Melanie Morgan

I am inordinately fond of monkeys. I like to watch them, I like to tease them, I like any commercial that has a monkey and I will buy any product advertised by a monkey, especially if it involves a smoking monkey.

Monkeys are little people in monkey suits.

Stealing a monkey is NOT cool. And somebody stole Banana Sam from the San Francisco zoo. If I found that person I would beat them with a monkey stick. I don't know what a monkey stick is, but it sounds like appropriate punishment.

Getty Images

Banana-Sam is a squirrel monkey like the ones in this picture.

By Mike Anderson

"...Someone broke into an exhibit and stole a monkey from the San Francisco Zoo, the zoo discovered Friday morning.

The one-foot-tall squirrel monkey's name is "Banana-Sam." He is 17 years old and weighs about two pounds.

The vandals apparently cut through a zoo gate overnight. Then they got onto the roof of the primate exhibits. The zoo found two holes cut through the mesh net where Banana-Sam was stolen.

Although he appears cute and cuddly, Banana-Sam has very sharp teeth and will not hesitate to bite if provoked, according to Zoo staff. His bites can easily cause infections. The monkey also eats very particular food. 

“This was a criminal act of vandalism and trespassing and we are working with the police to identify the perpetrators,” said Tanya Peterson, President and Executive Director of the San Francisco Zoological Society.

GOVERNMENT: Philly Councilwoman to Retire and Collect $478,000 Pension, Then Start Back To Work On Monday.

Honey, it's really as simple as the story above. Some things in life are unfair, and Republicans have to fix them.

Three days and counting until the Iowa Hawkeye Cauci begins and the national process to ridding ourselves of one of the worst President's in modern history begins.

via Drudge Report:

NBC POLL: ROMNEY 23 - PAUL 21 - SANTORUM 15 - PERRY 14 - GINGRICH 13 - BACHMANN 6...

Golly! I'll be you are as surprised as I am that an extensive analysis by the Washington Post (yes, the liberal WaPo) has discovered that the "green policies" of the Obama administration, and in particular the Solar energy scam, were ONLY about politics.

Nothing. But. Politics.

Ace of Spades HQ

Major Victory For Obama And Congressional Democrats: Payroll Tax Holiday Will Only Be Two Months Long, Not The Full Year Those Mean Republicans Wanted!

Those Wascally Wepublicans!

Just try to pry the cold, hard cash from between his fingers....

Figures that Friday news dump was just some chump bait after all. Does it really come as an surprise Obama still has his hands out for some of that Corzine cash?

President Obama is trying to put some distance between himself and the wreckage of bankrupt brokerage MF Global. But not too much distance.

After returning more than $70,000 to Jon Corzine, the CEO who led MF Global into bankruptcy, the president’s re-election organizations are still hanging onto nearly $150,000 connected to the firm, The Post has learned.

An Obama campaign official said no MF Global donations besides Corzine’s have been refunded. “Contributions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and if the facts merit it, they will be returned,” the official told The Post.

The Paulinistas will blast away...but facts are facts. Ron Paul blames America for the world's ills. Do not vote for this man.

..at least according to the Mayan Calender.

And the Mexicans are not going to let an economic opportunity pass by, and are promoting tourism to the Quintana Roo and Yucatan area where the ancient Mayan ruins reside.

I can safely assure Norte Americano's that if they visit this region, the end may come sooner than expected - since the area is overrun with Drug Cartel mobsters.

Gingrich's numbers are slumping, as more Republicans realize what a risky candidacy Gingrich offers.

Now Iowans are shifting gears. Let's hope (for the cuntry's sake) that they figure out that Ron Paul is on the crazy train with foreign policy.

"...The question for Gingrich will be whether he has enough time to rebound in the two weeks left to campaign in Iowa or if he has begun a political free-fall that will be hard to stop.

"The problem is he has probably waited too long," said Craig Robinson, former political director for the Iowa Republican Party. "This is the frantic finish. The clock might run out on him."

Gingrich, the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, has seen his national lead in polls over rival Mitt Romney disappear in the last week, with new CNN and Washington Post/ABC polls showing him falling back into a tie with Romney."

When will it stop? The lawlessness that runs through the veins of the Internet...hackers with petty temper tantrums and  keyboards that bring good men and women to their knees.

Say a prayer that no one is hurt from this latest bout.

We will NEVER be able to thank our troops enough.  But let's keep trying.

(Courtesy ABC News)

U.S. Army soldiers from 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas watch a concert by the band Filter, who performed for troops waiting to go home after their deployment in Iraq, Dec. 15, 2011, at Camp Virginia, Kuwait. After nearly nine years, 4,500 American dead and 100,000 Iraqi dead, U.S. officials formally shut down the war in Iraq. (Maya Alleruzzo/AP Photo)

Please don't forget our troops remaining in Afghanistan. We are continuing to send, with love, care packages until every troop is home.

Donate at www.moveamericaforward.org Thank-you.

A SURVEY OF Republican Presidential Candidates’ Positions on Higher Education.

A particularly fascinating subject for me as the Mother of an Economics major at USC.

The White House has classified the Fort Hood massacre as "workplace violence."

I am feeling slightly nauseous at the stupidity of that statement. This administration is putting all of us in jeopardy with  delusional thinking.

PEARL HARBOR TRIBUTE: Remember that it's our responsibility to keep the memory alive and to pass this history on to the younger generations. Never Forget.

Below you will find videos, photos and many Pearl Harbor links related to that horrible morning 70 years ago. Take your time browsing through this post and feel free to pass it on to others.

Before you continue, though, take a moment to think about how your day is going. Then think of how their day must have been. Never forget them, honor them always, thank them, pay tribute to them.

**Attack scene from the movie PEARL HARBOR:

**BREAKING NEWS**

CBS RADIONEWS BULLETIN. ("We interrupt this program")

NBC RADIONEWS REPORT.

BBCPRINT EDITION.

FDR addressesthe Nation.

DEAD and WOUNDED by SERVICE:

*Navy--2001--710
*Marines--109--69
*Army--231--364
*Civilian--54--35

Entire Pearl Harbor casualty listhere.Chronology of eventshere. All things Pearl Harborhere.

USS Arizona Memorial

Admiral Kimmel removed, testifies before congress--(newsreel)

Bush createsWorld War II monument for Pacific.

View Pearl Harbor 1941 YouTube Tribute

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwQ742SEjzI&feature=player_embedded

--

The Newstalk KGO legacy station is now just half of what it used to be. News, no talk. Kinda.

For those of you who grew up in the San Francisco Bay area listening to Dunbar & Wygant, Ronn Owens, Rosie and Ed, Morgan and Beck, and the rest of the gang - the last few days have been shocking. Beyond words for many of us who worked for a damn fine station that won every award available many times over.

Melanie Morgan, KGO Radio, 1981

Now the aptly named Dickey Bros from Atlanta, Georgia think they can take their Stanford MBA's and do something which most say is impossible...make more money from a declining industry by firing their way to prosperity.

Maybe Lew and John Dickey are right.

Today, we hear that Wall Street likes the numbers and their stock is now at $3.00 a share. I also read that the Dickey's filed papers with the SEC increasding THEIR financial compensation and improving their severance package. God forbid they should be left with two weeks of Cobra insurance and two weeks severance if they belly flop in this venture.

Folks, these are public airwaves that the Dickey's are ruining. The Dickey's are worth several fortunes. So how did these multi-millionaire's handle the dismissal of KGO long-time staffers? According to media columnist Jerry Del Colliano, a Cumulus hatchet man named Bill Bungeroth (who laid off my husband) brought together the air talent and announced the station was going another direction. And then walked out. Meanwhile, Del Colliano reports that there was an apparent sucide by a Cumulus employee who was fired shortly before her death last week.  

KGO is a mishmash of nothingness. KGO is neither fish nor fowl...neither news nor talk. It is a hybrid. Of NOTHINGNESS.

I'm not saying that Cumulus Broadcasting doesn't have the right to do what they did.  It's called Capitalism, and I'm a big proponent.

But we have a right to protest the loss of some excellent programming by hitting back at those who hit us.

Rich Lieberman, a Bay Area Media critic, writes more about that here.

Look, I am not ignoring the obvious. KGO is a left-leaning radio station. I am a committed conservative. But when selfish interests dominate and destroy the livelihoods of hundreds and hundreds of talented individuals - speak out. If it can happen to them, it WILL happen to us. Is KSFO, KGO's sister station and conservative talker up next? Who knows?

Radio is part of the daily fabric of our lives, from health and fitness (represented by the hugely talented Joanie Greggains) to news and talk (like Gil Gross, Len Tillem and the others) and it just feels unfair. I haven't even started on the loss of the behind-the-scenes producers and administrative people who helped make a great station greater.

It seems to me that there is a perfect opportunity for someone with some bucks to come into the San Francisco radio market and put together a radio station that could kick ass...liberal AND conservative...if done properly.

I think I know just the right folks for the job.

Newt is now positioned quite well, according to the pundits. But will the exit of Herman Cain make room for someone new?

Here is the latest on the end of Herman's Candidacy from the LA Times.

KGO Newstalk radio in San Francisco is going to call itself KGO 81, the News and Information Station (a rip-off of the old NBC News and Information format slug from 1978.)

For those of you who are not familiar with the San Francisco radio market, this is a shocking development followed by a series of deeply upsetting years long lay-offs that have claimed not only myself (in 2008) but my husband Jack Swanson (former Operations Director, 2011) and so many of our friends.

That's right...one of the most venerated radio stations in the country will no longer be talking about local, state and national news - forget about politics or lifestyle issues.

Talk is gone.

KGO  is going All News - right up against KCBS and KQED - and it's not gonna be pretty.

Gone are Bay Area favorites such as Gill Gross, Gene Burns, John Rothman, Ray Taliaferro, Lloyd Lindsay Young , Bill Wattenburg and Len Tillum. All of their producers were fired today. And more dismissals are likely to follow. UPDATE:My BFF Joanie Greggains, Queen of health and fitness, let go too.

I started my career in San Francisco at KGO TV in 1981 - the same weekend a relatively obscure weatherman by the name of Lloyd Lindsay Young....he became a local legend, and inspired many laughs and good times on KGO Radio. I worked at KGO Radio from 1982 until 1989, traveling the world as an international hotspot reporter, from Beijing to Beirut. I had the privilege to return to the best damn radio station in the world in the most beautiful city by the Bay.

WOW. I still can't wrap my brain around the vast changes to the lives of so many good people. My good wishes to all of them and their families as they struggle to find new jobs and re-gain their emotional bearings, right before Christmas.

Way to go, Dickey Brothers.

Sometimes things just suck. But then they get better. I can say from personal experience that getting laid off is sometimes the best game changer in the world. But it sure doesn't feel that way for quite some time.

(via SFgate.com)

"....A big shakeup is coming to KGO radio: Many of its most recognizable voices are being let go as the station, which can be heard up and down the West Coast, switches to "all-news" format from 2 p.m. to midnight starting Monday.

"What we are doing is adding a tremendous amount of news content to KGO," Paul Hosley, the station's news and program director, told us late Tuesday shortly after staff was notified of the changes.

Among those who will leave the station are talk-show veterans Gene Burns, Gil Gross, Ray Taliaferro and John Rothmann.

Ronn Owens, who reportedly has one of the highest-paying contracts in radio, will continue his popular morning show from 9 a.m. to noon. Brian Copeland will also keep his weekend show.

The switches come amid major turbulence in the Bay Area media market. KGO's one-time dominance in the a.m. Arbitron ratings has taken a big dive in recent years as increasing numbers of listeners have switched to satellite and internet radio. Just two months ago, Citadel Broadcasting sold both KGO (810 a.m.) and its sister station, KSFO (560 a.m.), to rival Cumulus Media, which already owned four other stations in the market, including all-sports KNBR (680 a.m.).

One station insider told us KGO had simply lost its way and hopes to reinvigorate itself with a news-driven format.

Incidentally, it's longtime moniker "Newstalk 810" will also be replaced. The new slug: "KGO-810 - the Bay Area news and information station."

Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or e-mail [email protected].

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/01/MNMM1M7B9E.DTL

At least that is the headline over at WaPo and writer Jonathan Bernstein contends that Romney is going to make it to the finish line.

I'm not so sure about that. Your thoughts?

Tina Fineberg for The New York TimesOccupy Wall Street demonstrators were in Times Square on Wednesday night to protest an event for President Obama.

10:06 p.m. | UpdatedMore than 100 Occupy Wall Street protesters marched to a Midtown hotel on Wednesday night to protest a fund-raising event for President Obama.

Escorted by police vehicles as they helped snarl traffic across the Times Square area, beginning at Bryant Park, the group settled in front of barricades on the southwest corner of 53rd Street and Seventh Avenue, in view of the Sheraton hotel at which Mr. Obama was expected to appear by 9 p.m.

Demonstrators held signs that leveled some of the Occupy protest’s most pointed criticism to date of the president. “Obama is a corporate puppet,” one said. “War crimes must be stopped, no matter who does them,” read another, beside head shots of President George W. Bush and President Obama.

One man, wearing a mask of the president’s face and holding a cigar, carried a sign that read, “I sold out!” 

Ben Campbell, 28, one of the march’s organizers, said he hoped to prove to skeptics of the protests that the demonstrators were political critics of equal opportunity.

“President Obama is coming to town solely to raise money from the richest of the rich,” Mr. Campbell said.

On Nov. 10, 2011, the New York Times (NYT) reports that Reggie Love, Obama’s 30-year-old “personal aide, shadow, caretaker, basketball buddy and roving diplomat” and all-around “body man” made “what friends and colleagues called a painful decision to leave the president’s side” at the end of this year.

Excerpt:

But in his exclusive-to-subscribers report of November 14, 2011, investigate reporter Wayne Madsen wrote:

“The fallout from Penn State has universities and colleges across the nation checking their records for indications of child abuse and other sex scandals. The Citadel is now embroiled in a scandal involving child sexual abuse by a summer camp counselor. Past gay-oriented sex parties at Duke and the University of North Carolina involving then Duke basketball and football player Reggie Love reportedly cost him his job as President Obama’s ‘body man.’ De facto White House chief of staff Pete Rouse, upon hearing of potential problems regarding Love at Duke and UNC and on the heels of the scandal at Penn State, forced Love to leave the White House staff immediately, even over the objections of Obama.”

Yesterday evening when I began a draft of this post, I had seen on Wikipedia’s entry on Reggie Love a reference to him “overcoming” an un-named “scandal” when he was at Duke University to secure a job in Obama’s Senate office. This morning, however, that reference has disappeared from Wikipedia.

Booker Rising, a website that describes itself as a “news site for black moderates and black conservatives,” has the dirt on Reggie Love.

(Read it all.  Poor Obama...)