A Pork Lover on the Term “Pig Flu”

RUSH: Randy, Toledo, Ohio, thanks for waiting. You’re next on the EIB Network. Hello.

CALLER: Hi, Rush. It’s a pleasure. I’m actually in Toledo, Illinois.

RUSH: Sorry, you’re right, I misread that, I didn’t have my specs on.

CALLER: It happens a lot. People don’t know there’s actually a Toledo, Illinois.

RUSH: Now, our call screener finds the Syracuse, Indianas, the Peoria, Arizonas. I never heard of these places, and I didn’t know that Illinois had a Toledo.

CALLER: Well, it’s about 1,300 people, so I can understand why.

RUSH: Well, I’m glad you called.

CALLER: Well, the reason I called is because my family is supported by the pork industry. Very little right now, because of the situation, and I have to bring up something. I listen to you daily, on a daily basis. We just have talk radio here, and I just got here recently in the last six months, and I love the fact that you’re on. You are such a fresh breath of air for this area that we definitely needed considering we get most of our talk radio out of WLS in Chicago. But where I have to take a little bit of, you know, umbrage with you is on the fact that you’re always saying pig flu and swine flu.

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: And I know why you say it because that’s the way it’s propagandized —

RUSH: No, it’s really not. I know it’s N1H1. I just, as a professional highly trained broadcast specialist, I just like the way ‘pig flu’ sounds.

CALLER: It does roll off the tongue very well I will admit that but, you know, there are many people — I really truly believe there’s a lot of educated people that listen to your program mostly —

RUSH: I know and you’re worried that they think they’re going to get this N1H1 if they eat some bacon or a pork chop.

CALLER: Exactly.

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: When I talked to your screener he’s like I know that chicken is up and beef is up as far as sales and pork is down and the pork dollars are down, and it’s so funny that whenever it’s something bad within our history they always talk about pigs and pork and swine, you know, we talk about the Porkulus package that you talked about and all those things —

RUSH: Now, wait a second, you’re taking it a little too personally, but I grant you, I grant you it could be damaging to refer to the N1H1 as the pig flu. I will do my best. A habit has started here so I may slip up a couple more times. I’ll do my best to refrain in the future.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I agree that pig flu is probably over the top. I can get away with swine flu. I mean, the only people who aren’t going to understand that are the people in Rio Linda and Port St. Lucie. When you say ‘swine,’ people in Rio Linda and Port St. Lucie think that you’re talking about their spouse, and they could get swine flu from their spouse. You do have to have personal contact out there.