Pavlovian Response: Rush Limbaugh hears a name and immediately thinks of food.
Today, driving down Queen K Highway on the Big Island, I was again reminded that the only AM radio frequency available on that stretch of road is Fox News. So I was forced to listen to the daily harangue of the indomitable Rush Limbaugh.
Today’s rant was about the supposed takeover of the radio industry by the FCC. In the right wing echo chamber and the paranoid minds of wing nuttery, the recent decision of the FCC to study access and ownership of radio stations is nothing short of a big Government takeover the content of talk radio and suppressing the voices of Rush and friends. Good God, is there nothing that doesn’t victimize these folks?
Anyway, the real subject of Limbaugh’s wrath was FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, the daughter of US Representative Jim Clyburn. But, of course, when Rushbo hears the word “mignon,” he immediately thinks of food and dutifully informs us:
“Do you know whose idea this really is? I can't say it's her idea, but do you know where this gem of an idea originated? Try Mignon Clyburn, the daughter of James Clyburn, who was a ranking member of the Congressional Black Caucasians in the House of Representatives. He has a daughter. He named her after a steak -- a prime cut of steak, but nevertheless a steak. The filet is the least amount of fat. If you serve it without a bone, it's the tenderest. Yeah, it's probably one of the most tender cuts, prime cuts you can get. He named his daughter after a steak. A very lean steak. Mignon Clyburn. Mignon is the agent behind this.”
It never occurs to this idiot that the word “mignon” actually means “cute,” “petit,” or “favorite.” No, he is quite comfortable equating a highly educated and accomplished African American woman to a piece of meat, gratuitously adding that it is “served without a bone.”
And while on the subject of parsing the meaning of names, it should be noted that “Rush” is a “noxious weed that thrives in a swampy environment.” Perhaps Limbaugh’s parents knew exactly what they had spawned.