madness of the GOP is the central issue of our time

[boutons_deux]

TX hates "Freedom of Religion", but love "Freedom of Christian-religion ONLY"

Texas Residents Cite Health Concerns In Uproar Over New Muslim Cemetery

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/farmersville-muslim-cemetery-texas?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tpm-news+%28TPMNews%29

The ghosts of Muslim cadavers gonna force sharia on Farmersville.

[boutons_deux]

Feds, Dem DoJ hate whistleblowers?

One North Carolina Law Is Bringing the War on Whistleblowers to a New Level

On June 15, North Carolina's state legislature overrode Republican Gov. Pat McCrory's veto of that state's controversial "Ag-Gag" bill HB 405, also known as the Property Protection Act. The earliest bills of this kind, which target industry whistleblowers, activists and in some cases journalists, were introduced in the 1990s when the Animal Liberation Front was said to be targeting labs engaged in animal testing. The bills' legal scope has widened over time to include factory farms as well as most other industries involving animal products.

But unlike the bills passed in seven other states over the years - including in Wyoming, Missouri and Washington where they specifically target animal rights activists - North Carolina's HB 405 takes things to a whole new level, criminalizing whistleblowing against any and all businesses. Based on "model legislation" provided shortly after 9/11 by the American Legislative Exchange Council (http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed) (ALEC), and originally called the "Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act," HB 405 signals a new brand of anti-democratic legislation that could proliferate, state by state, in the years to come.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/31961-one-north-carolina-law-is-bringing-the-war-on-whistleblowers-to-a-new-level

[boutons_deux]

Scott Walker says maybe he'll have to bomb Iran first day of his presidency (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/20/1403921/-Scott-Walker-says-maybe-he-ll-have-to-bomb-Iran-first-day-of-his-nbsp-presidency)

Speaking to reporters [in Iowa] Saturday after an appearance at the Family Leader Summit, Walker said the next president will need to be prepared to take aggressive action against Iran, "very possibly" including military strikes, on the day he or she is inaugurated, and said he would not be comfortable with a commander in chief who is unwilling to act aggressively on day one of a new presidency.

In his announcement speech at the beginning of the week, Walker had promised to 'terminate' the Iran deal on day one of his presidency, and Bush, at a town hall four days later, said ending the deal on the first day of a new administration was unrealistic and suggested that promises to do so, while politically appealing, reflected a lack of seriousness.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/20/1403921/-Scott-Walker-says-maybe-he-ll-have-to-bomb-Iran-first-day-of-his-nbsp-presidency?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos %29#

Thanks, asshole, bombing Iran on 21 Jan 2017 is exactly what Iran wants to hear while considering the nuclear deal.

[boutons_deux]

Misogynists' reach out for the female vote

Republican House and Senate Introduce Bills Allowing Companies To Fire Single, Pregnant Women (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/18/1403401/-Republican-Legislation-Will-Permit-Companies-To-Fire-Single-Pregnant-Women)

In wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in favor of same-sex marriage, Republicans are pushing legislation that aims to protect Americans who oppose these unions on religious grounds. But critics say the language is so broad, the bill creates a license to discriminate that would let employers fire women for getting pregnant outside of wedlock.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Federal Government shall not take any discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially on the basis that such person believes or acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman or that sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage.

The bill specifically protects those who believe that marriage is between "one man and one woman" or that "sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage." Ian Thompson, a legislative representative at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that in addition to targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, the bill "clearly encompasses discrimination against single mothers" and would hobble the ability of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal body that protects women from sex-based discrimination, to act.

There are a number of recent cases where religious schools have fired unwed teachers for becoming pregnant. A Montana Catholic school teacher who was fired for having a baby out of wedlock, for example, filed a discrimination charge last year with the EEOC. While the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized a ministerial exception to employment discrimination laws, that exception is somewhat limited, not necessarily covering educators employed by Catholic schools who teach about exclusively secular subjects.

When NPR asked Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who introduced the companion Senate bill, about a hypothetical university firing an unmarried woman for having sex out of wedlock, he said, "There are colleges and universities that have a religious belief that sexual relations are to be reserved for marriage" and they "ought to be protected in their religious freedom."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/18/1403401/-Republican-Legislation-Will-Permit-Companies-To-Fire-Single-Pregnant-Women?detail=email

"religious freedom" is dog-whistle for "religious pretext to discriminate, to hate, to impose "Christian" morals, ethics on "sinners".

[boutons_deux]

Upset With Obama, GOP Punishes Young Immigrants

Witness the repugnant move by Missouri’s Republican-controlled legislature calculated to force certain DREAMers to drop out of college. These academically qualified, fee-paying students are allowed to attend state colleges without fear of deportation thanks to President Obama’s 2012 executive order, which made their presence in the U.S. lawful. They had been able to attend public colleges in Missouri at affordable in-state rates — until legislators tucked some extortionary language affecting tuition rates for these students into the preamble of the state’s higher education appropriations bill. Any institution that didn’t charge DREAMers foreign student tuition rates risked having funds in the appropriations bill yanked.

Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, signed the bill but maintains that the language isn’t legally binding because it didn’t go through the legislative process and is not in the bill’s text. Unfortunately, Missouri universities are complying. Letters are being issued to returning students, telling them of the change. They face a doubling or tripling of their tuition costs (depending on where they attend) as they enroll in the state’s universities and college’s this fall.

The University of Missouri system believes that 20 to 30 students currently enrolled across four campuses will be affected, but they expect the number to increase with incoming freshmen. Immigration attorneys think the number is far higher, saying that 40 such students are already enrolling at the university system’s Kansas City campus alone. And there are potentially far higher numbers of such students at community colleges and other schools.

http://www.nationalmemo.com/upset-with-obama-gop-punishes-young-immigrants/

You Repugs are totally nasty, mean, sadistic sonsofbitches.

[boutons_deux]

Mitch McConnell Wants To Rob Pensions To Fund Highway Repairs

Republicans have rejected that concept out-of-hand and concluded that if, and that is a big if, there is any investment in America it will be paid for by the poor, disabled, middle class or the elderly; particularly if the investment inordinately benefits the corporate world and big business.

It is curious that while Republicans can find enough funding for America’s greatest socialistic welfare program, the United States military and its corporate industrial complex, they perpetually complain that investing in America’s transportation system is too costly.

McConnell did not come up with the proposed theft of federal employee’s retirement savings on his own, it originally came from House Republicans’ fiscal 2016 budget.

it is no surprise that the largest portion of funding for the Highway Trust Fund is due to be taken from current and future government employees.

changing the relatively safe return on retirement savings’ accounts will drastically cut federal employees’ retirement and since robbing employee pensions is a favorite Republican means of upward wealth redistribution, it should not surprise any American that cutting Social Security is on the GOP’s list of possible highway funding options.

Besides cutting federal employees’ pensions, Republicans proposed eliminating Social Security pensions for any recipient with an outstanding arrest warrant regardless if they are decades old or for outstanding parking violations.

catastrophic effects for vulnerable seniors is par for the course for Republicans and the idea of not withstanding judicial scrutiny will have no effect on Republicans.

d attack on Social Security, targets disabled Americans Republicans have spent no small amount of time and effort pushing to return to the workforce regardless their affliction. Republicans want to end payments of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) if a disabled person follows Social Security rules, and Republicans pushing them to work so they can get off SSDI.

strip working SSDI beneficiaries of their eligibility when, through no fault of their own, they lose a job.”

Republicans committed to stealing Americans’ retirement savings and preventing big business from bearing any of the costs for their obscene profits will always opt to steal from regular Americans; particularly government employees’ retirement savings.

In last year’s budget, well over half of the $1.2-plus trillion went to the military and related corporate defense contractors, and foreign governments like Israel and Saudi Arabia; during peace time.

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/07/21/mitch-mcconnell-rob-pensions-fund-highway-repairs.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicususa%2FfJAl+%28Politi cus+USA+%29

[boutons_deux]

GOP House Budget Chair Tom Price Is Itching To Cut Social Security

The current Republican-dominated Congress wants to cut social security benefits. The GOP-controlled House signaled their intent (http://www.politicususa.com/2015/01/08/act-koch-congress-vicious-attack-social-security.html) to do just that, the very first day they were in session, when they modified the chamber’s rules to jeopardize social security disability payments. The Republican plan would imperil disabled Americans, who could see close to twenty percent reductions (http://www.politicususa.com/2015/01/12/bernie-sanders-exposes-republican-plot-cut-social-security-11-million-disabled-people.html) in their already meager incomes.Attacking disability payments is just the tip of the iceberg. House Budget Committee Chair Tom Price (R-GA) made that clear on Monday in a speech (http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2015/01/12/tom-price-hopes-to-reform-social-security-in-house-budget/) at the Heritage Action for America “Conservative Policy Summit”.

At the summit, Price stated (http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2015/01/12/tom-price-hopes-to-reform-social-security-in-house-budget/):


On the issue of Social Security, it has indeed been the third rail as Tim [Chapman, COO for Heritage Action] mentioned, and what I’m hopeful is what the Budget Committee will be able do is to is begin to normalize the discussion and debate about Social Security. This is a program that right now on its current course will not be able to provide 75 or 80 percent of the benefits that individuals have paid into in a relatively short period of time. That’s not a responsible position to say, ‘You don’t need to do anything to do it.’

So all the kinds of things you know about – whether it’s means testing, whether it’s increasing the age of eligibility. The kind of choices — whether it’s providing much greater choices for individuals to voluntarily select the kind of manner in which they believe they ought to be able to invest their working dollars as they go through their lifetime. All those things ought to be on the table and discussed.


If the Republican plan is implemented, some of the suffering will be brought to bear on delusional conservative voters who thought they would be spared any pain from the GOP budget ax. They are going after social security, and if you voted for them, your future suffering was self-inflicted.

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/01/13/gop-house-budget-chair-tom-price-itching-cut-social-security.html

[boutons_deux]

GOP hopeful Scott Walker calls for dismantling of state elections board

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Monday called for the dismantling of an independent state agency that oversees elections and that authorized an investigation into his 2012 recall campaign.

Walker, who launched his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination last week, told reporters following a bill signing ceremony in Oshkosh that he wanted to scrap the Government Accountability Board and replace it with "something completely new that is truly accountable to the people of the state of Wisconsin."

Walker also called for an investigation into the board's activities. He did not say who should lead the investigation.

Walker's comments come just four days after the state Supreme Court halted a board-approved investigation into whether conservative groups illegally coordinated with Walker's 2012 recall campaign, saying the groups broke no laws.

Republican state lawmakers have been talking for months about reshaping the board, and the Supreme Court's ruling has only bolstered the calls for change.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-scott-walker-state-elections-board-20150720-story.html

Repugs have corrupted the SCOWI and now they want to corrupt the state elections board. Slimebag Walker supports "ethics" and "fairness"? :lol

[boutons_deux]

the "lawless" anti-Constitutional Repugs, mostly Christian Taliban supremacists, trying to trash the "lawless" SCOTUS (Repug agenda: a Christian theocracy)

GOP Outrage With Roberts Court Over 'Judicial Tyranny' Reaches Fever Pitch

Republicans are not backing down from their push to drastically alter the judicial branch.

Conservatives had already been looking into (http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/who-will-fight-supreme-court-on-marriage) ways to undermine the Supreme Court’s authority ahead of its decision to legalize same-sex marriage. But when that decision, along with one upholding a provision in Obamacare, came down in late June, their frustrations reached a fever pitch.

Conservatives are now responding with “solutions” to crack down on the Roberts court's so-called “judicial activism” with changes that would drastically alter the structure of the U.S. government.

“This past term, the court crossed a line, continued its long descent into lawlessness to a level I believe demands action,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said Wednesday at a Senate hearing he called to “discuss what options the American people have to rein in judicial tyranny.”

Cruz, also a 2016 candidate, has called for a constitutional amendment that would submit the Supreme Court justices to national retention elections every eight years.
“The time has come, therefore, to recognize that the problem lies not with the lawless rulings of individual lawless justices, but with the lawlessness of the Court itself,”

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, also a GOP White House candidate, has floated term limits (http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/07/05/huckabee-calls-for-term-limits-on-supreme-court/) as a way to rein-in the “disturbing” recent behavior of the justices, as “our country is being ruled by a majority of nine lawyers who are not representative of the population as a whole.”

But it is Chief Justice Roberts himself, a conservative appointed by President George W. Bush, who is bearing the brunt of the right’s anger. In the wake of the most recent Obamacare decision, for which Roberts wrote the majority opinion, commentators labeled him a “disastrous pick (https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/614073206681436160),” “the water boy for the welfare state (https://twitter.com/AndreaTantaros/status/614085942916190208),” and a “disgrace (http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/421474/obamas-creepy-and-controlling-housing-questionnaire-stanley-kurtz).”

“When I see what’s happened at the Supreme Court level, it strikes me as a foreign, unhistorical approach to law. It’s just breathtaking, some of the things that have happened,” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)

Sessions said. "So we need to consider carefully and thoughtfully what we might use to defend congressional prerogative and the states’ prerogative,”

"Structural changes to the Constitution always take time. And one has to build a public predicate for it, and build the case," Cruz told reporters Wednesday.

"When we have five unelected judges who are declaring for themselves they can decide every contested policy issue in our society, it is incumbent on elected representatives to take that authority."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/ted-cruz-supreme-court-judicial-activism?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tpm-news+%28TPMNews%29

The Confederacy still trying to fuck up America, still "states rights" vs the Federal Yankees.

[DarrinS]

lonely echo chamber thread is sad


pity post :cry

[boutons_deux]

lonely echo chamber thread is sad


pity post :cry

cheer up, bitch, the dossier trashing you and your rightwingnuts is insurmountable.

[DarrinS]

cheer up, bitch, the dossier trashing you and your rightwingnuts is insurmountable.

good use of your time

[boutons_deux]

Christian supremacists LOSE AGAIN

Federal appeals court says pharmacy owners cannot use religion to deny medicine

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/federal-appeals-court-says-pharmacy-owners-cannot-cite-religion-to-deny-medicine/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

House Passes Bill That Would Allow Toxic Coal Ash Into Groundwater

The Republican-led House of Representatives struck another blow to environmental regulation Wednesday night, passing a bill that will undercut the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) coal ash regulations, opponents said.

Several key provisions in the EPA’s coal ash disposal rule — set to go into effect in October — would be either left to states to enforce or thrown out altogether under H.R. 1734, the “Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d114:H.R.1734:).”

“There are very big differences [between the bill and the EPA rule] that have huge impacts on public safety,” Lisa Evans, an attorney with Earthjustice, told ThinkProgress.
Among the differences, she said, is the fact that the EPA rule prohibits disposing coal ash waste directly into the water supply, while the House bill does not. In a survey the EPA did of state laws on coal ash, only five of the 25 states surveyed specifically prohibited disposing of coal ash into groundwater, Evans said.

“It makes absolutely no sense,” Evans said of the bill, noting that even household waste can’t be legally disposed into aquifers. “It’s absurd and its unreasonable.”

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/07/23/3683507/house-passes-coal-ash-bill/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climateprogress%2FlCrX+%28Cli mate+Progress%29

Thanks, Repugs! Protecting Americans and America is your sacred responsbility, fulfilled so fervently.

[boutons_deux]

GOP's favorability rating plummets in first half of 2015 (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/25/1405119/-GOP-s-favorability-rating-plummets-in-first-half-of-2015)


http://images.dailykos.com/images/155654/large/Screen_Shot_2015-07-23_at_1.27.15_PM.png?1437684818

Ever since the GOP took control of Congress, the party's favorability rating has nosedived, sliding nine points since the beginning of the year, according to Pew Research Center (http://www.people-press.org/2015/07/23/gops-favorability-rating-takes-a-negative-turn/). Just 32 percent of Americans have a favorable view of Republicans, while 60 percent view them unfavorably. (Democrats presently have a 48-47 percent favorable to unfavorable rating.)


The Democratic Party has often held an edge over the GOP in favorability in recent years, but its advantage had narrowed following the Republicans’ midterm victory last fall.

Today, the gap is as wide as it has been in more than two years.

Republicans, in particular, are now more critical of their own party than they were a few months ago. About two-thirds (68%) express a favorable opinion of their party, the lowest share in more than two years. Six months ago, 86% of Republicans viewed the GOP positively.


A majority of Americans view the GOP as "more extreme" than Democrats. Democrats also win the empathy/honesty contest by double digits.


By 53% to 31%, the Democratic Party is viewed as “more concerned with the needs of people like me.” And the Democrats hold a 16-point lead on governing in an honest and ethical way (45% to 29%).


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/25/1405119/-GOP-s-favorability-rating-plummets-in-first-half-of-2015?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos %29#

but will it help the Dems win the House and/or Senate?

[boutons_deux]

Republican Party Chairman Tells State To Ignore Roe v. Wade


“The federal courts don’t have the authority to make us kill babies,” according to Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman Randy Brogdon. “Are the Supreme Court justices going to come down to Oklahoma and make us stop?”

Brogdon, a former state senator who once called for Oklahoma to form its own militia separate from that National Guard — and who previously cast doubt upon the Pledge of Allegiance because he objects to the line “one nation, indivisible” (http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state/state-gop-chairman-randy-brogdon-wants-state-to-ignore-roe/article_68b272bf-fdfe-568d-bdf7-f74360b6f524.html) — offered his interpretation of the Supreme Court’s lawful authority on Friday. One day earlier, he signed a fundraising email making a similar pitch (http://www.okgop.com/blog/2015/07/23/defund-planned-parenthood-and-end-abortion-in-oklahoma-now/#sthash.fGld1OT9.dpuf).

“As Chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party, I call on the Governor and legislators to completely end the practice of abortion in Oklahoma,” Brogdon wrote in that email, adding that the state should “[s]hut Planned Parenthood down immediately for their illegal actions, and prosecute the abortion doctors who violate their oath to ‘do no harm.'”

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/07/25/3684489/republican-party-chairman-tells-state-ignore-roe-v-wade/

"make us kill babies" :lol no, just get yourself out of women's vaginas and let them FREELY choose.

btw, assholes, as proven in CO over several years, 1000s of unwanted pregnancies, abortions can be prevented by supplying poor women with free contraceptives. It worked in CO, but the Repugs refuse to finance the program.

So, like in TX and everywhere Repugs block health care for poor women, the Repugs misogynist War on (poor) Women will INCREASE the number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions. But the holy rollin', Bible humpin', pro-life "Christians" will keep votin' to keep the Repugs War on Women in full swing.

[JohnnyMarzetti]

The GOP is self destructing but they just can't help themselves. The first debate will be like Last Comic Standing.

[boutons_deux]

Repugs, Christian haters, LOSE (their own money) again

Michigan is on the hook for $2 million in legal fees after fighting against gay marriage and losing

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/michigan-is-on-the-hook-for-2-million-in-legal-fees-after-fighting-against-gay-marriage-and-losing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

Republicans Are About To Gut Campaign Finance Rules Even Further

Congressional Republicans are trying yet again to use the appropriations process to roll back campaign finance regulations. This time the target is the limit on coordinated spending between candidates and political parties -- that is, money that a party spends to support a candidate in consultation with that candidate.

A rider to the Senate’s Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill would eliminate the limits on coordination between candidates and political parties.

This move to further gut campaign finance laws comes months after Republicans and Senate Democrats inserted a rider to the omnibus budget legislation passed in
December to significantly raise the ceiling on contributions to national political parties (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/11/omnibus-campaign-finance-rider_n_6311776.html). Thus far, only Republicans (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/27/billionaire-gop-donors_n_7673950.html) have taken advantage of those new, more generous limits.

On Thursday, Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) attempted to strip the coordination rider in committee, but the effort failed on a 16-14 party-line vote, with all Republicans opposed to removing the rider.

“The American people are sick and tired of big money in politics. It is a major reason that public approval of Congress is so low,” Udall said in a statement. “They do not see us working for the vast majority of people, but instead see big money exerting most of the power. People will be shocked to learn that the Senate is trying to eliminate the few rules that are left.”

“We should shine a light on the flood of money from the ultra-wealthy flowing into our system of government,” he continued. “Unfortunately, today’s bill would only remove one of the few dams left trying to control that flood.”

Under current campaign finance law, political parties are allowed to spend a limited amount of money on campaign-related activities like advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts with the consultation of the candidate's campaign. Those limits range from $96,000 for a House candidate (http://www.fec.gov/info/charts_cpe_2015.shtml) as of this year to $21 million for a presidential nominee as of 2012 (http://www.fec.gov/info/charts_441ad_2012.shtml).

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/republicans-campaign-finance_55b156e7e4b08f57d5d4313b?

The majority of Americans want money's influence out of politics. The Repugs ALWAYS do against 99% and FOR the 1%.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/06/02/us/politics/money-in-politics-poll.html?_r=0

[boutons_deux]

Rick Perry Gives Guns In Movie Theaters Two Thumbs Up


http://img.wonkette.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/MST3K-Guns.jpg


"These concepts of gun-free zones are a bad idea.

I think that you allow the citizens of this country — who have been appropriately trained, appropriately backgrounded, know how to handle and use firearms — to carry them …

I believe that, with all my heart, that if you have the citizens who are well trained, and particularly in these places that are considered to be gun-free zones, that we can stop that type of activity, or stop it before there’s as many people that are impacted as what we saw in Lafayette."

http://wonkette.com/592118/rick-perry-gives-guns-in-movie-theaters-two-thumbs-up

[boutons_deux]

Sean Hannity is killing the GOP: Fox News & conservative media have the party in a stranglehold


If you’ve been following the doings of Congress over the past few months, you’ve probably noticed that the newly empowered Republican majorities in both the House and Senate are not especially good at getting things done. The dysfunction typically follows a familiar pattern: the GOP leadership in one or both Houses tries to follow through on some basic task – funding government agencies, for example – but runs into opposition from conservatives. The leadership tries to accommodate the right, but finds that the right’s demands are unreasonable and inflexible. The whole legislative process derails,

A new paper (http://shorensteincenter.org/conservative-media-influence-on-republican-party-jackie-calmes/) from Harvard’s Shorenstein Center offers a compelling explanation for why this keeps happening: conservative media keeps derailing the GOP’s agenda.

The paper, by New York Times correspondent Jackie Calmes, explores the influence that talk radio, Fox News, conservative online media, and well-funded activist groups have on Republican legislators.

As Calmes notes, right-wing radio hosts and bloggers have the attention of the people Republicans fear most – the conservatives who can be reliably counted on to join activist causes, flood their congressional offices with angry phone calls and letters, and vote. Legislators understand this, and a toxic, self-reinforcing dynamic emerges in which the conservative media demand legislators take more extreme positions, legislators accede to those demands to curry favor with influential media personalities and their audiences, which imbues those media personalities with still more power and influence.

The end result is a race to the right in which everyone is terrified of betraying the slightest hint of compromise.

http://www.salon.com/2015/07/29/sean_hannity_is_killing_the_gop_fox_news_conservat ive_media_have_the_party_in_a_stranglehold/

iow, as long as tea baggers wag the Repug dog, Congress is fucked and unfuckable.

[boutons_deux]

Fox News’ quiet coup: How its debate criteria give it total control over the early presidential process

Send out the white smoke: Fox News has made yet another alteration (http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/fox-republican-debate-lowers-threshold-120748.html?hp=t2_r) to its August 6 debate(s) criteria. No longer will a candidate have to demonstrate even a modicum of support among the American public to be included in the kids’ table debate.

The previous Fox News requirement for inclusion in the 5 p.m. debate was a minimum of 1% polling in the five most recent national polls. But because 16 candidates are running, and Donald Trump has sucked up about one-quarter (http://politicalwire.com/2015/07/29/trumps-lead-widens-in-gop-presidential-race/) of the party’s support and 175 trillion percent of media coverage, several “real” candidates are struggling to hit even 1%. Bobby Jindal, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham and George Pataki are hovering either slightly above or below the 1% figure. (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/2016_republican_presidential_nomination-3823.html) So even that basic criteria has got to go.

It may go without saying but the decision Fox News is making is not a political but a business decision. If the kids’ debate only featured, say, John Kasich and Rick Santorum, that wouldn’t make for a lively early-evening television spectacle. (Now that George Pataki’s in the mix, though!…??) So we get it.

Though as Conservatives, we here at Salon have trouble accepting Fox News’ decision to lower standards just so everyone gets a trophy. If Lindsey Graham can’t manage to secure 1% polling support through his constant babbling, then he is an unpopular politician who should be sent to Gitmo, not to a televised debate on America’s Number-One Cable News Channel.

The whole concept of the debate caps, introduced by Fox News perhaps as a matter of necessity given the size of the field, has turned out to be a highly successful business decision. As we wrote the other day, (http://www.salon.com/2015/07/27/paying_the_debate_tax_fox_news_debate_caps_are_cos ting_candidates_big_time_in_both_money_and_dignity/) the main way that candidates are trying to secure their placement in the Fox News debate has been… to go on Fox News all the time and say insane, attention-grabbing things that get people to turn on Fox News.

Politico has done a rough count of recent Fox News appearances by the presidential candidates.

1) Paul, 35 …
2) Huckabee, 31 …
3) Trump, 30 …
4) Perry, 24 …
5-6) Fiorina and Jindal, 20 each …
7) Cruz, 17 …
8) Santorum, 16 …
9) Rubio, 14 …
10-11) Carson and Graham, 12 each …
12-13) Kasich and Pataki, 11 each …
14) Christie, 7 …
15) Walker, 4 …
16) Bush, 3.



http://www.salon.com/2015/07/29/fox_news_quiet_coup_how_its_debate_criteria_give_i t_total_control_over_the_early_presidential_proces s/

[boutons_deux]

Texas billionaire oily Bible humping Christian suprpemcaxit theocrats for Krazy Kruz

Religious Right Billionaire Wilks Brothers Give Millions To Ted Cruz Super PAC

Dan and Farris Wilks (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fracking-sugar-daddy-religious-right), Texas billionaires who made a fortune from the fracking boom and have showered millions of dollars on right-wing organizations (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fracking-sugar-daddy-religious-right), have given $15 million to Keep the Promise, a super PAC supporting Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign, according to a CNN story by Theodore Schleifer (http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/25/politics/ted-cruz-wilks-brothers/) which was highlighted by John Wright at Towleroad (http://www.towleroad.com/2015/07/anti-gay-bigots-make-record-contribution-ted-cruz-campaign/) today.

"Our country was founded on the idea that our rights come from the Creator, not the government. I'm afraid we're losing that," Farris Wilks (http://farriswilks.com/), a 63-year-old pastor in the small town of Cisco, said in a statement to CNN. "Unless we elect a principled conservative leader ready to stand up for our values, we'll look back on what once was the land of opportunity and pass on a less prosperous nation to our children and grandchildren. That's why we need Ted Cruz."


Farris’s brother Dan added that America needs a “leader that will stand up for biblical morals…a leader who encourages hard work, not one who tells people who don’t work that they should make the same living as people who do. We need a leader who will make sure America doesn’t end up a socialist nation.”

Last year, RWW documented the Wilks brothers’ massive funding of anti-gay and anti-abortion groups (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fracking-sugar-daddy-religious-right), as well as organizations in the Koch brothers’ political networks. And that’s only counting gifts we know about because they are made through foundations created and funded by the brothers and their wives -- the Thirteen Foundation for Farris and Joann and Heavenly Father’s Foundation for Dan and Staci.

Earlier this year, we reported that the Wilks brothers have been backing the work of Christian=nation extremist David Lane (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/why-do-republican-officials-keep-partnering-christian-nation-extremist-david-lane). Lane (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/meet-david-lane-anti-gay-christian-nation-extremist-rnc) has always refused to tell reporters who funds his events, which are carried out by his American Renewal Project under the umbrella of the American Family Association. But as we reported in June,

According to the 2013 990 forms filed by the foundations with the IRS, The Thirteen Foundation gave 922,000 that year to the American Family Association. It is not clear how much of that was for Lane’s projects, but the filing from Heavenly Father’s Foundation is more explicit, reporting $750,000 to the AFA for three Pastors and Pews conferences.


In 2013, the Christian Broadcasting Network identified the Wilks brothers as members of Lane’s “Pastors and Pews” network (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fracking-sugar-daddy-religious-right), which brings right-wing candidates, including GOP presidential contenders, to meet-and-greets with conservative evangelical pastors. Lane sponsored an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/dozens-rnc-members-israel-courtesy-group-promotes-idea-first-amendment-doesn-t-apply-jews) taken by more than 60 members of the Republican National Committee in January, as well as a series of prayer rallies for Rick (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/perry-prayer-politics-and-presidency) Perry (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rick-perry-and-friends-meet-supporters-response-prayer-rally), Bobby (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/bobby-jindals-extremist-prayer-rally-brings-together-prophets-bigots-and-far-right-activists) Jindal (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/real-problems-bobby-jindal-and-his-prayer-rally) and Nikki Haley (http://blog.pfaw.org/content/dont-turn-political-opponents-spiritual-enemies).

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-billionaire-wilks-bros-give-millions-ted-cruz-super-pac

[boutons_deux]

Louie Gohmert proposes banishing gays to an island to prove same-sex marriage is unnatural


http://www.salon.com/2015/07/29/louie_gohmert_proposes_banishing_gays_to_an_island _to_prove_same_sex_marriage_is_unnatural/

[boutons_deux]

this guy looks and sounds really, really dumb, some proof:

Marco Rubio causes Twitter firestorm by comparing Cecil the Lion's death to Planned Parenthood controversy

http://m.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Marco-Rubio-causes-Twitter-firestorm-by-comparing-6413434.php

[boutons_deux]

Keeping Alabama stupid, ignorant, segregated

Alabama governor names public school-hating Christian fundamentalist to oversee public education


http://www.rawstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Matthew-brown-800x430.png

Alabama’s governor has appointed a Christian conservative (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/07/29/alabamas-governor-makes-surprising-and-scary-education-appointment/) to the state’s Board of Education despite never having any involvement in a public school in his life. :lol


Gov. Robert Bentley, a Republican, named 28-year-old Matthew Brown, a design engineer at the Baldwin County Highway Department, to the agency that oversees the state’s public education system, reported the Friendly Atheist blog (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/07/30/alabama-governor-appoints-christian-fundamentalist-who-disavows-public-schools-to-state-board-of-education/).


Brown has never attended a public school and has vowed that his own children would not, either, according to a blog post by education activist Larry Lee (http://www.larryeducation.com/a-closer-look-at-baldwin-county-and-the-matt-brown-blunder/).

The new school board member graduated in 2007 from Pensacola Christian College and graduated in 2011 from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.
Brown worked earlier this year to defeat a school tax vote in his county — and the governor promised he would bring a “unique perspective” to the Board of Education.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/alabama-governor-names-public-school-hating-christian-fundamentalist-to-oversee-public-education/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

Steve King Believes That The Supreme Court Legalized Lawnmower Marriage

while introducing Mike Huckabee at a campaign event on Thursday, King claimed that according to the Supreme Court’s ruling, “You can marry my lawnmower.”

This, however, was not even the first time King had contemplated lawnmower marriage. He’s actually been making the remark since just after the ruling came down. In late June, he was quoted as saying (http://www.dickinsoncountynews.com/story/2211322.html), “Their ruling really says anybody can marry anybody — and eventually it will be in any combination. I had a strong, Christian lawyer tell me yesterday that, under this decision that he has read, what it brings about is: It only requires one human being in this relationship — that you could marry your lawnmower with this decision. I think he’s right.”

King has a long history of making incendiary remarks about the LGBT community. He opposes nondiscrimination protections because he believes people will pretend to be gay (http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/03/03/3355891/steve-king-pretend-gay/) in order to file suits; he called such protections “special rights for self-professed behavior.” If people are afraid of discrimination, he believes they should just hide their identities (http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/04/04/457698/steve-king-dadt-workers/) in the workplace so that nobody knows they’re gay in the first place. He thinks same-sex couples who want to marry are just friends (http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/03/29/1795461/steve-king-on-marriage-equality-you-do-not-need-a-license-to-begin-a-new-friendship/), and he doesn’t expect to see any gay people in heaven (http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/10/23/3583362/steve-king-gay-heaven/).

Incidentally, Sen. Chuck Grassley, fellow Republican from Iowa and fellow opponent of same-sex marriage (http://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-statement-supreme-court%E2%80%99s-ruling-same-sex-marriage), was tweeting pictures Friday of a rig he set up to mow his lawn with three lawnmowers at the same time. His decision to highlight his marriage of three lawnmowers the day after King’s latest remarks may have just been a coincidence.

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/08/01/3687003/steve-king-lawnmower-marriage/

Who elects these asshole Senators anyway? Fucking Iowa! :lol

[boutons_deux]

Chris Christie vows to punch the national teachers union ‘in the face’ because they ‘deserve’ it


http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/chris-christie-vows-to-punch-the-national-teachers-union-in-the-face-because-they-deserve-it/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[Slutter McGee]

Chris Christie vows to punch the national teachers union ‘in the face’ because they ‘deserve’ it


http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/chris-christie-vows-to-punch-the-national-teachers-union-in-the-face-because-they-deserve-it/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29
Silly turn of phrase, but he is right. As a public sector union the teachers are way too powerful. Look at what has to be done to fire someone in New York.

[boutons_deux]

Silly turn of phrase, but he is right. As a public sector union the teachers are way too powerful. Look at what has to be done to fire someone in New York.

Most of them, esp in TX, quit of their own accord. Avg teaching career in TX is 5 years. very high churn rate.

I suppose the widespread denigration of public schools, teachers, shitty budgets and resources from you rightwingers discourages them.

VRWC destruction of public schools and teacher unions in favor of for-profit, right wing/Christian indoctrination charter schools has suckered you, as always. Charter schools pay even shittier salaries to shittier teachers, get shittier results, but suck down taxpayers $Bs to privateering hucksters.

[boutons_deux]

Conservative news site freaks out over ‘demon’ appearance in video of Obama’s Kenya visit

Right-wing conspiracy website World Net Daily has touched off a fever of speculation among its readers over a supposed “demon” captured on video during President Barack Obama’s visit to Kenya in late July.

According to Right Wing Watch (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/worldnetdaily-catches-obamas-demonic-spirit-kenya), WND’s news editor John Kovacs wrote on Tuesday that he’s only posing the question (http://www.wnd.com/2015/08/video-is-this-a-demon-racing-in-front-of-obama/) as to whether a gray blur that flashes across the screen from left to right might be an “otherworldly being.”

“He’s the U.S. president who has had flies land on his face numerous times (http://www.wnd.com/2015/06/jumpin-beelzebub-obama-buzzed-by-fly-again/), prompting some to call him ‘Lord of the flies.’ (http://www.wnd.com/2013/01/is-obama-biblical-lord-of-the-flies/)” said Kovacs.

“And he has been buzzed by bees (http://www.wnd.com/2015/04/bees-cause-pandemonium-as-obama-reads-to-kids/).

And has had rodents running across his presidential podium (http://nypost.com/2010/05/21/white-house-ids-animal-its-a-vole/) while addressing reporters.

His face has even been compared to the character of Satan the devil in “The Bible” TV miniseries (http://www.wnd.com/2013/03/why-does-devil-in-the-bible-look-familiar/).” :lol

“And now, a mysterious flash during Barack Obama’s visit to his ancestral homeland of Kenya last month has some people wondering once again about the president’s ties to strange phenomena,” he went on.

Kovacs said he was contacted by a concerned WND reader who wrote, “My husband and I were watching this and I told him I saw a demon run by. He didn’t believe until I rewound the video. Please take a look!”

“The translucent, gray figure rushes by in the blink of an eye, and is difficult to discern at regular speed,” Kovacs said. “A freeze-frame analysis indicates the flash may appear to have a head and shoulders as it scurries along.”

We at the Raw Story Paranormal Phenomena Desk watched the video repeatedly and only saw what appeared to be an out-of-focus boom mic with what looks like a gray “pop filter,” a bit of foam used by audio technicians to screen out high-pitched noises when recording live sound. :lol

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/conservative-news-site-freaks-out-over-demon-appearance-in-video-of-obamas-kenya-visit/

Fucking ignorant, stupid, paranoid, superstitious, racist, childish Christians!

aka, The Repug Glorious Base!

[boutons_deux]

Pastor says belief in evolution has killed 55 million Americans as he praises God for his trigger finger


http://2d0yaz2jiom3c6vy7e7e5svk.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/matthew-hagee-800x430.jpg

While telling his father’s church about how much he values human life, Matthew Hagee thanked God for giving him a finger he can use to pull the trigger in a recent sermon, Right Wing Watch reports (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/matthew-hagee-evolution-lie-pit-hell-has-cost-us-55-million-americans).Hagee, the son of John Hagee, gave the talk at the elder Hagee’s Cornerstone Church on Sunday, in which he said that teaching the theory of evolution has killed 55 million Americans.

“Evolution is a lie from the pit of Hell itself,” Hagee said. “And it has cost us 55 million Americans.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/pastor-says-belief-in-evolution-has-killed-55-million-americans-as-he-praises-god-for-his-trigger-finger/

Hagee fils even fucking crazier than Hagge pere. Same is true with Graham fils.

[boutons_deux]

Mike Huckabee: Fetuses deserve ‘due process’ — and U.S. troops are ‘one of the ways’ to do it

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee did not deny over the weekend that he would consider using federal troops or the FBI to stop abortions because he said that fetuses deserved “due process.”At a campaign stop in Iowa (http://cjonline.com/news/2015-07-31/mike-huckabee-republican-presidential-candidate-wont-rule-out-employing-us-troops) late last month, the former Arkansas governor said that he would invoke the Fifth and 14 Amendments to give fetuses the rights of people.

When he was asked if he would use U.S. troops or the FBI to back the guarantee of equal rights for fetuses, Huckabee replied, “We’ll see, if I get to be president.”


On Sunday, Huckabee claimed that the media was trying to put words in his mouth, but he still declined to say that he would not use federal troops to prevent abortions.

“What I’m saying is that the real issue here is not whether we’re going to give money to Planned Parenthood,” he explained. “Yes, that’s important.

But the bigger issue is, is that unborn child a human being? Because if it is then the Fifth and the 14th Amendment apply because we’re dealing with personhood.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/mike-huckabee-fetuses-deserve-due-process-and-u-s-troops-are-one-of-the-ways-to-do-it/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

#ZygoteLivesMatter

[boutons_deux]

Florida pastor: The national debt will end ‘immediately’ when Planned Parenthood is defunded

I was talking to the Lord about this just the other day and I said, ‘Lord, I can’t continue this.’ You know if Planned Parenthood is not defunded, I just may stop paying taxes. I know that I’ll go to jail for it.”

“You want to talk about reducing the national debt?” Conner continued. “We could reduce it overnight if they would defund this evil organization and put it on the national debt. Man, we could get out of debt immediately.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/florida-pastor-the-national-debt-will-end-immediately-when-planned-parenthood-is-defunded/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

goddam, you fucking rightwingnuts are truly insane

Let's see if this insane "religious" fucker really stops paying his taxes so he can go to prison

[boutons_deux]

This Barton is a Repug/Christian Taliban supremacist HERO

David Barton: The Declaration Of Independence And Bill Of Rights Came Directly Out Of The Bible

Glenn Beck brought right-wing pseudo-historian David Barton onto his television program last week (http://www.glennbeck.com/2015/08/06/three-action-steps-you-can-take-to-protect-in-god-we-trust/) so that he could deliver another one of his "history" lessons to Beck's audience about how the Founding Fathers took all of the rights guaranteed in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights straight out of the Bible, specifically Genesis 1-8.

As Barton explained, the purpose of the Declaration was to declare that there was a God, that God created inalienable rights, and that government exists to protect these rights. As such, there were some two dozen rights listed in the Declaration, which eventually were codified into the Bill of Rights, and all of which were taken directly from the Bible.

"They held that all of those came out of Genesis 1-8," Barton said. "That's what they looked to. Genesis 1-8, they went through and said, 'Here's the two dozen rights we see and that's why governments exist.' So this is the God factor and that's what made of different from the beginning."

Barton went on to declare that there is no such thing as separation of church and state or government neutrality toward religion because the Declaration declares unanimously, on behalf of every level of government, that God exists.

"We're told by the courts today that, well, we've got people among us that don't believe in God and to make it fair for everybody, government will take no position for or against God, we're going to be neutral between religion and non-religion," Barton said (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8Z8sWQM3ig). "Look at the title of the Declaration of Independence. The title says this is 'the unanimous declaration of the thirteen states of the United States of America.'

Every political entity in America said, hey, this is what we in the political world hold true: There is a God, He gives rights to man, and government exists to protect God-given rights. You can't be neutral in America on the God factor because none of our documents are. It's just real clear."

Beck, of course, was blown away by this revelation, as Barton declared that it is "nonsensical" for courts to protect the separation of church and state.

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/david-barton-declaration-independence-and-bill-rights-came-directly-out-bible

Repugs and Christian Taliban supremacists have created a reason- and science-denying fantasy world subscribed to by Ms of assholes.

[boutons_deux]

More proof that Christ-like, loving, charitable (Texas) Christians are not pro-life, but pro-birth, after which you're fucked and on your own

Kids With Disabilities Sue Texas For Cutting Their Medicaid Services

A group that includes families of disabled children and health care providers has filed a lawsuit (http://www.texastribune.org/2015/08/11/families-disabled-children-sue-texas-over-medicaid/)against a Texas agency in an effort to stop impending budget cuts that threaten to disrupt the services offered to the youngsters through the state’s therapy program.

Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed a budget that slashes nearly $260 million in Medicaid payments (http://www.texastribune.org/2015/08/11/families-disabled-children-sue-texas-over-medicaid/) to the therapy program over two years. Medical policy reductions account for another $130 million in cutbacks.

Health care advocates have since launched a public relations campaign against the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), claiming the industry will lose 20 percent in revenue and nearly 60,000 children will lose home-based “medically necessary services.”

The recent lawsuit comes a decade after Texas entered a settlement agreement to provide “medically necessary services” to Medicaid recipients. Critics of the recent budge change say cuts to reimbursements will increase demands on the community centers and limit children’s access to resources. “Those rates will force Texas Medicaid providers to cease providing services critical to the health and development of Texas’ most vulnerable residents, its children,” the suit reads (file:///C:/Users/sampkcollins/Documents/ThinkProgress/Critics%20on%20the%20front%20line%20have%20railed% 20against%20the%20Texas%20legislature%E2%80%99s%20 latest%20move,%20saying%20it%20will%20increase%20d emands%20on%20the%20community%20centers%20and%20ul timately%20the%20children.).

Children with disabilities who are eligible for Medicaid can access a host of benefits specific to their needs, including therapeutic consultation and crisis intervention and support. Home and community-based therapists receive reimbursements from Medicaid for their work with patients. Recent amendments to federal regulations updated requirements (http://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid-chip-program-information/by-topics/long-term-services-and-supports/home-and-community-based-services/downloads/final-rule-fact-sheet.pdf) for appropriate home and community-based settings and strengthened protections for individuals.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/08/12/3690987/texas-medicaid-lawsuit-disabilities/

Who is RUNNING Texas, "wheels" Abbott?

TX spends about $20B year on tax breaks, subsidies for businesses.

[boutons_deux]

USSR Pravda would approve

Conservatives Love the New Advanced Placement US History Standards

The standards were criticized as being "anti-American." (http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/08/05/429361628/the-new-new-framework-for-ap-u-s-history?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20150805) Specific objections ranged from the framework stating that the nation's founders believed in "white superiority" and that white Southerners had "pride in the institution of slavery" to a line calling former President Ronald Reagan "bellicose."

The Republican National Committee even got involved (http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/changes-ap-history-make-conservatives-happy) and passed a resolution that called the framework "radically revisionist," while several states introduced proposals hoping to force a revision.

Bizarrely, at one point, Republican presidential hopefulBen Carson went so far as to argue (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/09/29/ben-carson-new-ap-u-s-history-course-will-make-kids-want-to-sign-up-for-isis/) that the Advanced Placement course might encourage young Americans to "sign up for ISIS"! :lol

To many people's surprise, the College Board listened to the arguments, decided to do another revision, and even hired some of the loudest critics to work on those changes. The College Board has just released the new curriculum framework (https://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/english-history-and-social-science/us-history/2015-ced) for its AP US history course, and it appears to have satisfied many of the old framework's critics.

In doing so, the Board has either glossed over or completely ignored many important issues such as racism and slavery.

This is especially important because it affects a large number of young people.America doesn't have a national history curriculum, but the AP US history course comes close. Last year, nearly half a million high school students sat for this AP exam.

Here are just a few of the changes:

In the 2014 version (http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/08/05/429361628/the-new-new-framework-for-ap-u-s-history?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20150805), Europeans "helped increase the intensity and destructiveness of American Indian warfare." Now it says simply that the Europeans' introduction of guns and alcohol "stimulated changes" in native communities.

In the 2014 section on World War II, students were given specific details about Japanese internment camps and the atomic bomb. In the new version, students are told simply that Americans saw the war as a fight for freedom and against fascism.

President Reagan is no longer "bellicose" toward the Soviet Union but rather gives "speeches" and engages in "a buildup of nuclear and conventional weapons."

The 2014 version stated (http://qz.com/469169/all-the-ways-the-new-ap-us-history-standards-gloss-over-the-countrys-racist-past/): "Many Europeans developed a belief in white superiority to justify their subjugation of Africans and American Indians, using several different rationales." By 2015, we read that interracial interaction in the colonial and antebellum years spurred "evolving religious, cultural, and racial justifications for [their] subjugation."

You get the idea.

These changes are part of a dangerous trend in education to gloss over or ignore any problems in US history. Thus, Arizona banned ethnic studies classes (http://www.care2.com/causes/boo-arizona-judge-fails-to-overturn-ethnic-studies-ban.html) as "leading to communism," the Texas textbook standards (http://www.care2.com/causes/10-reasons-the-new-texas-textbooks-are-dangerous-for-students.html) largely ignore anyone of color in the history of the state, the Tennessee Tea Party tried to ban all mention of slavery (http://www.care2.com/causes/tenn-tea-party-demands-slavery-removed-from-textbooks.html)in their textbooks, and now we have these new AP standards.

There's also another problem: the revised 2014 standards were very similar to the Common Core standards, in encouraging students to think for themselves, and develop their own arguments based on evidence. Conservatives don't like the idea of students thinking for themselves, so they rose up against these standards.

At a time when the US still has a "gaping racial wound," to quote Jon Stewart, our public education system should be taking a stand for the truth, not trying to minimize any issues they find unpleasant.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32309-conservatives-love-the-new-ap-us-history-standards-and-that-s-a-problem

Repugs' AmeriKKKa, fuck yeah!

[DarrinS]

You down there boo?

http://blogs.ntm.org/michael-richardson/files/2012/10/Popanca-party-035.jpg

[boutons_deux]

Boehner's Ten Big Lies About Protecting Jobs and Growing the Economy

http://i0.wp.com/www.politicususa.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Boehner-33.jpeg?zoom=1.5&resize=475%2C285
John Boehner Playing Stupid and Lying

John Boehner, in his latest parcel of lies about all the things Republicans haven’t been doing, makes claims that while the House has been busy serving the “people’s priorities” that Obama has been doing nefarious deeds, like vetoing the dozen or so jobs the Keystone XL Pipeline would have created, or vetoing their attempt to, as they put it, “restore the 40-hour work week,” which was, in fact, an attempt to deprive millions of Americans (http://www.politicususa.com/2015/01/07/obama-veto-40-hour-work-week.html) of their healthcare. There is literally no bill too small for Boehner to lie about and claim it is a jobs bill.

According to the narrative, the House has been struggling bravely on against every attempt Obama has made to stop them from creating jobs.

The truth is, the House has not created any jobs. It has not even attempted to create any jobs. It has attempted to deprive Americans of their healthcare. It has attempted to further enrich the wealthy at the expense of American workers.

Listed here are some of the things that Boehner claims “Republicans have done to protect jobs and grow our economy”:

1. We’ve paved the way for stronger trade agreements, which means more jobs and higher wages for America’s workers. Trade is good for our country: it supports more than one in five American jobs, and manufacturing jobs tied to trade pay 16 percent more. New trade promotion authority (TPA) will ensure that the country makes better trade agreements. This is a big win for American workers (http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/photo-speaker-boehner-signs-bipartisan-trade-legislation?Source=GovD), and will help us sell more goods stamped with “made in America.” (H.R. 2146, 114th Congress)

In point of fact, like it or not (and many do not), the White House fully supported the TPA (https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/06/29/trade-here-s-what-president-signed-law), calling it “a good thing.” According to the administration, “Now, thanks to the new rules of the road laid out by Congress, our latest trade deal — the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — can put in place high, enforceable standards that reflect our values on the environment, on workers’ rights, on transparency, and more.” This was not a victory of House over White House but a rare convergence of viewpoints between the two. In fact, Jeffrey Zients pointed out (https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/04/16/bringing-trade-agreements-21st-century) on the White House blog this spring that “Trade authority has a long bipartisan history, dating back to President Franklin Roosevelt. In the decades since the New Deal Congress passed the first trade negotiating legislation, Congress has renewed and modernized that authority 18 different times, under both Democratic and Republican Presidents alike.”

2. We’ve protected 99 percent of Americans from permanent tax hikes. On January 1, 2013, income taxes were scheduled to go up on just about every American. Republicans were able to protect 99 percent of Americans from permanent tax increases while locking in lower rates on the estate tax and the tax on capital gains and dividends. (H.R. 8, 112th Congress)

Boehner and the House Republicans are not interested in protecting 99 percent of Americans from tax hikes. They are interested in protecting 1 percent of Americans from tax hikes. The estate tax, the tax on capital gains, and on dividends, as Boehner well knows, have nothing to do with the average American. For example, the latest Republican attempt (http://www.politicususa.com/2015/04/14/white-house-rips-republicans-obama-vows-veto-3-million-tax-cut-millionaires.html) to repeal the estate tax, H.R. 1105, would not only have added “hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit to provide large tax cuts exclusively to the very wealthiest Americans,” but would have shifted “a greater share of the tax burden onto working Americans at a time when the top one percent already holds more than 40 percent of the Nation’s wealth and wealth disparities have risen to levels not seen since the 1930s.” At a time when Obama’s plan is to tax the rich and help the middle class, the GOP is trying to do the opposite.

3. We’ve cut government spending by $2.1 trillion and counting. Republicans have won the most significant spending reductions in modern history (http://www.speaker.gov/general/10-things-you-should-know-about-omnibus-appropriations-bill?Source=GovD) – more significant than under Reagan & O’Neill and Clinton & Gingrich. These spending cuts have helped reduce the deficit and improve confidence in our economy. (H.R. 83, 113th Congress)

This was in fact, as Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan put it last December (https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/12/17/omb-director-shaun-donovan-passage-hr-83-consolidated-and-further-continuing-appropr), a “bipartisan compromise,” which is not exactly a “Republican win” as Boehner would have it. In fact, H.R. 83 “Avoid[ed] a dangerous government shutdown that would have hurt our economic progress” which contained “ideological and special interest rider provisions” put their by the GOP and objected to by the White House (https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/113/saphr83h_20141211.pdf), designed to further weaken Wall Street reform and provided less than a full year of funding for the Department of Homeland Security. All this bill did was keep things going – temporarily. It is at the least disingenuous of Boehner to claim it in any way “protected jobs” or “grew our economy.”

4. We’ve backed American energy production, the biggest driver of jobs and growth in America. From supporting the shale revolution and fighting for the Keystone XL pipeline to blocking new fees on producers and cutting funding for the EPA, we’ve done all we can (http://www.speaker.gov/general/10-things-you-should-know-about-omnibus-appropriations-bill?Source=GovD) to blunt the Obama administration’s attempts to decrease American energy production. This has helped make America the world’s top oil and natural gas producer. (H.R. 83, 113th Congress; S.1, 114th Congress)

John Boehner (as did Mitt Romney (http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/16/news/la-pn-presidential-debate-energy-policy-20121016) in 2012) likes to pretend that Obama is opposed to energy production. In 2012, InvestmentWatch proclaimed (http://investmentwatchblog.com/fact-under-obama-u-s-energy-production-is-at-an-all-time-high/) “Fact: Under Obama, U.S. energy production is at an all-time high.” And the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated in 2013 (http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=13251) “that the United States will be the world’s top producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons…surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia.” Far from trying to decrease American energy production, Obama has been advocating energy independence.

5. We’ve protected small businesses from ObamaCare mandates that make it harder to hire. In addition to repealing (http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/speaker-boehner-hails-senate-passage-pledge-america-legislation-repealing-obamacare%E2%80%99s?Source=GovD)a paperwork mandate in ObamaCare, we recently gave small businesses relief (http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/hire-more-heroes-act-top-republican-priority-becomes-law?Source=GovD)from rules that make it harder to hire veterans. (H.R. 4, 112th Congress; H.R. 3236, 114th Congress)

As the Statement of Administration Policy (https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/113/saphr4r_20140916.pdf) describes it, the so-called “Jobs for America Act” H.R. 4 “would undermine [the Affordable Care Act] by shifting costs to taxpayers and causing fewer Americans to have employer-sponsored health insurance coverage,” and “throw all major regulations into a months-long limbo,” as well as ” impose other unnecessary requirements on agencies that would seriously undermine their ability to execute their statutory mandates.” Boehner can frame this any way he wants to (and has), but in essence, H.R. 4 was just another Republican attempt to deregulate “while at the same time allowing taxes to increase on 26 million working families.” In other words, it was not intended to “protect jobs” or “grow our economy.”

6. We won passage of three free trade agreements that are already paying dividends for American workers. The Republican majority successfully won (http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/speaker-boehner-applauds-passage-free-trade-agreements-part-gop-jobs-plan?Source=GovD) passage and implementation of long-delayed trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. (H.R. 3078, 3079 & 3080, 112th Congress)

The Statement of Administration Policy (https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/112/saphr3078h_20111011.pdf) for H.R. 3078, which was a piece of bipartisan legislation, shows White House support for this bill, stating that it “forms an integral part of the Administration’s larger strategy of doubling exports by the end of 2014.” The Statement (https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/112/saphr3079h_20111011.pdf)for H.R. 3079 shows the same executive branch support, stating that “The Agreement is an important part of the Administration’s efforts to spur economic growth, increase exports, and create jobs in the United States, while promoting our core values.” In other words, this is just another case of Boehner pretending something was done despite, not because of or in agreement with the White House.

7. It is now easier for entrepreneurs to acquire the capital they need to start and grow a business. It shouldn’t be easier to start a business in Belarus than it is in the United States, but it is (http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/because-it-shouldn-t-be-easier-start-business-belarus?Source=GovD), the experts say. The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/speaker-boehner-jobs-act-should-spark-further-bipartisan-action-economy?Source=GovD)helps aspiring entrepreneurs overcome government barriers to starting and expanding a business. (H.R. 3606, 112th Congress)

Boehner pretends the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act is a Republican victory over White House obstruction, but in fact, the relevant Statement of Administration Policy (https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/112/saphr3606h_20120306.pdf) points out that “The President outlined a number of ways to help small businesses grow and become more competitive in his September 8, 2011, address to a Joint Session of Congress on jobs and the economy, as well as in the Startup America Legislative Agenda he sent to the Congress last month. In both the speech and the agenda, the President called for cutting the red tape that prevents many rapidly growing startup companies from raising needed capital.” In other words, far from representing a victory over Obama, H.R. 3606 is just an example of the House finally doing what President Obama had urged it to do a year previously.

8. It is now easier for inventors and innovators to launch new products and businesses. The America Invents Act, the most significant update to our nation’s patent system in 60 years, cuts down on costs and speeds up the process by which patents are approved while better protecting intellectual property. (H.R. 1249, 112th Congress)

According to the Statement of Administration Policy (https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/112/saphr1249r_20110621.pdf), “The bill represents a balanced and well-crafted effort to enhance the services to patent applicants and America’s innovators provided by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).” Again, H.R. 1249 does not represent a House victory over an unwilling president. The Statement makes clear that “House passage of H.R. 1249 would foster innovation, improve economic competitiveness, and create jobs at no expense to taxpayers – all of which are key Administration goals.”

9. It is now easier for job-seekers to find the right skills to land the right jobs. Millions of good-paying jobs in America go unfilled because workers lack the proper skills. With the SKILLS Act (http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/speaker-boehner-house-leaders-send-bipartisan-jobs-bill-president-s-desk?Source=GovD), we modernized the nation’s workforce development system by eliminating programs that weren’t working and giving flexibility to the states. (H.R. 803, 113th Congress)

Boehner pretends H.R. 803 (http://edworkforce.house.gov/uploadedfiles/short_bill_summary_-_skills_act_final.pdf) was a step forward, but the Statement of Administration Policy (https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/113/saphr803r_20130313.pdf) makes clear this bill was not an attempt to improve, but rather to hinder, job access, stating that, “While H.R. 803 takes some positive steps, the bill does not adhere to the Administration’s key principles for reform. The bill would eliminate, or allow the consolidation of, many targeted programs, without providing the critical assistance needed by vulnerable populations such as veterans, low-income adults, youth, adults with literacy and English language needs, people with disabilities, ex-offenders, and others with significant barriers to employment. H.R. 803 would freeze funding for the next seven years and would fail to support efforts to innovate and replicate effective approaches.” As the statement puts it, “any effort to streamline the current system must allow for sufficient funding to meet the needs of workers and job-seekers.” Boehner put a lot of talk into the SKILLS Act, but not much action.

10. It is now easier for graduates to get a good start in their careers. We took the politics out (http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/long-term-market-based-student-loan-reform-now-law?Source=GovD) of student loans, plain and simple. By linking interest rates to the markets, people will see more stable and predictable rates over time, making it easier to pay for college and start contributing to the economy. (H.R. 1911, 113th Congress)

Here again Boehner is pretending his bill did something it did not do. He talks about lower interest rates, but as the Statement of Administration Policy (https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/113/saphr1911r_20130522.pdf) points out, “the bill would not guarantee low rates for today’s students,” and “changes would impose the largest interest rate increases on low- and middle-income students and families who struggle most to afford a college education.” Furthermore, “the bill does not include the President’s proposal to extend repayment options to borrowers who have already left school and often face the same debt burdens as current and future students.” H.R. 1911 promoted the idea that interest rates should be raised to reduce the deficit. That’s right. Far from “stable and predictable rates over time,” the rates proposed would be unpredictable and subject to change, and force students to pay more so Congress could spend more elsewhere.

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/08/12/boehners-ten-big-lies-jobs-economy.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicususa%2FfJAl+%28Politi cus+USA+%29

[boutons_deux]

it's the Dog Days

Beat the rush: Fox host Elisabeth Hasselbeck warns of ‘War on Christmas’ — in August


http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/beat-the-rush-fox-host-elisabeth-hasselbeck-warns-of-war-on-christmas-in-august/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

5. Right-wing film critic celebrates fact that Jimmy Carter has cancer.

Here’s a lovely lady, whose film criticism we’ll be sure to start reading. Her name is Debbie Schlussel, and upon hearing that the 90-year-old ex-president and Nobel Peace Prize winner is gravely ill, the sometime-film critic, sometime-right-wing political commentator tweeted this out:

http://www.alternet.org/files/styles/large/public/schlussel_1.png

Yes, she did.

She even tried to make it a trending topic. It failed to trend. When the twittersphere reacted with some hostility and called her names, she was really upset. After all, she did not use vulgar language. How could they do that to such a nice gal?

http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/5-deranged-right-wing-moments-week-trump-prevails-carson-goes-rails

[boutons_deux]

Huckabee Supports Denying Abortion To 10-Year-Old Rape Victimhttp://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/08/16/3692100/huckabee-paraguay-rape-abortion/

I wonder if a raped 10 year old girl was Huck's (grand) daughter and the rapist was black, same policy?

[boutons_deux]

Maryland Official: Lead Poisoning Is the Royal Road to Riches


Gov. Larry Hogan's top housing official said Friday that he wants to look at loosening state lead paint poisoning laws, saying they could motivate a mother to deliberately poison her child to obtain free housing.

Kenneth C. Holt, secretary of Housing, Community and Development, told an audience at the Maryland Association of Counties summer convention here that

a mother could just put a lead fishing weight in her child's mouth, then take the child in for testing and a landlord would be liable for providing the child with housing until the age of 18.

Pressed afterward, Holt said he had no evidence of this happening but said a developer had told him it was possible. "This is an anecdotal story that was described to me as something that could possibly happen," Holt said.


I'm pretty sure this wouldn't actually work, but that hardly matters. It's just another example of the peculiar Republican penchant for governance via anecdote. They're all convinced that someone, somewhere, is trying to rip them off, but they can never find quite enough real examples of this. So instead we get

Reaganesque fables about stuff they heard from some guy who heard it from some other guy who said, you know, it could happen.

By the way, if you're tempted to do this, please don't. Licking a lead fishing weight once probably won't actually cause a detectable rise in blood lead levels,

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/08/maryland-official-lead-poisoning-royal-road-riches

Repugs love the widespread, rampant welfare fraud myth, but never have any evidence.

[Pelicans78]

Crickets chirping

[boutons_deux]

Republicans Against Retirement

For some reason, just about all the leading candidates other than The Donald have taken a deeply unpopular position, a known political loser, on a major domestic policy issue. And it’s interesting to ask why.

The issue in question is the future of Social Security, which turned 80 last week. The retirement program is, of course, both extremely popular and a long-term target of conservatives, who want to kill it precisely because its popularity helps legitimize government action in general. As the right-wing activist Stephen Moore (now chief economist of the Heritage Foundation) once declared, Social Security is “the soft underbelly (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/opinion/spearing-the-beast.html) of the welfare state”; “jab your spear through that” and you can undermine the whole thing.

But that was a decade ago, during former President George W. Bush’s attempt to privatize the program — and what Mr. Bush learned was that the underbelly wasn’t that soft after all. Despite the political momentum coming from the G.O.P.’s victory in the 2004 election, despite support from much of the media establishment, the assault on Social Security quickly crashed and burned. Voters, it turns out, like Social Security as it is, and don’t want it cut.
It’s remarkable, then, that most of the Republicans who would be president seem to be lining up for another round of punishment. In particular, they’ve been declaring that the retirement age — which has already been pushed up from 65 to 66, and is scheduled to rise to 67 — should go up even further.

Thus, Jeb Bush says that the retirement age should be pushed back (http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/243556-bush-retirement-age-should-be-68-or-70) to “68 or 70”. Scott Walker has echoed (http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-08-04/walker-47-calls-for-raising-retirement-age-for-people-his-age)that position. Marco Rubio (http://www.nationalreview.com/article/422581/saving-social-security-21st-century-marco-rubio) wants both to raise the retirement age and to cut benefits for higher-income seniors.Rand Paul (http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/04/how_christies_social_security_reform_plan_compares _to_other_possible_2016_candidates.html) wants to raise the retirement age to 70 and means-test benefits.Ted Cruz (http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/ted-cruz-social-security-privatization) wants to revive the Bush privatization plan.

For the record, these proposals would be really bad public policy — a harsh blow to Americans in the bottom half (http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/subtleties-of-life-expectancy-ctd/) of the income distribution, who depend on Social Security, often have jobs that involve manual labor, and have not, in fact, seen a big rise in life expectancy. Meanwhile, the decline of private pensions has left working Americans more reliant on Social Security than ever.

And no, Social Security does not face a financial crisis; its long-term funding shortfall could easily be closed with modest increases in revenue.

Americans love Social Security, so why aren’t the candidates at least pretending to share that sentiment?

(http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/17/opinion/republicans-against-retirement.html?_r=1#story-continues-4)Wealthy individuals have long played a disproportionate role in politics, but we’ve never seen anything like what’s happening now: domination of campaign finance, especially on the Republican side, by a tiny group of immensely wealthy donors. Indeed, more than half the funds raised by Republican candidates through June came from just 130 families (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/us/small-pool-of-rich-donors-dominates-election-giving.html).

And while most Americans love Social Security, the wealthy don’t. Two years ago a pioneering study (http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~jnd260/cab/CAB2012%20-%20Page1.pdf) of the policy preferences of the very wealthy found many contrasts with the views of the general public; as you might expect, the rich are politically different from you and me. But nowhere are they as different as they are on the matter of Social Security. By a very wide margin, ordinary Americans want to see Social Security expanded. But by an even wider margin, Americans in the top 1 percent want to see it cut. And guess whose preferences are prevailing among Republican candidates.

What this means, in turn, is that the eventual Republican nominee — assuming that it’s not Mr. Trump —will be committed not just to a renewed attack on Social Security but to a broader plutocratic agenda. Whatever the rhetoric, the GOP is on track to nominate someone who has won over the big money by promising government by the 1 percent, for the 1 percent.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/17/opinion/republicans-against-retirement.html?_r=1

[ducks]

the guy thinks privacy social security is bad
why
If I choice to invest my money and lose it shame on me and I will not ask for the government for a hand out
the government has your money they lose it and then they think they should not give it back or change the rules in the middle of the game
I say I am better off with that money then the government. I HAVE A BALANCED BUDGET THEY DO NOT. I DO NOT GIVE BILLIONS AWAY AND MAKE STUPID DEALS.

[ducks]

Florida pastor: The national debt will end ‘immediately’ when Planned Parenthood is defunded

I was talking to the Lord about this just the other day and I said, ‘Lord, I can’t continue this.’ You know if Planned Parenthood is not defunded, I just may stop paying taxes. I know that I’ll go to jail for it.”

“You want to talk about reducing the national debt?” Conner continued. “We could reduce it overnight if they would defund this evil organization and put it on the national debt. Man, we could get out of debt immediately.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/florida-pastor-the-national-debt-will-end-immediately-when-planned-parenthood-is-defunded/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

goddam, you fucking rightwingnuts are truly insane

Let's see if this insane "religious" fucker really stops paying his taxes so he can go to prison


DO YOU ENJOY GIVING YOUR MONEY TO TAXES SO THE POLICTIANS CAN WASTE IT? OH II FORGOT ONLY THE REPUBLICANS WASTE IT NOT THE DEMOCRATS

[boutons_deux]

Texas Republican won’t apologize over Facebook post calling for atomic bombing of Muslims


http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/texas-republican-wont-apologize-over-facebook-post-calling-for-atomic-bombing-of-muslims/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

Louisiana GOP lawmaker uses N-word in ad — and that’s not even the craziest thing he’s done

A Republican nominee for the Lt. Governor spot in Louisiana is under fire for using the N-word in a campaign ad that he claims will show black voters they are being played by the Democratic Party, reports The Advocate (http://theadvocate.com/news/13204357-123/in-ad-black-republican-uses).In the controversial ad, State Sen. Elbert Guillory uses an apocryphal quote from former President Lyndon Johnson, supposedly uttered after he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to Guillory, Johnson said he “gave ‘them’ a little something to keep the n****rs voting for Democrats for the next 200 years.”

Earlier this year Guillory, attempted to make the case for teaching creationism side-by-side with evolution, claiming scientists once burned heretics at the stake (http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/louisiana-goper-claims-scientists-burned-heretics-dem-smacks-him-down-with-degrasse-tyson-quote/) for unconventional ideas.

The lawmaker was widely derided after fellow State Senator Jean-Paul J. Morrell (D) corrected Guillory, before adding a quote from astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson who once said, “the good thing about science is that it’s true whether you believe in it or not,” as legislative observers laughed.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/louisiana-gop-lawmaker-uses-n-word-in-ad-and-thats-not-even-the-craziest-thing-hes-done/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[CosmicCowboy]

Louisiana GOP lawmaker uses N-word in ad — and that’s not even the craziest thing he’s done

A Republican nominee for the Lt. Governor spot in Louisiana is under fire for using the N-word in a campaign ad that he claims will show black voters they are being played by the Democratic Party, reports The Advocate (http://theadvocate.com/news/13204357-123/in-ad-black-republican-uses).In the controversial ad, State Sen. Elbert Guillory uses an apocryphal quote from former President Lyndon Johnson, supposedly uttered after he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to Guillory, Johnson said he “gave ‘them’ a little something to keep the n****rs voting for Democrats for the next 200 years.”

Earlier this year Guillory, attempted to make the case for teaching creationism side-by-side with evolution, claiming scientists once burned heretics at the stake (http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/louisiana-goper-claims-scientists-burned-heretics-dem-smacks-him-down-with-degrasse-tyson-quote/) for unconventional ideas.

The lawmaker was widely derided after fellow State Senator Jean-Paul J. Morrell (D) corrected Guillory, before adding a quote from astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson who once said, “the good thing about science is that it’s true whether you believe in it or not,” as legislative observers laughed.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/louisiana-gop-lawmaker-uses-n-word-in-ad-and-thats-not-even-the-craziest-thing-hes-done/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29




Well, it IS what Lyndon Johnson said.

[boutons_deux]

Well, it IS what Lyndon Johnson said.

the blacks know the Repugs, esp not LA Repugs, will do fuck all for his race.

[boutons_deux]

Repug Christian Taliban supremacist in, duh, KS

Kansas woman claims GOP secretary Kansas woman claims GOP secretary of state’s office fired her for not going to church


https://www.rawstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Kansas-Republican-official-Erik-Rucker-via-Facebook-800x430.png

An employee of the Kansas’ Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office says she was fired from her job for not belonging to or attending a church.According to the Topeka Capital-Journal (http://cjonline.com/news/state/2015-08-19/kris-kobach-employee-allegedly-fired-lack-religious-fervor-lawsuit-claims), Courtney Canfield of Topeka filed suit against the secretary of state’s office naming her supervisor Eric Rucker as defendant.

Canfield claims that before she was fired in November of 2013, Rucker said “repeatedly and emphatically” that she was being terminated because “She just doesn’t go to a church.”

That November, Rucker paid a visit to Canfield’s grandmother Margie Canfield, :lol WTF?, an official in the state Republican Party.

Rucker informed Margie Canfield that her daughter had to be fired because of her failure to attend worship services. When Margie said she would not fire her own granddaughter — who didn’t even work for her — Rucker said that he would.

https://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/kansas-woman-claims-gop-secretary-of-states-office-fired-her-for-not-going-to-church/

[boutons_deux]

Christian Taliban supremacist news

AZ School District Putting Anti-Abortion Stickers In Science Textbooks


http://a4.img.talkingpointsmemo.com/image/upload/c_fill,fl_keep_iptc,g_faces,h_365,w_652/vqccijlhb1p203yf1txq.jpg

An Arizona school district made students place stickers, which promote childbirth and adoption over abortion, inside their high school biology textbook.

New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young, who lives in the district, told TPM in an interview on Thursday that she was stunned when her 14-year-old son showed her one of the stickers on his textbook.
"I read it, and just looked at him. Is this a joke?" Young told TPM.


Her son, a freshman at Gilbert High School in Gilbert, Arizona, told her that if students didn't put the abstinence-only education sticker in their textbooks, the student would have to speak with their grade-level administrator.
"They're teaching morality on an educational textbook," Young, a former high school teacher, said.

This language was taken almost verbatim from an Arizona law that states that schools can only provide support (financial or instruction) to a sexual education program that presents giving birth and adoption as preferred to abortion

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/arizona-gilbert-school-district-abortion-sticker?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tpm-news+%28TPMNews%29

[boutons_deux]

Bobby Jindal’s latest bizarre stunt: Screening Planned Parenthood videos on his lawnhttp://www.salon.com/2015/08/21/bobby_jindals_latest_bizarre_stunt_screening_plann ed_parenthood_videos_on_his_lawn/

:lol

Louisiana! :lol

macaca Jindal! :lol

[SpursforSix]

Bobby Jindal’s latest bizarre stunt: Screening Planned Parenthood videos on his lawnhttp://www.salon.com/2015/08/21/bobby_jindals_latest_bizarre_stunt_screening_plann ed_parenthood_videos_on_his_lawn/

:lol

Louisiana! :lol

macaca Jindal! :lol




This seems like something a liberal would do.

[boutons_deux]

Repug Christian supremacist news

Arkansas Rejects Request for Hindu Statue at Capitol

The Arkansas secretary of state’s office has denied a request from the Universal Society of Hinduism (http://www.usofh.org/) to place a privately funded Hindu statue on Capitol grounds.

The Hindu society and a slew of other organizations have floated the possibility of putting their own monuments on the Capitol grounds since the Arkansas General Assembly passed a law this year to erect a Ten Commandments statue.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/us/arkansas-rejects-request-for-hindu-statue-at-capitol.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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NJ FatBastard really desperate, his 300+ pounds of greasiness flopping around for something to slander Obama with. Are all federal prosecutors this fucking dumb?

Chris Christie lies to voters by blaming Obama for heroin epidemic

“Lawlessness in America and around the world under Barack Obama,” Christie said while looking straight into the camera, revealing an uncomfortable tight shot of his face. Christie then claimed that “drugs [are] running rampant and destroying lives” as images of drug addicts shooting up appear on the screen.


http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/chris-christie-lies-to-voters-by-blaming-obama-for-heroin-epidemic/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

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Repugs slimey shitbags at work at dirty tricks

Far right working on next big 'sting': an attempt to break federal campaign laws (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/24/1414365/-Far-right-working-on-next-big-sting-an-attempt-to-break-federal-campaign-laws)

It looks like the Breitbartian fever swamps are bubbling away on their next big thing, attempting to break multiple federal laws in an effort to get a really good story on why some random people they don't like are bad. This time, an O'Keefe-linked group affiliated with Students for a Conservative Voice have been approaching various members of the Clinton campaign attempting to illegally funnel money into the campaign, or as conservatives might know it "doing that thing conservative filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza went to jail for." (http://time.com/4006454/hillary-clinton-video-project-veritas/?xid=tcoshare)


In one scheme, described by Clinton staff, a woman attempted to pass a cash donation to Clinton volunteers and interns.

In another, a woman approached the campaign on Aug. 19 and said both her parents had donated to Clinton the legal maximum of $2700 each and wanted to funnel an additional donation through their daughter, a violation of federal law.

On Aug. 13, a woman claiming to be Canadian approached another Clinton fellow to ask how to falsify an address for a campaign donation. [...]

The women presented themselves as Allison Holmes, Jess Koski, and Jess Jones, according to the Clinton campaign, which collected names, email addresses, and phone numbers for the women. All gave the same phone number, which is listed on the website for the University of Minnesota-based Students for a Conservative Voice.

Messages left at the number by TIME requesting comment were not returned.


So the "sting" appears to be an attempt to find just one campaign intern anywhere in America who's not been briefed on the relevant laws and milk the resulting grainy footage until there ain't no milk in that cow left to give.

Time identifies one of the women as Laura Loomer, an O'Keefe-linked "investigator" already suspended from her university and facing potential criminal charges in Florida over a previous recording taken in apparent violation of state law (http://www.examiner.com/article/student-who-aided-outing-isis-group-at-u-s-college-faces-jail).

I'm a bit fuzzy on how openly attempting to break federal law here isn't also prosecution-worthy, given that

(1) they know full well what they're doing is illegal, that being the whole point of it, and

(2) they seem to have been caught dead-to-rights in these attempts by Clinton campaign staffers,

but this may be part of an orchestrated effort on their parts to all end up in the same federal pen, where they can do arts and crafts and film themselves beating the stuffing out of one another with prison lunch trays while a narrator weepingly asks why none of the crooked guards are stepping in to stop this horrible violence.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/24/1414365/-Far-right-working-on-next-big-sting-an-attempt-to-break-federal-campaign-laws?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos %29#

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BigCorp and Repug War on the Poor

H&R Block snuck language into a Senate bill to make taxes more confusing for poor people

H&R Block's entire business model is premised on taxes being confusing and hard to file. So, naturally, the tax preparation company has become — along with Intuit, the company behind TurboTax — one of the loudest voices on Capitol Hill arguing against measures that make it easier to pay taxes.

For example, the Obama administration has pushed for automatic tax filing (http://www.vox.com/2014/4/11/5603974/taxes-dont-have-to-suck), in which the IRS uses income information it already has to fill out your tax return for you. That would save millions of Americans considerable time and energy every year, but the idea has gone nowhere. The main reason? Lobbying from H&R Block (http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/04/15/tax-preparers-lobby-heavily-against-simple-filing/) and Intuit (http://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-maker-of-turbotax-fought-free-simple-tax-filing).

But H&R Block's latest lobbying effort is even more loathsome than its opposition to automatic filing. At the company's instigation, the Senate Appropriations Committee haspassed (http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/senate-committee-agrees-fy2016-financial-services-appropriations-bill) a funding bill covering the IRS whose accompanying report (https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/srpt97/CRPT-114srpt97.pdf) instructs the agency to at least quadruple the length of the form that taxpayers fill out to get the Earned Income Tax Credit (http://www.vox.com/2015/7/16/8974745/eitc-study-hoynes-patel).

A recent IRS study (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/EITCComplianceStudyTY2006-2008.pdf) found EITC-claiming returns from paid preparers were more likely to result in overpayments than self-filed returns. That's right: People who fill out taxes for a living are, on average, worse at it than taxpayers who do it themselves (and, by the way, the IRS's volunteers do a better job than anybody).

The only possible reason to change the form, then, is to confuse taxpayers enough that even more of them will pay companies like H&R Block to prepare their returns.
Other low-income families will just not bother to claim the credit at all if this policy takes effect. "Were this directive implemented," Robert Greenstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (http://www.cbpp.org/blog/senate-bill-would-boost-burdens-costs-to-claim-working-family-tax-credits) writes in a piece decrying the proposed change, "no one should be surprised to see large numbers of individuals who now file their own returns either giving up and not claiming the EITC due to the added complexity or turning to paid preparers, who could charge hundreds of dollars for their services."


the language also instructs the IRS to add similar questions to forms for the refundable part of the Child Tax Credit, the American Opportunity Tax Credit for college tuition and fees, and the Premium Tax Credit that subsidizes Obamacare plans.

Think about what tax breaks are being targeted here. These are all refundable credits, which, with the exception of the college credit, overwhelmingly help low-income and working-class people. H&R Block is not pushing to make the mortgage interest deduction more complicated, or to make the charitable deduction more confusing. Tax breaks that mostly help rich people go untouched. H&R Block knows that rich people already use TurboTax or hire accountants; because it wants new business, it has decided to prey upon the poor.

http://www.vox.com/2015/8/24/9195129/h-r-block?ncid=newsltushpmg00000003

Corporatocracy SCREWS Americans

[boutons_deux]

5 Reasons Republicans Cannot Be Trusted With Power


1. They let Trump become Trump.

Trump’s birtherism should have disqualified him from public life. Instead, his embrace of a lunatic conspiracy theory vaulted him to the forefront of conservatism. Mitt Romney pleaded for Trump’s endorsement and Fox News made him a staple of right-wing discourse.

For decades the GOP base has been offered scapegoats to blame for the demise of the middle class, concealing the true cause — namely, the enactment of conservative policies. “Welfare queens” have faded and now the threat is people who risked their lives to come to America to pick your fruit. The thrill of having someone weak and safe to blame is contagious, providing the perfect opportunity for a huckster promising the defeat of all foreign enemies, spouting incoherent bluster and sporting a dopey hat.

It took three staff members at The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/us/politics/why-donald-trump-wont-fold-polls-and-people-speak.html?_r=0) — Mike Barbaro, Nate Cohn, and Jeremy W. Peters — to come up with this analysis of how a thrice-married charlatan who takes pleasure in calling a female critic a “fat pig” has managed to win the hearts of even conservative evangelicals: “Tellingly, when asked to explain support for Mr. Trump in their own words, voters of varying backgrounds used much the same language, calling him ‘ballsy’ and saying they admired that he ‘tells it like it is’ and relished how he ‘isn’t politically correct.'”

Was Trump telling it “like it is” when he was constructing racist fantasies about the president’s citizenship? Is he telling it “like it is” when he pretends to love the Bible and Ronald Reagan, checking all the boxes to qualify as a generic conservative? Is he telling it “like it is” when he calls immigrants “rapists” and criminals, despite evidence suggesting the exact opposite (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/08/donald-trumps-false-comments-connecting-mexican-immigrants-and-crime/)?

No, he’s telling it how conservatives would “like it to be” — and he gets away with it the way they would like to.

He’s promising an America defined by white identity (http://crooksandliars.com/2015/08/party-white-identity-politics-hasnt-gop) that forces all others to bow down. For a movement that has been fed subtle promises of such a world for decades, these outlandish declarations feel like truth, when they are nothing but a dangerous fantasy.

2. They’re opposing peace with the same dishonesty that led us into war.

The American politicians and pundits opposing the nuclear deal reached with Iran by the United States—along with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China—nearly all have two things in common: They supported the Iraq war, and they opposed negotiating with Iran in the first place.

All of the arguments that the right is making against the agreement — from the inflated 24-day inspection canard (http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/about-those-24-days) and the fiction that Iran will inspect itself (http://www.juancole.com/2015/08/inspect-nuclear-facilities.html) to the nonsensical promise of a better deal (http://www.nationalinterest.org/feature/debunked-why-5-criticisms-the-iran-deal-are-wrong-13559) — are easily debunked. And those arguments all lack the suggestion of any secret classified information of the kind that supposedly justified the Iraq invasion.

“The opponents of the Iran nuclear deal are doing fairly well in the media-pundit-sphere,” Talking Points Memo‘s Josh Marshall wrote (http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/breaking-nuclear-stuff-really-complicated). “But they’ve had an extremely difficult time making substantive arguments against the deal because according to almost all technical experts, it is about as tight and comprehensive and total a surveillance regime as we’ve ever seen. Ever.”

So the casual promise made by several Republican candidates to trash a deal achieved with our closest allies on day one should instantly disqualify them from occupying the White House.

3. They’re paralyzed by irrational promises.

Senator Ted Cruz demanded a government shutdown before Obamacare’s exchanges opened because, he said, if millions of Americans gained coverage, the law would never be repealed. Cruz failed, and while 15 million Americans now have insurance thanks to the law, he’s still demanding repeal.

Cruz’s primary opponents Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Marco Rubio recognize that running on the promise of stripping something valuable from a block of voters larger than that which will likely decide the election isn’t so smart. So they’ve released their own plans with the exact flaws that they revile in Obamacare.

“Is a party that brutalized Obamacare for taking insurance away from people who were happy with what they had really going to become the party that takes insurance away from millions of people who are happy with what they have?” asks Vox‘s Ezra Klein (http://www.vox.com/2015/8/20/9179445/rubio-walker-health-care-obamacare). “Is a party that attacked Obamacare for raising premiums on people really going to raise premiums for millions?”

Klein says no. But how does the next Republican president, after nearly a decade of pandering to the hope of full repeal, sanctify Obamacare without dividing the party?

4. They’ve abandoned all pretense of serving anyone but the rich.

Nearly every Republican candidate for president is vowing to raise the retirement age.

“For the record, these proposals would be really bad public policy — a harsh blow to Americans in the bottom half (http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/subtleties-of-life-expectancy-ctd/) of the income distribution, who depend on Social Security, often have jobs that involve manual labor, and have not, in fact, seen a big rise in life expectancy,” The New York Times‘ Paul Krugman wrote (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/17/opinion/republicans-against-retirement.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fpaul-krugman&action=click&contentCollection=opinion&region=stream&module=stream_unit&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=collection&_r=0).

Cuts to the public retirement guarantee are especially harmful to women (http://www.slate.com/articles/business/the_bills/2015/08/gop_candidates_on_social_security_they_re_not_just _gimmes_to_the_rich_they.html) — who live longer, are more likely to leave the workforce to care for family members, and inevitably are more dependent on Social Security.

The program continually polls as one of the most popular, if not the most popular thing that government does. So why would Republicans embrace drastic cuts in benefits for the poor rather than slight tax increases for the rich? The reasons are obvious.

“By a very wide margin, ordinary Americans want to see Social Security expanded. But by an even wider margin, Americans in the top 1 percent want to see it cut,” Krugman wrote. “And guess whose preferences are prevailing among Republican candidates?”

After a decade of the complete failure of conservative policies and unprecedented wealth inequality, the right cannot escape its urge to make the rich richer, no matter the costs.

5. They refuse to learn from failure.

In six years, we’ve seen unprecedented advances in fairness for the sick, the LGBTQ community, and those who’ve come to our country or been brought here to pursue a better life. The deficit is now manageable and health care cost predictions have shrunk, despite (or more likely due to) the historic expansion of coverage. We’ve made leaps in green energy, the regulation of Wall Street, and favoring diplomacy over war in resolving conflict. And in every arena in which we’ve made progress, Republicans promise a complete reversal of that progress.

Conservatives see in Donald Trump the realization of their worst fears: Someone who can capitalize on a base to which they’ve fed delusions for decades, and expose their promises and policies for the divisive frauds that they truly are.

http://www.nationalmemo.com/5-reasons-republicans-cannot-be-trusted-with-power/

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Dumb Jackhole Sen. Tom Cotton Still Thinks He’s President Of Obama

Newbie Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Teabagsville) getting himself all confused about who is the boss of Us-of-A America, and who is a newbie senator who doesn’t know nothin’ ’bout nothin’ and should shut his dumb face hole before he gets pwned (wait, is pwned still a thing?) on Twitter (http://wonkette.com/584448/sen-tom-cotton-picks-twitter-fight-with-iranian-foreign-minister-gets-burnt) again by Iran’s foreign minister.

Go on, Senator, show us (http://www.cotton.senate.gov/content/cotton-statement-reports-senate-minority-leader-harry-reid-may-filibuster-senate-vote-iran) how you did a dumb this time:

Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today released the following statements on reports that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid may filibuster a Senate vote on the Iran Nuclear Deal:

First, the president did an end-run around the Constitution by refusing to submit the Iran deal as a treaty requiring a two-thirds vote of the Senate for approval. Now Harry Reid wants to deny the American people a voice entirely by blocking an up-or-down vote on this terrible deal. If Harry Reid has his way, Congress won’t even get the little oversight we were provided in Corker-Cardin. He is obstructing because he is scared. He knows that a majority of Americans and Senators oppose this dangerous deal, and that its only chance for survival is if he and the president ram it down the throats of the American people.


Sorry to interrupt, but no one is ramming a treaty to avoid thermonuclear war with Iran down your throat; you’re thinking of gay marriage.


The Congress and the president should speak with one voice when it comes to dealing with the Iranians, but —


Stop right there, Tom, and put down the paste you’re eating. Because we coulda sworn there was some senator who scribbled a letter (http://wonkette.com/579008/republicans-send-love-note-to-iran-that-obama-isnt-really-president-wink-wink) in crayon to Iran suggesting that so-called “President” Obama does not have the authority to talk to Iran, does not even have the authority to look it up on Google Maps. Who was that? We forget.

While Cotton has been throwing a temper tantrum (http://wonkette.com/584826/sen-tom-cotton-turding-up-fellow-republicans-iran-punchbowl) like a toddler who needs a diaper change, the grown-ups have been trying to make a deal happen so we could maybe avoid getting ourselves stuck in yet another endless war in the Middle East. (The grown-ups have also found some time to laugh at Cotton (http://wonkette.com/592468/white-house-lols-at-sen-tom-cotton-for-being-dumb-dork-austin-powers-wannabe) for being A Idiot, because grown-ups can multitask.) Avoiding war actually is the goal here, even if Cotton doesn’t realize that. (http://wonkette.com/582163/sen-tom-cotton-would-like-some-iran-war-like-bill-clinton-did)

But if the senator now thinks the president and Congress should speak with one voice — all of a sudden and contrary to everything he has done during his brief tenure — he might consider letting the Obama administration do the talking, because Cotton’s chest-thumping and Twitter failing clearly hasn’t worked. (http://wonkette.com/579396/gops-letter-totally-worked-iran-will-do-whatever-they-say-now)

http://wonkette.com/593294/dumb-jackhole-sen-tom-cotton-still-thinks-hes-president-of-obama

[dbestpro]

One link rebuttal to pages, and pages of dribble.

http://frederickdouglassrepublican.com/did-you-know/

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One link rebuttal to pages, and pages of dribble.

http://frederickdouglassrepublican.com/did-you-know/

Southern racists were Dems until late 1960s, when, in reaction to the progressive legislation in the 60s, switched to voting Repug in Nixon's slimey, racist Southern Strategy.

Since then the Repugs are the party of racists, xenophobes, jingoists, nativists, rednecks, bubbas, low-wage, low-info (ignorant) assholes, like yourself. Trump huge value is exposing the Repug base for its nasty assholiness.

Today's Repugs would obviously NEVER vote to end slavery, or for the progressive laws of the 1960s.

[Quetzal-X]

One link rebuttal to pages, and pages of dribble.

http://frederickdouglassrepublican.com/did-you-know/



LOL If thats it.

[Quetzal-X]

Just face it honkeys and confused beaners--

Y'all fucked up and lost the War on Civil Rights.

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Another state FUCKED UP by Repug MISgovernance

Alabama Is About To Make It Much Harder To Get A Voter ID

With Alabama’s Republican-controlled legislature refusing to consider (http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/politics/southunionstreet/2015/08/10/general-fund-budget-dies-alabama-legislature/31442367/) any tax hikes, the state is preparing to take drastic measures to address its budget crisis — including shutting down all state parks (http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/08/all_alabama_state_parks_in_dan.html) and the vast majority of Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMVs). The proposal to close dozens of DMVs across the state — starting in rural areas (http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/08/state_says_it_will_close_all_b.html) — could hurt voters who need access to those offices in order to get the ID they need to cast a ballot.

Susan Watson, the executive director of the Alabama American Civil Liberties Union, told ThinkProgress this could put up yet another barrier to voting for the state’s lowest-income residents.

“They want to disenfranchise the most people possible,” she said. “It seems like they work hard to try to find ways to make it harder to vote. We have zero days of early voting. You aren’t allowed to vote absentee unless you’re out of the county or working more than 10 hours on Election Day. It’s already hard to get an ID if you are in a rural place and don’t have a DMV close to you. But if they shut these offices down, I’m wondering what people are supposed to do.”

The proposed budget leaves just four DMV offices in the state, in Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile and Huntsville, meaning potentially several hours of driving and long lines for the tens of thousands of people (http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/08/state_says_it_will_close_all_b.html) who live far from those cities.

“This won’t just hurt voters,” said Watson. “I can see a lot more people getting arrested and fined for not having a current drivers license, since it’ll be harder for them to get one.”

Alabama implemented its voter ID law shortly after the Supreme Court struck down (http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/06/25/2210121/breaking-supreme-court-kills-key-prong-of-voting-rights-act/) Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, which required the state get preapproval from the Justice Department every time it changed its voting laws because of its long history (http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/03/07/3630512/african-americans-challenge-supreme-court-voting-rights-act-hell-no-not-going-back/) of racially-based and often violent voter suppression.

The ACLU and other voting rights groups argue the law disproportionately burdens (http://www.aclualabama.org/News/PressReleases/Highlights/061011.html)the elderly, people of color, students, and the poor — who may have difficulty finding transportation to an office during the narrow hours they are open, and who may lack a birth certificate or other document needed to get the free identification card.

The state itself estimated (http://blog.al.com/wire/2014/03/new_photo_voter_ids_to_be_avai.html) that 250,000 eligible voters lacked the proper ID, but gave out only about 1,000 (http://www.wsfa.com/story/25396426/voter-id-state-has-issued-1000-free-cards) as of last April.

http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/08/26/3695404/alabama-is-about-to-make-it-much-harder-to-get-a-voter-id/

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Alabama cheerleading coach banned for complaining about pro-KKK t-shirt worn by the team’s assistant vice president


http://media.salon.com/2015/08/racist-brians-614x412.jpg

An Alabama woman claims that she’s no longer allowed to be a volunteer cheerleading coach after she complained about the racist shirts being worn by the team’s assistant vice president, Brian McCracken, and his friend, Brian McDowell, WAFF’s Lauren Bale reports (http://www.waff.com/story/29854570/boaz-youth-cheerleading-coach-resigns-over-t-shirt-complaint).

Former volunteer cheerleading coach Kayleigh Tipton said that she arrived at a practice of the Boaz youth cheerleaders only to find McCracken and McDowell sporting the racist t-shirts.

The team’s assistant vice president, McCracken, was wearing one that featured a robed member of the Ku Klux Klan in front of a burning cross, accompanied by the words “The Original Boys In The Hood.” His friend McDowell’s t-shirt was more direct — it read “White Pride.”

Tipton said she contacted Commissioner Kenny Jones, who said he “ended up taking care of the situation” by informing “the parents that they are no longer allowed to wear that type of shirt to any NAYF function.”

“We have zero tolerance for any kind of discriminatory apparel or anything,” Jones added. :loL AFTER somebody complains

However, the next time Tipton arrived at a practice, Vice President for Boaz Cheer Melynnda McCracken told her that her volunteer work was no longer required.

http://www.salon.com/2015/08/25/alabama_cheerleading_coach_banned_for_complaining_ about_pro_kkk_t_shirt_worn_by_the_teams_assistant_ vice_president/

Don't fuck with the Good Ol' Boys in 'Bama.

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Liz Cheney: The ‘gratitude’ Americans feel for my dad ‘is matched only by our love for him’

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/liz-cheney-the-gratitude-americans-feel-for-my-dad-is-matched-only-by-our-love-for-him/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

:lol holy shit! Repugs in general live is a self-congratulating fantasy world.

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Your move, Donald Trump: Scott Walker says building a wall along Canadian border a ‘legitimate issue’


http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/your-move-donald-trump-scott-walker-says-building-a-wall-along-canadian-border-a-legitimate-issue/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

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Texas secessionists launch petition drive for vote to break away

A group called the Texas Nationalist Movement fanned out to 31 cities across Texas this weekend trying to gather the 75,000 signatures they say they need to get the question of the state's secession from the United States on the primary ballot next spring.

Texas is one of only two U.S. states, the other being Hawaii, that were once internationally recognized sovereign nations, with diplomatic ties to other countries. Although legal experts said it would be unconstitutional for Texas to break away via a primary vote, there is still a spirit of Texas independence among many in the Lone Star State.

"What we are seeing, over and over, is this complete disconnect between the people of Texas, what they want, and what is going on in Washington, D.C.," TNM President Daniel Miller told Reuters.



"The people of Texas don't have anything against the United States, they are just tired of being governed by bureaucrats we didn't elect pushing programs we don't want."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/31/us-usa-texas-secession-idUSKCN0R002S20150831?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews

That's Entertainment! :lol

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anarchist Christian Taliban news, from TX, of course

David Barton’s Appalling Lie that the Constitution Puts God’s Law Above Man’s Law

From the Religious Right’s response to Kim Davis’ arrest (http://www.politicususa.com/2015/09/04/love-wins-rowan-county-gay-couples-obtain-licenses-kim-davis-sits-jail.html), you would think none of them had ever heard of the United States Constitution.

David Barton, the Religious Right’s premier fake historian, in Houston to attend Deputy Darren Goforth’s funeral, proclaimed (https://youtu.be/YQG4pxn_P-A)that “the Founding Fathers made it real clear that the laws of God are higher than the laws of man.”

According to Barton, “This is a law of God. Man’s law is not allowed to contradict God’s law.”

In fact, it is exactly the opposite.

The United States Constitution was written by those same Founding Fathers to put humans, not deities, in the driver’s seat, that political
power derives from the hands of the people and the consent of the governed. You could not tell a bigger lie than David Barton just did if you tried.

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/09/05/david-barton-thinks-constitution-puts-gods-law-mans-law.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicususa%2FfJAl+%28Politi cus+USA+%29

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White supremacists threaten to assassinate ‘anti-white’ Pope Francis during US visit

White supremacists have been calling for the assassination of Pope Francis over his calls on Europeans to house refugees fleeing Syria, according to the SITE Intelligence Group (https://news.siteintelgroup.com/Other/white-supremacist-and-neo-nazi-forum-users-call-for-death-of-pope-francis.html), an organization that monitors extremist organizations.

SITE reported Monday that the comments were posted to the infamous white supremacist blog Stormfront (https://www.stormfront.org/forum/t1119362/) in response to a Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/refugees-keep-streaming-into-europe-as-crisis-continues-unabated/2015/09/06/8a330572-5345-11e5-b225-90edbd49f362_story.html?tid=pm_pop_b) article reporting the pontiff’s call for European Catholics to shelter asylum seekers who are streaming across Europe, mainly from Syria.

“This mofo needs a third eye, right in the middle of where his two existing eyes are,” wrote someone using the handle “Freedom lover.”

Another, using the handle “Peace through Stormfront,” wrote, “White people need to be protected from the genocidal anti-white Pope and the genocidal anti-white religion he pushes.”

The Post article was published on another white supremacist forum, Vanguard News Network (http://vnnforum.com/showthread.php?p=1905701&highlight=pope), with user “John Adams” responding, “The pope deserves to be executed for crimes against the White race.”

According to SITE, members of these forums have been deadly in the past. Users have included Wade Michael Page, who killed six people in a Sikh temple shooting in 2012, Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 and injured 241 in 2011 in Norway, and Frazier Glenn Miller, who killed three at a Jewish community center in Kansas.

Both sites are frequented by Craig Cobb, a notorious white supremacist, who according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/craig-cobb), is best known for trying to transform the town of Leith, North Dakota into an Aryan stronghold.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/white-supremacists-threaten-to-assassinate-anti-white-pope-francis-during-us-visit/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

Christian Taliban supremacist racist gone totally insane

Huckabee: Dred Scott Decision 'Remains To This Day The Law Of The Land'

Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said on Wednesday that the Supreme Court decision that upheld slavery "remains to this day the law of the land."

“Michael, the Dred Scott decision of 1857 still remains to this day the law of the land which says that black people aren’t fully human," he told the radio host. "Does anybody still follow the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision?”

Medved corrected Huckabee, noting that the Dred Scott ruling was later overturned by a constitutional amendment.

“Well the Dred Scott decision was overturned by the 13th amendment and if you go look at the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 right after the Dred Scott decision was adjudicated, Governor — and seriously it’s right there — Lincoln says, ‘we must respect this decision as the will of the court but I think it was wrongly decided and now we must overcome it.’"

(Medved got his history wrong — the 13th amendment abolished slavery, but the 14th amendment overturned the Supreme Court decision.)

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/mike-huckabee-dred-scott-still-law?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tpm-news+%28TPMNews%29

Christian Taliban science! :lol

Christian Taliban history! :lol

Christian Taliban Constitution :lol

Christina Taliban! :lol

[boutons_deux]

G.O.P. Anti-Gay Bigotry Threatens First Amendment

This past June, in the heat of their outrage over gay rights, congressional Republicans revived a nasty bit of business they call the First Amendment Defense Act (https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2802/text). It would do many things, but one thing it would not do is defend the First Amendment. To the contrary, it would deliberately warp the bedrock principle of religious freedom under the Constitution.

The bill, versions of which have been circulating since 2013, gained a sudden wave of support after the Supreme Court (http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf) legalized (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/opinion/a-profound-ruling-delivers-justice-on-gay-marriage.html) same-sex marriage nationwide. It is being hawked with the specter of clergy members being forced to officiate such marriages. This is a ploy, as the bill’s backers surely know: There has never been any doubt that the First Amendment protects members of the clergy from performing weddings against their will.

In reality, the act would

bar the federal government from taking “any discriminatory action” —

including the denial of tax benefits, grants, contracts or licenses —

against those who oppose same-sex marriage for religious or moral reasons.

In other words, it would use taxpayers’ money to negate federal anti-discrimination measures protecting gays and lesbians, using the idea of religious freedom as cover.

For example (https://www.aclu.org/blog/washington-markup/disingenuous-first-amendment-defense-act-indiana-steroids), a religiously affiliated college that receives federal grants could fire a professor simply for being gay and still receive those grants. Or federal workers could refuse to process the tax returns of same-sex couples simply because of bigotry against their marriages.

It doesn’t stop there. As critics of the bill quickly pointed out (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/first-amendment-defense-act_55a7ffe6e4b04740a3df4ca1?kx58w7b9),

the measure’s broad language — which also protects those who believe that “sexual relations are properly reserved to” heterosexual marriages alone — would permit discrimination against anyone who has sexual relations outside such a marriage.

That would appear to include women who have children outside of marriage (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/02/catholic-religious-schools-fired-lady-teachers-being-pregnant), a class generally protected (http://www.workplacefairness.org/family-responsibilities-discrimination) by federal law.



This bizarre fixation on what grown-ups do in their bedrooms — which has long since been rejected (http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2002/2002_02_102) by the Supreme Court and the vast majority of Americans — is bad enough. The bill makes matters worse by covering for-profit companies, which greatly multiplies the potential scope of discrimination against gays and lesbians.

These are radical proposals, but they are accepted without question by many in today’s Republican Party. In its current form,the bill has 148 co-sponsors in the House and 36 in the Senate — all Republicans but one

, Representative Daniel Lipinski of Illinois. It has been endorsed by the Republican National Committee (http://dailysignal.com/2015/08/14/republican-national-committee-urges-congress-to-support-legislation-protecting-religious-liberty/)and at least four (http://www.nationalreview.com/article/423207/ben-carson-marriage-champion) Republican presidential contenders. It is, in other words, a fair representation of right-wing reaction to the long overdue expansion of basic civil and constitutional rights to gays and lesbians.

Thankfully, the bill’s chances of passage are low. Even if it were to get through Congress, President Obama would surely veto it. Still, its symbolic power will embolden those looking for a legal justification to discriminate — whether they are individuals like Kim Davis, the county clerk in Kentucky who went to jail (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/04/us/kim-davis-same-sex-marriage.html) rather than obey the law and issue same-sex marriage licenses, or states, where similar legislation has a much better chance (http://www.peachpundit.com/2015/08/10/josh-mckoon-proposes-state-version-of-first-amendment-defense-act/) of becoming law. In Indiana and Arkansas, laws protecting such discrimination have already passed.

Both laws, of course, provoked a swift and emphatic backlash from the public and the corporate world, leading both states to scale them back (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/03/us/indiana-arkansas-religious-freedom-bill.html). (Indiana’s governor, Mike Pence, embarked on a bumbling effort (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/01/us/politics/indiana-governor-mike-pence-feeling-backlash-from-religious-laws-opponents-promises-a-fix.html) to claim that his state’s law would not provide cover for discrimination against gays and lesbians.)

Fear of a similar debacle at the national level may help explain why a committee vote in Congress on the First Amendment Defense Act, which conservative Republicans pushed for in late July, was not scheduled.

The best outcome at this point would be for the bill to die where it is. The First Amendment needs no assistance in protecting religious freedom in America.

Many religious leaders and clergy members are themselves deeply disturbed by the proposed legislation; more than 3,000 signed a letter (http://bendthearc.us/news/releases/3000-faith-leaders-and-clergy-call-congress-oppose-first-amendment-defense-act) opposing it on the grounds that genuine religious liberty “does not allow us to harm or discriminate against others.” The supporters of this bill, who are so eager to talk about religious freedom, would do well to listen to the people they claim to represent.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/opinion/sunday/gop-anti-gay-bigotry-threatens-first-amendment.html?_r=0 (http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/opinion/sunday/gop-anti-gay-bigotry-threatens-first-amendment.html?_r=0)

Repugs and Dems are identical! You Lie!

[boutons_deux]

Fox News Host: ‘Everyone Benefited’ From Putting More Blacks in Prison For Drugs In the 1990s

Fox News host Tucker Carlson argued over the weekend that “everyone benefited” after the incarceration rate for non-violent drug crimes increased in the 1990s.

http://www.alternet.org/media/fox-news-host-everyone-benefited-putting-more-blacks-prison-drugs-1990s?akid=13472.187590.KwQix-&rd=1&src=newsletter1042348&t=20

[boutons_deux]

St Ronnie's 35 year old lie, Welfare Queens in Cadillacs.

Mitch McConnell: Businesses suffer because people are ‘doing too good with food stamps’

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell argued recently that the nation’s economic recovery was being stunted by people who were “doing too good with food stamps, Social Security and all the rest.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/mitch-mcconnell-businesses-suffer-because-people-are-doing-too-good-with-food-stamps/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

A staggering number of Republicans believe President Obama is a Muslim

The number of Republicans who think Obama is a Muslim has actually increased since 2010

A new CNN/ORC poll (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2015/images/09/12/iranpoll.pdf) has found that nearly 30 percent of all Americans do not believe the president is a Christian, including 43 percent of Republicans who say he is a Muslim, while 20 percent of all adults believe he was born outside the United States.

In 2012, when Gallup asked “do you happen to know the religious faith of Barack Obama?” 47 percent of Republicans claimed to have no idea. 43 percent are now certain he is a Muslim, up from the 34 percent of Republicans who told Pew in 2010 (http://www.salon.com/2015/09/01/new_poll_indicates_exactly_whos_supporting_donald_ trump_and_the_gop_should_be_worried/) that they believed he was a Muslim.

http://www.salon.com/2015/09/14/a_staggering_number_of_republicans_believe_preside nt_obama_is_a_muslim/

You fucking Repugs are fucking stupid, and thoroughly Foxified. :lol

[boutons_deux]

Oppose HR 1737 Reforming CFPB Indirect Auto Financing Guidance Act

H.R. 1737 would frustrate efforts to crack down on discriminatory auto lending practices. The bill places unnecessary restrictions on CFPB oversight of auto lending, including interest rate markups that cost consumers tens of billions of dollars and have been found to violate fair lending practices through a differential impact on minority purchasers of automobiles.

The restrictions in this bill do not exist for any other financial practice.


http://www.responsiblelending.org/other-consumer-loans/auto-financing/research-analysis/oppose-hr-1737-reforming-cfpb.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

Thanks, millionaire Repugs, for proposing to let predatory, abusive auto financers keep screwing Americans, esp poor Americans.

[boutons_deux]

GOP Propaganda Succeeds As 43% of Republicans Support a Military Coup Against America

http://i1.wp.com/www.politicususa.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/never-underestimate-the-power-of-stupid-people-in-large-groups.jpg?resize=400%2C400


Propaganda is communications aimed towards influencing the attitude of a population toward some cause or position using partisan information to influence an audience and further an agenda. A primary feature of propaganda is presenting false facts or using lies of omission to encourage a particular synthesis, or using loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the false information presented. Next to Adolf Hitler’s minister of propaganda from 1933 to 1945, Joseph Goebbels, Republicans may be the most accomplished propagandists in history; at least in American history.

Republicans have been so successful at spreading blatantly false information about President Barack Obama that a fair share of the population gleefully votes against their own best self-interests to stop what Republicans claim is the President’s existential threat to America. It is unclear how voting for Republicans who have no intent or interest in ever doing anything for their constituents and everything for the rich will prevent anyone from shredding the Constitution, installing the Muslim brotherhood as overlords or handing the government over to communists, but that has been a primary component of propaganda from conservatives.

Throughout the President’s tenure several different conservatives and Republicans have either called for (http://www.politicususa.com/2013/11/13/extremists-launch-treasonous-plot-overthrow-president-obama-week-thanksgiving.html) a violent revolution to “overthrow Obama” or wondered aloud when the military would do its constitutional duty to intervene and take control of the government in a coup d’état. It is true the calls for violence against the government originate from what any sane human being would consider disaffected extremists, but between Republican claims that President Obama is unconstitutional, and fear mongering that America is doomed because he was elected twice, a new poll (https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/s5sbcesczz/tabs_OPI_Civil_Military_20150903.pdf) reveals that the six-year Republican propaganda campaign has delivered the intended results.The poll results revealed that when asked if “there is any situation in which you could support the U.S. military taking over the powers of the federal government,” a not-so-surprising 43 percent of Republicans said yes, they would support a military coup d’état to protect America and the Constitution. Now, for the past six years Republicans have preached, screamed, and warned Americans that President Barack Obama had shred the Constitution and destroyed “their America” and their propaganda campaign produced the result Republicans lusted after; a plurality of Republicans support the military takeover of America. It is noteworthy that part and parcel of the Republicans’ propaganda and fear-mongering success is due to Americans’ ignorance of the Constitution and how government works, or the people would be recalling every Republican in Congress forviolating (http://www.politicususa.com/2015/09/12/time-prosecute-remove-republicans-violating-u-s-constitution.html) the Constitution and calling for Justice Department prosecutions against Republicans in Congress for sedition and possibly treason.

The reason such a large percentage of Republicans support a sudden and forced seizure of a government is because they have been conditioned and programmed for six years by a not-so-small group of conservative extremists. Whether they were instigating their followers to abolish the existing government to replace it with a new ruling body made up of the military according to the wishes of 43 percent of Republicans, or summoning “real patriots” to violent revolution, Republicans have nearly accomplished their goal of “taking their country back” to before the Civil War.


In a sense, supporting a military coup is a slight departure from the persistent calls for a second revolution, an assassination attempt (http://www.politicususa.com/2013/12/11/virginia-republican-party-incite-assassination-attempt-president-obama.html) on the President’s life, and “2nd Amendment remedies” to “take their country back,” but it is a dangerous concept all the same. A concept, by the way, that establishment Republicans have done absolutely nothing to stop; including never condemning the conservative calls for a violent overthrow or toning down their own lies and hateful rhetoric demonizing the President simply because he is an African American.

In fact, some Republicans have been the source of calls for violent rebellion such as Virginia’s GOP warning (http://www.politicususa.com/2012/08/20/virginia-republicans-call-armed-revolution-obama-wins-november.html) that if the President won re-election in 2012 good Republicans would start a violent revolution. In many former Confederate states Republican legislatures have passed legislation authorizing force against federal officials if they dare attempt to enforce federal laws Republicans oppose. During the Bundy ranch sedition and standoff, many Republicans rushed to defend the armed militias and Bundy they claimed were outstanding patriots who were being abused by an overbearing federal government because they executed a federal court order.

This call to war against the President began even before Obama was inaugurated in 2009. One conservative maniac, Rick Wilessaid (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rick-wiles-asks-god-deliver-us-obama-demands-military-arrest-president-prevent-second-civil-), “I warned in 2008 that Barack Obama’s mission is to deliberately rip the country apart and if the US Military doesn’t take action soon to arrest Barack Obama and remove him and his regime from the White House, there will be no country left for the military to defend. We are on the edge of collapse as a nation. Jesus Christ is America’s only hope. Let us pray that Almighty God delivers us from this very real tyranny that is persecuting the saints of God.” Likely, saints of god is code among conservatives, Republicans, and teabaggers for “real Americans” who support violence against their own government.

Just prior to Wiles’ call for a military coup, Erik Rush summoned patriots to drive (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/03/1259933/-Faux-News-contributor-calls-for-Obama-to-be-removed-by-any-means-necessary) Obama from office by any means necessary, and seriously sick fascist Larry Klayman and cohort Rick Joyner issued simultaneous calls (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/01/1242898/-Klayman-Joyner-call-for-coup-against-Obama) for a military coup because calling for violence against their own government was how real Americans protect the Constitution. Six years of propaganda and fear-mongering that President Obama was abolishing the Constitution, coming for good Americans’ guns, and on the verge of rounding up god-fearing Christians and throwing them in FEMA camps achieved the desired goal; convincing 43 percent of Republicans to support a military takeover of the United States government.

Feeble-minded people (ST rightwingnuts, this means you), and those with pathological brain dysfunction, are driven by fear and emotions, so they may not bear responsibility for supporting a military coup against their own government. It is likely that even semi-sane people would be convinced that violence against ‘government tyranny, even if it did not exist, was acceptable after over six years of persistent propaganda warning them their existence was in jeopardy. However, it is more likely that Republicans have become so extreme in their response to not having everything go their way that their only recourse is supporting the violent overthrow of the government that none of the Republican leadership has taken even one minute to condemn as un-American.

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/09/15/gop-propaganda-succeeds-43-republicans-support-military-coup-america.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicususa%2FfJAl+%28Politi cus+USA+%29

[boutons_deux]

Texas Nationalist Movement group wants secession on GOP primary ballot

Texas already seceded once — in 1861, by popular vote in a statewide election.

But the Texas Nationalist Movement wants a repeat a century and a half later, and thinks the March GOP primary is the place to start.

The Nederland-based Texas independence group is circulating a petition aimed at getting a non-binding vote onto the GOP primary ballot over whether “the state of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation.”

Their goal? 75,000 signatures from registered voters by Dec. 1 — more than the 66,894 the Texas Secretary of State’s office says the group needs to get the language on the ballot.

Even if the Texas Nationalist Movement gets enough signatures, such a vote would be little more than symbolic. Academics agree that Texas cannot secede from the United States, and point to a post-Civil War Supreme Court ruling, Texas v. White, as evidence.

But that hasn’t stopped the Republican Party of Texas from rolling its eyes at the secessionists. Texas GOP communications director Aaron Whitehead said the Republican party certainly doesn’t welcome outside groups trying to doctor the party ballot.

“Historically the executive committee of the Republican Party has chosen what goes on this,” Whitehead said, “and it’s party preference that it stays that way.”

The Texas Nationalist Movement, which hasn’t yet verified how many signatures it has, doesn’t buy the argument that the state can’t secede. Daniel Miller, the group’s president, points to the state Constitution, and in particular, the provision that gives Texans the right to “alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient.”

Miller said the group is going around the state party because past interactions with the GOP weren’t fruitful.

“We have had our hand slapped,” Miller said. “We have been rebuffed, and not just us as an organization, but essentially anyone in any position inside the party that has advocated for this position has been rebuffed.”

Whitehead said there is zero relationship between the GOP and the secessionists, and added that his response to such a ballot proposal would be the same if it were “a resolution giving everybody a unicorn or a resolution for secession.”

If the Texas Nationalist Movement does get the signatures it needs, the Secretary of State’s office says it will be the first time a referendum from a citizen group is put on the Republicans’ statewide primary ballot. Miller acknowledges a majority vote for the referendum wouldn’t be binding, but hopes it would be enough evidence of support to get state leaders to take the issue seriously long-term.

“The end game for us is to have a binding referendum on Texas independence, much like the people of Scotland had in November of last year,” Miller said.

The 2014 vote over Scottish independence from the United Kingdom failed.

Volunteers from the Texas Nationalist Movement are at work across the state, scurrying to get signatures. Miller is optimistic; he says the organization itself has over 200,000 members.

“Texas and Washington, D.C. are on very different paths, and the people of Texas obviously recognize that,” he said. “… The Texas Nationalist Movement message has been one not of reaction to grievance but one of a future we can build as an independent nation.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/texas-nationalist-movement-group-wants-secession-on-gop-primary-ballot/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

Vidor and probably neighboring Nederland were KKK hotbeds, as would be expected since East TX is effectively racist Deep South.

[boutons_deux]

you're all a bunch of fascist, authoritarian, anti-American assholes

Chilling New Poll Finds GOP Fascism Is Very Real

A shocking number of Republicans say they can conceive of a situation in which they'd sympathize with a military coup.


According to this new YouGov poll (https://today.yougov.com/news/2015/09/09/could-coup-happen-in-united-states/), these same patriotic Republicans still love the military passionately but are no longer attached to that moldy old concept of civilian control:

“Republicans (43%) are more than twice as likely as Democrats (20%) to say that they could conceive of a situation in which they would support a military coup in the United States.”


More to the point, only 32 percent of Republicans state unequivocally that they would not conceive of a situation in which they would support a military coup. One would be tempted to think this is simply a matter of partisanship, but there is no evidence that Democrats have ever entertained the notion of a military coup, no matter who was president, even one as widely loathed as George W. Bush. It’s as “un-American” as it gets.

For years the right has accused the opposition of being unpatriotic and failing to properly love America. And here they are, endorsing something that’s only seen in Banana Republics and totalitarian police states.

http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/chilling-new-poll-finds-gop-fascism-very-real?akid=13479.187590.W7-0HC&rd=1&src=newsletter1042471&t=6

[101A]

If you cannot conceive of any scenario in which a military coup (I also read that as marshal law) would be necessary, you either can't stretch your imagination as far as I can, or you are being dishonest.

[boutons_deux]

If you cannot conceive of any scenario in which a military coup (I also read that as marshal law) would be necessary, you either can't stretch your imagination as far as I can, or you are being dishonest.

yep, just make up shit, or get it from TeeVee or Movees, and then scare yourself, act if your fantasy is real. Christian Taliban live like that. All signs of an advanced, educated populace and civilization.

[101A]

yep, just make up shit, or get it from TeeVee or Movees, and then scare yourself, act if your fantasy is real. Christian Taliban live like that. All signs of an advanced, educated populace and civilization.

I didn't make anything up; the question was open ended, and broad. If the question was, "Do you think it LIKELY a coup would ever be necessary;" you'd get a different response.

[101A]

Oh, and: Straw Man Much?

[101A]

and Zombie apocalypse does fall within "any conceivable" doesn't it?

[boutons_deux]

I didn't make anything up

I didn't say you did. Straw Man much?

[101A]

yep, just make up shit,



i didn't make anything up...



I didn't say you did.

[boutons_deux]

Right-Wingers Accuse Doritos Of Being A Gay Gateway Snack

http://i0.wp.com/www.politicususa.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/rainbow-doritos.jpg?resize=540%2C320

https://twitter.com/Doritos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Fox News has reported (http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/09/17/doritos-makes-rainbow-colored-corn-chips-in-support-gay-and-lesbian-teens/)that “Doritos now has a new rainbow-colored corn chip in support of gay and lesbian teens — and they’re already causing a stir.” The chips were unveiled yesterday and it’s taken only moments for right wing skulls to literally explode, revealing nothing beneath.

Right Wing Watch informs us (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rainbow-doritos-gay-gateway-drug) that “John Nolte of Breitbart, who said that Doritos is flying the ‘colors of anti-Christian hate and oppression'” (you know what, I feel religiously oppressed by broccoli!), but as they say, Nolte’s attack “pales” in comparison to what you will read below.This astonishingly stupid monologue comes to you courtesy of “American Thinker,” and is the product of the mind of Ed Straker, senior writer of NewsMachete.com (http://newsmachete.com/), the conservative news site, who clearly has not put much thinking into this thesis, Want to know what gay tastes like? Try Rainbow Doritos! (http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/09/want_to_know_what_gay_tastes_like_try_rainbow_dori tos.html)

The packaging tells buyers that “There’s nothing bolder than being yourself,” and apparently, Straker has taken this advice to heart, revealing a very disturbed person indeed. Read and enjoy!:

PepsiCo, who make Doritos (through subsidiary Frito-Lay), are producing a homosexual version of Doritos called “Rainbow Doritos.” Doritos are a product marketed to children, so they make the perfect gateway snack to introduce children to the joys of homosexuality.The chips come in several colors. The green are homosexual, the pink are lesbian, and the purple ones are transgendered Doritos. These last are Doritos that look purple but actually feel yellow and demand the right to commingle in the snack bags that have only yellow ones.



What business does PepsiCo have pushing homosexuality on our kids? This is how far our culture has shifted; it’s perceived to be cool to push a specific sexual orientation on children, even by companies that produce products that have nothing to do with sex. What’s next – gay toilet paper and tampons?

What’s worse is that PepsiCo is “partnering,” in every sense of the word, with a radical homosexual group led by a vile man named Dan Savage. Savage has called on Ben Carson and Mike Huckabee to do a certain love act on him (perhaps he is attracted to them?). He has tried to Google-bomb Rick Santorum’s name with an unpleasant gay sex act. PepsiCo seems to have no problem partnering with such a creature.

I think we need to boycott Pepsi and all related Frito-Lay products to deliver a message to Pepsi that if they are going to push gay propaganda on our kids, we are not going to give their products lip service any longer.

Furthermore, I think we should push other companies to launch pro-heterosexual campaigns. Perhaps we could persuade a hot dog maker and a hot dog bun company to do a joint effort promoting man-woman relationships.
Until we try sexualizing food like the left does, we’ll never know. And if we think like the left, we desperately need to find out.Right. Frito-Lay is making a food that will magically turn your kids gay. Cause variously-colored salty chips will do that to you. If they were just a manly color children would be bursting with testosterone. Nobody is pushing anything on anybody, but Straker doesn’t realize nobody is forcing him to buy “gay Doritos” or anything else.

If he had bothered to read (http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/09/17/doritos-makes-rainbow-colored-corn-chips-in-support-gay-and-lesbian-teens/) Fox News, he would see kids are unlikely to be able to even buy these, as they are available only online:

You won’t be able to find these corn chips in stores. They will be mailed to people who donate at least $10 to the It Gets Better Project, an organization started to encourage gay and lesbian teenagers who’ve been bullied. During the promotion, donors and supporters will also be encouraged to share photos and videos on through a special website and on social media using the hashtag #bolderandbetter.



Straker has no problem with

Rick “Don’t hate on the Crusades” Santorum

telling mainline protestants that they serve the devil, or

that moderate Catholics are not really Catholics (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rick-santorum-suggests-liberal-and-gay-catholics-cant-be-real-catholics) at all, or

that liberal Jews hate Israel (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/santorum-tragedy-american-jews-dont-care-about-israels-survival),

not to mention the loads of anti-gay bigotry (http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/rick-santorums-top-ten-most-offensive-anti-gay-comments/politics/2011/06/06/21448) Santorum has spread.

Whats really funny about this tirade is that Straker doesn’t want to pay “lip service” to these salty treats.

Hilariously, he thinks matching up hotdogs and buns will send the proper hetero imagery to little boys, who will then grow up thinking about unprotected sex with their female counterparts and somehow evading personal responsibility for the outcome.

It’s the Republican way!

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/09/18/frito-lay-hilariously-accused-making-gay-gateway-snack.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicususa%2FfJAl+%28Politi cus+USA+%29

[boutons_deux]

Sociopathic (TX) Repugs screwing the non-1%, the non-BigCorp

Texas Parents, Therapists Speak Out: No Cuts For Thousands of Special Needs Kids

There were few things Texas legislators loved to talk about more last legislative session thancutting the fat (http://www.texasobserver.org/texas-taxless-tax-cuts/).

The state was spending much too much on core functions like health care, they said, and cuts and cost controls were necessary. Especially for Medicaid.

So cut they did. A rider in the conference committee’s budget (http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Documents/Budget/Session_Code_84/HB1-Conference_Committee_Report_84.pdf), inserted at the 11th hour, made deep cuts to the Texas Medicaid Acute Care Therapy Program. Some had suggested the state paid too much to provide physical, speech and occupational therapy services for special needs children. But instead of applying a scalpel to the “fat,” they took a hacksaw to the program.

The rider ordered the state to cut $50 million a year from the rates that therapy providers are paid, and an additional $25 million a year by making the therapy services cheaper… somehow. All told, the program would have to “save” $150 million in the next two years, which also meant that it would forfeit $200 million in federal matching funds (http://www.texasobserver.org/cuts-threaten-therapy-services-for-disabled-texas-kids/), for a total of $350 million in funding losses.

http://www.texasobserver.org/no-therapy-cuts-for-thousands-of-texas-special-needs-kids/

The Big Lie about pro-life Repugs (one of many lies the Repugs live by) is that they aren't pro-life, but pro-birth. After the kid is born, screw it. If the kid is poor, sick, disabled, well, screw you.

[boutons_deux]

Repugs want USA as polluted at China

47 Republican Senators Want To Block The EPA’s Clean Water Rule


http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09/18/3703024/senate-republicans-disapprove-of-waters-rule/

[boutons_deux]

Ben Carson Says There Should Be A Religious Litmus Test For Presidential Candidates


BEN CARSON: Well, I guess it depends on what that faith is. If it’s inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the constitution, no problem.

TODD: So do you believe that Islam is consistent with the constitution?

CARSON: No, I don’t, I do not.

TODD: So you–

CARSON: I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.


In suggesting a religious test for potential presidents — where some religions would be “inconsistent” with the constitution — Carson appears somewhat unfamiliar with the text of the constitution. Article VI, paragraph 3 of the United States constitution states “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/09/20/3703527/ben-carson-says-there-should-be-a-religious-litmus-test-for-presidential-candidates/

[boutons_deux]

5 Imaginary Problems GOP Candidates Would Rather Solve Than Real Ones

1. America is in too few wars.

The perception that Carly Fiorina “won” the debate (http://www.nationalmemo.com/fiorina-steals-the-show-at-primetime-republican-debate/) has been confirmed by her rise in the polls. This also confirms that Republican voters didn’t hear what she was really saying beneath her flurry of falsehoods punctuated by an occasional fact like the name of a general, or they’re convinced that America’s problem is that we can’t decide if we would rather have a war with Russia or Iran first.

The Daily Beast (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/18/carly-fiorina-crackpot-warmonger.html)‘s Michael Tomasky unpacked (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/18/carly-fiorina-crackpot-warmonger.html) Fiorina’s rhetoric and laid out promises to provoke war by abandoning our allies who joined the Iran deal or by directly provoking Vladimir Putin in Estonia, for some reason. “World War III could start there, and all it would take is an errant American military shell landing in the wrong backyard,” he wrote. “Or World War IV, in case President Fiorina has already started III in the Middle East.” Fiorina was fine with doing business with Iran and Russia (http://www.texasgopvote.com/carly-fiorina-s-troubling-business-iran-and-russia-001083) as she was wrecking HP. But as we face the never-ending consequences — including the rise of ISIS and a nearly unprecedented refugee crisis — of a needless, disastrously prosecuted war in Iraq, her solution is “Let’s turn the world into Iraq.”

2. The richest pay too much in taxes.

Our economy is stuck in a wage gap that’s at least in part a result of the richest Americans sucking up most of the gains of the economy — a trend that began when Ronald Reagan presided over the top tax rate being cut from 70 percent to 28 percent. Ironically, the only guy on the stage at the GOP debate who has said the rich — at least some of the rich — should pay more in taxes is the billionaire.

Trump would at least eliminate the carried interest loophole that benefits hedge fund managers. Take a look at the tax plans the candidates have issued (http://rubio%27s%20plan%20would%20likely%20cut%20hedge%20 fund%20managers%27%20tax%20rate%20to%200./): Jeb Bush would slash the top rate down to where Reagan left it. Rand Paul, Ben Carson, and Ted Cruz would implement a flat tax that would charge billionaires the same rate as a widow with four kids. Huckabee is pushing a regressive tax that would tax consumption the way most states regressively do. Rubio’s plan would likely cut hedge fund managers’ tax rate to zero — zero. This isn’t trickle-down economics. It’s sucking-up economics.

The two longest stretches of private sector job creation in American history have happened under the last two Democratic presidents (http://www.nationalmemo.com/5-ways-democratic-presidents-kick-republican-butt/). The first began by raising the top tax rate. The current one sped up as higher rates on the rich kicked in along with new taxes on those earning more than $200,000 a year to fund Obamacare. Republican candidates think this kind of job creation is a problem we need to solve. And while you’re at it, get rid of the regulation on big banks that could prevent another crash!

3. America needs to do less about climate change.

“America is not a planet,” Marco Rubio said as he began his totally fallacious argument about why America shouldn’t do anything to fight climate change. Not understanding climate change is Rubio’s expertise (http://grist.org/climate-energy/marco-rubio-still-just-doesnt-understand-climate-change/). He doesn’t get that the pursuit of cleaner energy lowers utility costs, speeds job creation, and has resulted in the first reduction in carbon emissions in a growing economy for decades.

President Obama has done more than every other president combined to fight climate change (and yes, it’s a low bar). The pervasive presence of solar panels and electric cars should endure like plaques on WPA projects reminding us what Roosevelt did to save our economy. Rubio wants to make sure that doesn’t happen so that his plan to submerge Miami and much of South Florida under the sea will be the symbol of the 21st century that the future will remember (if anyone is still above water).

4. We’re providing poor people — especially women — with too much health insurance.

Just before this debate, we learned that our uninsured rate is at a recorded low. Meanwhile layoffs per capita have never been lower (http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/07/23/applications-unemployment-aid-plummet-42-year-low/30558787/). This may be why only Ted Cruz repeated the incessant GOP vow (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gop-debate-obamacare_55fa43f4e4b0fde8b0ccfbc9?utm_hp_ref=poli tics) to repeal every word of Obamacare. Republicans have a more serious issue on their minds: defunding the largest provider of health care to low-income women in the United States. All of the governors on stage have done this in their states, denying residents valuable services that are rarely replaced (http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2015/09/02/planned-parenthood-community-health-centers-and-womens-health-getting-the-facts-right/) except with “crisis pregnancy centers” that freely lie to vulnerable women. In 103 counties, Planned Parenthood is the only provider (http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/252974-study-planned-parenthood-often-provides-only-contraception-available) of family planning services for poor people. We’ve made extraordinary leaps in women’s health thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the most pro-life bill ever signed by a U.S. president. It prevents unintended pregnancies and lowers costs for women. Apparently, that’s a terrible problem Republicans want to solve.

5. Immigrants are ruining everything.

With all the anxiety the GOP base is feeling over the “loss” of a white majority in America, it’s easy to forget that net immigration has been about zero for years (http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/jun/22/bill-clinton/bill-clinton-zero-net-migration-mexico-2010/), the border has never been (http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/08/19/432930086/analysts-see-u-s-border-with-mexico-as-more-secure-than-its-been-in-40-years)more secure, and violent crime is at a generational low (http://time.com/3577026/crime-rates-drop-1970s/). While Donald Trump is casually promising what would amount to a full-scale self-invasion (http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/donald-trump-shocking-reality-deportation-plan) that would spend billions of dollars to round up law-abiding residents, it’s easy to forget that integrating immigrants into our economy isn’t a problem, it’s a necessity (http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118689/benefits-immigration-more-young-people-stronger-economy). If you’re insistent on gutting Medicare, Social Security and anything else that helps workers, you probably want to get rid of the next generation of Americans who can help make these programs sustainable. But if you want an America with a middle class, smart immigration is a big part of the solution.

http://www.nationalmemo.com/5-imaginary-problems-gop-candidates-would-rather-solve-than-real-ones/

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Republican Maine mayor wants to shame the poor by giving public access to welfare recipients’ addresses

Macdonald argued that people had a right to know who welfare recipients were because the names of pensioners were already public.

“[O]ur liberal, progressive legislators and their social-service allies have made them a victimized, protected class,” the mayor complained. “It’s none of your business how much of your money they get and spend. Who are you to question it? Just shut up and pay!”

“Well, the days of being quiet are gone,” he continued. “We will be submitting a bill to the next legislative session asking that a website be created containing the names, addresses, length of time on assistance and the benefits being collected by every individual on the dole. After all, the public has a right to know how its money is being spent.”

Lewiston said that he would submit other bills to cap welfare payments at 60 months for a lifetime, and to stop any child from receiving benefits if the child was born into a family already on welfare.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/republican-maine-mayor-wants-to-shame-the-poor-by-giving-public-access-to-welfare-recipients-addresses/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

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Breitbart was a rightwing scumbag, as are his fans

Dead Breitbart’s Ghost Forced To Pay Up For Murdering Shirley Sherrod’s Career

Remember about a million years ago in 2010 when Barack Obama was still just getting started on his project of turning all Americans against each other by being a huge racist who forced teabaggers to bring racist signs to rallies, and there was this great hero named Andrew Breitbart who proved that the REAL racists were the NAACP, and he proved it with a video (http://wonkette.com/416754/breitbart-has-proof-the-naacp-is-racist)showing Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod telling a racist story at an NAACP meeting?

Except how the video was carefully-edited bullshit, (http://wonkette.com/416799/tom-vilsack-fires-shirley-sherrod-as-the-summer-of-firings-over-nothing-continues) but Sherrod lost her job anyway, and a year later she sued Breitbart for defamation? (http://wonkette.com/437998/breitbart-gets-served-with-shirley-sherrod-lawsuit-at-cpac)

Yeah, THAT Shirley Sherrod! Well here is some new News!

Sherrod has reached a settlement in the case (http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/09/shirley_sherrod_andrew_breitba.html) with the widow of Dead Andrew Breitbart, who is still dead (Breitbart, not the widow), after Barack Obama assassinated him (http://wonkette.com/471280/whom-did-obama-murder-now-breitbarts-coroner-probably) with a heart attack.
As you no doubt recall, the Sherrod got shitcanned by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack like twenty minutes after the Breitbart post went up, to show that the Obama administration would allow no anti-white racists in its ranks, except of course that she wasn’t and hadn’t been.

Considering that the mere mention of Sherrod on a rightwing website today can still stir up a bunch of butthurt from people convinced that she was a one-woman black version of the KKK, we hope she got a ton of money from Breitbart’s widow, since there’s no way she can ever return to peaceful anonymity.

http://wonkette.com/594245/dead-breitbarts-ghost-forced-to-pay-up-for-murdering-shirley-sherrods-career

ACORN? bullshit, a Repug fabrication, sting, and slander job

Planned Parenthood? bullshit, a Repug fabrication, sting, and slander job

Sherrod as black racist? bullshit, a Repug fabrication, sting, and slander job

Benghazi!

email server!

Christmas card list!

Clintons murdered lots of people!

Benghazi!

[djohn2oo8]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/25/politics/jeb-bush-free-stuff-black-voters/index.html

Jeb doing a bang up job

[boutons_deux]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/25/politics/jeb-bush-free-stuff-black-voters/index.html

Jeb doing a bang up job

JEB is a dumb, stupid, as his brother, and with the same political smarts, aka, a family name.

[RandomGuy]

you're all a bunch of fascist, authoritarian, anti-American assholes

Chilling New Poll Finds GOP Fascism Is Very Real

A shocking number of Republicans say they can conceive of a situation in which they'd sympathize with a military coup.


According to this new YouGov poll (https://today.yougov.com/news/2015/09/09/could-coup-happen-in-united-states/), these same patriotic Republicans still love the military passionately but are no longer attached to that moldy old concept of civilian control:

“Republicans (43%) are more than twice as likely as Democrats (20%) to say that they could conceive of a situation in which they would support a military coup in the United States.”


More to the point, only 32 percent of Republicans state unequivocally that they would not conceive of a situation in which they would support a military coup. One would be tempted to think this is simply a matter of partisanship, but there is no evidence that Democrats have ever entertained the notion of a military coup, no matter who was president, even one as widely loathed as George W. Bush. It’s as “un-American” as it gets.

For years the right has accused the opposition of being unpatriotic and failing to properly love America. And here they are, endorsing something that’s only seen in Banana Republics and totalitarian police states.

http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/chilling-new-poll-finds-gop-fascism-very-real?akid=13479.187590.W7-0HC&rd=1&src=newsletter1042471&t=6




Not sure that is news. They already make noises about armed insurrection.

[RandomGuy]

And now Boner resigns.

Let the long knives be drawn... (figurative) blood will run in the isles...

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/john-boehner-to-resign-as-speaker-leave-house-129845772731.html

:corn:

I really do hope the crazies get to pick the next speaker, and he does exactly what the tea party wants to do.

That would be the best thing to happen to the Democratic party since the Southern Strategy...

[boutons_deux]

Not sure that is news. They already make noises about armed insurrection.

43% Repug is not the sovereign/militia/tea bagger water-the-tree fringe, it appears to be mostly "sane" Repugs duped by the VRWC "hate govt / govt is only bad" propaganda. Confirms that Repugs in general are stupid, childish sonsofbitches.

[RandomGuy]

43% Repug is not the sovereign/militia/tea bagger water-the-tree fringe, it appears to be mostly "sane" Repugs duped by the VRWC "hate govt / govt is only bad" propaganda. Confirms that Repugs in general are stupid, childish sonsofbitches.

Can you really blame people for getting suckered by very slick propaganda day in, day out?

We should be somewhat frustrated with congress, no matter what your political stripe is.

[boutons_deux]

Can you really blame people for getting suckered by very slick propaganda day in, day out?

We should be somewhat frustrated with congress, no matter what your political stripe is.

yes, I can really blame rightwingnuts for being so willfully ignorant to be dupe-able, for being Christian Tablian supremacists, for being racists, xenophobes, misogynists, etc. It's their choice.

The VRWC, Repugs decided decades ago to polarize America, to divide itself against itself. That was not the strategy of the Dems. There's no extreme wingnuttiness on the Dem side that matches that of the Repugs, tea baggers, right wing hate media.

[RandomGuy]

yes, I can really blame rightwingnuts for being so willfully ignorant to be dupe-able, for being Christian Tablian supremacists, for being racists, xenophobes, misogynists, etc. It's their choice.

The VRWC, Repugs decided decades ago to polarize America, to divide itself against itself. That was not the strategy of the Dems. There's no extreme wingnuttiness on the Dem side that matches that of the Repugs, tea baggers, right wing hate media.

You are more right about that than many would like to think or even admit to. I am not prone to conspiracy theory, but this trend is very obviously deliberate, and you can't watch the festering sore of Fox News and not conclude that there is some real moneyed interests at play.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B-ebMpGCEAAEB9O.jpg

[boutons_deux]

The Grimes Scene: White and Wrong on Racism in Texas

There’s also no evidence that the man who shot a white sheriff’s deputy in Houston this summer did so out of racist malice. But that didn’t stop a former Texas corrections officer, Nathan Ener, from throwing on a cowboy hat and taking to YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_oPojlhjCk) to demand white people rise up in mobs to beat and murder black Texans. He spewed into the camera:

“The last fricking thing some of you sons of bitches will ever hear is that noise right there,” Ener says while cocking his gun. “… When we’re out there, when we come in your goddamn house. … Don’t ever threaten another cop in Texas, don’t ever threaten another white person. You black bastards, you goddamn Panthers and shit, try to come to another town and try to march — see what happens to you.”

Men like Ener, and I’m ashamed to say I’ve met more than a few, see Texans of color marching for their lives in the street, demanding relief from disproportionate police violence, and take it as a personal and physical threat against golly-gosh well-meaning white folk everywhere.

And yet the only true violence I see — the only true racist violence — is coming straight from the Nathan Ener school of white supremacist sociology, from Klan lackeys pasting houses with pamphlets. From folks who see “black lives matter” and hear the cock of their own shotguns.

Yet Nathan Ener seems to see oppression wherever he looks, because he only looks to blame Texans of color for his own imagined oppression. He constructs himself as a victim of a teeming throng gathering to assault him for the color of his skin. Any crime against a white person becomes an act of unmitigated tyranny. This despite the facts: White Texans fare better than Texans of color in almost all ways. We are healthier, we are safer, we are wealthier.

But Ener cries racism and fantasizes about an armed mob busting into citizens’ homes to beat them into silence. Does it sound to anyone else like the white man in the cowboy hat doth protest a skosh too much?

http://www.texasobserver.org/the-grimes-scene-white-and-wrong-on-racism-in-texas/

"y'all drive friendly now"

[boutons_deux]

The Insanity Begins As GOP Announces Bill To Repeal ObamaCare and Defund Planned Parenthood

House lawmakers will include repealing parts of ObamaCare in the fast-track process known as reconciliation, in addition to defunding Planned Parenthood, according to two lawmakers.….

President Obama would still be able to veto the repeal and the defunding measures, but they would at least get to his desk using this process, which would bypass a Senate Democratic filibuster because the process allows measures to advance with just 51 votes instead of the usual 60.

The reconciliation process coincides with a “clean” government funding bill that includes funding for Planned Parenthood and is expected to pass with the help of Democratic votes, given the opposition of some conservative Republicans.

This bill unlike the dozens of other pointless bills to repeal ObamaCare is going to pass, but it doesn’t matter. President Obama will veto the bill, and Congressional Democrats will vote to sustain his veto.

Republicans are using the reconciliation bill to appease conservatives who want the ACA repealed, and Planned Parenthood defunded. The fact that there is a companion clean government funding bill is the real prize.

The clean government funding bill will be signed by President Obama, so the result of the latest round of Republican drama will be that government stays open, ObamaCare is not repealed, and Planned Parenthood won’t be defunded.

The whole process is full of unnecessary drama and show votes. Even though John Boehner was the worst Speaker of the House in modern history, without him, the crazy on the Republican side of the aisle may be completely unleashed.

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/09/25/insanity-begins-gop-announces-bill-repeal-obamacare-defund-planned-parenthood.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicususa%2FfJAl+%28Politi cus+USA+%29

[ducks]

Ben Carson Says There Should Be A Religious Litmus Test For Presidential Candidates


BEN CARSON: Well, I guess it depends on what that faith is. If it’s inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the constitution, no problem.

TODD: So do you believe that Islam is consistent with the constitution?

CARSON: No, I don’t, I do not.

TODD: So you–

CARSON: I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.


In suggesting a religious test for potential presidents — where some religions would be “inconsistent” with the constitution — Carson appears somewhat unfamiliar with the text of the constitution. Article VI, paragraph 3 of the United States constitution states “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/09/20/3703527/ben-carson-says-there-should-be-a-religious-litmus-test-for-presidential-candidates/



that is a liberal spin all he said was the person faith should agree with the usa constition
muslim does not

[boutons_deux]

that is a liberal spin all he said was the person faith should agree with the usa constition
muslim does not

Christianity, the 10 Commandments, the Old Testament fucking craziness don't agree with US laws.

[boutons_deux]

Here Are 5 Times Conservatives Have Admitted They Don’t Want People to Vote

http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/here-are-5-times-conservatives-have-admitted-they-dont-want-people-vote

[boutons_deux]

BigCarbon owns these whores

House Votes To Keep EPA From Considering Costs Of Climate Change

Climate change costs an incredible amount of money. Whether it is deaths during heat waves, (http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/06/02/3665123/india-heat-wave-5th-deadliest/)reconstruction after a superstorm (http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/11/27/1244021/cost-of-superstorm-sandy-and-other-2012-extreme-weather-events-on-the-rise/), or even lost revenues (http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/01/20/408423/overheated-ski-resorts-resort-to-praying-for-snow/) at ski slopes, rising temperatures and increased extreme weather events are costing the economy. In fact, Citibank reported earlier this year that it will cost $44 trillion worldwide (http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/08/31/3696952/climate-action-costs-less-than-inaction-citibank-says/) by 2060 to mitigate the costs of climate change under the business as usual scenario.

But efforts to include those costs in permitting projects just took another hit, when the House voted to pass the RAPID Act (http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/roll518.xml#NV), a bill intended to streamline permitting processes. Tucked into the bill is language that will prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from considered the social cost of carbon during permitting.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09/27/3705860/social-cost-of-carbon-must-remain-uncalculated/

[boutons_deux]

Alabama KKK member tells horrified British reporter Auschwitz was ‘summer camp’ for Jews

A BBC documentary crew who filmed members of the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama were shocked after a member of the racist organization claimed that the Holocaust concentration camps were actually “summer camps” for Jewish people.

Following the murders of nine people by a white supremacist at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, BBC negotiated with a KKK chapter in Alabama to get a closer look at racist hate groups in the U.S.
BBC Three’s documentary “KKK: The Fight for White Supremacy (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06fq188),” which aired on Monday, follows members of the Klan as they prepare for what they say will be a race war.

As Klan members assemble 3,000 fliers to deliver to a predominately black neighborhood, the BBC interviewer notices a photograph of Adolf Hitler on the wall.

“Adolf Hitler, he was one of the smartest men there ever was,” a Klan member explains. “The so-called concentration camps like Auschwitz and so forth, they say they were death camps. But these death camps, they gave the so-called people that were being killed cigarettes, there was coffee, there was a movie theater, a library, even a swimming pool in Auschwitz.”

“And if you’re going to sit there and kill all these people then how come all these things would be in there?” he continues. “It’s more like a summer camp.”

“Sorry,” the stunned interviewer interrupts. “You’re telling me Auschwitz was like a summer camp?”

“Well, they had a swimming pool, a movie theater and everything else,” the Klan member insists. “You know, you don’t see in prisons today any kind of swimming pool being in the middle of the prison hall.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/watch-alabama-kkk-member-tells-horrified-british-reporter-auschwitz-was-summer-camp-for-jews/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

Utah Congressman Vows to Kill America’s Top Parks Program

Barely 24 hours after Pope Francis appealed to U.S. lawmakers to help protect “our common home (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/09/24/pope-francis-full-address-congress/72728244/),” Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) announced (http://naturalresources.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=399364) that he intends this week to kill the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which is known as America’s best parks program (https://medium.com/@LCVoters/america-s-best-parks-program-that-you-ve-never-heard-of-is-about-to-expire-29005d894510). The move — which is expected to succeed — places dozens of U.S. national parks at heightened risk of commercial development, including Grand Teton National Park and Gettysburg National Military Park.

The LWCF is a budget-neutral program (https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2014/09/02/96057/infographic-the-land-and-water-conservation-fund-how-americas-best-parks-program-works/) that uses fees from offshore oil and gas development to fund national, state, and local conservation projects. Although the program enjoys widespread bipartisan support (http://www.bennet.senate.gov/?p=release&id=3247), it is scheduled to expire on Wednesday, September 30.

In a press release (http://naturalresources.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=399364) Friday, Bishop, who serves as chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, promised to block all attempts to save the program unless significant changes are made to its structure to prevent the federal government from protecting additional land. “Under my chairmanship, the status quo will be challenged,” said Bishop in the release.

In his statement Friday, Bishop did not outline what specific changes he would like to see. In July, 2014, however, Bishop wrote (http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060003492) that the LWCF should be transformed into a program to pay for “the education of future American energy industry workers” and to “help local governments.”

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09/29/3706756/rob-bishop-lwcf-reauthorization/

Just more proof that Repugs work exclusively for BigCorp and against Human-Americans and the environment.

[boutons_deux]

Alabama to stop issuing driver’s licenses in counties with 75% black registered voters

The state of Alabama, which requires a photo ID to vote, announced this week that it would stop issuing driver’s licenses in counties where 75 percent of registered voters are black.Due to budget cuts, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said that 31 satellite DMV (http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/09/state_announces_to_close_becau.html#incart_river_h ome)offices would no longer have access to driver’s licenses examiners, meaning that residents will need to travel to other counties to apply for licenses. The move comes just one year after the state’s voter photo ID law went into effect.

AL.com’s John Archibald asserted in a column (http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/09/alabama_sends_message_we_are_t.html) on Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Justice should open an investigation into the closings.

“Because Alabama just took a giant step backward,” he wrote. “Take a look at the 10 Alabama counties with the highest percentage of non-white registered voters. That’s Macon, Greene, Sumter, Lowndes, Bullock, Perry, Wilcox, Dallas, Hale, and Montgomery, according to the Alabama Secretary of State’s office. Alabama, thanks to its budgetary insanity and inanity, just opted to close driver license bureaus in eight of them.”

“Every single county in which blacks make up more than 75 percent of registered voters will see their driver license office closed. Every one,” Archibald explained. “But maybe it’s not racial at all, right? Maybe it’s just political. And let’s face it, it may not be either… But no matter the intent, the consequence is the same.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/alabama-to-stop-issuing-drivers-licenses-in-counties-with-75-black-registered-voters/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

Repugs aren't racist! never! Jim Crow and Confederacy forever!

[boutons_deux]

Repug MISgovernance

Increased lead in Michigan’s water is harming children’s health: ‘We’re paying to poison our kids’

A spate of kids are experiencing elevated blood-lead levels in Flint, and some drinking water lead levels are so high they are defined as hazardous waste, according to several local studies.

Residents also pay some of the highest water rates in the US, in the community known for its economic decline.

After months of resisting complaints about the water, and even a press conference by local doctors warning of potential effects, officials relented this week, declaring a public health emergency

the lead levels of hundreds of children, comparing blood tests taken before and after April 2014, when Flint stopped using Detroit water and started drawing water from the Flint River as a temporary cost-saving measure.

Ever since the switch, according to the Hurley study, the number of children in the city with elevated blood levels increased from 2.1% to 4%. In some areas, the number increased as high as 6.3%.

The study found no significant change over the same period in lead levels of children from surrounding Genesee County, which continued to purchase water from Detroit instead.

the city’s water is wholly unsafe.

water from the Flint River is far more corrosive than Detroit’s supply, and it eats away at lead from service lines, before flowing into homes across the city of 100,000.

the city promptly issued a lead advisory, telling residents to flush their pipes and install water filters. In addition, the city said, it is now feverishly working to implement a corrosion control plan to reduce levels of lead.

“Flint is the only city in the United States that does not have a plan to control lead corrosion,”

emergency manager Ed Kurtz’s decision, in April 2014, to decline a short-term deal with Detroit to continue receiving water from the city, and instead sign a contract to join a new system.

Immediately, problems arose. Residents complained about water that was suddenly cloudy, odorous and tasted rancid.

Test results showed levels of fecal coliform bacteria and, eventually, elevated levels of total trihalomethanes, chemical compounds which, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, can lead to liver or kidney issues for an individual who consumes water with high levels over a long period of time.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/increased-lead-in-michigans-water-is-harming-childrens-health-were-paying-to-poison-our-kids/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

Florida Would Like To Give You $200K For Killing Someone, As Long As It’s ‘Self-Defense’

Florida has a nifty new variation on “Stand your Ground” legislation in the works. Not only would it make it easier for criminal defendants to escape murder prosecutions by claiming self-defense, (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-bill-shifts-stand-your-ground-proof-to-prosecution-20150915-post.html) but it would also require the state to reimburse defendants for their trouble, to the tune of up to $200,000 for court costs and attorney fees. (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-stand-ground-defense-scott-maxwell-20151003-column.html) Not surprisingly, the bill has the backing of the NRA and would give defendants a huge six-figure incentive to claim self-defense. As we know, Stand Your Ground has already done a terrific job of helping violent criminals beat prosecution, (http://wonkette.com/479102/surprise-lots-of-people-invoking-stand-your-ground-are-violent-criminals) so this new wrinkle should ensure even more mayhem, yay.

As Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-stand-ground-defense-scott-maxwell-20151003-column.html) explains, House Bill 169 would shift the burden of proof to prosecutors in Stand Your Ground cases, “so that anyone who claims self-defense is essentially assumed to be telling the truth unless the state can prove otherwise, often in a pre-trial immunity hearing.” Look, we understand “presumed innocent until proven guilty,” but isn’t that supposed to happen in a trial?

Maxwell also suspects that the bill’s proponents included the $200K payout for defendants’ “court costs, reasonable private attorney fees and related expenses” as a strategic distraction, “just so they could later take it out, claiming it was now a thoughtful compromise.” Hey, that’s clever!

It’s a tactic they’ve used before with extremist bills — such as an early version of the “Docs vs. Glocks” law that sought to imprison pediatricians who discussed gun safety with patients.


That was the 2011 law that made it illegal for doctors to ask parents if they had a gun (http://wonkette.com/480193/florida-governor-rick-scott-liberates-doctors-from-burdens-of-the-first-amendment) in the home; it was upheld in 2014. (http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2014/07/docs_vs_glocks_upheld_florida_pediatricians_forbid den_from_asking_patients.html)

that’s two Tuff-On-Crime Florida Republicans who’ve suddenly become sympathetic to criminal defendants, as long as they’ve been accused of blowing someone away with their responsibly owned firearm.

http://wonkette.com/594545/florida-would-like-to-give-you-200k-for-killing-someone-as-long-as-its-self-defense

[boutons_deux]

Lindsey Graham’s disaster relief hypocrisy: He wants federal aid for his state’s floods but voted against Hurricane Sandy relief

http://www.salon.com/2015/10/06/lindsey_grahams_disaster_relief_hypocrisy_he_wants _federal_aid_for_his_states_floods_but_voted_again st_hurricane_sandy_relief/

Will the Old Lesbian hug Obama?

[boutons_deux]

John McCain’s insane delusions: The big Afghanistan lie he will not let go of

The U.S. invaded Afghanistan to ensure it “would never again be a safe haven for al-Qaeda or other radical Islamist terrorists to attack us again,” John McCain said in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing (http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/15-10-06-the-situation-in-afghanistan) on Tuesday morning. And “that mission has been successful for 14 years.”

To say al-Qaeda has not again attacked Americans on U.S. soil is technically correct, but to call such a mission “successful” is mindbogglingly myopic. No rational person can look at the situation throughout South Asia and the Middle East today and say U.S. military intervention has been a success. This would take either extreme blindness or sheer delusion.

McCain insisted “American troops and civilians have made steady progress in supporting our Afghan partners to secure their country and dealt severe blows to al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups.” Yet these claims blatantly defy the facts on the ground.

It was the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that in fact led to the growth of al-Qaeda throughout the world. Al-Qaeda was not in Iraq before the U.S. invasion; the U.S. war, which pulverized the government, destroyed enormous amounts of infrastructure, and escalated sectarian tensions, is what brought al-Qaeda into the country. This eventually led to the rise of ISIS – whose predecessor was ISI (the Islamic State of Iraq) – which broke ties with al-Qaeda for not being extreme enough.

McCain failed to mention in the hearing that al-Qaeda has grown exponentially since the U.S. war in Afghanistan began. Now al-Qaeda is present in almost every country in the region. And ISIS, even more violent than al-Qaeda, is growing, taking more and more territory in war-stricken Libya – where U.S. bombing once again destroyed the government and left the country in shambles – along with Yemen – where Washington is backing the Saudi-led coalition that is responsible for approximatelytwo-thirds of the thousands of civilian casualties (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/09/29/world/middleeast/ap-ml-yemen.html) and has used banned U.S.-madecluster munitions to bomb civilian areas (http://www.democracynow.org/2015/9/1/despite_global_ban_saudi_led_forces) – and more.

http://www.salon.com/2015/10/06/john_mccains_insane_delusions_the_big_afghanistan_ lie_he_will_not_let_go_of/

:lol fucking Repugs, what a bunch of assholes

[boutons_deux]

WI Repugs Biblical HATE

GOP bill would let parents sue schools if transgender students are ‘up to no good’ in bathrooms

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/gop-bill-would-let-parents-sue-schools-if-transgender-students-are-up-to-no-good-in-bathrooms/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

of all the problems WI politicians should be working on ...

[boutons_deux]

Haven't bothered with this grifter for a while, he's due

'We Will Beg The Lord Above To Destroy Us': Glenn Beck Freaks Out Over The Removal Of Ten Commandments Monument

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/we-will-beg-lord-above-destroy-us-glenn-beck-freaks-out-over-removal-ten-commandments-monume

[boutons_deux]

Repug/VRWC War on the Poor

People in Texas get thrown behind bars just because they can’t afford their traffic tickets. That’s a disaster for people who are already struggling. It’s also completely against the law.

Levi Lane shuffled into the pews of the El Paso County jail court still reeking of poultry fat from his night shift at a local pet food factory. Driving home at 2 in the morning, he had been pulled over for going 43 miles an hour when the limit was 35 and arrested on the spot for outstanding traffic tickets.

There in court, Judge Cheryl Davis, a part-time judge and bankruptcy lawyer, called Lane’s name. Barely looking up at him, Lane recalled, she read off his driving offenses, which included expired registration, no insurance, and not stopping at a stop sign — five traffic stops, totaling more than $3,400 in penalties.

If Lane paid up, he would have been released immediately. But there was no way Lane could afford that sum. The pet food factory paid $8 an hour, more than any other job he had had, but even so he made only $5,650 (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2447401-lane-2014-1040.html) that year. Judge Davis did not ask about his financial situation, Lane said. Less than two minutes after the hearing began, it ended. In lieu of payment, Lane, who had no legal representation, was ordered to spend 21 days in jail.

What happened to Lane is illegal. It violates Texas law and two unanimous Supreme Court decisions, all of which bar courts from jailing people simply because they are too poor to pay their fines. One of the Supreme Court decisions even stemmed from a traffic case in Texas.


But in many courts across the Lone Star State, it is as if the law and the Supreme Court rulings never happened.

A BuzzFeed News investigation into Texas judicial practice found that with no public defenders present, traffic court judges routinely flout the law, locking up people for days, weeks, and sometimes even months because they did not pay fines they could not afford. The result is a modern-day version of debtors prison, an institution that was common two centuries ago but has been outlawed since the early ’70s.

Unpaid fines are a vexing (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/us/court-conundrum-offenders-who-cant-pay-or-wont.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share) problem (http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/another-state-faces-allegations-illegally-jailing-poor-n431741) for municipalities (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/09/03/how-st-louis-county-missouri-profits-from-poverty/) across (http://www.alabamanews.net/home/top-stories/Lawsuit-Claims-Montgomery-Has-Debtors-Prison-312622701.html) the country (http://www.npr.org/2014/05/19/312158516/increasing-court-fees-punish-the-poor), and uninsured drivers can indeed be a hazard (http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/crime-law/damage-from-uninsured-unlicensed-drivers-lasts-wel/nns98/), but

Texas law leaves no doubt as to how courts must handle someone who has been arrested for unpaid fines.

And it provides an unambiguous, step-by-step process that includes an alternative punishment for those too poor to pay their fines.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/kendalltaggart/in-texas-its-a-crime-to-be-poor#.vpQvVEeM4

[Pelicans78]

How about Obama wasting $500 million on training Syrian "rebels"?

[boutons_deux]

How about Obama wasting $500 million on training Syrian "rebels"?

how about it?

How about your beloved shit-headed Repugs wasting $3T and 5000 military lives invading Iraq for oil?

[Pelicans78]

how about it?

How about your beloved shit-headed Repugs wasting $3T and 5000 military lives invading Iraq for oil?

I'm not a republican or conservative. I just deal with now. And Obama's plan in Syria has been a disaster. He's lied about moderate rebels. He also lied about fighting ISIS. They've only gotten stronger. He's still talking about regime change which basically means he's on the terrorist sides. Sure Bush was a disaster and that was 8 years ago. Putin has done more in one week than Obama has in 8 years when it comes to the Middle East.

[boutons_deux]

I'm not a republican or conservative. I just deal with now. And Obama's plan in Syria has been a disaster. He's lied about moderate rebels. He also lied about fighting ISIS. They've only gotten stronger. He's still talking about regime change which basically means he's on the terrorist sides. Sure Bush was a disaster and that was 8 years ago. Putin has done more in one week than Obama has in 8 years when it comes to the Middle East.

What lies specifically?

Repugs, neocons have been talking about Iran, Iraq, Syria regime change for 25 years, pay attention.

Putin has slaughtered Syrian rebels so Putin could negate regime change.

The US military hasn't done shit since Korea.

What are your SPECIFIC TACTICS, STRATEGY for Syria, "honestly"

[boutons_deux]

Land and Water Conservation Fund expires, sparking debate

The Land and Water Conservation Fund has had wide bipartisan support for 50 years.

Its name may be little known outside Washington D.C., but many people are likely to have enjoyed the fruits of the fund — it has provided about $17 billion for everything from the expansion of iconic national parks and forests to more than 40,000 local recreation projects across the country. California, for example received $3.7 million in 2014 and has received about $300 million since 1965.

And all of that has been done without tax dollars, because most of the money comes from royalties on offshore oil and gas leasing.

Still, Congress failed last week to meet the Sept. 30 deadline for reauthorizing the fund.

Proponents of the fund point much of the blame at Rep. Rob Bishop, a Utah Republican who is chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over the fund.

On the Senate side, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah blocked several attempts on the floor to permanently authorize the fund on the final day before it expired.

Lindholm said the disagreement over how the accounting works is “really a red herring.”

“The fact is that you have broken this tie that has existed for 50 years,” she said. And she believes that critics of the fund have something more than reform in mind.

“He just really wants to kill the program,” she said of Bishop.

http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2015/10/07/land-water-conservation-fund/73549574/

If the Repugs are involved, it's fucked up.

[boutons_deux]

How about Obama wasting $500 million on training Syrian "rebels"?

how about it?

how about your dear Repugs and BigOil wasting 5000+ MILITARY LIVES and 100Ks of mlitary bodies and minds,and $2T in Iraq?

[boutons_deux]

Fox is lying always, O'Reilly is a liar always

"Garbage, Total B.S.": Reagan Aides And Biographers Blast Chronic Fabricator Bill O'Reilly Over New Book

President Ronald Reagan's aides and biographers are organizing to challenge factual inaccuracies in Fox News host Bill O'Reilly's new book Killing Reagan: The Violent Assault That Changed a Presidency. O'Reilly is a serial fabricator whose previous books have repeatedly been criticized for inaccuracies.

The Washington Examiner's Paul Bedard reported (http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/killing-bill-reagan-aides-assail-oreillys-book-total-b.s./article/2573723) that O'Reilly's book is "coming under fire from former Reagan aides" and biographers "who are calling it bogus" and "planning a broadside to challenge the book in the coming days." The individuals reportedly include Reagan biographers Craig Shirley, Steven Hayward, Paul Kengor, Kiron Skinner, and "a handful of former Reagan aides."

Shirley said that Killing Reagan "is garbage, total B.S.," while former Reagan national security advisor Richard Allen said the book contains "plagiarism, simplicity and deception."

The DC-based paper noted that the Reagan critics pointed to O'Reilly's writing about Reagan's mental state and a purported brewing staff mutiny as main objections.

John Heubusch, the executive director of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library, said O'Reilly's book "does a disservice to history."

In a September interview with Media Matters' Joe Strupp, Ron Reagan called (http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/09/22/ron-reagan-rips-killing-reagan-author-bill-orei/205724) O'Reilly a "snake oil salesman" who doesn't invest "a lot of time or energy in the truth." The late president's son said he doesn't plan to read O'Reilly's book because he's "not interested in his theories."

Questions about factual accuracy are nothing new for O'Reilly and his Killing series, which he has co-authored with Martin Dugard. Killing Lincoln contained (http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/01/14/fox-news-gives-oreilly-a-historical-series-afte/202135) a series of mistakes and was criticized for factual errors by Lincoln scholars. Several historians and biographers of General George S. Patton objected (http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/10/02/historians-rip-oreillys-new-patton-book/200986) to O'Reilly's Killing Patton theory that the World War II commander was assassinated by the Soviet Union.

O'Reilly took a major hit earlier this year when his boasts (http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/09/21/killing-the-truth-chronic-fabricator-bill-oreil/205683) about his reporting career began falling apart under scrutiny. One of those included his claim in Killing Kennedy (http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/02/24/oreilly-lied-about-suicide-of-jfk-assassination/202655) -- contradicted by numerous pieces of evidence (http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/03/11/6-questions-bill-oreilly-wont-or-cant-answer-ab/202843) -- that he personally heard the shotgun blast that killed a figure in the investigation into President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/10/09/garbage-total-bs-reagan-aides-and-biographers-b/206068

[boutons_deux]

Tennessee Bill Would Prohibit Middle Schools From Teaching Students About Islam

In response to complaints from Tennessee parents that what their children are being taught about Islam borders on indoctrination, a Republican lawmaker in the state has proposed legislation to prohibit schools from teaching “religious doctrine” until high school.

Rep. Sheila Butt’s proposed bill comes at a time when anti-Islamic sentiment has been surfacing at schools across the country. If enacted, the bill would ban schools from teaching students younger than 10th grade about Islam or other topics the state decides constitute “religious doctrine.”

“I think that probably the teaching that is going on right now in seventh, eighth grade is not age appropriate,” Butt, who claims her bill isn’t targeted at Islam, told the Tennessean (http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2015/10/09/tn-bill-would-ban-teaching-religious-doctrine-until-high-school/73681930/). “They are not able to discern a lot of times whether its indoctrination or whether they’re learning about what a religion teaches.”

Parents in the state have taken issue with world history classes that teach about the Five Pillars of Islam and other historical lessons about how the religion has influenced regions of the world. Butt claims it would not be difficult for the state to discern the difference between teaching religion and teaching religious doctrine, but Tennessee teachers and education officials disagree. One teacher told the Tennessean that “there is a lot of influence that that part of the world had on world history.”

Tennessee law currently says that the Bible can be taught in schools, as long as schools aren’t using it to teach “religious doctrine or sectarian interpretation.”

http://thinkprogress.org/education/2015/10/12/3711543/tennessee-islam-ban/

So it's OK for the Christian Taliban states to teach the impact of Christianity of world history but not Islam's impact, because TN kids know the difference between Christian indoctrination and Islam indoctrination.

[boutons_deux]

NREL Cuts Solar Staff After Years of Flatlined Funding

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory laid off 15 people on Monday, about 10 percent of its solar research workforce.

In a memo sent to the organization on Monday, NREL said it is also seeking voluntary separation for about 50 additional support staff. The total staff reductions are expected to affect about 70 employees, just less than 4 percent of NREL’s staff.

Most of the layoffs were researchers involved in long-term programs and next-generation PV technologies (http://www.nrel.gov/pv/advanced_concepts.html). “Painfully and unfortunately, NREL decided these programs are underfunded and we can’t keep these on,” said George Douglas, NREL’s public affairs manager.

For the past four years, NREL has been using carryover funds and other means to keep the programs afloat, said Douglas. Some researchers were shifted to other programs where their skills were a good fit. “This is the year where it became very difficult to impossible to keep these programs alive,” he added.

Since fiscal year 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy’s solar funding has dropped nearly 20 percent to $233 million. The funding for NREL’s advanced, next-generation solar PV technologies has flatlined for those four years (http://www.nrel.gov/about/funding-history.html).

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/nrel-cuts-solar-staff-after-years-of-flatlined-funding?utm_source=Solar&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=GTMSolar

Annual $Bs given to BigCarbon, but starve non-carbon energy.

Thanks, Repugs, you fucking assholes.

[boutons_deux]

Meanwhile, the MIC must financed

US Army secretary raises concerns about declining budget

Speaking earlier in the day at the opening ceremony of the conference, McHugh said the Army budget had fallen from a peak of $144 billion to a current level of $120 billion. He added that budget uncertainty was adding to the problem.

While a government shutdown was recently avoided, a continuing resolution only extends federal spending through Dec. 11. The Senate recently passed a $612 billion defense policy bill, but President Barack Obama has vowed to veto the bill because it seeks to avoid budget caps by padding the war-funding account.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/us-army-secretary-raises-concerns-about-declining-budget/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

and the military hasn't done shit since WWII

[boutons_deux]

sicko gun fellator news:

Texas AG's Wife Is 'A Pistol Packin' Mama' And Her 'Husband Sues Obama'

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's wife Angela serenaded attendees at the Golden Corridor Republican Women's club 25th anniversary celebration Saturday with a song about her love of firearms and her husband's tendency to sue President Obama.

Her song, "Pistol Packin' Mama," was even a surprise to her husband, according to Paxton's Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=968140299914479&set=vb.123488374379680&type=2&theater).

Each refrain ended with "and my husband sues Obama." Paxton continued the Texas legacy of suing the federal government, and according to the Houston Chronicle (http://www.chron.com/news/politics/ken-paxton/article/ken-paxton-obama-sue-lawsuit-song-angela-6566379.php), the state has sued the Obama Administration more than 30 times as of July.

Houston Chronicle has full lyrics here (http://www.chron.com/news/politics/ken-paxton/article/ken-paxton-obama-sue-lawsuit-song-angela-6566379.php), if you're interested in singing along.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ken-paxton-wife-gun-obama-song?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tpm-news+%28TPMNews%29

The Repug Klown Kar, beep beep, needs to be much bigger.

[boutons_deux]

Ken Paxton Just Sent His Dream List of Abortion Laws to the Lege

Following the release of Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s first round of interim charges — which includes

a directive to senators that they take a gander at how the Lege might

“preserve our most fundamental rights including

the freedom of religion,

the right to bear arms and

freedom of political speech” —

Attorney General Ken Paxton followed up with a letter on Thursday detailing his own ideas on

how to further restrict access to abortion,

regulate abortion providers,

limit medical research and

generally do more to endanger Texans seeking the procedure.

http://www.texasobserver.org/ken-paxton-just-sent-his-dream-list-of-abortion-laws-to-the-lege/

Fuck TX gun fellators, fuck TX Christian Sharia, fuck TX misogynists, fuck TX.

[Quetzal-X]

sicko gun fellator news:

Texas AG's Wife Is 'A Pistol Packin' Mama' And Her 'Husband Sues Obama'

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's wife Angela serenaded attendees at the Golden Corridor Republican Women's club 25th anniversary celebration Saturday with a song about her love of firearms and her husband's tendency to sue President Obama.

Her song, "Pistol Packin' Mama," was even a surprise to her husband, according to Paxton's Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=968140299914479&set=vb.123488374379680&type=2&theater).

Each refrain ended with "and my husband sues Obama." Paxton continued the Texas legacy of suing the federal government, and according to the Houston Chronicle (http://www.chron.com/news/politics/ken-paxton/article/ken-paxton-obama-sue-lawsuit-song-angela-6566379.php), the state has sued the Obama Administration more than 30 times as of July.

Houston Chronicle has full lyrics here (http://www.chron.com/news/politics/ken-paxton/article/ken-paxton-obama-sue-lawsuit-song-angela-6566379.php), if you're interested in singing along.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ken-paxton-wife-gun-obama-song?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tpm-news+%28TPMNews%29

The Repug Klown Kar, beep beep, needs to be much bigger.




All those dumbass fucks would not fit on a fuckin bus , they need to board the fuckin KKKrazy Train!!!

[boutons_deux]

Repugs name their hostages to be sacrificed in return for raising debt limit

McConnell floats entitlement changes in high-stakes fiscal talks

Mitch McConnell privately wants the White House to pay this price to enact a major budget deal: Significant changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for raising the debt ceiling and funding the government.

Several people familiar with the high-stakes fiscal negotiations said the Senate majority leader's staff is trying to drive a hard bargain in the private talks with the White House and Democratic leaders.
McConnell is seeking a reduction in cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security recipients and new restrictions on Medicare, including limiting benefits to the rich and raising the eligibility age, several sources said. In addition, the Kentucky Republican is eager to see new policy riders enacted, including reining in the Environmental Protection Agency's clean water regulations.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/13/politics/mitch-mcconnell-entitlement-changes-fiscal-talks/index.html

[boutons_deux]

Watch Chelsea Clinton respond to the most sleazy of questions from a creep at her book signing (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/13/1431717/-Watch-Chelsea-Clinton-respond-to-the-most-sleazy-of-questions-from-a-creep-at-her-book-signing)


Robert Morrow is the co-author of the forthcoming book The Clintons' War on Women with former top Donald Trump aide Roger Stone.

Morrow has wished death on Hillary Clinton and been visited by the Secret Service; posted bizarre sexual writings about the former secretary of state;

called Chelsea Clinton a "slut" and imagined how she would "have sex one day" with Bill Clinton; posted about "******s" and "pro-faggot JUDICIAL ACTIVISM";

and claimed the Bush and Clinton families were involved in murders.

Stone also has a disreputable history: he formed an anti-Clinton group called "C.U.N.T." and called Chelsea a "total bitch."

With that in mind, Chelsea Clinton's staff must've groaned when they saw him.

Nevertheless, an aide can be heard saying "Hi, Robert," as he approached the table and then asked the sleaziest of questions —

whether she knew Bill Clinton was not her real father and tried to get her to admit her father targets teenage girls for "sexual reasons."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/13/1431717/-Watch-Chelsea-Clinton-respond-to-the-most-sleazy-of-questions-from-a-creep-at-her-book-signing?detail=email

yawn, just the usual rightwingnut shitbags.

[boutons_deux]

FUCKING Krazy Kruz: Black Lives Matter Is ‘Literally Suggesting And Embracing And Celebrating The Murder Of Police’

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/10/14/3712373/ted-cruz-black-lives-matter/

Thanks, Texians

[boutons_deux]

It's not Congress that's dysfunctional—it's the Republican Party (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/14/1432542/-It-s-not-Congress-that-s-dysfunctional-it-s-the-Republican-Party)


http://images.dailykos.com/images/170361/large/house_means_46_114.png?1444853377

Norm Ornstein and Thomas Mann are no partisan hacks: They're two of the most respected political analysts in Washington, DC. Yet when they published a highly regarded book three years ago blaming congressional dysfunction squarely on the GOP's radical march to the right (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-just-say-it-the-republicans-are-the-problem/2012/04/27/gIQAxCVUlT_story.html), most of the Beltway press just ignored them (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-froomkin/republican-lies-2012-election_b_2258586.html).

"Both parties do it" was and still is the easy refuge of the traditional media, which continues to believe that Democrats are just as responsible for Capitol Hill's intransigence as Republicans.

Of course, that's not remotely true, and the stunning collapse (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/09/1430013/-So-what-the-hell-happens-next-Here-are-five-scenarios-for-the-hilarious-tragic-Saga-of-the-Speaker) of the House GOP leadership has demonstrated that harsh fact yet again. In a compelling new interview (http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-10-14/thomas-mann-and-norman-ornstein-on-republicans-gone-wild), Ornstein and Mann explain better than anyone else how we've gotten here, what the state of play really is within the Republican Party, and, perhaps most importantly, why the media's failure to recognize that yes, it really is the fault of the GOP has played a key role in creating our current mess.

Mann is lacerating:

There is no clear path out of our current distemper. The solution, like the diagnosis, must focus on the obvious but seldom acknowledged asymmetry between the parties. The Republican Party must become a conservative governing party once again and accept the assumptions and norms of our Madisonian system. That will likely require more election defeats, more honest reporting by the mainstream press and more recognition by the public that the problem is not "Washington" or "Congress" or "insiders" or politicians in general.The burden is on the GOP because they are currently the major source of our political dysfunction. No happy talk about bipartisanship can obscure that reality. Unless other voices and movements arise within the Republican Party to change its character and course, our dysfunctional politics will continue.

Ornstein and Mann talk repeatedly about the problem of "asymmetric polarization": the fact that Republicans have moved so far to the right that they've become hostage to their own nihilist extremists, while there's been no such corresponding shift among Democrats whatsoever.

This is well-illustrated in the chart at the top of this post, which uses a widely respected measure of congressional ideology called DW-Nominate (https://voteviewblog.wordpress.com/2015/06/10/more-on-assymmetric-polarization-yes-the-republicans-did-it/) to show just how extreme Republicans have become, even as the Democrats stay steady.

Until the media starts reporting on this massive gulf truthfully and accurately, many Americans won't understand just how radical the GOP has become—and Republican members of Congress themselves won't grasp what's happened either.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/14/1432542/-It-s-not-Congress-that-s-dysfunctional-it-s-the-Republican-Party?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos %29

[boutons_deux]

OGA should be applied.

=========================



Tom Cotton was livid that top Secret Service officials had leaked unflattering information about a GOP congressman who had become one of the embattled agency’s highest-profile critics.So the freshman Republican senator from Arkansas quickly settled on his payback: He would indefinitely stall ambassadorial nominees to Sweden, Norway and the Bahamas — a former White House counsel, plus two Obama campaign bundlers — until the administration investigated the Secret Service’s misconduct.


It's not just Cotton holding up nominations. Republican senators such as Ted Cruz, John McCain and Chuck Grassley are deploying the tactic at an unprecedented level in their ongoing war with the White House. Right now, eight ambassadorial nominees are waiting on the Senate floor to be confirmed, and more than 100 other nominations are languishing in committee.



Of course, Republicans say this is all fair game because Democrats did it first! But per usual, the GOP has taken it to a whole new level, confirming just 107 (http://static.politico.com/b2/6b/a0b4456d4fce99f6fbaa2b792e50/nom-report.pdf) of Obama's nominees compared to the 192 that Democrats had moved by this time in 2007 during President George W. Bush's second term. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has intervened just once to push a nominee through this Congress—Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

And here's an example of how these backbiting "holds" affect the government's ability to respond to something like the Syrian refugee crisis.


Among the most egregious examples of unnecessary holds, Democrats say, has been Cruz’s work to stymie confirmation of Gayle Smith, nominated as director of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the primary clearinghouse for civilian foreign aid. The vacancy is drawing more scrutiny as the United States faces pressure to act on the Syrian refugee crisis.“It’s never been worse. And that reflects a decision by the Republicans to deny to this president even the most critical appointments,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois. Smith has “been sitting on that calendar for months. Ted Cruz has a hold on her. Ask him: What’s your objection to her? ‘No, no, I object to the Iran nuclear agreement.’”


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/14/1432267/-GOP-Senate-gets-mad-mad-mad-and-stops-confirming-Obama-s-nominees?detail=email??

[boutons_deux]

Fox host: Female researcher likely rigged ‘smart women’ study because she’s bitter men won’t date her


http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/fox-host-female-researcher-likely-rigged-smart-women-study-because-shes-bitter-men-wont-date-her/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

she's not one to talk about "good looking"

https://www.google.com/search?q=kennedy+montgomery&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS578US578&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=979&tbm=isch&imgil=cOEOiX43KJgpxM%253A%253BJpjkbkLfRDjFEM%253Bh ttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.at40.com%25252Fphoto%2 5252Fplink%25252Flisa-kennedy-montgomery-arrives%25252F7950&source=iu&pf=m&fir=cOEOiX43KJgpxM%253A%252CJpjkbkLfRDjFEM%252C_&usg=__h7pLjYhbnXPRHxvH4ha1FZw4cYg%3D&ved=0CJ8BEMo3ahUKEwjmv-WeoM_IAhUIzoAKHTdLCtg&ei=GUIlVqbPHYicgwS3lqnADQ#imgrc=cOEOiX43KJgpxM%3A&usg=__h7pLjYhbnXPRHxvH4ha1FZw4cYg%3D

[boutons_deux]

Peggy Noonan outdoes herself, sneers that Obama’s presidency means “Anyone can run for president now”
http://media.salon.com/2013/05/peggy_noonan-620x412.jpg

http://www.salon.com/2015/10/19/peggy_noonan_outdoes_herself_sneers_that_obamas_pr esidency_means_anyone_can_run_for_president_now/

yep, Repug Klown Kar is loaded with Noonan's "anybodies"

[boutons_deux]

America’s dumbest governor appoints creationist as education commissioner: Today in Tea Party lunacyhttp://media.salon.com/2014/10/governor-maine.jpeg-620x412.jpg


http://www.salon.com/2015/10/19/americas_dumbest_governor_appoints_creationist_as_ education_commissioner_today_in_tea_party_lunacy/

Maine's "first past the post" system gave this asshole governorship with only 40% of the vote, while two progressive candidates split the 60%.

[boutons_deux]

Montana governor rips GOPers: They ‘hate 4-year-olds’ enough to block federal pre-school fundsMontana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) recently took on Republican lawmakers who he said “might hate 4 year olds” after they called to block $40 million in federal pre-school grants because they said it was unfair to private schools. :lol

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/montana-governor-rips-fellow-gopers-they-hate-4-year-olds-enough-to-block-federal-pre-school-funds/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

The governor of Maine delivered a sexist comment straight out of the 1950s (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/22/1437281/-The-governor-of-Maine-delivered-a-sexist-comment-straight-out-of-the-1950s)


http://images.dailykos.com/images/171625/large/lepage_copy.jpg?1445527552

As many Americans were celebrating "Back to the Future" day, Maine Governor Paul LePage attended a town-hall meeting and hopped in his own time machine, going back to the 1950s to deliver a jaw-dropping, sexist remark: (http://mainebeacon.com/gov-lepage-says-public-campaign-financing-like-giving-your-wife-your-checkbook/)


At a town hall meeting in Auburn on Wednesday night, Governor Paul LePage once again lashed out against Question 1, a citizen initiative to increase election transparency and strengthen Maine’s Clean Elections Act.“That’s like giving my wife my checkbook. I’m telling you, it’s giving your wife your checkbook,” said LePage.



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/22/1437281/-The-governor-of-Maine-delivered-a-sexist-comment-straight-out-of-the-1950s?detail=email

[boutons_deux]

don't be obvious

Wisconsin Governor Signs Bill Limiting Political Corruption Inquiries


limits a longstanding tool against political corruption that has been used in investigations of Mr. Walker and his allies.

The John Doe law, as it is called in Wisconsin, has given prosecutors the power to obtain search warrants and order people to testify and turn over documents in investigations that typically take place in secret.
Under the measure, which easily passed both Republican-controlled chambers of the State Legislature,

Six of Mr. Walker’s aides or allies were convicted as a result of a John Doe investigation.

Republicans said the change in the law was required to curb what they called unnecessarily long and intrusive investigations that amounted to political witch hunts.

:lol AND CONVICTIONS! :lol

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/24/us/wisconsin-governor-signs-bill-limiting-political-corruption-inquiries.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

[boutons_deux]

Georgia ‘Confederate themed’ bar serves ‘Ni**erita’ shot with tequila and watermelon liqueur


http://www.rawstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Bartender-menu-from-General-Beauregards-via-screencap-800x430.png

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/georgia-confederate-themed-bar-serves-nierita-shot-with-tequila-and-watermelon-liqueur/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

Kansas Is Still the Land of Make Believe

A new poll—possibly the greatest poll in American history—suggests that Kansans are a wee bit confused: (http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article41315862.html)

When it comes to Brownback’s tax policy, which has featured heavy cuts in income taxes and taxes on businesses,

three-fifths (61 percent) of respondents felt the policy had been “a failure” or “a tremendous failure” in terms of economic growth.

About one-third of respondents said it was “neither a success nor failure” and 7 percent said they felt it was at least “a success.”

Only 0.2 percent agreed it was “a tremendous success.”

But at the same time, 61 percent of respondents favor “somewhat lower” or “much lower” taxes and spending in Kansas.

And yet...about 63 percent of respondents felt taxes on top income earners should be increased while 6 percent felt they should be decreased.


What does this mean?

That tax cuts have been a failure, but maybe they'll work if we just cut them more?

That tax cuts have been a failure, but Kansans just want low taxes anyway?

That Kansans don't really care if their economy is any good?

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/10/kansas-still-land-make-believe

:lol

[boutons_deux]

rightwingnut ALTERNATE REALITY news

At Santa Clara, Scalia says he’s a dissident on a liberal court

Supreme Court (http://m.sfgate.com/search/?action=search&channel=news&inlineLink=1&searchindex=gsa&query=%22Supreme+Court%22) Justice Antonin Scalia, widely viewed as the leader of the court’s dominant conservative bloc, told law students at Santa Clara University (http://m.sfgate.com/search/?action=search&channel=news&inlineLink=1&searchindex=gsa&query=%22Santa+Clara+University%22) on Wednesday that he’s actually a dissident on a liberal court, :lol

one whose prevailing view threatens “the destruction of our democratic system.” :lol

After dissenting from two of the most important rulings in the 2014-15 term — one legalizing same-sex marriage, the other upholding federal insurance subsidies under the national health care law — Scalia said Wednesday the court has long had a majority of justices who disregard the Constitution’s text and original meaning if it conflicts with their views.

http://m.sfgate.com/news/article/At-Santa-Clara-Scalia-says-he-s-a-dissident-on-6597321.php

yes, yes,

corporations are people and

money is speech,

Just like the Founding Father "originally" wrote! :lol

[boutons_deux]

‘The road to hell': Andrea Tantaros blames lack of paid family leave on too much science spending

http://www.rawstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/fox_on_family_leave_151102a-800x430.jpg

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/the-road-to-hell-andrea-tantaros-blames-lack-of-paid-family-leave-on-too-much-science-spending/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

slave states proves themselves as nasty as in the 19th century

Missouri townspeople shun sex abuse victim as a liar — even after ‘good man’ admits to raping her


http://www.rawstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Darren-Paden-800x430.png

A child sex abuse victim says she’s been denied housing after accusing a “good man” of molesting her for years — and Missouri prosecutors are mystified (http://fox4kc.com/2015/10/30/prosecutor-confounded-disappointed-that-community-leaders-support-convicted-child-molester/) that so many community members are supporting the admitted sex offender.

Darren Paden was sentenced to 50 years in prison Friday after pleading guilty in August to two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy — but friends, family members, church elders and community leaders begged a judge to go easy on him.

Prosecutors said the 52-year-old Paden sexually abused the girl up to 300 times over a decade, beginning before she was 5 years old. His 28-year-old son, Anthony Paden, was also charged with sex abuse, although his case remains pending.

“Only God, Darren and (the victim) know what truly happened,” said Gene Blankenship, a trustee at the New Market Christian Church in Dearborn. “I feel Darren may have admitted to things he did not do after hours of interrogation and all the pressure to admit guilt.”

Blankenship was among about 16 community members who sent letters to the court since September, praising Paden for his service in the Gulf War and a junior deacon at New Market Christian Church.
“Darren is one of the most admirable people I know,” wrote friend Adele Brightwell. “He holds fast to his morals.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/missouri-townspeople-shun-sex-abuse-victim-as-a-liar-even-after-good-man-admits-to-raping-her/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

Krugman: Why Republicans Are Ferocious Liars About What Makes the Economy Work


All that GOP candidates talk about is the growth they historically never produce.

Why does the economy do better under Democrats, and why do Republicans tend to lie about that fact? Despite CarLIE Fiorina (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/05/us/elections/carly-fiorina.html?inline=nyt-per)'s fallacious claims to the contrary, Hillary Clinton was right to say that the the country has had better economic times with a Democrat in the White House.

It's an ironic and inconvenient truth. All Republican candidates do is talk about economic growth. And then they pursue and peddle policies that have been demonstrated not to produce it, with tax cuts for the wealthy front and center. Krugman digs deep into the facts of matter:

The arithmetic on partisan differences is actually stunning. Last year the economists Alan Blinder and Mark Watson circulated a paper (https://www.princeton.edu/~mwatson/papers/Presidents_Blinder_Watson_July2014.pdf) comparing economic performance under Democratic and Republican presidents since 1947. Under Democrats, the economy grew, on average, 4.35 percent per year; under Republicans, only 2.54 percent. Over the whole period, the economy was in recession for 49 quarters; Democrats held the White House during only eight of those quarters.
But isn’t the story different for the Obama years? Not as much as you think. Yes, the recovery from the Great Recession of 2007-2009 has been sluggish. Even so, the Obama record compares favorably on a number of indicators with that of George W. Bush. In particular, despite all the talk about job-killing policies, private-sector employment is eight million (http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/job-killing-obama/) higher than it was when Barack Obama took office, twice the job gains achieved under his predecessor before the recession struck.


Krugman is humble on the question of why the economy has done better under Democratic administrations: "There’s no indication that the Democratic advantage can be explained by better monetary and fiscal policies," he writes.

"Democrats seem, on average, to have had better luck than Republicans on oil prices and technological progress. Overall, however, the pattern remains mysterious. Certainly no Democratic candidate would be justified in promising dramatically higher growth if elected. And in fact, Democrats never do."

They live in a bubble, is the only explanation Krugman can find, one which facts don't penetrate and the belief that Reagan was the patron saint of economic growth, never mind that Clinton outpaced him. Right-wing media perpetuates the myth, and, the donor class pays GOP candidates to keep up the lie that the policies they favor are good for anyone but them.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/krugman-why-republicans-are-ferocious-liars-about-what-makes-economy-work


And Americans trust the Repugs more on the economy ( Banksters Great Depression! ) and national security ( 9/11 ! )

[boutons_deux]

Senate Republicans Are Blocking Obama's Judges at a Nearly Unprecedented Rate

The Senate has confirmed just nine judges nominated by President Obama so far this year. It's the slowest pace of confirmations in more than half a century, on track to match the 11 confirmations in 1960.

"It's still like pulling teeth to move nominations," says a senior Democratic Senate aide. "They're being held by a number of different Republican senators for every reason under the sun. None of which have anything to do with the actual qualifications of the nominees."

But the current rate is far off from the historical norm. According to the liberal Alliance for Justice, by this point in 2007, when Democrats controlled the Senate, 34 of President George W. Bush's judges had been confirmed.

politicking at the expense of a functional judicial system

Schumer called the Republican slowdown a "disgrace" that was hurting the judicial system.

Republicans have been gumming up the works at each step of the process.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been slow about scheduling votes on the Senate floor, where 11 nominees are awaiting confirmation. The delays generally haven't been due to controversy about the nominees. The last two judges confirmed, for district court seats in New York, were approved by votes of 95-2 and 88-0, respectively.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/11/senate-republicans-block-obama-judge-nominations

If Hillary or Bernie is elected, the Repug screwing the judicial system will continue for many years.

[boutons_deux]

Chaffetz Uses House Chairmanship to Shield His Big Pharma Backers (https://theintercept.com/2015/11/05/chaffetz-uses-house-chairmanship-to-shield-his-big-pharma-backers/)

House Democrats seeking answers from pharmaceutical companies accused of jacking up prices on vital medications have run into a stone wall in the form of Republican Oversight Committee chair Jason Chaffetz, who counts the drug industry as one of his biggest backers.

Democrats, led by Elijah Cummings in the House and Bernie Sanders in the Senate, have taken aim (http://www.wsj.com/articles/bernie-sanders-elijah-cummings-question-valeant-on-heart-drug-price-increases-1439574723?alg=y) at both companies, using them to symbolize rising anxiety over the cost of health treatments. For nearly a year, Cummings hassought internal documents (http://democrats.oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/documents/2015-09-28.EEC%20and%20Dems%20to%20Chairman%20Chaffetz%20R e%20Valeant%20Pharmaceuticals%20Subpeona.pdf) and called for hearings (http://democrats.oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/documents/2015-09-22.EEC%20to%20Chaffetz%20Re%20Request%20for%20Hear ing%20on%20Daraprim%20Price%20Incr....pdf) through the Oversight Committee, where he’s the ranking member. Valeant and Turing have thus far resisted the document requests.

The Senate launched a bipartisan investigation (http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/11/04/us-usa-congress-drugprices-idUKKCN0ST1S220151104) of Valeant, Turing and other drugmakers this week. But although the House Oversight Committee agreed unanimously to investigate prescription drug prices at the beginning of the year, Chaffetz has refused every request to compel documents, issue subpoenas or schedule hearings.

On Wednesday, Cummings and his Democratic colleagues demanded (http://democrats.oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/documents/2015-11-04.EEC%20and%20Dems%20to%20Chaffetz%20re%20Generic %20Drug%20Pricing%20Subpoenas.pdf) that Chaffetz reconsider, claiming that he hadn’t even replied to their earlier requests. “Your silence on this … creates the appearance that you do not take seriously a request from nearly half of the members of this committee,” the Democrats wrote.

Given the Republican majority, without Chaffetz’s support, no investigation will be authorized. On Tuesday, Chaffetz said he planned to hold (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-04/valeant-turing-would-face-subpoena-vote-under-democrats-plan) hearings on drug costs at some point, but his spokesperson told the Washington Examiner (http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/did-democrats-just-find-their-version-of-obamacare/article/2575680) that no hearings were scheduled.

Chaffetz has received substantial support from the drug industry over the years. Pharmaceutical companies were the top contributor (https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/industries.php?cycle=2014&cid=N00028958&type=C) to his campaign in the 2014 election cycle, and No. 2 (https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/industries.php?type=C&cid=N00028958&newMem=N&cycle=2016) so far this cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Overall, pharmaceutical interests have donated over $198,000 (https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cycle=Career&type=C&cid=N00028958&newMem=N) to Chaffetz during his career, more than any other industry.

He has consistently voted against access (http://www.progressivepunch.org/record.htm;jsessionid=3CED93FDE2A6D372B1556786E161 7C26?member=412270&topic=H1) to affordable prescription drugs throughout his career, according to the organization Progressive Punch.

The Republican from Utah has carried water for the industry in legislation as well. This January he introduced a bill (https://chaffetz.house.gov/press-release/chaffetz-pharmaceutical-measure-remove-barriers-development-combination-drugs) to extend market exclusivity for “combination drugs” with ingredients already approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This could enable drugmakers to slightly tweak their formulas and extend their monopoly, preventing generic drugs from competition.

https://theintercept.com/2015/11/05/chaffetz-uses-house-chairmanship-to-shield-his-big-pharma-backers/

[boutons_deux]

Greed-Over-People free-for-all over reconciliation

Maine Sen. Susan Collins wants to use it for a tax overhaul. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, for entitlement reform and a massive “pro-growth” agenda

And Rep. Bill Flores of Texas, who chairs the conservative Republican Study Committee, insists it should be used only to gut President Barack Obama’s signature health law.

The fast-track reconciliation process — a rare budget procedure that would allow Republicans to jam sweeping legislation through the Senate with a simple majority — is quickly turning into a free-for-all.

Dozens of members have different ideas for how to take advantage of the powerful tool, but the two chambers’ leaders will have to settle on a single set of priorities if they want to deploy it.

But even they seem divided.

Senate GOP leaders, who just took the majority a few months ago, want to take advantage of the 51-vote threshold and focus on repealing Obamacare.

On the other side of the Capitol, House Republican leadership, which has orchestrated a nearly endless stream of repeal votes over the past five years, thinks that strategy is short-sighted.

As Republicans try to finalize a budget deal in the coming days and align their fiscal visions for the next decade, it’s apparent that there’s no partywide agreement on reconciliation.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/gop-free-for-all-over-reconciliation-117024

[boutons_deux]

Like you asshole conservatives everywhere running Orwellian governments, Canadian conservatives fuck up everything

Muzzled Canadian scientists now free to speak with media

The muzzles are coming off for federal scientists.

For years, scientists who worked for the federal government were silenced by strict rules that made them seek departmental approval before speaking to the press. On Friday, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains said that scientists are free to speak to the media about their work.

“Our government values science and will treat scientists with respect. That is why government scientists and experts will be able to speak freely about their work to the media and the public,” he said in a statement provided by his staff.

“We are working to make government science fully available to the public and will ensure that scientific analyses are considered in decision making.”

The change in policy is being communicated across departments and ministries in the government. On Thursday, scientists at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans were told they were now free to talk to the media, said David Prince, director at the Canadian Hydrographic Service.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/11/06/muzzles-removed-for-federal-scientists-at-department-of-fisheries-and-oceans.html

[boutons_deux]

News from the Repug War on Women

220 Sexual Assault Victims' Groups Warn Against Safe Campus Act

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), would

restrict colleges from investigating sexual assault cases unless police are involved.

It would allow schools to use higher standards of proof in determining guilt,

making it more difficult to remove a student accused of sexual violence on campus.

No other student misconduct would be held to the same standards.

Colleges are required under the gender equity law Title IX (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/10/title-ix-yale-catherine-mackinnon_n_5462140.html) to respond to all reports of sexual harassment and assault, regardless of police involvement.

Both higher education officials and advocacy groups often say requiring (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/25/states-campus-rape-police_n_6535074.html) that all cases be routed to police would make victims less likely to report their rape to anyone.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/congress-safe-campus-act_56378d46e4b0631799130302?ncid=newsltushpmg0000 0003

[boutons_deux]

campaign pic time!

Idiot Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore Will Represent Boobs And Guns In Congress!


http://img.wonkette.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/fiore-shotgun.jpg

http://img.wonkette.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/fiorehalloween.jpg

http://img.wonkette.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/fioremay.jpeg

http://img.wonkette.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/fioreapril.jpeg



http://wonkette.com/595586/idiot-nevada-assemblywoman-michele-fiore-will-represent-boobs-and-guns-in-congress

==================

Nevada Wingnut Michele Fiore Will End Sex Trafficking By Cutting Off Pimps’ Giggleberries

If you really want to get serious about stopping the pimps and stopping this horrific activity with sex trafficking our children, come to us, the legislators, with a bill for chemical castration or straight-up castration.
[When] we have these heinous crimes of rape and murder and sex trafficking of children, I have zero tolerance for it and I think the solution would be castration

http://wonkette.com/581596/nevada-wingnut-michele-fiore-will-end-sex-trafficking-by-cutting-off-pimps-giggleberries

[boutons_deux]

Minnesota Woman Smashes Muslim in Face With Beer Mug for Speaking Swahili at Applebee’s


The 43-year-old assailant ran away after the attack and was later charged with third-degree assault.

http://www.alternet.org/files/styles/story_image/public/story_images/screen_shot_2015-11-06_at_5.22.16_pm.png

Jama suffered deep cuts across her nose, eyebrow and lower lip.

“Emotionally that has destroyed me,” Jama said. “I’ve lived in Minnesota for 15 years, never had anyone even look at me weird for not speaking English and wearing a Hijab. I’ve seen hate crimes on TV, but for it to happen to me — I’m really a different person, I don’t like it.”

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/minnesota-woman-smashes-muslim-face-beer-mug-speaking-swahili-applebees

[boutons_deux]

Repug klowns here, recommended by this asshole

This Anti-Gay Rant From Colorado Pastor Kevin Swanson Is Sort of Incredible, Actually (http://roygbiv.jezebel.com/this-anti-gay-rant-from-colorado-pastor-kevin-swanson-i-1741437014)

When discussing his fear of attending the hypothetical gay wedding of his child, Swanson screams:


...At the entrance of the church...I’d sit in cow manure and I’d spread it all over my body. That’s what I would do. And I’m not kidding. I’m not laughing. I’m grieving! I’m mourning! I’m pointing out the problem! It’s not a gay time! These are the people with the sores! The gaping sores!
[...]
That is not a nice thing to do! Don’t you dare carve happy faces on open, pussy sores! Don’t you ever do that! Don’t you ever do that! I tell you don’t do it!


http://roygbiv.jezebel.com/this-anti-gay-rant-from-colorado-pastor-kevin-swanson-i-1741437014

the video of this Christian Taliban/Sharia asshole is amazing.

inciting his hateful followers to execute LGBT, isn't that some kind of crime?

[boutons_deux]

Republicans divided on whether to make 2016 about punishing seniors (http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/11/5/1445064/-Republicans-divided-on-whether-to-make-2016-about-punishing-seniors)

Paul Ryan's ascendancy to the speaker's chair and the presidential nomination fight have brought Social Security and Medicare to the forefront for 2016. Now, Republicans are "openly feuding," according to (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/debate-over-medicare-social-security-other-federal-benefits-divides-gop/2015/11/04/166619a8-824e-11e5-a7ca-6ab6ec20f839_story.html) Robert Costa and Ed O'Keefe, two of the best watchers of the GOP. That, they say, risks "a potentially damaging intra-party battle ahead of the 2016 elections."


The rift was exemplified this week by the GOP stars of the moment. Newly installed House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said he plans to pursue a "bold alternative agenda" that would include major revisions in entitlements. At the same time, leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump railed against proposals to end or significantly change Medicare.The dispute is part of a larger GOP argument over which policies Republicans will present to voters next year and how far the party should go in pushing for changes. Three years ago, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and Ryan, his running mate, faced withering Democratic attacks after endorsing dramatic overhauls of Medicare and Social Security that proved unpopular. […]

"This is the biggest fault line in the party: whether Republicans should be talking about reducing benefits," conservative economist Stephen Moore said in an interview. "Republicans have fallen on their sword for 30 years trying to reform Social Security and Medicare, but the dream lives on—and it makes everyone nervous. Some see a political trap; others see it as necessary."


"how many times do Democrats have to run ads of Granny getting pushed off of a cliff in order for Republicans to see that making this their main issue isn’t politically practical?"



There's no chance that the rest of the GOP—including Ryan—backs down from this crusade in 2016 or anytime after.



http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/11/5/1445064/-Republicans-divided-on-whether-to-make-2016-about-punishing-seniors

[rmt]

Increase SS age 1 year every 5 years. For me, I qualify at age 67 now - push it to age 70 in 15 years time. This doesn't affect any seniors now and if something isn't done, there won't be much left in 15 years time when the tail end of the baby boomers qualify.

[boutons_deux]

"Increase SS age 1 year"

"some have shown"

1) raising the SS retirement age doesn't solve anything (as in, senior can't find jobs any way) and

2) there is no SS problem. It's easily solvable but 1%/VWRC/BigFinance don't want SS solved, they want it privatized into their filthy hands so they can steal $100Bs PER YEAR in fees.

[rmt]

"Increase SS age 1 year"

"some have shown"

1) raising the SS retirement age doesn't solve anything (as in, senior can't find jobs any way) and

2) there is no SS problem. It's easily solvable but 1%/VWRC/BigFinance don't want SS solved, they want it privatized into their filthy hands so they can steal $100Bs PER YEAR in fees.




Why would raising the SS retirement age not solve anything? People will not get SS until a later age - that's less money paid out - people are living longer now. A lot of seniors already have jobs - they just work longer.

[boutons_deux]

always good for ridicule, a good laugh

Sarah Palin: Bristol keeps getting pregnant because God is giving her ‘3rd, 4th and 5th chances’

Former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin explained that her daughter had gotten pregnant out of wedlock for the second time because God gave people second, third and fourth chances not to sin.

http://www.rawstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/cbs_sm_palin_151115e-800x430.jpg

“Bristol is pregnant again,” CBS correspondent Tracy Smith pointed out to Palin during a recent trip to Wasilla. “That can’t be how you saw this playing out, unmarried and pregnant again.”
“Heck, no!” the former Alaska governor insisted. “Because being a single mom is — oh, my goodness. My heart goes out to the single parents. But my enormous admiration for what they’re able to accomplish doing double duty. And I watch Bristol do double duty all the time with her little boy, Tripp.”

=== Word salad alert:

“Well it takes a team to win, so it takes a team to lose. I was part of a team that came in second… out of two,” she opined.

“So yeah, semantics!

Okay, words matter. :lol

You either win or you lose. We lost. That makes you not a winner — at that time.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/sarah-palin-bristol-keeps-getting-pregnant-because-god-is-giving-her-3rd-4th-and-5th-chances/

[boutons_deux]

Iowa to Hand Over Medicaid to Private Companies

As America’s heartland prepares for another frigid winter, low-income families in Iowa are also bracing for a significant change. That’s because private companies are scheduled to take over management of the state’s Medicaid program the first of the New Year, a shift Iowa’s governor is calling “modernization.”

Governor Terry Branstad says that (http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/sns-bc-ia--iowa-capitol-focus-20151101-story.html) concerned Iowans “should not be afraid of change,” but private management could make it harder for almost 600,000 people—about 22 percent of the state’s population—to get the health care they need.

The Des Moines Register says (http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=SRQng%2FhLE11ucKA%2BU3y%2BmH%2FDUk1JZeEy)the (http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=SRQng%2FhLE11ucKA%2BU3y%2BmH%2FDUk1JZeEy) current state-run program “spends less per person than the majority of other states, while still providing comprehensive coverage.” Why jeopardize that?

A chaotic transition, diminished services or reduced coverage could threaten low-income families and people with disabilities.

But Iowans still have a say. The federal government has to sign off on the transition, and a top federal official just said he (http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=SAPByROPZwDzl5wHZQzYWn%2FDUk1JZeEy) has “serious concerns” about the end-of-the-year deadline.

A number of (red, slave) states have privatized Medicaid with the alleged values of efficiency and cost savings, but the results have been mixed at best.

Less than a year into Florida’s experiment with statewide privatization, the companies hired to manage the program are already asking (http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=L1ECzI%2Bl7p5t1mi9RsmTi1UlryYxQ%2BXs) for hundreds of millions of dollars more from the state.

In Tennessee, some patients have experienced (http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Ux8Y9n8bRJ%2F0qk%2B0zpp4i3%2FDUk1JZeEy) inadequate physician networks, long waits for care and denial of treatments using the state’s privatized program.

Adding private profit to the only source of health care available to our most fragile citizens is a recipe for problems, and Iowa is learning that lesson already.

The Des Moines Register has investigated nepotism (http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=IFwflOZVi9dpAkSoKIVYZH%2FDUk1JZeEy), unfair bidding practices (http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Uf%2Fo9Fl1j%2BjNZ5pGtPPo9n%2FDUk1JZeEy) and hundreds of millions of dollars in past fines or settlements (http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=fktZHHErM5Mm0r1xg2FxY3%2FDUk1JZeEy) involving the four companies that will manage the state’s program if the federal government approves it.

But Governor Branstad is shrugging off those issues (http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=vzH10D1umTwOGoc2Jy6Ckn%2FDUk1JZeEy): “I guess I challenge you to find any Medicaid provider of any magnitude that hasn’t had some issues in the past. That’s just kind of the nature of it.”

Iowans should contact the federal government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) (http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=AIbSsJBrLaaL9FkjcsDNXH%2FDUk1JZeEy) and tell it not to grant Iowa permission to privatize. A fifth of the state’s population and over $4 billion in public money are nothing to shrug about.

http://capitalandmain.com/latest-news/issues/labor-and-economy/iowa-to-hand-over-medicaid-to-private-companies-1116/

Repugs fuck their citizens and enrich BigCorp at every opportunity.

[rmt]

Some of you forget that regardless of our political bent, we are all Americans. I don't agree with some, but I respect their right to voice those opinions. One thing I admire about the Democrats is that they are united. You can see it in the last Democratic debate. None of the candidates would use the term "radical islam." It's like the decree came down from Obama and even Hillary, who has used the term before - refused to. Similar to their response to "Black lives matter" in the first debate - no dem dares to say, "All lives matter."

Republicans, on the other hand, have all different kinds of ideas - more like how I remember America was - individualistic - where the individual and creative thought reigned - not this central, hive mentality. Unfortunately, that variety of opinion leads the republicans to be scattered (lacking in the single-mindedness that drives the dems) and therefore, ineffective because they are not united - the establishment repubs are against the conservative base - sometimes I think they'd rather Hillary get the presidency over Cruz, Paul, Huckabee, Trump or Carson.

[boutons_deux]

None of the candidates would use the term "radical islam."

Even your ignorant asshole dubya said America wasn't at war with Islam, and America still isn't.

America created 100Ks of RADICALS lying that they are Islamists, just like Repugs lie about EVERYTHING (gotta close PP clinics to protect women's health)

Obama and the Dems are warring agains the Repug-created RADICALS, not warring with Muslims.

The Repugs, having created the RADICALS, are warring against ALL Muslims

[rmt]

Even your ignorant asshole dubya said America wasn't at war with Islam, and America still isn't.

America created 100Ks of RADICALS lying that they are Islamists, just like Repugs lie about EVERYTHING (gotta close PP clinics to protect women's health)

Obama and the Dems are warring agains the Repug-created RADICALS, not warring with Muslims.

The Repugs, having created the RADICALS, are warring against ALL Muslims.

Do you really believe sweeping statements like, "Repugs lie about EVERYTHING" and are you naive enough to believe that the Democrats are without dirty hands too? Anyway, nice to see a post of yours that's not copied from some link.

[boutons_deux]

Do you really believe sweeping statements like, "Repugs lie about EVERYTHING"

show me some major issues, policies, programs, etc by the Repugs that weren't based on TOTAL LIES and bullshit.

[rmt]

show me some major issues, policies, programs, etc by the Repugs that weren't based on TOTAL LIES and bullshit.

Most of the current repub presidential candidates think that education should be at the state/local level (they want to get rid of Department of Education) while the dems stress the Department of Education and their handouts. And yes, I know about NCLB in 2001 - I'm talking about NOW. I agree that education is best served at the local level - let each state decide its education.

[boutons_deux]

education IS, HAS BEEN, at the local level forever.

the Repugs want to destroy public education.

slave/red states having laid off !00Ks of K12 teachers, starved state college of funds (-$300M in WI), and want to distribute taxpayers education $Ts to for-profit chartera, Christian Taliban madrasas, without concern of the crap, corrupt job for-profit charters do.

[rmt]

education IS, HAS BEEN, at the local level forever.

the Repugs want to destroy public education.

slave/red states having laid off !00Ks of K12 teachers, starved state college of funds (-$300M in WI), and want to distribute taxpayers education $Ts to for-profit chartera, Christian Taliban madrasas, without concern of the crap, corrupt job for-profit charters do.

I disagree that "education IS, HAS BEEN, at the local level forever." The federal government holds the purse-strings to funds that they (like so many other things) dole out if you do this or that.

The federal government requires states to test students 17 times before graduation: annually in math and reading in grades 3 through 8, once in those subjects during high school, and then once in science during elementary, middle and high school.

The No Child Left Behind Act, the current version of the federal K-12 law, is largely blamed for ushering in an era of high-stakes testing in the public education system. The accountability at the heart of the law required states to ensure a specific percentage of students was proficient in reading and math each year, and each year that percent had to increase.

If states didn’t reach annual proficiency goals, they could be subject to a series of sanctions. And that type of accountability system resulted in states and school districts piling on their own tests to ensure students were on track to hit those proficiency marks.

“It’s important that we’re all honest with ourselves,” Duncan noted. “At the federal, state and local level, we have all supported policies that have contributed to the problem in implementation. We can and will work with states, districts, and educators to help solve it.”

The issue of testing has gained traction in the last year as Congress has been trying to rewrite NCLB. As lawmakers try to deliver a bill to the president’s desk before the end of the year, the separate reauthorization proposals passed earlier this year by the House and Senate both include language that would incentivize states to evaluate their tests and eliminate any found to be duplicative or ineffective.

However, both proposal would keep in place the federal requirement that states test students annually.


My local public school's counselor told me that the charter schools are drawing students from the public school. I've already told you my experience and my friend's very POSITIVE experience with charter schools. The ones here in Miami-Dade/Broward are superior to the public schools and that is why there are long waiting lists to get in. Regardless of what you think, that FREEDOM that the charter schools have allows them to react quicker and do things that public schools can't - like get rid of bad teachers (no powerful teachers' unions to deal with). In general, the charter schools have better teachers (who have the full support of the charters) and that desire of the students/parents to be there leads to better discipline, more effort in studying, better academics, etc. Now, imagine, if instead of tenured, hard to get rid of teachers, we had more charter schools able to fire bad teachers and compete for students. Imagine the innovative programs that would result. I think that the above, combined with awarding high-achieving students with 3 to 1 community service hours for (free) peer tutoring would greatly improve schools.

[boutons_deux]

http://images.dailykos.com/images/178063/story_image/TMW2015-11-18color.png?1447679863

[CosmicCowboy]

that's just stupid.

like Boutons.,

[boutons_deux]

that's just stupid.

like Boutons.,

it portrays the right wing hate media and Repug Klown Kar perfectly

[boutons_deux]

Red State Stupidity Confirmed: 9 Of The 10 Least Educated States Voted Republican

According to data compiled in a new study, 9 of the 10 least educated states in America also voted Republican in the last presidential election.24/7 Wall St (http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/09/23/the-most-and-least-educated-states/)used educational attainment data from the U.S. Census Bureau to rank all 50 states in terms of higher education level. The results were not surprising to those who pay attention to our national discourse. All ten of the most educated states in the United States voted for President Obama in 2012.

The ten most educated states were Minnesota, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Colorado, Massachusetts. Only one of the ten least educated states (Nevada) voted for President Obama in 2012.The ten least educated states were:

10). Idaho
9). Indiana
8). Oklahoma
7). Alabama
6). Nevada
5). Louisiana
4). Kentucky
3). Arkansas
2). Mississippi
1). West Virginia

Cuts to public education are usually one of the first orders of business undertaken by newly elected Republican governors.

In a broader context, the Republican Party has transitioned into the party of belief. Republicans have stopped relying on facts to support their policies. There is a definite distrust of the public education system. Republicans run their states based on a belief in conservative ideology, so it isn’t surprising that states that support a political party that has decided to create its own reality, have lower education rates.

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/11/17/red-state-stupidity-confirmed-9-10-education-states-america-vote-republican.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicususa%2FfJAl+%28Politi cus+USA+%29

:lol

[boutons_deux]

Repugs and Repug voters are mofo bastards

With Paris conference looming, Republicans officially diss Obama's key climate-change initiative (http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/11/18/1451583/-With-Paris-conference-looming-Republicans-officially-diss-Obama-s-key-climate-change-initiative)\

Neither the Senate resolutions (http://www.capito.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/10.27.2015%20Capito%20CRA%20Resolution.pdf) passed Tuesday to kill the administration’s Clean Power Plan regulating carbon dioxide at new and existing power plants, nor the House combination of those resolutions being discussed, will survive President Obama’s veto. But Republicans (and a few Democrats (http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/11/18/1451524/-Which-3-Senate-Democrats-Voted-to-Block-Obama-s-Climate-Regulations#view-story)) are determined to let every American know that they will do all they can to undermine government policy designing to ameliorate and adapt to climate change.

Under the Clean Power Plan, the Environmental Protection Agency aims to cut U.S. CO2 emissions 32 percent by 2030 over 2005 by requiring states to generate plans that for reducing power-plant emissions. That means even more coal-fired power plants will be shut down than have been in the past five years.

Among the supporters of the Senate resolution—introduced under the Congressional Review Act—were three conservative Democrats, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, who has argued (http://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=917a0bb2-cf3b-4e0d-a59c-5e0067d9fa16)that the EPA must find a “path forward for coal.” Attorneys general for those three states and 23 others are also suing in federal court over the Clean Power Plan, lawsuits that are as likely to fail as the seven (http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ddoniger/clean_power_plan_foes_batting_.html) previous ones have done.

The veto-doomed congressional resolutions would permanently prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating CO2 as a pollutant, something the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the agency is required to do under the Clean Air Act.

No matter whether their motives are based on malignance or ignorance, the lawmakers who passed these resolutions of denial—and who seek to do the same in the House—have one big problem. All their bogus posturing and boot-licking of the fossil-fuel industry can do nothing to stop climate change itself nor weaken the impacts of the changes that are becoming ever more evident to rank-and-file Americans.

?http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/11/18/1451583/-With-Paris-conference-looming-Republicans-officially-diss-Obama-s-key-climate-change-initiative?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos %29

[DMX7]

Cuts to public education are usually one of the first orders of business undertaken by newly elected Republican governors.

In a broader context, the Republican Party has transitioned into the party of belief. Republicans have stopped relying on facts to support their policies. There is a definite distrust of the public education system. Republicans run their states based on a belief in conservative ideology, so it isn’t surprising that states that support a political party that has decided to create its own reality, have lower education rates.

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/11/17/red-state-stupidity-confirmed-9-10-education-states-america-vote-republican.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicususa%2FfJAl+%28Politi cus+USA+%29



:lol

Truth bomb.

[boutons_deux]

exposing yet another eternal REPUG LIE about bishop gecko's "47%"

Economists tested 7 welfare programs to see if they made people lazy. They didn't.

For as long as there have been government programs designed to help the poor, there have been critics insisting that helping the poor will keep them from working. But the evidence for this proposition has always been rather weak.

And a recent study (http://economics.mit.edu/files/10849) from MIT and Harvard economists makes the case even weaker. Abhijit Banerjee, Rema Hanna, Gabriel Kreindler, and Benjamin Olken reanalyzed data from seven randomized experiments evaluating cash programs in poor countries and found "no systematic evidence that cash transfer programs discourage work." Attacking welfare recipients as lazy is easy rhetoric, but when you actually test the proposition scientifically, it doesn't hold up.

No effects in Honduras, no effects in Indonesia, no effects in Morocco…

The programs covered in the study have a pretty wide geographic spread. There are four in Latin America (two in Mexico, one each in Nicaragua and Honduras), two in Southeast Asia (Philippines and Indonesia), and one in Morocco.

Most of the programs the study analyzes are what's known as "conditional cash transfers" (CCTs), where households receive help on the condition that they, say, have their kids attend school, or get them vaccinated. The idea is both to help poor people and to use the aid as a lever with which to ensure kids are getting educated and receiving health services. CCTs first caught on in Latin America, so it makes sense that most of the programs analyzed in the paper are from countries in that region. But the study also includes a Mexican program (http://www.vox.com/2014/6/26/5845258/mexico-tried-giving-poor-people-cash-instead-of-food-it-worked) that provided a $13-a-month unconditional cash transfer to families in poor regions.

Exactly zero of the seven programs saw a statistically significant change in either employment levels or hours worked per week:

https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XCaIYTsoqANdeIFX_ZCKie5LUSY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4282785/cash_study_chart.jpg

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2015/11/20/9764324/welfare-cash-transfer-work

[boutons_deux]

The Craziest Thing About This Supreme Court Case Isn't That One Plaintiff Believes Unicorns Are Real

http://www.motherjones.com/files/imagecache/top-of-content-main/supremecourtacorn.jpg

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will examine the bedrock principle of "one person, one vote" in a major case that could yield the Republican Party a critical advantage in future elections. In Evenwel v. Abbott, (http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/evenwel-v-abbott/) the court is being asked to change how states draw legislative districts in a way that would boost the electoral power of white, rural voters, who lean Republican, at the expense of Latinos and African Americans, who tend to vote Democratic. The plaintiffs behind this high-stakes legal challenge are an unusual pair.

One is a Texas tea party activist who has promoted a conspiratorial film (http://www.obamasrealfather.com/frank-marshall-davis/)suggesting President Barack Obama's real father was Frank Marshall Davis, a supposed propagandist for the Communist Party.

The other is a security guard and religious fundamentalist who believes the Earth doesn't revolve around the sun and that unicorns were real.

Evenwel is a Texas GOP and tea party activist who was a big supporter of former Gov. Rick Perry, who appointed her to serve on the Texas Funeral Service Commission, which oversees the funeral industry. She's the longtime chair of the Titus County Republican Party and a member of the Texas state Republican Party executive committee.

In the past, she's been a political booster of tea party favorites including former Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Sarah Palin, and former Florida Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.). Lately, she's championed the presidential bid of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

In 2012, the Evenwel-led Titus County GOP was a screening (http://titusgop.blogspot.com/2012/10/update-from-titus-hq.html) of Dreams From My Real Father: A Story of Reds and Deception, the docudrama that suggests Obama's real father was Frank Marshall Davis, a man the film's promotional material describe as a "Communist Party USA propagandist who likely shaped Obama's world view during his formative years." On her Facebook page, Evenwel has also approvingly touted a story (https://www.facebook.com/sue.evenwel.3/posts/326560184044414?_rdr=p) from the conservative website WorldNetDailyquestioning whether Obama was really born in America.

Ed Pfenninger, has expressed some equally eyebrow-raising views. A Christian fundamentalist who works as a security guard in Porter, Texas, Pfenninger operates a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Qdmnxz6SkqWnVN_SxUSUg) where he's posted hours of videos of himself expounding on his beliefs. For instance, he's described the Catholic Church as "the Mother of Harlots." He's also said that Jews are "enemies of the cross," and that God created Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust because he "wanted the Jews back into the Land." Pfenninger also cites the Bible to justify his belief that women with short hair are somehow shameful. In response to a commenter on one of his videos, he wrote:


http://www.motherjones.com/files/long-hair.gif
Pfenninger has scorned science and claimed that "geocentricity" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gld_jlsxPP4)—the medieval belief that the Earth is the center of the universe—"is a Bible fact. It its not theory…the earth is standing still in the middle of the universe." The notion that the Earth revolves around the sun, according to Pfenninger, "is part of the Copernican revolution, which is anti-Biblical, and in fact led to the acceptance of evolution. Christians will fight against evolution but you've got to go a little further back and fight against the root of evolution, which is the heliocentric movement."

And then there's the unicorn, which appears repeatedly in Pfenninger's online posts. Arguing with a commenter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06cDAE6uDbc) to one of his YouTube videos, Pfenninger wrote in 2013 that the "unicorn was a real creature known for it's [sic] great strength, and is also referred to in ancient literature." Pfenninger did not respond to an email requesting comment.


http://www.motherjones.com/files/the%20unicorn.png


http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/12/evenwel-abbott-supreme-court-redistricting

And you rightwingnuts bitch about "frivolous" personal injury suits? :lol

[boutons_deux]

GOP Candidates Jewsplain Jewing To Jewishes. Goes Well As You’d Expect, Only Worse

http://img.wonkette.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/stupidjesus.jpeg

We all of us know Republican presidential candidates are far more comfortable addressing Jesus-Americans — what with our country being a Christian nation (http://wonkette.com/593711/mike-huckabee-begs-judge-to-send-him-to-jail-make-him-sexy-christian-martyr-too), for Christians (http://wonkette.com/596012/gop-give-us-your-tired-and-your-poor-and-your-jesus-lovers-only) only, especially (http://wonkette.com/594132/ben-carson-will-not-have-a-muslim-president-smearing-sharia-on-his-constitution) in the Oval Office (http://wonkette.com/595774/ted-cruz-demands-next-president-start-his-day-praying-to-jesus-or-giving-head). But on Thursday, they explored their bicurosity about The Judeos, to talk Jew Talk to Republican Jewishes (you can fit all of ’em in one room; they call themselves the Republican Jewish Coalition, LOL), and to beg for their famously good-with-money Jew dollars.

Trump’s performance was arguably the least awkward, receiving laughs and claps when he said “Israel” and “Jews” and “Obama sucks.” He referred to his audience repeatedly as “you folks” and “you people” and praised you people’s renowned negotiating skills (you know how cheapskate Jews don’t pay retail, dontcha?), and he kept coming back to the topic of you people’s money and how he doesn’t want it and how the you folks in the room “stupidly” won’t support him, even though he will be The Best at Making Israel Great Again. Stupid Jews.


The brilliant doctor’s address to The Jewishes was, um, yeah: (http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/12/03/ben-carson-reads-history-of-israeli-palestinian-conflict-to-jewish-gop-group/)


He repeatedly botched the pronunciation of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, making it sound instead like the chickpea dish hummus — all while impugning President Barack Obama’s understanding of the Middle East. […]

In his remarks, Mr. Carson delivered a lengthy history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, arguing that generations of skirmishes could have been avoided if the Palestinian Arabs had accepted a two-state partition of British Mandate Palestine after World War II.

That’s right. Ben Carson, who described Israel’s system of government as “complex” (http://wonkette.com/580716/ben-carson-is-a-brain-surgeon-so-he-knows-a-psychopath-obama-when-he-sees-one-obama) and suggested they just do it like how we do in America, with Republicans, Democrats, and independents — and whose own advisers say they cannot shove any intelligence on foreign things into his brain, no matter how hard they try (http://wonkette.com/596145/team-trying-to-upgrade-ben-carsons-brain-admits-operation-has-failed) — was giving a history lesson on Israel to a roomful of Jews. That’s what our people call chutzpah.

The Ohio governor who suggested creating a new federal department of doing Crusades (http://wonkette.com/596129/moderate-john-kasich-only-wants-to-bring-back-the-crusades-a-little-bit) to foreigners, to teach them our “Judeo-Christian values,” tried to charm the crowd of Judeos with a great story of Stereotypes His Mama Taught Him (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/john-kasich-donald-trump-jewish-coalition_56607915e4b08e945fee587c):

“My mother told me one time, she said, Johnny — when I was a very young man — she said, Johnny, if you want to look for a really good friend, get somebody who’s Jewish,” Kasich said. “And you know why she said that? She said, no matter what happens to you, your friend, your Jewish friend will stick by your side and fight right with you and stand by you.”


Rick Santorum

The not-safe-for-work former senator of Pennsylvania said that some of his best friends (http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/03/politics/2016-republican-jewish-coalition-candidates-awkward/) in the Senate — before the voters double-digit fired his ass, but for some reason, he always leaves that part out — were Joe Lieberman. You know, Joe Lieberman, wink wink, the Jew one.

Mike Huckabee

Of course he was there, touting his expertise (http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/262001-huckabee-no-two-state-solution-in-israel) on Israel, since except for believing there is but one true god and his name is Jebus, he’s practically a Jewish himself:

Huckabee said he has traveled to Israel for more than 42 years and has been a tour guide for “literally thousands” of Americans who have visited the country with him. This was the proof he offered that he would actually deliver for Israel if elected president.


But now that the Republicans have checked off “ask for Jew money” from their list, they can all resume talkin’ ’bout the War on Christmas and the War on Christians and how the First Amendment protects your right to pray to any Jesus you want, so long as it’s Jesus.

http://wonkette.com/596641/gop-candidates-jewsplain-jewing-to-jewishes-goes-well-as-youd-expect-only-worse

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Here's Conservatives practicing "free market" "laissez-faire" bullshit.

Actually, it's Jews buying enough politicians to implement Israel-protecting govt and private policies


Ban on Israel divestment angers pension officials

The UK government has angered some of the country’s most senior pension officials over proposed rules that have been widely interpreted as political interference in pension funds’ investment decisions.

The ruling Conservative party published a statement in October outlining “new rules to stop politically motivated boycott and divestment campaigns against UK defence companies and against Israel”.

The rule change follows similar legislation in the US state of Illinois (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f3503208-0621-11e5-89c1-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3syGB1dhO) banning the state’s five pension funds from investing in companies that boycott Israel.

The bill, which was passed in May, was widely considered an attempt to undermine the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f11c1e1c-0e13-11e5-8ce9-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3syGB1dhO), which calls for investors to pull money from companies it believes are complicit in violating Palestinian rights.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f3503208-0621-11e5-89c1-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3syGB1dhO

===============

and in USA:

US pension funds to divest from Israel boycotters

Pension funds across the US could soon be forced to withdraw money from companies perceived to have boycotted Israel if a legislative initiative under way in the state of Illinois gains traction.

Last month, Illinois became the first US state to pass a bill (http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=1761&GAID=13&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=88517&SessionID=88) banning the state’s five pension funds from investing in companies that boycott Israel.

The bill is widely considered an attempt to undermine the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/075aa326-f22f-11e3-ac7a-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=uk), which calls for investors to pull money from companies it believes are complicit in violating Palestinian rights.

Some BDS resolutions and activists advocate a blanket boycott of Israel; others only of companies and institutions linked to Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which most of the outside world sees as illegal and an obstacle to peace.

While a growing number of European pension funds have blacklisted (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/075aa326-f22f-11e3-ac7a-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=uk) several Israeli companies due to their operations in the occupied Palestinian territories, it seems increasingly unlikely that their US counterparts will adopt a similar stance.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f3503208-0621-11e5-89c1-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3syGB1dhO

[boutons_deux]

Fox pundit says ‘white privilege is racist’: I confront my whiteness by ‘going to the tanning salon’


http://www.rawstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/fox_on_white_privilege_150507a-800x430.jpg

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/fox-pundit-says-white-privilege-is-racist-i-confront-my-whiteness-by-going-to-the-tanning-salon/

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It All Begins With The GOP

When your jaw drops watching every step in the battle for the heart of the Republican Party and the selection of their national leader, you should always keep in mind who now identifies with this party. It is a lot fewer voters than it used to be and their popularity has fallen to Watergate levels on many measures.

The evangelicals and the Tea Party are the heart of the Republican Party. About seven in ten strongly identify with the Republican Party, and they are the base segments most likely to vote straight Republican on Election Day.

They do not look like the new American majority. The evangelical, observant Catholic, and Tea Party base voters are nearly 90 percent white, and two-thirds are married—in stark contrast to a country that is growing more racially diverse and increasingly single.

http://www.nationalmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Greenberg_It-starts-with-the-GOP_National-Memo.jpg

http://www.nationalmemo.com/it-all-begins-with-the-gop/#

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Fox News Teaches Kids How To Run Toward Gunfire, What Could Go Wrong?

http://wonkette.com/596794/fox-news-teaches-kids-how-to-run-toward-gunfire-what-could-go-wrong

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Rep. Steve King Wants To Know Why His Muslim Colleagues Hate America

http://img.wonkette.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/steve-King-Of-Kings1.jpg

Ah, Steve King.

The pride of Iowa.

Lover of rape babies (http://wonkette.com/481613/rep-steve-king-i-have-never-heard-of-teenagers-getting-pregnant-except-the-ones-i-described),

hater of puppies (http://wonkette.com/479676/iowa-rep-steve-king-loves-dog-fighting-so-much-wants-to-marry-it-have-its-slashed-up-puppies).

How we haven’t missed you one tiny little bit. And yet here you are, catching that nasty case of Trump that’s going around. King hit the pause button, with his greasy butter cow fingers, on his usual tirade (http://wonkette.com/523543/congresscritter-steve-kings-fan-fiction-about-ubermenschen-mexican-drug-mules-is-getting-really-weird-you-guys) against cantaloupe-shaped Mexicans and their drug mule children, to dry-hump (http://%22sharia%20law%20is%20incompatible%20with%20the%2 0united%20states%20constitution%20and%20so%20if%20 they%20want%20to%20demonstrate%20that%20they%20are %20open%20to%20being%20americanized%2C%20the%20fir st%20thing%20they%20should%20do%20is%20renounce%20 sharia%20law%2C%22%20king%20told%20tpm.%20%22you%2 0won%27t%20get%20keith%20ellison%20or%20andre%20ca rson%20in%20this%20congress%20to%20renounce%20shar ia%20law%2C%20let%20alone%20somebody%20that%27s%20 just%20come%20out%20of%20the%20middle%20east%20tha t%20is%20someone%20who%20has%20been%20steeped%20in %20islam%20for%20a%20lifetime.%22/) another of his favorite topics: those damned Muslims, all up in his Christian-nation (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/steve-king-proves-america-christian-nation) America.


“Sharia law is incompatible with the United States Constitution and so if they want to demonstrate that they are open to being Americanized, the first thing they should do is renounce Sharia law,” King told TPM. “You won’t get Keith Ellison or Andre Carson in this Congress to renounce Sharia law, let alone somebody that’s just come out of the Middle East that is someone who has been steeped in Islam for a lifetime.”


Conservatives have been trying to force Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison to renounce his own faith and prove he isn’t a terrorist (http://wonkette.com/478960/congratulations-michigan-congressman-keith-ellison-you-are-michele-bachmanns-newest-muslim-terrorist) (“no offense”) who hates America (http://wonkette.com/513607/fox-wingnuts-still-terrified-of-scary-very-dangerous-muslim-in-congress-who-probably-hates-america-because-muslim) since, oh, about the second he was sworn into office in 2007, back when the Iraq War had been won, the mission accomplished, the terrorist threat shocked and awed into its last desperate throes.

And then the next year there were TWO of them — that makes it a conspiracy! — when Indiana Rep. André D. Carson was special electioned into Congress, and both of those Muslims have consistently refused to stop being Muslims.

http://wonkette.com/596831/rep-steve-king-wants-to-know-why-his-muslim-colleagues-hate-america

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Florida kicks 9,000 chronically ill, disabled kids out of healthcare system (http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/12/12/1458266/-Florida-kicks-9-000-chronically-ill-disabled-kids-out-of-healthcare-system)

The Miami Herald obtained thousands of pages of health department documents under the state's public records law, including nearly 800 emails and hundreds of memos and reports that detailed the state's plan to "restructure" CMS.

They show that the elimination of children from CMS was the result of a plan to slash spending on sick kids at a time when Florida had a $635.4 million surplus.

For the legislative session that begins next month, Gov. Rick Scott has proposed $1 billion in new tax cuts. The spending plan would eliminate an additional 718 health department positions. […]

The parents of one Palm Beach County infant learned on the eve of a critical craniofacial surgery that their 6-month-old son had been "screened out" of CMS. The little boy is profoundly disabled, records show, having been born deaf, without eyes, and with a disfiguring cleft palate. The child's mother called CMS in preparation for the surgery, only to be told "the screening is showing 'NO,' so they would not do anything."

"URGENT" read the subject line of a Feb. 2 internal email. "There is nothing that we can do?"

There was something they could do. Within a few days, the infant was re-enrolled. Thousands of other youngsters, though, did not fare as well.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/12/12/1458266/-Florida-kicks-9-000-chronically-ill-disabled-kids-out-of-healthcare-system?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos %29

"Compassionate conservatism" was always fucking lie.

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Rep. Steve King's defenseof anti-Muslim bigotry will someday appear in our history books (http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/12/12/1458944/-Rep-Steve-King-s-defense-of-anti-Muslim-bigotry-will-someday-appear-in-our-history-books)

Steve King believes Muslims are violent and bad; Steve King believes Christians like himself are peaceful and good. There's no bit of reality you can throw at him that will shake these beliefs.

HAYES: Congressman, let me just stop you right there. Congressman, there was a man named Robert Dear who in court today said he was a warrior for the babies, whose ex-wife talked about his Christian beliefs motivating his desire to attack and murder three people, including a police officer, in Colorado. That man is a Christian, he’s an avowed Christian. He appears to have acted on those Christian beliefs to undertake that act of violence. KING: I don't think that he's following Jesus' teachings --


HAYES: But who are you to say? He says he's a Christian.

KING: That's what he says, all right. But that's not Jesus' teachings. Jesus didn’t teach people to kill.

HAYES: But you’re doing the exact same thing that every Muslim I’ve seen on air says do in the wake of what happened in San Bernardino. They say they weren’t following actual Islam. Islam does not preach hatred and violence and destruction, right?

I mean, why is this any different? You understandably as a Christian are someone of the faith, right? You look at what happened at Planned Parenthood, you said that's not the faith that I believe in. Millions and billions --

KING: What Planned Parenthood is doing is not the faith that I believe in, but Jesus never ordered anyone to be killed and he never raised his hand to injure anyone specifically. But Mohammed did, and there is a big difference in this. And so they’re carrying on the traditions that are centuries old --


And he knows that America doesn't face a problem from Christians murdering people because they're not Christians so problem solved.

stupidity-based bigotry is a movement. His insistence on what things are true and what are not—all real-world happenings be damned, all contrary evidence a plot against him—is the movement.

He had previously muttered to another reporter that not even his Muslim colleague Keith Ellison would renounce "Sharia law"—that Rep. Ellison was, therefore, just another bit of evidence that the entire Muslim religion was "incompatible" with Americanism and needs to be winnowed out. He says so again here. He is sure of it.

KING: Well, when Congressman Ellison takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and also -- you'll get to ask him. I'm glad he is going to be there to answer this question. And it is, which is superior? The Constitution or Sharia law? And in Sharia law, by their teachings, is superior to everything else. It replaces everything else. It replaces the Constitution itself. So you can't be assimilated into the American civilization and accept Sharia law as being superior to our Constitution. It’s antithetical to Americanism.


ask Rep. Steve King which he believes to be more important: American law, or God's law. His God's law, the Christian one. Ask Mike Huckabee. Ask Ted Cruz. Ask every conservative Christian Republican in the House, for that matter, just to get a proper tally.

They will tell you that American law must not be enforced when it conflicts with Christianity—their particular Christianity, and no other. They will bring it to the Supreme Court. They will pass laws insisting upon it.

And Steve King will not see the slightest conflict in that—he will say, in fact, that insisting on his version of Christianity above all other religions makes him more American than anyone else, not less. And he will curl his lip in that special sneer of his and again opine that Rep. Keith Ellison and his fellow violent religious zealots are up to something.

You cannot reason with radical Christian extremists. There is no evidence you can present to them, no headstone or history you can show them to deflect them from their beliefs.
Also they are as dumb as a can of peas.


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/12/12/1458944/-Rep-Steve-King-s-defense-of-anti-Muslim-bigotry-will-someday-appear-in-our-history-books?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos %29

The King "Christian sharia" crowd will "officially" condemn shooting up, bombing, burning PP clinics and staff, but they are probably very pleased in private about it.

Violence in the name of their self-serving brand of perverse Christianity is ok, but Muslims' violence in reaction to Christians invading Muslim countries and killing Muslims is bad.

[tlongII]

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/v/t1.0-9/10413417_10152654462038432_3042496278254436786_n.j pg?oh=b3510f2ad3c5774a8a0e61830387991d&oe=571573C7

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https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/v/t1.0-9/10413417_10152654462038432_3042496278254436786_n.j pg?oh=b3510f2ad3c5774a8a0e61830387991d&oe=571573C7

b u l l s h i t because it's ALL WRONG for the Repug party of the last 40 years.

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Repug/Christian Taliban War on Women

Kentucky shelter tosses out all women days before holidays because they tempt men with ‘ungodly’ sex

Emergency Christian Ministries Director Billy Woodward told WYMT (http://www.wymt.com/content/news/Women-no-longer-accepted-at-homeless-shelter-after-sex-problem-361346571.html) that he had to put a stop to the “sex problem.”

“They may want to meet or slip in a room occasionally, we can’t have that,” Woodward explained. “It seems like these last days it’s getting worse … the ungodly type.”

“They say, ‘We’re homeless, maybe we can find somebody, a mate or something,'” he continued. “If they done it right, it would be fine. But, you know, they go overboard with it.”

Emergency Christian Ministries forced up to a dozen women to leave, according to WYMT. It was not immediately clear if the women had been able to relocate because Emergency Christian Ministries is the only shelter for the homeless in Williamsburg.

Woodward insisted that the decision had been made based on teachings in the Bible, but he admitted that women were not completely to blame for the “sex problem.”

“It takes two to do that,” Woodward said. “We are not biased or prejudice whatsoever.” :lol

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/kentucky-shelter-tosses-out-all-women-days-before-holidays-because-they-tempt-men-with-ungodly-sex/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

Kentucky Christ says "Merry Christmas, Ladies"

[boutons_deux]

Backpacking While Black in Slave State

Georgia school says teacher had no ‘ill intent’ asking Muslim student if she had a bomb in her backpack

A Georgia middle school teacher is not facing any repercussions after she asked a Muslim 8th grader if she had a bomb in her backpack, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://www.ajc.com/news/lifestyles/gwinnett-teacher-asks-muslim-student-if-she-has-a-/nphLj/) is reporting.

Saying there was no “ill intent” involved, :lol

the unidentified teacher at Shiloh Middle School in Gwinnett County was only told by school administrators that her comments were “not appropriate,” :lol

which has the father of the girl disgusted with the whole incident.

“I was upset,” explained the girl’s father, Abdirazik Aden, who owns a business in the area. “I was going to take my daughter out (of that school). “

According to Aden, his daughter was stopped on Monday by the teacher who asked the young girl what she had in her book bag. After the girl replied “books,” the teacher inquired further, asking if she had a bomb in the bag.

Aden said his daughter called him afterwards upset with the line of questioning.

“My daughter wanted to know why she was asking her that,” he explained, adding that he went to the school where he spoke with a vice principal who explained that it was a mistake on the teacher’s part.

According to Gwinnett County Public Schools spokesperson Sloan Roach, the district is not denying the incident happened.

“The remark was not appropriate, but based on their conversation and investigation,” school officials don’t believe it was made with “ill intent,” Roach explained, adding that the comment was made by the teacher as an off-handed remark while trying to get students to put their backpacks away.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/georgia-school-says-teacher-had-no-ill-intent-asking-muslim-student-if-she-had-a-bomb-in-her-backpack/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

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Conservative actress tells Fox: Darth Vader is black because it’s in the Bible and ‘Jesus talks about it’

http://www.rawstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/fbn_turner_vader_151214c-800x430.jpg

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/conservative-actress-tells-fox-darth-vader-is-black-because-its-in-the-bible-and-jesus-talks-about-it/

[DMX7]

so George Lucas is GOD?

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Maine’s Republican Governor Oversees Decline in Food Assistance

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week notified the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that it was breaking the law regarding its Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP). The USDA told Maine’s government agency (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2GGUTXhI8gQWmpMcEJGZnFpSXc/view) in a letter that its application response times were too low and that its data were insufficient.

The state now ranks last in response time out of 53 SNAP programs in the nation (https://davidfarmer.bangordailynews.com/2015/12/14/republicans/exclusive-maine-facing-sanctions-from-feds-over-food-program/?ncid=newsltushpmg00000003). In 2014, it ranked 36 out of 53, marking a drastic drop in efficiency for a state with one of the highest rates of food insecurity—hunger—in the nation.

At 7.5 percent, Maine ties with Ohio for having the third highest percentage of people with very low food security (http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx); Arkansas and Missouri are only marginally worse.

These eligible families are not receiving the help they need in a timely manner, and a high percentage of families with children and the elderly are affected. In 2013, about 17 percent of Maine households received SNAP benefits (http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/ops/Maine.pdf), and about 43 percent of those households had children under 18.

The USDA has been in contact with Maine’s health department multiple times regarding its slow SNAP response times and failure to produce data for the agency, according to the letter from the USDA.

“Maine’s poor timeliness performance negative impacts SNAP clients across the state and must be addressed,” the letter reads. “We stand ready to provide technical assistance to improve program administration to serve eligible Maine households in a timely manner and to help the state avoid suspension or disallowance of administrative funding.”

http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/12/16/maines-republican-governor-oversees-decline-food-assistance/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rhrealitycheck+%28RH+Reality+ Check%29

Maine is less the 1% black, so Repugs are screwing poor white people.

[boutons_deux]

Slave State Congressman Argues Obama’s Immigration Policy Is Based On ‘Skin Pigmentation’

A Republican congressman argued this week that the only thing preventing a complete pause on new immigration to the United States is “a president of the United States who wants to change the way America looks.”

“A lot of it has to do with skin pigmentation,” Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) continued during an appearance on the Matt Murphy Show. “

A lot of it has to do with religious values,” the Alabama congressman, who has previously peddled conspiracy theories (http://thinkprogress.org/world/2015/02/03/3618639/mo-brooks-obama-muslim/) about President Obama’s childhood in Indonesia, said.

http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2015/12/19/3733900/mo-brooks-immigration-skin-pigmentation/

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From darkest, deepest, most corrupt Repug Kockenstan

Wisconsin Loosens Campaign Finance Rules For 'Dark Money'

Advocates on all sides of the campaign finance debate are watching Wisconsin, where new laws are removing limits on the use and reporting of "dark money" from secret sources.

The laws enable coordination between political campaigns and advocacy organizations, something almost all other states forbid.

Wisconsin, like other states, limits how much money individuals can contribute to the campaign committees for political candidates and ballot measures. It also requires campaigns to disclose their contributors. Nonprofit advocacy groups, on the other hand, are usually able to accept unlimited donations, and are not required to report where the money came from, even when it is used to influence elections.

Wisconsin's new laws explicitly allow coordination, as long as the advocacy group doesn't call specifically for the election or defeat of a candidate, or the approval or rejection of a ballot measure. The legislation also replaces a nonpartisan election law enforcement commission with two partisan boards, and stops requiring campaigns to disclose the employers of people who donate more than $100.

GOP majorities in both houses approved the legislation for Gov. Scott Walker's signature after an outside group connected to the billionaire Koch brothers was accused of illegally coordinating with the governor's successful campaign against a recall effort in 2012.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/wisconsin-dark-money-loosen-rules?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tpm-news+%28TPMNews%29

meanwhile, Americans know money corrupts politics, and disenfranchises Human-Americans

Americans’ Views on Money in Politics

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/06/02/us/politics/money-in-politics-poll.html

[boutons_deux]

Repugs poison the water, poison the blacks,

Repug authoritarian "emergency managemer" MISgovernance

High Lead Levels In Michigan Kids After City Switches Water Source

Doctors are finding elevated levels of lead in the children in Flint, Mich., and local tap water is the likely cause.

That's the latest alarming news to come out of the city, which switched its water source (http://michiganradio.org/term/flint-water#stream/0) about a year and a half ago.

A pediatrician with Hurley Medical Center analyzed lead levels of hundreds of children. She compared blood tests before and after April 2014. That's when Flint, unable to come to an agreement on a short-term contract with Detroit, quit buying water from its system and signed on with a new system that will draw water from Lake Huron.

But that system won't be online until next year. So in the interim, with assurances from the state that it would be safe, the city decided to pump water from the Flint River.
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha's research found that the percentage of Flint children 5 years and younger with elevated lead levels nearly doubled after the switch, from 2.1 percent to 4 percent.

More Children With Elevated Lead Levels After Water Change

The city of Flint, Mich., started drawing its water from a local river in April 2014. Recently, doctors at Hurley Medical Center compared lead levels in Flint children with those from elsewhere in Genesee County.

A Cascade Of Problems

The news did not surprise Lee Anne Walters, who suspected the water had something to do with health problems in her 4-year-old son, Gavin.

"I kept talking to the doctors, trying to figure out why he wasn't growing," she says. "He was 27 pounds at 4 years old. His hair was thinning, breaking out in rashes."

Complaints about foul-smelling, discolored water began soon after the city started drawing water from the Flint River. In the summer of 2014, the city issued a notice for residents to boil their water because of E. coli contamination.

And I got a frantic phone call from the water department telling me to please make sure my kids didn't drink the water, don't mix their juice with it, because they had never seen a number that high for lead.

Lee Anne Walters, whose 4-year-old son's lead level more than tripled after Flint switched its water source

Then the city was found to be in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act because of high levels of a disinfectant byproduct called total trihalomethanes — an unintended consequence from all the chlorine the city had to use to kill the E. coli.

Walters says her whole family broke out in rashes, and they stopped drinking the water in December.

Then, in February of this year, the city tested her water for lead.

"And I got a frantic phone call from the water department telling me to please make sure my kids didn't drink the water, don't mix their juice with it, because they had never seen a number that high for lead," she say

http://www.npr.org/2015/09/29/444497051/high-lead-levels-in-michigan-kids-after-city-switches-water-source

Flint toxic water tragedy points directly to Michigan Gov. Snyder (http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/toxic-water-tragedy-points-directly-to-snyder-588635715518)

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/toxic-water-tragedy-points-directly-to-snyder-588635715518 (http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/toxic-water-tragedy-points-directly-to-snyder-588635715518)

[tlongII]

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/v/t1.0-9/10413417_10152654462038432_3042496278254436786_n.j pg?oh=b3510f2ad3c5774a8a0e61830387991d&oe=571573C7

[baseline bum]

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/v/t1.0-9/10413417_10152654462038432_3042496278254436786_n.j pg?oh=b3510f2ad3c5774a8a0e61830387991d&oe=571573C7

That racist Democratic base became the racist Republican base :lol


1860 Election: Dem = green, blue, Rep = red
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/ElectoralCollege1860.svg

2012 Election: Dem = blue, Rep = red
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/ElectoralCollege2012.svg/522px-ElectoralCollege2012.svg.png

[boutons_deux]

hate-filled Repugs pandering to hate-filled Christian Taliban (sex and private life regulators)

Six GOP Candidates Pledge To Sign Anti-Gay Discrimination Into Law


http://cdn.thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/19111351/round-up--1024x579.jpg

Six of the Republican candidates vying for the presidency have signed a pledge (http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/six-gop-hopefuls-vow-enshrine-anti-gay-discrimination-law) promising to support legislation during their first 100 days in the White House that would use the guise of “religious liberty” to give individuals and businesses the right to openly discriminate against LGBT people.

Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum, and Mike Huckabee vowed to push for the passage of the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), legislation that would prohibit the federal government from stopping discrimination by people or businesses that believe “marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman” or that “sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage.”

The pledge is supported (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/frc-action-praises-presidential-candidates-for-pledging-support-to-the-first-amendment-defense-act-300195327.html) by three conservative groups: the American Principles Project, Heritage Action for America, and Family Research Council Action.

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/12/19/3734043/gop-candidates-fadapledge/

Freedom! (but not those disallowed by white Christian supremacist Taliban)

[boutons_deux]

Carly Fiorina surrounds self with puppies, still makes it creepy (http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/12/19/1460466/-Carly-Fiorina-surrounds-self-with-puppies-still-makes-it-creepy)

http://images.dailykos.com/images/186629/story_image/FiorinaPuppies.jpg?1450202198
"Ya know, President Obama ate one of your cousins," Fiorina tells a dog in the Independent Journal video before turning to the camera and adding, "Vote Republican."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/12/19/1460466/-Carly-Fiorina-surrounds-self-with-puppies-still-makes-it-creepy?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos %29

CarLIE sez Obama eats dogs.

[boutons_deux]

Poll: 30% of Republicans want to bomb fictional home of Aladdin


http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/13/17/57/2948044/3/920x920.jpg

Muslim empires stretched across three continents for hundreds of years, but there’s one Arabian character who stands out to all Americans. And 41 percent of Donald Trump’s supporters want to bomb him to kingdom come.

A recent survey from Public Policy Polling (http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/GOPResults.pdf)asked respondents their opinion on bombing Agrabah. Among Trump supporters, 41 percent were in favor of bombing, while 51 percent were not sure and only 9 percent opposed.

The problem? Agrabah is the fictional homeland of the beloved Disney character Aladdin.

Trump supporters weren’t the only ones to take a strong stand against Disney’s Arabian hero.

More than 30 percent of Rick Santorum, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie and Jeb Bush supporters also backed the attack.

Overall, 30 percent of respondents were in favor of the magic carpet bombing.

http://m.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/Poll-30-percent-of-republicans-want-to-bomb-6708039.php#photo-2948044

:lol

Down with Agrabah! thermonuclar bomb it into glass!

[boutons_deux]

Fox Host Speculates Chelsea Clinton Timed Pregnancy To Boost Campaign

Fox News host Eric Bolling resurrected the theory that Chelsea Clinton, who is expecting a second child (http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/chelsea-clinton-announces-second-pregnancy), “timed out” her pregnancies to boost her mother Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign on Monday’s episode of the “O’Reilly Factor.”

“Did they do the math?” Bolling asked guest Dana Perino.

Though Perino said she “would never suggest such a thing,” her Fox colleague continued to speculate that there was something suspicious about Chelsea Clinton’s Monday announcement that she was pregnant again.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/eric-bolling-conspiracy-chelsea-clinton-pregnancy?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tpm-news+%28TPMNews%29

[boutons_deux]

Anti-abortion activists hit new low: Ohio lawmakers attack women’s rights with hideous bill demanding they bury fetuses

The latest anti-abortion gambit occurred in Ohio, where “State lawmakers are introducing new legislation that would require women who have abortions or miscarriages to designate arrangements for burial or cremation of fetuses,” according to a report by WVXU (http://wvxu.org/post/bill-would-require-burial-or-cremation-fetal-remains#stream/0) in Cincinnati.

And no, that wasn’t a typo – women treated for miscarriages are also required to sign a form “designating burial or cremation of fetal remains,” because 6-week old embryos are human persons with friends and family members who need closure after their death.

http://www.salon.com/2015/12/22/anti_abortion_activists_hit_new_low_ohio_lawmakers _attack_womens_rights_with_hideous_bill_demanding_ they_bury_fetuses/

[boutons_deux]

For you fucktards who claim Repugs and Dems are exactly the same ...

Right-Wing Gov. Hands Kim Davis Big Win, Screws Over Low-Income Workers in One Fell Swoop

Kentucky governor Matt Bevin has begun to undo the progressive efforts of his Democratic predecessor.

Bevin, making good on a campaign promise that may have contributed to his electoral win, has issued an executive order that removes the need for Kentucky county clerks to include their name and signature on marriage licenses.

Gov. Bevin has also produced an executive order to drop the minimum wage for state employees from $10.10 per hour to $7.25.

The governor issued another order seeking to remove voting rights from ex-felons. Bevin’s predecessor Beshear had signed an executive order to restore the right to vote for 140,000 former felons. For now, though those rights have not been suspended, NCRM reports, they hang in the legislative balance.

Despite his own use of an executive order to override Kentucky law, Bevin suggested he opposes the use of those orders—at least when they are used to support progressive policies.

http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/right-wing-gov-hands-kim-davis-big-win-screws-over-low-income-workers-one-fell
Bevin campaigned on screwing Kynect, KY's implemenation of ACA

[boutons_deux]

Repug REGULATIONS for their War On Women

New Hampshire Legislators Mock Breasts, Push Ban On Public Nipples

Members of New Hampshire’s Republican-controlled state legislature are pushing for a bill (http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/lsr_search/billText.aspx?id=365&type=4) that would make it illegal for a woman to show her nipples in public. And while the bill contains an exemption for breast-feeding, that didn’t stop representatives from sharing their opinions on the matter of public breast-feeding on social media Tuesday night.

According to the New York Daily News (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/male-n-h-state-lawmakers-crude-facebook-comments-article-1.2481443), Democratic State Rep. Amanda Bouldin expressed her opposition to the bill on her personal Facebook page, writing that “YES, all the sponsors are men. And Republicans. So much for ‘smaller government.’”

State Rep. Josh Moore (R), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, responded toBoudlin’s criticism by launching into a discussion of breast-feeding.

“If it’s a woman’s natural inclination to pull her nipple out in public and you supportthat, than you should have no problem with a mansinclantion [sic] to stare at it and grab it,” Moore wrote. “After all… It’s ALL relative and natural, right?”

Another lawmaker, State Rep. Al Baldasaro (R) responded by personally insulting Boudlin.

“No disrespect, but your nipple would be the last one I would want to see,” Baldasaro wrote, claiming that Boudlin wants to “turn our family beach’s into a pervert show.”

This is not the first time thatBaldaraso has stirred up controversy with his comments. In 2011, Baldasaro told ThinkProgress (http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/10/03/333979/al-baldasaro-booing-gay-soldier/) he thought it was “great” that a GOP debate audience booed a gay marine.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/12/31/3735429/new-hampshire-breastfeeding-sexism/

[boutons_deux]

what an asshole

U.S. chief justice urges judges, lawyers to cooperate for speedier litigation

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts urged trial judges on Thursday to manage cases more efficiently and advised lawyers to avoid “antagonistic tactics,” as he focused his annual year-end report on federal rules intended to speed up litigation.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-roberts-idUSKBN0UE1G520151231?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews


===========

Repugs BLOCKING justice in USA by blocking Obama's nominations

http://judicialnominations.org/pending-nominees

Judge not: GOP blocks dozens of Obama court picks

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/payback-gop-blocks-obama-judge-picks-judiciary-119743#ixzz3vwbQS9nR

==========

Here's A Look At The Most Ridiculously Long Judicial Vacancies The Senate Still Hasn't Filled


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/10/obama-judicial-nominees_n_7042996.html


Repugs blocking immigration judges just to spite Obama, causing 10Ks of illegal immigrants to wait.

[boutons_deux]

NSA, Israel revelations lead to fresh ‘impeachment’ talk

After reports (http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-us-israel-and-little-espionage-among-friends) surfaced last week that the NSA spied on Israel, and intercepted some communications between Israeli officials and members of Congress, Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson called the espionage “truly disgraceful.” He had no similar concerns earlier in the year following reports Israel spied on the United States.

Mike Huckabee, meanwhile, perhaps looking for some attention, went considerably further (http://video.foxnews.com/v/4680659786001/huckabee-spying-on-congress-members-an-impeachable-offense/?#sp=show-clips) during an interview with Fox News.

“The real issue is whether or not the president was aware that members of Congress were being tapped. If that’s the case, and the president was aware of it, Sandra, I believe that this is not only unconstitutional, I believe this is an impeachable offense.

“Richard Nixon resigned for less than this.”


Actually, no, he didn’t.

On Capitol Hill, the response was far more muted – congressional Democrats seem quite confident that there is no real controversy (http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/264473-dems-brush-off-latest-spying-report#.VoRiLptA-ds.twitter) here – though Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee (http://www.wsj.com/articles/house-intelligence-committee-to-review-nsa-handling-of-israeli-communications-1451516579) and the House Oversight Committee (http://www.rollcall.com/news/house_intel_panel_looking_into_nsa_spying_allegati ons-245273-1.html?pos=hatxt) seem likely to hold hearings on the matter.

If it seems as if Republicans are going through the motions, struggling to pretend to be outraged, that’s probably because they are.

Look, U.S. intelligence agencies spying on members of Congress would, in fact, be a very serious story. But that’s really not what we’ve learned.

As we discussed (http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-us-israel-and-little-espionage-among-friends) last week, Israel spied on us, hoping to disrupt international nuclear diplomacy with Iran. Those efforts failed. Israel then launched a campaign to derail American foreign policy, prompting, according to the Wall Street Journal’s reporting (http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-spy-net-on-israel-snares-congress-1451425210), U.S. officials to keep tabs on what Israel was up to.

In other words, a foreign government spied on the United States, and then the United States spied on a foreign government trying to undermine our international efforts.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/nsa-israel-revelations-lead-fresh-impeachment-talk?cid=sm_fb_maddow

[boutons_deux]

State lawmakers prep impeachment order against GOP governor


http://www.msnbc.com/sites/msnbc/files/styles/ratio--3-2--1_5x-1245x830/public/articles/ap13062604817.jpg?itok=w8Hnb6HX

A group of House lawmakers will introduce an impeachment order against Gov. Paul LePage this week calling for a special committee to investigate eight separate charges against Maine’s controversial governor.

The “order for impeachment” is the first step in a long-shot campaign to remove LePage from office and is likely to fan political tensions in the Maine House, where Republicans are expected to largely oppose it and some Democrats are leery of opening a legislative session on a highly partisan note. The House could take up the issue as early as Wednesday when lawmakers return for the first day of the 2016 legislative session.

To briefly recap (http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maines-gop-governor-faces-intensifying-scandal) for those who may need a refresher, a Maine charter school hired state House Speaker Mark Eves (D) for a top position, but LePage, a fierce opponent of Democratic legislators, threatened the school – either fire Eves or the governor would cut off the school’s state funding. In effect, LePage played the role of a mobster saying, “It’s a nice school you have there; it’d be a shame if something happened to it.”

The school, left with no options, reluctantly acquiesced. The problem, of course, is that governors are not supposed to use state resources to punish people they don’t like. For many, this looked like an abuse of power that constitutes an impeachable offense.

As recently as October, the school’s chairman spoke to state investigators and said the governor didprecisely what he’s accused of doing (http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maines-gop-governor-faces-intensifying-scandal). To date, LePage has made no real effort (http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/republican-governor-faces-possible-impeachment-maine) to deny the allegations.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/state-lawmakers-prep-impeachment-order-against-gop-governor?cid=sm_fb_maddow

Gov of Michigan should also be impeached for hiding for months the severity of lead in drinking water. MI is only 1 of 2 states that shield gov's communications from FOIA requests.

[boutons_deux]

‘Family Values’ Republican: Men Should Be Allowed to Grab Breastfeeding Women’s Nipples in Public

A self-described “pro-family” conservative said on Facebook he should be allowed to grab the nipples of breastfeeding mothers if a law banning women exposing breasts in public didn’t pass.

The comment was made in a squabble over proposed legislation that would make it a crime for women to expose their nipples in public.

Currently in New Hampshire, both men and women are free to go topless, reports Slate.

A bill sponsored solely by Republican men would change that, if it becomes law.

A woman could be charged with a misdemeanor (http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/lsr_search/billText.aspx?id=365&type=4) if she “purposely exposes the areola or nipple of her breast or breasts in a public place and in the presence of another person with reckless disregard for whether a reasonable person would be offended or alarmed by such act.”

http://www.alternet.org/gender/family-values-republican-men-should-be-allowed-grab-breastfeeding-womens-nipples-public

Repug small govt? anti-regulation? :lol

Repug Sharia? for sure

Repug small dicks and smaller brains? no doubt about it

[boutons_deux]

More shit from Repug judicial garbage. It looks like Catholics make really really shitty jurists.

“God has been good to us”: Justice Scalia walks all over First Amendment by claiming government can promote religion

Denying the nation's secular history, Scalia said Constitution doesn't demand the government be neutral on religion

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia gave a speech (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCALIA_RELIGION_SPEECH?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT)in Louisiana over the weekend in which he reaffirmed the suspicion that he doesn’t understand – or willfully ignores – the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Speaking at a local Catholic high school, Scalia argued that there’s “no place” in our constitutional tradition for the principle that government ought to be neutral with respect to religion.

“You can’t favor one denomination over another,” he conceded, but neither can you favor non-religion over religion.

Well, yes, but the reverse is no less true.

http://www.salon.com/2016/01/05/god_has_been_good_to_us_justice_scalia_walks_all_o ver_first_amendment_by_claiming_government_can_pro mote_religion/

I'd love to see the Protestants go nutz if the SCOTUS Catholics were to rule Catholicism as the official US religion.

[boutons_deux]

When Kock Bros buy Repug governance for a state

Wisconsin Economy Falls To 49th In Economic Outlook Under Scott Walker

Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) is a conservative hero with a record of taking progressives and unions in a state that went for Obama and beating them twice. He’s cut government, taken away worker protections, supported government-mandated ultrasounds (http://www.nationalmemo.com/5-things-scott-walker-and-wisconsin-republicans-are-doing-instead-of-creating-jobs/2/) and empowered the private sector, making him the Republican insiders’ favorite for the 2016 GOP nomination (http://www.nationalmemo.com/scott-walker-is-the-republican-to-beat-in-2016/#.UaUj7ntAx6U.reddit).

His only problem is, his economic policies continue to fail — miserably.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has ranked the Badger State 49th (http://www.jsonline.com/business/fed-index-ranks-wisconsin-49th-in-economic-outlook-b9927135z1-210333771.html)in its 50-state Leading Index report for April. With an index rank of -0.74 percent, Wisconsin was one of only five states to show contraction.

However, Walker doesn’t really have any positive economic data to point to. Since he took office, his state has fallen from 11th to 44th in job creation (http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/wisconsin-private-sector-job-creation-ranking-declines-799bcsa-200435291.html). Wisconsin’s wages (http://www.jsonline.com/business/american-workers-losing-ground-on-wages-b9914759z1-208979131.html) are also declining at twice the national level.

Walker’s new budget — which reads more like a campaign document (http://expressmilwaukee.com/blog-9319-yup-walker-is-running-for-president.html) than a plan to create jobs — offers a tax cut that mostly benefits the rich and sucks public funds into private ventures, in the form of school vouchers.

The governor is also rejecting Medicaid expansion and using the Affordable Care Act exchanges to kick 87,000 Wisconsinites (http://www.nationalmemo.com/leave-it-to-scott-walker-to-turn-medicaid-expansion-into-medicaid-contraction/) off his state’s Badgercare program.

Meanwhile, his promise of creating 250,000 jobs looks less and less likely to happen.

Austerity seems to work about as well in America as it does in Greece (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-a-saunders/scott-walker-austerity_b_3326111.html). Maybe losing the recall was the best thing that could have happened for Wisconsin’s progressive movement. Walker’s job creation record is speaking volumes about attacking the institutions that helped create America’s middle class.

http://www.nationalmemo.com/wisconsin-economy-falls-to-49th-in-economic-outlook-under-scott-walker/

[boutons_deux]

Repugs' BLATANT, UNRELENTING War on (poor, black, brown) Women news

Congress Just Voted to Defund Planned Parenthood for an Eighth Time

On Wednesday afternoon, the House voted to approve a bill that would pull about $450 million in federal funding from Planned Parenthood. The bill—passed by the Senate late in 2015—will now head to President Obama's desk.

This will mark the first time a bill defunding Planned Parenthood has made it to the president's desk in more than 40 years (https://www.sba-list.org/home/planned-parenthood-report-terrible-return-on-investment-for-taxpayers).

This is the eighth time (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/congress-votes-defund-planned-parenthood_568d5a67e4b0cad15e62fda6) Congress has voted to defund Planned Parenthood in the last year.

Wednesday's vote reflected the deep partisan divide on these issues: All but three Republicans voted in favor of the bill, and all but one Democrat voted against it.

Federal law already prohibits using Medicaid or other federal funds for almost all abortions, so

this bill would prevent patients from using their Medicaid coverage at Planned Parenthood for other healthcare services—like

cervical cancer screenings,

tests for sexually transmitted diseases, or

contraceptive services.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2016/01/congress-just-voted-defund-planned-parenthood-eighth-time

Repugs are the party of Christ, America is God's County, so what would Christ do?

"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. (http://www.biblestudytools.com/matthew/9-35.html)"

-- Matthew 9:35 (http://www.biblestudytools.com/matthew/9-35.html)
(http://www.biblestudytools.com/matthew/9-35.html)

[boutons_deux]

FREEDOM!!

Arizona GOPer Wants To Criminalize Filming Within 20 Feet Of Police
Under Kavanagh's bill, a first offense would result in a $300 fine while further violations could send offenders to jail for up to six months, according to the Times.

Kavanagh, who is a retired cop and teaches criminal justice courses at a community college, said it was a "distraction" to have someone filming too close to police.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/john-kavanagh-police-filming-bill?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tpm-news+%28TPMNews%29

[boutons_deux]

JOB CREATORS! :lol

Republicans Just Destroyed Thousands of Solar Jobs in One of the Sunniest States

Rooftop solar panel manufacturer SolarCity announced on Wednesday that it would be stopping all operations in Nevada after the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) drastically pulled funding for retail solar owners.

SolarCity is the nation’s largest solar power provider and has brought more than 2,000 jobs to Nevada since 2013, according to a company statement. The rooftop solar company said the new regulations and defunding have “all but killed the retail solar industry in favor of the utility industry,” in a report from the Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solarcity-nevada-rooftop-20151223-story.html).

According to the Los Angeles Times, “in an unanimous vote on Tuesday, the Nevada PUC increased the fixed charge for residential and small commercial solar owners while lowering compensation for electricity they generate and send to the power grid.” The commission in a press release (http://www.streetinsider.com/Litigation/Nevada+PUC+Approves+Boost+in+Fixed+Solar+Connectio n+Fee+(SCTY)+(TERP)/11173184.html) said the move was designed to address “inequities.”


Rooftop solar panel manufacturer SolarCity announced on Wednesday that it would be stopping all operations in Nevada after the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) drastically pulled funding for retail solar owners.

SolarCity is the nation’s largest solar power provider and has brought more than 2,000 jobs to Nevada since 2013, according to a company statement. The rooftop solar company said the new regulations and defunding have “all but killed the retail solar industry in favor of the utility industry,” in a report from the Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solarcity-nevada-rooftop-20151223-story.html).

According to the Los Angeles Times, “in an unanimous vote on Tuesday, the Nevada PUC increased the fixed charge for residential and small commercial solar owners while lowering compensation for electricity they generate and send to the power grid.” The commission in a press release (http://www.streetinsider.com/Litigation/Nevada+PUC+Approves+Boost+in+Fixed+Solar+Connectio n+Fee+(SCTY)+(TERP)/11173184.html) said the move was designed to address “inequities.”

But solar advocates are pointing to the issue of a public utility monopoly trying to drive out sustainable energy competition, arguing that more rooftop solar production means more competition for NV Energy.

“This is a very difficult decision, but Gov. Sandoval and his PUC leave us no choice,” Lyndon Rive, SolarCity’s chief executive, said in astatement to the press (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/following-anti-solar-decision-by-governor-sandovals-puc-solarcity-to-cease-nevada-sales-and-installations-fight-to-protect-customers-and-employees-300196980.html). “The people of Nevada have consistently chosen solar, but yesterday their state government decided to end customer choice, damage the state’s economy and jeopardize thousands of jobs.”

Both SolarCity and Vivint Solar (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vivint-solar-statement-on-nevada-public-utilities-commission-proposed-decision-300196216.html) have maintained that this protects the interests of the “entrenched monopoly” that is the NV Energy corporation.

NV Energy is a subsidiary of out of state owner, Berkshire Hathaway, the multinational American conglomerate headed by Warren Buffett.

The vote in favor of NV Energy was unanimous, and all three members of the PUC were hand-picked by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval.

In a push just before the holidays, not only is the solar industry being pushed out of the state, but over 12,000 existing solar customers, including schools and other public institutions, are being saddled with exorbitant fees.

Solar advocates, both businesses and residencies, are pushing for more rooftop solar, warning that remaining “chained to the energy grid” is unsustainable both in terms of renewable energy and jobs.

According to a report in the Las Vegas Sun, state utility NV Energy retorts that “more household solar means increased prices for traditional customers who can’t or won’t install solar panels on their houses or businesses.”

http://usuncut.com/news/solarcity-to-leave-nevada/

[boutons_deux]

Repugs are always MADLY wrong on everything, so they're probably wrong on this, too

For Republicans, Mounting Fears of Lasting Split

http://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/01/10/us/10repubs-JP-01-ALT/10repubs-JP-01-ALT-articleLarge.jpg (http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/us/politics/for-republicans-mounting-fears-of-lasting-split.html?_r=0#modal-lightbox)

The Republican Party (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/r/republican_party/index.html?inline=nyt-org) is facing a historic split over its fundamental principles and identity, as its once powerful establishment grapples with an eruption of class tensions, ethnic resentments and mistrust among working-class conservatives who are demanding a presidential nominee who represents their interests.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/us/politics/for-republicans-mounting-fears-of-lasting-split.html?_r=0

[boutons_deux]

Virginia pastor: ‘Hang on’ to your guns because ‘whoremongers’ want to kill your wife

http://www.rawstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/wvva_fried_chicken_160110a-800x430.jpg

A Virginia pastor accused pro-abortion rights advocates of wanting to kill babies and then “chop them up like chopped liver or chickens.”

Hill said that he recently celebrated the birth of a new baby in his community, but lamented that “it seems like anymore the first thing they want to do is kill them.”

“First thing they want to do is bash their brains out, cut their throat, chop them up like chopped liver or chickens, sell the parts,” he asserted. “First think you know, they’ll start selling everything but the crying. And they’ll find a way for that.”

“Fifty million babies have been killed and thrown in the garbage can and sold!” Hill exclaimed. “Shame on America. I tell you, I believe if he let’s America get by then one of these days, he’ll have to apologize Sodom and Gomorrah.”

“You know, that’s what Hitler did to Poland and Hungary and all those countries when he took them over,” he remarked. “The Second Amendment gives us the right to protect ourselves. Protect us from who? Number one, the government! I’m afraid of my government, I’m scared of my government, I don’t trust my government.”

“I used to like it but I don’t like it anymore,” Hill lamented. “You know why? Because it’s out to get me, it’s out to disarm me, it’s out to kill me, it’s out to stop me from worshipping God.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/virginia-pastor-hang-on-to-your-guns-because-whoremongers-want-to-kill-your-wife/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[boutons_deux]

fromt the Rape Caucus slave state

Missouri bill defines sex between lobbyists and lawmakers as a gift

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article53468660.html

[boutons_deux]

Creepy Virginia Toilet Proposal Could Require Genital Inspections, Critics Fear

Transgender people would face a $50 fine for using "wrong" bathroom.


http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/crop_10_199_2582_1857,scalefit_630_noupscale/5695f9212a00002d000305cb.jpeg

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/virginia-bathroom-law_5695e5f8e4b09dbb4bad46b7?utm_hp_ref=politics&ir=Politics&section=politics


Florida Experts Debunk The Transgender "Bathroom Predator" Myth
http://mediamatters.org/research/2016/01/12/florida-experts-debunk-the-transgender-bathroom/207916

then there is evangelical hero/creep/pastor Huckabee who wished he had been able when he was young to dress up as a girl and go into the female bathrooms and dressing rooms

[boutons_deux]

this is not an Onion article

GOP leader ‘offended’ by establishment label

http://www.msnbc.com/sites/msnbc/files/styles/ratio--3-2--830x553/public/articles/ap618693363783.jpg?itok=ry3XLmOz

For those unfamiliar with Thune, let’s note some of the basic details of his c.v.

He’s currently the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the #3 position in the GOP leadership.

The South Dakota senator, in his 12th year in the chamber after three terms in the House,

is also the chairman of the Commerce Committee and

the former chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee.

I hate to break this to the senator, but it’s hard to get more “establishment” than John Thune.

But the fact that the GOP lawmaker would make a point to distance himself from the “establishment’ ” he helps lead says a great deal about the state of Republican politics in 2016.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), after nearly two decades on Capitol Hill, has been called a lot of things, butRoll Call reported (http://atr.rollcall.com/gop-lawmakers-presidential-race-wont-set-agenda/) this week on the one label he considers “offensive.”


Real estate mogul Donald Trump has been the front-runner for months, followed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who touts himself as a political outsider even though he is a sitting lawmaker. Cruz regularly refers to congressional leadership and other politicians as “the Washington cartel.”

Thune said he resents that characterization. “Well, I’m personally very offended to be called the establishment,” he said.


Note, he’s not just offended; he’s very offended.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gop-leader-offended-establishment-label?cid=sm_fb_maddow

Holy shit, these Repugs are crazy shitbags in suits.

[boutons_deux]

Senate Republican blocks war-time Army Secretary nominee


http://www.msnbc.com/sites/msnbc/files/styles/ratio--3-2--1_5x-1245x830/public/ap17106156703.jpg?itok=LTOeUJRi

Back in September, President Obama nominated Eric Fanning as the next Secretary of the Army. No one, anywhere, has raised any concerns about his qualifications for a prominent, war-time administrative post.

As the Washington Post reported (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-to-nominate-first-openly-gay-service-secretary-to-lead-the-army/2015/09/18/d4b1aafe-5e30-11e5-8e9e-dce8a2a2a679_story.html) several months ago, Fanning “has been a specialist on national security issues for more than two decades and has played a key role overseeing some of the Pentagon’s biggest shipbuilding and fighter jet programs.”

Given the responsibilities of the Army Secretary, Fanning’s breadth of experience makes him an obvious choice. Which is why it’s all the more noteworthy that he’s unlikely to ever see a confirmation vote.

For some (http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-perils-small-tent-party) social conservatives, the fact that Fanning is gay is itself an automatic disqualifier, but on Capitol Hill, there’s a very different kind (http://thehill.com/policy/defense/266694-senator-vows-hold-on-army-secretary-nominee-will-last-through-2016) of problem.

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) is vowing to keep a hold on President Obama’s nominee for secretary of the Army until the president leaves office and is no longer in a position to close the Guantanamo Bay prison.

“The hold will stay until we can get past this year,” Roberts told his home=state newspaper, The Topeka Capital-Journal…. Roberts placed a hold on his confirmation in protest of Obama’s push to close the military prison in Cuba. One of the potential sites to relocate detainees to is Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.



“I want to stress that it’s nothing personal,” Roberts said (http://cjonline.com/news/2016-01-21/sen-pat-roberts-hold-army-secretary-nominee-eric-fanning-continue). “It’s just the way it is.”

Except it’s not. It’s the way Roberts chooses to make it.

The American military’s only domestic maximum-security prison happens to be in Kansas, and Pat Roberts is apparently concerned about putting a group of dangerous people in it, so he’s taken it upon himself to block a would-be Army Secretary – because he can.

I realize that for much of the political world, this is the ultimate dog-bites-man story. President Obama sends a qualified nominee to the Senate; Republicans throw an unnecessary tantrum; and the nominee suffers indefinite delays. It’s a familiar tale.

But there’s another way to look at this. We’re talking about a situation in which the White House sent a qualified nominee to the Senate to be Secretary of the Army during a war. The Senate can’t find any reason to object, but it intends to block the nomination because one member is worried about a maximum-security detention facility housing dangerous people.

Maybe these aren’t the kinds of circumstances we should get used to?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/senate-republican-blocks-war-time-army-secretary-nominee?cid=sm_fb_maddow

Repugs are fucking assholes

[boutons_deux]

Florida leads U.S. in new HIV cases after years of cuts in public health

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/x88tcx/picture56305205/ALTERNATES/FREE_960/HIV


Florida leads the nation in new HIV infections, but it’s not being treated as a crisis by Gov. Rick Scott or the state’s top health officer, Dr. John Armstrong.

As the disease has spread, Scott and Armstrong have imposed four years of personnel cuts in the Department of Health that have shrunk the size of county health departments.

State lawmakers are now asking whether the spending decisions have produced a sicker population in a state where HIV infections have risen each year since 2012 as they’ve declined across the country.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article56192770.html

Repug MISgovernance, cutting education and health, fucking up everything they touch.

[boutons_deux]

Heart doctors outraged Florida dumps hospital standards after big gifts to GOP

The state of Florida is putting thousands of children with heart defects at risk, a group of cardiac doctors say, because of a change in policy that came after Tenet Healthcare contributed $200,000 to Florida Republicans.

In a widely publicized investigation in June, CNN revealed that a program at a (http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/01/health/st-marys-medical-center/) Tenet hospital in Florida had failed to live up to state quality standards (http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/01/health/st-marys-medical-center/) for children's heart surgery.

Less than two months later, the state decided to get rid of those standards.

That decision came after the giant for-profit hospital chain made contributions to Republican Gov. Rick Scott and his party that dwarfed those the company made to candidates or parties in other states.

"The whole situation is outrageous. It's just outrageous," said Louis St. Petery, a pediatric cardiologist in Tallahassee and former executive vice president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Doctors from around the state say the decision came right from the governor's office. Representatives for Tenet and Scott deny conversations took place between them about getting rid of the standards.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/13/health/florida-hospital-standards-republican-gifts/index.html


Repug venality at the expense of citizens never fails to impress.

[boutons_deux]

On Groundhog Day, Republicans vote to repeal Obamacare (60th+ time)
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/groundhog-day-republicans-vote-repeal-obamacare?cid=sm_fb_maddow

[boutons_deux]

Senate Republicans Vote To Alter Physics, Saying Burning Trees Is Carbon Neutral

But environmentalists around the country are now incensed over an approved amendment (https://www.congress.gov/amendment/114th-congress/senate-amendment/3140)categorizing bioenergy as carbon neutral — a move that groups say puts forests and even portions of the Clean Power Plan (http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/11/04/3719099/interveners-file-motion-in-defense-of-cpp/) at risk.

“I think it’s a very dangerous amendment,” said Kevin Bundy (http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/02/05/3746772/forest-at-risk-over-biomass/), senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity (http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/). “It tries to dictate that burning forests for energy won’t affect the climate, that’s what the term carbon neutral is supposed to mean and that’s just not true. You can’t legislate away basic physics.”

If the energy bill passes, “I would expect to see a number of states that have forest resources and a lot of coal-fired power plants trying to replace coal with wood in order to comply with the EPA’s regulations,” said Bundy. “It undermines the integrity of everything we are trying to do on climate.”

http://www.politicususa.com/2016/02/05/senate-republicans-vote-to-alter-physics-saying-burning-trees-is-carbon-neutral.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicususa%2FfJAl+%28Politi cus+USA+%29

WTF? well, BigCorp already shipped US wood to Europe as biofuel, so Repugs are protecting BigCorp profits while fucking the environment

============

Why U.S. Forests Are Fueling Europe


https://www.audubon.org/magazine/september-october-2014/why-us-forests-are-fueling-europe

[boutons_deux]

Congressional GOP ‘unwilling to even talk about the budget’

we’re occasionally reminded who’s ultimately to blame for the partisan dysfunction in the nation’s capital.

Today, for example, the White House will unveil its final budget blueprint to Congress, and while the public at large probably won’t find this particularly noteworthy, these documents are routinely pretty interesting. Obama’s latest budget plan, for example, includes all kinds of innovative ideas on infrastructure, opioid abuse, and even a “moonshot” on cancer research.

They’re the kind of ideas that would be the start of an important budget debate with Congress. Except, as the New York Times reports (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/us/politics/congressional-republicans-balk-at-obamas-budget-sight-unseen.html?ref=politics), Republican lawmakers have announced they’re not even willing to have this conversation: they don’t know what’s in the administration’s budget plan, and they don’t care

Breaking with a 41-year-old tradition, the Republican chairmen of the House and Senate budget committees announced that they would not even give the president’s budget director, Shaun Donovan, the usual hearings in their panels this week.

G. William Hoagland, who was the Republican staff director at the Senate Budget Committee for much of the 1980s and 1990s, and is senior vice president of the Bipartisan Policy Center, said he could not recall a year since the modern budget process took effect in the 1970s when a president’s budget director was not invited to testify before the budget committees.


Hoagland told the Times, “While the last budget of an outgoing president is usually aspirational, and sets a theme for what he or she hopes will be followed up by his or her successor, it nonetheless should be reviewed by the Congress.”

And ordinarily, it would be. For decades, once a White House unveils a federal budget plan, the House and Senate Budget Committee schedule hearings with the president’s budget director. It’s just how the process has worked, regardless of which party has power at the time. In plenty of instances, these hearings have offered lawmakers a chance to press administration officials on the parts of the budget they disagree with.

But this year, GOP committee chairmen have decided not to bother. They just don’t care.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/congressional-gop-unwilling-even-talk-about-the-budget?cid=sm_fb_maddow

Repug MISgovernance, along with running to get (more) wealthy, is why they run for office: to fuck up govt to prove govt is fucked up.

Repugs will soon be done with their hated n!gg@, but they will obstruct everything from any future WH or Congressional Dems.

[boutons_deux]

North Carolina is the latest (red, slave) state to find welfare recipients rarely use illegal drugs

Among 7,600 applicants to the Work First Program who were screened between August 3 and December 31, 2015, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Among them, 21 tested positive — that's 0.3 percent of the applicants

This rate is substantially lower than both the state and national rate of illicit drug use.


http://www.vox.com/2016/2/16/11021826/north-carolina-drugs-welfare

[boutons_deux]

“Obama has a soft spot for homosexuals because of the years he spent as a male prostitute in his twenties”

Meet the looniest politician in Texas (and that’s saying something)

Bat-shit nuts candidates are everywhere in Texas -- and sometimes even win. This year, there's a special case

Ah, Texas! The Lone Star Beer, the barbecue, the boots, the bullshit, the batshit-crazy candidates routinely elected to public office. Among the elected officials is a Republican attorney general so religiously homophobic that he has gone to court to try to dissolve the marriages of a lesbian couple from Austin and a gay couple from Houston, one of whom is deceased.

Now comes a serious contender for the 15-member State Board of Education, the body that enacted curriculum guidelines requiring students to learn about Confederate heroes, and required teachers to explain the equivalency of Abraham Lincoln’s and Jefferson Davis’s inaugural addresses, as well as the ways international institutions such as the United Nations threaten U.S. sovereignty.

Republican candidate Mary Lou Bruner might fit right in—and move seamlessly from her current gig as vocal critic of the board to elected board member.

http://media.salon.com/2016/02/mary_lou_bruner-620x412.jpg

The retired teacher has written that “Evolution is a religious philosophy with propaganda supporting the religion of Atheism.” She also claims that scientists have ignored and hidden evidence that humans and dinosaurs walked the planet at the same time.

Bruner, in fact, has written about the extinction of dinosaurs.

“When the flood waters subsided and rushed into the oceans there was no vegetation on the earth because the earth had been covered with water. . . . The dinosaurs on [Noah’s ark] may have been babies and not able to reproduce. . . . After the flood, the few remaining Behemoths and Leviathans may have become extinct because there was not enough vegetation on earth for them to survive to reproductive age.”

Meanwhile,

“Climate change has nothing to do with weather or climate, it’s all about system change from capitalism (free enterprise) to Socialism-Communism. The Climate Change HOAX was Karl Marx’s idea. It took time to ‘condition’ the people so they would believe such a HOAX!”
Is Bruner an anomaly?

Not hardly, as they say in Texas.

http://www.salon.com/2016/02/17/obama_has_a_soft_spot_for_homosexuals_because_of_t he_years_he_spent_as_a_male_prostitute_in_his_twen ties_meet_the_looniest_politician_in_texas_and_tha ts_saying_something/

What's The Matter With Texas? :lol

[boutons_deux]

Georgia GOPer blocks rape kit bill: We don’t need law ‘just because it makes you feel good’

Georgia Republican state Sen. Renee Unterman has blocked a bill with bipartisan support that would require law enforcement in the state to account for untested evidence of sexual assaults.Democratic state Rep. Scott Holcomb said that he sponsored House Bill 827 — or the Pursuing Justice for Rape Victims Act — because audits had shown that, in some cases, thousands of rape kits had been ignored for years.

But Unterman, who chairs the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, said that she would not allow the bill to move forward for a full vote on the Senate floor because it had been “overly politicized” by Holcomb, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2016/03/15/pressure-is-mounting-over-fate-of-georgia-rape-kit-bill/).

“If there was a problem, I would be Johnny on the spot and I would have written the legislation,” Unterman insisted. “I think he really overly politicized it in an election year and I’ve got a problem with that.”

“There’s no reason to write a law just because it makes you feel good,” the lawmakertold CBS 46 (http://www.wtvm.com/story/31465664/georgia-senator-stalls-rape-kit-bill-medical-marijuana-bill) on Monday.

“I’ve been asking that representative to show me where the back log is, show me where this rape kits are?”

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/03/georgia-goper-blocks-rape-kit-bill-we-dont-need-law-just-because-it-makes-you-feel-good/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

Repug political person says politics isn't operative for rape victims:

there is no problem

show me the data (variant of "needs mor study")

Even Repug wimmens conduct the Repug War on Wimmens on behalf of the Repug Rape Caucus.

[boutons_deux]

This Is Where Right-Wing Radicalism Is Festering: While the Nation Watches the Presidential Race, Scary Things Are Happening at State Legislatures

What's going on in Republican-run state legislatures is just as terrifying as the GOP presidential race.

Republicans continue the multi-decade project of turning our nation into a right-wing wasteland by focusing their efforts where they can have the most impact with the least attention: state legislatures.

It’s easy to get inured to the relentless drumbeat of stories of Republican-controlled state legislatures passing bills codifying the culture war obsessions of the right, and with the Republican primary serving as a distraction, the state horror show is getting less national attention than it usually does. Which is how Republicans like it, because they can maximize the damage while minimizing the pushback. That’s why it’s critical to pay attention, even if it can, at times, be overwhelming.

As it has been for years now, the No. 1 priority for Republican state legislatures is making sex as fraught and unsafe an experience as possible for women, especially low-income women. As I reported earlier last week, Florida passed a massive bill that will cut off access to both birth control and abortion (http://www.salon.com/2016/03/09/floridas_war_on_women_state_passes_massive_anti_ch oice_bill_to_shut_down_access_to_abortion_and_cont raception/), by reducing funding and passing medically unnecessary restrictions to make it simply too expensive to offer affordable care to women, especially through Planned Parenthood.

Now Indiana’s Legislature has passed a bill (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/even-some-abortion-foes-balking-at-tough-indiana-bill/) that forces women to give birth if a doctor has detected a fetal abnormality. Which, yes, would mean that a pregnant woman who contracts Zika (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/indiana-abortion-bill_us_56e28901e4b0b25c918184d9) would lose her right to abortion, while a woman with a healthy pregnancy would retain her right to say no to giving birth. Even some Republicans balked at the sadistic pleasure their colleagues take in the idea of forcing women to give birth to children who will suffer, die or be too much for women to care for.

“Today is a perfect example of a bunch of middle-aged guys sitting in this room making decisions about what we think is best for women,” state Rep. Sean Eberhart, a Republican, said. He voted no on the advice of his wife (http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/03/11/3759097/indiana-abortion-republicans/).
The breathless obsession with making sure all those sex-having women pay has completely enthralled state legislatures across the country. Oklahoma state Sen. Nathan Dahm is pushing a bill (http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/oklahoma-senate-oks-plan-to-suspend-licenses-of-abortion-doctors/article_dd07dda9-e621-58f7-b7bc-419f85c304f9.html) that would strip any doctor who performs an abortion of his or her medical license. His colleague, state Sen. Joseph Silk, went one further, authoring a bill that would charge anyone who performs an abortion (http://kfor.com/2016/03/08/oklahoma-bill-proposes-abortion-providers-face-murder-charges/)of murder. Both bills have come out of committee, though Senate Republicans are holding the murder bill from a vote right now. Hopefully they’ll keep it that way, because they look like a bunch of yahoos.

In Iowa, state Sen. Jake Chapman is trying to make abortion (http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/rekha-basu/2016/03/10/senators-offensive-bid-make-abortion-hate-crime/81588562/) a “hate crime.” This is no doubt based on right-wing propaganda that argues that women get abortions because they have irrational bigotry toward embryos and not because of mundane things like they want to control when and how they have children.

And, of course, you have the Planned Parenthood defunding orgies. On top of Florida, the legislatures in Missouri (http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article64930367.html), Virginia (http://pilotonline.com/news/government/virginia/mcauliffe-says-he-ll-veto-plan-to-defund-planned-parenthood/article_bcdc7339-c3d9-56ea-9f81-2288e79bba7f.html) and Arizona (http://knau.org/post/house-passes-bill-targeting-planned-parenthood#stream/0) all took steps to cut Planned Parenthood patients off from getting affordable checkups and contraception.

But while the obsession with female sexuality is so strong that one is tempted to label it “single-minded,” the sad truth is that state legislatures have plenty of time for other right-wing hobby horses.

Wisconsin’s assembly passed a bill in February that would fine cities (http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/state-senate-unlike-to-take-up-sanctuary-cities-bill-b99673340z1-369431031.html), dubbed “sanctuary cities” by right-wingers, that have policies against police harassing people about their immigration status. The bill is aimed at Madison, which has a policy of not turning arrestees (http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/govt-and-politics/undocumented-immigrants-oppose-bill-banning-sanctuary-cities-in-wisconsin/article_6b5e461a-edbc-5186-b37e-e287831a11e5.html) over to federal immigration unless they are charged with violent crimes.

In Iowa, legislators are literally considering a bill that would remove age restrictions from firearm handling, allowing kids (http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Advocacy-groups-face-off-in-Iowa-over-bill-to-allow-kids-to-use-handguns-371440311.html) younger than 14 to use handguns with parental supervision.

In Arizona, lawmakers quietly started moving a bill (http://tucson.com/news/state-and-regional/only-on-ap-arizona-bill-quietly-loosens-dark-money-rules/article_5eb5797e-9891-50e2-b517-2d40d600bdae.html), under the guise of simplification of campaign finance, that would double the amount of dark money that can be spent on campaigns in the state. “Dark money” is money that is donated to groups by anonymous donors, and the bill is being pushed by Americans for Prosperity, a Koch brothers-run political action group.

Arizona is also pushing a bill that would ban state officials (http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2016/01/05/arizona-legislation-would-ignore-obama-gun-actions/78304064/) from enforcing any federal executive action, policy or court decision that restricts access to firearms.

Of course, the right-wing conspiracy theory about our courts practicing “Sharia law” is still being chewed over by state legislatures. This year, Idaho is considering a law that would ban this nonexistent practice (http://www.postregister.com/articles/featured-news/2016/03/03/bill-targets-sharia-law). It appears the main reason for bringing such bills to the table is to use the legislative floor to make speeches demonizing Muslims. “There is no issue right now, there is no issue,” Democratic state Rep. John Rusche said. “And to bring this piece of legislation and the supporting documents that showed severed hands and called the Prophet Mohammed a pedophile was just beyond the pale.”

Then there are the bills codifying and protecting anti-gay discrimination that are being pushed in the guise of “religious liberty.” Missouri just passed one (http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2016/03/10/missouri_religious_liberty_filibuster_draws_politi cal_and_corporate_support.html), despite the noble 40-hour filibuster conducted by Democrats to stop it. Georgia’s legislature passed one (http://www.businessinsider.com/georgia-senate-passes-anti-gay-bill-2016-2), too.

The Republican governor of Georgia, Nathan Deal — no doubt influenced by the major corporations and other business interests speaking out and even threatening to pull business (http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2016/02/29/the-growing-corporate-backlash-to-georgias-religious-liberty-bill/) — is refusing to sign the bill (http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2016/03/03/nathan-deals-remarkably-forceful-opposition-to-georgia-religious-liberty-legislation/). Now the religious right is casting shade on Deal (https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/georgia-governor-protecting-pastors-from-homosexual-activists-un-christlike), insinuating he’s not the conservative Christian he clearly is. (He’s just one that doesn’t want to see his state bleed money so a few bakers can be mean to gay couples.)

A lot of these bills will die in the legislative process, of course. But not all. The Florida and Indiana anti-choice bills, for instance, are slam dunks. But even if the bills don’t become law, the frequency and severity of these bills should be alarming.

The state legislatures of red states have become rat’s nests of the worst kind of paranoid right-wing nuttery.

What we’re seeing on the national stage has been bred by years upon years of this nonsense, which is now trickling up and presenting a very real threat to us all.

http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/where-right-wing-radicalism-festering-while-nation-watches-presidential-race-scary

[RandomGuy]

Anti-abortion activists hit new low: Ohio lawmakers attack women’s rights with hideous bill demanding they bury fetuses

The latest anti-abortion gambit occurred in Ohio, where “State lawmakers are introducing new legislation that would require women who have abortions or miscarriages to designate arrangements for burial or cremation of fetuses,” according to a report by WVXU (http://wvxu.org/post/bill-would-require-burial-or-cremation-fetal-remains#stream/0) in Cincinnati.

And no, that wasn’t a typo – women treated for miscarriages are also required to sign a form “designating burial or cremation of fetal remains,” because 6-week old embryos are human persons with friends and family members who need closure after their death.

http://www.salon.com/2015/12/22/anti_abortion_activists_hit_new_low_ohio_lawmakers _attack_womens_rights_with_hideous_bill_demanding_ they_bury_fetuses/




Wow. Didn't know that. I expect nuttiness out of that crowd, but this is a bit much even so.

[boutons_deux]

Schadenfreude time

Rush Limbaugh’s Hate Radio Network Home Facing $20 Billion Bankruptcy

Between the StopRush movement's pressure and Willard Romney's bankruptcy gang, iHeart radio is badly in debt.

Thanks to a concerted effort among conservatives, America has been addicted to hate for too long. Like many destructive commodities, as long as “hate sells” its purveyors will never stop peddling it and in 21st Century America nothing sells like hate. Conservatives thrive on peddling hate because it resonates with their increasingly ignorant racist, sexist, and nativist base. In fact, Republicans have benefitted greatly from selling hate and it was that fact that likely prompted Mormon cultist and then aspiring Republican presidential candidate Willard ‘Mitt’ Romney to direct his company, Bain Capital, to buy control of America’s leading hate radio network, Clear Channel. Romney’s intent was to use “his new” hate radio network to curry favor with the hate-addicted Republican base to win the White House in 2012.

Fortunately, not all Americans were as inclined to buy all the hate Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and others were selling and after a carefully-devised and crowd-sourced boycott effort, iHeart Radio Networks (formerly Clear Channel) is facing an over $20 billion bankruptcy. There is probably something in the Christian bible denoting how horrible it is to take pleasure in the distress of another person, but in the case of the right’s hate mongers and for the good of the nation, one cannot help but celebrate the news that Willard Romney likely helped foster the impending demise of hate radio.

It was reported late last week that the president of iHeart Media, Bob Pittman, was forced to make an emergency trip (http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6975424/iheartmedia-with-20-billion-in-debt-looks-to-restructure-a-portion-while) to San Antonio to personally grovel before a judge and beg for a restraining order. The order was all that stood between the network staying open and creditors putting the company into bankruptcy for defaulting on its $20 billion debt. The former Clear Channel network owns 850 radio stations across the nation that includes a substantial network of “hate radio” talk shows hosted by right-wing extremists such as Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity.

Those four popular, among conservatives, hate-mongers are guilty of propagating fear and hate among their audience by pandering to racists, misogynists, homophobes, and xenophobes that consistently support Republicans.

That hate-mongering inspired a substantial group of Americans, 139,000 thus far, to sign a petition (https://www.change.org/p/sign-here-tell-40-limbaugh-sponsors-clear-channel-cumulus-we-will-not-buy-support-misogyny-racism-or-hate-speech?utm_campaign=url_share_after_sign&utm_medium=url_share&utm_source=share_petition) to boycott Rush Limbaugh’s sponsors that helped drive thousands of hate-radio advertisers to flee for fear of their own businesses’ demise. Limbaugh in particular drew the wrath of decent Americans for his attack on Sandra Fluke that incited a very small group to start the StopRush (http://stoprush.net/), among others, movement and organize a potent counter-attack against Limbaugh’s particularly vile brand of hate.

Of course, killing off advertising dollars had a devastating effect on hate radio, but

just as devastating was selling (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/clear-channel-sold-to-buyout-group-for-187-billion) the company off to bankruptcy ring operators (http://www.politicususa.com/2012/09/12/romney-bain-capital-bankruptcy-ring.html) Willard Romney and Bain Capital.

After Romney’s plan to use a media giant he owned failed to win the White House, he directed Bain to implement his now-legendary scam to saddle Clear Channel with incredibly massive “private loans (http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6266454/iheartmedia-relaunch-successful-fest-uncertain-future)” that Bain and Romney knew in advance the media giant could never repay. :lol

With mounting debt piling up, the media giant’s only hope was a desperate attempt to dig itself out of deep dark hole even while the “hate radio industry’s profit margins completely collapsed (http://www.radiofacts.com/cbs-radio-selling-radio-assets-sites-poor-profit-margin/)” due to advertisers succumbing to intense and well-organized public pressure to bail on hate talk. The effect was that in 2015, iHeart Media posted losses of over $661 million that sent a clear message to creditors that the corporations would never be capable of repaying its debt.

Just interest on the wrong-headed loans amounts to $1.74 billion and with advertisers virtually non-existent and mounting revenue losses, iHeart is a two-week restraining order away from bankruptcy.

What started the big rush toward bankruptcy court was a deceptive maneuver by iHeart that the corporation’s creditors’ claim is a violation of their lending agreement by shifting money from one division of the business to another instead of paying toward the debt. Naturally, iHeart Media contends that the lenders are lying and claimed that the illegal asset transfers “constituted a permitted investment under, and fully complied with, our financing agreements.”

The creditors are furious because instead of at least attempting to make its interest payment, iHeart transferred a $200 million dividend from its Outdoor Holdings corporation to a subsidiary media company to save it. The senior debt holders who have the first claim to assets when the company goes under contend the illegal stock transfer “constitutes a default and they intend to call in the debt within 60 days.” Calling in the debt iHeart cannot pay would lead to a default that will “cascade and trigger defaults on the companies’ other crushing debts leaving everyone empty-handed; except Bain and Willard Romney.

Sadly, decent Americans will have to wait a couple of weeks to find out whether hate radio is bankrupt and unable to pay its purveyors of hate. Whatever iHeart president Pittman said to the judge earned the company a 14-day restraining order although it is highly unlikely less than two weeks is enough time to dig itself out of debt. It is true hate sells, but not enough to cover a $20 billion debt in 14 days.

The encouraging news is that the hard work and due diligence of a small number of outraged Americans who organized the various StopRush movements achieved more than just getting advertisers to flee the hate mongers; they may have had a strong hand in dealing a death blow to a major supplier of hate.

http://www.politicususa.com/2016/03/21/rush-limbaughs-hate-radio-network-home-facing-20-billion-bankruptcy.html

DEE LISH YUSS :lol

[spurraider21]

dont really want to contribute to this generally shit thread, but i keep hearing the "party of Lincoln" bullshit :lol... that's gotta stop

[boutons_deux]

Congressman: If Bernie Or Hillary Is Elected They’ll Control Everything, Including When You Wake Up


http://cdn.thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/31123532/Screen-Shot-2016-03-31-at-12.31.54-PM-1024x612.png

Congressman Don Young (R-AK) has one solution: ridiculous conspiracy theories.

Young told WFQD on Wednesday that he initially supported Jeb Bush because he knew his “old man” and now prefers John Kasich. But, Young says, Kasich has no chance of winning because he has no “charisma” and people “don’t think anymore.”

Still, Young is seeking to rally Republicans around whoever is the nominee, calling this “the most crucial election” for Alaska and the nation. Why? Because Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton will seek to have the government “control everything you do.”

Everything? Yes, everything. Young goes on to earnestly explain that Sanders or Clinton would mandate “when to get up, what to eat, what you are thinking, what school you are going to go to and what you are going to believe.”

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/03/31/3765402/congressman-if-bernie-or-hillary-is-elected-theyll-control-everything-including-when-you-wake-up/

slave states! :lol

[spurraider21]

you dont think he was being hyperbolic?

[boutons_deux]

you dont think he was being hyperbolic?

nope, he's from Arkansas, elected by rednecks who love conspiracies, love being paranoid. He was being stupid, par for the slave state course.

[spurraider21]

nope, he's from Arkansas, elected by rednecks who love conspiracies, love being paranoid. He was being stupid, par for the slave state course.
:lmao wrong. totally wrong, which makes the rest of your post hilarious

[boutons_deux]

Mississippi Senate passes bill allowing residents to carry holstered guns without permit or training (http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/3/31/1508606/-Mississippi-Senate-passes-bill-allowing-residents-to-carry-holstered-guns-without-permit-or-training)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/03/31/1508606/-Mississippi-Senate-passes-bill-allowing-residents-to-carry-holstered-guns-without-permit-or-training?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos %29

[spurraider21]

:lmao just ignoring his completely moronic take/mistake

when in doubt, spam more links. dailyKOS, salon, talkingpointsmemo, etc

[boutons_deux]

Someone thought this was a good idea: Mississippi Senate passes bill allowing churches to form militias

The Mississippi Senate on Tuesday passed “Mississippi Church Protection Act, opening the door to houses of worship forming militias there.


The Act would, in part, “provide that killing a person while acting as a participant of a church or place of worship security team is justifiable homicide.” Such church security teams would authorize “designated members … to carry firearms for the protection of the congregation of such church or place of worship.”

Permissible firearms, according to the bill (http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2016/pdf/HB/0700-0799/HB0786PS.pdf), include “a stun gun, concealed pistol or concealed revolver.”

The bill will now return to the House of origin for further deliberation before it reaches Republican Gov. Phil Bryant’s desk.

What the Act effectively allows is for churches to form militias. And the red-tape requirements to form these armed militias are only marginally more stringent than getting a firearms permit in the state of Mississippi.

Assuming you already have a permit, all you need to do is take “an instructional course in the safe handling and use of firearms,” and then, congratulations, you’re certified to pack heat at your church!

In explaining the legislative precedence for the Act, Republican state Sen. Sean Tindell cited the shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, where a lone white supremacist, Dylann Roof, shot and killed nine black members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church last June.

http://www.salon.com/2016/03/31/someone_thought_this_was_a_good_idea_mississippi_s enate_passes_bill_allowing_churches_to_form_militi as/

[boutons_deux]

Mississippi could now legalize discrimination against people who have premarital sex

The state legislature in Mississippi has now passed a bill to allow both public employees and private businesses to refuse to take part in gay marriages — but a whole lot of heterosexual people might be surprised at what’s in the written text here.The bill repeatedly states that “the state government shall not take any discriminatory action” against a person or religious organization for refusing to take part in objectionable marriages, adoptions, or certain other services (more on that later).

The bill’s usage of the phrase “discriminatory action,” however, is more like what laws in most states would describe as an action under anti-discrimination laws, such as “Impose, levy, or assess a monetary fine, fee, penalty or injunction,” as well as other issues involving tax statuses, professional licenses, and state contracts.


But as this bill is actually written, though, a whole lot of people in Mississippi besides sexual minorities could face discrimination, too — like the vast numbers of people who have had sex outside of marriage.

Not to worry, though — they say they’re really just thinking about the gays.

“Opponents of the bill say the bill could allow discrimination of those in the LGBT community and possibly single mothers, but [state Sen. Jenifer Branning, the lead Senate sponsor] said the bill deals only with same-sex marriage.”


So what is Section 2, and what are its ramifications? The actual text of the bill (http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2016/pdf/HB/1500-1599/HB1523PS.pdf) states:

“SECTION 2. The sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions protected by this act are the belief or conviction that:

“(a) Marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman;

“(b) Sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage; and

“(c) Male (man) or female (woman) refer to an individual’s immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics at time of birth.”

And from here, so much mischief could be done. Because while the bill specifies numerous social services provided by either state employees or private religious organizations — marriage and adoption, mainly — in all cases an employer or organization is broadly protected for having “a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction described in Section 2 of this act.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/03/mississippi-could-now-legalize-discrimination-against-people-who-have-premarital-sex/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[spurraider21]

:lmao just ignoring his completely moronic take/mistake

when in doubt, spam more links. dailyKOS, salon, talkingpointsmemo, etc

[boutons_deux]

redstate AK gave USA your adored girlfriend Sarah Palin.

[spurraider21]

redstate AK gave USA your adored girlfriend Sarah Palin.
:lmao arkansas
:lmao slave state

[boutons_deux]

Oregon Republican Greasebag reignites old racist meme about Vietnamese refugees eating cats and dogs

A Republican Senate candidate is being criticized for saying that Vietnamese refugees who came to Oregon “harvested” people’s pets for food because “their lifestyle didn’t mix with ours,”

when they needed something to eat, they went to their natural ways of doing it by harvesting people’s dogs and cats, their pets,” Stewart added. “I question, why can’t we go over there and help them, in their native land and protect them there.

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/04/oregon-republican-reignites-old-meme-about-vietnamese-refugees-eating-cats-and-dogs/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29


http://www.rawstory.com/2016/04/oregon-republican-reignites-old-meme-about-vietnamese-refugees-eating-cats-and-dogs/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

"why can’t we go over there" :lol

America DID go over there, and bombed shit out of VN, poisoned the country that's STILL poisoning the country and babies. Just another total FUCKED UP LOST WAR by the corrupt US military

Vietnam War casualties

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War_casualties

[spurraider21]

:lol dick cheney visited pepperdine law today

[boutons_deux]

Repug MISOGYNY news

Why Indiana’s Mike Pence is receiving some unwelcome alerts

And then there’s Indiana, where GOP state policymakers approved a policy that’s already causing problems. The Washington Post reported (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/03/25/doctors-respond-to-indiana-banning-abortions-because-of-down-syndrome/) in late March:

One day after Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) signed a controversial bill that would block women from seeking abortions based on medical diagnoses, doctors grappled with how the measure could impact their patients.

The mandate, which takes effect July 1, bans the procedure if, among other restrictions, a woman requests it “solely” because a fetus has Down syndrome or any other disorder. She could legally obtain an abortion in the event of a lethal fetal illness – but would have to inform the state that she chose to terminate her pregnancy.

A doctor, meanwhile, could face a wrongful death lawsuit if an abortion is granted to a woman who requests one after learning about a pregnancy complication.



Some women in the Hoosier State were so unimpressed with the governor’s new law that they rallied behind something called – I kid you not – “Periods for Pence.” WRTV in Indianapolis reported (http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/periods-for-pence-page-asks-women-to-tell-the-governor-about-their-periods):


The governor’s office has received several calls this week from women describing the details of their period. “I need to get a message to the Governor that I am on day three of my period. My flow seems abnormally heavy, but my cramps are much better,” one woman called to say.


The woman who launched this initiative, who prefers to remain anonymous, told the station, “The more I read this bill, the more vague language I found and the more loopholes, and it just seemed incredibly intrusive. So I wanted to give a voice for women who really didn’t feel like they were given any kind of input into a bill that would affect our life so much.”

As BuzzFeed’s report (http://www.buzzfeed.com/laraparker/women-are-calling-indianas-governor-and-telling-them-about-t#.bhyElxd2DM) added, because the law includes a reporting requirement, “some women on their periods may unknowingly expel a fertilized egg and thus have a miscarriage and be potentially liable if the egg is not correctly disposed of.”

And so, to the chagrin of the governor’s staff, plenty of Indiana women – and even some Indiana men – have been contacting Pence’s office, just to keep the administration apprised on menstrual developments.

I don’t imagine this will prompt any changes to state law, but as creative avenues for political activism go, “Periods for Pence” deserves credit for breaking new ground.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/why-indianas-mike-pence-receiving-some-unwelcome-alerts?cid=sm_fb_maddow

Repug politicians don't fucking care, voters will keep Indiana down there with the nastiest of red states.

[boutons_deux]

Indiana Defines Stupidity as Religion

INDIANAPOLIS — In a history-making decision, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana has signed into law a bill that officially recognizes stupidity as a religion.

Pence said that he hoped the law would protect millions of state residents “who, like me, have been practicing this religion passionately for years.”

The bill would grant politicians like Pence the right to observe their faith freely, even if their practice of stupidity costs the state billions of dollars.

While Pence’s action drew the praise of stupid people across America, former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer was not among them.

“Even I wasn’t dumb enough to sign a bill like that,” she said.

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/indiana-defines-stupidity-as-religion (http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/indiana-defines-stupidity-as-religion)

[boutons_deux]

LePage’s callousness takes an ugly turn, even by LePage standards

Gov. Paul LePage vetoed a bill Wednesday that would allow pharmacists to dispense an anti-overdose drug without a prescription, saying that allowing addicts to keep naloxone on hand “serves only to perpetuate the cycle of addiction.”

The Legislature passed the bill “under the hammer” – or unanimously without a roll call – this month as part of lawmakers’ attempts to address Maine’s growing opioid addiction epidemic.

the Republican governor argued, “Naloxone does not truly save lives; it merely extends them until the next overdose.”

Note, this was a written statement, not an off-the-cuff comment made during a press conference or an interview. LePage actually thought about his specific position, and argued that a life-saving drug treatment that prevents overdoes “merely extends” the lives of addicts – and he’s against that.

Maine’s governor, in a rather literal sense, made the case in writing that those struggling with opioid addiction don’t have lives worth saving. If LePage is convinced these people’s lives shouldn’t be extended, practically by definition,

he’s making the case that their lives should be curtailed.

Sen. Angus King (R-Maine), himself a former governor, “asking the chain to expand the availability of the antidote. The bill got support from both law enforcement and health organizations during the legislative hearing.”

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/lepages-callousness-takes-ugly-turn-even-lepage-standards?cid=sm_fb_maddow


With overdose deaths on the rise, police slowly starting to carry OD antidote

Paramedics across the state last year administered more than 1,500 doses of naloxone to reverse overdoses in 1,133 patients, according to data from Maine Emergency Medical Services, a unit of the Department of Public Safety.

The number of doses paramedics have administered has steadily climbed in recent years, from 659 in 2012 to 1,128 in 2014.

http://bangordailynews.com/2016/02/04/the-point/with-overdose-deaths-on-the-rise-police-slowly-starting-to-carry-antidote/

The price of a shot of naloxone has skyrocked from $1/shot to $40/shot

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/09/10/439219409/naloxone-price-soars-key-weapon-against-heroin-overdoses

[boutons_deux]

The wrong Republican to pick a fight with Facebook

http://www.msnbc.com/sites/msnbc/files/styles/ratio--3-2--1_5x-1245x830/public/articles/ap618693363783.jpg?itok=8rw1nHP-

A Gizmodo report (http://gizmodo.com/former-facebook-workers-we-routinely-suppressed-conser-1775461006) caused quite a stir this week with claims from former Facebook contract employees that the social-media behemoth suppresses conservative stories in its Trending Topics feed. Facebook has denied (https://www.facebook.com/tstocky/posts/10100853082337958) the allegations and noted there’s no evidence to substantiate the claims.

But Republicans are nevertheless throwing a fit. The Republican National Committee, among many others in the party, believe Facebook is “censoring” the right. “It is beyond disturbing to learn that this power is being used to silence view points and stories that don’t fit someone else’s agenda,” the RNC said in a statement (https://gop.com/makethistrend-facebook-must-answer-for-liberal-bias/) yesterday, operating from the assumption that the unproven charges are true.

But one key Republican senator is doing more than just complain. NBC News reported (http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/senate-republicans-want-face-time-facebook-over-trending-topics-bias) yesterday that Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) “wants to haul Facebook employees before Congress.”


Thune is chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee – which, among other jurisdictions, oversees technology, communications and Internet issues.

“If true, these allegations compromise Facebook’s ‘open culture’ and mission ‘to make the world more open and connected,’” Thune wrote Tuesday in a sharply worded letter to Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, demanding that employees responsible for Trending Topics brief the Senate committee by May 24.



Senate Democrats were quick to point out (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/05/10/unfriended-senator-hits-zuckerberg-over-alleged-anti-conservative-bias-at-facebook/) that the Republican majority can’t be bothered

to hold a hearing on a pending Supreme Court vacancy;

GOP senators still haven’t dealt with the looming Zika threat; and

the chamber takes an alarming number of days off;

but Republicans nevertheless seem to believe “Facebook hearings are a matter of urgent national interest.”

That’s not a bad line, but given the circumstances, the Senate GOP’s bizarre sense of priorities is the least of the troubles here.

Right off the bat, it’s difficult to understand how Congress has any oversight responsibilities towards a private social-media company.

I haven’t the foggiest idea if Facebook puts its thumb on the scales to help the left with Trending Topics – the evidence is thin, at best, based on the word of anonymous contractors – but let’s say for the sake of conversation that the allegations are 100% accurate. Then what?

How, exactly, would federal lawmakers justify intervening in Facebook’s ideological practices?

Indeed, since when does the Senate care about media companies that may or may not have political preferences? John Thune says he’s concerned about Facebook’s “culture” and the integrity of its mission statement, but again, how in the world is that any of his business?

Isn’t the Republican model based on the idea that the free market should decide and if online consumers don’t like Facebook’s “culture,” we can take our clicks elsewhere?

But even more striking still is Thune’s uniquely weak position. When the South Dakota Republican became Congress’ leading opponent of net neutrality (http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/setting-the-stage-net-neutrality-fight),

Thune made the case that any political interference in how the Internet operates is inherently unacceptable.

Worse, in 2007, Thune railed against the “Fairness Doctrine,” arguing (https://twitter.com/joshgreenman/status/730094204068745217) at the time,

“I know the hair stands up on the back of my neck when I hear government officials offering to regulate the news media and talk radio to ensure fairness. I think most Americans have the same reaction.”

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-wrong-republican-pick-fight-facebook?cid=sm_fb_maddow

:lol

South Fucking Dakota, with two Senators for 900K people. :lol

[boutons_deux]

Republicans get serious about impeachment, but not Obama’s

The Washington Post reported (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/05/18/top-house-republican-moves-to-censure-irs-chief/) yesterday:

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) introduced a resolution on Wednesday to censure IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, raising the stakes in the GOP war against the tax collector days before a hearing on whether to impeach him.

The four-page resolution seeks Koskinen’s resignation or removal by President Obama and calls on the IRS chief to forfeit his federal pension.


Chaffetz, the far-right chairman of the House Oversight Committee, explained (http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/05/18/house-gop-plans-another-attack-against-irs-commissioner-john-koskinen/) in a statement yesterday, “I view censure as a precursor to impeachment.” He added (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/04/27/congress-probably-wont-impeach-the-irs-commissioner-but-house-republicans-arent-done-with-him-yet/) a few weeks ago, “My foremost goal is impeachment and I’m not letting go of it.”

No, of course not. That might be responsible.

By any sane metric, the idea of congressional impeachment against the IRS commissioner is bonkers. House Republicans are apparently still worked up about an IRS “scandal” that doesn’t exist (http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-irs-scandal-scandal-no-more), and though Koskinen wasn’t even at the agency at the time of the alleged wrongdoing, GOP lawmakers want to impeach him because they disapprove of his handling of the imaginary controversy.

Given that the year is half over, Koskinen won’t be in the job much longer – he’ll likely leave office when the Obama administration wraps up – and there’s no credible reason to believe the Senate will remove the IRS chief from office, why bother with impeachment? Politico reported (http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/paul-ryan-irs-freedom-caucus-223324) something interesting yesterday:


Two weeks ago, in a closed-door meeting with Paul Ryan, Reps. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows gave the speaker an ultimatum: They would force a House vote to impeach the IRS commissioner — unless he allowed the Judiciary Committee to take action against John Koskinen instead.

The two founding members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus had been working behind the scenes for well over a year to take down Koskinen for accusations that he obstructed a congressional investigation. GOP leaders and senior republicans, however, had never been keen on the idea, fearing it was ultimately futile and that the spectacle would backfire on Republicans.


Right-wing lawmakers would not, however, take no for answer. Jordan and Meadows vowed to force an impeachment vote onto the floor unless House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) signed off an impeachment hearing in the Judiciary Committee, and the Republican leader relented. The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

But given the fact that Koskinen hasn’t actually committed any impeachable offenses, it’s hard not to get the impression that many House Republicans want to impeach someone, anyone, just for the sake of being able to say they impeached someone.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/republicans-get-serious-about-impeachment-not-obamas?cid=sm_fb_maddow

Repug MISgovernance, what's not to ridicule? :lol