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DJ_UFO
Banned
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2005
BUSH CAUSED THE LOOTING! Oh, really? Did the evil Bush administration's "mis-handling" of the economy create the looters by driving people into poverty? Hmmmm...well, that's an odd argument given this news: "The nation's unemployment rate in August dipped to its lowest level in four years." Meanwhile, John Kerry's "genius" pals running Germany and France would love to have our 4.9% unemployment rate (theirs is 10%+) and our 3.3% economic growth last quarter (their's is flat--WITHOUT hurricanes and 9/11).
So if economic policies create looters, why aren't Paris and Berlin burning?
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE COMMENTS FROM THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS RE: NEW ORLEANS? The CBC has about the same legitimacy as CAIR as far as I'm concerned, but they hit a new low today in their ridiculous charges against the Bush administration. In addition to the usual "Bush caused looting by not giving enough money to black people" was the bizarre charge from Hillery Shelton of the DC NAACP that "boatloads of white people were sailing out of New Orleans, leaving thousands of African-Americans behind."
WHAT?! You gotta be kidding me. "Boatloads of WHITE people?" What is this, the KKK Kruise Lines sailing the Mississippi? This is the kind of idiotic accusation that makes the CBC look silly, while whipping up the worst sentiments of all racists, black and white. Sadly, this lie will no doubt be repeated on buses and in emergency shelters across the South.
I'll be playing this quote and talking about this on KFI in Los Angeles tonight from 10pm-1am eastern.
I'M LIVE ON THE AIR, RIGHT NOW! From 6-10am eastern, I'm filling in on 570 KLIF in Dallas, Texas--a city that's getting about 12,000 people from New Orleans headed to Reunion Arena. Given what they've seen from these folks on TV, some in Dallas are nervous about their arrival. And I can't say I blame them, either.
We're talking about it now! Log on to www.klif.com.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2005
FROM A RIGHTALK.COM LISTENER:
"Michael---I begin to suspect that the mess in New Orleans is being complicated by an incompetent administration. But that's besides the point of my e-mail.
There's an easy solution to the looting and lack of control in New Orleans and elsewhere. Call up a regiment or two of Guard or Reserve troops who have combat experience in street fighting in Iraq. Give their commanders one simple order: 'Do whatever it takes to secure the city.' Send them in very visibly in a mass formation of Blackhawk helicopters. There would no doubt be a firefight or two with some homies who found out way too late that they were messing with the wrong guys. Then word would pass quickly that those bad boys were in town and ready to rock'n'roll. After that, it would be 'Yessir, nossir, here's my gun sir, how may I help you sir?'
But our government leaders are far too PC and wishy-washy for that solution. They will instead accept more death and destruction to avoid bad press."---Tim
LOOTING? IT MUST BE PRESIDENT BUSH'S FAULT! The angry Left, not content to blame Republicans for Hurricane Katrina, is now blaming the looting in New Orleans on (who else?) George W. Bush.
Notorious left-wing nitwit Earl Ofari Hutchinson writes that the looting is a result of "the abysmal failure of the Bush administration to get a handle on poverty in America." (Read the entire article on the Hot Sheet.)
"The looting in New Orleans, though deplorable, put an ugly public face on a crisis that Bush administration policies have made worse. The millions in America who grow poorer, more desperate and greater in number are bitter testament to that."
This is so idiotic and insulting, it's hard to know where to begin. I could start with the economics--that in an era of no economic growth from Japan to Germany, the US economy continues to out-perform our developed-nation competitors, with lower unemployment and more wealth being created.
But lefties never could understand economics, so why try to explain that? So how about the core, fundamental and hideously offensive argument--that poor people are just bad. You're poor, you steal. That's it.
What an insult to the many low-income Americans who don't steal and who never would. These are people like my dad, who grew up as a sharecropper in rural South Carolina. People like my grandmother who lived in a railroad boxcar during the Depression. They would never have done what the (relatively affluent) looters in New Orleans are doing right now, because my grandmother and father never equated "income" with "character."
The excuse machine continues to crank out reasons why we should understand or pardon or even celebrate the shameful behavior of the looters. The fact that there are people willing to defend looting in our nation's newspapers and on TV is actually more scary than the looting itself.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2005
QUOTE OF THE DAY: From Thomas Jefferson, as recounted by Stacey (not the socialist) in Charleston, SC: "There is not a truth existing which I fear... or would wish unknown to the whole world."
WHAT AMERICA SEES IN NEW ORLEANS: Art Depodesta sat on the edge of a picnic table outside Cooter Brown’s Bar, a chrome shotgun at his side loaded with red shells.
"They broke into the Shell station across the street," he said. "I walked over with my 12-gauge and shot a couple into the air." The looters scattered, but soon after, another man appeared outside the bar in a pickup truck armed with a pistol and threatened Depodesta.
"I told him, ‘Listen, I was in the Army and I will blow your ass off,’" Depodesta said. "We’ve got enough trouble with the flood."
The man sped away.
"You know what sucks," Depodesta said. "The whole U.S. is looking at this city right now, and this is what they see."
LOTS O' LOOT: The topic on "Michael Graham, Unleashed" today are the outrageous reports of looting coming out of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I was astonished watching cable news last night to hear people like Senator Landrieu DEFENDING some of the looting as justified.
My feelings on the looting are below. I'd like to get your take from noon-1pm live on www.rightalk.com. You can also read some of the worst stories of the looting on the Hot Sheet (link right), stories like this:
"Late Tuesday, Gov. Blanco spokeswoman Denise Bottcher described a disturbing scene unfolding in uptown New Orleans, where looters were trying to break into Children's Hospital.
Bottcher said the director of the hospital fears for the safety of the staff and the 100 kids inside the hospital. The director said the hospital is locked, but that the looters were trying to break in and had gathered outside the facility."
AND...
"At the Wal-Mart on Tchoupitoulas Street, an initial effort to hand out provisions to stranded citizens quickly disintegrated into mass looting. Authorities at the scene said bedlam erupted after the giveaway was announced over the radio.
While many people carried out food and essential supplies, others cleared out jewelry racks and carted out computers, TVs and appliances on handtrucks.
Some officers joined in taking whatever they could, including one New Orleans cop who loaded a shopping cart with a compact computer and a 27-inch flat screen television.
Inside the store, the scene alternated between celebration and frightening bedlam. A shirtless man straddled a broken jewelry case, yelling, 'Free samples, free samples over here.'
Another man rolled a mechanized pallet, stacked six feet high with cases of vodka and whiskey. Perched atop the stack was a bewildered toddler."
It's very hard to reach into my wallet and help people who are so shamelessly helping themselves. I know they only represent a small percentage of the people impacted by Hurricane Katrina, but I simply cannot fathom their behavior or their attitude.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2005
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? From MSNBC's coverage of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans comes this:
At a Walgreen's drug store in the French Quarter, [looters] were running out with grocery baskets and coolers full of soft drinks, chips and diapers.
When police finally showed up, a young boy stood in the door screaming, "86! 86!" _ the radio code for police _ and the crowd scattered.
Denise Bollinger, a tourist from Philadelphia, stood outside and snapped pictures in amazement.
"It's downtown Baghdad," the housewife said. "It's insane. I've wanted to come here for 10 years. I thought this was a sophisticated city. I guess not."
Around the corner on Canal Street, the main thoroughfare in the central business district, people sloshed headlong through hip-deep water as looters ripped open the steel gates on the front of several clothing and jewelry stores.
One man, who had about 10 pairs of jeans draped over his left arm, was asked if he was salvaging things from his store.
"No," the man shouted, "that's EVERYBODY'S store."
Looters filled industrial-sized garbage cans with clothing and jewelry and floated them down the street on bits of plywood and insulation as National Guard lumbered by.
Mike Franklin stood on the trolley tracks and watched the spectacle unfold.
"To be honest with you, people who are oppressed all their lives, man, it's an opportunity to get back at society," he said.
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? Who are these pathetic losers who raise little kids to be lookouts while they steal, and teach him the phrase "86" to warn of approaching police? Who are these people who, surrounded by the bravery of law enforcement and rescue workers in the midst of a crisis, choose to give into their lowest, most base selves? Who is this Mike Franklin who excuses this shameful theft and thuggery as a legitimate response to "oppression?"
"Get back at society?" You mean the society that gives you, for free, 12 years of education? Whose cops patrol your streets and whose taxpayers provide billions in welfare payments, health care and other benefits? Is that the "oppressive society" you have in mind?
Because, speaking as a member of the oppressing class, I want my stuff back. The jeans and chips you stole did not belong to "everybody." They belonged to people who who worked hard, saved and invested and sacrificed to build something. In other words, to people who EARNED it.
Not you, the pathetic scum wading through the streets of New Orleans laden with the wealth you stole from others. You haven't earned anything, except scorn.
MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2005
SO, HAVE YOU FIGURED OUT THIS RIGHTALK.COM DEAL? Man, this is so cool! They are re-broadcasting my show...EVERY HOUR! So you can listen right now! And I'm back with a new show tomorrow at noon. So....be there!
TODAY'S THE BIG DAY! I'm back on the air thanks to Rightalk.com today at noon eastern and, yes, we'll be discussing my firing by ABC Radio, CAIR, etc. So if you're a WMAL listener who has questions or comments about it, plan on calling in between noon and 1pm today.
If you can't be near a computer during the noon hour--no problem! Rightalk.com is going to re-broadcast the show every hour on the hour for the rest of the day. You can listen anytime. Pretty cool, huh?
Based on my emails, we'll have listeners today from India to Alaska, but I hope everyone will indulge me for some comments early in the show specifically for the DC-area listeners who supported me when I truly needed them the most. I haven't had the chance to say "thanks" yet, and I'm looking forward to it.
And yes--despite what you may have heard from ABC management--I WILL issue an apology today on my rightalk.com show. So for everyone who's been breathlessly waiting to hear me apologize, you're going to have your chance.
Don't miss it.
SO WHO ELSE ARE WE NOT ALLOWED TO TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT? Be sure to check out the story on the Hot Sheet of the obese woman who complained about her doctor telling her she needed to lose weight. He's now under investigation for giving this hefty hausfrau some much-needed medical advice. I hope his investigation by the p.c. police goes better than mine.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2005
THANK YOU, KFI! I cannot tell you how great it felt to say "I....am Michael Graham!" last night. I truly love doing talk radio and I hadn't realized how much I missed it until the red ON AIR light kicked on and the show started.
And what a show! Thanks to everyone who loaded the phone lines last night. We didn't have a single open phone line for three hours (my apologies to those of you who couldn't get through).
I want to thank Robin, Bill, Mike and everyone at KFI for taking a bold, public stand for free speech by putting me on the air. It was a risky move, no doubt, and I'm sure CAIR had something to say about it. But KFI proved that there are radio organizations out there (www.rightalk.com springs to mind) who believe in open discourse and honest debate.
A special thanks to John Ziegler, evening host at KFI for sharing his listeners with me. They were great.
Today is a travel day for me, so I may not have another chance to post more info until tomorrow. So two things:
First, I'm scheduled to do Hardball with Chris Matthews on Monday. I'm one of those conservatives who has always like Matthews and he's been kind to me in the past. But just in case, I've arranged to have Zell Miller in the green room.
Second, I'm swamped with emails and I want to apologize (yes, I DO apologize on occasion) for the delays in replying to your notes. Just know that they are greatly appreciated.
Many of them ask "Michael, how can I help?" One way you can help me is to make sure as many people as possible know about my new show on Rightalk.com starting Monday at noon. There are quite a few regular users of the internet, particularly for email, who know little or nothing about streaming audio over the net, how to log on to a radio show on their computers, etc. I need all the help I can get spreading the word and helping AM radio listeners make the transition to this new technology.
My new gig on www.rightalk.com is an experiment for me. I need your help making it a success. Thanks again.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2005
IT'S 8PM PACIFIC TIME AND I'M LIVE ON THE AIR! Man, does it feel great to be back behind the mic. I'm having a blast, and I want to say thanks to all the DC area people who are listening to KFI AM 640 via the internet.
I'll be on for two more hours, so log on, tune in, and be part of the return of the Michael Graham Experience!
"I.......AM MICHAEL GRAHAM!" Listeners of the Michael Graham Experience know that phrase very well, and for the first time since the "late unpleasantness," I'll be back on the airwaves tonight! KFI in Los Angeles has brought me out to La La Land to lay a little natural truth on the Left Coast. I'll be on tonight from 7-9pm PST, filling in for our good friend John Zeigler (who is filling in for another great KFI show, Jon & Ken, earlier in the day). My suggestion: Use the link on this page to go to KFI's streaming audio and listen all evening starting with John Zeigler at 4pm PST. Find out why KFI is the number one most listened to talk station in America!
THEN ON MONDAY....The premiere of "Michael Graham, Unleashed!" is noon eastern on Rightalk.com. It's a daily, one hour show, Monday-Friday at noon, but take heart, my fellow Rush fans: It's re-broadcast throughout the day! So if you can't make it at noon, log on at 1pm, or while you're checking your emails at the end of the day.
That's what makes internet radio so cool, and why I'm thrilled to be working with Bob and Liz at Rightalk.com. I really believe they are paving the way for the future of conservative talk in the next generation of digital/satellite/wifi/cellular radio.
A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT MONDAY'S SHOW TO ALL MY 630 WMAL LISTENERS: Please make special plans to join me Monday if you possibly can. I have a personal message to deliver to you, and I'll be taking your phone calls so you and I can finally talk about the past month, about what we accomplished together and where to go from here. I have some surprise guests lined up for the rest of next week, but Monday's show is all about you--the folks who stood with me and stood by our principles. If you can be anywhere near a computer on Monday at noon, please log on to www.rightalk.com.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2005
FREE SPEECH FORUM: In the interest of open discourse, let's hear from some folks who are glad I was fired:
"I am a christian and very faithful christian. First of all you are full of SH**!
You don't know anything about ISLAM or any religion. You are so
ignorant, I can n't understand how you even got the job in the first
place. Think before you open your mouth you don't disgrace ISLAM you have disgraced all religions. Don't you know that all religion speaks of truth, faith and PEACE.
Thanks God You are fired."
AND...
"As far as your 'firing' goes, it had nothing to do with First Amendment free-speech rights. You certainly have a right to voice your opinion, but when you start to generalize, you better be prepared to take some flak.
Demagoguery has no place in intelligent discourse, whether it comes from the right (Limbaugh) or the left (M. Moore)...
I've no doubt you've thousands of supporters who are upset over your dismissal, but if I were you, I wouldn't find much comfort in their kind of support. My guess is they're incapable of recognizing the absurdity in your remarks.
As for me, I won't waste any more time with you or your pseudocelebrity."
ABC AND CAIR AREN'T LETTING THE FACTS GET IN THE WAY OF THEIR STORY.
I almost choked on my Irish Breakfast tea this morning while being interviewed by Jimmy Barrett at WRVA in Richmond, VA. He told me that CAIR is now saying they never demanded I be fired and that they had nothing to do with ABC's decision. Well, that's interesting. Let's rewind the tape to Friday, July 29th, the day after I was suspended:
DC Radio Host Suspended Over Anti-Islam Remarks; CAIR Applauds WMAL's Move, Says Graham Should Be Fired
7/29/2005 10:40:00 AM
To: National Desk
Contact: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726 or [email protected], Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441 or [email protected], both of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
WASHINGTON, July 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today applauded a Washington, D.C., radio station's decision to suspend without pay a talk show host who stated repeatedly that "Islam is a terrorist organization."
CAIR said WMAL-AM morning host Michael Graham should be fired for his Islamophobic remarks, for other statements made before and after the most recent controversy and for his refusal to apologize for those comments.
OK.....what am I missing here?
And CAIR isn't the only group in this story suddenly developing "Graham-nesia." ABC Radio and its management are now telling reporters that I was never told I had to apologize. That's very interesting, given that my termination letter states that I was fired for refusing to "write an apology for your next program that meets our [ABC's] approval," and that I was terminated for "violation on my [management's] directive on the apology."
Once again, what are these people thinking? Apparently CAIR believes that the mainstream media are so in the bag that CAIR can deny the existence of their own press releases and get away with it. ABC thinks that my comments are so unpopular that they can make up any statements at all about me and people will accept them.
Could it be that the reason ABC was so surprised that I wouldn't go on the air and lie is because lying to the listeners is, in their minds, no big deal.
CAIR ISN'T GOING TO BE VERY HAPPY ABOUT THIS...
Finally! I'm going to be back on the radio again--and the best part is, they'll be able to hear it in Washington, DC!
Starting this Monday, I'll be on Rightalk.com every weekday at noon for a one-hour edition of a new radio show, "Michael Graham, Unleashed!" No liberal network execs, no advertisers, not even the FCC. You'll be able to listen live, or the show will be available for podcasting or downloading every hour, on the hour. And that includes INSIDE The beltway, too.
I'm very excited about Rightalk.com, not just because they're fellow conservatives, but because they're on the cutting edge of the future of radio as the technology moves from an AM receiver to digital, satellite, wifi and even CELLULAR radio technology. Rightalk.com has asked me to do this show, not because they necessarily agree with everything I say, but because they understand that free speech and open discourse are key elements in successful talk radio, not to mention successful democracies and thriving societies, too.
"Michael Graham, Unleashed," is going to be a very exciting experiment for me and I can't wait to get started. And yes--you will be able to call in live during the show. You can find out more about listening, calliing and downloading by going to www.rightalk.com.
Please, make plans to log on now! The very first show is this Monday at noon. Don't miss it!
AS SEEN ON THE "DRUDGE REPORT": Before my internet radio show begins, I'll be making my broadcast radio return doing a fill-in show for KFI in Los Angeles this Friday night from 7-9pm Pacific Time. Ironically, I'm filling in for John Zeigler, whose new book is "The Death Of Free Speech."
Perfect timing.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2005
I'M ON O'REILLY TONIGHT! Around 8:30pm eastern. Check it out!
IT'S NICE TO KNOW ABC RADIO MADE SOMEBODY HAPPY: "CAIR applauded WMAL's decision [to fire Graham]. The organization had asked the station for a retraction or an apology, but 'we didn't get specific on what [Graham] should say,' said Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman. 'We were looking for an acknowledgment that his statements were anti-Muslim and hateful, and harmful to our community and our country's image.'
DOES ANYONE REALLY "CAIR?" Some of the CYA spin now coming from the folks who caved into CAIR's demands is that CAIR's pressure had nothing to do with my firing. Instead, I was fired because...and then the story breaks down. Because I wouldn't apologize (would you be asking for an apology if CAIR weren't protesting?), or because the station found my comments offensive (then why did you let me spend FOUR DAYS IN A ROW saying them on the air without objection?).
Well, let's check the record. After four days of happily broadcasting my "controversial comments" on 630 WMAL, CAIR mounts a campaign of complaint. Listeners support my comments on loaded phone lines. Result: I'm suspended without pay.
After I'm suspended, CAIR issues a press release (July 29th) complaining that suspension isn't enough and I should be fire. Listeners swamp the station to support me and oppose my suspension.
Result: I'm fired.
Now, it could be that ignoring your own listeners and making decisions to outrage them is a new business model for successful talk radio. It could be a mere coincidence that the station happened to give CAIR what it wanted.
Hey--I report, you decide.
MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2005
WELL, THEY GOT ME...
The First Amendment and I have been evicted from ABC Radio in Washington, DC.
On July 25th, the Council on American-Islamic Relations demanded that I be “punished” for my on-air statements regarding Islam and its tragic connections to terrorism. Three days later, 630 WMAL and ABC Radio suspended me without pay for comments deemed “hate radio” by CAIR.
CAIR immediately announced that my punishment was insufficient and demanded I be fired. ABC Radio and 630 WMAL have now complied. I have been fired for making the specific comments CAIR deemed “offensive,” and for refusing to retract those statements in a management-mandated, on-air apology. ABC Radio further demanded that I agree to perform what they described as “additional outreach efforts” to those people or groups who felt offended.
I refused. And for that refusal, I have been fired.
It appears that ABC Radio has caved to an organization that condemns talk radio hosts like me, but has never condemned Hamas, Hezbollah, and one that wouldn’t specifically condemn Al Qaeda for three months after 9/11.
As a fan of talk radio, I find it absolutely outrageous that pressure from a special interest group like CAIR can result in the abandonment of free speech and open discourse on a talk radio show. As a conservative talk host whose job is to have an open, honest conversation each day with my listeners, I believe caving to this pressure is a disaster.
I for one cannnot apologize for the truth and I cannot agree to some community-service style “outreach effort” to appease the opponents of free speech.
If I had made a racist or bigoted comment -- which my regular listeners know goes against everything I believe in -- I would apologize immediately, and without coercion. When I have made inadvertent fact errors in the past, I apologized promptly and without hesitation.
But we have now gone far beyond that, with demands that I apologize for the ideas my listeners and I believe in. It is not a coincidence that, after my suspension on July 28th, WMAL received more than 15,000 phone calls and emails protesting my removal from the airwaves.
Why such a huge response? It wasn't about me; The listeners I spoke to said they felt betrayed by my suspension because the vast majority of them agree with me on the subject of Islam. By labeling my statements as unacceptable, these listeners felt that WMAL management was insulting them, too.
I cannot speak for anyone else, but I care about the listeners of 630 WMAL. I respect them and I appreciate the amazing support they have given me.
I could not dishonor their principled support for free speech by giving into these demands. I cannot join ABC Radio in bowing to CAIR’s wishes. And I will not apologize for my opinions or retract the truth.
The whole point of the Michael Graham Show is what my listeners and I call the “natural truth,” those obvious facts about modern life that the p.c. police and mainstream media believe should never be discussed. That includes the tragic, but undeniable relationship between terrorism and Islam as it is constituted today.
The conversations my listeners and I had on this subject were not offensive or bigoted in the least. In fact, Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR (who has appeared on my show several times) credited “criticism from talk radio” in part for the recent fatwa against terrorism issued by a group of US Muslim scholars. Ironically, it was issued the day before I was suspended.
That’s the real tragedy here. The people who most need free speech and open dialogue on the issues facing Islam today are America's moderate Muslims. These are people of good will who have the difficult job ahead of reforming and rescuing their religion. They need all the help they can get.
The decision to give CAIR what it wants—a group with well-publicized ties to terrorists and terror-related organizations--will make it harder for the reformers to successfully face Islam's challenges. Still worse, silencing people like me will make it easier for Islamist extremists to dismiss all sincere calls for reform as mere "bigotry."
When CAIR is able to quell dissent and label every critic a "bigot," the chilling effect is felt far beyond ABC Radio and 630 WMAL. If anyone is owed an apology, it is the moderate, Muslim community who have been failed once again by the mainstream media.
A VERY SPECIAL NOTE TO EVERYONE WHO EMAILED AND CALLED ON MY BEHALF: Again and again through this ordeal, as people pressured me to just give in, say what CAIR wanted to hear and get my job back, I thought of you. I cannot express how much your support meant to me. I don't know that I'm doing the right thing by fighting this fight. I only know that I believe it's the right thing, and I believe it with all my heart.
Your support, your words of encouragement, your anger that the forces of p.c. fear have this much power--these all helped me do what I needed to do. Thank you.
In the coming days, I hope I'll have some good news for you about how we can continue our conversation. So please stay tuned, please stop by here each day and check it.
Trust me, this isn't the last you've heard from me.
MICHAEL, ARE YOU *SURE* YOU'VE BEEN FIRED? I've had several people tell me that ABC Radio says I'm not really fired, that I have "chosen" not to go back to work. I don't know what to say to that except that I received a hand-delivered letter very late Friday announcing that I was "terminated immediately." If there is some other definition of that other than "you're fired," I am not familiar with it.
http://www.michaelgraham.com/
BUSH CAUSED THE LOOTING! Oh, really? Did the evil Bush administration's "mis-handling" of the economy create the looters by driving people into poverty? Hmmmm...well, that's an odd argument given this news: "The nation's unemployment rate in August dipped to its lowest level in four years." Meanwhile, John Kerry's "genius" pals running Germany and France would love to have our 4.9% unemployment rate (theirs is 10%+) and our 3.3% economic growth last quarter (their's is flat--WITHOUT hurricanes and 9/11).
So if economic policies create looters, why aren't Paris and Berlin burning?
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE COMMENTS FROM THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS RE: NEW ORLEANS? The CBC has about the same legitimacy as CAIR as far as I'm concerned, but they hit a new low today in their ridiculous charges against the Bush administration. In addition to the usual "Bush caused looting by not giving enough money to black people" was the bizarre charge from Hillery Shelton of the DC NAACP that "boatloads of white people were sailing out of New Orleans, leaving thousands of African-Americans behind."
WHAT?! You gotta be kidding me. "Boatloads of WHITE people?" What is this, the KKK Kruise Lines sailing the Mississippi? This is the kind of idiotic accusation that makes the CBC look silly, while whipping up the worst sentiments of all racists, black and white. Sadly, this lie will no doubt be repeated on buses and in emergency shelters across the South.
I'll be playing this quote and talking about this on KFI in Los Angeles tonight from 10pm-1am eastern.
I'M LIVE ON THE AIR, RIGHT NOW! From 6-10am eastern, I'm filling in on 570 KLIF in Dallas, Texas--a city that's getting about 12,000 people from New Orleans headed to Reunion Arena. Given what they've seen from these folks on TV, some in Dallas are nervous about their arrival. And I can't say I blame them, either.
We're talking about it now! Log on to www.klif.com.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2005
FROM A RIGHTALK.COM LISTENER:
"Michael---I begin to suspect that the mess in New Orleans is being complicated by an incompetent administration. But that's besides the point of my e-mail.
There's an easy solution to the looting and lack of control in New Orleans and elsewhere. Call up a regiment or two of Guard or Reserve troops who have combat experience in street fighting in Iraq. Give their commanders one simple order: 'Do whatever it takes to secure the city.' Send them in very visibly in a mass formation of Blackhawk helicopters. There would no doubt be a firefight or two with some homies who found out way too late that they were messing with the wrong guys. Then word would pass quickly that those bad boys were in town and ready to rock'n'roll. After that, it would be 'Yessir, nossir, here's my gun sir, how may I help you sir?'
But our government leaders are far too PC and wishy-washy for that solution. They will instead accept more death and destruction to avoid bad press."---Tim
LOOTING? IT MUST BE PRESIDENT BUSH'S FAULT! The angry Left, not content to blame Republicans for Hurricane Katrina, is now blaming the looting in New Orleans on (who else?) George W. Bush.
Notorious left-wing nitwit Earl Ofari Hutchinson writes that the looting is a result of "the abysmal failure of the Bush administration to get a handle on poverty in America." (Read the entire article on the Hot Sheet.)
"The looting in New Orleans, though deplorable, put an ugly public face on a crisis that Bush administration policies have made worse. The millions in America who grow poorer, more desperate and greater in number are bitter testament to that."
This is so idiotic and insulting, it's hard to know where to begin. I could start with the economics--that in an era of no economic growth from Japan to Germany, the US economy continues to out-perform our developed-nation competitors, with lower unemployment and more wealth being created.
But lefties never could understand economics, so why try to explain that? So how about the core, fundamental and hideously offensive argument--that poor people are just bad. You're poor, you steal. That's it.
What an insult to the many low-income Americans who don't steal and who never would. These are people like my dad, who grew up as a sharecropper in rural South Carolina. People like my grandmother who lived in a railroad boxcar during the Depression. They would never have done what the (relatively affluent) looters in New Orleans are doing right now, because my grandmother and father never equated "income" with "character."
The excuse machine continues to crank out reasons why we should understand or pardon or even celebrate the shameful behavior of the looters. The fact that there are people willing to defend looting in our nation's newspapers and on TV is actually more scary than the looting itself.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2005
QUOTE OF THE DAY: From Thomas Jefferson, as recounted by Stacey (not the socialist) in Charleston, SC: "There is not a truth existing which I fear... or would wish unknown to the whole world."
WHAT AMERICA SEES IN NEW ORLEANS: Art Depodesta sat on the edge of a picnic table outside Cooter Brown’s Bar, a chrome shotgun at his side loaded with red shells.
"They broke into the Shell station across the street," he said. "I walked over with my 12-gauge and shot a couple into the air." The looters scattered, but soon after, another man appeared outside the bar in a pickup truck armed with a pistol and threatened Depodesta.
"I told him, ‘Listen, I was in the Army and I will blow your ass off,’" Depodesta said. "We’ve got enough trouble with the flood."
The man sped away.
"You know what sucks," Depodesta said. "The whole U.S. is looking at this city right now, and this is what they see."
LOTS O' LOOT: The topic on "Michael Graham, Unleashed" today are the outrageous reports of looting coming out of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I was astonished watching cable news last night to hear people like Senator Landrieu DEFENDING some of the looting as justified.
My feelings on the looting are below. I'd like to get your take from noon-1pm live on www.rightalk.com. You can also read some of the worst stories of the looting on the Hot Sheet (link right), stories like this:
"Late Tuesday, Gov. Blanco spokeswoman Denise Bottcher described a disturbing scene unfolding in uptown New Orleans, where looters were trying to break into Children's Hospital.
Bottcher said the director of the hospital fears for the safety of the staff and the 100 kids inside the hospital. The director said the hospital is locked, but that the looters were trying to break in and had gathered outside the facility."
AND...
"At the Wal-Mart on Tchoupitoulas Street, an initial effort to hand out provisions to stranded citizens quickly disintegrated into mass looting. Authorities at the scene said bedlam erupted after the giveaway was announced over the radio.
While many people carried out food and essential supplies, others cleared out jewelry racks and carted out computers, TVs and appliances on handtrucks.
Some officers joined in taking whatever they could, including one New Orleans cop who loaded a shopping cart with a compact computer and a 27-inch flat screen television.
Inside the store, the scene alternated between celebration and frightening bedlam. A shirtless man straddled a broken jewelry case, yelling, 'Free samples, free samples over here.'
Another man rolled a mechanized pallet, stacked six feet high with cases of vodka and whiskey. Perched atop the stack was a bewildered toddler."
It's very hard to reach into my wallet and help people who are so shamelessly helping themselves. I know they only represent a small percentage of the people impacted by Hurricane Katrina, but I simply cannot fathom their behavior or their attitude.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2005
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? From MSNBC's coverage of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans comes this:
At a Walgreen's drug store in the French Quarter, [looters] were running out with grocery baskets and coolers full of soft drinks, chips and diapers.
When police finally showed up, a young boy stood in the door screaming, "86! 86!" _ the radio code for police _ and the crowd scattered.
Denise Bollinger, a tourist from Philadelphia, stood outside and snapped pictures in amazement.
"It's downtown Baghdad," the housewife said. "It's insane. I've wanted to come here for 10 years. I thought this was a sophisticated city. I guess not."
Around the corner on Canal Street, the main thoroughfare in the central business district, people sloshed headlong through hip-deep water as looters ripped open the steel gates on the front of several clothing and jewelry stores.
One man, who had about 10 pairs of jeans draped over his left arm, was asked if he was salvaging things from his store.
"No," the man shouted, "that's EVERYBODY'S store."
Looters filled industrial-sized garbage cans with clothing and jewelry and floated them down the street on bits of plywood and insulation as National Guard lumbered by.
Mike Franklin stood on the trolley tracks and watched the spectacle unfold.
"To be honest with you, people who are oppressed all their lives, man, it's an opportunity to get back at society," he said.
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? Who are these pathetic losers who raise little kids to be lookouts while they steal, and teach him the phrase "86" to warn of approaching police? Who are these people who, surrounded by the bravery of law enforcement and rescue workers in the midst of a crisis, choose to give into their lowest, most base selves? Who is this Mike Franklin who excuses this shameful theft and thuggery as a legitimate response to "oppression?"
"Get back at society?" You mean the society that gives you, for free, 12 years of education? Whose cops patrol your streets and whose taxpayers provide billions in welfare payments, health care and other benefits? Is that the "oppressive society" you have in mind?
Because, speaking as a member of the oppressing class, I want my stuff back. The jeans and chips you stole did not belong to "everybody." They belonged to people who who worked hard, saved and invested and sacrificed to build something. In other words, to people who EARNED it.
Not you, the pathetic scum wading through the streets of New Orleans laden with the wealth you stole from others. You haven't earned anything, except scorn.
MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2005
SO, HAVE YOU FIGURED OUT THIS RIGHTALK.COM DEAL? Man, this is so cool! They are re-broadcasting my show...EVERY HOUR! So you can listen right now! And I'm back with a new show tomorrow at noon. So....be there!
TODAY'S THE BIG DAY! I'm back on the air thanks to Rightalk.com today at noon eastern and, yes, we'll be discussing my firing by ABC Radio, CAIR, etc. So if you're a WMAL listener who has questions or comments about it, plan on calling in between noon and 1pm today.
If you can't be near a computer during the noon hour--no problem! Rightalk.com is going to re-broadcast the show every hour on the hour for the rest of the day. You can listen anytime. Pretty cool, huh?
Based on my emails, we'll have listeners today from India to Alaska, but I hope everyone will indulge me for some comments early in the show specifically for the DC-area listeners who supported me when I truly needed them the most. I haven't had the chance to say "thanks" yet, and I'm looking forward to it.
And yes--despite what you may have heard from ABC management--I WILL issue an apology today on my rightalk.com show. So for everyone who's been breathlessly waiting to hear me apologize, you're going to have your chance.
Don't miss it.
SO WHO ELSE ARE WE NOT ALLOWED TO TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT? Be sure to check out the story on the Hot Sheet of the obese woman who complained about her doctor telling her she needed to lose weight. He's now under investigation for giving this hefty hausfrau some much-needed medical advice. I hope his investigation by the p.c. police goes better than mine.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2005
THANK YOU, KFI! I cannot tell you how great it felt to say "I....am Michael Graham!" last night. I truly love doing talk radio and I hadn't realized how much I missed it until the red ON AIR light kicked on and the show started.
And what a show! Thanks to everyone who loaded the phone lines last night. We didn't have a single open phone line for three hours (my apologies to those of you who couldn't get through).
I want to thank Robin, Bill, Mike and everyone at KFI for taking a bold, public stand for free speech by putting me on the air. It was a risky move, no doubt, and I'm sure CAIR had something to say about it. But KFI proved that there are radio organizations out there (www.rightalk.com springs to mind) who believe in open discourse and honest debate.
A special thanks to John Ziegler, evening host at KFI for sharing his listeners with me. They were great.
Today is a travel day for me, so I may not have another chance to post more info until tomorrow. So two things:
First, I'm scheduled to do Hardball with Chris Matthews on Monday. I'm one of those conservatives who has always like Matthews and he's been kind to me in the past. But just in case, I've arranged to have Zell Miller in the green room.
Second, I'm swamped with emails and I want to apologize (yes, I DO apologize on occasion) for the delays in replying to your notes. Just know that they are greatly appreciated.
Many of them ask "Michael, how can I help?" One way you can help me is to make sure as many people as possible know about my new show on Rightalk.com starting Monday at noon. There are quite a few regular users of the internet, particularly for email, who know little or nothing about streaming audio over the net, how to log on to a radio show on their computers, etc. I need all the help I can get spreading the word and helping AM radio listeners make the transition to this new technology.
My new gig on www.rightalk.com is an experiment for me. I need your help making it a success. Thanks again.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2005
IT'S 8PM PACIFIC TIME AND I'M LIVE ON THE AIR! Man, does it feel great to be back behind the mic. I'm having a blast, and I want to say thanks to all the DC area people who are listening to KFI AM 640 via the internet.
I'll be on for two more hours, so log on, tune in, and be part of the return of the Michael Graham Experience!
"I.......AM MICHAEL GRAHAM!" Listeners of the Michael Graham Experience know that phrase very well, and for the first time since the "late unpleasantness," I'll be back on the airwaves tonight! KFI in Los Angeles has brought me out to La La Land to lay a little natural truth on the Left Coast. I'll be on tonight from 7-9pm PST, filling in for our good friend John Zeigler (who is filling in for another great KFI show, Jon & Ken, earlier in the day). My suggestion: Use the link on this page to go to KFI's streaming audio and listen all evening starting with John Zeigler at 4pm PST. Find out why KFI is the number one most listened to talk station in America!
THEN ON MONDAY....The premiere of "Michael Graham, Unleashed!" is noon eastern on Rightalk.com. It's a daily, one hour show, Monday-Friday at noon, but take heart, my fellow Rush fans: It's re-broadcast throughout the day! So if you can't make it at noon, log on at 1pm, or while you're checking your emails at the end of the day.
That's what makes internet radio so cool, and why I'm thrilled to be working with Bob and Liz at Rightalk.com. I really believe they are paving the way for the future of conservative talk in the next generation of digital/satellite/wifi/cellular radio.
A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT MONDAY'S SHOW TO ALL MY 630 WMAL LISTENERS: Please make special plans to join me Monday if you possibly can. I have a personal message to deliver to you, and I'll be taking your phone calls so you and I can finally talk about the past month, about what we accomplished together and where to go from here. I have some surprise guests lined up for the rest of next week, but Monday's show is all about you--the folks who stood with me and stood by our principles. If you can be anywhere near a computer on Monday at noon, please log on to www.rightalk.com.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2005
FREE SPEECH FORUM: In the interest of open discourse, let's hear from some folks who are glad I was fired:
"I am a christian and very faithful christian. First of all you are full of SH**!
You don't know anything about ISLAM or any religion. You are so
ignorant, I can n't understand how you even got the job in the first
place. Think before you open your mouth you don't disgrace ISLAM you have disgraced all religions. Don't you know that all religion speaks of truth, faith and PEACE.
Thanks God You are fired."
AND...
"As far as your 'firing' goes, it had nothing to do with First Amendment free-speech rights. You certainly have a right to voice your opinion, but when you start to generalize, you better be prepared to take some flak.
Demagoguery has no place in intelligent discourse, whether it comes from the right (Limbaugh) or the left (M. Moore)...
I've no doubt you've thousands of supporters who are upset over your dismissal, but if I were you, I wouldn't find much comfort in their kind of support. My guess is they're incapable of recognizing the absurdity in your remarks.
As for me, I won't waste any more time with you or your pseudocelebrity."
ABC AND CAIR AREN'T LETTING THE FACTS GET IN THE WAY OF THEIR STORY.
I almost choked on my Irish Breakfast tea this morning while being interviewed by Jimmy Barrett at WRVA in Richmond, VA. He told me that CAIR is now saying they never demanded I be fired and that they had nothing to do with ABC's decision. Well, that's interesting. Let's rewind the tape to Friday, July 29th, the day after I was suspended:
DC Radio Host Suspended Over Anti-Islam Remarks; CAIR Applauds WMAL's Move, Says Graham Should Be Fired
7/29/2005 10:40:00 AM
To: National Desk
Contact: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726 or [email protected], Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441 or [email protected], both of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
WASHINGTON, July 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today applauded a Washington, D.C., radio station's decision to suspend without pay a talk show host who stated repeatedly that "Islam is a terrorist organization."
CAIR said WMAL-AM morning host Michael Graham should be fired for his Islamophobic remarks, for other statements made before and after the most recent controversy and for his refusal to apologize for those comments.
OK.....what am I missing here?
And CAIR isn't the only group in this story suddenly developing "Graham-nesia." ABC Radio and its management are now telling reporters that I was never told I had to apologize. That's very interesting, given that my termination letter states that I was fired for refusing to "write an apology for your next program that meets our [ABC's] approval," and that I was terminated for "violation on my [management's] directive on the apology."
Once again, what are these people thinking? Apparently CAIR believes that the mainstream media are so in the bag that CAIR can deny the existence of their own press releases and get away with it. ABC thinks that my comments are so unpopular that they can make up any statements at all about me and people will accept them.
Could it be that the reason ABC was so surprised that I wouldn't go on the air and lie is because lying to the listeners is, in their minds, no big deal.
CAIR ISN'T GOING TO BE VERY HAPPY ABOUT THIS...
Finally! I'm going to be back on the radio again--and the best part is, they'll be able to hear it in Washington, DC!
Starting this Monday, I'll be on Rightalk.com every weekday at noon for a one-hour edition of a new radio show, "Michael Graham, Unleashed!" No liberal network execs, no advertisers, not even the FCC. You'll be able to listen live, or the show will be available for podcasting or downloading every hour, on the hour. And that includes INSIDE The beltway, too.
I'm very excited about Rightalk.com, not just because they're fellow conservatives, but because they're on the cutting edge of the future of radio as the technology moves from an AM receiver to digital, satellite, wifi and even CELLULAR radio technology. Rightalk.com has asked me to do this show, not because they necessarily agree with everything I say, but because they understand that free speech and open discourse are key elements in successful talk radio, not to mention successful democracies and thriving societies, too.
"Michael Graham, Unleashed," is going to be a very exciting experiment for me and I can't wait to get started. And yes--you will be able to call in live during the show. You can find out more about listening, calliing and downloading by going to www.rightalk.com.
Please, make plans to log on now! The very first show is this Monday at noon. Don't miss it!
AS SEEN ON THE "DRUDGE REPORT": Before my internet radio show begins, I'll be making my broadcast radio return doing a fill-in show for KFI in Los Angeles this Friday night from 7-9pm Pacific Time. Ironically, I'm filling in for John Zeigler, whose new book is "The Death Of Free Speech."
Perfect timing.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2005
I'M ON O'REILLY TONIGHT! Around 8:30pm eastern. Check it out!
IT'S NICE TO KNOW ABC RADIO MADE SOMEBODY HAPPY: "CAIR applauded WMAL's decision [to fire Graham]. The organization had asked the station for a retraction or an apology, but 'we didn't get specific on what [Graham] should say,' said Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman. 'We were looking for an acknowledgment that his statements were anti-Muslim and hateful, and harmful to our community and our country's image.'
DOES ANYONE REALLY "CAIR?" Some of the CYA spin now coming from the folks who caved into CAIR's demands is that CAIR's pressure had nothing to do with my firing. Instead, I was fired because...and then the story breaks down. Because I wouldn't apologize (would you be asking for an apology if CAIR weren't protesting?), or because the station found my comments offensive (then why did you let me spend FOUR DAYS IN A ROW saying them on the air without objection?).
Well, let's check the record. After four days of happily broadcasting my "controversial comments" on 630 WMAL, CAIR mounts a campaign of complaint. Listeners support my comments on loaded phone lines. Result: I'm suspended without pay.
After I'm suspended, CAIR issues a press release (July 29th) complaining that suspension isn't enough and I should be fire. Listeners swamp the station to support me and oppose my suspension.
Result: I'm fired.
Now, it could be that ignoring your own listeners and making decisions to outrage them is a new business model for successful talk radio. It could be a mere coincidence that the station happened to give CAIR what it wanted.
Hey--I report, you decide.
MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2005
WELL, THEY GOT ME...
The First Amendment and I have been evicted from ABC Radio in Washington, DC.
On July 25th, the Council on American-Islamic Relations demanded that I be “punished” for my on-air statements regarding Islam and its tragic connections to terrorism. Three days later, 630 WMAL and ABC Radio suspended me without pay for comments deemed “hate radio” by CAIR.
CAIR immediately announced that my punishment was insufficient and demanded I be fired. ABC Radio and 630 WMAL have now complied. I have been fired for making the specific comments CAIR deemed “offensive,” and for refusing to retract those statements in a management-mandated, on-air apology. ABC Radio further demanded that I agree to perform what they described as “additional outreach efforts” to those people or groups who felt offended.
I refused. And for that refusal, I have been fired.
It appears that ABC Radio has caved to an organization that condemns talk radio hosts like me, but has never condemned Hamas, Hezbollah, and one that wouldn’t specifically condemn Al Qaeda for three months after 9/11.
As a fan of talk radio, I find it absolutely outrageous that pressure from a special interest group like CAIR can result in the abandonment of free speech and open discourse on a talk radio show. As a conservative talk host whose job is to have an open, honest conversation each day with my listeners, I believe caving to this pressure is a disaster.
I for one cannnot apologize for the truth and I cannot agree to some community-service style “outreach effort” to appease the opponents of free speech.
If I had made a racist or bigoted comment -- which my regular listeners know goes against everything I believe in -- I would apologize immediately, and without coercion. When I have made inadvertent fact errors in the past, I apologized promptly and without hesitation.
But we have now gone far beyond that, with demands that I apologize for the ideas my listeners and I believe in. It is not a coincidence that, after my suspension on July 28th, WMAL received more than 15,000 phone calls and emails protesting my removal from the airwaves.
Why such a huge response? It wasn't about me; The listeners I spoke to said they felt betrayed by my suspension because the vast majority of them agree with me on the subject of Islam. By labeling my statements as unacceptable, these listeners felt that WMAL management was insulting them, too.
I cannot speak for anyone else, but I care about the listeners of 630 WMAL. I respect them and I appreciate the amazing support they have given me.
I could not dishonor their principled support for free speech by giving into these demands. I cannot join ABC Radio in bowing to CAIR’s wishes. And I will not apologize for my opinions or retract the truth.
The whole point of the Michael Graham Show is what my listeners and I call the “natural truth,” those obvious facts about modern life that the p.c. police and mainstream media believe should never be discussed. That includes the tragic, but undeniable relationship between terrorism and Islam as it is constituted today.
The conversations my listeners and I had on this subject were not offensive or bigoted in the least. In fact, Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR (who has appeared on my show several times) credited “criticism from talk radio” in part for the recent fatwa against terrorism issued by a group of US Muslim scholars. Ironically, it was issued the day before I was suspended.
That’s the real tragedy here. The people who most need free speech and open dialogue on the issues facing Islam today are America's moderate Muslims. These are people of good will who have the difficult job ahead of reforming and rescuing their religion. They need all the help they can get.
The decision to give CAIR what it wants—a group with well-publicized ties to terrorists and terror-related organizations--will make it harder for the reformers to successfully face Islam's challenges. Still worse, silencing people like me will make it easier for Islamist extremists to dismiss all sincere calls for reform as mere "bigotry."
When CAIR is able to quell dissent and label every critic a "bigot," the chilling effect is felt far beyond ABC Radio and 630 WMAL. If anyone is owed an apology, it is the moderate, Muslim community who have been failed once again by the mainstream media.
A VERY SPECIAL NOTE TO EVERYONE WHO EMAILED AND CALLED ON MY BEHALF: Again and again through this ordeal, as people pressured me to just give in, say what CAIR wanted to hear and get my job back, I thought of you. I cannot express how much your support meant to me. I don't know that I'm doing the right thing by fighting this fight. I only know that I believe it's the right thing, and I believe it with all my heart.
Your support, your words of encouragement, your anger that the forces of p.c. fear have this much power--these all helped me do what I needed to do. Thank you.
In the coming days, I hope I'll have some good news for you about how we can continue our conversation. So please stay tuned, please stop by here each day and check it.
Trust me, this isn't the last you've heard from me.
MICHAEL, ARE YOU *SURE* YOU'VE BEEN FIRED? I've had several people tell me that ABC Radio says I'm not really fired, that I have "chosen" not to go back to work. I don't know what to say to that except that I received a hand-delivered letter very late Friday announcing that I was "terminated immediately." If there is some other definition of that other than "you're fired," I am not familiar with it.
http://www.michaelgraham.com/
