Oh noooooooooooooo! Sweater vest supermodel Rick Santorum is dropping out of the presidential race, too! RAND PAUL AND RICK SANTORUM IN ONE DAY?!
Welp, Santorum, see you again in 2020, by which time your party might have derailed so spectacularly that you finally look like a reasonable candidate!
What a terrifying thought.
Showing posts with label Santorum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Santorum. Show all posts
And Another One Bites the Dust
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: Wildfires; animal death] Thinking about the people out west whose losses from the wildfires are just unimaginable: "Thousands of people driven from their homes by a massive northern California wildfire began to trickle back to their neighborhoods Thursday, and some saw what they most feared: nothing. 'All of it is gone. It's so surreal,' Layna Rivas said through tears in a phone interview just after she discovered her home in Clearlake Oaks had burned to the ground. 'It looked like a bomb went off everywhere. It's all black.' Rivas kept chickens and said she saw only one walking through the rubble. Forty-three homes were destroyed and 13,000 people were ordered or warned to evacuate as the blaze chewed through nearly 109 square miles of dry brush."
Oh damn: "New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the chamber's third-ranking Democrat, plans to announce his opposition to the nuclear deal negotiated by the U.S., Iran, and five world powers tomorrow, three people familiar with his thinking tell The Huffington Post. ...Schumer's support of a war footing over diplomacy puts him at odds with the Democratic caucus he intends to lead next term, though it is consistent with the position he has long taken. ...The New York Senator has a sizable Jewish constituency and has developed close ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the influential pro-Israel lobbying group that has pledged over $20 million to kill the nuclear accord. During his 34 years in Congress, Schumer has become fond of telling his voters that his surname is derived from 'shomer,' the Hebrew word for 'guardian.' 'I am a shomer for Israel and I will continue to be that with every bone in my body,' he said in 2010." A reminder: The US Jewish community is not a monolith, and there are Jewish people who support the Iran deal, and Jewish people who oppose it.
[CN: Whitewashing; transmisogyny] Roland Emmerich's new Stonewall film looks like a white/male/ciswashing trainwreck, and here he is responding to criticism that he has disappeared real life trans women of color like Marsha P. Johnson, Miss Major, and Sylvia Rivera behind a concocted narrative about a white cis gay man. Just trust him! It'll be great! Ahem.
[CN: Violence; death; sex work shaming] Last week I mentioned that a woman who is a sex worker killed a client in self-defense after he threatened to kill her, and he turned out to be a suspected serial killer. Here is how the woman, Heather, is pushing back on people trying to "help" her by shaming her.
So, apparently corporate power-failure Carly Fiorina was the resounding winner of the Didn't Qualify for the Main Event mini-debate last night. Fiorina "emerged from the relatively low-key contest with significant buzz after taking on not only Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton by name, but even her own party." She mentioned Hillary Clinton?! I'm SHOCKED. *epic eyeroll*
[CN: Homophobia] Meanwhile, Rick Santorum used the occasion to remind everyone that he is a humongous laughable hypocrite: "During Thursday night's Fox News second-tier GOP debate, notorious marriage equality opponent Rick Santorum momentarily forgot that he does not actually support equal rights for all Americans. 'The reason America is a great country, the reason is because our compassion is in our laws,' the former Pennsylvania senator said in response to a question asking whether or not he would separate immigrant families through deportation. 'When we treat everyone equally under the law, that's when we feel good about being Americans.'" What. An. Asshole.
[CN: Video autoplays at link] Speaking of assholes, Rick Perry pulled another Rick Perry last night at the Loser Forum, accidentally calling Ronald Reagan "Ronald Raven." Good grief this guy.
In other political news: President Obama has emotions with solar panels. Aww lol!
[CN: Reproductive policing] Salma Hayek is at it again with the motherhood thing, this time saying: "The only thing that is tough about the 40s is when you haven't had a child. This is awful." Except if you don't want children. Jesus Jones. I am in my 40s, haven't had a child, didn't want a child, and my 40s are PRETTY GREAT!
"Explore Mars with these new NASA simulators." Okay!
[CN: Moving GIFs at link] And finally! Tom Hardy cuddling with a sled dog. GOOD LORD.
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: Reproductive rights] YES: "As President Obama makes official visits to Kenya and Ethiopia this week, a broad-based coalition of leading domestic and global organizations are calling on him to put an end to the incorrect implementation of the Helms Amendment in order to save women's lives and protect their health. In an open letter, the coalition asks President Obama to meet with the U.S. government's partners implementing health and gender-based violence programs in Kenya and Ethiopia, local community organizations, and the women they serve, in order to see why it's imperative that the Obama Administration address its flawed implementation of the Helms Amendment [which prohibits the use of U.S. foreign assistance funds 'to pay for the performance of abortions as a method of family planning']."
[CN: Racism] A terrific piece by Janessa Robinson for Salon: "Dear white progressives: Stop telling black people how to vote." She writes: "The reality is that no part of this political system truly benefits black liberation when our institutions are built on anti-blackness. The entire political system perpetuates systems of oppression and therefore each candidate and party cannot escape complicity in reinforcing the oppression of blacks. We are a people who were kidnapped, then stripped of our culture and humanity, and are now forced to make choices in circumstances we did not choose for ourselves. Having the 'lesser of two evils' argument about the political party system shoved down my throat by white moderates is infuriating and irrelevant, because quite frankly, I don't like evil—and neither candidate will free my people."
[CN: Racism] Relatedly, Imani Gandy writes "You're White and Marched With Dr. King: So What?" in which she correctly observes: "All it tells me is that Bernie Sanders was an adult sentient white liberal in the 1960s who had the time, money, and wherewithal to do the right thing—to join one of the many civil rights marches during that time period, along with scores of other adult sentient white liberals, and Black people who were literally fighting for their own lives." That's what Sanders should have been doing. It doesn't earn him cookies, and it sure as hell isn't a defense against failures on race now.
[CN: Abduction; sexual assault] Speaking of doing the right thing: Northern Virginia construction worker Kevin Huntington was doing roadwork along I-95 when he noticed a car careening toward the work zone and then saw an 18-year-old woman "jump out of the car; she came running up to us and you could tell she was pretty distraught and terrified. ...I asked the [woman] if she was okay and she said no, there was a man trying to kill her; I told her just stay behind me and I wouldn't let anything happen to her." And that's what he did: He called 911 and stood in between the teenager and the male driver of the car, who turned out to have kidnapped, strangled, and sexually assaulted her. Huntington almost certainly saved her life, because he believed her.
[CN: Class warfare] This sort of sounds like good news, but... "After more than a year of organized action, fast food workers in New York are about to get what they have been demanding: a $15 minimum wage. The Fast Food Wage Board appointed by New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday that they are recommending a new $15 an hour minimum wage for fast food workers employed by chains with 30 or more stores nationwide. Those working in New York City will see their wages increase to $15 an hour by December 2018, whereas those working in the rest of the state will see their wages increase at a slower pace and will reach $15 by July 2021." So, it will be more than three years before they see a $15 minimum wage. Terrific.
[CN: Homophobia] Rachel Maddow had Rick Santorum on her show last night, and he was obviously terrific: "Maddow [asked] Santorum about his infamous 'man on dog' remarks on homosexuality back in 2003 and managed to get a surprising admission from the career homophobe. 'It was a flippant comment that should not have come out of my mouth but the substance of what I said, which is what I've referred to, I stand by that. I wish I had not said it in the flippant term that I did and I know people were offended and wish I hadn't said it.' In other words, Santorum totally still thinks your gay marriage will lead to people f–king their pets. But he's sorry he was flippant about the whole thing." This fucking guy.
MORE PLUTO NEWS! (I am sorry if you are getting tired of Pluto news, but I will literally never be tired of Pluto news, lol.) "The latest images from the New Horizons spacecraft have revealed another range of ice mountains on Pluto. The frozen peaks were found on the lower-left edge of the dwarf world's 'heart' and are 1-1.5km-high. They sit between a patch of icy, flat terrain, called Sputnik Planum, which scientists believe is less than 100 million years old, and a dark area dating to billions of years ago. ...The newly spotted mountains are about 110km away from another range, which is now known as Norgay Montes, which appeared in some of the first images returned from last week's fly-by. Those peaks are much more lofty: standing at about 3.3km-high, they rival the Rocky Mountains in size."
[CN: Misogyny; male privilege] Welp: "Twitter threw a summer soiree to rival all soirees Tuesday. The microblogging site hosted a college-frat-party themed happy hour for its San Francisco employees complete with beer pong, a keg, those iconic red Solo cups synonymous with underage drinking, and a proud banner that read 'TWΦTTΣR ΓRΛT HΘVSΣ.' ...Twitter has since apologized for the party as spokesman Jim Prosser told Fusion, 'This social event organized by one team was in poor taste at best, and not reflective of the culture we are building here at Twitter. We've had discussions internally with the organizing team, and they recognize that this theme was ill-chosen.'" Fuck you.
Did you know that Queen guitarist Brian May is also an astrophysicist? He will never stop rocking you. Never!
Would you like to hear Kelly Clarkson do a great cover of 'N Sync's "Bye Bye Bye"? Well, here ya go!
OMG LOLOLOLOL: "Bob Cross of Lake Mary said he normally gets calls from his neighbors to catch nuisance critters. On Saturday, however, he said he got quite the unusual call from the lady next door. 'There was big bear in her backyard,' said Art Fischer, a resident. 'That's a big bear!' Fischer said. 'That's a huge bear.' When Cross rounded the corner, he knew he was going to leave this animal alone. As he got closer, he snapped pictures. In them, the bear is clearly having dinner with a 20 pound bag of dog food it had dragged from a nearby garage. The bear brought to the shade of a tree. After several minutes of watching from a safe distance, Cross said he couldn't keep the camera still because he started laughing. The bear, like a person who has eaten too much, was tossing and turning. '[It] repositioned three or four times and stretched out,' Fischer said. 'It just laid there.' Eventually, the animal dozed off." I love that the headline of this article is: "Bear snags 20 pounds of dog food, enters food coma on man's lawn."
And finally! An entire village in India came together to help rescue a baby elephant who'd fallen into a well. Yayayayayay! Joyblub.
Rick Santorum: Terrible Forever
[Content Note: Heterocentrism; homophobia; Christian Supremacy.]
Former Senator, current sweatervest aficionado, and 1/16th of the Republican Nightmare Presidential Contingent Rick Santorum is a world-renowned homophobic and Christian Supremacist shitlord, and here is another perfect example of how he developed his sterling reputation for being the fucking worst:
I know in the schools in Massachusetts, in the grade school, they teach these books and plays that say, 'Suzy has two moms.' It's okay to put a book that says, 'Suzy has two moms,' but you can't put a book in there about moms and dads and marriage and tell people how important it is to be married before you have children. Then you're moralizing. It's okay to say, 'Suzy has two moms,' or 'Johnny has two dads,' but you can't say marriage is an important part of having a stable and healthy economy…GOOD GRIEF THIS GUY.
First of all, there are no books about anything being "an important part of having a stable and healthy economy" in grade school, sir. What are you even talking about?
Secondly, these two things are not like the other: "Suzy has two moms" is a fact. A fact that communicates to children who might only be aware of different-sex parents that same-sex parents exist, and that communicates to children who have same-sex parents that their families are visible and valued. On the other hand, "Suzy has a mom and a dad who got married before Suzy was born and that is important because Jesus" is not a fact. It is a moral position.
So, yes, Rick Santorum: Facts are not moralizing. And moralizing is moralizing. Funny how that works.
Primarily Speaking
So joke's on you!
Poor Rick Santorum. His presidential campaign had so much promise. (It never had any promise.) But his latest campaign event at a diner in Hamlin, Iowa, had only one person show up! And she is the chair of the county's Republican Party! Sad trombone. Although it was less sad by the time his meal showed up: By that time, three more people had arrived, bringing the grand total to four. Which Santorum called a success, because he is a dipshit. Was he wearing his sweater vest? I bet he wasn't wearing his sweater vest. ALWAYS WEAR THE SWEATER VEST, SANTORUM!
Corporate power-failure Carly Fiorina is not running for vice-president! No kidding. She's running to fill the crucial "continually say Hillary Clinton has zero accomplishments and deflect charges of sexism by pointing out you're both women" slot.
(Protip to the author of that article: Actually, lots of people say that lots of the male candidates are only running for vice-president. There is certainly sexism directed at Fiorina, but this isn't a particularly good example. It's also one of the rare cases where "it happens to men, too" is actually relevant, because the only argument for how it's sexist to suggest Fiorina's best hope might be the veep slot, based on her actual qualifications, is if she's the only one subjected to those suggestions. Which she isn't.)
(It's also weirdly a recognition that she is a serious candidate. Because businesspeople with résumés similarly devoid of political experience, like, say, Donald Trump, are generally presumed to be vanity candidates who wouldn't even consider, or be seriously considered for, the veep slot.)
(Anyway.)
There's been lots of stuff in the news about Hillary Clinton's poll numbers, and naturally if they dip even a little fully 17 months before the election, despite three other credible Democratic candidates entering the race, it's evidence that her candidacy is DOOMED!!! Let me just tell you something about poll numbers a year before the Democratic convention and eight months before the first primary: They mean virtually nothing. Right now, the poll results reflect that Clinton is a popular politician who has far better name recognition than Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley and Lincoln Chafee. And that's about it. Which is fine! WE ARE SO FAR AWAY FROM ANYTHING HAPPENING OMG WHY DO WE NOT HAVE LIMITED ELECTIONS LIKE BRITAIN FIVE WEEKS OF CAMPAIGNING SOUNDS SO MUCH BETTER THAN A YEAR AND A HALF HELLLLLLLLP MEEEEEEEEEE.
Last week, Jamelle Bouie had a good piece at Slate about polling, and about how one of the reasons Clinton polls really high is because lots of people really like her. "Last year, Hillary Clinton was the most admired woman in the United States, an honor she also claimed in 2013. And in 2012. And in 2011. In fact, Hillary has been America's most admired woman for 18 of the 21 years she's been on the national stage, from her eight years as first lady through her Senate tenure, her first presidential campaign, and her time in the Obama administration."
Point is: The polling at this stage is about name recognition and likeability more than ability to govern. Even though, especially in Clinton's case, ability to govern can be inextricably tied to likeability.
Which is one reason I don't do a lot of reporting on polls in my primary coverage. Or even my general election coverage, until very close to the election, which is when polls finally start to matter.
Meanwhile, I'm sure all eleventy-seven of the other Republican candidates are up to all kinds of terrific things (they're really not; they are all so boring and so predictable and there is literally nothing newsworthy enough to share that can't be summarized as "STILL TERRIBLE!"), and today's WORST CLOWN IN THE CLOWN CAR AWARD goes to Professor of Bible Bigotry Mike Huckabee for being a hideous waking nightmare whose mouth is a putrid font of despicable filth.
Congratulations, Governor! Another golden garbage award for the shitty mantle in whatever gateway from the netherworld you call home.
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
Primarily Speaking
The Democrats now have their third candidate—which is only 33% the number of Republican candidates—as former governor of Maryland Martin O'Malley officially announced his candidacy this weekend. And he did it with quite a flourish! He side-swiped Hillary Clinton using the old dynasty chestnut [CN: video may autoplay at link], embedding it in an ostensible populist message—"Recently, the CEO of Goldman Sachs let his employees know that he'd be just fine with either Bush or Clinton. Well, I've got news for the bullies of Wall Street—the presidency is not a crown to be passed back and forth by you between two royal families."—and went after Bernie Sanders by answering why progressive voters should pick him over Sanders with this: "Because I have a track record of actually getting things done, not just talking about things."
Wowwwwwwee. O'Malley's assertion that Sanders hasn't done anything and is just a lot of talk is complete bullshit. Here is Senator Sanders highly accomplished progressive record. The fact that Sanders is such a credible progressive legislator is exactly why I want and expect more from him.
I am keenly aware that O'Malley is playing on the whole "executives (governors) are doers and legislators (senators) are talkers" garbage that Republican presidential candidates seem to think is super genius (but isn't), but considering that our last two presidents have been a governor (Bush) and a senator (Obama), and I'm guessing O'Malley has an opinion on which one was better, maybe he could just throw that whole line of nonsense into the bin where it belongs.
And, honestly, if O'Malley can't differentiate himself any better than "vote for me because Hillary Clinton is entitled and Bernie Sanders is all talk," he might as well not bother wasting his donors' money.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, let's see what all the Official Candidates in the Bozo Brigade are up to today!
Senator Rand Paul says that detractors who don't support his fight against government surveillance "secretly want there to be an attack on the United States so they can blame it on me." That sounds reasonable.
Senator Marco Rubio might not be praying for a terror attack just to make Rand Paul look bad, but he's definitely willing to preemptively blame Paul as passive-aggressively as possible: "The national security laws and programs implemented after the 9/11 terrorist attacks have been the cornerstone of our country's protection since that infamous day. ...Our country is now poised to be less safe and Americans at greater risk from growing terrorist threats." That sounds reasonable.
Senator Lindsey Graham is the toughest toughy who ever toughed or something: "I want to be president to defeat the enemies trying to kill us, not just penalize them or criticize them or contain them, but defeat them." That sounds reasonable.
Senator Ted Cruz makes funny ha-ha joke about how Hillary Clinton is really to blame for DeflateGate, then does an unfathomably terrible impression of JFK, before declaring that JFK would have been a Republican WHUT WHUT WHUT. That all sounds very reasonable.
Former Senator Rick Santorum says that if the US Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage, he'll fight the decision: "Of course I'd fight it. Roe vs. Wade was decided 30 some years ago, and I continue to fight that, because I think the court got it wrong." He seems nice and that sounds reasonable.
Former New York Governor George "Who?" Pataki also blames Rand Paul and his Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Pseudobuster for making America less safe: "This is probably the most dangerous time for Americans here since September 11th, and to now have this void where the NSA cannot track lone wolves, they cannot use roving wiretaps against people they understand, probably are looking to engage in terrorist acts is completely wrong. It's dangerous and I fear for our safety." That certainly sounds just as reasonable as when Marco Rubio said it.
Professor of Bible Bigotry Mike Huckabee has built his campaign strategy around exploiting feelings of victimhood among conservative Christians, and, as such, continues to say shit like: "I think it's fair to say that Christian convictions are under attack as never before, not just in our lifetime, but never before in the history of this great republic." That sounds reasonable.
Dr. Ben Carson says about his chances for winning the Republican primary and then the general election: "I certainly believe that that is a possibility." That sounds reasonable.
[CN: Racism] Corporate power-failure Carly Fiorina said these actual words out loud: "I have been doing business in China for decades, and I will tell you that, yeah, the Chinese can take a test, but what they can't do is innovate. They are not terribly imaginative. They're not entrepreneurial; they don't innovate—that is why they are stealing our intellectual property." That sounds like a totally reasonable thing that a decent person would definitely say.
In case I wasn't laying it on think enough, that was sarcasm. None of this is reasonable. All of it is terrible. The Republican primary is like a reality television show where rich people compete to see who can be the ABSOLUTE FUCKING WORST.
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
Primarily Speaking
[Content Note: Racism.]
Welp, it's official! Former New York Governor George "Who?" Pataki has jumped into the clown car and is seeking the Republican nomination for the US presidency.
Are you so excited?! I bet you are! I KNOW I AM! If you are SO EXCITED that you can barely contain your OVERFLOWING ENTHUSIASM, please check this box: □
Former Senator Rick Santorum also joined the Bozo Brigade this week, and he started his campaign with a smash: Appealing [sic] to the middle class with "winsome" rhetoric like "I know what it's like to be an underdog" (no shit, loser) and mocking Hillary Clinton on his campaign website's error page. Well, in good news, at least his campaign website has a picture of one real presidential candidate on it now.
Speaking of Hillary Clinton, corporate power-failure Carly Fiorina can't stop speaking of Hillary Clinton! And following her around! And reporters are starting to question her about it, and she's not very happy about that! "I planned to be here weeks and weeks ago!" Okay, player!
Also speaking of Hillary Clinton, Senator Marco Rubio is going with the whole "she's an entitled bitch" thing, right on his campaign website, so that's pretty cool. I like how it's titled, "This Is What You Need to Tell Your Friends about Hillary Clinton." Haha, hey conservatives, have you heard (fewer than one biebillion times) that Hillary's a haughty monster?! BREAKING NOOZ! Pass it on!
That is only FOUR of the official GOP candidates, and I am already exhausted! Because these people are exhausting! Let's see what the other FIVE (!!!) official GOP candidates are up to!
Senator Ted Cruz: Calling for federal relief for Texas, after voting against federal aid after Hurricane Sandy. Sounds about right.
Professor of Bible Bigotry Mike Huckabee: Conflating Native Americans with jihadists. Sounds about right.
Senator Lindsey Graham: Explaining that he knows Iranian officials involved in the international nuclear talks are lying because "Everything I learned about Iranians I learned working in the pool room. I met a lot of liars, and I know the Iranians are lying." Sounds about right.
Dr. Ben Carson: Talking utter rubbish about Benghazi. Sounds about right.
Senator Rand Paul: Appropriating #BlackLivesMatter in Chicago to talk about crime being a spiritual problem FOR REAL OMG. Sounds about right.
And that's all the clowns currently in the clown car! As for the clowns running alongside the clown car...
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker defends mandatory ultrasounds. Sounds about right.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal throws some shade at Rand Paul and says he's "unsuited to be Commander-in-Chief" because this was going to be the polite primary! Sounds about right.
And I'm sure former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is up to some contemptible nonsense, but WHO EVEN CARES THERE ARE SO MANY OF THESE CANDIDATES AND THEY ARE ALL THE SAME THEY ARE ALL TERRIBLE OMG IS THIS A NIGHTMARE WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING.
In other news: The chief executive of a super PAC formed in support of former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley says, with all the subtlety of a giant sledgehammer with MISOGYNY carved into it, "This is not your grandmother's super PAC."
Wake me November 9, 2016.
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
Nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives have been indicted for racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracies, and other offenses "in connection with the defendants' participation in a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves through the corruption of international soccer. ...The defendants charged in the indictment include high-ranking officials of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the organization responsible for the regulation and promotion of soccer worldwide, as well as leading officials of other soccer governing bodies that operate under the FIFA umbrella. Jeffrey Webb and Jack Warner—the current and former presidents of CONCACAF, the continental confederation under FIFA headquartered in the United States—are among the soccer officials charged with racketeering and bribery offenses. The defendants also include U.S. and South American sports marketing executives who are alleged to have systematically paid and agreed to pay well over $150 million in bribes and kickbacks to obtain lucrative media and marketing rights to international soccer tournaments." Welp.
[Content Note: Extreme weather; death; displacement] The bad weather continues in parts of Texas and Oklahoma, and the National Weather Service has issued a new flash flood warning for Houston while, outside Dallas, people were being evacuated due to the threat of a dam likely to burst. If you've been wondering if some of this flooding has anything to do with a lack of investment in infrastructure, unfortunately it does.
[CN: War on agency; medical malfeasance] This is an incredible piece by Imani Gandy, RH Reality Check's Senior Legal Analyst and all-around terrific person, examining the case of Dr. Byron Calhoun, who lied to a patient about finding a 13-week old fetal skull in her uterus, and how anti-choice doctors manipulate patients in order to bring anti-abortion lawsuits.
[CN: Poverty; class warfare; victim-blaming] Such important research to counter the garbage bootstraps narrative: "What's most striking—and in some circles, controversial—about their work is...their assertion that scarcity affects anyone in its grip. Their argument: qualities often considered part of someone's basic character—impulsive behavior, poor performance in school, poor financial decisions—may in fact be the products of a pervasive feeling of scarcity. And when that feeling is constant, as it is for people mired in poverty, it captures and compromises the mind. This is one of scarcity's most insidious effects, they argue: creating mindsets that rarely consider long-term best interests. 'To put it bluntly,' says Mullainathan, 'if I made you poor tomorrow, you'd probably start behaving in many of the same ways we associate with poor people.' ...Typically, he explains, when the poor remain stuck in the grip of poverty, policymakers tend to ask what's wrong with them, pointing to a lack of personal motivation or ability. Rarely, he continues, do we as policymakers ask, 'What is it about this situation that is enabling this failure?'"
[CN: Racism; class warfare] Another example of using municipal violations to police and exploit a community: "Among the things that will be 'closely monitored' through the spring and summer, according to a newsletter that recently went out to residents: Pants worn too low or grass grown too high. Children riding bikes without helmets. Barbecue pits or toys in front yards. Basketball hoops in the streets. There's no loitering—described in city code as 'the concept of spending time idly' or 'the colloquial expression hanging around.' And, despite a citywide 20 mph speed limit, there's no playing or walking in the street."
[CN: Police brutality; racism] Six months before the US Justice Department made a deal with Cleveland Police to improve their abusive policing, a similar deal was made with Albuquerque: "But more than six months after Albuquerque and the DoJ announced they had reached a deal, and 13 months after the federal agency issued their damning report, activists caution that reforms have not been finalised and a fundamental shift in the police department's culture remains a long way off."
I hope you're sitting down, because here is some exciting presidential primary news: Rick Santorum has announced that he's going to announce that he's running for president again!
In other presidential primary news, Bernie Sanders wants guaranteed vacation time for every US worker. Good idea!
Have y'all been watching the new Netflix series Grace and Frankie, starring Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda? If not, you should check it out! And then celebrate that it's already been given a second season. Woohoo!
And finally! Nico the adopted shelter dog had no training in rescue, but knew exactly what to do when he heard two people caught in a riptide yelling for help. GOOD DOG!
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: Terrorism; death penalty] After a month-long trial, a jury "of seven women and five men began deliberations Tuesday on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's role in the 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon. Tsarnaev, 21, faces 30 criminal counts covering the twin blasts at the race's finish line, which killed three and injured 260, plus the killing of an MIT police officer three days later, a carjacking, and a shootout in suburban Watertown, Massachusetts, where Tsarnaev's older brother and alleged co-conspirator died. Of those counts, 17 carry the death penalty. If Tsarnaev is found guilty of any of them, the trial will move to a second phase to decide whether he should be executed. A conviction on at least some counts is all but assured because Tsarnaev's defense team acknowledged on the first day of the trial that he was responsible. Their strategy is to save him from the death penalty by persuading the jury that he was manipulated by his radicalized Muslim brother, Tamerlan, 26." I hope he does not get the death penalty, because I do not support the death penalty on principle, even leaving aside the many issues the US is having with executing prisoners without torturing them to death.
[CN: Rape culture] The University of Virginia chapter of Phi Kappa Psi, which was identified as the fraternity at which an alleged gang rape featured in Rolling Stone's roundly-criticized article, is now suing Rolling Stone: "In a statement, UVA's chapter of Phi Kappa Psi said they would 'pursue all available legal action against the magazine'. The chapter said its members were ostracised and the fraternity house was vandalised as a result of the article, which was read by millions."
In US jobs news: "US job openings surged to a 14-year high in February, a sign that the labor market remains on a solid footing despite a sharp slowdown in job growth last month. Job openings, a measure of labor demand, increased 168,000 to a seasonally adjusted 5.1 million, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey on Tuesday. That was the highest level since January 2001." That sounds great, except: What kind of jobs are they? Are they full-time jobs with benefits and a livable wage?
[CN: Homophobia] Grody Rand Paul has officially announced he's running for president.
[CN: Environmental damage] Oh fuck: "Radiation from Japan's 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster has for the first time been detected along a North American shoreline, though at levels too low to pose a significant threat to human or marine life, scientists said. Trace amounts of Cesium-134 and Cesium-137 were detected in samples collected on 19 February off the coast of Ucluelet, a small town on Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia, said Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist Ken Buesseler. 'Radioactivity can be dangerous, and we should be carefully monitoring the oceans after what is certainly the largest accidental release of radioactive contaminants to the oceans in history,' Buesseler said in a statement." I want to underline that the levels of radiation are too low to be a significant threat, but it's not good news all the same, since contaminated water has been leaking for a year.
[CN: Sexual violence; anti-choicery; Christian Supremacy] Fucking hell: "The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing the Obama administration for documents it says will show religious organizations are restricting access to abortions for unaccompanied immigrant children. The civil rights groups is concerned that unaccompanied immigrant teenagers who have been raped are being denied access to emergency contraception and abortion because of the religious beliefs of groups providing care. In particular, the government contracts with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to care for unaccompanied immigrant children." Why the fuck is the USCCB even getting these contracts? Dammit.
[CN: Incitement of violence] Rick Santorum, the worst of the worst, says that US rightwingers "must 'begin to push back and rise up' against left-wing officials who are bent on 'imposing their will on people of faith.'" Good grief. Again, this is the dude who wants Christian Bibles in schools. Projection much, asshole?
[CN: Islamophobia] Jack Jenkins at Think Progress: "Has Bill Maher Finally Gone Too Far?" That ship sailed about a thousand years ago.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS: "A new documentary on the life and times of legendary Jamaican musician and supermodel Grace Jones has been approved by BBC... According to a press releases, the documentary will be, 'a cinematic journey into the private and public worlds of Grace Jones, mixing intimate personal footage with unique staged musical sequences.'"
And finally: OMG THIS KITTEN LOLOLOLOL AWWWWWWWWW!
This F#@king Guy
[Content Note: Homophobia; homophobic slur; Christian Supremacy.]
Yes, yes you are. The grossest and the worst.
Republican presidential wannabe and human nightmare Rick Santorum, on the endless quest to out-gross himself, defended Indiana's "religious freedom" law over the weekend, because of course he did:
Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum invoked on Sunday the "God Hates Fags" slogans on signs from the virulently anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church to defend the right of businesses to deny services in public accommodations.First of all, being asked to print materials that are personally demeaning to you is not parallel to, say, baking a cake for a wedding that has literally zero effect on your life. That is a deeply mendacious false equivalency.
"If you're a print shop, and you are a gay man, should you forced to print 'God Hates Fags' for the Westboro Baptist Church because they hold those signs up," Santorum said. "And this is really the case here: Should the government force you to do that? And that's what these cases are all about. Because this is about the government coming in and saying, 'No we're going to make you do this.' And this is where I think we just need some space to say, 'Let's have some tolerance be a two-way street.'"
Secondly: LOL FOREVERRRRR at this fucking guy yammering on about tolerance being a "two-way street," when just last month he was advocating for teaching the Christian Bible in public schools.
Funny how Santorum's "two-way street" looks a hell of a lot more like a one-way street traveled exclusively by steamrollers.
One of the things about Christian privilege—like any other kind of privilege—is that the people who have it take it so deeply for granted that they don't even really see how vast and pervasive their privilege really is.
Non-Christians in the United States must navigate Christian culture all the time, and are frequently coerced into participating in or complying with Christian practices and traditions. Sometimes that conflicts with our own beliefs. If the laws in this country actually did create an actual, equal, real two-way street, Christians who enjoy an enormous amount of privilege right now at the expense of non-Christians would be very unhappy indeed to see what that really looks like for them.
There are a whole lot of Christians in this country who love playing martyrs and diligently ignoring the enormous privilege they already enjoy, and thus imagine it's reasonable to expect that they should never, ever, have to do anything at all that makes them the tiniest bit uncomfortable and to demand as much under the guise of "religious freedom."
If this is a game they really want to play, they're going to be very unhappy with the end results.
Quote of the Day
[Content Note: Christian Supremacy.]
"The reason Bibles are no longer in the public schools is because we let them take them out. You say, 'Well, we can't get them back in?' Yes we can! Yes we can!"—Republican presidential wannabe Rick Santorum, at The Awakening conference, hosted by the right-wing Liberty Counsel, over the weekend.
The 2016 presidential primary hasn't even started in earnest yet, and it's already super terrific.
Quote of the Day
[Content Note: Class warfare.]
I know it's early for a Quote of the Day, but it's not going to get any better than this...
"Do you think wealthy people care whether their president cares about them? No. Who cares? Lower or middle income folks who are struggling. And guess what, [Mitt Romney] only got [about] 19 percent of that vote. We better have a party and a movement that addresses and cares about the people who are losing hope and feeling like America doesn't work for them anymore."—Rick Santorum (!!!!!) at the South Carolina Tea Party Coalition Convention yesterday.
LOLOLOLOL brilliant.
First of all, that's amazing because Rick Santorum actually imagines that he's going to be a populist Republican presidential candidate and win. Good luck with that!
Secondly, that's amazing because remember how the Republican Party was going to have a shorter primary season in which the candidates were nice to each other, because they decided that all the sniping at one another was the reason they haven't won the last two elections? Whooooooooooops!
It is January of 2015, neither of these men have officially announced their candidacies, and one is already going after the other in pursuit of a presidency for which the election is still almost fully two years away.
In other words: Everything is perfect with the Republican Party. A+.
Santorum 4 Prez: Part Wev in an Ongoing Series
Former Republican Senator and former presidential candidate and current yuckmonster Rick Santorum has been threatening for months to run for president again in 2016, and, although he has yet to file the official paperwork, he's basically announced that he's definitely totally for sure absolutely running—and this time it's gonna be different. Except for one crucial detail:
His iconic sweater vests will likely make a return appearance.Thank Jesus Jones!
Gross
No one is more enthusiastic about Rick Santorum running for president than Rick Santorum.
Rick Santorum, former Republican senator and presidential contender, last seen making terrible movies to stop the devil's scourge, is working on putting together another presidential bid for 2016:
Santorum said in a new interview that he's building a network of supporters and donors in case he wants to make a second run for the White House.Ha ha terrific.
"I'm doing everything right now as if I'm running," he told RealClearPolitics. "So we're moving forward and trying to line up supporters — both grassroots and donors. We're talking to folks who might be interested after the [midterm] election to come and help the team, so we're starting to put the pieces together, but we're not going to make the final decision until 2015."
...Asked about potentially facing Romney again in 2016, Santorum simply said, "The more the merrier."
I can't wait for more of this magic during the next round of debates, even if Reince Priebus is trying to KILL THE MAGIC, like some kind of magic-killing monster.
"Hahaha you are just delightful!" "Hahaha and you are A TREAT!"
Giant flags for everyone!
Mike Huckabee: Forever Terrible
[Content Note: Homophobia; Christian Supremacy.]
Former Arkansas governor, failed presidential candidate, and all-around garbage-making machine Mike Huckabee wants to run for president again in 2016. And, if his recent public appearances are any indication, he's fixing to run on a platform of NOBODY HATES THE GAYS AND ABORTION LADIES MORE THAN I DO. (ALSO BROWN PEOPLE!)
Yesterday, his focus was hating on same-sex couples, because it was the one-year anniversary of a Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. Huckabee was the final speaker at a protest at the Capitol which brought out fully DOZENS of passionate straight people whose lives are definitely being totes destroyed by same-sex marriage.
"Judicial supremacy is a curse upon this great Republic," he told the crowd at the rally, organized in part by the National Organization for Marriage, calling the Supreme Court rulings the "greatest heresy of our time."Sooooo he's protesting "judicial supremacy" at the Supreme Court. Okay. Next stop: Protesting taco supremacy at Taco Bell, home of the Taco Supreme.
He went on to argue that the president and Congress were not required to redefine what he deemed natural laws — including marriage — no matter what rulings "nine people in robes" might hand down from the bench.This is laughable. It is wrong in every conceivable way. And while Huckabee yammers on like some kind of martyr about the "supremacy" of meting out the tiniest bit of equality for a marginalized population, he meanwhile advocates actual, real, practical Christian Supremacy.
"The government doesn't give us our rights," he said. "The government only has the responsibility to protect the rights God gave us."
And then he has the gall to flash his Gomer Pyle grin and say he's all about love. Fuck off, dominionist.
FYI: Rick Santorum was also there, talking a bunch of contemptible rubbish as usual, but I've already given enough time to these fuckos.
Try to Contain Your Enthusiasm
Because it is the year of our lord Jesus Jones two thousand and fourteen, nine months before a midterm election and fully one million months before the next presidential election, we definitely need to talk about how Rick Santorum is totally running for president.
"Last time, we were having trouble getting our phone calls returned at this point," said John Brabender, Santorum's longtime political guru. "Now other people are calling that are credible consultants saying, 'Hey, is there space for me on the campaign somewhere?' We did not have that interest last time."LOL OH NOES!
Those close to Santorum also point to Patriot Voices, a political advocacy organization he created after his exit from the 2012 primaries, as a kind of campaign-in-waiting. The group, according to an adviser, has roughly 350 chapters of volunteers. And as CEO of the Dallas-based EchoLight Studios, a film company, Santorum has also spent a lot of time in Texas—which, as one adviser knowingly put it, is the "ATM of GOP politics."
Of course, organization will take Santorum only so far. It's with his messaging that the avowed foe of abortion rights and same-sex marriage has traditionally run into trouble. Santorum briefly defined himself as a working-class Republican candidate after his 2012 second-place finish in Iowa (a state where he was later declared the victor). But in the ensuing weeks, questions over his conservative views dogged him.
Santorum, who is Catholic, prides himself on not dodging questions about his cultural beliefs, and his advisers say he won't avoid them in a future campaign, even to the detriment of his overall cause. "I think the answer is ... [to be] more proactive talking about the other things," Brabender said.
But many Republicans remain convinced that no matter how much enthusiasm the Pennsylvanian garners among primary voters, a Santorum nomination would yield a defeat in November 2016 unlike any the party has seen since Barry Goldwater's in 1964. They caution that electability should weigh heavily on Republican primary voters, who could be stuck with at least four years of Hillary Clinton if the GOP doesn't nominate the right candidate.
It's truly inconceivable to me that there are people who would rather have Rick Santorum as their president than Hillary Clinton. I would sooner vote for a Hot Pocket filled with diseased and unsound animals than Rick Santorum.
Anyway.
Good luck to Rick Santorum! I'm sure he's going to do great, especially by not talking about his
Without the elaborate, intense, alarmist, hyberbolic
Quote of the Day
"I think Governor Huckabee would probably have phrased it differently. Mike speaks off the cuff, as some of us are known to do, and probably would have chose different words to communicate that."—Rick Santorum, defending Mike Huckabee's asinine comments yesterday about conservatives' "war for women."
"Speaking off the cuff" is the new "misspoke." Or whatever variation: "He's unfiltered." "He's unrehearsed." "He's a maverick." Whatever.
Yeah, that's kind of the problem. And we all know that's the problem. That your uncensored thoughts about women are reprehensible garbage.
I don't even know why they bother making excuses for each other. "He got a gleep glorp in his processing center." Sure. Who cares. The point is that your policies are indecent and you're all terrible.
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today!
It's been one year since same-sex marriage became legal in Washington state, and now 1 out of 6 new marriages are between same-sex couples. In other news, society has not crumbled!
[Content Note: Racism; appropriation] Rick Santorum is the worst, so naturally he appeared on The O'Reilly Factor last night to "memorialize the passing of South African leader and global visionary Nelson Mandela by equating Obamacare with apartheid." Because of course he did.
[CN: Rape culture] Jameis Winston, the leading candidate to win the Heisman Trophy, will not be charged with sexual assault after rape allegations one year ago. Tallahassee state prosecutor Willie Meggs stressed that the decision was not driven "by any Heisman demands or football schedule," in case you were wondering whether Winston being cleared days before Heisman ballots are due was kinda fishy. Nope—just a big coincidence!
[CN: Racism; class warfare] The Federal Housing Finance Agency has threatened to take legal action against and/or deny credit to communities that try to use eminent domain to modify mortgages for underwater homeowners whose communities aren't experiencing the housing recovery beginning in other places. And, "because communities of color were especially targeted for predatory loans during the subprime boom," the FHFA is siding with the very predatory lenders who exploited these communities in the first place.
President Obama says he thinks both Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would be "outstanding" presidents. Such a shocker! Why the hell would the media even ask the least confrontational president in US history to publicly pick sides? LOL. Never gonna happen. What a waste of air.
[CN: Eating; class warfare] The cost of eating fresh, unprocessed foods is about $2,000 more annually for an average family in a wealthy nation. Remember that next time some sanctimonious shit is going on about how healthful eating isn't a privilege and anyone can do it blah blah fart.
Photographer Shannon Johnstone saves the lives of unwanted dogs with her camera. Blub.
Rick Santorum: Controlling Women's Reproduction Is My First Amendment Right! So Phhhbbbbbt!
[Content Note: War on agency; Christian supremacy.]
Yes, yes you are. The grossest and the worst.
Former Republican presidential candidate and constant despicable dipshit Rick Santorum is real indignant about the Affordable Care Act requirement that mandates contraceptive coverage, vociferously and typically mendaciously defending the Supreme Court's decision last week to hear arguments that Christian-owned Hobby Lobby had its rights violated by the requirement to cover contraception in its employee helathcare benefits:
[Santorum] on Sunday insisted that President Barack Obama was imposing his beliefs on corporations and preventing them from exercising their "right" to deny women contraception coverage in health care plans.Let us all take a moment to appreciate the hilaritragic irony of Santorum's argument: Telling a company that they cannot pick and choose what healthcare access to offer but instead must provide comprehensive healthcare to their employees, that those employees might use the coverage in whatever way they see fit, according to their own personal beliefs, is "imposing values," but denying coverage to women and other people who might have a basic healthcare need for contraception is somehow not "imposing values." Neat!
...In a Sunday interview on CNN, former Gov. Howard Dean (D-VT) pointed out that he viewed the Vietnam War as "immoral" but had continued to pay his taxes throughout the conflict.
"This is one country, we all have to live by a set of things that are passed in Washington and are agreed to by the court," Dean said.
But Santorum asserted that employees knew that Hobby Lobby's owners were "very clear about their religious content."
"I mean, the idea that the First Amendment stops after you walk out of church, that it doesn't have anything to do with how you live the rest of your life, I don't know very many people of faith that believes that their religion ends with just worship," Santorum explained. "It ends in how you practice and live that faith."
"And President Obama is saying, 'No, once you step outside that church, I get to impose my values on you, your religious values don't matter anymore, it's my values that I can impose on you,'" the Pennsylvania Republican continued. "I don't think that's what the First Amendment stands for. And I don't think that's what the court will say."
Dean, however, argued that the First Amendment allowed the "free exercise" of religion but did not allow companies to make health care decisions for others.
"It can't enable you to force your religious views on other people," he said.
See, here's the thing: No one is forcing anyone at Hobby Lobby to use contraception, if use of contraception is not compatible with their religious beliefs. But Hobby Lobby is seeing to deny contraceptive access to people whose beliefs do not restrict their use of contraception.
Someone is indeed imposing their values on others, but it ain't President Obama.
Hobby Lobby doesn't—and shouldn't—have any control over how their employees spend their paychecks. And they shouldn't have any control over how their employees use their comprehensive healthcare coverage, either.
Employees are not companies' property. A lot of companies seem to have forgotten that.
Santorum vs. The Devil
Hey, remember how we all watched the trailer for Rick Santorum's terrific-looking Christmas movie, The Christmas Candle, and decided we will all definitely see it because it looks so great? Well, in case you were having any doubts that we all FOR SURE made the right, nay, the PERFECT decision, here is Rick "Lights, Camera, Jesus!" Santorum himself to close the deal:
Santorum, a devout Catholic, was speaking on the Christian-oriented Trinity Broadcasting Network about the film, and said: "This is a tough business, this is something that we're stepping out ... and the devil, for a long, long time, has had this, these screens, for his playground. And he isn't going to give it up easily."If you don't buy a ticket to The Christmas Candle, THE DEVIL WINS. Do you understand?! If you don't spend your money to support The Christmas Candle, Rick Santorum's Movie Emporium will not be able to keep making Christian films for white conservatives and THE DEVIL will keep making movies like Paul Blart: Mall Cop. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT? IS IT?!
You know what to do, people.
