No Dice



Rush Limbaugh keeps outdoing himself.   With no adherence to principle, but only to right-wing politics, Limbaugh pretends there is no conflict between his commitment to unbridled, rapacious capitalism, theocratic ideals, and his own free-wheeling lifestyle.    

So Thursday Limbaugh eulogized motivational speaker Zip Ziglar, who has died at age 86, by contending

Folks, it used to happen in this country. What used to happen is that people would get jobs, hopefully jobs they liked, and they would work really hard, try to climb the ladder of success, as it was called, but they would work really hard. Some people didn't have what we call self-starter characteristics. Some people had to be inspired by others, and so Zig Ziglar made a career out of doing personal appearances, and they were always with a bunch of speakers, things that go on all day. And literally hundreds of thousands of people a year would show up to learn to be inspired to work hard to become successful. Now, that type of motivation is practically gone in this country now, and to the extent that it still exists, it is frowned on.

That kind of route to success now has a bull's-eye on it, if you succeed. "It was on the job that Ziglar developed a curiosity about human nature -- What made a man tick? Why did some succeed where others failed? -- that ultimately led to a thriving career in motivational speaking." He tried to light a fire under those who weren't successful, to get them to believe in themselves. Now, as I say, that's from a bygone era. This kind of thing is frowned on now. Because not everybody can work hard, and you know, a lot of people who work very hard don't ever have anything to show for it, and that isn't fair. So hard work is kind of frowned on now. Like Obama, he really hasn't worked hard. He's a kept man. Well, I mean...

Hard work is, as Rush noted, "kind of frowned on now."   That might sound a little odd from a guy who works three hours a week saying whatever pops into his mind, but it gets worse.  The fellow who Thursday extolled the virtue of achieving success through industriousness was singing a different tune when on February 2, 2010 President Obama properly and courageously stated "You don’t go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don’t blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you’re trying to save for college."  The next day, Limbaugh commented

 By the way, I'm just saying, just a little side note here, but gambling is forbidden in the Koran. Just a little aside. Just saying. President Barack Obama known for having a way with words but some lawmakers from Nevada wish he would pipe down about trips to the city after sparking a firestorm of criticism from Nevada's elected officials for suggesting that people saving money for college shouldn't blow it in Vegas. Obama told US Senate majority leader Dingy Harry in a letter he wasn't saying anything negative about Las Vegas. I was making the simple point that families use vacation dollars, not college tuition money to have fun. And no place better to have fun than Vegas, one of our country's great destinations. Obama says he always enjoys his visits to Vegas. He's going out there this month or later this month. White House spokesman referred to Obama's letter to Reid, said the administration had no further comment. And again the Koran prohibits -- gambling is forbidden in the Koran, I'm just saying.

Limbaugh, a critic of all things Muslim, is a huge supporter of gambling, remarked "just a little side note here, but gambling is forbidden in the Koran" and "again the Koran prohibits- gambling is forbidden in the Koran, I'm just saying."  A few years later, he is distraught that "not everybody can work hard, and you know a lot of people who work very hard don't ever have anything to show for it, and that isn't fair.  so hard work is kind of frowned on now."

And a lot of people don't have anything to show for it because they blew it gambling, in Las Vegas or elsewhere.   It's the ultimate get-rich-quick scheme, making a few individuals wealthy off the bad luck of others.  It demeans the value of the hard work Rush commends upon praising the legacy of a right-wing motivational speaker.   And it is a practice Rush Limbaugh is terribly fond of.



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