Unusable Signal With Cube: John Ziegler! Tonight! 11:00 P.M. EST UPDATE!

Tonight, we interview John Ziegler about his brush with Starsky and Hutch.   An incredible panel will discuss this week in politics to lead us off.  Tommy and I are back tonight with Max Blumenthal of The Daily Beast.  It’s like a smorgasbord of tube show delicacies.   BREAKING:  Matt Lewis of AOL’s Political Machine will be joining us as well.  If you are WADE, and have not figured out the latter link is for “Unusable Signal,” you might want to click on it.

UPDATE:  From The Comments:

Holy Shit!  Holy Shit!  Holy Shit!  Holy Shit!

Well.  Now I know what exactly what it feels like to scrape my testicles against a cheese-grater.  What do they call that party?

So like, here’s my own, very relevant, take:  Apparently Max Blumenthal and John Ziegler are not going back to Cali to have a gay marriage and overturn Prop 8.

Who gets caught in the crossfire?  Me.  Cube.  An inanimate object floating around cyberspace!  Who’s this about?  Me.  That’s who.  Who do I trust? Me!  Who I trust, is my own business!

But I distress…

The first hour was great.  Probably the best first hour in the annals of tube show history.  Max was insightful on a host of issues.  Specifically, I very much enjoyed listening to his analysis about some dude with a Hummer named, “WAR,” and his bestest friend Sarah Palin.

Max has an uncanny ability to analyze the political calculus and support his arguments with facts and a style that is persuasive.  He also has the uncanny ability to stick his middle finger up in the air at my upcoming guest.

So, John and Max are having a bit of a tiff.  A spat.  A splif A lover’s quarrel.  Yes.  That’s what I’ll call it.  “A lover’s quarrel.”  I do hope they reconcile.

John and Max were supposed to be separated from each other or at least hosed down between segments.  I just listened to a replay of the show.  They were.  But, something funny happened on the way to the close quartered locker room style studio here in Paris and there was almost a knock down drag out fight with bare knuckles and grease and thumbtacks and barbed wire and flying abortions and honey and glass like in Bloodsport 2.  Or something.

Before Max left the show, he dropped some hurtin’ bombs on John.  Parting shots.  Something about John Ziegler, President Obama’s children, and the show sucking for having him on.   Well sir, I know the show sucks, but objectively, you chose to dig at Ziegler and then jack that security guard in the jaw on your way out of the studio.

Max, why do you put me in the position on having to say the truth?  The truth stinks.

Clearly, Max was not being serious.  These two have an ongoing battle where Max’s intent was to talk shit about Ziegler as he left our Parisian headquarters.  This, I could not have predicted.  Plus, it’s not within my reasonable ability to put a muzzle on my guests when there are only nanoseconds before unforseeable sniper fire from the brush and a hang up in this Hanoi Pit Of Hell. Max did however make some callous remarks about John.

Should Max take him head on?  That’s his choice.  Maybe I think he should, but, that’s not for me to judge upon reflection.  His decision was to drop three or four nukes on John and then leave him steaming.  The reasonable argument against what Max did is that he’s basically a coward.  His argument in response to that would go something like this,  “Mr. Ziegler is an alien from another planet with herpes and I couldn’t give a shit how he feels.”  I get it.  Obla Di Obla Da.

Oh schadenfreud!  You used to be a cool word until everyone learned about you and that dead hooker from Vegas.  Max takes pleasure in the misery of Ziegler.   Likewise, Ziegler takes pleasure in the misery of Max.  Isn’t that cute?

Ziegler of course had the reaction of a teddy bear who drank a glass of wine spiked with four Quaaludes.

Ziegler was a great interview.  It started with his justified reaction to Max.  I’d be pissed too.  Max needled him and left before he could respond.  Max wanted that reaction it would seem and got it.  This reminded me of fighting with my little brother when we were kids.  For the record, I do not take any responsibility at all for this.  I could not “allow” something to happen when I had absolutely no idea Max’s segment would end as it did.  And, if you wanna blame someone for that, blame me.  Not Tommy.  I’m just the dumb tube show host.  Shit.

Meanwhile, I was just curious why the Po Po beat the living daylights out of Ziegler worse than O.J., but something short of Rodney King.  This was the LAPD according to John.  Guess what?  The fuzz were completely out of line.  I stand by John.

No matter what John Ziegler might say to anger the left, I will defend to the depths of cyberspace his right to say it.   Voltaire’s line had to be updated.  My apologies to a dead man no one knows much else about except for that line.

Ziegler was handcuffed, pushed, and bullied by the government.  For wanting to speak.  Outside.  On a college campus.   This is called counter speech.  He intended to whisper sweet nothings about Katie Couric outside the building where she was being given an award for journalism.  WHO GIVES A SHIT!  That’s his right.  The State engages in a prior restraint, violate “clearly established law” under U.S.C. Section 1983 as it applies to the First and Fourth Amendments.

Ahem.

The cops also violate the “Total Sheep Dag” Clause in The Constitution.  “The Street Corner” is the place where speech is afforded the most protection under the First Amendment.

Now, it was a little gray to me as to what happened insofar as Ziegler and “trying to get into the building” at USC.  Listen to the tape of the show.  Which isn’t a tape.  Do you hear any inconsistencies?

There is also the issue as to whether John is engaged in “commercial” speech or “political” speech.  John comments that he was not there to get publicity but, would not be upset if it came his way.  Or thereabouts.  It’s not my intent to satirize that.  However, if a court finds it was “commercial” speech, the amount of protection he is afforded is not as strong as it would be if it were pure “political” speech.  Ziegler rightfully admits this.  Tommy’s analysis on this during the show, that it was not “commercial” speech because he was handing out his DVD’s or only trying to without compensation, is wrong.  That no immediate pecuniary interest was realized or intended is not the test.   For whatever it’s worth, I think he went there to be a rabblerouser.  That’s his right.  He went to protest Katie Couric and her being honored for anything.  That’s his right.  Forget about going inside the building and pulling a “Code Pink.”  My analysis deals only with what I could discern:  Ziegler’s speech outside the event.  He did not actually go inside and crash the party.  There is no charge pending for say, Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, Resisting an Arrest Without Violence, Trespassing, or Disorderly Conduct.  No matter how absurd you or I might think he sounds (he let me call him an “asshole” which was nice of him actually) that’s his damned right.  Why the Left won’t defend him on this, if true, is beyond me.  Well, it’s not, but I disagree nevertheless.

I also must mention the sheer testicular fortitude of John Ziegler.  This man, agree or disagree, puts his money where his mouth is.  I like money.  And, I hope he puts his mouth where the money is.  Why?  The guy’s got balls.  Big ones.  Not the one’s at Tea Parties.  I respect that.  This guy made a movie and tried to take down power.  As his is right.  One man.  That’s it.  It’s a great story in and of itself.  It is.  It’s actually (shhh…) kind of an American story.

“Oh what the fuck Cube?”  Someone said.  “Ziegler’s a bastard and no one should defend him.  And, since you’re defending him, eat me.”  How about this, “Suck my balls.”

I suggested he talk to the ACLU.  They have agreed with far more toxic First Amendment Cases than this.  Ziegler has retained counsel.  Now, here’s where I’m a bit curious.  Why did he speak on the show?  Why was he not advised to remain quiet so as not to furnish a record of his remarks?    I am not disputing his account at all.  The evidence all seems to jive with his rendition of the facts.  However, now is a record.  Any inconsistencies, will be picked apart by lawyers I’d venture to guess.  I can’t believe he gave the interview, but, I don’t see anything he said as being problematic aside from matters we cannot see (such as his attempts to get inside — however slight or non-existent).

In sum, let the fellow say what he wants.  Really, it is worth all of this?  To those who do not like John Ziegler or what he has to say, don’t listen.  I haven’t watched his movie.  It’s sold out at Borders.

In fact, the police, USC, and according to Ziegler, The Left, The Right; everyone leave him out to dry.  That’s crap.  On this issue, it is what it is.  The Left would gain more credibility by defending his rights.  It takes all the wind from his sails as well.  But, I’m just a tube show guy.  I know that I know nothing.  Someone drank Hemlock for saying that. But, everyone’s a know-it-all.  I know I’m a non-know-it-all.

Why does this happen from a human psychological perspective to Ziegler?  The “this” being not many come to his defense.  He is a gadfly.  As I said last night, emotions cloud people’s judgment.  They forget the basics of the Constitution and do not defend him because they cannot separate the issue he deals with from his warm and cuddly disposition.

An overreaction and loss of senses.  I’m guilty of this.  Aren’t you?  And You?  And the leper midget next to you?  Some fellow spoke obtusely about this.

What would a perfect Cube do?  Admit the guests are just that.  Guests.  If I could be a better host, and learn from this, I will.  One thing I have learned is not to have mortal enemies on the same show no matter what the breakdown is.  Bottom line, the dust up was not Tommy’s fault at all.   I should have known not to have them on one show.  I didn’t see that.   On the other hand, that was unreal tubes radio.  The listener had fun.   As evidenced in the chat room and by the responses here.  From now on, Unusable Signal will have to have a Jim Crow policy.  (See, supra Axis I Diagnosis of Tube Show)

Caleb Howe at Red State was on.  He had a view on Max.  He called him a “dick hole” and hung up.  He also tried to assess some culpability to me for not referencing an equine pore.  No Caleb.  Sorry.  That bluster is unfair.  The thing between John and Max is what it is.  Further, I did state explicitly it was not right for Max to have said what he did.  But, don’t think for a second I have an obligation to spin that shit into vinyl for Red Planet.  You may comment on it.  This ain’t my war.  Those two are mortal rivals and I’m not getting into what clearly is a personal issue between them.  Furthermore, I’m not going to commit a logical fallacy and make a hasty generalization about Max and say this is representative of anything significant philosophically as a whole.  Nope.  That’s your gig.  Taking a minor issue and blowing it up into something it is not.  I haven’t read Caleb’s article yet, but, I will make a small wager he does not side with Max and tries to paint the Left with a brush from his isolated comments.  C’mon Caleb.  My spinal cord is still attached to my brain stem.  Unlike the disconnect at Red Planet.

Matt Lewis was just as I suspected: A gentleman and difficult to argue with because he is so nice.   What a  jerk huh?  He’s very reasonable.  How dare he?

You want to know what I learned from this show?  I think I’m ready to start the party of Matt.

And now, back to my regularly scheduled G.I. issues…

P.S. Thanks to Max, Matt, Caleb, Tommy, and oh!  John Ziegler for coming.  I had fun and I hope no one wants to take out a hit on me.  You guys were all great and it was a privilege having you all on.

I am petioning the APS for an update in the DSM-V for an Axis I diagnosis I copyright named, “Tube Show Seriousity Disorder.”

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Tags: APS, Blog Talk Radio, Caleb Howe, Cube, First Amendment, John Ziegler, Katie Couric, LAPD, Matt Lewis, Max Blumenthal, Media Matters, Prior Restraints, Sarah Palin, Tommy Christopher, U.S.C., Unusable Signal, War