[Cinnamon Girl]

I say this as someone who cares.

[aristeides]

I imagine there would be tracking records for UPS deliveries, would there not?

[Mr. Mojo]

the National Enquirer did all kinds of checking before going with this story.

The same kind of "checking" they did when they had a picture of a transparant Elvis on the front page of their rag under the headline "Man Dies, Goes to Heaven, Sees Elvis, Takes Photo as Proof"?

[steplock]

I love it when all the people on here have automatiucally assumed that RUSH is guilty!

And the comment about receiving the pills via UPS!!???
So F**)(**)(* what!

I receive mine via UPS also! I have a standing prescription for 3 pills/day and they mail me a 90 day supply at a time.

Am I now automatically a dope dealing dealer or addict?

((Not you, Cinnamon Girl, the idiots on here!))

BTW - I don't take 3/day except in rare occasions where the pain gets too unbearable - the pills make me itch.

[Fledermaus]

They don't say why he would be taking the drug so much BEFORE he went deaf. And I have yet to read anything that would explain why he would.

I know I've heard some talk about the weight loss, but then again I hear Oxycontin causes weight loss and deafness and "no" it makes you fat and is prescribed only when you are going through the choclear implant procedure, etc. etc. etc.

[KneelBeforeZod]

I noticed the newswire story about oxyC causing deafness came out the day (or a couple days) before the Rush thing broke.

pretty weird.

[Lx]

I posted this before but someone disagreed.
I asked my Doctor on Monday about this. His practice is the treatment of chronic pain so he and his staff are very up on all of the latest research.

When the deafness link was first published a year or so ago, I asked him about it. He said that there wasn't any link at all between the hydro or Oxycodone and deafness. He thought there was a link with Acetaminophen, though.

Since someone disputed this, I asked again last Monday. She said, this time, a different Doctor, that again, no link between the narcotic and deafness. Aspirin is linked to tinnitus, or ringing in the ears. Acetaminophen isn't linked to hearing loss but it does cause liver toxicity.

I don't know if this is the final word, I'll probably dig up the old article for my next appointment just to make sure she knows exactly what study I'm talking about.

Rush said his hearing loss was the result of an auto-immune reaction and unless someone proves otherwise, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

[MinuteGal]

I know why Rush was fatigued today. He not only has to do research for his three hour show every day, but deliver a good show with facts and panache. I assume he's also conferring almost hourly with his lawyers and investigators helping him in this case.

I'd be fatigued, too.

Heck, I get exhausted just thinking about the hell he's going through right now.

Leni

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

I along with others I talk to recieve 10 to 20 emails a day for prescription pain killer drugs online. I guess they have online doctors who write your prescriptions.

I simply do not understand how this scam could be legal. I did the FBI online tip bit, they asked for examples which I provided, so will wait and see.

If the drugs are really this easy to obtain, why would Rush need the problems of dealing first hand with low lifes upclose and personal?

[_Jim]

my wish is that Rush gets on the radio, comes clean about his addiction

Presumption of guilt based on the un-scrtuninized stories of others ...

[TomServo]

He said they only paid for the story from the housekeeper after she had already gone to the police with her story and evidence.

Why does the Enquirer think just 'cause a crime is reported, the crime is a fact?

[x]

Rush has brought much enjoyment and enlightenment to people, but a political satirist has to be pretty hard-edged. He has to throw darts at the things he opposes while remaining invisible himself. An effective satirist can't say, "Well we all have our faults. Heaven knows I've got mine" -- at least not in the present media environment.

If the rumors are true, we'll probably be seeing a very different Rush -- mellower and less controntational. People will have to make up their own minds whether the new Rush will be better or worse than the old Rush. I'd say better if it's a part of a general move away from exaggerated polarization in public discussion, but worse if (as seems likely) he's the only one to back away from the opinion circus.

[Vigilantcitizen]

"But the most upsetting thing Mike Walker and Al discussed is the possibility that oxicontin (?) causes deafness and that Rush may have caused his own deafness by taking up to 30 or so pills a day."

I can assure you, if Rush took 10 oxy's in one day, much less 30, he'd be dead. Very powerful medicine.

One other thing, people addicted to pain medication and who have taken large doses over a long period of time, like crack heads and speed freaks, are quite obvious in their intoxication.

I'm not a Rush listener nor fan, but this whole pill scandal stinks to high heaven. A man with Rush's money and stature would have no problem obtaining legal scripts, especially if he is friends with any sports related doctors, who aren't placed under the same scrutiny as regular doctors. Not mentioning the fact that oxycontin is more expensive to buy on the street than legally.

Even if Rush was buying pills illegally, again, people with his money don't buy from maids. Rush is smart enough to know that the media would pay a large sum to bring him down for any reason, and someone who doesn't make much money, like a maid, wouldn't hesitate to take that money and throw Rush under the bus.

Think about this too. Rush is hated by the klintoon camp, masters at dirty politics and smear tatics. I'd be willing to bet that Rush has been under the microscope for several years now, by paid pros who are very good at what they do, with nothing to show for it.

[myself6]

You say this as someone who wished to keep this issue alive.

[barker]

My wish is that Rush gets on the radio, comes clean about his addiction,....

You're assuming he has one. He may have an addiction, may have had one but doesn't now or may have never had one.

[gdc61]

i care about Rush too, and he said he was tired today, but he DID sound a few rpm slower than usual. most people would be surprised to know that daily users are sometimes very hard to spot.(not the freaks eating 5-10 at one shot)

[Tempest]

'As Mike said, if this story was erroneous, Rush could sue them out of business."

That might be what he's planning with his lawyer?

[cardinal4]

30 Oxycontins a day.......riiiiiiigggghhhhhttt..

[Damagro]

30 or so pills a day

---

30 or so pills a day? that is ridiculous, 30 pills would kill you ten times over the first day.

[longtermmemmory]

Given the general incompetence of the prosecutor's office, NOBODY guilty or innocent should put ANY faith in their doing the right thing. I do hope that there will be an effort to subpoena phone records of who called whom.

You may have officers who have a napolion complex to "go after" rush.

The fact that the enquirer had to BUY the story makes it suspect. Why could they not go with the sources that verified its existence? If the prosecutor's office REALLY was going after Rush they would have had him back in May/June when the arrests were made.

The story stinks, the facts must be pathetic if they believe they even have a case.

Have they subpeanaed Rush's computer?
Have they released the audio tapes?
Have they cleared up whether it was her obtaining drugs for rush on tape or was rush there too?

The goal is not to get rush in jail. The goal is to chip his credibility in order to neutralize him as a factor in 2004.

I talke to a ear,through,nose doctor. He said drug addition defness is RARE and NOT sudden as rush's. His opinion was that it would have been gradual and he would have been a lifetime of abuse.

Until Rush is required to raise his right hand, there is nothing here. Remember the BEST that the prosecutors office can achieve against Rush is a dismissal due to FL drug court first offender system. So even if they prosecute, the case still goes away as if it never existed.

[Rennes Templar]

I distinctly remeber Rush commenting on his health some times over the last few years...he'd say his arm had a pain that day, from golf or something, or that he felt "an energy drop" on a particular day. But these were rare statements, not from someone who is on alleged high doses of pain killers for chronic pain.