The Rush post noticed that Indian Governor Mitch Daniels response speech praised the Obamas for “setting a great family values example.”

“And he’s right,” Limbaugh added, “they do that well.  Mom and dad and the two kids.  It’s a good-looking family.”

But then the commentary, titled “How the First Lady Could Help the Poor,” says that FLOTUS ought to dump the school nutrition standards that are being unveiled this week:

That’s not the kind of teamwork, you see, that the people of this country want.  They don’t want their government telling them what they cannot eat.  They don’t want the government telling them what they must eat.  Even little leftist robot kids don’t.

Instead:

You know, the best thing Michelle Obama could do—and I’m not joking here—the best thing Michelle Obama could do for people in poverty is to simply highlight the solid nuclear family that she has with her husband, Barack, and the two kids.

Oh well, that compliment had to go somewhere like that, or it wouldn’t have been Rush Limbaugh. Sorry Rush, but since huge numbers of kids in poverty depend on schools for meals, it makes sense to feed them things that won’t cause diabetes and high blood pressure. And before we complain about our tax dollars going to new Federal standards, maybe we should complain about them going to lunches that make public school kids obese.

On the other hand, Limbaugh’s praise for the Obamas could be read as an oblique reference to the family values of another presidential candidate.

Earlier this week we explored how left wing listener supported radio station KPFA in Berkeley is debating Republican libertarian candidate Ron Paul. Just to be bi-partisan, now let’s see how conservative talk radio guy Michael Savage is handling the Texas Congressional representative. Keep in mind that several months ago, Savage offered Newt Gingrich a million dollars to get out of the primary race, “for the sake of the nation.”

Savage: All right, let’s take the callers. Barbara in New York on WOR, go ahead please.

Barbara: Michael, it won’t make any difference if Obama wins or not, because all the Republican candidates are the same. And you know the only candidate, the “deranged” Ron Paul, is the only one who has spoken out against, not only NDAA, but SOPA, Stop Online Piracy Act . . . he spoke out against the Patriot Act years ago. He’s the only one warning about the fascism and oppression coming to America. And he’s been right.

Savage: Hold on. He is right, but he’s not electable.

Barbara: You supported John McCain four years ago, and who was the author of the . . .

Savage: Woah woah woah hold on a minute. Stop. You wanted me to support Obama?

Barbara: No. I want you to support the candidate that supports the constitution.

Savage: Wait. Don’t get hysterical. Please. It’s one thing to say the man has some good ideas and some crazy ideas. It’s another thing to be a realist and ask yourself ‘could he beat Obama.’ You don’t really believe that he could beat Obama, do you?

Barbara: That’s where you are wrong. You think nutcase Newt can beat Obama?

Savage: No. When did I say that? Ma’am. Ma’am. Stop. You sound like you are hysterical. You sound just like Ron Paul. Why are all the Ron Paul addicts so hysterical (I’d like to know)?

Barbara: Because they care about this country and they’re tired . . .

Savage: You mean only you care about the country? I don’t care about the country?

Barbara: Let me just say this: the Republicans are no different from the Democrats. Not one of them has spoken out against NDAA or SOPA or the Patriot Act; they’re all for going all over and bombing all over . . .

Savage: Well, you’re wrong. When you say ‘none of them have spoken out,’ you mean none of the Republican Senators?

Barbara: None of the Republican candidates have spoken out against NDAA, except for Ron Paul.

Savage: Ok. On this point you are correct. But this still does not make the crackpot electable.

Barbara: He’s not a crackpot, Michael. He’s been saying things that you agree with.

Savage: Really. He’s being saying things that I agree with? You mean I agree that Israel should be annihilated and disappeared off the planet like he does? . . . You want me to play the sound bite? . . . [a lengthy debate about Israel ensued; see update below]

Barbara: Michael, I’ve been voting since 1972. I voted for George McGovern because he was anti-war, so it’s not like I’m naive and—

Savage: So you’re confirming what I suspect. Most people who support Ron Paul are dyed-in-the-wool liberals.

Barbara: I’m not a liberal! . . . I’m an American!

[UPDATE - readers are complaining that I left out the part of the debate that focused on Israel. I just thought it was too long and involved, but due to popular demand, here goes]:

Savage: I will be happy to play the sound bit of Ron Paul basically calling for Israel’s non-existence.

Barbara: No he’s not. And he’s the only one, let me remind you, in 1980 or ’81, when Israel bombed the nuclear power plant in Iran [actually, it was Iraq], the only one who supported it was Ron Paul! Because Ron Paul believes that Israel should take care of herself, she should have the right to defend herself, without any kind of overseer by the United States.

Savage: That’s all well and good, but where is Israel supposed to get its arms from, since all of its weaponry is American. Other than the domestically manufactured material, where is Israel supposed to get its munitions from? The bunker busting bombs that it has come from the United States of America. So that’s a moot point to say that Israel should defend itself. Without weapons it can’t defend itself.

Barbara: It’s got plenty of weapons, Michael, and you know it. It’s got more weapons probably than we do by now. And they do a damn pretty good job of defending themselves. Remember the raid on Entebbe? They do very well.

Savage: Entebbe was a long time ago. That’s when they had real leadership in Israel, before the people with Saks Fifth Avenue charge accounts took over the country. That’s before the Russians came to Israel. That’s when Israel was still Israel. Israel is a shell of its former self.

Barbara: It’s up to Israel to get its own leadership, like its up to the United States to get its leadership that’s authorized by the constitution.

103.7 Oldies Changes Call Sign to KOSF

As part of an overall re-branding and re-formatting effort across several Clear Channel-owned stations in San Francisco, call signs for KKSF, KNEW, and KKGN were changed yesterday.

The station formerly known as KKSF, now branded as oldies station 103.7 FM, became KOSF. That left the KKSF call letters available for use by the former KNEW at 910 AM (licensed in Oakland) under the brand NewsTalk 910AM. KKGN (formerly progressive talk station Green 960) at 960 AM now takes the call sign KNEW and is airing a talk format (hosts include Glenn Beck, Bill Press, and Stephanie Miller) under the brand 960 AM KNEW. It was initially rumored that 960 would become a Fox Radio News affiliate, but this plan seems to have been modified following the big changes at KGO.

It’s hard to tell what this means for each of these stations, but it’s curious that the heritage of the KKSF call letters (most associated with their old smooth jazz format, which lives on at KKSF.com) isn’t really connected with the news talk format of 910AM. Perhaps that means that more changes are to come.

She passed on Christmas Eve, it seems. One of her last Christmas podcasts can be heard via Lynnsamuels.com. “I just hate everyone,” Samuels declares. “Merry Christmas.”

In truth, Samuels didn’t hate everyone. She didn’t even hate anyone. Perusing through her online oeuvre, her approach comes back to me. Samuels was a populist liberal—a raunchy feminist New Dealer with little patience for the identity politics and far left romanticism of the 1970s. Instead, she found her politics in the absurdity of daily life.

“North Carolina man is in critical condition!” Samuels disclosed on WABC in 1983, bemusedly reading from a newspaper article, “and his wife has been charged . . . ”

“You think this is funny, Lynn?” her co-host soberly asked as she broke down in laughter.

” . . . with setting his genitals on fire!” Samuels continued.

“What she do, pour gasoline on him?” he speculated.

“No. Come on. This is a woman doing it! She used nail polish!” she corrected.

In 1990, during an on air firefight with conservative talker Barry Farber over the US invasion of Panama, Samuels called President George H.W. Bush a dictator and drug runner. In more recent years, she found common ground with the right in her hatred of President Barack Obama. Samuels castigated Obama for what she saw as his elitism, espoused Birther opinions about his place of origin, and also sympathized with Juan Williams’ famous commentary on Muslims at airports.

“All you liberals that listen to me, all you people that complain that I’m not liberal enough,” Samuels began, “if you’re in an airport, and there are people . . . I don’t even have to see them in Muslim garb; people that are obviously from the mid-east, particularly if they’re getting on the same flight as you, doesn’t that make you nervous? It makes me nervous!”

And yet even in these contentious and controversial moments, Samuels’ affection for people always came through.

“And nobody likes Muslims as much as I do,” she added, “well, maybe other Muslims.”

KCSB Sign (Photo: J. Waits)

As part of KCSB‘s 50th anniversary celebration, the college radio station at University of California, Santa Barbara is digging into their archives and re-broadcasting some vintage material. As it turns out, one of their most notarious alums is conservative talk show host Sean Hannity. Yesterday, KCSB aired the program from 1989 that led to Sean Hannity being fired from the station. This particular show has been held up by Hannity as the event that helped kick start his career. According to the KCSB website:

“Sean Hannity has often credited KCSB with launching his media career when the station management removed him from the air in 1989 for making ‘multiple discriminatory statements based on sexual orientation’ on his weekly KCSB radio show in ‘violation of the University of California Nondiscriminatory policy.’ Hannity has always denied that he was homophobic.”

Tune in to the KCSB archive of Revisiting Sean Hannity to hear not only Hannity’s show from 1989, but also interviews and commentary about the incident.

KGO Loses Talk Shows

A big programming shake-up took place at San Francisco radio station KGO this week. The commercial AM radio station launched an all news format yesterday, much to the chagrin of fans of its talk shows.

Word initially came out last Thursday that new station owner Cumulus would be eliminating KGO’s talk shows. According to a statement on the KGO website:

“You may have heard about the changes we’re making to our on-air lineup on KGO. After careful consideration we’ve determined our audience is looking for more news, which is why we are increasing our news presence throughout the day. The Ronn Owens program will continue to be the place where the Bay Area goes to talk about current events and breaking news, and we;ll still have great talk shows on the weekends as well as on our sister station KSFO. Be assured that KGO remains your source for Bay Area news and information. Thanks for listening to the new KGO 810.”

Although I’m not a KGO listener, I first realized that something was up when my Facebook feed filled up with comments from KGO fans who were disheartened about the loss of their favorite shows. A protest page on Facebook, Former Listeners of KGO Newstalk 810, was formed and is now up to more than 1,500 fans. According to the page’s description, “On December 1, 2011, KGO’s parent company, Cumulus Media, fired most of it’s [sic] on air-talent and other valuable staff without warning. This sends a message that large corporations do not care about progressive and free media in the Bay Area. Let’s band together to send a message to Cumulus and other media monopolies that this is not OK with us.”

Fans are upset about Thursday’s firing of long-time hosts Gene Burns, Gil Gross, Ray Taliaferro and John Rothmann (in addition to other KGO hosts and staffers). Upon hearing the news one friend of mine wrote, “OH MY GOD! After a lifetime of listening to people I care about, the station is finally going down…What the hell is going on at KGO Newstalk 810 AM, San Francisco?!!? This is horrible news! I want to hurt someone!” Another said, “This is a sad day in local radio.”

Rich Lieberman, who writes about San Francisco radio and television on his blog 415 Media, first broke the news of the firings on Thursday. In chronicling the changes at KGO he’s reported that not only are fans disappointed, but that some advertisers have pulled out of the new KGO. Today Lieberman writes,

“KGO Radio is quite a different place than it used to be. There is a siege mentality in the newsroom. Many staffers are fraught with confusion and obvious frustration. And many are hearing the anger brought forth by the sudden, unexpected ambush begun by management that has shaken the station in almost all departments, including news, programming, and most recently, the sales department. Several staffers I have contacted are worried about their own jobs. No one, obviously, will go on the record for fear of reprisal.”

We’ll have to wait and see what the end result of these programming changes will be at KGO. Many have expressed dismay that local talk programming is disappearing from the San Francisco airwaves, especially since this is on the heels of changes at another San Francisco station Green 960 (KKGN). Its progressive talk format is being moved to an HD channel and the AM station will become a Fox Radio News affiliate.

Family Radio HQ on May 12, 2011 (Photo: J. Waits)

October 21, 2011 came and went and Family Radio founder Harold Camping’s dire predictions about the end of the world occurring on that date never came to be.

Although he’s been recuperating from a stroke and is rumored to be retiring from Family Radio, the 90-year-old Christian radio host was noticeably silent on his latest failed prediction. In a message apparently first posted on October 28 on the Family Radio website, Camping offers a vague apology for some of the harsh statements that he made about non-believers, leading up to May 21. Towards the end of his 5 minute plus message, he states, “Incidentally, I have been told that I had said back in May that people who did not believe that May 21 should be the Rapture date probably had not become saved. I should not have said that and I apologize for that.”

Besides that comment, he doesn’t offer much in the way of an apology to Family Radio followers. He acknowledges that,  “…when it comes to trying to recognize the truth of prophesy, we’re finding that it is very very difficult. Why didn’t Christ return on October 21? It seems embarrassing for Family Radio. But God was in charge of everything. We came to that conclusion after quite careful study of the Bible. He allowed everything to happen the way it did without correction.” As October 21 drew closer, Camping was already backing away from his formerly definitive stance about the certainty of the end date. In a message to followers in late September, he inserted the word “probably” in reference to October 21st marking the end of the world.

Additionally, a Family Radio Bible study recording dated October 16, 2011, states that Camping believed that the end would come quietly and without suffering and torture. This statement marks a departure from Camping’s descriptions of the end prior to May 21, 2011. Bible Study host Tom Evans says on the recording that he’s been visiting Harold Camping and through discussions with him he’s learned more about Camping’s views on the end of the world. Evans says,

“During our visits he has emphasized to me…that he is convicted [sic] that the end will come very quietly and that he believes that the end will come like a whisper and that the unsaved of the world will fall asleep and never re-awake. There won’t be any suffering or torture. There will be no cataclysmic earthquakes or literal stars falling to the earth. Rather the end will come without any warning and very quietly. The believers one moment will be here on earth and in a twinkling of an eye they will forever be in a new heavens, in a new earth, the new Jerusalem.  They will not remember anything from this world.”

Evans acknowledges that Camping may not be correct and asks the assembled, “Is Mr. Camping correct?” He goes on to say, “I want to believe this…I don’t want anyone to suffer.”

Harold Camping Leading Bible Study on May 12, 2011 (Photo: J. Waits)

Camping’s recorded statement from this week at times sounds scripted, as if he is trying to cover specific talking points. Yet, much of it is evasive and rambling. In places (in particular the section where he offers his apology), he is a bit more animated and energized, reminiscent of his demeanor when hosting his long-running “Open Forum” talk show.

Here is the complete transcription of Camping’s new message:

“We are living in a day when one problem follows another. And when it comes to trying to recognize the truth of prophesy, we’re finding that it is very very difficult. Why didn’t Christ return on October 21? It seems embarrassing for Family Radio. But God was in charge of everything. We came to that conclusion after quite careful study of the Bible. He allowed everything to happen the way it did without correction. He could have stopped everything if he had wanted to. I am very encouraged by letters that I have received and are receiving at this time concerning this matter. Amongst other things I have been checking my own notes more carefully than ever and I do find that there is other language in the Bible that we still have to look at very carefully and will impinge upon this question very definitely and we should be very patient about this matter at least in a minimum way we are learning to walk more and more humble before God. We’re ready to cry out and weep before god, ‘Oh Lord, you have the truth, we don’t have it. You have the truth.’ And…this is another place, where we have to cry out for this.

There’s one thing that we must remember, God is in charge of this whole business and we are not. What God wants to tell us is his business. When he wants to tell us is his business. In the meanwhile, God is allowing us to continue to cry to him for mercy. Oh, my, how we need his mercy. And continue to wait on him. God has not left us. God is still God. But we have to be very careful that we don’t dictate to God what he should do. In our search in the Bible we must continue to look to the Bible. Look to the Bible. Because there is where truth comes from. And God in his own time table and in his own purposes will reveal truth to us when it’s his time to do it.

In any case, we do not have to have a feeling of calamity or a feeling that God has abandoned us. We are simply learning. And sometimes it’s painful to learn. We are learning how God brings his messages to mankind and my, my, we have claimed to be a child of God and therefore we, as we search the Bible, we’re bound to feel the darts of the Lord as sometimes he gives us the truth and sometimes he gives us something that causes us to wait further upon him.

Whatever we do, we must not feel for a moment that we have been abandoned by God, that he has [sic] no longer helping us or interested in us. Oh, my, what an encouragement it is to be able to go to the Lord again and again. ‘Oh Lord, I don’t know anything, Lord you teach me.’ And that’s the attitude that has to be part of each one of us. And God will not abandon us. He will provide. But, we have to be just very careful that we don’t dictate to him when that has to happen.

Incidentally, I have been told that I had said back in May that people who did not believe that May 21 should be the Rapture date probably had not become saved. I should not have said that and I apologize for that. One thing we know for certain, that God is merciful. Merciful beyond anything that we would ever expect. And so we can pray constantly and should be praying constantly. ‘Oh Lord, we look to thee for thy mercy and we’re so thankful that we know that thou art so merciful.’ How wonderful to know that God is still on the throne, that he is king of kings and lord of lords. And that he hears every one of our prayers. And let’s not hesitate. Let’s be, if anything, let’s be. Be pray more than ever for God’s mercy and keep praying and God will provide. But, God is in charge and we must always keep that in mind.”

 

On Saturday, Occupy Wall Street affiliated protests took place in around 1,500 cities around the world, including New York, San Francisco, Berlin, London, Mumbai, Tokyo, and Seoul. No surprise that following this level of activity, some of the movement’s organizers would want to connect with the broader public. Although this Tele-Forum may sound like a formal conference call event, this is one of those moments when the boundaries between teleconferencing and talk radio seem to blur.

“For at least half of the call, listeners can ask questions and make comments talking directly with the speakers,” the e-mail we received says. “Listeners with computers can also write questions the speakers can see during the call. We will even set up a Round Table with several callers at a time to discuss certain aspects of OWS.”

The We group has sponsored the tele-forum. The outfit describes itself as providing vehicles for “connection, interaction and opportunity for unprecedented cooperation between people, organizations and movements.” We’s most recent Tele-Forums focused on water and the morality of nuclear weapons.

The forum will be run by the Maestro conferencing company, which works with non-profits and donates five percent of its proceeds to them. The announcement urges participants to call in by 3:50PM at the latest “to make sure you’re on when it starts.” People who want to participate need to pre-register for the event.

Family Radio Poster on BART Train in San Francisco June 9, 2011 (Photo: J. Waits)

Much of my obsession with Harold Camping’s Family Radio empire has been a direct result of his live call-in radio show “Open Forum.” On the air for 50 years, the show was an amazing glimpse into the beliefs of the founder of the large Christian religious broadcasting network.

Through that show, Camping spread the word to listeners about the importance of May 21, 2011 as “Judgment Day” and vehemently professed that great earthquakes and the Rapture would happen on that date, followed by the end of the world on October 21. At the peak of the Judgment Day frenzy, the show was airing 7 nights a week. Although his predictions have changed a little bit (Camping says that his “spiritual eyes” just weren’t fully opened prior to May 21), followers are still tuning in to hear the latest word from Family Radio’s founder.

On June 9th Harold Camping suffered a stroke after returning home following the taping of “Open Forum.” Since that time he has been hospitalized and subsequently moved to a skilled nursing facility. Obviously his program could not continue during his absence and recovery, so ever since June 10th, the religious radio network has been playing old episodes of “Open Forum” on weekday nights. On Friday they completed their run of old episodes, airing a show from May 27, 2011. A recorded announcement over their airwaves last week hinted that “Open Forum” would be temporarily replaced with a variety of programs focused on the scriptures as well as with music.

As promised, Family Radio has begun to air replacement programming in the “Open Forum” slot on weekdays from 5:30 to 7:00pm while Harold Camping recovers from his stroke. Yesterday Family radio aired the show “Searching the Scriptures with Tom Evans” from 5:30 to 6:00pm and it was announced that the program would continue at the time every weekday. Following that show, Family Radio played a number of musical pieces (from the Riverton Singers to Frederico (Hayler) and London Symphony Orchestra), “The Scripture of the Week,” and the short program “Beyond Intelligent Design.” From 6:30 to 7:00pm an episode of “Family Bible Reading Fellowship” was broadcast.

Weekday evenings will certainly be less colorful without Harold Camping’s live call-in show “Open Forum.” His decades-old program is an example of why live radio can be so compelling because one never knew what a caller would ask and how Camping would respond. The show became increasingly more lively and at times contentious as May 21, 2011 grew closer and Camping fielded calls about his prediction of the impending “Judgment Day.” Calls ranged from a distressed grandmother-to-be worried about not being able to meet her unborn grandchild to skeptics asking if Harold Camping was “on crack.”

As the media swarmed to Family Radio following the non-events of May 21, the show took on new meaning when Camping filled the audience with reporters and held a press conference over the air on May 23 (unfortunately that episode is not included in Family Radio’s published show archives). Ever since that day, Open Forum has continued to provide an opportunity for both “true believers” and doubters to quiz Camping about his evolving interpretations of the Bible. It’s definitely been a wild ride and I for one will miss the banter and the oddly compelling cadence of Camping’s voice as he would announce, “Welcome to Open Forum” and would conclude the most intense calls with “Thank you for calling and sharing…”

Publications at Family Radio (Photo: J. Waits)

Last week there were reports that Family Radio‘s 50-year-old “Open Forum” program was being cancelled in light of Family Radio founder Harold Camping’s recent stroke on June 9th. In recent months, the religious network’s call-in talk show has been a vehicle for discussions about the predicted May 21, 2011 “Judgment Day” and Rapture.

When I contacted Family Radio last week I was told that the show was not being cancelled and that, instead, previously recorded episodes of the call-in talk show “Open Forum” would be aired on Family Radio.

A statement on Family Radio’s website dated June 21 says, “Mr. Camping has been moved to a Skilled Nursing Facility, where he is undergoing rehabilitation to regain his strength. Mr. and Mrs. Camping greatly appreciate all the cards, letters and flowers they have received, as well as your continuing thoughts and prayers. God has been very merciful.”

When listening to Family Radio this week, a pre-recorded message aired prior to “Open Forum.” The announcement alluded to rumors about the program’s future and stated that during Harold Camping’s rehabilitation, no new episodes would air. It said that the program will resume when he is able to once again host the show and answer listener questions live on the air.

This week Family Radio has been airing episodes of “Open Forum” that were recorded in the weeks following May 21. As you might recall, Camping made a premature goodbye to his “Open Forum” listeners on May 19th, as he expected that it would be his final show since “Judgment Day” and the Rapture were scheduled for May 21. When Judgment Day didn’t pan out as planned, Camping was back on the air for a special “Open Forum” on May 23rd in which he entertained questions from the press and explained that Judgment Day had in fact happened on May 21, but that it had been a spiritual event. He reassured everyone that the end of the world would still occur on October 21, 2011. Between May 24 and June 9, live episodes of Open Forum resumed over Family Radio and following Camping’s June 9th stroke, repeats of the program have aired.

According to a recorded announcement heard on Family Radio yesterday:

“Take a little bit of truth. Mix it with rumors, the media and the Internet and zap, you have a lot of wrong information. A woman called distressed because we were said to be changing our format. Another heard that we were taking features off. Not so, friends.

For example, the hour and a half slot for Open Forum, it’s still ready to go in our program automation. While Mr. Camping is in rehabilitation, we’ll need to insert programming: some teaching, some music, some Bible reading. When Mr. Camping is capable to take calls again, Open Forum will return. Yes, we continue to strive to provide programming that teaches, comforts and challenges. All with the hope of making you consider what you believe and why you believe it. So, don’t listen to too many of the rumors and do remember to pray for us often. Thank you.”

When Family Radio completes its run of post-May 21, 2011 “Open Forum” episodes (today they will air a show recorded on June 2nd), it’s uncertain what programming they will be airing in its place, but it’s clear from their on-air announcement that Family Radio does not perceive the show to have been cancelled.