The truth is out there. All you have to do is ask the right questions.

(Q) Can anyone prove that Rush Limbaugh actually said “slavery built the South” and that the “streets were safer after dark” because of it?

(A) No. This is the “quote” that became the lynchpin of every mass media feeding frenzy and the standard line of introduction to the story. However, all of the pseudo-journalists, pundits and media narcissists failed to use the first rule of covering any story. Check the facts. And when it comes to source material, have at least two credible sources to verify the story. There is no substantive proof Limbaugh ever made this statement or anything like it. No one has been able to cite audio, video, print or tarot card it came from.

(Q) Has Limbaugh made statements in the past that could be construed as racist, bigoted, and/or hateful?

(A) Yes. The key word here is “construed”. Those who check facts cannot cite an instance where Limbaugh said he hates people of any race, creed or color. But words are dangerous things, and how they are used and in what context can relay any number of emotions and intents.

One of the more slipshod manners of reporting the news is to use material, whether it’s audio, video, photo or print, out of context. President Barack Obama has certainly learned this first hand when reading some of the words being attributed to him. Here’s where we run into the next issue of fact versus hyperbole.

Limbaugh has been quoted by news reporters and news organizations with the following: “In President Obama’s America, white children get beaten up on school buses by blacks.” However, when one checks the tape of that specific show, this is not what Limbaugh said. 

He was, in fact, employing license of his own in commenting about the Newsweek”cover dated September 14th, where a white baby was on the cover with the words “Is Your Baby Racist?” Limbaugh did indeed fan the racial flames during his show by pitting black against white on the political landscape, which was certainly a pointed use of race in making an argument. As with any broadcast or written pundit of any political affiliation, Limbaugh often is viewed as insulting. But as the non-partisan Media Research Center has revealed, quite often Limbaugh’s comments are taken completely out of context.

Read the remainder of this article with comments on the response of NFL African-American players, and the obvious one-sided double standard being promoted by the NFL in the rest of this commentary here.