There are quite a few progressive talk stations still on the air and being run successfully. The important thing is to support them, especially now that AAR is gone and now that the corporations can pour unlimited funds into politics.
Now you can even stream some of these stations from your i-phone and blackberry as well as from your computer.
If you hear loads of advertising, that is a GOOD thing as it pays the bills!
I miss some of the great shows and talent from AAR, particularly Morning Seditionand Sam Seder…
Al Franken’s in the Senate and Rachel Maddow’s show – not to be missed- is on MSNBC!
So, RIP Air America! But let us all continue to support the progressive media still out there!
I‘ve been recommending Naomi Klein‘s “The Shock Doctrine” for some time now. It’s one of the seminal books of our time; scarey as hell, but important. Until I read Klein’s book, I was dumbfounded as to why the Bush administration and their Wall Street cronies were allowing the dollar to tank and seemed unconcerned. I even talked to Naomi Klein about it at the “Take Back America” conference in DC before I had read enough of her book to understand what was really going on. It did seem to me, however, that it was a deliberate policy along with all the other deliberate policies… crony hires in all government agencies extracting any value while allowing them to (deliberately) fail, response to crises that allowed taxpayers to bear the brunt while capitalizing on the crisis to make money for the wealthy… the most visible crack in the curtain was the response to Hurricane Katrina – disaster capitalism at it’s most obvious. Many people who lost their properties and life savings were forced out with nothing, scattered far and wide and forbidden to come back to try and salvage their possessions, while the developers rolled into town to sanitize and develop luxury hotels and businesses. “It’s going to clean this place up!” said one of my New Orleans’ artist/craft colleagues, much to my distaste and horror (I would have thought better of him).
When friends were talking about the Bush administration failures, I was thinking, failures? Not to them! They’ve ramrodded through much of their agenda while masking the agenda in a smokescreen, pretending to be bumbling idiots. It’s still not clear if the average person AND EVEN the Democrats in Congress see the deliberate strategies behind it all. Make every government agency so corrupt and so inept that the public is behind the ordinarily extreme policy to privatize everything à la Grover Norquist; load the courts (not just the Supreme Court) with right-wing idealogues, most of them from The Federalist Society (there’s been an obvious strategy in place since at least the Clinton years where the Republican Congress took the calculated risk of deliberately refusing to confirm Clinton’s appointees, leaving many positions empty with the hope that if they could eventually control both houses of Congress and the Presidency they could push through all of their own appointments); gut all regulations from every department… remember the “Clear Skies” & “Healthy Forest” initiatives? the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act disaster? Chip away at Roe v. Wade, chip away at Social Security by raiding the funds and renaming it “socialist.” The Republicans have tried this path before… during the Reagan administration the Laffer “trickle down” & “supply-side” policies were such dismal failures that they were temporarily forced to give up on them. They have learned from their “failures” and have shrewdly learned to reframe the language to advance their ideas. The list of their accomplishments is long and the last eight years have been an exhausting nightmare. We all have “Bush fatigue.”
Exactly how is bailing out all of these banking & lending institutions “free market?” Oh, I see, following the IOKIYAR rule, “Privatize the profits and socialize the losses” [Randi Rhodes]. Progressive movements generally have had the most impetus and ability to create change during these kinds of shocks and disasters (“the Great Depression” is probably the most memorable), but the neocon- corporatists have learned how to coopt them, ready to push through their own free-market, privatization agendas at the drop of a hat. Meanwhile, the Fed, the Treasury & the Bush Administration are pushing a huge $700 billion bailout without any oversight and without any help to the American consumer, in particular those who have homes in foreclosure. For the moment, the Democrats are fighting to add in requirements behind closed doors. Let’s hope they don’t cave again and in particular, let’s hope that Obama doesn’t cave or equivocate on the issue. This really is his moment. Let’s hope he takes it!
Rachel Maddow interviews Michael Isikoff re: McCain’s campaign manager Rick Davis’ links to Freddie Mac.
“If we don’t believe in freedom of speech for people we despise,
we don’t believe in free speech at all” –Noam Chomsky
Randi Rhodes calls in to Marc Maron subbing for Mike Malloy, 4/10/08
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Randi Rhodes on Larry King Live, CNN, 4/10/08
BREAKING NEWS: Randi Rhodes will appear on CNN’s “Larry King Live” tonight (Thu, 4/10) – 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific
For Immediate Release April 10, 2008
RANDI RHODES JOINS NOVA M RADIO
The Nova M Radio Network is thrilled to announce the addition of “The Randi Rhodes Show” to its nationally syndicated talent offerings beginning this Monday, April 14, 2008. Randi Rhodes is the #1 rated progressive talk radio host in the nation. Nova M CEO John Manzo says, “I just can’t stop smiling – Randi is simply the biggest and the best. Randi Rhodes and Mike Malloy under one roof – talk about TALENT!” Randi Rhodes adds, “With Manzo at helm of Nova M, I am truly going to work for the best of the best. He is radio elite…and I am too <laughs>. I’m home, I’m home, I’m home!” “The Randi Rhodes Show” will air live Mon-Fri from 3-6pm Eastern on The Nova M Radio Network. AFFILIATE, MEDIA, ADVERTISER & INVESTOR INQUIRIES: John Manzo, CEO Nova M Radio Network jmanzo@NovaMRadio.com
“I, like many, think that Sam Seder deserves his own show again. Write to pcollins@airamerica.com and let them know you want Sam back full time. We wish Randi all the best in the future.”
[4/24/08 Update on Randi Rhodes via ltradio.blogspot.com:
XM fans may be able to satisfy their Randi Rhodes fix soon.Orbitcast is reporting that Rhodes, who left Air America earlier this month for Nova M Radio, is in talks to return to XM Radio’s so-called Air America (ch 167) channel.]
[Further Update:
Rhandi Rhodes will be returning to her old slot of 3-6pm on XM radio, Monday, May 5th.]
Last week Air America suspended Randi Rhodes for abusive, obscene language at a recent public appearance in San Francisco which was sponsored by an Air America affiliate station.
Air America Media was informed last night by Ms. Rhodes that she has chosen to terminate her employment with the company.
We wish her well and thank her for past services to Air America. We will soon announce exciting new talent and programming that will accelerate Air America’s growth in the future.
You may not know that talkshow host Randi Rhodes was suspended indefinitely for making off-color remarks at a private event (in a nightclub – NOT on the air) at an affiliate event in SF at Green960 AM.
As of now, there are 2 petitions up, so please sign both:
STATEMENT OF AIR AMERICA RADIO, FROM CHAIR CHARLIE KIREKER
By air america
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2008
New York – Air America has suspended on-air host Randi Rhodes for making inappropriate statements about prominent figures, including Senator Hillary Clinton, at a recent public appearance on behalf of Air America in San Francisco which was sponsored by an Air America affiliate station.
“Air America encourages strong opinions about public affairs but does not condone such abusive, ad hominem language by our Hosts,” said chair Charlie Kireker.
for more information, see these links:
Huffington Post has more on this as well as the youtube video of Randi’s appearance in SF.
No reports yet as to how long the suspension will be.
“It is not yet clear if the popular host will be back to work for Air America by then — or ever. At a critical moment in its evolution, the network has put itself in an untenable position. Ultimately, does Air America, or does it not, stand for free speech? At this moment, it clearly does not. That’s not very progressive.”
Updates and more article links, plus the full video of Randi’s performance are at
Here is my own letter to Air America, as a sample:
I am writing in support of Randi Rhodes! She is one of the bright lights on your network! (BTW, Sam Seder is another bright light and I cannot fathom, still, why you diminished his role to a once a week show).
I have been a passionately committed listener to Air America since the beginning and have continued to stand up for the network even after many mistaken decisions that in my mind have diminished the stature AND the programming (among them, firing Marc Maron, Mike Malloy, Kent Jones, reducing Sam Seder & Laura Flanders to weekend hours). I may not always agree with everything Randi says, but she has the right to speak her own opinions, especially when she’s not on the air – she is a talk show host, not a newscaster! As a matter of fact, I write this, even though I have not been in total agreement with her “bashing” Clinton. I know she can sometimes be a little “over the top” but it is because she is so passionate about her views. It is her toughness and passion that I admire.
As she was not on the air at the time of her remarks, I do NOT think it appropriate to fire her, or keep her off the air. Whether or not you think her remarks were inappropriate, I would think that an apology or a disclaimer would be sufficient! People also know that her opinions are her own and not necessarily the opinions of “management.”
I did see part of her routine on youtube, and frankly, I thought it was funny. And believe me, whatever your view of the language used, it is nothing new to most people… in a good way, these words have lost some of their power to offend, are in the general every day lexicon and are certainly frequent in comedic acts.
Please uphold the progressive values that the network claims to represent! Fight to retain Freedom of Speech and the Constitution! Reinstate Randi ASAP!
Only after the last tree has been cut down,
Only after the last river has been poisoned,
Only after the last fish has been caught,
Only then will you find that Money cannot be eaten.
- Cree Indian Prophecy
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