The Try-Works

Based on some of the comments made on KHOW’s Caplis and Silverman show, Try-Works commenter N would like to know. And you can decide for yourself. KHOW’s .mp3 of the show is right here. In it, the pair interviews Glenn Morris and David Lane about the Columbus Day protest trials I pointed to yesterday.

Generally Caplis and Silverman seem a little confused as to what civil disobedience actually fucking means, arguing somehow that Martin Luther King was a hero, but that any violation of any law, no matter how fucking stupid, arbitrary or vicious, should be prosecuted to the fullest. They manage to reconcile that logical split in the way they usually do: by being too fucking dumb to notice it.

But anyway, highlights as follows:

At 5:45, when David Lane corrects one of our historically illiterate local media’s favorite canards: that those engaged in civil disobedience during the civil rights movement just took their lumps, and never fought prosecution.

At 8:45, when Dan Caplis begins a tear about the fundamental characteristic of America being the rule of law. This’d be the same motherfucker who never saw a treaty or international obligation he didn’t piss on. The same Dan Caplis who has openly called for anyone expressing an opinion to the left of Hillary Clinton to be tried for fucking treason. Not to belabor the point, but Dan Caplis has about as much right to lecturing on the rule of law as Monica Lewinsky does lecturing on tobacco abstinence.

At 16:00, when David Lane points out the city of Denver doesn’t celebrate Columbus Day. City employees go to work, offices are open. Not much to that, but it’s interesting, and I didn’t know it.

At 20:45, when Silverman waxes eloquent about the poor racists who might’ve missed their tee time. Incurring open derision from David Lane.

At 21:35, when Glenn Morris points out that Silverman’s idiotic argument about protestors not having the right to inconvenience working people is the self-same argument used by white segregationists when whining about the civil rights movement’s tactics.

And the kicker, at 22:15 when, as N said, “referring to civil rights demonstrators who sat-in at and otherwise disrupted segregated businesses, Silverman [or Caplis… whichever one sounds like a child molestor] said, ‘That was their own bad decision.’”

Leading me to the answer to N’s question: “are you required to be a covert racist to host a show on AM radio?”

The answer: absolutely not.

But if Mr. Silverman’s any example, being an open racist is fucking mandatory.

However, my absolutely favorite moment, comes at 28:20 when Craig Silverman is asked by David Lane if he’s really unaware that treaties made with other nations are the supreme law of the land; that they trump the US Constitution.

To which, Craig Silverman answers, “Correct, I’m unaware of that.”

Which left me literally fucking agape.

See, as regular readers ought fucking know, even I knew that one.

You know why?

Because it’s IN THE FUCKING CONSTITUTION.

In those exact fucking words: “[A]ll Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land.”

Even better, when Glenn Morris points Mr. Silverman to the appropriate passage, Mr. Silverman honks something to the effect that he’ll take a look at that.

Meaning that Mr. Silverman, a man who has made it a quarter-century into the legal profession, who has built a career as a legal pundit, isn’t even generally conversant with the fucking US Constitution.

He’s never even fucking read it.

That’s the kind of stupidity that borders on legendary. It would be something akin to a medical doctor not being able to point out the general location of the human heart. If there were a God in heaven, the dumb fucker would be divinely disbarred upon uttering the words.

And they call Ward Churchill a fraud.

Jason Salzman thinks just a tad bit.

As a media critic, I’ve often felt like kicking KHOW talk radio hosts Dan Caplis and Craig Silverman, but I restrain myself.

I know that violence against talk radio hosts is the worst form of media criticism. And it’s illegal.

It’s true that kicking journalists was popular among media critics during the early Neanderthal era, but this is the year 2008.

Plus, in the case of Caplis and Silverman, I like their show more often than not. It airs 3-6 p.m. on 630 AM.

They’ll take on the most serious issues (e.g., the Iraq war) and the most trivial (e.g., Britney Spears’ pregnant sister). It’s fun and intelligent, mostly because of the disagreements between these two very smart hosts about even the dumbest topics.

I wish they wouldn’t latch on to stuff like Ward Churchill, but their core job is entertainment, and they obviously find trivial matters in Boulder more entertaining than I do.

It also bugs me that Caplis is a right-wing Republican and Silverman is a centrist Democrat - which creates the perception that the political spectrum starts with centrism and ends with social conservatism.

Caplis is among Denver’s most right-wing pundits. If he ran for governor, as he’s threatened to do, he’d get Focus on the Family founder James Dobson’s support in a heartbeat.

Silverman outlined his history of Democratic centrism in a letter to me that’s posted on my blog (Bigmedia .org). He writes that he has an open mind, but in reality he rarely strays from the Democratic center. When he does, he usually tilts right, not left.

Surprisingly, Silverman refused to answer a single question from a long list I sent him, covering basic stuff like “Do you favor elimination of the estate tax?”

Caplis wrote me that because he and Silverman don’t “walk lock step with either political party, we cover a much broader portion of the spectrum than the typical hard-left vs. hard-right show.”

Hardly. Imagine if a local radio talk show pitted a real progressive against a guy like Caplis.

The rest.

Well, you know my fucking opinion. If the gap were any narrower, you could probably slide it in Vincent Carroll’s ass. In fact, the only difference I can discern between the two as regards foreign policy is that while Caplis would have all Muslims converted to Christianity before incineration, Silverman has a certain antipathy to proselytizing. Listening to the show is sort of like listening to Heydrich and Himmler argue logistical points.

A damn fine documentary about your favorite still professin’ Professor from the folks at Free Speech TV can be found here. (Thanks to WCSN.)

And speaking of still professin’, I somehow caught about fifteen seconds of that godawfully unfunny, self-righteous, interminably ignorant little prick Glenn Beck this afternoon. He was expressed some kind of outrage that students had invited Ward Churchill back to speak at CU on a weekly basis.

Now there’s a fucking hack I wouldn’t mind actually assaulting.

The title coming from a line at the Columbus Day protest that seemed to piss Caplis and Silverman off to no end.

You can listen to their recap of events here. Part of it’s a response to the actual protest, part of it’s a response to their interview with Russell Means and Glenn Morris I posted about here.

My favorite bits as follows.

At 1:28, when Craig Silverman goes on a tear, claiming we’re celebrating Columbus as an explorer, like an Astronaut, “who takes a risk on behalf of civilization,” but that we’re not celebrating Columbus as a “racist or a colonizer.”

Just an emissary of civilization. Who presumably brought civilization to where there was none. Right? I mean, to claim Columbus is acting on “behalf of civilization” during his exploration necessitates there ain’t already civilization in place inthe areas he explores. Or am I missing something?

And how the fuck is that not celebrating colonization again?

At 2:50, when Mr. Silverman rants about some of my favorite folks who were out, as always, protesting vigorously and offending the hell out of all squeamish liberals on one hand, as well as, and much more importantly, the opposing side.

Leading one to wonder why said squeamish liberals were so upset. I witnessed a couple of fashionable-activist types dressing them down for their, er, racist language. (One of them was shouting “go home, wetbacks” at the parade-goers, which I thought was hysterical.)

I submit that if you wanna make life uncomfortable for those in the parade, you’ve gotta hit ‘em where they live. The parade ends when it gets so uncomfortable for the city and the parade-goers that they’d rather end it than deal with the protests. This ain’t a fucking bridge party.

Besides which, I’m of the opinion that anything done to piss off Caplis and Silverman is self-validating.

At 7:45, when Mr. Silverman claims there were anarchists in the crowd. Anarchists! And, they were sizing up the Denver police response for the Democratic National Convention!

Furthermore, Mr. Caplis would have us know that they’re just losers. Oh, and Russell Means and Glenn Morris are losers too. Wallowing in past offenses and all that. (This just before Dan Caplis begs them to come back on. Regularly.)

Speaking of which, is there anything quite as grotesque as a couple of ambulance chasing lawyers cum radio shock-jocks maligning others for not doing enough with their lives? Given their role in the world, their greatest contribution would come with their downing a quart of Drano.

At 10:05, when a blind protester who was arrested calls in to relate his story. Including that the cop who arrested him refused to give him his name or badge number. Not that he should feel singled out; word has it that many of the cops were wearing tape over their badges to conceal that information.

At 17:47, when Mr. Silverman continues to voice his outrage over the profanity used at the event.

At 31:45, when Dan Caplis trots out one of his favorite balf-faced lies: that Russell Means, Glen Morris, and Ward Churchill were expelled from the National American Indian Movement.

Yeah, Dan Caplis is a liar. I’ll try to keep from tearing my hair out in shock and outrage if you do the same.

Update: Craig Silverman was outraged. He wants you to know his outrage. He will not abide profanity.

Child molesters, sure.

But not profanity.

Fucking hypocrite.

Update II: And since we’re on about fucking hypocrites, we really don’t wanna forget Dan Caplis.

Audio of KHOW shock-jock shitbirds Dan Caplis and Craig Silverman whining — or in Silverman’s case, honking — about the ACLU’s letter urging CU not to fire Ward Churchill can be found here. 

The Churchill stuff starts around 16:20, though I highly recommend you listen to the first part, wherein Dan Caplis waxes courageous about what he would do were he to witness a parent beating their child. 

Of course, given the evidence of his own checkered past, I’m a little skeptical.

On Tom Tancredo’s dipshit presidential bid.  As usual when one of our local pundits or politicians shows their ass nationally, it’s really funny, until you remember, shit, I live here.

If there’s any reality competition that should be capturing the nation’s viewing attention, it’s the burgeoning field of 2008 presidential contenders. On the Democratic side, there’s sex (Clinton!), youth (Obama!), medical drama (Edwards!), and intrigue (who’s Chris Dodd?!).

But while the Democrats are interesting, it’s the Republican field that has me excited. In addition to an angry war veteran, weight-loss Dr. Phil-wannabe, and a cross-dressing mayor, the real star may just be a shoot-from-the-hip Coloradoan who combines Archie Bunker charm with Mel Gibsonesque sensibility.

This past Monday, Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado) formally announced he’s running for the Republican nomination for president. Here’s a look at the man who just may capture the minds — and votes! — of Americans in ‘08:

The Dreamer. What Tancredo lacks in foreign policy decorum, he makes up for in crazy ideas and shoot-for-the-Mecca moxie. Congressman Tancredo first jumped into the spotlight in the summer of 2005 when he appeared on an Orlando radio program and surmised that the best way to respond to an attack against America is to bomb Mecca. The “Bomb Mecca” lobby in Washington was ecstatic, but foreign policy wonks and state department officials were less so, especially after “US Congressman Proposes Bombing Mecca” headlines appeared in Arab newspapers. Tancredo later said he was “just throwing out some ideas.”

The Hypocrite. Tancredo is often labeled a single-issue candidate — something he doesn’t deny — for his constant fight against illegal immigration. In 1999, he founded the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, and since has dedicated the majority of his legislation fighting for stricter border control and stiffer penalties for companies that employ illegal aliens. But in a Law and Order twist, Tancredo himself had illegals work in his home. A 2002 Denver Post investigation found at least two illegal immigrants from Latin America helped install a home entertainment system in Tancredo’s Colorado home.

The Racist. Noted social scientist and Broadway play “Avenue Q” made the following observation about Americans: “Everyone’s a little bit racist / Sometimes.” If correct, Tancredo may have stumbled onto a political goldmine of votes. Back in September, Tancredo gave an anti-immigration speech to the League of the South, a white supremacy and secessionist group. During the talk, Tancredo also joined in a singing of the confederate song, “Dixie,” in a room with Confederate flags and a picture of Robert E. Lee.

And he’s also good with Hispanics, ladies! Just two months after his Confederate talk, and watching Scarface on his Hispanic-installed home entertainment system, Tancredo caused a stir when he referred to the city of Miami as a “Third World country” that’s trying to “create the illusion” of a “multiethnic ‘All American’ city”.” After Hispanics protested the Congressman’s comments, Tancredo fired back that there’s little difference between Cuba and Miami when it comes to free speech.

Yet for all his far-right posturing and propensity to propel himself into the media spotlight, it appears unlikely that Tancredo will be America’s Jean-Marie Le Pen and receive his party’s nomination in 2008. Polling shows Tancredo strong with the white racist vote, but doing poorly among the more influential “let’s try to win” block.

Keep reading.

I’d only add that it’s never wise to underestimate the “white racist vote.”  Especially in Colorado, where said demographic has their own radio station and newspaper.

Vincent Carroll’s pissed off at the Cherry Creek school district. Seems they’ve been reading his mail.

Caplis and Silverman’s too.