Rush criticizes MJF

[Bravo]

rush is opposed to stem cell research.

so now, his rational, eloquent self has decided to target michael j fox, saying he's:
"exaggerating the effects of the [parkinson's] disease. He’s moving all around and shaking and it’s purely an act. … This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn’t take his medication or he’s acting.”

"This is the only time I've ever seen Michael J. Fox portray any of the symptoms of the disease he has," Limbaugh said. "He can barely control himself."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...102400691.html

so the only question now is:

what sort of internment camp does rush deserve to spend the rest of his miserable life in?

[Kate Thornton]

OMG - that is really low. Parkinson's is progressive, and MJF has been such an eloquent spokesman. If his symptoms are now showing, it's because the condition has unfortunately progressed.

I don't think there's a suitable place on this planet for rush.

[Gary]

You are reporting what he said completely out of context.

According to several sources, including Fox's book and an interview with Diane Sawyer, he said he stops taking his medication when he testifies before congress or does interviews when fund raising for Parkinson's, so they can see the symptoms.

Rush is also not against stem cell research. He is opposed to federal funding of research using embryonic stem cells beyond those already approved.

[Bravo]

Originally Posted by Gary

You are reporting what he said completely out of context.

then let's see it in full context. i read the transcript on rush's site as well.

let's see what im missing.

According to several sources, including Fox's book and an interview with Diane Sawyer, he said he stops taking his medication when he testifies before congress or does interviews when fund raising for Parkinson's, so they can see the symptoms.

several issues here:

1) you do not accuse some1 of getting off their meds. ever.

and this is almost like complaining about cancer patients who dont put on wigs when they are asking for donations.

it's idiotic and barbaric.

2) rush is ignorant. not taking medication for parkinson's disease actually makes a patient more rigid.

3) rush has been caught several times now w meds that he did not have prescriptions for. he's the last person on earth to patronize any1 regarding an actual illness.

Rush is also not against stem cell research. He is opposed to federal funding of research using embryonic stem cells beyond those already approved.

fine, embryonic stem cells.

whether you agree or disagree w his position, it still doesnt excuse his obnoxious statements.

[Gary]

Originally Posted by Bravo

whether you agree or disagree w his position, it still doesnt excuse his obnoxious statements.

I happen to disagree with Rush, but I believe in honest reporting of what he said and the context in which it was said.

Michael Fox stepped into the political arena when he began making ads for a candidate. It removed him from victim status and put him into the line of fire. There is no reason to let a misleading ad be run and the Democrat party was using Fox with the hope that political correctness would prevent rebuttal.

[blacbird]

A couple of years ago I expressed the opinion that I hoped Rush Limbaugh recovered from his hearing loss.

I hereby retract that sentiment.

Do you suppose Rush is still on his meds?

This is nothing new for him, by the way. In the past he's made fun of Robert Reich, Clinton's Secretary of Labor, for being short (Reich had a childhood affliction that stunted his growth, and is something like 4'11" tall). He's made fun of the speech accents of African-Americans.

For a guy who avoided the draft in the 1960s by being too fat to engage in this stuff is plain unconscionable, regardless of your views on his politics.

caw.

[dclary]

You can't be THAT upset at me... er... Rush. Yeah. Rush.

Crap.

[wordmonkey]

Ask a specialist if you wanna check, but the shaking is a result of the medications NOT the ailment. In the past he stopped the meds to be on TV not to show the effects but so he wouldn't shake so much.

In context RL is disgusting. Out of context he is disgusting.

[Bravo]

Originally Posted by Jamesaritchie

In his book, Fox states that when he's called to testify, he stops taking his medication so he'll tremble and look pitiful. So in a sense, it is largely an act. And, for me, that's about as low as it gets.

please explain how not taking medicine that hides your symptons are an "act".

parkinson patients have uncontrollable tremors but reduced voluntary motion.

in other words, not taking your meds does not make you "move all around" it makes you immobile, with continuous shaking.

So Fox may not be exaggerating the way UNTREATED Parkinson's makes you act and look, but he's sure as anything not playing fair, and intentionally not using his medication just so he can sway the people he's talking to.

okay let's say for the sake of argument that he is not playing fair by not taking his meds.

does it really change the fact that he has a disease that makes walking across a room as difficult as running a marathon? or a disease in which speaking, swallowing, and breathing become chores w/ or w/out meds?

does any of that really change?

He's also considerably less than honest about what stem cell research could mean to him, and others like him. Blatantly dishonest. He wants this research done, and he'll do anything to see it happens.

no he's not.

i have a hard time understanding what conservatives want to do w/ several million frozen embryos (esp. when thousands of embryos are destroyed every year), but any1 who looks into the subject objectively can see that there is an enormous amount of potential in stem cell research.

Fox only exhibits symptoms when and if he wants to, and that's truly low.

well, im still waiting for conservatives to show their "compassion". so far, the symptons ive seen from them is a disease of sociopathic disregard for the weak and ill.

[dclary]

Uh, that's called adhering to the rules of evolution, Bravo, not sociopathy.

We're the only species that gives a damn about the dead and about-to-die.

Does that make us better or worse?

[blacbird]

Originally Posted by dclary

We're the only species that gives a damn about the dead and about-to-die.

Well . . . some representatives of the species do.

caw.

[kikazaru]

I swam with a woman who had Parkinson's. She took her meds, however she still shook, and her gait was extremely awkward, necessitating the use of a cane. When she spoke you could rarely understand her. The thing about these medications that they don't work for everyone the same way and the dosage may not be correct from one day to the next.

She died btw, at the age of 48 from Parkinson's - leaving behind a husband and two children.

Imo MJF is a very brave man, in the same vein as was Christopher Reeve - exposing themselves, to put a recognizable face on their conditions in order to bring attention to the numbers of people who also suffer. MJF has a devastating disease which has certainly curtailed his career, if not halted it entirely, but he willingly bares himself to show the effects to the world. It cannot be easy for anyone to withstand the scrutiny of the public eyes, yet to go and show how advanced his condition is, takes a lot of courage. He is a spokesperson for all of those who suffer from it, and their families. Whether or not he takes his medication before he speaks - and some medications for this disease can slow the thought processes and remove the ability to have very much facial expression - makes no difference to the fact that this is a very cruel affliction.

And speaking of cruel afflictions - Limbaugh is just truly malignant - a boil on the buttocks of humanity, and mere words just cannot express how truly despicable he is.

[wordmonkey]

Originally Posted by Jamesaritchie

I don't know where you got that from, but it's nonsense. The exact reverse is true. We have Parkinson's in the family, we talk to a specialist regularly, and the shaking IS caused by the disease, not the medication. The medication, in fact, stops the shaking almost immediately. You can actually watch the results happen.

Go off the meds, and the shaking returns in very short order. I've watched this happen, as well.

If you look at the symtoms of Parkinson's, tremor is the first in line.

The tremor and shaking, in fact, are why most patients go to the doctor to find out what's wrong with them.

I thought I had heard him say that in an interview. However....

I stand corrected.

I would say though, that given the stakes involved, showing people an unsanitized version of his state of health is valid. He can get a lot of top flight medication. Not everyone is so lucky.

And RL is still scum. Talk about meds that you take for kicks and get maids to buy round the back a burger joint if you wanna talk about meds.

[Gary]

Originally Posted by Bravo

well, im still waiting for conservatives to show their "compassion". so far, the symptons ive seen from them is a disease of sociopathic disregard for the weak and ill.

I wonder if you are aware that Rush conducts a Cure-a-thon for Leukemia on his radio show every year. In 2006, he personally kicked of the show by contributing $300,000. At the end of the one day show, he had raised about $1.7 million. This is the 15th year he has held the fund raiser and the amount he gives and raises goes up every year.

I also recall the charity donations reported by the president and vice-president candidates in 2000. All Gore, a multi-millionaire, gave a few hundred dollars, so political affiliation has nothing to do with compassion, but it has a lot to do with who gets the press coverage.

Charitable contributions and federal funding decisions for diseases should never be a tool of political operatives and if victims are dragged into the debate by supporting one party or the other, fund raising will suffer.

Those who think Rush is wrong to criticize Fox's misleading ad would cry like banshees if Iraq war veterans, with limbs missing, appeared in ads that supported the Republicans and said that Democrats would cause more death and injury by cutting and running.

[Gary]

Originally Posted by wordmonkey

And RL is still scum. Talk about meds that you take for kicks and get maids to buy round the back a burger joint if you wanna talk about meds.

Are you saying that people addicted to pain killers are only doing it for kicks?

[blacbird]

Originally Posted by Gary

Are you saying that people addicted to pain killers are only doing it for kicks?

What do you say about people who are addicted to heroin? Cocaine? Methamphetamines? Alcohol? Tobacco? I know what Rush says about such people, or at least what he used to say, before he himself got busted.

caw.

[wordmonkey]

Originally Posted by Gary

Are you saying that people addicted to pain killers are only doing it for kicks?

Actually no. He wasthe one ranting about how addicts were there by choice and deserved nothing but contempt. He was the voice of righteous indignance against addicts. Oh, and then he's suddenly a sad victim. And what about the viagra that wasn't his on a guy's fishing trip?

He's scum. If he's so compassionate, why doesn't that extend to everyone? It's a prop. $300K is nothing to him. But what does his charity gesture have to do with anything else? Did anyone here bring up Gore? He has nothing to do with it, but the Culture of Responsibility espoused by Bush in 2000 likes to do nothing more than point the finger while deny they are pointing.

Scum, dude. Scum.


LATE EDITION AMMENDMENT:

STOP PRESS:

I'm sure you, however, are a jolly decent guy and I'd buy you a beer if we were in a pub.

[dclary]

Originally Posted by blacbird

Well . . . some representatives of the species do.

caw.

Touche

[Perks]

Originally Posted by wordmonkey

Oh, and then he's suddenly a sad victim. And what about the viagra that wasn't his on a guy's fishing trip?

A guy's fishing trip? Well, it's a bit compulsive if you have to take a pill to have a decent yank, but, in a way, it's a relief. (Wait, I'm also assuming he didn't need Viagra to hang out with a bunch of men, because Rush in a gay orgy would just be too, too much.) As it stands, if he was only keeping himself company, at least the - what is it now? - thrice divorced Limbaugh wasn't drowning in that particular hypocritical stew, seeing as how he's against extra-marital sex and all.

He's an arrogant blowhard. Very bright. But anything he gets right is ruined by swagger, hypocrisy, sneering and general a$sholery. Personally, with as much finger-pointing and contemptuous spewing he manages, I cheer his every misstep. I can't think of another person who produces that reaction in me. No amount of acumen can surmount how hated he's become. Conservatives have better spokesfaces.

[Gary]

Originally Posted by wordmonkey

Actually no. He wasthe one ranting about how addicts were there by choice and deserved nothing but contempt. He was the voice of righteous indignance against addicts. Oh, and then he's suddenly a sad victim. And what about the viagra that wasn't his on a guy's fishing trip?

He's scum. If he's so compassionate, why doesn't that extend to everyone? It's a prop. $300K is nothing to him. But what does his charity gesture have to do with anything else? Did anyone here bring up Gore? He has nothing to do with it, but the Culture of Responsibility espoused by Bush in 2000 likes to do nothing more than point the finger while deny they are pointing.

Scum, dude. Scum.


LATE EDITION AMMENDMENT:

STOP PRESS:

I'm sure you, however, are a jolly decent guy and I'd buy you a beer if we were in a pub.

I never even hinted that Rush was a victim, and he certainly hasn't. I was only trying to understand if addiction is only acceptable and worthy of sympathy for those on the left. I believe everyone who has an addiction makes a choice, but it's easier for some to break than it is for others.

As for the Viagra, it was in his doctor's name. What do you think the local drug store pharmacist would have done if he had the information that Rush Limbaugh suffered from ED?

Al Gore was brought up in response to the charge that conservatives were not compassionate. As I said, politics should not get into the business of fund raising for disease. It only hurts the cause, and shame on those who attempt to further their political agenda by using sick people to support one candidate or another with the idea that electing that candidate will make them well.

Thanks for the beer offer, but I'll have to pass. I quit that addictive habit over 30 years ago.

[dclary]

But anything he gets right is ruined by swagger, hypocrisy, sneering and general a$sholery.

Honestly, Perky... isn't this true of ALL the media whores for BOTH sides? Sometimes they have good points, most of the time they're attention-hungry a$$es. Their fans ignore the stench of fertilizer for the one or two flowers that occasionally bloom. Everyone else says "Hm. Smells like shaite."

[Perks]

If you had any clue, you'd never call me 'Perky.'

And no, on bile/hypocrisy cocktails, no one's drunker than Limbaugh.

[billythrilly7th]

I agree and disagree with every post in this thread.

[dclary]

Do you like Perkster better?

And I disagree with you here. Harry Reid crucified Tom Delay for taking money from Abramoff, despite knowing he had personally taken MORE from Abramoff than Delay had (as did Murray and Rangel. Daschle took just a little less. Durbin, Clinton, Feinstein and Pelosi took smaller amounts). They're all a$$es. They're all hypocrites. The whole lot of them.

Or is there one or another who you DON'T feel is a liar, scum, or jerk?

[billythrilly7th]

I think we should fund our 2024 campaign out of our screenplay spec money.