With RK readers' help, calls are mounting for eight Virginia radio stations to quit airing Boortz's program. Today, The Roanoke Times wrote about the growing movement to boycott Boortz's show. Three state delegates - Jim Shuler (Blacksburg), Steve Shannon (Vienna), and Chuck Caputo (Centreville) - have started the call to Boortz radio stations to drop him from their lineups (read the article here).
Governor Kaine has also joined in condemning Boortz's offensive comments that the victims in the VA Tech massacre were somehow to blame for their own deaths. On Thursday's edition of "Ask the Governor" on WRVA radio, Kaine said Boortz knew "nothing about the facts," and was just "sliming people's reputation with falsehoods just to try to make some goofy political point." Governor Kaine also highlighted the heroism of several Blacksburg victims, saying, "they were doing all they can." (Listen to the Podcast of Gov. Kaine here. Gov. Kaine's comments on Boortz start at the 9:30 mark).
Meanwhile, Boortz refuses to take responsibility for his outrageous, comments - instead repeatedly defending them. And he wouldn't even respond to a local TV reporter in Lynchburg - who told viewers that Boortz had given her his personal cell phone number when he was last in town -- saying only, "The only way to have absolute control over my statements is to only air them on my talk show. The media uses my words only to fit its own agenda." (Check out the video here).
Some Boortz stations say he's "profusely apologized." Really? When a listener confronted Boortz on the air about his comments, Boortz responded by mocking the caller, mocking the students, and telling the listener, "Bite me!" (listen to the segment here).
Conservatives have often correctly talked up the need clean up the public discourse and promote personal responsibility. Those are great ideas, and we have the opportunity to promote them now.
Kudos to Reps. Shannon, Schuler and Caputo for taking the lead. They deserve support in their efforts. And, Virginians deserve to know where their representatives stand on Boortz's outrageous comments - and his lack of responsibility for them. To that end, we are thinking we'll give legislators the opportunity to say where they stand on Boortz's blame-the-victim comments, and we'll post the results of their answers here. It's time for legislators to stand up and be counted, so these stations know that they need to bounce Boortz. Now.
And, don't let up on calling upon these stations to respond appropriately to Boortz's inexcusable comments by removing his program from the air in Virginia.
And please let us know what you're hearing from these stations:
Norfolk, WNIS, 790, 10A-N, 757-627-7979
Roanoke, WFIR, 960, 10A-N, 540-345-1511
Blacksburg, WFNR-AM, 710, 10A-N, 540-633-5330
Lynchburg WLNI-FM, 105.9, 10A-1P, 434-845-3698 or 434-845-5463
Martinsville, WMVA,1450, 10A-N, 276-632-2152
Bristol, WFHG 980 AM, 92.7 FM, 2P-4P, 276-669-8112
Harrisonburg/Staunton, WSVA, 550, 10A-N 540-434-0331
Charlottesville, WINA, 1070, 10A-N, 434-220-2300
I'm looking at Boortz's Wikipedia entry. http://en.wikipedia.... He attended Texas A&M from 1963-67, then went to law school. Nothing wrong with not serving in the military -- but someone who didn't face live ammunition should not be denigrating people for ducking bullets.
I note that he wrote speeches for Lester Maddox.
"Boortz controversially refers to public education as "tax payer funded child abuse" and accuses parents of child abuse for sending their children off to government schools." That's a deranged analysis too. From reading a sampling of what he has to say (per Wikipedia) I would never bother to tune him in.
I'm glad two of our local legislators called him on this. I wish more would.
Nationally syndicated radio host Neal Boortz said schools should never provide psychological counseling for students, even after a traumatic incident such as the 1999 Columbine High School shootings in Colorado, because providing counseling "is just all part of an effort to ... engrain in the American people this idea that the government is responsible for everything."
Here's what he said about adults earning the minimum wage:
I want you to think for think for a moment of how incompetent and stupid and worthless, how -- that's right, I used those words -- how incompetent, how ignorant, how worthless is an adult that can't earn more than the minimum wage? You have to really, really, really be a pretty pathetic human being to not be able to earn more than the human wage. Uh -- human, the minimum wage.
Media Matters has a whole series of pieces on him.
UGH.
Mr. Boortz you are a coward. Why don't you come find out what would happen to you if you said that anywhere within 20 miles of the VT campus. Ohhhhhh... normally I don't like to see people get stomped, but I would grin and not feel a twinge of sympathy for the beating you would take.
Sometimes a good ass whipping is all idiots like that understand.
I'm thrilled that my old delegate Jim Shuler has stood up to this pissant. I was always pleased to vote for him, and wish I could do it again!!
Matusleo
Ut Prosim