Limbaugh is dangerous

[OneGrassRoot]

One week ago I created a petition to Remove Rush Limbaugh from Armed Forces Radio.

Here is the original thread (I don't want to rehash disputes about censorship or us making choices for soldiers, etc.):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=467176&mesg_id=467176


I bring this up again because I'm realizing more and more that he really instigated so much of the negativity and toxic environment that has reached a fever pitch in this country. Many of the negative, insulting phrases and talking points started with him. He has been influential since the early 90's. The whole "liberal media bias" started with him (someone reminded me how he hammered this home during the Thomas-Hill debates way back when).

We've grown accustomed to the trashing of all things liberal and progressive over the last two decades that we tend to forget where it all started.

If he were just an entertainer, and not someone for us to take seriously, politicians wouldn't be going on his show to apologize for veering away from the talking points. He IS the titular head of the Republican Party.

He is setting the tone. And it's grotesque.

I think he is very, very dangerous; he just signed a contract through 2016 for $38 million/year.

Beck and Palin are being seen for the jokes they are, but this guy has done an awful lot of damage to this country and, now that a black man is in the White House, is hell bent on doing MUCH more damage. His listeners are responsible for choosing to listen to him, but he is so damn destructive and manipulative with his vitriol that people listen casually and then end up getting sucked into it if they're unhappy about their life. He gives them an outlet, and a target for that discontent: liberals, progressives, democrats and now, most certainly, Obama.

I've seen this happen too often. :(

I don't want to lose sight of the scope of his influence on not only political discussion in this country, but discussion in general. He made everything very personal and created a tremendous division between citizens and it's ramped up now. Fox News has capitalized on what he started, but he definitely started it.

We have a plethora of dragons to slay but, imho, he is definitely one of them, and a key influence. He's like the dragon whisperer. :(

I'm just sayin'....

:mad:

[Oceansaway]

1. k & r...nt

[Jim__]

2. Done - n/t

[wildbilln864]

3. k&r! nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Recently reported Beck's ratings are slipping badly. Pressure on his sponsors has been successful.

Need to do the same to Limpballs.

[fittosurvive]

23. Vacating sponsors are a result of the ratings slipping.

If people are watching, sponsors will sponsor.

[librechik]

88. hundreds of Beck sponsors have dropped him because of political action

Once they find out how extreme he is, they drop him, even when the ratings were good. Beck is kept on despite his putrid ratings because the bosses wnat him there. They are willing to pay and damn the sponsors.

In decent markets, with competitive khz, liberal programs regularly beat limbaugh in the ratings. Just ask Randi Rhodes. Conservative stations just outnumber us by far, and the conservatives make a point of monopolizing all the stations with powerful transmitters. They game the system, that's why they win, in any endeavor they take part in. They can't win honestly on issues.

www.stopbeck.com

[certainot]

92. it will work on limbaugh if americans shame his LOCAL station sponsors.

those stations are some of the biggest in the country and local sponsors help pay station overhead. the GOP can find alternatives for national sponsors but in blue communities there are a lot of local sponsors that are only at those stations because they are loud and maybe their ad agencies put them on.

in blue areas especially, where talk radio is still mostly all right wing, sponsors of those stations, whether their ads are on during limbaugh or hannity or not, need to be asked WTF until they either defend RW radio or find alternatives. when those stations have to start laying off they will feel it.

it's easy to listen a little and get local phone numbers of local sponsors and talk to owners and managers and even employees. many i've talked to will not defend rush. some employees and managers don't even know they're ads are on rush. ALL sponsors on those stations need to be called regularly and asked WTF? do they agree with the hate, racism, sexism, lies, war lies, and global warming denial?

those stations are licensed to operate in the public interest and politics aside, the anti-science global warming denial position that is virtually unanimous for all the 1000 RW stations is criminal.

and many of our universities broadcast sports on those stations and give them credibility. their students and faculty should be demanding alternative non-political or at least science-friendly stations. is associating with those stations consistent with their mission statement?

losing university sports would be a giant kick in the pants to RW radio.

[fittosurvive]

141. I will never understand the Beck thing--he is neither entertaining nor informative. However,

I don't believe his bosses practice the art of "damn the sponsors" at all. On the contrary, it's all about the money and if there are no sponsors, there is no money.

As far as Randi Rhodes goes, she works in the house that Limbaugh built (Premier Radio Networks). However, she ranks behind Thom Hartman and Ed Schultz in overall ratings. Once again, it about ratings, sponsors and money.

http://www.talkers.com/2011hhindex.html

[GSLevel9]

67. is it the pressure on his sponsors or the fact that he SUCKS??? nt

[reformist2]

5. I'd settle for a return of the fairness doctrine - 5 mins of commentary after every hour of his show

[slackmaster]

6. Anybody who can be made to vanish by turning off a radio or changing the station isn't dangerous

:argh:

[OneGrassRoot]

9. I disagree. He's like a "Tokyo Rose." Propaganda is dangerous. n/t

[Ricochet21]

15. Limbaugh

is despicable. One of the most anti-American poisons in our history. He shames my sign of Capricorn. I am so embarassed when I see my friends listen to him. I wanna be sick. :puke:

[Mnemosyne]

28. Rush and Howard Stern share the same birth day.

Stern - 12 January 1954 and other - 12 Jan 1951

I don't like Stern either, but his rhetoric does not try to incite violence, other than spanking maybe. :evilgrin:

:hi:

[Biker13]

140. YES!

I have a good friend who is disabled, and is for the most part, house bound. He spends his time listening to FOX News, and loves to research their stories and catch their lies. The stuff he tells me is unbelievable!

I can't believe they get away with it!

Biker's Old Lady

[Martin Eden]

25. Then why hasn't he vanished?

Could it be that millions deliberately tune in, nod their heads in agreement with Limbaugh, and do his bidding in the voting booth?

Many Germans chose to ignore Hitler. How'd that work out for them?

[slackmaster]

83. I can't hear him right now

Why do you insist on listening to him?

Many Germans chose to ignore Hitler.

You are either ignorant of history, or just a bad guesser.

[Martin Eden]

149. You forgot the SARCASM emoticon

"Why do you insist on listening to him?"

I'll answer that question with another question that makes just as much sense:
Why do you support the Republican Party with your vote and cash donations?

Here's another question:
Is it your contention that every adult German chose to listen to Hitler's speeches as he was coming to power in the 1930's?

[certainot]

95. in most of the US there are no free alternatives for politics or current events

while driving or working. many of his stations are the loudest in the country.

we are in this mess because for 20 years the left just turned the dial. essentially the right's been setting up soapboxes on every corner and stump in the country and blowhards stand there all day long screaming liberals are liars and thieves and their ideals are treasonous. and liberals have just been walking by. they need to pull their fingers out of their ears.

the last 20 years of disaster comes from the left just walking by. after a while your neighbors believe it and you have to leave town. well, corporations are now funneling money into the elections like never before and soon there won't be any place left to go for thinking americans.

guess whose going to have the loudest microphones in every state in an emergency, whether its political or natural? or zombies?

the loudest megaphones in the country getting wisc gov walkers back right now are our local RW radio stations and they need to be picketed and their local sponsors need to be shamed and asked WTF?

[Tumbulu]

114. You are so correct! It felt dangerous being a liberal

in Bakersfield and Arizona as well. It is only getting worse and I blame it on Limbaugh and the people who ignore the damage he causes.

I keep thinking that an army of people need to call his show and as soon as they get on to talk to him blast the fax sound or some other obnoxious sound. So that most every call is just an unpleasant noise.

But I think that main thing is that there needs to be a really liberal radio network that covers the rural areas. Really covers them.

[certainot]

119. getting on his show is like winning the lottery for a liberal

unless you sound like you're from an arkansas swamp or a fruit cake and they want to make an example of you.

might be better to just yell at the call screener. better to badmouth him on the local talkers on the same stations if they take real calls.

i like to ask them maybe to ask callers to call in with examples of important things rush has been right about- like bush, iraq, bank deregulation, palin, etc.

or just call him a racist liar, etc.

[Tumbulu]

126. I know, I thought that if we set up a phone bank in Bakersfield

and we got people who could put on accents to trick the screeners........

This was my old ideas from the early 90's when I was so appalled by his violent verbal attacks. And figured that you had to be from some solid rethug territory and sound like it as well.

[certainot]

157. i heard one the other day surprise him, sounded like a real hick

and caught him totally by surprise and i don't think the guy was trying to sneak in, he was just a lot smarter than his accent might indicate. great call. doesn't happen often.

on the other side thom hartmann likes pointing out when he gets paid callers using the talking points.

i've heard on several occasions what could only have been a sequence of scripted calls (all sober and lucid on a friday night once) all reinforcing the whole lineup of talking points (pro war for instance, join the forces, etc.)

[Enthusiast]

96. What he says resonates

with some people. He is destructive. He certainly has no place on armed forces radio where he constantly denigrates the Commander in Chief.

[mimitabby]

7. did you just figure that out????

[OneGrassRoot]

11. No...

but my realization of HOW dangerous he is increases daily.

:)

[LiberalAndProud]

8. He is the mouthpiece.

He's plugged into the apparatus, but doesn't author the talking points, he simply adheres to them.

[OneGrassRoot]

14. I wonder who his puppetmaster is...

He's been at this a long time. He's all about the $$$ (probably doesn't even believe half the shit he spews), so I wonder who has been behind his schtick the last two decades?

Was Rove instrumental? We know Gingrich was involved in getting him on Armed Forces Radio.

The power behind Limbaugh would be an interesting investigation. Surely someone has done that by now? I'll look...

[BobbyBoring]

75. The power behind Limbaugh

is the same that's behind the whole RW movement. He is dangerous and needs to be removed from all radio PERIOD.

[warren pease]

84. Who pays Limbaugh...

According to Wiki answers, "Clear Channel Communications, Inc. signed an 8-year, $400 million contract extension with Limbaugh in 2008. Premiere Radio Networks, a division of Clear Channel, owns distribution rights of the radio program."

As to who owns Clear Channel, that would be Bain Capital, LLC, a hedge fund founded in 1984 by, among others, Mitt Romney.

Co-owner is Thomas H. Lee Partners, a private equity firm based in Boston "specializing in leveraged buyouts, growth capital, special situations, industry consolidations, and recapitalizations."

Limbaugh must be one of those "special situations," since he's certainly not "normal."


wp

[certainot]

102. but LOCAL sponsors of the stations that put him on pay the overhead

and whether they advertise on his show or not they need to shamed into looking for alternatives.

and lot of universities give those big stations community credibility by broadcasting sports on them- right after the anti-science, idiotic global warming denial that all right wing radio stations do.

[OneGrassRoot]

107. So, if people go here, they can find the local stations broadcasting Limbaugh...

of course they tend to also broadcast Beck, et al.

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/menu/rush.guest.html

Click on your state and it will list cities and a corresponding radio station.

I did that for Raleigh, found the website for the radio station, and looked for any advertisements. I see a prominent car dealership sponsoring a contest, for example, and a local golf course with a banner ad.

Maybe other radio station sites will list advertisers and sponsors? I can't find any list for the local Raleigh station.

Some have said that advertising is sold as a block; that the companies don't necessarily give permission regarding which show their ads appear on.

I'm not sure I really care about that, to be honest. If they're okay with having their company associated with "Rush Radio" -- which is what this particular local station calls itself (maybe they all do? I don't listen to talk radio): http://www.wrdu.com/ -- then they need to accept responsibility for that decision, imho.

Is this the approach you're recommending? How do you recommend approaching the university sports broadcast situation? That would be huge impact for sure.

Thanks for all the information and suggestions.

Tapping in to the college kids -- which are by and large fairly progressive and probably loathe Limbaugh -- would probably be a good way to spread this effort.

:hi:

[certainot]

117. i used to listen more but it only takes a segment or two to hear

a local sponsor ad or two.

the main problem i think, is some of the same reaction you get here, which is that the left underestimates the monster political 2x4 of talk radio- it might as well be invisible to the base and to the media and strategists that should be including it in their analysis. so they turn on music and we get bush and iraq and global warming.

on the universities i was thinking someone needs to start a list of which of the top 20 in a sport, for instance, broadcast on global warming stations.

someone suggested an expanding google map of sponsors but that would be changing all the time.

ad agencies need to be warned off, maybe after some of their clients complain. i've talked to sponsors who ended up on limbaugh even thought the though they were on at another time.

i imagine that radio block time thing may be part of the problem- they can use it as an excuse and evade responsibility all the way along and it allows clear channel etc. to shift money around to subsidize hot potatoes like rush on behalf of the GOP and chamber of commerce.

i find it really dumb that the dem party or someone else hasn't made a searchable transcript database of the main talkers , national and local, available just to know what the GOP is working on.

thanks for the diary...

[certainot]

99. he gets first dibs on the think tank talking points

the main talkers are pretty well coordinated but he probably gets a few scoops thrown his was to increase his "all knowingnesss".

heritage foundation is a big part of it.

[LiberalLoner]

10. K&R my husband and I were talking about how vitriolic the US has gotten, how

it is impossible to talk reasonably with teabagger types. He has almost gotten into fights, fist-fights, with coworkers who were incredibly rude to him upon finding out he did not share their political views (Limbaugh-views.)

He walked away from one former friend. He was mentioning that it wasn't even the right-wing views spewed all the time that bothered him so much as what a jerk this former friend turned into. Snarky and nasty and mean and sarcastic and all about himself, just a huge huge jerk. And he didn't always used to be that way.

I was thinking then that this rhetoric has literally changed personalities, that people who get caught in Limbaugh's web or Beck's web or whatever, not only believe nonsense but they become real assholes if they weren't already.

Anyone else noticed that trend?

I think it is a dangerous trend for people to be so brainwashed and to have their basic personalities changed so much for the worse.

[Crop Circle]

12. Same happened to me n/t

[NICO9000]

109. Me too

After the Iraq War started, I had to drop one of my old college pals 'cos I just couldn't take the RW spew coming out of his mouth. We've sorta made up over the years, but the incident really made me rethink my friendship with him and we rarely talk these days.

[jkirch]

123. Same here.

[OneGrassRoot]

17. Yep, you describe it very well. :( n/t

[mmonk]

19. It is the use of eliminationist speech.

The longer we don't address it, the more dangerous it will become.

[du_da]

57. Maybe if you examine that statement closely you will see why.

"K&R my husband and I were talking about how vitriolic the US has gotten, how it is impossible to talk reasonably with teabagger types. He has almost gotten into fights, fist-fights, with coworkers who were incredibly rude to him upon finding out he did not share their political views (Limbaugh-views.)"

If that doesn't work go on to your next statement, specificlly this line:
"Snarky and nasty and mean and sarcastic and all about himself, just a huge huge jerk."


It always amazes me how people on our side are so amazed that the opposition is unwilling to listen. We are our own worst enemy.

[defendandprotect]

68. THIS is the only way the right wing can rise ... by creating more aggression, violent behavior --

in America -- and making it more acceptable -- more normal --

That's a large part of what the T-BAGGER creation by Koch Bros. is about, imo --

taking America to a new level of political aggression and violence.

How do we, or even an elected Dem officials at a Town Hall Meeting, respond to a

"know-it-all" right winger with a rifle slung over their shoulder?

You can't -- and that's the purpose of all of this! To make reply impossible.

Because any bit of TRUTH will shatter rw myths --

TRUTH is like a pebble hitting a mirror -- shattering it!

Keep on tossin' those pebbles!!


:)

[certainot]

101. it becomes more acceptable every day the left ignores those 1000 right wing

radio stations with their cowardly chickenhawks reading think tank talking points from behind their call screeners.

until the left pickets those stations and boycotts their local sponsors they will remain acceptable.

[defendandprotect]

128. ... but the LEFT allegedly includes our Democratic Party which is supposed to be responding--!!

And that's also been one of the major problems with the party -- no response.

How about those stolen elections and the GOP/voting computers?

How about the DLC funded by the Koch Bros?* Something rarely discussed here!





*
http://www.democrats.com/node/7789
http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x498414

[certainot]

155. they're americans too and americans ignore the problem

anyone prominent who mentions limbaugh is ridiculed by both sides, or at least wondered about as to why they're giving more publicity to them.

and who has time to listen to it if you can't do it at work, and who on their way to work and from has time except those who like it- surely not those it gives headaches to , who it attacks all day. so it's the perfect weapon- invisible to those who should know about it but don't until after the damage is done.

[defendandprotect]

158. The Democratic Party are our representatives -- paid to act on our behalf - or are they not?

[certainot]

175. yeah, but they don't have any extra brains and we are more and yet

we, except a few, have completely ignored the radio. so until the people do some picketing and boycotting of those stations to get our reps backs why should we expect them to stick their necks out, while team limbaugh takes free potshots at them all day, even if they know how important radio has been getting us into this mess.

i've had hundreds of dems tell me radio is irrelevant, for many different reasons, and i'm not going to assume our reps and their staffs have idea how much harder their work is and how many more screaming teabaggers their call answerers have to put up with because those radio stations get a free speech free ride. if it's going to happen it's going to have to be the left orgs picketing and boycotting until the stations have to choose between laying people off or opening up to progressive talkers.

[Populist_Prole]

82. Yes LiberalLoner, absolutely. Unfortunately, it's my experience as well

I've got friendships that are very strained by this now. We can't talk politics at all, but at least they try to avoid it in deference to decorum.

My father is the absolute worst though. Always a forward, opinionated and very preachy type, he's absolutely insufferable now. Constantly spouting right wing politics and always looking for a political argument, no matter what the subject is, and he won't quit no matter what. Gets incredibly nasty and rude when I don't buy what he's "selling"...partly because he's not turning me to vote his way, partly due solely due to his inability for him to "sell" me despite his slick pitches. He's like a walking powerpoint presentation. He was once told by another relative that it's not so much his views that turn others off, but his endless aggressive preaching. This made him even madder and he told him to go f*ck himself.

Something in the water?

[certainot]

98. ask them if they can name anything important limbaugh has been right about

like bush, iraq, wall street deregulation....

[Tumbulu]

115. Yes, I have observed this as well

and in the wrong wing strongholds I felt very much in danger. And I was not the only one.

[mmonk]

13. You're correct.

That is why I signed it early. It is time to fight the poison.

[PufPuf23]

16. For Limbaugh or Fox to be on Armed Forces Radio and TV is wrong! nt

[Xenotime]

170. How did he get on there? Where is the outcry for a more progressive view?

[OneGrassRoot]

174. It's not about conservative or progressive. (w/edit)

It's about lying and sedition.

Regarding his rants about Obama -- the Commander in Chief for the military audience -- Limbaugh fits this definition 100%, imho:

"In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent (or resistance) to lawful authority."

Edit to add: We on the left tend to not be in favor of military action; actually, we usually loathe it, because we see it not so much about security or democracy, but about $$.

Yet if a progressive host spoke about the CiC, to a military audience, the way Limbaugh does -- and lied and distorted information -- I'd want him/her off the AFN as well.

I think you can be critical of the CiC on military radio. But lying (even if he covers his huge ass by saying he's an "entertainer"), to the point of propaganda (which has been Limbaugh's M.O. for two decades) is NOT acceptable.

[spanone]

18. extremely

[Bluerthanblue]

20. k&r

:hi:

[Zax2me]

21. Not really.

He's been around 20 years and until a couple months ago we had a Dem Senate, Congress and Obama.
Reports of his impact have been greatly exaggerated.

[OneGrassRoot]

22. I don't agree...

Obviously. :)

He may only be affecting a certain percentage of our population -- directly and inadvertently -- but the poison he has injected into our society is significant, imho.

He has bullied progressives for two decades. So much so, and for so long, that many have forgotten that so much of it started with Limbaugh.

He has been a huge influence in more ways than I think we fully realize. I don't like to give him that credit, but I think it's dangerous not to be aware of it and fight against it.

:hi:

[fittosurvive]

24. .

[certainot]

104. we've had 20 years of regression and standing still!

global warming/climate change, economic meltdown, no single payer, and on and on. there's no bigger PC cop and censor-by-threat than limbaugh and his wannabes working off the same page.

we wouldn't have had clarence thomas, bush, iraq, and palin as potential VP without it.

the talk radio monopoly ignored by the left was a major part in all that, it holds the GOP together, forces thinking conservatives out of the party, and keeps the perception of the political center, as read by the MSM and 'analysts' (who work in a radio free world), way right.

[Tumbulu]

116. For only two years was this the case

He has been poisoning us for a long time and it shows.

[fittosurvive]

26. We wouldn't need the 1st Amendment if everyone agreed.

[OneGrassRoot]

27. The right to free speech does not include the right to incite others to acts of violence.

Nor to spew treasonous lies about the Commander-in-Chief to military personnel.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/02/951587/-Limbaugh:-Leftists-are-cockroaches

[Mnemosyne]

29. Word, OGR. K&R

:hi:

[fittosurvive]

30. Well, you gotta figure if this is protected...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkpoint_(novel)

...so is pretty much anything that Limbaugh says.

[OneGrassRoot]

31. I realize that, legally, his hate speech is currently protected...

but there are things citizens can do to protest such speech being broadcast on FCC-regulated airwaves, as well as taxpayer-funded military radio, and that's what I'm doing.

I'm also a fan of boycotts, though I realize many here don't agree with that approach.

:hi:

[fascisthunter]

32. well done

:toast:

[fittosurvive]

59. Going after his sponsors, etc. is perfectly acceptable. However, if you

are seeking action by the FCC, you are in fact, advocating for the violation of his 1st Amendment rights.

[nenagh]

77. Well done, OneGrassRoot...

:hi:

[OneGrassRoot]

86. ...

:hi:

:hug:

[certainot]

111. john wilson? just wrote a limbaugh book

“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Rush Limbaugh's Assault on Reason,”

but i haven't read it.

[OneGrassRoot]

112. Wow, it literally JUST came out....

I'd love to get this. Hopefully we'll see him on the circuit talking about it.

Thanks again. :hi:

[fittosurvive]

154. Really...? And to think that just a few years ago, this guy was considered to be

“The Most Dangerous Man in America"

http://www.amazon.com/Most-Dangerous-Man-America-Robertson/dp/1573920533

[certainot]

156. i'd bet on limbaugh

dangerous may not be the right word but he's the one the republican pols have to apologize to.
he's got the biggest bully pulpit except right around and during those short speeches from obama.
he is the biggest PC cop and censor by threat in the country - all he has to do is mention a name a few time and the dittohead teabaggers are all over it.

[fascisthunter]

33. political propaganda on tax payer's dime???? Yeee-uh

- to you institutionalizing republican propaganda is free speech? No it isn't.... it's divisive and subversive for our military to be politicized. In fact, it is dangerous!

[Dappleganger]

44. Quite true.

[fittosurvive]

60. Free speech means the other guy may not want to listen to what you want to listen to.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that the 1st Amendment is still alive and well. Thank you.

[OneGrassRoot]

72. Are you enjoying your time here at DU?

:hi:

[fittosurvive]

152. Yes, are you okay with that?

[OneGrassRoot]

162. Certainly! :)

:hi:

[fittosurvive]

178. Thank you.

[certainot]

110. limabugh extemporizes on material supplied by corporate think tanks

and the rest of the RW talkers read pretty much the same shit from 1000 coordinated radio stations, protected from real calls by trained call screeners and sometimes prompted by paid caller/trolls.

those 1000 radio stations are licensed to operate in the public interest but every one is nearly unanimous in denying global warming.

it is a well established monopoly of public air waves that was subsidized to start and may still be and it excludes alternative progressive talkers who have shown they can beat the biggest RW talkers on an even playing field. many blue areas have overlapping RW talk and NO liberal talk.

i suppose if corporations are people then team limbaugh deserves the same free speech rights.

[fittosurvive]

153. Limbaugh is different than most talkers in that his background is radio.

That is why is more successful than the others. Prior to moving to Sirius, Howard Stern, whose background is also radio, was #1.

[Major Hogwash]

159. He started out as a clown -- just like John Wayne Gacy!!

Seriously, he is one of the most vile obnoxious pieces of shit on the entire radio spectrum and you think he is "just a radio DJ".

That's some fucked up shit, man.

[Major Hogwash]

160. Limpdick is a racist piece of shit trying to start a race war.

And everyone here already knows that!!!

[fittosurvive]

176. Really man...? Well, it is what it is.

Both Limbaugh and Stern have always been radio guys. As a result, they have an edge over their competition.

[Dappleganger]

41. You get it...

but I doubt that our resident rw'er does.

[OneGrassRoot]

42. ...

I did a little digging and noticed the pattern.

;)

[Dappleganger]

45. ...

:evilgrin:

[fittosurvive]

63. Those who both fear and attempt to silence the speech of others are usually more

dangerous than those the seek to silence.

[Tumbulu]

118. Not if the speech is abusive and on public airwaves

and it is.

[fittosurvive]

142. Unfortunately, Tumbulu is not the dictator of America's airwaves.

[fascisthunter]

167. no... he's a Tax Payer that sees the danger in Propaganda

and knows the military is supposed to be apolitical. No political shit should be in the military. NONE.... not left nor right.

[Major Hogwash]

132. You're full of something that really smells bad and comes out of your ass.

Do you need me to be more specific?

[Dappleganger]

139. I believe in being responsible for our words.

I don't believe that you should be able to say anything you want without repercussions of the consequences.

[fittosurvive]

143. I agree, however; as we saw with the SC ruling yesterday,

unpopular speech is protected by the 1st Amendment.

[Dappleganger]

148. It is harassment.

[fittosurvive]

151. I agree, but not in the legal sense.

I think it is more accurately described as appalling, despicable, disgraceful and a multitude of other adjectives. Nevertheless, I agree with the decision.

And it is interesting to note that the conservatives agreed with the liberals; except Alito, who stood alone against freedom.

What I find most troubling is that all of the polls I have seen indicate that Americans disagree with the decision by a wide margin. This confirms what I have always believed: most Americans do not have a clue with respect to understanding the INTENT of the Constitution.

[LongTomH]

89. That 'cockroach' label is straight out of 'Hotel Rwanda' as DKos pointed out!

If you were alive and sentient in 1994, as Limbaugh was, there is one immediate association you think of when you hear a radio personality call the "other side" "cockroaches" - you think of the Rwandan massacre. that is the word that Hutu radio used for months before the massacres to dehumanize the Tutsis, who would become the victims of mass murder perpetrated by their fellow citizens.

In 1993-94, Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines was a Rwandan radio station which appealed to the Hutu population, with its combination of bawdy humor, popular Zairean music and racist propaganda against the Tutsi. "It frequently referred to Tutsis as "cockroaches" (example: "You are cockroaches! We will kill you!"). The station was especially popular among young people, who made up the majority of the Interahamwe militia, which carried out the slaughter. Once the massacres started, RTLM radio actually broadcast the location of groups of fleeing Tutsis, so that the Interahamwe could track them down and machete them.

Repeatedly, announcers at RTLM referred to the Tutsi "cockroaches," reducing them to creatures less than human, disgusting and disease-ridden vermin. "A cockroach gives birth to a cockroach... the history of Rwanda shows us clearly that a Tutsi always stays exactly the same, that he has never changed." Human Beings are hard to kill, hard to hate, hard to eliminate, but the "Invenzi" were Tutsi cockroaches, and needed to be stepped on and crushed. Their elimination from the Earth would actually be a service to humanity.

The Hutu extremists spent months preparing their tribesmen for the elimination of the Tutsi. The Rwandan-French magazine Kangura, begun in 1990, was preaching extermination of the Tutsi for three years before the first machete blow was struck. In December 1993, the cover featured a picture of a machete, with the legend:"Which weapons are we going to use to beat the cockroaches for good?" At that point, the Hutu were so used to hearing the fellow citizens referred to as "cockroaches" that extermination of the pests gave them no pause. Hutu machetes rained down on the heads of thousands and thousands of their countrymen, whom they have been inculcated to hate.

Over 800,000 people - perhaps as many as a million - were brutally slaughtered over a 100-day period beginning in April 1004. They had been inflamed by voices on the radio, who then directed the killings. Approximately 20% of the population of Rwanda was exterminated.

Rush Limbaugh was definitely alive and sentient in 1994! I'm afraid he may be deliberately using that eliminationist label!

[Doctor_J]

106. The first amendment doesn't provide for lying and sedition on Armed Forces network

If during 2001-2009 had been on AFN daily calling Bush a traitor, alien, crook, liar, etc., that person wouldn't have lasted 2 weeks. Your premise is bullshit.

try again.

[fittosurvive]

145. Unfortunately, Doctor_J is not the "decider" with respect to what constitutes lying and sedition.

[fascisthunter]

168. no.... we all are and we will get him removed

we will try and you can watch.

[fittosurvive]

177. By all means, sir; proceed with great pride and exuberance.

But you had better bring your lunch, because the 1st Amendment will be a difficult challenge for you to overcome.

[Bandit]

34. He revels in that belief..He used to call himself "The Most Dangerous Man in America"

For years that was in his introduction.. I believe it is based upon much truth..

[Dappleganger]

35. His entire worldview is based upon "Greed is Good."

"Fuck everyone else, I've got mine and the rest of you are just a bunch of whining free-loading welfare queens who just want to be rich like me."

He's convinced an entire generation of Americans that it's ok to live like this, that we aren't our brother's keeper and that we are rulers and not caretakers of the world around us. I have seen many formally kind folks turn into mean shits because of listening to his filth every weekday.

[OneGrassRoot]

37. Absolutely. It's sickening on so many levels. n/t

[KharmaTrain]

36. Rushbo Doesn't Operate In A Vacuum...

My experiences with Rushbo go back to the beginning in Summer '88. I won't go into the story (again...older DUers may have seen me post about it), but I witnessed the early days and even interviewed him. He didn't get his show out of nowhere, he had some powerful friends who assured that he'd get clearance on many powerful stations and using "deregulation" were able to own and dominate these stations. He was the conduit for talking points...a shit stirrer whose game was to hammer home whatever the MOD was and to have others pick up and relay that point. Today it dominates a dying AM band but also has expanded to television as well.

You are spot on about the influence that his daily bilefest has had on the body politic, but keep in mind he's there at the "pleasure" of several large corporates who pay him the big bucks but also control the "public airwaves" with no accountability. The one silver lining is the excesses of these corporates have driven many into bankruptcy and radio overall into a death spiral. Station revenues and property values have crashed which means Rushbo's halcyon days are probably behind him...but he won't go soon or quietly. There's still too many powerful people who hide behind him...the reason he's so intimidating to any rushpublican who dares to speak against him.

[OneGrassRoot]

39. Fascinating...

Thanks for sharing that, KharmaTrain.

I've often wondered who his puppetmasters are but never took the time to look into it. Can that information be found somewhere?

;)

[KharmaTrain]

43. Here's A Good Start...

EFM Media...

http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2010/01/24/the-death-of-air-america-its-the-ownership-stupid/#more-2578

So, imagine you’re a small operator of a local AM radio station in 1990. This is before the Telecom Act of 1996, so, in essence, most radio station owners are small. Also, this is before automation equipment was inexpensive enough to be cheaper than a DJ or operator’s hourly wage.

During drive time you might be doing pretty well with some local news and talk programming, supplemented with call-ins and network features. But during the midday, it’s a little rough. You could just play music, but nobody really listens to music on AM anymore. You’d like to have some entertaining talk programming, but talent costs money, and the ad revenue isn’t there yet. You could pick up some syndicated programming that might be cheaper than good local talent, but that, too, costs money up front that you’re not sure you have.

Then, along comes EFM or Premiere with a great deal for you. You get three hours of a popular talk program out of New York City from an established station with a nationwide reputation. And it won’t cost you one red cent. In exchange you just have to give up some of your (nearly nonexistent) ad inventory. What would you do?

I’m not sure who first said it, but it’s hard to deny: it’s hard to compete with free. In 2010 good ol’ Rushbo’s show isn’t quite so free anymore, but that’s only after building up a pretty good 21-year track record.

And here's a bio on Rushbo's svenghali...Edward McLaughlin...

http://www.radiohof.org/executive/edwardmclaughlin.html

[OneGrassRoot]

46. Thank you, thank you, thank you...

:yourock:

:hi:

[KharmaTrain]

47. Keep Up The Good Fight!

As an old radio type I've had a unique insight into the inner workings of "the biz" and am blissfully as far away from it as I can be. It's sad to have witnessed our public airwaves prostituted on many levels which has ultimately led to the dire straits its currently in. It's a mini story of all the modern ills...speculation on property that has now gone bust, outsourcing thousands of jobs, a major drain on creativity and less service and selection to the public. Fortunately the internet has opened a conduit to these talents.

Keep me posted on how your petition goes...

Cheers...

[demigoddess]

87. I listened to him way back when, not because I wanted to but

because he was just about the only person on radio at that time. The turning point of radio turning from music to talk radio. I noticed that he was a propagandist long ago. He was on all the good times of the day, the owners of the radio stations obviously were promoting him and held him to a different standard.

[KharmaTrain]

91. He Was Cheap Programming...

The article I linked above really nails how this happened. Deregulation let stations automate and replace live bodies...disk jockeys and local talk shows that not only required a talent to host but also an engineer to spin the knobs...Rushbo first replaced the talent and then the engineer. Multiply this by how many stations air his swillfest and that was a significant loss of jobs and voices and you can see how this was welcome by station owners...especially those who used rushbo's show to bust out the unions.

I also had to listen to him when I worked at a station that carried his show...but at least I got paid for it. Wasn't much of a consolation. Truth be known, I thought the dude was so bombastic and full of himself that people would get over the novelty...most did, but unfortunately enough did and do that keeps him as a blight on the American landscape.

[EnlightenedOne]

38. Excellent.

Once again, you rock OGR!

Signed and forwarded!

[OneGrassRoot]

40. Hey, Stranger!

Nice to see you! :hi:

[EnlightenedOne]

48. Hey There!

Been very busy with all kinds of stuff! Just catching up. Need to get to your new site soon!

[Tsiyu]

49. We ran against Limbaugh in ATL

and kicked his ass in ratings with a parody show. We were good, mind you, but it doesn't take much to beat the asshole. Anonymous heavy breathing on a competing station would get more ratings than he does.

But, as has been discussed here, he is subsidized by the sociopaths who want it all, who hate this nation, who love to be cruel and wage the Class War. Rush has waged that war for years.

He is a pathetic, sociopathic addict with lots of sexual identity issues. They pay him to take out his pathology and sexual confusion on the rest of us. Think about it. Only a really, really sick person would say the things he says.

In effect, the criminally wealthy have plucked a criminally insane psycho out of obscurity and paid him a fortune to spread their message, proving that the top 1% and his diehard listeners have criminally insane tendencies themselves.

The total sociopaths rule America. You just have to hope karma kicks their ases sooner rather than later.

on a side note, I'm writing a great anti-Rush song. The words just descended on me driving a mountain road last week. Looking forward to getting it recorded :)

[OneGrassRoot]

50. Wow, I had no idea you were so multitalented!

:hi:

Very cool! I look forward to hearing it. :hug:

[Tsiyu]

64. I've led an interesting life, for sure...

I admit to keeping my fan letters - even the ones begging me to return to the air after I left to have a baby...

especially the ones beggin me to go opposite rush lol

I'll send you a copy when the song's done....:) My last musical project was a fun little band with one of my sons and his drum student, totally adult-oriented free speech advocating craziness.

One of our best songs was about Grannie owning a sex toy store in the sixties and going up against the Supreme Court... Gawd we had fun. But the boys have moved to Chat-town to pursue better musical opportunities.

They're supposed to come by and get some horse manure for their garden down there and I hope to run this new tune by them. I've never laughed so hard as jamming with that little band...

[KharmaTrain]

93. Ratings Never Mattered To Rushbo...

Try and find numbers on his program...you can't. His "dittoheads" cite 20 million a day but if you ask for documentation you won't get any. It was a vague guestimate that was made up in the 90s and ignores the drastic loss of radio audiences over the past decade.

Check the Arbitrons and you'll be hardpressed to find a market where his show finishes #1 or even in the Top 5...and that's 12 plus, dig out 18-34 and 25-54 and he's even more invisible. The largest audience are men 54+...one of the last groups who still listen to AM radio.

It's always the case where a live show will beat a syndicated one...the problem is the live show requires someone who expects to get paid with benefits...Rushbo was just hook up to the bird and go...

Cheers...

[Tumbulu]

121. I can't wait to hear it! Would you poet a link to it? (nt)

[Tsiyu]

147. I will indeed n/t

[VoteProgressive]

51. I have heard Rush does not even believe all he says. He is like an actor.

[OneGrassRoot]

53. I ABSOLUTELY believe that could be true.

I think that's likely true for many of the conservatives talking heads: Palin, Beck, Hannity, etc.

They may not be racists and bigots themselves, but they're pandering to their audience which is filled with them. Both are repulsive.

It's all about $$ for Limbaugh et al. They're laughing all the way to the bank...

[VoteProgressive]

54. The one thing that really convinced me is that......

He had Elton john perform at his wedding.
If you really HATED all gay people and civil unions. You would NOT pay Elton John a million dollars.

[OneGrassRoot]

56. Word. :) n/t

[upi402]

52. Thank you! I've fought that evil-clown for decades now

:patriot:

[OneGrassRoot]

55. Back atcha!

:patriot:

:)

[FiveGoodMen]

58. He's indirectly responsible for over a million deaths

[nalnn]

61. Most of the soldiers I know

DO like him or don't listen to Armed Forces Radio at all.

-An Eyewitness

[Hell Hath No Fury]

62. I would love to sign --

but I do not sign anything on Change.org

I do not like that they require you to be a "member" before signing.

[OneGrassRoot]

80. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for mentioning that.

I've been a member there for so long I forgot that's a requirement to sign.

:hi:

[defendandprotect]

65. k

[GSLevel9]

66. ok... I'll be the contrarian :D

While the material on his show is foul... and it is.

He is ONLY on the radio BECAUSE he has such a large listening audience that RADIO STATIONS MAKE LOTS OF PROFIT from selling advertising space during his show.

It's all about money. You have a slim minority of people who think like him BUT like 99% of those people LISTEN EVERY DAY which makes for great RADIO RATINGS.

It's all about money.

Every penny he and the radio stations earn come from Advertising. If his show becomes financially untenable he will be canceled.

So... as long as this is still America... he can do what he does.

Now saying that... :D there's NOTHING wrong with boycotting his sponsors and the radio stations who broadcast him. And there's nothing wrong with SOME PERSON starting his own radio show, enlisting sponsors and radio stations and making it big.

However... that broadcaster would have to be a rockstar.

I'd like to see Bill Clinton on a radio show. He has a great sense of humor, is highly entertaining and has a way of educating you without you feeling like you're being educated. Luv me some big-dog!

[OneGrassRoot]

81. I hear you. :)

I know it's all about the money for them. Heck, that's pretty much all it's about for most of our mainstream media -- print and TV, too. No integrity.

:hi:

[defendandprotect]

69. Randi Rhodes ALWAYS had higher ratings ... but Clear Channel refused to syndicate here ...

'cause Rush threatened to leave if they did!!

Randi is now back on AM1600 from 6 to 8pm evenings --

Don't know who runs network where Limbaugh is now but this is as fascist as

the McCarthy Era -- and we were warned long ago about the right wing return

to that operetta.

Was just watching "The Way We Were" -- Redford has to start listening more to Streistand!!!

When you let this go by, it only gets worse!!

Also saw the old Sinatra film short on AMA today -- about a liberal America without discrimination --

race, gender, creed etal --

Best, imo, to turn off the TVs and leave monitoring of Limbaugh to the official

monitors -- don't give them ratings!!

And, do what you can to pressure the sponsors!!

[OneGrassRoot]

76. Ahhhh....

My FAVORITE movie.

I am soooooooo Katie.

;)

:hi:

[defendandprotect]

125. Me, too !!

:hi:

[Taverner]

70. The man needs an overdose nt

[JHB]

71. The phrase "liberal media bias" has been around since he was a kid...

...and gained wider currency in the 70s and 80s (see Reed Irvine and the misnamed Accuracy In Media).

Not to minimize the damage he's caused, but he grew out of pre-fertilized ground.

[OneGrassRoot]

78. Thanks for educating me about that.

:hi:

[Gaedel]

90. Spiro Agnew

and his "nattering nabobs of negativism".

[Major Hogwash]

134. Limpdick acts like he invented that phrase.

The only thing he invented was "radio that stinks".
And he's proud of it.

[Joey Liberal]

73. Pigboy Limbaugh should NOT be on Armed Forces Radio nt

[Initech]

74. How much will he pay in taxes on that $38 mil/year?

[OneGrassRoot]

79. Word. n/t

[librechik]

85. not as much as he should n/t

[NICO9000]

113. 20-30% maybe?

Randi has stated repeatedly that pigboy and his corporate masters usually have their annual tax liabilities paid off within the first week of January or thereabouts thanks to their obscene salaries. I believe it takes a little longer than that for the average wage slaves...

:sarcasm:

[defendandprotect]

127. I'm wondering how much he is paying ex-wives for silence ... !!

Current marriage is the third or fourth?

hmmmm....

[Initech]

136. After that disgusting "used Kotex" comment, I can see why his wives don't want him.

And I'm saying this as a man, so that's really saying something! :wow:

[Enthusiast]

94. Limbaugh is an evil man.

An ugly, fat slob of an evil man.

[kentuck]

97. Rush Limbaugh possesses one of the most unfavorable traits...

..in humans.

It is self love and the ability to deceive with nothing more than bullshit.

It's not that he's so smart. He is not. He simply carries a gene that permits him to sell his conservative garbage to those with barely more than a stem above their spine.

[bongbong]

100. Drugs

If Pfizer cut off the Viagra supply in this country, the following things would happen:

1) repig men would run screaming from their homes
2) the sheep in Red States would breath a sigh of relief
3) Rush would take even more Oxy to make up the difference, and
4) Rush would have to cancel his vacations, causing boys in the Dominican Republic to sleep more soundly

[SemperEadem]

103. "Is"? Try "been".

[Doctor_J]

105. The single biggest reason for the decline of America over the last 20 years

should have been dealt with summarily after his worshiper Tim McVeigh blew up Murrah. We would be completely recovered by now.

[OneGrassRoot]

108. I agree with you. People roll their eyes at me, but....

I absolutely, 100% agree with you.

[TheCowsCameHome]

129. Agreed.

He set the tone, and now look what we have..........

[SemperEadem]

179. reading your quotes there

this tina king actually said that about that 9 yr old victim? Really? She put that on blast--and should never be allowed any space from it.

[NewJeffCT]

120. The "liberal media" canard started in the 70s

A bunch of conservatives in DC got together and got the backing of some billionaires and they started a lot of those RW think tanks back then to coordinate talking points, develop "talent" and give people important sounding titles so they had access to the "mainstream" media, so on & so forth.

One of the first things they did was to start lashing out with anybody in the media who didn't support them as being part of the "liberal media"

[indimuse]

122. LONGGG over due!

knr!! ;)

[SaveAmerica]

124. In the military you don't dis the Com in Chief, he encourages a divided military that isn't cohesive

How can you have a Band of Brothers when a good-sized vocal group is bashing the Commander in Chief? Even worse when the bashing is a pack of lies meant to divide our country.

Beck and Limbaugh do not belong on AFN

[Name removed]

130. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[OneGrassRoot]

133. Bravo, Lou!!! I happen to agree with you completely, on all points.

Well said!

:thumbsup:

[louslobbs]

146. You bet, thanks

for the comment of support.
Lou

[Major Hogwash]

131. I don't know why Sharpton and others can't get him off our "free" airwaves.

It's like nobody else cares but Sharpton and a few of us.

[OneGrassRoot]

135. I know. Once more union workers hear about him dissing them...

ESPECIALLY first responders, teachers and nurses, I'm hoping they'll add their voices to the few.

I'm trying to reach them through the unions, but they obviously have more important things they're dealing with right now.

:)

[Corruption Winz]

137. Rush is the type of guy...

That seems harmless to the left because he's so outlandish. But the dangerous part is that quite a few on the right see nothing outlandish about the man or the things he says.

That's what makes him a threat. If people on both sides of the line were able to see his rhetoric for what it really is, he'd simply be a laughing stock. However, people are eager for a reason. They don't care what the reason is, they just want one. He gives them a list of bogus reasons that they can run with.

I agree. He's a dangerous man. But people need to brighten up in order to see passed this mans garbage. Progressive's can't take him lightly. Republicans shouldn't take him seriously.

[Zebedeo]

138. He IS the titular head of the Republican Party.

This word you use, titular. I do not think it means what you think it means. . .

[proud patriot]

144. I signed it

[RainDog]

150. k&r n/t

[Zanzoobar]

161. Let us burn his books, too.

[OneGrassRoot]

163. I respect that you and others feel this is censorship...

I've explained in the original thread my thoughts about this and why I disagree.

Of course I would never support banning books; I simply won't buy them and would encourage others not to.

A radio show is different. There is limited programming, with definitive time slots, unlike walking into a bookstore or perusing online where there are a multitude of choices.

A time slot devoted to lies and sedition -- aired on Armed Forces Network -- is simply wrong. And I'm expressing that opinion through one of the means I have available to me as a citizen, to gather with those who feel the same: a petition.

If you don't agree, don't sign. Simple as that.

:)

[Darth_Kitten]

164. Who makes 38 million a year in radio?

I don't know, I don't quite believe that. :(

[OneGrassRoot]

166. Here ya go:

Terms of Limbaugh's renewal weren't disclosed in yesterday's announcement. But Limbaugh, in an upcoming article in the New York Times, said he would earn about $38 million annually under the deal, in addition to a "nine-figure" signing bonus.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/02/AR2008070202063.html

:hi:

[Darth_Kitten]

180. The Washington Post? I don't quite believe THEM either.

:D

Cheers! :D

[Stuart G]

165. He is the worst of the worst..nt

[woo me with science]

169. First Amendment.

Period.

Beware ye fascists on the Left as ye beware fascists on the Right.

[OneGrassRoot]

171. How do you feel about boycotts?

:)

[woo me with science]

172. Boycott all you want.

:hi:

[OneGrassRoot]

173. :)

As I wrote above, I realize some feel this is a form of censorship, and I do respect that. I simply disagree.

To me, a time slot devoted to lies and sedition -- aired on Armed Forces Network very specifically -- is wrong. I'm expressing that opinion through one of the means I have available to me as a citizen, to gather with those who feel the same: a petition.

:hi: