Headlines - Tuesday January 31

Bwahahahaha! To protest a bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion, Virginia State Sen. Janet Howell (D-Fairfax) on Monday attached an amendment that would require men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before obtaining a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication.

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John Boehner must resign from Congress because of his conflicting interests regarding the Keystone XL Pipeline. In 2010 he invested between $15,001-50,000 in Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd, a tar sands oil company. He is poised to reap financial gain if the pipeline gets built. Sign this petition to pressure Congress for his resignation!

 

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The Animal Victims of Fukushima. Maybe if Japan hadn't spent $28 million of donated tsunami relief funds on illegal whaling, these animals could have been / could be helped.

 

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Not breaking news: Whether it's claims about her father's death at the hands of the Nazis, the landscape being littered with headless bodies, or accounts of her encounters with President Obama, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer "often has trouble with the truth."

 

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Speaking to a gathering of Florida Republicans, Rep. Allen West added a layer of cement to his already solid reputation for right-wing lunacy:

 

"We need to let President Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, (audience boos) and my dear friend the chairman of the Democrat National Committee, we need to let them know that Florida ain't on the table," West said. "Take your message of equality of achievement, take your message of economic dependency, take your message of enslaving the entrepreneurial will and spirit of the American people somewhere else. You can take it to Europe, you can take it to the bottom of the sea, you can take it to the North Pole, but get the hell out of the United States of America."

 

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Impeachment redfux, just for the hell of it

 

The crazy will be strong when Obama gets reelected.

[Grover] Norquist: If the Republicans have the House, Senate, and the presidency, I'm told that they could do an early budget vote—a reconciliation vote where you extend the Bush tax cuts out for a decade or five years. You take all of those issues off the table, and then say, "What do you want to do for tax reform?"

Then, the question is: "OK, what do we do about repatriation and all of the interesting stuff?" And, if you have a Republican president to go with a Republican House and Senate, then they pass the [Paul] Ryan plan [on Medicare].

NJ: What if the Democrats still have control? What's your scenario then?

NORQUIST: Obama can sit there and let all the tax [cuts] lapse, and then the Republicans will have enough votes in the Senate in 2014 to impeach. The last year, he's gone into this huddle where he does everything by executive order. He's made no effort to work with Congress.

Ignore the nonsense about Obama not trying to work with Congress. I doubt even Norquist, the GOP's top anti-tax crusader, believes that idiocy.

Instead, note that Norquist doesn't pretend that there's any "high crimes or misdemeanors" in question. It's simply—if Obama doesn't extend tax cuts for the one percent, then he'll be impeached.

For some bizarre reason, the reporter interviewing Norquist didn't follow up on that point. But lest we forget, this is Norquist's GOP. He says "jump!" and Republicans across the land shout back, in unison, "HOW HIGH?"

If you don't care for Obama, then whatever. Do something constructive and focus on getting Nancy Pelosi her gavel back. And if you do care for Obama, then also work to get Pelosi her gavel back.

Because if Republicans remain in charge of the House, impeachment of Obama—despite running what is clearly the most scandal-free administration in decades—is virtually guaranteed.

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Digby: If we can just get those taxes down to nothing and eliminate all impediments to inheritance, we should be able to successfully recreate the British aristocracy in a generation. The founders would be proud.

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In case you need reminding.

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The Europeans just cannot get enough of our First Lady Michelle Obama. She is all they have right now, with their money spinning down the toilet and Heidi Klum experiencing a divorce tragedy, etc. Last week, the French shared their opinions about Michelle Obama and her brave decision to not dress like MC Hammer. Now, of course, the British have decided that they do not like competing with France for the title of "Country With Best Insane Published Writing About FLOTUS." But their take on Michelle Obama is a little more "saucy," as they would say, because it involves (tee hee!) underpants! READ MORE »

Now that Michelle Obama's underwear is up for discussion at all the usual wingnut sites, can we start talking about Mitt Romney's? After all, for a Mormon, it's "the most sacred of all things in the world, next to their own virtue, next to their own purity of life", so I'd think that it's something that Romney should discuss. Or are there two sets of standards, one for Mrs. Obama, and one for Mitt Romney?

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The entry fee for playing politics should be having their tax exempt status taken away: "In a surprising move over the weekend, thousands of Catholic parishioners were read letters that condemn the Obama administration and its recent decision to make birth control available to women through virtually all private health insurance plans. ... The letters were written by Catholic Bishops in the U.S. and read aloud at hundreds of Catholic churches on Sunday. In one of the letters (PDF), written by a Catholic Bishop in Phoenix, Ariz., the church attacks the Obama administration for having "cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our Nation's first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty." ... But far from taking away their religious liberty or any of their "God given rights," the Obama administration's decision to make private insurers cover birth control will ensure that the church cannot deny these services to their employees if they choose to utilize them."

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Despite a promise of "zero-tolerance" for unethical behavior, House Republicans are facing increasing number of ethics probes. As the 2012 session begins, almost a dozen GOP lawmakers face questions about their financial dealings, and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) "has not publicly admonished them."

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Congress has finally decided to do something about its dismal approval ratings. A 93–2 procedural vote on Monday cleared the way for the Senate to pass a ban on congressional insider trading later in the week. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act requires disclosure of stock transactions within 30 days and prevents members of Congress from initiating trades based on nonpublic information. The bill is technically symbolic, because lawmakers are already subject to the same laws as other investors who use nonpublic information to make money, but no one in Congress has been charged with insider trading in recent memory. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid explained that the bill "will clear up any perception that it's acceptable for members of Congress to profit from insider trading." Read it at The Associated Press

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Note to Republicans:

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The Bistro at the Bijou in Knoxville refused service to one Sen. Stacey Campfield. They posted a FB message that said, "I hope that Stacy Campfield now knows what if feels like to be unfairly discriminated against." From all that I can ascertain, that was a response to not serving him for his well documented views of ignorance and bigotry towards the GLBT community.

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All these "polarizing" polls show is just how radical Republicans are.

Obama could cut taxes, expand the War on Terror, preside over a 50% stock market surge and kill bin Laden -- and the Republicans would still hate him.

Oh wait.

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Jurassicpork: Top 10 Reasons Why the 99% Should Take Turns Kicking CEOs and Lawmakers in the Nut Sack  

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Kafka never wrote anything more terrifying. "A New Mexico man, who expects to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for the rest of his life, was awarded $22 million last week after he was tossed in solitary confinement for two years and never given a trial, but he remembers very little of the ordeal, Raw Story has learned. ... In August of 2005, Stephen Slevin was arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI). He spent most of the next two years in the Dona Ana County Detention Center without his case ever going before a judge. ... Slevin was rarely allowed to go outside, fungus grew underneath his skin and his toenails curled around his foot because they were so long. At one point, he even had to pull his own tooth. ... Attorney Matt Coyte explained to MSNBC.com that police had mistakenly believed that Slevin had stolen the car he was driving when police pulled him over and arrested him for a DWI. Slevin informed authorities that he had been depressed, but instead of getting mental help, he found himself on suicide watch in a padded cell. Three days later, he was transferred to solitary confinement. ... "Their policy is to then just put [detainees with mental health issues] in solitary," Coyte said. "He disappeared into delirium, and his mental illness was made worse by being isolated from human contact and a lack of medical care." ... "Your insanity builds. Some people holler or throw feces out their cell doors," he continued. "Others rock back and forth under a blanket for a year or more, which is what my client did.""

 

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With all due respect, Sir, answer the god-damned question. "President Barack Obama ignored a question about marijuana legalization during his "Your Interview With the President" event Monday, despite the fact that it was the most popular video question. ... As part of the White House's ongoing social media engagement initiatives, Americans were given the chance to submit questions to the president, which others could vote on. Obama answered some of the most popular questions during a virtual interview from the West Wing of the White House, but declined to respond to the most popular video. ... That video was submitted by Stephen Downing, a board member for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)."

 

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Continuing to avoid their pledge to focus on jobs, Congressional Republicans are moving toward a vote on making English the official language of the United States. Their aim is to "put the Obama administration on the defensive."

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WSJ Publishes Op-Ed From 16 Climate Deniers, Refused Letter From 255 Top Scientists

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Boy oh boy is Arizona governor Jan Brewer ever so lucky that Barack Obama came to visit her state — his visit has already started to generate new revenue! No no, not for Arizona or anything, no, ha ha. It's revenue for Jan Brewer, America's neediest governor, which she is collecting via some tragic website that asserts her right to a monetary reward in exchange for performing the valuable service of yelling at the President like a deranged twit in view of a few news photographers. Who says it's getting hard to make a buck in America these days? READ MORE »

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This is what tar sands development looks like in Canada. Similar projects are slated for School Trust Lands in the Bookcliffs and potentially near Canyonlands, Grand Staircase and Capitol Reef National Parks.

http://www.suwa.org/category/blog/