rivercityvibe   “Puerile, smutty, schoolboy nonsense” – My Mom

blah…blah… her poor son…blah…blah…so vulnerable….blah…blah…like Greek tragedy….blah…blah…candle in the wind……blah…blah…let down by those she loved…blah…blah… etc. etc.

This is what the stories about the arrest, Friday, of Howard K. Stern, the former boyfriend of Anna Nicole Smith, read like, to me.

Credit where credit is due. That is not un-hot.

Granted, she was a mess when she died (her reality show was once referred to as a “suicide note in weekly installments”), but we should remember that she was one of the most popular Playboy Playmates of all time. With the arrest of this Stern character, it seems justice might be about to be done. Stern is charged with enabling (read, “strongly encouraging) the drug abuse that led to her death.

The full story is in that shining beacon of first-amendment abuse, the People.

[ I’m going to level with you. Notwithstanding the undoubted tragic elements, this whole post was just an excuse to use the picture above. Please disregard any opinion it may have in it. Besides, Stern’s people say he “didn’t do it”]

This is not a political post, more a sad comment on the state of our national politics from my vantage point on the banks of the St. Johns. I am talking of course about the latest nonsense relating to media personality Rush Limbaugh, the prescription drug-addicted, thrice-divorced, bastion of “conservative values” who  deigns to tell 20 million willing listeners what to think every day.

"He's fat! He's round! He bounces on the ground! His name is Rush! His name is Rush!

As entertaining as Rush Limbaugh is (and he is an entertainer, as indicated by A. His clown-like shape and B. his, errr,  prime time talk radio show….),  and, as much as I will go to my grave defending his right to broadcast as he does, the current situation which has led a RNC Chairman to publicly apologize to him, is nothing short of a national disgrace.  For his part in this, Michael Steele must be condemned as a lily-livered blemish on the face of the republican party. In any properly-functioning democracy his failure to stand his ground and his craven willingness to kow-tow to the media in this way would disqualify him from holding any important office ever again … but I digress. This post is about Rush.

You see, as a conservative of sorts, I am at a loss as to what people see in him. He is interesting to listen to – from a sociological or even psychological viewpoint and I am even prepared to believe he is a genuinely nice guy. But his credibility as a true conservative is pretty questionable. He is clearly a man of appetites. I bet nobody could call his diet “conservative”.

He is also a famous drug addict. And he reportedly engaged in criminal behavior to secure those drugs (interestingly, in one of his court cases, his sworn enemy* the ACLU filed an amicus brief supporting him. Good material….). He is a constant smoker of cigars having been lauded as an aficionado in the press. His addiction to women is equally well-chronicled. He has been married three times and is currently dating a lovely lady half his age called Kathryn Rogers. I wonder what first attracted her to the millionaire Rush Limbaugh? Here she is:

With her boyfriend...

She says making love to Rush is like having an armoire fall on her with the key sticking out.

I made that last bit up.

Anyway, consider this a college assignment: Rush Limbaugh: A Man of Appetites (Discuss).