Depending on what kind of magazines you read, you probably see lots
of things advertised. From prescription drugs to age-defying face
creams, vitamins...
Monday, June 1, 2015
The 5 Most Ridiculous Things Wingnut Whack Jobs Buy Out of ‘NRA Magazine’
Depending on what kind of magazines you read, you probably see lots
of things advertised. From prescription drugs to age-defying face
creams, vitamins...
Wingnuts Troll The Spelling Bee
***
OK, come on you insipid mealy-mouthed troglodytes it's a freaking spelling bee.
Give it a rest.
OK, come on you insipid mealy-mouthed troglodytes it's a freaking spelling bee.
Give it a rest.
Rand Paul Blames Republican Chickenhawks For The Rise Of ISIL
Rand Paul bashes Republican chickenhawks like John McCain and Lindsey for being wrong
for the last twenty years on foreign policy issues.
Rand Paul Tries To Fool Students Into Thinking He's A Democrat
Labeling yourself a treehugger isn't going to fool them, Rand.
Rand Paul Isn't Fooling Anybody Ted Cruz Demands Federal Money For Texas Floods After Blocking Hurricane Sandy Relief
Ted Cruz (R-TX), who called federal disaster relief for Hurricane
Sandy victims wasteful is now hypocritically demanding that the federal
government fulfill its obligation and provide disaster relief to Texas.
During a press conference on the deadly flooding in
Texas, Cruz said, “The federal government’s role, once the Governor
declares a disaster area and makes a request, I am confident that the
Texas congressional delegation, Cornyn and I, and the members of
Congress both Republicans and Democrats will stand united as Texans in
support of the federal government fulfilling its statutory obligations,
and stepping in to respond to this natural disaster.
Sen. Cruz sang a completely different tune in 2013 when he called federal aid for the victims of Hurricane Sandy wasteful:
Two-thirds of this spending is not remotely “emergency”; the Congressional Budget Office estimates that only 30% of the authorized funds would be spent in the next 20 months, and over a billion dollars will be spent as late as 2021.This bill is symptomatic of a larger problem in Washington – an addiction to spending money we do not have. The United States Senate should not be in the business of exploiting victims of natural disasters to fund pork projects that further expand our debt.
Cruz’s claim that the Sandy relief bill was wasteful was debunked by PolitiFact,
“A big portion of the $17 billion in “immediate” assistance, more than
$5 billion, went to replenish FEMA’s disaster relief fund, which may
fund relief from future disasters.” PolitiFact also disagrees with some
of the math Cruz repeated, “On Jan. 28, it passed H.R. 152, a separate
$50.5 billion package. Of that $50.5 billion, $17 billion went toward
immediate Sandy aid, while $33.5 billion was for “near- and long-term
assistance and mitigation,” according to a Congressional Quarterly
analysis.”
The great irony of the whole Sandy bill fiasco was
that the pork came from Republicans like Cruz, who demanded to be paid
off to support disaster relief. According to Forbes,
“However, as it turns out, the pork portions of the Senate bill were
not earmarked to benefit Democratic members of the upper chamber of
Congress… The answer can be found in a quick review of the states that
are set to benefit from the Senate’s extra-special benevolence—states
including Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana.”
That would be the same group of Texas Republicans
who are now demanding federal disaster relief be immediately sent to
their state. Hypocrisy and Ted Cruz are longtime companions, but the
larger hypocrisy is bound to come from Republicans who will likely speed
a disaster relief bill for Texas and Oklahoma through Congress.
Ted
Cruz’s position is clear. Disaster relief is only vital when it is for
his state. Red state need is the only real need that counts. Sen. Cruz
is demanding disaster relief for Texas. If there were any justice, he
would be forced to wait just like he made the people impacted by
Hurricane Sandy suffer, but since Democrats have compassion for all
Americans in need, Texas will be given a luxury that wasn’t offered to
the victims of Sandy.
Scott Walker Self-Destructs By Suggesting That Ultrasounds Are Like Selfies
Rob Thomas says he had no trouble coming up with the Quote of the Day for the Wisconsin Cap Times today in a piece titled, “In Case You Missed It: Scott Walker thinks ultrasounds are like a selfie for the womb”.
Trying to justify his 2013 law that forces women to
undergo a medically unnecessary and costly ultrasound before they can
exercise their constitutionally-protected freedom, Walker said:
“I think about, my sons are 19 and 20, you know, we still have their first ultrasound picture. It’s just a cool thing out there.”
Thomas explained that Walker became an “immediate subject of derision for telling conservative talk show host Dana Loesch that mandatory ultrasounds are a ‘cool thing’ — you know, a hot trend, like selfie sticks or dadbods.”
Who is going to tell the Republican governor and 2016 presidential candidate that the two ultrasound methods are very different?
The one they used to get pictures of his sons is not the same as a
transvaginal ultrasound. Maybe if he doesn’t know any better, he might
want to hush up about it, because he is once again making a fool of
himself. Also a note, doctors like to tell you that these are
“painless”. And some women say that’s true. Others experience them as
invasive and painful. (I wouldn’t recommend it for fun, for example,
unlike… say…. a selfie.)
Not impressed, Thomas noted, “Quite the trendspotter, our governor.”
It’s not all about ultrasounds as the new selfie
either. In their lead editorial, they determine the Governor is both
“incompetent and irresponsible”. Quite a performance for someone running
for president.
Our lead editorial Wednesday didn’t mention Walker’s coolhunter skills in ripping him for being both “incompetent and irresponsible” — incompetent for his performance and irresponsible for skating away from the consequences and not trying to fix his mistakes.
In that editorial,
which is a must-read, they divulge the worst news. Forget the scandals
swirling around Walker since his time in college, the man is
“exceptionally incompetent and he is exceptionally irresponsible.”
That was confirmed in brutal detail last week by two separate stories that explain the mess Walker has made of Wisconsin’s economy.
To be fair to the Republican governor, the reason
he’s so busy talking up transvaginal ultrasounds and likening them to
selfies is because he can’t afford to talk about anything else. Walker
made a mess of Wisconsin’s economy — the thing he ran on — and he’s been
fudging the numbers and making up new math ever since. He embarrassed
himself repeatedly on the national stage when trying to opine about
things like foreign policy.
The man is not fit for prime time, but like his twin in Alaska, doesn’t know it.
So what is a person too arrogant to know that they
are being used by the Republican Party and the Koch brothers and it
won’t turn out well to do, but discuss shoving an ultrasound wand up
women for no reason as if it’s like taking a selfie. Scott Walker has
always been Sarah Palin but with more staying power. That is, he hasn’t
quit his job midway through. He is, however, just as incompetent and
just as foolish and most damaging of all, just as willing to buy his own
press.
If Scott Walker were smart, he’d take a look at the
woman who just a year or so after running for Vice President was
rejected by even Fox News. The Republican Party loves to pick a new,
charismatic person who is willing to sell their soul (or doesn’t have
one) for the Koch brothers et al. Once this person gets busted as the
charlatan they are, the GOP leaves them in the dust to wither away on
reality TV.
Compare Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) to Governor Scott
Walker. You will never see Ted Cruz get taken by anyone. The man knows
how to run the long con to benefit only himself. But Scott Walker is a
willing servant to the Kochs, just like Palin was. Today’s star is
tomorrow’s trash. And that is why he is talking about ultrasounds and
comparing his theft of women’s constitutionally-protected rights to
taking a selfie.
Scott Walker justifies his anti-women’s rights
stance as being “pro-life”, but defunded Planned Parenthood, which
provides the one sure thing to reduce abortions (birth control). Walker
has yet to denounce the Duggar family after proudly standing with Josh
Duggar in photos. That’s not exactly pro-life, that’s anti-women and
children. He might have fooled Wisconsin voters into thinking he was a
moderate, but the policies speak for themselves and he won’t get away
with it on the national stage.
I’d like to formally invite the Governor to take a “selfie” of the transvaginal kind. You know, just ‘cuz it’s so cool.
Scott Walker Believes Women Should Be Forced To Have 'Cool' Ultrasounds
So they can show that little fuzzy photo of the kid they don't want to everyone?
Women Should Be Forced To Have Ultrasounds
The Duggar Name Becomes New Word For Hypocrisy And Child Molestation
It was bound to happen sooner or later, but the Duggar name has
become a verb that the First Family of lunatic fringe wingnut “christian”
hypocrisy will never live down.Pedophile State Trooper: Jim Bob Duggar Lied, Said Josh Only Molested One Kid
Remember the tales of Jim Bob Duggar reporting his son’s crimes to a
friend who was a state trooper (and is currently serving 56 years in
prison...
Josh Duggar sued Arkansas in 2007 because they investigated his sexual assaults
Sunday, May 31, 2015
The Daily Drift
Editor's Note: We will be
lecturing at a seminar on Tuesday June 2nd, so we will be taking what
other's have termed a 'Blogcation' for that day with no posts for the
day but will return to our regular posting on Wednesday June 3rd.
Republicans don't think - they aren't allowed or capable... !
Hey, wingnuts, yeah we're talking to you ...!
The Truth Be Told is read in 203 countries around the world.
Republicans don't think - they aren't allowed or capable... !
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Armed Mob Marches Through Streets Of Gun Sense Group Founder's Small Town
"Open Carry Indiana" agitators prowled the
streets of the Indianapolis suburb of Zionsville in an attempt to
intimidate the founder of Moms Demand Action.
Jon Stewart Shows Republicans What It Really Means To Support Veterans
For the last three years, Jon Stewart has been walking the walk when
it comes to supporting military veterans. Republicans should take notes.
Kochs About To Cull The 2016 GOP Nomination Herd - Or Not
Charles and David Koch are about to put their thumb on the scales of the 2016 GOP nomination.
Fox Complains That Women's Magazines Are In The Tank For Hillary
The shrieking heads at Fox have discovered yet another Hillary Clinton "scandal."
Democrats Land A Top Candidate To Take On John McCain In 2016
According to the political site Roll Call, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ) plans to challenge Senator John McCain in 2016.
By entering the race, Kirkpatrick gives the Democrats a strong
candidate, who could potentially spell trouble for McCain’s re-election
chances. Kirkpatrick is just one of five Democrats in Congress who
represents a district that gave Mitt Romney more votes than Barack Obama
in 2012. Given her success on red-leaning turf, the Congresswoman is
regarded as one of the strongest statewide candidates Democrats could
land in Arizona.
In an otherwise bleak election year for Democrats, Congresswoman Kirkpatrick scored an improbably decisive victory over Republican challenger Andy Tobin
in November 2014. She won by a 52.6-47.4 margin in Arizona’s 1st
Congressional District, which includes a large portion of North Central
and Eastern Arizona, including the city of Flagstaff. The district also
has a large Native American population that helped propel Kirkpatrick to
her decisive win, in the red-leaning swing district.
Kirkpatrick’s entry into the Senate contest improves
Democrat’s odds of retaking control of the Senate. On the flip side,
the move will make retaining Democratic control of Arizona’s 1st
Congressional District more difficult, particularly if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in June that Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission is unconstitutional.
Incumbent Republican Senator John McCain would
likely be favored in a head to head race with Kirkpatrick. A May 5,
2015 Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey testing McCain against a number
of Democratic candidates had him leading Kirkpatrick by a 42-36 margin.
However, that survey also found that Senator McCain was in serious
jeopardy of losing to a more conservative Republican opponent in the GOP
primary. If McCain were to lose the Republican primary, the race would
immediately become a toss up and a top tier pick-up opportunity for the
Democrats.
A competitive Senate race could produce a reverse
coattail effect as well. While a presidential campaign benefits
down-ballot Democratic candidates, Kirkpatrick’s ability to generate
high turnout among Native American voters, also could benefit the
Democratic presidential candidate. With Hillary Clinton already polling well in Arizona, the combination of Clinton for President and Kirkpatrick for Senate gives Arizona a strong chance to go blue in 2016.
Senator
John McCain will have to dance a political tightrope to survive a
primary challenge from his right, without alienating the centrist
voters he needs in order to win a general election contest against a
strong opponent like Ann Kirkpatrick. Given Kirkpatrick’s ability to
survive in tough political environments, Senator McCain better not
underestimate her in a presidential year, when she will have the wind at
her back.
Bernie Sanders Launches His Presidential Campaign With A Declaration Of War On The Kochs
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) officially launched his
presidential campaign with a vowed goal of building a movement that will
take down the Koch brothers and right-wing billionaires while returning
the country back to the American people.
Sen. Sanders has officially announced his candidacy
for President Of The United States of America. Sanders said, Today, we
begin a political revolution to transform our country politically,
socially, economically, and environmentally.” Sen. Sanders said
proclaimed that this great nation belongs to everybody and not a handful
of billionaires.
Sanders called for an end to the stale inside the
Beltway politics, and a return of the United States to the leadership of
the free world in social and economic justice. Sen. Sanders promised to
fight for working families and build a movement of millions of
Americans who are prepared to stand up and fight back.
Sen. Sanders said, “This campaign is about the needs
of the American people and the ideas and proposals that effectively
address those needs.” Sanders promised that his campaign won’t be driven
by gossip or reckless personal attacks. He said, “These are serious
times, and we need serious debates.”
Sanders said that we live in the richest nation in
the world, but that doesn’t mean anything because the wealth is
controlled by a few individuals. Sanders called wealth and income
inequality issue the greatest moral and political issue of our time.He
said that the level of income inequality in the United States was
immoral. Sanders called the American economy rigged and proclaimed this
is not what America is about, and this has got to change.
Sanders took on Citizens United. He said that the
foundations of American democracy had been corrupted and undermined. He
said, “American democracy is not about billionaires and candidates being
able to buy elections.” Sanders directly called out the Koch brothers
and said, “That is not democracy. That’s oligarchy.”
Sen. Sanders called for a meaningful jobs program.
Sanders vowed to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, oppose trade
agreements, a $15/hour minimum wage, and equal pay for women.
The media is trying to frame the race for the
Democratic nomination as a contest between Hillary Clinton and Bernie
Sanders, but Sanders has something much bigger in mind. Bernie Sanders
is looking to build a movement of millions to take back America from the
billionaires. Sen. Sanders is building an army to take on the
oligarchs.
Sanders wants to win the Democratic nomination, but
his remarks regularly returned to the goal of bringing people together.
Sen. Sanders called for a meaningful jobs program. Sanders vowed to
rebuild the nation’s infrastructure and oppose trade agreements.
Sen. Sanders’ message to the billionaire class was
that they can’t have it all. He said, “To the billionaire class, I say
your greed has got to end. You can’t take advantage of all the benefits
of America if you refuse to live up to your responsibilities.”
Bernie Sanders is building an army, and that of millions is coming for the wingnut billionaires and the Koch brothers.
Benghazi Busted: Former CIA No. 2 Slams Fox News Like Media Who Don’t Understand Intelligence
The former CIA #2 slammed pundits who repeatedly trot out Benghazi
baloney, because they do not understand how to read intelligence
reports.…
Stand down, fools. At long last, stand down.
Michael Morell, writing for Politico Magazine, slammed pundits who repeatedly trot out Benghazi baloney, because they do not understand how to read intelligence reports.
Wearily, Morell explains that this is hardly a one-off. The “Benghazi broadsides” keep “missing their mark anew”:
Like clockwork, every several weeks, someone discovers a new document that, to their minds, “proves” that what the administration and the intelligence community have been saying about Benghazi is a bunch of lies. But time and again these documents don’t add up. They don’t show what the pundits think they show—and the Benghazi broadsides miss their mark anew.
It’s Fox News, but also the mainstream outlets who
repeat Fox News’ claims, for some unknown reason — even after being
humiliated repeatedly by the outright falsehoods they’ve stamped their names on.
As to the recent spate of hysterical GOTCHAS!,
Morell is not impressed. From misreading the date of the reports to just
plain not understanding how things work, the pundits got it wrong. One
report does not the full picture paint. To wit:
But the only thing that newly released document proves is that the people who trot out these reports do not understand the world of intelligence and do not take the time to ask the right people the right questions before publishing the “news.” The DIA report in question was an “Intelligence Information Report” or IIR. It is what we term “raw intelligence.” It was not the considered view of DIA analysts. Often from a single source, these bits of information represent one thread that some intelligence collector has picked up. The all-source analysts in the Intelligence Community are charged with looking at that snippet of information and every other bit of available information from communications intercepts, human intelligence, open source material and much more to come up with an overall judgment.
So, see, lots of information comes in and it’s
called a “report”. These reports are then vetted and sourced and
confirmed and laid out against conflicting reports until some semblance
of what probably happened is determined by reason (reason, not
hysteria). Morell gets into the scary but accurate truth that there are
some things we do not know for sure. He writes for example, “One is the
debate on whether an anti-Islam YouTube video played any role in
sparking the Benghazi attacks. The short answer is that we still don’t
know with absolute certainty.”
We do not know for certainty.
So naturally, the “strident” Benghazi conspiracy
artists “ridicule” the idea of the video being a factor, as if they know
more than the FBI, but Morell reminds us all that the FBI were “among
those who have argued that the video may have been a factor.”
We do not know for sure.
Who is this Michael guy? Oh, he’s only the former
deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency who served as acting
director from 2012 to 2013.
This is not to suggest that the CIA would tell
Americans all angles or even most of them. But it is to suggest that
there is such a thing as real knowledge and information, and the ability
to identify said things and put them together is what determines our
intelligence, or lack thereof, in the Benghazi hysterics case. The
questions have been asked and answered by even Republican-led committees
and come up empty. The point is that Morell has more credibility as an
intelligence expert than the pundits on Fox News.
Additionally, Morell is explaining something that has been explained over and over and over again to Republicans over the years of their Benghazi conspiracy delusions.
It’s basic being the person in charge stuff — you
gather information, then you sort it, vet it, source it again, confirm
it, and then start debating conclusions — not gather info and DECIDE!
Republicans, Fox News, and the media that sniffs
after them like a deranged, starving pack of wolves like to keep things
super simple when it suits them, but unlike the George W Bush
administration, the Obama administration doesn’t go off half-cocked,
invading a country on cherry picked information.
Sure, when you let information determine what you
conclude, you will change your “mind” as the information is vetted and
sourced and confirmed or not confirmed. But this is something that most
people with a few brain cells can handle. They know the world is not
paint-by-numbers and that Big Daddy’s Texas drawl isn’t really going to
keep us safe. It didn’t keep us safe.
It’s ironic and predictable that the very people who
can’t handle this nuance invaded Iraq based on “faulty” intelligence
that they cherry-picked and failed to properly vet (at best). They were
so SURE. Mission Accomplished, y’all!
The
real conspiracy here appears to be the fact that the GOP pipe-addicted
media continually allow Benghazi histrionics to be used as cover for
Republicans in order to avoid discussing their policies.
Mitch McConnell Will Do Just About Anything Not to Vindicate Edward Snowden
by Dan Froomkin
But the hardliners — and make no mistake, they are taking an even harder and more absurd line than the NSA itself — have no endgame.
Only two outcomes are possible at this point:
First, three provisions of the Patriot Act — one of which has provided the legal cover for bulk collection — expire on June 1. (Indeed, the Obama administration has already begun the process of winding it down.)
Or second, the Senate passes the USA Freedom Act, which extends those provisions but requires the NSA to request specific records from telecom companies, instead of getting them all.
Fifty-seven senators, only three short of the necessary 60, voted Saturday to invoke cloture and limit debate on the reform bill, itself a milquetoast compromise that won overwhelming bipartisan support in the House. Nothing else has the votes, certainly not a blanket renewal of the Patriot Act, now that the world actually knows how it’s being misused, thanks to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., led a very public yet essentially meaningless quasi-filibuster against the Patriot Act last Wednesday. But early Saturday morning, he and two Democrats — Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico — followed that up with a series of devastatingly effective objections that blocked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s attempt to extend the authorities to June 8, then to June 5, then to June 3, then to June 2.
But why are McConnell and his gang “playing chicken,” as White House press secretary put it on Friday? Why create, as Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., accurately called it, a “manufactured crisis“?
Anybody paying attention knows it’s not a policy debate. The reasons McConnell and others cite for wanting to extend the program as is — despite the fact that it’s flatly illegal, essentially useless, and spectacularly invasive — are laughable. In fact, the compromise they’re willing to fight to the death to oppose was actually proposed by the NSA.
The issue is they just don’t want Snowden officially vindicated, by an act of Congress.
Ever since 9/11, the GOP has found huge political gain in exploiting national security fears. And ever since Obama’s election, they have pursued a singularly successful campaign of obstruction, by making Congress almost entirely dysfunctional.
But this time, fear isn’t working, and dysfunction doesn’t get the job done. The Patriot Act provisions in question require an affirmative act of Congress to stay in place.
So although McConnell has managed to extend his fight longer than pretty much anyone anticipated (including me), come May 31 (today), he loses, and Snowden wins.
Santorum campaign staffer kills himself after stabbing fellow Yale wingnut
Lunatic Fringe Ultra-Wingnut Teabagger Arrested for Possessing Child Porn
Joseph Hayon, 37, admitted to police that he traded the images of kids between the ages of 2 and 12 in December 2014.
According to prosecutors, a tip led police to search Hayon’s, where the found his stash.
From the New York Post:
Cops confiscated Hayon’s two laptops, five desktops, video camera, Samsung cellphone and one DVD, prosecutors said.Hayon has been arrested before, once for assault in 2014 and driving without a license in 2013.
He was also slapped with an order of protection Friday barring him from coming in contact with his four children, ages 9, 7, 4 and 15 months. He was released on $50,000 bail.
“I can’t comment, my lawyer told me not to talk,” a scruffy Hayon, clad in a yarmulke, button-down and khakis, told reporters when he was released.
When asked whether his wife, Batya, tipped cops off to his disgusting behavior, he only said, “Definitely not my wife.”
Roy Moore: Impeach Ruth Bader Ginsburg Over Gay Marriage Case
Alabama lunatic fringe wingnut Roy
Moore spoke with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins on
Friday about his belief that states should “resist” a potential Supreme
Court ruling on marriage equality, saying that Congress and the states
should simply defy a court decision they disagree with ... MORE
Pregnant hands in the afterlife
From the "Excuse me, your ignorance is showing" Department:
This is a muslim religio-wingnut ... proving once and for all that they all the same - ignorant and stupid!
Republicans Lack the Courage to Firmly Denounce Child Sexual Assault and the Duggars’ Cover-up
Republicans have a lunatic fringe religio-wingnut 'christian' problem. To
be even more specific, they have a sexual assault against children
problem. It’s not because Josh Duggar admitted to sexually assaulting
his sisters and other young girls, or even that Arkansas Republicans
worked to get the police record of the investigation into Josh’s
assaults expunged. No, sadly sexual assault of children happens in every
community.
The reason Republicans have a problem is because
they won’t denounce the Duggar family’s cover up of Josh Duggar’s sexual
assaults. Former Governor Mike Huckabee has gone full-on defense of the
sexual predator and his family, while other Republicans who used the
Duggar family as religio-wingnut 'christian' cred in photo-ops are now silent.
Silence is not courage or leadership. What is
required at this point is a courage stand FIRMLY against child sexual
assault and the cover-up of said assaults in this case — not just the
police records, but the way the Duggars refused to produce Josh for
questioning when the police were investigating for real, after their
friend (the one in jail now for child porn) buried the first go around.
Republican politicians and activists are busy
circling the wagons around this egregious cover-up of admitted sexual
assault of minors — five that we know of, and not all of them family
members. Republicans are saying the victims want this to go away, but of
course, there is no reason to assume that people who have an obvious
political agenda (the Duggars are knee-deep in Arkansas Republican
politics) to silence this story are speaking for the victims. Nor could
the victims possibly be free to stand up for themselves, with no less
power than a man running for the White House justifying what Josh Duggar
did to them.
Of course the Duggars did cover this up, in failing
to produce son Josh to the police when they wanted to speak to him about
it and then in working to get the record expunged when they knew the
story was finally coming out. Anyone who is justifying this behavior is
off their rocker.
To make matters worse, Republicans are justifying it as to judge Josh or his family is to play the part of dog.
This is some seriously warped thinking, but we saw in it the family’s
statement, and we saw it in Mike Huckabee’s statement. We see the less
obvious results of this kind of thinking a lot, like when Republicans
announce that dog has forgiven them for cheating on their wives and
abusing the power of their office, so the matter is at rest. While they
accuse others of playing the part of dog, they are using dog as a shield
from being held accountable in this world, under our laws, by our
community standards.
The problem for Republicans is that they seem to
believe that dog is on their side, so they believe they are above the
law. Their religious delusions are above the law. Is this not the same
argument they have been making about muslims imposing Sharia Law? It is.
This country was specifically designed to have our
laws be separate from religion and to avoid “divine authority”. So
Republicans are wrong to claim that their religious delusions exempt them
from the law, and they are wrong to claim divine authority and favor by dog.
They are wrong to claim that they know what dog
thinks. What dog thinks or doesn’t think is not relevant to our legal
system. As far as morality goes, it’s hard to think of a worse crime
than abusing an innocent child – statistically causing that child to
contemplate suicide four times more than a child who was not abused.
This is what Republicans are trying to silence because they were
invested in the Duggar family. They used the Duggar family politically.
The Duggar family used them. The Duggar family is headed by a Republican
politician, and Josh himself is a Republican activist.
In all systems, we see this kind of cowardice when
faced with the fall of a hero. I called the left out on it when Assange
was accused of rape (not because there was compelling evidence that he
was guilty, but because in trying to defend him, they attacked the women
and the definition of rape in harmful and misogynistic ways). Penn
State stood by their child assaulter, just as the catholic cult has
for decades. This is what systems do. This is why people must speak up
and say this is not okay.
Republicans, who at one time claimed to be the law
and order party, need to find some courage to do the right thing here.
The right thing is not tacking on “Of course this was wrong” after
paragraphs of defense and justification. The right thing is very simple.
This was wrong, the parents were horribly irresponsible to cover Josh’s
rather relentless assaults up (not a one-off), Josh Duggar was wrong to
do it, their religion is wrong to teach that the girls tempt a boy when
he changes their diapers — all of these things are WRONG.
You can wish Josh Duggar the best and feel some
compassion for his parents if you wish. I am saving my compassion for
the victims, who were voiceless then and all over the world, remain
voiceless against huge powers and systems hell bent on silencing them or
making the abuse okay by claiming it was forgiven.
Hearing
the defense of this horrific ongoing abuse just eggs on other abusers
and silences more victims. And that makes Republicans’ lack of courage
even more damaging and repugnant.
Jim Bob Duggar, dad of infamous christian molester Josh Duggar: incest should be punishable by death
Josh Duggar’s dad Jim Bob Duggar once said incest should be punishable by death. Jim Bob made the statement during his 2002 U.S. Senate campaign.
His son Josh Duggar has admitted to sexually molesting girls as an older teen.
During his single term in the Arkansas House, then state representative Jim Bob Duggar served on the Corrections, Criminal Law, and Judiciary committees. Isn't that just great.
Arizona pastor’s wife condemns ‘liberal’ Duggars
From the "Don't you just love it when the ignorant fight amongst themselves" Department:
Link Dump
unions are becoming cool again
5 ways the armed guard industry is out of control
ALEC sics cops on reporter who discovers secret hotel meeting with Georgia law makers
More Americans now consider themselves liberal as wingnut
suicide rates are increasing all over
living in diversity
8 things you should never feed your dog or cat
California farmers are watering their crops with fracking waste water and nobody knows what's in it
what the wingnuts miss in understanding the constitution
subsidizing the idle rich while the poor starve
America's richest congressman says U.S. poor are the envy of the world
johs and anna duggar take down their official website
biker gangs, Tamir Rice, and the rise of white fragility
Texas legislature bans planned parenthood from giving cancer screenings
bacteria may be remaking drugs in the sewer
subsidizing the idle rich while the poor starve
America's richest congressman says U.S. poor are the envy of the world
johs and anna duggar take down their official website
biker gangs, Tamir Rice, and the rise of white fragility
Texas legislature bans planned parenthood from giving cancer screenings
bacteria may be remaking drugs in the sewer
admitted child-molester josh duggar's police records have been destroyed
and mike huakabee's facebook fans have turned against him for his support of the duggars
the modern slave labor system: aka the prison industrial complex
it's increasingly harder to get a loan in the deep south
what do rich countries have in common? big governments
where's the media's ebola mea culpa?
how data can stop police violence
Baltimore has 3 times the national rate of lead poisoning among children
an interview with Wanksy, penis doodler and pot hole avenger
the modern slave labor system: aka the prison industrial complex
it's increasingly harder to get a loan in the deep south
what do rich countries have in common? big governments
where's the media's ebola mea culpa?
how data can stop police violence
Baltimore has 3 times the national rate of lead poisoning among children
an interview with Wanksy, penis doodler and pot hole avenger
Elizabeth Warren welcomes wall street's hatred
a 5 step guide to police oppression of dissent
how PTSD service dogs help wounded veterans
dolphin die-off in the gulf attributable to the bp oil spill
past 12 months tied for the hottest on record
organized labor should teach workers how to fight
Anita Sarkeesian's guide to internetting while female
Saturday, May 30, 2015
The Daily Drift
Editor's Note: We will be lecturing at a seminar on Tuesday June 2nd, so we will be taking what other's have termed a 'Blogcation' for that day with no posts for the day but will return to our regular posting on Wednesday June 3rd.
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The Islamic State – Other People’s Business?
Republicans like to blame Obama, but Bush had already created ISIL,
and Obama cannot un-create them, because Obama cannot un-invade Iraq…
That it should be the city from which one of
history’s most remarkable women, Zenobia, stood against the might of
Rome and one of that empire’s greatest generals, only adds to the
poignancy of the moment, for in ISIL’s Palmyra, no more woman will ever
be more than a slave.
There is no doubt that as Robert D. Kaplan wrote at Foreign Policy the other day
,
“Middle Eastern chaos demonstrates that the region has still not found a
solution to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I.” He
may or may not be right about the need to “bring imperialism back to the
Middle East,” but one thing is for certain: the current system is not
working.
What is America to do about it? What can American
do about it? We have gotten so used to an America that always “does
something about it” even when people don’t want America to do something
about it, that we all expect America to do something about it. But
should America, simply because it can (perhaps) do something about it, do something about it?
These are not questions easily answered. For one
thing, President Obama does not operate in a vacuum. He operates in the
post-Bush Middle East, where America’s cachet is just south of bankrupt.
Arguably, White Star Lines’ reputation was on more solid ground after the sinking of the Titanic.
This is not all Bush’s fault. America has a long
history of malignant interference in the Middle East, from overthrowing
the Iranian government in 1953 – the 28 Mordad coup – onward. An
unabashed devotion to Israel since 1948, at the expense of every Islamic
state you care to mention, did not help America’s reputation. But
Bush’s prolonged plundering expedition in Iraq is what is hurting
America, and the Middle East, the most right now.
David Rothkopf wrote last week at Foreign Policy
in criticism of Obama’s alternative to Bush’s foreign policy. Rothkopf,
cynically, I think, calls this alternative “Other People’s Armies”
(OPA), “encouraging other countries to fight or help fight those
conflicts we might have waded into alone or largely alone in the past.”
A better term might be “Other People’s Business.” It
is easy for Westerners to talk about the merits of imperialism.
Westerners have never been the beneficiaries of other people’s
imperialism. We have dished it out for centuries. Middle Easterners
might feel differently about it. They were certainly eager to shake off
the yoke of the Ottoman Empire.
If the West intends to interfere in the Middle East
at this point, it must ensure first and foremost that it is on sure
footing. In other words, “Why?” To protect Israel, as Republicans claim?
Well, Israel is not under attack. When Israel is attacked – if Israel
is attacked, we can talk about that. To protect ruins? Much as it pains
me to say it, nobody wants to die for ruins, and in any event, we can’t
liberate them without destroying them.
To shore up an Iraqi regime which really doesn’t
seem to want to defend itself, and worse, has a population that really
doesn’t want to defend its regime, seems a dubious inducement to
intervention. We saw how that sort of deal goes down in South Vietnam.
South Vietnam’s incredibly corrupt and collective
shrug to the communist threat was heard loud and clear by Americans. Do
we really want to ally ourselves again with people who seem to feel they
have no vested interest in the battle, who fight only because we want
them to fight? It is the duty of young men and women in America to die
for a cause that even Iraqis refuse to die for?
The Iraqi army has reportedly shown little desire to
do more than run away wherever the ISIL shows itself, as witnessed by
their handing over to ISIL Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province. With the fall of Ramadi, argued Hassan Hassan last week in Foreign Policy, “In Washington, it should be clear that the current U.S. strategy to fight the Islamic State has failed.”
But are those reports true? Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Sunday’s edition of State of the Union announced
that “We have an issue with the will of the Iraqis to fight ISIL and
defend themselves.” American equipment was left behind, a big no-no,
meaning the United States is arming ISIL via the Iraqi army as a
middleman. But Iraq said they had no air support from U.S. forces, even
though they are stationed in the same province.
In fact, Iraq announced Tuesday
that they are launching a counterattack in Anbar province. No doubt
ISIL has Internet too, so maybe this is not the best way to go about
fighting a war. On the other hand, ISIL probably expects a
counterattack.
So the question is, who is letting whom down, here?
What is important to realize is that this is not America’s war. This is other people’s business and we are helping them out. This is not an American war, directed by the United States and fought with U.S. troops.
Our allies are a disparate group including the Iraqi
army, Iranian volunteers, militias, a few U.S. units and air support,
and a whole lot of American equipment – on both sides.
Americans are not eager to go back into Iraq, and
who can blame them? It was a hot mess. Thanks to Bush’s early blunders,
an unwinnable hot mess. Republicans like to blame Obama now but the
damage was done by the time Obama became president. Bush had already
created ISIL. It was beyond Obama’s capability to un-create them,
because Obama could not un-invade Iraq.
So if we can’t un-invade, we re-invade?
Is that really the argument being advanced here?
Because if it is, it is a non-starter for anyone but Republican
chickenhawks, who because they are privileged white men, won’t have to
fight themselves. Should another generation of young men and women have
to die for the mistakes of old white men who will never take a bullet
for their alleged beliefs?
How about the base? They don’t plan to wield AR-15s
in anything but restaurants, malls, and down American streets. The only
people who are going to be shooting members of the gun lobby are other
members of the gun lobby – and their wives – and their children, of
course. You don’t see these super patriots forming up to go overseas
like another generation did to fight fascist aggression in Spain.
How badly are we wanted? And who will be shooting at
us if we go back? ISIL certainly, but will they be the only ones? For
nearly a decade we brutalized the Iraqi people we were supposed to be
freeing from oppression. Does anyone really expect them to welcome us
back as liberators?
Kaplan concluded that,
“The challenge now is less to establish democracy than to reestablish
order. For without order, there is no freedom for anyone,” but of
course, empires are not big on freedom either. America insists on
freedom, as though it is not oxymoronic – or even effective – to push
freedom at the point of a bayonet.
Rothkopft speaks of
“the president’s impulse to avoid the mistakes of the Bush years,” but
he does not speak of Obama’s inability to do certain things because of
the mistakes of the Bush years. There is no support in America for
another war. For putting American ground forces in ISIL’s path.
It would be great if we could, but we can’t go back
in time and undo Bush’s mistakes, un-create ISIL, or a more
American-friendly Middle East. It is not a question only of what you
want to do, but what you can do.
Because we are losing, or so we are told, John
McCain asserts that “There is no strategy.” But is there no strategy or
is the strategy we are using simply not working, and if it is not
working, is there an option besides committing U.S. ground forces to a
war nobody but Republicans want to fight?
I mean, the last invasion worked so well it created ISIL.
The past casts a long shadow, and the biggest
mistake any of us can make now is to try to answer the question of ISIL
outside of its proper context. And that is a mistake most pundits are
making today.
In
any case, fortunately, this is not a case where pundits will make the
hard choices. That will be left to our elected officials, for better or –
because they got us into this mess in the first place – for worse. We
just have to hope that this time around, hard facts are heard louder
than hunches or ideology – or as in 1953 and 2003, simple greed.
Judge orders NC sheriff to stop interfering with attempts to call witnesses in lawsuit over brutal arrest
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