Al Franken, Randi Rhodes, Janeane Garofalo...

[Columbia]

Great people, but where are the minorities? Where is our voice? :shrug:

[Gothic Sponge]

1. Chuck D?

[NormanConquest]

2. Chuck D...

:shrug: right back atcha.

[Columbia]

7. One co-host of 3

I'd expect a little more.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

3. I consider women a minority, since talk radio is dominated by men

Chuck D is one of my faves-he's on in the morning.

[Columbia]

12. True

But women constitute 51% of the population and are the most sought after audience for advertisers. I think they are well represented on Air America. I can't say the same for other minorities.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

16. But they're not well-represented on talk radio in general

that was my point.

[Columbia]

24. I understand

But neither are other minority groups on Air America.

That was my point.

[mouse7]

30. Half the AA lead show anchors female: Garofalo, Rhodes, Winstead

Of 6 weekday shows, 3 of the front people are female (Though Unfiltered doen't really have a lead, but Liz Winstead also has a VP title, so it balances).

[wicket]

19. I second that

I also just sent you a PM :)

[xultar]

4. Chuck D. Yo! Columbia have we met I'm Xultar...

The Sistah from Another Planet. Nice to meet ya.

[Columbia]

9. Don't think so.

Nice to meet ya too. :)

Nothing against Chuck D, but I think we should get more minority representation with their own show, and not just the one token black guy.

[oasis]

13. "One token black guy"??? Are you implying that Chuck D is not qualified?

[Columbia]

22. Of course he is qualified

Are you not aware of tokenism? It's when one throws in a minority not for real coverage of the spectrum, but just so they can say there is a minority. That is not enough, we must rise above that and establish true representation.

[mouse7]

36. Chuck D represents real effort to reach out to Hip-Hop culture

If this were tokenism, it would be someone more "palatable" to mainstream culture. Chuck D is one of Hip-Hip culture's legends, and at one time, one of the most contoversial people in entertainment. A policy of "Tokenism" would avoid such "controversial" figures like the plague.

[Columbia]

43. Where's the effort to reach out to other cultures?

The Asian American culture? The African American female culture? The Hispanic American culture? The GLBT culture? Are their voices not as worthy?

[mouse7]

46. More purity rants from the left.

We can't win every single fight at once. It's too many fights to engage in simultaneously. Why aren't you fighting for Russian-American cultures, Thai-American cultures, Philipino-American cultures, Morrocan-American cultures, Azerbjani-American cultures? I just named several of many culture that you just avoided reaching out to.

Why didn't you advocate the cultures I listed? You know the answer as well as I do. It's too many to do at once. Too many battles on too many fronts means not enough time spent fighting any particular fight to win any fights whatsoever.

[dpibel]

53. Not a purity rant

This is all about drollery, y'know what I mean?

Someone is oh-so-cleverly seeking to hoist liberals on their own politically correct petard.

Get it? Snerf, snerf. All you liberals complain about underreprentation in the noble world of right-wing hate radio. Now where are your complaints about underreprentation on your radio shows?

To quote Big Daddy from "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "There's a distinct odor of mendacity in the air."

[Kathy in Cambridge]

21. Do you know who Chuck D is?

just curious.

[Columbia]

29. I do

Didn't know he was co-hosting a morning show. I only caught the afternoon broadcasts.

[mouse7]

37. Why not bitch at PBS?

Tavis Smiley is stuck at the end of the PBS program schedule, and many of the PBS stations don't even pick his show up. We can't get Tavis here in Portland, and I'm ticked, because I really like Tavis Smiley.

[Columbia]

41. That's a valid complaint

You should write them as I will write Air America.

[mouse7]

47. I do promise I will write PBS.

It's so bad it's a blatant joke.

[K-W]

5. The amount of women is nice, and Chuck D is certainly a minority voice,but

The reason Air America is a new kind of liberal radio because people like Franken, Garofalo, Rhodes, Liz Winsted, were the people with the connections who made this happen. Its symbolic of society, but perhaps once the network establishes itself, it can risk to bring in new voices.

[HootieMcBoob]

6. Last night Dave Chapelle was the guest on Majority Report

He was great.

[goclark]

8. I was thinking the same thing!

How can we have liberal radio without a rainbow of opinions?

Quick,quick...where is Dr. Cornel West other members of the Tavis Smiley Forum held last month? I'm telling you any member of that forum would really get the ball rolling, in a great way!

Where is the Hispanic voice? The Asian, the gay?

[Columbia]

44. I was hoping more people would see that view too

Thanks for your input though, goclark. :)

[goclark]

61. It's Always Not Now!

I am keenly aware of how important AA radio is to all of us.
I listened today for the first time and I loved it!

That said, I would like to bring a different perspective to this thread.

As an African American, I am sensitive to the issue... but not blind to other points of view.

I would like to remind one and all of a few
" Let's Not Rock The Boat--- Now Is Not The Time"
moments in history

The Right for Women To Vote
Rosa Parks Taking That 1st Bus Ride
Nelson Mandela's Struggles
The Civil Rights Movement
The End Of Slavery
The Gay Marriages In San Francisco


All of these issues were successful because there were many brave men and women who kept ringing the bell until some one answered the door.


Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring,ring, ring, ring,ring......

:thumbsup:

[DinahMoeHum]

10. I'm pretty sure they're working on that even as we speak. . .

Give it time. If you can, please e-mail to them any suggestions on who should get aboard.


:kick:

[Gothic Sponge]

17. I agree they need more voices, but the network is new

I think i heard Co-host Mark Riley on Morning Sedition saying he is black.

[xultar]

11. Let's not pull this crap now. We need AA right now! More than we need

to worry about that at this point.

Let's make sure that AA is a success. That is what is most important.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

14. Agreed!

[Columbia]

15. Exactly

But this is how AA might fail if it doesn't reach out to these other groups. I mean, c'mon, this is LIBERAL radio is it not? I want true change, not the status quo!

[Thrill]

20. Chuck D

and Mark Riley are host

[xultar]

26. They will run out of money first...failure due to lack of diversity

if it were their only concern right now then they would be on all 50 states. Plus!!! Beating Fat Ass Limbaugh.

They would sure run out of money first before any thing close to Diversity would cause them to fail.


Then they'd have to also hire
A Cambodian
A Japanese
A Chinese
A Canadian
A Mexican
A Spaniard
A Brazilian
A Bosnian
A Croatian
A Palestinian
A Jew
An Arab
A Muslim
A Catholic
A Neo-Con
An Indian
An American Indian
A Russian
A Parisian
An Australian
A Pacific Islander
An Ethiopian
A Somalian
A Moroccan

Let's hope they stay on for more than a year then get on that issue.
K
Peace Out

[Columbia]

28. I'd be happy with at least couple on that list on the air

The hispanic, asian, and gay audiences would agree.

[Dookus]

52. ya know...

I'm gay, but I feel no pressing need to hear a gay talk-show host. I think this is supremely silly.

[Lindsay]

18. All of the above...

support Air America AND suggest ideas for other viewpoints. Dunno, of course, how responsive they'll be to callers and emailers, but if you've got an issue with 'em, you've gotta let them know.

[bandy]

23. I can only speak of Randi

and after listening to her for years and years, I can tell you - she is a very capable voice FOR you. She speaks for all of us, every day, from her heart, with a brain that just never quits.

She does have her good days and bad days. Just sorry that a lot of DU's had to hear a bad day version yesterday which I attribute to being her 1st day in a totally new environment.

[Columbia]

25. I don't want someone else to speak for me

And yes, her show did not go so well yesterday. What was up with the whole chewing gum thing?? It's her debut on liberal talk-radio and she's chewing gum??

[xultar]

32. IF you don't like Randi then just say it. IF you don't like the gum thing

then just say it.

But puhleezzz from a fellow minority (Black woman) don't go there.

She's not speaking for you. You can call in and speak for yourself.

Her show went fine. She's been on the air for 18 years. She was the only LIBERAL talk show host for the past 18 years. She was in FL during the 2000 bullshit.

IF you don't like her show don't listen. I personally enjoyed he hell out of it and I listened to her before she was even on AA.

It is new. They are liberal we need to support them. If you can't I can understand that.

If we don't support them then there will be no LIBERAL voice on the radio and there never will be.

[Columbia]

33. I never said I didn't like her

I agreed with just about everything she had to say yesterday (esp the thing about Nader). I was just agreeing with Bandy that it might have not been her best day. Attribute it to first-day jitters or what not, but it was just kind of clunky. I'm sure they will get the kinks worked out soon though.

[bandy]

34. I realize that and sorry if I offended you cause that was not my intention

but just give this time and hopefully there will be someone to speak for you.
The gum thing is just Randi. She is in a class by herself. She is a quirky girl, but a gem.
Please forgive me and Randi.

[bushisanidiot]

35. She Speaks for You As A Liberal. Are you a liberal?

as liberals we support rights for all, not just the wealthy, white, heterosexual, christians in this country.

[bandy]

38. thanks, bushis

that's what (more or less) I was trying to say!

[Columbia]

40. She can speak for me as a liberal

But what about as a minority?

[bushisanidiot]

27. I had never heard Randi Rhodes before yesterday and I love her!

That jersey or new york accent sounds great on her! she's very articulate and has captured me as an instant fan! :)

[Jane Austin]

31. A Boca friend kept telling me about her

but I'd never heard her before yesterday.

I love her, too!

Hard hitting, but we need that for a change.

[proud patriot]

39. Don't forget ChuckD , his show was great this morning

:hi:

[Columbia]

42. He's great

But not enough.

All I've heard here so far is great arguments against affirmative action.

"We let Chuck D co-host a show, isn't that enough?"

"Now is not the time to worry about diversity."

"If we let more in, we'll have to let everyone in."

We should hold ourselves to a higher standard than that.

On edit: Got to jet for now, be back later...

[mouse7]

49. No, Chuck D and half women leads

That's a huge step forward.

[thebigidea]

51. You're right - he's not enough. WHY NO FLAVA FLAV?

I demand more giant fake clocks.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

54. Yeeeeaaaaahhh booooyyyyy!

[thebigidea]

55. "he's the sooooon offfff a baaaaaaad maaaaaan!"

http://shadow.eline.com/daveyd/sonofabush.mp3

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

56. I guess 9-11 ain't a joke no more........ OK I'll stop now.

[hippiegranny]

45. oh fer phuck sake!

we finally get a voice and the bitchfest has just gotta begin. ok, i'll play. i want a lesbian grandmother to have her own program and i will not listen until i'm represented. come on air america, didn't you know your job was to be pc first and whoop ass on republican right wing liars second?

[sangh0]

48. Bingo!

We even have DUers who have spent months criticizing liberal Dems who now complain about how Randi Rhodes attacked a liberal, Ralph Nader


:crazy:

[Columbia]

57. Another great argument against affirmative action

Lots of good conservative talking points on this thread.

[ConsAreLiars]

50. Disinformation

Why do you post false information about the line up?

Just echoing some talking points, or too lazy to find the facts before launching this attack?

Are you arguing that your president and his cabal present the "voice" of black citizens better than the non-blacks on Air America because Powell and Rice are in the cabinet? Seems to me that the causes folks advocate is more important than skin colors, even if what you said had been true.

[toddzilla]

59. well said bumbler.

The values and ideology represented is far more important than who is saying it in the first place.


Don't shoot the messenger, even if you like their views.

[Columbia]

60. The only talking points I see

Are others for the conservative side.

I guess I had the wrong idea about what liberalism is all about. Forget values or principles, it's all about beating the other side right?

[ldf]

62. the issue is not "liberalism"

at this point beating the other side is the one, and only goal.

if we don't beat the other side come november, you can kiss all the rest of these ridiculous arguements in this thread goodbye.

the america that we all hope could be will cease to exist. then there won't be any option to try to achieve these other goals.

with four more years of the bush baby, any hope of anything faintly resembling liberalism will be unachievable.

at that point the only option will be blood in the streets, and a lot of it will be ours.

right now, i think i would like to concentrate on winning in november. we can deal with the rest of the stuff afterwards.

[Khephra]

58. So far I'm only hearing weekday hosts

Aren't the weekend shows still being finalized as we speak?