This guy Johnny Wendell subbing for Stephanie Miller today is great!

[Vox_Reason]

Who is this fellow, and why have I never heard him before?! He's hitting every note and has a lot of fire.

More, please!

[shoelace414]

1. Jay Marvin filling in for Springer is running open lines

so I just switched over to this Johnny Wendell guy you recommended.

[Ganja Ninja]

2. Air America should replace Jerry Springer with him. n/t

[Mr_Spock]

3. Yeah, and that Jim Lampley guy was great subbing for Ed was great too!!

I'm finding this subbing thing a great way to showcase some of the great liberal/progressive (don't you dare criticize me for using these terms together - they do, OK!) talk show hosts around the country who are not nationally syndicated (yet :D ). Lampley gave some of the most incredibly cogent reasons why a great country MUST be liberal and, of course, that we would not have a country if it wasn't for the strength of character and forethought of liberals/progressives. I'm starting to like this subbing thing :D

I like all the subs in fact - I've heard them all and they are very refreshing - all have good strong views - the guy subbing for Springer blows him away - though I'd take Lampley any day over Springer - his ideas are so right on and expressed so cogently.

[Vox_Reason]

7. Agreed--Lampley was great subbing for Ed yesterday

I'll look forward to hearing Lampley again today.

Wendell continues to rock on the Stephanie Miller show this AM. His last segment about Dobson and his comparing Nazi concentration camp "research" with those conducting embryonic stem cell research was right on! He's telling it like it is with passion and truth. What a breath of fresh air to hear this kind of talk radio!!!

We have some great broadcast talent out there. Where were these guys 15 years ago?!?? Why did we so lazily and mistakenly cede the entire talk radio format to the fascists?!?

We have a lot of ground to make up, but with talent like these guys, we can do it--just gotta keep adding stations.

[Mr_Spock]

14. These guy have local shows, but they need to be syndicated nationally

I think they deserve it too from what I've heard - this is exciting!!!! :D

[Doctor_J]

11. It's not THE Jim Lampley, is it?

The handsome, middle-aged sportscaster?

[Mr_Spock]

13. Amazingly, it is!! He's a big-time liberal.

He was saying that many in boxing circles are liberal due to the cultural background of boxers & their trainers. I was totally taken by his very well formulated arguments about why a Democracy MUST be liberal to survive and that we will be destroyed if we do not continue on the liberal/progressive path. I TOTALLY agreed with him - we were founded by liberal thinkers and we must keep progressing to survive - stagnation leads to discontent & turning on ourselves. Funny thing about the Christian part of our founding - it was actually Jesus liberal philosophy that inspired even people like Jefferson - it was the bible that he despised and cut up to just preserve the liberal expressions of Jesus only. We are being manipulated by by a government that cares about corporate interests before human interests.

[Vox_Reason]

15. One in the same.

The legendary boxing analyst, Jim Lampley.

He started his career here in Chapel Hill at 1360 WCHL, and now he's back on their airwaves this week subbing for Ed. They have a nice promo he taped for the station mentioning that.

He had a great riff yesterday on the cowardice of sports figures not standing up for what was right because there was so much money at stake now, comparing that to the Ali was back in the day...

Lampley has a lot of cojones for standing up for principle in a business awash in tax-cut loving rich people. He is to be admired and commended.

[Doctor_J]

17. That's great news

I will add Lampleys to the very short list of white male sports pros who are dems. Even including announcers they are few and far between.

[madinmaryland]

4. I heard him yesterday,

and he was great. Hit all of the points that we have been yelling about here.

[DrJackson]

5. I like him

He referred to good old Bob as Count Novakula. I'll be using that one from now on...

[SheepyMcSheepster]

6. i've heard him off and all week

and i agree, he is fantastic, he needs to be national all the time.

[mopinko]

8. meh

i happened to catch him yesterday. he seemed like he was just ranting, and not providing any real info. it felt really stale to me.

[MurrayDelph]

10. I heard him the other week covering locally for Randi

He spends too much time speaking in Italics and em-PHASSING the wrong sylLABle.

He's not bad otherwise.

[dweller]

9. a little background on Johnny (Angel) Wendell

http://www.mikehersh.com/join_the_personal_progressive_media.shtml
http://www.bostongroupienews.com/
http://www.dirtywater.com/a2z/a/johnnyangel/
okay, this one clarifies the one above: http://www.kfi640.com/johnnywendell.html

http://www.bostongroupienews.com/ThenandNow.htm

been listening to him all week...
dp

edit: to include this snip from an interview at: http://www.kcet.org/lifeandtimes/archives/200307/20030715.php
PHILIP BRUCE>> WHAT KIND OF REACTION ARE YOU GETTING?

JOHNNY WENDELL>> IT GOES ACROSS THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM FROM ABSOLUTE ADORATION AND
HAPPINESS THAT THERE IS FINALLY A VOICE THAT REPRESENTS PEOPLE TO THE MOST INCREDIBLE, IRATE,
DEEP LOATHING YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE, WHICH IS VERY STIMULATING TO ME. WE HAD, I THINK
THREE WEEKS INTO THE SHOW ONE SATURDAY NIGHT, A GUY WHO KEPT CALLING EVERY THIRTY SECONDS
TO SCREAM AT THE PHONE ANSWERER, "YOU DAMN COMMIE. GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY. GET OUT OF MY
COUNTRY", THEN HANGING UP. I SAID, "GINA, PUT HIM ON, PUT HIM ON". SHE GOES, "I CAN'T. HE KEEPS
HANGING UP. HE KNOWS YOU WANT TO PUT HIM ON THE AIR. HE JUST WANTS TO CALL AND VENT AND
SCREAM. HE HATES YOU." I WAS LIKE, THANK GOD, FREE, FREE. I REALLY ENJOY IT. I MEAN, I LIKE
PROVOKING THAT KIND OF REACTION IN PEOPLE.

PHILIP BRUCE>> YOU DON'T NEED TO BE LOVED?

JOHNNY WENDELL>> I DON'T WANT TO BE LOVED. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN BANDS, MAN, AND I DIDN'T GET
THAT MUCH LOVE. YOU KNOW, I GOT SOME, BUT I GOT MINOR LEAGUE LOVE. I'M A MAJOR LEAGUE LOVE
AND MAJOR LEAGUE LOVE'S FLIPSIDE IS MAJOR LEAGUE HATE.

PHILIP BRUCE>> SO GETTING BACK TO THE CALLER'S QUESTION, ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN
A COMMUNIST?

JOHNNY WENDELL>> NO, I'VE NEVER BEEN A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY. IN FACT, I'VE NEVER EVEN
BEEN A MEMBER OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. I'M A REGISTERED INDEPENDENT. I HAVE BEEN A
REPUBLICAN. I HAVE --

PHILIP BRUCE>> -- BUT YOU'RE MENTIONING THEM IN THE SAME BREATH.

JOHNNY WENDELL>> THAT'S HOW THEY THINK. THEY REALLY THINK THAT A DEMOCRAT AND A COMMUNIST
IS THE SAME THING IN SOME PARTS OF MY LISTENERSHIP. THAT'S FINE. LET THEM. I MEAN, WITH PEOPLE
LIKE THAT, THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS, SO ALL I CAN DO IS BASICALLY
KICK THEM IN THE SKULL OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL THEY SCREAM UNCLE.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

12. Johnny Wendell IS good

I've listened to him before in Los Angeles. He used to be virtually the only liberal voice on local AM radio, with a show on KFI. He tends to get carried away sometimes with long rants, but he's got the passion and the knowledge, a rare combination if you look at the other regular Air America Hosts who, except perhaps for the awesome Randi Rhodes seem to either have mostly one or the other. I like it when he calls the Republicans "Der Partei Repulikanische" (another way of calling them fascists). Wendell definitely deserves a national slot on the air. He's too bright and has too many interesting takes on the issues to not get more exposure.

[Vox_Reason]

16. I laughed out loud when I first heard "Der Partei Repulikanische"

Funny, but sadly, in a very sardonic sort of way...

This is what we need! We need passionate and vociferous people who are on the air and carrying our message to millions of people, 24/7.

We can sit on boards like this and rant all we want, but the reality is that who controls the media and the message, controls the debate.

We have allowed the fascists a HUGE head start on this, and it has cost us dearly for years now. I don't think there's a more urgent priority than turning around the media situation right now.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE that there is still no equally partisan alternative to Faux Spews?!?? It simply boggles my mind.

[devilgrrl]

18. I sent him a nice thank you note today...

he posts over at smirkingchimp.com