Musing About Media at 65

On July1, 2026 I turn 65 years old. My entire life has been a struggle between pessimism and optimism, so as 65 hits the pessimistic side is reminded of this anonymous quote: "It's never to late to be what you want to be--unless you want to be younger, then you're screwed." But then the optimistic side kicks in with this beautiful ditty attributed to the great Ralph Waldo Emerson: "The best tunes are played by the oldest fiddles."  

My dear friend Jim Mather (right), former Mayor of Oshkosh, passed away recently at the age of 91. He was an amazing man: extremely bright, kind, funny, and passionate about democracy. Jim and I hosted a cable access television show called "Commentary" on UW Oshkosh Titan Television bac in the 90s and early 2000s. We saw the program as the kind of citizen-driven media described in this rant.
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So in this rant I'd like to play a tune about media. After studying the topic for many decades now, I'm still not exactly sure what "media" is. But I do have a good sense of what it's not and what it could be. 

I happen to have been born and lived during a time when this thing called "media" became a source for human connection in ways prior generations could not have imagined. And yet even though I teach and study Communication, maintain a blog, and produce a few podcasts, I am still mostly clueless whenever anyone asks me "what is media?" Chat GPT's response to the question isn't particularly satisfying or--ironically--intelligent: "Media is the means or channels through which information, ideas, news, education, and entertainment are communicated to a large audience." Duh. 

Chat GPT's answer, which is typical of what you would find in Media 101 textbooks, is not "wrong," but it's like defining "soccer" as a team sport played by two opposing teams of 11 players on a rectangular field. True, but . . . Duh.

I prefer to think of soccer the way legendary Brazilian champion Pele' did: "the beautiful game." The game that is radically egalitarian, global, transcends mere competition, and--as Pele' wrote about in his 1977 autobiography--is a unifying force that brings joy to all who participate in it as players and/or as part of a community of soccer aficionados. 

In a Pele'-esque fashion, I might say that media is much like love: something that eludes precise definition even while we know that it attracts us viscerally, dominates our existence, provokes immense joy and insufferable pain, and reveals our best and worst tendencies. Love can be exploited by bad faith actors--but can also bring them to their knees. 

Even though we cannot define love, we know it is ultimately something over which we have agency: we can reject it, resent it, be misled by manipulative appeals to it, or feel let down and victimized by it. But agency works the other way too: we can be voices for a love that transcends fear and pettiness. We can have the courage to call out abuses of love, and uphold the right of every human being to find love in their own way. 

So when I say that media is much like love, I mean that the only thing we really know about media is that is that it presents us with an agency challenge. Thanks in large part to the corporate structures controlling most of what we call media, the majority of people believe that--at best--they can be an intelligent consumer of media. Media as love means widening our sense of agency towards media: calling out its abuses, finding ways to spread messages that unite communities, and upholding the right of every human being to be heard. Media as love is not corporate and top-down; media as love means WE ARE THE MEDIA and that corporate entities calling themselves "the media" can be defended ONLY in as much as they serve as vehicles for upholding (small-d) democratic values. Sadly, most corporate media cannot be defended in that sense, as they primarily serve the needs of power and finance. 

Thus the Chat GPT and similar formulations of this thing called "media" are not only overly simplistic, but also problematic for small-d democracy. Why? Because the idea of media as simply means or channels through which news, etc. is communicated to a large audience leads inevitably to a collective understanding of "The Media" as something owned and controlled by powerful interests most able to reach large audiences. It is an understanding of media that has led to what we are now seeing play out in real time in a depressing and overtly anti-democratic manner: think of Jeff Bezos' destruction of the Washington Post, Elon Musk's twisting of Twitter into a safe space for the most vile of bad faith actors on the Internet, and Larry Ellison's MAGA-fication of Paramount, CBS, and probably CNN in the not too distant future. In the hands of these and other me-first oligarchs, the early dream of the Internet--that it might provide humanity with unlimited potential to participate meaningfully in the democratic marketplace of ideas AS EQUALS with the oligarchs and their apparatchiks--is slowly but surely being whittled away. 

Though he did not talk about it this way, the late and great George Stoney had a sense of media as love. Stoney, a great documentary filmmaker and NYU prof, was also "the father of public access television." In the 1960s and 70s, Stoney came to understand how mainstream media had essentially become mass propaganda machines serving wealth and power. He became an activist for the creation of public access media as a way of providing space for the THE PEOPLE to use THE PEOPLE'S AIRWAVES for their own messages. 

When Stoney passed in 2012, the New York Times obituary included some great quotes from him that reinforce the point made earlier about citizens having agency over media: 

"We look at cable as a way of encouraging public action, not just access. It's how people can get information to their neighbors, and their neighbors can get out on the streets to organize." 

The goal of public access, Stoney said, was never to "make anybody famous." Rather, the goal was "to celebrate the ordinary things people do to help one another." 

In the city of Oshkosh, I've been involved in public access media in some capacity for most of my 35+ years here. For 40 years, Oshkosh city government has supported citizen access to media through services offered by Oshkosh Media. Earlier this year, the City Manager announced plans to suspend citizen driven "Life TV" programs that are of, by, and for the people. Apparently the goal is to expand the "Communication and Engagement" division from 3 to 8 people, and turn the fully functional and professional television studio into office space. Seriously. 

Over the decades, the Life TV producers, hosts, and volunteers created a sense of community that has inspired all involved with it. The same is true of the public access radio station also broadcast from City Hall. Oshkosh Media has been a profound example of Media as Love as I've defined it. Critics claim that the Life TV shows sometimes lack mainstream media professionalism and do not get high viewership. Spoiler Alert: THAT'S THE POINT. "Professionalism" in mainstream media is typically nothing more than slick production techniques. Meanwhile high viewership in today's mainstream media spaces requires rage baiting, "if it bleeds it leads" misery porn, and highlighting famous people. George Stoney understood that what democracy requires are media spaces that do not have to play by those rules. 

I'll close this rant by embedding some videos that explore the situation in Oshkosh. Absent some kind of action by the City Council, Life TV producers will be kicked out of the City Hall studios in the middle of August. If you want to help Life TV survive, please Email the Council and let them know.  You can contact them here: https://www.oshkoshwi.gov/CityCouncil/CityCouncilContactForm.aspx     

Happy Birthday to Me! :-) 

Surplus Bill Fallout: GOP Coopts Dems' Midterm Narrative

Resolved, Wisconsin's legislative Democrats erred in not supporting the Evers, Vos, LeMahieu surplus bill.

As most Media Rants readers know, my spouse Lori Palmeri represents the 54th assembly district (includes much of Oshkosh and a few surrounding towns) in the state legislature. She is a Democrat running for a third term this fall. The 54th AD is "purple"; it leans slightly Democratic, but to win and keep the seat the Dem has to stay in touch with the pulse of the residents, knock on doors, and work in good faith with members of the legislature on the other side of the aisle. If legislative redistricting were done in a sane, nonpartisan manner, most of Wisconsin's 99 assembly districts would be as purple as the 54th. That is, there would be no seats that are "safe" just because of the way the district lines were drawn.

Lori was one of ten assembly Democrats to vote for the $1.8 billion tax relief and school funding bill negotiated by Democratic Governor Evers, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, and Republican Senate leader Devin LeMahieu. This "Surplus Bill" failed when three Senate Republicans and not one Senate Democrat could bring themselves to vote for it.

Lori struggled mightily with the bill. Even though the legislation had some good parts (e.g. increased special ed funding and some tax relief), she was uncomfortable with a bill that would probably throw the state into a budget deficit at the end of the 2027-2029 biennium. To work through her discomfort, she did what purple district politicians have to do: she talked to her constituents. From school district officials she learned that the special ed funding really was as urgent as Democrats have been saying for years. Pretty much everyone she spoke to said that the legislature should do whatever it could to make life more affordable, and while the surplus bill clearly wasn't perfect, it was the only piece of legislation with a realistic chance of passing.

The fact that the Marquette Poll showed such overwhelming, bipartisan support for the bill demonstrates that what Lori was hearing in her district represents the feelings of voters across the state.

Before I further antagonize some of my Democratic friends, allow me to stipulate that I fully recognize:

• Speaker Vos and Senate leader LeMahieu have never acted in good faith in their [limited] negotiations with Democrats over the years, and there is no reason to believe that they suddenly had a change of heart when it came to the surplus bill.
• Governor Evers erred by not seeking more consultation with the Democratic leaders in the Assembly and Senate before and during the negotiations. (In fairness to the governor, it might be that he sincerely thought he was representing the legislative Dems' priorities in the negotiations, as they have repeatedly called for affordability relief and in 2024 were calling for the surplus to be used for special ed funding.).
• The fact that the three principal actors in this drama (Evers, Vos, LeMahieu) are lame ducks not returning to office in 2027--meaning they will not have to be accountable for any of the bill's potential negative consequences--makes the fact that they did not invite more representatives into the negotiations even more bizarre and troubling.

Even given those stipulations, Democrats HAD to know that a bill promising tax relief and a rebate, no matter how imperfect, would be popular. The only way their opposition to the bill makes sense is if they feel confident they will attain a "trifecta" in the November elections; i.e. keep the governor's office while returning the assembly and senate to Democratic majorities for the first time since 2009-2010.

I think it is still possible for the Dems to achieve the trifecta, but the defeat of the surplus bill actually makes that result more difficult. Assembly Republican majority leader Tyler August, in a piece for Wisconsin Right Now, provided the points that will probably appear in every piece of Republican literature as we head toward November:

If Democrats can’t work with their own Democratic governor, who exactly will they work with? And if lowering property taxes, adequately funding our schools, and helping taxpayers with rising costs don’t make the top of their priority list, what will their priorities be? That should concern Wisconsin voters . . .

There are absolutely differences between Republicans and Democrats on major issues, and there always will be. But when common ground exists on policies that help taxpayers, provide relief to families, and responsibly invest in priorities like education, elected officials should not allow ideological politics to derail meaningful progress.

The failure of this legislation to advance does not change the reality that families across Wisconsin are still facing rising costs and growing pressure on household budgets. Those problems did not disappear because one vote failed.

Yes, it is absolutely sickening to witness how a Republican Party that is the major cause of funding shortfalls in education and local property tax increases can now so shamelessly accuse the Democrats of failing on those fronts. Unfortunately, the Dems' failure to support the surplus bill puts THEM on the defensive in a year when Republicans at all levels should be in that position.

In essence, Republicans are using the failure of the surplus bill to coopt the Dems' 2026 midterm narrative: government needs to do whatever it can to make life more affordable for citizens. In response, the Dems do what they always do, which is to offer bullet point explanations that win the argument but lose the narrative. For example, here's Milwaukee Democratic Senator Chris Larson (who I generally agree with on most issues) explaining on Facebook why the surplus bill deserved to fail:

I know there are some who are disappointed that the surplus bill failed to pass last night. In the end there was strong opposition from members of both parties - here are some reasons why:

1. The rebate checks would have completely skipped about 30% of WI adults, including seniors on Social Security, and half of the dollars would have gone to those making over $100,000 per year.
2. About half of the money that was earmarked for public schools would not have gone to the classroom at all, instead going to offset property taxes.
3. The average property tax reduction for a median-value home would have been just over $100 - not nothing, but not enough to change family spending decisions in a major way.
4. The bill made permanent tax changes with 1-time funding - setting us up for a $2.9 billion deficit by the end of the next state budget - making service cuts or tax hike very likely in the next 2 years
5. The surplus at this time is only theoretical. It's not actually real dollars until the end of June, 2027. Trump's actions are leading our nation toward recession, which could have made the $2.9 billion number even worse.
6. The 3 primary authors of the bill will all be retiring at the end of the year and would not have had to deal with the consequences of their decision.
7. Proposed changes to how the technical college system is funded would have risked the long-term sustainability of these crucial institutions.
8. The tax exemption on overtime would have benefited many people who make over six figures, while leaving fewer dollars for critical public services.
9. The way school aids were handled in this bill would have worsened existing disparities in our funding formula, creating winners and losers.

Many other Dems have repeated those points in other media, including Tik Toks, Instagram reels, radio and television appearances, etc. (A prominent exception was Democratic candidate for governor Missy Hughes.). 

When I listen to the way Democrats argue against the bill--armed with Legislative Fiscal Bureau memos, alternative bills that would better address school funding and tax relief, and righteous denunciations of GOP hypocrisy--I am reminded of what might be the only fully accurate claim in the Dems so-called "autopsy" of the 2024 election: "Democrats are trying to win arguments while Republicans are focused on winning elections."

So what happens now? Speaker Vos is apparently asking the Governor to take another crack at getting the surplus legislation passed before November. Think of the position that puts the Democrats in. If they continue to oppose the legislation, they will be accused of ignoring the clear preference of a bipartisan majority of voters. If they change their vote in response to public pressure, they will be accused of flip-flopping and not having the courage of their convictions. What a terrible position to be in, especially in a year when ALL the pressure should be on Republicans.

It might well be that Donald Trump has so severely damaged the Republican brand that by November the surplus vote might not matter. Still, in rejecting their own governor's surplus bill, the Dems have handed the Wisconsin GOP an undeserved lifeline. My advice to the Dems, for what it's worth, would be to support the surplus bill if it somehow comes back to the legislature before November. Better to be accused of flip-flopping than lose the affordability narrative.

Celebrating the Music of 1976, Part 1

Since 2022 I've been writing two posts per year celebrating the 50th anniversary of noteworthy music. Doing so is NOT just an exercise in nostalgia or a critique of modern music. Sure, today our ears get assaulted by a high degree of crapola transmitted from traditional radio and the streaming platforms. But that has ALWAYS been true. What's also true is that the best of today's music has clear links to the best of 50-years ago. I would be surprised if the top artists of 2026 did not look back on the music of 1976 with a sense of awe and admiration. 

The year 1976 was an intriguing one for popular music. Classic rock (i.e. Beatles, Stones, The Who, and all their offshoots) and progressive rock (i.e. ELP, Pink Floyd, Yes) acts were nearing the end of their FM radio reign. By the next year disco, punk, and both British and American "New Wave" would force a number of classic rockers into semi-retirement. And by 1981 Music Television, for better or [mostly] worse, would completely transform the musical landscape.  

All lists of great music are subjective. My 1976 list is guided mostly by three criteria: (1) Did I listen to the record at the time it was released? (2) Is the record widely considered to be important in the history of music? (3) Do I think the record deserves a new audience?  A significant number of the albums listed actually satisfy all three.  

Without any further ado: 

#50:  Peter Tosh: Legalize It. The "It" in the title refers to weed, a foundational feature of Tosh's Jamaican Rastafarian community. Peter Tosh was a former member of the iconic Wailers featuring Bob Marley. "Legalize It" was his first solo album. The reggae artistry is amazing in its own right, but the album became internationally famous when Jamaican authorities tried to censor the title tune.  P.S. "Ketchy Shuby," one of the record's catchiest tunes, is probably the most creative euphemism for sexual intercourse ever devised. 

Peter Tosh: Legalize It 

#49: Jackson Browne. The Pretender. The 1970s was widely derided as "The Me Decade" by those, such as historian Christopher Lasch, who argued that 1960's idealism and activism had been replaced by a "culture of narcissism" obsessed with self-improvement and navel gazing. Lasch died in 1994; one can only wonder what he would have said about the narcissism of the 2020s, from the White House on up.  

It is certainly true that popular music lyrics of the 1970s were not AS socially conscious as the 1960s. Still, as a 15-year-old in 1976, I can say with maximum sincerity that some of the music released that year impacted me in a profound way. I distinctly remember being mesmerized the first time I heard the title track of Jackson Browne's "The Pretender" album, especially these lines: 

I'm gonna be a happy idiot
And struggle for the legal tender
Where the ads take aim and lay their claim
To the heart and the soul of the spender

And believe in whatever may lie
In those things that money can buy
Where true love could have been a contender

Are you there?
Say a prayer for the Pretender
Who started out so young and strong
Only to surrender

Life since then has been a daily struggle to not be a pretender. 

Jackson Browne: The Pretender

#48: Steve Miller Band. Fly Like An Eagle.  Steve Miller is probably the greatest guitar player originally from the Milwaukee area not named Les Paul. In the 1960s he recorded a number of  blues-inspired psychedelic records that attracted a loyal--if not large--following. He had a huge hit with 1973's "The Joker," and then became an international star with "Fly Like An Eagle." Most of the 12 songs received regular play on FM radio for decades. The title song is probably Miller's masterpiece, mixing a 1960's lyric consciousness with a clever use of electronics. 

Steve Miller Band: Fly Like An Eagle

Miller had actually been performing the song as early as 1973. His appearance that year on the iconic Don Kirshner's Rock Concert is emblematic of a time when you could see a real rock jam on TV. Like, when people actually played the instruments and sang without auto tune. 

#47: Daryl Hall and John Oates. Bigger Than Both Of Us. In 1976 I thought I was too cool to give this album a serious listen. As I got older and started to appreciate great singers, the album grew on me. In his prime, Daryl Hall really was one of the great soul singers of his generation, and with John Oates recorded a number of power pop songs that made top-40 radio much more tolerable than it is today. The iconic tune on this album, "Rich Girl," is the best example. 

Hall and Oates: Rich Girl

#46: Rod Stewart. A Night On The Town. This album included a number of hits mostly performed in Stewart's lusty 1970s persona, including "Tonight's the Night," "The First Cut is The Deepest," and "Pretty Flamingo." I didn't much care for most of that. However, what made this album stand out for me was and is the epic "The Killing of Georgie (Part I and II)," a tragic tale of a gay man rejected by his family. It's one of the few songs that has almost brought me to tears pretty much every time I have heard it over the last 50 years. 

Rod Stewart: The Killing of Georgie (Parts I and II)

#45: Blue Oyster Cult. Agents of Fortune. Not the band's best album, but it includes the iconic "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", and for that reason alone has to be on any "best of" 1976 list. P.S. The other really great song on this album is "The Revenge of Vera Gemini," featuring and co-written by a very young Patti Smith.   

Blue Oyster Cult: Don't Fear The Reaper

 

#44: Thin Lizzy. Jailbreak. This was the 6th album released by the legendary Irish rockers, but their breakout hit in the States. "The Boys Are Back in Town," which dominated FM radio in '76, holds up pretty well all these years later.

Think Lizzy: The Boys Are Back in Town

#43: Led Zeppelin. Presence. Probably Zep's last truly great album of their classic period, solidifying Jimmy Page's reputation as the guitar riff master. Zep remained popular even as punk and new wave entered the scene, but after drummer John Bonham's death in 1980 the remaining band members refused to carry on. 

Led Zeppelin: Nobody's Fault But Mine

#42: Aerosmith. Rocks.  In 1976 a Zeppelin inspired band from Boston, Aerosmith, was also nearing the end of their classic period. For what it's worth, in 2003 Rolling Stone Magazine listed "Rocks" as the 176th greatest album of all time. In 2020 they knocked it down to 366.   

Aerosmith: Last Child

#41: AC/DC. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. The legendary Australian rockers AC/DC released this album only in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand in 1976. It did not officially get issued in the US until 1981, though some of the songs made it to American radio way before then. The album features guitar hero Angus Young and lead singer Bon Scott in their energetic and sometimes hilarious prime. Whenever I hear President Orange talk about his big beautiful ballroom, I am immediately reminded of the song "Big Balls." 

AC/DC: Big Balls

#40: America. Hideaway. After The Beatles broke up in 1969, the space was open for bands that could offer up catchy melodies and compelling vocal harmonies. Folk-rock-pop trio America was one band that filled that space in the 1970s. Most of their albums, including Hideaway, were produced by Beatles' producer George Martin, which helped magnify the connection. 

Hideaway is probably one of America's most underrated albums, as it did not contain a bunch of AM radio hits. I do consider "Amber Cascades" to be one of the great songs of the 1970s, partly because it evokes a pre-digital age era sense of the mystery of nature. They just don't write 'em like that anymore. 

America: Amber Cascades

#39: Bad Company. Run With The Pack. At the time, I thought this third studio album by Brit rockers Bad Company was disappointing compared to their first two. Over time it has grown on me, mostly because of Paul Rodgers' soulful vocals and the late Mick Ralphs' underrated guitar riffing. "Simple Man" was mellower than what was typical for the band at the time, but I think it belongs in the conversation as one of Company's really standout tunes. 

Bad Company: Simple Man

#38: The Brothers Johnson. Look Out For #1. One of the greatest funk and R & B bands of all time. This album includes an ass-kicking version of the Beatles' "Come Together." And how can you not love "Get The Funk Out Ma Face." 

The Brothers Johnson: Get the Funk Out Ma Face

#37: Jeff Beck. Wired. The second release in guitar hero Jeff Beck's jazz-rock fusion phase. Not as good as the previous year's "Blow By Blow," but has certainly stood the test of time. 

Jeff Beck: Blue Wind

#36: KISS. Destroyer.  My favorite KISS album featuring the original lineup. Includes epics like "Detroit Rock City" and "God of Thunder," and the uncharacteristic-for-KISS ballad written by drummer Peter Criss, "Beth." 

KISS: Detroit Rock City

#35: Lynyrd Skynyrd. Gimme Back My Bullets. Definitive blues-rock from one of the iconic Southern bands of the 1970s. Gary Rossington and Allen Collins have to be in the conversation for greatest guitar duo of all time. 

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Gimme Back My Bullets

#34: Electric Light Orchestra. A New World Record. If you forced me to name ONE band that kept the spirit of the Beatles alive in the 1970s, I would have to say ELO. Like the Fab Four, ELO found a way to make complex progressive rock into a commercial radio friendly feast. The song "Telephone Line" will always have a special place in the heart for all of us who remember what it was like to communicate on a telephone when the device did not also serve as an algorithmic nightmare of division and distraction. 

ELO: Telephone Line

#33: Boston. Boston. The debut album by the legendary arena rockers. Fans are still loyal to it: "More Than A Feeling" is one of the few hard rock songs of 1976 that today has over a billion streams on Spotify. 

Boston: More Than A Feeling

#32: Earth, Wind & Fire. Spirit. Another legendary group; a nine-piece band known for recording some of the most energetic and danceable tunes ever. Nothing on this album matches "Shining Star" for iconic status, but the song "Getaway" comes close.  

Earth, Wind & Fire: Getaway

#31: David Bowie. Station to Station. Glam rocker Bowie was always adept at adapting to the dominant musical trends of the time. This album is a worthwhile contribution to the funk vibes of the mid-1970s. 

David Bowie; Golden Years

#30: Lou Reed. Coney Island Baby. Formerly of the iconic Velvet Underground, Lou Reed had a mixed solo career in the 1970s. "Coney Island Baby" was one of his high points: melodic, thoughtful, and with some of his greatest vocal performances. 

Lou Reed: Coney Island Baby

#29. Tommy Bolin: Private Eyes. Tommy Bolin was only 25-years-old when he died from a drug overdose in December of 1976. In his short life he played lead guitar for iconic bands like The James Gang and Deep Purple, and also the guitar parts on Billy Cobham's groundbreaking jazz-rock epic "Spectrum."  "Private Eyes" was his second solo album, and it solidified his place as one of the great guitar virtuosos of the era.  

Tommy Bolin: Post Toastee

#28: Robin Trower. Long Misty Days. Speaking of guitar gods, they don't get much better than Robin Trower. "Long Misty Days" is one of the last recordings from his classic period, with bass player/vocalist James Dewar giving inspired performances that rival the spectacular guitar work of Trower. The song "Long Misty Days" is the definition of "epic." 

Robin Trower: Long Misty Days

#27: ZZ Top. Tejas. Like Robin Trower, the entire ZZ Top project of the 1970s was a tribute to the blues. "Tejas" is top-line ZZ Top, with blistering guitar and blues/funk/rock rhythms throughout. 

ZZ Top: El Diablo

#25: Peter Frampton. Frampton Comes Alive.  It's hard to exaggerate how much this double-vinyl album dominated FM radio in 1976. Guitarist/vocalist Peter Frampton had been a member of the legendary Humble Pie, and had released an excellent solo album in 1975. Still, no one expected the live album to take off like it did. My theory is that Frampton filled the space left open by the Beatles; he had a kind of teen idol sex symbol persona at the time, much like the early Paul McCartney.  It's almost unbelievable now, but Frampton's use of the guitar "talk box" on "Do You Feel Like We Do" was thought to be some super high tech achievement at the time. 

Peter Frampton: Do You Feel Like We Do

Later this year I will offer up 25 more great albums from 1976! For more in this series: 

• Celebration of the Music of 1972, Part 1
• Celebration of the Music of 1972, Part 2
• Celebration of the Music of 1973, Part 1
• Celebration of the Music of 1973, Part 2
• Celebration of the Music of 1974, Part 1
• Celebration of the Music of 1974, Part 2
• Celebration of the Music of 1975, Part 1
• Celebration of the Music of 1975, Part 2

Epic Fury Is Iran's War of 1812

If you accept the old Hollywood, mainstream grade school history textbook versions of the early United States of America, please stop reading this post now. It will only piss you off. 

The old Hollywood version of the early USA holds that, despite its obvious flaws like slavery, political disenfranchisement of women, and brutal treatment of the native population, the nation nonetheless was a remarkable and unprecedented experiment in representative democracy. According to that sanitized telling of our past, by the time of the War of 1812 we were continuing to ride high on the revolutionary fervor of 1776, a mostly free people envied by European populations still wallowing in tyranny.

The uncomfortable fact is the the United States government was deeply unpopular among the masses for most of our early history. The movement to write a Constitution that would create a United States of America and a strong federal government in Washington was hardly motivated by a desire to expand freedoms. Rather, a post-Revolutionary War economic crisis and mistreatment of war veterans produced widespread feelings that the revolution had been betrayed by moneyed interests no better than the King of England. Such sentiments culminated in Shays' Rebellion, a violent insurrection in Massachusetts led by Continental Army Captain Daniel Shays. The so-called founding fathers concluded that such rebellions, which were not confined to Massachusetts, would continue absent the presence of a stronger national government empowered to maintain order and suppress internal violence. 

To the extent that modern US citizens know anything at all about the War of 1812, they probably know that it was a battle between the USA and Great Britain, in which the Brits set the White House on fire, Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner to memorialize the courageous defense of our land, and the young nation proved we could once again repel the ruffians we had defeated less than 40 years earlier. The War of 1812 was a "Made For TV" War more than a hundred years before anyone knew what television was. 

No, that is not a photo of Donald Trump continuing to demolish the White House for his own personal aggrandizement. It is an artistic reenactment of the British burning of the White House on August 24-25, 1814

Just how oppressive was the United States that declared war on Britain in 1812?  Let's just focus on the centrality of slavery. Thanks to some research done in 2022 by the Washington Post (before Jeff Bezos decided to turn the paper into the Trump toadying joke it is today), we now know that more than 1800 congressman once owned human beings. According to the Post, "enslavers in Congress represented 40 states, including not just the South but every state in New England, much of the Midwest, and many Western states."  In 1812 there were only 18 US States (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana). Before and/or after the War of 1812, at least one member of Congress in every one one of those states was a slave owner. So can we finally put to rest the absurd notion that slavery was exclusively a southern phenomenon? 

Britain in the War actually recruited American slaves to fight as "Colonial Marines." The idea that these warriors might join the enemy in order to secure their own freedom was not appreciated by America's war planners. Thus Francis Scott Key's infamous third verse of the Star Spangled Banner: "No refuge could save the hireling and the slave from the terror of flight of the gloom of the grave." 

The original White House was built mostly with slave labor from 1792-1800. The reconstruction of the torched edifice from 1814-1817 continued that pattern. "Fun" Fact: In March of this year, the United States, Israel, and Argentina were the only three nations in the world to vote against a United Nations resolution recognizing slavery as a "crime against humanity." 

Most serious historians, looking at the War of 1812, conclude that both the USA and Great Britain could claim victory. As summarized by the USS Constitution Museum, the British could claim victory because "they held on to Canada and their maritime rights," and the United States could claim victory because "just fighting the 'Conqueror of Napoleon' and the 'Mistress of the Seas' to a draw vindicated its sovereignty and earned the respect of Europe." 

Did the result of the War of 1812 slow down American progress toward abolition of slavery and other injustices?  We cannot know for certain, but the fact that citizens celebrated the end of the war with overt displays of patriotism and unity probably empowered the enslavers and other oppressors to think that they had been vindicated. Tragically, it would take another 50 years and hundreds of thousands of battlefield deaths for American slavery to finally come to an end. 

Okay, so what does all of this have to do with Operation Epstein Epic Fury? Iran today is in a somewhat similar condition to the United States of 1812: a relatively young (established in 1979) "Republic" whose revolutionary era promise of liberating the populace from the chains of the Shah's tyranny has been betrayed by theocratic regimes enforcing their own brand of brutality.  Much like the United States of 1812, Iran today  has a long way to go toward protecting the human rights of women, non-religious people, and political dissenters. For anyone sincerely interested in assisting freedom seeking Iranians, the absolute LAST thing you would want to do is support a war that would actually increase the popularity of the established regime. And yet out of sheer hubris, stupidity, or whatever, that is exactly what the Trump Administration has done. 

Remember, the US could claim victory in the War of 1812 in part because they had taken on the mighty British Navy and not lost. Today, the United States is not only the "Mistress of the Seas" but also the "Master of the Skies" with the most powerful Air Force in the history of the world.  Does the Iranian regime have to defeat the United States and Israel?  No, it only has to fight to a stalemate like America did with the Brits in 1812. If that happens, and it is starting to look increasingly likely that it will, the cause of genuine Iranian liberation for the masses could be set back for at least a generation or more.  

Writing on the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent (the treaty that ended the War of 1812), historian Matthew Dennis wrote about the American public's response to the war. What he describes is very likely to happen in Iran when this stupid and ill-conceived war finally ends: 

Americans . . . celebrated an imagined unity, virtue, right, and might. And even those who understood that the U.S. hadn't won could take comfort in the fact that it had not lost. And by not losing to the greatest military power on Earth . . . the United States affirmed its independence. In the war's aftermath the country experienced an unprecedented outpouring of nationalism that further obscured embarrassing facts . . .

In 2009 Rick Steves traveled to Iran to report on life among average, ordinary Iranians. These decent people, much like so many average, ordinary Americans of 1812, are caught in the literal crossfire between an oppressive home regime and foreign invaders led by morally bankrupt bullies. 

Pray for those people. 

Media Rants Channel Updates

In 2025 I decided to create a YouTube Channel to complement this blog. The video are in two categories: (1) Media Rants, which addresses issues covered by this blog and interviews guests somehow involved in media; (2) The 498 Show, in which I mostly interview graduates of the UW Oshkosh Communication Studies program. Every few months I will use this blog to update what's been going on over at the YouTube Channel.  You can also find highlights of my Media Rants/498 Show interviews at my TikTok Site. 

Here's what's been going on recently at the Media Rants YouTube Channel: 

Highlights From The 2025 Media Rants Channel: 

Highlights From The 2025 498 Show Channel: 

An interview with Appleton, WI based poet, journalist, and activist Jean Kiernan Detjen on the role of the arts: 

An interview with Matt King, founder and Executive Director of Game Show America: 

An interview with Kim Svoboda, Senior Director of Philanthropy & Partnerships and Foundation Giving for the YMCA of the USA: 

An interview with Meredith Scheuermann, US Bank Vice President and 1989 UW Oshkosh grad: 

An interview with Pat Downey, Business Development Specialist For Spectrum Communications and 1990 UW Oshkosh grad: 

Thank you for supporting Media Rants! 

In Memoriam: Doug Freshner

In my 35-plus years at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, I've become known as an outspoken person. Paradoxically, the people who've impacted me most intensely--those who model kindness, generosity, integrity, and decency--have often been soft-spoken.  

The greatest and most inspiring example is the late Doug Freshner. On January 24, 2026 Doug passed away. For about 3-5 years (in the 1998-2003 range), Doug was technical director for "Commentary," a cable television access program I co-produced and co-hosted with former Oshkosh Mayor James Mather. Working in a small Dempsey Hall studio, often with student interns, Doug treated "Commentary" like it had a budget of millions of dollars. (In fact we had no budget!). 

That's Doug Freshner in the middle around the year 2001, in between me and John Berens. Dr. Berens, former UW Oshkosh Polk Library Director, was also a great man who I admired. 

Mr. Mather and I interviewed local elected officials, local and state activists, Wisconsin democracy champions like Jay Heck and Mike McCabe, candidates for Wisconsin governor, local scholars and pundits, legendary Wisconsin journalists John Nichols and Joel McNally, and many others. I also hosted a few of Doug's "University" programs in which I had the opportunity to interview incredible people like food rights activist Deborah Toler, internationally acclaimed pianist Jania Aubakirova, and Friedhelm Ost of the German Bundestag. 

Thanks completely to Doug, Commentary/University won two "National Communicator" Awards of Distinction. 

How I came to work with Doug in the first place says a great deal about his character.  "Commentary" was originally produced in the early 1990s, when Radio/TV/Film students intrigued by my classroom rants about the need to create grassroots media to challenge the corporate behemoths, "challenged" me to start a campus program. The University administration hated the program from the beginning, in large part because Mr. Mather and I had the tendency to tell the truth and name names. Thankfully Mr. Mather had a great deal of credibility with the administrators, and I am convinced that it was only his presence that kept us on the air in the 1993-1995 range. In 1996 I suspended production of Commentary to run for the 54th assembly district, which I lost. I gave up on trying to bring Commentary back, in large part because by that time I was chair of a large and unwieldy Department of Communication and I no longer wanted to have to deal with administrative hostility. 

Then sometime in 1998 I got a call from Doug Freshner. I had met him only a few times at campus events, but he told me that he was a big fan of the old Commentary. He wondered if I would be interested in bringing it back. Doug was highly articulate about the role of--and need for--grassroots news media in places like northeast Wisconsin. His enthusiasm about that topic actually fired me up to want to work with him. He told me he had a studio in Dempsey Hall. I asked him if he was concerned about the harassment we would inevitably receive from the administrators, but he told me not to worry about it. To make a long story short, the programs Mr. Mather and I ended up doing with Doug were just incredible. Mr. Mather and I enjoyed every single moment we got to work with Doug Freshner. The quality of our programs was so high that, even when the administrators eventually forced Doug out of his studio, Mr. Mather and I were able to get student producers to take it on for another year or so. 

Doug Freshner hard at work in the studio around 2002.

For me Doug Freshner was like a local version of the great George Stoney, the "father of public access television" who understood that the media airwaves belong to the people, and that audiovisual technology should never be monopolized by for-profit corporations. Stoney once said: 

We look on cable as a way of encouraging public action, not just access. Social change comes with a combination of use of media and people getting out on the streets or getting involved. And we find that if people make programs together and put them on the local channel, that gets them involved.

Neither "Commentary" nor "University" had the reach of any mainstream cable television program. But did they provoke involvement and action? Absolutely. Good evidence of that is how hard upper level administrators worked to undermine or ban the program. Even better evidence is how many of Doug's interns, and students I worked with, went on and pursued careers in public service or became otherwise active in their communities.  

Every now and then Doug would post something on social media about Commentary

My favorite memory of Doug dates back to the summer of 2001. He knew that I was a great fan of Milwaukee's "Sewer Socialist" mayors of the 20th century. When I went to Doug's studio in early August of that year, Doug said, "do you think you and Mr. Mather would like to interview Frank Zeidler?"  Zeidler was the last of the Sewer Socialist mayors, serving from 1948-1960. Doug got Mayor Zeidler to agree to let us interview him in Zeidler's Milwaukee home. Zeidler was almost 90 years old at the time, yet he was the most lucid, insightful, and engaging former elected official I had ever spoken to. A few weeks after the interview he sent Doug a letter: 

September 6, 2001

Mr. Doug Freshner
Program Manager 
Electronic Media Relations 
UW Oshkosh 
Dear Mr. Freshner: 

Many thanks for the copy of the video you made of the interview of me by Tony Palmeri and Jim Mather. This video for the program "Commentary" gave me a good opportunity to air views on many subjects. I surely appreciate this. Mr. Palmeri and Mr. Mather's questioning and guiding of the discussion opened the way for responses to critical and important questions. It was a good occasion and I surely hope that the record thus made will be useful for viewers and students of local government. The University, yourself, and Mr. Palmeri and former Mayor Mather have my thanks for developing the video. I think I passed muster with my own family who viewed the presentation, though my statements could have been more clearly expressed on some topics.

The video was very well done. I will be showing it at some of the meetings I attend in Milwaukee. Best success in your work in the complex and growing world of media relations.

Cooperatively,

Frank Zeidler

Doug Freshner retired from UW Oshkosh a long time ago. We lost touch, but thanks to the wonders of social media we were able to reconnect. Occasionally we would share some memories. Back in 2013, out of nowhere, he wrote me an unsolicited endorsement on LinkedIN: "Dr. Palmeri is a master of whatever he chooses to do. He's a problem solver. We worked on a cable TV program together. He in front of the camera, and me behind in the production end. In over 100 1hour programs, he always arrived at the studio well prepared. I witnessed him take on other challenges with the same thoroughness. That's why I recommend him."

I think this post only provides a glimpse of the greatness of Doug Freshner. If someone were to ask me whose picture should be in the dictionary to illustrate the word "gentleman," I would say Doug Freshner. He was truly a gentle man, respectful of and engaged with everyone in his presence. He understood, more keenly than most, that the "behind the scenes" people are the real generators of positive change. My life changed very much as a result of my interaction with Doug--very much for the better that is. 

Thank you Doug. You made a real difference. 

Ten Bold Cover Tunes, Part XV: Imagine Edition

Have not posted one of these in a while. For parts 1-14 in the Ten Bold Cover Tunes series, click this link and scroll down. 

Watching television this past New Year's Eve, I was reminded once again of just how awful the broadcast and cable shows leading up to midnight have become. As Times Square became more corporate, these highly contrived "celebrations" devolved into three hours of commercial product placement, narcissistic and not-so-funny hosts, excessively lip-synced musical guests, and cringeworthy patriotic displays.  

Be that as it may, every year there is one highlight: at 5-minutes before midnight in New York, an artist performs John Lennon's "Imagine."  The most recent New Year's Eve performance of the song, by Australian Indie-Pop artist Tones and I, was one of the best covers of the tune I have heard. Born Toni Watson, Tones and I has one of the most unique vocal styles among contemporary singers. That in addition to the somber tone with which she delivers the song--perhaps in recognition of the tragic state of the world right now--makes it very engaging. 

Here are nine additional covers of  "Imagine," in no particular order: 

*The pop-rock group Train performed one of the most rockin' versions of the song at the 2013 New Year's Eve festivities. The addition of a youth choir was a nice touch. 

*Lady Gaga's performance of "Imagine" at the opening ceremonies of the 2015 European Games is truly breathtaking. She starts off with a subdued style and then at around the half-way mark becomes an operatic force. 

*I remember watching Neil Young's performance of "Imagine" live on television on Sept. 21, 2001 as part of the "Tribute to Heroes" celebration of first responders and others. I found it profoundly moving at the time. 

*If Neil Young's version of Imagine is a classic Baby Boomer treatment, then Jessie J.'s has to be a Millennial Generation archetype. I love the passion in her version. 

*Rachel Platten thinks that song can change the world. I do too. 

*Another excellent version of "Imagine" features alternative rock band X Ambassadors and their great vocalist Sam Nelson Harris. 

*I find Garth Brooks' and Trisha Yearwood's version of "Imagine," performed at President Jimmy Carter's funeral, somewhat subversive given that their immediate audience are members of the political and institutionalized religion class(es) that John Lennon rebelled against. 

*I'm sure John Lennon looked fondly on his son Julian's version of "Imagine" featuring the great guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. 

*My personal favorite cover of "Imagine" is probably Shakira's, performed at the UN General Assembly in 2015. The General Assembly, filled as it is with a large share of Machiavellian political apparatchiks, religious posers, and assorted other disreputable characters, should be forced to listen to political protest songs every now and then.