Hurrah for Air America Radio

[A bunch of us are upset with Air America Radio because they have cancelled Sam Seder and Marc Maron's weekday videocast of Break Room Live -- it exists on YouTube and elsewhere and you can follow where Sam and Marc land by checking out SamSederShow.com -- but even as I am miffed I am going to look at the silver lining of the cloud. Think about it, and please join all of us Sederistas and Maronites in changing the world into a better place. Thanks! What follows showed up at Sam's site.]

Hey, I am going to accentuate the positive and say I am glad that Air America exists even if I don't like this latest turn BUT perhaps without them I might never have found people like Sam Seder and Marc Maron and Thom Hartmann (with Senator Bernie Sanders) and Lizz Winstead and Rachel Maddow and Al Franken (more of a liberal now than what he was before, I think) without Air America. Okay, they/Air America are not perfect, but I am glad they exist, even as I continue to support Thom Hartmann apart from them and Sam Seder and Marc Maron wherever they land and Lizz and Rachel ALWAYS, and Kent Jones and the great Laura Flanders and of course Janeane.... So yeah, let's get upset, but let's move forward and insist our guys (and gals, if you don't think guys is gender neutral) end up economically and psychologically WELL and HAPPY. Let's push them, their video, their books, their body of work, wherever we go.

And another thing, I likely would have never met YOU Guys without THEM: MaggiesBoy, Fernando, Nefferkitti, Nightbird,ToniD, Kat-in-Manhattan...., all of YOU -- and you guys are GREAT!! So, yes, it isn't fair but it is what it is, and it sure is better than Right Wing America.

So kisses and Peace Hugs from NYC and know that it works out OKAY: together we will help heal the world and make it transform. Got to get Thom's newest book [Threshold] because it talks about our being at the crossroads. We are. It is tough times. But we are together going to do what we can. Pray God that it is enough.

Love you -- Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

June is busting out all over!

Just as I am missing my son Audient's blog -- it has gone on hiatus -- as I can't easily catch up with what he's up to, I realize that I've been so busy that I have in essence been on hiatus too. Okay, you may know that you can check out my Quick TAKES and Tasty Tidbits blog for current little facts, snippets, recipes, and pictures, as well as my Flickr.com photo page(s). But I've been quiet with my online peace hugging. High time to give a quick run down of life since the Shad Fest. Here goes.

Last week I saw John Cussack's excellent satire War, Inc. (see it!). Linda Rousseau invited me to join some of her friends in seeing the Iraq based play, Betrayed, which focuses on the plight of Iraqis hired by the US. Saturday, I did computer research and played in the evening with Joan by going out to dinner at Bliss Bistro and then sharing the fun chick flick, Sex and the City right here in Sunnyside at Centre rather than in Manhattan for half again as much. Sunday I blogged with my Sam Seder friends on the occasion of his last (for now?) Air America Radio show. Then on Monday I went to Red Sky on 29th Street to see Sam interviewing author David Sirota live. David autographed my copy of The Uprising but I am kicking myself for not having Sam autograph it too, though I did shake his hand and get pictures. It was a good night as I also got to meet two delightful Sederistas Kat-in-Manhattan and Lucille.

Then there were some June birthdays. I took Sam Oast out to Pescatore on Tuesday (as I had my hair appointment with incomparable Anca on Wednesday) and joined Sue Bovet, Joanell Meringolo, and Sue Larkin in feting Lillian Heckler on the occasion of her 90th birthday. Pictures from both events will be posted soon. (Coming up are the long distance birthdays of Aunt Betty Murphy, Cousin Patrick Coyne, and Geneva friend Carol Robertson -- stocking up on cards and stamps!)

I got home last night to divide up the CSA share of organic food which Jean Ann picked up from the Sunnyside CSA we joined together: our first pick-up so heavy on the greens! But we're trying to live healthy and locally.

Next week is the Songs FOR peace meeting and the Children of Abraham Peace Walk in Brooklyn. And I have to find time to do some housework. Yes, I need to find a little personal peace by tidying up the environs. Need help from FlyLady! Meanwhile, I am reading David Sirota's great new book, The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street and Washington. You should, too, as he writes as good as he looks (see picture below :-).

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne


Kate Anne and author David Sirota

Thanks, WWRL! Another Open Letter

Mr. Rennie Bishop
Program Director
WWRL 1600 Radio
333 Seventh Avenue
New York NY 10001

Dear Mr. Bishop,

This follows up, with thanks, my letter written two months ago. I applaud you for adding Richard Greene's CLOUT to your evening lineup and dropping Sammy and Army in the morning to bring us back the terrific Mark Riley. He and Richard Bey are great together -- Richard actually works much better in the morning. Okay, so the show is not part of the official Air America lineup -- I have to tell you, I like it! And while you still have too many infomercials, Alan Colmes' tiny show, and not enough Sam Seder, I choose to accentuate the positive and say, Thank You for Clout and Bey-Mark!

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne


cc: Mr. Mark Green
President
Air America Radio
641 Sixth Avenue – 4th Floor
New York NY 10011

An Open Letter to WWRL 1600 Radio

Mr. Rennie Bishop
Program Director
WWRL 1600 Radio
333 Seventh Avenue
New York NY 10001

Dear Mr. Bishop,

I am an Air American – listening to Air America Radio from Day One -- and a sometime WWRL listener who is extremely disappointed with the lack of Air America Radio shows on the schedule of WWRL, the supposed flagship station of Air America Radio. I would appreciate your consideration of my critical comments which follow.

Sammy and Army are awful, (im)pure and simple – and didn’t Armstrong Williams in the past receive payoffs to talk about certain issues?

Richard Bey – His show is lightweight and his singing syrupy and egotistical. He is a poor substitute for AAR’s Richard Greene whose CLOUT aims to foster much needed liberal/progressive political activism. (WWRL’s failure previously to carry Mark Riley’s Air Americans may have contributed to its quick demise.)

Alan Colmes – This is the person Al Franken referred to in his Lying Liars book as Colmes – I tried to listen, wondering if there was some substance there somewhere. I gave up after a number of poor caliber non-informative, limitedly entertaining shows. Part of his show conflicts with that of the superior and informative This is America -- Jon Elliott’s show – and you carry none of it regularly (though I will grant you that I have heard “A Best of” show over the weekend at some strange hour – and I would have a difficult time finding it.).

Sam Seder on Sunday Show – we get only an hour of an already truncated three hour show (even that is NOT enough – instead Air America has mistakenly given us nauseatingly puerile Lionel – not your fault – actually in this case I would appreciate your broadcasting some other progressive show – maybe re-air Jon Elliott in the 9 to noon weekday slot!) Please carry Sam’s full show. (I wish that AAR would give us MORE of Sam on a daily basis.)

WWRL seems to run a lot of (TOO MANY) health infomercials. I am a firm believer of alternative medicine and herbal remedies but WWRL’s programming is way overboard for a flagship station. Undoubtedly, these must be money-makers but please note that YES, I DO support sponsors when I can. (I have purchased a number of items recently from TekServe on 23rd Street – and I told them about hearing their ads on WWRL.)

Thank God for podcasts, but as a political activist I know that it is easier to recommend slightly older Democratic/political activists listen to certain radio shows rather than ask them to subscribe to and/or download a podcast. Besides, there is the immediacy of the original show. I stream AAR or WWRL while at work and frequently when I am home – Living in Queens I get way too much bleeding from the Disney channel after dark but it is sooooo nice not to be tied to the computer to hear good progressive programming.

All of this said, thanks for carrying Thom Hartmann and Rachel Maddow, my favorites – and I love Bobby and Pap’s Ring of Fire and Welton’s State of Belief, and enjoy Mark and Arianna’s 7 Days in America, but we need to give New York City’s radio listeners the ability to hear the best of the progressive radio shows, not pale substitutes or infomercials. With Sammy and Army, Richard Bey, and Colmes, a case could certainly be made that WWRL is complicit in the dumbing down of New Yorkers. Please. You can do better. Please do.

I welcome a response.

Thank you.


Respectfully,
Kate Anne

VERY IMPORTANT: PS, PPS, and PPPS re Laura Flanders, John Edwards and more

cc: Mr. Mark Green
President
Air America Radio
641 Sixth Avenue – 4th Floor
New York NY 10011

Labor Day Musings

Labor Day -- where did the summer go? Where did my weekend go? Well, it has been a busy time -- personally some trips to PA and Ohio -- and last week Joan Pagan and I went visited with Dorothy Morehead in the Adirondacks. Dorothy has a lovely camp on Lake Hunter in Northville, NY. (I will hopefully post some pictures at my Flickr.com site soon.) Then Kat was up to visit Krista and me the other week. And work has been busy -- never had a summer lull. I guess that is good. But there is much to do in simplifying my life.

I have NOT read the latest Harry Potter yet, but I just finished Mitch Albon's For One More Day and I am almost finished with Nora Roberts' Garden Trilogy, Red Lily. I have most been reserving then renewing stuff at the New York Public Library. And today I read through the latest Consumer Reports.

And I have been doing some blogging -- some of my Laura Flanders blog friends, still upset about her weekend show being truncated to one hour, have been enjoying blogging a bit at Maggies' Boy's Blue Grit Blog and with the terrific Sederistas at the Sam Seder Show site: YBNurmal, PBTrue, Sunshine Jim, William Schubert, Smnoll, Nightbird, (where's Benno?) and WhatNowToons.com's Keith Tucker. Keith's Labor Day toon is extra special and he said that I could link it. Check it out and his whole site:

From WhatNowToons.com

I did manage to meet up with peace activists Sam Oast and Marianne Goldscheider down at Union Square this Saturday, after making some calls Friday to my Congress critters Clinton, Schumer and Crowley about George W. Bush now beating the war drums for Iran. OMG -- will someone impeach the son of a Bush and Cheney before they shed more innocent blood? Much to do for peace and justice -- and for fun, too. And oh that housework.... All in good time. God help us get done the work that we have been given to do. And spread sunshine and blessings -- accentuate that positive! Eliminate the negative (Bush and Cheney). And keep on keeping on.

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne