The talk radio monday-through-friday revolution

Watching the historic health care debate on C-Span, we marveled at our senators actually working on a Saturday. (yea, Sen. Franken!)

But Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and the Mr. Doctor Michael Savage say this is  “rape” of the Land of the Free by the president and the Democratic congress! Dori Monson says it's criminal.

(Parenthetically, we love how conservative talkers- usually lacking for academics with credentials who share their views, pretentiously emphasize the “doctor” with the occasional PhD who walks through their shows. O’Reilly’s all DR. Lamont-Hill; Medved verbally underlines DR. Diane, and callers-in to Michael Savage always attach a pandering and deliberate-sounding, DR. to his name. In our experience only the most pretentious of PhD’s use the title usually reserved for physicians).

Yet dialing-up local radio, Saturday, to the places where we hear the weekdaily cries of rape, criminality, and treason, we heard only the chirps of the radio crickets that are syndicated reruns and brokered “shows” huckstering vitamin supplements, brake jobs, and floor tiles.

(KIROFM’s running the fascinating and important Adam Bold’s Mutual Fund Show®; Lofty Bob Brinker who dips his own financial oar in the water for three hours; and Gardening with Cisco (Jesus, and what more can he say this time of year except  “Rake your leaves, already!) KVI is all brokered crap: something called New Vitality, two car shows back-to back starring the proprietors of two shops; and the creepy Dr. Mixon (who isn’t above mixing a little right-wing politics into his dubious infomercial). KTTH also lets Dr. Mixon sell for three hours; then Rajiv Nagaich, an advertising lawyer who hucksters “elder law.” Then it’s refried Rush or sporting games simulcast on their AM sporting game station).

(photo: Dr. Mixon "he's a real doctor!")

KOMO is news-business as usual, any wonder why this format is winning in this town when the non-music competition bows out for two days a week? Easy for PPM-ers to get stuck on a station that doesn’t stray from its m-f programming.

Besides that the alternatives we're given is terrible radio, how can these patriots be taking a day off while this rape is perpetrated so publicly on the land that they love??? Right in the well of the Senate!

We’re re-reminded just how removed and uninvolved these heat-seeking, ratings-driven gas-bags are in real politics and public policy.

For all of Limbaugh and Glenn Beck’s blarting about patriotism and service, and denunciations of liberals and Democrats for lack of same, they’re 5-days-a-week-weekends-and-holidays-off kind of revolutionaries. (thanks for your service).

Rush Limbaugh, makes more than $40 million a year, to lodge his large backside in an upright chair for a few hours day, to brilliantly identify traitors and thunder for insurrection. Then he backs away from his real gold-plated microphone, and hits the golf course. Weekends he heads out ‘cross the fruited plain for more challenging golf courses on his private jet… to be back Monday morning to lead the revolution.
 
Sarah Palin is building a constituency (unless it’s raining) and selling a shitload of discounted, best-selling books, by spouting right wing clichés from the 11 pages of “policy” she had written for her and addre$$ing clutches of billionaire Chinese business men in Singapore… Monday through Friday of course. She has a brilliant future as a Republican candidate (unless the GOP powers-that-be can help it).

No lean and hungry revolutionary is Glenn Beck whose chins grow in size and number by the day, and is said to be starting a third party for 2010. He announced his battle plans Saturday: the oft maddeningly objective Politico.com writes that it's “short on specifics and long on self-promotion…” as well as timed with the release of his 2010 book. What a surprise.

Politicians work so much more, are paid so much less and are held so much more accountable. It’ll be fun to watch the clash between the lazy giants of media entertainment who are leading this angry moment and those who are in charge of actually getting candidates elected.

Comments

[sparky]

Senator Franken was awesome today.

[AuthenticAndrew]

Don't worry, America will still be weeping on Monday after this brutal raping by the Democrats who thrust this thick 2,000 page piece of legislation through to the debate floor.

[Puget Sound]

what a low threshold of 'awesome.' that part where he stood up and said, 'Ay' was pure oratory gold.

dr. mixon has three commonsense rules he follows regarding medicine that i do like. 1) if it is strong enough to help it is strong enough to hurt; 2) use just enough medicine to get the job done; and 3) if you don't measure (the impact of the medicine on your body ie by doing blood work) you don't know.

in regards to Cisco, he's a Seattle legend and part of my weekend. not everything has to be politics on the radio.

[thothman]

My favorite program is on the weekend. Tom & Therry in the Kitchen. In it's fifth year and going strong! More informative than infomercially. Saturday from 4 to 7. 97.3fm. Amy from GoGo Green Gardening gives all the gardening tips you need in one segment without being annoyingly wacky.

[sparky]

Again, Puts, you don't try to learn anything..you just spew. I was referring to the speech he gave earlier in the day. The whole proceeding was broadcast on CSpan, and I watched all of it. Senator Franken gave an excellent speech discussing the personal cases of people he has been contaced by who are constituents in Minnesota.

[Mark C.]

Dr. Mixon: if he ducks like a quack, he probably is a quack. He cashes in on the fear of aging and death... one of the oldest forms of chicanery. I don't trust hard sell doctors any more than I trust hard-sell lawyers. I Like Thierry Rotoruteur however. He doesn't advertise enough.

[sacrosanct]

Local talk radio is so limited, now, it's not a factor in any public policy. National hosts like Beck and Rush have only succeeded in buttressing their own paydays and stirred up the right-wing rabble such as the deeply disturbed Senate Republicans.

[Puget Sound]

sparkles
you sound so angry. i hope tomorrow brings a better day for you.
perhaps you could strive to be a little more precise in your postings.

now 'take on the day...'

[joanie]

what more can he say

Umm, "Ooh lala?"

Sorry, don't agree that our politicians are working too hard. They need to work harder . . . on the business of the country and less on getting rich.

I, too, like Tom and Theirry (however it's spelled) but I cannot get it all the time unless online. Not at all way up north.

Now, close your eys, Andrew. Chux tried to tell us all about this thing he read somewhere (like the Guardian since he posted guardian.uk....) about an expert who is disputing global warming. Now, I know there's nothing new or intelligent about that.

But, guess what? Old chux couldn't name the specific site because he heard it on right-wing radio ( imagine that? Who would have thought chux got all his information from fixed news?)

So, in BB, a veritable wasteland for radio, I happened to listen fixed news Friday night. Ah, and who do you think was being interviewed? An expert, according to the host (don't know him), a real expert a Brit who went on to spout all the name-calling and idiotic science (mostly just ranting against everybody else - no facts - not one) that global warming was a crock.

Well, chux. When you can get any piece of information from any other source, let's talk. Until then, you remain and forever will be, AN IDIOT.

[joanie]

Watch Bill Moyers

Can anyone even imagine Bush reflecting so seriously on his war(s)?

[chucks]

Oh poor Joanie. You obviously have your head burried so far up your own ass that you only see shit. What you fail to understand is that the only shit that you can see from there is your own.
What the article was refering to was some stolen e-mails that some hackers found that aledged some Joanienus, er ah, excuse me, phoneyness on the part of the global warming alarmists'.
I, as yet do not have an oppinion on the article. I was just putting it out there for consideration.

[joanie]

You obviously have your head burried so far up your own ass

That's the only part of me you notice, huh chux? That's why you still can't post a response that says anything at all.

Still can't find it?

[joanie]

Screw what you think of me, chux. You ought be watching this Moyers program. You would find it interesting.

It is fascinating.

[AuthenticAndrew]

There's no sane reasons to oppose global warming because even you pretend there no such thing as smog, acid rain, the green house effect, diminishing glaciers, etc. it's still good business to a) lower fuel costs and/or b) build up an infrastructure not dependent on a non-renewable resources that must be bought from terrorists, who haven't contributed anything meaningful since the 7th century.

Conservative right wingers oppose environmentalism for no other reason than for the fact that liberals are for it. These knee-jerk knuckle draggers put more faith in a 2000 year old theology book than a science book that was published yesterday, and they put this imaginary friend they call "Gad" before their own family and before country. If 75% of society had Down's Syndrome we couldn't just call everyone "retards" because it would be the norm, not the exception, so due to the sheer magnitude of dumbfuckery we don't call these slow man-children what they really are. They tell their kids around the age of seven that Santa is fake, but Jesus is still real - with a straight face! Unfukingbelievable.

[Lucas Foxx]

I heard some pundit say the Senate was trying to "sneak" this by on a Saturday. Those poor privileged elitists. They only had to be in session for 3 days a week when they had the majority. Now they are back to 5 and sometimes 6 days a week and sometimes late into the night. And there is no one manning their understaffed - low overhead propaganda outlets when Mitch McConnell crawls up to the podium to say, "Og say bill bad. No bill. Bill bad. Bad Bill."

[Brian]

Yes, the articles are out there and it was prominent on Google news. Someone hacked into climate change "experts" emails and posted them on the web. They show collusion, suppressing evidence and evidence tampering. If you can't find the info yourself then I can't help you, most of you are beyond help as it is.

I am thankful for the light being shed on health care legislation by conservative talkers.. Without them who would have known that it is a fiscal ponzi scheme? 10 years of payment for 7 years of services, there's are valid reasons why most Americans disapprove of this bill.

[sparky]

Dammmit

KPTK has moved Ron Reagan to 6 pm, replacing Randi, and in Ron's place at 3 is Gomer Radio- Norman Goldman, a lawyer from LA who is BFF with Ed Schultz. So..
I tuned to KPOJ in Portland and listened to Randi on the way home. I will catch Ron at 6. It is not worth writing to the station because they don't care.

[Headhunter]

Damn. Thanks sparky, I'm sure I speak for all in saying that we waited in anxious anticipation for that revelation on your radio-listening habits. Get f'ing real, do you REALLY think it's ALL about you.

[Drew]

Norman Goldman is going to kill that time slot (I didn't even know he had a show anywhere). And Ron's great (and one of us), but we want Randi back. 1090 made a bad choice here.
Thanks for the info, Sparky

[joanie]

Cmon, Sparky! The big news is that Randi has been replaced!

I'm not crazy about Goldman. I sort of detest (if one can "sort of" detest) the NorMAN GoldMAN emphasis but he's interesting and smart. He has his facts, too.

Funny - ironical? - it follows the day after I give Randi shit over her Oprah worship. Hmm. . . maybe I am omnipotent!!

So what you got to say about that, Headhunter?

BTW, Drew, I'm still thinking about it.

[Headhunter]

Potent would do, omni even more interesting.

[sparky]

joanie, I think goldman was cheap cheap cheap to run.
As Michael said, nobody works at that station, so complaining would be futile. It doesn't matter, really.

"Headhunter" Im sure you get off on changing names so much, but I guess you don't notice that you post the same comments each time.Or maybe you do, and that's your point. Come on, at least make an effort to appear to be a different person, or why bother??

[Headhunter]

Keep dreaming sparky. lmao

[sparky]

As I said....

[joanie]

KTPK is changing some of its format and including a bit more local. Lee - unlistenable for me - has some eco show on Sunday morning? I think. And they've added a new local show hosted by the guy who manages/runs Progressive Tech, John somebody.

I listened to his show last week. He's making a good effort but didn't do his homework. He interviewed an environmental advocate (can't remember her name either - probably because I didn't listen to the whole show). He got redundant and kind of silly after the first questions were asked. He obviously wasn't prepared to keep her talking for half an hour and it got boring.

Interviewing is an art. Lee's getting better but still has work to do. John's got a whole lotta work to do!

Obviously, these are just my opinions. But I am an addicted radio-holic so some of my opinions may have merit.

I cannot understand why Air America keeps Clout. That's the mystery to me. Otherwise, I like KPTK except on Cougar days.

[Headhunter]

Fixations are not healthy sparky. Now be a good girl and TRY to make yourself useful.

[TheRabbit]

Sparky is right, Duffman, your shtick is stale. "Make yourself useful" is just a tired cliche'.

[Drew]

Aahh, duffman...ya get out on a day pass, did ya?

[Headhunter]

Hahaha I'm amazed at the fixation on monikers. It's as if one could figure out someone's personality on this blog without meeting them.
Conclusions and assumptions based on such a baseless thing is incredibly ridiculous. But you are following the talking points and being a good lemming.

[Drew]

Is this where you tell us to go and make ourselves useful?

Lemmings were standing in the rain to get their Palin books signed (after she abandoned them, they went inside Borders and demanded their money back- good for them; guess they're not lemmings now). Lemmings were the minority group in Mt.Vernon that came to bow to Herr von Beck, waving flags but willing to flush the Constitution. We won that one too. We even had a plane.