Flaming Liberal

 May 5, 2004

TO: Mr. Joe Davis, Director of Public Affairs for the Veterans of Foreign Wars

FROM: David C. Bellinger

Dear Mr. Davis,

Mr. Davis, first let me thank you for taking the time to listen to my grievance and to listen to the evidence I played for you in our telephone conversation on May 3, 2004.  The telephone conversations I played for you were recorded on WWL AM 870 radio which is a 50,000 watt clear channel station broadcasting from New Orleans, La., and I strongly and firmly feel the discourse I played for you was responsible for my effective banishment from the Andre Trevigne program on WWL AM 870 radio where, very ironically and very sadly, the mantra of the program is, “Let’s Put the Truth on the Table!”

Mr. Davis, as you heard in the recording I played for you concerning my outrage regarding information from  an article published in the New Orleans Times-Picayune (copy of article pasted below ) titled, “va Services Cutback Riles Some Local Veterans” (http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/washington/index.ssf) I am sure you can attest to the fact that every word, syllable, and letter from the article I quoted on the Andre Trevigne program on WWL radio was accurate, true, and correct in every imaginable detail.

Well, Mr. Davis, as a result of my concern regarding what I felt was a totally unjustified and unwarranted cutback in veterans services on the part of the Bush administration based on the reputable source I have pasted in this e-mail, I was, as you heard in the recording I played for you, rudely shouted at by the host of the program, accused of lying no less than three times by Ms. Trevigne, and Ms. Trevigne twice inferred I was being “paid” to call her program!

And Mr. Davis just for the record, and I am disappointed that I have to even address this absolutely ludicrous and absurd accusation that I am being paid to telephone Ms. trevigne’s program, I am perfectly willing to  sign an affidavit under the penalty of perjury that I have at no time in my entire life have ever been offered or have I ever accepted so much as a penny for ever telephoning a radio talk program and, in addition, I will gladly donate every dollar I am worth to Children’s Hospital of New Orleans if anyone would produce evidence I have ever accepted money for telephoning a radio talk program and I would be willing to fully disclose my full and complete financial history to dismiss this silly and fallacious charge.

Furthermore, to repeat my earlier accusation, I most fervently feel and believe that Ms. Trevigne has quite deliberately and very perniciously refused to accept any of my future telephone calls to her program under my radio moniker, Elwood, from the time she most incorrectly accused me of lying on the veteran’s health care issue, a fact Mr. Davis you know I correctly and accurately related on her radio program because you very generously gave of your time to listen to the conversation, and making the ridiculous charge that I was being paid to call her program on a matter I felt so passionately concerned I could not help expressing my outrage on a radio talk show.

Mr. Davis, I am perfectly willing to agree and admit that WWL radio, for whatever reason, has a right to control their programming; however, I feel equally as strong that under the Constitution of the United States of America I have a constitutionally guaranteed right to “peacefully” speak out, as a form of protest, and communicate to citizens and organizations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars my utter and absolute disgust that a radio broadcaster has essentially, in my opinion, instead of serving the public interest, which I believe is a FCC mandated regulation, has chosen to pursue and to disseminate a political agenda that is, in my opinion, quite clearly and evidently extremely protective, to the extent of stifling free and responsible speech, of the current administration occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D. C.

and Mr. Davis, you know for an undeniable fact when you were kind enough to listen to the recording I played for you of my conversation with ms Trevigne where I attempted to speak out against the veterans’ cutbacks that at “no” time was I, in any manner, ever rude, discourteous, or impolite or did I ever make any accusations directed at Ms. Trevigne of any kind as Ms. Trevigne most outrageously and impertinently directed at me, I believe, to somehow attempt to impugn my character and what an abominable shame my only “offense” was accurately and correctly speaking out and opposing what I honestly and sincerely felt was a matter of deep distress ; that is, a new policy by the Bush administration which would cause the discontinuance of medical care and treatment for 164,000 United States military veterans.

So as a consequence of my speaking out and opposing what I most sincerely and honestly felt was an affront and an inexcusable outright attack on the medical care and benefits of the men and women who have served and have sacrificed in the United States military for the purpose of upholding and defending the Constitution of the United States of America, Ms. Trevigne, or perhaps the decision was made by the management of WWL radio, my privilege to express a responsible and factual viewpoint by way of using the public airways I feel has been very unfairly, if not maliciously,  revoked because Ms. Trevigne has discontinued accepting my telephone calls to her program under my radio moniker from the time the incident I have related to you occurred and I have been left on hold for as long as two hours which is the length of her program!

So Mr. Davis, if the veterans of foreign wars would do nothing other then to express the same revulsion that I am feeling at this time by giving me the moral support of the Veterans of Foreign Wars regarding, what I feel should be a right given that men and women of the U. S. Armed Forces are currently dying in Iraq for freedom, my privilege to call and express a factual and responsible viewpoint using the public airways, the same airspace men and women of the United States Armed Forces have fought, sacrificed, and died to defend.

Therefore, Mr. Davis, just as you asked me to I have listed below the names and addresses of the top management of the Entercom Corp, the owner of WWL AM 870 radio in New Orleans and would you please consider posting my e-mail and your response or responses to my e-mail on the VFW website.  And would you also please copy me in by e-mail any response or responses you may write regarding my e-mail and my e-mail address is: davidc53@juno.com

Sincerely and respectfully a concerned citizen proud to take a stance for United States veterans,

David C. Bellinger

Chairman and Chief Executive officer of D & B Research

New Orleans, La.

(504) 246-3100 or (504) 246-2857

P. S. I have on tape the conversation I had with Ms. Trevigne which I feel was responsible for my banishment from her program and will most gladly play for any interested party and any interested party is very welcome to telephone me at (504) 246-2863 and you are welcome to telephone 24/7.

Mr. David Field

President and CEO Entercom Corp.

401 City Avenue

Suite 809

Bala Cynwyd, PA  19004

Tel. No. (610) 660 5610

E-mail address: djfield@entercom.com

Mr. Jack Donlevie, Attorney

Entercom, Corp.

401 City Avenue

Suite 809

Bala Cynwyd, PA  19004

Telephone No. 610 660 5638

E-mail address: jack@entercom.com

Ms. Connie Macera

Vice-President and General Manager for Entercom of New Orleans

1450 Poydras Street

Suite 500

New Orleans, La.  70122

Tel No. (504) 593-1897

E-mail address: cmacera@entercom.com

Mr. Phil Hoover

General Manager of WWL AM 870

1450 Poydras Street

Suite 500

New Orleans, La.  70122

Tel No. (504) 593-1875

E-mail address: phoover@entercom.com

Cc: U. S. Senator Tom Daschle, Minority Leader of the U. S. Senate,  U. S. Senator, John Kerry, U. S. Senator John Breaux, U. S. Senator Mary  Landrieu, Us. Representative Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the U. S. House of Representatives,  U. S. Representative William Jefferson,  Mr. Michael Powell, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, The American Legion National Headquarters, AFL-CIO National Headquarters, Mr. Howard Stern, The American Family Assn., ABC News 26, Mr. Terry O’Connor, Editor of New Orleans City Business, Mr. Jim Amoss, Editor of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Mr. Bruce Alpert, Newhouse Publishing, Mr. David Walker, Times-Picayune Reporter,  Ms. Rene Peck, Times-Picayune Reporter, Mr. Jerry McLeod, Times-Picayune TV Focus Editor, Ms. Martha Carr, Times-Picayune Reporter, Mr. James gill, times-picayune Reporter, Mr. Kris rose, times-picayune Reporter, Mr. David Cuthbert, Times-Picayune Reporter, Ms. Annette Cisco, Times-Picayune Editorial Editor, Mr. Bruce Nolan, Times-Picayune Reporter, Mr. Michael Tisserand, Editor of Gambit Weekly, Mr. Chris Tidmore, Political Writer for the Louisiana Weekly, Mr. Gene Gaudette, Editor of American Politics.com, ACORN, The ACLU of Louisiana

 “VA SERVICES CUTBACK RILES SOME LOCAL VETERANS”

Demand outstrips money, agency says

posted by oyster  # 1:32 PM 0 comments

 Re: “Elizabeth Rickey, GOP Activist,” New Orleans Times-Picayune, by Danny Monteverd, September 15, 2009

Dear Blogger:

Elizabeth Rickey’s courageous efforts to combat the influence and political rise of David Duke’s practice of hate politics must never be forgotten. Ms. Rickey’s intrepid deeds to discredit the claim by the Nazi uniform wearing, cross burning, white power shouting, Jew hating, Klan Wizard that Duke had disassociated himself from his past of hate included a trip to Chicago, after Duke was elected to the Louisiana State House, to photograph Duke shaking hands with Art Jones, then the vice chairman of the American Nazi Party, at the convention of the ultra-conservative Populist Party.

However, regrettably, and quite amazing, remnants of the era of David Duke remain in the Louisiana Republican Party State Central Committee, where Ms. Rickey once served. The election of one of Duke’s most vehement supporters, a former appointee to the Causeway Commission by the Jefferson Parish Council, and perennial candidate for public office, Keith Rush, to a seat on the Louisiana Republican Party State Central Committee, in June 2007, reversed whatever gains made by the GOP to cut its ties from the Duke legacy. With the help and support of Kenner’s Republican mayor, Ed Muniz, who nominated Rush to fill a vacancy, Rush was elected without opposition by the party’s central committee. Even more regrettable, but not surprising, Rush was re-elected to the Louisiana State Republican Party Central Committee, with a 2-1 majority from a district (82nd District, Sub-district A) in Metairie, Duke’s old stomping ground.

As noted in the Times-Picayune article referenced above, taking leave of her Ph. D. studies at Tulane University, “Ms. Rickey worked for the election of John Treen when John Treen opposed Duke in a run-off election to serve in the (Louisiana) house 81 District.”At the other end of the deep Mariana Trench low, in the spectrum of “no shame” respectability and gutter decorum, in the 1989 House 81 run-off, “Duke has no notable political figures behind him, but longtime New Orleans area radio talk-show host Keith Rush endorsed him this week.” -- Source: “Flood of Endorsements likely to help Treen, Analysts Predict,” by Barri Marsh, Times-Picayune, 1989. Moreover, a further mega stain on the Louisiana GOP, on the scale of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Rush has been named to the Southern Poverty Hatewatch blog: http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2007/08/02/duke-supporter-elected-to-louisiana-gop-governing-committee/ -- an unimaginable embarrassment, even by Louisiana standards. And when Keith Rush was a talk show host at WTIX (now WIST) the U. S. Secret Service paid a visit to the station to give a warning because Keith Rush was putting out words that "encouraged" violence against William Jefferson Clinton, then the President of the United States!

Keith Rush represents the worst of Louisiana’s history of hate, and Rush can only bring more disgrace to the soiled legacy of Louisiana politics.And when will we read that the Republican Party will disassociate the Party from Keith Rush, and his sordid past? But, thus far, “no” Republican official has denounced Rush serving as a member on the governing body of the Louisiana GOP! Furthermore, David Duke backed Rush’s candidacy for a Jefferson Parish Council seat in 1991, telling supporters in an endorsement letter, “He thinks like we do. He believes in the things we believe in.” –- Source: “BLACK DISTRICT AND A DUKE PROTÉGÉ,” by James Gill, Times-Picayune, April 21, 1991. And from a Keith Rush remedial campaign letter when running for the Jefferson Parish council to known supporters of Duke, which I would say with confidence, assuredly included a generous assortment of skinheads, Klansman, and neo-Nazis, and a myriad of Arian believers as well: "Dear David Backer” – and how is Mrs. "Backer"?

Having Rush serving as a GOP official on the Party’s State Central Committee, in 2009, I cannot imagine a less appropriate testament by the GOP to honor Elizabeth Rickey’s valiant work, and what a shame. As a person who once had the honor of knowing Ms. Elizabeth Rickey, a Republican I sincerely admired and respected, I take her passing with sorrow and deep regret. She was indeed a most decent and accomplished lady. And Ms. Rickey, was the niece of Mr. Branch Rickey, who hired the great Jackie Robinson in 1947, breaking the color barrier of major league baseball.

David C. Bellinger, formerly (due to Katrina) of New Orleans, not wishing to return to a state which would embrace a politician who spoke for and supported the agenda of David Duke, and who is now serving in an elected capacity with the Louisiana GOP.

Atlanta, GA
(404) 762-8779
E-mail: davidc53@juno.com

posted by oyster  # 1:24 PM 0 comments