Rush Limbaugh is Out of Calgon, Gas, Humor, Decent Society, OxyContin, You Name It

There was, arguably, a time when Rush Limbaugh was funny. Then there was a time when he was a bag man for the GOP. Then he was a drug addict. And now, this.

Filling hour after hour of radio must drive a man nuts, that's for sure. And that's where David Bowie was 20-plus years ago, Rush will follow:

Tim Cavanaugh on the enduring appeal of all things Asia in rawk-n-roll.

Comments

[heller]

Nick, when David Bowie is racist, it’s cool. So it’s OK.

[Barry D]

Not sure what the big deal is.

Rush was making a point that Fox didn’t provide a translation of what the head Chinese despot was saying in a speech delivered to Americans. Most Americans of all ethnicities and origins don’t understand whatever Chinese dialect said despot was speaking. Therefore, it sounds like “blah blah” to us.

He took too long to make his point, but there’s nothing evil about that.

[Barry D]

BTW piling on Rush Limbaugh, along with Media Matters, for no real reason, is not somehow superior to taking all of one’s marching orders from Rush Limbaugh.

I thought Reason was about, well, reason…

[Cecil]

DRINK!

[bigbigslacker]

WTF, most of us are still at work!

[Marshall Gill]

Even Libertarians have to follow some rules. It isn’t like you want to drink at work, you have to follow the rules!

Mmmm, whiskey.

[Barry D]

Real whisky has no E.

[J.E.C.]

But delicious bourbon whiskey DOES have an ‘e.’

[Barry D]

So does “turpentine”. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

[fresno dan]

” It isn’t like you want to drink at work”
Be serious – who doesn’t drink at work??? How in hell else can anybody get through the day?
Now, I have to get back to my brain surgery. Funny thing is, the brain is the most durable organ in the body. People only come out of brain surgery unable to walk or speak because we brain surgeons love to “mind f*ck”

[Sean]

Clearly, the offensive part was at the very beginning when he stated “we’re gonna gyp Fox for not providing a translation”. This term originates from the idea that gypsies are untrustworthy and rip people off, or “gyp” them, and is clearly deeply offensive to people of Romani descent.

[henry]

The truth is offensive? Damn….

[FatherBrain]

Rush is not saying “gyp”; he is saying “JIP”, which is a broadcasting acronym for “Join in Progress”.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Rush was making a point that Fox didn’t provide a translation of what the head Chinese despot was saying in a speech delivered to Americans. Most Americans of all ethnicities and origins don’t understand whatever Chinese dialect said despot was speaking. Therefore, it sounds like “blah blah” to us.

Because “blah, blah” is exactly what Limbaugh said, you mendacious, prevaricating little shit?

[Barry D]

I didn’t bother quoting exactly what he said. Why would I?

What exactly did he say that bothers you so much? Do you suspect that anyone in China has taken offense (unless, of course, they’ve been instructed to take offense)?

[Heroic Mulatto]

What exactly did he say that bothers you so much?

Wow. You really are that ignorant (in both the sense of lacking knowledge and sophistication).

Allow me to contextualize this in a cultural frame of reference that might be more familiar to you:

Chinese radio pundit Li Feng complains that CCTV didn’t provide translation for President Obama: “All I heard, folks was ‘I gots to get me some wattamelons! Feets don’ fail me now!'”

If you need further clarification, I suggest you sign up for one of my courses in Intercultural Pragmatics. I have no desire to educate you for free.

Good day to you.

[Tim]

The Libertarian way is to start shooting at each other. I heard it from media matters.

[Matty Welsh]

The real Libertarian way is to start teabagging each other. I heard it from Rand Paul.

[Alex]

Actually, no, your example is not the same thing.

Limbaugh was emulating how the speaker sounded, without providing any meaning to the words, b/c Limbaugh was merely spouting gibberish.

Your made up statements by the chinese radio pundit have clear meaning, and are not simply replicating the sounds Obama makes, but are trying to attach meaning to them.

For Limbaugh to be comparable to your example, Limbaugh would have not simply used sounds, but he would have said “all he heard was bad driving this, and rice loving this” etc. etc.

So no, your example is not correct.

[Barry D]

Uh, perhaps my lack of Chinese fluency is a problem, then.

Rush didn’t ACTUALLY say anything in Chinese, did he?

Unless he did, your post is complete bullshit (which is to say, utterly invalid, in case you don’t use words like “bullshit” because you wouldn’t want to be seen as “ignorant”).

[KPres]

Chinese radio pundit Li Feng complains that CCTV didn’t provide translation for President Obama: “All I heard, folks was ‘I gots to get me some wattamelons! Feets don’ fail me now!'”

HA!

[KPres]

Now THAT was funny!

[Barry D]

But Obama has no connection whatever to Southern American culture, black, white or indifferent.

If the Chinese had a soundtrack of

We-de-de-de, de-de-de-de-de-de, we-um-um-a-way
We-de-de-de, de-de-de-de-de-de, we-um-um-a-way

A wimoweh, a-wimoweh a-wimoweh, a-wimoweh
A wimoweh, a-wimoweh a-wimoweh, a-wimoweh
A wimoweh, a-wimoweh a-wimoweh, a-wimoweh
A wimoweh, a-wimoweh a-wimoweh, a-wimoweh

being sung by an obviously-drunk Irishman plucking a ukulele, then we’d have something.

[NAL]

You’re just offended because you hate Limbaugh. If you’d heard a comedian say what he said on a stage somewhere, you’d have laughed and forgotten all about it.

I will agree that his little bit wasn’t funny, but offensive? Please…

[Barry D]

Yeah, the reason I generally avoid talk radio is because it grates, not because it’s “offensive”.

[Kicks to Try]

All talk radio: “Outrage outrage outrage, sanctimony sanctimony sanctimony. Also, buy some gold.”

[Kicks to Try]

Sid Caesar used to do this kind of routine, but for French I believe. It was funny when he did it, but he did it a lot better.

[Xenocles]

To the degree that it was offensive, he arguably made up for it with the headline on this bit.

[Warty]

China Girl has one of the better basslines I can think of.

[Barry D]

Rio, Freewill, Dazed and Confused, Sunshine of Your Love, Super Freak…

[Warty]

All good, but they lack the funkiness of this one. You lose; good day sir.

[Barry D]

Super Freak lacks funkiness?

Uh, yeah… David Bowie was (very) white and quite the unfunky one. It was like he was the only one who didn’t know…

[Pointless]

Bass wars!

[BakedPenguin]

I have to disagree with both of you. I’d have picked “Girls on Film” for Duran Duran, “Ramble On” for Zeppelin, “White Room” for Cream. I agree with the Rick James choice.

For funk bass, there’s APB’s Shoot You Down, and Radio 4’s Dance to the Underground. Not to mention Bootsy Collins / Funkadelic or Rocco Prestia / Tower of Power…

[Barry D]

Oh hell, I was just rattling off a few things that came to mind. You won’t get any disagreement from me.

Bowie’s ’80s stuff blows.

[Ben]

Massive thumbs-up for APB. That’s a killer bassline.

[Sean]

No love for Anti Cosmic Overload or The Space For This? Cynic’s bassist’s stage presence forcefully ejected my brains from my skull sometime last year.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Not to mention the dear, departed Stevie Ray Vaughan on lead gee-tarr…

[Barry D]

SRV was great. Not a bass player, though, or at least he wasn’t known for it.

ZZ Top has some great bass lines, in early stuff, especially, if you’re looking at Texas blues rock.

[Nipplemancer]

Peace Sells!

[stu]

If Reason is going to join the Demos of Media Matters, well, I guess I’ll have to search for a libertarian website. It’s a shame, because Reason used to be libertarian and worth reading.

[Barry D]

But Rush Limbaugh is a big nasty bogey man.

We All Know This To Be True.

[shrike]

Rush (King of the Rednecks – praise be unto him) Limbaugh is a full-time liar and nothing close to a libertarian.

Soros is 1000x more for liberty and capitalism than Pig-Boy (and he doesn’t molest little Dominican boys on Oxy/Viagra vacations either).

[Barry D]

Who said anything about Soros?

More intriguing, how do YOU know what nationality of boys he prefers to molest?

[shrike]

Been to La Romana at Casa de Campo the same time PigBoy was there when my DR host told me about his Oxy parties.

Let the pervert sue me – I welcome the attention on the subject.

[Barry D]

I meant how do you know what nationality of boys that Soros likes to molest, since you apparently know that they’re not Dominican.

[KPres]

Rush (King of the Rednecks – praise be unto him) Limbaugh is a full-time liar and nothing close to a libertarian.

Maybe. But I’ve never seen people get all worked up because of something statist that he said. Instead, you cream-puffs get your panties all in a twist because he (gasp! for shame!) makes fun of Chinese people.

[Barry D]

Aye. There’s the rub.

[shrike]

Apparently you’ve never read any of my posts. I don’t give a fuck about the chinks or any other racial identity.

I only care about Liberty, Money, Science, and Secularism (not in that order).

[shrike]

oh, and Soros is 4 for 4 there while Limpy is 1 for 4.

[heller]

I only care about Liberty…

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

oh, and Soros is 4 for 4…

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[KPres]

“I only care about Money, Science, and Secularism (not in that order).”

Fixed it for you.

[KPres]

“I only care about Money, Science, and Secularism (not in that order).”

Fixed it for you.

[KPres]

“Soros is 1000x more for liberty and capitalism than Pig-Boy (and he doesn’t molest little Dominican boys on Oxy/Viagra vacations either).”

And the last time Reason did a bit on Soros, most Reasoners (including myself) defended him against the Glenn Beck witch trials, because even though I can’t stand George Soros, the man has the right to spend his money however he wants.

[shrike]

I’ve been on many Soros threads here and while the Reason staff respects his Libertarianism the Fox News brainwashed posters do not (for the most part).

When he stepped out of the private world to campaign against creeping Bush fascism it turned the idiots against him.

Fascism is bad – creeping or full blown.

[Bored]

Please, like Soros knows anything at all about fascism…

[heller]

…Soros…Libertarian…

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[shrike]

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA

you stupid redneck.

[Heroic Mulatto]

So, wait… libertarianism is being ignorant and making fun of how foreigners talk?

Thanks for the tip!

[Barry D]

It’s neither libertarian, nor not, to have a sense of humor.

But misusing the word “ignorant” is, well, a sign of ignorance — but only ignorance of what “ignorant” means.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Oh, this is rich!

Please enlighten the reason community on how I misused “ignorant”. Perhaps you could post a link to one of the academic journals that have published your research on Chinese linguistics, perhaps?

[Barry D]

I don’t give a shit about Chinese linguistics, and I don’t have to, in order to read a dictionary of American English.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Nice way to avoid answering my question on how I “misused” the word “ignorant.” I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you did understand that I questioned your knowledge of Chinese, hence, you, like Mr. Dittohead, are ignorant of how Chinese actually sounds.

[Barry D]

Fine, I’ll waste my time.

How could he possibly be ignorant of how it sounds to him?

You’re right. I didn’t infer that you questioned my knowledge of Chines. Why should I know Chinese? Why shouldn’t I? And why would you question it, other than to try to make yourself sound impressive?

The original context suggests that your criticism was that Rush was “unsophisticated”, which is the only definition of the word that makes sense in context. But being unsophisticated is far from a horrible thing, in the grand scheme of things, and your context implies that you believe it is.

That would probably make you a pretentious ass.

[KPres]

No, Libertarians have enough of a god-damned brain to get that making fun of the way somebody talks is harmless.

[Barry D]

Except in prison.

[joshua corning]

If Reason is going to join the Demos of Media Matters, well, I guess I’ll have to search for a libertarian website.

I want to drink to this but don’t know if it allowed…

Can i have a line judge call it for me?

[hmm]

Grats on falling for his ploy. They already had a real up and ready of a famous comedian, doing the same thing with Japanese. I’d bet this was done for no other reason than to get headlines, and you just gave him one…

[Tony]

Rush Limbaugh is a racist demagogue, news at 11.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Tony is a fucking retard, news at 10:00.

[KPres]

Tony’s fuck a retard? Step up from the goats he used to fuck, I guess.

[Cecil]

Well, Tony has yet to provide any proof that he doesn’t still fuck goats.

[Barry D]

He didn’t even deny it. When others fucked goats, where was Tony disavowing said fucking? I didn’t hear it.

That silence speaks volumes, doesn’t it?

[KPres]

Yeah, I should have been more clear.

I’m not saying Tony directly caused the goat-fucking, but when all you do is talk about goat-farms and goat-milk, it creates an atmosphere where some goat-fucking is bound to happen.

[fresno dan]

His friend says he was not into any of that goat stuff. Just spent all his time with sheep – not that there is anything wrong with that… Had a gallon a day woollite habit. Scuttlebutt was that that he preferred ewes…

[Tony]

Oh yeah it’s such a ridiculous slander to call Rush a racist. There’s absolutely no evidence for it at all!

Eh he’s probably not that much of a racist, but the retards who listen to him are. That just makes him evil.

[Barry D]

Well, you haven’t presented any evidence. So other than, as I posted above, “What We All Know To Be True”, let’s have it…

[KPres]

This is about you fucking goats. Don’t change the subject.

[NAL]

You guys call everyone a racist, so it’s lost all the original meaning. Anyone can be called a racist, if the words “is a racist” means “disagrees with Obama” or “isn’t as liberal as I am” to you.

BTW, if you’re referring to Limbaugh’s McNab incident where he said (paraphrasing) “McNab is getting so much attention because the media wants to see a black quarterback do well”, that’s not a racist statement. It’s a racial statement, and probably should not have been said, but it was not racist.

[Barry D]

“You guys” referring to goat-fuckers in general?

That’s really an unfair blanket condemnation of goat-fuckers.

[orogeny]

So, basically saying “The only reason that guy is a success is because he is black.” is not racist??? And I suppose saying that “the only reason that woman is successful is because she has big hooters” is not sexist? Jeeze, NAL, think about what you’re writing.

[orogeny]

BTW, While I think the McNabb remark was racist, I’m not convinced that the Chinese stuff was. Ignorant, juvenile, and insensitive, yes. But that’s what he needs to be to keep his audience entertained.

[Tony, translated]

I can’t provide even one shred of any actual racism on the part of Limbaugh, but I’ll go to my grave calling him a racist.

[BeerHere]

Speaking of lame-ass Chinese jokes, I heard as part of cultural outreach that Obama is hosting a softball game between the White House staffers and the Chinese delgation. Obama is coaching the Reds and Biden is coaching the staffers. This transcript leaked of Biden trying to get some intel from Obama on the reds:

Biden: Well then who’s on first?

Obama: Yes.

Biden: I mean the fellow’s name.

Obama: Hu.

Biden: The guy on first.

Obama: Hu.

Biden: The first baseman.

Obama: Hu.

Biden: The guy playing…

Obama: Hu is on first!

Biden: I’m asking YOU who’s on first.

Obama: That’s the man’s name.

Biden: That’s who’s name?

Obama: Yes.

Biden: Well go ahead and tell me.

Obama: That’s it.

Biden: That’s who?

Obama: Yes.

PAUSE

Biden: Look, you gotta first baseman?

Obama: Certainly.

Biden: Who’s playing first?

Obama: That’s right.

Biden: When you pay off the first baseman every month, who gets the money?

Obama: Every dollar of it.

Biden: All I’m trying to find out is the fellow’s name on first base.

Obama: Hu.

Biden: The guy that gets…

Obama: That’s it.

Biden: Who gets the money…

Obama: He does, every dollar. Sometimes his wife comes down and collects it.

Biden: Who’s wife?

Obama: Yes.

PAUSE

Obama: What’s wrong with that?

Biden: Look, all I wanna know is when you sign up the first baseman, how does he sign his name?

Obama: Hu.

Biden: The guy.

Obama: Hu.

Biden: How does he sign…

Obama: That’s how he signs it.

Biden: Who?

Obama: Yes.

PAUSE

Biden: All I’m trying to find out is what’s the guy’s name on first base.

Obama: No. What is on second base.

Biden: I’m not asking you who’s on second.

Obama: Hu’s on first.

Biden: One base at a time!

Obama: Well, don’t change the players around.

Biden: I’m not changing nobody!

Obama: Take it easy, buddy.

Biden: I’m only asking you, who’s the guy on first base?

Obama: That’s right.

Biden: Ok.

Obama: All right.

PAUSE

Biden: What’s the guy’s name on first base?

Obama: No. What is on second.

Biden: I’m not asking you who’s on second.

Obama: Hu’s on first.

Biden: I don’t know.

Obama: He’s on third, we’re not talking about him.

Biden: Now how did I get on third base?

Obama: Why you mentioned his name.

Biden: If I mentioned the third baseman’s name, who did I say is playing third?

Obama: No. Hu’s playing first.

Biden: What’s on first?

Obama: What’s on second.

Biden: I don’t know.

Obama: He’s on third.

Biden: There I go, back on third again!

[KPres]

RAAACIIIIISSSSSTTTTT!@!!!!

[Clich? Bandit]

I swear I have read Abbot and Costello’s routine almost a bajillion times and it is funny every damn time.

[West Coaster]

My youngest son and I took the whole routine in when the family visited the Baseball Hall of Fame. He still talks about it to this day.

[Tim]

Reason teams up with chardonay sipping Volvo drivers at Media Matters to bash Rush Limbaugh. Yes that is news.
Since when is mocking dictators bad?

[KPres]

When it means you’ve become a sniveling, spineless PC maggot.

If they’d have called him a fat-ass I wouldn’t have a problem with it.

[Rhayader]

How much bashing is going on here? Making fun of Limbaugh for an awkward, unfunny, too-long joke isn’t exactly taking a bold political stand. If it’s okay to laugh with Rush, it’s okay to laugh at him too.

[Tim]

Sure, on one side here is a guy that the market has made a millionaire out of , while on the other side is a despot who has actually had people murdered.
Reason says Rush, by all means, should be more polite to Count Dracula.

[Rhayader]

Where does it say that above? Where does Gillespie give any indication that a Chinese dictator deserves any specific level of respect or decorum?

I like that you characterized this post as a ruling on some Rush v Hu throwdown that never happened. But seriously, sometimes it’s okay to poke fun at stupidity without trying to make a major point.

[Tim]

As I see it, Rush is mocking Hu personally by portraying him as a ranting moron.
He’s not mocking Chinese people.
Media Matters is leveling the oft used and ever popular RACIST charge- I expect that from them.
I don’t expect it from Reason.

[Rhayader]

I don’t expect it from Reason.

Again, I don’t see it coming from Reason, here or anywhere else. Read Gillespie’s tone above, starting with the headline. This isn’t exactly a serious attempt at finally exposing Rush’s racism once and for all.

[Tim]

You’re right this is getting too ridiculous.

[Rock Action]

She makes fun of his pig nose, he makes fun of her eyes! It’s like, tit for tat and all that. Nothing to see here.

By the way, I’m hard-pressed not to be convinced that there’s not some sort of lyrical re-write w/r/t to gender, age, payment, country of origin, and meeting place that took place here.

Oh, Bowie, you’re so clever.

[Tim]

Television? Man O’ Wars to rule the world? Sounds like Bowie was onto soemthing.

[JFC]

Colbert did the exact same shit (arguably more offensively too) and the country laughed and had a good time.

[Tim]

Peter Sellers, Monty Python, Benny Hill, monsters all.

[Barry D]

It’s different when you’re British.

[Skip]

But you see, Colbert is being ironic, so that makes it ok to the lefties.

[Tim]

Nobody link to ” It’s No Fun Being an Illegal Alien” by Genesis.

[Barry D]

To say nothing of Tim Minchin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ9_Jba_PcY

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Interesting to see who comes forward to defend poor widdwe Rushbo.

I do sometimes listen to the guy – I sometimes agree with some of what he says, but too often, he represents what is ugly about the right wing.

I don’t see what’s so funny about making fun of how somebody talks just because you don’t understand the language he’s speaking. My friends and I used to do that fake Chinese talking like that when we were about 12.

I don’t find it “offensive” (it takeas a hell of a lot more than that), just stupid.

And I don’t see this as Rush bashing – although there are other, better things to call him to task for.

I still find him less objectionable than, say, Bill Maher.

[Tim]

Put it into context that all of Washington is kissing Chinese arse this week and Limbaugh at least has some balls to mock the bloody bastard.

[henry]

Mocking him substantively would be superb–and there are ample grounds to do so. Childishness–not so good.

[Barry D]

You’ve never seen or heard any British humor whatsoever, have you?

That doesn’t mean Rush can compete with the Python troupe, or is trying, here, but the idea that political humor can’t be childish and effective is just plain wrong.

[Tim]

Ever seen Moe Howard’s Hitler impression? Hilarious.

[Barry D]

I suppose Media Matters would have a problem with that. And Charlie Chaplin’s, as well.

[Jon H]

“Put it into context that all of Washington is kissing Chinese arse this week and Limbaugh at least has some balls to mock the bloody bastard.”

He’s not mocking Hu, because he’s not mocking anything specific that Hu said. He’s engaging in generic anti-Asian mockery, “Chinese people talk funny”.

[henry]

I bet Rush loved Mickey Rooney in Breakfast At Tiffany’s though!

[KPres]

“I don’t find it “offensive” (it takeas a hell of a lot more than that), just stupid.”

Yeah, but Nick is saying its offensive. Stupid, as in unfunny, doesn’t make the news.

[Rhayader]

Where does Nick say it’s offensive?

[KPres]

Well, maybe I just assumed, but the whole “decent society”, plus the fact he picked it up from Media Matters, who were calling it racist, kinda led me to that.

[Barry D]

I’m with KPres. By bothering to post this, Nick was clearly implying that something more than “talk show host who has yapped for hours every day for years, says something unfunny before going to commercial”. That’s not exactly news.

[Barry D]

I’m with KPres. By bothering to post this, Nick was clearly implying that something more than “talk show host who has yapped for hours every day for years, says something unfunny before going to commercial”. That’s not exactly news.

[Rhayader]

You could say that again. Hey-o!

Seriously though, are we giving that much weight to a post this short? I mean, a link to a Bowie song is the most time-consuming part of this whole experience. It’s not “news”, it’s “hey look at this idiot be an idiot for two seconds.”

[Barry D]

Bowie wasn’t an idiot in the 1980s. He was quite clever, and made a lot of money. A poseur, sure, but not an idiot.

Oh, you mean Rush Limbaugh? Same thing applies, I think…

[Rhayader]

And I don’t see this as Rush bashing

Exactly — it’s like a 5 sentence long joke-about-a-joke. Sheesh. It’s not like we just finished reading some screed about how Limbaugh oppresses every true American. Lighten up, Rush fanboys.

[KPres]

“I don’t find it “offensive” (it takeas a hell of a lot more than that), just stupid.”

Yeah, but Nick is saying its offensive. Stupid, as in unfunny, doesn’t make the news.

[Ragin Cajun]

Aha! Sounds like Rush did some voice-over work for Team America: World Police.

[Fatty Bolger]

lols

[Knothead]

I hope Media Matters gave you the reach around at least.

[Fatty Bolger]

Meh.

I laugh when foreign comedians make fun of how Americans talk. Should I be outraged and insulted instead?

[Tim]

“You Nazty Spy! satirized the Nazis and the Third Reich and helped publicize the Nazi threat in a period when the United States was still neutral about World War II, and isolationist sentiment was prevalent among the public. During this period, isolationist senators such as Burton Wheeler and Gerald Nye objected to Hollywood films on grounds that they were anti-Nazi propaganda vehicles designed to mobilize the American public for war. According to the Internet Movie Database, You Nazty Spy! was the first Hollywood film to spoof Hitler. It was released nine months before the more famous Charlie Chaplin film The Great Dictator, which was then in production. Heavy publicity in Hollywood about Chaplin’s planned film began to circulate in mid-1939, and may have helped serve as inspiration for the film. Much like the case of Chaplin, Moe Howard’s physical resemblance to Hitler (when in makeup) was probably a key source of inspiration.

The Hays code discouraged or prohibited many types of political and satirical messages in films, requiring that the history and prominent people of other countries must be portrayed “fairly”; but short subjects may have been subject to less attention than feature films.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Nazty_Spy!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Meh, if Hu Jintao didn’t want made fun of, he should have suppressed his people’s basic human rights and bought up all our debt in English.

[Tim]

+1

[Barry D]

In other news, when we got our little cup of soup before the sushi came out, I leaned over to my wife and sang “Ooh, miso horny! Ooh miso horny!”

Does it make me a racist? Why? Because I’m white and I sang a 2 Live Crew song?

What sort of penance do I owe the PC gods?

[Apostate Jew]

Dear, lord! How can anyone defend the fat man in this case?

It’s depressing how many people are completely freaked out by the prospect of the inevitable eclipse of American power by that of the Chinese.

There is nothing to be done about it (barring a war of annihilation) so we ought to behave in a more dignified manner than the previous powers did when they were eclipsed by us. Of course, we won’t but it would be better if we did.

[Barry D]

You have to admit, the Chinese system of government is even scarier than our own. That freaks some people out.

I mean, not to go Godwin here, but my family actually did live in Europe when Germany “inevitably eclipsed” the power of their own government in the 1930s. They were a bit freaked out, especially those with some Jewish blood. Were they wrong?

Welcome the new overlords, yada yada?

[KPres]

I had the misfortune of watching Glenn Beck weep about it the other day. He had Jim Rogers on (the only reason I watched), and while Beck was literally almost in tears, Rogers was like “Screw that, I moved my family to Singapore to get in on it!” That’s why I love Jim Rogers.

[KPres]

That was supposed to quote Apostate Jew. Damnit Reason, why can’t we get some edits!

[Fatty Bolger]

Ah, yes. I remember the inevitable eclipse by the Soviets, and then the inevitable eclipse by Japan, and now by China. What the hell, it’s bound to be true some day, so keep at it.

[Apostate Jew]

They outnumber us four to one. When the average Chinese is 1/4 as rich as the average American their economy will be as large as ours (all other things being equal). Burying your head in the sand won’t stop the inevitable.

[Ted S.]

Dear, lord! How can anyone defend the fat man in this case?

Would his ideas be any more defensible if he were anorectic like Karen Carpenter?

If not, what’s the point of mentioning his girth? It does nothing to bolster your argument.

[Apostate Jew]

To me he’ll always be “the fat man.”

[Tim]

Let me put this another way.

If an actual Chinese broadcaster did what Rush did on China radio he would be arrested and sent to a labor camp.

Nick Gillespie jumps in with Media Matters- a leftist group that would like to bring to America the same sort of speech regime. Stalinist speech codes, fairness doctrines, you name it. THAT “bugs” me.

[Rhayader]

Dude, seriously? Apparently Gillespie can’t share a chuckle about something chuckle-worthy without “jumping in with Media Matters”.

Not everything is part of some grand conspiracy — sometimes people joke about stuff.

[Barry D]

Media Matters doesn’t joke about stuff, though.

[Tim]

As noted, I am really off the deep end and it *possibly* is an over reaction. This is the terrible consequence of internet forums.

[Spazmo]

Moynihan, is that you?

[grrizzly]

I’ve read so many times that Rush Limbaugh said something completely awful, racist, etc. But at closer inspection it’s invariably just a case of catching the vapors by white people. Like this example.

[Barry D]

Fuck white people.

[Darry B]

Fuck Nick Gillespie.

No one else will.

[Tim]

I’m off to the fainting couch.

[Skip]

Really? Making fun of Asian people talking is the line for Nick? Rush does more offensive stuff than this on his days off.

[Barry D]

So true. And it’s not like he mocked Hu’s nearly-microscopic penis or anything.

[Richard Lorenc]

Sounds more like Klingon to me.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

I listen to Rush sometimes, and when he’s on economics and government size, I generally agree with him. But it’s quite often when he says something that rubs me the wrong way. As a South Park fan, I’m not very politically correct, but one joke that stuck out as sickeningly idiotic was around Thanksgiving. He was whining about the supposedly revisionist history taught in public schools where white men oppressed the Native Americans, and pointed out that by introducing white people to tobacco, Native Americans killed more whites than vice versa. I was disgusted and couldn’t listen to him anymore – even if he meant it in jest, he’s telling an joke to excuse an unexcusable past atrocity. A similarly tasteless/tossed off joke about the Holocaust or slavery would have provoked global outrage and potentially cost him much of his fanbase and his career, but I guess the Native Americans are a small enough special interest group that they don’t have much clout, given that they got largely killed off…

[shrike]

Wise decision.

Rush is a piece of shit. Even the NFL owners didn’t want him near their league but they did Fergie.

Limbaugh lacks character.

[joshua corning]

he’s telling an joke to excuse an unexcusable past atrocity.

I heard the same episode or at least parts of it.

I did not take it as an excuse for an atrocity but more as “It is stupid to blame whole groups of people when those who are to blame are long dead and do not in anyway make up the whole of those living”

I agree it was in bad taste but I think you are going a bit overboard.

One thing that is interesting about the media matters video is that pop culture specifically internet culture is way more overtly racist then Rush is.

If you do not believe me then I suggest you go read your local towns rant and rave on craigslist or check out 4chan sometime.

There seems to be a disconnect between what is allowed in main stream media and is happening all over the internet (and yes I just included Rush in main stream media).

[Hobo Chang Ba]

Sorry, but he was engaging in Anglocentric historical revisionism diminishing a horrific government policy that killed thousands, followed by a joke where the deaths of white people from lung cancer resulting from their enjoyment of tobacco products introduced by Native Americans could somehow alleviate the guilt of genocide. It’s an incoherent WTF statement where he came off as a totally racist piece of shit. I understand his point that politically correct liberals have taken all the “fun” out of the national Thanksgiving fantasy, and also that the bastards that created and carried those policies out are dead, but he seemed to be more bothered by the political correctness than by the genocide itself.

Also, the racist provocations of anonymous 15-year old losers on 4chan somehow do not carry the same gravitas as a guy who is essentially the figurehead of the right wing, since they don’t have millions of malleable followers who would be directly influenced by what they say…

[Hobo Chang Ba]

Here, read the awful rant for yourself…

[Guy Incognito]

All I heard was “ching chong nip nip nong.”

[Handsome Dan]

Lotta people here need to take Rush’s nuts off their chin.

[joshua corning]

Lotta people here need to take Rush’s nuts off their chin.

Which has been more successful at limiting the growth of government:

Rush?

or

Reason magazine?

Which ever you choose please explain the reasoning for your answer.

This is a serious question. If you just want to make assumptions about me or why I asked this question then simply forget I asked it.

Anyone else is free to answer as well.

[cynical]

You mean, who has failed less, right? Rush, I suppose, since he was only trying half the time.

[jacob]

Ron Paul’s take on Rush

“I would ask him why doesn’t he stand up more for civil liberties and why doesn’t he explain why he supports the Patriot Act,” Paul said. “I would much rather talk about why Rush Limbaugh doesn’t support my position in looking into the Federal Reserve and being able to audit the Federal Reserve, now that is an important issue.”

“He never said hardly boo against George Bush. He supported all that big spending. Did he complain about George Bush? Did he complain about all those wars that were going on that cause us so much trouble? So that’s the kind of issues that I want to talk about and I will be quite willing to challenge Rush Limbaugh on those issues.”

[Rhayader]

Which has been more successful at limiting the growth of government

Someone’s been successful at limiting the growth of government? Could have fooled me.

Basically all you’re saying is that Rush is more popular. Unless the same argument could be use to prove that American Idol does more to advance the art and artistry of televised entertainment than Boardwalk Empire, it’s not all that meaningful.

[jacob]

+100

I think you’re new here.

[MBunge]

Just to make something clear, when you engage in racially insensitive behavior as a way of illustrating how stupid and offensive that behavior is, THAT is being ironic or satirical. Unless you think Rush was inviting his audience to laugh at what a ridiculous racist he was being, Rush WASN’T being ironic or satirical.

He was just being racist.

Mike

[Mr. FIFY]

It’s simple:

Fuck Limbaugh

AND

Fuck MediaMatters.