Sen. Paul Koering
Minnesota State Senate
Dear Sen. Koering,
I never thought I'd be writing the gay, even a Republican the gay like yourself, but you did something this week that deserves my heartfelt thanks. You announced you would uphold one of our nation's most cherished segregationist traditions and vote to deny yourself the right to marry the one you love. Certainly, it's that kind of self-hating toadyism that earned you a Republican Hero Award from the Log Cabin Republicans (what a fine, "real American" name--they must be true patriots of the Heartland, perhaps even lumberjacks.)
I was particularly impressed by the explanation you gave KLKS radio:
Koering, who is gay and a Republican, said he would vote against it because the state faces bigger problems.
Take SR15 for instance. Nothing is more important to the well-being of the citizens of Minnesota than passing your resolution honoring Mary J. Brenny. She owned both her town's ambulance service and mortuary, thus providing one stop service to the good citizens of Morrison County. You have to honor that kind of service.
The same holds true for SF3557. If you don't make English the official language, the brown people win. The whole state would be speaking Mexican and eating spicy foods by 2015.
These are both important bills. Thank God you had the courage to vote against marriage equality so you could devote more energy to their passage.
But I still have to wonder why someone who is the gay would do that? It's about as self-hating an act as I can imagine. Are you absolutely sure you're the gay and not just another heterosexual conservative who enjoys putting another man's little soldier in your mouth from time to time? You might consider giving that a little thought. Maybe you could talk to Ted Haggard, Larry Craig, and Bob Allen about it. They might be able to help you out with your sexual confusion.
Heterosexually yours,
Gen. JC Christian, patriot
Newsweek is reporting that former Attorney General Michael Mukasey delayed a critical internal report on the conduct of senior Justice lawyers in the torture scandal, including Jay Bybee, John Yoo and Steven Bradbury. The delayed report not only adds another contradiction to Mukasey's claims before Congress, but should add pressure on the Obama Administration to stop delaying a criminal investigation into the commission of war crimes by the Bush Administration.
During his confirmation, many of us were alarmed by what appears to be clear false testimony by Mukasey, including his statement that he did not know what waterboarding was. Mukasey insisted that he would implement changes at the Justice Department to stop the political manipulation of career professionals. However, once in office, he blocked any investigation of war crimes, blocked any prosecution of Bush officials for contempt of Congress, and shutdown an array of investigations into the misconduct of Justice officials. It is quite of legacy.
Mukasey's abuses have led many to question why Sens. Chuck Schumer and Diane Feinstein rescued his confirmation by not demanding that he answer questions about torture and war crimes. Mukasey proceeded to use an array of implausible excuses for not acting on allegations of crimes while secretly working to delay any criticism of those same officials in this report. For a prior column, click here.
The internal report was an effort to avoid a criminal investigation by allowing career lawyers to review the "conduct" as opposed to the crimes of Bush officials. To Mukasey's surprise, career lawyers found serious misconduct and he prompted moved to waterdown the report and change its conclusions.
Even with changes forced by Mukasey, the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), sharply criticizes three former top lawyers at Justice who authored the torture memos and raises the possibility that they could be referred to bar disciplinary boards.
Jay Bybee, John Yoo and Steven Bradbury are the focus of those criticisms.
The controversy, however, should serve to remind citizens that the Obama Administration has still not taken any action on widespread allegations of war crimes. There is clearly an effort to outlast any public interest in such an investigation. Delay will also serve to allow some statute of limitations to run — giving the Administration an excuse not to prosecute on some collateral crimes. However, there are no statutes of limitations for war crimes and the failure of the Administration to act is itself a violation of our obligations under these treaties.
For the full story, click here.
###
There is no one simple explanation of evolution: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/02/there_is_no_one_simple_evoluti.php
###
###
This is from today's New York Post. Now, you can do the justify dance by saying that the upshot of the "joke" is that the cartoonist was saying that the stimulus bill was written by a marauding chimp. But, really, and c'mon, "stimulus bill" is to President Obama what hate is to the Post. You can't separate them.
The New York Post has issued a statement defending its despicable cartoon and slamming Rev. Al Sharpton for protesting the piece.
Here's the full statement by Col Allan, editor-in-chief of the Post:
"The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut. It broadly mocks Washington's efforts to revive the economy. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist."
###
The Obama administration is throwing out food labeling rules proposed by the Agriculture Department just before Bush left office, saying it wants labels for fresh meat and other foods that would show more clearly where an animal or food came from, according to consumer groups who've been briefed on the issue. - ap
###
Uh oh. Looks like the hockey mom has a tax problem
Gov. Sarah palin must pay income taxes on thousands of dollars in expense money she received while living at her Wasilla home, under a new determination by state officials. - anchorage daily news
###
Yet another letter to the editor I feel compelled to share - h/t Dick
A PERSONAL OBSERVATION:
The Republican Party has devolved into a bizarre coalition of psychoses-ridden Southern white racists who still believe the motion picture Deliverance was a documentary on rural values, reality-challenged anti-science Mormons and Evangelicals, insecure, penis-fixated National Rifle Association gun nuts, vacuous Rush Limbaugh dittoheads, and discredited, misguided neoconservatives, all manipulated at will by a reprehensible cabal of self-absorbed, egotistical sycophants incapable of either compassion or coherent thought, bereft of any semblance of conscience or morality, and no longer able to contribute in any meaningful way to participatory democracy.
(Do you think 'penis-fixated' was a bit over the top? Perhaps they won't print the piece unless I redact that part.)
I'd leave it in. And please let me know when it runs. The comments will be spectacular.
###
TPM: Zack Roth looks at the cast of characters in the orbit of Sir Allen Stanford and finds familiar names from other recent scandals popping up again and again -- from Abramoff to Blagojevich.
We've also dug up photographs from a 2005 congressional junket to the islands sponsored by the Inter-American Economic Council, which Stanford backed financially. Here's Sir Allen and former Florida Secretary of State and then-congresswoman Katherine Harris:
The rest of the photos are here.
The guy also poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Democratic coffers to help (successfully) deep six legislation he wanted killed.
###
On the radio show, Living On Earth, Bruce Gellerman interviewing Arthur Rosenberg, California's Energy Commissioner, discussing the single simplest thing any home owner can do to combat climate change. Rosenberg presented a very simple answer to the question "What Can I DO?"
Here's the Audio. From the transcript:
Painting the roof of a house white reflects solar radiation back to the atmosphere and helps cool the planet. California Energy Commissioner Arthur Rosenfeld tells host Bruce Gellerman that a white roof not only saves on air conditioning costs but, also, offsets the heating effects of ten tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
###
The Pope is lecturing Nancy Pelosi about her support for abortion rights. Which is kind of ironic, since the Pope himself, involved in covering up the pedophelia and a former member of the Hitler Youth, doesn't seem to be too concerned about genocide when its committed against those already born. A German-born Pope who refuses to adopt a zero-tolerance policy on the Holocaust is in no position to be lecturing others about their morality.
###
Dog having fun while owner is away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3Or9p8-qTs
###
If you thought Derek the Abstinence Clown was a waste of taxpayer's dollars, wait 'til you see this shit. I hope Obama has the partisan common sense to zero out all abstinence-only education funding in next year's budget.
###
Evangelical pastors are holding a massive conference in Chino, California this weekend in which they will explain why the fact that the world's economy is swirling down the toilet bowl is a good thing for people of FAITH. From their standpoint, Bush and Free trade ideologues and Republicans didn't create this economic catastrophe with their policies of deregulation, large tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy and the laissez faire monetary policy of ever lower interest rates to keep the bubble going by Alan Greenspan at the Federal Reserve. Oh no. This disaster has God's fingerprints all over it. And that's a good thing!
The senior pastor at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills recently received two visitors to his church after their husbands committed suicide because of the financial crisis."This is real stuff," Hibbs said. The reasons and remedy for the "real stuff" are found in the Bible, he said.
That's why thousands of evangelical Christians are expected to gather at his church this weekend for the Southern California Prophecy Conference.
Titled "Finding Hope in the Global Crisis," Hibbs says the conference will reveal what he believes is the biblical backstory of the economy and America's wars in the Middle East.
"We also believe the message will bring people hope and understanding," Hibbs says. "That's going to dispel, I trust, a lot of fear and confusion." [...]
Mark Hitchcock, pastor of Faith Bible Church in Edmond, Okla., is one of the featured speakers.
He will deliver a message based off his latest book, "The Late Great United States: What Bible Prophecy Reveals About America's Last Days." [...]
Hibbs says hundreds of new visitors come to the church each week, seeking to make sense of the economic conditions. In some ways it reminds him of the seekers who flocked to church in the aftermath of Sept. 11.
"Our homes and our jobs, those are not the things we are living for," Hibbs says. "There's a greater purpose for life, there's a greater reason for living. The Lord has made that clear."
Yes Virginia, there really is no calamity, natural or man made, that Evangelical preachers won't exploit for the own benefit. And a global economic meltdown is just the ticket to convert more people scared out of the wits, or deeply distressed to develop a personal relationship with Jesus. And with Jesus' ministers here on earth. Particularly those trying to sell a book with the cheery title of "The Late Great United States: What Bible Prophecy Reveals About America's Last Days" or otherwise get more financial contributions to support religious hucksters the good work of God's servants here in America.
To quote a very well known Christian telvangelist "Isn't that special." I'm sure the women whose husbands killed themselves, and all the unemployed people or those who have lost their health care or their homes to foreclosure or filed bankruptcy or otherwise live in fear for their future will feel so much better knowing that Biblical prophecies hold all the answers to our current plight. Maybe they can even give us a date for the Rapture (or at least a range: Next month? Next year? Within the next five years?). Now that would be Hope we can believe in. Not like that sinister Islamofascist President Obama who, if he isn't the Antichrist himself, is probably the harbinger of the guy who will be coming soon to an End Times near you.
###
As you know, the Utah state legislature voted down bills that would have allowed gay adoption and protected gays from housing and employment discrimination.
Last night, Utah's local ABC station received leaked portions of an interview with state senator Chris Buttars (R), which will be highlighted in an upcoming documentary on Proposition 8.
Buttars, a Mormon who once said, "This baby is black. It's a dark, ugly thing", and who was directly involved with the Utah Boys Ranch/Mormon Gulag, is an outspoken opponent of gay rights; in the latest interview, he compares gays to alcoholics and Muslim terrorists, and warns that gay people are "probably the greatest threat to America." Some excerpts from the interview:
– To me, homosexuality will always be a sexual perversion. And you say that around here now and everybody goes nuts! But I don't care.
– They say, I'm born that way. There's some truth to that, in that some people are born with an attraction to alcohol.
– They're mean! They want to talk about being nice — they're the meanest buggers I ever seen. It's just like the Moslems. Moslems are good people and their religion is anti-war. But it's been taken over by the radical side. And the gays are totally taken over by the radical side.
– I believe that you will destroy the foundation of American society, because I believe the cornerstone of it is a man and a woman, the family. … And I believe that they're, internally, they're probably the greatest threat to America going down I know of. Yep, the radical gay movement.
Buttars bragged that he "killed" every piece of gay rights legislation in Utah, and said that President Bush — "like him or love him" — "saved" America "for the foreseeable future" by appointing conservatives to the Supreme Court.
Buttars discussed how the Mormon church would never give in on gay rights. Indeed, Mormons contributed nearly 40 percent of the more than $40 million raised to defeat marriage equality in California. He helped kick out Gay Straight Alliance clubs in Utah schools, claiming they were "criminal" and threatening that gay people's "greatest target is your kids."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP2MW9ummi8&eurl=http://wonkette.com/
You can write to Mr. Buttars here: dcbuttars@utahsenate.org
Or: 9241 South Lisa Ave. West Jordan, Utah 84088
###
The sperm-worshipping crowd managed to sneak in a victory almost under the radar yesterday when the state house of North Dakota passed what will probably prove to be a complete ban on abortion, and quite possibly on most female-controlled types of contraception.
###
Last week, Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) slammed President Obama's recovery and reinvestment plan. "Hold onto your wallets folks because with the passage of this trillion-dollar baby the Democrats will be poised to spend as much as $3 trillion in your tax dollars. Unfortunately, this bill stimulates the debt, it stimulates the growth of government, but it doesn't stimulate jobs," Bond insisted.
However, yesterday Bond was busy touring Missouri to tout the very stimulus plan he railed against. In a press release, Bond boasted about an amendment he included in the bill to provide more funding for affordable housing - and that will create jobs.
Bond's "I was against it before I was for it" maneuver at least has local media fooled. Just 24 hours after noting his opposition to the stimulus bill, local news this morning reported that Bond would be touring the state "pushing his plan to create 3,000 jobs in the state and build more than 700 affordable housing units." Watch the local CBS channel try to keep up with Bond's flip-flops: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-tfLAQwXGM&eurl=http://thinkprogress.org/
Bond is not alone in trying to reap the political benefits both from voting against the bill and from bringing much needed funding to his district:
Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), who complained that the "federal government is spending money they don't have," told Rachel Maddow he would nevertheless accept funds for Minnesota: "Our view is, if you buy the pizza, it's OK if you have a slice."
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he would nevertheless gladly accept its funds for his state. "You don't want to be crazy here."
Rep. John Mica (R-FL) gushed over the bill, which he, too, voted against. "I applaud President Obama's recognition that high-speed rail should be part of America's future," he said in a press release.
Rep. Don Young (R-AK) boasted that he "won a victory for…Alaska small business owners" in the recovery bill he refused to vote for.
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) boasted about the educational benefits of the recovery act, while Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) said his office "will do what we can to direct as much money as we can." Neither voted for the bill.
A spokesman for Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) says, "All along he has believed infrastructure spending, in particular, should provide a boost to the Inland Empire's economy."
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA): "While we philosophically have different opinions, we're obligated to make sure this money is spent properly."
###For those playing at home, that's Democrats = 0; rethuglicans = 1 6.
"Shenanigans"? Now just imagine if she had been a Dem. It would've been 24/7 cries of corruption! ACORN! We told you! Vote fraud! Why do Demoncraps hate America? Oh, and there'd be all sorts of demands that Norm Coleman be put back into office at once, because demon-rats have proved they cheat and steal elections. Wolf Blitzer would be intoning 'Democratic voter fraud... how widespread is it?' and Faux would have a graphic up of Nancy Pelosi wearing devil horns, grinning over a burning pile of voter registration forms.
Rachel Hoff pled guilty to the misdemeanor of notarizing absentee ballot signatures without actually witnessing them during the 2004 South Dakota Senate race, when she was working for the state Republican Party on behalf of John Thune, who went on to beat Tom Daschle. Local authorities charged six Republicans with violating the rules.
Nothing to see here, move along.
No comments:
Post a Comment