Why yes, Rush Limbaugh IS a big, fat idiot

I should clarify that I am calling his idiocy fat, as I don’t really feel comfortable criticizing someone else’s weight problem.

Anyway, talking about women, and women’s problems, it feels like a good time to address the debate over birth control, and the whole Rush Limbaugh/Sandra Fluke issue.

One aspect of the whole flare-up that dismayed me was the unnecessary ignorance. People were making comments that were oblivious to the facts, and the facts were really easy to find. Locating the transcript of Sandra Fluke’s testimony was quite easy, and reading it was not a huge commitment, as it wasn’t that long. People just didn’t.

I mean, in terms of Rush thinking that needing to take a pill daily means that you are having lots and lots of sex, I almost think that has to be hyperbole rather than something he actually believes, because come on! The mechanics of the pill were not only taught in sex education, but have been referenced in movies and standup comedy acts and it’s just really well known. I’m not saying that he can’t be that stupid, but maybe he was just being dramatic.

(I will cut Rush some slack here, because based on my understanding of him, no one has ever really expected him to be informed, reasonable, polite, dignified, or respectful at any point before, so that was probably rather a rude awakening.)

What bothered me more were the comments about one of the examples that she gave. It is pretty well known. She has a friend who had polycystic ovarian syndrome, and needed the pill to control that. Her doctor confirmed the illness, which technically meant it was covered, but her insurer kept denying the claim because they said she wanted it for pregnancy protection. Well, she was a lesbian, so her risk of accidental pregnancy was quite low. Her risk of complications from the initial problem was high, though, and she did end up needing her ovary removed, involving a lot of pain, disrupting her final exams, and leading to early menopause.

Comments focused on how if it wasn’t for pregnancy it would be covered, on why she wasn’t there herself, and whether it was really that expensive. All of that was covered in the transcript. Now, if you want to doubt the veracity of Fluke’s testimony, that’s one thing, but at least read it first.

Incidentally, she also gave an example of a married student, where she and her husband had to give up birth control because they could not afford it. The rhythm method is less effective, but it’s free. And yes, married women use birth control too—it’s not just for sluts. And having some control over when the children come is one of the most valuable things for a woman’s health and economic welfare, so that seems like it might be kind of important, but apparently not.

I’ve been pretty clear before that my big negative triggers are meanness and stupidity, and this entire debate just has a lot of both. First of all, let’s look at the cost. Based on Fluke’s testimony, the cost of birth control during law school (I assume four years) comes to about $3000. Her friend would have had an emergency room visit, surgery, and then hormone replacement for the early menopause. I bet that cost more.

Let’s consider the bill to require it being paid for. Okay, some employers have religious objections. Fine, the insurers will cover it. Nope, still no good. That just makes it too easy for women, those sluts and baby-making machines.

I guess the thing I hate most about the right is how ardently they put me into disagreement with things I believe. I’m chaste, okay? I am saving myself for marriage, which will probably never happen, and my insides are working correctly, so I will probably never personally benefit from birth control being covered. It still should be. It makes an important difference to a lot of real people who are not simple stereotypes.

And hey, as long as we’re on the topic, based on my religious beliefs, if as the person that I am, I got pregnant from a rape so horrific that Bill Napoli (that’s a few years old now, but look it up if you don’t remember) himself could not imagine it, I would probably still choose not to have an abortion, but the key words are “I” and “choose”. And I would pray and talk to my bishop and figure it out, but it would still be my choice and it’s no one else’s business.

So this is where I am, seething because there are people who want to take away my right to do things that I will never do, and many of them are probably doing things that I would not do, based on the amount of elected and appointed officials who end up in prostitution scandals.

Okay, so Limbaugh lost advertisers, and Beck had to switch to a smaller format, so maybe that could be a sign that we are moving towards a more respectful society, with less appetite for spewing, but look at the other things that have come up. Terry England compares women to cows and chickens, Foster Friess wants women to hold an aspirin in between their knees, and Pete Hoekstra calls the Ledbetter Act a nuisance. I know, different battles, but kind of the same, and facing the same problems.

 
So, again, women need to support each other. Part of that means not judging each other, but part of that is also knowing that someone who promotes moral behavior, but does so at the expense of the poor and the disenfranchised, has something seriously missing from their morals. It’s not that chastity isn’t important, but it’s easier to teach than kindness. If you have someone who’s missing charity, it doesn’t really matter what else they do have.