Rush Limbaugh Justifies Prison Torture

[MORTARDUDE]

The article posted below is solely the work of the author. My personal views on the subject may or may not be the same. It is posted here for information only. Any questions or comments should be directed to the author. Thank you.



http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRe...d=149-05062004

Media Matters for America: Rush Limbaugh Justifies Prison Torture; U.S. Guards Were 'Having a Good Time,' 'Blow(ing) Some Steam Off'

5/6/2004 3:02:00 PM


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: National Desk, Media Reporter

Contact: Naomi Seligman of Media Matters for America, 202-544-9177

WASHINGTON, May 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Media Matters for America has posted Rush Limbaugh's comments (May 4, 2004, Rush Limbaugh Show) about the Abu Ghirad prison torture in Iraq. In discussing the torture of Iraqi prisoners, Limbaugh claims the U.S. Guards were "having a good time" and compares images of the torture to Madonna and Britney Spears concerts.

"Rush Limbaugh's consistently extreme commentary has operated with almost total impunity for far too long," Media Matters for America President David Brock said today. "Media Matters for America now has in place a system to monitor, analyze and correct conservative misinformation in the media -- including Rush Limbaugh, one of America's most influential political commentators."

"Limbaugh on torture of Iraqis: U.S. guards were 'having a good time,' 'blow(ing) some steam off'," and more analyses of conservative misinformation, can be found at the Media Matters for America website: http://www.mediamatters.org.

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. Media Matters for America is the first organization to systematically monitor the media for conservative misinformation -- every day, in real time -- in 2004 and beyond.

For more information, log on to http://www.mediamatters.org


http://www.usnewswire.com/

-0-

/? 2004 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/

[Hardball]

Hardball

[darrels joy]

The World is Laughing

May 7, 2004


Listen to Rush?
(...ask what these hearings are going to do to help the war effort, then answer)
(...defend and elevate our soldiers, who should still hold their heads high)

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

Would somebody tell me what do these senators actually do and accomplish? These questions have provided us with nothing new. It's almost as though now Rumsfeld is supposed to go out and prosecute the case, and these guys are sitting there as judge and jury. McCain, as usual, all about the media. I don't even think these people are really interested in the facts, here. They just want to be able to show they can push Rumsfeld around and, by extension, Bush. Seriously, somebody tell me what these people are accomplishing right now.

Here we've got Rumsfeld and Myers. You know what these people are? Don Rumsfeld and General Myers -- both of whom have won two wars. They're trying to bring democracy to Iraq. They're being pummeled by a bunch of political hacks today, taking an opportunity to be political in an election year. In my opinion, these senators are making asses of themselves, but I'm prepared to be the lone voice saying that, and if Crossfire wants to ask people to condemn me for it, fine. I'll say it again! "I think they're making asses of themselves."

Carl Levin asked if those responsible up the chain will be held to account. They will be and they are being. There was no point to the question. Ted Kennedy, one of the things he wants to know about the International Red Cross: Why they weren't brought into the prison? This from the man who has opposed the liberation of 25 million Iraqis in the first place wants to know if the International Red Cross has been brought in to examine the prisoners who are people who have tried to kill Americans! (Bill Gertz: Most prisoners in Iraq jails called ''threat to security'')


He's not worried about that. He is now worried about the treatment of Iraqi prisoners -- and we're all sitting here, all concerned now about how we look in the world. Let me tell you how we look. We are being laughed at today, in the part of the world with whom we are at war. We are being laughed at today and we are being seen as weak and malleable. I ask again, "Who died here?" The gravity of this is overwhelming. You know who the luckiest person in Washington, D.C., is today? Jamie Gorelick.

Here is a woman who is directly in the "chaaaain of command" that built a wall that prevented intelligence data from being shared so we could "connect the dots" that might have given some lead notice to 9/11 occurring, and she's totally been blown off the radar screen here by this, which is nothing more than an attempt to target Rumsfeld, to get him out of the way so they can get at Bush in an election year. But the idea that Ted Kennedy wants the International Red Cross in there, "Why aren't they in there looking after these prisoners?" These are people tried to kill Americans, and he opposed the liberation of 25 million Iraqis in the first place, opposed this war. The hypocrisy here is stunning.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

[Rockin' intro music] Well, the inquisition of Donald Rumsfeld continues. The bulk of it is over. We haven't learned anything new. We're not going to learn anything new, because there's nothing new to learn here. There's just a bunch of excuse-making and a bunch of posturing by a bunch of senators who want to have some good sound bites for later on in their careers. It's... I don't know. It's just... I have to tell you, folks. It's so sad to watch this. For example, Robert Byrd just concluded his questioning, and he wanted to know, "How we will regain our respect?" meaning the country. "How in the world can we possibly regain our respect?"

Now, the premise of the whole question offends me because I don't think (we've lost it). We're in the process of losing respect doing this. If we're in danger of losing respect, it's this. The people who have struck us and target us are laughing at us today over all of this. This is all being televised, you know, on Al-Jazeera today as well as other Arab networks, and I must take issue with something General Myers said in his opening statement. General Myers -- and I realize the need when you're from the executive branch, when you go up before these guys at the Senate in Congress, you have to grovel. I mean, that's the rules. You have to go up there and you have to grovel. For example, Ted Kennedy was asking about the International Red Cross, and he's asked Rumsfeld about the International Red Cross. [Kennedy impression:] "Why wasn't the International Red Cross in there?"


Same reason the local Red Cross didn't show up at Chappaquiddick, senator! What do you mean, "Why weren't they in there?" They have been in there. What do you mean, senator, "Where was the International Red Cross?" You opposed the liberation of 25 million Iraqis, and now all of a sudden you're concerned about the Iraqis that are in prison and try to kill Americans, you want the International Red Cross? That's the answer that we all need; that's the answer we'd all love. I don't know that that's the answer Rumsfeld would like to give, but I have a thought or two on it, and then you've got "Sheets" Byrd up there -- and again, this poor guy (Rumfeld), everybody is concerned about these pictures and all these hoods in the pictures -- and I say again:

"My friends, you could have seen more hoods had a Robert Byrd birthday party 40-or-50 years ago than you see in all these pictures combined," and he's up there asking, "When will we regain our respect? How will we regain our respect?" Let me answer that for you. This is not difficult, either. If a former member of the Ku Klux Klan (story || story || story), a group that murdered, pillaged and terrorized for the thrill of it, can end up having a former member hailed as "a great senator," then anything is possible when it comes to respect. General Myers is over there saying, he said, "Well, our soldiers, it's bad over there today. Soldiers are now walking with their heads hanging a little lower than usual because of what went on in the Abu Ghraib prison."

I respectfully disagree. If our soldiers are indeed walking with their heads hanging a little lower today, it's because of this! It's because of this overreaction, this sanctimony -- and he also made mention that they're going to be impaired a bit in doing their jobs because they're not going to be impaired to do their jobs because their heads are hanging low. They're going to be impaired because, my gosh, some idiot takes a picture of something out of context and nobody understands, they get thrown out of the military! This is going to end up tying the hands of warriors -- not just prison guards, and not just interrogators and this and that and the other thing. It's just sad to see this, and it's so predictable and it's so obvious what it is. It is a political move in an election year.

END TRANSCRIPT
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/dai...ip2.guest.html

If you want to tell everyone what Limbaugh said, QUOTE Limbaugh.
Joy

[Hardball]

...is when the "cut and paste-rs" get the full context of their rant-point, cut-and-pasted back in their face.

Thank you D-Joy....

Hardball

[MORTARDUDE]

and your point is what ?

[MORTARDUDE]

The article posted below is solely the work of the author. My personal views on the subject may or may not be the same. It is posted here for information only. Any questions or comments should be directed to the author. Thank you.

web links and the actual audio at this site...



http://prisonplanet.tv/articles/may2...ntorturing.htm


Limbaugh on Torturing Iraqis: U.S Guards Were Just "Having a Good Time"

Media Matters/Paul Joseph Watson | Updated May 7 2004

Hours before President George W. Bush announced plans to address the Arab world to condemn the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. military personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison, Rush Limbaugh justified the U.S. guards' mistreatment of the Iraqis, stating that they were just "having a good time," and that their actions served as an "emotional release."

As reported by Wonkette.com, Limbaugh's comments can be found on his website. From the May 4 Rush Limbaugh Show, titled "It's Not About Us; This Is War!":






















Click play to hear this disgusting Neo-Con approval of rape and torture.



CALLER: It was like a college fraternity prank that stacked up naked men --

LIMBAUGH: Exactly. Exactly my point! This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation and we're going to ruin people's lives over it and we're going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time. You know, these people are being fired at every day. I'm talking about people having a good time, these people, you ever heard of emotional release? You of heard of need to blow some steam off?

The day before, on his May 3 show, Limbaugh observed that the American troops who mistreated Iraqi prisoners of war were "babes" and that the pictures of the alleged abuse were no worse than "anything you'd see Madonna, or Britney Spears do on stage."

LIMBAUGH: And these American prisoners of war -- have you people noticed who the torturers are? Women! The babes! The babes are meting out the torture.

LIMBAUGH: You know, if you look at -- if you, really, if you look at these pictures, I mean, I don't know if it's just me, but it looks just like anything you'd see Madonna, or Britney Spears do on stage. Maybe I'm -- yeah. And get an NEA grant for something like this. I mean, this is something that you can see on stage at Lincoln Center from an NEA grant, maybe on Sex in the City -- the movie. I mean, I don't -- it's just me.




The official US Army report listed all the abuses committed at the prison. Rush Limbaugh labels the following as 'just having a good time' and 'blowing some steam off'.

a. (U) Breaking chemical lights and pouring the phosphoric liquid on detainees;

b. (U) Threatening detainees with a charged 9mm pistol;

c. (U) Pouring cold water on naked detainees;

d. (U) Beating detainees with a broom handle and a chair;

e. (U) Threatening male detainees with rape;

f. (U) Allowing a military police guard to stitch the wound of a detainee who was injured after being slammed against the wall in his cell;

g. (U) Sodomizing a detainee with a chemical light and perhaps a broom stick.

h. (U) Using military working dogs to frighten and intimidate detainees with threats of attack, and in one instance actually biting a detainee.

.................

a. (S) Punching, slapping, and kicking detainees; jumping on their naked feet;

b. (S) Videotaping and photographing naked male and female detainees;

c. (S) Forcibly arranging detainees in various sexually explicit positions for photographing;

d. (S) Forcing detainees to remove their clothing and keeping them naked for several days at a time;

e. (S) Forcing naked male detainees to wear women?s underwear;

f. (S) Forcing groups of male detainees to masturbate themselves while being photographed and videotaped;

g. (S) Arranging naked male detainees in a pile and then jumping on them;

h. (S) Positioning a naked detainee on a MRE Box, with a sandbag on his head, and attaching wires to his fingers, toes, and penis to simulate electric torture;

i. (S) Writing ?I am a Rapest? (sic) on the leg of a detainee alleged to have forcibly raped a 15-year old fellow detainee, and then photographing him naked;

j. (S) Placing a dog chain or strap around a naked detainee?s neck and having a female Soldier pose for a picture;

k. (S) A male MP guard having sex with a female detainee; [FORGET THE DOUBLE SPEAK, THIS IS RAPE]

l. (S) Using military working dogs (without muzzles) to intimidate and frighten detainees, and in at least one case biting and severely injuring a detainee;

m. (S) Taking photographs of dead Iraqi detainees.

ALL OF THE ABOVE ACTIVITIES ARE DESCRIBED BY LIMBAUGH AS 'BLOWING SOME STEAM OFF AND HAVING A GOOD TIME'. SO, ACCORDING TO LIMBAUGH, IF YOU HAVE A BAD DAY AT WORK, JUST GO AND FIND A WOMAN, POUR BATTERY ACID ON HER, RAPE HER AND THEN BEAT HER TO DEATH - YOU'LL JUST BE BLOWING SOME STEAM OFF!


Neo-Con talk show hosts across the country from Limbaugh to Michael Savage are making outbursts on a daily basis that would make Adolph Hitler or Joseph Stalin blush. Savage openly calls for putting anyone who criticizes the government in a forced labor camp.

In an age of increasing regulation of free speech, it's astounding that talk show hosts with tens of millions of listeners can get away with advocating torture, rape and murder. The new definition of 'conservatism' according to Limbaugh is making naked men perform homosexual acts for laughs. The world truely has turned upside down.

-----------------------------

CBS: Rush: MPs Just 'Blowing Off Steam'

[SparrowHawk62]

Way to go Rush! He can't shove pills in his face anymore so he'll now try to shove his feet in his mouth!