Happy birthday, Air America

I gather from what I hear on Morning Sedition, my personal favorite from the Air America lineup, that we liberals are hard to please. But the growth rate of progressive talk (in Boston we get Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller in the mix) is impressive, and the lefty talkers are clearly satisfying a deep hunger. Heather Havrilesky checks in on Air America's first anniversary,

But nice as it may be to cheer the radio revolutionaries on to a hard-fought victory, are they really doing any more than adding some left-wing noise to the reactionary echo chamber, a battleground inhabited by red-fanged and ravenous loudmouths looking to pass off their issues with authority as ideological revolution?

Only a trip through the airwaves will tell. On Air America Radio, everyone's talking, once again, about Terri Schiavo: Marc Maron talks to philosopher Peter Singer about American misconceptions about death, Al Franken discusses the role of judges in the Schiavo case with Slate editor Dahlia Lithwick, and Randi Rhodes explains the details of the latest emergency petition to reopen the Schiavo case.

And how about the conservative shows? On Sean Hannity's right-wing talk show, a caller from California suggests that someone could simply offer Schiavo a glass of water, or a glass of "liquid nutrition," and if she were to reach out and grab it, then that would demonstrate that she truly does want to live. "Is that something that they could pursue further legally?" she asks. Sweet Jesus. Does the caller think Schiavo is just mildly incapacitated?

We wait for Hannity to set her straight. Instead, he tells her that there are "state police standing, literally, right over them" keeping anyone from offering Schiavo a nice, refreshing drink.

Sort of makes you glad those ragtag rebels made it through the hard times, doesn't it? Happy birthday, Air America!

[UPDATE]: Attention, please, Al Franken. What Wolcott says.

Now if only Al Franken would only dump his longtime friend and Rush fan from the broadcast, that would be one more step in the right, which is to say left, direction.