It's been a roller-coaster ride in Madison since November 11, when Clear Channel announced they were cancelling our progressive talk radio station, 92.1 the Mic. The hell of it is that the Mic has been popular and successful for two years, since its advent on this wandering frequency, far from a legacy channel (as Ed Schultz said), unless it's a legacy of failure. Progressive talk gave the station a reason for being and a dedicated following. Take me, having long since soured on radio, watching our NPR affiliate veer gradually but decidedly to the right over the years. Yet now I am a Stephanie Miller addict. That station is on all day at my house and it's not just favorite local and national personalities that are so attractive, but the full court press, the variety of opinion, approach, and personality within the overall progressive framework (God knows we are immersed in the opposite everywhere else).

I got this idea today listening to Randi Rhodes playing tapes of the debates. She'd ring a bell every time Kerry made a good point -- ding, ding, ding! It was pretty funny.

How about a Mystery Science Theater 3K version of the debates. MST3K is where Joel, Crow, and Tom Servo offer wise ass remarks on an entire movie from their vantage as silhouettes at the bottom of the screen when the movie is running.

The boys were sentenced to isolation on a remote space station, where they had to watch the worst movies ever made. Two of my favorites were Catholic Girls' Reform School and a Hercules movie where the dubbing was slightly out of synch (I swear they did that on purpose).

Letter to the Sinclair affiliate in Madison, WI:

Say what you will about Bush and Company, they have their supporters, whereas recent polls show Nader's negatives are in the 70s.