The Ogre's Trumpet Blaring

Here is the story of Spocko.

In short. Spocko is a regular kind of a guy from California. Like a lot of Americans, Spocko is repulsed by the kind of venom spewed out across the radio airwaves regularly by right wing bigots and hatemongers -- in his case, specifically KFSO in the Bay Area. Unlike a lot of Americans, Spocko did something about it: he documented their comments. 

Like the time jock Brian Sussman demanded that a Muslim caller "say Allah is a whore!'

Or the time host Lee Rogers said, "Indonesia is really just another enemy Muslim nation. ... You keep screwing around with stuff like this we are going to kill a bunch of you. Millions of you."

Or Melanie Morgan's warning about Nancy Pelosi: ""We've got a bulls-eye painted on her big laughing eyes."

He also contacted their advertisers, several of whom were surprised to learn that they were sponsoring hate and pulled their ads. 

This is probably what caused Disney, who owns KFSO, to threaten Spocko with a lawsuit, based rather spuriously on the claim that he had no right to post sound files from these lunatics' programs on his blog.

All Spocko was doing was documenting -- quoting, really. Something well in the realm of fair use. He was never out to make a profit. He was only exercising his rights as an American.

Unfortunately, Spiocko's ISP stood by the bullies.

Fortunately, this is still a free country.

What to do? Go to Online Blogintegrity and access the files. Then scroll down and find Spocko's suggestions for what to do next.

And then do it.

Comments

[!El Gato Negro!]

¡...en fuego!

I must, eef I may, remark on jour summation.

Muy erudito.

so.

[Interrobang]

Most excellent! :)

More blog postings are going up by the hour, I notice...

[Phila]

It'd be neat if OB were at or near the top of Google searches for Morgan and Rogers. I wonder how you'd go about doing something like that?

[Phila]

Also...

It suddenly occurred to me - 'cause I'm kinda slow - that Media Matters posts clips like these continually, for the same purpose as Spocko. I'd think they'd be pretty interested in this case.

[QrazyQat]

Gee, since Disney is apparently so sure that what these nutcases are jabbering is the way to get big ratings, and big profits, they should be happy that Spocko is giving them free publicity.

How come they're not happy?

[¡El Gato Negro!]

New post up at Blog-Integrity:

¡Spocko Speaks!

so.

[attaturk]

Hee hee.

Great fun guest posting with you at Atrios's. Rock on!
Thers

Same here. I just wish Atrios would leave leave those poor Prussian Blue cutie-pies alone.

[spocko]

Boy, I'm the topic of a post and I still don't rate a blog roll spot? No wonder I only had 15 readers.

I'm really crappy at my own pr.
Anyway, I've sent an update email to a bunch of you (since I don't a blog to post on anymore) and I've got a few questions for you all.

Thanks for the post Thers, we Vulcan's do tend to go on.

[dan mcenroe]

I'm really crappy at my own pr.

disney sure as shit noticed you!

[iamcoyote]

I finally got a post up; but since I'm not the owner of the blog, I can't host the audio, so I pointed to OB. My 3 readers will swarm the mailboxes, tho.

Yes, we can swarm. What're you laughing at?

[Zeno]

What ABC/Disney did to Spocko was a SLAPP -- strategic lawsuit against public participation. Like most of us bloggers, Spocko is small fry. He can't afford a court battle with a giant like ABC/Disney. Even if (as seems very likely) his postings of brief excerpts from KSFO programs qualifies as "fair use", Spocko would have the burden of proving this in the face of ABC/Disney's enormous legal resources, which might be able to postpone a definitive ruling a long time.

That's a big part of what's at stake here: the ability to exercise your valid rights even if your opponent's legal resources are way bigger than yours.