Basham Radio

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President Obama visited Jamaica this week, the first time a president has done that in over 30 years. Upon his departure, he turned around to shoot a beautiful, giant rainbow at the island nation, right out of his hand, proving definitively that he has some special tricks up his gay wizard sleeve! This act was caught on camera by White House photographer Pete Souza, so we guess Obama is okay with his magical powers not being a secret anymore. How will Hillary Clinton top THAT, when she is president?

I don’t know. If you look at the surrounding apparatus, it looks more like he’s in a dentist’s office than a doctor’s. And don’t nurses wear gloves?

But let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. In that case, this guy actually took a needle to save face?! If that isn’t political pandering at its very worst, tell me what is.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson – dancing with his Grandmother.

This week, we discuss our very own Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, and

• her being appointed a) Chairwoman of the Tax Committee and b) Majority Leader;
• her ouster as the head of the tax committee;
• her reinstatement to tax Chairwoman; and
• her removal from both Chairwoman of the Tax Committee and Majority Leader.

  
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Tara Smith is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Kent State University. Her research focuses on zoonotic infections (infections which move between animals and people) and she writes for various outlets. Instead of politically motivated fear and panic mongering, she offered a bit of much needed perspective.

Tara said, “Yes, Ebola has a fairly high fatality rate, killing many people who are infected with the virus, but there still haven’t been very many deaths from Ebola overall. Ebola has caused approximately 4000 infections and 2400 deaths since the first outbreak was recorded in 1976. That’s an average of 64 people per year over 38 years.

“In contrast, malaria kills more than 600,000 people every year, or about 68 people per hour. Ebola is an undeniably scary infection, but it’s not one that needs to be feared in the United States. The outbreak in West Africa will eventually burn out, and the virus will retreat once again into the forest, moving silently among its bat hosts until the next unfortunate soul accidentally steps into its path.”

Ebola Ebola Ebola

The U.S. economy is picking up steam, with employers hiring again at a healthy pace and the unemployment rate at its lowest since the summer of 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

The Bureau reported that the jobless rate fell below 6 percent, dropping to 5.9 percent from 6.1 percent in August, continuing a decline from its recession peak of 10 percent.

It’s the lowest unemployment rate since the miserable Bush summer of 2008. (Of course, when you adjust for Obama’s blackness, the REAL unemployment rate is 27%!)

Employers added 248,000 jobs in September across a number of sectors, and hiring in August, originally seen as suggesting the economy might be faltering again, was revised upward to a more promising 180,000 jobs, the government said.

The pace of job creation in September was above many economists’ expectations and was a return to the 200,000 level, a mark that had been surpassed each month since midwinter until the August lull.

The strong report — the last one before the midterm elections — buoyed the outlook of economists who had worried the postrecession recovery was being sidetracked, with many Americans feeling left out of the improving economy.

Investors were also encouraged by the report. Stocks moved higher, and the dollar rose against many major currencies.

You’re welcome.

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Merry Christmas, everyone.

Tom Laughlin died Thursday December 12, 2013 in Thousand Oaks, Calif., surrounded by his family. It doesn’t seem possible, but he was 82 years old.

Click here to listen to my interview with Tom from May 11, 2005. He was gracious and generous enough to spend almost 2 1/2 hours with us and I will be forever grateful.

Tom was an actor, director, screenwriter, author, educator and political activist. He was best known for his starring role in the Billy Jack films. He was married to his wife, Delores Taylor, who also starred in the Billy Jack films, for 60 years.

His unique promotion of The Trial of Billy Jack (TV trailers during national news and an “opening day” nationwide release) was a major influence on the way films are marketed.

For all Tom accomplished – but more importantly – for who Tom was, I will miss him dearly.

R.I.P. Billy Jack.

Next con man and grifter on our last minute stocking stuffer list… Raphael Eduardo Cruz, although he calls himself Ted so he doesn’t sound too Mexicany.

Raphael Eduardo not only has a book out, it’s a coloring book! (Well, at least he found a way to invigorate the largest bloc of the conservative base – crayon eaters.)

The book is titled “Cruz to the Future” – the perfect gift for someone in your life who’s either terrified the non-existent liberal media’s gonna’ turn their kids into Obama supporters – or – if they just need something to entertain their kids on those long drives to tea party rallies.

In either case, there’s now a coloring book to teach your children to love Ted Cruz.

One of the branches is branded with the legend, “TEN COMMANDMENTS.” There are but two leaves sprouting from this branch: “Free Enterprise,” and above it, “Gun Rights.” Just take a second and come to grips with that little slice of psychotic Christian Dominionist nonsense.

Click on the cover to see the full size version of it.

To the undisputed reasons for Obamacare’s rocky rollout — a balky website, muddied White House messaging and sudden sticker shock for individuals forced to buy more expensive health insurance — add a less acknowledged cause: calculated sabotage by Republicans at every step.

That may sound like a left-wing conspiracy theory — and the Obama administration itself is so busy defending the indefensible early failings of its signature program that it has barely tried to make this case. But there is a strong factual basis for such a charge.

From the moment the bill was introduced, Republican leaders in both houses of Congress announced their intention to kill it. Republican troops pressed this cause all the way to the Supreme Court — which upheld the law, but weakened a key part of it by giving states the option to reject an expansion of Medicaid. The GOP faithful then kept up their crusade past the president’s reelection, in a pattern of “massive resistance” not seen since the Southern states’ defiance of the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954.

Doug: And I found this most interesting…

Then congressional Republicans refused repeatedly to appropriate dedicated funds to do all that extra work, leaving the Health and Human Services Department and other agencies to cobble together HealthCare.gov by redirecting funds from existing programs.

Read the entire article.

Couple classic quotes from the President this week.

1) “This is an interesting thing to ponder, that your top agenda is making sure 20 million people don’t have health insurance, and you are willing to shut down the government to win the point.”

2) “Now let’s put this in perspective. The Affordable Care act has been in the law for three and a half years, it passed both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court ruled it constitutional, it was an issue in last year’s elections, the guy who was running against me said he was gonna repeal it, we won.”

3) I’m still LOL’ing at the animated gif!

I tuned into hate radio yesterday only to hear the disgusting Limbaugh aberration announce he’s written a book for children - not surprising perhaps – seeing as he likes to load up on Viagra and then travel to a country famous for its underage male prostitution trade.

I was surprised to hear the book was titled, “Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims.” I thought “The Little Addict Who Could” might be more appropriate. Or maybe… “The Little Dominican Boy Who Would?” Or how about “Don’t Tell Mommy Where Daddy Touched You?”

But no… he writes a book for children; makes himself the main character; and calls it, “Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims.” No ego, there, no sir.

And you’ll notice at the bottom of the cover, he calls himself “#1 New York Times Bestselling Author.” Firstly, that was 20 years ago and times have changed. Secondly, given the amount of time he spends trashing the N.Y. Times, isn’t including their name on his cover the personification of hypocrisy? You know… much like his entire radio show?

Frankly, folks. I’m just… speechless. And would you get a load of the cover? I find it – frankly folks – disturbing, to say the least.

A picture of a sign outside an Anglican church in Niagara Falls that sends a message of inclusivity when it comes to homosexuality has gone viral.

The billboard outside St. John’s Anglican Church reads: “Jesus had two dads and he turned out just fine!”

An image of the sign caught worldwide attention this week after it was posted on the social-media website Reddit.

The post gained hundreds of thousands of views. It received more than 15,900 positive votes and more than 14,300 negative votes.

According to Christian faith, Jesus is the son of God, but was partly cared for on Earth by his birth mother’s husband, Joseph.

St. John’s rector Lynne Marchant said “I don’t find it offensive in any way. We have people in our congregation who are homosexual. We are an all-inclusive church, a family. No one cares what your sexuality is. Come on in, we don’t see any difference.”

Doug: Enlightenment is a beautiful thing, isn’t it?

Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, told a town hall during the weekend in Luling, Texas, that the House of Representatives has enough votes to impeach President Barack Obama, but he did not say what the impeachment charges would be.

Farenthold tried to explain to his supporters why impeaching the president ultimately will not work.

Farenthold said “Here’s the issue… you tie into a question I get a lot. ‘If everybody’s so unhappy with what the president’s done, why don’t you impeach him?’ I’ll give you a real frank answer about that. If we were to impeach the president tomorrow, you could probably get the votes in the House of Representatives to do it. But it would go to the Senate and he wouldn’t be convicted … What message do we send to America if we impeach Obama and he gets away with what he’s impeached for, is found innocent? What do we say then is okay?”

Doug: I’m sorry… as much as I subscribe to the old adage “You can’t judge a book by looking at its cover,” when it comes to this guy? I think you can pretty much judge him just by looking at him.

Ted Cruz, the republican senator from Texas, attended a luncheon with conservative activists and bloggers at the Heritage Foundation. Here’s what he said, “There are some Democrats, some in the media and some Republicans who portray a shutdown as a horrible calamity. I think the term ‘shutdown’ is a misnomer. It’s actually a partial, temporary shutdown. We have seen them before. These “partial, temporary” shutdowns happen every single week on the weekend. Saturdays and Sundays we see temporary partial government shutdowns, and the world doesn’t end.”

Doug: And here’s what bugs me about Ted Cruz’s stupid statement, and why it should bother you. Ted Cruz is not a stupid man. He’s a Harvard law alum with a pretty good W-L record arguing cases in front of the US Supreme Court.

Cruz knows full well what he said is stupid. But he also knows that his gullible, red meat eating, mouth breathing, knuckle dragging base likes stupid. He knows his base likes everything reduced to mindless slogans and tag lines – exactly what his fellow republican, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, said the republican party has to stop doing .

So here’s the reality folks… a man you know is not stupid tells you something he knows is completely stupid. In the real world – not buried in the bowels of your right wing nut media bubble and echo chamber – but in the real world, this is what is called “insulting your intelligence.”

And this is the guy you want to run for president in 2016? A man who thinks and/or knows you’re stupid, but instead of trying to educate you and alleviate your stupidity, he caters to it and keeps you stupid?

His ability to insult the intelligence of his base so blatantly and get away with it is a thing to behold. It is however, a damning indictment of his base.

Do it, tea baggers. Seriously, shut down the government down in your bid to ensure that the working poor can’t get access to reasonable healthcare. I want the Democrats to win some seats in 2014, and Mr. Cruz’s idea seems to be the best way of making sure that happens. It’s gonna’ be fun watching the GOP have their asses handed to them again in 2016. Do it guys -you have my unconditional approval and consent.

In a major shakeup for the radio industry, Cumulus Media, the second-biggest broadcaster in the country, is planning to drop both Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity from its stations at the end of the year, an industry source told POLITICO on Sunday.

Cumulus has decided that it will not renew its contracts with either host, the source said, a move that would remove the two most highly rated conservative talk personalities from more than 40 Cumulus channels in major markets.

Last year, over 140 advertisers severed their relationship with the Limbaugh program after the host launched a series of sexist attacks on women’s health advocate Sandra Fluke. Cumulus carries Limbaugh on over 40 stations, including WABC in New York, the nation’s largest market. Losing the New York market could damage Limbaugh’s ability to sell national advertising at all, according to some experts.

Limbaugh recently acknowledged difficulty selling ads, complaining ad buyers are “are young women fresh out of college, liberal feminists who hate conservatism.”

Doug: Yes Rush, the problem is young college educated women, not your (and the Republican party’s) hate filled anti-woman, anti-minority, anti-social-progress, anti-poor, anti-intellectual, anti-science rhetoric.

Seriously… how can you place your trust in a draft dodging, junkie who’s been married four times who lectures you about the sanctity of marriage, supporting the troops, and tells you all drug addicts should be locked up in jail with the keys thrown away?!

Cancer patient Kathy Watson voted Republican in 2008 and believes the government has no right telling Americans to get health insurance. Nonetheless, she says she’d be dead if it weren’t for President Barack Obama’s health care law .

Under the law, Watson and nearly 62,000 other “uninsurable” patients are getting coverage through a little-known program for people who have been turned away by insurance companies because of pre-existing medical conditions.

“Without it, I would have been dead on March 2,” Watson said of the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, known as PCIP. That’s when she was hospitalized for a life threatening respiratory infection.

Jan Schakowsky is Democratic representative for the 9th congressional district in Illinois. She also serves on the Permanent Select House Committee on Intelligence, which is investigating Benghazi.

Today, we discuss the attack on the consulate in Benghazi – as well as much of the disinformation that has been swirling around it, including the changing of the talking points, the President not calling it a terrorist attack, and the funding for consulate and embassy security that was cut by the House of Representatives.

Back in 2008, a 28 year old man in Connecticut was convicted of sexually assaulting a 26 year old woman, and sentenced to 6 years in prison.

This week, the Conn. Supreme Court threw out this man’s conviction because the judges felt that even though she is extremely handicapped, there was no evidence she could not communicate her refusal to have sex with this guy.

In spite of the extreme difficulty that she had while trying to communicate, the court ruled that she could have tried to stop the alleged attack by ‘using various nonverbal methods, including screeching, biting, kicking and scratching’.

Anna Doroghazi, director of public policy and communication at Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services said in a statement “Failing to bite an assailant is not the same thing as consenting to sexual activity.”

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, an informal advisor to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, said on Thursday he and his fellow members of a state board were considering removing President Barack Obama from the Kansas ballot this November.

The board is looking at a complaint filed by Joe Montgomery, of Manhattan, Kan., who claimed the Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen and so is ineligible to be president. The man appears to be part of a group of conspiracy theorists known as “birthers,” who deny Obama’s birth certificate is real.

Doug: Oh, FFS. What do you wanna’ bet these people all support tort reform to end frivolous lawsuits? I’m sorry, but if after four years you are still hung up on Obama’s citizenship, you shouldn’t be allowed to vote.

But personally? I hope Kansas does it. I really do. I’m pretty sure what they’re suggesting is against the law, unconstitutional… and I think they’d find themselves in some trouble.

But go ahead. Do it. But here’s the deal. When someone throws the challenge flag and you’re overruled? You lose your senate and house seats for a decade; no more federal funding for your state; and if you miss a tax payment – we start bombing.

Rep. Rick Berg (R-ND), the candidate for Senate, voted for a bill that would have made any woman who obtained an abortion guilty of a homicide crime — even if it were in the case of rape or incest. Indeed, the bill Berg supported does not even contain an explicit exception if an abortion is necessary to save the woman’s life.

In 2007, Berg was among the small number of state representatives in the North Dakota House who supported the measure. It also would have imposed penalties on doctors and anyone else who “aids, abets, facilitates, solicits, or incites” a person into an abortion.

And here’s what the law said… “A person is guilty of a class AA felony if the person intentionally destroys or terminates the life of a preborn child.” A class AA felony carries a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole in North Dakota.

Doug: Well. Isn’t he just a breath of fresh air? And to think… at one point, the GOP actually stood a fair chance of flipping the senate. But now? I honestly think that more than 75% of the funds raised by the Republican Senate Campaign Committee is now going to antacids and whiskey for the senior staff to deal with profound stupidity like this.

From this photo, it’s clear Biden never misses a chance… (* puts sunglasses on *)… to poll the electorate. YAAAHHHH!!!

But seriously… have you seen his wife, Jill? The old dude’s got game. Joe Biden and Jon Bon Jovi? Same dude.

The best thing about Joe? He is blessed with a congenital IN-ability to give even a single damn.

I swear… if Joe Biden came out with his own ice cream brand, I think he could surpass Romney in personal wealth within 2 years.

Drew Peterson guilty of murder in ex-wife’s death

Former Illinois cop Drew Peterson was found guilty today of killing his wife, Kathleen Savio, and making it look like an accident in 2004.

The jury returned a verdict after two days of deliberations, just an hour after stopping discussions to ask the judge the meaning of the word “unanimous.”

Doug: At least we know he was tried by a jury of his peers.

They were probably afraid of possible personal ramifications from their verdict, and were inquiring if they could remain “unanimous” once their decision was announced.

But do you see my point? Do you really want to give people like this the task of sentencing a man to death? If they don’t know what unanimous means, what are the odds they know what “beyond a reasonable doubt” means? It is frightening that people’s lives are in the hands of people barely smart enough to find the courtroom.