I do not think the President called to apologize for trying to make money off of Sandra Fluke Web Link

how much sex is this woman having? $3,000 dollars worth a year and because it is so expensive she cannot pay for it and wants the taxpayers to fund her activity. I do not believe this is right.

I do not wish to know how much sex she is having.

Stacey,

In her own testimony before congress she said she is in her third year of law school and is very sexually active and spends $3,000 dollars on birth control which uses up the money she makes on her summer job and wants it to be free so she does not have to pay for it. Her words. If I am going to use my money to fund someone having sex it is going to be me.

I consider myself fairly liberal, but I think this woman is beyond ridiculous.

Here she is, at an expensive university and saying she cannot afford to pay for her own birth control? We have so many people struggling to make ends meet, kids going hungry, and this lady thinks the government must pay for her birth control? How about getting the guy(s) she is having fun with to pay for it? Having sex is not a right, it is like any other optional activity: if you cannot afford it, don't do it, it's that simple.

I do not agree with RL attack, but this lady definitely made a fool of herself and makes all of us woman look bad.

In no way do I find such details to be justification for calling someone names. Rush's comments were marginalizing for purely ideological purposes. Newsflash: very sexually active young college student! Where's Rush to use the same choice words for every member of a fraternity when we need him? Oh right, not supportive of his political position.

Would the sexually inactive young college students at Georgetown please stand up?

I have not formed an opinion either way on requiring health insurance companies to offer coverage for contraception. Something tells me Fluke isn't going to stop being sexually active just because the coverage isn't offered for contraception, no matter who pays for it.

Stacey,
Our President a "Big Man" for calling her? Oh really?
Have you heard of Brian Terry?
He was a US Border Control Agent that was shot in the back by a Mexican thug with a gun that was provided by the Obama Admin.

Tragic, yes.

I assume you would think our "Big Man" Eric Holder and "Big Man" Obama would personally call the parents of Brian Terry to apologize, wouldn't you?

Not a chance from these "Big Men."

They are despicable.

First these babes want money for contraceptives. Then they want money for abortions. Then they want money for mamograms. Then the want medical check-ups. Then they want help raising their unwanted kids. Then they want us to educate them. Then they want us to pay for their food stamps. Then they want us to pay for incarcerating their unwanted kids. Sounds like a woman-loving communist paradise if you ask me. Spell it: DISTOPIA And please don't call me a massagenist.

Stacey,

"Rush's comments were marginalizing for purely "entertainment" purposes"

FIFY

Bill Maher said equally, if not more offensive things about Sarah Palin...David Letterman with Palin's daughter.

Doesn't make it right, but it happens.

To Fluke and her defenders I say: If you can't take the heat...

Dan

I personally worked for one of America's largest weapons manufacturers. We sold weapons all over the world. Whenever a dictator used one in Africa or S. America or SE Asia to kill innocent people, our manager had everyone of us call the families of the victims. That's why govt should be based on the private market. We do things so much more efficiently and humanely. BTW, I've always found Rush's comments about femiNazis hilariously funny. He's such a classy entertainer!

Yes Dan, as I wrote, Rush is making money off inappropriate and disrespectful speech. Some people may consider such pandering as entertainment, yes.

I agree that it happens quite often. It is rare and somewhat refreshing for it to be the President who actually calls the victim to send his support. Sure, maybe the call was made to be political about it. So what? It's the kind of thing we need more of in our public discourse, not less of.

"Would the sexually inactive young college students at Georgetown please stand up?"

This is not about who is sexually active and who is not. That is no one's business.

This is about a person trying to get the government or others to pay for something she (or her lover(s) should pay for).

Let's remember that having sex is not required. Those who want to have sex and are already capable adults (the woman is attending an expensive law school) should finance the birth control themselves.

I agree with Planned Parenthood offering free services to minors and low income women, because it is in our society's best interest to provide birth control rather than later on having to finance a pregnancy and food stamps.

But we are talking about a college graduate, attending law school at an expensive university. She should know better. If she wants to have sex, she needs to pay for her own birth control or ask her guy(s) to pay for it. If she cannot afford the birth control, then don't have sex. Just like if she cannot afford to go to a movie with her guy(s), then don't go, or what, is she going to ask the taxpayer to foot that bill too? We are talking about an educated, capable adult, not a scared minor or low income or abused woman.

Fluke is a big embarassment, and I agree that RL's comments are not justified, but not agreeing with RL does not make Fluke's ridiculous plea right.

Stacey - complete BS, in my view, the Democrats seized upon the opportunity to make money off this situation, and they are the ones pandering, literally acting as a go-between or liaison in sexual intrigues, in this case in order to raise campaign cash.

And any honest observer would admit if the Democrats did not make it into a campaign issue and parade this woman on TV to discuss her sexuality, Rush Limbaugh would have had nothing to say about it.

How much to get into Georgetown? Sounds like a target rich environment! Bet her parents are very proud.......$3000 will buy over 4000 condoms, busy girl.

Stacey,

"Rare and refreshing"? How about "politically calculated and motivated"?

As astute as I think you are, separate out Obama's "show" of concern with what is really happening on this topic. Simplistically, the administration has taken a topic - forcing religious institutions to provide contraception - and used the inevitable push back from those same institutions to accuse the republicans of being against contraceptives.

Don't tell me this wasn't the plan. EVERYONE knows the Catholic church does not believe in contraception.

This is PURE POLITICS masquerading as concern. My only surprise is that there are those who actually believe it!

Rightly or wrongly, Fluke is merely collateral and thus, expendable, to those politics.

Sincerely,

Dan

So nice of you to think of me, Stacey. Aside from the obvious misuse of public funds that is at issue here, I can't help but think of the character flaws that fluke and Obama share: they can't control themselves. Fluke can't keep her legs together and Obama can't stop apologizing to everyone he encounters. Maybe obamacare should be better funded to handle a psychologist for both of them.
Anyway, this is all a distraction from the real problem, the economy.

When I decided to move to Pleasanton I never imagined there were so many extreme right wing and racist individuals.Some of you will never admit that your main problem with Obama is the color of his skin.I feel like I am living in the rural south when I read the ridiculous comments posted here.It is beyond belief that anyone can really believe the trash and fabrications of the truth that comes out of your mouths.You of course hate the Islamic radicals but your views are almost as disturbing and extreme in a different way.You profess to want the gov't out of your lives yet you probably were educated in public schools,drive on federal highways,partake in SS and Medicare,student loans,rely on police and fire departments.Your view of America is sad and full of contradictions.You do not seem to have a problem with making legislation about abortion,birth control and other social issues.This election is going to get ugly and I have a very bad feeling about what might happen.Anyone who can defend the garbage that is coming out of RL'S mouth really needs to take a good long look in the mirror and figure out what the hell happened to you.

Before we put words in the mouth of Sandra Fluke, perhaps it would be wise to read her actual testimony? Here's a link to a PDF:

Web Link

She said nothing like what that radio host says she did.

I'm not going to duck this issue. "Slut?" "Whore?" That's not the language I would have used. Thankfully, we have many chaste women in the Republican Party.

"Forty percent of female students at
Georgetown Law report struggling financially as a result of this policy. One told
us of how embarrassed and powerless she felt when she was standing at the
pharmacy counter, learning for the first time that contraception wasn’t covered,
and had to walk away because she couldn’t afford it. Women like her have no
choice but to go without contraception. Just last week, a married female student
told me she had to stop using contraception because she couldn’t afford it any
longer."


Do you know how ridiculous this sounds? These are women attending a very expensive university, and they want subsidized birth control? They should be lobbying for less expensive tuition, books or something, but birth control? It is ridiculous! Having sex is not a requirement to attend law school, or graduate. It is scary that these are future lawyers!

No one is forcing these ladies to attend a catholic school. If we only had one school in the nation and it happened to be catholic, I could understand their argument a little more, but there are so many law schools, a lot of them not religious and many a lot cheaper. If you want to go to Georgetown, you need to accept its rules, otherwise, go to a different and more affordable law school, and stop being ridiculous!

We are catholic and do not follow the church's teachings, and that is why we decided to send our kids to public schools instead of private catholic schools. And our kids won't even consider schools that have a religion affiliation when applying for college.

These ladies are trying to have it both ways: attend a religious school and disagree with their rules? No one is forcing them to attend a religious school!

Hoops, who said anything racist? Are you trotting out the same lame, lazy argument commonly used by leftists--that if you disagree with his policies, you are somehow racist? Your extremist views that those who dont share your liberal beliefs are akin to Islamic terrorists displays for everyone how out of touch you are. Can you articulate whatever your position is without all the drama?

Bill said: "I'm not going to duck this issue. "Slut?" "Whore?" That's not the language I would have used. Thankfully, we have many chaste women in the Republican Party."

I would be willing to bet that, thanks to Rush Limbaugh, you now have fewer women in the Republican Party than you did a few days ago.

Steve said: "Hoops, who said anything racist? Are you trotting out the same lame, lazy argument commonly used by leftists..."

To be honest, many far-right conservatives do have a problem with racism, and with gays, and with women. This latest incident just highlights that. But go ahead and continue to live in denial, Steve. It doesn't harm me.

Clearly Fluke's point has been disregarded. Countless women use bc pills to alleviate other medical issues. To be prescribed a medication for a diagnosed condition and then to be denied medical coverage for that medicine is a sham. Since when is it a right for men to receive Viagra through their medical insurance, and women must pay for their medication.

Do not agree with Fluke,

I agree with you on questioning whether birth control prescriptions for the purpose of contraception should be required to be covered by health insurance. I just finished reading Fluke's testimony though and she talks about women who were taking an estrogen pill for various medical reasons suddenly finding their insurance denying coverage even when it is clearly a medical use. Any legislation on the matter needs to require coverage for medical uses despite it's dual-use as a contraceptive.

An imperfect analogy would be how many civilian materials can also have a military or criminal use yet they are not restricted materials simply because of this dual-use.

Yes Steve....When I said racist I was talking in general terms about those that hate Obama and basically make up garbage about his objectives and him.All the birther and muslim type ridiculousness.A liberal or a conservative does not need to talk like an idiot as RL who does not even seem to understand what birth control is.He seems to think you take a pill everytime you have sex.His comments were disgusting and what I meant as being extreme like a radical islamist.Iam not talking suicide bombers but extreme over the top beliefs.The far left use to attack Bush and call him a nazi or whatever and they were idiots for that and the far right is worse about Obama.A good pct.of Obama haters cannot stand the fact that he is black and that is my opinion.There is so much hypocrisy.A great example is that 98pct of catholic women use birth control.Iwonder how many women RL has been with use it.

Hoops, Rush's women all hold aspirins between their knees when he's around. When they don't have aspirins, they borrow his oxycontin pills.

I wondered when the "aspirin method" was going to be brought up! LOL!

I agree with hoops.I cannot believe I moved to such a place where there is so much judgement, anger and hatred. WOW!! And I had thought that Californians were open minded and relaxed.

Rush is way off !! If you listen, she said 'students' not herself specifically. ALSO, she was referring to 3 YEARS, NOT $3,000., for one year of PRESCRIPTIONS !. I am a genuine fiscal conservative...not a hypocrite, and I am for everybody using birth control. First, most all of our problems are caused by overpopulation. Condoms should be included with all welfare baskets. In fact anybody receiving public assistance should be required to have an IUD until they are able to provide for the children they ALREADY have.
The pope is irresponsible for having people breed randomly and irresponsibly without protection. Again, the pope is pushing somthing that is not in the bible, which refers to 'viability'....there is no baby before you've even wiped the sweat from your brow ! Rush is disgusting and without reason, and I'd say the same for the pope. I agree the govt should not meddle in private lives, and I also believe the pope has ZERO basis for pushing personal irresponsibility, overpopulating the earth, adding children to already starving families in poverty....which should not become my problem. He should promote responsibility, and since he doesn't, he should be picking up their tabs.

Require condoms says: "Condoms should be included with all welfare baskets" and "anybody receiving public assistance should be required to have an IUD..." But then follows up with "I agree the government should not meddle in private lives..."

So which is it?

Nothing hypocritical there.

Dan

"I just finished reading Fluke's testimony though and she talks about women who were taking an estrogen pill for various medical reasons suddenly finding their insurance denying coverage even when it is clearly a medical use. Any legislation on the matter needs to require coverage for medical uses despite it's dual-use as a contraceptive."

Yes, I agree that if there is a medical reason, all insurance programs should cover it.

But those are specific cases that each woman should take up with the insurance and/or administration of the school. The woman with cysts or endometriosis has a valid case to pursue having the treatment financed by her insurance.

But that should not be used by Fluke to give every woman free birth control. Fluke is trying to use the need of that woman with cysts to ask for free birth control for those without that need (those who simply want to have sex for fun but want birth control financed by the taxpayer, all while attending an expensive law school)

The woman with endometriosis has a valid case, Fluke does not. Again, if Fluke must have sex, she needs to pay for the birth control or ask her guy(s) to do so.

I also read how Fluke says she has the right to a quality education and that is why she is at Georgetown... come on, there are plenty of top law schools which are not religious.

And a lot of people would like to attend prestigious schools, but many can't afford it so they go to more affordable schools. Fluke seems to have the mentality that: I want it, I can't afford it so you the taxpayer must pay for it....a bad attitude and incorrect expectations. I hope Fluke does not pass the bar, we do not need people like her in the legal field.

Stacey -

The dual use of contraceptives as treatment for endometriosis and birth control reminds me of another treatment.

A tummy tuck is not covered by my insurance for instance because it is considered a cosmetic surgery. I agree with it, if I want the unnecessary but wanted tummy tuck, I must pay for it.

A relative recently had breast reconstruction because of breast cancer, and she got skin from her stomach, so it was financed by the insurance because it was considered medically necessary. So she got a tummy tuck out of the deal... this was a medical necessity. She endured breast cancer treatment (removal of both breasts) and the breast reconstruction was considered necessary due to the amount of tissue they removed from her breasts.

Does that give me the right to go before Congress and demand free tummy tucks for all who want it and use my relative's sad cancer story to defend my position? NOOO!! That would be wrong. Fluke took advantage of her friend's very real illness to further her superfluous and invalid request.

I like happy...I hope she's successful and has a long happy life!

Women choose to be sexually loose, and we shouldn't reward them for their choice. Workers choose to work at Walmart, and we shouldn't reward them with food stamps. Workers choose to work in an unsafe environment, and we shouldn't reward them by giving them workers' disability comp when they're injured. People make bad decisions. To have sex, to work. My wife only had sex when we tried to make children, and I've never allowed her to work. It's not dignified for women to work in the workplace. And women should never have sex unless their husbands demand it.

As for the black president, all he needed was an excuse to call Fluke up on the phone. Guys lined up around the block, and he just wanted to cut in line.

Oh?, this apology is more than Bush issued in his 8 years.

Unemployment compensation? Taxpayer financing of loose women? Each is like the Titanic that is going to bring this system to its knees. I feel like a tsunami of debt is going to wash right over us.

What...99pct of the far right is against the health coverage for birth control pills.99 pct of the far right is pro-life.Gee I wonder how many abortions are avoided because the women had access to free contraceptives.Especially lower income women who cannot afford the pills or afford a child.I find it hard to believe that the far right would rather have more abortions or unwanted children vs.health ins paying for contraceptives.The reality is people are going to have sex whether they are catholic,liberal,conservative or whatever.This argument is borderline insane in the year 2012.I do not even care about the point that the pills are used for other medical issues.The PREVENTION OF UNWANTED CHILDREN AND ABORTIONS outweighs all the political far right b.s.

I do not know what paltry amount of taxpayer dollars is involved in this issue since insurance companies are providing the pills but I do know how many taxpayer dollars are going to forked out to pay for raising an unwanted child from birth through our system if the mother is poor.Welfare,medicaid,public education...on and on.Just think if this unwanted child grows up in a really difficult environment and winds up in prison....more taxpayer dollars.Please do not use the I am not paying for this argument.

@hoops

If I voted for Obama, and I criticize the job he's done as President, am I a racist?

I voted for Obama, but he turned out to be lazy, shiftless, and plays golf all the time. All his policies favor blacks and other entitlement groups. This affirmative action, food stamp president is in over his head. Way over his head. Am I racist? Hardly. I'm a fiscal conservative. (PS Honestly, I'd be lying like Arroyo is if I said I truly voted for him. No decent white person in this country would. He was elected because of Acorn, as everyone knows.)

Why do people actually believe what Bill of the Gatewood neighbor writes? He's having great fun baiting everyone.

I think that Obama is a pathetic excuse for a President and the worst I have ever seen and I mean he makes Jimmy Carter look like Lincoln. I also believe the guy is an extreme racist and a muslim. I guess all of this makes me a racist..............hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I think racism or being accused of racism has long ago lost its effect.

Brian is Bill baiting again.

Rush has apologized to Ms Fluke, the controversy is over, you can all go about your business Web Link

Extremist demagoguery will never be "over".

If RL apologized it was not sincere and it is not over.He exposed the far right and they will pay the price in November ..No doubt about it.Old Rushbo really did the dems a big favor.I cannot think of anything more ironic than Obama getting re-elected in an extremely close election because a million women voted for him that may not of otherwise.

Most of you people are scaring me. Do you really think people (women) would make a decision for president based on this issue? Would you? A million women would vote for Obama because of what RL said? Are we that shallow, and does RL have that much sway with women? I sincerely hope not, but your comments are scaring me.

So Obama apologizes for something he did not do, and that's not a political stunt, at the expense of a rather naive (but not that young) law student? I call her naive, because I can't believe she uses the argument she does. I'm with "do not agree with Fluke" on this one - can women have boob jobs paid for, because reconstructive surgery is paid for for breast cancer victims? Did Ms. Fluke really try to use that melodramatic excuse for women to be subsidized in their sexual activity choices? How did she get into a prestigious law school with that kind of thinking?

Okay - I'm done with this subject - just hope we all wake up, and not get distracted by these talk show hosts, and political stunts by (unfortunately) our "Commander in Chief"? (That's a scary thought right there)

We know in hindsight that a bunch of sponsors would dump Rush for what he said, but I don't think it would have anything to do with how women vote. We'd see women voting for Obama if Santorum were to get the nomination. Have aspirin futures increased at all? Hehe.

"Most of you people are scaring me. Do you really think people (women) would make a decision for president based on this issue? Would you? A million women would vote for Obama because of what RL said?"

It's not just what Rush Limbaugh said. It's what the Republican candidates did NOT say. None of the, harshly criticized Rush Limbaugh for his demeaning comments. Instead, we had Santorum saying merely that the comments were "absurd" and that Linbaugh was just an "entertainer". Romney was not any better. None of the Republican candidates rushed in to say that Rush Limbaugh was way out of line with his "slut" comments. No, it was only Obama and many other non-Republicans who stepped in to defend the young woman against the demeaning and vicious personal attacks of Rush Limbaugh. Women voters are going to remember that and what that says about the Republican Party candidates when the next election comes.

By the way, you don't have to agree with the young woman's views on this matter. There's nothing wrong with respectfully disagreeing with her views. The university president of her school happens to disagree with her views but at the same time he stepped in to defend her against Limbaugh's personal attacks, saying that such attacks had no place in civil discourse. Too bad none of the Republican candidates had the courage to say the same thing because they were too worried about alienating their extreme right wing.

Sam,You got it exactly right.The vast majority of women can care less about RL,but the silence from the republicans on the issue is what will effect women.It just piles on to the far rights cultural problems and may be the tip of the iceberg.

a right winger making improper comments is no more Republican candidates responsibility to respond to than left winger Olbermann calling Michelle Malkin a 'mashed up bag of meat' is Obamas responsibility

newt speaks for me here Web Link

Not only does a big faction of the political spectrum not understand Ms. Fluke's testimony, they also clearly do not understand how birth control pills work, and yet they are spouting rhetoric about it in an attempt to make the other side of the isle "look bad".

This is what will sway voters, electing someone just to get someone else out of office is a dangerous assumption that things will be better- look at what the parties' continued miseducation and ignorance is doing to women's rights. This is better? More government in our bedrooms? Seems to go against their own platform.

The blatant double standard (Viagra, which only works to improve a males sex life is covered) reflects a lot more than some ignorant, attention-getting radio show host. He is clearly siding with a certain party and bringing their values to light, albeit in a ridiculous manner.

When Rep candidates are asked by a reporter to respond to RL,who is the most influential voice in the the far right movement,they have a choice.They,out of fear,have all chosen to blow it off.They fear RL and offending the base.I saw RL 's apology.It was a desperate PR move and a bold faced lie.Isaw his comments on tape when he called Fluke a slut,etc.,and he was not trying to be funny or sarcastic.He MEANT every word and now he realizes that he has done damage and regets it.When you are the VOICE of the far right and you have the candidates sharing your views,you CAN weaken the overall image of the right and he did.No going back now.Thanks Rushbo.

Rush was only joking/entertaining us -- LOL -- and it just goes to show you that most of the femiNazis in this country don't have a sense of humor.

As for our teleprompter president -- um, ah, well, you know, I, um, de-de-de-decided to um, well, um....

Like Arroyo (I voted for Obama), I'm neither a racist or a liar. BTW, I voted for Obama, but he's the worst president in American history. He's bad, really really bad.

Sam and hoops, your argument chastising the repubican leadership for silent is like saying all muslims are terrorists for not publicly denouncing the 9/11attacks. Or, that all dems are perverts for not denouncing Anthony Weiners lewd behavior. I don't believe these generalizations, do you? Then, why use a broad brush to paint everyone the same way?

Steve said: "Sam and hoops, your argument chastising the repubican leadership for silent is like saying all muslims are terrorists for not publicly denouncing the 9/11attacks."

No, it's not Steve. And you should know better since you just pointed out the essential difference between the two yourself. The words "leadership" and "silent" should hardly ever be used in the same sentence, especially when there is an issue which has so captured the attention of so many Americans such as this one.

Steve I agree 100 pct with Sam.If you were running for president and were asked by a reporter about RL's rants how would you respond?They clearly do not want to offend the base and do not have enough of a backbone to criticize the leading voice of the far right.Why is it so difficult to be a man and simply say you do not agree with Rushbo's comments and move on.End of story.Sometimes you have to be a human being instead of a politician.Simple human decency.

Well, Maybe Rush should have apoligized. But Fluke is what she is...someone said "she is putting herself out there" that is pretty much the case, for anyone who slips on a condom first. Not sure what you call that...but is Rush didn't get it right, he was darn close. Hope I run into Fluke one day!

This whole scenario makes me sad, especially the fact that it's gotten so much political traction. This episode is all about money, as most issues are for politicians. Your money, funding programs that you don't agree with, or are against your religion or beliefs.
it's sad that the president is yet again apologizing...it's not his issue, nor is there reason for him to interject himself into the issue...except for political expediency, since it's an election year and he needs the votes of naive women who can't see past the facade being raised here. He's playing these people and making them look like fools.
I'm sad that RL had to apologize, but that's capitalism at work....once the advertisers have been pressured by irrational females, he had no choice but to relent to their screeches.
I'm sad for fluke and that she feels she has to sleep around to find happiness. She may be young and possess book-smarts, but seriously lacking in common sense and morals. I bet her parents are so proud of their attention seeking, insecure little girl. Provided she graduates, she'll end up working for the ACLU...it's a perfect fit.

I don't understand why more men are not concerned about this. Contraception affects the people involved, not just the women.

There are no public funds in this. It is about insurance companies offering contraception. Isn't this about prevention. if the woman becomes pregnant, that is covered. . . ???

Dear Mr. President... Thank you for forcing insurance companies to buy my contraceptives ... now could you please force my car insurance company buy my gas ... I would be happy to testify at a Nancy Pelosi Congressional hearing that purchasing gas is literally bankrupting men and at least 40% of my neighbors... Warmest Regards

We don't even have a president or leader this guy just gives speeches. He is a joke

It takes a big man to apologize. Rush stepped up.

What's sad is people interpreting Ms. Fluke's testimony any which way they want in order to further their agenda against the current administration, rather than actually comprehending what she said. Again it comes down to many not even understanding what birth control pills do and why they are prescribed. Amazing that we can be paying for RL Viagra and that is ok. The one plus to this all, it brings out the true prejudice a certain group in our country is believing, as we can now read amongst these posts and on many news broadcasts. Interesting that our President was speaking of more important issues this past week as legislators and talk radio continue to stick to issues in our bedrooms. Less government? Right.

Yeah, Rush stepped up alright. He's a real big man. 100% class. All those femiNazis he talks about everyday, on the other hand, deserve the moniker he assigns to them, and no apology necessary.

Just wondering how many of you who are praising RL and ripping Fluke have daughters.I wonder how many of your daughters take the pill.Just a little food for thought.Iwonder how many of the men never had sex outside of marriage.Just asking because the double standard and hypocrisy is really starting to smell here.Of course none of your wives or girl friends ever took the pill and you have never used a condom.

Yes Hoops, I have daughters, and yes, they use contriceptives...and NO...I am not asking You to pay for them. We take care of that ourselves. I especially, would not consider asking our CHURCH to pay for them.

Get the point...you libs are always looking for a handout.

Anything related to sex out of wedlock or between ... same-sex partners is something our family has always taken care of by ourselves. Like pap smears and mammograms and std checks. If you can't pay for them yourself, then maybe you deserve ...
It all goes back to sex education in the school. During my generation's youth, we didn't have sex outside of marriage. But as soon as sex education at taxpayer's expense was introduced, it turned all the girls into... As upstanding ..., we don't want our money going to contriceptives.
(This post has been edited to remove comments/words deemed inappropriate by Pleasanton Weekly Online staff)

Judy, no one is advocating for or support ing govt paidd for Viagra, so find another point to beat to death. If you don't like that part of your insruance coverage, go get it changed.
Hoops, its none of your business what our families do, so cut the self-righteous BS. You're not the keeper of the high ground here.
How are you paying for your birth control now?
Aside from an absolute medical necessity that keeps you from dying, tell me again why my tax dollars should pay for your birth control?

'Correct' had it right, in the post above. That sums it up....you guys and you entitlement mentality are pathetic. Where does it end?

Hoops...I think it is more likely that liberals give Obama a pass on his incompetence because of his race than it is that conservatives criticize him because of his race.

I couldn't care less what his skin color is. What I do care about is his utter disregard for the constitution. It doesn't help that with the multi-trillion dollar deficits he's run up, he thinks it's a good idea to provide "free" birth control, with no restrictions whatsoever, to anyone who wants it. Seriously???

Steve and others here: Let me remind you that this controversy all started not because of some calm and reasonable discussion about whether contraception should or should not be paid for by insurance or the government. This is all in the news because Rush Limbaugh crossed over the line of common decency and started to engage in vulgar and demeaning personal attacks against a young woman whose views happened to differ from his own. Now I haven't personally studied the topic and so I'm not sure whether I would or would not agree with the young woman on this issue. It's possible that I would disagree with her. In fact, oftentimes I find myself agreeing with the conservative viewpoint as opposed to the liberal viewpoint. But where you conservatives lose me (and many other independents) is when you start to get extremist and wacky (e.g., Palin, Santorum, Bachmann), or just plain vulgar (e.g., Rush Limbaugh). The liberal viewpoint needs a counterbalance and there are conservative ideas which need to be voiced. Unfortunately, there seem to be a lack of intelligent, reasonable conservatives who can connect with independents. Instead, you've let yourself get taken over by tea partiers and the rest of the far-right extremist fringe as well as vulgar clowns such as Limbaugh. You're going to lose the next Presidential election because of all that, and you're going to lose big. And you've got no one to blame but yourselves.

For those of you who don't listen to Rush, but feel justified in condemning him based on the selective clips you've heard...his point was that $1000 a year is a WHOLE lot to pay for birth control. You can easily get generic pills for less than $10/month even without insurance. There are dozens of options for less than $25/month. And there are things like IUD's that are a one-time cost of a few hundred dollars.

So if Fluke was spending $1000/year, she MUST have been using a per-use method, such as condoms (which are readily available for FREE) or something like a sponge, which is cost 3 or 4 dollars each. You can check out the costs yourself at birthcontrol.com. There is only one option there that would come to $1000/year, except for the over-the-counter, per use forms. THAT is how Rush came to his conclusion...it was based on Fluke's testimony and facts about how much birth control costs.

Yes, Rush's comments were taken entirely out of context. He called her a slut because she used a lot of birth control. So she actually deserved it. See?

Hey Cecil...are you aware of the many names Sarah Palin was called by lefties? Did they get the same media attention Rush is getting? No.

Sam,

Thanks for trying to bring the discussion back on topic.

Educated,

It is possible that a generic was not offered through the university pharmacy.

The whole birth control mandate is much more than just politics...it's crony capitalism at its finest...

"You’ve heard of crony capitalism? Well this is America’s first example of crony contraceptives. Forget for a minute the religious question and look at who wins big here: Big Pharma. This mandate is not really about condoms or generic versions of ‘the pill,’ which are available free or cheap in lots of places. This is about brand-name birth control drugs and other devices that some consumers swear off because they are too expensive. The Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate requires health-insurance companies provide contraceptive coverage for ALL ‘FDA approved contraceptive methods.’ IT DOES NOT INSIST ON GENERICS. And it DOES NOT OFFER ANY COST CONTAINMENT. . . . It’s important to point out that among President Obama’s biggest financial backers are precisely the Big Pharma companies who benefit from the mandate."

Read the rest of this Daily Beast article: Web Link

Sarah Palin is a great American woman. Her stress upon abstinence ensured that her children have remained chaste and virtuous. And well educated. Like Sarah. And like Educated.

And she was honest. She never blanched when it came time to calling Obama the terrorist nonAmerican and nonChristian muslim that he is. All this comes from being educated, like Educated.

Stacey...if generics are not offered through the university pharmacy, she could go to another pharmacy, or she could get them online at birthcontrol.com. Or planned parenthood. It's not that complicated.

Cecil...your elitism is coming through. And I'd love to see where Sarah Palin said the things you accuse her of. You are probably watching Keith Olbermann and actually believing the nonsense he spews.

At least when her daughter made a mistake, she was responsible about accepting the consequences...instead of just making them "go away". Yes, I know, you and I will never agree, so that will be the end of my discussion with you.

Ms. Fluke has no expertise in the matter at hand--mandates and religious freedom. She was called by Democrat Leader Pelosi to change the subject of the hearings she was not invited to and to divert attention from the failing economy, failing foreign policy, and our march toward statism. Her banging the drum on contraception was no fluke.

Sam, are you aware of the racist comments our beloved vice-president has made?

Educated,

Perhaps. We don't know if the university's health insurance plan covered prescriptions at other pharmacies. I'm just saying that there's probably more to the story of why the birth control pills were costing $1000 per year. It would be interesting to know.

Cecil is just baiting everyone. Best ignored.

The last thing we need is a woman's voice on this matter. Fluke, being a woman, has no real expertise on this matter. The original hearing had only men in attendance to testify, which is the appropriate thing to have had. It is scientifically verified that women support statism more than men do.

I agree with Stacey. It would be really really interesting to know more about Fluke, her body, personal sexual practices, and her birth control methods. Does she maybe have a special medical condition? It's all so very fascinating.... I'll tell ya, there's no right to privacy in the Constitution, so she's up for grabs. This'll all make it easier for other women to step forward into the public realm on their march toward statism.

Odd that we are not talking about Viagra in the same context as we are BC pills, oh that's right, because Viagra is covered by Medical insurance. never mind.

Pure & simple politics in an election year. How about the President calling a California High School 12th grader & appologizing that his/her test scores are too low to get into the Ivy League. Would the President say that the student's teachers failed them - or say that he was sorry that there was not more money available for education. How about calling a War Vet & appologizing for poor VA services. How about appologizing for slow service at the IRS or the DMV. Although this type of list could on & on, such "Calls for the President" will only be made when it lines up & winds up the political media...

I do not remember the outcry when Bill Maher called Sarah Palin the "C" word nor anything said by our president or the media when Ed Schultz of MSNBC called Laura Ingraham a "s...t". Could it be that they are liberal and also that Maher donated $1,000,000 to Obama?

Rush is a very decent man. A big man. He stepped up. It was a momentary lapse brought about by our foul-mouthed president and his wife. The problem is the Obama-led liberal-communist society of ours creates an environment that just takes down good and decent men like Rush Limbaugh.

Instead of appologizing to the Arabs, our black man president should be appologizing to me because I wasn't excepted by a Ivy League School.

As far as long lines at the DMV and IRS, it's time we took a larger axe to those programs. Too much fat means longer lines.

You are certainly right that it is none of my business what you do in your families.I just have a problem with the tv minister who is so holier than thou and gets caught having an affair or is secretly gay.In other words those who do not practice what they preach.Lets see....The catholic church forbids birth control.99 % of catholic women have used birth control.HMMMM.Must be a reason.Now lets see,would I rather have birth control made available to everyone who needs it or would I rather pay for the costs of bringing an unwanted child into the world.Gee....abortions are also prevented by women having access to birth control.Wow,the Obama administration is just sooooo evil.So...tax payer dollars are saved by reducing the horrendous cost of bringing an unwanted child in to the world to probably be raised in poverty and abortions are greatly reduced.Sounds like a win win that the far right should love.

Ms. Fluke is talking about being prescribed medication for a medical condition. She is not speaking of bcp to prevent pregnancy. If you read her transcript and understand the uses and effects of estrogen therapy, then you will understand this point. When someone has a medical condition, such as impotence, Viagra is prescribed and covered by health insurance. When a woman is diagnosed with endometriosis, estrogen pills aka birth control pills are prescribed, these should be covered by insurance- the point Ms. Fluke is trying to make. Hope that is more clear for you Steve.

Sounds to me like Judy is maybe a member of one of those femiNazi groups. Talk about twisting the truth into irrelevance. What does Fluke's medical condition have to do with guys lining up around the block and crony capitalism between Obama and the big Pharms?

Oh...So Obama is in bed with the big pharms.Big oil too??Big Banks???I almost believe Limbaughs fake apology now.So I guess a feminazi is any women who does not stay home and cook and clean and service all the needs of her right wing husband?

Contraception? tv ministers? "s**ts"? "the c-word"? .... What the heck is going on? ... When I read the headline of this Forum "THE PRESIDENT STEPS UP" ... I thought it's about time He is going to get to work and reduce our national debt, develop an economic plan that promotes job growth, stop making speeches and campaigning and secure our borders and address the illegal immigration problem, stop bowing to our enemies and support our allies, stop blaming other presidents about His problems, stop telling us what we can eat, get the Federal Government out of the way of the Education system in this country, stop the Obamacare plan that will destroy our health care system, in other words what a President should be doing ... but I find out HE STEPPED UP and called a 30 year-old Law student to tell her to keep asking for free contraceptives ....

WOW ... I just sit here in complete horror as to the ineptitude and cluelessness of this President and the folks that think He just "STEPPED UP"

Yeah, when I read "stepping up" I thought it said "stepping out" like he does all the time with his wife when they're on one of their perpetual vacations. This president hasn't gotten to work because he doesn't know how to work. He's never had a real job. I hear he's got a drum set in the oval office and that he's always banging away on it and that Michelle is always complaining that he ought to go out and get a real job. He's in over his head, way way over his head.

great quote from a real conservative George Will....the rep leaders want to bomb Iran but they are scared to death of Rush Limbaugh.Classic and true.

To say Obama has never had a job and does not know how to work.So you think your day is tougher than his?A man with his background became THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES and he is lazy and does not know how to work.Simply an amazing statement.I wonder how many days you would last if you had his job,which by the way is the most difficult,complex high pressure job in the world.I guess being a plumber or an IT guy is really working hard.Wow.Want to reconsider that statement?

I'm not saying Rush is an evil man. Or a bad man. Or an immoral man. Or a milkman. Or a postman. I'm saying that Fluke's "inexpert testimony" shouldn't have been allowed because she's only a woman, not an expert on birth control like all the male priests and pastors and rabbis. Women should defer to their male spiritual advisors, unless they contradict their husbands. Husbands are the "mind" of the marriage relationship; wives are the feet and hands.

Our Affirmative Action President has been heard banging on his drum set incessantly at all hours of the night. Brietborde was going to expose this on Youtube until he was ... well, until he "passed away." By the way, speaking of Brietborde, we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude. Because of his dedicated investigative journalism, the Justice Dept has been forced to admit of 9 verified cases of voter fraud just over the past few years. There's probably double that amount that haven't yet been exposed. (See Acorn and the invalid election of a noncitizen of the United States by illegal means.)

OK ... Looks like "Hoops" has all the answers ... Tell me how our President has "STEPPED IT UP" ... not "stepped in it" .... "STEPPED IT UP" ... I am very anxious to hear something positive in this forum that illustrates how this President has "STEPPED IT UP" ... please don't tell me he called a 30 year-old law student to ensure her that her fight for free contraceptives is a fruitful exercise in the situation we currently find our country in after 3+ years under his direction...

I thought the student was advocating that all health plans including her university (a Jesuit university, i.e. Roman Catholic) offer birth control at the same deductible as other medications. She wasn't asking the government to pay. Then dear old Rush decided she must be selling herself and thus needed birth control.That's a huge leap!

"Would the sexually inactive young college students at ANY COLLEGE or university, please stand up?" No, it is not our business, but I do prefer those who take precautions than those who don't.

Also anyone who works for these establishments (married too) have the same problem. If you employ people outside of your religion, then give access like any other employer. Separation of church and state.

David would you like to put your intellect up against our affirmitive action president?Didn't think so.So as I suspected you are a bigot and it just eats away at your core that a Black man is in the white house..Maybe you and your buds are the ones that need a little affirmative action.The problem with people like you is that you are so biased and feel so threatened by Obama that you are incapable of any objectivity.You try to demean Obama who is so superior to you in every way with your racial digs but it is so obvious and shallow.You are the high school kid sitting on the bench on the JV team and Obama is Michael Jordan.Get over it.

Thanks for the folks that have put forward thoughts on the real issues. Sorry to see so much "name calling" when our Nation has so many serious matters to attend to.

The only thing that will satisfy ME is when the President steps up and gives ME a tax break and, even better, pares away some of the pork that is doled out to freeloading entitlement groups that are intellectually inferior to myself.

Since "Hoops" doesn't have an answer ... maybe Stacey, the one who started this "THE PRESIDENT STEPS UP" forum can give me some hope and let me know how our President has "STEPPED UP" to lead this country... and don't give me the contraceptive phone call to a 30 year old law student again...

"Rush has apologized to Ms Fluke, the controversy is over"

It looks like it is not over. Radio stations are stopping their broadcast of the show and advertisers continue to stop their support:

Web Link

I wonder why Obama (whom I voted for in 2008) did not apologize to Palin or others who have been the target of the liberal version of RL:

"Talk-show host Bill Maher, who recently donated $1 million to President Obama's super PAC, used offensive sexual terminology to describe Sarah Palin on his HBO show last year. He has been criticized by the National Organization for Women (as has Limbaugh) but continues to appear in his show on the cable network — which, as Maher pointed out, is financed by viewers' fees, not advertising.

"I don't have sponsors," Maher said when the Limbaugh controversy broke.

But Tim Graham of the Media Research Center, a conservative media-watching group, said "it's very easy to make a big, huge list" of Maher's offensive comments. But "nobody says to him, 'Um, are you going to take that back?' That's the problem, that we have a complete and total double standard.""

Web Link

Advertisers aside, Obama felt it necessary to apologize to Fluke, but somehow ignored attacks against conservatives?

I am not a fan of the GOP but can certainly see the double standard here and the fact that Obama apology was driven by political reasons only.

I hope Romney wins the GOP nomination because I would hate to have to vote for Obama again (but Santorum is too scary)

Ok What?What has Obama done since he swore in.So you say has stepped in it,which though ironic is so true.In 2008 when he took the oath of office,any reasonable person would admit that he faced the mosrt difficult and complex problems any president in history has inherited.We were on the precipice of a GLOBAL financial collapse,we were losing hundreds of thousands of jobs monthly,fighting 2 unconventional wars,US automakers were bankrupt,banks collapsing,healthcare premiums trying to be raised by 40% and on and on we can go.Now almost to the day he steps into office,the leader of the republican party in the senate boldly states that his main goal as the minority leader in the senate is to see that Obama fails as president and that is a fact.So Obama facing the most challenging environment for any president in history with 100 pct opposition from the repub party has done nothing????If you read the paper this morning you will see that economists are saying the economy is growing much faster than predicted and unemployment is dropping as well.I believe Bin Laden no longer lives and many more Al Queda leaders have been eliminated than under Bush.Nobody has an answer to Afghanistan but he has been more aggressive than Bush with drone attacks and the increase in troops.GM and Chrysler have been saved along with countless jobs.Most of the bailout money has been paid back.The healthcare bill has a lot of very good things in it but he did not do a good job of simplifying it to the American people.I find it ironic that in attacking the bill the conservatives are attacking a lot of their own ideas such as the individual mandate.This can go on forever.The bottom line is that Obama,like every other president is far from perfect.There are things he could have done better but to say that he has done nothing is so absurd and partisan.I actually voted for Reagan,Bush 1 and Bush2 and Obama.So yes,Obama really stepped into it and he has also really stepped up.You can disagree with his policies but can you tell me how what the republicans are talking about doing is any different from what they did in 2000-2008 other than they want to cut spending???

The difference between Obama apologizing about Palin vs Limbaugh is quite simple.If a presidential candidate is asked direectly by a reporter about Limbaughs remarks he has a choice to make.Nobody is saying he needs to say anything about it unless he is asked.If Obama was directly asked by a reporter about Maher's comments he would have said they were wrong.I have heard Obama on several occasions condemn the nasty political rhetoric.Limbaugh is also considered to be the voice of the far right and all the repubs are scared to death of him.Maher while espousing the beliefs of the far left is a comedian with no where near the status of RL.He carries no weight with the Democ leaders.He is a non entity compared to RL'S status in the repub party.And of course,Obama calling Fluke was political and it was smart politically for him to do so.

"Do not agree with Fluke" said: "I wonder why Obama (whom I voted for in 2008) did not apologize to Palin or others who have been the target of the liberal version of RL."

The parallelism between Limbaugh and Maher breaks down at several points. First, you overestimate Maher's influence when you try to equate him with Limbaugh. Limbaugh is THE voice of conservatism for many people, whereas Maher is just one relatively minor character among several (e.g., Michael Moore, Al Franken, etc.) who use comedy to attack conservatives. Secondly, Maher is an actual comedian, whereas Limbaugh promotes himself as being a serious commentator, although he always uses sarcasm in his messages. Also, Maher has no where near the political power of Limbaugh. Democratic senators don't feel the need to tip-toe around Maher for fear of his power. Not so with Limbaugh. You could see how carefully the Republican candidates were choosing their words when commenting about this recent case so as not to offend Limbaugh or his many supporters. Finally, Palin is a public figure, whereas this young college student is a private citizen. It looks a lot more unfair for a nationwide radio hose to pick on a private citizen than a public figure who has more ability to fight back. And apparently (from what I hear) he Limbaugh didn't pick on this young college student just once, but for three consecutive days. He also went a lot further in his attacks, with creepy suggestions that the young woman should provide him with videotapes of her exploits.

Bottom line: Yes, Maher was wrong in his comment about Palin. But you're completely lost if you think that there's any sort of equivalence between Maher vs. Palin and Limbaugh vs. the young college student.

Is this the end of RL? It seems like more advertisers are choosing not to place ads anymore, and there are even online petitions:

"There are no plans to remove Rush Limbaugh‘s radio program from Armed Forces Radio Network, according to Pentagon spokesman George Little. But that hasn’t stopped more than 9,000 (at this writing) people from signing an online petition to remove Limbaugh’s program from taxpayer-funded airwaves, according to the Marine Corps Times."

Web Link

To the person who posted the "must be registered to post" RL forum: AOL and Allstate both withdrew their ads from the RL show

Fact: More taxpayer financed contraceptives = more sex out of wedlock.

Fact: More sex means more single mothers with kids.

Fact: Kids of single mothers are more likely to be criminals.

Fact: Taxpayers paying for women's health concerns are actually paying for increased crime.

Fact: Nowhere in the Constitution does it say anything about women's health care "rights"

Fact: Our socialistic nanny state is financing crime and shredding our Constitution while doing it.

"Hoops" ... thanks for helping me understand why our President has been unable to do the job, heck I can make excuses all day long, but it doesn't get the Job done! ... now I would like him to get to work and do the Job! and stop blaming everyone and everything else ...

I lived through Jimmy Carter (20% mortgages, gas lines, bowing to our enemies, hyper inflation)and watched Ronald Reagan get the Job Done! no excuses!!... I thank God I was able to work and raise may family in an environment where entrepreneurs and businesses were thriving (the Technology Boom!)... we loved our country and Russia/Communist Eastern Europe collapsed under the shear weight of our power and success... lower tax rates and business friendly laws ... standing up to public sector unions (Air Traffic Controllers) ... I felt the FREEDOM ... my children are now experiencing the same environment I felt at their age in 1979 ... I only hope there is another Ronald Reagan to bring back pride in America and unleash the entrepreneurial spirit again so my children can experience it as well... the answer is much larger than free contraceptives and a phone call to a 30-year old law student with no Job....

Sam-" this young college student is a private citizen". She was until she attended a Dem sponsored press conference, made to look like testimony.
She's a 30 year old 'student' of law who for the past 3 years has been working to promote feminist and birth control policies that are counter to the school policies within the private, Catholic college she attends. If she were interested in remaining a 'private citizen' she would not be calling so much attention to herself (kinda defeats the purpose of 'private)and not basking in the spotlight provided by loathsome, opportunistic Dem politicians (sorry for the redundancy there). She's become a media wh*re, along with........oh, nevermind.

SteveP said: "Sam-" this young college student is a private citizen". She was until she attended a Dem sponsored press conference, made to look like testimony."

Steve, just so that we are clear on terminology, a "private citizen" is anyone who does not hold any official, public position. Appearing before a congressional committee has no effect on whether a person is considered to be a "private citizen" or not.

In any case, there's no excuse for the vile comments that Rush Limbaugh made against the young woman. Even Rush Limbaugh himself finally realized the error of his ways and gave a belated apology, so it's kind of sad and pathetic to see you still here trying to justify his comments.

And how dare this woman think that I'm going to finance her sexual practices by donating my hard-earned money to a private institution like Georgetown. A good 30 year-old Catholic girl shouldn't be able to have sex while she's attending a papist institution. That's why the school doesn't allow any debate about abortion in the classroom from either students or professors. It's absolutely outrageous. Sex isn't about women's health. It's about the evil propaganda that the femiNazis spew out about personal freedom.

And yes, STeveP is so right as usual. This woman had no right stepping into the public arena. And she got what she deserved because, face it, Rush is right. The Republican-run congressional committee had already heard all the testimony they needed from all the men they had testify. You'd have to be an absolute media wh*re to agree that anyone would want to hear a woman testify on this question. Ronald Reagan would have shut her down in a heartbeat.

Ronald Reagan standing up to and busting the Air Traffic Controllers is a total myth. All the controllers quit in protest against the way their union was endangering people's lives!

Here's the statement that Carbonite CEO David Friend gave on his company's blog announcing that the company was withdrawing advertising from the Rush Limbaugh show:

"No one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke, and I have two, could possibly abide the insult and abuse heaped upon this courageous and well-intentioned young lady. Mr. Limbaugh, with his highly personal attacks on Ms. Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency. Even though Mr. Limbaugh has now issued an apology, we have nonetheless decided to withdraw our advertising from his show."

What...You are just such a stereotype.There is nothing Obama could possibly do that you would give him an ounce of credit for.You can not have a discourse with someone who has such a bias and a closed mind.The main problem the country has now is people that listen to the likes of Limbaugh all day or the far left mouthpieces and have NO ability to meet in the middle or to compromise.It is like you are brainwashed and you hear what you want to hear and see what you want to see.I will admit that I get pissed off when I read some of the garbage that is said about Obama and respond in a negative way,but at least I can see both sides of an issue and see a compromise.You guys are so rigid and stuck in your own little world it is really sad actually.

hoops:

you are as bad as the right wing folks. (but you are on the side of the left). You defend Obama even though most would agree that he has not done a good job as president.

I do not like the GOP and even though I voted for Obama I can certainly tell you that I will not support him again unless of course, the GOP somehow nominates someone other than Romney. And even if Romney is nominated, I would have to wait and see who he picks for his VP running mate...if he does what McCain did, then Obama for sure gets my vote again.

It is people like you who defend Obama at all costs and people who attack him no matter what, who are, in a way, responsible for the horrible choice of candidates we have this year (and had in 2008)

What does this say about RL's supporters/audience?

"But while dozens of companies are trying to distance themselves from Limbaugh’s incendiary comments, one company has flocker to the conservative commentator. The online dating website SeekingArrangement.com, whose mission is to match subscribers with wealthy “Sugar Daddies,” said Tuesday that it has made a new ad buy specifically during Limbaugh’s program.

Brandon Wade, the founder and CEO of SeekingArrangement.com, said he decided to support Limbaugh because he apologized for calling Fluke a “prostitute,” an insult, Wade said, that “many in the mainstream media” have used to describe the women who use his dating site.

“Many will question why we are supporting Rush Limbaugh even though he is guilty of using the same terms that many in mainstream media have used to describe Sugar Babies,” Wade said in a statement Tuesday. “There are three good reasons. First, the right to free speech should never be subjected to boycott. Second, Limbaugh’s show appeals to the largest Sugar Daddy demographic."

Web Link

"Hoops" ... I just ask a simple question ... and all I get are insults... Hmmm ... I just want our President to do the Job we hired him to do ... am I more FREE today than I was 3+ years ago?

I can no longer have the same health insurance I have today, I must buy what the govt tells me to buy, why?... my business is now required to file 40% more paperwork to operate, why? (it's not cheap)... I can't have a fire in my fireplace any longer, why? ... I am paying $4.50 a gal for gas when it was a $1.80 in 2009, why?... my children and I have been saddled with an additional $5.5 Trillion in debt, why?... my children's public college tuition has risen 85% in three years, why? ... I sit in the stands of a high school basketball game and 10 kids are sitting and laughing during our National Anthem, why?... my home value has plummeted 50% in 3+ years, why? ... I watch our President vacation in Hawaii, Cape Cod, Aspen, Spain, Asia while the unemployment rate is 9.5%, and our debt climbs to unimaginable heights, why? ... I watch our President fly around in Air Force One doing 5 political fund raisers in a day and our Government stands still, why? ... We have OWS folks destroying public and private property without accountability, why? ... illegal aliens are getting free health care, education and welfare, why? ...

Get my drift ... I am not attacking anyone, just would like our President to get to work and do his Job... I want my children to grow up in America ... not Europe... Thank you.

OK... to Do Not Agree With Fluke....I am not on the far left and I do not agree with and defend everything Obama does.I simply get sick of everyone who says he has accomplished nothing and is a muslim and all the other garbage.And by the way his approval rating is over 50% and he is ahead of all the republican candidates in the polls by a wide margin so I think you are incorrect in your statement that most would agree he has done a bad job as president.

To What...I apologize for attacking you,I got you blended in there with the crowd that thinks he is a muslim terrorist.I will say that I think you are being very unfair by blaming Obama or any president for all the things you listed.The president is not a dictator.He has to work with congress.People on both sides have to compromise to get things done.Obama has nothing to do with the price of oil and if you think he is responsible for gas being 4something a gallon you do not understand how the global system prices gas.Your house has not lost 50% of its value in the last 3 years.Real Estate crashed well before Obama and he had nothing to do with it and you know it.You are totally incorrect about not being able to have the same health care policy.Obama has nothing to do with the Bay Area's rules about your fireplace.With all due respect,you are blaming Obama for things that are controlled by the states and for things that he inherited.We had a global financial meltdown before Obama caused by having no gov't regulations and Europe is still on the edge today.Since you are a patriotic American,I ask you if you have any anger towards Mitch McConnell,the senate minority leader who pledged from day one his number one goal was to defeat Obama..not try to work with him during the biggest global crisis in history.How American is that??Obama is one man,pretty much at the mercy of congress in terms of getting things done.If you want to blame him for all the ills of the country and make him the scapegoat you are free to do so.I respectfully disagree.I think his healthcare bill was a mistake,though there are a lot of very good things in it.He should have concentrated his full effort on jobs in my opinion but I understand why he pushed it.I think he should have been more aggressive in rebuilding our infrastructure.The one thing I do know is that if John McCain were president,all those things you are blaming Obama for....they would all still be there.It does not matter who is in the white house if the congress is going to act like children.

"Hoops" ... OK you're getting closer ... still a lot of not our President's fault though... let me put it this way ... everything I said is TRUE on our President's watch ... including healthcare, I can no longer have my high-deductible health plan w/my HSA, which is most cost effective for me, I MUST have a plan with coverage that the Government dictates that is twice as costly - $2000 per month, trust me I know! ... I don't believe anything I read, I have experienced everything I described first hand.

Reagan did HIS JOB with a Democratic Congress and Clinton did HIS JOB with a Republican congress ... I didn't hear any of it's not my fault going on ... Just asking our President to do HIS JOB like a man with NO Finger Pointing... Thank you.

"What?" makes some great points. Face it, our "President" is lazy and shiftless. He doesn't know what hard work is. He's never held a real job in his life. All he does is take vacations and pander to Hollywood scumbags. Whenever he gets asked a question, he smiles his big cartoon smile and then mumbles something about the teleprompter not working. Had he stepped up, we wouldn't be saddled with universal health care in this country. Trust me, I know. We wouldn't have had to hightail it out of Iraq. Our unemployment rate wouldn't be going up every month as it has under his "watch". We'd have nuked Iran by now, and we'd never have let the Egyptians and Tunisians mock democracy with their shameful protests that destroyed public and private property without accountability. We'd have already bombed Syria off the map. We'd have a free and unregulated Wall Street doing what they do best, make money for themselves. This guy has been the worst "president" ever. A good president would have stepped down by now after admitting that he's in way over his head.

What...I do not know what you are talking about regarding your HSA.I own a small business and have a HSA and there is no change.I just contributed to it.Neither Reagan or Clinton inherited the mess Obama did.Because there are problems in the country it does not mean whoever is in the white house is responsible.I will give you this.Considering the magnatude of what Obama inherited and the relentless opposition of congress,I say it is unfair to judge him so harshly at this point.If he gets reelected and 4 years from now things have not improved a lot overall and there are no huge negative events which made it impossible to govern,I will say you are right.

"Hoops" ... I have an HSA as well ... try keeping it beyond 2013, it won't happen, it goes away.

You've got to be kidding right ... what our current President inherited was nothing compared to what Reagan inherited... when Reagan took office unemployment was soaring into double digits at a peak of 10.8% in 1982. At the same time double-digit inflation, with the CPI registering at 11.3% in 1979 and 13.5% in 1980 (25% in two years). This was accompanied by double-digit interest rates, with the prime rate peaking at 21.5% in 1980 (it is zero now). The poverty rate started increasing in 1978, eventually climbing by an astounding 33%, from 11.4% to 15.2%. A fall in real median family income that began in 1978 snowballed to a decline of almost 10% by 1982. In addition, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 70% of its real value in the previous decade, reflecting an overall collapse of stocks. I was there, I had a 20% mortgage, I stood two hours in gas lines, and my investments were worth nothing...

Clinton inherited a recession in 1992, very similar to 2008, the housing market took a big hit, I know, I bought land from a bankrupt developer here in Pleasanton in 1993... that is why Ross Perot ran as a third party candidate in 1992 to fix the economy (remember his Charts)and Clinton was the beneficiary (winning the election with less than 50% of the vote) and that is why the Republicans took over Congress in 1994, because Clinton tried to do what our current President is doing... HillaryCare and too much spending... anyway I digress ...

Reagan and Clinton found a way to work with their antagonistic Congresses and DO THEIR JOBS... Thank you for an honest discussion ... I want our President to man up and do the same

Sam do you notice Carbonites stock dropped 12%of its value today, as a direct result of their cowardly decision?

"Sam do you notice Carbonites stock dropped 12%of its value today, as a direct result of their cowardly decision?"

More likely the stock price dropped because investors wanted to flee from any company already tainted by association with the Rush Limbaugh controversy.

Just to be clear, this young woman wasn't asking us to pay for contraception, she was asking her health provider to provide the same basic coverage that other policies include.

WE aren't paying for her health insurance. She is. Great piece here:

Web Link

@Cecil,
Your post is so twisted I can't figure out if you're serious or not.

Fact: More taxpayer financed contraceptives = more sex out of wedlock.
First off, these aren't "taxpayer financed," they're paid for though her health insurance.

Fact: More sex means more single mothers with kids.
Contraception is to PREVENT women from having kids.

Fact: Kids of single mothers are more likely to be criminals.
I'll grant you that one. They're nine times more likely to have criminal records, as well as emotional problems.

Fact: Taxpayers paying for women's health concerns are actually paying for increased crime.
Again, Taxpayers AREN'T paying.

Fact: Nowhere in the Constitution does it say anything about women's health care "rights"
No. But the Declaration of Independence guarantees us he right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And I seriously doubt you've ever read the Constitution.

Fact: Our socialistic nanny state is financing crime and shredding our Constitution while doing it.
No. You just made that up.
The U.S. isn't socialist. It's not financing crime and there are at least a couple of logical fallacies in your argument: post hoc ergo propter hoc and fallacy of accident or sweeping generalization, to name two off the top of my mind.

@What?
I am paying $4.50 a gal for gas when it was a $1.80 in 2009, why?
Because Exxon made $44.1 BILLION in profit last year (and paid no taxes, BTW)
my children and I have been saddled with an additional $5.5 Trillion in debt
Yeah, you gotta blame Shrub for that:
Web Link

@David, our unemployment rate is down.

As far as I can tell, the bulk of you want to live in the 1950s again.

What....I will look into the HSA.We will never agree on this but what Obama inherited was a lot worse than Reagan.Look at the world now and then.The other difference was repub and dems still talked to each other and could compromise for the good of the country.Reagan raised taxes 17 times.He would not evev be considered a repub today.I know you say it is an excuse but I say it is a new reality that is going to ruin this country.If you own a business and your key supplier is unable to get your product to you for 4 weeks and you need it next week and you have no other option,you are not going to service your customer.Your customer tells you step and be a man and get me the product.Well you cannot get it.It is beyond your control.Now,is that you making an excuse or is that the simple reality?If the opposition party is out to destroy you at almost any cost to the country,tell me how he gets around that nonsense.People in congress are there to govern not play political games based on their ideaology.

'None of the above'....nice talking points from some very reputable libs (that's an oxymoron, but you knew that).
"Just to be clear, this young woman wasn't asking us to pay for contraception, she was asking her health provider to provide the same basic coverage that other policies include."

You're not being clear, you're being intentionally deceptive. Who pays for her college health plan? Does she not go to a Catholic university? If she's so bright, she must have known their policies and beliefs before she occupied their campus.

One thing we can all agree upon, no one wants her to reproduce, so she should obtain her pills by any means necessary.

Remember, Ms. Fluke's was a phony committee meeting set up by Democrats (strictly for political gain) who were angry about her not being called to the real committee hearing on religious freedom and government mandates where she has no expertise.

We are a nanny state heading very rapidly (under President Obama--more of a Marxist spreadig the wealth--) toward a socialist state.

"..I am not on the far left and I do not agree with and defend everything Obama does.I simply get sick of everyone who says he has accomplished nothing and is a muslim and all the other garbage."

I also get sick when I hear the GOP extreme right still talking about Obama's birth place, religion, etc, but I can also see that Obama has not accomplished much - name one significant thing he has done. Foreclosures continue, unemployment continues, underemployment continues, budget deficits continue....the list goes on.

The healthcare he passed is not an achievement, and he continues to blame the GOP for his lack of action. OK, he had a democrat everything for the first two years of his term, and did he reform anything that mattered? No, in fact, he kept Geithner on board! Obama has never held a real job (outside of academics or politics), and I did not think that would matter so I gave him the benefit of the doubt in 2008 and voted for him. But his inability to get things done and continued pointing of fingers/blaming Bush and the GOP shows that well, maybe the fact that he has never had a real job does matter.

"And by the way his approval rating is over 50% and he is ahead of all the republican candidates in the polls by a wide margin so I think you are incorrect in your statement that most would agree he has done a bad job as president.""

That rating only became as high as it is because the GOP has clowns for candidates. The more the GOP pushes for Santorum, etc, the more Obama's ratings will go up. But if Romney wins the nomination, it will be a tough race in November.

Wow ... Good morning ... still see people blaming the "Oil Companies", "Shrub", "it's different now", "Republican Congress" ... Our President has experienced HALF a Republican Congress for 13 months out of 37 months (1/3 of his presidency)and he is crying foul - what a "Weenie"... maybe he should have done the right things in the first two years when he had TOTAL control... according to him, he did the right things... look at the results... I always tell my children to take responsibility and Man/Woman up! ...

I have run a businesses since I was 16 and I ALWAYS found a way to satisfy my customers and feed my family ... but I never thought in my wildest dreams living in the greatest country on Earth the USA! (A country that people are fighting to get into for a better life)that my government would be forcing me to buy their health insurance, forcing my insurance company to provide contraceptives, forcing me to stop burning fires in my fireplace and wasting trillions of our tax payer dollars burdening our children to pay for it ... it is inexcusable and I would be ashamed to do that to my family

All I am asking is that our President stop Whining and DO THE JOB!!!!
Like Reagan and Clinton....

btw, it is too early to tell how well Obama will do this November. If Santorum wins the GOP nomination, Obama will be re-elected for sure, but if Romney wins, it will be a tight race.

About a poll that says Obama is back to 50% approval:

"Interviews with 1,026 adult Americans conducted by telephone
by ORC International on February 10-13, 2012. The margin of
sampling error for results based on the total sample is plus or
minus 3 percentage points. The sample also includes 937
interviews among registered voters (plus or minus 3 percentage
points)."

Source: Web Link

(click on "see full results," a pdf file)

That is a very narrow sample, and with the error margin (3 percent)...that says Obama continues to struggle for approval. I think only the far left is with him, and the more middle of the road democrats as well as independents can see that Obama has failed so far...he promised change and has not done anything to reform the things that matter, and the fact that he kept Geithner on board says everything about him.

Good morning again ... one more thing I keep hearing that Reagan and Clinton had easier Congresses to work with ... are you kidding me! ...
Tip O'Neal and the Democrats were ruthless in the 80s... but Reagan had the "Cajones" to deal with them ... he did it right ... he stood up to the ATC Public Union... he dealt with taxes properly reduced the top marginal individual tax rate from 70% to 28% during his presidency, created individual tax brackets and adjusted the personal and standard deductions to inflation for the first time, also reduced the Corporate income tax dramatically ... the so called "17" tax increases were getting rid of Federal tax breaks and loopholes to special interests so that "everyone" would pay their fair share ... he was not influenced by his Cronies and lobbyists like our current President is ... He also dealt with the Soviets and Communism in his spare time... BRING DOWN that WALL!!!!

Clinton did not have it any easier, how would you like to do battle with Newt Gingrich every day ... well he got the message in 1994 when the citizenry said enough (of HillaryCare)and elected the first Republican Congress in 40 Years!!! (Our current President didn't seem to get the message in 2010) Clinton said you know what, I'm going to work with this Congress and he even shut the Government down for a spell(spent time with Lewinsky to kill time during the shutdown) but He did Welfare reform and balanced the budget for the first time in ages with the help of Gingrich and the crew....

Congrats to Men who STEP UP and DO THE JOB!!!!!

No one wants to talk about government mandates and religious freedom. Changing the subject will not make these issues go away.They were the topic of the congressional committee hearing.

What....There is a HUGE difference between dealing with Tip O'Neal who was a tough politician but an old school politician who would actually socialize with the opposition and was willing to put the country first and compromise.I am curious what you think of all the republicans who have signed Grover Norquist's tax pledge.Do you think it is right for a member of congress to be so inflexible that he will put himself into a postion of never raising taxes on anyone for any reason even 10 years down the road where who knows what situations will exist.I will say this for the last time.Reagan and Clinton faced a totally different situation then Obama is facing.I think Obama should have been much tougher on the Republicans and the tea party types and called them out much more forcefully.I wish the republicans had someone like reagan now.The truth of the matter is in the current environment Reagan would be too liberal and would have difficulty getting the nomination.Romney has to lie and pretend he is someone he is not to appease the primary voters.The whole situation is very sad.The extreme right and the extreme left get most of the media attention.Our political discourse is becoming very much like Israel and Palestine.At least Obama tried to form some compromises with the tea party fueled republicans but they are so rigid and unwilling to compromise on anything we have what we have.Obama will probably win because the republicans are looking like bigger idiots than the dems to the moderate voters.The repubs act like they cannot wait to bomb Iran.I ask you what the hell do you think is going to happen then??Do you think Iran does not have assets in place here just waiting to respond in a way that would dwarf 9-11.How about gas at 8 dollars a gallon and how many more thousands of lives.On that happy note have a nice day.

What..I think your info on HSA's ending in 2013 is incorrect.I looked into it and see nothing that will change it except doubling the penalty for using it for non-medical reasons before the age of 65.

All I hear is our President "coulda" "shoulda" "woulda" if he had some "cajones" ...

That's my point .... DO THE JOB!!!!

Our President is real good at reading a Teleprompter ... that seems good enough for 50% of our citizens... as long as those Govt checks keep coming... they run out eventually - see: Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland... Stockton, Vallejo...

PensionTsunami.com ....

"Hoops" ... thanks for helping me with my health insurance dilemma ... believe me I've done the work ... due to the Govt requirement that beginning this year High-Deductible/HSA policies are required to have an 80% MLR (Medical Loss Ratio) which mine does not and most do not ... Health Insurance companies will be "forced" to drop those plans ... the shear incompetence of Govt and the unintended consequences of their actions is mind-numbing.... my new plan will cost me twice what I am paying now - $2000/mo ... or I could just freeload off the Govt, not my style....

What...Sorry about the HSA.I guess I will look deeper than I did and see if it changes with my Kaiser.If I lose my HSA I guess I will write in a vote for the ghost of RR.See we have a few things in common...HSA's,we own businesses,you go to high school basketball games and I was a high school coach for many years while running my business,we both voted for RR.If we were in DC we could compromise and get something doneIf not I would just make excuses about you!!

"Hoops" you're a good man ... hope to see you at a basketball game! ... help me get those kids standing for the National Anthem... Cheers ... and God Bless America!

I trust "What's" math, because it's always worked before.... His analyses of unfunded liabilities as debt are incomparable. I don't think there's another mathematician alive who could arrive at the same conclusion.

And he's right about Obama. Look at the picture of him just sitting there like a droopy-eyed jazz musician, watching the others do the hard work of getting Osama bin Laden. He's our first Marxist president, and it's trickle down tyranny. He doesn't do anything but just delegates authority to his Marxist cronies (see comment on Osama bin Laden above). He has no job experience whatsoever. Look at the debachle he's just created in N. Korea. Had we engaged in pre-emptive strikes against it, Syria, and Iran, oil would be at 2.50 right now. Mitt Romney has much more experience, especially in foreign policy. Look at the way he handled the Winter Olympics!

Instead of cloistering himself in the Oval Office, practicing his golf game and banging on his drum set with Michelle hollering in his ear to get a real job, he should be practicing how to speak without a teleprompter. I mean Ronald Reagan had Alzeimers the last four years he was in office and he read the teleprompter better than Obama.

Only people who receive govt checks and people of color (which, face it, pretty much is a mathematical wash) support this babbling clown who is leading us into tyranny by not doing anything. See origamipensiones.com for a look-see at how we're all going to be innundated by unfunded liabilities that result from lack of accountability among the Marxist clowns we have on the local school board, on city council, our state representatives and nat'l reps, our two Rosa Luxemberg Marxist-Anarchosyndicalist senators, and the lazy, oafish tyrant who drums away on his snare drums while we drown in debt while the bloodsucking Arabs humiliate us and bleed us dry.

Cecil...I am sooo tired of so many people not being able or willing to see both sides of an issue and constantly listen to only what they want to hear.Some are just frustrated and want or need to lash out at someone.My favorite political program is Hardball.Chris Matthews is a dem of course but at least he has 1,2 sometimes 3 guests from the other side,including tea party leaders, and they have a civilized debate.I for one am really tired of people who are so biased and rigid in their view of the world that they cannot say one decent thing,however small,about the president of the United States.I guess I am naive but I have been pretty surprised by the number of people who I think actually believe the muslim,communist,birther garbage.Sometimes I think it is 1950 in Alabama.Amazing and a little bit depressing to realize so many Americans can be so.......

hoops, you may be a good guy, I dunno, for me it would depend on what your employees thought of you at the end of the day. But I gotta say one thing: You require some work on the 'sense of humor' front.

That said, your inability to distinguish my posts here and elsewhere from "What's" or KR's or StevePee's or Ms. Starchy's posts are actually quite telling. For so utterly whacked out is one side -- which you've here positioned yourself against -- that you're unable to tell the difference between the idiotic and preposterous. Such is the state of right wing ideology today.... As Hunter S. Thompson used to say, when things get weird, the weird have to get weirder.

Thanks for participating in the demonstration.

Cecil...You totally misunderstood my post.I was actually addressing you as a voice of reason in these discussions.I was not talking about you.The reason I addressed you was because I did understand your sarcasm and enjoyed your post.I see how mistook it.Take care.

Hoops, really.

Posted by Stacey, a resident of the Amberwood/Wood Meadows neighborhood, on Mar 5, 2012 at 9:56 am
Stacey is a member (registered user) of PleasantonWeekly.com

Cecil is just baiting everyone. Best ignored.

Yup, that's how ya best tell the difference between Ms. Starchy's scintillating dialogue from my own. SHE is a REGISTERED USER, and I am not. Yup. Other than that, we're indistinguishable. Ignore one of us, and pay attention to the other's noteworthy efforts to steer all conversation into the censorious den of her ignorant blather.

I just went back and read most of Cecil's posts.I believe Cecil to be a highly intelligent individual with a very sarcastic wit which I appreciate.Anyway the original topic has died out but come November, if Obama wins in a very close election,in the irony of all ironies,he may have to send Rushbo a thank you card.

Gas will be the gauge of his reelection prospects. Everytime someone fills up it is a reminder of his sheer incompetence.

Hoops wrote: "I believe Cecil to be a highly intelligent individual"

I don't disagree with you there. The person is obviously someone who can contribute a lot to the discussion. But that's not that poster's interest here.

Yeah, the Competent One took us into Iraq, and look at all the oil we got there. A truly competent leader would have bombed Syria and nuked Iran by now. And North Korea, too, because how's that working out for us lately? We'll continue paying almost half as much for gas as they do in Europe until we sell off all federal and state parklands to the oil companies.

Gas....As much as you want to blame the pres for the price of gas the reality is he has no control over it.Just think for a minute.....no matter how much you dislike Obama,you would have to agree he wants to get re-elected.The higher the price of gas the more negative it is for him.Now if he could wave his magic wand and lower gas to 3 bucks a gallon would he not do it???One of the main reasons the price is going up besides global supply issues is the tension in Iran.Guess who is talking all the big talk about bombing Iran???Need I list the names of all the republican presidential candidates minus Ron Paul??Even if he succumbed to your drill baby drill approach it would take a very long time to have any influence on gas prices.

Hoops/Cecil,

Since you are the same person and trolls I will write this to both of you at the same time and maybe you can jointly answer. 12 democrats in the senate voted to strip Obama's veto power over the keystone pipeline. Even they think the guy is an idiot. Ok you two please caucus and come up with a clever insult.

Thought I would stop in and see if there is any more productive conversation here ... nope .... still defending Our President ... it's tough when your policies start doing what they are intended to do and people start seeing the negative impacts ... "Hoops" you should go over to the "School Reductions" forum and get a real load of what people are thinking about the progressive govt policies and the way Govt is running our schools ... people are really starting to understand what BIG Govt is all about ... it's fun to watch people wake up ... ... It's got to be exhausting defending Our President all day long ... Have a Great Day!!

No Cecil and hoops are not the same person.Cecil is much smarter and more articulate than me.I would define an idiot as someone who calls someone much smarter than himself an idiot.That is my insult since you requested one.As far as the keystone pipeline is concerned there is of course another side of the story considering the amount of jobs it would actually create and the overall impact.The political thing to do would be to approve it and be a hero.Have you actually taken the time to read why they are delaying it or just assuming that Obama wants to destroy the country,raise gas up to 6 bucks and guarantee he loses the election.To be honest I have not paid much attention to it.

I did not realize until I discovered PW that the president was an all powerful being without limitation.I wonder what the country would be like today if McCain had won.I am going to start a new topic on a new thread.See ya all

I just went back and read most of Cecil's posts.I believe Cecil to be a highly ignorant troll and a very sarcastic twit which I appreciate.Anyway the original topic has pointed out sufficiently that come November, if Obama wins, the fix is in, thanks to the likes of Bill Maher, George Soros, union thugs and the black panthers.

See what happens when you feed the trolls......

None of the above:

“Just to be clear, this young woman wasn't asking us to pay for contraception, she was asking her health provider to provide the same basic coverage that other policies include.” - Even though she knew she was going to a Catholic University and even though if she truly can’t afford it there are lots of places she can get it for free and even though the co-pays for most plans/drugs (every plan I’ve ever had) are 15-40 per prescription, which is MORE than the cost of most types of contraception with NO insurance coverage. See birthcontrol.com.

“No. But the Declaration of Independence guarantees us he right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And I seriously doubt you've ever read the Constitution.” - The Declaration of Independence is a great document, but it’s not what our laws are based on. The Constitution protects religion from government interference. THAT is the relevant issue here.

“Because Exxon made $44.1 BILLION in profit last year (and paid no taxes, BTW)” - That number seems huge because Exxon is a huge company. But their profit margin of 9.5% is lower than many other companies, namely GE, CBS, Apple, McDonald’s, Starbucks, etc. In fact, EVERY company I picked at random to check had higher profit margin than Exxon. And Exxon DID pay taxes: Web Link

“@David, our unemployment rate is down.” - No, it’s not: Web Link And the official rate doesn’t include people who have dropped out of the labor market or have been forced to take part-time jobs.

“As far as I can tell, the bulk of you want to live in the 1950s again.” - The 1950’s are looking better all the time.

It takes a lot of character to be able to come out and admit you were in the wrong. I find it hard to admit my own faults. For someone of importance to do this, shows a lot about what kind of person they are. Web Link