I heard this morning from Amanda, a staffer for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, that the US Air Force had responded to my letter protesting the airing of Fox News on public televisions at USAF bases and the broadcasting of the Rush Limbaugh to military troops overseas by Armed Forces Radio. Here’s the link to everything that has transpired before.
Not surprisingly, the USAF . . . well, actually, the Secretary of Defense . . . blew off my protest. I expected that, but I didn’t expect the thoroughness of the blowing off.
You can click on the images below to read the actual response.
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Here’s the response I sent to Amanda this morning. I’ll send a copy of it to the man who answered my letter (drum roll, please), Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, Price B. Floyd:
Dear Amanda,
I thank you and Congresswoman Giffords for taking action on my request. I’m happy to receive a response, and most likely would not have received one without your support. I expected that response to be negative, but I’m disappointed my concerns were not addressed.
I asked USAF Chief of Staff General Schwartz to tell local USAF installation commanders to stop the practice of airing Fox News on public area televisions. The reply, which is not from General Schwartz but from the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, states that what is shown on public area televisions on local bases is not an issue that can be addressed by the Assistant SecDef for Public Affairs. That is true. But my request was addressed to the USAF Chief of Staff, who most certainly can address this issue. And my reason for objecting to the airing of Fox News, that it has become a network dedicated to opposing all decisions and actions of the military’s Commander in Chief? Not addressed.
On American Forces Network’s airing of Rush Limbaugh’s radio show to troops overseas, an issue that is within the purview of the Assistant SecDef for Public Affairs, my concerns were again not addressed. My opposition to broadcasting Mr. Limbaugh’s show on AFN is based on his vociferous expression of opposition to the Commander in Chief, opposition that borders on and sometimes crosses the line of sedition, opposition that could erode the respect and obedience troops and officers are required to pay their Commander in Chief. Yes, the show in question is popular, but citing its popularity does not address the more serious issue of the military broadcasting seditious commentary to its own members.
The letter from the Assistant SecDef’s office mentions “balance,” but my concern isn’t partisan balance. Military members are uniquely required to support and respect the person and the office of the President of the United States . . . the Commander in Chief. This allegiance is necessary to obedience, good order, and morale. The airing of extreme commentary on military news outlets is not the same as the airing of extreme commentary on civilian news outlets, because it may affect that allegiance.
The letter also states that “AFN does not censor or edit content,” and this is simply not true. I was stationed overseas myself and know better. I remember even conservative news shows like the late Paul Harvey’s being blacked out when broadcasts contained material that might offend host nations. During the incident I’m recalling, AFN radio in South Korea went silent for three minutes during a Paul Harvey segment on the treatment of American minorities by immigrant Korean merchants in inner-city neighborhoods. I was at Osan Air Base in Korea at the time and heard it happen . . . the reason I know what AFN censored is that I later looked up the transcript of the show in question on the Internet. I realize, of course, that I can’t document this specific incident, but I can document this: a few years ago, military theaters overseas were directed (by the Assistant SecDef for Public Affairs, perhaps?) not to show a popular Academy Award winning movie, Brokeback Mountain. Here’s a link to the Stars & Stripes article about that decision: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=&article=33611&archive=true.
AFN is no more an independent organization than the movie theaters operated by base exchanges overseas, and cannot air whatever it wants. To say that such decisions are out of the hands of DoD and military leadership, that they can do nothing about the airing of seditious commentary on AFN because Rush Limbaugh is “popular,” is disingenuous.
I’ll continue to make my concerns known to the uniformed and civilian leadership of the US military. Thank you again for helping get their attention on this matter.
Sincerely,
Paul Woodford
Update (6:00 PM): A quick response from Amanda at Congresswoman Giffords’ office:
Thank you Paul for this response. I would be happy to send a follow up inquiry to the same person in order to elicit a second response. Would you like me to do so? Also, please let me know if there is any additional action you would like the Congresswoman to take on this matter, so that I may follow through.
I also want to be clear on specifically what type of language you are referring to by Rush Limbaugh that you characterize as seditious. I assume for example you mean something like when Limbaugh stated he hoped Obama failed. Is this indeed what you are referring to?
My response:
Dear Amanda,
I’m actually a little concerned that further action on my behalf by Congresswoman Giffords might redound negatively upon me. I may send follow-on letters over my own signature to the USAF chief of staff and the DoD staffer who answered your congressional inquiry. A “congressional” got their attention the first time around, but repeats may just get them angry, and the congresswoman would not be the easy target . . . I would.
On the other hand, if you think otherwise and if this is an issue Congresswoman Giffords cares about, I’m willing to stick my neck out.
In answer to your question about specific things Rush Limbaugh has said on his show that can be considered seditious (i.e., inciting discontent or rebellion against a government), yes, there are several:
Limbaugh, asked about his hopes for the Obama presidency, says “I hope he fails”: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_011609/content/01125113.guest.html
Limbaugh calls for military coup against Obama administration: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-4383-Portland-Progressive-Examiner~y2009m11d26-Politics-or-sedition-Rush-Limbaugh-calls-for-military-coup
Limbaugh praises military coup in Honduras, wishes it would happen here: http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907020010
Limbaugh says service members who support U.S. withdrawal (from Iraq) are “phony soldiers”: http://mediamatters.org/research/200709270010
Limbaugh says riots at Democratic convention in Denver would be a good thing: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/15980105/detail.html
Limbaugh says “This country is failing because President Obama is succeeding”: http://mediamatters.org/research/200905280019
As for Fox News, I don’t think there’s any serious disagreement on the left or the right that the organization is committed to around-the-clock opposition to the Obama administration. The incident that launched me on my crusade was Fox News’ relentless drumming of the message that parents should keep their children home from school during a September 2009 education speech by President Obama. If a reporter from a progressive news organization (or even a liberal blogger) had proposed anything similar during the Bush administration, he or she would have been tried for treason. It’s not a stretch to think that if Fox News is willing to incite citizens to act against their president, so might they be willing to incite military members to act against their commander in chief.
Please let me know what you think. If Congresswoman Giffords wants to re-engage the office of the assistant secretary of defense for public affairs on this issue, I’m in. Otherwise I’ll quietly and carefully pursue it on my own.
Sincerely,
Paul Woodford