Oregon NORML is proud to announce that our own Associate Director and Webmaster, Radical Russ Belville has competed in the finals in Washington, DC for the National Air America Progressive Talk Radio New Host Star Search contest and WON! This means that he will be hosting his own two-hour progressive talk radio show for Clear Channel and Jones Radio Network. He will be on nationwide (don't know how many stations, but certainly on Portland KPOJ and probably their website online) probably around late March or April. He included a major rant on the War on Marijuana in my third segment during the finals. You could tell they were uncomfortable with the subject at first, but he won them over with facts and logic. Ed "Big Eddie" Schultz was one of the judges (the tiebreaker who decided the 3-2 vote that won for me) and even commented how he gave a lot of good information about marijuana...even after his skepticism for Russ hitting on the topics of "God, guns, gays, and grass" that are so touchy in the heartland. Russ wrote: You can bet that I will be talking about the War on Drugs and spreading the truth about marijuana, but the show will be a whole lot more than that. This is really about personal privacy, states rights, liberty, and civil rights. From the War in Iraq to health care to the working poor to police abuse to gay rights to racism and so much more, I'll be covering it all. You may even be able to call me live. I can't believe this is all happening, and thanks everyone from Oregon NORML, the THC Foundation, and the drug policy reform movement in general who took me in and gave me focus for my energies and talents. Thanks to everyone who believed in me and encouraged me even when my self-doubts raise their ugly heads. We're all in this together and I will be leveraging the resources and expertise from all of you to help make our case. Great things are happening - momentum is with us... Just think, in Nevada and Colorado you could grab any random five voters and two would be for legalization of marijuana and three against. If two of us can just convince one of them... http://talkprogress.org/contestants/ Madeline Martinez Executive Director Oregon NORML