Rush suffers from what was coined a while ago as “numerical illiteracy” or the shortened form – not having Numeracy. Rush knows he has this limitation, but tries to plow his way through it, just as Dr Laura knows she can’t sing, but can’t resist the urge to sing along with her show’s music.
It’s a common issue with people who went through school before “modern math”, which Rush routinely derides. One of the things that modern math focuses on is teaching reasonableness and approximation, rather than focusing solely on computing exact answers. A $3 calculator can give you exact answers. The numeracy skill allows you to spot errors like confusing millions with billions, approximating costs per capita, or spotting blatant misrepresentations.
Today’s show – about 40 minutes into the final hour
“…What is she doing in Bill Maher’s show anyhow? the real question I’ve got – It’s 1999, which is 11 year ago – what the hell is she doing on Bill Maher’s show? I guess that was back in the day when they would take anyone on it – So she’s like 19 years old when she is on this show right? [pause] when she is on the show – the context of the show…”
Ummm, no.
Ms. O’Donnell was born in 1969. In the clip in 1999, she is 30 years old. I wonder what else about her background Rush doesn’t know. It’s a long list.
She was appearing on Bill Maher’s show because she had come to his attention for leading a Christianity based campaign against pornography and masturbation. To Bill Maher, she was like a cat playing around with a ball of yarn – to show how irrational and stupid religious Conservatives are.
I haven’t seen the entire program – the thing most troubling to me about the clip is not that she had dabbled in Wicca a dozen years earlier, but that she is seeking acceptance from the wicca followers who are on the panel. Her attitude was “It’s no big deal, I used to do it, too”. After her new found Christianity (she was raised Catholic, but became an Evangelical Christian after she screwed up her life after college), she isn’t saying what a mistake it was – but rather “well, everyone does it” to avoid directly confronting the people on the program….
