Category: Politics

Bono to appear on idol

I might actually be interested to watch a show…

American Idol Africa Special: ‘Idol Gives Back’
Bono is due to meet with the six remaining finalists to talk with them about the work of ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History and how they and the show’s audience can help in the fight against extreme poverty.
The ‘Idol Gives Back’ special will run over two nights in the US this week, Tuesday and Wednesday. Bono’s chat with the finalists will feature briefly on the Wednesday evening show.
The special will raise money for Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF) and other organisations that help children and young people in extreme poverty.
Further information at one.org

College brings footbaths, and religious worries

Minnesota Technical and Community College is considering installing footbaths for Muslim students, which worries church-state separation advocates. Michele Norris from NPR talks with Phillip Davis, president of the school.
The consideration to install the footbaths came forth after a Muslim student slipped and hit her head while washing her feet in a bathroom sink.
Should public schools consider accommodating religious students for the safety and well being of their students?
Listen to the story from Fresh Air on NPR.

New fees could shut down OrangeNoiseRadio!

Keep Internet Radio On

Recently, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) issued the significantly higher new royalty rates for Internet radio for the 2006-2010 period. The ruling ignored webcasting community proposals and set out the SoundExchange proposed “per performance” rates and a $500 minimum fee per channel per year. With around 10,000 stations playing over 250,000 artists each month, that would mean an additional $5 million per year for Live365 and our broadcasters.

Although there is no clear definition of what a “channel” is, the $500 minimum fee per channel threatens Live365’s ability to help make the small webcasters’ voice heard on the Internet (like OrangeNoiseRadio), by effectively forcing Live365 to raise the minimum broadcasting fees to a level that would cause most small webcasters (like OrangeNoiseRadio) to discontinue their service thus silencing their stations. The CRB’s determination imperils small and large webcasters alike and threatens listening experiences of millions of Internet radio listeners.

What You Can Do:
Speak up!

There are several options you can take to help OrangeNoiseRadio stay on the air. #1 is becoming a sponsor. Zip us an e-mail and let us know you’d like to keep OrangeNoiseRadio on the air. With increased fees, our only option will be to find more sponsors to help pay the added fees, or shut down. You can also become a VIP listener through Live365. Your monthly subscription helps keep us and other stations on the air.
Also, please join us in our petition for overturning the CRB determination and in our fight to save Internet radio. Visit Live365.com/choice for more on how you can participate in our campaign early next week.
Meanwhile, make your voice heard by the lawmakers on Capitol Hill! Call, write, e-mail, and/or visit your Representatives and Senators today and request that:

1. Congress void the retroactive $500 per channel minimum that threatens to drive Live365’s small webcasters out of business.
2. Congress reinstate the Small Webcaster Settlement Act. The CRB declared that the 2002 SWSA would not be extended despite the Small Webcaster contracts SoundExchange offered on its website and signed with Small Webcasters for 2006 and 2007.
3. Stop the retroactive, ex post facto royalty payments for 2006 mandated by the CRB, until all appeals have been heard.
4. Create a level playing field by bringing the Internet radio per performance rates into parity with traditional and satellite radio. Unlike internet radio, traditional radio does NOT pay royalties to record labels or artists for songs performed over the air.

How to Contact Your Representatives and Senators:

1. Send a stamped letter, mailed by U.S. Mail or FedEx to your congressperson (find their mailing address). This type of hand-written message with your own personal story is treated with a LOT of value when received by your congressperson. Include your personal story… your name and location, the type of music you listen to, and how this new royalty will affect you. Be as specific as you possibly can.

2. Though it’s not nearly as effective as a postmarked letter, you can also send an e-mail message to your Senators and Representatives. With your zipcode or address, you can use this quick, easy e-mail form to get directly to the congressperson for your location: http://www.congress.org (use the form letter found there or write your own story)

May Election information

This comes from my good buddy in Belton, Prosper Walker:

Regarding May Election – “Don’t forget us old folks”
I am sending this email to everyone on my email address list who lives in Texas.
I want to be sure you are aware of a constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot at the May election.
It is an amendment to correct an error made by the lawmakers when they voted for a reduction in school property taxes in 2005. When the lawmakers voted for a one-third reduction school property taxes beginning in 2006 and to be completed this year, they forgot about the homestead exemption for senior citizens and people with disabilities. The state constitution caps school property taxes for homeowners 65 years and older and those who are disabled. However, they DID NOT get the same reduction when the property tax cut for schools was voted on two years ago.
So an amendment is on the May ballot to correct this error. The problem is that most voters who are younger than 65 or not disabled probably won’t even notice the amendment or care. PLEASE get out and vote for this amendment if not for yourself then for your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends. We would really appreciate your getting the word out to all your friends and families to vote for this amendment. The fear is that with a low voter turnout, the amendment could very well not pass.
So, please, please pass the word and VOTE for the constitutional amendment.
Early voting will take place will April 30 – May 5 from 7 am to 7 pm; May 6 from noon to 6 pm and May 7 – May 8 from 7 am to 7 pm. Election day is May 12 from 7 am to 7 pm. So there are plenty of options to stop by a polling place and vote.
VOTE!!!

Iraq and Al Qaeda

Last week a Pentagon report stated once and for all that there never was a substantive relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda.
The same day VP Dick Cheney was on Rush Limbaugh’s show and the VPOTUS stated again that there was a relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda.
Do you think his staffers missed that memo?
Cheney’s been saying Iraq and Al Qaeda have been linked for years yet the Pentagon doesn’t seem to believe so.
Interesting.