So here we are this fine first week-end. in March and lots is afoot in the world. President Obama made a speech the other day telling both Israel and Iran where to get off and clarifying a rather tough stand for the USA which could possibly lead to war with Iran. Horrible things happened to innocent people this week in Syria as a brutal regime, backed by Russia's Putin, stands pat. . In Afghanistan, they are killing American soldiers ( why are we still there, anyway?) and in Pakistan where it's hard to tell the terrorists from the corrupt government officials everybody seems to be killing anybody they can get their hands on. There are elections in Russia and food riots in Greece as the Euro gracefully plunges to an early demise between Christine La Garde and Angela Merkel, the two European ladies of the moment.
Meanwhile, back in the USA this Saturday, the bigtime bloggers and CNN talking heads are talking about none of the above. So, the American TV watching, newspaper and blog reading public is stuck with the excesses of Rush Limbaugh and how awful it was he called law student, Sandra Fluke, a perfectly nice girl who thinks insurance should pay for birth control pills a slut.
I hasten to add that I am no fan of Rush, but come on folks-- he's a jerk-- an ignorant fat kid who can't keep his foul mouth shut or his pants zipped. His radio show is a philosophical garbage dump and his business model is sensationalism. He does not care about truth any more than a porn star cares about good acting. His slut remark did what he intended it to do-- it brought eyeballs to articles about him and new crazies to his radio show. It may even get him a couple of guest shots on the news, who knows.
What is going on here is that everybody on social media is now feeling empowered and good about themselves. They are rejoicing in people power and the fact that they were able to put pressure on advertisers and make them back off Rush. That's nice, and I applaud-- but in the long run it doesn't do more than burning a bra did back in the '60's. I know because I was there.
Big billionaires like the brothers Koch will step in to fill the gap for the moment, and soon all will be forgotten and new advertisers will come out of the woodwork. And nothing-- certainly not the horrible attacks that women are under worldwide from men who hate them, will change. Rush will still be on the air spewing garbage and laughing all the way to the bank and so will the talking TV heads.
Personally, I don't think the media should give scum like Rush Limbaugh the time of day. Let's discuss more important things like what President Obama has to say about his position on Iran. Let's talk about what is happening in Greece and the possible downfall of the Euro. Certainly let us see what we can do about bringing clean water and broadband internet to every child in the world and let's encourage more not less transparency on the internet.
Because one thing is for sure-- things more important than the excesses of Rush Limbaugh are happening in this world every day, and we Americans are paying little to no attention to them.
