Pacifica's "freedom of speech"

The so-called "New Pacifica" is nothing if not hypocritical. Here, facts are as flexible as the people who state them. The love-hate relationship Gary Null maintains with WBAI and its management is a case in point. On December 8, he delivered a tirade against the station, the management, and Pacifica itself, painting a picture of himself as poised for a major attack. A top-notch crew of attorneys were in the wings awaiting King Null's cue. He had, or so he claimed, given Pacifica his demands for sweeping changes and a deadline for meeting them. If this drastic makeover was not met by that designated date, Null's legal army would attach within 24 hours.

Here's the December 8 threat.

Notice that Mr. Null did not share his deadline date with us, but when he subsequently staged a fundraising event for WBAI, he told listeners that he was both pleased and surprised to see Berthold Reimers and family in attendance. This indicated that Pacifica must have reacted to his warning, so some of us listened for major changes. So far, two weeks later, WBAI sounds as stale as ever, and there is no word of the Pacifica National Board having done anything but continue its war of the factions.

In other words, there is good reason to believe that Null's strong threat was yet another bluff. Flip Flop lives on as the network Lew Hill built continues to turn into a crumbling voice for black racism.  

On yesterday's program, Null gave out a number for listeners to call in the very likely event that he would be kicked off WBAI's air. You won't hear the number in this sound clip, but here's what he had to say on his December  23 broadcast.