Marty Griffin vs. Joseph King.

Now that I've officially returned to my routine schedule, there's likely to be an influx of political stuff on Serendipity once again. I enjoyed having my self-imposed media blackout for a few weeks, but now that I'm back in my vehicle for extended periods of time, being informed is almost unavoidable. Yet I'm still relegated to hack conservative talk radio, as I refuse to pony up for Sirius or some other type of satellite service. I suppose that suits my temperament. Sometimes I enjoy getting riled up over the issues. Whether I've got Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck or Sean Hannity on the national airways, or some of the local dupes from KDKA... I'll always have something to scream about.

So what is it nowadays? I've heard Rush flogging the "life begins at conception" routine, what with Nancy Pelosi citing a centuries-long controversy over abortion within the Roman Catholic Church. But that's as stale as convenience store fare. It's not something that's likely to change in most people's minds. So switching over to AM 1020, I've got Marty Griffin at lunch time. I've already communicated my enmity for this guy. He's one of the most egregious pseudo-populists on the air. His claims to non-partisanship notwithstanding, he consistently advocates for the most conservative suburban politics available. Every time he identifies himself as a native-Pittsburgher (he was born in Shadyside), it makes me want to puke.

His latest anti-city agenda concerns the new collective bargaining agreement for Pittsburgh firefighters. Griffin's got a beef with union president Joseph King over residential requirements for local employees. Apparently to apply for a position in the department, one must be a current city resident in Pittsburgh. Marty Griffin finds this stipulation onerous. He claims that it is an example of the type of "old school" regulation that holds the 'Burgh back. He would like to see out-of-towners have equal access to all city jobs. His current opposition to the application process is merely an incrementalist strategy aimed at eliminating any requirements for city employees to live within the city limits.

This comes as no surprise to anyone who has listened to this idiot for any significant period of time. He's an uncompromising advocate for suburban/exurban sprawl. He chooses to live in Mt. Lebanon so as to escape the problems he has with the inner city. That's fine, but he continues to chime in on urban issues, as if he has any substantial insights grounded in personal experience. The arguments he uses to support his positions confound any reasonable definition of rationality. He's actually claiming that the lack of racial proportionality within the firefighter force is a result of limiting employment to city residents. This flies in the face of common sense, as the number of blacks outside of the city is minimal compared to inside of it.

Griffin goes on to point out that NYC has no residential requirements for its firefighting department. He claims that if that's good enough for the "Big Apple", then it should fit here as well. Meanwhile he conveniently glosses over the fact that firemen in our nation's cultural center generally cannot afford to live in the more desirable parts of the 5 boroughs on their salary. But why let reality get in the way of advocacy? Griffin's suggestions to "improve" this city (which he is constantly trashing) always entail throwing benefits to those who live outside of the city limits. KDKA claims to be the "Voice of Pittsburgh", but then continually hires talking heads from the suburbs/exurbs. They should face a class action suit for willful deception.

Kevin Miller of KDKA 1020.

Occasionally I find myself at a loss when I try to come up with something to write about here at Serendipity. I suppose that's a natural expectation considering I make every effort to post daily. I sometimes forget how close the solution hovers on the periphery of my life. All I have to do under such circumstances is to get into my car and make a short trip anywhere. This strategy works only if I tune into KDKA AM 1020. Invariably there will be some blow-hard exhausting his wind on some untenable or ridiculous position. Kevin Miller is my new whipping boy at the station. He excretes a vile load of shit every afternoon (12:15-3PM).

It occurs to me to wonder where the hell they come up with guys like this. Miller, originally from "northeastern Ohio", is a recent transplant from Dixie radio. But he got his start in New Hampshire interviewing presidential hopefuls prior to the state's 1996 primary. He styles himself "The Round Mound of Sound"- an appropriate moniker for this "fat tub of goo" (my apologies to Terry Forster). Building on his reputation as the NH Pat Buchanan, he ambulance-chased his way to Ground Zero, and parlayed the tragic event into limited national personal prominence. Later he became known for his commentary on the Duke Lacrosse rape case and for disputing Valerie Plame's status as a CIA operative (a contention he still pushes on a gullible listening audience today).

Given the general tenor of the mass media in the modern age, it is not surprising that he has won several AP awards. Conservative wingnuts like Miller are the darlings of the press corps. Since he's come to our fair city, he seems to have directed a lot of his attention toward religious commentary. Recently a group of women were ordained as Catholic priests on a riverboat, and Miller was apoplectic about it. An averred papist, the talk-show host ranted for several hours straight (at least) about how this event ran counter to religious doctrine. Instead of presenting anything resembling a logical argument for his position, he simply called upon the infallibility of the Pope. Whenever a caller checked in to express a differing viewpoint, he/she was answered with a curt dismissal. He kept stressing that "there are rules!" Yet there is some reason to believe that Jesus meant women to have an active role in spreading his word... and evidence for this appears in what should be Miller's ultimately accepted source of authority- the Bible itself.

Indeed it says in the scriptures that Jesus' first post-resurrection appearance was witnessed by Mary outside of his tomb. Surely the Lord God himself was expressing his wish for Mary to extend "the Word" to all who would follow Him. Or does Kevin Miller believe this was random chance? Because I'm certainly no biblical scholar, and he seems to be declaring himself an authority... or at least a mouthpiece for Rome- the officially-sanctioned "one true Church". I don't know anything about the infallibility of the Vatican, but I do believe that if Miller did any degree of independent study he could find evidence of spiritual misguidance. Perhaps he could check into Roman Catholic collusion with the Nazis.

But given a more recent topic Miller has engaged, I'm not so sure that he doesn't feel an element of kinship with the Third Reich. Not only is he railing against the participation of homosexuals in the Catholic faith, but he is now extending his particular brand of "activism" to the Lutheran synod. He evidently wants to play some role in steering every Christian sect away from allowing homosexuals to serve as spiritual advisors. While he is careful to try to maintain the illusion of diplomacy with off-the-cuff assessments like "to each their own", he is abundantly clear in saying that he would never accept a gay in the role of church leader. If he is not trying to influence the greater dialogue, then I have no idea why he is challenging this specific practice. The problem with guys like Miller is that they are never content to assume an air of superiority- they also want to dictate how everyone else thinks and lives. But apparently that sells on AM radio.