two tv projects i've been meaning to point to...

The First Ammendment Project:"
- on the Sundance Channel (with Court TV). I've seen two of them, both really strong. The first one was on the police activities at the RNC in New York last summer. Called "Some Assembly Required" directed by John Walter, it was the first coverage i've seen on the police tactics. I was there, shooting during each day of the RNC and i have to say that the image of police men with orange snow fencing coraling people by the hundreds and putting them into vans is one i'll never forget. What i saw - and the media didn't report - was that most of these people were average folks... out expressing thier right to public gathering and free speach. And lots of folks who got arrested weren't do much other than standing on the public street or sidewalk. This film was a really well made reflection of what really happened.

The second film in this series is Nick Doob and Chris Hegedus' "Fox vs. Franken" film. Another well made, funny, sharp look at the First Amendemeent. In this case, the most surprsing thing was the interview that Chris and Nick were able to record with the Judge, the Honorable Denny Chin.
The Judge gives a rare account of how the case appeared from his side of the bench - reading the transcriptgives you a clue.

It's out on DVDif you can't catch it on Sundance.

The second series is BULLSHIT! With Penn and Teller Here's a list of the season three topics: Circumcision, Family Values
Conspiracy Theories. Life Coaching, Holier Than Thou, College, Big Brother,Hair

You have to tune in to see what's going on, but as each season goes on, they seem to get madder and madder. It's like John Stewart, but with more cursing and a harder edge. Worth a look.