Joe McDonnell takes unwanted break from the action

Radio host's contract isn't renewed.

By Steve Springer, ON THE MEDIA

September 26, 2008

To those who have heard him on L.A. radio for more than three decades, he is The Big Nasty. To those who have seen him at local sports venues, he is simply Mr. Big, his body ballooning to nearly 700 pounds at his worst. To those who depend on him for information, he has long been among the most plugged-in sports personalities in town with solid sources and an always loud, often controversial, sometimes bitter opinion on everything from Dodger blue to Showtime.

For now, however, that voice has been silenced. Joe McDonnell is out of work.

After nearly three years at AM 570, McDonnell is being replaced by Tony Bruno, another veteran of more than 30 years on the airwaves. The "Joe McDonnell Experience," which ran from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, will become "Into The Night," with Bruno. Joe Grande, McDonnell's co-host, will remain on his weekend show. McDonnell's producer, Tim Cates, will also serve in that capacity for Bruno, who starts Monday.

McDonnell's contract was not renewed, ending his show on AM 1150 as well, a broadcast outlet on which McDonnell roamed far afield from sports to topics ranging from politics to social issues.

"I've been at 15 or 16 stations in my 33 years in the business," said the 52-year-old McDonnell. "I guess that means I'm good enough to keep getting work. I hope that continues. I think I still have a lot to offer. I don't think anybody has the combination of the contacts and knowledge that I have."

McDonnell says he's also disappointed by the course AM 570 program director Don Martin has chosen.

"The Bruno show is a syndicated show, which is unfortunate because I don't think that serves the listeners," McDonnell said. "I don't think anybody in L.A. gives a darn on a regular basis about what's going on in St. Louis or New Orleans."

Martin disputes McDonnell's point.

"This is not your typical syndicated show that is picked up from another market and plugged in here," Martin said.

The Bruno show will be co-owned by Clear Channel, the parent company of AM 570, and the Content Factory, a show provider. The program will originate locally with, according to Martin, the hope it will be syndicated in other markets.

"Tony Bruno lives here," Martin said, "and he will do the show live from our studio. We have a unique situation. We will have a local host who has been one of the top national guys in this format for years."

For loyal McDonnell followers, however, it won't be the same.

"He's the passionate conscience of L.A. sports, the quintessential L.A. guy," said McDonnell's former broadcasting partner, Doug Krikorian. "Love him or hate him, no one was ever indifferent to Joe McDonnell. He had the guys he loved, like Magic [Johnson], Wilt [Chamberlain], Jerry West and Reggie Smith, and the guys he hated, like Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], John Robinson and Rod Carew. . . . This is a real loss for L.A. sports fans."

McDonnell and Krikorian were together, on and off, for 13 years on several stations in the McDonnell-Douglas Show.

While McDonnell faces an uncertain future professionally, his personal life couldn't be better. Married 18 months ago to the former Elizabeth Cahn, McDonnell has lost 340 pounds through gastric bypass surgery, and hopes to lose 100 via a skin removal procedure.

"I look like a normal person now," he said. "I weighed about 275 in high school and then I gained hundreds of additional pounds because of my food addiction. It got so hard for me to get around that I just stayed in the house at one point for five or six months. I came pretty close to dropping dead. I am a lucky son of a gun because I now have a new lease on life."

And, he hopes, a new job in his future.

steve.springer@latimes.com

Alaska Women Rally Against Palin And Are Threatened

Obama hits 50% mark in Gallup poll

Barack Obama met the 50 percent threshold for the first time Tuesday in the Gallup daily tracking poll, a symbolic hurdle that until now had eluded the Democratic nominee.

The Gallup daily tracking poll has found that since the conclusion of the Democratic convention, Obama has risen 5 percentage points in the polls and now leads John McCain 50 percent to 42 percent. That represents a positive turn for Obama, after a couple of days in which he appeared to have peaked at the 49 percent mark while McCain was showing slight improvements.

The survey indicates that Obama’s overall post-Democratic National Convention bounce now appears to be roughly at par with the norm of past conventions. Though smaller than several of the sizable bounces of recent decades, the new polling suggests that perhaps the Democratic convention bounce has yet to subside.

While an improvement from 49 percent to 50 percent is statistically insignificant, the 50 percent mark holds significance for a party seeking to win its first majority since 1976, when Jimmy Carter won with 50.1 percent.

Polling will likely remain in flux until early next week, after the conclusion of the Republican National Convention. On Saturday, Gallup reported Obama was ahead by 8 percentage points. By Monday, that lead had shrunk to 5 points. Today it returned to 8.

Obama and McCain were evenly split at 45 percent prior to the Democratic convention, according to Gallup. Should Obama maintain a 5-point bounce in the polls, that would meet the 5- to 6-point norm earned by a typical party nominee, by Gallup’s measure, since 1964.

That also means, however, that Obama’s historic acceptance speech before more than 80,000 people at Invesco Field in Denver Thursday night, a political event seen by about 40 million television viewers, has not vaulted him above the norm of past nominees.

But Obama now has his firmest political footing of the campaign, according to the polls. Daily tracking polls by Gallup and Rasmussen Reports demonstrate that Obama has taken his greatest lead since the beginning of the general election in June when Obama clinched the Democratic nomination.

Rasmussen also recorded an uptick in Obama’s standing on Tuesday, and he now leads McCain 51 percent to 45 percent.

CBS News reported Monday that Obama is ahead in its poll, 48 percent to 40 percent, a 3-point increase in Obama’s standing compared with its poll prior to the Democratic convention.

Sarah Palin, The Veep to Nowhere

from Carl Matthes –

Well, those old guys certainly know how to shake things up!

John McCain surprised everyone by doing something - well- surprising! He yanked into the national spotlight Rush Limbaugh’s favorite female governor, Sarah Palin of Alaska. She’s an attractive, young, schoolmarm, executive type who could be, by age, John McCain’s daughter. A gutsy choice from what was thought to be a too-old, toothless maverick. John made up for lost time when he reached deep into the VP pool and pulled out “Sarah the Barracuda.” He now has a new set of choppers! A set which is the envy of pit bulls worldwide.

With this choice it becomes clear that John has been answering those middle-of-the-night phone calls. But was he only dreaming when he heard a deep, authoritative voice intone, “If you want my people onboard you better give them some red meat to sink their teeth into. Someone who listens to me. Someone who comes with no ifs, ands or buts.”

John listened obediently and John jumped. He jettisoned Joe Lieberman, his first choice for VP. He took a big breath and, in the time it took to say, “I want to win - regardless,” he swallowed the entire Religious Right - hook, line and sinker.

Governor Palin was received with a vociferous ovation from the Christian soldiers. Gushed Rush, “Sarah Palin: babies, guns, Jesus. Hot damn!” I searched the crowd to see if anyone was waving palm branches. I listened for the blare of trumpets. I began imagining that the delegates sounded like the St. Paul Xcel Center Tabernacle choir. Was that a halo around her head? Judging by the reception given this political unknown, John must surely believe that his late night message came from the Big Guy upstairs.

Governor Palin is now the poster candidate for the religious right. Rush was exuberant, “From now on McCain is McBrilliant!”

And what is all the excitement about?

Abortion: Governor Palin doesn’t even support abortion in the case of rape or incest. God may speak to her and abortion will be outlawed and/or banned by a Constitutional amendment. She was free to choose to bring her autistic child into the world and her unmarried daughter has the choice to carry her fetus to full term. Mrs. Palin would deny that choice to others. She opposes comprehensive sex-ed in public schools. She’s said she will only support abstinence-only approaches. (Oops!)

Gay/Lesbian Rights: Mrs. Palin supports the 1998 Alaska state constitutional ban on gay marriage. And while she finally signed the court ordered same-sex partner benefits bill, she fought rabidly against them. Governor Palin said, “We believe we have no more judicial options to pursue. So we may disagree with the foundation there, the rationale behind the ruling, but our responsibility is to proceed forward with the law and abide by the Constitution.” The Governor opposes hate crime laws that protect gay men and lesbians.

Iraq: Governor Palin told ministry students that the United States sent troops to fight in the Iraq war on a “task that is from God.”

Big Oil: Governor Palin has close ties to really Big Oil. In an address last June, the Republican vice presidential candidate also urged ministry students to pray for a plan to build a $30 billion natural gas pipeline in the state, calling it “God’s will.”

United States of America: As recently as six months ago, Governor Palin supported the fringe Alaska Independence Party, a group who wants Alaskans to vote on secession from the United States.

Creationism: Governor Palin wants creationism taught in public schools along with science.

Global Warming: Palin doesn’t believe that humans contribute to global warming. “I’m not one, though, who would attribute it to being manmade,” she said.

Library Books: Governor Palin asked the library how she might go about banning books because some had inappropriate language in them. According to Time, “news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire (the librarian) for not giving ‘full support’ to the mayor.”

The Bridge to Nowhere: She supported the Bridge to Nowhere, before she opposed it. Governor Palin claimed that she said “thanks, but no thanks” to the infamous Bridge. But in 2006, Palin supported the project saying that Alaska should take advantage of earmarks “while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.” And while the bridge went nowhere, the federal money stayed in Alaska and was used for other projects.

Pit bulls, barracudas, God, pregnancy and guns, these are the big issues of the day heralding even bigger change in Washington. Who knew?


by Carl Matthes

Carl Matthes is a native of Los Angeles and has lived in Eagle Rock for over 40 years. He is a former president and a current Board member of Uptown Gay and Lesbian Alliance. He is a former columnist and a current advisor to the Lesbian News, the oldest lesbian publication in America. He was editor of the GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) newsletter and a former GLAAD National Board member. He has also been a Board member of AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

Sarah Palin, The Veep to Nowhere

from Carl Matthes –

Well, those old guys certainly know how to shake things up!

John McCain surprised everyone by doing something - well- surprising! He yanked into the national spotlight Rush Limbaugh’s favorite female governor, Sarah Palin of Alaska. She’s an attractive, young, schoolmarm, executive type who could be, by age, John McCain’s daughter. A gutsy choice from what was thought to be a too-old, toothless maverick. John made up for lost time when he reached deep into the VP pool and pulled out “Sarah the Barracuda.” He now has a new set of choppers! A set which is the envy of pit bulls worldwide.

With this choice it becomes clear that John has been answering those middle-of-the-night phone calls. But was he only dreaming when he heard a deep, authoritative voice intone, “If you want my people onboard you better give them some red meat to sink their teeth into. Someone who listens to me. Someone who comes with no ifs, ands or buts.”

John listened obediently and John jumped. He jettisoned Joe Lieberman, his first choice for VP. He took a big breath and, in the time it took to say, “I want to win - regardless,” he swallowed the entire Religious Right - hook, line and sinker.

Governor Palin was received with a vociferous ovation from the Christian soldiers. Gushed Rush, “Sarah Palin: babies, guns, Jesus. Hot damn!” I searched the crowd to see if anyone was waving palm branches. I listened for the blare of trumpets. I began imagining that the delegates sounded like the St. Paul Xcel Center Tabernacle choir. Was that a halo around her head? Judging by the reception given this political unknown, John must surely believe that his late night message came from the Big Guy upstairs.

Governor Palin is now the poster candidate for the religious right. Rush was exuberant, “From now on McCain is McBrilliant!”

And what is all the excitement about?

Abortion: Governor Palin doesn’t even support abortion in the case of rape or incest. God may speak to her and abortion will be outlawed and/or banned by a Constitutional amendment. She was free to choose to bring her autistic child into the world and her unmarried daughter has the choice to carry her fetus to full term. Mrs. Palin would deny that choice to others. She opposes comprehensive sex-ed in public schools. She’s said she will only support abstinence-only approaches. (Oops!)

Gay/Lesbian Rights: Mrs. Palin supports the 1998 Alaska state constitutional ban on gay marriage. And while she finally signed the court ordered same-sex partner benefits bill, she fought rabidly against them. Governor Palin said, “We believe we have no more judicial options to pursue. So we may disagree with the foundation there, the rationale behind the ruling, but our responsibility is to proceed forward with the law and abide by the Constitution.” The Governor opposes hate crime laws that protect gay men and lesbians.

Iraq: Governor Palin told ministry students that the United States sent troops to fight in the Iraq war on a “task that is from God.”

Big Oil: Governor Palin has close ties to really Big Oil. In an address last June, the Republican vice presidential candidate also urged ministry students to pray for a plan to build a $30 billion natural gas pipeline in the state, calling it “God’s will.”

United States of America: As recently as six months ago, Governor Palin supported the fringe Alaska Independence Party, a group who wants Alaskans to vote on secession from the United States.

Creationism: Governor Palin wants creationism taught in public schools along with science.

Global Warming: Palin doesn’t believe that humans contribute to global warming. “I’m not one, though, who would attribute it to being manmade,” she said.

Library Books: Governor Palin asked the library how she might go about banning books because some had inappropriate language in them. According to Time, “news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire (the librarian) for not giving ‘full support’ to the mayor.”

The Bridge to Nowhere: She supported the Bridge to Nowhere, before she opposed it. Governor Palin claimed that she said “thanks, but no thanks” to the infamous Bridge. But in 2006, Palin supported the project saying that Alaska should take advantage of earmarks “while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.” And while the bridge went nowhere, the federal money stayed in Alaska and was used for other projects.

Pit bulls, barracudas, God, pregnancy and guns, these are the big issues of the day heralding even bigger change in Washington. Who knew?


by Carl Matthes

Carl Matthes is a native of Los Angeles and has lived in Eagle Rock for over 40 years. He is a former president and a current Board member of Uptown Gay and Lesbian Alliance. He is a former columnist and a current advisor to the Lesbian News, the oldest lesbian publication in America. He was editor of the GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) newsletter and a former GLAAD National Board member. He has also been a Board member of AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

Sarah Palin's False Pregnancy, The October Surprise

House defeats $700B financial markets bailout

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue for the nation's financial system, ignoring urgent warnings from President Bush and congressional leaders of both parties that the economy could nosedive into recession without it.

Stocks plummeted on Wall Street even before the 228-205 vote to reject the bill was announced on the House floor.

Bush and a host of leading congressional figures had implored the lawmakers to pass the legislation despite howls of protest from their constituents back home. Despite pressure from supporters, not enough members were willing to take the political risk just five weeks before an election.

Ample no votes came from both the Democratic and Republican sides of the aisle. More than two-thirds of Republicans and 40 percent of Democrats opposed the bill.

The overriding question for congressional leaders was what to do next. Congress has been trying to adjourn so that its members can go out and campaign. And with only five weeks left until Election Day, there was no clear indication of whether the leadership would keep them in Washington. Leaders were huddling after the vote to figure out their next steps.

A White House spokesman said that President Bush was "very disappointed."

"There's no question that the country is facing a difficult crisis that needs to be addressed," Tony Fratto told reporters. He said the president will be meeting with members of his team later in the day "to determine next steps."

"Obviously we are very disappointed in this outcome," Fratto said. ". There's no question that the country is facing a difficult crisis that needs to be addressed. The president will be meeting with his team this afternoon to determine the next steps and will also be in touch with congressional leaders."

Monday's mind-numbing vote had been preceded by unusually aggressive White House lobbying, and spokesman Tony Fratto said that Bush had used a "call list" of people he wanted to persuade to vote yes as late as just a short time before the vote.

Lawmakers shouted news of the plummeting Dow Jones average as lawmakers crowded on the House floor during the drawn-out and tense call of the roll, which dragged on for roughly 40 minutes as leaders on both sides scrambled to corral enough of their rank-and-file members to support the deeply unpopular measure.

They found only two.

Bush and his economic advisers, as well as congressional leaders in both parties had argued the plan was vital to insulating ordinary Americans from the effects of Wall Street's bad bets. The version that was up for vote Monday was the product of marathon closed-door negotiations on Capitol Hill over the weekend.

"We're all worried about losing our jobs," Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., declared in an impassioned speech in support of the bill before the vote. "Most of us say, 'I want this thing to pass, but I want you to vote for it — not me.' "

With their dire warnings of impending economic doom and their sweeping request for unprecedented sums of money and authority to bail out cash-starved financial firms, Bush and his economic chiefs have focused the attention of world markets on Congress, Ryan added.

"We're in this moment, and if we fail to do the right thing, Heaven help us," he said.

The legislation the administration promoted would have allowed the government to buy bad mortgages and other rotten assets held by troubled banks and financial institutions. Getting those debts off their books should bolster those companies' balance sheets, making them more inclined to lend and easing one of the biggest choke points in the credit crisis. If the plan worked, the thinking went, it would help lift a major weight off the national economy that is already sputtering.

The fear in the financial markets send the Dow Jones industrials cascading down by as over 700 points at one juncture. As the vote was shown on TV, stocks plunged and investors fled to the safety of the credit markets, worrying that the financial system would keep sinking under the weight of failed mortgage debt.

"As I said on the floor, this is a bipartisan responsibility and we think (Democrats) met our responsibility," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Asked whether majority Democrats would try to reverse the stunning defeat, Hoyer said, "We're certainly not going to abandon our responsibility. We'll continue to focus on this and see what actions we can take."

Several Republican aides said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had torpedoed any spirit of bipartisanship that surrounded the bill with her scathing speech near the close of the debate that blamed Bush's policies for the economic turmoil.

Without mentioning her by name, Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., No. 3 Republican, said: "The partisan tone at the end of the debate today I think did impact the votes on our side."