Lunatic Fringe, I know you're out there

Wow, are they out there!

Lawmaker: Disabled kids are god's punishment

Western Prince William Del. Bob Marshall, R-13th, says disabled children are God’s punishment to women who have aborted their first pregnancy.

He made that statement last Thursday at a press conference to oppose state funding for Planned Parenthood.

“The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children,” said Marshall, a Republican.
[...]
According to Marshall, Planned Parenthood receives “about $500,000 a year” from the state.

But Jessica Honke, director of public policy for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, said the only state funding Planned Parenthood receives is from Medicaid reimbursements. That amount was about $35,000 in the 2009 fiscal year, according to the Department of Medical Assistance Services.

Planned Parenthood provides a wide range of gynecological and other health services, from cancer screening and HIV prevention to birth control for low-income women.
[...]
[Rev. Joe] Ellison said he was “declaring war against Planned Parenthood.”

Yep, nothing more Christain than god punishing children for their parent's actions, lying, & declaring war.

Fearing Obama Agenda, States Push to Loosen Gun Laws

When President Obama took office, gun rights advocates sounded the alarm, warning that he intended to strip them of their arms and ammunition.

And yet the opposite is happening. Mr. Obama has been largely silent on the issue while states are engaged in a new and largely successful push for expanded gun rights, even passing measures that have been rejected in the past.

In Virginia, the General Assembly approved a bill last week that allows people to carry concealed weapons in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, and the House of Delegates voted to repeal a 17-year-old ban on buying more than one handgun a month.
[...]
"The watchword for gun owners is stay ready," said Wayne LaPierre, chief executive of the National Rifle Association. "We have had some successes, but we know that the first chance Obama gets, he will pounce on us."

So let me get this straight, cars and alcohol=bad, guns and alcohol=good. With any luck these morons will shoot each other and raise our collective IQ. Virginia ain't for lovers anymore.

Missile Defense Agency Logo Angers Right

The Drudge Report and other conservative sites are highlighting a newly-unveiled logo for the U.S. Department of Defense's Missile Defense Agency and complaining that the new logo is reminiscent of both the Obama campaign logo and an Islamic flag.

"the new MDA shield appears ominously to reflect a morphing of the Islamic crescent and star with the Obama campaign logo," writes Big Government's Frank Gaffney. "… Team Obama is behaving in a way that -- as the new MDA logo suggests -- is all about accommodating that 'Islamic Republic' and its ever-more aggressive stance."

Jesus Christ on a toasted muffin, is there anything they can't read anything into?

Republicans Voting Against Stimulus Then Asked Obama for Money

Alabama Republicans Jo Bonner and Robert Aderholt took to the U.S. House floor in July, denouncing the Obama administration’s stimulus plan for failing to boost employment. “Where are the jobs?” each of them asked.

Over the next three months, Bonner and Aderholt tried at least five times to steer stimulus-funded transportation grants to Alabama on grounds that the projects would help create thousands of jobs.

They joined more than 100 congressional Republicans and several Democrats who, after voting against the stimulus bill, wrote Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood seeking money from $1.5 billion the plan set aside for local road, bridge, rail and transit grants. The $862 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed last year with no Republican votes in the House and three in the Senate.

I was trying for a pithy comment, but these people are lying, armed, hating, christofascist, paranoid, hypocrites ... and given all the fits that's news to print. What's wrong with this picture!?

Now for some brain bleach:




Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

Happiness is a warm gun, bang bang, shoot shoot

A quick round up of Veteran's issues:

GOP amendment allows ‘mentally incapacitated’ vets to buy guns

[...]
A press release issued by Republican North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr explained his reasoning
[...]
"Currently, when the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) appoints a fiduciary to assist a veteran with managing their financial affairs, VA also deems the veteran mentally incompetent and reports him or her to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)," Burr's release wrote. "The Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act would require a judicial body to deem a veteran, surviving spouse, or child as a danger to himself or others before being listed in NICS, which would prohibit the veteran from being able to purchase certain firearms.

*************

Camp Lejeune whistle-blower fired
A psychiatrist who tried to prevent Fort Hood-style violence among Marines about to "lose it" instead loses his job

Last April, two Marines at Camp Lejeune predicted to a psychiatrist that some Marine back from war was going to "lose it." Concerned, the psychiatrist asked what that meant. One of the Marines responded, "One of these guys is liable to come back with a loaded weapon and open fire."
[...]
Upon returning home, troops suffering mental health problems were getting dumped into an overwhelmed healthcare system that responded ineptly to their crises, the men reported, and they also faced harassment from Marine Corps superiors ignorant of the severity of their problems and disdainful of those who sought psychiatric help.

*************

God, the Army, and PTSD

[...]
“God doesn’t like ugly,” one political appointee told Paul Sullivan, an analyst in the VA’s Veterans Benefits Administration, in a clumsy attempt to reduce the cost of caring for psychologically traumatized veterans. “You need to make the numbers lower.”
[...]
Sullivan was working as an analyst at the Veterans Benefits Administration in Washington in early 2005 when he was called to a meeting with a top political appointee at the VA, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Michael McLendon. McLendon, an intensely focused man in a neatly pressed suit, kept a Bible on his desk at the office. Sullivan explained to McLendon and the other attendees that the rise in benefits claims the VA was noticing was caused partly by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who were suffering from PTSD. “That’s too many,” McLendon said, then hit his hand on the table. “They are too young” to be filing claims, and they are doing it “too soon.” He hit the table again. The claims, he said, are “costing us too much money,” and if the veterans “believed in God and country . . . they would not come home with PTSD.”

*************

GOP senator slammed for being lone holdout blocking veterans’ health bill

And why, for dog's sake, why would he block the bill? Senator Coburn said he will remove the hold if Senators approve amendments he has proposed.

So this moron threatens to take his ball and go home if the other 99 senators don't pass his amendments. (Senate - n. definition: A dysfunctional political body that is elected by the people and controlled by lobbyists and obstructed by one f**king moron.)

I'd like to say I'm outraged, but the truth is that nothing these people do or say anymore shocks me. The lies, the hypocrisy, the hate mongering have become SOP for the GOP.

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

But a footnote to a 2005 memo made it clear that the rules were not always followed. Waterboarding was used "with far greater frequency than initially indicated" and with "large volumes of water" rather than the small quantities in the rules, one memo says, citing a 2004 report by the C.I.A.'s inspector general.

Officials Say U.S. Wiretaps Exceeded Law

The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.

F.B.I. and States Vastly Expand DNA Databases

Law enforcement officials are vastly expanding their collection of DNA to include millions more people who have been arrested or detained but not yet convicted.

Gee, government agencies have actually exceeded the incredibly unconstitutional powers that were granted them without our knowledge ... and then they were granted them ex post facto!?

Wow, no one could have predicted ...



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

I'm Burning, I'm Burning, I'm Burning for You

The stupid, it buuuurns!

Conservatives Decry Homeland Security Report on "Rightwing" Extremism

Yesterday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich tweeted that "The person who drafted the outrageous homeland security memo smearing veterans and conservatives should be fired."

Gingrich was referring to this report prepared by the Department of Homeland Security's Extremism and Radicalization Branch, Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division, and coordinated with the FBI.

As Fox News has reported, DHS also issued a study of the threat of leftwing extremists (read it HERE.) But the report on the rightwing extremists is the one attracting heat in the conservative bloggosphere, from Gingrich, Michelle Malkin, Powerline, and elsewhere.
[...]
[Dr. James Dobson] said "there are no Timothy McVeighs out there right now. They're making a big deal out of something that hasn't happened and may not happen."

Wow! Instead of condemning these violent, extreme wacko nutjobs the republicans and conservatives are endorsing them! But I guess it's no surprise since the constant drumbeat of politicians and Faux News 'reporters' calling President Obama a fascist & a terrorist, and saying he wants to have death camps'* and 'take our guns away' and outright calling for militias to take over the government. And that's the mainstream morons. BTW, these were the same folks that demanded every lib & Dem to constantly denounce Islamic terrorists ... as if we didn't already.

Let's go to the facts. There are "Timothy McVeighs out there right now": Threats to candidate/President Obama's life

And when the military lowered their recruiting standards for Bush's war (on a country that had nothing to do with al Qaeda or 9/11) so much that felony convicted white, black and brown gang members could join, it's pretty obvious that some of them will come back and rejoin their gangs. Duh.



*Excerpt from Fox News Glenn Beck's program titled:

Debunking Web Myths About FEMA Camps

BECK: OK. One last question: I want to show you — take a look at this picture. Can you put this picture up, please? This is another one. And we're going to have you back tomorrow and — just answer yes or no. Is this — this is what they claim. This is a concentration camp?

MEIGS: Yes, it is.

BECK: It is. Are there atrocities going on in that camp?

MEIGS: There is every reason to believe there is.

BECK: Is this a government-run concentration camp where atrocities — every reason to believe atrocities are going on?

MEIGS: Yes.
[...]
BECK:There is enough out there. We don't need to make stuff up.

At this point I'd almost ask someone to teabag me, not that there's anything wrong with that, but at least my eyes would be covered.

UPDATE: Is it just me or has anyone else noticed a taint on the teabaggers populism?



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

Houses of the Holy & The Lizard King

Obama administration 'anti-religious,' Gingrich says

Newt Gingrich said Tuesday the Obama administration is "intensely secular" and "anti-religious," the former House Speaker's second hard-hitting criticism of the new administration this week.

In an interview with FOX News, Gingrich said he strongly disagreed with Obama's choice of Harry Knox — an outspoken activist for gay rights — to the White House advisory council on faith-based initiatives.

"I think their goal is to have a very secular America in which government dominates everything," he said. "Why wouldn't you put an anti-religious, left-wing zealot on a faith-based group? It's a perfect pattern for this administration."

Since 2005, Knox has served as the director of the Human Rights Campaign, a national organization that advocates on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. He is also a former Methodist pastor.

Oh, where to start?

How about here, The i of Newt had to pay a $300,000 fine for ethics violations while he was in Congress.

Or here: He's been married 3 times, d-i-v-o-r-c-e-d his first wife when she was recovering from cancer surgery, and admitted he was cheating on his second wife with his 3rd. Which he was forced to admit while he was leading the charge to impeach Clinton.
Family values indeed.

Politically, his OWN PARTY kicked him out because his contract on America was nuthin' but FAIL!

OK, enough history, just because the messenger is a lying hypocrite doesn't mean that I won't also discuss the factual inaccuracies in his statements.

IRT to Newt's faux outrage, (2012 posturing anyone?), the former pastor that Newt is complaining about is only one of 25 people on the White House advisory council on faith-based initiatives. Golly, I guess no LBGT people are religious!

And the whole 'anti-religious' meme? Jesus, save me from your followers!
Newt used to be a Baptist, which means he was washed in the blood of the lamb, this year he became a Catholic, which means he drinks the blood of Christ and eats Christ's body. (I'd call for an 'amen', but I'm still getting over going ewwww!)

The wrongwingers just can't decide on whether President Obama is a Muslim, a Jew (1st Seder in the WH, doncha know), a radical Christian, a communist, or just anti-religion .... 'cause none of the poo they fling is sticking.

Maybe Darwin was wrong, the Republicans these days seem to be descending to apes.

Welcome to the sideshow Newt, you're in good company with Palin, Sanford & Jindal.

Ohh, and someone please pass the popcorn, this circus is gonna be good. Especially when the elephant parade comes into the ring.



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

Body of Law

Bill Lets Moms-To-Be Kill To Save Baby
Measure Would Authorize Deadly Force If Unborn Child's Life At Risk

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A bill in the Oklahoma Legislature would allow pregnant women to use deadly force in order to save the lives of their babies.

The bill stems from a Michigan case where a woman who was carrying quadruplets stabbed and killed her boyfriend after he hit her in the stomach. The woman lost the babies and was convicted of manslaughter.

Sounds like, no pun intended, a miscarriage of justice. But to me the article just seemed a bit odd, and why would Oklahoma care about a case in Michigan?

The OK lawmakers make a new law about something that happened in Michigan in 1999 while "Oklahoma has also had a law covering the murder of unborn babies since 2005"? So I decided to do a bit of research.

And surprisingly, it turns out not to be true! The Michigan court and the appellate court both found that:

Months before trial, defendant moved for permission to present testimony and to argue that she killed Pena in defense of her unborn children. The trial court concluded that one could assert the defense of others theory if claiming that deadly force had to be used to protect a fetus or embryo.

The court signed an order stating that “Defendant’s Motion to Allow Defense of Defendant’s Unborn Child as a Theory of Defense is hereby granted.”

And the appellate found that

We conclude that in this state, the defense should also extend to the protection of a fetus, viable or nonviable, from an assault against the mother, and we base this conclusion primarily onthe fetal protection act adopted by the Legislature in 1998. See MCL 750.90a et seq.

But lets take a closer look at the Oklahoman's law:

The group Americans United for Life came to state lawmakers and asked for the bill that Thompson co-authored. It's called the Use of Force For the Protection of the Unborn Act.

"You have the right to use lethal force, if needed, to protect your unborn baby," he said.

Oklahoma already has a law allowing a person to use force to protect himself or another person from someone else. The new bill includes an unborn child as "another" person.
[...]
"It is good to see legislators educating themselves on this issue," [YWCA's Josh Beasley] said. "Domestic violence is the second-leading cause of death among (pregnant) women nationwide, so it's good they are taking the issue seriously and wanting to do something about it."

But that's a lie. "CDC homicide data indicate that from 1995 through 1999, homicide was the second leading cause of death for women aged 15 to 24, after accidents." And more from the same GAO report:

There is no current national estimate of the prevalence of violence against pregnant women. Estimates that are currently available cannot be generalized or projected to all pregnant women. CDC’s PRAMS develops statewide estimates of the prevalence of violence for women whose pregnancies resulted in live births; 1998 estimates for 15 participating states ranged from 2.4 percent to 6.6 percent. Research on whether women are at increased risk for violence during pregnancy is inconclusive.

However, CDC reported that study findings suggest that, for most abused women, physical violence does not seem to be initiated or to increase during pregnancy.

This is obviously a backdoor approach to declare a fetus a child and overturn a woman's right to choose.



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

You're a loser, and not what you appear to be

I'm sure this comes as a surprise to you ... not!, but we think even Democratic donkeys can become braying jackasses. Case in point: Alaska State Rep. Mike Doogan.

Rep. Doogan has chosen to spend a considerable amount of his constituents time, (and maybe AK State resources, and maybe violated AK ethics and laws and Federal laws), to out an anonymous blogger in Alaska who did nothing but chide him about email etiquette. It starts out like this:

Now that Christmas is past, and our bellies are full of figgy pudding, and pumpkin pie, lets lie back in our recliners with a snifter of warm brandy, put our feet up, stroke the head of our golden retriever, and ponder. There is much to ponder here in the North Land, but there is one particular subject that has come to my mind many times over the past two days. It involves a series of emails that occurred on Christmas Eve.

Here's a sample of the aforementioned original email from Rep Mike Doogan:

“Are you people nuts? You send me — and everybody else in the legislature, from the looks of things — Spam and then lecture me on email etiquette — as if there were such a thing? Here’s an etiquette suggestion: Abandon your phony names, do your own thinking and don’t expect everybody to share you obsessions.”

Now that seems a might rude to me, especially coming from a state employee, but he then took the lowest road of all. He devoted his time to finding out exactly who this AKMuckraker is.

From: “doogans@gci.net”
To: akmuckraker@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2009 2:55:14 PM
Subject: your identity

**********[Identity protected by this blog]:

I am reliably told that you are the anonymous blogger who writes Mudflats. I am planning to reveal this in the enews I send to my constituents tomorrow, and am writing to let you know this and offer the opportunity to comment.

Mike Doogan

And then DID blast the blogger's name all over the internet!

Anonymous Blogger Anonymous No More

The identity of the person who writes the liberal Democratic Mudflats blog has been secret since the blog began, protected by the Anchorage Daily News, among others. My own theory about the public process is you can say what you want, as long as you are willing to stand behind it using your real name. So I was interested to learn that the woman who writes the blog is Anchorage resident ***************. [Once again, we retract the blogger's name.]

Best wishes,

[signed]

Our country was founded on anonymity as basic to our freedoms. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison, and the US Supreme Court agrees. Sheesh, even Clarence Thomas agreed!

Anonymous whistleblowers are protected by federal and state laws. So to see an elected rep out a blogger for revenge of such a petty nature is just disgusting and despicable.

What upset me the most was this blog plog post by AKM ending with:

And with that, Mudflatters, I need to take a little time off to assess things, and take stock of how life will be changing for me and my family.

Why did AKM choose anonymity? Here are that person's reasons and our own:

I might be a state employee. I might not want my children to get grief at school. I might be fleeing from an ex-partner who was abusive and would rather he not know where I am. My family might not want to talk to me anymore. I might alienate my best friend. Maybe I don’t feel like having a brick thrown through my window. My spouse might work for the Palin administration. Maybe I’d just rather people not know where I live or where I work. Or none of those things may be true.

I'll add yet another reason: If you read us, over time, or just read commenters over time, you get to know that aspect of the person. Knowing our names, our skin color, our sex or sexual orientation, doesn't matter a whit.

It's our thoughts & ideas that count, and the facts that we link to to support our opinions that count. Judge us on what we write, not your preconceptions of who we are by false categories.

I'm pleased to note that AKM is back blogging:

Thank You, from AKMuckraker.

[...]
I have to admit this has taken a bit of getting used to. I’m not one to crave the spotlight, and I generally enjoy my boring little life. So, I’m needing a little time to regroup. Thank you all for the understanding, and indulging this naturally private and introverted blogger who normally posts pretty frequently. Public figures choose a public life. Private citizens don’t necessarily choose that.
[...]

Now that AKM is outed, maybe that person will run for Doogan's seat. It's not my district, but I'll contribute to the campaign.

If for no other reason than this:

A Bedtime Political Parable

It’s been a long time since we’ve had a good bedtime story at the Mudflats. We’re overdue. (Plumps your pillow, smooths the hair off your forehead and tucks you in. Scans the shelf and pulls out a nice hardcover) I know! Let’s have a parable.

I hope AKM & Co have sweet dreams, but "We’ll have to find out what happens, and how it ends another night."



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak