Summary Mon 5/16/94
John Switzer
for Monday, May 16, 1994
by John Switzer
This unofficial summary is copyright (c) 1994 by John Switzer.
All Rights Reserved. These summaries are distributed on
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Distribution to other electronic forums and bulletin boards is
highly encouraged. Spelling and other corrections gratefully received.
Please read the standard disclaimer which was included with the
first summary for this month. In particular, please note that
this summary is not approved or sanctioned by Rush Limbaugh or
the EIB network, nor do I have any connection with them other
than as a daily listener.
*************************************************************
May 16, 1994
BRIEF SUMMARY OF TOPICS: school bars science team from competing
in state science fair because it has won too often; transfatty
acids in margarine are now the latest health danger; Rush
describes his weekend at George Brett's induction into the Royals
Hall of Fame; Federal Reserve controls interest rates and paper
money supply, but the money supply encompasses far more than
that; Tony Lo Bianco gets personal phone call on the phone that
should never ring; LA Times reporter says Clarence Thomas should
have been closely examined because he would make decisions that
affect women, and thus was a different case than Clinton; Lani
Guinier disappointed that Clinton chose Breyer and not an
activist judge; NOW starting to defend Jones's right to charge
President Clinton with sexual harassment; press seems to be
speculating more on what will happen than on reporting what is
happening; Clinton "renews appeal against violence", using images
of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King; Clinton thinks "if you
preach hatred, you get a talk show"; NPR decides not to air
commentaries by death row inmate; Hillary wants to emulate Nelson
Mandela's spirit of forgiveness towards those who "oppose and
attack me and my husband"; health care is a mess in Congress, and
Kennedy is fronting a bill for Hillary and Mitchell to do an
endrun around Moynihan; Kennedy's plan eliminates Clinton's
alliances, but expands employer mandate and other big government
powers; Rockets fan thinks they can take "Chuck" in playoffs;
words to "Me and Paula Jones"; Moseley-Braun comes back from her
second trip to South Africa, but doesn't want to be on the
Judiciary Committee because she's "tired of symbolism";
psychiatrist takes Rush to task for talking about how he didn't
want to take Prozac for his emotional problems; psychiatrist and
counselor lose suit over falsely convincing daughter that she had
been raped by father while a child; death row inmate claims he's
too fat to be hung and has refused lethal injection; California
doesn't care if automakers can't build electric cars, it's still
mandating them by the year 1998; psychiatrists now being treated
as expert witnesses who can testify without any doubt as to what
was in someone's mind; 15-year-old boy kills delivery man so he
can get money to buy new shoes; caller thinks Fed is using excuse
of false booming economy to justify higher interest rates;
caller's top four out of five expenses are taxes, so if taxes
increase thus does inflation; caller thinks Clinton will defile
beach of Normandy Invasion by attending 50th anniversary
ceremonies; caller thinks Rush has been on "Mr. Greenspan's
case"; money supply is difficult to gauge just by looking at main
money indicators.
LIMBAUGH WATCH
May 16, 1994 - It's now (allegedly) day 482 (day 501 for the rich
and the dead) of "America Held Hostage" (aka the "Raw Deal") and
559 days after Bill Clinton's election, but Rush is still on the
air with 640 radio affiliates (with more than 22 million
listeners weekly world-wide), 234 TV affiliates (with a national
rating of 3.7), and a newsletter with over 440,000 subscribers.
His first book was on the NY Times hardback non-fiction
best-seller list for 54 consecutive weeks, with 2.6 million
copies sold, but fell off the list after Simon and Schuster
stopped printing it. The paperback version of "The Way Things
Ought To Be" has been on the NY Times paperback non-fiction
best-seller list for 28 weeks. Rush's second book, "See, I Told
You So," was on the NY Times best-seller list for 16 weeks and
has sold over 2 million copies.
LEST WE FORGET
The following are from the Rush Limbaugh show on Monday, May 18,
1992:
o MultiMedia Entertainment had signed up about 130 stations for
Rush's upcoming TV show, and they expected to get about 170 by
the fall. One particular station, though, was so afraid of Rush's
show that they announced they would devote time during the show
for viewers to call in and express their opinions, for the
purpose of "balance" and "equal time." Rush responded to this by
concocting a phrase: "I don't have to be balanced with equal
time, I am equal time."
o A Save Our Cities/Save Our Children rally was held in
Washington, DC; 35,000 people showed up, but the sponsors claimed
that 150,000 were there. The rally's organizers claimed that the
Bush administration forced the city police to revise the rally's
numbers downward.
The march was supposed to consist of a bunch of mayors who wanted
more money from the federal government, but the signs at the
rally indicated that the marchers included SANE members, animal
rights activists, environmental socialists, ACTUP members, and
other militants, showing how these disparate groups were all
linked by their common desire for more socialism and bigger
government.
o The Supreme Court refused to halt the investigation of the
House Bank, turning down an emergency request by Rep. Henry
Gonzales (D-TX) to block the special counsel's investigation.
Gonzalez claimed that handing over the records threatened
Congress' independence, to which Rush replied "yes, you've got
it, that's right - you have too much independence and the checks
and balances haven't applied to you."
o On Face the Nation, Attorney General William Barr said that
gangs were the main cause behind the riots in Los Angeles, and
that criminal elements were more responsible for the violence
than outrage over the Rodney King verdict.
o Pete from Point Pleasant, NJ referred to the NY Times story
that reported many blacks believed that AIDS was a man-made
disease. Pete noted that the Soviet KGB was responsible for
spreading this rumor, which was first broadcast on Radio Moscow
by several anchorpersons, including Vladimir Posner, who had
since emigrated to the U.S. and joined the American broadcasting
industry.
The Soviets tried to blame the creation of AIDS on Reagan until
they realized that the virus was first discovered in 1976 and
1977, during Jimmy Carter's presidency. It was only then that the
Soviets apologized, admitting that they plagiarized the whole
idea from Stephen King's novel "The Stand," a book about a virus
created by the U.S. government
o George Bush was being hurt in the polls by Perot, and some
commentators concluded that Perot could keep Bush from getting an
electoral majority. Rush admitted it was still too early to tell
about such things, but this could be possible. He then told the
latest joke about Perot - "Perot was out for a walk and got hit
by a speedboat."
o President Bush delivered the commencement speech at Notre Dame
over the weekend, speaking about the need to revitalize the
family. However, his speech was eclipsed in the media by the
coverage given to the speech made by the valedictorian, Sara
McGrath. McGrath accused the federal government of ignoring "its
global duty to help preserve the environment and promote
community" and neglecting its "duty to help end racial and social
divisions."
McGrath also stated that the US could no longer call itself the
victor of the Cold War or the one remaining superpower. "Such
rhetoric does not bespeak of the interconnectedness of all
peoples," she stated, adding that "Martin Luther King insisted
that it was the silence of the good people that contributes to an
unjust society. We must no longer be silent."
McGrath also said "the tragedy of the Rodney King verdict, and
the events that followed, demands that each of us recognize how
we contribute to the violence of oppression." Thus, according to
McGrath, everyone was responsible for the Los Angeles riots.
Mark from St. Paul, MN, though, said he had talked to people who
were at the Notre Dame commencement, and the consensus among the
students was disbelief and amazement at the idiotic things
McGrath was saying. Mark also said most students at Notre Dame
were embarrassed by McGrath's comments, while most of the
students were very impressed with Bush and what he had to say.
Rush said this might have been, but the papers didn't quote these
students, but only those who disparaged Bush and praised McGrath.
o A few weeks before the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Rush had
learned that the city had hosted an Earth Summit before, back in
1972; its topic then, however, was global cooling, which nobody
was planning to discuss during the new summit.
********
MORNING UPDATE
If a parent has a child that wins a competitive award, how should
they react in today's 90s? Should they praise the child, reward
the child, or tell the child that it's not fair to be better than
the other children, and then punish the little brat so that they
never do such a thing again?
It's the last option which parents should choose, according to
the Junior Academy of Science Fair organizers and teachers in
Illinois. The Avery Coonley school in Donnerville, IL has the
distinction of its 7th and 8th graders' capturing 15 awards at
the state science fair this year, the fourth straight they have
won the top honors. As their reward, these prize students have
been barred from team competition for the next two years;
individual students can participate in the fair, but the school's
science teams cannot, simply to give students at other schools a
"chance" to win.
Thus, it's not fair that this group of students have won so many
times, and since the educators are the "experts," they
"obviously" are right. Parents should thus learn lessons from
these learned souls, so that the next time their kids succeed,
the parents punish their children, as should be done.
FIRST HOUR
Transfatty acids in Oleo are now more dangerous than even
popcorn, according to the latest study, which found that 30,000
deaths a year can be traced to eating margarine. The EIB staff
ask what one can use on their bread now, given that both butter
and margarine are bad, and Rush admits he doesn't know.
However, he does suggest people learn one basic fact: "You just
better face it - you're going to die and everything you're doing
is leading to your death!" The latest example of this is that the
hydrogenated liquid oils in margarine allegedly lead to 30,000
heart disease deaths a year, according to two Harvard School of
Public Health researchers.
Of course, these 30,000 deaths are an "estimated" figure, and
Rush wonders if these scientists have even considered the
possibility of "second-hand transfatty acids" wafting through the
breeze as this food is cooked and eaten. The food cops will
undoubtedly soon be concerned about this, but Rush has just about
had it with such paternalistic attempts to protect people from
themselves.
Obviously, there are still far too many Americans with way too
much time on their hands.
********
Rush wants to talk about his weekend, and to those who don't care
about such personal things, "to hell with you!" he exclaims. He
left New York last Friday to go to Kansas City for a "George
Brett weekend." Brett retired last year, and since he turned 41
last Sunday, the Royals devoted an entire weekend in his honor.
A big dinner was held last Thursday, while Friday was "George
Brett Poster Day" at the Royals stadium, with all the fans coming
in with their own posters in Brett's honor. The big celebration
was on Saturday when Brett's number (5) was retired and he was
inducted into the Royals' Hall of Fame.
Brett was paraded around the stadium in a vintage Corvette and
given a beautiful "championship" diamond ring with diamond studs
arranged in the number `5' and with all of his achievements
listed on the side. At the awards dinner, Brett appeared with his
one-year-old son Jackson, who was high-fiving everyone.
Brett made some touching remarks, thanking everyone who was
there. One of the most interesting things he had to say was that
now that he's retired and thinking back on his career, he's
concluded all the bad times were really the good times, and all
the good times were really the great times.
Rush couldn't be at the Thursday night dinner, so he sent a
45-second videotape in which he expressed his gratitude at being
able to work for the Royals at a time when he was able to hang
around someone like Brett, who typified excellence and success.
Rush has always thought that those who want to succeed should
hang around those who have succeeded; too many people hang around
bitter failures who inevitably try to discourage others from
succeeding.
Rush, though, has been fortunate enough to be around supportive
people, such as Brett. When he first started at the Royals, Rush
was just a fan of Brett, but eventually they became associates
and ultimately friends. It's really rare to be able to hang
around real greatness of any type and to be around someone who's
really the best, but Rush was lucky enough to have this by being
around Brett.
Brett inspired Rush, and Brett never got bogged down with how he
was the best. Brett got up every day determined to give the game
everything he had, running down every ground ball and playing
110% each game. Rush thus has always felt honored to be around
Brett and he was glad for the chance to express those feelings at
the dinner last weekend.
Rush also threw out the first pitch for Saturday's game, which
was ironic as his job at the Royals included finding the people
to throw out the first pitch. Rush "fired it in with one hop,"
but he was trying to make a strike; however, little Jackson Brett
didn't care about the bounce because he gave Rush more high fives
as he came off the field.
Rush thanks everyone for inviting him to Kansas City for this
weekend and for allowing him to participate in such a memorable
event. However, Rush should have known what to expect, given that
he has told the story before about how when he worked for the
Royals, he once escorted members of a local community group out
to the mound before realizing that he didn't have a baseball on
him. He thus got on the microphone to ask for a ball, and about a
hundred of them came hurtling out of the dugout, along with bats,
mitts, etc.
Rush, though, didn't suspect a thing last Saturday when he walked
out to the mound with Brett and Royals announcer Danny Matthews.
He had been told that Brett had the ball for him, and Rush
believed it, refusing to think the Royals would pull such an
obvious trick. However, when Rush asked Brett for the ball, Brett
innocently said he didn't know anything about it. Thus, when
Matthews got on the microphone to ask for a ball, sure enough
about three dozen baseballs come hurtling out of the dugout, and
they were all aimed right at Rush.
Rush regretfully didn't ask for any videotape of this incident,
but perhaps he can find some to show on his TV show later. Rush
again thanks everyone involved for allowing him to participate in
this tribute to an athlete who had reached the pinnacle of his
career, without ever losing sight of what life is all about.
After the game Saturday, Rush went to Phoenix to watch the
Rockets play the Suns, but that's another story.
*BREAK*
Phone Diane from Springfield, MO
Diane was at yesterday's game in Kansas City, and although it
took her family three hours of driving to get there, she thought
it was well worth the experience, especially since Rush was
there, really adding to the day and to the ceremonies for Brett.
Rush notes that his appearance there was supposed to be a secret
that would be sprung on Brett at the last minute; however, Jamie
Quirk's wife innocently let sleep during the week that Rush would
be there.
Rush, though, is actually glad the secret was blown since that
meant he didn't have to spend Friday and Saturday sequestered and
incommunicado; as it was, he was able to go out and socialize,
meeting everyone he wanted to see. He just wishes that he hadn't
thrown the first pitch with one hop, especially since he's a true
sports aficionado; sadly, he did even worse than one guy who
nearly hit the dugout with his attempt at a first pitch in the
early 80s.
Phone Dolores from Kansas City, MO
Dolores is quite enthused and excited to be talking to Rush, so
much so that she goes on about it until the end of the segment,
and Rush holds her over the break.
*BREAK*
Phone Dolores from Kansas City, MO (continued)
Dolores and her party were at a bar Saturday night watching the
game on the TV, and when Rush came out, the crowd at the bar went
wild, whistling and cheering. This show of support was very
encouraging to Dolores as it showed that conservatives are
winning. However, she's a bit ticked that Rush didn't tell anyone
he was coming to town.
Rush says that it was supposed to be a surprise, but it leaked
out a day in advance. However, Rush thinks things turned out
better that way.
Dolores asks where Rush went to eat while in Kansas City. Rush
says that he didn't have time to visit Strouds, although the
restaurant did deliver some food to the stadium on Friday.
Saturday night, though, was jampacked, so Rush didn't have much
chance to visit the local eateries. This was really for the best,
given that Kansas City has far too many great eating places to
choose from in one short weekend.
Plus, Rush left the game early on Saturday so he could make his
flight to Phoenix, where he watched the Rockets and Phoenix
playoff game. Rush is amazed that he can have weekends like this,
and it's just another reason he is fortunate to have the friends
he does. These are rare opportunities, and Rush has been very
lucky with the friends he's had and kept over the years.
Rush adds that when he checked in at his hotel in Phoenix
Saturday night he ran into some convention of salesmen who were
having a "60's" party. It seemed that everywhere Rush went last
weekend people were having a great time, and this feeling was
infectious.
Phone Tony from Troy, MI
Tony just graduated from college last year with a minor in
economics, so he'd like to disagree with a couple of last week's
callers about how the Fed controls the money supply. This is an
oversimplification, because while the Federal Reserve controls
the interest rates and the paper money supply, it has no control
over the money that represents car and house loans and other
non-cash forms of money. Thus, the Fed can't control inflation
either, although they can influence it to some degree.
Rush says that Tony's call shows how economics is anything but an
exact science. Two callers last week were dead certain that the
Federal Reserve did control the money supply and thus inflation,
but Tony has now called with a different view.
Rush asks Tony why he thinks the Fed is raising interest rates.
Tony says he barely sees any economic recovery, much less any
inflation; sometimes Tony thinks Greenspan just wants to hurt
Clinton, given that raising interest rates will destroy Clinton's
economic plan.
Rush says some theorists are saying that the rates will have to
come down soon, simply because they are being raised on false
premises to begin with. Tony says he's hearing rumors like that
as well, but who knows.
The phone that shouldn't ring rings, so Rush picks it up to find
that Ken Pattreti is calling for "Tony Pitt." It turns out that
the call is for Tony Lo Bianco, and Rush asks his substitute call
screener why he's giving out EIB's private hotline number to his
friends. Tony says he never gave out this number; "some guy gave
him the number" Lo Bianco complains.
Lo Bianco apologizes profusely and Rush begs him to go to a
commercial break so that he can turn off the phone's ringer,
thereby defeating any attempts by Lo Bianco's other friends to
disrupt the EIB Network.
*BREAK*
Phone Howard from Punta Gorda, FL
Howard first notes he loves hearing what Rush did over the
weekend, since he considers Rush to be like family, and he
personally enjoys hearing what family members do. He then notes
that over the weekend Maury Povich had a show on which he hosted
three women who talked about the Paula Jones story. The show was
so slanted against Jones as to be unbelievable. However, Howard
admits he was not really surprised, given that Povich is married
to Connie Chung, who seems to be in love with the President.
For example, on the show a woman from the LA Times said that the
Paula Jones case was different from Anita Hill's because her
target, Clarence Thomas, had to be closely examined since as a
Supreme Court Justice he would make a lot of decisions that would
affect women. However, Howard thinks that the same thing could be
said about President Clinton.
Rush agrees that Clinton is affecting American women far more
than Thomas ever could, especially since Thomas does not believe
the Supreme Court should write laws. Speaking of that, over the
weekend Lani Guinier spoke out about Clinton's nomination of
Stephen Breyer to the Court, expressing her disappointment with
his choice. Guinier complained that "it's important to
acknowledge that the "cost of playing it safe" is "not having a
Supreme Court that's a force for social change." Thus, Guinier,
who had her own nomination to the Justice Department pulled by
Clinton, is disappointed that Breyer will not be an activist
judge.
However, the Supreme Court's duty is to explain the law and judge
its constitutionality, not to write laws. The Court is not
supposed to be a force for social change, but Guinier's is the
typical liberal view of what the Supreme Court is supposed to do:
implement liberalism into the fabric of society. Liberals have
resorted to using the Court because they have failed to do so
using the legislature.
Clarence Thomas does not believe this, though, so the LA Times
reporter's justification for Hill's charges is moot; he's not
going to be deciding on women's issues. In any case, Rush would
bet that Thomas has and displays far more respect for American
women than Bill Clinton, whose treatment of women is abominable.
What must Clinton think of women to act as he does, Rush has to
ask.
Howard says that the lady from NOW surprisingly came to Jones's
defense; while she didn't endorse Jones, she did jump to defend
Jones's making of her charges after hearing what the LA Times
reporter had to say. Rush is not surprised given that NOW's
hypocrisy about sexual harassment has been exposed in this case,
so they have to start backtracking so as to retain some
credibility with their members and others.
*BREAK*
Phone Martha from Valparaiso, IN
Martha notes that Orville Redenbacher's popcorn empire is based
on Valparaiso, which is interesting because the local theaters
have all decided to continue using coconut oil to make their
popcorn since this is what people are demanding. Rush adds that
he just got a batch of coconut oil for the EIB popcorn machine
from someone who also refuses to give up the fight for
fine-tasting popcorn.
Martha says that she would like to know what is really happening
with the investigation into Dan Rostenkowski; it seems that every
so often a lot of hype comes out about a pending indictment, but
nothing ever happens. Rush says that lately the press seems to
have taken a new tact in how it reports the news - with Michael
Jackson, Tonya Harding, etc. the press has been speculating on
what will happen in the future, as opposed to reporting the news.
Now the press is talking about what might happen to Rostenkowski,
and "what might happen" has become front-page news.
Rush, though, thinks that the press speculations about such
things are usually wrong and it's dangerous to pay much attention
to them. As to Rostenkowski, Rush bets that he's going to get
away with it because Democrats get away with this stuff; after
all, Rostenkowski has been getting away with these things his
entire career.
"If he gets indicted, you're going to have one surprised talk
show host here!" Rush exclaims, unable to see the Clinton Justice
Department indicting their main ally in health care on the eve of
a major health care battle. Rush admits he'll be very surprised
and stunned should the law end up being applied here.
*BREAK*
SECOND HOUR
President Clinton was in Indianapolis Saturday to "renew an
appeal against violence" at the site where Robert Kennedy
announced that Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated.
There's a news picture about this event which reminds Rush of the
picture of Hillary Clinton's "Pretty in Pink" press conference,
where Hillary pointedly sat beneath a huge picture of Abraham
Lincoln, sitting in nearly the exact same manner as shown in the
painting.
The picture of the President is similar, except that Clinton is
standing in front of a giant-sized picture of Martin Luther King
and Robert Kennedy, with Clinton looking about the size of a
Robert B. Reich. Clinton, though, had an interesting thing to say
when he complained "if you preach hatred, you get a talk show. If
you preach love, you get a yawn."
Curiously, in the paper Rush is looking at, next to this story
was another one headlined "Public Radio Hires Officer's Killer as
a Death Row Commentator"; NPR had planned to let this death row
inmate offer commentaries on what it's like to be on death row,
but they've since changed their minds. NPR has just announced
that they are not going to put this guy on the air, probably
because their phones were melting because of public protest.
Hillary Clinton is also in the news, talking about how deeply
moved she was by Nelson Mandela's inaugural. Rush plans to show a
clip on his TV show of Hillary making her speech in South Africa,
while at the same time her husband was roaming the aisles of a
supermarket in Queens. "It's what happens to you when you get
caught playing around," Rush adds, "you do the grocery shopping!"
Hillary also said that while she listened to Mandela's speech,
she wondered if she'd have the same depth of forgiveness and love
to "reach out to those who oppose and attack me and my husband."
Thus, once again opposition and dissent is viewed as an attack by
the Clintons, who evidently don't think any dissent is allowed.
Of course, Clinton's saying "you preach hatred, you get a talk
show" is evidence of this attitude, too.
********
Tim Russert had Jay Leno on the Meet the Press roundtable
yesterday, calling Leno a "political satirist." Tom Schales,
however, disagreed, calling Leno just a stand-up comic. This
reminds Rush, though, of how when he was on Meet the Press some
members of the broadcast press went ballistic because Rush wasn't
a bona fide "journalist" and thus shouldn't have been elevated to
the lofty position of being on the roundtable.
Yet nobody other than Schales seemed to be upset about Leno's
appearance. In fact, Leno even joked that "Standing Firm" should
be the title of Clinton's memoirs, not Quayle's; had Rush said
such a thing, the critics would still be attacking him. "They
would have come down on me like two tons of nuclear weapons,"
Rush bets.
On Meet the Press, though, Senator George Mitchell (who
prominently withdrew his name from the list of Clinton's Supreme
Court nominees because "health care was too important" for him to
leave the Senate) and Bob Dole were discussing health care, and
it was obvious that neither man had any idea how to deal with the
mess created by the Clintons who want to totally replace the
current system. The Clintons have insisted that only a total
restructuring of health care would solve our country's problems.
The "Clinton hustle," though, is based on the premise that the
Clinton plan will offer even better coverage for those who have
health coverage now and like it; Clinton has promised better care
for less money. Those who have health coverage but are worried
about moving it from job to job have been promised portability
and better care at lower cost. Those who are worried about
whether they will be able to choose their own doctor have been
told that they will have even better choices under the Clinton
plan. Those who don't have health care have been told they will
have free health care, financed by smokers.
The magic Clinton Health Security card will never be taken away,
promises Bill Clinton. Rush, though, knew this plan was not
possible - it is impossible to give everything to everybody
without there being any pain involved. Rush for over a year has
been saying that the Clinton plan was a hustle and a pie in the
sky idea.
Congress now has to work this mess out, to come up with a plan
that makes all of this possible, and to do it before the
election. There are now more health care plans than can be
counted, and Ted Kennedy's is just the latest entry; Kennedy's
plan, though, is just another trick, evidently designed by
Hillary Clinton and George Mitchell to counter public opposition
to the health care alliances.
However, the Kennedy plan not only has everything else in the
Clinton plan but even more, and it seems that its whole purpose
is to get around the opposition posed by Senator Patrick Moynihan
(D-NY), who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee.
Moynihan has no great love for Bill Clinton, and there's been a
feud going on between them for over two years.
Thus, Kennedy's Labor committee is now battling Moynihan's
committee as to who will carry a health care plan through
Congress, but Moynihan is not about to surrender the fight
easily. Kennedy has claimed he will have a bill ready by May
27th, but that's virtually impossible.
And to get a bill passed before November is also doubtful,
especially since members of Congress take the month of October
off for campaigning. Plus, members of Congress always take August
off, so when is there any time left for Congress to sort through
all the competing plans? "Some days," Rush notes, "these guys
have to work for their money."
*BREAK*
Phone Walt from Sturbridge, MA
Walt says that the Kennedy health care plan accomplishes two
things: it helps Kennedy get more exposure right before a very
tough re-election campaign. Kennedy is facing not just Republican
opposition but also challenges from his fellow Democrats. It will
only help him now that he has for the first time presented a
major piece of national legislation.
The Kennedy plan, though, also gets Clinton off the hook, since
it will allow him to downsize his plan, claiming that the "only"
other plan is Kennedy's, a much more massive plan. Thus, Clinton
can take the high ground as he tries to find a plan that will
make it through Congress.
Rush agrees, adding that the Kennedy's plan eliminates the
alliances, but expands upon the employer mandate. Rush, though,
thinks that the White House is mainly using Ted Kennedy for an
end-run around Moynihan, muddying the waters and challenging
Democratic party loyalties, all of which will help Clinton. The
President can't lose his plan unless Democrats defect, and this
is starting to happen, so he needs to confuse the situation for
the moment, hoping that party loyalty to Kennedy will strengthen
support for his plan.
Moynihan, though, isn't going to sit still for this. Rush has
always felt that a showdown between Moynihan and the
administration was coming, given Moynihan's history of statements
he's been making about the Clinton plan for over the past year.
Last spring, for example, Moynihan was very snide and skeptical
towards the Clinton 1994 budget, and he's also attacked the
funding mechanisms for the Clinton health care plan.
Walt doesn't think the Kennedy plan will sail through, but
Kennedy has strong name recognition with the public, especially
the Democrats. The people aren't going to recognize Moynihan as
easily as they will Kennedy, so this will just help the Clinton
plan more.
Rush says that Kennedy's plan has the support of only 35 votes
right now, so it's not a serious competitor. Walt doesn't think
the passage of this plan is the main goal with Clinton and
Kennedy; rather, the goal is to help Kennedy with his
re-election.
Rush doesn't doubt that this is something both Clinton and
Kennedy want, but the drive for national health care is not just
a re-election ploy; these people want government to take over
one-seventh of the nation's economy, and it's a blueprint for how
liberals want to change the American social and political
landscape.
The Clinton health care plan is the last major playground for
liberals because it's the biggest industry that lends itself to
their plans for total government control.
*BREAK*
Phone Rushing from Houston, TX
Rushing gives "mega-Rocket dittos" because she's glad the Rockets
are no longer choking. Rush says he was in Houston yesterday, and
everyone on the Rockets team had a great game; however, only
Kevin Johnson of the Suns had a truly great game. Rushing wishes
Rush would go to tomorrow night's game, and he says he would love
to; unfortunately, his TV show has complicated matters. It used
to be that when all Rush had to do was his radio show, he could
easily take it on the road, but TV is far more complicated.
Rushing, though, wishes that Rush could see her "Rockets' Red
Glare," but Rush notes that the home teams have not had good luck
during these playoffs. After all, Paul Westphall warned the
Rockets that Barkley was not going to be in a good mood tomorrow
night, given last night's lousy game. Rushing has no doubts about
that, but she takes heart from how "Chuck's back is bothering
him."
Rush admits "Chuck" has had a tough season, but is certain he'll
be back tomorrow night. Rushing admits Chuck has charisma, Marley
has three pointers, but "Hakeem is the MVP!" Rush has had enough
of this Houston propaganda and thanks Rushing for her call.
********
Rush recalls that on last Friday he posed a question: whether the
Paula Jones lawsuit would denigrate the office of the President,
given the charges involved, the testimony that would be involved,
and the type of evidence (i.e. pictures of certain genitals) that
would be involved. Would such a trial damage the Presidency both
now and later, and would it damage the country, both domestically
and world-wide? To get people thinking about this, Rush plays an
apropos tune:
<<Intro>> Come hither, Paula . . . Paula, alright! Me and Paula,
alright! Me and Paula Jones!
<<Verse>>
We've got a thing going on,
I didn't think it was wrong,
But you wouldn't play along,
Like all the rest now.
Up in my hotel,
Thought you'd never tell.
I thought you'd be just one more.
I dropped my slacks,
You turned your back.
Then you got up and ran out of the door!
<<Chorus>>
Me . . . and . . . Paula, Paula Jones, Paula Jones, Paula Jones, Paula Jones!
We've got a thing . . . going on!
<<Verse>>
I'm a friend of your boss,
Your job could be lost.
If you tell on me now.
Yeah, you say it's harassment,
How could you say that about me, about me?
You want to start litigation,
What will I tell, will I tell Hillary about . . .
<<Chorus>>
Me and . . . Paula, Paula Jones, Paula Jones, Paula Jones, Paula Jones.
We've got a thing going on . . . and on!
<<Verse>>
I didn't think it was wrong,
But you wouldn't play along,
Like all the rest now.
Camelot and Gary Hart . . .
Paved the way for a good old boy like me.
It's become the norm,
So don't make a storm,
All I did was . . . expose my . . . famous briefs!
<<Chorus>>
Me . . . and . . . Paula, Paula Jones, Paula Jones, Paula Jones, Paula Jones.
We've got a thing going on.
We've got a thing going on.
<<repeat and fade with interjections "no need to carry on . . .
nobody's going to listen . . . especially Carol Moseley-Braun . . .
not the gals on the Hill . . . Clarence Thomas, Packwood, and
Kelso, they all fell victim, but I'm a good old Democrat!">>
Speaking of Carol Moseley-Braun, Rush has an update all ready
about her.
Update Carol Moseley-Braun (Theme from the Jeffersons, "Moving on Up")
Senator Carol Moseley-Braun just came back from a trip to South
Africa, where she met Kshogi Matthews, her former campaign
manager and ex-fiance. Rush recalls how Moseley-Braun took a trip
to South Africa, one that would have cost some $60,000 had she
herself paid for it, before she even took office after being
elected to the Senate. In fact, Moseley-Braun missed the
orientation meetings for new Senate members because of her trip.
Senator Moseley-Braun ran for the Senate on the basis of how
there weren't enough women in the Senate, particularly in the
Senate Judiciary Committee; she claimed that had some women been
on the committee, Anita Hill would have been believed. Yet when
Moseley-Braun, along with fellow freshwoman Senators Boxer,
Feinstein, and Murray, got to DC, they didn't want to be on the
Judiciary Committee, and Rush speculated that this was because
these are well-televised hearings, and if you don't know what
you're doing, your ignorance is exposed.
Senator Moseley-Braun, though, is now tired of being on the
Judiciary Committee, claiming that she's "tired of the
symbolism." She claims that having a woman on the committee is
just symbolic, so she wants to pursue more substantive
activities, such as being on the finance committee where she can
"create jobs."
Rush can't believe this, given that Moseley-Braun's entire
campaign was totally symbolic, based on the idea of having more
women in the Senate in general and on the Judiciary Committee in
particular. And then the issues she's pursued, such as the
banning of the Confederate flag, have been nothing but symbolic.
A true cynic, Rush notes, would also point out that it's the
Senators on the Finance Committee, not Judiciary Committee, who
get the big bucks in campaign contributions. He admits, though,
that Moseley-Braun's statements are not on the level of an
"Elders eruption," but combining these two minds reminds Rush of
the song that goes "nothing from nothing gives nothing."
*BREAK*
Rush got a letter from a psychiatrist who was outraged that Rush
told the story about how he refused to take Prozac. This guy
attacked Rush for encouraging the "arcane view" that people could
solve tough mental problems on their own and didn't need
professional help.
The psychiatrist's letter made the point that mental and
emotional illnesses are no different than physical illnesses -
you get medication when you get the flu, so it's not a crime to
get medication for emotional and mental illnesses. The
psychiatrist thinks Rush was just being a "tough guy" who could
cause others to suffer needlessly by encouraging them not to get
the professional help and drugs they need. And, of course, he
attacked Rush for talking about a subject he knew nothing about.
Meanwhile, though, Rush jumped for joy when he heard about the
Napa verdict against a psychiatrist and counselor who convinced
their patient that her father raped her as a child, but that she
didn't remember it because of "repressed memory syndrome." The
guy, who was divorced by his wife and lost his job, was found not
guilty, so he sued the shrinks for ruining his life, and he won
$500,000.
*BREAK*
A death row inmate in Washington weighs more than 400 pounds, so
his lawyer is claiming that he's too heavy to be hanged since it
would result in beheading. The inmate killed two bank tellers in
a bank robbery and has rejected lethal injection because it is
too "morally repugnant." So this guy who killed two bank tellers
thinks lethal injection is morally repugnant, and his lawyer is
trying to keep him from being executed via the other available
choice, hanging.
Rush sighs and thinks it's time to get Phil Donahue involved on
this serious, moral-filled case.
*BREAK*
THIRD HOUR
Not long ago, President Clinton and VP Algore held a press
conference with the Big Three automakers to announce a consortium
to create the car of the future, one that would not use any
fossil fuels. Rush named this car the "Algore," and predicted
that nobody would want it, given that it was being produced not
because the market wanted it, but because the environmentalists
insisted on it.
Rush also predicted that because people wouldn't want this car,
the government would force people into buying it via techniques
such as import quotas, higher taxes on fossil fuel cars, etc. The
state of California has been doing exactly this with its
requirement that by 1998, 2% of all cars for sale in California
must be electric. This figure must be 10% by the year 2003.
The Big Three automakers, though, have said this is not possible;
they can't build an electric car that people would want, but
California doesn't care. Jacquelyn Schaeffer, chairwoman of the
California Air Resources Board has insisted "we're going to stick
with the mandate!" regardless of whether anybody wants these
piece of junk cars.
Besides, Rush notes, electric cars still burn fossil fuels, given
that they use electricity produced by power plants that burn
fossil fuels. Thus, there is no pollution benefit in using these
electric cars. All of this reminds Rush of the Apple Macintosh ad
that showed some designers creating a "helo-car" on a napkin and
then making it fly on their Mac computers. However, there never
was a helo-car - it was just yet another fantasy concocted by the
60s crowd, and it's as if the people in that Apple commercial
actually exist and are now running California.
********
Rush mentions the Napa, CA verdict in favor of a man whose
daughter was convinced by psychiatrists that her father had raped
and abused her, and that she hadn't remembered this beforehand
because of a fictitious suppressed memory syndrome. Rush points
out his disagreement with psychiatry is only with how some people
present it as an exact science, and how in a courtroom some
psychiatrists are treated as experts who can, without any doubt,
testify as to what was really going on in somebody's mind at a
particular time.
This kind of testimony is now being allowed as expert testimony,
and it's corrupted the criminal justice system. The whole concept
of suppressed memory syndrome has now ruined many people's lives,
such as that of Cardinal Joseph Bernadin of Chicago, who was
accused by an AIDS patient of fondling him 20 years ago. The
accuser, though, withdrew the lawsuit because he couldn't believe
his own memories. Yet, for now on Bernadin will be remembered as
the priest accused of molesting kids.
Gary Ramona, former executive for Mondavi Winery, earning some
$400,000 a year, also had his life ruined because of such
accusations. One psychiatrist and another counselor treated
Ramona's daughter Holly, convincing her that her father had raped
her. Ramona's wife immediately divorced him and the winery fired
him, even though Ramona denied the charges from day one.
Ramona sued the psychiatrist and counselor and won, but USA
Today's report about this warns "this could have a chilling
effect on therapists and lead to similar lawsuits." Rush thinks
this is good - if there is a chilling effect, then that's good;
these therapists destroyed a man's life, so should the verdict
have been not guilty just because this case might promote similar
lawsuits?
One sociologist, though, called this "a very frightening
decision" because therapists might be afraid to disclose
suspected abuse, and "we will be back where we were 25 years
ago." Rush thinks that if the country could go back 25 years in a
lot of areas, the country would be a lot better off, with a lot
more people being self-reliant, having healthier families and a
stronger criminal justice system. In fact, the country might be
more inclined to punish criminals for the crimes they committed.
It was only 30 years ago that the illegitimacy rate in the
country was only 5% instead of the current 26%, so going back 25
years might be good in many areas. Today, though, there are
psychiatrists who can and want to put memories into patients'
heads that simply aren't true.
Everyone remembers the horrible things that happen to them, yet
sexual trauma seems to be somehow special. Yet those who actually
experience such horrible things that they totally wipe their
memories is incredibly small, but now there are psychiatrists
trying to convince many Americans that they are part of this
small group.
Normal families are being considered the problem, and some
counselors are afraid that there will be a "chilling effect" on
the therapy industry. Yet what if accusers and their therapists
are lying, what are the accused supposed to do? Should Gary
Ramona have just let himself be put in jail and have had his life
destroyed for the sake of the therapy industry?
Pamela Fried of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, though, is
pleased with the ruling, noting that 13,000 callers have reported
similar accusations of false memory accusations. There are thus
13,000 people who have claimed that they've been harassed and
abused, by "victims" who have only just recently "remembered"
this.
Rush is also happy to see the Napa verdict, but he stresses that
he knows not all psychiatrists are like those who are propagating
this false memory stuff. Still, having psychiatrists like this
testify as "experts" is like having Jean Dixon testify because
she's allegedly a psychic. Yet psychiatry is supposed to be an
exact science.
It's like the science of evolution, which can be summed up as
survival of the fittest. If evolution explains everything,
though, then why are environmentalists upset at how the Spotted
Owl allegedly can't adapt to changing conditions? The way some
people use science and present some things as facts is absurd,
and Rush is glad to see that a jury has rejected at least one
attempt to turn false theories into facts.
*BREAK*
Sunday's NY Times reported that a 15-year-old boy has been
arrested for killing a delivery man because he needed the money
to buy new shoes. He explained that the sneakers he had "was
messed up - I walked down the block and people who knowed me
started laughing." Thus, he killed a man to get money to get new
sneakers.
And the NY Times doesn't condemn this kid but portrays him as a
victim, and Rush has no doubts that Nike will soon be blamed for
the high price of its sneakers. This is society today - it
doesn't condemn a kid for his senseless murder of another human
being, but searches for ways to excuse him.
Phone Tom from Wallingford, CT
Tom thanks Rush for stopping him from voting for Ross Perot in
1992 out of protest; after listening to Rush, he decided to give
George Bush another chance, in spite of the anger he felt about
Bush's administration. Rush thanks Tom for telling him that and
holds him over the break.
*BREAK*
Proof that Tony Lo Bianco is broadcast engineer for today's show
is given by the fact that this segment's opening bumper music is
the disco version of the "Theme to Star Wars."
Phone Tom from Wallingford, CT (continued)
Tom heard Rush talk about the Federal Reserve last week, and he
thinks that the Fed is trying to justify higher interest rates by
fallaciously claiming that there's a booming economy right now.
Rush asks if Tom thinks the American people are happy and
positive right now about the economy. Tom says the people he
knows are concerned and worried.
Rush says he's often found that people's view of their own
personal economic situation is a large factor in whether they are
content with their daily lives, and through that their overall
confidence in the economy. During the 80s Rush felt a general
sense of contentment and positive attitude among the people, and
he isn't seeing those same thoughts today.
He admits, though, that people are worried about the current
societal mess, especially about crime, to the point that good
economic news doesn't affect them as much as it used to. However,
even so, he thinks a truly robust economy would create more
optimism among the people.
In New York, of course, everyone is pessimistic as a matter of
course, either waiting for someone to give them the shaft, or
getting ready to shaft someone else. Thus, Rush might not be in a
good position to judge the country as a whole.
Phone Burton from Princeton, NJ
Burton surveyed his finances and found that his top expenses were
federal income taxes, mortgage, Social Security taxes, property
taxes, and state income taxes. Thus, four out of five of his top
expenses are taxes; this means that any tax increases will raise
his cost of living and thus will increase inflation. Burton
suspects this is what Alan Greenspan sees.
Rush thinks this is an interesting point, and is one he hadn't
considered. The Clinton tax increases are definitely
inflationary, and Greenspan knows that they will stifle economic
growth. Burton adds that higher taxes affect everything that's
sold, so they raise the costs of those products, too, adding even
more to inflation.
Burton notes that taxes and inflation are a key factor in every
Presidential race, and one of the great things Reagan did was to
keep inflation in control by lowering taxes. Rush adds that
Reagan also ended bracket creep that allowed inflation to push
people into higher tax brackets. Unfortunately, this is now being
reversed bit by bit.
Burton agrees, and thinks that Greenspan also sees these things,
which is why he's so worried about inflation. He would love to
see some candidates make this point, about how higher taxes will
send inflation soaring. Rush says this is a good point -
Greenspan could very well be making this link between the higher
taxes in Clinton's economic plan and their effect on inflation.
Rush notes that the country would be enjoying faster economic
growth if it weren't for the Clinton tax increases. You can't
take this amount of money out of the economy without it slowing
things down, but the administration has sold the nation on the
idea that the rich have to "pay their fair share," regardless of
the effect it has on the nation's overall economy.
Phone Mario from Port Charlotte, FL
Mario thinks Clinton should stand trial if he's done something
wrong, instead of hiding behind his office, as Rostenkowski and
Kennedy have been doing. Rush says the Presidency is something
special, so is it worth risking it by putting Clinton on trial?
Mario says that Clinton has already ruined the Presidency by
virtue of the fact he's in the Oval Office. It frustrates him how
the American people don't seem to care about Clinton's lack of
character.
Rush notes that Clinton will be presiding at the 50th anniversary
of the Normandy Invasion, and Mario says he's still angry at how
Clinton attended a ceremony for fallen police officers. Clinton
refused to serve his country but now is trying to portray himself
as a patriot and a real man by attending all these services in
honor of men who have risked death and died for their country. He
thinks when Clinton attends a place of honor, where brave men and
women have died, he defiles it.
Rush says Clinton would be hard pressed not to attend the 50th
anniversary of D-Day, but Rush wonders if the White House is
debating whether Clinton should jog along Omaha Beach or Utah
Beach, and whether he should wear military fatigues. Rush
wouldn't put it past the White House to actually do this.
*BREAK*
Phone Jess from Kansas City, MO
Jess has always enjoyed Rush's show, except for the past few
weeks when Rush has been "on Mr. Greenspan's case." Jess doesn't
want to defend Greenspan himself, but rather his prerogative to
be concerned about interest rates and inflation. Rush agrees that
Greenspan has a valid job to do, but he just isn't seeing any
signs of the inflation that Greenspan says he fears.
Jess says that the past few years have had low interest rates
during a soft economy, so it's not unusual or unexpected that
inflation would rise when the economy reoccurs. There's a lot of
financing going on now, as a result of the pent-up demand that's
finally being unleashed, and that could generate higher interest
rates, too.
Jess explains that low interest rates are just a sign of cheap
money, but just because those rates go up doesn't mean the
economy is going to collapse. It's all a matter of supply and
demand.
Rush asks why banks are not passing on the higher interest rates
to their savers, and Jess says that banks are taking advantage of
the higher rates to improve their margins and thus their
earnings. However, as rates continue to go up, banks will have no
choice to compete in the free market by raising their saving
rates, too.
Rush can see that, but says that his point about Greenspan is
that all of the reasons given for the Fed's higher interest rates
have been related to inflation, but he still doesn't see any
signs in that area to be concerned about. Jess says that interest
rates are still extremely low, and the increases are only a
quarter point each time.
Rush says it's being reported that the next rise in rates will be
tied to the unemployment rate, and it's strange to see rising
employment reported as bad news. Jess says he's in the financial
services industry, so he knows that every news item or economic
report can be interpreted as good or bad in some way.
Rush understands that, but again his main point is that 6.5%
unemployment is now supposed to be the standard for full
employment; at least this is what the Federal Reserve will be
tying future interest rate increases to. He asks Jess to hang on
through the break.
*BREAK*
Phone Jess from Kansas City, MO (continued)
Jess says his basic point is that the country's main problem is
that it's difficult to gauge the monetary supply by looking at
just the M1, M2, and M3 money supplies. These indicators were not
conclusive and lagged what was really going on, so other methods
were decided upon by the Fed. Rush finds this a fascinating topic
and hopes to continue it tomorrow.
--
John Switzer | Bumper sticker that's most unlikely
| to show on up a car belonging to
CompuServe: 74076,1250 | Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA):
Internet: j...@netcom.com | "No Jesus, No Peace"
FRAZZLE
writes:
<<inaccurate stuff about Rush's TV Ratings deleted>>
*LIMBAUGH*'S 'RUSH TO EXCELLENCE' SLOWS TO A WALK
Word Count: 226
By: From Tribune Wires.
Edition: NORTH SPORTS FINAL Section: WEEKEND CHICAGO Page: 21
Word Count: 226
MEMO:
COLUMN: TV notes.
TEXT:
The February "sweeps" ratings for syndicated TV programming show
that
Rush *Limbaugh*'s half-hour TV program has slipped to a 2.8 rating
nationally. That puts him one-tenth of a point behind the new
"Rolonda" and
just two-tenths of a point ahead of "Bertice Berry" and "Jerry
Springer."