99XWatch.org

Site Recommendation

One of the most common comments I get in my negative emails* is "If you don’t like [the TJ&L Show], don’t listen to it!"  Generally, my response is that I do like the show, I just choose to write about what I don't like rather than call in.  I can't imagine listening as much to Neil Boortz or the Regular Guys, even though those shows probably put out more conservative propaganda in one hour than TJ&L put out in a week.

It's because I'm a fan of the show, that I'd like to recommend Allen's 99X Fan Page, which basically does a Podcast of great moments from the show.  One thing I like about the site is that most of Allen's clips are not staged "bits".  99X would do well to outsource their Podcast to Allen.

Allen's 99X Fan Page and 99XWatch.org have one big thing in common: they show how good radio rewards a close listener.  I predict the show will continue to gain critical mass as more people start start to appreciate the "inside" aspect of the show.  With all due respect to FredToucher.com, I suspect it's that that gets Stern and Mancow the big bucks.

*Supportive emails outnumber the negative one I get, about 2-1.

Jimmy and Toucher Defend Pat Robertson, Ignore Facts

Again, from the August 26, 7:45 News Pile:

Jimmy:  You know what I do like though?...So this guy comes out and says there’s this murderous dictator in this country and rather than, uh, you know, spend two hundred billion dollars we just take him out, we need to take him out, and people are outraged at the idea of America going in to remove a dictator from a county.  Um, I thought that’s what the whole Iraq war was about.

Toucher:  No, and I mean how many times have we done it.  How many times have they funded rebel troops to take out dictators and

Jimmy:  Yeah, people are like outraged that the United States would never do something like that and it’s unconscionable--excuse me?

Toucher:  And they say that it’s unchristian of him to say that, but it’s actually like not at all...to take out a dictator...

Jimmy:  It’s not unchristian to kill somebody who’s a murderer.

Fact: Hugo Chavez is not a dictator.
Both Toucher and Jimmy accepted Robertson's premise that Venesuelan President Hugo Chavez is a dictator.  In fact, Chávez is democratically elected.  According to Wikipedia, "[Chávez] is up for re-election in 2006, and recent polls suggest he has about 70 percent popularity."

Fact: Chavez is not a murderer.
Human Rights Watch, despite its occasional criticism of the Chavez government, has never accused Chavez or his government of murder.

Fact:  Assasination is illegal.
While assasination may not be "unchristian."  It is certainly illegal.  From the CNN Law Center:

In 1976, President Ford issued Executive Order 11905 to clarify U.S. foreign intelligence activities. The order was enacted in response to the post-Watergate revelations that the CIA had staged multiple attempts on the life of Cuban President Fidel Castro

Wally Plays Edited Robertson Clip to Give Credence to Robertson's Lie

In an apparent attempt to lend credence to Pat Robertson's bogus claim that he never called for Hugo Chavez's assasination, Wally played an upcut version of Robertson's quote edited to omit Robertson's use of the word assassination.

What Wally played:

We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.

What Robertson said:

You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop. But this man is a terrific danger and the United ... This is in our sphere of influence, so we can't let this happen. We have the Monroe Doctrine, we have other doctrines that we have announced. And without question, this is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us very badly. We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.

Rightwing Mythology on WMD Goes Unchallenged

In the 6:30 News Pile a conservative caller echoed rightwing mythology that "Iraqi weapons of mass destruction were secretly shipped to Syria before the March 2003 invasion".  The March 2005 addendum to the "Duelfer Report" stated:

Based on the evidence available at present, ISG [Iraq Survey Group] judged that it was unlikely that an official transfer of WMD material from Iraq to Syria took place.  However, ISG was unable to rule out unofficial movement of limited WMD-related materials.

True to form, conservatives seem to have no problem with quoting the second sentence of the above paragraph, out of context from the first. 

It should be noted that it was Jimmy Baron's strong criticism of Bush that precipitated the conservative caller.

An Open Letter to Toucher and Leslie

Dear Toucher and Leslie,

Again, this morning I listened to you criticize Cindy Sheehan on your 6:30 and 9:30 News Piles.

Abraham Lincoln, famously quoted by General George C. Marshall in Saving Private Ryan, sought to ease a mother's pain by saying the loss of her sons was a "sacrifice on the alter of freedom."  Though not a parent myself, I can imagine that it must be comforting to know that the death of a child serves some greater purpose. 

Yet imagine Lincoln's message delivered by President Bush.  Your son died to prevent Sadam Hussein from using Weapons of Mass Destruction.  No, your son died to liberate the Iraqi people.  No, your son died to fight terrorism. 

Perhaps as a patriotic American you forgive the change in mission.  Yet other information emerges. The Downing Street memo shows that "facts were being fixed" by the Bush administration and that we were led to war under false pretenses. 

Imagine that you not only find kinship with the families of the 1,600 fallen U.S. soldiers but also the families of the 23,000 dead Iraqis. 

Yet above all, imagine that you can't get out of your mind this one fact:  This war was unnecessary.

There's a sacred covenant between a soldier and the president.  The soldier agrees to put his life on the line for our country and in exchange the president agrees to only put the soldiers life at risk when it's necessary to defend our country.  President Bush violated that covenant, and Cindy Sheehan called him on it.

Cindy Sheehan is not a politician.  She doesn't always say things in the most persuasive way.  But she has put herself on the line to say what she believes.  In criticizing the war, she is hoping to give her son's death the meaning of which George Bush robbed her.

There are precious few heroes in the world today. Cindy Sheehan is one, albeit, an imperfect one.  Please reconsider your opinions.

Your loyal listener,

Jim   

Happier Times

Barnes, his "No Witness" attorney Pete Wellborn, Jimmy, Crash, and  Toucher all appear in this photo from the 2002 99X Celebrity Softball Challenge, via kickers.topcities.com.

Leslie Smears Cindy Sheehan, Toucher Bashes MoveOn.org

Today, Leslie Fram joined conservatives in their attempt to smear Cindy Sheehan.  Fram took quotes from Sheehan out of context as posted on conservative attack dog Matt Drudge's website.  This is not the first time, Leslie has gotten News Pile items from the Drudge Report, nor is it the first time Matt Drudge has taken Cindy Sheehan's quotes out of context in an attempt to discredit her.

Later, Toucher launched into a tirade against progressive group MoveOn.org

Yeah, if you sign up for MoveOn.org -- don't, because it's nothing but emails constant, constant emails. ...It's nonsense, it's garbage, it's all garbage emails.  It's like -- freak out. Give us money so we can make a commercial... MoveOn at this point is a bunch of opportunistic hippies...they're also trying to make cash. Cash. Cash.  F-em. 

Here is a list of accomplishments that might not have been possible without the help of MoveOn and it's contributors, and yes, its email campaigns.

Also, Toucher's anti-hippy fetish is not very original.

Update 8/18/2005 8:24 am
Toucher:  "If anyone hates hippies more than me, I'd like to meet 'em."

Update 8/18/2005 5:49 pm
Media Matters has more examples of conservative attacks on Cindy Sheehan.

What I learned today...

I learned that tonight at Chops the word "non-ethnic" will be repeated about 3 dozen times.

Susquehanna Fires "messenger of Satan"

Tuesday, Susquehanna Radio management decided that nothing frightens off potential investors like a sports talk guy (San Francisco Station KNBR's Larry Krueger) making fun of the manager (Felipe Alou) of a losing baseball team (the 49-64 Giants).

It should be noted that Krueger's comment ("brain-dead Caribbean hitters hacking at slop nightly") was at that classic talk radio intersection of stupidity and insensitivity.  But that comment, for which he apologized and had been suspended, was met with an equally stupid comment by Alou who referred to Kruegar as a "messenger of satan."   When KNBR morning show producer Tony Rhein cleverly cut Alou's comments with soundbites from "South Park" and "The Church Lady" Susquehanna Management fired Rhein, Kruegar, and, taking a page from the Mark Renier playbook, the Program Director.  This saga is chronicled (pun intended) here.

In announcing the three's termination, KNBR'S GM Tony Salvadore stated "We would like to express our deepest apologies to Felipe Alou, his players and the Giants organization for this offense to the Caribbean community." 

Bullshit.

Did you vote for John Kerry?  Well, Susquehanna's KCMO carries Laura Schlessinger who said "We have insurgents, terrorists, Muslim terrorists in Baghdad murdering children to make sure Kerry's elected."  Are you a member of the ACLU?  Susquehanna's KLIF carries Bill O'Reilly who said "[n]o organization enables terrorism as much as the ACLU".  Are you a feminist?  Susquehanna station WSBA carries Rush Limbaugh who refers to feminists as "feminazis", in his words, "Because it's right. Because it's accurate."

So why is it that sports talk guys get fired for basically doing their jobs, while talkers like Schlessinger, O'Reilly, and Limbaugh are free to spew whatever hate they want towards liberals?  Perhaps its because, progressives tend to value free speech, even when it's directed against them.  Perhaps it's because Suquehanna is owned by a right wing activist.  Perhaps it's because many of the investment bankers involved in its sale are too.  Whatever the reason, Susqehanna doesn't care about the feelings of the Caribbean community.  The only reason Krueger got fired, is that Alou called him on his statement and had sufficient clout to get and keep media attention on the issue.  Perhaps, progressives should borrow a page from Alou's playbook.

"We've always been a more conservative company"

In fairness, Ms. Vaeth-Dubroff the below quote appears to refer to conservative broadcast standards rather than conservative politics, but it is interesting to note how Susquehanna Radio management sees itself.

Reed Bunzel, Radio Ink, "Industry Q&A" asks "Has the FCC been as clear as it should be about what constitutes indecent programming?"

Nancy Vaeth-Dubroff, Susquehanna Radio president, responds:

We've always been a more conservative company, so this hasn't been a major issue for our group. It's an ongoing process of examining what we're doing and finding ways to make sure we're within the boundaries of our own corporate culture. That was going on before the Janet Jackson incident, and it continues today.