Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Soft on Crime?


Talk Show host, Rush Limbaugh, shown here displaying the vigor of the Golden EIB microphone, has been cleared of all charges against him for possessing a bottle of Viagra with his doctor's name on the prescription label. Paul Miller, a spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, said in June that the alleged violation could be a second-degree misdemeanor.

Florida Assistant Attorney Paul H. Zacks said in a filing that a case against Limbaugh couldn't be "proven beyond a reasonable doubt." Zacks said that even though one of the Viagra bottles was prescribed to someone else, that person was Limbaugh's doctor, who apparently agreed to have his name on the label "to avoid potentially embarrassing publicity" for Limbaugh.

Of course the truth is that the "alleged violation" is not a crime at all, as it is legal for a doctor in Florida to prescribe a medication in a third party's name as long as everyone involved knows who the prescription is really for. This hasn't kept the Limbaugh critics from pumping up the volume on their calls for his prosecution, though.

After eighteen years on the air, Limbaugh's cadre of listeners continues to swell, despite some stiff competition from other conservative talk shows and the fledgling Air America offerings, which are working hard to recover from limp ratings. He has always been a lightning rod for leftwing critics but has continued to weather the storm with an upright message that keeps his fanbase solid.

While Rush could not be reached for comment, it is expected that he is keeping a stiff upper lip about the situation and will carry on as usual behind the mic at the EIB studios. He was seen lighting a seven inch, fifty ring Honduran cigar after the filing. Perhaps this incident displays some of the impotence of his detractors, dedicated though they may be...

11 comments:

camojack said...

Ouch...

MargeinMI said...

Thanks for the hard hitting, probing, in-depth reporting on this Beerme. Hey, if it's good enough for Bob Dole......

Barb said...

Speaking of Rush's competitors,anytime I have listened to Air Amerika ,I have found them to be a very limp imitation ,who simply can't come up to Rush's high standard.Hannity is a real stand up guy ,very loyal and known for sticking up for his friends.
We were discussing Viagra and the eye problem ,and my son-in-law says "Who needs to see ,at a time like that?"

Beerme said...

That's the spirit, ladies!

Libby Gone™ said...

I heard that Limbaugh tried Viagra once but never inhaled. Seems to get others off the hook for drug use........

Robert said...

Viagra? Ain't that a plant food? Makes my tomatoes grow bigger and redder.

Rush has a gazillion radio stations, but he hasn't shown up here yet. I miss him. Oh, well, back to the headbanger music.

What's the proper spelling of "Megadeth"?

Robert said...

I also blush that I once had an unrequited crush on Janeane Garafolo. Can't help it; I love dark-haired women of Italian descent.

Fantasy and truth have their parting of the ways, however.

Anonymous said...

This is where the political discourse is so f'ed up in this country. The far right and left have developed an incredibly lucrative industry that is dependant on the other for its survival. Rush was clearly out on the leading edge of this industry.

He was basically a nobody daytime radio guy in KC when he figured out that he could veer far right and make fun of the far left and reach an audience. I do agree that he was somewhat fresh and funny at the outset, but the whole thing is now out of whack.

I occacionally listen to the conservative station here in Chicago, and I honestly believe that A LOT of republicans and conservatives honestly believe that the great majority of democrats are like the "Liberal" strawmen those radio hosts create.

It's ridiculous. Of course you can't stand the "far left". Very few people can. Same with the "far right."

I honestly believe that those groups are smaller than they appear and its this damn hate industry on both sides that is making gazillionaires out of ann coulter and michael moore.

Meanwhile, incredibly important issues slip to the back of the pack while the idiots in washington play to the "base" where the leadership is equally skewed. Who is more representative of the larger majority of people, Nancy Pelosi or Rahm Emmanuel. Would most of us identify with Rick Santorum or Lindsey Graham? And yet, the less representative representatives grab the spotlight constantly.

I, for one, am pledging to look carefully at all candidate choices this fall regardless of party lines. I don't feel like either party is representing me, so I am most definitely looking to who I perceive as the best people.

I heard Garafalo on NPR during "wait wait don't tell me" the other day. I was in absolute tears she was so funny. However, since she doesn't have your politcal slant, I can understand how you wouldn't find her particularly entertaining.

Speaking of slant, I have become terribly tired of how split down the middle the country is. I will listen to what Moore has to say but I don't embrace him. The venom from Coulter and the shock value of her shtick won't allow me to entertain her at all. I like Dennis Miller and Al Franken. I prefer the middle and when politics get tiresome I focus on coaching youth hockey and drinking beer. Something I know Beerme and I have in common. For my taste there is not enough reaching out to the other side of the aisle going on.

Your part time liberal leaning moderate, Heybeerman

Beerme said...

Wow, Heybeerman!
Long post but a good one. More and more, I tend to agree with you on this one. I have watched as the Republican party squandered the revolutionary principles it engendered in 1994, to become Republican-Lite: a party that will talk the talk (sometimes) but when attempting to walk the walk, they prance and mince as though doing a Barney Frank impression. They've ballooned spending to a stratosphere that's unimaginable, while Delay replies, "I don't think there's any more (pork) to cut"!

It's frustrating.

I will, like you and most voters, try to choose carefully this fall-ingnoring party lines and trying to listen between the rhetoric to find what the person really means. I will also probably end up voting for the guy that will damage things the least, rather than the guy who will do the most (they're the most dangerous). Libertarian candidates are always a possibility.

As for Garafalo, it is only the most partisan and grating of political humor that I don't find funny. She can be funny, but if it's only the same old shtick about Bush sucking, I'm sorry. That's tired. Bush now has his own comedian doing a better job of lampooning him than the left.

Almost all politicians are of the ilk that cannot be trusted. There are a few exceptions, in both parties, but not many. Keep reading and posting, buddy, we ARE reaching out across the aisle.

Check out the new post about this year's homebrew competition and wish me luck!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Beerme

The hating as to stop. I realized I was guilty of this sometime back and decided it was time for a change. I was sitting around with some staunch Republican friends of mine and realized that we weren't far apart in our values, yet we fought about politics all the time. Somehow a huge wedge has been driven between through America. Maybe some of your beer will heal that.

Beerme said...

You got it, Mr.!

The thing to always remember is that all of us have much more in common than we don't-if that makes any sense. I am drinking a nice Belgian Pale Ale I made and it is delicious! It has the potential of turning all partisan bickerers into happy Karaoke singers!

Just don't choose Kumbaya, OK?