If liberals can't run a radio network without going bankrupt, how can we expect them to run a government?
The folks at Air America, after denying it for the last month, have filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. AA is a radio network which was supposed to be the liberal answer to conservative talk. They were the ones who would compete with the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and G. Gordon Liddy.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments26 - Lisa McKay
Yeah, I kinda thought so. I didn't think you were that gullible :-)
27 - RJ Elliott
I was duped! Just like people who tuned in to the last episode of Seinfeld! :-/
28 - Matthew T. Sussman
But actor Albert Brooks' real name is Albert Einstein. Maybe that's what you were thinking.
(No it wasn't.)
29 - Henry
BG from RWS Commenting fame?
Interesting, if a bit flammatory article. As the world wears on, I find my own views (slightly conservative) sharpening in focus more towards being libertarian. Politicians tend to be corrupt, and I wouldn't career politicians to handle money. One of the reasons I supported (and voted for) Arnold for California Governor was because he was an outsider, a successful entreprenur (sp?, too lazy to check) who built himself after emigrating from Austria.
30 - lono
Wow,
This piece is 12 kinds of retarded. first off, it never talks about Air America and their finances, which I would like to know about. Instead, this is cut rate hack job on how much the writer hates Democrats. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal if the piece were called 'Democrats are a bunch of dummies'.
Actually, Air America is not filled with hate. Nor is Air America filled with apologists. In fact, looking at the numbers in America now - 67% disapprove of the President and 25% believe he was involved in 9/11 tells me that Air America is closer to the heartland than you think.
This piece is about Scadenfrueden, and how you revel in the failure of your perceived enemies. Don't you think the left should have a voice? Wouldn't that make America a stronger place?
Please go back and change your title to 'I am a half wit who hate Democrats' so we can further discuss. I ain't harshin' on you, bro - for I am a half wit who hates Republicans. Thing is, I don't pretend otherwise.
What Air America doesn't have the ability to doo. , like my family, is raise our debt ceiling and print more money when we get ourselves into the shitter on finances.
peace out, and Vote in November!
31 - Big Dog
Lono,
Take your medication, a deep breath and then read comment #12.
Remember, the medication only works if you take it..
32 - JustOneMan
This is not a matter of politics...people just will not tune in to boring talk radio shows...simple...the right wing talkers just are more likeable and more entertaining personalities...forget politics the ratings prove it!
33 - Dave Nalle
I will argue what I've always argued: it's because AA is bad radio. Advertisers are drawn by ratings, and nobody wants to spend money for radio that nobody listens to. And nobody listens to it because it's unlistenable.
I think some of it is listenable. Randy Rhodes is strident and obnoxious, but entertaining. Some of their other shows are at least adequate. Franken is a terrible bore and Springer was awful, though. I notice that the first thing they did when they hit financial rapids was to fire Springer - best move they've made.
Dave
34 - Michael J. West
numerous rich "donors" (such as host Albert Einstein Frankenstein** himself!)
At this very moment, Franken is drawing a two-million-dollar salary from the bankrupt company. He may have donated some money, but he ain't donating his time...and he's sucking his money back out, too.
35 - Michael J. West
I think some of it is listenable. Randy Rhodes is strident and obnoxious, but entertaining.
I never found her entertaining. But if you replace "strident" with "shrill," and "obnoxious" with "insufferable," then we might be in agreement. Malloy, I DID find entertaining, although he bypassed "strident and obnoxious" and barreled right into the land of Goddamn Insane (which isn't so bad...Michael Savage was probably getting lonely in Goddamn Insane). Marc Maron, now THAT was a man with real radio potential and they canned his ass early on.
Really, THAT's the whole problem. AAR treated Maron and Malloy absolutely miserably, yet they let the hopelessly incompetent Al Franken continue to be the face of Air America (and bleed them dry) for some reason. They just don't have a clue how radio works!
36 - Dave Nalle
Simple enough. Franken and Springer were celebrities and therefore they were under the impression they would somehow magically generate listeners and revenue. They just overlooked the part about them sucking.
Dave
37 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Folks, your president ran several businesses into the ground before getting into one where he could soak the taxpayer every time he blew the stash (which has been several).
Business sense is not a political property tied to ideology.
That is what makes the premise of this article bullshit.
To make a business work, you need to understand that business. Ask the fellow who started Minnesota Public Radio, Bill Klinger. That man is an empire builder. He started with KSJN operating out of St. John's University in Minnesota, and now has American Public Radio, and a host of for profit firms as well. And he has made quite a few people rich in the process, Garrison Keillor, for one...
And his capitalization came from begging - that IS what a public radio fun-raising drive is, you know.
38 - Michael J. West
Ruvy, um...did you read the comments before you responded?
39 - Bliffle
"Can Libs Handle Money?" No. we see the proof in Air America.
"Can Conservativess Handle Money?" No. We see the proof in Bushco.
"Can Bliffle Handle Money?" No. He's modified his business practices in favor of irresponsibility and shady practices. Had to do it to keep up with the competition. It's a form of Greshams law: irresponsible operators drive out responsible operators.
That's the modern world, folks. If you keep your promises, do everything to make sure others aren't hurt by your failures, fulfill all your contracts and don't chisel, people you think you a fool and cheat you. And you'll go broke. Al Franken isn't going to throw his savings into Air America and GWB won't be hurt when he leaves office with horrendous national debt and an ongoing disaster in foreign affairs. He'll retain his wealth and have a good life. So will I. And the hell with the suckers we leave behind.
40 - Mohjho
The Republicans have proven beyond any doubt that they can't run any government; Iraq, Afganistan, or U.S. of A. Who the hell cares about Air America. Never listen to it.
Welcome to Newts 'Contract with America', you signed it, now you get to live with it.
Fools
41 - Dave Nalle
Mohjho, I have to point out that it's just this particular group of Republicans who have been bunglers, not the party as a whole. And these are not the same people who brought us the contract with America, which when it was being followed actually did things like produce balanced budgets. Where the hell do you think the Clinton-era surpluses came from? Certainly not from anything Clinton did.
Dave
42 - gonzo marx
Dave sez...
*Mohjho, I have to point out that it's just this particular group of Republicans who have been bunglers, not the party as a whole.*
absolutely correct, as long as you add it was done with the complicity of the rest fo the GOP party and structure
now, this very same Point shows the fallacy of the original Post...
only a small sub-set of "liberals" ahve shown in this particular instance to have been not economically viable without restructuring (like..oh, just about all the airlines..and how many other corps that restructure under bankruptcy over the years?)
and thus, to try and tar any entire "grouping" by the misdeeds of a small sub-set, is incorrect by it's very tenets in the face of Reason
(as for where the Surpluses came from, etc.. this is debateable, but no one person is usually Responsible for a *boom*, however, ithas been shown that a very small group CAN engender a *bust*)
but i digress...
Excelsior?
43 - Bliffle
"I have to point out that it's just this particular group of Republicans who have been bunglers, not the party as a whole."
In a pinch, any excuse will do.
44 - Dave Nalle
(as for where the Surpluses came from, etc.. this is debateable, but no one person is usually Responsible for a *boom*, however, ithas been shown that a very small group CAN engender a *bust*)
Which raises the issue of why, if the current GOP leadership is so incompetent in every way, we're having a boom rather than a bust, at least in the eyes of every sensible analyst (which means I'm excluding Lou Dobbs).
IMO the economy operates largely independent of what government does, except that big, obvious moves like raising or lowering taxes can make a small difference. The Clinton boom is more the result of the tech sector than anything Clinton or Congress did, and our current boomlet is likely the result of a second wave of the techn boom.
Dave
45 - Mark in Canada
Interesting....I stumbled on this blog fest through a search for articles on and about Harry Stein, and found this pissing match between the left and right of America.
Lets give this a go from an outsider's point of view. Being Canadian, I find American poltics rather fun, since I don't seem to have a dog in this hunt. Bush is a bit too right for me, and John Kerry was/is...well as boring as AlGore and as dumb as the left thinks Bush is. I find the argument that AA proves the left to not being to handle money a bit of a stretch. It sure does make them lousy radio however. Rush, Liddy and Hannity are all good to listen to, even if you don't agree. Iam a trucker, and have been all over the excited states, and heard them all. AA sounded like bad public radio. The whole concept was stupid, and was politically motivated. There was nothing in this for anyone who wanted to debate, since there is no debate left on the left. You guys call the right stupid and ignorant, and it sounds childish, just like when Rush does it. The only difference is, Rush provides some entertainment value, and lets face it, he will debate, sometimes to a loss his point of view( not that he changes his mind, but no one on the left changes theirs either). Believe me, Leftwing media is boring, which explains why the CBC is dying up here. Entertain your listener, and let him decide his point of view, and maybe you might be fun. Now, have a good debate my American friends......because name calling is boring.
46 - gonzo marx
well Dave..
as to our our sidebar...
one can also say that there are times when Policy can aid or hinder a sector into a boom...
just a Thought
Excelsior?
47 - Dave Nalle
Gonzo, let's find an example of a government policy which was enough to start or stop a boom. The depression was started by business overproduction and overextension of credit. It was ended by wartime spending in WW2. So I can see an argument for a whopping great world war which would cost 10 trillion dollars in todays money having a pretty real impact. Short of that I'm skeptical.
DAve
48 - gonzo marx
housing and federal interest rates is the first thing to mind...
others will occur if you ponder a bit...
/end hijack
Excelsior?
49 - Big Dog
Sylvia in #7 said:
Five years after 9/11 without securing borders does make them soft. But if you think a fence that's as a third as long as it needs to be and isn't properly funded is how to get the job done, then that explains why you are interning at Wide Awakkkes Radio.
Perhaps if you actually listened to my show or read my blog you would know that I have been extremely critical on the border and the short fence. I have been a very loud voice on this and if you read other articles you can see how many leftists called me a racist for my position. I also know that ILLEGAL immigration has been a problem for decades but the focus for correcting it has only been thrown upon this administration.
You would know that I said that if we will only build a fence 1/3 the size it needs to be the next time an earmark is put in for a bridge or a road it needs to only fund enough to build 1/3 of that project.
I am not an intern, I have the show, try listening and you might actually know what you are talking about before you post.
50 - BriMan
So what I get from the RW on this is that the people who run AA shouldnt run the gov't!!!?
I dont think any are running for office and...
the RW has bankrupted the richest nation on earth - hardly a fair comparison I'd say!!
51 - BriMan
Via Big Dog "I also know that ILLEGAL immigration has been a problem for decades but the focus for correcting it has only been thrown upon this administration."
And whose fault is that? - the Rep's marched this issue out in the open hoping to distract Joe-Sixpack from his economic misery pre-election. That it has blown up in their face is just simple justice.
Your quaint and repetitive diatribes "no plan blah blah", "endless pot of money blah blah", "love to raise taxes blah blah" is stale and unimaginative. You need new material. This just proves you arent listening or paying attention to any sound but your own echo.
52 - lono
Big Dog, #12 indicates this was satire. If so, I totally and completely missed the boat. It is election season, and I get super fired up and into militant Dem role.
forgive me.
PS - the GOP 'culture of corruption' sounds about right to me. it isn't that there are weasel rat bastards in congress, of course there are. What disgusts the voters is that no one would stand up to DeLay, Foley, Hastart, Ney.
If you guys would out them, instead of us, you wouldn't look so soft. Rememeber when Colorado Republican Joel Hefley censured Tom deLay when he (Hefley) was on the ethics panel? Rememember what deLay did? he got Hefley (a Republican) kicked off the ethics committe, then worked to have the rules re-written to absolve him as his trial approached.
point being, we all know deLay is a douchebag. What kills me is that no one stood up and said "hey Tom, you can't do that."
53 - Arch Conservative
"PS - the GOP 'culture of corruption' sounds about right to me. it isn't that there are weasel rat bastards in congress, of course there are. What disgusts the voters is that no one would stand up to DeLay, Foley, Hastart, Ney."
Lono correct me if I'm wrong but Delay resigned from Congress, Foley resigned, and it hasn't been proven that HAstert knew anything about Foley.
Compare this with the Dems..........Mel Reynolds was actually convicted having sex with a teenage page and he stayed in Congress as a Dem. William Jeeferson had 90K in bribe money in his freezer and he stayed in congress as a dem, cynthia mcckinney assaults a police officer, cries racism and gets off scott free, harry reid had all kinds of shady land deals and no one questions him, hillary clinton has certainly committed campaign finance fraud numerous times and she's a left wing idol.
So when you go taalking about "culture of corruption don't forget to mention all those good liberals who are knee deep in it!
54 - Big Dog
BriMan, you can call it what you like and I really don't care. I would like you to explain how it is that the Republicans brought immigration to the front to hide the economy when we have an extremely strong economy.
Why would we want to hide it. All economic numbers are as good or better than Clinton's and you guys thought life was wonderful when he was in charge.
Perhaps your welfare checks have not gotten any bigger (the generic your) but more people are working, unemployment is low and inflation is low. Revenue to the treasury is at record levels and we have so much money the Congress keeps wasting it on junk.
If you are going to spout off then at least pick something that either you know about or have read about and stop parroting the stupidity of the Democratic party.
55 - zingzing
wait, wait. you're not serious? this article's comment section devolved into "well, your party is as bad as my party!" bullshit?!
no!
who the fuck'd thought?
56 - Mark Saleski
(re #55)and you're suprised at this? the blogcritics politics section should be renamed "BC Politics Monkey Poo Fling"
57 - zingzing
oh, no, not surprised. just getting sick of it. comments like #54 have absolutely nothing to do with the post, and it's the fucking author who wrote the damn thing! sigh. big sigh.
58 - Scott
"If you are going to spout off then at least pick something that either you know about or have read about and stop parroting the stupidity of the Democratic party"
Oh, the irony
59 - Big Dog
Like I would parrot the Democratic party?
Economic numbers are real and can be seen. Try looking....
60 - Big Dog
Zing, regardless of where the comments go, one has to answer them.
Don't blame the author, blame the fuc**ing commenters like you, for instance.
Perhaps if people actually read the comments before over reacting...
61 - gonzo marx
Big Dog sez...
*Economic numbers are real and can be seen.*
well, they can also be manipulated as any data can, by not taking into accoutn all the pertinent Variables...and cherry picking what you like
as regards professional analysis of the data, it can vary as diversely as any other "fuzzy subject".. ask 10 experts and get 11 answers and interpertations of the same objective data
but that doesn't fit onto a bumper sticker, or inside the 48 seconds of AM talk time between commercials...
but i digress
Excelsior?
62 - zingzing
big d.: "Don't blame the author, blame the fuc**ing commenters like you, for instance.
Perhaps if people actually read the comments before over reacting..."
uh huh. ok. like me, eh? i was just trying to get people back on some sort of target rather than this general dems vs reps bullshit we always go through. it goes nowhere, and you fucking know it. you just know what fucking side i'm on, generally. you have no clue how i land on this one. but i say, "let's get back on target," (in some form,) and you jump all over me. what the fuck ever. blow me.
63 - zingzing
and learn the definition of irony.
and wonder why it's been a day since anyone mentioned air america on this thread.
64 - Big Dog
Zing, I have to agree, you were trying to get it back on target. These always go OT, it is the nature of the beast. I won't blow you that would make me eligible for a job as a Congressman with a page. Perhaps the snarky comment about the author...
I know the definition of irony, I also know sarcasm, as in me saying Like I would parrot the Democratic party.
65 - zingzing
snarky, yes. if you know sarcasm, you also know that i don't want a blowjob. at least from you.
sarcasm doesn't always come through on the internet and you didn't respond to the "ironic" content of your own original statement. of course, if you had, it would have been off-topic.
like all this has been.
fuck it.
later.
66 - BriMan
Big Dog - one man's booming economy versus 50 others where it isnt.
I have looked at the numbers. I have also researched where the numbers come from and what they really mean. The current administration loves statistics that make them look good but stats dont apply to individual people and the majority of individuals are not better off than they were 6 or 8 years ago.
You may have heard the analogy before but Bush likes to use the average income stat (that the average income is up). Meaning that Bill Gates and I have an average income of several billion. Or if I had one foot in a tub of ice and another in a pot of boiling water - on average I am comfortable. Averages dont mean crap - the rich can get richer and the poor poorer and the average can go up (as in fact it has).
More people are in poverty, uninsured and having to declare bankruptcy than ever before. The Republican's solution? Limit who can declare bankruptcy!
Your booming economy theory is bunk. There isnt any serious independent data to back it up - just stats of questionable source and veracity. You keep talking about it but that dont make it so.
67 - Dave Nalle
Sorry, BriMan, you're just wrong, and you're not as familiar with the numbers as you seem to think.
More people are in poverty,
Wrong. Actually, the number in poverty has remained pretty much stable and personal income has been slowly and steadily rising for the past year, even after adjusting for inflation. So the poor are about as numerous and they are slightly less poor.
uninsured
Wrong. The fact is that although the number of uninsured has gone up by a fraction of a percentage point every year for decades, this is only true because the population has grown. The actual percentage of the population without insurance has remained stable for decades at about 16% when you count in Medicaid, and in fact the percentage of the population covered by private insurance has been steadily increasing, up about 5% over the last 20 years.
having to declare bankruptcy than ever before.
Wrong. After an initial burst before the change in the laws, bankruptcy filings have been consistently down. In fact, they were down dramatically in the first and second quarters of this year to the tune of 70%.
Your booming economy theory is bunk.
Wrong. The truth is that the constant talking down of the economy from the left is easy to expose as a bunch of lies. All you have to do is go looking for the facts.
There isnt any serious independent data to back it up - just stats of questionable source and veracity
Except for all the data I cited above from reliable, neutral sources.
. You keep talking about it but that dont make it so.
So true. But it seems like you and others on the left think that if you keep saying the economy is in bad shape people will believe you. Thankfully the reality is obvious to anyone with half a lick of sense.
Dave
68 - Arch Conservative
Hey Briman.........
Don't you just hate it when you get bitch slapped with the facts?
Why don't you take your gloom and doom, commie, class warfare, propaganda, roll it up into a big spliff and smoke it with Nancy!
69 - Lono
Arch Conservative (comment #53) said:
unless I am wrong, DeLay stepped down -
you ARE wrong. DeLay quit because of the indictments. DeLay stepped down because of the law (ironically written by Republicans to out immoral Dems) said you can't hold a leadership post if you are under indictment. DeLay was forced out, and still has admitted no wrong doing. Have you seen his mug shot? What a glib motherfucker. He has less remorse than Duke Cuningham.
Hang them all!
ok... deep breath. Cool down, Lono... but away the kool aid. Sorry guys, I told you get super rabid during election season. My intorance boils to the surface. I'll be a nicer person in a few months. How much nicer depends on the election.
Peace! Vote in November
70 - Dave Nalle
I seem to recall a Blogcritics contributor a while back who would post about once a week telling us how great AA was doing, and how poorly Rush et al were doing.
I still wonder if he was a paid shill, a pathetic dupe, or just a liar...
The author of those pieces was Balletshooz, who stopped posting or commenting on BC almost exactly a year ago and then his own blog and his contributions to DailyKos and BNN stopped shortly thereafter.
Dave
71 - MCH
"The author of those pieces was Balletshooz, who stopped posting or commenting on BC almost exactly a year ago and then his own blog and his contributions to DailyKos and BNN stopped shortly thereafter."
Whoa...doing a little cyber-stalking there, Nalle?
72 - Dave Nalle
No, MCHm it's called research so I can answer a question intelligently. You might want to try it sometime.
Dave
73 - BriMan
Dave - I will give you cold hard #'s now and the sources later (I have to be somewhere in 30 minutes) but the number of people in poverty has risen from 39 mil to 45 mil while Bush has been in office. Your chart on personal income isnt relevant to that argument because your chart reflects averages - I have already talked about averages and how they are misleading. Income is up for the top dozen or so % of wage earners - that skews the average upwards but doesnt reflect reality for the rest (the majority) of people.
Your own uninsured #'s show a decrease in the total % of people who are insured of 1.3% since Bush took office. While the number may not be astronomical, it is a disturbing trend in a country that has a smoldering healthcare crisis. It also proves my statement.
Again you made my point for me - limit who can file bankruptcy instead of addressing the causes of bankruptcy (#'s of uninsured, low min. wages, usurious lending practices, for instance). Spin it all you want - RW economic policy is only good for the sorta to very rich.
Bitch-slapped indeed. Even your own numbers prove me out. Collective heads up arses - all o ewe.
74 - Big Dog
Again you made my point for me - limit who can file bankruptcy instead of addressing the causes of bankruptcy (#'s of uninsured, low min. wages, usurious lending practices, for instance). Spin it all you want - RW economic policy is only good for the sorta to very rich.
The other reasons, living above one's means. You know, the expensive car, cell phone, 200 dollar kicks and matching outfit. Fast food, big screen TV, and on and on. People's obsession with having everything right now helps them into bankruptcy.
I have seen too many people come into the ER and claim they could not afford their medication that costs $90 a month but they could afford to smoke a $3 pack of cigarettes every day. It is a matter of priority. These folks pay little or nothing in taxes and have many benefits available to them. A minimum wage earner can put money away, it just means not having a cell phone, giving up the smokes and booze, the big car and TV. And if people do not want to be minimum wage earners all their lives tell them to stay in school and get a marketable skill.
Personal responsibility will make people better off. Not government handouts of things that are not Constitutional guarantees or rights (ie Health insurance, high wages for low skill jobs)
75 - Zedd
Dave:
You can’t be serious. Save your dignity and recant. This really puts in question your ability to reason.
Are you saying that every business venture that has been attempted by a Republican has succeeded?
Are you saying that the success of a business has a direct correlation with a person’s political affiliation?
Are you saying that AA was run by all of the liberals of America? Or was it just a group of liberals.
Are you saying that conservatives have managed the national budget better than liberals? (Think really hard on this one)
I have been called a liberal and I didn't like AA. I thought it sounded too much like the embarrassing and base, Rush stuff. Most "liberals" are accustomed to getting their info from NPR. AA was just cheap and low brow, and just way too close to conservative media. Franken sounded like he was on drugs..... Oh like Rush. There were too many conspiracy theorists like you coo coo conservatives. It was just unintelligent, angry, and a little NASCAR, like conservative radio for my taste. I guess they were trying to get the Bubbas.... They needed more time for that. Also, the ads sucked..