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THE RIVER IS WIDE
Protecting the Public in Public Radio Speaking Truth to Power Stirring the Public Conscience The river is wide where many of us live here in Maine. Today, August 21, 2008, we lend a hand to speak truth to power and share the story of a once great radio station nearly lost to small-minded censorship and a disregard for freedom of speech, a disregard for the right of citizens in a democracy to be reminded to Vote in election season, a disregard for the lessons of the past that great atrocities are committed by those who hide behind "laws" and rules that are unjust, that forcing employees to sign guidelines that suppress their right to express social views is oppression of the worst kind. We first began to fear the loss of MPBN radio with the stifling and firing of "The humble Farmer", Robert Skoglund. We first began to fear that MPBN was ignoring the public when the cries of those who could only give small 30 dollar donations were met with indifference to the honest request that 'humble' be returned to the air. We knew then that listeners like the author of our "Rant for all Time", a timeless rant presented below, were forgotten. These are the very same listeners whose preferences have been ignored.
+++ LIKE A FINE CIGAR, A GOOD RANT NEVER LOSES ITS EDGE. SO, WE RE-VISIT MEMORABLE RANTS FROM THE PAST ! +++ Dear Mr. Harper, We thought you would be interested to know that Maine Public Broadcasting Network has been invoking your code of ethics for journalists to give credence to the network’s suppression of freedom of speech. As former journalists who believe in the precepts of the Society of Professional Journalists and who adhered to the code of ethics during our journalistic careers, we find it reprehensible that MPBN is invoking the good name of your organization in its efforts to silence one of its humorists/commentators, Robert Skoglund. Apparently, Skoglund—who performs under the name of the humble Farmer— made a comment on his Friday night radio show that offended the powers-who-be at MPBN. They required him to sign the station’s "on- air standards and legal guidelines," which bar him from making political comments on his show. The guidelines include the following: • On-air personnel should not make religious or political calls to action, editorialize, include content or showcase views and opinions on sensitive or controversial issues. • On-air personnel are not allowed to air personal grievances on MPBN services. This includes introducing content that endorses, compares or criticizes commercial products, institutions, companies, organizations, or individuals. In addition, on-air personnel should not dedicate programming or musical selections without prior knowledge of and approval from management. While such standards should certainly apply to journalists who are reporting the news, it should not prevent commentators/humorists from expressing a point of view. That would be like barring Jay Leno from telling jokes about George W. Bush. Skoglund, who on most programs talks about his wife, "the almost perfect woman," and life as an old-time Mainer, is a humorist, not a news reporter. His show is a mix of Maine humor and jazz; his wry comments are often funny, sometimes thought-provoking, even bizarre at times—certainly nothing that merits censorship. Unfortunately, when Skoglund refused to adhere to the station’s demands that he sign the guidelines, MPBN took the program, which has aired for years, off the air. We as listeners complained about the action. In response, MPBN invoked your organization’s code of ethics, stating that the station "strictly adhere[s] to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics." The station’s response, by the way, was signed only "MPBN Audience Services," with no personal signature. First, we do not believe that the SPJ code has anything to do with MPBN’s censorship of Skoglund. Secondly, we believe that MPBN itself is violating the code, in particular the following tenets: • Tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the human experience boldly, even when it is unpopular to do so. • Support the open exchange of views, even views they find repugnant. Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable. • Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage. • Abide by the same high standards to which they hold others. Such strong-armed tactics to silence points of view that may not coincide with the mainstream corporate line jeopardize free speech and are particularly disturbing when employed by a publicly financed organization like MPBN that espouses support for freedom of speech. We urge your organization, as a well respected bulwark against such tactics, to speak out on this issue. Thank you. Best regards, * and J * +++Salmon, Crappies (pronounced crawpeese) AND Bottom-feeders: HOW ARE THEY DOING? ARE SALMON FINDING THEIR WAY BACK TO THEIR OWN RIVERS by memorizing (as registered river guides tell us) the scent and the taste of their own rivers? AND THE FIRST QUESTION IN OUR QUIZ: So You Think You Know Fish ? How many Salmon does it take to make a Crappie equal to the biggest Crappie (pronounced crawpee) in existence? HINT: They don't miss it when it's gone. THE ANSWER?
.01092009 ++++ Your sixth reading is here for our summer Home Study Course The Quality of Money: Can Thirty Dollars be better quality than 2.25 million? How about 2.25 million dollars in commissions earned by a Mortgage broker selling sub-prime mortgages to families who couldn't afford them but were just pursuing the American Dream of home ownership VS. 30 dollars earned selling rhubarb? See ? “Gross National Happiness is far more important than Gross National Product.” - HM Jigme Singme Wangchuck - King of Bhutan where "happily and spontaneously, the Golden Fish (semga) swim unobstructed through murky waters. They symbolize humankind’s ability to take correct actions in a challenging world.” Freethehumblefarmer@localnet.com
B***, ME 04*** June 14, 2007 Governor John Baldacci State House Station # 1 Augusta, Maine Dear Cc: Congressman Tom Allen. Congressman Mike Michaud, Attorney General Steven Rowe, Senate President Beth Edmonds and Speaker of the House Glenn Cummings Dear Governor Baldacci: In light of the extraordinary disregard by the Maine Public Broadcasting Network of citizens’ freedom of expression, over 100 Maine taxpayers have joined together to ask that you immediately introduce legislation to the current session of the Maine Legislature to suspend all Maine government funding to the Maine Public Broadcasting Network Chief Executive Officer James Dowe has fired Robert Skoglund, The humble Farmer. This action is an arrogant abandonment and neglect of cherished freedoms: the right to free speech and the right to free expression. The State of Maine should not provide funds for organizations that do not honor fundamental civil liberties, including the right to free speech. We further ask that this suspension be in place until the Maine Public Broadcasting Network management rescinds the politically motivated censorship imposed on Robert Skoglund, The humble Farmer and other MPBN creative talent through the station’s demand that performers sign guidelines restricting statements about a wide range of topics, including those considered political or controversial. Congressman Tom Allen, Congressman Mike Michaud, Attorney General Steven Rowe, Speaker of the Maine House Glenn Cummings and President of the Maine Senate Beth Edmonds have also received copies of this letter. Please acknowledge and respect the wishes of Maine people who collectively and individually support this request for suspension of support for MPBN. Thank you. Sincerely, S*s*n C*o* *** ********** St. B*** ME 04**** And over 100 others who from 4:00pm on June 13th, 2007 to12 noon on June 14th, 2007 emailed Freethehumblefarmer@localnet.com and said “Please add my name to this letter.” One year ago, on June 12, 2007, our buddy ‘humble’, Robert Skoglund got a call from the President and CEO of Maine Public Broadcasting, Jim Dowe, telling him that he was fired, that his program “The humble Farmer”, after 30 years would no longer be aired on MPBN on Friday nights. Humble, in an act of extraordinary personal courage refused to sign a detailed list of guidelines, written up a lawyer, that forbid him to speak about anything political or controversial. What ‘humble’ had said, that was ‘political’ was, in fact, about things that troubled his ‘conscience’: a remembrance of the Holocast, refusing to accept invasions of privacy by the government, questioning tax policy. Between 4:00pm on Wednesday June 13 to noon on Thursday June 14, well over 100 of you in your own act of personal courage immediately signed on to this letter to our Governor, our congressmen, the President of the Maine Senate, the Speaker of the House, and the Attorney General, condemning the abandonment of the right to freedom of expression and freedom of speech that these guidelines presented and asking that all funding to MPBN be suspended until the guidelines were removed for Robert Skoglund and for all MPBN employees. What followed is a year of activism: hundreds (about $160,000 worth) refusing to give MPBN money, a call that people go to the Federal Communications Commission hearing, in Portland, letters published in newspapers, a cartoon in the Portland Press Herald, creation of a website, www.freethehumblefarmer.com to share the story and the hundreds of letters that humble received from his saddened listeners, attendance at a hearing at the legislature supporting a bill to explore ways to oversee MPBN’s huge 2.25 million dollars allotment from Maine State government, letters to other Public Radio ‘stars’, letters to legislators, every member of the Education and Cultural Services Services Committee and the Appropriations Committee telling them not to fund MPBN’s practice of censorship, articles on the website about the Ukrainian Holomodar- a genocide- like the Holocast- this one in the 1930’s, carried out by the Soviets through a manufactured famine that relied on censorship by the government to keep it a secret and in place. We formed another email address poetsfreehumble@localnet.com, hoping that poets would write to Garrison Keillor, who is an easy mark for poets, to help stop MPBN’s censorship. We put out a call to you all to enter the Prairie Home Companion Sonnet Contest. Many of you sent in sonnets about the loss of humble . No, none of us won the Sleep-number bed or the 3 dozen roses. All of you, with great personal courage, at the risk of being discredited in any way possible, by the MPBN Board of Trustees and management (read what they wrote to current.org if you think that’s not true) have done something. Sixty legislators signed a petition, including our Secretary of State, Matt Dunlop, asking ‘humbly’ that MPBN return ‘humble’ to the air. We got one letter from Governor Baldacci We got one encouraging phone call from his representative to the MPBN Board of Trustees, Mark Lawrence, who said “This is a fight worth fighting. “ MPBN is a monopoly in the state of Maine. We only have one public broadcasting network that programs all of public radio for our state. That level of control over our media means many will silence themselves before they risk annoying and being spoken of badly (or just ignored) by the publicly funded- Power known as MPBN. Despite every effort to enlist legislative leaders to step up and act on MPBN’s politically motivated censorship by making a strong, hard statement that our tax dollars should not support censorship, few responded. The Chair of the Education Committee tried to silence any testimony about the bill asking for accountability for MPBN. “I’m going to stop your right there,” he said. Didn’t work, but he tried. One person who understood very well why localism in media is important and spoke up- early and fast- at the Federal Communications Commission hearing in June 2007 in Portland- is now running to represent Maine in the First Congressional District. Chellie Pingree knew (and probably still knows) that the media holds the power to demean every cherished freedom in our democracy. So, one year later, MPBN has not returned ‘humble’ to the airwaves, which we all still want. But he did not lie down : instead he is better, stronger, funnier, drier, wittier than ever. And all of us, invisible anonymous people, sustained, just like we were last year, by the daily bread of our lives, the good times and the not-so-good ones, should take heart in knowing that what we signed onto a year ago today was true then, is true now, and will always be true. So, there is always more to say, but here is just one more thought. There is always something in you that the most powerful people in the world can not take away. But it is always worth protecting, just in case. ++++ Free the humble Farmer.com is honored to announce the establishment of the Annual Pony award. This award will be given annually to the individual or organization whose activities have worked to protect the public in public radio, by speaking truth to power, while stirring the public conscience. Our annual Pony award is given to continue the work started here at Free the humble Farmer.com in the wake of our astonishment at the firing of Robert Skoglund, the 30 year host of a jazz radio program, dear to many, many Mainers. Our work has been to hold Public Radio accountable to a public commitment to honor speech that is free, to present provocative new- and old- ideas- and recognize and protect imaginative approaches to social commentary that animate and call upon a broad array of human sensibilities. It was not all the potentially compostable material surrounding MPBN’s firing of Mr. Skoglund that brought to mind the thought, “Hmm.. must be a pony here somewhere.” No. Every farm is made better by a pony. Public radio can be a magnificent pony, carrying little riders and big hefty ones, even pulling wagons if need be and, most certainly, trying. But, not everyone knows how to ride a pony and a bad rider will ruin the most magnificent pony on earth. The most well-funded pony in the world will be worth nothing. The Pony Award is given to urge others to hold public radio accountable, to strive for the best pony possible by insisting that only riders who have learned to honor such a free and beautiful creature deserve to mount. So, please stay tuned. Our annual Pony award is coming soon. "" "" "" How It Can Be Mr. Blomefield, the Vicar, had a large family of boys and girls; sometimes they used to come and play with Jessie and Flora...When they came, there was plenty of work for Merrylegs, for nothing pleased them so much as getting on him by turns and riding him all about the orchard and the home paddock, and this they would do by the hour.
One afternoon, he had been out with them for a long time, and when James brought him in and put on his halter, he said: "There you rogue, mind how you behave yourslf, or we shall get into trouble." "What have you been doing, Merrylegs?" I asked. "Oh!" said he, tossing his little head, "I have only been giving those young people a lesson, they did not know when thery had had enough, nor when I had had enough, so I just pitched them off backwards, that was the only thing they could understand." "What?" said I, "You threw the children off? I thought you did know better than that! Did you throw off Miss Jessie or Miss Flora?" He looked very much offended, and said: "Of course not. I would not do such a thing for the best oats that ever came into this stable; why I am as careful of our young ladies as the master could be, and as for the little ones, it is I who teach them to ride....I am the best friend and riding master those children can have." "It is not them, it is the boys; boys," said he, shaking his mane, "are quite different; they must be broken in, as we are broken in when we were colts, and just be taught what's what. The other children had ridden me for nearly two hours, and then the boys thought it was their turn, and so it was, and I was quite agreeable. They rode me by turns, and I galloped them about up and down the fields and all about the orchard for a good hour.They had each cut a great hazel stickor a riding whip, and laid it on a little too hard; but I took it in good part, til at last I thought we had had enough, so I stopped two or three times by way of a hint. Boys, you see, think a horse or a pony is like a steam engine or a threshing machine, and can go on as long and as fast as they please; they think a pony can get tired, or have any feelings; so as the one who was whipping me could not understand, I just rose up on my hind legs and let him slip off behind- that was all; he mounted me again and I did the same. Then the other boy got up, and as soon as he began to use his stick I laid him on the grass, and so on, till they were able to understand, that was all." -from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell Also see: Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry Also see: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett FYI: Book Report Title: Black Beauty Author: Anna Sewell Publishe: Grosset & Dunlap Date: 1945 This book is the autobiography of a beautiful horse, Black Beauty. How can there live a horse who is obedient to all but only loved by those who understand him? How can such a faithful beast be not loved by all? There has lived no horse, to my knowledge, of this kind. Only in the imaginary world. Anna Sewell has used such a horse in Black Beauty. Black Beauty was born a spiritful colt. He was sold at the age of four. This was when his life began. Beauty was told how horses had been torchered with work, whips, and death. He never thought he would witness such a life. As life went on he became a cab horse, sometimes being treated with kind words, sometimes with harsh words. Black Beauty’s life was almost ended during this job when he fell because the load he was carrying was too heavy. This brought Beauty to a beautiful home where he remained for the rest of his days. Black Beauty was a beautiful story and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Anna Sewell is a beautiful and expressive writer. By Susan C, Grade 6, Bartlett School Cover B+ Composition A- Writing A- Tough to find a gifted Children's librarian when you need one, isn't it? “On the shores of Chincoteague the people pressed forward, their faces strained to stiffness, as they watched Assateague Beach.
“Here they come!” The cry broke out from every throat…. Suddenly, a fisherman, looking through binoculars, began shouting in a hoarse voice, “A new-borned colt is afeared to swim! It’s knee-deep in the water, and won’t go no further.”…”The colt’s too little to swim,” the fisherman bawled out. …”They’re half-ways across. Jumpin’ Juniper! The colt! It’s being sucked down in a whirlpool. I can’t see it now. My soul and body! A boy’s jumped off the scow. He’s swimming out to help the colt.” The onlookers did not need the fisherman with the binoculars anymore. They could see for themselves. A boy swimming against the current. A boy holding a colt’s head above the swirling water. …Grandpa’s voice was as strong as a tow rope. Paul was swimming steadily toward it, holding the small silver face of the colt above the water. He was almost there. He was there! … The air was wild with whinnies and snorts as the ponies touched the hard sand, then scrambled up the shore, their wet bodies gleaming in the sun. Paul half-carried the little colt up the steep bank; then suddenly it found its own legs. Shouts between triumph and relief escaped every throat as the little filly tottered up the bank. Almost to the top her feet went scooting out from under her and she was down on the sand, her sides heaving. Maureen felt a new stab of fear. If only the big ponies would not crush her! That tender white body among all those thrashing hooves. What chance had she? What chance with the wild wind for a mother? But all the wildness seemed to have ebbed out of the Phantom. She picked her forefeet high. The she carefully straddled her colt, and fenced in the small white body with her own slender legs. -from Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry AND “It’s the wind from the moor,” said Mary. “It’s the springtime and the out-of-doors and the sunshine.” “Oh, Colin,” she said. “I have something to tell you.” “What is it?” Colin held his breath. “Dickon will come to see you tomorrow morning if you like, and he’ll bring his creatures with him-the animals that he’s made tame and that are his friends.” “Oh!” Colin cried out in delight. “But that’s not all,” Mary went on. “The rest is better. There is a door into the garden. I found it.” “Oh, Mary!” Colin said with a half sob. “Shall I see it? Shall I live to get into it?” “Of course you’ll see it!” snapped Mary indignantly. “Of course you’ll live to get into it! Don’t be silly!” And she was so unhysterical and natural that he came to his senses and began to laugh at himself. A few minutes afterward she was telling him not what she imagined the secret garden to be like but what it really was, and Colin’s aches and tiredness were forgotten, and he was listening, enraptured. Later that morning Colin told his doctor, “I’m going out in my chair in a day or two if it is fine. I want some fresh air.” “I thought you did not like fresh air,” said the doctor. “I don’t when I’m by myself,” replied Colin, “but my cousin is going out with me.” “And the nurse, of course?” suggested the doctor. “No, I will not have the nurse. A boy I know will push my carriage.” The doctor looked rather alarmed. “He must be a strong boy and a steady boy, “ he said. “And I must know something about him. Who is he? What is his name?” “It’s Dickon,” Mary spoke up suddenly. “Oh, Dickon,” said the doctor. “If it is Dickon, you will be safe enough. He’s as strong as a moor pony, is Dickon.” And so it was settled that Colin would, in a few days’ time, leave his dark, musty room and go out-of-doors.” From The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett FYI: Book Report Title: The Secret Garden Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett Publisher: J.B. Lippincott Company Date: 1962 Characters: Mary Lennox, Colin Craven and Archibald Craven This book told about how Mary Lennox went to Misslthwaite Manor and how she lived there. Mary Lennox was born in India. Her mother never cared for her much because she was so homely and Mary was just spoiled by servants who obeyed all her commands. One morning., when Mary woke up she saw a different servant than the one that usually attended her. She asked where her usual servant was but what Mary didnot know was that her servant had died from a deadly disease which had striken her village.Finally all of Mary's family was wiped out, all except for Mary. She was sent to Yorkshire, England to live with her uncle, Archibald Craven. He lived in a big one hundred room house on the moor.The moor was a wide, wide land covered with wild things. The house was big and lonely and most of the inhabitants were't exactly pleasant. But one thing about the house was pleasant, outside there were many gardens and she had heard of a garden that her uncle had locked up when his wife died because she liked it so much. Everyday she hunted for the hidden garden but she couldn't find where its door was. A friendly robin showed her the door and the key, as if he knew for what she hunted. Mary kept the garden her secret, a place she could make alive. Several times during the night she heard crying and several times she asked her servant about it but no one would tell her. One night she heard crying. Mary wandered out into a long hall and into a room where she saw a pale sickly-looking boy, crying. He was Colin Archibald Craven who spent all his time indoors away from people because they always stared at him when he did go out. Mary told Colin about the secret garden as it really was but she pretended to imagine it. She didn't want Colin to know she had opened it for fear he might tell someone and she wanted to keep it a secret. Finally, when she told him he wanted to go out in it and that he did. Here, Colin learned to use his legs and that he really wasn't a hunchback. When Archibald Craven came back from his vacation he found his son could walk and run like other boys, never did he neglect him like he used to. I liked this book because it gave such a pretty picture of the secret garden. Susan C. Grade 6 Bartlett School Cover A Content A- Writing A """""" WHAT’S OUT THERE FOR domesticated PONIES Dartmoor Pony A small indigenous pony found in a semi-wild state in the district of that name in the extreme south-west of England. One of the nine mountain and moorland or native breeds of the British Isles (which includes the Connemara), the Dartmoor provides a riding pony of 12 h.h., of great hardiness, some elegance and much charm. Many show hunters, hacks and ponies of the highest class have been bred up from Dartmoor ponies. Breed Society: The Dartmoor Pony Society. -R.S. Summerhays "" "" "" "" Pinto pony, 5 y.o. , 11 hands, red and white, beautiful, been ridden English, good on trails, not spooky at shows, good for Farrier. AND Two year old Hafflinger stallion, very good boy, train your way, geld him, he will make a great pony. AND The British Show Pony In my opinion, breeders of…show ponies have arrived at a difficult period in their craft. The Arab stallion has been used with tremendous success, especially with Welsh ponies and those from the New Forest, and various of those heroes of the show ring since the War, claim descent from a particularly successful Arab stallion from Eire. When embarking on cross-breeding, infinite care must be taken. Any defects in the sire can be reproduced in the same or greater degree as his qualities. Too much use of Arab blood may tend to breed a pony lacking in wither, having straight forelegs and questionable hocks. Too much Thoroughbred blood may breed a pony light of bone, ‘up in the air,’ and with a horse’s head or hot temperament. In the end a bit of common blood that they possessed originally must be maintained in order to retain essential pony characteristics. Another difficulty when breeding a top class pony for the show ring is to produce a combination of courage and personality with manners, for manners are absolutely in a child’s pony and no one, qualified to judge these classes, stands one at the top of the class if he considers it is not a suitable ride for a child of his age laid down in the catalogue or programme. “ from The British Show Pony- John Tilling "" "" "" "" Your fifth reading for
our Home Study Course "The Quality of Money: Goddamn money. It always ends up making you blue as hell...After I had my breakfast, it was only around noon and I wasn’t meeting Sally till two o’clock, so I started taking this long walk. I couldn’t stop thinking about those two nuns. I kept thinking about that beat up old straw basket they went around collecting money with when they weren’t teaching school. I kept trying to picture my mother, or my aunt, or maybe Sally Hayes’s crazy mother, standing outside some department store and collecting money for poor people in a beat-up old straw basket. It was hard to picture. Not so much my mother, but those other two. My aunt’s pretty charitable-she does a lot of Red Cross work and all- but she’s very well-dressed and all, and when she does anything charitable she’s always very well-dressed and has lipstick on and all that crap. I couldn’t picture her doing anything for charity if she had to wear black clothes and no lipstick while she was doing it. And old Sally Hayes’s mother. Jesus Christ. The only way she could go around with a basket collecting dough would be if everybody kissed her a** for her when she made a contribution. If they just dropped their dough in her basket, then walked away without saying anything to her, ignoring her and all, she’d quit in about an hour. She’d get bored. She’d hand in her basket and then go someplace swanky for lunch. That’s what I liked about those nuns. You could tell for one thing, that they never went anywhere swanky for lunch. It made me so damn sad when I thought about it, their never going anywhere swanky for lunch or anything. I knew it wasn’t too important, but it made me sad anyway.Can Thirty Dollars be better quality than 2.25 million?" -Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye (Scroll down to catch up on your past lessons!) and GO TO WWW.MAINE GOV TO SEE WHAT YOUR SENATE AND HOUSE DID WITH LD 1993. +++ It is Up to Us, to make sure Freethehumblefarmer.com offers here humble's exact words and those exactly of the MPBN management that fired him freethehumblefarmer.com does not have to become freethehumblefarm.com. We will honor those organizations and Public Broadcasting stations that uphold the mission of freethehumblefarmer.com, to protect the public in public radio, to speak truth to power, while stirring the public conscience with our annual Pony award .... Later..... +++ Meanwhile A Getting Out the Vote Story with TEETH "I don't recall of signing any paper at MPBN for 29 years and if I did I'd like to see it. My memory is bad, but seems as I would have remembered something like that. I don't recall as there was any papers for people to sign until I made the robocall [Get Out The Vote Calls] for the democrats." Thanks, humble+++ Aug. 23, 2007
To the editors at Current.Org On your website you published a letter [below] from S**** C***, in which she chastised Maine Public Broadcasting Network for allegedly "firing" a volunteer host of one of our music programs. It appears that Maine Public Broadcasting is being used in the early stages of what may become one of the fiercest political campaigns in some time. Essentially MPBN was, among a host of other sins, accused of having former Maine [U.S.] senator and secretary of defense, the Hon. William Cohen, working as a MPBN trustee behind the scenes with others to affect the upcoming campaign for the Senate between Sen. Susan Collins (R) and [challenger] Rep. Tom Allen (D) by firing our radio host. As we say in the news business, "never let the facts get in the way of a good story." Just for the record: 1. A simple phone call to verify the facts would have revealed that the Ms. C***k, misidentified MPBN Trustee "Bill Cohen," who is not our former senator, secretary of defense and strategist for Sen. Collins. The other Mr. Cohen lives in Bucksport, Maine. I wish she had called to check her facts. 2. The decision to cease airing The Humble Farmer came solely from Charles Beck, MPBN’s vice president of radio services, with absolutely no involvement from our Board of Trustees. 3. On numerous occasions, host Robert Skoglund had been strongly cautioned regarding the inclusion of extremely biased political commentary in [his] jazz program. In effect, what was originally a program devoted to music and humor suddenly became an opportunity for regular political commentary with occasional self-promotion. Mr. Skoglund had previously agreed in writing to comply with MPBN’s policies for on-air personalities and then later simply refused. Mr. Beck made the call on his own, and later was fully supported by the organization. 4. As for donations to political parties, MPBN has never audited any trustee or employee and certainly will not begin to engage in such unethical practices now. I was a trustee and trustee emeritus and I never had any political discussion with any board member other than one who ran against Sen. Cohen in the Senate race some years ago. It is indeed unfortunate that MPBN has been included in early and aggressive pre-election campaign strategies. The inaccuracies of the accusations in S**** C****’s letter point to the need for the independent journalistic traditions of public broadcasting, which MPBN is proud to continue to uphold. David E. Morse Vice President for Marketing, Communication and Government Affairs, Maine Public Broadcasting Network +++
Please Don't forget to VISIT the archive on humble's firing at www.current.org To: The Editor Steve Behrens Current.org I encourage Mr. Morse (Vice President for Marketing, Communication and Government Affairs, Maine Public Broadcasting Network)to review carefully each of the 2 letters (reprinted at freethehumblefarmer.com on the River is Wide page) I sent to James Dowe, Chief Executive Officer of MPBN, in April 2007. Next, I ask that he find the place where I refer to Mr. Cohen as anyone other than William Cohen or Mr. Cohen. I am not sure which of Shakespeare's plays Mr. Morse is reading these days, but a quote from one of them comes to mind. "The lady protests too much, methinks."--From Hamlet /(III, ii, 239) Sincerely, Susan Cook +++ +++The fourth lesson in The Quality of Money Home study course "I now have $50 million, but I was just as happy when I had $48 million." -Arnold Schwarzeneger The Third Reading Assignment for Our "Quality of Money: How 30 Dollars Can Better than 2.25 million" Home Study Course BOB DYLAN'S MUSICAL LESSON ........ "I pity the poor immigrant whose strength is spent in vain, Whose heaven is like Ironsides, Whose tears are like rain, Who eats but is not satisfied, Who hears but does not see, Who falls in love with wealth itself And turns his back on me..." (copyright 1966 Bob Dylan) +++ Your Second Reading Assignment for our Home Study Course,
"The Quality of Money: How 30 dollars can be better quality than 2.25 million" "Ukrainian Directors at work on Holodomor films" by Elisabeth Sewall, Editor Kyiv Post Feb 21 2008, 02:26 “Some time later this year or next, certain films will appear, made by mavericks driven by a compulsion to tell the story of the genocide in Ukraine,” Borisow said…. “These films will have been made at great personal sacrifice by people who are not billionaires, just believers in Ukraine and the blood of ten million innocents who died for simply being. At least these few will have done the very best they can to stir the collective conscience.” Two film projects are under production to throw spotlight on the Soviet-imposed famine-genocide of 1932-33 that killed millions of Ukrainians. © Joseph Sywenkiy Sergey Bukovsky is directing a new documentary on the 1932-1933 Holodomor genocide, Lystopad 7 (November 7). Bukovsky also directed Spell Your Name, a documentary about the Holocaust in Ukraine. As Ukraine observes the 75-year commemoration of the Holodomor this year, two film projects are under production to throw spotlight on the Soviet-imposed famine-genocide of 1932-33 that killed millions of Ukrainians. Their contributions would significantly boost the available films depicting the catastrophe, so far documented in two most notable works: the Canadian-produced “Harvest of Despair” in 1984 and the Ukrainian-made “Famine 33” in 1990. So few films have been made because the Soviet government denied the Holodomor for more than half a century, while the years of Ukrainian independence were spent recovering history and recognizing the tragedy, which many still deny. Since Ukraine’s independence, “there have been many films made, but not many quality films,” said Oles Sanin, director of one of the new film projects. This is mostly due to financial difficulties, he said. Sanin, among Ukraine’s most acclaimed contemporary film makers, is directing a feature film, “Kobzar,” which won’t be released until 2009. For Sanin, it was important to make a feature film because they get more attention than documentaries. The symbolism of this year isn’t that important for completing his work, he said. “My one goal is to have the world see it and learn more about Holodomor,” Sanin said. “Kobzar” is the fictional story of an American boy who gets stranded in Ukraine in the early 1930s and ends up as a guide for a blind kobzar, one of the traveling bards who played the bandura, a traditional Ukrainian instrument. He survives after witnessing NKVD executions in 1934. “The story unfolds against the backdrop of the Holodomor, but it is a story of how a young boy survived in the most tragic and dire circumstances,” said Peter Borisow, one of the film’s backers and president of the Hollywood Trident Foundation, an organization founded in 2001 that connects professionals working in the entertainment industry interested in Ukrainian affairs. This January, Sanin and Borisow went to Florida to collect eyewitness testimony from Holodomor survivors as research for their feature film. They may use the gathered testimony to produce a documentary. UkrainianAmerican actor Jack Palance was going to play the lead role in “Kobzar,” until his death last year, Borisow said. “Kobzar” was conceived several years ago by Sanin, who has been working on the script with Hollywood screenwriters. Sanin caught Hollywood’s eye as a cinematic storyteller with his 2002 film "Mamay" – the closest a Ukrainian language movie has ever come to being recognized by the Academy, said Borisow, who has been working in the Hollywood film industry since the 1970s. “Kobzar” will be shot mostly in Ukraine, with a mixture of English and Ukrainian languages with subtitles. They are aiming for a budget of about $18 million, Borisow said. As films addressing tragic topics are rarely blockbuster hits for Hollywood, financiers are few, he said. The very first films depicting the Holocaust were “made possible by the unflinching financial support of the Jewish community worldwide,” Borisow said. “They understood that telling their story was more important than adding yet another million to some billionaire’s already bloated fortune,” he said. The wealthiest members of Ukrainian society, what he called “the growing billionaire’s club,” should “absolutely take on the initial financial burden if any meaningful films are to be made by Ukrainians about the Holodomor,” Borisow said, suspecting they fear a negative reaction from Russian business partners. The second film to be made on the topic is a documentary being directed by Sergey Bukovsky, who gained international recognition after creating “Spell Your Name,” a documentary that featured eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust in Ukraine. “Spell Your Name” was financed by Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk and American movie legend Steven Spielberg. Bukovsky’s latest documentary, “Lystopad 7” (November 7), is reportedly being funded by the Ukraine 3000 International Charity Fund, founded in 2001 by Kateryna Yushchenko, the wife of President Viktor Yushchenko. The fund plays a significant role in efforts to recognize the Holodomor, both domestically and abroad, as an act of genocide against Ukrainians. Ukraine 3000 representatives were unavailable for comment on the film. Though the Ukrainian government is financing numerous projects for the 75year commemoration, including construction of a Holodomor HistoricalMemorial Complex, a film is not among its plans. Part of the problem is that many Ukrainians themselves deny the Holodomor was genocide against Ukrainians. The Party of the Regions and Communist Party of Ukraine, both supported by millions of Ukrainians, voted against recognizing the Holodomor as genocide in parliament. Meanwhile, the Jewish people thrived in tolerant, Western societies, where they developed an extensive record of the Holocaust and financed its memory through museums, libraries, and films in particular. Since 2000 in fact, more than 40 documentaries and 20 feature films depicting the Jewish Holocaust were produced worldwide; several hundreds were produced since World War II. Shedding light on the Holodomor has been gaining pace through efforts by Ukraine’s president Viktor Yushchenko, who has urged the international community to recognize the catastrophe as genocide. This year was designated to honor Holodomor victims and their memory, and a nationwide campaign to collect eyewitness accounts and survivor testimonies will continue throughout the year. While in Soviet times Holodomor was a taboo topic, today more than 60 percent of Ukrainians think the United Nations should recognize the Holodomor as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people, according to a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KMIS), at the beginning of November 2007. “Some time later this year or next, certain films will appear, made by mavericks driven by a compulsion to tell the story of the genocide in Ukraine,” Borisow said. “These films will have been made at great personal sacrifice by people who are not billionaires, just believers in Ukraine and the blood of ten million innocents who died for simply being. At least these few will have done the very best they can to stir the collective conscience +++ The Simple Truth took them home, boiled them in their jackets and ate them for dinner with a little butter and salt. Then I walked through the dried fields on the edge of town. In middle June the light hung on in the dark furrows of my feet, and in the mountain oaks overhead the birds were gathering for the night, the jays and mockers squawking back and forth, the finches still darting into the dusty light. The woman who sold me the potatoes was from Poland; she was someone out of my childhood in a pink spangled sweater and sunglasses praising the perfection of all her fruits and vegetables at the road-side stand and urging me to taste even the pale, raw sweet corn trucked all the way, she swore, from New Jersey. “Eat, eat,” she said, “Even if you don’t I’ll say you did.” Some things you know all your life. They are so simple and true they must be said without elegance, meter and rhyme, they must be laid on the table beside the salt shaker, the glass of water, the absence of light gathering in the shadows of picture frames, they must be naked and alone, they must stand for themselves. my friend Henri and I arrived at this together in 1965 before I went away and he began to kill himself, and the two of us to betray our love. Can you taste what I’m saying? It is onions or potatoes, a pinch of simple salt, the wealth of melting butter, it is obvious, it stays in the back of your throat like a truth you never uttered because the time was always wrong, it stays there for the rest of your life, unspoken, made of that dirt we call earth, the metal we call salt, in a form we have no words for, and you live on it. By (copyright) Philip Levine from The Simple Truth, Alfred A. Knopf, 1994 +++ 2005 To The humble Farmer: I do need to address another issue with you, again. I am disappointed to have to do this again. You're a very smart guy; I'm not sure why we continue to have this issue come up again.... I'm referring to your remarks about Hitler history and watching the current evening news and thinking it's history repeating itself. In the last two programs. As you well know, this can be interpreted by our audience as being political commentary; and reflecting how you view things. This in turn reflects on MPBN; as the sponser/purveyor/broadcaster of your program. We prize ourselves for being objective and balanced and not leaning left or right or forward or backward or anyway. We do not want nor allow our local music programs [notice that local music program is specified to permit airing of the politically charged Prairie Home Companion] to present any sort of polical commentary, and would appreciate it if you would also follow this guideline. Please make a note of this and lets make sure we don't have to deal with this again.... Thanks humble, for your help with this. Call me if you have any questions. Charles L. Beck, Vice President for Radio Services Maine Public Broadcasting Network 65 Texas Avenue Bangor, Maine 04401 800 884-1717 x3086 207 941-1010 X3086 207 942 2857 fax cbeck@mpbn.net +++ *for a rant that began "I don't care for war..." and mentioned Hitler's autobiography,
*for volunteering to make "Get Out The Vote Calls" to unenrolled and enrolled voters in 2006, *for refusing to sign MPBN On-Air Guidelines, that banned him from mentioning "political" or "controversial" topics. Banning someone from saying the words Hitler on-air because it might remind someone of the atrocities of the past is censorship. Firing someone for making calls urging voters to go out and vote (not how to vote) insults our Democracy. The MPBN On-Air Guidelines, we believe, violate freedom of speech. 'humble', courageously, sent the Guidelines back, unsigned, and, on June 12, 2007, was fired, ending his 30 year radio show. See our "'humble is FIRED" section, to read those Guidelines and more of this sad, undignified story. This website tells the story of the cancellation of humble's radio show and why we believe his firing is an act of censorship by a Maine-taxpayer, publicly funded radio station that now has a Board of Trustees dominated by members who have given over $160,000 to the Republican party. MPBN receives, from the Maine General Fund, 2.25 million dollars a year.
Remember the thousands of dollars Maine Public Broadcasting threw away from viewers who said "We will not re-new our membership until 'The humble Farmer' is back on air." If the 30 or 50 or 100 dollar pledges that disappointed listeners held back to protest 'humble's firing' is not "good enough" for MPBN to care about, then MPBN is not "good enough" for our hard-earned 2.25 million Maine taxpayer dollars. (look up at the left-hand side of the screen) read comments from hundreds of listeners who protest humble's firing and censorship and told MPBN they will not renew their membership until 'humble' is returned. We are deeply troubled by the State of Maine giving 2.25 million dollars this year to a public radio station that practices censorship and denies freedom of speech, and threw away thousands of dollars from members who would not renew until 'humble' was back. Mental health services, education, environmental protection and many other services to year-round Maine residents will be reduced or suspended this year. Why should Maine public radio be fully funded, like our an entitled cultural goddess, that gets her money no matter how much she ignores Maine citizens and throws away their 30 or 40 or 100 dollar MPBN memberships? We ask that you think a little bit about how this act of censorship on the part of Maine Public Radio hurts our democracy
(and read the whole story in our 'humble is FIRED' section.) HOW TO GET CENSORED WITHOUT USING THE WORD HITLER: WHAT hUMBLE ACTUALLY READ ON-AIR ON FEBRUARY 28, 2003
Big-time rant coming up right now on war.
How do you feel about war? I probably shouldn't take sides, being privileged as I am to sit --- with your permission --- behind this microphone, but I am going to come right out and admit that I don't care for war. No, it's not the war itself that bothers me. It's the needless killing and starvation and destruction and expense part of war that bothers me. You might argue with me and say that war is the only way we can control the world's population. You might tell me that birth control is not a good thing but there is nothing wrong with millions of young men dying gloriously on the field of battle defending their country. You might tell me that we've got to have wars because if the population continues to increase at the present rate, in 500 years there won't be standing room on this planet. And I've got to admit that you've got me --- I can't say a word about that. Let's admit it. You and I know that there are people who do like war. Many of them are the simple flag waving folks who will stand right up in public to show their support for a wimpy looking, weasely faced war monger from way down south who didn't even get most of the popular vote. There. I've said it and I'm glad. But this is public radio so you shouldn't be surprised to learn where I stand. And besides the support from flag wavers, you know that when there's a war every big company stands to make money. So you'll find the unions standing right beside management when you're talking big time war. It's pretty hard to stop a war when the man --- who calls himself the leader --- wants a war. You'll notice that he starts out by sword rattling --- lets all the other world leaders know that he's got to make a move very soon to protect the safety and well-being of his people --- no matter how far away it is. And if he says the same thing over and over and over there will be a few people out there who say to themselves, "Baaaa. You know, I think he's right. There are some bad guys out there who are killing our people. We've got more planes and tanks and guns and technology than anyone else, so why should we have to put up with it. Our leader says we'll hit them so hard and so fast it will be over before they knew what hit them. And before we are done, we will have restored order and sucked all the natural resources out of an unstable region." All this while, even though the war-mongering, rat faced wimp knows what he's going to do no matter what, he's making a big public show of talking with the top guys in Russia and France and England --- trying to either get their support or keep them off his back while he blows half the world to kingdom come. Agh. I've said enough about him. Every time I see him blabbing on TV I wonder how anyone could possibly have been stupid enough to vote for such an idiot. I comfort myself by knowing that most of the people who went to the polls didn't. I'll bet you don't know that wimpy little weasel face wrote a book in which he very clearly outlines his plans. And it might surprise you to hear me say that if you haven't read it, you should. Got your pencil? The name of it is Mein Kampf. +++++++++++++++++++++++
What did Maine Public Radio say to him? Humble, per my earlier email, I do not want us/you taking positions on controversial topics on air, it damages the objectivity and integrity of this service- we strive for fair, balanced and objective reporting and a neutral stance on controversial issues such as Iraq. With the situation today, and the wording for your script, most people would absolutely think you were talking about the current US administration. I certainly did. Perception is reality. We do not want any of these letters your received in response read on the air in your program, nor should you address this issue or any other issue in this fashion again. Again, if in doubt, please give me a call. Now, I've also received a call at home from a reporter who says he has a copy of the earlier email I just sent to you?!? we need to talk Monday, please call me or send me your number. thanks. Charles L. Beck, Vice President for Radio Services, Maine Public Broadcasting. And then what was said to him? 2005 To The humble Farmer: I do need to address another issue with you, again. I am disappointed to have to do this again. You're a very smart guy; I'm not sure why we continue to have this issue come up again.... I'm referring to your remarks about Hitler history and watching the current evening news and thinking it's history repeating itself. In the last two programs. As you well know, this can be interpreted by our audience as being political commentary; and reflecting how you view things. This in turn reflects on MPBN; as the sponser/purveyor/broadcaster of your program. We prize ourselves for being objective and balanced and not leaning left or right or forward or backward or anyway. We do not want nor allow our local music programs [notice that local music program is specified to permit airing of the politically charged Prairie Home Companion] to present any sort of polical commentary, and would appreciate it if you would also follow this guideline. Please make a note of this and lets make sure we don't have to deal with this again.... Thanks humble, for your help with this. Call me if you have any questions. Charles L. Beck, Vice President for Radio Services Maine Public Broadcasting Network 65 Texas Avenue Bangor, Maine 04401 800 884-1717 x3086 207 941-1010 X3086 207 942 2857 fax cbeck@mpbn.net ++ And then what did humble say? HOW TO GET BANNED BY SAYING THE WORD MUSSOLINI: WHAT THE hUMBLE FARMER ACTUALLY READ ON-AIR ON AUGUST 25, 2006 Postscript: "I am now sorry that I read it and want to apologize to all of the Fascists in my listening audience who were offended when they heard it." - The humble "mea culpa" Farmer
And then what happened? A little known fact: In November 2006, Robert Skoglund, The humble Farmer, like many other media personalities made automatic "robo" calls to voters that said something like this:
"Hi there, It's your buddy humble here urging you to go out and vote on Tuesday." He was told by Maine Public Radio, after that, to say nothing about anything but music. Some time later he was fired. By the way, he was asked to make that recording -sent to all sorts of Mainers (including those not registered with any political party at all)- by a prominent democrat (can't remember if it is a big Dor little d). That's about his and our right to take part in a democracy. That's about our civil liberties. That's why freethehumblefarmer.com came to be. ++ How much does publicly-funded Maine Public Radio still have to seek from Your Maine legislature this year?
2.25 million dollars. Guess what gets less money than that from the Maine General Fund? PRESCHOOL HANDICAPPED 0449 PROGRAM SUMMARY GENERAL FUND 2007-08 2008-09 POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT 1.000 1.000 Personal Services $86,834 $88,210 See what other Maine programs receive less than 2.25 million, at www.maine.gov. So, as the Maine Legislative Process moves along,
we await February and March 2008,
when any legislator can introduce a proposal to amend the Supplemental Budget submitted by the Governor to change the Maine State Budget- yes, the General Fund, when all of those non-Maine-voting Public Radio donors in Hilton Head and Key West (and the other places they migrate to during the winter) won't be calling their Maine legislator because they don't have one. And no personal influence peddling here in the Maine legislature. No, hang on to your 10 or 20 or 30 or even 100 thousand dollars because here in Maine, personal influence can't be peddled to our State legislators. We have Clean Elections funding for legislative candidates. That's one of the reasons we have it. Do you know what programs in Maine have had their funds eliminated OR don't receive 2.25 million a year, like MPBN does? Through Health and Human Services, Child Care Services 0563 Explanation? Initiative: Provides funding to support the inclusion of children with special needs in child care. RECEIVED FROM THE GENERAL FUND IN 2008-09 $300,000 WHAT ELSE RECEIVES LESS THAN MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING? THE WILD BLUEBERRY COMMISSION, RECEIVED $1,595,000 OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND, IN 2007-2008, ONE MILLION LESS THAN MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING. (CHECK OUT L.D. 490 UNDER "LEGISLATURE" + "BILL TEXT" AT www.maine.gov, FOR YOURSELF). NOT MUCH SUPPORT FOR ONE OF OUR MOST IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS ! Then there's DIRIGO HEALTH, MAINE'S NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED HEALTH CARE PROGRAM COMES IN AT HALF WHAT MPBN RECEIVES , ABOUT 1.36 MILLION ! ++++ Please vote against any state funding for the Maine Public Broadcasting Network It hurts to make such a request, but I must. This once-great broadcasting service has become a vehicle of censorship, having fired Robert Skoglund, The humble Farmer, for his refusal to sign a statement of conditions giving the management the right to control what he would say. Until Mr. Dowe, Mr. Beck and the board of MPBN come to terms with the concept of free speech, MPBN does not deserve public funding support (Empty BN Founded by Colby, Bates & Bowdoin Colleges & the Maine state college system.Losted by D__, B___ & the Bored.) Thank you. L*rz N*elson E*st B*othb*y ++
Do We Really Believe the Public in Public Radio Is Not Protected
here in Maine? Do We Trust MPBN To Respect Listeners' Opinions?
Read On... So, months later, on October 3, 2007: Hundreds and hundreds of letters later, this is how they respond to a twenty year member. October 3, 2007
From: Charles Beck, Vice President for Radio Services, Maine Public Broadcasting Network, Bangor, Maine To: Micha*l.Conn*e*ly*@verizon.net Cc: "David Morse" <dmorse@mpbn.net>, Vice President for Marketing, Communication and Government Affairs, Maine Public Broadcasting Network, Bangor, Maine Hi Michael. I did check with membership and they confirmed that your membership was indeed cancelled; the guide etc was "in the pipeline" - but you should stop recieving any further material. Please be patient. Sorry you have made this choice. MPBN public radio continually strives to maintain the valued trust of it's diverse audience through impartiality and non-partisanship. As I'm sure you know, there are many alternatives that choose to take a different course. Sincerely, Charles Beck Written in response to this: Charles Beck
Vice President for Radio Services Maine Public Broadcasting Network October 3, 2007 Hey Chuck, I don't know what's going on there, but the membership people seem to be asleep at the wheel-- I've sent several messages, email and snail, saying that we wanted to cancel our membership and have asked that they please stop sending the MPBN magazine, but the magazine keeps coming and they just sent another renewal notice. Maybe you could walk over to their offices and, I don't know, maybe bash a gong a few times? Sound an air horn of the sort kept on boats to attract attention when sinking? We were sort of surprised not to see MPBN at the Common Ground Fair, but we had a very nice time listening to the humble Farmer. There was a very, very good turnout this year, I think 18,000 and change on Friday, and even more on Saturday. Altogether, more than 60,000 people came! Many with deep pockets. Odd than MPBN couldn't make it... You know, there is a way to restore order. A way to make things right. It's not that hard. MPBN could do it. You could make it happen. Support is what a public radio station wants, not tsuris. Look it up if you don't know what it means. Have a nice day. Mike C*nn*lly Brunswi** |