"They have no home... no phone service... no television. Nothing except the radio."

Old-fashioned terrestrial radio's unique role during and after natural calamities was shown in bold last week in tornado-torn Tuscaloosa, Ala., both on the ground at the site of the disaster, and in Seattle where The Ron & Don Nation unknowingly gave truck-loads... to possible "illegal aliens."

In Tuscaloosa, many residents lost power and were unable charge cell phones, or turn on computers. Battery-operated and car radios became their only form of communication in demolished neighborhoods.

Calls for help came in immediately to right-wing radio stations (there are no other in Tuscaloosa). Tuscaloosa Clear Channel stations pre-empted Rush, Hannity and top 40 songs to serve as a relief clearinghouse through simulcasts. Jocks worked gruelling 10-hours shifts connecting givers and victims and providing a opportunity to exchange information.

"The bottom line is that here the people that we are talking to on air are the people that have no homes. They have no home, they have no phone service. They have no television. Nothing except the radio." Gigi South, the local market manager for Tuscaloosa Clear Channel told The Wall Street Journal.

Locally, KIRO's infatigable Ron & Don (m-f3-7p) collected clothing, and household goods sending two truckfuls, and gal-pal Rachel "Omigod!" Belle to the disaster area.

Rachel, who expected to get some audio from grateful recipients found that the churches pre-arranged to distribute the stuff were "totally" concerned "totally" with the hard-hit Hispanic population. There was no sound to be gotten for generous Seattle listeners because the grateful recients spoke no English. (Apparently "gracias," wouldn't work).

Hearing that population was served by the Seattle's generosity warms our liberal hearts, but one listener wrote the show's blog to demand that only "legal aliens" receive the goods he had so generously given. Don O'Neill said he told the listener where he could shove his "generosity" and deleted the comment from the show-blog. 

Comments

[WILD BILL]

get yer facts straight: "but one listener wrote the show's blog to demand that only "legal aliens" receive the goods he had so generously given. Don O'Neill said he told the listener where he could shove his "generosity" and deleted the comment." Uhhhh, The Ron & Don show blog, the one that's on My Northwest.com, hasn't permitted comments for years. What you might be referencing is an instant message?

[Pete]

Good for Don. The idea of storm victims at, say, a Red Cross shelter, people who've just lost everything, being asked to prove their citizenship, beggars belief.

However, if it were a local charity doing this rather than R&D, it does sound like the perfect new "outrage" for Monson.

[meow]

Wild Bill,
I bothered to look at the Ron and Don blog - not much in the way of comments but 1 each for the 2nd and 3rd posts up there. Didn't find the above mentioned exchange since the comment was deleted! But comments? Yes.

[WILD BILL]

UH Meow, I just rechecked. there are no LISTENER comments on the Ron & Don site; there has not been any for a couple of years. There IS the blog itself, with explanations, comments from Ron & Don or Rachel, etc; but those are not listener comments, those are the blog itself. For reference, got to Dori's blog; at the end of every blog post, there is a tab on the right that leads to LISTENER comments. Dori gets a ton. I think you're confusing the blog posts themselves with comments.

[meow]

Oh, forgive me. I am unable to determine if a blog reader may or may not also be a listener. I guess you must be able to recognize each and every listener.

Unless you haven't figured out to click on the "See Comments" at the end of each post - May 5 has one comment from a reader, who might be a listener?

[Jake Bottero]

Indeed it is possible to post comments, Mr. Bill. It's a Facebook plugin, but comments none the less... I haven't listened to these two Steroid Abusers in a few years. Between these two morons and Dori "I Want Rush's Job" Monson, KIRO is virtually unlistenable.

[Chucks]

It is a small plus but a plus none the less. I am sure some of you remember that idiotic radio network that was around for a short while before failing, Air America.
Can you imagine how miserable those poor folks would be, having just lost everything and that would have been the crap they had to tune in to. They are lucky to have good conservative talk radio to listen to and the generosity of conservatives to help them get back on their feet and get on with their lives.

[Arty Ziff]

Good Conservative Talk Radio, Chuck? What you have is a bunch of mouth breathers spewing bile for ratings. And speaking of one of your bile spewers, WHO just lost their FoxNews contract?

[KS]

Conservatives have the edge on liberal progressives on talk radio and Fox News talk shows. Just putting this in perspective - not saying that most of them they aren't hyperpartisan (as are the lib progs).

Have you ever heard a moderate with a talk radio/TV show that criticize both the right and the left ? World Press may be the closest thing to a non-partisan media source - for those of you who care to expand your horizons and be better for doing it.

[Truth]

Ron and Don are nothing but 'Ambulance Chasers' !

These guys don't know how to properly discuss an issue.

[joanie]

Chux does not like democracy. He does like toilet talk. He does wish to have his ass kissed - that's a really big wish for him. He does not like diplomacy. He does like killing and is willing to sacrifice young people to satisfy his desire for killing. He does not like people of color. He does not like people who observe other religions. He does not like people who fight to defend their homeland but he does like Americans who go to those homelands to kill. He likes corporations, too who go to other countries to steal water, minerals, and land.

He does not like to hear a fair-minded discussion of issues. He does not think media should tell both sides. He does not think there are two sides. He likes to watch pretty women but does not like to watch smart women. He likes to hear what matches his emotional beliefs. He does not choose to listen to facts if they do not fit his world-view. He defends corporations who limit democratic discussion in rural areas.

Chux does not like democracy. He wants a dictatorship of chux-isms. Unfortunately, the FCC and corporations agree with chux. They don't like democracy either.

[joanie]

And as for that "idiotic radio network" that chux continually mocks, funny, I"m still listening to Malloy and Rhodes and Seder and Hartmann and Sandler and Schultz and we all know what happened to that ne'er-do-well Franken . . . oh yeah, that failure that chux will remind us of until his brain explodes with conservative logic.

Poor chux. The cross-to-bear for chux is having to live in a diverse and highly democratic community. I'm sure he'd move except the better half is still collecting that much-needed much-detested gumment paycheck.

[Radio Queen]

Ron & Don's blog is the ONLY one that requires a facebook interface to comment. All the other B'ville blogs just require a simple sign-up, although they're now posting an interesting qualifier: MyNorthwest.com - Purpose of Comments statement
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.
R&D' answer to negative comments is to stifle them.

[joanie]

A nice article about Sirota's radio show on Westword David Sirota's AM 760 ratings grow thanks to unlikely talk-radio demographic: women

I get a kick out of that demographic because it is me. We just don't like sham, bluster, buffoons, or domineering idiots who want to tell us what to think or what to do (esp. with our bodies).

Well, most of us anyway. The Queen may be an exception. Are you Queen? (Didn't Meow and Jake already answer the R&D comment question?)

[Puget Sound Blathers]

yeah, but you come on here to also praise Mike Malloy who is a hate talker extraordinaire.

you still like Malloy, Joanie?

lmao.

[Radio Queen]

My, my, Joanie. You seem to be fixated on the Queen. I wonder why? It's a challenge to deal with someone who doesn't reference body parts or bodily functiions in their dialogue, isn't it? BTW, that's a rhetorical question...no response needed. Early to bed tonight--too much fun with my kids today.

[Puget Sound Blathers]

i'm done with you also, Joanie.
so rant away.

[joanie]

And you seem to be fixated on doing nothing but trying to prove how above it all you are.

Why don't you come down to the level of the rest of us who actually talk about something besides making assumptions, defending deficiencies on the right and making insinuations and accusations about everything and everybody such as your last post does to me.

So, who do you listen to? What do you read? Got any good links? Do you think anything at all or just take pot shots trying to prove your "above-it-all-ness"?

Hahaha. I just made myself laugh. I could call you "Your Highness" but maybe "Your Above-It-All-Ness" fits better. What do you think?

I'll stick to Queen. It suits you.

[joanie]

Yes. I like Malloy. Hate talker? Welll, we need one on our side. Or do you begrudge us our one? How selfish can you be? Life on the left can't be all intellect. We need a little fun, too.

[KS]

Joanie - why do you hate democracy and a democratic republic form of governement we have ? you want state controlled everything - truth be told.

Malloy is mentally deranged and should be waterboarded to get to the truth and it would be easy to blow away his hate-filled arguments with facts
and the truth and he is dead serious about his rants - that sonnuvabitch is all about hate speech but the 1st amendment keeps jackholes like that on the air until enough people protest his existence - of course he only has a few dozen listeners and kooks like that needn't be taken seriously. He makes Glenn Beck seem like an intelligent saint. It figures you'd like him.

Now I feel better and am finished addressing this kind of cyber pollution.

[joanie]

Promises, promises, KS. You intend to keep this one?

[KS]

As usual, you were afraid to answer the question because it would incriminate you as commie-truther.