Vows for Limbaugh, exit bows for Helen Thomas

A journalistic career stretching back to the Eisenhower administration came to a sudden and embarrassing end this week. For years, abrasive liberal columnist Helen Thomas occupied a special front-row seat in the White House Briefing Room. That was before a curious rabbi with a video camera asked Thomas what she thought about Jews and Israel – and she told him (and the world) in no uncertain terms.

Needless to say, conservative talk radio had a field day with the Thomas controversy, which embodied the way the journalistic landscape has changed since Thomas started out as a reporter. It also showcased the powerful, mutually supportive relationship that's developed between talk radio and the blogosphere, as they ganged up once again to put the "mainstream media" in its place.

As one blogger eloquently observed:

"The New Media doesn't stand on ceremony. Its elder statesmen, talk-radio pioneers like Rush Limbaugh, have spent their entire careers being insulted and disrespected by the mainstream press," writes John Hayward. "The same political and opinion elite that indulged decades of insane prattle from Helen Thomas, politely ignoring some of her worst outbursts, was quick to trumpet fraudulent accusations of racism against Limbaugh for things he never said, to paint him as unfit for association with a professional football team."

Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh is off this week, on his honeymoon. But as usual, he manages to make news even when he's away from the microphone. The reason? Limbaugh paid homosexual entertainer-activist Elton John $1 million to perform at his wedding reception.

Pundits left and right were baffled and even outraged by the arrangement, but the Washington Examiner explained that "Limbaugh and John were staying at the same hotel in Hawaii when Limbaugh had his heart-attack scare earlier this year. John checked up on Limbaugh to see how he was doing, and from there, a friendship formed."

Guest hosts at the "golden E.I.B. microphone" this week included Dr. Walter Williams, who interviewed controversial Republican candidate Rand Paul (FREE audio).

Sean Hannity

One of the other famous guests at Limbaugh's wedding was Sean Hannity, who described the "remarkable experience" to his listeners and praised his mentor: "I don't think I'd be here if it weren't for Rush!"

Interestingly, Hannity also talked to Rand Paul this week, and as one blogger noted with surprise, the interview was "completely different from the one you heard with Walter Williams" (FREE audio).

The "semi-super Tuesday" primaries were a hot topic on every talk show, and Hannity's was no exception. The day after the votes were counted, he analyzed the many victories racked up by female Republican candidates with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer.

Hannity also had fun mocking Rosie O'Donnell's apparently serious suggestion that the federal government should seize the assets of British Petroleum:

"Should we take over every company? We could call it Barack Obama, Inc.!" he joked. "The Anointed One, Inc. That's what we'll do; we'll just take over everyone's business here! Drill, baby, drill. Hannity is an all-of-the-above guy. Nuclear power, coal mining, you name it. We need to be energy-independent."

Mark Levin

After relating his own entertaining experiences at Rush Limbaugh's weekend wedding Mark Levin shifted back to his usual concerns, delivering a classic rant about "how statists won't be happy until we are all barefoot in the rice fields!"

He then criticized his former friend Pat Buchanan for writing a "haywire" column about Israel and the Gaza blockade (FREE audio).

Levin also had an exclusive interview with Rabbi David Nesenoff, who videotaped the anti-Israel rant that cost veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas her job. Nesenoff told Levin that since the story broke, he's received over 25,000 pieces of hate mail (FREE audio).

Michael Savage

As reported by WND earlier this week, Michael Savage is questioning President Obama's eligibility and possible dual allegiances that lie both "partly in the Muslim world" and "partly, perhaps, in the American world" (FREE audio).

When he wasn't busy castigating hapless callers, Michael Savage was joined by favorite guest Michelle Bachmann, who talked about how much more federal government employees earn compared to workers in the private sector – sometimes as high as double a comparable private-sector salary (FREE audio).

G. Gordon Liddy

Liddy may be the only American talk-radio host who's talking about the World Cup of soccer! Plus, if you think ACORN has been destroyed, think again: Liddy says Obama is now trying to bring these "community organizers" to India.

Other highlights: TV broadcaster turned author Rita Crosby related the harrowing tale of her father's experiences as a P.O.W. held by the Nazis during World War II, and experts on Ayn Rand came on to take calls about her philosophy, which is enjoying a renewed popularity.

G. Gordon Liddy's complete audio archives are available free of charge.

Glenn Beck

"I wouldn't allow my kid in the military right now," Glenn Beck told listeners this week, insisting that America should only go to war if it is determined to "fight to win" and properly equip its soldiers (FREE video).

Cementing his reputation as "the new Oprah" when it comes to book publishing, right after Beck mentioned F. A. Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom" on his show, the 1944 economics classic skyrocketed to No. 1 at Amazon.com (FREE video).

Meanwhile, Beck's own forthcoming book, a fictional thriller called "The Overton Window," inspired some accidental comic relief. The lofty intellectuals at the Huffington Post were so busy mocking the video "trailer" promoting Beck's book, they failed to recognize that the video's "stupid" poetry had been written by Nobel Prize–winner Rudyard Kipling, not Beck himself.

And now, on the left side of the dial ...

"What's the difference between Hezbollah's thugs and libtalker Rosie O'Donnell?" asks Radio Equalizer's Brian Maloney. "Apparently, not much."

For whatever reason (the phase of the moon, perhaps) low-rated radio talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell has been particularly batty lately.

Defending Helen Thomas' opinion that Jews "should go back to Poland," O'Donnell helpfully pointed out that, in fact, all those concentration-camp ovens are no longer in operation (FREE audio)!

Gee, what a relief!