Thursday, January 12, 2012

Headlines - Thursday January 12

 

These guys are so god damned stupid we're getting to the point they will be featured on one of those cable shows featuring America's dumbest criminals. "Hey guys, let's go break multiple laws, film it, and then show everyone. I see no flaws with this plan!"

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Class warfare - not just for Republicans anymore

Interesting:

The Occupy Wall Street movement no longer occupies Wall Street, but the issue of class conflict has captured a growing share of the national consciousness. A new Pew Research Center survey of 2,048 adults finds that about two-thirds of the public (66%) believes there are "very strong" or "strong" conflicts between the rich and the poor—an increase of 19 percentage points since 2009.

Not only have perceptions of class conflict grown more prevalent; so, too, has the belief that these disputes are intense. According to the new survey, three-in-ten Americans (30%) say there are "very strong conflicts" between poor people and rich people. That is double the proportion that offered a similar view in July 2009 and the largest share expressing this opinion since the question was first asked in 1987.

That's enough to make Mittens cry.

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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has committed 1,115 violations of campaign finance law, totaling more than $500,000 worth of fines, since 2009. This includes 456 violations in the last 72 hours, worth nearly $284,000. Under Wisconsin statute, each violation invites a fine of $500:

"Scott Walker has improperly reported well over $500,000 in contributions from inside and outside of Wisconsin," said Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director. "Scott Walker has absolutely no interest in following the campaign finance rules of the state of Wisconsin and we again call for state regulators to address his serial violation of our laws."

A breakdown of the violations:

  • Fall Pre-Election 2010: 428 contributions in excess of $100 without the required information totaling $245,276.10
  • Report of Late Contributions: 28 contributions in excess of $100 without the required information totaling $37,900
  • Pre-primary 2010 Report: 214 contributions in excess of $100 without the required information totaling $79,464.68
  • July 2010 Report: 204 contributions in excess of $100 without the required information totaling $68,575.38
  • Jan 2010 Report: 35 contributions in excess of $100 without the required information totaling $10,710
  • July 2009 Report: 206 contributions in excess of $100 without the required information totaling $76,170
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    You want to know who I feel really sorry for? Andy Borowitz, John Fugelsang and all the staff writers at The Onion.

    How the hell are they supposed to write satire when republicans are out there stealing their thunder with unintentional self-parody like this?

    Rep. Diane Black (Tenn.) and 71 other House Republicans introduced a nonbinding resolution today voicing concern over President Barack Obama's recess appointment of four administration nominees last week.

    "It's astounding to me that the president is claiming these are recess appointments and within his authority, when Congress was not in fact in recess," Black said. "These appointments are an affront to the Constitution. No matter how you look at this, it doesn't pass the smell test. I hope the House considers my resolution as soon as we return to Washington so we can send a message to President Obama." [emphasis added]

    Seriously -- how the hell are they supposed to compete with that?

    But wait! It gets better...Just days before, several members of the House had kicked up a fuss over the extension of the debt limit, whining that they were on recess. Obama agreed and announced that he would be magnanimous and wait until they returned. From recess. They said they were glad he saw it their way and was going to be reasonable about it and wait until they returned in January. From recess.

    There was quite a bit of whining from the left about "caving in to rethugs again" when he did that. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time; I tend to ignore purists in practically all situations, but I kind-of wish I hadn't now. Now I see that he was setting a trap for them when he gave them that. Now it's obvious what he was doing, and he probably anticipated the self-parody that would ensue as the chuckleheads and nitwits on the right managed to truss themselves up good and proper trying to have it both ways. Checkmate, bitches.

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    Five U.S. Senators Are Perfect Koch Servants, Americans For Prosperity Reports

    My senator made the list!

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    Hey guys, remember that time a nutty Xristian Xrazy Lady (redundant? Yes.) in Ohio, Janet Folger-Porter, tried to get a fetus to testify to the state legislature, but it embryo'ed the Fifth Amendment and didn't let them listen to its heartbeat? Me Neither!, but anyway she's at it again. She rounded up scads of children to pass out Teddy Bears with heartbeats to the legislators. Now maybe they will outlaw aborting plush toys. (WTAM)

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    Buh bye, Brisket!

    Aw, so sorry your mother's coattails weren't quite long enough.

    Bristol Palin had an amazing, life-changing experience on Dancing With the Stars, but not long after the show ended, she realized life in the spotlight wasn't all glitz and glamour, landing her back behind the reception desk at a dermatologist's office in Anchorage, which can be a three-hour commute in bad weather. The turning point, Bristol tells In Touch in an exclusive interview, came last September, when — in a much-reported episode — she was accosted at the Saddle Ranch in LA by a man who hurled nasty insults at her about her famous family. After footage of the altercation went viral, Bristol, 21, realized she was done with showbiz — and that she'd never felt totally at home in the Lower 48. "I wasn't really into the Hollywood thing," she says. "After that, I just realized that I was over it. I was ready to come home."

    In other words, nobody was interested in a reality show about her life cohabitating with two black men. I mean, can you IMAGINE? Also.

    This snippet in the article was too good not to post:

    "It's great having Bristol here," Sarah tells In Touch. "She makes good decisions, and she's always thinking long-term about her and Tripp's future."

    I suppose deciding to have unprotected sex and getting knocked up while still in high school made her more money than opting to graduate and getting a job at the local Dairy Queen would have...

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    Wisco: The Bain of the GOP's Existence 

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    Winning hearts and minds

    Afghan President Hamid Karzai has issued a strong denouncement of the video which appears to depict U.S. Marines urinating on the bodies of killed Taliban fighters.
    In a statement, President Karzai's office said: "The government of Afghanistan is deeply disturbed by a video that shows American soldiers desecrating dead bodies of three Afghans. "This act by American soldiers is simply inhuman and condemnable in the strongest possible terms. We expressly ask the US government to urgently investigate the video and apply the most severe punishment to anyone found guilty in this crime." Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told the BBC that this was not the first time Americans had carried out such a "wild action" and that Taliban attacks on the Americans would continue.
    The story dominated international news programs last night as the Pentagon scrambled to identify and punish the involved service members.

    VIDEO: The Afghan public reacts.
     
    UPDATE: UK tabloid The Daily Mail has more.
    At one point one of the men can be heard saying: 'Have a great day, buddy' to laughter from his colleagues. Another of them jokes: 'Golden like a shower' and 'Yeahhhh!' as they groan with relief whilst urinating. It is not clear if the corpses belong to civilians or insurgents engaged in combat, although the film does appear to have been shot in Afghanistan. The anonymous person who posted it included the caption: 'Scout sniper team 4 with 3rd battalion 2nd marines out of camp lejeune peeing on dead talibans.' The film is likely to spark a huge diplomatic row between Washington and Kabul and rekindle memories of the abuse meted out by American troops at Abu Ghraib in Iraq. The three corpses are all male and are wearing civilian clothes. The youngest lies on his front with an overturned wheelbarrow dumped by his side. The other two are on their backs and one has a large blood stain on his chest.
    The Marine Corps Times reports that an investigation to identify the soldiers has been launched. Sure it has.
     
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    Ministers sue feds (with tax free dollars) - Hate Crime Laws Oppress Our Religious Liberties
     
    The Sixth Court of Appeals in Cincinnati is hearing the case of two Michigan ministers who say that hate crime laws oppress their freedom of speech and are unconstitutional. Joining the suit is Gary Glenn (left), the head of the American Family Association's Michigan chapter.

    The suit, of course, is exploding with batshittery as hate crime laws only apply to actions, not speech. Despite that inconvenient fact, the ministers claim that they fear that their anti-gay sermons will bring their arrests. A lower court rightfully shitcanned the suit last year.
     
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    Cookie Boycott Launched Over Girl Scouts' Inclusion Of Transgender Members

    World Nut Daily is promoting a boycott of Girl Scout cookies over the organization's policy of allowing transgender girls to join.
    After controversy arose over the potential admission of Colorado 7-year-old Bobby Montoya last month, The Girl Scouts of Colorado released a statement explaining, "We accept all girls in kindergarten through 12th grade as members. If a child identifies as a girl and the child's family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout." Rachelle Trujillo, vice president for communications of the Colorado Girl Scouts, added, "If a child is living as a girl, that's good enough for us. We don't require any proof of gender." According to a report in the Baptist Press, Trujillo also affirmed transgendered children are currently serving in Girl Scout troops across the U.S., though she declined to give details.
    The boycott is being spearheaded by a 14-year old Girl Scouts member who last week posted this video

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    In 2004 the state legislature of Massachusetts, which was governed by Mitt Romney at the time, passed a budget which included a provision that would prohibit the use of outsourced labor for the purposes of privatization.

    SECTION 21. The first paragraph of section 54 of said chapter 7, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is herby amended by inserting after paragraph (1) the following paragraph:–
    (1A) The agency shall prepare a written statement that the services proposed to be the subject of the privatization contract shall not be provided by labor based or employed outside the United States. No agency shall make a privatization contract and no such contract shall be valid if the services provided are from labor based or employed outside the United States.

    Mitt Romney feigned concern about the consequences of outsourcing yet, despite his phony reservations, he used his authority as governor to issue a line-item veto of this provision contained in the state budget.

    "Offshore Outsourcing
    Section 21
    I am vetoing this section because it could hurt taxpayers by increasing costs for future or existing administrative operations and make Massachusetts a less business-friendly environment.
    –Governor Mitt Romney, June 25, 2004

    Of course he would veto a provision that blocks the outsourcing of jobs because outsourcing was his specialty at Bain Capital. He had to look out for the wealth of his old buddies.

    Not coincidentally, Massachusetts was 47th in the nation in job creation, with a growth rate of 0.9 percent, during Romney's tenure as governor.

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    Disgusting:

    Anti-abortion ads showing graphic images of aborted fetuses covered in blood and surrounded by religious icons will air during the Super Bowl in February, courtesy of Democratic Presidential candidate Randall Terry.

    Terry, who has spent a year in jail and been arrested 50 times for his anti-abortion efforts, is using a Federal Election Commission loophole that ensures ads for political candidates cannot be prohibited within 45 days of an election. Apparently, primaries count, so Terry will be running ads on local stations during Super Bowl XLVI February 5.

    Randall Terry is a terrorist. I don't exactly know why he's not in prison, much less allowed anywhere near a television.

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