Bitten By The Radio Bug

This ancient image from the late fifties is the first photographic evidence of my interest in playing records.    The idea of playing records on the radio wouldn't come along until I was in junior high school.  After a brief fascination with tape recorders similar to the ones used in the opening scenes of TV's Mission: Impossible, I received my very own GE AM clock radio as a 1966 Christmas gift from my grandmother.   She had a lot to do with my burgeoning broadcasting obsession.   When I felt like getting away from the world, I would explore the sometimes static-filled dial to find stations seldom heard when my parents had control of the radio.   There was some decent radio close by in New Haven, but Hartford had the classic Top 40 battle between WPOP and WDRC.   New York Top 40 station WABC had Dan Ingram, my favorite air personality of all time, but WMCA's "Good Guys" gave them a run for the money.   At night, CKLW  the "Big 8" would boom in from "The Motor City" while WLS and WCFL could also be heard after sunset from Chicago.   Early personality-driven talk radio on stations like WBZ/Boston caught my attention, too.   I eventually knew the call letters of hundreds of stations.   My grandmother influenced my radio interest in another way in 1970 when she arranged a tour of WELI's Radio Towers Park outside New Haven.   She knew the wife of WELI's music director, a wonderful gentleman named Nick Papp.   He showed me around the studios of one of the classier stations in Connecticut.   I was awestruck.   Still, it would be a few more years before I actually take the plunge.   I fell hard for radio, which is why I still try to keep it in my life.

In His Own Words

It is no political first to disparage an opponent.   Attacking an opponent's constituency is disgusting when you're running to be President of the entire United States of America.    After a week of demonstrating an astonishing lack of facts on foreign policy, Mitt Romney took his campaign to a new low. Unaware he was being recorded, Romney unleashed this to a group of wealthy supporters.    His own words speak volumes...

 

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax. My job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.

Coach Calhoun Retires

Coach Jim Calhoun

Is it the end of an era?   I doubt it.   That doesn't diminish the mark that UConn Men's Basketball Coach Jim Calhoun leaves on this entire university upon his retirement.   ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd practically made it sound as if the University of Connecticut - "this cowpath in Storrs" - really had little reason to rise to such heights in the NCAA if not for the toughness of Coach Calhoun.   While there's no denying how indispensable he has been in leading the Huskies to the big time since he was hired in 1986, the culture he embodied was in abundance throughout the university system which saw major investment and expansion in every aspect of UConn.    The university's prestige has been enhanced not only by the extraordinary successes of both men's and women's basketball and the investment in football.   That is a telling testimonial to successive administrations in Storrs and Hartford, and it may be the biggest part of Calhoun's legacy.   Every department at UConn has been a beneficiary of that prestige.    A tour of the main UConn campus will tell the most casual observer that this is - and has been for some time - much more than a "cowpath" in the middle of nowhere.    UConn athletics has generated many celebrities during the Calhoun era.   There have been countless great moments, too.   My favorite was the men's first NCAA title in 1999.   What's yours?

9/11 Plus 11

That fateful September 11th, eleven years ago today, was also a Tuesday without a cloud in the sky. That will make today seem more than a bit eerie to me. Everything changed that day. Despite all efforts, I fall short every time I try to sum up what it all means. Making sense out of such a senseless act is an exercise in futility. All we can do is remember how it brought out the best in America. That, and the victims, are worth always remembering.

Morgan Freeman Not Dead

Morgan Freeman

I have developed a healthy skepticism about anything posted on Facebook.   Earlier today, a post from a Facebook friend directed to my name asking me to click on a photo album turned out to be the work of a hacker.   Now I see a post from another FB friend saying Morgan Freeman had died Thursday of "a artery rupture."   The poor grammar was my first clue that the story was suspect.   The cruel post also asked everyone to click "like" to pay your respects.   When I didn't see any other posts from legitimate news organizations (or Fox News), I Googled Morgan Freeman to learn that this was the latest in a series of online celebrity death hoaxes.   One less credible website did give his date of death as September 12, 2012... That was weird.   We can all breathe a sigh of relief that as of now this talented man is still with us and as productive as ever.   I tend to be a trusting person, but anonymous internet misinformation along with the half truths and outright lies our politicians right say into the camera breed more than a hint of cynicism in the most naive of us.

Don't Go There

Republicans hit hard at two themes during last week's RNC convention: "We Built It" and "Are You Better Off Now Than 4 Years Ago?" The "We Built It" signs may actually be more in synch with President Obama's points relating to the public sector and individual enterprise. His opponents lie when they take that speech out of context.

 

 

With a stubbornly high 8.2% U.S. unemployment rate, you may think the Democrats would want to avoid the question over how we're doing now versus four years ago. That would be a mistake. Let's meet the question head on and take a snapshot of September 2008. According to the Center for American Progress, the United States lost a total of 605,000 jobs in the first eight months of 2008, including 84,000 in August 2008. In August 2008, the unemployment rate was 6.1%—the highest level since September 2003. Factoring in inflation, hourly wages were only 0.2% higher, and weekly wages were actually 0.8% lower in July 2008 than in March 2001. The share of people with employer-provided health insurance dropped from 64.2% in 2000 to 59.3% in 2007. Household debt averaged 132.4% of disposable income in the first quarter of 2008. New home sales in July 2008 were 35.3% lower than a year earlier. All prices rose by 24.5% from March 2001 to July 2008. One in 11 mortgages was delinquent or in foreclosure. Since March 2001, foreigners had bought 82.6% of all new treasury debt. In the first 11 months of the fiscal year 2008, which runs through September 30, the deficit amounted to $486 billion, up from $212 billion a year earlier. 
    

Keep in mind that this was just the beginning of a downward slide that culminated in the next six months with millions more job losses and massive bailouts aimed at staving off a replay of the Great Depression. I remember some very good times leading up to September 2008, when MGM Grand at Foxwoods opened with great fanfare. Only months later, my radio employer told us cutbacks could be coming and the revenue from my direct mail advertising sales plunged 50%. That radio company is thriving today and I've recouped much of the advertising losses since then. There's plenty of room for improvement as public sector jobs targeted by the Tea Party have inflated today's unemployment numbers, but the GOP really doesn't want to paint 2008 as the good old days. That would NOT make Clint Eastwood's or Mitt Romney's day!

Obama: Moderate Republican?

The orchestrated infomercials that are the Republican and Democratic national conventions are getting set to saturate the news channels while most Americans would rather watch football or "reality" shows.   When I saw the endorsement of President Obama by Florida's former GOP governor Charlie Crist, it struck me how fitting this was. Tea Party first-termers ruling the US House and many statehouses since the 2010 sweep don't know the meaning of the word "compromise."  Now "moderate" has become as much of a dirty word as "liberal" to many right wingers.   Has this intractable stance advanced the agenda of the traditional Republican Party? 

While Mitt Romney pledges North American energy independence by 2020, the Obama administration already has us on that course with an all-of-the-above approach that includes more oil drilling and natural gas exploration. Obamacare is Romneycare, and many Republicans were originally out front on individual mandates. The GOP can trace health care reform efforts back to Nixon.   With the ultra-rich Romney paying 13% in taxes are we really stifling job creation taxes are lower than they've been in decades?  By recent past GOP standards, I’d say no.   Are "Obama's EPA" and other government agencies really strangling us with regulation compared to previous administrations?  No again.   In Afghanistan, the troop surge could have been a page out of the Bush/Cheney playbook. Obama constantly gets pelted with the "socialist" label, yet evidence of that is scant. If we were on such a sharply left-leaning trend, why are some hardline liberals less enthusiastic about him now than in 2008?   On social issues, President Obama did not exactly lead the charge to accept gay marriage any more than Abe Lincoln started out as a fiery abolitionist, but both knew when the time had come. It took the absolutely outrageous claims of the extreme right and a shift in public attitudes for Obama to "evolve" in favor of it. The radical right wing agenda is driving younger generations, minorities and more women away from the mainstream.  Now with pre-election movies slamming his role as commander-in-chief and conspiracy theorists claiming the government is buying up all the bullets to put down its own citizens, President Obama has an even greater opportunity to be the adult in the room.     

Quebec: La Belle Provence

Opposite the Quebec Parliament, Quebec City

Some folks go to the same vacation spots year after year.   I'd rather spend my limited vacation time exploring a different spot each trip, but I made an exception by returning to this beautiful city I last visited back in 1995.  For all its old world European charm, the Quebec City area appeared to have grown considerably.  The heavy traffic and ever present highway construction provided the best evidence of that.   I'm not sure whether or not my attempts at French past "bon jour" made for more confusion than just starting off in English.   In this nerve center of French Canadian culture where Quebec fleur-du-lis flags seem to outnumber Canadian maple leaf ones, it seemed appropriate to at least make the initial attempt.   I never got far in the Francophone world, as they'd hand us English language menus after I said two words.   Most locals will oblige in English.   There's something so high-class about being surrounded by French speakers in even the more moderately priced Quebec chain restaurants like St-Hubert (great chicken and mini desserts!) and Normandin (nice hotels too).   The big attraction is downtown Old (Vieux) Quebec itself, full of cafes, shoppes, live music and historic treasures.   Nightlife in Old Quebec has to be experienced.

Olympic Highs, Political Lows

London Olympics Closing 

The games of the 30th Olympiad closed with the same level of well-orchestrated spectacle that ushered them in a couple of weeks earlier.    The British hosts were more than capable of seeing it through to success and proving the naysayers wrong.   American athletes led the U.S. to the top of the medal count.   Coming off a high like that, we now find ourselves in the thick of a very nasty political season on this side of the pond.   Governor Romney is hoping his selection of Congressman Paul Ryan will bring him something he has been lacking: credibility among Tea Party conservatives.    With the GOP VP selection, the slugfest will only intensify.   The negativity spewed by big-bucks Super PACs brought on by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision has already generated many inaccuracies and even outrageous, bold-faced lies in a barrage of political ads.   While Republicans have led the way with bending the facts about taxes and jobs, it only took the distasteful claim of one Obama Super PAC ad to even the score.   Equating Bain Capital with a laid-off worker's wife losing health coverage, getting cancer and dying was a disgusting and far flung charcter assassination.   Although the ad never aired the Democratic National Committee doesn't control it, the President should have at least condemned it.   That would have differentiated President Obama from GOP candidates afraid to anger a very radicalized right wing.   I don't see many gold medals being given out for political courage between now and November.

Hitting The Trails

At Bluff Point, Groton

This summer of record breaking heat has undoubtedly deterred many would-be hikers from exploring every corner of eastern Connecticut. That may explain why Linda, Oreo and I had an entire park to ourselves this weekend when we decided to check out the Falls River Nature Preserve in the Ivoryton section of Essex.  This very walkable and well shaded system of trails must be one of the best kept secrets in the region.   As much as I appreciate quiet, it was just a tad creepy being the only humans there.   Summer heat aside, this has been an exceptional year for walking the trails, beginning with a long hike around Devil's Hopyard State Park on an unusually mild New Year's Day.  Rocky Neck beach also made for an ideal January dog walk as temperatures soared.   I head to the state parks more in spring and fall, when fees are practically nonexistent.  Groton's Bluff Point trails take some time, but the views along the way are fantastic.   Closer to my home, the old railroad trails connecting Colchester and Hebron are straight, level and not so narrow.   I'm always struck by how friendly people you see along the way can be when you have an easygoing dog at your side.   These walks are welcome breaks from the constant point to point driving I do during the week.   The destination is not the big deal. 

A Slippery Slope

The hot button issues seem to spring from everywhere in this political season. Now the President of the Atlanta-based fast food chain Chick-fil-A has brought about the latest storm over same sex marriage with his opposition to it.  These views were probably never a secret.  Don Cathy's outspokenness left his company's public relations department scrambling to play it down, but it was too late. While he has a right to his opinions, increasing numbers of potential customers who do not share his views are not comfortable patronizing a business that funds anti-gay causes. The mayors of Chicago and Boston have said Chick-fil-A would not be welcome in their cities. New York's mayor cautions against government officials attempting to ban this company's expansion plans, and he is so right. Government could intercede if the company clearly practiced discrimnination against the LGBT community, but that doesn't appear to be the case.  Is a private citizens' boycott any better? That would be more appropriate, with several cautions. First, the irresponsible rhetoric by people like Roseanne Barr hoping everyone who eats at Chick-fil-A gets cancer just brings out more out-of-control reactions on the other side. Also, where do the boycotts stop? Do I stop drinking Coors Beer or using Brawny paper towels because their parent companies gave money to candidates or causes I oppose?   Where does it end?

Conservatives have taken up the defense of Chick-fil-A's right to freedom of speech and religion. Fox News and Cumulus Media* commentator/host Mike Huckabee has inserted himself right into the thick of the debate, and the right wing could not have found a more inappropriate leader on this issue. He recently agreed with a caller who characterized gay men as child molesters, giving that false assumption as a good reason why the Boy Scouts are right in not allowing gay scoutmasters. Huckabee's record of homophobic statements is outrageous. An individual's views are one thing, but Chick-fil-A has also put their corporate money where their mouth is. That could cost them a lot of goodwill in what has been an impressive American success story based on some otherwise solid values. It is sad to find them on the wrong side of history this time.

*The above opinions are my own and should not be construed as the opinions of management of Cumulus Media Inc. or its affiliates.

A Common Thread

Aurora, Colorado Shooting Scene

We are at a loss to explain what would prompt someone to carry out a senseless act of violence like the Aurora, Colorado movie theatre massacre.   As time goes by, the background of a disturbed shooter, accounts of survivors and stories of exceptional people will fade from the headlines.  The impact of this tragedy will not go away, given the possibility of a similar incident happening again.   The conversation about violence in America never seems to get far.   Nobody is remotely suggesting responsible gun owners should be totally deprived of a Second Amendment right to bear arms, yet a well-funded effort by the NRA has both political parties afraid to even bring up the topic of a nationwide assault weapons ban.   Mayor Bloomberg is a billionaire and an independent, so he can afford to speak up.   Then there's the issue of increasing levels of violence in movies.   The latest Batman movie was touted as more shocking than ever with an even more dastardly villain than Heath Ledger's Joker.   Of course, the only resolution is total annihilation.   This increasingly dark narrative now runs through all the superhero movies along with other action features designed to top their predecessors.   Does this desensitize a mostly young audience?   Are we to accept this as the new norm because a Hollywood movie raked in $160,000,000 in an opening weekend?    Will we have to pass through metal detectors just to take in movie?   

Look at another sad news headline. The Penn State football sexual assault scandal resulted in  harsh fines on the school along with the disgraced legacy of coach Joe Paterno.   People in power turned a blind eye to protect a multi-million dollar sports franchise instead of doing the right thing.   For all the severity of the penalty,  I can't believe Penn State could still take the field this season.   2012 will stand out as the year we saw the effect of big money having its way like never before.   The Citizens United Supreme Court decision now enables Super PACs to drown out voices who are not as well funded.   When we can't even have the beginnings of a real discourse in the political arena, we are in big trouble.   And how's that drug war going? 

You Didn't Build That

From NY Daily News

Why are Republicans pouncing on a portion of this speech made by President Obama last week in Roanoke, Virginia?   Because they took it out of context to attack it as a slap against private business initiative.   Here's the unedited relevant portion of his speech, most of which never aired on Fox News.   You decide:

   

There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me -- because they want to give something back.  They know they didn’t -- look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own.  You didn’t get there on your own.  I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart.  There are a lot of smart people out there.  It must be because I worked harder than everybody else.  Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there. 

   

If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help.  There was a great teacher somewhere in your life.  Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive.  Somebody invested in roads and bridges.  If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen.  The Internet didn’t get invented on its own.  Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.

The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.  There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own.  I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service.  That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.

So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this country, you know what, there are some things we do better together.  That’s how we funded the GI Bill.  That’s how we created the middle class.  That’s how we built the Golden Gate Bridge or the Hoover Dam.  That’s how we invented the Internet.  That’s how we sent a man to the moon.  We rise or fall together as one nation and as one people, and that’s the reason I’m running for President -- because I still believe in that idea.  You’re not on your own, we’re in this together.

So all these issues go back to that first campaign that I talked about, because everything has to do with how do we help middle-class families, working people, strivers, doers -- how do we help them succeed?  How do we make sure that their hard work pays off?  

Rolling Stones: 50 and Counting

July 12th marked 50 years of the Rolling Stones playing together as a band. Say what you want about the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and all the other supergroups through rock history. When it comes to longevity and consistency, nobody has ever come close to these "Bad Boys of Rock n' Roll". Recently, Keith Richards was asked his secret to such a remarkable track record. His advice was basically "not to work for others." That is not totally practical for many in rock or other lines of work, but I took it as something close to what Rick Nelson sang in his comeback hit "Garden Party" from 1972: "You can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself." The Stones have lived their passion for over five decades. Fans knew that and felt they had joined them on that journey whenever they bought their albums, heard them on the radio or saw them in concert. Given the list of their contemporaries who left us much too soon and the Stones' own wild story, it's not a matter of how they survived as a band. It's more amazing how they even stayed alive.



Getting Ready for Sailfest

New London will once again play host to 300,000 people over the next three days - the largest annual gathering in Connecticut.    If you've been listening to any of the four Cumulus New London radio stations, you know that we are a sponsor of Sailfest and OpSail 2012 and are set to broadcast the soundtrack to the Mashantucket Pequot Fireworks Extravaganza.   With all the severe weather watches and possible warnings for late Saturday, it's even more important to listen to Q105, 102.3 The Wolf, 104.7 WELJ or News Talk 980 WXLM to find out whether or not this massive fireworks show will go on as scheduled at 9:25 PM.    One thing is clear for anyone going on Saturday: the heat and humidity will combine to make it a day of extreme heat stress.   That's nothing to mess with.   Sunday should be more comfortable.   I've been following the forecast very closely, since I'll be broadcasting live from Custom House Pier on 102.3 The Wolf and on WXLM between noon and five Saturday.   It's been a long time since I've done any radio remote, not to mention one on two stations, so I'm looking forward to it.   Besides being prepared for Saturday's heat and possible storms, I have one other word of warning.   True to my Irish heritage, I don't tan well and my pasty white legs will be on full display!   More info on Sailfest and OpSail 2012 is available at http://sailfest.org/.   I hope to see you there.

Obamacare is Constitutional

U.S. Supreme Court

The Affordable Health Care Act has been ruled constitutional by a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court.    The Republicans, dominated by freshman Tea Party congressmen, unlimited Super PAC money, Fox News, right wing radio and lobbyists for big insurance and pharmaceuticals, are predictably screaming bloody murder.     I do agree with many in the Republican rank and file who think our representatives should be entitled to no more benefits than the rest of us receive.   Let's see how they'd like the reality of our patchwork health care system.     I hear a lot of fears being spread that don't necessarily hold up under the weight of the facts.   Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who sponsored the Massachusetts health care reform that became the forerunner for Obamacare, is in no position to want it all thrown out.   Some conservative lawmakers had been the original champions of the individual health coverage mandate.   When I think of the way they labeled John Kerry a flip-flopper in 2004 and piled on in favor of the unfunded George W. Bush senior drug benefit that cost billions we didn't have, their collective record on getting government out of health care has been inconsistent at best.    Under President Obama, any reform is deemed socialist and compromise is a lost art.   Medicare is an example of government involvement in health care working successfully with private enterprise.   The Veterans Administration is a noble idea but arguably too much government in light of some scandalous conditions at VA hospitals.   The conservative or libertarian models of just letting the market take care of itself tend to super serve wants more than needs, leading to a wider variety of erectile dysfunction medications while antibiotic research and access to family physicians get less attention.   We already pay twice as much per patient as other developed nations.   The status quo cannot stand    Obamacare is not the last word in health care costs and coverage, but it's a start.   Where's the Republican plan? 

Social Networks Need Social Filters

Someone on my Facebook recently posted about how much they were looking forward to getting out of town for a certain period of time.   They returned from their vacation to find their home robbed, and they think it was done by someone they know.    We're glad you could get away, but please wait to share this information with Facebook friends (or Twitter followers) after you get back home.   How well do you know every one of what may be hundreds of online friends?   I see this inside information posted all the time now that summer has arrived.    There are other forms of posting that may be less dangerous but just as unnecessary.   Now that I can control the Facebook settings, I can't say I miss seeing everyone's progress playing Farmville.  The pictures of the kids, pets, friends and co-workers are fine.   I don't even mind a few opinion pieces, but the relentless angry rants trashing people who may disagree comes across as an assault on my Facebook page.   So you can't stand Obama - I picked that up fifteen posts ago.   At least on this blog you have the option of ignoring my rants; I'm not splashing them all over someone else's personal page.   And please, just because I ignore your request to repost something "if you care" doesn't mean I don't care.   I just don't care to make my Facebook into a chain letter.   Many people lack a face-to-face social filter.   We can't always expect their social network filter to be any better, but I can hope so for my sake and sometimes for theirs.

Day Trip!

The Breakers, Newport

Newport, Rhode Island is an easy day trip from here in eastern Connecticut.  Before you even arrive in town, the trip over the Jamestown and Newport bridges provides an overwhelming view of Narragansett Bay.   Rhode Island really should have been called the Bay State for this reason alone.   Last weekend's trip was no different than previous ones in that you can find yourself in a sea of people as you enter by the Welcome Center or past the shoppes along Thames Street.   Once you get past that, the city itself is quite walkable and drivable.   There are other novel ways of taking in the sights, too.   Trace the shoreline out along Ocean Drive, then take in the Bellevue Avenue mansions as you head back toward the center of town.  My favorite mansion is The Breakers, but the history of most of these properties is perhaps most impressive.   Museums are everywhere.   The Cliff Walk is also nearby.   There are countless places to shop, eat or drink.   O'Brien's Pub is a special place to me - there's something in a name.   Back in the eighties, I managed to catch the Newport Folk Festival at Fort Adams Park featuring Bonnie Raitt among others.   Coming from Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun territory, the Newport Grand Casino fails to impress, but there's plenty in Newport that does.

You're Not Special?

In an age when news organizations often tell us what we want to hear instead of what we need to hear, this speech was a bombshell.   The trophy business may not like what Wellesley, Massachusetts High School teacher David McCullough had to say at the school's graduation ceremony.  News flash: We're not special just because we were put on this planet.   His candid comments have caused quite a stir, mostly because they so richly deserved to be said.    Just ask a school administrator or a police officer when parents say, "My Johnny wouldn't do that", "Why are you picking on my child?" or "Give my kid a break."   Children have learned from their parents and millions of marketing messages to ask "what's in it for me?"    This sense of entitlement isn't a rich versus poor, white versus black, American versus foreigner or even conservative versus liberal issue.   We need to reward character and achievement.   Enough with all the excessive awards and trophies.   Everyone's not a winner - certainly not all the time, and that's as it should be.  If everyone's special, nobody is.  Here is the full text of Mr. McCullough's speech.     It's worth reading!

Walker Prevails

Wisconsin's red-blue recall contest

45 per cent of Wisconsin's voters had their hopes dashed in tonight's recall election.   Republican Governor Scott Walker fended off a challenge from Milwaukee's Democratic Mayor Tom Barrett.   These results are tragic for anyone who believes unions should still have a voice in the workforce or decries the limitless use of funds by mostly out of state Republican organizations.  While disappointing, Walker's win should not be shocking to anyone except MSNBC's Ed Schultz.   A Washington Post article runs down the reasons for the failure to recall Walker.   In addition to their lopsided 10-1 spending advantage, Walker and company have been campaigning with a laser-like focus way ahead of this judgment day he saw coming since last year.   The serious Democratic split in their own recent primary left many labor supporters less than enthusiastic about supporting Barrett, who then had only weeks to campaign.    Voters outside Milwaukee tend to see the Badger State's largest city as its problem child.   That Milwaukee connection did not help Mayor Tom Barrett in the hinterlands, and Walker capitalized on that.   There was also the Washington Democratic connection, or lack thereof.   National Dems never were as enthusiastic about a recall.    Recent polls do not tie President Obama's Wisconsin fate in November to this recall, thus explaining Obama's tepid endorsement of Tom Barrett.   

Democrats in Wisconsin and nationwide would be ill-served by handwringing and finger pointing.    The attack on labor's dwindling political clout had been central to Governor Walker's agenda all along, even after wage concessions by state unions.   If the tide is to be reversed, labor unions (especially state and municipal ones) have to make their case everywhere, since state workers often unfairly get a bum rap as privileged while others suffer to make ends meet.   This unfair broad brush perception played right into the hands of Governor Walker and his "divide and conquer" strategy.  Let's face it; even many who weren't Walker fans were tired of the unending uproar.  Inevitably, Walker's antics will be his own undoing unless he moderates his tone and stops looking like an operative for the Koch Brothers.   It's time for Democrats to use this time to unite, focusing on November nationwide and revisiting the Wisconsin gubernatorial race in 2014.

Downsize Me

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed a ban on soda servings larger than 16 ounces.   The soft drink industry together with conservative pundits have decried this "nanny state" threat to individual freedom.   As with gun control opponents,  this regulatory attempt does beg the question, "what's next?"   You know, they may have a point in their selective outrage, and I'd be willing to make a deal. Let's toss this Bloomberg mandate aside if the soda industry can conclusively prove that there are no significant individual health risks and public health costs to a steady intake of fast food drinks that dwarf the standard sizes of a generation ago.   All that talk about the rise of childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes is just alarmist too, right?       Oh, wait, we do know the facts.   Why is it more important to protect subsidies of companies who make high fructose corn syrup than to stave off an epidemic caused by consuming sugar at toxic levels?      

One Year Later

Today would have been my mother's 88th birthday, but she died exactly one year ago on her 87th.        Unlike my father, my mom lived to what most people would consider a ripe old age.   Even so, the passage of a year hasn't diminished that sense of loss.   A year doesn't seem that long ago, but somehow it makes memories of my own childhood seem much more remote.   I try to keep busy, but often feel less focused not having her around.   It's also one of those times in my life when many friends seem more distant, and I miss them.   Through some sadness and period of adjustment, I am always mindful of the lucky breaks that have come along in the past twelve months.   This one year anniversary serves as a reminder to move on, but it has already been an ongoing process that I know she would want for me and my brother.    Just because we move on doesn't mean we forget.    I couldn't do that; nor would I want to.

Radio Flashback: WCNX - My WKRP

In December 1976 I was just wrapping up college in Keene, New Hampshire and needed a job back in Connecticut.  David Parnigoni, the owner of the station where I'd been working part-time - WKVT in Brattleboro, VT - had just bought 1150 AM WCNX in Middletown, CT.   I landed the music director and midday host position.  Since I grew up 20 miles from WCNX, I already knew it wasn't a big-time sounding flamethrower even though its signal blanketed a good chunk of Connecticut.    What I walked into reminded me of the sleepy, complacent atmosphere that greeted Andy Travis, the new program director (and my hero) on WKRP in Cincinnati.   WCNX had been underperforming on so many levels.   Before Tom McCormack was hired as news director, local news was just read straight out of the Middletown Press.   The music format varied depending on who was on the air.   The most exciting part of the presentation was the Ed Henry Sunday Polka Show, which continues to this day.   The scene was set for some excitement to hit central Connecticut that wasn't emanating from Hartford or New Haven.  After putting a consistently upbeat adult contemporary music format together, they added program director to my duties.   We added jingles.   Billboards with a big "X" popped up around town.   The audio got cleaned up.   We pushed the phone lines and they lit up.   Ad rates had to be raised as we sold out.   General manager Ken Smith summed it up as a "regional sound with local information."    Eager staffers like this young program director often cringed at what junk passed for local, and I eventually let my idealism get the best of me.   All in all, WCNX in 1977 was a worthy effort, and I met some terrific people.   I was now headed for a big-time FM!

Minority Rights vs. Majority Votes

President Obama has become the first U.S. President to openly support gay marriage.   Like any issue in an election year, you can claim political motivation all you want.  I think it was a risky move on his part.   For all the surveys that show increasing acceptance of same sex marriage, there is enough of a fired up electorate who are so intolerant that they can vote to use state law to deny basic rights to a lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender minority.  The North Carolina vote to ban gay marriage officially relegates one group of American citizens to second class status.   If we left civil rights issues in the sixties up to a popular vote, we know what would have happened: little or nothing.   Ironically, racial and ethnic minorities affected by the civil rights movement tend to be even less tolerant of same sex marriage.   Defenders of the status quo shrewdly and cynically seized upon this divide to keep traditional Democratic voters away from the polls in urban areas of Ohio, a key state in the 2004 Presidential election.   There is every evidence we can expect more of the same this time around.   As I pointed out before, we've made progress in race relations but have a considerable way to go despite all the laws, political correctness and good intentions.   The same can be said about gay rights..   Mayor Corey Booker of Newark, a man who impresses me more each day, said it's not a gay rights issue - it's about human rights.   You are entitled to your convictions about whom somebody else wants to love, but we can't make them any less of a citizen because of it.

Rock Evolution

The Beastie Boys

When founding member Adam Yauch from the Beastie Boys died the other day, I can't say I could come up with the titles of more than one or two of their songs, yet they were huge to alt rock and hip hop audiences in recent decades.   Being in radio, I try to keep up with new music (and pop culture in general) but it's easier for Baby Boomers like yours truly to recall entire albums released back when we were 18 or 21. That was when we had more time to take in a change in music that contrasted so sharply with that of our parents.   This Baby Boomer is reluctant to give up the music and memories of my youth even as it gradually fades from mainstream commercial media, but I refuse to believe that nothing of any quality or significance has come out since 1974.  To me, that would be a big surrender to the aging process.   Back in the day, most of the music our parents didn't understand fell under the general category of "rock".    Rock has evolved to become more of a niche as opposed to that all-encompassing genre I grew up with and remember so well.   For all the attempts to categorize - "ghettoize" if you will - rock n' roll and rhythm n' blues have been intertwined from the start and so much since then has been variations on a theme.   I may not latch onto as many new songs now, it still bugs parents and to quote Billy Joel, "It's Still Rock n' Roll to Me." 

Another Inconvenient Truth

Al Mayo (New London Patch)

Al Mayo had been a regular listener to Glenn & Rebecca on WBMW and I had a chance to meet and talk with him just two or three years ago.   He struck me as a nice guy and hardly a lightning rod for controversy.  Mayo's reinstatement into the New London Fire Department complete with back pay and attorneys' fees signals some closure to a less than stellar chapter in the city's recent turbulent history.   Mayo was the first African American hired by the department since 1978.   Given the racial makeup of New London and the shaky ground on which the firing had been based, allegations of racial discrimination still seemed to come as a surprise to callers on this morning's Stu Bryer Show on WICH AM 1310.   Even the show's host couldn't shake the feeling that the story "had something more to it."   The callers I heard were indeed intelligent and thoughtful, but you could sense the real frustration that we were still discussing race after all the social changes some of these people had lived through since the fifties and sixties.   Have we made strides in civil rights and race relations over the decades?   Of course, as attitudes evolve with new generations.   Despite the reforms and good intentions, we still have a considerable way to go and we have to be willing to acknowledge that.   Being open about our problems is a major source of what has made America great.   Nobody should feel uncomfortable about discussing this "work in progress" we all live in.      

The Most Pain

They say it's the worst pain you can experience unless you're a woman going through childbirth.  I'll take their word for it about giving birth, but I can personally vouch for the extreme pain experienced with kidney stones.   When the pain suddenly hit me after 8:00 Sunday night and I drove to the Marlborough Clinic through driving rain, I figured it out.   That was due to the fact that I had an earlier episode of kidney stones in 1998 when I was finishing up at work.  That time, I thought it was appendicitis and barely managed to drive myself through rush hour traffic to Hartford Hospital.   I could barely stay conscious, doubled over in agony when I got there.  They diagnosed the stones, heavily medicated me and eventually sent me out into the late night only to have to call 9-1-1 from where I'd been housesitting.   Hours and much morphine later from Bay State Medical in Springfield, I got a cab back to the house along with a pain prescription.   While the worst pain was behind me, the discomfort lasted days until I passed the stone.   That part was easy.   A kidney stone is most excruciating when it is stuck in the ureter tude between the kidney and bladder.   I can say this week's episode was somewhat less intense than 14 years ago, but on a pain scale of one to ten it's easily an eight.   The new stone has already moved south, so that in itself is a welcome relief!  

How Petty

Axl Rose

We're talking about one of rock's greatest singers, Axl Rose.   He and his onetime band mates in Guns n' Roses were inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame over the weekend.   Rose was conspicuously if not surprisingly absent from the ceremony.   He had written a lengthy and rambling letter to the Rock Hall saying he'd be passing up the induction event.   He took it a step further by requesting they withdraw his nomination.   Other band members did attend, accept and perform.   It is clear that Axl Rose had a major falling out with the band.   We get that.  That doesn't make him unique in the drama that has plagued countless rock bands over the years.   His attitude toward this well-deserved high honor is a slap not only at his band, his music contemporaries and the Rock Hall.   It is above all a snub to his fans.   When I think of how long musicians like Donovan have waited for this overdue recognition and performers such as Chubby Checker continue to be shunned, my advice to Axl Rose is simple: GET OVER IT!

Voter Fraud?

From Oped.com

Mitch McConnell, the U.S. Senate GOP leader, called liberal and Democratic charges of a "War On Women" a "manufactured issue".   He and his party are engaging in wishful thinking, as evidenced by the widening lead of President Obama over GOP challengers among many female voters.   While McConnell can deny these concerns, right wing politicians worried about a replay of 2008 are manufacturing a remedy of their own to something that has not been a problem: voter fraud. Violations have been practically nonexistent by any standard.   The urgency of the move in state legislatures to mandate voter ID cards serves one purpose, and that is to hold down turnout of likely Democratic voters.   Studies show that approximately 11 percent of Americans -- about 21 million people -- lack a current government photo ID, disproportionately racial minorities, senior citizens, young voters, the working poor and people with disabilities.   Oddly enough, some laws would permit National Rifle Association membership cards as valid ID while not accepting student ID cards.   I have nothing against protecting the will of the people against fraud, but the real motivation for the new voter ID laws is as obvious as that of the old poll tax.   The net effect is the disenfranchising of what is still a sizable portion of our population.   Fraud should be punished, but 11 percent of us should not be held hostage based on a largely unfounded fear of what could go wrong.   Voting is a U.S. citizen's right.

Connecticut Justice

Connecticut State Senate Debates Death Penalty

Connecticut now joins much of the world in getting rid of the death penalty.   Capital punishment has never been shown to be a deterrent to crime.   A life sentence without parole may give years for someone to deal with what they've done.   In the Michael Ross case, the actual death sentence may take decades to be carried out even when a convicted murderer wants to die.   When there is a wrongful conviction, the ultimate penalty cannot be undone once it's carried out.   Of course, whatever the justice system does will not bring a murder victim back.   Unlike Texas, Connecticut's history of carrying out death sentences has been very infrequent over the past fifty years.    While I support the State Senate's move, there's one case where most of us would like to see an exception.   The especially heinous Cheshire home invasion murders lead me to believe the world would be better off without these two monsters around, and the one survivor of that horrible crime agrees.    

When we think of justice, we usually think of the victims and their families, but what about the neighborhood?    Montville already greets passersby on I-395 with a warning not to stop in the area of a maximum security prison.    Hasn't this town already shouldered enough of the burden of hosting violent criminals without having to be home to a treatment center for sex offenders?   According to NBC Connecticut, opponents of the facility such as Councilor Dana McFee feel they were lied to by the commissioner for the state Department of Correction when they were promised that the “worst of the worst” wouldn’t live here.   The record of successful treatment for sexual offenders is very low.    I know these offenders have to go somewhere, but Montville has shouldered enough of the burden. 

What's Changed?



Trayvon Martin

Have racial tensions eased one bit since the Rodney King incident over twenty years ago?   The fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman and the handling of the case by Sanford, Florida police have made for a national outcry. The story gathers momentum while the polarizing statements of Geraldo Rivera, Al Sharpton and other talk show hosts add fuel to the fire.   The senseless killing of a youngster wearing a hoodie armed with nothing but iced tea and candy hit a nerve in the African American community. Think about it. Would you suspect possible trouble from a young black man in a hoodie more than a white guy wearing one?   Would most people be less likely to help a black man than somebody who is white?   Would you get better service in a store being white? Would an African American have a harder time hailing a cab?   When the answer to these and many related questions is a resounding "no", then we can point to real progress.   When anyone who asks these questions isn't accused of "playing the race card" or "being guilty of reverse racism", then a real dialogue on racial harmony can happen.

Unreal Weather

Daffodil

As we say goodbye to Old Man Winter, it feels as if we hardly got to know him this time around. Last winter the opposite was true. There was no need for those roof rakes just purchased last year as this final full winter's day had the thermometer shooting to 78 degrees in central Connecticut, easily smashing the old record high. People are breaking out the lawn care products and patio furniture as the daffodils pop up well ahead of schedule. One of the biggest harbingers of Spring was last week's unprecedented early opening of Harry's Place hot dog and hamburger stand here in Colchester. While Harry's has never been known for health food, there are plenty of opportunities to walk it off with weather forecasts looking more like California than New England.   Can anyone remember a mild March like this?   I can't. This is usually my least favorite month, but at this rate I'll have to rethink the whole "beware the Ides of March" thing.   It does make me wonder what this summer's heat will bring before I stop myself from being a Gloomy Gus and figure we've somehow earned this.   Don't stop now.

It's In Our Interest

Talk about a social media experience.   My Facebook page yesterday was full of posts about a 29-minute video by director Jason Russell on YouTube called Kony 12.   It was a gripping story of how children in Uganda and other parts of central Africa have been abducted to serve in the army of warlord Joseph Kony.   The video aims to put Kony behind bars by mobilizing international awareness.   It was watched over two million times within its first 48 hours online and has gotten the attention of Hollywood celebrities and Washington policymakers alike, with many spreading the word via Twitter.   Most of Africa has seldom been in the forefront of American foreign policy.   In eastern Africa, our 1992 Somalia intervention under the first President Bush was a noble effort that turned out badly.   President Clinton's biggest stated regret was America's lack of action in the 1990s Rwanda genocide, but there was little domestic price to pay on either side of the political spectrum.   In modern history, the United States has been criticized for acting largely based on our own economic interests.   That often means oil.   Some of that criticism may come from allies who agree to disagree or from the world's most tyrannical dictators.   Perhaps our legitimate overseas interests can play to a more receptive worldwide audience when the American people - not just U.S. politicians - step up and take the initiative.   Yes, we have our own challenges at home, but most humanitarian investments come at a small cost when the world's biggest economy and military power can mobilize international goodwill.   It costs us most dearly when we ignore a region or end up supporting a dictator based purely on strategic interests.   Check out the Kony 12 video and get inspired at www.kony2012.com.

Facing Talk Radio Reality

Boy, did I pick a heck of a time to try my hand at talk radio. This week's Rush Limbaugh controversy underscores how a series of provocative comments on birth control can reverberate from a Florida studio to the halls of Congress to the Presidential race itself. Once again, the real issues of our nation's economic growth and huge deficit take a back seat as outraged opponents respond and Republican leaders feel very uncomfortable. This contentious story shows no signs of heading anywhere positive. Rush is very powerful as an entertainer who has meant big ratings and revenue to hundreds of radio stations. His influence over some 20 million listeners nationwide is also felt by many politicians looking to court this unabashedly conservative audience. You have to acknowledge Rush as the man who has been most instrumental in setting the blueprint for today's politically charged talk radio. It's a different world from the seventies and eighties when mostly local hosts could do a "potpourri" of topics and showcase contrasting points of view in the same forum. Hosting a local morning show on a station with mostly national conservative programming provides a unique set of challenges, especially in my case where I can't genuinely speak to enough of the same right-wing ideology. Most importantly, I concluded that the WXLM morning show needs someone who can spend more time on it; show prep is difficult when I'm also busy with a job in direct mail advertising. While I get set to hand the show over to someone new in a few days, I've appreciated the opportunity, direction and support afforded me by the people at Cumulus New London. I'll be glad to fill in once in awhile at WXLM. That's what I do. I don't have to be the morning star, just a team player who comes through when needed.

Talk Radio - Plunging Right In

It was only a week and a half ago when Kevin O'Connor, our program director here at 102.3 The Wolf, asked me if I could step in at least temporarily to host the 6-9 a.m. morning show on our sister station WXLM, a news/talker at 980 AM. Within days, I was filling the time slot just vacated by Lee Elci. A new FM news talker in the market had given Lee an offer he felt he couldn't pass up. Thanks to Lee and WXLM management, the departure was on good terms. That being said, some decisions have to be made about the long term direction of the WXLM morning show. I've always been proud to be a "go to guy" who can be counted on to come through in a pinch, and I've indicated an interest in staying with the show beyond the status of temporary guest host. That is management's call, and I can respect whatever they decide. Whether it lasts long term or a couple of weeks, I am not trying to fill Lee's shoes. As he said, his show took years to evolve. It's the person who makes the position, not the other way around. The fans who want to follow Lee down the dial will do that. We hope listeners will continue to turn to WXLM as a leading choice for news and talk, and I'll do what I can to insure that. I know there's a lot of on the job training involved and three hours is a lot of time for me to talk, but news guy Nick Giuliano is great at chiming in as an important part of the show. I look forward to adding a few guests in studio and hope more folks will pick up the phone and interact. For now, we take it day by day as I continue to find new horizons in this hobby of mine gone haywire called radio. Listen online at www.wxlm.fm.

She Could Have Had It All

The music industry grieved at the loss of one icon while recognizing its newest superstar at Sunday's Grammy Awards. While not a big awards show fan, I found myself riveted to it for at least an hour. Whitney Houston's career peaked some twenty years before her death last weekend at a still young 48, but her volume of work in the eighties and early nineties was enough to make her music's most honored female performer. She was all over the radio back then. Bad press seemed to dominate her life since she began her tumultuous and drug-filled relationship with Bobby Brown, but she did take responsibility for her bad choices. Few of her hits seem to get airplay these days. That may change for awhile as people remember her meteoric rise and protracted fall. No one can forget her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at the 1991 Super Bowl. I can't help but think of her hit "Didn't We Almost Have It All" when reflecting on her talent and beauty combined with a dysfunctional personal life. The rise was not worth this tragic fall. At the same time, Adele swept the Grammys. The first time I heard "Underneath the Deep" I knew it would be the top song of the year. It was another song about almost having it all. Her "60 Minutes" interview gave us a chance to know something about the woman behind the voice. The interview left me with the impression that Adele would be fine even if her throat condition had left her without that gift of a voice. Let's hope so.

She Nailed It

Madonna at Super Bowl Halftime show

Super Bowl 46 in Indianapolis proved to be a spectacle with the New York Giants defeating the New England Patriots 21-17. For all the attention garnered by Eli Manning, Tom Brady and company, the blogosphere was abuzz with everyone's opinion of Madonna's performance at Halftime. There are people out there, mostly guys, who will never understand the hype surrounding the Material Girl.   They charged her with lip synching as if nobody else has ever done that at a Super Bowl.   I think she actually sang, but how can a little technical enhancement be avoided in a production that big?   Madonna does everything in a big way, and that's just the point.   Music purists may cringe, but the dancing and scale of the show were exactly what you also expect from Madonna and her entourage.    Give a 54-year-old icon credit for doing cartwheels.   I'm not much older, but I have enough problems touching my toes.