The Strange Bedfellows of Curtis Sliwa.

On my way home from work the other day, I was once again frustrated by the local radio options. I know I should probably break down and buy Sirius satellite radio, but I hate the idea of having to pay for this diversion. Anyway, my usual selection Terry Gross was interviewing some singer-songwriter that I had absolutely no interest in. After considering the limited alternatives, I decided to bite the bullet and put on FM 104.7. This is the Pittsburgh home of blowhards like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and hometown-cretin Jim Quinn. I had actually forgotten that Sean Hannity was the ghoul who usually fills the slot when I am commuting home from work. Let me point out that I despise Hannity. He is a chubby cracker with the perspicacity of a developmentally-stunted boy scout. He's basically the leading candidate for poster boy of the ignorant and reactionary right-wing.

It was just my luck that Hannity had already begun his holiday break, and I tuned in just as his replacement was introducing the show. I listened closely to the thick Brooklyn accent of his substitute, and tried to guess who it was. I was a bit surprised when I learned it was none other than the infamous Curtis Sliwa. For those who are unaware of Sliwa's pedigree, he is the founder of the Guardian Angels- an organization created to help address the widespread violence on the New York City subways. Sliwa was quite a celebrity in the Northeastern US in the late 1970's and early 80's. At that time, America's foremost city was a hotbed of violent crime. As the Angels grew in size, the red beret and jacket that the group customarily donned became a symbol for frustrated citizens who were eager to take back their besieged city. For awhile they were lionized as heroes. Sliwa expanded his concept to other cities across the nation, and even started chapters abroad. But before long they ran into some bad press.

Apparently Sliwa offended police departments throughout the territories the Guardian Angels patrolled. His vocal criticism of their operations was far from endearing to beleaguered officers. To further undermine his credibility, Sliwa made up some criminal incidents to bolster his own public profile. In 1980 he even claimed to have been kidnapped in the Bronx, and taken to Jones Beach in Long Island. Eventually he was outed in the press, and admitted to having lied. Still he continued to expand his organization's operations. His controversial reputation did not keep him from attaining a radio spot in NYC. He quickly developed a reputation for his rapid-fire delivery and vaguely populist conservative views. In the early 90's he experienced some severe blowback for his verbal attacks on the Gotti family. He was kidnapped and shot by thugs hired by the infamous junior kingpin. Although he would survive his obvious injuries and garner a certain amount of sympathy, his conflicting accounts of the abduction raised some eyebrows. His earlier falsehoods came back to bite him on the ass, and his integrity was successfully impugned in court.

As of late he has been filling in for Hannity. But it wasn't his appearance the other day that returned Sliwa's name to my consciousness. This past October, KDKA radio host Kevin Miller invited the Guardian Angels figurehead to Pittsburgh to confront what Miller characterized as the out-of-control crime rates in the inner city. Reportedly they are old friends from Miller's time in Nashville. Although the portly Miller tried to create a media circus with a dog-and-pony show in the city's troubled Hill District, local law enforcement authorities made it clear that Sliwa's assistance was both unsolicited and unnecessary. No doubt Sliwa's record of bad-mouthing the 'boys in blue' had some impact on their decision. They characterized him and his group as vigilantes and sent them on their way. Presumably they were none too impressed by Cranberry resident Kevin Miller's feeble attempts at addressing urban problems.

Despite the local flap involving Miller and the 'Angels', I was curious to see what type of on air schtick he was selling. I only heard about 40 minutes of his program, but in that time I quickly gathered that he's a political lightweight. He attempted some flaccid criticism of the Democratic candidates for president. He implored one caller not to vote for Hillary Clinton, but failed to indicate why he's against her. His thoughts on John Edwards were limited to a routine about the man's expensive haircut. And every time he mentioned Barack Obama, he felt the inexplicable urge to tack on the inane addendum, "rhymes with 'osama' ". The only comment he had for the other side of the aisle was that Mitt Romney is too much of a choir boy for his liking. I wasn't sure where he was coming from with that assessment until I read that Sliwa is buddies with Rudy Giuliani. It makes sense that he would prep his audience for his endorsement of the Republican 'bad boy'. As a longtime observer of NYC, Sliwa knows the graveyard of skeletons stuffed inside Giuliani's closet. At the same time this connection may provide the clue to solving another political enigma. Forgive me for suggesting that Sliwa's 'Angels' may have been the divine inspiration behind Pat Robertson's support for the 'Big G.' Stranger visitations have happened. Suffice it to say that these guys comprise one ungodly trinity.

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.

Rep. Keith Ellison and his recent comments.

The attack dogs on the right have targeted Congressional Representative Keith Ellison (D- Minn) for comments he made in a meeting last week. If you aren't familiar with Ellison, you should know that he is the first avowed Muslim ever to be elected to the United States House of Representatives. When his campaign was victorious in 2006, he faced a rash of suspicion and intolerance from pundits and wingnuts alike. This is unsurprising given the continual assault on our civil rights in the post 9-11, Bush era. Muslims are the new communists, slowly working behind the scenes to undermine our democracy. To get an idea about some of the irrational paranoia, read my previous post about the conservative attempts to and smear Barack Obama. There is no doubt that every word Ellison utters is somewhere being analyzed for hints of betrayal.

Frequent Limbaugh-pinch-hitter Glenn Beck told Ellison in a CNN-interview, "I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.' " This was no surprise to anyone who had ever listened to Beck on AM radio. He is (or should be) infamous for suggesting that the razor wire is coming for Muslims who are not lining up to "shoot bad Muslims in the head." Now it should be pointed out (to his credit) that Beck added that such measures are "Nazi, World War II wrong". But his comments are especially ironic in light of the criticism over Ellison's recent speech to a small gathering of atheists in his home district of Minneapolis.

What Ellison actually did was compare the events of 9-11 to the Reichstag fires in 1930's Germany. For those who are unfamiliar with that event, it was the destruction of the German Parliament (the reichstag) that Hitler used to justify implementing emergency powers which allowed him to seize control over the country. Ellison was making a parallel between the erosion of rights during the rise of Nazi Germany and the current political atmosphere in the United States. He was quite specific about pointing out that he wasn't accusing the US government of planning the 9-11 tragedy. He knows damn well that any kind of suggestion of conspiracy will lead to his marginalization by the media. And it's important to note that he didn't directly compare Bush to Hitler, but rather referred to a specific event in history and its ramifications.

But the way Ellison's remarks have been portrayed on AM talk radio are entirely misleading. Kevin Miller of KDKA 1020 says that the Congressman should be sent to "the pokey" for "aid and comfort to our enemies". He is accusing Ellison of treason. How dare anyone suggest a historical analogy for modern events! Obviously that is not covered by our First Amendment's provision of "Free Speech". It makes one wonder what Bush means when he talks about our enemies and their hatred of "our freedoms". It's OK for Glenn Beck to invoke the spectre of Nazi Germany when he is delivering a veiled warning to our nation's Muslim citizens, but quite another for a public official to criticize the current Executive Department's similarities to dictatorships of the past. Instead of a thoughtful examination of Ellison's points, the radical right is attenpting to quell any meaningful discussion by calling for criminal charges against a member of the US Congress.

Perhaps Ellison was mistaken when he likened the current administration's actions to specific decisions made by Hitler prior to WWII. Maybe the invasion of Iraq, the unlawful surveillance of the communications between US citizens, the suspension of habeas corpus for those "suspected" of "terrorism", the torture of military detainees, government abuses sanctioned by the Patriot Act, etc. are more akin to a democratic system than they appear on the surface. It could be that our Founding Fathers would have liked to see the federal government's separation of powers and checks and balances suspended in times of an undefined and indeterminate war. But that's not my understanding of history.