Mike Malloy Fired from Air America Radio

Mike Malloy, one of the most popular talk radio hosts in the country, especially as a voice for the left, has been fired by Air America Radio ("AAR").

Malloy's termination comes at a time when he's been highly critical of Israel for its aggressive military attacks upon civilians both in Lebanon and Palestine. Many people are now asking whether Malloy's termination is related to such criticism.

Several weeks ago, Malloy boldly stated on the air that he reserved the right to criticize any country for its corrupt policies, including Israel. He said that if anyone had a problem with that, they should take it up with his boss.

Did some pro-Israel advertisers do just that and threaten to withdraw sponsorship?

Whatever the case may be, the fact is that AAR has lost its most powerful critic of Israel's militaristic policies in the Middle East.

Randi Rhodes, another AAR host, occasionally has criticized Israel's actions, but she doesn't have the reputation that Mike has for reaching the same level of intensity. The other AAR host, Al Franken, has been unconditionally supportive of Israel, which completely stuns many people in the peace community who say, "pro-Israel is NOT pro-gressive."

The bottom line is that AAR now has a host who completely supports Israel, and another who will be a little bit critical. Malloy's termination may very well have sent a message that nobody at AAR should dare to criticize Israel or offer vocal support, like Malloy did, for the democratically elected Palestinian and Lebanese resistance groups.

Finally, many people who listened to Malloy and the others on AAR are now considering boycotting the station until either Malloy is reinstated or someone just as popular and critical of Israel replaces him.

People are also signing an online petition to get Malloy reinstated at: http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?Malloy&1