Well, I was eating breakfast at Oak & Iris on Fort Hamilton Parkway Saturday morning with Brian Tokar from Vermont, my friend Lars from Berlin, and Cathryn from Kensington (Brooklyn) when our friend (and fellow wbai board member) Robert came barrelling in waving the NY Times. We read the article aloud (annoying, no doubt, the other customers there) and couldn't stop laughing, laughing ....
All of us thought the article captured the WBAI Local Board meeting perfectly. While I might have wished for more of the hard information, I think the article was very good and just sarcastic enough to keep people's interest ....
Mine may not be a majority viewpoint among those close with WBAI. One person told me: "Just a stupid piece about stereotyped "old lefties" with no attempt to give a serious treatment to the real problems and challenges facing this radio station."
For me, the real problems and challenges facing the station start with failure to appreciate the absurdity of the situation to begin with. I really appreciated the article. I especially like being called a "voice of moderation" -- no one will recognize me from that description, but I plan to make up a placard with that quote on it and place it in front of me at meetings!
Please note that the reason the Local Station Board meetings are so filled with vitriol is because a great deal of that has been pushed off the air; people at the station seem to be much more congenial lately and, well, happier now than they were a year ago, before we changed the management and set different standards, so these folks can no longer vent on the air and use the LSB meetings to do so, for now.
On the LSB-Public listserve (which only board members can post to, but anyone can read if they join the listserve), Lisa Davis takes me to task for characterizing as "silly" the doings at the last LSB meeting that the NY Times reporter wrote about. Here's what Lisa Davis wrote, and below it my response. ... Just to give you an idea of their lunacy.
Mitchel
I had written, in part:
From: <mailto:mitchelcohen at mindspring.com>Mitchel Cohen Sent: Saturday, January 16, 2010 9:09 PM
Nia, much of your statement makes sense to me, and I would like us to have a full discussion of it. It's too bad the sillyness at the last LSB meeting prevented us from getting to that item on the agenda (which I added, recall, with no objections from the Board).
Lisa Davis responded thusly: From: Makemba X <makemba007 at hotmail.com>
Mitch,
What do you mean "silliness" at the LSB meeting? How dare you characterize what is going on with Lynne Stewart in that manner. There is nothing silly about challenging the state repression and imprisonment of Lynne Stewart by allowing her to vote on proposals that could have a long term impact on WBAI, thereby giving a strong message to the US government that we reject their wrongful imprisonment of Lynne Stewart. She did not do anything wrong and she doesn't deserve to be imprisoned! Nia Bediako brought forward a motion calling for Lynne Stewart to be able to vote via email or regular mail ONLY ON MOTIONS THAT WOULD HAVE A LONG TERM IMPACT ON THE STATION. And the LSB would vote to decide which motions fit that category. You all voted that down at the meeting in December. In fact there was a tie, and you Mitch could have voted to break the tie, but you chose NOT to. Then Nia resubmitted the motion ahead of time, and at this meeting you ruled it out of order and didn't even want it to be put on the agenda. So we had to fight to get it back on the agenda! (Of course, who could forget your sarcastic comment on this list serv about holding the meetings in prison to accommodate Lynne -- although I must say, if that were doable, I would be for that doing that at times).
Also, there was nothing silly about the removal of Baruti Bediako, a CPA, with over 17 years of experience, from the position of treasurer and installing him with R. Paul Martin, a person who not only doesn't come anywhere close to having Baruti's credentials, but doesn't even possess a fraction of his integrity. Martin is the one who launched an unprovoked attack against the respected civil rights organization the People's Organization for Progress and mocked the Jim Jones tragedy.
Also the PNB, as per the request of Jamie Ross and with the backing of the majority on the LSB, violated the bylaws by ignoring the election results of 2007 by installing Delphine Blue to the LSB sooner than she was supposed to be. Martin's term was not up until February of 2010. Upon his resignation the next person in line to be seated to fulfill the rest of his term was supposed to be taken from the 2007 elections, and not 2009. But the WBAI LSB majority and PNB blatantly violated the by laws on this.
There is nothing silly about any of these issues!
Lisa
To which I responded:
Lisa, your Justice and Unity saboteurs are not content with attempting to wreck WBAI (you will not succeed) but by your idiotic actions you are wrecking Lynne Stewart's legal case as well.
You knew full well when you ran Lynne Stewart as your lead candidate for the Board that she would be garnering lots of media (and listeners') attention in this election as it was to conclude around the same time as she would be forced to begin her 2-1/3rd year sentence. To you, THAT publicity in the JUC's campaign was more important than her legal situation, which you are jeopardizing.
If you seriously cared one whit about Lynne Stewart and her fight to reduce her sentence, you would stop cynically exploiting her situation. Any defense attorney worth their salt will tell her to disassociate herself from your actions, as you are injuring her case and further jeopardizing her chances. (Her own statement: "I can do 28 months standing on my head," didn't exactly endear her to the Appeals Court judges, if you read their comments.)
This is not a game, Lisa, this is someone's life we're talking about -- even if she, herself, is not the best expositor of her own (and the movement's) interests here.
You are right. "Silly" is the wrong word. I was trying to be generous.
Mitchel