He’s finally gone. Out of here. His dirty mouth and crude one-liners are a thing of the past. No more telling young girls to go to school without wearing any underwear. No more describing what fat women look like when they go to the bathroom or a play by play of a man getting an enema.

The Sponge, Bubba the Love Sponge to be more exact, finally soaked up what he deserved: a huge 755-thousand dollar fine for pretending he was above the rest of us mere mortals locked into the Puritanical values of the Pilgrims. He was fined for 26 direct incidents of indecency on the radio airwaves dating back to 2001. FCC commissioner members said the actions were so egregious that if they occurred even one more time on any of his radio shows that they would jerk the radio stations licenses.

Now, some two weeks after the fines, Clear Channel, that huge radio giant, finally severed the ties that bound its corporation to the image of an overweight, hunched-back slime ball street tramp. Bubba is gone, in the name of community standards, and maybe more important, in the name of appeasing the Federal Communications Commission which has decided to remove the name “Patsy” from its corner stone. Society has been demanding accountability from the commission and it finally got it.

My only question is what took you so long? Bubba has been spewing his filth for years and you, Clear Channel, didn’t seem to mind it as long as he was number one and racking in the money. In fact, when Bubba, Todd Clem, dodged a cruelty to animal charge for a pig slaughtering show he even flaunted his victory. He reminded me of mobster John Gotti who kept bragging that no one would every dare put him in jail. They did and he’s dead now.

Of course. Bubba wants you to think that he’s as innocent as the pure driven snow. He just can’t understand what all the screaming is about. He’s just repeating the same filth he hears in circles he runs in. Free speech. Free speech. Sorry Bubba, it doesn’t work that way. A broadcast license is only given to a licensee if they agree to abide by a set of rules. No one is asking you to be a Lawrence Welk or Sister Teresa wanna be. They just ask you show a little restraint.

You are right, at times there seems to be a fine line between what’s decent and indecent. But you have to know in your own heart that you pushed that line so far down people’s throats that the listeners, specifically, a listener in Jacksonville got tired of choking on your spittle. He complained and documented and taped and followed up his complaints with more letters and demands that the FCC enforce its own rules. It took over three years but finally commissioners acted.

Whether it was the fear of more fines, the threat of losing their license, or, as I am hoping, a genuine commitment to cleaning up their act, Clear Channel finally spoke. Bubba has been fired with renewed commitments to monitor its other programming content to more accurately reflect the needs of the community. Congratulations for making the right choice. Thank you on behalf of the parents who had no idea what Bubba was telling their kids every morning in his dirty “young man” sort of way.

It reminded me of a conversation I had several years ago with one of Bubba’s producers. He came to the TV station where I worked to look at a taped interview one of our reporters had done with Bubba.

“Hi, I’m -----------------. (I’ll leave his name out of it). “Mr. Sponge really admires you and your work in the community.” To be honest, I was shocked at his comment. I had no idea Bubba even knew who I was.
“Really?” I said.
“Yes! What do you think of Mr. Sponge’s work?”
Now, I probably should have been polite and returned a compliment or maybe lied just to be civil. But you have to remember this is the guy who called my female co-workers “News –hoes” on the air almost daily. This is the guy who blasphemed my God on a regular basis.
“I think Mr. Sponge is the most repulsive, repugnant piece of garbage to sit in front of a microphone. I abhor everything he stands for. I think he’s a radio sexual predator who should be thrown in jail. And someday he’s going to get what’s due him,” I said without taking a breath. “Am I making my self clear?”
His producer was frozen. I shock his hand and told him to have a nice day.

Now, I am not perfect and Bubba is not Satan. Please forgive me for being so arrogant. I got carried away. I wish Bubba, or any other of the hundreds of shock-jocks out there no ill will. But sooner or later so-called “shock-jocks” will be held accountable for their actions, either by the FCC or by God. You can’t play in that in between arena, wanting to be a good father or role model or somebody that young people look up to, which Bubba is, and then supply the serpent with more poison. Filth and trash has a way of accumulating on your soul. Bubba used to brag in his own circles how much money he made at personal appearances and how he could get any babe he wanted. He has even made pornographic videotapes with some of his admirers. And, I’m told just a few weeks ago he even talked about the church he said he was attending. What??????

Here’s what I’m hoping. I’m hoping Bubba will see his firing as an opportunity to turn things around. I will not be his judge. I hope people come into his life who can really help him find himself in God’s eyes. His life is worth redeeming, just like all of our lives.

I’m also praying that this Bubba incident will send a strong message to other shock-jocks around the country. There is a limit how far you can drag your audience into the gutter before the slime reaches up and pulls you in, too.

Al Ruechel, Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved

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