Black Democratic leaders in Maryland say that racially tinged attacks against Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele in his bid for the U.S. Senate are fair because he is a conservative Republican. Such attacks against the first black man to win a statewide election in Maryland include pelting him with oreo cookies during a campaign appearance, calling him an "Uncle Tom" and depicting him as a black-faced minstrel on a liberal Web log.
State Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a black Baltimore Democrat, said she does not expect her party to pull any punches, including racial jabs at Mr. Steele, in the race to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes.
Delegate Salima Siler Marriott, a black Baltimore Democrat, said Mr. Steele invites comparisons to a slave who loves his cruel master or a cookie that is black on the outside and white inside because his conservative political philosophy is, in her view, anti-black.
This week, the News Blog -- a liberal Web log run by Steve Gilliard, a black New Yorker -- removed a doctored photo of Mr. Steele that depicted him as a black-faced minstrel. However, the blog has kept its headline "Simple Sambo wants to move to the big house." A caption beneath a photo of the lieutenant governor reads: "I's Simple Sambo and I's running for the Big House."
Where is the outrage here? Bush is accused of "hating black people" because he did not build a 75 foot wall around New Orleans during his first term in office. Yet calling someone "Simple Sambo" and pelting him with oreo's draws no rebuke? I'm sure Trent Lott and Bill Bennett really loved reading this.
Washington Times
Hello "Bob"
Classic rock fans who tuned in WRRK-FM (96.9) this morning got a rude awakening when they heard songs like "Papa Don't Preach." The Steel City Media station, licensed to Braddock, flipped to "Bob FM" this morning. Ironically, the first casualty was a "Bob" and a Tom; the syndicated morning show is gone. (The music on "Bob" format stations typically consists of songs from a wide variety of rock and pop genres with few live DJs, so one assumes that the 'RRK airstaff is gone, too. ( So far, the mix sounds very "adult contemporary," but with more rock than an AC station.
Farewell Bumper
I started my radio carreer at WWSW (3WS) many years ago. During that time I worked with a great guy who was know to Pittsburgh radio listerner as "Bumper Morgan". I can still hear him saying "Hey, it's your old pal Bumper Morgan".
I was sad to learn last week that Bumper had passed away. I had not seen him in years. The last time I did see him was out at South Park. He went up on stage to introduce the Spinners. As the band began to play Bumper came down the steps backstage, walked over to the corner and began to read to himslef the Bible he cradeled in his hands.
The Post Gazette ran he obituary. For all you Pittsburgh radio fans here it is:
I was sad to learn last week that Bumper had passed away. I had not seen him in years. The last time I did see him was out at South Park. He went up on stage to introduce the Spinners. As the band began to play Bumper came down the steps backstage, walked over to the corner and began to read to himslef the Bible he cradeled in his hands.
The Post Gazette ran he obituary. For all you Pittsburgh radio fans here it is:
Bumper Morgan lived the classic radio personality's life -- moving from
station to station -- sometimes returning to the same ones for a second stint.
He worked in major markets, including New York City on WNBC, where he
was on the same station lineup with Howard Stern and Don Imus. But he also spent
a good portion of his career on the local airwaves.
His real name was
Frederick Merrin and he lived in Richland. He died Wednesday after suffering a
heart attack at the age of 57.
The Endicott, N.Y. native's radio career spanned more than 30 years. He
started on WKOP-FM in Binghamton, N.Y., and quickly moved to the number one
market, New York.
As Bumper Morgan, Mr. Merrin was a well-known and popular
figure in Pittsburgh radio throughout the 1980s and '90s, working morning and
afternoon drive shifts on several stations, including WWSW-FM, WSHH-FM, and the
former WJJJ-FM, WVTY-FM and WHTX-FM.
Most recently, he was station manager for Christian station WWNL-AM. He
arrived in Pittsburgh in 1984 to work for WWSW. Mr. Merrin did a lot of work
outside the market, including filling in for Casey Kasem on "American Top 40"
and voice-overs for the BBC. He also did voice-overs and promos for local sports
teams, TV and radio stations.
He appeared on stage in a Civic Light Opera production of "Grease." He
seemed at home in different formats, from adult contemporary to contemporary
hits to oldies and country. Mr. Merrin had a resonant, deep voice that was
perfectly suited to radio. But that voice belied a quieter, private, off-mike
personality, said colleague Chris Shovlin, news/sports anchor at WJAS-AM who
worked with him on the WSHH morning show: "He was very soft-spoken, just a
stand-up guy."
Kenny Woods, operations manager at WORD-FM, worked with Mr. Merrin at
WWSW.
"He was a kind and gentle soul with a big voice that rivaled the best
in the country," Mr. Woods said. "Behind the scenes, he was the best -- a true
witness to his Christian beliefs and a great friend."
WWSW afternoon host
Mike Frazer grew up listening to Mr. Merrin in New York. Since then, their paths
here crossed several times.
"In an often harsh world, and the harsh business that radio is, this
was a gentle giant," Frazer said. "Nobody had anything bad to say about him. He
was this big teddy bear of a guy, very lovable, very family oriented. His wife
and kids were his life."
He is survived by his wife, Anne; two daughters, Candace Lucas, of
Roanoke, Va.; and Barbara Merrin, of Norrisville, Md.; and three grandchildren.
Services will be private.
The Catholic Court
More than two centuries of Protestant domination on the Supreme Court will end if Samuel Alito is confirmed as its next justice. For the first time in the nation's history, five Roman Catholics, a majority, would be on the high court. Cue the Hallelujah Chorus!
Yet news that the son of an Italian immigrant father, someone who grew up in a suburban New Jersey parish where he served as a lector and later married, doesn't carry quite the power it might have in the days when Kennedys ran for the White House.
Protestants have been so dominant on the court that half of the justices have come from just three denominations: the Episcopal, Presbyterian and Congregational churches.
Only two Protestants would remain on the Supreme Court,David Souter and John Paul Stevens. The two other justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer are Jewish.
Two of the Catholics on the current court, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas are abortion foes. Scalia, whose son Paul is a priest, and Thomas are sometimes seen walking together to the court after attending Mass on holy days of obligation.
The third Catholic, Anthony Kennedy voted with the majority in a 5-4 ruling in 1992 reaffirming the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, despite some apparent inner turmoil. Newly installed Chief Justice John Roberts, the fourth Catholic, is solidly conservative and his wife, Jane, volunteers for Feminists for Life, but it is unclear how he will vote on abortion cases.
More:
Washington Post
Yet news that the son of an Italian immigrant father, someone who grew up in a suburban New Jersey parish where he served as a lector and later married, doesn't carry quite the power it might have in the days when Kennedys ran for the White House.
Protestants have been so dominant on the court that half of the justices have come from just three denominations: the Episcopal, Presbyterian and Congregational churches.
Only two Protestants would remain on the Supreme Court,David Souter and John Paul Stevens. The two other justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer are Jewish.
Two of the Catholics on the current court, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas are abortion foes. Scalia, whose son Paul is a priest, and Thomas are sometimes seen walking together to the court after attending Mass on holy days of obligation.
The third Catholic, Anthony Kennedy voted with the majority in a 5-4 ruling in 1992 reaffirming the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, despite some apparent inner turmoil. Newly installed Chief Justice John Roberts, the fourth Catholic, is solidly conservative and his wife, Jane, volunteers for Feminists for Life, but it is unclear how he will vote on abortion cases.
More:
Washington Post
Islam in America
Last week the U.S. State Department hosted the seventh annual Iftar banquet in Washington, DC, celebrating the end of Islamic holy month of Ramadan. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to those in attendance, such as Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), as well as representatives of other local and national Muslim organizations, Muslim students, diplomats from Islamic countries, and State Department officials. Speaking to those present, Secretary Rice stated:
"So, on behalf of all the men and women of the State Department, thank you for honoring us with your presence this evening. Thank you for what you do every day as people of a great faith, of one of the world's great religions, of a religion of peace and love." [Excerpted from Transcript]
Among those honored by the State Department sponsored dinner and receiving praise and accolades from Secretary of State Rice was Nihad Awad. Awad is the founder and director of the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which evolved from the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP). As detailed in an article on FrontPage Magazine, Oliver Revell, the FBI's former associate director of Counter-Intelligence Operations, stated that the IAP "is an organization that has directly supported [the Palestinian terror group] Hamas' military goals. It is a front organization for Hamas that engages in propaganda for Islamic militants." Nihad Awad, former public relations director for the IAP, has a lengthy history of embracing Islamic extremism. ,
Nihad Awad openly praised Iran's despicable and notorious Ayatollah Khomeini. the spiritual leader of the Iranian revolution who first branded the U.S. as "the great Satan;"
Awad described the 1994 trial and conviction of the Islamic terrorists behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombings as "a travesty of justice" in the Muslim World Monitor;
At a 1994 Barry University panel discussion, Awad proudly proclaimed: "I am in support of the Hamas movement."
While Secretary of State Rice was busy praising "the benevolence that is at the heart of Islam" and referenced the assistance reportedly provided by Muslims for recent hurricane victims, renowned Islamic leader Muhammad Yousef Al-Mlaifi, the director of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Endowment's research center, seemed to have a different take on the hurricane that struck the United States which did not reflect the benevolence cited in the remarks by Ms. Rice. Perhaps she was unaware of the August 31, 2005 article that appeared in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa, in which Al Mlaifi proclaimed that "the terrorist Katrina is one of the soldiers of Allah…" apparently suggesting that America deserved the death and destruction brought by hurricane Katrina.
Such statements continue to remain operative among many influential Muslims in the U.S. The big question is when are the policy-makers in America going to wake up and realize what is taking place around them. Perhaps the most succinct statement of Islamic objectives can be attributed to an authoritative Muslim person as recounted in the 1999 writings of Giuseppe Germano Bernardini, the Italian archbishop of Izmir, Turkey: "Thanks to your democratic laws we will invade you; thanks to our religious laws we will dominate you."
"So, on behalf of all the men and women of the State Department, thank you for honoring us with your presence this evening. Thank you for what you do every day as people of a great faith, of one of the world's great religions, of a religion of peace and love." [Excerpted from Transcript]
Among those honored by the State Department sponsored dinner and receiving praise and accolades from Secretary of State Rice was Nihad Awad. Awad is the founder and director of the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which evolved from the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP). As detailed in an article on FrontPage Magazine, Oliver Revell, the FBI's former associate director of Counter-Intelligence Operations, stated that the IAP "is an organization that has directly supported [the Palestinian terror group] Hamas' military goals. It is a front organization for Hamas that engages in propaganda for Islamic militants." Nihad Awad, former public relations director for the IAP, has a lengthy history of embracing Islamic extremism. ,
Nihad Awad openly praised Iran's despicable and notorious Ayatollah Khomeini. the spiritual leader of the Iranian revolution who first branded the U.S. as "the great Satan;"
Awad described the 1994 trial and conviction of the Islamic terrorists behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombings as "a travesty of justice" in the Muslim World Monitor;
At a 1994 Barry University panel discussion, Awad proudly proclaimed: "I am in support of the Hamas movement."
While Secretary of State Rice was busy praising "the benevolence that is at the heart of Islam" and referenced the assistance reportedly provided by Muslims for recent hurricane victims, renowned Islamic leader Muhammad Yousef Al-Mlaifi, the director of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Endowment's research center, seemed to have a different take on the hurricane that struck the United States which did not reflect the benevolence cited in the remarks by Ms. Rice. Perhaps she was unaware of the August 31, 2005 article that appeared in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa, in which Al Mlaifi proclaimed that "the terrorist Katrina is one of the soldiers of Allah…" apparently suggesting that America deserved the death and destruction brought by hurricane Katrina.
Such statements continue to remain operative among many influential Muslims in the U.S. The big question is when are the policy-makers in America going to wake up and realize what is taking place around them. Perhaps the most succinct statement of Islamic objectives can be attributed to an authoritative Muslim person as recounted in the 1999 writings of Giuseppe Germano Bernardini, the Italian archbishop of Izmir, Turkey: "Thanks to your democratic laws we will invade you; thanks to our religious laws we will dominate you."
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