EVERYBODY'S TALKING
Going into the holiday weekend, everyone wanted to know what was up with Hillary Clinton's coy or cryptic reference to Obama and RFK's assassination in 1968 (still contesting for his party's presidential nomination). My take:
First, I think the Hillary/RFK quote lingered a little longer over a slow-news long weekend. And maybe the recent Teddy K. news added a bit of zest to the scolding, too. I guess I'm not quite as willing to accept that it was a misstatement, or innocent statement, because of her past willingness to give voice to dark thoughts about Obama's safety, race, etc. etc. And maybe it fits with my thesis that she's staying competitive to make sure that if the party suddenly needs a new nominee, it will have to be her (the only other active candidate) and not some consensus pick like Gore or a party elder. Remember that in 1968, after RFK's death, the nomination "defaulted" to the safe but not very appealing candidacy of Vice President Humphrey.
Hillary, in my book, is more likely to accidentally let the mask slip than she is to simply mangle her words.
Your thoughts?
PONDERING AT THE PUMP
Sometime this weekend, you'll be standing at a gas pump.
Maybe it'll be a road trip or run to the lake or the coast. Maybe it's a tax-free weekend shopping expedition or one of those "if-you're-good" family reward visits to Sea World or Fiesta Texas. Heck, maybe it's a quick jaunt to Vegas to see The Police wrap up their reunion tour.
Anyway, you'll be standing at the pump. Cringing as the numbers spin? Setting your own new record high (my next fill-up will be my first $50 tab---it's a very small car. Used to be $27-30). Maybe you'll wonder: where will this end? How high can prices go? Most optimistic pundit: we're at the peak now, and this "perfect storm" of supply/demand/price/futures/weak dollar will eventually blow over. Most pessimistic forecast: these will be the
"good old days" as gas hits $12-15 per gallon. At which point life as we know it changes. I don't know which of these predictions is right, or whether either of them is. In fact, no one knows.
There is something we
do know and you should know and we should all be talking about, now that gas prices have muscled their way past Iraq, health care and gay marriage to the top of the political issues top 40. Number one with a unleaded bullet: Most of the oil and nearly half of the natural gas beneath public lands in the US is
off limits for exploration or extraction. That's 19 billion barrels of oil and 231 trillion cubic feet of natgas. Off limits by order of your federal government.
Isn't public land ours? No, it's "theirs", held and hoarded in our name. How ironic. It's not like some evil land baron is refusing America energy relief, or timing the markets. It's not that the fields are unreachable. You, your livelihood, and this nation's once robust economy---all being sacrificed on an altar of junk science eco-politics and elitism. The new religion: irrational environmentalism.
As you pay (and pay and pay and pay) at the pump, ponder what is driving the price---and what
could be driving it down
THIS MEANS WAR
Philip Bobbitt's new book
"Terror and Consent" will be a struggle to read, but nothing compared to the struggle democracies face with terror networks in the 21st century. Yes, it
is a war, says the UT lecturer and former Clinton-era national security policymaker, but a war like nothing else we've ever seen. We need new tools, new attitudes, and we need to dispense with "fighting the last war" (or using its analogies).
Nothing else I've read has reformed my thinking about terrorism more than Bobbitt's book, so I recommend you fortify yourself with good light, a good chair, snacks and plenty of time, and have at it!
TO HELP THE CHINESE
It would be hard to imagine a more complicated relationship between nations than the US and China. If you are able to put that aside, and if you are moved by the suffering of the earthquake victims,
http://http://www.caringforchina.org/resources/donation.htm is one way to help.
SPEAKING FRANKLY
In a few of the many email reactions to last week's Sinatra show (linked to the 10th anniversary of his death), listeners asked why I didn't list favorite songs (I guess I think there are just too many lists out there already). But what the heck, what's a couple more? Here are my indispensable Sinatra songs and movies, so you can tell me where you agree and disagree...
SONGS I LOVE:
Night And Day
Moonlight Serenade
One For My Baby
Christmas Waltz
I've Got You Under My Skin
Witchcraft
Autumn in New York
Come Fly With Me
The Song Is You
All Or Nothing At All
I've Got The World On A String
SONG TO AVOID:
My Way
MOVIES:
The First Deadly Sin (no one else lists this)
The Manchurian Candidate
From Here To Eternity
Von Ryan's Express
Suddenly (odd choice, but so eerily good)
MOVIE TO AVOID:
Young At Heart
Eager for your reaction...
KEEP YER MITTS ON...
Saturday morning: H-E-B Plus for some Mother's Day cooking ingredients. Wearing one of the weekend t-shirts with jeans, this one the "Mitt Romney for President" shirt (if you were listening during the abbreviated GOP primary campaign, Mitt was my man).
A fortyish lady in sunglasses accosts me: "Mitt! Mitt!"
For the record, you couldn't confuse me with the ex-gov. no matter how dark your shades were.
I think the shirt so excited her, it was
as if she was encountering the candidate. "You're my first Mitt", she kept saying. "I was for him, I don't want McCain, but I never see the stickers or the shirt. Isn't he great? Do you think McCain will pick him? It would be so great? McCain should pick him. Do you think he will run again..." And on and on, to my amusement and that of the small knot of curious shopping cart-drivers we attracted in front of the milk cooler.
It was funny, but also a bit telling. The smart folks tell us running mates don't help you win elections, and that's probably true. But can McCain afford to take a pass on the kind of t-shirt-fueled excitement I saw in the dairy aisle?
HOPE BONNIE DOESN'T CALL DOWN A CAT-5 ON MY BUTT!
Hi Jack, Blessings to you and those who are dear to you! I just want to follow up on the phone call this morning regarding Pastor Hagee and Rev. Wright. You abruptly cut me off because (I believe) I was defending Pastor Hagee. I was very polite and respectful to you, but you rudely cut me off when I was trying to discuss Katrina with you. Please accept my apologies if I was rude; I did not mean to be. I do hope you want to know the truth. We should all want that. Pastor Hagee has a history of loving this country and praying for it. I have sat in his church for years and know him well. He is a loving and kind man who works very, very hard spreading the Gospel. He is also bold and will not apologize for addressing sin and the consequences of sin. Regarding New Orleans and Katrina. It is not a secret that New Orleans is very perverted. I visited New Orleans and regret it very much. Bourbon street was full of Vodoo type establishments and perversions of sorts. When Pastor Hagee spoke of Katrina, it was with regard to God's judgment on sin. I have compassion for those who suffered and I know Pastor Hagee does, too. He would never want to see someone suffer. That is why he is in the ministry. It is about sparing people the judgment that they deserve (including me). God's love and grace is availabe to all who accept it through Jesus Christ, and that is Gospel message he preaches. Pastor Hagee also believes in reconciliation. With that in mind, when a person--or a people--are abused, they are not exempt from forgiving and moving on in righteousness, peace and love. All of us are called, regardless of our circumstances, to forgive and rise above circumstances. It is completely against Christ's teachings to speak as Reverend Wright does when he says, "God Bless America...oh no, no... God -------- America". Let me make is simple: 1. Pastor Hagee blesses America. 2. Reverend Wright cursed it. Hoping to hear from you. Blessings, Bonnie P.S. Next time I call please don't cut me off :) !Bonnie,
Very simply, KTSA takes a break for network programming at :58:50 of each hour. Your call got on the air at approx. 9:58 and had to be over before fifty seconds elapsed. No rudeness intended. I was (and still am) chuckling at your bifurcated message of "blessing America" while cursing New Orleans. Doesn't pass my W.W.J.D. test Bonnie! But please call again and hopefully we'll have more time.
Jack
HIRING A NEW JR PRODUCER
Great producers make great talk radio, and I've been priveleged these last couple of years to work with Daniel Farias, who you may have gotten to know if you're a show caller. He is a good friend and has been very valuable to what we do here. I'm pleased to announce that he's moving up in our company to some news reporting and web content duties. So we ARE keeping him! But now I need a new producer to work on our growing midday talk show and the under-construction Noon newscast launching in June. Know anyone who fits our job description?
DUTIES-Track down, pre-interview, and schedule guests needed for daily news/talk radio show. Help develop lead topics and angles for on-air discussion. Assist host with daily show preparation in a variety of ways. Compile daily rundown of show guests/topics. Monitor live broadcast and screen phone calls for on-air.
REQUIREMENTS-Knowledge and experience of maintaining websites and content. Some college or current college student. Have some experience listening to commercial talk radio. Be highly organized in terms of notes, phone numbers and time management-Be a clear, concise communicator when speaking and writing.
E-mail me: jack@ktsa.com
A NEW KIND OF RADIO!
Here's a listener who has a new technology: a radio that only allows her to hear me talking about Barack Obama, while miraculously filtering out all the rest of the time that we've spent dissecting the campaigns and utterances of Clinton, McCain, Huckabee, et. al. Read on:
Morning Jack...
What are you going to talk about when Obama is out of the picture...you all put
"words" in his mouth by assuming...and, as you once e-mailed me...you know what
that means...
You don't know why he didn't denounce Wright earlier....You only assume.
Why don't you do an hour on Hillary Clinton's Bosnia trip !!! Accoring to Clinton !!!
Why don't you keep reminding the people what a liar she is, and she is! I do
believe Barack Obama has integrity...but the Clinton's certainly do NOT and it has
been proven over and over and over.
Can't listen anymore...
JCI guess we'll be hiring a replacement listener on Monday. All applicants welcome!
ECONOMIC ILLITERACY IN AMERICA---WHO FAILED US?
Emailer writes:
> Mr. Riccardi:> Listening to you weigh in a few moments ago on Hillary's profit margin> taxation plan during the Trey Ware show really lowered my opinion of> you. You made the comment that this plan may actually hold water to> someone who didn't understand profit margins, such as "people who> attended public schools."> I'm not sure what your basis is for making a remark like that. I am a> product of Texas public schools and have been teaching biology in Texas> public schools for the past nine years. I was taught in my high school> economics class about profit margins and I was taught in my elementary> reading classes how to read, for example, the business section of a> newspaper. Both lessons have served me well throughout my life.> Whatever your opinion of public school systems may be, perhaps you could> limit expressing that to a segment on education and not campaign> politics.> > Josh > Pleasanton, TXMy response:
Josh,
I'm sorry that the truth hurts. The vast majority of today's voters are public school educated, yet do not grasp basic economic concepts such as profit margin (and many other ideas, as evidenced by the recent mortgage meltdown). This economic illiteracy makes them vulnerable to pandering politicians with messages of "excessive" profits and the like. Which in turn leads them to vote in ways counterproductive to their own prosperity and well-being. If you have an alternative explanation for a population today that cannot name its own elected representatives, Supreme Court justices, even the vice president, cannot define the role of the Electoral College or which branch of government levies taxes, and does not have enough economic horse-sense to know when they are being lied to, I would gladly hear it. I have never said that every person in public ed is a failure, but the aggregate result of our public schooled-nation is a failure. Your recollection of learning some of these things in school is encouraging, but an exception does not disprove the rule. Obviously, the system can and does graduate a majority of people who don't grasp basic concepts required for enlightened voting and participation in the process of self-government.
Thanks for listening and for the exchange of ideas!
Jack
