1 Boring Old Man

I was impressed with how the Players and the NFL Commissioner handled themselves in objecting to Rush Limbaugh’s ownership of an NFL team. This sampling from yesterday’s Limbaugh web site, on the other hand, isn’t very restrained. His detractors, it seems, aren’t after him for his daily racist comments about President Obama. They just delight in discrediting Conservatism. His list of articles maligning his critics, two black men and a hispanic, are simply getting out the truth, not retaliation. And what’s the big deal anyway, his comparing NFL Players to notorious street gangs wasn’t a racial slur, it was his way of respecting the game of football – some Limbaugh Love. We appreciate those clarifications.

• Michael J. Fox: On the October 23, 2006 edition of his radio show, Limbaugh imitated on the "DittoCam" [the webcam for website subscribers to see him on the air] the physical symptoms of actor Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson’s disease. He said "[Fox] is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He’s moving all around and shaking and it’s purely an act … This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn’t take his medication or he’s acting."
• Phoney Soldiers: During the September 26, 2007 broadcast of Limbaugh’s radio show, he used the term "phony soldiers", referring to a September 21 Associated Press story about individuals falsely claiming to be veterans in order to receive benefits. A caller, saying he was currently serving in the Army and has been in 14 years, said, "They never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and spout to the media." Limbaugh interrupted, "The phony soldiers." The caller continued, "The phony soldiers. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve. They want to be over in Iraq. They understand their sacrifice, and they’re willing to sacrifice for their country." Several minutes later, after the caller had hung up, Limbaugh read from the AP story describing the story of Jesse Macbeth. Macbeth joined the Army but did not complete basic training, yet claimed in alternative media interviews that he and his unit routinely committed war crimes in Iraq. On June 7, 2007, Macbeth pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and was sentenced to five months in jail and three years probation. Media Matters noted Limbaugh’s use of the term "phony soldiers" in an article on their website. The article suggested that Limbaugh was saying that all soldiers who disagree with the Iraq War were "phony soldiers", and their article received substantial press coverage after it was discussed in speeches by Presidential candidates John Edwards and Chris Dodd. Limbaugh said that, when he had made the comment about "phony soldiers", he had been speaking only of Macbeth and others like him who claim to be soldiers and are not, and that "Media Matters takes things out of context all the time".
• Operation Chaos: In an attempt to undermine the Democratic campaigns, Limbaugh encouraged his listeners to vote for whoever was behind in the vote, an effort dubbed "Operation Chaos". In Ohio, Limbaugh encouraged his listeners to register as Democrats and vote for Hillary Clinton. In Ohio, voters changing their registration must attest that they support the principles of the party to which they switch. About 16,000 Ohio Republicans switched parties for the election. The Ohio Attorney General’s office stated that it would be hard to prove any voter’s fraudulent intent. Limbaugh said that there is nothing wrong with Republicans voting in Democratic primaries, as Democrats were able to vote for John McCain in Vermont, New Hampshire, Florida, and other states. "This is getting absurd. If it weren’t for independents and Democrats crossing over, Senator McCain would not be our nominee!" Limbaugh has said that "The dream end of [Operation Chaos] is that this keeps up to the Convention, and that we have a recreation of Chicago 1968 with burning cars, protests, fire, and literal riots and all of that, that is the objective here."
• Magic Negro: On March 19, 2007 Limbaugh referred to a Los Angeles Times editorial by David Ehrenstein which claimed that Barack Obama was filling the role of the "magic negro", and that this explained his appeal to voters. Limbaugh then later played a song by Paul Shanklin, "Barack the Magic Negro," sung to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon".
• Club Gitmo: And then there was this tasteful tee shirt playfully supporting water-boarding: