Limbaugh (again) and Maher and "Media Matters"

Now we have Bill Maher, who I respect about as much as Rush Limbaugh, coming out in defense of Limbaugh's apology and noting that it is wrong for the left to target the sponsors.  Perhaps Mr. Maher suffered some of the same when he hurled misogynistic comments at prominent right wing women like Sarah Palin.  Maybe he is just being a nice guy but I doubt it.

No matter what Maher or Limbaugh says or the true substance of the matter, there are left wing groups like Media Matters and "The Daily Kos" that are sponsoring campaigns to target the sponsors of Mr. Limbaugh.  While I believe that they are within their rights to do so, it is a poorly-disguised attempt to silence one of the most vociferous critics of left wing politicians and media.  Is that what we really want in a free country with free speech?

I would love to see Bill Maher go away, out of business, etc, because I disagree with him 9 times out of 10.  That is about the same as my disagreement with Limbaugh when I hear whatever outrageous thing he said lately.  The fact that I would love to see them both disappear does not mean that they should nor does it mean that they should be censored.  The actions of Media Matters and other left wing groups is an outright attempt to silence free speech.

Now let's look at the claims of Ms. Fluke, who has been reported to claim that birth control prescriptions would add $3,000 to her law school educarion.  First, the average time in law school is about 30 months in residence.  That would work out to be $100 per month.  A quick visit to the Planned Parenthood site tells us that they will provide access to birth control pills for $15 to $50 per month.  A visit to the Walmart Pharmacy site shows that you can buy, given a prescription, Tri-Sprintec (a birth control pill) for $4 per month.  Finally, I doubt that paying even the inflated estimate of Ms. Fluke is beyond her means since Georgetown Law tuition is $23,432.50 per semester, just under $94,000 for her JD if she does it in 4 semesters.  Ms. Fluke's estimate of $3,000 is a 3.2% surcharge for not going to Walmart or Planned Parenthood.  The first amendment is worth that much.  This does not justify Mr. Limbaugh's comments but let's put everything into perspective.

My point here is that demanding that a Jesuit university violate its religious views to provide birth control is a violation of the 1st amendment if you take the more liberal view that the 1st amendment to the Constitution provides for separation of church and state.  The 1st amendment says nothing of the kind and it is pretty interesting that the so-called conservatives now want to consider that interpretation as they assail the President.  I take the more liberal view and believe that the separation of church and state is covered by the first amendment.  With that view in mind, I believe the faith-based institutions should be exempt from any law requiring coverage for contraceptives.  I don't think that the 1st amendment exempts private persons from providing such coverage, hence my opposition to the Blunt amendment.  This is the same reason we don't allow individuals to withhold taxes on religious or moral grounds.