Fox Radio Host calls Oprah a Nazi racist for her Obama support

Some high-level discourse from the right wing "marketplace of ideas" in advertiser-supported broadcast talk radio.



On September 14, 2007 at about 3:22 pm Bryan Suits, talk host from Fox radio station KVI* in Seattle said that Oprah is a racist for supporting Obama. He also calls Oprah a Nazi.

Bryan Suits, KVI, Seattle:

"Does the fact that only Barak Obama is so er well that the only presidential candidate that will appear on Oprah's show, does that make her a Nazi racist? Is it mutually exclusive that a black woman can be a also a Nazi? I don't think so. I frankly think she is a Nazi."

(short Audio clip MP3) (Short Audio clip WMA)

I think she has a right to do what she is going to do, I think it makes her a racist though. And I'm not goin' use any kind of coded language or whatever. Anyone can be a racist, we all understand that right? Anyone can be prejudiced and I think she's prejudiced. I I don't think that Barak Obama is anything except a guy who's capable of of well-delivered high sounding rhetoric, but when one asks him for specifics eh his depth suddenly shows itself.

So, the fact that Oprah not only, and I don't have, I throughly understand why a racist would support someone of their own race. I get that, but the fact that she's excluding other candidates first of all-- as someone with a talk show I'll tell you yeah it's her right but it means something, it is revealing something, it's revealing that you are close minded. So if somebody can take her side, and like I say, I know that none of you watch Oprah, certainly no men do, but your friends do, so if you can explain to me why your friends don't think that she's a racist Nazi fraud, I'm curious, but like I say, it is her right.

(short audio clip MP3) (short audio clip WMA)

Here is the seven minute full clip in two formats.
(Audio link WMA) ( Audio link MP3)

I don't usually focus on name calling on right-wing talk radio, if I did it would be like counting tribbles after a quadrotriticale feast. But I stumbled upon this guy while discussing right-wing talk radio in other parts of the country.

The usual hosts I track, Lee Rodgers, Melanie Morgan, Brian Sussman at Tom Benner "Officer Vic" at KSFO are busy calling for the death of Ron Paul supporters and mocking McCain's POW
status or joking about rape right before interviewing the Raider coach.


Ad Hominem Attacks

When I first heard someone describing this kind of name calling as ad hominem attacks I asked, 'What does Jackie Gleason saying 'Hummana, Hummana, Hummana' have to do with name calling?" Then they looked down their "I took Latin and you didn't" nose at me and explained that ad hominem can mean attacking an opponent's character rather than their argument.

Any time I hear someone on right-wing radio bemoaning the lack of decorum and crying about name calling on the left I just have to wonder, "Don't they have ears?" Two seconds after being OUTRAGED at the left for name calling and disrespect they will summon the worst possible slurs they can get away with, as well as a ton of garden variety ones.

But some words are different. There was a time in this country when calling someone a Communist could destroy their career. Yet it is casually tossed at people on the left today. There are words that can do the same today, they are different ones, but there are still words that can be used or abused.

I don't want totally to address name calling at public figures, because the rules are different for them. But I do wonder about name calling of non-public figures. Who is a public figure these days? Everyone? Everyone with a blog?


What name calling is okay and what crosses the line?

I recently had a great discussion with some women about how really damaging name calling can be to people. I thought about that and wondered who leads the way? Who "normalizes" name calling, who ratchets it up to new levels of viciousness?

Frank Luntz and Newt Gingrich understood the power of name calling. They focus group tested names to use as weapons against political parties and groups of people. There is a reason that they told everyone on the right to call it the Democrat party and it wasn't to save time talking. ("It rhymes with rat! Get it? DemocRAT? HA! I crack myself up Newt.")

Intelligent people can even admire the linguistic creative powers of someone like Rush Limbaugh, and still be disgusted at how he has applied his powers.

Interesting note: Rush credits Tom Hazlett, a Professor of Law & Economics at George Mason University with coining the term Femi-Nazi. I just looked at his CV. No mention of that creation, I'll bet his students and telecom clients would WANT to know what he is REALLY famous for rather than some dusty policy papers. Can you image? "Hi Ms. VP of marketing I was the one who told Rush to call you a Femi-Nazi, now get me a cup of coffee and let me tell you how to run your telecom business. And get me my 50K fee check while you are at it!"

What about calling someone else a liar? There was a time when people actually cared about their reputation enough to say, "No I am not a liar. Take back what you said." But it is hurled at ordinary people and journalists by talk radio hosts with nary a thought.

I think that for people who want to be known for their honesty in dealing with people calling them a liar can be pretty damaging. Sometimes people's reputations mean something, and even famous people like Oprah might be hurt when someone crosses the name calling line.

I don't expect Oprah's people to do anything about this. I don't expect Obama's people do to anything about this either. They will see this as an attempt to get ratings and won't engage. But who should care? Everyone who associates with the name caller. This is your guy. You OWN him. He works for you. Every commercial he reads, every advertiser who wants to be on the Bryan Suits' show should know, "I'm supporting the guy who called Oprah a racist Nazi." They may be fine with that, I don't know their demographics or their stated value systems. It's their choice, but they should know.

Sticks and stones can break my bones, but please... don't throw sticks and stones.
-Old joke, author forgotten.

People always have and always will call others names. It's a way to belittle others and "put them in their place." I'm not a total pearl clutcher, I've even indulged in some name calling myself at times, I try to be aware of the line, but I'm only (half) human.


*Note: KVI is a Fox station owned by Fisher Communications, which also owns several CBS TV stations and one ABC TV station in Seattle. They have stations in WA, OR, MT and ID.

Last Friday of Restless Leg Awareness Week.

September 23-29, 2007 is Restless Leg Awareness Week.

1. Do I have restless legs syndrome (RLS)?

Chances are, if you are reading this answer, it is because you are concerned that you or someone you love may have restless legs syndrome (RLS). How many of the questions below are true for you?

• When you sit or lie down, do you have a strong desire to move your legs?
• Does your desire to move your legs feel impossible to resist?
• Have you ever used the words unpleasant, creepy crawly, creeping, itching, pulling, or tugging to describe your symptoms to others?

I note that the RLS foundation has merchandise, but oddly no pants. I think that is an oversight that needs to be addressed.

h/t Lovesick.

Who REALLY disrespects Vets and POWs: Conservative edition

From conservative talk radio station KSFO, 6-11-07. Lee Rodgers and Melanie Morgan.
(Audio link WMA) (Audio link MP3)

Rodgers: Here is what John McCain, that two faced phony, from Arizona said on the TV show yesterday, and I know this only from reading the transcript of it, regarding the first round loss and lets hope it was also the last round. The loss in the Senate of the immigration bill that he co-wrote with Teddy Kennedy. I mean if that isn't enough to poison the well for every Republican voter in the country I don't know what else it would take, maybe it would take this. He said er the reason why it lost in the Senate last week, 'I think the more conservative, anti-immigrant anti-legislation group were very well backed up by a very vocal group of people eh who were supporting them.'

That would be people like us, I guess

Morgan: Uh huh

Rodgers: We're fairly vocal about it, but listen, 'conservative, anti-immigrant' here's another dumb SOB who is apparently unable to distinguish between the word legal and the word illegal. If you don't believe in open boarders and giving amnesty to people whose first act on entering this country was a crime, you're anti-immigrant. He is just beneath contempt.

Morgan: You know it would be really really cool to see a pay-per view dust up between you and John McCain. That would be amazing.

Rodgers: Yes it would. It would.

Morgan: I would love to see that.

Rodgers: It would, it would.

Morgan: It wouldn't make any difference, because the guy, as you said, he's finished politically in this country. Absolutely done, cooked, over, toast. And the only one who doesn't know it is John McCain. Apparently he says over the weekend that he is going to be raising or has commitments for another 12 million dollars, but basically his campaign is out of dough.

Rodgers: Yes.

Morgan: He's busted he's broke,

Rodgers: They are scraping the bottom of the barrel. While he has been able to skate through in the Senate, for I don't know how many terms he's been in there, but he has been able to coast, strictly on having been a POW during the Vietnam war.

Morgan: Well..

Rodgers: He himself said it in his own book. I'm not a hero, I got my plane shot out from under me. Alright, take him at his word. Just because you were a prisoner of war, doesn't mean you are qualified to be a US Senator or a dog catcher for that matter.

Morgan: He has..

Rodgers: There are a lot of people in this country who have served time in war time as prisoners of war who don't make any pretense at being qualified to be a Senator much less President of the United States, and it's about time he learned it. He's had a free political ride for a long long time because of the "Oh, poor John he was a POW in Vietnam" syndrome. But I think the country is getting pretty well fed up with that.

Morgan: Well the thing that his major legacy as far as legislation is concerned has been his McCain Feingold act which has been an unconstitutional bane.

Rodgers: A disaster.

Morgan: It's been a complete utter failure and I don't know how he could look anybody in the American public with a straight face and claim what a wonderful piece of legislation that was.

Rodgers: The guy is stupid. I mean there is no other explanation. He's just plain bleeping stupid.

Morgan: Politically tone deaf, that's for sure.


I expect McCain supporters to ignore this because it is clearly just a ratings ploy and an attempt to get McCain to buy ad space or go on the show. That is the great trick of conservative radio. They can insult their listeners, supporters, advertisers and potential advertisers and the conservative candidates will still suck it up and go on the show.

Sorry for the long transcript, don't want them to throw the dreaded "out of context" at me (even thought they use shorter snippets all the time).


-----------------
Lee Rodgers is NOT Fred Rogers

And just so you can hear what else goes on at KSFO following this discussion, next they segue to celebrity talk where Lee Rodgers jokes about savagely beating a child.

Lee Rodgers: I thought we were going to enter the arena this morning with out any new sleaze to titillate you, Mel.
Morgan: Oh no it's been a
Rodgers: You know we got the Paris Hilton stuff but uh, but that's getting to be a very very tired story. By the way I would say this to any parent in America. If you have a child who admits to admiring Paris Hilton

Morgan: (Laughs)
Rodgers: You have my permission to beat that child savagely
Morgan: (Laughs)

Yes, that last bit was clearly an attempt at a joke. Even a logical person could see that.

I will note that the California Teachers Association is an advertiser on KSFO but since this is a conservative radio station, known for both their lack of support of teachers unions and violent rhetoric, I don't expect them to care. I guess they believe in the the old, "Fund you attackers!" game, with the hope that the attackers will be less vicious if you pay them off. Psst, Barbara E. Kerr President of CTA, it's not working!

Attn: Ron Paul Supporters. Lee Rodgers Wants you Dead!

Allow me to reach across the ideology aisle for a moment. For a long time I've been monitoring the violent rhetoric that comes out of KSFO Radio, 560 AM.

So it's really no surprise that on September 6th at 5:27 am ABC Radio employee Lee Rodgers yet again talked about killing people on the advertiser- supported broadcast airwaves. I guess the only twist this time was in addition to his desire to see liberals, journalists and Muslims dead, he now wants to see conservative listeners dead. Welcome to the club Ron Paul's people.


Background And Transcript
Melanie Morgan, Lee Rodgers and "Officer Vic" (who is neither an officer nor named Vic) were talking about a recent Republican debate and how they thought that none of the candidates have a chance of getting the nomination. Rodgers mentions Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter, Mike Huckabee and John McCain as people he didn't think had a chance at winning.

Rodgers: You are using up all this time on people who ain't goin' nowhere.

Morgan: Yeah. They need to thin the herd

Rodgers: Yep. Time to cull the herd

Morgan: Especially get rid of that Ron Paul. Gosh he irritates me.

Rodgers: Oh, he's a moron.

Morgan: And his people, don't email me. If you do I'll just delete you. I'll hit delete, delete, delete.

Rodgers: Oh come on, go with the real threat, "We'll trace you back, run you down and kill you like a mad dog. Go ahead say it Mel, that's what you really want to say."

"Officer Vic": Oh dear, oh dear

(WMA audio link) (audio link MP3)

What Can You Do?
So Ron Paul supporters, what will you do? You can't write Morgan, she will delete your emails. Rodgers wants to trace you and "kill you like a mad dog". Morgan's husband, Tom Swanson, is the operations manager, so no help there. Rodgers has stated on numerous occasions that ABC Radio/Disney and now his new employer, Citadel Broadcasting, support him. (Audio link)


Do you think you could get him to apologize? Actually, it might work for you. Why? Because you are conseratives and the supposed target audience. I'd like to think that they would listen to you.

You could really show your power if you could wrangle an apology out of Rodgers or get management to give one of those "we regret it was broadcast" bogus apologies for him like when he defamed George Soros. (link) (Wow, talk about powerful! Even Imus did his own apologies.)

Of course if he was forced to apologize for this, then by Rodgers' definition that would mean that Citadel Broadcasting management are "little frightened wussies" who apparently speak with a lisp too. (Audio link short) (Audio link longer) You see, in Rodger's world, radio management who ask hosts to stop insulting listeners or call for their death are "gutless weasels" (audio link)

Of course Rodgers didn't apologize for his other violent comments such as the suggestion that they torture a common criminal and then "blow his bleeping brains out". (audio link)

Sounds like a bit of a double standard to me. It must be because it's okay to talk about killing a black man, liberals, Muslims and journalists but not Ron Paul's people. (Oh and by the way, that man that Rodgers suggested be tortured and killed was black, Rodgers' claim that he didn't know he was black at the time of the comment might be valid, but the claim that he STILL didn't know he was black months later when he refused to apologize, strains credulity.)


Who Might Care: Advertisers and Your Boss
Now you could write a few advertisers to let them know what they are paying for while they are trying to reach YOU, KSFO's self-selected conservative audience. You could also suggest to Ron Paul that KSFO wouldn't be a good place to place ads, why should your candidate pay the salary of the hosts that hate you, think your guy is a moron and want you dead? And they aren't just down on Ron Paul, they have trashed every single Republican presidential candidate with the exception of Tom Tancrado, Duncan Hunter, or Fred Thompson.

My suggestions:

• Ask advertisers if they are aware they are paying for this kind of talk
• If they were an advertiser who went away then came back, like AT&T, see if they were promised this kind of violent rhetoric from KSFO hosts would stop.
  

  Maybe the advertisers believed the sales reps who said that the hosts wouldn't talk like that any more. (Surprise Mercedes, Lexus, Chevrolet, Kaiser and AT&T! Someone didn't keep their word that Rodgers would stop talking about killing people on the air! Maybe you should have gotten that promise in writing.)
  

  
  
• Ask them if these type of comments are reflective of their own values.

If they say, "Well the hosts are just trying to piss off liberals and if you don't like it to change the station." Please let them know that you aren't liberals, this is your conservative station and that you don't think it is funny or a wise business move to advertise on a station that wants to kill their listeners.

Here are a few specific advertisers who Rodgers is the voice of on KSFO.
AT&T (audio link) from 8/30/07
Lexus (audio link) from 8/30/07
Select Comfort (audio link) from 8/30/07


Good luck!

UPDATE: 9/21/07 4:30 pm
Greetings Ron Paul supporters!
It appears that several people have picked up this post about KSFO.

I will politely suggest (as I've stated above) that you do NOT engage with the hosts at KSFO. Do not call them, do not email them. I also want to STRONGLY condemn any kind of threats of violence toward anyone connected with this station. I've said the same to my liberal friends and I'll say the same to you.

I personally am not a fan of profanity, however since you are not part of an advertiser-supported broadcast radio station which has a 7-second delay (and the threat of $350,000 fines over your head), your situation is different. Some may choose to use strong language, that is your choice.

However, no matter how well reasoned, polite, thoughtful (even logical) your comments may be, they are not really interested in hearing from you. I will say the same for management.

ABC Radio management is very much aware of everything these hosts say. In the past management has attacked people who contacted advertisers to alert them to this kind of talk. ABC/Radio Disney had my blog shut down in January of this year simply to prevent advertisers from hearing what they are paying for when advertising on this station.

If any of you college students want to read about ABC Radio/Disney's actions curtailing speech, please note, it was ABC Radio/Disney management who had my blog shut down and my speech silenced using a bogus copyright claim. (link to Electronic Frontier Foundation)

The hosts on KSFO have a history of violent rhetoric. ABC Radio management profits from it so they turn a deaf ear to the violent comments directed at multiple groups of people and individuals. Ron Paul supporters are simply the latest group to be attacked. Make no mistake, people at the highest levels at ABC Radio, Disney and now Citadel Broadcasting know of these comments. They have done nothing, they will do nothing.

That is why in the past I took this information to the advertisers and asked them, "Do these kind of comments reflect your values as an advertiser? Listen for yourself, if not, perhaps this is not the show for you." I did not suggest anyone boycott the advertisers, most advertisers had no way of knowing that they were paying to be associated with these kind of violent, cruel and crude comments. Many advertisers agreed. A large number pulled their ads. This is the marketplace at work.

Note: Some advertisers who never "officially" stopped advertising, but did curtail their purchase on other grounds, have returned. Others who replaced the advertisers who left may have been given assurances that either the hosts have apologized (which Rodgers clearly did not), that they will not talk like that in the future, or that the offending host will no longer read their commercials. As you can hear, none of those assurances appear to have been met.

To aid those who want to politely contact advertisers:
AT&T
Wendy Clark, VP-advertising, AT&T wendy . clark @ att . com

AT&T's dodge in the past to avoid association with Rodgers was to give the commercial reading duties to Melanie Morgan, maybe it was after Morgan threatened to cancel her AT&T business they came back (audio link).

You may want to contact Eric Hausken in AT&T Corporate Citizenship
ehausken @ attnews . us

LEXUS
Deborah Wahl Meyer, Vice President Marketing, Lexus Division

It's the local dealers who buy into the advertising on KSFO. They might be interested when they find out that it's not just liberals KSFO hosts attack, but their own conservative audience.

Select Comfort (Email form)

Sleep Train, Dale Carlsen, (retail sales of Select Comfort beds and a KSFO advertiser (dale @ sleeptrain.com) (Audio of Morgan saying they couldn't torture her into giving up her bed. Nice brand loyalty I suppose, but the mental image of the product being associated with torture isn't really appealing to me.)

Kaiser
Arthur Southam, Senior vice president, Product and Market Management
Debbie Cantu is responsible for this area. debbie . cantu @ kp . org

Kaiser is another advertiser who no doubt was given assurances that their "Thrive" campaign would not be run while violent controversial remarks were made. Maybe they need to review their relationship with KSFO, maybe even with the larger organization if this is how ABC Radio disrespects their wishes.)

You can listen to their podcast to see which other companies are advertisers.

I will write more later, right now it is fascinating to note the process that goes on when the radio hosts have their own words reflected back to them. Today at about 15 minutes into the program the name calling starts, the denial that Rodgers even SAID the words he said. He calls everyone liars for accurately repeating what he said.

First he believes that sincere Ron Paul supporters are misguided.
But the rest of you are:
"psychotic lunatics who are pathologic liars"
Then he says that nobody from other parts of the country would listen to this program.
Of course this contradicts his bragging on 8/31/07 at 5:25 am that people listen on the internet and he hears from people "all over the place". (audio link) I would send you to their podcast of that comment but alas, down the memory hole.

Now what is interesting is how he calls his own comments about Ron Paul supporters, "flat out lies" and says that another comment about him joking about lighting a dog on fire a rumor. Well if it is a rumor, he started it since he said it. (audio link long Officer Vic's memory needs to be jogged since he was the one who made yelping sounds of the burning dog after Lee Rodgers joked about setting its "ass on fire") And you will note that although I'm sure he loves HIS dog, it is Morgan's dog he is joking about burning.

KSFO Hosts Recommend Accused Criminals be Hog-Tied and Set on Fire

As sick and unfunny as that was, Rodgers and Morgan weren't joking back on October 27 of last year when they talked about an accused arsonist. They seriously talked about this,

Rodgers: I say they catch the person, tie 'em to a post and burn 'em. Set 'em on fire,
"Officer Vic.": Yeah.
Rodger: let 'em know what it feels like.
Morgan: Hog-tie 'em first, that would be good.
Rodgers: Yeah, yeah.
Morgan: Campaign finance reports...
Rogers: I'm a compassionate conservative.
Morgan: So am I, so I agree with you. (audio link)

If you wonder why I bring up this old clip, I include it because Rodgers and Morgan never apologized for that either, so one could conclude that management approved of that comment. There was a chance to denounce it on January 12, 2007 during their special broadcast, but they didn't, I will note that apparently the Disney lawyers were in the room and management was listening that day, so if ever there was a time to distance themselves from these comments, that was the time. But they didn't.

I also bring this up because in a sick coincidence in San Francisco on Jan. 12, 2007 "... two women allegedly kidnapped [Jill] May off the street, took her to Candlestick Point, doused her with gasoline and burned her alive -- a slaying that made national news for its utter depravity. " (SF Chronicle Link, Link)

I'm not saying that Morgan and Rodgers' suggestion that people accused of a crime be hog-tied and set on fire had anything to do with the burning of Jill May alive, but when you listen to how casually they talk about and all agree on burning someone alive, you have to wonder how many advertisers would want to have their name associated with these people and this station.
I also like to point out that there is a REASON that responsible broadcasters still say allegedly, some have learned from the Richard Jewell case.

But Mercedes Benz is a sponsor of KSFO. Could you imagine this being printed in a paper? "KSFO hosts recommend accused criminals be hog-tied and set on fire, this comment brought to you by KSFO advertiser, Mercedes Benz." This kind of association passes on the radio because people can't see the connection, even though they can hear it. Yet the hearing connection is just as powerful as the seeing connection.

Finally, for those of you writing advertisers, use your own words and remember, suggesting someone stop sponsoring this kind of talk is very different than telling someone to stop saying what they are saying.

(9-27-2007 5:52 pm Edited typo and extended quote on burning alive alledged arsonist.)

Chris Gargano, Raiders -- Your boss needs to hear these broadcast clips

Amy Trask, CEO
Oakland Raiders

Dear Ms Trask:

Please read the attached letter and listen to some of the audio clips at the website. Please note what Brian Sussman and "Officer Vic" of KSFO were saying right before Coach Kiffin's interview on September 7^th. I think you will be disgusted.

Since I sent this letter it has been written about on Crooks and Liars and Media Matters. The website Crooks and Liars alone reaches 172,000 people a day. Yesterday I spoke about this on a nationally syndicated radio program. Although the mainstream media haven't picked this up yet, reporters from CBS, Time Warner, the Chicago Tribune and the Saints flagship radio station WWL, have all read the letter and listened to the clips.

This isn't about people in the Bay Area not liking the politics of the hosts on KSFO. This is about their pattern of morally repugnant comments that your team will be associated with all season long. In light of recent events, listening to Lee Rodgers joking about lighting a dog on fire is especially troubling. (audio link)

Keep in mind what state university your hot new quarterback just played for when you listen to the cruel things Lee Rodgers and Melanie Morgan had to say on the anniversary of the people who died in Louisiana following the Katrina flooding. (audio link)

Does your team need to be associated with these vile comments and bad behavior? I’d like you to listen to what they talk about and joke about and ask yourself, “What does it say about their character? Are they worthy of being your flagship radio station?” And, most importantly, do you support their comments? I would appreciate a response to this question.

Sincerely,

P.S. I'm quite clear what ABC Radio is capable of doing in retaliation for criticism, and I can understand if you would be afraid of criticizing them, however it is YOU who are in the best position to ask for an apology. If not on behalf of the Saints fans, then at least on behalf of Coach Kiffin.

cc
Amy Trask, CEO Via FAX
Mike Taylor, Director of Public Relations
Chris Gargano, Raiders Director of Broadcasting
Greg Bensel, Vice President of Communications, New Orleans Saints
Gary Radnich, Kron4

Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle
Gwen Knapp, San Francisco Chronicle
Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle

Note: the linked letter was sent on 9/15/2007. (I sent the letter via email on 9/15, but I think it got caught in filters because the KSFO hosts on-air comments triggered email spam filters.)

NFL radio station hosts joke about rape, tell Saints fans displaced by Katrina to stop whining and shut the hell up

Roger Goodell
NFL Commissioner

Dear Commissioner Goodell:

I know you have your hands full with the bad behavior of NFL players and coaches, so you probably didn't hear what the radio hosts from KSFO, the flagship radio station for the NFL Oakland Raiders, had to say about New Orleans Saints' fans displaced by Katrina flooding.

On the anniversary of 1,577 dead in Louisiana and tens of thousands displaced, Lee Rodgers and Melanie Morgan said this about New Orleans and the Saints' fans:

Rodgers: "I don’t wanna hear anymore of this crap from people in Louisiana saying.'Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme.' Shut the hell up. Solve your own problems. It’s been two years, grow up." (audio link WMA) (audio link MP3) (Windows Media Audio files. Mac users try Flip4Mac download plug in here)

Rodgers: New Orleans is "a sewer"
Morgan: Money going into New Orleans is going down "a rathole." (20 sec audio link WMA) (Audio link MP3)

Rodgers: "Maybe those people down there ought to stop their sniveling and whining...".
(20 sec audio link) (120 sec link for context) (20 sec audio MP3) (120 sec audio MP3)
(Transcript here or KSFO’s own podcasts from Aug. 29-30, Sept. 5-7 2007)

Why should the NFL commissioner care about the on-air comments of the hosts of the official radio station of the Raiders? Because they are tainting your brand with their horrific, cruel and crude comments. They are insulting the fans of another franchise and, to quote from the Fan Code of Conduct from another NFL franchisee, "Harassment of visiting team fans will be considered unruly behavior and grounds for ejection." Why should the hosts of the Raider flagship station be held to a LOWER standard than a fan attending an NFL football game?

Raiders' head coach Lane Kiffin appears every Monday and Friday at 7:45 AM on KSFO's morning program. In the lead up to Kiffin's Friday September 7th, 2007 interview, hosts Brian Sussman, Tom Benner ("Officer Vic") and Melanie Morgan joke about rape in prison right before Coach Kiffin's interview. This is what the coach and Raiders fans were subjected to when they tuned in to hear about a football game.

(Audio wma from 5 minutes before Kiffin interview. Audio MP3)

Sussman: Officer Vic and I just about lost our lunch when I mentioned, "What do you expect, one of these prisoners to snap on a condom in the shower just before he ramrods some weakling?"
Benner: (Officer Vic): (Laughter)
Morgan: Oh for gosh sakes.
Sussman: I'm serious you know, this is a jail! It's not a frat house!

(Audio WMA from 1 minute before Kiffin interview Audio MP3)

Benner: Would those be ribbed condoms for added pleasure?
Morgan: Stop it. Stop it. No. No No.. Zip it.
Benner: the basic kind? ..
Sussman: Let's get the coach on the line,
Benner: or with reservoir tips
Sussman: it's Hot Talk 560 KSFO

As you know, Commissioner, based on your own radio interview experiences, Coach Kiffin was almost certainly on the phone listening to the show prior to his interview. Is that the kind of lead in that you would want before an interview? Would you want your daughters listening to this while waiting for daddy's interview? Did the hosts hope Kiffin would join them in joking about prison rape? Sadly, this is not the first time that KSFO radio hosts have gone beyond the bounds of simple human decency, nor is it even the most egregious.

Lee Rodgers called for the torture and execution of a common criminal on broadcast radio -- but when 28 advertisers pulled their business due to comments like this, KSFO/ ABC Radio and Disney management shut up their critics and didn't demand that Rodgers apologize. (link) In fact, Rodgers brags about never having to apologize: he boasts that management strongly stands behind his comments and considers anyone who disagrees with him terrorists. (audio link WMA)
(Audio link MP3)

Please consider what that tells you about the values held by ABC Radio management, what they consider acceptable on-air broadcast behavior -- and what it means to the NFL for the Raiders to be affiliated with this station.

Melanie Morgan has called for journalists be hanged and electrocuted, and that people simply suspected of criminal behavior be hogtied and burned alive.(audio link wma link MP3) (With the recent passing of Richard Jewell --who was falsely accused of a bombing before all the facts were in-- I am reminded why responsible broadcasters don't incite the violent death of anyone suspected of criminal behavior.)

Recently you demonstrated that your organization will not condone abhorrent behavior in its players. There are some things fans will not tolerate. If your fans who are animal lovers need further proof of the depths that KSFO hosts will sink to, here is an audio clip of Lee Rodgers joking about lighting a dog on fire (audio link wma) (audio link MP3) I believe even Michael Vick wouldn't joke about lighting a dog on fire.

Of course KSFO wouldn't pass on any listener complaints to you. Morgan is married to the KSFO operations manager and if you disagree with Rodgers he suggests, "We'll trace you back, run you down and kill you like a mad dog." (audio link) (audio link MP3)

• I would like you to condemn these comments and ask Rodgers and Morgan to apologize to the fans, friends and families of the New Orleans Saints.

Coach Kiffin can speak for himself, but he might also seek an apology from Sussman and Benner and request that they refrain from joking about rape and other disgusting talk before his interviews on the Raiders' flagship station

• If all the hosts and management do not apologize on air and in writing, I would ask you to consider revoking their status as an official NFL flagship station.

Other radio stations take action when a host's comments cross into foul territory. Other stations don't tolerate this kind of talk. When a corporate partner doesn't respect you and your brand, maybe it's time for that partnership to be dissolved.

Of course ABC Radio, and their new parent Citadel Broadcasting, will say that it's just a numbers game and that all you care about is if they deliver the audience. Given your experience at NFL Ventures, you might want to verify the numbers and demographics they really deliver. KSFO's hosts constantly attack liberals, immigrants, non-Christians and the victims of natural disasters. Considering the diversity of the Bay Area, it's reasonable to believe that many Raiders fans fall into one or more of those groups being attacked. Is insulting the majority of your potential audience members a good way to attract listeners to your franchise? Rodgers even tells everyone who doesn't like his comments to not listen to the station.

I believe the head of your legal team, Anastasia Danias, spends a tremendous amount of time ensuring that companies don't state or imply an association with your brand unless you approve. Does an ongoing licensee with the NFL come with any responsibilities on the part of broadcasters? Or can they assume that once locked in, there is nothing they can ever say or do that would jeopardize their license with the NFL?

Finally, I know the temptation when reading these comments is to simply dismiss Rodgers and Morgan as ridiculous talk radio hosts whose views couldn't possibly represent the NFL let alone the Raiders. The station management may say I am complaining because I don't like the politics of the hosts and that they have no control over their "free speech". First, I will point out that these comments are NOT about politics but are repugnant comments directed toward fans, family and friends who lives were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina's flooding. Second, asking for an apology is not limiting the hosts' commercially-sponsored speech, but simply asking people working at the official station of a NFL team to maintain a level of human decency in their broadcasts in order to maintain the privilege of an NFL broadcast license.

My good friends in New Orleans and Louisiana tell me they feel the rest of the country have forgotten them, but some of us haven't. I challenge these disgusting comments and misinformation from the official radio station of the Raiders and I hope you will too.

Thank you very much for spending your valuable time investigating this issue and I look forward to hearing your response.

Sincerely,

P.S. Considering the Raiders #1 draft pick, JaMarcus Russell, played for Louisiana State University and hosted friends and family following Katrina, he might want to educate Rodgers on post Katrina problems.

cc
Anastasia Danias, Assistant General Counsel, National Football League Properties LLC

National Football League
Greg Aiello, Vice President of Public Relations
Peter Murray, Senior Vice President of Partnership Marketing and Sales
Jaime Weston, Director Brand Management & Integration Marketing & Sales
Beth Colleton, Director of Community Affairs

New Orleans Saints
Tom Benson, Owner Via Fax
Mickey Loomis, Executive Vice President/General Manager
Greg Bensel, Vice President of Communications
Ben Hales, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development

Oakland Raiders
Amy Trask, CEO
Chris Gargano, Raiders Director of Broadcasting
Mike Taylor, Director of Public Relations

ABC Radio Networks
James M. Robinson, President, ABC Radio Networks -- Phone (212) 887-1670

Entercom Radio Network
Ken Beck, VP, General Manager of Entercom New Orleans
Kenny Wilkerson, WWL, flagship radio station of the Saints
Bobby Hebert, WWL

KRON, Channel 4 San Francisco
Gary Radnich

LSU
Charles Baglio, Director of External Football Relations

Oakland Assemblymember Sandré Swanson

UPDATE: If you are having problems with the WMA audio files try the Mac plugin called Flip4Mac download from Microsoft here. Mac people I trust recommend it. I also have the same clips in MP3 format.

Bully Boy in Chief

You want to know about how the White House media is REALLY dealing with the Bush White House? Read Eric Boehlert's work.

Today's column, Lapdogs to the End?, is filled with specific examples and his usual spot on analysis.

I think the frat boy, teasing dynamic is really the key to understanding this

Then last summer, when the White House press room was closed in order to make some much-needed renovations, Bush made a rare appearance in the room where he "insult[ed] pretty much everyone in spitting distance," according to Dan Froomkin on Washingtonpost.com. Bush mocked reporters' make-up, he called one a "crackpot," and he derided ABC's veteran reporter Sam Donaldson as a has-been. The assembled press corps loved it, basking in the attention, as well as the insults.

It's a frat boy bully thing and it's an immature, insecure BOY thing. (There are some frats that are good, don't want to insult ALL frats.)

In Boehlert's current column, Rosencrantz asks the following question.

This is what I don't get about the Press's total cowardice. Why do they need Bush at all? Why not just get up and refuse to report on the President if he keeps acting unprofessionally or stonewalling their questions.

One reason they don't just say, "We aren't going to keep eating this dirt and calling it manna," is because they don't ever want to act together or be seen acting together, even when it involves defending themselves, our colleagues and our profession. Why not? Is it because Rush or Drudge or Hannity will call them "the liberal media" who "can't handle a bit of teasing?" Guess what, they ALREADY say that about you.

WHCA Needs To Change

The group that lets people into the press conferences, the WHCA, needs to let in someone who would defend their profession AND the other journalists.

Hey White House Correspondents' Association! I'm looking at you WHCA president Ann Compton and Vice President Jennifer Loven, Associated Press. Do you want to do something good for your profession and your legacy?

Here's a suggestion. Invite a few journalist defenders into your club (Eric Boehlert? Me? Jay Rosen? Allison Hantschel). You need someone in your club who is going to defend the rights of your members and demand better behavior from the White House. You are the only group that has even a tiny bit of leverage because presumably you are speaking for more than just one news organization. If you don't do it NO ONE will. I'll ask you politely, but maybe I would have better luck if I treated you like dirt, since it seems to work for the President. Nah, I'll ask politely.


What Would this Journalist Defender Do?

For starters a defender of the profession IN the White House press briefing room could help the other journalists to do their job. He or she would start with telling the White House that it is NOT acceptable to treat the WHCA members like trained poodles. This JD will clearly explain that you will NOT accept this childish manipulation game of telling you to go one place while news is being made in another.

Format Changes
Make some demands! Why not? How about this one:

Presidential press conferences will not be limited to one question, no follow ups (or only one follow up).

You need a format change that provides more flexibility for questions and more time for follow ups from everyone. The current format limits everyone’s ability to get the most current information.

How could they possibly deny a simple request for MORE time to be spent with the President? I'm sure they will have excuses (Brush MUST be Cut!). But here's the deal, when you make the demand and they reject it out of hand it will force them to acknowledge their manipulation. When they deny your suggestion you will have your own little news event and you can report on yourself. I know you hate to cover yourself, you won't look like whiners, you just wanted more information, what is the White House afraid of? What are they trying to hide?

You and I know exactly what they are afraid of. Bush losing it on TV. Nobody in the White House wants Americas to see the real man under real stress. That is why they go to such lengths to protect him from any real critical interaction with anyone. He's a classic, "Can dish it out but can't take it" kind of guy. Remember how he acted with that Irish reporter? Why must his true nature be hidden from the people? In AA I think they call this enabling behavior.

You see Ann and Jennifer, the president is actually very, very fragile and the White House media management people understand that, unlike President Clinton, the President can NOT handle himself in front of a media that asks hard questions. So they have removed that ability by playing to your individual vanity and fixing the format in their favor.


Journalist Defenders in the White House Press Briefing Room
How would having a Journalist Defender in the press room change things? Not only could he ask great questions, when the president insults the media for the 239th time, he can say:

"Okay, that's enough Mr. President. It's not cute, it's not funny. That's it. And no, we are not being whiners, we deserve your respect as professionals and human beings.You have had your chance to treat us like adults and you have failed time and time again. Enough.

Everyone who is a WHCA member will be leaving right now. We should have done this when you kicked Helen Thomas to the back row or when you made us sit next to a male escort and pretend he was one of us knowing full well that we wouldn't act. When a male escort gets more access than we do, we know what you think of us and what it takes to get access in this White House and we aren't going to play by those rules anymore.

This isn't a strike, we aren't a union, but we are professionals who have been treated worse than dogs. I know you think that we aren't treating "the office of the President" with respect, but we have been treating the office with respect but for too long you have proven unworthy of our respect. It is YOU sir who is not treating us with respect, and it is you sir that we are walking out on.

I know your instinct will be to punish us. You will threaten our jobs, our access and our careers. But you will not be doing anything new, you already do all that and we still tiptoe around your ego and cover for you to the American people. No more.

Here's a news flash Mr. President. We don't need you anymore. You don't make news anyway. We have been acting as fools and suckers long enough.

For those of you at Fox news or other organization that see this as your moment to have the President all to yourself and "scoop" the rest of us, I have been authorized to take away your WHCA credentials.

The White House has granted us the privilege of selecting who can attend the briefings, so we will hold up our end of the bargain. I expect all current and former members to stand with us and not attend any briefings until you agree to treat us with respect.

Why MUST we do this? Because according to our bylaws,

No substantial part of the activities of the Corporation shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the Corporation shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of any statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office.

We will not carry propaganda. Not anymore. And unless you make some simple changes we just aren't going to show up anymore.

And if you complain about our behavior to the American public you can be sure we will do a complete story about WHY we had to do this. We'll tell your side of the story and we'll have to tell ours. Even we are more popular than you, who do you think will be seen as the rude one, the bully, the whiner the man who can't handle tough questions?

American WAS attacked after 9/11. Remember Anthrax?

Just to be, you know, accurate and stuff, every single time that someone says, "After all, we haven't been attacked in six long years." I've got one word for you. ANTHRAX.
And I don't mean the band.

And you know the people who should REALLY remember this, and NEVER allow the Anthrax deaths to be ignored?

ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, New York Post and the National Enquirer.

Because they were the targets. (Below is the post I wrote about this.) I know the newsroom short hand is, "Well, we mean 'bombs and buildings blowing up' type attacks." But categorically stating that there have been no terrorist attacks on US soil since 9/11 is just factually incorrect. If you categorize the Anthrax letters as a terrorist attack, (and I'm pretty sure that IS how it is categorized by most organizations and our government) then you MUST be accurate when you discuss terrorist attacks in the US.

Can we forgive Fox and CNN for ignoring this? They weren't targets and maybe they don't consider themselves journalists. Or maybe because they aren't considered "the liberal media" they figure that they are safe. I don't know what they think, I haven't done a mind meld on any of them lately.

Frankly ALL the people who work for ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, New York Post and the National Enquirer, should remember it was YOU and your staff and reporters who were targeted. You dishonor them when you ignore the threat they were/are under. When one of your journalists dies in Iraq or Afghanistan they are just as dead as the people who died from the anthrax letters that were targeted toward you. And, unlike the dead in Iraq, the anthrax letter bombers were targeting YOU specifically, not just any American truck cruising down the road. And just because it was letter cross contamination that killed some of those outside the media doesn't mean we don't know who the real targets were.

Q. Who else was targeted by the Anthrax attacks?
A. Democratic Senators Tom Daschle (D) and Patrick Leahy(D).

Do you suppose that was some brilliant jujitsu on behalf of the Anthrax letter bombers? That they REALLY wanted to kill and scare the Republicans so they sent the anthrax to Democrats? I think that it was intentional. To send a message. Why do I think that?


What better way to send a message than by sending an actual letter?

Remember, in today's communication environment it's not JUST the content, it's also about "sending them a message." What message was sent and to WHOM was it sent?

Do you think that the intended recipients "got the message?" What about all the people who WEREN'T the target? Did they get a message too? I know that *I* got a message.


Here's another question. "Have they caught the Anthrax letter bomber?"

If they DID catch him (them) don't you think that the government would publish it? Wouldn't it be a nice message to send to the American people? (Especially if the message was "feel more secure, we caught some actual bad people who killed American citizens. We still haven't got bin Laden yet, but...")

Of course if the people that they caught were NOT who they WANTED to catch, who didn't have the profile of who they expected to catch, then of course they wouldn't really want to make a big deal out of who they caught. They would just quietly put them away in some army prison. And that act of catching someone, but not revealing that they were caught, would be sending a message too. "STAY afraid." or "We don't want to confuse people with who the enemy is." or "Seriously, you DON'T want to know who this guy is and how he got the stuff. You really don't."
or "National security requires that we don't tell people what we really know about the story, so stop asking."'

And here is another message that whomever sent the Anthrax letters wanted to keep out there. "We can get to you. We know where you live."

And when it is revealed who the Anthrax letter bomber is, I would really like to ensure that the media and the talk radio hosts NOTE if he is NOT a Muslim, of if he is NOT an Arab that going forward they will ALWAYS need to qualify their statements about who the terrorists are.

(Of course if he fits their current profile they will crow, "See? See! I told you that terrorists are ONLY of that religion." You just KNOW that is how they will play it if the anthrax letter bomber fits their expected profile. What will they do if the anthrax bomber is some white Christian right- wing radio fan who decided to act on the rant they heard on the radio?


Here is the post I wrote about this in January 2007.


Q. How many died in the Anthrax letter attacks in the US?

A. 5 fatalities from anthrax. September 2001.

Q. How many others were infected, but survived?

A. 17.

Q. Who were the targets?

Journalists at: ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, New York Post, National Enquirer,

Democratic Senators Tom Daschle (D) and Patrick Leahy(D)

In addition to the death of Robert Stevens in Florida, two died from unknown sources, possibly cross-contamination of mail: Kathy Nguyen, a Vietnamese immigrant, a resident of the borough of the Bronx who worked in New York City; and Ottilie Lundgren, a 94-year old widow of a prominent judge from Oxford, Connecticut, who was the last known victim. The two other deaths were employees of the Brentwood mail facility in Washington, D.C., Thomas Morris Jr. and Joseph Curseen.

Friday Cherry Lips blogging

Once again I'd like to thank the good Doctor Zaius for the song suggestion.
Dr. Z's ability to spot bands and singers that I like is uncanny. Of course since we are both non-humans that might have something to do with it.

What a great voice Shirley Manson has! I also think the Dr. would agree with me that she is probably attractive to many humans.

If you enjoyed that video (which I considered the best of the lot) you may want to watch a few more.

Katrina refugees are sniveling whiners and freeloaders says SF Radio Host for ABC Radio Station KSFO

Michael Marsh
Anchor, 5, 6 & 10 p.m.
WBRZ
mmarsh@wbrz.com

Dear Michael:

Last week while the rest of the country was wondering how the refugees from the Katrina flood were doing, Lee Rodgers of San Francisco radio station KSFO called them sniveling whiners and freeloaders and told them to shut the hell up and "Get off your butt and go to work." (audio link)

Rodgers: This two year pity party has gone on long enough and then some.

Rodgers: But two years later for god's sake people, solve your own bleeping problems, we're sick of hearing about you. And eh, and if you are sick and tired of the whining of the people in or from New Orleans about the government not doing enough for them and doing the rebuilding job for them. Maybe those people down there ought to stop their sniveling and whining and watch an example of self reliance right there in their own community. ( audio link)

Rodgers: I don't wanna hear anymore of this crap from people in Louisiana saying "Gimmee, Gimmee, Gimmee. Shut the hell up. Solve your own problems. It's been two years, grow up. (audio link)

Melanie Morgan, the co-host, called New Orleans "a rathole " (excluding the French Quarter). Lee Rodgers call New Orleans a sewer.

Rodgers asks, "Is one hurricane supposed to be a permanent life long ticket on a bleeping gravy train? Come on!" (audio link)

Rodgers suggests that the displaced people, "Get the hell over it!"

Morgan also alleged that, "...kids in the schools became the worst bullies and offenders and disrupted many of the fine Houston schools." I'm not really sure what evidence she has, but I doubt she has facts to back up her claims.

If you want any more information, see the complete transcripts and longer audio links below. Note: KSFO, 560 AM is an ABC Radio station and is owned by Citadel Broadcasting.

LLAP,

Spocko

P.S. Michael, I see you spent some time at KPIX in SF, they did a story about some of the other horrible things KSFO hosts say and the lengths they went to to shut up their critics.


cc Tony Jones
Whitney Vann

Complete KSFO Audio Links and Transcripts

I've provided links to the audio clips below for your convenience. I've also transcribed their comments. To verify that what I'm including is not out of context or manipulated in any way, I suggest that you listen to the audio podcasts that KSFO puts up on their own website. I've listed when the audio clips starts in real time as well as when the audio clips start on the KSFO podcast (The KSFO podcast doesn't include the first ABC Radio news broadcast).

NOTE:Melanie Morgan's 501 c. 3 group, Move America Forward, is embarking on a nationwide tour this week "fighting back against the anti-war left" and her concern that money is going down a "rathole" of New Orleans is rather ironic considering that she supports the money going into the war in Iraq and into a country that is NOT populated by US citizens.

---------------------------------xxx--------------------------

What do ABC Radio host Lee Rodgers and Melanie Morgan think of "those people" in New Orleans and people who had to leave during the two year anniversary of this massive tragedy? These are transcripts and audio from 8/29/2007 and 8/30/2007.

Rodgers: Save New Orleans? For what? The French Quarter..

Morgan: For another hurricane.

Rodgers: Now they got the French Quarter up and running again. Okay fine. It's a theme park, but that's what it's been for years anyway.
The rest of it's a sewer.

Morgan: Well the French Quarter wasn't even that badly hit. I mean..

Rodgers: No because it's on higher ground.

Morgan: Exactly so there wasn't much of a problem there to begin with. But they are trying to fix the unfixable in the rest of the city and in the mean time every politician in the country is pandering, spending billions of dollars and putting it in what? A rathole.

Rodgers: These transplanted New Orleans. [in whining voice] "Oh it's my home I gotta go back" No you don't. People have moved all over the world through out human history. You can do it too. Get off your butt and go to work.

Morgan:[laughing]

From KSFO on 8/29/07, broadcast time 7:44 am: (Audio link, MP3, 49 seconds )

( Longer audio link, MP3 1:50 seconds)

Location of clip in KSFO podcast # 2117503 on August 29, 2007 is at the 2 hours 40 minutes. http://www.ksfo560.com//sectional.asp?id=17750

---

Rodgers and Morgan 8/29/07 05:15 am ( Link MP3 9 minutes )

http://www.ksfo560.com//sectional.asp?id=17750

Rodgers: "Did you know that parts of New Orleans where some these silly people are trying to rebuild houses are 14 feet below sea level and sinking by another inch every year ? And nothing has been done really that would prevent another Katrina. Nothing. Now where in god's name is the logic about trying to rebuild a city in a location like that?"

{Snip. he blames the French and says keep the French Quarter as a Theme park'}

"I for one, I'm all in favor of helping needy people, but at what point do you say, 'Hey it's time that you people got off your asses went to work and earned your own way"? Two years later, Dallas Morning New, some of the refugees from New Orleans were settled in Dallas and the community had an outpouring of generosity and they were giving them all kinds of freebies housing, so on and do forth.

Morgan: Yeah

Rodger: Two years later, the people have been freeloading for two years are whining because the gravy train is slowing down. ( Link)

Morgan: Oh. No! That's terrible.

Rodger: It says, I'm looking here at the Dallas Morning News, say "Hurricane Katrina relief, once an outpouring of support for evacuees displaced in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, has slowed to a trickle on the second anniversary of the storm official figures are available, an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 evacuee households, [people from New Orleans and vicinity-this fragment was inserted by Rodgers and is not in the linked story text] still call North Texas home, [according to advocacy groups- he left out this phrase]. And countless evacuees still need help paying for basic necessities such as rent and utilities."

Ah at what point after a disaster and personal hardship are people expected to start taking care of themselves again? Is one hurricane supposed to be a permanent life long ticket on a bleeping gravy train? Come on! (link)

[Morgan then proceeds to tell about during her experience the Ruskin Heights Tornado in 1957 her family recovered and not one of us received a dime from FEMA or any other Federal agency (Note FEMA wasn't created until 1979 by Jimmy Carter) She of course doesn't count the National Guard that came in to help as a Federal Agency. Of course the Menorah Hospital , doesn't count either even though they cared for her (they reattached her toes) and her bother and mother.]

Morgan: People took care of each other and this kind of sentiment you don't hear expressed about the Katrina victims, what you do hear about are those people is those people who were transported to Dallas and brought with them all kinds of crime and just awful, awful behavior.

Rodgers: And Houston even worse

Morgan: In fact many of those kids in the schools became the worst bullies and offenders and disrupted many of the fine Houston schools.

Rodger: Well they brought the habits of the New Orleans public schools with them and those were widely and reliably reputed to be some of the worst schools in the country.

The President is going to be down there today and there's going to be endless babbling by him and other politicians, about "Oh we gotta rebuild New Orleans" Where is it written that we have to rebuild New Orleans so the whole damn thing can happen all over again?
Morgan: (crosstalk)

Rodgers: That's just plain simple minded stupidity

Morgan: I agree

Rodgers: And of course now it's come out. Big surprise, Louisiana er um which is a moral sewer in terms of political responsibility, one of the most corrupt states and New Orleans is one of the most corrupt cities in the country and big surprise yesterday or day before it was in the news that millions perhaps billions of dollars of aid that's gone down there has never reached the intended....

Morgan: Victims

Rodgers: recipients, the victims of Hurricane Katrina. No. No. No. Some how it got siphoned off by crooked contractors and crooked politicians you know the kind who go around bribe money in home freezers and stuff like that.

Get the hell over it! Rebuild New Orleans? Why? Why? Alright, it was a lovely charming old city it's gone and I don't care how much money they stuff into the pockets of crooked contractors down there, it ain't ever coming back. Never. Never. Never. 14 feet below sea level! For god's sakes think about that for a moment. ( Audio Link)

Another Katrina. It's isn't if, it's just when. And then you do it all over again. That's why I resent the government subsidizing flood plan insurance. People get flooded out, the government gives them a check to go back and build another house in the exact location to get flooded out again. The next time the Mississippi or the Missouri river is up or a Hurricane comes ashore what are we doing? This is insanity! Thank you.

Morgan: You are welcome very much, and truer words were never spoken.

Rodgers and Morgan 8/29/07 05:15 am ( Link MP3 9 minutes )

http://www.ksfo560.com//sectional.asp?id=17750

---

FROM 8/30/07 6:40 AM

Rodgers: Yesterday we have the orgy of media coverage of course that's spilling over into today about the second anniversary of Katrina. The elected leaders of in Louisiana and New Orleans and let's never forget they were elected.

Morgan: Mm hmm.

Rodgers: The people down their picked them, the elected leaders two years after hurricane Katrina. Still they can't seem to do much of anything beyond whine and beg. "Somebody come fix our problem." ABC's Steve Ocinsamie is down there in New Orleans as part of the coverage of the anniversary and talks about what NOLA, New Orleans Louisiana is like today today.

AUDIO from ABC News

"Two years after Katrina and much of this city still looks like it did the day the city was flooded. While many people have come back it just doesn't have the life that New Orleans have that we all remember. It seems that people are more distrustful of government people don't trust anything that they hear. There is very little faith in the levees, which supposedly have been mostly rebuilt but only to category 3 protection. That doesn't sit well with many residences.

Rodgers:: Then do this people, Get OUT!

Morgan: Yeah.

Rodgers: Move somewhere else. Hundreds of millions, billions of human beings before you have done exactly that. Conditions aren't good here, let's go somewhere else, why do you think you have to live in a bleeping swamp?

This two year pity party has gone on long enough and then some. And this may also help explain why so many people who left New Orleans after the hurricane have decided, no they are not coming back. Now the population of the city of New Orleans is only about two third what it was before hurricane Katrina, but boy one group that is back in force, the crime element.

The criminals, mostly drug dealers have certainly come back and taken up residence. One hundred and 60 people have died in street killings in the last year, many of them residences killed by thugs looking for money. This past weekend in New Orleans east a Vietnamese couple was gunned down in their home in front of their kids.

What a contrast between the endless whining and begging by the crooks who run Louisiana compared to the post Katrina rebuilding next door in the state of Mississippi. There is still more to be done there, but a whole lot of progress is being made along Mississippi's gulf coast two years after the Hurricane. ABC Robin Roberts reports from Pass Christian Mississippi

Eleven of Mississippi's thirteen casinos big employers are back. Employing 18,000 people. That's a thousand more than before Katrina. Almost every school is back, enrollment at 94 percent of what it was before the storm.

So long story short, while Louisiana keeps begging the federal government to come in and fix everything for them, Mississippians simply got to work and did it.

Morgan: Begging and blaming. That's their favorite pastime. To blame the Federal government for everything that went wrong in Louisiana and that it's all their fault that Katrina victims don't have any money, and God after two whole years, their benefits are running out.

Rodgers: At some point, at some point you gotta say, you people are gonna have to stand on your own two feet. Of course FEMA made a total bleeping botch of their what should have been immediate response to the hurricane it's like, it's not like they didn't know the hurricane was coming. So they screwed that up. But two years later for god's sake people, solve your own bleeping problems, we're sick of hearing about you. And eh, and if you are sick and tired of the whining of the people in or from New Orleans about the government not doing enough for them and doing the rebuilding job for them. Maybe those people down there ought to stop their sniveling and whining and watch and example of self reliance right there in their own community. ( Audio Link)

Now the only really surprising thing about this story is that USA Today ran it, they run a story with out the focus of beating up on the Bush administration, http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070829/1a_coverside29_dom.art.htm

"While much of the rest of New Orleans is still the same disaster area it was the day after the hurricane two years ago. One neighborhood has rebuilt itself. It's the neighborhood of Versailles a few miles east of downtown New Orleans where the houses have been rebuilt and repainted, nearly all 7,000 residents of that neighborhood has returned. And you might ask what's different about that neighborhood. Here's what's different, it's made up of Vietnamese refugees who came to this country after the Vietnam war, they knew about untenable circumstances, they did something about it. They moved. And they, most of these people come from the Mekong river delta in Vietnam which is the rice growing area, why because it's lowlands and the Mekong river floods regularly so they know something about that. And they didn't wait for the government to come in and solve their problems for them. They just went to work fixing things. One of the early returning residences in the neighborhood a woman named Linda Tran, she is 55 she and her husband and their son slept on air mattresses while her family and other neighbors worked together to rebuild each other's house fix them up repaint them. She owns a restaurant in the neighborhood and she used money from her insurance to rebuild and she says, "I didn't want any money from the government. We needed our home. We worked all our lives for it," so she like her neighbors when to work and they did it themselves. And instead of Bush going down there and engaging in another hugathon and making more promises about how much more money we are going to pour in to that area. He should have said, "Hey people look at your neighbors the Vietnamese, see what they did and stop bitching and moaning, 'Oh the government is supposed to ffff fix things!' Here's a little footnote by the way, President Bush and the congress have committed over 127 billion dollars to relief for New Orleans and the immediate gulf cost region around there. Now to give you some perspective, adjust for inflation, so it's an apples to apples comparison. Dollars for dollar, 127 billion dollars is more than the 107.6 billion dollars we spent rebuilding 16 countries in Europe after World War II.

Morgan: Wow.

Rodgers: I don't wanna hear anymore of this crap from people in Louisiana saying "Gimmee, Gimmee, Gimmee. Shut the hell up. Solve your own problems. It's been two years, grow up.

It's 13 minutes before seven o'clock. Hot talk. 560 KSFO.

--X-X-X--

-------------------------

Rathole

Gravy Train
Rathole Sewer
Freeloading whiners
Permanent gravy train
Get over it
Sniveling Whining
Shut the hell up

Sniveling Whining

NOTE: If you want to send this to other media, use the brilliant Spotlight project!
http://www.thespotlightproject.org/

Just plug in the permalink from Spocko's Brain and pick a few TV, Radio and Print journalists in the states/cities that are mentioned.
Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, San Francisco, Phoenix, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arizona and California