99XWatch.org

Mistle Toe Jam on Creative Loafing's Xmas Top 10 Guide

From Creative Loafing's 11/29/2006 Issue:

As [Creative Loafing's] cover for this year's Holiday Guide suggests, [they're] searching for some sweet relief from the stress and strain of the holiday season. It just may be the best and most challenging time of the year. How to get through it? This year's package of ideas offers readers more than fun options; it offers a shot at surviving.

99X's Mistle Toe Jam beat out a crowded field of radio station Christmas concerts to end up number three on the list.  "This year's 99X Mistle Toe Jam is the who's who of who's hot on the radio right now."

A Definition of Mixed Emotions

Toucher makes fun of Bill O'Reilly, by comparing him to hippies.

Kudos to Toucher for helping to shed light on the pathology of lies and pompousness that is Bill O'Reilly. 

Something Good

You can tell it's not going to be your typical TJ&L show when the six o'clock hour News Pile has a story that includes Toucher and Leslie "Two words for ya Jimmy:  Money Laundering" Fram schooling Jimmy on the finer points of Tom Delay's corruption.  Despite the fact that Baron managed to plead ignorance while simultaneously suggesting that Delay is being prosecuted for partisan reasons (he's not), Toucher kept the facts straight by observing that with every new charge [Delay] shuts up a little more.  Thanks to 99XWatch.org reader Chris from Kennesaw for his contribution.

In the seven o'clock News Pile, Jimmy correctly placed the blame on Republicans for the sad fact that medicinal marijuana is illegal:  "It's always the people who claim to be from the party of less government that want to regulate how you live your life."  While Toucher gave back a little ground  when he pandered to a caller with a "Libertarians Rule" diatribe, he deserves credit for his observation that "[Chief Justice John] Roberts might be a little more moderate than this broad [Harriet Miers] whose never even been a judge they want to put on."

The piece de resistance occurred In the nine o'clock News Pile when Toucher, apparently referring to my Tuesday post, gave an oblique shout-out to 99XWatch.org. 

Steve Craig Courted by dave fm?

On Radio-Info.com (in a not yet deleted thread) AJC Feature Writer(and  blogger) Rodney Ho posted "Steve Craig ... was wooed by Dave last year but he decided to stay with 99X and sign a new contract."

While a lot of radio stations consider their non-drive time personalities to be disposable, it's good to see that 99X is willing to go the extra mile to keep a talent like Craig

Welcome Back Toucher

Well, the bad news is that if this trend continues then I'll have to find another hobby. 

In the Wednesday newspile (around 7:50 AM), TL&J broke their long standing silence on the Traitorous Karl Rove.  The subject quickly turned to Bush's credibility:

Toucher:  Whatever people say now, no one's held to it.  We get all excited about triviality and then when it comes down to something important it all comes down to who yells the loudest...The whole weapons of mass destruction thing...no one had anything, the intelligence--no one paid any price for that, the whole reasoning for being in Iraq...when ever anything comes out like [the Downing Street memo]...no one has to answer any questions.

Jimmy:  That's the biggest problem the people have had, is there's no acountability.

Toucher: No!

Jimmy:  There's been no accountability.  No heads are rolling.  In fact, not only no accountability, the president lied to us and what do we do?  We loved it.  We reelected him.

Perhaps this is a sign that Toucher feels he has nothing to lose.  Perhaps Randy Lane has been reading polls.  Or Perhaps he watched Tuesday's The Daily Show. 

Whatever the reason, Toucher, it's good to have you back.

Kudos! Wally Criticizes Bush Administration on Iraq

Both(!) the 6:30 and 7:30 Newspiles, featured stories about Iraq including Rumsfeld's revelation on Fox News Sunday that a victory over insurgents in Iraq might take twelve years to achieve.

Wally:  That's the problem, you're darned if you do, and darned if you don't. Because if you do go "Well fine, we're gonna leave" their whole thing falls apart and then everyone starts complaining:  "Well why did you leave people to be taken over by a new regime and treated badly again?" 
"OK, we'll stay."
"Why are you staying? You can't stay, you can't stay there, give us Iraq, give us our freedom." 
You can't win.  So, the loss of life will be less and I think in the long run better by staying as much as that sucks but you've got to finish it.

Leslie:  Do you think that any of us realized though, that it would be this bad?

Jimmy:  Yes.

Wally:  I think that they made the mistake by soft-pedaling it going in.

-- Monday June 26, 2005, 7:44 AM

To further extend on Wally's augment, here are several examples of the Bush Administration "soft-pedaling" the reality of the war going in:

“We will, in fact, be greeted as liberators. . . . I think it will go relatively quickly... (in) weeks rather than months.” -- Dick Cheney, vice-president, March 16, 2004

The war “could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.”   -- Donald Rumsfeld, secretary of defense, February 7, 2003

“Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.”  --  George W. Bush, May 1, 2003.

-- From The Center for American Progress' Claims and Facts: Rhetoric, Reality and the War in Iraq

99X&Y, The Coldplay Special

This afternoon, I was reminded of why I listen to 99X.  They aired a two hour special titled "99X&Y, The Coldplay Special", playing the entire new Coldplay CD alternating with Leslie Fram and Music Director Jay Harren's interview of bandmembers Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland.   It's a given that interviews lasting over 15 minutes are the domain of NPR or Talk Radio.  It's also a given that if you want to hear a cut more than a few deep on any album, you had better buy the CD or listen to college radio.  It's nice to listen to a station where "Rock Without Rules" means more than playing Sting 30 times a day (thanks to former 99X Talent Whip for that line.)

It's 99X's willingness to be on the forefront of new music that earns this type of access to bands once they make it big.  davefm or The Buzz may play the hell out of Coldplay now, but only 99X had the vision to play Coldplay when no one knew who they were.   It's that vision that will keep 99X's going long after davefm and The Buzz have changed formats to whatever the next flavor of the month is.

Wally Equates Dicussion of Tolerance with "Recruiting" Lesbians

In today's 7:30 News Pile, Toucher mis-characterized a Camp Intern's "discuss[ing] her lesbian experiences" as a sexual discussion. In fact, Chis Moran a staff writer for the Union-Tribune reported:

The incident occurred at Camp Cuyamaca on Feb. 17. A 22-year-old intern who had been on the job three weeks overheard girls from Joan MacQueen Middle School in Alpine calling each other lesbians, said Jim Esterbrooks, spokesman for the County Office of Education, which runs the camp.

The intern told the students that calling each other lesbians was inappropriate, Esterbrooks said. But she went further. She is said to have told the students, "Lots of our leaders are lesbians, and a percentage of you will turn out to be lesbians," Esterbrooks said.

Toucher echoed conservative propaganda that any discussion of one's sexual identity or tolerance towards homosexuals is an attempt to proselytize a gay political agenda. Gary "Wally" Wallace took this propaganda a step further by suggesting that the intern was attempting to "recruit" the campers into lesbianism. Jimmy Baron offered his own stereotype: Lesbians are more likely than gay men to dislike members of the opposite sex.

On a positive note, Leslie Fram expressed her disagreement with Toucher, Wally and Jimmy. Four calls were taken, balanced 50/50.  Historically, TJ&L show callers have skewed conservative.

Clark Howard Sets Record Straight on Social Security

Kudos to the TJ&L Show for inviting consumer advocate Clark Howard to dispel the Bush Administration's crisis rhetoric regarding Social Security.