NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #1/NN_1993_1.iso/spool/alt/fan/rushlim/12214

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From: [e-mail] (John Switzer)
Subject: Summary Fri 1/8/93
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Summary: Unofficial Summary for Friday, January 8, 1993
Keywords: Unofficial Summary Rush Limbaugh
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Distribution: world,usa,alt,na
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 17:12:28 GMT
Lines: 994

<<Note: The summary for January 6, 1993 has been delayed but should be
posted within a couple days>>

Unofficial Summary of the Rush Limbaugh Show

for Friday, January 8, 1993

by John Switzer

NOTE: This is being posted to both alt.fan.rush-limbaugh and
alt.rush-limbaugh and thus you may see it twice if your sysadm
aliases the two newsgroups together. Since most sites don't
support both groups, this double-posting appears to be
unavoidable, however, if anyone has any ideas on how to avoid it,
please let me know. Thanks - [e-mail].

This unofficial summary is copyright (c) 1993 by John Switzer.
All Rights Reserved. These summaries are distributed on
CompuServe, GEnie, and the Internet, and archived on GEnie (NPC
Roundtable) and Internet (cathouse.aiss.uiuc.edu).  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.

******************************************************************

January 8, 1993

LIMBAUGH WATCH

January 8, 1993 - It's now 67 days after Bill Clinton's election
and Rush is still on the air with 546 radio affiliates and 207 TV
affiliates, and his book has been on the NY Times hardback non-
fiction best-seller list for 16 consecutive weeks and is
currently number one on the list.

MORNING UPDATE

"What a sniveling bunch of little crybabies," states Rush. "What
a bunch of immature little wailers." Clinton is going to be the
President of the United States, yet he's acting like a child
who's gotten sand kicked in his face. George Stephanopoulos is
even worse with his reaction to the new budget deficit
projections.

The new projections show a deficit that's $18 billion higher than
what the Bush administration previously reported. Because of
this, Clinton is claiming that he's been misled and lied to, and
therefore all of his economic plans have to be scrapped; after
all, he can't be held to his promises which were based on
"faulty" information.

However, $18 billion is insignificant compared to the expected
total budget of $1.5 trillion, but Clinton is going ballistic
about this increase. In fact, during his campaign, Clinton
projected that the budget deficit would be $100 billion larger
than even Bush's new projections. Clinton should be happy about
Bush's figures because they are still $100 billion less than what
Clinton himself came up with.

What's happening is that Clinton wants things bad so that he can
have an excuse to scrap every one of his campaign promises and do
stuff he never dared to mention during the campaign.

FIRST HOUR

Items

o       Rush will talk about science today, and so he's steeling
himself for the avalanche of hate mail from scientists that is
sure to follow.

o       On his TV show last night, Rush showed some tape of women
attending a seminar on sexual harassment, which is now being
called "gender-based power plays." A letter writer on CompuServe
thus thinks that pinching and fondling should be referred to as
"power grabs." Rush thinks this is a more apropos term and
decides to use it.

Tony Lo Bianco blatantly performs a gender-based power grab by
giving Limbaugh Letter editor Diana Schneider a kiss on the
cheek. Rush is aghast that Lo Bianco would do something right in
the EIB studios; however, since Lo Bianco will be going out on
the USS Normandy, a Navy missile destroyer, for four days and
will be calling into the show from the open seas, Rush decides to
cut him some slack.

o       While on vacation, Rush also regularly checked his
CompuServe mailbox. Unfortunately, he deleted one email message
before saving it, and thus it is now in "electronic mail heaven."
However, the same guy, J. Scott Seaborn of Little Beirut, Oregon,
wrote Rush again, thus jogging Rush's memory. Seaborn is a high
school student who has been refused permission to start a Rush
Limbaugh fan club at the school.

Seaborn decided to form the club anyway and posted a number of
flyers about it at school. Many teachers became upset about this,
and he ended up getting detention for "showing disrespect to the
school and discriminating against others." The principal gave
Seaborn the option of quit promoting the club and he can avoid
detention. Seaborn refused to agree to this and thus will have to
go to detention; however, when the 50 or so other club members
heard about this, they decided to go to detention, too.

Rush promises to keep his audience informed about this poor guy
who is suffering detention because of his devotion to Rush.

o       Rush hates to be self-serving and talk about himself, but
there are two examples in the news of how the mainstream media
continues to snub him and his achievements. Rush is not really
outraged about these things, but he is "ticked" enough to be
writing an Op-Ed piece to the country's newspapers to set the
record straight. He promises, though, that this self-promotion
won't get in the way of his discussion of the issues.

o       A letter to the editor of the January 5th edition of the
Lubbock Avalanche Journal is from "a person who knows the pain of
being overlooked at a past Presidential inauguration." The
writer, Thomas Kerwin, therefore says he can "feel the pain with
the thousands of people who worked their tails off and weren't
invited to the inauguration." The fact that Rush did receive an
invitation to these festivities, though, "definitely should rub
salt in the wounds of the faithful," according to Kerwin.

Continuing on, Kerwin says "Sure, the organizers think it's funny
to invite Mr. Limbaugh, but Clinton still had 43 million people
vote for him, and a very small amount of those voters were
invited. This injustice should be rectified by rescinding
Limbaugh's invitation and giving it to someone a little more
worthy." Kerwin closes his letter by saying "in the future, may I
suggest a President who is a little more considerate."

Rush calls this letter "absolutely incredible" - some guy in
Texas is losing sleep because Rush got an invitation to Clinton's
inauguration and he didn't; because of this, he therefore thinks
Clinton is inconsiderate and that his vote for him was a mistake.
Rush points out that he warned the country that the past
Presidential election was not about issues, but only about
symbolism.

Rush comments that during the television production show
yesterday, his staffers put together a number of letters written
by Republicans to newspapers across the country; these
Republicans had voted for Clinton on the basis of the lousy
economic news that was being reported before the election. Now
that they are hearing the economy is not as bad as they thought,
they think they've been had.

Rush promises that EIB will continue working on the story of the
fraud that was perpetrated during the Presidential election, and
he will soon come out with a list of the many different things
that were said back then that simply weren't true.

Even the NY Times has an editorial today criticizing Clinton; the
paper is upset about the easy time former DNC chairman Ron Brown
had in getting confirmed as Clinton's Commerce Secretary. Brown,
by the way, is expected to get a $1 million "golden handshake"
when he leaves his law firm on January 20th. The Times notes that
the only "commerce" Brown has engaged in has been "special
interest politics." Paul Gigot has also written a fascinating
column about Brown for today's Wall Street Journal.

o       Rush comments that he is getting as tired of hearing
about the Elvis stamp as he is of being about Amy Fisher and
Macauly Culkin.

Update  Carol Moseley-Braun         (Theme from the Jeffersons -
"Moving on Up")

Before this week Carol Moseley-Braun didn't use a hyphen between
her last names, which means that according to Senate rules, she
would have had to have been known as "Senator Braun." Since
"Braun" is her ex-husband's name, Moseley-Braun decided to add a
hyphen before she was sworn in so that she would be known as
"Senator Moseley-Braun." Thus, if you're looking in the Senate
directory for her, you'll have to look for her under the M's.

*BREAK*

It's an EIB rule that Rush should never get any time to himself,
and so today, on his one free afternoon of the week, he has to go
to the doctor for an insurance physical. "I have to submit myself
to the indignities of the probing medical team," Rush laments;
the tests will include a cardiac stress test, which is basically
"getting on a treadmill until you die."

When he took his last exam, Rush was considerably more overweight
than he is now, and the doctor took one look at him and stated
"oh my god, you're going to die!" The doctor then took Rush's
blood pressure and was astonished to find that it was normal -
"this can't be," he shouted in amazement, "you're supposed to be
dead." Then the doctor couldn't find a vein for a blood sample
and started shouting "I just want a blankety-blank vein! Where's
the vein?" Obviously the doctor was supposed to be out on the
golf course and wasn't happy that Rush was disturbing his normal
schedule.

*BREAK*

Phone   Duke from Bayside, NY

Duke called yesterday, but Rush ran out of time so EIB has called
him back. Duke would like to know if the Republicans can regain
any credibility as problem-solvers instead of being known as
problem-creators. Rush asks what Duke thinks the GOP's
credibility problems are. Duke replies that it's hard to know
when Republicans are telling the truth; people like Rep. Dornan
complain about how the House is controlled by Democrats. However,
a bill can't become law until it's passed by the Senate and
signed by the President. Thus, when the Republicans controlled
the Senate during Reagan's first term, this should have let them
stop all of the outrageous spending bills that were passed.

Rush says that this question comes up a lot, but Ronald Reagan
was urged by Senator Bob Dole to sign TEFRA, which was supposed
to curb the runaway deficit spending that was going on. Reagan
signed this tax increase, but Congress never came through with
their promise to cut $2 in spending for every $1 in tax
increases.

Congress is a master at putting the President over the barrel on
spending bills - they'll have a bill with dozens of expensive
projects but they'll put one or two important, must-have programs
in there, too. If the President doesn't sign the bill, then
people will start really hurting. The President is never solely
to blame for spending and the deficit, but the press never seems
to highlight Congress' role in this.

Duke says that Congress at the time complained that although they
agreed to the spending cuts, David Stockman's figures were
fictitious and thus they couldn't make the cuts that were
planned. Duke's point, though, is that the President should stand
up to the Congress and take the situation to the people; instead,
President Reagan cut a deal with Congress. Reagan should have
done what President Carter did and force his plans through in
spite of Congress.

Rush says that Duke's credibility has suffered with this
statement, and Rush is getting somewhat frustrated by how he
keeps talking about this subject yet people still don't
understand. Deficit spending during the 80s was caused by too
much spending, not by too little tax revenues. In fact, the
Reagan administration did more than any President in history to
increase tax revenues, but this increase didn't matter - the
deficit continued to grow because Congress kept spending more and
more money.

Too many people in Congress derive their power by their ability
to spend money, and this is why Clinton is going to find out that
his biggest enemy will be the US Congress.

Phone   Debbie from Grants Pass, OR

Debbie thanks Rush for making stay-at-home moms feel good about
what they're doing, and she thinks Rush should implement a
children's update. For example, he could do updates on things
like how a bunch of vegetarians tried to convince people that
milk wasn't any good for children. Rush thanks Debbie for her
suggestion and promises to give it some thought.

Phone   Paul from Buffalo, NY

Rush asks Paul how he sees the upcoming game between the Buffalo
Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers, and Paul replies "I see the game
on channel 2." Rush laughs and says he was asking who Paul thinks
will win the game. Paul replies that this has an obvious answer -
"Buffalo, because they've got a Christian conservative leading
it!" Rush points out that the Steelers have a good Roman Catholic
as a coach, and Rush therefore is certain the Steelers will win
the game.

Paul is a bit confused, though, by what Rush said yesterday about
big business - Rush came out in favor for business, but why then
did big business back Clinton for President? Rush says a lot of
theories came out about this during the campaign, and one of them
was that big business thinks the less competition, the better.
The measures Clinton has proposed will be punitive to small
businesses and will reduce their ability to be competitive.

Businesses will have to pay all sorts of health care and other
taxes; the "pay or play" health care plan, though, won't affect
big businesses because they're already paying for their
employees' health care. However, these added costs will really
hurt small businesses, many of whom will end up going out of
business. This theory might be called cynical, but it does have
some validity.

Clinton was also perceived as a candidate who opposed free trade
and supported protectionist policies; domestic big businesses
love this approach since it protects them from foreign
competition. Big business's support for Clinton is also
interesting because the Republicans are usually thought of as the
party of big business; the cliche is that Republicans let
businesses do whatever they want - pollute, plunder, cheat, and
steal.

Of course, whether Clinton will do what he said he will is
another matter. Robert B. Reich has already said that the Clinton
administration may have to delay its plans for a payroll tax for
employee training. Rush is certain, though, that a lot of people
who voted for Clinton because they wanted change will be
disappointed.

*BREAK*

Rush recalls that on Monday he reported the NY Times story about
the latest feminist mode of expression - drumming. He therefore
has chosen a new feminist update theme; he plays the theme, which
is basically a bunch of drumming sound effects combined with
people crying, laughing, and otherwise being hysterical. Rush
notes that the hysterical rage sounds remind him of chimpanzee
"pant hoots."

*BREAK*

Phone   Gene from Richmond, VA

Gene heard some gays talking on the Today show this week, and
they were lamenting the losses the artistic world has seen
because of AIDS. They in particular faulted Clinton for dragging
his feet on appointing an AIDS Czar. Thus, the AIDS activists
obviously think Clinton has reneged on yet another of his
promises.

Rush notes that his list of promises doesn't specifically include
a promise by Clinton to appoint an AIDS Czar, but in Los Angeles
on May 18, 1992 Clinton did call for a "Manhattan Project" to
cure AIDS.

Rush, though, doesn't think it will ever be possible to make the
AIDS activists happy because there's no amount of feeling,
caring, or other symbolism that will ever cure AIDS. Perhaps,
though, appointing an AIDS Czar will make the activists happy,
since they seem to think that symbolism is a valid substitute for
substance on this issue.

However, the US is already spending 10 times more on AIDS than
any other disease, and it could spend even 10 times more without
coming close to a cure; it must be remembered that man has not
yet cured one single virus. Plus, Clinton is not President yet,
and Rush doubts that even when Clinton gets into office that
he'll move quickly on these social issues; Rush suspects that it
will take Clinton a year or two before he starts addressing these
sorts of concerns.

*BREAK*

SECOND HOUR

Rush and the EIB staff has discussed the situation of high school
student J. Scott Seaborn in Little Beirut, Oregon, who is faced
with having to go to detention because he wants to start a Rush
Limbaugh fan club. Rush suggests that Seaborn and his fellow
members of the club should go ahead and go to detention, and once
there hold their meeting. Since the school is enabling the
students to meet, Seaborn and his friends should take advantage
of the opportunity.

Phone   Kirstie from Rochester, NY

Kirstie says that she called her local paper to find out why in
their coverage of Clinton's outrage over the new deficit figures
they didn't go back and print the deficit figures Clinton gave
during the campaign. The paper's editor replied that they
couldn't find any figures presented by Clinton's campaign.
Kirstie thus wonders where she could get ahold of these numbers.

Rush says that yesterday's USA Today had a chart of Clinton's
figures, which are also undoubtedly somewhere in the plethora of
books and position papers which the Clinton campaign came out
with. Cutting the deficit had been a major point of Clinton's
economic plan, and for fiscal year 1998 Clinton projected a
deficit of $426 billion; the recent figures from the Bush
administration, though, put the 1998 deficit at about $318
billion. Thus, Bush's new figures are still $100 billion less
then what Clinton had been using during the campaign.

Kirstie also says that a local dittohead has placed a newspaper
ad asking fans to call into the local TV station to tell them to
change the time for Rush's TV show to 11:30 p.m. Kirstie did call
the station which told her that they couldn't move the show to
that time slot because they were under contract. Kirstie would
like Rush to explain more about this.

Rush isn't sure how he should answer, but he states that EIB does
not have any contracts out there that stipulate which specific
hour should be used. Rush would love for EIB to have this power,
but a new syndicated show doesn't have the clout to make such
demands. Most stations didn't give Rush much of a chance to
succeed, which is why his show is being shown at 1 and 2 in the
morning.

However, it's possible that the TV station does have a contract
with someone else that requires that a certain show be aired
during a certain time slot. There are some shows which have "a
very high original investment because their hosts are prima
donnas and demand a whole lot more money than they are worth."
Even though they aren't proven television performers, the show
producers still have to pay these guys' high salaries up front;
thus, the producers must do all sorts of things to recoup their
investment.

The producers have to get advertisers in order to get their money
back, and so they sell the show by promising advertisers that it
will get a certain rating. If the show's ratings don't match
expectations, then the producers have to pay back the advertisers
by giving them "make goods," which usually means free advertising
time.

To avoid "taking it in the shorts," producers therefore go to TV
stations in major markets and make deals with them for the best
time slots; sometimes, producers even pay TV stations for a
specific time slot and chip in some money to help with the show's
promotion (ads in TV Guide, etc.). Thus, if the station has any
contracts that prevent it from moving Rush's show, those
contracts may be with the producers of these other TV shows.

EIB, though, didn't do any of this - Rush has put his money where
his mouth is and is willing to link his fortunes with those of
his show. It helps that his show's production budget is one of
the cheapest around - he doesn't have guests, he doesn't have to
pay script writers, etc. "It's just fun," he states.

Now when Rush becomes a proven TV commodity he might be able to
come out with some of these restrictive contracts. However, even
someone like David Letterman will have problems if he goes to
CBS; not all CBS affiliates carry the network's late-night shows
as they instead air syndicated shows such as Rush's. If Letterman
is getting only a 2.5 rating, why should a station want Letterman
instead of Rush's show and its 3.3 rating? Things can get really
vicious in situations like this, and Rush notes that EIB is just
a little fish swimming upstream among all these prima donnas and
major networks.

*BREAK*

Rush hates to continue talking about himself, but he feels it is
again necessary, especially since it's become standard operating
procedure for the media to ignore his accomplishments. There's
another example of this in today's USA Today; its Life section
has a story by Deirdre Donahue about magazines; the story's
headline is "Sex and Scandal Aside, Science Racks Up Sales in
1992." Three magazines are featured, including the October 25th
issue of Time magazine and the 25th Anniversary issue of the
American Spectator. When he saw this, Rush had an idea of what to
expect, and when he read the story he wasn't surprised.

Donahue writes about how Time's largest selling issue of the year
(October 25th) sold so well due to its cover story about the
5,000-year-old "Ice Man." Similarly, the American Spectator is
mentioned because last year it started out with 28,500
subscribers and ended up the year with 114,000 subscribers. In
neither case is Rush mentioned or given credit for either of
these sales increases.

Rush, of course, was originally scheduled to be the cover story
of the October 25th issue of Time, but even though the Ice Man
ended up on the cover, the magazine still did its feature story
about him. Rush has no doubts that this issue sold so well
because of him; Rush promoted the issue and story on both his
radio and TV shows and he is amazed that USA Today could think
the "Ice Man" is responsible for this record number of issues
sold. The Ice Man was not a big story to the rest of the media,
which virtually ignored him. In fact, the Ice Man was so ignored
that not once did he appear on Larry King Live.

Rush knows some people will think he's becoming a prima donna,
but he points out that he's the one who's sold almost 2 million
books, not the Ice Man. Furthermore, the American Spectator
quadrupled its subscriber base thanks to its ads on Rush's radio
and TV shows. Results have been so good for them that the
magazine has signed a contract with EIB for another year of ads.

Rush admits he thinks that the USA Today story is funny - these
people actually think that stories about "ice people" sell
thousands of issues. The fact that Rush Limbaugh had a feature
story about him in this issue doesn't seem to matter to these
marketing whizzes. "No respect, folks," Rush sighs. "I'm
continually diss'd by the dominant mainstream media culture."

What makes the Time issue especially aggravating, though, is that
Rush had to spend two hours posing for cover photos which were
never used because Time figured it needed a change from covers
that featured political subjects. However, Rush is not bitter and
says "that's all I'm going to say about myself. When we come
back, we'll go to the phones and talk to you about me."

*BREAK*

Rush adds that had Time magazine bothered to go with their
original plan and put a picture of Rush on their cover instead of
the Ice Man, they would have had their biggest selling issue
ever. However, to show that he is not bitter about this, Rush has
decided that since the Ice Man is such an important story, the
Rush Limbaugh TV Show is going to violate its rule of no guests
by interviewing the Ice Man.

Somebody has to find out who this guy is, and since he's
important enough to be on the cover of Time magazine, Rush will
interview him to find out how he handled the problems of the
deficit and condom distribution in schools back in his day.

Phone   Peter from Manhattan, NY

Peter wants to continue the discussion Rush had yesterday with a
libertarian about the legalization of drugs. <<Arrggh! Not again
- the repeated discussions about this subject are enough to drive
summary writers to take drugs!>> Peter is also a libertarian and
thinks Rush is totally wrong with his belief that legalizing
drugs would create too much of a burden on the part of society
which doesn't use drugs. Peter doesn't think that someone who
uses legalized drugs will adversely affect the rest of society.

Rush says that he is against drug legalization, not just because
it will burden society with the cost of taking care of drug
addicts, but also because there's a cost to society in that the
drug user no longer becomes a productive member of society. Also,
Rush believes that it is worthwhile for society to promote the
things that are right as well as to dissuade people against doing
that which is wrong.

Peter claims that the reason many drug users are unhealthy and
cannot function is not because they are using drugs per se, but
because they are using illegal drugs that have hazardous
impurities. Rush wonders if Peter means that the addictive
qualities of drugs such as heroin don't have any physical
effects; Peter says that the addictions are mostly mental and
pure drugs avoid most of the physical problems.

Rush can't believe Peter is saying this and asks him if he really
believes this or is just calling up on Open Line Friday to
torment the poor host. Peter is serious about this, though, and
adds that since illegal drugs are so expensive, drug addicts
spend most of their time committing crimes to get the money they
need for their habit. If these drugs were legal and thereby
cheaper, people would have more time to devote to their diet, to
exercise, and to generally taking better care of themselves.
"It's the lack of exercise, the lack of vitamins, and the lack of
balanced meals that contribute to their health problems more so
than their doing drugs," Peter states.

Rush wonders what Peter's sources are for this because if this
were true, then a pro-drug lobby would be out in full force
pushing for legalization. Peter says that he doesn't think drugs
are good for you, but Rush says that this has to be the
conclusion Peter must reach - drugs aren't neutral, and so if
they aren't bad for you, then they must be good for you.

Peter says that this isn't his point - his point is that the
health of people using legal heroin is much, much better than the
health of people in America using illegal heroin. Rush disagrees
and says that the lives of people using legal heroin are just as
destroyed as those using illegal heroin. Peter says that this is
not true, and Rush wonders why, if Peter is correct, everyone
doesn't become heroin addicts.

Peter says that this is the same thing as cigarettes - people
smoke cigarettes yet they still manage to go to work and live
fully productive lives. If cigarettes were illegal, then smokers
might have to turn to crime to support their habit. Rush says
that the crime problem might be helped in some ways by legalizing
drugs, but the drug problem itself certainly will not.

Peter replies that the drug problem won't be solved by keeping
drugs illegal. Rush, though, says that the legal use of alcohol
clearly shows how people and society can be ravaged by drug use.
America doesn't need to compound the problem by adding all sorts
of other drugs to the mix.

Peter, though, says that prohibition showed making drugs illegal
doesn't work, but Rush states that prohibition showed you
couldn't take away something that was previously legal. That
doesn't mean making drugs legal is the right thing to do. Society
must also stand up for what is right and take a stance against
things which are wrong; just because the law isn't obeyed doesn't
mean that the law should be eliminated.

*BREAK*

Someone just asked Rush why he thinks Hussein isn't waiting until
Clinton takes office before playing his games with his SAM
missiles. Rush at first was confused by this, too, but after
thinking about it, Rush believes Hussein is simply trying to
embarrass and foul up the last remaining days of the Bush
administration; Bush thus will leave office without being able to
say that he "tamed" Hussein.

Phone   Melissa from Joplin, MO

Melissa thinks Rush should plan now for the First Annual Rush to
Excellence Christmas Parade. This event could include liberal
floats such as a combination animal rights/environmental wacko
float made up of donated human hearts - after all, it would be
"immoral" to use any animal or plant parts for these floats.

Another float could be a condom float made up of rubber plants
donated by the "STD Florist." The feminazi float would have a
30-foot model of Barbara Mikulski's mouth, with a horde of
screaming feminists standing inside. Finally, the "Right to Die"
float would feature Jack Kevorkian's latest invention - the
"Clintonater," which is like a respirator, but in keeping with
Kevorkian's desires it would prevent patients from inhaling.

None of these floats, though, could be powered by machines, and
thus should be pulled by men; feminists could be driving the
floats and cracking whips to add a special touch. Rush likes
these ideas and thanks Melissa for her contributions to the EIB
network.

Rush notes that Jack Kevorkian is reportedly counseling several
Ohio patients who are considering suicide. A spokesperson for the
Ohio Right to Life lobby doesn't think Ohio should add its
citizens to "his body count"; the lobby is thus trying to get a
law passed against assisted suicide. Rush adds that calling
Kevorkian's clients "patients" is a misnomer; they should be
referred to as "potential victims." It's interesting that most
suicide counselors try to talk people out of suicide, yet
Kevorkian tries to talk people into suicide so that society (in
his own words) "can use the death process."

*BREAK*

Rush is going to talk about himself yet again, and he begs his
listeners' indulgence. The Arbitron radio ratings for the
September-December time period have been released, and Rush is
ecstatic, pleased, and proud beyond saying. Rush's show is now
the most listened to radio program in the city of Los Angeles;
this includes all other radio shows, whether they be talk shows
or not.

Rush admits he is humbled by this and thanks his listeners for
making it possible; this has happened after only three years in
the LA area, and he is deeply grateful to all of his fans for
their support. Although these ratings reports are exciting, they
are also humbling since they serve to remind Rush and everyone
else at EIB just exactly what they owe to their listeners. EIB
will be holding a party tomorrow night to celebrate this news,
and Rush promises that he and his associates will raise several
glasses of adult beverages in honor of EIB's listeners in Los
Angeles and elsewhere.

*BREAK*

THIRD HOUR

Rush knows he has been lacking in helping his listeners make
their football picks since his environmental wacko football
method has not been very successful this year. Rush takes
consolation from the fact that this upcoming weekend with its
four playoff games, may be even more exciting than Superbowl
Sunday.

Update  Science         (Thomas Dolby, "She Blinded Me With
Science")

Rush is going to talk about science, which means that scientists
will soon unleash their own version of elitism and political
correctness by chastising him for daring to talk about this
"holy" subject.

Charles Krauthammer has a column in today's Washington Post which
comes close to Rush's own heart on this. The column is headlined
"Front Page Physics - Why the News From Beyond is Beyond Us."
Krauthammer makes the point that the more man learns about the
origins of the universe (and therefore the origins of man), the
more man learns how little he knows.

Rush has as one of his foundation beliefs the idea that man will
never be able to answer all the questions man is capable of
asking. This is one of Rush's own personal "proofs" that God does
exist; Rush doesn't talk about this too much since he doesn't
want to force his deeply-held beliefs on others, nor does he want
to insult those same beliefs in others. However, Krauthammer's
column has some interesting things to say:

"The news from *physics* is not good. It seems that an X-ray
satellite has detected evidence of enormous amounts of "dark
matter" in the far reaches of space, perhaps enough to stop the
expansion of the universe and cause its eventual extinction in
the Big Crunch, a spectacular reversal of our birth in the Big
Bang."

Rush explains that the basic theory is that the universe was
created with a gigantic explosion, the Big Bang, and thus is
expanding outwards. One theory states that the universe, like a
rubber band stretched to its limit, will eventually stop
expanding and start collapsing, or implode, resulting in the Big
Crunch. Krauthammer continues on to say:

"Some people find this news depressing because it foretells the
End. Not me. After all, the expanding universe is no picnic
either. It too ends-in a state of infinite, frozen dissipation.
Given the choice between fire and ice, I hold with those who
prefer the world to end in fire.

"What I find more depressing than the prospect of the End is the
epistemological void illuminated by these flashes from physics.
Front-page physics is noteworthy less for the new knowledge it
imparts the layman than for the invincible ignorance in which it
leaves him."

Thus, not only do scientists refuse to admit that they are
dealing only with theories, but they refuse to acknowledge that
the more man learns, the less he knows. Continuing on with the
column, Rush reads the following:

"What, after all, is "dark matter"? The New York Times blithely,
and no doubt accurately, refers to it as `invisible material of
an unknown kind.' What possibly can that mean? The fact that
there might be 10 times as much of this invisible stuff around as
ordinary chairs and tables does not make it any more solid or
comprehensible."

Rush asks if the definition of "invisible material of unknown
kind" improves man's base of knowledge. He points out that people
simply cannot conceive of the size of the universe, much less
where the universe is. After all, if the universe, as a whole,
exists, where is it? Doesn't it have to be somewhere?

Rush knows the scientists in the audience are really angry at him
now for spouting his "personal impressions" to a national
audience. Yet, if scientists give man no new knowledge or
understanding, then how else can this be approached? Many
scientists don't even consider the possibility that theology
might provide some answers, but they instead act as if this
aspect doesn't even exist.

Krauthammer's column continues on to discuss why science finds it
necessary to include governmental and political policies into
their work - because government is the source of so much grant
money. Continuing on, Krauthammer writes:

"In the age of science, physics is a form of revelation. For
Einstein it was the purest form: God's rulebook. Einstein saw in
the order and the beauty of the universe evidence of a benign
Intelligence. Other physicists have been driven to contrary
conclusions. It was said of the great physicist and atheist Paul
Dirac, `There is no God, and Dirac is His prophet.' It would be
nice for ordinary mortals to be able to mediate between these
views, or even to understand them. But they remain impenetrable
to laymen. The layman's only comfort is that just as he cannot
penetrate physics, physics cannot penetrate theology."

"`It seems as though science will never be able to raise the
curtain on the mystery of creation,' writes astronomer Robert
Jastrow at the close of his book `God and the Astronomers.' "For
the scientist . . . the story ends like a bad dream. He has
scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the
highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is
greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for
centuries.' "

Rush knows that not all scientists exclude the possibility of
God, but there are many scientists who respond to this argument
with angry vitriol; in fact, Rush's mailbox tonight will be
filled with hate mail from these very people.

Rush notes that Krauthammer's column is syndicated and can be
downloaded from CompuServe on the Executive News Service.
Interestingly enough, today's NY Times has a front page story
about how the Big Bang theory has been confirmed by satellite
measurements. The American study shows that 99.97% of the radiant
energy of the universe was released in the first year after the
Big Bang, which was 15 billion years or so ago.

According to Krauthammer, though, the more man learns the less he
knows, and although Rush hates to make scientists mad, he thinks
this is wonderful.

*BREAK*

Phone   Jerry from East Hanover, NJ

Jerry agrees with Rush that national health care is not the
answer, but he doesn't know what else can be done. Health care is
not subject to normal market conditions, so what other approach
is there? Rush says that half the problem is that health care is
not subject to market conditions, while the other half is that
government moved in and tried to fix it.

Rush notes that America's compassion really is the source for the
government's interference - Medicare, Medicaid, etc. Americans
are not willing to step aside and let sick people remain
untreated; however, once the people step aside and let insurers
and governments decide how health care will be priced and
distributed, then market forces are out of the picture.

Rush recalls how 30 years ago his father's doctor friends warned
anyone who listened of what would happen when the government got
involved in health care. The government pays the insurers and the
people have no idea of the costs involved, and thus the people
start thinking health care is free.

Jerry says that the average physician's salary is $134,000 a
year, and so he has to wonder if this is too much. Rush comments
that he talked with the coach of the California Angels yesterday
about how Gary Bonds is getting a $43 million contract. This may
be out of line, but is the solution to let the government start
mandating salaries?

Jerry says that the only real solution would be for fans to stop
showing up and paying the prices. Rush notes, though, that
baseball players can't be overpaid as long as the owners can
afford to pay their salaries.

However, Bonds' high salary will distort the average salary that
is calculated for baseball players. Similarly, the $134,000
figure is an average for all physicians, and Rush recalls a CNN
Factoid that showed most pediatricians earn $74,000 a year or
less. Rush holds Jerry over the break.

*BREAK*

Phone   Jerry from East Hanover, NJ (continued)

Rush says that if someone decides they want to be a doctor,
they'll end up paying major bucks to go through 7 or 8 years (or
more) of college. Then there are major investments if they want
their own office and equipment. Finally, doctors have to deal
with what is perhaps the ultimate responsibility on a day-to-day
basis (i.e. people's lives).

If limits are placed on what doctors can earn, then there will be
fewer people willing to go through all of this to become doctors.
Perhaps in a perfect society the money wouldn't matter, but
that's not the way things are - "it's always the money,
especially when they say it's not."

Jerry thinks, though, that Americans should rely less on doctors
and instead rely on themselves to take care of themselves - eat
right, exercise, etc. Rush adds that above all, people shouldn't
think that taking drugs is okay if they just eat a balanced diet,
like one caller earlier this week tried to claim.

Jerry admits he is somewhat sympathetic to the previous caller's
view, but it's obvious that it will never be okay to use heavy
drugs such as heroin. Then if people are going to use minor drugs
such as marijuana, they have to be able to monitor their own
lives and evaluate on a daily basis whether the drugs are
interfering with what they want to do. Jerry knows a very few
people who have done this successfully, but far many more have
not.

Rush agrees with that - he points out that drugs have been around
for a long time, and he believes in the wisdom of man over the
ages. Most people, though, have a view of life that encompasses
only their own lifespan; however, man has been around for a long,
long time, and it can't be denied that if these drugs could be a
component for personal success, there would be lots of evidence
for that by now.

If drugs really provided an advantage in one's life, companies
would be looking for drug addicts to hire as employees, and
colleges would teach all about how these drugs should be used.
The prohibitions against drug use were therefore not created by a
bunch of fuddy-duddies who want to deny everyone else a good
time, but rather because drug use is a bad thing. People have to
have some confidence in these sorts of traditions, yet it is
these very traditions which are under assault in our society's
culture war.

If someone says that doing "clean heroin" is okay, Rush has to
ask where the body of evidence to support this contention is. Now
that Rush has said this, though, someone will probably come up
with "proof" that Lincoln smoked dope. The EIB staff points out
that both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp, and
they used slaves to do it. Rush wonders if this means dope-
smokers should go back and own slaves.

He admits he is being somewhat facetious in this, but the Betty
Ford Center does not exist to teach people how to use drugs in
order to live better lives; rather, the Betty Ford Center exists
so as to teach people how to create better lives for themselves
by eliminating drugs.

Phone   Liz from Parkersburg, WV

Liz has been listening to Rush for only a couple of months, and
she appreciates Rush's notes of optimism after the election. Rush
adds that he was trying to encourage people to remember the power
they possess as individuals, and not link their future and
prosperity with a particular political office or politician.

Liz says she stopped being worried when she heard Rush after the
election, but she's really worried now. Rush points out that
Clinton is not even President yet, and Liz says that this is what
is so frightening. She also thinks that Hillary Clinton will have
more influence in Washington than anybody will ever know, and
that Bill Clinton will not keep any of his promises.

Rush says that this news doesn't distress him because he's known
it all along. He tried his best to get Bush elected, but now that
Clinton is in the White House, Rush will continue on leading his
own life. Liz says that she was still living in her native Canada
during Jimmy Carter's term, and Canadians were laughing out loud
over him. Now, though, she's an American and a Republican, and
has to wonder what the future will bring.

Rush says that the future may certainly bring some chaos and
tumult, but EIB will still be a source of good cheer. He doesn't
expect to be surprised by the next administration, because he has
a good idea of what they are going to do; if he is surprised it
will be only because Clinton did something good. "I am
psychologically prepared," Rush states, adding "plus, I have
offshore accounts."

*BREAK*

Phone   Kelly from Bakersfield, CA

Kelly says that political correctness has taken over the
Bakersfield real estate market. Words such as "family room" can
no longer be used in newspaper ads since it would be
discriminatory towards those who aren't part of a typical family
structure. The phrase "walking distance from schools" is
similarly discriminatory towards those who can't walk.

Rush points out that this is what happens when democratic
policies are made by "feelings." Kelly says that people are so
afraid of offending anyone and everyone that they are walking on
eggshells now. Rush sighs and says that when he hears this kind
of stuff he's at first discouraged, but this just shows how much
he and his show are needed.

Kelly says that people have gotten to the point where they expect
everything to be handed to them, as opposed to working for life's
rewards for themselves. Rush says that America is becoming a
society of groups waiting to be offended, so that they can then
take legal action to seek formal redress for their grievances.

Phone   Scott from Dallas, TX

Two weeks ago Scott heard a local news story about how American
soldiers are going to return from Somalia "emotionally scarred"
by the horrors they've seen over there. Rush hopes that most
people would be affected by seeing emaciated and starving
children, since that's why America is over there in the first
place.

As to whether lasting emotional damage will result, this will be
determined by the individuals involved. However, it's ridiculous
to use this reasoning to attack the courage or professionalism of
American troops, or to attack the policy of feeding the Somalis.
However, human misery is bound to affect those who see it close
up.

Rush recalls that many of the rescue workers who went in to save
people when a Kansas City catwalk collapsed themselves needed
counseling afterwards. He doubts, though, that much lasting
emotional damage resulted.

Rush recalls that the other day he said human beings simply
couldn't realize the true scope of the human misery that exists
on this planet. The affect that this misery has on those who see
just part of it is just one reason why this is so.

*BREAK*

Rush admits he just did a cruel and unkind thing, but that was
only because he is in a weakened state from not eating in
preparation for his visit to the doctor. Lo Bianco is excited
about his four-day excursion aboard the USS Normandy. When Lo
Bianco told him about this trip earlier, Rush acted as if he was
impressed and excited; however, when Lo Bianco showed Rush his
invitation during the break, Rush pointed out that it was a form
letter with Lo Bianco's name typed in. Lo Bianco was crest-fallen
at this realization.

Phone   Robin from Orlando, FL

Robin gives "dittogasms" and Rush wonders if Robin is planning a
"gender-based power grab." She has been trying to talk to Rush
since the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings, to tell him that
she, along with a lot of other women, don't mind the occasional
hug or "tweak on the bottom" while at work. There's a big
difference, in her eyes, between sexual harassment and casual
play.

Rush agrees - it's one thing when a boss is taking liberties and
using the woman's paycheck as a weapon, but the natural interplay
and fun between men and women is another matter. Rush has run out
of time, but has just enough time to yell "Go, Steelers! Sorry,
Buffalo." before he's cut off.

--
John Switzer               | "What we have here is a failure to
                           | masticate."
Compuserve: 74076,1250     | -- MST3K's Dr. Clayton "Firebrand" Forrester,
Internet: [e-mail]   | after TV's Frank is unable to eat his 13th turkey.