Air America Blasts Off (4/18/04)

Air America Blasts Off (4/18/04)

by Dean Hartwell

Air America, a new radio network with liberal political leanings, recently went off the air in Los Angeles. Its return is needed to compete with the mostly conservative talk radio in this large market area.

Right-wingers like Rush Limbaugh, G. Gordon Liddy and Bill O’Reilly have all dominated the airwaves for years. They have produced propaganda supporting President Bush and other conservative causes.

In a little over two weeks on the air, Air America has spoken out on the following:

The sham presidential election of 2000. Randi Rhodes, one of the station’s talk-show hosts, has discussed the illogical Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore. The Court ruled that the state of Florida violated the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution because it allowed for different recount rules in different counties.

Many states allow counties to devise their own election rules. Using the Supreme Court’s rationale, countless elections in the United States are in violation of the Constitution.

Lies that conservatives on talk radio tell. Al Franken, on his show, the “O’Franken Factor,” exposed Sean Hannity of Fox News as a liar about

Democratic candidate John Kerry’s record. Hannity had called Kerry a “flip-flopper” on issues such as the war in Iraq, the Patriot Act and gay marriages. He also accused Kerry of supporting 350 tax increases.

Franken rebutted with clear explanations as to Kerry's consistency. (http://www.airamericaradio.com/bin/blogExcerpts.cfm?blogId=1&prg=3 – see “Hannity’s Lies about Kerry, Debunked). He also demonstrated that the overwhelming majority of those alleged increases were not tax raises at all.

How FBI Agents Were Told Not to Pursue the bin Laden Family before 9/11. Rhodes encouraged listeners to go to the Internet and search under “back off bin Ladens.” One of the sites I found that discussed this perplexing policy was http://propagandamatrix.com/us_agents_told_to_backoff.html

Air America scored early by getting interviews with three of the four major candidates for President in 2000 (Al Gore, Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan) within six hours of going on the air. The show frequently features the opinions of those with different viewpoints and encourages conservatives to call in.

Sometimes, people on the air get a little carried away, as Rhodes did in suggesting that National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice should go to federal prison after her recent testimony before the 9/11 Commission. But the enthusiasm for the liberal point of view is good.

This enthusiasm is also necessary. Without it, people who get their news commentary from the radio will only hear one side of the story. Let’s hope for Air America’s safe return to Los Angeles soon.

Here are the current locations and radio stations of Air America:

New York City - WLIB 1190

Chicago - WNTD 950

Minneapolis - WMNN 1330

Portland, OR - KPOJ 620

Riverside, CA - KCAA 1050

West Palm Beach, FL - WJNO 1290

Plattsburgh/Burlington - WTWK 1070

Key West, FL - WKIZ 1500

XM Satellite Radio – 167