Rush Limbaugh Bust Planned For Mo. Capitol
http://www.kmbc.com/politics/30614423/d ... 7730356831
I can't believe that Rush Limbaugh would ever be considered for placement in the Hall of Famous Missourians--especially in light of the recent controversy over his remarks about the young woman giving testimony to Congress about employer health plans covering contraceptives. But the real shocking part of this is that Rush Limbaugh would be honored at all, especially when you consider that these Missourians are not:
Pierre Laclede, and Auguste Chouteau (founded St. Louis), Francois Chouteau (founded Kansas City); Daniel Boone, William Clark; newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer; General Richard Myers (former Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff), Sam Walton (Wal-Mart founder); Yogi Berra, Satchel Paige, Casey Stengel, Lou Brock, George Brett, Len Dawson, Leon and Michael Spinks, and Tom Watson; theatre producer David Merrick (11 Tony Awards); directors John Huston (2-Academy Awards), and Robert Altman (Honorary Academy Award); actors Dianne Wiest (2-Academy Awards), Jane Wyman (1-Academy Award), Shelly Winters (2-Academy Awards), Joan Crawford (1-Academy Award), Jean Harlow, Agnes Morehead (1-Emmy Award), Steve McQueen, Doris Roberts (5-Emmy Awards), Ruth Warrick (Emmy for Lifetime Achievement), Dick Van Dyke (5-Emmy Awards), Geraldine Page (1- Academy Award), Kathleen Turner, Marsha Mason, Chris Cooper (1-Academy Award), Kevin Kline (1-Academy Award), Brad Pitt (3-time Academy Award nominee), William Powell, Wallace Beery (1- Academy Award), Noah Beery, and Vincent Price; comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory; composer Virgil Thompson (won Pulitzer Prize) and musicians Kay Thompson, Ike Turner (1=Grammy Award) and Tina Turner (8-Grammy Awards), Chuck Berry (Grammy for Lifetime Achievement), Sheryl Crow (9-Grammy Awards), Michael McDonald (5-Grammy Awards), David Sanborn (3-Grammy Awards), Bennie Moten, Big Joe Turner, Coleman Hawkins, and Count Basie; cartoonist Mort Walker; and writers Maya Angelou (Medal of Freedom winner), William S. Burroughs, T.S. Eliot (Nobel Prize for Literature), Tennessee Williams (2-Pulitzer Prizes), Eugene Field, Jane Smiley (1-Pulitzer Prize), Sara Teasdale (1-Pulitzer Prize) and Calvin Trillin.
If Mr. Limbaugh is going to be commemorated with a bust for being a broadcaster, then why not Missouri natives Bob Costas and Joe Garagiola, Sr.?
What are the criteria to be in the Hall of Famous Missourians? Emmett Kelly, the sad clown is in the Hall, yet many Emmy, Tony, Academy Award, Pulitzer and Nobel prize winners aren’t.
Additionally, I personally don’t think anyone should be in the Missouri Hall of Fame until after their death. But certainly, Tina Turner, Maya Angelou, and Tennessee Williams deserve to be there well before Rush Limbaugh.
The other question that I will pose is shouldn’t Missouri voters decide who should be in the Hall of Famous Missourians after a nomination process? I know the Limbaugh family has strong political connections in Missouri. I would hate to think that Mr. Limbaugh is in the Hall just because his family has the power to get him there, and in front of so many other deserving Missourians that are not recognized.
When I look at the list of those in the Hall, it seems kind of random.
http://www.house.mo.gov/famous.aspx?fm=display
I love Bob Barker as much as anyone, but should a game show host be enshrined in bust before someone who has won Nobel and Pulitzer prizes?