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I'm sorry we got sidetracked by this because I don't believe it's the heart of the matter. Sandra Fluke was willing to publicly discuss a very personal matter for the benefit of all women. And in response she got dragged through the political mud. So it's good to see not only Congressional Democrats and a few Republicans but also the President standing up for her.
In order to prove slander don't you have to prove that you were significantly damaged by the information shared? How would she do that, since it's not likely that anyone believes she is a prostitute based on Rush's vile comment? He also claimed that her parents might not be proud of her, I doubt Rush has the power to influence what her parents think or feel about her, except that they are likely very proud of her right now, as the President said.
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August West wrote:
...with intent to gain the attention of the media and the public.
I thought her intent was to testify and influence congress?
Be that as it may, her intent was to appear in public, on the record, at an open Congressional hearing (which was widely covered, seeing as we all know about it). She has also subsequently appeared publicly on national news media; it's hard to argue that she's maintaining a 'private person' profile.
$tevie wrote:
That's kind of effed up if you can be called a prostitute on national radio and it's not considered slander. I kind of find that hard to believe. I mean, slut, okay maybe that's an "opinion" -- but "prositute" is an outright lie, since the definition of a prosititute is completely set in stone.
I agree that it's effed up to say such a thing about someone. However, it's a tough argument to make that Limbaugh honestly expected people to believe that he was claiming that Ms. Fluke charges people money for sexual services. He was abusing metaphors and using inflammatory language to conflate the use of other citizens' money to pay birth control costs with some kind of endorsement or support of Ms. Fluke's sexual activity. This piss-poor metaphor does not hold up for a second, but neither does the claim that anyone really thought that this third year law student at Georgetown University is secretly hawking sexual wares in exchange for free birth control (or cash). Limbaugh called her a bad name and made some deeply offensive suggestions; you can't reasonably claim that he was accusing her of criminal activity, and no court would entertain a complaint to that end.
It's not a crime or a civil offense to insult someone, even using terrible, abusive language. It's an awful thing to do, but it's constitutionally protected speech.
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Brooks Robinson? Say it ain't so.
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August West wrote:
it's hard to argue that she's maintaining a 'private person' profile.
And I didn't, I just wondered if you had some special insight into her intent.
It was conjecture. This was a very high-profile hearing, and Ms. Fluke had been recruited specifically because there were no women represented on the witness panel. It seems fair to assume that part of her participation was geared at making a public statement about the GOP lawmakers' oversight (haha, get it?), and when she was refused a slot at the hearing - a foreknown possibility - that the media would report on it. I'm willing to let the peanut gallery judge whether her intent was solely to inform and influence the panel; i doubt it. She's clearly a smart and sophisticated lawyer-in-training, and quite aware of the circumstances surrounding her involvement here. As an aside, i also think she's handled this situation with grace and aplomb, making Limbaugh's offense appear even more grievous.
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Two sponsors have pulled out of the Limbaugh program: Sleep Number and Sleep Train. Here is a list of the rest of the sponsors if anyone is interested.
Pro Flowers
Domino’s Pizza
Lending Tree
Life Quotes
e-Harmony
OnStar
Hotwire
Carbonite
Select Comfort
The Neptune Society of Northern California
Oreck Corp.
Mid-West Life Insurance Co.
AutoZone
Mission Pharmacal (Citrical)
LegalZoom
Blue-Emu
Citrix Online
American Forces Network
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The Neptune Society of Northern California?
that's puzzling...
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They do cremations. Fits right in with Limbaugh if you ask me.
Life insurance, cremation, mattresses, online dating.
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Fluke herself said she was "having so much sex" she couldn't afford to pay for it (birth control). Limbaugh took this to the next level by reasoning that if someone has to pay for all her sexual activities then she getting paid to have sex ergo she's a prostitute.
Wher are the guys in all this? They can get free condoms at all kinds of places.
