Category Archives: Politically Incorrect

Never has an issue with such major consequences for this country been so ignored.

Never has an issue with such major consequences for this country been so ignored. Never before has there been such a significant failure by the president, Congress, and the political infrastructure to address such an important problem. We are faced with the most important challenge of our time the challenge of sustainability and we refuse to confront it.

The reason for this silence is simple. To bring a halt to exponential growth, the number of legal immigrants entering this country would have to match the number of emigrants leaving it about 220,000 people per year. Yet, while federal actions have increased the immigration rate dramatically, any suggestion that the rate be decreased to some previously acceptable level is met with charges of "nativism," "racism," and the like. Unfortunately, such opposition has silenced much-needed discussion of the issue recalling the smear tactics of the late Senator Joseph McCarthy. The first time around it was "soft on communism." This time the charge is "racism." Demagogic rhetoric of this sort has succeeded in silencing the environmental and academic communities and has tainted any discussion of population and immigration issues as "politically incorrect". It is nothing short of astonishing to see the great American free press, with its raft of syndicated columnists, frightened into silence by political correctness.

The issue is not racism, nativism, or any other "ism," however. The real issue: numbers of people and the implications for freedom of choice and sustainability as our numbers continue to grow."

* Take CAPS' Earth Day quiz on the environment, population, and immigration.

* View a two-minute video on the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day and founder Gaylord Nelson.

* CAPS will participate in the 2021 Virtual Santa Barbara Earth Day FestivalApril 22, 23, and 24.

SOURCE Californians for Population Stabilization

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CAPS on the environment and population growth: Earth Day founder Sen. Gaylord Nelson warned about McCarthyist smear tactics against those who want to...

For weeks, the betting favorite to get drafted by the San Francisco 49ers with the No. 3 pick was Mac Jones. Now it's Justin Fields.

What happened?

Fields had another Pro Day, that's what. He was the center of the media's attention for a week. Simple as that.

When Jones was the betting favorite, lots of fans said he was a mere smokescreen. The 49ers don't leak their intentions, they said. The fact that so many reputable reporters thought the 49ers would take Jones only proved they won't take him, they said.

And then, a couple weeks before the draft, Fields suddenly became the odds-on favorite to go to the 49ers. And most fans didn't question this new development, because most fans want the 49ers to draft Fields.

But if any report is a smokescreen, wouldn't the one that comes out right before the draft be it? Everyone in the know thought for weeks the 49ers would take Jones, and then right before the draft the say the 49ers have changed their minds?

Do teams change their minds this late in the draft process? Did the 49ers suddenly have an epiphany about Fields? Are we to believe Kyle Shanahan sat in his room and lit candles and fasted and came to the realization that he was all wrong about Jones and that Fields was perfect for his offense?

I don't think teams work that way.

This all reminds me of two years ago when everyone knew for months the 49ers would take Nick Bosa, until two weeks before the draft when some experts changed their mind and projected Quinnen Williams would be the pick. Bosa had liked some politically-incorrect social media posts, and people wondered if the 49ers would draft him.

The 49ers drafted him.

Sound familiar? Mac Jones seems to be this year's Bosa.

So why the Justin Fields smokescreen, if it is a smokescreen?

It seems to me the 49ers' preferred outcome is to trick the Jets into drafting anyone but Zach Wilson. If the Jets take Fields, good. If they take Jones, good.

But if the Jets take Wilson, I'm guessing the 49ers will draft Jones, just as the experts predicted before they changed their minds.

See original here:
Are the Rumors Connecting Justin Fields to the 49ers a Smokescreen? - Sports Illustrated

We are all very much familiar with the Japanese national sport of sumo. The athletes topknots, the bowing to each other before the matches and the iconic foot stomps (shiko) inside the ring are recognizable features. But as foreigners we rarely understand the deep religious meaning of it all.

Before we delve into the nature of the sport, it is important to understand the concrete dynamics at play inside a sumo training facility.

We are in the Koto district of Tokyo, one of the most important sumo (heya) schools in all of Japan. Here the wrestlers live together as in a large family home. In this one, there are 22 wrestlers; the youngest is just 16, the oldest 36. Years ago, it would have been superfluous to specify their nationality,but not anymore. In fact, more and more foreigners have been successfully breaching the Japanese monopoly in this sport. From 2002 to 2016, Mongolian wrestlers in the top division won 81 out of 88 championships despite a rule that only allows one foreigner per heya.

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Fewer and fewer Japanese are joining sumo schools. The typical recruit was usually a young man from a disadvantaged family in a rural area. But in recent years the trend is for young people to move as soon as possible to the big cities for study or for work, certainly not to enlist in the most anachronistic of all armieswith the strictest discipline and absolute obedience to their superiors rules.

It is by no coincidence that now, in front of us spectators, one of the younger recruits gets beaten on the backside by one of the older fighters because, they tell me, he was late last night (apparently he had one too many drinks with some friends). He broke a team rule that says everyone has to go to bed at the same time. A few years ago, a 17-year-old fighter lost his life in training as the result of being heavily punished.

In football, there is a old saying thatits not a sport for delicate girls. In time it became politically incorrect, but everyone knows the truth at the core of it. In sumo, it is not even enough to be a strong man you have to be almost superhuman, not only in physical strength but also in nature and mentality. If you want to compete at the highest levels, you really need exceptional drive.

And sometimes that drive has less to do with the hunger for victory than with real hunger. A lot of the young foreigners who enlist in these schools come from humble families who can spare many kids.

Just like the football players who move from Latin America to Europe dreaming of the Champions League, so these boys want to conquer the highest ranks in sumo. Being successful not only translatesto the self-fulfilment of a goal, it also means being able to take care of their families in their country of origin. A yokozuna top division fighter can even earn US$2 million a year.

In short, young foreigners come to Japan to fight their own private war of social redemption, parallel to that in the stadiums in front of a paying public.

As they began practice, all the fighters start doing something unusual, at least in the eyes of someone who thinks hes assisting at a sport performance.

They all turn their gaze to the altar and sip sake in honour of the divinity. And whats more is that perhaps this is the most important part of the whole preparation of the sumo wrestler (rikishi in Japanese): that is the enactment of thanksgiving to the god who in this case is symbolically represented by three twigs of sakaki (the sacred tree) placed high above a wall that demarcates the dohyo, the arena of combat.

We few spectators sit silently behind them on comfortable zabuton, the traditional square meditation cushion.

The sumo wrestlers now all execute that typical gesture that seems to announce the coming battle the raising of the knees in the air from a sitting position, with legs apart, and then slamming the feet on the floor violently. This ritual, called shiko, was formerly intended to keep evil spirits at bay.

Another common practice for the rikishi is to throw several handfuls of salt into the ring to purify it. Sumo is intrinsically linked to Japan's native religion, Shinto, or "the way of the gods."

Sumo was in fact originally conceived as a ritual to entertain the kami (gods) during the matsuri (festivals). The same robe worn by the referee resembles the traditional one worn by a Shinto priest.

Its not hard to tell that sumo is a sport that carries an ancient tradition on its back: the wrestlers long hair ends with a topknot (chonmage). This hairstyle was once the norm, so much so that anyone who has ever watched a Japanese movie set in the 16th century will soon recognize it. In short, it is a way to honor tradition.

A tradition that, contrary to modern sports, when it comes to formalizing the quality of an athlete will also assess the presence of strong moral values.

In fact, to reach the highest, and almost sacred, ranking of yokozuna, it is not enough to win fight after fight, it is also necessary to demonstrate the right moral attributes, which will be evaluated by a special committee.

And so the fighter who arrived here as a teenager from a remote area of Inner Mongolia is not only training his muscles, hes going through a genuine conversion of its own spirit, and if victorious he will be blessed with all the honors akin to a semi-god.

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Sumo as a religious rite in Japan - Union of Catholic Asian News

US points to organized extremists in Capitol riot

Authorities investigating the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol say two extremist groups that traveled to Washington along with thousands of other Trump supporters weren't whipped into an impulsive frenzy by President Donald Trump. (March 10)

AP

PORTLAND Two brothers arrested this week in Oregon on federal charges of participating in the U.S. Capitol insurrection will be held in custody pending trial on six felony charges.

Matthew Klein, 24, and Jonathanpeter Klein, 21, appeared separately on Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui in the District of Columbia court via video conference from Portland, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Both are expected to remain detained at least until their next court hearing scheduled for April 1. The brothers are being held at the Multnomah County Detention Center in Portland.

The federal magistrate judge who presided over the brothers' hearings cited a ruling out Friday from a U.S. District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals panel regarding a Tennessee mother and son charged in the Jan. 6 riot who challenged their pre-trial detention.

Previous coverage: 2 Oregon brothers arrested in U.S. Capitol insurrection

The appeals panel wrote that in its view "those who actually assaulted police officers and broke through windows, doors, and barricades and those who aided, conspired with, planned or coordinated such actions, are in a different category of dangerousness than those who cheered on the violence or entered the Capitol after others cleared the way."

The Kleins were among the first group to breach the Capitol about 2:16 p.m., after Matthew Klein helped others climb a wall to gain access to a stairwell leading to the Capitol's Upper West Terrace, prosecutors have said. Prosecutors have also alleged they wrenched open a door on the north side of the U.S. Capitol after having already entered and exited the building.

Oregon Legislature: Oregon Senate votes in favor of bill banning guns in Capitol, state buildings

"The exact example of what the court gave is what the defendant has done," Faruqui said during Jonathanpeter Klein's hearing.

Jonathanpeter Klein has described himself as a member of the far-right extremist Proud Boys group, which calls itself a politically incorrect men's club for "Western chauvinists."

He was photographed on Jan. 5 with his brother while wearing a Proud Boys shirt. That helped law enforcement identify the brothers, the FBI has said.

Matthew Klein also faces charges in Multnomah County where he is accused of carrying a loaded firearm in a truck after Portland police stopped it leaving a Proud Boys rally in September, according to court records. Those charges were pending when he participated in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the prosecutor said.

The brothers have not yet entered pleas to the federal charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, destruction of government property, entering a restricted building, and disorderly conduct.

Jonathanpeter Klein's defense lawyer Michelle Sweet had urged for her client to be released pending trial.

She said he could if released to continue to work at a ranch in eastern Oregon. Nanci Klein, the brothers' mother, wrote a letter to the court saying that they could stay at her home.

The Kleins are among hundreds charged in the insurrection. The attack temporarily delayed certification of the presidential election.

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Oregon brothers accused in U.S. Capitol riot ordered held - The Register-Guard

See baba, I am not a chancellor, vice-chancellor, professor, lecturer or peon of any grand university. But I like to think I am educated matlab I have been to a good school and college, got myself a degree (never collected it, though), and have zero complaints to air about the quality of my education. As is the case of millions of others in India, I also think we were pretty fortunate to have been taught by inspiring, even brilliant teachers. We didnt always agree with their political/social/cultural/religious views, and they never asked for ours. There was never any khitpit in this regard. Some of them wrote well-researched academic papers, some penned blistering newspaper columns, some preferred poetry and a few were published authors. We admired our faculty members and applauded their achievements.

Now suddenly we have an international cause celebre revolving around a genius-prof called Pratap Bhanu Mehta (Oxford, Princeton, Harvard), whose outspoken columns are widely read and energetically dissected. He represents a new breed of progressive thinkers who call themselves public intellectuals.

So why all the fire and brimstone over his decision to quit? An intellectually celebrated, immensely sought after professor decides to step away from an environment which he feels is not conducive to his politics so what? It does not signal the end of the world. He is a free man, and entitled to take such a call. No jabardasti to hang around feeling unwelcome, right? But its not all that simple, I say! Nothing is as hunky dory (love its usage in the Supreme Court this week) as it appears. The chancellor and vice chancellor of the university are strenuously explaining themselves, while the Board of Trustees insists it has nothing to do with the mess. Some of its 100-plus donors are reportedly offended. Ninety faculty members expressed solidarity with Mehta. Then why are so many red-faced, self-styled spokespeople jumping out of the woodwork?

What is not being spelt out clearly and unequivocally is simply this: Pratap Bhanu Mehta is seen as being openly and virulently anti-government, which may have not gone down well with the bosses at Ashoka.

Fair enough. Which means they are either pro-BJP but not admitting it, or pressure is being exerted on them to tame Mehta and his ilk. Which is it? And what exactly is at stake? One of them candidly admitted in his column that this unpleasantness in the public domain could lead to funds drying up and investors losing faith in the future of the university. Is it then, only about money? Grants? Subsidies? Education is big business today. No harm in protecting ones investment but why not be upfront about it?

Pratap Bhanu Mehta had become a political liability (his words). If a university calls itself independent and claims to encourage liberal thought, why would someone like Mehta be made to feel unwanted? And why now? He has consistently been a critic of the present government, undisguisedly so. Wheres the surprise? Was this not known to those who appointed him? Has he dramatically changed his stance recently? Was there no screening process in place when he joined Ashoka? Was he told he was no longer free to write anti-establishment political commentary if he signed up with Ashoka? As we all know, such sensitive issues are never tabled, much less documented. If the Board now says these issues did not come up during his tenure of course they didnt theres nothing on record! Who was going to tell Mehta, Hey, look here old chap just go easy, wont you? We are feeling the heat.

Either you call yourself an unbiased, open and democratic institution, or you declare your political affiliations of whichever shade and colour and leave it there. You cannot have it both ways and pull out the martyr card when things start slipping. The students have the right to know where they stand vis a vis the universitys politics. Look, its perfectly okay to say Ashoka is pro a political party thats not a crime. Just say it, na? But stop the charade of pretending to be neutral.

Whether a professor with attitude stays or leaves is hardly the main issue. But it definitely marks a big moment in the universitys alarmingly young history.

Mehta at the moment is a folk hero he will go on to other academic positions and perhaps bigger things. His critics call him a closet politician, and say he will cash in on the controversy. But what will Ashoka University do to retrieve some of its dented glory? Rightly or wrongly, public opinion is backing the man whose political leanings cost him a prestigious appointment. Its now up to the lofty folks at the university to regroup, rethink and come up with some much-needed damage control before some more grants and funds from donors dry up.

Views expressed above are the author's own.

END OF ARTICLE

More here:
The problems that arise when politics and academia intersect - The Times of India Blog

Some may wonder why the axis powers of the media, Big Tech, Big Business, and leftist government officials continue to push indefinite, anti-freedom Covid restrictions. Its all about establishing permanent power and control. Lets look at these one at a time:

Im sure some think Im exaggerating when I say most Covid restrictions will be permanent, but the same thing has been said EVERY step of the way15 days to slow the spread, just a 30-day mask mandate, we have to wait for a vaccine, we dont know about new strains,there will ALWAYS be a new excusewinter seasonal outbreaks, new strains, flu deaths, co-morbid conditions, and on and on. Freedom will NEVER be given back by the Ruling Class. It must be TAKEN BACK! Demand your freedom! Set the standard and show others YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Fauci Absolutely Torched By Rand Paul About COVID Vaccines, Masks, and Immunity

CNNs Chief Medical Correspondent Tries To Defend Faucis Mask NonsenseEnds Up Peddling More COVID Idiocy

NJ Gov. Phil Murphy Hints That Vaccine Card May be Mandated For Public EventsWeve Officially Become a 1984 Totalitarian Society10 Steps to Prepare for a Biden Presidency12 Lessons Learned from Covid-19Covid-19 Facemasks Meme GalleryDr. Anthony Fauci Meme GalleryMainstream Media Meme Gallery 5Big Tech Fascism Meme Gallery 210 Steps to Get Friends & Family Off of Facebook/Twitter and On To MeWe, Parler, and other Alternative Social Media

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Politically Incorrect Humor - Daily Memes, Jokes ...

Four men described as leaders of the far-right Proud Boys have been charged in the U.S. Capitol riots, as an indictment ordered unsealed on Friday presents fresh evidence of how federal officials believe group members planned and carried out a coordinated attack to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Bidens electoral victory.

So far, at least 19 leaders, members or associates of the neo-fascist Proud Boyshave been charged in federal courtwith offenses related to the Jan. 6 riots. The latest indictment suggests the Proud Boys deployed a much larger contingent in Washington, with over 60 users participating in an encrypted messaging channel for group members that was created a day before the riots.

The Proud Boys abandoned an earlier channel and created the new Boots on the Ground channel after police arrested the groups top leader, Enrique Tarrio, in Washington. Tarrio was arrested on Jan. 4 and charged with vandalizing a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Black church during a protest in December. He was ordered to stay out of the District of Columbia.

Tarrio hasnt been charged in connection with the riots, but the latest indictment refers to him by his title as Proud Boys chairman.

Ethan Nordean and Joseph Biggs, two of the four defendants charged in the latest indictment, were arrested several weeks ago on separate but related charges. The new indictment also charges Zachary Rehl and Charles Donohoe.

Nordean, 30, of Auburn, Washington, was a Proud Boys chapter president and member of the groups national Elders Council. Biggs, 37, of Ormond Beach, Florida, is a self-described Proud Boys organizer. Rehl, 35, of Philadelphia, and Donohoe, 33, of North Carolina, serve as presidents of their local Proud Boys chapters, according to the indictment.

Attorneys for the four men didnt immediately respond to messages seeking comment Friday.

Proud Boys members, who describe themselves as a politically incorrect mens club for Western chauvinists, have frequently engaged in street fights with antifascist activists at rallies and protests. Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, who founded the Proud Boys in 2016, sued the Southern Poverty Law Center for labeling it as a hate group.

The Proud Boys met at the Washington Monument around 10 a.m. on Jan. 6 and marched to the Capitol before then-President Donald Trump finished addressing thousands of supporters near the White House.

Around two hours later, just before Congress convened a joint session to certify the election results, a group of Proud Boys followed a crowd of people who breached barriers at a pedestrian entrance to the Capitol grounds, the indictment says. Several Proud Boys also entered the Capitol building itself after the mob smashed windows and forced open doors.

At 3:38 p.m., Donohoe announced on the Boots on the Ground channel that he and others were regrouping with a second force as some rioters began to leave the Capitol, according to the indictment.

This was not simply a march. This was an incredible attack on our institutions of government, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough said during a recent hearing for Nordeans case.

Prosecutors have said the Proud Boys arranged for members to communicate using specific frequencies on Baofeng radios. The Chinese-made devices can be programmed for use on hundreds of frequencies, making them difficult for outsiders to eavesdrop.

After Tarrios arrest, Donohoe expressed concern that their encrypted communications could be compromised when police searched the group chairmans phone, according to the new indictment. In a Jan. 4 post on a newly created channel, Donohoe warned members that they could be looking at Gang charges and wrote, Stop everything immediately, the indictment says.

This comes from the top, he added.

A day before the riots, Biggs posted on the Boots on the Ground channel that the group had a plan for the night before and the day of the riots, according to the indictment.

In Nordeans case, a federal judge accused prosecutors of backtracking on their claims that he instructed Proud Boys members to split up into smaller groups and directed a strategic plan to breach the Capitol.

Thats a far cry from what I heard at the hearing today, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said on March 3.

Howell concluded that Nordean was extensively involved in pre-planning for the events of Jan. 6 and that he and other Proud Boys were clearly prepared for a violent confrontation that day. However, she said evidence that Nordean directed other Proud Boys members to break into the building is weak to say the least and ordered him freed from jail before trial.

Originally posted here:
4 men linked to Proud Boys charged in plot to attack Capitol - FOX40

I recently saw a picture that captured so well at least one slice of the crazy pie being served up to us these days. The graphic showed Mr. Potato Head looking side-eyed at a Mr. Coffee coffeemaker and saying, Youre next.

As youve probably heard, Mr. Potato Head, the classic childrens toy, is being rebranded as simply Potato Head because gender-related titles such as Mr. have been deemed politically incorrect and taboo. (Im rolling my eyes as hard as theyll possibly roll.)

Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben (the rice guy) and some Dr. Seuss books have also recently been sacrificed upon the altar of political correctness, and warnings have been added to some classic Disney movies and Muppet videos because it was suddenly decided they might offend the easily offended.

This is just nuts. Our culture has fallen so quickly and far down the bottomless pit of censorship and political correctness that I wonder if well ever be able to climb back out again. Its hard to watch the United States devolve into something that bears so little resemblance to the free republic it was founded to be.

Mr. Potato Head? Dr. Seuss? Kermit the Frog? Aunt Jemima? Dumbo? Dont we have bigger battles to fight?

Although the current rush to frivolously cancel people, products, books, fictional characters, history, movies and free speech is dangerous and disturbing, this kind of madness is something we Christians should actually be accustomed to. Individuals, institutions and governments have, after all, been trying to cancel God, His Word and His people since the Garden of Eden.

Here are just a few examples:

When Adam and Eve disobeyed the one prohibitive law God had given them, they were essentially canceling the personal, warm relationship God desired to have with them.

Enemies of the Jewish people and the nation of Israel have been trying to cancel them ever since God first promised to form a great nation from Abrahams descendants.

Jewish and Roman leaders tried to cancel Jesus by crucifying Him. They then spread a whopper of a lie in an attempt to cancel the miracle of Christs resurrection.

Early Christ-followers were constantly threatened with cancellation just about everywhere a church was formed. Sadly, that kind of severe persecution continues in some places today.

Evil perpetrated by those claiming to be Christians from the Spanish Inquisition to greed and sexual immorality within the church has distorted the Gospel and tragically caused many to personally reject, or cancel, it.

Christians are typically portrayed in the media as bumbling, judgmental, delusional, hypocritical, unpleasant, or irrelevant. Is this an attempt to cancel Christianity or are scriptwriters simply unaware that the majority of true believers, though certainly imperfect, are actually nice, intelligent people?

Changing the names of a few products might not matter much, but the spirit of offense sweeping through our world does because its irrationality and deception is leading to more and more censorship and persecution of those who express their faith in Jesus Christ.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus said, ... blessed is the one who is not offended by me (Matthew 11:6). Anyone offended by Mr. Potato Head and Aunt Jemima is likely going to find it hard to tolerate Jesus, the one who dares to claim, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6).

If they despise Jesus, what will they do with those of us who worship Him? Jesus answered that: If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you John 15:18.

What should our response be? Love.

Why? We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

God had every right to cancel us, but He didnt. Lord, help us to love like that.

See more here:
Mary Ann Crum: Who will they cancel next? - Index-Journal

The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has spoken out about the Fox shows decision in 2020 to stop white actors voicing characters from other ethnic backgrounds.

Days after it was confirmed that Simpsons vet Harry Shearer had been replaced by voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson in the role of Dr. Julius Hibbert, Groening told the BBC: Times change, but I actually didnt have a problem with the way we were doing it. All of our actors play dozens of characters each; it was never designed to exclude anyone.

Its similar in tone to howThe Simpsons initially handled the controversy in 2017, when questions were raised about Hank Azaria playing Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.Some months later, an episode featured Lisa breaking the fourth wall to declare: Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?

The Simpsons Voice Actor Hank Azaria Reveals His Journey Away From The Apu Character

Asked if he regretted how it was handled, Groening said: At a certain point it doesnt matter what you say. Youre going to be attacked by whoever, you know? Were not going out of our way to comfort bigots. On the other hand, if you do any kind of gesture and people perceive a weakness, youll be criticized.

The cartoonist, who is currently working on Netflix series Disenchantment, added that hes glad things are changing. Were trying to make it better, he said. Bigotry and racism are still an incredible problem and its good to finally go for more equality and representation.

The Simpsons: The New Voice Of Hank Azarias Carl Is Revealed

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The Simpsons Creator Matt Groening Says He Didnt Have A Problem With White Actors Voicing Non-White Characters - Deadline

Photo: Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump speaking at a 2019 event hosted by Turning Point USA. Credit Gage Skidmore

After more than three decades assaulting airwaves and television screens with his vicious right-wing rhetoric, Rush Limbaugh, the bigoted and imperialist radio personality, died last week from a year-long battle with lung cancer. With his death comes the potential end to the most popular radio show in the United States, which since its debut in 1988 has served as a catalyst for the creation of the far-right media landscape that we see today.

Limbaugh, during a February 2020 broadcast, announced his diagnosis of lung cancer to his 15 million listeners. He then revealed in October, again on his show, that the cancer had become a terminal illness before dying at age 70 to the very disease that he falsely claimed had no link to his decades of cigarette smoking.

Limbaughs denial of the risk of smoking, however, is far from the worst position he has taken over the decades he spent on the air. His presence as a talk show host set the standard for many of the far-right pundits we see today. The strength of personalities like Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Glenn Beck, and even the more ridiculous Alex Jones, owe their success to the framework set forth by The Rush Limbaugh Show. Limbaugh rose to prominence at a time when all of these personalities, and FOX News-adjacent media more generally, did not exist.

Prior to the rise of online radio leading to a more diverse range of programming available to us today, Limbaugh occupied an even more exclusive direct line to millions of people. He permeated the information sphere in a way that you could not simply choose to log off or unplug from. His TV show, which ran from 1992 to 1996, made his perspective even more commonplace.

He joined the stage in the era of the shock-jock radio host, with his popularity second only to that of Howard Stern. The obvious difference between the two, however, was the explicitly political nature of Limbaughs program. Limbaugh spewed vitriol for years most notably by perpetuating racist stereotypes about Black people and immigrants, promoting anti-LGBTQ views, mocking the global AIDS crisis and popularizing the term feminazi.

His bigoted rhetoric was not without political backing either. Limbaugh found himself a supporter of essentially any conservative policy adopted in the United States and took a global imperialist stance to match. He was a vocal supporter of the Iraq War and U.S. military intervention overseas. He rejected science and empirical data when it came to the climate crisis. He was a staunch critic of the Green New Deal.

The late 2000s saw Limbaugh ramp up on conspiracy theories, tying the incoming Obama administration to the rise of ISIS. This trend would continue on throughout President Obamas two terms, sowing distrust in not only the administration but the mainstream media landscape as a whole. While the corporate media deserves to be harshly criticized, Limbaugh sought to organize that opposition around the preposterous claim that it promotes left wing politics. This line of attack can be seen widely today, for instance in cries of fake news and the spread of misinformation online among supporters of Donald Trump. The foundations were set by the right wing conspiracies parroted by Limbaugh.

The reactionary media stars of today including Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Glenn Beck, and more recently Tomi Lahren or Candice Owens, all pull pages from Limbaughs playbook. The politically incorrect, bigoted views that galvanizes the far right can be seen, albeit in varied amounts, in these commentators today.

And now, even with the absence of his on-air presence, Limbaugh leaves behind a media landscape in his own image. Right-wing extremism has taken a far more central place in American society. Limbaughs show has ultimately been a success in helping usher forth the Trump era of politics along with the violent and fascist trends that Trump has energized.

In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the fight against the far right has taken on even greater significance. Rush Limbaugh spent his life spreading ideas that have now coalesced in a major political current that menaces the rights of all working class and oppressed people. All those who oppose it need to wage the battle of ideas just as fiercely to defeat his vile ideology.

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Rush Limbaugh and the rise of the far right - Liberation