With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?

Democrats may stand in Obama's way on gun measures

By ERICA WERNER | Associated Press – 10 hrs ago

Of course, they will. Of course.

All eyes are on these dozen or so Democrats, some of whom face re-election in 2014. That includes Sens. Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska and Mark Pryor of Arkansas.

Of course it's Baucus. Of course it is.




 Somebody better primary that piece of shit blue-dog coward.
Anyone who places more importance on his re-election than on maybe saving some innocent lives does not deserve another term. Anyone who doesn't support gun-control measures had damn well better get primaried, whether their opposition stems from electoral cowardice or from a sincere love of guns.

What the hell is the point of getting elected if you're not going to do at least this simple, obvious right thing.

The political concerns of Democrats create problems for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who has his own history with the NRA.

The powerful gun lobby endorsed him in previous elections, but stayed neutral in his most recent race, in 2010. Even before Obama announced the gun proposals this month, Reid told a Nevada PBS station that an assault weapons ban would have a hard time getting through Congress. That comment irked Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., author of such a ban. 

Is anyone not sick to death of Harry Reid?

How the fuck did this guy ever get to be in charge? 

He should have been bounced out of his leadership position when he rolled over during the health-care debate. Republicans whined that they needed time to go back and consult with their constituencies before voting and Reid seriously couldn't see through this? Seemingly, he really thought that they were going to go back to their constituents and listen to their input and then come back saying "well, the voters seem to like this idea, so I guess I'll vote yes!" Maybe he couldn't have foreseen the Republicans bussing in groups of Cro-Magnon morons to scream about death panels and tyranny and wanting their country back, but he had to know they were up to no good. At best, this was a stalling tactic. But Reid walked right into their little trap as if he had never met these assholes and thought they would bargain in good faith.

Oh, and great job with filibuster reform, Senator Reid!




I can't believe anyone in the House or Senate is still afraid of the NRA. You know they don't even represent their own membership, right? Most NRA members want universal background checks.


 Have you seen the polling? (LINK)

Q: Please tell me what kind of priority you think Obama and the Congress should give addressing gun violence? (Asked of half sample)

The highest priority     28%

High priority but not the highest    40%

Lower priority            30%

(VOL) No priority     1% 


That's 68% of those surveyed who think that adressing gun violence is a high priority.

Q: Would you support or oppose a law requiring a nationwide ban on high-capacity ammunition clips, meaning those containing more than 10 bullets?

Support   65%

Q: Would you support or oppose a law requiring background checks on people buying guns at gun shows?

 Support   88%


 EIGHTY-EIGHT PERCENT! Eighty-eight percent support closing the gun-show loophole, but a handful of cowardly senators could prevent this.

71% support the creation of a federal database to track gun sales.  But because the Wayne LaPierres of this country will scream "tyranny!" we probably won't even get that.

58% support a total ban on assault weapons. But Harry Reid, that sniveling weakling, doesn't think he can get that through his caucus.

There is some hope, though. People are starting to get active.

Thousands rally in Washington for gun control

Eliza Collins, USA TODAY5:41p.m. EST January 26, 2013

WASHINGTON — In the wake of several recent mass shootings, thousands of people gathered Saturday in front of the Capitol for a silent march urging Congress to act on legislation to control guns. Despite chilly temperatures and snow-covered ground, supporters came from around the country came to make their statement.

 At some point, even the cowards in the Senate might have to come to the realization that, despite what the maniacs of the NRA leadership say, America wants and needs sensible gun laws.

Someone left this on my windshield last night

Tucked under the windshield wiper like one of those flyers that you get for car detailing or lawn service or whatever.
So, I paid it no mind, but this morning it was still there, so I pulled it off and was surprised to find that it had a wooden base. And it was made of fairly thick cardboard covered in Saran Wrap or some such plastic. And this is what it had printed on it:

IMG_20130125_142617.jpg, a photo by spudboy67 on Flickr.

If you're having trouble seeing the picture, it shows a group of business people sitting around a conference table and the text "differences of administrations, but the same Lord."
 
1 Cor 12:5
kjv

I'm not sure what the point is supposed to be the point of this. Obviously someone put a lot of time and effort into this, so I assume there's supposed to be a message of some kind, but hell if I know what it is.
 Usually if someone is going to print something with a Bible verse on it, it will be a verse with some sort of obvious significance like "Repent and be baptized," or "For God so loved the world" or something. The Missus is of the opinion that crazy people are crazy and do crazy things and she's usually right about these things. But if anyone has any idea what the significance of this is, I'd sure like to know.

Most Horrifying Bill I've Ever Heard Of

(TW: Rape)

via HuffPo:

New Mexico Bill Would Criminalize Abortions After Rape As 'Tampering With Evidence'

Posted: 01/24/2013 10:21 am EST  |  Updated: 01/24/2013 4:23 pm EST

So these New Mexico fundies have figured out that they can't prevent a woman from legally getting an abortion if she got pregnant the normal way, but by God maybe they can stop it if the pregnancy was the result of rape!


So, if someone has already been horrifically violated, if she has already had her bodily autonomy stolen from her in the worst possible way, the state of New Mexico will compound the violation by claiming jurisdiction over her uterus. Holy fuck! There are no words.

There's no point to this anyway. It's not like she would need to give birth to get DNA evidence. If the rape resulted in pregnancy, obviously the rapist left behind DNA which would be collected with the rape kit. Watch an episode of Law&Order SVU before drafting legislation!

What kind of woman-hating misogynist would propose such a bill?

 House Bill 206, introduced by state Rep. Cathrynn Brown (R), would charge a rape victim who ended her pregnancy with a third-degree felony for "tampering with evidence."

 

God damn it, seriously?
 What possible rationale could she possibly have for this?

"New Mexico needs to strengthen its laws to deter sex offenders,” said Brown. “By adding this law in New Mexico, we can help to protect women across our state.”

 Except that it won't deter sex offenders.
What it might do is deter women from reporting rapes and pressing charges because they know that if they do, they will be forced to give birth to the rapist's child because "evidence."
The only thing that it might deter sex offenders from doing is using a condom because if they can impregnate their victim they know they have a much better chance that she won't have them prosecuted.
Every time you think the Religious Right/Tea Party/Republicans have sunk as low as it is possible to sink, they sink to a whole new level. There is a special place in Hell for people like this.

The good news is that there is virtually no way that this bill will ever pass, but once again they have shown their hand. This is who they are.

 

Bad Ads - Booking.Com

You're really going to base your whole marketing campaign on the fact that the word "Booking" sounds sort of vaguely like the word "fucking," and that there are some people who find it funny when someone says words that sound vaguely like expletives?

Good luck with that!

Netflix Movie Review

 

God Bless America, written & directed by Bob "Bobcat" Goldthwait

I don't remember hearing about this movie ever coming out in theaters, but I heard Goldthwait talking about it on an old episode of Doug Loves Movies (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/doug-loves-movies/id281816774) and it actually sounded kind of stupid, but then I loved World's Greatest Dad which Bobcat also wrote and directed, so anyway, I finally decided to check it out.

First of all, trigger warning, as they say on Tumblr, this movie absolutely glorifies gun violence which, in light of recent events, makes it a bit disturbing. there's even a shooting in a movie theater. (This movie was released in 2011)

That being said, I can't tell you how much I liked this movie.

 

Joel Murray, whom I'd only previously seen when catching bits and pieces of Dharma & Greg, is unbelievable as main character/anti-hero Frank. Not to give too much away, but Frank's life is pretty shitty, he's disgusted by American culture, and he goes on a killing spree. I know, it feels like you've seen this movie before, but not like this.

 I don't want to spoil it, just let me say that if you can get past the violence, this movie is darkly funny, poignant, sometimes sad, and did I mention that Joel Murray is a revelation. 

I wasn't so thrilled with the female lead, played by Tara Lynne Barr. She does a good job acting the role, I just wasn't crazy about the way her role was written. But seriously, see this movie. And if you haven't seen World's Greatest Dad, rent that too! Bobcat Goldthwait is fast becoming one of my favorite filmmakers.