Two Alabama Public TV Executives Fired By Theocratic, Tea Party Affiliated, Activist Commissioners File Civil Suit

Thanks to Chuck Anziulewicz for the following update in the case of the 2 Alabama Public Television executives who were fired by Tea Party affiliated, theocratic, activist APT commissioners. According to the DemocraticUnderground.com story Chuck sent me, the two fired executives, Allan Pizatto and Pauline Howland, have filed a civil suit.


' "According to the lawsuit, “certain members of the Commission wanted to impose their own personal, political and religious views” on the commission and staff to guide the station’s programming, and at least one commissioner “has publicly expressed support for and aligned himself with a political group with a stated goal of defunding public broadcasting.” The Plaintiff also notes that a mass exodus of staffers and fundraisers followed the firings and that a number of commissioners “made threats against the Plaintiff.” ' - source: DemocraticUnderground.com.


For more on how theocrats are trying to use taxpayer funded, public broadcasting to advance their political and religious agends, see my 23 July, 7 June and 20 January posts.


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Two Public Television Executives Fired For Refusal To Air Theocratic Programming

Broadcasting & Cable reports that Alabama Public Television's board fired executive director, Allan Pizzato, and deputy director, Pauline Howland, presumably because Pizzato and Howland refused to air programming from WallBuilders, an organization whose stated mission is to present "America's forgotten history and heroes with an emphasis on the moral, religious and constitutional foundation on which America was built." 


Let me translate. WallBuilders wants to redact America's history in accordance with founder David Barton's teachings that America should be a Christian nation with no separation of church and state. If you've ever watched Glenn Beck, you've probably seen David Barton preaching his theocratic vision for America.


So far, all of the involved parties are mum about why Pizzato and Howland were fired but "minutes from recent AETC meetings reveal that commissioners had been working behind the scenes to pressure APT's professional staff to broadcast programs from evangelical historian and conservative activist David Barton." says Current.org. 


If Current.org and Broadcasting & Cable got the story right, Howland and Pizzato were right to resist pressure from commission member, Rod Herring and others who want to use a taxpayer-funded public broadcasting service to distort American history and promote a Glenn Beck/David Barton style theocracy in which there is no separation of church and state.


Read my 7 June and 20 January archives to learn about how West Virginia Public Broadcasting's staff has been promoting Christianity through its programming.


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Higginbotham At Large welcomes comments as long as they are not anonymous or pseudonymous.