Sign Up | Log In
REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS
Limbaugh Apologizes to Ms. Fluke
Saturday, March 3, 2012 1:24 PM
KWICKO
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)
Quote: Rush Limbaugh is apologizing to Georgetown law student and activist Sandra Fluke after calling her a "slut" on air, a day after President Obama entered the fray. In his apology, Limbaugh said that he did not believe "it is a topic that should reach a presidential level." "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," Limbaugh said.
Saturday, March 3, 2012 1:44 PM
BYTEMITE
Saturday, March 3, 2012 1:51 PM
HKCAVALIER
Saturday, March 3, 2012 2:38 PM
Quote: However he was coerced, however he rationalizes it...
Saturday, March 3, 2012 3:34 PM
OONJERAH
Saturday, March 3, 2012 3:45 PM
Saturday, March 3, 2012 4:53 PM
SIGNYM
I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.
Saturday, March 3, 2012 6:30 PM
Saturday, March 3, 2012 6:58 PM
ANTHONYT
Freedom is Important because People are Important
Saturday, March 3, 2012 7:06 PM
1KIKI
Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.
Saturday, March 3, 2012 7:38 PM
Quote:By Faiz Shakir on Mar 3, 2012 at 7:57 pm Moments ago, Carbonite – a company providing backup software for computers – announced that it will no longer advertise on Rush Limbaugh’s show. CEO David Friend made clear in a Facebook statement that, despite Limbaugh’s “apology” issued tonight, the company was still pulling its ads because it wants to “contribute to a more civilized public discourse”: No one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke, and I have two, could possibly abide the insult and abuse heaped upon this courageous and well-intentioned young lady. Mr. Limbaugh, with his highly personal attacks on Miss Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency. Even though Mr. Limbaugh has now issued an apology, we have nonetheless decided to withdraw our advertising from his show. We hope that our action, along with the other advertisers who have already withdrawn their ads, will ultimately contribute to a more civilized public discourse. Indeed, evidencing the point made by Friend, Limbaugh’s “apology” is riddled with offensive statements, comparing contraception to “sneakers” and implying that birth control is only a subsidy for personal sexual activity.
Saturday, March 3, 2012 7:48 PM
Saturday, March 3, 2012 7:58 PM
Quote:"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."
Quote: THESE WORDS ARE NOT AN APOLOGY, BUT RATHER SEEK TO JUSTIFY HIMSELF For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week. 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.
Quote: THESE WORDS ARE THE APOLOGY In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke. 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."
Saturday, March 3, 2012 8:27 PM
FREMDFIRMA
Saturday, March 3, 2012 8:43 PM
Saturday, March 3, 2012 9:32 PM
MAGONSDAUGHTER
Quote:Originally posted by SignyM: Yanno, from a Viagra-popping, hillbilly heroin-dropping sex tourist, this guy had some nerve to pull the moral-superiority card!! Customs Officials Hold Rush Limbaugh In Viagra Flap Okay,let me get a little personal AND a lot angry. My dd had very heavy periods. One morning, she woke up in a pool of blood... she was hemorrhaging. She IS on "the pill", not because she's banging her multiple BFs every night, but to control bleeding. My god, I hope Rush bleeds to death bc of some rectal hemorrhage. WAAAY too fucking little too fucking late. I hope his sponsors desert him as if he had genital crabs.
Saturday, March 3, 2012 10:06 PM
Saturday, March 3, 2012 10:38 PM
Sunday, March 4, 2012 2:31 AM
PIZMOBEACH
... fully loaded, safety off...
Sunday, March 4, 2012 4:02 AM
HERO
Quote:Originally posted by pizmobeach: A coerced apology is no apology. Ironic: thank goodness for greed - if the advertisers weren't trying to save their reps they wouldn't have taken action. Talk about paying for your 1st amendment rights!
Sunday, March 4, 2012 4:30 AM
Quote:Originally posted by Hero: The important thing to remember is that Rush is a conservative therefore everything he says must be interpreted in the worst possible way, his motives must be the worst possible motives, nothing he says can make up for it, and free speech simply does not apply.
Sunday, March 4, 2012 4:35 AM
AURAPTOR
America loves a winner!
Sunday, March 4, 2012 5:12 AM
Sunday, March 4, 2012 5:31 AM
Sunday, March 4, 2012 6:05 AM
Sunday, March 4, 2012 6:42 AM
Quote:Originally posted by SignyM: You DO realize, RAPPY, that right after that empty threat of yours I just went and signed ten more petitions? God, you're an empty windbag.
Quote: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2854291/posts Rush Limbaugh apologized on Saturday for calling a Georgetown Law student a slut for testifying about contraception and starting a firestorm of outrage. Kirsten Powers says the liberals who led the charge need to start holding their own side accountable. Did you know there is a war on women? Yes, it’s true. Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Bill Maher, Matt Taibbi, and Ed Schultz have been waging it for years with their misogynist outbursts. There have been boycotts by people on the left who are outraged that these guys still have jobs. Oh, wait. Sorry, that never happened. Boycotts are reserved for people on the right like Rush Limbaugh, who finally apologized Saturday for calling a 30-year-old Georgetown Law student, Sandra Fluke, a “slut” after she testified before congress about contraception. Limbaugh’s apology was likely extracted to stop the departure of any more advertisers, who were rightly under pressure from liberal groups outraged by the comments. Let it be shouted from the rooftops that Rush Limbaugh should not have called Ms. Fluke a slut or, as he added later, a “prostitute” who should post her sex tapes. It’s unlikely that his apology will assuage the people on a warpath for his scalp, and after all, why should it? He spent days attacking a woman as a slut and prostitute and refused to relent. Now because he doesn’t want to lose advertisers, he apologizes. What’s in order is something more like groveling—and of course a phone call to Ms. Fluke—if you ask me. But if Limbaugh’s actions demand a boycott—and they do—then what about the army of swine on the left? During the 2008 election Ed Schultz said on his radio show that Sarah Palin set off a “bimbo alert.” He called Laura Ingraham a “right-wing slut.” (He later apologized.) He once even took to his blog to call yours truly a “bimbo” for the offense of quoting him accurately in a New York Post column. Keith Olbermann has said that conservative commentator S.E. Cupp should have been aborted by her parents, apparently because he finds her having opinions offensive. He called Michelle Malkin a “mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick.” He found it newsworthy to discuss Carrie Prejean’s breasts on his MSNBC show. His solution for dealing with Hillary Clinton, who he thought should drop out of the presidential race, was to find “somebody who can take her into a room and only he comes out.” Olbermann now works for über-leftist and former Democratic vice president Al Gore at Current TV. The grand pooh-bah of media misogyny is without a doubt Bill Maher. Left-wing darling Matt Taibbi wrote on his blog in 2009, “When I read [Malkin’s] stuff, I imagine her narrating her text, book-on-tape style, with a big, hairy set of balls in her mouth.” In a Rolling Stone article about Secretary of State Clinton, he referred to her “flabby arms.” When feminist writer Erica Jong criticized him for it, he responded by referring to Jong as an “800-year old sex novelist.” (Jong is almost 70, which apparently makes her an irrelevant human being.) In Taibbi’s profile of Congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann he labeled her “batshit crazy.” (Oh, those “crazy” women with their hormones and all.) Chris Matthews’s sickening misogyny was made famous in 2008, when he obsessively tore down Hillary Clinton for standing between Barack Obama and the presidency, something that Matthews could not abide. Over the years he has referred to the former first lady, senator and presidential candidate and current secretary of state as a “she-devil,” “Nurse Ratched,” and “Madame Defarge.” Matthews has also called Clinton “witchy,” “anti-male,” and “uppity” and once claimed she won her Senate seat only because her “husband messed around.” He asked a guest if “being surrounded by women” makes “a case for commander in chief—or does it make a case against it?” At some point Matthews was shamed into sort of half apologizing to Clinton, but then just picked up again with his sexist ramblings. Matthews has wondered aloud whether Sarah Palin is even “capable of thinking” and has called Bachmann a “balloon head” and said she was “lucky we still don’t have literacy tests out there.” Democratic strategist Jehmu Greene, who is the former president of the Women’s Media Center, told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly in 2011 that Matthews “is a bully, and his favorite target is women.” So why does he still have a show? What if his favorite target was Jews? Or African-Americans? But the grand pooh-bah of media misogyny is without a doubt Bill Maher—who also happens to be a favorite of liberals—who has given $1 million to President Obama’s super PAC. Maher has called Palin a “dumb twat” and dropped the C-word in describing the former Alaska governor. He called Palin and Congresswoman Bachmann “boobs” and “two bimbos.” He said of the former vice-presidential candidate, “She is not a mean girl. She is a crazy girl with mean ideas.” He recently made a joke about Rick Santorum’s wife using a vibrator. Imagine now the same joke during the 2008 primary with Michelle Obama’s name in it, and tell me that he would still have a job. Maher said of a woman who was harassed while breast-feeding at an Applebee’s, “Don't show me your tits!” as though a woman feeding her child is trying to flash Maher. (Here’s a way to solve his problem: don’t stare at a strangers’ breasts). Then, his coup de grâce: “And by the way, there is a place where breasts and food do go together. It’s called Hooters!” Liberals—you know, the people who say they “fight for women”—comprise Maher’s audience, and a parade of high-profile liberals make up his guest list. Yet have any of them confronted him? Nope. That was left to Ann Coulter, who actually called Maher a misogynist to his face, an opportunity that feminist icon Gloria Steinem failed to take when she appeared on his show in 2011. This is not to suggest that liberals—or feminists—never complain about misogyny. Many feminist blogs now document attacks on women on the left and the right, including Jezebel, Shakesville, and the Women’s Media Center (which was cofounded by Steinem). But when it comes to high-profile campaigns to hold these men accountable—such as that waged against Limbaugh—the real fury seems reserved only for conservatives, while the men on the left get a wink and a nod as long as they are carrying water for the liberal cause. After all, if Limbaugh’s outburst is part of the “war on women,” then what is the routine misogyny of liberal media men? It’s time for some equal-opportunity accountability. Without it, the fight against media misogyny will continue to be perceived as a proxy war for the Democratic Party, not a fight for fair treatment of women in the public square.
Sunday, March 4, 2012 7:21 AM
NIKI2
Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...
Quote:Limbaugh was also facing an intense backlash from both advertisers and many within the conservative movement over his comments. Sleep Train Mattress Centers, Sleep Number, and Quicken Loans all pulled their ads from Limbaugh's popular radio program Friday.
Quote: A series of incendiary events has thrust the issue of contraception to the forefront of the national discussion in the past few weeks. There was an outcry after Obama introduced the rule, which requires most religiously affiliated employers to cover birth control for their employees. Soon after, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the nation's largest breast cancer charity, cut off funds to Planned Parenthood, which provides affordable cancer screenings and contraception to millions of low-income women, because some of its locations also perform abortions. The ensuing controversy sparked a massive national discussion about the politicization of women's health and coaxed GOP politicians, such as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, into taking sides. Just as the Komen controversy died down, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) introduced an amendment that would have allowed insurers to opt out of covering any form of health care to which they morally objected. This, in itself, was low hanging fruit for the Democrats. But when House Republicans convened an all-male panel to discuss contraception, and When Foster Friess, a top financial backer of former Sen. Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign, said that pregnancies could be prevented by "gals" putting Bayer Asprin "between their knees," campaign consultants had the type of political imagery that they could only dream of. Hammering the problematic imagery home even further, Bishop William Lori, the first witness on the House Oversight Committee's all-male panel on religious liberty, spent a full ten minutes comparing birth control to a ham sandwich. "The government recognized that it is absurd for someone to come into a kosher deli and demand a ham sandwich," Lori said of Obama's revised birth control rule, "that it is downright surreal to apply this coercive power when the customer can get the same sandwich cheaply, or even free, just a few doors down. Women's groups say they are not going to let that kind of rhetoric slide. "It's a shame and it's appalling and it makes everybody really mad, but it's lucky we have a place to put all that energy," said McIntosh. "We have the luxury of saying, 'Yes, this is terrible, but look at all these great alternatives.' The women in office are on the front lines in this fight. Women like [Sen.] Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and [Sen.] Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) are standing up to the right, and everybody wants to send them more reinforcements." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/20/birth-control-republicans-democrats_n_1289166.html
Quote:Although Jess McIntosh, communications director for EMILY's List, did not reveal the amount of money the group has raised in the past two weeks, she said it's clear that the latest drive for money and supporters has been a huge success. ..... State Democratic parties and individual campaigns have also been able to use the federal birth control controversy to drum up local support. The Virginia Democratic Party, for instance, claims to have raised an unusually high amount of money and saw a "spike in interaction" in the two days following Issa's birth control hearing. "People kind of came to life about this issue. Across the board, we have seen a considerable uptick in the financial response our people have had to what's going on," said Brian Coy, a spokesperson for the Virginia Democrats. "We've raised thousands of dollars over the last 48 hours over this, which is absolutely not normal, and we've seen a huge uptick in Facebook and Twitter activity." Maggie Hassan, a Democrat running for governor of New Hampshire, said her campaign has also seen a considerable increase in donations and support since birth control rose to the forefront of the national discussion. "All the men talking about birth control really is, I think, generating this kind of disbelief, and it's really firing people up," she told HuffPost. "We're beginning to see a lot of discussion about it on our Facebook pages, I get asked about it at house parties, and it's definitely motivating people to give money. Most of us, certainly in my generation -- we all thought this was settled." same
Quote:Republican campaigns have been much more reluctant to discuss their fundraising efforts or success around the birth control issue. The National Republican Senatorial Committee circulated only one petition about the birth control rule, but left the words "birth control," "contraception," and "women's health" entirely out of it, focusing instead on the issue of religious freedom. The petition had only received 15,000 signatures by Monday afternoon -- a fraction of the DCCC's 250,000. When asked about fundraising efforts, a staffer at the NRSC said only that it's hard to see how the DSCC's "gender war spin" can be taken seriously when two female GOP Senate candidates, Sarah Steelman in Missouri and Heather Wilson in New Mexico, oppose Obama's birth control rule. Susan B. Anthony List, the anti-abortion alternative to EMILY's List, said it has been too busy educating people about the contraception mandate to fundraise around it. "We have not fundraised off of it yet, but we do plan to use it in races where we think it will make a difference," said SBA List president Marjorie Dannenfelser. "I think it will work in our direction. It is an underestimation of women that they are going see this issue as being about creating barriers to contraception and abortifacients -- that's not what this is. It's about something so much more fundamental: the right of conscience and religious liberty for all people, including women." The Republican National Committee did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this article. same
Quote:Carbonite – a company providing backup software for computers – announced that it will no longer advertise on Rush Limbaugh’s show. CEO David Friend made clear in a Facebook statement that, despite Limbaugh’s “apology” issued tonight, the company was still pulling its ads because it wants to “contribute to a more civilized public discourse”:Quote: No one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke, and I have two, could possibly abide the insult and abuse heaped upon this courageous and well-intentioned young lady. Mr. Limbaugh, with his highly personal attacks on Miss Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency. Even though Mr. Limbaugh has now issued an apology, we have nonetheless decided to withdraw our advertising from his show. We hope that our action, along with the other advertisers who have already withdrawn their ads, will ultimately contribute to a more civilized public discourse.
Quote: No one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke, and I have two, could possibly abide the insult and abuse heaped upon this courageous and well-intentioned young lady. Mr. Limbaugh, with his highly personal attacks on Miss Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency. Even though Mr. Limbaugh has now issued an apology, we have nonetheless decided to withdraw our advertising from his show. We hope that our action, along with the other advertisers who have already withdrawn their ads, will ultimately contribute to a more civilized public discourse.
Quote: I find the commentry from the US makes it seem to have very puritanical views regarding sex.
Quote: Let it be shouted from the rooftops that Rush Limbaugh should not have called Ms. Fluke a slut or, as he added later, a “prostitute” who should post her sex tapes. It’s unlikely that his apology will assuage the people on a warpath for his scalp, and after all, why should it? He spent days attacking a woman as a slut and prostitute and refused to relent. Now because he doesn’t want to lose advertisers, he apologizes. What’s in order is something more like groveling—and of course a phone call to Ms. Fluke—if you ask me. But if Limbaugh’s actions demand a boycott
Sunday, March 4, 2012 7:25 AM
Quote:Originally posted by Niki2: The situation speaks quite clearly for itself; the right CREATED this distraction (probably in large part because they can't go after Obama on the economy or international relations, so hey ho, back to social issues!), and then doubled down on it again and again. It may not be stupidity (tho' I can't see how), but it's sure not worked in their interests!
Sunday, March 4, 2012 7:30 AM
Sunday, March 4, 2012 7:39 AM
Sunday, March 4, 2012 8:01 AM
Quote: And for good sakes, people. Rush was KIDDING! It's called BEING ABSURD TO DEMONSTRATE ABSURDITY. Was it crass, rude and in poor taste ? Yeah, probably. I'll admit that. His POINT, as offensively made as it was, is simple. If you're going to expect others to PAY for you to have 'safe sex', then those paying the freight are due something in return. Don't agree with that ? FINE! Don't ask others to pay for what should be YOUR OWN DAMN RESPONSIBILITY!
Sunday, March 4, 2012 8:58 AM
Sunday, March 4, 2012 9:09 AM
Quote:Originally posted by AURaptor:
Sunday, March 4, 2012 9:30 AM
Quote:MY PERSONAL FAVORITE File a complaint with the FCC for Rush Limbaugh violating decency standards by slander and soliciting pornographic materials over the airways.
Sunday, March 4, 2012 10:16 AM
Sunday, March 4, 2012 10:55 AM
STORYMARK
Quote:Originally posted by HKCavalier: Am I wrong to think this is evidence that Rush actually has a gorram soul?
Sunday, March 4, 2012 10:57 AM
Quote:Originally posted by AURaptor: Quote:Originally posted by Niki2: The situation speaks quite clearly for itself; the right CREATED this distraction (probably in large part because they can't go after Obama on the economy or international relations, so hey ho, back to social issues!), and then doubled down on it again and again. It may not be stupidity (tho' I can't see how), but it's sure not worked in their interests!
Sunday, March 4, 2012 10:58 AM
Quote:Originally posted by AURaptor: In the time that this non-story has been alive, the Obama debt train has increased by $40,200,000,000.00.
Sunday, March 4, 2012 11:45 AM
Quote:Originally posted by AnthonyT: Quote:MY PERSONAL FAVORITE File a complaint with the FCC for Rush Limbaugh violating decency standards by slander and soliciting pornographic materials over the airways. Hello, I believe in complaining about this man's vile words because they were vile. I believe in complaining to the advertisers for supporting such a message. This is public opinion well expressed to people who have a business interest in the public's opinion. I don't like the multiple FCC petitions that say essentially, "I support Free Speech, but..." I support Free Speech. I don't want a government institution used to suppress it. Once you teach that dog to hunt your enemies, it's only a matter of time before he cuts his teeth on your bones.
Sunday, March 4, 2012 12:27 PM
Quote:Originally posted by Storymark: Your calling something the lie of the day virtualy guarantees it's veracity. "Goram it kid, let's frak this thing and go home! Engage!"
Quote: During a Republican presidential debate in January, moderator George Stephanopoulos peppered Mitt Romney with questions about contraception that seemed totally out of the blue at the time. But in the wake of President Barack Obama’s move to mandate health insurance companies’ coverage of contraception, the motivation for the ABC newsman’s grilling of Romney has become clear, according to political pundit Dick Morris: It’s part of a plan to convince voters that Republicans will ban contraception.
Sunday, March 4, 2012 12:36 PM
Sunday, March 4, 2012 1:47 PM
Quote:Originally posted by SignyM: There is a differences between what others did and what Limbaugh did. The comments your article mentioned were aimed at political figures. Just as I think Obama doesn't deserve as special respect because he is "the President", and the image of Mohammed doesn't deserve kid-glove handling because some "might" be offended, political figures (and other public figures) are subject to a broader range of comment. You get in the ring, you should expect to have a few punches thrown your way. Ms. Fluke is a private citizen, and calling her a "slut" was one word out of a whole tirade... an attack which she didn't deserve and should never have been aimed at her. Anita Hill is another example of a private citizen being ripped to shreds by right-wing misogynists for testifying. So, I'm going to look for a few more petitions to sign. I might have missed some!
Sunday, March 4, 2012 2:11 PM
Sunday, March 4, 2012 2:14 PM
Sunday, March 4, 2012 2:21 PM
Sunday, March 4, 2012 2:41 PM
Quote:Originally posted by SignyM: I would prefer that people stick to issues and not stoop to personal attacks. When you have to start attacking someone personally to make your point, it seems to me that the audience should realize that the attacker has just lost. But it doesn't work that way here very much anymore.
Sunday, March 4, 2012 2:50 PM
Quote: How is Michelle Malkin or Ann Coulter any more a political figure than women's ( or is it womyn ?) rights activist Ms Fluke ?
Sunday, March 4, 2012 2:55 PM
Sunday, March 4, 2012 3:08 PM
Sunday, March 4, 2012 4:19 PM
Quote:When you have to start attacking someone personally to make your point, it seems to me that the audience should realize that the attacker has just lost. But it doesn't work that way here very much anymore.
YOUR OPTIONS
NEW POSTS TODAY
OTHER TOPICS
FFF.NET SOCIAL