Drudge: NAT. ENQUIRER held back reporting on Limbaugh & pills for 2 yrs.

[Junkdrawer]

The NATIONAL ENQUIRER held back reporting on Limbaugh and pills for nearly two years, a publishing source tells the DRUDGE REPORT.

The tabloid's editors felt more confidence reporting the pill charge after police began an investigation.

More...

http://www.drudgereport.com/mattrn.htm

[efhmc]

1. Funny, the N.E. seems to be practising much more responsible

journalism than many other papers. They wanted to be sure of their story. They were also probably scared of being sued.

[Democat]

20. It's because he's a Republican

The paper is owned by Republican friends of Arnold.

[DoYouEverWonder]

27. Just scared of getting anthraxed again

Anyone notice that every since the NE or any other tabloid has touched W & Co with a 10 foot pole?

Rumor has that not only did Bob Stevens embarass the Bu$h's with the Jenna pics, he also had some photos of W doing the dirty, Skull and Bones style.

[amazona]

28. yes, two years ago Sunday was the Bob Stevens murder

They waited 2 years with a story this hot? Hmmm. What happened 2 years ago to make them a little nervous? Was it something about some white powder that killed one of their employees and nearly killed a second and caused them the loss of an entire building?

It really makes you stop and wonder.

Some of these warrants were apparently served last spring. Why didn't they report on it then? What were they afraid of? Since this is a true story, libel is not a consideration.


really starting to wonder why they protected him so long

[bleedingheart]

2. Schadenfreude

pure Schadenfreude...

[Junkdrawer]

3. I've referred to it as rubbernecking an accident, but I'll accept that...

I've also said that El Rushbo should be checking into rehab instead of doing three hours live, but I guess he knows best...

[CMT]

4. been kind of a bad week for the big mouth

what goes around comes around.

[SoFlaJets]

5. I 've known about this for about 4 years now

anyone rememeber the"Rush Is a Junkie"posts here in DU?Anybody who cares and who has the membership means to do so can as the Old Professor Casey Stengel used to say"look it up"I was villified for posting these captions because I had"no proof" and they were all pretty much dismissed by the intellectual elite(and there are a few) around here.Maybe somebody can post one of my many'Rush Is A Junkie"blogs

[Dogmudgeon]

15. Glad you mentioned it!

I remembered it well.

I myself have a problem with pain, and have been taking fairly strong opioids off-and-on for years. Every time something like this happens, the FDA "cracks down" and makes life hell for most honest pain patients.

Rush's drug habit seems to have been an exceptionally well-known "secret".

--bkl

[femmecahors]

16. Hey, I feel your pain . . . and congratulate you.

Usually the first person, to invent, to design, to discover, to observe is ridiculed. But accept my virtual pat on the back for trying to let the world know Rush is a junkie.

[Timefortruth]

29. Just a hint

how did you know?

[spotbird]

30. Here you go!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=110&topic_id=31

You had it first, but how?

[loudnclear]

31. Hey, don't you know that there are many Rush supporters at the DU?

Considering the gravity of the "allegations" against Rush, and who and what he is, the DU is relatively quiet about the Mega Ditto Head. There is much more discussion on the freeper boards than here. Amazing, isn't it.

[truthisfreedom]

6. wait a minute... when did he get the implants?

did he destroy his own hearing with the abuse of pills? did being high all the time cause him to degenerate mentally until he became a total hate monger? if he was high 4 years ago, wouldn't that have interfered with his judgement re: Clinton?

[papau]

32. Hydrocodone(Vicodin) side effect is hearing loss

Rush's 4350 pills over 47 days included more than hillbilly heroin


It appears Rush was into
1.Hydrocodone - a Anti-cough agent and painkiller similar to morphine. Side effects include poor mental performance, emotional dependence and mood changes (http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/f98fa.htm
Rapid Hearing Loss Observed With Overuse Of Vicodin LOS ANGELES, CA -- April 26, 1999 -- Researchers report that significant hearing loss is associated with abuse of Vicodin™, which combines the drugs hydocodone and acetampinophen, according to the results of a study presented April 25 at the annual meeting of the American Otological Society, held on April 24-25, at the Marriott’s Desert Springs, Palm Desert, CA.The combination of hydrocodone and acetampinophen is used commonly to alleviate pain presents side effects similar to other habit forming medications and has the potential for inciting physiologic dependence and tolerance with repeated use. Additional symptoms related to overdose include respiratory depression, hypotension and coma.)


2. Lorcet - Prescribed for moderate to severe pain. Side effects include vomiting, decreased appetite, sweating and itching.

3., various forms of OxyContin - which is a Potent time-release medication for pain, known as hillbilly heroin - Side effects include dizziness, muscle twitches and decreased sex drive.
-large dose can be fatal -

....3A Percodan and Percoset use Oxycodone as their primary opioid ingredient. The difference between the Percodan and Percoset comes in the secondary analgesic which is added to the Oxycodone.....Percodan is Oxycodone plus Aspirin, while Percoset is Oxycodone plus Acetaminophen.

,,,,,3B Pure Oxycodone is available by itself also. There is the regular Oxycodone, plus there is a special time-release version of Oxycodone called Oxycontin

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. When the police investigate, public records tend to surface and

the paper would have lost their scoop. What self-serving bastards. There must have been another reason for their silence.

[romantico]

8. Why?

were they affraid of Rush? What could he do? Is he THAT powerful?

[lightbulb]

10. He's not all that powerful

But his friends are the most powerful people on earth. An attack on Rush is an attack on them.

[Frances]

11. Bush is his most powerful friend

According to Drudge, anyway.

[recidivist]

12. Privacy considerations, I imagine.

It usually takes some kind of "hook" to drag personal pecadillos into print. Just because a person is prominent doesn't mean the press is going to print every piece of dirt it can dig up. For example, Senator X is cheating on his wife, and you know about it. Do you print it? Probably not, unless or until something else happens (e.g., a public accusation by a third party, a divorce filing) to surface the story.

Granted, it doesn't take much to surface a story. An incriminating photo will do. But still, if a celebrity keeps things discrete, he stands a good chance of getting away with it. The press keeps a LOT of secrets, for liberals and conservatives alike. Unprovoked hit pieces do occur, but they are the exception, not the rule.

P.S. On edit. Here's an example near and dear to many on this board. One of the reasons the Monica Lewinsky thing exploded with such force is that the press had been sitting on the Clinton sex stories for years. The zipper problem was well known. Other than the American Spectator, the press basically treated it as a private matter. Monica surfaced only when she was named as a witness in the Paula Jones suit.

Think of it this way. Suppose you are the editor. Once you print a self-generated expose of Senator X, talk show host Y, or Prominent Civic Figure Z, how can you justify sitting on any similar information about other people in the future? Are you going to be even handed and expose your friends as well as the opposition, or are you going to do a Larry Flynt? Do you still want to practice serious issues journalism, or are you content to be considered bottom feeding scum by most respectable people? Are you willing to make your own life an open book, because if you are in the business of gratuitiously ruining other people's lives, they will do it to you with a clear conscience.

[NicoleM]

13. A lawsuit.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. Truth is a defense against slander. If Rush sues them over this and they can prove it's true, Rush loses. They were probably waiting until their lawyers gave them the green light. They're not stupid.

Ever wonder why Michael Jackson never sued anybody for calling him a child molester? Ever wonder why Ann Coulter will never name a specific liberal who is a traitor? Slander lawsuits, that's why.

[freethought23]

19. No, not through a lawasuit.

"If Rush sues them over this and they can prove it's true, Rush loses."
This isn't how it will play out. Rush has a criminal problem.

[NicoleM]

22. I know.

What I was saying was it was unlikely there was some nefarious reason they held this story for two years, as someone else seemed to suggest. They didn't run it until their lawyers felt they could successfully defend against a defamation suit.

[Unknown Known]

9. Remember, it was 2 years ago anthrax hit American Media

publisher of National Enquirer and killed (Oct 8 or 9, 2001)Robert Stevens, photographic editor of the Sun (owned by American Media).

Ya think there might be some connections there?

[Nottingham]

14. National Enquirer wasn't the reporter killed by Anthrax

about 2 years ago! That would scare anybody off a story!

:bounce:

[Unknown Known]

17. Here's the timeline of the anthrax attack on American Media

It was actually Sept 19 2001 when Robert Stevens of American Media in Boca Raton received the anthrax letter. He died Oct. 5, 2001 and the gov't sealed the American Media bldg on Oct 7.

Here's the full timeline

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_anthrax_attack/Florida_timeline

[truthseeker1]

21. Bob Stevens mysterious death

Mr. Stevens died of a mysterious case of anthrax. He worked as a photo editor for American Media, who owns the National Enquirer. The Bush family suffered enormous embarrassment at the hands of the Enquirer when they published a photo of daughter Jenna Bush, obviously intoxicated, cigarette in hand, cavorting on the floor with another drunken female.

http://bk2k.com/bushbodycount/september-11/bodies.shtml

[legin]

18. Someone posted this on another board

in a thread yesterday discussing the revelations of Rush's drug habit:

"This is old news guys.....

I was in radio/tv media for over 15 years until recently. It's been a known fact for at least a decade or more."

Make of it what you will.

[BuckeFushe]

23. UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

National Enquirer Editor David Pecker appeared on Buchanan and Press and stated that they granted the maid immunity so she would wear a wire and that they are WAITING for Limpballs to "contact" them (Palm Beach County) so they don't have to put him through a "perp" walk.

It doesn't get any better than this. I hope he gets treatment for his addiction and confronts his demons (and his hypocrisy).

[Junkdrawer]

26. That would explain why he broadcast from NYC today...

"You can never go home anymore..."

[VermontDem2004]

24. The National Enquirer reported the drug story

Ah-ha, This drug story just lost it's credibility with me, the same National Enquirer said they had a tape of Clinton having Sex in the back of his pickup. :eyes:

[BuckeFushe]

25. The NY Daily News, CNN, and Newsweek CONFIRMED the

investigation in the last 2 days. The ONLY reason the NI broke it was because one of the NY tabloids (hint nint, wink wink, nod nod) was going to break it first, AND the maid had approached them with the story looking to SELL THE RIGHTS to her story.

How bizzaro can it get?