I wonder about these sort of things - I just moved to a new city this week, and have been doing a lot of driving around getting things for the new apartment, and in the car, when not rocking out to KISS, I enjoy talk radio - so I had it on in the car yesterday, and in this new city, I wasn't able to find the left-wing station, so I flipped through the variety of right wing stations - listened to the brightest and best of right wing intellectualism, like Michael Savage, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Liely, Rush Limbaugh etc...

And honestly?  Those guys are fucking nuts.  I mean, I've heard them before - I knew what I was getting into, but... they are seriously sick in the head.  They spent air time yesterday talking about things like flag pins and other trivialities - and, you know, they get all hot and bothered and start screaming into the mic - really freaking out - the pattern of the talk is clearly based in Hitler's speaches - (ie - they start friendly, address audience as "friends", "fellow countrymen", get angry at something irrelevent - the flag, blacks, mexicans, gays, start screaming about how "they're" out to get "us" and then start shrieking and screaming and demanding action.  Triumph of the Will = The Savage Nation)  - and I wonder, on one hand - is it just an act?  Is it like wressling?  Or do people really believe this sort of stuff?  Do they think the gays are really out to get you?  Do they think you're somehow inhuman for not wearing a pin?

And then the next question - what about the audience?  I'm sure some of the people are folks like me with morbid curiousity, but I understand that these guys do ok in ratings - are their regular listeners also thinking this way? 

Disturbing, to say the least. 

listened to the brightest and best of right wing intellectualism, like Michael Savage, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Liely, Rush Limbaugh etc...

I trust you were joking Mike and not lumping all Right Wingers in with these clowns.  That would be like associating all Left Wingers with Jeremiah Wright . . . . .

:o)

Geoff - of course - there was sarcasm in my mind I typed those words - the point of my post is that those guys are buffoons.

Ring Wingers are good eggs - they're like the rest of us - they want what's best for them and thier families.  They just see different ways of making that happen.  Sounds good to me - we need choice and variety and options. 

Al:

I was thinking of William Safire.  Or George Will.  Hell, even P.J. O'Rourke! 

Just posting to get Donald Miller's top image off the latest page for this thread.

Brrr.