Posted by
Bob Siegel on Thursday, October 15, 2009 1:13:21 PM
I guess the Nobel Prize is not the only tarnished award these days. The Pulitzer is running close behind if former Pulitzer Prize winner, Karen Hunter is any example. Hunter is also a journalism professor at City University of New York. I mention her teaching position because she should be immediately fired. She won't be. Nobody is going to get released from a secular university for saying bad things about Conservative Radio Talk Show Host, Rush Limbaugh, even if what they say is a down right lie that they are unable to substantiate in any way, shape, or form.
Interviewed on MSNBC about Limbaugh's attempt to buy the St. Louis Rams, Hunter ascribed an absolutely hideous comment to Limbaugh: "He even said that Dr. Martin Luther King, his killer, James Earl Ray, should have a medal given to him, a medal of honor. He says, 'We miss you, James.' You can go on line to the Top Ten Rush Limbaugh racist comments."
That was her statement and quotation on MSNBC. Since then, the buzz is all over the internet and other television stations And of course, Jessie Jackson rushed to the scene to denounce Limbaugh and officially sanction the racist charge. Jackson acted with the same swiftness and forethought with which he denounced that Lacrosse team a few years ago. Remember? Those men who were accused of raping an African-American stripper at a party? Their innocence was eventually proved, but Jackson issued no apology.
And now the target is Limbaugh, an easy target to be sure. Maybe you disagree with Limbaugh's politics. Maybe you do not care for his personality or you despise the way he expresses himself over the air. That's fine. But know this: The allegation is a wicked, crystal clear lie. Rush Limbaugh never made any such comment. If he had, (and it is claimed that he said it years ago) why would the tongue twister only be coming out now? Every one of Rush's radio shows is recorded. Who gets scrutinized more than Rush Limbaugh? Organizations have been monitoring his every word for years in the hopes of getting him kicked off the air. The man can't clear his throat without it becoming news. He never made the statement, or let me put it another way: If he did, people have failed to produce it. All Karen Hunter offered as verification was a quote from some website. Is this the kind of responsible journalism we embrace today? A Pulitzer Prize winning journalism teacher, instead of checking her sources, merely repeats something she read on a Limbaugh bashing computer page? I don't care what your opinion is of Rush Limbaugh. Everyone, and I mean everyone who embraces truth should join me in protesting this outrage.
It's not enough anymore that people distort or incorrectly understand the voice of Conservatism. Now, they have resorted to simply making things up. And then, as with most snowball effects, others hop on the bandwagon. Chris Matthews, in response to this "news," said on his own Hardball program about Rush, "Somebody's going to jam a CO2 pellet and he's going to explode like a giant blimp. That day may come. Not yet. But we'll be there to watch."
Now, I'm not inventing this statement from Chris Matthews the way the statement about Limbaugh was invented. Believe it or not, this one can actually be verified. (Go figure.) He really said it over MSNBC. It was recorded. You can both watch and listen to it yourself in places like YouTube.
Chris Matthews, the man Rush once allowed to substitute host his own radio show. A man of loyalty, loyalty to the consistent Left which would go into cardiac arrest if a conservative commentator dared to utter such words. And this, from the people who most recently were lecturing the Right about toning down the rhetoric, lest it lead to violence.
None of this matters. Liberals generally do not feel the need to season their speech. That is only something they expect Conservatives to do. Neither does the Left feel obligated to back up their monstrous accusations. Nobody will be able to prove that Limbaugh made that comment about Martin Luther King. Doesn't matter. It will be accepted as an unquestioned fact even if Limbaugh wins a lawsuit against those who spread the lie. Soon, one of your friends at a cocktail party, who has never in his life listened to Rush even one time, will call him a racist and quote that King comment.
Adolf Hitler used to say, "If you're going to tell a lie, tell a big one." You see, the greater the lie and the more audacious the statement, the harder it will be for people to think anyone would have had the nerve to simply invent it.
Also by Bob Siegel
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