Running errands on a Monday holiday, got a chance to hear bits of both El Rushbo and Hannity on the radio. It's all there - the paranoia, the stupid, the crazy. If you want to know what's putting wingnut knickers in a twist, listening to either is a quick way to find out. Interesting planet they live on.
More below the Orange Omnilepticon. Hope you've got a strong stomach...
First Up: The E.I.B. Network, AKA Excrement In Broadcasting
Rush, to my ear, seems to be getting higher pitched and more worked up these days. He was having a jolly time complaining about the liberal media and other phantasms rattling around between his ears.
Apparently there was a computer glitch in the system that handles EBT cards, AKA foodstamps over the weekend, affecting people in 17 states. The system (run by Xerox) failed a maintenance check when a backup system didn't come on line, and was unavailable for some hours. Here's how USA today reported it:
In Clarksdale, Miss. — one of the poorest parts of one of the poorest states in the nation — cashier Eliza Shook said dozens of customers at Corner Grocery had to put back groceries when the cards failed Saturday because they couldn't afford to pay for the food. After several hours, she put a sign on the front door to tell people about the problem.
"It's been terrible," Shook said in a phone interview. "It's just been some angry folks. That's what a lot of folks depend on."
Mississippi Department of Human Services director Rickey Berry confirmed that Xerox, the state's EBT vendor, had computer problems. He said he had been told by midafternoon that the problems were being fixed.
"I know there are a lot of mad people," Berry said.
Sheree Powell, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, started receiving calls around 11:30 a.m. about problems with the state's card systems. More than 600,000 Oklahomans receive SNAP benefits, and money is dispersed to the cards on the first, fifth and 10th days of every month, so the disruption came at what is typically a high-use time for the cards.
At Kos,
the sheeping of America covered the news - and the predictable wing nut response. (Ugly example
here.)
It's still vibrating through the wingnutosphere today; both Rush and Hannity were on it. Rush zeroed in on the events at several WalMarts where a decision came down to let people use their cards even though the system could not report back how much in benefits the card users had available. Shelves were emptied; carts full of food were left in place when the system came back on line.
As Rush described it, frenzied hordes ransacked the stores in a clear example of how government dependency is destroying America as people demand free stuff. The KSLA news report linked above had this comment from the police department called in to help maintain order.
(Springhill Police Chief Will) Lynd says contrary to rumors, nobody was unruly or arrested and they were mainly there to help prevent shoplifting and theft.
A dispatcher for Mansfield police also confirms officers were called in for crowd control at the Mansfield Walmart. She said the shelves were cleared out, forcing Walmart to stop selling food at 9 p.m. There were no arrests.
emphasis added
To hear Limbaugh describe it, the situation was a total riot, and that Obamacare was going to cause similar disruptions as people demanded their free healthcare. Limbaugh went on to explain that Obamacare is designed to rip off people, jacking up the cost of their health insurance so the freeloaders can get health care for nothing. He went on to say the delays and problems signing up online are intentional - to keep people from finding this out until it's too late! Once the freeloaders get their benefits, we'll have no choice but to keep giving them free stuff or mass rioting will break out.
I can only listen to so much Rush without taking a break (and he repeats himself a lot anyway), but I did tune back in long enough to hear Rush opining on the government shutdown and the possible default. Rush's opinion? Anytime the government doesn't get what it wants is a good thing. So, if the government shut down continues, and if default occurs, remember; El Rushbo thinks it's all good.
ALL THE NEWS WE WANT YOU TO KNOW
I should make a note that the local station carrying both Rush and Sean was doing quick news updates at the hour and half hour. This soundbite from California Representative (R) Tom McClintock was repeated several times:
Given the ruthless and vindictive way the shutdown has been handled, I now believe that this President would willfully act to destroy the full faith and credit of the United States unless the Congress acquiesces to all of his demands, at least as long as he sees political advantage in doing so.
Hannity Calls For Secession - From The GOP Establishment
When Hannity came on, he too was going on about the Walmart 'Food Riots' (although he didn't use the R word). He made a big point of mentioning that he's never had an EBT card and really doesn't know how it works. (Any time Hannity professes ignorance, he may actually be telling the truth.) He noted that a lot of people are on food stamps because there are no jobs. (Of course wink, wink, some of them think they're entitled without having to work.)
According to Hannity, the reason we don't have any jobs is due to one thing - energy. We're not drilling enough, we're not fracking everything in sight. And of course (by implication) you know whose fault this all is...
Hannity was really frosted by an LA Times editorial by David Horsey that called out both him and Limbaugh by name.
Sure, political entertainers like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have built very lucrative careers by bashing government day in and day out. But, in their pampered lives, they have never had to see crops wither in a drought or farmland swamped by a flood or a herd of cattle perish in a snowstorm. When those things happen, it is not a bad thing to have government ready and able to lend a hand.
Hannity went all Junior High, repeatedly making fun of Horsey's name (complete with sound effects) and wondering if he'd be brave enough to appear on Hannity's show. Hannity went into a long rant about all the hard jobs he worked, the student loans he paid off, how he only got through 3 and a half years of college, despite being on the Dean's list (Anyone got a fact check on that? Just wondering.) and yet liberals say he must be dumb because he didn't finish. He kept talking about how lucky he was, how he was terrible at radio at first, and worked for free for a number of years before finally making it big.
Yup - Sean Hannity, victim and plucky lad who worked his way up through the ranks through sheer personal effort.
Sean talked about the coverage of all the veterans who bravely stormed the World War 2 memorial and took the barricades to the White House. (See Kos here on that.) Hannity was incensed that the liberal media concentrated on the ONE MAN WHO TOLD OBAMA TO PUT DOWN THE KORAN, and the ONE MAN WHO CARRIED A CONFEDERATE FLAG in an obvious effort to discredit the whole Tea Party. Hannity openly speculated that it might have been liberals dressing up and sneaking into the crowd, who were behind it all.
What was really interesting was where Hannity went on the whole shutdown-default fiasco. Hannity was openly speculating it was time for a third political party to break away from the establishment Republicans. Only the Tea Party Republicans are living up to their campaign promises to destroy Obamacare. According to Hannity, establishment Republicans are letting the Left Wing Liberals get everything they want.
He wouldn't say who it was, but someone involved with McCain's presidential run supposedly called him and asked what he thought of Joe Lieberman as a VP pick! (Now Hannity tells us!) The very fact that they would even think of picking Al Gore's running mate was cited by Sean as evidence of how the Republican establishment just doesn't get it. Sarah Palin was a much better choice, in his opinion.
I turned off the radio at this point, just before Sean could bring on Ann Coulter to flog her latest book. (There's only so much I can take, after all.)
When you see Palin, Cruz, Bachmann, Lee, McConnell, Boehner, etc. on the news and listen to them speak, just remember. It's the audience of "Real Americans" who listen to Limbaugh and Hannity that they're trying to keep happy. This is the beast they've been feeding for years. So much for trying to ride the tiger...