Happy Trails

(This post is FINALLY getting completed today,22 April--nearly three weeks from the initial incident!)

Manhattan's most famous cowboy (sorry, Jon Voight)...
heading for a golden sunset--or perhaps satellite???

In my new blogging 'mode', I'm only speaking out on items that I need to vent about. So it's only appropriate that I feel compelled to blog about this latest media 'tempest'.

I would like to make a personal confession up front. Although I follow what some folks would call a liberal or progressive ideological philosophy, I am (or after tonight, was) a fan of the 'Imus in the Morning' show. I started to watch it during a military assignment in Maryland back in the late 1990s. After working nearly 18 months in a shiftworking operation that required CNN to be playing on the television 24/7 (that is, except during the baseball playoffs and on Monday nights in the fall), I transferred to a days-only organization and the Imus simulcast would be on screen (right behind my cubicle) for the first few hours of my day. While I would roll my eyes on some of the poor choices of humor or entertainment (I'm not that big of a country music fan), I was intrigued by the guests who would call in or visit Imus in person to discuss the events of the day. When we moved to Ohio, the new unit did not have TVs so I had to get my fix before leaving for work (usually pedaling a stationary bike over in the base's Dodge gym). I went 'cold turkey' during my 33-month assignment to Japan and resumed my viewing once I returned in 2004 and that continued up through yesterday on MSNBC (and today via the internet on WFAN's streaming audio service).

Such a declaration will probably raise a few eyebrows with some of my online acquaintances but my consumption of his programming was of a personal nature and was not transferred or acted out in my personal or professional life. Even though I'm a mid 40-something year old guy with a graduate degree and a 24-year military career behind me, I still have a desire for what some folks might call 'sophomoric' humor. As I was growing up, I was 'raised' by television and experienced the offerings of 'Laugh-In', 'Benny Hill', the OLD 'Tom and Jerry' cartoons (the ones that weren't censored for racial stereotypes) and 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' during my formative years. Although I don't watch much television these days, most of what I do view involves some element of irreverence, snark, or jejuneness ("Countdown with Keith Olbermann", "The Daily Show", "The Tonight Show", all of the Fox Sunday night animation shows, Cartoon Network's "Robot Chicken"). My theory for this immature 'fetish' centers on my lifelong preponderance for seriousness and my attempts at being the 'stern' parent to two teenagers (I'm a Gemini so that 'alter ego' thing attributed to those of us born under that zodiacal sign might also be true).

For whatever the reason, I would endure Don Imus' and Bernard McGuirk's lame skits and crude comments (about nearly everybody and everything) in order to get the opportunity to hear Frank Rich, Bob Schieffer or many of his other intriguing guests during the interview segments. I personally thought most of it was neutral (with some glints of humor) but there were elements that would even make a 'Peter Griffin' fan cringe. The 'Cardinal Egan' parody brought back memories of my Catholic upbringing but McGuirk's 'over-the-top' rendition transcended the experience to quickly ensuring the volume on the TV was turned down low enough to make sure that the kids (or the wife) wouldn't hear his foul rantings. The inclusion of the 'Ray Nagin' character after Hurricane Katrina was topical in the immediate aftermath of the storm but quickly wore out its welcome as the months went by. Stand-up comedian Rob Bartlett's repertoire of celebrities began to gravitate around a few ('Bill Clinton', 'Omar Minaya', and 'Alberto Gonzales') that were frequently performed in very poor taste. The constant verbal pummeling of the show's most recent sports announcer (Chris Carlin) on his physique and masculinity (he did not demand that his newlywed wife take his last name) often went beyond the bounds of good taste.

I had a 'ring side' seat to that infamous moment last Wednesday morning and, considering the tone of the show Imus has, I really didn't give it a second thought (perhaps since I was only awake for 5-10 minutes and staring down at a bowl of cold cereal when I heard it). The next time I became aware of this controversy was in news coverage that started up on Friday evening on MSNBC and at some of my more frequented internet locations. I watched the Monday edition of the show to see how Don was going to handle the controversy and he gave a 15-minute on-air explanation of his version of the incident and how, over the weekend, he had sought out the counsel of several members of the African-American community and requested a personal meeting with the Rutgers women's basketball team to express his sincere regrets. Everything hit the fan later that day when both CBS and NBC announced that Imus would be suspended for two weeks (beginning on 16 April to allow his 2-day radiothon to be aired on the 12th and 13th). The Rutgers team held a news conference on Tuesday afternoon and provided Americans their first view of the 'target' of Imus', McGuirk's, and Sid Rosenberg's racist and sexist words. Late Wednesday afternoon, due to increased public and internal pressure, the television simulcast of the show was permanently terminated. I 'tuned in' to the WFAN streaming audio broadcast this morning to hear what the host's comments were on that quick decision (due to the late notice and the logistics of the already scheduled telethon, the program still emanated from MSNBC's studios in Secaucas, NJ). Knowing that it might be his last broadcast, Imus did let out some venom but concentrated primarily on the radiothon (raising nearly $1 million in 5 hours). The CBS cancellation came late this afternoon, effectively canceling the career of one of the industry's first 'shock jocks'.

I am torn on how to respond to all of this. On the one hand, the comments made were not directed at public figures or celebrities who expect such scrutiny but with regard to a team of 17- to 20-year old women who just experienced the agony of losing the NCAA women's basketball championship game not less than 7 hours prior. Using such language (I will not post it here) to describe innocent, hard-working, intelligent, athletic women was reprehensible. However, the Imus show is an entertainment program conducted in the format of former terrestrial broadcasters Howard Stern or Opie & Anthony (both shows moved to satellite to escape existing FCC restrictions on content and language). Both CBS and NBC knew this kind of thing might happen and kept extending their sponsorship of him and his 'product'.

While Imus was fired for using racist and sexist words, a full-blown entertainment industry has blossomed around those same types of socially unacceptable paradigms in the guise of hip-hop/rap music and the stand-up routines of Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle (a fellow Greene County resident), and Paul Mooney (who, in the wake of the Michael Richard's meltdown, has sworn off using the 'N' word). When I was a young child, I can still remember my grandmother (a woman of Polish-Ukrainian descent) playing 'Eeny Meeny Miny Moe' with me--with the then-acceptable racial term coming from her lips. In my teens, I listening (covertly) to Richard Pryor and his racial epithet-laden and profanity-laced routines and used to laugh until it hurt; however, in the past 30 years or so, a lot has changed in terms of how Americans (publicly) related to their fellow citizens and such language is, IMHO, no longer necessary for ANY community to continue to use. It was probably my military career and the prolonged exposure to individuals who were 'different' than me that has helped me to be the type of person I am today.

Maybe this development and firing is for the better. While a small 'fish' among the other hate-speech media personalities (radio, television, books, newspapers, internet), Imus might be the catalyst for fishing those bigger 'prizes' out there in the public 'pond' that continually ignore social decorum and foster divisiveness between their listeners/readers and their fellow citizens as well as fear. Perhaps his days aren't over just yet. Satellite radio, as a subscriber-based enterprise, escapes the restrictions that its terrestrial outlets are bound by and there could be a Sirius or XM microphone with his name on it. Nevertheless, Don Imus has had a long career and should be able to live out his remaining years with relative comfort and purpose (his cattle ranch for children suffering from cancer and blood disorders is a truly worthwhile endeavor). I doubt that Rush or Neal or Ann could 'fade away' to such a philanthropic 'second' career...nor would they ever even THINK about such 'humane' things.

A VERY Busy Week

Again, I fell off of the blogging 'wagon' and let a good amount of time go by before I decide to post anything worthwhile. But THIS week, I had a good reason...

Opening tip-off of the NCAA 'play-in' game...
the winners can proudly say 'We're #64!'

It started off with some personal issues (a claustrophobia-inducing medical test and a polygraph exam) on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. After work on that second evening, my friend (and co-worker) hosted me and another mutual friend for a 'boys night out' at the NCAA Opening Round game at the University of Dayton Arena. Back in 2001, the tradition of matching the 64th and 65th teams in a pitched head-to-head battle was established to see who would be go on to be one of the #16 seeds that usually get 'slaughtered' by the region's top ranked squads. This year, the Purple Eagles of Niagara University and the Rattlers from Florida A&M were those teams. Both qualified for the 'big dance' by winning their respective conference championships (the Metro Atlantic and Mid-Eastern) and each won 20 games this season so it appeared--on paper--that this would be a very evenly matched game. While it was close for a good part of the contest, Niagara eventually pulled away and earned a 77-69 victory (the big difference being FAMU was stone cold from the free-throw line). Here is a link that provides some additional insight into this game and the traditions that has been building up here in Dayton for this annual event over the past seven years.

Dayton's peace rally...a respectable gathering--
considering OSU vs Xavier was on TV

And today was a 'first' in my life--I attended a peace rally! Sponsored by the September 11 Coalition, this gathering attracted nearly 100 people to the US federal courthouse in downtown Dayton on a sunny--but cold--Saturday afternoon. Several speakers, to include Iraq and Vietnam-era veterans, addressed the crowd on this local commemoration of the 4th anniversary of the 2003 pre-emptive invasion of Iraq by the current administration (and the DC march was to recognize the 40th anniversary of the first mass march on the Pentagon during the Vietnam War). Several demonstrations were planned throughout the country this weekend and one counter-demonstration was expected at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC due to an unfounded fear of peace activists vandalizing that monument. By all news accounts, no major incidents occurred at that or any other location. You can find all of my photos at this link.

All in all, it was a rather remarkable six days...but if I'm going to be taken seriously as a blogger, I've got to stop falling off of the 'wagon'...

A Pleasant Surprise (For Greene County)

Terry McAuliffe in Greene County...
who'd have thunk it???

For some strange reason, we decided to eat out last Thursday (choosing to brave the miserable weather and have Mongolian BBQ over at BD's at the Greene). When we finished and started strolling near Books & Co., I noticed the neon 'event' light was lit so we decided to take a peek inside. It turns out that Terry McAuliffe (Hillary Clinton's campaign manager) was there as a guest speaker and was just finishing up his after-talk signing of his latest book. Needless to say, I schlepped up the stairs, picked one up, and got in line (the Mrs. and our two kids made it up there shortly afterward). There were a few folks ahead of us so we waited our turn. He seemed to be very positive about this event here in a 'red' county. He looked very 'clean' and was extremely articulate!!!

During our turn, my wife mentioned that we used to live in Maryland (during my 'No Such Agency' days) and he struck up a conversation that led to the WH's warrantless wiretapping program. He started in with the 72-hour timeframe the AG has to seek a warrant, and I had to correct him by stating that during wartime the period is extended to 15 calendar days. While he was already flabbergasted that the Justice Department couldn't function in that shorter period, he was almost giddy with the FISA 'nugget' I provided him. Perhaps Mrs. Clinton will have that item tucked into one of her point papers or stump speeches in the near future.

Unfortunately, I didn't provide my name so I will not be expecting any kudos (or Cabinet appointments)...so my dream of being CIA director won't be coming true anytime soon!!!

Langley's just a 'pipe dream'...
no new business cards needed...

Now, because of an unscheduled dinner trip, our family has a nice keepsake of our accidental brush with a national-level Democrat who ventured into our neck of the woods. Let's hope this is a good omen for 2008.

The Pressure Has Been Building

Venting can be therapeutic...

Happy New Year! OK, OK...it's nearly EIGHT weeks after the fact but, as some folks say, better late than never!

As you can see by the choice of graphic above, my 'magma' levels have been elevating lately and, if I didn't restart this blog, I might actually blow my top. What could have me feeling this way? Let me count the reasons:

- The 'surge': In spite of overwhelming popular opinion supporting troop withdrawal and a well-received bipartisan report prepared by a hand-picked group of elder statesmen urging alternate solutions, the president has decided to 'double down' our national bet by opting to ignore the will of the people and sending even MORE troops into Iraq. By all unofficial accounts, this action effectively pushes off the earliest possible date for a policy revisit to the middle of the 2008 presidential contest--further muddying the waters for any contenders for the job. As this rate, Bush's war will probably outlast his presidency.

"Just keep thinking Crawford and brush-clearing...
2009 can't come soon enough"

- The 'stall': Although no longer in power, the GOP minority has effectively stymied any Democratic-led initiatives for debating the Iraq war in the US Senate. Although they complained about opposition intransigence and 'up or down' votes in the last Congress, they have quickly adopted the obstructionist banner and intend to use it as long as possible to keep that first anti-war 'domino' from falling.

The GOP Senate leadership...
"stalling's just another word for everything left to lose..."

- The 'smears': Since the beginning of the year, there have been three major smear campaigns launched by conservative operatives. The first one concerned the reports of Democratic senator (and presidential candidate) Barack Obama attending a madrassa when a young boy in Indonesia (and it was compounded by false implications that Hillary Clinton was to blame for this 'leak'). The second one was generated when the sergeant-at-arms of the US House of Representatives inquired into arranging military transportation for newly elevated Speaker Nancy Pelosi to travel back and forth to her home district (the same 'perk' her predecessor received in the wake of 9/11). The latest one concerns Fox News' Brit Hume speculating that Representative Jack Murtha was suffering from senility. While I will admit that all's fair in love and politics, the frequency and vehemence of these attacks are unnerving.

'If you can't say something nice about someone, just make sh*t up!"

- The 'season': While the early part of this winter season (and the late fall) were unexpectedly mild, winter came in with a vengeance in the latter part of January and socked us with a few good storms. For a couple weeks earlier this month, the kids were either having two-hour delays or complete school closures due to the weather (extremely cold morning temperatures, snowstorms, thick freezing fog from melting snow). While I believe that global warming is real and what we're seeing is attributable to climate instability, those facts haven't made the weather any more palatable!

"Alright, alright...it's winter already...now make it stop!"

I'm still up in the air on how I want to continue this blog (stay with op/ed pieces, do a 'shotgun' version of current events, one topic per entry) but I just needed to get these things off of my chest...for the sake of my blood pressure!

Hello 2007!

Today is the LAST day of 2006...a year that started with much promise and seems to have lived up to it.

Over the past twelve months, we've seen changes on the national and state stage in political and social circles. Democrats will comprise the majorities of the US Senate and House of Representatives--something that hasn't been seen since 1994. A Democratic governor will sit in the Ohio statehouse for the first time since 1990. And, since December 7th, non-smokers are now able to visit public places in Ohio without the possibility of enduring other peoples' second-hand smoke for the first time since--well, since the founding of the state in 1803!

What can we expect in the new year? A realization by the White House that Iraq is an unwinnable situation and the development of plans to withdraw from that civil war-torn nation? Democrat-led investigations into the war and other Bush administration 'shenanigans' that previously escaped Congressional oversight measures that lead directly to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? A plethora of 2008 presidential candidates throwing their hats into the ring and visiting this electoral vote-rich state like flies hovering over road kill? I'm anticipating these and a whole lot more.

I believe my 'hiatus' is nearly over and I anticipate posting here on at least a weekly basis--more often if issues or events dictate. I've started another blog for my relatives and friends (not open to the public) to keep them up-to-date on what is going on with our family here in Fairborn. This blog (my first one) is an anonymous alter ego and, as Seinfeld's George Costanza will advocate, I will do my best to prevent these two distinct 'worlds from colliding'.

"If Family Blogger me walks through this door, he will kill Political Blogger me! A blogger divided against himself cannot stand!"

In a couple of hours, I will sit in front of the television with my wife and kids and enjoy a glass of wine at the stroke of midnight. As I anticipated our annual reflection upon what has transpired in the past 12 months and the promises of the coming dozen, I'd like to wish you all a happy and healthy new year!

RIP, Progressive Talk 1360

Rest in peace...you were probably doomed from the start!

I have interrupted my hiatus due to the news I received yesterday morning. Unbeknownst to me, Friday was WSAI’s last day for carrying Air America Radio and other syndicated progressive talk programming. According to press accounts, the station’s parent company, Clear Channel Communications (CCC), decided that liberal commentary just doesn’t sell in the greater Cincinnati/tri-state (Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana) area and they pulled the plug on such programming as midnight last night.

If I had been more ‘media savvy’, I would’ve seen the handwriting on the wall when Clear Channel announced back in November that it was merging with a private equity group and selling off nearly 400 of its radio stations. Actually, the first indicator would’ve been the swapping of Air America programming from 50,000 watt WCKY (1530AM) to its final (and now former) destination (WSAI’s weaker 5,000 transmitter) back in July of this year (here's my blog entry which covered that event).

As I sit back and reflect on this sad news, I really can’t blame Clear Channel for this particular action. Due to AAR’s early programming success at one of CCC’s outlets in Portland, Oregon (KPOJ), they decided to take a risk and subsequently provided the struggling network with radio outlets in markets they thought impossible to enter (which included the three Ohio stations in Akron/Canton, Columbus and Cincinnati). Air America’s affiliate total swelled to over 80 stations at its apex because of these assets; however, most were low-powered outlets that sometimes didn’t even reach the intended metropolitan markets they thought they could target (Philadelphia and Atlanta were good examples). Ratings over time at many of them (including Cincinnati) dwindled to near 1.0 shares (and some fell below that). Since Clear Channel and other affiliates are in the money-making business (and with the November merger news), now seems to be a good a time as any to declared this nearly 2-year experiment a failure and dump the stations or switch to more commercially viable programming.

When I read what WSAI’s new format would be and looked at their daily lineup, I was shocked. In a market with FIVE other conservative-leaning talk stations, ‘1360thesource.com’ will be featuring right-leaning shows by Clark Howard, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Neil Boortz, Dr. Joy Brown, Joey Reynolds, and the Wall Street Journal report. The Boortz program grabbed my attention because it will be a rebroadcast of his 9-12AM show--originally aired by a rival talk station--at the later 7-10PM timeframe. The station will also rerun the 4-7PM Clark Howard show the following mornings from 7-10AM. Even the local media is scratching its collective head on this decision to broadcast conservative-centric 'self-help' and 'rerun' programming that is already well-covered with similar offerings in this middle-sized market (#28 in the country--estimated 1.7 million listeners aged 12+).

Why did this progressive talk effort fail? Although Ohio is slowly turning 'bluer', it is doing so by crawling from the northern and eastern parts (Cleveland/Akron/Canton/Youngstown areas) towards the south and west--and the greater Cincinnati area. This can be seen in the voting patterns from the last two federal general elections (the yellow arrow in the graphic below points to the Fairborn area). Although adjacent to two Democratic 'pockets' (Dayton and Springfield), my county (aptly with the colorful name of Greene) still trended 'red' this past November and overwhelmingly elected/re-elected Republicans to US and state legislature seats (Mike DeWine garnered nearly 60 percent of the votes for US Senate). With these kinds of communities sitting within the radio 'footprints' of both WCKY and WSAI, it was rather obvious that Clear Channel would have a tough product to sell.

A nice transformation in two years...but not fast enough in MY area

Facing this absence of progressive talk from my local radio choices, I still have other resources available to me. I can still listen to AAR at work or home via their streaming audio service or from streams of their affiliates--as long as that network remains on the air. I can (and probably will) purchase an XM satellite radio so I will be able to listen in during my commute time or when I'm away from a computer (with their exclusive contract with Major League Baseball, I won't feel too put out financially for going XM if AAR goes away). Earlier today, I found an online petition to save progressive talk radio in Cincinnati but it was canceled once the CCC announcement was made (I signed it anyway just to lend support and make myself heard).

Life will go on--with or (unfortunately) without a local affiliate (several other US markets are also going through similar Clear Channel withdrawals). Listening in over the past 23 months was an educational experience in terms of getting 'pointers' of what were the important issues affecting me personally and our country in general. The tone of the programming was generally optimistic, sometimes humorous, occasionally vitriolic yet always aggressive. The lineup of Maron, Springer, Franken, Shultz, Rhodes and Maddow kept me company throughout my workday and during my commutes to or from the office. While most of these 'soldiers' continue to wage war on the national radio scene, the battle for southwest Ohio has now been lost. I and many former listeners simply want to thank you for the 'good fight' you helped us wage over the last two years by leveling the talk radio playing field and providing an alternative to the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Reillys, Boortzs and other bloviators that dominate the talk radio market. While you are now gone, you will never be forgotten!

On Hiatus

To ANYONE who actually reads my entries and might be anticipating more 'regular' updates or postings, I will be disappointing you now with my announcement that I am taking a hiatus from blogging for a while. Is it because there isn't anything to comment on? No, in fact, there are things happening that are registering on my consciousness but since the mid-term elections, NOTHING HAS REALLY BEEN BOTHERING ME!!! Some in the blogosphere are referring to this phenomenon as 'DemoGlad'...and I've got it BAD!!!

Click on the graphic above to see if you are ALSO afflicted...

I had several topics I was going to discuss (an analytical overview of the mid-term results, my thoughts on Veterans' Day) and was trying to complete them but this euphoric feeling is not allowing me to do so (I did post my tribute to Ed Bradley). I recently threw out (actually recycled) a whole bunch of newspapers I was going to review from my October business/personal trip to provide readers some outside perspective on the local paper here in Dayton. I also recycled copies of the DDN I was keeping as 'samples' over the past 4-5 months (one week's worth per month) to review and try to demonstrate in an objective way that their op/ed pages are more bipartisan than some of its conservative readers believe. I was going to coin a new award--The Libra--to symbolically 'present' to the paper when they met that challenge. But that's not going to happen now--it's just not that significant a task.

The 'Libra' Award...
never presented but no longer necessary

I still feel the need to 'discuss' more contentious issues with others and routinely utilize the DDN's 'Speak Up!' venue for that reason--probably more than I should. But the matter of blogging--the methodical documenting of my particular takes on issues--just doesn't seem that important now. I will keep this site intact and periodically look it over to see if I can (or need to) get the 'juices' flowing again. Right now, I have other things on my plate that need my more immediate attention right now...like life!

RIP, Ed Bradley

Ed Bradley
1941-2006

I was shocked to hear earlier this afternoon about the untimely passing of CBS News' and '60 Minutes' reporter Ed Bradley. A Philadelphia native, Bradley died of pneumonia as a indirect result of leukemia (he was diagnosed two years ago but was currently in remission). He is survived by his wife Phyllis and leaves a gaping hole in the fabric of that Sunday night news-magazine staple.

Although I've fallen away from this show over the past several years (its time slot conflicts with the end of football games when CBS wasn't broadcasting them, Fox animated shows and other weekend-ending things happening at the 7PM hour), I used to like the way our Armed Forces affiliate used to show it in Japan. Because of the 13-hour time difference between our local standard time and Eastern Standard Time (14 with daylight savings), '60 Minutes' aired on Mondays at 8AM (9AM in the DST months) on the network's news channel. Since most of the base's working folks were away from home during that time, the local affiliate reran it at 7PM that evening so it never experienced any sports 'delays' (like US West Coast viewers). If that seems strange, remind me to tell you about watching 'Monday Night Football' on Tuesdays some time.

Back to Ed...although he wasn't one of the original hosts (Mike Wallace and Harry Reasoner kicked things off back in September 1968), he joined the ensemble for its 14th season and stuck around for 25 renewals until this most recent one. He reported on a wide variety of stories but cut his journalistic 'teeth' during the Vietnam War (he was wounded during a mortar attack in the conduct of his duties). He served as CBS News' White House correspondent during the early years of the Carter administration and gravitated towards television news documentaries prior to joining the '60 Minutes' team in 1981.

Ed's death will most likely be another blow to hardcore viewership numbers for this investigative reporting icon. The recent departures of both Mike Wallace and 'relative' newcomer Dan Rather (mostly confined to 'moonlighting' segments on the canceled '60 Minutes II' spin-off) removes almost all of the personnel (Morley Safer the sole exception) from the show's 'glory days' period when they were a 'must-see' item--enjoyed a 5-year streak as television's highest rated program. The network has brought in some 'new' blood over the years (Steve Croft, Bob Simon, Leslie Stahl, Scott Pelley) and, in just the past two years, added chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan, the new 'CBS Evening News' anchor Katie Couric, and CNN's Anderson Cooper for periodic contributions. Andy Rooney, who started out in 1978 and will turn 87 this coming January, rounds out their team.

A 2003 photo of the '60 Minutes' cast

In this day and age of 24/7 news coverage on television and the internet, the uniqueness of this pioneering program has been diluted among the multitude of other 'knock-offs'. Programs such as '20/20' and 'Dateline NBC' tend to focus more on the sensational or reality-based subjects which garner a larger share of the higher-prized demographics (18-54 year olds). The average age of '60 Minutes' viewers is outside that range and that can be readily seen by the types of advertising seen during their broadcasts (spots for prescription medications and 'E.D.' products abound--no iPods or 'Hummers' to be seen). After nearly 40 years on the air, the show is still going strong (currently #16 in total households for primetime series in the most recent Nielsen ratings for the 2006-2007 season), no doubt fueled by the exploits of the current administration and Congress.

The eventual departure of Safer will remove all vestiges from the program's more formative years and put me smack dab into their target audience. Maybe then I will be able to discipline myself to either be watching or recording for a later viewing--that is if I'm still awake!

Election Eve

Hard to believe that it's only been two years...click on the image above to take a nostalgic look at what we were facing back in 2004--the 'good old days' (pre-Katrina, pre-Foleygate, pre-warrantless wiretaps)!

I'm not in the habit of predicting things but I see the Democrats picking up 20+ seats in the House and attaining a 50-50 split in the Senate. Those gains would eliminate the constraints that the GOP have placed on their rivals in terms of investigating the actions of this administration in those chambers since Bush took office nearly six years ago. Let us hope, for our democracy's sake, that everything goes relatively smooth tomorrow...

If my House prediction comes true, a conservative friend of mine will be treating me for dinner at the restaurant of my choice...hmmm...he IS a member of the Dayton Racquet Club!

Sunday 'Shotgun' Blast

"I'm Dick Cheney and I approve this torture...I mean BLOGGING method!"

It’s been a few days since I’ve posted anything to my blog (I’ve ‘relapsed’ back to ‘Speak Up!’ after a 2-week absence and have been discussing a variety of issues in that forum). I don’t want to have this initiative stall again, so I want to try something different. Instead of taking just ONE issue and giving my opinion about it, I’m going to try the method that some of the more popular blogs (Booman Tribune, Eschaton, etc.) use—the ‘shotgun’ approach. This is where you bring up a lot of topics and give them a few lines (or just hyperlink to other sites) before moving on to the next one. I’ll take a shot at this so if anyone actually reads this blog, please feel free to comment…

- I promised my wife that I’d mention the DDN’s habit of putting a fold-out on the front page of their Sunday comics. Instead of just opening and closing it for that short period of reading ‘Blondie’, ‘Closer to Home’, ‘Zits’, ‘The Family Circus’ and ‘FoxTrot’, she has to audibly express her displeasure (a weekly occurrence) and physically tear this tab off from the main part of that page. I noticed that today’s edition did not have a flap…could they have read her mind?

- A story in the Friday edition of the DDN mentioned that a union representing 120 reporters, copy editors and photographers urged the paper to begin negotiations on a contract to replace a 20-year-old pact the union says is outdated. After I saw that piece, I was going through the weekend entertainment section and noticed that they gave the new Helen Mirren movie 'The Queen' a rating of 'X+'...I didn't think it would be THAT graphic. I believe it was supposed to be a 'C+' (the 'X' and 'C' keys are adjacent on our 'QWERTY' keyboards). If I were the DDN, I would suggest that these journalism professionals review the simple process of editing their copy before sending it to print.

The DDN gave this movie an 'X+'...
this erroneous review just might improve local ticket sales!

- The DDN also mentioned a story about the latest 'fantasy' game to pique the interest of political junkies--Fantasy Congress! The Chicago Tribune's October 26th story describes how instead of athletes, each player gets to choose from the 535 legislators on Capitol Hill to form their own 'dream teams'. Points are awarded based upon their real legislative accomplishments. The game is schedule to go live after the Tuesday elections.

- I did notice in the Sunday DDN (and on other occasions over the past several months) where advertisements are 'popping' up in some mighty peculiar places on their pages. Back in the days before 'cold type' printing plate preparation, the pagesetters had to fit advertisements into square or rectangular spaces to fit on the page and keep them in line with the publication's columnar scheme. In today's publishing arsenal, ads can be placed ANYWHERE inside the boundaries of the entire page. For example, a Kroger spot was placed as a large diamond centered in the middle of the page. Around it, four news/feature stories were inserted to take up the remaining white space. As a 'traditionalist', I find this practice somewhat distracting but my opinions don't pay the bills. If the advertisers want it, the paper will give it to them.


- In a recent editorial by Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, I saw that he used the most peculiar phrase (highlighted below):

According to the pollsters, pundits and pols -- Democratic and nervous Republican -- a great anti-Republican wave is a-coming. Well, let's assume major Democratic gains: 20 to 25 House seats and four to six Senate seats. The House goes Democratic for the first time in 12 years. The Senate probably stays Republican, but by such an excruciatingly small margin that there is no governing majority.

In many of my on-line duels with the 'red' tribe members on the DDN's 'Speak Up!' forum, they always alude to the fact that when the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 was passed in the US Senate in October of that year, that body was controlled by the Democrats (Senator Jim Jeffords/R-VT opted for 'independent' status in May 2001 which turned a 50-50 split of that body into a 50-49-1 on paper advantage for the Dems). In my frequent rebuttals on this issue, I would try to explain that since Dems normally can't even agree on the most basic of things, (like what to have for lunch), this 'majority' status is pretty much in name only. Since my GOP colleagues believe ALL political parties must behave just like theirs (think lockstep), this is a very foreign concept for many of them to grasp. Now that I have the words of an avowed RW conservative on record, maybe they'll stop their fringe complaints and focus on the issues...yeah, right!

Finally, something meaningful from 'Sir Charles'...

- Speaking of 'war games', a read an online article about a 1999 Pentagon war scenario with the primary subject being the overthrow of Iraq. While details can be found at the National Security Archive website, the posting's bottom line was that even with 400,000 troops, removing Saddam Hussein would still put that country in the same condition it is in today. These findings make it seem that even if former Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki had his way, it might not have made a difference...but just tell that to the families of the troops who have lost their lives when Rumsfeld only deployed one-third the total of that scenio's recommended total.

I had more on my list of things to 'spray' (Joe Paterno's unfortunate injuries, traffic at the Nutter Center, Air America 'blackout' memo) but I don't want to delay this any longer than I have. Fire in the hole!

Smashing Pumpkins

It was an uneventful Halloween out here in our part of Fairborn this year. Since the kids are both well into their teens, the days of dressing them up and escorting them around the neighborhood for their one night of 'confectionery extortion' are long gone (although they are now polishing off the bowl of visitor 'leftovers' in the living room as I type). I put up our Democrat yard signs last night so I was curious if they would reduce the amount of visitors to the house compared to years when we remained 'neutral' or if the 'trick-or-treaters' would risk knocking on the door of a scary 'librul' house...boo! Apparently, by the small amount of candy left at 8PM, they weren't the deterrent I thought they might be.

For some reason, this is the first year that I noticed that most Ohioans refer to this annual rite of passage as 'Beggar's Night'. When I was growing up in Pennsylvania, there was no other name used except Halloween. This alternate moniker seems to be a Midwestern thing (when I 'googled' the term, most of the hits were related to events in Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa) and I'm guessing it was given to reduce the connection to the un-Christian aspects of the evening (costumes, characters). Some hits I got referred to October 30th--the night before 'All Hallows Eve'--as being 'Beggar's Night'. The only thing I remember hearing about in conjunction with Halloween was the anarchist phenomenon of 'Devil's Night'. Every year, our local TV stations would feature news stories about wide-scale arson and other public acts of property damage in and around the Detroit, Michigan area. Thankfully, that activity has subsided over the last decade or so but for a time it was something you could set your calendar by.

Speaking of periodic rituals (every even year), our current election cycle is coming to its highly anticipated conclusion next Tuesday. While some of our more notable races (US Senate, state governor) seem to be leaning to the Dems in Ohio (both Brown and Strickland have double-digit leads in the latest polls), there are still competitive races for other statewide and national offices. The tide has turned so much to the Democrats' advantage this year that the president--with a sub-40 percent approval rating--has been forced to campaign in only the most 'blood red' states and districts in order to salvage some measure of accomplishment for the GOP.

I mentioned in a previous post that I just missed of these campaign stops up in Scranton, Pennsylvania for Rep. Don Sherwood, PA-10. Down by nearly 10 points with just under three weeks to go, the president decided to pop up there on Air Force One to hopefully give his campaign a much needed boost. Unfortunately for Sherwood, he is still nine points down in the latest figures. As the sitting representative of perhaps the most conservative district in that state--he garnered 93 percent of the vote against his Constitution Party's opponent in 2004, you would think he'd be a shoe-in for reelection. However, this is the same Don Sherwood that settled a $5.5 million lawsuit out of court with his mistress for his alleged assault at his Washington, DC apartment. In fact, in one of his television spots, the only thing that Sherwood could 'gloat' about to his constituents was that no evidence of assault was ever proven in that case (he does forget to mention that he 'purchased' that evidence). After the rally, Bush joined Sherwood and his wife for some ice cream at a local store. I wonder if he recognized any of the new minimum wage employees his 'robust' economy provided jobs for over the last 4 to 5 years working on the other side of the counter...

The president campaigning with the Sherwood family in northeast Pennsylvania...with a six-figure income, you think he would've
at least sprung for some sprinkles...

In the 140+ hours left before the polls open next Tuesday morning, we can expect to see the unexpected, the bizarre and, in something that happened yesterday in Los Angeles, make- believe. Senator John Kerry-MA (D), during a campaign appearance for California gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides, tried to use humor and poke some fun at his 2004 presidential rival. He warmed up by saying that Bush, a Texas resident, now lives in 'a state of denial'. Hearing a few laughs from the crowd, he decided to continue on this tact by saying the following:

“You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”

At that point, he continued on through his remarks and turned over the podium to Mr. Angelides to continue the event. It wasn't until this morning's White House press briefing that the fecal matter hit the oscillating air-movement appliance. I won't get into all of the details but Kerry was accused by Tony Snow and other prominent Republicans of belittling our troops. The normal 'wing nut' hangouts (NRO's 'The Corner' and AM talk radio) were rabid in their universal condemnation of his implication that only 'dummies' were fighting in Iraq.

All of this 'righteous' indignation turns out to be false alarm because those previously stated words were misinterpreted by the GOP. He was referring to the president when he brought up the sup-par academic achievement and the resulting 'quagmire' his forces are currently embroiled in inside Iraq. You would think that Kerry's explanation would clear things up...but not in THIS reality! Bush, Snow and a whole slew of others readily sensed a 'red herring' to introduce into the final week of the campaign and they hit it hard and heavy throughout this news cycle. Kerry, apparently the recipient of a backbone transplant since his 2004 'swiftboating', released a scathing response to this smear job; however, this 'genie' was already out of its bottle and, unfortunately, only the passage of time will quell this issue.

"Let's see...if we give Karl this here pumpkin,
he'll make a real scary 'Dem'-o-lantern' out of it...heh heh heh"

I will admit that the first time I heard them, they were out of context (I didn't hear any of his attempts at Bush humor prior to them). Pat Buchannan of MSNBC said the same thing on this evening's 'Scarborough Country' program and we both see it how Kerry meant it to play out. Earlier in the day, with just those words, I was able to produce a logical explanation in some interoffice emails with some RW friends of mine based on my familiarity with the senator. I said I believed that Kerry may still be locked in a 'Vietnam' paradigm, telling the audience of college students that if you did not do well in school you'd lose your draft deferment and be eligible to be conscripted into the military if a draft is reinstituted due to more foreign policy debacles by the current administration. After excising that 30+ year-old 'lens', I was also able to see that he might have been telling folks that in our current economic situation and if college didn't pan out, the military may be the best option to get ahead. What other employer offers entry-level folks a guaranteed paycheck for 4-6 years at a stretch, free housing and extremely low-cost medical care, generous educational benefits and 30 days of annual vacation to start? I was enticed to join the military by these 'carrots' back in the high unemployment, high inflation times of the late 1970s and early 1980s living in the soon-to-be 'Rust Belt'.

What effect will this have on the Dem's chances next week? Every one of their Congressional candidates will have to take at least one question about it sometime in the next day or two and be asked to disavow him and/or his remarks. With the hours rapidly dwindling, that kabuki dance with the media will eat up time that could be better used to further their offensive on the Iraq war, homeland security and Washington corruption--Tim Russert's 'perfect storm' scenario that has played out in the aftermath of the Foley page scandal. This is the GOP's tried and true modus operandi of repeatedly beating up on familiar 'demons'...Bill Clinton, almost six years removed from the Oval Office, still makes the hairs on the back of Republican necks stand on end. The GOP is desperate (never having, in recent memory, faced such a bleak election outcome) and this incident might not be the last one to surface before the 7th...what other 'pumpkins' are they willing to carve up and smash between now and then?

Political Reality Creeping into the Funny Pages

It is a rare event (outside of 'Doonesbury' or 'B.C.' that come at you from different parts of the spectrum) to have the world of the DDN's Sunday comics intruded upon by the political events of the day. So it was surprising to see TWO strips in yesterday's paper dedicate some or all of their allocated space to intersperse things of that nature with the upcoming 'celebration' of Halloween (I'm expecting more next Sunday due to the elections being only two days after that).

The first one was 'Hi and Lois' (courtesy of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer):

'Hi and Lois'...another lame attempt at well-worn political humor

In this offering, we see the eternally bickering Flagston twins (Dot and Ditto) trying to decide what to go 'trick or treating' as this year. Everything that Dot wants to dress up like is matched or trumped by her brother Ditto's counter choice. In the next-to-last (or set-up) panel, Lois tries to put an end to this sibling skirmish by saying that they have to pick get-ups that are the polar opposite of what the other one chooses. As they enter the living room in the final frame, Dot is seen sporting a headband and a vest, with one hand in a 'peace sign' and the other holding flowers. Ditto, standing next to her, is decked out in a black business suit and tie with a briefcase in his right hand. They then both announce their choices to the parents: Dot saying 'I'm a Democrat' with Ditto adding 'and I'm a Republican'. A subtle clue to their 'creative' decision is seen in the faces of Hi (startled from reading his newspaper, staring with his mouth agape sitting in his easy chair) while Lois stands behind him with a smile and arms folded across her chest--Mom is very proud of her little 'flower power' girl (Lois was 'liberated' herself by the strip's creator in the 1980s to reflect the growing number of women in the workforce during that time).

Although it might be good for a small groan, this comparison has already been worn out in television, the movies as well as in other comics since the advent of the 'hippie' movement in the 1960s. 'Hi and Lois' originated during the bucolic 1950s but needs to rely on well-worn stereotypes (the fat, lazy neighbor being nagged by his long-suffering skinny wife--sounds like a lot of sitcoms I watched over the years, the messy teenager's room--although having two of my own brings that one into the realm of fact, the overbearing boss, etc.) to amuse today's dwindling readership. I don't know about you but I haven't seen 'flower children' in quite awhile--and Yellow Springs is just a few miles down the road from our house!

The second strip with a political theme was 'FoxTrot' (courtesy of GoComics):

'FoxTrot'...an excellent overview of a modern day 'horror' story...

Sunday's edition of this strip has Jason (the family's über geek) showing off his Halloween costume--a touch-screen electronic voting machine--to his older brother Peter. In the following two build-up panels, Jason explains to his snacking sibling the 'horror' aspect of this device (imparting very accurate data readily available online about the machine's susceptibility to tampering and its widespread use throughout the country). In the second-to-last scene, the younger boy concludes his 3-1/2 panel monologue by asking the older one if there could think of anything scarier than that device. Finally given the chance to speak, Peter replies that most people don't care about such things. As he walks away in the final frame, analyzing that solicited response, Jason rubs his chin and seems to confirm his older brother's unintentional wisdom.

Of all of the offerings on today's comic pages, Bill Amend's strip was probably the most appropriate candidate to translate this dire warning to a tech-savvy readership. Since the machine already exists, 'Dilbert' and his system development accomplices would have already done their work--and hopefully, for the pointy haired boss' next performance review, on schedule and under budget. The daily editions of 'Non Sequitur' (politics) or the 'The Fifth Wave' (technology) are single panels so cramming that much background information into a confined space would be relatively impossible. 'Beetle Bailey', like the previously mentioned Hi and Lois, is so anchored in the past (Specialist Chip Gizmo the only exception) that I'm guessing that they still use paper ballots and a cardboard box with a slot in the top. Do you suppose that Mort Walker has the same mental picture of the Internet like his octogenarian contemporary Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska--a 'series of tubes' that get filled when you put your message into one?

There have been several surveys released recently that indicate that younger people are looking to 'unconventional' places for their 'hard' news--Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show' is one such source. If the current political discourse in our country continues and more and more of this nation's youth flee the traditional nightly news format or newspapers in favor of on-demand downloads of Jon Stewart or online views at GoComics.com, strips like 'FoxTrot' could start to play a greater role in informing the public of what it really needs to know--bridging the divide between entertainment and information. Maybe it's time that more comics reflect real life instead of the escapist 'vanilla' world of the printed page...

Is Air America THAT Much of a Threat?

It's now been two weeks since Air America Radio declared that they were filing for Chapter 11 protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York but so far the world hasn't come to an end (for liberal/progressives) and AAR is still on the air (to the dismay of most of the right-wing punditry). On the evening of the announcement, I was out at our local Meijer's and decided to purchase a copy of Air America: The Playbook: What a Bunch of Left Wing Media Types have to Teach you about a World Gone Right to commemorate the event (appropriately made on October 13th--a Friday). I waded through it when I got home and was delighted to see that it wasn't just the contributions of Al Franken or the more well-known personalities (Randi Rhodes, Sam Seder). Although Al did write the foreword, almost all of the current and some former contributors/hosts were able to provide their unique perspective on this on-going fight for the minds of the American listening public.

As I've written before (here and here) and as Franken details in the book's introduction, AAR started its existence under a dark cloud of financial difficulties and it was only sheer determination that had them endure that constant strain for almost 2-1/2 years. Now that the filing has finally happened (many detractors predicted this event since the network first went on the air on 31 March 2004), the pressure of operating under such constraints can be temporarily lifted and allow the 'green eye shade' folks an opportunity to right their 'left listing' ship.

Many of AAR's foes point to this issue as an indicator of the idea of liberal talk radio being a commercial failure. However, it can be seen in a different light when compared to what Fox News went through during their start-up. In The Playbook, Franken makes the following statement:

'Capital is important when starting up a major media network. Take, for example, the Fox News Channel...just to get on the air, Rupert Murdoch had to pay cable carriers $11 per viewer. In other words, $5.50 per eyeball--roughly. That cost approximately $187 million. Add to that the $130 million operating deficit in the first two years, and you're looking at more than a $300 million loss.'

Such dollar figures dwarf the $16 million deficit that AAR has declared in its recent bankruptcy filing. For additional context, the Washington Times, that city's 'second paper' and a conservative alternative to mainstream news nationally, received an estimated $1.7 billion in subsidies from its owner (Sun Myung Moon and his Unification Church) during that publication's first twenty years of existence (1982-2002)--an average $85 million annual 'bailout'.

Rupert Murdoch & the Rev. Sun Myung Moon...
deep pockets that the right wing 'picked' to fund their media pulpits...

OK, enough about the legal proceedings...let's look at what all this ballyhoo is all about...

In my most recent post, I provided a graphic representation of AAR's presence during my trip through Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Since the network only lists stations in a text-based format, I took the liberty of preparing a map of their national coverage:

Upon examination, it is obvious that AAR has NOT adopted Howard Dean's '50 state' strategy. While no progressive listener is ever truly barred from 'tuning in' (if they choose to stream the audio over the Internet or subscribe to XM satellite radio), it appears that 15 states do not have a station within their borders. Signal propagation from some of the stronger transmitters do provide coverage for those 'forsaken' jurisdictions. For example, I was able to hear (weakly) WWRL's 25,000 watt signal out of New York City in eastern Pennsylvania so I would assume that most of northern and central New Jersey--lacking an affiliate of their own--would be able to tune to 1600AM on their car or home radios. The 'dots' on my graphic only represent an estimated coverage area (most of AAR affiliates are on stations broadcasting at 5,000 watts effective radiated power or less). Weather, time of day, solar activity and terrain are several factors that can affect the signal strength and quality on a day-to-day (and sometimes hour-to-hour) basis.

Several locations correspond to major media markets (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles) but one outlet truly surprised me. According to a wikipedia.org's listing of affiliates, one of KYTI-FM's ('the Coyote') high definition, or HD, channels carries AAR programming to the listeners of the greater Sheridan, Wyoming area. Unlike some smaller stations located in 'red' states that carry this progressive programming to a college crowd (Chapel Hill, NC and Columbia, SC for their respective state's university campuses, Spokane, WA for Gonzaga University--close to the Idaho 'hinterlands'), I could not immediately find ANY overt reason why that community (the town only has one junior college and its claim to fame has been its selection as the #1 Western town in the nation--not a very liberal haven) would broadcast AAR, let alone be the only one in the US to offer it via HD radio. However, when I looked at the broadcasting coverage map for their transmitter, I noticed that it extends over the Wyoming border into southern Montana. With the influx of business and entertainment moguls into that part of the country since the 1970s and the use of a new technology that is somewhat pricy to the standard radio listener, I'm guessing this programming will be heard only by those 'Hollywood' expatriates or rich vacationers from the East and 'Left' coasts. If Dick Cheney ever heard about the 'treason' that was going on back in his 'home' state, I'm sure he'd roll over in his grave...oh wait, he's not dead...he just resembles it...

AAR's 'Wild Wild West' outpost...
I wonder if Wyoming's 'favorite son' is aware of this???

If you look again at the national map, you will see that there isn't a whole lot of 'blue' out there. If I were to take the time to plot out all of the stations that carry, say, Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity, that graphic would be bleeding bright red. Since their take-over of AM talk radio in the late 1980s and early 1990s (fueled primarily by Reagan's veto of placing the FCC's existing 'Fairness Doctrine' equal time policy into law), conservatives have had a stranglehold over this medium to the near exclusion of any liberals or progressives in the national arena (still had pockets in traditionally Democratic strongholds--New York, San Francisco--and current personalities Randi Rhodes and Ed Shultz honed their craft during this period).

With such overpowering assets (hundreds of stations and millions of listeners), I scratch my head and wonder what conservatives can possibly be afraid of. Some say that AM talk radio is simply a 'guy thing', a place where 'boys will be boys'. A rough and tumble environment that liberals supposedly detest (unlike FM, where NPR holds sway over the nation's ear). Others say that liberal talk radio is not 'entertaining' enough to capture and hold a steady audience. Still more think that the format is exclusively for them to wage combat against the alleged liberal media and its bias when presenting news and current events through the other traditional mediums (television, newspapers). Since their conquest of the AM dial, conservatives have made strides in cable news (although recently slumping, the Fox News Channel is the highest rated on television today due to the mass congregation of GOP viewers to that sole 'citadel' defending against the influences of the 'mainstream media') as well as on the 'internets' (a plethora of news sites and blogs dedicated to pounding out the right wing drumbeat on a 24/7 basis to a ever-growing constituency).

Conservative America's multimedia 'drummers'...

So what does all of this mean for AAR? Since they went in 'for a pound' and decided to create a full-fledged network back in 2004, they now have one of two choices. They can either secure additional funding (pledges like PBS does, premium services for web-specific items, etc.) to properly establish a true national network to carry their programming (the advent of HD radio could provide them an avenue into EVERY market) or they must cut back and limit themselves to producing programming to be marketed to one of the various national syndicators (currently in an arrangement with 24 Clear Channel Communications stations).

What if AAR can't make it back? There is a possibility but hopefully a very miniscule one. However, if the network did fold, I don't think that liberals and progressives will do their best 'lemming' impressions and head off the nearest cliff. What Air America has done during its short existence is provide its listenership with the tools to go out and fight for the hearts and minds of independent-minded Americans. Time and time again, they have exposed the 'man behind the curtain' on important issues over the past 2-1/2 years (Iraq, Katrina, signing statements, current GOP scandals, etc.) and, in conjunction with other media outlets who have recently 'rediscovered' their spines, have led a full-flanked attack on individuals and a party that have hijacked our country's reputation and resources in the pursuit of an agenda favoring themselves.

I might be dating myself here, but the song for my graduating high school class was 'Freebird' by Lynyrd Skynyrd. In the lyrics, the question is asked: if I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me? In Air America's case, if the worst does happen, I can happily answer 'yes'...