Delusions at Dawn

I think "dummy" is putting it mildly in the case of Michael Haskins, the inarticulate WBAI morning fixture. They all sound as if they are trying to convince themselves that WBAI is a great station and that it will survive.

The fact is that you cannot tell listeners that what you are broadcasting is not for them and then expect them to not only stick around, but also pay for the crap you are offering. How dense are these "community" fools? Listen to Haskins' desperate pitch, made just before he left on a week's vacation. Is this racism, or not? Is he an imbecile, or not? And bear in mind, his is only one voice in this chorus of dummies.

As the seemingly permanent fund drive continues along its unscheduled path, turning listeners even more against the likes of Gary Null, Natalie, "Dr." Gwen Scott, The Amine (now Iodine) Sisters, and the racist speakers du jour, there no longer remains a light at the end of the tunnel. We are still not given any real figures as to how bad the financial crisis is, but what little we hear of via rumors paint a a picture of gloom and doom. Even R. Paul's WBAI Treasurer's Report, which he said he would post this morning, has not appeared.

It's all falling apart. Reggie Johnson arrived late yesterday morning, so the station was unmanned as one infomercial ended and 10 to 15 minutes of dead air followed. Then he suddenly showed up, out of breath and confused. Here's another instance of his confusion from this morning—imagine this sort of thing if there were any intelligent listeners left! I wonder what Null thought.

Of course, the word from Reimers' wastebasket tells us otherwise, but the mere fact that the begging continues supports a calamitous reality. In the meantime, it's mismanagement as usual, so they prepare for another election of LSB members. History veritably hollers for an abandonment of the current system, which wastes a good amount of money on elections and traditionally puts in place a voting majority of bumbling bozos. 

If you go here, you will find the list of candidates, so far, and their individual statements of desires and intents. It is quite disingenuous and depressing. Note, for example, that Kathy Davis thinks she can contribute to WBAI's welfare with her presence on the Board—was there ever a time when you heard her say anything that made sense? And how about Frank Lefever, a perpetual candidate with years of submitting naïve ideas, a huge ego, and an inability to owe up to his own shortcomings, such as being instrumental in the selection and hiring of Berthold Reimers. He used to brag about opening the door for Reimers, but you won't find that effort listed among Lefever's alleged accomplishments as he seeks another election to the LSB.

Here are six valid points made by Tex, a BlueBoard poster, after reading the statements made by this crop of LSB hopefuls:

1) Not one candidate addressed the root cause of Pacifica's dire financial situation: Declining listener support because the message is no longer relevant and the programming sucks.

2) The staff candidates think the problem lies with management and are blind to the fact that they are the ones producing an irrelevant message and programming that sucks.

3) Most do not care about the health of the Foundation as much as they care about promoting their particular faction's agenda and slate of candidates.

4) Only one single candidate has put forth a proposal which remotely accomplishes the goals outlined in the Pacifica Mission Statement.

5) Quite a few candidates are members of other "activist" organizations and it seems they are running for the sole purpose of promoting the goals of these groups.

6) Most of the listener candidates are from the JUC. The foundation is truly fucked if these are the only people willing to run for the LSB.

Looks like another bumper crop of cluelessness.

I think Tex's evaluation is shared by more people than WBAI has left in its audience.