I "Imply," Therefore I Am!

Read this opening sentence from a post on "Boing Boing" which links to an article first posted under the title of "Radio Daze:"

Premiere On Call, a division of the Clear Channel subsidiary that distributes Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck, is a service that hires actors to call into radio shows and read a script that purports to be a true story presented by the public.

What? The callers on conservative talk shows are FAKE? That's what the opening sentence is meant to imply. I read the rest of the article. There's no other sentence which provides a connection between the afore-mentioned talk shows and the Premiere agency.

The point of the article and the Boing Boing post is to only imply the point.

After I had read the article, though, I thought of morning comedy shows like "Bob and Tom," which clearly utilize fake callers for comic effect. I'm sure that the Premiere agency represents this type of talent.

Of course, you could always call the Beck producers and have them assert that they don't use fake callers. But facts would spoil the implied point of the article, wouldn't it?

Court Protects Military Funeral Protesters

I've often said that life in a free country involves tolerating people who behave or speak in a way that we personally might find distasteful.

That's certainly the case for me today as the US Supreme Court rules that protesters at military funerals are protected by the First Amendment. I don't disagree with the ruling...I am just sickened by this "church," which is led by a guy who is NOT an ordained pastor with a "congregation" that's made up of family members.

Blech.

Beware Talk Radio...

No, this is not a rant against right-wing talk radio given that I 1) am right-wing and 2) am a former radio host.

However, it should be understand that talk show hosts cultivate loyal, passionate audiences (and the advertisers that go with them) by making provocative statements.

Republican candidates seek out these shows to reach potential supporters. In an attempt to win the sympathy of the audience, however, the candidate might find himself/herself swept downstream in a river of discussion that can only bring heartache to the campaign.

Mike Huckabee appeared on a conservative talk show in New York and seemed to have made statements questioning President Obama's birthplace and insinuating that he grew up in Kenya. This is despite Huckabee's previous statements that digging for Obama's birth records is a "waste of energy and time."

An unnamed Huckabee advisor is still trying to figure out a damage control strategy.

Make Room For Newt!

Parades around Iowa are about to feature a whole lotta Newt. ABC News reports that Newt Gingrich is officially throwing his hat in the ring for the GOP Presidential nomination.

Which will lead to this fascinating internal discussion in my party: was the 1995 government shutdown a good thing--or the beginning of a long period of disaster for the GOP?

With Growth Comes Duplication

Growth in government inevitably leads to duplication.

I once served on a state legislative committee that asked the legislature's research arm to issue a report on all state programs that involve children. We received a report that showed duplicative programs through every agency--programs that shared the same goals such as achieving better nutritional outcomes for our children.

Each agency was unaware of the similar programs in the other. When pressed, an agency would defend its program as totally unique and more effective than the other program.

If that's occurring on a state level, you can imagine the scope of the problem at the federal level.

Actually, you don't need to imagine--Congress is about to receive a report from its research arm detailing billions of dollars in duplicative programs.

The goals of each program can still be met--but the programs can definitely be administered in a more efficient and effective manner.

The Happy Warriors Of The Tea Party

I got involved in politics as a teenager. As part of a high school political science class, I was told that I must volunteer to work for a real political campaign. I did so.

Man, it was fun.

I became a Republican because of Ronald Reagan--he did great things and he defended his principles with a smile. I suppose I warmed to his personal approach as much as his policies.

Politics seems to me to have become more angry over the years. The rhetoric exhorts us to destroy our ideological enemies lest the world head to Hades in the proverbial hand-basket.

Melissa Clouthier writes correctly that my party is currently waiting for a happy warrior like Reagan. But she also argues that the party has found a whole army of happy warriors--the Tea Party.

I agree. Two years ago, when the movement was just getting its start, a ragtag group of folks sympathetic to the Tea Party organized a "protest rally" on April 15 at the post office in my town.

A small group showed up with handmade signs bearing a simple message: taxes are too high and we don't like them. As weary taxpayers drove up to the mailbox to send off another year's return, many of the drivers honked and gave a thumbs up to the "protesters." There was a lot of laughing and cheering and a general sense of camaraderie among ideological peers.

And, man, it was fun.

Enjoying the political process doesn't mean compromising your ideals. It DOES mean taking yourself a bit less seriously.