I am a Vietnam era (’64 – ’67) army vet, a liberal in the classic sense of the word, and a devotee of C-SPAN and the Ed Schultz Show, in that order. The only radio listening I engage is the faire on Air-America. Permit me to repeat that: the ONLY radio listening . . .
Unfortunately for me, tragically for our democracy, this has been a much easier done than accomplished pursuit. It has been my experience that the extraordinarily weak signals are broadcast over small AM stations. This has been so during my summers in Reno and my winters in Palm Springs. In fact, whether wending amidst the casinos of downtown Reno or a few miles removed from Cathedral City (KTPR is not out of Palm Springs), little to nothing is discernable of anyone’s broadcast.
Nonetheless, my intellectual need for voices not filled with the excreta of Righty hate has been the motivation that sustained me. But now I learn that KTPR in Cathedral City is succumbing to the Rightwing steam roller’s efforts to silence any voice that does not echo its own. KTPR is to be no more. Its departure will leave only the viscerally deprecating orations and perorations of Rush and Sean and Bill and Laura and both Michaels to be heard, and in a short time, few will ever be the wiser.
When I meet folks, the first question I ask concerns their political orientation. If they reply either Republican or GOP or conservative, my heart is hardened against them and I want nothing further to do with them. By their votes and remarks, by either ignorance or intent, such as these seek only to destroy utterly all traces of a country that never was anything other than a dream and an experiment.
