Rex Kickass

Yes. The loan has been repaid by the way, and the person responsible for the loan on the AAR side is no longer with the company.

Why don't they just use an Olympic Stadium for the Chicago Fire!

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Dec 29, 2005 -> 09:23 AM) I'll go... Can you lend me $2500? No, but for you a deal. $2499!

Cut my debt in half. Sell 2 million dollars in cruises. Go to Brazil. Lose 20 more pounds. Become more spiritually fulfilled. Have money in the bank at the end of the year.

I hear that KW is so good with prospects that the Kidneystone is expected to be the starting first baseman in Kannapolis next summer.

So wait a minute, does that mean that Jon Garland got 21 World Series shares? That's a big bonus!

I work in a high pressure sales environment. I only post cause its the slowest period of the year for my industry. I used to work 60 hours a week. But I decided not to do that anymore. If I'm in it for me, I'd rather trade the extra 5K a year I might make from all those extra hours for the extra 1000 hours of free time that I'd get.

I wouldn't go far as to say that they are profitable. Their overhead is considerable considering that a lot of the deals that they signed with early affiliates was basically brokering 24 hours a day from the station to give them control without buying the station itself. The first founders of Air America radio had a s***ty business plan and outright lied about the funding they had. They were broke before they launched. I'm willing to say that they aren't anywhere close to the days in April, May of 2004 where their existence seemed to be a day to day question mark. Having listened to them and hearing that their commercial load is much closer to full capacity than first launch, combined with a deal with Clear Channel (that put them on 25 new affiliates) that they engineered this past spring, leads me to believe that they are doing just fine. I'm still waiting for someone to bring up the million dollar Boys and Girls Club loan that was the big thing for the Freepers this time last year. They paid that off. If you're about to sound the deathknell from debt, those kind of debts are the last you're likely to get current on before filing bankruptcy or closing your doors. You also wouldn't have added 14 more affiliates since November 1. AFTRA wouldn't be putting Randi Rhodes and Al Franken on the air. XM wouldn't have signed an exclusive deal for the network. I don't know the actual ins and outs of the finances of AAR, but I'd be willing to say they're doing fine... and that the Associate program is looking to pay for new stations the network can buy rather than pay any additional bills - if it isn't just straight going to the bottom line. Doesn't WFMT have a listener drive every year as well? They don't ever seem to go broke.

Yes, and people also refer to me as the Gray Lady. Which is weird cause I'm neither.

QUOTE(WCSox @ Dec 29, 2005 -> 12:44 PM) So, why does Air America need to beg its listeners for money? The aforementioned talk-show hosts simply have items for sale... that's a hell of a lot different than begging. Why can't they simply offer to sell something to their listeners? Is it because they're so broke that they can't afford the manufacturing/printing costs? I think its smart. You're selling psychological ownership. Building a loyal following and making money at the same time isn't desperate, it's frankly brilliant.

Mine was 26.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Dec 29, 2005 -> 10:01 AM) I can't stand to listen to Rush, but when you talk about where he is getting beat, all I have to say is "duh". NYC, SF, and Oregon are about as far left as you can get when it comes to a demographic. If AA couldn't beat Rush there, they might as well commit Seppuku, because they would be done. WABC in New York is one of the most conservative talkers around and reaches millions of listeners weekly. The New York market does not just include Manhattan, but also the outer boroughs, half of New Jersey, Long Island (which is Republican and Westchester County in New York. Also includes a big part of Connecticut as well. WLIB has a significant weaker signal, that is barely audible east of Manhattan at night due to it needing to protect WOWO-AM in Fort Wayne. It still manages to attract between 350,000 and 500,000 total listeners weekly despite having NO specific to New York local content between 5am and midnight. Michael Savage of the Savage Nation popped out of San Francisco. Just so ya know.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Dec 29, 2005 -> 01:28 AM) I bought a 13 dollar pair of socks today. Does that make me strange? What the hell kinda socks are they? Are they SmartWool? Super comfortable hiking socks, but they wear out quick. It looks like my Brazil tour is going to happen. Anyone wanna go?

Sorry did I forget the green? For the record, I think the Iraq election was viable.

Why did Dick Cheney go to Hawaii? Not because they really could win the state but to make Kerry/Edwards spend some money in Hawaii when they really didn't need to.

Here's the secret grassroots is cheap. If you throw a little money into one of these noncompetitive races in Texas and an incumbent looks a little vulnerable, the incumbent's party will throw a s*** ton of money to protect the incumbent. Money that could have been funneled into a more competitive race.

Rush Limbaugh wins because he has a better product than most liberal talk shows. Not in thought process, but in sheer talent as an on-air personality. The few "liberal" talk shows that have been on the air in years past were boring to say the least. Air America is different and features a product that is maturing. As a result, the network is growing. It's growing quickly too. From 6 stations in April 2004 to 84 today. The network attracts between 2 and 3 million listeners weekly. Limbaugh is on over 600 affiliates and attracts 20 million listeners a week. But his lustre is starting to fade and has been overtaken in San Fransisco and Portland Oregon by Al Franken. The 25-54 listenership lead is quite small for him in New York City as well. Air America is doing very well for having a terrible business model to kick off. I was very surprised that the network lasted through the election - to be honest - but I think its past the danger point right now.

And I wish I watched it more often... Olbermann has been picking on Fox News hosts Gibson and O'Reilly recently - in an obvious attempt to piss them off and get the ratings leader in cable news to talk about him, Countdown and MSNBC. Apparently it worked. So much so that John Gibson went out of his way to deny the things he was quoted as saying. Olbermann called him on it last night and asked him to resign his post. http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/msnbc/..._30037.asp#more This is such a brilliant thing to do for Olbermann because by getting Fox to respond to his little catcalls and insults, it only draws attention to himself and gets himself more viewers. Countdown is MSNBC's biggest draw at the moment and if Olbermann and crew do smart guerilla marketing like this, they'll be beating CNN by this time next year.

Some people just have them I guess. I dunno.

Bob Barr weighs in, again, in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Bob Barr was a GOP Congressman. I thought this was interesting because in a lot of cases, I think it accurately describes what happens in this forum quite often. http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion...5/28edbarr.html

Sorta my point, fewer people are working, yet the economy is doing "great." I don't know that I would see it that way.

My grade school principal used to put money in kids' hands and said "If you hiccup again, you get to keep the money." It always worked. except for me. I so spent that dollar! I have a friend who's had hiccups for five years or so.

Sometimes I wonder if we're reaching a point in this country where recessions and growth are kind of ceasing to matter for most Americans. It's why I just don't get economics. Inflation is low, yet the price of milk, meat, gas is much higher than it was last year. And the year before. Unemployment is low, yet the percentage of eligible workers in the workforce has stayed static or has decreased for the last five years.

I think Ben Folds is becoming James Taylor with a piano and without the heroin addiction.

Actually the new rallying cry is going to be "Support Working Families."