Posted on 11/30/2008 6:16:16 AM PST by vietvet67
“I guess if folks are sufficiently ignorant, they appreciate someone to provide them with opinions.”
Interesting choice of words there pardner, that you see opinions as something “provided”. I see information as something provided, and opinions (based on that information) as being formed. Oh yes, I try to find someone who provides honest and accurate information/discussions, I think Rush provides thank.
He said Peggy Noonan and David Frum are two people whose “ideas” he prefers over those of Rush Limbaugh.
That’s nice.
> Why Rush Limbaugh is a leading American intellectual
But he isn’t, surely?
He is definitely opinionated, and he does self-promotion very well, and he tends to polarize his audiences: either you like Rush or you do not.
But a “Leading American Intellectual”? Surely not even in jest! If Rush Limbaugh is truly one of the brightest and best in the Intellect department in America, then you Yanks are in more trouble than you know.
A true intellectual may be (usually is) very bright, but mere cognitive firepower is not the end of the story. I have had the pleasure of chatting with some real intellectuals, and they are delightful. They have the soul of a teacher, and have patiently guided my stumbling thought processes to the top of the ridge so I could peek over it to see what I missed before.
A real intellectual has the ability to grasp the basic theorems of whatever discipline he/she is reading about, even if that was not a course of study. What is more important, they have the ability to see the IMPLICATIONS for politics, morality, purpose in life, economics etc etc in that particular specialty, and then make you see them.
The concept of the old book of "wisdom" is -I believe- a part of a true intellectual, although that wisdom is ultimately a subset of those who know God...., and some who don't know God have a smattering of wisdom, nonetheless.
I think some examples of true intellectuals today are Robert Bork, Antonin Scalia, Greg Bahnsen (now deceased), John Frame, Michael Crichton (deceased), Tom Wolfe, and of course William Buckley. Rush is a great entertainer and populist, and is fairly well read in the areas on which he bloviates. To tell you the truth, I am kind of embarrassed to have to be arguing in a conservative forum that he is not an intellectual. It is like having to argue that Tim LaHaye is not a great theologian. It says more about the audience than the man.
“...I come down on the side of George Will, David Brooks, Peggie Noonan, David Frum...”
Then FreeRepublic is probably not the forum for you; we’re patriotic Americans here.
I guess you don’t listen to Limbaugh, or if you do you don’t understand him.
Even if every thing thought about the BC is true and correct, what people fail to understand is the SCOTUS is not going to agree with a majority opinion to hear the merits of the case.
With the make up of the court today we can at best get maybe three Justices to agree to hear oral arguments.
After the Bush v Gore debacle in 2000 the SCOTUS will be very reluctant to jump into the fray since Obama won a strong majority of the popular vote and the electoral college will certainly gave him a large win.
The SCOTUS will have to have serious evidence presented that Obama is illegible via the Constitution that is strong enough to turn the country political system upside down.
That evidence isn't there.
Thanks, dirtbiker. You rebutted that well.
I don’t know anything about you other than your posts I have read, and I would hesitate to attack you personally without due cause, but with your comments, you painted a wide swath of insult across a broad spectrum of people.
Perhaps you didn’t realize it came across that way?
“Rush needs to buy CBS and make it the Conservative Broadcasting System!”
woo hoo! You are on to something there. We can dream, can’t we?
Oxycontin?
Cheap shot. I'm sure you are capable of deeper thought than this. Live with someone in chronic and constant pain and you may have a different perspective.
I find Limbaugh to be entertaining, but certainly nothing more.
He is that, true, but he provokes thought as well. That's what a good teacher does.
He does a radio show, he isn't a prophet or an ultimate source of wisdom.
"Prophet" and "ultimate source of wisdom" are terms reserved for the president-elect.
“He has also failed to educate his listeners about Obamas birth certificate issues. This utterly mystifies me.”
He’s a good friend of Justice Thomas; maybe he thinks that getting in the middle of the issue would compromise a decision — or at least give the appearance of that. He may not want provide any excuse for Hussein to appeal.
Or, he may know that the BC thing has legs, and wants to keep it under the radar from MSM. Once they know Rush, et al., are covering it, they’ll have to come out in full attack mode, dredge up Donofrio’s past, create stories to show he’s a whack job, etc. It would be relentless and would muddy up the waters.
Just thoughts, FWIW...
I'm pretty sure he not only realized it, but did it on purpose. His hate shines through nice and clear.
I’d guess either “Bowl Championship” (Series) or “Birth Certificate.” Take your pick. Is there a BCS controversy this year? Seems like there’s one every year.
Try your hand at three hours a day. You will find it’s almost impossible not to screw up some of the time.
Michael J.Fox was s screw up but if you tally his screw ups vs. his successes such as making Dingy Harry look like the fool that he is and so many others you can’t count them all, Rush remains our # 1 radio icon, IMHO.
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