Ozzie and Harriet Take a Hard Left, Towards The Center
Anybody who is over a hundred years old, and as bewildered as I am about why a cover for “The New Yorker” has caused a controversy among Barack Obama supporters and even evades a decent comment from Obama himself, might get a kick out of this post. This cover, which portrays Obama dressed in Muslim clothing and has his wife dressed in enemy combatant gear giving each other a fist bump, next to a fireplace with an American flag burning in it, should have invoked a laugh from anybody that wasn’t being ridiculed by it. The Republicans are doing everything they can to portray Obama as a radical leftist, even if they have to lie themselves blue doing it.
There is one talk show host who is such a passionate enemy of today’s republicans, you would think the panoramic landscape of right wing radio liars would do anything to expose his livid rants against all religions, all republicans and all media. Personally, I love the guy! I attribute any sense of sanity I have today to his dead-on observations about society and current events. Mike Malloy has lost two jobs since I started listening about six years ago, and I haven’t missed an episode since. Why don’t they drag this guy through the mud of the, so called, main stream media?
He terrifies them!
Anybody whose reality has been turned upside down by the constant lies beamed over Americas public airwaves from coast to coast may be tempted to turn him off immediately, but before they do, they are going to hear something they haven’t heard before. Not just an opinion, but an opinion based on the truth! Mike used to write for CNN, but can’t be swayed to lie for money. His highest profile job was with the Air America network, which started out as a response to the unfettered right wing propaganda, but has been compromised by monied interests over the years. Mike and his wife, singlehandedly, do a better job then CNN of bringing the issues that are most important forward. Fellow exiled Air America host, Randi Rhodes can now be heard along with Mike on an upstart station called Nova M Radio, which was started by the original creator of Air America. The station can be heard for free on the internet, or downloads of the shows can be purchased for about $100 a year. Much cheaper then therapy!
I usually download the program onto my podcaster and take a walk while listening. I sometimes miss things when I’m distracted, but yesterday I caught something a caller said that made me rewind the player to make sure I hadn’t heard something wrong. This caller couldn’t understand how anybody could have missed the intention of the New Yorker cover either, but the identity of the caller and his current views were a pleasant surprise to somebody my age.
Here’s part of the conversation.
Yes, It’s true, the one remaining original Nelson family member from “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” television show, that ran for 14 years, starting in 1952, is giving a voice, on the only progressive radio station in Dallas, Texas, to the most feared left wing radio talk show host in America; A man who refers to Americas most powerful dynasty as “the Bush crime family.” Of course the Ozzie and Harriet show, which portrayed American life in the middle class, could never have existed without hard fought liberal policies that made America a nice place for everyone, including the wealthy, to live. It’s a good thing Joseph McCarthy didn’t know what a dangerous man David Nelson would become as he tries to steer America back towards the real center, while realizing the radicals in charge aren’t going to respond to gentle persuasion.
Mr. Nelson makes a humorous confession later on in the call after stating something that I often think about myself and my generation:
I’m old enough, I’ve been lucky all my life and I figure if I get struck by lightning or Republicans tomorrow, It’ll still be fair.
After the first 150 miles of my Impeach Bush effort here in Salt Lake, which happened a week after the Iraq war started, five years ago, I summoned up the courage to call Mike and say thanks. I also wanted to defend the people in my home town who weren’t fooled by Bush’s lies. My call to Malloy
Here’s a post I did last year with one of Mike’s great rants.
July 17th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Nice post Larry. In one fell swoop, you’ve destroyed the illusion that supports the entire conservative hook.
An America with an Ozzie and Harriet on every block, never really existed. What DID exist at the time was the struggle for labor rights and civil rights, the GI Bill, the highways project, and thanks to all of that, the mass upward mobilization which created a middle class.
Today’s conservative movement is nothing more than, “Now that I got mine, I don’t care about anybody else” or “My Dad did it all by himself so why can’t ‘they”?”
July 17th, 2008 at 8:19 am
[...] [Read original] Tags: adventures, American Flag, Barack Obama, Barack Obama Supporters, Best Friend, Controversy, Enemy Combatant, Fireplace, Fist, Hundred Years, Laugh, Muslim Clothing, New Yorker, Ozzie And Harriet, Republicans, Socializer [...]
July 17th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Excellent! Excellent! Enjoyed hearing Dave Nelson. I personally think the New Yorker cover, though it might be misinterpreted, has served to draw attention to the misinformation campaigns, and has done as much to inform rather than further mislead the American public.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Speaking of the New Yorker cover, Juan Cole points out that “it is typical of the atmosphere in America today that the New Yorker cover caricaturing the Obamas is called offensive by the Obama campaign but virtually no one is talking about how demeaning it is of American Muslims.”
July 17th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I was lucky to come up directed by sometimes as many as five sets of parents,(only two of whom were the Nelsons). It was the Nelson who said it was OK to be into rock and roll. For that, I thank them and resonate with David Nelson. They were never wingnuts as we now conceive of republicans, so it’s little wonder that the offspring , their spawn as it were, seem to be beyond the crap the pubs are spewing.
I’m glad you’re still here, even though It took a rather intense four week working vacation in the northern Wisconsin woods to drag my addicted ass off this crack-den of an internet bloguphoria.
I enjoy piping in now and again and will continue to do so, but any promise of humor or even sensibility must now be disclamed. Bush bashing is history and the conflation of Obama and salvation, McCain with smarts is almost too scary to envision. None the less I’ll comment now and again.
Thanks. Good Job Lar’.
July 17th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
cav:
Good to see you ride back into town! The Ponderosa has been in upheaval since you were away. Now that the adults are back, we can wander off into the sunset.
Glad some of you old farts liked the post!
It’s funny, while I was researching the post I found myself wondering why I didn’t have any idea what Ozzie’s character did for a living on the show. I ran across a sentence at the official Ozzie and Harriet site which said he always seemed to be just hanging around the house. That’s what I remember too.
For that matter, I can’t remember what any of the other sitcom fathers did for a living either except for Rob Petrie.
Hope they weren’t on welfare!
July 17th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Cliff said:
Yeah, or “tic toc, game is locked and nobody else can play.”
July 17th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I’m appalled by the brouhaha over that wonderful New Yorker cover. I’m disgusted with Obama for not just laughing and saying, “That’s great! Really funny.”
Get me out of here.
July 17th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Hey, 99!
Thanks for stopping by Red State! You have no idea how much help we need here!
It really is frustrating, isn’t it. Obama must be getting his talking points from Bob Shrum. It’s starting to look like the Kerry campaign. Why can’t Democrats stand up for themselves so we can stop fighting each other and focus on the enemy!
Lots of interesting pictures on your site! I’m hoping to get broadband tomorrow for the first time, so I’ll have to check it out!
Love the fish shooting from the barrel! Classic! That has to be Gary Larson!
July 19th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Oops! I hate to change posts after they’re done, but I had to include one more word in a sentence for this post. I had to change this:
To this:
Apparently, Obama made a very disconnected comment about the New York Times cover, saying it was offensive to Muslims. I know republicans these days can’t tell up from down, but come on Obama!