DenoumentVille
Well now.
The swarming, which appears to have been initiated by attack Emails from a few of the fine folks associated with the far-right American Astroturf group that goes by the monicker of 'Move America Forward'* has finally ended.
It all started because I posted up a piece in which I noted that head 'turf girl, and longtime talk talk radio screamer Melanie Morgan who is, apparently, also one of Bill-O'Reilly's favorite go-to shills when he needs to trash people like Cindy Sheehan or the City of Berkeley, has been fired from her job as a co-host of one the most vile call-in shows in the Western (or Eastern, for that matter) world.
Before we go any further, perhaps I should first establish the bonafides of the 'Bonfire of the Vileities' that is the 'Lee Rodgers and Melanie Morgan Show'. Here is just one example amongst many, as compiled by the watchdog group MediaMatters:
"On the August 29 (2007) broadcast of San Francisco radio station KSFO's The Lee Rodgers & Melanie Morgan Program, co-host Lee Rodgers said: "Today, we are limiting ourselves greatly when it comes to taking part in this sentimental orgy about New Orleans on the second anniversary of [Hurricane] Katrina," adding: "They built a city in a swamp that's below sea level. Get over it."
Co-host Melanie Morgan responded by asserting: "[T]hey're trying to fix the unfixable in the rest of the city and in the mean time every politician in the country is pandering, spending billions of dollars and putting it in what? A rat hole."
[...]
RODGERS: -- And I for one -- now, I'm all in favor of helping needy people, but at what point do you say, "Hey, it's time you people got up off your asses, went to work, and earned your own way"? Two years later, here -- Dallas Morning News, some of the refugees from New Orleans were settled in Dallas, and the community had an outpouring of generosity and they were giving them all kinds of freebies, housing, so on and so forth.
MORGAN: Yeah.
RODGERS: Two years later, the people who have been freeloading for two years are whining because the gravy train is slowing down.
MORGAN: Oh, no! That's terrible.
[...]
RODGERS: Today, we are limiting ourselves greatly when it comes to taking part in this sentimental orgy about New Orleans today on the second anniversary of Katrina.
MORGAN: Yes.
RODGERS: They built a city in a swamp that's below sea level. Get over it.
MORGAN: Yes, and they are led by ridiculously liberal and incompetent and corrupt political power people.
In other words, it's not 'Heckuva-Job Brownie's fault, or the fault of his ideological shillmasters, that FEMA was dismantled and made dysfunctional to the point where people like this had to help with the rescue. Instead, it's the fault of the people that actually live and work and struggle there.
And we all know what kind of people those 'freeloaders' that won't get up 'off their asses' are, right?
Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
****
Now, at this point it is worth mentioning that Mr. Rodgers, who is also quoted above, still has his job.
Which begs the question, why did the only Ms. Morgan get the axe?
Well, there all kinds of theories out there.
One is that she lost the protection of her husband, who used to be the manager of the station.
Another is that the company that owns the station is losing money hand-over-fist and they had to cut costs.
Another is that the Ms. Morgan's ability to work the 'turf-meisters for money was waning.
Another is that the PR firms that manufacture the 'turf, firms like this, have decided that the time has come to look for a newer, sleeker spokemodel.
And it could be argued that any or all of those theories might have some plausibility associated with them based on the evidence so far.
But the one I like best, if only because it suggests that real, honest and true American exceptionalism is once again on the rise, is a theory being advanced by a Bay Area blogger named Spocko.
Which is that 'Hate Radio', ultimately, doesn't sell.
And this is not just idle speculation by Spocko because he has done a lot of the heavy lifting to help advertisers see that this is, indeed, the case.
His summing up can be found here.
It's a remarkable story really, and Spocko is getting a lot of well-deserved credit all over the bloggodome for his efforts.
OK?
_____
*Not to be confused with a real grass-roots group from the other side of political spectrum, that came first and, surprise!, has a similar name.
A greatest hits edition of The Swarmers' most vile comments and Emails to come.....it's a delayed post-up because they are still trickling in. Guess some folks are a little late in opening their attack Emails.
Please note that I did not in anyway suggest that one of Ms. Morgan's issues is that just she seems to have a bit of a self-admitted penchant for imbibing in adult beverages while on-line. I first noted this when I strolled over to her site to try and get her side of the story. T-Rex, on the other hand, appears to have first-hand knowledge of such behaviors.
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