Eric Eggers is the proud son of Hall of Fame paint salesman Gary Eggers, and also the progeny of a couple high level beaurocrats who, understandably, would just as soon not have their association with Eric Eggers be known to the world. Eric had the unique and obviously positive experience of splitting his childhood between Titusville and Tallahassee, FL before finally settling in Florida's capital in 1996. He spent three years at Lincoln, then like seven at Florida State before heading over to the Department of Education, where he trumpeted the triumphs of Jeb Bush's A+ Plan for Education. He pretty much bailed on that after a few months to pursue his true passion...poverty.
In his spare time Eric attends and teaches GMAT and SAT prep classes, Sunday School at Crossbridge Christian Church, enjoys any number of outdoor pursuits including golf, soccer and kayaking, studies Florida State Parks, stalks Leonard Hamilton, and writes third-person bios.
Eric also hosts live trivia at Bird's Aphrodisiac Oyster Shack on Monday night's at 7:30
Eric Eggers on Cribs
Eric Eggers- Friend to the Stars
Obviously, famous people are like birds. We like to flock together, and look down on everyone while doing it. Here are a few examples of the prominent personas who are priveledged to call me a friend. Or an acquaintance. Or the guy who keeps yelling from the back of the room "when will you be taking pictures." Enjoy.
Sure, Glenn may make more money than me. Sure, he's national, is a best selling author and takes off like every other week but he doesn't have a homeless man tan.
Fans of College Basketball will surely remember this mountain of manhood. That's Eric Montross, now the radio analyst for UNC basketball, but he was a star of UNC's 1992 National Championship team. We got along great, til I asked him what it was like to play for 6 different teams over 8 years in the league, and to have been traded for Shawn Bradley, Ed O'Bannon, Robert Pack and Khalid Reeves.
Remember him? He was the star of the Florida Department of Health's award winning "Fifth Guy" campaign, emphasizing that only one in five guys don't wash their hands after using the restroom. Personally, I think the statistic is really that four out of five guys wash their hands when someone is in there to watch.
Here I am with the cast of Cocoon 3-- Buying the Farm. It went straight to DVD, but got 2.5 stars on IMDB.
Contacts
Its important to note here that as Producer of The Morning Show, I necessarily have some Contacts. Not the ocular kind. In fact, most of their own personal agendas render them anything but transparent. However, they are all informative, or at least talkative, and therefore have a special place in my heart. Any local politician, government official, personality, or person with credible (or at least credible sounding) information is encouraged to reach out (in a socially appropriate way) to me and lemme know what's going on. I can be reached at any of the avenues below:
Eric@wflafm.com 850-205-WFLA studio 850-558-1426 Office
Pictures of me or of people almost as cool as me
Me holding up a sign that advocates for Home Owners rights may be somewhat akin to Michael Vick attending a PETA rally, but when the aforementioned HOF paint salesman is in town, I make exceptions
Me and my lady. And by lady I mean my grandmother. Hey- I don't care how many dirty jokes she tells--she's still a lady. And a lady with an eviable array of pharmaceuticals.
County Commission Chairman Ed DePuy tries to convince me to both vote for him, and to wear more shirts featuring riverlife. Behind us are the bags of free food that I still mooch off of Atlanta Bread Company even though I quit working there over three years ago.
Do you know who this guy is? If you don't, you should. So do us both a favor and go buy the Deadwood DVDs. Then let me borrow them.
I'm a pretty enthusiastic person most of the time. If I'm going to participate in an activity, I'm going to be into it, most of the time. This morning, however, I find myself with a particular sense of excitement and purpose. Why Two words: Road Trip.
Now I go on road trips on a fairly regular basis, be it on a camping trip, or to go to my parents house, or some other such endeavour. Today is different in two key respects. First, I'm going to a baseball playoff game, something I have never done.
Second, I don't have to drive.
Don't get me wrong-- I like driving, and when I go on one of my many excursions, I am usually the one doing all the driving. Not today, though, which has totally eliminated any sense of dread that might creep in, thinking about the stress of fighting traffic, or the threat of getting a speeding ticket, or anything like that. So I got no negative thoughts, only positive energy surrounding my excitement for spending time in a car with a couple teammates from my soccer team. I am pumped.
Hopefully the drive back tomorrow will be a pleasant experience, thanks to the Rays pulling out a win tonight over the hated Red Sox. I hope to spend the drive down there "brainstorming" appropriate retorts to any unruly or disrespectful Boston fans I might encounter. So far all I've got is "how 'bout dem apples". Hopefully the drive will provide some inspiration.
One good rumor deserves another
Wednesday 10-08-2008 4:27pm ET
It's easy to get caught up in all the story-lines, subplots and slime slinging the national election brings to bear. (Yes, I said slime slinging. After all, why should mud have a monopoly on things that are being slung..is it a racial thing? Besides, slime slinging is alliterative)
However, I think that, realistically, the election that will have the greater impact on us is the one between incumbent County Commissioner Ed Depuy and Akin Akinyemi. To that end, here are two things of interest I have learned.
(note how cleverly I have positioned this pathetic excuse for a gossip column by saying that the reason I am writing about a local election is because that's what actually matters, and not because I don't know anything different than anyone else about the national election. It's all in the presentation, people)
Thing #1:As part of their massive "ground game" effort to turn out the vote here locally, representatives from the local Democratic party who are walking neighborhoods for Obama are also handing out literature for Akin Akinyemi. This may not help him with our audience, but in the county as a whole, this could be very significant
Thing #2: I had a very cryptic conversation with a source who intimated that a story will be coming out very soon bringing to light issues about Mr. Depuy's financial history, including possible issues with the IRS, which are strikingly similar to issues raised about Mr. Akinyemi. Again, this was a cryptic conversation, so who knows if anything will actually come of it, but this source is usually pretty on the money about stuff, so it bears watching if nothing else.
Bonus Thing #3I may have inadvertently just set a record in this blog post by using the word "bear" more times than anyone else in the history of the English language without actually referring to the animal. I think that bears noting.
God I miss Tim Russert
Monday 10-06-2008 6:29am ET
I HAVE LEGITIMATE POINTS TO MAKE ABOUT WHY THIS CLIP EMBODIES EVERYTHING THAT IS WRONG WITH OUR SOCIETY AND OUR MEDIA IN GENERAL, BUT I AM SO UPSET, OR AT LEAST SO UPSET IN APPEARING UPSET BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S WHAT MY VIEWERS TUNE IN FOR THAT MY DESIRE TO BE SENSATIONAL AND CONFRONTATIONAL TRUMPS ANY SHRED OF JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY I MIGHT POSSESS. AAAAAH I'M SO ANGRY. BUT THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES TO LOOK OUT FOR YOU! SO JUST SO WE'RE CLEAR, I'M LOOKING OUT FOR YOU, BUT I'M ANGRY WHILE DOING IT.
Learning our lessons from history
Thursday 10-02-2008 6:51am ET
Got this email from a listener who is as into history as Preston is turtlenecks:
Compare our current situation to the Compromise of 1790. This is the first great compromise of the U.S. government followed by the compromises of 1820 and 1850 which had slavery implications. The deal in Congress today has remarkable similarities to the most latter. This compromise was ironed out at a famous dinner hosted by Thomas Jefferson in June 1790 bringing political antagonist Alexander Hamilton and his friend James Madison together. Mr. Hamilton, a Federalist, advocated the assumption of all state debt residual from the war. Mr. Madison, a Republican (Democrat), opposed as it would give federal control over the states. The federal budget was a little over $7 million and the states owed over $77 million, ten times the federal treasury. The sky was falling economically. The dollar had been devalued five times and was approaching worthless. Some people began using the pound again or gold for currency. This dinner led to the first compromise in which Mr. Madison agreed to allow Mr. Hamiltons bill be voted in Congress, although he would not support it. In return, Mr. Hamilton would have the New England Federalist support moving the nation capitol to Virginia/Potomic River. It came to the floor and passed. Alexander Hamilton was effective in arguing the necessity of moving the capitol from Philadelphia to Washington City. George Washington signed it into law and the markets stabilized. History only repeats.
Your emails, plus Boyd's response on the ACORN allegations
Tuesday 09-30-2008 11:17am ET
Oh man! if the phone lines are full and the emails are pouring in, it can only mean one thing...Allen Boyd is on the program. here are actual emails from you, the listener:
Jack writes: Allen Boyd's answer to you guys that "the American Public" doesn't understand the bailout plan is probably correct but you know what, he doesn't either. Let's face it he is not the sharpest tool in the shed. Preston, I'm like you if Allen Boyd uses the excuse of everything is the fault of the current administration one more time I'm going to throw up. He will be blaming George Bush for everything for the rest of his life. He takes no responsibility for anything. Do you honestly believe that he couldn't remember how he voted on regulating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2004-2005, knowing that he would probably be asked that question at some time? He needs to go.
I am so incensed by this ACORN group. We should not hold the elections until this is investigated. Every single fraud that they have perpetrated and every single bogus voter they have registered needs to be discovered. We need to follow the money trail and see exactly who is behind it. We need to find out exactly how it became a part of this bailout package. The American Public needs to understand that Obama has done legal work for this group and he is involved. I think this is some of the criminal Chicago politics Bill Clinton was talking about.
Jeff writes: I’m one of the people who supposedly "doesn’t understand" the need for the bailout. I have a MS in Physics so possibly I do understand basic math. The fact is that credit is what got us into these problems so I don’t see how more credit is going to help. The fact is that our country and we the people living in this country have grown accustomed to having everything we want right now rather than working for it and earning it. I think if the credit markets seize up (and I’m not convinced that will happen) it will cause people to go back to doing things the old-fashioned way of saving for things they want. This would be positive for us as individuals and as a country.
Much has been made by the media and those who are in favor of this bailout that "small business" will suffer. I have a small business and not being able to get more credit will have zero impact on me. What will have an impact is having to pay for this bailout with higher taxes which will directly affect my bottom line. What happened to growing a business based on the revenue you bring in? Viable businesses will continue to thrive those that are not will die – as they should. I find it very hard to believe that companies like Microsoft and P&G will suffer as a result of this "credit crisis" – they actually produce products that people want. The companies that will suffer are the financial "institutions" that do nothing but move money around. Remember all the "experts" that were saying that we could be successful as a "service economy" – well there you have it. We’ve become one and that’s why we have this crisis. No one produces anything we just borrow to buy stuff that other countries make.
As a casual observer of the "economic experts" out there I don’t believe any of them know what they are talking about. If you survey 100 different economists you’ll get 100 different answers. Unfortunately their "opinions" are touted as factual and scientific when in fact they are not. Thus, basing the decision to throw more money at bad debt seems very unwise to me. If we let the markets rule then it seems to me that the bad debt will be bought up by the private sector when it reaches a point where someone thinks it has value. At that point things will return to "normal" and the markets will have made the appropriate correction.
We can either take the pain now or later.
Zack writes:As usual, Congressman Boyd is as full of (edited) as a whale with no (edited). There was clearly a pattern of voting. Most of the no votes came from congressmen in contested districts, because they fear the vote of the people (which Boyd has no reason to).
Furthermore, any bail out deal that does not include a provision to have Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and Maxine Waters being thrown in jail for accepting bribes from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be dead on arrival.
Melanie Morris, who always does a great job in helping us set up interviews with Congressman Boyd, emailed after the show to say thanks for having the Congressman on, and also to point out this article from Politico, which addresses the ACORN issue. I'll go ahead and paste the text below:
ACORN Issue Fueling Bailout Opposition
By Ryan Grim
9-27-08
(The Politico) Earlier today, when House Republican leadership framed its opposition to the bailout bill as it currently stands, a principal objection focused on the group ACORN, which the e-mail alert called "the scandal-tarnished 'community organizing group'" -- with scare quotes in the original.
They're referring to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a group generally allied with Democrats and derided by the GOP as corrupt, inefficient and a front-group for Democratic efforts on the ground.
In issuing the statement, House leaders are reflecting -- and also feeding -- a reaction to the provision that has exploded in the last day or more. Our colleague Ben Smith says he's gotten more than a dozen anti-ACORN e-mails in just the last few hours. The viral uprising is both organic and institutionally driven. Prominent bloggers have fed the flames and so has the Wall Street Journal editorial page; several of the e-mails sent to Smith reference a House leadership alert on the "ACORN Slush Fund" and others refer to the Journal opinion. On Thursday night, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told The Crypt that his friend Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) opposes the provision.
"The draft bill includes a left-wing giveaway that would force taxpayers to bankroll a slush fund for a discredited ally of the Democratic Party," reads one leadership alert. "At issue is ACORN, an organization fraught with controversy for, among other scandals, its fraudulent voter registration activities on behalf of Democratic candidates. Rather than returning any profits made in the long-term from the economic rescue package, Democrats want to first reward their radical allies at ACORN for their (often illegal) help in getting Democrats elected to office."
In the end, how much of the bailout's potential profits are earmarked for ACORN? "None. Absolutely none. All funds would go to state and local governments," said Steven Adamske, spokesman for Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the chairman of the Financial Services Committee and a lead negotiator.
The opposition has grown so intense that critics refer to the measure in arcane legislative lingo. Erick Erickson titled a Friday morning blog post at RedState: "Section 105(d) of the Bailout Must Go."
Here's the relevant language:
TRANSFER OF A PERCENTAGE OF PROFITS.
DEPOSITS. Not less than 20 percent of any profit realized on the sale of each troubled asset purchased under this Act shall be deposited as provided in paragraph (2).
USE OF DEPOSITS. Of the amount referred to in paragraph (1) 65 percent shall be deposited into the Housing Trust Fund established under section 1338 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Regulatory Reform Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568); and 35 percent shall be deposited into the Capital Magnet Fund established under section 1339 of that Act (12 U.S.C. 4569).
REMAINDER DEPOSITED IN THE TREASURY. All amounts remaining after payments under paragraph (1) shall be paid into the General Fund of the Treasury for reduction of the public debt.
And here's Frank's one-page summary of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and to find the relevant bill go here and search for H.R. 2895.
State and local governments can then dole out the funds and could send money to ACORN if they so choose and if the organization's efforts meet the standards set out in the law. For their stand against the provision, Adamske tweaked House Republicans, who have long called for more state control of federal funds.
"Are they worried that the Governor of Alaska and the Mayor of Wasilla will give money to Acorn?" he asked.
Regardless, House Republicans are saying that unless the possibility of ACORN seeing any money from this bailout is eliminated, there's no deal. "Doling out favors to ACORN and other liberal special interest groups are a non-starter for House Republicans," said Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith. "If Rep. Frank wants to keep ACORN in the bill he can secure the necessary Democratic votes for passage because he'll need every one of them."
So there you have it. If you missed the Boyd interview, check out our Podcast page and listen to the entie thing.
© 2008