Rush Limbaugh is Becoming Irrelevant

Image from Salon

It's been a very long trip from fringe to mainstream back to fringe. And I'm not confident enough to say that the age of the Glenn Becks and Rush Limbaughs is entirely over. Goodness knows, today's crop of GOP presidential candidates is squarely in formerly fringe territory, politically. Limbaugh and Co. did their job of driving the right to the very cliff. But it would seem that Limbaugh himself is going over the edge, and like Wile E. Coyote, he's kind of suspended in midair, maybe not yet realizing that he needs to throw up a "Yipes!" sign, and start grabbing for branches to break his fall.

I bought The Way Things Ought to Be and See? I Told You So, Limbaugh's first two big books for my grandmother, who was a fan, way back in the early 90s. I was a viewer of Limbaugh's ill-fated TV show, though never (ever) a fan. I still marvel that he was able to muster such an audience, because over the last 20+ years, I have listened periodically. He has literally never won me over to his side on any argument. Not ever. I've always been able to spot his manipulation tricks, his spin on a subject, his steering of his audience, the red meat nuggets he's lobbing, and mostly the lies he's telling. My B.S. detectors (honed by my skepticism toward religion, and other factors, including my coming to terms with being gay in a world that was not okay with it) are tripped by Limbaugh every single time, and very, very quickly. He might as well be a Jehovah's Witness or Mormon elder at my door on an early weekend morning: nothing he says sounds convincing, and I'm irritated by his effort.

So, I think I have a more honest appraisal of Limbaugh (and his ilk, many others I've also more than just sampled) than do conservative critics of the left. I'd wager that most people who make the false equivalence of MSNBC to FOX "News," for example, have watched very, very little MSNBC. People who believe there is such a thing as a "far left" in this country would have a very difficult time finding an analogue to Limbaugh on the left. Or pointing factually to the areas where such an analogue has dragged mainstream liberal Democrats to the fringe. Or finding a liberal version of the Tea Party with any real influence on politicians.

This is where Rush has done his job well. He's drummed into his audience (and it's seeped into "conventional wisdom") that there is a lockstep liberal media, that President Obama is a radical leftist, that conservative Republican white Christian males are under attack. That absolutely everything contrary to fringe conservative thought is anti-American, anti-Christian and a sinister conspiracy. Everything is an outrage, everything is orchestrated, and somehow liberals (or gays, naturally) are a united front with hidden diabolical motives. Because of Rush and his compatriots, conservatives will declare with conviction that President Obama hates America, and that destroying it is his number one priority. They'll declare that gay people do not seek equality, don't really want to get married, they want to destroy the family, destroy America, destroy Christianity.

I've long thought that permanent rage can't last forever. It's got to burn out. Or at least evolve. I've truly never understood why Rush managed to have such a stranglehold on his audience, given his four marriages, drug scandals, odd forays into island countries with Viagra, and other unsavory behavior. Like Sean Hannity, Limbaugh has no particular foundation in political science, no background education, he's just a guy on the radio. How "Rush is right!" became such a thing, and stayed a thing for so long is as baffling to me as the fact that Dr. Phil is a thing. Why? But Rush's shtick seems to finally be bringing about his undoing. [Story continues below, after my favorite anti-Rush video]



In today's age of social media and instant memes, when you say something egregious, it can zing around the world in a few minutes. So, after Limbaugh decided to go after feminist activist Sandra Fluke (with, let me point out, a rant that wasn't just appallingly sexist, but devoid of any grounding in reality whatsoever), he blew out some load-bearing supports below his career (not intended to be a fat joke, but hey, there you go). An advertiser boycott was launched. And it has been sustained. Rush has been shedding advertisers ever since, and finally, he's also shedding his biggest radio stations.

Unfortunately, it's had the effect of damaging the already hanging-by-its-fingernails liberal side of talk radio, given the same advertiser base. Which is the potential downside of a lot of boycotts, unintended consequences. While that hurts, I can't help but have a measure of glee at the slow plunge of Wile E. Limbaugh off the cliff. And I'll be happy to wait, neck craned and ear cupped for the soft "whump!" and cloud of dust when he finally hits bottom.

[Excerpt]

Rush Limbaugh is cooked: The stunning fall of the right’s angriest bloviator

The bad news just keeps coming for conservative talker Rush Limbaugh. Which bulletin was worse, though? The news in April that he was being dropped by WIBC in Indianapolis, a booming talk powerhouse that played home to Limbaugh’s radio show for more than two decades, or the news this week that the talker’s new address on the Indianapolis dial is going to be WNDE, a ratings doormat AM sports station that has so few listeners it trails the commercial-free classical music outlet in town? . . .

Read more at: Salon

"Democrat" vs. "Democratic" on Over Time with Bill Maher, September 19, 2014

He may look stupid, but Rep. Jack Kingston
knows what he's doing.

There really is no question about this subject, and there's nothing "subtle" about it: Right Wing World will virtually always use the word "Democrat" even when the proper word is Democratic. It's completely on purpose. It's partially a dig, and it's partially market tested. If you say, "Democrat Senator" rather than "Democratic Senator," you avoid using a patriotic word. Small-d "democratic" is just as stars-and-stripesy as "freedom" and "liberty." So, it's too good for a Democrat. Plus, when used as an adjective (incorrectly), the word sounds harsher, more brutish.

The worst part is, when a person like--say, Rush Limbaugh--uses "Democrat" incorrectly, he knows he's doing so, and is by definition, lying. It's irritating, and it's assholish. Period.

[Excerpt]

Bill Maher Sees ‘Subtle Dig’ in Republicans Who Say ‘Democrat’ Instead of ‘Democratic’

 

What’s the difference between “Democrat” and “Democratic”? One’s a type of discreet insult, according to HBO Real Time‘s Bill Maher. On the “Overtime” segment of Maher’s show Friday, Republican Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) referenced an education bill that passed under Democratic leadership in the House and Senate in 2007. Kingston called the bill “a Democrat bill. . .”

Read more at: Mediaite

Lewis Black Blasts Rush Limbaugh on Robin Williams Suicide Comments

Image from source RawStory

As I have stated on this blog in the past, Rush Limbaugh is a big, fat, disgusting pig. He proves it endlessly, and did it again this week when he blamed Robin Williams' suicide on liberals.  And as is typical for Limbaugh, when he got sufficient heat for it (even from some on his own side), he walked it back. Well, sort of. He--of course--did not apologize. He claimed the liberals (of course) took him out of context. They did not. He knows his listeners will believe anything he tells them, so he lied  to them. But I guess they deserve what they get.

Comedian Lewis Black, a friend of Williams', didn't take Limbaugh's comments well. Who could? So he gave Rush both barrels (or middle fingers, more aptly) in a Facebook message. And he couldn't be more on the money.

[Excerpt]

Lewis Black blasts Limbaugh: ‘F*CK YOU’ for making light of Robin Williams’ death
 
“F*CK YOU Rush Limbaugh,” Black wrote on his Facebook page. “Your statements were beyond cruel and stupid. They were intolerable. Enough is enough from you. You are an idiot. Don’t you ever demean the death of another human being. He was my friend. You disgust me.”

Read more at: Raw Story

Rush Limbaugh is Still a Big, Fat Pig, Part MCMLXXXVIII

With apologies to Senator Al Franken for stealing his title, Rush Limbaugh just seems to keep trying to outdo himself in piggishness. He's just disgusting.

[Excerpt]

Rush Limbaugh: Liberals will politicize Ebola like they used AIDS to ‘undermine’ Reagan

Radio host Rush Limbaugh warned his listeners on Monday that liberals would make Ebola into a political issue and use it like they had used AIDS to “undermine” President Ronald Reagan. In an audio clip flagged by Media Matters, the conservative talker explained that he had received some complaints from listeners who said that he should not be spending time talking about the Ebola outbreak in Africa. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Liberal Talker Randi Rhodes Retires Today

Sigh. Yes, I know that Barbara Walters is retiring today. And as a pop culture icon, journalist and celebrity interviewer, Walters has really left a mark. If only the Saturday Night Live parodies of her were to be remembered, she would have really made it! But Barbara is nearing 85, so her retirement is no surprise.

Randi Rhodes, a liberal radio host with close to a 30-year career is also retiring today. And while she's not as well known to the American public, I'll miss her more. I understand that if you're a conservative, if you know of Rhodes at all, you probably have a negative impression of her. That's to be understood, because the only things you'd have heard would have been from right-wing sources. But Randi is not the liberal Rush Limbaugh. As brash and perhaps even abrasive as she might occasionally be, Randi never intentionally mislead her audience, or twisted a news story into  a pretzel in order to somehow blame the right for something.

In fact, routinely, Randi tells her audience that she knows the company she keeps on the radio dial, and that we shouldn't trust her contemporaries, or indeed she herself, and to do our homework. In fact, on her web site were homework links. Links to every important story she was discussing. I'm going to miss her a lot. As much as I love The Stephanie Miller Show, appreciate Thom Hartmann, and tolerate Ed Schultz, there's no one like Randi Rhodes. It's going to leave a hole in my day.

I've been listening since mid-2004, shortly after the 5-year experiment of Air America Radio started. Looking for The O'Franken Factor, less for its political content than because I was a fan of Al Franken, I found Randi Rhodes. And I've listened every work day since. On my computer of course, since Las Vegas has never had an outlet that airs liberal talk, though we can field more than one conservative station. And there's the rub. That's a big chunk of why Randi Rhodes is leaving while still at the top of her game: why put in 60-hour weeks of show prep, time on the air, and follow-up on the web site, when your outlets have dwindled to barely double-digits? As a hobbyist blogger, I get it. Why pump that much time and effort into something that has such a shrinking audience?

I've disagreed with Randi on several topics, so I'm no Rhodes ditto head. She has a dim view of bloggers, and other punditry. She has a dim view of people like Rachel Maddow and Franken, who used radio as a stepping-stone to career enrichment, rather than trying to grow liberal radio. But I'd be worried about myself if I found myself in 100% agreement with a radio host. And that's something I really dug about Randi: she makes you think, and occasionally scream back at the radio. She's engaging. And I doubt she'd ever have pulled a Rush, and made merchandise like bumperstickers saying, "Randi's Right!" or tell people they need no other source for news.

So, if you happen to be free and near a computer at 3:00 pm Eastern/Noon Pacific, tune into IHeart.com, and type Randi Rhodes in the search box. It's her last show. I'm recording it. And I'm really going to miss her. Randi, I hope you get some rest, enjoy your time off, and then return in some way, perhaps writing a--horrors--blog of your own, or at least calling into Steph's show on occasion, or even as a regular bit?

Daily Show: Jon Stewart Creates #F**kYouRush Hashtag

Without the asterisks, naturally.

[Excerpt]

Jon Stewart blasts ‘rage heap’ Rush Limbaugh: ‘F*ck you’ for mocking missing Nigerian girls

Daily Show host Jon Stewart found himself with two choices regarding the #BringBackOurGirls online campaign: either he could side with activist Malala Yousafzai, who expressed solidarity with the drive to rescue nearly 300 missing Nigerian girls, or with conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who called First Lady Michelle Obama’s own gesture of solidarity “pathetic. . .”
 

Read more at: Raw Story

Liberal Talker Randi Rhodes Ending Show in May

Ouch. Well, at least this time, we Randi Rhodes fans got a little warning. Twice, we've endured sudden absences. As recently as a few months ago, The Randi Rhodes Show was slated for cancellation by Premiere Networks, and got a surprise year-long reprieve. So, this news is surprising, and not at all welcome.

The AM radio landscape is dying, led by a sponsor revolt at the whole format, mostly due to acerbic conservative host, Rush Limbaugh. Add to that the overall changes in media over the last couple of decades, and the concerted effort by radio network and station owners to squeeze liberal talk out of the market. Yes, yes, I'm aware that conservatives maintain that the people have spoken, and that they don't want liberal talk. If they'd ever gotten liberal talk on anything close to a level playing field, I might agree. But they haven't, and they didn't.

Randi, as well as The Stephanie Miller Show and others, were squeezed out of even Miller's own flagship station in Los Angeles in favor of Limbaugh, and the usual slate of conservative talkers. And is doing terribly. In fact, the whole genre is now doing terribly, and the right-wing side is only kept afloat by conservative think-tanks and like-minded groups. On the progressive side, not only are they fighting an uphill battle for programming, they don't seem to have the ear of monied liberal groups.

Randi has been hinting at a departure lately, and I figured this was coming. I thought it would be later this year, though. I know she has a good man in her life, and a home in Costa Rica, so maybe she's just sick of battling for a slot on the air. She seemed really bothered by several recent news stories, and has flat out said (paraphrasing) "it's time to go." As in leave this country.

In that, I wish her well. But I'll miss her New Yorker voice. Ironically, she herself admits she does not have a voice for radio! And she wasn't for all tastes. But since the days when I first found her, while looking for a new show called "The O'Franken Factor," way back in 2004, I've been a fan. And I'm hoping for some kind of revival at some point. Rest up, Randi, and come back in a new format!

[Excerpt]

Premiere: Randi Rhodes Show To End May 16th

A statement from PREMIERE said that RHODES "has decided to end her national radio program. We’ve had a successful partnership with RANDI for several years, and we wish her all the best for the future. PREMIERE NETWORKS will conclude syndication and production of RANDI RHODES on MAY 16th, 2014. . ."

Read more at: All Access

For Anyone Still Advocating #CancelColbert

In case anyone doesn't believe that Stephen Colbert's "Ching-Chong Ding-Dong" character originated in a satirical response to an actually racist performance by Rush Limbaugh, here is the original clip. This is a lesson in not responding to a perceived "offensive" statement without first getting the context.

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive

Limbaugh: Media Created "Polar Vortex" as Part of Global Warming "Hoax"

Noted Climatologist (and weather balloon) Rush Limbaugh,
image from source, Talking Points Memo.

As The Daily Show with Jon Stewart rightly noted on Monday night, FOX "News" has shifted gears from The "War" on Christmas to The Global Warming "Hoax." And whether FOX leads Rush Limbaugh, or he leads them (or they somehow coordinate with The Drudge Report), you knew that Limbaugh would be going there too.

I still haven't figured out why having a conservative world view means you can't believe 97% of climate scientists when they say there is a consensus on man-made global climate change. I haven't figured out how, why or when these scientists are alleged to have gotten together and conspired to pull one over on the world. But it makes sense to conservatives, because if there's one thing I've learned about 'em, it's that they don't track a theory to its logical conclusions to figure out if it makes any sense. It's Stephen Colbert's "truthiness" concept in action: they just feel it in their guts. Plus, if Limbaugh says it, it must be true.

And what Limbaugh says is, a "polar vortex"--in the news for its wrath on much of the country in recent days--was invented by climate scientists to aid them with the global warming "hoax." Even though a polar vortex was the major plot point of the craptastic movie, The Day After Tomorrow, which despite the title came out ten years ago. And that's just the recent stuff. According to Wikipedia (and yeah, I know it's publically edited, but it is also sourced.), the first mention of a polar vortex in science was at least 1853.

Keep this in mind next time you see a "Rush is right!" bumper sticker. He's wrong. A lot.

[Excerpt]

Limbaugh: Media Created Polar Vortex To Advance Global Warming 'Hoax'
 
. . ."We are having a record-breaking cold snap in many parts of the country. And right on schedule the media have to come up with a way to make it sound like it's completely unprecedented," he said on his radio show. "Because they've got to find a way to attach this to the global warming agenda, and they have. It's called the 'polar vortex.' The dreaded polar vortex. . ."

Read more at: Talking Points Memo

Liberal Talk KTLK-AM in Los Angeles to Become Conservative "The Patriot"

The drugster. Image from source, LA Times.

Well, crap. I've been listening to liberal talk radio at work since 2004, when searching for The O'Franken Factor, Al Franken's original show on the late "Air America Radio." Since those days, there have been several challenges to continue listening. We've never had liberal talk in Las Vegas (even though we voted for Barack Obama twice), so I've always had to seek out online stations to get my fix. iheartradio.com has been my solution, but I've still had to change stations here and there.

KTLK-AM out of Las Angeles has been my primary home. From that station, I can listen to The Stephanie Miller Show (highly rated in LA, by the way), and The Randi Rhodes Show. The rest of my listening day is really just filler, since I don't much care for Ed Schultz, and since The Thom Hartmann Program is on at the same time as Randi. But now that's going to change.

For some reason, KTLK is being changed to a conservative station, in liberal Los Angeles, California, which already has talk radio on KABC, KFI, KBRT (Christian talk), KOSS, and KRLA. KFI (which currently airs Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity) will change to all local talk. This leaves my programming up in the air again. Allegedly, this is to somehow boost KTLK's ratings, when in fact it will lose its entire current audience, and apparently absorb most of KFI's. Since both radio stations are owned by Clear Channel, I'm not sure I understand what they're doing, besides killing two stations and alienating their audiences.

Stephanie Miller is much more entertaining than a
drug-addled gas bag.

I'm sure I'll be able to find Stephanie Miller and her mooks somewhere on the dial, as long as this squeeze doesn't force them off the air altogether. But this move inspires quite a bit of frustration, irritation, and anger for me. For one thing, how does the myth of a "liberal media" persist when there is so little outlet for liberal political opinion? Where does Clear Channel get off using a circa-2002 branding of "Patriot?" Why on earth would they think killing their KFI brand is a good idea (I'm no fan of KFI, but it's a huge name in LA for conservatives)? Why yank Stephanie Miller, who is huge in the LA market?

I know that radio is a fickle business, and that KTLK has managed to stay in one format for quite a while, despite shake-ups with Air America, Nova-M, shuffling lineups caused by time-slot changes, and other issues. And I also know that every station, pretty much, has an audience that feels alienated by every format change. I think this move is for the sake of movement though. KFI is already owned by Clear Channel, and already runs the shows that are shifting to KTLK. How can bumping both sets of audiences, and then paying a whole new roster of local hosts be more cost effective and profitable?

I will be sniffing the air for whatever station picks up Stephanie Miller and Randi Rhodes. If the LA market doesn't offer a suitable alternative, I'll take my listening ears elsewhere. And you know what? If that station offers something better than LA has on from 9-noon and after 3, I might just stick around for that too. And I really hope it's not Clear Channel.

[Excerpt]

Clear Channel moving Rush Limbaugh from KFI to revamped KTLK

Rush Limbaugh's radio tirades will have a new home on Los Angeles airwaves next year. KFI-AM (640) is losing the conservative host's three-hour show, long a fixture on the station, to KTLK-AM (1150), which owner Clear Channel is hoping to pump up as an outlet exclusively dedicated to right-leaning chatter. . .

Read more at: Los Angeles Times
 

Right Wing World: Rush Limbaugh vs. Women, Part 1,347, 864

What is it with Right Wing World and rape? You'd think after several public rebukes, they'd knock it off. Then again, this is Rush Limbaugh we're talking about, and he does get to set the rules the conservatives play by. El Rushbo may be el douchebo to the rest of us, but he's the conservative King, and he's allowed to be crass, crude, very (very) often wrong, and he's still as golden as the false idol calf. And as large. Ha!

Anyway, I've just got to wonder where in the hell Rush's rape analogy even comes from. I mean, even if rape weren't such a radioactive topic, the analogy doesn't go anywhere. It's really, really not analogous. So it would fail on its own, but Rush keeps running with it anyway. If he had an ounce of self-awareness (or a care in the world that a misstep even matters at this point), he would have stopped a third or a half of the way in, and shifted gears. He could have even thrown in a "Nope, nope, shouldn't go there, the Feminazis won't like it, how 'bout this, my friends. . .?"

[Excerpt]

Limbaugh Compares Filibuster Reform to Rape




I don't know how or why this troll is still on the air, but apparently someone out there is listening to him. I think he's been popping too many happy pills again: Limbaugh Compares Filibuster Reform To Vote "Allow[ing] Women To Be Raped". . .

Read more at: Crooks & Liars

Randi Rhodes Staying on Premiere Radio Network

Fun fact: I made this graphic on one of Randi's
returns after an absence. She's since used it on
her own site. So, yay!

Whew! As a fan of liberal radio hostess, Randi Rhodes, I'm breathing a sigh of relief. Randi let slip that she was likely to be terminated from her Premiere Radio contract at the end of December, sending her audience into gallows mode. Those of us who have followed her since the beginning of Air America Radio have had to endure two prior--unexpected--losses of our radio goddess. We know that in the radio business, only so many things can be said aloud, and that due to contracts and whatnot, Randi couldn't tell us where she'd be, when or why. So, we were girding ourselves for a Randi-free future.

Alas, she's been re-signed, and will be around for at least another year. Sure, I'd have survived listening to Thom Hartman (who I do like), but given the choice, I'd pick Randi any time. Already, I have the three-hour lull between The Stephanie Miller Show and Randi's show (yes, Ed Schultz is on then, but I'm not exactly a fan). There's nothing I like to listen to after 3 pm. So, I was gonna be stuck with half of Steph's show, and then kind of a doldrums. What would I do, switch to Sean Hannity? Blecchhh.

Conservative radio fans would say that Randi's near-cancellation is just an indicator that liberal radio doesn't work. Interestingly--though they insist that the media is awash with liberal programming--they claim there is no market for liberal talk radio. Cognitive dissonance of course, has never been an issue for the tea party crowd. But the truth is, when Rush Limbaugh went on his misogynistic, hateful, and completely ignorant rants against Sandra Fluke, advertisers left radio in droves. Rush (and Sean and the odious Mark Levin and Michal Savage, et. al) manage to stay on because of conservative think tank foundation money. And phony colleges. And paranoid, end-of-the-world seeds, and gold, and whatnot. Those options are not available to liberals in this "liberal media."

Anyway, I'm jazzed that I'm not losing my Randi, at least not yet, not this time. And to anyone who would sneer and say that she's just the liberal version of Rush (or any of the also-rans, wannabes and never-weres), I'll tell you this. Randi has always said, "don't believe a word I say." She says, she knows the company she keeps on the radio dial, and that you shouldn't trust anything any of them say, without checking it out yourself from real newspapers.* I've kept her motto here at my blog as well. Where Rush will tell you to trust him as your single information source, Randi is constantly urging engagement, and even assigns homework on her show and website (which includes sources and further reading on her topics, from legitimate news sites). Plus, she's funny as hell.

Congratulations, Randi!

[Excerpt]

I have good news—I’m not going anywhere. I know what you’re thinking—Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is saying the same thing. But in his case it’s probably not true... and in his case that’s not good news. But Premiere is going to renew my contract for another year, so the good news is that I’m staying put. The bad news is that I’m in Florida, but that doesn’t need to affect you. I’m not going to go away, no matter what Republicans might want. In that sense, I’m like Obamacare—I’m just a lot easier to access. That’s because I have a much better website.

Read more: Randi Rhodes


*My one quibble with Randi Rhodes is her disdain for bloggers, which--obviously--is my hobby. I agree with her that no one should take a blogger's or a radio host's word for anything. Most aren't credentialed in any way (not Randi, not me, certainly not Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity), and are just giving their opinion. An informed opinion in her case, but still just opinion. So, I get it, but I don't think bloggers are useless, I think we point people to news, much as she does. Still love her though.

And by the way, I must point out that the only way for me to listen to any liberal talk, I have to actively seek it out online or on my phone, via IHeartRadio.com, DAR.fm or other online source. Again, for all the talk of "liberal media," we have never had a liberal radio station here in blue Clark County/Las Vegas, Nevada.

More Facepalm: Limbaugh Says Syria is Obama's "Shuck and Jive"

It's been a while since I've busted out the Facepalm banner, and here we're in only the second of three at a stretch. Now, of course I know that Rush Limbaugh lives to rile people with the asinine things he says. And I'm aware that those of us who give him digital "ink" are in some ways just playing into his hands. But it's also important to tell people who maybe aren't paying attention, that this man is vile, and a racist, and just a despicable human being.
 

El Douchebo, image from source, Raw Story

[Excerpt]
 
Limbaugh: Obama’s Syria plan is ‘Shuck and Jive’ instead of ‘Shock and Awe’
 
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh says that if former President George W. Bush’s Iraq invasion was called “Shock and Awe” then President Barack Obama’s attack of Syrian should be called “Shuck and Jive. . .”

Read more at: The Raw Story

Rush Limbaugh: Science and Christianity are Incompatible

Oh, I'm sorry. Is my headline misleading? Actually, no, I don't think it is. I think that's what El Rushbo has said, distilled down. He's saying you can't believe in global warming if you believe the Bible. Ironically enough, it was while studying the Bible and freshman Earth science in the same year that made me an atheist. So, I guess I'm in agreement with Rush, though on the opposite side of the equation. I think science cancels out the Bible.

And I think it is the height of foolishness to dismiss the possibility of man-made climate change because of your religion or your political party.

I hope Limbaugh lives long enough for his tacky South Palm Beach palace to be under water--literally.

[Excerpt]

Limbaugh: ‘If You Believe In God, Then Intellectually You Cannot Believe In Manmade Global Warming’

. . ."See, in my humble opinion, folks, if you believe in God, then intellectually you cannot believe in manmade global warming … You must be either agnostic or atheistic to believe that man controls something that he can’t create. . ."

[By the way, there is nothing humble about Rush Limbaugh. --Ed.]

Read more at: ThinkProgress

Rush Limbaugh Minimizes "Caucasian" Responsibility for Slavery

I put "Caucasian" in quotes because what Rush Limbaugh means by the word is white Americans. Because he seemingly doesn't count ancient Romans and other white slaveholders from history in his rationalization for his latest baffling argument. You know how Bobby Jindal said that Republicans have got to stop being the stupid party, after they got bogged down saying dumb things about rape and abortion (and they totally didn't stop)? This is one of those topics Rush. You might energize some racist listeners, but you're just further galvanizing minorities. . .and rational people.

 

Right Wing World: Rush Limbaugh Has Finally Lost His Mind

. . .Or lost what's left of his mind? Or thinks his audience is irredeemably stupid? Or is back on the oxy? Something's going on, because his latest claims are so empirically false, so laugh-out-loud ridiculous, there's no way anyone but the densest dittohead could believe it.

[Excerpt]

Rush Limbaugh: Conservatives Don't Suppress The Black Vote, Restrict Women's Choice, Or Lie  


Displaying a remarkable lack of self-awareness, Rush Limbaugh tried to convince a caller that "it's a pretty safe bet" that liberals always lie and conservatives never do -- an assertion he backed up with a series of his own lies on everything from abortion to minority vote suppression and the IRS. . .

Read more at: Media Matters

Conspiracy Theorists Flummoxed in Face of Actual Scandals

I can't improve upon the actual headline of the excerpted piece below, so I outright stole it. Though I think the actual scandals are more like scandal-ettes at this point. Benghazi isn't a scandal, it was an attack on our people that is being used for political purposes. The IRS thing I'm still convinced was appropriate, except they should have declassified the Tea Party groups' tax exempt status. And the AP one I'm still unsure about. But all three of these scandal-ettes are actual things, and though I'm sure the conspiracy nuts have added their own brand of crazy to them, it's interesting that they haven't quite figured out what to do with them yet.

Crazy Eyes & the Fat Boy would make a good name
for a TV show, don't you think? Image from Salon.

[Excerpt]

Conspiracy theorists flummoxed in face of actual scandals 

If you spend every hour of your working life inventing new ways to attack Barack Obama or the government (or both), this is a very good week for you — or at least it should be. After trudging through the deserts of Benghazi and Fast and Furious for four years, trying to extract any tiny drop of scandal from stone, now suddenly comes manna from heaven, courtesy of the IRS and its misguided attempt to prevent political groups from taking advantage of the nonprofit tax code. Then, even before you could digest the first course, the Department of Justice snoops on reporters. Glory be to Ronald Reagan’s ghost! The Promised Land of Impeachment can’t be far off. . .

Read more at: Salon

Rush Limbaugh Connects Cleveland Kidnapping with Hawaii Five-O

On Monday night, after hearing all day about the three women (and one child) held captive over a decade in a Cleveland, Ohio house, I turned on Hawaii Five-O on CBS, as I'm wont to do. And I was surprised to find that the episode's plot bore some resemblance to the awful real-life story. Most of the details were different, but it dealt with long-term kidnapping and imprisonment of women. I thought nothing more than that it was an odd coincidence, and was surprised there wasn't a disclaimer, or a scuttling of the episode until later in the season.

Leave it to Rush Limbaugh, classy guy that he is, to try and connect the plot of the episode--having to do with welfare fraud--with the real-life tragedy. And then, to Cleveland voting for Obama? Hey, Rush, America voted for Obama! He's really such a pig.

[Excerpt]

Limbaugh links Cleveland kidnappers to Obama and welfare benefits

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday found a convoluted way to use the CBS drama Hawaii Five-0 to link the story of three kidnapped women in Cleveland to President Barack Obama and welfare benefits. Limbaugh admitted that he had “no idea” about why Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight had been kidnapped and then were able to escape after 10 years. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Rush Limbaugh Attacks Michelle Obama Over Eulogy

Image from ABC News

I know that Rush Limbaugh is essentially a troll (a drug-addled, impotent troll), who lives for attention. But at some point, is there just no lower he can go? I mean, first you have him feeding his listeners' fathomless hatred for the First Lady, and then he's focusing his wrath on her eulogy for a shooting victim? Really? Is there a point where even his listeners say, "that's too far"? Ever?

In case you haven't noticed, dittoheads, Rush Limbaugh is a revolting pig.

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Limbaugh Attacks Michelle Obama Over Her Remarks Expressing Sympathy For Shooting Victim



Rush Limbaugh responded to Michelle Obama's recent speech on gun reform by accusing her of having "a chip on [her] shoulder" about the U.S. and of doing "a disservice to the country."
On Wednesday, Obama delivered a speech in Chicago urging action to combat youth gun violence. In her remarks, Obama spoke of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old Chicago high school student who was shot and killed in January, saying that Pendleton reminded her of herself at that age. . .

Read more at: Media Matters

Rush Limbaugh to Undergo Sex Reassignment Surgery

Sources tell us at Greenlee Gazette that thrice-married four-times-wed "traditional family values" conservative radio host, Rush Limbaugh, has finally come to terms with his transsexuality. According to well-placed sources (who prefer to go unnamed), Limbaugh does not intend to simultaneously undergo plastic surgery or liposuction, envisioning himself as a zaftig, Rubinesque future beauty. Rumor has it, Limbaugh will continue his radio program using his new name, Rachel Tension.