False Equivalency #1 - Bill Maher D.F.H. of DNC

bill maher has been labeled "de facto head of the dnc," just as rush limbaugh tagged same of republican party.

reality check - bill maher supports the president, but considers himself a liberterian, not a democrat. his viewership is light years away from the divine mr. l's. he's on weekly, for one hour, whereas rush is on radio 5 days a week, 3 hours each day. his show includes a brief monologue, an interview - often with someone with differing views - a panel discussion, then closes with "new rules." and he targets public figures, not private citizens

I KEEP WONDERING...

...what my Mom & her friends at Hannah Penn would think about the Republican Party's lack of outrage at the Divine Mr. L's three days of unrestrained, downright wanton attacks on the core character of a young woman, of an entire law school's female student body, because she dared to stand up for the importance of making hormone therapy (most commonly, but not exclusively, used for birth control) available to women, regardless of their financial situation.

I can't speak for the other women - some or most of whom might have been totally okay with what's become an attack on Sandra Fluke as a flunky of a conniving White House - but I know that Mom would have been horrified. To be honest, I can't imagine any woman raised in my birth faith NOT being shaken to her core with repulsion, in spite of their believes on birth control or premarital sex. What the Divine Mr. L. unleashed was an attack on innocence, in that he did everything he could to shred the reputation of every woman in the Georgetown University Law School in general, Sandra Fluke in particular. All this woman did was seek to have her voice heard. And for that, the most powerful voice in America has done everything possible to silence her's & annihilate her character.

With the exception of Ron Paul, the candidates have issued carefully caged comments that evade rather than condemn. Many on the Right consider his words & unprecedented 3-day attacks as no worse than those on the Left calling Michelle Bachmann a bimbo & bubblehead, or demeaning attacks on Sarah Palin, pointing out that such attacks go unchallenged by Progressives & go by the board without apology ~ ~ completely ignoring the numerous attacks that were issued.

I keep wondering what Mom & the ladies of Hannah Penn would do, and then I think to myself - thank god she never lived to see this day. My mother was a compassionate conservative, a term that the Divine Mr. L. & his ilk sneer at today.

Rush to Judgment??

Not very much - the only Republicans to clearly & decisively speak out against Rush Limbaugh's astonishing, 3-day long attack on Georgetown law student, Sandra Fluke, were Scott Brown & Carly Fiorino. From everyone else, we've heard uncomfortable silence, tepid words of discomfort, even flat-out fault shifting onto anyone else but Rush.

Having experienced this being played out since Wednesday's shocking broadcast, am left with the image of a bunch of testosterone-hyped social neanderthals who display a shocking lack of respect for women.

As for Rush, am gob-smacked with the acceptance of a shocking number of people & pundits who don't seem to realize that he:

• verbally abused a woman for facing down male authority figures bent on restraining her from voicing her personal belief in hormone-regulating drugs;
• his abuse continued over 3 days, despite pleas from others to stop;
• his mea culpa was issued - in print - only after his own well-being became vulnerable.

Rush Limbaugh's response - and that of a shocking number of enabling others - brings to mind the man who abuses his wife, apologizes only after she threatens to call the cops, then says, "What's your problem? I was big enough to apologize - that took a lot for me to do. Beating up others is how I show that I care. Accept what I'm offering & we can let everything go back the way it was."