Sunday evening on WRKO, RedMassGroup.com editor Garrett Quinn joined me in studio for a lively discussion of Massachusetts politics and the dreaded conservative versus RINO debate. Like me, Garrett is a recovering Democrat with a strong libertarian streak. I enjoyed having him on and hope to do so again soon.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
I was pleased to welcome Republican state senator Scott Brown to Pundit Review Radio this weekend. Scott is running to replace Ted Kennedy in the United States Senate. You can learn more about his campaign here.
We took as many calls as we could in the time we had Scott with us. He comes across as a solid , decent human being, an independent thinker and considering the caliber of person we usually send to Washington, a huge breath of fresh air.
I hope to have Scott back on the show many times between now and the Special Election in January. What a message we could send to Washington by filling Ted Kennedy’s seat with an independent thinking Republican!
Many pundits (ok, all of them) think Scott faces long odds in this campaign. History would say so. But these are different times and people are frustrated and willing to listen, in my opinion. For example, after the interview I heard from a close family member who has never, ever even considered voting for a Republican. This person stubs their toe and their idea of a curse is to mutter “You dirty Republican”. He said Scott Brown had his vote because of his independent thinking and refreshing honesty. Long shot? Maybe. Impossible? I think not.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match.
This week Bruce told us about Lt James Adamson, who serves with the Royal Regiment of Scotland in Afghanistan.
The citation for Lt Adamson’s award – as detailed on the MoD website – reads: “Adamson’s supreme physical courage, combined with the calm leadership he continued to display after a very close encounter with the Taliban, were of the very highest order.
His actions also neutralised an enemy flanking attack which could have resulted in casualties for his platoon.
The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Lt. Shannon Meehan was a decorated tank commander who was displaying exceptional leadership abilities during his tour of duty in Iraq. On one mission, when they were clearing a dangerous area house by house, he called in an air strike on a suspected insurgents location. He followed all procedure and even went further, sending loudspeakers and translators directly in front of the house to warn everyone inside to get out. Despite visual identification, local Intel, loudspeaker warnings, the worst happened. The precision guided bomb destroyed a house with a family inside. Beyond Duty is the story of how Lt. Meehan has been struggling with the consequences of his decision.
I told Lt. Meehan on air that I wished I could just hug him and tell him that it was ok, that he followed his training, went even further and had nothing to be ashamed of or feel guilty about. I said to him that as a citizen he was fighting for, I was perfectly comfortable with what he did, despite the outcome that nobody wanted. A literal casualty of war this was. This book boiled down to its essence is this, it is about the difference between us and them. Our enemies who gleefully murder innocents and use civilians as shields. And us, specifically Lt. Meehan, who are so considerate and cautious about respecting innocent life, even as they operate in the world’s worst hell holes, putting themselves in greater danger to do so. It is a sin that a man like Lt. Meehan is haunted by what happened. I pray that he is able to put this incident in perspective and find the peace that he deserves and the future that he dreamed about with his dedicated wife AJ.
Lt. Meehan collaborated with Roger Thompson, a professor of English at VMI where Meehan went to college. Beyond Duty is an exceptional book. It takes the reader to Iraq, to feel all sides of a deployed soldiers life, from the boredom, the bullshit to the battles and the searing heat inside the tank. This is a book that every American should read in order to get a full accounting of what it means to send men and women off to war. You may finish, but you won’t forget Beyond Duty. I can’t recommend this one highly enough.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
UPDATE: Last night, Bruce McQuain used the Someone You Should Know segment to describe to us in vivid detail the battle on the side of an Afghan mountain which ultimately cost Jared Monti, and two other soldiers, their lives.
My thoughts and prayers are with Jared’s family, friends and fellow soldiers today.
On August 30, 2009 I was joined in studio by Blue Mass Group co-founder David Kravitz. We were honored and humbled that Jared’s father Paul, along with two of Jared’s best friends, Darin Souza and Janell Holmes, were able to join us as well. Paul wants Jared remembered for the man he was, not for the soldier he was, and it’s easy to see why. As we learned that night, through some highly entertaining stories, Jared was one hell of man. His loss is a big one for the military, but more so for humanity.
Local bloggers from both sides of the aisle came together and helped raise more than $3000 for the Jared C. Monti Scholarship Fund. It’s not too late to honor his service and sacrifice, please consider making a donation,
PAYPAL ONLINE DONATION:
On Father’s Day weekend in 2007, Pundit Review Radio featured Massachusetts native Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti as Someone You Should Know. Bruce McQuain told us about Jared not through a media account, but through the words of his fellow soldiers.
Following Bruce’s moving tribute we were honored to have Jared’s father Paul join us to talik about his son. As you can imagine, this was a difficult night for Paul. Father’s Day was the last time he spoke to his son, who was killed three days later in Afghanistan, on June 21, 2006.
Retired Lt. Col. Ralph Peters is a Fox News strategic analyst and columnist for the New York Post. He is also one of our favorite and most frequent guests on Pundit Review Radio.
Ralph has a new novel, a thriller, called The War After Armageddon, which is in bookstores starting tomorrow. The story starts following multiple dirty bomb attacks in the US and AFTER Israel has been nuked off the face of the earth by Iran. Not a pleasant topic, but one that grows more realistic with each passing day.
We had to start by aksing Ralph about about the vile Maureen Dowd column from Sunday, which elicited a typical Ralph Peters response…awesome.
We also talked about the anniversary of 9/11, he says we have learned nothing and are wrong to pretend that Islamic jihadists will change their stripes.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match.
This week Bruce told us about Sgt. 1st Class William Tomlin, via IBD,
The clash, he says, boiled down to haves vs. have-nots.
“We were throwing hand grenades at them and they were throwing hand grenades at us,” he said. “We just had more hand grenades.”
Once back with the main group, Henne pushed forward with Tomlin against nearly every assault. Tomlin was calm, Henne says, while moving fast and delegating tasks assertively.
Tomlin stood at the head of the group through a number of blitzes, wielding hand grenades, shoulder-fired rockets and his M4 rifle.
He was acting on his belief that leaders lead, and you can’t lead from the back of the pack.
“He was the epitome of what a leader should be,” Henne said.
The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.