Quotes & amp;amp; Notes

by Inlander Staff


Franken in Spokane -- It was such a big deal when the Air America radio network went live on the airwaves back in early 2004. Perhaps liberal talk show blowhards like Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo could out-talk conservative blowhards like Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh, and the talk radio universe would finally reach some kind of political equilibrium.


But what have you heard from Air America lately? Not much. You could have, though. Because while pretty much everyone in the local media (ourselves included) was napping, Clear Channel bought Spokane's 1280 frequency on the AM dial, dropped the crusty oldies format, and has been blasting the Inland Northwest with 24-hour liberal radio histrionics for three months. That O'Reilly beat the Ward Churchill/EWU debacle into a pulp, while not a peep was heard from Franken and his ilk, suggests that Air America hasn't quite found that equilibrium yet.





Already Racing Ahead -- They say that members of Congress are always running for reelection, and it appears that Cathy McMorris got the message.


"My Republican colleagues tell me that I must raise nearly $2,000 a day between now and Election Day [2006] if I am to have the opportunity to continue to serve you," McMorris wrote in a Feb. 21 letter soliciting campaign contributions. "So please sit down right now before you forget, take out your checkbook, write me a personal check..."


McMorris beat the best Democratic candidate since Tom Foley without breaking a sweat, but she wants the 5th district to pony up nearly $1.5 million for her reelection? Does she think Harry Truman is going to rise from the dead to challenge her? If you share her insecurity, her letter points out that she also takes credit cards.





At Least He's Honest -- "The jobs I'm being asked to do, the five hats that I wear, are too much for this mortal."


So said new CIA Director Porter Goss last week. He went on to offer this meditation on the War on Terror. "My job is winning the war on terror. I've got trouble with 'winning.' I've got trouble with 'war.' I've got trouble with 'terror.' We have to be very careful with how we use our words."


You might recall that John Kerry said the same thing during the campaign, and Dick Cheney went ballistic, saying Kerry's comments raised "ample doubts about his judgment." So far, the veep hasn't come down on Goss.


Last year, the former CIA agent told filmmaker Michael Moore that "I couldn't get a job with CIA today," Goss said. "I am not qualified."





Publication date: 03/10/04