At the radio star Elton John performed Rush Limbaugh and Kathryn Rogers last Saturday. Significant controversy surrounds the fact that the openly gay John serenaded the openly conservative Limbaugh. But a hush greeted John's current adventure in Islamofascist homophobia.
Elton John's appearance reportedly earned him $1 million. Such fees routinely underwrite an excellent cause: the Elton John AIDS Foundation. But the newlyweds barely had begun honeymooning before the hue and cry erupted:
"We're experiencing greed, a lot of greed, and people doing things for money," Joy Behar noted on June 7's "The View." "I wonder if it would be OK with everybody if Elton or somebody had gone down to perform during apartheid South Africa, you know, or the Ku Klux Klan, if they had a lot of money."
Yes, Limbaugh opposes same-sex marriage and has said obnoxious things about gay people. Yet Zev Chafets, author of Limbaugh biography "An Army of One," noted on WSJ.com: "In an interview last summer, (Limbaugh) told me that he regards homosexuality as most likely determined by biology, considers other people's sex lives to be none of his business, and supports gay civil unions."
John, 63, also favors civil unions rather than gay nuptials. "Heterosexual people get married," he told USA Today in November 2008. "We can have civil partnerships." Since 2005, John has been civil partners with David Furnish, 47.
Compared to today's clamor, the whole world was napping as John faced not a seven-figure check, but rejection when he tried to play a private May 18 concert in Egypt.
"How do we allow a homosexual, who wants to ban religions, claimed that the prophet Issa (Jesus) was gay, and calls for Middle Eastern countries to allow gays to have sexual freedom?" huffed Mounir al-Wasimi, boss of the Egyptian Musician Union. He then scotched the gig by John, whom he called "a symbol of homosexuals in the world." (For his part, John told Parade Magazine last February: "Try being a gay woman in the Middle East. You're as good as dead.")
Contrast the publicity these two situations generated. Cairo incident during the first week, the words "Elton John," "Egypt," and "concert" yielded just 18 mentions in Nexis's news database. Meanwhile, during the equivalent period, "Elton John" and "Limbaugh" produced 87 references, or roughly five times as much. Respective Google hits are 139,000 and 705,000, also reflecting a five-to-one rage ratio between these two events.
The moral of this story? Liberals will tread more lightly on a homophobic, concert canceling Islamic fundamentalist than a conservative broadcaster who recognizes and rewards talent when he hears it, even when that Academy Award winning musician happens to be gay.
Elton John's appearance reportedly earned him $1 million. Such fees routinely underwrite an excellent cause: the Elton John AIDS Foundation. But the newlyweds barely had begun honeymooning before the hue and cry erupted:
"We're experiencing greed, a lot of greed, and people doing things for money," Joy Behar noted on June 7's "The View." "I wonder if it would be OK with everybody if Elton or somebody had gone down to perform during apartheid South Africa, you know, or the Ku Klux Klan, if they had a lot of money."
Yes, Limbaugh opposes same-sex marriage and has said obnoxious things about gay people. Yet Zev Chafets, author of Limbaugh biography "An Army of One," noted on WSJ.com: "In an interview last summer, (Limbaugh) told me that he regards homosexuality as most likely determined by biology, considers other people's sex lives to be none of his business, and supports gay civil unions."
John, 63, also favors civil unions rather than gay nuptials. "Heterosexual people get married," he told USA Today in November 2008. "We can have civil partnerships." Since 2005, John has been civil partners with David Furnish, 47.
Compared to today's clamor, the whole world was napping as John faced not a seven-figure check, but rejection when he tried to play a private May 18 concert in Egypt.
"How do we allow a homosexual, who wants to ban religions, claimed that the prophet Issa (Jesus) was gay, and calls for Middle Eastern countries to allow gays to have sexual freedom?" huffed Mounir al-Wasimi, boss of the Egyptian Musician Union. He then scotched the gig by John, whom he called "a symbol of homosexuals in the world." (For his part, John told Parade Magazine last February: "Try being a gay woman in the Middle East. You're as good as dead.")
Contrast the publicity these two situations generated. Cairo incident during the first week, the words "Elton John," "Egypt," and "concert" yielded just 18 mentions in Nexis's news database. Meanwhile, during the equivalent period, "Elton John" and "Limbaugh" produced 87 references, or roughly five times as much. Respective Google hits are 139,000 and 705,000, also reflecting a five-to-one rage ratio between these two events.
The moral of this story? Liberals will tread more lightly on a homophobic, concert canceling Islamic fundamentalist than a conservative broadcaster who recognizes and rewards talent when he hears it, even when that Academy Award winning musician happens to be gay.
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