Discussing the “depersonalization” of air travel with his guest -- actor and conservative columnist Joseph C. Phillips -- on the July 15 broadcast of KNUS 710 AM's Backbone Radio, host John Andrews asserted without substantiation that if the federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) “can hire exclusively” a “Mideast- or Arab- or Hindu-appearing work force, they want to try to do that.” He then asked, "Media Matters, are you listening?"

As Colorado Media Matters noted, appearing as a guest on the April 15 broadcast of Backbone Radio, Phillips joined Andrews in stating that the Rutgers University women's basketball team "[took] on the victim role" in responding to media personality Don Imus' reference to them as “nappy-headed hos.” Speaking of the Rutgers players, who he noted had reached the finals of the NCAA women's basketball tournament, Andrews asked, “Did they have to take on the victim role, Joseph?” Apparently referencing comments some members of the team made during an April 10 press conference, Phillips stated that “the lure of ... white racism, the lure of victimhood was too great” for the players to resist, as some said that the incident had ruined their season and one said she felt “scarred for life.”

During Phillips' July 15 appearance, he and Andrews discussed Phillips' July 13 online column, “Airport Angst.” After Phillips asserted that “we no longer have customer service; we have civil service, and bureaucracy, and loads of rules,” Andrews replied, “It's your federal tax dollar at work.”

From the July 15 broadcast of KNUS 710 AM's Backbone Radio:

ANDREWS: You did a series of three excellent columns on, on where we are with affirmative action in America 2007, but a combination of, of, of fun and penetrating commentary in your latest piece about frustrations getting through airport security. I hope you didn't almost create a bad incident in that airport security line, Joseph.

PHILLIPS: Oh -- I will tell you, I, I, I'm almost speechless. I -- you hear, I start to stutter when you get me on this topic of airport security. Now, growing up in Denver, I, I am old enough to remember when we -- Stapleton. We could go to Stapleton and watch the airplanes take off and land. You could just go to the airport.

ANDREWS: You could; you could go down the concourse and, and, and see off or greet --

PHILLIPS: Yes.

ANDREWS: -- someone that you were interested in. You could stand right there by the boarding gate, and I, I remember when I thought 20 minutes was plenty early to jump out of my car in the Stapleton parking and, and make my way swiftly to the gate.

PHILLIPS: Oh, absolutely. Now, I understand that there are practical reasons why, you know, we might not want families down at the gate seeing folk off and, and that type of thing, but what galls me is the attitude not only from the transportation safety folks, but of the airlines themselves. I think that there is been a -- what's the word, depersonalization. We, we no longer have customer service; we have civil service, and bureaucracy, and loads of rules. And, I tell you --

ANDREWS: It's your federal tax dollar at work and they're, they're eager to unionize --

PHILLIPS: Oh --

ANDREWS: -- and, and if they can hire exclusively a, a Mideast- or Arab- or Hindu-appearing work force, they want to try to do that as well.

PHILLIPS: It's -- it is --

ANDREWS: Media Matters, are you listening?

[Co-host Krista Kafer laughs]