Occasionally I turn on Rush in the car for a couple minutes

[Fuzz]

while I'm in the car. He's on when I pick up the kids each and every day from school.

Why? Don't know, and I'm not going to discuss it, and don't even bring it up.

But what has become increasingly obvious and troublesome to me is that nearly every time I do turn on his rot-fest he is describing me, more specifically 'liberals' or Democrats and what we believe, how we live, how we raise our children and what we teach them bringing up the most outrageous examples that are exaggerated at best, or completely made up.

I don't recognize these people he's talking about. They aren't my friends and neighbors. I live in an extremely racially diverse area, very Democratic. My kids have been to a gay wedding, we have racially mixed marriages around here, including my own. I know no one on welfare. All our kids are great kids, good grades, empathetic and kind.

Now I also enjoy other activities, specifically the enjoyment of fine cigars and whiskey, etc. We get together, trade, share, bomb each other with cigars, play poker for cigars, fun stuff. For some reason this activity attracts quite a few boisterous right wingers. When several of them found out I'm a huge lefty (especially after they see a fat bastard like me) they look at me like I should have 2 heads and fire coming out of my nose or something.

And I realize it's because of how I've been defined by these people like Rush, Hannity on a daily basis. I'm evil to them, I'm something to be feared, I'm not normal. I don't usually get involved in politics with them, but the few times I have I have destroyed their arguments and sent them running away, but that's not what I'm there for.

I'm just tired of being defined by these idiots.

Rant off.

[noel711]

1. My blood pressure just can't take it...

Hearing that crap that most folks are marinated in,
but then I have a very low threshold for ignorance.

Do as I do when there's nothing else to listen to on radio...
find a nice classical music station.. very soothing.

[Fuzz]

3. I switch to my Ipod

1,000 songs I enjoy. (it's an old one) :)

[villager]

2. Your fellow whiskey/cigar fan likes yr rant. They are trying to make us "The Other"

in advance of the eventual round-ups/progroms....

[Fuzz]

4. I'm smoking a little Zino right now someone gifted me

Not a huge fan of the Zino's. Over priced :)

[villager]

13. I have some Nicaraguans I might puff on later...

Get 'em by the batch from J&R!

[Fuzz]

17. Nicaraquan cigars are my favorite atm

Oliva series O maduro and Oliva Series V. Great stuff!

There's a guy local to me who makes his own stuff. Dominican tobaccos though, but still great. He has a line of about 15-20 different cigars, most great. I don't like the CT wrappers though, too light for my tastes.

Padilla makes great cigars as well. The 1932 and 8/11 are great. Getting to the end of my boxes of those. Must order more of those.

I haven't ordered from JR in a long time though.

[Mountainman]

5. I don't think the believe what they are saying. It's said for a purpose, to keep listeners I think.

The reason they are so successfully is because they have divided the country politically and culturally. The have to keep the myth going or their out of work.

[sutz12]

6. Great way to prepare for a demolition derby...

He always raises my adrenaline level and my desire to hit and or kill/destroy something.

:evilgrin:

[babylonsister]

7. Hi, Fuzz. I hear Limbaugh just about every weekend;

the radio in my DH's truck is broken and that's the only channel he gets (Rush and Hannity; I keep begging him to get it fixed).

Anyway, I've noticed how Rush blames the entire current and future economic problems on us nasty libruls, and I just laugh. He never once mentions what the economy was like prior to 2000. He does turn my stomach but what he leaves out is telling. Most people with half a brain cannot buy the pap he's selling.

Sounds like you have the perfect opportunity to prove everyone wrong about liberals, and take their money when beating them at poker. ;)

[Fuzz]

9. You know what's funny?

I am probably the most consistent poker player in the group, and I win quite often. We play online several times a week and usually once a month in person. We don't play for money, we play for cigars though. :)

[Radical Activist]

8. Mein Kampf

Talk radio demonizes an enemy they blame for all the problems the listeners have. Its no different than how Hitler scapegoated the Jews, and how the KKK scapegoats anyone not white and protestant. It's a basic part of conservatism.

[Lennon]

10. Rush Limbaugh Admitted He Has Been Lying To His Listeners

http://soapbox.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=92cb9c2e-6229-4c82-a921-3ecf0b14b644

Why? Because the stakes are high.

:)

[leftofcool]

11. All this is because the media focuses on the actions of liberals

and not the message. We get defined by our actions because no one is listening to our message. Example: Code Pink...they have a good message that we as Dems understand, that is "Please don't recruit our sons and daughters to your military to be killed for something worthless like oil." But the media focuses only on their actions ie wearing pink t-shirts, throwing pink paint onto the doors of recruiting offices, carrying pink signs, disrupting Congressional sessions, loud and abusive language etc... When we can make our words speak louder than our actions and when the pen becomes truly mightier than the sword, perhaps our message will be heard. Until then, the dittoheads will continue to make most of Americans fear liberals.

[kevinbgoode]

12. I know of no one who is willing to quote Rush or Hannity...or even Fox News around me

They already know that most people understand the insulting degree of bias which exists on those programs. Those who DO believe that crap attempt to pretend that everyone agrees, but there is one thing I know about the American people....and that is when people are quiet in response, it usually means they not only disagree, but are sick and tired of the loons pushing their point-of-view as if no other can exist.

Neither Rush nor Hannity are aired in a vast number of households - in fact, I believe I've seen somewhere that the level of radio listening continues to decline and more and more people choose specialized programming or personally selected music in their vehicles than listen to the constant tirades of the poor, oppressed right wing straight white males.

So who cares if they have this pre-conceived image of you, based on nothing more than crazy-ass chatter from an overweight drug addict who is abusing the public airwaves? If their memorized talking points can't stand up to your own thoughtful responses, they already know they are full of shit - you are just too polite and respectful to let them know they are the very demons they've tried to assign to others. But I believe the American people are figuring it out. The more desperate Republicans become, the more they accuse ANY reasonable person of being a "liberal"...and the more people who deny it (because conservatives have taught them it's a "bad" word) only plants the seeds in people's minds to start rebelling even more at conservative rhetoric.

[Marr]

14. It's amazing that they use the public airwaves in this way.

It simply shouldn't be allowed. If we're not going to have an equal time rule, that's fine-- but then people like Limbaugh should not be allowed to go on the air and demonize the public in this way. He tells demonstrable lies every day, and abuses the airwaves his employers are leasing from us. He and everyone like him should either be shut down or fined into obscurity.

You can say that's anti-free speech if you like, but I think it's just defending a public resource. What these people do is no different from poisoning the water table, as far as I'm concerned.

[spanone]

15. not good for children

[I work for workers]

16. That's pretty standard for partisans of all kinds.

Half of DU's members can't even describe Hillary or Obama supporters without resorting to hyperbole, and they aren't even getting paid for it.

Rush made himself a millionaire with a political themed news-entertainment show. Why would he change the formula that brought him success? No one claims he is an objective observer, his name is practically eponymous with partisan entertainment.

[MotorCityMan]

18. I don't listen to Rush, but have heard enough from his wanna-bes

Notice how a lot of these right wing commmentators are always, always saying what is wrong with their perceived enemy, in this example, liberals. They will go on and on about what is wrong with them, and how they are to be hated and feared.

What they do not spend a lot of time on is saying what they stand FOR. If they spouted off all the time on what what the wing-nuts really want (endless war! destroy the middle class!), a chunk of their audience would run away, screaming.

This is what the presidential elections tend to be like, and the only way that * was able to get enough votes to steal the elections; trash the other, don't say what you REALLY believe in or want to do.

[Bigleaf]

19. Oh, that Rush. Geddy, Alex and Neil. Love them. Mr. Oxycontin. Not so much.