Saturday, January 14, 2006

RadioNation with Laura Flanders: Rocky Anderson, Lorna Vogt, Luciano Collano, Stuart Klawans, Ryan Tronier, Reobert Gehrke, Chip Ward and more

Kat here asking you to sing along with me for a minute.

We are a part of the RadioNation
Radio!

What's this RadioNation? It's the new name for Laura Flanders' show: RadioNation with Laura Flanders. Laura teams up with The Nation magazine to bring you six hours of radio.

"B-b-but Kat, Laura already brought us three hours on Saturday and three hours on Sunday."

Let me try to break it down for you. Each show on Air America reflects the views of the host. The wonderful Janeane Garofalo and her co-host Sam Seder do The Majority Report and their show might be the magazine equivalent of any number of shows. Other shows? Eh, not so lucky. The one the community dislikes intensely, hosted by Baby Cries a Lot, could be called Parade with Baby Cries a Lot if it were to partner up with its print equivalent.

Like The Nation magazine, Laura Flanders has never felt the need to take part in Operation Happy Talk regarding the invasion/occupation of Iraq. The stained fingers, the flawed elections and "elections" didn't lead her to second guess reality. (Nor the magazine.) It's teaming a strong broadcasting voice (much more than actually) with a strong magazine (ditto).

I'd call it a "marriage" but I'm afraid the 'vangicals would self-implode. They're already on the verge of losing it having to face the facts that a woman can fall in love with a woman or a man can fall in love with a man and that either couple can go on to build a happy home, I think the thought of a marriage between a radio program and a magazine might be enough too much for them and I'm sure Oral Roberts University has clock towers.

I am sure that this teaming is a good thing. It takes two strong resources and teams them which can potentially (hold on to your Left Behind DVDs and books, 'vangicals) blend audiences for both and increase exposure (someone pick up the elderly man who'd been fanning himself with the latest "news"letter from Jimmy Dobson's Focus on the Fool) for both.

So I think it's a great partnership. I support the rights of radio programs and magazines to marry. And if you listened to RadioNation with Laura Flanders last Saturday and Sunday, you know the world didn't come to an end but a wonderful show got even more wonderful.

Now let me note what Martha passed on:

RadioNation with Laura Flanders
This Saturday & Sunday, 7-10pm ET on Air America Radio
On Saturday, pro-peace, pro-Kyoto protocols, pro-LGBT equality, MAYOR ROCKY ANDERSON is as different from Utah's Senator Hatch as you can be.
Want to end the failed war on drugs? Utah's Harm Reduction Project are forging the way. We'll talk to LORNA VOGT and LUCIANO COLLANO. Utahn youth are PSYC'hed to take on the state legislature. LGBT Utahns want their Brokeback Mountain, and the Nation's STUART KLAWANS has a review.
On Sunday, our journalists' roundtable features RYAN TRONIER of KRCL's "RadioActive" and ROBERT GEHRKE, DC correspondent for the Salt Lake Tribune. We'll also hear from environmentalists achieving the impossible with among others, TomDispatch contributor CHIP WARD.
It's all on RadioNation with Laura Flanders this weekend on Air America Radio.

The show goes to Utah as part of the Purple tour which will take Flanders and company around the nation as they demonstrate that there are no "red" states and "blue" states. There are pockets in some states that, thanks to the consolidation of radio, haven't heard a voice break from the Bully Boy choir for many years.

So the tour will not only provide you with reality about the state of the country, it will garner attention for alternate voices. And when it comes to the alternate voices living in supposed Bush country, they need some attention because they've been left on their own and they've continued speaking out. Brave people all.

Confession, after the 2004 election, I saw some of them writings, I'll call them "You are stupid and we're not" writings, insulting so-called "red" states (stereotyping the states and every person who lived in them) and I had a few chuckles. I am very thankful that members of this community who lived in those areas, had lived in those areas, or had family in those areas shared their stories for the four or five part "Red" State Series back in 2004. I know I learned from it and that it was a lot more productive than some "F**K the South" nonsense that could only turn us against each other and provide cover for a Democratic Party system that failed to reach out to many areas of the country because bean counters felt the race could be "managed" most efficiently by focusing only on certain areas. Now that Howard Dean is heading the DNC we'll be able to see if he really means to make the Democratic Party a party that competes in every state.

I live in California and money and candidates, like sunshine, flood in every election cycle. The thought of a presidential candidate not visiting various areas of my state for meet and greet functions and rallies had never entered my mind. Thanks to members, I got a better look at the realities and many of them were ugly. One that stands out is the elderly man, who'd come to count on his party headquarters as a place where he could have a cup of coffee, help out and enjoy some discussions about politics, waking up to find that the Democratic Party was no longer interested in having a headquarters in his town or his county. Or the female member who just wanted a John Kerry yard sign and had to drive two hours to get one because that's how far away her closet Democratic Party headquarters was. Those are realities and a lot more valuable than any cheap laughs.

Bean counters are lazy and dangerous. Lazy because they want to win the race the easiest way possible. Dangerous because they focus on the one race. So they keep planting on the same bit of soil over and over and ignoring other parts. There are fifty states. The Democrats need to be competative in all fifty. But, as one member pointed out, do you know how long it's been since a Democrat running for president visited Hawaii in a race?

I hope Howard Dean's addressing that in preparation for 2008. But RadioNation with Laura Flanders will be going around the country in their America Is Purple tour and demonstrating that regardless of where we live, we're not as different as simple jokes might make us out to be.
Not this weekend, but next, RadioNation with Laura Flanders will broadcast from the Sundance film festival so get ready for that as well.

C.I. mentioned a BuzzFlash premium to me which I'll give a shout out too. Bob Marley's Legend
is a DVD you can purchase and, by purchasing, show some support for independent media (BuzzFlash). And before some members get his boxers in a wad ("boxers" because so far it's always been a male member -- which is fitting description if you think about it) and goes running to Beth with a "Dear Common Ills ombudsperson, C.I. is plugging BuzzFlash again and my favorite site is No One Knows About It Because I Never Do An E-mail To Plug It But I Get Really Offended When Other Members Who Plug BuzzFlash Or Other Sites Don't Do The Work For My Lazy Ass By Plugging My Favorite Site For Me" (really that is how those e-mails strike me), I'm plugging it. C.I. brought it up to me not for mention here but in wondering if I'd be interested in it? I said no before I realized that it was a BuzzFlash premium. (I'm big on attending concerts.) It's a great premium, obviously you can't see Bob Marley in concert today and if you're one of the many who get tired of the crowds at concerts (I love them, each grouping has their own energy -- or lack of it -- and their own personality -- ditto) or the parking hassles or whatever else, you should consider the premium. That was my plug, not C.I.'s. So the four or five who always feel the need to go running to Beth should get it correct in their e-mails that I plugged the premium but I did not shoot the deputy. ("I Shot The Sherrif" is one of the many songs you can find on the DVD.)

Now make plans to listen to Laura. Be like Carl and invite some friends over who've never listened to the show or be like Liang and have listening parties with friends who enjoy the show.
Get the word out.

And on getting the word out, let me note that the upcoming edition of Ms. sounds like a must read and if you missed C.I.'s summary of it that went up late Thursday night, please check that out and remember that the issue goes on sale Tuesday (January 17th).
















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