Weekend Developments

WHERE'S AL?

Plus, More Mistress Talk, Candidates Spar



Louis Farrakhan's increasingly incoherent ramblings, making news this weekend, reminded the Radio Equalizer of another so-called civil rights leader, Al Sharpton. What happened to his planned liberal talk radio show?

After revealing his intentions to the media in May, we've heard almost nothing since. At the time, Rush Limbaugh thought Sharpton's prospects were fairly decent, but the whole issue now seems to be forgotten.

According to reports at the time, "The Al Sharpton Show" should have been on the air by now.

Has Al had second thoughts? Are there too many "progressive" radio shows now on the air, devoid of ratings and advertisers? Was it too difficult to line up financial backers? It could be some combination of these factors.

In addition, Sharpton's kicking off a New York-area television show later this month. Also keeping him busy were plans for a 10th anniversary Million Man March sequel, held today.

Sharpton again accused Bush and the government of intentionally designing shoddy levies (per CNN):


The Rev. Al Sharpton, a former presidential candidate, criticized President Bush for the war in Iraq and the response to the devastation of Katrina."Broken levees are weapons of mass destruction," Sharpton said.

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who organized the march, has repeatedly speculated that a bomb may have destroyed the protective levees, helping to flood some black neighborhoods in New Orleans following Katrina.

When asked Thursday on the C-SPAN program "Washington Today" about studies showing the levees failed because of poor construction and design, Farrakhan said, "What this shows is neglect on the part of the federal government because those levees were weak."


Since Sharpton's always been great at jumping into the middle of the action, perhaps he no longer sees talk radio as part of the equation?



Has the Limbaugh "mistress" joking around gone too far? The problem: mainstream media outlets don't bother to determine whether he's kidding, or in what context the comments are placed. Bill Bennett might have some thoughts about this!

After press assumptions Limbaugh's recent "Georgia mistress" was CNN anchor Daryn Kagan, El Rushbo himself is now in a bit of hot water over comments about rock star Bono's "other". From WorldNetDaily:


Radio giant Rush Limbaugh may have lost some sleep this week after stating, and then retracting, on the air that Irish rock star Bono had a mistress. "I worried about this all night long," Limbaugh said yesterday during his national broadcast. "I don't like saying things about people that aren't true."

The original remark came during Tuesday's program during discussion about Bono being named the No. 1 "ubersexual" alive, as reported by WorldNetDaily. With U2's lead singer Bono (whose real name is Paul Hewson) topping the list, Limbaugh noted, "He also has a mistress! They conveniently leave that out. That his wife knows about. She's cool with it. I guess that's part of being an ubersexual."

Cam Edwards really scored a home run going after Mike Wallace at a gun control fundraiser. Edwards hosts a daily talk show on SIRIUS Satellite Radio. Michelle Malkin has the latest here.


To resolve an infuriating situation, talk radio rode to the rescue. Boston Mayor Tom Menino's fear of confronting outspoken, articulate opponent Maura Hennigan was finally overcome on WBZ-AM.

The Boston Herald's Kevin Rothstein reports:


The 24-year City Council member from Jamaica Plain hammered on Menino's 12-year record as mayor, telling listeners on WBZ-AM 1030 radio's ``Paul Sullivan Show'' that the city needs a new leader.

``What happens when you stay too long, there's stagnation and there's a real problem with that, it becomes more about them than doing the job. Tom Menino is the million-dollar man, and he does it with special-interest money,'' Hennigan said.

Menino defended his administration, saying Hennigan didn't have her facts straight, and pointing out the strides the schools have made since he took office, when there were six schools facing a loss of accreditation.


Menino's machine has kept him in power so long, admitting he even has an opponent took some real effort. While the Boston-area media calls his re-election a "slam-dunk", (dismissing outright Hennigan's city council experience) overconfidence has been the downfall of more than one entrenched politician.



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Sharpton photo: Agence France-Presse, Menino-Hennigan photo: Renee DeKona/Boston Herald