Selling Used Cars For Jesus Chapter 1

From CBS News:

Senate Panel Probes 6 Top Televangelists
Sen. Charles Grassley Asks Ministries To Turn Over Financial Records Within One Month

Yes Senator, shocking as it may be to you..there is gambling in Casablanca, wrestling is fake, and these people represent the almighty in the same way I am the official spokesman for the New York Yankees. I recall once when I was working writing spots for the wacky "Christian" station in Motown, (I really needed the money..) I was asked to produce a spot for some scumbag car insurance salesman that said: " God wants you to have car insurance..". I told them I would only do it if they could show me where in the book it says that. The Gospel of St. Geico? The people at that station fell into two classes: True Believers, who were fewer in numbers and completely fucking nuts; and the ones I called the wink wink / nudge nudge folks. They would NEVER do anything unethical (wink) they truly believed it all (wink), no they were not there just for the money (nudge); and of course they weren't taking advantage of the poor dummies out there in Coo Coo Land. (nudge nudge, wink wink). I think they had something like 27 used car dealers on the air all of whom promised a true "Christian" deal..whatever that was supposed to mean. HBWJRYO ..How bad would Jesus rip you off? What a bunch of loonies. I lasted about three months, but I may have enough stories to fill a book. We'll see.

Matthew 7:21"Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Who's Afraid of Naomi Wolf

I listened to Naomi Wolf yesterday on the Thom Hartman radio show talking about her new book. Young Naomi seems to feel "W" is working his way down the classic list of Facist steps to a total lack of democracy here in the USA. Message to Naomi: Duh... Ya Think?? When did you first notice these tendencies Mrs Mussolini?
Here is the list:

Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy.
Create secret prisons where torture takes place.
Develop a thug caste or paramilitary force not answerable to citizens.
Set up an internal surveillance system.
Harass citizens' groups.
Engage in arbitrary detention and release.
Target key individuals.
Control the press.
Declare all dissent to be treason.
Suspend the rule of law.

And people say George can't get anything done!

Brian Lambs Dance Party

Brian Patrick Lamb received the Presidential Medal of Freedom today at the White House. Brian deserves the honor, but I respect him most for his fierce devotion to the first amendment. He has been uncompromising on allowing Americans, even the ones who are completely nuts, to call in and talk politics live and unedited (without even an 8 second delay). The results are varied, but I like the idea that callers have a right to make a fool of themselves.

Congrats BPL, you are an American original!

Shakespeare for Mutts

Another Thing I love about Dogs:

You can talk to them in any sort of made up nonsense language you want, and they look at you like you're Peter O'Toole doing Shakespeare.

Ain't No Cure ReDux

Two unrelated things stuck with me this weekend while on a 24 hour duty shift. One, we ran a working code on a 40 something mom. On scene was her young son as we worked on her. I saw the boy on the porch being held by a neighbor, tears running down his face. I touched him and said that we were doing everything we could. We kept up for another 30 mins or so at the hospital, but she was gone. Turns out there was a long history of cocaine abuse, and now a boy without a mom. I'll remember his tears.
Second item: got into a discussion at the firehouse with a couple of the guys on politics. I try to be careful as I don't really want to get into it hot and heavy with Republicans... that's not the reason I go there. This one guy is a great firefighter, a skilled young 20 something who was spouting every stupid kool aid driven wingnut talking point about Hillary and Mike Moore, and the dems just want his money to give to Mexicans etc etc etc. Here is what struck me after I walked away to avoid hitting him with a axe: This young man will without hesitation risk his life to save a complete stranger in a burning building. That act takes great courage and true compassion. Yet he is adamant about not wanting to share a nickle with an illegal immigrant. I could not help but wonder about the contradiction: he could very well be killed or injured the next time the bells go off trying to save an illegal, a criminal, or God forbid,,, a democrat......but he'll be dammed if he'll let that pinko bitch Hillary give any of his hard earned pay to a bunch of beaners. ( Apparently there is some sort of secret Democratic plan to give firefighters paychecks to illegal Mexican taco factory workers or something that the liberal main stream media is not reporting on. Fucking media..it's all their fault.

"Wisdom" isolated from compassion is a treacherous form of ignorance.

I need to find the Taoist candidate for Prez....... Of course those are mutually contradictory states of being... I don't know if anyone who has made any spiritual progress would want to run for the office. I think that maybe Jimmy Carter was an exception..I only saw him in person once at the Span..he was sleeping on a couch in the green room, then had to carry about 25 copies of his book to a back room to sign. I'll never forget the picture of Jimmy loaded down with a stack of books up to his chin, that huge smile, and the SS guys keeping thier hands free by not helping an elderly man carry a heavy stack of books. It seemed that at least one of the guys could have lent a hand to JC. There were a number of agents in the room, and I think one or two of them could have held us crazy C-SPAN potential Lee Harveys off..considering that they had Uzi's and we didn't. At least I didn't.. I'm not so sure about Brian Lamb.

Radio Nowhere

One of the great examples of what radio ought to be: The day Nixon resigned I recall listening to WABX on my car radio hearing them playing " I Fought The Law" and blowing party horns like it was new years eve. The larger point is this: That's was a perfect example of a media source that was embedded in the culture it served. I didn't want to hear what the news station said about the news that day.. I had to hear what the guys on 'ABX were saying and playing, and doing about it. I sat in my car in a parking lot late for an appointment to hear more. I felt part of something, the music was about more than music, the cause was just, and we were all in it together.. much like the folks talked about in the recent Ken Burns War series... a sense of shared mission, and shared joy at victory.

I was looking at R&R today. Which one of those stupid sons of tricky dickey profiled in that rag are programing a station, or a channel as relevant to its customers as Station X was to me? I've asked the question before, but I'll ask it again..who the fuck dreams of growing up to program a "Jack" format? How fucking lame.........