Slated on Backbone Radio, September 23 Listen every Sunday, 5-8pm on 710 KNUS, Denver.. 1460 KZNT, Colorado Springs... and streaming live at 710knus.com.
Declaring himself "unmoved" by the current field of Republican candidates, among whom "there isn't a standout," Alan Keyes launched a third long-shot bid for President this week. Newt Gingrich has also been talking down the GOP contenders, saying a Dem victory is 80% likely. After holding his "American solutions" national town meeting next week, the former speaker may also jump into the race. What a year it's going to be.
I've been vacationing in Charleston, SC, the past few days, and the air down here is full of political energy as South Carolinians soak up the attentions of Giuliani, Romney, McCain, Thompson, and other Republicans courting their vote in the state's important early primary.
Charleston's atmosphere is also alive with Civil War history, with Fort Sumter's gray silhouette out in the harbor as a constant reminder. You can't visit here without reflecting on the huge struggles and sacrifices of our forebears in making real the promises of liberty and union as voiced in the Declaration of Independence.
Does wartime for our own generation have its divisions and its price? Yes, but it's nothing compared to what Americans endured in 1861-65. They kept the faith; will we? What it now means to keep the faith is one of the topics for Backbone Radio this Sunday, as Joshua Sharf, Matt Dunn, and Karen Kataline host the show for me. Please be listening.
** Bob Schaffer checks in with a report on his Republican candidacy for US Senate in 2008, and Mary Smith of the Giuliani campaign talks about how her front-running candidate for the White House is doing in Colorado.
** Ibrahim Kazerooni, a leader in Denver's Muslim community, tentative accepted Joshua's invitation to come on the air; we'll hope for a conversation with him on the 23rd.
** Plus my recorded interview with Raphael Shore, producer of the shocking movie "Obsession," a look at radical Islam's plan for world conquest.
In closing, more proof of my frequent reminder that talk radio is changing the world -- and we're part of it. Yesterday a man in Africa (name withheld for reasons you'll see in a moment) sent me word through a church in Texas:
"John, thanks for having me on the show last year and writing about it afterward. But now my conversion to Christ and my work to relieve poverty are prompting threats on my life, inflamed by lies about me based on web searches. Your notes about my US visit must come down from the Internet."
As I said above, you and I just think we face challenges. Amazing heroes, now and in the past, overshadow any of that and set us a high example. Let's keep doing all we can!
Yours for self-government, JOHN ANDREWS