Springer Moving To Stamford; Pastor Up In Arms

Jerry Springer, along with Steve Wilkos and Maury Povich, are moving their shows to a theater in Stamford, Connecticut.  The Reverend Stephen DiGiovanni of St. John’s Catholic Church (right) is trying to block the Springer show from making the move, saying he he is “making millions on other peoples’ misery and stereotypes.”

Subject to negotiations, Springer’s show will move from Chicago this summer into a new studio in Stamford. The city is in Fairfield County, one of the nation’s richest regions and the inspiration for the film “The Stepford Wives.”

The strippers, cheaters and skinheads on Springer’s show often come …

Cheney: Obama Making Us Less Safe

During Sunday’s interview with John King on CNN, former Vice President Cheney reiterated what he told Politico in February, that thanks to President Obama’s policies, we’re now less safe. Funny how when formers criticized the Bush administration (Jimmy Carter comes to mind), conservatives responded with, “How dare you!”  But Cheney won’t get that reaction from the right.

Cheney sharply criticized Obama’s decisions to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, limit the methods CIA officers use to interrogate terror suspects and suspend military tribunals for alleged terrorists, saying those decisions taken together will make Americans less safe.

 …

Conservative Talk Radio On Wane In California

Michael Finnegan in Sunday’s LA Times writes about changes in Los Angeles radio, specifically, how some conservative voices who once ruled the airwaves are no longer prominent.  Governor Schwarzenegger, once the darling of these talkers, is now their target, given that he is governing from the center, not the right.  And the aging white male population of Southern California isn’t where you’re going to find audience growth.

The economy’s downturn has depressed ad revenue at stations across the state, thinning the ranks of conservative broadcasters.

For that and other reasons, stations have dropped the shows of at least half …

Cheney On The Economy: “Stuff Happens”

Talking to John King on CNN Sunday morning, former Vice President Cheney was asked how credible the Bush administration could be with bad employment numbers, large numbers of Americans uninsured, and a huge budget deficit.  Citing 9/11 and Katrina, Cheney attempted to cobble together an explanation.

All of these things required us to spend money that we had not originally planned to spend or weren’t originally part of the budget. Stuff happens. And the administration has to be able to respond to that, and we did.

h/t Think Progress

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Neo Con Blames Saddam For OKC Bombing

You can’t make this stuff up.  Frank Gaffney, a Bush defender of the very first order, who heads the Center for Security Policy, was asked by Chris Matthews if he could defend Ari Fleischer’s comment that we should be thankful to George W. Bush that Saddam Hussein can’t attack us “again”. 

FLEISCHER: … and I believe this still today. And of course, you and I disagree with it. But after September 11, having been hit once, how could we take a chance that Saddam might not strike again? And that‘s the threat that has been removed, and I think …

Guess Who Has A New Tape Out?

No, I’m not talking about Miley or Britney.  Osama bin Laden is still in the tape-making  business.  (Why do we call it tape? Haven’t these Luddites gone digital yet?).  In his latest offering, bin Laden accuses moderate Arab leaders of being “complicit”  with Israel in the Gaza offensive and calls them “hypocrites”. 

Al-Qaeda’s leader also called for support for the mujahidin in Iraq and said that his network of fighters would “go to Jordan from the sea to the river to liberate Palestine”.

It’s kind of amazing that we keep finding bin Laden tapes, but we can never find …

It’s That Time

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An “Enemy Combatant” By Any Other Name Is Still A Detainee, Possibly Without Rights

Yes, the Obama administration will no longer refer to certain detainees as “enemy combatants”, but they retain the right to detain in the same manner as those previously categorized that way.

The disclosure came in a court filing by the Justice Department in response to orders by federal judges, who sought clarity on the government’s legal justification for holding about 241 detainees at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Though dropping the term “enemy combatant” was a symbolic break from the Bush administration, the practical effects of yesterday’s action won’t be known for months.

The …

On Friday’s Radio Show…

• Alan responds to Republican attackson President Obama’s economic optimism.

• Amy Goodman, whose latest book is Standing up to the Madness, tells Alan how everyday people can challenge the government – and win.

• It’s the Friday Night Free-For-All!…

The Future of the Republican Party?

The Republican National Committee has been encouraging its job applicants to “create a clip on YouTube of why you want to work at the RNC.”

Of course, YouTube videos are quite public, so some of the, uh, “better” clips have been popping up in the blogosphere.

Here’s one from a guy who seems to think that President Obama’s top supporters are murderers.

(h/t DailyKos)…

Why Don’t More Women Listen To Talk Radio?

h/t Blather Watch

New Majority has an interesting piece by writer Danielle Crittenden on why women don’t listen to talk radio.

For a long time I listened to Rush: I enjoyed his intelligent criticism of liberal policies; his bracing energy; his sense of humor.

... Read more »

However, over the past few years, I found myself joining the female majority and changing stations when these shows came on. At first I thought I was doing so because, as a mother of three, I didn’t need another person in the car yelling at me. Then, when I’d force myself to listen, …