“No one in the Army listens to [him] anyway. AFN carries him for the retired white 65 to 90 crowd.” — American soldier, deployed to Afghanistan, who was not authorized to speak about Limbaugh.

image: RawStory

Unfortunately, the white 65 – 90 crowd also includes Pentagon officials and top military brass, most of whom would like to ‘shape the young minds‘ they lead, to fit with their conservative military-political aspirations.

I’ve said this several times before, but it bears repeating: AFN and Armed Forces radio is funded with tax payer dollars — yours and mine. On the serious side of that fact: it’s simply unacceptable for more than half the taxpayers in America (if not more) that part of the taxes we pay to the federal government are going into Rush Limbaugh’s bank account! Period. On the less serious side of it: that means we’re actually subsidizing Limbaugh’s Viagra co-pay. In other words, the taxpayers are paying him to have sex! See how that circled around and actually works?

Amid mounting criticism, Armed Forces radio debates dropping Limbaugh

Will the Pentagon pull Rush Limbaugh’s radio show from the armed forces radio network?

Broadcast to troops in bases throughout the world and aboard US Navy ships, the network’s self-described mission is to provide “a touch of home” for service members overseas.

Yet as the furor over Mr. Limbaugh’s description of a Georgetown University student as a “slut” reaches troops overseas, US military veterans as well as soldiers serving in Afghanistan are asking the Pentagon to drop Limbaugh’s radio program from its lineup.

An organization of some 100,000 US military veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, VoteVets.org, is also circulating a petition calling for the removal of Limbaugh’s show from the US military’s network, and signatures on it are growing everyday, says Maj. Jon Soltz, the chairman of VoteVets.org.

There are currently more than 11,000 military veterans and family members who have signed the petition.

[...] For now, Pentagon officials say they have no plans to drop the show. “Our goal is to provide a wide array of programming for service members overseas that would be available to them stateside,” says Pentagon spokesman George Little. “Airing programming on the American Forces Network does not constitute endorsement of what is said or shown.”

That said, Mr. Little adds, “We always take seriously the feedback of our service members.”

The U.S. Army pulled their ads from Limbaugh’s radio show. It’s time for AFN to do the same. From last week:

Female Veterans Demand Rush Limbaugh’s Show Be Pulled From American Forces Network — Rush Limbaugh has a freedom of speech and can say what he wants, but in light of his horribly misogynistic comments, American Forces Radio should no longer give him a platform. Our entire military depends on troops respecting each other – women and men. There simply can be no place on military airwaves for sentiments that would undermine that respect. When many of our female troops use birth control, for Limbaugh to say they are “sluts” and “prostitutes” is beyond the pale. It isn’t just disrespectful to our women serving our country, but it’s language that goes against everything that makes our military work. Again, we swore to uphold our Constitution, including the freedom of speech, and would not take that away from anyone – even Limbaugh. But that does not mean AFN should broadcast him. In fact, it shouldn’t.

TAKE ACTION:

• American Forces Network has a Facebook page here. AFN Europe and AFN Afghanistan are on Twitter.
• Stand with women veterans calling on Armed Forces Network to stop airing Rush Limbaugh.
• Tell advertisers on Rush Limbaugh’s show to drop him permanently.