The title of this is a little over-the-top, but...
For all of the talk from the Tea-crazies about President Obama being anti-free speech, um... Here's the Obama Administration helping to keep Rush Limbaugh on the air.
A petition to pull Rush Limbaugh from the lineup of the Armed Forces Network (AFN) received an Obama adminstration response over the weekend, but one that likely disappointed opponents of the conservative radio host.
The petition -- organized amid a debate over birth control coverage during which Limbaugh repeatedly called law student Sandra Fluke a "slut" -- said that Limbaugh's "abusive, divisive, insulting language," should not be aired on the government-run TV and radio network, which provides programming to American troops overseas. "We have a moral objection to our tax dollars being used for such a purpose," the petitioners wrote. "You should move immediately to cancel any further broadcast through government facilities of his venom."
(Article from HuffPost)
I listen to Rush for about 3 minutes about once per month (that's all I can take), but I sacrifice that much for the sake of "understanding the other side." That said, I'd like to get Rush off of the airwaves, but I prefer a "free market" solution, such as refusing to buy products from the companies that advertise during his shows. That's a true free market approach, although often cited by some idiots (Palin, Beck, et al) as being "censorship."
I'm happy about this non-action, because had the administration intervened in any way to push for the removal of Rush, that interaction would have been in violation of the 1st Amendment.
FYI, Armed Forces Radio is a part of the AFRTS (http://en.wikipedia.org/...), which produces some original content, but also uses some syndicated commercial programming. So, there are still "free market" (and common sense) ways to get Rush off of the airwaves...
Get Rid of Rush:
- Don't buy products from the companies that support him, and let them know why.
- Tell the local radio station that airs his show that you won't listen to any of their programming, and that you are telling their advertisers the same thing.
- Do listen for a few minutes, once a week or month, just so you can find out who the advertisers are.
- Let your elected representatives know that, Republican or Dem... red, blue or yellow (or crazy purple), that you don't want them to follow his orders.
(These are my own tips, as generic as they are.)
In other "FOX Nuz,": Hey Glenn Beck, where are those FEMA concentration camps?