Ron Reagan Explains Marriage Equality to Rick Santorum

This past week, Ron Reagan subbed for Chris Matthews on Hardball, and while I don't usually watch the program, I did manage to catch the following clip. In the "Let Me Finish. . ." segment, Reagan--whose radio show I miss a great deal--explains why marriage equality won't lead to polygamous, incestuous or bestial  marriages. What, you didn't think it did in the first place? Me either, but Rick Santorum does. Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry probably do. The entirety of FreeRepublic.com definitely does. So thanks to Ron for making the answer so easy. And thanks to him also for causing a few right-wing brain explosions for being a liberal, since his dad remains a Republican saint.

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Ron Reagan Jr. & John Aravosis on Hardball: Obama and Gay Marriage

All day Thursday, there has been buzz that the New York State Senate may pass (or fail to pass) legalized same-sex marriage. At almost the same time, President Obama held a fundraiser with GLBT folks. Awkward! Why? Because for good or ill, Obama and his administration--while openly supportive of gay rights--has been dancing up to the line in regards to marriage equality. Apparently they just can't go all the way to "yes, I support same sex marriage." He has to fall all over himself, (rightfully) touting the things that have been accomplished toward gay rights during his term, and reaffirm his belief that gays and lesbians should have equal rights. As far as full equality regarding marriage (which conveys rights), they're hedging: Obama is "evolving" on that issue.

Many people, myself included, think that Obama actually does support marriage equality, he just can't say so unless he gets reelected. And I kind of get that. Except that I'm irritated that we acknowledge and accept that our political leaders--all of them--lie to us as a matter of course, for political expediency. Yes, politicians have always had the reputation for lying, but here is lying that we wink-wink, nudge-nudge, tolerate.  Anyway, commenting on all of this is Ron Reagan, Jr. (a personal favorite) filling in for Chris Matthews on Hardball, and my "blogfather" John Aravosis, my main inspiration for starting this blog.

Michael Reagan Trashes Ron Reagan?

WTF? You know, step- half-brothers can have strained relationships, I know. But this little family drama is getting fairly ugly.  I'm not sure that it's Ron that comes off badly here.

[Excerpt]

Michael Reagan Rejects Half-Brother's Charge Their Father Had Alzheimer's While President

Michael Reagan released the following statement to FoxNation.com: "Ron was an embarrassment to his father when he was alive and today he became an embarrassment to his mother. . ."

Read more at: SAU Mag

Rachel Maddow Re-Ups With Air America Radio

Back when the radio show Unfiltered was cancelled in 2005, Rachel Maddow was retained in a one hour, early morning show for a while. I thought it was kind of a booby prize. Only an hour, and unheard by most people on the west coast. But she was quickly given a two-hour show in the evening, and then became the host of her own show on MSNBC.

I love both shows, but since her TV program began, the second hour of her radio show has consisted of a rerun of the previous day's TV show. Something needed to change. Air America Radio obviously wanted to keep her around, but her evening show was clearly difficult to keep around. So, she's back to mornings for one hour. This time, it doesn't seem like a booby prize, it really makes sense. But I'll miss her radio show now, since I am not getting up that early!

Ron Reagan Jr. will get her old timeslot, so I guess I'll give that a try. I like him, but I've only caught him on the radio a couple of times. Maybe I should cut back on my talk-radio listening anyway, and switch to music for a couple of hours.

[Excerpt]

Ramsey, Maddow Sign New Deals

Rachel Maddow has renewed with Air America Media, signing a deal that will keep her with the radio network and interactive division. The Rachel Maddow Show will air as a one-hour program in morning drive on AAM affiliates, starting February 2, and will stream at www.airamerica.com. . .

Read more at: RadioInk