Why Does Disney Support Eliminationist Talk Radio?

Suppose you were a very large media corporation, and you found out that some of your radio subsidiaries were espousing specific acts of violence toward other people (last I checked, that's called terrorism). You would:

1) Fire the offending parties.

2) Offer some mealymouth bullshit explanation ("If anyone was offended...").

or...

3) File a lawsuit against the blogger who posted mp3s of the offensive clips.

Well, the Disney corporation picked option number three. Disney-owned California radio station KFSO, in its effort to capitalize on right-wing hate radio, gives a microphone to some truly reprehensible scum. Here's a sample:

-One KFSO host said, "the day will come when unpleasant things are going to happen to a bunch of stupid liberals. It's going to be amusing to watch, very amusing to watch."

-Melanie Morgan, whose show is aired on KFSO, says of Nancy Pelosi, that she has "a bull's-eye painted on her big wide laughing eyes."

-Melanie Morgan also has said that Rachel Carson, the author of Silent Spring, should be dug up so she can be killed again.

-Brian Sussman, on his show, has advocated firing missles at Syrian mosques during prayer times. Sussman has also required callers to say "Allah is a whore" to prove they're not Muslims. And for the trifecta, Sussman has described how he would torture a suspected terrorist.

-Melanie Morgan's co-host Lee Rodgers has told listeners that there is good reason to "go in and attack the NY Times."

-"Officer Vic" calls Sen. Barack Obama a "halfrican" because his mother was white.

-Then there's the clip describing a 'fantasy' of NY Times editor Bill Keller strapped to a malfunctioning electric chair.

You have to be suffering from a serious case of Compulsive Centrist Disorder to think that anything said by what passes for the Left in the U.S. comes close to this (the shibboleth of the Right, Michael Moore, hasn't ever said anything this hateful or violent). Exposing this does matter. Melanie Morgan isn't just some one-station radio jock; she regularly appears on CNN as a commentator.

There's another thing to keep in mind: Melanie Morgan isn't just someone with a political opinion who happens to have a radio personality. She is a Republican political operative, and, as such, should be considered part of the Republican movement--she is not a 'wildcard.' As long as explicit violence is considered the acceptable rightward end of the political spectrum, what constitutes acceptable political discourse will be incredibly warped--and in one direction.

To find out what you can do about it, Calling All Wingnuts has some ideas.

Related post: Echidne reminds us of Hal Turner, who thinks any congressman who would grant amnesty to illegal aliens is a legitimate target for assassination. She also reminds us that we've seen this sort of 'rhetoric' before.