My response to Rush

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6. bravo!

I am a small businesswoman who owns a few internet shops under the name
Scarebaby Design. When President Obama asked people to tweet what $40 means
to them, I replied with a tweet that said "$40 means I can pay my internet
bill and keep my tiny small business going." To my surprise, the White House
retweeted my tweet, to its nearly 3 million followers.

What happened after that was quite bewildering. Rush Limbaugh, the
conservative radio talk show host, took to the airwaves to call my tweet "BS",
"a White House-generated response" and "ignorant". (1)

After I protested on Twitter and in Democratic Underground that, in fact, I am
a real person with a real business, Mr. Limbaugh called me "an idiot" and
tried to imply that the name of my business, Scarebaby, had something to do
with "terrorizing babies in the womb." (2)

A few clicks of the mouse would have revealed that I am a real person, my
business is real, and the name Scarebaby has nothing to do with pregnancy, but
rather is a fond reference to the movie "It's a Wonderful Life".

Meanwhile, some of his listeners began tweeting that I was a liar, a fraud,
stupid, and other choice hate comments. They posted personal information,
including my real name, address, phone number, political donations, etc on
conservative forums in a threatening manner. They called me "a target" on
Twitter.

It would be great if I could make anti-Limbaugh tshirts. It would be great if
I could sue him for slander, for spreading malicious lies, and for inciting
others to acts of hate.

But I am bound by the law of the land. I'm not allowed to use his name or
image for profit. I'm not allowed to sue for defamation, slander or libel,
because he considers himself an 'entertainer'.

I am also bound by something alien to Mr. Limbaugh: the law of common decency.

All I can do is demand an apology and a correction from him.

If you agree that Rush Limbaugh owes me an apology, and needs to stop his
campaign of spreading hate through lies, then please repost and link to this
piece wherever you can.

Thank you.

Holly Hertzel
Scarebaby Design

ps-- It's my understanding that the self employed DO
get the payroll tax cut as a reduction in our self employment tax aka FICA.
The self employed pay both the employer and employee shares, and get a 2%
discount on the employee share.