The Mormon practice of posthumous baptism may be arrogant and tone deaf, but I can't think of a more perfect finale for the party that specializes in arrogance and selective deafness.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Republican War on Women - Alabama Aims at Abortion Doctors' Financial Privacy
This is the fortieth in a series of articles on the subjects of women, abortion rights and the Republican Party.
Republicans continue to say they don’t have to change their core principles, they only have to change the language they use to get their message out. One perception they want to alter is the idea that they are running a “War on Women”. Looking at the news over the past few years, I’d say the Republican Party has a long way to go on this subject.
- Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky): “Talk about a manufactured issue. There is no issue.”
- RNC Chairman Reince Priebus: “It’s a fiction.”
The Alabama Front
This past Tuesday, a committee in the Alabama House held a hearing on the "Ultrasound Access Act."
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| Alabama State Representative Kerry Rich (R) |
Doctors convicted of breaking the law could be fined up to $1 million and/or be sent to prison for up to 10 years.
what eye thynk: First, let's call this bill what it really is: the "Medically Unnecessary and Intrusive Ultrasound but We Are Going to Require It Anyway Because We Can Act."
Now, about that twist. Here we have another example of the party of small government believing that no regulation that stands in the way of a woman and her constitutionally protected right to make her own medical decisions is too small.
You didn't really think small government meant less government oversight for everyone did you? Silly you. Less regulation is only for those who can afford to pay for it. Or for those who are not born with a vagina.
Abortion doctors would be forced to reveal their income to their patients. And how exactly is this supposed to protect women's health? Really, abortion opponents aren't even trying to hide their true motives any longer.
Abortion doctors would be forced to reveal their income to their patients. And how exactly is this supposed to protect women's health? Really, abortion opponents aren't even trying to hide their true motives any longer.
I don't think this "conflict of interest disclaimer" is necessarily a bad idea; I just think it is focused on the wrong segment of our society. How about we require our politicians to disclose their annual income, maybe as an attachment to all those re-election mailers we receive. In it they could include their total yearly income, a breakdown of the money they receive from outside interest groups, and how much they'll lose if they don't vote the way their money handlers tell them too.
Now THAT is an example of a small government regulation I could support.
Personally, I don't care how much my doctor makes. I hope he makes more than I do--a LOT more. After all, what I do for a living isn't a matter of life or death.
On the other hand, my life or death should not be decided by some bought and paid for politician who undoubtedly DOES make more than I do. But I'm willing to compromise: I'll show him mine if he'll show me his.
The Republican War on Women is "fiction?"
WHAT YOU DO SPEAKS SO LOUDLY
THAT I CANNOT HEAR WHAT YOU SAY.
A Few More Stories from My Political Pollution Page
--1--
m'eye thoughts: While this article has some cutesy, human interest value, it is this paragraph that
"Slankard said he got a call from a local Republican after he made the sign Feb. 19. The caller noted that Trump didn't need the money he would earn as president, and could hire qualified people to handle the job of governing."
Whoever this Republican is, he wants to ELECT a president who he then expects will basically OUTSOURCE the job! (Didn't we have enough of that with W?!) America is not a hotel! It doesn't need an absentee landlord/manager, it needs a leader!
If (if?!) Trump is not qualified, WHY IN THE HELL YOU YOU SUPPORT HIM?!!!
Read more at CantonRep
--2--
What a piece of garbage--and I mean what is being said as well as who is saying it. Garbage. Shameful, disgusting, lying garbage.
Video at CNN
--3--
The KKK...a.k.a. "The Group Donald Trump Knows Nothing About"
Read more at Addicting Info
Saturday, February 27, 2016
While GOP leadership struggles to find a way around Trump...
...one Republican continues to struggle to stay relevant.
Mitch McConnell Has a Plan...to Save His Own Butt
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| Doug Mills/New York Times |
...To rally depressed Republicans, McConnell has hatched an unthinkable tactical retreat: Let Hillary Clinton win and focus on maintaining control over the Senate...
...Did you catch that? Mitch McConnell floated the idea of tanking his party's own candidate for president over sandwiches at lunch.
McConnell's thinking is this: If Republicans accept that Trump will never win the general election, they can devote their energy towards running against Clinton at the senate level. If that sounds insane, then welcome to the Republican Party in 2016.
According to the New York Times: While still hopeful that Mr. Rubio might prevail, Mr. McConnell has begun preparing senators for the prospect of a Trump nomination, assuring them that, if it threatened to harm them in the general election, they could run negative ads about Mr. Trump to create space between him and Republican senators seeking re-election. Mr. McConnell has raised the possibility of treating Mr. Trump's loss as a given and describing a Republican Senate to voters as a necessary check on a President Hillary Clinton...
...Of Mr. Trump, Mr. McConnell has said, "We'll drop him like a hot rock," according to his colleagues.The saddest part in this scheme is that McConnell's plan probably won't even work... Trump has run his entire campaign on being anti-everything the current "establishment" Republican Party stands for. If his rabid supporters catch wind of the fact that loathed senators like Mitch McConnell are lining (up) against him, that will only make him more popular...
...Polls suggest McConnell is leading Senate Republicans into an epic defeat on election day. Having destroyed Trump to save the jobs of Senate Republicans, he will be left with nothing to show for it. A fitting end to a Republican Party that rushed so fast to the bottom that they didn't realize they had jumped off a cliff.
eye'm thynkin': Wow.
To me, Mitch McConnell always looks like a deer caught in the headlights. Now it's starting to sound like he's bracing for impact, and the only thing on his mind is how to save his own butt. And as a bonus, Americans would be treated to four (eight?) more years of obstructionism on a massive scale.
Is this how the "responsible" govern?
Read more at Addicting Info
and The New York Times
More Stories I Originally Posted at Political Pollution
--1--
m'eye thoughts: Education is overrated.
The bill would also make those members eligible to serve as Missouri associate or circuit court judges.
For when you're voted out of office and a career in lobbying just won't do?
Read more at Bipartisan Report
--2--
Mr. Combover could make P.T. Barnum blush.
Maybe he realizes that a job on Fox is not going to happen for him, so he's looking to replace Pat Robertson?
Read more at Liberal America
--3--
1 . Great! Now he wants to turn America into the United States of Nazi China.
2. Do you wonder if these Republicans who are endorsing Trump have a death wish and are secretly hoping their party goes down with a major case of whoop-*ass in November? What can they possibly be thinking?
Read more at Addicting Info
Friday, February 26, 2016
Republicans Say the Darndest Things: Trauma of Rape or Incest Will Halt Pregnancy
Idaho State Representative
Pete Nielson (R)
During a hearing on a bill that would add new restrictions to the rights of Idaho women to make their own medical decisions, Representative Nielson had this to say:
"Now, I'm of the understanding that in many cases of rape it does not involve any pregnancy because of the trauma of the incident. That may be true with incest a little bit."what eye thynk: Move over Todd Akin; we have a new winner.
Al Franken: If Last-Year Presidents Can't Nominate, Maybe Last-Year Senators Shouldn't Vote on Bills or Head Committees
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| YouTube screenshot |
"If we were to truly subscribe to the Majority Leader's logic and extend it to the legislative branch, it would yield an absurd result. Senators would become ineffective in the last year of their term. The 28 senators who are now in the midst of their reelection campaigns and the 6 senators who are stepping down should be precluded from casting votes in committee or on the Senate floor."
"Ten committee chairs and 19 subcommittee chairs should pass the gavel to a colleague who is not currently running for reelection or preparing for retirement. Bill introduction, and indeed the co-sponsorship of bills, should be limited to those senators who are not yet serving in the sixth year of their terms. If the Majority Leader sincerely believes that the only way to ensure that the voice of the American people is heard is to lop off the last year of an elected official's term, I trust he will make these changes."
eye'm thynkin': Senator Al Franken exposes the absurdity of the GOP and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision to deny President Obama his right to name a replacement for the late Justice Scalia to the the Supreme Court.
Read more at Bipartisan Report (video)
One Story, Two Graphics, and a Video from Political Pollution
--1--
m'eye thoughts: The Five Republican Stages of Trump
I enjoyed Stages 1-3.
Today, the GOP is at Stage 4, and my entertainment quotient has plummeted.
I enjoyed Stages 1-3.
Today, the GOP is at Stage 4, and my entertainment quotient has plummeted.
--2--
This is just plain embarrassing.
Watch the video at Vox
--3--
It's a sad example of Washington's skewed priorities.
With reasonable restrictions on gun purchases, maybe we wouldn't need to spend time fighting Apple over unlocking a terrorist's iPhone.
--4--
"...Cruz's objection stems from the part of the deal providing funding to Flint..."
GOP Bible, Book of Rafael 1: 1
Blessed are the money-obsessed, for they shall be made King of the Christians.
Story at Politicus USA
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Today's Good Guy With a Gun Report: Two Idiots, One State Trying to Make a Difference
...The woman's toddler son was in the room at the time of the shooting but was not injured.
Birmingham police Sgt. Rebecca Herrera said the woman was in the motel room when she thought she heard a noise. She grabbed her gun that was under her pillow, and somehow shot herself in the chest...
...Her injuries could be life-threatening, but Herrera said the woman was in stable condition as of 3:15 a.m.
eye'm thynkin': A gun safety course may have helped her tell one end of the gun from the other.
Read more at ALdotcom
 |
| Justin Ryan Jones via Bell County Sheriff's Dept. |
...Jones reportedly told a Bell County Sheriff's Department deputy he was showing his children gun safety when the gun he was holding fired and shot his 9-year-old daughter. (Oh, please! I'd be surprised if he could even spell the word.)
But Jones' son said his father was pretending to shoot them.
The 7-year-old said he liked the clicking sound the gun made. He said his father pulled the trigger and "his sister was shot," the affidavit said,
Jones' other son, age 6, said his father was pointing the gun at his sister and held it in both hands while pretending to shoot them.
Nothing like a little Texas-style family fun time with a firearm.
The little girl is currently in Intensive Care after several surgeries.
Read more at Daily Kos
 |
| photo: Michael Saechang |
Most background checks are cleared right away. But about three percent of the time, there's some sort of delay. Right now, if that delay lasts three days, the dealer is free to complete the sale. The new bill would extend that waiting period to 10 days.
Democratic Rep. Lew Frederick said allowing sales to go through by default is a loophole, no matter what time frame. He said while the new bill wouldn't close that loophole..."it makes it tight enough to catch a few more people who might exploit it."
I'd rather they had closed the loophole completely--no completed background check, no gun. A little inconvenience is worth the chance of saving a life, but I'll take what I can get.
Read more at OPBdotOrg
Birmingham City Council Thumbs Nose at State GOP, Votes to Raise Minimum Wage Immediately
The Republican dominated state legislature hated that idea; so the party of small government decided to stick their small minds into Birmingham's business and proposed a law that would prevent any municipality within the state of Alabama from raising the minimum wage beyond the federally mandated rate of $7.25/hour.
Yesterday, before the state could act, Birmingham's city council cut the legislature off at the knees by voting to raise the minimum wage in their city to $10.10 effective immediately.
what eye thynk: Why do Republicans insist on keeping people poor? What gain is there in it for them? If the people of Birmingham make more money, they will pay more in income taxes, putting more in state coffers. Republicans love money, why don't they love this idea?
And as much as Republicans love cash, they hate any type of public assistance more. By raising that $7.25 worker's pay rate to $10.10, the need for public assistance for that worker and his family may be eliminated. What's not to love here?
State Representative David Faulkner (R), who introduced the "Keep 'Em Poor" bill, defended it by saying that having different wages in different areas of the state would create issues.
On that he may be right. It looks like Birmingham is about to have a housing shortage issue.
Is This a Texas Approved History Workbook Page?
Last October I wrote about the Texas State School Board approving a history textbook that identified slaves as "immigrant workers."
In November I shared how the school board said they would be be "fixing" these types of problems, not by using outside experts to vet their books, but by handpicking their own experts, experts they deem to possess "sufficient content expertise and experience."
Update:
I came across this photo several days ago. The person who posted it did not identify where or when it was taken and did not respond to my question about its origin. I cannot help but wonder if this isn't a workbook page that teachers are using with that Texas approved history text.
I am appalled all over again.
Three More Stories That Caught My Interest Today
--1--
m'eye thoughts: Just when you thought it was impossible for Republicans to be any more nasty and anti-woman, along comes the Illinois GOP dominated legislature to create a bill that would deny birth certificates to babies born to single mothers.
--2--
m'eye thoughts: Just when you thought it was impossible for Republicans to be any more nasty and anti-woman, along comes the Illinois GOP dominated legislature to create a bill that would deny birth certificates to babies born to single mothers.
And, in typical Republican fashion, it's all about money. Either name the father, so we can check if he can provide child support; or name another family member, who will provide support. Either way, the state is off the hook. If the mother doesn't provide a name,, the state will not issue a birth certificate. No birth certificate means no state aide.
It's a classic Catch-22 with the state coming out on top. They want single mothers to prove they don't need aide, but if they prove they do, the state has given itself a way to deny it anyway.
Read more at Bipartisan Report
--2--
Well, wouldn't this put Mitch McConnell's Underoos in a twist?
Read more at MSNBC
--3--
Rep. Chris Collins, a mainstream Republican from Clarence, (New York) on Wednesday became the first sitting member of Congress to endorse bombastic billionaire Donald Trump for president.
"Donald Trump has clearly demonstrated that he has both the guts and the fortitude to return our nation's job's stolen by China..."
Trump's own line of clothing is MADE IN CHINA, you dolt!
This is an example of the type of Republican so desperate to cling to power that he would sacrifice the country to make it happen.
Read more at MSNBC
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
How to Fix Congress--by the Litre
This week, after a closed-door meeting in Washington, Mitch McConnell made it clear: There will be no hearing on any nomination to replace the late Justice Scalia on the Supreme Court.
what eye thynk: This response seems appropriate:
Personally, I'd let them drain my tank and willingly pay to have my car towed to the nearest gas station for more.
#DoYourJob!
Stupid People Love Trump and He Loves Them Back
"We won with poorly educated! I love the poorly educated!"
There were whooping cheers and applause for this comment. Which seemingly bore zero irony...
The article continues to point out Trump's education, his pandering, his lies, and his seemingly new found belief in the Christian Bible, before concluding:...Under-educated people are having their ignorance exploited, and bigoted people are having their bellies tickled. This resurgent right is euphoric that it's candidate can say things on national television that have been outlawed in workplaces and public spaces for decades. They are thrilled that hate has been made mainstream by their candidate, and they are going to come out in their droves to support him.
This means that voting in this year's election will be the most important ballots cast on American soil in a very long time. The reproductive rights of women, the rights of LGBT Americans, the rights of non-Christians, the rights of victims of rape and sexual assault, the rights of victims of gun crime, the rights of non-white Americans--they are all on the chopping block in this election. Every American with a conscience and a sense of decency has the absolute duty to make a stand against the sh*tstorm of stupidity, bigotry and ignorance.
eye'm thynkin': An acquaintance made a comment this morning that he had never missed casting his vote in any election, but that this time he would be staying home to protest against the types of political campaigns being run in this cycle.
We cannot let this happen. America cannot be taken over by the Donald Trumps of the world, not if we want America to remain standing.
If you really want to protest: Vote!
Read more at Addicting Info
Another Dumb Guy With a Gun - 12-Year-Old Wounded by "Responsible" Militia Member
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| Brandon Curtiss (left) with other members of the III% Idaho group (Facebook) |
The 12-year-old girl, whose name was not released, was taken by helicopter to a hospital for treatment after the shooting at the Rupert Gun Range, reported the Twin Falls Times-News...
...It's not clear who was handling the weapon when it fired, wounding the girl.
Brandon Curtiss, the president of the state III% militia group...said militia group members wanted to take target practice after a county meeting of the militia group--which was involved in last month's armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Curtiss said a militia member's gun accidentally fired while cleaning the weapon, and the bullet struck a metal table beneath a shelter and ricocheted.
eye'm thynkin': I can't help but be reminded of the bill currently making its way through the Iowa legislature that would make it legal for children--of any age--to carry a weapon. It will be safe, they say, because there will be adult supervision. Well, that didn't work so well here did it?
And who in the hell cleans a loaded gun?
Read more at Raw Story
More Stories I Originally Posted at Political Pollution Page
--1--
m'eye thoughts: Wha-a-a-a-t?
Read more at Addicting Info
--2--
What's next, tiny pink and blue guns advertised as perfect for baby shower gifts?
Read more at Raw Story
--3--
Proof that not all billionaires are asshats.
Go to Political Pollution to view the video
(Sorry, I don't know how to share a video here.)
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Kasich Loves Women--the Kind Who Existed in 1950
"How did I get elected?" Kasich asked the crowd, recalling his first run for state Senate in Ohio in 1978. "Nobody was--I didn't have anybody for me. We just got an army of people, who, and many women, who left their kitchens to go out and go door to door and to put yard signs up for me. All the way back, when--you know, things were different."......Kasich made the comment while speaking to a large crowd at George Mason University during a day-long swing through the crucial March 1 primary state of Virginia.
Minutes later, a woman who identified herself as a nursing student at the university stood up and asked Kasich a question about his decision to sign a bill in Ohio Sunday that diverts funding from Planned Parenthood in the state.
"Your comment earlier about the women coming out of the kitchen to support you--I'll come support you but I won't be coming out of the kitchen," she told him to some cheers and laughs from the audience.
"I gotcha, I gotcha," he responded.
eye'm thynkin': But here's the thing: John Kasich doesn't "got us." Not even close.
From this comment last October: "It's not easy to be a spouse of an elected official. You know, they're at home, doing the laundry and doing so many things while we're up here on the stage getting a little bit of applause, right?"
To these cracks he made to University of Richmond co-eds, also last October: "I don't have any tickets for, you know, for Taylor Swift or anything or, you know, or Linkin Pa...Go ahead. (Ask your question.). Or this to another female who raised her hand: "I'm sure you get invited to all of the parties."
To that time he tried to explain government budgeting by asking a woman "Have you ever been on a diet?"
To his apparent belief that God's females need the help of a big, strong, virile, male governor when making decisions about their own health.
He really, really doesn't get us.
John Kasich was born in 1952, back when "things were different." And he must have had a happy, storybook childhood--so happy in fact that he wants to return to those days to cocoon himself with that blissful homemaker in full make-up, dress tidied, heels on her stockinged feet, freshly coiffed, dinner on the table, standing at the door with slippers and cocktail in hand to welcome her hardworking man home.
I don't have a problem with adult fantasies. I just don't want to be part of his.
Read more at NBC News
More Stories From My Political Pollution Page
--1--
m'eye thoughts: So sad, and so entirely preventable.
Yeah, this guy had a concealed carry permit, but his loaded gun wasn't concealed; it was lying on a table in plain sight.
This is the 18th shooting this year where a good-guy-with-a-gun left a loaded firearm where a child could find it...that's one every three days.
Thank you, NRA, for making this possible. Smart guns could have prevented every one of these shootings, but you stood your ground and kept them off the market. These 18 families surely appreciate your efforts.
Read more at The Washington Post
--2--
Well, this love affair didn't last long.
Read more at Politicus USA
Monday, February 22, 2016
A Quote for Monday, February 22
An Op-ed piece, I Miss Barack Obama, published in the New York Times earlier this month highlighted what is often overlooked when judging President Obama and his time in the White House--the basic goodness he, his family, and his team exude.
The fact that it was written by a conservative, Republican columnist makes it even more striking. You can read his entire article here.
monday quote:
The fact that it was written by a conservative, Republican columnist makes it even more striking. You can read his entire article here.
monday quote:
"Over the course of this campaign it feels as if there's been a decline in behavioral standards across the board. Many of the traits of character and leadership that Obama possesses, and that maybe we have taken too much for granted, have suddenly gone missing or are in short supply...
...Obama radiates an ethos of integrity, humanity, good manners and elegance that I'm beginning to miss, and that I suspect we will all miss a bit, regardless of who replaces him."
(David Brooks, New York Times writer, columnist, and commentator on PBS News Hour, 1961- )
A Few Stories I Originally Posted at Political Pollution
--1--
m'eye thoughts: Cecil Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America:
"This legislation will have devastating consequences for women across Ohio. John Kasich is proudly eliminating care for expectant mothers and newborns, leaving thousands without vital STD and HIV test, slashing a program to fight domestic violence, and cutting access to essential, basic health care."
And, of course, he did it on a Sunday, in private, hoping no one would notice.
Read more at If You Only News
--2--
When South Carolina, a state with one of the most conservatively Christian populations in the U.S. rejects you, you are not "seeing Republicans coming to us in incredible numbers."
Read more at Addicting Info
Sunday, February 21, 2016
The Christians Gotta Hate Ticket - Coming Out on Top
I, like a lot of Americans, thought -- Trump is a joke, this will be fun to watch for a while, but once voting starts, he'll fade quickly. The American people know this job is too important to turn over to a narcissistic, rich-white-trash, foul-mouthed bully, who possesses no diplomatic skills, and who loves nothing more than the sound of his own voice. In a world where America's power rests in the respect accorded it by the rest of the world, no one will vote for someone who is already laughed at and disrespected by other foreign powers. New Hampshire was a fluke. Surely this will be over soon.
Then came yesterday in South Carolina. Raised a Christian, now an agnostic, I always knew, even if I could no longer stand in church and swear to believe the Apostle's Creed, that the Christian values on which I was raised were there, in the background, guiding what I said and how I thought. I could always depend on love thy neighbor, the story of the Good Samaritan, the Beatitudes to keep me safe. I have watched my country's myriad religions fracture over issues of sexuality and women's rights, especially over recent years; but, surely, goodness always triumphs. There will always be fringes who would have it otherwise, but they're just that, fringes, right?
Last night, I sat in front of my TV and thought, "It has come to this?" One frontrunner and two also-rans, each claiming to be Christian--from fundamentalist Ted Cruz, to Catholic/Mormon/Baptist Marco Rubio, to (he says) Presbyterian Donald Trump--each out to capture and seemingly appealing to a base of conservative, evangelical Christian voters.
Will someone please tell me: Where is the Christ in any one of these candidate's divisive, anti-gay, anti-women, anti-minority, anti-immigrant, anti-poor, anti-healthcare, anti-education, anti-science platforms, declarations that leave no room for polite discussion or compromise, that aim to demean any who dare disagree? I went to bed grieving for the religion of my youth and fearing for my country.
One thing I noted in all the reporting, was that voter exit polls seemed to indicate that these three, and in particular Mr. Trump, appeal overwhelmingly to those who do not have a college degree. Looks like the keep-'em-dumb, keep-'em-Republican pigeon has come home to roost.
The Republican establishment, with the exit of Jeb Bush from the primary race, is now completely at a loss over what to do. If they truly love this country as they claim to, the RNC will begin running ads in support of whichever Democratic candidate wins the nomination. Once a sane person is safely in charge of the U.S., the GOP can then spend the next four years rebuilding their brand--hopefully into a party that respects the American principles of diversity and inclusiveness, where education is be applauded, where the choice to worship as we see fit is a right, not a dictum, and where hate is no longer accepted as an American value.
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