Offensive. Cowardly. Immoral.
That describes talk radio show host Charlie
Sykes. He's a pig -- an adulterous scumbag who preaches morality
with the help of the radio station he works for, 620WTMJ.
He shuts down people who disagree with him and promotes candidates and
ideas that he agrees with. He is brutal, vicious and uses his
show to spread vitriolic rants that are little more than ads for
the Republican party and their candidates.
To understand why Sykes grates on me you have to
understand my personality. Honor, integrity and fidelity are key
to who I am. There is no greater promise that a man can make to
a woman than that promise to love, honor and cherish her for the rest
of her days -- till death do you part. I understand that
differences can occur and marriages can crumble, but there really
isn't an excuse for violating the marital oath through infidelity.
Sexuality and physical drives are something that we as
humans all deal with. But what separates us from the animals is
our ability to hold our drives in check. Sykes doesn't
understand that.
Sykes chose to put his sexual drives above the
needs of his past wives and his children. His relationship with
his second wife, Diane Sykes (now a federal Judge), fell apart after
Charlie decided that he wanted to spend more time with his soon-to-be
third wife, opera singer Janet
Riordan (alias Liz Woodhouse) who at the time Sykes simply called
a "family friend". Sadly, not only did Charlie leave
his wife Diane for another woman, but he left their two sons, leaving
the obvious question -- what kind of man cheats on his wife knowing
full well that his actions will result in his children growing up
without their father in the house?
Then there's the whole issue of Riordan.
They used to have a name for women like that. Come to think of
it, they still do.
It boggles the mind how so many people still
listen to Sykes. His shows slogan is "standing up for
what's right". Irony is not lost on this man.
Decency, and apparently marital fidelity, is.
But the radio talkers moral short comings don't
end there. A few years ago I called the thin skinned Sykes on
the carpet for helping to destroy Northridge by fanning the flames of
racial fears. The fact is that he did and when he denies it he
is lying. Now it may be true that the words of racial hatred
didn't come directly from his lips, but Sykes carefully screens his
callers to assure that they agree with him and he rarely lets someone
who disagrees with him on the air.
In 2004 I called in to the studio during his
show to refute some of the outright lies he was spreading about me.
His call screener asked me, "are you ready to come on the air and
apologize for being a liar"? Since I hadn't lied I
responded that I was calling to set the record straight. He said
he was going to check with Charlie who said on the air "go peddle
it somewhere else". Like a hit and run drunk driver,
Charlie Sykes isn't willing to deal with the consequences and despite
his claim that he's "standing up for what's right", Sykes
ducks and hides when callers want to challenge his distortions.
That's cowardice. That's Charlie Sykes.
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UPDATE: Since this
article was originally published, some folks have felt a need to
comment on the story. For their personal gratification, here's a
link to the story where you can comment on Watchdog
Milwaukee.
Hot links, direct sources
The
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, July 19, 2000
Sykes
weds "other woman", Janet Riordan
Even before her real name was first reported by Inside TV & Radio back in 1997, there had been rumors about Charlie's relationship with Riordan. Charlie was married at the time to his second wife, judge Diane Sykes... Charlie's name was first officially linked with Riordan in Whitefish Bay police records from August 1996, when they were ticketed for shooting off fireworks at Big Bay Park 45 minutes after the park closed. Police said they were alone on the beach at the time.
The
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, October 3, 1997
Sykes
"friend" Riordan uses fake name
on radio panel
You may remember Liz Woodhouse as the phony name for a member of Sykes' radio panel on WTMJ-AM (620). She has since stopped that silly nom de Sykes and is using her real name, Janet Riordan...You may recall that the Liz Woodhouse charade was uncovered here back in January. Charlie first claimed she was just a regular old listener giving voice to the voiceless. It took him a week to admit that she was a "family friend" who did "research" for him when she wasn't working as an opera singer.
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