Viagra Works Wonders : Dispatches from the Culture Wars

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Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of Michigan Citizens for Science and co-founder of The Panda's Thumb. He has written for such publications as The Bard, Skeptic and Reports of the National Center for Science Education, spoken in front of many organizations and conferences, and appeared on nationally syndicated radio shows and on C-SPAN. Ed is also a Fellow with the Center for Independent Media and the host of Declaring Independence, a one hour weekly political talk show on WPRR in Grand Rapids, Michigan.(static)

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Viagra Works Wonders

Posted on: June 27, 2006 12:17 PM, by Ed Brayton

I think we have a first in medical history. Rush Limbaugh was detained at an airport in Palm Beach for having a prescription bottle of viagra that wasn't his prescription. And just to show you how powerful the stuff is, this story gave David Letterman and Jay Leno erections. Seriously, how embarrassing is this? I even feel bad for Limbaugh. Or I'm sure I would, if I could just stop laughing. If I laugh for more than 4 hours straight, I'm gonna call my doctor.

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Wouldn't it be nice if Mr. Limbaugh would use this incident to educate his listeners that the right to privacy is more than just a liberal invention.

Posted by: John Cercone | June 27, 2006 12:32 PM

Wouldn't it be nice if we knew whether he was traveling with his wife, and if he wasn't why would he need Viagra?

Posted by: Evil Monkey | June 27, 2006 12:34 PM

Limbaugh isn't married. He divorced his third wife in 2004. That's why he's been bravely fighting against gay marriage, to protect the sanctity of all three of his marriages, and presumably to protect the sanctity of the marriage that his third wife ended in order to marry him as well.

Posted by: Ed Brayton | June 27, 2006 12:40 PM

Not married and from what I understand not traveling with a companion back from the Dominican Republic... a place that has been noted to have a sex tourism trade.

I"M NOT making any accusations but.... it's fun to make fun.

Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | June 27, 2006 12:41 PM

And just to show you how powerful the stuff is, this story gave David Letterman and Jay Leno erections.

LOL! Good one, Ed!

Posted by: Jeff Hebert | June 27, 2006 12:52 PM

It would be highly amusing if it was discovered that the Viagra belonged not to Rush, but to a "male companion."

Posted by: Amanda | June 27, 2006 1:03 PM

Ed,

He divorced his third wife in 2004. That's why he's been bravely fighting against gay marriage, to protect the sanctity of all three of his marriages, and presumably to protect the sanctity of the marriage that his third wife ended in order to marry him as well.

While not endorsing Rush I just wish to note that it's possible to be pro marriage and still have them fail. It doesn't make the 'I understand the value of marriage' argument any less valid.

Likewise nor does being pro gay marriage hurt the 'value of marriage' either. IMHO what hurts marriage is bad marriages. Whether they be first or seventh.

Posted by: Chance | June 27, 2006 1:19 PM

While not endorsing Rush I just wish to note that it's possible to be pro marriage and still have them fail. It doesn't make the 'I understand the value of marriage' argument any less valid.

Yes, but it certainly does go a long way toward derailing the common "Homos can't form stable relationships like real people do!" argument.

Posted by: Troublesome Frog | June 27, 2006 1:31 PM

I agree. I think any human can have an unstable relationship.:-)

Posted by: Chance | June 27, 2006 1:37 PM

I too began feeling a little sorry for Rush on this one. I really don't care who he's canoodling with down there in the Carib or what chemical assistance he needs to make it work. Hard to think of anything less my business, or the business of airport security either.

But then... no. That's wrong. Mr. Limbaugh has made a fortune by becoming notorious, becoming a celebrity [someone well known for being well known]. He's been cashing in on his celebrity for many years. Fair enough. But then he doesn't get to whine because people pay extra attention to him and what he does and where and with whom and whether his meds have someone else's name on them because he is a celebrity.

To quote another good old fashioned yellow dog Democrat [always a wise course to follow, Ed], Harry Truman: If you can't stand the heat, Rush, get out of the kitchen.

Posted by: Robert Becker | June 27, 2006 1:44 PM

I thought it amusing, that the caption from the AP story noted that Limbaugh's lawyer said the prescription was in someone else's name to help preserve Limbaugh's privacy. Ooops, guess that one didn't work!

Posted by: mark | June 27, 2006 1:53 PM

flatlander, he doesn't deserve what he will (hopefully) get because he's famous, or because he's cashed in on his celebrity. He deserves it because he's been in favor of harsher punishments for illegal drugs. He got off last time - if any of us were to get caught playing with illegal narcotics, we'd be begging for merely a short prison sentence. And we'd have probably lost all of our possessions to civil forfeiture.

Posted by: Barry | June 27, 2006 2:36 PM

Chance: "While not endorsing Rush I just wish to note that it's possible to be pro marriage and still have them fail. It doesn't make the 'I understand the value of marriage' argument any less valid. "

Three strikes, Rush is out.

Posted by: Barry | June 27, 2006 2:39 PM

Haha, from a comedic angle thats funny. But in the real world it ain't so.:-)

Posted by: Chance | June 27, 2006 2:52 PM

Interesting speculation:

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/38192/

"Rush Limbaugh, sex tourist?"

Why would he need Viagra if he was in the Dominican Republic?

Posted by: Miguelito | June 27, 2006 5:04 PM

How many pills did he have? I just refilled my prescription - for three months worth - under the Bush Administration prescription drug plan. they will only pay for 18 pills for three months - .2 pills fer day (1 every five days). [I thought that my local prescription plan was stingy because it would allow 24 pills for 3 months]. What do you call people who put restrictions like that on sexual activity - anal retentive, sexually repressed?

Posted by: Karl | June 27, 2006 5:11 PM

Google: "Results 1 - 30 of about 35,800 English pages for dominican-republic +sex-tourism. (0.67 seconds)"

Posted by: Pieter B | June 27, 2006 5:17 PM

What do you call people who put restrictions like that on sexual activity - anal retentive, sexually repressed?

You mean you cannot buy more pills for you own money?

Posted by: Roman Werpachowski | June 27, 2006 5:22 PM

Roman:
I believe that one can buy more (Viagra) pills within the limits of the prescription. (But I don't know that for sure). I think that the cost is $12.35/pill. As my wife said, that's cheaper than even a cheap whore.

Do you intend that to mean that it doesn't matter that they are so controlling of my private behavior?

Posted by: Karl | June 27, 2006 5:31 PM

Karl wrote:

I think that the cost is $12.35/pill. As my wife said, that's cheaper than even a cheap whore.

LOL! That's hilarious...

But 18 pills for 3 months isn't that bad...That's just a bit more than once a week and hey- that's more than I'm getting ;)

Posted by: Leni | June 27, 2006 6:46 PM

This joke is just for Dan:

You know what happens when you give viagra to a lawyer? He gets taller.

Posted by: Ed Brayton | June 27, 2006 7:26 PM

An interesting theme being covered elsewhere online is the theory that it really isn't viagra, but another blue pill in a viagra bottle. Blue like, oh..., oxycontin.

That would explain the three-hour stop a lot better than the viagra story, IMHO. I've worked on a lot of drug cases and none of them have involved errectile dysfunction. Well, not as a charge. Discharge, maybe.

Posted by: kehrsam | June 27, 2006 8:12 PM

Would one expect anything less from the world's number one hard on?

Posted by: Bill from Dover | June 27, 2006 9:55 PM

Do you intend that to mean that it doesn't matter that they are so controlling of my private behavior?

No, I meant to say that I wouldn't expect the insurer to subsidize your sex life without some limits. You should be free to buy yourself more of those for your own money. BTW, maybe you cannot take Viagra more frequently for health reasons?

Posted by: Roman Werpachowski | June 28, 2006 8:35 AM

Let's understand something. The reason that Rush LameBrain was detained at the Miami was because he was (a) a known drug abuser, and (b) he was carrying prescription drugs that had been prescribed in the name of a third party--not him. Aside from the fact that the fraudulent prescription may itself have been a crime, it is also the fact that he was on probation for another drug related crime.

And, from a public-relations standpoint, one might seriously wonder why LameBraine was carrying Viagra with him to the Dominican Republic--a country well-known for its sex tourism. Was it because he intended to use it for sex? Who knows? I'm sure that the right wingnuts will rationalize his activities so that they will continue to listen to commercials for "nose-strips" but at some point this charade of theirs becomes laughable.

Posted by: raj | June 28, 2006 12:36 PM