My Two Cents Worth...

Okay, after the Rush Limbaugh nonsense, i feel like i have to weigh in on this health care/contraceptive issue.

First off, let me say that what Limbaugh said didn't shock me. Him calling a girl that he doesn't know a "slut" and a "prostitute" because she supports the mandate for contraceptives for women being covered by employer's health plans. This just sounds like the usual crap that falls out of Limbaugh's mouth. Frankly, it would shock me more if it was reported that he behaved in an at all civilized fashion toward someone. Also, several of his sponsors yanked their sponsorship over this issue, causing Limbaugh to offer an insincere on-air apology. I hope that they don't reinstate their sponsorship on the one hand, but on the other why were they sponsoring his show if they didn't want to sponsor incendiary hate speech? I mean seriously. Did they NOT know what they were getting? It's like a story that Bill Cosby tells about Lenny Bruce. He said that he was at one of Bruce's shows, and about halfway through, apparently offended by Bruce's rough language, a lady stood up and said "Well, i never!" and walked out. Cosby said "I wonder who she thought that she was seeing?" That's what i wonder about these sponsors. Who did you think that you were sponsoring? Mr. Rogers?

Okay, as far as the bill goes...

1) It is not about religious freedom... at least not in the way that you think. The Catholics are trying to say that this is an infringement of their religious liberty. That is not the case. If the government were requiring Catholics to USE birth control, THAT would be an infringement on their religious freedom. Kind of like the Catholics trying to use this denial of health coverage to PREVENT their non-Catholic employees from using birth control. We call that religious persecution. And by the way, the argument that it is their religious right not to cover contraceptive health care is sheer bull. If a Scientologist employer were to say "Well, we disagree with all medical treatment, we think that all illness should be prayed away, so we're not providing ANY health coverage" i think that our national response would be "We can't let those nuts get away with that." Well, we can't let those Catholic nuts get away with this.

2) It's not about sex. There are a number of reasons why a doctor might prescribe "the pill" for a woman, including to shorten a long menstrual cycle, to alleviate a painful menstrual cycle, and to help with inter uterine polyps and cysts.

3) And if it IS about sex, SO WHAT? Last time that i checked, sexual intercourse between consenting adults is legal. And, if i read my Bible correctly, is actually ENCOURAGED between married couples. Doesn't God "consecrate" the marriage bed? So what about married couples that can't afford to have children? Or simply don't want to? When God told Noah and his people to "go forth, be fruitful and multiply", there were EIGHT people on the face of the Earth, if you buy the story literally. According to the US Census bureau, there are now almost a billion times that many people on the Earth today. I don't think that God would mind if we slacked off on the whole "fruitful" thing for a couple of generations. Also, Rick Santorum, who is very vocal on this has only seven children. Does that mean that he and his wife have only had sex seven times? Actually, with his personality, i don't find that all that difficult to believe. I'm amazed that he found ANYONE to marry him. And argue me no arguments about this, okay? My mom and dad DID practice birth control, and there are six of us over a ten year period. A guy that i used to work with had FIFTEEN children, because he and his wife didn't practice birth control. The oldest worked with us and the youngest was in diapers. And he was only in his forties. This nutjob that i saw on TV in Alaska had TWENTY children. That's what happens when you have sex without birth control. And what about the married women for whom it is actually dangerous or fatal to bear children, but struggle to afford birth control without the help of insurance? Are they and their husbands to be denied the God-gift of sexual pleasure because her Catholic employer doesn't want to provide health coverage for it?

So can we PLEASE drop this particular political football? It, like homosexual marriage is a smoke-screen to keep us from seeing (and, therefore, talking about) more important issues.

Peace.

Randal