An Open Letter to Rush Limbaugh
by Margie Burns
Dear Mr. Limbaugh,
I have not heard your widely acclaimed radio broadcasts,
but it has come to my attention that you’ve been urging
your fans to “PLEASE, BOYCOTT ALL FRENCH
PRODUCTS!”
As luck would have it, the perfect target for your boycott is
coming up: on June 15 through 22 of this year, France will
host the 45th annual Paris Air Show.
The Paris Air Show, as you may know, is a global aviation
and arms fair, that takes place in the Paris venue Le
Bourget every other year, alternating with another huge
trade show for weapons and weapons systems called
Eurosatory. You may not have heard that Eurosatory and
the Paris Air Show are hugely patronized by the U.S.
government and by U.S. military contractors.
(http://www.paris-air-show.com)
The list of U.S. exhibitors so far, available from contact person Cara
Boulesteix in the Commerce Department, runs 16 pages and more than 200
companies. Many subsidiaries, partnerships and cooperative agreements are
not mentioned. Prominently featured are giant military contractors General
Electric Co., Boeing, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and
Raytheon. Indeed, the list is a virtual who’s who of our corporate federal
contractors who are also feverishly hawking (no pun intended) their wares
abroad, including Kaiser Aluminum, Goodrich, Teleflex and Bell Helicopter. A
glossy tradition of cosmopolitanism in arms and “dual-use” transactions has
long been established here, of course: You may recall that Honeywell,
Rockwell and Bell Helicopter also were among the dozens of U.S.
corporations whose products ended up in Saddam’s Iraq.
(www.thememory-hole.org/corp/iraq-suppliers.htm)
Some of the merchant-of-death networking might surprise the public. Several
states, including Virginia, are exhibiting at the venue, including Jeb Bush’s
Florida, which will be amply represented by “Southwest Florida,” and
“Enterprise Florida,” each advertising cheap Florida labor. Speaking of
security, Tampa International Airport also is an exhibitor. But then, the
Federal Aviation Administration itself attends the air show, as does the
American Association of Airport Executives. So any purchases of security
systems, military data recorders, night-vision searchlights, cargo and
baggage handling systems, communications systems and other devices
designed to elude them, take place figuratively under their noses.
Thus far, the FAA has not been grounded. This year, though, the
administration is limiting the number of officials attending the show to 150.
Not that the rubbing elbows is confined to current officeholders. Another U.S.
exhibitor is Aviall Inc., a giant aviation-parts distributor owned partly by the
Carlyle Group, in which the Bush family possesses a substantial interest
through former President George H. W. Bush. Not much new there. This
would be the same Carlyle Group formerly associated with Saudi Arabia’s
giant industrial complex, the Bin Laden Group.
Mr. Limbaugh, I know what you may say: These corporate networks are so
intertwined in our lives that no person, even equipped with a conscience, can
avoid entanglement. You may point out that even Clear Channel, the
communications behemoth whose hundreds of radio stations proudly
advertise your talk show, does multimillion-dollar business in France
annually. Clear Channel itself, you will say, which banned the Dixie Chicks’
songs on its channels, has radio hosts boosting I-hate-France Web sites and
puts you and your boycott on the airwaves, has live entertainment venues in
France, and recently won a 12-year, $35 million advertising contract in
France. The company owns French subsidiaries
(www.clearchannel.ie/ccworldwide.htm) that, in turn, do business with French
performers, distributors and sponsors. In fact, Clear Channel does enough
French business yearly to buy almost any of the small towns over which your
program broadcasts.
Clear Channel also owns six radio stations in Richmond, Va., including
WRVA-AM (1140), home of host Michael Graham — yes, the same Michael
Graham who vilified the Byrd Theatre for flying the French flag during VCU’s
French Film Festival and encouraged Richmonders to complain. (“Now, the
two largest flags flying in Carytown are both French!”) Now might be a good
time to call Graham and remind him that his employer does more business
in France than the theater does.
Mr. Limbaugh, I have a promise for you: If you will demand through your
outlets that the public boycott Clear Channel, I shall willingly give credit
where credit is due. I will fully and fairly disclose, if someone tells me about
it, that you went beyond your immediate self-interest, to take a position on
grounds of conscience. I shall even join with you in calling for the boycott.
Best of luck to you in every good thing.
Sincerely, Margie Burns
Margie Burns is a freelance writer in D.C. and she teaches in the English
department at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
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