Rush Limbaugh Arrested...

[Beemnseven]

Rush Limbaugh turned himself into authorites in Palm Beach County Friday afternoon on prescription drug charges.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT

[saden1]

Bam, it couldn't have happened to a better person though I would have preferred seeing him share a cell with Randy Duke Cunningham and getting his salad tossed daily.

[Monkeydad]

Rush Limbaugh 'Arrest' Reports Were Bogus

All weekend long news broadcasts were filled with reports that talk radio host Rush Limbaugh had been "arrested" on charges of doctor shopping as part of a plea bargain worked out with his lawyer.
But - as even the liberal newsmagazine, Newsweek, admitted - the "arrest" reports were bogus.



"LIMBAUGH ARRESTED was the immediate headline on the wires and on TV," the magazine said in Monday's edition. "But the word 'arrest' was misleading."
"In fact, Limbaugh had pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer had worked out a deal that would cause the single charge to be dropped after 18 months as long as Limbaugh stayed out of trouble and continued to see a doctor who has helped him with an addiction to painkillers."



Still, the rest of the press did its level best to portray Limbaugh's voluntary trip to the Palm Beach County jail for a mugshot as if John Dillinger had just been apprehended.
"RUSH LIMBAUGH ARRESTED ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG CHARGE," blared the CNN headline Friday night.
ABC's "World News Tonight" began its coverage of the Limbaugh case dismissal with Elizabeth Vargas announcing: "Rush Limbaugh, one of the most popular and influential radio talk show hosts in America, was arrested in West Palm Beach today. The charges involve allegations of prescription drug fraud."
The actual mugshot belied the "arrest," reports, showing a beaming Limbaugh clearly delighted over finally winning his case.
Other reporters went out of their way to paint the talk host as a common street drug user, noting a 1995 statement where Limbaugh said he favored jail for illegal drug users.
Newsweek was one of the few to note that the top talker's addiction had nothing to do with recreational drug use - but was instead prompted by intense back pain.
"Limbaugh's drug problems began after he made a medical choice to try to preserve his radio voice . . . . The doctors wanted to go in through the back of his mouth, but Limbaugh was worried about his vocal cords. A different procedure was performed, and Limbaugh's suffering did not go away. He began to take pain pills in ever-larger numbers."
The prosecutor's office leaked claims to the press that Limbaugh took thousands of pills -- suggesting not only a severe addiction but that Rush was manipulating his doctors -- "doctor shopping" -- to abuse his medications.
But Rush's medical records, ones turned over to state prosecutors, showed that the doctor shopping claim was a sham.
In July of 2005, Black detailed Rush's use of prescription drugs as detailed in his medical records:
"The prescription records that are in the search warrant affidavits should be put in perspective. Of the 2,130 pills prescribed, only 1,863 were painkillers, and of those only 1,733 were for hydrocodone. These were to be taken over a period of 217 days, from the date of the first prescription until 30 days from the date of the last prescription. The dose averages out to a little over eight pills a day, which is not excessive and is in fact a lawful dose.
"Ninety-two percent of the pain medication was prescribed by two doctors who were treating Mr. Limbaugh for back pain. They work in the same office from the same medical file, and there could be no doctor shopping between them. One of these doctors also prescribed 117 pills of a drug used to treat high blood pressure or to help wean patients off of painkillers.
"The other two doctors are the California surgeon who implanted the cochlear implant to restore Mr. Limbaugh's hearing and a Florida doctor he was seeing for follow up on the surgery. Of the 180 pills prescribed by the surgeon, 100 were vitamin pills. Of the 110 pills prescribed by the fourth doctor, 50 were non-painkillers prescribed for tinnitus, ringing in the ears.
"The bottom line is that these prescription records might tell a story, but it is not a story of doctor shopping. We continue to believe that Mr. Limbaugh is being pursued by overzealous prosecutors and that he should not be charged with any crime."
In fact, when news of the conservative talker's pain pill addiction first hit the National Enquirer in Oct. 2003, Palm Beach County prosecutor James Martz said going after low-level prescription drug users like Limbaugh was a waste of time.
Still, his office pursued the case as if they were prosecuting the Cali cartel.
Friday's dismissal showed that Martz had it right the first time.


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The "Rush Arrested" false headlines came from the SAME press that decided to try to pass off 35 year-old "typewritten" documents typed in MS Office fonts two weeks before the last election and party that was just found guilty of slashing tires of buses that were being used by local Republican groups to take the elderly to voting polls.



The whole case against him was ridiculous. The prosecuters didn't have a case against him so they sued to get his medical records opened to LOOK for something to charge him with. With anyone else, the charges come BEFORE the investigation. They also made his medical records public, which is illegal and immoral.


The facts:


Although they reported that he "doctor shopped" and obtained 2000 pain pills from various doctors without legitimate prescriptions, the truth is that he only obtained a lawful dose of pills from one doctor. He had a back surgery go bad and was in extreme pain. When I had my feet reconstructed with 8 screws and 7 pins, I was in that type of pain and found myself taking painkillers constantly. How can you fault ANYONE with that? Also, Oxycontin is one of the most potent AND easiest painkiller to get hooked on. The same people that want us to have compassion on illegal drug addicts by handing them "clean" needles are the same people demonizing Mr. Limbaugh for taking painpills for a surgery on his back that didn't go as expected. So much for the "tolerant and compassionate" liberals...


I really don't care if you hate the man or disagree with his politics. It's no reason to attack someone for medical problems. I never wished death on Bill Clinton for his heart surgery, in fact I said a prayer for him because he IS a father, uncle, brother, son, etc. I feel he was one of the worst Presidents of all time, but I know where the line between politics and real life is.


So...Rush was NOT arrested. He is not being charged with anything. In exchange for the dropping of these bogus charges, they simply asked him to go through some treatment to make sure his addiction to the prescriptions is over.


Yes, I'm a fan of his, but I wouldn't support ANYONE, even someone who I don't like or agree with, to have their rights to privacy invaded like this for a simple political attack. If the opposition really wants to silence him so badly, they should try to offer an alternative to his show. Oh wait, they did and Air America has failed badly. They just lost their New York affiliate because they can't pay the bills and the rest will follow shortly.

[Beemnseven]

The funny thing is, on his talk show, if the topic came up about gay marriage, sodomy laws, or abortion, Rush Limbaugh always disputed that there is a 'right to privacy.'

Funny how people change, huh?

[Beemnseven]

"Although they reported that he "doctor shopped" and obtained 2000 pain pills from various doctors without legitimate prescriptions, the truth is that he only obtained a lawful dose of pills from one doctor ... Also, Oxycontin is one of the most potent AND easiest painkiller to get hooked on. The same people that want us to have compassion on illegal drug addicts by handing them "clean" needles are the same people demonizing Mr. Limbaugh for taking painpills for a surgery on his back that didn't go as expected.

So...Rush was NOT arrested. He is not being charged with anything. In exchange for the dropping of these bogus charges, they simply asked him to go through some treatment to make sure his addiction to the prescriptions is over."

The bolded sentences are what I have a big problem with. First of all, it should not be up to the government to determine what doses of medication are "lawful" and which doses aren't. I always thought conservatives were against government control of health care issues.

Secondly, they didn't "ask" him to go through treatment. They ORDERED him to, or those charges would be reinstated. Can anyone rationally and logically explain why the government has the authority to involve itself into the private lives of individuals who are addicted to pain medication and to threaten criminal penalties if they don't seek treatment?

[Riggo44]

Secondly, they didn't "ask" him to go through treatment. They ORDERED him to, or those charges would be reinstated. Can anyone rationally and logically explain why the government has the authority to involve itself into the private lives of individuals who are addicted to pain medication and to threaten criminal penalties if they don't seek treatment?[/QUOTE]


I would be the same thing if it were cocaine or heroin! He was using the system to get his drugs. Instead of going out on the street to get them. Just because you have the money and now how and get multiple Dr's to right you prectriptions.Or get your maid to buy them for you in Mexico does not make it legal.He should get the same charges as a rock stars like Cortney Love get when there caught with there "street drugs".

So yea logically the goverment does have the right. There should not be a double standard. Illegal drugs are illegal drugs. Weather they came from a pharmacy or a drug dealer.
There is nothing worse the a white collard hypocrite that thinks there better or not like someone else. Only because there crimes seem a little cleaner on the surface. Because when you get down to it they are still the same crimes. A drug addict is a drug addict! It really doesn't matter were the drugs came from.

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by Buster

So...Rush was NOT arrested. He is not being charged with anything. In exchange for the dropping of these bogus charges, they simply asked him to go through some treatment to make sure his addiction to the prescriptions is over.

This is false. He WAS arrested. Even if you turn yourself in and surrender to the authorities to be booked on charges -- regardless of the fact that the charges will be dropped in 18 months if you behave -- that is still an arrest.

[dmek25]

rush is the biggest media bigot there is.almost like pro wrestling with a pen(or in his case a mic)if you would look up diarrhea of the mouth in the dictionary,his picture would be there.almost on par with bill oreilly

[MTK]

The guy is such a hypocrite.

He's hooked on rx drugs... yet he has no problem calling out people who are hooked on illegal drugs.

An addict is an addict no matter what your poison is.

[NAVYSKINSFAN]

right on buster!