I was on the Randi Rhodes Show yesterday

I called into Air America Radio during The Randi Rhodes Show yesterday and got on air. Randi was going on about Lil Ricky "Man on Dog Action" Santorum and the very creepy profile on him in yesterday's Washington Post, particularly this paragraph about one of his sons who was born prematurely, at 20 weeks and lived two hours outside the womb:

"Upon their son's death, Rick and Karen Santorum opted not to bring his body to a funeral home. Instead, they bundled him in a blanket and drove him to Karen's parents' home in Pittsburgh. There, they spent several hours kissing and cuddling Gabriel with his three siblings, ages 6, 4 and 1 1/2. They took photos, sang lullabies in his ear and held a private Mass."

Randi also mentioned Santorum's cyber school problems but I noticed that she didn't mention the Act 50 Homestead Exemption issue so I called in about that.

First, I have to say that this show really vets the callers. Some people have called Rhodes a "female Rush" but what I like about Randi is her amazing command of the facts on any number of topics (as opposed to Rush's willingness to say anything truth be damned). While I was on hold, her staff kept getting back on the line with me to question me at length about the issue and to ask for newspaper sources on the topic.

Finally, I was on with Randi herself. It was quite an experience -- she has a rapid fire delivery -- and I had to really work it to keep up with her jokes and get my point across that Sen. Man on Dog is a tax cheat who doesn't deserve to take the exemption because, while he certainly owns the home in question in Penn Hills, it is in no way his primary residence. I did manage to get in that Democracy for Pittsburgh was involved in a petition drive to demand that Santorum pay back his taxes with interest and penalties.

Along the way, we agreed that Randi was a "better woman" than Lil Ricky since she took the hit in paying her taxes in NYC despite also having a residence in FLA.