Day: 3/3/2012

Rush Limbaugh’s ‘Apology’ Just Makes Things Worse

Posted by on March 3, 2012 at 9:19 pm. 9 Comments :

Today Rush Limbaugh issued what he must regard as an apology for having insulted a young woman – actually all women – who are seeking to obtain health care coverage from private insurance companies.

For three days Limbaugh has been defending having called Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” merely because she spoke out on behalf of women’s rights to equal treatment under the law. The firestorm of revulsion that Limbaugh created has resulted in several of his advertisers removing their support for his radio program.

This is the sort of groundswell that developed into a successful campaign to get Glenn Beck booted from Fox News. And Limbaugh knows it. Consequently, after digging in his heels for three days he has capitulated and posted a statement on his web site in an effort to quell the controversy:

For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week. In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke.

I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress. I personally do not agree that American citizens should pay for these social activities. What happened to personal responsibility and accountability? Where do we draw the line? If this is accepted as the norm, what will follow? Will we be debating if taxpayers should pay for new sneakers for all students that are interested in running to keep fit? In my monologue, I posited that it is not our business whatsoever to know what is going on in anyone’s bedroom nor do I think it is a topic that should reach a Presidential level.

My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.

If Limbaugh thinks that that mealy squeal is sufficient to get his neck out of this noose he is denser than the skull bone that houses his pea-brain.

First of all, what Limbaugh’s PR flacks have composed for him is not an apology at all. He is expressing regret only for having chosen “the wrong words,” not for the substance of his tirade. In other words, he’s sorry he called Fluke a slut, but not sorry for having and expressing that as his opinion. And there is nothing in his statement that is anything close to a recantation of that opinion. In fact, he reinforces it.

Limbaugh’s continuing and deliberate distortion of the underlying issue is evidence that he has no contrition whatsoever. His so-called apology says that “I do not agree that American citizens should pay for these social activities.” The activities he is referring to are rampant, unbridled orgies of lust. Or at least that’s how he sees it in his perverted, lecherous, Viagra-fueled brain. But no one else is suggesting that any private sexual behavior be financed by the state. This is about decent women and couples having access to health care products that are legal and necessary through their private insurance policies, not government handouts.

What’s more, these contraceptive products actually have medical uses that transcend pregnancy prevention, including alleviation of menstrual cramps and lowering the risk of ovarian cancers. Although we shouldn’t expect either idiots or misogynists (or both in Limbaugh’s case) to understand this. It’s too bad there is no pill to correct the insensitivity and hostility that has infected Limbaugh’s corpulent soul. If there were, unlike Limbaugh, I would gladly support making it available under his medical insurance.

[Update: Note the difference between the left and the right. When Keith Olbermann or Ed Schultz or David Shuster made inappropriate comments, MSNBC suspended them from their hosting duties. When Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh do so, there are no such consequences. In fact, today Limbaugh’s radio syndicator released a statement backing Limbaugh, saying “The contraception debate is one that sparks strong emotion and opinions on both sides of the issue. We respect the right of Mr. Limbaugh, as well as the rights of those who disagree with him, to express those opinions.” Apparently they also respect Mr. Limbaugh’s right to be a hateful pig.]

The campaign to hold Limbaugh accountable should continue despite his utterly disingenuous attempt at crisis management. Here are some resources you can visit to keep the fight alive:

ThinkProgress: Stand with Sandra Fluke
Daily Kos: Advertisers: pull your support for Limbaugh
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: Denounce Rush’s Vile Misogyny
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: Denounce Rush Limbaugh’s Anti-Women Tirade

Rush Limbaugh’s Syndicator:
Premiere Radio Network,
1270 Avenue of the Americas, Fl. 19
New York, NY 10020
(212) 896-5200

Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
(202)-418-1000

At Fox Nation, Puerile Propaganda Doesn’t Take Weekends Off

Posted by on March 3, 2012 at 3:16 pm. 2 Comments :

The busy news fictionalizers at Fox Nation are hard at work this Saturday creating the stream of asinine idiotainment that their glassy-eyed readers demand. Here is an abridged selection of what Fox regards as newsworthy reporting today:

Fox Nation

Starting off with a hard-hitting investigative news item, the Fox Nationalists uncover a juicy morsel about a new Obama campaign hire. Apparently this low-level social media promoter in a Wisconsin campaign office used to be employed by Charlie Sheen. That automatically makes him the subject of ridicule deserving of taunts from the Fox family of dimwits. No matter what you think of Sheen, his social media presence is impressive. He has 6.7 million followers on Twitter and 2.3 million people “LIKE” his page on Facebook. Anyone who contributed to that success could be a real asset for any political campaign.

On the other hand, in the world of unfortunate associations, Mitt Romney has picked up the endorsement of the incontinent Ted Nugent. It will be interesting to hear Romney defend Nugent’s assassination threats against President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and senators Feinstein and Boxer (if anyone in the media has the integrity to ask him).

Nugent: I was in Chicago last week I said, “Hey Obama, you might want to suck on one of these, you punk?” Obama, he’s a piece of shit and I told him to suck on one of my machine guns. Let’s hear it for them. I was in New York and I said, “Hey Hillary, you might want to ride one of these into the sunset you worthless bitch.” Since I’m in California, I’m gonna find Barbara Boxer she might wanna suck on my machine guns. Hey, Dianne Feinstein, ride one of these you worthless whore.

Fox Nation continued its quest for journalistic malpractice with a story it headlined: Memo: Obama To Raise Taxes For Middle Class If Re-Elected. The source to which Fox linked was an article at a web site called WeaselZippers. That should be the first sign of its credibility. The truth behind the data that Fox is deliberately misconstruing is related to the tax cuts for the wealthy that Bush pushed through more than a decade ago with a sunset provision that has already passed. It was Bush who predetermined that taxes would go back up. Obama has repeatedly tried to cut a deal where only the tax cuts for the rich would expire, but the GOP has fought him every step of the way.

The next story is one that tries to imply that Obama’s Department of Justice is aligning itself with Taliban terrorists. Just how stupid do they think their readers are? (Don’t answer that). The real story is that an attorney who has been working for the DOJ for three years has been promoted as a result of his exemplary performance. In his role as the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Tony West “recovered more than $8.8 billion in taxpayer money, the highest three-year total in department history.” One of the many things that the right-wingnuts never understand about the Constitution is that every defendant is entitled to representation. It is the foundation of our justice system. And trying to smear an attorney for carrying out his constitutional obligations is reprehensible.

Finally, the Fox Nationalists were kind enough to post a link to the GOP response to Obama’s weekly address. But astute observers will note that they never posted a link to the address that the GOP were responding to. You know, the one Obama delivered. It’s like posting the answer to a question without ever posting the question. Fox is valiantly protecting its readers from any exposure to information that would give them a full and complete understanding of current events. That explains why they are so pitifully ignorant. Thank Fox’s dedication to fairness and balance for that. Here, by the way, is the Obama video: