Wednesday, May 25, 2011
North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry repeatedly (and falsely) accuses Elizabeth Warren, tapped to head Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of lying
From AlterNet comes a catalogue of the hypocrisy of Rep. Patrick McHenry, whose campaign paymasters include Wells Fargo (of drug cartel money laundering fame), Bank of America, the ABA and ethically-challenged PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Tuesday, McHenry accused Elizabeth Warren of lying about the advice she gave to Treasury Secretary Tm Geithner and state attorneys-general about foreclosure fraud committed by the very companies whose money propels McHenry's campaigns. The record shows she did no such thing.
Then he accused her of lying about how much time she could schedule for his hearing.
Legendary Omaha invester Warren Buffett, named the top money manager of the 20th Century by the Carson Group, has been an ardent supporter of Elizabeth Warren.
Here's a video she made about the coming collapse of the middle class:
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch, May 23, 2011
From http://MarriageNewsWatch.com - It's almost all bad news this week, with an anti-gay measure gaining ground in Minnesota, slow progress in New York, a resignation in North Carolina, and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker staking out a position against LGBT hospital visitation.
Map of Joplin tornado path;
gay church trashed during services; gay dance club ok
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| Just Us dance floor |
Just as Sunday night services were beginning, Joplin's gay church, the Spirit of Christ MCC at 2904 E. 20th, was destroyed, as well as the pastor's home, cars, and the cars of other members who were attending services. The congregants hid in the basement and only two were injured.
Joplin's popular gay bar, Just Us, near West 5th and Main, was not in the path of the F-4 funnel.
An interactive Google map of the damage is here.
Tonight Frontline looks at Bradley Manning and Julian Assange in WikiSecrets
In March PBS' Frontline broadcast The Private Life of Bradley Manning. Tonight comes WikiSecrets, a chronological account of the leak and an examination of both figures.
Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.
What if gay rights advocates went after homophobes using their own tactics?
Minnesota Senator Al Franken's statement opposing antigay constitutional amendment
“Every Minnesotan deserves dignity and equal treatment under the law, and our state’s same-sex couples should have the same right to marry as anyone else — period,” Franken said. “This amendment would do nothing more than write discrimination into our state’s constitution and add to the barriers same-sex couples already face to the full recognition of their families. I’m hopeful that common sense and compassion will prevail and that this amendment will be defeated.”
Hacker Group Anonymous going after US Chamber of Commerce?
Today was the day Anonymous was supposed to launch an attack against the US Chamber of Commerce. Though there have been reports of difficulty accessing the site, AKSARBENT had no trouble in its attempt; in fact, www.uschamber.com loaded faster for us just now than many other sites typically do.
Lady Gaga to Letterman:
'I have a paper route. It's called Born This Way'
And the route of the paper on which Letterman had written a rumor list to ask Gaga about went directly from his desk to her hand and then to her mouth where she literally chewed it up and spit it out.
Nashville gay rights law killed by Tennessee governor; Haslam jumps at chance to sign HB600/SB632; no comment on signing
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| bintibee, Flickr |
Monday, May 23, 2011
I-44 closed near Joplin after tornado; Lane and ramp closures from MODOT (MO Dept. of Trans.)
25-30% of Joplin is damaged. Interstate 44 near the city is closed (map here.)
The claim that "70% of Joplin is gone" was based on an inaccurate early estimate by a Red Cross worker.
The claim that "70% of Joplin is gone" was based on an inaccurate early estimate by a Red Cross worker.
World Doesn't End: Story, page 4A
AKSARBENT liked this unusually snarky/sanguine Omaha World-Herald headline much better than, say, "Harold Camping Lays An Egg: The Sequel."
And may we remind our ungrateful readers how very lucky they are to live in a city with a Sunday Newspaper costing less than half the price of the New York Times, and which also provides them with headlines that can be strung together to form a cogent narrative, like those poetic refrigerator magnets.
And may we remind our ungrateful readers how very lucky they are to live in a city with a Sunday Newspaper costing less than half the price of the New York Times, and which also provides them with headlines that can be strung together to form a cogent narrative, like those poetic refrigerator magnets.
Video of gay slur: Chicago Bull's Joakim Noah pulls a Kobe Bryant: F * * * YOU, F * * * * *
Well, at least he had the presence of mind to direct his two f-bombs at a fan, not an NBA official.
Minnesota Republicans who defend traditional marriage but don't practice it
Andy Birkey, of the Minnesota Independent, takes note of the divorced Minnesota Republicans who are defending marriage from same sex couples. Till death do you part!
- Sen. Pam Wolf, R-Spring Lake Park, was divorced in 2000.
- Alexandria Republican Rep. Mary Franson got divorced earlier this year.
- Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, was divorced in 1994.
- The campaign website of Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Good Thunder, notes his divorce.
- Court records matched the name, date of birth and city of Rep. Doug Wardlow, R-Eagan, for a divorce in 2005.
- Rep. Tom Hackbarth, R-Cedar, is legally separated from his wife, which was revealed last November when he was stopped by the police in a Planned Parenthood parking lot with a gun in his vehicle looking for a woman he found on the Internet.
- Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, is listed as divorced on her legislator biography page.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Quick, someone give the Omaha World-Herald a copy of Maine's statutes
Last Tuesday, the Omaha World-Herald, reporting on GOP redistricting shenanigans in Nebraska (presided over by TransCanada's little helper, State Sen. Chris Langemeier of Schuyler — the Unicameral's answer to Dick Cheney) made the following pronouncement:
AKSARBENT's point is this: any reporter can make a mistake, but the fact that Nebraska shares with Maine the distinction of being able to split its electoral votes is not an obscure fact. Google "split electoral vote" for Pete's sake.
The World-Herald should have corrected this by now.
But it hasn't.
The state [Nebraska] has a unique system of awarding an electoral vote to the highest vote-getter in each congressional district — a system Republicans have been trying to change since 2008.Ah, "unique" means singular; one of a kind. So, is Nebraska's system (called the Congressional District Method) really unique? Let's compare it to oh, say, Maine's, shall we?
Nebraska: "Each congressional district presidential elector shall cast his or her ballot for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates who received the highest number of votes in his or her congressional district."
Maine: "The presidential electors of each congressional district shall cast their ballots for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates who received the largest number of votes in each respective congressional district."
AKSARBENT's point is this: any reporter can make a mistake, but the fact that Nebraska shares with Maine the distinction of being able to split its electoral votes is not an obscure fact. Google "split electoral vote" for Pete's sake.
The World-Herald should have corrected this by now.
But it hasn't.
Minnesota GOP House Speaker Kurt Zellers censors all reference to antigay pastor's invocation in legislative record
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| Zellers' Soviet Politburo approach to maintaining official Minnesota legislative records |
Friday's Minnesota House invocation by GOP-invited homophobic Minnesota pastor Bradlee Dean has been struck from the body's official record by GOP Speaker Kurt Zellers, who said, "It was my decision, and I stand by my decision," according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Dean's invocation precipitated such a hue and cry among members of both parties that the GOP had to restart the session with a do-over by Rev. Grady St. Dennis, the House chaplain. The official House journal now lists only St. Dennis as offering the Friday prayer.
The following day, the Minnesota House GOP voted to put a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage to Minnesota's voters.
The Minnesota Star-Tribune reported:
...On Sunday, Democrats entered a "protest and dissent" in that same Journal "over the actions that occurred on Friday," said Rep. Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul.
"There are no do-overs," Paymar said. "Mr. Dean brought dishonor to the Minnesota House of Representatives."
Zellers' decision to expunge mention of Dean from the record of the House meant, "there is no history of the shame that that man caused to this body."
Meet Embraer, board member of anti-gay Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Embraer, one of the board members of the Tennessee CoC that lobbied for legislation to kill Nashville's LBGT rights ordinance, is a Brazilian aircraft manufacturer which makes uncomfortably small commuter planes favored by Continental Airlines and its feeders.
In the wake of the Tennessee Senate's passage of statewide legislation outlawing municipal gay rights ordinances, Embraer has remained arrogantly silent on its role as a Tennessee CoC board member.
In Nashville, Embraer runs a aircraft maintenance facility. In March of 2011 that facility was described by a anonymous poster who identified as a contractor in a Nashville "Best of the Web" review as follows: "one of the worst sweatshops i ever worked in. no regard for saftey."
How uncomfortable are Embraer jets? Listen to Craig Ferguson describe his experience as a passenger in one...
In the wake of the Tennessee Senate's passage of statewide legislation outlawing municipal gay rights ordinances, Embraer has remained arrogantly silent on its role as a Tennessee CoC board member.
In Nashville, Embraer runs a aircraft maintenance facility. In March of 2011 that facility was described by a anonymous poster who identified as a contractor in a Nashville "Best of the Web" review as follows: "one of the worst sweatshops i ever worked in. no regard for saftey."
How uncomfortable are Embraer jets? Listen to Craig Ferguson describe his experience as a passenger in one...
Third arrest made in El Paso Old Plantation beating
Three of the six men suspected of beating 22-year-old Lionel Martinez outside an El Paso gay club, Old Plantation, have now been arrested. The third was Ivan Gallardo, 17, who was charged with aggravated assault and taken in custody on a $50,000 bond. Martinez, who his sister says isn't gay, was beaten May 7 while waiting for her outside the club. He is still in a medically induced coma. Roman Olvera, 19, was arrested earlier in connection with the beating and charged with aggravated assault. A juvenile, age 16, also has been charged.
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| Ivan Gallardo |
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| Roman Olvera |
Who voted for Minnesota's anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment?
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| J. Stephen Conn, Flickr |
70 YEA and 62 Nay
Date: 5/21/2011
Journal Page -- * Please see the Journal of the House for official recorded roll call votes.
Those who voted in the affirmative were:
| Abeler | Anderson, B. | Anderson, D. | Anderson, P. | Anderson, S. |
| Banaian | Barrett | Beard | Benson, M. | Bills |
| Buesgens | Cornish | Crawford | Daudt | Davids |
| Dean | Dettmer | Dittrich | Doepke | Downey |
| Drazkowski | Erickson | Fabian | Franson | Garofalo |
| Gottwalt | Gruenhagen | Gunther | Hackbarth | Hamilton |
| Hancock | Holberg | Hoppe | Howes | Kieffer |
| Kiel | Kiffmeyer | Koenen | Lanning | Leidiger |
| LeMieur | Lohmer | Loon | Mack | Mazorol |
| McDonald | McElfatrick | McFarlane | McNamara | Murdock |
| Myhra | Nornes | O'Driscoll | Peppin | Petersen, B. |
| Quam | Runbeck | Sanders | Schomacker | Scott |
| Shimanski | Stensrud | Swedzinski | Torkelson | Urdahl |
| Vogel | Wardlow | Westrom | Woodard | Zellers |
Those who voted in the negative were:
| Anzelc | Atkins | Benson, J. | Brynaert | Carlson |
| Clark | Davnie | Eken | Falk | Fritz |
| Gauthier | Greene | Greiling | Hansen | Hausman |
| Hayden | Hilstrom | Hilty | Hornstein | Hortman |
| Hosch | Huntley | Johnson | Kahn | Kath |
| Kelly | Knuth | Kriesel | Laine | Lenczewski |
| Lesch | Liebling | Lillie | Loeffler | Mahoney |
| Mariani | Marquart | Melin | Moran | Morrow |
| Mullery | Murphy, E. | Murphy, M. | Murray | Nelson |
| Norton | Paymar | Pelowski | Persell | Peterson, S. |
| Poppe | Rukavina | Scalze | Simon | Slawik |
| Slocum | Smith | Thissen | Tillberry | Wagenius |
| Ward | Winkler |
A map of the vote is here.
GOP catfight: New Hampshire Republican says Iowa Republicans are too crazy to be taken seriously
Fergus Cullen, a former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, thinks that the Iowa Republican Party has stepped too far off the curb to be taken seriously. Here is what he wrote in the Manchester Union-Leader and the Des Moines Register:
A Public Policy Polling survey found that 48 percent of Iowa Republicans don't believe President Obama was born in the United States, and another 26 percent said they weren't sure if he was or if he wasn't. It's hard to talk about real issues when three quarters of the audience wears tinfoil hats.
How stupid do Nissan and Deborah K. Wooley think gay people are?
Nissan, a board member of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, just presided over that organization's successful lobbying effort to pass SB632, which would kill Nashville's ordinance protecting its LGBT residents.
Here is the double-talk the company just released about its actions:
Gee, clever deception must be in Nissan's DNA. Here's what you'll see on Nissan's web site when you attempt to compare the fuel economy of a gas-guzzling Nissan Frontier (made in Smyrna, TN) to that of a similar Ford Ranger. Bear in mind that the Nissan only gets 19/23 MPG while the Ford gets 22/27. Obviously an honest comparison wouldn't be in Nissan's best interest here, so it leverages the fact that Frontiers have bigger tanks (which they obviously need) to mislead shoppers:
But we digress.
How nasty are the people behind the bill that the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce officially lobbied for on behalf of board members Alcoa, AT&T, Nissan, FedEx, Pfizer, Comcast, DuPont, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG. Whirlpool, Embraer, and United HealthCare?
Well, here's one of the television ads aired by the so-called "Family Action Council" of Tennessee, implying that protecting gay and transgendered people amounts to sanctioning child molestation.
As if one needed further proof of the banality of the Family Action Council's evil, here is the commercial they changed to black-and-white as it was first broadcast in 2008 by a group peddling similar class hatred in Florida:
The President of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry is one Deborah K. Woolley. Why not let her know what you think of her Chamber of Commerce's political alignment with a group which crudely and viciously vilified an entire class of people on television? Do you think she's doing an effective job at showcasing Tennessee as a desirable place to do business? Or is she a crypto-Anita Bryant emblematic of an increasingly nasty state whose products should be boycotted by millions of people?
Here is the double-talk the company just released about its actions:
We believe that consistent statewide employment standards, rather than a cumbersome array of local laws and ordinances, are essential to maintaining our state’s economic competitiveness. However, HB600/SB632 has become more closely associated with eroding civil liberties than fostering a strong business climate and this we do not support. "Get it? Nissan doesn't mind the collateral damage to tens of thousands of gay Nashville citizens when the State of Tennessee invalidates a Music City law to ensure "consistency" but it really hates it when you have a bad perception of Nissan because of what it supported as a board member of the Tennessee CoC.
Gee, clever deception must be in Nissan's DNA. Here's what you'll see on Nissan's web site when you attempt to compare the fuel economy of a gas-guzzling Nissan Frontier (made in Smyrna, TN) to that of a similar Ford Ranger. Bear in mind that the Nissan only gets 19/23 MPG while the Ford gets 22/27. Obviously an honest comparison wouldn't be in Nissan's best interest here, so it leverages the fact that Frontiers have bigger tanks (which they obviously need) to mislead shoppers:
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| Click to enlarge |
But we digress.
How nasty are the people behind the bill that the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce officially lobbied for on behalf of board members Alcoa, AT&T, Nissan, FedEx, Pfizer, Comcast, DuPont, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG. Whirlpool, Embraer, and United HealthCare?
Well, here's one of the television ads aired by the so-called "Family Action Council" of Tennessee, implying that protecting gay and transgendered people amounts to sanctioning child molestation.
As if one needed further proof of the banality of the Family Action Council's evil, here is the commercial they changed to black-and-white as it was first broadcast in 2008 by a group peddling similar class hatred in Florida:
The President of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry is one Deborah K. Woolley. Why not let her know what you think of her Chamber of Commerce's political alignment with a group which crudely and viciously vilified an entire class of people on television? Do you think she's doing an effective job at showcasing Tennessee as a desirable place to do business? Or is she a crypto-Anita Bryant emblematic of an increasingly nasty state whose products should be boycotted by millions of people?
Deborah K. Woolley
President, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry
President, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Saturday, May 21, 2011
ALCOA: 'We do not agree with the chamber on this issue and would ask that the governor veto the bill'
Americablog, which broke this story and continues to cover it like a blanket, reports that ALCOA, the Pittsburgh-based aluminum producer and member of the board of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, has now publicly repudiated HB 600/SB 632, a Tennessee state law which would strike down Nashville's recently-enacted gay rights protections and preclude the enactment of other similar laws by Tennessee municipalities.
The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce lobbied for the law after secret meetings with right-wing religious activists in Tennessee. Other board members who have issued statements are AT&T, Nissan and FedEx (a senior vice president of which gave a large contribution to the antigay Prop 8 campaign in California and which disingenuously refers to itself as a mere "member" of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce when in fact FedEx has a seat on the board.) None of those companies has repudiated the law. Their statements are sheer PR.
Other board members of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce (Comcast, DuPont, Pfizer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG, Whirlpool, Embraer, and United HealthCare) didn't even bother to issue press releases about the matter. (Of course if you're Caterpillar, supplying multimillion-dollar equipment to oil companies strip-mining an England-sized chunk of the pristeen forests of Alberta, Canada to get at tar sands oil, why would the concerns of gay people matter to you? They're really not your primary customers, are they?)
On the other hand, Pfizer's drugs (like Viagra) have many worthy competitors (like Cialis) manufactured by companies which aren't lobbying for laws which squelch local gay rights ordinances...
The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce lobbied for the law after secret meetings with right-wing religious activists in Tennessee. Other board members who have issued statements are AT&T, Nissan and FedEx (a senior vice president of which gave a large contribution to the antigay Prop 8 campaign in California and which disingenuously refers to itself as a mere "member" of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce when in fact FedEx has a seat on the board.) None of those companies has repudiated the law. Their statements are sheer PR.
Other board members of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce (Comcast, DuPont, Pfizer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG, Whirlpool, Embraer, and United HealthCare) didn't even bother to issue press releases about the matter. (Of course if you're Caterpillar, supplying multimillion-dollar equipment to oil companies strip-mining an England-sized chunk of the pristeen forests of Alberta, Canada to get at tar sands oil, why would the concerns of gay people matter to you? They're really not your primary customers, are they?)
On the other hand, Pfizer's drugs (like Viagra) have many worthy competitors (like Cialis) manufactured by companies which aren't lobbying for laws which squelch local gay rights ordinances...
Rachel Maddow: Hijacked Republican caucuses turning Iowa into antigay, fundamentalist irrelevant sideshow
When it comes to electing a president, Iowa as a state cherishes its first-in-the-nation role, but in recent years, Iowa Republican caucuses have been so hijacked by single-issue antigay politics and religious fundamentalists that Iowa is sort of becoming an irrelevant sideshow in the presidential race, rather than being a bell weather.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Nissan, other Tennessee Chamber of Commerce board members successfully lobby legislature for law killing Nashville's gay rights ordinance
Car shopping? Get a Ford instead of a Nissan!
Americablog has reported on the active lobbying by the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce for a bill just passed by that state's senate repealing current, and banning future, municipal civil rights laws in the state.
The BOARD of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, which signed off on this, includes Nissan, FedEx, AT&T, Comcast, DuPont, Pfizer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG. Whirlpool, Embraer, Alcoa, and United HealthCare.
The new state law will nullify Nashville's recent law protecting its gay residents.
Nissan's Smyrna, Tennessee plant produces the Nissan Altima, Nissan Maxima, Nissan Xterra, Nissan Frontier and Nissan Pathfinder.
AKSARBENT's advice? Buy a Ford. (Which is much more palatable now that the jingoistic Toby Keith has been replaced by San Francisco resident Mike Rowe in Ford's television ads.)
Having recently shopped for small pickups, AKSARBENT knows whereof it speaks, kids. The Nissan Frontier, for example, is rather expensive and gets terrible mileage. We chose instead a new Ford Ranger which gets the most MPG to be had in a small truck and is downright cheap. Also, Ford has as good a record of supporting its LBGT stakeholders as you will find in the auto industry.
A pox on Nissan, the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, and the senate it manipulates.
AKSARBENT asks its readers: Why in the world would you pay substantially more for a gas-guzzling Nissan small pickup made in increasingly homophobic Tennessee when you could have a smart-looking 2011 Ford Ranger for less than $13,900? (That's what we paid in January.)
Before choosing Ford, we called a local Nissan dealer to follow up on an Internet ad for a great deal on a Versa.
The Nissan salesman quoted a much higher price and feigned ignorance about his dealership's lower advertised price. When we called his attention to the disparity, he said (and we quote) "Well, it's a car dealership!" What we heard was: "Yes, you're being lied to by a Nissan dealer, but hear us out!"
An Omaha Ford Dealership (Atchley), on the other hand, sold us a brand new Ranger at a ridiculously low advertised price (with no bullshit) and even waived the ad's stipulation that the vehicle had to be financed through Ford, as we wanted to pay cash. (Lest you think AKSARBENT is being a total tool, we should mention that we weren't too happy with the inflated "documentation fee" for the Ranger...)
The BOARD of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, which signed off on this, includes Nissan, FedEx, AT&T, Comcast, DuPont, Pfizer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG. Whirlpool, Embraer, Alcoa, and United HealthCare.
The new state law will nullify Nashville's recent law protecting its gay residents.
Nissan's Smyrna, Tennessee plant produces the Nissan Altima, Nissan Maxima, Nissan Xterra, Nissan Frontier and Nissan Pathfinder.
AKSARBENT's advice? Buy a Ford. (Which is much more palatable now that the jingoistic Toby Keith has been replaced by San Francisco resident Mike Rowe in Ford's television ads.)
Having recently shopped for small pickups, AKSARBENT knows whereof it speaks, kids. The Nissan Frontier, for example, is rather expensive and gets terrible mileage. We chose instead a new Ford Ranger which gets the most MPG to be had in a small truck and is downright cheap. Also, Ford has as good a record of supporting its LBGT stakeholders as you will find in the auto industry.
A pox on Nissan, the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, and the senate it manipulates.
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| 2011 Ford Ranger |
AKSARBENT asks its readers: Why in the world would you pay substantially more for a gas-guzzling Nissan small pickup made in increasingly homophobic Tennessee when you could have a smart-looking 2011 Ford Ranger for less than $13,900? (That's what we paid in January.)
Before choosing Ford, we called a local Nissan dealer to follow up on an Internet ad for a great deal on a Versa.
The Nissan salesman quoted a much higher price and feigned ignorance about his dealership's lower advertised price. When we called his attention to the disparity, he said (and we quote) "Well, it's a car dealership!" What we heard was: "Yes, you're being lied to by a Nissan dealer, but hear us out!"
An Omaha Ford Dealership (Atchley), on the other hand, sold us a brand new Ranger at a ridiculously low advertised price (with no bullshit) and even waived the ad's stipulation that the vehicle had to be financed through Ford, as we wanted to pay cash. (Lest you think AKSARBENT is being a total tool, we should mention that we weren't too happy with the inflated "documentation fee" for the Ranger...)
"Don't Say Gay" bill, SB0049 passes Tennessee's Senate 19-11
A breakdown of the vote by senator appears not to have been posted yet on the Tennesee Legislature's website. Keep checking here. Aksarbent has another post on Tennessee's recent anti-gay legislative spree here.
The Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) reports on the text of the final version. House approval is not expected this year.
The Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) reports on the text of the final version. House approval is not expected this year.
The bill including its amendment in purple now reads:Tennessee Equality Project observes that the amended version of SB0049 no longer makes direct reference to sexual orientation. However, SB0049 and its House companion (HB0229) remain a threat to safe schools in Tennessee. The State House of Representatives is expected to review HB0229 as early as January of 2012. TEP will continue to advocate against both versions of the Don't Say Gay Bill.
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 10, relative to education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-1005, is amended by addingthe following as new subsection (c) and by relettering the existing subsection (c) accordingly:
(c)
(1) The general assembly recognizes the sensitivity of particular subjects that are best explained and discussed in the home. Human sexuality is a complex subject with societal, scientific, psychological, and historical implications; those implications are best understood by children with sufficient maturity to grasp their complexity.
(2) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any instruction or materials made available or provided at or to a public elementary or middle school shall be limited exclusively to natural human reproduction science. The provisions of this subdivision shall also apply to a group or organization that provides instruction in natural human reproduction science in public elementary or middle schoolsSECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.
Minnesota House speaker is SHOCKED by Bradlee Dean's tirade/prayer; says he'll never allow it again
The Minnesota Independent reports on the reaction of Republican House Speaker Kurt Zeller to well-known homophobic zealot Bradlee Dean's invocation to the Minnesota House, after being invited to be House Chaplain for the day by that state's GOP. Bradlee has said that the average gay person is a sexual predator responsible for 117 molestations before he is found out.
Despite his subsequent backpedaling, Zeller did not sound shocked or outraged at all in the video below when, after Dean's invocation, he introduced Dean to the members of the house and identified his church. Hours later, after fuming house members of both parties had another chaplain conduct an invocation do-over, Zeller had a sudden change of heart:
Zeller apparently preapproved Dean's appearance.
Minnesota Public Radio reported that it was Rep. Ernie Leidiger, R-Mayer who requested the appearance of Dean, Minnesota's most virulent homophobe, to give the prayer. The Minnesota House web site notes that in his office, Leidiger prominently displays an American flag propped up in a coffee cup promoting the Tea Party Patriots, an astroturf organization funded by the Koch Brothers.
UPDATE: More GOP buck passing: Fox News 9 is saying that Leidiger claims someone from Dean's ministry requested the invite. He says he only knew of Dean's past work educating students on constitutional issues and not his controversial antigay past remarks.
Of course he didn't. Why would a tea party activist like Leidiger have any idea that like-minded political nutcases in Minnesota held homophobic views? He must have been in the bathroom when the news coverage of Deans' antigay views flooded Minnesota's airwaves! He must not have seen the print coverage or the internet postings. He must have missed them all!
Because Dean is SO much more famous in Minnesota for his work educating students on constitutional views than for his vicious defamation of and violent exhortations against gay people...
AKSARBENT totally believes you, Mr. Leidiger. And we stand with you with all the loyal tenacity of your Republican colleague Kurt Zeller, after he sticks a wet finger into the winds of prevailing political opinion.
Ernie Leidiger, R-Mayer
415 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-4282
E-mail: rep.ernie.leidiger@house.mn
Despite his subsequent backpedaling, Zeller did not sound shocked or outraged at all in the video below when, after Dean's invocation, he introduced Dean to the members of the house and identified his church. Hours later, after fuming house members of both parties had another chaplain conduct an invocation do-over, Zeller had a sudden change of heart:
“Earlier today there was a prayer given by a man I personally denounce. The decorum and dignity of this body is my responsibility. I did not live up to that responsibility today. For that, I apologize. This is the people’s House. Each member deserves the dignity and respect of all of us,” he said. “Members I can only ask for your forgiveness. That type of person will never ever be allowed on this House floor again as long as I have the honor of serving as speaker.”
Zeller apparently preapproved Dean's appearance.
Minnesota Public Radio reported that it was Rep. Ernie Leidiger, R-Mayer who requested the appearance of Dean, Minnesota's most virulent homophobe, to give the prayer. The Minnesota House web site notes that in his office, Leidiger prominently displays an American flag propped up in a coffee cup promoting the Tea Party Patriots, an astroturf organization funded by the Koch Brothers.
UPDATE: More GOP buck passing: Fox News 9 is saying that Leidiger claims someone from Dean's ministry requested the invite. He says he only knew of Dean's past work educating students on constitutional issues and not his controversial antigay past remarks.
Of course he didn't. Why would a tea party activist like Leidiger have any idea that like-minded political nutcases in Minnesota held homophobic views? He must have been in the bathroom when the news coverage of Deans' antigay views flooded Minnesota's airwaves! He must not have seen the print coverage or the internet postings. He must have missed them all!
Because Dean is SO much more famous in Minnesota for his work educating students on constitutional views than for his vicious defamation of and violent exhortations against gay people...
AKSARBENT totally believes you, Mr. Leidiger. And we stand with you with all the loyal tenacity of your Republican colleague Kurt Zeller, after he sticks a wet finger into the winds of prevailing political opinion.
Ernie Leidiger, R-Mayer
415 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-4282
E-mail: rep.ernie.leidiger@house.mn
Gay USA, May 17, 2011
The Atlanta law firm that agreed to defend DOMA on behalf of the US House pulls out of the case. A brutal beating of a transgendered woman at a Maryland McDonald's is videotaped and goes viral. 300 protested at the McDonald's, including the victim's mom and grandmother. The proponents of California's Prop 8 have moved to overturn Judge Vaughn Walker's decision declaring it unconstitutional because of his personal life. An indictment of Tyler Clementi's roommate at Rutgers over his streaming webcam of Clementi's sexual encounter with another man just prior to Clementi's suicide. An arrest of a rightwing pastor as an accessory to kidnapping of the daughter in the Jenkins-Miller custody case. Moscow Pride MAY finally be getting a green light. "Stonewall Uprising" premiered on PBS's American Experience this past week. We will review the Broadway productions of "War Horse" at Lincoln Center, the new musical "Wonderland" and the just-closed "High" with Kathleen Turner A suppressed report on how New York City museums censored LGBT content is unearthed at http://outhistory.org/wiki/OutHistory.org_Releases_Unpublished_Art_Repor.
Liberty University graduate's homophobia costs LAPD $1,165,215
The Los Angeles Times is reporting a $1.1 million sexual harassment/retaliation payout (presumably not including department legal fees) over treatment of Sgt. Ronald Crump by Lt. John Romero, his direct supervisor. Apparently this financial and professional debacle is the result of the kind of education he received at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, which received $445,000,000 in federal financial aid last year, according to Alex Parene at Salon. (That's $25,000,000 more than the government gave to NPR.)
The massive sum was thanks to the growth of Liberty's online program, which enrolled 52,000 students last year. The school is the largest recipient of Pell grant money in the state of Virginia.
The massive sum was thanks to the growth of Liberty's online program, which enrolled 52,000 students last year. The school is the largest recipient of Pell grant money in the state of Virginia.
"Lt. John Romero -- made derogatory remarks about his homosexuality. Romero, who has since been promoted to captain, allegedly described him as "the new Ruby minus the heels," in reference to the woman he replaced in the unit.
Lt. John Romero, LAPD,
Latin American Law
Enforcement Assoc.
On another occasion, Romero allegedly told him, "I was a religion major at Liberty University. Jerry Falwell would roll over in his grave if he knew I had hired you."
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Is Michele Bachmann smarter than a tenth-grader?
Thousands of people on the facebook page "Ask Michele Bachmann to debate Amy Myers" apparently would like to find out.
The Cherry Hills, New Jersey high school student supposedly wrote the following open letter to Bachmann, although some Republicans are questioning her authorship, saying it was a little too polished.) This may or not be true, but none of these doubters seemed to have a problem with the suspicious written eloquence of Sarah Palin's otherwise rather dull teenage daughter.
Aksarbent thinks Amy Myers could have written it, though it does seem a couple notches better than most of the prose on her blog. We noticed two sentences which should have been edited: the one containing the redundancy "factually incorrect" and the one which began "Hopefully," which is not music to the ears of grammar traditionalists.
And now the eviscerating letter, which Bachmann, the cynically fast, loose and self-serving progenitor of airhead agitprop, richly deserved:
The Cherry Hills, New Jersey high school student supposedly wrote the following open letter to Bachmann, although some Republicans are questioning her authorship, saying it was a little too polished.) This may or not be true, but none of these doubters seemed to have a problem with the suspicious written eloquence of Sarah Palin's otherwise rather dull teenage daughter.
Aksarbent thinks Amy Myers could have written it, though it does seem a couple notches better than most of the prose on her blog. We noticed two sentences which should have been edited: the one containing the redundancy "factually incorrect" and the one which began "Hopefully," which is not music to the ears of grammar traditionalists.
And now the eviscerating letter, which Bachmann, the cynically fast, loose and self-serving progenitor of airhead agitprop, richly deserved:
Dear Representative Bachmann,
My name is Amy Myers. I am a Cherry Hill, New Jersey sophomore attending Cherry Hill High School East. As a typical high school student, I have found quite a few of your statements regarding The Constitution of the United States, the quality of public school education and general U.S. civics matters to be factually incorrect, inaccurately applied or grossly distorted. The frequency and scope of these comments prompted me to write this letter.
Though I am not in your home district, or even your home state, you are a United States Representative of some prominence who is subject to national media coverage. News outlets and websites across this country profile your causes and viewpoints on a regular basis. As one of a handful of women in Congress, you hold a distinct privilege and responsibility to better represent your gender nationally. The statements you make help to serve an injustice to not only the position of Congresswoman, but women everywhere. Though politically expedient, incorrect comments cast a shadow on your person and by unfortunate proxy, both your supporters and detractors alike often generalize this shadow to women as a whole.
Rep. Bachmann, the frequent inability you have shown to accurately and factually present even the most basic information about the United States led me to submit the follow challenge, pitting my public education against your advanced legal education:
I, Amy Myers, do hereby challenge Representative Michele Bachmann to a Public Forum Debate and/or Fact Test on The Constitution of the United States, United States History and United States Civics.
Hopefully, we will be able to meet for such an event, as it would prove to be enlightening.
Sincerely yours,
Amy Myers
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