MarkK
10-02-2003, 08:22 AM
Looks like he is a drug addict too...
Next, the New York Daily News, keying off the National Enquirer, on Rush:
"Talk-radio titan Rush Limbaugh is being investigated for allegedly buying thousands of addictive painkillers from a black-market drug ring.
"The moralizing motormouth was turned in by his former housekeeper -- who says she was Limbaugh's pill supplier for four years.
"Wilma Cline, 42, says Limbaugh was hooked on the potent prescription drugs OxyContin, Lorcet and hydrocodone -- and went through detox twice. 'There were times when I worried,' Cline told the National Enquirer, which broke the story in an edition being published today. 'All these pills are enough to kill an elephant -- never mind a man.' . . .
"The Daily News independently confirmed that Limbaugh is under investigation. . . . Cline told the Enquirer she went to prosecutors with information about Limbaugh and others after four years of drug deals that included clandestine handoffs in a Denny's parking lot.
"She said she wore a wire during her last two deliveries to the conservative commentator and gave the tapes to authorities. She also gave the Enquirer a ledger documenting how many pills she claimed to have bought for him -- 4,350 in one 47-day period -- and E-mails she claimed Limbaugh sent her."
On the football front, Rush is out at ESPN:
"Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, embroiled in a controversy relating to a comment he made about Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, resigned from his position late last night as a commentator on ESPN's NFL pregame show," reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
"George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports, accepted the resignation. 'We regret the circumstances surrounding this,' he said in a statement. 'We believe that he took the appropriate action to resolve this matter expeditiously.'
"Limbaugh, in a statement released through ESPN, said: 'My comments this past Sunday were directed at the media and were not racially motivated. I offered an opinion. This opinion has caused discomfort to the crew, which I regret.'"
Limbaugh, who lasted only a few games, had been blasted by Inquirer columnist Phil Sheridan:
"The sick thing is, this is exactly what ESPN had in mind when the all-sports network hired veteran provocateur Rush Limbaugh for its Sunday NFL pregame show. You can imagine the meeting. The ESPN bigwigs must have needed drool cups to handle the runoff when they discussed the controversy Limbaugh would generate.
"Well, here it is. Just be advised, ESPN, that you're not fooling anyone. You brought this tired act out of his radio closet, where he rants to people who already agree with him, to stir things up. Prepare to get spattered. . . .
"Limbaugh's idea of commentary Sunday involved an absurd attack on Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and on 'the media' that have overrated him because 'the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There's interest in black quarterbacks and coaches doing well.' McNabb, Limbaugh said, isn't 'as good as everyone says he has been.'
"Here's your mistake, Rush. You stepped out of your radio comfort zone, where 'Dittoheads' either echo your twisted view of America or you can cut them off. You stepped into a place where your bluff -- and that's all it ever has been -- is easily called."
Salon's King Kaufman defends Rush, but only to a point:
"He's being pasted this week for racism over his McNabb comments, but again, I think what he says isn't motivated by racism, but by his political agenda, which is driven by hatred and fear not of black people but of what he perceives to be 'the liberal media.'
"This monolithic, unthinking monster has its own agenda, Limbaugh believes, and would stop at nothing to advance it. (Note to chief operatives of the liberal media: I'm not getting the memos about the meetings!) The fact that there's no evidence that the mainstream media is biased toward blacks, and plenty of evidence to the contrary -- quick, name the last five black people you saw on TV who weren't athletes, entertainers or accused criminals -- means nothing to Limbaugh. He's got his story and he's sticking to it."
Limbaugh said yesterday that he merely uttered an opinion that his critics "prefer not to hear," and "they are demanding my head on a platter."
"Liberal sportswriters have pushed the notion that it's unfair that there haven't been more black quarterbacks," he added, "and I agree with that. I simply said that their desire for McNabb to do well caused them to rate him a little higher than perhaps he actually is. . . .
"At one point we didn't have enough black quarterbacks. Well, now, there are quite a number of black quarterbacks and it's my opinion that the sports media, being liberals, just like liberal media is elsewhere, they have a desire that black quarterbacks excel and do very well so that their claims that blacks are being denied opportunity can be validated."
Next, the New York Daily News, keying off the National Enquirer, on Rush:
"Talk-radio titan Rush Limbaugh is being investigated for allegedly buying thousands of addictive painkillers from a black-market drug ring.
"The moralizing motormouth was turned in by his former housekeeper -- who says she was Limbaugh's pill supplier for four years.
"Wilma Cline, 42, says Limbaugh was hooked on the potent prescription drugs OxyContin, Lorcet and hydrocodone -- and went through detox twice. 'There were times when I worried,' Cline told the National Enquirer, which broke the story in an edition being published today. 'All these pills are enough to kill an elephant -- never mind a man.' . . .
"The Daily News independently confirmed that Limbaugh is under investigation. . . . Cline told the Enquirer she went to prosecutors with information about Limbaugh and others after four years of drug deals that included clandestine handoffs in a Denny's parking lot.
"She said she wore a wire during her last two deliveries to the conservative commentator and gave the tapes to authorities. She also gave the Enquirer a ledger documenting how many pills she claimed to have bought for him -- 4,350 in one 47-day period -- and E-mails she claimed Limbaugh sent her."
On the football front, Rush is out at ESPN:
"Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, embroiled in a controversy relating to a comment he made about Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, resigned from his position late last night as a commentator on ESPN's NFL pregame show," reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
"George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports, accepted the resignation. 'We regret the circumstances surrounding this,' he said in a statement. 'We believe that he took the appropriate action to resolve this matter expeditiously.'
"Limbaugh, in a statement released through ESPN, said: 'My comments this past Sunday were directed at the media and were not racially motivated. I offered an opinion. This opinion has caused discomfort to the crew, which I regret.'"
Limbaugh, who lasted only a few games, had been blasted by Inquirer columnist Phil Sheridan:
"The sick thing is, this is exactly what ESPN had in mind when the all-sports network hired veteran provocateur Rush Limbaugh for its Sunday NFL pregame show. You can imagine the meeting. The ESPN bigwigs must have needed drool cups to handle the runoff when they discussed the controversy Limbaugh would generate.
"Well, here it is. Just be advised, ESPN, that you're not fooling anyone. You brought this tired act out of his radio closet, where he rants to people who already agree with him, to stir things up. Prepare to get spattered. . . .
"Limbaugh's idea of commentary Sunday involved an absurd attack on Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and on 'the media' that have overrated him because 'the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There's interest in black quarterbacks and coaches doing well.' McNabb, Limbaugh said, isn't 'as good as everyone says he has been.'
"Here's your mistake, Rush. You stepped out of your radio comfort zone, where 'Dittoheads' either echo your twisted view of America or you can cut them off. You stepped into a place where your bluff -- and that's all it ever has been -- is easily called."
Salon's King Kaufman defends Rush, but only to a point:
"He's being pasted this week for racism over his McNabb comments, but again, I think what he says isn't motivated by racism, but by his political agenda, which is driven by hatred and fear not of black people but of what he perceives to be 'the liberal media.'
"This monolithic, unthinking monster has its own agenda, Limbaugh believes, and would stop at nothing to advance it. (Note to chief operatives of the liberal media: I'm not getting the memos about the meetings!) The fact that there's no evidence that the mainstream media is biased toward blacks, and plenty of evidence to the contrary -- quick, name the last five black people you saw on TV who weren't athletes, entertainers or accused criminals -- means nothing to Limbaugh. He's got his story and he's sticking to it."
Limbaugh said yesterday that he merely uttered an opinion that his critics "prefer not to hear," and "they are demanding my head on a platter."
"Liberal sportswriters have pushed the notion that it's unfair that there haven't been more black quarterbacks," he added, "and I agree with that. I simply said that their desire for McNabb to do well caused them to rate him a little higher than perhaps he actually is. . . .
"At one point we didn't have enough black quarterbacks. Well, now, there are quite a number of black quarterbacks and it's my opinion that the sports media, being liberals, just like liberal media is elsewhere, they have a desire that black quarterbacks excel and do very well so that their claims that blacks are being denied opportunity can be validated."