Monday, January 21, 2013

A Thank-You Note To The NRA (OP-ED)

Dear National Rifle Association,

Thank you for all the hard work you’ve done so that your commercial members may see larger profits.

Thank you for all your influential lobbying that prevents lawmakers from daring to suggest common sense gun control.

Thank you for advocating legislation that would allow for unfettered access to guns and protect those who kill with guns.

Thank you for perpetuating the view that gun ownership is a careless right rather than a grave responsibility.

Thank you for your noble efforts in fostering the belief that the only effective method of self-defense is bloody and lethal violence.

Thank you for helping to stunt the evolution of nonlethal self-defense that would greatly reduce the 500+ accidental gun deaths per year, almost half of which are children.

Thank you for propagating the paranoia Americans have against other Americans.

Thank you for your assistance in shaping a culture that yields 10,000+ annual U.S. firearm homicides and kills 400+ children under the age of 14 each year.

Thank you for your contributions to a country where school children must step away from their academics in order to practice classroom drills that would protect them from crazed gunmen.

Thank you for putting a higher priority on the right to bear arms than the right to life.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Congressional Twitter Directory of Democrats

In honor of Twitter's "Follow Friday" (#FF), please make your patriotism known by following and supporting your Democratic men and women of Congress. Their 'handles' are as follows:

*No handle yet
**Unverified account

SENATORS
Mark Begich (Alaska) – @SenatorBegich
Mark Pryor (Arkansas) – @SenMarkPryor
Barbara Boxer (California) – @SenatorBoxer & @BarbaraBoxer
Dianne Feinstein (California) – @SenFeinstein & @DianneFeinstein
Michael Bennet (Colorado) – @SenBennetCO
Mark Udall (Colorado) – @MarkUdall
Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut) – @SenBlumenthal
Thomas Carper (Delaware) – @SenatorCarper
Christopher Coons (Delaware) – @ChrisCoons
Bill Nelson (Florida) – @SenBillNelson
Daniel Akaka (Hawaii) – @SenatorAkaka
Daniel Inouye (Hawaii) – @Daniel_Inouye
Richard Durbin (Illinois) – @SenatorDurbin
Tom Harkin (Iowa) – @SenatorHarkin
Mary Landrieu (Louisiana) – @SenLandrieu
Al Franken (Maine) – @alfranken
Benjamin Cardin (Maryland) – @SenatorCardin
Barbara Mikulski (Maryland) – @SenatorBarb
John Kerry (Massachusetts) – @JohnKerry
Carl Levin (Michigan) – @SenCarlLevin
Debbie Stabenow (Michigan) – @stabenow & @StabenowPress
Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota) – @amyklobuchar
Claire McCaskill (Missouri) – @clairecmc
*Max Baucus (Montana)
Jon Tester (Montana) – @jontester
Ben Nelson (Nebraska) – @SenBenNelson
Harry Reid (Nevada) – @SenatorReid
Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire) – @SenatorShaheen
Frank Lautenberg (New Jersey) – @FrankLautenberg
Robert Menendez (New Jersey) – @SenatorMenendez
*Jeff Bingaman (New Mexico)
Tom Udall (New Mexico) – @SenatorTomUdall
Kirsten Gillibrand (New York) – @SenGillibrand
**Charles Schumer (New York) – @ChuckSchumer
Kay Hagan (North Carolina) – @SenatorHagan
**Kent Conrad (North Dakota) – @KentConrad
Sherrod Brown (Ohio) – @SenSherrodBrown
Jeff Merkley (Oregon) – @SenJeffMerkley
Ron Wyden (Oregon) – @RonWyden
Robert Casey Jr. (Pennsylvania) – @SenBobCasey
**Jack Reed (Rhode Island) – @SenJackReed
Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island) – @SenWhitehouse
Tim Johnson (South Dakota) – @SenJohnsonSD
Patrick Leahy (Vermont) – @SenatorLeahy
Mark Warner (Virginia) – @MarkWarner
*Jim Webb (Virginia)
Maria Cantwell (Washington) – @US_Sen_Cantwell & @MariaCantwell
Patty Murray (Washington) – @PattyMurray
Joe Manchin III (West Virginia) – @Sen_JoeManchin
John “Jay” Rockefeller IV (West Virginia) – @SenRockefeller
*Herb Kohl (Wisconsin)

HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES
Terri A. Sewell (Alabama) - @RepTerriSewell
* Eni F. H.Faleomavaega (American Samoa)
** Ed Pastor (Arizona ) – @RepEdPastor
Raul Grijalva (Arizona) – @RepRaulGrijalva
Mike Ross (Arkansas) – @RepMikeRoss
Mike Thompson (California) – @RepThompson
Doris Matsui (California) – @DorisMatsui
Lynn Woolsey (California) – @RepLynnWoolsey
Nancy Pelosi (California) – @NancyPelosi
Barbara Lee (California) – @RepBarbaraLee
John Garamendi (California) – @RepGaramendi
Jerry McNerney (California) – @RepMcNerney
Jackie Speier (California) – @RepSpeier
*Fortney Pete Stark (California)
Anna Eshoo (California) – @RepAnnaEshoo
Mike Honda (California) – @RepMikeHonda
Zoe Lofgren (California) – @RepZoeLofgren
Sam Farr (California) – @RepSamFarr
Dennis Cardoza (California) – @RepCardoza
Jim Costa (California) – @RepJimCosta
Lois Capps (California) – @RepLoisCapps
Brad Sherman (California) – @BradSherman
Howard Berman (California) – @RepHowardBerman
Adam Schiff (California) – @RepAdamSchiff
Henry Waxman (California) – @EnergyCommerce
Xavier Becerra (California) – @RepBecerra
Judy Chu (California) – @RepJudyChu
Karen Bass (California) – @RepKarenBass
Lucille Roybal-Allard (California) – @RepRoybalAllard
Maxine Waters (California) – @MaxineWaters
Janice Hahn (California) – @Rep_JaniceHahn & @JaniceHahn
Laura Richardson (California) – @RepLRichardson
**Grace Napolitano (California) – @Grace4Congress
Linda Sanchez (California) – @RepLindaSanchez
Joe Baca (California) – @RepJoeBaca
Loretta Sanchez (California) – @LorettaSanchez
Bob Filner (California) – @CongBobFilner
**Susan Davis (California) – @RepSusanDavis
Diana DeGette (Colorado) – @RepDianaDeGette
Jared Polis (Colorado) – @jaredpolis
Ed Perlmutter (Colorado) – @RepPerlmutter
John Larson (Connecticut) – @RepJohnLarson
Joe Courtney (Connecticut) – @RepJoeCourtney
Rosa DeLauro (Connecticut) – @rosadelauro
Jim Himes (Connecticut) – @jahimes
Christopher Murphy (Connecticut) – @ChrisMurphyCT
John Carney (Delaware) – @JohnCarneyDE
Eleanor Norton (DC) – @EleanorNorton
Corrine Brown (Florida) – @RepCorrineBrown
*Kathy Castor (Florida)
Frederica Wilson (Florida) – @RepWilson
Ted Deutch (Florida) – @RepTedDeutch
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Florida) – @DWStweets
**Alcee Hastings (Florida) – @alceehastings
Sanford Bishop Jr. (Georgia) – @SanfordBishop
Hank Johnson Jr. (Georgia) – @RepHankJohnson
John Lewis (Georgia) – @repjohnlewis
John Barrow (Georgia) – @repjohnbarrow
David Scott (Georgia) – @repdavidscott
*Madeleine Bordallo (Guam)
Colleen Hanabusa (Hawaii) – @RepHanabusa
Mazie Hirono (Hawaii) – @maziehirono
Bobby Rush (Illinois) – @RepBobbyRush
Jessie Jackson Jr. (Illinois) – @RepJJJr
*Daniel Lipinski (Illinois)
Luis Gutierrez (Illinois) – @LuisGutierrez

Mike Quigley (Illinois) – @RepMikeQuigley
**Danny Davis (Illinois) – @DannyKDavis
Jan Schakowsky (Illinois) – @janschakowsky
Jerry Costello (Illinois) – @JerryCostello
Peter Visclosky (Indiana) – @RepVisclosky
Joe Donnelly (Indiana) – @RepDonnelly
Andre Carson (Indiana) – @RepAndreCarson
Bruce Braley (Iowa) – @BruceBraley
**David Loebsack (Iowa) – @daveloebsack
Leonard Boswell (Iowa) – @LeonardBoswell
John Yarmuth (Kentucky) – @RepJohnYarmuth
*Ben Chandler (Kentucky)
Cedric Richmond (Louisiana) – @RepRichmond
Chellie Pingree (Maine) – @chelliepingree
Michael Michaud (Maine) – @RepMikeMichaud
Dutch Ruppersberger (Maryland) – @Call_Me_Dutch
John Sarbanes (Maryland) – @RepJohnSarbanes
Donna Edwards (Mayrland) – @repdonnaedwards
Steny Hoyer (Maryland) – @WhipHoyer
Elijah Cummings (Maryland) – @OversightDems
Chris Van Hollen (Maryland) – @ChrisVanHollen
John Olver (Massachusetts) – @RepJohnOlver

Richard Neal (Massachusetts) – @RepRichardNeal
James McGovern (Massachusetts) – @RepMcGovern
*Barney Frank (Massachusetts)
Niki Tsongas (Massachusetts) – @nikiinthehouse & @ntsongas
John Tierney (Massachusetts) – @RepTierney
Ed Markey (Massachusetts) – @MarkeyMemo
*Michael Capuano (Massachusetts)
**Stephen Lynch (Massachusetts) – @RepStephenLynch
**William Keating (Massachusetts) – @WilliamKeating
**Dale Kildee (Michigan) – @DaleKildee
Gary Peters (Michigan) – @RepGaryPeters
Sander Levin (Michigan) – @repsandylevin
Hansen Clarke (Michigan) – @RepHansenClarke
John Conyers Jr. (Michigan) – @repjohnconyers
John Dingell (Michigan) – @john_dingell
**Timothy Walz (Minnesota) – @Tim_Walz
Betty McCollum (Minnesota) – @BettyMcCollum04
Keith Ellison (Minnesota) – @keithellison
*Collin Peterson (Minnesota)
Bennie Thompson (Mississippi) – @BennieGThompson & @HomelandDems
**William “Lacy” Clay Jr (Missouri) – @LacyClay2012
Russ Carnahan (Missouri) – @RepCarnahan
Emanuel Cleaver (Missouri) – @repcleaver
Shelley Berkley (Nevada) – @RepBerkley
Robert Andrews (New Jersey) – @RepAndrews
Frank Pallone Jr. (New Jersey) – @FrankPallone
Bill Pascrell (New Jersey) – @BillPascrell
Steven Rothman (New Jersey) – @SteveRothmanNJ
Rush Holt (New Jersey) – @RushHolt
Albio Sires (New Jersey) – @Rep_Albio_Sires
Martin Heinrich (New Mexico) – @Heinrich4NM
Ben Lujan (New Mexico) – @repbenraylujan
Timothy Bishop (New York) – @TimBishopNY
Steve Israel (New York) – @RepSteveIsrael & @IsraelDCCC
Carolyn McCarthy (New York) – @RepMcCarthyNY
Gary Ackerman (New York) – @RepGaryAckerman
Gregory Meeks (New York) – @GregoryMeeks
Joseph Crowley (New York) – @repjoecrowley
Jerrold Nadler (New York) – @RepJerryNadler
Edolphus Towns (New York) – @EdTowns
Yvette Clarke (New York) – @YvetteClarke
Nydia Velazquez (New York) – @NydiaVelazquez
Carolyn Maloney (New York) – @CarolynBMaloney & @RepMaloney
Charles Rangel (New York) – @cbrangel
Jose Serrano (New York) – @RepJoseSerrano
Eliot Engel (New York) – @RepEliotEngel
Nita Lowey (New York) – @NitaLowey
Paul Tonko (New York) – @paultonko
Maurice Hinchey (New York) – @mauricehinchey
Bill Owens (New York) – @BillOwensNY
Kathy Hochul (New York) – @RepKathyHochul
Brian Higgins (New York) – @RepBrianHiggins
Louise Slaughter (New York) – @louiseslaughter
G. K. Butterfield (North Carolina) – @GKButterfield
David Price (North Carolina) – @RepDavidEPrice
Mike McIntyre (North Carolina) – @RepMikeMcIntyre
Larry Kissel (North Carolina) – @RepLarryKissell
**Heath Shuler (North Carolina) – @shuler4congress
Mel Watt (North Carolina) – @MelWattNC12
Brad Miller (North Carolina) – @RepBradMiller
*Sablan Gregorio (Northern Mariana Islands)
Marcy Kaptur (Ohio) – @Marcy_Kaptur
Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) – @RepKucinich
Marcia Fudge (Ohio) – @marciafudge
Betty Sutton (Ohio) – @BettySutton
Tim Ryan (Ohio) – @RepTimRyan
*Dan Boren (Oklahoma)
Suzanne Bonamici (Oregon) – @SuzanneBonamici
Earl Blumenauer (Oregon) – @repblumenauer
Peter DeFazio (Oregon) – @RepPeterDeFazio
Kurt Schrader (Oregon) – @repschrader
Robert Brady (Pennsylvania) – @RepBrady

Chaka Fattah (Pennsylvania) – @chakafattah
Jason Altmire (Pennsylvania) – @RepJasonAltmire
Mark Critz (Pennsylvania) – @RepMarkCritz
*Allyson Schwartz (Pennsylvania)
Mike Doyle (Pennsylvania) – @USRepMikeDoyle
Tim Holden (Pennsylvania) – @RepTimHolden
Pedro Pierluisi (Puerto Rico) – @pedropierluisi
David Cicilline (Rhode Island) – @davidcicilline
Jim Langevin (Rhode Island) – @jimlangevin
James Clyburn (South Carolina) – @Clyburn
Jim Cooper (Tennessee) – @repjimcooper
Steve Cohen (Tennessee) – @RepCohen
Al Green (Texas) – @RepAlGreen
Ruben Hinojosa (Texas) – @USRepRHinojosa
Silvestre Reyes (Texas) – @USRepRHinojosa
Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas) – @JacksonLeeTX18
Charlie Gonzalez (Texas) – @TX20CharlieG
Lloyd Doggett (Texas) – @RepLloydDoggett
Henry Cuellar (Texas) – @RepCuellar
Gene Green (Texas) – @RepGeneGreen
Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas) – @RepEBJ
Jim Matheson (Utah) – @RepJimMatheson
*Peter Welch (Vermont)
Donna Christensen (Virgin Islands) – @DelegateDonna
Robert Scott (Virginia) – @repbobbyscott
James Moran (Virginia) – @Jim_Moran
Gerald Connolly (Virginia) – @GerryConnolly
Rick Larsen (Washington) – @RepRickLarsen
Norman Dicks (Washington) – @RepNormDicks
Jim McDermott (Washington) – @RepJimMcDermott
Adam Smith (Washington) – @Rep_Adam_Smith
Nick Rahall (West Virginia) – @HouseTransInf
Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin) – @TammyBaldwinWI
Ron Kind (Wisconsin) – @RepRonKind
Gwen Moore (Wisconsin) – @RepGwenMoore




Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Flippin' & Shakin'...

OK, so I was all ready to blog today, but the gaffe made by Romney's top communications adviser, Eric Fehrnstrom, mandated I have a little fun in Photoshop instead. Enjoy! (If you missed the beginning, wait a few seconds; it'll restart.)

Monday, March 19, 2012

The Miserable Failings of the Sanford, FL Police Department When Choosing Not to Arrest the Killer of Trayvon Martin

What the Law Really Says…

It’s been three weeks since the tragic slaying of 17-year-old Trayvon, and the country is asking, “Where’s the justice?” In fact, justice plays no part in this picture. Trayvon’s murderer has not been brought to justice (has not even, in fact, been arrested). The Sanford, FL Police Department has done no justice to themselves by their so-called investigation (or lack thereof). And nothing coming close to justice can ever replace the loss of the Martins’ son.
We are saddened by the heartrending theft of this young student’s ambitious life. We are enraged that those with the power to bring justice back into the picture have decided instead to take no action at all, blaming the confines of Florida law on their helplessness to act. They are either ignorant of this law (preposterous for officers endowed with the responsibility of upholding it) – or they’re lying.
Let’s enlighten them by taking a look at Florida’s Chapter 776 “Justifiable Use of Force” Statute, shall we?
776.012 Use of force in defense of person.
[A] person is justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat if:
(1) He or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony…
Interesting. One has to wonder if Trayvon’s murderer, a man by the name of George Zimmerman who outweighed the teenaged Trayvon by more than 100 lb., reasonably believed he needed to resort to deadly force in order to “prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself.”
FACTS: Trayvon committed no crime. He was walking back from the store carrying nothing but a bag of Skittles and a can of Iced Tea. He was not in possession of stolen property. He was not witnessed doing anything wrong. He was pursued by Zimmerman who went against the advice of police.
If Zimmerman reasonably believed there was the possibility of imminent death or great bodily harm to himself, he would not have pursued the teenager.
But wait – under this section, we have to take § 776.013 into consideration, too. Let’s have a look-see:
776.013 Home protection; use of deadly force; presumption of fear of death or great bodily harm.—
(1) A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if:
(a) The person against whom the defensive force was used was in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, a dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle, or if that person had removed or was attempting to remove another against that person’s will from the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle; and
(b) The person who uses defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had occurred.
OK, so (a) is not applicable. As far as (b) goes, in the 911 call Zimmerman made to police, he mentioned there had been several break-ins in the area. This alone does not constitute a reasonable belief that unlawful and forcible entry…was occurring or had occurred at the hands of Trayvon. Can you imagine if it was considered reasonable to believe any subjectively ‘suspicious-looking’ individual in an area prone to break-ins was the perpetrator and thus subject to legal murder by citizens? It would be an extreme violation of our common law system that embraces a presumption of innocence. But I digress – let's continue exploring the statute and jump to the meat of the Sanford police’s “hands-tied” claim:
(3) A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
I see. In order for this to apply, once again, we have to believe that the pursued Trayvon turned and attacked his pursuer (who, again, outweighed him by 100 lb.) and that Zimmerman believed it was necessary to kill the teenager because he feared death or great bodily harm to himself. Right. Case closed.
Not so fast…
776.041 Use of force by aggressor.
The justification described in the preceding sections of this chapter is not available to a person who:
(1) Is attempting to commit, committing, or escaping after the commission of, a forcible felony; or
(2) Initially provokes the use of force against himself or herself, unless:
(a) Such force is so great that the person reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that he or she has exhausted every reasonable means to escape such danger other than the use of force which is likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the assailant; or
(b) In good faith, the person withdraws from physical contact with the assailant and indicates clearly to the assailant that he or she desires to withdraw and terminate the use of force, but the assailant continues or resumes the use of force.
Wow! Does anyone else comprehend the implications of this statute? (I’m talking to you, Sanford police!)
“The justification [of deadly force] is not available to a person who…initially provokes the use of force against himself or herself unless such force is so great that the person reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and  that he or she has exhausted every reasonable means to escape such danger other than the use of force which is likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the assailant; or…the person withdraws from physical contact with the assailant and indicates clearly to the assailant that he or she desires to withdraw and terminate the use of force, but the assailant continues or resumes the use of force.”
Now, admittedly, witness statements for this case have not been released. But there can be no doubt that Zimmerman was the aggressor in this case. He chose to pursue young Trayvon (as admitted in the 911 call). The initial provoker was unquestionably the self-admitted pursuer, Zimmerman. Zimmerman also did not use “every reasonable means to escape such danger other than the use of force” – we know this because, again, the 28-year-old outweighed the teenager by 100 lb. – it defies reason to believe that Zimmerman would have been unable to extricate himself from the so-called “wrestling match.” There is also no reason to believe, as stated in the above statute, that Zimmerman gave Trayvon fair warning that he would be shot dead and Trayvon continued to attack anyway.
So the Sanford, FL police get an 'F' on their choice not  to arrest this murderer. They even went as far as to correct a witness when she claimed Trayvon was screaming for his life, telling her it was not Trayvon, but Zimmerman who was screaming. I listened to the horror on those 911 tapes. Those screams didn’t sound like they were coming from a 28-year-old man. They sounded like they were coming from a 17-year-old kid.
Travon Martin was the unjust victim of horrific wrongdoing; instead of being someone famous for his life, he is now famous for his death. The Sanford police and prosecutors need to stop hiding behind their own ignorance and/or disregard for Florida law and arrest Trayvon’s dangerous gun-weilding vigilante murderer. In the words of Trayvon's mother, "Let a judge and jury decide..." Let’s give Trayvon, his family, and the nation, a bit of justice.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Women’s Reproductive Health Rights:
Letter to Male Legislators


Please stop legislating my body and my choices –
you have more important things to do

Dear [fill in blank: senator, representative, etc.],
Regarding your stance on women’s reproductive health, please set aside your ideologies and theologies for a moment and reflect on the following with an open mind:
We can all agree that bringing a new life into the world can be the most precious moment of a woman’s life. But sometimes, victimizing circumstances beyond our control, such as sexual violence, critical health issues, or extreme poverty, place us in the position of having to make the most difficult and important decision we will ever face – a position you will never find yourself in and thus could never possibly understand.
It must be very easy for you to sit back, put on your blinders, and declare that “abortion is bad” and “contraception is immoral” – period, end of story. It’s not so easy for us.
How could you, as a man, begin to imagine what pregnancy is – how it affects every aspect of a woman’s body, and how it occasionally, sadly, results in the death of the woman? U.S. women are dying from childbirth at the highest rate in decades – at least 850 women would have died in 2010 without access to abortion services (statistics from U.S. Maternal Mortality Rate, National Center for Health Statistics; Planned Parenthood Report, and CDC – and this number does not include deaths that would have resulted from attempting to obtain illegal abortions.)
Do you understand how demeaning it is when legislators place more value on zygotes, blastocysts, and embryos than on the lives of the women carrying them? How insulting it is to presume that we are incapable of educating ourselves to the extent that legislation is being widely signed into law to force that education upon us using humiliating methods? And if education of women’s reproductive health is such a major priority, why are legislators pushing (and passing!) abstinence-only sex education in schools, which has been found to be completely ineffective in reducing incidences of teen pregnancy or the spread of STIs? (Ott, MA; Santelli, JS (2007 Oct). "Abstinence and abstinence-only education". Current opinion in obstetrics & gynecology 19 (5): 446–52))
When you, as a man, legislate matters of morality based on your own secular views – legislation that only affects women – rather than basing your political decision-making on science, logic, or the viewpoints of your female constituents, how does that make you any different from those imposing the legal inequalities of Sharia Law on women in other parts of the world?
Please stop waging this war on female Americans. We are more than vessels. We have hopes, dreams, and ambitions, same as you. When it comes to our bodies, it must be OUR choice, not yours.
Kindest regards,
[YOUR NAME]

Monday, March 12, 2012

Bums’ Rush

Clearing up Some Misconceptions


It’s been a week since radio personality Rush Limbaugh issued his on-air ‘apology’ to law student Sandra Fluke, and the boycott against his sponsors remains strong. Having followed far more media stories on the topic than I’d wish on anyone, I’d like to devote this piece to clearing up a few of the most common erroneous bits surrounding the controversy.
MISCONCEPTION 1: Literally hundreds of news stories have cited Rush’s use of the words “slut” and “prostitute” as the capital offense that has galvanized the U.S. female population – as though our delicate ears should not have to endure such foul filth. Indeed, Rush’s own apology references only his “poor choice of words” and candidate Mitt Romney reinforced that sentiment with his “not the words I would’ve chosen” statement (translation: I agree with the message, if not the delivery).
TRUTH: While it’s true that the words weren’t nice ones – weren’t words to which any women should be subjected in a civil society – there were so many offensive aspects to the crude and bullying attack, it’s difficult to know where to begin. First and foremost was the fact that Ms. Fluke was publicly assailed over the course of three days for doing nothing more than performing a civic duty on behalf of all women (not to mention the other fact that all women who have ever used birth control were dragged into the unwarranted assault). Other offenses are covered under the next misconceptions:
MISCONCEPTION 2: Sandra Fluke testified in advocation of the recreational use of birth control for herself and her college ‘fluzy’ friends.
TRUTH: This one really “grinds my gears” (to steal an idiom from Peter Griffin) because it addresses several of my journalistic pet peeves. First, it illustrates the deliberate mischaracterization by Mr. Limbaugh of the truth; I find it hard to believe he chose to rail about Ms. Fluke for three days without either listening to her testimony or reading its online transcript. HE LIED in an extremely calculating manner for what purpose? To make his listeners believe that the President supports the tax-payer subsidized and evil sexual recreation of women via the means for them to engage in fornication without the consequence of pregnancy? Second, it shows how eager the right wing is to embrace the “truth” as spewed by Mr. Limbaugh rather than discovering the actual facts themselves. Countless crude cartoons, nasty tweets, and vulgar Facebook posts about Sandra Fluke – many by notables who should’ve known much, much better – have polluted the Internet, and either their authors chose not to educate themselves, or have followed in the wake of Limbaugh and sought to purposefully mislead others. Ms. Fluke’s testimony (approximately 1,600 words) can be found here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/boxofficebuz/transcript-of-testimony-by-sandra-fluke-48z2
For those short of time, I’ll sum it up: Ms. Fluke was advocating for the non-partisan medical advice of the Institute of Medicine. She was advocating for the critical health needs that birth control provides many women. She was speaking not on behalf of herself, but on behalf of all women who work for a religiously-affiliated employer or attend a religiously-affiliated higher education institute. She cited numerous cases of medical issues addressed by birth control, including polycystic ovarian syndrome and endometriosis. Never once in her testimony did she advocate for birth control for the purposes of recreational sex, for either herself or any of the women she was representing.
MISCONCEPTION 3: Sandra Fluke testified in advocation of tax-paid birth control.
TRUTH: The only people who believe this whopper are people who obviously don’t follow the news (aside from the slanted ‘news’ they may receive from Rush). For their enlightenment, I’ll sum it up as follows: part of the new healthcare legislation required employers to provide reproductive health coverage for women as a part of employee-paid insurance plans (approximately half of U.S. states already require this). Religious institutions – primarily Catholic – that don’t sanction birth control but do employ or educate hundreds of thousands of women, felt that this requirement infringed on their freedom to deny contraception because of the religious belief that birth control is sinful (this belief, based primarily on an obscure part of the Book of Genesis, will be covered in a future blog). At any rate, Ms. Fluke’s testimony had absolutely NOTHING to do with taxpayer-funded insurance plans – she was advocating for employee- and student-paid insurance plans to provide this medical coverage for women, regardless of religious affiliation. (And here’s an interesting side note: an estimated 10%-20% of the money that goes into college student-paid plans, religious or otherwise, is used to treat football injuries.)
The other misconceptions surrounding this controversy run far and wide: How “Fluke-Gate” is a left-wing conspiracy, how liberals are trying to suppress Limbaugh’s right to his freedom of speech, how students who are elitist enough to attend law school should have no trouble paying for their own birth control, how the more sex a women has the more birth control pills she needs to take, etc., etc., etc.
For me personally, the most offensive part of the Rush Limbaugh rant against Sandra Fluke was how quickly so many jumped on Rush’s bandwagon, taking every foul word from his mouth as gospel. Having been forced to listen to his loony ravings growing up in a conservative family, I sincerely believed that no one – not even the ultra-conservative – took him seriously. It was eye-opening and dismaying to see how wrong I was. I think the most important lesson we can all learn from the Fluke/Limbaugh controversy is how vitally important it is to educate yourself on the facts before aligning yourself with a bullying liar who could stand to learn some real religious values.

UPDATE: "Rush Limbaugh Syndicator Suspends National Ads For Two Weeks