Shannyn Moore and Her Guests

Alaska Public Radio's producer/reporter/announcer emeritus, Steve Heimel has been doing radio longer than just about anyone in Anchorage. Except Herb Shaindlin, of course. But Steve has been producing quality public radio programs for almost 40 years.

He's covered almost every kind of subject matter an Alaskan can imagine. His show, Talk of Alaska, heard all around our state every Tuesday from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. always seeks to be as timely and topical as scheduling can allow.

He gets to interview experts in many areas. Earlier this week, he interviewed John W. Dean, Richard Nixon's Chief Counsel at the time of the Watergate break-in and the beginning of the cover-up. Dean has since gone on to become a critic of the corrupt political paradigm that drove such people as Nixon and George W. Bush to abandon comity, common sense and our constitution.

Today, KUDO's Shannyn Moore, the most dynamic radio personality in recent Anchorage history, interviewed Dean for an hour too. Both hers and Heimel's interviews are part of the introduction and promotion of Dean's upcoming keynote address, this Saturday evening, at the Alaska Democratic Party Convention in Palmer, at the Alaska State Fair grounds.

I listened to Steve's entire interview. Heimel has a keen sense of the times that have shaped Dean's metamorphosis. That helped make the interview one of Talk of Alaska's best ever. Dean appreciated Steve's ease and dry wit.

I was only able to catch the last part of Shannyn's Dean segment today. And that was too bad, because I was interested in comparing her methods to Steve's and Dean's response to two skilled questioners. What I heard, though, was interesting.

Dean seemed intrigued with Moore's control of explosive metaphor, laughing at the images she drew more than once. I was driving around in my pickup truck, with my dog nudging me, boxes falling over, stops to make as I picked up materials to bring over to the fair grounds for the convention set-up. And KUDO, whose signal sucks in the Valley, sucks even more on old Chevy radios. I couldn't take notes.

An hour earlier, I had been able to get more of Moore's interview with another important, controversial and patriotic American - Scott Ritter. Nobody in the USA tried harder, more articulately or with more determination in the face of slime attacks by the Fascist dogs that are called neo-Conservatives, than did Ritter.

As the chief weapon inspector for the UN in Iraq in most of time between Bush War I and Bush War II, he had unique knowledge about Iraqi war making potential before the present phase of the Iraq War. He was lauded when he said things the neo-cons could shape in their favor, vilified when he disagreed with them.

I've read a lot of Ritter's articles, and two of his books. He's been more accurate about the situation in the Persian Gulf than anyone. He's trying to stop the upcoming Iran War, which both he and I believe is inevitable before the middle of October.

I called in, asking if he thought the United States and Israel have succeeded in creating and deploying a second generation of enhanced radiation nuclear weapons. He replied, saying (I'm paraphrasing - dog, truck, boxes flying around), "They have. It shows in changes in both countries' announced nuclear war fighting policies over the past two years."

My radio then went out of range, as I neared The Butte.