Shill Radio

True confession. *shame*

I listen to talk radio. Quite a bit, for a guy who really likes music. I have an excuse.

In the morning, they put these idiot magpies on all the music stations. Mark & Brian. Kevin & Bean. Peter & Buzz. All these guys are too stupid to take even a little bit seriously, and not funny enough to laugh at. Some of them try to be opraltruistic, jumping on various charity bandwagons, but nobody can touch the original. I'd rather they just play music.

So, on to talk radio.

Instead of listening to any of the various iterations of Heckel & Jeckel, I listen to political talk while I work.

I liked Don Imus, when he was on in LA, but while he often has interesting guests and funny skits, but he's pretty far left and he spends too much time talking about that ranch of his.

Laura Ingraham has serious issues with the human body and its sexual aspect. She might still be a virgin--I could be wrong. Very conservative. Unlistenable when she waxes religious or gets into the abortion issue. She's a mite narrow between the eyes.

Rick Roberts is a San Diego local. A conservative who mostly talks about San Diego issues. The good news: When he gets his teeth into an issue, he's like a pit bull--he won't let go. The bad news: When he gets his teeth into an issue, he's like a pit bull--he won't let go.

Doug MacIntyre is sort of a conservative cum libertarian. He's kind of hard to pin down on many issues, but where he's most clear and most wrong is with respect to trade with people and firms in other countries. He cites all the problems caused by low-paid foreign workers and subsidized industry in other countries as opposed to American union labor and "unsubsidized" American industry. The fact that foreign goods are usually less expensive means nothing to him. The fact that by far, the two biggest difficulties faced by American business is confiscatory taxation (on both the corporations and the individual workers) and regulation, zings over his head like a cropduster over a corn field. And, I'm still looking for the unsubsidized American industry.

Bill Handel is an attorney. He's Jewish. I have no problem with his being Jewish, but once he took a stand (on gun control) that to Jew who's ever heard of the Holocaust should ever take. That was maybe five years ago. I haven't listened to him since.

Neal Boortz is a libertarian. He has a morning drive show out of Atlanta and isn't heard in LA. When he was on an LA station, I listened virtually without fail. There are a few areas in which I disagree with him, but he's entertaining enough that I can be tolerant. He's the only talk guy that can make me tune out Limbaugh.

Everybody knows Rush Limbaugh. The benchmark of conservatism in America, he's also one of the two or three most entertaining talk guys in America. I disagree with him a lot, but I like the way he frames his arguments.

Bill O'Reilly is the ultimate pragmatist. The Constitution be damned, whatever works is fine with him. He doesn't want people walking around in America unattended. Especially illegal aliens. While I'm not exactly sure what being attended would look like, I am sure I wouldn't like it. I'm also sure there's nothing in the Constitution calling for the government to attend people. He is somewhat entertaining, though.

I find myself liking Sean Hannity less and less as time goes by. He invites leftists in for interviews, then yells over them and won't let them talk. He's also very Catholic and, like Ms Ingraham, cannot be tolerated when he starts talking religion. His main saving grace: he occasionally interviews an interesting guest.

Larry Elder is a conservative libertarian, and is extremely articulate. When he argues a point, he always has corroberative data right at his fingertips. Recently, he moved from independent libertarian to Republican libertarian, and has been talking a more conservative line, which I find unsettling, but he carries it off. Talks a lot about race relations, and is on the nose with this stuff.

I want to listen to some leftists a little to see if there's any little bit of concern for civil liberties in that camp (there used to be), but they've gone so far off the deep end that very few of them can put a rational thought together. Larry O'Donnell once got so out of control while talking to one of the Swift Boat Vets that I thought he was going to need guys with white coats and a straight jacket. Chris Matthews did the very same thing with Michelle Malkin on one of his "Hardball" tv shows. They're a sorry lot.

Ok, the shill part. Most of the talkers mentioned above are conservatives or leaning that way. All of them have some criticisms with Republican politicians, mostly on domestic issues. They're all pretty much in lockstep with the administration regarding the "War on Terror."

There is absolutely no outcry, on talk radio, over the administration's destruction of the Bill of Rights--the fact that, to provide security against "the terrorists who shall not be named," that they're running roughshod (or roughjackbooted) over one Amendment after another. Well, they've had a lot of practice during the "War on Drugs," which is still going on, actually.

Most of these guys have argued against this stuff in the past--like throughout Bill Kkklinton's term as head dictator. But they won't argue against it now!

Electronic dossiers on all Americans? Ok.
Health records available for government inspection? Check.
Public library records available to government? Cool.
Government inspectors approving travel at airports? Yay!
Government inspectors approving commuting in subways? All right!
Government inspectors fondling female travellers? Where do I sign up?

In case GW Bush doesn't completely render America a dictatorship in the name of saving freedom, Wait'll Hillary is President. That's when these talk show guys will suddenly rediscover the Bill of Rights. By then, it very well might be too late. Americans will be escaping to Russia for a more free life.

Remember, VOTE FOR NO INCUMBENT!

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California