The Passing of Rush Limbaugh
I cannot let the passing of Rush Limbaugh go by without comment. To say Rush Limbaugh was merely a radio talk show host would be comparable to attempting to pass off a mouse as an elephant. A man of formidable intellect and immense talent, Rush Limbaugh practically invented talk radio, a fact acknowledged by the left wing in this country who are openly celebrating his death. Rush Limbaugh singlehandedly made talk radio into a political juggernaut.
Rush Limbaugh opened doors to alternatives to the likes of Sam Donaldson and Dan Rather and the mainstream news media, which even then was biased toward the left. That was before Fox News, Newsmax, Blaze TV and the likes. The mainstream news media had then what they want now: a monopoly on the airwaves. Rush Limbaugh was never forgiven by the left for breaching that barrier.
Limbaugh became an icon to conservatives and was as well loved by his massive radio audience of some 50 million listeners as he was despised by the left.
Rush Limbaugh was as American as it gets; a product of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, the heartland of Middle America. Limbaugh used his talent, industry and ability to create a media empire that made him personally wealthy. Rush believed in America as a land of opportunity for those willing to work hard. Personally, Rush Limbaugh was a man of extraordinary generosity in any number of ways.
The raw hatred of the left was fueled by Rush’s ability to break down complex issues in terms anyone could understand. The radical left never failed to be infuriated by his conservative message and his usual good humor. Nor could they stand his calling them out for their unending hypocrisy. Rush Limbaugh was not one of the angry voices on the right; he didn’t make his points by hollering nor did he rant, yet he could be positively and brutally effective in disseminating his message, another thing that caused the left to lose its collective mind. Rush never spoke in the “woke” tones demanded by people who talk compassion, shriek and squeal about hatred, yet are ready to stamp out dissent no matter what it takes. That hatred has been spewed all over the pages of social media when Rush Limbaugh died last Wednesday, but Rush himself would have expected nothing less, as he was well aware of their collective nature. There was a depiction of the flames of Hell with photos of Rush Limbaugh standing between Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. One nutcake professor said something along the lines of he couldn’t say he was sorry Limbaugh was dead, it was more like euphoric. I doubt Rush would want any of his friends and fans to be upset, but rather enjoy the reveling done by the left at his demise, showing themselves yet again for what they truly are.
Rush Limbaugh came along and made fun of the left, which was simply not done. Unlike those who hated him, he won a place in the affections and hearts of millions of his fellow Americans. Unlike those who loathed him, Rush Limbaugh loved his country and fellow man. Unlike those who despised him, Rush Limbaugh was a true patriot. Unlike those who derided him, Rush Limbaugh was honest about his beliefs and never hid his motives. Unlike those who tried to diminish him, he was a giant in his field and towered over them like a Colossus in a field of pygmies. Unlike his detractors, Rush Limbaugh was not so erudite and sophisticated that he didn’t believe in God; quite the contrary, Rush was a man of great faith.
Rush Limbaugh was a true American original. And say what they may, the mean-spirited, hate-driven folks who celebrate Rush Limbaugh’s passing miss the point Rush is well beyond their slings and arrows for he sits with the God who made him.
School Shootings & Defunding the Police
If you are a regular reader of my editorials, you realize they are opinion pieces. I have frequently noted the rise of crime, especially inside the city limits of Knoxville. The several shootings of youngsters is nothing less than tragic and appalling. What was the response of city leaders and Mayor Indya Kincannon? To call a press conference to decry the violence with the superintendent of schools and the Knox County Board of Education. Were it rue Kincannon and the Knoxville City Council were taking the matter seriously the attorney general would have been invited to the press conference instead of a gaggle of school officials. The notion murder is a social issue instead of a law enforcement issue seems to have completely escaped Indya and her subservient city council.
If anyone doubts that crime is on the rise inside the City of Knoxville the shootings should answer that question with chilling finality. Do you suppose the gang members who gunned down those precious young people acquired their guns legally? Why of course not. Prior to the shootings Mayor Kincannon and the members of the City Council have said little or nothing about the escalation of violence inside Knoxville. They have been shamefully silent. This is an election year in Knoxville and five council incumbents are all apparently running for reelection. Their collective silence, perhaps more accurately, their obvious fear of discussing the issue of the rising tide of crime inside the city limits has kept the council members as silent as if they were mute. Come election time, talking about how the council incumbents have fixed a pothole here and had leaves picked up there won’t likely outweigh those who are concerned for the safety of their families and homes. That also opens the door for challengers to emerge who are unabashedly for MORE law enforcement efforts, not defunding or debilitating the police. That point was all too clear as Kincannon’s press conference was something of an unintended spectacle. Agitators and public nuisances otherwise referred to politely as activists heckled as the radical leftists kept up a din of catcalls and demands to defund the Knoxville Police Department. Police Chief Eve Thomas was present at the press conference and aside from the notion the shootings are horrible and unacceptable, it was little more than a political road show to give the appearance Indya Kincannon is actually doing something. So far, Chief Thomas seems to be paralyzed and that can be attributed to Kincannon. The mayor appoints the Knoxville Chief of Police and the policies implemented by the chief executive really do set the tone and the actions of the KPD. In short, the buck stops with Indya Kincannon. I’ve served on the Board of Education and that is where Indya Kincannon got her political start. We both know all too well the Board hasn’t got a blessed thing to do with stopping the violence on city streets and in city neighborhoods.
Folks should be safe in their homes; youngsters should be safe on the streets as they walk to school or a playground. That is ultimately the entire purpose of the police. The function of a police department is to protect and serve and that is precisely the point reinforced by the tragic and unnecessary loss of those precious young lives. That is no comfort to the families who will never stop grieving for their loved ones. Nor is a political roadshow in a city park much comfort to the families who have lost youngsters to street violence. The only thing that may provide some comfort to those families is justice being done. What that means is the perpetrators be found, caught and judged by a court of law and convicted for their crimes and put away so they can’t kill someone else’s child. A social worker can’t accomplish any of that.
The brutal and senseless killings of those youngsters is beyond terrible. It is past time for the city council and Mayor Kincannon to actually do something and instead of offering “woke” platitudes and attempting to appease the far left who are against law enforcement – – – and I mean that quite literally as those people are actually against anybody enforcing the law, leaving you and your family at the mercy of the lawless. We’ve just seen that happen in a matter of days and no social worker will ever be able to wash that innocent blood from our streets.
Socialists in Charge
The City of Minneapolis you will recall has been one of those unfortunate municipalities afflicted by socialist leadership on its city council and in the forefront of the defund the police movement. Now Minneapolis is having to beg for more officers after initially slashing the police department’s budget due to rising crime and complaints of residents.
The Yes 4 Minneapolis committee (the sister of the City Council Movement here) is the socialist movement in the area, which is persisting in pressing its socialist agenda. Fueled by a half million dollar grant from the Open Society Policy Center, a group which has been linked to ultra-leftist billionaire George Soros, Yes 4 Minneapolis is trying to place on the ballot an initiative to replace the police department with a “public safety” department. The public safety department would be charged with law enforcement, but would largely be a public-health department with the police department language literally removed from the Minneapolis charter. It would include “licensed peace officers if necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the department.” Note the most important part of that sentence: IF NECESSARY. After the recent shootings, how could anyone possibly believe law enforcement isn’t necessary?
Look for the same tactics to be employed here by the socialists attempting to take over the Knoxville City Council this year. There have already been rumblings from local socialists to slice $8 million from the Knoxville Police Department budget to buy or rent a hotel to house the homeless.
