Good morning, Neptune.

UPDATE BELOW

GOOD MORNING, NEPTUNE.  

Outside my window

THE "ALPS" OF M.I.T.

IT'S GETTING NASTY OUT THERE!

THIS JUST IN: NEIGHBORS HAVING FUN WITH NEPTUNE:
 

Anti-Women, Anti-Science, Anti-Gay, Pro-Firing Squad: Your Modern GOP At Work

GOP lawmaker calls women “a lesser cut of meat”



A Republican state senator in South Carolina called women “a lesser cut of meat” and suggested that they belonged barefoot and pregnant, the libertarian-leaning blog FITS News reports. 

Chauvinist in any context, Corbin’s remarks occurred during a legislative dinner this week to discuss domestic violence legislation. Sources present at the meeting told FITS that Corbin directed his comments at fellow GOP state senator Katrina Shealy, the sole woman in the 46-member chamber. 

 “I see it only took me two years to get you wearing shoes,” Corbin told Shealy, who won election in 2012. Corbin, the site explains, is said to have previously cracked that women should be “at home baking cookies” or “barefoot and pregnant,” not serving in the state legislature. 

 “He makes comments like that all the time to everybody – including Senator Shealy,” said one legislative aide who spoke to FITS.




Montana Conservative ‘Christian': Force Women To Cover Up By Law Just Like Iran Does

A Montana Republican single-handedly reinforced the idea that conservative “Christians” are no different than Muslim fundamentalists when he introduced a bill that would ban women from wearing yoga pants and other revealing or tight-fitting clothing.

 On Tuesday, GOP state Rep. David Moore introduced a draconian bill in the state legislature that would amend the state’s indecent exposure laws in a way that would turn Montana into a puritanical society that the Ayatollah of Iran would be proud of. HB 365 makes it illegal for a person to knowingly expose,

 any device, costume, or covering that gives the appearance of or simulates the genitals, pubic hair, anus region, or pubic hair region or exposes any device worn as a cover over the nipple or areola of the female breast that simulates and gives the realistic appearance of a nipple or areola while in a public place or visible from a public place without taking reasonable precautions to prevent exposure, and disregards whether a reasonable person would be offended or alarmed by the act.


“Yoga pants should be illegal in public anyway,” he said according to the Billings Gazette after a committee hearing. Retired professor Walt Hill, who co-wrote the legislation, also made a statement. 

“I want Montana to be known as a decent state where people can live within the security of laws and protect their children and associates from degrading and indecent practices. I believe this bill is written preserving that reputation.”





Religious broadcaster says Scott Walker was right: ‘Real experts’ have ‘disproven’ evolution


Religious right broadcaster defended Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who declined to say whether evolution was real when questioned by a British reporter during an overseas trip.

 Radio host Sandy Rios, who also serves as governmental affairs director of the American Family Association, said during a broadcast that the likely Republican presidential candidate should not be mocked for “punting” on the question, reported Right Wing Watch.

 “In the sense that Darwin taught about species morphing into other species, evolving into other types of species, that has not happened,” Rios said. “There is no scientific evidence.




GOP-Dominated Utah House Gives A Green Light To Bring Back Firing Squads




SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A hotly contested proposal that resurrects Utah's use of firing squads to carry out executions narrowly passed a key vote Friday in the state's Legislature after three missing lawmakers were summoned to break a tie vote. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted 39-34 Friday morning to approve the measure, sending it to an uncertain fate in the state's GOP-controlled Senate. Leaders in that chamber have thus far declined to say if they'll support it, and Utah's Republican Gov. Gary Herbert won't say if he'll sign it.




GOP Rep.: Gay Marriage Harms Children, Economy And Society - 


"...on “Washington Watch,” Rep. Tim Huelskamp called on Congress to hold a vote on his Marriage Protection Amendment, which would impose a national ban on same-sex marriage, as a way to pressure the Supreme Court against deciding in favor of marriage equality. 

The Kansas Republican told Family Research Council President Tony Perkins that federal courts created “chaos” by striking down bans on same-sex marriage and now “folks are confused about what a marriage is.” Huelskamp said that if “we don’t protect the traditional basis for marriage, it harms everyone, particularly our young children.” 

He also agreed with Perkins that legalizing gay marriage will “discourage family formation” and undermine the black community." 




Kansas governor removes protections for LGBT employees


In a move that shocked progressive advocates in Kansas, the state's Republican governor on Tuesday issued an executive order to remove discrimination protections for gay, lesbian and transgender state employees. State employees in Kansas can now legally be fired, harassed or denied a job for being gay or transgender, critics said. 

HAPPY DARWIN DAY!

CHARLES DARWIN

Republicans’ views on evolution  

Significantly fewer Republicans believe in evolution than did so four years ago, setting them apart from Democrats and independents, according to a recent Pew Research Center study. 

But behind this finding is a puzzle: If the views of the overall public have remained steady, and there has been little change among people of other political affiliations, how does one account for the Republican numbers? Shouldn’t the marked drop in Republican believers cause a decline in the 60% of all adults who say humans have evolved over time?

Difficult to believe, isn't it.  But I've read on far right Tea-Pee-er blogs such moronic statements as"Evolution hasn't been proved" and "there are no transitional fossils, etc."  And the people who claim such nonsense are proudly far right conservatives. We've even seen presidential contenders raise their hands to be counted as evolution nonbelievers, which would be the same as raising one's hand as gravity nonbelievers.  But we all know how willingly politicians will pander for a couple of votes from the anti-science crowd.

Certain far right Tea-Pee-er blogs celebrate their ignorance and cultist beliefs on evolution and climate change on a daily basis and are positively proud of their ignorance. 


One of their leading lights, Dr. Ben Carson, a guy who actually had to take biology to get through medical school, astoundingly says these stupidly absurd things about evolution and other scientific theories:



Ben Carson: Evolution Is An Absurd Myth, 'Give Me A Break' - 

He claimed that “no one has the knowledge” of the age of the earth “based on the Bible,” adding that “carbon dating and all of these things really don’t mean anything to a God who has the ability to create anything at any point in time.” Carson pointed to the “complexity of the human brain” as proof that evolution is a myth: “Somebody says that came from a slime pit full of promiscuous biochemicals? I don’t think so.” He said evolution is unable to explain the development of an eyeball: “Give me a break."


And here's another Tea-Pee hopeful, unable to answer a simple, straight forward question on accepted science, for fear of losing the Stupid vote:



LONDON -- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) on Wednesday dodged a question about whether he believes in evolution. Speaking at the Chatham House foreign policy think tank London, Walker was asked: "Are you comfortable with the idea of evolution? Do you believe in it?" "For me, I am going to punt on that one as well," he said. "That's a question politicians shouldn't be involved in one way or another. I am going to leave that up to you. I'm here to talk about trade, not to pontificate about evolution."

Pontificate about evolution?  Does Walker even know what the word "pontificate" means?  Two pontifs, Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis have "pontificated" on the subject and said people of faith absolutely can accept the science of evolution.  

Scott Walker:  What a sniveling little coward!



In case you've forgotten, here's another conservative politician, who should know better, pandering for the ignorant vote, after he warned Republicans to stop being "the Stupid party."  Jindal is just another run-of-the-mill cowardly panderer when it comes to speaking about evolution.  He, like Carson and Walker, is afraid of losing the Stupid Vote:



Bobby Jindal Refuses To Say If He Believes In Evolution


Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal dodged three questions on Tuesday about whether he personally believes the theory of evolution explains the presence of complex life on Earth. "The reality is I'm not an evolutionary biologist," the Republican governor and possible 2016 presidential hopeful told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.





As Charles Darwin said, it is not the strongest nor the most intelligent who will survive, but the FITTEST: those who can manage change to survive.  

If you're still denying Evolution, how the hell will you survive the 21st century?

Viva la Evolution!

Right Wingers and Their Love Affair with Muslims Who Kick Ass!

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook



The Derps on the right are swooning over a Muslim King (remember THEY HATE ALL MUSLIMS BECAUSE ALL MUSLIMS ARE TERRORISTS!)

They complain about Obama acting like a "KING," but they're complaining that Obama isn't acting like a KING!

Michael Savage and many of their looney heros say that liberalism is a mental disorder.  Get just one of these nuts to justify this newest insanity:   Loving what they call a "Mudslime."

They really are loons.

Got Snow? Boston, February 2015

Some parking lot somewhere

Rose Kennedy Greenway

Christopher Columbus Park

Boston City Hall









Anywhere in Boston, February 2015

My granddaughter on her way to visit me in Boston

Caution! Exploding Heads On The Right!

10 States With the Worst Taxes for Average Americans

1.  Washington
2.   Florida
3.   Texas
4.   South Dakota
5.   Illinois
6.   Pennsylvania
7.   Tennessee
8.   Arizona
9.   Kansas
10. Indiana




"...these states “rely heavily on taxes that are paid disproportionately by low- and middle-income households, and have very little reliance on taxes that the top 1% or top 5% would be responsible for paying.” In other words, states have to make up for that revenue in one way or another. Nationwide, personal and corporate income taxes accounted for an average of nearly 18% of state revenue. Yet in five of the 10 states, the contribution to revenue from income taxes was less than 5%. And while sales and excise taxes accounted for less than one quarter of state revenue on average across the nation, they accounted for more than 30% of revenue in six of the 10 states with the most regressive tax policies. 

 While it is difficult to know the exact degree that these tax policies impact income inequality, the states with the most regressive tax systems also had relatively uneven income distribution even before taxes were applied. In six of the 10 states, the 2013 Gini coefficient — which has values between zero and one, where one means all income belongs to a single person and zero means uniform income distribution — was higher than in the majority of states. 

 To identify the 10 states with the worst tax systems for average Americans, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed ITEP’s Tax Inequality Index scores for the 50 states. The index incorporated effective tax rates for the poorest 20%, middle 60%, top 1%, as well as ratios comparing these rates, among other measures. 

Effective tax rates were based on total state and local taxes as a share of family income for non-elderly taxpayers in all 50 states. ITEP’s model used 2012 income figures, and considered tax laws from 2014 and 2015. Contributions to state revenue by tax type were also provided by ITEP. 

We reviewed the Gini coefficient from 2013 — which is based on pre-tax income — as well as additional economic data from the Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey. 


More HERE.




 In other news:

"Understanding The Lure of Brutality"

Found on a extremist right wing blog:


"Well, Obama wants us Christians to get off our “High Horse” and come down the level of islam. Isn’t that a hoot?...he not only got the Crusades story wrong.... but he also seemed to blame slavery on AMERICAN Christians….as if slavery started here..."



The ignorant on the right are still seething over the truth that President Obama spoke in his prayer breakfast speech.  Because he reminded everyone that Christians were also capable of using their religion to justify atrocities, the extremists went all funny in the head and threw a temper tantrum of epic proportions.

We know there's no sin in being ignorant, only in willfully staying that way.  So in the interest of enlightening those who refuse to acknowledge history and its truths, here's the manifesto, written by CSA's vice president, Alexander Stephens, which explains how the good Christians in the south at that time interpreted their Bible to justify the brutalization of an entire group of human beings:


[T]he first government ever instituted upon the principles in strict conformity to nature, and the ordination of Providence, in furnishing the materials of human society ... With us, all of the white race, however high or low, rich or poor, are equal in the eye of the law. Not so with the negro. Subordination is his place. He, by nature, or by the curse against Canaan, is fitted for that condition which he occupies in our system. The architect, in the construction of buildings, lays the foundation with the proper material-the granite; then comes the brick or the marble. The substratum of our society is made of the material fitted by nature for it, and by experience we know that it is best, not only for the superior, but for the inferior race, that it should be so. 

It is, indeed, in conformity with the ordinance of the Creator. It is not for us to inquire into the wisdom of His ordinances, or to question them. For His own purposes, He has made one race to differ from another, as He has made "one star to differ from another star in glory." The great objects of humanity are best attained when there is conformity to His laws and decrees, in the formation of governments as well as in all things else. Our confederacy is founded upon principles in strict conformity with these laws.



This blog has also reminded its readers that the dehumanization, debasement, and murder of members of an entire group of Americans occurred as recently as 1981. We understand why this would make certain zealots uncomfortable when faced with this horrid truth.  What those zealots didn't understand (and why should they when understanding would interfere with their Cult of Hatred for Mr. Obama?) is that President Obama simply acknowledged that religions often use their holy books and scriptures to justify genocide.

The ignorant on the right will have none of it.  Any reminders of the history of genocide of Native Americans and the brutalization of black Americans is, to them, heretical and sullies their infantile idea of America.  Like children who can't deal with their humanly flawed parents, they refuse to face reality, and instead demonize those who place that reality in front of their noses.

Their fits and tantrums do not change history or truths; their ignorant and childish responses only point to the fact that they prefer to ignore them. 





More on this subject:


TA-NEHISI COATES:     

"If you are truly appalled by the brutality of ISIS, then a wise and essential step is understanding the lure of brutality, and recalling how easily your own society can be, and how often it has been, pulled over the brink."






  The Foolish, Historically Illiterate, Incredible Response to Obama's Prayer Breakfast Speech

 Using religion to brutalize other people is not a Muslim invention, nor is it foreign to the American experience.


Black Men Were Burned Alive in the Bible Belt

Here's the truth that President Obama spoke at that prayer breakfast...

UPDATE BELOW

...that turned the hate-cultists into a writhing coil of hissing cobras:



"So how do we, as people of faith, reconcile these realities -- the profound good, the strength, the tenacity, the compassion and love that can flow from all of our faiths, operating alongside those who seek to hijack religious for their own murderous ends? 

Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history. And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.  In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ."


There is not one word in those statements that is not true.  Perhaps the loudest howls are coming from those who do not wish to look at their own recent past to see the truth.  And it is true that Christian Klansmen tortured, burned, and murdered men, women, and children because of the color of their skin.  And this happened in our recent past, as recent as 1981, not hundreds of years ago.

Here's a reaction from a particularly choleric baboon that a commenter brought to my attention:



"obama Hates America, obama Hates Christianity, obama Hates civilized countries by all of my observations. Everyone who obammy has surrounded himself with, jarret, holder, positions of power – all Hate America and the American Way. It seems obvious to me." 


It seems obvious to me that the person who dropped that pile of witheringly vapid asininity on a blog is in desperate need of his binky.


The entire speech is HERE, and there isn't anything in it that disrespects Christians or Christianity. The problem seems to be with the hate-cultists who can't stop themselves from acting like damn fools any time Mr. Obama has anything to say.


I read the entire speech.  The howler monkeys either have their heads up a lead pipe or just can't handle the truth.

UPDATE:

 Sorry, Fox: Obama Was Right About Christianity's 'Terrible Deeds'


 Ignoring Christian Violence Isn’t Very Christian

As we segue into the weekend...

...think about this:

Happy Friday!

But before you get too happy, go to Infidel753, read this and sob.  

Or start drinking before the sun goes down.

If you snooze, you lose.

That's basically what Republican state representative from Utah, Brian Greene, is saying when he explained why he doesn't think it's necessary to pass a bill that makes it unlawful for someone to have sex with an unconscious person:


"Utah is currently passing a bill to make clear that an unconscious person cannot consent to sex. Seems like a no-brainer right? Not for this Republican. As Representatives of the Utah House debated the bill in committee stage on Tuesday, Brian Greene presented a series of questions that simply beggar belief." 

 “It looks to me now that sex with an unconscious person is by definition rape. I hope this would not happen but this opens the door to if an individual has sex with their wife if she is unconscious… A prosecutor could then charge that spouse with rape.” 

 "Greene seems keen to ensure that men and women who like to have sex with their partners without their consent, while they are asleep, can continue to do so unfettered by the law. 

 This is not a theoretical scenario. British woman Sarah Tetley was raped and secretly filmed by her husband Charlie, an estimated 300 times, and only discovered the abuse after she woke up in the middle of an attack. According to Greene, her husband should not have faced legal consequences for this violation of her body and her trust."

 More HERE.

You think you've heard all the asinine ideas that any sentient human could come up with, and then BAM! Tea-Pee-ers like Brian Green or  Thom Tillis or Louis Gohmert come along and prove Albert Einstein correct:

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." 


Is there a sign outside the RNC that says "Dumbasses Welcome Here!" ?

Here's some Stupid for Breakfast

UPDATE BELOW ON MORE STUPID FROM ANOTHER GOP SOURCE

An eighth grade student in Vermont approached Senate Minority Leader Joe Benning with an idea to establish a Latin motto for the state.

Vermont already has a motto in English, "Freedom and Unity," but not one in Latin, as do many other states. The eighth grader and others working on the idea came up with this Latin phrase: Stella quarta decima fulgeat.

The translation: “May the Fourteenth Star Shine Bright,” 

Vermont was the 14th state to join the Union. It all sounds so straight forward and simple and patriotic, doesn't it?

What Representative Benning and the rest of the literate folks in Vermont didn't foresee was the firestorm of indignation and vitriol that would come from the folks in Vermont who, how should we put it delicately, have an IQ equal to room temperature in Vermont in January, and who don't know the difference between Mexico and Rome. 

Dear Gourd!  These people vote!

So, let's take a look at what the ninnyhammers in that state had to say about having Vermont adopt a Latin saying. BTW, as you read the comments, you'll find a striking resemblance to the commenters one finds at a certain Daddy blog, where illiteracy and ignorance rule the day.

CAUTION:  Take care to remove all sharp objects from the room before you read this:



Dorothy Lynn Lepisto: “I thought Vermont was American not Latin? Does any Latin places have American mottos?”

 Norman Flanders: “What next Arab motto??”

 Kevin P. Hahn: “How about ‘go back south of the boarder'”

 Richard Mason: “We are AMERICANS, not latins, why not come up with a Vermont motto that is actually from us”

 Judy Lamoureux: “Throw him out of the country tell him to take obama with him!”

 Phil Salzano: “My question is, are we Latin, or are we Vermonters? Alright then, English it is…..” 

Lori Olds: “I thought this was USA why are they trying to make Americans aliens”

 Chris Ferro: “That’s a BIG NO, if you live in the United State YOU need to learn ENGLISH!!”

 Julie Kellner: “No, you a USA citizen!.. Learn & understand the language!!!.” 

 Kurtis Jones: “No cause vt ain’t no Latino area. Leave the motto alone” 

 Zeb Swierczynski: “ABSOLUTLY NOT!!!! sick and tired of that crap, they have their own countries” 

 Ken Curtis: “Just when I felt our represenatives could not possibly get any dumber , they come up with this…get real… this is the USA, not some Moslim or Mexican country…stop given in to these people…PRESS 1 for English and forget the rest… worry about the problems you were elected to do” 

 Ronald Prouty Jr. “No way this is America not Mexico or Latin America. And they nee to learn our language, just like if we go there they want us to speak theirs” 

 Kristen Wright: “thats un called for this is the usa” 

 Kelley Dawley: “How do you say idiotic senator in spanish? I’d settle for deport illegals in spanish as a back up motto” 

 Heather Chase: “Seriously?? Last time I checked..real vermonters were speakin ENGLISH.. NOT LATIN..good god…” 


 Would you like some maple syrup with that stupid? 

 Read about it HERE.


 AND HERE.


 "Gegen Dummheit kämpfen die Götter sebst vergebens" --h/t Infidel753



UPDATE with more Stupid for your afternoon snack



Here is our new all GOP-Tea-Pee-er Congress busily at work making 'Murica a better place through deregulations that encourage dirty bathroom habits for restaurants!


GOP Senator: Don't Force Employees To Wash Their Hands After Using Toilet

President Obama's American Patriot Lineage

Wow!  Talk about Patriots!!!!

Congrats to the Pats!

Sunday Science Blog

RESEARCHERS DISCOVER AN ANCIENT REPLICA OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

From Popular Science:

Deep within the bowels of our Milky Way Galaxy, there is another solar system that is like a miniature replica of our own. Except this planetary system is just a tad older — by about 7 billion years. 

Using images and data collected by NASA’s Kepler spacecraft, an international team of researchers discovered an ancient solar system around the star Kepler-444. It is estimated to be a whopping 11.2 billion years old. By comparison, researchers believe our own solar system is just 4.6 billion years old. That means that when our sun was born, the Kepler-444 star system was already older than our sun is now. It also means Kepler-444 formed shortly after the Milky Way Galaxy coalesced 13.2 billion years ago. 

“It’s an old member of the galaxy, and its age made us very excited,” Sarbani Basu, a professor of astronomy at Yale and one of the researchers, tells Popular Science. “This planet system formed when the Milky Way was very, very young.” Basu and her team published their findings today in The Astrophysical Journal.



TABLE OF CONFIRMED PLANETS


KEPLER'S CONFIRMED PLANTS

Henry Kissinger: "For War Crimes, For Crimes Against Humanity"

The late Christopher Hitchens:


"Henry Kissinger should have the door shut in his face by every decent person and should be shamed, ostracized, and excluded. No more dinners in his honor; no more respectful audiences for his absurdly overpriced public appearances; no more smirking photographs with hostesses and celebrities; no more soliciting of his worthless opinions by sycophantic editors and producers. One could have demanded this at almost any time during the years since his role as the only unindicted conspirator in the Nixon/Watergate gang, and since the exposure of his war crimes and crimes against humanity in Indochina, Chile, Argentina, Cyprus, East Timor, and several other places. But the latest revelations from the Nixon Library might perhaps turn the scale at last." (Click here to listen to the conversation; the offending section begins at 13:56.)


Read more here:

The Case Against Henry Kissinger, Part I, The Making of a War Criminal



"In the words of Hitchens, Kissinger deserves prosecution "for war crimes, for crimes against humanity, and for offenses against common or customary or international law, including conspiracy to commit murder, kidnap, and torture." He further calls him "a stupendous liar with a remarkable memory." 

The book takes the form of a prosecutorial document, as Hitchens limits his critique to such charges as he believes might stand up in an international court of law following precedents set at Nuremberg and elsewhere. These link Kissinger to war casualties in Vietnam, massacres in Bangladesh and Timor and assassinations in Chile, Cyprus, and Washington, D.C. 

Hitchens, a writer for Vanity Fair and The Nation, had a history of skewering Democrats (he is the author of a provocative book on the Clintons, No One Left to Lie To) as well as Republicans. The book is written from an authorial position of moral outrage, and calls for Americans not to ignore Kissinger's record. In the author's words, "They can either persist in averting their gaze from the egregious impunity enjoyed by a notorious war criminal and lawbreaker, or they can become seized by the exalted standards to which they continually hold everyone else."


Wanted: 

If Henry Kissinger isn't guilty of war crimes, no one is. A Vietnam War whistleblower on Christopher Hitchens' case against the former secretary of state.




Kissinger: Drones have killed more civilians than the bombing of Cambodia in the Vietnam War

FALSE



John McCain, a/k/a Grandpa Grumpy Pants yelled at Code Pink who demanded Henry Kissinger be arrested for war crimes.  He called the protesters "Low-Life Scum," while defending a war criminal. John McCain is not known for good judgement, and he proved it again by standing up for a man who was responsible for the torture and deaths of thousands and thousands of people around the world while honoring the man responsible.

We expect nothing less from the Senator who foisted an ill-vetted, ill-prepared Sarah Palin on this country, a woman who has proved to be exactly the opposite of what he tried to sell to the world.  Why would his judgement be any better in this case?

First Ladies and Their Fashion Choices

The chattering chipmunks on the right never miss a chance to insult and denigrate the FLOTUS, Michelle Obama.  No matter what she wears, what she eats, or how she smiles.  It's all bitchy talk from them all the time, because, y'know, THOSE PEOPLE are in the White House.


I thought Laura Bush was a gracious First Lady, and no one that I know of attacked her for suggesting people read to their children--no one said she shouldn't tell other parents "what to do." 

And she was never attacked for her looks, her body shape, or her fashion choices on this blog.  I don't know what the problem is with the right wing bloggers who seem to relish making fun of our first African-American First Lady, but they do it with a vengance and full-on spite.  They, of course, are the ones who come off looking like dreary little gossips who have nothing better to do than pick apart someone else instead of looking in the mirror and discovering the wreckage in their souls.

Just for the record, here are some photos from Laura Bush's time as our FLOTUS.  
Her fashion choices are not anything I'd call elegant or stylish, but she was happy wearing them, and that's all that matters.

First Lady Laura Bush and One of the Johnson Daughters

First Lady, Michelle Obama

Five First Ladies

Did he REALLY say that?

Yes he did.

Dr. Ben Carson is the darling of the Tea Party because they think he's the anti-Obama man of color, AND he says all the pretty things the Tea-Pee-ers like to hear.  

Pretty. Crazy. Things.

Tea Party bloggers are in love with him and claim he's "sensible," has "common sense," and "true Christian values."


Here's the latest from Dr. Carson:

From Addicting Information:

"Carson railed against LGBT individuals’ demand for equal rights. Carson told members of the media that “a few judges” have overthrown the will of the people in 32 states where it was decided “that marriage is between a man and a woman....

 “ 'If two adults want to be together,' ” Carson said, 'I’m not going to stop them from being together.'  Carson suggested that equal marriage rights are not necessary because two people can take the very expensive route of setting up a 'legal contract' so they can 'share property and have visitation rights' or otherwise experience some benefits of marriage."

 This is where the Crazy Train pulls away from the station:

Carson added:

“What I have a problem with is when people try to force people to act against their beliefs because they say, ‘they’re discriminating against me.’ So they can go right down the street and buy a cake, but no, let’s bring a suit against this person because I want them to make my cake even though they don’t believe in it. Which is really not all that smart because they might put poison in that cake.”



Project much, Dr. Carson?



The Hill reported that Carson’s remark was met with jubilation from his staffers, but “dead silence from the journalists in the room.”

Oh those Tea-Pee-ers! Feed them a story, any story, and they'll believe it!

UPDATE BELOW


Just like they believed the story that John McCain's VP pick was a pitbull with lipstick and that she was qualified to be VP of the USof A!  They actually believed that load of horse manure.

Now another pile of horse manure is being passed around Tea-Pee Land and the usual gullible suspects are lapping it up like honey on a pile of garbage.


Here's what they've been told:


(Reuters) - U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl will be charged with desertion for disappearing from his base in Afghanistan in 2009, NBC News reported on Tuesday. Bergdahl, who was released from captivity last year in a controversial Taliban prisoner swap, could be charged within a week, the television network said, quoting senior defense officials who were not identified by name.

 However, senior Army and defense officials contacted by Reuters could not confirm the report.



From Addicting Information:


 On Monday, The O’Reilly Factor put on retired Lt. Col. Tony Schaffer who claimed that he had inside knowledge which told him that the former Prisoner of War had been charged, with his lawyer already having been served with the paperwork, for desertion in the events which led up to his capture by the Taliban on June 30th, 2009. 

This of course spread like wildfire across the right-wing media landscape. Problem is, it’s not true. 

This morning, Forces Command spokesperson Paul Boyce stated that the entire claim was false. 

No papers had been sent, no charges filed, none of it was true, and that the Fox News broadcast “seems to be speculative in nature.” In short, Fox News lied, once again. 

 Instead, the military is calling the case still under investigation, with no timetable for a resolution to be filed. As it is an active investigation, no further comments are forthcoming, which means that Fox News created a false narrative to push, and ran with it, once again. 

 The right wing obsession with Bergdhal began as a way to attack the president, for leaving him a POW. But once his freedom was secured, they began to attack him directly, again, as a way to attack the president.

BENBERGDAHL! BENBERGDAHL! BENBERGDAHL!

This is just one of the right wing blogs where the Tea-Pee-ers get their WRONG information.

There are so many others out there and so many more Tea-Pee-ers who fall for it every time.

UPDATE


From Army Times:


The Army says there is no truth to media reports claiming a decision has been made to charge Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl with desertion. 

 The Army continues to review the case against Bergdahl, said Paul Boyce, a spokesman for Forces Command, on Tuesday morning. "Sgt. Bergdahl has not been charged with any crime," said Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby during a press briefing Tuesday afternoon. 

 "No decision has been made with respect to the case of Sgt. Bergdahl," Kirby said. "None. There is no timeline to make that decision, and Gen. [Mark] Milley is being put under no pressure to make a decision."



Pentagon slams Bergdahl story as 'patently false’ 

 Fox News and several other media outlets reported overnight that he would be charged with desertion, but the Army denied the claim and the head of Army public affairs said the story is flatly wrong. 

 “The reporting from Fox News and NBC on Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is patently false,” Maj. Gen. Ronald Lewis said in a statement. “To be clear, there have been no actions or decisions on the Sgt. Bergdahl investigation.”

We'd Rather Talk About THIS Storm

We hope our family and friends in the northeast are okay and have come through winter storm Juno with minimum amounts of damage to their cities and towns.

We tracked the storm as it barrelled up the east coast and are thankful it's almost over and New England can begin to dig out.

Cable news, as usual, ran stories on Juno as though nothing else was happening in the world. Telling viewers how fierce the wind will be and how much snow will accumulate over and over and over gets to be annoying.  Other events are taking place in the country and world even if cable news won't acknowledge it.

For one example, here's a different sort of "storm" we'd rather talk about:

Michelle Obama Takes India By Very Stylish Storm

Of the many reasons there are to admire Michelle Obama, her seemingly effortless resistance to jet lag has got to be one of them. 

At least when it comes to style, anyway. The always fashionable first lady arrived alongside the president in India for a three day trip on Sunday, and was met not only with greetings from the country's prime minister but also great praise and excitement over her outfit, a floral dress and matching coat by Indian designer Bibhu Mohapatra. The designer later gushed to Women's Wear Daily: "I feel like I now have come full circle, with Michelle Obama arriving in my homeland in clothes designed by me," he said.




If you have the stomach for it, you can surf the usual Tea-Pee-er blogs that regularly insult and trash the FLOTUS, because their infantile minds are not able to handle anything above schoolyard taunts and name-calling.  Those IQ-challenged WATBs find their greatest thrills in maligning Mrs. Obama on their puny little blogs; because if they were actually to encounter her or her husband in person, they'd fold like a pile of wet cardboard.  

Anyway, what those bloggers write about the FLOTUS and POTUS (and their daughters) doesn't affect the Obamas one iota.  So it's better for the Tea-Pee-ers to deal with their seething frustrations over this presidency by scribbling inane verses and mocking the First Family; because if they didn't have that as an outlet for their envy and grinding rage, they'd be engaging in their usual habits:  sucking their thumbs or pulling the wings off of the flies that buzz around their fetid little heads.



Oh, and this, just to make this blog post even sweeter:


Remember this from the Weeper of the House back in December?:





Asked if he planned to extend an invitation to Obama, Boehner replied, “Listen, the more the president talks about his ideas, the more unpopular he becomes. Why would I want to deprive him of that opportunity?” 

You need new talking points, Johnny: 

Well, looking at Gallup tracking data, on the day of the State of the Union address, Obama’s approval rating was just a little underwater – 46% approval, 49% disapproval. 

As of today, those numbers are largely reversed – 50% approval, 45% disapproval. 

As a matter of fact, most Americans liked the ideas the president outlined in that speech. 

Wrong again, Mr. Speaker ...  h/t Dailykos