Quote of the Day: Rush Limbaugh Super-Sized Edition

"The New Deal didn't work. Hoover was President through the depression for one year."

Rush Limbaugh

The Great Depression started in 1929. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated in March 1933.

Limbaugh believes Bill Clinton made a law to fund abortions overseas. Population Action states:

The global gag rule does not prohibit foreign NGOs from providing EC as part of the family planning and reproductive health services they offer. Foreign NGOs may provide EC counseling, dispense EC to clients and promote awareness of this contraceptive method and still remain eligible for U.S. population assistance.

The Mexico City Policy (aka gag rule) does is not allow foreign clinics and hospitals to receive U.S funding, if the facilities inform women about contraception and abortion. Limbaugh clearly has no idea what he is talking about.

"If you look the executive orders (Obama) has promised to issue. He's gonna overturn the abortion law that guided who we fund overseas in terms of family planning and that's been a roller coaster. Clinton imposed it. Bush rescinded it. Obama is gonna reimpose it and so forth."

Clinton can not legal impose a law he is rescinding. The gag rule was imposed by Ronald Reagan in 1984. Alan Keyes helped created the gag rule policy. The Bush administration continued to censor what foreign health care facilities could tell their patients about contraception and abortion. Bill Clinton rescinded the gag rule on January 22, 1993.

The end of the video is Limbaugh telling Sean Hannity they have to fight against the "drive-by" media "reporting a totally bunch of wrong libel stuff about people." Limbaugh and Hannity spent their careers in talk radio and television. They have never reported a story in their lives. Getting Hoover's tenure over the Great Depression is historical fact. The Mexico City Policy doesn't prevent foreign countries from using U.S. dollars for funding abortions. (I doubt the Bush administration would be competent enough to monitor where the money was going.) Limbaugh can not have the truth of his side without speaking the truth.

I never hated Limbaugh. When I was a teenager, my father would listen to Limbaugh and his radio show and watch his defunct television show. I found the tv show because Limbaugh spent most of the show plugging his merchandise. I just found Limbaugh dull. Limbaugh was in the right place at the right time.

Interesting fact: Limbaugh and Hannity are both college dropouts. Maybe I should become a conservative talk show host.

Obama Lifts Global Gag Rule

President Barack Obama issued an executive order lifting the Global Gage Rule.

"It will be today. He's going to make an executive order (lifting the global gag rule)," the official said.

The Democratic president's decision is a victory for advocates of abortion rights on an issue that in recent years has become a tit-for-tat policy change each time the White House shifts from one party to the other.

When the ban was in place, no U.S. government funding for family planning services could be given to clinics or groups that offer abortion services or counselling in other countries even if the funds for those activities come from non-U.S. government sources.

The policy did nothing to prevent unwanted prenancies and endangered the health of women. Congress should pass a law banning the Gag Rule.

Update: Cara has a related post.

Global Gag Rule

Steve Waldman of Belief.net incorrectly describes the Mexico City Gag Rule.

Pro-life Obama activists fully expect Obama to repeal the Mexico City "gag rule" -- which prevents American dollars from going to groups that offer abortion services or advice. But some of them are urging the Obama administration Obama to delay action on that until he can put it in the context of a broader "abortion reduction" agenda. In other words, don't make a big pro-choice move without also taking some abortion-reduction step.

Waldman fails to mention the policy does not allow foreign health clinics to talk about emergency contraception and abortions for life-threatening pregnancies. The Catholic Church has convinced the Nicaraguan government to not allow abortions. The policy has caused the death of women. The Gag Rule prevents doctors from telling at risk women about abortions.

Amie Newman correctly calls the Gag Rule censorship.

The Global Gag Rule is about imposing censorship (that is unconstitutional in this country) on U.S. family planning funded NGOs that provide critical health services in developing nations; services like the provision of contraceptive supplies, family planning counseling, HIV prevention tools, maternal health care and more.

The Gag Rule has curtailed free speech and created more unwanted prenancies. Hopefully, President Barack Obama intends to lift the Gag Rule. It is nice to have a President that places sound health care policy above religious fundamentalism.

Update: From Population Action:

The global gag rule does not prohibit foreign NGOs from providing EC as part of the family planning and reproductive health services they offer. Foreign NGOs may provide EC counseling, dispense EC to clients and promote awareness of this contraceptive method and still remain eligible for U.S. population assistance.

The Bush administration chose to withhold money from clinics that provided abortions. The original Reagan executive order forbid foreign clinics receiving U.S. funding to discuss abortion with patients.