The emphases in the excellent commentary that reflects my thoughts about the Rush Limbaugh controversy, of course, are mine. I could have put this in Savvy Dude's posting on the same topic but didn't want it to get buried and the hypocrisy from the lefties and NFL owners go unnoticed.

   Pax,

It''s Sunday morning, when you're thinking about girls, rush Limbaugh and NFL football, shouldn't you be contemplating your sins and preparing for confession before noon mass ?

--virgil

A brilliant piece.  Sharpton is shameless and despicable.  He was on 'Geraldo at Large' yesterday and said "we never said he couldn't own anything - we just asked questions".  This race-baiter is indeed as bad as the racists who tried to deny black Americans their constitutional rights in the 1940's and 1950's.  Sharpton and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee have no business opining about American business owners - ever.  They are anti-white conservative and are willing puppets of the intolerant liberal ruling class. 

 Dude,

 " This race-baiter is indeed as bad as the racists who tried to deny black Americans their constitutional rights in the 1940's and 1950's."

Let's get something straight .  Nothing was tried to deny black americans their civil rights, it simply was a fact of life.

Don't be an idiot, please ! Can you tell me when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed ? I'd be happy to hear it from you.

--virgil

What it comes down to is that Checketts dropped him from the group because he wanted to improve his chances of owning a team.   The opposition that matters are the owners.  If they approve the sale, the players play and teh NFLPA falls back in line.

Sharpton didn't kill this deal.  The owners would have looked at the group with a jaundiced eye if Limbaugh was a part of the group.

Well said, Savvydude. As for jfrancais' contention, that could be the case, but just as plausible is that the Checketts group caved in to the folks that Savvydude pointed out.

Hey,  Pax !

What about my point ?

--virgil

Checketts did cave in. Why?  It was a business decision.  Him and Rush will still be friends and may even pursue other business ventures after this.

Rush even "claims" that Soros is part of that group.  Business can make strange partnerships.

"What it comes down to is that Checketts dropped him from the group because he wanted to improve his chances of owning a team"

Once again, I'll try to help you understand.  Checketts approached Rush because he needed $150 million to complete the deal, so Rush agreed.  Rush cautioned Checketts and told him that a firestorm of opposition would erupt from liberals.  Checketts said that he had "all the bases covered" and was prepared for the fight.  But then, after Shaprton played the 'racists card', Checketts got nervous.  He asked Rush to back out - Rush said no, you'll have to fire me.  So, Checketts did.

What's next?  If Checketts convinces another deep pocket to join him, Sharpton will then say "you're the guy who tried to get Rush Limbaugh into the NFL owner's group, so I believe that you aren't tolerant enough to be in a business that is 70% black."  Then Obama's buddy at the Player's Association will say that the player's don't trust Checkeets, and then the sports media will show Checketts photo side-by-side with LImbaugh's and the lynching and character assassination will begin again.

Make no mistake about it - Al Sharpton is now the de facto leader of the National Football League and I'm sure he has his sights on the NBA and Major League Baseball, too.

"Much ado" about nothing much.

But then, after Shaprton played the 'racists card', Checketts got nervous.  He asked Rush to back out - Rush said no, you'll have to fire me.  So, Checketts did.

Understood.  Business as usual.

Even with or without all that hullaballo, the owners can still say no. 

What happens if the owners still deny the sale?

Make no mistake about it - Al Sharpton is now the de facto leader of the National Football League and I'm sure he has his sights on the NBA and Major League Baseball, too.

Not quite. DeMaurice Smith has more power than him in the NFL.

The commish is more powerful that Smith and even he can't have the final say on the sale of NFL teams.  He works for the owners.

"Much ado" about nothing much. 

No SAGE. It is much ado about ones pursuit of happiness being brought down by another because of race. It was none of sharpton's business and if limbaugh had been black nary a word would have been said even if he had made racial remarks.

Note: Imus makes rude remark about blacks. Gets called on the carpet, strung up in effigy, fired. Even after he apologized 3 times.  Jamie Foxx makes rude remarks about white girls - says oooo I'm sorry and continues on with his radio show and his life. Not one sharpton, jackson, farakan or lee makes a peep. NOW sharpton is all over limbaugh (no I don't listen to him) and hollerin' racist at the top of his lungs and wham - all of a sudden limbaugh is persona non gratis'

So ya SAGE, there is much ado and there will be more ado if sharpton and his gang keep it up. I, for one, have reached my limit with special interest groups who think they can lord it over others asnd rule the world. Not happening in MY world.  ggggrrrrrrrrrr

Sharpton now threatens to sue Limbaugh

http://profootballtalk.nbcs...

I read that days ago and am not a fan of the Reverend....I agree with jfrancis on this one witters. Sharpton had nothing to do with the decision~ and to those who give him this illusionary power, it is you who help perpetuate the myth of the Reverend. Rush and he deserve each other.

Sharpton (and even the race issue) is a pawn in the chess game.  His powers are imagined.  The owners make the call. 

Sharpton could have said nothing and the owners would still have concerns over Limbaugh as a owner.  Arthur Blank was leading the charge to deny his group ownership.

You're correct, Pax; stick to your maligned point well made.

Thanks, Sam, but all the credit goes to Star Parker. After all, some of my fellow bloggers have Rush Limbaughed me for not having an original thought. ;)

As for Virgil's point about the whites not trying to deny blacks of their constitutional rights back in the days because it was just a fact of life that they were denied them ... hmmm, nice try but I don't think that will fly with those who lived through that.

Jfrancis is exactly right, it was a financial decision - quit looking for a racist angle under every rock (where Rush lives). Al Sharpton does not have that much influence on anything, he is just a loud man who the networks love to exploit.

Sam, Pax, you are dead wrong.

Pogo, considering how so quick the Obamites have been to tar as racists the right-wingers who oppose his policies and the direction he is taking this country, the defenders of Rush can be forgiven for thinking the worse of Sharpton and the others in putting up the "No Rush Allowed" signs.

As I see it, it's not just the influence on the owners that Sharpton and Jackson had.  If you kick up enough sand and create enough bad publicity it will take on a life of it's own.  All they had to do was get the sandstorm started...the rest was easy.

I caught an interview with a Black guy yesterday but didn't catch the name (I'm not in the car long enough to get it all) and he laughed at the idea that Black ball player wouldn't pay for a team Rush was a part of.  It's all about the money for the players too...another red herring.  Wish I knew the guys name, I know his interview is out there somewhere.

I have this one last thing to say about poor Mr. Limbaugh and his "lost American dream". 

I am so sorry for him.

Now there is an area were I am willing to put my energy: to the case of the young lady who was drugged,gang raped and kept in a trailer by a group of contractors in Iraq. When she finally attained her freedom,after reconstructive surgery, she was denied a trial: she  and the company went through "arbitration". That is a person who lost their American Dream~ and the perpetrators keep theirs.

A hat tip to djembe for the story and an apology. I tend not to read his/her posts because of the nature of the tone in the titles~ sometimes. I did read that post and have learned a lesson.

It's just Rush's luck that he is a well known conservative instead of a liberal like DeMaurice Smith, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and the main stream media that all jumped on completely made up quotes about slavery and such attributed to Limbaugh to keep him from taking part in league that welcomes and praises animal torturers. 

 "As for Virgil's point about the whites not trying to deny blacks of their constitutional rights back in the days because it was just a fact of life that they were denied them ... hmmm, nice try but I don't think that will fly with those who lived through that."

Pax,  it is  the reason we have a 1964 civil rights act,  passed in 1964.

Before that,  it was legal to spray southern protesters for civil liberties with fire hoses ... I think dogs were turned loose on them too. Before that, it also was not uncommon to fear lynching if a white woman happened to feel strange in a black man's presence. A little old lady was put in jail for refusing to give her seat on the bus to a white dude about that time as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

--virgil

 Before that, it also was not uncommon to fear lynching if a white woman happened to feel strange in a black man's presence.

To top it all off, before any of the Civil Rights Acts were passed, black folks had no legal standing in a court of law.  Corporations (thus, no way to challenge the unhumane treatment) and businesses had more legal standing and constitutional rights in the American court of law as a juridical person.

What high ideals we have.  I hope we can continue to win the hearts and minds of the world considering our glorious past.

O.K., once more: The NFL is America's pastime, not baseball. I won't even try to calculate the amount of money involved in the sport and its impact on the country. The players, black and white, will play for anyone who signs their paychecks (how many of you would quit your job because you disagreed with the politics of a minority owner?). Sharpton and Jackson do not represent mainstream America, they are just high profile for awhile in our 24 hour news society, until the next bubble boy emerges. Limbaugh has deliberately made himself a controversial character and made himself rich at the same time, brilliantly. He has a lot of money and loves sports, so is naturally upset that he cannot spend his money the way he sees fit to buy part of a franchise in th sport he loves. No matter how racist Sharpton and Jackson and Limbaugh try to make it, it is still a financial decision.

End of story.

 how many of you would quit your job because you disagreed with the politics of a minority owner?

If I quit my job over political disagreements with management, I'd never have a job.

No matter how racist Sharpton and Jackson and Limbaugh try to make it, it is still a financial decision.

I always say that race in America is a way to divide the poor and keep the economic status quo.  In this case, it just divides the dividers (Limbaugh and Sharpton).

jfrancis, (off topic) Are they still conducting Basic Training at Bliss? I was there i 1952 and it was rough, we were in 5 man huts that had been used for POWs during WW2.

pogo said "quit looking for a racist angle under every rock"

ALL ONE has to do to find a race angle is just watch when AL "not so" sharpton rears his ugly head. 

I should have pointed out that Sharpton and Jackson also inhabit the area under the rock.

 jfrancis, (off topic) Are they still conducting Basic Training at Bliss?

No. Sill, Leonard Wood, Knox, Benning, and Jackson are the BCT posts.  Bliss has even lost its ADA schools because of BRAC.  It's strictly FORSCOM.  We are getting 90,000 extra personnel in the next 6 years.  This place is a city within a city.