I must not listen to talk radio!

I spent time listening to talk radio today. It is usually a mistake.

I am unabashedly conservative, Christian, and somewhat patriotic but yet I find those with which I should share a common viewpoint to be idiots and morons.

We are no longer mainstream. The best and brightest are no longer with us. I have no idea what it says about me but I will mention my personal bias right away. I like Minneapolis-Moline tractors, Triumph Motorcycles, and Studebaker cars. I have a non IBM iBook, I like Kipling, I sometimes read my Bible, I have no gun newer than 10 years, I have two reel to reel tape recorders, a couple turntables, I watch movies using a movie projector, and I collect Marx Johnny West figures, as well as Marx tin lithographed barns, metal toys, old books, and the occasional typewriter.

On that basis I feel no need to apologize for not exactly being cutting edge on the cultural curve.

Today I was listening to Lars Larson. As usual he was driving me nuts. He is such a maroon.

He was referring to the Occupy Portland twits as "dirty hippies," and talking about them crapping in the streets. When one of them called in he went off on stupid arguments about currency and banking and code violations. He never asked any questions that led anywhere. I didn't need a lecture on how banks operate. I have seen "It's a wonderful life," and I know about the Building and Loan. However, I know little more the people occupying Portland now than I did when the show started. (Other than they stole electricity from the electric car charging station-glad someone is using it,  and they didn't have a parade permit.)

I almost called in and complained but as I was starting to dial I realized that I don't think that quick and get confused easily and he would have gotten me into a stupid argument about semantics and made me look like an idiot and then congratulated himself.

How hard would it have been to just do a polite interview type conversation? I suspect the caller would have made plenty of inconsistent statements on his own. I think there are some ideas that perhaps Lars should review, who, what, where, when, why, and how, oh right-he was a TV reporter. I guess that explains a lot.

Some totally basic sample questions:
Who are you and how did you get involved in the Occupy movement? Tell us your unemployment story? (and then don't comment on how lazy the guy is-just let his statements stand)
What are your goals and what are your complaints? (so he doesn't really know or have anything-just let it stand on his own, don't point out the obvious!)
What do you want that is different from the Tea Party protesters?
Who are the people you look up to?
If you have this loose organizational structure and as you say your are people getting together but have many ideas, how do expect to articulate your ideas and find goals to accomplish?
Who decided to occupy Portland?
Why do you not get the proper permits?
Why do you think the cops are not beating the crap out of you like they did the WTO demonstrators?
How do you feel about the opposition to the Tea Party in Portland and their problems with the police and do you see a double standard when you have so much in common?

This should get a good discussion going and then you can go on from there asking perhaps more leading questions and getting some real information.

Then if you want to annoy the guy you can throw in some polite questions that will get him going:
Are you really crapping in the street?
When did you take a bath and are you a hippy?
Should someone rent you some port-a-potties?
How much coffee do you drink in a day?
Did Sam Adams march with you because of the possibility of underage boys or because one of your organizers agreed to touch him down there?

I have this sneaking suspicion that the Tea Party just annoys the liberals to no end because they see themselves as the protest movement and now the people they hate are stealing the show, and doing it in a peaceful, orderly, and clean manner.
I suspect that the Occupy movement is just an anti-Tea Party movement.
I worry that behind it is the same social manipulators that bring out the protesters in favor of Hugo Chavez.
I am disturbed that Sam Adams (mayor of Portland) seems pretty enthused with them. The counter-culture has become pretty main-stream here in Oregon. I think they are useful tools of the current administrations.
After all, the Government bailed out Wallstreet. Sure the banks and corporations took what was handed to them.... I think it is a setup.
And...where are the Anarchists? What dark sinister forces call them out and who made them stay home...

A good interviewer could have worked a lot of this in. It is a shame we have people like Lars at the microphone.  Calling the protesters "dirty hippies," more than once or twice is stupid. It is such a shallow attempt to diminish their voice. It is the same ploy used by liberals on the Tea Party when they call them "Tea Baggers." Going on about parade permits and crapping on the street is begging the obvious. Of course it is civil disobedience.

I really doubt the common goals of the two movements will complement each other. The Occupy movement is probably just an exercise in activism-if we need a riot how many can we get out. But, the moral high ground should be taken. (At the same time the double standard shown to the Tea Party movement must be shown.) 

It would be pretty funny if the Lars Larson talk show would rent a bunch of Port-a-Potties for the protesters. Or send a KXL van down with hot coffee. But, I don't see the establishment Republicans capable of any real clever long range thought. (I suppose the subtle humor would be lost and the Port-a-Potties would be vandalized and lars would loose his deposit.)

Later I heard Lars interviewing a candidate for the Indiana legislature (I think) on his national show. He did a really good job of getting info from the fellow. I missed most of it as I was dodging crazy drivers on a very narrow road in the rain with a wide grain drill and having near death experiences. Then I hit a really big bump on the road and lost my record book with 6 years worth of no-till planting records out the tractor rear window when the window latches were dislodged. Perhaps I am just grumpy from chasing scraps of paper down the highway in the rain.

I think those of us who just want to be left alone and cling to our out of date beliefs and traditions and not bother anyone else are pretty much screwed.