BlatherWatch

dan sytman, blatherwatch: united against I-912 and common nonsense

BlatherWatch has taken issue many times with the bright but brittle Dan Sytman, Michael Medved's producer and the host of his own talk show on early mornings on KTTH (Saturday 6-8a) which is a great favorite of area milkmen, drunks coming in after a Friday night run and and Dan's own mother.

We kid Dan Sytman, but we love it when he agrees with us and puts his considerable brains and talents into a political issue that really shouldn't be cast as left vs. right.

In a straight-forward, reasoned and well-written op-ed in Monday's Seattle Times, Sytman makes the conservative case against the roads-busting I-912.

We usually won't condone the use of the word, "moreover" by anyone untenured or under the age of 65, but we can't help but overlook that and shriek here! here! in that undisciplined, overly emotional way we liberals have that gets us in trouble but also gets us laid more often than conservatives.

Sytman gives a litany of "liberal" transportation issues and projects he's railed and voted against such as Sound Transit, the Monorail, and HOV lanes. He voted for every one of Tim Eyman's anti-car tab taxes because, he says: "It punishes me progressively based on the value of my car instead of how much I drive."

But, he continues, brilliantly: "While rightly trying to kill that obnoxious tax, the people of this state drained money from the agency that does one of the most important things government does: build roads. So when I'm asked to replace a progressive tax — the vehicle excise — with a user tax that supports the building of roads, it would be hypocritical of me to refuse."

He points out that voter approval of the regressive I-912 would nix what conservatives have been trying to do for years:

"We've been demanding roads, not transit. Well, now they're building roads and using one of the fairest kinds of taxes to do so — and we're going to try to stop them? Unfortunately, I think many I-912 advocates have not realized the hypocrisy of their dubious position on transportation taxes.

He's not the only conservative, who's against the roads-monkeywrenching initiative:

" [It] was passed with support from about one-third of Republicans in Olympia, including highly respected conservatives like Sens. Bill Finkbeiner, Joseph Zarelli and Dan Swecker, who voted for the package because it includes projects not just for infrastructure-needy King County, but for all 39 counties. They voted for the gas tax along with an audit feature that will help enforce wise spending."

We might add some other Republicans opposing this clunker: Attorney General (and local conservative hero) Rob McKenna, former Senator Slade Gorton, former Governor Dan Evans, King Co. Executive candidate Dave "Mama's  Bad Little Boy" Irons, and Senate candidate Mike McGavick, though he's been a little slippery on I-912 lately (a preview of how he might govern?).

Sytman says that the Republican party has deserted their traditional allies in the business community. We've heard Boeing bitching about these anti-transportation tax revolts for years, mainly because it's become harder and harder to get freight in and out of the area and takes workers longer and longer to get to work. Boeing is slip-sliding out of the Puget Sound region and our regional tendency to avoid clear transportation decisions is certainly a major factor--they've said it many times. 

Sytman observes:

If a post-I-912-era earthquake brings down the viaduct or sinks the Evergreen Point Bridge, who do you think people are going to blame? Keep in mind that the Washington State Republican Party has officially taken a position against its traditional allies in the business community by supporting I-912. It doesn't take a wild imagination to predict where the blame will fall if Washington suffers from a bridge- or viaduct-breaking catastrophe.

As much as we'd love to have a major catastrophe to pin on the GOP, when push comes to shove, we'll take the repairs. We've heard over and over again from conservatives, that maintaining the infrastructure is the role of government, if nothing else is.

Dan Sytman told Dave Ross (KIRO, m-f, 3-6p) Monday:  "As as conservative, it's tempting to poke Washington state government in the eye: it's tempting to poke Christine Gregoire in the eye, but what we're doing by supporting this initiative is cutting our nose off to spite our face."

We couldn't have said it better. For Sytman to come out both on his show and in the dreaded "liberal" press wasn't easy in the company he keeps; and though it galls us to say it, we salute him for his prinicipled stand.

This really isn't liberal vs. conservative--it's a responsible vs. irresponsible. The I-912 campaign plays to anger, cynicism, and the worst impulses of the voters. The trend in this campaign, however, is that the more the voters find out about the transportation package, the more of them are rejecting this ill-considered initiative that would quash it.

We're praying that good sense and more information will reach critical mass before election day.

ALLAN PRELL BACK ON THE RADIO

Hello Past Listener:

Yep:  I'm getting back on the radio.  Well, at least for an hour on this Sunday 11/30/05.   I am to be a guest on the Kevin McDonald Show at 5pm on KKNW 1150 am for about an hour.  We will be taking phone calls.  This is a notice to all the people I owe money to.  The station can be heard in King, Pierce, and the county I live in, but can't spell.  Also parts of the Olympic pennisula.  The station streams on the internet at newschannel1150.com

I hope you can join me, we'll have a great time and I can tell all the naughty stories you've wanted to hear.  I am really looking forward to it.

Till Sunday,

Allan

"These will be very, very dark days for the White House,"  ~Andrew Card, White House Chief of Staff.

UPDATE: thursday oddems..miers quits: is it odd, or is it god?

That rickety old Harriet Miers bus rolled to a stop after everybody had gotten off after yesterday's revelations about her affirmative speech stand on affirmative action. Bush again caved to the extreme right wing of his party. For a fascinating read about how much political trouble George Bush his party in, read Sid Blumenthal's "Shipwrecked" at Salon. (you can get in by sitting through a few seconds of advertising). Conservative talkers like Rush and Tony Snow are calling for Bush to name Jabba the Hut to the O'Connor seat and a partisan Donnybrook to seat him (or is Jabba a woman? we hope not). Bush hasn't the political capital for such a fight, nor probably the stomach. As Ned Flanders would say, he's "in a dilly of a pickle." This should be fun to watch--we love a filibuster in the Fall...In the end, though, we may wish Miers was still alive and well...

Artistdogboy, the arty new blogboy is calling for a boycott of KVI radio's sponsors over the 1-912 on-air promotion done by Carlson & Wilbur. Boycotts like this are rhetorical, and don't work, of course, but it might behoove BlatherWatchers of the progressive persuasion to give KVI a call to voice your opinion on the matter--dogboy has the number.

Thursday oddems: rancorous days, sweet nights, naked truth, naked erin, naked kirby, a tangled webb we weave & the beatles

~~Another loyal Republican and Bush supporter got off the rickety Harriet Miers bus, today. John Carlson (KVI m-f, 3-6p) joined fellow KVI talker, Kirby Wilbur in withdrawing support for the embattled, sycophantic Bush Supreme Court nominee. Carlson's problem with the mediocre Presidential crony and sender of Hallmark cards--she reportedly supported affirmative action in Texas. Gosh, and we were just beginning to like her...If this dissatisfaction has reached down to the bread-crumb level of Seattle conservative talk show hosts, this nomination is toast. Another blow to a beleaguered President whose presidency is looking like a fist full of twos.

~~Another big night on the Mike Webb Show (KIRO m-f, 9p-1a) The hot topic: Who was the more important icon[s] of the last century? The Beatles or Elvis? Heady stuff-- we woulda gone for Sigmund Freud, (the classic Seattle garage band) of course, as would Mike's special guest: Ranger Rick, the guy who invented Ranger Cookies. Our favorite reader nickname for Mike Webb: 'Bambi.'

~~Sean Hannity may be throwing in the towel as Designated GOP Liar. In a prepared fit, Wednesday, he reamed out Congressional Republicans in stern tones, and harsh language. He read them out about "spending like drunken sailors," and lack of action on immigration "reform." He reamed them for the porky Transportation and Education bills they passed; and without actually mentioning Bush, he said Ronald Reagan would have vetoed them. He said, "if you ignore the conservatives in the party, it will be at your peril." This is another bellwether of the slippage Bush is suffering on the conservative side of his party--Hannity has been one of the administration's most reliable talking chimps.

~~Every ear is tuned-in for the breaking news that will answer these questions. Will Karl Rove or Scooter Libby be indicted?  Will there be pudding for Karl? Will Seattle enjoy another Frank Shiers-free day?

~~Being offended is a natural consequence of leaving the house. ITAL--Fran Lebowitz

~~Those boyz from KVI did not have a nice day, again Wednesday. “In this case Kirby Wilbur and John Carlson were the principal organizers of the campaign and openly used their media time to advertise the campaign and solicit funds for it,” Judge Wickham declared. “Their relationship to the campaign and their open advocacy of the campaign demonstrated their intention to use valuable media time to support the campaign. Their actions were not accidental and the impact on the campaign was not incidental,” Wickham added. “Anything less than the facts in this case might well not be a reportable contribution.’’ I-912 spokesman Brett "Darth" Bader said he plans to go on reporting the on-air activities of Carlson and Wilbur as in-kind contributions, even though the judge clearly said that was not his intention in the preliminary injunction. "We want to be able to take it as far as we can while the press coverage might help our irresponsible initiative's troubled campaign," said Bader.

~~A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel. —Robert Frost

We keep getting letters from this guy who insists Erin Hart is scantily dressed, if not buck naked on her weekend show. "She just sounds naked," he insists. We've always loved Erin for her brilliance and her pet adventures, but we can't prove it one way or another, though we usually know naked when we hear it. The FCC assures us there's no dress code or requirement on radio, though they're pretty much sticklers about it for TV. Our spies have promised to keep us apprised of the naked truth. Erin: We know you don't much like us anymore, but drop us a line--you could clear this right now.

I-912 free speech martyrs: oxymoronic, expensive, controversial & phony

KVI talk hosts, John Carlson (m-f, 3-6p) and Kirby Wilbur (m-f, 5-9a) are painting themselves to listeners and, of course, voters as 1st Amendment martyrs, and victims of an evil judicial and bureaucratic attack on their blessed rights.

It sound great on the radio, but unfortunately, nobody else in the sexed-up "controversy" knows quite what they're talking about--not their bosses at Fisher Broadcasting, not the Public Disclosure Commission, not the prosecutor they claim is persecuting them.

What's this all about? State law says a campaign can't take a contribution of more than $5,000 from a single source in the last 21 days of an initiative campaign. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Chris Wickham ruled in July the campaign had to report the value of on-air work given before May 31. But I-912 organizers have been valuing the on-air work of KVI radio's Kirby Wilbur and John Carlson at $20,000 a month ever since.

So when the PDC innocently gave the no new gas tax campaign a courtesy call (as they do to all initiative campaigns) reminding them of the 21 day restrictions, Carlson and  Wilbur and their legal mouthpieces, cranked up the Mr. Microphone, becrying it as a dire warning from Big Brother: Shut up or else!

"That's what happens when you confuse campaign finance law with free speech and try to put a value on free speech," Wilbur said.

The capitol's newspaper, The Olympian reported:

"Essentially it means my clients are in an extraordinarily difficult position. Carlson and Wilbur probably blew through that $5,000 already," Institute [For Justice] lawyer William Maurer argued late this week, estimating that at a radio ad rate of $140 a minute, the limit would cover just over a half-hour of air time."

Maurer added that Carlson, Wilbur and station owner Fisher Communications have a choice to 'face fines and penalties or shut up and not face fines and penalties.'

Carlson intoned to the PI: "We are seeing a perfect example of how campaign finance laws are regulating the First Amendment out of existence. The idea that I cannot talk about Initiative 912 in the last two and a half weeks of the campaign, which are the most pivotal, is just outrageous." 

Truth is: nobody said they couldn't speak in the last two and a half weeks of the campaign except...they, them, themselves.

Fisher Vice President and General manager Rob Dunlap denied Carlson and Wilbur's claims. "...it is an overstatement," he told the Olympian, referring to the talk-show hosts' public statements.

"We are not moving to modify their speech in any way. I shared that personally with John yesterday afternoon, and this morning when I had a chance to talk to Kirby. ...They are free to talk about this initiative, any other initiative or any other matter facing the community we serve."

(Around town, radio folk are asking: how much longer will Fisher put up with the controversy, the legal expenses and the PR pain in the ass of Carlson's political antics and activism? His numbers just ain't that good, lately, is what they're saying...)

Randy Gaylord, the San Juan County prosecutor who brought the original lawsuit against I-912 over Carlson and Wilbur's on-air promotion, said the blabbermeisters can speak freely as long as they are acting as commentators and not as agents of a campaign -- which he argued they were doing during the I-912 launch in May.

But Gaylord explained the real agenda for their playing the constituional victims:

"You know the old adage for a politician -- that any news is good news, no matter how bad it is. Their goal is to make as many motions they can in court over the next two weeks so they can get news coverage. ... It doesn't matter if it is good or bad to them -- it gives them attention."

Attorneys for the I-912 campaign also claim the Public Disclosure Commission warned the campaign this week that the talk show hosts could violate state law and face steep fines if they advocate for I-912.

But PDC officials denied issuing any such warning. They said all campaigns were given a reminder by e-mail that certain deadlines and limitations -- including the $5,000 donation limit-- were taking effect.

Carlson and Wilbur continue their weekdaily blameblitz against the judge, the bureaucratic PDC, Governor Gregoire and the "Olympia elite" for trying to "muzzle" them.

These two do a lot of self-describing: they're free speech crusaders, brave resisters, hardy grass roots-- the disastrous 912 is the "Cinderella initiative" while Governor Gregoire is the Wicked Stepmother.

It's been conventional wisdom that this initiative, tapping the backlash of the white middle class, middle-aged men who are the talk radio audience, will win at the ballot box.

The No campaign was caught flat-footed and got in late; but they've raised a shitload of money, and they're spending it wisely in locally-focused ads and mailings around the state.

The Progressive Institute has put up its own NO on 912 site and has led the progressive blogs in the fight. Check out their Viaduct Hazard Demonstration scheduled for 9:30 Wednesday morning.

It's the Lord's work, and despite being disadvantaged by starting late; lacking the Passion Factor of a base whipped into a daily froth by radio hosts; and having to pay for all their own marketing--there are some signs the anti's may be edging up.

An Elway poll conducted in late September showed that 48% of those polled were against it, 41% were for it and 11 percent were undecided. People seemed less favorable to the idea after they actually read about the transportation package 912 would erase and realize its vital importance and  not just the elitist tax-raising boondoggle talk radio proponents claim.

Carlson and Wilbur and the I-912 campaign have no plan except they don't plan to pay more for gas. Their alternative to fixing the roads is not fixing the roads.

There's a no better example of how powerful talk radio can be than the humble AM origins of this initiative. Whether it's successful or not in November, we hope Democrats and liberals will finally wake up.

Talk radio stations: we gotta get us some.

OUR PATHETIC, UNSCIENTIFIC, ENTIRELY MEANINGLESS POLL RESULTS

Last week we administered a little poll, taking the temperature of our readership...'tis the season.

We gave our readers a long list of present and past KIRO talent, threw in a few utterly ridiculous names, and asked everybody to rate them 1-5 as to whom they'd like most to see in the wide, wide open 9 to noon spot recently ripped asunder by the firing of Allan Prell.

It ended up being a popularity contest and a free-for-all for re-programming KIRO, which as you know, hasn't been very popular lately. As we've reported over and over, the once mighty blowtorch has fallen in the last year or two.

While ratings improved with the new book, out last week, the old dear has a ways to go.

We do mean that when we speak affectionately of the Seattle heritage station. And fondness for the old KIRO was a recurring theme in the many comments we got from listeners. KIRO was once a broadcaster's dream: "I used to turn it on in the morning, and listen straight through the day."

That kind of loyalty was more typical of a different time--an age when people referred to their favorite station as "my station," and when a new host or DJ was introduced, folks just got used to him and usually,  it eventually developed into an affectionate relationship.

We sensed that with some of Allan Prell's fans, who loyally kept their radios on 710 ,  even though they didn't like him when he started, they stuck it out just because he was on KIRO. They ended up loving the guy, or so many of them say.

We got names from the KIRO's past like Jim French, Jim Altoff, Drake Collier, Dave Dolacky, and Bryan Suits  As a matter of fact, long-gones Fred Ebert, Charles Jaco, took 4th and 5th places.

Here are the results of this ridiculous little popularity contest. Don't expect this to have any effect whatsoever. Entercom never heeds their listeners and BlatherWatch is death to them--they may even make decisions just to spite us.(god, we'd love to think that were true).

Arbitron ratings: kiro's back! ktth is not, kvi's in the pooper, ALLAN PRELL, COME BACK--ALL'S FORGIVEN!

Corks from magnums of RockStar have been popping at Eastlake after the release of the latest Arbitron ratings covering the long, not so hot summer.

KIRO, whose demise has been predicted by BlatherWatch and many others for months, had it first good book in a year! In the overall 12+ demo, KIRO went dramatically from 7th place in the Spring book, to tie with KOMO for 3rd.

This demographic, of those 12 years old and older, is kind of a show demo and the only one released to the public, (you can see the whole thing here).

Air America's KPTK (1090AM) didn't show up at all in the top 20. KIRO ugly sister KTTH (770am) dropped even further into the poop going from 17th to 19th. KVI made a dismal showing in the 12+, going from 10th place to 16th.

The 25-54, "money demo," is the survey that advertisers and therefore everybody else in radio cares about.  Sneak-peekers and rumor mongers claim that KIRO went from 19th place to 14th--an impressive jump.

Air America's KPTK, made it from 23rd to 19th.

Conservative talkers KVI, and KTTH both have dropped out of sight on the top 20 in that all-important demo.

"KTTH is probably the worst-rated conservative talker in the country," a radio pro told us after seeing the numbers. We recently found out that one minute of ad time on Rush Limbaugh on KTTH can be bought for $120! Or, for the same price, you can buy a minute on obscure morning talker Mike Siegel's show. At those cut rates, even BlatherWatch could afford a little promo--maybe somebody in sales could drop us a line.

We've been hearing that John Carlson, (KVI, m-f, 3-6p) is negotiating his contract (up in Dec.) w/Fisher Broadcasting; and is even talking to Entercom (KIRO & KTTH). But the Summer book wouldn't seem to give him much to negotiate with. In the 12+, his time slot (sharing the last hour with Bryan Suits) went from 5th to be tied for 12th place. In the money demo, where he was already very close to the bottom, he dropped a point.

According to sources and the trade message boards, KIRO midday made an impressive improvement. That would be in the 10a-3p, shared last summer by Allan Prell and Dori Monson. The hourlies, not released yet, would break out these numbers between the two hosts, and some smart people are opining that Allan Prell, who apparently was just catching on when he was fired, is accountable for this up-tick.

No one can know that for sure, yet; but as you know, if you read this blog, there was a huge--some say an unprecedented--uproar from many loyal listeners after the firing that caused fusillades of mail to be pelted at KIRO, BlatherWatch, and Entercom. We're still getting fresh inquiries about where the hell is Allan Prell. (Seattle sports icon, Tony Ventrella was fired from KIRO a few days later and it was like the proverbial tree falling in a forest--there seemed to be no affect).

Mysteriously, Prell was fired just days before the summer trends numbers were to come out. And when they did--they showed a significant upward trend in his listenership. Now a month later, the book comes out with a big jump in midday? Some are saying: "It ain't Dori Monson!" Or you could read or comments strings, if you doubt us.

Or maybe Dori's self-promotions last summer--like jumping out of that plane or selling kisses at Bumbershoot did the trick...

We always love to blame Program Director Tom Clendening for everything bad that happens at KIRO, but in this strange business, he actually fought FOR Allan Prell with Chopping & Splitting Division Chief Jerry "Swingblade" McKenna.

What's really crazy is that they fired Prell without having anyone to replace him. Now we never know who's gonna show up for the 9 to noon: and KIRO frequently falls back on the miserable Frank Shiers. Prell's people were of the liberal persuasion and fled like sugar bees to a rump roast on over to Air America's Thom Hartmann on KTPK--especially after hearing Shiers' smug, self-satisfied conservatism. Read our comments strings about Frank, if you don't wanna hear it from us...

(BlatherWatch was caught flatfooted (once again) by Prell's popularity--we'd cast nasturtiums on him since the beginning. After all this, however, we've come to believe that Prell, an acquired taste, was fired prematurely and might very well have become a strong player in Seattle morning radio).

In other crow, we might have to eat: Mike Webb has won some good numbers. His show, (with one hour of Tony Ventrella) went impressively from being tied for 12th to the #4 spot in the 12+. He did well in the money demo, too, we hear. (Expect Webb, who's obnoxious even when he's down, to be insufferable now that he's back up. We're not looking forward to it).

KIRO is not out of the woods-- their new good numbers will drop like a rock if they don't get someone into the 9-noon spot soon. (Dave Ross performed well in this book; and many think he'll end up back in the morning. Others say he loves his early morning Tai Chi class, and wants to write a book). We predict NY Vinnie's numbers in the 6-9p won't be good next time--there's still lots of work to be done at KIRO. Clendening's job, wonder of wonders may be safe again...

KVI made a stunningly mediocre showing...Are Fisher suits wondering if all this on-air politickin' by Carlson, et al and the subsequent Public Disclosure Commission and other legal problems including the prospect of civil suits is worth it? We shall see.

KTTH is in the deepest trouble of them all...they can't even get good rating out of Limbaugh, the most popular talker in the history of the world.

Stay tuned for more hardheaded analysis.

Republican family values hit the dirt: irons in the fire, day 2

It was an amazing display of real Republican family values--'real,' like in reality TV.

And it was some pretty compelling radio to boot.

John Carlson (KVI m-f, 3-6p) played Jerry Springer Friday to the feudin', fightin', and fussin' family of Republican King County Councilman Dave "Rocky" Irons who's running for County Executive against Ron Sims.

In a live aural am radio Donnybrook, they broke chairs over each other's heads, stuck fingers into each other's eyes and called each other slut.

Candidate Irons wisely refused to appear on the Carlson free-for-all. Attending the broadcast brouhaha was his mother Janet C. "Ma" Irons; his sister, Janet Jr. and pere Dave "Pa" Irons. Another sister, Di, sides with the seniors, but she's not been heard from in this surprising October dust-up.

Ah Republicans! Those Ten Commandments they're always wanting to hang up everywhere were in shreds all over the studio: honoring thy father and mother was noisily rendered moot; there was a swarm of murders, and there was definitely a whole lotta bearing false witness going on.

Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment about Republicans not speaking ill of other Republicans was out having lunch in Tukwila.

This family, all Eastside Republicans, say they were split asunder over political disagreements--not on emotional issues of conscience like, say, abortion, or the death penalty--it was over, of all things...land-use!

This long running public family feud, with the junior Dave & Janet pitted against the senior Dave & Janet is one of the most bizarre scenarios in recent Republican history.

Local superblogger, David Goldstein at horsesass.org stirred this all up after he posted an interview with Ma Irons who described her estranged son as a rageful, dissembling fuck-up who, in a fit of pique, struck her, and "knocked her flat." Both she and Pa Irons, say their son reached his level of incompetence on the County Council, and as a serious candidate for County Executive, "he's "just in over his head."

Janet, Jr., who supports Dave the Younger, is a lawyer, and comes off normal until the bickering begins, then she sounds as screechy and bitter as her mom.

We'd never heard anything like it on the radio--even Carlson said he was heading straight for a shower after the grimy brawl.

There have been accusations that the Ron Sims campaign had something to do with Goldy's sensational revelations; but we can assure you, this is not the case. The Republicans can direct Smurfin' Shuckansky, the fiscal transvestite conservative of (un)Soundpolitics to do their bidding, but anyone who knows Goldstein can attest the acts only out of patriotism and pure love of freedom and truth.
Read his latest post "The Beat Goes On…" for more very credible looks into Dave Irons, the Younger..

The Sims campaign can't be sorry the focus of the campaign is on this shabby display, but they have real issues to run on, and they're taking nothing for granted in what has been very tight race.

We have to stick up for the Seattle Times' Joni Balter who long ago heard Ma Irons' stories about her son's violent weirdness. She made the decision not to go with it. Mainstream reporters could never print such a sensational story as this--a major candidate beating his mother--without corroborating evidence--a police report, or a witness. Despite the PI, KIRO, and many other media have picked this up, so far, the Times hasn't reported any of this. It'll be interesting to see when they acknowledge this significant political development and its aftershocks. It may have been 'he said, she said', yesterday, but it's news, now.

For us, it's not the very convincing stories of Irons' alleged violence; it's not the padded rsum; it's not the temper tantrums or how unbelievably inarticulate and mushmouthed Dave Irons is.

It's not even that he comes from the hard right Dino Rossi wing of the Republican party.

It's that we can't imagine him in the executive position of the state's largest county after witnessing this grubby family squabble dragged once again into the public arena.

If Irons can't get his family shit together, what can he get together?

Many Republicans winced when Irons got the nod for this nomination. Even without his Kalikakian family tied around his neck, he's at best a mediocre candidate.

If he's elected, how long will it be until this untoward, undignified, unloving, unseemly bunch of dysfunctional misfits insinuate themselves into the public eye again?

If he's elected, it'll be all of us embarrassed, not just him and the Republican Party.

Friday autumn oddems: irons in the fire, john procaccino, tom skerrit, bill o'reilly, kirby wilbur, john carlson, and not much about kiro for once!

~~Don't miss our David Goldstein on the Kirby Wilbur show (KVI m-f,5-9a) Friday at 7a. He'll be talking about his scoop on County Executive candidate Dave Irons' mother's allegations that he struck her to the floor and ripped the phone off the wall so she couldn't call 911. Read Goldy's story here, and The PI's report here. This shabby tale, with all its internecine hatred and familial he-said, she-said, calls into question Dave Irons' executive skillset and general balance. Even without the violence, if he can't negotiate successfully within the circle of his own family and keep the brushfires from breaking out into the public--why would you think he could handle the big arbitrations with the big players in this big county's business?

~~Republicans have been afraid this incident might come out in this election; this, according to a reader, a self-described Republican. Irons' mother, Janet C. Irons made the same allegations a few years ago on the John Carlson show. "She was believable as hell," says our guy, "I never could support him after that."

~~So who's this John Procaccino trying out in the 9-noon Ross/Prell Chair on KIRO? First we'll tell you who he ain't: he's not John Procaccino, MD, the legendary scourge of colorectal diseases on Long Island and Queens. Our John is well-known around town as an actor and for doing the movie news and reviews on Saturday mornings on KIRO 7 Eyewitness News. Here's his filmography and notable TV appearances. He does plays, C and B grade movies and some guest-ons on some big name TV shows like Lawn Order. After a few more B movies, he could give localite Tom Skerrit a run for his money. We liked what we heard from Procaccino on the radie-yo and our picky, picky readers have been complimentary if not downright indifferent. Indifference is a good thing, John--Frank Shiers goes to bed every night praying for indifference. 

~~Outrageous! is what John Carlson (KVI m-f,3-6p) said Thursday on his show, after the Public Disclosure Commission, who enforces state campaign laws, phoned KVI Honcho Rob Dunlop to tell him the I-912 campaign is near the limit of allowable contributions for the last weeks of the campaign. That would have meant Kirby Wilbur and Carlson would have had to shut up and stop their on-air campaigning for the irresponsible veto of the road repairs bill. In July, Judge Chris Wickham ordered nonew gastax.com to report the on-air campaign exhortations by the talkers as in-kind contributions. This means the No’s, long the underdog in this fight, would have the media arena almost to themselves for the last two crucial weeks. Carlson and Wilbur are undecided whether they'll continue to campaign on-air despite the . We'd love to see some Republican white collar civil disobedience--the two scrubbed radicals chained to a cart rack talking on and on as the fascist pigs in SWAT gear beat the doors down to stifle their free speech.

~~The job of a talk host is to get you riled up and establish absolutes, because only an absolute point of view produces phone calls, which are really hard to generate. ~~radio consultant Walt Sabo

~~Can it be true? Be still my fribulating heart! Bill O'Reilly, in a rare interview by Verne Gay in Newsday, said he may be retiring! "Now it's so bad that I spend an enormous amount of money protecting myself against evil," he said. His enemies have become so vicious he says he's considering walking away from it all. Once considered (by himself) for a senatorial bid or a 3rd party presidential run, he now "rules out a future in politics." The gigantic tub of scum fails to say, he was ruled out of politics, after he was caught in the delicious (not vicious) sex scandal after creepily hitting on a Fox producer who taped a phone conversation. After paying her millions, he was the butt of jokes across the country, disinvited to the Bush Inauguration and is a pariah in the very Values Community he so blusteringly defends. Part of the sexual harassment settlement, is that O'Reilly must have a third party present whenever he talks to a female or even talks on the phone. (!) It's all the press's fault, of course. Do we think he'll really quit? Hell no. They'll have to pry that loofah out of his cold, dead fingers...

~~Sunday, we'll wrap up our totally worthless poll on who should be taking over the 9 to noon slot on KIRO. We should post the results on Monday. It's really been a bust, as we'd planned--what a transparent "strategy" to get clicks! It's blogwhoring at its worst! We're not surprised at who got the most numbers, but we're delighted at quality of the remarks by our literate and funny readers.