With the recent flap between the male members of Congress (Republicans) who decided women didn’t need to testify about birth control and Rush Limbaugh calling women who use birth control “sluts,” I’ve decided that, as Americans, we need to stop putting up with this.
The fact is that birth control pills are used for many life-threatening issues for women. Sandra Fluke herself, the woman Rush Limbaugh lambasted, calling her a “slut,” brought up the issue of a friend of hers, who had needed birth control pills to keep her ovarian cysts from growing. Unfortunately, the woman couldn’t afford her meds and instead ended up losing an ovary.
Translation: the woman needed major surgery to fix that which a simple birth control pill prescription could have solved without anything invasive. To say it’s perfectly fine for a person to be cut open because you want to preach what they can and can’t do because it offends your delicate sensibilities goes so far beyond disgusting and reprehensible, it isn’t funny. To take it farther and say you don’t want such a woman to get her meds—not because she actually needs them for a life-threatening issue, but rather, because she may have sex and not get pregnant from it—is downright depraved and proves where Limbaugh’s mind really is. In the gutter.
Now let’s take a look at ED meds. What life-threatening illnesses do ED meds prevent? If a man had, say, testicular cancer, would he take Viagra? Would his doctor prescribe Cialis? No. Absolutely not.
What purpose does a medication like Viagra or Cialis actually fill? Well, each of these meds help men get erections when they can’t.
So what do these medications do?
They allow men to have sex.
It seems to me that if we’re talking about “sluts” here, then Rush Limbaugh, who was once caught returning from the Dominican Republic, carrying a prescription for Viagra (not even in his own name—which means, what, he stole it?), when he wasn’t married at the time, could only have had one purpose for this Viagra.
To get an erection. To have sex while unmarried.
Rush Limbaugh has proved—by his own reasoning—he is, indeed, a slut.
Laughing in the face of women everywhere, who—for pure health reasons—need birth control pills they can’t afford and will suffer perfectly preventable surgery and even death because the majority of Republican men in Congress don’t give a rat’s ass about women getting access to quality health care, are the same men who think it’s perfectly fine for health insurance to cover ED meds for those sluts like Rush Limbaugh to take them. And don’t forget to check the fine print. Because ED meds are actually covered under Medicaid, too. What is Medicaid, you ask?
Beyond Medicare, Medicaid is the only form of US public health care that exists, a very limited plan for people on welfare to get the tiniest modicum of health care.
So in effect, we are paying these men to have sex, and not for a necessary medication. Just like Limbaugh. Let’s forget that insurance covers Limbaugh, because that wasn’t his point in his tirade. His exact words in his tirade were, “What does it say about the college co-ed Sandra Fluke, who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex, what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She’s having so much sex she can’t afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex. What does that make us? We’re the pimps.”
While I don’t necessarily disagree Limbaugh is a pimp, as well as being a slut, right there, he proved how little he knows. Because Sandra Fluke isn’t taking a taxpayer handout or suggesting the federal government cover either contraception or contraceptive meds used for medically necessary purchases. To the contrary, Fluke was asking for nothing more than what Limbaugh takes for granted: that, when a woman pays for health insurance, that insurance should be required to pay for her needed health care. And insurance isn’t paying out “taxpayer money,” so much as it’s paying out the tiniest percentage of customer money paid into said company.
Not to mention, the fact is that making a point (as the thankfully ill-fated Blunt-Rubio did) of allowing insurers to have the ability to turn down anything that goes against their “morals,” when insurance companies cover far too little as it is, can only lead to worse problems down the line. Today, it’s contraception. Tomorrow, it’s heart medication. “Oh, well, Mr. Jones, I see you’ve had a heart attack. I know these meds your doctor prescribed will keep you from having another, fatal, heart attack, but frankly, it’s against my morals to see to it that you get your meds covered by your insurance policy, because I know you’re overweight and eat a lot of fatty foods. Sorry, Mr. Jones…request denied. Drop dead.”
It would be utter chaos, particularly now, when health insurance companies have caused American health care to be downgraded in quality beyond that of third world countries. It says something when a Communist country like China can cover a hell of a lot more of its citizens with some kind of health care than a big, rich country like the US can, and still, the percentage of people who do without here, compared to in China, points out how inadequate this system of paying a middleman to pimp out our health care really is.
Now, back to the slut/pimp, I mean, Limbaugh. We all know he started losing his advertisers and getting flak from the Republican party after what he said. And Limbaugh, the product of his many years since Reagan disastrously repealed the “Fairness Doctrine,” giving us one point of view in the media and little chance of the truth getting through, decided he didn’t want to lose any more advertisers, so he came up with the perfect non-apology apology. The apology that says it wasn’t the personal attack it really was for him to make those incendiary remarks against Ms. Fluke and the majority of women, but rather, it was a “poor choice of words.” A very anemic apology, followed by an excuse of why he actually uttered those words, an explanation which actually negated the half-apology he had somewhat made and turned it into the non-apology apology:
“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.”
Yes, he “chose the wrong words.” Not that he used words that labeled Ms. Fluke as a piece of crap undeserving of health care, but rather, that these were the “wrong words.” Heh heh. “Yeah, dad, I know you hate me using the F word and I’m sorry I chose to call you by that wrong word, so I’m sorry I picked that particular one. Next time I’ll be sure to call you a bastard.”
Instead of stopping there, however, he proceeded to actually defend the indefensible, to actually double down with an extremely poor rationalization of why he said what he did.
So let’s pull this apart sentence by sentence.
“I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress.”
Well, Rush, who the hell asked you?! We are not discussing anything. Congress called for this discussion. To say that it’s “absurd” is to actually censure the men who put that discussion into action. The same discussion to which Ms. Fluke and no other women were invited to speak at all.
It’s like if I were to call Rush on the phone, where we’d have an hour-long discussion, and then later I were to say, “You know what? That dickhead Limbaugh made me call and speak to him for an hour! Oh, it was absolutely horrible! The nerve of that guy, making me do such a thing!”
Next:
“I personally do not agree that American citizens should pay for these social activities.”
What “American citizens” is he talking about? The insurance companies? The insurance companies, who get away with paying out so little, their CEOs make millions of dollars in a very short time…so who is subsidizing this? You mean…the people who are paying for said insurance? Insurance plan subscribers? Such as…Sandra Fluke?!
Wow. I had no idea that insurance was actually supposed to mean that they were allowed to take my money and turn down anything they wanted to turn down that related to my health. I know this is what they get away with doing, but thanks for putting it into words, Limbaugh, “Health insurance is one big scam. Stay away! The little they cover is what we’re going to make absolutely sure they won’t cover, anyway.”
In addition, Rush here is once again doubling down on his comment that this so-called insurance is actually subsidized by the government. Because this is the only way a “taxpayer” can pay for someone’s health insurance, and whatever “social activities” that insurance may or may not cover.
Next:
“What happened to personal responsibility and accountability?”
Of course, there’s no bigger bingo in the Republican BS factory than the old “personal responsibility” and “accountability.” Those words mean, “Be responsible for yourself, but I can do whatever I want.” It’s the reason why married Senator David Vitter, caught having sex with a prostitute, can still keep his Congressional seat, but Anthony Weiner, who didn’t actually have sex with any woman other than his own wife, had to resign. It’s also why Joe Walsh, owing his ex-wife over $100,000 in back child support, isn’t in jail for not paying same, but “personal responsibility and accountability” certainly don’t come into question over the fact that he received an award for being such a “good family man.” Oh, no, when it comes to “personal responsibility and accountability” for Republicans, they can do whatever they please. Um, remember Rush and his Viagra-laced Dominican Republic vacation…when he was unmarried?! Having sex without the benefit of marriage?! Surely, if we’re speaking of people needing to behave puritanically here, why in the hell did Rush go off on a sex bender in another freaking country?!
I’ll skip over the next couple of inane comments, as pulling each of those apart is superfluous, so let’s go on to more of the real issue here:
“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.”
So here we get to the crux and the craziness in Limbaugh’s claims. For one thing, he keeps pushing the issue, really driving that total nonsensical claim home, saying “we the taxpayers” are literally paying for something we’re not. I’ll say it completely clearly, for those, like Limbaugh, who apparently don’t understand this…we did not get any version of universal health care granted by Congress. We have no socialized medicine for the citizens who completely lack health care.
Socialized medicine is the process whereby everyone pays into the system for health care, via taxes paid to the government for said purpose, and then we all get unfettered access to health care, not just Rush Limbaugh. The government ensures doctors get paid and people don’t have to prove they have insurance when they’re writhing in pain in the emergency room or a doctor’s office. And in the case of socialized medicine, citizens also aren’t giving up life-saving treatments so an insurance CEO can buy his 15th yacht or vacation home. The payments that everyone pays into the system subsidize all health care.
And this is exactly what we don’t have. So when Mr. Limbaugh talks about “taxpayers” paying for this in his non-apology, what he’s saying is, “Screw facts. I can get people a hell of a lot more upset when I talk about how it’s you and me paying for this woman to have sex, but if I admit I was wrong because this is insurance we’re talking about, a product that is paid for by individuals, then people won’t be quite so upset. Instead, they’ll tell me, ‘But Rush, if she’s paying for it, then you’re telling me the insurance company can choose what they want to pay for, and if that’s the case, then they can deny my son’s leukemia meds, because they’re allegedly morally opposed to this?’ So I need to say this in a way that will completely anger people, to think their tax dollars are literally covering birth control…and they’re actually not. I’m talking about it as if it’s socialized medicine, but nothing like that in the US exists, and I’m counting on the fact that my listeners are too dumb to know the difference.”
So here Limbaugh has purposely, knowingly characterized US health care as if it’s socialized medicine, when it’s not. And you know what, Limbaugh? The fact is that you can’t change the facts to suit your purposes whenever you want. You can’t tell us we have socialized medicine that we don’t have and that taxpayers are paying for socialized medicine we don’t have. You can’t tell me that, on top of the little teeny-tiny bit of money insurance companies actually cough out on claims, letting people die from lack of health care rather than inconvenience the poor, hapless CEOs of said insurance companies, it’s perfectly fine to now allow insurance companies to cover even less, to make so-called “moral” decisions as a reason to deny still more claims. Damn, Limbaugh, just how much Viagra did the insurance industry give you to practice your utterly depraved lifestyle, which you’ve been doing since you were single?! Oh, suddenly there’s an exception for Rush himself to have sex outside of marriage, but if any woman is taking birth control pills for ovarian cysts or endometriosis, she’s nothing but a “slut.”
Next:
“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.”
Now Limbaugh is going back to a second grader’s mentality. Well, maybe he’s not actually going “back,” since he’s been there all along. “Mommy, Bobby poked me!” knowing full well he poked Bobby first.
Who started the conversation? Um, wasn’t that the Republicans?! The very same Republicans who chose not to have a single woman speak about women’s health?!
Limbaugh, if it’s “not our business,” then please tell me…why in the hell are you going on about this?! You specifically said it’s “not our business.” So butt the hell out!
And I was going to say that, while I do appreciate your concern for President Obama’s delicate sensitivities…frankly, I don’t. Because President Obama himself is obviously not concerned about them. And last I heard, he can take perfectly good care of himself. He’s not holding his “virgin ears” and singing “la la la la la” the way you want us to think you are, because President Obama is actually an adult. He’s not a stupid little kid screaming, “Mommy, Bobby poked me!” when in all actuality, Bobby was the one who got poked first. Nobody asked you to suddenly go from harshly and unnecessarily criticizing the man practically 24/7 to claiming you suddenly care so much about his “virgin ears.” After all, Limbaugh, where was that “concern” about our “poor dear” President when you were claiming his birth certificate was fake? Where will that loving concern be the next time you find some other stupid falsehood to bitch about, the next made-up story dreamed up out of your sick mind to please your Tea Party masters, the people who actually own you and pimp your voice out to the American people?
Frankly, Limbaugh, if we want to have the President sound off on something, the American people don’t need you acting as his proxy. In case you haven’t noticed, the President is fully capable of speaking for himself, and until he actually says the topic offends him, I know it doesn’t. Let the President speak for himself, because if you’re going to tell me what he does and doesn’t want to hear, I’m going to start speaking for you. And Limbaugh, you’re not going to like what I say for you.
Then we get to the final nail in Rush’s coffin:
“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.”
This is not an apology. The previous paragraph proves this, but in case Rush’s meaning isn’t crystal clear…it’s not that he’s actually apologizing. He’s saying that his “choice of words” was meant humorously, but it was “not the best.” In other words, he really did mean it, but it was stated with a bad choice of words. “Yeah, too bad, I called you a filthy slut who is having way too much sex on the fantasy socialized ‘taxpayer dime,’ but it wasn’t me, it was just a ‘bad choice of words.’”
My significant other has that very same way of attempting to non-apologize, too, when we’re in the heat of an argument. “I’m sorry if you took whatever I said offensively.” In Rush’s case, it wasn’t he who was at fault, it was that “choice of words.” It was just “bad.” Maybe if he’d called her a “tramp” or a “lady of the evening” instead of a slut, this wouldn’t have “created” such a “national stir.” In other words, he meant what he said, he just said it too insultingly, and the resulting media circus is now hurting Limbaugh’s feelings.
The fact remains that creating that “national stir” is what’s really bothering Rush here. Truthfully, I’m sure he couldn’t give a rat’s ass about hurting Ms. Fluke’s feelings, because if he did, he would have made an apology more along the lines of, “I said something wrong. I implied Ms. Fluke was using birth control to turn tricks. I realize this was an extremely hurtful thing to say. I’ve incorrectly implied in the first place that birth control pills are provided by the taxpayers; thus, the government. I know we don’t have socialized medicine, and Ms. Fluke and all women have even more of a right to have their private insurance companies pay for their prescriptions than I do for my Viagra, which is completely medically unnecessary. My words were not only hurtful, but the things that I meant by using them were terribly hurtful.”
Unfortunately, this is not the apology Ms. Fluke received. Instead, she received a carefully crafted non-apology apology, designed to quell the “national stir” and perhaps welcome those advertisers who jumped ship over his remarks back into the fold of the Rush Limbaugh slut/pimpshow. As for humor…I’m sure I’m not the only person who considers Limbaugh to be not humorous, and certainly, by making hurtful remarks and shrugging them off as “humor” is insulting to not just women, but to every citizen of the US who understands the inflammatory nature of Limbaugh’s remarks at all times, not just now. So now he happened to get caught and he crafted the kind of apology my significant other makes when we’re both hotheaded, not a truly heartfelt one, but rather, “I’m sorry if you took whatever I said offensively.”
Unfortunately, this is not the apology Ms. Fluke received. Instead, she received a carefully crafted non-apology apology, designed to quell the “national stir” and perhaps welcome those advertisers who jumped ship over his remarks back into the fold of the Rush Limbaugh slut/pimpshow. As for humor…I’m sure I’m not the only person who considers Limbaugh to be not humorous, and certainly, by making hurtful remarks and shrugging them off as “humor” is insulting to not just women, but to every citizen of the US who understands the inflammatory nature of Limbaugh’s remarks at all times, not just now. So now he happened to get caught and he crafted the kind of apology my significant other makes when we’re both hotheaded, not a truly heartfelt one, but rather, “I’m sorry if you took whatever I said offensively.”
Well, Limbaugh, you’re not only a pimp and a slut, you’re also a flaming pile of crap, a douchebag, a sphincter and a dickhead. What? Oh, that’s just my silly little attempt at humor. It bothers you? Gee, I’m sorry if you took whatever I said offensively. It was a “bad choice of words.”
