Saying No to the "Party of No"

The Supreme Court saved the Obama Administration's signature health care law in a 6-3 decision.   According to CNN, the ruling holds that the Affordable Care Act authorized federal tax credits for eligible Americans living not only in states with their own exchanges but also in the 34 states with federal marketplaces.   This is a big win for Obamacare.   Is this law perfect?   Hardly.   Does this decision save millions from losing health insurance?   Absolutely.   Have Republicans done anything in the way of healthcare alternatives?   Not in the least, as they repeated their futile efforts to repeal Obamacare in Congress fifty times over.   What's their solution?   If they can't articulate it, who can?

If for no other reason, the GOP has earned its reutation as "the party of 'no'".   When will they ever learn?

  

End of Discussion?

Charleston prayer service (WLTX)

It's all too uncomfortable to politicians on the right, and even to some in the center.   We see it again in the wake of nine shooting deaths of churchgoers and prominent community members in Charleston, SC.   Ask them about gun control and you'll get a response that just labels the latest massacre as a case of one deranged individual.   Charleston's mayor Joe Riley denies the role or very existence of racism in his fair city.   That wouldn't reflect well on this major tourist draw.   Ask South Carolina Senator Presidential candidate LIndsey Graham about the racist symbolism of the Confederate battle flag and he'll tell you that his state has worked out a compromise over its display to satisfy "both sides to this issue."    Fox News depicts the shooting as an "attack on Christians" instead of blacks clearly singled out for their skin color.   These are issues that make people bankrolled by the NRA leadership and other powerful conservative lobbyists very uncomfortable.    Mention the role of guns in mass shootings and you're met with well organized chants of the false narrative that any discussion of guns means President Obama and liberals are aiming to confiscate every firearm in the hands of private citizens.   

The discussion embargo doesn't end with gun violence and racism.   Even the Pope, a scientist, gets criticized for expressing concern over climate change hastened by human activity by people who preface everything by, "I'm not a scientist, but..."    Senator Elizabeth Warren took issue with our allegedly socialist President Obama over "free trade" with the Tran Pacific Partnership bill being pushed through Congress with no room for open discussion of its particulars.    Newly announced GOP candidate Donald Trump calls people who might disagree with his vague ideas "clowns" and "losers."    There are many people who blame the media for "harping on" things, stirring up trouble.

An open discussion is the American way of life... ideally, anyway.   If the NRA bosses and deniers of all types want to take their marbles and go home when they can't have things 100 per cent their way, that's their problem.   That doesn't mean the rest of us who want everything to be fair game should give up and allow these powerful narrow interests to shut down the exchange of ideas.   

Identifying Ourselves

Rachel Dolezal

Spokane, Washington NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal stepped down amid revelations that she had been falsely claiming to be African American.   Her estranged white parents have come forward to deny she is black.   Is this fraud punishable by law?   The legal system can decide that part.    She said to Matt Lauer on NBC's Today Show that she "identified as black" and showed no regret over what she had done.   I think an apology is due at the very least.   She lied.   That is a disservice to the very advocacy group she represented.    There is no reason a white person can't hold a responsible position in the NAACP, but there is no excuse for concealing the fact.   A man leads the UConn women's basketball team year after year.   An Englishman led Arabs in revolt against the Ottoman Empire a century ago.   Gender and ethnic identities don't matter in these cases.   Racial identity shouldn't matter here.   Integrity should.   As Dr. King said, it should not be about "the color of their skin, but the content of their character."   Judge her on that alone.

Bruce (now Caitlyn) Jenner said he "identified as a woman."  Jenner was very open over this aspect of his identity to the point where the news was everywhere.      Dolezal's racial identity should have been more of an open book, too.   

Country Radio's Feminine Side

Singers Amy Grant, Jennifer Nettles, Martina McBride and
Miranda Lambert at the 2014 MusiCares Person Of The
Year awards Jan. 24, 2014, in Los Angeles.
(Photo: Christopher Polk, Getty Images)

One of my many radio gigs for Hall Communications is at longtime country outlet 97.7 WCTY, a leading station in eastern Connecticut that is consulted by Keith Hill.    Keith became the center of some controversy last week when he seemed to recommend playing a higher percentage of male artists than female ones.   Country artists Miranda Lambert and Martina McBride were quick to jump on the backlash bandwagon and take offense with Hill's assessment of successful country formats by saying females are "just not the lettuce in our salad. The lettuce is Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton, Keith Urban and artists like that.  The tomatoes of our salad are the females."   Cries of radio sexism ensued.    Could this have been expressed in a way that resulted in fewer repercussions?   Absolutely, but he does have a valid point based on audience information.

Ironically, females have become a much more essential component of country's target audience.  This is more than ever about what female listeners want to hear.   Country used to be a very male-oriented radio format.   That has changed dramatically, with today’s country attracting younger and female fans now more than ever.    What you hear now is the key to getting ratings and revenue.    AT WCTY and many other stations, this is due in no small part to research provided by people like Keith Hill.    As a male over 55 who has slid off the radar of most ad agencies, I actually enjoy female country artists more than I do most of their male counterparts.   Then again, as I’ve argued countless times as a voice in the wilderness, this is not about what you or I think “sounds good.”    It’s about what works.    Don’t take my word for it.   Ask your target audience.