Still Busy

So here's some more YouTube stuff.

First, if you've got ten-and-a-half minutes, check out Keith Olbermann. He's the only worthy heir to Edward R. Murrow on cable news.



Then, in case you haven't seen it, here's Michael J. Fox's ad for Jim Doyle, who's running for re-election here in Wisconsin. It's hard to watch.



Fox, of course, has Parkinson's disease, and is a supporter of stem-cell research. He's also a very well-known and well-liked celebrity. So, naturally, the GOP slime machine has turned its guns on him.

Fox has recently been slandered by Rush Limbaugh (R-Pharma) for his participation in producing campaign ads (there are several spots featuring Fox running around the country).

"He is exaggerating the effects of the disease," Limbaugh told listeners. "He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act. . . . This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting."

--snip--

"This is the only time I've ever seen Michael J. Fox portray any of the symptoms of the disease he has," Limbaugh said. "He can barely control himself."

That's right, folks. He's mocking someone with an awful disease--the sort of physical malady that you wouldn't wish on people you hate. But does it really surprise you?

When the reaction to Limbaugh's disgusting comment came swiftly and severely, the fat load of shit backtracked just a bit, but still showed his true colors. He offered a half-assed apology, but continued to attack Michael J. Fox:

"Now people are telling me they have seen Michael J. Fox in interviews and he does appear the same way in the interviews as he does in this commercial," Limbaugh said, according to a transcript on his Web site. "All right then, I stand corrected. . . . So I will bigly, hugely admit that I was wrong, and I will apologize to Michael J. Fox, if I am wrong in characterizing his behavior on this commercial as an act."

Then Limbaugh pivoted to a different critique: "Michael J. Fox is allowing his illness to be exploited and in the process is shilling for a Democratic politician."

The word "disgusting" doesn't begin to describe Limbaugh. I'm pretty sure that there's no level of depravity to which he won't sink. However, he'll still be allowed to interview Cheney, and he'll still be treated as a member of the club by the corporate (and quite possibly coprophagic) American press.

Because to call him out for what he is--a disgusting, immoral scumbag who isn't fit to breathe the same air as decent humans--would be too angrily liberal. Too bad for all of us that, as Rob Corddry has taught us, "the facts themselves are biased," and the reporting of those facts would violate the precious objectivity of journalists.