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Friday, May 09, 2008
“The Culture of Copulation”: Did Phil ‘n’ Bill Share More Than Yucks?
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
Photo courtesy of here.
As first announced by reporter Bill Sloat’s Daily Bellwether blog, last Saturday marked the debut of Phil Heimlich’s radio talk show. As Beacon readers know (perhaps too well), we have a special fascination with Phil, a once-influential public official whose fall from power was hard and fast.
So we’ve been wondering when and where he’d surface next. Faced with mowing my lawn, I decided it was more urgent to spend an hour listening to “Hard Truths,” which is the name of Heimlich’s new venture in the world of so-called “conservative Christian” broadcasting.
Knowing Heimlich, I figured something unpredictable was bound to happen and the May 3rd “Hard Truths” premiere did not disappoint. In fact, the very first guest was, surprise surprise, Bill Sloat. Did he somehow forgot to mention that in his April 30th Bellwether plug for Heimlich’s show or was he a last-minute booking? But I’m getting ahead of myself.
For the past few weeks, the only thing Sloat has been writing about on The Bellwether is the Marc Dann mess. It started with his April 13 critique in which Sloat took The Enquirer to task for failing to cover the story. Fair enough. Since then, it’s been wall-to-wall Dann at the Bellwether, ranging from newsworthy observations to moral indignation to inviting readers to “Name The Scandal”. (Sloat thinks “Boinkgate” is a winner.) Clearly, the former award-winning Plain Dealer reporter has has found a drum he enjoys beating.
It’s certainly a drum worth beating. Dann’s an embarassment and a joke, which is apparent to everyone but himself. My problem with Sloat’s non-stop coverage was how loud he was banging his anti-Dann drum. For example, his items had dirfted into the “nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more” category, the most juvenile example being this “Marc Dann appointment calendar”, an incredibly limp humor attempt: “4:30 p.m—Have Sex. 4:32 p.m.—Smoke Cigarette. 5:00 p.m.—Photo Op With Hugh Hefner. 5:30 p.m.—Order Silk Pajamas,” etc. Also, I don’t know about you, but whenever a hardened beat reporter starts acting like he’s going to faint because a politician was caught having an affair, I start itching. Sloat’s breathless POV on the Dann story required calamine.
His call-in interview with Heimlich last week was more of the same. It started with Heimlich saying, “If you think I just put this sex scandal on to get people to listen to my show, I want you to know that’s exactly what I’m doing” and went downhill from there. The milestone was when Sloat mounted the soapbox for a morality lesson and declared the AG’s office to be a “culture of copulation” which caused Phil to swoon over the alliteration. Good Christians of Character like Heimlich certainly have every right to work from the gutter; after all, Phil made his name as a bottom feeder. What had me flummoxed was why Sloat was playing monkey to Heimlich’s organ grinder.
The second half of the show continued along the same lines with a long interview with Kevin DeWine, who as, Phil repeatedly reminded everyone through the show, is incoming Republican Party chairman. In fact, Phil gets so far up DeWine, I was worried that he’d have to be surgically removed after the show. (I assume he was looking for a job up there.) Just like in Sloat’s interview, Heimlich and DeWine spent their quality airtime kicking Marc Dann around the block. But that’s expected of party apparachiks. We’d all be surprised if DeWine and Heimlich did otherwise. (For you masochists out there, the audio of the hour-long show is available on Heimlich’s website.)
But Bill Sloat is supposed to be an independent journalist, not a Republican Party flak. Is a reporter allowed to be opinionated in a radio interview? Of course. Can he make childish wisecracks? Sure, go for it dude. But if a reporter goes into an interview with a politically-driven agenda, his independence as a journalist is kaputski.
That’s why this two-minute section of the interview bothers me. After you get past the haw-haw jokes about Hawaiian pizza, Phil ‘n’ Bill start talking about e-mails which were obtained from Dann’s office in public records requests back from the Coingate days. First, Heimlich describes the e-mails and reads from one of them. Then over the phone, Sloat reads from a different e-mail from the same batch.
How did they both happen to have copies of these obscure e-mails? The only way I can figure is that either it’s an amazing coincidence or somebody exchanged paper before the show.
Bill Sloat and I have a collegial relationship and he usually responds promptly to my e-mails. Since Sunday I’ve sent him the following message twice:
Bill,
I’m reporting on your appearance as the premiere guest on “Hard Truths with Phil Heimlich” and I’d appreciate your answers to some questions.
1) Do you recall what date you received the invitation to appear on the show? Who contacted you?
2) Before the interview, did you communicate with Phil? If so, please describe in detail the extent of your communications.
3) In your years as a reporter, you’ve seen plenty of scandals come and go. On a low-high scale of 1-10, with 10 being Tom Noe/“Coingate,” what ranking would you attach to the current situation in the Attorney General’s office?
Thanks and looking forward to your reply. If you could get back to me as soon as possible, that would be appreciated. I may have follow-ups.
Sincerely,
The Dean
Bill, if you’re reading this, I still haven’t received a reply.
###
NOTE: If you’re not mowing your lawn, tune in tomorrow to “Hard Truths” in which Phil’s guest will be another journalist whose commitment to objectivity and quality reporting is well-known: the Enquirer’s Peter Bronson.
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09 May 2008 at 08:15 am | #
According to his website he is a Former Journalist. So, like you, can’t he claim to be a Media Activist?
09 May 2008 at 08:18 am | #
Listen to the interview. Heimlich/Sloat were not presenting The Bellwether as “non-professional.”
But sure, he can be whatever he wants. I wonder what he calls himself?
I think he has just spit in the face of whatever modicum of credibility he may have had!
09 May 2008 at 09:33 am | #
Aw c’mon Bearman, can you imagine the hair-pulling if the Dean or another blogger did what appears to have happened here, a little “pre-interview prep”?
Slippery Sloat’s already got a jacket from a couple years back when the Beacon nailed him for making up the Vietnam spitting story. BTW, remember that Sloat said the incident allegedly happened after he’d just come from watching “The Devil in Miss Jones”? (Um, maybe I should rephrase that.) Now Mr. Porn is shocked, I tell you, shocked at the naughty goings-on in the AG’s office.
Bearman, knowing your graphic skills, I can’t believe you don’t the artistic opportunities this presents. Stop growling and start drawing!
09 May 2008 at 10:12 am | #
From his blog, see Sloat’s self-description below. If the Dean’s got it right in his Phil ‘n’ Bill item, Sloat can now add “Republican Party consultant” to his bio.
About Me
A former journalist with nearly 40 years in the profession. Was on the scene for wars, Apollo moonshots, executions, disasters ranging from the Nicaraguan earthquake to Hurricane Katrina. Covered politics extensively. Won awards from the National Press Club, and the National Society of Professional Journalists for investigative reporting about medical experiments conducted on people without their consent. Took a generous buyout from The Plain Dealer. Now trying to captivate, baffle or infuriate just about everybody. I believe that the fabled wisdom of the Main Stream Media is just a colossal put-on.
Source: http://www.blogger.com/profile/12712163977315292252
09 May 2008 at 12:48 pm | #
And I know you are out there, I remember seeing you at Badlands in your ute! Is there something you want to share with all of us?
09 May 2008 at 02:17 pm | #
~
Gosh, we wish we had half the talent. We laughed our ‘finney fanny’ off and was left itching for more.
Great work and you hit the nail on the head. The dean teaches another lesson.
Sloat must have been to conservative for Cleveland and now paving the road toward the ‘fishwRap’.
Sloat’s blog has him on his knees with wingnut political operative Mark Miller.
While distasteful, the Dann saga will not sell in the current political climate.
Especially when you find discrimination between the way Obama is treated and the way ‘McCain’ is !
They slammed Clinton for having the ability to multi-task then they gave us Bush. PLEASE !
Seems HypocRitical ?
.
09 May 2008 at 06:15 pm | #
The great thing about Phil is he’s a uniter. Everybody hates him.
Well, almost.
Bill, hard to believe you haven’t learned the lesson so many others have. (Leis, Finney, Petro, Pat DeWine, etc.) Getting involved with Phil is tantamount to spitting into the wind. So no whining ‘cause it ended up on your face!
09 May 2008 at 07:03 pm | #
Phil Heimlich may have just signed his own Republican political career death sentence. On his blog, he cheers for the ACLU, racially-mixed marriages, and calls the invasion of Iraq “one of the worst foreign policy mistakes in our country’s history.”
No, I am not making this up. See for yourself: http://www.heimlichhardtruths.com/wordpress2/?cat=1
10 May 2008 at 02:55 pm | #
From the “Hard Truths with Phil Heimlich” website: http://www.heimlichhardtruths.com/contact.htm
Booking Request
Phil Heimlich is available to speak to clubs, groups or organizations delivering his Hard Truths message. Phil will present his unique vision of putting aside the typical partisan spin that dominates today’s political discussions, and engage his audience in an interactive way with <u>his thought-provoking approach to achieving real results in government and politics.</u>
Step 1: Hire Ron Roberts, Chris Finney, sell-off Drake, screw-up royally, burn all bridges.
Step 2: Run away from Dean & Justin video interviews.
Step 3: Get voted out and hand county to the Dems for the first time in four decades.
Step 4: Hire wife Rebecca to run your congressional campaign, drop out of race early, pocket $200K in campaign donations, then look for work for two years.
Step 5: Buy airtime and hire a former journalist to write your copy and provide some hype.
Step 6: (YOUR SUGGESTIONS HERE!)
10 May 2008 at 04:20 pm | #
~
“On his blog, he cheers for the ACLU, racially-mixed marriages, and calls the invasion of Iraq “one of the worst foreign policy mistakes in our country’s history.”
Pandering to the polls.
Heck, the thumpers are having sex lessons now. They are learning to be good-little girls, shopping at Victoria Secretes, and submitting to men. Next thing, you know, they will be wearing thongs and flashing their president.
Oh yes, that’s a girl, keep thy head covered !
Liberation Theology ?
PRAISE the LORD !
~
10 May 2008 at 11:22 pm | #
Won’t Phil have us moving to Utah and Texas and have us wearing funny underwear and prarie dresses?? Or will he have us birthing babies like that Duggar woman?
11 May 2008 at 06:15 am | #
Great post Dean.
Funny that Phil is on a ‘conservative Christian’ station, since he’s actually Jewish. BTW, what station is Filthy Phil to be found on?
“Phil Heimlich may have just signed his own Republican political career death sentence. On his blog, he cheers for the ACLU, racially-mixed marriages, and calls the invasion of Iraq “one of the worst foreign policy mistakes in our country’s history.”
Phil is just another rat deserting the sinking GOP ship. He-and others-know that the GOP is in dire straights, and facing a generational rift at the ballot box unseen since the Great Depression, which lead to 30 years of Dem supremacy. Filthy Phil is nothing if not a survivor. Just like the Cockroach.
11 May 2008 at 02:55 pm | #
Greg Matusak, Phil’s been a Christian longer than you’ve been an adult. Well, I guess that doesn’t really narrow things down much. I bet the Democratic Party is very proud of your antics.
11 May 2008 at 04:12 pm | #
Greg Matusak, Phil’s been a Christian longer than you’ve been an adult.
Phil says he found the Lord in a Big Boy restaurant in 1981, so for the above statement to be true, Greg would need to be over 27.
Coincidentally, props and special sauce to Bill Sloat for this informative, OH-02 Republican Phil Heimlich: Hold The Mayo, I Just Found Jesus.
13 May 2008 at 03:25 pm | #
A couple of years ago Filthy Phil’s own Brother, Peter, told me that Phil’s ‘conversion’ to Christianity was pure political opportunism at its worst. Phil knew that he could get further in right wing republican politics as a ‘conservative christian’ than he could as a Jew. Phil’s truly a disgusting person.
I’m surprised that Jeff hasn’t followed suit and converted as well.
PS: Who is Greg Matusak?
13 May 2008 at 11:38 pm | #
Well, if a poster named .Cin.cy-Capell. says that Phil Heimlich’s estranged brother told him years ago that Heimlich converted due to political reasons, then it must be true. .Cin.cy-Capell. is a well-known, well-respected icon in the community and would never make up anything including his identity.
15 May 2008 at 07:14 pm | #
I have not found Bill Sloat to be pro Republican when you look at his blog as a whole.
15 May 2008 at 08:43 pm | #
Jeffy, Peter Heimlich told me that statement directly, and nearly verbatim. Why don’t you contact Peter and ask his opinion of Filthy Phil’s ‘conversion’ for yourself.
And you never answered my question. Who is Greg Matusak?
16 May 2008 at 02:38 pm | #
Wnat is a Greg Matusak? Don’t think I’ve heard that name before attached to all of this mess! So how about a clue BIG BOY Phil?
We all know that you read this every day- or one of your buddies does! So give us a hint honey bunny!
And I think there is something so sweet about finding Jesus amid the tarter sauce and onion rings!
From the Dead Frisches Scrolls…...
Chapter Buddy Boy verse 3 1-4.
“And thru the scent of grease rose the smell of melted swiss cheese. The heavenly body of Jesus called out, come to me weak Jewish boy, come to me. 2. And the weakling Jewish boy was over taken by the smell of the tarter sauce and ham as it waifed towards his nasal cavity. 3. And then his senses were touched by the sacred pig and swiss cheese. And all was good. 4. And from that moment on, Jesus was his savior, his christ, his leader.And all was forgiven- even the days at Badlands. Brighter days lay ahead.
18 May 2008 at 10:49 am | #
Phil Heimlich discussed his religious conversion (including the Big Boy details) in a May 3, 2004 speech he gave to a “Prayer Breakfast” hosted by the Christian Business Men’s Committee in St. Louis. The speech may also appeal to those with an interest in psychological disorders.
There’s a link to the video of the speech on the website of Heimlich’s new radio talk show. It’s on the bottom right of this page: http://www.heimlichhardtruths.com