[Now updated with audio archives...]

I'm Guest Hosting the The Mike Malloy Show LIVE again tonight and all week from L.A.'s KTLK am1150 from 9pm-Midnight ET (6p-9p PT) each night. Please tune in and call in!

Tonight's scheduled guests so far include:

• ED ASNER, the legendary TV icon and progressive political champion joins us to discuss his new smash Pixar film Up and whatever else Mr. Grant has on his mind.
• ANDY WORTHINGTON, journalist and historian, and author of The Guantanamo Files: The Stories of the 759 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison

PLUS: Today's news, my rants & your calls (877-520-1150) and DESI DOYEN with the Green News Report! (Later this week: Sibel Edmonds, Coleen Rowley, Marcy Wheeler and more!)

Malloy's show is nationally syndicated on a number of air affiliates around the country, also on Sirius Ch. 146 & XM Ch. 167, or listen to the free online stream here or here!

Consider this an Open Show Thread, where, as always, "Agent 99" will be your very polite hostess throughout. See ya tonight!

POST-SHOW UPDATE, AUDIO ARCHIVES: We had a really interesting and fun show, if I do say so myself. The audio archives for all three "hours" (about :36 mins each with commercials removed, courtesy of Ben Burch at WhiteRoseSociety.org) follow below...

[Now updated with audio archives...]

I'll be Guest Hosting the The Mike Malloy Show LIVE from L.A.'s KTLK am1150 all this week from 9pm-Midnight ET (6p-9p PT) each night. Hope you'll tune in and call in!

Tonight's scheduled guests so far include:

• STEPHEN ZUNES, Chair of Middle-Eastern Studies at U. of San Francisco, on latest in Iran.
• ERIC BOEHLERT, Senior Fellow at Media Matters, author of new book, Bloggers on the Bus: How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press.
• MARCY WINOGRAD, progressive Democratic primary challenger to the embattled U.S. House Rep. Jane Harman (CA-36).
• MIMI KENNEDY Advisory Board Chair of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), Dharma's mom from Dharma & Greg, discussing all-things Progressive, including her new film, In the Loop, a political black comedy about the run-up to war.

PLUS: Today's news, my rants & your calls (877-520-1150)! (Later this week: Sibel Edmonds, Ed Asner, much more!)

Malloy's show is nationally syndicated on a number of air affiliates around the country, also on Sirius Ch. 146 & XM Ch. 167, or listen to the free online stream here or here!

Consider this an Open Show Thread, where, as always, "Agent 99" will be your rascible host throughout. See ya tonight!

POST-SHOW UPDATE, AUDIO ARCHIVES: After a technical glitch or two getting on the air for the first two minutes out of Los Angeles, all went well enough thereafter. The archives for all three hours (about :36 mins each with commercials removed, courtesy of Ben Burch at WhiteRoseSociety.org) follow below...

Since I first covered the story of the arrest of election officials (including a circuit court judge, the county clerk, the school superintendent and other members of the county elections board) in Clay County, KY, for buying and selling votes, as well as manipulating votes on electronic voting machines without the knowledge of voters, folks have been asking about the political affiliation of the conspirators and whether they were working on behalf of any particular political party.

The subject came up, as well, while I was on the Mike Malloy Show last Friday discussing these arrests, as they had just come to light.

You can download the MP3 of that interview, or listen to it online here (appx. 17 mins)...

While the federal indictment [PDF] notes that a number of those involved in the cabal appear to be members of the local Democratic Party, the scheme also involved at least one conspirator who served as the Republican Party's polling place judge at one of the precincts. Clay County is also a heavily Republican county.

On this point, a commenter who wrote in to respond to last week's article, who claims to be "from Clay County" and to know "each of the people arrested," writes that "ALL of the eight arrested this week" were actually Republican. "They registered as Democrat and took leadership roles in the local party to control precinct officer seats, ensuring all officers at the precinct were hand picked." I can't yet confirm that fact, but that reader's comment is posted in full below, with another one from a Kentucky writer, as both contain some helpful background.

Of course, it could still very well be the case that the crooks were Democrats at work. Either way, from what I'm able to understand about the scheme so far, it seems that it was more about personal power and financial enrichment than anything else. If they were Democrats, they don't seem to have been particularly successful in affecting Democratic wins in their county, even though their scheme was "successful" enough to be repeated election after election and year after year. At the heart of their scheme, after all, was bribing money out of candidates in order to be placed on a "slate" that the cabal would then help to get elected.

As the commenter suggests, it could well be that these "Democratic" officials were only signed up as such in order to affect primary elections (in order to ensure the weakest possible "D" candidate, for example) or even in hopes of adversely affecting general elections as "Democrats," secretly working on behalf of the Republican Party.

I've been unable to learn the party affiliations, yet, of the candidates who paid to be on their "slate," which, once we learn that, could be somewhat instructive. Maybe. But until then, a major point that I'd to make in any case: I don't really care what their party affiliations were.

Here's why...

Please join me, Peter B. Collins, Randi Rhodes and the rest of the NovaM family and loads of folks from across the country --- including OH's Sec. of State Jennifer Brunner near the top of the show! (Unless events on the ground change that.) --- as we offer "Special Election Night Marathon Coverage" tonight on the NovaM Radio Network like you'll find nowhere else.

I'll begin anchoring along with a simulcast of the Peter B. Collins Show from 3p-6p PT (6p-9p ET), followed by the Mike Malloy Show from 6p-9p PT (9p-Midnight ET), and then I'll finish it out, Bradcasting live from Los Angeles for the rest of the night from 9p-Midnight PT (Midnight-3am ET).

In other words, all night long, covering reported results and concerns about election issues around the country. If your local affiliate is not carrying it, listen live online right here. And spread the word now! Thanks!

Feel free to use this item as an open thread [Agent 99 bumped it to top during the live coverage], but check below for updates as warranted throughout the night! And give us a call with your thoughts, concerns and impressions at 800-989-1480.

Please note, the broadcast is open to all networks, stations and websites who would like to carry it, or any part of it throughout the night. Satellite coordinates are here [PDF], the network clock is here [PDF]. Internet sites can pick up the stream via NovaMRadio.com. The broadcast will be free for all! Just like America used to be!

Tonight's the last of my Guest Host stints, for now, on this week's Mike Malloy Show. We'll air live tonight from 9pm-Midnight ET (6p-9p PT) and we should have another good one for you this evening.

Scrambling now to get over to the studio, because from 8p-9p ET (5p-6p PT), during my usual weekly Friday guest appearance on The Peter B. Collins Show, just prior to subbing on Malloy's show tonight, we'll have a very special guest appearing with us at the same time, for the first half hour, and you may want to tune in for that as well! It should be a very lively hour!

While I'll not give you the name of that special PBC guest, I can give you the names of a couple of my guests tonight on the Malloy Show. You may have heard of them...

• RALPH NADER, independent candidate for President of the United States on the Wall St. bailout and more.
• CYNTHIA MCKINNEY, former Congresswoman and Green Party candidate for President of the United States, and the first Presidential candidate to sign the StandingForVoters.org pledge to not concede the election unless all votes are counted, and all challenges to the results have been adequately made.

We'll otherwise try to keep things open tonight for today's news, my rants, your calls (800-989-1480) on anything you like & free DVD giveaways of Murder, Spies & Voting Lies!

Malloy's show is nationally syndicated on a number of air affiliates around the country, on Sirus Ch. 146, XM Ch. 167 and streaming live online at NovaMRadio.com.

"Agent 99" will once again host tonight's Open Thread in the comments below...See ya tonight!

POST-SHOW UPDATE: Wow. Big show! All four hours of 'em, if you count the first one on Peter B. Collins with cowardly, lying guest John Fund (who hung up during the first commercial break, guess he's not used to anybody being able to answer to his bullshit).

Each "hour" is actually about 37 mins. with the commercials removed, thanks to Ben Burch of White Rose Society. Here they are. Enjoy...

I'll be Guest Hosting a special "VP Debate" edition of the The Mike Malloy Show tonight. We'll carry the debate LIVE at 6pm PT (9pm ET), followed by an in-studio "Bloggers Roundtable" until 9pm PT (Midnight ET), featuring world class bloggers:

• MARCY WHEELER of Empty Wheel
• DAVID "DDAY" DAYEN of Hullabalo & Calitics
• MARC "ARMED LIBERAL" DANZIGER of Winds Of Change
• PAMELA LEAVEY of The Democratic Daily, and;
• PATRICK FREY of Patterico

Plus your calls if we can fit 'em in, at 800-989-1480. To hell with Chris Matthews, Wolf Blitzer and their professional spinners! Join us for the real scoop! Live from Los Angeles!

Malloy's show is nationally syndicated on a number of air affiliates around the country, on Sirus Ch. 146, XM Ch. 167 and streaming live online at NovaMRadio.com.

As always, "Agent 99" will be your rascible hostess here in our live Open Thread during the show. Hit comments below and give us your two-cents tonight! Maybe we'll read it on air!

POST-SHOW UPDATE: We had a very lively roundtable, with a lot of disagreements (the Rightwinger, Patrick Frey thought Palin dropped the ball, while the Progressives tended to think Palin did well, except for Danziger, and lord only knows what he is. My thanks to all of them, as well as the callers, including my father who offered an "Edward R. Murrow-esque" field report, live from St. Louis! Unfortunately, Pamela Leavy was not able to join us at the last second.

We ended the spirited discussion --- audio archive below --- with my request for a quick McClaughlin-style response to the following question: "Between now and the next debate on Tuesday, after tonight's debate, do the polls go up, down, or no change for Obama and McCain?" The answers from the bloggers...

I'll be Guest Hosting the The Mike Malloy Show tonight through Friday, from 9pm-Midnight ET (6p-9p PT) each night. Hope you'll tune in!

Tomorrow, we'll be running the Veep Debate live for the first 90 minutes (or until Palin breaks down in tears), followed by a Blogger Roundtable with some world class bloggers (Marcy Wheeler from Empty Wheel, David "dday" Dayen from Digby's Hullabalo and Calitics, Marc "Armed Liberal" Danziger from Winds Of Change, Pamela Leavey from The Democratic Daily, and maybe a few more --- even some Righties --- if we can get 'em!)

But tonight is looking pretty good as well, and is currently scheduled to include the following:

• MURRAY WAAS, investigative reporter at ABC, National Journal and elsewhere, on the new (and under-reported) IG report on the U.S. Attorney Purge.
• Ohio attorney CLIFF ARNEBECK on big new developments (including a possible subpoena for Karl Rove!) in his long-standing Ohio 2004 Election Fraud lawsuit.
• Today's news. My rants. Your calls (800-989-1480) & free DVD giveaways of Murder, Spies & Voting Lies!
• And whatever else I feel like!

Malloy's show is nationally syndicated on a number of air affiliates around the country, on Sirus Ch. 146, XM Ch. 167 and streaming live online at NovaMRadio.com.

As always, "Agent 99" will be your charming, if often irritable hostess for our live Open Thread during the show right here. See ya tonight!

POST-SHOW UPDATE: Miss anything? Here it all is, delivered straight to ya. Commercial free. You're welcome. The audio archives follow...

Just for the record, it's absolutely insane that Air America has suspended Randi Rhodes for calling Hillary Clinton "a fucking whore" when she wasn't even on the air. Clearly, the folks who run that continuously sinking ship these days have no clue how either radio, or the U.S. Constitution, work. And while the network has always been mismanaged from Day One by the veritable raft of geniuses who have run it --- and more have come and gone now than we can keep track of --- this latest crew may take the cake.

Our friend Mike Malloy, formerly of AAR and now of NovaM, says the current crop of owners are "right wing thugs." And how were those "right wing thugs able to get inside AAR with their bags of money?" Malloy asked rhetorically last night...because the wealthy, millionaire, "Leftwing liberal sons-of-bitches refused to put any up."

Smells about right to us. Malloy offers the full ugly history, via Sam Seder (of Air America)'s page, including his take on Randi, with which we agree. Whole-heartedly.

Randi: The folks at NovaM are great, as you already know. We suspect you'll eventually be much happier there anyway. Just saying. Especially when AAR goes down for good. Which would be a terrible shame, if hardly a surprise, but could happen any day now in our opinion. Thanks for nothin', Lefties.

(Hat-tip for Malloy's audio to Jill at "Brilliant at Breakfast")

Blogged by Brad from Atlanta...

Next time you hear Nova M Radio's Mike Malloy unleashing one of his trademark tirades, just remember, he may well be wearing the "geezer slippers," as he described them, received for his 65th birthday, and as seen in the photo below.

Now, how scary could that be?

As luck would have it, I was able to hang with Mike --- perhaps the most fearless man on American radio --- and his lovely wife Kathy in Atlanta this weekend, as he celebrated. Today (July 1) is his official, birthday. So happy Birthday, geezer! Here's to many more!

And thanks to you both for the great old fashioned southern hospitality while in town!

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

According to Mike Malloy's website:

And now you know as much about this as I do.