Meta update

Here's a much-anticipated barely noticed status update from this crappy semi-dormant blog:

1. I have a few blog posts in my head but haven't had time to write them yet. Probably will resume on Tuesday, January 5.
2. No Blast Off! Radio on Monday, January 4; it'll come back on January 11, barring intervening catastrophe (or further ennui).
3. Haloscan, the commenting platform Blast Off! has used since Day One, is being phased out of existence. It was supposed to cease operations on Blast Off! as of yesterday, January 2, but it may still be working as you read this. I just haven't had a chance through the holidays and traveling and all to investigate an alternative commenting system. So if you find that comments suddenly are gone, disabled, or otherwise wonky, please be patient and I'll figure it out this week.
4. Finally, and most importantly, Happy New Year. Here's hoping that 2010 is a far, far better year than its predecessor (which, sadly, isn't a very high bar in my case).

Stay tuned for more shortly....

Do they know yet?

It's been 25 years... Wow.

From way back in 1984:

Best wishes from the Blast Off! crew -- well, that's me -- for a joyous Christmas or whatever holiday you may observe this time of year.

Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Citadel Broadcasting

It's a happy day whenever wingnuts suffer...and especially when their businesses suffer. That adage definitely holds true today with the news that notorious right-wing radio conglomerate Citadel Broadcasting will be filing for bankruptcy. Merry Christmas and Happy Bankrupt New Year, you Citadel clowns!

Citadel is expected to file in a deal supported by many lenders collectively owed $2 billion, known as a "prearranged" deal in bankruptcy parlance.

These lenders plan to swap a big portion of their debt for equity in a reorganized Citadel, effectively handing them control.

The deal would reduce Citadel's debt load to about $762.5 million, the people said. The company will need to solicit more creditor support in court to get its reorganization plan approved by a judge.

Citadel's board approved the filing in recent days.

Citadel Chief Executive Farid Suleman is likely to remain at the helm once the company emerges from Chapter 11 protection, people familiar with the situation said.

Citadel representatives didn't respond to requests for comment..

Citadel's fall is emblematic of the troubles ravaging radio broadcasters, which took on loads of debt during boom times and now face a harsh advertising climate.

Of course, the economy isn't the only reason these wingnut gasbag outlets are facing a harsh advertising climate. Just look at the concerted efforts by the netroots to deprive Glenn Beck of the advertising dollars that fuel his ongoing campaign of hate and bigotry: nearly 100 advertisers to date have elected not to align themselves with Beck's idiocy any longer.

Citadel, though, has been one of the leading purveyors of wingnut ideology for years. Hatemongers like KSFO's Melanie Morgan and syndicated fossil Don Imus have relied on Citadel to dish out their vomitous spew to the mouth-breathing masses. Now, while Citadel apparently will survive in a streamlined form, the days of whine and roses appear to be over.

And that's good news for Americans who value truth and abhor the kind of disgusting garbage that Citadel airs. So, congratulations to Citadel Broadcasting and its CEO, Farid Suleman -- there's a special holiday gift under your tree now, because today's Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude is for you!

Help William & Mary choose a new mascot

Well, I think I'll get off the political kick for at least one post.

My alma mater is trying to find a new athletic identity. Back when I was in college in the dark ages (you know it as the 1980s), they were making the transition from "Indians" to "Tribe," an appellation they still bear. Problem was, when the NCAA went after schools with Native American team names, they decided to let W&M keep "Tribe," being a word with multiple meanings, but they had to remove the feathers from the logo. As a result, they went from a dynamic, instantly-recognizable logo (right, top) to something amorphous, hyper-stylized, and uninteresting (right, bottom).

Anyway, while the university's teams still will be the "Tribe," they want a new mascot: something that will maintain or enhance school spirit and be identifiable with W&M. And so the College has launched a survey featuring the five finalists out of a process that has been going on for a number of months. It even was featured on ESPN:

At first, it seems odd that the mascot finalists are so divergent from the "Tribe" nickname. Then I got to thinking: there are plenty of other universities whose mascots are distinct from the school's team name. Look for example at the ram representing the North Carolina Tar Heels, the elephant for the Alabama Crimson Tide, or the ibis that inhabits the Miami Hurricanes' sideline. Each is emblematic of something in the universities' history or folklore, but the teams aren't the "Rams," the "Elephants," or the "Ibises." So too for William & Mary ....

So if you're interested, check out the finalists and cast a vote. My W&M friends (at least those who have commented about this on Facebook) have been pretty uniformly disappointed in the finalists, but I actually think there's at least one option that isn't altogether bad. I wonder if anyone feels the same....

Blast Off! Radio today at 4:00 pm EST: 2009: The Year That Sucked. A Lot.

I don't know whether it's too early in December for a year-in-review show, but as my travel-and-holiday schedule is likely to preclude my availability for another Monday show for the remainder of 2009, this is it for the year. And therefore, it's a perfect time for Blast Off! Radio's traditional year-end extravaganza!

Last year, there was a year-end show planned but never executed due to personal difficulties. But back in 2007, the year-end show had a very special title that I considered bringing back this year -- it would be appropriate, after all -- but in my more mature, calmer, somewhat-less-profane style of 2009, I thought I'd soften the blow just a bit.

So no F-bombs in this title. But let there be no doubt: 2009 was a thoroughly sucky year. And on today's show, we'll document the suckitude. Oh, I know the year wasn't all bad -- it saw the end of Drunky McStagger's presidency, for one very important thing. But the hope and change so fervently expected a year ago has been painfully slow in coming, and we find ourselves closing the curtain on 2009 having made little if any progress towards meaningful health care reform, equality for the GLBT community, an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc., etc.

Therefore, for reasons political, personal, and global, it's safe to say that 2009 has, for the most part, sucked out loud. And we'll document the damage on the show this afternoon. We'll also present a few year-end awards, including the coveted Yearly Schadenfreude award for 2009, and as always, your thoughts on the year almost past will be welcome through phone calls, chats, emails, and tweets.

Here's how you can join in all the fun and frolicking:

TIME: 4:00 pm Eastern TODAY

Click here to listen

Call in number: (646) 716-7543

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

Please make plans to join me for a long-awaited, much-deserved, and yet ever-so-much-fun eulogy to the latest Year That Sucked. Remember, there's only one suckiest year ever ... at least until 2010.

Sick bigots from Westboro Baptist "Church" picketing in south Florida this week

If you're smelling a rancid, disgusting stench emanating from America's Glans™ today, most likely it's those hate-spewing, foul excuses for humanity from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. We've seen them occasionally on Blast Off! before, spreading their message of anti-gay, anti-Semitic hate at soldiers' funerals, schools, and street corners alike.

This week they're focusing their repulsive message at the Jewish community in Palm Beach County:

This afternoon, the group is scheduled to be at the Jewish Community Center branch in Palm Beach Gardens, at Seminole Ridge High School in Loxahatchee, at the Chabad of West Palm Beach, and at the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County in suburban West Palm Beach.

Tuesday morning, the group is scheduled to picket three Boca Raton area locations: Spanish River High School, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County.

The group also plans pickets today in Miami Beach and Tuesday and Wednesday in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, including just before Tuesday night's Miami Heat-Toronto Raptors professional basketball game in downtown Miami.

[...]

The Westboro demonstration at the Jewish Federation is scheduled for Tuesday morning, when parents are dropping off children at school on the federation campus.

"We will ignore them," said Bill Bernstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County.

[...]

Westboro representatives did not respond to an interview request but had this message for any "Buddhists, Hindus or Christ-rejecting Jews" who called them: "You are all heads of the exact same monster. God hates you all and you are all headed to the same hell."

What kind of God, particularly a Christian God, hates anyone? I mean, I'm admittedly no expert on Christian theology, but I always learned God loves everyone. These Westboro cretins have an extraordinarily perverted view of Christianity ... and at some point, their ability to rely on constitutional freedom of speech ought to be questioned.

Here's what I'm trying to say: as a lawyer and an amateur First Amendment scholar, I know that expressions of opinion cannot be censored for their content; while there is room for reasonable restrictions based on the time, place, and manner of the expression, such restrictions must be "content-neutral," that is, imposed regardless of the message being delivered by the expression in question. My feeling, though, is that at some point, these Westboro assholes are crossing a line from free expression into, frankly, terrorism. What other purpose could they have in picketing military funerals to claim that God took the servicemembers' lives because He "hates fags?" And why else would they go to the JCC, the ADL, and high schools with large Jewish populations other than to terrorize the targets of their hatred?

If Westboro's message can be construed to be directed at placing Jews (or gays or whatever group) in fear for their safety and well-being, then perhaps it is not such a large step to interpret it as terrorism. And that ought to be the focus of some investigation at the local, state, or federal level: not as "censorship" per sé but as a means to rid our nation of this terroristic scourge -- the vile, destructive hate of these putrid, squalling scumbags who claim to wield the power of Christianity to defend their evil statements and actions.

Radical? Maybe. Appropriate? Absolutely.

Could the Florida state senate drive 55?

Sometimes, celebrities from other fields get into politics. It's not unheard of and, often, it's a logical step from name recognition in another pursuit to being elected to office. Occasionally, those celebrities come from sports, as when former FSU and NFL football star Peter Boulware ran unsuccessfully for the state House as a Republican in 2008.

But now another even more prominent name has surfaced in a Tampa-area state Senate district...and this time, he's a Democrat.

Derrick Brooks [(right)] earned a reputation as a dominant linebacker and fearsome tackler for the Buccaneers.

But could he bring down a Republican opponent in a state Senate race?

Some Florida Democrats think so, and they're courting him to run for the District 12 state Senate seat.

When asked about it, Brooks said this: "I'm not at liberty to talk about that right now."

When pressed, he said that ever since then-Gov. Jeb Bush appointed him to the FSU Board of Trustees, people have questioned him about his political aspirations. If he does run, he said, it won't be a secret. "I'll let everyone know," he said.

"It's an interesting proposition, isn't it?" said Susan Smith, who chairs the campaign committee for the Hillsborough County Democratic Party.

(Yes, that's the Florida Progressive Coalition's own Susan Smith quoted there!)

So far, no Democrat has declared for the District 12 seat, currently held by Republican Victor Crist, who is term-limited out. As an FSU trustee and a well-known figure in the Tampa area -- not only for his gridiron exploits but also for having started a successful charter school and being an outspoken advocate on education issues -- Brooks certainly is an attractive option for the Democrats. Will he run? Only time will tell ... but I'm wagering that he will.

Anger management, community service for anti-health care reform Miamian who assaulted pro-HCR man

I understand disagreeing with people. I do it all the time. But why is it that the unfettered anger, the hatred and disdain that causes one to react physically and violently, seems to be a nearly exclusive characteristic of the Right?

We've seen it in the "Teabaggers' Balls" (wait, that came out wrong....) and we've seen it at the health care town halls. One of these in particular resulted in criminal charges in Miami, but as Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) reported today on Twitter, the wingnut offender is getting off with a slap on the wrist.

A Miami-Dade man who punched a demonstrator at a healthcare reform rally has reached a plea deal with prosecutors and will take anger management courses and serve 50 hours of community service as part of his punishment.

Raul Anasagasti, 56, is scheduled to appear in Miami-Dade Circuit Court Thursday. He agreed to the conditions of a pretrial intervention program.

Back in September, Anasagasti punched a 65-year-old man in the face after a heated exchange.

Police said Luis Perrero was attending the rally outside the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, headlined by [Sen. Nelson], when Anasagasti, driving by in his green pickup, stopped and began arguing with the crowd.

When Perrero uttered an offensive Spanish expletive, Anasagasti punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Okay, maybe Mr. Perrero shouldn't have called Mr. Anasagasti a name. But words never justify physical violence, and there's no exception here. Maybe the anger management classes will help Mr. Anasagasti learn to control his temper and even see how the right-wing messages in which he no doubt immerses himself from Fox News and the like are driving him to such displays of anger and hate.

But I'm not getting my hopes up.

In Naples, the furor over "Kick A Jew Day" continues

Maybe you've been paying attention to this growing controversy. Maybe not. Either way, it might be instructive to take a look at what's happening in southwest Florida, in the wealthy retirement enclave of Naples.

On November 19, a few students at North Naples Middle School, inspired by an episode of TV's "South Park," instigated a self-proclaimed "Kick A Jew Day" at the school. The students, two of whom themselves are Jewish, kicked a number of other students; it appears that they did not specifically target Jewish students but, rather, students who were "different."

“What the school found out is that it wasn’t ‘kick a Jew day.’ It was a ‘kick a fill-in-the-blank day,’” [Collier County school superintendent Dennis] Thompson said. “Many of the kids who kicked other students kicked someone they didn’t like or someone who is different. The kid who was kicked the most was new to the school. That, to me, is the tragedy. These kids picked on someone who was new to the school.”

The new student is not Jewish.

Thompson said it is unfortunate that one student was kicked for being Jewish but it seems to be an isolated case. He added that all of the students who were suspended had never been in trouble before.

“This is certainly not about religious intolerance. This is about, do you know who your child is communicating with? Do you know who your child is communicating about? The real lesson is that we need to understand what our kids watch and who they communicate with,” he said.

The students involved were disciplined with in-school suspension for one day, and the superintendent says this isn't about religious intolerance. Before reading articles about the incident, I was inclined to agree, knowing only that non-Jewish students were victims of the bullying as well. But then I read about the "South Park" episode in question --which featured Eric Cartman kicking "gingers," or red-haired kids, and I began to wonder how that morphed into "Kick A Jew Day." It certainly seems to suggest that religious intolerance plays more than a passing role in the genesis of this incident, doesn't it, Mr. Superintendent?

But you really only need go as far as the comments to the latest article about the incident to see that intolerance is a significant issue, at least among observers of the controversy (some of whom, it should be noted, do not live in Naples or even in Florida). Comment after comment suggests that this is just "something kids do" and that since the superintendent said it wasn't about religious, everyone should just shut the hell up:

Sounds like a witch hunt in the making to me! If the issue were anything else than hypersensitivity to the word "Jew",this would not even be newsworthy. How long will this "Holocaust mania" continue to cloud peoples minds that there are other people, other religions and cultures or no religious preferences at all that are just as important as those of the Jewish faith? Would "Kick a Muslim Day" be just as dramatic? As was stated by both the article and a previous poster this had absolutely NOTHING to do with raligion or culture? Get it?

******

Who cares? What a bunch of whiners. Only the rich Jews would get all this attention.

Pack up and move back to New York. This news isn't kosher.

******

Kids don't pay attention to the religion of others unless their parents brain wash them.

Facts: There was 2 Jewish kids kicking others too. If you read all the facts, it looks like some kids were horsing around and kicking each other... no matter if they were Jewish or not.

It was the MEDIA that picked out the phrase "Kick a Jew Day" that would sell newspapers... and the MEDIA made an issue of the ONE PHRASE. It is the Naples News that created this problem!!

What are you going to do? Put the kids in jail for horsing around on the playground?

How come no issue is made by the media when kids single out the FAT kids... or the SHORT kids... or the ITALIAN kids... or the MEXICAN kids... or the WHITE TRASH kids... or the BLACK kids or the NERD kids?

Kids can be mean to each other for no reason other than there is nothing else to do at the moment.

It is the fault of the Naples News that this playground horse play got the worldwide attention it did. Do you feel proud of what you did Naples News by making the residents of Naples look like fools? ... just a question

Well, the simple fact is that this wasn't about fat kids or short kids or Italian kids or Mexican kids ... and it would have been just as newsworthy if it were. Instead, somewhere along the way, this prank evolved from mimicking a cartoon to focusing hatred on a particular ethnic group. The fact that two of the miscreants were members of that faith is completely irrelevant. So, where do you suppose kids (at least the ringleaders) are learning that sort of hate, hmmm?

One Collier County School Board member calls the incident a "hate crime." I don't know whether I'd go that far, but I do believe the district's response has been embarrassingly, even painfully tepid. It's a teachable moment ... but instead they appear to want to sweep it under the rug. And yet, in a town like Naples or an area like southwest Florida, I can't say I'm terribly surprised.

Crist and "the Savior"

Gov. Charlie Crist is trying to be many things to many people as he rounds out his gubernatorial term and continues his campaign for the U.S. Senate. Apparently the latest of those things is football expert.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist thinks Tim Tebow could be the answer to the Jacksonville Jaguars attendance problems.

Crist said Monday that he's talked with the Jaguars ownership about taking the celebrated Florida quarterback in the NFL draft next April as a means to sell more season tickets and keep the team from moving out of Jacksonville.

About 17,000 fans chose not to renew their season tickets this year, many citing the economic climate. About 30,000 seats were empty Sunday for Jacksonville's 23-18 victory over Houston.

Tebow, who grew up in Jacksonville, won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and led the Gators to a national championship last year.

Floridians like me who have lived in the state for many years probably remember Bob Graham's famous "workdays," when he would take on a different job for a day to learn what the state's citizens were dealing with on a daily basis. Well, it looks to me like Crist has taken a page from Graham's book, anointing himself de facto general manager of the Jaguars. Of course, Graham conducted his workdays to understand Florida and Floridians better, while Crist's new "job" smacks more of political pandering, but that's pretty much been Charlie's M.O. for his whole career -- why should he change now?

Seriously, though, I hope Crist thrives in his apparent new role evaluating talent for the Jags. After all, it's a hell of a lot better for our state than his current job ... not to mention the job he wants next.

Teabagger hate splinters GOP

As has been well-chronicled here and elsewhere, last April in Pensacola I witnessed the Tea Party (or "teabagger") movement firsthand, up close and personal. Although it was clear that the teabaggers' denials of opposition to President Obama and their insistence that they were "nonpartisan" were utter bullshit, I never really experienced "hatred," at least beyond a few boos once the mouth-breathers figured out what I was up to.

That's beginning to change, though, and more and more, teabaggers are revealing their true colors: hate, anger, racism, and lies. Nowhere has this been more evident than in Chicago last month, where Midge and Dan Hough sought to tell Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) the tragic story of their daughter-in-law, Jenny.

Jenny was a healthy 24-year-old pregnant mother this summer. Now she was dead, along with her unborn child, both symbols of the failure of our country's healthcare system.

But when Midge told the story to the people gathered at the town hall meeting, she was jeered, mocked and laughed at. They didn't believe her, or didn't care. Midge still told Jenny's story, and her bravery shines in a YouTube video of the event, which now clocks in at well over 100,000 views and functions as a symbol of what the tea party movement has become.

[...]

The organizer of a splinter group called the Chicago Tea Party Patriots, Catherina Wojtowicz, insisted that the story was a fake, calling the couple "Obama operatives" in an e-mail. Even after a local paper verified Jenny's story, she hounded the Houghs with hateful e-mails and insisted that their story was an "isolated incident" that shouldn't have any bearing on the healthcare debate.

Midge said she "tried to appeal to her in those ugly, ugly e-mails."

"Could she understand that we were grieving?" Midge recalled asking in one e-mail exchange with Wojtowicz. "She laughed in the e-mail. She said she didn't think they were hard enough on me" at the Lipinski town hall meeting.

After Keith Olbermann featured Catherina Wojtowicz as his "Worst Person" in a regular segment of his show Countdown, the segment showed up on the Tea Party Patriots' Web site under the headline "Catherina Wojtowicz Earns Title."

"That actually sickens my stomach," Midge said when she heard about the promotion of the video. In her next breath, however, she said she wasn't exactly surprised.

"I've never seen so much hate in one room in my whole life," she said. Wistfully, she added, "I wish that they had Jenny's memorial video up there."

Though these fringe tea party activists are using Jenny's story to promote themselves, it doesn't make the Houghs second-guess their decision to bring attention to them. They say they're glad that they can show "people on the fence" about healthcare just how "radical" and "unhinged" the tea party groups can be.

"If my hurting accomplishes that, I'm OK with it," Midge said.

Though the Internet has brought threatening e-mails, angry comments and viewers flagging their videos about Jenny as "fake" on YouTube, it has also rallied support for the Houghs. Along with the education and advocacy efforts of the Illinois Campaign for Better Health Care and publicity for Jenny's story provided by Women's International News, Midge spoke of the "angels on Twitter" who have helped connect them to others active in the healthcare reform effort.

Furthermore, the same anonymity that allows hateful comments to spew forth more easily also provided the Houghs with their own silent partner. Someone anonymously created a Web site at CatherinaWojtowicz.com that highlights how the Tea Party Patriots' spokesperson has attacked the Houghs and others who don't share her view of reality. The site has no proprietary information, except that the owner is offering the URL up for auction, with the proceeds of the URL sale destined for the National Association of Free Clinics.

Not only do the teabaggers apparently feel no compassion or remorse (making them, I'm forced to point out, something less than human), they even think the Republican Party has abandoned them -- even though the GOP has flung itself farther to the right than any sensible observer could have imagined. More often than not, teabaggers are putting up their own candidates from the fringe right to challenge mainstream GOP nominees -- where, in a clear indication that the electorate sees right through the charade, the teabaggers are suffering ignominious defeats. But they go on defiantly: indeed, right here in Florida, the teabaggers actually have registered their own political party, bastardizing the Declaration of Independence in the process. (At least the forked tongue on its logo, above right, is appropriate.)

No one is (or should be) denying that these people have a right to air their opinions. But when their positions rival those of neo-Nazis and avowed racists in their vile hatred, one has to question the societal value, or even relevance, of those positions. But the silver lining, if there is one, must be that they're going to immolate themselves in their extremist values, and likely take the Republican Party as we know it (or knew it) with them.

Florida GOP Police Blotter #15: GOP fundraiser/donor pleads guilty to bribery

Again, Democrats aren't immune to controversy and corruption. But it sure seems like Republicans pretty much have cornered the market....

Evidently this is especially the case with fundraisers and donors for the GOP, as we saw a couple of months ago. Keeping with the trend, another Republican donor with strong Florida ties is facing prison after pleading guilty to bribery (or, technically, "rewarding professional misconduct") in a long-running New York political and influence-peddling scandal.

“Broidy paid nearly a million dollars in bribes to get a quarter billion dollar investment,” according to a statement from Cuomo. According to the attorney general, Broidy acknowledged that he “funneled $300,000 to “Chooch” (the generally unseen movie that has been previously cited in the scandal), entered a “sham consulting agreement,” and paid over $90,000 to the girlfriend of a high-ranking official in the New York comptroller’s office, among other things.

[...]

But among his long list of public service roles, one position in particular may cause raised eyebrows. From 2002 through May of 2009, when he resigned due to a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, Broidy was a trustee of the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension fund. While it is fairly common for people to move fluidly back and forth between the investor world and the fund management world, Broidy is the only person we can think of to have a foot in both at once.

Broidy lived in California, but he was quite supportive of the Republican Party of Florida and GOP candidates in the Sunshine State:

In Florida, Broidy gave $100 to Agriculture Commissioner candidate US Rep. Adam Putnam this year; $500 to House Majority Leader Adam Hasner last year; $25,000 to the RPOF in 2006, and $5,000 to the RPOF in 2002.

Said Hasner: "Yes. I have met him briefly on two or three informal occasions – each time at Republican Jewish Coalition events/meetings. He personally contributed $500 to my 2008 campaign which was 5/100 of one percent (.050 %) of the total amount I raised during that election cycle (over $995,000)."

State GOP spokeswoman Katie Betta said the $25,000 donation was designated for the party's 2006 Victory effort helping all GOP candidates.

Sure, it's overreaching to condemn all Republican candidates like Hasner who apparently took contributions from a convicted felon. But it would be irresponsible not to speculate about Broidy's links to Hasner and the Florida GOP....

Blast Off! Radio today at 4:00 pm EST: It's not dead yet!

I know it's been a while since Blast Off! Radio graced the airwaves -- hardly a fitting status for the winner of the 2009 Florida Netroots Award for Best Online Radio Show. But sometimes life gets in the way, and November included a household move, two lengthy journeys, and a family holiday for me. Therefore, I just decided to ice the whole month and start afresh in December. Which brings us to today....

The show returns today with a bang as we review some of the key political developments of the month of November in Florida and nationally, including the ongoing, never-ending, perpetual health care debate in Washington, the continued fall of the Republican Party, and the related refusal of the wingnutty tea party movement to hang its head as it justifiably should and fade meekly away. We'll also talk about what it's like to endure a wingnut family over the holidays, as I had to do once again this year. I'm looking for lots of input from that one, as I'm sure many of you are in the same boat....

Since it's been a few weeks, perhaps you need a friendly reminder of just how easy it is to join me on Blast Off! Radio -- really, you're just a click away:

TIME: 4:00 pm Eastern TODAY

Click here to listen

Call in number: (646) 716-7543

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

So I hope you'll help me celebrate the triumphant momentous long-awaited barely tolerable return of Blast Off! Radio this afternoon. Just don't bop the show in the head, okay?

UPDATE (3:45 pm 12/7/09): Crap. Just realized I had put up the wrong "listen" link above. Should be fixed now. Sorry.

Paula Hawkins (1927-2009)

It may seem odd to longtime readers of Blast Off! to see an obituary to a Republican here, let alone a fairly favorable one. But I have personal reminiscences of Paula Hawkins, who died on Friday at the age of 82, and while I no longer agreed with her politically, I always thought of her as a good Floridian and a fine person.

Hawkins (right, with President Reagan and iconic Florida congressman Claude Pepper) served one term in the U.S. Senate and it happened to coincide with my junior and senior year in high school in Broward County. At the time, I was a loyal Republican (like my parents), and although I wasn't old enough to vote, I supported Hawkins and many of her positions, which were colored significantly by her Mormon faith. I have met many members of Congress over the years, but Paula Hawkins was the first: I met her while participating in the Close Up government studies program in Washington, D.C., in 1983, and I remember her as charming and informative without being condescending to a bunch of kids. She invited us to visit the Florida House, a Capitol Hill residence owned by and dedicated to the people of Florida doing business in or touring the nation's capital, and I remember marveling at (of all things) the free orange juice available there. I regularly stopped by the Florida House, America's only "state embassy, even as a D.C.-area resident in the late '80s and I always credited Sen. Hawkins with bringing it to my attention.

Paula Hawkins was a dyed-in-the-wool conservative who once described herself as "feminine" as opposed to "feminist" and who opposed the Equal Rights Amendment as contributing to the "downfall of the father's responsibility to support the family." Nevertheless, I always respected her and am sorry to witness the death of yet another icon of my childhood.

Teacher suspended for anti-Obama emails: it's NOT a free speech issue

Predictably, the wingnut commenters are out in force, decrying the suspension of Palm Beach County high school teacher Paula Prudente for sending numerous political emails critical of Barack Obama from her school-provided email account. The wingnut CW seems to be that any teacher who would have, say, criticized Drunky McStagger in an email would have been lauded, not disciplined ... but, needless to say, that's not only overly simplistic, it's just flat-out wrong.

Here's the basic scoop:

Administrators said Prudente defied warnings and repeatedly sent e-mails with "political innuendos" in violation of School Board policy. The e-mails included criticisms of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama.

In an interview, Prudente called the suspension a "wrongful retaliation" for her attempt to expose school district corruption.

Let me throw a little legal knowledge at all you mouth-breathers ranting about freedom of speech and urging Prudente to sue the school district for limiting her First Amendment rights: there's no case. Courts consistently recognize valid limitations to the time, place, and manner of speech, provided such limitations are content-neutral -- that is, they don't favor some content over others. You folks who think emails critical of Republicans would be permitted are, well, just wrong (again).

A government-owned mode of communication for political messages is not a public forum for First Amendment purposes. If the school district has a policy against political email on their system, they have every right to enforce it, whether the employee in question was criticizing Obama or praising him, or anyone else for that matter.

It's quite simple, and Prudente's discipline was well-deserved -- not because she's a wingnut, but because she broke the rules. But, then, I've never really expected right-wingers to care very much about rules ....