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Neal Boortz (born April 6, 1945), is a popular and controversial American talk radio host based in Atlanta, Georgia. His self-given nicknames include: The Talkmaster, Mighty Whitey, The Mouth of the South, America's Rude Awakening and the High Priest of the Church of the Painful Truth. Boortz is syndicated by Cox Radio and Jones Radio Networks
Life
Boortz was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, but, since his was a military family, he was raised elsewhere, in many locations throughout the country (most notably, in the small community of Thrall, Texas). He was a self-described "marine brat." In his pre-radio life, he was a speech writer for Georgia Governor Lester Maddox. He began his radio career in College Station, Texas in the 1960s at WTAW-AM while attending Texas A&M University, where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets.
Boortz's first Atlanta radio gig was at WRNG (now WCNN in the 1970's. Boortz also had a weekly TV show on WTCG (now WTBS during that time period. In the 1980's, his show moved to WGST.
After graduating from law school in Atlanta in 1977, Boortz practiced law in a solo law firm from 1977 to 1992.
In 1992, Boortz quit his law practice and signed a full-time contract with WSB-AM to do a daily radio show. In 1999, his show became nationally syndicated through WSB's owner Cox Radio.
His syndicated show originates from WSB-AM 750 in Atlanta, and currently has about five million listeners nationwide. Boortz also occasionally writes a column on the Internet news/commentary site Townhall.com.
Neal Boortz has a wife named Donna (whom he also calls "She Who Must Be Obeyed," "The Goddess," and "My Bride"), and they have one daughter, Laura. Boortz is an avid golfer and aviation enthusiast. He is an accomplished pilot with over 3,000 hours flying as pilot-in-command, and donates time (both as a pilot and fund-raiser) in support of Angel Flight. He holds a commercial pilot certificate in single-engine airplanes, with an instrument rating, and is also certificated in lighter-than-air free balloons. Boortz is an ardent supporter of DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Atlanta, Georgia.
Politics
Neal Boortz is a self-described Libertarian. Although he sides with liberals and Democrats on some social issues such as abortion (about which Boortz will not allow phone calls), same-sex marriage and freedom of speech; however, he is also heavily critical of Democrats regarding their political practices (as individual statesmen and as a Party), their stance on certain civil liberties cases, and their response in general to modern U.S. military action. In line with the traditional views of the Libertarian Party, Boortz supports an end to the war on drugs, lower taxes, smaller government, an emphasis on personal responsibility, and the rule of law; for his stances on many of these issues, he is popular among conservative Republicans, who due to their larger numbers in comparison to Libertarians number make up the majority of his listeners and callers. Boortz is most often remembered for his enthusiastic support of the FairTax plan.
Neal Boortz is often accused of being a "Republican in Libertarian's clothing." He is sometimes described using the term neolibertarian. This refers to his tendency to advocate Republican party platforms and to his frequent support of Republican politicians, especially George W. Bush. Boortz's post-9/11 politics include support for the US-led War on Terror and a more aggressive foreign policy. Boortz is also strongly in favor of a crackdown on illegal immigration, including harsh penalties for businesses who employ illegals. These views occasionally put him in conflict with the Libertarian Party. For instance, Justin Raimondo of Antiwar.com has called Boortz a "statist, not a libertarian" and a "liberventionist" and has urged the Libertarian Party to "Boot Boortz". Boortz counters that the issues of the greatest importance after the 9/11 attacks are those in which terrorism has dominated.
Radio Personality
The Neal Boortz Show features Boortz, co-producers Royal Marshall and Belinda Skelton, interviewees, and callers. On the air and on his website Boortz admonishes, "Don't believe anything you read on this web page or, for that matter, anything you hear on The Neal Boortz Show unless it is consistent with what you already know to be true, or unless you have taken the time to research the matter to prove its accuracy to your own satisfaction." On numerous occasions Boortz has cautioned his listeners to take no heed nor place any credence in anything he says, as he is merely an "entertainer".
Boortz can frequently be heard criticizing what he terms "government schools," liberals, smokers, welfare recipients, and many other programs and ideas supported by progressives (pronounced by Boortz as "pro-greeeees-ives"). He also creates controversy among Conservatives for his refusal to condemn homosexuality or gay marriage (though he does not support gay adoption) and for his negative comments regarding Baptists and the biblical story of creation; additionally, he causes a stir among Southerners for his frequent jabs at them and at Confederate issues (such as governmental support of the Confederate flag).
Neal Boortz has mentioned on his show that he makes somewhere between 800 to 900 dollars a show. For his radio program alone, this comes to approximately $208,000 to $234,000 a year.
Author
Boortz's first foray into authorship was in 1997 with The Commencement Speech You Need To Hear, in which he delivers his opinions on various topics in the form of a commencement speech he would give to new college graduates, if ever invited to do so. His second book, entitled The Terrible Truth About Liberals, was published in 1998, and contains reprinted material from his first book, along with a significant amount of new material.
His latest book (co-authored by Georgia Congressman John Linder) entitled The FairTax Book, explains the proposal to implement a national retail sales tax in lieu of the federal income taxes, payroll taxes, estate tax, etc. That book spent at least two weeks atop the New York Times bestseller list. Neal donated his share of the proceeds from this book to charity in order to encourage sales. The book is one of his most frequent topics of discussion and is a common free gift to callers.
Boortz is currently working on his next book, to be entitled Somebody's Gotta Say It.
Controversial statements
Neal Boortz, as a self-proclaimed radical, independent "entertainer," deals with many controversial issues. He alleges that ADD and ADHD are "medical fraud" and refers to homeless people as "urban outdoorsmen" and public education as "tax payer funded child abuse". Other Boortzisms can be found on his own website.
On March 31, 2006, Boortz said that Representative Cynthia McKinney, who admitted to assaulting a police officer, "looked like a welfare drag queen", and "a ghetto slut". In response, House Democratic Caucus Chair, James Clyburn issued a statement demanding that Boortz apologize for using "such abhorrent words". On April 3, Boortz issued an apology on his radio talk show .
On August 3, 2004, Boortz delivered a speech on Islam: Say the Shahada (the Islamic creed), he said, "with conviction ... and the next thing you know, you're strapping on a suicide bomb."
References
- "More Boortz Bio". Retrieved 2006-03-08.
- "More Boortz FAQ". Retrieved 2006-03-08.
External links
- Neal Boortz website
- 750 WSB Radio - Boortz's "home" station
- Various Boortz Webcasts (Live and Delayed)
- Famous faux commencement speech
- Source Watch on Neal Boortz