Lies, Death, and Health Care Reform

I am a staunch advocate of freedom of speech. I abhor censorship in any form. So I do not think for one minute that Rush Limbaugh and his ilk should be silenced. However, I must ask the question. Why? Why do these talking heads lie with impunity? They are not stupid people. They must know that much of what they expound is based on easily recognizable falsehoods. Does freedom of speech give them the right to lie? Lying to a vulnerable population about the end-of-life counseling provision in the health care reform bill and using such words as euthanasia is cruel and insensitive. And telling such lies to gain power or money and inflate one's own ego is self absorption at its most harmful.

I do not agree with all provisions in the bill, but it's about time we discussed the merits of the legislation based on facts, not lies and innuendos.