Palm Beach Post - Limbaugh linked to painkillers

PalmBeachPost.com ^ | October 3, 2003 | John Pacenti and Mary McLachlin

[snopercod]

What is wrong with you? What Rush paid his maid is NOT the issue here.

Try and focus on the fact that we have a coordinated media attack on everybody and everything conservative right now.

Aren't the implications of that fact a little more important than what agreement a radio talk show host had with his housecleaner? America may be a lot closer to tyranny than we want to admit if the media can control us in that way.

To me, this issue is even more important than whether or not Rush really did have an addiction problem.

[AmishDude]

Fishy item #3: Would a lawyer ever do something like this? I think that it would be instant disbarment.

[Yardstick]

Interesting!

Did you see the section where he lists some of the wackier searches people have tried?

http://www.etymonline.com/search.htm

[spectre]

I read the article and drew my own conclusion as to what type of characters they are. The perception is there.

sw

[RedWhiteBlue]

My sister's house is 7000 sq ft, my aunt's is around 9,000. They use the same maid service. Four women show up and work for about 3 hours, one day a week at my sisters, and 2 days a week at my aunt's. Most of the homes they clean are smaller and don't take as much time, so they clean several houses per day, 6 days a week.

If the maid was at Rush's full time, that is $9.25/hr. That is probably the going rate, and what you would pay anyone from Merry Maids, or any such service. Unskilled home health care workers -- like aids that help to take care of the elderly -- only get about $9 - $10 per hour.

But I would bet that this was only a part time gig, and she was either a part time worker or had another house or two that she attended. If full time, she got the going rate for such work.

[nmh]

Oh, oh the cats out of the bag. Now you know how "Rush" earned his name of "Rush". It's because as a tot he was cute to watch when he got a rush from illegal drugs. - Just kidding. I know a lame joke.

[Cacophonous]

OK. I agree they sound crooked.

[Cacophonous]

That sounds about right.

[ridesthemiles]

I'm willing to bet that the $370/week is not for 40 hours. Probably part time only.
Then with the usual class envy, she tried to set Rush up for a big problem that he might pay blackmail. Rush is stronger than that.
With the number of people around him all the time, he couldn't have ingested this many pills. He is sometimes in golf tournaments with a large gallery following for hours. When did he ingest pills there?
None of this makes sense, and when Roy Black and Rush get done with this, Rush will break the back of The Inquirer.
If the maid is part of a drug ring, it speaks to thoroughly vetting whoever is in your employ and in your house with access to your computer, checkbooks, etc. It is not an indictment of the employer or of other persons in her immediate circle.
I live on a dead-end road with numerous and constantly changing druggies at the far end. We have done everything we can with diminishing resources to get then cleaned out of there. I have lived here for 10 years and while I can probably ID most of their cars, etc, that doesn't make me a participant in their dealings.
Think it thru, everybody. How could any one person ingest that many pills and not get seen and still be able to function in the fast paced world Rush is in?

[andy58-in-nh]

Excuse me: He's paying a woman $20,000 to clean his sinks and toilets, which makes her perhaps the highest paid cleaning woman in America. Furthermore, I doubt very much that his house is the only one she cleans. A job is worth what it is worth to an employer - not to an employee. It's one thing to criticize outsourcing (a problem created by Government, not business), but entirely another to pick on the wages paid by Americans to low-skilled employees - wages which virtually anywhere else on the planet would make them rich.

[commish]

You know one that has me bugged about all of this that I haven't seen anyone mentioning? Just how does one play a pretty decent 18 holes of golf while being this strung out on painkillers?

I have debated responding to this, because my response will show that Rush could be capable of functioning while abusing Pain-Killers. So I will caveat it with the fact that I think the Cline's are lying through their teeth to make some money. I think in the end we will find that Rush is clean, or at the worst borrowed a couple pills a time or two when his ran out.

But back to your question " You know one that has me bugged about all of this that I haven't seen anyone mentioning? Just how does one play a pretty decent 18 holes of golf while being this strung out on painkillers?" -- the same way that Brett favre could win the NFL MVP and lead his team to the Super Bowl while strung out on Painkillers (Vicodin).

[LRS]

Let me ask you, as you seem to know about Farve's addiction than I, how much was he taking, and, for how long?

As for my own feelings on what is going on, I think Rush was set up...

[commish]

Favre was addicted to Vicodin. Not sure about the length, but I think it started with an injury during his college days, or while he was with the Falcons his first couple years. He finally cleaned up in the late 90's.

I to believe that Rush will be cleared, or at the most be on the periphery of this. But, Favre is an example of someone who funtioned at a world-class level while taking pain killers.

Now the amount that Rush is supposed to have ingested is Ludicrous, I think favre said he was taking something on the order of 5-10 pills a day. The Clines are claiming Rush took upwards of 50. That is just not realistic.

[Libertina]

Groping? Another groping? RATS in full propaganda mold...

[radiohead]

nice people like the Limbaughs.

Sadly, when you're a public figure like Rush, you may not be able to afford to be 'nice' when it comes to bringing people into your home, whether he hired her directly or Cline came from a service.

[technomage]

David Cline was arrested for cocaine trafficking in 1982 in Collier County. He posted bond to get out of jail and then skipped, living as a fugitive in New York and Fort Lauderdale under different names until surrendering in 1989. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.

And this is the maid's husband?

Seems Rush had better hire a security company that does better background checks, don't cha think??

[LRS]

Thanks. I have never read Farve's book, and didn't know how bad of an addiction he had. I recall that he was addcited, but didn't know for how long, or, how much he was taking.

I should come clean somewhat here on this. I consider myself to be addcited to similar drugs (everything but oxycontin). It is the result of a nasty accident I went through many years ago, and subsequently, I was (and still am) prescribed many of these same pills for the pain I go through, and have gone through.

Now, I don't want to overblow this. My doctors pooh pooh when I say that I am addicted, for I do limit how much I take, to no more than just one pill, and even then, I only take that at night. Still, this has gone on for years now, and, when I do stop for a few days, I feel it, despite being a rather headstrong person, who went through and beat some serious drug use in my younger years. So, I would like to think I know a little bit about this subject, from personal experience.

Among the things that I think I know about the subject, are how easy it is to get hook, and, the overall effects. I said that will not take anything during the daylight, for that's when I have to drive, and I know the danger I would present operating a vehicle under those circumstances. Further, I know that when the pill hits me, my speech becomes slurred. Now, I realize how the body becomes accustomed to a certain dose level, and then one needs stronger and stronger doses (thankfully, by limiting myself, I have been able to keep that part pretty much under control), but I can not honestly see how in the world Limbaugh, given his age, which is just a year younger than mine, and, given the fact that he allowed his physical condition to slide by pretty badly until he dropped his weight, and, given the fact that he is diabetic, another trait I share with him, BTW, that he could take the sort of doses that are being implied by the reports by his maid, and still function well enough to play a decent 18 holes of golf, among other things. A younger man, in tip top shape, like Farve was, could have fucntioned pretty well with some strong dosages, but, I know I couldn't, and, I doubt Limbaugh could (but, hey, stranger things have been known to happen, so I won't say that it is impossible.)

Now, through all of this, I am not trying to say Limbaugh is completely clean. I certainly do not know this. He may have had a problem, and may still have one. Still, there is too much that smells about this whole deal. That is why I think he has been set up, perhaps with some experts in the background at some point. I think this is why he made the staements he made yesterday, and what he wouldn't say (plus, he was probably told to keep his mouth shut by his attorney.) He may not know, just what all is about to come out (did the maid ever gain access to his computer; what all did she record; are there some thing that may have been innocent in reality, but, that could be twisted in other direction; etc.?)Since the maid claims that Limbaugh had given her money at some point, I even suspect blackmail was possible. Bottom line: I'll not pass judgement until more actual facts, and the other side of the story, are available...

[wardaddy]

Regardless of whether Rush had a drug problem or not, what they are attempting is a danger to all of us.

That would be where I diverge with you. I think IF Rush is a dopehead of that magnitude and in his position, that we GAVE our enemies the ammo with which to wound him and us by default. For example, were it discovered that President Bush behaved anywhere near as characterless as Clinton, I would consider that a betrayal and be angry as well. A conservative has to walk the walk to a degree by nature.

All your claim about our enemies in the media and politics is spot on, so I ask...why help them out? Journalism schools have always produced left of center folks who are crusaders by nature and we know that. We can only hope to stem that tide a bit. What we can do though is hope our leaders' behavior will pass scrutiny. As for Rush personally, IF he is guilty of this level of drug addiction which is way past "pain management" then I hope he gets help and no neither will I forget all the good he has done but I will lament his slide and the advantage our foes gained from it.

Respectfully.

[OldFriend]

If we were smart we wouldn't be reacting to this hit piece on Rush. Just because the attorney leaks little bits and pieces of the so called evidence does NOT mean any of it is true.

I'll wait for some official verified information before I'll believe the attorney for drug dealers.

[Registered]