Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - October 6 to October 12, 2008 Latest messages listed first..... \/ October 12 Messages \/ I just checked the MLS. Geronimo has withdrawn his house, as of Saturday, after only 7 days on the market. (10/12/08) Dave's response: Could that mean he's already got an offer for it? Dave-O, Donnie Gs house was pulled from the market after 7 days of listing on October 10. I suppose too many radio-philes with lockbox access were trying to get in the haus. I verified the info on MLS to which I have access. Peace out (10/12/08) MASN wins first step in complaint against Comcast hraunfoss.fcc.gov (10/12/08) Dave- I was flattered to see my name appear on the front page of DCRTV. FYI- I left WINC in June of 2006 to become the Coordinator of Policy and Public Information for Frederick County Public Schools in Virginia. (Many people get us mixed up with FCPS in Frederick, Maryland) I love my job and the people with whom I work. Part of my duties involve working with the media in a public relations capacity. I also work with a great team to help produce programs for the school division's TV channel. Our programming can be seen on Comcast Channel 18 in the Winchester area. I'm often asked if Barry and I still see one another. The answer is yes! We became great friends during my 12+ years at WINC and the friendship continues. One of the things I'm most thankful for is that I was able to work with a great guy like Barry and we meshed so well. It was always fun to go to work---even at 3:30 a.m. We got to be ourselves on the air and our friendship was apparent to our listeners. It's too bad radio has changed and the personalities of the on-air personalities have in many cases become less important than consultant/program director-driven "ideas" like Battle of the Sexes, Impossible Question, The Hollywood Minute, etc. I think interesting people, their lives, and their stories can attract listeners but that isn't what consultants and PDs think people want. All of the other stuff can be heard at any number of places on the dial. Thanks for keeping DCRTV going all these years. I still check-in from time to time to try and keep up on the crazy industry. --Steve Edwards (10/12/08) While I take no joy about someone losing his job I have to wonder about Levan Reid. If he had stopped trying to be a television version of Jim Rhome and always seeming to be auditioning for ESPN's Sports Center he might have kept his job. He was just awful. (10/12/08) To the dittohead who claims Obama is losing th 7-11 poll, read this and weep-- www.7-election.com. Obama is crushing McCain. In fact the Democratic party is poised for huge gains from top to bottom. But thanks for playing. Regardless, Rush will be saying: "The Democrat party is in a complete state of panic!" And the dittoheads will actually believe him. How sad. Jake (10/12/08) Well...after being a LONG time listener, I have given up on 94.7. Nothing but the same few songs over, and over, and over again. I've been giving WBIG a try and so far have liked what I've heard. (10/12/08) Dave's response: That's what happens with you play "TNT" by AC/DC every fucking hour. Do DC area radio listeners really want to hear that!?!? I just don't get it. Oy..... To the person basing his prediction on the elections outcome on 7-11 cups: perhaps there are more Obama cups because there's a much bigger demand for them and they have to order more? (10/12/08) Dave's response: Or perhaps a lot of people are "politically colorblind" like me and can't get it through their heads that the red cups are for the Republican..... Dave may be right … libs may be buying their coffee at Starbucks. But, the election sure won’t be decided by the ideologues on either side. To the poster … who suggests much should be read into towering stacks of unsold Obama cups at 7-Eleven … it might be time to consider another point of view. Conventional wisdom has it all wrong. READING RACE IN THE RACE... Matt Bender (10/12/08) Does anyone know what happened to the "Voice Of The Cavaliers", Mac McDonald? Yesterday was the first time I listened to a UVa game on the radio this year and I noticed it was someone else doing the play-by-play? Tom In Wheaton (10/12/08) Steve Edwards left the news director gig at WINC-FM to become the spokesperson for the Frederick County (VA) Public School system. He also hosts a show on the school system's cable channel. (10/12/08) Cenennial get rid of Barry Lee? I sure hope not. I really enjoy listening to Barry in the morning. He gives the morning that small town feeling outside the "big city". There is definitely a mismatch between him and the music that is played often but mornings on WINC wouldn't be the same without Barry. I really enjoyed Cliff Maxwell when he was on in the afternoon but then he moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana. It took a while for me to get used to Dave Gunning after Cliff since their style was different but over time I found Dave to be very enjoyable in the afternoons particularly some of the banter between him and the afternoon traffic guy at the time, Rich Hunter. What has happened to Rich Hunter, anyway? I hear him on WINC some afternoons and not others. I still hear him on WTGB on the weekends. Didn't Dave Gunning take over Ed Rodrieguz's job in Frederick? I think Steve Edwards has been gone for quite a while. Robert Allen is the news director, isn't he? I think Robert does a good job on air. The other news guy Mike Murphy drives me nuts... he has these pauses between news stories - arghhhh. Paula Kidwell is perky at middays if you like perky - somedays I do, some I don't. Arianna Nichols has grown on me. She seems sweet. Jeff Adams is a bit monotone though I think I'm getting more used to him on the air. Cut backs are happening everywhere. And it is going to continue to get worse. Marge (10/12/08) Me thinks the pollsters are being punked. Obama may be ahead in the polls, and the Washington Post will ignore any story that says otherwise, but perhaps because those being polled are saying they will vote for Obama out of some misguided sense of 'justice'. The media has however largely ignored this local story, occuring on nearly every major intersection. Forget CNN, ABC and all those polls where we know what they are going to say before they say it. Grass roots America has the 7-Election Poll, and it seems to tell a different story. At every 7-11 I have been in, the stack of new blue Obama cups stretches to the ceiling, dwarfing the smaller stack of red McCain cups. That means folks are picking the McCain cup of coffee to get on with their day. Check it out for yourself. (10/12/08) Dave's response: Look, libs buy their coffee at Starbucks - not 7 Eleven..... Looks like NBC4 has changed their graphics for their news broadcasts. However, at first I thought I was watching FOX5 since they look similar to their circus-like graphics. But guess I'll get used to it. And speaking of FOX5, I turned on the news this morning and saw a reporter by the name of Mali Wilkes doing a story. I think that may have been Mali Bawa, but was half sleep, so couldn't tell for sure. (10/12/08) Although this isn't a local story. It definitely has a local connection..Just saw a story online about a CBS weatherman proposing to an ABC anchor the other day on the air...Weatherman married to an anchor..HMMM...Sound familiar?? (10/12/08) Dave's response: Ahhh, tractor salesman married to an anchor..... OK God, I am ready for death. When I tuned into Faux 5 News at Ten and the lead story is a story about people praying for lower gas prices with good ole Media Whore Rocky Twyman....Oh my, it really must have been a slow news day. (10/12/08) /\ October 12 Messages /\ \/ October 11 Messages \/ It wouldn’t surprise me to see Centennial get rid of Barry Lee. Look what else has happened at WINC: Dave Gunning leaves, replaced by Jeff Adams, who was already serving as the music director – a lot cheaper than hiring out-of house; long-time news director Steve Edwards is gone; overnight shifts (at least on the weekends, not sure about weeknights) are no longer live; the talent overall has gone downhill; no more news updates on weekend mornings or at noon during the week; and I’m sure there’s more. I actually won some Nationals tickets from them back in August and when I tried to get in the stadium, the handheld scanners wouldn’t accept them. I had to go the ticket office and the explanation I was given is that whoever had given them to me (WINC) had deactivated them (?). The Nationals staff let me in anyway after I pleaded my case with them, but I didn’t get seats as good as those that I had “won” and it was a big hassle. It’s a great station with a great signal and it’s a shame to see it going downhill. (10/11/08) Reading some of the comments on here ( and other sites ) about Fredericksburg's B101.5 letting go Baxter & Bonnie and as someone had mentioned earlier, B101.5 no onger live on the overnights, I have to wonder if Cenntennial will do some cutting at WINC-FM ( and their other Winchester stations ) as well? If Cenntennial let Baxter & bonnie go, what is stopping them from doing the same with Barry Lee at WINC? Recently I read on here a message about where the last thing the Lewis Family ( Mid Atlantic ) did before they sold their stations to Centennial was a promise from Centennial not to let go of Barry Lee. Maybe such a promise was made ( I don't know ) but still even if one was made, even if it was on paper, if they can let go Baxter & Bonnie, could we see a day soon where WINC-FM could be without Lee. And what would happen if Cenntennial would cut Barry Lee? The Lewis family would scream to Centennial "you lied to us" and take back control? That is funny. I always get a kick when I see/hear comments from people saying such stuff like "...well WINC-FM is not allowed to fire Barry Lee.." ( or any other station for that matter involving a popular announcer ), exactly how is it possible for a radio station NOT to be allowed to fire someone? In Virginia employment is called "at will" which means ANYONE can be fired anytime, anywhere and for any reason. and I am pretty sure this includes radio stations as well. And last I checked bothfredericksburg and Winchester are located where? Virginia !!! (10/11/08) Reid - Sure not sorry to see him leave the sports show on ch 9, now if the other three ch would follow suit and get rid of there deadwood so called sports folk,,,LIFE WOULD BE GREAT... Larry, Warrenton Va (10/11/08) I am mad as Hell about McCain. What he said last week that Obama was a citizen just ticked me off. Obama's birth certificate is fake. Obama palls around with terrorist that blew up the US Capitol. Obama father is a Muslim and raised him as a Muslim. Obama doesn't care about you and me. Obama voted to stop funding our troops. Obama is for killing aborted babies that were born alive. Obama said we air raided villages that killed women and children. Obama wants to meet with terrorists with no conditions attached. Obama has on his payroll former Fannie Mae executives. Obama will raise taxes on those making $42,000 a year ! Obama has done nothing in his life except being a "community activist." Obama didn't visit wounded soldiers because cameras weren't allowed in. Wake up America! Sean Hannity Listener (10/11/08) Dave's response: I just wanna praise WMAL and Hannity and Limbaugh. Whatever they've been doing - keep it up! McCain keeps dropping in the polls..... I find Chris Russo entertaining. But if Mad Dog is going to attract DC area listeners, he is really going to have to learn something about DC sports. Right now, I guarantee you he can't name more than ten Redskins, five Nats, four Wizards and no Caps other than Ovechkin. (10/11/08) In reading of Lloyd Thaxton's passing and what a great TV show he hosted, it brings to mind a question regarding another very succesfull show of the 60's, Hullaballoo on NBC.I believe Johnny Holliday was the announcer on that show or it could have possibly been Shindig on ABC. Both shows were very good. (10/11/08) That's funny about the deejay from the little station in Middletown trying to imitate WFRE. Remember when WFRE did a stunt like that last year? That little station in Middletown used to be in the Frederick ratings but I noticed that this year, only WFRE, DC-101 and WFMD's ratings were printed in all of the local area papers. That little station should just stick to Middletown, where they are, because they are not very good. WFRE and WFMD have always done SO MUCH for Frederick! We listeners sure do love and support our LOCAL WFRE and WFMD!!! (10/11/08) Levan Reid fired by WUSA-TV? Is Lane Michaelson prepared to bring in another blonde, blue eyed, tight pants female? It's called the Bill Lord disease. (10/11/08) Dave's response: Technically, he wasn't "fired." His contract wasn't renewed..... ("Dave's response: Gee, I thought that Don and Mike were life-long friends and the former would always be welcome to call the latter's show. Gee, how wrong could I be! Ha ha ha. Oh, gotta go read my Blade now. Bye.....") Slave, I mean Dave, perhaps I didn't make it clear: Don stated on air that he was obligated by CBS not to call in. The Blade, Blue Boy, I don't care. It don't make you a bad person. Don and Mike talked about getting the Greaseman to appear on their show. I hope Mike will follow up on that. Perhaps listeners could use the instant messaging on mikeomearashow.com to request it, over and over and over. Helen, are you reading this? ---- Trinity Asian Coed (10/11/08) If you go to DC101's site they have removed the DOODAD DADDY but if you look on the what's playing screen they still have his picture up there. Typical CLEAR CHANNEL BULLSHIT. They aren't a radio company anymore they are a multimedia business who use their shitty stations to advertise there other shitty business holdings. Grease is better off without them after the bullshit stunt earlier about his demise and no follow-up to see if anyone got reprimanded. DC101 BLOWS........ MARK / Bethesda (10/11/08) Mark Kaye is in DC tonight! He has been invited to guest host on WJFK-FM. Mark Kaye on WJFK 106.7 FM... Saturday, October 11, 2008 9:00PM - Midnight... Please listen and DEFINITELY CALL! It's 3 hours of talk so I will need as many of my peeps on the phones as I can get! Here is the request line: 1-800-636-1067 (10/11/08) Dave's response: Will Teapot Tim (right) be calling in? Oh nevermind. I'll go back to reading my Blade..... Levan Reid gone AGAIN???..All I can say is WOW.. (10/11/08) Dan Stevens, KEY 103 afternoon Host, is running 103 miles for a cure. On Friday, October 10, Dan will begin Dan's Run for a Cure to help promote and raise money for Breast Cancer Research. Dan's 103 mile run will conclude on Saturday, October 11th. Frederick Memorial Hospital (FMH) representatives will also be on site Saturday to provide information and help raise awareness. All activities will take place along Carroll Creek Linear Park near Market Street in downtown Frederick. All monies raised will go to the FMH Cancer Patient Assistance Fund & The Patty Hurwitz Foundation at FMH. Donations will be collected throughout the month of October at all branches of BB&T the official bank of Dan's Run for a Cure, Friday, October 10th from 4p - Midnight, and on Saturday, October 11th at the KEY 103 Booth in the Carroll Creek Linear Park in Downtown Frederick. (10/11/08) (Snippety doo dah) Channel 4 ... went to a Special News Report with Lester Holt talking about the speech the president was going to make. As the president began to speak, they went to commercials. (end snip) Yeah, I did see it. Would that have been a local Channel 4 phucque-up, or was it a New York phucque-up, remotely running Channel 4's local master control? (10/11/08) Hope you got to see chanel 4 royallllly f_up just a few minutes ago. The station went ot a Special News Reprt with Lester Holt talking about the speech the president was going to make. As the president began to speak, they went to commercials. (10/11/08) ("Why exactly won't the CBS suits let Donnie Geronimo call in to the dullish Mike O'meara show once a week or something? Is this the end of Ricco? Seeeeeeee--- Dave's response: You'll still find the City Paper print edition around the region every Thursday. Although, I've noticed the piles of papers aren't as large as before. And, yes, the paper still seems rather fat and full of ads. Go figure! As for Don, I really think he doesn't want to guest call Mike's show. CBS's suits aren't prohibiting him from doing that, if he wanted to.....") The good news is you can always find out about the availability of other free weeklies (for instance the Blade) right here on DCRTV. And Dave, with all due respect, you're wrong about Don's agreement with CBS. According to the man himself (maybe a little less time spent listening to the Globe, huh) he is NOT allowed to call in. --- Trinity Asian Coed (10/11/08) Dave's response: Gee, I thought that Don and Mike were life-long friends and the former would always be welcome to call the latter's show. Gee, how wrong could I be! Ha ha ha. Oh, gotta go read my Blade now. Bye..... FYI: Grease has left the DC101 building. The station is going more "music intensive" (10/11/08) To Ed Graham and Gary Helton: Thanks to you both for your posts concerning my questions re Buddy Dean. It really does amaze me how much slower the integration process went and is still going on in Baltimore compared to places like Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to grow up in an area that largely integrated before I was old enough to know what that even was, so I never thought anything about “segregation” of any kind. As this thread started concerning Lloyd Thaxton, then evolving into talking about Buddy Dean, there is yet another side-note to Thaxton’s passing, and that is in the same week we here in the LA area lost yet another TV icon, “Chucko the Clown” who was a mainstay of kids TV from 1955 through 1964. And only recently, we lost yet another icon, “Engineer Bill.” Boy, they’re all dirt-napping Ed! But, fear not, there’s still old farts left like you and me! Bill Powers, Los Angeles (10/11/08) Dave: While listening to WTEM during the week, I must applaud Czaban for being politically correct and quite the professional. During a segment of the "Sports Reporters," Czaban and his panalists started poking jokes at Vinny Cerrato's weekly show. It's quite evident that Czaban held-back his comments or else...but looking at the big picture, it reminds the sportstalk faithful about how bad a station is ESPN980. Leave Pollin and Czaban aside for a minute and what do you have, poorly mixed talent with nothing to say or people acting like they know what's going-on...as in the case of Doc Walker. The best thing for Bonneville to do is to start a sportstalk-format station on the FM dial and hire people like Mike Patrick, Len Elmore, and Joe Theismann to work there. These are people who come highly respected and I think fans will listen to..rather than Doc or Al boasting about their golf games or needless chatter about which bars they visit. Why is it sportstalk fans know Kevin Sheehan and Doc don't work well together and management refuses to make changes. We're to the point of switching to WMAL during the afternoons. (10/11/08) Dave's response: Sean Hannity is NOT the answer..... /\ October 11 Messages /\ \/ October 10 Messages \/ Snooper - Thanks for the insider information. However, why were they both shown the door when it sounds like Baxter was the problem? Couldn't they have found a new partner for Bonnie? Finally, any word on the future of the morning show? Inquiring minds want to know. Dave in Fredericksburg (10/10/08) I am saddened at the loss of the WTMD relay. I am a WTMD supporter and used the relay several hours a day every day at work. I hope WTMD can find a way to get a better signal in DC. I also feel It could have been worse if WAMU's talk and blab wound up on the relay. At least there is music that cannot be found anywhere else. I have a wide taste in music which includes bluegrass to jazz. I like Lee Michael Dempsy and used to support WAMU when he was on the air in the early nineties. He had a nice mix of bluegrass and folk music. There are other shows here that are welcome as well such as E-Town and Mountain Stage. It would nice if WAMU would add The World Café to the list. As far as alternatives go, some else mentioned the iPhone to listen to internet radio. I have been doing this since I purchased my iPhone in July. It works fairly well on AT&T's 3G network but there glitches in certain areas. AT&T needs to work on their network a bit. You need to be on 3G to stream 128k. The older edge network will support 64k. You can set up the iPhone to play through your car stereo with the right accessories. Stations similar to WTMD that will work on the iPhone are WFUV in NYC, WXPN in Philadelphia and WNCW in Ahseville NC. WNCW is my favorite. During the week they have a very diverse mix from Jazz to Bluegrass and everything in between. On the weekends there special shows featuring jazz, bluegrass & folk. They also carry The World Café. Bob Fairfax (10/10/08) Centennial, the outfit that owns the Fredericksburg station that made their morning show disappear, is also the company, I believe, that owns the WINC cluster in Winchester. Maybe they will have Barry Lee voicetrack Frederickburg. (10/10/08) Dave in Fredericksburg, relax. There's not a capitalist bogeyman or voice track conspiracy behind EVERY bush! Word from "inside the building" is that Baxter and Bonnie did not play well together and it was starting to show in the halls and on the air. Baxter pretty much HAD to get along with Heather when she was there because she was Operations Manager Brian deMay's wife! He didn't seem to leave a lot of friends behind. Signed, The Snooper (10/10/08) Re: "Did B101.5 in Fredericksburg let its longtime morning team go?" The answer is yes. I sent an E-mail to the station - here's the response: "Dave, Thanks for writing. Baxter & Bonnie are no longer with our station. Sincerely, Chris Carmichael Operations Manager." So it appears that the morning team has left the building. My guess is that this is a cost saving measure, as I've notice they no longer have an overnight DJ either. I wonder how much of the day is now or will be voice tracked. Things that make you go Hmmmmmmm. Dave in Fredericksburg (10/10/08) Does the bankruptcy of the company that owns the City Paper mean it will no longer be availble in a hard copy? Although quite difficult to find since the takeover I found the amount of advertising in the City Paper had not declined much, it actually seemed to have increased with far less content. Why exactly won't the CBS suits let Donnie Geronimo call in to the dullish Mike O'meara show once a week or something? Is this the end of Ricco? Seeeeeeee (10/10/08) Dave's response: You'll still find the City Paper print edition around the region every Thursday. Although, I've noticed the piles of papers aren't as large as before. And, yes, the paper still seems rather fat and full of ads. Go figure! As for Don, I really think he doesn't want to guest call Mike's show. CBS's suits aren't prohibiting him from doing that, if he wanted to..... I know it's not local, guy, but….. www.breitbart.com - Minneapolis radio station said Friday it would air public service announcements on HIV/AIDS after a pair of talk hosts accused Magic Johnson of faking AIDS. KTLK's Chris Baker and Langdon Perry made the remarks during Baker's conservative talk show on Wednesday. After Johnson condemned the statements, the station said on Friday it regretted "some off-hand remarks" by the pair. (10/10/08) WFAN replaced Imus with Boomer & Carton. That's former Cincinnati Bengals (and U of MD) quarterback and CBS's NFL Today analyst Boomer Esaison and Craig Carton, formerly of WKXW (New Jersey 101.5). Mike and The Mad Dog briefly replaced Imus was he was fired by WFAN. During that time, Mike and The Mad Dog continued to do their afternoon drive show on WFAN. (10/10/08) If Nassau goes down, they have no one to blame but themselves. For a long time, they were a very profitable small to medium ownership group with a strong accent on local community service radio stations. Lots of decent signal AM'ers and a scattering of FM's. They usually held signals right at the very edge of major metropolitan areas, places that needed local coverage for traffic, weather and news that the big city stations rarely if ever covered. Princeton's WHWH was a perfect example: ample local coverage of news and am/pm drive time with late and overnight syndication to bring in the bucks. They covered most of non-shore central New Jersey and up past Flemington into the lower Skylands. In particular, they could cover the weak zone south of Princeton and along the Delaware where a lot of the New York stations faded and bring in the talkers that were always good for a solid income stream. They took their signals and eventually traded; the programming lost it's local touch, with more and more going to ethnic and Hispanic niche broadcasting (with the ultimate accompanying loss of income such narrow-casting normally entails, especially when the target audience has limited discretionary income subject to sudden and not always predictable shifts). Meanwhile, the majority of the local audience and their advertisers go to satellite and local cable coverage for their news and traffic needs. Nassau killed the Golden Goose with their own grubby little hands. No love lost for what was once a good company. (10/10/08) Chris Russo wasn't the morning guy on WFAN, Imus was. Russo did afternoon drive on WFAN with Mike Francessa. (10/10/08) Dave's response: Didn't Mike and Mad Dog move to WFAN mornings after Don Imus got fired for that "ho" remark? Imus later moved to mornings on NYC's WABC..... Did B101.5 in Fredericksburg let its longtime morning team go? There was someone new on this morning who didn't sound like he was trying to do a fill-in show, and when I checked the Web site after getting to work, the only photo on the morning team's page was that of the traffic reporter. What gives? (10/10/08) This is why I love Fred, Andy & Bryan so much! WMAL's Grandy & Andy Morning Show mascot, Barney the Market Bear, gets a 'kick' out of Bryan Nehman in this hilarious clip from today's G&A Postgame Show (Fri., 10/10). Also, what do 3 grown men and 96 cents have in common? Check it out here: www.630wmal.com... In addition, Chris Plante is scheduled to appear on CNN discussing the election & politics on Sunday night, in the 10 p.m. hour. Happy Weekend! -Silvie- (10/10/08) Dave's response: Chris Plante on the Obama News Network? Has he no shame? Ha ha ha..... Re: WTMD relay ending on 105.5 Great Falls...hmm, I think I wrote this yesterday: "Or maybe WAMU wants to throw Bluegrass Country onto it." I guess I didn't realize that would happen the very next day! :) This FM HD2/3-channels-onto-translators thing is growing, and apparently has implicit approval by the FCC. (10/10/08) Carl in Olney - "WTOP AM and FM, Washington, Silver Spring; WTOP-FM, Braddock Heights, Frederick" - It is actually "WTLP-FM Braddock Heights, Frederick. However, the WTOP AM/FM Washington, Silver Spring is illegal as hell, not that anybody is enforcing it. WTOP is not license to Washington, and WTOP FM is not licensed to Silver Spring as the ID implies. The correct identification is WTOP FM Washington, WTOP Silver Spring - although they could probably get away with WTOP FM/AM Washington, Silver Spring - by simply reversing the AM/FM in their current ID. (10/10/08) ("re: iphone steaming... any radio station that streams can be heard on the iphone with app called internet radio tuner. its $4.99... thank god i can listen to LA's KROQ so i dont have to hear shitty DC101..." Even better there is a free one called FStream and that can handle MP3, AAC+ and WIndows Media. Works well driving round the beltway. (10/10/08) Someone responded to my missive with "What Porter Jervis seems to have forgotten...". Perhaps you read too much into what I said, or perhaps you are annoyed that I called you a malcontent, but what I said was, "what are you all going to listen to?" Liberals obviously don't listen to liberal talk radio? It has failed miserably over the years. I have tried listening to it and its like listening to that woman who calls the Chris Plante show, Joann, but all day long. Nails on a chalk board. Like it or not, its a supply and demand economy, there is just no demand for the kind of liberal talk radio that is offered. If a "Fairness" doctrine is forced on Americans, I imagine it will have a negative economic impact on that sector of the economy and you under employed radio guys, will be bagging groceries and Food Lion. Be careful for what you wish for. (10/10/08) A WTOP Question: Is is my imagination or is the legal ID stated as "WTOP AM and FM, Washington, Silver Spring; WTOP-FM, Braddock Heights, Frederick", etc. How can two stations both be WTOP-FM? Clearly the one at 103.9 must have different call letters. Next, a WTOP Compliment: Their lengthy interviews, news items, and discussions on the current financial difficulties are the absolute best! No foolish opinion, no NPR-style reframing (you know what I mean), just great facts, informed opinion about the future, and high quality guests. Congratulations, it's even better than WCBS-880 nowadays, and I've always considered WCBS the best of the bunch in the past. -- Carl in Olney (10/10/08) Eva Cooper, longtime head of HR for Citadel/ABC radio, Washington was let go yesterday. She had been with the stations since dinosaurs walked the earth. Word has it that HR will be run out of corporate HQs. (10/10/08) Screw Sean Hannity and Mark Levin. In fact, screw WMAL. What a worthless station, peopled with self-loathing bitter losers - no, being filthy rich just from shooting off your yap every day doesn't make you a winner - who have ZERO going for them. Mark Levin thought he was being oh-so-cute by harassing MSNBC and Comedy Central folks like a five year-old the other night with his little phone pranks. Well, now we all know that he is simply a waste of humanity. Same thing for that racist Hannity. They know their time is running out, their influence is waning, people are waking up to reality. WMAL USED to be a great station long ago and now I hope it tanks as badly as the stock market is tanking. Mike in Manassas (10/10/08) Re: the post about the financial mess Citadel is in, and then Dave's follow-up on Nassau being in trouble too... What radio company isn't in trouble right now? (or really any kind of company at this time) The trades are full of news blurbs about programming, on-air and promotions jobs being eliminated every day - and in all sized companies and markets. The credit crunch and lack of consumer spending has lead businesses to cut way back on their advertising budgets, which means less revenue for radio - so they cut the payrolls in programming figuring someone who does three jobs can probably do five. Then, if that person burns out and leaves, there are plenty of talented people on the street who would be willing to step in and do those five jobs for less money than the previous person was making. The worst part of this situation is that the sales department, (yes, they're having a tough time, too) instead of working harder to make budget, takes a half day off for a bowling party in order to bond and boost their morale. Yes, these are tough times! (10/10/08) Correction to Satellite News Channel post: SNC went dark in 1983, not 1985. Al McGilvray (10/10/08) Glad to see Jim Williams is already looking ahead to the ’09-’10 caps season, but he should let them play the ’08-’09 season first. (10/10/08) (RE Phil Boyce leaving:) One of the best PD's in the country (widely viewed that way by his peers and competitors). Does not seem to bode well for Citadel whose stock languishes under $1. What was it, $17 when Citadel bought the ABC Radio stations and ABC Radio Networks? (10/10/08) Dave's response: Also, my sources tell me that Nassau's in some pretty deep financial shit of late..... (Snip) ...how about that other cable news outfit that was up against the original CNN...(end snip). That would have been Satellite News Channel, which aired from June 1982 to October 1985 out of studios in Stamford, CT. It was a joint effort between ABC and Westinghouse Broadcasting (Group W). I still have one of their coffee mugs. (10/10/08) Dave's response: Anyone remember Ted Turner's Cable Music Channel? He was going to challenge the newly-launched MTV. CMC was on air maybe a week before he shut it down..... (regarding a previous post) "Obama gets elected and gets the (un)fairness doctrine re-imposed, what are all you liberal malcontents gonna listen to?" What Porter Jervis seems to have forgotten (or, perhaps, never knew) is that all Americans - liberals included - are under no Constitutional obligation to be content with the state of things these past 8 years. And, we are in no way compelled to yearn for four years of a bullshit, Bush-like presidency under McCain or Palin. These “lapel pin patriots” are really something! It’s hard to tell whether it is their arrogance or ignorance that is greater. The word/concept of "fairness", implies "just", "equitable", "impartial", "unprejudiced", "unbiased", "objective", "dispassionate", "free from favoritism, self-interest, or preference in judgment". It’s not really too much to expect that the airwaves - which belong to the people, after all - actually offer a playing field with such attributes. You'd have to be on some CIA-strength LSD to perceive today's radio landscape as one possessing even a few of the above-mentioned traits. Besides, Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly and the rest of the right wing echo machine are all probably praying like toddlers at bedtime, for an Obama win -- it keep ‘em bitching, pissing, moaning and complaining for four years. (10/10/08) Dave, As of 6 AM this morning 105.5 was carrying WAMU's HD-2 Bluegrass Channel. I don't believe the power hike has taken effect yet. Bob Fairfax (10/10/08) I wonder if the global financial meltdown means the end of the Fox Business Channel? Since inception, it has limped along with a miniscule audience and no real chance to beat CNBC. In times like these, ad budgets get slashed and I doubt the marketplace can support two business cable channels. Anybody remember Financial News Network in the 80s? Or, how about that other cable news outfit that was up against the original CNN, back then? (10/10/08) Dave's response: On the contrary, with all the financial developments of late, I'd expect FBN's numbers to be way up. In fact, I seriously wonder if the evil Rupert Murdoch is behind the stock market crash just to get the audience of his FBN elevated..... re: iphone steaming... any radio station that streams can be heard on the iphone with app called internet radio tuner. its $4.99... thank god i can listen to LA's KROQ so i dont have to hear shitty DC101... -Drew (10/10/08) Maybe CBS is planning an oldies station along the lines of the old KB radio out of Buffalo (I'm sure ex-WPGC'er Scott Shannon would not be too happy about that, but it might work). Don Geronimo, Bruce Kelly, and Davy Jones might still be available. Stephen (10/10/08) Sean Hannity and Mark Levin should be so proud www.washingtonpost.com (10/10/08) Dave, How much longer until Don’s NDA expires? Thanks (10/10/08) Dave's response: All I know is that Geronimo is under contract in some form or fashion to CBS Radio until some time in 2010..... /\ October 10 Messages /\ \/ October 9 Messages \/ If Phil Boyce is the man who foisted Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin on an unsuspecting America, there is a special level of Hell awaiting him someday. (10/9/08) The person who wrote 'Man, it's gettin' scary out there' left out a vital component, the caller is a DEMOCRAT. After the break, Rush commented that the last caller was balance for Harry Reid suggesting a talk show host is racist for bringing up Fannie May and Obama in the same sentence. Why is it good or bad for WMAL? It all makes good radio. BTW, if Obama gets elected and gets the (un)fairness doctrine re-imposed, what are all you liberal malcontents gonna listen to? Porter Jervis (10/9/08) "To which, the host responded (telegraphed his support?) with silence." Obviously you were not watching him on the ditto cam. He winked and then put on this white robe and hood. I heard one time he belongs to Sen. Byrd's klan. (10/9/08) Sean Hannity and Mark Levin are so proud at this point www.youtube.com (10/9/08) Another proud moment for WMAL. A caller on Rush Limbaugh's show predicted a rise in the membership of the KKK if Obama is elected. To which, the host responded (telegraphed his support?) with silence. Man, it's gettin' scary out there. (10/9/08) To Bunny lover..Eugene McCarty is dead just as "Commander Bunny's Brain is DEAD" As his followers brains are dead. DEAD=1: deprived of life : no longer alive, dain bread.... (10/9/08) Ed Graham. You speak the truth. It really looks like AM stations that are not making money now - are effectively dead. I believe the window of even pumping resources into them and restarting the band is over. There are just too many better alternatives for getting information - or anything they could offer, unless some new usage comes for the medium. Generation(s) have now grown up without even trying the band. Community access and giving them to otherwise non profits reminds me of a time back in the 70's when "new" uses were developed and proposed for recycling the styrofoam boxes the McDonalds burgers came in - remember - you could reuse them as planters and change holders. OK, what about the other ten million produced yesterday? Once you give a few AM's to schools (who are starting to know better due to cost and upkeep especially on directionals) and turn some of them into community stations - what about the rest? McD's switched to cardboard...AM will probably switch off. Too bad. I am getting older and I like remembering the old days of AM. (10/9/08) “Web designer needed for a radio show that launches in 45 days in Baltimore?? HHHMMMMMM... baltimore.craigslist.org” ... I wouldn’t worry about it being on too grand of a scale beings the craigs list poster has no real ties to radio……………. profile.myspace.com (10/9/08) “I'm wondering what the "fireworks" thing is all about.” It’s simple! Dick Cheney will finally bring out Bin Laden from the rendition camp where he’s being held or, he will orchestrate another attack on the country in order to swing the vote to the GOP. Keith O. (10/9/08) I think the Rodent Racism being shown on the DCRTV is disgraceful and shows the ignorance of the posters. Apparently, some feel they don't "get it" and are angry at the entire Bunny population, because of their inability to comprehend what is going on. I suspect, that this is not the only thing they don't "get" in their lives. I for one support Commander Bunny, and will vote for him on November 4th. As for my fellow ape-human monkeys, who continue to exhibit their fear by making unwarranted personal attacks on Commander Bunny and all rabbits, I am both ashamed and embarassed for them. Pat Paulsen was a joke, who ran for President. Commander Bunny is a solution. Please, enough of the blatant Rodent Racism. Eugene McCarthy (10/9/08) I share the persons sentiments regarding Commander Bunny. I don't get ''it''. Don't want to get ''it''. Just want it to please end. PLEASE...Enough. Paul (10/9/08) I so much have to agree with Pat Paulsen. Hey Sal, heed Dave Hughes comment. LOL:0) (10/9/08) We really need a nude statue of PLB. Sal Mineo (10/9/08) Dave's response: That'll happen on the same day that professional football starts using Morrissey songs on TV promos. "Everyday Is Like Sunday"..... Word from NYC is that former WNNK-FM (WINK 104) Harrisburg shock jock Bruce Bond was sentenced Wednesday to 2.5 to 7 years in the jug for his role in a Nigerian check scandal. The original 65-count indictment filed in early summer charged Bond with forgery, attempted grand larceny and identity theft. He had worked up a $4.3 million forged-check scheme over more than a year with accomplices in Nigeria and Europe, using bank account information stolen from the Federal Communications Commission, Bard College and others. (10/9/08) Enough with the Commander Bunny stuff. To the very few of you who are in on and "get it", go start your own website and leave the rest of us alone......PLEASE !!!! Pat Paulsen (10/9/08) First of all, I didn’t realize the “statue” suggested of me in Baltimore would be nude!!!! This certainly puts a new twist on that doesn’t it? The sick one that posted re: genitals must be Commander Bunny’s selection for VICE president! I really don’t find any humor in the writing of the posts and I find less humor at the suggestion that we as a whole are single digit IQ’d. Anyone that thinks this “bunny ball bull” is funny is certainly a bit on the twisted side. I hold no HARD feelings I just dislike the impression that I would be a statue, clothed or nude and sponsored by a “twitty rabbit”.PLB:0) (10/9/08) I really love the posts that suggest a little AM daytime station that bills $4 a month should buy another station and take it dark, or should hire Steve Rouse, Johnny Dark, Ken Merson, and Charlie Tuna. These are really great ideas, but they are impossible for a few reasons. One, it would take the kind of money that will never be available. Two, if it were available, you could not make enough money to sustain the station. It's all about how much you can sell and what is left to spend. I would love to hear some of the formats suggested in the mailbag, but they would have to be on an FM station that was capable of making some money. Some small AM stations should consider becoming community access. Some should donate the station to a college or high school. Even an all request juke box with dedications. Try a volunteer staff. Try anything, just don't give up and carry syndicated talk crap or bad sports talk. After Limbaugh, there is nothing. As much as I hate what he stands for, he is the only syndicated broadcaster that will work in a major market. Ed Graham (10/9/08) To: Bill Powers re: "...Buddy Deane, my question is, did he or did he not integrate blacks and whites on his show?" Gary Helton (whom I haven't fired for several years) answered most of your questions, except the integration one. No, Buddy and WJZ never did integrate the show. They did include an occasional show that featured African-American high schools, but no white dancers (even Committee Members) were on those shows. Baltimore was not integrated at the time and there is some disagreement about who exactly decided to stop the show rather than integrate it. Dean said it was WJZs decision, and others said that it was Buddy's call. I think it may have been a little of both. There was great fear that the public just wouldn't accept mixing the show. Remember, at that time Gwynn Oak Park closed so they would not have to integrate. Shame on them. Live television was really fun, but this episode really was the beginning of the end for live-local TV productions. When I was drafted and went to Korea, I did a live TV dance show on AFKN-TV that was integrated and we had a great time. I'm glad that Baltimore seems to be joining the human race now. To Joyce, "BUSTER," how could you? Ed Graham (10/9/08) Well that makes my day seeing my name in print on your site! Dude you can't believe how many ways my name has been twisted over the years, and yes I get confused with "Belinda Carlisle" and called all sorts of things. Bonnie, Barbie, Kathy, Kaite (a lot) but my favorite was being asked if I was Sally Thorner's sister years ago when I did work at WJZ. I was with my real life sister at the time, and we still laugh about that.... Brenda "spell it right" Carl. Dave keep up the good work, I'm a slacker=blogger I don;t know how you get all this inside info. -- Check out my blog: www.examiner.com (10/9/08) Web designer needed for a radio show that launches in 45 days in Baltimore?? HHHMMMMMM... baltimore.craigslist.org (10/9/08) Interesting quote from El Rushbo, who is looking ahead to the final debate next Wednesday. He's not sure whether voters should watch or not - especially the exasperated McCain voters. Rush Limbaugh says, "Senator McCain believes that the last 72 hours determine the election. I was told this to prepare myself for fireworks in the last 72 hours. Frankly, I'm worn out with all these expectations being built up. If you would be a happier American and more motivated and inspired to vote by not watching next week's debate, then don't watch it. If all it's going to do is depress you and make you mad, throw your hands in the air, don't watch it." I'm wondering what the "fireworks" thing is all about. (10/9/08) For the intellectually challenged, lip-drooling, knuckle-dragging, ape-human monkey boys, who have been trashing Commander Bunny, here are the facts. Obama and McCain aren't buying ads, everytime they are mentioned, why should Commander Bunny? If you are going to require that the Rabbit do this, why not the ape-human monkeys? Commander Bunny is the only BROADCASTER from the DC area, and (pay attention here dopes, this is important) and as such qualifies, unlike McCain and Obama, to be mentioned in DCRTV. The nasty, personal smear campaign being waged against Commander Bunny smells of Republican strategists, who excell in that arena, and it needs to stop. That video was not about Commander Bunny, but we did catch that poster, at home, right before he made that insiduous post. What's that old saying about "monkeys in glass houses?": www.youtube.com... The hateful venom that has been spewing from DCRTV directed at the only valid, qualified candidate to be mentioned on DCRTV only makes it all the more important that Dave start requiring that these cowardly, chickencrap, slack-jawed, monkey posters, use their real names, so other monkeys can avoid them when standing in line to get those "double wide" fans for their trailers. The ignorance, and single digit IQ posters who have been posting lies and false information about Commander Bunny only proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Commander Bunny is the only choice on election day. He is scaring the hell out of the ignorant ape-human monkeys. And we understand why PLB doesn't want that nude statue of him in downtown Baltimore. We sympathize that he would be embarassed by being hauled into court for "lack of evidence" over his genitals! Or worse yet, "small claims court"!!! Enough of the nasty, personal, smear tactics. Commander Bunny for President! Under the Commander Bunny administration, he'll make these cowards who post anonymously use names like "Girly boy" and "Sissy-man" when they use these cowardly and chicken tactics. Stop the lies. Stop the personal attacks. Vote Commander Bunny on November 4th. ALL HAIL COMMANDER BUNNY! (10/9/08) Re: "If I were a betting man, I'd bet that WAMU is paying for the 250watt upgrade to the 105.5 translator and just doesn't want another public radio station in the market, ESPECIALLY one from Baltimore, no matter what the format." I hate to interrupt all your imaginary intrigue, but as Dave points out, WTMD programming actually AIRS ON one of WAMU's HD channels. Why in the world would WAMU waste any time worrying about a 250 watt translator carrying a format they don't otherwise carry? (Well, aside from the WTMD programming itself on their own HD side channel!) I'm wondering if the new rebroadcast filing means they're gonna try simulcasting the WAMU-HD3 channel WTMD is on already, as another mailbag poster suggested. It's already being done in three cities now - Harrisburg PA, Asheville NC and Ithaca NY - where stations are feeding translators off HD Radio side channels. Or maybe WAMU wants to throw Bluegrass Country onto it. If WAMU wanted to squash a Baltimore Public Radio Invasion, and keep WTMD off a small translator, why did it strike a deal with them for the HD channel? Slow down, people, and quit looking for conspiracies behind every corner - with no actual factual evidence backing them... (10/9/08) Dear Mr. Hughes: I am looking for a small studio to rent once a month to produce a podcast. I need to record phone interviews, edit them and package them into a 30-minute program, and a shorter 10-minute version. I would be happy to rent the facility, or give someone some very high-profile credit in return. This is for a well-known public affairs publication. Can anyone offer any advice or assistance? Thank you. (10/9/08) /\ October 9 Messages /\ \/ October 8 Messages \/ Hey Dave, Have a look at talk1580.com, looks like talk will be the new format for WPGC-AM. Take Care, Tybois Uphold (10/8/08) Dave's response: Ahhh, wasn't talk the old format? If I were the owners of Glen Burnie's WFBR 1590 or Baltimore's WNST 1570, I'd be kicking the tires on old WPGC AM 1580 to see if CBS is willing to sell cheaply since it's obvious CBS doesn't care about this station. Both stations could probably drastically improve their signal coverage if shortspaced AM 1580 went dark for good as all of these stations along with AM 1600 have crippled nighttime signals due to adjacent channel interference. Obviously CBS could have attempted the reverse, but you just know that would never happen. Oh, and speaking of AM 1600, the Delaware AM 1600 that has been operating at low power STA status for over 10 years now was given a translator for WXXY near Ocean City Maryland and guess what happened to that already? Yep, you guessed it, now EVEN THE TRANSLATOR FOR WXXY 1600 Dover is on Special Temporary Authority low power! HAha! You just cannot make this stuff up. When is the FCC going to learn that you don't give crack addicts (i.e.: broadcasters clearly in violation of FCC policy and not serving the public) MORE CRACK (i.e.: new broadcast licenses)?!? Unbelievable, really, how the FCC mismanages the public's airwaves on a daily basis, but then again, look at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Meanwhile the FCC has far more important things to do, like stopping this FM 105.5 in Great Falls from broadcasting any meaningful programming or watching for foul language. (10/8/08) RLTV - Don't be fooled by the company's public stance. We're in miserable condition at this time. We recently laid off our four man website team, and it appears the folks upstairs aren't done. Hard to imagine where else they can cut, its turning into a ghost town. Trust me when I tell you (and feel free to follow this up) that monster.com is getting plenty of visits from here. (10/8/08) We saw Lloyd Thaxton's show in Philly; we used to laugh at how badly the Calif. kids danced (we, in Philly, were of course rock snobs!). I vaguely remember that he had a theme song that was similar to The Teaberry Shuffle. Anybody have info on the theme? It might have been called 'So What', or 'So What's New' ??? A.L. (10/8/08) Does anyone know how old Scott Shannon is? (10/8/08) Dave's response: 60-ish? "FCC rules require the translator's 60dbu contour to be within the main stations 80dbu contour. WTMD does not meet those requirements." - I'm pretty sure that is not the case for non-com stations, as WTMD is. Otherwise, the country would not be flooded with Joe in Essex's favorite station, the relay of the Hope Church of Marlton NJ. (10/8/08) Lloyd Thaxton died. SO WHAT?!?! Seriously, I loved his show, and I remember when Roger Miller appeared in early 1965 to sing his big hit "King of the Road." I just found a blurb about it on lloydthaxton.blogspot.com. Maybe I'd better let that speak for me first, and then I'll give you my version of what went down that day, based on the fact that my brother taped that particular show right off the air (on a quality reel-to-reel, too)! - - - - - One of my favorite stories was when Roger brought his band to the show to introduce “King of the Road.” This was his first TV appearance since writing and recording the song. In the middle of the first chorus he started hesitating. It was obvious that he had forgotten the (his own written) words. I walked in when Roger stopped singing altogether. Roger apologized and asked, “Can we start over?” I answered, “Roger, we are live.” He said, “LIVE? Like in ‘ON? RIGHT NOW?’” At that point the guys in the band started picking up from where he had stumbled and started singing the words themselves. Roger picked up the cue, and finished the song; to thunderous applause, I might add. Thunderous, that is, for a studio audience of only 30 teen-agers. After the show a dejected Roger came up to me to apologize again. “I really ruined your show Lloyd.” “Are you kidding?” I answered. “It was the best thing that could have happened. You were great. Didn’t you hear that thunderous applause?” - - - - - The recollections I have (which, mind you, are pretty accurate) of my brother's audio recording of that moment goes like this: About a minute into KOTR, Roger started singing--and, BTW, it really was him, accompanied by just the instrumental portion on tape--"Third boxcar, midnight train / Could we stop the tape, I forgot the words to the song / If we can't stop the tape….[I think he did say "Can we start over" at this point] Well, maybe I could sing Mary Had A Little Lamb….[then you can hear some of the band members helplessly singing the words "King of the Road" in the background, then Roger goes]....I forgot it, really…..I really forgot it….[laughter from the audience] We'll be back in just a moment after a word from our sponsor." Roger actually said that--it was hilarious. Then Lloyd reminded him the show was live and if you make a mistake you don't stop but just keep going, with Roger sheepishly agreeing all the way. He started the verse over and finished the song without another slipup. Spontaneous with a capital S. KOF (10/8/08) We can stop guessing. I spoke with Steve Yasko today and he confirmed that WTMD will be losing the 105.5 relay. It has do do with the power increase to 250w. FCC rules require the translator's 60dbu contour to be within the main stations 80dbu contour. WTMD does not meet those requirements. (10/8/08) "Dave's response: I was thinking about going to that concert at Wolf Trap, but I was literally tied up that night". Hmm.... and Belinda & I were looking for a place to 'hang out' after the show ;-) FYI, next year's Regeneration Tour '09 has not yet been finalized, but word is that Tears for Fears, Bananarama, The Bangles, Thompson Twins, The Fixx and Split Enz are high in the running to perform. -Silvie- (10/8/08) Dave, thank you for the news on the passing of Lloyd Thaxton. Grandpa Helton is correct. The Lloyd Thaxton show did air in Baltimore because I can remember singing the introduction song when it came on. However, once "Where the Action Is" was moved from the early morning hours to afternoons on WJZ, I was hooked being a big fan of Paul Revere and the Raiders. It's funny because I have a Knickerbockers album ("Lies") in my collection and Lloyd gives them a big tout along with several of the broadcasting greats. The Knickerbockers were also regulars on "Where The Action Is". Lloyd, rest in peace my friend. At least we still have Ed Graham in our midst. Don't feel bad Ed. I was corrected by a young broadcaster for calling rapper Busta Rhymes ( I think he is a rapper) "Buster". Was thinking of those shoes. Blessings to all. Joyce Conroy (WHFC) (10/8/08) If you recall, Tony Perkins did news for a short time right before he was recruited by ABC for GMA…. (10/8/08) Tony Perkins anchors the news about as well as he anchors the weather. What exactly is/was his draw to GMA and getting rehired at FOX 5. Snooze-o-rama! I'd rather watch Gwen and her "wetter weather" forecast. (10/8/08) Dave, actually Belinda Carlisle was very close to DCRTV headquarters last 8/26, when she performed at Wolf Trap as part of Regeneration Tour '08, along with Human League, ABC, A Flock of Seagulls and Naked Eyes. It was an awesome concert and she's great and beautiful at 50 years of age. Her son James Duke Mason was an avid Hillary supporter during the primaries and now supports the Obama-Biden ticket. He's 16 years old and was a Congressional Page here in Washington this past summer. James enjoys politics and would like to follow in his father's footsteps (Morgan Mason, former aide to Reagan and son of legendary actor James Mason). It has been noted that James would like to run for President of the United States in the year 2032, when he's 40. Here's video of James supporting Obama: www.youtube.com... -Silvie- (10/8/08) Dave's response: I was thinking about going to that concert at Wolf Trap, but I was literally tied up that night..... To Bill Powers, the Thaxton show was on WBAL-TV weekdays around 4 or 5 during the mid-60s, if memory serves me correctly. This was after Buddy Deane ended (Jan. 64). I think it replaced "Pete the Pirate" and aired in competition with "Where The Action Is" on WJZ, which was an ABC outlet back then. Kerby Scott still ruled the local dance scene Saturdays on 'BAL-TV. This was around the same time he (Kerby) hosted "Wing Ding" in DC on WDCA every afternoon. I believe by then he'd left WCAO for WYRE in Annapolis. Didn't he eventually co-own that station with Paul (The Emperor) Rodgers? My memory's not what it used to be, but thank heaven I'm not as old as Ed Graham. He still holds the record for hiring and firing me the most, 'cept he can't remember how many times anymore. Gary Helton, WHFC-FM (10/8/08) “"If the Redskins truly care about their fans and want them to get an unbiased, unfiltered, all-access inside look at the football team, the answer is not to put Vinny Cerrato on the air to offer his party-line pabulum and Skins' spin.” Ah, but therein lies the rub: The Redskins have no interest whatsoever in giving fans an unbiased, unfiltered look at the team, no more than Barack Obama’s or John McCain’s handlers want voters to get an unbiased, unfiltered look at their candidate. Why would they? Snyder & Co. are in the business of selling tickets and merchandise. Letting fans see the bad and the ugly along with the good can only hurt that enterprise, whereas giving them a controlled, pre-packaged and carefully-spun party line can, and no doubt does, help. (10/8/08) I watched the video on the LA Times article announcing Lloyd Thaxton's death, and it brought back memories. When I watched the show out of Charlotte, NC, when I was about 5, I was always intrigued by the mop-top puppet (which was packaged and sold in stores for a while), as well as the "SO WHAT!" sign-off. Thaxton's antics made us all laugh when he was on. RIP, Lloyd (10/8/08) Walter Chronkite & Dan Rather aren't friends. (10/8/08) Dave's response: It was a joke..... Pressbox going to be a monthly mag soon. (10/8/08) (I think it's time to end the Mailbag's intellectually-challenged political debate when somebody actually claims that you aren't qualified to hold elective office if you're a smoker. That kind of silliness is a waste of space.) it was tongue-in-cheek, stupid. get over yourself. (10/8/08) Hey Dave, just thought I'd let your readers know, that Mark Kaye, formerly of WIHT, will be guest hosting on WJFK-FM this Saturday from 9p-Midnight. Here is the e-mail he sent me(i'm on his e-mail list)..... I'm coming back to DC! I'll be in town this weekend visiting friends and I've been invited to "Guest Host" on WJFK-FM. Make a note: Mark Kaye on WJFK 106.7 FM... Saturday, October 11, 2008 9:00PM - Midnight... Please listen and DEFINITELY CALL! It's 3 hours of talk so I will need as many of my peeps on the phones as I can get! Here is the request line: 1-800-636-1067 (10/8/08) I had wondered if Lloyd Thaxton’s show was seen in the Baltimore/DC area when he syndicated the show. Having grown up in the Los Angeles area, we had Thaxton on live in the afternoons on KCOP-TV/13 but he mentinoed that he had a syndicated show. I can remember how campy his show was, very simple low-budget (or NO-budget), that’s the way KCOP-TV operated. What was interesting to me is that he did have lots of R&B artists on his show, which I understood caused a lot of his affiliates to cut portions of his shows, so he eventually cut those affiliates loose. Since I didn’t grow up watching Buddy Deane, my question is, did he or did he not integrate blacks and whites on his show? Not really sure on that one. Out ehre in California, integration seemed to come a lot quicker than in other parts of the country. another thought, I don’t know the TV landscape of 60s Balto/DC TV, but were there other stations running dance shows too, or was Buddy Deane then Thaxton all there was? Here, we had several on about the same time so it was very competetive. Of course ABC had its network fare with “Where the Action is”, but I remember KHJ-TV/9 had “Groovy” hosted by different KHJ jocks, (The Real Don Steele, Robert W. Morgan, Sam Riddle, and possibly others). KTLA TV-5 had Casey Casem’s “Shebang”, and then KCOP/13 had Thaxton. So we had much to choose from, at a time when most of the other stations were running afternoon movies, and when Metromedia’s KTTV/11 was running kiddie cartoons (Paul Winchell and Billy Barty were hosts, among others.) All this said, it’s sad that Thaxon is gone, and I only found out about it this morning via www.laradio.com, and I am sure he will be remembered well by a lot of people who, like myself, grew up enjoying Thaxton’s zany offbeat show. He was at the right place at the right time, and made life after school a lot nicer for a lot of us LA teens. Bill Powers, Los Angeles (10/8/08) I think it's time to end the Mailbag's intellectually-challenged political debate when somebody actually claims that you aren't qualified to hold elective office if you're a smoker. That kind of silliness is a waste of space. Dave in Sterling (10/8/08) You've all seen Commander Bunny's music video, have you not? Wonder if it's true... video.google.com (10/8/08) I usually keep my mouth shut and look the other way when someone transparently spams this Mailbag under the guise of a "media relevant message", but I speak for more than a few loyal readers when I say Commander Bunny is now getting on everybody's nerves. I suggest that Dave Hughes ask the unfunny bunny to put their money where their furry mouth is and become a **PAID** advertiser instead of littering DCRTV.com with their endless rabbit droppings. (10/8/08) Dave's response: Yeah! Commander Bunny, cough up some money! Comcast just kicked off a DTV education initiative called Get Ready. It urges customers to take action and choose their DTV solution now, instead of holding until after the mandate takes effect on February 17, 2009. As part of the initiative, Comcast is offering existing (analog) customers free basic cable for 12 months if they sign up for at least one additional Comcast service. New customers who choose not to subscribe to additional services can get basic cable for $10 a month for a year. Current customers can add basic cable to additional TVs at no additional monthly fee. Basic cable in most areas has 20-30 channels, including broadcast (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Univision, PBS), shopping and local neighborhood public television channels. To learn more about the digital broadcast transition visit www.comcast.com/dtv. (10/8/08) (Fox News has the REAL story of the day at the top of their web page -- "Obama Admits Bumming Cigarettes on the Campaign Trail." Now THAT'S an important news story that will help undecided voters to make an educated choice on election day.) it should. since cigarettes, cigarette companies, and cigarette smokers are treated with the same respect as lepers with AIDS, this is yet another reason The Messiah isn't qualified to be a senator, let alone president. but doggone it, he gives a great speech about hope and change. iiiiiiiiiii'mmm the cult of per-son-al-it-y. (10/8/08) If this Commander Bunny is so well known and established why does he hide from the FCC? Why doesn't he show his hairy little body and face to "we the people" I don't understand the logic in voting for a noun pl. -·nies1.a rabbit: pet name used by children 2. Slang a sexually attractive young woman: often used in combination ski bunny, beach bunnyEtymology: dim. of dial. bun, rabbit. Just how does that come into any qualifications for the presidency? I mean, granted he is an agile "hopper" kinda cute...but for PRESIDENT??????? Come on!!! (10/8/08) (Rather's Suit Drags On - 10/8 - Dan Rather could have made millions of dollars more per year if CBS had not defrauded him before firing him, his lawyer said Tuesday....) rather could've also made millions more per year had he not knowingly used fake documents to try to tilt the 2004 election. but that's life. he's now paying for his years of bias. (10/8/08) Dave's response: I don't know how much of a penalty Rather is "paying"? I'm sure he's got a nice CBS pension and you do see him doing Chris Matthews every now and then. Heck, we might even soon see Rather doing Retirement Living TV with his (very) old buddy Walter Chronkite soon..... re: the 105.5 translator in Great Falls/McLean: Folks, folks, folks...step back from the cliff and take a deep breath. Before indulging in any massive, hysterical conspiracy theories about who is paying whom, and what dastardly motives there might be, remember this: the fellow who owns this translator is mostly running it as a very expensive hobby. Has been for years. Nothing else. (This has been documented here in the mailbag, so unless this has changed, I stipulate it as fact.) He may have decided that he is no longer interested in WTMD. Or it may be that he wants to put something else on the station, and it may have been easier to get permission from WAMU. Or he may be switching to avoid paying rights fees for the music programming of WTMD. My guess is that it has absolutely nothing to do with the needs of those few of us who might be listening, and it may have everything to do with just what he wants to put on his little station. If there's someone who has talked to this fellow and can offer us a report based on fact, I'm interested. Everything else is...well, speculation, right? And so it goes... - Max in Mild West Arlington (10/8/08) Dave's response: 105.5 is still WTMD today..... Hey Dave, WSVG in Mount Jackson has dropped it's Adult Standards format for News/Talk picking up syndicated Dennis Miller, Bill O'Reilly, Clark Howard, Dave Ramsey, and Jim Bohannon. WSVG is using "The Talk of the Valley" as part of it's moniker. Take Care, Tybois Uphold (10/8/08) 281,000,000 x $1,000,000 = $281,000,000,000,000 (10/8/08) Man, the debate was just too bogged down with issues! Fox News has the REAL story of the day at the top of their web page -- "Obama Admits Bumming Cigarettes on the Campaign Trail." Now THAT'S an important news story that will help undecided voters to make an educated choice on election day. (10/8/08) Not only is Commander Bunny's message on target, HE IS THE ONLY CANDIDATE WHO SHOULD BE MENTIONED ON DCRTV. If Dave were to enforce the rules, only Commander Bunny would be mentioned. Commander Bunny is a legendary DC area broadcaster. The FCC has been trying to catch Commander Bunny for decades. Commander Bunny started his first station in a cornfield, in the 1950's on the Culpeper Farm on Henderson Road, in Arlington, VA! He's a broadcaster, a DC native and is the only candidate who recognizes that PLB needs a statue in downtown Baltimore! The only Presidential candidate that should be mentioned on the pages of DCRTV is Commander Bunny. I do wish you other slack-jawed, lip-drooling, knuckle-dragging, ape-humn monkeys would stop your promotion of non-broadcast, non-local politicans who won't change anything, just make it worse. ENOUGH! Please respect the rules of the DCRTV and from now on, only mention the only respectable and credible Presidential Candidate, Commander Bunny! And please, no sword fighting near the exit signs on 495! (10/8/08) Captain Bunny…PULEEZE keep me out of your promotional efforts. I have absolutely no interest in a “Hoppin Campaign” T-SHIRTS TO DIE FOR…or any of your other political agendas. As for a statue of moi, no thanks. I have enough trouble just keeping the beauties at bay nowadays. Thanks for the admiration but, I’m cool-PLB:0) (10/8/08) Ever since Steve Chenevey was supposedly officially made the morning anchor for FOX5, it appears that he's been sharing those duties with Tony Perkins. So, what's the deal?..Is Tony Perkins the morning weather guy or a morning anchor? (10/8/08) NPR "transformed"... Interesting article. www.ajr.org (10/8/08) Re: “Dave's response: Brenda Carlisle. Oh, Brenda, Brenda, Brenda.....”……..sorry dude, it’s Belinda! (10/8/08) Dave's response: I was "merging" Belinda Carlisle with WCBM newser Brenda Carl. Oh, nevermind..... Hey, a Wall Street guy is doing math in the mailbag! If my calculator is working, I think 281 million Americans times $1 million each comes out to $281 Trillion. Which is about what Dan Rather thinks he's owed from CBS. (10/8/08) What's up at Fox5? Tony Perkins is definatly not a news Anchor! (10/8/08) Some dumbass wrote: "If the American current population is currently 281 million, and if the government gave each citizen of the United States ONE MILLION DOLLARS TAX FREE, that would equal = 281 Million. NOT 770 Billion!" ------- Ummmm, fact is, distributing $281 Million would give $ONE dollar to each person, not one million. Wanna pass out $1,000,000 to each of 281 million people? that would cost $281,000,000,000,000, which is $281 Trillion. ~ Garage-man (10/8/08) Lloyd Thaxton is mentioned in the song "Beatnik Beach" by the Go-Go's, from their 1982 album "Vacation". -Silvie- (10/8/08) Dave's response: Brenda Carlisle. Oh, Brenda, Brenda, Brenda..... (RE: Lloyd Thaxton) WJZ carried his show after Buddy Deane went off the air (10/8/08) Lloyd Thaxton, whose syndicated "record hop" show was seen in DC in the mid-60s, died on October 5th. He was 81. I think it was on in the afternoon, on Channel 7. Here's a link for an obituary (and some video) from the Los Angeles Times www.latimes.com (10/8/08) So Dave and Friends... If the American current population is currently 281 million, and if the government gave each citizen of the United States ONE MILLION DOLLARS TAX FREE, that would equal = 281 Million. NOT 770 Billion! ( Excuse the caps). Sure.. we'd have to keep the 9 year olds from going "buck wild" with their "Million Dollars", but think about it... You and I would have enough money to pay off our house, our car, our credit cards... and WE'D BE ABLE TO AFFORD our mortgages. Of course there are stupid people, but what if you could get one million dollars. (10/8/08) Fios, like Obama, talks a great game, IMHO. Wow, look at what you get in terms of tv, hd, internet and you name it. OTOH, compare what HD you get on Fios as to Dish. I love it when a company says "we'll have 'x' number of HD channels by a certain date. Ok, tell me which channels on what date and what you will refund me if you don't have them on that date? I'd love the Fios package they keep sending me in terms of cost and internet. Yet, I'm not getting the number of real, non-premium channels that I get from Dish that are important to my family. Yes, I pay more but I get more. When Fios matches the others in terms of HD, then I'll gladly make the switch. The list of channels they sent the other day had fine print saying (in effect) these may or may not be the channels we receive. Your mileage may vary and these are only my opinions, nothing more. - Bob from College Park (10/8/08) Dave. If anything, Farhi is way too nice and forgiving in his review of "An American Carol." He overlooks the major flaw with conservative "satire." Genuinely funny parody and satire works because it's subversive; because it attacks sacred cows and figures of authority. Conservatism, at least during the Bush era, has been about nothing but the absolute **worship** of State authority above all else; a fact that is evident all throughout this sorry excuse for a comedy. To quote paleocon writer Paul Gottfried: "I am still reacting to this flick's neoconservative message with a queasy stomach. From my exposure to this movie that David Zucker threw together with Bill O'Reilly, who appears as one of the movie's characters, it seems that I was viewing a cinematic adaptation of Victor Davis Hansen's collected rantings in The Weekly Standard. Every war the US entered, or so it was explained, was a holy crusade for democracy...Even dumber but predictably neocon was a scene of Neville Chamberlain shining the shoes of Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo, at what was intended to be the Munich conference in October 1938. Never mind, that the Japanese didn't attend that meeting." (10/8/08) /\ October 8 Messages /\ \/ October 7 Messages \/ Ashley Linder was looking really fine tonight for the first time doing the afternoon traffic on channel four this afternoon. The ponytail look is definitely the way to go. Also, the make-up job is looking great and the clothes looked like they came from someplace other than Wal-Mart. And a sports segment featuring Lindsay Czarniak right after Ashley's report made me think that a who-would-you-do between the two would now be a toss-up for me. Also, does anyone know if something is wrong with Mark Plotkin? He is increasingly sounding like Dick Clark after the stroke each day. (10/7/08) Is it just me, or does Commander Bunny have a frighteningly seductive campaign message? I mean, a Paul Bicknell STATUE for chrissakes!! Signed, Don Geronimo's travel secretary (10/7/08) WTMD was on the FCC app. as the station being relayed. Relaying the HD3 stream would not work. They only do it on the weekends and it is mono at a very low bit-rate. What the H does WAMU need a relay in Great Falls for? They seem intent on keep public radio music out of Washington. Bob Fairfax (10/7/08) Dave--regarding your "dream" in which you listened to WCAO/600AM while in Richmond----maybe not that much of a dream, just a flashback. I remember growing up in Richmond in the 1960s and listening to WCAO from time to time. WCAO came in very well in Richmond during the 60s, at least during the daytime (we also recieved WBAL). I was never too impressed with CAO, much preferring WPGC, which also peeked through local interferrence from time to time, but was never a solid signal like CAO. Nightimes, of course, ir was always WABC and WKBW! (10/7/08) Well if WAMU is still carrying WTMD on its digital HD3 subchannel, is it possible that the 105.5 owner is picking up the WTMD signal from WAMU and for FCC purposes therefor had to list the source as WAMU for this upgrade ? I also don't seem to remember any mentions of WTMD in previous FCC apps for this translator either. But keep in mind, I'm not an FCC expert, I just play one on DCRTV. :-) (10/7/08) Someone asked about the traffic lady at NBC4. That made me wonder what happened to Allison Oakley, the helicopter lady on the FOX Morning News??..They still show scenes from Skyfox, but no Allison Oakley..Wha hoppin to her??? (10/7/08) If you monkey-ape-humans insist on making the Mailbag about politics, let me again, remind you Ape-Humans that there is only one candidate for President that not only has kick-ass bumper stickers but has t-shirts to die for!! COMMANDER BUNNY FOR PRESIDENT. He not only is a world renowned broadcaster of 40+ years(so mentioning him fits into the mailbag criteria) (unlike McCain and Obama) but his platform is far superior to anything the two (drink the kool-aid) monkeys have to offer. Commader Bunny's platforms calls for: 1-only DMV and postal workers who actuall help people will be paid... 2-abolish the costly and wasteful postal stamp program. One stamp, a photo of nude Supreme Court justices... 3-While Commander Bunny is against gun control, he will reduce the velocity of bullets by 98%!... 4-If you can't keep control of your children in a public place, WE WILL!... 5-people yakking on their cell phones in public will be forced, by law to wear phone booths on their heads!... 6-If you win the lottery and say, "I'll just keep on working", you have to give the money back to someone who won't!... 7-All the ape-humans who work on Wall Street and have screwed the taxpayers out of $750-Billion will have to work in McDonalds for the rest of their useless lives and have to say 'do you want fries with that', 1,000 times a day!... 8-Commander Bunny will provide Veterinarian Care for all ape-human, monkey-boys under his administration... 9-The words "party hardy" will replace "in God we trust". (lotta good that did ya huh?)... 10-A statue to Paul Bicknell will be constructed in downtown Baltimore with the inscription "hey ain't I pretty for my age?"... These are just a few of the common sense positions that Commander Bunny brings to the American People. So enough of the idiocy of McCain and God forbid that mindless cheerleader Palin and Obama-Biden and lets talk about a real Broadcaster who will bring America back to its greatness. Commander Bunny t-shirts and bumper stickers can be found on ebay by typing in "Commander Bunny" in the search engine! ELECT COMMANDER BUNNY ON NOVEMBER 4TH 2008 (10/7/08) RE: FM 105.5........ Sounds like public radio territorial pissings to me Dave. If I were a betting man, I'd bet that WAMU is paying for the 250watt upgrade to the 105.5 translator and just doesn't want another public radio station in the market, ESPECIALLY one from Baltimore, no matter what the format. This is probably a sore spot for WAMU since Baltimore's WYPR beat WAMU to the Ocean City market right now and they are probably quite pissed about WYPR buying X106.9 in OC to compete with their new and expensive proposed full power station for the OC/Salisbury market. I seriously doubt WTMD has much money to outbid WAMU for this translator anymore than U of MD's WMUC would. Colleges around here just don't care enough about college radio, it's just that simple. Just be glad you're not getting Liberty University or The Hope Christian Church of Marlton, NJ's station on 105.5. God knows both are on every OTHER FM translator frequency in this region !!! Grrrrrrrrrrr (10/7/08) Dave's response: Well, we know that WAMU and WTMD are public radio allies. WAMU has, and still does on the weekends and overnights, carry WTMD on its HD3. Right? So, it would be my guess that WAMU would give WTMD its blessing to continue airing on 105.5 in Great Falls. Better than WYPR or WEAA getting aired in 88.5's own "backyard." Right? Whatever happened to that channel four traffic lady in the afternoons (I think she replaced some guy named Ken)? and what about Jessica Doyle on WTOP radio? I hear her doing a commercial for some automobile dealership, but I caught her the other morning from St. Louis on channel nine. Why did Wango Tango Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious change the name of his traffic reporting service? Dave, If you couldn't run your site what would you do? what would your readers do? (10/7/08) Dave, we've gotten updates about Jefe, but what about J-Dubs? (10/7/08) Dave's response: I suspect that he's staying in Tampa and will continue hosting the JFK Saturday show under a new name and with a new partner..... Sorry Dave, but the FCC app (for the 105.5 Great Falls VA power hike) clearly states they're switching to being a WAMU TRANSLATOR and ditching WTMD. Oh well, I guess it was fun while it lasted. Seems like DC is destined to never have a true Indie music station. fjallfoss.fcc.gov (10/7/08) Dave's response: As of today, 105.5 is still relaying WTMD (yeay). I don't get it. Why provide a translator of WAMU in an area that already receives an excellent signal of WAMU? Bluegrass Country from the HD2, perhaps? Sheesh. Actually, as long as I can get my erockster via DC101's HD2, I'm happy..... Glad to see the power hike for WTMD's 105.5 relay. I really wish they would move this to 92.9 because there are no nearby stations on or near that frequency to interfere with it. The Berryville station causes problems in western Fairfax and Montgomery Counties. Also the digital splatter from 105.9 WJZW's IBOC HD causes interference in the Fairfax City I-66 area. WJZW's tower is near I-66 and the beltway. When WJZW is running on their back up transmitter with no HD (this is easy to tell because there is no RDS either) the 105.5 signal is a lot better. Bob Fairfax (10/7/08) Dave's response: Yeah, the TMD 105.5 signal gets blasted pretty badly from the Fairfax County Parkway westward by the Berryville (Winchester) classic rocker on the same frequency..... The FCC recently granted translator W288BS/105.5 Reston (which has relayed WTMD) a power increase from 38 watts to 250 watts. Bob Corbin/VARTV.com. (10/7/08) Dave, your listeners should be reminded who Roger Hedgecock is... In 1985, Roger Hedgecock was forced from office [Mayor of San Diego], after a retrial convicted him on one count of conspiracy and twelve counts of perjury involving, then-District Attorney Ed Miller asserted, improper campaign contributions; his first trial had ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. Hedgecock was alleged to have illegally failed to report over $350,000 in contributions from former Del Mar mayor Nancy Hoover, confidence man Jerry David Dominelli, and the last's eponymous J. David Company. (The J. David Company later imploded, after bilking investors of more than $82,000,000, in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in the nation's history. Dominelli would later serve twenty years in Federal prison.) Hedgecock's conviction was overturned after an appellate court ruled that the trial court had erred in its instruction to the jury regarding the issue of materiality in the perjury charges and juror misconduct. To settle the case, Hedgecock, in an agreement with prosecutors, allowed a misdemeanor charge to stand (i.e, he did not plead guilty). In a common disposition for first-time probation cases in California, and other American states, the charge was dismissed after Hedgecock successfully completed a short period of probation. (10/7/08) Dave's response: That's directly from Wikipedia..... I'll pass on satellite radio fees to listen to baseball games. I just wonder if Vin Scully and Harry Kalas and all the rest are getting any residuals from satellite radio? The Dodgers, Phillies and other teams, maybe, through MLB but what about the talent? Players, too? But no thanks, Mr. Kasell, I'll pass on spending for radio. (10/7/08) For the record, Fez Marie Whatley hates all of Northern Virginia but not for the same reason John McCains brother does. And he doesn't know who you are either. (10/7/08) I, for one, will miss seeing Opus every Sunday morning. Paul (10/7/08) Dave, Why should I give a rats ass about what any of those guys has to say about anything? Stop giving them any press! I've got a mortgage and bills to worry about and I live right near Herndon. The junkies add nothing to anything. Same with El Jefe and Fez, whoever they are, but you keep writing about them. peace. D in "south" Herndon (10/7/08) Dave's response: The folks who have a Herndon Zip Code south of the Dulles Toll Road, who actually live outside the town's limits in Fairfax County, now call their location "Oak Hill." That's been legally approved by the US Post Office..... "Is that a reporter or a popsicle?" As of November, the Federal Highway administration is requiring all members of the media to wear "approved high-visibility safety apparel" when they are covering a story within the right-of-way of a highway. They suggest lime-colored vests instead of orange or yellow so motorists can more easily differentiate the member of the media from other items on the roads such as cones and signs. Yes, I'm certain that television reporters be eager to don lime-green vests for their on-camera appearances. What a great idea. The credit markets have collapsed, major investment banks are going under, the stock market has lost 30% of its value, but the most important thing to remember is that the Bush administration is taking the time and care needed to be sure that motorists will be able to tell the difference between a member of the media and a safety cone or road sign. See story at radiomagonline.com (10/7/08) Dear Dave: To those posters commenting on the difficulty on being able to listen to the baseball post-season play as well as wondering what local station will carry any one game (including in the World Series), I can relate. While it really shouldn't come to this, especially with all the frequencies in this area, the answer is to subscribe to XM. You get a choice of the play-by-play feeds of both teams that are playing, as well as that of the national feed from ESPN radio. Looking forward to listening to two of the all-time great voices of the game (Vin Scully for the Dodgers and Harry Kalas for the Phillies) when the National League Championship Series begins. Great site Dave! Sincerely, Joe Kasell (10/7/08) OK, since the Mailbag has gone all-politics, I'll chime in to correct the misinformation of the day, i,e,: "And why were there so many Democrats in the South? Why because Abraham Lincoln was a Republican and he freed the slaves and won the recent unpleasantness. Klan members were almost universally Democrats. Only within living memory has the South gone Republican because their marketing machine has a product that claims to solve problems with those pesky Liberals: abortion, gun control, rights for homosexuals, no vivisection for flag burners." Ummmm...No. The southern 'conservative' wing of the Democratic party left the big tent over civil rights -- they were AGAINST the idea of one man, one vote and an end to segregation -- and went over to the GOP between 1957 and 1968. It's that simple, and it's as well documented as anything in history. Dave in Sterling (10/7/08) Limbaugh was not comparing Obama to O.J. Simpson. He was comparing Bill Ayers to O.J. Simpson. Ayers - the unrepentant terrorist. Simpson - the unrepentant murderer. -Silvie- (10/7/08) I think all the World Series games will be heard on ESPN 980. If the Skins play at 4:15PM the Sunday that there is a World Series game they probably won't have the Redskins Postgame show. They have always put the World Series game instead of the Redskins Postgame show if the Skins had played at 4:15 that Sunday except for last year when the World Series was on Triple X and they didn't have their Postgame show so they could put the World Series game instead. (10/7/08) A DCRTVer recently scribed: "Well Dave, I finally found out something current about Damian (Einstein). I’ll have to check this show out. Here’s the link. www.eileenkorn.com"... How interesting that Mr. Einstein finds himself hosting a showcase of local artists just two blocks from the very spot where he championed their collective cause for so many years (WHFS's Annapolis home in the mid-late 80's was in the tiny D Studio at WNAV on Admiral Drive…2 blocks from the Whiskey on West St. in Annapolis). Good luck, Damian (10/7/08) el Flushbo today was having orgasms over Sarah Palin’s recent comments. He played her misquoting Madeleine Albright and didn’t acknowledge Secretary Albright’s responce, he played a tape of the Governor dancing around the Bill Ayers facts while accusing Obama of “palling around” with terrorists, and then he played her reference to Obama’s Freddie-Fannie rickety connection while not evening bringing up the name William Timmons, Sr. Rush kept shouting “Bulls eye!,” and “Perfect!” I am glad to see the Republican talking points of misinformation made it to Rush OK this morning. (10/7/08) At night, if you were about 3-5 miles west by northwest of the WCMB towers, it is possible you could have trouble receiving WCBM as there is a severe null in that direction, but boy, you'd have to live like exactly in the right spot! Now if he meant daytime, I'd suggest a new radio as WCBM has about the most powerful AM signal over central Maryland, even better than WBAL on Maryland's eastern shore. Daytime, WCBM can even be received in Cape May, NJ as a local station! (10/7/08) The October 19 Redskins game is set for a 4:15 p.m. start, an American League Championship Series game seven (should it take place) would start at 8:07 p.m. with the football game play itself likely already completed. It would be offensive for a deciding ALCS game seven to be locked out of all six possible radio outlets in favor of Redskins post-game blather, as if five stations for post-game blather wouldn't be enough. Everett W. (10/7/08) …oh, “The Atlantic” please as it’s “The Atlantic” not “Atlantic”: there might be imposters! Bradley would want that: Sullivan, too. (10/7/08) ("However, the station was playing 1960s era middle-of-the-road music with WBAL radio announcements.") And Tom Marr & Ron Smith had a show together???? Dave, you need a vacation. (10/7/08) CBS Radio's WJFK 106.7 has requested from the FCC a temporary booster station license until next April on the campus of the University of Maryland to be constructed on top of one of the campus buildings. fjallfoss.fcc.gov... Apparently, students and fans are already complaining that WJFK simply cannot be received at Byrd Stadium or in the parking lots, something I predicted and ridiculed the U of MD officials for when they chose to make a deal with CBS Radio in the first place here in this mailbag. And you wonder why U of MD lets WMUC wither an die practically? The suits at U of MD didn't even think to turn on a damn radio on campus to see if you could receive WJFK easily on campus or near the stadium before signing the contract!!! What idiots! HAha! (10/7/08) Dave's response: Also, we have reported that CBS is planning to relay JFK's signal on 94.7's HD3 digital subchannel in the near future. Why doesn't CBS just get "off the pot" and put JFK's guy talk signal on 94.7 and shove El Zol on NOVA's 106.7, freeing up 99.1 for a resurrection of the old "progressive rock" HFS for both DC and Baltimore.... Limbaugh comparing Obama to OJ Simpson today?!?! WMAL needs to run a laugh track under Rush's embarassingly goofy show. (10/7/08) ("WCBM is the only option but its signal is so limited, I cannot pick it up from 3 miles away") You, Sir, are on fucking dope. 3 miles away from what? Bel-Air? (10/7/08) Dave's response: This is a real dream I had last night. I was visiting friends in the Richmond VA area and found a radio. On it, I could pick up Baltimore's WCAO on 600, even down in Richmond. However, the station was playing 1960s era middle-of-the-road music with WBAL radio announcements. I swear, that really was my dream. Wonder what it means..... Dave, you should know better to use the Washington Post as NEWs. The Jason Campbell ads have been running for at least a month. They show him receiving a call from his "agent" who says I have good news. Campbell replies, "you found me a new sponsor" (or somthing like that) and the agent replies "no, I just saved a lot on my car insurance." Campbell then hangs up. I have seen this ad numerous times over the past several weeks. (10/7/08) ESPN 980 is going to have every playoff game from here on out ... with games being shipped to AM-1260 on the following dates and times: Friday 10/10, 4:30 (Reporters), Monday 10/13, 4:30 (Reporters), Saturday 10/18 (if needed) 4:30 and 8:20 (Va. Tech). Sunday 10/19 (Game 7 of the ALCS) is a total loss to six-station Redskins coverage. For the World Series, Game 3 on Saturday 10/25 might get shipped to 1260 once we see when VT's game at Florida State is scheduled. Steve in Lanham (10/7/08) Dave's response: There's only one small problem - you can't fucking hear 1260 in a good chunk of the DC area after sunset! For many, it's like not having the games on the radio at all! The signal of WWRC completely goes away at night in Northern Virginia. Dan Snyder needs to treat his political talkers 1260 and 570 as one "signal." At least the latter has some coverage into the western suburbs at night..... I wish Berkeley Breathed would pull the plug on Opus already and get it over with. This prolonged killing off of the strip (it's been going on for weeks already; did the Post's people just now notice?) is nothing but painful. And pulling the plug on his strips is what Breathed does best. First, Bloom County. Then he staged a comeback with Outland, turned it into Bloom County, and pulled the plug on it. Now it was Opus, which he turned into Bloom County again, and he is verrrrry slooooooowly pulling the plug on this one. Butch up and get it over with already. (Gee, I wonder how long his next comeback strip will last? I know history repeats itself, but so often?) ~~CA in BC (10/7/08) “The Ed Norris Show is the best talk show in Baltimore” Ed Norris will be picked up by another station if HFS changes formats. His show is wildly popular and has the ratings to show for it. I agree that it is a great show. I question the allegiance to the other shows though. Troy Johnson isn’t much more than a radio wannabe. Kirk & Mark are 10 years past their prime and their ratings reflect it as well. May just have to plug in the mp3player for the drive in. Ps. Agree wholeheartedly on Jerry Doyle. Like an air raid siren from a foot away. (10/7/08) I had the impacted fecal material removed from my lower colon yesterday and I'm feeling much better today. During the last 15 minutes of my show today, I'll be taking up "Colon Cleanse," a fine product available at fine drug stores everywhere. - Rush (10/7/08) Well Dave, I finally found out something current about Damian (Einstein). I’ll have to check this show out. Here’s the link. www.eileenkorn.com (10/7/08) The fact the 105.7 is for sale is disturbing to me. The Ed Norris Show is the best talk show in Baltimore, and I listen to the station all day and evening with the exception of the annoying and verbose late night Jerry Doyle . If Baltimore loses this station, we have little to entice us to the airwaves.There is literally no decent talk in Baltimore with the exception of sports talk after 600pm. WCBM is the only option but its signal is so limited, I cannot pick it up from 3 miles away.Even music radio has suffered in Charm City. WPOC 10 years ago was an excellent country vehicle, but it has no energy, sagging talent- Laurie DeYoung and Michael J have tired with age as has the station and its no risk country recurrent format. (10/7/08) I had no idea that Berkeley Breathed was still doing a comic strip but having been a huge fan of "Bloom County" growing up it's sad to see him stop, or suspend, his strip. I might have to find my "Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Bill and Opus" T-shirt from 20 years ago and wear it in support, although it probably doesn't fit anymore. (10/7/08) A brilliant WAPO comic strip is coming to an end. www.washingtonpost.com (10/7/08) I watched "Rome,Rise and Fall of an Empire" last night. Good job Paul, I didn't know that you liked Gladiator movies. Peter Graves (10/7/08) Question for you – have you heard anything regarding Damian Einstein recently. After he left WRNR last year he was supposed to open up a blues club in Rockville or somewhere down in the DC burbsbut I can’t seem to find out anything more about it. He’s turned me on to some really great bands over the years and I would love to stay in touch. (10/7/08) Dave's response: Yeah, the owner of Joe's Record Paradise was supposed to be starting a club with Damian. Haven't heard anything more about that. Anybody know the status of that and what Damian's up to? And why were there so many Democrats in the South? Why because Abraham Lincoln was a Republican and he freed the slaves and won the recent unpleasantness. Klan members were almost universally Democrats. Only within living memory has the South gone Republican because their marketing machine has a product that claims to solve problems with those pesky Liberals: abortion, gun control, rights for homosexuals, no vivisection for flag burners, ... (10/7/08) Dave's response: As we all know from high school history, political parties are always changing. In the mid-20th century, the Democratic party essentially split. The more conservative southern faction defected to the GOP. With the much more liberal lefty wing taking over the party and backing a long list of losers like McGovern, Mondale, and Dukakis. Virginia, like many other traditionally southern states, saw the GOP take firm control in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Now, however, the Old Dominion is seeing the results of a several decade population shift, due to the massive growth in Northern Virginia, which is moving the state rapidly back into the Democratic camp..... This is admittedly off topic, but am I the only person who thought at first that it was just a joke that Barbara Streisand's step-son, Josh Brolin, would be playing Pres. George W. Bush in a movie making fun of sitting president just 3 weeks before the election? Surely, there couldn't actually really BE such a movie right? I mean, seriously, such a thought, if I'd posted it here a year ago, would have caused people to regard me as some type of vast Hollywood left wing conspiracy theory nutjob! :-) (10/7/08) /\ October 7 Messages /\ \/ October 6 Messages \/ I believe Salem has already lowered WAMD’s daytime power to 300 watts since WNYM in New York has already increased its daytime wattage from 5,000 to 50,000. Roddy Freeman (10/6/08) The answer to this debate over playoff baseball has a really easy answer. If the Lerner's owned the radio stations (which they wouldn't because they are too cheap) we would have three stations carrying baseball. But because Snyder owns the stations we have Redskin and ESPN syndicated crap rammed down our throats all day long. (10/6/08) I'm picturing a suburban grandma, getting in her battered, yet still running Cutless, heading to the local market for some Wonder bread, prunes and Depends undergarments turning on 1580AM thinking she'll listen to the good word of Jesus and getting 50 Cent instead. Now THAT'S funny. Paul (10/6/08) Dave's response: Might I suggest that the granny switch over to 780, 1220, or 1340..... Dave asked: “I've lived in Virginia since 1972, and I can't remember when this state's had two Democratic Senators and a Democratic governor.” It was before you arrived here. The date was probably January 17, 1970 with Mills E. Godwin, Jr. as Governor, and Harry Byrd, Jr. (Independent, but caucused with the Democrats (Like Bernie Sanders does in House and Joe Lieberman does in the Senate these days.)) and William B. Spong as U.S. Senators… (10/6/08) Dave's response: Yeah, but Virginia's "Democrats" of that time were "southern Dems" who were more conservative than many of today's Republicans are. Plus, Mills Godwin sat out a term and then ran again as gov, but as a Republican..... Any word on what happened to Talk1580am in DC today? The talk format was gone this morning. WPGC is now simulcasting its FM station over their AM band. Thanks, Steve Kendall, Arlington (10/6/08) As someone who has lived in Arlington County for over two decades, I was interested to read the comments of Mr. McCain's brother. All I can say is ......... he's absolutely right. (10/6/08) Dave, you took a swipe at documentary-lovers when you said you wouldn't pay to see documentaries in the theater. Now, I know you're not a popcorn-movie kind of guy, although I'm sure you, like me, enjoy the occassional, well-made popcorn flick. Still, you go to Cinema Arts, where I recently saw the documentary "Man on Wire." No regrets about paying to see THAT documentary, although it'll translate fine to the smaller screen. I just didn't want to let your comment go unchallenged. If more people paid to see GOOD movies -- whether documentaries or special-effects extravaganzas -- the world would be a better place. And no, I don't think all documentaries are good. But when they're good, they're often worth seeing on the big screen. Christian (10/6/08) Dave's response: I watch lots of fantastic documentaries - on the Discovery Channel, PBS, the History Channel, and on the National Geographic Channel. I just don't like watching them in a movie theater. It's just me..... The man clearly identified himself as "Rich IN Baltimore", so this outta town pricing excuse for the BALTIMORE SUN is, well DUH, stupid! My guess is its a greedy store owner trying to take advantage of the Maryland tax hikes just like gas stations have previously raised prices more in the past when there was a gas tax increase. This is something politicians who raise taxes on the poor and thieves have in common. You can make your voice heard by not visiting that 7-11 again and voting your governor out of office, and, ummm, well, maybe choose a better newspaper to read than The Baltimore Sun! LOL (10/6/08) Regarding a previous post, “I went to a 7-11 store in Baltimore today to buy a paper and read on today's news. The Baltimore Sun says 75 cents on the front. I am ok with paying 80 cents because of tax or whatever but this one today cost me 1.06???????” I live in Arlington and was interested a few weeks ago to see the redesign of The Sun. Before the redesign I could buy The Sun for 75 cents, but after the redesign the daily paper’s price here is now $1 (price printed on the paper’s front, not marked-up at a store). Could it be that the paper prices printed on the front page different by edition and this guy bought an earlier edition not intended for metro Baltimore? I believe that the WaPo doesn’t do this with pricing on the paper’s front page but does says that “prices may vary.” (10/6/08) Just saw this ad running on Radio and Records' site. Ahhh, someone should tell Mancow he's no longer airing on Baltimore's 1370, which just flipped to sports talk. (10/6/08) "All the MLB playoff games are exclusive to ESPN radio, Dan Snyder owns ESPN radio in DC." And there you have it, a rich, greedy, individual who just doesn't care. If "boy" Snyder is blocking other stations from carrying the radio call of playoff baseball games, it's a darn shame. Again, this sounds like a FCC matter. Or even, maybe, heaven forbid, Congress. Don't you think it's time to bail out baseball fans from being shut out of playoff games? Or even the World Series? (10/6/08) someone said 'Rush was an industrial strength cleansing of his colon', cant say if its true, but would sure recommended one to some of the ass wipes in this mailbag. The mental constipation here is stunning. Porter Jervis (10/6/08) Golly, I sure hope there's going to be even more emails about "blue" and "red" states in the Mailbag. They're so informative! (10/6/08) There is no question in the world that we dont need the tailgate show and postgame show on 980, 570 and 1260! There is certainly plenty of room to put on some playoff baseball -- not to mention Westwood One's NFL coverage! I miss that! (10/6/08) Yep, some stores markup newspapers and sometimes even The Baltimore Sun, but I think this is probably the Gov. Martin O'Malley tax that's at fault here, at least partly. Similarly, buying food at a grocery store is now taxed LESS than buying food at a McDonalds. Maryland no longer has a 5% flat sales tax anymore on a lot of different things that were previously 5%. If The Sun had any credibility, they would do a story on Maryland's NEW ANTI-PROGESSIVE tax initiatives that mostly affect the POOR! But you can forget that happening. Many people have yet to realize the new taxes (mostly the poor who Democrats fight so hard to protect, oooops). Oh, one more thing, THE IRONY: The Baltimore Sun endorsed O'Malley, ooops. LOL (10/6/08) There's no compelling reason to listen to Mike Pintek. He's a typical right wing hack, no better than any of the others, and somewhat less well-informed on things like U.S. History, which I guess is what qualifies him for the position. He was an empty suit as a news anchor, too. Also, the deal used to be if a local radio network affiliate with the rights to post-season baseball opted not to carry it, MLB reserved the right to offer that programming to someone else in the market, with the local team's rights holder getting first crack at it. Anyone know if that deal has changed? (10/6/08) I read with interest the Mailbag posting from last week regarding Red Zebra's 94.3 going off the air frequently and being off for 8 hous last week. It's a fact that this does happen and also happens to WWRC and WTNT as well. The writer questions whether advertisers pay their bill to the station and "if so, what the hell for". If RZ bills people for spots that don't run this is FRAUD and should be reported to the FCC. EAS tones have also been heard running over spots on the two FM stations. How would you like to be an advertiser paying for these? I know Snyder and Schar have both been informed about the two clowns, Gilbert and Glasgow, that run his unprofessional operation putting the licenses in jeopardy and wonder why he hasn't taken action to correct this matter before it's too late. (10/6/08) All the MLB playoff games are exclusive to ESPN radio, Dan Snyder owns ESPN radio in DC. So in addition to Danny shoving the below average radio talent down our throats, he also can decide if we ever hear playoff baseball in the market! sounds fair to me! (10/6/08) Out here in the Shenandoah Valley, the only place to pick up playoff baseball is ESPN 1000 out of Chicago. CC's Sportstalk 610, located at the Winchester Airport, is a FOX Sports Radio affiliate, and runs talk shows. (10/6/08) Tonight is the start of the 13 episode "Rome,Rise and Fall of an Empire". This is the show that my company Read Street Sound and Video did all of the voice work for. Jay did all of the audio recording, I directed the voice talent and did 7 of the characters within the show. Hope you have time to watch it. It comes on at 10PM on the History International Channel. Paul Bicknell (10/6/08) Dave: I just wanted your opinion on something. I went to a 7-11 store in Baltimore today to buy a paper and read on today's news. The Baltimore Sun says 75 cents on the front. I am ok with paying 80 cents because of tax or whatever but this one today cost me 1.06??????? When I asked the guy why and the fact Friday I paid only 80 cents for the paper at the same 7-11, he said that it has been that way for 6 months. No wonder there are problems at the Sun. I don't know about you but that seems crazy to me. Rich in Baltimore (10/6/08) Daves' response: Most major stores will charge the cover price for newspaper, unless you're outside of the paper's local area. However, I have encounted the odd indie newsstand that will mark-up the price of even local rags. I've never heard of a 7-Eleven doing that, though..... How does ESPN 980 air a press conference “EXCLUSIVLY HERE ON ESPN 980”. They just left the Jim Zorn press conference and sighed off w/ that comment. Does that mean what I think it meant? (10/6/08) About no baseball on radio during the playoffs. Snyder can do as he wishes; he owns the properties. But one would think some station along the dial would pick up the game/games because, in fact, there are baseball fans around who do want to listen or have to listen via radio. That brings the question: Is DC really not as good a baseball town/area as many believe? Or is it really the radio corporate owners who are just a bunch of greedy, rich individuals? I would think the latter. And they just don't care. And that's sad and partially the FCC's fault, I think, for getting this country into this pickle. (10/6/08) Ah, the good old days just keep coming back! First Jimmy Carter redux, and now talk of Herb Oscar Anderson and Gene Klavan, both of whom pretty much wrapped up their on-air careers in NYC at WOR (HOA doing top 40 on the weekends, and Klavin on pm drive in the late 70's-early '80's after Bob and Ray concluded their fantastic run). Quick, close your eyes: it's 1977 all over again!!! Genghis Cohen, still looking in vain "on the grave-yard" for the Yiddish "Maxwell House Coffee Hour" and the Krakus-Atalanta Canned Polish Ham-sponsored Esperanto programs on WEVD, in cooling and melancholy Prince William County (10/6/08) On your front page story, Bob Schieffer will not be doing this week's debate, it will be Tom Brokaw, Newsblues had that part of the story wrond. (10/6/08) "Dave's response: I've lived in Virginia since 1972, and I can't remember when this state's had two Democratic Senators and a Democratic governor. Like we'll have when Mark Warner wins in November. Yeah, this state is definitely going "red" (I think I got the color right, this time)....." Dave, it's simple. Red, Republican, Right, Roughing up the Suspect, the Letter R. It's the starboard or for most people, the fapping hand. Let's try to keep up, shall we? The poster was right about staying with what you know. -- Biff from Burke (10/6/08) Regarding “DCRTV wonders: Is John related to DC radio exec Tod Castleberry?” Yes. They’re brothers. (10/6/08) Dear Mr. Graham it's very easy to hit a sluggish target. You old fart...(of course I mean that in the nicest way) PLB:0) (10/6/08) The reason that baseball game coverage couldn't be found on D.C. radio Sunday afternoon is because Red Zebra blocked it for an across the board Redskins multicast. The lack of airtime for playoff baseball says nothing about the state of Washington, D.C.'s sports fandom, only the state of Dan Snyder's megalomania. Everett W. (10/6/08) Re: "It's Eminem, not M&M, and Lil Wayne, not Little Wayne." You are correct, it's hell to be old. I even know better. I went to the Anger Management tour at Nissan, love Eminem and G-Unit. I'm truly sorry that I have become one of those people that I make fun of. Ed Graham (10/6/08) Lets go to the map ... As recently as the 1984 Presidential Election, NBC's map utilized "red" and "blue" with a reversed meaning, compared to today. This You Tube clip shows it happening as Walter Mondale wins his home state of Minnesota. www.youtube.com... The moment in question happens at about 7 minutes and 30 seconds into the clip. The color is really washed out, but the state turns red. The other graphics which follow shortly afterward are also "reversed" red/blue. (10/6/08) regarding a previous post) "You have to realize that the liberal media intentionally labeled" blah-blah-blah-blah-blah... First of all, there is no "liberal media". There is only "capitalist media", whose sole objective is to make (and to keep) as much goddamn money as is humanly and corporately possible. That is all they "intentionally" do. They've been at it for years - first, with newspapers and magazines. Then with radio and TV, and then, cable and satellite. And, provided the economy doesn't disintegrate entirely, they'll continue to do so on the Internet and by utilizing technologies yet to be invented. "Liberal media". Yeah, you gave us all quite a laugh there. Thanks! : ) (10/6/08) Ed Graham: It's Eminem, not M&M, and Lil Wayne, not Little Wayne. You's a ole cracker! (10/6/08) You have to realize that the liberal media intentionally labeled conservative states as Red, which has usually been considered communist, and liberal states as Blue, which has been usually considered the color of real Americans. Anyone who thinks they did not choose the colors with the intent to confuse the electorate is naive. It was clearly an attempt to influence the previous and the coming elections. But since the watchdog can't watch itself, no one has called them out on this. (10/6/08) Saturday night at 7PM, I was in a store that had their TV tuned in to the Michael Phelps thingy at Fort McHenry. I only heard the first 15 minutes or so, but it pissed me off. Bad classical music played by a mediocre marching band. Really sucked, but it also reminded me that Baltimore (and many other municipalities) has no clue. Phelps gets ready for his races by focusing on M&M or Little Wayne. He comes home and is subjected to crap music, played badly. I think most of the audience either tuned out or at least thought, "I hope this crap is over soon." You might think that I am picky, but this was an embarrassment. Kind of like the jingles used by local car dealers and insurance companies. All they needed was a few politicians to speak and take credit for Phelps victories. Maybe they did, I was gone long before it ended. Ed Graham (10/6/08) No, Dave...Red=Republican...I will be blue if the state goes (stays) red...it will become blue, and I will be happy. -- Bobbie (10/6/08) Dave's response: "Red is Republican." "Red is Republican." "Red is Republican." I will write that on my forehead..... Rush Limbaugh won't be doing his show today. He's having a medical procedure - an industrial strength cleansing of his colon. (10/6/08) DC a major league baseball town? Really? You could not find a MLB playoff game anywhere on the radio yesterday. Not in the DC area? Is it time for the Nats to move to Montreal? A stadium sits empty. They can play there and then taxpayers of Montreal can build a brand new playpen. Deja vu all over again. (10/6/08) Dave, re: McCain's Bro Calls NOVA "Communist Country," this story has absolutely no media angle. You are continuing the march toward making DCRTV a political site. Please stop and get back to things you know. And BTW, would it stun you know that NOVA is, in fact, more liberal than most of VA? Communist, no, but too socialist for for your average bear. Bob in Forest Hill (10/6/08) Dave's response: I've lived in Virginia since 1972, and I can't remember when this state's had two Democratic Senators and a Democratic governor. Like we'll have when Mark Warner wins in November. Yeah, this state is definitely going "red" (I think I got the color right, this time)..... Ahhh, but you cannot necessarily compare 1 Zogby or other polling source's poll directly to another one of their previous polls each and every time as some of the pollsters have switched from polling ALL REGISTERED VOTERS to what they now deem "LIKELY VOTERS", a process that changes the #s without any real change in voter sentiment and obviously opens up another can of worms regarding polling errors and potential bias. I honestly doubt ANY of the polls this year are going to be even close to correct. (10/6/08) This morning, Fred Grandy pointed out on his WMAL show that Obama "only" leads by 4 (actually 4.6) points in the new Zogby poll, which shows the race to be closer than many other polls. Grandy also pointed out that the "tightening" in the Zogby poll could be do due Palin's debate performance last week. Yet, if Grandy had bothered to check the Zogby Zogby site, he would find that in the previous Zogby poll in late September, Obama had only a 1.2 point lead. The Zogby poll has always shown Obama and McCain to be closer than the other polls. So, if Obama's lead went from 1.2 before the Palin debate to 4.6 after, according to Zogby, did Palin "help"? Is this the kind of "truth" we're to expect from WMAL? It's time to stop getting your news from the GOP biased Drudge! (10/6/08) A webpage, to one of DC's radio legends and one of broadcastings most creative and strange people! The Pat Murphy memorial page: shortwavepirate.info (10/6/08) Dave's response: "Memorial"? He's still with us, ain't he? /\ October 6 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....