Action/Event Proposal: Air America axes Marc Maron & Morning Sedition - Listener Forum/Goodbye Party?

December 15th will be the last day for Morning Sedition on Air America Radio. For those who have come to depend on Marc Maron, Mark Reilly & co. for razor sharp political talk, news and comedy in the mornings, it's going to be a very sad day.

I'd like to propose some type of informal action/event for AAR listeners and friends to show support for Marc Maron, and to let the decision-makers know what we think about where the station is headed. Maybe a good day would be Saturday, December 10th, somewhere in Manhattan during the day - a comfortable room with a stage of some sort. I know everyone's really busy right now, but if anyone is interested in this, please get in touch with me ASAP. Any and all feedback, suggestions for possible venues, etc., would be wonderful. Feel free to post comments and pass along to interested friends. There isn't much time left.

Personally, I rely on a variety of sources for my hourly news/political junkie fix (still love WNYC, WBAI, watch Democracy Now! all the time, etc.). Air America has been a wonderful thing. I hope itcontinues to grow and evolve for the better. In my humble opinion, killing Morning Sedition does not help the cause.

I'm not so great at being out front of an audience, not the best at big event organizing either. My forte is being behind the camera as they say - art direction, set decorating, etc. I'm going to try to reach out to as many groups and people as possible who might have strong feelings about the direction our beloved Air America is going. Thanks very much - hope to hear from you

READ MORE and get LINKS...

So, Danny Goldberg is killing Morning Sedition by Jonathon Larsen

This is good - from Petty Larseny

Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Morning Sedition
So, Danny Goldberg is killing Morning Sedition.

Sedition, if you haven't heard of it, is Air America Radio's morning-drive program, hosted by comedian Marc Maron and co-host Mark Riley. As its first producer, I helped create and launch the show in April 2004 and produced it for its first year. If you've seen the HBO documentary, Left of the Dial, you know that this was an extremely trying process.

When Goldberg started as Air America Radio CEO this year, he made it clear almost immediately that he didn't like (or get, depending on your view) Sedition and that he wanted, at the very least, to make substantive changes. Landing in Goldberg's crosshairs strained the previously volatile, but also rewarding, relationship between myself and Maron and, especially after the network asked me to help Rachel Maddow create and launch her new 5 a.m. show, I ended up reducing my involvement in Sedition, handing over most of the responsibility to the hyper-capable Brendan McDonald and focusing my efforts more on the long-term planning required for the summer's slate of live remote broadcasts.

Eventually, it became clear to me that this set-up wasn't infinitely tenable. I told the network I wanted to stay on in some other capacity. My superiors there felt the same way and sought other ways to utilize me. Goldberg, however, had no interest in keeping me, so I was laid off in September.

All of which is not the point of my story, but a good-faith effort to disclose that, yes, I have a number of axes that could use grinding if I were so inclined.

I don't feel so inclined (okay, I do, but not so much any more and, in any case, I'm trying not to indulge). Maron is pretty damn close to a national treasure. His level of emotional intelligence is off the charts and he applies it to issues of politics and society in ways that make his work the comedic equivalent of "Freakonomics" or "Tipping Point," his synthesis of insights (his own and others) into how people work individually and societally is just about that revolutionary.

And it's piss-your-pants funny. The New Haven Advocate came pretty close, I think, to nailing what made Sedition good and valuable to AAR, and in general. When Goldberg arrived at Air America, everyone -- including him -- acknowledged that Morning Sedition had been neglected by the network.

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Ohio Jesus sculpture makes the New York Times!

TOUCHDOWN!
Tonight I heard Sam Seder of Majority Report mention a story about a giant Jesus sculpture in Ohio, and I wondered could it be...? I was so excited when I spotted the pic on Huffington Post. I clicked on the link and lo and behold -- it made the New York Times. It's the very same one I saw a number of times during my stint in Cincinnati last year. Apparently there are very few accidents near this site.

Last year my fellow Billionaire, Hiram Cheep was kind enough to send me a link to the Solid Rock Church which I forwarded to many people. The photograph above is from the church's website. You can download it as a screensaver. Hiram has a great eye for images -- I may be using his "Jesus In A Tux, Champagne Toast" for my holiday card this year. He & his lovely wife Lotta Cash donated gazillions for last year's Buckeye Ball in Columbus. We sure delivered, eh Blackwell?

I don't know if any picture can do justice to the impact this sculpture makes when driving by. It's absolutely astounding. Another friend Chris who lives nearby it said he and his son joked that it looks like Jesus just scored a goal. I'll say -- Bush & Co: 2, Democrats & rest of the world:0! Apparently Ohioans did not vote for election reform this year, although that conflicts with the exit polling. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens in 2006...

If you don't link to the NY Times article, it's posted here under comments for this post. READ MORE...

Brooklyn Sym-phony Band on the march!

March Against Brooklyn Arena Plan March Against Brooklyn Arena Plan 11.13.05 (Photo: Bill Lyons/METRO)

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn organized the march -- and raised $50,000(!) to help cover the legal costs of challenging the Arena proposal in court. Check out the pics and links to press coverage on their site. Hiya to my Brooklyn pallies...it all makes me very nostalgic for Freddy's...

Brooklyn Dodgers Sym-phony Band tribute/reincarnation to save Atlantic Yards from '3 Blind Mice'

ABOVE: some of the original members of the Brooklyn Dodgers Sym-phony Band. They used to play '3 Blind Mice' at the umpires if they made a bad call. Hopefully that spirit will be summoned at tomorrow's protest march in Brooklyn in order to save the Atlantic yards from a disastrous plan to plop a giant stadium where it DOES NOT belong. Ratner, Bloomberg & Marty Markowitz -- youse guys are a coupla real heels...you're Da real Bums! Here's a Bronx cheer from yours truly...

More Ohio memories...

Happy Kurt Vonnegut Day!

Happy Kurt Vonnegut & Veterans Day...an interesting convergence of holidays. How wonderful that the WWII veteran, survivor of Dresden & author of Slaughterhouse Five should be celebrated on this day. I will take away 5 demerits from Mayor Bloomberg for this. Who says Billionaires have no sense of humor? Huzzah, Bloomie. I highly recommend KV's latest, A Man Without A Country.

VICTORY! The times, they are a changin'...

VICTORY! Above:Senator Jon Corzine wins the governor's race in New Jersey. Check out Huffington Post for some great bloggong. Actually, this is one of my favorite blogs run by multi-millionaires covering election battles between multi-millionaire political opponents ;-)

Political Art Blog of the Week: I Love Karl Rove.com

I Love Karl Rove! This is the funniest thing I've ever seen. I'm obscenely excited to be a new "RoveHo". Why not be the first on your block to send a naughty Rove-o-gram? The creator of this site is a genius. If you're not convinced, maybe a quick tour of tart.org might change your mind.
(*Note: as of tonight, I think it's under construction). Sent by Marko.

Photo Of The Week by Jendra

Jendra J. Jarnagin is by far one of the most talented DP/photographers I know! She & I were hotel-mates on Cape Cod for "Besotted" and have been in love ever since. Besides being the Queen of the Jungle, she is also a famous floozy on Bourbon Street in New Orleans (pics coming soon!). Her husband Alec is a mad scientist who smokes cubans, brews moonshine and moonlights as a Steadicam operator. Talk about a wild, swinging couple!

Site of the Week: Stuff On My Cat.com

Posted by Stephanie, who says "perhaps a waste of bandwidth, but i find the site brilliant ..." I couldn't agree more! Shown: LEGO on cat. Take that Cat Fancy magazine! The Stuff On My Cats site headline says it all: Stuff + Cats = Awesome!

Indeed...

In today's NY Times Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters
Thousands Protest Against Bush at Summit in Argentina
from article: "The president arrived here on Thursday night after one of the worst weeks of his presidency, only to be greeted by strong anti-American sentiment and taunts from Venezuela's populist president, Hugo Chávez." Go Hugo! I wonder why the "liberal" Times has consistently given so little coverage to the hundreds of thousands protesting for peace over the last few years here in the US. Hmm...

Review: 'Ginger Snaps' by Darcy

Coming soon...hi Darcy ;-)

...and a belated Happy Halloween! Check out the spooky jack-o-lantern below. I carved that one at Andy & Megan's famous Halloween party in Ohio -- hard to believe it was one year ago! Coincidentally, last Halloween was the final campaign event for Bush/Cheney at the Great American Ballpark in downtown Cincinnati. Before joining the rally, Owen Mebillions & Jackie Dough (Cliff Jenkins & moi) protested the Democratic party gathering a few blocks away.

As Billionaires For Bush, we chanted our slogans for the hopeful crowd. Then we marched to the Bush rally and counter-protested the angry liberals outside the main gate. And, of course, we got our wish 2 nights later! Secretary of State Ken Blackwell handed Bush his victory as tens of thousands of Kerry voters were disenfranchised through every possible loophole and manner -- HUZZAH!

As a non-billionaire, I managed to wrangle tickets to the Bush rally (pic below) through my day job for the CEO of IFS Financial Services, a division of Western Southern. Tickets were distributed to employees, who all received an e-mail about the event. The line at the company cafeteria was out the door -- luckily, as the assistant to one of the top officers, I was able to skip ahead (ah, the joys of privilege!).

But not before I had the chance to pretend to be one of the Bush supporters, and eavesdrop on their conversation. My Republican boss was one of the kindest, loveliest people I've ever worked for - but the underlings in that line had their guards down, and I got to hear what they couldn't normally say in the office. It wasn't pretty. It gave me deep chills, just as the throngs at the rally did a few days later. I wasn't able to enter the ballpark, as any anti-Bush chanting or paraphernalia would have gotten us kicked out anyway. Truthfully, I was relieved about that, because those people scared the hell out of me.

I can only imagine how election night in Ohio was perceived by Kerry voters around the country. The friends I made there were not only in shock, but many also privately said they felt ashamed, and responsible that they couldn't pull out a victory. The mainstream media has mostly ignored journalistic coverage and reports on the stealing of the 2004 election in Ohio, and I'm sure they will continue to do so. But most of the people I talked to on the ground didn't have any doubt about that the outcome was predetermined, that the facts surrounding the voting controversies were fixed around that point, and then spun by the national and local Republican party machines.

Anyway, just thinkin' about last year and the amazing energy that rose up to defeat the clowns in the White House. It seems that the true identities behind their ghoulish Halloween masks are finally being revealed by the mainstream press. Let's hope we've turned a corner and this will lead to victory in the House in 2006...AND how 'bout that FOXY Paul Hackett as the new Senator from O-H-I-O??!!!

I miss that Skyline chili

Boo!

Welcome to the Truth Charms blog

HELLO...just created this blog yesterday! It was pretty simple - easier than re-doing my website, which I'll work on this month. So, instead of sending out all those annoying political e-mails, you can go online whenever you happen to be in the mood for some liberal ranting mixed with artsy/retro/kitsch-y amusement.

Please feel free to post your little heart out. Send me anything you'd like to write about. OR, start your own weekly column - Art, Politics, writing, pics, humor, links. It's a great way to keep in touch, no? Maybe I'll try to send out a weekly summary.

Some suggested topics:
Pets
Offspring
Schadenfreude over the disintegrating Bush junta
Your new band
Adventures in dating
Life after the big 4-0
Ideas for Extreme Makeover of the Democratic Party
Bad Art
Tall, hunky single men over 37
Recipes
Shoes
New York State of Mind
Swing State issues
Iraq
Big Bang Day (my idea for agnostic holiday)
Film history

Later I'm going to write a post about the movie "Slap Shot" with Paul Newman, which happened to be on last night at 3:00am. It's one of my faves! Also, I listened to many of the moving, earth shaking speeches given in honor of Rose Parks, and I'm going to try to find the links to some of the speakers.

See ya on the blogosphere
xoxo Jessica (Jackie Dough to Billionaires)