Fluke's Followers are Fools

The media circus abound the Obama administration and Catholic charities continues.  The Catholic charities have dug in their heels because the ruling threatens their very existence.  Democrats have tried to shift the focus from the threat of government diktat to it to be a threat to a right they hold sacred, access to birth control with the testimony of Democrat activist Sandra Fluke.  Meanwhile HHS, IRS, and other alphabet agencies involved in this effort have just issued a call for suggestions on how to improve/change this contentious issue.

About page 10 of that document something becomes clear, even though President Obama promised accommodations right now, HHS has another idea.  They will review and accept advise on this accommodation but any change will not happen until the expiration of the one year grace period which they call a safe harbor time.  Which can also mean these agencies could decide at a later date not to implement any accommodation. Perhaps after the November election which sees Obama re-elected or Obama sent packing.  It kicks the problem down the road while hoping everyone falls for the promise the controversial issue has already been taken care of.  This is the peril of administrative law, no Congress enacting the specific law while a cabal of bureaucrats decide to enforce a law of their creation.

But lets get back to Sandra Fluke.  She testified under oath to Congress that contraceptives costs for law students at Georgetown like her will cost $3000 during her whole time at school.  She says this a hardship.  Lets guess she will be at law school for the average three years.  That is thirty-six months.  Now divide the $3000 by 36.  The monthly cost then should be $83.34.  My question is, like many others, is why is this a hardship for Ms. Fluke and where is she shopping?  The costs for attending Georgetown are very expensive as this listing of tuition and fees show, perhaps she is tapped for cash. However as the Wall Street Journal article I link to shows she could have visited Wal-Mart or Target for contraception pills, spent about $150, and have enough pills for three years of frolic.  Ms. Fluke's grasp of costs seems a bit flawed which raises questions of what her billing practices will be when she is in the real world, unless she just wants to work for the government where it seems costs are never a factor.

Of course the worse thing about Ms. Fluke's testimony is the damage it does to the concept of female empowerment.  She is refuting everything Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox are singing about in this video about Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves.  It seems the song Ms. Fluke sings is "I Want Someone Else to Pay for Me."  She wants to be a kept woman, this time kept by the government and paid with other peoples money.  Yes she has come a long way, right back to dis-enfranchisement.