Downtown's Comments (17)

“Don't know about the "veteran radio source," there's nothing in this article that a casual follower of the talk radio industry or a reader of Talkers Magazine wouldn't already know.

That said, the same follower and/or reader would also know that the radio industry itself knows that its days are numbered, Clear Channel's days are numbered, because the entire terrestrial broadcast paradigm is in the process of tanking. It simply can not compete with the Internet as a means of delivery, as more localities roll out city-wide wifi, cell phones get apps to receive 'net radio, and internet radio devices begin to hit the market (some are out there already). I can listen to 'net radio in my car now via a laptop and broadband modem - admittedly a bit of a kludge solution but it's only going to get exponentially easier to do so. Terrestrial broadcast is finished, and with it the stranglehold that the "stick" owners have over what we listen to.

The answer is to support 'net radio!!! Feel free to start here: www.pbradio.net”

“If it were only that simple... It takes a hell of a lot more than a "few servers"... LiveNation, who'd you'd expect would have the technical infrastructure to actually support the sales of the tickets for shows they have, is constantly and perpetually plagued by server crashes on on-sale dates. If they can't get it together enough to keep their servers running i doubt that any band could or would take on the task.

and don't forget that there's now integration between the ticket sellers and the venue owners, in many cases pretty much the same entity. PJ tried to sell its own tickets and found that it was getting shut out of the bigger venues that were run by the companies they were no longer using to sell tickets.

it starts with the venues, really.”

“I'm a UCSB alum (who actually graduated!) and I apologize for KCSB being the birthplace of Hannity on the radio!

Four years ago, in an attempt to fight back against the right's monopoly of talk radio, some folks here in DC started Progressive Blend Radio www.pbradio.nett), a progressive-talk internet radio station.

Joe, I'd love to have you as a guest on my show any time! ;)”

“Couldn't agree more, but progressive talk has been in the doldurms (at best) for years now. That's why started Progressive Blend Radio www.pbradio.nett) four years ago - to try to put truly progressive voices out there. We welcome all the new 'net-broadcasters but until we can get into people's car radios like Hanoi Rush and the rest, it's going to be an uphill fight at best.”

“Great choice of background music too!!! ;)

Chalkdust Torture = education under a Pres. McCain!”

“I always thought Benny was just trying to damn hard.

"Burning Bush" can easily be a translated variant of "Small plant the color of fire"

ie, Amanita Muscaria, the ancient world's Old Reliable for entheogenic experiences. Ayahuasca requires significant preparation involving multiple ingredients. An analog would more than likely also require similar preparation and there's not a lot of evidence of that. But hearing the Voice of God (tm) from a small plant the color of fire was old news by the time Moses got around to giving it a shot.”

“Wake up, fascists. If we 'give' corporate bailouts like Bear Stearns, etc, who's going to be paying for it? EVERYBODY. That includes 11Xray. You will not only be paying YOUR mortgage, but every other person's mortgage...regardless of what kind of unhealthy or illegal loan was foisted upon them. Are you daft?”

“No episode of either Pinky or B&B was ever THAT bad!”

“You should have picked a better woman to represent you then. You know, a true leader. Not one that would, for example, leave it to her husband to make crucial campaign decisions like whether or not to air that "3am" ad.

You should be asking the hard questions of your candidate and yourself at this point. Failure to recognize that Hillary lost the election "from day one" simply highlights the fact that, at this late date, it's neither about policy or any particular candidate - it's about the ego of her supporters. Period.

The only onus is on Hillary to explain herself and her implosive campaign to her supporters. Her loss is hers and hers alone.”

“Funny, that's exactly what we did three years ago when we drew the same conclusion about "liberal" talk radio - we started our own damn station on the net. 24/7 no-holds-barred progressive political talk with some great music thrown in. Based in DC, and run entirely by dedicated volunteer activists, we're able to pull in our friends and colleagues from K St. to the Hill, non-profits to the military, as issue-experts and reporters who actually know about the topics they cover.

Three years later we're better than ever, and far better than the johnny-come-lately-when-he-saw-a-niche Shultz, or the insufferable Lionel (props and much love to Thom, Rachel and Randi, though!). We interview a lot of the same A-list guests as the big kids, as well as having the time and interest to pull guests out of the blogosphere, and to to spend real time drilling down into issues the way the MSM just can't/won't.

And now some of our homegrown talent is starting to be invited on other "real" radio programs as commentators and guests. So yeah, it can be done!

Check us out, and if you're a sparkplug looking for a way to get a show of your own, or participate in an existing one, drop us some email from the site.

http://www.progressiveblendradio.com”

“HAHAHA, i want some of what you're smoking, dude!”

“Well, not to defend Condi in any way, but Russian has six cases. Russian grammar is a real bi*ch, to the point where there's an old Russian joke about peasants wanting to write a letter to the governor but none of them know how to conjugate the verb correctly... even native speakers struggle with it.

However, that being said, I had the distinct (miss)fortune of working rather closely with Dr. Rice while she was at Stanford. She was utterly worthless then and has done nothing to change that assessment. She was habitually late to meetings and seminars (when she'd show up at all) and enjoyed nothing more than.... wait for it.... SHOPPING with other members of the very chummy club of arms-controllers involved in the project. And after missing deadline after deadline it fell to me to "finish up" her chapter for the book that was published out of the project. She's stabbed a lot of far more capable folks in the back on her climb to the top as well. Not smart, not funny, not talented, not nice. That's Rice!

And damnit, Chris, I wish to hell I'd come up with "when she plays piano the piano catches fire and the audience dies." That is absolutely perfect and sums it up pretty well. Bravo!”

“Clearly there's a typo. It should read:

"In Iraq, the US lied (to) a COALITION..."

Let's stay in reality folks!”

“Included in your "Women for McCain" welcome kit are a coat-hanger (heirloom grade so you can pass it down to the future generations your dooming) and a bumper sticker that says "Another trollop for McCain" since that (and a worse term I just can't bring myself to write here, no matter how outraged i am) is what he likes calling the women in his life.

good luck with ALL that.”

“When I think about the development of the "other" spiritual paths you propose, it becomes clear to me, and others who study this topic seriously and deeply, that you've got the progression of spiritual practices upside down. It seems quite improbable that an entire discipline, such as meditation or yoga, would be developed to achieve a particular goal without experience of that goal in the first place. Those practices developed as alternative paths to the same type of experience FIRST given by the plant kingdom. Ie, it seems highly likely that after experiencing an organically-induced experience one would attempt to re-create it by other means if, for example, the particular entheogen involved was no longer available, etc. It seems highly unlikely that a practice would evolve without a goal, just randomly, and then someone would wander into the forest, munch a plant or mushroom, and then say "hey this is just like when i meditate/do yoga/pray/etc" ... i really think the historical record shows that entheogens are THE original human religious experience, not shortcuts at all. The subsequent religious practices were designed to attain the same states first glimpsed via entheogens.”

“Wow, lots of posts but only one reference to the Amanita Muscaria.. come on kids, get with the program! ;)

The amanita is arguably the most influential entheogen in human history, and is directly related to the development of the spiritual traditions of India, Greece, Egypt and Persia, and can be traced all the way down to judiaism and christianity as well.

Here is some info and a photo of the mushroom: http://www.erowid.org/plants/amanitas/amanitas.shtml

The effects are well known and include those that commonly are termed "religious experiences" such as the breaking of light above the head, disruption of the internal monologue, etc. Now, note the color of the "plant" and ask yourself how likely it is that, down through the ages, the description of a "plant the color of fire" may have wound up being phrased as "a burning bush"...

For more on the universality of the Amanita Muscaria in the world's spiritual and religious traditions, check out Magic Mushrooms in Religion and Alchemy, by Clark Heinrich. Also the writings of R. Gordon Wasson on the identity of "Soma" the enthogen of ancient India and Greece, and even Dan Merkur's work on other likely entheogens of biblical times, particularly the Ergot wheat fungus, which produces LSD-like effects.

Lastly, familiarize yourself with the concept of "sympathetic magic" in which one dresses like the object one is hunting. Hunting an eagle? Wear an eagle feather... then check out this page to see why the Pope dresses the way he does ;) http://www.gnosticmedia.com/main/index.php?module=photoalbum&PHPWS_Album_op=view&PHPWS_Album_id=3”

“Uh, yeah. that's the ticket. It's not Nader's candidacy that could possibly be divisive, it's the act of someone critiquing that candidacy that's divisive.

Good try though. Well, not really...”