WBAL Baltimore has pre-empted Rush's Show

10/14/03 | GreggthePundit

[lepton]

I heard Jonathan Alter on TV say that when Rush comes back on he will have to be more "balanced" and "fair" if he wants to keep his audience.

He'll have to not put as many liberal callers on for us to laugh at.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

In terms of the motivation - getting off - it's the same for Rush gobbling down the Vicodin, or whatever his particular taste was, as it is for the skanky crack whore who hits the pipe

Ehh? Wasn't Rush's motivation pain? Isn't the skanky crack motivated by excape from the responsibility for his miserable life? IMO this is a huge differance. Once hooked the motivation is once again the same, avoidance of the pain of withdrawal. But the skanky crack addict will take a larger dose to also get high.

[general_re]

Once hooked the motivation is once again the same, avoidance of the pain of withdrawal.

That's really what I was referring to. Everyone gets in for different reasons, but once you're in, the motivation is always the same - to get high.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

That's really what I was referring to. Everyone gets in for different reasons, but once you're in, the motivation is always the same - to get high.

You don't get high on pain killers if you take enough to get rid of the pain. Rush did not show the signs that he was regularly getting high. I doubt that he intentially got high, though he may have occasionally taken too many pills out of frustration when his pain was severe.

[general_re]

Oh, I don't know. There's certainly a "high" to many painkillers, making it more than just withdrawal pain-avoidance, IMO - I had surgery some years ago, and Demerol was part of the post-op pain treatment. And I assure you, that stuff will definitely get you off if you're so inclined - yes, the pain goes away, but you also feel nice and dreamy and shiny and happy and floaty. It's good stuff - not that I'm interested, now or then, in taking up a recreational Demerol habit, you understand ;)

At some point in the painkiller-addition track, one of two things happens - either the dosage begins to exceed the amount necessary to for the amount of pain, or the pain goes away but the drugs don't. And it's at that point that you're not taking it for pain, but for other reasons, the avoidance of withdrawal being only one.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

At some point in the painkiller-addition track, one of two things happens - either the dosage begins to exceed the amount necessary to for the amount of pain, or the pain goes away but the drugs don't.

You forgot about a third, the pain doesn't go away, or worse the pain gets worse. Rush still has the back pain. He is going to have to live with the pain, find a differant drug, try surgery again, or that electro therapy thingy.

[general_re]

Right, but if he's still having pain and his meds aren't excessive for that amount of pain, why would we be having this discussion? Is it really reasonable to call someone who is appropriately treating their pain an "addict"?

In the end, though, even Rush calls it an "addiction", which I think we should take to mean that he recognizes that he's taking more than he really needs for some reason other than just pain relief.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

Is it really reasonable to call someone who is appropriately treating their pain an "addict"?

YES! If you take any amount long enough you will be addicted. Unless the pain subsides you will need to increase dosage to maintain the same level of pain. Withdrawal from the drug creates a differant kind of pain, that without treatment, nearly as bad, sometimes worse, than the original pain. By medical terms addiction is not the same stigma as it is socially. Many other medications are addictive, doctors often will prescribe addictive medications knowing the patients will become addicted because they consider it the lessor of two evils.

[ForOurFuture]

Exactly. It's a good station and I don't think what they're doing is worth a thread on FR. This is not some conspiracy against Rush, it’s a business decision. Both Chip and Ron are very good local hosts. In fact Chip has been one of Rush’s biggest defenders on local media. Chip started out a little middle of the road but he’s come around. Ron is a very intelligent man who commands a very large audience. As for me, I lose interest when Rush has a guest host and BAL has promised to put Rush back on the minute he returns to the air. If you go to the WBAL web site you can listen to both Chip and Ron and judge for yourself.

Agreed. In fact, IMO, Ron's show on a bad day is more stimulating than Rush's. His independence, intelligence, and the wide range of topics discussed is refreshing, compared to many others who spew the same party line on the same issues over and over again. Because of this, you tend to forget that you're even listening to a 'conservative' talk show. He has this ability to make conservatism so natural and non-ideological.

[Dianna]

On Rush's web site there is an article about WBAL reversing it's decision to pre-empt Rush.