Reuters:
Rush Limbaugh offers long-winded excuse with an apology at the end to satisfy lawyersI doubt he did it because he wanted to, but maybe I'm wrong.
Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, facing heavy criticism for branding a law student a "slut" over her remarks on President Barack Obama's new policy on contraception, apologized on Saturday....
"My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir," Limbaugh said in a written statement. "I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices."
From Wilmington DE, a veritable national shrine to corporate personhood (since so many businesses incorporate in the tax-friendly haven), comes some delightful news: They passes a resolution to grant personhood to eggs and sperm, too. But no, this isn't fundie madness but a protest against recent attempts to defund birth control on "moral" grounds:
The Wilmington City Council has a message for men -- sperm are people, too.
The council for Delaware's largest city passed a resolution by an 8-4 vote Thursday calling on the Delaware legislature, other state legislatures and the U.S. Congress to pass laws granting "personhood" rights to eggs and sperm. The resolution was authored by councilwoman Loretta Walsh as a protest in the current battle over women's health care access.
"[E]ach 'egg person' and each 'sperm person' should be deemed equal in the eyes of the government and be subject to the same laws and regulations as any other dependent minor and be protected against abuse, neglect or abandonment by the parent or guardian," says the resolution. "[L]aws should be enacted by all legislative bodies in the United States to promote equal representation, and should potentially include laws in defense of 'personhood,' forbidding every man from destroying his semen."
The vote came the same day that the U.S. Senate voted down an amendment that would have given employers the right to refuse any health care service to employees for moral reasons.
Walsh isn't the first lawmaker to introduce such a measure. Sen. Constance Johnson, a Democratic state senator from Oklahoma, introduced and later withdrew an amendment to a "personhood" bill that would have given zygotes the same rights as adults. "However, any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman's vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child," reads the amendment.
The Right Wing is very, very concerned about the threat to religious liberty posed by the Obama Administration.
So concerned that they're outlawing some forms of religious expression while enshrining their own.
Yesterday, within the span of 24 hours, the Florida House passed a bill to allow prayer in public schools and another to crack down on the supposed threat of Sharia law.
In a lopsided 88-27 vote, the chamber okayed a bill to allow any student to deliver "inspirational messages," including religious prayers, at public-school events. "Look at what just happened in Ohio," one lawmaker said, referencing the recent school school shooting there. "The kids need to have prayer at school." Another explained the need by citing the "sex, gambling and all of the moral decay that's on our televisions and radios."
The ACLU and Anti-Defamation League believe the bill violates the separation of Church and State and have threatened legal action. Meanwhile, the other bill bans the use of "foreign law," with an implicit focus on the supposed dangers of Sharia. When asked, the bill's sponsor couldn't point to a single cases in Florida in which a judge ruled on Sharia, but said the state needs to "jump in front of the problem."
Personally, I'm far more afraid of Christian law than Sharia law.
There are no documented cases of Sharia law actually being used in a United States court, however the imposition of Christian dogma is a part of everyday life for people across the country.
The War on Women is a shining example of this, wherein the Religious Right is attempting to suspend your liberty to not be ruled over by their religion.
By the way, if you want to talk moral decay, turn on Rush Limbaugh. Turn on Fox News. Programs that believe lying is a virtue. Where "slut" is treated as just another point of view. And I don't believe Ohio students were shot because they don't pray enough. I think it has more to do with there being 3 guns for every 1 person in this country.
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Fox News devoted just a single segment to the escalating controversy surrounding Rush Limbaugh's vicious attacks on Sanda Fluke, the Georgetown Law student whom Republicans wouldn't let testify during a hearing on birth control, largely ignoring the controversy.
The only mention over the past two days, according a search of a media monitoring service, was to cover White House spokesperson Jay Carney's comments on the controversy. Host Megyn Kelly did not play any audio from Limbaugh. Meanwhile, Fox mentioned a phony bomb threat at Limbaugh's home (it turned out to be a piece of art from a fan) three separate times this morning, without mentioning Fluke.
Another example of "control the media, you control the mind." I doubt many Fox News viewers will ever get to read this Washington Post editorial:
Like other "shock jocks," Mr. Limbaugh has committed verbal excesses in the past. But in its wanton vulgarity and cruelty, this episode stands out. Mr. Limbaugh's audience, and those in politics who seek his favor as a means of reaching that audience, need to take special note.
[...]
What we are saying is that Mr. Limbaugh has abused his unique position within the conservative media to smear and vilify a citizen engaged in the exercise of her First Amendment rights, and in the process he debased a national political discourse that needs no further debasing. This is not the way a decent citizen behaves, much less a citizen who wields significant de facto power in a major political party. While Republican leaders owe no apology for Mr. Limbaugh's comments, they do have a responsibility to repudiate them — and him.
Republicans are too intimidated by Limbaugh's power to ever repudiate anything the "entertainer" says or does. John Boehner made some lame statement about Limbaugh's words being "inappropriate" but was quick to add that it was no worse than Democrats raising money off the issue. No one plays the game of false equivalency better than Republicans.
Meanwhile, as the Fox sheeple bleat on in oblivious bliss and ignorance, the informed masses have brought pressure to bear on Limbaugh's sponsors. To date, five have dropped advertising on his radio show. Updates on the situation here.
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