News/Talk has been one of my favorite formats for years and I’ve listened to KLBM-AM for years (I remember listening to WBBM in Chicago growing up). Unfortunately I rarely listen anymore. KLBJ (590 AM) bills itself as "The News and Talk of Austin" but seems to thrive on ultra-conservative and controversial hosts. The morning show has Mark Caesar, Ed Clements (BBQ, Beer and golf are a major focus), and Sgt. Sam Cox (a 31 year veteran of APD’s police force whose belief system seems to center around the law and government always being right and the rights of citizens are of no concern). This is followed by Neal Boortz, Rush Limbaugh, and then Jeff Ward (a self-styled libertarian). With this lineup I tune in occasionally to catch the News but peace and quiet are much preferred to what this station has devolved into.
KLBJ-AM 590
Owner: Emmis / Sinclair
Amen! I find it amazing that in Texas’ capital city, there is no real news radio station. We had the same problem in Florida. I didn’t know good — and unusual! — WTOP in Washington, DC, was!
Add the fact that KLBJAM recently switched it’s national news to the Faux radio network from the ABC network and you get a clear picture of the market they are serving…
God forbid Austin have something more to offer than one unified liberal voice… BAHHHH BAHHHHH, KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD!!
Thursday morning my husband and I were on our way out of town when we heard Sgt Sam talking about a couple suing over a mistake at a fertility clinic. Sam said if they didn’t want the baby, they should give it away. He said that is what people have always done when they didn’t want a child. They just put them up for adoption. How many people did he hurt with his hateful, know-it-all attitude? Adoptees, birthfamilies, and adoptive families could all be hurt by his words. I hope he will read, “The Girls Who Went Away” by Ann Fessler. There were 1.5 million young girls who gave up their babies during the years covered in her book. Those babies were wanted by the mother. Society didn’t want the babies, they only wanted to punish the mother, but that mother wanted her child. How many young children might have heard his words? No one needs to be told they were not wanted. There are adult adoptees that truly believe they were not wanted and therefore were given away. This is rarely the case. Many mothers today are still grieving over giving up a child. When he stated his hateful words, I began to cry, and my husband, the wonderful man I have been married to for 37 years, pulled the car off the road. He said we would never listen to the ignorant Sgt Cox again. I decided at that time I would alert all the adoption groups that I know of and ask them to also boycott Sgt Sam and the radio station. If you are interested in adoption and read Ann’s book, read my story. I am Linda1 in the book. I would ask for an apology, but Sgt Sam doesn’t have the guts to say he is sorry. He isn’t man enough. If he were to say he was sorry for his ignorance, he would just try to qualify his remarks, but he would never take responsibility. He isn’t a man. He never has been one and he never will be one. I thank God he is off the police force and I wish he was off the airways. There is just too much of this meaness in the world today. We don’t need ignorance in Austin. We can be weird, but we can’t be ignorant. I am Linda1 in the book and in the movie. You can check out “The Girls Who Went Away” at your local library or purchase a copy at Amazon. And if you are reading this and you are adopted, please know that someone somewhere is asking God tonight and every night, to keep you safe, protected, and loved.
It is sad to hear that there are still people who are given the ability to speak on radio, such as Sgt Sam, who can make statements such as they one he reportedly made about adoption. His statement that adoption is “what people have always done when they didn’t want a child” indicates not only a gross ignorance of adoption but an insensitivity to the attachment that comes with giving birth to a child.
Placing a child for adoption is not easy. If you google “infant” and “adoption” the first hit has long been http://www.openadoption.org, my web site going over issues surrounding adoption. Sgt. Sam may want to study those pages. Adoption is a very difficult and painful process and should only be done with much care and information available. His statements on the air have hurt many birth parents, adoptees, and adoptive parents. Does he have the courage to address the issues he ignored on the air, or will he hide behind his macho?
Sgt. Sam is PRO-LIFE. What that means is THE BABY DESERVES A CHOICE, TOO. If the parents don’t want to have a baby, they can raise a healthy little baby in the mother’s belly and then adopt him/her out.
Sgt. Sam’s choice is a much better choice than putting the baby to death. Sometimes people don’t want to hear the view of someone who is wise in their years. Someday, those people will learn and regret their acts. Hopefully when those people learn they were wrong, they will help others who are confused such as Sgt. Sam tries to do.
Thanks Sgt. Sam! You don’t beat around the bush about your beliefs like liberals do and that’s why I think you are great!!