Summary Wed 2/2/94
John Switzer
for Wednesday, February 2, 1994
by John Switzer
This unofficial summary is copyright (c) 1994 by John Switzer.
All Rights Reserved. These summaries are distributed on
CompuServe and the Internet, and archived on CompuServe (DL9 of
the ISSUES forum) and Internet (cathouse.org and
grind.isca.uiowa.edu). The /pub/jrs directory at netcom.com
contains the summaries for the past 30 days. 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.
******************************************************************
February 2, 1994
BRIEF SUMMARY OF TOPICS: increasing drug use among youth blamed
on everything from poverty to lack of good jobs; female jurors in
Menendez trial making excuses for brothers; Senator Barbara Boxer
would be offended if Oliver North was elected to the Senate;
questions about North's character are valid, but then so are
those about Clinton's character; while Democrats disagree with
Clinton over health care, Republicans seem willing to accept
basic philosophy of socialized medicine; nation doesn't need two
parties pushing for socialized health care; caller defends
Clinton on health care; callers disagree with Rush about Tonya
Harding's participation in Olympics; Turkish police arrest a
Lorena Bobbitt wannabe; Jacksonville man suing doctors for
botching his sex change operation; Senator Rockefeller attacks
Clinton for being willing to give up on idea of price controls
for health care; Rep. Cooper introduces alternative health care
plan; Foster's suicide note seems more contrived than ever;
smoking now reported to cause colon cancer; Rush puts Iran-Contra
in perspective of how Democrats were helping Nicaraguan
Communists; caller disputes Clintons' claim of health care
crisis; new Feminazi Trading Cards commercial; Redbook magazine
names most sexist judges; while Barbara Streisand claimed Bush
would deny her creative freedom, Michael Moriarty has lost job
because he disagrees with Janet Reno over censorship; Rush finds
it difficult to see how any honorable person could continue to
skate after attack on Kerrigan; "Monty" down near bottom of
ratings, and Henry Winkler makes it a point to let people know
he's still a liberal; Rush explains off-budget; professional
sports doesn't have much sports etiquette; liberal women outraged
that one caller would admit she likes Rush.
LIMBAUGH WATCH
February 2, 1994 - It's now day 379 (day 398 for the rich and the
dead) of "America Held Hostage" (aka the "Raw Deal") and 457 days
after Bill Clinton's election, but Rush is still on the air with
640 radio affiliates (with more than 20 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 20 weeks and is currently at number three.
Rush's second book, "See, I Told You So," has been on the NY
Times best-seller list for 11 weeks and is currently at number
three, having sold over 2 million copies.
LEST WE FORGET
The following are from the Rush Limbaugh show on Wednesday,
February 5, 1992:
o A major portion of the show was taken up by Rush and his
callers discussing his appearance on the previous night's
Nightline with Senator Al Gore. Since Rush dared to discuss
environmental matters, he got the expected hate mail from
scientists outraged over his comments on global warming, the
ozone hole, etc.
Rush, however, wasn't too concerned about their angry
denunciations of him; one correspondent on Compuserve told him
that many scientists act like priests in the Catholic Church
during the Dark Ages - they claim that only they have the truth
and you must believe it or else.
Joel Santistiban, EIB's number one protagonist in the WABC
building, however, was also outraged at Rush's comments. He told
Rush that his wife was certain that the fact it hadn't snowed in
New York for five years was proof of global warming. Rush warned
people against judging history in terms of our meager lives and
life-spans. The life of any human is insignificant compared to
the life of the Earth, so it's ridiculous to assume that things
should stay the same as we've come to expect them. Rush added
that people tended to have short memories; winters were so bad
early in the '80s that the Mississippi River was frozen.
Edward Krug, director of the Committee for a Constructive
Tomorrow, told Rush that in 1974 instruments were set up to
monitor how much ultraviolet radiation was actually reaching the
Earth. The results, published in a 1988 issue of Science
magazine, showed that UV radiation had been steadily decreasing
since 1974. This indicated that the ozone layer was actually
increasing over North America, contradicting the notion that
ozone destruction was allegedly occurring because of
chlorine-based chemicals in the atmosphere.
Rush noted that in 1978 there was a 10% reduction in ozone
thickness around a 3 million square kilometer area over
Antarctica for about two weeks. Man simply couldn't accomplish
things on a massive scale like this.
Rush's logic was lost on Senator Gore, however. When Rush
mentioned on Nightline that Mount Pinatubo had sent 570 times
more chlorine than what man had done in one year, Senator Gore
said this was misleading because the pollutants from a volcano
couldn't reach the stratosphere. However, if a volcano couldn't
reach the upper atmosphere, then how could air conditioners and
spray cans on the ground spray CFCs all the way up there? If
these man-made things could reach the stratosphere, so could the
pollutants from a volcano.
Rush pointed out that the militant environmentalists were the new
home of socialism, because unlike the people of Nicaragua, who
rejected socialism with a loud voice, the environmentalists'
constituency (trees, ozone, etc.) couldn't speak for themselves
and reject the environmentalists' views. Even Senator Gore,
though, pointed out that Communist countries had destroyed more
of the environment than any capitalist countries.
John from Manhattan, NY worked on air conditioners, and had a lot
of customers who were so conditioned by the media that they were
afraid of freon leaks. Rush noted that it was American business,
capitalism, and technology that would cure any problems caused by
CFCs, but the panic described by John was the result of the
irresponsible doom-and-gloom reporting by the media and its
scientific "experts."
One such "expert" was David Brauer of the Sierra Club and Earth
Island Institute, who produced the Earth Island Journal. The
Journal asked "experts" to submit a number of things that "needed
to be done to save the Earth," and among the ideas submitted to
the Journal were the following:
- bury your car
- become a total vegetarian
- don't have children
- stop building roads
- halt weapons production and exports
- stop the sale and distribution of cigarettes
- blockade a lumber truck
- spend a month tree-sitting
- fast one day a week to save money for the hungry
- adopt a homeless person
- go to jail for something you believe in
- don't own pets
- allow all beef-producing domestic cattle to go extinct
- don't own anything that runs on batteries
- stop using toilet paper and tissues - use washable cloth
instead
- use a bus instead of an airplane
- send money to Brazil to provide jobs so people don't move into
the rain forest
- try to live if you can within the world's average income
($1250/year) for one month
- undertake a conservation sabbath - go one day a week without
consuming food or fuel
- ask your boss for a day off so you can heal the planet
- raise the minimum wage and enact a maximum wage law
- give money to every panhandler you meet
- start a union or collective at work
Rush said that these certainly sounded like socialism to him, and
he wondered what most of these things had to do with saving the
Earth. He asked his staff what they'd do if he gave them a day
off to heal the planet, and Bo replied "I'd sit around a tree and
eat a beaver."
Rich from Novato, CA noted that mankind's predictions of
catastrophe often failed to materialize. For example, in the
early 20th century it was predicted that the water project that
brought water to San Francisco would destroy Yosemite and the
redwoods, and that the San Joaquin valley would become a
dustbowl. Of course, none of this has happened.
Keith from Houston, TX noted that the environmental activists
decried how the U.S. consumed 25% of the earth's resources and
thus was responsible for 25% of the world's output of the deadly
CFCs. But even if America gave up all of its use of CFCs, there
still would be 75% of them being produced by the rest of the
world. And since humanity was producing 5% of the total output of
these agents, reducing 25% of that amount was an insignificant
change. Rush added that the idea that man could destroy the world
with 50 years or so of progress was "incredibly egocentric."
o With two weeks left before the New Hampshire primary, a new
poll showed that Bill Clinton's lead slipped to within 3 points
of Paul Tsongas, and Bob Kerrey had gained some ground. The
pollsters attributed Clinton's slip to Gennifer Flowers'
accusations that the two of them had an affair.
o In a column Lars Erik Nelson said that Mario Cuomo had made it
a practice to attack every Democratic front-runner for President
since 1984. It was therefore not surprising that Cuomo took
Clinton's calling him a "mafioso" on the Flowers tapes as an
unconscionable insult. Cuomo, though, had already said that Bob
Kerrey's lesbian joke was unimportant. Nelson concluded that
Cuomo didn't want to be President, but didn't want anyone else to
be President either.
o Rush confessed that he had started subscribing to supermarket
tabloids - after all, if the major media could use the tabloids
for their sources, then Rush could as well. One of the tabloids
reported that scientists in both Lisbon and Berkeley discovered
that vegetables and fruits feel "pain" when eaten, and that
therefore the "true sadists in America" were vegetarians. Meat
eaters kill their animals very quickly and with little pain,
while fruits and vegetables, however, feel "excruciating pain"
with each bite. Rush played "Blaming it on Scientists" and called
for vegetarians to repent.
o Michael Gardner, president of NBC News, demonstrated the
arrogance of the media by writing a piece for USA Today attacking
the investigation into who leaked the FBI report on Anita Hill.
Gardner said this investigation was a waste of time and was an
insult to the First Amendment and the press.
o Jack Kevorkian was indicted on murder charges by an Oakland
County Grand Jury for the October, 1991 deaths of two women whom
he helped kill.
o The latest pet fad was the "fainting goat," which had replaced
the Vietnamese pot-bellied pig. These goats didn't really faint,
but would freeze up and keel over when startled; these
high-strung goats would stay frozen like this for about 20
seconds. The EIB staff remarked that such an animal would not be
much good for guard duty, and Rush had to agree.
o The subject of Haitian refugees was in the news, and Rush noted
that if the United States was the guarantor of freedom across the
world, it should offer and acknowledge that freedom wherever
needed. The Supreme Court had ruled that people fleeing poverty
could be denied asylum, while those fleeing political oppression
should be granted it.
Rush therefore thought that the Haitians should be allowed access
to America, with the only exception being made for those infected
with AIDS. The US had no responsibility to allow those with an
incurable disease into the country, but for the rest, the country
should realize that immigrants had made this country great.
********
MORNING UPDATE
A survey by University of Michigan researchers has found that
drug use among America's teenagers is on the increase again. This
"obviously" is "wonderful news" since it means America's youth
are getting in touch with themselves again, after those horrid
80s during which drug use declined.
The survey found that the attitude of junior high and high school
students towards drugs has been relaxed, and in news which surely
will please the dope-heads and potheads who want marijuana
legalized, marijuana use increased last year. LSD use is also up,
as is the use of inhalants such as glue, solvents, and aerosols.
What's the cause of this increased drug use? The Michigan
researchers concluded that the root causes of drug use are
poverty, alienation, inadequate housing, lack of educational
opportunity, poor schools, racism, discrimination, lack of good
jobs, and, of course, as is always the case, Ronald Reagan.
Rush points out, though, that with the exception of Reagan, it's
the use of drugs which causes all of these other things; using
drugs causes life to become worthless, not the other way around.
And if anyone doubts that there is a war on drugs, all they have
to do is to remember that Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders wants
to legalize them.
FIRST HOUR
Items
o Rush has refused to take another Perquadan for his gum pain
because he doesn't want to feel irritable. He thus has taken some
over-the-counter pain pills, which have been so ineffective that
his whole body is still wracked by the pain his "dental butchers"
have caused him.
o Dateline NBC, with Jane Pauly and Stone Phillips, last night
interviewed some of the female jurors in the Menendez brothers
trial. Phillips asked the women how they could not convict one of
the Menendez brothers when he testified that he not only shot his
mother, but reloaded the shotgun and shot her again. The women
said that they just couldn't convict him because he was having a
"real troubled time" and was too nice a guy. The women just
refused to believe that this good-looking guy would kill his
parents.
Rush was stunned while he watched this, and came to the
conclusion that maybe it's time to exclude women from juries when
the defendants are good-looking hunks. More and more jurors seem
to be confusing compassion with justice, being governed by
sympathy; if women won't believe a defendant's confession that he
killed his parents, then maybe it's time to keep them off juries.
People are being put in jail for longer sentences for killing a
dog then they are for killing a human; people are being punished
for what they say, yet guys who reloaded their gun so as to shoot
their parents again are found not guilty because some jurors
didn't believe their confessions.
o Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), in a "shining example of the kind
of intelligence that exists in the U.S. Senate," said she is
alarmed by Oliver North's candidacy for the Senate. She added
that she would be offended if he were elected to a body that he
"hated" and which he told "lie after lie after lie to."
Boxer said her opposition "goes to the heart and soul of what we
are about as a nation. I just hope we don't wind up with someone
who's lied to the Congress, sitting in the Senate. I personally
would be offended with that. I would be offended for the
country."
Rush guesses that this means Boxer thinks the liars should be
kept in the White House where they belong. He wonders, though,
why Boxer doesn't have any problem serving with someone like
Carol Moseley-Braun, who is incompetent, or with Senator Ted
Kennedy, whose excesses are too numerous to chronicle.
The Washington Times, however, has run a story about how all the
media critics and communications experts are appalled at the
media's totally unbridled attacks against Oliver North; Ted
Koppel, Bob Schieffer, and Harry Smith are just some of those who
have engaged in the most vicious of attacks against North.
Rush pointed out yesterday that North does have some explaining
to do, since he did lie to Congress, although this was done
during informal meetings and not when he was under oath. Contrary
to the conventional wisdom, North didn't lie during the official
congressional hearings, but rather when he informally met with
individual members of Congress.
North has been singled out for such vicious criticism now,
though, because the media is still angry at how he stood in the
way of the left's attempt to get Ronald Reagan. Rush recalls that
the congressional committee granted North immunity precisely
because they hoped he would help them get Ronald Reagan, in what
was the Democrats' attempt to criminalize Reagan's foreign
policy.
North was thus the road the Democrats wanted to travel to get
Reagan, so they foolishly granted him immunity without knowing
what he was going to say. This is something an experienced
prosecutor or investigator would never do.
North, however, blew everyone away with his testimony, so the
media and others on the left are working hard to get their
revenge on him now. Rush, though, doesn't mind the questions
being made about North's character because character is an
important thing to consider when electing our leaders.
North is also acquitting himself well, and Rush, to be fair to
Ted Koppell, notes that Koppell let him have his say on
Nightline. North throughout all this has been able to defend
himself just fine.
Rush, though, has to wonder why the media isn't going after
others with as much intensity and vigor as they are showing with
North. The reason is that the left is still angry about the fact
that North didn't give them Reagan's head on a platter; they
therefore are trying to get their revenge now.
o The University of Texas at Dallas has already instituted a
scholarship similar to the one which Florida A&M University if
offering for "troubled" teenagers. However, the scholarships at
Texas aren't working, but instead of admitting the flaws in this
idea, the school is going to extraordinary lengths to give the
program another chance. Rush promises to speak more about this
later.
o Rush asks his staff if they know what the Tonya Harding/Nancy
Kerrigan case is all about. They can't come up a suitable answer,
so Rush explains that these two women are competitors, and an
ex-husband and live-in lover of one of them got together with
some other goofballs to whack the legs of the other competitor to
stop her from competing.
The papers are full of stuff about this story, but everyone seems
to be forgetting that a crime of violence and assault was
committed. If one listened to Harding's supporters, however,
they'd come away with the idea that Kerrigan's injuries were just
some sort of tragic accident.
*BREAK*
Rush says part of him thinks it's fun to see what's happening in
health care, although overall it's quite distressing, especially
since the Republican party seems ready to cave in to the idea of
national and socialized health care. If this happens, and the GOP
goes along with Clinton on health care, it might be time to sweep
the Republican party out of the way so it's no longer an
obstacle. Rush doesn't say this lightly, but the country doesn't
need two parties pushing for a plan that would socialize
one-seventh of the nation's economy.
What is fun, though, is to see how it's not the Republicans but
rather the Democrats who are Clinton's biggest opponents right
now, proving Rush's words back in November, 1992 that it would
the Democrats in Congress who would be Clinton's biggest enemy.
For example, today's NY Times reports that Clinton is working
hard to "scuttle rival health care plan," but this plan is not
being put forth by Republicans, but by Senator Jim Cooper (D-TN).
A rift about health care is also developing between Senator Jay
Rockefeller (D-WV) and the President. Thus, while the President
and the Democrats are splitting over health care, the Republicans
seem to be agreeing with both sides.
*BREAK*
Phone Harry from Chicago, IL
Harry agrees with Rush about a lot of things, but not that
Clinton is a scumbag and ideologically dishonest. Harry thinks
Clinton truly cares about people and wants to do the right thing
for America.
Rush says that Harry is woefully mistaken; first, he has never
called Clinton a "scumbag." Then, while Rush doesn't doubt that
Bill Clinton honestly cares for people, he's certainly not being
guided by this. Clinton loves to hide behind compassion,
especially with health care, but helping people is not what is
motivating him. What Clinton is trying to do is create a legacy
with his own version of Social Security, in the hope that he, as
did FDR, will leave the Democratic party with an almost
monopolistic hold on political power.
Harry says that Clinton has said he's willing to listen to almost
every proposal except those that would exclude universal
coverage. Rush replies that he doesn't know how anyone could
believe anything that Clinton says in the first place, given that
he's lied so much already.
And it sounds good for Clinton to say he'll compromise on almost
everything, but he's not compromising on universal coverage,
which is the government taking care of every citizen. Clinton
wants to make as many people dependent on government as much as
possible.
Harry asks if Rush thinks Clinton would use pre-existing services
such as Medicaid as a basis for his plan, so that people would
buy into this in-place systems. Rush says he suggested this
yesterday; if Clinton's plan had a chance of working, then this
would be how it should be done. However, Clinton, along with his
entire administration, is opposed to any such idea, especially
since they're counting on Medicaid "savings" to pay for his
health care plan.
These savings are just smoke and mirrors, though, and it should
trouble every American that Clinton isn't willing to test his
plan first on a small group of people, such as the supposed 37 to
59 million uninsured. Instead, Clinton wants to scrap everything
now and implement his massive bureaucracies of regional
alliances, which will have a monopolistic control over health
care in America.
Harry asks why Rush doesn't believe Clinton when he says he's
going to build on what's good in America. Rush says Clinton's own
actions belie this - Clinton is not building on anything but is
tearing down what is good. Besides, Clinton can't be believed
because he doesn't tell the truth, and the fact that Clinton
"cares" or says a "good speech" is not enough.
Harry thinks that anyone who becomes President will "rise to the
occasion" and forget any personal motivations he might have had
and instead do the right thing. Harry doesn't think Clinton has
anything to gain by playing political games since he's already
President. Rush mentions "re-election" not to mention the
acquisition of power for his party and those who stand alongside
him.
Clinton is a liberal, but he can't articulate this because he
wouldn't win if he did. Harry doesn't think Clinton is a liberal
because he doesn't talk like one, but Rush says that Harry should
look at what Clinton does - he's taxing the rich, implementing
socialist policies, and his administration is full of liberals.
Harry, though, says that Clinton supported NAFTA, and Rush admits
that Clinton has to be given credit for this. Other non-liberal
positions taken by Clinton, though, such as a hard-line on crime,
are "boob bait" designed to please the people while he continues
to move the nation to the left.
Harry thinks that if there is any weakness to Clinton's
Presidency, it is the people he chooses, and Rush says this is
his point. The people Clinton is choosing are pretty far to the
left, so he wonders why any moderate, as Clinton portrays himself
to be, would choose such people. He begs Harry to stop using his
emotions to judge Clinton and instead look at what the man is
doing.
None of the people in Clinton's administration could be there
unless Clinton first gets elected, and the way to get votes in
the modern era is to convince people you're conservative. Thus,
Clinton knew he needed to sound conservative to get elected, but
once he did get elected, he moved back to the left and brought
his people on the left along for the ride.
Harry thinks Clinton just wants some "balance" in his
administration, but Rush thinks this is a very unrealistic theory
that ignores human nature. Nobody is going to work to get elected
President and then surround himself with people of a different
ideological bent, as if he wanted them to make sure he doesn't go
"crazy." People don't do this, but instead surround themselves
with those who will do what they want to get done.
Rush warns that people cannot trust anything Clinton says but
instead must watch whom he supports and whom he opposes. The
actions of Clinton and his crew will soon be obvious, so Rush is
quite convinced that in a short matter of time, he'll be able to
say "I told you so" on a regular basis.
Harry still isn't sure about this, but he does think that Rush is
helping to set the agenda for the administration; he's certain
that the White House has people listening to the show on a daily
basis because he hears them responding to what Rush says every
day.
Rush thanks him for that but while others have told him this,
he's not going to be brazen enough to think that the President is
actually using him as a way to set and gauge policy matters. He
adds that if he's wrong in all of this, there will be nobody
happier than him; however, if he's right, then this country is in
big trouble.
*BREAK*
Phone Alan from Pacifica, CA
Alan agrees with 98% of what Rush says, but he disagrees about
Tonya Harding; he thinks she should be allowed to stay on the
Olympic team until she's proven guilty. He knows this doesn't
look very good, but the media can present things whatever way
they want. Rush grants that there are dubious characters involved
in this who are trying to save their own skins, but the simple
fact is that close associates, and perhaps intimate associates,
of Tonya Harding attacked her number one rival so as to
incapacitate her, thereby giving Harding a clear shot at the
number one spot.
While Rush was talking with "union thug" Mo Thacker this morning
about this, Rush mentioned that he couldn't live with himself if
he committed crimes such as those done by the Menendez brothers
or what was done to Kerrigan. It thus is hard for him to
understand all these people who seem able to commit crimes
without any sense of conscience; at the very least, if Rush were
Tonya Harding, he thinks he'd do the classy thing and withdraw,
even if innocent of taking part in the attack.
Rush asks Alan what he does, and Alan says he's a broadcast
television technician. Rush therefore asks how he'd feel if his
wife poisoned his chief rival at the TV station. Alan admits it
would be difficult to live with the knowledge of what his wife
did. Rush agrees, which makes him wonder where the conscience and
sense of shame are in people such as Harding or those who
surround her. Alan thinks this lack of conscience or sense of
shame is lacking in many parts of society, which is one reason
there are so many problems today.
Rush adds that the TV execs and Olympic advertisers, not to
mention most of the American people, all want to see Harding
compete against Kerrigan in the Olympics. This feeling is strong
even though Harding has admitted she knew about the attack after
the fact without telling anyone.
Alan says that Harding certainly is qualified for a job in the
Clinton administration, but he still would be loathe to see her
thrown off the team unless some real evidence comes along to
indict her. Rush admits that he doesn't envy the decision the
Olympic organizers will have to make about this - if they do
decide to bump her, they'll have to deal with hordes of outraged
Americans. After all, if the Menendez brothers can have their
defenders, Harding will certain have hers, no matter what.
*BREAK*
Items
o Turkish police said that they caught and then freed a woman who
had cut off her husband's penis; charges were dropped because her
lover isn't pressing charges. The arresting officer said that he
thought the woman was right in severing the penis of her lover of
two years since he "regularly forced her to have divergent sex."
Rush wonders what "divergent sex" is - having sex in a car while
changing lanes?
o In related news, Jacksonville resident is suing doctors for
botching his sex-change operation; he claims that he was promised
the "Cadillac of penises," but ended up with a Ford Probe.
*BREAK*
SECOND HOUR
Rush hopes that Harry from Chicago is still listening because he
has a story that indicates there's trouble with health care on
two fronts. The first problem is that Republicans are saying they
agree with the concept of universal coverage and will therefore
"tone down their rhetoric."
Rush fears that this will pave the way for the socialization of
one-seventh of the American economy, not to mention how it will
just create more people who expect their country to do more and
more material things for them. Having your country provide
freedom and opportunity is one thing, but it's totally another to
expect your country to supply your material goods and services as
freebies.
A nation can't be a great nation if its citizens are always
holding their hands out, expecting the government to put
something in them. Thus, Rush thinks national health care has to
be opposed philosophically, and if the American people are
supporting the idea by 80%, then they have to be educated and
their thinking corrected.
However, while Clinton might be getting help from Republicans,
there is trouble brewing on the Democratic side. Clinton's
insistence during the State of the Union show that his
administration demonstrated more teamwork with Congress than any
other in recent memory was a lie, as is illustrated by the fact
that Democrats are opposing him on health care.
Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) yesterday gave Clinton a
tongue-lashing for remarks he reportedly made to the nation's
governors Monday. Clinton told the governors in a private meeting
that he was willing to compromise on the concept of price
controls because he was as opposed to them as anyone else. Yet,
Rush notes, Clinton's own plan is founded on the concept of price
controls, which never, ever work.
Senator Rockefeller was angered by Clinton's words, however,
because in good, liberal fashion he fervently believes in
government intervention such as price controls. Rockefeller
therefore warned Clinton that the fate of his health care plan
rested with Congress, "not outside groups." Calling Clinton's
comments "not particularly useful," Rockefeller said he hoped
Hillary Clinton, "the architect of health care, would "speak to
the President about it."
Rush calls this a "nuclear bomb" and finds it amazing a Senator
would tell the President to talk to his wife about "her" plan.
This is a "verbal Lorena Bobbitt swipe," Rush remarks, and it's
obvious Rockefeller is very angry at Clinton's statement that
price controls are negotiable.
Clinton responded to this by getting mad; he insisted that the
governors who reported his remarks to the press had "taken then
out of context." He told reporters "I didn't say anything
differently in that meeting than I have said repeatedly, which is
that we are and we should be flexible on the issue of the
alliances, and that in order to have a health care plan which
passes muster in the Congress, we have to have some way of
showing how much taxpayer money is at risk over a five-year
period."
Clinton then said Rockefeller made a big mistake in taking the
press accounts of the governors' meeting at face value, saying "I
would caution Senator Rockefeller to not think that I'd left his
position." Rush, though, has to wonder who is leaving whose
position - is this the Rockefeller health care plan or the
Clinton health care plan? Is Rockefeller now setting the agenda
for Clinton?
Clinton's insistence that he said nothing differently in his
meeting with the governors than he had elsewhere was just more of
his amazing brazenness. Rush recalls how on October 22, 1992 he
pretended to endorse Clinton; then 20 minutes later he flat-out
denied it, using the same brazenness that Clinton shows every
day. Listeners were outraged and shocked when Rush did this, but
Clinton gets away with it every day.
Clinton is also trying to scuttle Rep. Jim Cooper's (D-TN)
alternative health care plan. Cooper would require universal
health care coverage, but wouldn't require business to pay for
it. Cooper thinks that the American consumer has to be involved
in paying for his health care, so that each person knows how much
it costs; many people have said they like this idea.
Clinton, however, is trying to scuttle this plan with an intense
lobbying effort that includes a meeting today with business
leaders and Hillary. The Roundtable, a policy group of 200
top-level business executives, is scheduled to vote on the
Clinton and Cooper health care plans later today, so Clinton is
trying to stop them from endorsing his rival's plan.
Yet while all of this infighting among Democrats is going on, the
Republicans are promising to tone down their rhetoric and try to
"get along" with Clinton and the Democrats. "It's sad out there,"
Rush sighs.
*BREAK*
Phone Steve from Rapid City, SD
Steve has been following the news about the Vincent Foster death,
and it seems now, more than ever, that Foster's suicide note,
which pointedly remarked how nobody would believe the innocence
of the Clintons "or their loyal staff," was very contrived. Rush
agrees - the note was missing the signature piece, although a
cursory handwriting analysis of the letter shows it was done by
Foster.
There are also stories coming out claiming that the gun found in
Foster's hand was tested and found to be what killed him. Thus,
parts of the NY Post's stories about the Foster death are being
contradicted by various officials. Steve, though, thinks this
would happen no matter what, and he can't get away from how
contrived the supposed suicide note was.
He then notes that he was at the Kansas City Chiefs/Pittsburgh
Steelers playoff game, and thought about going to Strouds to meet
Rush. However, he figured it would be too crowded, so he didn't
bother. Rush says that Strouds is always crowded, so this should
never be used as a reason not to go and have some of their superb
fare.
Rush notes he ended up at Strouds at about 4 in the afternoon,
about an hour after the game ended. It was crowded then, but
there were tables available. But by the time he left, it was even
more crowded, with a waiting line. Thus, the moral of the story
is that one has to be prepared to wait with the crowd in order to
enjoy the magnificence of Strouds.
Steve says he's an organic farmer, so he runs with a very liberal
crowd. However, he thinks he's slowly winning a lot of converts.
His colleagues think Rush is very crass and callous about the
environment, and they claim he really wants polluted water and
air.
Steve adds that his sister, Barbara, lives in New York City, and
the two of them got along very well until he mentioned that he
would come to visit her only if she could get tickets for the
Rush Limbaugh TV show. Barbara begged him not to tell any of her
friends that he liked Rush, and when Steve asked her why, she
simply recited all the usual liberal complaints about Rush.
Rush suggests he could call her right now to find out more about
why she doesn't like him, but Steve says that his sister, who
works as a film producer, is a very intelligent woman who usually
does her own thinking. However, on this subject, she seems to
listen only to what her friends say about Rush.
Rush bets that Barbara, since she's in the arts and croissant
crowd, probably hears a lot about him from the feminists, gays,
and the rest of that crowd. She believes all this because
otherwise she would have to admit that her support group is just
having her live a lie. "It's not my problem," Rush declares, and
he thanks Steve for calling.
*BREAK*
Rush read a story in today's papers that smoking causes colon
cancer, and he's amazed that "some people just don't know how to
smoke!"
Phone Harry from Philadelphia, PA
Harry heard Rush talk about Oliver North, and it seems that the
press is ignoring just what was going on in Nicaragua back during
the days of Iran-Contra. Rush says that North did mention this on
Nightline, so at least he is talking about it.
Harry adds that a large arms cache that was tied to the FMLN was
found in Nicaragua recently, and the Sandinistas were also
running a passport forgery operation that was tied in to the
World Trade Center bombing. This news got only passing mention in
the press, but at least Rep. John McCain (R-AZ) read it into the
Congressional Record.
Rush reminds everyone of what was going on in Nicaragua in the
80s. First, a congressman from Massachusetts wrote a series of
amendments called the Boland Amendments, which placed what many
felt were unconstitutional limitations on the President's ability
to conduct foreign policy. Rush has long wondered why President
Reagan never tested the constitutional of these amendments, but
not even North knows the answer to this.
Meanwhile, the media at the time were ignoring the fact that
there was a Soviet attempt to establish a Cuba-style communist
state in Nicaragua, led by Daniel Ortega. Rush recalls how
American leftists, such as environmentalists, would host Ortega
on his visits to the U.S. and praise him as his country's savior.
They, along the press, ignored that he was the leader of a
communist nation.
Ronald Reagan wanted to help the Contras reclaim their country
from the Communists, but Congress continually voted against his
requests to send monetary and military aid to them. The Democrats
thus were assisting a communist state, but they continued to
insist that this was not what was going on.
Rush, though, recalls that back in the mid-80s he called Thomas
Foley on an appearance on Larry King's show to pointedly tell him
that this was exactly what was going on. However, in truth, the
Democrats actually weren't as interested in helping the
Communists as they were in using the votes on aid to the Contras
as a tool to stop and harm Reagan politically.
Thus, supporters for the Contras found other ways to aid them,
and Rush notes that he himself spoke for a Sacramento fund-raiser
for the Contras in 1986. When he arrived at the Community Center
for this dinner, though, he saw the biggest band of protestors he
had ever seen - they included every type of leftist imaginable,
from feminists to militant environmentalists to animal rights
wackos to gay activists. These people didn't care about Nicaragua
at all, but were interested only in using this issue as a way to
present their opposition to Ronald Reagan.
In time, though, the Sandinistas were defeated in a free
election; in essence, the people of Nicaragua kicked them out.
The media and the rest of America's leftists were shocked at this
because they were convinced that Ortega and his Sandinistas were
going to win big; this, after all, is what the polls showed.
However, those polls were being taken by Sandinistas with guns,
so it's not surprising that the polls were distorted.
The American left was excited about these elections, though,
because a Sandinista win would prove they weren't the Communist
oppressors that Reagan claimed they were. However, the
Sandinistas were resoundingly defeated, and this election
validated everything Reagan was trying to do to bring freedom to
that country.
People today forget that the end result in Nicaragua was that the
people themselves defeated the very regime that the United States
Congress did everything it could to prop up. Harry agrees, but
notes that the Sandinistas still have a lot of power; Senator
Jesse Helms tried to stop some aid to Nicaragua because of
Sandinista assassinations and such, but Clinton went ahead and
released the money anyway.
Rush says that Violeta Chamorro, the elected President in
Nicaragua, is having problems trying to end the Sandinistas'
influence. However, all of these things are being forgotten by a
press that insists on remembering only Oliver North and how he
allegedly violated the Boland Amendments.
Rush recalls how Eugene Hackenfuss, who was shot down by the
Sandinistas while supposedly flying a CIA plane to help the
Contras, was released by Christopher Dowd, who was then dating
Bianca Jagger, a Nicaraguan native. This event got a lot of
press, but none of the Sandinistas oppressions.
Rush still remembers how when Reagan's request for $24 million in
aid to the Contras was defeated, Daniel Ortega was so excited
that he went to the Soviet Union to get $200 million of aid. This
embarrassed the Democrats so much that Speaker Tip O'Neill sent
Rep. George Miller (D-CA) down there to slap Ortega's wrist and
to beg him to just sit and wait until Reagan was out of office.
People have forgotten what was going on then, and even at that
time many refused to admit that Communism was what was going on
there. The news media refused to send any cameras down there to
film anything that would reflect badly on the Sandinistas, and
Rush was appalled at the time at how the Congress of the United
States was helping these Communists.
In fact, when Jim Wright was Speaker of the House he actually
started his own foreign policy negotiations with Ortega, which
was in violation of the Constitution. The Democrats were at the
height of their arrogance back then, and Reagan didn't seem to be
responding as strongly as he should. The reason for this is clear
now, though - Reagan, North, and others were working behind the
scene to get rid of the Communists, which is exactly what the
people of Nicaragua wanted.
Yet today when Iran-Contra is mentioned, the only thing that is
remembered is that North lied to Congress and allowed someone to
build him a security fence. Yet the Contras were fighting a
battle against Communism, and Reagan was trying to help them.
However, Tip O'Neill ignored all this and instead told the
mothers of America that Reagan's aid requests were only the first
step to involving U.S. troops. None of this was true, yet O'Neill
was governed by pure partisanship. So the one thing to remember
is that the Democrats and media are mad at North now because he
was the one who stood between them and getting Reagan.
*BREAK*
Phone Mary Beth from Kaukauna, WI
Mary Beth says that the Clintons are scaring people with their
talk about a health care crisis; she thinks this fear-mongering
and use of scare tactics is just ridiculous, and it seems obvious
to her that their purpose is to open the door further onto
socialism. The door is already open a crack, and the Clintons are
trying to open it fully.
During yesterday's show she heard Rush talk about the woman who
had to "choose" between a mortgage payment and an epidural. This
reminded her of how when she was having her second child, she was
working for only $5 an hour. However, she didn't worry about
whether she'd be admitted into a hospital when the time came. She
did have an epidural, but she and her husband paid for it
themselves, but throughout it all they never worried about being
turned away by any hospital.
Rush says that according to the Clintons, the nation's hospitals
are full of "Nurse Ratchets" who would throw pregnant women like
Mary Beth out on the street if they couldn't pay. Mary Beth says
that although she and her husband were broke when they had their
second child, she was still able to file for WIP payments and
other programs. This aid was just sitting there waiting for them
to apply, and in fact they were told that they would have up to
two years to file to get repaid for the $2,000 that they had
spent.
Mary Beth knows full well that neither she nor her children would
be denied health care if they needed it, so she doesn't know what
the woman complaining about having to pay for an epidural was
worried about. If nothing else, the woman could pay $50 a month
for two years.
Mary Beth doesn't want the government to do anything about her
health care insurance because she likes it and it fits her needs.
She and her husband are paying for it, and she wants to
government to stay out of this. Rush thanks Mary Beth for
calling.
*BREAK*
Phone Jim from West Salem, WI
Jim has been reading Rush's books and came to the conclusion that
the country should just get rid of welfare programs and let
business come up with the solutions. In short, privatize the
problem since businesses know how to do things like this
efficiently.
Rush says that today's USA Today quotes Rep. Louis Stokes (D-OH)
of the congressional Black Caucus as saying that the answer to
solving welfare is jobs. This is wrong, however - the way to
solve welfare is just to end it.
*BREAK*
THIRD HOUR
Items
o EIB has updated their Feminazi Trading Cards:
<<Woman>> I'll give you two Gloria Steinems for your Catharine
MacKinnon!
<<Announcer>> Trading cards have always been for males only. It's
just not fair, It's just not right!
<<Woman>> Damn! I spilled nail polish on my Betty Friedan card!
<<Announcer>> Well, EIB is proud to introduce Feminazi Trading
Cards! <<horrible male screams are heard in the background>>
Great to see, to collect, to trade. Feminazi Cards are designed
with the woman in mind! On the front, an action shot of a leading
feminist burning a bra, dominating a TV show, picketing an
all-men's club, protesting Rush Limbaugh, charging into a men's
locker room, denouncing Ronald Reagan! On the back, all the vital
statistics: bustline, waist, hips, documented age, number of
abortions, and where applicable, number of penises severed!
<<even more horrible male scream>>
Each set contains dozens of today's feminazi superstars, plus
outstanding rookies like Barbara Boxer and Lorena Bobbitt. Don't
get left out! Start collecting feminazi trading cards today!
o The February issue of Redbook magazine has named the country's
most sexist judges; one of them is a judge who once asked a male
attorney to take off his jacket while telling a female attorney
she could "take off anything you want." The judge immediately
apologized to the woman after making the comment in his private
chambers.
Other judges making the list include Thomas Bolinger of Maryland
who granted probation to a man convicted raping a drunk woman,
saying that finding an unconscious woman on a bed was a dream of
many men. The judge later took the Clinton defense by claiming he
was misinterpreted.
Also listed in the magazine was Gail Crater of Oklahoma who
released a man from jail after only three months because he
didn't use a gun when he beat his wife to death. Another
individual singled out by Redbook was William Schadler of
Jonestown, PA who dismissed speeding charges against a fashion
model because she said she was being chased by four men; Schadler
said he would have doubted the woman's story if "she'd been an
ugly broad."
o Rush remarks that when he uses "B.S." on his show, he's not
referring to the more common interpretation, but to Barbara
Streisand. Rush started using this term when during the 1992
Presidential campaign Streisand promised that if Bush won
re-election, she'd move to England. Streisand claimed that Bush
would "stifle creative freedom."
Rush at the time pointed out that Streisand really hit it big
during the Reagan and Bush era, so he wondered why she was
getting so hysterical. After all, Streisand directed "Prince of
Tides" and signed her $60 million contract with Sony during the
Reagan/Bush administrations.
Thus, Rush finds it highly ironic that Michael Moriarty has said
he's been forced off the cast of the "Law and Order" TV show
because he dared to publicly disagree with Janet Reno's calls for
the censorship of violence on TV. Thus, while Streisand claimed
that another Bush administration would stifle creativity, in
reality Moriarty, a man who still proudly states that he voted
for Clinton, is being squeezed for real because he opposes the
Clinton administration's stance on censorship. Rush finds this
highly ironic, to say the least.
Meanwhile, Senator Paul Simon, who threatened the networks last
year that they had better do something about violence on TV or he
would, has decided that the networks' decision to form a
"commission" to study the problem on a yearly basis is enough.
This is typical "do-nothing" liberalism - study the problem and
issue a report, without ever doing anything.
Since today's NY Daily News has published the 91 primetime shows
for last week, Rush has decided to examine these shows to see if
he could find the violence. He admits he doesn't know much about
these programs since he rarely watches primetime TV, but he'll go
ahead and make some educated guesses about where the gratuitous
violence is.
He selects "Diagnosis Murder," "Unsolved Mysteries," "Homicide:
Life on the Street," "Monty," "Tales from the Crypt,"
"M.A.N.T.I.S.", "Law and Order," "Murder She Wrote," and "Dirty
Scoundrels" probably all had too much violence in them. Rush
quickly admits, though, that he put "Monty" in there just as a
joke. His point, however, is that these shows have far less
violence in them then the real-life streets do. As usual, though,
the liberals are concerned only about the fake violence, not the
real stuff.
*BREAK*
Phone Armand from Kelseyville, CA
Armand isn't sure whether Tonya Harding is guilty or not, but
since the evidence doesn't indicate she's guilty, he thinks she
should be allowed to skate at the Olympics. Rush asks about
Harding's admission that she lied about knowing about the attack
after the fact, and Armand says that Tonya's background and
upbringing indicates she's had a "troubled life." She's also
worked very hard throughout her life, so he thinks that the fact
she lied about knowing about the attacks after the fact was just
a result of the stress she was facing, given that everything
she'd spent her life working for was about to go down the tubes.
Armand therefore thinks it's too early for Harding to be
condemned, especially on the word of some dubious character like
her ex-husband. He adds that the media is just attacking someone
who's got a lot to lose.
Rush agrees that the media loves to tear down people on
pedestals, and he doesn't like how ever since the Rodney King
trial, people have been getting tried in the press. Rush, though,
still doesn't see how Harding could still perform, given all
that's happened.
For example, if Rush were engaged in some kind of "talk-off" with
Larry King, Phil Donahue, Sally Jesse Raphael, etc. he'd be
devastated to learn that Bo Snerdley, Mike Maimone, and H.R.
"Kit" Carson poisoned the vocal cords of his top competitor.
These people work for him, so he'd be appalled about this, even
if he had nothing to do with it. He doesn't know how he could
proceed under those circumstances, so he would leave the
competition and then make sure that Snerdley, Maimone, and Carson
"were sent up for the rest of the lives" for ruining his career.
Armand says that if Harding quit now, she'd be giving up her
entire life's ambition, so he has no problems with giving her a
fair shake and insisting that her involvement be proven without a
doubt. Rush can see this, but wonders if Armand questions
Harding's principles in continuing with her Olympic endeavors,
after those close to her tried to wipe out her major competitor.
Rush doubts that many people in Harding's position could skate or
look Kerrigan in the eye. Armand says this might be the case, but
Harding should still be given her chance until hard proof comes
along. Rush says that to him the fact that Harding wants to skate
means something.
Armand also wants to talk about the folly of wanting to raise the
minimum wage. The requirements, especially in California, to
employ people have eliminated many entry-level jobs, and raising
the minimum wage would only accelerate this trend. He recalls how
he was able to mow lawns when he was a kid, but the liability
issues alone have made this impossible today.
Now young people have nothing to do but sit around and vegetate.
Rush agrees, and to make matters worse, these people are made to
think that America is an unfair and racist place. The minimum
wage has done more to harm employment than help anyone or
anything.
Rush thanks Armand for calling and promises that the "voice of
the peoples" will have more to say about Tonya Harding after the
break.
*BREAK*
Phone Bill from Union City, CA
Bill agrees with Rush on most things, but not about Tonya Harding
because he thinks words mean things, especially when they are the
constitutional precept that one is innocent until proven guilty.
He asks if someone should get fired at their factory job if their
scumbag husband says something bad; this is guilt by association,
and Harding shouldn't be condemned for what others have done.
Rush sees Bill's point, and Bill says that it's up for
conservatives to really support the Constitution's principles. He
doesn't think the U.S. will be shamed by Harding appearing in the
Olympics, and if she is guilty, any medals she gets can be taken
away. She's worked all her life for this moment, and this is her
chance; she won't get another one, even if she waits for another
four years.
Rush says that Bill makes an unassailable point about this, and
Rush notes he has been focusing more on what is in Harding's head
than on the legal aspects of her case. He doesn't know what is in
Harding's head, but he does know what should be in there.
He asks Bill would he thinks should be done if Harding is
indicted, but not convicted. Bill says that the principle of
innocent until proven guilty still has to take precedent,
especially since taking away her chance to compete this year can
never be restored. Rush says this is a good point and he thanks
Bill for calling.
Phone Pat from Talbot County, MD
Pat says he is a policeman in Oxford, MD, and he saw the new TV
show Monty. He was angered by how the show portrayed Rush like a
buffoon, and it was definitely not true to life. Rush says that
the Monty character is symptomatic of how the left always resorts
to cliches and caricatures when they try to portray him, and
according to the ratings, Monty was number 85 out of 91 last
week.
The ironic thing is that had the producers of Monty done a show
based on the real Rush, they could have very well ended up with a
top 20 show. Instead, they have done a parody, with the result
being that they're at the bottom of the heap.
Pat saw Henry Winkler doing an interview, and it was funny how
Winkler had to go out of his way to affirm to the nation that he
was still a liberal. Rush says that on Arsenio, Winkler also made
a big deal about his liberalism, as if he were afraid that his
portrayal of a cliched conservative would be viewed unfavorably
by his liberal colleagues and friends.
Rush, though, tells Pat not to worry about Monty because even if
it were going to stay around, its attacks on him would be "no
problemo."
Phone Pat from Napa, CA
Pat says she'd like Rush to explain "off-budget" to her. Rush
says that the Clinton administration wants its health care plan
to be off-budget so that it won't be reflected in the official
budget and deficit figures. This way the administration can hide
the true costs of the program.
Pat doesn't think is right, and Rush agrees, but this is typical
Clinton. People could still find out what health care is costing,
but the fact that it's off-budget means Clinton will be able to
claim that it's having no effect on the federal deficit, which of
course will be totally untrue.
Rush, though, still thinks this "off-budget" idea is great
because his audience can use it when purchasing items such as
their subscriptions to the Limbaugh Letter. Subscribers can
charge the newsletter to their credit cards and then not bother
to pay their credit card bills. The credit card company, though,
will pay EIB so everything will be A-OK.
Rush knows this doesn't make sense, and this is his point - the
whole idea of having things "off-budget" is so that politicians
can spend money without the country thinking that they are
spending money.
*BREAK*
Phone Ann from Nokomis, FL
Ann feels the same way about Tonya Harding as Rush, especially
since she has not displayed any kind of remorse or apologetic
attitude. Rush says that she did say she felt bad about it, but
Ann didn't hear this. Instead, Harding seems very cold and
concerned only about her career.
If Ann were involved in this, she'd be doing whatever she could
to apologize to Kerrigan and make sure that everyone knew she had
nothing to do with the attack. Rush admits, though, that if he
were Kerrigan and saw Harding coming his way for any reason, even
an apology, he'd head for the hills. Ann agrees, but an apology
seems like basic sports etiquette to her.
Rush hates to say it, but there isn't much sports etiquette in
professional sports. Some football coaches even get incredibly
irate if one of their players tackles the opposing team's
quarterback and then helps him up to his feet. Not all coaches
would get angry about this, of course, but there are those who
would fine a player for doing this because they don't want their
guys helping out the opposition in any way, shape, or form.
The American public, of course, loves sportsmanship, but it has
virtually disappeared from most college and professional sports.
This has nothing to do with playing by the rules, but rather with
the idea that you don't want to make things any easier for your
opponents.
Thus, in this sense, Harding is simply exhibiting the
tough-as-nails characteristics of male athletes, which to some
people seems inappropriate for a sport like figure skating. "This
is one tough woman here, folks," Rush notes.
Besides, even if Harding had said she was sorry, would this
excuse her part in the attack against Kerrigan, assuming she did
play a part? Jeffrey Dahmer said he was sorry for his crimes, as
did the Menendez brothers, but should this mean anything? Ann
agrees this doesn't mean much, but she still would have liked to
see Harding at least make some apology to Kerrigan.
Rush agrees and then digresses to admit he still can't believe
that some women would find the Menendez brothers not guilty, when
one of them admitted he went outside, reloaded, and came back in
to shot his mother again. He thanks Ann for calling.
*BREAK*
Phone Verna from Newton, ID
Verna had dinner with some liberal friends over the holidays, and
when she mentioned how much she loved Rush, they fell all over
themselves in coming up with nasty adjectives to describe him.
Verna suggested they listen to Rush with a more open mind, and
one of the women there admitted she had never heard Rush for
herself.
Verna asked how these women could say all these nasty things
about Rush if they hadn't heard him for themselves, but they
insisted that they knew what Rush was all about. Rush asks how
old these women are, and Verna says they are in their 20s to
their 40s, and Verna was the only conservative in the group.
Verna says that the women said that Rush was arrogant and
obnoxious, so Rush asks if these women laugh much. Verna says
that they don't have much of a sense of humor, and they reminded
her of how the other women in her community chorus were outraged
when she dared to call some women in their late teens `girls.'
They insisted these females be called "women," but Verna, who is
31, said these eighteen and nineteen-year-olds were still girls
to her and that they would have to mature a bit more before
becoming women.
Verna therefore was surprised to learn how politically incorrect
it is to call women "girls." Rush says he's learned this from
some harsh personal experience, but he would like to talk more
about this at some point because to him, "girls" is an endearing
and respectful term. He thanks Verna for calling.
--
John Switzer | "You don't know what a woman feels inside,
| a woman needs love after the loving's over."
Internet: j...@netcom.com | -- Thelma Houston, "What a Woman Feels Inside"
CompuServe: 74076,1250 | (if only John W. Bobbitt had listened to Thelma)