Iraq veteran Josh Stieber on his open letter to Congress demanding investigations into the content of the WikiLeaks release; media critic Marvin Kitman on Fox News, Juan Williams and how Murdoch could’ve been stopped; Will Durst on the secret campaign cash in this year’s elections. Stieber served in Iraq in 2007-08 as part of the “Bush surge”; the experience shook him so much he became a conscientious objector on his return. In advance of the latest release of secret documents by WikiLeaks, he wrote an open letter to Congress, here, demanding investigations–not into the leaks–into the revelations of coverups of civilian deaths, out-of control mercenaries and the myth of the success of the surge. Kitman, who joins us at 44:25, is the former media critic at Newsday and author of The Man Who Would Not Shut Up: The Rise of Bill O’Reilly We talk about the recent controversy over Juan Williams’ firing by NPR, and the history of Murdoch’s rise as an American media baron, facilitated by a feckless Federal Communications Commission–based on Kitman’s article in the November issue of Harper’s. We also talk about the recent management changes at the Tribune Company. At 1:27:48 Will Durst pops in with a great commentary about the influx of corporate cash in campaigns this year.
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