It's About Time - [the Washington Post Finally Comments on Limbaugh's Seething Hate]
by David Flores
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
http://davidflores.blogspot.com/
The Washington Post takes Rush Limbaugh to task for claiming that Micheal J. Fox was faking the effects of Parkinson's disease for a T.V. commercial. It's about time. Really, it's about 15 years too late. Rush Limbaugh and other conservative commentators enjoy a huge audience (the figure I've heard is 30 million) and yet they have been allowed to say outrageous, hateful things, and peddle outrageous lies with little scrutiny from the mainstream media, who apparently consider their shows not beneath them, and not worthy of comment. For years, an undercurrent of hatred has seethed beneath the surface of of our society, fed by these dishonest provocateurs. What we need are more exposés of their lies and demagoguery. Ignoring them won't make them go away, or make them any less influential.
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(Our comments:)
WASHINGTON POST editors caught being ghoulish, lying, bullying THUGS once again, this time re the story about RUSH LIMBAUGH's sneering scorn for actor Michael J. Fox's TV endorsement (political ad) for a candidate who supports STEM CELL research. It is disconcerting and jarring to watch the video of Michael Fox swaying and jerking as he tries to deliver his short, 40 second comment. Not just as a human and a fellow American, but as a "family quality" entertainer who has entered our homes and our lives via the magic of the big screen and the little screen, literally watching his life fall apart before our eyes.
....(video Michael J. Fox's political ad for Claire MxCaskill)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QMliHkTDHaE&mode=related&search=
Ten seconds into the video we KNOW that Michael Fox is DOOMED by his disease, and that only the most miraculous drug discovery at this late date will save him.
But leave it to Right-Wing Hate radio hate monkey RUSH LIMBAUGH to find not an ounce of empathy or sympathy with Michael Fox's condition. Limbaugh sneers that Michael is either "acting" ("he's an actor, you know") or "OFF HIS MEDS."
AS IF, by taking meds and completely ELIMINATING the scary, jerky motion of the disease, Michael Fox should have NO right to comment on stem cell research! Of course this is most certainly NOT the case; there IS NO MEDICATION which prevents the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, a DEGENERATIVE failure of the nerve cells, similar in effect to Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's, and other neural diseases.
Indeed, the TRUTH is the complete, 100% OPPOSITE of what LYING Rush Limbaugh told his listeners: Michael Fox was ABLE to speak in swaying, jerky motion BECAUSE of his medications..... without the medications ("he went off his meds") Fox WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SPEAK AT ALL.
So much for the Lying, Ghoulish Rush Limbaugh, a person who should, if anything, have an ounce of respect for people 'on medications,' since his lame excuse for taking handful-sized quantities of Oxycontin "hillbilly heroin" was that he was addicted to the pills due to prolonged doctor-prescribed medication.
How about the ghoulish EDITORS of the WASHINGTON POST?
David Montgomery's report on Limbaugh's sneering scorn of Michael Fox is a minimally competent story, There are several errors and misleading statements: Limbaugh's audience is now well down from the 10 million that Montgomery reports, and at one point Montgomery writes of Limbaugh's sneering radio scorn as "a CRITIQUE."
"CRITIQUE"??? David Montgomery, you sad, pathetic whore! Right before our eyes Michael Fox's life is disintegrating, his nervous system falling apart, and YOU call Limbaugh's sneering comments "A CRITIQUE"?
Indeed, most of the reporting follows this "mocking scorn as 'critique'" template, with Montgomery at every point giving Rush LIMBAUGH the BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT, and putting THE ONUS for (gasp!) making a political ad on Michael Fox.
Montgomery writes "To Rush Limbaugh on Monday, Michael J. Fox looked like a faker." This comment certainly gives Limbaugh the benefit of the doubt: how ANYONE could see the Michael Fox video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMliHkTDHaE) and say that Mr. Fox was "a faker" stretches one's credulity. More likely, Limbaugh realized that the disease is what he saw on the screen (Michael Fox has, after all, given up a lucrative Hollywood career in what would be the prime opportunity for him to do heavier, more in-depth roles), BUT CHOOSE TO GO ON THE ATTACK ANYWAYS, Limbaugh's sense of MILLIONAIRE RIGHT-WING ENTITLEMENT ALLOWING him to HEAP SCORN on a person dying of a debilitating disease.
We realize that this last point is a quibble, but the fact remains that Rush Limbaugh has HIS microphone and audience 3 hours a day, 5 times a week, plus whenever else he wants to arrange it, while a political advocate like Michael Fox (and millions of other Americans) can only get THEIR voices heard (to a wide audience) in the days and weeks before an important election.
SO WHY DOES the WASHINGTON POST **REFLEXIVELY** credit Rush Limbaugh with GOOD MOTIVES and GOOD INTENTIONS... even when he is sneering at a victim of a deadly_disease?
Why, indeed.
And look at the TITLE the cowardly, ghoulish Washington Post editor assigned to Montgomery's article: "Rush Limbaugh On the Offensive Against Ad With Michael J. Fox."
THIS TITLE gives a reader scanning the headline NO IDEA or information that Rush Limbaugh is ATTACKING A VICTIM OF A DEADLY DISEASE!
Rush Limbaugh - ENTITLED to his 3 hours a day, 5 days a week broadcast, ENTITLED to smear, scorn, and sneer at anyone he wants. American citizens dying of a horrible disease, however, according to the WHORE POST, must "justify" their comments against the (implied) LEGITIMATE "offensive" of the Right-Wing commentator, with the audience of a million scowling dittoheads, many of whom undoubtedly make their paychecks, savings, retirements, and income based at least in some part on GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS that they love to hear Mr. Limbaugh heap scorn on.
To the Washington Post editor who assigned that DIVERSIONARY headline to the Limbaugh-sneers story, you, sir, are a GHOULISH WHORE. Yes, Mr. Limbaugh HAS gone "back on the offensive" against a person with a deadly disease. Thanks for NOT putting the "deadly disease" part in your misleading headline. And thanks for choosing that ATROCIOUS photo of Michael Fox to accompany your horrid little story.
And you, sirs, the senior editors and publishers of the Washington Post who put this PAGE A-1 ABOVE THE FOLD story about the state of America's right-wing political discourse on PAGE C-1: YOU, Sirs, are ghoulish whores.
Your paper betrays its roots as the organ of a formerly SLAVERY and SEGREGATION city; a city (Washington, DC) where for decades the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution WAS IGNORED in broad daylight, every day for years on end, BECAUSE YOU WOULD RATHER COURT ABUSIVE POWER than stand up for the ideals and very Constitutional rights and laws we have come to regard as "All American." As we recall, during slavery TWO to THREE SLAVES WOULD DIE, for every slave delivered as chattel property cheap labor in the America's. THAT IS THE SENSE OF MURDEROUS ENTITLEMENT that both THE WASHINGTON POST and RUSH LIMBAUGH feel is their just due.
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Rush Limbaugh On the Offensive Against Ad With Michael J. Fox
By David Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 25, 2006; Page C01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/24/AR2006102400691.html
Possibly worse than making fun of someone's disability is saying that it's imaginary. That is not to mock someone's body, but to challenge a person's guts, integrity, sanity.
To Rush Limbaugh on Monday, Michael J. Fox looked like a faker. The actor, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, has done a series of political ads supporting candidates who favor stem cell research, including Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin, who is running against Republican Michael Steele for the Senate seat being vacated by Paul Sarbanes.
"He is exaggerating the effects of the disease," Limbaugh told listeners. "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."
Limbaugh, whose syndicated radio program has a weekly audience of about 10 million, was reacting to Fox's appearance in another one of the spots, for Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill, running against Republican Sen. James M. Talent.
But the Cardin ad is similar. It is hard to watch, unless, for some reason, you don't believe it. As he speaks, Fox's restless torso weaves and writhes in a private dance. His head bobs from side to side, almost leaving the video frame.
"This is the only time I've ever seen Michael J. Fox portray any of the symptoms of the disease he has," Limbaugh said. "He can barely control himself."
Later Monday, still on the air, Limbaugh would apologize, but reaction to his statements from Parkinson's experts and Fox's supporters was swift and angry.
"It's a shameless statement," John Rogers said yesterday. Rogers, Fox's political adviser, who also serves on the board of the Parkinson's Action Network, added: "It's insulting. It's appallingly sad, at best."
"Anyone who knows the disease well would regard his movement as classic severe Parkinson's disease," said Elaine Richman, a neuroscientist in Baltimore who co-wrote "Parkinson's Disease and the Family." "Any other interpretation is misinformed."
Fox was campaigning yesterday for Tammy Duckworth, a congressional candidate, outside Chicago, when he alluded to Limbaugh's remarks. "It's ironic, given some of the things that have been said in the last couple of days, that my pills are working really well right now," he said, according to a report on the CBS2 Web site.
After his apology, Limbaugh shifted his ground and renewed his attack on Fox.
"Now people are telling me they have seen Michael J. Fox in interviews and he does appear the same way in the interviews as he does in this commercial," Limbaugh said, according to a transcript on his Web site. "All right then, I stand corrected. . . . So I will bigly, hugely admit that I was wrong, and I will apologize to Michael J. Fox, if I am wrong in characterizing his behavior on this commercial as an act."
Then Limbaugh pivoted to a different critique: "Michael J. Fox is allowing his illness to be exploited and in the process is shilling for a Democratic politician."
Limbaugh's shock at Fox's appearance is a measure of the disease's devastation, advocates say. Contrary to the charge that Fox might not take his medicine to enhance his symptoms, the medicine produces some of the uncontrolled body movements.
"Stem cell research offers hope to millions of Americans with diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's," Fox says in the Cardin ad. "But George Bush and Michael Steele would put limits on the most promising stem cell research."
Fox has appeared in ABC's "Boston Legal" this season. In his scenes, taped over the summer, Fox does not shake or loll his head as he does in the Cardin commercial, but does appear to be restraining himself, appearing almost rigid at times.
A source with direct knowledge of Fox's illness who viewed the Cardin ad said Fox is not acting to exaggerate the effects of the disease. The source said Fox's scenes in "Boston Legal" had to be taped around his illness, as he worked to control the tremors associated with Parkinson's for limited periods of time.
Staff writer Frank Ahrens contributed to this report.
Michael J. Fox. (Scott Olson - Getty Images)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/24/AR2006102400691.html
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