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Al Franken for Senate!
Al Franken is reportedly telling "Democratic members of Congress and prominent DFLers" that he's definitely running for Senate from Minnesota. That will presumably be against Norm Coleman:
The Star Tribune confirmed today that Franken made calls to at least two members of the Minnesota congressional delegation in Washington to break the news. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity, not wanting to pre-empt Franken's announcement.
I guess that didn't work out too well.
This site fully supports Stuart Smalley's candidacy, and we've already started throwing chairs in expectation of him coasting to victory. Our sources indicate that his first actions in office will be to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, followed by a move to ban all assault weapons (broadly defined to include all rifles, shotguns, and handguns), mandate abortions on demand, declare open borders with Mexico, appoint Al Gore as the Grand Vizier of Environment, and rename the Washington Monument after George Soros. His agenda after the first 100 day is unclear.
UPDATE: Perez Hilton, watch out! Catty RBMN, in comments here, says:
Franken's first task might be to discuss his cocaine and pot use before his "friends," like Tom Davis, Lorne Michaels, Dan Akroyd, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Loraine Newman, or various old SNL writers do it for him.
"Ace" goes even further:
He's watched class after class and cohort after cohort of SNL co-workers go on to have huge careers and become big honking movie stars, and yet he was the guy who... just kept working as a writer at SNL... He was a bitter, vicious little jerkoff when he was 21. Imagine how that bitterness grew as he saw most of his contemporaries make it big...
Posted in StuartSmalley at 03:30 PM | Comments (0)
So, aren't you creeped out or something?
As regular readers may have noticed, the center background is currently an endlessly repeated picture of Al Franken. In part this is an homage to the Bush fan site "pardonmyenglish.com", which at one time had a huge picture of America's best-ever president as its background graphic. And, in part, this is a sacrifice I'm making for the greater good. My feeling is that while many people will be completely turned off to this site because of the graphic, they will also be likewise completely turned off to any Senate campaign by Stuart Smalley.
Posted in Blog at 01:59 PM | Comments (0)
Sheldon Drobny v. Rob Glaser: AAR can't be rescued
Air America co-founder Sheldon Drobny continues his tirades against AAR's management with this reaction to the news that AAR has finally found a buyer. Unfortunately, it's less loony than previous Shelly outings, but it makes up for it with his snipes against Rob Glaser and the rest of the Air America board. He also questions whether the network is worth anything because many of their affiliates are dropping out of the network due to their contracts being up, and they have no real star power. And, needless to say, he promotes his new venture, the Nova M Network.
Posted in Sheldon Drobny at 10:47 AM | Comments (0)
Air America bought by Stephen Green?
The latest twist and turn in the Air America saga is that they're going to be bought out and taken out of bankruptcy not by the French family (thank you Drudge and WSJ, no really, thank you), but by New York real estate baron Stephen L. Green. He's the brother of long-time NYC politico Mark Green, who's a frequent guest on the network and an occasional fill-in host. The latter was the NYC public advocate and ran for mayor against Mike Bloomberg in 2001. AAR has confirmed this tentative agreement, but it still needs to be approved by the bankruptcy court.
Posted in Meta at 10:26 AM | Comments (7)
Al Franken leaves Air America Radio
Air America has announced that Al Franken will be leaving the network on February 14, Valentine's Day. Thom Hartmann will be taking over his show, leaving Randi Rhodes as the only remaining semi-demi-celebrity on the entire network.
While at first this might appear to be a wonderful gift to the nation, in fact it's a trojan horse. As it is now, Franken is safely ensconced on a network that no one listens to, only gaining attention from the occasional fawning reporter. After he leaves, the media will be inundated with even more fawning reports as he continues to consider running for Senate from Minnesota and then even more reports when he finally throws his hat in the ring.
And, we'll be here to rain on their parade.
UPDATE: Here's my Al Franken tribute video.
Posted in StuartSmalley at 10:16 AM | Comments (3)
Ed Schultz {hearts} Barack Hussein Obama
RawStory can exclusively report that Ed Schultz has dissed Hillary Clinton... and gone on to an hours-long meeting with Barack Obama! It isn't known which weighty topics the Senator - whose middle name is the same as the last name of former Iraq dictator and sociopathic maniac Saddam Hussein - discussed with the porcine former arena football player, but Schultz was apparently unhappy with the treatment he'd received from Clinton's media people, who apparently made him feel like an insignificant host of a barely-listened-to "progressive" program from the frosty upper Midwest.
In fact, in a screed which the tubby talker no doubt penned while downing a triple-Whopper and extra large fries from the King, Schultz says:
Cutting to the chase, Hillary's people treat us like dirt. We are constantly disregarded, told things that aren't true, and given speculation an interview might happen someday.UPDATE: B. Hussein Obama explains his first name here:
Quite frankly, I'm sick of it. This morning I watched Hillary Clinton tell CNN she is accessible. What? To the TV cameras yes, to the base of loyal listeners on progressive talk radio, absolutely not!
Reaching over 2.5 million listeners who are engaged in changing the country I believe qualifies us for some attention. I realize Hillary is an international figure and star but this pattern of treatment to The Ed Schultz Show has been an on-going pattern which tells me all they care about is her mug on TV.
Obama — whose father, stepfather, brother and grandfather were Muslims — explained his own first name, Barack, in "Dreams": "It means 'Blessed.' In Arabic. My grandfather was a Muslim."
Posted in Ed Schultz at 07:29 PM | Comments (3)
Air America bailed out by French family of Westchester...
Breaking hard... Developing... Must credit Bore America...
UPDATING: This breaking story - first announced here - is burning up the wires, as new details emerge... French family owns New York TV station WRNN... consortium involved, will buy Piquant LLC, owners of Air America... if deal collapses, AAR might be forced into immediate liquidation... But:
If the acquisition does go through, it could lead to several programming changes at the liberal talk-radio network. Richard French, son of WRNN owner Dick French, will likely get his own show in prime time on Air America. Richard French, formerly a New York State Democratic Party official, already has a nightly show on WRNN, "Richard French Live," where he has hosted guests including Sen. Hillary Clinton (D., N.Y.). Richard French couldn't be reached to comment. Currently Air America runs a political show hosted by David Bender at 8 p.m. EST and an environmental show hosted by Betsy Rosenberg at 9 p.m... [Marc Maron] says Air America executives have been in touch with him to discuss a possible show, pending the signed deal with the Frenches.
UPDATE: Frigging WSJ via Drudge: Air America bought by Stephen Green?
Posted in Meta at 09:38 PM | Comments (4)
"Franken Considering Running" articles to soon end
Miraculous news from the Associated Press! It seems that in just a few short weeks Al Franken will finally decide whether he's running for Senator from Cowlandia, aka Minnesota.
This will finally put an end to the endless string of completely-unbiased articles which coyly speculate whether Franken will run or not. Sometimes they even quote him as kicking the idea around, but he coyly never reveals what he's going to do! Oh, that rapscalion!
Finally, the MSM will have to explicitly come out and support his candidacy rather than simply endlessly beating around the bush and pre-hyping.
Posted in StuartSmalley at 08:01 PM | Comments (0)
"Media Reform", Dennis Kucinich and the Fairness Doctrine
The National Conference for Media Reform was held last weekend in Memphis and as previously discussed featured a constellation of stars from the far left side of the sky. Even Air America broadcast live from the event.
A surprise attendee was Dennis Kucinich, who announced that he's focusing his efforts on the FCC and an attempt to bring back the "Fairness Doctrine". That would presumably mandate that stations that offer four hours of Rush Limbaugh would have to offer four hours of Randi Rhodes as well. Since the market hasn't treated "progressive" radio that well, might as well try government fiat. Hey, things like that have worked well where they've been tried.
The Presidential candidate said that the committee would be holding "hearings to push media reform right at the center of Washington." The Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee was to be officially announced this week in Washington, D.C., but Kucinich opted to make the news public early.
There's more on the confab in "The Plan To Silence Conservatives", including the news that said confab was funded by a group that's received at least $400,000 from George Soros' Open Society Institute. That connection wasn't disclosed in the official program. Manning and womyning one of the booths were comrades from the Revolutionary Communist Party, an Air America advertiser. And:
[Webster Tarpley, a former associate of Lyndon LaRouche], an "expert" on how 9/11 was a U.S. plot, was a featured guest for two hours on Air America, the liberal radio network now in bankruptcy because of bad management and dismal ratings.
And:
Reaching new levels of hysteria, Rep. Maurice Hinchey said the survival of America was itself at stake because "neo-fascist" and "neo-con" talk-show hosts led by Rush Limbaugh had facilitated the "illegal" war in Iraq and were complicit in President Bush's repeated violations of the Constitution, such as by detaining terrorists. He warned that the "right-wing oriented media" were now preparing the way for Bush to wage war on Iran and Syria... His answer, a bill titled the "Media Ownership Reform Act," would reinstate the federal fairness doctrine and authorize bureaucrats at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to monitor and alter the content of radio and television programs.
Later, he spoke on Air America.
While this site usually laughs at, scoffs, makes fun of, and generally mocks Air America, it's meetings like this that reveal their more ominous side.
Posted in Meta at 12:15 AM | Comments (0)
Bright spot: gospel doing worse than Air America!
Raise a glass of organic champagne and celebrate, because:
...the gospel format at WLIB (1190 AM)... is down from the previous Air America format.
Trivia question: is this the first piece of good news Air America has ever had?
Posted in Meta at 09:01 AM | Comments (0)
NonStopRadio.com needs your help to keep progressive radio growing!
This site has recently learned of another site called www.nonstopradio.com, and we fully support their efforts to keep progressive radio - including Air America - on the air in "endangered" markets. All you need to do is go there and sign up by giving them your name and email address. Don't worry! They are all committed leftists just like us, and there could be no harm in letting them put you on a list. Don't worry so much! This site has looked in to them, and can assure you that they aren't a massive COINTELPRO-style outfit designed to identify fellow travelers so they can be surveilled and even rounded up when the time comes. It's not like that at all! I assure you, it's OK.
And, sign up even if you don't live in one of these markets that have or are about to flip:
Little Rock, AR
Quad Cities, IA/IL
New Orleans, LA
Bufallo/Niagara Falls, NY
San Antonio, TX
Santa Cruz, CA
Baton Rouge, LA
Binghamton, NY
Albany, OR
Huntington, WV
Don't worry, they're one of us!
Posted in Satire at 10:55 PM | Comments (0)
Media Reform Conference in Memphis Jan 13 and 14
Bill Moyers and a veritable constellation of lefties will be conducting their annual cry-in/whine-o-fest/Media Reform Conference in Memphis this weekend. Their full schedule is here, and here's a map of the conference center.
This site has a list of the speakers. In addition to two current and one former FCC commissioners, here are a few names at random:
Duncan Black, "Atrios" blogger
David Brancaccio, PBS
David Brock, Media Matters for America
Adrienne Maree Brown, Ruckus Society
Phil Donahue, television host
Laura Flanders, Air America
Jane Fonda, actor and co-Founder, Women's Media Center
Kim Gandy, president, National Organization for Women
Danny Glover, actor and activist
Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
Maurice Hinchey, U.S. representative
Rev. Jesse Jackson, civil rights leader
Mark Lloyd, Center for American Progress
Ed Markey, U.S. representative
Joan "McJoan" McCarter, Daily Kos
Alex Nogales, National Hispanic Media Coalition
Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator
Helen Thomas, Hearst Newspapers
Cenk Ugyur, The Young Turks
Noah Winer, MoveOn.org Civic Action
Posted in Meta at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)
Even Workin' It leaves Air America Radio
The latest 'Rat to leave the sinking Air America Radio ship is Jackie Guerra, whose "Workin' It" show has left that network and is now part of the Jones Radio Network. As such, it will appear on about 46 stations.
Posted in AlsoRans at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
WTPG/WYTS protest to be held
On Monday, a group of ardent Air America Radio fans will protest Clear Channel's decision to remove AAR programming from Columbus, Ohio's WTPG (AM 1230). That station has since switched its call letters to WYTS and on the same day as the march it will begin offering sports, consumer shows, Laura Ingraham, and... Michael Savage.
Oh, the horror!
Tom Thon, Clear Channel's Columbus market manager, reveals the conspiracy thusly:
"Far and away, the communiques have been in opposition to our changes... It's really nothing more than human nature and human emotion taking over and not liking change... Unfortunately, central Ohio listeners did not respond to the progressive format... It's been very underperforming in ratings and revenue."
I would hardly call tying for 23rd "underperforming". After all, there were eight stations doing even worse!
Posted in Meta at 12:09 PM | Comments (1)
Judge: Defamation suit against bankrupt Air America can proceed
The "government contractor" CACI - which is involved in some way in U.S. prisons in Iraq - has been cleared to proceed with their defamation suit against Air America and Randi Rhodes over statements she made on her show:
The suit stemmed from comments Rhodes made Aug. 25-26, 2005 on her radio show. According to CACI's complaint, she accused CACI employees of raping and murdering Iraqi civilians at Abu Ghraib prison, claims that CACI said were "false and defamatory."
They claim that the fact that Air America is bankrupt doesn't matter because any judgment would be paid by insurance. As everyone knows, it would never be paid out of profits.
Posted in RandiRhodes at 10:06 PM | Comments (1)
