On WEEI, It’s S-Bombs Away!

During yesterday’s Dennis & Callahan Show on WEEI, Curt Schilling got a bit heated when talking about Dice-K’s recent finger-pointing.

Here’s the exclusive exchange:

Please don’t tell the FCC about this, okay?

Moving On: T-Day Is Upon Us

OK, they’ve had their beers, so let’s begin to move on, can we?

And that brings us to Topic A: T-Day in Massachusetts, which begins tomorrow and features a 25% sales tax increase, in addition to an especially onerous new 6.25% tax on alcohol sales at package stores.

As Howie Carr points out in today’s column, there was already an excise tax built into the price, so this represents a tax on top of a tax. I believe very few Massachusetts residents understand this, it’s time to get the word out.

No wonder store owners have already launched an effort to repeal the new 6.25% sales tax on top of the excise tax.

While Carr blames Deval Patrick, I believe in spreading the blame across Beacon Hill. Senate President Therese Murray was quick to impose huge tax increases without any attempt at spending reform and her corrupt cohorts instantly fell into line. Stuffing ca$h into undergarments remains the highest priority there.

Last night, I visited a nearby packy to make some pre-tax purchases and had an interesting conversation with the clerk, who told me they were expecting record crowds today. Extra staff had been added and stock was beefed up overnight to make sure they didn’t run out of key items during today’s anticipated mayhem.

After today, the motivation to purchase beer, wine and spirits in New Hampshire and Rhode Island will be greater than ever for fed-up Massachusetts taxpayers. Expect widespread evasion, which will hurt Bay State business owners and undermine rosy revenue projections for Beacon Hill’s Corruptocrats.

Patrick image: Boston Herald

EQ: Coverage Of 911 Tapes Frustrates Sharpton

Al Sharpton isn’t happy with the way the Gates 911 tape release has been covered. See why at the Radio Equalizer.

Not Over Yet

Just when it appeared the Gates story was ready to disappear from the news cycle, a new development has created fresh headlines. When phoning the police, Lucia Whalen is adamant that race was never a factor, to the point where it was never even mentioned.

Whalen’s safety is still of concern, as there are certainly a few nutcases out there suggesting “repercussions” for her brazen act of snitchin’.

As for talk hosts who are suggesting the Gates flap has been used as a distraction from other issues such as Obamacare, Sotomayor and huge tax increases taking effect next week in Massachusetts, this week will provide the true test.

At a nearby packy, there are signs on every aisle comparing today’s prices with the post-August 1 rates, which will be 6.25% higher. I fully expect the shelves to be stripped bare by Friday evening.

Between television, radio and newspaper ads, plus signs inside stores, don’t believe for a moment the public isn’t concerned about these price increases.

EQ: The Stop Snitchin’ View On Gates’ Neighbor

While we’re at it, why isn’t the neighbor who phoned Cambridge Police facing ‘repercussions’ for her racist crime against humanity?

It’s new over at EQ.

WRKO Duped By Sgt Crowley Impersonator?

Have a listener reporting that WRKO has been duped into giving an on-air “interview” with a fake Sgt James Crowley. If true, it’s disturbing, but these things do happen.

At least Howie’s fill-in hosts are all over the topic, unlike Vay Cay, who continues to wander into different subject areas.

This is Talk Radio 101: play the hits. Gates-gate is a number one hit record. Listeners want to hear it.

Day Two: Gates Brings On The Thuggery

By now, one thing is clear: Henry Louis Gates may be a “renowned scholar”, but when push comes to shove, he’s little more than a thuggish punk. Using his ethnic background as a weapon against anyone in his way, it’s no wonder Al Sharpton has emerged as Henry’s chief defender.

But the local and national media’s antics have clearly been just as disgraceful, especially the Boston Globe’s strange attempts to suppress the Cambridge Police report (which is found elsewhere in its entirety).

Is that because the report might lead some to conclude that Gates behaved in a downright childish manner? This photo isn’t exactly flattering, either.

And the Boston Herald is currently featuring this slanted AP “analysis” piece, which frankly degrades a publication that ought to know better:

It took less than a day for the arrest of Henry Louis Gates to become racial lore. When one of America’s most prominent black intellectuals winds up in handcuffs, it’s not just another episode of profiling — it’s a signpost on the nation’s bumpy road to equality.

The news was parsed and Tweeted, rued and debated. This was, after all Henry “Skip” Gates: Summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale. MacArthur “genius grant” recipient. Acclaimed historian and PBS documentarian. One of Time magazine’s “25 Most Influential Americans” in 1997. Holder of 50 honorary degrees.

If this man can be taken away by police officers from the porch of his own home, what does it say about the treatment that average blacks can expect in 2009?

As for local talk radio, without Howie Carr, it was a bit of a mess today. I’ll give WRKO’s Col Hunt credit for developing the topic, but he’s too scatterbrained to make sustained, coherent points. Nonetheless, I did listen to quite a bit of the conversation.

Over at troubled WTKK-FM, despite repeated attempts, I never did manage to catch Jay Severin addressing the issue. Did I miss it?

It was THE topic today, Jay should NOT have spent much time on secondary matters during commute hour. It’s a fresh reminder of why WTKK is trailing behind so many other stations in the market.

I’ll be covering talk radio’s reaction to the Gates arrest at the Radio Equalizer later, watch for it.

UPDATE: More at Hub Politics.

Another Reason I Won’t Miss The Globies

Are The Globies capable of covering the arrest of a key establishment figure without inserting their own editorial?

No.

Today’s story of the arrest of Harvard’s Henry Louis Gates Jr is so slanted that the Cambridge Police Department has essentially been tried and convicted of racial profiling even before we have a clear understanding of exactly what occurred at his home:

The arrest of such a prominent scholar under what some described as dubious circumstances shook some members of the black Harvard community.

“He and I both raised the question of if he had been a white professor, whether this kind of thing would have happened to him, that they arrested him without any corroborating evidence,” said S. Allen Counter, a Harvard Medical School professor who spoke with Gates about the incident Friday. “I am deeply concerned about the way he was treated, and called him to express my deepest sadness and sympathy.”

Counter, who had called Gates from the Nobel Institute in Sweden, where Counter is on sabbatical, said that Gates was “shaken” and “horrified” by his arrest.

Counter has faced a similar situation himself. The well-known neuroscience professor, who is also black, was stopped by two Harvard police officers in 2004 after being mistaken for a robbery suspect as he crossed Harvard Yard. They threatened to arrest him when he could not produce identification.

“This is very disturbing that this could happen to anyone, and not just to a person of such distinction,” Counter said. “He was just shocked that this had happened, at 12:44 in the afternoon, in broad daylight. It brings up the question of whether black males are being targeted by Cambridge police for harassment.”

Cambridge police would not comment on the arrest, citing an investigation into the incident by Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. A spokesman for Leone said Gates is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 26 and said the office could not provide details on the arrest until that time.

Friends said Gates is being represented by Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree, who has taken on previous cases with racial implications.

Who says there are racial implications?

At this point, few details on what occurred have been provided, yet the paper is already ready to point fingers at the police. Call it Shoddy Journalism 101.

WRKO Mornings: Reserved For Hacks?

Is there some kind of rule at WRKO that morning drive is the exclusive domain of Beacon Hill hacks?

Even when The Felon is away, there’s a substitute hack ready for action:

State Treasurer Tim Cahill – who’s been eying a run for governor as an independent – co-hosted the Finneran’s Forum show on WRKO Tuesday morning while former House Speaker Tom Finneran was on vacation.

When asked about the state budget, the Quincy resident and former Democrat was none too complimentary of the way his potential campaign opponent, Gov. Deval Patrick, and the Legislature is dealing with the state’s financial woes.

He accused lawmakers of being too soft and said they are easily led by each new wave of protesters to hit Beacon Hill.

“When we try to cut something, the building gets swarmed,” Cahill said. “It’s like a war zone up there … and they bring the wheelchairs. I’m surprised the (zoo) animals aren’t up there.”

Cahill was referring, of course, to the recent controversy over proposed cuts to the Stone and Franklin Park Zoos. Wonder if the fine folks at Zoo New England ever thought of that? Bring a few ornery lions or tigers up there and see how the politicians react.

Say what you want if you believe Cahill is slightly less hack-y than the others, but there is a level of independence from the ruling class needed in talk radio and Entercom continues to miss that crucial point. More significant is the fact that Cahill is almost certain to run for governor.

NEW BOSTON RATINGS: WBZ Drops, WRKO Rises, WTKK Doomed

A fresh release of monthly PPM ratings (the electronic system opposed by Obama and other pandering politicians) has brought tears to WBZ, cheers at WRKO and more frustration for struggling WTKK-FM.

These figures are for June:

— Now firmly out of first place, perhaps for good, WBZ is well more than a share behind first-place finisher WXKS-FM in the overall 6-and-older listener demographic. WBZ scored a 6.2 versus 7.7 for WXKS.

It remains the top Hub news talk station in both share and actual listeners: 812,000. That’s down from May’s 876,900, however.

— Possibly boosted by Sox games, WRKO tied for fourth overall with Greater Media’s increasingly popular Country WKLB-FM (that’s right, country music is number four in Boston).

WRKO’s 5.6 share translated to 657,100 listeners, up from 596,400 in May.

— Sports WEEI continues to suffer after most of the games were moved to WRKO a few years ago. This month, it was particularly brutal: a 5.1 to 4.4 share drop and 644,200 to 557,000 in the live body count.

Coupled with new FM competition from CBS debuting just weeks from now, Entercom’s traditional cash cow is running out of milk.

— Stuck in 14th place is sad-sack talker WTKK, with identical results from May: a 3.3 share and 395,000 listeners. I’m guessing the excuse remains Severin’s temporary absence, but Greater Media needs to do some serious soul-searching regarding WTKK’s troubled lineup and failed approach to talk radio.

When an automated FM music station (Mike FM) is scoring substantially higher ratings for the price of a hard drive, something is terribly wrong.

We can talk about this until we’re blue in the face, but most likely stubbornness remains the order of the day.