If you wondered how fast WTIC-AM would slide to the bottom

(WTIC-AM. Dimmer, longer.)

It didn't take long.

Granted, Vicevich began his extra hour on Friday, Jan. 2, but this morning, on his first Monday, of his first full week of expanded programming, I decided to tune in one last time to be an earwitness to the transition to advanced stupidity.

I was not disappointed.

At five minutes to nine, conservo-solo-host Ray Dunaway called Vicevich to the mic, and together they concluded that Harry Reid (who I am no great fan of), was the "most despicable person on earth." Harry Reid? Spineless, maybe. Driven by devotion to his benefactors, probably (but these days, which politician isn't?), but "most despicable?" Seems like the start of some the same kind ongoing right-wing hyperbole Limbaugh invented.

Harry Reid is a "weasel" Dunaway pronounced.

So much for balanced on-air opinionating.

Vicevich began his show with a months-old Nancy Pelosi soundbite that he must have played hundreds of times on his show (every time I ever listened, he played it at least twice), a music cut from Rodney Crowell (one of the twelve American acts he actually knows anything about), and then launched into a stammering (because he is a stammerer) tirade about corrupt Democrats. While he might be right on the Democrats, he laughably omitted any hint that Republicans, especially Bush Republicans, might also be guilty (and have been shown to be guilty) of cronyism, corruption and pay-to-play.

Vicevich announced the litany of tired-and-true conservative commentators who would join him over the next few days, hiccuped through a lame tribute to Diane Smith, and then with Dunaway on mic with him, they launched into a defense of "poor John Rowland" who was driven from office on "trumped-up charges."

Oh lord.

Is this the same John Rowland I'm thinking of? The one who was convicted of corruption and did jail time? That John Rowland?

I had had enough. I reprogrammed my pre-set, and tuned into John Dankowsky, who inevitably will garner a lot of new listeners. If WNPR would feature traffic reports (and they should), I would never have a reason to tune to any AM radio stations.

With confirmation that CBS is preparing WTIC-AM for sale, we can only hope that the dim-burning light of conservative liars will disappear when some corporate giant like ClearChannel who will make it all-satellite all the time, and another local station will disappear, along with its vexingly-stupid show hosts.

Keep the meter running

I listen to WTIC-AM in the morning on the way to work primarily to check on traffic. I usually need to switch off after a few minutes of right-wing banter from show host Ray Dunaway, and his ineffectual "balance" Diane Smith. Dunaway calls himself a libertarian, but bears all the earmarks of being a neandrathal-level conservative. He doesn't believe in global warming, thinks smoking in public is a god-given right, and uses funny voices whenever he talks about people with different viewpoints than his.

However, this morning Ray and Diane, or Roy and Debbie, as Colin McEnroe calls them, provided an important public service when they brought Hartford Courant George Gombossy and CL&P CEO Ray Necci into the same studio to discuss the accusations Gombossy has made in a series of columns about defective electric meters. You can read the series here, and listen to the debate here.

I'll let you draw your conclusions, but I have to wonder, when confronted with the facts, why a responsible corporate CEO would not simply apologize and pledge to make amends. Gombossy attempts to pin Necci to the wall, as Dunaway acts the apologist and lobs softballs.

Interesting listening, and another argument why local radio is essential.