Billboard Of The Day

Via Pink News:

A local radio host is taking aim at Caitlyn Jenner’s transition on a new billboard ad – in a town where a trans woman was nearly beaten to death last year. Denny Schaffer, whose show airs on Star 105.5 in Toledo, Ohio, is pictured on the billboard imitating the Olympian’s Vanity Fair cover, on which she unveiled her new identity. The caption reads: “Transition to Star 105.5 and don’t call me Caitlyn.” However some of the local trans community have slammed the station, given just last November a trans woman was attacked in broad daylight and nearly beaten to death in the town. Candice Milligan, 33, was punched, kicked, and robbed of her mobile phone in downtown Toledo, by three male perpetrators who screamed derogatory abuse.

The station is capitalizing on the controversy by inviting listeners to call in and say whether the billboard should come down.

RELATED: Viewership nose-dived this week for the second episode of Jenner's reality show.

Jenner, the former athlete whose transgender journey is probably the most famous in the world, has lost half her audience in the second week of the show. It drew 1.3 million cable viewers on Sunday night, down from 2.7 million for the premiere. The second episode's ratings are lower than for any episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, on which Jenner originally starred, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "The series opened to lofty ratings expectations, thanks in big part to the record highs Jenner brought to 20/20 with her exclusive April sit-down with Diane Sawyer," it says of I Am Cait. Variety attributes the 53 per cent drop for the latest episode to "curious viewers" failing to have an appetite for more of the show, which is about the transformation of Jenner from Bruce to Caitlin.

AFA Money Begs For DC Radio Station

Country Radio Stations Pull Hit Single Following Complaints About "Gay Agenda"

Country radio stations nationwide have ceasing playing a hit single after listeners wrongly complained that the song promotes homosexuality. Via the Washington Post:

Alana Lynn, a morning co-host on country music station 104.3 FM in Boise, Idaho, was excited to play Little Big Town’s latest single for her listeners. “Girl Crush,” a powerful ballad about a woman envious of her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend, seemed destined to be a hit. “I want to taste her lips, yeah cause they taste like you / I want to drown myself in a bottle of her perfume,” vocalist Karen Fairchild sings. “I want her long blond hair, I want her magic touch / Yeah cause maybe then, you’d want me just as much. . . I got a girl crush.” Sure, it’s a provocative way to describe jealousy. But when Lynn played the song on the air, she didn’t anticipate that she would get furious phone calls and e-mails accusing “Girl Crush” of “promoting the gay agenda” and threats to boycott the station. In recent weeks, multiple radio stations from coast to coast have been inundated with similar complaints about “Girl Crush,” forcing several to take it out of a regular rotation. (Sample comments heard by a Texas program director: “You are just promoting the gay agenda on your station and I am changing the channel and never listening to you ever again!!”)

The song is currently #4 on the iTunes country chart and is at #17 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

(Tipped by JMG reader Eric)

ALABAMA: Radio Host Rick Burgess Calls On Officials To Turn Away Gay Couples

For those blissfully unaware, Burgess is the co-host of the nationally syndicated Rick & Bubba Show, which claims ten million daily listeners in 50 markets, most of which are in the south and midwest. Burgess last appeared on JMG five years ago when his rant about Obama's pride month proclamation went viral on YouTube. Producers of the show made that clip private after an advertiser boycott campaign against the show was launched, but the rant had already been mirrored on other channels. The above tweets, by the way, are currently at the top of Roy Moore's Facebook page.

Garrison Keillor Cracks Gay Joke

"Well Jim and John had to share a room one night in a hotel. Jim said 'I snore so bad I doubt you'll sleep that well.' And John kissed him on the cheek. He said 'Sweetheart, it's alright.' Jim went and sat in a chair and he stayed awake all night." - Garrison Keillor, in a song he performed this weekend on A Prairie Home Companion. Hear the bit at the 34:30 mark. Keillor has had to apologize in the past for mocking "flamboyant" gay men. (Via Aksarbent)

Syndicated Radio Hosts Attack Tim Cook

Wikipedia: "The Rick and Bubba Show is heard each weekday morning on their flagship station WZZK and on over 50 radio stations in 15 states – mostly in the Southern United States."

UPDATE: Perhaps out of shame, but more likely due to the widespread outrage, the duo has removed the clip from their Facebook page and made it private on YouTube. If anybody has a mirror of their vile rant, please send it to me.

UPDATE II: Copy via JMG readers Jeremy and Andrea.

Dems To Advertisers: Drop Rush Limbaugh

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has launched a campaign calling on advertisers to drop Rush Limbaugh.  Via Politico:

Today's blast email from DCCC Chairman Steve Israel asks supporters to sign a petition calling on Limbaugh's sponsors to pull their advertising from his program. The effort comes after Limbaugh protested an Ohio State policy instructing students to get verbal consent before having sex because, Limbaugh said, "no" sometimes means "yes." "How many guys, in your own experience with women, have learned that no means yes if you know how to spot it?" Limbaugh said. "Are these [policies] not lawsuits waiting to happen?" Wrote Israel, "Comments of this offensive nature are inexcusable... Rush Limbaugh is advocating for the tolerance of sexual assault. He should be taken off the air immediately." The email then directs recipients to a form where they are required to fill out their email address and have the option of supplying the DCCC with their zip code.

Twitchy is ever so pissed about this "fascist" move.

Tweet Of The Day

We now BROnounce you husband and husband - http://t.co/vd7lO9hLkX
— The Edge (@TheEdgeNZ) September 12, 2014

Details.

NEW ZEALAND: LGBT Groups Angry Over Radio Station's "Gay Marriage" Stunt

Two heterosexual men will marry in New Zealand tomorrow as part of a radio station stunt that will earn them a trip to the Rugby World Cup in Britain. LGBT groups are furious.

A celebrant would make the union legally binding and Crowd Goes Wild television presenter James McOnie would be MC. The pair said their wedding vows would touch on their friendship and recall their time playing rugby together at King's High School in Dunedin. They were undecided if they would take hyphenated surnames and who would walk down the aisle. The couple's wedding song is Cruisin', by Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow. Mr McIntosh said he thought the marriage would last at least two years. Otago University Students' Association Queer Support co-ordinator Neill Ballantyne, of Dunedin, said the wedding was an"insult" because marriage equality was a"hard fought" battle for gay people. "Something like this trivialises what we fought for." The competition promoted the marriage of two men as something negative,"as something outrageous that you'd never consider", Mr Ballantyne said. LegaliseLove Aotearoa Wellington co-chairman Joseph Habgood said the competition attacked the legitimacy of same-sex marriages. "The point of this competition is that men marrying each other is still something they think is worth having a laugh at.

Two hundred straight same-sex couples reportedly entered the contest.

Closeted Homosexual Matt Drudge Does Rare Interview: I Go Where The Action Is

Via Mediaite:

Matt Drudge, who has owned and operated The Drudge Report website for nearly 20 years, gave a rare interview Friday to his hometown radio station of WTOP in Washington, D.C. During the short chat, he shared his thoughts on the current state of the political media landscape and defended his site’s conservative slant. “The D.C. I’m seeing now is so vibrant. This is the center, this is the heartbeat of the nation, for good or bad,” he said of the town where he grew up. When one of the hosts brought up “gridlock” in the nation’s capital, Drudge said, “Thank goodness for some gridlock. Can you imagine what would be happening if there was no gridlock?” He predicted that the upcoming midterm election could leave the division of power exactly as it is, proving that America “doesn’t want things changed” and actually likes the gridlock.

Drudge: "I'm a heat-seeking missile. I go where the action is.

Casey Kasem Dies At Age 82

Legendary American Top 40 host Casey Kasem has died at the age of 82.

Kerri Kasem, Casey's daughter, announced the news on her Facebook page. "Early this Father's Day morning, our dad Casey Kasem passed away surrounded by family and friends. Even though we know he is in a better place and no longer suffering, we are heartbroken," she wrote in a Facebook post. "Thank you for all your love, support and prayers. The world will miss Casey Kasem, an incredible talent and humanitarian; we will miss our Dad." Kasem, hospitalized in Washington state since June 1, had been in declining health.  The longtime host of radio's American Top 40, which he started in 1970, was a familiar voice to millions, known for his signature closing advice: "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars." Over the years, he hosted other versions of the music countdown show on radio and television. The Detroit native, a son of Lebanese immigrants, also was an actor who did frequent voiceover work, including commercials and cartoon characters, most memorably Shaggy from the Scooby-Doo series.

Every Saturday during high school, I would record American Top 40 onto my portable cassette player by taping its corded microphone to the speaker of my radio. By the following Saturday I'd have memorized the entire Top 40.

VIDEO: Here's the start of a show in 1977.

NEW YORK: Radio Station Suspends Hosts Following Anti-Transgender Comments

Via GLAAD:

Following offensive and inaccurate anti-transgender comments from 98.9 ‘Breakfast Buzz’ hosts Kimberly Ray and Berry Beck regarding a recent local ordinance granting transgender healthcare to Rochester city employees and their families, the station released a brief statement saying that the two hosts have been suspended indefinitely. “As a result of Kimberly and Beck’s hateful comments against the transgender community we have suspended them indefinitely,” said Sue Munn, Vice President and General Manager of Entercom Rochester, which owns the station. The segment that led to the suspension involved Kimberly and Beck referring to transgender people as “nut jobs” and saying, “The dude can look like a lady and the city is going to pay for it!” These comments were insulting and ignore statements from the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychiatric Association affirming that treatments for transgender people are safe, effective, and medically necessary.

The hosts' comments are below.
UPDATE: The hosts have now been fired.

Limbaugh Gets Second Cochlear Implant

Rush Limbaugh is off the air this week while he gets a second cochlear implant.

He received surgery for the first implant for his left ear about 13 years ago, he said, and doctors at the time advised him against getting the second implant in case a cure was developed for his deteriorated hearing. On his show Limbaugh said he was told at the time that one ear needed to remain untouched to apply the cure. Cochlear implant surgery replaces the hair cells attached to the cochlea with man-made electrodes that bypass damaged cells that cause hearing loss and stimulate the cochlea's hearing nerve, sending impulses to the brain where they are interpreted as sound. "I'd ask, 'How long is the cure gonna be?' They said, 'We're hoping 10 years.' Well, 10 years came and went and there was no cure," he said. As his hearing continued to deteriorate, Limbaugh said he finally decided a second implant was the best move.

RELATED: In 2003 Limbaugh was investigated for  buying “thousands of addictive pain killers from a black-market drug ring," leading to Limbaugh to confess to drug addiction on his show. Some have speculated that his hearing loss is the result of abusing Oxycontin, which can cause permanent profound deafness in high quantities. At the time Limbaugh declined to discuss a possible link between his drug abuse and his hearing loss. Limbaugh was arrested in 2006 on charges of "doctor shopping" to acquire painkillers, but those charges were later dropped after he agreed to attend rehab and surrender his firearm license.

SiriusXM To Launch Gay Sports Show

Perhaps in reaction to the recent spate of gay athletes coming out, SiriusXM's OutQ channel will launch a gay sports show. The Outfield will be hosted by some well-known figures. Via press release:

The Outfield will be a place where sports fans, regardless of sexual orientation, will be encouraged to share their perspectives on events and issues happening on and off the field. Guests for the debut program include: Sheryl Swoopes, the head coach of the women's basketball team of Loyola University Chicago, three-time Olympic Gold Medalist and three-time WNBA MVP; Dakota Cochrane, professional MMA fighter; and Howard Bragman, noted public relations expert credited with advising numerous celebrities and athletes on “coming out,” including All-American college football star Michael Sam, who is widely considered a prospect to become the first openly-gay player in the NFL. Also joining will be Cyd Zeigler, editor and co-founder of Outsports.com, and Hudson Taylor, the Founder and Executive Director of Athlete Ally. In the coming weeks, guests will include Ciaran O'Lionaird, Summer Olympian and track star, among others.

The first show will be this Sunday at 11AM on OutQ 109.

Sandy Rios Defends Austin Ruse

"Austin was talking about the damage that’s being done to innocent children in our culture, whether it’s our children in public schools, whether it’s those of you who handle and mold and shape their minds in colleges and universities. You are in the business of defiling them, of perverting their innocence, of sexualizing them, it isn’t us that condemns you, it’s God himself." - American Family Association radio host Sandy Rios, defending Breitbart columnist and hate group leader Austin Ruse, who was fired by the AFA last week after saying that liberal college professors "should all be taken out and shot." Ruse was filling in on Rios' show.

RELATED: In addition to writing for Breitbart, Ruse is the head of C-FAM, the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute, which is a member of the World Congress of Families, the coalition working with NOM and others to export anti-gay hatred to foreign counties. During a speech at CPAC 2012, Ruse denounced the United Nations for issuing a resolution against the gay death penalty.

UPDATE: Right Wing Watch notes that a Catholic priest has resigned from the board of Ruse's C-FAM group following a petition campaign from the LGBT religious group, Faithful America.

AFA Fires Breitbart Columnist Austin Ruse Over "Shoot Liberal Professors" Comment

Two days ago while filling in on the American Family Association radio show of Sandy Rios, Breitbart columnist Austin Ruse declared that liberal college professors should all be "taken out and shot." Ruse then spent the next day engaging in Twitter flame wars with his detractors. Today Right Wing Watch reports that Ruse has been fired by American Family Radio, who posted a statement to their Facebook page: "The fill-in host on AFR who made those comments is no longer on the air with us and will not be filling in on AFR in the future." AFR has also deleted Ruse's shows from their archives. For his part, Ruse has deleted his Twitter account, saying on Facebook, "Due to leftist swarm, I've had to deactivate my twitter account." Ruse continues to be listed as a Breitbart contributor.

And yet Bryan Fischer remains.

RELATED: In addition to writing for Breitbart, Ruse is the head of C-FAM, the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute, which is a member of the World Congress of Families, the coalition working with NOM and others to export anti-gay hatred to foreign counties. During a speech at CPAC 2012, Ruse denounced the United Nations for issuing a resolution against the gay death penalty.

Radio Station Suspends Hoax Deejays

The two Long Island radio hosts who pulled that anti-gay party invite hoax have been suspended. From the station's Facebook page:

Wednesday, February 12, 2014, the K-98.3 (WKJY) Morning Show with Steve and Leeana aired a story about a girl’s birthday party and one parent’s objection to the same-sex situation of that girl’s parents. After this aired, it was brought to K-98.3 management’s attention that all the details of the story were completely fabricated independently by Steve and Leeana. This was done without the knowledge of K-98.3 management or ownership. The story, presented as a real event, was, in fact, fictitious. An internal investigation was quickly launched which has resulted in the immediate suspension of Steve Harper and Leeana Karlson from the K-98.3 Morning Show. In an effort to move forward, K-98.3 has been speaking with local community organizations, such as the Long Island GLBT Services Network, to ensure the fabricated story does not result in further damages with respect to the GLBT community.

The head of the Long Island GLBT Services Network has praised to the station's response. The station's parent company has also issued an apology. Commenters at the Facebook link are arguing over whether the pair should be fired.

Party Invite Story Was A Hoax

Josh Barro called it - that party invite story that made headlines a few days ago was a hoax pulled by two radio hosts at the Long Island station that first publicized it.

The alleged homophobic note sent by a mother in response to a birthday invite from two gay dads was apparently all just a hoax concocted by a local New York radio station. The note was posted to the station's Facebook page Wednesday. Readers expressed their disgust and offered support to the same-sex parents. It was shared across the Internet and covered by the media. Now, the entire incident has been revealed as a hoax drummed up by K-98.3's Steve Harper and his "Morning Show" co-host, Leeana. The two posted an apology note on the station's website Friday.

Here's the apology.

Dear K-98.3 Listeners, On Wednesday, we told you the story of Sophia's birthday party, and one parent's objection to the same-sex household of Sophia's parents. We also posted the invitation on our Facebook page, and invited comments from our followers. This story was, in fact, totally fictitious, and created by the two of us. This was done without the knowledge of K-98.3 management or ownership. We were attempting to spur a healthy discourse on a highly passionate topic, but we made a mistake by misleading our listeners into thinking that this specific situation actually existed. We are very sorry that we perpetuated this falsehood, even after it was clear that it had taken on a 'life of its own.' We deeply apologize for violating your trust, and we will work hard to regain that trust. Sincerely, Steve & Leeana.

Some are calling for the hosts to be fired.

Quote Of The Day - Diarmuid Martin

"God never created anybody that he doesn't love. Anybody who doesn't show love towards gay and lesbian people is insulting God. They are not just homophobic if they do that – they are actually Godophobic because God loves every one of those people. Certainly the sort of actions that we heard of this week of people being spat at because they were gay or ridiculed - that is not a Christian attitude. We have to have the courage to stand up and say that. We all belong to one another and there is no way we can build up a society in which people are excluded or insulted. We have to learn a new way in Ireland to live with our differences and for all of us to live with respect for one another." - Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin, speaking to the Irish Independent about the continuing "Pantigate" flap.

RELATED: Rory O'Neill, whose drag persona is Panti Bliss, wants a personal apology from Ireland's radio network.

The controversy over ‘Pantigate’ began after Mr O’Neill – aka Miss Panti Bliss - appeared on RTÉ’s ‘Saturday Night Show’ with host Brendan O’Connor. During the course of an interview with Mr O’Connor. where Mr O’Neill cited particular names – columnists John Waters, Breda O’Brien and the Iona Institute - in relation to a discussion about ‘homophobia’. Two weeks after the interview, and a week after an apology was broadcast on the show, it emerged that RTE paid financial compensation of €85,000 to Mr Waters, Ms O’Brien and members of the Iona Institute for defamation. Last week, Killane took the move to defend the compensation – and said RTE followed the best legal advice available to them. Speaking about the controversy this morning, Mr O’Neill told Today FM’s Ray D’arcy he wants a personal apology from the RTE Head of TV. “I’m not going to be sending solicitors to Glen Killane. I do not expect a public apology,” he told The Ray D’Arcy Show.

If you are among the few who have not yet viewed Panti's now-legendary speech from the stage of Ireland's National Theater, do yourself a favor.

Sanctity Of Marriage Alert

A radio station in Calgary (birthplace of Ted Cruz) is running a contest:

This Valentine's Day we're helping you get over the blues of being single...We're going to get you married! If you're ready to take the plunge, we will marry you to a complete stranger on Friday, February 14th with Ryan & Katie then you will hop on a plane with your new spouse to spend the weekend in Vancouver on your honeymoon and will get to see Miley Cyrus live at BC Place on Valentine's Day. After the exciting honeymoon you will fly back to Calgary where you will get to decide if you want to stay together or get a divorce after the 90.3 hours. Don't worry only one of you has to say 'yes' so you wont be stuck with them forever... at the very least you get to see Miley Cyrus live and a weekend in Vancouver!

The station generously notes that they don't care "what your sexual preference is." Ugh. I'm sure the right will find a way, therefore, to blame this on us. And on Miley Cyrus, of course.