Rush Limbaugh

American author and talk show host, considered by the political left as "the most dangerous man in America" with his ridicule of liberals. He started his national radio show with 56 stations in 1982 and slowly grew in massive popularity in the next decade. By March 1994, over 634 radio stations carried his show, plus some overseas. His late night talk show ran from September 1992 until 1996, when it was canceled. He took calls on his show but never guests as any noted person might deflect attention from himself. He went from a fat, powerless, lonely little boy to a big fat boy worth $25 million and with the power to influence national elections. His first book, "The Way Things Ought To Be," was published in September 1992 and sold over 2.4 million copies. His second book, "See I Told You So," released in 1993, had a record first printing of two million, which sold out in two years. From October 1992 he also published the "Limbaugh Letter." The older of two sons born to an attorney and a Republican committeewoman, Rush developed a flair for extemporaneous oratory that he learned from his dad and a sense of humor that he learned from his mom. His massive ego needed no coaching, it grew as immerse as his girth. A pudgy loner as a kid, he did not have the popularity he longed for and was drawn to radio broadcast rather than law, for its broader audience. At 16, he obtained his radio broadcasting license. Working at the local station, he became a D.J. Limbaugh flunked out of speech in college and dropped out of school after a year. He tried various broadcasting jobs and after being fired a few times, dropped out of radio to go into sales. After five years, he tried once more to break into radio with a news-reading job in Kansas City. In late 1984 he moved on to Sacramento, California to replace Morton Downey, Jr., working for managers who were delighted with his irreverent and controversial ad-libs. On 7/04/1988, he began his New York two-hour live broadcast. He went national in less than a month, on 8/08/1988. Limbaugh is intoxicated by words, especially those from his own mouth. His vocabulary is extensive and his diction grandiose. His nervous energy plays out through his hands, which are seldom still and he obviously loves his work. On 9/14/1992, his TV show made a debut and by the middle of January 1993, he was seen on 206 stations in 98% of the country. A weekly audience of over twenty million listeners (mostly conservative, white, middle-class men) soaks up his conservative, white middle-class diatribes on radio and TV's syndicated show. No less an authority than the Times credits Limbaugh's influence with passing N.A.F.T.A., damaging Clinton's crime bill, destroying his lobbying bill, and sweeping the Republicans to congressional victory in 1994. His fans call themselves "dittoheads," apparently because he relieves them of the responsibility of thinking for themselves and they need only to add "ditto" to what Rush days. According to Rush, it's because he's "the epitome of morality and virtue . . . with talent on loan from God." Mainly, though, it's his distaste for blue jeans, feminism, affirmative action, welfare, and all other liberal cant that strikes a deep chord with millions of dittoheads. Twice married and divorced, he made a third marriage to journalist Marta Fitzgerald, 35, on 5/27/1994, whom he met through the Internet. Limbaugh's first marriage lasted eighteen months, and his second wife was a Kansas City Royals usherette. He met the current Mrs. Limbaugh via CompuServe in 1990, when Marta, a University of North Florida student, sent him an e-mail note asking how to deal with a Reagan-bashing professor. Four years later, the couple was married at the Virginia home of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who also officiated. Soon afterward, Rush declared himself a new man: "I loved myself too much to love anybody else, but that's no longer operative." Limbaugh is a clever comedian and a very good entertainer. But he uses his status as an entertainer as a way to avoid responsibility for the ridiculous and inaccurate things he says. He tries to tell his audience that he is always accurate and always right. Yet whenever he is shown to be wrong about something, he contends that he is an entertainer not a journalist and that as such, what he said was never meant to be taken seriously. He is constantly attacking people he doesn't agree with and tries to point out where they are wrong or inaccurate (as he has every right to do). Yet whenever someone bothers to point any kind of inaccuracy on his show he whines that "the media is ganging up on me." Apparently he can dish it out but he can't take it. Probably the best examples of the kinds of deceit that Rush uses are listed in a book called "The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error" written by the organization FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting). This book lists over 100 statements that Rush has made either on the air or in print and shows how Rush mis-stated the facts or just plain invented so-called facts to support his views. The authors give the sources of their information (something that Rush almost never does in his books) and in many cases, they demonstrate that Rush knew the truth but chose to lie about many issues. They point out in their book that they had no trouble finding 100 lies and distortions that Rush has told. If fact, their only problem was in selecting only 100 out of the multitude of lies he's told. His weight, once over 300 lbs, has gone up and down several times with diets or binges. In late 2001, he lost so much weight that his moon-face took form and he came out actually good-looking. On 10/08/2001, he announced on his show that he is virtually deaf. He had awakened on May 29 to find that he was losing heading in his left ear and now has no hearing in his left ear and little in his right. On 12/19/2001, he had an electronic hearing device implanted in his left ear that should regain 30 to 40% of his hearing in that ear. On October 1, 2003, the outspoken conservative commentator resigned as ESPN sports analyst after he made inappropriate comments about a black football player, when he remarked on the previous Sunday’s show that Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles was overrated because the media wanted a black quarterback to succeed. In addition, according to media reports that began airing on October 1, he was under investigation in Florida for allegedly illegally obtaining and abusing prescription painkillers and possibly money-laundering. On October 10, 2003, he announced that he was indeed addicted to prescription pain medication, stemming from unsuccessful spinal surgery several years prior but denied any illegal activities. He completed a rehab program. In addition to his legal and addiction problems, the conservative talk show host reportedly experienced marital difficulty. He and his third wife separated in late spring 2004 with intent to divorce "amicably." They had been married for ten years. By Thanksgiving in November that year he was seen with 42-year-old CNN anchor Daryn Kagan, and the relationship seems to be serious. His divorce from his third wife became final on December 21, 2004. Just after 2:30 PM on December 30, 2009 he was rushed to a Honolulu hospital suffering chest pains. After a brief hospitalization he announced that he had not suffered a heart attack. Limbaugh married for the fourth time on June 5, 2010 in Palm Beach, FL, taking as his bride 33-year-old.Kathryn Elizabeth Rogers (born December 19, 1976 according to a website). They had met six years prior while he was in the process of divorcing his third wife. Link to Wikipedia biography Link to Astrodienst discussion forum