Today's Political Pollution Stories

--1--

m'eye thoughts:  "Department of Environmental?!"

How do I just know that this man hasn't read a book since he finished school? Even the rodent living on his head is embarrassed.

Read more at Occupy Democrats

--2--

Another sex scandal exposed, another sex scandal denied, another sex scandal admitted, another sex scandal plea for forgiveness.

Or, as I call it, just another day in Republican-land.

Read more at Occupy Democrats

--3--

WTF?!  Is this supposed to make me feel better? Why are Republicans even talking about punishing women at all? Can no candidate think beyond Mr. Rich White Trash?  He says something stupid and/or offensive, and they all follow by jumping in with their own ideas on how whatever stupid and/or offensive thing he has said will work when they're in charge.

And, John, your I'm-Not-Really-a-Moderate roots are showing.

Read more at Think Progress

Wisconsin's Not So Subtle Attempt to Eliminate Student Voting

(Any underlines are mine.)

University of Wisconsin students...can't use their student IDs at the ballot box.  Unless they have a Wisconsin drivers license or passport, they must go to a campus office, present their student ID, and request an additional voter ID that complies with Gov. Scott Walker's law...

While poll workers will accept an expired drivers license, passport, tribal ID, or military ID, the student voter ID must be less than two years old.  Students must additionally print out and bring a proof of enrollment, such as a class schedule...  And while poll workers are only mandated to look at a person's name and photo on most IDs, when examining student IDs they must also check for a signature.

Student leaders at the UW's flagship campus in Madison told ThinkProgress they feel singled out for extra scrutiny.  

"It seems like the state legislature doesn't want a bunch of students voting," said junior Jessica Franco-Morales, a member of the student council working on voter education and outreach on campus.  "(The lawmakers) could have changed the law to make our student IDs compatible, but they didn't.  Their attack on certain populations seems pretty blatant."...

...The legislature changed the law to include veterans ID cards, but ignored pleas from students to do the same for them.

eye'm thynkin':  Here's a photo comparing a UW student ID and a UW issued voter ID.  They're practically identical and include the same information.  The student ID even includes an expiration date--which would seem to eliminate the requirement to provide a class schedule to prove you're really a student.   

Looking at the evidence, one might be tempted to think Scott Walker and his Republican cronies are trying to stop students--who tend to be more liberal and vote Democrat--mucking up their cushy Republican haven. 

Read more at Think Progress

Oh, the stupid. It "Berns!"

Republicans Say the Darndest Things: Oh, Blessed Irony

For this Monday Quote day, I have several...

First, God told Heidi Cruz that Ted should run (a story Rafael the elder is only too happy to retell and retell and retell:

"We were on our knees for two hours seeking God's will.  At the end of that time, a word came through his wife, Heidi...  And I'll tell you, it was as if there was a cloud of the holy spirit filling that place.  Some of us were weeping, and Ted just looked up and said, 'Lord, here am I, use me.  I surrender to you, whatever you want.'  And he felt that was a green light to move forward."

Next we witnessed an entire year of Ted on the campaign trail boasting that God speaks to him, that the country is in dire need of a spiritual revival, and that his presidency will bring God back to Washington.

"(God) speaks to me.  Literally.  In my head." 

"Any president who doesn't begin every day on his knees isn't fit to be commander-in-chief of this nation."

Then last Tuesday, at CNN's Presidential Town Hall, Ted said this:

"Listen, with me, as with many people in America, my faith is an integral part of who I am.  I'm a Christian and I'm not embarrassed to say that.  I'm not going to hide that and treat it like it's something you can't admit publicly and acknowledge.  It's an important part of who you are. 

But I also think that those in politics have an obligation not to wear their faith on their sleeve. There have been far too many politicians that run around behaving like they're holier than thou.  And I'll tell you, my attitude as a voter, if some politician stands up and says 'I'm running because God told me to run,' my reaction as a voter is 'Great.  When God tells me to vote for you, we'll be on the same page.'"

what eye thynk:  No words.  None.  --  Okay, one word: Hypocrite.

Gohmert: No STEM for Women - They "were created for one thing and one thing alone." (Correction addended)

(screen shot)

Texas Representative Louie Gohmert has just established himself as public enemy number one for women by publicly opposing H.R. 4742, a new bill that would increase federal support for entrepreneurial programs for women in STEM fields--science, technology, engineering, and math...

..."This program is designed to discriminate against that young, poverty-stricken boy and to encourage that girl.  Forget the boy.  Encourage the girl."

"And, you know, that's just not the way God intended us to be treating women.  I know that everybody is today talking about equality and we've got groups that are trying to make us believe that women are equal to men.  However, that's just not the case.  God didn't make us equal.  It is ourselves, we have created this illusion of equality.  And you want to know what the most powerful evidence of that there is?  Simple biology..."

"...Women were created for one thing and one thing alone.  We are insulting the Lord by allowing women to act like men.  Women are beautiful creatures, no doubt about that.  We marry them, we look after them, we provide for them and we love them, but that does not mean they are the same as us.  It is the job of a woman to stay at home, to maintain the household, to bear children and look after them after they're born.  Nowhere in the scriptures does it say that women should be chasing after fancy titles and knowledge.  The only knowledge they need is the one we men allow them to have."

eye'm thynkin':  You'll have to excuse me if I keep this short, but my head just exploded.

Republicans.  They just can't help themselves.

Read more at Bipartisan Report
You can watch Mr. Gohmert's entire speech here.

Addendum: An apology to my readers and to Mr. Gohmert.  

I try to be as accurate as humanly possible--that being said, I am in fact, human.  When I first read this story, I also checked other sites, sites that I trust, and at two of them I found the same quotes.  I listened to Mr. Gohmert's speech, and the first paragraph is quoted accurately.  I erred and assumed the other quotes were from other sources.  And so I reported it.

Yesterday, an anonymous reader said he thought it was satire.  So I did more checking and found the quotes on one other trusted site.  I checked one more place and finally found that the last two paragraphs actually were originally written as satire--the type of excellent satire that cleaves so closely to the truth that the boundaries are blurred.  The best satire is, after all, firmly rooted in reality.

Thank you to my anonymous reader for making me look further; but, think about this, how hard was it, in light of the GOP's attitude toward women in general, to accept this as true?  I realize that by misreporting this, I may have added to the anti-woman aura that swirls around today's Republican Party; but, really, they don't need my help. It's clear enough from the one paragraph that is completely accurate that Mr. Gohmert would prefer  women  always come second.

Something to think about while you're on your way to church...

Kinda makes me wonder, do these religious freedom advocates think they're BETTER than Jesus?

Today's Idiot With a Gun - They Make 'Em Dumber in Texas

On Friday, a 7-year-old shot himself in the leg with his father's handgun.  The little boy didn't find it on a table, or hidden under a pillow.  No, this 7-year-old's father is not that careless--he's even worse.

Andrew Crittenden of San Angelo actually GAVE the gun to his son to play with.  He later told police that he thought the gun was unloaded.

And gun un-safety isn't Mr. Crittenden's only talent.  He managed to hit a 5-year-old with his pick-up truck while on the way to the hospital with his injured son.  

Both children will be fine.

eye'm thynkin':  #1  What sane person gives a 7-year-old a real gun to play with like a toy?

#2  He THOUGHT the gun was empty?  He didn't check?

Read more at The Dallas Morning News