Thank you, Liz and NTodd

I’d just like to take a moment to thank my guests on today’s Blast Off! Radio First Anniversary Show, Liz of Code Pink and NTodd of Pax Americana and Dohiyi Mir.

This first hour-long edition went smoothly and was great fun, too. I hope you listeners found it informative and interesting … and more importantly, I hope you will join me again next week, Monday at 4:00 pm Eastern.

If you missed all or part of the show, you can listen to the archived version at your convenience.

Game show redux

Well, well … I hear that the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions from 2007 is being re-aired this week and next. Check your local listings for time and channel.

Just a thought … after all, you might even know one of the contestants …

D.C. is lovely in January

At least it will be this coming year, if the travel plans of many south Florida elected officials are any indication.

The presidential election is more than three months away, but several black leaders from Palm Beach County already are planning their travel arrangements for where they hope to be Jan. 20: watching Barack Obama take the oath of office.

His swearing-in would fulfill a lifelong dream, they say. And they don’t want to miss it.

“This is history,” said Palm Beach County Commission Chairwoman Addie Greene, 65, who never thought she would see a black become president. “I don’t want to read about it. I want to see it. I want to bring back photos with my eyes.”

The Illinois Democrat still has to face the voters Nov. 4, of course, but Greene has priced her train ticket. She doesn’t plan to book the trip until after the Democratic National Convention next month because she doesn’t want to “jinx anything.”

But after talking to four friends in Alabama who have already made their reservations, Greene fears she may not be able to wait that long.

And she’s not alone.

“The buzz is everywhere,” said Wahid Mahmood, chairman of the Palm Beach County Democratic executive committee. “People are making their plans even though they are not going to be invited guests. They still want to get a glimpse of history.”

A Web site dedicated to helping people get to Washington for Obama’s inaugural has booked several buses for groups in cities including Chicago, Detroit and Houston, said Horace Mackey, founder of http://www.obamainauguration2009.com.

Naturally, Republicans are trying to postpone the celebration, suggesting that it’s not over until the fat goiter sings … or something like that:

But the county’s Republican Party chairman, Sid Dinerstein, said he is waiting until after the election to make travel plans for the inauguration he hopes to see: that of Arizona Sen. John McCain.

“I am happy for all of those people who have counted their chickens,” said Dinerstein, who attended President Bush’s 2005 inauguration. “The rest of us will actually go through an election like we did four years ago.”

Yeah, Sid, I’m sure you’d like to go through an election like the one in 2004 … when your party can’t win legitimately, then lie, cheat, steal, and obfuscate your way to victory. (See also, e.g., 2000.) But not this year, Sid. Huggy Bear is DRF — done, ruined, and fucked. Short of Diebold-style shenanigans or Sen. Obama being found in the ol’ live boy/dead girl scenario, Huggy’s going to be put out to pasture in November.

Couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy.

Blast Off! Radio moves to a new time, 4:00 pm EDT today: The First Anniversary Show with special guests from Code Pink

This is the one.

If you have never listened to Blast Off! Radio … if you swore you’d only listen to that sucky radio show once, and only if you were going to be waterboarded otherwise … if you listen to just one radio show in your life — this is the one to hear.

Blast Off! Radio is one year old! And to commemorate its first anniversary, the show is making some big changes!

New time!
New length!
New format!
(Sadly, not a new host … but you can’t win ’em all, y’know.)

This afternoon, Blast Off! Radio moves to its new time slot, 4:00 pm Eastern time on Mondays, and to a new one-hour-long format. Yes, all the snark you’ve come to know and love tolerate endure, but twice as much as before!

Today on BO!R, we’ll examine the Code Pink phenomenon. What is it that makes their protests so controversial? And are they making a difference — or is there madness to their method? Joining us on the show today will be Code Pink advocate and blogger NTodd of the blogs Dohiyi Mir and Pax Americana, as well as Code Pink organizer and activist Liz, and they’ll take your questions and comments.

How can you get your questions and comments heard? It’s easy:

NEW TIME: 4:00 pm Eastern TODAY

Click here to listen

Call in number: (646) 716-7543

E-mail: blastoffradio-at-gmail-dot-com

It’s been a fun first year, but as we start the second year of Blast Off! Radio, it promises to be even better. Get your questions and comments ready, and we’ll catch you this afternoon …

Scumbag racists in south Florida support … Obama?

Yep, it’s true … but not for the reasons most people like Obama.

The hate website Stormfront (as before, I’m not sick enough to provide a link — you want it, go look for it yourself) is based right here in Palm Beach County, and like many other white supremacist organizations, they’ve seen an increase in interest thanks to Obama’s run for the White House.

Tom Prater, Florida spokesman for the white power group Euro and a member of the National Association for the Advancement of White People, says the Illinois senator’s success is a boon for his cause.

“I’ve gotten more calls in the last two months about interest in our organizations than I got in all the years in the past,” said Prater, who lives in Jacksonville.

August Kreis, national director of Aryan Nations, another white supremacist and anti-Semitic organization, agrees.

“Obama’s done my group a lot of good,” said Kreis, who lives in South Carolina and says he keeps a Nazi flag over his mantel. “He’s polarizing Americans, black and white.

“Especially in Florida, affiliates have increased recently,” Kreis said, although he did not produce membership figures.

As for [Stormfront founder and proprietor Don] Black, he did not respond to repeated phone calls, e-mails and a note left at his [West Palm Beach] home.

A neighbor said Black suffered a stroke early this month and was incapacitated. St. Mary’s Medical Center confirmed that he had been a patient there recently and had been released.

Black was quoted in The Washington Post last month as being optimistic about the opportunities offered by Obama’s candidacy.

“I get nonstop e-mails and private messages from new people who are mad as hell about the possibility of Obama being elected,” Black said. “White people, for a long time, have thought of our government as being for us, and Obama is the best possible evidence that we’ve lost that. This is scaring a lot of people who maybe never considered themselves racists, and it’s bringing them over to our side.”

He claimed he is getting 40,000 hits per day on his Web site, an increase from previous years.

There’s a lot of reason to be optimistic about Barack Obama being the next president of the United States. But let’s not forget the potential impact of racism … let alone one wild-eyed fanatical racist with a gun.

The deranged whackos certainly are out there:

Some white power leaders say that even before the rise of Obama, they were drawing more interest from certain white members of the public, given the country’s immigration crisis.

As for Obama, there is a difference of opinion as to what he means for white supremacists.

“I think if he gets in there, he’ll give the Congressional Black Caucus everything it wants, and it marks doom for white people in this country,” said Prater of Euro. “I believe Obama’s allegiance is to Africa, not to the U.S.”

On the other hand, Kreis of Aryan Nations is considering voting for Obama.

“Obama could polarize the nation even more and drive a lot of people our way,” he said. “But I’m waiting to see who he chooses as a vice president. If he chooses a Jew, I couldn’t back him at all. That would be too much for me.”

Yeah, I guess they have a First Amendment right to spew their hatred. I just hope they remain as marginalized as they increasingly have been.

Beware the Scary Penis™!!

Just another Friday night in St. Petersburg … some puritanical asshole gets his or her panties in a wad, and someone gets arrested:

The night started with a complaint about a giant penis statue.

Before it was over, police had pinned the owner of the art gallery to the ground and taken him to jail.

“Oh, my God,” said gallery owner Bill Schramm, his glasses falling off in the scuffle. “This is the city’s response to a penis. That’s fabulous.”

Officers arrested Schramm and another man after a raid Friday night on the Erotic Lounge in the Grand Central District of St. Petersburg. It wasn’t the statue that they were arrested for.

Instead, investigators said they saw a nude man in the gallery, a violation of a city ordinance that prohibits places that serve alcohol from allowing the public display of genitals.

The gallery’s show on Friday included a cypress penis statue larger than a person in front of the gallery. Schramm said he installed it there about 5 p.m.

Sometime during the evening, police received a complaint about the statue. A St. Petersburg police officer stopped by, told Schramm it was pornographic and told him to take it inside. He refused, saying it was art.

Later that evening, the show was still going on when police converged on the shop. As Schramm was talking to a St. Petersburg Times reporter about the statue, Sgt. Joe Collins dashed inside. Schramm put his hand up to stop him and tried to hold the door closed, police said.

In an instant, officers tackled Schramm, forcing him to the ground and cuffing his hands behind his back.

Officers sat him on a chair under the gallery’s overhang while they searched the shop and detained the customers, telling them there was a liquor violation and asking to see identification.

Schramm, 46, was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer and violating the city ordinance.

Inside, police found a nude man, Joshua M. Culotta, suspended from the ceiling in an aerial harness that Schramm earlier called a “chandelier.”

“He was in plain view,” said Collins, the investigating sergeant.

Officers said they arrested Culotta, 26, for violating the city ordinance. The man, who is deaf, seemed confused and told a reporter, “I was just modeling.” As officers handcuffed him, he started to cry.

“He’ll be okay. Misdemeanor charge,” an officer told one of the man’s friends.

The walls of the gallery were covered in erotic images. One painting depicted Superman in underwear with an erect penis.

I’m sure glad the city of St. Petersburg is looking out for our morality rather than, you know, paying attention to actual crime.

The arrests might not have been directly attributable to the display of a giant penis statue, but there seems to be little doubt that the St. Pete police wouldn’t have had their suspicions, um, aroused had the big dick not been on the street in the first place. (No, I’m not talking about Jim Naugle … this time.)

Sadly, the St. Pete police are developing quite a reputation for aggressiveness. Whether it’s destroying the property of homeless people or, as here, freaking out over an artistic display, you have to wonder exactly what kind of training the Department is providing.

Final thought: “Giant Penis Statue” would be a good band name …

Acting presidential

I think it’s hilarious how the right-wing media will do anything they can to break down Barack Obama. They desperately want someone who will “act presidential,” yet when Obama does, they say he’s being “presumptuous.” Apparently “acting presidential” only counts if it’s a Republican doing it.

I saw Obama on Meet the Press this morning, and all I could think was, “Won’t it be nice to have a president who can speak English intelligently?”

Blast Off! Radio preview: new time, new format, and GUESTS!

Just wanted to give all you good folks a heads-up about the changes coming on Monday, as Blast Off! Radio marks its first anniversary with a few changes that I hope you’ll enjoy.

First, the time of the show. Traditionally, Blast Off! Radio has aired live at 2:00 pm Eastern, with archived shows always available on the left sidebar here. However, I’ve noticed an increase in listenership and participation when I’ve occasionally run it at other times, for example, 4:00 pm or 7:00 pm. So, beginning this Monday, July 28, Blast Off! Radio moves to its new time, 4:00 pm Eastern time. I hope this will give more people a chance to listen in live and to participate by calling in, e-mailing, or chatting.

Second, as you may already know, the show will be extended to one hour beginning Monday. This is a move I’ve been considering for some time, and I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback when I’ve brought it up for discussion. So, you asked for it, you got it: one hour of Blast Off! Radio every Monday starting July 28.

Finally, I’m hoping to be able to do more in the way of having guests and interviews and such. While I’ll never achieve the success of the Quinnell/Morano “Big Show” or “The Mark Weaver Show,” a couple of BO!R’s sister shows on the Florida Progressive Radio network, in that regard, I’m going to start the show’s second year with a bang: Monday’s show will feature guests from the Code Pink organization, known for protesting raucously at (and being kicked out of) everything from congressional hearings to last week’s Netroots Nation in Austin. Details are still being put together, but I can confirm that one guest will be my good friend, the inimitable NTodd of Dohiyi Mir and Pax Americana. Stay tuned for more information.

So, to sum up:

Blast Off! Radio
Monday, July 28
4:00 to 5:00 pm Eastern
Guests: representatives of Code Pink including NTodd

I’ll pimp it in the customary way on Monday … but put it on your calendar now!

(cross-posted at Florida Progressive Coalition blog)

Boca Raton ♥ Huggy Bear?

Driving in downtown Boca Raton this morning, I see that the Huggy Bear partisans have been out in force lately. Palmetto Park Road, the main east-west artery through Boca, is festooned with “McCAIN” yard signs all along the commercial district between Federal Highway and the Intracoastal.

I wouldn’t have expected Boca to be very Huggy-friendly, despite its reputation as an upscale, higher-income community. And, indeed, a few signs on the road hardly defines a town as Huggy Bear territory.

But I know one thing: if I were a business owner and someone put a GOP campaign sign in front of my place, I’d have it out of there faster than you can say “dessicated, goiter-ridden near-corpse.”

The new tickets are here! The new tickets are here!

Things are going to start happening to me now.

It’s been an exciting day in Blast Off!-land. Not only did my beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers open training camp today, but my 2008 season tickets arrived in the mail! Eleven years and counting now … when do I get my stock certificates? 😉

Funny, though — I wonder if my ever-increasing expenditure for the tickets helped to cover the cost of the ostentatious packaging this year:

A box? Seriously? They used to come in a large envelope, or maybe in a spiral-bound booklet. But a box? Inside, it’s designed to look like an aerial view of Raymond James Stadium, I guess, and the tickets are beneath the field. (Insert Jimmy Hoffa joke here.)

I kept looking for the T-shirt or license plate frame or even a sticker … nothing. Oh, well, I guess my kids will enjoy playing with the … box.