would be used for basic city services and not end up in the hands of local TV station, all of which are owned by larger media conglomerates.
Birth as Power presents options and preparation for childbirth
Birth as Power:
Options and Preparation for Organic Childbirth
9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Weds. Oct. 13 – Dec. 1
The Bloom Collective @ Steepletown Center
671 Davis NW (Corner of 5th & Davis)
Was a time when childbirth was the realm of women. Doctors didn’t deliver babies; mothers gave birth. The babies came when they were ready, working within their mothers’ bodies and the strongest muscle in the human body, male or female, the uterus.
When the industrial revolution and advances in the Western medical model collided within patriarchal society, the process—and power—of birth was taken away from women. Childbirth was moved from the home to the hospital. Science scoffed at the midwife and deified the OB-GYN. By mid-twentieth century, nearly every birth in America was in hospital, under the influence of heavy drugs and ensconced in unhealthy, disempowering rituals, i.e. interventions such as shaving of pubic hair, extreme episiotomy and forceps.
In the 70s, women revolted. They demanded natural births, the presence of partners during delivery and the absence of drugs and unnecessary interventions. But by the 90s, that movement was for the most part co-opted by pretty birthing suites, a sprinkling of female OB GYNs and certified nurse midwives and the epidural, probably the most overused and profitable drug prescribed in hospitals today.
In deference to a culture born of industrial revolution and growing into a techno-cracy, pregnant mothers are ultra-sounded, stress-tested, hooked up via electrodes and doptone. Birthing mothers struggle to understand the data, rather than listen with intuition to their soon-born child. And while no one can criticize the use of cutting edge medical science when a true emergency arises, its use as standard care for every birth diminishes not only the magic and mystery of the birthing process but also disrupts the very biochemical bonds of mother and child, leading the way to a host of potentially negative outcomes.
Birth is power, the very power of life. Women experiencing birth on their own terms become empowered. A culture that takes away power from women giving birth disempowers all women, whether they choose motherhood or not.
The Bloom Collective is offering an eight week course, Birth as Power: Options and Preparation for Organic Childbirth beginning next Wednesday, October 13. Class participants will explore basic needs of pregnancy and birth such as nutrition, exercise, relaxation and the use of breath. They will explore common medical interventions and their results. They will envision how they would like their births to be and take steps to make their visions reality. Overall, the goal will be to empower women to take back their birth-rights, the right to give birth in strength and power while ensuring their babies have the healthiest possible transition from womb into world.
The class is open to all birthing women and their support persons as well as anyone, pregnant or not, who is interested in attending. The class is free. Donations accepted to cover the cost of materials and to help The Bloom pay its rent.
Bloom core member, Stelle, will facilitate the class. She taught Bradley Method childbirth classes for eight years, has coached several births and has five children, four birthed in hospital and one at home. If interested, contact her at stellemarie@gmail.com to let her know of your intent to participate .
Miles campaign goes after Amash on Michigan jobs issue
For the past 2 weeks now local TV stations have been running an ad paid for by the Pat Miles campaign that presents Republican candidate for Congress Justin Amash as sending jobs abroad.
Here is the commercial the Miles camp has been buying airtime for:
In some ways the Miles campaign has done it’s homework. It is true that Amash co-owns a factory in China that sells tools in the US, based on his personal financial disclosure.
The political ad also accuses Amash of voting against a bill in the Michigan legislature that “would hire Michigan workers first.” Amash did vote against SB 293 last year, but the language of the bill is a bit different than what the Miles campaign wants you to believe. A summary of the bill states:
“Under the bill, beginning July 1, 2009, when designating a renaissance zone, if all other considerations were equal, the State Administrative Board or the MSF would have to give preference to an applicant for renaissance zone status if the applicant agreed in writing to hire only Michigan residents or individuals who planned on becoming Michigan residents, or contract with businesses that agreed to hire only those people, to construct, renovate, rehabilitate, or improve a facility in the renaissance zone under the conditions described in Senate Bill 290 (S-1).”
While it certainly says that these businesses would have to “hire only Michigan residents or individuals who planned on becoming Michigan residents,” it also says that the “State Administrative Board would have to give preference” to an applicant who agreed to hire Michigan residents. Giving preference is not the same as requiring businesses to hire Michigan residents, so the claim from the Miles camp is a bit of a stretch here.
Clearly Amash is no defender of working people and keeping jobs in Michigan, but the Miles ad does not address much larger issues that have impacted jobs in Michigan.
First, to the issue of China and job loss, the US voted to include China in the WTO in 1999, under the Clinton administration. This designation really opened up the prospects of more US factories moving to China or the outsourcing of jobs.
Second, the other main factor in job loss to Michigan has been trade policies such as NAFTA and CAFTA. According to the data provided on the Public Citizen new Trade Data Center, Michigan lost 342,325 manufacturing jobs from 1993 – 2009 because of trade policies.
Unless trade policies are addressed supporting tax incentives for businesses to hire Michigan residents is not going to effectively counteract the impact that policies like NAFTA have had on Michigan.
In looking at Pat Miles campaign website he does, “Insist on fair and reciprocal trade agreements since West Michigan workers and products can compete with any in the world when there is a level playing field.” Unfortunately, this vague sentiment does not make any commitments to repealing trade policies such as NAFTA, which would take a strong stand in favor of Michigan workers.
AMID SOARING DEATHS, OBAMA AFFIRMS AFGHAN STRATEGY
(This article is re-posted from Common Dreams.)
US President Barack Obama has told lawmakers that no current changes are needed to his Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy, as US forces escalate operations against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
Obama delivered the verdict, which had previously been voiced by senior members of his national security staff, as he handed over his administration’s latest classified report on the conduct of the war mandated by Congress.
“We are continuing to implement the policy as described in December and do not believe further adjustments are required at this time,” Obama wrote in the assessment, delivered Monday.
“As the Congress continues its deliberations on the way ahead in Afghanistan and Pakistan, I want to continue to underscore our nation’s interests in the successful implementation of this policy.”
At the end of an exhaustive policy review in December, Obama announced plans to surge 30,000 troops into Afghanistan to seize the momentum in the long-running war but warned some soldiers would begin to withdraw by July 2011.
The president is expected to mount a fresh review of strategy on Afghanistan by the end of the year, but again, no major adjustments are expected.
The NATO-led strategy is designed to push Taliban insurgents out of major towns in the south and east while building up Afghan government security forces so that American troops can start withdrawing by July 2011.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and top commanders say there are tentative signs of progress in Afghanistan, where nearly 150,000 US and allied troops are trying to turn the tide against a resilient Islamist insurgency.
The White House said late Monday that Obama held a 30-minute videoconference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, discussing “a number of topics, including the strategic vision for long term U.S.-Afghan relations, the recent Afghan parliamentary elections, and regional relations.”
“The two leaders agreed that they should continue routine engagements to refine a common vision and to align our efforts to support President Karzai’s goal of completing transition to Afghan lead security responsibility by 2014,” the White House said.
Obama released his report Monday amid fresh evidence of an escalation of US activity in the lawless region between Pakistan and Afghanistan
A US drone strike on Monday killed eight militants, including German nationals in Pakistan near the Afghan border, local security officials said.
The attack came hours after Japan and Sweden joined Washington and London in issuing an alert warning of a “possible terrorist attack” by Al-Qaeda and affiliated groups against their citizens traveling in Europe.
Fresh bombings, shootings and violence meanwhile underscored the heavy toll on US and allied forces, as five NATO soldiers died Monday.
The new deaths took to 561 the number of foreign troops killed in the Afghan war so far in 2010, according to a tally by independent website icasualties.org, as the toll from the nine-year Taliban-led insurgency worsens.
This year’s toll is the highest on record since the war began in late 2001 with a US-led invasion toppling the Taliban regime after it refused to hand over Al-Qaeda leaders following the September 11 attacks.
Anti-War March this Saturday on the 9th anniversary of the US Occupation of Afghanistan
(The following information is based upon a Media Release sent out by the group Grand Rapids for Justice & Peace in Afghanistan.)
Grand Rapids for Justice and Peace in Afghanistan invites you to participate in a Count the Cost anti-war march for the 9th anniversary of the US occupation of Afghanistan.
We ask the question what has 9 year in Afghanistan meant from Grand Rapids? According to the National Priorities Project the amount of tax dollars that have left Grand Rapids to fund this war since October of 2001 is $177 million and counting. Our city has a serious budget deficit, our schools are underfunded, people’s homes are being foreclosed and we don’t have enough money to keep community pools open. At the same time we can spend billions of dollars on one of the longest wars in US history, with no end in sight.
The march will start at Noon on Saturday, October 9 in front of the now empty Central High School – 421 Fountain St. NE in Grand Rapids.
The march will focus on four main themes. First, there will be a speaker addressing how the US military recruits young people and how it disproportionately targets youth of color. Second, at the cemetery on Eastern/Fulton people will read the names of Afghan civilians and US soldiers who have been killed during this bloody occupation of Afghanistan.
Third, near the Baxter Community Center people will speak about the cost of the US war locally in terms of housing, lack of resources for basic social services and how this war affects women, children and families. The march will end up at MLK Park where people will be motivated by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and invited to be part of future actions and campaigns.
In addition, along the march route, which will take people through neighborhoods, people will be dropping off information flyers to people that addresses the issues that the march is bringing attention to.
The group organizing the event has both a Facebook page for the march itself and the group in general.
Grand Rapids for Justice & Peace in Afghanistan was instrumental in organizing the benefit concert last week for 2 organizations doing solidarity work in Afghanistan and they also organized the October 8 lecture by reporter Anand Gopal who just returned from another trip reporting on Afghanistan.
YWCA Vigil Honors Michigan Domestic Violence Victims
Forty-seven. That’s the average number of people murdered by someone they love each year in Michigan. Experts estimate that the number is actually double. And, these numbers do not reflect the additional victims left behind—children, parents, other family members and friends.
On Friday October 1, YWCA West Central Michigan Domestic Violence Services and Safe Haven Ministries held a candlelight vigil to remember these victims of domestic violence. The event opened with a two-scene skit. Six women held signs up identifying their role: teacher, pastor, friend, employer and others. In scene one, as the woman playing the role of domestic violence victim approached them for help, each gave an excuse not to get involved and turned her back. Another woman, playing the role of abuser, then verbally attacked the victim, convincing her to come back to the relationship. In scene two, each person offered support to the victim, and encircled her. When the abuser returned, the victim was able to stand firm.
“As a community, it’s important we surround people who are experiencing abuse and provide support so instead of feeling isolated and alone they have more safety and support,” explains Eileen McKeever, program director of YWCA Domestic Violence Crisis Services.
People often blame victims of domestic violence by asking, “Why does she (or sometime, he) stay in the relationship?” This skit aptly illustrated how victims are held in a web of abuse comprised of many strings: love, money, religion and family expectations as well as the isolation and destruction of self-esteem that their abusers impose upon on them. When families, friends, employers and spiritual advisors stand with the victim, these strings can be broken, one by one.
In conclusion, the names and brief stories of the 47 victims were read aloud. They included a senior in high school killed by her boyfriend; a 76-year-old wife with dementia; a pregnant 19 year-old; a police officer shot by her husband, also a police officer; a young mother and her four-year-old son; and three men. “The synopsis of newspaper articles giving the stories of the lives of the victims contained in this report does not convey the complicated experience of torment and violence victims experienced,” the skit’s narrator said. “These stories also cannot reveal to us all the ways victims protected their children, reached out to various systems for help, how long they were afraid, begged not to be hurt or screamed for help before their lives ended. These images help renew our determination to continue working toward a world free of domestic violence.”
The YWCA staffs a 24-Hour confidential crisis line for victims of domestic violence, 616.451.2744. They also offer free intervention, referrals and safety planning; free emergency shelter; counseling services; support groups; supervised parenting time and safe child exchange; and long-term housing and supportive services. For non-emergency information, call 616.459.4652 during business hours.
An Informed Vote My Ass
In yesterday’s Grand Rapids Press, editor Paul Keep ran is usual Sunday column. The focus for this week’s column was on the efforts that the Press has made to provide readers with information for the November 2nd Election.
The title of his column in the print version of the paper was, “Prepare yourself to cast an informed vote on Nov. 2.” As someone who monitors the Press and the information it provides to people on candidates and ballot initiatives I find it hard to take Mr. Keep’s comments seriously. The Press editor mentions three things that he believes will help voters make informed decisions – the Michigan 10.0 series, their online voter guide and Keep calls their “day to day, blow by blow news coverage.”
First, just because the Press did a series of stories they called Michigan 10.0 doesn’t mean they provided people with important information relevant to the elections. GRIID has been tracking those stories and providing some analysis. We found both significant bias in stories that dealt with both environmental issues specific to Michigan and labor issues, specifically the “right to work” question. The bias in these stories and the series as a whole overwhelmingly represented the views of business people or people in positions of authority. Rarely, did readers of the Michigan 10.0 series get the perspective or working class people or grassroots organizations.
Second, while the online voter guide does have information and candidate responses to questions posed by the Press editorial staff, it does not provide an investigative element that journalism should provide. The online voter guide provides responses from candidates, but there is no investigation into the claims they make. Having a reporter investigate those claims, do some fact checking and provide context for readers would make the online voter guide more relevant.
Also, the online voter guide is just that, online. Why doesn’t the Press provide voters with this information in print well before Election Day, so that people can easily access the information instead of having to go online? It can’t be a matter of using too much print space, since the Press has included the ArtPrize venue/voter guide 6 times between September 7th and October 3rd. The Press will run on print version of their voter guide on October 26, but it will only have “excerpts of what is online.”
Lastly, the Press editor claims they are providing “day to day and blow by blow coverage.” This simply isn’t true. The link that Paul Keep includes in his column only has eight articles in the last 30 days, which is a very low number, especially considering the amount of candidates and ballot issues that people will be deciding on. On top of that the articles are mostly about endorsements, candidate debate agreements and responses to attack ads. What voters are not getting on a day-to-day basis is information on where candidates stand on the issues or the voting records of incumbents and those who are running for a higher office.
The column by the Press editor ends with a list of upcoming election stories they plan to run, but these are not an adequate amount of stories that would provide voters with the necessary information in order to make an informed voter.
“Liberal” Michigan Senator Carl Levin continues to show his true colors in the so-called US War on Terrorism. Yesterday, Levin spoke to the elite foreign policy establishment, the Council on Foreign Relations.
CNN reported yesterday that Levin criticized the government of Pakistan for not doing more to fight terrorist and for complaining about US military Drone strikes that kill Pakistani soldiers and civilians.
Speaking about the US military Drone attacks in Pakistan Levin said, “There is a significant improvement in the accuracy. The minister, the foreign minister of Pakistan, acknowledged this yesterday to me. There are mistakes made but there is a huge improvement in the accuracy and the reduction of mistakes.”
It is so comforting to know that the “liberal” Senator Levin considers the death of innocent civilians from US Drone strike to be “mistake.” According to numerous sources in the past year, US military Drone strikes in Pakistan accounted for over 700 civilian deaths in 2009 alone.
Jane Mayer’s excellent piece in the New Yorker also examines the disastrous US military Drone campaign in Pakistan, a campaign which has increased anti-US sentiment to such levels that a recent poll done in Pakistan revealed that 59% of Pakistanis believe that the US is greatest threat to their country.
Senator Levin’s response to the criticism coming from Pakistan – “They object when we make mistakes. I mean we hit some Pakistani troops by mistake the other day and there is some strong blowback on that. This is understandable.”
These statements from Levin were responses to questions after a talk he gave to the Council on Foreign Relations. In that speech, Levin continued to support the US occupation of Afghanistan and emphasize his belief that the Obama administration will stick to its commitment of US troop withdrawal in July of 2010.
Levin also continued his belief that Afghanis being training by the US are making strides that will allow them to take over security matters in their country. This optimism is seriously called into question by independent reports on the “progress” of US training programs for Afghan security forces.
In addition, Levin acknowledges that the current levels of corruption in the Karzai administration are problematic, but the Michigan Senator does not acknowledge the degree to which the US is responsible for the corruption, particularly the US use of private contractors, which have been exposed as an integral part of the problem.
It should be crystal clear to anyone who is opposed to the US Afghanistan/Pakistan war that Senator Carl Levin is no anti-war ally. In fact, it seems clear that Levin is a proponent of continued US war crimes against civilians in both of those countries.
Fake News Persists, FCC is Mute
(This article is re-posted from PR Watch.)
Television stations are continuing to broadcast fake news, four years after the Center for Media and Democracy exposed the practice and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) warned TV stations against using it.
Public relations firms make videotaped fake TV news segments in which hired actors pose as “reporters” who tell “stories” about a product or service they want advertised. The PR firms then send these so-called video news releases (VNRs) to cash-strapped news rooms around the country, who broadcast them as though they were real news, without revealing that they are really advertisements.
A 2006 CMD study titled Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed, exposed 123 TV stations across the country that were regularly airing VNRs without informing viewers that the spots were paid ads. Four years later, FCC has yet to take a firm stand on the practice, or crack down on new tactics that are emerging.
Recently, advertisers have started hiring paid “experts” to appear on newscasts. A reporter will present a “story” about a product, and then hand the microphone to a paid spokesperson who gets a free platform to pitch the product. In some cases, stations have been paid over $10,000 for such a promotion.
In one example, a TV station ran a “news story” about how well convertible cars were selling, but the segment featured only GM cars. A recent article in the Los Angeles Times confirmed the practice and warned viewers to be suspicious of self-proclaimed “consumer advocates” who appear on local TV news programs pitching cars, electronics, travel, toys and more.
ArtPrize, criticism and the Press
As we have mentioned in a previous posting, GRIID has been tracking the Grand Rapids Press coverage of ArtPrize since the day after Labor Day.
To date we have seen 76 total stories, with 21 of them being on the front page. The articles have dealt with everything from artist profiles, to venues, to how to make your ArtPrize experience more meaningful.
What we haven’t seen much of are stories that have offer up any real critical perspective of ArtPrize, apart from some of the stories that have pointed out the electronic voting flaws due to not getting all the broadband companies on board from the get go.
The lack of any critical stories changed as of Wednesday, when the Press ran four articles that could fall under the broad tent of criticism.
The first of the four articles appeared on page A15, written by art critic Ed Riojas. Riojas calls himself an “art curmudgeon” in the opinion piece since he has issues with people submitted works of art made from what he called recycled or found material. Riojas raises some interesting points about how one defines what art is and the potential dangers of allowing people to submit virtually anything.
The other three articles (all appearing on page A17) were stories that originally appeared on the Grand Rapids-based citizen journalism site The Rapidian. One article by George Wietor, entitled “Essays and Critique,” was more of an explanation of what The Rapidian does and how ArtPrize coverage has been one of the main sources of stories generated in recent weeks. The other two stories dealt with the role of social media in ArtPrize and the other dealt with the role of the public vote in ArtPrize.
In some ways it was very refreshing to see these pieces included after two weeks of nothing but glowing accounts of ArtPrize or stories that were nothing more than shameless promotional pieces for downtown businesses. It is extremely important for sources of journalism such as the Grand Rapids Press to provide either criticism of the role of art in society or at least a forum for that dialogue to take place.
However, each of these criticism pieces all focused on very narrow aspects of the social implications of art. There was and has been little about how ArtPrize is perceived by racial and cultural minorities in this community, how ArtPrize impacts the economically & socially marginalized populations that make up part of the Heartside community, the use of public space and how ArtPrize impacts local artists and local art year round. One other aspect that has not been explored in the Press coverage are the economic impact that the event has on the community as a whole and who are the primary beneficiaries of the money being spent/invested in downtown Grand Rapids because of ArtPrize.
These are all important and valid questions that news agencies should be exploring but have yet to do so in any serious way. The four pieces in Wednesday’s paper were a positive contribution to the beginnings of that questioning, but three of those stories were from non-staff.
Using the stories from The Rapidian raises questions about why the Press has not paid its own staff to write these kinds of stories. Did they choose to run somewhat critical pieces from non-Press staff as a way of avoiding any backlash from ArtPrize supporters? Certainly it makes it easier for the Press to deflect any criticism, since they can always say that such criticism is from a source independent of the Press.
In addition, the Press’ decision to run stories from The Rapidian also raises questions about what relationship the monopoly daily newspaper has with this recent citizen journalism experiment. Will we see more of this kind of collaboration? If so, then what is the ultimate function of citizen journalism? Will it just supplement the kind of news that the Press should be doing without having to pay anyone to do this kind of work or will it provide the Press with a greater pool of free lance writers, thus making it easier to downsize its fulltime staff?
These are not minor questions, since it leads us back to the obligation of journalism in this community, particularly journalism that will fulfill the fundamental tenets of that profession. Some of the most important aspects of journalism are to be an independent source to monitor power, all kinds of power – political, economic, etc.
Another important function of journalism is its obligation to the truth and its loyalty to the public. If journalism is true to these principles, it means that it will not shy from making critical observations or investigating the implications of anything that will impact the community. The Grand Rapids Press and any other entity that claims to practice journalism has an obligation to practice these principles, otherwise they should not deserve our trust or respect.
