Death By Taxation...

Have you ever heard the cliche, " The only sure things in life are death and taxes."? the truth of the matter is that it is most likely that the death was caused by taxes! Why do I say such a strange thing, you may be asking. Well, recent events have given me an interesting take on this phrase.

Every person in the world who has ever punched a time-clock has dreamed of being rich, retired or their own boss, doing what they love, and not answering to anyone but themselves. It's a great dream and those who achieve it are generally glad that they did. Mostly...

The retired and the wealthy have different agendas than those who become their own bosses. Those who opt for self-employment learn a lot of things and one of those things is that if you can't keep your own books, you need to find someone trustworthy to do it for you. Many a business venture has bitten the dust because the people keeping the books and handling the finances were either dishonest or incompetent. The product was good, and the service was excellent, but the money didn't get where it was supposed to go, and eventually the discrepancies caught up with the business. Sometimes it is creditors, but sometimes it is the taxman himself. Yep, The I.R.S. Uncle Sam.

Some uncle he turns out to be, let me tell you. Do you know that if you owe taxes that the I.R.S. can seize your assets? They can go directly into your bank account and take the money that they think you owe them. With not so much as a "heads up" that it's coming out. They get into your account and pull out the funds. Doesn't matter that you have checks written on the money in the account. It means nothing to them. So what happens? Well if you don't have money to put back in that account, those checks are gonna bounce sky high, and you know what that means, your gonna be getting calls from all of the people that you wrote those check to and they are going to want their money, NOW!!!

This compounds an already big problem, because now you owe even more money that you don't have because not only will your bank charge you for every check that bounces, but everyone who has one of those checks will be charging you for the fees that THEIR banks charge them! How the hell does this help anyone?

Now I'm not talking about a multi-million dollar business here, I'm talking about a small fry business man who answers his own phones, and does his own inventory and still talks to his suppliers on the phone every week. If he is lucky he has one or maybe 2 employees who know every cent he spends on the business and are happy to do without when the times call for it. This is a guy who takes a cut in his own pay so that his employees can continue to get their full pay when things are slow. This is a small business in every sense of the word, and these are the people that truly make America work. They are the ones truly living the American Dream.

The taxman cometh, and with him the death of a dream. So this is why I would like to try and collect $1 from 5000 people in the next month. I know a small businessman who is looking down the barrel of the I.R.S. gun and if he can't pull some money from thin air he will probably lose the business that he has built up over 20 some years of blood, sweat and sacrifice. The problem is not of his making, but it is his responsibility. And so I would like to try and help him.

He did everything right as far as he knew. And he made the calls and asked the questions and everything he did was right as far as he knew, and as far as he was told. But then earlier this year he finds out that there was something not done correctly three years ago and since the I.R.S begins fining from the start of the problem rather than when they notify you about it, the bill has grown to be quite hefty.

Why would you help? Hasn't everyone at one time or another dreamed of being a hero to someone? They say that you can't fight city hall, and it's true, you have a better chance of pushing you head through a concrete wall, than winning this type of argument against the I.R.S. But with the help of the heroes of America it is possible to help one Little person with a big-ass problem. All it takes is a little spare change. who doesn't have a dollar to spare? The lose change in your couch cushions, under the floor-mat of the car, or in the ashtray. The change from your coffee break for a day or 2 adds up to a dollar. With one measly, little dollar you can help one guy keep his dreams alive. All I am looking for is for 5000 people to give up the cost of one McDonald's cheeseburger. The difference in the cost of a large coffee to a medium. A regular value meal instead of a super-sized one.

I believe that there are enough people out in the world who can do this. I believe that there are enough people out in Facebook-land who can spare a single dollar, this month, and help one guy keep his dream alive. How many times have you given money to a cause, and never known where it goes? Never see what it does? Here is a chance to give to a cause and every penny goes to the cause. There is no agency taking bits and pieces out of it. And here is the kicker, if I get MORE than is needed to cover this I.R.S. fine, I will donate the rest to a very worthy charity in Rochester NY. called "Wease Cares for Kids". Another worthy cause that gives 100% of all donation back to the community. What could be better than helping out one person? Helping one kid!

So what do you say, People of Facebook? Friends, friends of friends and friend- friends friends.... Go viral and make something cool happen!!! Just $1.

Karl White
14485 Puzzey Rd
Albion NY 14411

4 months later

So it has been 4 months since my favorite radio geek has come back on the air. Wease is Wease and now that the show has gelled and everyone has begun to get used to each other, I can give an honest critique of the show. I still love the show, but there are somethings that get to me.

One thing that I have noticed is that I am not impressed with the executive producer, Anthony. As I have said before, I am aware that I don't actually know these people, but the persona that they present on the air each day, that being said, the producer seems to me to be a nice guy, but not the brightest bulb on the tree. I hope that it is a persona, because I trust that Wease will surround himself with competent people, but sometimes I wonder about this guy. He believed that his daughter was born with Vick's Vapo-rub™on her head, because his wife ate the stuff when she was pregnant! Not the sharpest knife in the drawer! That is just one example, but there are many others where his beliefs seem to trump his visions of the truth.

I enjoy his producer Nick. He seems a genuine guy, but a little too conservative or right wing for the person he is working for. To be honest he is the main producer for the right-wing talk show host on the AM station, so he has a little bias coming into the show. I like his way of injecting his view when he disagrees with Wease. He likes to remind the show and Wease in particular, that not all the world is as liberal as he is. In fact, Nick has occasionally made some good points that I even agree with. Especially when he speaks of the money that has been wasted by local governments in the multitude of snafus over the years, and how that money would have been better used for education, infrastructure and law enforcement, rather than just "cool stuff."

The male sidekick, Jamie Lissow, he is a stand-up comedian who has been on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he has been on Fox News show Red-Eye, and he has his own 1/2 hour comedy special on Comedy Central. He is funny in a dry sort of way. His humor reminds me very much a the kid in the back of the class making stupid jokes at the teachers expense. He is a jock and a health nut. He likes his healthfood snack and he reminds everyone just how unhealthy they really are! He has his own little segment where he gets some of the local news items that are pretty stupid. They make us laugh, and everyone comments on the items so it takes a good half hour to get through the bit. I like him over all and I hope he gets better, he is good now, but I think he has some development room.

The female sidekick is Lilly, she is a complex little girl. Interesting in some ways and infuriating as all hell in other ways. One day I like her and I would love to have a conversation with her, then she says something later and I hope I never have to talk to her. Who knows the mind of a woman? Not even a woman!! Oh well, it's not like I want to date her or anything, she's just a voice on the radidio! I am curious about her though, She is a first generation American, as her parents are Albanian born. She was raised in Jersey, and has a decent education. I wonder if she speaks Albanian? If so, does she speak any other languages? I would really like to talk to her on the informational level just for my own curiosity. She has said that she finds religion silly. A great thought to me, but a strange wording. Silly? Maybe frightening, morbid, insane... but silly? I guess, but as long as she isn't a freak about following some ancient useless cult, I give her points for intelligence.

All in all the show has come together pretty well. I'm sure that there will be changes and adjustments to come, but so far, it's good. Could be better, and it sure could be worse. Right now I give it a 3 out of 5 stars. The interactivity of the show now is great with the webcams and the chat room, and the accessibility of the show is the best it has ever been. I can email the show and be acknowledged on air in a few minutes. That is great. The content hasn't been stellar. Some of the guests have left a little to be desired, but last week with Bobby Slayton! That was batting 1000. The various interns have provided some great radio, for sure, and they are learning from a true master of the medium. The phone screener Leah and the computer chick Colleen are great to chat with occasionally. I hope it gets better, because it is already good, but it still can be great!!

No doubt!

Got me a shout out of the radidio Today!! I was doin' my thing in the new Wease Chatroom and low he asked who was in there and Lissow (new male sidekick) read off some names and Guess what? Shipping troll was right there in the list!!! cool or what? Nothing like supporting the stuff you enjoy!

Why am I excited about a radio geek?

Yes, I'm happy to have Wease back on the air. Why? Because he is the iconic voice of Rochester for me. There are many other voices that could fit that bill, and I am sure that other people have this feeling about Dave Kane, or Dino, or Tom George, or Terri Clifford, or any hundred other radio personalities that we have come to know and love.

The truth is that unless we actually spend time with them, we really don't know these voices by anything else than what they say to us on any given day. If we listen long enough we have the chance to put together a cohesive memory of them as we imagine them, which depending upon how they do their job could be very close to correct, or simply a manifestation of their on-air persona. As listeners, we have no idea which is which. Sadly some people go for the persona, rather than actually finding out about the person. The truth is that I only know Wease anecdotally. I have listened to him on the radio for nearly 20 years, and I have seen him at various functions, and even spoken with him on the air on occasion, but I know that I don't know him. What I do know though, is this, he seems to live his life on the air, we the listeners, have listened as he has raised his children, fought with his various wives, courted and married the lovely and emotional Doreen. We have heard him argue politics, religion, and education. He has related in graphic detail his military history, as well as his half-dozen other occupations. We know how he used to moon his mother and wrap paper reams for his father the printer (and bookie!). We know about his RV experience, and his Harley years. We know about his cancer and all the treatments that he dealt with to get him past it. We listened as he has mentored and sent on to glory and fame, Stephanie Miller and Opie ( of Opie and Anthony), and lord knows how many others, BJ Shay, Rich Genzler, (sp?) there was a chick between The One Whose Name We May Not Mention, and Stephanie, but I can't for the life of me remember her name. He brought us Tom Mule, and Lumpy, and Billy D'Torre. He has hooked us on different music, like Lucinda Williams, Kelly Hunt, Cross Canadian Ragweed, and countless other bands and performers. Comedians of every flavor come to Rochester and sit in with Wease. Other stations are left hanging while they sit in the studio and shuck & jive with our Brother Wease. Bobby Slayton, Thea Vidal, the late Sam Kinison. If you can name the comedian you can just about guarantee that they have sat in with Wease. He dissed Pauly Shore!! How sweet was that!!

I discovered Wease by accident in the late 80's. I live in the gray area centered between 2 amazingly diverse cities,Buffalo and Rochester, NY, and within radio reach of Toronto, Canada. I have choices when it comes to radio listening, and as a kid I was good at exercising that choice. There was never any guessing what I would be listening to from one day to the next. French- Canadian Pop? yup. AM country station? yup. Rock-n-Roll? yup. Top 40 pop? yup. I listened to it all, from the sappy ballads to heavy metal, I just enjoyed the music. Sometime in the mid 80's my favorite Buffalo rock radio station went off the air and I was searching for a new favorite. I tried a couple stations but didn't care for their particular mix, which sounds odd since I listened to such a wide variety, but the truth is that I know what I want when I am looking for it! So anyway I found WCMF. They were great and I loved 'em, but in the mornings it seemed that the DJ talked a lot more than he played the music, and truthfully I always enjoyed what he was saying. I was still in high school at this time so I didn't have the opportunity to listen for hours at a time, but I began to tune it each day on my way to school. Then when I finally graduated I had a commute to work each day and in that hour I listened. I began to like the talk and not like the wait when the music was playing, I wanted to hear more of the stories and life of this raspy voice that filled my car every morning. Then I moved.

I moved to South Florida and was surround by a whole different radio environment, now I had salsa stations side by side with redneck country stations, and rock stations, and dance stations, and Spanish language stations and Cubano stations. Musically, I was in heaven, but as for a personality that really hooked me? Nope, the best I could do was Herman and McBean in the Morning. HACKS!! Third rate compared to my hometown hero, Wease! Fortunately my sojourn in S. Florida was short lived as I was hard pressed to find employment that would allow me to have both an apartment and food.

Back home I was happy to find the familiar voice ringing in my radio. I spent a few years working different jobs but the one constant was that I could count on being able to hear Wease while I worked, Painting houses, fixing RVs, delivering parts, or anything else that I did. Then I moved again. This time it was still in NY but way up north on the St. Regis Reservation. I was working in an Indian Casino. It was a fun job, but it didn't last, that was the year that Northern NY Blew up! I never met so many State Police in my life, and they are all pretty good guys over all. The chicks in uniform are HOT!! I don't know what it is about them broads with guns but man they trip my trigger! (intended!) SO I was in a Radio Wasteland, I was lucky to get a few local AM stations and one or two Canadian stations that reached us from Montreal. No contest, I missed Wease! Finally the time came when I headed south again and got back into the proper radio range!

Then I got the job at the bar. I worked until 2 am. Getting up early wasn't easy, but I did it. Not to listen to the radio, but because I was only working 2 nights a week at the bar so I still needed a day job to pay the bills, but while I was twisting a wrench on washing machines I could listen to Wease. Then I got to be full time at the bar. and I was happy to sleep every day until 11 am. You think that getting out of work every day, all wound up at 2 am, you could go right to sleep? Not likely. I was Happy if I was in bed by 4 am. So there was a 2 year stretch when I almost never got to hear Wease. Then I switched to the day shift at the bar, which meant that I didn't have to be at work until Noon! Yeah! Now I was up by 7 am everyday and listening until the end of the show. I was back! I was happy for a while until a certain argumentative know-it-all female sidekick started to get on my nerves. Had to turn off Wease. It was a few years until SHE was gone, then I came back.

The Sally Carpenter years had begun! YES!! I was happy because she was cool, and not judgmental, and SMART. I like smart, and the show was better than ever. The ratings were soaring and the show was smart, funny, topical, and relevant more than ever before. CBS owned the station and things were good. For the listeners at least.

Entercom ruined Rochester Radio. They bought the fastest car in town and slashed the tires and yanked the motor out. They took a station that was as close to perfect as modern radio can be and ruined it. Fired the midday guy, the evening guy, and the fill-in guy. Then they tossed their option on the morning guy. The new show lacked the edge of the original. Tommy and Bill tried to fill those huge shoes, but the corporate brass didn't give them the tools to do the job. Sally is in Philly doing the show by phone. No good. I tried, I really did, but I knew it wasn't what I wanted. Then the word came out that it would be back.

A new station, a new crew, and Wease is back on the air. Monday morning he returns for real. With a video feed, and a chat room. Truly, an interactive radio experience. There was a short run through on Saturday night, for two hours the world returned to almost normal. Of course the new crew was mostly quiet because the phones were nuts with everyone calling in good wishes for Wease. But they will come out of their shells soon. Lilly, and Jamie and the rest of the crew. Ditullio is back , Marshall Fine, Doug Emblege on the radio. Rochester will once again feel like home. or at least sound like it, when I can tune in that raspy, liberal, bastard, the world sounds just a little bit Righter.

Rochester radio returns to What is't supposed to be!!

GOOD GOD IT"S FINALLY Here !!! Brother Wease is BACK on the air. Can't wait to hear that familiar rasp once again! I don't know how I survived the political season without him! Jumpin' up and down with anticipation.