A Slippery Slope

The hot button issues seem to spring from everywhere in this political season.  Now the President of the Atlanta-based fast food chain Chick-fil-A has brought about the latest storm over same sex marriage with his opposition to it.  These views were probably never a secret. Don Cathy's outspokenness left his company's public relations department scrambling to play it down, but it was too late. While he has a right to his opinions, increasing numbers of potential customers who do not share his views are not comfortable patronizing a business that funds anti-gay causes. The mayors of Chicago and Boston have said Chick-fil-A would not be welcome in their cities. New York's mayor cautions against government officials attempting to ban this company's expansion plans, and he is so right.  Government could intercede if the company clearly practiced discrimnination against the LGBT community, but that doesn't appear to be the case.  Is a private citizens' boycott any better? That would be more appropriate, with several cautions. First, the irresponsible rhetoric by people like Roseanne Barr hoping everyone who eats at Chick-fil-A gets cancer just brings out more out-of-control reactions on the other side. Also, where do the boycotts stop? Do I stop drinking Coors Beer or using Brawny paper towels because their parent companies gave money to candidates or causes I oppose?   Where does it end?

Conservatives have taken up the defense of Chick-fil-A's right to freedom of speech and religion. Fox News and Cumulus Media* commentator/host Mike Huckabee has inserted himself right into the thick of the debate, and the right wing could not have found a more inappropriate leader on this issue. He recently agreed with a caller who characterized gay men as child molesters, giving that false assumption as a good reason why the Boy Scouts are right in not allowing gay scoutmasters. Huckabee's record of homophobic statements is outrageous. An individual's views are one thing, but Chick-fil-A has also put their corporate money where their mouth is. That could cost them a lot of goodwill in what has been an impressive American success story based on some otherwise solid values. It is sad to find them on the wrong side of history this time.

*The above opinions are my own and should not be construed as the opinions of management of Cumulus Media Inc. or its affiliates.

A Common Thread

Aurora, Colorado Shooting Scene

We are at a loss to explain what would prompt someone to carry out a senseless act of violence like the Aurora, Colorado movie theatre massacre.   As time goes by, the background of a disturbed shooter, accounts of survivors and stories of exceptional people will fade from the headlines.  The impact of this tragedy will not go away, given the possibility of a similar incident happening again.   The conversation about violence in America never seems to get far.   Nobody is remotely suggesting responsible gun owners should be totally deprived of a Second Amendment right to bear arms, yet a well-funded effort by the NRA has both political parties afraid to even bring up the topic of a nationwide assault weapons ban.   Mayor Bloomberg is a billionaire and an independent, so he can afford to speak up.   Then there's the issue of increasing levels of violence in movies.   The latest Batman movie was touted as more shocking than ever with an even more dastardly villain than Heath Ledger's Joker.   Of course, the only resolution is total annihilation.   This increasingly dark narrative now runs through all the superhero movies along with other action features designed to top their predecessors.   Does this desensitize a mostly young audience?   Are we to accept this as the new norm because a Hollywood movie raked in $160,000,000 in an opening weekend?    Will we have to pass through metal detectors just to take in movie?   

Look at another sad news headline. The Penn State football sexual assault scandal resulted in  harsh fines on the school along with the disgraced legacy of coach Joe Paterno.   People in power turned a blind eye to protect a multi-million dollar sports franchise instead of doing the right thing.   For all the severity of the penalty,  I can't believe Penn State could still take the field this season.   2012 will stand out as the year we saw the effect of big money having its way like never before.   The Citizens United Supreme Court decision now enables Super PACs to drown out voices who are not as well funded.   When we can't even have the beginnings of a real discourse in the political arena, we are in big trouble.   And how's that drug war going? 

You Didn't Build That

From NY Daily News

Why are Republicans pouncing on a portion of this speech made by President Obama last week in Roanoke, Virginia?   Because they took it out of context to attack it as a slap against private business initiative.   Here's the unedited relevant portion of his speech, most of which never aired on Fox News. You decide:

   

There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me -- because they want to give something back.  They know they didn’t -- look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own.  You didn’t get there on your own.  I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart.  There are a lot of smart people out there.  It must be because I worked harder than everybody else.  Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there. 

   

If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help.  There was a great teacher somewhere in your life.  Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive.  Somebody invested in roads and bridges.  If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen.  The Internet didn’t get invented on its own.  Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.

The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.  There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own.  I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service.  That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.

So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this country, you know what, there are some things we do better together.  That’s how we funded the GI Bill.  That’s how we created the middle class.  That’s how we built the Golden Gate Bridge or the Hoover Dam.  That’s how we invented the Internet.  That’s how we sent a man to the moon.  We rise or fall together as one nation and as one people, and that’s the reason I’m running for President -- because I still believe in that idea.  You’re not on your own, we’re in this together.

So all these issues go back to that first campaign that I talked about, because everything has to do with how do we help middle-class families, working people, strivers, doers -- how do we help them succeed?  How do we make sure that their hard work pays off?  That’s what I've been thinking about the entire time I've been President.

Rolling Stones: 50 and Counting

July 12th marked 50 years of the Rolling Stones playing together as a band. Say what you want about the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and all the other supergroups through rock history. When it comes to longevity and consistency, nobody has ever come close to these "Bad Boys of Rock n' Roll". Recently, Keith Richards was asked his secret to such a remarkable track record. His advice was basically "not to work for others." That is not totally practical for many in rock or other lines of work, but I took it as something close to what Rick Nelson sang in his comeback hit "Garden Party" from 1972: "You can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself." The Stones have lived their passion for over five decades. Fans knew that and felt they had joined them on that journey whenever they bought their albums, heard them on the radio or saw them in concert. Given the list of their contemporaries who left us much too soon and the Stones' own wild story, it's not a matter of how they survived as a band. It's more amazing how they even stayed alive. 

Getting Ready for Sailfest

New London will once again play host to 300,000 people over the next three days - the largest annual gathering in Connecticut.    If you've been listening to any of the four Cumulus New London radio stations, you know that we are a sponsor of Sailfest and OpSail 2012 and are set to broadcast the soundtrack to the Mashantucket Pequot Fireworks Extravaganza.   With all the severe weather watches and possible warnings for late Saturday, it's even more important to listen to Q105, 102.3 The Wolf, 104.7 WELJ or News Talk 980 WXLM to find out whether or not this massive fireworks show will go on as scheduled at 9:25 PM.    One thing is clear for anyone going on Saturday: the heat and humidity will combine to make it a day of extreme heat stress.   That's nothing to mess with.   Sunday should be more comfortable.   I've been following the forecast very closely, since I'll be broadcasting live from Custom House Pier on 102.3 The Wolf and on WXLM between noon and five Saturday.   It's been a long time since I've done any radio remote, not to mention one on two stations, so I'm looking forward to it.   Besides being prepared for Saturday's heat and possible storms, I have one other word of warning.   True to my Irish heritage, I don't tan well and my pasty white legs will be on full display!   More info on Sailfest and OpSail 2012 is available at http://sailfest.org/.   I hope to see you there.