Fresh Loaf

Neal Boortz was about ready to blow a fuse yesterday over a commercial for Democrat Jim Martin, who is challenging Saxby Chambliss for the U.S. Senate. The ad makes the very correct claim that Chambliss has proposed a national sales tax (AKA, Boortz’s very unfair “Fair Tax”) that would jack up the cost of everything you buy by about 23 percent.

That’s exactly what the “Fair (Hahahaha) Tax” would do. Boortz and his lurching brigade of intellectually challenged me-too-ers, claim Martin’s assertion is a lie. Why? Because the “Fair Tax” would ostensibly replace all federal taxes, which Boortz said on air today total 22 percent of the price of goods. Even if Boortz was precisely accurate, Chambliss’ proposal would still cost taxpayers 1 percent more than what they currently pay. According to Boortz. (more…)

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The AJC, quoting an Atlanta police report, just posted a story on its website stating that WSB radio talk-show host Neal Boortz has received several unsigned death threats.

Who on earth could possibly want the hate-mongering host dead?

Far be it from us to suggest who sent Boortz the ugly emails — certainly not the “ghetto slut” and former U.S. rep from Georgia, Cynthia McKinney … or the Ebonics-embracing former Atlanta City Councilman Derrick Boazman … or those “wussified” students victimized by last year’s Virginia Tech shootings … or any of the country’s “ignorant” and “worthless” minimum wage earners … or one of the “worthless parasites” displaced from New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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SOFT CORPS: In a salve for metro Atlanta’s water woes, the Army Corps of Engineers releases a new proposal reducing the minimum amount of water that can be released from Lake Lanier daily. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has until June 1 to approve the plan. Perdue already approves.

GSUED: Georgia State is sued by three academic publishers for digitally reproducing materials for online without asking permission or paying licensing fees.

BELFRY-FOR-ALL: “Dozens” to “tens of thousands” of Mexican free-tailed bats’ noise and guano annoy Augustans.

CLAYTON: School board replaces chairwoman Ericka Davis, who resigned, with Eddie White, who had already announced he’s resigning in June.

BLANK SLATE: NYT profiles the Falcons’ owner, his turbulent 2007 and the reset ‘08 Falcons.

TANGLED WEB: Boortz Web link to mdjonline.com video crashes the paper’s servers.

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Creative Loafing columnist and firebrand preacher John Sugg was on CNN last night.

Here he is sitting next to Neal Boortz discussing the college student who asked Chelsea Clinton a question about Monica Lewinsky last week.

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How many times does Neal Boortz have to say things like this and post things on his website like this before people quit disputing that he’s a racist?

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(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Influential talk-radio host Neal Boortz was shocked this morning — shocked, I tell you —as he blasted Barack Obama for failing to wear an American flag lapel pin in Iowa campaigning.

“Barack Obama will no longer wear a flag on his lapel because he says it is a symbol of supporting the war in Iraq,” Boortz said, in the midst of his incredulity and outrage over Obama’s near-treasonous wardrobe admission.

Never mind that Obama never actually said the lapel omission had anything to do with Iraq. Or that it’s pitiful to try to turn lapel flags into a litmus test for presidential candidates. Surely, I thought, Boortz must brandish the flag on his chest wherever he goes out in public! Then, Andisheh pointed out that Boortz (left) didn’t appear to be wearing a flag at an event CL photographer Joeff Davis shot last week. Neither did the ever-patriotic Newt Gingrich (center). Nor überpatriot Sean Hannity. Strange. Perhaps, they were wearing patriotic underwear.

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Of the 15 senators and representatives representing Georgia in Congress, number who are millionaires: 11

Percentage of Americans in 2005 whose net worth exceeded $1 million: 3

Median family income in Georgia in 2005: $53,744

Annual salary of U.S. senators and representatives: $165,000

Amount Rep. John Linder, worth $23.5 million, says he earned in royalties from the book The Fair Tax, co-authored with talk-show host Neal Boortz: $500,000

Approximate tax owed on $500,000 book income: $147,206

Tax Linder would owe on $500,000 book income if his Fair Tax proposal became law: $0

Combined self-reported net worth of Republican senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss: $12.7 million

Cost over five years of children’s health-care funding that Isakson and Chambliss voted against last week: $35 billion

Cost over next decade of extending Bush-proposed tax cuts, a proposal both senators support: $1 trillion

Sources: Macon Telegraph, U.S. Census Bureau, CNN Money.com, the Center for Responsive Politics, Washington Post, MoneyChimp.com, Congressional Budget Office

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Neal Boortz joined eight other conservative radio talk-show hosts at the White House yesterday for a meeting with President Bush.

Says Boortz on today’s Nealz Nuze Web page:

“I was particularly impressed by his grasp of the political and cultural interactions among the various Muslim sects and countries of the Middle East.”

A guy who doesn’t know anything or care to know anything about “various Muslim sects and countries of the Middle East” is impressed by a guy who appears to know slightly more than he does.

It’s 2007. Praising Bush for grasping “interactions” of “Muslim sects” is like praising a plumber for bringing a plunger to work.

“Hey, Neal, how was that plumber you had over to the house the other day?”

“I was particularly impressed by his grasp of unclogging the various drains in my bathroom.”

Despite being impressed with the president’s intellect, Neal’s visit gave him cause to whine:

“Now .. just so you know. When a reporter for the Washington Post, CNN or any of the big three broadcast networks is invited to spend some time in an off-the-record conversation with the president, that’s all hunky dory. But when a conservative (I’m now sure they know I’m a libertarian) talk show host is invited to discuss issues with the president, we’re simply there to get our talking points and marching orders.”

Do you hear that, people? NO REPUBLICAN TALKING POINTS FROM NEAL BOORTZ.

Other Nealz Nuze items today include:

“How long have I and other talk show hosts been telling you that Democrats are invested in failure in Iraq?”

“Has there ever before been a time in America where a major political party would virtually pray for our defeat in a war so that they could demonize the leader? …”

“What we’re seeing here is simply an attempt to bring Hillarycare – socialized medicine – quietly through the back door. “

“… Obama illustrated vividly that he is not seasoned enough, or perhaps just flat-out not qualified, to be our president.”

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Six-and-a-half years of cheerleading a disastrous presidency seems to have exhausted self-proclaimed talkmeister Neal Boortz’s ability to spew artful spin on the White House’s behalf.

Yesterday, to defend President Bush’s commutation of felon Scooter Libby’s jail sentence, Boortz didn’t even try to spin. He just flat-out lied.

Said the self-proclaimed talkmeister to a caller: “Scooter Libby and Bill Clinton got sentenced and convicted for exactly the same crime.”

When the caller pointed out the falsehood, Boortz repeated it: “We’re talking about a criminal trial, sir. The verdict was guilty. He was disbarred as a result of that verdict.”

Boortz is lying.

Bill Clinton was impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate. It was not a criminal trial, nor did it result in a conviction.

Clinton was indeed disbarred for lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, first in Arkansas, then by the Supreme Court, but that was the result of a deal with special prosecutor Robert Ray that precluded criminal charges.

Boortz was an attorney before he was a Bush-lackey. He knows better.

(Thank you to Doug “Reverse Carpetbagger” Monroe for the Media Matters link.)

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Isn’t this the pot calling the kettle beige?

– Doug Monroe’s Peachtree Screed on Neal Boortz’s column calling shock jocks Opie and Anthony “immature and sick.” Boortz berated the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting for not ganging up on their attacker.

Gas prices are on the rise and drivers are feeling the pinch.

What do you think we should do short term and long term to provide solutions?

– Vernon Jones on his new Senate campaign blog, Jonesin’ For Georgia

I was kind of disappointed his website didn’t have an NC-17 rating.

– Erick at Peach Pundit on Jones’ blog. Erick’s post includes a delightful illustration.

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