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Thread started 05/20/07 9:00am

RZR

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Dr. Laura's son's myspace page

And all this time, I was just hoping he'd turn out gay as some sort of karma. This is WAY better! falloff


from the Salt Lake Tribune

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5934072


Dr. Laura son linked to lurid Web page
Site contained violent, sex-oriented images one official called 'repulsive'
By Matthew D. LaPlante
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 05/19/2007 12:15:45 AM MDT


Dr. Laura
May 19:
Reader Advocate: Dr. Laura fans take issue with story on SLC eventThe soldier son of talk radio relationship counselor Laura Schlessinger is under investigation for a graphic personal Web page that one Army official has called "repulsive."
The MySpace page, publicly available until Friday when it disappeared from the Internet, included cartoon depictions of rape, murder, torture and child molestation; photographs of soldiers with guns in their mouths; a photograph of a bound and blindfolded detainee captioned "My Sweet Little Habib"; accounts of illicit drug use; and a blog entry headlined by a series of obscenities and racial epithets.
The site is credited to and includes many photographs of Deryk Schlessinger, the 21-year-old son of the talk radio personality known simply as Dr. Laura. Broadcast locally on 570 KNRS, "Family Values Talk Radio," the former family counselor spends three hours daily taking calls and offering advice on morals, ethics and values. She broadcast a show from Fort Douglas, in Salt Lake City, last week.
Military leaders have long grappled with how to balance positive publicity and operational security with technological opportunities for troops to tell their personal stories.
The Pentagon last week shut down access to a variety of video-sharing and social networking Internet sites, including MySpace, on its computer systems worldwide. Officials said the change was made to enhance security and protect a strained bandwidth, but critics worried that it might close a public window into the lives of deployed U.S. troops, some of which can be raw, frightening, violent and revealing.
"Yes . . . F---ING Yes!!!" said one blog entry on the Schlessinger site. "I LOVE MY JOB, it takes everything reckless and deviant and heathenistic and just overall bad about me and hyper focuses these traits into my job of running around this horrid place doing nasty things to people that deserve it . . . and some that don't."
Deryk Schlessinger joined the Army in 2004, telling a crowd of Santa Barbara, Calif., Army reservists gathered for an appearance by his mother that he resented the way Americans criticize the war without recognizing soldiers' sacrifices.
"Real people were fighting, and I wanted to be part of that," the younger Schlessinger said, according to The Associated Press.
Since Deryk Schlessinger deployed earlier this year, his mother's talk show increasingly has been focused on the battles being waged in Iraq and Afghanistan and the wars' effects on families back home. Meanwhile, the radio host has taken to referring to herself as "the proud mother of a deployed American paratrooper" and speaks frequently about her soldier son before military audiences nationwide.
Deryk Schlessinger did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment from The Tribune.
Mike Paul, spokesman for Laura Schlessinger, released a statement which said, in part, "We hope all news media outlets will respect his privacy for his safety and the safety of those serving with him." In an interview with The Tribune, Paul suggested that the page could be a fake.
That was a contention echoed by Army spokesman Robert Tallman, who said "it may be possible that our enemies are actually behind this.
"Our enemies are adaptive, technologically sophisticated, and truly understand the importance of the information battlespace," Tallman continued. "Sadly, they will use that space to promulgate and disseminate untrue propaganda."
MySpace is an online social network in which users link pages together through like interests and shared friendships. The Deryk Schlessinger page included nearly a dozen "friends," including a number of soldiers in Afghanistan, several of whom were linked back to Schlessinger's page and some of whom had additional photos of, and comments from, Schlessinger on their sites.
Deryk Schlessinger's Web site indicated the 21-year-old soldier is stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where, the site's author writes, "godless crazy people like me," have become "a generation of apathetic killers."
The site indicated Schlessinger's team has survived numerous mortar, rocket and roadside bomb attacks. It also included several graphic cartoons. In one of the stick drawings, a top-hatted man laughs as he rapes a bound and bleeding woman in front of her family. In another depiction, a man forces a boy to perform oral sex at knifepoint as the child's mother pleads for her son's life.
It's unclear who created the cartoons, but Army spokesman Robert Tallman said the drawings "are repulsive and not anywhere near being acceptable," for a soldier's personal Web page.
The Tribune learned of the Web page earlier this week from a former schoolmate of Deryk Schlessinger. Army officials said they were unaware of the site until alerted to its presence by the newspaper Thursday.
David Accetta, public affairs director for the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan, said the Army "will investigate thoroughly and impartially."
In an e-mail to 82nd commanders, Accetta asked to see "how the site is being administered and if we can shut it down." By Friday morning the site was offline, but officials didn't immediately respond to questions about who took it down.
Accetta said the pictures and writings he reviewed from the site were inconsistent with the values of Army special forces soldiers.
J.P. Borda, who administers an online index of thousands of personal military Web pages, said military guidelines and common decency are respected by "the overwhelming majority of military bloggers in Iraq and Afghanistan."
"There are a few bad apples and they have soured the whole bunch," said Borda, who began his site - www.milblogging.com - during his first tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2004.
Laura Schlessinger's appearance in Utah last week included a visit with Army families at Fort Douglas. In an interview with The Tribune, she said, "We raised our son to be a warrior."
After her Utah visit, Schlessinger received criticism for telling The Tribune that she didn't want to hear the complaints of military wives whose husbands are deployed. "He could come back without arms, legs or eyeballs, and you're bitching?" Schlessinger said. "You're not dodging bullets, so I don't want to hear any whining."
Schlessinger later wrote on her Web site - www.drlaura.com - that she was trying to communicate her belief that military spouses shouldn't complain to war-deployed family members, who have more pressing concerns. "I never whine to my son when he is able to call between missions," she wrote.
mlaplante@sltrib.com
[Edited 5/20/07 9:12am]
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
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Reply #1 posted 05/20/07 9:07am

SlamGlam

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why do get pleasure out of things like this? that seems to be a symptom of some issues. i see the irony but to be happy over this is twisted and sick.
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Reply #2 posted 05/20/07 9:09am

jerseykrs

did anyone see those nude pics of her?

barf
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Reply #3 posted 05/20/07 9:12am

SlamGlam

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jerseykrs said:

did anyone see those nude pics of her?

barf



of Dr Laura? oh lord... that has to be a sign of the apocalypse
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Reply #4 posted 05/20/07 9:13am

RZR

avatar

SlamGlam said:

why do get pleasure out of things like this? that seems to be a symptom of some issues. i see the irony but to be happy over this is twisted and sick.



rolleyes
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
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Reply #5 posted 05/20/07 9:15am

SlamGlam

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RZR said:



rolleyes


roll your eyes... it is a SICKNISS to be happy over something like this. why? because his mom is a crazy bitch? so her SON's problems become a joke for people that are just as hateful as dr Laura.... you should be ashamed...you need help.
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Reply #6 posted 05/20/07 9:30am

RZR

avatar

SlamGlam said:

RZR said:



rolleyes


roll your eyes... it is a SICKNISS to be happy over something like this. why? because his mom is a crazy bitch? so her SON's problems become a joke for people that are just as hateful as dr Laura.... you should be ashamed...you need help.



oh, i'm very, very ashamed. help me! i'm sick! bawl
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
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Reply #7 posted 05/20/07 9:39am

CynthiasSocks

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Fuck Laura Schlessinger- what was her catch line? "my kid's mom" She shoulda spent more time being a mom and less time being an asshole.
Socks still got butt like a leather seat...
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Reply #8 posted 05/20/07 9:41am

jerseykrs

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Reply #9 posted 05/20/07 9:42am

CynthiasSocks

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Listen To Her Preach, Teach & Nag!

"I'm a cunt."
Socks still got butt like a leather seat...
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Reply #10 posted 05/20/07 9:44am

CynthiasSocks

avatar

jerseykrs said:



This coming from a gay man- a true lady should never have a man's bush!
Socks still got butt like a leather seat...
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Reply #11 posted 05/20/07 9:45am

SlamGlam

avatar

CynthiasSocks said:

Fuck Laura Schlessinger- what was her catch line? "my kid's mom" She shoulda spent more time being a mom and less time being an asshole.



yeah but to extend that hate to her kids that jesus can not help but be messed up... i heard about a hour of her show 10 years or so ago and i am still scared.... what i am getting at...leave the kid alone. it is his fault his his mothers son...
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Reply #12 posted 05/20/07 9:47am

SlamGlam

avatar

CynthiasSocks said:

Listen To Her Preach, Teach & Nag!

"I'm a cunt."



what is creepy is this doll is 100% anatomically correct... no Ve-jay-jay, no heart, no brain ALL MOUTH.
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Reply #13 posted 05/20/07 9:49am

jerseykrs

CynthiasSocks said:

jerseykrs said:



This coming from a gay man- a true lady should never have a man's bush!



lol
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Reply #14 posted 05/20/07 10:16am

CynthiasSocks

avatar

SlamGlam said:

CynthiasSocks said:

Fuck Laura Schlessinger- what was her catch line? "my kid's mom" She shoulda spent more time being a mom and less time being an asshole.



yeah but to extend that hate to her kids that jesus can not help but be messed up... i heard about a hour of her show 10 years or so ago and i am still scared.... what i am getting at...leave the kid alone. it is his fault his his mothers son...


What I said was directed towards my hate of her. We all know that adult children choose their own path, so I don't really think it's all on her- but she did shape him.


And what the fuck confuse were you trying to say!?
Socks still got butt like a leather seat...
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Reply #15 posted 05/20/07 10:17am

CynthiasSocks

avatar

SlamGlam said:

CynthiasSocks said:

Listen To Her Preach, Teach & Nag!

"I'm a cunt."



what is creepy is this doll is 100% anatomically correct... no Ve-jay-jay, no heart, no brain ALL MOUTH.


spit falloff
Socks still got butt like a leather seat...
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Reply #16 posted 05/20/07 10:18am

CynthiasSocks

avatar

jerseykrs said:

CynthiasSocks said:



This coming from a gay man- a true lady should never have a man's bush!



lol


Sure I'm right! Nasty bitch has more bush than me and I don't trim!
Socks still got butt like a leather seat...
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Reply #17 posted 05/20/07 10:21am

RZR

avatar

SlamGlam said:

CynthiasSocks said:

Fuck Laura Schlessinger- what was her catch line? "my kid's mom" She shoulda spent more time being a mom and less time being an asshole.



yeah but to extend that hate to her kids that jesus can not help but be messed up... i heard about a hour of her show 10 years or so ago and i am still scared.... what i am getting at...leave the kid alone. it is his fault his his mothers son...



he's not a kid. he's a grown man.
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
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Reply #18 posted 05/20/07 10:32am

uPtoWnNY

CynthiasSocks said:

Fuck Laura Schlessinger- what was her catch line? "my kid's mom" She shoulda spent more time being a mom and less time being an asshole.


Co-sign. Not enough bad things can happen to that b!tch.
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Reply #19 posted 05/20/07 10:36am

SlamGlam

avatar

uPtoWnNY said:

CynthiasSocks said:

Fuck Laura Schlessinger- what was her catch line? "my kid's mom" She shoulda spent more time being a mom and less time being an asshole.


Co-sign. Not enough bad things can happen to that b!tch.



do you extend that to her kids?
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Reply #20 posted 05/20/07 10:37am

SlamGlam

avatar

RZR said:

SlamGlam said:




yeah but to extend that hate to her kids that jesus can not help but be messed up... i heard about a hour of her show 10 years or so ago and i am still scared.... what i am getting at...leave the kid alone. it is his fault his his mothers son...



he's not a kid. he's a grown man.



so if your kids end up doing somthing stupid can i make fun of them?
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Reply #21 posted 05/20/07 10:52am

CynthiasSocks

avatar

SlamGlam said:

RZR said:




he's not a kid. he's a grown man.



so if your kids end up doing somthing stupid can i make fun of them?


Sure!

We've all done stupid shit, we all will continue to do so- but it's the ones who hold themselves above others, when they fail it's oh so sweet. I don't think the focus is on her son- it isn't for me, it's the fact that she's so damn moral and can do no wrong and her kid grew up and bitch slapped her idea of perfection.
Socks still got butt like a leather seat...
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Reply #22 posted 05/20/07 10:56am

RZR

avatar

SlamGlam said:

RZR said:




he's not a kid. he's a grown man.



so if your kids end up doing somthing stupid can i make fun of them?




again, he is not a kid. he's a grown man.
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
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Reply #23 posted 05/20/07 10:59am

RZR

avatar

CynthiasSocks said:

SlamGlam said:




so if your kids end up doing somthing stupid can i make fun of them?


Sure!

We've all done stupid shit, we all will continue to do so- but it's the ones who hold themselves above others, when they fail it's oh so sweet. I don't think the focus is on her son- it isn't for me, it's the fact that she's so damn moral and can do no wrong and her kid grew up and bitch slapped her idea of perfection.




here's something i found. it's a very early, archived version of the wikipedia entry on her. it's the "controversies" section of her entry. and it is actually very well researched from the dr. laura usenet newsgroup. http://en.wikipedia.org/w...id=1718173

i LOVE LOVE LOVE the last line.


Controversies and Scandals
What started as a straightfoward, tough-talking advice show began to move into conservative political radio within two years of national syndication. The Dr. Laura Show went national in 1994. By 1996, Schlessinger began her list to the right, first by denouncing abortion and then taking a stronger position against working mothers. What was advice became a lecture, and then condemnation. Former supporters noticed her show became a forum for bashing feminists, day care, and eventually all women. Atheists and others of liberal religions, such as Unitarians and Wiccans were also insulted.

This "new attitude" (her show opens with the Patti LaBelle disco tune) came with Schlessinger's embrace of Judaism, first Conservative, then Orthodox. Her religious journey got off to a rocky start when she began speaking to Jewish groups. A speech to the Dallas Jewish Women's Federation led to a contretemps when Schlessinger rejected taxis, hotel rooms, and meals provided by her hosts, spoke unpleasantly to the dinner guests, then walked out ignoring her hosts and their gifts. After Maryln Schwartz, a Dallas Morning News columnist, reported on the bad behavior, Schlessinger became extremely upset on her show when reacting to the column, and began attacking all journalists. Schwartz replied with another column, which in turn inflamed Schlessinger. Angry references to the events in Dallas and the columns continued for many months and Schlessinger referred to Schwartz as "that terrible woman" in a subsequent interview (scroll down for it) in the LA Times Magazine. This "Dallas incident" was not the first time Schlessinger reacted badly to being critiqued, as she took offense at radio host Pat Thurston in 1995. Nor would it be the last, as Schlessinger next attacked Minnesota columnist Kristine Holmgren for her view of working-mom-bashing.

In September, 1997, Jacor paid $71 million for the Dr. Laura show, bought from a partnership between Schlessinger and John Shanahan, who distributed Hooked on Phonics. Schlessinger never informed her viewers of her financial relationship with Shanahan when praising the product. Her son, Deryk, recorded an on-air ad for Hooked on Phonics. Many on the conservative right embrace the phonics movement. Hooked on Phonics is also marketed on the Rush Limbaugh radio show. Jacor merged with Clear Channel in May, 1999.

In 1998, major embarassment struck Schlessinger. Well-positioned as a nationally-known moral arbiter who "preaches, teaches, and nags," naked pictures of her were posted on the Internet. At first she denied that she was the woman in the photographs, but two weeks later she sued for copyright infringement. Schlessinger's suit was ultimately dropped (search for Schlessinger to find article) when she failed to get an injunction against IEG to stop displaying the photos. The pictures were released by ex-lover Bill Ballance, who gave Schlessinger her start in the radio business in 1974.

Also in late 1998, Schlessinger ceased taking calls from gays. She began making controversial remarks, calling them "biological errors" and saying they should not adopt children. These comments continued until late 2001, when Schlessinger stopped mentioning the subject of homosexuality at all.

In July 1999, Schlessinger attacked an Orange County, California retail store, Beach Access, because they sold Big Brother, a skateboarding magazine published by Larry Flynt. Flynt earlier that year had purchased the infamous pictures of a young, disrobed Schlessinger for publication in Hustler, a porn magazine. Schlessinger claimed that Big Brother was Hustler magazine with a skateboarding cover stapled on, and encouraged her callers to voice their displeasure directly to the store. Schlessinger provided the telephone number and the name of the assistant manager who would not remove the skateboarding magazine. When the store owner disputed Schlessinger's version of events on the Howard Stern show, Schlessinger sued. Her lawsuit was dismissed as a SLAPP suit, use of the legal system to restrain public speech. Beach Access's owner received a settlement estimated in the low six figures.

In November, Schlessinger attacked an award-winning essay written by an eighth-grade girl, that favored free speech on the Internet. Still reacting to her pictures on the Internet, Schlessinger stated on national radio: "If she was my daughter, I’d probably put her up for adoption...Poor Sara doesn’t get it. When she makes her marriage vows and her husband has sex with everybody else, let’s see if she thinks that this philosophy works." Schlessinger suggested sacrificing the child, Inca-style and refused to apologize when reached by the Connecticut Attorney General.

In Spring 2000, Schlessinger signed a deal with Paramount to do a television program. Thousands complained to announced sponsors, who dropped support of the show, and a website, Stop Dr. Laura, came online to protest. It is not clear if the show failed because of or in spite of the website, but critical reviews were uniformly negative. The show was cancelled in March 2001 due to poor audience ratings. The complaints and the website stemmed from Schlessingers negative comments about gays, yet the television show avoided controversy while the radio show embraced it. This may be the real reason the latter is still in production.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) ruled that the Dr. Laura (radio) show violated that nation's broadcasting ethics code because her anti-homosexual remarks could lead to violence. Over the next year, all Canadian stations dropped the show.

In October 2000, Schlessinger paid for a full-page ad in the Gay Hollywood issue of Variety, that presented itself as a Yom Kippur apology for previous negative remarks. Few in the gay community felt it was sincere, mindful of a March 2000 apology she made to them that she retracted five days later.

In May, 2001, Schlessinger advised a caller not to let a boy with Tourette's Syndrome attend a wedding, angering many with the syndrome or who cared for TS children. Schlessinger compounded her mistake by defending her advice and referring to a 20-year-old textbook which recommended medication. This enraged the National Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA), whose members deluged her show's parent company, Premiere Radio Networks, with angry calls and faxes. Within a week Schlessinger read an on-air apology that again did not satisfy those who criticized her.

After September 11th, 2001, Schlessinger attempted to steer the show more toward politics than advice. Ratings dropped. At the height of the show's success, The Dr. Laura Show was heard on more than 450 stations. Today there are fewer than 250, and many stations either carry fewer than 3 hours or no longer carry the show live. By contrast, the Rush Limbaugh show continues to be heard on more than 600 radio stations.

In December, 2002, Schlessinger's mother Yolanda was found dead in her condominium, apparantly dead for months. The lurid story stayed in the headlines because of a suspicion of murder. Controversy arose because of Schlessinger's previous advice to callers telling them to "honor thy father and mother" contrasted with her not knowing her own mother had died months ago. Some felt Schlessinger handled the situation poorly, making statements that disrespected her mother, who could no longer defend herself. Others noted that after Yolanda's death, Schlessinger became harsher with advice on handling callers' mothers. Several months later, the death was ruled from natural causes.

In June, 2003, Laura Schlessinger announced on her show that she was no longer an Orthodox Jew. In a series of monologues over the next month, she explained that she did not feel a connection with God and felt frustrated by the effort she had put into following the religion. She also mentioned envying the relationship with God described by her Christian fans. However, in early spring of 2003, she took up sailing and sailboat racing at the Santa Barbara Yacht Club. Several posters at the Usenet newsgroup alt.radio.talk.dr-laura noted that some races she had entered took place on Saturday, which is the Jewish Sabbath, a clear violation of Jewish law. With more and more posters soliciting opinions from Orthodox rabbis, it was only a matter of time before Schlessinger would have to choose between sailing or remaining an Orthodox Jew.

She chose sailing, becoming a member of SBYC in July, 2003. According to their newsletter, Schlessinger owns four sailboats.




btw, i love listening to her show. her advice is the perfect cross between obvious common sense and train wreck.
[Edited 5/20/07 10:59am]
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #24 posted 05/20/07 11:08am

CynthiasSocks

avatar

RZR said:[quote]

CynthiasSocks said:





here's something i found. it's a very early, archived version of the wikipedia entry on her. it's the "controversies" section of her entry. and it is actually very well researched from the dr. laura usenet newsgroup. http://en.wikipedia.org/w...id=1718173

i LOVE LOVE LOVE the last line.


Controversies and Scandals
What started as a straightfoward, tough-talking advice show began to move into conservative political radio within two years of national syndication. The Dr. Laura Show went national in 1994. By 1996, Schlessinger began her list to the right, first by denouncing abortion and then taking a stronger position against working mothers. What was advice became a lecture, and then condemnation. Former supporters noticed her show became a forum for bashing feminists, day care, and eventually all women. Atheists and others of liberal religions, such as Unitarians and Wiccans were also insulted.

This "new attitude" (her show opens with the Patti LaBelle disco tune) came with Schlessinger's embrace of Judaism, first Conservative, then Orthodox. Her religious journey got off to a rocky start when she began speaking to Jewish groups. A speech to the Dallas Jewish Women's Federation led to a contretemps when Schlessinger rejected taxis, hotel rooms, and meals provided by her hosts, spoke unpleasantly to the dinner guests, then walked out ignoring her hosts and their gifts. After Maryln Schwartz, a Dallas Morning News columnist, reported on the bad behavior, Schlessinger became extremely upset on her show when reacting to the column, and began attacking all journalists. Schwartz replied with another column, which in turn inflamed Schlessinger. Angry references to the events in Dallas and the columns continued for many months and Schlessinger referred to Schwartz as "that terrible woman" in a subsequent interview (scroll down for it) in the LA Times Magazine. This "Dallas incident" was not the first time Schlessinger reacted badly to being critiqued, as she took offense at radio host Pat Thurston in 1995. Nor would it be the last, as Schlessinger next attacked Minnesota columnist Kristine Holmgren for her view of working-mom-bashing.

In September, 1997, Jacor paid $71 million for the Dr. Laura show, bought from a partnership between Schlessinger and John Shanahan, who distributed Hooked on Phonics. Schlessinger never informed her viewers of her financial relationship with Shanahan when praising the product. Her son, Deryk, recorded an on-air ad for Hooked on Phonics. Many on the conservative right embrace the phonics movement. Hooked on Phonics is also marketed on the Rush Limbaugh radio show. Jacor merged with Clear Channel in May, 1999.

In 1998, major embarassment struck Schlessinger. Well-positioned as a nationally-known moral arbiter who "preaches, teaches, and nags," naked pictures of her were posted on the Internet. At first she denied that she was the woman in the photographs, but two weeks later she sued for copyright infringement. Schlessinger's suit was ultimately dropped (search for Schlessinger to find article) when she failed to get an injunction against IEG to stop displaying the photos. The pictures were released by ex-lover Bill Ballance, who gave Schlessinger her start in the radio business in 1974.

Also in late 1998, Schlessinger ceased taking calls from gays. She began making controversial remarks, calling them "biological errors" and saying they should not adopt children. These comments continued until late 2001, when Schlessinger stopped mentioning the subject of homosexuality at all.

In July 1999, Schlessinger attacked an Orange County, California retail store, Beach Access, because they sold Big Brother, a skateboarding magazine published by Larry Flynt. Flynt earlier that year had purchased the infamous pictures of a young, disrobed Schlessinger for publication in Hustler, a porn magazine. Schlessinger claimed that Big Brother was Hustler magazine with a skateboarding cover stapled on, and encouraged her callers to voice their displeasure directly to the store. Schlessinger provided the telephone number and the name of the assistant manager who would not remove the skateboarding magazine. When the store owner disputed Schlessinger's version of events on the Howard Stern show, Schlessinger sued. Her lawsuit was dismissed as a SLAPP suit, use of the legal system to restrain public speech. Beach Access's owner received a settlement estimated in the low six figures.

In November, Schlessinger attacked an award-winning essay written by an eighth-grade girl, that favored free speech on the Internet. Still reacting to her pictures on the Internet, Schlessinger stated on national radio: "If she was my daughter, I’d probably put her up for adoption...Poor Sara doesn’t get it. When she makes her marriage vows and her husband has sex with everybody else, let’s see if she thinks that this philosophy works." Schlessinger suggested sacrificing the child, Inca-style and refused to apologize when reached by the Connecticut Attorney General.

In Spring 2000, Schlessinger signed a deal with Paramount to do a television program. Thousands complained to announced sponsors, who dropped support of the show, and a website, Stop Dr. Laura, came online to protest. It is not clear if the show failed because of or in spite of the website, but critical reviews were uniformly negative. The show was cancelled in March 2001 due to poor audience ratings. The complaints and the website stemmed from Schlessingers negative comments about gays, yet the television show avoided controversy while the radio show embraced it. This may be the real reason the latter is still in production.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) ruled that the Dr. Laura (radio) show violated that nation's broadcasting ethics code because her anti-homosexual remarks could lead to violence. Over the next year, all Canadian stations dropped the show.

In October 2000, Schlessinger paid for a full-page ad in the Gay Hollywood issue of Variety, that presented itself as a Yom Kippur apology for previous negative remarks. Few in the gay community felt it was sincere, mindful of a March 2000 apology she made to them that she retracted five days later.

In May, 2001, Schlessinger advised a caller not to let a boy with Tourette's Syndrome attend a wedding, angering many with the syndrome or who cared for TS children. Schlessinger compounded her mistake by defending her advice and referring to a 20-year-old textbook which recommended medication. This enraged the National Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA), whose members deluged her show's parent company, Premiere Radio Networks, with angry calls and faxes. Within a week Schlessinger read an on-air apology that again did not satisfy those who criticized her.

After September 11th, 2001, Schlessinger attempted to steer the show more toward politics than advice. Ratings dropped. At the height of the show's success, The Dr. Laura Show was heard on more than 450 stations. Today there are fewer than 250, and many stations either carry fewer than 3 hours or no longer carry the show live. By contrast, the Rush Limbaugh show continues to be heard on more than 600 radio stations.

In December, 2002, Schlessinger's mother Yolanda was found dead in her condominium, apparantly dead for months. The lurid story stayed in the headlines because of a suspicion of murder. Controversy arose because of Schlessinger's previous advice to callers telling them to "honor thy father and mother" contrasted with her not knowing her own mother had died months ago. Some felt Schlessinger handled the situation poorly, making statements that disrespected her mother, who could no longer defend herself. Others noted that after Yolanda's death, Schlessinger became harsher with advice on handling callers' mothers. Several months later, the death was ruled from natural causes.

In June, 2003, Laura Schlessinger announced on her show that she was no longer an Orthodox Jew. In a series of monologues over the next month, she explained that she did not feel a connection with God and felt frustrated by the effort she had put into following the religion. She also mentioned envying the relationship with God described by her Christian fans. However, in early spring of 2003, she took up sailing and sailboat racing at the Santa Barbara Yacht Club. Several posters at the Usenet newsgroup alt.radio.talk.dr-laura noted that some races she had entered took place on Saturday, which is the Jewish Sabbath, a clear violation of Jewish law. With more and more posters soliciting opinions from Orthodox rabbis, it was only a matter of time before Schlessinger would have to choose between sailing or remaining an Orthodox Jew.

She chose sailing, becoming a member of SBYC in July, 2003. According to their newsletter, Schlessinger owns four sailboats.




btw, i love listening to her show. her advice is the perfect cross between obvious common sense and train wreck.
[Edited 5/20/07 10:59am]



She chose sailing! falloff Over the lord rolleyes don't they all...

Yes her show (I was forced to listen to it about 10-12 years ago at work) was a cross between common sense and a train wreck. I looked forward to her show at the start but the more I listened the more I started disliking her.
Socks still got butt like a leather seat...
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Reply #25 posted 05/20/07 11:13am

RZR

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CynthiasSocks said:

RZR said:





btw, i love listening to her show. her advice is the perfect cross between obvious common sense and train wreck.
[Edited 5/20/07 10:59am]



She chose sailing! falloff Over the lord rolleyes don't they all...

Yes her show (I was forced to listen to it about 10-12 years ago at work) was a cross between common sense and a train wreck. I looked forward to her show at the start but the more I listened the more I started disliking her.



yeah, i don't listen to her on a daily basis like i used to in, say, 1996 or 1998, but only when i happen to catch it when i'm in the car. it's on in the evenings here. i do still enjoy it.


a guy in radio once told me "This show is hot now, but if something serious ever happens in this country, it'll take a huge tumble." and he was right. 9/11 was pretty much the turnaround from her ratings peak. She got dumped out of her live timselot, if not dropped completely, from most of the bigger talk stations almost immediately.
[Edited 5/20/07 11:14am]
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
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Reply #26 posted 05/20/07 11:18am

CynthiasSocks

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RZR said:

CynthiasSocks said:




She chose sailing! falloff Over the lord rolleyes don't they all...

Yes her show (I was forced to listen to it about 10-12 years ago at work) was a cross between common sense and a train wreck. I looked forward to her show at the start but the more I listened the more I started disliking her.



yeah, i don't listen to her on a daily basis like i used to in, say, 1996 or 1998, but only when i happen to catch it when i'm in the car. it's on in the evenings here. i do still enjoy it.


a guy in radio once told me "This show is hot now, but if something serious ever happens in this country, it'll take a huge tumble." and he was right. 9/11 was pretty much the turnaround from her ratings peak. She got dumped out of her live timselot, if not dropped completely, from most of the bigger talk stations almost immediately.
[Edited 5/20/07 11:14am]



There's no way in hell I'd give her a second of my time today (yet here I am bashing her! LOL!!!). She's rich, she can live out the rest of her life care free... well, except her issues within her family. But don't we all have those?
Socks still got butt like a leather seat...
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Reply #27 posted 05/20/07 11:22am

RZR

avatar

CynthiasSocks said:

RZR said:




yeah, i don't listen to her on a daily basis like i used to in, say, 1996 or 1998, but only when i happen to catch it when i'm in the car. it's on in the evenings here. i do still enjoy it.


a guy in radio once told me "This show is hot now, but if something serious ever happens in this country, it'll take a huge tumble." and he was right. 9/11 was pretty much the turnaround from her ratings peak. She got dumped out of her live timselot, if not dropped completely, from most of the bigger talk stations almost immediately.
[Edited 5/20/07 11:14am]



There's no way in hell I'd give her a second of my time today (yet here I am bashing her! LOL!!!). She's rich, she can live out the rest of her life care free... well, except her issues within her family. But don't we all have those?



I wonder who these people are that call into her show for serious psychological advice from a person whose degree makes her qualified to be... what, a gym teacher?
[Edited 5/20/07 11:22am]
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
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Reply #28 posted 05/20/07 11:27am

CynthiasSocks

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RZR said:

CynthiasSocks said:




There's no way in hell I'd give her a second of my time today (yet here I am bashing her! LOL!!!). She's rich, she can live out the rest of her life care free... well, except her issues within her family. But don't we all have those?



I wonder who these people are that call into her show for serious psychological advice from a person whose degree makes her qualified to be... what, a gym teacher?
[Edited 5/20/07 11:22am]


You've listened to the show right? They're idoits.
Socks still got butt like a leather seat...
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Reply #29 posted 05/20/07 11:30am

RZR

avatar

CynthiasSocks said:

RZR said:




I wonder who these people are that call into her show for serious psychological advice from a person whose degree makes her qualified to be... what, a gym teacher?
[Edited 5/20/07 11:22am]


You've listened to the show right? They're idoits.



Some are. A lot are. But most aren't. Many call up with some questions that are actually kind of interesting. But they know they're going to get bulldozed before they even get the question out, so I just wonder wtf are they thinking when they pick up the phone? lol
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
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