The loonyness of religion in America.

[rags]

She is an activist, plain and simple.
She is also a tool for Pelosi.
She is past president of the school's Students for Reproductive Justice group.
She decided to attend Georgetown, a Roman Catholic Jesuit University, knowing full well the insurance coverage, but still chose to attend anyway.

From the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/meet-sandra-fluke-the-woman-you-didnt-hear-at-congress-contraceptives-hearing/2012/02/16/gIQAJh57HR_blog.html

Any religious institution, whether you are religious or not in any way shape or form, is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution,
to practice their beliefs without government interference.
People who work for religious organizations or attend religious schools or universities do so by their own choice. No one is forcing them to, they are free to leave anytime they choose.

And why are we seeing the usual left-wing double standards when it comes to defending women against sexist putdowns?
The language Rush used is completely unacceptable...except when it's used against the likes of Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Michelle Malkin and every other prominent female conservative
in public life, of course.
IE: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/03/19/bill_maher_sarah_palin_is_a_dumb_twat.html
    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/07/22/bill_maher_palin_family_thinks_abstinence_is_latin_for_no_anal.html
    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2011/10/filthy-leftist-maher-if-you-showed-michelle-malkin-obamas-resume-without-saying-who-it-was-shed-name-her-vibrator-%E2%80%9Cobama%E2%80%9D-video/

    But of course, there is no outcry from the left wing media in this country or the left at all for that matter, because the above personal attacks is perfectly fine,
because its against conservative women. Left wing hypocracy at its best.

[MichaelW]

Did I miss seeing where Sandra Fluke attacked Rush Limbaugh personally? If she is in fact a political activist, he should have been attacking her activism, not her personally.

[Bill Cravener]

Limbaugh sponsors jumping ship now reaching near 40. That's gotta hurt! :bg

[rags]

Michael the double standard does exist in this country's media, as pointed out above.
It has nothing to do as to whether or not Ms Fluke attacked Rush.
He said what he said, and the left leaning media went into a feeding frenzy.
While the foul mouthed Mr Maher says whatever he wants about prominent conservative women and their
families using disgusting language, and not a peep is heard from them.
Their silence is deafening, giving their unspoken approval to his actions.

And seeing how President Obama called Ms Fluke, why doesn't he call his PAC and demand they return the $1 million
they received from the left wing bigot Mr Maher?

[MichaelW]

So its OK for Rush Limbaugh to do it because some other turd does it? In my view it's not OK for either one of them.

[Bill Cravener]

Yep, Maher is a pig and he is even standing by RushBo's right to make such ignorant remarks. But two pigs (wrongs) don't make it right. Maher's piggish remarks, who one seems to forget, led to the canceling of his ABC show Politically Incorrect. I want RushBo canceled also. Maher is on paid satellite and cable that one must subscribe to and pay in order to hear his mouth. Limbaugh on the other hand is on free radio with a huge audience and a wide sponsorship base. He is also on Armed Forces Radio Network. Maher isn't. One would think anyone who speaks to our troops on a daily basis should be held to a higher standard than someone on a pay to view satellite or cable network they do not receive.

I would point out that there are some difference between those two women however; Miss Fluke is a young student who was asking for an opportunity to speak for her fellow students about their personal needs. She has never attacked anyone period. She only voiced her needs and the needs of other females like herself.

Sarah Palin on the other hand is a powerful political and cultural figure who used verbal abuse to bully her way to power, fame and wealth. She pursued one of the most powerful positions in America by beating up and stepping on anyone and everyone who dared to stand in her way.  Sarah "Barracuda" Palin is a political predator.
 
When RushBo called Sandra a slut and a prostitute he was bullying a powerless innocent young lady with no political history what-so-ever.

When Maher called Sarah a twat and a cunt he was bullying a very powerful bully.

[donkey]

I've been watching the fallout from this and especially the commentary on it and I have to say that outside of attacking beaver videos nothing has made me laugh more. Both sides are accusing the other (rightfully so) of a double standard and in both cases trying to justify personal attacks for some unfathomable and unexplained reason. The fact is that Rush has always been a blowhard and will always be a liability to the GOP, the best thing the democrats can do is to keep him on the air.

The same conservatives who are crying about free speech and how evil the sponsors are for pulling their ads from Rush's show also threatened to boycott Loews for sponsoring a show that had the audacity to suggest that Muslims might also be patriotic Americans. The polarity in the US has degraded that country to the point where even a sane discussion about a Viagra popping lech calling a female student a slut and a prostitute is impossible. Rush obviously did not take sex education in school or he would realize that you don't take a birth control pill when you want to have sex but have to take one every day unlike his little purple pills that he seems so fond of. As for his money paying for it, he neglected to mention that her Georgetown University health plan is a private plan which the students are charged a premium for, whoops, I guess that inconvenient fact didn't fit the message well enough for him so he ignored it.

It seems to me, at least from what I've read, that the vast majority of Americans really are moderate and tolerant of other points of view. The problem is that moderation and tolerance don't attract enough viewers so different media outlets cater to different extremist views and represent these views as "the will of the people" when in reality they are constructed and orchestrated to provoke and offend and nothing else. Its the Jerry Springer generation brought to its final sad conclusion, the maniacal screams of the extremists have finally managed to completely drown out the voices of moderation. One side is mired in conspiracy theories about the "liberal media" but paradoxically don't seem to be having any problem getting their message heard, while the other side makes demons out of anyone who might deviate even in the smallest way from their vision of the "great society", both are uncompromising and vicious in their rhetoric.

Now, I am a Capitalist free market Socialist Nazi Communist since like everyone who has a mind and is capable of rudimentary thought my opinions are generally all over the board. I believe that a government should be fiscally responsible and run a balanced budget, however I also believe that it is the governments job to provide those services which I see as its minimum responsibility; defense, infrastructure, security and policing, health care and a minimum standard of living. If they have to raise my taxes to meet both requirements then raise them, I have never complained about the taxes I have had to pay to maintain what I believe is how a country should conduct itself.

The Rush Limbaugh thing for me is just an example of what has gone so very wrong with our friends to the south, not the left or right, but the process as a whole. The US was once a beacon to the world of tolerance and fairness based on the rule of law and the premise that all opinions should be considered and given a fair hearing. Sadly the media both right and left have destroyed that in search of sensationalism and subsequently ratings and the money they bring. I was wrong, there is no sense in waiting for a compromise candidate, if there ever was such a person their voice would never be heard.

Anyway that's my rant for today...

[Bill Cravener]

Anyway that's my rant for today...

And a good one I'd add. I think it was the Clinton and Bush presidencies that so soared the political landscape in American. Then comes along a black man who dared to be President which I feel has exposed the extremes of both sides. And yet it is the far right that I find most alarming. Look at the canadates they are offering us. Romney, Santorum and Gingrich are all beating the drums of war declaring that America should be bombing Iran and that Obama is weak for not doing so. Its madness!

[hutch--]

Out of the last lot before Obama the only one I had any time for was Robert Gates, the voice of sensibility in a quagmire of stupidity. At a guess most Americans don't want another war to lose their kids in so the drum beat to attack Iran may just remain as AIPAC noise. For the rest of us who live in the international world, the most effective way to ensure that Iran DOES end up a nuclear power in the middle east is to keep goading and threatening them like Bush did.

Given that opinions in Israel are diverse and by no means united behind the Likudnics, probably the best way to ensure that a war is not started in the middle east is to tell Israel's political leaders that if they attack Iran they will do it on their own without dragging the US into another middle east war with the loss of thousands of youngsters again. With their own arse on the chopping block, moderation will probably win the day.  :P

[Bill Cravener]

RushBo has lost near 100 sponsors thus far, and some big name ones. GM, Ford, Toyota, McDonalds, Subway, Allstate, Geico, Prudential and State Farm to name a few. Companies are coming down hard on Right-Wing talk radio.

Here is a good read on whats happening;

Rush Limbaugh Scandal Proves Contagious for Talk-Radio Advertisers

[Bill Cravener]

141 Companies Drop Advertising From Rush Limbaugh  :thumbu

[Bill Cravener]

Dave, is this really happening down there in Arizona? I swear the Right wants to turn America into a third world country and treat women like the Taliban wants to in Afghanistan. More religious nuttery! The right is truly losing their minds!

The Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee has recently voted in favor of legislation that will make it legal for an employer to ask women what they need contraception for and fire the employee if they don't agree with the answer.

http://youtu.be/7dHlk_qAnDc

[dedndave]

that doesn't surprise me, at all
we have a bunch of total reich-wing idiots, down here   :P

it may clear the house, too - lol
but - the voters won't allow it, if they get a chance
and the supreme court will deal with it if the voters don't get a say
the later is a very common course of events
the supreme court probably wastes more time on Arizona than any other state

another one they're trying to pass...
the Arizona legislature wants to tax all online purchases (Amazon, E-Bay, etc)
of course, they have to fuel the cash reserves for things like the "Arizona Alternative Fuel Vehicle Debacle"
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1568/is_2_33/ai_75099630/
they spent something like 3/4 billion so rich fucks could buy new cars

[rags]

Dave Pennsylvania wants us to pay state sales tax also for online purchases also. I think as time goes by, you'll see more and more states going this route.

[dedndave]

yah - that is a violation of federal law
but, i guess they have found some loop-hole and are exploiting it
i read somewhere that either montana or wyoming has such a law

if they'd just stop wasting the money we already give them...