Unofficial Summary of the Rush Limbaugh Show for Wednesday, July 19, 1995 by John Switzer This unofficial summary is copyright (c) 1995 by John Switzer (jrs@limbaugh.com). All Rights Reserved. These summaries are distributed on CompuServe and the Internet, and archived on CompuServe (DL9 of the ISSUES forum) and Internet (cathouse.org and grind.isca.uiowa.edu). The /pub/users/jswitzer directory at ftp.aimnet.com contains the summaries for the past 60 days. Distribution to other electronic forums and bulletin boards is highly encouraged. Spelling and other corrections gratefully received. Please read the standard disclaimer which was included with the first summary for this month. In particular, please note that this summary is not approved or sanctioned by Rush Limbaugh or the EIB network, nor do I have any connection with them other than as a daily listener. ************************************************************* July 19, 1995 BRIEF SUMMARY OF TOPICS: BATF loses automatic machine gun it mailed via Federal Express; President Clinton tells governors that the Republican plan to balance the budget is too extreme and could create a recession, but the author of the study Clinton used says his work was misquoted; Rush misses a day of work due to apartment flooding; Webster Hubbell testifies at Senate Whitewater hearings; Republicans demonstrate how difficult it would be for Nussbaum to find Foster's suicide note as he claimed; Republicans promise to open their own ethics investigations of Senators Ted Kennedy and Tom Daschle should Democrats insist on hearings on Senator Packwood; President Clinton gives his long-awaited speech on Affirmative Action; New York Knicks double the price of courtside seats, from $500 to $1000 a seat per game; Republicans want to end the federal subsidy for student loans, so that interest is accrued on the loans from the moment the loans are made; environmentalist writer confirms that Rush is right in saying that environmentalists want to stop capitalism and force people to radically change their lifestyles; caller thinks Clinton's speech on Affirmative Action was a campaign speech; Rush calls a Florida sports talk show; caller asks why there is so little coverage about the Whitewater hearings; Webster Hubbell warned Bernard Nussbaum to stay away from the Foster investigation; media ignores that Hubbell testified that he kept Whitewater files from the 1992 Presidential campaign in his home; defense in the O.J. Simpson trial behaves stupidly, giving the prosecution many opportunities to discredit Simpson; liberal caller thinks interest-deferred student loans are a valid investment that's not much per person, plus he supports PELL grants to prisoners; commercial for Whitewater Development; caller notes that in the American judicial system, it's not whether someone is guilty but whether the prosecution can prove they're guilty; caller thinks there's enough evidence to show that the prosecution mismanaged the evidence in the O.J. Simpson case; caller recalls that President Clinton once said Americans shouldn't question the police; NY Times points out that Robert Fiske was wrong when he concluded that there was no evidence Vincent Foster was concerned about Whitewater in early 1993; New York media is outraged that "Black Jack" McDowell of the Yankees flipped the fans the bird; George Steinbrenner decides to bring up Darryl Strawberry to replace McDowell; words to "Whitewater Blues"; Democrats claim GOP wanted poster is responsible for their hate mail but one Democrat notes he's been getting hate mail for 20 years; Democrats should be ignoring the GOP wanted poster, but they are making it a big deal and thus are helping the Republicans; caller requests that Rush replay the interview of his grandfather on his 100th birthday; Republicans are fixing the irregularities that were found in the Democratic Congress; exercise had nothing to do with Rush's weight loss; Democrats' fear-mongering isn't working as it once was; Senate Republicans stall regulatory reform; caller who had his radio smashed by a liberal co-worker reports that she turned in her notice that same day; Price Waterhouse audit finds extensive accounting irregularities in the House budget from October, 1993 to December, 1995, and that things were so bad that 100 auditors could not render an opinion; Price Waterhouse says the time management and price controls on the House's $700 million annual budget were the worst it had ever seen; Democrats let House members overdraw their office budgets by $14 million over 15 months; caller was impressed with Colin Powell's charisma and confidence; House votes to end federal funding for the National Endowment of the Arts by the end of 1997; Senator Nancy Kassebaum is angry at some of the NEA's grants; Schumer and other Democrats are outraged that the NRA was involved with the investigation into the Waco siege; Governor Pete Wilson (R-CA) throws down the gauntlet to Jesse Jackson over Affirmative Action, saying the Rainbow Coalition wants to enforce discrimination; Affirmative Action is not about a level playing field but about reparations for slavery; Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) splits up with Bianca Jagger; Spike Lee and other liberals are outraged that they have to pay $1,000 a seat for courtside Knicks games; caller notes that those who accumulate wealth have done so by working hard and by denying themselves throughout their working lives; caller notes that people spend time and only exchange money; caller suggests that Jack McDowell say he was only engaging in multicultural expression when he flipped the fans the bird; words to "They're Coming to Take Me Away"; caller who's worked hard to achieve his success asks why he should be taxed more for it; Whoopi Goldberg movie being filmed in Charlotte, SC needs thousands of Knicks fans; caller notes that Nelson Rockefeller also once flashed the universal high sign to students; caller thinks a flat tax would result in the people paying more attention to how Congress spends the money; rich are already paying more than their fair share, with the top 1% of income-earners paying 26% of taxes, while earning only 13% of the income; deductions and tax loopholes were eliminated in 1986 in exchange for lower tax rates, but the tax rates have since been raised up to 40% by the 1990 and 1993 budget deals; caller thinks Democratic complaints about Republican plan to end subsidies for student loan interest will hurt the left because of how few students this will really hurt. LIMBAUGH WATCH July 19, 1995 - It's now 974 days after Bill Clinton's election, but Rush is still on the air with 660 radio affiliates (with more than 20 million listeners weekly world-wide), 238 TV affiliates (with a national rating of 3.7), and a newsletter with more than 500,000 subscribers. His first book was on the NY Times hardback non-fiction best- seller list for 54 consecutive weeks, with 2.6 million copies sold, but fell off the list after Simon and Schuster stopped printing it. The paperback version of "The Way Things Ought To Be" was on the NY Times paperback non-fiction best-seller list for 28 weeks. Rush's second book, "See, I Told You So," was on the NY Times hardback best-seller list for 16 weeks and has sold over 2.45 million copies; the paperback version was on the best- seller list for 11 weeks. WHITEWATER WATCH o Pending and Possible Indictments: James McDougal (received a "target letter" from Whitewater prosecutors); Governor Jim Guy Tucker (D-AR), James McDougal, and Susan McDougal (according to the November 8, 1994 Los Angeles Times, all are facing impending indictments for matters related to Whitewater); White House lawyer and Presidential adviser Bruce Lindsey (according to the May 5, 1995 USA Today, received target letter from Whitewater prosecutors). o Indictments: Governor Jim Guy Tucker (D-AR) for taking out $300,000 in SBA loans under false pretenses and defrauding the IRS; Susan McDougal (for allegedly embezzling $150,000 from conductor Zubin Mehta and his wife); Billy R. Dale (accused and arraigned of embezzling $33,000 from the White House Travel Office between 1992 and early 1993-this is not related to Whitewater, but what the heck) o Convictions: David Hale (felony fraud-March, 1994); Robert Palmer (convicted of falsifying appraisal documents related to Madison Guaranty S&L-December, 1994); Webster Hubbell (convicted of mail fraud, tax evasion, and overbilling clients of at least $394,000-December, 1994); Charles Matthews and Eugene Fitzhugh (bribery-January 1995, defrauding the SBA-April 1995); real estate broker Christopher V. Wade (pleaded guilty to lying to a bankruptcy court and filing false loan applications to buy Whitewater property-March, 1995); Little Rock banker Neil Ainley (pleaded guilty to reduced charges of willfully delivering false documents to the government-May 1995); Arkansas college professor Stephen Smith (pleaded guilty to misusing federal funds to help pay off a loan he took out along with James McDougal and Governor Jim Guy Tucker). NEWS o The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms admitted today that a fully automatic machine gun that was concealed in a briefcase was stolen from a Federal Express truck yesterday morning. The Salt Lake City office of the BATF had shipped the .22-caliber gun, which could be fired from within the briefcase by pushing a button on the case, to the San Francisco regional office of the BATF, where it was scheduled to be studied. BATF spokesman Ed Gleba did not explain why the agency, charged with protecting Americans from illegal guns, was shipping such weapons using Federal Express. LEST WE FORGET The following are from the Rush Limbaugh show on Wednesday, July 21, 1993, which was guest hosted by Rep. Bob Dornan (R-CA): o Bob talked to Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-GA) about his course titled "Renewing American Civilization," which would be taught at Kennesaw State College, but would also be available via satellite, cable TV, and videotape. Newt said his main point in the course was that America was a unique, multi-ethnic society in which amazing things could happen, such as the son of a West Indies immigrant becoming the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (as was the case with General Colin Powell). All of the country's many ethnic backgrounds come together into one civilization, so that people of Bosnian and Serbian descent can work and live together without bringing in the conflicts that are besieging their respective ethnic groups in other countries. As to the House Post Office scandal, Gingrich was quoted in the NY Times as saying that it was "not a Congress scandal. Just as in Japan, this is about corrupt one-party rule for four decades. These are Democrats, being named by a Democratic appointee under indictment." Yet, as noted in a Wall Street Journal editorial titled "Rosty's troubled tenure," although "eight patronage employees pleaded guilty to drug or patronage charges, Democrats insisted no members were involved." Gingrich told Bob that in addition to illegal money laundering that involved at least two congressmen and perhaps as many as seven others, the House Post Office scandal also concerned allegations that Speaker Tom Foley's wife and immediate staff acted to obstruct the investigation and to keep its results secret. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Republicans introduced a resolution that would order the release of all transcripts in this investigation. However, in the summer of 1992 the Democrats blocked the release of these papers by a 207 to 200 vote, but the Republicans were confident that they could reverse this decision, given the publicity over former postmaster Robert Rota's guilty plea. o President Clinton said the following about the allegations being heard against Dan Rostenkowski in the House Post Office scandal: "I can only tell you that I've worked very closely with him, with Senator Moynihan, and he was here today continuing to work. And I think like every other American he should be given the presumption of innocence." o Bob read from a column by Mona Charen, whom he praised as one of the nation's best conservative commentaries. In a discussion about the New York "whirlpooling" incidents Charen wrote: "So much for five thousand years of civilization, insisting that human beings, creatures created in the image and likeness of God, are not mere dogs in heat and are capable of better behavior. This moral swamp we have allowed to emerge threatens the United States far more than huge budget deficits, more than a failing educational system, and more than the challenges of global competition. In my lifetime we have gone from a world in which men customarily rose from their chairs when a woman entered a room, to a world in which a 14-year-old girl cannot swim in a public pool without fear of sexual assault. It has been a steep decline." o Bob talked to Rep. Dan Burton who talked about his plan to freeze federal spending across-the-board at 1992 real spending levels, with only a 2% increase per year. This would balance the budget in five or six years, without any huge tax increases. Burton noted, however, that the Democrat-controlled Rules Committee refused to allow him to bring his idea to the floor for a vote, which was why he had to use the technique of Special Orders to get the word out about it. o One of Bob's guests read the following quote from Joycelyn Elders said about pro-lifers: "And there the Church was silent. When we talked about the first four hundred years black people had their freedom aborted, the Church said nothing. The way of life for the Native American was aborted; the Church was silent. We attempted to eradicate a whole race of people through the Holocaust, and the Church was silent. Women had no right to vote for years; we asked why? Why do these things go on? Any time the right of choice is taken away from all of us and put into the hands of the few, these are the kinds of things that will happen over and over again. Look at who's fighting the pro-choice movement - a celibate, male-dominated church." Elders also later said, "Poverty, ignorance, and the Bible Belt mentality are responsible for the rise in teen pregnancy in Arkansas." o The Wall Street Journal quoted Vice President Al Gore as saying that the Republicans didn't have the "guts" to tackle the tough problems. Then after Algore was done, Clinton in a speech to House Democrats claimed that the Republicans killed his budget plan by "offering much less deficit reduction and yet more pain to the average people of this country. Republicans weren't willing to stand up and ask the powerful and the privileged and the well-to-do and the successful to even pay their fair share." ******** MORNING UPDATE <> Last Friday, just before Clinton raised $1 million at a fund- raiser at Little Rock's Excelsior Hotel - where many things have come up for President Clinton - the President made a conference call to five Democratic governors, telling them that the Republican plan to balance the budget was too extreme and seriously risked putting the economy into recession. Later, President Clinton cited an economic study which he claimed predicted a recession would arise from the Republican budget. White House aides revealed that Clinton was referring to a study done by the WEFA group of Pennsylvania; according to the aides, this study predicts unemployment will rise 2% a year under the Republican budget, with a dramatic slowdown in economic growth. However, an enterprising reporter did something rare in the field of journalism - instead of taking the White House's word about this study, he checked with the study's author, Daniel Bachmann, who revealed that the White House had gotten his study and its numbers all wrong. Bachmann said his study doesn't predict anything like a recession. This leaves the American citizenry with a dilemma - when important world leaders speak out about the economy, their words can affect markets not just in America but across the world; even the cattle futures market could be affected by a Presidential word. Thus, whom are we to believe - the President of the United States of America, the most powerful nation in the world, or the author of the study which Clinton misquoted? FIRST HOUR Items o Rush is glad to be back at the EIB studios, given that he spent yesterday dealing with an emergency at home: flooding. It rained three inches Monday night, and much of it ended up in his home. Rush didn't want to take today off, since he didn't want to leave his loving wife alone to deal with the problem, but Marta insisted, saying that he had to get back to work because he had to serve America. She literally pushed Rush out of the house, so Rush is constantly thinking of his sweetie striving under this latest domestic problem. o Webster Hubbell is testifying in the Senate Whitewater hearings, and Democrats are going out of their way to ask questions laced with concern and consideration. Republicans, though, pulled a fast one on Monday by bringing out Foster's briefcase to illustrate how difficult it would be for Bernard Nussbaum not to find Foster's suicide note until after he had already searched the briefcase twice and turned it upside down in full view of DC Park Police. This was a sneaky move, but it was a good one, too, and Rush applauds the Republicans. o Price Waterhouse did an audit of the House of Representatives covering the last 15 months of the 103rd Congress, from October 1993 to January 1995. There are some fascinating details about this, as Rush will describe a bit later. o Women in the Senate and House are demanding hearings into Senator Bob Packwood's alleged history of sexual harassment, but Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has pulled off the gloves by giving a warning of his own. If Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) follows through with her threat to introduce an amendment to force hearings on Packwood, McConnell will do the same to investigate Ted Kennedy's role in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne at Chappaquiddick, given that some of the allegations against Packwood go back to the same year as Kennedy's incident. Furthermore, Republicans have warned that they'd pursue ethics investigations against Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) relating to his attempt to shield a friend's charter airline business from federal aviation investigations, even though that business suffered a crash that killed a pilot and four doctors. Daschle's wife also works for the FAA. Thus the gloves are off, and Rush is pleased to see this. o President Clinton is delivering his long-awaited speech on Affirmative Action, and Rush was able to watch a little of it before the show. Congressmen John Lewis (D-GA), Kweisi Mfume (D- MD), and Charles Rangel (D-NY) were right in the front row, staring daggers at Clinton, daring him to say something wrong about this subject. Rush will have to wait until he reads the full speech before commenting, although it's clear that Clinton will try to sit on both sides of this issue; he'll attack quotas but will then implement quotas, perhaps by implementing "set-asides" for whites. If so, then it means Clinton will fix a bad idea - preferential treatment on the basis of race - by spreading it around to even more people. o Courtside seats for the New York Knicks will cost $1,000 apiece per game next year, which means Spike Lee will have to pay $86,000 a year for keeping his season tickets. Lee, of course, is complaining, and it's interesting to see how many other rich liberals are upset. o Rush has an advance copy of the July 23, 1995 issue of New York magazine, which will come out next Sunday, but he stresses that this is not a secret document found at Neil's Outrageous liquor store. This issue has two amazing stories, one about student loans and the other about environmentalists, and they prove that Rush has been right about both issues, as he'll explain after the break. *BREAK* Rush discussed the school loan program recently in the context of what Newt Gingrich told students at his MTV appearance; some of the kids at that interview said they shouldn't have to pay all the interest on these loans, so Rush wants to read the summary of Republican plans for student loans, as provided by Rep. John Kasich (R-OH): "The House budget proposal was to complete the elimination of the subsidy for student loans for both undergraduate and graduate students, saving $19 billion over 7 years. For students this would mean interest on their loans would accrue from the moment they received their loans. Currently, interest does not accrue until six months after they leave school. The House proposal would not affect the start of repayments - they would begin six months after the student leaves school, as is the case currently." Thus, current students are getting an interest-free loan while in school, and they don't get charged interest until six months after leaving school, which is when they also have to start paying it back. Republicans, though, want to end this subsidy, so that interest accrues from the day that the loan is taken, just as is the case with every other loan. Thus, the students at MTV who said they weren't paying interest on their loans were right - they were fully aware that they would have to start paying interest on these loans. The Senate version of the bill, though, does not end this subsidy, so this difference will have to be hammered out in the conference committee. Another part of this is that students can keep deferring both the interest and loans by staying in school, doing graduate and post-graduate studies. Thus, they can stay in school, getting more loans, and not have to pay back any of the loans while doing it. It could thus be said that the current policy encourages students to stay in school as long as possible. In any case, there is a federal subsidy to those who are taking out student loans, not to mention that the government guarantees these loans, so if someone doesn't pay back their loan, the government (i.e. taxpayers) will end up doing so. ********* Next Sunday's NY Times magazine will have a story written by Bill McKeeban, author of "The End of Nature" and "Hope, Human, Will." The story's headline proves what Rush has been saying about how militant environmentalists are looking to rollback progress and stop capitalism: "Not so fast - the environmental optimists are wrong - there is no market-oriented technological fix. Simply and radically, people have to change their lives." Rush has fielded lots of calls from people who claim that Rush is wrong in saying that militant environmentalist wackos are attacking capitalism and are trying to force humanity to stop progress and live in the past. Rush has been attacked for daring to say environmentalists are Communist and socialist, but this story proves that Rush is right. In fact, the last paragraph of the story says the following: "Rush Limbaugh has it right when he denounces environmentalists as a threat to current ways of life. The systemic environmentalism Limbaugh fears has one question to ask: how much is enough? How much convenience, how many people, how much money? It's a question that won't go away. It's a question with a time limit. Either we make these changes soon or it won't be worth the bother. If we don't roll back our lifestyle, it's over anyway." Thus, this guy is copying his spiel straight from the liberal manifesto, complaining about everything from world population to capitalism. None of these fears are valid, and none of Paul Ehrlich's doom-and-gloom predictions about "population bombs" have come true, but the liberals are still out there warning that the sky is falling and still worshipping their false gods. Rush thus hopes his detractors accept the truth about the environmentalist wackos and stop claiming he's out of touch and doesn't know what he's talking about. Phone Chuck from Columbus, OH Chuck has been watching Clinton's speech on Affirmative Action, and it's nothing less than a campaign speech - Clinton was smiling but there was none of the passion seen in his speech in the Rose Garden when he attacked those who dared to suggest he was playing politics with the base closings commission. Rush asks how those in the audience were reacting, and Chuck says he didn't see any smiles; the cameras did focus on a woman but when she started to yawn, they immediately cut away. Rush asks if Chuck remembers anything of what Clinton said about Affirmative Action, and Chuck says Clinton was basically saying nothing new, but recapping his personal accomplishments in Arkansas. It was essentially a campaign speech, not a policy speech. Rush says Clinton has an interesting road to hoe, given that he's trying to make people on both sides think he's doing what they want. Rush, though, will have to wait until he gets a copy of Clinton's speech before saying more about it, and he thanks Chuck for the early report. *BREAK* Phone Sandy from Raleigh, NC Sandy says she's surprised she got through to Rush's show, which gets Rush to admit that on Monday night - before his apartment became the drain for his apartment building - he and his wife came across a sports show coming out of Florida that was discussing the Jacksonville Jaguars. Marta, a big Jaguars fan, urged Rush to call, so he did and got through. As Rush was doing this, though, he wondered why the heck he was doing it, and fortunately he didn't get on the air because it was near the end of the show and they ran out of time for calls. Thus, Rush knows how callers feel when they call in - he was a caller once himself, and he knows how unnerving it can be. You dial and don't expect to get through, but then when you do get through, you suddenly realize you're going to be on the national airwaves. Sandy says she has been following Whitewater for the past two years, and she's been appalled how little the mainstream media has been covering it. As it stands, only the Washington Times and American Spectator have done any major coverage on it, and it's sad that most people either are ignorant about this matter or indifferent towards it. Sandy wonders why the Senate hearings are not being shown on TV - the only way she got to see them was by recording CSPAN last night at three-thirty in the morning. Rush says PBS is covering these hearings, but Sandy says the Raleigh affiliate isn't covering it. Rush agrees it's hard to find coverage of the hearings, and this is due only partly to the O.J. Simpson and Susan Smith trials. The mainstream press has studiously ignored this case for the past three years, treating it as an irrelevancy; thus, they can't start playing up this story now and retain any credibility. The mainstream press also wants to keep this story from becoming a major event because at the very least these hearings will be embarrassing for the administration. Rush therefore didn't see much coverage of the hearings last night, nor did he see much about it in this morning's newspapers. The main thing the papers talked about was Foster's briefcase and how Webster Hubbell warned Bernard Nussbaum to stay away from the Foster investigation. The Washington Times, though, has an entirely different take on the hearings, which means it's the only place to find out this information. Sandy says the top story yesterday was some boring news about O.J. Simpson, but Rush says he's starting to pay attention to the trial because it's funny, plus his name was mentioned yesterday. However, as to the Washington Times, it reported that Hubble testified yesterday that he kept Whitewater files from the 1992 Presidential campaign in his home. Thus, the Senate has never had all the relevant files, not to mention the possibility that some files were destroyed. Hubble's revelation is big news, but the mainstream Beltway press has decided, in their pack mentality, that this story is not important and that Hubbell's testimony is not news. Rush, though, is not worried that Whitewater will be swept under the rug - at the very least, Rush and his show will continue doing the mainstream press's job for them. Rush thanks Sandy for calling. As to the O.J. Simpson trial, Rush can't believe how lazy the defense "dream team" has been and how stupidly they are bringing forth witnesses. They brought forth a doctor to testify that Simpson couldn't have killed Ronald Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson, but the prosecution got him to admit the exact opposite. Also, only days before the crime O.J. Simpson produced not just the celebrated exercise video but also a video to sell a sports drink called "Juice Plus." For that commercial, Simpson said that when he started drinking Juice Plus he felt new all over; he actually said that he had to stop drinking orange juice because it was bad for his arthritis, which was why, Simpson quipped, "Rush Limbaugh got the job." The prosecution can now, therefore, ask whether Simpson lied on that video about whether Juice Plus helped him. The defense will either have to admit Simpson lied on the video and that his arthritis was not helped by the drink, or they will have to admit that Simpson did get better, which means he could have easily done the murders. Thus, the defense will have to admit that O.J. Simpson can't be trusted, and all because they themselves introduced this video. And then there are the wife-beating "jokes" made by Simpson during the making of his exercise video; only a few days before the murders took place, Simpson talked about "getting your wife out of the way." This is bad news for the defense, but the prosecution couldn't have used this video unless the defense brought this matter up in the first place. In short, the defense is putting on a better case for the prosecution than the prosecution has done in some time. As Rush ends the segment, the EIB staff throw in Johnny Donovan's "No O.J., none of the time" disclaimer. *BREAK* Phone Tim from Bath, ME Tim is a liberal but he does think Rush has some good ideas. His main topic is about the interest-free loans to students; he thinks this could be considered an investment in America, and while it's a lot of money altogether, it's not that much per person. Tim also likes the Whitewater spot that he heard while on hold and wishes Rush would play it more often during the show. Rush is glad to oblige, so he plays it now: <> My wife and I knew the time was right to build our dream home. And when it came to financing the project, only one name came to mind: Whitewater! <> Another satisfied customer of Whitewater Development Company! <> See, I figured they owed me a favor, too, since my wife helped keep that S&L in business. And you know what? I got a lot more than I bargained for. They got me that loan I requested - I didn't have to fill out any forms, there wasn't a credit check, and I didn't have to have any collateral. Heck! I didn't even have to make any payments! <> Whitewater - ask us about our payment-free loans! <> My loan officer Vince went above and beyond the call of duty. He kept a file of all my dealings, and when the bank examiner and the tax investigator asked questions, he'd say . . . let's see, how'd he put it? Oh, yeah . . . he said `Files? What files?' <> I miss old Vince, he was great with that shredder. <> Whitewater Development - people helping people . . . in high places. <> Yeah, sure, some people call it conflict of interest, but that's just so much nonsense. I call it `you scratch my back, and my wife won't scratch your eyes out!' <> Whitewater Development Company - where a friend in high places is a friend indeed. ******** Tim admits he can enjoy a good joke like anyone else, but Rush notes that all of EIB's humor is put around a grain of truth. Tim admits he's not a rabid liberal, so he can laugh, but as to student loans, he also opposes the elimination of PELL grants to criminals. This is a small amount of money and it's doing a good job in helping those in jail get an education. Rush says his problem with this is that the route to higher education should not be through crime; it's a moral affront that those who break the law and destroy other people's lives and property should be able to get taxpayer-paid freebies like this. Tim says he obviously disagrees, so the two of them will have to agree to disagree on this. Tim adds that he's also a paralegal student, and as to the O.J. Simpson trial, it's not whether people feel Simpson is guilty but whether the prosecution can prove he's guilty. The DNA evidence is very strong, but the police and other officials have lost their credibility by their handling of the evidence. For example, delaying calling the coroner by ten hours is not acceptable, and this will harm the prosecution's case. The bottom line is thus that if the prosecution and law enforcement can't do its job properly, then even the guilty will be acquitted. Rush agrees - the American criminal judicial system is slanted towards the rights of the accused, and this bias makes it inevitable that some guilty people will walk from time to time. This, though, is how our system is set up. Tim adds that the truck driver claimed he didn't see any blood on Simpson's Bronco, but then it appeared later. The video taken at the scene, though, shows that no blood was on Bronco at the time, so it seems that the blood that was found there was planted later. Thus, it appears some mismanagement of the evidence did occur. Rush says this is only one of the many questions that the Simpson jury will have to consider, and Rush is "confident" that this "competent" jury will meticulously sort through all the evidence and come to a unanimous decision on the basis of that evidence. "It's only a matter of time," Rush says, although without much conviction in his voice. *BREAK* Phone Brian from Dewitt, IA Brian heard the previous caller talk about how the police might have conspired to plant evidence on the O.J. Simpson case, but he recalls that President Clinton recently said we're not supposed to question the police, since they're doing an honorable job. Rush says this is exactly right - at the annual Peace Officers Memorial celebration, Clinton said it was just not right to criticize police officers. Brian notes he's a criminal justice student, and all his liberal teachers did were criticize the police. Rush says this is not surprising, but he points out that every group of people has its share of bad apples, from police to talk radio hosts. The problem with police is that they don't have a PR system, so it only takes a few bad cops to tar the image of all police. For example, a couple BATF agents showed up at a racist "Good Ol' Boys Roundup," and it's being assumed all BATF agents are racist. This is not the case, though - not all BATF agents are like these few, and not all cops plant evidence, take bribes, or frame suspects. While liberals love to portray everyone on the right as "extremists," the true extremists are those who claim that all police officers are corrupt and criminals themselves. To liberals, though, everyone but liberals are extremists - they spend so much time demonizing their opposition that they can never start working with conservatives because this would mean getting in bed with the demons. *BREAK* SECOND HOUR Items o Rush admits he was wrong in saying that only the Washington Times had newsworthy coverage of the Whitewater hearings. The NY Times points out that the first Whitewater special prosecutor Robert Fiske had concluded that there was no evidence that Vincent Foster or the White House was concerned about Whitewater in the first half of 1993. However, as the NY Times notes, Foster's own notes show that he was deeply concerned about how the Clintons would account for this investment in their 1992 tax returns. Thus, the question is what Fiske was doing, given that he supposedly missed out totally on these notes. The NY Times thus should be given credit for pointing out this discrepancy related to how Foster was indeed worried about what might happen. Of course, Fiske is long gone now, but it would be interesting to find out why Fiske didn't think Foster's notes were important. o Rush hates to do it, but he has some interesting New York City news which he wants to discuss because it illustrates how unique New York City is. Yesterday the NY Yankees played a double header with the Chicago White Sox and got creamed in both games. "Black Jack" McDowell was one of the losing pitchers; in fact, McDowell has had a lousy year, and yesterday he continued that trend by giving up nine runs. When he was taken out of the game, with the fans screaming, booing, and jeering him as loudly as they could, McDowell stopped and gave the entire stadium the finger, turning in a full 360 degree circle so that all 50,000 fans could see him and his extended finger. New York sports writers have reacted to this by acting as if it were the greatest offense ever committed against humanity, even though this particular bit of sign language is routinely seen and ignored in New York City on a daily basis. Rush doesn't want to defend this gesture, but he finds it funny the furor McDowell has created, given that New Yorkers see this every day from everyone. In fact, NY sports writers verbally give players and athletes the finger every day, so while giving the fans the bird was not a wise thing for a baseball player to do, given the current lack of love for the sport by the fans, it's still amazing that this gesture, which is almost a greeting of warmth among NY sports writers, would generate such a hubbub. EIB Broadcast Engineer Mike Maimone says the American League is going to investigate this gesture, but Rush wonders what there is to investigate - the picture of McDowell giving everyone the bird appears on the front pages of the local sports pages. The American League vice president, though, said the league would investigate McDowell's action, although she doubted severe punishment would be levied since McDowell is "not a troublemaker." If New Yorkers treated real crime like they are treating McDowell, NYC would be the safest city in the world - you wouldn't have people like Bernard Goetz feeling like they have to carry guns on the subway nor would people like the "Wild Man" of 96th Street, Larry Hoag, be allowed to terrorize passerbys with screwdrivers. Of course, professional athletes would be wise just to accept the fans' opprobrium - if necessary, they can destroy the locker room's watercooler, but they shouldn't flip the bird to the fans. Nobody would beef about destroying a watercooler, but flipping off the fans is a different matter. The EIB staff point out that professional athletes have freedom of expression rights, too, and H.R. "Kit" Carson adds that McDowell would probably even qualify for a grant from the NEA for this bit of "performance art." Rush thinks this ia great idea - McDowell could get an NEA grant and say that he was just engaging in performance art and was trying to entertain the fans who had been disappointed by his pitching performance. McDowell was simply following in the greatest traditions of "artistes" such as Karen Finley, Robert Maplethorpe, and Andre Serrano. Obviously, the American League is not in touch with the spirit of the times, or "Zit-geest" as New Yorkers call it. George Steinbrenner, though, owner of the NY Yankees, now feels he has to do something to patch matters up with the fans, but Rush bets the fans were pleased with McDowell's finger, given that it's the first real passion they've seen on the Yankees field in some time. Steinbrenner, however, has reacted to the situation by calling up Darryl Strawberry immediately - thus, to atone for McDowell, the Yankees are going to get someone who's been banned from baseball for life four times. *BREAK* In honor of the Whitewater hearings, Rush plays one of EIB's favorite tunes, "Whitewater Blues": <> "I took the nation by a landslide, and we were rolling along. But now I'm flat on my backside, wondering where I went wrong. Well, I get a funny feeling every time I turn on the news, oh no. Yeah, there's no doubt about it . . . I got the Whitewater blues! "I got them Whitewater blues, the press won't let it alone. I got them Whitewater blues, and I just wanna go home. Well, Hillary says it's going to be okay, Just keep talking about health care and they'll go away. Oh, but meanwhile . . . I get them Whitewater blues." (I'll just blow a bit.) <> ". . . Whitewater blues, I'm in a state of denial. (This can't be happening!) I've got the Whitewater blues, they're going to put me on trial. (I should have burned those files!) And Hillary says that they don't have a clue, But if they catch me, buddy, she's going down too! Oh they're getting to me, those nasty Whitewater blues!" (I'm going to wrap this thing up) <> ******** Phone Kenneth from Lawton, OK Kenneth saw a Democratic news conference on CSPAN yesterday about the Republican "wanted poster" that features 28 Democrats who have voted against the Contract with America. The Democrats were claiming that the hate mail they were receiving was due to this wanted poster, and some of them were saying that their lives had been endangered. One Democrat, though, pointed out that he's been getting this hate mail for 20 years. Rush adds that Dick Gephardt has called for Republicans to give back all of the money they've raised from this wanted poster, which is pretty ridiculous. In any case, hate mail is a part of life for anyone who's a public figure. It's disingenuous, not to mention lame, for these Democrats to claim that the wanted poster is generating this hate mail. The best thing the Democrats could do is to ignore this poster, but instead they are helping the Republicans by making a big deal about it. The Democrats are whining and complaining about this poster as if they were spoiled children, and in Rush's experience, whenever people react as these Democrats have, it's because they've been nailed, and this poster is indeed an effective statement of the truth about these liberals. Kenneth wonders how these liberals can keep a straight face while saying these things, but Rush says that keeping a straight face is easy for liberals, whose real problem is that they never smile. Liberals can't allow themselves to be seen as enjoying themselves, but instead have to be seen as being in angst at all times. Liberals paint such a bleak picture of life at all times that they must be seen as disturbed, troubled, concerned, and upset at all times. The liberals have been painting a gloom and doom picture of themselves so long that they have to keep this image up to retain any credibility at all. Phone Bruce from Zellwood, FL Bruce wishes that Rush would replay his interview with his grandfather on his 100th birthday on his next "Best of Rush" show. He was impressed with that show and remembers exactly where he was when he first heard it, so he would love to hear it again. Rush pledges that this will be done. Bruce also would like to hear Rush's comments about the Price Waterhouse audit of the House of Representatives which has found all sorts of "irregularities." Rush makes a bit of a Freudian slip by saying this audit was done of the "whorehouse, uh, whole House," and that it has exposed a lot of what had been going on in the past few years in the House. Bruce recalls that Rush has said in the past that the House of Representatives has been the most corrupt institution in America, so he asks how Rush would classify the House now. Rush says he certainly wouldn't call the House corrupt now because Republicans are hard at work fixing the problems that have existed. Republicans were elected because they pledged they'd fix things in Congress and this audit is just one example of what they're doing in this regard. The audit itself, though, is embarrassing and amazing, and he'll discuss what it did and did not find after the break. *BREAK* Phone Bob from Belleair Beach, FL Bob congratulates Rush on his weight loss, and Rush thanks him but notes he's only guessing that he's lost 50 pounds, given that he didn't weigh himself when he started. Bob bets that being married to an aerobics instructor must have helped Rush in this, but Rush says that Marta is not an aerobics instructor - this was something the hacks in the press got wrong and it's been recycled endlessly since. In fact, Rush is proud to say that exercise has had nothing to do with his weight loss - it's diet which resulted in his weight loss. Bob is glad to hear this and says he's semi-retired, but recently worked a couple of hours a day at a radio station which didn't air Rush's show, so he played the show while he worked. His boss would come in and listen with Bob, and when Bob left, the boss gave him a "Rush Limbaugh for President" bumper sticker. Bob is concerned, though, that Republicans aren't doing much to rebut the Democratic charges about how Republicans want to give America bad water, bad meat, and such. Rush says that his show does something to fight these charges - for example, EIB made the school lunch program a cause celebre. Republicans on Capitol Hill admit, though, that they underestimated the reaction their school lunch program would get. After all, they were spending more money than before, so they were unprepared for the Democrats' vitriol about how they wanted to "starve" kids and cut the program. Republicans have admitted they mishandled this, but they have improved quite a bit since then and the Democrats are not getting away with their fear- mongering as much as before. Bob is glad to hear this, but he's not heard Republicans do much to attack the Democratic claims that Republicans' regulatory reform will kill people and force children to drink dirty water. Rush says this is extremist rhetoric and it's not playing as well as it once did. That being said, though, there are too many liberal Republicans who have opposed regulatory reform in the Senate, which is why Senator Bob Dole had to pull the bill until next year. This is why Rush doesn't care about who will be the Republican Presidential nominee next year but about getting more conservatives into the House and Senate, especially the Senate. For the revolution to continue, it can't be stalled by our own party in the Senate. Phone Scott from Lagrange, NY Scott has called back with a report on what happened after his female liberal co-worker smashed his radio and shredded his copy of the Limbaugh Letter. Scott gives "recovering terrorist act dittos" and says after his call with Rush, he discussed the violence with the woman, telling her that he knew she did it. She laughed and replied that this didn't matter because she had already put in her two-week notice. Thus, this woman knew she was leaving anyway, but in an `in your face' type of way, she basically admitted that she had destroyed Scott's radio and newsletter. And as Rush predicted, the boss reacted by banning the playing of radios during work. Rush is not surprised about this, but Scott says that he is now using a small shirt pocket sized radio and earphone to listen to Rush's show during lunch. Scott told his boss about this, and he doesn't seem to care too much about what happens during the lunch hour, but he doesn't want to hear anymore about this. Rush says he can understand the boss's reaction, given that when you run a business, you want to do business, not deal with this sort of crap. He says EIB has purchased the best AM radio available today and is sending it to Scott pronto, even though he might not be able to listen to it in the office. Scott appreciates this because he needs a good radio, given that he can tune in either EIB's Albany affiliate or NY affiliate, so when WABC preempts Rush for a Yankees game, he can switch to the Albany station. Rush applauds Scott for finding a way around these obstacles and thanks him for calling with the update. *BREAK* Phone Bryant from Washington, IL Bryant says page 22 of this week's U.S. News and World Report has a story about the Price Waterhouse Audit, and it notes that every business transaction of the House were hand-entered into a ledger; some of these entries had been scratched out and rewritten above. According to the story, the Price Waterhouse auditors cracked up about this because they had never had to do an audit of a totally hand-entered accounting ledger. Rush says this audit has shown that things in the Democratically-controlled House were much worse than expected. It took Price Waterhouse six months and 100 auditors working over 45,000 man-hours to come up with their audit. And in spite of all this, they couldn't figure everything out - their report said the company was unable to render an opinion on the House, which means there is no way to find out everything that was going on. The House, though, has an annual operating budget of $700 million, and these are the people who not only want to control the trillions spent by the federal government but also want to micromanage all of American business, loading down businesses with regulations and forms, requiring businesses to justify everything they do. Up until January of this year, the House was exempt from its own laws, and this audit proves it - had the House been under the same regulations they impose on businesses, they'd never have been able to get away with what they themselves were doing. Under IRS regulations, you have to document all your deductions, but this can't be done in the House of Representatives - the documents are not there. These are the same people who won't give Americans time to breathe in running their own businesses, but Price Waterhouse reported that the House's time management and price controls were the worst the company had ever seen in its entire history. Rush recalls that back when Democrats such as Dick Gephardt and Tom Foley ran the House, the Democrats complained that investigations into the House Bank and House Post Office were just a "partisan conspiracy." Whenever Republicans dared suggest that the way the House did business should be investigated, the Democrats attacked the idea as being out of bounds and totally unreasonable. Thus, the next time Dick Gephardt, David Bonior, or any other member of the Democratic leadership talk to the American people about how things should be done, the people remember that the country's crack accounting firm, with 100 auditors and computers galore, couldn't figure out what these Democrats had been doing in their own House. The IRS certainly would never let a business get away with this sort of accounting or record-keeping; had a private business not documented its expenses as the House had done, that business would be in a heap of trouble. Thus, what will happen to the House of Representatives and to the Democrats who cannot document what they have been doing for the past 40 years? Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich and the Republicans are doing everything they can to restore respect to the House and clean up its image. Yet Bonior and Gephardt are doing everything they can to stop Gingrich; whenever these guys say they want to win back control of Congress, what they are saying is that they want to go back to the "good old days" and a total lack of accountability for what they do. Rush wonders how many of these guys had money end up in their back pockets that didn't go through the House Bank and Post Office. Rush knows how much it costs to live in Washington, DC and to maintain two homes, so he thinks it's fair to ask just how much money ended up in these Democrats' pockets, given that their own accounting system cannot document where this money did go. *BREAK* According to Price Waterhouse, in the last 15 months of the Democratically-controlled 103rd Congress - from October, 1993 to December, 1994 - the "House allowed members to overdraw their own office budgets by approximately $14 million." This, Rush notes, is about $1 million a month. Phone Henry from Chicago, IL Henry met Colin Powell yesterday, who was at the National Sporting Goods show, and he exuded the confidence and charisma you would expect from a Presidential candidate. Powell seems to prove that the way you campaign today is by not saying anything about the issues, and his charisma is reminiscent of Ronald Reagan. Rush says many people think Powell has "it," and Henry says he did appear very Presidential. As to Jack McDowell, he did apologize and was slapped with a $5,000 fine. Rush notes that Americans want their criminals to show contrition, and undoubtedly if O.J. Simpson were to say he's sorry, we'd forgive him. *BREAK* THIRD HOUR Items o Yesterday the House of Representatives voted to end funding for the National Endowment of the Arts by the end of the year 1997. The Senate has yet to act on this, so nobody knows what will happen to it there, but at least House freshmen kept to their timetable to end federal funding of the NEA. Senator Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS) is a supporter of the NEA, but even she is reportedly angry about some of the grants that the NEA has given out, such as one to a Santa Monica lesbian who did a piece of "performance art" about having sex with Newt Gingrich. Kassebaum is going to propose cutting the budget by 5% a year for the next five years, and reportedly could suggest even deeper cuts. This all goes to show why the focus in 1996 should be on getting more conservatives in Congress, especially in the Senate. o Rush had to laugh at Rep. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and other Democrats complaining about the NRA's "interference" with the Waco hearings. It was the liberal People for the American Way, after all, that sent someone to check out Robert Bork's X- rated video rental habits. When it came to attacking both Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas, the left didn't hesitate to call on all their liberal buddies for help, so the left should just be quiet about the NRA getting involved now. This is the democratic process, after all - all Americans can participate in it, since it is their country, too. Just because the left doesn't like the NRA and doesn't believe in the Second Amendment doesn't mean the NRA is disqualified to participate in the democratic process. o Governor Pete Wilson (R-CA) has thrown down the gauntlet to Jesse Jackson by firmly opposing the use of Affirmative Action. Jackson has been threatening to protect an upcoming University of California regents meeting that is scheduled to debate ending Affirmative Action policies at the UC campuses, and Wilson vowed that Jackson would be "detained" (i.e. arrested) if he disrupted the meetings. Wilson said "the fight against racism hasn't been entirely won, but the demagogues who now compare the California of the 90 to the Selma, Alabama of the 60s are, at best, lost in a time warp, and the people from Washington telling us what to do aren't the FBI coming to enforce the law. It's the Rainbow Coalition coming to enforce discrimination and keep it in place in California." Rush notes that the bottom line of Affirmative Action is pretty simple: Affirmative Action is not about equalizing matters for blacks but rather paying reparations to blacks for slavery. The civil rights leadership is not fighting for equality in the workplace or in college admissions, but only about paying back blacks for slavery, which is why it's open-ended and why the civil rights leaders never want to see Affirmative Action end. o Rep. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) has announced that he and Bianca Jagger have split, after seeing each other for two years. A Torricelli aide said the two people's busy schedules and separate residents are to blame for the break-up. Rush doubts this, though, and instead thinks it's obvious the two are breaking up because Jagger has gotten what she wants from Torricelli and is now off to find the next liberal who can get her what she wants next. Previously, Jagger got Senator Christopher Dodd to help her fight for the liberal way in Nicaragua, while Torricelli released classified information about the CIA's alleged activities in Guatemala. Now Jagger evidently wants something else, so she's moving on. Jagger and Torricelli met with the congressman helped Jagger bring a sick person from Bosnia to the United States for treatment, and one newspaper wag writes that the days of riding around in big yachts and limousines are over . . . for Torricelli. There's no mention whether Torricelli's receding hairline affected Jagger's decision, but Rush can guarantee that it's not schedules and separate residences that are to blame for the break-up. If people really want something and think it's important, they'll make time for it, no matter what. o Spike Lee is outraged that the New York Knicks have raised ticket prices for seats on the floor to $1,000 a game. Lee has two season tickets on the floor, which means he'll have to pay $86,000 a year for seeing the Knicks play next year. Other ticket holdings include Woody Allen, Madonna, Alec Baldwin, and Darryl Hannah. Lee complained "this is just terrible - now you're going to have all these Wall Street guys and pseudo-movie star wannabes who don't know jack about the game sitting down with us." Rush notes that many people would be surprised that all these liberals can fork over this money for these seats, and he doubts many people will feel sorry for Spike Lee because he'll now have to sit with corporate types, who evidently are the only ones who will be able to afford $1,000 a seat a game. Lee also complained that the Knicks games would become like the U.S. Open, with a bunch of rich guys watching a game they don't understand. Others are unhappy with this price increase, and even those who have the money are saying "this isn't worth it." The bill for the seats is due August 8th, but it's not the only price increase. The Knicks are reportedly thinking of charging VIP customers for use of the club's private room. Rush visited this room once and saw a number of celebrities and movers and shakers there, but now the Knicks are thinking about charging as much as $20,000 a year for a membership that will allow people to use this room. Michael Weisman, long-time ticket holder, said "this goes a long way to show the appreciation they have for us for paying $500 a game for all last year." Of course, many people are observing that the Knicks have had their best seasons already and are now in the process of "rebuilding" the team. Rush admits he loves watching liberals go nuts when they get charged for their luxuries, especially when you're talking about Spike Lee who gets others to fund his movies and then urges black Americans to skip work and school so they can watch them. *BREAK* Phone Mary from Dellavista, AR Mary commends the Democratic caller on Monday who didn't think it was fair to tax those who accumulated money more than those who had less. He was a welcome change from the woman a few months ago who thought taxes was an ideal way to accumulate wealth. Mary notes that those who earn this money do so by saying no to themselves and their children but these people are taxed on this money when they earn it by working 60 hour weeks, when they save it, and when they use it during their retirement, thanks to taxes on Social Security income. They have therefore not only paid for this money by this multiple taxation but by telling themselves no and by denying themselves, so that they could save it. This wealth was accumulated by hard work and by saying no to frivolous use of that money, so Mary would recommend that the previous woman caller learn how to say no to herself and others. Mary recalls that a few years ago, welfare mothers in New York City were screaming for $100 each so they could buy new Easter clothes for their children. At that time, though, Mary was waiting until after Easter so she could pick up clothes for her children at second-hand places. Rush says what Mary has said is not heard very often - the conventional wisdom says that people who are rich don't deny themselves and don't buy at second-hand stores. Instead, "rich" people shop at Bloomingdales and Nordstroms, and they don't wait to buy what they want but purchase things now. Mary says this is not reality - she and her husband have accumulated enough to live comfortable without having to depend on the government or their children. It is their hope that what they will leave to their children will eventually compensate them for Mary's saying no to them while growing up. Rush says it appears that Mary and her husband have put together a "screw you stash" - enough money so that you don't have to take any guff from anyone. Mary says this is exactly right and she hopes others will do the same, so that they don't become dependent on Social Security; it was never the intention that Social Security become people's sole retirement "savings." Rush says Mary has done this, but a lot of people never think this is possible because they are convinced they'll never earn enough money to be able to save this much. These people are convinced the best days of America are over, but that's not true - you can provide for your future, but it requires a lot of thrift, which is a virtue that has disappeared from much of the American lexicon. *BREAK* Phone Bob from Spokane, WA Bob says a lot of people forget that you don't spend money but only exchange it. Americans spend their time making money, given that once you work an hour to get an hour's wage, you've lost that hour forever. However, money is exchanged for goods and services. Thus, when people spend money, they are giving part of their lives away, which means all of those who want something for nothing are actually demanding that people give part of their lives away to them. Rush finds that an interesting way to view money and notes that it's always fascinating to hear different people talk about money, how to get it, and what "a lot" of money means. Money is a medium of exchange, though, representing what you think certain things are worth. Rush thanks Bob for calling with a good point. Phone Frank from Lakeland, FL Frank says Rush made a good point about how Jack McDowell was engaging in "performance art" in the best traditions of the NEA. However, Frank would go one step further and say that McDowell was actually being far more sensitive than that, as he was actually engaging in a true multicultural activity. McDowell knows that not all New Yorkers speak English, while the expression of the middle finger is well understood throughout the city. Thus, he was simply communicating in a concrete way, using sign language, so that everyone could clearly understand his intentions. Thus, McDowell was being very political correct by being all-inclusive with his remarks. Frank, though, would also like to play his Ross Perot version of "They're Coming to Take Me Away," since he's never heard it and his wife has said it's a great thing. Rush thanks Frank for calling and is more than glad to comply with his request: "Remember when on Larry King I said I'd handle everything Cause I knew how to make this country work? Well . . . You followed me for a little while And then found out what makes me smile And now you know I got this . . . little quirk! See . . ." <> They're coming to take me away, ha-ha They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-ha, To the funny farm where life is beautiful all the time And I'll be happy to see them volunteers in starched brown shirts And they're coming to take me away, ha-ha!" <> "You thought I was a joke, and so you laughed, You laughed when I had said `I'm all ears' And `there's nothing in it for me.' Right? You know you laughed, I heard you laugh, You laughed, you laughed, and laughed And then you left me because you knew I was certifiably mad. Well, you'll believe the conspiracy, When they have had to bury me, After the Cubans take me out like they did JFK! See!" <> "They're coming to take me away, ha-ha They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-ha, To the funny farm where life is beautiful all the time And I'll be happy to see them volunteers in starched brown shirts To a happy home where they'll have a jacket for me With a pair of real long sleeves that pass around back! They're coming to take me away, ha-ha!" ******** Phone Michael from Olney, IL Michael says "Black" Jack McDowell's activities reminded him when Gary Templeton, shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals, did the same thing in the early 80s. Michael thinks that the reason this was done in New York was why everyone is making a big deal about what McDowell did. This story is mentioned in the local papers, but it's not on the front pages as is the case in New York. Rush says this could be the case, but in reality most New Yorkers are probably angry that McDowell is having a lousy year more than anything. Phone Lance from Nina, WI Lance says the woman who spoke about saving money struck a chord in his heart because he'd like to know why "tax fairness" means that he has to be taxed more because he worked three jobs while in college and then worked 13 years, starting from an entry-level job, to get where he is today. He's finally hitting some of his economic goals, so why should he be charged a higher tax rate? Rush says liberals would claim Lance "won life's lottery," and Dick Gephardt would undoubtedly claim Lance has more than he "needs." Lance says this is what drives him nuts - he comes from a modest background, but he lives in America where everyone has the opportunity to better themselves. Rush asks if Lance has a Democratic or Republican background, and Lance replies that he voted for Walter Mondale in 1984 when he was in college but has been a Republican for the past seven years or so. Rush says he bets that the Democrats' class envy rant worked on Lance for a while, and Lance says he can honestly say that earlier in his life he was happy whenever he heard Democrats claimed they were going to punish the "rich." Rush says this shows that the Democrats' class envy line does work, but thankfully Lance has seen the light and now understands that success in America comes from hard work and pursuing the opportunities that exist for everyone. He thanks Lance for calling. *BREAK* Phone Bill from Ft. Mill, SC Bill says he wants to rant and rave about the Democrats' desire to do business as usual in Congress, but he first wants to mention that Whoopi Goldberg has announced she'll be filming a movie in Charlotte in August. The movie wants to fill the Coliseum with extras who will act like Knicks fans, so he wonders whether he should go in there with a Spike Lee "X" cap or should he wear Armani suits? Rush says that this all depends on where you'll sit in the arena, and Bill asks if Rush has any suggestions for hand gestures that will get him on camera. Rush says you can't go wrong with the "flying finger of friendship" when it comes to a Whoopi Goldberg movie, and Bill asks if there are any NEA-approved curses he could use. Rush says he can't say any of them on the air, which means he can't imitate a NY Knicks fan in action, at least if he wants to stay in good with the FCC. As to clothing, Rush thinks Bill should wear what he feels most comfortable with, but if he goes the Spike Lee route, he should make sure he wears it backwards along with baggy pants, T-shirt, and sneakers. If Bill really wanted to make a splash, though, he should wear a "Y" cap. Then when people ask him about it, he could answer "why do you want to know?" Bill thanks Rush for his advice and Rush thanks him for calling. Rush wonders, though, why a movie would go to Charlotte, SC to find people to pretend to be Knicks fans - why not just come to New York. The EIB staff bet it's because of non-union labor - Whoopi doesn't want to pay union prices. Phone Preston from San Antonio, TX Preston says "Black" Jack McDowell is obviously just paying homage and respect to Nelson Rockefeller who flashed the same high sign towards college students a while ago. Rush recalls that experience and thanks Preston for not bringing the "New World Order" into this call. Phone Ed from Warrensburg, MO Ed says a flat tax would result in more people paying taxes, plus it would have people spend more attention as to how Congress spends the money it collects. Then perhaps a lot of the things being funded now would never get approved again. Rush says he had thought Ed was going to say that the rich weren't paying their fair share, and Ed says he thinks this is the case because the rich find a bunch of loopholes in the current tax system. Thus, a flat tax will end up with the rich paying more. Rush says there are no loopholes anymore, but Ed insists there are still a bunch of deductions that can be taken. Rush says he'd love to know what these deductions and loopholes are - about the only ones that are left are the home mortgage deductions and charities. For example, you can deduct only half of your business lunch expenses and only below a certain ceiling. Deductions and loopholes just aren't there any more. Ed thinks the people aren't paying attention to the government and how they spend their money, but Rush says people are already starting to do this. As to the rich paying their fair share, the top 1% pay 26% of taxes, although they earn only 13% of the income, and the top 20% pay 60% of all taxes. Rush thus doesn't think a case can be made that the rich aren't paying their fair share, and the point should be made that the rich no longer have all their deductions and loopholes. These things disappeared in the 1986 tax act which eliminated virtually all of these deductions in exchange for a two-tiered tax system, with rates at 15% and 28%. This was a great theory because the rich were glad to earn dollars if they could keep 72 cents out of every dollar they earned. However, the 1990 and 1993 budget deals came along, and now the rich are paying marginal rates of up to 40%, without reinstating any of the previous deductions. This is what worries people about the flat tax - a 17% tax rate sounds great, but then what happens when the rate goes up? The mortgage interest deduction is not that safe, especially if a flat tax is passed. The bottom line is that when a liberal talks about tax reform, you'd better grab your wallet because they mean only tax increases. There isn't any extra money, and liberals would rather raise more money than stop spending it since spending money is liberals' jobs. Thus, everyone should realize that when Dick Gephardt talks about a "flat" tax that has five rates, it means they'll be paying more in taxes. Everyone already is paying more than their fair share as it is - Americans are seeing their income confiscated, and it's ridiculous to claim that any American is not paying enough in taxes. This idea has to be discarded because Americans are all in this boat together. *BREAK* Phone Dan from Kennesaw, GA Dan is a "professional student" and agrees with Republican plans to end the subsidy of interest for student loans. He thinks the liberals will end up hurting themselves by opposing this reform, though, because they're going to come out and insist Republicans will be destroying America's educational system and making it harder to get a college education. However, it's much easier to work your way through college than people think, and Dan thinks the students whining about the changes to the student loan program are in the minority. Thus, liberals will demonstrate just how far out they are by complaining about these programs because Americans will realize just how few students will actually be hurt.