World News Korner

So the Washington Free Beacon published these personal papers that belonged to Diane Blair, a political science professor, and now deceased close friend of Hillary's.

This caused the conservatives to start going over the correspondence with a fine tooth comb looking for something, ANYTHING, they could use as opposition research against Hillary in 2016.

The found a few exchanges that they have been able to characterize as "ruthless" but overall there is really not much "there" there.

One of the portions that I personally found rather interesting was when Hillary finally admitted that Bill had had and inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky:

When Clinton finally admitted to the relationship after repeated denials, Hillary Clinton defended her husband in a phone call with Blair. She said her husband had made a mistake by fooling around with the “narcissistic loony toon” Lewinsky, but was driven to it in part by his political adversaries, the loneliness of the presidency, and her own failures as a wife.

She told Blair that the affair did not include sex “within any real meaning” of the term and noted President Clinton “tried to manage” Monica after they broke up but things spiraled “beyond control.”

Blair described the contents of the Sept. 9, 1998, phone call in a journal entry.

“[Hillary] is not trying to excuse [Bill Clinton]; it was a huge personal lapse. And she is not taking responsibility for it,” Blair wrote.

“But, she does say this to put his actions in context. Ever since he took office they’ve been going thru personal tragedy ([the death of] Vince [Foster], her dad, his mom) and immediately all the ugly forces started making up hateful things about them, pounding on them.”

“They adopted strategy, public strategy, of acting as tho it didn’t bother them; had to. [Hillary] didn’t realize toll it was taking on him,” Blair continued. “She thinks she was not smart enough, not sensitive enough, not free enough of her own concerns and struggles to realize the price he was paying.”

Now remember this is a private conversation between Hillary and one of her best friends. And yet rather than to rant about what a bastard her husband was, or what a whore Monica was, she takes some of the responsibility for not being there for her husband and identifies Lewinsky as a "narcissistic looney toon," which I think most of us would find fairly accurate.

Now I am personally not a fan of women excusing their husband's infidelities and accepting the blame, but this does speak to someone who did indeed love her husband, and someone whose instinct was to protect rather than condemn.

I have said before that I do not see Bill's actions hurting Hillary in 2016, but with this revelation it may serve as the perfect rejoinder to the conservative attacks if they choose to go this route.

Source

Courtesy of Think Progress:

Dee Dee Bridgewater, an award-winning jazz singer who hosts a syndicated NPR show, is publicly sharing the story of having an illegal abortion. Bridgewater describes the harrowing experience in a new video for the Center for Reproductive Rights’ “Draw The Line” campaign, which is mobilizing Americans to fight back against the mounting attacks on abortion access.

“I remember being very humiliated, to the point that today, I haven’t thought about this for years. Thinking about it makes me want to cry,” Bridgewater says about the illegal procedure she had in 1968, before Roe v. Wade guaranteed women’s right to choose.

Bridgewater describes going to a hotel room to meet a friend of hers who was a nurse. Her friend inserted a rubber hose into her body and told her to leave it there for the next several days. Two days later, Bridewater started to hemorrhage and was rushed to an emergency room.

“I just remember this excruciating pain,” she says. “I am appalled that they are trying to take away the rights we fought so hard for…I am saying to all women, stand up for your rights. You are the one who should decide what you will do with your body. To take away our reproductive choice can hurt you.”

You know that's part of the problem. Today's young women have no memory of experiences that were commonplace in the times of their mothers and grandmothers.

The farther we get away from those times the easier it is for the conservatives to pass legislation that will help usher in a future just as humiliating and oppressive as the one so many decades past.

We need more women like Dee Dee Bridgewater to share their stories so that the young women of today can be educated as to what they are in danger of losing.

Source

Courtesy of Raw Story:

A pastor affiliated with the American Family Association has accused religious broadcaster Pat Robertson of “blasphemy” for mocking creationism.

Robertson responded to last week’s debate between Bill Nye, “the Science Guy,” and Creation Museum founder Ken Ham by flatly denouncing the idea that the Earth was only 6,000 years old.

“Let’s be real,” Robertson said on his “700 Club” program. “Let’s not make a joke of ourselves.”

Rev. Mark H. Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, argued God established all scientific laws, so “good science will always point to Him.” (And yet, so far it has not.)


“That’s why we need not fear there will ever be a discovery of some scientific fact that contradicts the Bible properly interpreted,” Creech wrote in a column published Sunday by Renew America.

Creech said he appreciated that Robertson recognized God’s sovereignty over Earth’s creation, but he said the theory of evolution directly contradicted biblical teachings in at least seven specific ways.

“If Robertson believes that Ham’s literal interpretation of the biblical creation account is a ‘joke,’” the pastor wrote, “then I suggest Robertson’s remarks make him a ham.”

Ham himself responded in a Facebook post last week to Robertson’s remarks, calling the broadcaster “misinformed and deceived.”

“Sad that so many will believe him — who is neither a scientist, nor a Bible scholar rather than open their Bibles and see that evolution and millions of years are totally incompatible with the first 11 chapters of Genesis and rather than think for themselves and check out creationist web sites like Answers in Genesis,” Ham said.

Boy do I love it when Fundamentalists fight among themselves.

And really what can you say about a group of people, for whom Pat Robertson is the voice of reason?

Remember this is the same guy who once accused the country of Haiti of making a deal with the devil and said that feminism leads to witchcraft.

So when somebody like that points out that part of your superstitious belief system makes you look like a joke, that is something that you just might want to take into consideration.

Source

Below is an excerpt from an interview that Neil de Grasse Tyson gave to Parade:

"You will never find scientists leading armies into battle. You just won’t. Especially not astrophysicists—we see the biggest picture there is. We understand how small we are in the cosmos. We understand how fragile and temporary our existence is here on Earth. We understand there are bigger problems we need to solve as a species than what God you pray to.

“Any time scientists disagree, it’s because we have insufficient data. Then we can agree on what kind of data to get; we get the data; and the data solves the problem. Either I’m right or you’re right or we’re both wrong. And we move on. That kind of conflict resolution does not exist in politics or religion. It does not exist in so much of what we do as human beings on this Earth that it’s almost tragic.

“I feared for the future of the world on witnessing [9/11]. I thought we had gotten past that, that the greatest atrocities the world had seen previously were over…. I was disappointed in us as a species.”

Just think about that for a moment. And then realize that the majority of the politicians in this country are lawyers, not scientists or teachers, but lawyers.

Lawyers are trained to win debates at all costs, usually through adversarial means. They focus on the win with no regard to the innocence or guilt of their client, and beyond that their focus is on making money.

These are exactly the wrong people to be making moral, educational, and optimistic plans for this country's future.

Personally I would be all in favor of having a Senator de Grasse Tyson from my state. And I think that if each state were to recruit educators and scientists and send them to Washington many of our most pressing problems might be cleared up in decade or less.

Source

This from Politico:

In the clip posted Sunday to Youtube by She-PAC, a political action committee focused on electing conservative women to office, Arizona Sen. John McCain, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Newt Gingrich, Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), and other notable Republicans warmly wish Palin a happy birthday and thank her for her contributions to the conservative movement.

Highlights from the video:

Condoleezza Rice: “Congratulations on making it to 50, I’ve been there a long time. It’s really okay.”

Phil Robertson of the Reality TV show “Duck Dynasty”: “You don’t look a day over 40. Don’t let anybody kid you. God has been good to you, child.”

And his brother, Si: “Hi, Ms. Palin. Look here, happy birthday—29 and counting. Have a good one.”

Utah Sen. Mike Lee: “Enjoy some moose hunting or do whatever else that a mama grizzly does on an important birthday.”

Cruz: Your unwavering courage and commitment to America is inspiring. You are a warrior. And I couldn’t be more proud to stand beside you fighting alongside the American people to save this great nation.”

McCain: “I will treasure our memories and I will always be grateful to you”

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch: “You have guts, you have ability.”

Gingrich: “Your courage, your clarity, your willingness to speak out is really important.”

Wow, can you believe they got McCain to participate in this crap?

The group that made it calls itself ShePAC and this is how it describes its mission statement:

Conservative women have proven to be amongst the most effective advocates for conservative principals and the most electable candidates in swing states and districts. The idea of a "conservative woman" flies in the face of liberal doctrine and poses a tremendous threat. As we’ve seen, the left will stop at nothing to seek and destroy that threat.

ShePAC exists to Support, Honor, and Elect these strong, conservative women who put their name on the line to fight for freedom and constitutional principals. Join with us today to stand against brutal liberal attacks and to positively promote emerging conservative women who will lead our country.

Oh yeah this is EXACTLY the kind of organization that would be willing to support an individual as incredibly flawed as the Wasilla Wendigo.

An organization that supports allowing men to control a woman's reproductive rights, supports allowing employers to continue paying women less than men, and apparently wants to keep letting health insurance companies count a uterus as a preexisting condition.

How very pro-woman of them.

Source

Courtesy Watchdog:

After New York City spent years building a thriving charter school community, Bill Phillips, president of Northeast Charter Schools Network, says Mayor Bill de Blasio is showing how to take it down, .

“If New York City has been a national model for growing charters, I think Mayor de Blasio is laying out a blueprint for killing charter expansion,” said Phillips, whose school network serves New York and Connecticut. “This is clearly a blueprint: Do everything on your power to take away access to buildings. Facilities are almost always one of the major challenges for charters across the country.”

In New York City, 70,000 students attend charter schools and more than 50,000 are on waiting lists.

During his campaign, de Blasio clearly voiced his intention to charge rent to charter schools co-locating with district schools, sparking a protest involving about 20,000 charter school supporters.

Between the high cost of New York City real estate and a desire to keep actual school sizes relatively small, it’s common for districts to run multiple schools out of the same building. About 10 percent of co-locating schools are charters, Phillips said.

About three-quarters of New York City’s charter school students attend co-locating schools.

Last week, de Blasio’s administration pulled $210 million allotted for new charter school buildings and directed it to expanding preschool programs. He’s placed a moratorium on new charter school co-locations. And schools slated to open soon with co-locations approved by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg may see that approval taken away.

The idea of expanding charter schools is simply a conservative plan for taking funding away from public schools and undercutting education in this country.

In fact Alaska Governor Sean Parnell is so dedicated to the sabotage that he actually suggested that Alaska amend its constitution which specifically forbids the use of public funds for religious or private schools.

Thankfully so far Alaskans have given him the middle finger over this, but I have little doubt that he will continue to undermine public schools, along with his Republican cohorts, at every opportunity.

Mayor de Blasio's approach is exactly the one that every other pro-education politician needs to adopt. The way to help educate our children is to properly fund public schools and allow teachers to teach without constantly evaluating them and threatening their jobs.

I swear I am sick and tired of watching teachers getting attacked over and over again by people who clearly care nothing about eduction or the needs of our children.

Source

Courtesy of 12 News:

Beaumont police were called to Eastex Freeway near Highway 105 Saturday morning by people complaining about a man dressed as a banana holding an AK-47.

Derek Poe, owner of Golden Triangle Tactical, told 12News Saturday that it was part of the store's grand opening after moving locations from Parkdale Mall.

Poe said the man in the banana suit was holding an AK-47 across his back with the barrel pointing down and holding a sign with an arrow pointing toward the store. He said this idea was to attract customers to the store.

The police also detained the 18 year old and cited him for violating a city ordinance that prohibits solicitation in and alongside roadways. They also filled out paperwork on the weapon and submitted it to the Jefferson County District Attorney's office where they will decide if further charges will be pursued concerning his public display of the AK-47.

By the way this store owner, Derek Poe, was also recently cited for openly carrying an AR-15 in a crowded mall:

On Dec. 28, Derek Poe stopped by GameStop in Parkdale Mall before going to the store he owns in the mall, Golden Triangle Tactical. While at GameStop, he was stopped by police officers and the AR-15 that was slung around his back was seized.

At the time Poe argued that he was only exercising his 2nd Amendment rights and should not be cited. However the police reported that witnesses said that they were "terrified" and "thought they were going to die."

Which, if I may be so bold, is the appropriate response to seeing a moron walking around with an assault rifle strapped to his back.

I cannot believe these assholes think they are helping their cause by frightening mall shoppers and commuters on their way home from work.

If they keep this kind of thing up they may actually succeed in getting the 2nd Amendment thrown out, or at the very least amended again.

Source

Courtesy of the Washington Times:

Following a year marked by hundreds of arrests and national publicity but few policy victories, leaders of the movement opposing the Republican agenda in North Carolina vowed Saturday to keep fighting and to speak clearly at the ballot box in 2014.

Thousands of people angry with GOP policies approved in 2013 were energized while attending the “Moral March on Raleigh,” the largest gathering of its kind since weekly Monday protests began last spring at the Legislative Building.

“We return to Raleigh with a renewed strength and a renewed sense of urgency,” the Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP shouted to a packed crowd that extended at least three blocks along Fayetteville Street south from the old Capitol building. “This Moral March inaugurates a fresh year of grassroots empowerment, voter education, litigation and nonviolent direct action.”

Event organizers said people from more than 30 states planned to attend the rally, a reflection of the spread of the “Moral Monday” protests to nearby Southern states. It was a diverse group of rally participants who chanted, sang and danced at the end, waving placards on topics ranging from campaign finance and education funding to gay rights and abortion rights.

“Someone can say, ‘what can one man or one woman do?” asked Kirkland Carden, 25, a Georgia State University student who traveled with Planned Parenthood organizers to participate. “But when everybody comes here, you get waves like this.”

These marches have been going on for the last seven years or so, but now they are growing in number, and Saturday's was the biggest thus far.

There is a lot to like about this movement.

It is an indication that the progressives in red states are fed up and not going to take it anymore, which is good news for all of us.

It is also an indication that despite the lack of news coverage, until recently that is, they have no intention of giving up.

But my favorite thing about the movement is that they are taking back ownership of the word "moral."

No longer will those on the Right be able to claim moral superiority (Which of course they never really had.) over those of a different political persuasion.

In fact, considering the policies they have passed to oppress women, the LGBT community, and minorities, I think a strong case can be made that just the opposite is true.

Source

By the way in my defense I was TOTALLY talking about how absurd it was that Palin could be in the White House.

That's why I helped to stop that from ever happening.

Now I am just waiting for my thank you from Matt Damon.

Source

I am well past the point of not finding the ideas of heaven and hell completely ridiculous, but if I thought there were a possibility that I might end up in heaven with the people who are constantly bragging that they are on the fast track to acceptance like Pat Robertson, Sarah Palin, and Ken Ham I would start knocking over banks and setting churches on fire just to make sure they took me off the invite list.

Besides I don't care how hot it is, the idea of hanging out with Albert Einstein, Richard Dawkins, and Mark Twain for eternity sounds like a hell of a party.

Source

Courtesy of the National Memo:

General David Petraeus — the man whom Fox News’ Roger Ailes tried to persuade to run for president as a Republican in 2012 — thinks Hillary Clinton would make “a tremendous president,” according to the new book HRC by authors Jonathan Allen and Aimee Parnes.

And the reasoning from the former head of the Central Intelligence Agency is the exact opposite of Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who has been suggesting for months that the Benghazi terrorist attacks, which claimed four American lives, including that of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, should disqualify the former first lady from higher office.

“Like a lot of great leaders, her most impressive qualities were most visible during tough times,” Petraeus said. “In the wake of the Benghazi attacks, for example, she was extraordinarily resolute, determined, and controlled.”

So to be clear here, the guy that the Right Wing tried desperately to recruit as a presidential candidate, thinks that the person they believe should be disqualified from running due to Benghazi, would actually make a "tremendous" President because of her handling of Benghazi.

You know I often suggest that certain things will cause Right Wing heads to explode, but if such a detonation were possible, THIS would certainly cause it.

Source

Courtesy of the Friendly Atheist:

For a few years now, Pastor Justin Vollmar has been releasing YouTube videos in which he explains biblical concepts and answers theological questions — all in sign language — as part of his “Virtual Deaf Church.”

But his latest video came as a shock because of the secret he revealed: He’s now an atheist. in short, Vollmar explains that he enrolled in seminary to obtain his masters degree in Theology.

But his intense study of the Bible didn’t strengthen his faith. It led him away from it.

"A profound, wonderful change occurred in my life." I LOVE hearing that!

You know we always say that the best way to turn a Chrisitan into an Atheist is to have them REALLY read the Bible.

I think a lot of people assume we are simply being snarky.

But nope, we're not.

Source

Currently the Senator from Kentucky, but still so Texan he wears roadkill on his head.

Courtesy of Politico:

Sen. Rand Paul on Saturday predicted that Texas would turn blue within a decade if the Republican Party doesn’t become more inclusive.

“What I do believe is Texas is going to be a Democrat state within 10 years if we don’t change,” Paul (R-Ky.), who grew up in Texas, said at a dinner held by the Harris County GOP. “That means we evolve, it doesn’t mean we give up on what we believe in, but it means we have to be a welcoming party.”

Paul, who is heavily weighing a presidential bid, noted that his assessment was shared by the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. The Lone Star state, currently the largest Republican bastion in the country, is nearly 40 percent Hispanic — a demographic that has overwhelmingly supported Democrats in recent elections.

I rarely listen to anything Rand Paul says because you know he's crazy, but this time I think he is speaking the truth for a change.

There is a lot of Democratic energy in Texas to take back their state, and electing Wendy Davis as Governor could just be the tip of the iceberg.

However I disagree with Paul over one thing.

There is NO way the GOP is going to get their act together fast enough to attract the Hispanic vote or more female support anytime soon.

Not when the majority of their policies seem to focus on stripping women of their reproductive rights, militarizing the border with Mexico, and pushing a religious doctrine into our public schools.

Source

Courtesy of Time:

It was going to be a matchup for the ages, but the promoter behind George Zimmerman’s fight with DMX has K.O.’ed the bout.

Zimmerman’s promoter Damon Feldman has decided to forego “a lot of money” and cancel the controversial fight, according to his Twitter feed, because he’s concerned with hurting people’s feelings.

Feldman is taking the blame for the decision to back out I think the real reason might be because the opponent they decided on, DMX, threatened to "beat the living f--k out of him." And urinate on his face once he had done so.

After all Zimmerman won't get to bring a gun into the ring which is the only way he feels manly enough to face off against a black guy.

I actually decided I wasn't going to write about this if it took place, but now that it has been cancelled there are a couple of things I think are worth pointing out.

One is that, despite our supposed progress toward increasingly civilized behaviors, we still live in a culture that is willing to pay to watch one man beat the crap out of another. And let's face it, not many eyes would be averted if DMX had whipped it out and urinated on Zimmerman. In fact for some that would have been the best part.

Second there was no way this was a good idea for Zimmerman no matter what the outcome.

If he, by some miracle, won, it would prove that the skinny 17 year old Trayvon Martin could not have beaten him down and made him feel helpless enough to justify killing him with a gun.

And if he lost, well he would simply be some idiot who got his ass handed to him on national television and even his racist supporters would be disappointed with his performance.

Not only that but earning money off of the "fame" that he apparently has for murdering an unarmed teenager would anger even those who may as of yet not despised his fat ass and he would need to hire even more protection.

Like I said I am glad the fight got cancelled. However just between you and me, there is still a primitive part of me that would like to see Zimmerman get his ass kicked all over the ring.

I am not saying I am proud of that, but it exists.

Source

Courtesy of MoveOn.org:

Connect the dots between policies that keep many of our fellow Americans desperate, and you’ll see they add up to a war on the poor and working families.

I bet you thought my headline was hyperbole didn't you?

Sadly, it is not.

It is time for the Democrats to start fighting as if they are fighting for their very lives.

Because they are.

Source

Courtesy of The New York Times:

The federal government will soon treat married same-sex couples the same as heterosexual couples when they file for bankruptcy, testify in court or visit family in prison.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was preparing to issue policies aimed at eliminating the distinction between same-sex and opposite-sex married couples in the federal criminal justice system, according to excerpts from a speech prepared for a Saturday event organized by a prominent gay-rights group.

“In every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States, they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections and rights as opposite-sex marriages,” Mr. Holder’s prepared remarks said, according to the excerpts circulated by the Justice Department.

The changes were set in motion last year when the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional to refuse federal benefits to married same-sex couples, a ruling that Mr. Holder supported.

Slowly, slowly move the wheels of change.

But move they do, despite the attempts of those who want preserve the old fashioned ideals of discrimination, homophobia, and religious intolerance to stop them.

Source

Courtesy of the Washington Post:

Tens of thousands of Muslims are fleeing to neighboring countries by plane and truck as Christian militias stage brutal attacks, shattering the social fabric of this war-ravaged nation.

In towns and villages as well as here in the capital, Christian vigilantes wielding machetes have killed scores of Muslims, who are a minority here, and burned and looted their houses and mosques in recent days, according to witnesses, aid agencies and peacekeepers. Tens of thousands of Muslims have fled their homes.

The cycle of chaos is fast becoming one of the worst outbreaks of violence along Muslim-Christian fault lines in recent memory in sub- Saharan Africa, tensions that have also plagued countries such as Nigeria and Sudan.

“Civilians remain in constant fear for their lives and have been largely left to fend for themselves,” Martine Flokstra, emergency coordinator for the aid agency Doctors Without Borders, said in a statement Friday, adding that the violence had reached “extreme and unprecedented” levels.

On Friday, thousands of Muslims hopped aboard trucks packed with their possessions, protected by soldiers from Chad, and drove out of Bangui, as Christians cheered their departures or tried to loot the trucks as they drove through Christian areas. At least one Muslim man, who fell from a truck, was killed by a mob. Meanwhile, thousands more Muslims huddled at the airport in a crowded hangar, waiting to be evacuated.

“They are killing Muslims with knives,” said Muhammed Salih Yahya, 38, a shopkeeper, making a slitting motion across his throat. He arrived at the airport Wednesday from the western town of Yaloke with his wife and five children. “I built my house over two years, but the Christians destroyed it in minutes. I want to leave.”

To be fair while this is a case of the Muslims being victimized by the Christians, the converse has been true many times in the region as well.

However it seems when the Christians are being persecuted by an Islamic government or it's people, American churches and others start demanding action from the government to intercede, but never a word when it is the Muslims being persecuted or executed by the Christians.

The fact is that people are tribal, and they always care more about those that are more like them, than those who are different.

And we have made great progress in accepting our similarities and coming together as a people. Especially in America where we have made impressive strides in racism, sexism, and overcoming cultural differences.

However when it comes to religious differences it seems we are moving further apart, rather than closer to together, and that our ability to tolerate other faiths is decreasing rather than increasing.

Perhaps it is because the world is steadily moving toward a less religious and more enlightened future, and those who are defined by their religious faith are starting to feel under attack and defensive. Or perhaps it is simply that with more knowledge about the culture and religion of others comes a recognition of how alien they are to how we think, live, and believe.

Whatever the cause I actually feel that even in America we are in danger of seeing a rise in violence driven by religious intolerance and a need for domination. Right now it is expressing itself as a grab for political power and an attempt to undermine secular public schools, but failing that I have no doubt that there are those willing to kill and die for their god right here in the good old USA.

Source

I found that spending gap between children and the elderly to be rather shocking. But thinking about it I guess I'm not surprised.

What I am surprised about is all the tail that the elderly are apparently getting.

"So stop your bellyaching cause you're lucky enough to live in a country that will keep you hard until you're stiff." Good to know.

By the way S.E. Cupp was on last night and made a fool of herself as usual. (I am so glad she is no longer on MSNBC, and I wish Bill would stop inviting her on his show as well.)

Between her and PJ Rourke, I found the program a little frustrating and hard to watch. However when the New Rules came on it helped to redeem it.

At least that was my opinion.

Source

Courtesy of CNN:

A majority of Americans, and women in particular, do not believe the Republican Party understands the problems and concerns of women today.

That's the headline from a new national poll that comes as Republicans push back against Democratic claims the GOP is out of touch on female issues and is waging a war on women.

According to the CNN/ORC International poll, which was released Friday, 55% of Americans surveyed say the GOP doesn't understand women. That number rises to 59% among all women and 64% among women over 50.

"That last number is intriguing, since older women are more likely to vote Republican than younger women. Yet younger women don't have as much of a problem with the GOP on this measure," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said.

"That suggests that the problem women have with the Republican Party may be related less to the policy positions the GOP takes and more related to the attitudes behind those policies and the tone the party takes when addressing them," he added.

Yeah, but did these women know that Bill Clinton once let another woman touch his junk?

Because according to the Republican party this is going to make ALL the difference in the next election cycles.

Still struggling to understand why ANY woman votes Republican.

Source

As many of you know the President made a comment about having a pen and a phone he could implement to create policy if the Congress remained uncooperative, which made the Right Wing lose their shit and declare that he was a "dictator." Which is ridiculous since he has utilized Executive Orders far less than the majority of his predeccessors.

So today his weekly Presidential Address described what he meant by that for the slow folks and the Right Wing. (Assuming there is a difference.)

“I want to work with Congress on this agenda where I can. But in this year of action, whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, I will. I’ve got a pen and a phone – a pen to take executive action, and a phone to rally citizens and business leaders who are eager to create new jobs and new opportunities. And we’ve already begun.”

In Wisconsin, I ordered an across-the-board reform of our training programs to train folks with the skills employers need, and match them to good jobs that need to be filled right now.

In Pittsburgh, I directed the Treasury to create “my-RA,” a new way for working Americans, even if you’re not wealthy, to start your own retirement savings.

In Maryland, I rallied the leaders of some of America’s biggest tech companies to help us make sure all our kids have access to high-speed internet and up-to-date technology to help them learn the skills they need for the new economy.

And at the White House, I brought together business leaders who’ve committed to helping more unemployed Americans find work, no matter how long they’ve been looking. And I directed the federal government to make hiring decisions the same way – based on whether applicants can do the job, not when they last had a job.

So when you hear me talk about using my pen and my phone to make a difference for middle class Americans and those working to get into the middle class, that’s what I mean.”

What the President is doing is what he has to do to keep the country moving during this time of chronic partisan obstructionism.

For that he should be applauded, not vilified.

(H/T to Politicususa.)

Source

Courtesy of HuffPo:

A new candidate for a Michigan seat on the Republican National Committee wants gays "purged" from the GOP and claims homosexuality is a "perversion" created by Satan himself.

Mary Helen Sears of Houghton County in the state's Upper Peninsula, elected vice chair of the Michigan Republican Party's 1st District last year, posted a rant in April on the Schoolcraft County GOP website -- preceded by a warning asking readers to "please use your discretion before taking any decisions based on the information in this blog."

In the post, Sears claimed that homosexuals prey on children, argued that "Satan uses homosexuality to attack the living space of the Holy Spirit" and advocated that Republicans "as a party should be purging this perversion and send them to a party with a much bigger tent."

Sears, in her post on the Schoolcraft County GOP website, wrote that Communist college professors were indoctrinating young people and claimed that Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory "gave rise to Hitler’s Third Reich, Mussolini’s Italy and Stalin’s Russia."

"If the GOP continues down this trend and stand for perversions and the daily social fad ... The GOP will be truly dead and Satan will have had his day," Sears wrote.

Oh yeah, we wouldn't want Satan to have his day or anything.

You know the Republican party keeps complaining that they are "being smeared by the mainstream media," but I think they get that confused with "reporting on the crazies in their party."

Update: Here is the crazy lady's screed.

Source

Courtesy of the Washington Post:

During a taped interview set to run Sunday on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul hit Bill Clinton for his sexual indiscretions. Again.

Here's the critical piece of what Paul told C-SPAN's Steve Scully:

"The Democrats can't say, 'We're the great defenders of women's rights in the workplace and we will defend you against some kind of abusive boss that uses their position of authority to take advantage of a young women' when the leader of their party, the leading fundraiser in the country, is Bill Clinton, who was a perpetrator of that kind of sexual harassment. Anybody who wants to take money from Bill Clinton or have a fundraiser has a lot of explaining to do."

Yeah, anybody really buying that Paul is all bent out of shape because Bill let Monica Lewinsky play the skin flute?

Yeah me either.

And while I cannot really defend Clinton's actions, he was not exactly taking advantage of an innocent school girl.

Monica knew exactly what she was doing, she flirted with him outrageously, did naughty things with his cigars, and even had the presence of mind to hang onto that blue dress. THOSE are not exactly the actions of a victim.

And the real problem here is that Rand Paul is conflating one man's sexual impropriety, with an entire political party's oppressive and insensitive anti-woman policies.

Hell, by all accounts Bill Clinton did not even screw that woman, but there is ample evidence that the Republican party has been screwing women in America for decades.

Source

Courtesy of the Washington Times:

Alaska is poised to become the third state to legalize retail marijuana after pro-pot advocates this week cleared the signature hurdle to place an initiative on the August ballot.

The Committee to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Alaska hit 31,593 valid signatures Tuesday, well above the 30,169 signatures required to place the measure before voters. The initiative is expected to appear on the Aug. 19 primary ballot once a final count is certified by the state.

Alaska follows in the footsteps of Colorado and Washington, where voters approved measures to regulate the sale of recreational marijuana for adults in November 2012. Colorado unveiled the nation’s first retail pot shops in Jan. 1, and Washington is expected to begin marijuana sales in June.

Dependably Republican Alaska would become the reddest state to approve retail marijuana, but Committee spokesman Taylor Bickford predicted the legalization effort would appeal to the electorate’s libertarian streak.

“Alaska voters have a large degree of respect for personal liberty and freedom, and that’s reflected in the poll numbers we’ve been seeing,” said Mr. Bickford.

On the one hand we are so conservative about social issues, like gun control and taxes, but then on the other side we are all, "Hey let's get high!"

This could of course simply be driven by our libertarian streak, or it could mean that the state is finally ready to return to its blue state roots.

After all we are also starting to change our minds about marriage equality:

For the first time, the left-leaning polling organization found that more Alaskans support gay marriage than oppose it, with 47 percent of voters in favor and 46 percent opposed, according to the poll done Jan. 30 through Feb. 1. A few weren't sure. Last year, 43 percent supported it and 51 percent were against it. And 71 percent back civil unions for gay couples.

Well as a liberal all I can say is that I welcome the return of Alaska's progressive overlords and wish them a long and fruitful reign.

About damn time too!

Source

You know if this keeps up America might actually soon live up to it's reputation as the land of the free. Free from religion and the constraints it puts on society that is.

(Source)

Source