SquareState - Rush Limbaugh

How does Singleton's list of facts about Obama Presidency prove liberal media bias?

Jason Salzman — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:50:00 GMT

Please take a look at the paragraph below, from Dean Singleton's introduction to a speech by President Barack Obama, and tell me if "liberal media bias" leaps out at you.

"He inherited the headwinds of the worst economic recession since the Great Depression," said Singleton, who's a former Chair of the MediaNews newspaper chain and of the Associated Press. "He pushed through Congress the biggest economic recovery plan in history and led a government reorganization of two of the big three auto manufacturers to save them from oblivion. He pursued domestic and foreign-policy agendas that were controversial to many, highlighted by his signature into law of the most comprehensive health care legislation in history. And the budget plans proposed by the president on the one hand, and Republicans on the other hand, aren't even on the same planet."

Do you see anything offensive in Singleton's words here, delivered prior to a recent speech before hundreds of journalists in Washington.

All I see is facts. But conservatives saw bias.
A big recession. That's true. Yes, he saved two of three auto companies. Yes, his agenda was controversial and distinct from the GOP agenda. And yes, his economic recovery plan was one of the biggest in U.S. history.

Everything Singleton said was factual. He wasn't being balanced, but Mitt Romney was on deck to address the same group of journalists the next day.

Besides, are you really going to recite the leader of the free world's failures after he's doing you the favor of speaking to your luncheon?

That's rude.

But conservatives saw Singleton's introduction as evidence of the liberal bias that they find everywhere in professional journalism, from The New York Times to CBS News and beyond.

"I'm surprised Singleton wasn't wearing an Obama button," Fox News' Bill O'Reilly said about Singleton's introduction. "I mean, come on. The president understands that most in the media will back him."

Conservative Washington Times columnist Charles Hurt wrote that Singleton sang Obama "an icky love song in which he reminisced about all their hot dates and then pledged his undying love forever." Actually, Singleton told anecdotes about Obama speaking at previous luncheons.

Not to be outdone, talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh told listeners that the AP's CEO "stood up and just lauded Obama as one of the greatest human beings ever, one of the greatest presidents ever, one of the greatest quotes ever, one of the greatest guys ever."

Clearly, the fact that Singleton is a Republican escaped these guys, as did the fact that he does things like belch out front-page, anti-union editorials. Once, he even demanded that The Denver Post editorial board reverse its unanimous decision to endorse John Kerry, insisting that the newspaper back Singleton's buddy George Bush.

Singleton ended his introduction of Obama by saying that these days "the only thing anyone seems willing to compromise on is....well, I can't think of anything."

Here's a suggestion.

Let's agree to acknowledge the facts.

When a journalist says something like, Obama saved two of the three big U.S. automakers and he came into office during the worst recession since the Great Depression, let's not cry media bias.

Let's just say, yes, those are facts, and honor them as such, so we can have an honest debate about what we truly disagree on.

A version of this post was distributed by the OtherWords syndicate.

The Rush Limbaugh video 850KOA doesn't want you to see

Zappatero — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:50:47 GMT

Rush Limbaugh is a major presence in Colorado. He anchors (no pun intended) radio schedules throughout the state whose purpose is keeping Righties tuned in thoughout the day as talkers like Mike Rosen and Michael "Brownie, you're dong a heckuva job" Brown wallow in Rush's Oxycontin and Viagra infused sweat shadow and generate further profits from their typically homogenous lineups.

Rush, exercising his ~~First Amendment rights~~ jaw on Clear Channel-provided, Public-Owned, Amplitude Modulated airwaves at 850KOA in Denver, recently went on a sexist jihad against Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke.

The DailyKos put together a video of Rush's 53 consecutive attacks on Ms. Fluke, all of which surely ran on our beloved 850KOA. They are contractually obligated. Rush did not like the compilation, because he makes money from every lie, every attack, and every abuse the First Amendment grants and 850KOA advertisers fund. So Rush Limbaugh had his trial lawyer force YouTube to pull Markos' video compilation of the anti-Fluke tirade.

Well, guess what? YouTube isn't the only video website, for which we can thank that same First Amendment, and another video hosting site happens to have the compilation of this drug-addicted, sexist employee of 850KOA and his hideous rant.

You really have to watch it to understand the depth of the vitriol and the fact that Our Neighbors at 850KOA broadcast this stuff daily:

I don't listen to this crap, but I imagine there are still some local merchants paying money for Rush to have his say about women, birth control and other issues in Denver. Like Rush, they probably want you to forget what he said just a few months ago. But he said it, we won't forget, and this compilation of his attacks on Sandra Fluke in particular, and women in general, will never go away.....no matter which lawyer or radio station wishes it were so.

Thousands To March In Denver Saturday

peacemonger — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:23:06 GMT

Supporting Women's Exclusive Right To Make Own Decisions

On April 28th, 2012, at 9:30am, thousands of Colorado women and their family members will gather at Civic Center Park's Greek Amphitheater for a Rally to protect women's access to health care, and for the right of each woman to make her own health care decisions. State and federal legislators, musicians, poets, community leaders, and ordinary Coloradans will be addressing current legislation in Colorado and other states. Following the rally, attendees will march around the State Capitol and back around Civic Center Park to where they started.
Presenters at the Rally will include:

Human Rights Attorney Beth Klein
Musical Comedy by "The Raging Grannies"
Unitarian Universalist Reverend Dr. Nori Rost
Rosemary Harris Lytle, CO NAACP State President
House Representatives Crisanta Duran, and Lois Court
Award-winning Poetry Slam Artists, Suzi Q and Jen Rinaldi
Music By The Foxfield Four (formerly the David James Band)
State Representative and US Congressional Candidate Joe Miklosi
State Senators Morgan Carroll, Rev. Lucia Guzman, and Betty Boyd
State Senate President and US Congressional Candidate Brandon Shaffer

The Rally and March have been organized by a grassroots group of Colorado women, primarily using social media, following talk show host Rush Limbaugh's personal attack on Law Student Sandra Fluke, and Foster Friess's comment that women should "put an aspirin between their knees" as a form of birth control. According to the Guttmacher Institute, more than 1100 separate provisions were presented in state legislatures across the country in 2011 which attempted to limit a woman's family planning options or access to health care. Approximately 135 of them were passed and became law.

Lone Tree resident Jean Tinley plans to bring her whole family to the March. "Women's reproductive healthcare should remain in our hands and those of our doctors, not legislators. Family planning is a personal and private decision", she said.

"Extremists in Congress like Mike Coffman are deliberately increasing the cost of health care for millions of women. At the same time, they have let the Violence Against Women Act expire. It is outrageous" said State Representative Joe Miklosi.

For more information, contact Nancy Cronk at wearewomenco@gmail.com or visit the national website at Unitewomen.org .

Colorado GOP Extremists more Newsworthy than Rush

Jason Salzman — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:39:53 GMT

Rush Limbaugh's 1950's-era comments last week, calling a woman a "slut" for believing that her health insurance should cover birth control, came from the mouth of...Rush Limbaugh, an unelected publicity hound/entertainer of the first order.

And Limbaugh's extremism got all kinds of coverage, locally and nationally.

Then ColoradoPols broke a story yesterday about extreme comments at home in Colorado, by elected Republican legislators at a rally on the west steps of the Capitol.

Pols posted videotape of GOP speakers, including Sen. Tim Neville comparing Nazi Germany to the Obama Administration. Other video clips consisted of, as described by Pols:

"Sen. Harvey declaring that a program of mandating contraceptive coverage is "not a slippery slope, but a cliff" to "genocide somewhere down the road." Sen. Lambert called the policy "mind control," and read from a right-wing column warning that the same authority could be used to force the purchase of "euthanasia pills." Not to be outdone, Sen. Renfroe said that it could to a situation "where England was when their king decided he needed to rule the church."

Reporters who didn't make it to the rally should go back and cover these comments, handily posted on Pols, to air them out. That's what journalism is about.

It's obvious to me that the statements by elected GOP officials deserved more attention from the local media than Limbaugh's comments, weird as they were. They're elected officials. Maybe they're publicity hounds too, but still.
Candidates like Joe Coors who make extreme comments in secondary media outlets, like talk radio, also deserve media scrutiny when they go off. There's not much public-interest value in reporting that KNUS talk-show host Steve Kelly thinks Obamacare is leading to a government takeover of the individual, but when Joe Coors, who's running against Rep. Ed Perlmutter, says it, it's news.

Here's what Coors said on KNUS' Kelley and Company yesterday:

Kelley: How big an issue is [Obamacare] in this race?
Coors: It's huge.... Governments that have controlled health care in their countries basically own the individual. And we cannot let Obamacare legislation dictate our lives in any matter shape or form, and I'm very much opposed to it and would certainly vote to repeal it or defund it or whatever I could do when I get back there. [BigMedia emphasis]
Kelley: You make a great point. Yeah. Think about that. If someone could make a decision on your health and decisions on your health, they have total control over you.
Coors: Yes, sir.

Listen here to Joe Coors on KNUS 3-13-2012 say Obamacare leads to total control of the individual.

A reporter might ask a veteran getting VA coverage if he or she feels the government owns him. Or a Brit, or to a lesser degree a Canadian or someone on Medicare, for that matter. And what does government control over healthcare have to do with mild-mannered Obamacare anyway?

With depleted staff, reporters at legacy news outlets can't be everywhere and do everything like they could before, or at least try to. They should throw out any hesitancy to use material from places like Pols or talk radio, if the material is verifiable and newsworthy.

For example, I was just listening to a podcast of Grassroots Radio Colorado from Monday, in which Sen. Neville describes how he prepared his comments about Nazi's and the Obama Administration for the rally.

He said:

I was doing some research last night, and I was putting my notes together [for his speech at the rally] and of course you pull things apart. You don't like this. You don't like that. And you know I was looking at the rise of Hitler in Nazi Germany and the parallels I was seeing were pretty scary.

What's scary to me is how many of us, including smart reporters, are ignoring this stuff.

Rush Limbaugh raped the goose that laid the Golden Egg

Zappatero — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:53:24 GMT

The joys of the Free Market are few and far between for those of us in the 99%, but it looks like we are seeing a prime example now courtesy of Rush Limbaugh, Little Limbaughs everywhere, and a weak-willed Republican party that fears him more than they fear Iran. Think Progress has the gory details:

Premiere Networks is circulating a list of 98 advertisers who want to avoid "environments likely to stir negative sentiments."
"To all Traffic Managers: The information below applies to your Premiere Radio Networks commercial inventory...They've specifically asked that you schedule their commercials in dayparts or programs free of content that you know are deemed to be offensive or controversial (for example, Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Tom Leykis, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity).'

You'll notice Randi Rhodes is not on the list, because she actually criticizes both parties and does not lie. You'll also notice Premier states the program directors already know those in question are offensive - interesting. Tom Leykis, out of L.A., used to be really good - until the right-wing money became too hard to resist. Mike Rosen never went as far as his KOA neighbor Rush. And though he still lies regularly, he may be the prime beneficiary of Rush's ruin.

But I am hoping David Sirota, who already has more listeners than Peter Boyles (on the 3rd Clear Channel station in Denver) picks up the pieces. And while Boyles still hosts racists like Joe Arpaio (bonus - Peter had him on to accuse The President of being a Foreigner), Sirota is willing to criticize any public official who falls down on the job, and he doesn't need to lie to do it. That's a solid value that advertisers can surely appreciate.

KOA apparently won't drop Limbaugh but states he "did the right thing" by apologizing to Fluke

Jason Salzman — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:41:31 GMT

With advertisers dropping the Rush Limbaugh and after the apparent widespread backlash against his comments, I thought I'd call KOA, the radio station that airs Rush Limbaugh in Denver, to find out if the station was considering dropping Limbaugh.

On the "contact" page, I found a statement expressing KOA's respect for the "right of Mr. Limbaugh, as well as the rights of those who disagree with him, to express those opinions."

In its statement, KOA said Limbaugh "did the right thing...by expressing regret for his choice of words and offering his sincere and heartfelt apology to Ms. Fluke."

KOA's entire statement is here:

850 KOA is committed to providing its listeners with access to a broad range of opinion and commentary without condoning or agreeing with the opinions, comments or attempts at humor expressed by on-air talent. We respect the right of Mr. Limbaugh, as well as the rights of those who disagree with him, to express those opinions. The contraception debate is one that sparks strong emotion and opinions on both sides of the issue. Last week, in an attempt at absurdist humor to illustrate his political point, Mr. Limbaugh used words that unfortunately distracted from the message he was trying to convey. We believe he did the right thing on Saturday, and again today on his radio show, by expressing regret for his choice of words and offering his sincere and heartfelt apology to Ms. Fluke.

ABC reports that at least 22 companies have pulled their ads from the show:

Geico, Netflix, Service Magic home contractor, Goodwill, Amberen menopause medication, PolyCom web conferencing, Hadeed Carpets, Accuquote Life Insurance, Vitacost vitamin supplier, Bonobos clothing company, Sensa weight- loss program, Thompson Creek Windows, AOL, Tax Resolution Services, ProFlowers, Legal Zoom online document creator, Carbonite web security firm, Citrix software maker, Sleep Train Mattresses, Sleep Number mattresses and Quicken Loans.

I'm hoping to reach a Clear Channel spokesperson later today, and I'll update this blog post at that time.

Should we ignore the talk-radio crazies?

Jason Salzman — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:37:09 GMT

The media frenzy around Rush Limbaugh's "slut" comment last week, referring to a woman who believes birth control should be offered as part of her health insurance plan, makes you wonder whether we should ignore the right-wing whackadoos on the radio.

Obviously, insults run deep on the conservative airwaves, and you might think, about anything Limbaugh says, what else is new?

Limbaugh hit a nerve last week, but Rush-like comments aren't uncommon from radio hosts in Colorado, too. And all over the country.

Should the major media, or the minor progressive media critic like me, ignore them, given the relatively tiny audiences who listen?
The Denver Post's Joanne Ostrow wrote a good piece a couple weeks ago laying out different explanations for why conservatives dominate on talk radio and TV.

But she didn't address the question of whether they deserve the attention of reporters, like her or me.

Should progressive journalists listen to their shows, shine the sun of the blogoshphere on what they're saying, and hope the attention stops their insensitivity/hate/insults from infecting others and spreading underground? The assumption here is that educating the wider public about his stuff is a good thing.

Or does the light of day simply allow the worst of conservative talk to gain strength? The assumption being that publicity help these jokers get more people to listen to them.

But before we get to those questions, here are possible explanations, offered by Ostrow for why talk radio and TV is dominated by conservatives: 1) the right is more hate-filled, and the angrier the rhetoric, the more people gravitate to it in the talk format, and 2) conservatives own more radio conglomerates, which provide the infrastructure that the left lacks.

I'm not sure what the reason is, but I tend to agree with Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers Magazine, whom Ostrow quoted her article:

Harrison of Talkers magazine believes conservatives dominate, "because the conservative audience is easier to target than the liberal audience."
Listeners of a conservative bent, who feel alienated and disenfranchised by big media, Hollywood and academia, represent "a perfect mind-set for radio, a niche medium, to target an audience that will be loyal," Harrison says. "They're seeking validation."
Harrison, who avers he is apolitical and speaks only as a broadcast expert, says, "the conservative audience mind-set is much more cohesive and uniform, whereas "liberal" is a broader term that takes in many different political philosophies, ethnicities, voting habits, socio-economic classes. It's not as cohesive a unit."

Ostrow reports that even though most of the radio airwaves are filled with righties ("Conservative talk radio rules 90 percent of the political airwaves today."), Denver's David Sirota pulls a cumulative weekly audience of 115,000 on AM760, beating KHOW's Peter Boyles by 2,000 listeners. But Sirota trails KOA's Mike Rosen by 30,000 listeners.

At the end of her piece, Ostrow writes that the "titans of talk actually draw tiny niche audiences."

That would include Rush Limbaugh. In other words, their voices are loud and shrill, but few real people are listening.

Unless, of course, a righty talker like Limbaugh ignites a media frenzy like he did last week. Then his audience is massive.

So this leads back to the question, should we ignore our local Colorado yappers when they get ugly (e.g., Democrat Donna Brazile as "ignorant slut," and Michele Obama as "Chewbacca," kill all Iranians, Katrina victims who didn't leave deserved their fate, etc. )

Or is the silent treatment the best way to fight back?

If you follow my blog, you know I'm on the side of listening and exposing them. That's why I follow these talk shows and write about the misinformation, omissions, and rudeness you find there (not all the time, for sure, but too often).

I like to think that pulicizing the latest talk-radio outrage, and possibly educating some people about it, undermines the audience for it in the long run, though maybe a few more people are drawn to it in the short term.

Limbaugh's idiocy last week proved my point. Now more people are educated about birth control, women, and Rush. More will dismiss the Limbaughs of the world when they say insulting or outrageous things about women who expect birth control to be covered by their health insurance. (OK, I knew, Republican Greg Brophy stands behind the substance of Limbaugh's comments, but still.,)

Limbaugh and his anti-woman cause lost ground last week--and advertisers.

And eventually Limbaugh and his allies in Colorado will lose their audience and their jobs, as they become more and more irrelevant, right? Or is that wishful thinking?

Limbaugh Smackdown and CO Women Unite

peacemonger — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:20:47 GMT

When the GOP decided to create a fictitious "war on religion" to smear President Obama, and chose contraception coverage for employees of religiously-based hospitals and universities as their battle-ground, they had no idea what they were starting. Women across America realized it could potentially be a two-fer for the GOP -- not just an attack on the President's character, but also a pre-meditated, Rovian-style attempt to undermine the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

And they thought we wouldn't even notice.

"Stupid women -- too busy raising children and buying hair products to notice some of their health care benefits are being taken away", must have been their thinking.

The argument that requiring religiously-based institutions and organizations to provide contraception coverage is an affront to the First Amendment, fell on disgusted, disbelieving ears. The United States government requires people to do things that violate their spiritual beliefs every day. For example, a number of religions believe war is morally wrong, yet, every working adult is required to pay taxes which support the Department of Defense. Some religions find eating pork offensive, yet no one has declared that food off-limits under the school lunch program. Some faiths believe in healing through prayer, yet the government can, and does, require families to seek medical care for their dependent family members. With hundreds of religions in this country, and many levels of observance within each one, it is impossible to please everybody.

Freedom of Religion is a straw man argument, and American women's bullshit detectors are going off at record decibals. Add to the contraception debacle the many anti-choice bills being presented in states all over the nation this year, and you get millions of women madder than Tom Tancredo lost in the middle of a Cinco De Mayo crowd with no one willing to give him directions in English.

How angry are American women? When Rush Limbaugh personally attacked law student Sandra Fluke on his radio program last week, calling her a "slut", women took to the internet to boycott his sponsors. Within three days, he lost fifteen sponsors and two radio stations (and counting).

Meanwhile, women are organizing all over this country, in ways I've not seen since Gloria Steinem and her contempories in the 1970's. When Tea-Party Republicans held a hearing on contraception that did not include any women on the panel, Erin Nanasi posted an angry YouTube video, produced in her kitchen. Within hours, it was seen by Karen Teegarden in Birmingham, Michigan, who decided to do something about it.

Using facebook, Karen declared there would be a March against the War On Women. Word spread quickly. Within three days, organizers were volunteering to plan marches all over the nation. One of the first was Colorado, where Colorado Springs activists passed the baton to Denver activists.

Two weeks later, the National March Against the War On Women is impressively well-organized. Volunteers have emerged in every state, and the orginal organizing page has nearly 19,000 members, and it's growing rapidly. At last count, the Colorado march page has more than 700 members. Perhaps the most astonishing sign of success is that our leadership groups (made up of volunteers) has as many registered Republicans as Democrats and Independents...and some are men.

As Republican member "Jane" from Douglas County put it today,

I'm a Republican and I have always been a Republican because I believe in conservative fiscal policy. None of the Republican presidential candidates are worth taking seriously -- I couldn't vote for any of them. And, I'm a mother. I am protecting my daughter's right to make decisions about her own body. I'm thrilled to be involved with this movement.

Please join us to Unite Against the War On Women. March with us on April 28th. Show the world Americans will not tolerate women being treated as second-class citizens.

Oh, and the next time you smell Rush, just flush.

AOL + 12 More drop Limbaugh - local sponsors pending - Rush live at Noon on 850KOA

Zappatero — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:37:49 GMT

UPDATE: You really have to watch the guy to get the full impact of Rush's obsession with sex, his complete misunderstanding of women's health, his purposeful misrepresentation of the issue. This is not "satire":

(h/t Kos)

It turns out Rush Limbaugh's non-apology apology was preceded by 53 insults from Rush Limbaugh over 3 days. Here's a detailed time line from Media Matters. I am almost certain all of those insults were carried over the public owned airwaves used by 850KOA, which pays the minimal fees required by the FCC for that highly-profitable use.

AOL is now the latest national sponsor to drop The Druggie, as Ed Schultz calls him. (FYI Republicans: Rush's hearing loss was most likely a direct result of his oxycodone addiction.)

I can't imagine all the local sponsors of 850KOA and Rush support his 53 insults and one tepid apology. Maybe we'll find out when Rush hits the air today at noon... ;-)

UPDATE: Rush will be lying about Sandra Fluke on today's program, stating she wasn't allowed to testify because Issa's congressional committee didn't have time to vet her.

Rush Limbaugh Calls College Co-ed a Prostitute and Slut -- AmericanLP Daily Briefing

tjwalker — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:32:00 GMT

TJ Walker remarks on the statement by Rush Limbaugh about women who take birth control.

850KOA's Limbaugh Lies about Michelle's Colorado Calories

Zappatero — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:58:09 GMT

860KOA's prime-time radio host Rush Limbaugh, who destroyed his hearing with an illegal oxycontin addiction, took time out of his show in which he'd normally lie about Barack Obama, lie about Democrats, and lie about unions and Wisconsin and a multitude of other issues to lie about Michelle Obama and her recent trip to Vail:

LIMBAUGH: I'm sure you're aware that nutritionist-at-large Michelle Obama is urging, demanding, advocating, requiring what everybody can and can't eat. She is demanding that everybody basically eat cardboard and tofu. No calories, no fat, no nothing -- gotta stop obesity. Except as in the case of all leftists, that's true for you, but not for them.
Michelle My Belle, minus the husband, took the kids out to Vail on a ski vacation, and they were spotted eating and they were feasting on ribs, ribs that were 1,575 calories per serving with 141 grams of fat per serving. Now I'm sure some of you members of the new castrati: "This is typical of what you do Mr. Limbaugh, you take an isolated, once in a lifetime experience, and try to say that she's a hypocrite." She is a hypocrite. Leaders are supposed to be leaders. If we're supposed to go out and eat nothing -- if we're supposed to eat roots, and berries and tree bark and so show us how. And if it's supposed to make us fit, if it's supposed to make us healthier, show us how.
The problem is -- and dare I say this -- it doesn't look like Michelle Obama follows her own nutritionary, dietary advice. And then we hear that she's out eating ribs at 1,500 calories a serving with 141 grams of fat per serving, yeah it does -- what do you mean, what do I mean?

Limbaugh's lie was quickly debunked by an actual news organization that gives a shit about the truth, unlike 850KOA's management.

The NY Daily news did the dirty work:

A restaurant owner in Colorado is calling for a calorie recount after conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh slammed First Lady Michelle Obama for a reported après ski pig out over the weekend.
The portly host called out Obama on his radio show Monday after it was reported she dined on 1,500 calorie-per-serving short ribs at the restaurant Kelly Liken in Vail, where the First Lady and her daughters were on a ski trip.
But the ancho chili short ribs were actually more like 600 calories, the owner, Kelly Liken, told the Vail Daily on Monday.
"A proper 5-ounce portion of protein is what nutritionists say we should have," she said, adding that braising usually cooks most of the fat off the meat.
Liken also pointed out that the dish came with a side of sautéed local kale, which was grown by students at a nearby elementary school.
"Kale is one of nature's super foods," she told the Daily. "There are more nutrients in the 3 ounces of kale we serve than you'll get in a massive green salad."
Plus, Obama and the girls may have earned a little splurge after spending the day carving up the slopes, which can burn thousands of calories.

Of course, facts only get in the way of Rush and many of his co-hosts at 850KOA (like Lou Pate - who probably has the highest lie/airtime ratio of anyone on the station), but like the addict he is Rush doubled down on his lie with a huge helping of racism:

"If You're Gonna Tell Everybody To Eat Twigs And Berries ... You Had Better Look Like An Ethiopian"

You won't hear KOA's management being held to account for the lies, the implicit racism, the limitless bile spewing over OUR AIRWAVES. In modern-day America if you make big bucks you're a God. Minorities, "libs", "thugs" and "uppity" Presidents (Rush's characterization) and their amazing wives and children (My characterization) can only hinder the seemingly insatiable greed of the Poor, Oppressed, White Male Majority in this country....which is why Rush is still on the air in Denver courtesy of 850KOA and its managers - none of whom have a shred of decency.

(Cleaned up a couple spelling errors - z)

850KOA's Rush Limbaugh punked by a Liberal with the Truth

Zappatero — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 14:42:32 GMT

Mike Stark served up a heaping helping of Truth to Rush Limbaugh - whose Ronald Reagan Mythology was turned to mush after Snerdley let the persistent liberal through their normally rigorous screening process:

STARK: Hi, Rush. I, um... I'm calling because... Well, first of all, I'm a liberal, and I seriously don't understand this, uh, Reagan idolatry on behalf of conservatives. I'll get... I'll give you my reasons. Instead of privatizing Social Security, he raised taxes. We're all paying higher taxes today out of our paychecks every single week because he decided to save Social Security. He -
RUSH: Wait, wait. Hold it. I need to go...
RUSH: Wait. Jeez.
STARK: The Greenspan Commission. He signed it into law, and it raised taxes on Social Security.
RUSH: What...? Wait, you're talking about Reagan or Clinton?
STARK: I'm talking about Reagan. Reagan did that. He raised taxes on Social Security. He negotiated with terrorists, sending - over and over again - arms to Iran in exchange for hostages perform by contrast Jimmy Carter didn't give an inch to the Iranians.
RUSH: What in the world...?

(cue Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men")

There's more liberal goodness at Stark's place. He knows how to flummox these liars and does it regularly.

He made John Salazar forget he was a Democrat - which was pretty sad.

But what he did to Rush and Reagan was a thing of beauty: he added truth to the mix and gave Rush's listeners a backstage glimpse of their hero without the Right-wing makeup.

The Face Of The Republicans; Rush Limbaugh, Racist Douche

Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:53:11 GMT

The Republicans have a real problem, no not genetic, hygienic or even esthetic (though way too many of them do fall down in these areas) no, their problem is a moral one. It is hard to give any credibility to a party and a movement that venerates a racist douche-bag like Rush Limbaugh. This is a man so powerful in the Conservative movement that no sitting Senator or Representative, no Governor or elder Statesman or woman of the party can call out his blatant and disgusting rhetoric without having to walk it back nearly immediately or be destroyed by the party faithful.

Limbaugh has made a career of being a fire-breather. He has addicted his audience to the dark sweet candy of anger at faux causes and misinterpreted remarks. However his long history of anti-African American racism is well known. He lost his position as a football commentator for ESPN because he could not help himself when he attributed Donavan McNabb's popularity to the fact he was black. He said it in an off hand way that showed it was he true feelings and he expected to be agreed with.

Now he has gone even further, yesterday he said:

"A white, racist leadership of the Democrat party trying to ace out Clyburn." [...]
"Clyburn's new position: driving Ms. Nancy," Limbaugh said. "He's not in the back of the bus, he's in the driver's seat. And she's in the back of the car being chauffeured."

You can listen yourself at Media Matters

If you like, you can make excuses for Limbaugh; say something like he is not making a racist statement he is accusing the Democrats of racism. Well, I think that is bullshit. It takes a racist turn of mind to see a power struggle in a party who lost a leadership position through a lens of skin color. Republicans like to talk about being color blind but they almost never are and this is another example.

If this were the first time or the second or even the fifth time that Limbaugh has made these kind of race baiting statements there could be some kind of fig leaf to hang on to. He has repeated compared African American athletes to gang members. He uses the racial epithets like "Halfrican American for mixed race people like our President or actress Halle Berry. He even opined on the air that having a African American president will encourage African American kids to beat up white kids.

It is one thing to assume someone is a racist based on a single statement. However when a body of public statements that the person is proud of points to that conclusion you can be pretty dammed safe in your assumption. Rush Limbaugh is one of those people we can safely say is a racist.

This kind of thing get my blood boiling. I am a white man with blue eyes born in the late 1960's. My whole life I have had the benefit of overt and subtle racism. Yet it is one of the things that hate the most about this country. I do not give a good goddamn if your skin is black or brown or white or yellowish or reddish. It would not matter, except on a curiosity level if you were plaid.

Limbaugh and his ilk (of which I'll include his listeners and the cowards in the Republican establishment that will not call him out for his bigotry) are a major part of what is wrong with our country. We face real problems that can ruin this nations future for decades. It is a time when we should be looking at each other and saying "We're all in this together" and yet the Right lead by people like Limbaugh and Beck are doing everything they can to divide us, to sow doubt and distrust between groups of citizens.

This meme that "well he is just an entertainer" is weak tea to say the least. Would it be okay for Mathew Morrison, the lead actor in Glee, to say that Jews are keeping Rappers down? No, it would be the end of his career in short order. Limbaugh is not an entertainer, he is a partisan political commentator. It might be (though gods only know how) entertaining to hear his partisan view, but it is not for the purposes of entertainment that he does it. His show is designed to illicit a particular political response, and of course, enrich Limbaugh.

He himself has admitted as much in 2006. After the Republicans were defeated and lost the House and Senate, Limbaugh said "I am done carrying water for the Republican Party". That was a lie, as it soon became apparent to El Rushbo that if he stopped carrying water for them he would stop having influence and ratings.

It all comes down to this; if there is someone who can say racist crap like this and no one in your party can or will challenge him, then you are de facto agreeing with him. If you fear the anger of your base so much that you can not call racism what it is and stand on that, then your party is a to some degree racist itself.

Limbaugh is a shame to this nation, but he is a self inflicted shame to the Republican Party. Their continued association with him, their willingness to fete him at major conservative gatherings with no challenge to his awful, despicable and on going bigotry must have President Lincoln rolling over in his grave at what his party has become.

I do not let people say racist things around me. It might be part of why I was on the lay-off list at my old job, I would not tolerate racist jokes or assumptions in my presence. It is time to be angry about this. It is time to stop letting racists like Limbaugh use projection to call the Democratic leadership racist. It is time to stand tall for the idea that what color your skin is tells us exactly nothing about what kind of person you are. After all Rush is white and he is a bloated, bigoted, limp penised douche bag, that doesn't mean that all white men are like him.

The floor is yours.

The Danger Of Conservative Epistemic Closure

Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:25:24 GMT

One of the quirks of my personality (yes, I know you thought my whole personality was the quirks) is that I tend to think that nothing I do well is particularly unique. I am under the impression that everyone can write, that baking is a merely a matter of reading and that if people took the time everyone could analyze stacks of data and come to a rational understanding of how inputs and process interact to determine output quality. These are all skills that I have spent a little time and effort to develop, so I figure anyone could duplicate what I have done.

Where I don't expect people to be like me is in what they think. I assume that people are going to be of a different mind on some issues than me, we are all different in experience and temperament, so how in the world could we be similar in our views, even in large numbers? Yet the Republican base and many of its elected officials can't seem to get their heads around the idea that most of the nation does not agree with them and their agenda.
Take Sen. Cornyn's assertion that the public's view of the criminal former President Bush is rising. It is not even close to empirically true. Take a look at this chart from Brendan Nyhan of the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) of the approval rating of President Bush from the various news organizations.

Even those polled by Fox news, the unabashed mouth-piece for the Republican Party, have found that the former President is not worthy of their approval. This is not the only place where Republicans fail to understand what the nation is really saying when it is polled. Right before the HCR bill was completed the Republicans were going around saying that a majority of the people did not want this bill passed. What they failed to recognize was the large percentages of Liberals and Progressives who were willing to let the bill die because it did not go far enough. It was not that the people did not want HCR, they wanted more.

There is also the Republican faux obsession with the deficit and the national debt. The issue of extending unemployment benefits has them up in arms about our trillion dollar plus deficit and our 14 trillion dollar debt. Yet for all the talk that the American people are concerned about it, recent polls have shown conclusively that the people want these extensions and want them now.

This contrasts shockingly to the Republicans adamant position that the Bush era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans (the top 2% of all earners, if you aren't making a million plus a year, this isn't you!) including allowing no taxes to be paid on billion dollar plus estates' must be extending and made permanent. The fact that it will put $55 billion a year back into the coffers of a cash strapped nation seems to be a real problem for them. Not to mention the on-going cognitive dissonance of claiming that revenue you don't collect pays for itself through some visit form the Tax Fairy.

All of this leads to the question, how can they believe and say these things in the face of reality? Chalk it up to the idea of epistemic closure. Not the technical term but the usage coined by blogger Juan Sanchez. This is idea that there is a narrowing of the belief of anything but the preferred source of information. On the Right this defines itself as a total faith in Fox News and other conservative sources like the Drudge Report and Red State.

It is not that they do not look at other media, but rather that conservatives have a bed-rock belief that other media is biased and can not be trusted. So while you might see some conservatives reading Daily Kos or Fire Dog Lake or watch MSNBC or CNN they are not there for a new opinion but rather to confirm their belief that these places are all hopelessly and completely biased against reality. This means every time there is something that challenges their world view, it only feeds into the idea that these sources can not be trusted.

We know for sure that the conservative media outlets influence Congressional Republicans, if only from the way that Reps and Senators will quote the wacky and completely incorrect conspiracy theories from these outlets. The idea that China is exploring for oil off the coast of Cuba is one that has been debunked time and again, yet we have Republicans like Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida who claim they are doing so.

The conservative movement has just about shut itself off from reality. The danger in such a closure is not only does the policy that comes out of it fail to match reality, but there is an amplification of intensity. The echo chamber is great for making your message seem more important than it really is, but when the chamber is closed, the echoes amplify each other becoming louder and louder. This is what is going on inside the Republican Party right now.

They see the anger of the Tea Party section of their base and think that just because the rest of the nation is unhappy too that the reasons for the anger are the same. This is a mistake brought on from their information closure. However what is really dangerous about this anger is the echo effect. We are seeing more and more instances of conservatives who live in epistemic closure getting so angry they lash out violently at society. From the man who flew his plane into the IRS building to the man involved in a shoot out with police in Oakland, Bryon Williams, all have something in common; they are believers that the nation is being taken over by Socialists. As much as my Socialist friends would love that, it is so far from reality to make them laugh and weep at the same time.

This meme is one that is hit on a daily basis by the likes of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh but it is not only these "shock-talk" hosts. Elected officials like Rep. Michele Bachmann and Sen. Jon Kyl are willing to say the same and not even question the validity of it nor the danger presenting such a warped view of reality presents. This makes sense if they are all living in the same information bubble and can not or will not accept new data that might contradict their position.

Conservatives are not the only ones who suffer from the failure to accept new data. Everyone of us knows someone who holds a belief that is contradicted by the facts. The difference that I see is that liberals don't have a single orthodoxy like the conservatives do. Without organizing principles like less taxes and smaller government that is the hall conservatism, liberals are more likely to think for themselves or at least be open to the idea that they don't have a lock on the truth. Of course that is a generalization and so it will be wrong in certain specific cases, but in the main it seems to be true.

What, then, can be done when a large segment of the population and the political party associated with it has closed itself off from reality? I just don't know. Without the ability to process information that you don't like there can be no compromise and no growth. The good news is that the increasing the intensity of purity inside the bubble will drive more and more folks willing to talk about the facts, not just their version of the facts, out into the larger reality. The bad news is there is a certain hard core that will never be convinced. They are angry, they believe their nation is being overrun and they accept that they are in the wrong.

This is the cost of allowing a propaganda machine to grow in your nation. The success of talk radio and Fox News in spouting right wing view points has left us in a state where there is a significant minority of the nation who can not be reached by facts or reason.

The floor is yours.

Talk Show Radio Star Excels At Showbusiness

Jack Van Ens — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:12:08 GMT

Rush Limbaugh's a skillful entertainer who sounds like a barker at a county fair, peppering listeners with political commentary. He uses parody, mixing lyrics that bash Liberals with familiar Top 40 tunes. Rush's patter goes on for three hours, Monday through Friday, with repeats on the weekends. He uses call-ins as a trampoline from which he leaps into action, certain that God rubberstamps his edicts. Rush doesn't have to listen to opposing views. He brags how he's mastered the Liberal-Pinko-Socialist mentality.

Rush flips on its head what Henry Luce, co-founder of Time Magazine, accomplished in print. Luce, a communicator rather than an entertainer, exposed readers to topics that expanded opinion, rather than narrowed it. He published in Time news-making opinions that challenged biases, rather than reinforcing them.
Rush limits what's "true" to his narrow political prejudices. He brushes off talking with the Left as outright capitulation. He instructed ditto-heads-those who give thumbs up to whatever Rush claims-that they should avoid partisan cooperation on health care. Cutting deals with Liberals is investing in their lies. Rush's script never needs editing because he's always right.

When his sycophants beg Rush to run for political office, he wisely demurs. A politician needs to use negotiating skills to move legislation through Congress. Rush doesn't have such patience for politicking. He can't make as much money at it as he does ranting against Liberals. He realizes that directing his own show lets him say whatever he desires. Winning political candidates bridge divides in the electorate. Not Rush. They work to find common ground. Rush disses it as sinking sand.

Some conservative pundits are fed up with Rush's shtick. David Frum, former Bush II speechwriter, wrote on his blog why President Obama won the health care debate. This commentary cost Frum his job with a premier conservative think tank.

"I've been on a soapbox for months now about the harm that our overheated talk is doing to us," wrote a frustrated Frum. "Yes, it mobilizes supporters-but by mobilizing them with hysterical accusations and pseudo-information, overheated talk has made it impossible for representatives to represent and elected leaders to lead. The real leaders are on TV and radio, and they have very different imperatives from people in government. Talk radio thrives on confrontation and recrimination. When Rush Limbaugh said that he wanted President Obama to fail, he was intelligently explaining his own interests. What he omitted to say-but what is equally true-is that he also wants Republicans to fail. If Republicans succeed-if they govern successfully in office and negotiate attractive compromises out of office-Rush's listeners get less angry. And if they are less angry, they listen to the radio less, and hear fewer adds for Sleepnumber beds." This company advertises on Rush's show.

Former Republican senator Alan Simpson (1979-1997), a conservative from Wyoming, tells why Rush's comic showmanship doesn't translate into good politics. When asked why Limbaugh attacks him for allegedly cozying up to Democrats, Simpson fired back, "Well, that's how they make their money. I never considered Rush-babe to be anything more than an entertainer. He gets people all riled up all day long, gets them filled up with gas, ulcers, heartburn, B.O., and fear. Hell, that's pretty good. You're really are an entertainer if you can get that done." Simpson recognizes how Rush's barbs are "careless words that stab like a sword" at his enemies, rather than soothing "words of wise people that bring healing" (Proverbs 12:18).

"And fear..." says Simpson. Could Rush be a fear-monger because under his bravado rages insecurity brought by political change that threatens him? If you wait for Ronald Reagan to arise from the dead, but President Obama takes his place, doesn't this produce chilling fear that prompts Rush to lash out?

David Remnick, who wrote The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama, relates how the president recognizes change gets people upset, brittle and fearful, like Rush. "And there are going to be folks," Obama describes, "who don't want to promote that understanding because they're afraid of the future. They don't like that evolution. They think, in some fashion, that it will disadvantage them or, in some sense, diminishes the past. I tend to be fairly forgiving about the anxiety that people feel about change because I think, if you're human, you recognize that in yourself."

Talk radio's showboating works because opposing opinion isn't treated with respect. But our Republic is honored when reasoned discourse replaces entertaining with a chip on its shoulder.