Musings: Rustling Rats

The sky when we set out this morning reflected my own state of mind: gray, but some light around the edges. The sides of the street were soggy, but Koko and I didn’t have to walk there often because traffic was sparse.

By the time we headed home, the sky was slightly brighter and so was my mood. Perhaps I’d just been picking up on the collective consciousness in Hawaii, where Warriors mania turned into misery with their resounding defeat in the Sugar Bowl.

Got in the house and my pre-dawn suspicions were confirmed: there’s a rat, likely several, in the wall between the kitchen and the bathroom. Rodents make a racket, and I could hear them tumbling, even squeaking, as they raced up and down the interior walls. Yuck.

With all this wet weather, and my proximity to a heavy vegetated valley, I’m not surprised, but neither am I pleased. The next step is death, by any available means (except chocolate). I pounded on the wall to let them know I was home, and Koko started whining and sniffing, on hyper alert.

I smell a rat with the news that KKCR has “pre-empted” — to use the words of station staffer Donna Lewis — the show hosted on alternate Thursday afternoons by Katy Rose and Jimmy Trujillo.

“There are several issues regarding your 12-20 broadcast we'd like to discuss with you upon return of the General Manager,” Lewis wrote in an email to the two.

Aside from her use of the word aloha to open and close the message — I mean, how much aloha are you feeling when you’re canceling someone's show and stifling their freedom of speech? — I find it odd that the email was sent out yesterday, a full 11 days after the show.

If station staff had problems with the show, which focused on the termination/suspension (it’s still unclear which it is) of "Songs of Sovereignty" host Ka`iulani Huff, why didn’t they say something sooner? They certainly were aware of it, as staff member Dawn Jewell came into the studio and demanded that she be allowed to read on air a statement from the station management.

Perhaps the pre-emption stems not so much from the show, but from what happened after the show: Katy (I’m not sure about Jimmy) went to the station on the following two Mondays to support the reinstatement of “Songs of Sovereignty,” only to find the place locked up tight.

Or perhaps the station’s staff is afraid of what might happen on tomorrow’s show; you know, that people might actually talk about the issues related to the station itself.

Either way, the pre-emption is a major power play, a clear reminder, to use the words of a CS&N song (I don’t think Neil Young was with them yet): “Step outta line, the man come, and take you away.” Or at least cut off your microphone.

There’s a disclaimer that’s played on the station that goes something like this: the views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of the station’s management, board or underwriters.

Perhaps, in the interest of honesty, it should be changed to: the views expressed must reflect those of the station’s management. It’s unclear what the board and underwriters think about the little power plays that are going on. Do they know or do they care? (Ooops, now we’re moving into KONG lingo.)

Hale Mawae, who was on both of the “controversial” shows in question, goes into more depth about all this on on his own blog.

Well, the sky is getting darker, the room is getting colder and the hour of my deadline is getting nearer, so I’d better wrap this up and get to work. It seems like a good time to pull out this quote:

“The most revolutionary act one can commit in our world is to be happy."
~ Patch Adams

Hey, if you throw in a “don’t worry,” you might even have a hit song.

And if you want to get really perky, you can check out this NPR piece on conservation in Hawaii — always a cheery topic.