philhull.com

Enjoying a day at The Meijer Gardens. (Taken with Instagram at...

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:48:59 -0400

Enjoying a day at The Meijer Gardens. (Taken with Instagram at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park)

These boys do not know how to play pool. (Taken with instagram)

Tue, 22 May 2012 18:42:19 -0400

These boys do not know how to play pool. (Taken with instagram)

Game night chaos for the last week of Explorers for the school...

Tue, 22 May 2012 18:22:16 -0400

Game night chaos for the last week of Explorers for the school year. (Taken with Instagram at The Salvation Army)

David loves playing with his trains! (Taken with Instagram at...

Sat, 19 May 2012 16:31:55 -0400

David loves playing with his trains! (Taken with Instagram at The Hull House)

Birthday party time. (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 12 May 2012 14:20:40 -0400

Birthday party time. (Taken with instagram)

Lily cleaned up the bathroom counter tonight. This is how she...

Fri, 11 May 2012 21:54:21 -0400

Lily cleaned up the bathroom counter tonight. This is how she left my glasses. I guess it’s a hipster tissue box. (Taken with Instagram at The Hull House)

Waiting to go in to Rainforest Cafe. (Taken with Instagram at...

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 16:47:00 -0400

Waiting to go in to Rainforest Cafe. (Taken with Instagram at Rainforest cafe)

Buddies. (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 12:20:43 -0400

Buddies. (Taken with instagram)

David loves cupcakes! (Taken with Instagram at SugarHigh)

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 11:15:32 -0400

David loves cupcakes! (Taken with Instagram at SugarHigh)

Lounging around on Saturday morning in the hotel. (Taken with...

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 08:19:34 -0400

Lounging around on Saturday morning in the hotel. (Taken with Instagram at Hampton Inn)

Winner, winner chicken dinner! (Taken with Instagram at...

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:23:11 -0400

Winner, winner chicken dinner! (Taken with Instagram at Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth)

Santa is always watching in Frankenmuth. (Taken with Instagram...

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:02:15 -0400

Santa is always watching in Frankenmuth. (Taken with Instagram at Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland)

Lily and Papa working on her cornet lesson. (Taken with...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:07:26 -0400

Lily and Papa working on her cornet lesson. (Taken with Instagram at The Hull House)

Taken with Instagram at Comerica Park

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:04:50 -0400

Taken with Instagram at Comerica Park

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:56:13 -0400

Taken with Instagram at Comerica Park

David is ready too! (Taken with Instagram at The Hull House)

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:11:06 -0400

David is ready too! (Taken with Instagram at The Hull House)

Lily is ready for her first Tigers game! (Taken with Instagram...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:08:33 -0400

Lily is ready for her first Tigers game! (Taken with Instagram at The Hull House)

Lily and Papa reading The Lorax before bed. (Taken with...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 01:54:51 -0400

Lily and Papa reading The Lorax before bed. (Taken with Instagram at The Hull House)

My parents have made it here and my dad is so thrilled that he...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:18:24 -0400

My parents have made it here and my dad is so thrilled that he had to get up at 4:30am to get here. (Taken with instagram)

Rush Limbaugh and the Collapse of Civilization

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:10:00 -0500

Callers to the Rush Limbaugh show like to offer “dittos” and “mega-dittos” to the host when they make it on air as a quick way of showing their agreement with what Limbaugh thinks and says. I wonder how many callers this week realize what they are voicing agreement to.

For the past three days, Rush Limbaugh has taken it upon himself to try to destroy the personal and public reputation of a 30 year old Georgetown Law student named Sandra Fluke. Fluke attempted to testify at a congressional hearing regarding the new rules about contraception, but was denied the opportunity by Rep. Darrell Issa who was conducting the hearings. She later gave her testimony to another committee and I’ve included a link to the video of her testimony below.

On Wednesday, Rush took to the airwaves to make grossly inaccurate statements about the nature of Ms. Fluke’s testimony and to cast aspersions on her personal conduct and character. He called her a “slut” and a “prostitute” along with using the term “round-heeled” which basically means the same thing. His assertion that “essentially [she] says that she must be paid to have sex” is both a bald faced lie and a baseless character attack on a young woman who does not have anything close to the same bully pulpit to use to respond.

Rush then doubled down on Thursday saying, “If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex. We want something for it. We want you post the videos online so we can all watch.” That statement is so horrible I still don’t know what to say in response a day and a half later.

Ms. Fluke’s testimony centered on the non-sexual uses of contraceptives like birth control pills that help to control and treat other women’s health issues, specifically polycystic ovarian syndrome which one of her friends has. She never spoke of her personal sexual relationships at any point during her testimony.

While I am politically liberal and I personally believe that many lawmakers are on the wrong side of the issue, I’m open to an honest debate on the issues themselves. But this is not a debate on the issue of contraceptive coverage by private health insurers, this is a personal character attack on a woman who’s only “crime” was speaking out on an issue that has impacted her personally.

I was thinking today about how her parents must feel. I thought about how I would feel if a public figure called my daughter a slut and a prostitute on national radio. My initial reaction was that I would probably beat Limbaugh to a pulp with his beloved “golden EIB microphone.” But in the end, I ended up pitying a man who has forsaken his humanity enough that he could say something like that and not even realize how awful it was.

There should be no place for this type of rhetoric in the marketplace of ideas. While it Limbaugh’s right to say whatever he wants, the decency of a civilized society should demand that he be forced to the fringes of our national discourse where crackpots and loons belong.

The video of Ms. Fluke’s testimony is below.