What ?

 
I'm Curious About These Newsletters Now.
I'd Like To Read Them.
Can I Get A Copy ?
Not Very Easily.
 
Why ? Are They Out Of Print ?
Just A Rare Collector's Item Or Something ?
No. That's not it.
 
Well, What Then ?
Don't Play Games. Explain.
All Right.  Here's the story on that.
He just typed up The Newsletters each week
and then went to the copy shop
and made about 100 copies
and distributed them throughout the campus,
putting a copy into the mailbox
of each faculty member of select departments
(generally The Humanities),
and also into the mailbox of each student organization.
 
Boy, He WAS Ahead Of His Time !
So, In Other Words, He Had A Targeted Audience.
That's A Concept That I've Heard Just In Recent Decades
Related To Political Campaigns.
Well, I don't know how new the concept is.
He didn't give a name to what he was doing.
He just didn't want his efforts and money wasted.
He felt that if he just left stacks of his newsletters
in the cafeteria and other locations,
that they'd mostly be tossed out and wasted.
He felt that if faculty and student leaders
read the articles,
that the ideas would be discussed,
and that was his goal, that is,
to have a dialogue within the university community
about racial and sexual politics on the campus
and other issues like Freedom Of Speech,
as discussed in Chapter 1.
 
OK, So Where Can I Get A Copy ?
Don't You Have One ?
Well, that summer he just tossed out
all his spare copies.
 
Why ?
Oh, just housecleaning. That's all.
He had said what he had to say,
despite fierce resistance and threats,
and he was proud of doing so.
And that was it.
He was just moving on.
To him, it was no big deal.
You see, he was from New York City,
and, there, that kind of
open, honest, and spirited dialogue
was kind of a routine thing.
Nobody got down on you for doing it,
and nobody held grudges when you were done.
New York City has had the greatest tradition
of responsible exercise of Free Speech
in the country, and maybe even in the world.
And they still do !
I mean, from the colorful and entertaining
"In Your Face" "We Ain't Afraid of Nobody"
journalism of "The Daily News" and "The New York Post"
to "The New York Times", "The Village Voice",
and "The Wall Street Journal",
to a long list of great magazines
such as "The New Yorker"...
I mean, it's almost ALL in New York, isn't it?
All the broadcast networks and
Bloomberg News, CNBC, Time/Warner, and on and on.
 
Raised in the New York area and in New York City,
our graduate student took that great culture for granted.
He saw no problem with expressing his ideas
by writing an intelligent and satirical
collection of Newsletters.
 
To him, it was kind of like a term paper project.
It took a lot of energy and effort
and he did what he had to do.
But it was kind of routine in a way -
something he had seen done all the time
all around him in the cultural center of the country,
New York City.
 
Incidentally, this brings up a good time
to illustrate the abusive and dishonest techniques used
by that state university's administrators and faculty
to attack our graduate student (instead of addressing his ideas).
Listen to this.
When our graduate student
and his organization's faculty advisor (required)
were ordered to appear
at the office of the president of that state university,
the dean of students (a lawyer, I believe),
with veins popping and his face and neck red with anger,
ranted that there must be something
emotionally or mentally wrong with our graduate student,
"BECAUSE HE PUT SO MUCH EFFORT INTO THE NEWSLETTERS."
He also complained that the graduate student,
"understood too well how student organizations worked."
And, after the terrorized faculty advisor resigned as advisor,
that attorney dean of students gloated,
"we have quashed the student organization...furtively" (p.. 327 Oxford)
 
Well, of course, that's all bad stuff from that reptilian attorney,
but what our graduate student thought was MOST ABSURD
was the contention that there was something wrong with him
BECAUSE HE PUT A LOT OF ENERGY AND EFFORT INTO HIS PROJECT !
With all the partying and shirking that students do,
with all the plagiarism and just getting by
with all their lack of intellectual curiosity,
you would think that a dean of students
would praise a student for
putting a lot of energy and effort into an intellectual endeavor !
You would think. You would think.
 
Yes, I Agree.
They treated our graduate student VERY UNFAIRLY.
But What About The Newsletters ?
 
Oh, Yes, The Newsletters.
Well, Who hangs on to term papers ?
Well, he just didn't save them.
He didn't know then how important and historical they would be.
 
Important and Historical ?
You're Not Gonna Try And Tell Me
That D'Souza And Ravitch
Got Their Ideas For Their Books
From Our Graduate Student, Are You !?
(laughing) No. No. Of Course Not !
Those two eminent scholars
were plenty smart enough
to notice and analyze
the things our graduate student discussed.
There was no proximate cause there -
no causal link that was proximate enough
to make a certain connection.
Maybe there was some connection
in the general overall transmission of ideas
in the intellectual environment.
To that point, we could talk about "The Butterfly Effect"
or some of Malcolm Gladwell's ideas here
(cite his book here),
and maybe we will later,
but someone else historical
DID steal our graduate student's ideas.
There IS a proximate causal connection in that case.
 
All Right. Stop Playing Around ! Who !?
rush limbaugh
 
rush limbaugh !?
el rushbo the great !?
the big one !?
the very big one !?
the very very very big one !?
the real big fat one !?
the one and only big fat idiot !?(cite stuart smalley)
 
yes. that very one. the self same.
the big fat loudmouth himself.
In essence, in effect,
our graduate student
wrote the script for the rush limbaugh program
 
That's Quite A Claim.
Show Me.
All Right.
The Proximity was in Place and Time,
and also in Theme, Tone, and Content.
Our graduate student's 1982 Newsletters
were the Proximate Cause for
limbaugh's radio program.
 
Proximate Place (location).
limbaugh came to sacramento
and started his radio program at kfbk radio
just 2.44 miles, 5 minutes (check mapquest), from
that state university where our graduate student
endured abuse,
established a student organization,
and wrote and disseminated his copyrighted newsletters
that rocked the liberal Sacramento politicians and educators
back onto their heels.
That's right in that state university's backyard,
right in the microneighborhood.
 
Proximate Time.
limbaugh started his program there in sacramento
in 1983 or 1984 (check out exactly when, and whether he arrived earlier
to discuss the content and purpose of the upcoming program.
When did the idea for the program begin?).
Our graduate student's Newsletters were
written and disseminated right in that microneighborhood
in The Spring of 1982.
The Newsletters were read by the top people, the power structure,
in education, in politics, and in media in that town.
(cite pres of univ, mayor rudin, Bill Akers as examples).
If newspaper editors and writers at The Bee and The Union
read The Newsletters,
as well as the top educators and politicians,
then it's certain that producers and writers
in radio and television read them too.
Don't you think it is a virtual certainly
that the fat one, the big bully, the big fat idiot,
had lenghty conversations with his producers
and assistants
about the content and tone of his upcoming program ?
 
Or, do you think they just said,
"Hey Fatso, we know you're an unemployed
former sports announcer out there in the Midwest,
and we like you and so we got a time slot here
on a Clear Channel Station,
the biggest station in the Sacramento market
for you to do whatever you feel like?"
 
But besides Extremely Close Proximity In Time and Place,
and the Imitative Quality Of The Tone And Content,
we have another piece of compelling evidence
found right out in the open at the scene of the crime
which shows that limbaugh stole ideas from our graduate student
and used them as his script.
 
We have a fingerprint !
 
What !? You Have limbaugh's Fingerprint
On One Of Our Graduate Student's Newsletters !
So You Do Have A Copy Of The Newsletters !
Well, not exactly.
It's sort of a Colombo fingerprint.
 
A Colombo Fingerprint !?
This Is Getting VERY Interesting !
How did Colombo get involved in all this ?
And What Is His Fingerprint On ?
And How Does Is Show That limbaugh
Plagiarized Our Graduate Student's Newsletters ?
Well, there was an episode
where Colombo nabbed the culprit
for stealing a Masterpiece,
catching him
not because the culprit's fingerprints
were on the Masterpiece,
but because Colombo's fingerprints
were on the Masterpiece.
Similarly, our graduate student's fingerprint
is on the Masterpiece in limbaugh's possession.
 
So Then Limbaugh Has A Copy Of The Newsletters ?
And Our Graduate Student's Fingerprint
Is On That Copy ?
Aren't Our Graduate Student's Fingerprints
On Every Copy ?
Well, I Guess That Would Prove That limbaugh
Has A Copy.
But What Does The Fingerprint Prove ?
The Fingerprint Is A Metaphor.
 
Huh ?
No, not Huh. Hun !
The fingerprint is the metaphor of A Hun,
A Hun sitting, standing, gorging, belching, peeing,
pillaging, bellowing, doing whatever Huns do.
That's the fingerprint.
The fingerprint is the metaphor of A Hun
just being A Hun or whatever.
 
Once Again, "Huh ?"
You see, when a speaker or writer
is subject to character assassination attempts,
when bad people attack the writer
instead of addressing his or her ideas,
the writer often employs some literary technique
to disarm criticism
in order to put the focus back on the writings,
back on the ideas being set forth.
 
In the case of our graduate student's Newsletters,
the tone of the writing was generally satirical,
often scathingly satirical and mocking,
because, after all, when talking about
liberal fascism and liberal hypocrisy
when talking about language control and thought control
in a supposedly liberal educational setting,
how could you not be satirical and mocking ?
As Diane Ravitch said about "The Language Police" (2003),
"You have to ridicule them
to get them to change."
 
Of course, when those liberal fascists
turn on the writer and attack the writer,
an excellent way to disarm their criticism and attacks
is to mockingly embrace those attacks, as in,
"That's right ! That's right !
I'm just sooooooooooooo AWFUL !
I'm the worst thing that ever was !
I'm the Devil !
NO ! NO ! I'm worse than that !
I'm a Hun ! Yeah ! That's the ticket !
I'm a smelly, belching, pillaging Hun !
Ok ? fine ! I concede you that point !
Now let's get on with the discussion !"
 
You see how effective that is ?
You see, there's no effect from calling the writer bad things
any more,
because the writer mockingly embraced it all
and rose above it all
simply by continuing the dialogue.
 
"That's right ! Call me a hateful racist and sexist,
call me a pillager.
Fine. Fine. Sure I am. Sure I am.
That's what you say about everybody
when you don't like what they say.
Sure. Sure. We're ALL stupid racists and sexists."
 
Then, the writer continues with an
intelligent, well-reasoned, persuasive and insightful Newsletter.
 
That Hun metaphor,
that effective literary technique for disarming unfair attacks,
was Our Graduate Student's Fingerprint.
They're all over limbaugh's program,
"firmly ensconsed in the Atilla The Hun Chair."
 
It's a metaphor.
It's Our Graduate Student's fingerprint.
And it's all over limbaugh's program.
 
(don't forget also to mention the limbaugh newsletters,
another way he copied Our Graduate Student)
 
 
Yes, That IS Very Compelling !
With The Incredibly Close Proximity
in Place And Time,
And Script-Like Adherence To The Theme, Tone, And Content
Of Our Graduate Student's Newsletters,
It Makes Me Wonder If limbaugh Was Brought To sacramento
For That Very Purpose !
That Is, To Take Our Graduate Student's
Scathingly Satirical Assault on Liberal Fascism
And Political Correctness On The Campus
To The Airwaves !
 
Yes, I have begun to wonder about that possibility, too.
 
And That IS Very Significant Historically
Because limbaugh Has Been Without Question
The Leader Of Conservative Talk In The Media,
And The Informal Leader Of The Republican Party
For About The Past Two And A Half Decades !
All Of The Conservative Talkers On FOX
Just Followed Limbaugh's Lead.
limbaugh Changed The American Political And Social Dialogue.
He Changed American Politics !
And Now You're Showing Me
That limbaugh's First Model, First Template,
First Example, First Coach
Was None Other Than Our Graduate Student !
So Our Graduate Student's Newsletters
Were Seminally Important Indeed,
Very Significantly Historically !
That's Right.
Now You've Got It.
 
But Where Are The Newsletters ?
There Are No Copies Out There !?
I didn't say that.
 
Well ?
Well, I just said that our graduate student
doesn't have any copies
because he tossed them like a term paper,
not knowing the effect they'd have on his life and career,
and on American politics and social discourse and education.
 
Did He Copyright The Newsletters ?
Yes, he did.
He put a Copyright Notice on the front of each Newsletter
with the Date and his name.
That may have been redundant, though,
because I recently read that anything written after 1972
is automatically copyrighted (research this).
He also collected all The Newsletters into book form
and sent them to the Copyright Office in Washington, D.C.
to be copyrighted officially there,
but they were returned by a female employee there
who said they couldn't be copyrighted because
it really wasn't a book, but Newsletters.
 
What !?
Yup ! Isn't that something !?
That's just typical of what he had to put up with.
Roadblocks, attacks, and obstructionism all the way !
 
So There's Not A Copy Of These Historic Newsletters
In The Copyright Office In Washington, D.C., Either,
Even Though He Sent Them There With A Filing Fee And Everything !?
That's right. The female working there
returned to him the copy he sent.
Obviously, she read it and just didn't like what it said.
 
Unbelievable !
No. Very believable.
That's just the unethical, unfair way some groups of people are.
 
"Outrageous!" Then
That's Right. It is Outrageous !
 
So These Newsletters Are Lost Forever
And We'll Never Get To Read Them
To Verify That What You Say Is True !?
Well, not exactly.
I believe that there are copies out there,
held by those who were sacramento educators and politicians
at the time, and by limbaugh or his associates and their kind.
Who knows ? Maybe there's a copy in our graduate student's FBI file.
But it certainly appears that copies have been reproduced
and distributed to those in the sacramento education hierarchy,
including the state department of education.
It appears that the educators in Alaska have copies, too.
He taught and lived there for a while.
Wherever he went, they sent copies to educators
and some politicians, too, to keep him out of work and in trouble.
 
Sounds Like A Conspiracy !
That's Right. It Certainly Does.
 
That's Serious.
That's Right.
Conspiracy To Harm Someone Like That Is A Very Serious Crime.
It's A Human Rights Violation
To Deprive Someone Of Their Constitutional Rights
To Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness.
 
So, Will We Ever Be Able To Get A Copy Of These Historic Newsletters ?
Yes, I believe it's possible for some people to get a copy,
if they're willing to help and get involved.
 
So, Meanwhile We Just Wait And Wait
And It's Already Been 28 Years
Since The Newsletters Were Written And Published
I Guess They're Just Waiting For Our Graduate Student
To Get Old And Die ?
That's Right.
It's a unique situation where
both the liberals and the conservatives
want to keep The Newsletters swept under the rug
and unavailable to anyone but their closed circles.
The liberals want them suppressed
because they were such a blistering condemnation
of liberal fascism on the campus at that time.
And he got mad and named names
when they started to threaten him.
limbaugh and the republicans want to keep The Newsletters
suppressed so they don't have to acknowledge his contribution
and share credit with him.
 
So That's It Then ?
End Of Story ?
Well, it's never the end of the story
when your back's up against the wall.
Funny thing is, if they'd just been fair to him,
he would have let it go long, long ago
like he did the summer after he wrote The Newsletters,
when he tossed all his spare copies away.
 
If the liberals had just let him teach,
and if limbaugh had just given him a collegial acknowledgement,
he would have had a good life as a teacher,
comfortable and able to help out with his daughter's education
like any man wants to do.
 
But here it is 28 years later
and he's been marginalized and impoverished
and doesn't have much to lose.
 
What he has on his side is the Truth,
and that's powerful.
 
And what he can do is tell the Truth
and tell his story
and that's what he's doing.
 
And, until some good person
procures a copy of His 1982 Newsletters for him,
he can do his best to rewrite them from memory.
He can paraphrase them
and actually reproduce from memory
the most memorable parts.
 
And that'll be the next chapter.
 
GREAT !
I Can't Wait !
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
*************************************************
 
OK
Very Easily.
 
 
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