In 19th Century, Raisin’ Hell Could Be Called Raisin’ Brann
I’m jealous of our staff cartoonist, Milt Priggee.
Occasionally, his doodles make our subscribers so mad they organize a subscription boycott. He’s attracted the fire of Christian conservatives, Kootenai County businesses and now, the region’s firefighters.
Meanwhile, I bust my rear trying to get a similar reaction with my scribblings and all I get is an occasional cancellation (usually from a whiny lefty who questions my IQ, or from an unhinged righty who blathers on and on about the need to dismantle Big Brother).
If the pen is mightier than the sword, Priggee has proven the cartoon is mightier than the pen. But there was a time in journalism’s glorious past when the pen gave the political cartoon a run for its money.
Recently, I stumbled upon the work of William Cowper Brann, a 19th century scribe whose rantings ended with a bullet to the midsection. Here’s how he concluded an assault on the editor of the Los Angeles Times:
“I can but wonder what will become of the Times editor when the breath leaves his feculent body and death stops the rattling of his abortive brain, for he is unfit for heaven and too foul for hell. He cannot be buried in the earth lest he provoke a pestilence, nor in the sea lest he poison the fish, nor swung in space like Mohomet’s coffin lest the circling worlds, in trying to avoid contamination, crash together, wreck the universe, and bring again the noisome reign of Chaos and old Night. The damn rascal seems to be a white elephant on the hands of Deity, and I have some curiosity to know what he will do with it.”
Milt and I are amateurs by comparison to Brann, the iconoclast. But we’ll keep trying to make you spit out your morning coffee and disparage the mothers who suckled us.
Big John laughs last, longest
The latest Arbitron ratings prove boycotts are futile. About six years ago, key Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce figures tried to run KCDA-FM owner John Rook out of town.
His sin? Rook was airing commentary by tax activist Ron Rankin. And Rankin had the audacity to poke fun at a downtown grant application. One businessman sued KCDA and another organized an advertising boycott, which forced Rook to move his headquarters to Spokane - where, today, his station thrives as the top Kootenai County station. In fact, KCDA (or K-103) has more listeners than the combined audiences of Hagadone competitors KHTQ-FM and KVNI-AM, which are being sold.
Sometimes, nice guys finish first.
, DataTimes MEMO: D.F. Oliveria’s “Hot Potatoes” runs Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can comment on the items by calling (800) 344-6718 or (208) 765-7125, or by sending e-mail to daveo@spokesman.com.