Thom Hartmann gets $400 million, eight year contract!
Shocking, nearly unbelievable news from the radio world today, as Air America host Thom Hartmann has been given an unprecendented $400 million (400,000,000 dollars!!!) contract that will have him on the airwaves until 2016!
EMBARRASSING CORRECTION/UPDATE: It appears I was wrong. It's actually Rush Limbaugh who's received that contract. Hartman has his original contract, but word on the street is that they've upgraded the donuts they feed him from day-old to fresh. This site apologizes for any confusion.
Ron Kuby on Air America Radio
A new name has joined our endless list of Air America Radio also-rans: Ron Kuby. Known to all as "The Paradigm of Liberalism Itself" or alternatively as "King Liberal" or as "Everything Liberalism Stands For", Kuby will be their new afternoon host from 3 to 6pm.
English rag: Rachel Maddow 50th most influential pundit
Quick: name an English political pundit. If you're like 99.99999999% of Americans, you drew a blank. Unfortunately, our friends across the pond are much keener, and thus the Telegraph UK has no trouble compiling the list of the Top 50 Most Influential U.S. Political Pundits (link).
And, who's there at #50 but Air America Radio's own Rachel Maddow:
One of the most acute minds among the analysts on Democrats’ favourite cable network MSNBC, Maddow seems destined for greater things, having already debuted for Republican-baiter in-chief Keith Olbermann.
At this point you're probably thinking they're playing this for laughs and having a "piss take" on we yanks. And, you'd be right since Paul Krugman weighs in at #48, Fred Barnes is at #45, and the rest are equally ludicrous with Jeffrey Toobin being described as possessing a "Rolls Royce brain".
Gavin Newsom on Air America Radio (Green 960)
America's hunkiest supporter of illegal activity, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, will apparently soon be doing a show on Air America Radio, sources say. It will reportedly air on Saturday afternoons, but I strongly suspect that it will only be aired on their Frisco affiliate KKGN Green 960, formerly known as KQKE The Quake.
When not preparing for his media debut, Newsom is currently running advertisements explaining to his residents how federal laws relating to illegal immigration don't apply to his city. He's also one of the leaders of a corrupt scheme that helps banks profit from money that was earned illegally.
Even Air America blogger Nancy Scola fled, replaced by Sam Seder
Air America Radio apparently can't even hold on to their in-house blogger despite her being someone that no one has ever heard of. Specifically, Nancy Scola (nancyscola.com) whose last post was back on November 2, 2007 (link). Whether she fell, was pushed, or is simply taking some time off for reeducation while awaiting potential rehabilitation isn't known.
What is known is that her replacement is the ever-entertaining Sam Seder, previously co-host with Janeane Garofalo on AAR's Majority Report.
I urge everyone to sign up and leave a comment wishing him luck in this endeavor.
Unheard-of Air America host is #23 on Talkers "Heavy Hundred 2008"
For what it's worth, Talkers Magazine has released their "Heavy Hundred 2008", a list of the talk jocks ranked by ratings and/or influence and/or something or other. The highest ranked Air America Radio "personality" on the list is someone that 99.9% of the country has never heard of: Thom Hartmann. The highest ranked libtalker is "Big Dumb Possibly Drunken" Ed Schultz at #8. He was at #5 last year.
Moving on down the list, Stephanie Miller is at 28, Lionel is at 31, and Randi Rhodes is at 40, a severe drop from her position last year at 13. But, at least she beat out dozens of people who even more people have never heard of.
Young Turks off Air America, or just resting?
Has the Young Turks program been dropped from the Air America Radio network, or is it just resting? Unfortunately for us, it appears to be the former, and they've been dropped from AAR's satellite channel on XM too.
On the one hand, it was probably a fairly popular show for AAR or it could have been. And, I'm sure their audience skews a bit young as opposed to replacements like Bill Press who skews old. But, it's unfortunate because we'll miss them dragging AAR's name even further through the mud by doing things like hiring Mike Stark. They say they're trying to build a "progressive web network" and they'll henceforth be streaming shows from their website. Good luck, since there are probably even fewer progressives who have computers than radios.
The Kossacks deal with their loss here. The split was foretold as "amicable" here.
Stephanie Miller disappeared from Sirius Left
Via commenter "ncw" (#721), Stephanie Miller has been disappeared from Sirius Left, sources say. Her replacement is Mark Thompson, aka Matsimela Mapfum. His fellow Sirius host Alex Bennett reportedly is accusing those who prefer Miller to Thompson of racism. (Liberals can respond with a charge of sexism.) They've also cut back Ed Schultz' show by one hour.
In other news, I strongly suspect that at least one of XM's remaining hosts is a COINTELPRO mole. Spread the word.
Free Thought Radio: Godless liberals' home at Air America
Secular progressives rejoice! This weekend, Air America Radio launched Freethought Radio (airamerica.com/freethoughtradio), a show just for the large percent of liberals who are atheists or agnostics.
The hosts are Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-presidents of the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, Wisconsin (ffrf.org). That organization has done much good work that liberals should take pride in, such as "overturning a state Good Friday holiday", "halting the Post Office from issuing religious cancellations", and more (ffrf.org/legal)! Plus, they're part of the Secular Coalition (secular.org; "Atheists. Humanists. Freethinkers. Americans.")!
The first show even featured a distinguished guest: Christopher Hitchens, author of the bestselling "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything."
This is all great, but I need to point out to my reactionary readers that they aren't "Satanists". The latter people worship a god, just not God. So, most likely not all of their members are Satanists. And, I need to point out that this has already been tried. But, just because it didn't work out perfectly OK the first time doesn't mean that liberals shouldn't keep trying.
Air America "Clout" features Truthers
Air America Radio's new "Clout" program - hosted by nobody Richard Greene, located at airamerica.com/clout, and heard late evenings in cow pastures throughout Karnes, TX and elsewhere - apparently will feature the continuing presence of "Truthers", sources say. Previously, ex-AARer, ex-cutie, and troubled "liberal" Janeane Garofalo seemed to claim that 9/11 was an inside job. And, Randi Rhodes hinted at LIHOP. Ex-AARer and joke Senatorial candidate Al Franken pledged to "take a look" at a Truther video. Jerry Springer could not be reached for comment.
Like blending chocolate and peanut butter, it got even better on September 10th, with current or former Democratic Socialists of America member Lou Grant:
Ed Asner, active for years in the 9/11 Truth movement, was part of the show tonight... Also, your unanswered questions about 9/11, and Dr. Ben Marble, the folk hero who shouted "Go f--- yourself, Mr. Cheney" [77 DEIQ CWQ12] during a televised vice-presidential press conference in New Orleans two years ago. We were also joined by Kathleen Rosenblatt, co-founder of 911TruthLA.us.
A snippet from the recap of the August 25 show:
Greg Palast talks about Cowboy George Bush's fear of horses and other frauds... Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) talks about the CIA Investigation into pre-911 intelligence screw ups and The Holt Bill on Electronic Voting Machines.. Professor David Ray Griffin [621aa DElAQQ 71203 JQQWCQ], author of 5 books on 911, including "The New Pearl Harbor" talks about some of the remarkable inconsistencies in the administration's story... REGISTER YOUR VOTE ON THE 911 POLL!!... 1. 19 Arab hijackers and Osama bin Laden were completely responsible? OR2. The Bush Administration was negligent? OR3. The Bush Administration knew what was going to happen and let it happen? OR4. The Bush Administration helped make it happen?
I too am quite suspicious of certain aspects of the official story (D732X 832 eE), but some of the Truther Tales verge into the quite weird territory, much like the terrain around the Green Mountains of Vermont or perhaps even the Mount Washington Hotel area of New Hampshire which you may know from the Bretton Woods treaty.
Of course, one way of looking at this is that Richard Greene is actually part of the conspiracy: by bringing on far-far-left loons like Ed Asner, he's helping to portray those who want a better investigation of what happened as loons.
Of course, the idea that there's a conspiracy is only in their minds.
Rachel Maddow, Mr. Soros would like to have a word with you
"Oh, hi Rachel! Say, Mr. Soros said he'd like to have a word with you after your show. He's in Mark's office."
"Oh. What's it about?"
"I'm afraid I don't know. Say, did you make any copies of your key to the control room?"
"No, why?"
"Oh, I'm just asking. Oh, look, they're towing your car."
"WTF?"
"You better go speak to Mr. Soros right now. Here, I'll finish your show for you."
Air America Radio dumps Mark Riley (The Struggle Continues!)
Air America Radio continues The Struggle against the relentless reactionary onslaught, this time having to dump Mark Riley from his evening slot on the "Air Americans" show due to pressure from the far-right-wing-haters.
Despite what you might have read, this isn't because they have little or no money:
Air America president Mark Green indicated it was largely a financial decision to release Riley, an original network host. Green called him "an exemplary and loyal Air American."
He'll be replaced by back-to-back shows featuring Richard Greene and Bree Walker. It's unknown whether Greene is the British actor, the fiddle player, the Klansman, or just a complete nobody who works cheap (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Greene_%28disambiguation%29).
Special personal helpful note to Air America Radio: if you need a loan, there are funding sources listed here. Getting a new "loan" would help them hire back some staffers.
Breaking: Thom Hartmann at International Environmental Conference in Albuquerque
Holistic Management International ("HMI") - an "Albuquerque-based international non-profit founded in 1984" has just released this stunning news concerning Air America Radio's newest star:"Early Bird" registration, with substantial savings, is now open through Monday, July 16 for Holistic Management International (HMI)'s International Gathering, November 1-4, 2007 at the Hotel Albuquerque in Albuquerque's Old Town...More on this story as it develops...
...Scheduled keynote speakers include: - Joel Salatin, one of America's premier grass farmers, speaks on Friday, November 2 on "Building a Local Food System That Works." Owner of Polyface Farm in Virginia, Salatin is featured prominently in Michael Pollan's best-selling book, The Omnivore's Dilemma. — Temple Grandin, the best-selling author of Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior and an international speaker on both autism and animal behavior, will deliver an address titled, "If You Eat, You Are a Change Agent," on Saturday, November 3. - Thom Hartmann, celebrated broadcaster on Air America Radio, author, psychotherapist and commentator, has written widely on environmental, political and social justice issues. He speaks on "Human Relationship to the Environment" on Saturday, November 3...
AAR Bree Walker to buy Cindy Sheehan ranch
Barely-known radio personality Bree Walker - formerly a local TV newsreader and currently a local Air America Radio host on Los Angeles' KTLK - is going to purchase Cindy Sheehan's 5 acre property in Crawford, Texas, sources say. Sheehan had someone else purchase "Camp Casey" for her last year for $52,500. Walker will purchase it for the same amount to avoid the appearance of profiteering. **UPDATE BELOW**
Having seen Bree Walker on the TV back in the day, I was only aware of an issue she had with her hands. I wasn't aware that she was "out there" as the kids say:
she intends to keep the property "as a ground for freedom and peace" and is considering erecting a memorial there for troops killed in Iraq. She hopes to create a meditation garden on the grounds and to keep it open to the public... "I'm cashing out my capitalist corporate stocks and buying into a legacy of peace."
She'll have Cindy on her show today between 2pm and 4pm; rather than going through escrow, they'll simply exchange the moolah for the deed. They're liberals, and as part of the collective they implicitly trust each other, so it's OK.
Walker is soliciting listener input on what to do with the land, so feel free to drive up to Mount Wilson so you can hear their station and then call in with your ideas.
UPDATE: It turns out Walker actually paid $87,000 (over 60% more) for the property than Sheehan bought it for:
Sheehan initially planned to sell the land on eBay with an $80,000 starting bid but scrapped the idea after getting an offer from Walker, Burns said. Since she bought the property last year for $52,500, Sheehan's group put in gravel roads, cleared brush, planted gardens and made other improvements that boosted the land's value, [Sheehan spokeswoman Tiffany Burns] said.
A likely excuse! We'll be sending off an email transmission to forensic accountant Sheldon Drobny asking for his advice on this matter, and will investigate and report.
"Young Turks" are profiled
Heath Harrison of the Herald-Dispatch - reporting from Huntington - profiles the Young Turks here. It seems they appeal to the young folks, unlike old fogeys like Tucker Carlson:
"I think Tucker Carlson grew up in 1912 or something... Where did they find a guy who's young and apparently did not grow up with the rest of us?"
So, so true. Of course, Cenk has been 29 for a while now, so he's able to relate to the youth. Harrison also gets a scoop:
...WCMI Assistant Program Director Brandon Millman said the show offers a youthful perspective on politics and was a proven success as Sirius Satellite Radio's first national liberal program...
Read the whole thing, even if you aren't in the Tri-State area.
Stephanie Miller on MSNBC filling in for Don Imus
Supreme Soviet just this moment announce groundbreaking news in history of People's Republic: comrade and daughter of Russian folk Stephanie Miller will be spending three days appearing on MSNBC filling in for discredited racist reactionary Don Imus.
Three days of glory begin Monday, April 30, extend to glorious Worker's National Holiday on May 1, and will end - but perhaps not permanent - on May 2.
Watch it live from 6am to 9am on MSNBC (Vladivostok time), and listen to live radio show 9am to noon. Or else.
Lionel replaces Sam Seder!
Lionel - the most famous, most listened-to radio superstar [1] of all time - will be replacing Sam Seder. As previously offhandedly-mentioned, Seder (not to be confused with Marc Maron, who's someone else) will be leaving on Friday, April 13.
Lionel - real name Michael Lebron - will start his morning reign on May 14. Apparently they'll fill the time between Friday and that date with Jerry Springer re-runs or something.
[1] Among bearded syndicated liberal radio hosts who only go by one, six-letter name.
Mrs. Sam Seder reveals truth about Cuban Revolution
Finally, an end to the imperialist propaganda about the Cuban Revolution, as Nicole Cattell - wife of Air America host and progressive icon Sam Seder - offers the documentary REVOLUC!ON (English: REVOLUTION). It airs on WNET in New York City next Tuesday, so at least a few thousand people will be enlightened:
For more than a century, Cuba has dared to defy the "Yankee imperialists" 90 miles to its north. Since the triumph of Fidel Castro’s revolution, Cuba has also dared to dream of realizing a utopian society. Yet despite the revolution's many achievements, such as providing health care and education to nearly all Cubans, the cost has been severe—a matter of life and death for thousands of Cubans and the exile of thousands more. Those who remain on the island have suffered limits to their individual freedoms as well as the effects of crippling economic sanctions. To some, the revolution is a celebrated success. To others, it is a dictatorship. And to many more, it falls somewhere in between. With Cuba on the brink of radical transformation and the U.S. embargo clearly outdated, it is necessary to form a new way of understanding the Cuban revolution which transcends the overly simplistic pro-Castro versus anti-Castro dialogue. Through the work of five photographers, REVOLUCION offers a multi-faceted vision of the rise and fall of the revolutionary dream in Cuba.
Via this Huffington Post post from Steve Clemons, a fellow with the Soros-funded New America Foundation. The picture is from him as well. He also passes along the news - of interest to about 10 or 20 people - that Seder will be leaving the network next Friday, the 13th.
JEFF FARIAS ADDED TO NOVA M LINEUP IN PHOENIX
Breaking, earth-shattering news from the Sheldon Drobny compound outside Rockford, Illinois: Jeff Farias - former co-host of the Truth to Power Hour on previous Air America Phoenix station KXXT - has been added to Nova M's drivetime afternoon schedule. His co-host on the previous show was loony leftie and Arizona state Rep. Kyrsten Sinema; whether she'll be dropping by occasionally or just busying herself with crafting un-Constitutional legislation isn't known.
In other news of interest to Drobny's followers, the Mike Malloy program will be coming to XM Satellite Radio channel 167 "sometime in early March".
Posted at 12:50 PM | Comments (0)
L.A. City Beat article on Harrison taps out my humor reservoir
It happened like this. I saw this article from L.A. City Beat magazine written by their editor, Dean Kuipers. It concerns not just the no-last-name star of the local show "Harrison on the Edge", but Air America's Los Angeles affiliate KTLK and AAR in general as well.
As I scanned the article and looked at the photos - including the mug shot with the 70s-era courthouse wood paneling and the bad posture and the lack of makeup and the fake action pose from the cover and all the rest - my humor reservoir was simply overloaded and I was caught with humor flowing in all directions and unable to manage the flow I decided to let visitors have at it. Accordingly, do your worst.
Posted at 02:09 PM | Comments (2)
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 at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
Sources: Katherine Lanpher still incredibly depressing
Katherine Lanpher's publicist has been working overtime, resulting in no less than two articles about the former Al Franken sidekick. From the Happy Side, we get "Moline native writes of her 'Leap'". It concentrates only on the good things that happened after she moved after she moved to NYC, as recounted in her book Leap Days: Chronicles of a Midlife Move.
Meanwhile, over in the Depressing as Ibsen or Something department, we get "Uprooting oneself is risky business":
"I couldn't get the pathos of it out of my mind -- what happens to people that they would ... put import on something that shallow?" she writes near the end of Leap Days. "And then I wondered if I had done the same thing by moving to New York, if I had upset a good life close to friends and family, endangered a career, just so I could say I had gone to a bigger market, had worked on a national show -- things that, in the end, weren't really so important."
Posted at 04:00 PM | Comments (0)
Katherine Lanpher: still an isolated Midwestern outsider in the Big City
When last we met up with Al Franken's former sidekick Katherine Lanpher in February, the NYT was doing a "country mouse comes to the Big City and isn't that cute" piece on her. At the time she was writing a book and the NYT discussed her Midwesterness and, for instance, how she observed a smashing party from the balcony of her wonderful City apartment (she didn't attend the party, just observed it).
The lonely observations have apparently continued in the ensuing months, including her wandering around her charming neighborhood watching things happen and even taking a Big Bus Ride along the length of the island (presumably Manhattan). And, as "Katherine Lanpher's midlife move" reports, her book "Leap Days: Chronicles of a Midlife Move" is now available. She considers the West Village her new home, and the cosmopolitan local parochialists appear almost ready to welcome her as one of their own.
Posted at 12:17 AM | Comments (0)
Stephanie Miller, Mr. Valerie Plame party
Subject: Hollywood party
Topic: "Joseph and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust"
Date: 09/14/06
Organizer: Dean Hargrove (created "Matlock" television program), Brenda Hargrove
Attendees (partial list): Mike Farrell, Shelley Fabares, Alan Ladd Jr., Stephanie Miller (Air America hostess), Robert Scheer (author/columnist), Tom Girardi (attorney).
Link: this
OPCEN AUTH 18: OP HUACAMOLE 19-XW-7 GO
Posted at 10:50 AM | Comments (1)
Rev. James A. Forbes Jr. quits church
Who? What? Rev. James A. Forbes Jr. is the host of Air America Radio's "The Time is Now" program and the senior minister at Riverside Church in Manhattan. He's just retired, but apparently will continue with the program.
The church is liberal and John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated money to build it. But, according to one of Forbes' opponents "He has preferred to get in with the left wing of the Democratic Party and do their bidding". Sound familiar?
Well, keep listening:
Earlier in the year, a group of church members went to court, charging that its finances were in disarray. They demanded that a judge appoint a receiver to go through its accounts. Among other things, they alleged that $10 million had "simply disappeared."
Maybe it didn't disappear at all. Or, maybe it's in some lawyer's escrow account, just waiting to be disbursed after all the paperwork is filled out or something. Or, maybe it was "loaned" to some Boys & Girls Clubs or something. We know where it isn't: Al Franken's pay packet.
Posted at 05:01 AM | Comments (0)
Young Turks: new Air America Radio morning show
A group calling itself the "Young Turks" are supposedly Air America Radio's new morning show. So, why you ask, am I putting this announcement in the "Also Rans" category and not creating a new category for them? Well, let's just say things at AAR are a little "fluid". Or, solid as the case may be:
Posted at 10:47 PM | Comments (2)
Please support the Majority Report!
Air America's Majority Report is in trouble, and they need your help. In case you've never heard of it, that was the show that Janeane Garofalo used to co-host, and which is now hosted by her former co-host. His name is "Sam Seder". (I know most of those names will be new to 99.999% of those who read this, but this is important.)
In order to keep their show on the air, they need you to send letters to supporttheshow@majorityreportradio.com. They'll then send that to George Soros or someone else with money. Plus, if they stay on the air then I'll always have fresh material. So, please send that letter.
UPDATE: MRR has been saved! No less than 23 anonymous Kossacks have stated in the completely non-scientific poll that they sent letters to AAR. Of course, four more indicated a future willingness to send the letter, but for all we know they got distracted due to all the pot they smoke. And, there are five mean-spirited NeoCon disruptors that said they won't be sending a letter; Force DK will have already dealt with them by the time you read this.
Note that that plea is from Comrade "Kujo AAR", who is not Seder himself. The latter already has an account under his own name.
Posted at 07:42 PM | Comments (7)
Washed-up Mike Piazza finds true home
According to this, Mike Piazza did a (guest?) news cast for Air America.
Posted at 10:18 PM | Comments (0)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Papantonio suing Diebold
From this (via this):On July 13, the Pensacola, Fla.-based law firm of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a "qui tam" lawsuit in U.S. District Court, alleging that Diebold and other electronic voting machine (EVM) companies fraudulently represented to state election boards and the federal government that their products were "unhackable."
Kennedy claims to have witnesses "centrally located, deep within the corporations," who will confirm that company officials withheld their knowledge of problems with accuracy, reliability and security of EVMs in order to procure government contracts. Since going into service, many of these machines have been linked to allegations of election fraud...
Posted at 05:51 AM | Comments (3)
Air America, religion to collide on "The Time is Now"
Air America has a new show called "The Time is Now" hosted by one Rev. James A. Forbes Jr. He's 70, far-left, and the leader of a congregation in Manhattan. He's also... religious. So, expect him to be ripped a new one by AAR's "liberal" listeners.
Posted at 11:06 PM | Comments (0)
Marc Maron cancelled... again!
Former "Morning Sedition" co-host Marc Maron has been cancelled from his Los Angeles-based basically-local show to which he was shuttled after MS was cancelled. Now, that show has in turn met its fate:The satiric "Harrison on the Edge" will join KTLK-AM's (1150) night time line-up beginning Monday. The show, which bills itself as "Progressive Talk Radio by the Openly Gay Son of a Neo-Nazi," will originate from Los Angeles and replaces "The Marc Maron Show." The show will air Monday through Friday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. The station's move represents an expansion of the program, which already airs Saturdays from 2 to 5 p.m.Maron: less popular than someone who's shtick was tired the first time I heard his tag line.
And, lest you think this site and CalendarLive are the only people who've noticed, there is one other person who did:
The first cancellation came about because the former new CEO had a personal dislike for Marc and funny morning shows in general. For some reason the board and the suits did nothing to stop him from first dissembling the fantastic Unfiltered, and then moving on to Morning Sedition. He ended Morning Sedition on the day that Howard Stern went to Satellite radio, thus closing the door on the thousands of new fans who might check out a show that features a bit of a comedy zoo thing happening along with liberal politics.Bear in mind, she's a supporter.
Well, that guy is now gone and we are looking at the ruins of what could have been at AAR. To run down the lame programming left in the place of what was really something special is not even worth it. The future also looks pretty bleak right now.
Once Al Franken leaves to run for Senate, and Jeaneane Garafolo goes back to acting (she just announced tonight that she would only be doing a little subbing work in the future,) we are left with the truly intelligent Rachel Maddow who is sorely misused as a morning news person rather than as part of an ensemble, and the fantastic Sam Seder, who will likely move along sooner rather than later, as he says all the time. Other than that, there is Randi Rhodes who rasps and complains on and on angrily and repetitively, often obliterating her own point in the process, and the package deals of the horrendous Jerry Springer and Satellite Sisters. Hartman waits in the wings along with some others, but there is nothing really compelling there.
Posted at 02:17 PM | Comments (1)
Sam Seder's thought processes are FUBAR
The New York Daily News' "Liberal pundit delivers a left hook to the right" offers an extolment of Sam Seder's latest book "FUBAR: America's Right-Wing Nightmare". It's "co-written" with Stephen Sherrill. Whether that means they actually worked on it together, or whether that means that Sherrill is the actual author and Seder just provided a few jokes here and there is unknown. It is also unknown whether this is a picture of the two authors.What is known, however, is that Sam Seder is an idiot:
So [Sam] channels that frustration, he says, into satire - like rewriting Franklin D. Roosevelt's post-Pearl Harbor speech as he imagines it would have come out under current President Bush.That's cute, but Seder is clearly confused over even the broadest outlines of our president. Bush is a huge fan of huge government, as even many bright grade schoolers are no doubt aware. He just wants the huge government to benefit his supporters. And, those like Seder who fail to realize or acknowledge this help him in that goal.
He figures it would have been delivered four days late, insisted none of his team had done anything wrong and finished by encouraging citizens to go out and do something - except not a massive war effort organized by big government because he hates big government.
Instead, he would suggest, "Go purchase a gun, maybe join a militia ... and make your way over to Germany."
As for the "militia" comment, if Seder is trying to say that Bush is on the right edge of things, perhaps he should take a gander at, just as one example, this. Seder is either woefully ignorant, or perhaps he's just uncomfortable with just how "liberal" our "conservative" president really is.
Turning to his night job:
"[Air America, the failed liberal network has] gotten another voice out there... It's helped the liberal infrastructure, bloggers. We've shown you can make money with a liberal agenda."I'm no accountant, but isn't a "loan" from a Boys & Girls Club not really "making money"?
Posted at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)
Robert Redford discusses plan for clean energy independence on Rachel Maddow Show
That's the punch line, here's the setup:WASHINGTON, June 12 /U.S. Newswire/ -- With cameras rolling, talk show hosts ranting and bloggers raving, the "Progressive Media Row" at the Campaign for America's Future's annual "Take Back America" conference brings together the largest cross- section of top progressive media outlets. In plain view of more than 2,000 conference participants, the Progressive Media Row serves as a central work area for more than 100 progressive media outlets covering the largest gathering of progressive leaders and activists this year.This follows YearlyKos. In fact, participants must have jet lag since I believe that ended just yesterday.
Kicking off the Progressive Media Row on Monday morning, Robert Redford held a roundtable with dozens of bloggers and went "live" on Air America's "Rachel Maddow Show" to talk about the Apollo Alliance's plan for clean energy independence.
All of which makes me wonder, who exactly is paying these bloggers to jet around the country? At least two of those participating in the TBA conference are employees of Media Matters for America, a group that admits it's received money from George Soros. As for CAF itself:
The Top Two Individual Contributors To Campaign For America's Future Were George Soros ($300,000) And Stephen Bing ($100,651). (Political Money Line Website, http://www.tray.com, Accessed 1/8/05)... Largest Contributors In 2002 Cycle Were UAW ($200,000), AFSCME ($189,000) And AFL-CIO ($130,000). (Political Money Line Website, http://www.tray.com, Accessed 1/8/05)Why don't Soros, Bing, or one of the unions simply bankroll Air America Radio and keep it from going out of business? Part of the Rachel Maddow Show is sponsored by SEIU, why don't they just go whole hog?
Posted at 10:06 AM | Comments (0)
Sam Seder, ex-reactionary?
Is Air America Radio's Sam Seder a former hate-filled, mean-spirited, racist, bigoted, xenophobic, right-wing reactionary? Or, was he always the good, peace-loving, humanistic, right-thinking liberal person that he is today?
A completely unverified comment left on a thread he posted to the Huffington Post implies that the former is true:
Damn Sam, your politics sure have changed. I remember one day on our balcony at Connecticut College (remember your neighbor in Harkness?) when Ronald Reagan's helicopter flew over our campus. He had just finished giving the commnencement speech at the Coast Guard Academy. I remember clearly us both standing there. You stood up tall and proud and gave the helicopter one big glorious all-american salute. I flipped the helicopter off. To this day it is one of my biggest regrets. Do you regret your salute?
Who exactly is this "chicagoartist"? What would Seder's AAR co-workers and listeners say about his secret past? Developing...
Posted at 09:54 PM | Comments (1)
Jackie Guerra is not a racist
Air America's newest host, Jackie Guerra, is not a racist. Obviously, no Person of Color can be a racist, so this final paragraph of her HuffPost screed is not at all racist:
So the next time a balding white guy on TV tells you that people are rallying in support of illegal immigration, don't be fooled. And if getting into an elevator with two Mexicans makes you and your white-hooded friends nervous, get ready to piss yourself. Because now we're not just here to work--we're voting!
She is simply responding to the racial oppression of her people at the hands of the white oppressor, that's all.
Of course, this site has a few issues with her other statements:
I marched with 750,000 others in Los Angeles on May 1, where in spite of such a massive turnout, there was not a single incident with the police. That doesn't sound like a group of criminals to me. Yet when I got home and turned on the television, all I heard was "illegal, illegal, illegal, illegal." All I heard was that the rallies were in support of illegal immigration... But those rallies were not in support of illegal immigration. They were in support of the American dream.
Legal immigrants have no need to march, and none of the demands of the marchers involved legal immigration. And, all of the demands of the marchers involved legislation affecting only illegal aliens, not the legal variety. I guess she defines "American dream" as "massive illegal immigration, largely from one country."
They were in support of the idea that if you come to America, and if you work hard, sacrifice, and play by the rules, you can build a life for yourself and your family, and pass on to your children the opportunity to make even better lives for themselves. Those rallies were in support of the American dream. And there's nothing illegal about that.
Almost all illegal aliens have not played by the rules. Almost all of them crossed the border illegally or overstayed their visa illegally. And, there are all the follow-on crimes, such as using forged documents. So, almost all of the illegal aliens who were among the marchers had most definitely not played by the rules. And, her attempt to redefine the American dream to suit hardly bears mentioning.
The Huffington Post really needs an editor, because this article should have been sent back to Al Franken for a rewrite.
Posted at 11:35 PM | Comments (4)
Rachel Maddow Show sponsored by SEIU
A weekly segment of the Rachel Maddow Show is sponsored by the far-left union SEIU, which is also a supporter of foreign citizens marching in our streets and making demands. From their May 4 entry:
Also on the show this morning, we saw massive immigration rights rallies around the country last Monday. Today, in our weekly segment sponsored by the Service Employees International Union, we're joined by the President of the National Capital Immigration Coalition, Jaime Contreras, to talk about the next step in the fight for immigrant rights.
All of those marching were doing so in support of illegal immigration; it's not about "immigration rights". It's about foreign citizens moving here and then making demands and making a show of force in an attempt to get us to capitulate and give them what we want. Obviously, Air America is on the side of the foreign citizens and not on the side of the U.S. citizens in this matter.
Posted at 09:02 AM | Comments (1)
Which radio network would Jesus smite?
Air America also-ran and RFK Jr. consigliere Mike Papantonio is featured in a new documentary called "Jesus Camp". It concerns a summer camp for fundamentalist Pentecostals. As you might expect, it's a balanced view of religious folks, examining their trials and tribulations with an open mind and giving the viewer a deeper understanding of evangelicals.
Just kidding! It sounds like a hatchet job, with "Pap" being featured as the-religious-guy-who's-liberal-and-not-a-fundamentalist:
Papantonio, who co-hosts "Ring of Fire" with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., fires off one of his "Pap Attacks" in the documentary questioning the efficacy of the movement's position on the environment, creationism and other fundamental tenants.
It's a Florida paper, don't worry about it.
"There was 200 people waiting in line to get in," explains Papantonio after the initial "Jesus Camp" screening. "It's been sold out every night."
I'm sure it will be as big a hit as Air America itself.
Posted at 03:46 AM | Comments (1)
Jackie Guerra is Workin' It
Jackie Guerra - a stand-up comic/model/actress/TV personality/actress/author/motivational speaker/political activist/jewelry artist/former union organizer/Latina/comedienne/dilettante who flits from project to project/movie star/radio personality/good dancer - hosts Air America Radio's first show that explicitly calls for a socialistic revolution in the United States. A former member of the October 17 Revolutionary Guards of the Revolutionary Communist Party, Jackie brings her class consciousness and call for radical change to AAR's airwaves from Karnes TX to Crystal Lake IL every Saturday from 2-3pm. The future will be electrified, comrade.
Posted at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)
Why Ned Lamont is a member of the Fantasy Democratic Party
Do you know how many political parties there are? Believe it or not, there are literally hundreds of them.
However, one that's not on that list - but really deserves to be - is the "Fantasy Democratic Party". That's like the real Democratic Party, but composed of the fantastical image supporters have of the real party's history, goals, and members. For instance, Ned Lamont is a proud member of the FDP, and he's running against Joe Lieberman.
Sam Seder conducted an interview of him on AAR and has a transcript here, including this bit where Lamont reveals his membership in the FDP:
I'm a Democrat because we believe that power starts with the people. We build from the ground level up, we don't trickle down, we don't start at the top. And I think that's been our basis since Jacksonian democracy. We believe in opportunity for everybody regardless of race, gender, ethnicity. That's been part of our credo since the beginning of the Democratic Party.
This year's FDP convention will be held in Karnes Texas, right next to the transmitter for Air America's "San Antonio" station. Senator Al Franken will be delivering the keynote.
Posted at 11:15 PM | Comments (0)
New York Times on Katherine Lanpher
Stephen P. Williams of the NY Times offers a portrait of former Al Franken co-host Katherine Lanpher that has to be read to be believed: "Celebrity From the Midwest Finds a New Life in New York".I think at least three thoughts were uppermost in the writer's mind:
1. Diss the Midwest and Midwesterners.
2. Provide yet another free advertisement for Air America.
3. Diss Lanpher for abandoning Al Franken.
The first part of the article consists of the writer briefly visiting the provinces (in spirit only), reporting that Lanpher "wasn't bothered that her ambitions would have to be fulfilled along the banks of the Mississippi." However, she wasn't like all those other... people... in the Midwest: she visited Paris often. Despite that, it "seemed that life would unfold with predictable comfort, season by season".
All that changed when Stuart Smalley asked her to join his program.
The article mentions her age at least three times, then offers a strange mix of admission and doublespeak:
But about the time she started to feel as if she might just become a real New Yorker, she faced a new quandary: Air America was floundering and Mr. Franken decided to move the show to Minnesota. Having faced down her Manhattan crisis, she wasn't quite ready to face midlife back in the Midwest. Emboldened by her book contract, and facing a looming deadline, she quit her job at Air America and started hitting the keyboard.It's good to find the NYT admitting that AAR was "floundering", but I'm going to guess that the details of her departure were a bit more complicated.
Then, they report on a wonderful party... to which Lanpher wasn't invited and which she watched from her balcony.
And, they even diss her decorator's skills, informing us that her "apartment is not nearly that glamorous" finishing with this:
But decorating this apartment would be almost superfluous. The whole point of the place is the view, the light, the Village spread below.
On a late winter afternoon the living room is overwhelmed by light that can be described only as blinding. As the minutes pass into dusk, the apartment is suffused with pink. Out the window, the Hudson turns deep slate before the setting sun.
On a recent afternoon Ms. Lanpher doffed a dowdy apron to cook chicken with 40 cloves of garlic — "the garlic was billed as both purple and French," she said, "so, foodie that I am, I had to buy it" — that would be her contribution to a going-away party for one of her doormen. This perfect use of Midwestern manners in a Manhattan context shows how she's adapted — to a new city, a new job and, now, life in Manhattan without a job.
The second half of her life is unfolding in mysterious ways. And she's letting it happen from a really nice perch.
Posted at 11:39 PM | Comments (0)
Laura Flanders + The Nation = "RadioNation". Who funds it?
One of Air America Radio's lesser known hosts, Laura Flanders, has a new name for her show: RadioNation. The second part of the name is because it's a collaboration with The Nation magazine.
We're informed that this show appears on both the AAR network, and on "noncommercial radio stations nationwide".
Is AAR just giving it away to those non-commercial stations? Or, is The Nation putting up some of the money? In brief, who's funding this show, and does that indicate that AAR is trying to prop up its programming by getting money from other groups?
I'm just asking is all.
Note also that Flanders is a true Democrat and on Saturday she broadcast from one of the 'Out of Iraq' meetings that were held in cities across the U.S.:
The theme of these events can be simply ending the war, or can focus as well on efforts to censure and possibly impeach Bush and Cheney: info here. Some events will be hosted and organized by Congress Members (you should encourage them to do this and offer to assist them). Others can be hosted by you with Congress Members as guest speakers. It is entirely up to you. Some Progressive members may be willing to participate in events in Republican districts. Some pro-war Congress Members may be willing to hold events and discuss the issue. You can also hold events without Congress Members, including smaller panels, discussion circles, and house parties.
Sounds like fun, sorry I missed it.
Note that despite (or because of) featuring not just Flanders but the odious Bob Fertig of Democrats.com and Congressbeing Major Owens, the NYC event only drew 75 people.
There's more on this general theme in "A Peace Movement Demanding the Rule of Law" by David Swanson ("a co-founder of After Downing Street, a writer and activist, and the Washington Director of Democrats.com. He is a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, and serves on the Executive Council of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA"):
I tried to communicate that by all standards of international law, and of US laws that incorporate those standards, the attack on Iraq was illegal. This is not a war fought in self-defense – at least not by the Americans – and this is not a war authorized by the United Nations.
Maybe, if their other business models fail, that august international body would be interested in propping up Air America. Perhaps it could be a new project for Kojo Annan.
Posted at 12:50 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Marc Maron to be on KTLK
The former Morning Sedition host apparently sent out an email to his fan(s), which includes the following:
If all goes as planned I will have a new show on in the evenings here in LA on KTLK 1150 with Jim Earl and Brendan McDonald by the end of the month. The show will include the work of Kent Jones, Mike Ferucci and Bruce Cherry. There will be new contributors from the talent pool out here and as you know that is an Olympic size pool. We will be providing some separate content for Air America Mornings in NYC and for the web site. We will also be air some time on the weekends in New York.
Posted at 07:42 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
AAR CEO Goldberg: less comedy, more Mark Green
More barely audible whining about Marc Maron being removed from Morning Sedition ensues, this time from Jonathan Larsen, who apparently used to work on the show in some capacity. He was let go in September, and now he's available on his blog to tell-all:
[Air America Radio CEO Danny] Goldberg's claim that he's dividing the morning-drive slot into two shows of radically different sensibilities rather than retain a sharp, critically acclaimed comedian at a time when fans of Howard Stern (some of whom had already discovered us and joined the ranks of our listeners) would be looking at alternatives, is both laughable and transparently false. The reality is he dislikes Air America's comedic elements. Rather than more of Sedition's comedy, Goldberg wanted the show to interview former NYC mayoral candidate [and Public Advocate] Mark Green.
How long until the Bavarian Illuminati - or whoever it is who really calls the shots at AAR - pulls the plug on Goldberg?
And, in related news, don't forget to enter the "Help Save Air America Radio Contest".
Posted at 11:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Marc Maron, Morning Sedition cancelled
Air America Radio has canceled Morning Sedition and Marc Maron will be leaving on December 15, it has been reported. I guess I was wrong. This is just the latest in a long line of brilliant moves on AAR's part, as, even though I've never heard him, Maron is supposed to be entertaining or something.
His current co-host, Mark Riley, will have a solo show from 5-7AM. Rachel Maddow will move to 7-9AM.
Maron might be given a one-hour show from L.A., but what exactly that means isn't clear. And:
I can't wait for the next e-mail I get soliciting membership money from AAR. They'll get the response they deserve.
According to this:
If they think they're gonna take on rightwing clowns like Limbaugh with a snoozefest, they're insane.
Yeah, and? A site notices a lot of PSAs during MS. A blog blames AAR CEO Danny Goldberg. James Wolcott has issued a "Call to Arms" (being liberals, the arms will be Molotov cocktails and legislation).
At Randi Rhodes' site, the post announcing the news has just one reply.
However, at AAR's site, "Robespierre" thinks of the higher and common good:
At least AAR seems solvent for another year. Face it folks, the commonality of "us" is to move the nation forward, to ensure a better life for our children and grandchildren, and that hasn't been altered one iota.
However, "artnorton" has a different take:
fuck goldberg or whatever his name is. I mean HOURS of randi rhodes ragging on and on, irratating me who agrees with her point of view but jesus! I can't stand her voice- and then they take away the most brilliant radio I've ever heard? Funny, informative, inviting- did I mention brilliant? Fuck'em!!! I hope Mike Malloy and Marc end up on another network- They're the only thing worth saving- Sorry, I forgot to mention Rachel's bright mind also
They're also trying to assemble "Morning Sedition Memories".
Back in October, I asked, "Is Air America falling apart?" Add another data point to the pile.
Posted at 12:07 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
The deck chairs are NOT being shuffled on HMCS Air America
Marc Maron is not - I repeat - NOT on his way out on Air America. Unfortunately, the "liberal" blogosphere is all a-twitter about the NYT story about Randi Rhodes and Rachel Maddow which included this:
The network is expected to announce imminently a move by Ms. Maddow into a more prominent morning drive-time role.
Neither Maron nor Jerry Springer have anything to fear. Rumors of Marc Maron being fired are just a practical joke designed to prop up AAR's sagging ratings. I'm almost 99% sure of that, and you liberals shouldn't worry about things like this.
Posted at 08:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Connie, Maury, Lizz, and you
Former co-host of Air America's Unfiltered, Lizz Winstead, will be producing a new MSNBC show featuring Connie Chung and her husband Maury Povich.
MSNBC will air the as-yet-unnamed show on the weekends, and it will have guests.
Connie sez:
"Maury's been on my case to get out of the house and get back to work, but I didn't want to until he came up with this idea... The question is not whether the program will last. ... The question is, 'Can our marriage survive?'"
No, the question is indeed just how many weeks the program will last.
Please leave your best suggestion for the title of this show in the comments. My top choice so far: "Is anyone watching?"
Posted at 05:39 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Marc Maron cancellation: just a practical joke
It's unfortunate to see so many people getting so excited about the so-called "cancellation" of Marc Maron of Morning Sedition. Here's Marc "Crispin" Miller, here's the DUmmies, and here's a petition.
I'm pretty sure that this is just a publicity stunt and/or practical joke. While it's interesting to see more than 3000 signatories to the petition, I wonder how many of them are coming from inside Air America themselves, just trying to gin up some controversy. Oddly enough, unlike other online petitions, I don't see too many fake signatures, and the last thing I want to encourage anyone to do is to go over there and leave a few salient remarks about AAR. No, sirree!
I'd suggest just ignoring this desperate attempt at attention. Don't give Air America Radio what they want.
Posted at 02:21 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Is Leon Gray (WWTQ 680 AM Memphis) an apostate?
Leon Gray provides local reporting and commentary for Air America's Memphis affiliate WWTQ. He's also in a bit of hot water:
...There's a fairly humongous amount of fuming and snorting in party circles over the local Air America radio host's apostasy on certain matters – most relating to the Faith and Morals side of the political dividing line. What Gray has done in recent weeks has challenged both the party orthodoxy and the progressive consensus on all of the following: Intelligent Design (he's an advocate for it); gay rights (he has proclaimed, essentially, that gays have "forced" the rest of society to tolerate an equality that he sees as relating to lifestyle choice rather than irreversible being), and faith-based prerogatives in general, including publicly licensed prayer and doctrinal religious activity...
While Comrade David Cocke (no jokes please, he's the former local Democratic Party chairman) defends Gray, it is clear that Gray's statements, activities, and associations are consistent with being an Enemy of Air America. For the good of the Party and the People, he must at least be sent to Lebanon (the one in Tennessee) to atone for his crimes.
Posted at 08:03 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Al Sharpton on new "African- American- centered" network
No, the Rev. Al won't be appearing on AAR. But, you'll recall that Al Sharpton was in the car driven by an AAR Phoenix co-host when he was arrested for speeding while driving Al away from Cindy Sheehan's protest in Crawford. That co-host is the father of Jarrett B. Maupin II, a MiniRev.From the current news:
Baltimore-based Radio One, the nation's seventh-largest radio company, and Reach Media, which owns and syndicates the highly successful ''Tom Joyner Morning Show," aim to roll out the network after the first of the year. Radio One owns a controlling interest in Reach Media...Just for fun, couldn't they get the Right Reverend on Air America? C'mon, maybe they could conduct "Survivor AAR" to choose which one of their losers he'd replace.
As the centerpiece of the new programming, Sharpton is expected to be topical, if not entirely political. ''Life is political," said Liggins. ''Rush Limbaugh is political. Howard Stern has been political. That's the nature of the human existence. We won't focus exclusively on politics. We'll deal with the human existence of African-Americans in the broader landscape of America." Sharpton's show is scheduled to air weekdays from 1 to 4 p.m...
Posted at 04:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Morning Sedition to go way of Edsel?
Will the morning show almost no one listens to soon be expired? Will it soon no longer be in a functional state? Is Marc Maron trying to give us a head's up?On Morning Sedition Marc Maronm was making allusions to his uncertain future and at one point was saying "I may not be able to afford (something) anymore."So, I turn it to you. Is there something up? Will he give up his top-ranked radio gig to take his trademarked "Maronated" "humor" to each Jewish Community Center in the U.S.? Will he join Randi Rhodes' vaudeville show? Perhaps he could play Teller to Franken's Penn. Or, he could write a book that needs to be shipped early next year.
Is something cooking there? Just wondering if anything has been said or if something is up regarding the future of the show. I don't get to listen everyday, so maybe it's just an inside joke. Anyone know?
Posted at 04:02 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
You don't listen to the Rachel Maddow Show
So, is there any reason why you would listen to the 22-minute interview a far-leftie site did with her? (Of course, if you're her listener or her alternate-days listener, please do.)
Posted at 06:02 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Laura Flanders training Iraqi yakkerettes
Our friends in North Korea inform us that a few talk jockettes are helping their Iraqi counterparts learn the ropes. Prospective yakkerettes from Iraq have come to the U.S. to spend a few weeks training in the radio game. Their teachers include: Monica Crowley of WABC and MSNBC, Joan Hamburg of WOR, and Laura Flanders of Air America.
This is sponsored by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting:
IWPR, an international organization supported by major western development agencies and private foundations, has been training print journalists in Iraq since 2003. The non-profit agency only recently started working with Iraq's radio personalities and news people as well.
Previously: "Laura Flanders: surrender now!"
Posted at 10:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bring the Guy James Show to Air America!
I have absolutely no idea who Guy James is, but he has his own Show on WINK 1240AM and WNOG 1270 AM (what? where?) and his own website. And, if the DUmmies like him, I know he must be "good".Regarding his site, it's one of those "keep scrolling, there's much more" kinda things. Just when you think he's exhausted all the possible memes, themes, buttons, banners, and bows, he comes up with more. The picture of Bush and Brownie, the Karl Rove discussion, the slagging off on Bill O'Reilly, the Homeland Security joke banner, etc. etc. etc. Keep scrolling, there's more! If there's a "liberal" banner he forgot, by all means do let him know.
James even has a petition to AAR demanding that he be given a job. Unfortunately, I think a few of the signatories are fake:
205. Skinner: Get back to DU and give me the money or I'll ban all of you!
204. One Blue Sky: Will he talk about chemtrails? If so the he knows his stuff.
203. Andy Stephenson: I'm only $10 away from proving Guy is the real deal
202. Cindy Sheehan: Don't forget me, I need another 15 minutes. Look at me!
Posted at 09:22 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Air America hosts at the Cindy Sheehan DC protest
Two (very) minor AAR hosts were at Cindy Sheehan's/ANSWER's/North Korea's/Saddam's/The Friendship and Solidary with the Soviet Union's big protest in Washington DC yesterday.
Over to the DUmmies:
Amy Goodman and Laura Flanders covering the rally on LinkTV!!!!
Laura Flanders will broadcast live from the Rally at 7pm.
Hooray for Steve Earle! (at the rally)
VIDEO-Cynthia McKinney at Answer
VIDEO- Al Sharpton- Operation Ceasefire
Anyone listening AAR? Nov. 2nd set as personal protest day... (that links to this)
Please leave any other links in the comments.
Posted at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)
Morning Sedition photos
You probably don't care, but are 19 photos of the show being taped.
Posted at 05:43 AM | Comments (1)
Lizz Winstead, bleeding heart idiot
Former Air American Lizz Winstead channels Sally Struthers and offers us "Did We Really Turn Our Backs On Them?"
Obviously, there are a wide range of federal, state, and local programs designed to help all manner of poor people. While some of those in the Superdome were no doubt street people, many were probably from housing projects, which are, of course, run by the State.
Winsted is concerned about "crumbling" school infrastructure, but at the same time she'd probably support educating millions of people who have no right to be here: illegal aliens.
Obviously, Winstead is a pampered, not-too-bright, "liberal" who doesn't realize that actions have consequences.
Posted at 11:17 AM | Comments (0)
RevGate: AAR host Jarrett Maupin II in car with Sharpton during "chase"
As previously speculated, the person arrested for evading police while driving Rev. Al Sharpton to DFW is the father of Air America Phoenix host Jarrett Maupin II. Maupin II is also a candidate for Phoenix City Council. While a white Ford Bronco was not involved in this alleged chase, the graphics accompanying this post help illustrate what might have been happening.
"City Council candidate has run-in with Texas police" has confirmed our speculation:
Phoenix City Council candidate Jarrett Maupin II had a run-in with Texas law enforcement after a visit Sunday with anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan at her camp outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford.Now, it looks like "II" (aka "The Rev") will have something to talk about on his Air America talk show, which is broadcast on KXXT 1010 AM on Sundays between 3 and 5pm. Note, of course, that the Arizona Republic failed to mention the AAR connection:
Maupin was riding in a car driven by his father, Jarrett Barton Maupin, 43. The senior Maupin was stopped and accused of trying to evade police by driving at speeds up to 110 mph on Interstate 35 in Ellis County.
Also riding in the car were the Rev. Al Sharpton and one of Sharpton's assistants...
The younger Maupin said they were not speeding and that his father was arrested on "trumped up" charges.The police claim they offered them a lift, but they decided to walk instead.
He said that after his father was arrested he, Sharpton and Sharpton's assistant had to walk along the freeway carrying their luggage because police had impounded the rented car. A couple picked them up and gave them a ride to the airport.
Sharpton told the Associated Press that the sheriff's report was "ludicrous on its face" and accused the officers of "embellishing the story."
No justice, no peace!
Free Mumia!
No justice, no peace!
Free the Cuban Five!
No justice, no peace!
Free Maupin!
UPDATE: The DUmmies weigh in on the arrest:
"MarkTwain" says: Whoever let him cross into that Camp to be associated with Cindy is stupid. Just plain dirt-dumb stupid... The historical record is replete, for many, many years, on Sharpton and only a fool would have encouraged and allowed "Reverend Al" to soil the grounds of Camp Casey.
"Nonsense" says: Just more right wing rhetoric. The tactic now is to accuse critics of racism of being racist or of playing the race card. That tactic is clearly seen through and is a bit old. Certain people readily pounce on Sharpton for speeding yet conveniently ignore the fact that blacks are racially profiled every day in this country. They are constantly being pulled over by the police for no good reason whatsoever and this could have been one of those situations. But, oh no, it's Al Sharpton and his critics, full of hate, prefer to believe the account of the police, the police with its history of abusing African Americans... If Sharpton was speeding, I wouldn't blame him. I have relatives who live in Texas and they and their friends will not travel to certain parts of that state because of the deep racism that exists in those areas. Sharpton might have been fearful. If so, he had good reason to be.
"Tomee450" says: For your information, many people still believe Tawana Brawley.
Posted at 10:03 AM | Comments (3)
Air America's brush with Al Sharpton fame
Reverend Jarrett B. Maupin II (aka "The Rev") hosts "Issues & Answers" on Phoenix's KXXT from 3-5pm on Sundays.Earlier today, someone identified as "Jarrett Barton Maupin, 43, of Phoenix" was arrested for evading police on a high speed chase. He was rushing another Reverend, Al Sharpton, to DFW after Sharpton's meeting with Cindy Sheehan. He was clocked at 110 in a 65MPH zone on I35. And, "The Rev" was broadcasting live from Camp Casey together with "The Rev Sharpton".
Note, however, that this page claims that the KXXT host is only 18. Combining that with the "II" in his name, the person arrested might be his father.
From the KXXT bio page:
Reverend Jarrett B. Maupin II is the leader in the next generation of civil rights and minority political leaders. Jarrett is a catalyst for substantive change for the disenfranchised and overlooked populace. He has served as the National Youth Director and AZ Chairman of National Action Network, the civil rights organization founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton in 1991. He also went to work for the DNC as an ambassador to urban youth, during the 2004 election cycle. Featured on MSNBC, CNN, FOX, BET and many other national media outlets, Jarrett or "The Rev", as his friends call him, is currently a candidate for the Phoenix City Council.
Join Jarrett every Sunday, from 3-5 PM, for Issues and Answers, as he exposes injustices and explores solutions in the quest for change.
Now he'll have something to talk about.
UPDATE: I originally thought that the person arrested might be the KXXT host himself, but after finding the Redstate story I corrected the above to reflect what is probably the correct relationship.
UPDATE 2: The Man has posted a picture of the alleged perp here. I think we can rule out JBM II being the driver, although any familial connection is still open, and whether JBM II was in the car is not yet known. Also, pictured right is a white bronco, which has nothing to do with this case.
Posted at 08:00 PM | Comments (0)
Rachel Maddow: "Color consciousness is important"
Ah, "liberal" identity politics! Where would they be without race baiting, "reverse" racism, and the belief in racial memory? Here's a transcript featuring Rachel Maddow of Air America Radio on the Tucker Carlson show:MADDOW: They happen to have all been white guys. It is better for the country to think that we have a representative court.
CARLSON: Right.
But the idea—the fact is that ideas are more significant than skin color. That's sort of a basic premise of America. And it's being incrementally rejected in favor of this notion that someone who shares your skin color must somehow have something in common with you. And it's just not true...
...MADDOW: But I am saying we need to have a representative court that looks like America, so Americans trust the court.
CARLSON: OK. I'm just saying, we should be moving away from color consciousness, because it's wrong morally. That's all I'm saying.
MADDOW: I disagree. Color consciousness is important...
Posted at 09:56 AM | Comments (3)
Stephanie Miller (KTLK AM 1150) goes to Asheville
Stephanie Miller - heard on some of the same stations as Air America Radio - visited Asheville, NC last week. A blurb announcing the visit is here.
I visited Asheville nigh on two years ago: "A Lonewacko in the Land of the Goddesses". It's not such a bad little town, but after about 36 hours there I was feeling extremely boxed-in and I decided to keep driving west.
Posted at 07:51 AM | Comments (0)
Stephanie Miller: as salty as a sailor
Howie Kurtz gave Stephanie Miller (heard locally on KTLK 1150 AM) over a page in his WaPo column:...As recently as 2000, Miller hosted a popular show on L.A.'s KABC but had trouble getting syndicated, and then, she says, "I was fired for being too liberal." (She also says the station didn't like the "racy content" of her show, where she sometimes referred to male callers as "love puppet" and "stud monkey.") There was, she concluded, no place for liberals in a talk radio world dominated by Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity...Because Miller is a "liberal", she can get away with such sexist, anti-male language. Read the rest to see what she thinks Bush could get away with.
Hannity, who once gave her a well-publicized hug, says he's never heard her show. "I've never seen any medium get more attention than liberal talk radio with absolutely no benefit," he says. "There's been more written about liberal talk radio than I've had in my entire career, and I began in 1987."
Posted at 07:54 AM | Comments (0)
Maddow to hold own on Tucker Carlson MSNBC show
As previously reported, Rachel Maddow of Air America Radio will be a regular guest on Tucker Carlson's new MSNBC show "The Situation".
This just in: Tucker has just stated:
...she's not a fake liberal. She's not a straw man. She's real. She's not there as a punching bag for me. She does more than hold her own...
The rest of the article includes charming news from the Soros-funded front, as David Brock of Media Matters lambastes Carlson for just having one liberal instead of a whole crew of them.
Posted at 08:34 AM | Comments (0)
Has anyone heard of Rachel Maddow?
From Alternet comes "An Air American Girl", a profile of Tucker Carlson's new foil and host of Air America's 5am show, Rachel Maddow.A taste:
...Then, Maddow turns to her analysis... She's set it up. First she laid out the airline pension defaults, then she moved to the Republicans aims on Capital Hill. Now, she turns to the counter strategy. She holds up a finger, as if making a point in an argument with somebody standing in front of her, only there's no one there...It's 5am, of course there's no one there.
Posted at 02:06 PM | Comments (0)
No one cares about Marc Maron
I predict of all the things I've linked to from here, this report of a live Morning Sedition broadcast will receive the lowest number of hits.The blogger in question got to ask a puffball question of Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields, who is also running for Mayor. And, we learn this important news:
Marc Maron (who adopts stray cats from his yard in Astoria) told me he uses the same vet for his cats that I use for mine, The Astoria Veterinary Group. I heartily recommend them to any pet owner in Northern Queens.It's easy to think of celebrities as demigods, but as it turns out many of them have lives that are as boring as the rest of us. Next week: where Janeane Garofalo takes her dry cleaning.
Posted at 12:56 PM | Comments (0)
Rachel Maddow: regular on Tucker Carlson MSNBC show
BREAKING: The TV show 'The Situation with Tucker Carlson' launches on MSNBC on Monday. This just in: Rachel Maddow of Air America Radio will be a regular commentator on the show.
This is truly exciting news for the struggling network as one of their crew of unknowns and nobodies has finally made the big time. We at BoreAmerica.com wish Maddow the best, and are once again thankful that we don't get cable.
Posted at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)
Lizz Winstead sues Air America for back pay
Founder of the Daily Show, former co-host with Chuck D of Unfiltered, and former Air America Radio executive Lizz Winstead is suing Piquant LLC, the owners of AAR.
She claims they owe her almost $300,000:
severance pay, four months: $83,333
unused vacation time: $14,423
her work on the show: $200,000
She also says she never got money for promoting the Vermont Teddy Bear Company. Those heartless SOBs.
A (non-Vermont) Teddy Bear yesterday.
Posted at 07:25 PM | Comments (0)
Laura Flanders: surrender now!
Laura Flanders, host of her own show on weekend nights, recently penned the screed "Democracy, What Democracy? Troops Out Now":...let's be clear: lots of British Labour voters chose Lib-Dem candidates this election because Liberal Democrats, unlike Labour, are the only political party that opposed the invasion of Iraq. Why does the war take a higher toll on Blair than Bush? Because there's somewhere for anti-war sentiment to go and because thousands of British voters, even many with a long loyalty to the Labor Party, voted against Blair this year. Even people with a huge stake in the economy -- or people who depend on Blair's social policies -- took the gamble and voted against him. And they could, because there's not a two-party lock down electoral system. And they got what they wanted, a Labour Party victory, but chastened. Blair's still PM but sobered up. People took a risk and didn't succumb to the bully media who told them the sky would fall if they voted their dissent. And that's exactly what it'll take right here...UPDATE: I don't know what the first comment is refering to. I never said Laura Flanders was on Unfiltered. This site keeps track of all of Air America's hosts no matter how insignificant, and I would never make such a mistake. And, this entry has always been what you see above: there was never a mention of Unfiltered or a supposed role of Laura Flanders on that show. I think the first commentor is a Eurasian or Eastasian disruptor.
...the political winds shifted on [Vietnam] not because of anti-war protests but because Americans got tired of the war. They simply stopped giving the president the benefit of the doubt, and started doubting the war.
They started calling not just for the war to be deemed wrong, but for it to be ended; for troops to be brought home, now. Not one more death for a lie. It 's not going to get better; it's only going to get worse...
UPDATE 2: On a related note:
[Sacramento News and Review]: CounterPunch just did a piece on Air America cheerleading the Democratic Party. ["Al Franken is a Big Fat Phony"] Yet, mainstream media continue to portray the network as some sort of fringe outpost.
[Alexander] Cockburn: Right, as the cutting edge of Bolshevik activism! Isn't it insane? I mean, Air America? My darling niece Laura Flanders is on it as a hostess, but, I mean, really.
Posted at 08:14 PM | Comments (1)
Stephanie Miller on KTLK AM 1150 starts May 2
Stephanie Miller is going to be doing the morning show on Air America's Los Angeles affiliate, KTLK AM 1150, starting on May 2. Miller was previously on KFI and KABC, and she'll be replacing Morning Sedition's local broadcast.
Press release here. Her website here.
Miller was last (and first) mentioned here in this post. Apparently she doesn't know the difference between an Uzi and an AK-47.
However, now that we're able to monitor her, that will probably be just the first of a long series of mistakes noted herein.
UPDATE: The leader of Team BoreAmerica's reactionary running dogs has issued the following statement from his new headquarters in Moroznaya Zemlya, Siberia: "I am making this statement completely out of my own free will. Earlier I had stated that Morning Sedition had been canceled, and that is not true. For this I apologize. It was 'Unfiltered' that was canceled. Morning Sedition continues to fight the bourgeoisie, and for that I salute them and their valiant efforts. Earlier I had pointed to the post "Liberal hypocrisy at Air America?" which as all right-thinking people now know is completely immaterial in this context. I apologize to all comrades throughout the world for my errors."
Posted at 12:22 PM | Comments (1)
Sounds like a job for Bud Dickman
Spotted on craigslist:Harrison on the Edge is a progressive talk show done by the openly gay son of a neo Nazi. [And you thought Jeff Foxworthy's shtick got old real quick -- LW] The show is airing on LA’s Progressive Talk KTLK AM 1150 Saturday nights from 7-10 p.m. [At least it's not Sunday morning at 4am -- LW]
From political conspiracies to pop culture, Harrison focuses on the distinctive intelligence, talent, humor and personality of his guests—from A-list to Black list—pulling out their very best.
...We are seeking a Producer Intern... The Producer Intern will also occasionally appear on-air as an enhancement to the show.
...Job location is Burbank
Compensation: Internship for credit
Posted at 12:45 PM | Comments (0)
