brainrow

Lists of relief organizations providing aid to tsunami victims:

From MSNBC: How to help.

From the Christian Science Monitor: Where you can donate.

From Google: Tsunami Relief.

I have great confidence in the Red Cross, so I went straight to their website, www.redcross.org.

A total of 66 television stations refused to air “Saving Private Ryan” this past Veteran’s Day. They were running scared over possible sanctions from the FCC.

In a court case, the FCC is claiming its jurisdiction extends well beyond broadcast TV and radio, and includes cable TV, satellite broadcasts, and the internet.

Mediaweek reports that FCC Commissioner Michael Powell told a Senate committee in February that indecency complaints were rising sharply.

The number of indecency complaints had soared dramatically to more than 240,000 in the previous year, Powell said. The figure was up from roughly 14,000 in 2002, and from fewer than 350 in each of the two previous years. There was, Powell said, “a dramatic rise in public concern and outrage about what is being broadcast into their homes.”

What Powell did not reveal — apparently because he was unaware — was the source of the complaints. According to a new FCC estimate obtained by Mediaweek, nearly all indecency complaints in 2003 — 99.8 percent — were filed by the Parents Television Council, an activist group.

With the First Amendment under seige by a focused and determined enemy, “The First Amendment Project” seems well-timed. It’s a four-part TV series produced by Court TV and the Sundance Channel. The first two episodes air tonight.

I’ve had the experience, occasionally, of saying something that gave deep offense when I had no such intention. So maybe Clear Channel had only the best of intentions when they posted this billboard. (Found via Hetty Litjens, again.)

Innocent or not, it gives me the creeps.

My earlier link to the “Followership Logo” is no longer valid, but here’s the image:

Q: How many Bush Administration officials does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: There is nothing wrong with that lightbulb!

(Joke swiped from The Bush Survival Bible and hacked up by me. It seemed appropriate in light of the recent news that Donald Rumsfeld would be staying on as Secretary of Defense.)

The message “you’re welcome here” is not welcome at the major U.S. television networks. The story from Alternet, via Hetty Litjens.

The Rev. John Thomas, who serves as general minister and president of the United Church of Christ (UCC), is having a hard time figuring out why the same broadcasters that profited so handsomely from airing the vicious and divisive attack advertisements during the recent presidential election are now refusing to air an advertisement from his denomination that celebrates respect for one another and inclusiveness.

…viewers of the ABC, CBS and NBC television networks won’t see it because, in this age of heightened focus on so-called “moral values,” quoting Jesus on the issue of inclusion is deemed to be “too controversial.”

The UCC ad shows black-shirted bouncers on a rope line, deciding who gets into a church, then shows the text “Jesus didn’t turn people away. Neither do we.” Apparently the networks feel more affinity for the bouncers.

I got a White House Christmas card yesterday. Quite a surprise — I’ve never received one before. It’s a pretty card, with a painting on the front depicting the Red Room of the White House decorated for Christmas.

The card was mailed from Crawford, Texas, and paid for by the Republican National Committee. I’m sure they mail out millions of them, but I don’t think everyone gets one. So, why me?

Have I ever, by word or deed, given the RNC any reason to believe that I would want to hear from them? What have I said or done to lead anyone to believe I’m a supporter of George W. Bush?

I feel dirty. I have some dreadful sin on my conscience, and I don’t even know what it is.