I've been a little concerned that picketing, boycotting, etc. would just make people VERY curious about what the fuss is about (which is working in our favor!)

Thank you for your voice of reason, Alan S!

This "documentary" is 5 million dollars worth of free advertising that also happens to be a smear of epic proportions. It is going to play mere days before the election, and is going to be unrebutted and unrebuttable.

It must be quashed, and the perpetrators punished.

And there is no reasong that it need take away from any of the other efforts ongoing and underway.

Shrinks call that "crazy."  So I say we do what Kerry should have done: hit back now, and hit back hard.

Do you want to know what Karl Rove wants?  Karl Rove wants to broadcast this documentary to almost a hundred million Americans shortly before the election.  If you want to give him what he wants, by all means, do nothing.  However, if you would prefer to deny Rove his October suprise, I suggest you call, write, visit, and email Sinclair, its stations, its investors, its advertisers, and its networks.

Now, I understand that doing so will require some effort on your part.  But you know what?  I think you can find the time.  I doubt you spend every waking moment thinking about the Kerry campaign.  So, in one of those moments when you aren't thinking about the Kerry campaign, why don't you try at least one of the actions above?

(My apologies if you do, in fact, spend every waking moment thinking about the Kerry campaign, and thus have no time for Sinclair.)

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/10/11/iraq.nuclear/
"UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Equipment and materials that could be used to make nuclear weapons have disappeared from Iraq, the chief of the U.N.'s atomic watchdog agency has warned."

"Satellite imagery shows entire buildings that once housed high-precision equipment that could be used to make nuclear bombs have been dismantled, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a letter to the Security Council."

"In the letter, IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei said that though some radioactive equipment taken from Iraq after the war began has shown up in other countries, none of the high-quality, dual-use equipment or materials that is missing has been found."

"The U.S. government prevented U.N. weapons inspectors from returning to Iraq -- thereby blocking the IAEA from monitoring the high-tech equipment and materials -- after the U.S.-led war was launched in March 2003."

More if you go to link.

If so, that has to be dead now.

This sort of stuff cannot be allowed to happen without confronting it.  As my uncle used to say, `to ignore bad behaviour is to encourage it'.  We have to make sure that Sinclair does not think it can do this in 2006/2008.   We have to make sure Sinclair doing this doesn't `embolden' Fox to show 2-hour anti-dem propaganda movies in 2006/2008.

If this were the only time it was going to ever happen, then you could realistically do the cost-benifit analysis of letting this slide, and maybe either answer is possible and you could adjust tactics accordingly.   But that's just not how it works.  If we let this slide, something even more egregious will happen next cycle.  And so on.

Sign the petition:
http://www.stopsinclair.org/

Even if the election is won by Kerry, he will still need to govern.  We cannot let the rightwing do what it did to Clinton.  We need to put the media on notice that it is not just the rightwing that is paying attention. We need to let them know that we can make noise too. We need to put advertisers on notice that they will pay a price for their tacit support of rightwing.  Dollars will get their attention. For most businesspeople green transcends politics.

Again, this is just a skirmish in the battle to move the national discourse back to the center. To do that we need to act now and act often.

So, on the stick, and don't forget:

Nuclear materials have disappeared from Iraq
The price of oil is going up even more
Women can't vote in Saudi Arabia
Colorado's GOP is trying to disenfranchise voters
and so on and so on

Take Action

Sinclair Broadcasting is using its television stations to disguise right-wing smears against John Kerry as news. The Democratic Party has filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission to protest this illegal corporate contribution to the Bush campaign.

But we need your help to stop this right-wing attack on John Kerry. An overwhelming outcry from the public may be the only way to stop Sinclair from forcing these smears onto the airwaves. There are two ways that we need to take action immediately:

   1. Call Sinclair's affiliates.  Call them to let them know what you think about their decision to air untrue smears about John Kerry just before Election Day.
   2. Sign our petition demanding that Sinclair take their negative smears off the air.

Here are the National Chains who advertise:
APPLEBEES
ca.diraimo@applebees.com (Lloyd Hill, president)

CORONA BEER
procermexlt@corona-extra.com

MACARONI GRILL, CHILI'S RESTAURANTS
investor.relations@brinker.com

DR. PEPPER, 7-UP
consumer_relations@dpsu.com

PEPSI COLA, MOUNTAIN DEW
boardofdirectors@pepsi.com

SONIC DRIVE-IN RESTAURANTS
sonicpr@sonicdrivein.com

PROCTOR & GAMBLE (COUNTLESS BEAUTY PRODUCTS, BUT ALSO PRINGLES, TORENGOS, EAGLE SNACKS, FOLGERS COFFEE)
Talbot.cg@pg.com (Carol Talbot, Community Relations)

TACO BELL
Amy.Sherwood@Yum.Com (Amy Sherwood)

Full article:
http://gadflyer.com/flytrap/index.php?Week=200442#935

Here is a database of local advertisers:
http://www.boycottsbg.com/advertisers/default.aspx

we need to defeat Bush, not the prostitute-lovin' Sinclair people.  They prolly got all hot and bothered when Kerry used terrorism and prostitution in the same sentence.

But I agree we can't ignore it.

Sinclair is now talking about a "debate" between Kerry and the vets.  Kerry should take control of this.  He should say, "Sure, I'll debate the vets after the movie, if you air F9/11 and then have Geo Bush debate Michael Moore."

It will stop it all cold, I'll bet.

I think it's absolutely critical that we continue to hammer Sinclair, especially since the battle is already underway.  What are we supposed to do now, abandon the effort and go back to being nice little Democrats?

If we can kick Sinclair's ass on this one, it will be a highly visible demonstration program for the effectiveness of progressive online activism, and the next wingnut media organization will think twice before going down the same road.

Two conclusions: Sinclair would do it despite any opposition; Rove has a master strategy that will side swipe us.

Counter attack? Let's be organized here people! Who says we can't split up the energy? We have resources, people, brains. We can go after Sinclair and Bush at the same time.

Also, we need a counter-attack. We need a fire they have to put out to give. Make them sweat a little. The bulge theory isn't going to work unless we have a T.V. cameraman and a frequency expert on our side who can rig up a camera at the debate to expose the shame that might be happening.

If you want to outstrategize someone, you have to anticipate their next move and have your counter attack ready. Always be on the offensive. We're always defense; i.e. the losing side.

Plan to air divisive film raises questions
By David Lieberman, USA TODAY

NEW YORK -- Wall Streeters, political activists and media critics Monday were trying to answer a perplexing question: Why would Sinclair Broadcasting CEO David Smith embroil himself in controversy by ordering his stations to air Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal-- a documentary challenging Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's Vietnam service -- within days of the presidential election?
The decision annoyed investors. Sinclair's shares, which have lost about half their value in 2004, closed Monday at $7.38, down 12 cents. That's about as low as they've been since 1995.

"I don't want my media companies that cover the news to be making news," says Barry Lucas of Gabelli & Co., which owns about 4% of Sinclair.

More....

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2004-10-11-sinclair_x.htm

Wake up, you can't pretend they're not there, you have to fight them with everything you've got. Fight like that and you never lose.

This is so outrageous that everyone sees it but the most hardened partisans; it's a fight for democracy.

Another thought about why I think it's important to fight and win on this Sinclair issue;  part of what we are accomplishing here is to build the online infrastructure to take on similar challenges in the future.  If we want to overturn the Rethugoracy that was built by the likes of Gingrich/Atwater/Delay/Cheney, we have to have the machinery in place to accomplish the task.  The Stop Sinclair Petition, and the posts here at MYDD,Atrios, Digby, Kos, Talking Points and elsewhere are creating something; an online community of people who are starting to see the evidence that we can make a difference.  A sense of empowerment is accumulating-  We the People are feeling the groove, and humbling Sinclair Broadcasting would be a significant step toward
changing the political atmosphere in this country.

Regards,

pj

Based on recent behaviors this campaign is desperate, or else they would not be returning to this line of attack, which did no long term damage to Kerry.  This storyline has been very effective in battleground states, where the SBVT is still active, and we cannot let it slide.  

Plus, I don't think it has dawned on either campaign, DNC or RNC, what has been created on the web.  

We need to beat them at their own game, and we have to sustain this after the election, to prevent another headhunt on Kerry.  Just think of it as practice.  

It's possible that Rove is using this to discredit Fahrenheit 911 out of a fear that it will be aired somewhere, close to the election.

The simpler possibility, though, seems effective enough.  Rove wants to run this and blow us out in the battleground states.  They are desperate now.  They probably interpret the polls the same way Chris does, and that means Bush needs a boost.  The Swift Boat smear worked once; perhaps they hope it will work again.  All they want is a couple point boost in the battleground states before the election.  And it might change Kerry's momentum.

Sinclair is going to suffer badly for their announcement of the decision to run this film.  They are losing sponsors, money, reputation, racking up FCC complaints, possible shareholder lawsuits, and their stock price is plummeting.  Even if they call it off, they have already paid a huge price.  IT would be strange of them to damage themselves this badly unless they were ready to go through with it.