45 Minutes with Quinn and Rose.
The local affiliate of NPR (90.5 DUQ) is having a pledge drive. These multi-day events are the bane of my commute. It's simply too masochistic to keep tuned in for the intermittent programming, and be continually reminded of my negligence regarding the support of the station. Certainly the easy answer would be to make a donation, but that still wouldn't solve the problem of what to listen to during these drives. Anyway I've been listening to even more talk radio than usual, and that means more raving "conservatives" with their hateful invective directed towards anyone that doesn't toe the party line. Just in case you are unfamiliar with the format- there is no progressive voice on talk radio. I keep hearing rumors of a mythic beast called Air America, but I've chalked up such reports to urban legend.
So on a recent morning I got my very first taste of a local hack-program called "Quinn and Rose". I have to say that I didn't know that the usual rhetoric could be amplified within the confines of the "minor leagues" of radio. These folks are eagerly trying to foment the new crusades. Almost everything I heard had to do with an imagined final conflict between Christians and Muslims. Jim Quinn apparently believes (I only know this because he said it outright) that Islam is the most fundamental threat to our nation's existence. He went as far as implying that anyone who did not accept the superiority of the Western World, and its contributions to the rest of the planet, are foolish and dangerous. In his own words, he can't understand how anyone could accept the teachings of a "seventh-century faith" formed in fire, blood, and the sword.
Today he was focusing on the new efforts to integrate respect for Sharia into Western court systems. He was bemoaning the Archduke of Canterbury's decision to set up separate provisions for the adjudication of Muslim social law in Great Britain. As if this weren't bad enough for this reactionary nut, he's also recently become aware of a Texas Court of Appeals ruling that provides for the consideration of Sharia law when it comes to cases involving matters of Muslim marriage. The specific ruling only suggests that the judgment of Imams should be taken into consideration in such instances of legal conflict, but somehow Quinn has decided that the United States will soon turn into a Muslim theocracy. And he demonstrates unintentional irony by repeatedly playing the novelty song "They're coming to take me away" to discount Muslims, their beliefs, and the liberals that "support" them.
Frankly I'd be a bit surprised if Quinn and Rose failed to convey their loony-toon War of Civilizations to the home front. They dedicated a significant portion of the 45 minutes I listened to their program to the assertion that both Democratic nominees for the presidency are anti-Christian. Rose actually said that Hillary Clinton has previously shown that she "hates Christians". When a skeptical caller responded by asking her why she thought that was so, Rose hung up on him. She expressed wonderment that the man was questioning her judgment, and repeatedly stated, "I don't have to explain myself to him. Why should I waste my time?" While this is the standard answer given by most political reactionaries when they have nothing backing their statements, it seemed a bit incongruous for a radio talk show. Still somehow I wasn't surprised by Rose's debate strategy. Though I am puzzled about the role she is supposed to be playing for Quinn. She's weaker than Alan Colmes was five years ago, and only parrots the convictions of her partner.
Meanwhile Quinn has it all figured out. The downfall of our nation had its roots in the social revolution of the 60's. According to Quinn, Hillary Clinton "was a co-conspirator" in the movement to undermine traditional Christian morality during that tumultuous period. Had he invested even minimal time into doing research to back up this ludicrous claim, he would have learned that Hillary was president of the Young Republican chapter at Wellesley college in the late 60's. But that fact doesn't fit the script, so why would Quinn bother with it? Of course he's got some choice words for"Hussein Obama" as well. Since the Democratic candidate is appropriating a "revivalist style" and including not-so-subtle references to his Christian faith in his stump speeches, Obama is obviously appropriating the methods of the Anti-Christ. Rose agrees, and finds this very creepy. I guess using Christian rhetoric to justify anything other than preemptive invasions of foreign nations and/or giving tax breaks to the rich is out-of-bounds. Oh well.
So on a recent morning I got my very first taste of a local hack-program called "Quinn and Rose". I have to say that I didn't know that the usual rhetoric could be amplified within the confines of the "minor leagues" of radio. These folks are eagerly trying to foment the new crusades. Almost everything I heard had to do with an imagined final conflict between Christians and Muslims. Jim Quinn apparently believes (I only know this because he said it outright) that Islam is the most fundamental threat to our nation's existence. He went as far as implying that anyone who did not accept the superiority of the Western World, and its contributions to the rest of the planet, are foolish and dangerous. In his own words, he can't understand how anyone could accept the teachings of a "seventh-century faith" formed in fire, blood, and the sword.
Today he was focusing on the new efforts to integrate respect for Sharia into Western court systems. He was bemoaning the Archduke of Canterbury's decision to set up separate provisions for the adjudication of Muslim social law in Great Britain. As if this weren't bad enough for this reactionary nut, he's also recently become aware of a Texas Court of Appeals ruling that provides for the consideration of Sharia law when it comes to cases involving matters of Muslim marriage. The specific ruling only suggests that the judgment of Imams should be taken into consideration in such instances of legal conflict, but somehow Quinn has decided that the United States will soon turn into a Muslim theocracy. And he demonstrates unintentional irony by repeatedly playing the novelty song "They're coming to take me away" to discount Muslims, their beliefs, and the liberals that "support" them.
Frankly I'd be a bit surprised if Quinn and Rose failed to convey their loony-toon War of Civilizations to the home front. They dedicated a significant portion of the 45 minutes I listened to their program to the assertion that both Democratic nominees for the presidency are anti-Christian. Rose actually said that Hillary Clinton has previously shown that she "hates Christians". When a skeptical caller responded by asking her why she thought that was so, Rose hung up on him. She expressed wonderment that the man was questioning her judgment, and repeatedly stated, "I don't have to explain myself to him. Why should I waste my time?" While this is the standard answer given by most political reactionaries when they have nothing backing their statements, it seemed a bit incongruous for a radio talk show. Still somehow I wasn't surprised by Rose's debate strategy. Though I am puzzled about the role she is supposed to be playing for Quinn. She's weaker than Alan Colmes was five years ago, and only parrots the convictions of her partner.
Meanwhile Quinn has it all figured out. The downfall of our nation had its roots in the social revolution of the 60's. According to Quinn, Hillary Clinton "was a co-conspirator" in the movement to undermine traditional Christian morality during that tumultuous period. Had he invested even minimal time into doing research to back up this ludicrous claim, he would have learned that Hillary was president of the Young Republican chapter at Wellesley college in the late 60's. But that fact doesn't fit the script, so why would Quinn bother with it? Of course he's got some choice words for"Hussein Obama" as well. Since the Democratic candidate is appropriating a "revivalist style" and including not-so-subtle references to his Christian faith in his stump speeches, Obama is obviously appropriating the methods of the Anti-Christ. Rose agrees, and finds this very creepy. I guess using Christian rhetoric to justify anything other than preemptive invasions of foreign nations and/or giving tax breaks to the rich is out-of-bounds. Oh well.
Labels: Christian Right, Hack Radio, Quinn and Rose
posted by Merge Divide at 8:56 PM
3 Comments:
> I keep hearing rumors of a mythic beast called Air America, but I've
chalked up
> such reports to urban legend.
I'm pretty sure you've got Air America in your area. Take a look at the
station list:
http://www.airamerica.com/stations
It says Pittsburgh, PA - WPTT-AM 1360
It's a pretty good program, I always listen to it on XM radio when I fly.
I've recently become a fan of Jeremy Paxman, check out his interview of
John Bolton: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuqNWG9sbuE
Best,
-Mike
I was aware that they were playing some Air America programs on 1360. The problem is that the signal is so weak that I can't pick it up once I'm five minutes away from the city.
By the way, how are you, Mike? I hope all is well with you.
Y'know... I turned on 1360 when I was in spitting distance to downtown so I could verify that they really did play Air America- alas, it was the Laura Ingram show, at least at 3PM. She ain't no liberal.
Post a Comment
<< Home