Why Do We Care What You Think? Part I

I have noticed that a lot of celebrities and pundits often give their unsolicited opinion about pretty much anything. And it makes me ask the question: Why should I, or anyone, care about what you think? Whether it's what Nick Carter thinks of Paris Hilton, what that one guy said about Lindsay Lohan's nether regions, or what Bill O'Reily really has to say about anything. I am just floored that what these people say or think is, by someone's definition, "news." As this has been a sentiment I've been harboring for a while, this might be a reoccurring segment.

Nothing illustrates my frustration better than this guy and what he had to say about Michael J. Fox.

Now, in a vacuum, I would also be sceptical about what Michael J. Fox had to say about anything. HOWEVER, Michael J. Fox has Parkinson's disease. He was appearing in support of candidates who in turn support stem-cell research, because stem cell research looks like it could eventually lead to a cure. But Rush Limbaugh apparently decided that Michael J. Fox was off of his meds in the advertisements, and that this was somehow disingenuous because it exaggerated his disease. A few things before I get to my main point.

First. Yeah, sure campaign ads never exaggerate anything, right?

Second. The meds Fox is on quell the symptoms of Parkinson's. Even if he did miss his meds, you would be seeing what the true ugly symptoms of the disease were. He didn't take meds to exaggerate his condition.

But my main point is, why does anyone care what Rush Limbaugh thinks anymore? This is the same guy who fully supported the War on Drugs, saying things like

And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up.

and then came out and said that, well, actually he had been addicted to pain killers for several years and was put under investigation for doctor shopping. I never thought the guy really added anything to the conversation, but now he was just a hypocritical douchebag.

So when Rush Limbaugh says the beloved Alex P. Keaton is somehow exaggerating the symptoms of this horrible debilitating disease, I am surprised that anyone cares, not only because his comment was just plain mean, but because this guy is so full of it. Why does this man get paid to have opinions anymore?

A side-note to Mr. Rush Limbaugh himself. You should really consider supporting stem cell research yourself, not only because it could eventually cure leukemia, a disease that you yourself are helping to cure, but also because it could eventually help you get over your own illness now that they have mapped and isolated your problem area: