Involved in Blacklist?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Involved in Blacklist?

Corporation for Public Broadcasting chairman Ken Tomlinson is demanding that PBS Anchor Bill Moyers issue a correction after Moyers suggested over the weekend that Tomlinson was involved in a blacklist of liberal journalists during the 1980s, when some Americans were prevented from lecturing overseas on behalf of the Voice of America.

Moyers said Tomlinson "was running the Voice of America back in 1984 ... [and had] the authority to see the lists of potential speakers and ... strike people's names." But in a letter to Moyers, Tomlinson says, "Bill, you can't make this stuff up. No one has ever linked me to any form of black list incident. ... You may want to issue an apology ... But you most certainly must issue a correction." Moyers' office said it hadn't seen the letter.

A “Pryce” To Pay?

House Republican Conference chairman Deborah Pryce is calling on congressional offices to cancel their subscriptions to Newsweek magazine, insisting, "retraction and regrets will not atone for the reckless behavior of an irresponsible reporter and an overzealous publication."

Meanwhile, California Democratic Congressman Pete Stark is condemning the White House's criticism of Newsweek as "the pot ... calling the kettle black," insisting, "This is the same administration that lied to the Congress, the [U.N.] and the American people by fabricating reasons to send us to war. ... how can the Bush administration, with a straight face, denounce a journalist for not checking all the facts before going public with a story?"

Native American After All?

University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill, whose hiring was based partly on his declarations of Native American heritage, insists he is Native American, even though he doesn't claim to have a single drop of Native American blood in him.

In a 50-page document sent to university officials yesterday, Churchill says he meets three key criteria to being Native American: First, he calls himself Native American. Second, others believe he's Native American. And third, a tribe of Indians in Oklahoma has awarded him an associate membership.

Sermon Should Send Station Head Packing?

The U.S.-based Simon Wiesenthal Center is calling on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to fire the head of Palestinian TV, whom Abbas appointed. This after the station carried a live, uninterrupted sermon last week by Sheikh Ibrahim Mudairis — whose speech included this tidbit: "The Jews are a virus like AIDS hitting humankind ... [They] are responsible for all wars and conflicts ... Do not ask what Germany did to the Jews, but what the Jews did to Germany." The Wiesenthal Center says it has rarely, if ever, seen "such a blatant anti-Semitic ... canard broadcast on Palestinian TV."

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report