Sandra Fluke Back In The News

Sandra Fluke, the third-year Georgetown law student who wants others to pay for her contraception, is back in the news with more reasoned debate.  My fave bit is this:

I joined these students in speaking at a media event because I believe that stories of how real women are affected are the most powerful argument for access to affordable, quality reproductive health care services.

That is how she wants us to make public policy - she will tell her sad stories, some Georgetown representative can opine about the threat to his religious freedom and the risk to his immortal soul, and the public can decide who has told the better sob story.  Babies being born to a mom that wasn't ready versus an eternity of hellfire - tricky.  But who has ever seen a soul, or hellfire, and maybe God will relent if Obama forces the hand of the uncaring Jesuits. 

Ms. Fluke, clearly of the Reality-TV generation, has proposed such an efficient mechanism, and with so much more human drama than a dusty reading of the Constitution or the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  One wonders why Ms. Fluke bothered with law school rather than a school for the performing arts, but whatever.

Here is a bit of a headscratcher:

Attacking me and women who use contraception by calling us prostitutes and worse cannot silence us.

Hmm, Rush famously called her a slut and a prostitute. Is slut worse?  I make these tough calls every day, but on this day I'm going to pass.

She closes with a plea for, well, I'm not sure what:

I am proud to stand with the millions of women and men who recognize that our government should legislate according to the reality of our lives -- not for ideology.

The reality of our lives?  And religious freedom is what, just a random silly idea some dead white guys once took seriously?

Or, to pick another example, the reality of our lives is that people gain an immediate benefit from cheap energy.  Science suggests that in the long run the environmental consequences may be problematic.  However, it is really only an idea, i.e., an ideology, that we have an obligation to shoulder the prospective burdens of future generations yet unborn.  It is an idea I would be happy to defend in certain contexts, as would, I presume, Ms. Fluke, but if she thinks that it is something other than an ideological position, well, its back to performing arts for her.

If I had to guess, her real view is that her preferences (and sad stories!) should take precedence over other people "ideas".  Well, if she wants to argue that she truly doesn't have an idea in her head, I won't rebut her.

OH GEEZ, SHE WENT LIVE... Apparently she was also on the air, debating Will Cain, who asked her to wake up and smell the free coffee:

“But Sandra, couldn’t that same logic be applied to so many other things that health care doesn’t cover, such as gym memberships?” Cain countered. “Exercise is important to health but that’s not covered by health care insurance. Couldn’t that logic you’re using, saying access is denied because it’s not being offered to you for some reduced price, apply to so many things?”

“I think that that’s not a fair comparison!” Fluke exclaimed. “And most women would tell you that’s not a fair comparison!”

Ah hah! He can't really contribute to this debate, not being biologically equipped.  Sexist much?  If only she had read her own editorial she would have learned that fathers, brothers, husbands and boyfriends do have a stake in the contraception debate.

They are husbands, partners, boyfriends and male friends who know that without access to contraception, the women they care about can face unfair obstacles to participating in public life.

I infer that men are welcome to chime in in support of her view; otherwise, they should feel free to shut up since they can't understand.

As to the notion that our First Lady and her "Let's Move" anti-obesity campaign are misdirected and the real health crisis is a lack of access to contraception, my goodness.

Comments

[Sue]

I hate silly women.

[Clarice]

Critical Sex Theory in action.

[narciso]

This is just coincidental,

http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/13/hbos-game-change-promoted-by-same-pr-firm-that-represents-sandra-fluke/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

One of Lahood's former flacks, at 'Luigi Vercotti' industries seems to handling the
account, if I read it right.

[NK]

The Fluke says: ".....our government should legislate according to the reality of our lives -- not for ideology."
What the Fluke meant was -- "...-- NOT FOR SOME CHRISTIAN IDEOLOGY THAT'S, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN 100 YEARS OLD INSTEAD OF OUR LEFT-WING SOCIALIST/LIBERTINE IDEOLOGY."
There fixed now.

BTW, what does getting the pill have to do with: "...the women they care about can face unfair obstacles to participating in public life." what does that mean? I don't speak NOW, can someone translate for me.

[NK]

TomM-- BTW if you have any teenage or 20-something daughters..... you've had it for posting this snark.

[Joan]

This fluke woman reminds me of kristina van-e-evil of the nation...garbage dripping from her tongue. she almost renders me speechless.

women's rights...I get so sick of them...I'm a woman...I've never whined for people to take care of me...honest to goodness...how in the world does she think (along with her fans) women didn't get pregnant in the 60s, 70s, and 80s...they certainly didn't expect the government to pay for contraception.

yes...she makes me incoherent. stupid little feminist is all I can think, except she isn't stupid, she's like a communist in the 50s...intent on changing this great nation.

I must stop. This is why I don't post very often...the left and democrats and socialists make me sound like an imbecile. And, this is why people like Rush Limbaugh and Mark Steyn and Jonah Goldberg and most of you JOM commenters are so important...you make me laugh so my anger has an escape valve. Thank you.

[NK]

Finally-- did anyone confirm that the Georgetown U STUDENT insurance policy DOES provide perscription and preventative coverage AND that Georgetown invoked the conscience exemption for contraceptives. A commmenter here 2 weeks ago claimed the GU student policy was 'bare bones' with no perscription and preventive coverage. The Jesuits at Fordham U don't deny contraceptive coverage to their employee plans. Remember, Jesuit education is NOT necessarily Catholic education.

[Gus]

Dear Mizz Fluker,
Government cannot legislate someone's product into "affordability". Try Russia for that. Enjoy the pumpernickel.

[matt]

The Left has found that personalization can help them sell their agenda to the Oprah set.

The same tactic has been well documented and is being used to sell gay marriage.

[Joan]

Yes, Gus, that's what I mean. I chuckled when I read your comment. As long as people can use humor to prick the left's ridiculous ideology, then we have a mighty weapon.

Thanks for lifting my mood. Also, thanks to Tom Maguire for JOM. :)

[Extraneus]

They are husbands, partners, boyfriends and male friends who know that without access to contraception, the women they care about can face unfair obstacles to participating in public life.

Shouldn't pregnancy-free sex have more to do with private life?

What's this "public life" angle, anyway? Something to do with politician sex?

[Rob Crawford]

I still say that if I have to pay for it, I better get good service in return.

[Chubby]

((They are husbands, partners, boyfriends and male friends who know that without access to contraception, the women they care about can face unfair obstacles to participating in public life.))

1. she's lying about not having access to contraception

2. the existence of Sarah Palin refudiates her thesis that child bearing is an obstacle to a career in public life

[Clarice]

NK :"Finally-- did anyone confirm that the Georgetown U STUDENT insurance policy DOES provide perscription and preventative coverage AND that Georgetown invoked the conscience exemption for contraceptives'
I heard something like that from a friend who's a professor there but I haven't independently confirmed it.

[Kurt]

I bet Ms. Fluke would concur with Ezra Klein that the constitution is sooooo hard to understand because it was written more than 100 years ago.

[Jane]

One wonders why Ms. Fluke bothered with law school rather than a school for the performing arts, but whatever.

Love it!

[Sandy Daze]

I don't understand. . .

Co-founders Sonya Barnett and Heather Jarvis decided to use the word slut in their response. They observe that historically, "slut" has had negative connotations, and that their goal is to redeem the term.

No matter who you are
No matter where you work
No matter how you identify
No matter how you flirt
No matter what you wear
No matter whom you choose to love
No matter what you said before:
NO ONE has the right to touch you without your consent.

nb: SlutWalk D.C. 2012 will be August 11th, 2012! The inaugural SlutWalk D.C. happened August 13th, 2011 with a march from the White House to the Washington Monument.

Gosh !

OMG~ABO,
Sandy

[narciso]

Which is precisely why they portrayed Sarah as a vain, primpting shallow sexpot, in other words, Moore was playing herself

[Pope Benedict]

One of the most memorable aspects of my pastoral visit to the United States was the opportunity it afforded me to reflect on America’s historical experience of religious freedom and specifically the relationship between religion and culture. At the heart of every culture, whether perceived or not, is a consensus about the nature of reality and the moral good, and thus about the conditions for human flourishing. In America, that consensus, as enshrined in your nation’s founding documents, was grounded in a worldview shaped not only by faith, but also a commitment to certain ethical principles deriving from nature and nature’s God. Today, that consensus has eroded significantly in the face of powerful new cultural currents, which are not only directly opposed to core moral teachings of the Judeo-Christian tradition, but are also increasingly hostile to Christianity as such.

[Chubby]

wow, that is a SCOOP Sandy!

[Pope Benedict XVI]

For her part, the Church in the United States is called, in season and out of season, to proclaim a Gospel that not only proposes unchanging moral truths, but also proposes them precisely as the key to human happiness and social prospering (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 10). To the extent that some current cultural trends contain elements that would curtail the proclamation of these truths, whether constricting it within the limits of a merely scientific rationality or suppressing it in the name of political power or majority rule, they represent a threat not just to Christian faith, but also to humanity itself and to the deepest truth about our being and ultimate vocation, our relationship to God. When a culture attempts to suppress the dimension of ultimate mystery, and to close the doors to transcendent truth, it inevitably becomes impoverished and falls prey, as the late Pope John Paul II so clearly saw, to reductionist and totalitarian readings of the human person and the nature of society.

[Comanche Voter]

Ah Ms. Fluke is trying to be a serious policy analyst. Well that's one role this aspiring actress has "flucked up".

[The Holy Father]

With her long tradition of respect for the right relationship between faith and reason, the Church has a critical role to play in countering cultural currents that, on the basis of an extreme individualism, seek to promote notions of freedom detached from moral truth. Our tradition does not speak from blind faith, but from a rational perspective that links our commitment to building an authentically just, humane and prosperous society to our ultimate assurance that the cosmos is possessed of an inner logic accessible to human reasoning. The Church’s defense of a moral reasoning based on the natural law is grounded on her conviction that this law is not a threat to our freedom, but rather a “language” that enables us to understand ourselves and the truth of our being, and so to shape a more just and humane world. She thus proposes her moral teaching as a message not of constraint, but of liberation, and as the basis for building a secure future.

[Joan]

CNN has an article by Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem, and Robin Morgan urging readers to contact the FCC entitled "FCC Should Clear Limbaugh From the Airwaves" because of his attack on Fluke, (misogyny) as well as his sexist and homophobic and hate speech.

Wonder how many birth control pills they've donated to Planned Parenthood over the years.

[el Papa]

The Church’s witness, then, is of its nature public: She seeks to convince by proposing rational arguments in the public square. The legitimate separation of Church and state cannot be taken to mean that the Church must be silent on certain issues, nor that the state may choose not to engage, or be engaged by, the voices of committed believers in determining the values that will shape the future of the nation.

[Sandy Daze]

The Holy Father's entire 19 January address to the American Bishops is here.

I believe such statements regarding the US political debate--by any Pope--is without precedent.

When I compare Pope Benedict on one hand and Voldemort on the other, well. . . who was that on the other hand again???

OMG~ABO,
Sandy

[Danube of Thought]

is devastating on Obama's contraception gambit--and on the New York Times.

[Sandy Daze]

Chubby, if you drop me an email at sandydazeatgmail I will forward you a series of links and PDFs of all the major statements, as far as I can tell, up to this point.

OMG~ABO,
Sandy

[Janet]

Totally agree with you Joan...keep posting!

[bgates]

I believe that stories of how real women are affected are the most powerful argument for access to affordable, quality reproductive health care services

Yep. "I want it" is their best argument. The quality actually drops off sharply from there.

Attacking me and women who use contraception

Shouldn't the word "other" occur in the above?

our government should legislate according to the reality of our lives

Reminds me of that old soap opera intro. "Like sperm through the uterus, so are the realities of our lives".

Related: Rejected Days of Our Lives intros

[Janet]

A cartoon from the other thread.

[bgates]

And most women would tell you that’s not a fair comparison!

Third year, Georgetown law. How's that going to work in the courtroom?

"Objection, Your Honor!"

"Grounds?"

"That's not fair."

"Sustained."

[Jack is Back!]

Sandy,

Did you see Dolan's update of March 1st?

Read the whole thing.

The President invited us to “work out the wrinkles,” and we have been taking him seriously. Unfortunately, this seems to be going nowhere: the White House Press Secretary, for instance, informed the nation that the mandates are a fait accompli (and, embarrassingly for him, commented that we bishops have always opposed Health Care anyway, a charge that is simply scurrilous and insulting). The White House already notified Congress that the dreaded mandates are now published in the Federal Registry “without change.” The Secretary of HHS is widely quoted as saying, “Religious insurance companies don’t really design the plans they sell based on their own religious tenets,” which doesn’t bode well for a truly acceptable “accommodation.” And a recent meeting between staff of the bishops’ conference and the White House staff ended with the President’s people informing us that the broader concerns of religious freedom — that is, revisiting the straight-jacketing mandates, or broadening the maligned exemption—are all off the table. Instead, they advised the bishops’ conference that we should listen to the “enlightened” voices of accommodation, such as the recent hardly-surprising but terribly unfortunate editorial in America. The White House seems to think we bishops are hopelessly out of touch with our people, and with those whom the White House now has nominated as official Catholic teachers.

So, I don’t know if we’ll get anywhere with the executive branch.

[Porchlight]

Shouldn't the word "other" occur in the above?

I am pretty sure Ms. Fluke does not use or need to use contraception. Just a hunch.

[Porchlight]

DoT, I couldn't figure out the link in your 1:49, if there was one.

[Sue]

Nathan Wurtzel ‏ @NathanWurtzel
<3 RT @JennQPublic: Someone please give Sandra Fluke some contraception so she'll stop giving birth to all these straw men.

[NK]

To MelR and any other ChiTowners, here's Bears Coach Lovie Smith making that melanin pitch for 'Bam-- enjoy. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/03/chicago-bears-lovie-smith-calls-on-blacks-to-back-obama/

[Chubby]

Sandy, did you send the info to Rush, Hannity and/or Breitbart?

[pagar]

"CNN has an article by Jane Fonda"
Any article by Jane Fonda should begin with the heading that she is a Traitor to the United States of America since at least 1972.

http://www.usvetdsp.com/fonda_fiery_commie.htm

[Gus]

Does Sandra Fluker seem HONEST to you dear JOM reader?
Does she seem "poor"?
Does her "sex life" interest you in the least?
Do you find her INSISTANCE and WILLINGNESS to FORCE you to pay for her WANTS disgusting?
Does the MSM make it clear that she is and has been a RADICAL/LIBERAL/FEMINIST?
Do you realize that the entire....contraceptive narative, was manufactured by OBAMA INC.?
Do you recognize the CONCERTED EFFORT to divert your attention from the ECONOMY, SPENDING and the WAR?
.
Is any of this LEADERSHIP from our President?

[Jack is Back!]

Sandy,

You do know that Dolan and the Bishops have called out the Jesuits for the editorial in America backing an accommodation?

So beside the wacky nurse Sister Kahleen we have the Jesuits on the Regime's side. May explain why there is Fluke - will GU cave on the contraception issue, thereby creating sign of friction - enough to parse the Bishop's push?

Jesuits and Catholics do not mean the same thing:)

[fdcol63]

Isn't Fluke's 15 minutes almost up?

[Gus]

Jack is Back.

I am friends with Cardinal Dolan from his days here in Milwaukee. He is a MAN. He is not naive and he knows who Obama is.
Obama couldn't beat Cardinal Dolan in a debate.
Btw. Cardinal Dolan's brother goes to my church.

[Sandy Daze]

JiB - Yes, saw the 1 March Cardinal Dolan missive. He also made a similar statement on 2 March to all of the Bishops.

Chubby - No I have not forwarded it on to anyone except a few friends, family, our parish priest, and correspondents.

OMG~ABO,
Sandy

BTW - you may be interested in Bishop Lori's 1 March response to the Jesuits editorial board at America magazine, regarding their health care "compromise" editorial.

[Jane]

Isn't Fluke's 15 minutes almost up?

I certainly hope not.

[NK]

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Bridget Dunlap of Fordham Law School. Fordham does NOT invoke a conscience objection too NYS 2002 state contraceptives insurance mandate. BUT-- Fordham clinic doesn't write script for BCs on site, young Bridget has to go to a Gyn-Op, pay the $100 co-pay and get her script-- THEN use the Fordham policy to get her BC pills, According to Bridget -this is economically inequitable a $100 co-pay-- UNFAIR. That's where these young punks minds are at-- that's what hucksters like 'Bam tap into: http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/02/16/despite-state-birth-control-mandate-fordham-law-students-lack-access-to-affordabl

[Gus]

Georgetown is Jesuit.

[fdcol63]

There's a simple solution:

If you can't afford BC, don't have sex.

Emulate President Clinton.

[Gus]

Sandy, I just read the National Catholic editorial.
To quote Bart Simpson, "what a load of crappy crap crap".
I read a few of the posts following the editorial. Some get it, others don't.
I would take the EXACT OPPOSITE view point. Do not play nice with those who shit on you.
Auschwitz was full of those who played nice.

[Gus]

NK, it looks like Fordham, (Vince Lombardi's alma mater) is giving you Bridget a REAL EDUCATION.

Nothing is free.

[NK]

Gus-- yes we know that, but does GU invoke a conscience objection to DC's insurance mandate for contraceptives?? For instance, Fordham U doesn't invoke an objection to NYS's 2002 law.

[AliceH]

NK: I confirmed it. Georgetown U Student Insurance does include some preventive and prescription benefits. Details in LUN (PDF). Here's a sample:

(snip)Physician Visit Expense: Includes well
visits, routine GYN, and Physical Exams.

(snip)
$10 per prescription order or refill for a Tier 1 Prescription Drug
$25 per prescription order or refill for a Tier 2 Prescription Drug
$45 per prescription order or refill for a Tier 3 Prescription Drug
****
It does explicitly exclude BCP prescriptions (at the end).

[Jane]

I suspect that $100 is her deductible for all her medical for the entire year. She has to pay it regardless of whether she wants BC. Send her to planned parenthood so they can make her theirs.

[bgates]

Reading the excerpts from Pope Benedict's letter, I can't help but remember the line of attack from the left complaining that little Joseph Ratzinger (age 14) should have had the strength to prevent his conscription into the Hitler Youth. An interesting contrast to what isn't demanded of a woman more than twice that age on the left.

[Sandy Daze]

Agreed, Gus. It is amazing to me that those whom you would otherwise think are rigorous in their thinking, are some of the most confused on this matter.

Thus, when I watched this video of Gloria Purvis, I was so moved and, well, frankly, inspired.

Chicago - gave us Cardinal Bernadin--ouch--but also Cardinal Dolan.

He moves in mysterious ways. . .

OMG~ABO,
Sandy

[Gus]

NK, I'm not sure friend, but it really doesn't matter to me, (and I am a practicing Catholic) the GOVERMENT cannot mandate that anyone give a PRODUCT away.
Personally, I believe that is the winning argument.
I have a right to keep and bare arms. The GOVERNMENT cannot mandate that SMITH and WESSON provide a gun to me free of charge.
Btw. Not everyone knows/knew that Georgetown is Jesuit.

[NK]

AliceH-- thanks, apparently GU does invoke a conscience objection. I guess, that comes from the House of Saud, not from the Jesuits.

[James D.]

I wish I knew how we confront the ultimate problem behind all of this - the belief that anything a person needs, or would make their life easier if they had it, or they just plain old want, is owed to them by right by "society" and ought to be provided come hell or high water.

I don't see how a society can survive in the long run if, by the act of poping out of your mother's womb, you're automatically entitled to a whole host of material goods and services that must be produced and provided by other people, at no cost to you, whether or not the producers want to provide them (or even can afford to and keep themselves fed, housed, etc).

If free contraception is a right, and free treatment of any health issue affecting only or primarily women is a right, and then I guess free medication for any other health problem must be a right.

Well, we all need food every day. If we don't eat, we starve and eventually die. So do we have a "right" to 1,000 (1,500? 2,000? more?) calories of day worth of food, to be provided by "society" or "the government" whether or not we can pay for it (or if we just think it costs too much and we'd rather spend the money elsewhere)?

Do we have a right to a house, built by and maintained by...well, someone who's not us, anyway?

What percentage of the populace would answer yes to all those questions? I'm afraid that the answer is far too high...

[Gus]

Cardinal Dolan is from St.Louis. And I've been to Brewers v Cardinals games with him.
He is a BIG Cardinals fan.
Our current Bishop Jerome Listecki is a Chicago guy. His voice sound identical to Cardinal Dolan's.
Sandy, check this out!!
I provided the jersey they are referring to.
http://www.jsonline.com/features/religion/42201037.html

[fdcol63]

And then the problem becomes not just access to those things ... but parity in quality and quanitity, as well.

[Gus]

Joe the Plumber knew what he was talking about it.

[NK]

Gus-- correct. BTW-- Dolan grew up in St Louis and was an adjunct profesor at St Louis U. My son is SLU 2013, and first time we went to SLU all of the parents said how lucky NY was to get Dolan as archbishop, now Cardinal. I've not met him, but everyone here in NY who have met him is very impressed with his faith, devotion and....uh... political strength. Everyone I've spoken with who knows him says he's nobody's fool.

[Steve in SoCal]

This is the OWS crowd, et'al. This is what happens (borrowing from Adam Corrolla) when everyone gets a trophy. There's no "no" to these people. They have been brainwashed in the public schools and by liberal parents that no one has to take responsiblitly for themselves or actions. For God's sake: She's freakin 30 years old, going to one of the most expensive law schools and she's whining about paying 20-30 bucks a month for BC. Really? Shouldn't she at least have a job by now or done some intern work? She graduated HS 12 years ago and she's contributed to society's bills exactly how?

Grow up Ms. Fluke. I had a kid, was working on my second and was paying a mortgage along with student loans for a B.S. by the time I was 30. It's time to move out of your parents umbrella and strike out on your own. If you live to be 60 (and I hope longer), but if 60, your life is half over. Exactly wtf have you personally accomplished?

[jimmyk]

I infer that men are welcome to chime in in support of her view; otherwise, they should feel free to shut up since they can't understand.

My 10-year-old frequently resorts to that argument: "You just don't understand!" A 30-year-old third year law student ought to be able to do better.

[Janet]

I wish I knew how we confront the ultimate problem behind all of this

IMO the answer is...individuals go back to the Bible & the country goes back to the Constitution.

[Sandy Daze]

Wow. Great story, Gus. Thnx for the link.
Now, what's the back story on the jersey?
Inquiring minds want to know and well, I've got an inquiring mind...

ABO~OMG,
Sandy

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vnjagvet]

Now we know what this meant, don't we:

If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and its litigation strategy in the court, I think where it succeeded was to invest formal rights in previously dispossessed people, so that now I would have the right to vote. I would now be able to sit at the lunch counter and order and as long as I could pay for it I’d be OK. But, the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society. To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn’t that radical. It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution, at least as it’s been interpreted, and the Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can’t do to you. Says what the federal government can’t do to you, but doesn’t say what the federal government or state
government must do on your behalf.

And that hasn’t shifted and one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was because the
civil rights movement became so court-focused I think there was a tendency to lose track of the political
and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual
coalition of powers through which you bring about redistributive change. In some ways we still suffer
from that.

[Clarice]

Fluke:This season's Wellstone Funeral.http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/03/13/nine-points-was-laffaire-de-fluke-obamas-tipping-point/

[Ignatz]

I know Tina Korbe isn't everyone's cup-o-tea,but I'm getting to like her more and more even if she is a little too respectful of outrageous behavior.Here she is on the Fluke presently infesting the body politic.

[Porchlight]

Tina's getting better, Ignatz.

[Joan]

I think perhaps I've been wrong in thinking we shouldn't give feminists free birth control. Maybe if we'd given it to their grandmothers and mothers there wouldn't be so many of them around now ... flapping their silliness over the airwaves.

[Jane]

I don't see how a society can survive in the long run if, by the act of poping out of your mother's womb, you're automatically entitled to a whole host of material goods and services that must be produced and provided by other people, at no cost to you

You are only entitled to the things the ruling party says you are entitled to, and then only if you donate to them carry their water.

It reminds me of the story someone (Melinda?) told about Chicago. You can't get your trash picked up for weeks and months and finally some elected official fixes the problem, making it clear that your trash will only get picked up in the future provided you show the correct kind of gratitude.

[Enlightened]

"They are husbands, partners, boyfriends and male friends who know that without access to contraception, the women they care about can face unfair obstacles to participating in public life."

Ok - Does this moron actually think that the end-all and be-all for me, being a woman, is to be prepared to have sex at any moment, using one or more of several, free, government provided, contraceptives (all of which are not 100% guaranteed to work, and/or not kill me)or else I can't fairly participate in PUBLIC life?

It's a trick question - right?

[Porchlight]

without access to contraception, the women they care about can face unfair obstacles to participating in public life

So "unfair obstacles" = "babies" - correct?

Punished with a baby. No wonder Barry likes Sandra so much, and hates Sarah Palin.

[Gus]

Sandy, I run a business that sells sports stuff. Alderman Bob Dononvan, as well as Cardinal Dolan have been my friends vis the Church and Irish Community.
Bob Donovan approached me about having the jersey made. I was there when it was presented to Cardinal, then Bishop Dolan, and Bishop Dolan signed a Cardinals baseball cap for me!!! CARDINALS hehehehehehe.
It said
Timothy M. Dolan...Archbishop. I got a case for it and gave it to my best friend (also Irish) for Christmas.
Bishop Dolan stopped a conversation with Milwaukee's Police Chief to sign the hat and pose for pictures.

[Clarice]

Taranto on the failure of Plan B (Fluke) :"If Obama is re-elected, it will be in spite of, not because of, his promise of an abortifacient in every pot. You can bet his campaign is desperate for a Plan C."

[Porchlight]

That is really cool, Gus. We are fortunate to have Cardinal Dolan on our side right now.

[Extraneus]

That was a good one by Korbe.

[James D.]

Punished with a baby. No wonder Barry likes Sandra so much, and hates Sarah Palin.

I think that's absolutely true. At heart Zero is a flat-out monster who sees (most) other people (and certainly anyone who has the temerity to disgree with him in any way)as less than human and undeserving of the most basic dignity, respect or ultimately even life at all. As do those who share his worldview.

[narciso]

Has one ever wondered that those like Fluke or Tim Robbins, or Cindi Sheehan, never do shut up, no matter how ridiculous their case,
yet it is always treated as courageous, even
when it's usually at least a partial lie.

[Enlightened]

From Tina Korbe link, Fluke CNN Op-Ed

"who need access to contraception to control their reproduction

I find this a rather chilling description, for merely having 'personal responsibility" ie: keep your legs closed. She is not the only one to spew this crap. Girls are being taught at such a young age that they don't need to be "a woman" any more. Forget about the most natural thing in a woman's life - having a period. We got a pill for that. Forget about having the next most natural thing in the world - a baby - we got a pill for that, and we have back-up plans. Forget about looking like a woman (Sandra Fluke, c. 2012)men should like us for our brains anyway-and on top of all that just gimme, gimme, gimme.....blegh.

This "woman" is sick of these disgusting "women" and their psychotic being-a-woman, reproductive-phobias.

[Gus]

Do you think that SOYLENT GREEN will be FREE??

[Clarice]

Before I decide, enlightened, I'd like to think more about that "risky behavior" even though at 70 it's more ideational than realistic.

I do not oppose birth control or pre marital sex between consenting adults--and we have pushed adulthood back so far it seems inhuman to demand celibacy. I do oppose claiming others should bear the cost even if it offends their heartfelt religious precepts.

[Porchlight]

Kaus on the new NYT/CBS poll and the contraception mandate issue:

http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/13/psst-obama-lost-the-birth-control-mandate-debate/#ixzz1p1yNCymr

These are not close results. It’s hard to read this poll and not conclude that, contrary to some accounts, Obama wasn’t such a genius to pick a fight over mandated contraception coverage–because he appears to be losing the public debate on the question. That’s a conclusion the Times story effectively hides from readers.

Kaus must be wrong. I read here on JOM that the GOP was idiotic to talk about this and that it was a successful distraction for Dems.

[narciso]

Ah, one of your favorite folk, Janet, sheesh;

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/consider-the-case-of-the-angry-white-woman/2012/03/11/gIQAZKvm5R_story.html

[George]

"They are husbands, partners, boyfriends and male friends who know that without access to contraception, the women they care about can face unfair obstacles to participating in public life."

Back when I was a lad we learned in law school about Griswold v. Conn and the right of privacy, now contraception is apparently about participating in something in public.

Sandra be careful, you'll frighten the horses.

[MarkO]

We'll show 'em, an entire thread not about the economy. They're doomed, I say, doomed.

[centralcal]

Kaus must be wrong. I read here on JOM that the GOP was idiotic to talk about this and that it was a successful distraction for Dems.

Ah, yes, I remember it well also, Porchlight!

[Gus]

Yeah Porchlight!! Rush Limbaugh ruined it for all of us.

[MarkJ]

Memo for Sandra Fluke:

How can we "silence" you...when you won't shut up?

[Clarice]

I think this is a victory for the alternative media which battled the administration and media's phony baloney framing of the issue..and Rush certainly is included in these warriors.

[Clarice]

Of course, and I didn't mean to exclude them, the Church and Cardinal Dolan deserve great credit as well.

[jimmyk]

I do oppose claiming others should bear the cost even if it offends their heartfelt religious precepts.

I oppose claiming others should bear the cost, period. I realize that the expansive reading of the commerce clause seems to leave the 1st amendment objection as the only recourse, but as a matter of policy my opposition is more general, and I prefer to phrase it that way. My fear is that by emphasizing the religious objection we implicitly give the government free rein to do anything that doesn't involve religious objections.

[NK]

jimmyK-- agree with your 4:49 completely

[Chubby]

jimmyk, the freebie culture's trespassing on freedom of religion illustrates quite graphically the freebie road's final destination, and as such it is an important argument against the whole freebie idea.

[rse]

I was following up on a bad idea and tracking down its history. I knew I was home when I came across these magic words:

"Because of our background in community organizing"

That explains it.

[Chubby]

the quid pro quo of the "free lunch" is your unalienable rights. it can't just be argued from an economic standpoint.

[Chubby]

I've never used "quid pro quo" in a sentence before, so I hope I used it correctly :)

[jimmyk]

it can't just be argued from an economic standpoint.

Agreed, but it can and should be argued from more than a religious freedom standpoint. Or are we to give up on economic freedom?

[Clarice]

True enough, Jimmy, but it's harder to argue when so many costs are borne regularly by taxpayers that are not their obligation to fund.