George,

I've recently taken to setting my radio alarm clock to 9am, and turning the volume way up. That way, when I inevitably haven't left for work by 9am, I'm hurried along by my steadily rising blood pressure as Neal Boortz says one ridiculously stupid thing after another.

I know that there are intelligent conservatives out there; I know several of them. But I don't care what part of the political spectrum that Neal Boortz, Rush Limbaugh and their ilk come from. They're hateful, short-sighted, self-serving, ignorant jerks. In the case of Boortz, I frequently have to turn off the radio not because I disagree with him, but because I'm so embarrassed for him, and end up simply overwhelmed with empathy for the poor fool.

Just this morning he was asked a rather esoteric question about different types of turbulence, if memory serves. The man is entirely incapable of saying "I don't know," so instead he blathered on for fully thirty seconds about absolutely nothing before concluding by saying that it was simply too complex for him to adequately explain.

Anyhow, sure, there's room for conservative opinions in Charlottesville. Just as long as they're not hurled violently from the mouths of ranting red-faced lunatics like Boortz. If there's a better option out there, I hope that Charlottesville conservatives (both of them ;) will attempt to convince Brad Eure to replace Boortz's show with it.

Best,

Waldo Jaquith (electronic mail, February 26, 2002)