Talk Radio IS The Alternative

I consider myself politically to be a conservative-leaning independent libertarian. Yeah, it’s a mouthful, but I believe it best identifies me. And yes, those are all lower-case. I don’t belong to a party. There are things I believe staunchly that you would put into the libertarian column, and others that would throw me into the conservative line. I have voted for independent candidates, Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Independents, and one or two other parties. I have NEVER voted for a socialist, Socialist, Communist or National Socialist (Nazi) candidate. I’m independent, not stupid.

I used to be, though. When I was young, I believed that a European form of socialism (i.e. Christian Democracy, Social Democracy, etc.) was the natural state of things and the next logical step for stable nations. That was, of course, before I grew up. Growing up and seeing the world as it really is, and experiencing what it is like to have a family, raise children, service a mortgage, turned me into what I am today.

In other words, I’m a realist.

But, politically, one thing of which I am sure is that America’s media is in-and-of-itself, Liberal - with a capital ‘L.’ No question. I’ve debated this with a lot of people and every time I do, they will concur, even if only grudgingly. And every time –EVERY TIME - they always bring up Fox News as a clarion for Conservatism and the Republican Party.

I always answer with the question, “That’s it? Just Fox?”

I can name almost a dozen major media outlets right here that espouse liberalism and claim that’s it’s ‘mainstream,’ or ‘middle-of-the-road’ or whatever tag or moniker they place upon it. ABC, Bloomberg, CBS, CNN, ETV, Link TV, MSNBC, NBC, NPR (radio), and pretty much every other network out there, except Fox.

You’ll notice that I only mentioned a single radio source. There’s a reason. Right now, today, outside of Fox the only other true conservative news outlet is talk radio. Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Mike Savage, Mike Reagan, and their ilk, are all financially successful and are doing well. Limbaugh claims, probably quite accurately, the he single-handedly saved AM radio. And the reason? Because, outside the emergence of Fox, this outlet is the ONLY alternative for truly opposing points of view in the media.

And it could be argued that talk radio is the reason that Fox is here today.

The only alternative to conservative talk radio, and a non-television mirror to the broadcast networks, is Air America.

Air America debuted with great fanfare and a lot of cheering from the visual broadcasters. Ah, FINALLY, an alternative to Rush, Glenn, and all those horrible, right-wing, hate-mongers. All we really needed was someone to put up the bank roll (in this case, for a goodly portion of the sum, Al Gore). Well, poor Al is failing just as spectacularly as his presidential bid. Air America is in bankruptcy and has floundered since its first broadcast.

It just proves the point. Air America is not needed. Americans tune to talk radio for an alternative, an opposing view. ABC, Bloomberg, CBS, CNN, ETV, MSNBC, NBC, NPR, and Link TV, etc., all say the same thing. Only Fox and talk radio are different.

And THAT is why they are successful.

AMAZING, BUT TRUE

An amazing thing is happening in America today. Nearly every other nation on earth avoids it so fiercely and completely that an international organization has been formed to perform the act in their stead. This thing occurs in but a handful of nations and it is the United States that has and will likely be the leader in this field for the foreseeable future.

What am I writing about here? War crimes trials. That’s right. Since the Nuremburg War Crimes Tribunal at the end of the Second World War, the US has been the leader in the prosecution of war crimes BY ITS OWN TROOPS. Really. Outside of Western Europe and North America it’s almost unheard of. But to date, we have or are prosecuting at least a dozen soldiers and marines for war crimes ranging from mistreatment of prisoners, to torture to murder of enemy soldiers and combatants, and even the rape and murder of a teenaged girl and her family, in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That’s an amazing thing in this world. Can you imagine Syria prosecuting a soldier for shooting a handcuffed Israeli prisoner? Or Mexico trying its military personnel for torturing Zapatista rebels? Neither Japan, Germany, the Soviet Union, or Italy ever prosecuted any of their troops during World War II for committing war crimes. Certainly, the Soviets never did for any of the war crimes committed by their troops in Afghanistan, which was an ugly, vicious contest that saw children targeted with booby-trapped toys.

So why do we? I have a hypothesis.

We Americans are immigrants all. Most of us left our homes to escape persecution, poverty, injustice or for the adventure. Almost none of our ancestors were wealthy. Some of us were forced here through indenture or slavery. The wealth of the nation and we as a people was built from hard work and the honesty of a handshake, in many cases. These are facts. So wealthy a nation are we that even our poor are wealthier than most of the rest of the world. We expect to be able to have one’s word and believe in it. We believe that there is justice for all and that most people deserve what it is they get and have.

And so, when we see injustice in the world we cringe. We feel that we must do something to make things right. And so it is in war.

War, by definition, is unjust. Waged flagrantly, it kills all people in its way – men, women, children, the elderly, the young. We have developed weapons in this country that have changed the face of war. We can target specific people, places or things and eliminate them with a minimal chance of hurting others. The US has built a military that is as discriminate as any that is available with current technology. It is all because of the nation’s sense of justice, of what is fair, of what is right and wrong.

So, when we see the people who have volunteered to defend us and the nation do something we believe is wrong, it is we who want justice as much as the people who have been harmed. This is perhaps unique in the world. We see ourselves as moral, kind and helping. And we expect all Americans to be the same.

This, clearly, is a good thing.

My hypothesis is that, “Americans expect all Americans to be as good, moral and honorable as we expect or want ourselves to be.” It’s as simple as that. We have expectations that our children, who inevitably are the young troops that fight the wars, are moral, chivalrous, kind and fearless at the same time. Occasionally, some stumble.

Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq was an incredible stumble by some of these same troops. I know a bit more about it than the average American as I know someone who was there. I’ve asked all the questions everyone would want asked, and the answers are frightening, but somewhat understandable in context.

How many of us have teased the geek or nerd in high school? Or made fun of someone we believed was “beneath” us? How many of us wanted revenge on people who did that to us? And how many have taken their anger out on someone who didn’t deserve it? We all have. And without someone or something there to correct, calm or counteract us, we would continue to do it. That is what crime and punishment is all about.

Those young soldiers at Abu Ghraib Prison were undermanned by about half, overworked and forced into positions and responsibilities that they weren’t trained to do. Animal instinct took over. I asked my contact, “So, just what happened in that cell block?” His answer was, “Remember that study years ago where they divided up kindergarten children into blue eyed and brown eyed kids and then told them that blues eyes were better?” Within two days the blue-eyed children had set up a hierarchy of violence and abuse that caused the study to be shut down. “That’s what happened at Abu Ghraib.”

Deprived of proper supervision due to the lack of personnel, they made their own decisions and their own rules. All this despite frequent requests up the chain for more personnel, equipment and materiel to perform their jobs.

The result? One young soldier reported the abuse and now a number of troops directly and indirectly involved have been tried or have been convicted and are serving time for war crimes. This is something that no Middle Eastern nation outside of Israel has ever done to its own troops. Does that really surprise anyone?

The United States, despite its detractors, is STILL the beacon of justice that it has been for 200 years. And we will continue to prosecute and punish our own, because that is what a just and fair nation should do. And we won’t need the U.N. or any other organization to do it for us.

WAS MARILYN MONROE FAT?

Marilyn Monroe has been invariably lauded as the world’s greatest sex symbol, American model, Hollywood icon, cultural icon, and fashion icon – you name it. And she certainly was an incredible woman. Norma Jean Mortensen, as she was christened at birth, came from simple origins – she worked in an aircraft factory during World War II – to become the dream of nearly every American male. She was truly incredible.

And yet today, most would call her fat.

Marilyn Monroe was a size 13. That’s before the sizes were surreptitiously bumped upward by the fashion and apparel industry to fool Americans into believing they weren’t REALLY becoming fat. (When I was in college and much thinner I wore XL. Today I wear Large – but that’s another story.) Think about that. The world’s most amazing sex symbol WAS A SIZE 13.

I prefer the Marilyns of this world. You know the ones. Those awesome, busty, curvy, women with beautiful legs and the occasional blemish. Those that really need a bra to support their cleavage, not just cover it up. This is perfection in my world. It boggles my mind that a woman as beautiful as Alyssa Milano can be skewered by the paparazzi for being ‘fat,’ which incredibly has happened recently. Are these people insane? If she’s fat, I’m the Michelin Man. Okay, I may be a bit overweight, but I’m NOT the Michelin Man. And Alyssa Milano is NOT fat.

We constantly see this tilted view of women today, and thankfully there has been a backlash both socially and even medically. We’ve all seen the horror stories of bulimia and anorexia. These are recent sociological and psychological ailments, brought to us since the 1960’s by a warped view of feminine beauty. But, truly for many women it is too little, too late. And we have yet to address one of the roots of the problem:

Why do we, as a society, allow homosexual men to set the standard for female beauty?

Watch a fashion show. Any fashion show presenting women’s fashions. Every model is overly tall, incredibly thin and has no curves. Black, white, oriental, blonde, brunette, no matter. No cleavage, no hips, no bottom. Nothing. Even when I grew up, in my high school of 750 students, there might have been two or three girls built like that. And I assure you that of those, only one was in any way attractive. So, where do they find all these undernourished models?

Then the men who are hiring these women to act as moving manequins almost invariably are homosexual. Now, their selection probably makes perfect sense to them. What would a homosexual man find attractive? Probably a tall thin man with few features. Or the opposite – a man who’s really incredibly built, with large pecs and muscular, who ripples when he moves. If you’re dealing with a woman though, you’re likely going to have to go with the former rather than the latter when you are dealing with women’s fashions. And that is their idea of feminine beauty. A woman with absolutely none of the physical feature that truly make them a woman. A woman who looks more like a … well … a boy.

So, why do we, as heterosexual men and women, allow this to occur? What is the logic here? I see these rail-thin women on TV, in commercials, on movie screens, and notice the occasional ‘normal’ woman. They, of course, are invariably shown as ugly, or bossy, or bitchy, or ditzy. I revel, though in Alyssa, and even in Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Tisha Campbell (My Wife & Kids), Delta Burke (Designing Women) and Kirstie Alley (Cheers). Hey, these women are beautiful even if they are large and occasionally fat. They’ve got cleavage. They’ve got legs. They’ve got a butt, and they generally carry it all well. They DO NOT look like boys. They are real women, just as God intended.

A lot like Marilyn Monroe.