Is Troy King Gay? Um.... I don't discuss rumors...

When I was attempting to scheduled my interview with Alabama's Attorney General Troy King for Thursday I knew that they would be hesitant to come on a unpredictable program like mine. When they said yes, they tried to get a grip on whether there was one topic of conversation or many different topics. This is what I wrote:

We talk issues on my show. I have never laid out what is on or off limits. I will be respectful and because of the time constraints there will be no phone calls.

After they agreed to that, I knew, and they had to know, I was going to ask him whether or not the many rumors surrounding him, implying infidelity and homosexuality, were true. When I asked AG Troy King if any of the rumors floating around the blogs were true I expected him to come straight out and deny the rumors and say some variation of the following:

"That is ridiculous"
"That is untrue"
"Those are lies"
"I am not gay"
"Anyone who believes that is an idiot"

I expected this interview to kill the rumors. I knew the same blogs where this has been spread were aware he was coming on and would have their listening ears on and I expected them to call BS on his denial.

INSTEAD what I got was:

"All I can tell you is... ... ... I have lots of things to do and one of them is to not to discuss rumors."

Wow! How much time does "not discussing rumors" take up in an average day?

Why not just deny it?

I am not gay here is how the conversation with me would have went:

Q: There are some rumors floating around that you are gay, Dale are you gay?
A: No, I am not gay, those rumors are false.

Lets just say his non-answer answer really makes me wonder. Why not just clear the air?

Here is the interview.

Attorney General Troy King's letter to Governor Bob Riley on the Thomas Arthur case...

With Troy King scheduled for an 8AM interview I thought I would share with you a letter written by the AG to Gov. Riley arguing against the stay in the execution of Thomas Arthur.

Download the letter here.

Troy King on "The Dale Jackson Show" Tomorrow at 8AM...

Statewide Exclusive

With tomorrow's scheduled stayed execution of convicted murderer Thomas Arthur sparking debate regarding DNA testing in the State of Alabama, a man at the center of the controversy, Attorney General Troy King, will be on "The Dale Jackson Show." Tune in to News Talk 770AM/92.5FM WVNN at 8AM on Thursday to hear King discuss this case and the controversy surrounding it.

DO NOT miss a minute of this interview.

Listen live here.

Hello and Thanks.

First of all, I'd like to thank Dale Jackson for having the wherewithal to start an Alabama talkers blog and, most importantly, for choosing a blog template with spell check. Regardless of what Talk radio folk want you to believe, we aren't good at everything. I happen to excel at a most endeavors. My spelling, however, sucks.

Secondly, thanks for inviting me to participate. For those unfamiliar with my show in Birmingham (Alabama) at WAPI 1070 AM please check out my profile and email at will. (matt@murphyshow.com) You'll find I'm not only the best, but also the most humble talk show host in the state. I'd be happy to further any discussion (blog or on air) at my leisure.

Finally, and sincerely, I'd like to thank all of you who believe in the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution who make talk radio possible. I fundamentally believe forums like talk radio and blogs such as this one will keep the concept of individual freedom, liberty and the ability to strongly (and sometimes angrily) disagree alive in America -- alive during a time that many lawmakers and citizens would like to snatch those freedoms away (i.e. fairness doctrine, "hate" speech et. al.)

I hope to write/blog on a daily basis...so every other day is almost a guarantee. I can't imagine who would want to read it. Of course, I also can't imagine why anyone would want to listen to some loud-mouthed self-centered ass on the radio...but enough about Dale Jackson. (I kid because i love)

Thanks again. Back soon. TTFN.

Talk Radio makes you murder people...

At least that is what some left wing nut jobs will try to tell you today. Here is the proof in their opinion: (emphasis is from Left in Alabama)

Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell home of a man who said he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country," court records show.

...

Adkisson targeted the church, Still wrote in the document obtained by WBIR-TV, Channel 10, "because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid of media outlets."

Adkisson told Still that "he could not get to the leaders of the liberal movement that he would then target those that had voted them in to office."

...

Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly.

And this is what they took out of this article:

As conservatives are fond of saying, actions have consequences and so do words. Those who spew hate for a living should bear some responsibility when an unbalanced individual takes their words to heart and embarks on a killing spree. I don't listen to Savage or O'Reilly and missed Hannity today -- have these guys expressed any remorse yet?

In my experience, the stuff the hate talkers say on the air is typically worse than what's in their books. I wonder what this man's radio dial was set to? Bet it wasn't soft rock.

I would like to know exactly what Hannity, Savage and O'Reilly said to motivate and justify this attack. I asked as much on their website:

What exactly do they say in their book that is "worse" than what they say on the air? What did they say that led to this?

I am not holding my breath for a real answer.

I loved "Fahrenheit 9/11" and I can not wait for "W."

Oh man, this is gonna be the greatest movie of all time. Here is the trailer for Oliver Stone's "W."

Hell. Yes.

Allegedly, Stone is promising to be fair.

Stone, an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq, told the trade publication he's not looking to make an anti-Bush polemic. He said he wants "a fair, true portrait of the man. How did Bush go from being an alcoholic bum to the most powerful figure in the world?" … Stone told Daily Variety that "Bush" is "a behind-the-scenes approach, similar to 'Nixon,' to give a sense of what it's like to be in his skin." It will "contain surprises for Bush supporters and his detractors," he said.

Sure, and JFK was accurate.

I can not wait to watch the absolute orgasm of political BS that will flow from all sides on this one. Here is a preview from the AOL Video page for this trailer.

From the right:

Jeremiah0477

08:40 PMJul 29 2008

Hey you liberal minded ass clowns.......yeah, report me, get a life. Can't you handle the fact he won......YES, WON THE ELECTION IN 2000 & 2004. Can't you handle the fact your socialist swine Obama is going to lose this election to a moderate. You libs make me sick.......all you know how to do is lie and cheat. Get a life, care for your country or get the hell out!!!!! W may not be perfect, and he has made mistakes, but at least he's a citizen unlike that muslim you just elected to the democratic party........ohhhhhh, that hasn't come out yet through the liberal media. Better find another loser to try to stop the Republican Train!!!!!

"If you don't like it, you can git out!!!"

From the left:

G2gd9

09:01 PMJul 29 2008

Jesus, look at the state the US in and you morons are STILL defending him. It now costs $15 for a buttered roll and an orange juice when you go abroad thanks to this twit, the rest of the world not only hates us because of him, but they also OWN US LITERALLY. . . when will you wake up? When there is foriegn troops on our soil?..............China OWNS us........This guy has been one disaster after another and yet you defend him. . . Grow the F**K UP and own your MISTAKE, no actually it is all of us that are owning it for the rest of our lives cause it will take DECADES to fix this country now.

"look at the state the US in and you morons are STILL defending him!!!"

Am I wrong to be giddy?

Wayne Parker stakes out an aggressive campaign strategy....

I've been saying for a while that in order for Wayne Parker to beat State Senator Parker Griffith it would take two things, money (duh) and the ability to drag national politics into this race.

MONEY:
As of 6/30, which was a month ago, the money issue is still a little to early to call. Griffith has $351,838 on hand and Wayne Parker only has $73,281, but he had multiple primary opponents and a runoff, while Griffith took on this hobo. The total contributions are a little closer, Griffith has raised $572,200 and Parker has raised $436,064. Again these numbers are from 6/30 and the runoff was on the 15th, so things should have ramped up.

Maybe Parker can cash in on Cheryl Baswell Guthrie's $200,000 that was "pledged."

NATIONAL POLITICS:
Can Parker Griffith connect Wayne Parker to George W. Bush and his low approval ratings? I don't think so, he won't even be definitive on whether who he is voting for in the Presidential race. This becomes harder when you realize how conservative the voters in North Alabama are.

Can Wayne Parker connect Parker Griffith to low approval ratings for the Democratic controlled Congress and Barack Obama? Well, he is trying. The head of the National Republican Congressional Committee Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04) came to campaign for Parker today and the campaign is attempting three very interesting things: (from a Wayne Parker campaign press release)

Connecting Griffith to House Democrats and Nancy Pelosi

“When it comes to the national political parties, you can’t say you’re a conservative and vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House,” stated Cole. “If you look at the Democrat leadership, it is clear that they are not committed to missile defense, they don’t believe in NASA, and they want to take jobs away from Huntsville.”

Connecting Griffith to Barack Obama

Democrat Presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, in a video taped message to Caucus for Priorities (http://www.caucus4priorities.org/) stated, “As President, I will end misguided defense policies,” and, “I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending. I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.”¹ In addition, Barack Obama’s PreK-12 Education plan calls for, “delaying the NASA Constellation Program for five years…”

These comments are especially smart considering how much this district and federal dollars in the area are focused on the activities of Research Park and Redstone Arsenal.

Discrediting the "conservative credentials" of the "Blue Dog Democrats" and Bud Cramer

And finally this tidbit which Rep. Cole also shared with me Monday morning. (listen here)

“I understand that Wayne’s opponent has been endorsed by the Blue Dog Democrats,” stated Cole. “I am surprised that he is proud to be a member of a group that votes with the Democrat Party line nearly 93% of the time,” Cole continued

This comment is meant to attack Griffith's attempted conservatism and the popularity of the big "Blue Dog" who he wants to replace, Representative Bud Cramer. Cramer is considered a pretty conservative guy and it appears Griffith wants that to rub off on him, in order to court the conservative vote that Cramer had. The key to Parker winning is to not allow that to happen.

This race could get very interesting.

UPDATE: 8/29/08 7:30AM
Parker Griffith has "responded" with a non response to the question "Will you support Nancy Pelosi?

"I don't know who the nominees will be," Griffith said. "I don't know if there will be a challenge to Nancy Pelosi or not. My comment on this is that my loyalty would be to the 5th Congressional District and its constituents. It would seem Congressman Cole doesn't have enough positive to say about my opponent if he spent so much time talking about Nancy Pelosi.

Keep in mind Bud Cramer voted for Pelosi for Speaker also.

It is amazing how that evasive answer is similar to the answer Griffith gives to the "are you voting for Barack Obama?" question.

Just answer the question Sen. Griffith.

Update: Barack Obama or John McCain? For some reason Parker Griffith doesn't know which candidate he is going to vote for...

I recently received and e-mail calling me a liar for this post in which I questioned why State Senator and Congressional candidate Parker Griffith could not throw his support behind his parties Presidential candidate, Barack Obama. Here is the email:

-----Original Message-----
From: Ryan Johnson
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2008 1:28 AM
To: Dale Jackson
Subject: You are a liar

How much did the Wayne Parker campaign pay you to lie on the public airwaves about Dr. Parker Griffith. (Dale note: I love the "Dr." reference, it reminds me of the Paultards, implying he deserves special treatment) I went and listened to your interviews with Dr. Griffith and you never even asked him about who he was voting for in November. I have have talked to him myself and he said he has never been asked that question and he is supporting Barack Obama. Quit lying and accept your candidate is going to lose.

Anonymous (Dale note: sure thing, Ryan)

First, I don't have a candidate and have repeatedly been pretty hard on Wayne Parker and all the candidates for this AL-05 seat.

Secondly, you can listen to the interview right here or just the question I asked about his vote for president here.

Third, I have requested an interview with Sen. Griffith and I will ask him again when I get him on.

Someone reading this will not read the original post so I will end this post with what I think is the most important point, yes I am quoting myself:

Griffith is actually playing this pretty smart, he is unwilling to alienate the conservative Alabama Democrats by voicing support for Barack Obama, while at the same time he is unwilling to anger an his liberal contingent by supporting John McCain. The funny thing is, and Bud Cramer learned this after almost losing to Wayne Parker in '94, you can anger the liberals in AL-05 but you can not win the district without the conservatives. Griffith knows the Barack Obama supporters will vote for him in AL-05 because they are not going to vote for Wayne Parker, so he must court the George Bush-Bud Cramer voters and convert them into John McCain-Parker Griffith voters.

Can he do that by actively supporting Barack Obama?

As if you need another reason to not watch the Olympics...

The Summer Olympics are boring. They always are, with three exceptions USA basketball, water polo and baseball. Well you can strike one of those out after this year. Baseball is done, I'm sure most of you don't know this, but baseball and softball are being cut from the Olympics after this year's games. Don't worry, archery and horse jumping are safe.

For baseball fans this may not be a bad thing, the IOC has come up with some half-cocked rules for extra-innings in order to speed up the games. Everything will be normal for 10 innings and then things get weird, at the start of the 11th the manager will get to start his lineup wherever he wants AND place two guys on base also. That means if I am a manager I stick my 1 & 2 batters on 2nd and 1st and start with my number 3 hitter followed by the heart of my order.

Sounds like fun right?

Wrong! It is ridiculous. I am no baseball purist, I like the DH, I like different rules for the AL and NL, I want the All Star Game to count and I want instant replay on home runs, but this is going to make the game a joke. The head of USA baseball is a "traditionalist" but he thinks time is a factor,

"The traditionalist in me says, 'no way,' " Seiler said. "But you know, in the Olympics, where you have [a] finite amount of time to get your program finished [and] the early game goes 15, 16, 17 innings, then what does that do? Television is affected, transportation is affected — a lot of logistical things that we don’t have to worry about on a Friday night in Durham. It’s a domino" effect.

Yeah because the 10, 11 & 15 innings are boring. Let's not work on the 3 and a half hours of crotch grabbing, helmet adjusting and needless walks to the pitchers mound, it takes to get there, let's remove the potential for extra inning drama. Because, a great game like this year's 15 inning All Star Game definitely would not show the world that baseball is a great game

I keep getting asked what my diet consists of...

Yesterday's conversation about fatties really struck a nerve. BUT, I got a few interesting calls off the air about losing weight and a few calls asking me how i did it, with one ending with a stern lecture about safety.

So is how I did it safe?

Probably not, but here is how I did it:

• Almost completely cut out sodas, fast food, snacks an I am exercising about an hour and a half everyday including 40 minutes of cardio.

• The first month: Subway diet, strictly 2 foot long subs, Ham/Turkey/Light Mayo/Lettuce/American Cheese/toasted wheat bread - Cost $12 a day.

• Second and 3rd Month: substituted the Subway diet for the home made diet 3 Ham/Turkey/Light Mayo/Lettuce/American Cheese/toasted tortilla shell - $8 a day.

• Now: Meal Replacement - basically I am drinking Carnation Instant breakfast for breakfast and dinner as well as lunch somedays, but other days I eat whatever I want - Cost $4 a day.

Turn on the TV Barack is campaigning in Europe...

I got a text today from a good friend of mine who voted for Bush last election saying, "Watch Barack speak in Berlin." Barack? Is this a mutual friend of ours? Oh, the Presidential candidate, Barack Obama. Is he still running against John? Have him and Hillary made up yet?

It's pretty interesting to talk to her this election cycle. She is a relatively conservative girl, that voted for Bush in 2004 and has really bought into the ideas of "hope" and "change" that Barack Obama is pushing this year. She went to see him speak in Miami and to hear her talk about him you would think he was one of the "Two Coreys" and she was 14 again, reading "Tiger Beat" magazine. It's as cute as it is nauseating, but the passion is real. She believes in Barack Obama.

I flipped the speech on, it was on every news channel and the first thing I asked myself was, "why is Barack Obama in Europe giving speeches and talking to dignitaries?" Did I miss something? Has he been elected President yet? Why is he giving speeches as if he is America's leader?

If I was an adviser of a Presidential candidate that clearly has problems with middle America I don't think I would be telling him to jet off to Europe and giving campaign speeches. (Transcript here)

Do the Euro's love him? Yes, of course they do, they hate President Bush and all his policies, they see Christians and middle America as a bunch of backward hillbilly rubes praying to a big wizard in the sky. These are the people that look down on America and when we elected our last President their headlines read "how could 59,064,087 people be so dumb."If I am advising Obama I send him to Berlin, Pennsylvania not Berlin, Germany. He needs to be connecting with middle Americans not people around the globe.

Look, this is a great "energizing the base moment" for Obama, his supporters will take this speech and this moment and tell us how great it is to see an American politician respected oversees, instead of being routinely mocked (see above). But, will talking about being a"citizen of the world" play with those in the middle?

No.

This is why I'm fat...

By request, here is the song I was playing on the air when we were talking about this post.

No fatty, your health is my problem...

Got a few e-mails about the the last post entitled, "Protecting fatties from themselves..." taking me to task for carrying about some other people's health. Sorry, I don't see how anyone can honestly imply that personal health is not the concern of anyone but that person is naive. All I really need to do is look at this proposed plan that will pass some of the increases in health care on to fat employees:

The State Employees Insurance Board will meet next month to consider whether extremely overweight employees — those with a Body Mass Index of 35 or more — should pay an extra $24 a month for health insurance.

Now a BMI of 35 is pretty big, at my largest of 240 lbs. and 5'9" i had a BMI of 35.9. (get yours here) I got that way by being lazy, stupid and lazy. Should fatties be responsible for the increase of health insurance or should it be passed on across the board?

I think they should pass it on to those fatties and the same thing should go for smokers and those with other risk factors. Hell charge them more for the fatness and smoking because those are intentional behaviors which can be changed. If they change their behavior, take the charge away.

We had a "health study" done here at the radio station and guess what a bunch of people who sit on their asses and talk all day were pretty fat. The next step should/will be an increase in the cost of our insurance.

If that happens, why in the world should I be responsible for the 250 lbs employees roaming the halls? Why should I share the burden of the increasing cost of their insurance each month? I took the initiative to try to drops some weight and I should be rewarded for that and not punished for my co-workers double fisting Whoppers.

I imagine the response to this issue will break down into two groups, fatties/non-fatties.

People breaking into these two groups is in no way is surprising. Unhealthy people, which I would probably still be considered, are starting to be treated as victims of circumstance or in some cases victims of "pervasive junk food advertising." These people will not take responsibility for their actions and don't think they need to, as this study from The Vitality Group indicates:

the vast majority of Americans (82 percent) believe that they alone are responsible for their health. They also agree that lifestyle choices, such as smoking and exercise, have a direct impact on their healthcare costs. Yet when asked who should pay these healthcare costs, nearly half of Americans (44 percent) believe they should not bear any part of the responsibility of paying for their healthcare.

On the contrary, the majority believe their or their spouse's employer should have some responsibility and nearly half think the government should have some responsibility (59 and 46 percent, respectively.) Only 56 percent think they should shoulder any part of the responsibility themselves.

82% say their health is their fault yet 59% think their employer should foot the bill for the increased cost of their health care on top of covering all their missed time at work, and they wonder why fewer employers are offering health insurance. Worse to me is that 46% of those surveyed want the government (me and you) to shoulder the costs of their bad behavior.

Personal responsibility is on dying in a hospital bed while eating a cheeseburger.

And for no reason here is a fat guy eating a cheeseburger...

Protecting fatties from themselves...

I always find it amusing when government tries to come in and protect an ignorant populace from themselves. Whether it's alcohol, cigarettes, or in this case fast food the reason is always the same - "WE know better."
In Alabama we have blue laws, smoking bans that are creeping their way into Huntsville and Decatur so get ready for the next step, food restrictions. New York already has "trans fat bans" and requirements for the caloric content of Big Macs to be posted on menus, while Los Angeles is working towards a ban a new restaurants is South L.A.

Why South L.A.?

In April, the county Department of Public Health released a study showing that 30% of South Los Angeles adults were obese, compared with about 21% of adults countywide. South L.A. also has the highest incidence of diabetes in the county, 11.7% compared with 8.1% for the county as a whole.

Simple question - how does this plan of limiting new restaurants address any of this? The people there are already fat, the restaurants there are already open. Wouldn't the city be better served if the knuckleheads on the city council focused on improving parks services or recreational areas instead of trying to define what constitutes a fast food joint? Of course they would, but then they would have to tell their victim-constituents that the reason that are fat loads is because they are lazy and don't care. Below is the photo of those poor people being target by "pervasive junk food advertising."
That's right, see that lady in the blue, she would be a size 6 if it wasn't for that "El Pollo Loco" or the "KFC" invading her city with tasty tacos (I assume) and "a blend of mouth-watering KFC flavors and textures all layered together. We start with our signature mashed potatoes layered with sweet kernel corn and loaded with bite-size pieces of crispy chicken. Then we top with our homestyle white pepper gravy and sprinkle with our shredded three cheese blend. For the final touch, we tuck a buttermilk biscuit in the side." Delicious. But I am sure she has no clue that eating gravy, fried chicken and a buttermilk biscuit regularly is probably not a healthy way to sustain herself. If only the government would step in and do something.

The officials trying to stop more Burger Kings and Arbys from killing their constituents cite this stat, "30% of South Los Angeles adults were obese." That stat sounds eerily familiar to this one:

Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee lead the nation when it comes to obesity, a new government survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday, with 30 percent of their residents overweight.

In Alabama we already saw a legislator try to push more PE in school, because kids are not very active, and he got smacked down. We need to become a more active society and unfortunately we are moving the other way. Teaching personal responsibility and getting kids to exercise would have been a good start. What we don't need is New York and L.A. style plans that don't work anyway.

And here for those that don't know, here is my weight loss progress over the last few months...

Starting weight - 240 lbs. (3/3/08)
Weight today - 188 lbs. (7/22/08)
Goal weight - 170lbs (1/1/09)

Update on "Troy King is gay! I read it on a blog, it has to be true..."

Turns out our blogger, Glynn Wilson, who "broke" the "Troy King is Gay!" story doesn't take to kindly to others daring to look at him. He obviously did not like that I dared to point out that he refused to talk to me about his made up "story" after I wrote about it here.

This is all I said,

Glynn Wilson has declined an interview request stating, "I'm done, unless you
found the blue dress." I find that amusing considering he was clamoring for
media attention.

Which got this brilliant response,

-----Original Message-----
From: Glynn Wilson [mailto:fast2write@charter.net]
Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 9:10 AM
To: Dale Jackson
Subject: Re:

So, I see you are a cheap shot artist and a liar and a rumor monger yourself, who can't keep a personal e-mail confidential?

Trying to capitalize on some of the traffic from people interested in lurid sex? What good Christians you are...

Now I am not sure what cheap shots I took, what lies I told or what rumors I have mongered, I asked him but he probably won't respond. But for someone who claims to have "been a reporter, writer and photographer for almost 30 years" and who "holds two degrees from the University of Alabama in journalism and communications" surely he knows that in order for something to be off the record he has to at least ask that it be off the record, right?

As for the comment about Christians, well I think you can already tell what type of human being Glynn Wilson is, and that comment just drives it home.

Barack Obama or John McCain? For some reason Parker Griffith doesn't know which candidate he is going to vote for...

Northern Alabama is a relatively conservative place. Because of that the Congressional district that covers it appears to have a very competitive race building between Wayne Parker and State Senator Parker Griffith. The question that voters will be asked is "are you comfortable sending another 'Blue Dog Democrat' to Washington?"

The current incumbent, and one of the founders of the "Blue Dogs," Bud Cramer is getting out even though he could have easily been re-elected, hell he had a ton of money in a war chest that he is still spending. Replacing Cramer is going to be hard regardless of who wins because he was powerful and he brought home the bacon when both Republicans and Democrats controlled the Washington D.C.

Parker Griffith knows that in order to get to D.C. he is going to have to play it relatively conservative. He has gone so far as to tell me on my radio program that he has no clue which Presidential candidate is going to get his vote come November, which is quite amusing coming for a Democratic candidate for a federal office.

Griffith is actually playing this pretty smart, he is unwilling to alienate the conservative Alabama Democrats by voicing support for Barack Obama, while at the same time he is unwilling to anger an his liberal contingent by supporting John McCain. The funny thing is, and Bud Cramer learned this after almost losing to Wayne Parker in '94, you can anger the liberals in AL-05 but you can not win the district without the conservatives. Griffith knows the Barack Obama supporters will vote for him in AL-05 because they are not going to vote for Wayne Parker, so he must court the George Bush-Bud Cramer voters and convert them into John McCain-Parker Griffith voters.

Can he do that by actively supporting Barack Obama?

Troy King is gay! I read it on a blog, it has to be true...

Did you hear the one about the gay Alabama's Attorney General? No of course you did not and there is a very simple reason why, there is not a shred of evidence or truth to it. BUT if you hated Troy King or some of his positions (sex toys, gay marriage, death penalty) that he has taken as AG, the mere fact that there is an allegation is good enough for you.

Let's ignore the fact that his detractors appear to all be using the same source, this blog at "The Locust Fork Journal" which based it allegation that King was to soon resign because "according to multiple sources in Montgomery and elsewhere, that King was recently caught by his wife in a gay affair with a male aide and banished from his home." The Governors office denied this story from the beginning, but that was not good enough, they wanted Troy King and his wife to hold a press conference denying this. Why? Because they wanted the mainstream media to run a story on the press conference denying the baseless rumor so they could then claim the pressure of "the truth" forced King to issue an apology. Trust me, if there was blood in the water Alabama's media would of been all over taking down a sitting Attorney General.

The fact that the AG's denial presser never happened is reason enough for left wing blogs to claim this story has legs. But the Locust Fork's Glynn Wilson was on the 7/14 edition of "The Steve and Leah Show" and news director Neil Vickers told Wilson that he had talked to the AG's office and they told him "that none of this is true." That is a denial. (click the link and listen to the audio at the 4:30 mark)

Have any of these websites reported that? No.

Did Glynn Wilson, the unbiased reporter who "broke" this story mention this exchange on his blog? No.

Why?

Because acknowledging it blows all to hell the argument that the AG's office has been silent on this story. That is not true, they commented on the 14th, and Wilson was on the phone when that conversation between Vickers and the AG's office was revealed. Now, of course, if he was to reference this interview and Vickers' comments it would be met with comments like, "what do you expect from a station that runs Rush Limbaugh" from those wanting this story to be true. In their eyes Troy King is gay and he better prove he is not. That is not how accusations work. This is flinging crap to the wall, if it sticks the blogs win, if it doesn't move on to some other made up crap.

If you want credibility, when you are proven wrong you don't walk away from it, you acknowledge it (see the post before this one). It appears some, in all forms of media, don't understand that.

Glynn Wilson has declined an interview request stating, "I'm done, unless you found the blue dress." I find that amusing considering he was clamoring for media attention.

I was wrong and Wayne Parker was right...

Every now and then even I get things wrong. This is one of those times. On Thursday morning I wrote this post about Wayne Parker's claims of out of state fundraising by Parker Griffith. But, I was wrong to be so critical because it turns out Parker was right.

Wayne Parker’s campaign issued a press release on Wednesday (text below) stating that “49% of Griffith’s campaign funds have come from outside the state of Alabama.” That is absolutely true. Here is a spreadsheet containing all of the itemized contributions Parker Griffith has received to date according to the FEC. The total amount is $556,810, of which $285,649 came from sources inside Alabama and $271,161 (49%) came from locales other than Alabama. When you include contributions from other parts of Alabama outside the 5th district his local contributions total a mere 36%. Clearly lots of people are willing to give him lots of money to get elected, but over half of them aren’t doing so because they want Griffith to represent them. (Flashpointblog.com)

Now in my defense, I have watched an already idiotic AL-05 Congressional race that has featured some nonsense all around. Including these ridiculous claims by:

• Wayne Parker claimed he did not know how much time he has spent lobbying to thwart attacks on lobbyists by his opponent.
• Cheryl Baswell Guthrie claimed in press releases that she had raised roughly $200,000 when FEC reports showed she only raised $62,000 at the time in order to make it appear she had widespread support.
• Parker Griffith has claimed that he doesn't know whether he is voting for John McCain or Barack Obama in order to court the conservative voters in the AL-05 Congressional District.

Needless to say my BS meter was already running a bit hot, but in this case I was wrong.

Wayne Parker will be on my show on NewsTalk 770AM/92.5 FM WVNN in the 7 o'clock hour on Tuesday May 22nd. You can listen on-line at WVNN.com.

Dale Jackson vs. North Alabama Media Reform: A Lesson in Insanity...

Bush, Rove and Cheney started a whisper campaign against John McCain in 2000 that said he had a black baby. We all accept this happened without question because it has been repeated numerous times. Last week I received an e-mail (I am on their e-mail list) from a nut job group of media activists known as "North Alabama Media Reform" that included this passage about about Obama's "Muslim smears:"

Today we are seeing viral anti-Obama e-mails, some of which I have traced to some of the same origin points for the 2000 and 2004 smear campaigns.

After seeing this I figured I would have a little fun and see if I could get an answer from these higly political, highly activated and connected individuals. I was wrong. Here was my e-mail sent on July 11th:

I know it has been bantered about quite a bit but has anyone ever definitively tied the whole “black baby” scenario to Bush/Cheney/Rove? Is their a recording of this robocall? Is their a copy of the flyer? Just asking cause I can’t seem to find on shred of evidence it even took place. I don’t doubt it did but this guy says….

Today we are seeing viral anti-Obama e-mails, some of which I have traced to some of the same origin points for the 2000 and 2004 smear campaigns.

Then doesn’t really make that tie to back it up. Can any of you back that statement up?

Out of all the people in this group I got 1 response and it DID NOT come from the author of the original e-mail and head whacko, Linda Haynes (telling me to "google it" is not an answer). Here are the first two lines to their answer to my question, "can you tie the 'black baby smears' to Bush/Cheney/Rove:"

I could not at the time (summer 2000) directly trace Bush/Cheney/Rove to the black baby attacks against John McCain in 2000. Of course everyone with a brain knew they were behind the attacks.

Well that clears things up.

Update - 7/18/08 4:08

Stupidly, I attempted to get an actual answer out of this group. Here is a quick run down of the conversation:

1. Got an e-mail that raised an interesting but unproven point about the famous "black baby smear" being sent by the same people sending Obama = Muslim e-mails. I'm not sure if there is a connection. But I wanted to see some sources for the Bush/Cheney/Rove connection to the "black baby smear."
2. I asked for some sources for that connection.
3. 4 days later: I was called stupid and received no answer.
4. I then explained, in this blog, there was no answer.
5. Was told to "google it"
6. Was told I was being inflammatory for asking the question, no answer
7. So, I asked the question again
8. I was called a shock jock
9. I was called a "good ol southern boy. Jerk."
10. I was called fat. (Look at the weight loss rundown to the right - I am trying to stop being fat! I have lost 50lbs in 4 months.)
11. Still have received no answer
12. Got told to go away

I find #12 the most amusing considering this group is an organization that is attempting to start a boycott of my radio station in order to pressure me to change programming from conservative to liberal, yet they don't want any other views expressed on their free yahoo listserv. I love hypocrisy.

Stupid Attacks on McCain...

Before this cartoon caused a ton of fake outrage -
This cartoon went unnoticed - Really which one of these is more offensive? A cartoon mocking Obama's ridiculous detractors, who believe he is an American-hating, Osama-loving terrorist or a cartoon mocking the torture John McCain went through in Vietnam? For my money, I have to believe the latter is much worse. The Obama cartoon was packaged with an article trashing idiots who level baseless accusation on the Democrats Messiah, while the McCain cartoon was published on June 26th at Rollingstone.com and was packaged with an article titled "Full Metal McCain" that, just to give you a taste, begins with this paragraph -

Evening, June 3rd, in a muggy, dragonfly-beswarmed place called the Pontchartrain Center, just outside New Orleans. Half a continent away, amid yet another legacy-smashing fusillade of unsolicited invective from Bill Clinton, the excruciating Obama-Hillary mess is finally wrapping up, in a pair of anticlimactic primaries somewhere over the darkened plains of Montana and South Dakota. But here in the Big Easy, John McCain has chosen this moment to mount his first general-election attack against the Great Satanic Liberal Enemy — who, as luck would have it, turns out to be a Negro intellectual from Harvard who's never served in the military. And this is supposed to be a bad year for Republicans?

The real reason I even bring this up is to talk about an interesting trend I am seeing. A trend of actual attacks on John McCain in regard to his military service. Now, contrary to popular belief, I love hearing opposing opinions, I listen to Air America (love Ed Shultz and Randi Rhodes) and and I can't believe I have been hearing the stuff about McCain that I have been hearing. So when I hear Thom Hartman asking about whether John McCain deserves his disability, then after his guest explains that of course he does and then Hartmann hedges by saying "that's why i don't bring it up" I laugh because what he just did was bring it up, without having the balls to actually bring it up.

As a talk show host, I pride myself on questioning listeners who call in with stupid crap, I feel like if I let them say "Obama is a Muslim," "Republicans are all racists" or "McCain is worse than Obama for conservatives" without questioning them or tearing them apart then I am somehow giving credence to what they say. So when on the Ed Shultz show today, with Norman Goldman was filling in, I heard a listener go on and on about how "McCain doesn't deserve his disability" and "being shot down in Vietnam doesn't make you a hero" I waited for Goldman to lay into the caller and ask "what does this have to do with his qualifications to be President." It never came. Instead Goldman, talked about a veteran who called earlier and was having trouble financially while McCain was against the new GI Bill. What does his disability have to do with the new GI Bill? Nothing, and the fact that anyone is trying to draw that line is ridiculous.

Both sides really need to stop this crap, I am all for vigorous, even nasty "attack dog politics" but they need to be grounded in relevancy and truth. Obama being a Muslim and McCain not being a hero are ridiculous non-starters and should be rejected across the board.

AL-05: So it begins...

Well, it took one day for this race to get ridiculous. One day after it was clear that the battle for Congressman Bud Cramer's open Congressional seat in North Alabama would be a Parker v. Parker affair we are already in for a bunch of nonsense. Wayne Parker has already leveled a baseless accusation, WHNT's Amber Stuart reports that Wayne Parker stated claimed that "49% of [Parker Griffith's] contributors are from out of state that makes you wonder." To bad it's not true and in fact as of the time of that statement Wayne Parker had taken more money than Parker Griffith from out of state.

What's the point here? Well, I guess Wayne Parker is trying to play on the "you ain't from around here" mentality of some voters. In my opinion that argument is a loser when it comes to AL-05, we have a large transient community including engineers and military personnel, not to mention it is incredibly stupid to say when it isn't even true.

If Wayne Parker wants to beat Parker Griffith, it should be very easy, force him to explain his positions. He is trying to play himself off as a "blue dog democrat" and in AL-05 that may work. Honestly, when I interviewed him I asked him, "why aren't you running as a Republican?" He had no good answer for that.

Advice to Wayne Parker:

• Get an answer: John McCain or Barack Obama, State Senator Parker Griffith is running for a Congressional seat as a Democrat but WOULD NOT commit to supporting the guy on the top of the ticket? Really? An answer on this could either separate him from his base,

• Attack on Illegal Immigration: He tried to paint himself as "tough on illegal immigration" going as far as calling for the end of "the illegal anchor baby citizen quagmire." His record is a bit spotty on this.

• Stop taking out of state money: If Wayne Parker is going to say Parker Griffith shouldn't be taking money from out of state then he needs to pledge not to take money from out of state also. Or just stop talking about it.