Unofficial Summary of the Rush Limbaugh Show for Thursday, May 26, 1994 by John Switzer This unofficial summary is copyright (c) 1994 by John Switzer. All Rights Reserved. These summaries are distributed on CompuServe and the Internet, and archived on CompuServe (DL9 of the ISSUES forum) and Internet (cathouse.org and grind.isca.uiowa.edu). WWW users can access http://neptune.corp.harris.com/rush.html The /pub/jrs directory at ftp.netcom.com contains the summaries for the past 30 days. Distribution to other electronic forums and bulletin boards is highly encouraged. Spelling and other corrections gratefully received. Please read the standard disclaimer which was included with the first summary for this month. In particular, please note that this summary is not approved or sanctioned by Rush Limbaugh or the EIB network, nor do I have any connection with them other than as a daily listener. ************************************************************* May 26, 1994 BRIEF SUMMARY OF TOPICS: EPA gives Utah state $500,000 to study methane coming from cow's burps; activists want to stop "electronic redlining" of information superhighway; pressure seems to be getting to Clinton, who is talking about Republicans as "fanatics mongering in hate and fear"; Clinton extending trade benefits to China, continuing Bush policies that he had criticized during 1992 campaign; Clinton goes to "pep rally" at Capitol Hill; Democrats continuing to blame Republicans for their own lack of progress in health care; Clinton facing increasing hostility in the South; more callers support Rush's belief that proper spanking is not abuse but punishment borne of love; Rush accused of being hypocritical with his attacks against Kurt Cobain; construction worker asks Rush not to criticize jean-wearers; Burlington Fabrics "angry" at Rush's disparaging remarks about denim jeans; EPA warns San Diego mayor not to clean up river because it would "violate the sewage-based ecology of the river"; contrary to news items, Rush's second book did very well; caller bets Rostenkowski will use "congressional deficit syndrome" as his defense in court; Rostenkowski might have taken a "pay cut" if he had retired in 1992 with $1 million in campaign contributions; NY Post reports "Hillary says Rosty Can Just Get Losty"; words to "House Post Office" commercial; words to "Dan Rostenkowski limited edition postage stamp" commercial; words to "Hey, Hey, Paula"; Rush accused of suppressing anger towards his father for being spanked; retired psychologist has had it with psychobabblers; if liberals had been around in 1787, they'd still be debating which truths are `self-evident"; good union worker thinks Clinton is trying to make country a little more fair because "there are too few people with too much money"; Sarasota school officials have cancelled second appearance by Smokey Robinson because he mentioned God in his first speech; sexual harassment charges against NY teachers have increased over 800% since 1991; coffee has become latest environmental hazard; Clinton gets polite reception at Annapolis Naval Academy but White House aides think the "relative warmth" is sign that Clinton is "being recognized as a credible Commander-in-Chief"; Clinton tells Naval graduates that they will provide service to their country outside of military; caller decries the rise of "experts" in art and in parenting; caller figures he'll pay about $2,000 a year out of pocket under the Clinton health care plan; CBS to put on special about how excuses are being found for nearly every action and misbehavior; caller notes that liberals want to hold parents responsible for their children's actions, but then deny parents the right to discipline their children so as to teach them correctly; Rush's CIS account is 70277,2502. LIMBAUGH WATCH May 26, 1994 - It's now (allegedly) day 492 (day 511 for the rich and the dead) of "America Held Hostage" (aka the "Raw Deal") and 569 days after Bill Clinton's election, but Rush is still on the air with 640 radio affiliates (with more than 22 million listeners weekly world-wide), 234 TV affiliates (with a national rating of 3.7), and a newsletter with over 440,000 subscribers. His first book was on the NY Times hardback non-fiction best-seller list for 54 consecutive weeks, with 2.6 million copies sold, but fell off the list after Simon and Schuster stopped printing it. The paperback version of "The Way Things Ought To Be" has been on the NY Times paperback non-fiction best-seller list for 28 weeks. Rush's second book, "See, I Told You So," was on the NY Times best-seller list for 16 weeks and has sold over 2 million copies. NEWS o Reported on the Associated Press newswire - the Environmental Protection Agency has given Utah State University half a million dollars to determine how much methane is released into the atmosphere when cows burp. The federally funded study will help determine how much this burping contributes to global warming, and follows a $300,000 grant in 1991 to Washington State University to determine the effects of cow flatulence on global warming. The Utah study will fit a small herd of cattle with special breathing devices to measure the methane content of their burps, with Ken Olson of Utah State noting that "methane produced by cattle appears to be a consequential factor in global warming," perhaps up to 20% of all worldwide methane emissions. LEST WE FORGET The following are from the Rush Limbaugh show on Thursday, May 28, 1992: o The Washington Post reported that the former head of the House Post Office, Robert Rota, had confessed that he improperly changed up to $20,000 in postage vouchers into cash for Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL) over the previous five years. Rostenkowski denied the allegations. o Rush commented that one of the best stories ever been written on him had appeared in the July issue of Bigtops, a porno magazine. There were no pictures of Rush, but the story was titled "Rush Limbaugh, he's got the biggest hypothalamus in North America." o The latest Presidential poll distributed the electoral votes as follows: Bush had 190 electoral votes of the 270 he needed, Perot had 128, and Clinton had only 6. While the poll did not include all 50 states, it was sobering news for the Democrats, and Rush predicted that should Perot fade away for some reason, the major media would "stampede" to Bill Clinton in a massive attempt of "mouth-to-mouth resuscitation." The press would stop at nothing to turn Clinton back into a viable candidate because their major goal was to get rid of Bush, so they would give Clinton the biggest free ride from the press that this country had ever seen. o A study of 400 inner city youths done by Princeton University reported that black leaders such as Jesse Jackson and Magic Johnson were no more effective than George Bush in reaching urban black teenagers to talk about drugs or safe sex. The study found that members of the "hip-hop" generation rejected both mainstream black and white cultures. Inner city teens would be delighted to meet someone like Magic Johnson, but they would discount his messages against drugs because they would believe he is "only playing the game" - acting like a celebrity. o Ted Turner announced he would buy a 300,000 acre ranch in New Mexico to raise buffalo which he believed were more politically correct than cattle because "they were here first." Turner's network, by the way, aired a 1991 show called "New Range Wars" that claimed cattle were overgrazing and destroying the land. Rush therefore composed a song in honor of Turner's new ranch. Sung to the tune of "Home on the Range," its lyrics were: Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam, And a wife with a pink negligee. Where seldom are heard, a conservative word, And the news is on cable all day. Rush added that Turner's wife, Jane Fonda, was assailed by Nora Ephram for getting breast implants; Ephram was disappointed because Fonda was intelligent and not "an average woman"; according to Ephram, "only middle class women get implants." o A 28-year old woman was arrested in Los Angeles for stealing a 3-year old from a daycare center and then setting a car on fire with the child in it. The child was burned over 70% of its body. o A San Bernadino County coroner consultant reported that blood tests indicated that the late Sam Kinnison took cocaine and prescription drugs before he was killed in an April car crash. The consultant wouldn't comment on whether the drugs impeded Kinnison's ability to drive, but he did identify the drugs found in the comedian's blood: xantac, valium, codeine, and cocaine. Rush recalls that he took codeine once, and he certainly was not capable of driving at the time. o An all-woman band called "The Bare Naked Ladies" was drawing huge crowds, but was upsetting feminists. o Rush was in the midst of a "maddening episode" concerning his computers. He'd been looking for an easy way to backup his 200MB hard disk and was having no luck at all. At first he tried a removable harddisk cartridge system from Syquest; after three months, his "top-flight computer consultant" finally got him one and installed it. Three hours later, though, the Syquest system still wasn't working, and in fact caused his Mac system to crash. Rush was so angry that he almost threw the thing out of the window. He could understand this type of thing if he lived in Moscow, but not in the good, old U.S.A. So next he tried a 3.5" 120MB tape drive. Again, after three months, his "tip-top computer consultant" finally was able to order one from a distributor. However, the day it was supposed to have arrived, the "top-flight computer consultant" called to say that UPS had lost the drive, and that it would show up "probably within a month." The "tofu-tongued consultant" called yesterday to say that the drive had shown up, and Rush had him come over last night. The tape drive was hooked up and Rush was able to copy data to it without problems. However, when he tried to format a new tape, his computer locked up. He didn't realize this for about a half-hour, though, because it took about 20 minutes to format each tape. So because Rush was still without a proper back-up storage kit he warned callers that he was in a "foul mood." o The May 17th issue of the Houston Post reported that when Perot took his signature petitions to Austin, TX, his supporters took along 90 boxes labelled "Perot - Now There's a Choice." However, only 19 boxes actually contained the 200,000 petitions, while the remaining 71 boxes were just for show. Roger Ailes commented that he saw Perot being interviewed on TV; during the interview, Perot brought out a sheaf of papers from his safe and said "it's all right here - it's over for George Bush." Perot didn't let the reporter see the information, though, and instead put it right back into his safe. Rush called this "pretty slick." o Two years earlier, an Idaho town of 24 people was destroyed to make room for a new highway, so it was ironic that a 90-home luxury home development in Hurricane, UT was stopped because five rare male desert tortoises had taken up residence in the area. The turtles, which were looking for mates, could not be touched or moved under the terms of the Endangered Species Act. o The mountain gorilla Mrithi, star of the movie "Gorilla in the Mists," was killed by gunfire in Rwanda. Diana E. McMeekan, president of the African Wildlife Foundation, said "he was the first gorilla who has ever touched me." The World Wildlife Fund said that the gorilla was the first gorilla victim of the battle between the Rwandan government and the LAPD. Rush hadn't seen any comment from Sigourney Weaver, but he was interested in hearing what she would have to say when learning that she was not the star of the movie "Gorillas in the Mist." ******** MORNING UPDATE Rush asks what happens when liberals get together with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)? The answer is stupid new terms such as "electronic redlining." Civil rights advocates and consumer activists have filed petitions this week with the FCC, accusing phone companies of excluding poor people and minorities from the "information superhighway." According to the activists, this is illegal "electronic redlining" and discrimination. Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Media Education, insists that all new services must be made available in an "equitable and non-discriminatory manner." He and others are upset that the phone companies want to build new networks linking phones and TVs in affluent neighborhoods first, instead of in poor neighborhoods. Thus, even before the information superhighway can be built, these idiots want to ground it because it's unfair that poor people won't have it first. However, Rush wants to pose some business-related questions: when the automobile was first built, who first bought it, poor people or the affluent? What about telephones, TVs, camcorders, CDs, or any other new technology - who bought these devices first? Did the companies market these new devices to the poor or to those who could buy and afford them? This is not discrimination, but basic business, which is why liberals can't and won't understand it. FIRST HOUR Items o Rush suspects that the pressure is getting to the President since he's starting to spout a bunch of leftist tripe and rhetoric such as how Republicans are "a bunch of fanatics mongering in hate and fear." Meanwhile, though, Republicans think that the Kentucky election is a precursor to more big wins in November. o Rush notes that the EIB Institute has both a think tank and a memory division, and while the think tank thinks about stuff, the memory division remembers stuff. The memory division has now remembered Bill Clinton criticizing George Bush during the 1992 campaign about the U.S.'s dealings with China. Candidate Clinton insisted that America should not trade with them or grant the country most favored nation status until they "clean up their abuses on human rights." Thus, today's NY Times has the headline "Clinton Rejects Penalizing China - President Said to Decide to Extend Trade Benefits." Clinton said that the country would worry about human rights later, and Rush thinks that it's fun to watch Clinton flip-flop about such things, especially since Clinton isn't even aware that he's changed his position on this. o The newspapers today, including the Wall Street Journal, have stories about how Clinton went to Capitol Hill last night for a "pep rally." Yet the only people who hold pep rallies are people in school, proving how Clinton and those in his administration still basically think they are in college, not the real world. They're still writing their term papers and theorizing, as if they weren't in control of everything. Clinton talked about health care last night, but he chastised Democrats for bottling up his health care plan. The WSJ reports that "Clinton appealed to the Democrats to put aside their differences," which implies that it's Democrats, not Republicans, who are standing in the way of health care in Congress. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell actually said, "The number of different views on health care far exceeds the number of Senators." In other words, there are more health care plans than guys in Congress, and the scuttlebutt floating around Capitol Hill is that Mitchell is now thinking that the smart thing for Democrats to do is to let the health care bill die, and then blame Republicans for it in November. This would work, though, only if the people wanted what the Democrats were offering, but this might no longer be the case, given that the polls on health care are moving to the right. Rush would love to see the Democrats try to blame this on Republicans, though, because he'll be right there to remind America that the Republicans couldn't stop a Democratic health care plan even if they were unified and voting together, which they aren't. The Democrats don't agree with each other, so it's natural that they would blame Republicans for their own failures. Rush thinks such an attempt would backfire, though, given the string of Republican victories over the past year, including how the "Democratic seat" in Kentucky will now have a Republican in it for the first time in 129 years. Clinton, of course, when telling Democratic members of Congress that they should "take credit" for health care, sharply attacked Republicans as "fanatics who are peddling a message of hate and fear." Clinton also insisted that Republicans were fooling themselves if they thought Kentucky presaged the November elections. Rush notes, though, that Clinton is facing increasing hostility especially in the rural south, given his recent attack against the south. Rush thus doubts Clinton's portrayal of Republicans as hate-mongers will have any effect, especially since Democrats running for re-election are running away from Clinton. In fact, Rush thinks the best thing Clinton could do is to promise all the Democrats running for re-election that he won't go anywhere near them during their re-election campaigns. The Democrats don't want Clinton anywhere near them right now, so they might even be willing to support his health care plan to keep him away. Rush admits EIB was premature in July, 1992 when it sent Tony Lo Bianco down to Madison Square Gardens with grape-flavored KoolAid for the Democratic convention. However, he is now thinking that perhaps now might be the time to revive this idea to epitomize the impending catastrophe of the Democratic party. *BREAK* Phone Joey from Venice, FL Joey first notes he was spanked as a kid, but is still a productive American citizen, working his way to the top, hopefully to become a CEO of a top American company. Rush hopes Joey makes it, but also hopes that he will give all his employees one hour a day to listen to the EIB Network. Joey agrees to do so, and notes that the one caller earlier this week who thought spanking was "violence" was totally off-base; the discipline his parents gave him as a kid has stood him in good stead, from his school days through his military service and even into his business career. Rush thanks Joey for his call, and notes that he is referring to Sharon, a caller from St. Louis, who upbraided Rush for his remarks in favor of spanking. However, punishment and discipline are not the same as physical violence, yet liberals have defined these words to be synonyms. As far as liberals are concerned, punishment no longer means teaching people right from wrong, but rather pointless beating and abuse, and liberals equate punishment with "violence." And, of course, parents are no longer considered to be up to the task of raising their children, so an entire cottage industry has been created to "teach" parents how to raise their kids. It's gotten to the point where the average American is thought to be dump, stupid, hopeless, and happy about it. Phone Eric from El Cerrito, CA Eric thinks Rush has been very hypocritical over the past few months, especially in how he criticized the media for its negative comments about Richard Nixon after his death; however, the day after Kurt Cobain's death, Rush called Cobain "human debris." Rush points out that he has no respect for people who commit suicide, and he made that point very clear at the time. Not to mention that there was nothing in Cobain's life that Rush thought was worthy of respect. Eric still thinks that Rush was being hypocritical, given that he himself thinks that Nixon was human debris; however, he wouldn't say so after Nixon's death as quickly as Rush did of Cobain. He thinks Rush's willingness to attack Cobain like this is sort of hypocritical. Rush doesn't think so because his comments about the press's diatribes against Nixon were about how Nixon was being treated after his death by the press as if he were still a potent threat and enemy; however, Nixon could do no further harm to these people, yet the media still was attacking him as if he could. Rush asks Eric for other examples of his hypocrisy, and Eric says that while Rush defends the freedom of smokers, he doesn't attack anti-sodomy or anti-drug laws. In fact, Rush has been silent on alcohol laws, too. Rush says that there are differences between these substances and cigarettes; tobacco hasn't ruined people's lives as have drugs and alcohol. As to sodomy, these laws have been in effect for thousands of years for reasons that are still valid today. *BREAK* Phone Steve from San Bernadino, CA Steve has two problems with what Rush has been saying lately. First, Steve worked in the construction field for many years, so he knows that a lot of hard-working people wear jeans. Thus, he doesn't think Rush should be criticizing jeans, although he admits that it's been quite a while since Rush has criticized jeans as being worn only by hippy-types. Rush says that he did own jeans before the hippy movement started, but he stopped wearing them once they became the fashion statement for hippies. Rush is amazed, though, that Steve is calling right when a paper in Charlotte, NC is reporting that Burlington Fabrics, which makes denim, is angry at Rush's remarks. The paper is trying to stir up a ruckus about a comment Rush made about jeans a while ago, and Burlington is playing along gladly, even offering to send Rush a "huge pair" of jeans to change his attitude. EIB has thus issued a clarification about this. First, when Rush started working in radio at the age of 16, he wanted to be taken seriously by the establishment. He was also not a war protestor, but instead thought the U.S. should win the Vietnam War, and for those reasons he decided to avoid wearing the blue jeans that were so popular with his generation. Today, though, Rush doesn't wear jeans because he never got in the habit of wearing them, nor does he have the kind of job that would allow him to wear them even if he wanted to. Rush rarely goes outside, and when he does, he's wearing shorts because the only time he goes outside is when he's in Florida. Besides, in "Jeans Lingo," Rush is "husky," and Rush would prefer not to wear the overall type jeans. He's also never found a pair of jeans that have a high enough rise and which didn't make him look even heavier than he is. This is not to denigrate jeans, though, because there are a lot of pieces of clothing that pose similar problems for him, such as certain types of collars. Rush admits he hasn't "bashed" those kinds of collars, but he also hasn't intended to "bash" jeans, either. Rush really is curious, though, whether Steve is really from San Bernadino, and not a "Burlington plant." Steve swears that his call is just a coincidence, and he would also like to disagree with the "broad brush" that Rush has used on the environment. Rush says that this criticism of him has got to stop - he's got two books in print, dozens of issues of his newsletter, five years of radio and two years of TV in which he's been very specific about whom he disagrees with regarding the environment. Rush does not use a broad brush when talking about the environmentalists, and he wishes that people would start listening to what he actually says. For example, the latest example of what Rush finds fault with concerns the river that separates San Diego and Tijuana. The mayors of these two cities wanted to clean up this heavily polluted river, but the EPA has warned them to take no clean-up action that would "violate the sewage-based ecology of the river." The San Diego mayor then remarked "sewage has been spilled so long, it has become vested, and the ecologists are telling us that when we clean it up we may offend some creatures that live in it." Thus, the EPA is now protecting organisms that live in sewage. Steve says his only point is that there are a lot of common sense people who believe in clean water and clear air, and Rush says he knows this; he's said many times that he's all for these things, too. Steve says he knows this, but a lot of people he knows have missed this point about Rush. Rush says that the only thing Steve should ask these people is "have you listened to him?" If they haven't, then tell these people to shut up because they don't know what they're talking about. Rush admits that he is getting tired of hearing about how he "paints with a broad brush." He could understand this criticism if he had been on the air for only a year or two, and hadn't written any books, but this is not the case and the truth about him is clear to see. ******** As to another point to be cleared up, Rush has had two hardcover books published, the first which was on the NY Times best-seller list as number one for 24 weeks, having sold 2.3 million in hardcover and 1.6 million in paperback. His second book came out last November, and sold 2 million in eight weeks; his first book didn't sell as fast because it took 13 printings to get to 2 million copies printed, while his second book had a first printing of that many. Thus, the second book sold quickly, without any pent-up demand, and has racked up total sales of 2.25 million so far. A couple of stories, though, have claimed that "Limbaugh's book bombed." Supposedly in the publishing world, a second book never does as well as the first, and the paperback always sells more than the hardcover, but Rush's book has broken both rules. Where these other stories are coming from, Rush doesn't know, nor does he know why his second book has fallen off the NY Times list, other than the fact that it sold so incredibly quickly when first released. However, Rush is not worried about his second book, especially since its paperback has yet to come out and since the hardcover is only 60,000 behind in sales from the first. Rush suspects that the second book will catch up as people buy their Father's Day gifts. *BREAK* Phone Craig from Northport, FL Craig has studied both economics and politics, and has concluded that Rostenkowski will go to trial, using the defense of "congressional deficit syndrome," claiming that his 37 years in Congress have made him incapable of judging right from wrong anymore. Thus, because he's been surrounded by people who are constantly stealing from the taxpayers, Rostenkowski will undoubtedly claim that he is no longer responsible for his actions and should be found innocent of all charges. Rush loves the idea of "congressional deficit syndrome," and congratulates Craig on his great analysis of the situation. From what Rush has read in the Washington Post, Rostenkowski's alleged illegal activities have involved several hundred thousand dollars, echoing what Rush said earlier this week about how Rostenkowski might have taken a "pay cut" had he retired with the $1 million in campaign contributions in 1990. He's accused of trading office postage stamps for cash and of assuming ownership of cars previously leased by the government. He has reimbursed the House Stationery Store to the tune of more than $80,000 for wood and leather furniture, and investigators are also looking into obstruction of justice charges, with Rostenkowski staffers and others possibly being charged. Plus, Rostenkowski has been accused of having fake employees on his payroll, with people being paid without ever having to show up for work. Rush admits he was surprised to find out that the House has its own Stationery Store, and since they used to have their own House Bank and Post Office, he has to wonder just what other goodies the House has up on Capitol Hill. He also finds it amazing that when the House Post Office scandal broke, EIB put together a parody commercial and took what it thought was a little poetic license about what was going on in there. However, that parody has been proven to be exactly right about what was happening, with members of Congress laundering constituents' checks and trading cash for stamps. Rush promises to play this commercial later during the show and talk about this some more as well. *BREAK* Today's NY Post has the headline "Hillary Says Rosty Can Just Get Losty," and the story quotes her as saying that while Rostenkowski is a great guy, "we don't need him for health care" which is "bigger than any one person." Rush bets that Lani Guinier and Rostenkowski will get together to commiserate about they've both been dumped by the administration. Rush recalls, though, that Rostenkowski once told Hillary during her appearance before his committee that "the President will soon become known as Hillary's husband." But Hillary hasn't hesitated to dump Rostenkowski when it's become inconvenient to have him around anymore. "This is a tough woman!" Rush remarks. *BREAK* SECOND HOUR Rush admits he is still amazed at how when the House Post Office scandal originally broke, EIB did a parody commercial, speculating about what was going on at the time. The House Post Office scandal actually broke before the House Bank one, but it was put on the backburner when the check kiting at the bank was revealed. EIB thus produced a commercial for both the House Bank and Post Office, and EIB's guesses about what was happening at the Post Office has ended up being dead on. <> The Capitol Hill Post Office - over a 100 years of service. <> Yeah, I remember my first day behind the counter at the Capitol Hill Post Office. It's something I'll never forget . . . <> <> Well, ah hello there, Mr. Congressman. Is there anything I can help you with there? <> Well, yes son, I need a couple of them thar first-class stamps. <> Okay, is that all, sir? <> No - uh - can you cash this check for a $1000? <> Ah, boy, sir, I don't - I don't know, I don't think so. <> Well now, trust me, son, you can. You see, it's just the way we do things up here on the Hill. Heh, heh, heh. <> Oh, sure, the congressmen have come and gone, and I've retired, but some things remain the same. <> <> Well, ah, hello there, Mr. Congressman. Is there anything I can help you with there? <> Yeah, check my mailbox. <> Okay - oh, just a check statement from your bank, sir. <> What check statement? <> Ah, yes sir, I'll just tear this up right away. <> Good kid, good kid. Hey, I need some postage stamps - just one. <> Okay, that'll be 29 cents. <> Uh, here's a constituent's check for $5000. <> Ah, and here's your change. Thanks, Congressman. <> And kid, you keep that stamp. <> Hey thanks! <> That way if I'm indicted, he's my accomplice. Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh. <> Bye-bye! <> Yes sir, I guess it's true what they say about congressmen and the Capitol Hill Post Office - neither inquiry nor bribes nor abuses of power shall keep our appointed leaders from making their rounds. <> The Capitol Hill Post Office, another special privilege institution. ******** Today's Washington Post reports that this is essentially part of what was going on, with checks being cashed at the House Post Office, ostensibly to buy stamps but later being converted for stamps. Rush notes, by the way, that congressmen have the "franking" privilege, which means they don't need to buy stamps in the first place; however, they still set up a Post Office anyway. EIB didn't stop with this commercial, though, but continued to tweak Rosty with the following commercial: <> Attention, stamp collectors! The Capitol Hill Post Office announces a must-have stamp for your collection - the Dan Rostenkowski limited edition postage stamp. This special stamp is available for a limited time only, and it features Dan Rostenkowski at his best - surrounded by reporters, refusing to answer any questions. <> Euugggh! There's no way you could get me to lick that thing. <> No need to worry about that! The Dan Rostenkowski limited edition stamp has no glue on it; it won't stick to anything and nothing will stick to it! <> How do I get one?!? <> Simply go to the Capitol Hill Post Office, cash a constituent's check, and the stamp is absolutely free, no questions asked! <> Super! <> And while you're there, you can vote on which Bill Clinton you'd like to see on the new Presidential stamp: the old, likable campaigning Bill Clinton or the new promise-breaking, misleading, and occasionally confrontational Bill Clinton. <> We're not sure which one we hate more! <> The new limited edition Dan Rostenkowski postage stamp. Another fine service from the Capitol Hill Post Office. ********* In a musical mood, Rush plays one of his new favorites: "Hey, Hey Paula, did I embarrass you? Hey, Hey Paula, I didn't mean to harass you. I can't wait to see, what you use for <>. Paula, they'll never know the truth . . . about my lust, my lust." "Hey, Paula, I didn't know I'd frighten you. Hey, hey, hey Paula, now it's kinda scary to me, too. But if you swear it's true, I'll just say you're loose! Ah, come on, I mean . . . what's the big deal . . . about my lust, my lust?" <> "Harassment means asking a time or two, But you didn't let me finish the first time through. I was just teasing . . . when I told you, The job you want just might come true. It's just my lust, my lust." <> "Hey, hey, Paula, did I embarrass you? Hey, hey, hey, Paula, I thought I was like a brother to you. Harassment means asking a time or two. You didn't let me finish the first time through. I was just teasing, when I told you The job you want might just come through. Was it my lust? My lust??" *BREAK* Phone Joe from New Providence, NJ Joe is concerned about the conversation Rush had about corporal punishment earlier this week, especially as how Rush related that he once had to cut his own switch. He thinks Rush was "coming up with lots of defenses" and rationalizations for the spankings he received. Joe thinks Rush was rationalizing about how the spankings did him no harm and were for his own good; these are the kinds of "defenses that remove a person from the feeling world - that's what it's all about." Joe also felt a lot of anger in Rush during this conversation. Rush notes that Joe basically has accused him of not knowing what he's talking about with his own life. Joe says that's not what he means, but he did sense some anger on Rush's part towards the caller who was insisting that spanking was always bad. Joe thinks this anger, though, was misdirected on Rush's part, and that this anger was not really towards the caller but towards his own father. Rush finds it amazing that someone would try to turn him into a victim who hated his father. Joe, though, says he's only trying to see if Rush is capable of looking at these things. Rush notes, however, that Joe basically has called in, having already made his conclusions about this, telling him that he is really mad at his father, not with the caller who was trying to tell him that what his father did was wrong. Joe says that this is what he's sensing, and Rush's reply is "My God, the country is finished." He's certain that Joe's call has to be a joke, but he states again that 1) he is normal, 2) that his childhood was normal, 3) that his father was terrific, although 4) Rush did get mad at his dad at certain times, such as when he got spanked. However, as an adult now, Rush knows that his father did a pretty good job as a parent, and that the country would be better off if more people did things as his father did. Rush wouldn't mind relieving his childhood at this point, especially since he knew that his father's motivations were for what was best for his son, and his actions turned out for the best. Rush admits he still has some lingering anger about some things about his father, but most of that is over how his father treated himself, not his sons. Thus, he rejects the notion that some listener could tell him that his anger at a caller's assertions about all this was really anger directed at his father. Joe asks how Rush would feel if someone today would strike him, and Rush bets that he would ask for a "time-out" and try to "understand" the person who struck him. Joe takes Rush seriously, so Rush explains that this wouldn't happen since his security people are very efficient. However, if someone did strike him, Rush would be angry about him. Joe says that this is how children feel when they are hit. Rush, though, points out that being punished and spanked is a lot different than being "hit" - even as a child, Rush knew why he was being spanked and there was a big difference between that and being slugged in the jaw. Joe asks if being spanked was a common practice in his household, and Rush says no because it occurred only a few times, maybe only twice. Joe gives a psychiatric "hmmm" at this and says he has a "hard time with that." Rush has no doubt about this, since it appears Joe would love to hear him say that his father abused him. Joe says that Rush's father abused him at least twice, but Rush notes that his father never abused him at any point. Rush could probably advance his career by claiming he was abused, but that was not the case, and he's not going to let anyone put words in his mouth. Spanking is not abuse. Joe refuses to believe this, and equates it to someone punching Rush in the jaw or hitting him with a stick. Joe sees not difference between these things and hitting an unprotected, defenseless child. Rush doesn't see why it's so hard to draw a distinction between unprovoked, angry violence, and a parent punishing a child because that parent, out of a parent's love, wants to teach and instruct the child. However, it appears that Joe will never see that distinction, which is why his attempt to psychoanalyze Rush is way off-base. *BREAK* Phone Judy from Cincinnati, OH Judy is still trying to recover from the last call, and notes she is a retired psychologist; therefore, she points out, if psychobabble drives Rush up the wall, it drives her up 17 stories, if not further. Rush admits he still can't make the logical connection between slugging someone and parents' punishing of their kids. Judy notes there is no connection between these two things, but Rush says that to too many people there are such connections, and unfortunately many of these people are social workers who can take kids away from their parents. Judy says that psychobabble such as this has as much chance of helping you understand the human condition as understanding a toaster will help one become an electrical engineer. A little bit of knowledge is still a dangerous thing, and many of her former colleagues find it easier to use psychobabble instead of their minds. Judy adds that she is tired of hearing Rush attacked for being "intolerant." She thinks Rush, if anything, is too tolerant, as he is sometimes too diplomatic and gracious when talking about ridiculous things. She notes a free society has to suffer fools, but it doesn't have to suffer them gladly. She thinks Rush therefore should start pointing out the sophism which has become a sacrament to liberals, who do know what they are doing. Rush notes that liberals aren't stupid, so they do know what they're doing. Judy agrees, and points out that if the psychobabbling liberals were around in 1787, they'd still be debating what truths are self-evident, and the country would still haven't have a Constitution. Rush says this is a good point - the liberals would still be arguing about the nature of truth and accusing the other founding fathers of wanting to impose "their" truths on everyone else. He finds it interesting that Judy thinks he is too tolerant towards those who still mischaracterize him. He has nearly 6.5 million copies of his books in print, plus a newsletter with 450,000 subscribers and his shows being on the air 17.5 hours a week. With all this, what Rush is and what he believes is no mystery to those who actually try to find this out for themselves. Yet people continue to mischaracterize Rush, but what more can he do? Should Rush really need to hire a PR person to make his cases for him? Rush stands by everything he's said and written, so he wonders what else he can do to end these mischaracterizations. Judy says that she would like Rush to start attacking the false premises behind the liberals' sophistry. Rush, though, doubts this would help because the liberals know the truth but simply refuse to accept it; it's in their best interests to discredit Rush. This is why Clinton has attacked Republicans as "peddling hate and fear." This sort of cliched attack indicates to Rush that Clinton, with his defenders, are losing it because they know they are losing. Judy agrees - this sort of personal attack is intellectual vacant to begin with and used by people who know they have lost the battle. However, she would not be so quick to credit the liberals with the awareness that Rush is giving them; rather, she suspects that they are intellectually void and incapable. Rush warns against selling these people short and underestimating them. Someone yesterday quoted a liberal economist as pointing out that the employer mandate in Clinton's health care plan was "virtuous" because it would fool the people. Liberal leaders know what they are doing, and in their supreme arrogance and condescension truly believe that the world needs them because the people aren't able to survive on their own. Liberals thus try to make people as dependent as possible on government and on the liberals in that government. Sadly, more and more people seem to want this dependency, so Rush would not sell liberals short. He thanks Judy for calling. Phone Roger from Long Island, NY Roger admits that Rush is keeping "us socialists in check," and Rush recalls that Roger called about two years ago when he was a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines. Roger admits that his nephew Matthew breaks his heart because he's a dittohead who's enriching EIB's coffers by buying all the dittohead stuff. And his young niece, who started kindergarten last year, surprised her teacher by telling her that she's worried about "Clinton screwing up the economy." Roger, though, insists that Bill Clinton is not a socialist, but rather someone who's trying to fix the country. Rush asks Roger, who he notes is still technically on strike against Eastern, which has basically not flown any planes in two years, to hold on through the break. *BREAK* Phone Roger from Long Island, NY (continued) Rush asks if Roger would like some free dittohead stuff, and Roger says "sure!" He continues on to say that Clinton is not a socialist but only wants to make the country "a little more fair" because "there are too few people with too much money and too many people without anything, and we have to correct this situation or we'll destroy ourselves." Roger insists the country has no more manufacturing, and is also upset that Clinton is not tying human rights to the Most Favored Nation status granted to other nations. This, to Roger, proves Clinton is not a socialist. Rush says he has never called Clinton a socialist per se, but his health care plan is socialism; his flip-flops on China are basically an admission of the reality that the U.S. can't afford to ignore its trade with China. Roger, though, says one economist noted that if tariffs were raised, trade with certain countries would be cut, but this would force America to reindustrialize, thereby making up much lost trade. Roger is all in favor of high tariffs for incoming goods because while this makes imported goods more expensive, it would reindustrialize America, creating millions of more jobs. Rush says that competition is what will re-industrialize America, as proven by how America's auto-unions are now very happy that NAFTA is creating more jobs in the U.S. because more cars are being sold in Mexico. Chrysler, in particular, has experienced a rebirth because of NAFTA, but tariffs are nothing more than tax increases. Roger says that he talked to William Buckley once, asking for any examples of products manufactured outside of the country that has come back at a lower price than when they were made in the U.S. Rush points out that Smith-Corona is now making typewriters outside of the U.S. because of lower costs; for this company to have stayed in New York, they would have had to be subsidized in order to remain competitive. Subsidies, though, only keep bad companies in business. Roger says the book "Where America Went Wrong" shows that American companies that set up manufacturing sites outside the country and sell to American firms don't pay taxes on the majority of the price of a product. If an American company imports a good for $50 and then sells it for a 10% profit, it pays taxes only on that 10% (i.e. $5); the $50 cost is not taxed at all. Rush says that Roger has basically said that America needs to make things "more fair," but this is not what America is about. Rather, America is about people pursuing excellence and freedom, not fairness. Also, Roger seems to believe the union party line that protection of American jobs is worth any cost, including charging consumers more, even if those American companies aren't competitive in the world market. Those days are gone, though, and should not return. *BREAK* President Clinton spoke to graduates at the Naval Academy yesterday, and Rush will talk more about that in the third hour. *BREAK* THIRD HOUR Items o The Sarasota, FL Herald Tribune is reporting that school officials in Sarasota have banned a second appearance by Motown singer Smokey Robinson because in his first speech to high school students he made a few references to how religion and God have improved his life. "We respect his belief but it's not something we can allow other students to hear and be a party to," said Mary Watts, assistant superintendent of Sarasota School District. Watts also noted that they had told the sponsors of Robinson's talk that there must be no religious content in his speeches, songs, or literature. Robinson, however, told the students that he felt somewhat like Lazarus since God had brought him back to life from a bought with substance abuse. Robinson also recited the 23rd Psalm and sang the song "Amazing Grace." Robinson was cheered by the 1400 students at the Youth Explosion anti-drug rally he spoke to, and the minister who organized the rally, Rev. John Davis, remarked that Robinson mentioned God in only one minute out of a two-hour presentation and that it was "sad we live in a country that the mention of Jesus is taboo." Rush contrasts this to how people like Khallid Mohammed can speak at schools, saying what he pleases about Jews and others. Smokey Robinson, though, can't even talk to kids about what's important in his life. It's now forbidden to post the Ten Commandments in public schools today, as if they were truly dangerous ideas. Rush wonders, though, if the people in Sarasota who are miffed at how Robinson is being treated are "intolerant"; there are those who would make this claim, yet isn't the real intolerance that shown by those who would silence Robinson, who was not preaching or forcing anything he was saying on someone else. A representative of the school board said that they couldn't "allow students to hear or be a party to" what Robinson said, as if he were speaking the most dangerous of words. What Robinson said and did was not harmful, oppressive, or intimidating, yet he's been silenced. o Sexual harassment charges against teachers, custodians, and administrators in New York public schools have skyrocketed from 16 in 1991 to 41 in 1992 and up to 137 cases in 1993. Most of the charges were made by female students against male staffers and teachers, and involved talk about sex acts, the size of penises, staring at chests, and touching. Rush doesn't want to condone any such activities, but he'd bet that there's more anger among educators at Smokey Robinson in Sarasota than what is seen in New York against those who committed these acts. o Researchers are now claiming that coffee might be responsible for a larger death rate in Central and South American songbirds. As more forested land is being cleared for coffee planting, songbirds are losing their natural habitats; plus songbirds are dying from eating coffee beans. "We want people to become more interested in environmentally-friendly coffee - coffee that helps birds," said Dr. Russell Greenberg, director of the Smithsonian's Migratory Bird Center in Washington, DC. "Whole ecosystems are threatened by the loss of greenery and may fall prey to coffee poisoning," Greenberg also stated, adding that it was large companies, not family farmers, which were to blame for the change in coffee farming practices. o President Clinton spoke at the Annapolis Naval Academy yesterday, receiving at best polite applause from the graduates and the crowd of 23,000 who were attending the graduation ceremonies. Aides, though, thought the "relative warmth" of the reception was a sign that Clinton was progressing as "being recognized as a credible Commander-in-Chief." In his speech to the graduates, Clinton mentioned how 400,000 Americans died in WWII, a conflict he described as the "turning point in our century." He told the graduates that the question being posed to them was "what deeds your generation will accomplish, as the generation of WWII accomplished so much." Clinton noted, though, that many of these achievements were done after the war, and told the graduates that men and women entering the military today "might ultimately provide duty and service in other ways." Of course, military graduates might have no choice in this, given the military cutbacks Clinton is implementing. Clinton, by the way, had planned to stop by Oxford on his trip to the 50th anniversary of the Normandy landing. However, the trip to Oxford was postponed until after June 6th because of concerns that the visit would bring about recollections that it was in Oxford that Clinton avoided the draft, protested the war, and wrote how he loathed the military. White House aides have also said that Clinton knows he can't improve on the emotional tribute paid by President Reagan to those who died on Omaha Beach. Clinton therefore has been "boning up" on the history of the D-Day invasion. *BREAK* Phone Tim from South Pasadena, CA Tim says that he and his wife have just had a little boy, and he constantly runs into the issue of how to discipline his child. He points out that the previous caller simply couldn't hear Rush say how he hadn't been damaged by spanking, and to Tim this is because this caller, like so many Americans, have gotten totally dependent on "experts." Tim sees this in his field, which is art. For example, Tim thinks Picasso is a fraud, but because the "experts" disagree, you don't dare say such a thing. Anything the "experts" say is accepted without question by the media, and people's personal opinions are treated with total disdain. Tim does believe there are genuine experts in America, but the "social planner experts" have degraded the meaning of this term, so that "expert" doesn't mean anything anymore. These neo-experts have killed any sort of common-sense and independent thinking. Rush agrees with this, especially since he himself dismisses all the media-made experts such as Catharine MacKinnon; this woman is nuts, and because Rush doesn't accept the conventional wisdom put forth by the media about her, he's attacked for being intolerant and bigoted. He has come to believe that one of the reasons he's so reviled by so many is because he's rejected the icons that they have created for themselves. Tim notes that Adam Smith showed he was an expert on economics and free trade with his "Wealth of Nations," but there are economists today who don't know what they are talking about being hailed as experts. The same thing is happening in art. Rush says that he took his first trip to Paris last January, and his friends insisted he visit one of the main museums in the city. Rush thus accompanied his friends as they looked through the museum and ended up in the Van Gogh room. When his friends went on and on about how Van Gogh's paintings showed the torture and anger of the artist, Rush noted that he got angry every day, but that isn't art. Rush therefore has come to the conclusion that most people who think Van Gogh is a great artist think so because "experts" have said so, not because they think personally like these paintings or are inspired by them. Tim agrees - about hundred years ago, art bloomed like it never had, but these paintings were forgotten once the Avant Garde came onto the scene. People like John Singer Sargent were among the greatest artists ever to have lived, but because they haven't been anointed by the cognoscenti, nobody knows about them. Rush admits that he never even heard of Matisse until two years ago, and asks Tim to hang on through the break. *BREAK* The segment opens up with some Baroque classical music, and Rush notes he likes this piece because he likes it, not because he thinks it's "cultured." Also, he adds, he likes this sort of music because you can't dance to it, so there's no pressure to do so. Phone Tim from Pasadena, CA (continued) Tim recalls how when Rush last year said he liked classical music, union thug Mo Thacker came storming into the studio to blast Rush for being an elitist. This is the typical of the pressure imposed by liberals. Rush agrees with that. Tim says that the sad thing about all these liberal diatribes of art is that they have convinced the common man to abandon art, simply so as to escape the batterings that the liberals give to those who don't believe as they do. Rush says that art is now defined as bullwhips stuck up in the rear ends of a nude man or a crucifix placed in a jar of urine. Tim agrees, but notes that there are still beautiful paintings out there, but the reason this sort of art doesn't flourish today is because the experts have been allowed to take over. Tim Wolfe wrote a great book titled "What is the Painted Word" that goes into all this. Rush thanks Tim for calling. Rush is informed that James Carville is the latest member of the Clinton administration to dump Rostenkowski, saying "he's not the only person in Congress. As DeGaulle once said the graveyards are full of indispensable men." Phone Charles from Taylor, MI Charles says he figured out that since his company pays $5600 a year for his health care, under the Clinton plan he'll have to pay about $2,000 out of pocket for his 20% share of that plus all the taxes on his benefits that are going to be levied. Thus, his costs will start at $2,000 and go up from there. As to what he's going to get, he likes what his current plan gives him, but he knows all he's going to get from Clinton is the shaft. Rush doesn't doubt that, and he wishes more people would do as Charles has done and ask themselves how much the Clinton plan is going to cost them and what they will get for their money. Until people know these things, they shouldn't be supporting the Clinton plan at all. Phone Linda from Dayton, OH Linda notes that she was called a "Rushie" the other day because she was reading Rush's book. Linda adds that she is a conservative Democrat, is a nurse in a psych ward, and agrees with Rush completely about spanking. Linda, her husband, and many of their friends were spanked as children, and they've turned out to be productive members of society; others who weren't spanked, though, haven't learned right from wrong or that their actions will have consequences. Spanking is not abuse, which is when children are hit and slugged for no reason, especially when extreme force is used. Rush says that CBS has a special tonight hosted by Bernard Goldberg titled "Don't Blame Me." The CBS program will look at excuses such as the "black rage" defense that attorney William Kuntsler will try to use to excuse Colin Ferguson for his murder of commuters on the Long Island Railroad. In another example, one worker who was late to work every day for ten years, sued his boss when he got fired, claiming that he couldn't help himself since he had a disability: "chronic lateness syndrome." Rush is thus encouraged that a major network would be taking a look at these sorts of excuses; even CBS has to be thinking that this sort of thing is weird. Of course, CBS doesn't have football anymore, so they have to fill the time somehow, but still this is a good sign. *BREAK* Rush replays Craig's call earlier today in which he predicted that Dan Rostenkowski would use the "congressional deficit disorder" defense in any upcoming trial. Phone Susan from Tyler, TX Susan is 28 years old and was spanked as a child, such as when she ran out into the street right in front of a car. Her parents had already repeatedly warned her about this, so they took her to her room and spanked her with a small leather belt. Susan is now a well-adjusted and productive adult, and when she was a teacher she could tell which kids were disciplined and which weren't, and to her, spanking is a sign of love, not violence. Rush says that the problem is that idiots are comparing spanking to real violence and abuse, and Susan thinks that these people are part of the problem today. If she were a kid today and ran in front of a car, she'd probably be given drugs to cure her "Attention Deficit Disorder." Rush notes that it's not just in the field of art which enforces a very strict obedience to the pop tenets of the day, but also science; should you not obey the latest "scientific fact," the supposed scientists will attack you with unbelievable venom. Meanwhile, other scientists will tell the nation that movie theater popcorn is killing them; nobody seems skeptical anymore, except, of course, for the truth. Phone Derrick from Hartford, CT Derrick says that there's a movement going on to hold parents responsible for the actions of their children, but not to allow parents to raise their kids as they see fit. If parents spank their children, they're accused of abuse, and then if the kids turn out rotten as a result of no discipline, the parents are held responsible. Rush thinks this is a great point and thanks Derrick for calling. Phone Larry from Gary, NB Larry would like Rush's CompuServe address, and Rush says that it's in the members directory - just type "GO MEMBERS." However, for those without CIS accounts, Rush gives his ID: 70277,2502. Rush looks forward to reading Larry's note, along with the thousands of others he's sure to receive tonight from outraged psychologists, parenting experts, and other scientists. *BREAK* Phone Marilyn from New York City, NY Marilyn works for an international art auction house in Manhattan, so she knows that auction houses don't set the prices for paintings; it's the collectors who set the prices, and collectors who are passionate about a certain type of art will pay anything for it. The art market is down right now, but it's a fickle market, with the public determining what is and is not hot. For example, prices are really low on contemporary paintings, but a small picture by one particular artist tripled in price, which means that his works are now worth more. Thus, arts really shouldn't be considered an investment, but rather people should buy what they like. One painting sold for $85 million a few years ago, simply because the purchaser liked that particular painting. Collectors are interested only in particular artists and/or genres, so they'll often be willing to pay whatever it takes to get something by one of their favorites. Rush admits he can understand that kind of thinking - he might pay $85 million for certain cigars; after a moment's reflection he admits that he really would never pay more than $10 million.