Anybody Listening To Air America?

[TroyF]

I listened to Air America for awhile as part of my normal talk show listening. At first, I wanted to listen to it for a differnt viewpoint and to see what other people were saying who I probably disagreed with. I went into it with an open mind and wanted to listen to a different opinion.

That lasted about three hours. I listened to it a lot for about four months after that, not for opinions, but for comedy. Then, it wasn't even good for comedy and I gave up.

The reason? Simple, everything was based on hate and bashing the Republicans. I'm not talking about a few hours of Rush Limbaugh, I'm talking about a station that you could turn to at anytime of day and get bashing like you've never seen. I gave up after the last election when I listened to a solid four hours of Randi Rhodes calling anyone who voted for Bush a moron and a hate monger and then proceeded to whine incessently about the "voting irregularities" in Ohio and how the conservatives stole another election.

About that point, it stopped being funny when I realized people were actually listening and believing this stuff.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I listened to Air America for awhile as part of my normal talk show listening. At first, I wanted to listen to it for a differnt viewpoint and to see what other people were saying who I probably disagreed with. I went into it with an open mind and wanted to listen to a different opinion.

That lasted about three hours. I listened to it a lot for about four months after that, not for opinions, but for comedy. Then, it wasn't even good for comedy and I gave up.

The reason? Simple, everything was based on hate and bashing the Republicans. I'm not talking about a few hours of Rush Limbaugh, I'm talking about a station that you could turn to at anytime of day and get bashing like you've never seen. I gave up after the last election when I listened to a solid four hours of Randi Rhodes calling anyone who voted for Bush a moron and a hate monger and then proceeded to whine incessently about the "voting irregularities" in Ohio and how the conservatives stole another election.

About that point, it stopped being funny when I realized people were actually listening and believing this stuff.

If that's how the station is, which I have no reason to doubt, then I'm glad it's struggling. It should struggle. Clearly, conservatives want no part of that and I'm glad that liberals (apparently) haven't been flocking to that sort of nonsense either. Good for the liberals.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I listened to Air America for awhile as part of my normal talk show listening. At first, I wanted to listen to it for a differnt viewpoint and to see what other people were saying who I probably disagreed with. I went into it with an open mind and wanted to listen to a different opinion.

That lasted about three hours. I listened to it a lot for about four months after that, not for opinions, but for comedy. Then, it wasn't even good for comedy and I gave up.

The reason? Simple, everything was based on hate and bashing the Republicans. I'm not talking about a few hours of Rush Limbaugh, I'm talking about a station that you could turn to at anytime of day and get bashing like you've never seen. I gave up after the last election when I listened to a solid four hours of Randi Rhodes calling anyone who voted for Bush a moron and a hate monger and then proceeded to whine incessently about the "voting irregularities" in Ohio and how the conservatives stole another election.

About that point, it stopped being funny when I realized people were actually listening and believing this stuff.

This is exactly why I stopped listening, or attempting to listen to it. You might dislike Rush, he might not always be right, but he will lay out reasons for people. I have also heard Rush say that he will agree to disagree with people. Plus, he rarely goes out of his way to call people names.

I like Beck because half the time on air you can tell he is trying to come up with his reasons to feel one way or the other. While he is on the right side of a lot of issues, he will also go the other way as well. Plus, he is very open with his past where he says that he was the scum of the earth for many years. Some times he goes over the edge, but it isn't that often anymore.

Shows like Rhodes and Hannity I have huge problems with. First, each side has an agenda to toe one or the other party lines. Then, they go out of their way to label everyone they disagree with a Conservative or a Liberal regardless of what side's views they actually hold.

Ironically, when the shows first came on the air, I used to like Hannity quite a bit, much more than I did Beck's. However, after the 2002 elections, I grew more and more disgusted with Hannity while Beck seemed to hit his stride and toned some of his stuff down quite a bit.

[waltwal]

hey fonz how long does it take to listen to rush limbaugh to decide he is a conservative? i listened to npr on a couple of trips - probably something less than 6 hours and found that was more than enough to decide it had liberal leanings. i don't have any problem with its leanings- my problem is that i don't want taxpayer funds to pay for any broadcast that would have leanings either conservative or liberal. in addition i don't live in a vacuum. if you have never listened to rush limbaugh would you believe that he was a conservative based on what you have heard from many different sources. i recall Newt Gingrich wanting to cut funds to Npr based on the fact that it had a liberal agenda. with that knowledge and actually listening to a series of their programs i felt they had an agenda.

[Arles]

I think talk radio had always been a needed outlet for conservatives. Outside of Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, there are not a lot of conservative media outlets. The networks (NBC, ABC, CBS) tend to lean to the left - as do many of the cable networks (CNN, MSNBC, CNBC). Add in the major newspapers (LA Times, NY Times, Boston Globe, ..) and there really isn't a need for people on the left to have an additional outlet. If you lean to the left, simply watching CBS, CNN, MSNBC and reading the NY Times, Globe or your local paper gets you the perspective from the left in most instances.

Now, I don't think the bias is as extreme as some do, but I think the success of right-wing talk radio (Rush, Hannity, Ingraham, Hewitt, ...) shows that one side is clammoring for an additional media outlet while the other side is somewhat content with the mainstream choices.

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by Arles

The networks (NBC, ABC, CBS) tend to lean to the left - as do many of the cable networks (CNN, MSNBC, CNBC).

UGH. That is such an old, tired assumption. These networks are about as liberally biased as their mega-conglomerate corporate owners are.

Please show me one shred of evidence that any of the 3 major networks have a liberal bias. "Will and Grace" doesn't count.

[Subby]

I'll never understand the right's pre-occupation with NPR.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by waltwal

i have rarely listened to NPR but it really maddens me that this network is maintained with taxpayer funds. it is known to have liberal leanings and when i listen to it on trips sometimes i find it to be liberal in its views. i would say the same thing if NPR was known to have conservative leanings. i do not think the government should be supporting any station with taxpayer funds.

I'm fairly conservative, and a very regular listener to NPR. I don't find it all that liberally leaning on the whole. Of course I can say the same thing about Fox News and leaning to the right. The news portion. I don't have a stomach for the other nonsense that goes on there.

There are exceptions. I have written a complaint to NPR after hearing one of their editorialists launch into a very news like editorial bashing Bush's fund raising or somesuch. My problem wasn't the message or the opinion, it was the fact that it was presented in a format that very closely resembled their news reports.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

NEW YORK (AP) -- Air America Radio, a liberal talk and news radio network that features the comedian Al Franken, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a network official told The AP.

Giggle. Snort.

Seems their finances have caught up with their morality.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Giggle. Snort.

Seems their finances have caught up with their morality.

Wow. So that explains our insanely high national debt these last six years! Finances = morality. Got it!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Wow. So that explains our insanely high national debt these last six years! Finances = morality. Got it!

Please tell me you didn't really miss the "morally bankrupt" and now "financially bankrupt" reference I was making.

[Klinglerware]

Finances x bankrupt = Morality x bankrupt


(Finances x bankrupt) / bankrupt = (Morality x bankrupt) / bankrupt


Finances = Morality

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Please tell me you didn't really miss the "morally bankrupt" and now "financially bankrupt" reference I was making.

No, that exactly the reference I got. Bush Administration = "most morally bankrupt administration ever" national debt = "highest national deficit ever". It makes perfect sense.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

No, that exactly the reference I got. Bush Administration = "most morally bankrupt administration ever" national debt = "highest national deficit ever". It makes perfect sense.

HB, if that's your assessment of the current administration, then you're really so out of touch with both reality & morality that there's not much else for me to do but ... Yawn.

[timmynausea]

I think the key problem for Air America is that aside from Franken there is very little talent on their roster. (Even Franken is not 100% suited for radio.) Based on the early ratings and publicity I think it's clear there was at least some interest, but the on air talent was nowhere near good enough to keep people tuning in.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

UGH. That is such an old, tired assumption. These networks are about as liberally biased as their mega-conglomerate corporate owners are.

Please show me one shred of evidence that any of the 3 major networks have a liberal bias. "Will and Grace" doesn't count.

Agreed for the most part.

Sure, maybe NPR covers some issues that liberals gravitate to. Maybe some of their guests are fairly liberal. But hell, most of the time I'm listening it's talking with an actor, an author, reading a book, etc... I've never heard anything on NPR that can compare to Rush, Hannity, etc, etc. - that's for sure.

My basic thought on Air America failing is this (i'm going to try and explain but it may just confuse):

A) They need better talent. They took stand-up comedians and the like, non-radio people, and tried to get them to do radio. The conservative "movement" of talk shows were built by people like Rush who have radio/journalism experience.

B) They tried to start big. How many successful conservative hosts (or radio hosts period for that matter) started big? Most of them started on one station, got their chops, then slowly got sindicated.

C) Poor debating skills - this ties to point A. As others have mentioned, my impression (I've hardly listened to Air America) is that they tend to wave the "Republicans are evil" flag and expect their listeners to just accept it, rather than dealing more with facts (even Rush et al. have facts - they may be scewed, biased, whatever - but they're facts).

[JPhillips]

I thought the all or nothing approach of their syndication was always a terrible idea. Franken could be huge if he was able to syndicate ala Hannity or Rush. When a station owner has to commit to a full lineup to get any of the shows its a very risky decision.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I thought the all or nothing approach of their syndication was always a terrible idea. Franken could be huge if he was able to syndicate ala Hannity or Rush. When a station owner has to commit to a full lineup to get any of the shows its a very risky decision.

Another good point. You're forcing the lineup on a station causing two problems - one is that stations may just not pick you up and two that if there is a strong show it is likely to get ignored if the shows surrounding it are bad.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by wade moore

C) Poor debating skills - this ties to point A. As others have mentioned, my impression (I've hardly listened to Air America) is that they tend to wave the "Republicans are evil" flag and expect their listeners to just accept it, rather than dealing more with facts (even Rush et al. have facts - they may be scewed, biased, whatever - but they're facts).

Agreed. One thing Rush does quite a bit is encourage people to think for themselves. I have heard him tell people plenty of times to do some digging themselves and make up their mind. This is far different from what the other ilk do.

That was one of the things that cracked me up about the left and their hatred for Rush. He isn't "brainwashing" people. He just follows the book Socrates wrote on debating. Much different from what Air America does. Plus, many of the people I know that bash Rush have never even listened to his show. How can you bash something you haven't listened to?

[JPhillips]

The other point I should have made is that the biggest problem for Air America is that most of their programming is dull. I don't think ideology has as much to do with it as entertainment. There is an awful lot of uninteresting talk on AA. In some respects I think they haven't been partisan enough to be entertaining.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

Agreed. One thing Rush does quite a bit is encourage people to think for themselves. I have heard him tell people plenty of times to do some digging themselves and make up their mind. This is far different from what the other ilk do.

That was one of the things that cracked me up about the left and their hatred for Rush. He isn't "brainwashing" people. He just follows the book Socrates wrote on debating. Much different from what Air America does. Plus, many of the people I know that bash Rush have never even listened to his show. How can you bash something you haven't listened to?

Well, I think we part ways a bit here.

I think that Rush, O'Reilly, etc put up a facade of even debating and "thinking for yourself". What they mean is, "read what I tell you to so that you believe what I want you to believe". To paint a picture that Rush is just telling his audience to be open-minded and look up information themselves is misleading imo. He is definately attempting to indoctrinate people to his beliefs, he just does it with carefully selected facts, articles, etc in a skilled debate method.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

The other point I should have made is that the biggest problem for Air America is that most of their programming is dull. I don't think ideology has as much to do with it as entertainment. There is an awful lot of uninteresting talk on AA. In some respects I think they haven't been partisan enough to be entertaining.

This is what I was trying to say with point A. These are not radio experience people, so they do not know how to make an entertaining show.

[thesloppy]

I think a lot of the old-school hippie (for lack of a better term) liberals find the aggressive attitudes and open hostility and sanctimony of the typical conservative shock-jock to be just as off-putting as the politics behind it. To mimic that attitude, albeit with the entirely opposite bias, still wasn't going to draw in that base that makes up a large part of the left-leaning community.

....that and the fact that just about anybody would rather shoot themselves in the face than listen to four hours of Janeane Garofolo drone over the airwaves.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

I think a lot of the old-school hippie (for lack of a better term) liberals find the aggressive attitudes and open hostility and sanctimony of the typical conservative shock-jock to be just as off-putting as the politics behind it. To mimic that attitude, albeit with the entirely opposite bias, still wasn't going to draw in that base that makes up a large part of the left-leaning community.

But see.. this is why you start small and feel out what the liberal listeners DO want, instead of going nationwide and forcing an entire lineup on every station.

[Crapshoot]

For the life of me, I don't get people who listen to Limbaugh. He's a racist, homophobic hypocrite whose drug addiction (given his views on what should be done to those peopel) just tipped the balance even more. For god's sakes, there are plenty of intelligent conservatives out there, instead of this intellectualy bankrupt blowhard.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

For the life of me, I don't get people who listen to Limbaugh. He's a racist, homophobic hypocrite whose drug addiction (given his views on what should be done to those peopel) just tipped the balance even more. For god's sakes, there are intelligent conservatives out there, instead of this intellectualy bankrupt blowhard.

So, tell us how you really feel.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by wade moore

So, tell us how you really feel.

Yeah, one of the touchy points for me.

[JPhillips]

Warhammer: Rush coined the term Dittohead for his listeners.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by wade moore

This is what I was trying to say with point A. These are not radio experience people, so they do not know how to make an entertaining show.

I learned this fact 10 years ago when I mistakenly watched Stuart Saves His Family.

[John Galt]

Limbaugh quotes (ripped from a few websites):

"Why should Blacks be heard? They're 12% of the population.
Who the hell cares."

"Take that bone out of your nose and call me back."

"Well ditto heads? I bet you still love this drug
addicted, law-breaking drug freek. Ever hear of 'just
say no' or how by buying drugs you are supporting
Osama?"

"Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive
women easier access to the mainstream of society."

"Exactly. Exactly my point! This is no different than what
happens at the Skull and Bones initiation and we're going
to ruin people's lives over it and we're going to hamper
our military effort, and then we are going to really
hammer them because they had a good time. You know, these
people are being fired at every day. I'm talking about
people having a good time, these people, you ever heard
of emotional release? You of heard of need to blow some
steam off? "

"Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted
criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?"

"The difference between Los Angeles and yogurt is that yogurt comes with less fruit."

"I prefer to call the most obnoxious feminists what they really are: feminazis. The term describes any female who is intolerant of any point of view that challenges militant feminism. I often use it to describe women who are obsessed with perpetuating a modern-day holocaust: abortion."

"Wouldn't it be great if anybody who speaks out against this country, to kick them out of the country? Anybody that threatens this country, kick 'em out. We'd get rid of Michael Moore, we'd get rid of half the Democratic Party if we would just import that law. That would be fabulous. The Supreme Court ought to look into this. Absolutely brilliant idea out there."

And none of those even go to the numerous lies and misrepresentations Rush engages in. The sad thing is that with people like Coulter out there, Rush starts to look tame by comparison.

[Ksyrup]

It was obvious before reading those quotes, but if you can't see the guy is clearly trying to entertain a particular segment of the population, then I don't know what to tell you. The LA fruit joke is an obvious one-liner.

He's basically playing the intellectual, political version of Larry the Cable Guy. And apparently, like Larry, he's good at his job, given how many people he's got pissed at him.

[timmynausea]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

He's basically playing the intellectual, political version of Larry the Cable Guy. And apparently, like Larry, he's good at his job, given how many people he's got pissed at him.

I can agree that he's definitely closer to Larry the Cable Guy than Socrates. And if by "intellectual" you mean "portly", I can agree to that as well.

[John Galt]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

It was obvious before reading those quotes, but if you can't see the guy is clearly trying to entertain a particular segment of the population, then I don't know what to tell you. The LA fruit joke is an obvious one-liner.

He's basically playing the intellectual, political version of Larry the Cable Guy. And apparently, like Larry, he's good at his job, given how many people he's got pissed at him.

I agree with that. That's why I think Warhammer's attempt to portray Rush as an honest broker of information is just silly. When I read, "[Rush] just follows the book Socrates wrote on debating," I laughed out loud.

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Giggle. Snort.

Seems their finances have caught up with their morality.

Um, I believe when Jesus said "Love Thine Enemy", he didn't mean to kill them.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

UGH. That is such an old, tired assumption. These networks are about as liberally biased as their mega-conglomerate corporate owners are.

The conglomerates don't set the programming schedule though. Personally, I routinely watch NBC news and think it's fair - but there is an assumption out there that network lean left. The worst is probably CBS, but I wouldn't say it's any worse than Fox News.

Please show me one shred of evidence that any of the 3 major networks have a liberal bias. "Will and Grace" doesn't count.

There are examples involving 60 minutes, Rather and Couric. Still, the point here is that many conservatives choose not to watch network news and often disagree with the viewpoints of their local papers. This causes a void in conservative-leaning media that talk radio is eager to gobble up.

Another idea is that print journalism is a much more leftist-dominated media. So, much of the talented left-leaning media people choose to go into print. However, for about the past 10-15 years, talk radio has been a big part of the conservative movement. So, many talented media people on the right may choose to go into that avenue instead of print. Still, I think audience demand is a big part of the success of the right on talk radio. The Top 8 rated political talk radio personalities are all conservative leaning (Rush, Hannity, Savage, Dr. Laura, Ingraham, Gallagher, Boortz, O'Reilly). So either they are all much more talented that left-leaning personalities or there is a bigger demand for conservative talk radio (I tend to buy the latter).

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by Subby

I'll never understand the right's pre-occupation with NPR.

NPR is good, but there is some outrageous stuff on there - Amy Goodman, for example.

[albionmoonlight]

NPR tends to spend time and energy examining stories that fall under the mainstream radar. Almost by definition, that tends to be stories about people/groups/ideas on the margins. Again, almost by definition, stories about people/groups/ideas on the margins are going to come off as how we define "liberal."

It's pretty much impossible to talk about, say, womens' rights in Uganda, and not come off as liberal--no matter how you approach the topic. The very fact that you find it worth mentioning is a liberal decision.

As for the failure/bankruptcy of Air America--I consider myself a liberal and I stopped listening after downloading one podcast. The very things that attract me to liberalism cause me to dislike the echo chamber and baseless juvinile personal attacks (even when the most offensive ones will be explained away post-hoc as "humor")

I agree with the comments above that they should have started small and learned about who their audience was and what they wanted. Expecting Left Wing Limbaugh to attract a broad and enthusiastic audience was, apparently a mistake.

Most liberals I know are much more interested in complex, subtle, civil, intellectual debate. Not easy answers, bombast, and anger. Perhaps the failure of Air America indicates that the liberals I know1 are a pretty fair cross-section of the breed.

I, of course, know liberals who are just a closed-minded, silly, and wrong as Rush, Hannity, etc.--just to the left.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I agree with the comments above that they should have started small and learned about who their audience was and what they wanted. Expecting Left Wing Limbaugh to attract a broad and enthusiastic audience was, apparently a mistake.

I think this is the crux of how any future liberal personality/broadcast company could succeed in the future. I don't think that liberal talk radio is inherently a failure, I think many aspects of this approach were a failure.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by John Galt

Limbaugh quotes (ripped from a few websites):

"Why should Blacks be heard? They're 12% of the population.
Who the hell cares."

"Take that bone out of your nose and call me back."

"Well ditto heads? I bet you still love this drug
addicted, law-breaking drug freek. Ever hear of 'just
say no' or how by buying drugs you are supporting
Osama?"

"Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive
women easier access to the mainstream of society."

"Exactly. Exactly my point! This is no different than what
happens at the Skull and Bones initiation and we're going
to ruin people's lives over it and we're going to hamper
our military effort, and then we are going to really
hammer them because they had a good time. You know, these
people are being fired at every day. I'm talking about
people having a good time, these people, you ever heard
of emotional release? You of heard of need to blow some
steam off? "

"Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted
criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?"

"The difference between Los Angeles and yogurt is that yogurt comes with less fruit."

"I prefer to call the most obnoxious feminists what they really are: feminazis. The term describes any female who is intolerant of any point of view that challenges militant feminism. I often use it to describe women who are obsessed with perpetuating a modern-day holocaust: abortion."

"Wouldn't it be great if anybody who speaks out against this country, to kick them out of the country? Anybody that threatens this country, kick 'em out. We'd get rid of Michael Moore, we'd get rid of half the Democratic Party if we would just import that law. That would be fabulous. The Supreme Court ought to look into this. Absolutely brilliant idea out there."

And none of those even go to the numerous lies and misrepresentations Rush engages in. The sad thing is that with people like Coulter out there, Rush starts to look tame by comparison.

Let's take random quotes out of context and post them. Typical...

There's one example of why Air Hate America is going bankrupt.

[albionmoonlight]

A lot of those quotes seem to stand on their own. I'm not sure of a context that would make me say "contrary to how it seemed at first blush, that is actually a well reasoned statement that has made a positive contribution to our national debate." But I'm willing to listen.

Please feel free to provide the context that John missed.

[Greyroofoo]

I used to listen to Air America,

Even though I can be considered "leaning to the left", I hate listening to talk radio thats slanted one way or the other.

[timmynausea]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

A lot of those quotes seem to stand on their own. I'm not sure of a context that would make me say "contrary to how it seemed at first blush, that is actually a well reasoned statement that has made a positive contribution to our national debate." But I'm willing to listen.

Please feel free to provide the context that John missed.

Wouldn't it be funny if that caller literally did have a bone in his nose, though, to provide a legitimate context for that one?

"I'm calling from Kansas City. I just stuck a pork chop bone in my nose, but I just wanted to say..."

"Hold up. Take that bone out of your nose and call me back."

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

A lot of those quotes seem to stand on their own. I'm not sure of a context that would make me say "contrary to how it seemed at first blush, that is actually a well reasoned statement that has made a positive contribution to our national debate." But I'm willing to listen.

Please feel free to provide the context that John missed.

Yeah. I see MAYBE one or two quotes that MIGHT be SOMEWHAT ok depending on the context, but a majority of those pretty much stand completely on their own so that it doesn't matter what he says around it unless it is "I heard this thing the other day that I think is total crap, someone said..." which I find, well, let's say... unlikely....

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Well, I think we part ways a bit here.

I think that Rush, O'Reilly, etc put up a facade of even debating and "thinking for yourself". What they mean is, "read what I tell you to so that you believe what I want you to believe". To paint a picture that Rush is just telling his audience to be open-minded and look up information themselves is misleading imo. He is definately attempting to indoctrinate people to his beliefs, he just does it with carefully selected facts, articles, etc in a skilled debate method.

Exactly though. As I said before, he plays right our of the Socratic playbook. Additionally, who is going to present facts counter to their opinion unless someone else brings those to the table. He uses skilled debate methods as you point out, I don't see what the problem with this is.

Plus, you say that his telling the audience to find facts for themselves is a farce, I actually disagree with that. Most of the time when people bring new things to the table he normally praises them.

Does any other show really do this, aside from Beck?

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by John Galt

I agree with that. That's why I think Warhammer's attempt to portray Rush as an honest broker of information is just silly. When I read, "[Rush] just follows the book Socrates wrote on debating," I laughed out loud.

OK, then have you ever listened to Rush or read Socrates (Plato)? Seriously, I think half the time Rush is a big windbag, but he is far better than just about everyone else at what he does. Personally, I don't listen to him because of his political views, but because he is pretty entertaining.

Any one can take anyone out of context. As to the items you posted, I heard the feminazi comment and blacks on air, and it was delivered pretty deadpan, but you know what, the first part of it is pretty close to being spot on because that is what the common definition of a feminazi, hell I've been using that term since high school in the early 90s. The last part of the feminazi comment is opinion. That is plain to see.

The fact about the number of blacks in the general population is true (or was at one point, not sure about when that comment was made or what the last census figures show. Anyhow, the point he was trying to make is that in most other areas, you never hear about what 12% of anything really want. Additionally, Latinos who make up a larger portion of the population now, you don't hear much about. Why is that? That was part of the conversation there.

What I don't get is how you basically laugh at the fact that Rush uses Socatratic debating skills. That means exactly what I mean. He asks leading questions that you have to agree with to get you to agree to his point of view. That is good debating. That is what most lawyers do in a trial. So what is wrong with a known political talk show host doing it.

My point was that at least Rush engages in this. You never got that from any of the shows I listened to on Air America. I take that back, there was a local guy in Memphis that did this, but his show didn't last that long. At least there is reason to his rhetoric.

Hell look at Hannity, he'll get some one of the opposing viewpoint, regardless of whether the guy is liberal or not, and then labels then as a lib. Most of the left's vitriol and portrayl of Rush's audience should actually be directed at him.

As far as fair guys on the air, my vote goes to Beck, but as I said before, he is a little nuts. But, if you want people to talk about different sides of an issue he is the best on the air today.

[Daimyo]

NPR is intellectually leaning, not left leaning (although admittedly there is a lot of correlation between the two).

[yabanci]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

NPR is good, but there is some outrageous stuff on there - Amy Goodman, for example.

so a program (Democracy Now) which is neither produced nor distributed by NPR helps explain the right's preoccupation with attacking NPR. Mmmkay.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by yabanci

so a program (Democracy Now) which is neither produced nor distributed by NPR helps explain the right's preoccupation with attacking NPR. Mmmkay.

I wasn't trying to explain anything about the right, I was trying to explain why there wasn't a market for Air America.

[yabanci]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

I wasn't trying to explain anything about the right, I was trying to explain why there wasn't a market for Air America.

Mmmkay.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by yabanci

Mmmkay.

Reading comprehension time: The first three words of that quote were "NPR is good."

So, I don't know what you're trying to put into my mouth, but you obviously don't understand my point at all.