What KLSD means to me.

Rick Hall

I guess like many Southern Californians, I have spent copious amounts of my life in my car over the years. For me, that has been my favorite period to enjoy Marconi’s invention and it is a simple choice for me: If I have to choose between being put to sleep by endless repeats of music I already know (not a good idea while driving), being put into a state of depression by listening to the News (against my juvenilely optimistic nature), listen to bozos tell you what happened during a game that I would much rather have seen, or stimulate my mind by listing to ideas, there is no contest. I must listen to talk radio.

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In the days before KLSD, that meant having to choose between bad, horrible, inane, insane or just incredibly stupid. Of course I’m talking about “hosts” like ex-mayor & criminal Rodger Hedgecock, Miss “sleep her way into radio” homophobe and all-round whack job Dr. Laura, mouthpiece of right-wing neo-fascism Rush Limbaugh, local self-aggrandizing and ultimate world owner of “common sense” for the rest of us Rick Roberts, out of the closet equal opportunity hater Michael Savage, and many more…

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My heart sinks just recounting the many hours I’ve spent listening to this group spew their crap about how it is a good thing that the haves get more while the less fortunate simply don’t deserve to have anything. And if you are a poor migrant worker, homeless or a single mother on welfare, you are either the butt of the jokes or you are vilified as the cause of all that’s wrong with America, sharing the blame with Bill & Hillary Clinton, of course.

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I remember when I heard the news that Air America Radio was being formed, with the help of actor / humorist / author Al Frankin. (Al Franken’s book, "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations" is still the funniest book I have ever read) I couldn’t wait for it to be offered in San Diego. I made a decision then to support it any way I could, both as a listener and promoter, as well as a consumer of goods offered by advertisers. There was no doubt that San Diego was ready for an alternative point of view on our airwaves.

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When Clear Channel started KLSD, I remember I was first shocked that such a conservative company would even consider providing a vehicle for the likes of Al Franken and Randi Rhoads, but I came to accept the idea that above all, Clear Channel was a business and would sell their soul to the liberals if they thought they might enjoy a nice return. That is how Republicans think after all. Isn’t it? I mean Bush’s (Rove’s) barrage of push polls in the South asking folks if they might have a lesser opinion of John McCain of they knew he fathered a black child out of wedlock. They eat their own.

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So I come to accept the idea that progressive talk radio was here to stay. Everyone I knew was either a listener or a “winger”. I’ve had countless hours of conversation with friends and family about things we had heard from Randi Rhodes, Stacey Taylor, Mike Malloy, Scotter’s Rant, The Watch Dog, Jon Elliot, etc.

Sign The Petition to save KLSD

Now, we’re told, it’s over. I hope you will join me in getting 10-15 of your personal contacts to sign, with you, the petition at www.SaveKLSD.com. While you are there, they have many great ideas for saving our one progressive alternative in San Diego Radio.